M A I N   N E W S

Delhi gurdwaras go online
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 24
Having a darshan of the historic gurdwaras of Delhi making an offering in them or listening to the Gurbani are now only a click away.

“It is an attempt to make gurdwaras more accessible to the people and enable them to have darshan at their convenience,” the president of the Delhi Gurdwara Management Committee, Mr Avtar Singh Hit, told The Tribune.

He said the gurdwaras in the Capital have historical significance and devotees from across the world are eager to know what is happening in them.

Delhi has been associated with Sikhism whether it was the birth of Khalsa Panth, the Panj Piaras or dissemination of the teaching of Sikh Gurus. Since the time of Guru Nanak, who visited the Capital and delivered sermons, other Sikh Gurus visited this city. Gurdwaras associated with them are thronged by a large number of devotees every day.

“The devotees want to send donations, have namkaran, issue marriage certificate or listen to the Gurbani. All this would be possible with the computerisation,” Mr Hit explained.

The gurdwaras in the Capital maintain a manual record for some transactions. About 25,000 devotees are issued prasad slips daily and their number to multiplies during festivals or holidays.

Lack of proper records has often been the cause of acrimonious and slanderous allegations among various Akali factions.

The DSGMC has undertaken an ambitious project of linking the gurdwaras in the Capital with one another through the WAN (wide area network) system.

In the initial phase, the four gurdwaras of Bangla Sahib, Sis Ganj, Nanak Piao and Rakab Ganj, have been linked to one another.

Stating that the computerisation is an attempt to streamline the management and working of the gurdwaras, Mr Hit said, “This move would bring in transparency and faith in the place of worship.”

Ms Kawal Kahlon, Director of Webuzz Software, the company which has provided software for the project, said, “Every activity of the gurdwara is recorded and maintained. The automated process would encompass issuing prasad slips, receipts of donations, purchasing items for langar and other capital expenditure.”

Mr Atul Kapoor, vice-president of Multiple Zones, which has provided the hardware for the project, said, “Two high capacity servers have been installed at Rakab Ganj Gurdwara. These are lined on a WAN to local servers in the other three gurdwaras.”

The system would also give details of the offerings made in the golak, both cash and kind.

The DSGMC president said they have also undertaken to computerise the records of the gurdwara, including the properties it owns.

“Very few persons know the amount of property the gurdwaras own in the Capital. Due to lack of records, it takes years to get back the property a gurdwara owns from encroachers after a long and tedious legal battle,” he said.

The DSGMC has also linked the institutions like schools and colleges run by the DSGMC through the network.

“The parents would have a complete idea of how their wards are doing in school,” he said.

The Director of the Guru Tegh Bahadur Institute of Technology, Mr Gurmeet Singh Soin, said everybody would know details of funds granted to educational institutions and how they are utilised.

“Parents can keep a tab on the performance of their wards and this would help them in giving better guidance. Even the institutions can convey to the parents and students important developments instantly,” he said.