17 yrs on, theme park likely to be opened on Sunday

BLURB: Was announced in 2004 by then CM Capt

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Tribune News Service

Chamkaur Sahib, November 7

Seventeen years after its announcement in 2004 by the then Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, a theme park built in the memory of of Guru Gobind Singh’s elder Sahibzadas — Baba Ajit Singh and Baba Jujhar Singh — in Chamkaur Sahib is likely to be opened for public on November 14.

According to sources, the state government has invited President Ram Nath Kovind as the chief guest on the occasion, for which a confirmation was yet to be received.

Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, who had inspected the final preparations in this regard on October 26 during a function at Chamkaur Sahib, on Saturday announced that the theme park would be inaugurated on November 14.

On December 20, 2004, Capt Amarinder Singh, besides declaring Chamkaur Sahib as a subdivision, had announced a national memorial in the memory of the two elder Sahibzadas and 40 other Sikhs who had attained martyrdom while fighting the Mughals.

While the work on 14-acre project was started two years later in 2006, it was halted during the term of the SAD-BJP government. After the Congress came back to power in 2017, work on the theme park commenced again.

A total of 11 galleries for organising as many shows on Sikh history using multimedia-based ultramodern technology have been set up in the park. Surjit Patar, a Punjabi language writer and poet, had been roped in for writing the scripts while Bollywood singers Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Sukhwinder, Diljan, Kailash Kher, Jaspinder Narula, Harshdeep Kaur and Durga Rangeela would recite poetry for the shows.

The visitors would be introduced to the history of the Sikh Gurus in the first multimedia show, following which they would be shown the sakhi of martyr Bhai Jaita, who had brought the severed head of Guru Tegh Bahadur from Delhi. The next three shows would be dedicated to Guru Gobind Singh, which would be followed by an animated show depicting the Battle of Chamkaur Sahib. Other shows would portray the life of younger Sahibzadas, Battle of Muktsar, Zafarnama, Guru Granth Sahib installation and Baba Banda Singh Bahadur.

Besides, a musical park, a 10-meter high stainless steel khanda weighing 8 metric tonne and two swords of similar height, weighing one tonne each, have also been installed. Brass statues of five Sikh warriors riding horses have also been set up in the park.