Rashtrapati Bhavan's Mughal Gardens renamed 'Amrit Udyan', to open for public from January 31
New Delhi, Jan 28: The iconic Mughal Gardens at the Rashtrapati Bhavan will now be known as 'Amrit Udyan', which would open for public from January 31, an official statement issued on Saturday said.
President Droupadi Murmu will grace the opening of the gardens of Rashtrapati Bhavan -- Udyan Utsav 2023 -- on Sunday, it said.
On the occasion of the celebrations of 75 years of Independence as Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav', the President of India is pleased to give a common name to the Rashtrapati Bhavan gardens as Amrit Udyan', Navika Gupta, Deputy Press Secretary to the President, said in the statement.
The government had last year renamed Delhi's famed Rajpath as "Kartavya Path". The renaming of the stretch and other institutions is in line with the Centre's effort to remove any trace of colonial mindset.
"Rashtrapati Bhavan is home to a rich variety of gardens. Originally, they included East Lawn, Central Lawn, Long Garden and Circular Garden. During the term of former Presidents Dr A P J Abdul Kalam and Shri Ram Nath Kovind, more gardens were developed, namely, Herbal-I, Herbal-II, Tactile Garden, Bonsai Garden and Arogya Vanam," it said.
In this year's Udyan Utsav, among several other attractions, visitors will be able to see specially cultivated tulips of 12 unique varieties which are expected to bloom in phases, the statement said.
This time the gardens (Herbal Garden, Bonsai Garden, Central Lawn, Long Garden and Circular Garden) will be open for about two months.
The gardens will open for general public on January 31, 2023 and will remain open till March 26, 2023 (except on Mondays which are maintenance days and on March 8 on account of Holi).
From March 28 to 31, the gardens will be open for special categories -- for farmers on March 28, for differently abled on March 29, for personnel of defence forces, paramilitary forces and police on March 30, and for women, including tribal women's self help groups, on March 31.
People can book their slots well in advance through online booking. Booking can be made on https://rashtrapatisachivalaya.gov.in or
https://rb.nic.in/rbvisit/visit_plan.aspx.
Walk-in visitors can also get entry into the gardens, it said.
However, they will have to register themselves at the facilitation counters as well as at the self service kiosk near gate no 12 of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
It is advisable to book a slot online in advance to avoid rush and save time, the statement said.
Entry and exit for all visitors will be from gate no 35 of the President's Estate, close to where North Avenue meets Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Visitors are requested not to bring any briefcases, cameras, radios/transistors, boxes, umbrellas, eatables etc inside the gardens, it said.
"They can carry mobile phones, electronic keys, purse/handbags, water bottles and milk bottles for infants," the statement said.
Provision for drinking water, toilets and first aid/medical facilities will be made at various places along the public route.
Another step towards making Rashtrapati Bhavan accessible to more and more people is through increase in capacity of each hourly slot.
The visitors will be allowed to visit in six hourly slots between 1000 hrs and 1600 hrs.
The capacity for the two forenoon slots (1000 hrs to 1200 hrs) will be 7,500 visitors during weekdays and 10,000 visitors in each slot on weekends.
The capacity for the four afternoon slots (1200 hrs to 1600 hrs) will be 5,000 visitors in each slot during weekdays and 7,500 visitors on weekends, it said.
Apart from the gardens of Rashtrapati Bhavan, people can also visit Rashtrapati Bhavan five days a week (from Wednesday to Sunday) and Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum six days a week (from Tuesday to Sunday) as well as witness the change-of-guard ceremony on every Saturday, except on gazetted holidays.
More details on these are available at http://rashtrapatisachivalaya.gov.in/rbtour/, the statement added.
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UDF leaders see local body poll trends as pointer to 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Buoyed by the strong performance of the Congress-led UDF in the local body polls, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said on Saturday that the front's results indicated the people had rejected the LDF government.
According to early trends, the UDF was leading in more grama panchayats, block panchayats, municipalities and corporations than the LDF.
The local body polls were held in two phases in the state earlier this week.
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Speaking to reporters here, Joseph said the people of Kerala had extended their support to the UDF.
"We could expose the LDF government’s anti-people stance and the people understood it. The LDF’s fake propaganda was rejected by the people. The UDF is moving towards a historic victory," he said.
He said a united effort, proper preparations, good candidate selection and hard work had resulted in the Congress and the UDF’s victory in the elections.
Asked about the prospects in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Joseph said the party was studying the matter and would comment later.
LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said the results would be closely examined.
According to him, the government had done everything possible for the people.
"Why such a verdict happened will be examined at the micro level. People’s opinion will be considered and further steps will be taken," he said.
He added that decisions would be taken after analysing the results. "If any corrective measures are required, we will initiate them and move forward," he said.
AICC leader K C Venugopal said the results showed that people had begun ousting those who, he alleged, were responsible for the loss of gold at Lord Ayyappa’s temple.
"This trend will continue in the Assembly elections as well. It is an indication that the people are ready to bring down the LDF government," he said.
Venugopal said the UDF had registered victories even in CPI(M) and LDF strongholds.
"I congratulate all UDF workers for their hard work. Congress workers and leaders worked unitedly," he said.
Referring to remarks made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against the Congress on polling day, Venugopal said the voters had responded through the verdict.
"I do not know whether the chief minister understands that the people are against him. Otherwise, he does not know the sentiment of the people. The state government cannot move an inch further," he said.
He said the results indicated a strong comeback for the UDF in Kerala.
Asked whether the Sabarimala gold loss issue had affected the LDF in the local polls, Venugopal said the CM and the CPI(M) state secretary did not take the issue seriously.
"We took a strong stand on the matter. The BJP played a foul game in it," he alleged.
On the BJP's role in the local body elections, Venugopal alleged that the party operated with the CPI(M) 's tacit support.
"The CPI(M) supported the central government on issues such as PM-SHRI, labour codes and corruption in national highway construction. The CPI(M) is facing ideological decline, and the state government’s policies are against the party’s own decisions," he said.
Meanwhile, LDF ally Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani said the party could not win all the wards it had expected in the elections.
He congratulated winners from all parties and said the party would closely examine the losses and identify shortcomings. "Later, we will take corrective measures," he added.
Senior Congress leader and MP Rajmohan Unnithan said the trends in the local body elections indicated that the UDF would return to power in the 2026 Assembly elections.
"We will win 111 seats as in 1977 and return to power in 2026. The anti-government sentiment of the people is reflected in the elections," he said.
Unnithan said the people were disturbed and unhappy with the present government.
"The trend indicates the end of the LDF government," he added.
CPI(M) MLA M M Mani said the people had shown ingratitude towards the LDF despite benefiting from welfare schemes.
"After receiving all welfare schemes and living comfortably, people voted against us due to some temporary sentiments. Is that not ingratitude," he asked.
Mani said no such welfare initiatives had taken place in Kerala earlier.
"People are receiving pensions and have enough to eat. Even after getting all this, they voted against us. This is what can be called ingratitude," he said.
Muslim League state president Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said the results were beyond expectations.
"The outcome points towards the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, indicating that a change of government is imminent. We are going to win the Assembly election," he said.
