United States former secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is on her three-day visit to Gujarat on Sunday, has announced the Global Climate Resilience Fund and dedicated a memorial to the 50 years of the foundation of Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) at Victoria Garden, now Lokmanya Tilak Baug, in Ahmedabad.
Clinton will also meet salt pan workers in the Little Rann of Kutch.
Clinton, who lands in Ahmedabad on Sunday, will begin her tour by paying respects to SEWA founder Elaben Bhatt who passed away on November 2, 2022, before she heads to the SEWA Reception Centre in Ellisbridge and then to the Lokmanya Tilak Baug. The garden was built to commemorate the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897.
The garden, where the first meeting of SEWA was held, now has a memorial in the shape of an open book made of red sandstone, under a banyan tree planted by Bhatt on April 12, 2022, to commemorate 50 years of SEWA.
The Lokmanya Tilak garden, which covers approximately 34000 square yards, was completely renovated. The garden areas have been expanded to allow more people to enjoy the park. There is now space for people of all ages, including a modern play zone for children of all ages and, for the first time, physically-abled children.
The Park also has an enclosed volleyball court and a city plaza where visitors can relax. For a refreshing stroll, new walkways have been built, including a forest walk and a maze garden. Aside from these, facilities such as clean toilets and drinking water have been added for everyone’s convenience. As part of the transformation, more than 500 trees and nearly 40,000 plants and shrubs were planted in the garden.
The UNM Foundation’s Mehta family has ensured that the historic Lokmanya Tilak garden exudes natural serenity and is an appropriate tribute to Ahmedabad, India’s first UNESCO World Heritage City.
In 2018, during her visit, SEWA invited Clinton to be part of their 50-year celebrations. “She has kept her promise,” Clinton said.
Ahmedabad-based architect Aniket Bhagwat, who re-designed the garden under the aegis of the Torrent Group’s UN Mehta Foundation (UNM), said, “The memorial by the UNM Foundation and the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has a note on Elaben in English and Gujarati.”
On Tuesday morning, Clinton is expected to visit IIT Gandhinagar.
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