The four acre lake inside the 17th century Roshanara Bagh in north Delhi, was given a new lease of life, after dumping garbage over the years. The lake is now fed with steady trickle of water from a nearby water treatment plant, and the walkways in the periphery of the lake, red sandstone shelters, gazebos, Kid’s play area is being refurbished in a new way to give a facelift to the Mughal-era garden. A senior officer Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said that, the lake has been filled with water after three and half years of development work.
One of the civic official explained, “The lake bed was cleared of weeds and excavated. Stone pitching has been carried out along the periphery of the lake. The lake is now fed water by a decentralized sewage treatment plant and channels have been developed along the lake periphery so that rainwater during monsoon gets collected in the water body.”
The Bagh, a cherishing garden on the outskirts of Shahjahanabad, was constructed under the patronage of Shahjahan’s daughter Roshanara Begum. Later the princess was buried inside the garden.
The garden was initially constructed in 1650 AD, which is serving as a large public space in the city for centuries, but later it was exploited. Signs of neglect were visible on Roshanara’s tomb which is an ASI-protected structure which has undergone only piecemeal repairs over the years, deteriorating along with its surroundings.
The proposal for rejuvenation of the lake was first came forth in December 2018, after directions from the National Green Tribunal (NGT), when the erstwhile North Delhi Municipal Corporation announced that it will feed the lake from groundwater and excess seepage from Delhi Metro tunnels.
During June 2020, the plan was modified to include a decentralized treatment plant to maintain the water level in the lake. In the month of February, MCD said that the central government nodded to provide Rs.11 crore for Roshanara Bagh rejuvenation project, as part of a project for restoration of 20 water bodies across Delhi.
One of the civic official said, “A ghat with staircases has been developed at the corner of the waterbody. It is still being excavated to make it deeper. Once the water reaches this point, it can serve as the entry point for the boating section.”
Presently, the area is covered with handful of horticulture department workers wearing fluorescent green jackets were busy sprucing up the garden, adding new plant saplings, washing the newly created walkways and sitting areas.
A play zone for children along the lake periphery will be guarded by a fence. MCD has also developed bamboo furniture to create sitting areas, including a machaan (elevated platform) in the nursery adjoining the garden. The polyhouse-based climate-controlled nursery is a first of its kind facility developed by MCD. The second official said that the nursery is producing 30,000-40,000 saplings that cannot be grown in the open environment. One official said that, a gardening school has also been developed consisting of a training room, administrative office and cafeteria.
Delhi lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena visited the place and stated that, work for restoration & rejuvenation of this 57-acre asset with a lake, garden, nursery, walkways and public utilities right in the heart of the City is under construction. The Garden will be revived with all its glory very soon.
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