Lahore’s recently inaugurated Botanical Garden Jallo is a sight to behold.

A project of Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA), the Garden is located beside Jallo Park and sprawls over 80 acres. Of these, at least 30 acres are occupied with different landscapes, sights and activities for the public -- free of cost. These include Rose, Bonsai and Cactus Gardens, a tunnel covered entirely by creepers and climbers imported from Indo-Pak, a Rhizotron (walkway built below ground level that allows visitors to see roots of trees and other plants), tree houses and gazebos to relax in, Treetop Walkway, and the much acclaimed Butterfly House.

The Treetop Walkway is the perfect vantage point since it is built 40 feet high and allows visitors to take in the entire Garden in one go. As we climb the stairs, the deputy director of PHA’s horticulture department Ghulam Mustafa Shad pulls out his cell phone and demands that two sweepers are sent immediately to the Walkway.

The stairs are muddy and by Shad’s standards such negligence mustn’t be overlooked.

Shad, who is heading the administration of the Garden, is a horticulture enthusiast -- when he was 10 years old he crafted a waterfall in his garden using pipes and rods. Today, when he has an entire garden to maintain, he is exceedingly particular about how things must appear to be perfect.

And for the large part, they do.

Right underneath the Walkway is a Japanese Rock Garden, otherwise known as Zen Garden. It is a miniature landscape designed with pebbles, rocks and shrubs, and is supposed to encourage meditation and calmness. The Zen Garden is the only place that is fenced off. Shad explains that soon the remaining gardens will have signs instructing the public to keep to the paths, off the grass, but they will not be fenced off as this will take away from their aesthetic appeal.

He agrees that mere signs won’t restrain over-energetic visitors who have already destroyed many signboards and plants throughout the Garden. The beauty of the park cannot be compromised, he insists.

Everything at the Botanical Garden Jallo is not perfect. Hidden in plain sight are 92 unhappy gardeners, the backbone of the place. Given that the salary offered is higher than what most people doing similar work would get elsewhere, it is a coveted job. But the gardeners are not satisfied with their contracts or treatment.

"When we first set foot in this area, it was infertile and overrun with weeds, jackals, snakes and wild dogs," says Irfan Ali who has been working with the PHA for half a decade. "Look at it today! We’ve completely transformed it. But we haven’t got our dues."

Ali is not alone in his lament. Muhammad Akram, another gardener who has been working here since even before Ali, explains that apart from ten lucky gardeners who were made permanent a few years ago, the rest are employed on a daily wage contract. This means they are not granted any leave for sickness or emergencies.

Moreover, he claims that although regular work hours are from 8am to 5pm, they often work overtime without receiving benefits. But none of these things pinch them as hard as the fact that when Punjab’s Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif inaugurated the park in July this year, he announced that all the gardeners would receive an extra month’s salary as bonus for all the hard work they had put in.

"Our August salaries are here but there is no sign of the bonus," says Akram. "Who do we complain to? If we create too much fuss, they will fire us, since we are not permanent employees."

Director General, PHA, Mian Shakeel Ahmed, who is also described as the true visionary of the Botanical Garden, recognises that it is unfair that the people literally holding the place together are not made permanent employees. "PHA has had this problem of employing far too many daily wage labourers from the very first day," he says. "We are looking to fix it, with the help of the government."

However, he is unable to give a timeline as to when the gardeners’ issues will be resolved.

An anonymous source at the PHA discloses that a move to make a large group of daily wage employees permanent will only occur close to a major election. "Nothing will incentivise the government to make this change other than an election," the source says.

Ahmed is also the person behind the much acclaimed Butterfly House, the only part of the Garden you have to pay a fee to enter.

The first thing that hits you when you step inside the Butterfly House is humidity -- artificially created to acclimatise the 64 varieties of butterflies it houses. But before you can complain about it, you will be overwhelmed by the little flying creatures around you, and the lovely streams of water that run under tiny bridges that you must cross to proceed forward.

On both ends of the Butterfly House there are well-designed waterfalls. One of these is being used as a picture spot by a group of students from Global University. To take full advantage of the water, the students roll up their pants and dip their feet in the pond, much to the displeasure of the security guard present. The guard pleads with them to get out of the water and stay on the path.

"This is the only problem I face on my job; people flouting the rules by stepping into the water, trying to dip their head in the waterfall or catch the butterflies," the guard says. "Often they don’t listen to me until they have taken their pictures."

Another group that is busy taking photos on their phones comprises three young boys: Rehan, Rizwan, Rehman. Unlike the similarity in their names suggests, they are not related. They came here after taking their final exam at school and are delighted with their decision.

The boys say their favourite part of the Garden is the mini aquarium located at the end of the Butterfly House. Rehman says he can’t wait for spring to come around so that he can visit again and see the Rose Garden in full bloom. It’s supposed to have over 490 strains of roses.

Around the world, as well as in Pakistan, the primary purpose of botanical gardens is research and education. Shad as well as Ahmed say the conservation and study of different plant species is ongoing in the Garden. However, they also add that there are no more than 10 entomologists, horticulture academics and botanists working for the Garden at the moment. Nor are there plans to hire more in the near future, says Ahmed.

The DG PHA, however, is looking to hire an international consultant to learn how to make the place more beautiful and enjoyable for the public.

All told, the Garden has received more than 0.3 million visitors in less than a month, without spending much on advertisement. For that, they are relying on the media and word of mouth. And it seems to be working.

"On weekends, it’s so crowded that parking is impossible to find," says Ishtiaq, the security guard at one the main gate.

And why shouldn’t it be crowded? The Garden offers a place to rest, think and enjoy to people from all social classes and age groups. It appears to cater equally as a spot for family picnics.

A couple beating the afternoon heat with a cold drink in the well-lit canteen has spent all morning at the Garden and explored it completely. When asked what their favourite part of the place is, they say, "Oxygen. And the freedom to breathe it!"