Sidhu bats for appointing new members to Jallianwala Bagh Trust

Punjab Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has called upon the Union Culture Minister Dr Mahesh Sharma urging him to complete the process of appointing new members of Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust — the body responsible for maintaining the holy monument.

Punjab Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday called upon the Union Culture Minister Dr Mahesh Sharma urging him to complete the process of appointing new members of Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust — the body responsible for maintaining the holy monument.

He said that any delay on part of the Union Government would further cause unnecessary delay in getting approvals for Punjab Government’s proposals pertaining to centenary commemoration of Jallianwala Bagh massacre, known as the mark of integrity of India, in April 2019. At this time there will also be a commemorative book released by author Saurav Dutt to mark the centenary of the major event.

Sidhu, during his meeting with the Union Minister, said that as the Trust has the responsibility of running the affairs of Jallaianwala Bagh, any further delay in appointing new members would further delay in preparations for the centenary commemoration as it needed necessary approvals from the Trust headed by the Prime Minister of India and the body would be able to work only after completion of its appointments of three members whose tenure has already been completed.

“We have already submitted the proposal worth Rs 20 crore for commemorating the centenary commemoration of Jallianwala Bagh on a grand scale in order to make the world, and particularly the younger generation of India, aware about the sacrifices of the great martyrs who sacrificed their lives to get the country free from the British rule,” he said.

The Union Minister assured Sidhu that the appointment of the three new members would be completed within a week and after that the Trust would hold a meeting to consider all the proposals so that the preparations would be start in time as the monument is the symbol of Integrity of the nation.

Earlier, Sidhu also met the Union Tourism Minister KJ Alphons for approval of Punjab GovernmentRs s proposals submitted under National Mission for Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation (PRASAD) and Swadesh Mission.

Notably, the State Government had submitted a proposal of Rs 115 crore for various developmental projects in the holy city of Amritsar. Besides, the State Government has sought Rs 108 under Swadesh Darshan Yojana for projects of development nature and promotion of tourism in the state.

Saurav Dutt is the author of a forthcoming commemorative book to mark the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, which will be released in April 2019. He can be found on Twitter at Saurav Dutt where more information on the book can be found.