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Once a lush green forest, now in a shambles

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI AUG. 23. The sprawling 800-acre Jahanpanah city forest, which was enclosed within the walls of the city of Adilabad that Mohammed Bin Tughlaq built after he became the ruler of Delhi, finds mention today as one of the most happening "cruising places'' on a website.

Along with Nehru Park, Central Park, Dhaula Kuan Bus Stand and Garden and India Gate lawns it is described as a place where boys in search of boys can meet conveniently between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. The manner in which the forest is today being promoted may not go down well with all but this state of affairs is clearly due to wanton neglect of the authorities.

As such, what once used to be a lush green forest full of peacocks, nilgais and black bucks now stands reduced to a shambles with the green cover almost disappearing under the onslaught of the pressure of population. And while nilgais and black bucks have become a thing of the past, the peacocks too are on the verge of extinction due to the poachers.

Ironically, the "forest'', called Jahanpanah or "Roof of the World'', has all through its existence suffered from lack of care.

Soon after it was created, Mohammad Bin Tughlaq made up the botched plan to shift his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad. The plan failed miserably but it also did not do any good for the cause of the forest.

It meant a weaker defence for it. And even long after India's independence when the forest came under the Delhi Development Authority, there was not much improvement. With the population density increasing all around it, it became another victim of unplanned growth.

Despite court rulings on protecting it, the forest has become a victim of encroachments. Though DDA has on an average been spending about Rs 5 crores on it every year for the past few years and maintained a big staff comprising gardeners, supervisors and guards to protect it, the rot has continued. As per estimates, a majority of the trees have been felled despite clear instructions to protect them.

The degeneration of the forest also threatens the ground water table in South Delhi as it acted as major aquifer and a natural reservoir.

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