Trespasses on Ram Bagh Gate mar its facade

Neeraj Bagga

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Tribune News Service

Amritsar, February 19

Ram Bagh Gate is the only surviving gate in the walled city, constructed during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, but its facade has been marred by encroachments and haphazard constructions.

Punjab Heritage and Tourism Board (PHTB) has spent a huge sum on the preservation of the 240-year-old historic gate at Ram Bagh Chowk. Rampant encroachments alongside its boundary walls eclipse its beauty, especially on the front portion, giving it a haphazard look.

The gate has been constructed on the route from the Summer Palace (Ram Bagh Garden) of Maharaja Ranjit Singh to the Golden Temple. As the history goes, Maharaja Ranjit Singh had spent a huge sum on the fortification of the city around Harmandar Sahib. Before him, the city was ruled by Bhangi Misls, who used the gate for policing purpose.

Although the heritage building was vacated by the police eight years ago, the local administration is yet to remove encroachments from its vicinity, which have become an eyesore for heritage lovers. Earlier, there was a (Ram Bagh) police station operating on its premises. The police vacated the building in 2007 to mark World Heritage Day.

Now, the police station is housed in a building at front of the gate. The lone surviving gate of the old-walled city has a long association with the police. It was one of the most important police establishments, when the city was conquered by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1802. He had appointed an official designated as ‘Nizam’, who was responsible for police duties.

An official in the tourism board, on condition of anonymity, said the government spent Rs 1 crore on its preservation work in the first phase in which the outer side and facade of the gate was conserved and restored to its original shape.

The work was completed in 2013, but from then onwards it has been lying unattended. In the absence of any care, a number of illegal shops have come up at front of the gate. The district administration has failed to remove these shops till now. Worse, people can be seen urinating on one side of the gate.

The administration had planned to set up an open-air restaurant and a Phulkari Museum at the historical gate to attract visitors and tourists. However, the plan never took off.

Meanwhile, Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM) has urged the government to declare Ram Bagh Gate a heritage site. In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, members of the AVM have demanded that the gate should be declared as a heritage site just like the historic Ram Bagh, so that it could be maintained properly. They also demanded eviction of all encroachments from the gate.