Corridor to Golden Temple to be ready by November

GS Paul

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Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 10

Soon, a visit to the Golden Temple would be an altogether different experience. With a heritage tinge, a state-of-the-art corridor is coming up to offer devotees a hassle-free walk to the shrine.

Right from the Fountain Chowk, adjacent to the Town Hall complex, the 500-m stretch is being widened and fixed with special floor tiles. This will be coupled with the façade development, plantation and heritage-related sculptures in red sand stone erected in front of the Dharam Singh Market and the beautification of other buildings in the earmarked areas.

Another highlight of the project will be the transformation of the façade of the Saragarhi parking area with an electronic signage equipped with LED video screens.

Once the final layout plan takes shape, it would be a “no-vehicle zone” till the Golden Temple plaza. The Deputy Chief Minister today reviewed the ongoing work.

PWD XEN JS Sodhi said the project is worth Rs 150 crore approximately and the target is to complete by November.

A huge statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh on the Fountain Chowk is yet to be unveiled to welcome devotees. It will showcase artificial waterfalls, water animations and a digital water show. Apart from this, a statue of BR Ambedkar has also been set up at the nearby Saragarhi parking lot.

Another attraction is a marble monument christened as ‘Smriti’, opposite the Jallianwala Bagh gate. Sketches of freedom fighters are being etched out on this 16-foot-high memorial.

In order to widen the width of the stretch, a major portion of vacant land inside the old MC complex has been utilised. Sodhi said a food court had also been proposed for this point.

The façade of shops and residential buildings from Hall Gate to the shrine will also be painted in the same colour to bring uniformity, while giving the buildings a heritage look on the lines of Lucknow's Hazrat Ganj.