Rashtrapati Bhavan's Mughal Gardens renamed 'Amrit Udyan'

New Delhi: The iconic Mughal Gardens at the Rashtrapati Bhavan will now be known as 'Amrit Udyan', which would open to the public from January 31, an official statement issued on Saturday said.

President Droupadi Murmu will grace the opening of the gardens of Rashtrapati Bhavan -- Udyan Utsav 2023 -- on Sunday, it said.

On the occasion of the celebrations of 75 years of Independence as Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav', the President of India is pleased to give a common name to the Rashtrapati Bhavan gardens as Amrit Udyan', Navika Gupta, Deputy Press Secretary to the President, said in the statement.

The government had last year renamed Delhi's famed Rajpath as Kartavya Path. The renaming of the stretch and other institutions is in line with the Centre's effort to remove any trace of a colonial mindset.

"Rashtrapati Bhavan is home to a rich variety of gardens. Originally, they included East Lawn, Central Lawn, Long Garden and Circular Garden. During the term of former Presidents Dr A P J Abdul Kalam and Shri Ram Nath Kovind, more gardens were developed, namely, Herbal-I, Herbal-II, Tactile Garden, Bonsai Garden and Arogya Vanam," it said.

In this year's Udyan Utsav, among several other attractions, visitors will be able to see specially cultivated tulips of 12 unique varieties which are expected to bloom in phases, the statement said.

This time the gardens (Herbal Garden, Bonsai Garden, Central Lawn, Long Garden and Circular Garden) will be open for about two months.

Shredding yet another symbol of colonialism: BJP

The BJP on Saturday said renaming the iconic gardens in Rashtrapati Bhavan as 'Amrit Udyan' shreds yet another symbol of colonialism even as the opposition parties advised the government to focus on creating jobs and controlling inflation instead.

While the Congress did not officially react to the name change, the TMC and CPI rubbished the move with the Left party terming it an "attempt to rewrite history".

Gardens to open for public on January 31

The gardens will open to the general public on January 31, 2023, and will remain open till March 26, 2023 (except on Mondays which are maintenance days and on March 8 on account of Holi).

From March 28 to 31, the gardens will be open for special categories -- for farmers on March 28, for differently abled on March 29, for personnel of defence forces, paramilitary forces and police on March 30, and for women, including tribal women's self-help groups, on March 31.

People can book their slots well in advance through online booking. Booking can be made on https://rashtrapatisachivalaya.gov.in or https://rb.nic.in/rbvisit/visit_plan.aspx.

Walk-in visitors can also get entry into the gardens, it said.

However, they will have to register themselves at the facilitation counters as well as at the self-service kiosk near gate no 12 of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

It is advisable to book a slot online in advance to avoid any rush and save time, the statement said.

Entry and exit for all visitors will be from gate no 35 of the President's Estate, close to where North Avenue meets Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Visitors are requested not to bring any briefcases, cameras, radios/transistors, boxes, umbrellas, eatables etc inside the gardens, it said.

"They can carry mobile phones, electronic keys, purses/handbags, water bottles and milk bottles for infants," the statement said.

Provision for drinking water, toilets and first aid/medical facilities will be made at various places along the public route.

Increase in capacity of hourly slot

Another step towards making Rashtrapati Bhavan accessible to more people is through an increase in the capacity of each hourly slot.

The visitors will be allowed to visit in six hourly slots between 10 am and 4 pm.

The capacity for the two forenoon slots (10 am to noon) will be 7,500 visitors during weekdays and 10,000 visitors in each slot on weekends.

The capacity for the four afternoon slots (noon to 4 pm) will be 5,000 visitors in each slot during weekdays and 7,500 visitors on weekends, it said.

Apart from the gardens of Rashtrapati Bhavan, people can also visit Rashtrapati Bhavan five days a week (from Wednesday to Sunday) and Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum six days a week (from Tuesday to Sunday) as well as witness the change-of-guard ceremony every Saturday, except on gazetted holidays.