Iconic Golden Temple tree bears fruits after 12 years
The historical ‘Dukh Bhanjani Beri’ in the Golden Temple Complex is bearing fruits after more than a decade thanks to the sustained efforts of experts from the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU)
The ‘beri’ (Jujube tree) is among the three historical beris in the Golden Temple complex.
Due to environmental reasons and lack of proper care, many branches of the tree had dried up. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (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.
“Gradually, the growth of the trees has started improving, thus having a positive impact on the fruiting,” he added. Other three experts are from the department of fruit science in PAU. “Our team inspects the trees after oneand-a-half month,” said Dr Sandeep Singh, entomological at the department.
SGPC chief secretary Roop Singh said: We are happy to see abundant fruiting at Dukh Bhanjani Beri. Full credit goes to the PAU experts for their efforts.”
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