Rajni Shaleen Chopra,
Chandigarh Among the “musts” for the SAD regime in Punjab before the Assembly elections is the inauguration of the ambitious Khalsa Heritage Complex (KHC) at Anandpur Sahib. Almost seven years after work had began at the grand monument, the Punjab government has drawn up a “final deadline” of November 1 for its inauguration.
For the state government, which is counting on the Khalsa Heritage Complex as one of its major achievements, completing the grand monument by November is now a race against time. The landmark heritage centre of the Sikhs, which was announced in 1999, has seen successive deadlines go by — 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010 — and now 2011. The last deadline the project missed was July 30.
However, inquiries reveal that with so many years into the making, electrical and wooden fittings at various places in the building were now showing signs of deterioration due to lack of care. Another major cause of concern for the team is managing the complex.
A major feature of the complex are its 25 galleries, which will use multi-media exhibits, along with murals, paintings and other means to depict different eras of the glorious history and culture of the Sikhs. The exhibits focus on the condition of the country before Sikhism was founded, the following era and the corresponding depiction of the Sikh Gurus. The galleries will also feature the times after the tenth Guru, the period up to Partition and modern day Punjab.
In addition to the 25 galleries, the KHC will feature a library building, an exhibition hall, an auditorium, an open air theatre, a cafeteria and a grand multi-level water body with cascading falls.
Anandpur Sahib Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Karamjit Singh Sra told The Indian Express that these galleries will be completed in two phases. “In the first phase of work till November, we are going to complete 15 galleries. Work on 10 galleries is likely to be completed by mid-September. Five more galleries will be ready by the end of October. By the time the heritage complex is inaugurated, we will have 15 galleries ready for public viewing. Work on the rest of the 10 galleries will be taken up thereafter. Each visitor will be provided with earphones and an audio guide in the language of his choice — Punjabi, Hindi or English,” he added.
Kristin Ann Kelly, chief museum consultant for the project, said the heritage complex has been facing construction, infrastructure and administrative challenges.
“We are working on them and will resolve them soon. For one, we do not have any senior level staff for marketing, operations and maintenance of the Khalsa Heritage Complex. We need to hire and train the right people to run a very sophisticated and complex building. We also require a staff to man the museum administration, finance, visitor services, etc. We hope to work out all these issues soon,” she added.
The heritage complex is being developed on a 100-acre plot at Anandpur Sahib, about 85 km from Chandigarh.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/final-deadline-set-for-khalsa-complex/818097/
Chandigarh Among the “musts” for the SAD regime in Punjab before the Assembly elections is the inauguration of the ambitious Khalsa Heritage Complex (KHC) at Anandpur Sahib. Almost seven years after work had began at the grand monument, the Punjab government has drawn up a “final deadline” of November 1 for its inauguration.
For the state government, which is counting on the Khalsa Heritage Complex as one of its major achievements, completing the grand monument by November is now a race against time. The landmark heritage centre of the Sikhs, which was announced in 1999, has seen successive deadlines go by — 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010 — and now 2011. The last deadline the project missed was July 30.
However, inquiries reveal that with so many years into the making, electrical and wooden fittings at various places in the building were now showing signs of deterioration due to lack of care. Another major cause of concern for the team is managing the complex.
A major feature of the complex are its 25 galleries, which will use multi-media exhibits, along with murals, paintings and other means to depict different eras of the glorious history and culture of the Sikhs. The exhibits focus on the condition of the country before Sikhism was founded, the following era and the corresponding depiction of the Sikh Gurus. The galleries will also feature the times after the tenth Guru, the period up to Partition and modern day Punjab.
In addition to the 25 galleries, the KHC will feature a library building, an exhibition hall, an auditorium, an open air theatre, a cafeteria and a grand multi-level water body with cascading falls.
Anandpur Sahib Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Karamjit Singh Sra told The Indian Express that these galleries will be completed in two phases. “In the first phase of work till November, we are going to complete 15 galleries. Work on 10 galleries is likely to be completed by mid-September. Five more galleries will be ready by the end of October. By the time the heritage complex is inaugurated, we will have 15 galleries ready for public viewing. Work on the rest of the 10 galleries will be taken up thereafter. Each visitor will be provided with earphones and an audio guide in the language of his choice — Punjabi, Hindi or English,” he added.
Kristin Ann Kelly, chief museum consultant for the project, said the heritage complex has been facing construction, infrastructure and administrative challenges.
“We are working on them and will resolve them soon. For one, we do not have any senior level staff for marketing, operations and maintenance of the Khalsa Heritage Complex. We need to hire and train the right people to run a very sophisticated and complex building. We also require a staff to man the museum administration, finance, visitor services, etc. We hope to work out all these issues soon,” she added.
The heritage complex is being developed on a 100-acre plot at Anandpur Sahib, about 85 km from Chandigarh.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/final-deadline-set-for-khalsa-complex/818097/
