Revival of Chahar Bagh initiated under HRIDAY

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 9

The Municipal Corporation (MC) has initiated the revival of Chahar Bagh, quadrilateral garden layout based on the four gardens, around Summer Palace of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Ram Bagh (Company Bagh). Experts claimed that Chahar Bagh was the original structure of the Ram Bagh and Britishers had demolished it.

The project is funded by the National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY).

Gurmeet Rai, conservation architect and advisor of HRIDAY said, “The original pattern of Ram Bagh was similar to the Mughal era gardens. The Summer Palace of Maharaja was located at the center of the four separate gardens. The Britishers had razed the boundary walls and constructed roads and buildings in the gardens. During excavation we had found evidences of the boundary walls around Chahar Bagh. Now after taking permission from the Agrological Survey of India we are reviving the original structure of the Garden.”

The Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board is doing the conservation of the Summer Palace. The HRIDAY will construct 140 cm wide wall to connect the watch towers.

The experts observed that the establishment of clubs, wide vehicular roads and other establishments are major huddle to revive the original structure of heritage building. A large portion of the garden is covered under the concrete. The BJP-SAD government covered a large area with cemented tiles by violating the conditions of ASI.

Vinod Singh Rawat of the Archeological Survey of India said, “We have issued the notices to the district administration several times to remove the clubs, offices and their infrastructure from the garden. The officials never show concern.”