Jallianwala Bagh Memorial in Punjab Postponed due to Covid Restrictions
With restrictions on any kind of “political meetings” taking place in Punjab to curb the spread of Covid, the long-awaited opening of the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial has been postponed indefinitely.
The renovated memorial would be virtually unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is also president of the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Trust, on April 13, to commemorate 102 years since the massacre in which 379 people lost their lives. The monument has been closed to the public since February 2019 for an extensive makeover being implemented by the National Building Construction Company.
Rajya Sabha member and BJP leader Shwait Malik, who is also a member of the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust, told The Indian Express: announced stricter restrictions in the state last week it was decided to postpone the inauguration. In any case, we cannot hold any meeting or open it to the public. So who are we opening it for if we can’t allow visitors? ”
The Center announced a package of Rs 19.36 crore in 2019 as part of the commemoration of the centenary of the massacre. Restoration work and construction of facilities (such as toilets, ticket counters and drinking water) are currently being carried out at the Ministry of Culture.
Malik added that the creation of these facilities is still a work in progress. “Although 90 percent of the work has been completed, some finishing touches are still being put in,” he said.
The upgrade work includes a five-minute sound and light show in Hindi, Punjabi and English for visitors.
Meanwhile, the entry and exit points have been repositioned and a lotus pond has been built around the main monument. Additionally, a glass wall now surrounds the Well of the Martyrs and the passage from the entrance to the well has been redesigned. A salvation field has been built for visitors to sit quietly to honor the martyrs and two new display galleries have been added to the monument.
The monument has also become a political hotspot where both the Center and state governments claim its legacy. In 2019, the Center introduced a bill to remove the chairman of the Congress party as a permanent trustee of the Jallianwala Bagh Trust. It also empowered the central government to terminate a designated administrator before his term expired.
Recently, Punjab’s Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh announced the construction of a separate monument dedicated to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar.
Malik said: “The CM is going to build a monument to the martyrs just 5 km from Jallianwala Bagh. The trust was run by Congress for 70 years and it ruined the garden. I am not against the new memorial, but I am opposed to the politicization of the issue ”.
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