Hundreds of big trees, having heritage value, have been cut at Guru Ka Bagh in the name of kar seva, causing concern among environmentalists.

Though the gurdwaras are under the direct control of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, no function has been planned to mark the 400th martyrdom anniversary of the fifth Sikh Guru. A visit to the site shows stumps of old trees outside the gurdwara premises.

Jathedar Dalip Singh, a former vice-president of the SGPC, said he was shocked to know that the Babas of kar seva wale had cut old trees and the Shiromani committee was turning a blind eye to the issue.

The gurdwara had shot into the limelight before Independence when Sikhs launched a morcha (agitation) against a corrupt mahant. When the British government bowed before the pressure of Akalis, who had launched a peaceful agitation to liberate the Sikh shrine from the corrupt mahant, Mahatma Gandhi had sent a wire congratulating the community with a one-liner: “First decisive battle for India’s freedom won.”

Guru Ka Bagh is 20 km from Amritsar. The mahant finally handed over the shrine to the Shiromani committee. However, later he repudiated a part of the agreement, saying that though he had surrendered the gurdwara to the SGPC, the piece of land known as Guru Ka Bagh attached to it was still his property. He objected to Sikhs cutting down trees on that land for langar.

The police, willing to oblige him, arrested five Sikhs on August 9, 1922, on a charge of trespass. The following day, the arrested Sikhs were hurriedly tried and sentenced to a six-month rigorous imprisonment.

The local people have urged the SGPC to check the depleting forest cover adjoining the historical gurdwaras. They rued that though the orchards on a few acres were intact while shady trees, which were once part of the gurdwara structure, had been cut to widen the “parikarma”.