Morning walkers get free entry into Lalbagh

Morning walkers get free entry into Lalbagh

The morning walkers demanded improvement of the garden.

Deccan Herald

A morning walk in Lalbagh is not the best of propositions, to go by the account of the morning walkers who gathered in the Glass House to air their grievances to the Horticulture Minister R Srinivas. The one thing that came out of this interaction was an assurance from the minister that there would be no fee imposed on the walkers for six months at least.

An average walker has to avoid a lot of dirt and litter to get into the gardens, after which he finds that it shouldn’t be a matter of surprise to find more litter inside – there are hardly any dustbins. Nor are there too many sweepers to remedy the problem even to some extent.

If he becomes thirsty, and longs for that drink of water, his morning walk will have to be unavoidably extended, for there are no drinking water facilities (though there are sprinklers galore, watering not just the flora but all the seats that happen to come in their way too). The toilets, of course, are best left unused, in the interest of his health.

And on top af all that, there were plans to charge him for going on his walk.
The minister heard out the complaints of the people, before telling them that it was up to them to join hands to make that change. He assured them, however, that there would be no fee imposed for six months at least.

Despite the slight nip in the air, temperatures rose with the walkers getting agitated several times during the course of the meeting. People were most voluble about the entry fee. Most of them were dead against the imposition of the fee, no matter what the circumstances.

In fact, when one of them suggested that the minister shows result in improving Lalbagh, and then they would think of entry fees, the idea of even thinking of paying to walk was shouted down by the gathering.

Another incident which stood out was when certain persons took umbrage to the fact that one of the walkers started addressing the minister and the audience in English.

Talking to the media, Prof P Sadashivan, president of the Lalbagh Walkers’ Association, wondered where all the funds collected from the people who entered after 9 am went to. He however said that he had hopes of having the problems addressed by this minister – unlike his predecessors, he at least turned up.

After all, like every morning walker knows, to take a walk, you need to make that first step.