50 days on, retreat ceremony yet to start at flood-ravaged Hussainiwala

It has been more than 50 days since the beating retreat ceremony at the joint check-post in Hussainiwala was suspended following the extensive damage to the venue in recent floods. The daily ritual usually draws thousands of visitors to witness the electrifying drill between the BSF and Pakistan Rangers.

Besides, the disruption caused by the ravaging Sutlej has silenced the patriotic spectacle -- the Light and Sound show, which attracts countless tourists to pay homage to Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev, BK Dutt and Punjab Mata, leaving local shopkeepers and service providers struggling for survival.

Ceremony timing advanced to 5 pm

Fazilka: The timing of the beating retreat ceremony has been advanced to 5 pm with effect from Thursday at Sadiqi (Fazilka), Hussainiwala (Ferozepur) and Attari (Amrtisar). Officials said the timing had been changed keeping in view the early sunset hours during the autumn and approaching winter. Earlier, the ceremony used to start at 5.30 pm. -- OC

Floods have virtually scarred the Hussainiwala site. Roads, grills, generators and parking areas have been severely damaged, as part of the memorial complex and surrounding fields have remained inundated. Once buzzing with visitors, the memorial park and the parking zone now lie deserted due to floodwater.

The devastation has come at a time when the historic place was already struggling to recover from the 2023 floods, which had destroyed the state-of-the-art light and sound system setup under the Centre’s Swadesh Darshan scheme. It took two years to repair the hi-tech equipment and the spectacle of Independence struggle had just started leaving its imprint again when the floods struck again.

The Ministry of Tourism and Culture had announced Rs 25 crore package to develop this sacred place earlier this year; the DPR had been finalised and the work had to start when the deluge caused destruction.

BSF officials, on the condition of anonymity, said: "The entire area near the joint check-post has been severely damaged, especially tiles, pavement and railings. Damaged tiles in the check-post area will take some time for repair. They added that the National Highway Authority of India was reconstructing the entire stretch of flood-ravaged road, including a bridge on the way, leading to the JCP area.

Jagdish Kumar, a local shopkeeper who runs a stall near the memorial complex, said the suspension of the beating retreat had slashed tourist numbers drastically. “Besides Punjab, people from Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi used to visit daily. Now, only those bringing relief material visit the area. Our work is fully dependent on visitors, and after 2023, the recent floods have again left us with no income for weeks,” he said.