23 years on, Sangrur village awaits Ranjit Singh’s statue

Parvesh Sharma

Tribune News Service

Sangrur, November 15

The 23-year-old wait of residents for a statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Badrukhan village has only got longer with the Punjab Government failing to install it on the birth anniversary of the Sikh ruler.

With the elections round the corner, the residents had hopes of seeing it materialise this year. “Like past regimes, the present Congress government has only been playing with the sentiments of villagers by making tall promises. It too has failed to install a statue of the Maharaja during the past four-and-a-half years,” said Jaswinder Singh, a youngster playing at the village’s Maharaja Ranjit Singh Park.

Some residents said former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had announced a statue around 23 years ago. A park dedicated to the warrior was constructed in 2014 here. A fiberglass statue did arrive at the village in 2017, but the residents rejected it demanding an equestrian statue made of metal.

“In June, Public Works Department Minister and MLA Vijay Inder Singla visited the village and promised to accelerate the work. But nothing has happened,” said Kuljeet Toor, village Sarpanch. Singla could not be reached for comment.

Former PCC secretary Harman Bajwa, whose wife Daman Bajwa is a Congress halqa incharge from Sunam, said a tender had been allotted.

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Tender allotted

“The govt has sanctioned Rs 1.11 crore for park upgrade and installation of statue. The tender has been allotted and work has begun. We are trying to install it at the earliest”

— Harman Bajwa, former PCC secretary