Is it a case of neighbour’s envy or owner’s hurt pride? Probably a bit of both. The sight of a thousand roses blooming at Chandigarh’s Rose Garden is causing a lot of heartburn among Mohali residents as their own little Rose Garden in Phase-3B1 remains starkly barren.
Not a single rose sticks out to cheer up the walkers . Senior citizens are mulling to write to Mohali Deputy Commissioner about why they are being deprived of a rose-tinted view in their twilight years. It has been five years since Mohali MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu painted a rosy picture by announcing, “The Horticulture Department is planning to plant more than 1,500 different varieties of rose at the garden.”
It seems that dream wilted away a long time ago. What remains is wild growth, surrounding flower beds with dried thorny stubbs and a few pale leaves. Senior citizen Swaran Chaudhary, a retired principal of DAV College, who runs a small library in the park for past 20 years, said, “Flowers and children need commitment and care to bloom. There is no one here to take care of them. It has gone from bad to worse. Garbage is not picked up for days.” Librarian Seema Rawat said there was an open-air gym, swings, a playing area for kids and a library but cleanliness was suffering.
Lt Colonel (retd) SS Sohi said, “If you have named a garden after a martyr (Major Singh) it is your duty to look after it.” It is due to such comparisons that Mohali continues to be called the poor cousin of Chandigarh.
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