The Empress Botanical Garden, located near the race course in Pune Camp, which is spread over nearly 40 acres of land and forested with trees that are over 200 years old, is now filled with dirt, plastic, and garbage. The pond, which was once filled with crystal clear water, has now become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
The garbage can be seen everywhere; the iron benches are rusted and broken, lying around. The children's playground has broken slides and swings.
Ridha Sawant, a regular visitor to the garden, said, “The authorities neglect this century-old garden and are in a state of apathy; this is concerning for every Punekar, as this beautiful urban forest is filled with dirt and waste.”
Sudhanshu Shinde, a wedding photographer, said, “This location is beautiful for pre-wedding shoots, and we used to come often for the shoots, but now the garden is not well-maintained, which is why we hardly suggest this place or even go for shoots. The mosquitoes are a really big issue in this area.”
AHSWI cites fund crisis
Suresh Pingale, honorary secretary of the Agro-Horticultural Society of Western India (AHSWI), which looks after the garden, said, “There are many types of trees in the garden, such as bottle brush or Callistemon citrinus, Cassia fistula, Cananga odorata, Brownia ariza, Delonix regia, Cassia lancastri, Baccia insignis, and Saraca. The garden has a 250-year-old banyan tree, a 150-year-old Kanchan-Vel, and a huge bamboo 30 metres tall. The Empress Garden is most visited during the Flower Shows organised by the AHSWI, which is commendable as thousands of Puneites flock to see them. And to maintain the garden, we need at least one crore of money per year."
He added, "Because we don't have proper funding, it is difficult to maintain the garden. Also, we get no support from the government and corporation, so we seek funds through some CSR funds. We collect money from our society and we charge Rs 20 from the visitors, and this is how we are facing the challenges to maintain the garden. Also, during Wari, the Warkaris entered the garden, hence it looks not maintained."
