Kalianwala Khu: Gurdwara panel regrets lack of govt support

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 1

Even as a series of events marked the 158th martyrdom day of Kalianwala Khu martyrs in Ajnala today, the Gurdwara Shaheed Ganj Committee lamented the “indifferent” approach of the state government towards the historic well.

Talking to mediapersons, gurdwara committee president Amarjit Singh Sarkaria said, “We had excavated the mortal remains of the martyrs on February 28, 2014. At that time, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had assured us that the government would extend all help to our committee in preservation of this historic well besides ensuring DNA testing of the martyrs’ remains. However, even after one and a half years neither has the government extended any financial aid to us nor DNA profiling was done on the remains of the martyrs.” He revealed that they had themselves raised funds to the tune of Rs 4.5 lakh to preserve the historic well which had started caving in with the passage of time. Earlier, the gurdwara committee along with the Kalianwala Khu Memorial Foundation organised an akhand path to mark the occasion. Besides, a day-long langar was also held. In the evening, the Chetna Kala Kendra staged a play which left everyone enthralled.

A few days back, the gurdwara committee had approached Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to include the Kalianwala Khu in the list of the heritage structures that are to be preserved under the Heritage Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY).