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Elevated Road taking
Amritsar down the lane
Balvinder Singh
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The walled city of
Amritsar is on the threshold of losing its streetscape and its
celebrated character at the altar of the extension of the
elevated road originating on the Sher Shah Suri Marg, now known
as the Grand Trunk Road. The proposed construction of the road
in the walled city is a live threat to which its residents, the
SGPC and even the conservation organisations are oblivious of. |
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 Conservation
Perspective:
Amritsar, popularly known as the city of
Golden
Temple is an important historic, religious and spiritual city.
During the course of its short history, it has seen many ups and
downs. Up to 1765, the damage to this walled city and Darbar Sahib
was done by the Mughals. In recent times, it is being destroyed by
our own people.
The
period of Sikh Misls and Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1765-1849) was the
golden period for the development of this historic city. Various
bungas (rest houses), Akharas (centres of learning),
havelis (houses with courtyard), forts, beautiful gardens,
buildings, narrow winding streets, surprising open spaces,
streetscapes, decorative elements, frescoes, sarovars,
temples, wells were built in those times in addition to the
residential mohallas, katras, typical bazars
(commercial areas), the wall, moat and the gates. With Harimandir
Sahib as the landmark, the city developed around it.
 During the British period, from 1849-1947, the wall was demolished,
moat was filled in and gates were dismantled. The only gate left is
Rambagh gate which too is in a very dilapidated condition. The
layout of Rambagh garden and Gobindgarh fort has been disturbed.
During the period from 1947-2005, in the name of the redevelopment
of the city, many areas were demolished. Many historic buildings
and sites were bulldozed. The approach roads to Darbar Sahib and
Jallianwala Bagh were widened on the basis of a major project
without consultation with conservation specialists. The disdain
for heritage preservation was seen even when the so-called “Corridor
Plan" or "Golden Temple Beautification Project" was drafted and
executed.
Integrated approach and international obligation:
The development of all historic cities should undergo
a process which
involves integration of the heritage sites of that particular city
into the growing needs of the population, including the
economy, transport sector, hospitality and tourist industry. It is
essential to make extensive references and study of the documents
compiled under the Report of National Commission on Urbanisation
1988, the ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Historic towns and
urban Areas, 1987 (also known as the Washington Charter) and the
International Cultural Tourism Charter (Managing Tourism at Places
of Heritage Significance) 1999, while undertaking the redevelopment
of any historic city.
 According to the Washington Charter, while preparing development
plans for a historic city, town planners, religious organisations,
heritage conservationists and local governments must ensure that all
new activities are compatible with the historic character of the
city, including its material and spiritual elements, the traffic
inside the historic town must be controlled; the parking areas
should not disturb the historic fabric or degrade the environment
and special efforts must be made to protect such cities against
natural disasters and the nuisance of pollution.
As
old cities are not designed for automobile traffic, major motorways
must not be permitted to penetrate historic towns and should only
provide or improve access to the city.
The
National Commission on Urbanisation 1988, report has candidly
mentioned that "road widening in most cases, only brings in more
traffic to the historic core and sets in motion a vicious circle of
further congestion and further widening".
Guru Ramdas who designed the city as a trade centre laid emphasis on
free and unhindered movement of people within the city. As is seen
the world over, pedestrianization schemes are the key for retaining
old architecture and at the same time making such cities buzzing
tourist centres for visitors and busy trade centres for the local
population.
 The walled city of Amritsar is on the threshold of loosing its
streetscape and its celebrated character at the altar of the
extension of the elevated road originating on the Sher Shah Suri
Marg, now known as the Grand Trunk Road. The proposed construction
of the road in the walled city is a live threat to which its
residents, the SGPC and even the conservation organisations are
oblivious of.
No
historic city in the world has been handled in such a cavalier way
as Amritsar. The personality and aesthetics of the entire walled
city area will be affected and the proposed road with its increased
traffic is likely to cause irreparable damage to the outer
surroundings and precincts of Harimandir Sahib.
So
far, no environment impact assessment study has been conducted for
the proposed road. The wind direction of the city is
north-west-south-east. The proposed parking lot will be sited in the
north west
of Harimandir Sahib and the vehicles travelling at high speeds will
land there. Their pollution will cause damage to Harimandir Sahib
and its environs. The gold plating atop domes will be tarnished.
Developing countries, Sikhs and Heritage conservation:
Sir B M Feilden in his "Guidelines for conservation: A Technical
manual" has issued a clear warning note. He says that “modern
developers have too often failed to understand the cultural value of
historic centres and with unquestioning acceptance of the needs of
motor traffic have driven wide straight streets through sensitive
historic centres. The small and human scale, the refined traditional
structure of the urban fabric, the narrow winding streets reflecting
the necessities of climate, as well as the relationship between
public and private space are destroyed.”
In
a special reference to the situation in third world countries, he
has said that “the situation of the historic centres in developing
countries is more serious because often urban conservation planning
is a low priority compared with modernization." This is so very
appropriate to the case of heritage preservation in India and more
to the case of Sikhs. Leading organisations of Sikhs adopt a
couldn’t care less attitude and the Sikh masses too, unfortunately
seem to have no interest in such matters, except weeping once a
historic structure has been crudely demolished.
The
proposal of elevated road in the walled city of
Amritsar
desperately needs a rethink. Is there a solution? Can we find some
other alternatives? Is anyone interested? The immediate short term
solution is the introduction of small battery operated buses and in
the long term we need to look at the introduction of an underground
Metro transit system. In case we ignore to look for options –the
ones suggested here and others, the elevated road will take the holy
city down under.
 After completing his Masters in City and
Regional Planning, Balwinder Singh joined as an Assistant Town Planner in Govt of Uttar
Pardesh and worked in
Varanasi and
Lucknow
for two years. He joined Guru Ramdas School of Planning in Guru
Nanak Dev University Amritsar in July 1985. He did his Masters in
Conservation Studies from University of York under Charles Wallace
Trust Scholarship in 1991. He has travelled widely covering various
countries in connection with conservation related conferences. He
has also
completed various projects such as Documentation of Art forms in Sri
Harimandir Sahib with special emphasis on Floral designs,
documentation of Sikh Shrines in Pakistan. He may be contacted at
balvindergndu2003@yahoo.co.in
19
March 2008
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