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SGPC installs screen on heritage street for live telecast of gurbani
SGPC general secretary Gurcharan Singh Grewal said that soon more screens will be installed along the way to Darbar Sahib.
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has installed a screen to telecast live gurbani kirtan performed at the sanctum sanctorum of the Central Sikh shrine.
The move comes amid a protest from a section of the Sikh community who raised objections to the screens installed on the wall of Saragari multi-storey parking being used to publicise state government schemes and policies.
There are as many as five such screens, installed on the pattern of Times Square in New York, the US. The screen at the centre is 100X30 feet, while the others are smaller in size (30x30 feet).
These screens were installed during the SAD-BJP regime as part of the heritage street project. Initially, the state government said that gurbani, Sikh history and heritage of Punjab would be screened on these screens, however, as time went by commercial content started getting screened.
The SGPC screen, donated by Dubai-based Jaspreet Singh Oberai and family has been installed outside the Saragarhi Sarai.
Inaugurating the screen, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said, “Keeping in view the demands of the devotees, a huge screen has been installed on the way to Darbar Sahib, where kirtan will be played. Unfortunately, the incumbent state government is using these screens for its publicity and hurting the sentiments of the sangat.”
SGPC general secretary Gurcharan Singh Grewal said that soon more screens will be installed along the way to Darbar Sahib.
The AAP spokesman Malwinder Singh Kang said the SGPC and SAD are misguiding people. “The Badal government signed an agreement with a Jaipur-based company to operate the screens. While two hours were given to the Municipal Corporation for displaying the local content, 22 hours were allotted to the company. As per this agreement, the company can play, telecast or display the content according to its will and is also allowed to display ads. There is no clause for telecasting gurbani on these screens. They are telling a lie. This agreement is till 2025 and we are waiting for it to end and we will renew this agreement putting terms and conditions”.
