Now, musical fountain at Lalbagh

Now, musical fountain at Lalbagh
Bangalore: May 18, DH News Service

For gardeners, spring is a race against time. But for the State government, summer is a time to plan sprucing up Lalbagh: adding a musical fountain and a rock garden to the floral display and the green foliage that the sprawling, picturesque acres in the heart of the City is known for.

The Horticulture Department has prepared a blueprint to develop a musical fountain at the foot of the Kempe Gowda rock in Lalbagh, where a laser show has also been planned. Besides, the monolithic rock formation will be developed into a garden, from where visitors can watch the laser show -- mainly depicting on the history Bangalore.

Disclosing this to reporters, Horticulture Minister Umesh Katti said the entire project has been designed on the lines of the famous Sentosa Island of Singapore. The musical fountain is estimated to cost Rs 27.5 crore, while the cost of the rock garden is projected to be Rs 29.30 crore. Steps are being taken to tender these projects, he added. The BBMP and the BDA have decided to join hands with the Horticulture department in implementing these projects. City-based landscape expert Dr Leela Rajkumar has been appointed as consultant, the Minister said.

According to Horticulture Director N Jayaram, the monolithic rock is spread over 33 acre in the Lalbagh. It will be beautified by developing small gardens wherever possible on the rock. The rock has several patches of mud presently covered with weeds. These patches will be converted into gardens without causing any damage to the original rock formation, he added.

The musical fountain will come up at the foot of the rock facing the historical glass house. “The plan is to have two shows (laser shows) of one hour duration each in the evening. About 3,000 people will be able to watch the show at a time,” he added.

Entry fee not decided yet

The Horticulture Director has said no decision has been taken yet on the entry fee to the proposed laser show. The department has drawn a rough estimate of the project cost.
The cost of the musical fountain was arrived at after collecting information from the officials of Sentosa island. For the rock garden, the consultant has estimated the cost. The department is now preparing the detailed project report.

This apart, plans are on the cards to create an artificial water falls on the rock (facing Siddapura), where quarry was done long ago. Water from the Lalbagh lake will be used for this purpose. Desilting of the lake, development of island at the lake, construction of toilets, lawns, walking tracks and others will be taken up to give a facelift to the gardens. “Lalbagh gardens attracts an average 8,000 people every day. Nearly 15,000 people visit the gardens on a holiday. People are now coming mainly to enjoy the greenery. Once these projects are completed, there will be entertainment also. The number of visitors will increase considerably,” Jayaram said.

Rejuvenation of Cubbon Park lake will be taken up after monsoons, the minister said.