Domes of Kartarpur gurdwara damaged by storm, repaired; Pak orders probe

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 19

The Pakistan government on Sunday repaired all the five domes of Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara that had toppled following a storm on Saturday night.

There were no reports of injuries as the gurdwara was closed temporarily due to the Covid epidemic. Pakistan will also conduct a probe into the incident which has raised allegations of poor workmanship and materials.

Confirming the repairing of the domes, the Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PGPC) condemned the negative propaganda on this issue.

Both the PGPC and the Pakistan government sought to emphasise that the repairs were carried out within a few hours. The Indian media had highlighted the falling-off of the domes and alleged that inferior material was used in their construction.

Pakistan High Commission here indicated that not much should be read into it as it was quirk of nature. The incident happened due to the extremely bad weather but the structure was restored within a matter of hours, it pointed out.

Pakistan, however, sidestepped the issue of the quality of material used in the construction of the dome on grounds that an inquiry into their collapse will be conducted. “The matter has been addressed before the Religious Affairs Minister Noorul Haq Qadri with a request for an inquiry,” said reports quoting Minister of Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry.

India had officially taken up the issue of collapse of domes and said the damage to the structures in the gurdwara have caused great consternation to the members of the Sikh community.

“Their strong sense of faith and devotion to the holy site must be fully understood and appreciated. India has urged Pakistan that in deference to the sentiments of the Sikh community, the deficiencies which led to the damage to the newly constructed structures be urgently rectified and remedied,” said sources.