SGPC says causeway shed to benefit devotees, detractors assert it will disturb shrine’s character
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee’s move to install a fire and water-resistant fabric shed on the causeway between Darshani Deori and the sanctum sanctorum at the Golden Temple to protect devotees from the vagaries of weather, has not gone down well with heritage lovers.
Darbar Sahib manager Harbans Singh Malhi says Rs 1 crore will be spent on the retractable shed, which will be operated with the help of a motor. This will protect devotees from the harsh summer heat and rain. “Infrared lights will keep the passage warm in the winters,” says Malhi. The new facility will be in place within a month.
Heritage lovers, however, feel that the shed would disturb the original character of the shrine. Balvinder Singh, Head, Guru Ram Das School of Planning, Guru Nanak Dev University, says: “The original character of the holy shrine should be maintained at all cost.” Singh, who is also member of the SGPC’s Heritage Advisory Committee, said he had also protested against the installation of ACs inside the sanctum sanctorum. “Now the ACs are damaging the frescoes inside the shrine”, he claimed.
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