Delhi's own version of Manhattan's central park to open today
The national capital's own version of Manhattan's central park will open its gates to visitors on Thursday. The new 90-acre city park, named Sunder Nursery, is located at Nizamuddin adjacent to the Humayun's Tomb. It was inaugurated by Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu yesterday. The ground where the park is built earlier housed a government nursery and it is as big as the Lodhi Gardens.
Sunder Nursery: A house to many butterflies and birds species
The park will also be linked to Purana Qila: AKTC
The nursery's flora and fauna have been given a major facelift by Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC). Chief Executive of AKTC Ratish Nanda said, "We are calling it the 'central park' because that's the thing to measure up to. We wanted to show that this is possible in Delhi. There's also a plan to link it with the adjacent zoo and Purana Qila."
It's built to create a natural environment for Delhi residents
The park that has several newly renovated world heritage monuments, houses the city's first garden of trees and a bonsai house, said reports. From the 20,000 saplings planted to 280 native trees, the park is also home to 80 species of birds, and 36 species of butterflies. The main reason behind the central park is to create a natural environment for the Delhiites.
Prince Karim Aga Khan was also present during the inauguration
Inaugurating the Nursery, Naidu said, "Sunder Nursery is an excellent example of public-private partnership in an urban development project and is in line with Government's focus on improving cleanliness as well as quality of life of the citizens." The 16th-century heritage garden was restored over a period of nine years by the AKTC. Prince Karim Aga Khan was also present during the inauguration.