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Vibha Sharma traces the 24-year-long roller-coaster ride of the popular amusement park that closed shop last week ON February 17, 2008, India’s first amusement park Appu Ghar closed its doors to visitors. Located adjacent to Pragati Maidan in Central Delhi, it was an important landmark for Delhites, several of whom have grown up enjoying fun-filled days on its rides in the past 24 years. Appu Ghar sold its last ticket at 6.30 pm on Sunday, half an hour later than the usual closing time, and brought to a halt an evening filled with nostalgia, fun and frolic at 8 pm. A sizeable number, close to 5,000 persons, bought tickets that day. Emotions ran high... and sadness, tears, nostalgia, and questions were writ large in eyes of those who were present to bid farewell.
Despite the fact that during the past few years footfalls had fallen considerably, partly due to the high cost of tickets and partly because people now have alternate, more exciting places of recreation like malls, multiplexes and other amusement parks in and around Delhi, Appu Ghar continued to have its special place. A sprawling complex in the heart of the city on the Mathura road, Appu Ghar — spread over 12.5 acres — was a refreshing gateway to a whole new world of excitement and fun when it opened in 1984. A dream project of the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the park was inaugurated by her son, the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on November 19, 1984, on the land given on a lease by the Indian Trade Promotion Organisation, which also owns the adjacent Pragati Maidan. The lease that expired in 1999 was not renewed and February 17 happened to be the culmination of a long litigation. Refusing to give any more time to hand over the prime land in the heart of the Capital, the Supreme Court on January 18, 2008, directed the park management, the International Amusement Ltd (IAL), to hand over the occupied land to the Apex Court and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). In place of Appu Ghar, a wing of the Supreme Court, housing library, record room, lawyers’ chambers and offices will now come up. Some land will also be given to the DMRC. The story of Appu Ghar’s birth goes like this: Indira Gandhi wanted an amusement park like the Disneyland for Delhi. In 1982, she discussed the matter with Sweden-based Gian Vijeswar, whose company IAL had Delhi’s very own Disneyland ready in 1984. Since Appu was the mascot for the 1982 Asian Games, the park was named Appu Ghar. Since its inception, Appu Ghar came a long way with 24 joyrides like My Fair Lady, Columbus, Roller Coaster, Frog Ride, Merry Cups and Striking Cars. A water park was added in 1988. Somewhere along the way, Appu Ghar ceased to be one of the most happening places in Delhi and the number of visitors fell sharply. Amongst other factors, a significant reason was the cost of rides. Initially, it costed just Rs 2 to Rs 3 to enjoy the rides; later the package for rides went up to Rs 250 and Rs 225 for adults and children, respectively. One had to opt for the package irrespective of the fact whether one wanted to take a particular ride or not. There were also a couple of blemishes on its fun-filled history. A man died of heart attack riding on Columbus in 1999, and in 2003 a 50-year-old man suffered fatal injuries after being thrown from My Fair Lady. Appu Ghar is now opening up at two new locations at Rohini and Noida. While the park in Rohini is operational, work is still on at Noida. Both the parks are a joint venture of IAL and Unitech. Amidst all this, the worst hit will be the Appu Ghar employees as closure means an uncertain future for them and others who depended upon the park for a living.
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