Model of Jallianwala Bagh makes way for Central Govt tableaux at rly station

Neeraj Bagga

Amritsar, February 7

Even as the authorities at Amritsar railway station have not been able to find space to reinstall a model of Jallianwala Bagh for the past several years, yet ample space has been given to install tableaux showing achievements of the Central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Tableaus depicting a mother imparting education to her daughter while sitting on a cot and another showing two skilled artisans have taken up enough space before the entrance of platform number 1.

City-based architect and civil engineer Raj Kumar Aggarwal, who claims to have originally prepared the model of Jallianwala Bagh in the 1970s, said the model which had been occupying a pride of place at the station for several decades, has been relegated to a secluded place like store. It was in 2014 that the model was lifted from the general waiting hall for its reconstruction. The work was completed years ago but it was not restored to its original place. He said the wait to re-install the model at the railway station seems unending.

It was on September 9, 2014 that the then Northern Railway Divisional Engineer had declared the roof opposite the booking office and adjoining offices, near the waiting hall, as unsafe.

Back then, some portion of the roof of the building had caved in due to heavy rain. The roof made of battens and tiles had become weak. Walls and arches had developed cracks at various points. Since then, the model of Jallianwala Bagh was kept away from the view of passengers and was lying in the store room of the railway station.

The model had not been spotted at the Amritsar railway station after the capacity expansion and reconstruction work started some years ago.

Aggarwal demanded reinstallation of the model at the railway station to evoke patriotic fervour among visitors. He added that the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh reminded Indians of its pluralistic heritage that people of all faiths had sacrificed their lives to see the country free from foreign yoke.