Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Saturday mooted a proposal to paint Sultanpur Lodhi white on the occasion of 550th Parkash Purab of Sri Guru Nanak Dev and said she would seek the help of the Sikh Sangat to make this possible.
The Union Minister, who visited this town today to take a review of the works undertaken by the Railways, said she wished that the holy city be painted white on the pattern of Anandpur Sahib, which was painted white on the eve of the 350th-anniversary celebrations of the birth of the Khalsa. She appealed to the people to wholeheartedly participate in Kar Sewa to make this possible.
Earlier she was briefed by senior Railways officials that all works related to the Railways would be completed by October 25. Harsimrat reviewed ongoing work including three under bridges and two foot over bridges besides work being done to give a complete heritage facelift to the Sultanpur Lodhi railway station.
When questioned whether souring of relations with Pakistan would have any bearing on completion and opening of the Kartarpur Corridor, Harsimrat said the corridor had come into being with the blessings of Guru Sahab and she was confident that the Pakistan government would complete it in time to facilitate 'darshan' of Sri Kartarpur Sahib to partake the blessings of Sri Guru Nanak Dev.
Harsimrat also disclosed that the work on various projects envisaged as part of Guru Sahab's commemorative celebrations was proceeding at a fast pace. She said the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs was executing a heritage complex at Sultanpur Lodhi.
Harsimrat said that an international seminar was also being organised in Delhi in October-November 2019 at a cost of Rs 5 crore. She said 100 other seminars would be organised across the country as part of the celebrations besides a mobile digital exhibition, production of documentary and animation films and publication of books of life and teachings of Guru Sahab along with their translation into all major Indian languages.
The minister said ten panoramas would be set up at places visited by Guru Nanak Dev including Kamrup, Puri, Rameshwaram, Nanded, Ujjain, Dwarka, Kashi, Kurukshetra, Nanakmata (Uttarakhand) and Martand. Commemorative coins and postage stamps will also be supplied to all missions abroad, the minister added.