Jalandhar As the country and Punjab marks the 114th birth anniversary of the revolutionary freedom fighter Shaheed Bhagat Singh, a museum dedicated to him remains unfinished for over 12 years, with two phases still incomplete in his native Khatkar Kalan of SBS Nagar district.
The memorial-cum-museum is a centrally-funded ₹26-crore project with former Union home minister P Chidambaram laying the foundation stone on February 23, 2009. The government had acquired 85-kanal for its expansion. A Khatkar Kalan panchayat member said the Punjab government had sanctioned ₹6 crore to complete the Shaheed Bhagat Singh museum in the village, but work had not begun.
A tourism department official added that work on the project was pending, with the department also planning to replace some display galleries in the museum. Besides, a new parking lot has been constructed, with a portion of interlocking tiles also being fixed.
Tourism director Kanwalpreet Kaur Brar said the project will be completed as soon as they received sufficient funds. When queried on the delay, she said, “We have hired a consultant for the project and want to it with the latest developments in architecture.” Former Khatkar Kalan sarpanch Sukhdev Singh raised the demand for a separate playground in the village, as the youngsters had been forced to play in the park.