Hazur Sahib gurdwara threatened by construction work: Expert

Patiala, Jan 21 (UNI) The demolition and construction work underway around Hazur Sahib to build a 'Galiyara' (corridor), ahead of the Guru Granth Sahib tercentenary next year, threatens many heritage buildings surrounding the famous shrine, according to Cultural Resource Conservation Initiative Director Gurmeet Rai.

''The damage to the historical shrine in Nanded, Maharashtra, has already started as the Gurdwara and state authorities have begun to bulldoze monuments in preparation for modern buildings under a plan which lacks adequate sensitivity to the heritage buildings'', Ms Rai told UNI.

A team of conservation architects and urban designers, including Amandeep Singh, author, historian and co-founder of the United Kingdom Punjab Heritage Association, which visited the site slated for construction of large buildings and wide-open spaces, referred to as a 'Galiyara', found many historic buildings within the precinct of Hazur Sahib faced demolition, she said.

Ramgarhia Bunga, which Ms Rai described as ''a unique example of vernacular architecture,'' was one of the monuments threatened due to digging taking place too close to its structure. The structure was built to provide accommodation to the masons sent by Maharaja Ranjit Singh with the offerings from Punjab, to build the inner sanctum of the Hazur Sahib, she said.

Some structures of unknown significance, in close proximity to the inner sanctum of Hazur Sahib, have already been demolished. A food storage building, called Modikhana, was being demolished when the team visited the site last month while other heritage structures, were being lost due to neglect, Ms Rai said.

Ms Rai accused the authorities, including, Parvinder Singh Pasricha DGP Maharashtra who also heads the Management committee of SachKhand Hazur Sahib, of ''being ignorant of the heritage value of these monuments.'' ''When I last spoke to P S Pasricha over phone, he was adamant that the Bunga was not worth saving and that it would come down, but the owners would be compensated with an equivalent parcel of land.

He denied knowledge of most other things,'' Ms Rai said.

On the occasion of the tercentenary next year, millions of devotees are expected to visit Hazur Sahib where Guru Gobind Singh established the Guru Granth Sahib as the ''eternal living guru'' before he died in 1708.

UNI