Repair work of kos minar starts finally

PK Jaiswar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 4

Days after a heavy vehicle hit and damaged a historic kos minar (mile pillar), located on the GT Road here, the repair work finally started on Thursday.

The repair work is taking place to strengthen the base by constructing a new base around it. Due to massive collision with a heavy vehicle, the minar has suffered an extensive damage. Cracks have appeared on the upper side of the minar which is being left unrepaired.

Further, the defacement of the historic monument by pasting posters has also left heritage lovers fuming.

The two kos minars are believed to be of Maharaja Ranjit Singh era. Since the construction of Bus Rapid Transport System, these two minars have been facing a threat. Earlier, they were located on the sides of the road. After the BRTS project when the roads were being widened, these minars fell in the middle of the road. It has suffered collission with heavy vehicles a number of times. However, repeated collisions have made it vulnerable to collapse.

These mile pillars were built during the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh from Ajnala to Gobindgarh Fort and then to the old city around two centuries ago. As most of the minars have faced damages, only these two have survived so far.

The pillars of the Mughal era, built on the original Grand Trunk road by the then Emperor Sher Shah Suri have been preserved by the Archaeological Survey of India. The relics of Ranjit Singh era have so far been neglected.

Being located in the middle of road, these minars have also become a reason behind road mishaps. The best option is to relocate it on the sides of the road.