Shalamar Garden

The beautiful and exuberant laws and manifestations of the Shalimar gardens have continued to charm people all over the world. It is one of the greatest pieces of architecture brought to life by the great Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in Lahore. The construction of these magnificent Persian gardens took place in 1641 A.D under the supervision of Khalilullah Khan, Ali Mardan Khan and Mulla Alaul Maulk Tuni, the project was completed in the same year.

The oblong construction of this Mughal grandeur is in the shape of a parallelogram and a high brick wall that skirts the area is decorated with intricate fretwork. The charm of these gardens has placed them in the list of UNESCO world heritage site in 1972. The 410 water fountains add delicacy and coolness to the ambience as the water keeps on constantly flowing in the marble tanks. The diversity of the ripe fruit trees also adds to the colors of the gardens. But unfortunately there are a few problems that occur frequently in the Shalimar gardens making it a bit troublesome to preserve the ambience and setting. First of all there is a great big problem of voltage fluctuations. All of a sudden the voltage exceeds to a high level and instantly it falls to an extremely low level. This fluctuations cause the machinery to suffer a lot and repairs cost a lot. So the concerned authorities should take some positive actions to overcome this problem. Transformers should be installed to regulate the supply of electricity keeping in mind the requirement and revenue available.

The water supply to the area and the Shalimar gardens is also insufficient. The government has just allotted an hour of fresh supply of water other than water tankers need to be ordered in order to get water. Lack of electricity also acts as an obstruction in receiving the water supply regularly. There needs to be serious check on the cleanliness and maintainence of the parks inside the garden. Submersible pumps, plantation and other necessary infrastructure should be provided tot he parks to preserve and enhance the beauty of a valued piece of art from the Mughal era.

These are some of the main problems faced by the Shalimar gardens of Lahore and these should be brought to the notice of the concerned authorities so that necessary steps can be taken and our glorious past can be preserved.