The stretch between the historic Townhall and the Sikhs’ holiest shrine — the Golden Temple — in the holy city of Amritsar was given a makeover. Punjab government, in a major facelift exercise, has revamped and beautified the roads, besides recreating the facade of nothing less than 170 buildings surrounding Darbar Sahib.
Under this project of beautification costing Rs 160 crore, a uniform architectural theme of the entire street gives a grand look akin to the city of Amritsar, said an official spokesperson.
“For the first time in the country, almost 170 buildings on the heritage street surrounding Harmandir Sahib have been given a facelift which displays an art and heritage of Punjab,” he said.
“It also represents the value of freedom struggle by erecting a unique rock sculpture in front of Jallianwala Bagh which will be lit with an eternal flame of freedom struggle,” he said.
The crossings, known as Fuwara Chowk, which once had the statue of Queen Victoria of England has been redeveloped, he said adding that a mammoth statue of erstwhile Maharaja Ranjit Singh has also been installed.
Another highlight of the project will be the transformation of the facade of the Saragarhi parking area with an electronic signage equipped with lED video. It will screen Gurbani recital from the Golden Temple for one hour daily, he said.
A plaza at the main entrance of the Golden Temple is being developed at a cost of Rs 250 crore and also an Interpretation Centre is also being developed at a cost of Rs 50 crore, he said.