The kar seva being carried out to repair age-old murals at Gurdwara Baba Atal, and repair work of historical Ramgarhia Bungas in the Golden Temple complex has raked up fresh controversy.

The minorities commission in an SOS to SGPC chief has sought his immediate intervention to stop the repair work which has been going on a war-footing. “The work being carried out in Ramgarhia Bunga should be stopped immediately because they are again destroying history. This is one of the very few places left in the complex which has historical background. Cementing of the floor, roofs and walls will spoil the originality”, reads a fax message of Mr Tarlochan Singh, Vice-President of the commission. He has also raised a serious objection to the cleanliness drive of 400-year-old “jaalis” on the causeways between Darshani Deori and the Golden Temple which are likely to get scratches in the process.

Art lovers, Dr Santokh Singh Sheharyar and Mr Brij Bedi said that the work should be under the guidance of experts lest the rich Sikh heritage should be lost forever. They said much damage had already been done during the various kar seva carried out in the past.

However, Baba Amrik Singh who supervises the kar seva of Baba Atal claims that all attention was being paid to preserve the age-old Sikh heritage while carrying out the kar seva. He showed the damaged portion of the Baba Atal, the 40-metre high building which require immediate repair. He said glasses of the murals were removed so that the art work could be traced on papers. Shockingly, during the previous kar seva carried out in the year 1992, bathroom tiles had replaced the frescos on the walls of the ground floor which had drawn flak from the art lovers.

Interior walls of the first floor were adorned with murals depicting Sikh history. Less than 100 panels of murals had been left on the first floor of the Baba Atal while rest of them have been obliterated beyond recognition.

However, Baba Amrik Singh said that he was not responsible for the kar seva being carried out inside the historical Ramgarhia Bungas. The interiors of the ‘bungas’ are being repaired with cement which do not synchronise with the old structure. Earlier, the bungas were badly damaged during the Operation Blue Star.

Baba Amrik Singh said the murals in Baba Atal would be repaired with colours and material used by the original artists. The art work is being restored by Harbans Singh and Jaswant Singh who had more than 40 years experience in the field while Pandit Mani, a resident of Bihar, has been helping to restore the building work with lime and the material used by the original artists.