Neeraj Bagga
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, August 18
Despite investing lakhs of rupees in the restoration of British-era hydroelectric power generation plant of the holy city, the plant is still lying in a deplorable condition.
A visit to the plant revealed that some portions of its tin roof are missing. They might have been blown away by strong winds.
The power house has become a favourable spot for unscrupulous elements. The civic authorities after investing crores of rupees cannot leave the power house to its old fate. It should be opened for tourists at the earliest and a couple of cops should be deployed to guard it.
The Municipal Corporation had placed it under the Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) to showcase it to tourists. The power house situated at the Tara Wala Pul on the Amritsar-Jalandhar GT Road was restored with an investment of Rs 60 lakh under HRIDAY over a year ago.
However, the power house, constructed way back in the 1930s, continued to remain unattended resulting in its deterioration.
Kulwant Singh, a resident of Partap Nagar, which is close to Tara Wala Pul, said the power house had become a favourable spot of unscrupulous elements. “The civic authorities after investing crores of rupees cannot leave the power house to its old fate. It should be opened for tourists at the earliest and a couple of cops should be deployed to guard it,” he said.
It is said that the machinery for generating electricity was brought from Switzerland and the UK but most of these were not preserved due to the nonchalant attitude, he quipped. Despite repeated attempts, MC Commissioner Malwinder Singh Jaggi did not respond.