PIL seeks relocation of Nehru's statue in Allahabad

A Public Interest Litigation seeking relocation of a statue of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru from a decrepit park in a remote corner of the city to the spot where he was born more than a 100 years ago today came up for hearing before the Allahabad High Court.
The PIL was filed by Sunil Chaudhuri, a social worker, who had contended before the court that he had in the past made a representation before the Divisional Commissioner of Allahabad that the statue of independent India's first Prime Minister at Nehru Park in Neeva, on the outskirts of the city, was in a state of neglect and it should be relocated to Meerganj in the old city area where he was born on November 14, 1889.

The petitioner had claimed that although the Commissioner had written to the District Magistrate to take a decision onthe representation, the latter did not take any action. The PIL was disposed of a by a division bench, comprising Justice Tarun Agarwala and Justice P C Tripathi, which, directed the DM to take a decision on the petitioner's representation within four weeks.
Built in 1990s, the Nehru Park fell into disuse barely a few years after it was thrown open to the public as the army took it over since the park was situated close to the cantonment area and the heavy footfall - owing to attractions like boat rides and musical fountains - was deemed to be a security risk.

Meerganj is situated in the crowded old city area, known as "Chowk" in the local parlance, where densely populated residential localities exist alongside crowded, marketplaces.
The locality, from where the Nehrus shifted to the historic Anand Bhawan later, has however fallen into disrepute of late on accounts of allegations of flesh trade which has allegedly thrived in the area over the past few decades.