500-yr-old Lahori Gate at Sri Hargobindpur faces collapse

Five-centuries-old Lahori Darwaza at Sri Hargobindpur here faces an imminent danger of collapse after floodwaters damaged its huge supporting wall.

A supporting wall is a structural element in a building that carries the weight of floors, roof and other walls down to the foundation.

The foundation of the solidly built wall was weakened by gushing floodwaters.

The gate, which houses several shops, was built with historically significant Nanakshahi bricks, used extensively during the Mughal and Sikh periods for both decorative and structural purposes.

These bricks were known for their resistance to moisture. Such bricks have also been used in the Golden Temple. Inderjeet Singh Harpura, a spokesman for the Virasti Manch, the body that renovates heritage buildings in Punjab’s Majha region, said there were six such historical gates in the town.

“Five of them have already disappeared due to carelessness. The floods damaged a significant part of the sixth one too. Now, just the main portion remains without the supporting wall. It too faces a grave threat,” said Baldev Singh Randhawa, the Manch president.

Inderjeet Harpura added that they had petitioned MLA Amarpal Singh. “Rare monuments like this continue to influence humanity. We will do whatever is takes to put life back into the gate,” he said. The MLA has assured them that he would take up the matter with the Department of Tourism.

The fund-starved local municipal committee (MC) was responsible for its upkeep. Locals want the Deputy Commissioner (DC) to pull up the lax MC officials for its inefficiency.

Delhi, Patiala and Amritsar, too, have Lahori Gates, while the main one is in Lahore. Some have fallen on bad days while others are on the verge of giving away.

A Lahori Gate is the one that is named so for its direction towards Lahore.

The gate at Sri Hargobindpur was built by Guru Hargobind Sahib. “Unlike other Lahori Gates, which were built by either the Mughals or Maharaja Ranjit Singh, this one is the only existing example of a ‘darwaza’ constructed by a Sikh Guru,” said Harpura.

Gagandeep Singh Virk, convener of the Amritsar chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), said, “Till now, it was the responsibility of the local municipal committee to maintain the structure. We will now request them to let us sustain and preserve it.

INTACH a non-profit organisation which conserves heritage buildings.