Maze of wires greets visitors to Katra Ahluwalia bylanes

Manmeet Singh Gill

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Amritsar, June 22

As you enter the bylanes of Katra Ahluwalia area, a maze of wires will not only surprise you but also arouse a feeling of fear. The commercial-cum-residential area being part of the walled city area has narrow streets.

The government had earlier spent a huge amount of money on developing it as a tourist point due to its proximity to the Golden Temple. However, at present, a canopy of cable wires put up by telecom, internet and network companies greets the visitors to the streets.

Sukhwinder Singh, a resident, quipped, “You can see a line of clothes hanging on these wires. People usually put them up for drying in their balconies and sometimes these fall off.” He said of all the areas in the city, the Katra Ahluwalia area faced the worst situation.

Area residents complain that private companies have used electricity and street light poles to tie their cables. Sumit, another resident, said, “Anything thrown from the roof cannot reach the ground in this area as it would get entangled in the maze of cables. A mess of cable wires is not only an eyesore for the tourists, but also a threat to the safety of local residents.”

Katra Ahluwalia, developed by Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia in 1760, was a planned and secured residential area near the Golden Temple which turned into a prime commercial market with the passage of time.

Even though the area has suffered the wrath of time, still many old buildings with wooden facades and frescos can be seen in this area. Residents say that if the dangling wires are removed from the streets, the tourists would still love to see the beautifully decorated wooden balconies.