Landfill to landmark: Lucknow's Rashtriya Prerna Sthal rises as riverside memorial

Lucknow, Dec 25 (PTI) What was till recently a sprawling landfill on the banks of the Gomti River has now been transformed into a green, expansive memorial complex, a new landmark for the Uttar Pradesh capital.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Rashtriya Prerna Sthal in Lucknow on the birth anniversary of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were present at the ceremony.

Developed at Rs 230 crore by the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), the complex is spread over 65 acres along the Gomti in the Basant Kunj Yojana area of Dubagga.

Officials said the site had earlier accumulated nearly 6.5 lakh metric tonnes of garbage, which was processed and cleared before the redevelopment began.

Around 50,000 trees were planted on the campus using the Miyawaki technique, converting the former landfill into a green zone meant for public use, they said.

LDA vice chairman Prathamesh Kumar, who gave Modi a briefing at the memorial's museum, told PTI that the complex would be opened to the public from Monday onwards.

"The entry to the Rashtra Prerna Sthal will be ticketed," the IAS officer said.

At the heart of the complex stand three imposing 65-foot-tall bronze statues of BJP-RSS ideologues Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Deendayal Upadhyaya, and Vajpayee, a Bharat Ratna awardee.

The memorial also houses a museum that spreads over 6,300 square metres, and is designed to introduce visitors to the lives, struggles and philosophies of the three leaders through digital and other immersive media.

Sections of the museum document Vajpayee's tenure as prime minister, the Pokhran nuclear tests and the international sanctions that followed, as well as welfare initiatives such as the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

The Emergency period of 1975 and milestones linked to the emergence of what officials describe as "New India" are also depicted across galleries.

The museum features material on Vajpayee's poetry, Upadhyaya's philosophy of Antyodaya and Integral Humanism, and Mookerjee's political movement and satyagraha related to Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

Beyond the museum, the Rashtriya Prerna Sthal has been planned as a large public space capable of hosting cultural and civic events.

On the campus, there is a 3,000-seater amphitheatre, open-air theatres, multipurpose halls, a rally ground, a meditation hall, and a library.

Officials said the complex includes amenities such as landscaped gardens, ceremonial gates, pathways, parking areas, a cafeteria, flag-hoisting zones, and three helipads.

City residents shared their excitement about the new landmark site coming up at a place where a dumping ground once stank.

Dubagga resident Aditya Kumar said, "The statues of the three leaders are visible from far away, and if one were to drive on the road near the memorial, there is no chance one misses their stunning appearance as well as the sprawling complex." He added, "The presence of greenery all around it adds to the pleasant atmosphere in the region where earlier stench emanated due to the garbage." PTI KIS MAN VN VN