Govt should pay attention to removing encroachments from Golden Temple approach roads: SGPC

The Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee SGPC on Wednesday expressed concern over some shopkeepers encroaching on the approach road to the Golden Temple here and asked the government to take immediate remedial measures.Gurcharan Singh Grewal, general secretary of the apex religious body of Sikhs, drew the attention of the Punjab government, district administration and the municipal corporation and asked them to take immediate steps to rectify the problem.Amritsar is the centre of attraction for people from across the globe and a large number of pilgrims from India and abroad pay obeisance at the Harmandir Sahib Golden Temple daily.

The Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Wednesday expressed concern over some shopkeepers encroaching on the approach road to the Golden Temple here and asked the government to take immediate remedial measures.

Gurcharan Singh Grewal, general secretary of the apex religious body of Sikhs, drew the attention of the Punjab government, district administration and the municipal corporation and asked them to take immediate steps to rectify the problem.

Amritsar is the centre of attraction for people from across the globe and a large number of pilgrims from India and abroad pay obeisance at the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) daily. They also visit other historical shrines in the city, he said.

''But the city's haphazard traffic and the abundance of road encroachments have a bad effect on the pilgrims' minds. Even the heritage street leading to Sri Harmandir Sahib has been illegally encroached on by shopkeepers. ''The condition of the only road through which vehicles can reach the holy shrine is also not good. There are frequent traffic jams due to drains and electric poles on both sides of the road,'' he said.

Shops on the road connecting the Gurdwara Shaheed Ganj Baba Deep Singh to Gurdwara Baba Atal Rai Sahib have also been extended, causing inconvenience to the devotees. The situation here is such that it has become difficult to walk, he said.

Grewal claimed that the Punjab government and the city administration were not paying attention to these issues.

He said a resolution in this regard, passed during the SGPC's general house session on November 9, had been sent to the government and the departments concerned.

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