| Clubs at Ram Bagh Garden: Pro-eviction voices become louder |
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| Written by Dharmendra Ratual | |
| Tuesday, 26 June 2007 | |
 While the managements of the three public clubs running from the “protected” Ram Bagh Gardens in the city have intensified efforts to make the district administration cancel its orders on closure by June 30, the voices of concern are gaining momentum too.Environmentalists and social workers have also condemned BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu and his protégé, local MLA Anil Joshi, for “politicising the serious issue for their vested interests”. Left veteran and former local MLA Satpal Dang also came down heavily upon the clubs, saying that in their merrymaking, the managements have forgotten their social responsibilities. He said they were the “financiers” of the various political leaders and were raising hue and cry to get the government’s decision regarding the eviction reverted. In a hard-hitting letter to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Dang said the clubs had become a place for the rich to blow money on liquor and gambling every night, unmindful of the poverty and miseries around. The clubs must be evicted at the earliest and the gardens belonging to the times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh be restored to original glory, he said. He chided Sidhu for terming the clubs part of the heritage too. “If consuming liquor and gambling are heritage in the eyes Sidhu, then I can only be sympathetic towards him,” he fired back at Sidhu, who had already been criticised for his doublespeak. “On one hand he wants to spend money from his pocket for green cover and on the other is hell-bent upon destroying the only greenbelt, which is lung of the city,” said Amritsar Vikas Manch head Charanjit Singh Gumtala. Sidhu, however, said he wanted that if the clubs were to be evacuated, proper compensation be paid and alternative land be provided. He said Joshi might have given statements— saying that he will resign from the assembly if clubs were thrown out— in over-enthusiasm. However, Dang said Joshi’s remarks reeked of sycophancy and he should work for the people instead of playing into the hands of a few rich persons. The clubs— Services Clubs, Amritsar Club and Lumbsdon Club— had been ordered to vacate the gardens by June 30, as their lease period got over long ago. Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) state convener Dr Sukhdev Singh, who was instrumental in getting the garden notified as ‘protected’ by Archeological Survey of India (ASI), today welcomed the decision of the government on preserving the original character and glory of Ram Bagh. “For the heritage lovers it is heartening to know that the government has sanctioned a special grant for the upkeep of the garden. Garden is not only a reminiscence of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, but also the only greenbelt in Amritsar now,” he said. “The clubs cater to the needs of their members only and are not doing any good to the society,” he said. “The old buildings and the original layout of the garden are eroding and clubs have done more harm than good by raising new structures, cutting trees and modifying the interiors without taking into account the basic principles of heritage conservation and preservation,” he said. He added that the clubs were financially and socially affluent to set up new premises. He said the old buildings may be converted into art centres, museums, art galleries and conference halls, and Intach can provide the technical advice or undertake the work of conservation if the government allowed. |
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