MLA Ajay Gupta welcomes ‘Holy City’ tag, announces Rs 41-crore road project

The Golden Temple and the Galliara around it fall under the Amritsar Central constituency. Its MLA, Dr Ajay Gupta, welcomed the move to grant holy status to the Galliara and said that four major roads, Maha Singh, Sherwala Gate, Ghee Mandi and Ramsa, will soon be revamped with an investment of about Rs 41 crore. These stretches will be given a Heritage Street appearance.

Keeping in view the popularity of the existing Heritage Street leading to the Golden Temple, the AAP government has decided to recreate a similar ambience on these four approach roads to the holiest Sikh shrine. Dr Gupta said civil work on the heritage-themed revamp will begin shortly.

He warmly welcomed the AAP government’s historic decision to grant “Holy City” status to the Galliara inside Sri Amritsar Sahib, Talwandi Sabo and Sri Anandpur Sahib. He said the move would further strengthen Punjab’s spiritual heritage, culture and religious identity.

Dr Gupta made these remarks while inaugurating Mohalla Clinics in Pind Kirtan Garh and Pind Mule Chak. He said the granting of holy city status to the three towns was made possible by the blessings of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib and was a matter of pride not only for the Sikh community but for humanity as a whole.

He thanked AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia and Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann for their leadership, adding that the full-scale development of the three holy cities would ensure better facilities for residents and pilgrims.

He said work had begun to fully develop the walled city, which has been granted holy status, and expressed pride that most of the area falls within his Amritsar Central constituency. He said he has already inaugurated the construction of four major roads in the walled city leading to the Golden Temple.

Dr Gupta said e-tenders worth Rs 206 crore and Rs 211 crore have been issued for the development of the walled city. These two projects will upgrade approximately 117 km of roads across 11 wards, giving them Heritage Street-style features.

The works include widening roads, replacing faulty water and sewerage lines, installing new streetlights and ensuring that no overhead wires remain visible. Sanitation systems will also be improved. He added that façade work, featuring Punjabi cultural artwork, will be carried out on buildings throughout the walled city. Detailed project reports for both projects have been completed, and the state government has already released the required funds.