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Golden Temple gold losing its lustre
WSN Network
AMRITSAR: The 17th century Golden
Temple, which is the holiest shrine of Sikhism, is gradually losing
its shine on the layers of pure gold that adorn its upper part --
thanks to pollution.
The 24-carat pure gold of the sanctum sanctorum has started turning
dark at several places and the management of Sri Harmandir Sahib has
already expressed its concern over it."The pollution around the
Golden Temple has started taking its toll on the gold. The
authorities should take immediate steps to save it," Golden Temple
manager Harbhajan Singh says.
Less than a decade after the entire pure gold sheet of the shrine
was replaced in 1999 - after three years of laborious workmanship -
the hundreds of kilos of gold have started to turn black. The Sikh
community internationally had got together with Punjab Sikhs and
religious bodies to get the gold layer of the shrine - completed in
1,604 - changed. Hundreds of kilograms of gold were used in
re-laying the gold sheet over the shrine.
The dome of the shrine and its upper storey outer and inner walls
have gold leaf layers.The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) this
week installed four pollution-monitoring machines in buildings
around the sanctum sanctorum to see the level of pollution that was
affecting the famous shrine.
"We will monitor the pollution being caused in this area. Most of
this could be from smoke-emitting auto-rickshaws, hotels in the
vicinity of the Golden Temple and also small-time working units like
those of goldsmiths and blacksmiths," a pollution board official
said. But devotees to the holy shrine are not satisfied.
"They must take emergency steps to save the gold on this magnificent
shrine. It involves the emotions of millions of people cutting
across all religions. The temple itself is an international
monument," said devotee Jagir Singh who had come to pay obeisance
with wife Swaran Kaur.
Land for the shrine was donated by Mughal emperor Abkar to fourth
Sikh Guru Ram Dass in the late 16th century. The shrine was
completed during the time of the fifth Sikh Guru Arjun Dev.
In 1830, Punjab's king Maharaja Ranjit Singh donated 100 kg of gold
for gold-plating the outer walls of the shrine. It was done on
copper sheets. That's when it got its more popular name Golden
Temple. Some decades later, the upper part of the building was
replaced by layers of gold leaf. In the mid-1990s, the renovation of
the shrine started and the entire gold was replaced. A lot of the
gold used was donated by devotees in the form of ornaments.
18 April 2007
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