Amritsar’s Golden temple to glow brighter
The holiest shrine of Sikhs, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, is all set to get a brighter shade of yellow with an additional 160 kg gold worth Rs 50 crore. The dome of its four deodis (entrances) will be gold-plated.
Each of the four deodis will be covered by 40 kg of gold. “Gold-plating of the main deodi near Ghanta Ghar is underway since April through kar sewa (voluntarily service). Work on the rest will be taken up after the gold-plating of the first entrance is completed,” said Diljit Singh Bedi, the spokesperson and additional secretary of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee that manages the historic gurdwaras, including Golden Temple.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Sikh ruler, donated Rs 16.39 lakh for ‘sone di sewa’ some 192 years ago. Mohammad Khan was the first craftsman to overlay the sanctum with gold foil. Besides Ranjit Singh’s successors, his queens and other prominent Sikhs also donated money for ‘sewa’. A total amount of Rs 64.11 lakh was spent at that time, as per the book, Twarikh Sri Amritsar.
Sikh organisations, including the Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha and Gurdwara Soho Road, Birmingham, UK, had undertook a repair and renovation during 1995, which was completed on 1999.