Sahani, S. Katyal, P and Aulakh, R.S.
Beautiful facades versus reality in and around golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab - Nagarlok: Quarterly Journal of Urban Affairs - 54(1), Mar, 2022: p.72-90
Amritsar, also known as the holy city due to the presence of Golden temple, has a history of about 570 years. The city has experienced various setbacks, like 1947 partition, and 1984 Operation Blue Star, but it has still not lost its glory and history. The redevelopment project namely the Heritage Street project from Town Hall to Golden Temple has been considered as a marvellous wonder for tourists, and pilgrims but its actual reality explains a different scenario altogether. As, behind the façade of stone cut latticework (jallis/ pinjrakari), there are a cluster of shops where no renovation has been done over several years. The aesthetically beautiful re-development project of Heritage Street has been restricted to a stretch of one km approximately. Some of the shopkeepers behind these facades are facing major hardships in terms of business. These older areas need preservation to overcome all the drawbacks. The present article examines a recent development that took place along the approach roads leading to Golden Temple. The authors have tried to evaluate the gaps in terms of infrastructure and facilities as well as other planning issues encountered during the study. – Reproduced
Golden temple, Galiara, Heritage walk project, Façade, Tourism, Business.
Beautiful facades versus reality in and around golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab - Nagarlok: Quarterly Journal of Urban Affairs - 54(1), Mar, 2022: p.72-90
Amritsar, also known as the holy city due to the presence of Golden temple, has a history of about 570 years. The city has experienced various setbacks, like 1947 partition, and 1984 Operation Blue Star, but it has still not lost its glory and history. The redevelopment project namely the Heritage Street project from Town Hall to Golden Temple has been considered as a marvellous wonder for tourists, and pilgrims but its actual reality explains a different scenario altogether. As, behind the façade of stone cut latticework (jallis/ pinjrakari), there are a cluster of shops where no renovation has been done over several years. The aesthetically beautiful re-development project of Heritage Street has been restricted to a stretch of one km approximately. Some of the shopkeepers behind these facades are facing major hardships in terms of business. These older areas need preservation to overcome all the drawbacks. The present article examines a recent development that took place along the approach roads leading to Golden Temple. The authors have tried to evaluate the gaps in terms of infrastructure and facilities as well as other planning issues encountered during the study. – Reproduced
Golden temple, Galiara, Heritage walk project, Façade, Tourism, Business.