Perneet Singh, Tribune News Service
Amritsar, October 13. Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh on March 6 this year laid the foundation stone of a memorial dedicated to those killed in the Hondh-Chillar carnage. Since then, there has been no work on the project.
The Jathedar had said: “The houses of Sikh families and the village gurdwara, lying in a shambles, will be preserved and a decision on any additions at the site taken later.” AISSF president Karnail Singh Peer Mohammed had then announced that the Sikh Sangat had donated Rs 25 lakh for the memorial.
A bitterly disappointed Manvinder Singh Giaspur, who had revealed the carnage site, said: “The leaders clearly wanted to draw political mileage from the issue.”
He claimed that his plea to the Akal Takht Jathedar to take the matter forward had got a cold response.
Giaspur said he was now making efforts to set up a trust to raise the memorial at Hondh-Chillar. Giaspur, who hails from Ludhiana, lost his job in Gurgaon after he discovered the carnage site.
Peer Mohammed claimed that the Akal Takht chief had told them he would get the work done through the SGPC. He said the SGPC had been given two months to start work on the memorial. “Now that the SGPC has not responded even after six months, we have decided to start work from November 1.” He said talks were on with the local panchayat for taking over possession of land for the memorial. The Jathedar could not be contacted for comment.
