The untold story behind the creation of city’s prime tourist spot—Sukhna Lake—will be displayed through pictures, letters, maps, documents among other records at the man-made lake itself. For, the Chandigarh Administration is developing an “Information Centre” at Sukhna Lake to apprize the visitors about the history and creation of this artificial lake.

The “Information Centre” about the Sukhna Lake is being developed inside the “Tower”, infamously known as suicide point at the man-made water body. The “Tower” basically measures the water level in the lake and following several suicide cases from this place, the entry to it was closed permanently for the visitors.

A small room inside the “Tower” is now being developed as the “Information Centre” to tell the story of the history of Sukhna Lake, created by French architect Le Corbusier, who had also designed Chandigarh.

Sukhna Lake having an area of three sq km is developed at the foothills of the Shivalik Hills and forms part of the Capitol Parc designed by Le Corbusier. The rainfed lake was created in 1958 by damning the Sukhna Choe, a seasonal stream coming down from the Sukhna Hills and was created as a gift to the citizens of Chandigarh for enjoyment of peace and tranquility.

The city planners were stated to be deeply attached to the Lake. So much so that the ashes of architect Pierre Jeanneret, who had assisted Le Corbusier on Chandigarh project, were immersed in the Lake in 1970s at his niece’s request.

“A room measuring around 12 x 12 feet inside the Tower is being developed as the Information Centre to inform the visitors about various facts related to the Sukhna Lake,” said a senior officer of Tourism Department, Chandigarh Administration.

Pictures, maps, documents, sketches related to the creation of Sukhna Lake and dating back to 1950s will be displayed at the Information Centre. We want to apprize the visitors about renowned architect Le Corbusier’s idea behind the creation of Sukhna Lake, the officer added.

Notably, the UT Administration had last month introduced replica of Pierre Jeanneret’s paddle boat at Sukhna Lake. Since Le Corbusier clearly prohibited the use of motor boats on the Lake to maintain its peace and tranquility, the first paddle boat for the Sukhna Lake was designed by his cousin designer Pierre Jeanneret in 1954. The boat introduced last month was made using drawings on the basis of archival pictures and was constructed by a local carpenter.

Sukhna Lake is also a home for many species of migratory birds during the winter season.

Recently, the UT Administration had released draft notification for declaring Sukhna Lake as a wetland under the Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rule, 2017 to preserve the man-made water body and conserve its ecological and biodiversity.