Bhopal: Not a single park of the city finds a mention in tourist map of India. In fact, over 325 gardens and parks of the city have even failed to garner a following among locals. Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) accounts for 115 of them. None of the city parks and gardens has failed to create a following on the line of NTR Park in Hyderabad, Shalimar Bagh in J&K, Hanging Garden of Mumbai, Brindavan Garden of Mysore, Pinjore Garden in Haryana, Mughal Garden in Rashtrapati Bhawan, Botanical garden in Tamil Nadu, Rack Garden in Chandigarh, Llloyd’s botanical Garden in Darjeeling, Lalbagh Gardens in Karnataka, Chasmeshahi Garden in Srinagar, Leisure valley in Chandigarh, Sayaji Baugh in Vadodara are among the most visited and talked about parks in India.
Gardens in the city, including Kamla Park, Mayur Park, Kilol Park, Yaadgare Shahjahani Park, Vardhmaan Park, Firdaus Park, Bal Vihar, Sonagiri Park, Jeevan Vatika Udyan, Nandan Kanan Park, Udyan Vatika among others do not witnesses regular visitors. A few of the old parks or gardens have disappeared with time. The pitiable condition of the parks in belies civic body’s claim of spending around Rs 10,00,000 in annual maintenance of parks. City-based garden developers told Free Press that an average garden can be beautifully designed for around Rs 20 lakh.