Takhat-i-Akbari at Kalanaur suffers ASI negligence

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 24

Takht-i-Akbari, the coronation platform of Mughal emperor Jalal-ud-din Mohammad Akbar at Kalanaur town is in a dilapidated state and depicts the tale of negligence on the part of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Punjab Tourism Department. The monument has been declared to be of national importance under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958, but it seems that the departments concerned are least interested in the maintenance of the protected site.

As per history, the coronation summary of 14-year-old Akbar was performed by Mughal military commander Bairam Khan at Kalanaur in 1556, soon after the death of his father, Humayun. It is said that when Akbar was coronated at Kalanaur, the town was spread widely and the place was close to the town, but now the platform is away from the main town and is in the fields.

A narrow bumpy path on the Kalanaur-Gurdaspur road leads to the platform. There is no proper signage on the main road about the historical monument, so it is quite tough for tourists to find it easily. The algae on the walls and the platform is very much visible. No one has been deployed for the security of the protected monument.

Varinder Kumar, a tourist from Delhi, said, “I came to Amritsar and even I have heard about this place. I feel very disappointed at the pathetic state of such an important monument. I have visited Agra, Fatehpur Sikri and another monument of Akbar and I feel they are well protected, but the place from where the kingship of Akbar commenced is crying for attention”, he added.

Harpreet Singh, another tourist from Patiala, said the road was poor and vehicles could not move smoothly over it. He said the government should promote this place as a tourist destination and it would surely attract travellers.

Even residents of Kalanaur town want that the government should promote the place to develop tourism in Punjab.

Harminder Singh Panchi, a resident of Kalanaur, said, “Only a few people, most of them Army personnel or history students, visit the Takht-i-Akbari. Actually, most of the local tourists are not aware about the importance of this place. The government should install the signage at Amritsar, so that the tourists visit this place”.

Gursharan Singh, district tourism officer, said, “It is very rare when someone asks to visit Kalanaur. It is not mentioned on the signage boards installed by Tourism Department. Even there is no broachure to promote Takht-i-Akbari at Kalanaur. We will make efforts to promote this site too.”