 Amritsar, June 4: It might be a while before the city can get its proposed ‘Char-Bagh’ in the Company Gardens, a fully renovated Ram Bagh Gate and the much-awaited Gobindgarh Fort. For, the tardy pace of work on the conservation of heritage buildings in the Holy City, some of which are related to Maharaja Ranjit Singh, is coming in the way of promoting city as a tourist attraction.
The work was slated for completion in January last, but has been moving at the snail’s pace despite the sanctioning of Rs 2 crore by the Centre, much to the chagrin of conservationists and heritage lovers.
While official laxity and politics are being cited as the main reasons for the delay, sources associated with the project say change of guard in the state is also to be blamed. Besides this, sources say lack of coordination between the district administration and the Municipal Corporation was another reason. While the work on digging, documentation and designing of ‘Char-Bagh’, on the lines of the Char-Bagh in Lahore, had proceeded quite nimbly in the beginning, the pace slowed down gradually.
The slow pace is also evident from the fact that the historic Ram Bagh Gate of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s time is still in a bad shape. As per the conservation plan, the historic gate was to be erected again and the project had almost reached the documentation phase, but did not proceed further.
While the police station that was earlier housed here has been shifted, the surrounding place is still occupied by shopkeepers. Sources say the Gobindgarh Fort was also included in the project and was to be promoted as a tourist destination after Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh handed over its key to former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh.
Deputy Commissioner K S Pannu says care was being taken to ensure that these projects are not stalled. “Several new dimensions are likely to be added to these projects in the coming days,” he says.
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