India’s first ever outdoor Museum ‘Shaheedi Park’ has been recently inaugurated in which city ?
- (1)Srinagar
- (2)Prayagraj
- (3)Delhi
- (4)Chandigarh
Answer
Why
Correct — option (3), Delhi.
Shaheedi Park, which ANI's report calls India's first outdoor museum park, is at ITO in Delhi. ANI reported that Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's park on Tuesday, 8 August 2023.
The park was developed under the MCD's "Waste to Art" initiative. Its sculptures are made from scrap such as old trucks, cars, electric poles, pipes, angle iron and rickshaws collected by the MCD; about 250 tons of scrap were used, the report said.
ANI's report says the 4.5-acre park is dedicated to the national heroes of India. In the Lieutenant Governor's words as ANI reported them, it presents figures from King Porus, Chanakya–Chandragupta and Emperor Ashoka, and tells the story of the 1857 revolt, the freedom struggle and the integration of princely states.
The idea to remember: Shaheedi Park is the MCD's outdoor "Waste to Art" museum at ITO, Delhi, opened on 8 August 2023.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)Srinagar — Srinagar was not the site. Shaheedi Park stands at ITO in Delhi and, ANI reported, was developed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
ANI reported that Delhi's Lieutenant Governor, Vinai Kumar Saxena, and Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, inaugurated it on 8 August 2023.
- (2)Prayagraj — Prayagraj has a memorial linked to a martyr of the freedom struggle: Chandra Shekhar Azad Park, formerly Alfred Park, where Azad died in 1931. But it is not the new outdoor museum.
Shaheedi Park, the "Waste to Art" museum park that ANI reported was inaugurated on 8 August 2023, is at ITO in Delhi.
- (4)Chandigarh — Chandigarh is home to the Rock Garden, built from waste material by Nek Chand. At Shaheedi Park's inauguration, ANI reported, Kejriwal said that just as visitors to Chandigarh must see the Rock Garden, Shaheedi Park would give Delhi a new identity.
The park itself is in Delhi, not Chandigarh.
Concept
An outdoor museum shows its collection mainly in the open air. ANI's report says Shaheedi Park has 9 sets and 3 galleries, with 93 2D sculptures and 20 3D sculptures.
"Waste to Art" is upcycling: scrap that would otherwise be discarded, here old vehicles, poles, pipes and angle iron, is turned into sculpture.
ANI's report says 10 artists and 700 artisans made the sculptures in six months, and that the 4.5-acre park cost about ₹15 crore.
RPSC's 2023 syllabus lists "Persons, Places and Institutions in News." and "Major Current Events and Issues of Rajasthan, India and International Importance." under Current Affairs.
In his inaugural speech, as ANI reported it, the Lieutenant Governor said the park gives information about Maharana Hamir Dev, Rana Kumbha and Prithviraj Chauhan, and about Shivaji, Mahadji Scindia, Banda Bahadur and Hari Singh Nalwa.
In the same speech, as ANI reported it, the Lieutenant Governor said the MCD was working on a similar theme-based park in East Delhi.
Key facts
- Shaheedi Park, at ITO, Delhi, was inaugurated on 8 August 2023 by Lt Governor V.K. Saxena and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (ANI).
- ANI: it was developed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi under its "Waste to Art" initiative.
- ANI: about 250 tons of scrap, including old trucks, cars, electric poles, pipes, angle iron and rickshaws, went into its sculptures.
- ANI: the 4.5-acre park is dedicated to the national heroes of India.
- ANI: at the inauguration Kejriwal compared it to Chandigarh's Rock Garden as a new identity for Delhi.
Source: ANI report of 8 August 2023.
Study next
Common traps
- Linking the word "martyrs" with Prayagraj's Chandra Shekhar Azad Park. Shaheedi Park is a new outdoor museum at ITO in Delhi.
- Linking "made from waste" with Chandigarh's Rock Garden. Shaheedi Park is in Delhi and, ANI reported, was developed by the MCD.
- Mixing up who opened it. ANI reports that Delhi's Lieutenant Governor and Chief Minister inaugurated the park; the MCD developed it.
A question can ask in which city a newly opened museum or memorial stands, or which body built it.
A question can also ask what sets a museum apart, such as sculptures made from scrap.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2013 here once that paper is published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Shaheedi Park, inaugurated in August 2023, was developed under the 'Waste to Art' initiative of which body?
- (a)Delhi Development Authority
- (b)Municipal Corporation of Delhi
- (c)Archaeological Survey of India
- (d)New Delhi Municipal Council
Answer(2) — ANI's report of 8 August 2023 names the Municipal Corporation of Delhi as the developer, under its Waste to Art initiative. Options (1), (3) and (4) are not named as its developer. - practice — not a real PYQ
The Rock Garden, built from waste material by Nek Chand, is in which city?
- (a)Delhi
- (b)Jaipur
- (c)Chandigarh
- (d)Lucknow
Answer(3) — Nek Chand's Rock Garden is in Chandigarh. Option (1) is where the newer Shaheedi Park stands; options (2) and (4) are not home to the Rock Garden.