Lumbini Park is a small public, urban park of 7.5 acres (0.030 km2; 0.0117
sq mi) adjacent to Hussain Sagar in Hyderabad, India. Since it is geographically
located in the center of the city and is in close proximity to other tourist attractions,
such as
Birla Mandir and Necklace Road, it attracts many visitors throughout the
year. Constructed in 1994, the park is presently being maintained by the Buddha
Purnima Project Authority that functions under the directives of the Government
of Andhra Pradesh. In 2007, it was one of the targets of the 25 August 2007 Hyderabad
bombings that killed 44 people.
History
In 1994, Lumbini Park was constructed at a cost of INR 2.35 crores on 5 acres (0.020
km2; 0.0078 sq mi) of land adjacent to Hussain Sagar.
In 2000, the Buddha Purnima Project Authority (BPPA) was established to maintain
specially designated development areas in Hyderabad. Among tourist attractions such
as Necklace Road and NTR Gardens, Lumbini Park is being maintained by BPPA. To enhance
the inflow of visitors, it constructed additional facilities for laser auditorium,
boating facilities among other visually appealing features such as gardens and musical
fountains.
In 2006, the park was named as T. Anjaiah Lumbini Park in honour of the late Chief
Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
Terrorist attacks of 25 August, 2007
On August 25, 2007, a series of bomb blasts in Hyderabad killed 44 people and injured
60. One of the two blasts occurred during the evening hours in the laser auditorium
that housed about 500 people at the time of the incident. After a few days of being
cordoned off for crime scene investigation, the park was reopened to public after
the installation of metal detectors.
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