Galliara around Golden Temple suffers from lack of timely maintenance, repairs

Tribune News Service

Neeraj Bagga

Amritsar, June 21

Lack of maintenance and timely repair are telling heavily upon the Galliara around the Golden Temple that serves as green lungs for residents living inside the walled city.

A green garden unfolds a soothing sight for visitors coming from around the world and across the country before moving inside the holiest Sikh shrine. It offers a whiff of fresh air to the residents coming out of narrow winding streets. The walled city is characterised by labyrinthine streets whose residents look forward to the Galliara for fresh air.

Jaswinder Singh, a pilgrim, said landscaping of the Galliara is appreciable but the less number of trees do not make it an ideal place for the visitors to take shelter from the searing heat. He pointed out that another glaring omission was lack of quick maintenance which is reflected in broken tiles and cracks in concrete steps and boundary walls. These should be repaired in time to protect from further damage and escalating cost of repair.

Harjit Singh, a resident of Baba Sahib Chowk, said the homeless and beggars can be seen lazing around in the Galliara much to the discomfiture of visitors. Families, especially with children and women, avoid visiting the green belt due to security reasons. Another big menace is of rehri-phari (handcarts). People selling eatables and other articles on carts and sheets spread on the pavements and roadsides not only block the path but also eclipse the view of Galliara for the visitors.

The portion of Galliara close to Gurdwara Atal Rai is perhaps in the most deplorable situation. Garbage can be seen thrown in different corners. Tardy lifting of garbage and repair work leave the visitors disheartened. Landscaping is bereft of enough shady trees in the Galliara.

An official of the SGPC, while speaking on the condition of anonymity, said hardly any senior official of the Municipal Corporation visits the area behind the Galliara.

MC Commissioner Harpreet Singh said the Galliara was being administered by the Tourism Department and the Amritsar Development Authority (ADA). Elaborating on it, he said the inner Galliara was being looked after by the ADA and the rest was with the Tourism Department. He added that these bodies have separate tender and workforce.

The MCA floated a tender to install dustbins and horticulture works and it would open on June 25. The MC Commissioner felt that it would help address the problem of less number of trees.

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