Stray cattle disturb peace at the Garden of Silence

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune news service

Chandigarh, January 16

Stray cattle disturb visitors who come to the Garden of Silence for meditation.

The Garden of Silence situated at the regulator end of the Sukhna Lake is a place where people meditate. It has a statue of seated Buddha.

Financed by the Ministry of Tourism, the Administration has developed the garden with the aim of providing place for those who want peace and want to meditate without disturbance.

With no fencing around the garden, the cattle find their way inside the garden for grazing.

One of the regular visitors of the Sukhna Lake, Kamal Kant, said the cattle could be seen in the garden and the parking areas.

He said the cattle belonged to villagers of the nearby areas who left them for grazing. “Cattle will not find a better place than the garden for grazing as there is a lot of greenery and there is no disturbance.” He added.

Besides the residents, a large number of tourists also visit the garden every day.

Suresh Kumar, another visitor, said the statue of Buddha in a pranayam posture presents the right ambience for meditation purposes. People get a soothing feeling by seeing the statue. He said the sanctity of the place should be maintained with proper security.

He said that the problem of the cattle was not limited to the garden only but these could be seen around the nature’s interpretation centre also which is situated at the end of the lake. Many tourists also visit the centre to see the three-dimensional images of migratory and local birds.

When contacted, Chief Engineer Mukesh Aanad said he would ensure that the stray cattle stop entering the garden and nearby areas.