After the winds and rain dislodged the domes of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur Sahib on Friday night, embarrassed authorities of Pakistan hurried back to fix it. However, in their hurry, they forgot to fix the finial on top of one of the domes.
After the incident, India asked Pakistan to repair the structure or even undertake the reconstruction of parts that were damaged as it caused great consternation among the Sikh community in India. The shrine that is situated in Pakistan’s Norwal district is where the founder of the Sikh community, Guru Nanak Dev, lived the last years of his life. The shrine is revered by the followers of the Sikh community across the world.
Satwant Singh, the president of the Pakistan Sikh Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee announced about the quick repair work. On his Facebook page, he wrote,
“It is to inform you all that due to heavy rain and thunderstorm and strong winds at DSK on 17/18 night, 2 stalls and 5 domes of the gurdwara got damaged which have been repaired today in 24 hours record time by the experts.”
Missing Finial on Top
Pakistan’s federal minister for science and technology, Fawad Hussain uploaded a picture of the repaired domes and tweeted the same. Social Media was quick to point out the missing finial on one of the domes. The people on social media were also quick to question the company that had been given the task to construct and renovate the gurdwara a few months back. People also asked for an investigation into the matter and appropriate action if the company is found guilty.
Pakistan had reportedly spent 13.8 million Pakistani rupees on the construction and development of the complex as well as roads from Lahore and other parts of the country. According to Pakistani officials, the task was completed in record time to cater to the demands of the community.
Setting aside the differences and tensions between the two countries, the shrine was opened to Indian devotees on 9th November that coincided with the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. On the backdrop of the terror attack in Pulwama, the two countries had come to an agreement on documents that Indian devotees would carry while crossing into Pakistan for the pilgrimage.
Source: The Times of India
