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Air pollution discolouring marble of Golden Temple
Amritsar,
Mar
23:
The
Golden
Temple,
the
holiest
shrine
of
the
Sikhs,
is
facing
threat
because
of
increasing
levelS
of
air
pollution
in
its
vicinity,
which
is
discolouring
the
gold
plating
and
marble
finish
of
the
shrine.
Alarmed
over
the
development,
the
Punjab
Pollution
Control
Board
(PPCB)
has
decided
to
carry
out
special
air
monitoring
in
the
vicinity
of
the
shrine.
Even
though
an
Air
Monitoring
Centre
of
the
PPCB
is
already
functioning
in
the
holy
city,
it
is
located
at
a
distance
from
the
shrine.
The
Board
has
therefore
decided
to
undertake
a
special
drive
to
gauge
the
extent
of
air
pollution
in
the
immediate
vicinity
of
the
Golden
Temple.
PPCB
officials
are
concerened
about
the
dozen
odd
dyeing
and
soap
manufacturing
units
which
are
located
close
it.
The
large
number
of
jewellery
shops,
which
are
estimated
to
be
around
150,
in
the
vicinity
of
the
shrine,
are
also
a
cause
of
worry.
The
air
pollution
caused
by
the
dyeing
and
soap
manufacturing
units
are
affecting
the
white
colour
of
the
marble
on
the
shrine.
According
to
PPCB
officials,
the
emission
levels
of
toxic
gases
including
sulphur
dioxide
are
also
affecting
the
marble
colour
as
well
as
the
shine
of
the
gold
plating
in
the
shrine.
The
PPCB,
after
monitoring
the
levels
of
air
pollution
and
its
effect
on
marble
and
gold,
would
recommend
remedial
measures,
officials
here
said.
It
is
pertinent
to
mention
that
Gurmeet
Rai,
Director,
Cultural
Resource
Conservation
Initiative
has
already
criticised
the
prestigious
5.35
km
Elevated
Road
Project
to
Sri
Darbar
Sahib
(Golden
Temple)
which
is
to
be
built
at
a
cost
of
Rs
173
crore.
'It
will
be
disastrous
to
maintain
our
cultural
heritage'',
she
said.
She
has
said
it
will
create
further
traffic
chaos
in
the
vicinity
of
the
shrine.
She
had
strongly
advocated
that
the
Shiromani
Gurdwara
Parbandik
Committee
(SGPC)
should
try
to
getting
the
World
Heritage
Status
(WHS)
status
for
the
Golden
Temple.
She
said
the
director
general
of
Archeological
Survey
of
India
(ASI)
had
allayed
fears
of
governmental
interference.
She
said
the
ASI
had
written
to
the
SGPC
that
the
central
government
would
not
have
any
role
in
the
management
of
the
temple.
''The
management
of
the
Golden
Temple
will
continue
to
remain
with
the
SGPC
and
there
will
be
no
change'',
she
assured
the
SGPC.
According
to
Ms
Rai,
even
UNESCO
had
written
to
the
SGPC
saying
there
would
be
no
change
in
the
management
of
the
shrine,
but
the
SGPC
ultimately
did
not
favour
World
Heritage
Status
for
the
shrine.
UNI
