Agra, Oct 1 (IANS): A memorial to the Father of Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, in this Taj city lies in shambles.

This memorial is actually the house of a local industrialist where Mahatma Gandhi stayed for 11 days in 1929 while being treated by an ayurvedic doctor.

It was renovated by a former municipal commissioner Shyam Singh Yadav in 2008, but again fell into disuse.

People living nearby use it as an open defecation site.

Its plight has prompted a barrage of criticism of municipal corporation officials on a social networking site, for neglecting the memorial.

Social activists associated with India Rising announced Wednesday they would clean up the place and look after it so that it becomes a vibrant centre of Gandhians. Once a hub of Gandhian and Sarvodaya activities, the house today is visited by petty criminals and vagabonds. "We have never seen any Gandhian here for a very long time," says local resident Surendra Chandel.

The memorial lies close to the tomb of Etimad ud Daula.

The Gandhi memorial is obscured by the new bridge on Yamuna, says Surendra Sharma of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society.

"Like the memorial on the Sabarmati, this too can become a tourist attraction," he adds.

The building was in the news in 2008 after a reported theft of idols from a temple within.