Bhupinder Manhas takes over as chief of Nanded's Hazur Sahib board

Industrialist Bhupinder Singh Manhas has been appointed the president of the Takht Sachkhand Shri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib replacing Mulund MLA and senior BJP leader Sardar Tara Singh. Famous as Hazur Sahib, the shrine on the banks of the Godavari River in Nanded in the state's Marathwada region, is among the holiest ones for the Sikh community as Guru Gobind Singh, its tenth and last Guru, left for his heavenly abode (parlok gaman) from here on October 7, 1708.

The notification for appointing Manhas, as well as eight other members on the reconstituted board, was issued by the Maharashtra Revenue and Forest Department on Friday. Confirming the development, Sardar Tara Singh said, "I am stepping down from the post today. Manhas has been made the new president."

He said an expansion of the number of members on the board, by amending the Takht Shri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib Board Nanded Act 1956, is due and will take place after Lok Sabha elections. "Eight more members will be brought in which will take the board's strength to 17," he informed.

(With inputs from agencies.)