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| Location | New Delhi,Delhi,India |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 28°37′01″N77°14′36″E / 28.616813°N 77.243359°E /28.616813; 77.243359 |
| Opened | 19 November 1984 (1984-11-19) |
| Closed | 17 February 2008 (2008-02-17) |
| Owner | International Amusement Limited |
| General manager | Gian Vijeshwar |
| Theme | Animal,water,winter sports,Haunted house |
| Operating season | Year-round |
| Attendance | 1,825,000 (2006)[1] |
| Area | 15.5 acres (63,000 m2) |
| Attractions | |
| Total | 22 (as of 2006)[1] |
| Water rides | 4[1] |
Appu Ghar was anamusement park operated by International Amusement Limited, located inPragati Maidan,New Delhi, India.[2] It was spread over 15.5 acres (63,000 m2) and was India's first amusement park.[3] It was established in 1984 to commemorate the1982 Asian Games, and was inaugurated on 19 November 1984 by then-Prime Minister of India,Rajiv Gandhi.[4] The park closed down in 2008 after a legal ruling allocating the land for government use.
Appu Ghar was named after itsmascot, an elephant named "Appu", while "Ghar" means house inHindi. Appu was a live elephant mascot that became the star of the 1982 Asian Games held in New Delhi.[2]
India's first amusement park was inaugurated in 1984 by International Amusement Ltd. (IAL) headed by Suresh Chawla, who orchestrated the entire project of APPU GHAR with Trade Fair Authority of India (TFAI) rebranded now asIndia Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), Narinder Malik, a Sweden-basedNRI and Gian Vijeshwar,[2] another Sweden-based NRI with an aim to provide free access tounderprivileged children.[4] It was inaugurated on 19 November 1984 byRajiv Gandhi then Indian Prime Minister, after his mother Indira Gandhi'sassassination on her birthday, this was his first public appearance.[5] Appu Ghar quickly became a crowd puller for the residents of the Indian capital as well as those of neighbouring towns.[citation needed]
It was formally opened under the aegis of International Amusement Ltd. (IAL), with its registered office at Gate No. 4,Pragati Maidan. The park was opened under a very tight schedule as planned on 14 November 1984.[citation needed]
TheIndia Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO), which owns Pragati Maidan, leased the land to IAL for three years in 1984 to run and operate Appu Ghar. subsequently, ITPO kept on tending the lease to IAL till November 1999, when it last expired.[citation needed]
In 1999, ITPO asked IAL to vacate the land, at which point the private firm sought legal arbitration with ITPO to continue with Appu Ghar. Meanwhile, with theSupreme Court of India urgent needing land for extension along with theDelhi Metro Rail Corporation for construction of theDelhi Metro'sPragati Maidan metro station, the Government allocated the land to both the parties. In 2007, the Supreme Court finally ratified the Government's decision to hand over the land from IAL, paving the way for Appu Ghar's eventual closure on 17 February 2008.[6][2]
The Appu Ghar Group/International Amusement Ltd. also has a mix of amusement and commercial activities in Noida,The Great India Place andWorlds of Wonder; Adventure Island a similar project on a 62-acre parcel of land inMetro Walk,Rohini, Delhi. And finally Appu Ghar Jaipur, a 300-acre project currently under construction in Rajasthan.
The major attractions at Appu Ghar in Pragati Maidan[7][8] were: