Six entry points to Chandigarh to be beautified

Work expected to start first at the Chandigarh-Panchkula entry point in Mauli Jagran; architectural plan for this site is ready, a senior UT official said

For long, visitors to the City Beautiful have been greeted by unmaintained and aesthetically unpleasant entry points.

The emphasis is on covering roads which are public transport routes. (HT Photo)

But, this is going to change, as the UT administration has decided to give a major facelift to six points which connect Chandigarh to other cities in the region.

“Currently, the entry points don’t do justice to one of the greenest cities in the country. These also don’t reflect the fact that Chandigarh is the first planned city of independent India. The Zirakpur-Chandigarh entry point was beautified long back, but has lost all its sheen now,” said a senior UT official, associated with the project.

“Not all the points will be covered. The emphasis is on covering roads which are public transport routes,” the official said.

Panchkula-Chandigarh entry point near Mauli Jagran, leading to Chandigarh Railway Station; Chandigarh-Zirakpur entry on Chandigarh-Ambala Road and Mohali-Chandigarh entry leading to Airport Road in Mohali are among the points which will be beautified.

To prepare the detailed landscaping plan, services of the landscaping consultant have been availed. “The work is expected to start at the Chandigarh-Panchkula entry point in Mauli Jagran. The architectural plan for beautification is ready for this site,” said the official.

Views of Panchkula MLA and Haryana legislative speaker Gian Chand Gupta, who had also expressed interest in beautification of this point, will also be taken. A meeting is scheduled for Monday to discuss the plan.

After the architectural plans get the go-ahead, the UT engineering department which is the implementation authority, will prepare the cost estimates for the project. Thereafter, tenders will be floated for the construction work.

Landscaping in sync with city’s architectural ethos

“The beautification mainly involves landscaping of these entry points, which will be in sync with the planning and architectural ethos of the city,” said the official.

The city has a specific theme for trees on its streets, which will be followed in the landscaping of these points also. “Commercial trees like eucalyptus, which were lately used alongside roads even in Chandigarh, will be substituted with fruit bearing, ornamental and flowering trees and decorative plants. Here, the vision and concepts set by Dr MS Randhawa, the first administrator of the city and noted horticulturalist, will be followed,” added the official.

Dr Randhawa had played a key role in the selection of trees and overall beautification of the city. “Along with city’s planner Le Corbusier, Dr Randhawa had constituted a landscape committee of experts. A comprehensive list of plants and trees was prepared, with careful cataloguing of their shapes, colours and textures, which was later used to create particular themes on specific roads,” said the official.

Notably, the UT engineering department recently also took up the beautification of the road dividers under its jurisdiction.