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Work stops at Jallianwala but
sword hangs on heritage look
WSN Network
 Amritsar:
The youth anger against giving a new hep shape to Jallianwala Bagh
continues to simmer as the loss of heritage rankles. Now, the local
youth organisations have beenhaving a series of meetings behind the
scenes and some on record with the Deputy Commissioner even as
protests continued.
Now, the DC says
for the time being no work is happening and members of these
organisations will meet the Jallaianwala Bagh Trust management
committee shortly after which work will resume.
Most people
think that the revamp will distort the historic structure which may
lose its inherent character.
Hundreds of
activists of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Naujawan Sabha, Punjab Student
Federation and Jamhuri Kisan Sabha were part of a demonstration down
to Jallianwala Bagh from Hall Gate earlier on Monday.
The activists
faced police batons at places as they tried to breach the barricades
set up en route. They later held a sit-in outside the historic site
for nearly three hours and raised slogans against authorities.
They were
allowed into the complex after their leaders met with administration
officials and the protest was abandoned. The few protesters detained
earlier in the day were released. Tourists were put to much
inconvenience, however.
Deputy
Commissioner Bhagwant Singh said the talks had brought out that
there were doubts in the minds of the protesters over the
beautification project which must be cleared out before work
re-starts. Trust officials and the local leaders will convene for a
meeting within a month to clear issues, he said. “Until then, work
will be suspended”.
SSP Kunwar Vijay
Partap Singh, while talking about the day’s developments, said,
“Today’s protest call and human chain by a number of groups
concluded peacefully amid tight security arrangements. The DC
invited a deputation of the protesting organisations headed by
Pargat Singh Jamarai and Rattan Singh Randhawa for talks at
Kotwali.” He said the organisations have assured that there would be
no more protests and that the matter would be resolved cordially .
An earlier
protest had seen hevy police lathicharge and many injuries to the
protesters and the police had even ventured till the door step of
the Golden Temple while chasing some protesters.
18
March 2009
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