Amritsar, January 4
The SGPC may have done well in managing the Golden Temple and its sarovar (holy tank), but the same doesn’t hold true for other historic gurdwaras with sarovars in the city as their sarovars are in a state of neglect and these shrines also seem to have been left out of the tourist map. Though the SGPC claims that the kar seva of sarovars is on at these gurdwaras, there is nothing to suggest the same there.

One doesn’t need to go very far from the Golden Temple to see a glaring example of the SGPC’s “indifferent attitude” towards these gurdwaras. Just adjacent to the Golden Temple Complex is Gurdwara Mata Kaulan whose sarovar, which is called Kaulsar, is crying for attention with moss floating over water that has turned green. The devotees avoid taking a dip in the sarovar as its water is dirty which can be seen on all its four corners. The significance of the gurdwara and its sarovar could be gauged from the fact that Guru Hargobind had directed the devotees to take a dip in the Kaulsar before the Golden Temple sarovar. The SGPC has not only failed to keep the sarovar clean but has also not done much to sensitize pilgrims about its importance. Though a board mentioning historic importance of the gurdwara and the sarovar has been put up, its location is such that only a small section of devotees are able to spot it.

Kaulsar is one of the five holy tanks (sarovars) in the city including Santokhsar, Bibeksar, Ramsar and the main one after which the city is named, Amritsar, at the Golden Temple. The condition of sarovars at Santokhsar and Ramsar gurdwaras is no different from Kaulsar, while that of Bibeksar is okay. At Santokhsar, kar seva of marble flooring is on, but no kar seva was underway at the sarovar when The Tribune team visited it.

A booklet titled ‘Sri Harmandar Sahib’ provided to the visitors at the SGPC’s Information Office also makes no mention about Kaulsar, Ramsar, Santokhsar and Bibeksar and their historic significance.

When contacted, SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar first said he would look into the matter, adding that sometime back circulars were also issued to the managers of these gurdwaras to keep the sarovars clean. On sensitising pilgrims about the significance of taking a holy dip in these sarovars, he said necessary steps will be taken in this regard as well. However, a few minutes later he called up this correspondent and said the kar seva of these sarovars was on and the level of water had been reduced there for the purpose. He said the kar seva was being performed by Baba Jagtar Singh Tarn Taranwale. However, Baba Jagtar Singh denied that he was undertaking any such kar seva at present. He said they had performed the kar seva of these five sarovars way back in 1974 and that of Ramsar around five years back. He said they had also worked on "hansali" (drainage system) of all five sarovars in 1992-94.

Amritsar, January 4
Change is writ large in the daily schedules of nine-year-old Luxmi and her brother Karan, two years younger to her.

From scavenging through the garbage dumps of the holy city, looking for an item of interest for the local kabariwalas, they have moved on to searching the internet to gather material for their science projects.

Karan, who studies in LKG class, aspires to be a police officer and Luxmi, a class one student, wants to be a teacher.

But the priorities of Akash (15) are a bit different.

After finishing school, he has to go back to rummage through garbage bins, since he has his two younger sisters and a brother to support. “One day, I would be a renowned doctor of the city,” Akash says.

They all owe their hopes to Sardara Singh, a retired FCI employee (63), who has transformed the lives of children like them and has changed their destiny.

Singh undertook the initiative to open a school in the colony of rag pickers. Fifteen years down the line, Nishkam Sewa Public School, located just adjacent to the Civil Ward in Ram Bagh, Amritsar, ensures a brighter future for the little children in the colony.

“I consider myself a successful person because parents who earlier used to get mad at me for interrupting into their children’s life, now approach me to know how their children have been performing in studies. Isn’t it a success?,” says Sardara Singh.

But it has not been an easy task. He was just a government servant with a family of four depending on him. But, he didn’t give up.

“One morning, during my routine walk at the Company Bagh, I came across a group of political leaders who threw an open challenge that anyone who succeeds traversing the Company Bagh on foot, 42 times (approximately 70 km) at a stretch, would be given Rs 12,000 by them. I accepted the challenge and carried out the task. Later, however, some of them backed out and ended up giving me just Rs 6000. Though I have no regrets, it became the first amount I invested in my dream project,” says Sardara Singh.

