In neglect, Jallianwala Bagh to be spruced up post centenary

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 2

Even as the Centre and the state government are gearing up to observe the centenary of Jallianwala Bagh massacre, the plan to revamp the dilapidated infrastructure of the historic spot is yet to see the light.

In the presence of Vice President Vankaiah Naidu, homage will be paid to martyrs on April 13 in an hour-long programme of the Centre. A candle march will be carried out a day before.

While the dusty paths and heaps of garbage point towards lack of maintenance, the light and sound show with Amitabh Bachchan’s voiceover of the massacre episode has been lying defunct for more than four years. Similarly, the 18-minute documentary, which was shown through a projector daily in seven shows at a 50-seat hall at the park, too has been discontinued.

The century-old structures that share boundary wall with Jallianwala Bagh are on the verge of collapse.

MP Shwait Malik, who is also one of the members of Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust, admitted the delay in sprucing up the memorial. He said, “It shows a lapse on the part of the Congressmen who ran the Trust for decades. We became members in May last year and furnished the tenders to renovate the memorial.”

Malik said a plan had been conceptualised to overhaul the infrastructure. Tenders worth Rs 19.36 crore have been furnished and would be finalised on April 10 for the first phase of the project.

There is also a proposal to fix a dome-shaped unbreakable glass or see-through fibre canopy over the outer area of the martyrs’ well to offer a better view inside the well from where 120 bodies were recovered.

“A new light and sound show will be installed. We have planned to keep the memorial open till 9 pm. In the second phase, we have planned to acquire public properties around it to transform the surrounds as a ‘galliara’,” he said. About the centenary preparations, Malik said a commemorative postal stamp and a coin would be released on the occasion.

ASI team at memorial

A team from the Archaeological Survey of India, led by Director General Usha Sharma, besides BSF IG Mahipal Yadav, BSF DiG JS Oberoi, DC Shiv Dular Singh Dhillon and other officials on Tuesday visited the memorial to take stock of the preparations. “The ASI team visited the memorial for renovation. From state’s side, only two programmes have been approved by the EC, which included wreath laying ceremony by the CM. On April 12, a candle march will be carried out from Jallianwala to the Town Hall,” the DC said.