DEHAR: NATURAL environment is the first victim of man, and the disturbed ecosystem in tum disturbs man.
This realization has made many people tum environmentalists in their own humble way. Nek Chand, who attempted to impart a manmade environment to the planned city of Chandigarh haying no natural beauty of its own, has given rise to a school of environment and art. There are many in and around Chandigarh who are following the footsteps of Nek Chand, and giving aesthetic touches to the environment around them using broken pieces of crockery, other waste and locally available raw material.
The Maliks – Mr. Shamsher Singh Malik, an advocate at Chandigarh, and his son, Mr. Ajay Malik, a young graduate in architecture -seem to have taken a fancy to the “Nek Chand School of Art and are developing their farm house at Dehar near Lalru along the G.T, Road into a scenic place of enchanting manmade waterfall, a small circular fish pond with a small dome like structure on the island and a swimming pool. A residential building is being constructed on the other side of the fish pond. All this is being developed with local materials, particularly river stones instead of bricks. The use of steel has been kept to a minimum. The construction is more or less in the medieval style of architecture with sharp touches of the Nek Chand School of An. The project is nearing completion.
The Maliks are confident of the price and quality factors. Vaults and domes have been used as roofing systems devoid of steel.) Bricks and tiles have been used) to give an aesthetic touch, The: domed roof has pieces of broken white crockery cemented on it, The popularity of Nek Chand’s art has pushed up the prices of broken pieces of crockery. The’ Maliks purchased these pieces @ Rs3 a kg.
The tube well at the farm is being used for the waterfall. The water is to be recycled into the waterfall with the help of a pump. The water will then ultimately flow into the fish pond.
The environment project, when’ completed by the end of the coming winter may prove to be an oasis in the Chandigar-Ambala belt. The belt along the G.T. Road is already under the onslaught of, industrialization. The recent gas leakage incident at a factory at Dehar is an eye opener.
The Maliks have planted over 5,000 trees in their 30-acre farm over a period of five years. There’ is a wide vanity of tree species, from fruit bearing to omamental. The trees have been raised using sprinkler and drip irrigation system.
The water from the fish pond is used for irrigating the farm.
The father and the son team Says that the entire project is to create a healthy environment on the farm house, which they ultimately want to use as their residence. The Maliks have a plan to construct a hotel on the other side of the G.T. Road in Dehar, ‘The environment project nearing completion combined with the proposed commercial hotel project may click as a business proposition.
The Maliks truly qualify to be called “friends of the earth”.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 12, 1994
