Patna: The historic Shaheed Veer Kunwar Singh Azadi Park in the city has been given an aesthetic makeover.

From murals to water fountain and a laser show based on the life history of freedom fighter Veer Kunwar Singh, many new things have been added to the park.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar will inaugurate a three-day state function to mark the 160th anniversary of Veer Kunwar Singh's victory over the British forces at the park on Monday.

He will also inaugurate a life-sized statue of Veer Kunwar Singh in the park while a laser show would be started in the evening.

The environment and forest department and the art, culture and youth affairs department have revamped the park.

Spread across 20.35 acres, the park, which was initially known as Hardinge Park, used to be a dumping ground till few years ago. However, the state government initiated its makeover related work in 2013 after facing much criticism on the matter.

Originally built during the British period in 1916, the park was initially named after Viceroy Charles Hardinge and it was built in his honour because he was instrumental in the creation of Bihar as a separate province.

The park also hosted a party for the then Prince of Wales - Edward VIII - in 1921 on his visit to Patna.

"The life-sized statue of Veer Kunwar Singh in which he is shown riding a horse while holding a sword in his hands was earlier placed at the R-Block roundabout. It has been now shifted to the Shaheed Veer Kunwar Singh Azadi Park as part of its facelift. We have also made some changes in the landscaping of the park. A water fountain has also been added in front of the old rock design," said divisional forest officer (park) of Patna, Hemant Patil.

Director of the state archaeological directorate, Atul Kumar Verma, said mural depicting the events related to the Sepoy Mutiny led by Veer Kunwar Singh had been created at the park by Bihar-based artists.

"Similar murals related to the Sepoy Munity episodes have also been created at the Babu Veer Kunwar Singh Quila at Jagdishpur in Bhojpur district where Veer Kunwar Singh was born. The laser show, which is another new facility to be inaugurated by chief minister, also revolves around the life history of the freedom fighter. The laser show is around 30 minutes. It has been created by a Bangalore-based Prachin Bharat Tourism Technologies Private Limited. Initially, the laser shows would be shown free of cost but later a fixed sum would be charged," said Verma.