E-Paper
SGPC seeks control of Golden Temple galliara, heritage street
Accuses the Punjab government of having failed to maintain cleanliness at the two sites near the central Sikh shrine
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has sought control of the galliara developed around the Golden Temple complex and heritage street, saying the Punjab government has failed to maintain cleanliness there.
The brainchild of the Central government, the Golden Temple beautification plan, also known as the Galliara scheme, was announced amid much fanfare in June 1988. Its objective was to remove all narrow lanes and bazaars, which proved to be a hindrance for the security forces during the Operation Blue Star.
“The present condition of the corridor (galiara) around Sri Harmandar Sahib is also not good. Due to lack of maintenance, piles of garbage are seen there. The SGPC is ready to take care of the gallliara and a letter has been written to district administration to hand over the galiara to us,” said SGPC president Jagir kaur addressing a press conference.
The gurdwara body is also ready to take up the responsibility of maintaining the heritage street which was constructed during the then Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) government, she added.
Kaur said many such buildings may have been buried under the Galiara Scheme by the then government. Presently, the galliara is being maintained and taken care of by various departments of state government. The gurdwara body recently acquired its portion to build jora ghar (space for keeping shoes), a locker room and a parking lot amid increasing footfall of devotees.
The SGPC chief in view of the increase in the number of devotees visiting the Golden Temple, it has been decided to set up new serais (inns), but some people were creating obstructions.
