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Tardy work on tercentenary projects
From Varinder Walia
Tribune News Service

ANANDPUR SAHIB (Ropar), Nov 27 — Many projects started amid a lot of hype and fanfare to mark the Khalsa Tercentenary in this holy city have made little progress, mainly due to a financial crunch.

Work on a three-star hotel of the Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) and Punjab Tourism Department has virtually come to standstill as the state government has yet to release funds amounting to about Rs 25 lakh for it. Initially, the hotel was planned to have 50 rooms, but officials decreased the number to 20.

According to official sources, about Rs 2.5 crore have already been spent on the incomplete structure. For completion, about Rs 1 crore are urgently required. However, residents of the area claim that like the Kisan Haveli, the three-star hotel will also be economically “unviable”.

The officials of the ITDC and Punjab Tourism Department, however, claim that the hotel would attract a good number of clients as Anandpur Sahib has potential for tourism. Like the Golden Triangle of Jaipur-Agra-Delhi, a tourist could visit Anandpur Sahib, Naina Devi (Himachal Pradesh) and Bhakra Dam simultaneously.

The Swagti Kender, reportedly the first of its kind in Punjab, has failed to function despite heavy investment. The main objective for opening the Swagti Kender was to ensure that pilgrims got all facilities under a single window. The centre is adjoining the three-star hotel. Only a branch of Punjab National Bank has started functioning from the Swagti Kender complex so far.

Three out of the five welcome gates, to be constructed in memory of the Panj Piaras, have yet to be completed.

The two gates, costing Rs 3 crore, were completed on the Anandpur-Kiratpur road before the start of the tercentenary celebrations. Many people had raised eyebrows on the big amount spent on these two gates.

Though the Punjab Government has upgraded the 30-bedded hospital to 100 beds, the required staff has not been posted to cope with the rush of patients. The blood bank has also not begun functioning so far. Machines for CT scan and X-ray are also not functioning properly.

Mr Gurinder Singh Gogi, district President of the Youth Akali Dal, said that the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, had announced four-laning of the road from Chandigarh to Anandpur Sahib at a cost of Rs 200 crore, but no initiative had been taken in this regard even after one-and-a-half year.

The bus stand, which is in bad shape, could not be constructed at the new place, as announced by the Punjab Government during the tercentenary year. According to official sources, the state government has for the time being dropped the idea of constructing a new bus stand.

There has also been no progress on the establishment of an urban estate. Officials, on condition of anonymity, say that the government might drop this scheme also. About 750 persons had applied for the 300 plots, which were to be allotted in the proposed urban estate.