Senior citizens of Darjeeling against razing of old Brabourne Park

Darjeeling, March 1.TT: Senior citizens of Darjeeling are against the razing of the more than 100-year-old Brabourne Park where an open-air theatre has been planned by the DGHC.

The senior citizens, who wanted to be identified as The Citizens Who Love Darjeeling, said the history of Brabourne Park in the Mall dates back to the late 19th century.

“The park was gifted to the Darjeeling municipality in 1897 by then Maharaja of Cooch Behar. Later, it was named after the governor of Bengal, Lord Brabourne. This structure is older than the famous Victoria Memorial in Calcutta, which was set up in 1921. Can you imagine mowing down Victoria Memorial or spoiling its premises by setting up a modern structure?” asked one of the elderly citizens.

The DGHC has started flattening the park, bringing down its level to that of the Mall. The DGHC under Subash Ghisingh had constructed a musical fountain in the park for Rs 20 lakh in 2006 but it does not function now.

The senior citizens are against the DGHC plan to build an amphitheatre on the park’s premises as part of the beautification drive for the Mall. The hill council has started revamping Darjeeling’s famous promenade and the first phase of the Rs 9 crore project is expected to be completed in five months.

“We fail to understand the logic behind setting up the amphitheatre when there are already two similar establishments in town — the Shrubbery Nightingale Park that has an open theatre and the Gorkha Ranga Manch Bhawan which has three centrally heated halls,” said another citizen. The citizens group said the amphitheatre would destroy the open space of the park — the only one in the heart of the town, the others having been spoilt over time.

Donovan Park is one of them. Once a well-laid tennis court with manicured lawns and the pride of the hills till the late 60s, the only remains of the park along NH55 now is a concrete portico, which seems to be constantly fighting for space with the mushrooming shops of the neighbourhood. Many of these shops open right into the pavement much to the chagrin of the pedestrians.

The Victoria Park, later renamed as Mahatma Gandhi Park, today houses the monstrous Gorkha Ranga Manch Bhawan, which blocks the view of Kanchenjungha.

“Victoria Park was great. It had a bandstand, swings, merry-go-rounds and huge open spaces. I remember Satyajit Ray had shot extensively in the area for Kanchenjunga,” recalled another senior citizen.

The park was torn apart to set up the Rabindra Bhawan. Later, it was renamed Bhanu Bhawan, which housed the paramilitary forces during the mid-80s before the entire structure was dismantled by the DGHC to come up with the seven-storied Gorkha Rangamanch Bhawan.

The story of Albert Park, built in 1916, is no different. Only a rusty iron gate bears testimony to the once enclosed space. “There was a Bengali gentleman who had a private zoo near the park. There were lovely cottages around and in the private zoo there were deer, wild cats and birds. I remember visiting the zoo with my friends,” said an old timer.

At a time when the parks have vanished from Darjeeling, the citizens want the DGHC to safeguard one of the few that still exist.

Anil Verma, administrator of the DGHC, said: “We are trying to make the Mall beautiful and tourist-friendly. Till date, no one has approached us with their grievances. If they come to us we can definitely discuss the issue to make the area even better.”