Ludhiana: Nehru Planetarium remains closed in absence of tech expert to run it | Ludhiana News – Times of India

LUDHIANA: The Nehru Planetarium adjoining Rose Garden is crying for attention of civic authorities. It has been non-operational in the absence of a technical expert who can run it. But the civic officials claim they plan to upgrade the planetarium before opening it to the public for a better experience.
This is the only planetarium in the city and before then assembly elections on January 4, 2017, it was opened after renovation and upgrade. More than two years have passed since the planetarium was closed for the public. The officials claimed that they could not open it without technical employees who know how to run the devices. During the pandemic too, the planetarium remained closed.
The previous upgrade was done at a cost of over Rs 55 lakh. The officials had claimed that people would be able to avail useful information about astronomy through short movies. The MC had bought an advanced projector from the USA for Rs 50 lakh and Rs 5 lakh were spent on other renovation and repair works.
Sources said initially there was a plan to hand over this planetarium to a private player for operation and maintenance. But the plan did not mature and officials are thinking of another renovation before reopening it.
A senior officer said, “After renovation, we will hire a technician to run the planetarium.”
Jatinder Singh, a resident of Chander Nagar, said, “We have very few places in the city to take our children for educative entertainment. There was a time when we had a proper zoo at the Rose Garden, but gradually everything is either getting closed or turning non-functional like this planetarium.”
Inderpreet Singh, a resident of BRS Nagar, said, “In Kapurthala, there is a science city where children get to learn many things, but here the civic body has remained unsuccessful in maintaining a small planetarium. More features should be added to this facility and on special occasions residents should be given a chance to experience astronomical events like eclipses.” The planetarium was inaugurated in 1987. It has a seating capacity of 80. For students, the entry is free and MC charges others Rs 10.