Facelift in offing as govt plans to mark centenary in 2019
Govt prepares blueprint for the yearlong commemoration programme; the tourism ministry has already earmarked ₹8 crore for the project
The Jallianwala Bagh memorial will be given a facelift as part of government’s plans to mark the centenary year of the 1919 massacre, Union minister of state (independent charge) for culture and tourism, Mahesh Sharma, said on Friday.
The government has prepared a blueprint for the year-long commemoration of the massacre that took place on April 13, 1919 as part of its efforts to mark the lives of eminent personalities and events of historical importance, said Sharma who visited the site on Friday.
Accompanied by Union minister of state with independent charge in the ministry of housing and urban affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri, Rajya Sabha MP and Punjab BJP president Shwait Malik, and Archeological Survey of India (ASI) official Zulfikar Ali, Sharma took stock of the situation and asked the concerned officers to speed up the work on project.
New technology is being introduced at the historical site to depict its history, besides installing world class infrastructure on the premises to facilitate the visitors. For same, the Centre has made special project, the officials said.
The tourism ministry along with the culture ministry will renovate this historical site by creating suitable infrastructure for providing basic amenities for tourists, the minister said, adding: “We will also have an interpretation centre, a musical fountain and a light and sound show telling the story of what happened here. We will also develop the site around the well where people gave up their lives.”
State BJP chief Malik said all the proposals to revamp the site have got the nod of the minister and the blueprint is being prepared for the same.
While the tourism ministry has already earmarked ₹8 crore for the project, the culture ministry will provide additional funds.
The government is also planning to issue commemorative coins, postage stamps and will organise ‘kavi sammelans’, exhibition, seminars around the Jallianwala Bagh memorial.
“As we prepare for remembrance of the ‘100 years of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre’ in 2019, it shall undergo necessary redevelopment and upgradation. Jallianwala
We will have an interpretation centre, a musical fountain and a light and sound show telling the story of what happened here.
MAHESH SHARMA, minister of state for culture, tourism and civil aviation
Bagh shall continue to remind the young generation about the sacrifices made in freedom struggle,” Sharma tweeted.
Earlier, the ministers along with Malik also paid obeisance at the Golden Temple.
The Centre had inducted former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, former MP and ex-chairman of National Minorities Commission, Tarlochan Singh, and Rajya Sabha MP Shwait Malik as the members of the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust. They were appointed for five years to oversee the commemoration.
The government is currently commemorating the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
STRUCTURE BEARS TESTIMONY TO THE MASSACRE
On the harvest festival of Baisakhi, about 15,000 civilians had gathered at Jallianwala Bagh near the Golden Temple for a peaceful protest against the arrest and deportation of two national leaders, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew. Around 50 troops of the British Indian Army, under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer, fired on the crowd. A number of people had jumped into a well on the premises to save themselves from the firing. Later, 120 bodies were recovered from the well.