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Will Amritsar city get back the glory of its lost gates?
WSN Network

With a view to promote tourism in Amritsar, the Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Punjab, in collaboration with the district administration, has decided to undertake conservation of historical gates of the holy city that date back to the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

The project, estimated to cost around Rs 2 crore, aims to preserve the historical sites that are crumbling due to lack of care.

The gates, which were constructed around the walled city include Hall Gate (cleverly named Gandhi Gate later), Ram Bagh Gate, Lahori Gate, Lohgarh Gate and Hathi Gate.

A few of the gates were built during the British rule and some did withstand the test of time. These included Hall Gate, Khazana Gate and parts of Ram Bagh Gate. These sites are, however, in a poor condition now. One thing that marks all gates are public conveniences in shabby form and liquor vends. For the record, Amritsar is a holy city which means the liquor vends cannot be in the city but the Municipal authorities then define the prohibited areas as "walled city" and contibuously keep shrinking this area on the map. So, practically and legally, liquor remains available only a few hundred yards away, never more than walking distance.

Now, the district administration is moving ahead to restore some of the glory of the gates from a bygone era and a concept for conservation has been designed with help from the experts in the field.

Deputy Commissioner KS Pannu said conservation work will be carried out without tampering the original design and form. “It will be ensured that the encroachments do not return,” he added.

7 October 2009
 

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