SGPC starts online booking for Golden Temple ‘serai’

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, March 5

Pilgrims visiting the Golden Temple will have a confirmed lodging, for the SGPC is offering online booking of accommodation.

Kirpal Singh Badungar, SGPC president, inaugurated the online service for Mata Ganga Ji Niwas today. The booking for other inns, mostly located inside the shrine complex, will soon be brought online. The bookings can be made through websites — www.sgpc.net and www.sgpcsarai.com. Pilgrims will have to fill in their name, address, mobile number and e-mail ID, besides uploading a copy of an ID card. This can be an Aadhaar Card or voter card or passport.

“A minimum of two persons can book an accommodation for not more than two nights. The payment can be made through a credit or debit card or net banking. The details have been uploaded on the websites,” Badungar said.

Around 80,000 devotees from across the world pay obeisance at the Golden Temple daily.

The accommodation for other “serais” is available on first come, first served basis, subject to the availability. The booking office for all inns is in Sri Guru Arjan Dev Niwas.

The SGPC, meanwhile, is adding 500 rooms to meet the heavy rush of pilgrims. A state-of-the-art 10-storey inn is coming up on the premises of Gurdwara Saragarhi.

Tentatively christened as “Saragarhi Niwas”, it will cost nearly Rs 30 crore. It would have 238 rooms and halls, with a capacity to accommodate nearly 2,000 pilgrims. It would be equipped with ultra-modern amenities such as solar water heating system, air conditioning and a basement parking lot. The SGPC has nine “serais” (inns) in the holy city comprising nearly 800 rooms.