Appu Ghar

Appu Ghar was an amusement park operated by International Amusement Limited, located in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India.[2] It was spread over 15.5 acres (63,000 m2) of land and was India's first amusement park.[3] It was established in 1984 to commemorate the 1982 Asian Games, and it was inaugurated on 19 November 1984 by then-Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi.[4] The park closed down in 2008 after a legal ruling allocating the land for government use.

For the water park in Gurgaon, see Appu Ghar (Gurgaon).
Appu Ghar
LocationNew Delhi, Delhi, India
Coordinates28.616813°N 77.243359°E / 28.616813; 77.243359
ThemeAnimal, water, winter sports, Haunted house
OwnerInternational Amusement Limited
General managerGian Vijeshwar
Opened19 November 1984 (1984-11-19)
Closed17 February 2008 (2008-02-17)
Operating seasonYear-round
Visitors per annum1,825,000 (2006)[1]
Area15.5 acres (63,000 m2)
Attractions
Total22 (as of 2006)[1]
Water rides4[1]

Name

Appu Ghar was named after its mascot, an elephant named "Appu", while "Ghar" means house in Hindi. Appu was a live elephant mascot that became the star of the 1982 Asian Games held in New Delhi.[2]

History

Then-Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, assigned the task to create India’s first amusement park to International Amusement Ltd. (IAL) headed by Narinder Malik, a Sweden based NRI and Gian Vijeshwar,[2] another Sweden-based NRI with an aim to provide free access to underprivileged children.[4] It was inaugurated on 19 November 1984 by Rajiv Gandhi then Indian Prime Minister, after his mother Indira Gandhi's assassination on the occasion of her birthday, this was his first public appearance.[5] Appu Ghar quickly became a crowd puller for the residents of the Indian capital as well as those of neighbouring towns.

It was formally opened under the aegis of International Amusement Ltd. (IAL), with its registered office at Gate No. 4, Pragati Maidan. Narinder Malik organized all machines along with their installation at Pragati Maidan with the help of Surinder Malik as engineer, architect Sharad Dass and builder Suresh Chawla under a very tight schedule due to the commitment of a 14th November opening, the total park was set up and implemented in 3 months which was a record and was inaugurated as planned on Nov 14 1984.

The India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO), which owns Pragati Maidan, leased the land to IAL for three years in 1984 to run and operate Appu Ghara. sequently, ITPO kept on tending the lease to IAL till November 1999, when it last expired.

In 1999, ITPO asked IAL to vacate the land, at which point the private firm sought legal arbitration with ITPO to continue with Appu Ghar. Meanwhile, with the Supreme Court of India urgent needing land for extension along with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for construction of the Delhi Metro's Pragati Maidan metro station, the Government allocated the land to both the parties. In 2007, the Supreme Court finally ratified the Government's decision to hand over the land from IAL, paving the way for Appu Ghar's eventual closure on 17 February 2008.[6][2]

Appu Ghar Group

The Appu Ghar Group/International Amusement Ltd. also has a mix of amusement and commercial activities in Noida, The Great India Place and Worlds of Wonder; Adventure Island a similar project on a 62 acre parcel of land in Metro Walk, Rohini, Delhi. And finally Appu Ghar Jaipur, a 300-acre project currently under construction in Rajasthan.

Appu Ghar Gurgaon

In 2014, a water park was opened by IAL with the same name in nearby Gurgaon, Haryana in a bid revive the original Appu Ghar.[7]

Major attractions

The major attractions at Appu Ghar in Pragati Maidan[8][9] were:

  • Various rides for children
  • Swinging Sensations - This part features several rides and games like the Big Splash, the Roller Coaster, the Columbus Jhoola, the Giant Wheel, My Fair Lady and others.
  • Games on snow like skiing, sledding, ice boating and others
  • A water park spread over an area of 3.5 acres (14,000 m2)
  • Swimming pool
  • The Tower of Thrills
  • Hi Waves
  • Haunted House

References
  1. "Official Site of Appu Ghar". appughar.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2006.
  2. "Appu Ghar, the family entertainer, closes down". The Economic Times. 17 February 2008.
  3. "Delhi: Free rides for Class 10 toppers in park". The Asian Age. 17 June 2017.
  4. Pratap, Rashmi (20 June 2014). "For amusement parks in India, there is a lot of money riding on a young population that is determined to seek out entertainment & willing to spend on it". The Hindu Business Line.
  5. "Delhi in 70 years.", Hindustan Times, 15 August 2017.
  6. "Appu Ghar, adieu". Tribune India. 18 February 2008.
  7. Sathe, Gopal (28 October 2011). "The second life of Appu Ghar". Livemint. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  8. Kumar, Rakesh (8 March 2017). "(Un)fair grounds". The Statesman.
  9. Nair, Harish (17 July 2019). "Supreme Court complex grows by 12 acres, 6 new blocks inaugurated". Times Now News.
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