He then approached the rag pickers to face another tough challenge - convincing them the education could help improve their children’s fate.

“They used to throw stones at me. But I continued holding classes in their colony and gradually, they started sending their children to my class,” he says.

Sardara’s efforts soon attracted donors from several quarters and some of the NGOs, too, joined him and soon a semi-constructed hall came up, which took the shape of a school. The books and uniforms have now started coming more regularly from donors.

Now the school boasts of a computer room too.

With an initial strength of 10 children in 1996, the school, affiliated with the Punjab School Education Board, today caters to over 175 children of rag pickers from nursery to class X, who are taught by a small group of “paid” teachers.

“Despite my limited sources, I didn’t ignore my priorities towards my family. I took voluntarily retirement and pumped part of the money I got as retirement benefits for the school,” Sardara quips.

Amritsar, January 4
Amritsar-based architects Rawal Singh and Rachanpuneet Singh, who had discovered historic Majitha Fort last month, have sent an inception report for conservation and reuse of fort to the Union Ministry of Culture, which has responded positively to it.

In their communication to the ministry last week, Rawal and Rachanpuneet said: “We have conducted detailed studies and surveys that show the importance of the fort, both socially and politically. We think that this fort should be surveyed in detail by a government agency, may be the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and should be rebuilt. The treasure like this that bears national importance should not be neglected.”

They also referred to a news report carried in The Tribune (December 9, 2010) regarding the discovery of the fort. In his reply via e-mail on December 31, Jawhar Sircar, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, said: “I am sure Director General, ASI, will do the needful.”

According to the architects, the inception report proposes probable modes of survival and revival of the fort. “It invites the interest from public and private sectors for their contribution to formulate and implement conservation plan of the Majitha Fort,” they averred.

In their report, they have dwelt on archaeological evidences that they had found on the site located in Majitha, near Amritsar. “There are evidences of historic fabric lying underneath earth surface in the form of foundations or ruins of walls and structures constructed in Nanakshahi bricks and lime mortar?? there is a possibility of lot of findings which require archaeological excavations and investigations to reveal those for research, conservation and reuse of the fort,” read the report.

They have also suggested a five-point plan to transform their vision about the fort into reality. Firstly, archaeological investigation should be carried out for finding remnants and evidences, besides structural consolidation of historic fabric to prolong its existence.

For reconstruction of the fort, they said, it would require analysis of archaeological investigations as well as a comparative study of different forts of the same era in the Majha region.

For survival of historic fabric, they said the moat around the fort should be developed by introducing the concept of flora and fauna i.e. growing water plants and

fishing for leisure trips, adding that the site and its surroundings should be developed to facilitate scenic views.

They felt that once the fort is resurrected, it could house a museum that would interpret the history and significance of the fort in context with the state’s history. There may also be an exhibition gallery, which can have work of art and culture on display. Institutional visits to the fort will also go a

long way in linking it with educational and research institutions, they added.

Ecstatic with the ministry's response, the architects hoped that the ASI would take necessary steps in this direction soon.

Amritsar, January 3
With a view to improve quality life of Amritsar residents, the district administration plans to execute several projects this year.

Some of the projects, including low-floored AC buses, eco-friendly cycle rickshaws, would boost transport facilities in the city.

The city would also see improvement in public health and sewerage facilities. Among other projects, for the first time a proposal to establish the district administrative complex, spread in an approximate area of two lakh sq ft on the district court premises, has been conceptualised.

Deputy Commissioner K.S. Pannu said the state government had already approved an amount of Rs 35 crore and the architecture wing of the Guru Nanak Dev University has been assigned the task of designing the building.

“Besides this, the sub-divisional administrative complexes at Ajnala and Baba Bakala would be constructed during the current year,” he said.

The administration has also aimed to establish separate workstations for patwari and kanugos in each tehsil ---Amritsar-I, Amritsar-2, Ajnala and Baba Bakala --- and also at each sub-tehsil --- Majitha, Attari, Ramdass, Tarsikka and Lopoke. The processing of land records would be made digital by June.

Providing safe and sound road infrastructure would be the other significant projects on the district administration’s agenda. In this direction, a four-lane road stretch on the Amritsar-Pathankot route, 8-lane from Amritsar Gate crossing Tara Wala Bridge to Bhandari Bridge would be completed by December, the officials said.

