Inaugurated on November 14, 1972, the garden was dedicated to the city by the then Punjab Chief Minister Giani Zail Singh, who later went on to become the President.

Named after Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the garden is said to be his gift to the children of the city. With the passage of time, many facts about the garden have turned into myths. It is hard to believe that when the garden was opened, it had nearly a thousand varieties of plants.

Senior horticulturist H S Bilga, who was instrumental in setting up Amritsar’s Rose Garden in the early 80s explains, “The British Empire had set up some areas as water works. These water works were set up in Patiala, Amritsar and Ludhiana. Depending upon the population of the town, wells were dug up. Patiala had 12 wells, while Ludhiana had 24 and Amritsar 40. Post-independence, when these wells dried up, it was decided that Rose Gardens would be set-up in its place. Ludhiana’s Rose Garden was the first to be set up under the plan.”

“Ludhiana’s Rose Garden is preserved till date as it lies right in the centre of the city. However, after terrorism ended in the 90s, the condition of the garden had deteriorated. There were no trees to provide shade and we embarked upon this plantation drive,” adds Bilga.

But since then, things have changed, both for the good and bad.

“We could do with some more flowers and lights in the garden. Basically, this is the only place where one can come with their family,” says Sharanjeet Singh, a trader.