10 years later, Sunder Nursery makes its debut as heritage park

A 90-acre city park was inaugurated by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, near Humayun's Tomb on Wednesday. Work on the park began after a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Central Public Works Department, Archaeological Survey of India and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) in 2007. Following the MoU, conservation and landscape work at the park began.

The park is a revamp of the Sunder Nursery that had been established over 100 years ago to breed specimens for the new Capital's avenues and gardens. It has tombs from the 16th century. In 2016, UNESCO extended World Heritage designation to twelve structures conserved by AKTC, including six standing within Sunder Nursery. Officials said M Shaheer, the landscape architect, designed it in a way that it houses 300 tree species, 80 species of birds and 60 species of butterflies, the largest in the Capital

"The project from the onset has had four principal objectives: Conservation of the grand monuments that stand within the project area, environmental development by sensitive landscaping, cultural revival by documenting and disseminating the intangible heritage of the Nizamuddin area including the legacy of cultural icons buried here – Khusrau, Rahim and Ghalib amongst them and a major socio-economic development effort to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants of Nizamuddin Basti," said Ratish Nanda, Project Director, AKTC.

(Clockwise from top left) The renovated fountain area in Sunder Nursery, a 16th-century heritage garden complex adjacent to Humayuns Tomb; A view of the garden area; and The Sunderwala Burj tomb in Sunder Nursery. — PTI