Nek Chand, creator of Chandigarh's famed Rock Garden, dead

Nek Chand, the creator of world famous Rock Garden in Chandigarh, died on Friday at a hospital in the city where he had been admitted following chest pain.

The Padmashri awardee, whose 90th birthday was celebrated by the Chandigarh Administration on December 15, died at the PGIMER shortly past midnight, his family said. He was brought to PGIMER last evening, hospital officials said.

Nek Chand, who was born in a village now in Pakistan, worked as a road inspector of the Public Works Department. His body will be kept in the Rock garden on Friday to enable people to pay their last respects, his family said, adding, the cremation is expected to take place on Saturday.

He built the city's iconic Rock Garden from waste and other unused household materials. Spread over an area of forty-acres, the garden was inaugurated in 1976.

2. Rock Garden : Sector-1, Chandigarh

Rock Garden is an epitome of creativity and innovation. It is a unique garden that consists of various art objects. But the best part about the rock garden is that each of its artwork has been made by using industrial & urban waste. The urban waste material turned into creative patterns and textures, mute rocks turned into art objects attract tourists to Chandigarh. It is located in Sector 1 between the Capitol Complex and Sukhna Lake. The credit for laying its foundation goes to Nek Chand, who was the then Road Inspector in the Engineering Department of Chandigarh Capital Project. This magic garden is built by Nekchand who began the project in the year 1958, with multicoloured pieces of useless stones and other throwaway. In summer it is open from 9-13.00 hrs. and 15-19.00 hrs. From October to March, they are open from 9-13.00 hrs. and 14-18.00 hrs. The most powerful aspect of the gardens is that - thousands of animal or humanoid figures made out of discarded materials, which stand in rigid rows like silent static armies. It’s a series of interconnected rocky grottoes, walkways and landscaped waterfalls. All this demonstrates how urban and industrial waste can be fruitfully recycled and used in creative pursuit.