Sikh body proposes water recycling at Golden Temple

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 16

Sparing a thought towards the alarming depletion of groundwater, a Sikh organisation has proposed to the SGPC a methodology to reuse the water discharged during ablution at the Golden Temple.

Christened as the Guru Nanak Dev Jee Gurpurb Committee, the organisation has offered the ‘service’ to install a water-recharge mechanism near the ‘charan ganga’ (small pool of water where devotees wash their feet before entering) at all four entrances of the Golden Temple.

Organisation member GS Bedi said a methodology had been designed to recycle the water which constantly flew into the small pool that was meant to wash the devotees’ feet in gurdwaras but eventually got wasted. He said with the mechanism, the water could be recycled and put to better use in washrooms, watering plants, washing vehicles and other purposes.

“Most importantly, this water can be channelised underground to contribute in improving the water table, which is the need of the hour. And what better way than starting this ‘service’ from the Golden Temple premises which is visited by at least one lakh devotees daily. We have asked the SGPC to allow us to perform this service,” he said.

Bedi said just near the ‘charan ganga’, a bore was required which could accommodate the used water which could be diverted underground to recharge the water level.

Golden Temple manager Jaswinder Singh Deenpur welcomed the proposal. “We are committed to save and utilise the water. We will certainly focus on this new proposal of channelising the ‘charan ganga’ water and if it is feasible, we will have no problem in getting the project implemented.”