Amritsar: Amritsar celebrated its 438th foundation day on Sunday last with various programmes. Prayers were offered, vows were taken and marches were taken out to create awareness for a ‘Clean Amritsar.’ The city was founded by Guru Ram Dass, the fourth guru of the Sikhs.
A rally was taken out by volunteers of EcoAmritsar, an NGO, which led an awareness march through different parts of the city. The procession was flagged off at the Golden Temple by Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh, who appreciated EcoAmritsar for creating awareness about cleanliness among the residents.
People from different walks of life such as representatives of NGOs, NCC cadets, school students and many others participated in the march. However, neither the mayor nor any of the municipal corporation (MC) elected representatives were present in the awareness campaign.
The jathedar expressed solidarity with the cause of a ‘Clean and Green Amritsar’, as envisaged by EcoSikh, the parent organisation to which EcoAmritsar is affiliated to. EcoSikh, which is headquartered in New York, has set 2017 as its target for making Amritsar a clean city.
The jathedar extolled citizens of all faiths to come together to make this dream a reality. The procession culminated at Ram Bagh Gardens where a meeting was held under the chairmanship of deputy commissioner Pradeep Sabharwal.
SGPC offers ‘ardas’
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) celebrated the foundation day by holding a ‘bhog’ ceremony and offering ‘ardas’ at Dewan Hall Manji Sahib on the Golden Temple complex.
Senior SGPC officials attended the religious function.
