ICONIC replicas of 21 celebrated Indian monuments, including century-old Victoria Memorial Hall and historic Mysore Palace, were on Saturday unveiled in the ‘Bharat Darshan Park’ in south Delhi, which is being billed as a ‘mini India’ in the national capital. Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurate the 8.5-acre park which showcases attractive replicas of various heritage sites and a banyan tree, built with scrap and waste material, at a cost of nearly Rs 20 crore, officials said.

 

The recreational garden, built by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation on ‘waste-to-wealth’ model, was opened after some delay and ahead of the civic polls in Delhi due early next year. Located in Punjabi Bagh area, replicas of several monuments, including Qutab Minar, Taj Mahal, Charminar, Gateway of India, Konark Temple, Nalanda ruins, Mysore Palace, Meenakshi Temple, Hampi, Victoria Memorial Hall, Sanchi Stupa, Gol Gumbaz, Ajanta and Ellora Caves, Hawa Mahal, Rameswaram, Dwarkadhish temple, have been installed at the park. Victoria Memorial Hall, made of marble, is hailed as one of the finest specimens of modern European architecture in India, and was inaugurated on December 28, 1921.

 

Shah in his address praised the craftsmen who worked on theses replicas, and said the park in a ‘mini India’ form, will not only give a glimpse of the culture diversity of the country to visitors, including children, but will also let them learn about ‘waste-to-wealth’ concept, and foster caring attitude towards environment. Nearly 350 tonne of scrap was used for construction of these replicas, and eight artists, 22 assistants, and 150 workers were engaged during the construction work, the SDMC officials said. Adequate arrangement for illumination has been made inside the park, with 755 facade lights, three LED screens, 600 bollard lights, 102 compound light, as also 51 CCTV cameras have been installed in the park premises, the SDMC said. “The theme of the park is ‘Unity and Diversity’ and these art works show utmost respect to our monuments and cultural heritage,” South Delhi Mayor Mukesh Suryan said. These replicas have been built with scrap and waste material like dumped old vehicles, fans, iron rods, nuts and bolts, lying unused or abandoned at SDMC stores, officials said.