The Patiala Municipal Corporation (MC) has once again launched an exercise to rejuvenate the historic Rajindra Lake, a project that has remained in limbo for more than a decade now.
The civic body has decided to install tricoloured lights, construct decorative fountains, and fill the lake with water from the Bhakra Canal.
However, local residents alleged that the MC had begun replenishing the lake without first removing the thick wild grass, weeds and dry horticulture waste dumped there.
“The MC must first clean the lake, remove weeds, wild grass and horticultural waste, and only then fill it with water,” said Bikramjit Singh Bittu, a local resident.
Mayor Kundan Gogia said the weeds and wild grass would be removed in two weeks. Taking a dig at previous state governments, he said over Rs 5 crore had been spent on the lake’s revival over the years. “I will complete this job for just Rs 50,000,” he claimed, adding that five high-tech fountains and advanced lighting systems had already been installed.
Gogia said the MC had also approved a plan to commercialise parts of the lake premises. “We will invite private firms to operate a vegetarian eatery and a coffee shop at the site,” he added.
In the past, several plans to revive the lake had failed to take off. In 2016, then Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal had inaugurated an ambitious redevelopment plan featuring a food court, pathways and musical fountains.
The project was later shelved following legal disputes. In 2020, the state’s Congress government spent around Rs 5.04 crore on civil works.