Bangla Sahib to ensure infrastructure for elderly

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 20

The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has made a push to strengthen infrastructure in the iconic Gurdwara Bangla Sahib to facilitate easy access to differently-abled and senior citizens in commemoration of 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.

“Proposed infrastructural development includes renovation and repair work, provision of wheel chairs, battery driven carts, wheel chair-friendly washrooms, tactile floors and pathways,” said DSGMC president Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Sunday. 

The gurdwara has three entry gates and four electric vehicles lined up to help the old and differently-abled reach the steps near the shrine and the stairs have a motor fitted sit-in lift on the side.

The management is all set to add another 20 wheel chairs to the present 16 by the year end. A permanent ramp has been set up to make it easier for passage of wheelchairs.

Sirsa informed that another lift from gurdwara’s front side to the main Darbar Hall was being constructed with an initial cost of Rs 20 lakh. It is likely to be operational by next month end.

Training and works shop, etc, will be launched to further sensitise the shrine granthis and support staff address the needs of devotees, especially the physically challenged in better way.

Besides, the DSGMC has decided to strengthen facilities for disabled and elderly devotees at all the gurdwaras in Delhi.