‘Dukh Bhanjani beri’ at Golden Temple laden with fruits after over a decade
AMRITSAR: There is abundant fruiting on the historical ‘Dukh Bhanjani Beri’ in Golden Temple Complex after more than a decade. The ‘sangat’ expressed its happiness on seeing the fruiting in the old tree.
The experts from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), who were assigned for treatment of the ‘beri,’ by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), had made many efforts in this direction, that have now yielded good result.
This beri is among the three historical beris in the Golden Temple complex. The other two are ‘Ber Baba Budha Sahib’ and Lachi Ber.’ ‘Dukh Bhanjani Beri,’ on the bank of the holy sarovar on Langar hall side, is here since the forth Sikh guru, Sri Guru Ram Das, founded Amritsar city and the holy sarovar in the 16th Century, and is over 400 years old. Due to some reasons, including lack of proper care, the fruitfulness of this tree was deteriorating, and many branches had dried up. The SGPC, which manages all affairs of this central Sikh shrine, sought help of different experts, to ensure the tree’s upkeep.
In 2005, the gurdwara body had assigned ‘sewa’ (voluntarily service), of treating the ‘beris,’ to the team of experts, including agriculture and horticulture experts Dr Sandeep Singh, Dr Narinderpal Singh, Dr Karanbir Singh and Dr Jaswinder Singh. Dr Narinderpal Singh is also the in-charge of PAU’S farmer advisory centre in Amritsar.
Treatment of the three ‘beris’ is being carried out under the supervision of the expert team, which pays regular visits to the shrine. “These ‘beris’ fall under the category of native wild trees. Normally, a ‘beri’ starts decaying after 70 years, but these have still survived. It seems that they had been given proper care in the past as well,” said Dr Narinderpal.
“When we were given the assignment, the condition of ‘Dukh Bhanjani beri,’ like the other beris, was no so good. It was attacked by certain insects and diseases. But the SGPC allowed us to take measures required for making the trees healthy,” he said. “Our team inspects the trees after one-and-ahalf month,” said Dr Sandeep Singh, entomological at the department. “We spray insecticides and other medicines including neem juice, from time-totime. We will even prune them in the beginning of May,” he added.