The reconstruction work at the Netaji Subhash Park in old Delhi has been completed by the DMRC, which has written to the area's civic body to take over the park for maintenance, officials said today.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had taken over the 96-year-old park for undertaking work on the extension of the Violet Line till Kashmere Gate.
"We have finished the reconstruction work at Subhash Park, the ensemble statue of Netaji has been restored. The lawns have been restored and pathways paved," a senior DMRC official said.
"We recently wrote to the NDMC (North Delhi Municipal Corporation) to take over the park for maintenance. We are awaiting communication from their side," he told PTI.
The reconstruction work at the park had begun after the opening of the Jama Masjid metro station.
The park was inaugurated originally by the then Prince of Wales as the All-India King Edward Memorial in 1922.
The lush green park, spread over around five acres, in the vicinity of the Red Fort and neighbouring Jama Masjid, was dismantled when the metro's Violet Line was being extended till Kashmere Gate.
An impressive ensemble statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose flanked by his INA compatriots was removed to carry out tunnelling and other civil work. It has been restored in the municipal park, sitting on a new pedestal.
The park, which falls under the NDMC, today may have become a symbol of Independence and patriotic fervor, but it originally stood as a monument to British monarch King Edward VII, whose imposing equestrian statue was the centerpiece of the memorial.
The five-tonne statue of the king was removed from the park after Independence and its name was also changed.
The Netaji statue was unveiled in mid-1970s by then Vice President B D Jatti, and was shifted to carry out metro construction work a few years ago.
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