Sukhbir walks the talk in holy city

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 24

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal here today showcased the works undertaken under Amritsar’s beautification drive, including the entrance gate of the holy city, the plaza in front of the Golden Temple, a multimedia interpretation centre and a heritage street leading to the shrine.

Sukhbir, who spearheaded the over Rs 250-crore project, conducted an inaugural walk along the 0.9-km stretch leading to the Golden Temple from the Town Hall complex.

Sukhbir said, “Sri Darbar Sahib is one of the biggest tourist attractions not only in Amritsar but also the entire world. So, it was of prime importance to manage the huge footfall.”

“The almighty has blessed me with the good fortune to do this ‘sewa’. I have done it with full sincerity,” he added.

He said the multimedia centre was aimed at using the latest technology to acquaint visitors with Sikh philosophy. Walking down the heritage street, he stated that about 170 buildings had witnessed a facelift under the project.

The Partition Museum at Town Hall, which brings together memorabilia in the form of photos, artefacts, documents etc., was also showcased, besides the grand new gateway to Amritsar. The latter, a domed structure, has been painted in golden metallic colour — in a tribute to Harmandar Sahib.

Fuwara Chowk, which once had the statue of Queen Victoria, has now got a grand statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, with multi-level fountains. Sukhbir said Durgiana Mandir, too, would be beautified and renovated. According to the Deputy CM, during the second phase of the project, all streets leading to the Golden Temple would be given a heritage look akin to the heritage street. He said if the SAD came to power again, the whole city would undergo a facelift in the next five years.