The Amritsar Improvement Trust has been entrusted with the task of building flyovers at Bhandari Bridge towards Railway Station, Kitchloo Chowk and SSSS School Chowk. “Another 4-lane road project on the Amritsar-Tarn Taran-Bathinda road would likely to start by March. Also, a railway overbridge on the Amritsar-Tarn Taran line passing near Kot Mit Singh would be constructed in such a way that it also covers the railway line and nearby UBD canal”, Pannu said.

Apart from this, two ROB projects at Beas connecting national highways to Dera Beas, and at 22 No Phatak near Kot Khalsa are also on the cards.

On the health front, a new veterinary polyclinic shall be set up at Verka. It would have facilities for labs, X-rays and modern operations theatre for surgery. The administration has also proposed to set up Bebe Nanki Centre for Mother and Childcare Centre in Guru Nanak Hospital and Medical College by March. Another significant step is to set up a de-addiction centre in the Central Jail, Amritsar, by the district Red Cross Society.

On the educational front, the administration would introduce another Adarsh Senior Secondary School in collaboration with Bharti Airtel at Fattobhilla village, Block Majitha by the end of March. The administration has also endeavoured to provide benches in the schools. In this regard 20,000 benches have already been provided to the school children out of the total requirement of 30,000 benches. The work for building of Government College for Boys at Verka would be completed this year, the DC said.

On the commercial front, an integrated checkpost at Attari border is being set up on 130 acres of land. It shall be commissioned in April 2011 and this will boost the trade between India and Pakistan besides increasing employment. It will be the first land port in India.

Taking up the cause of scientific conservation of old buildings, including Bunga Ramgarhia, Baba Atal, Darshani Deori, in the city, the administration in collaboration with SGPC, have hired experts for the purpose. “Many other historical buildings such as CNI Church, Summer Palace of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Gobindgarh Fort, Attari Samadhi and Pul Kanjri and Ram Bagh Gate have been taken up for conservation at a cost of Rs 15 crore,” said the DC.

A rose garden is being set up on 30 acres in Ranjit Avenue. It shall be opened to public in April. Apart from this, the work for setting up of the Heritage Village in GND University is in full swing,” the DC said.

“We would also endeavoured to build a plaza costing about Rs 25 crore in front of the Golden Temple, Amritsar. A global design competition has already been held and the work would start shortly,” he added.

Amritsar, January 4
In the absence of any concrete policy for the teachers of the non-government aided colleges, the purpose of the state’s much-touted higher education programme stands defeated.

Despite issuing a notification in September 2009 for regularisation of their pay scales, filling up of vacant posts, non-implementation of Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) for Director of Physical Education (DPEs) and librarians, hardly any non-government aided college management extended due benefits to the teachers or spared a thought for filling up of sanctioned posts in their respective colleges.

H.S. Walia, Secretary, Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union (PCCTU), said out of 134 such colleges in the state, three-fourth of these colleges did not pay salaries to their teachers.

“Moreover, there are enormous anomalies between the pay scales of teachers of non-government aided colleges and their counterparts associated with the government-aided colleges. All this has happened due to the directionless policies of the state government despite the fact that these colleges cater to the needs of higher education of about 80 per cent of the total college/university students,” he said.

It has been learnt that teachers in many non-government aided colleges have not been paid salaries for several months, ranging from three to 10 months. “Consequently, the standard of higher education has deteriorated significantly over the last five years due to a ban imposed on recruitments. Moreover, sanctioned posts of teachers have not been revised since November 1981. This is the despite the fact that there has been significant increase in the strength of students in last three decades and many new courses and facilities have been part of the curriculum due to paradigm shift in higher education, driven by the market forces of demand and supply,” said Dr Jagwant Singh, vice-president, PCCTU.

Meanwhile, the issues confronting teachers of the non-government aided colleges included, non-release of grant (under 95 per cent grant-in-aid scheme) to pay salaries from June 2010 onwards, non-recruitment of teachers (to fill the post lying vacant against the retirements), non-review of sanctioned post since November 1981, non-implementation of the directions of the UGC with regard to Career Advancement Scheme for DPEs and librarians.

The PCCTU activists said numerous representations from their side had been sent to the ministers concerned but in vain.