Will boycott Verka village, say Golden Temple ragis

Irked by Verka village residents’ move not to allow the cremation of former Golden Temple hazoori ragi Bhai Nirmal Singh Khalsa, who died due to Covid-19, at the

Irked by Verka village residents’ move not to allow the cremation of former Golden Temple hazoori ragi Bhai Nirmal Singh Khalsa, who died due to Covid-19, at the local crematorium, incumbent hazoori ragis of the holiest Sikh shrine on Friday resolved to boycott the village.

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Under the banner of Shiromani Ragi Sabha, an association of the hazoori ragis, they announced that they will not go to the village to perform kirtan saying the villagers have “disrespected Bhai Khalsa who served as ragi at Golden Temple for several decades”.

Meanwhile, after facing backlash over not allowing Bhai Khalsa’s cremation, Verka residents, led by local Congress leader Harpal Singh Verka, blamed the district administration for creating this situation.

Harpal said, “The question is why administration did not cremate the dead body at two main crematoria at Gurdwara Shaheed Ganj and Durgiana Temple of the city. Its move to opt crematorium of our village bypassing the city crematoria created fear and doubts in our minds.”