City’s heritage walk tours need expansion: Experts

Neha Saini

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 19

Though Amritsar is among the old cities which offer a heritage walk to showcase the much talked about history, the tourism scenario here is not in a sound state. The city’s heritage walk, initiated in 2011-12, has suffered several roadblocks over the years.

The two heritage walk tours, designed initially by Punjab Heritage And Toursim Promotion Board, included a heritage route inside the walled city that comprised visits to the colonial era town hall, Saragarhi Gurdwara, Akhara Sangalwala Darshani Deodhi, Chaurasti Attari, Radha Krishan Mandir and old food establishments along the route. The other walk, designed specifically for religious tourism, was the Panj Sarovar heritage walk.

Though the initiative received a good response, it was suspended owing to lack of cleanliness along the heritage walk route. Over the years, the status of the heritage walk remains dismal while conservation experts from the city believe that the concept should be revamped and expanded to multiple routes. “The initial tour designed for the walk covered most of the significant buildings and spots. There are several key areas that remain unexplored, like the akharas inside the walled city and the infamous crawling street and Kodian Wala Khuh. Another reason for the low turnout of tourists for the walk is the stretched out time that takes its toll on visitors. The idea should be to design multiple walks, covering different heritage buildings and areas to give a complete historic experience to tourists,” says Balvinder Singh, former assistant professor at Guru Ramdass School of Planning and Architecture, GNDU. He mentions areas like Bazaar Thathereyan, one of the oldest markets for handmade traditional utensils, as one of the spots missed out on heritage walk. “The significance of the bazaar is huge and having footfall there will also help promote the crafts of Punjab that have been listed by the UNESCO on its intangible heritage list,” he adds.

The 14 heritage sites marked for the walk tour initially have been curtailed many times to cut short the time. Another aspect is of cleanliness along the heritage walk route. “The problem is that the route along the walk has to be maintained and cleaned up well to ensure a good experience for tourists. This has been a major concern ever since the walk was initiated by the department and it was suspended for a few months owing to the problem,” said Geeta Kumaria, a heritage conservationist.

Efforts to contact tourism officials failed as repeated phone calls evoked no response.