100 years on,park to be a crowning glory

As a run-up to the centenary year celebrations in 2011,the project aims to give the park a complete facelift,with extensive landscaping and restoration work. The move comes after several years of inaction by DDA,though INTACH had charted the initial plans five years ago.

Now,with the centenary year celebrations and the Commonwealth Games round the corner,the civic body has finally roped in INTACH to begin work on the project.

“The contract has been signed and INTACH is now finalising details of the drawing plans,” DDA spokesperson Neemo Dhar said. “We hope to have it ready before the centenary celebrations in December 2011.”

A G K Menon,convener of the Delhi chapter of INTACH,said,“The park has been neglected for decades and lies in a very bad shape — there are overgrown bushes and the statues have worn out. The restoration project will vitalise the park and we hope to make it popular not only among the tourists but also the residents.”

Menon said since most parks are in South Delhi,Coronation Park would be a good option for residents of the area after a facelift.

Officials put the estimated project cost at Rs 20 crore. According to them,it would include setting up of an interpretation centre,restaurant and relocation of statues in a systematic manner along with overall landscaping of the park.

There will be special focus on the interpretation centre,where extensive information on the history of Delhi Durbar and its significance will be explained,Menon said.

“Audio-visual facilities will be available in English and Hindi to begin with and this might be extended to other languages later,” Menon said. “We are also trying to collect archival pictures and maps of the location — the British Ambassador has extended support to the Delhi Lieutenant-Governor for this.”

The park has the largest and tallest statue of King George V on a pedestal,which was earlier located on the Chhatri at India Gate.

But the statue,along with a few others from the British period,is in a bad shape and will be repaired. Menon said: “We are also trying to locate other British statues in the city. They might also be brought in and set up on pedestals. There will be a few signages and information panels to explain the history of these statues and the historic place.”

He said,“One of the routes of the Heritage Circuit has the Coronation Park as the starting point. Restoration of the park will give a great boost to the Circuit plans too.”

Shining moments
* Coronation Park was the venue of Delhi Durbar of 1877 when Queen Victoria was proclaimed the Empress of India
* It was later used to celebrate the accession of Edward VII in 1903
* On 11 December,1911,the Delhi Durbar took place commemorating the coronation of King George-V as Emperor of India after his coronation in the United Kingdom in June 1911. This had representatives of all the princely states in attendance.
* The decision to hold Coronation Durbars in Delhi on the vast ground was a move to emphasise Delhi’s history
* The park has the largest and tallest statue of King George V