Punjab to hand over upkeep of 3 memorials to pvt entities
Ruchika M Khanna
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 28
The Punjab Government will be giving the maintenance and operation of three of its important memorials — built to remember important Sikh wars — to private entities.
The Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) has been entrusted with the task of identifying and appointing the entities.
Fateh Burj at Chappar Chiri in Mohali, Vadda Ghalughara in Sangrur and Chotta Ghalughara in Gurdaspur are being maintained by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority, Patiala Development Authority and Amritsar Development Authority, respectively.
The three memorials are operated and maintained by the Housing Department through these authorities, which hire manpower through private agencies or appoint organising committees of eminent citizens.
The decision to give these monuments for operation and maintenance in the public-private partnership mode has some parallels with the “Adopt a Heritage scheme” of the Government of India.
Additional Chief Secretary, Housing, Vini Mahajan, said, “Maintenance of monuments is not the primary work of the Housing Department. Across the world, heritage sites are operated and maintained by entities specialising in heritage maintenance and who can attract maximum tourists.”
Mahajan added that the contract will be given on the precondition that the religious and historical importance of the monuments is maintained. All three monuments mainly get tourists on weekends. Also, there are hardly any literature or audio-visual aids for tourists.
Fateh Burj, Chappar Chiri
- Commemorates victory of Banda Singh Bahadur over Mughal Governor Wazir Khan
- Constructed in Mohali at a cost of Rs 46.43 crore, its maintenance cost comes to Rs 87 lakh per annum
Chotta Ghalughara
- Built in memory of 11,000 Sikhs who attained martyrdom during war with Mughal army in 1746
- Built in Gurdaspur at cost of Rs 18 crore, memorial requires Rs 38 lakh per annum for maintenance
Vadda Ghalughara
- Spread over 9.5 acres at Kup Rohira village in Sangrur district, built in memory of 35,000 Sikhs who were massacred by the army of Afghan invader Ahmed Shah Abdali on February 5, 1762
- Built at a cost of Rs 24.7 cr; Rs 50 lakh required each yr for maintenance
