Freedom fighter Sukhdev’s ancestral house in a shambles

The ancestral home of freedom fighter Sukhdev Thapar — declared as a protected site by the Punjab government — continues to lie in a shambles at Ludhiana’s Naughara locality.

Concerned over the leaking roof and cracks in its walls, freedom fighter’s relative Ashok Thapar has sought the intervention of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for the restoration of the property.

Declared as a protected monument under the Punjab Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act-1964, the property is managed by Directorate of Cultural Affairs and Museums, Punjab.

An official from the department, Raman Khera, said the issues was “not in his knowledge”.

Sukhdev Thapar was executed at the age of 23 by the British colonial government along with freedom fighters Bhagat Singh and Rajguru at Lahore Central Jail in undivided India on March 23, 1931.

‘Faced official apathy’

“It is shocking that the state government, district administration and the Archaeology Department are not paying enough attention for the upkeep of the house,” alleged Ashok Thapar, who is the national president of Shaheed Sukhdev Thapar Memorial Trust.

He said a clerk appointed by the department at the house had also not been regularly turning up for his duty due to which the house is lying closed for long.

Ashok Thapar said the Punjab and the Haryana High Court had in 2013 formed a committee including officials of the department, district administration and the martyr’s relatives for the upkeep of the place.

He said the High Court had directed the committee to meet every month to ensure proper maintenance of the house.

“However, the authorities concerned have not been paying any heed to all this,” he alleged, adding that he has now written to the Punjab Chief Minister for the immediate resolution of the issue.