Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s erstwhile summer palace in Amritsar longs for visitors

PK Jaiswar

Amritsar, June 30

The summer palace of Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh that had been converted into a museum and opened for the public after 14 years of conservation work has been longing for visitors.

Despite the fact that it was thrown open to the public two years ago, it has an average footfall of just over 15-20 visitors daily, sometimes even less. In winters, it reaches double figures.

Even the 20-minute light and sound show introduced by the district administration to mark Rangla Punjab Mela in February this year failed to bring it on the tourist map. The light and sound show has been witnessing just about five visitors daily.

Though the historical building is in possession of Archaeological Survey of India, the museum is being run by Punjab Heritage and Tourism Department.

The continued apathy of the government and the authorities, the museum in the heritage building never got the limelight it deserved. The government failed to promote the structure and the museum as a tourist destination.

The sources in the museum, wishing not to be named, said that when the museum was opened for public, the government promoted it as a major tourist destination and initially, a large number of people visited the site. However, later, the numbers started dwindling.

“There has been absolutely no advertising for bringing Maharaja Ranjit Singh Museum on the holy city’s tourist destination map,” a museum staffer said.

“Crores of rupees were spent on restoration of the structure and exact recreation of the palace as it used to exist during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. An amount of Rs 2 crore was spent separately on the light and sound show, aimed at promoting the state’s rich heritage. However, without any promotion and failure to upkeep the surroundings, the museum has turned into a white elephant for the government,” said a local resident Rajneesh Khosla.

With the authorities turning a blind eye towards maintaining the historic Ram Bagh garden where the palace is located, there has been high wild growth around the entire complex.

The light and sound show highlights the history of Sikh Gurus, warriors and the significant events that shaped the socio-cultural landscape of the state. In the museum, artefacts and weapons, including swords and rifles of that era have been displayed for public.

The multimedia touch panels in Punjabi, Hindi and English language have also been installed inside each gallery, from where visitors can get information about the artefacts kept in the respective galleries.

At the entrance, visitors can see the mannequin of Maharaja Ranjit Singh seated on his throne (replica of original throne) and his coterie. The original artistically-carved roofs have also been fixed, which further adds to the attraction.

“The department has put up a ticket for entering the museum, Rs 10 for adults and Rs 4 for children,” said an official. With this amount, we cannot even maintain the surroundings, he added.