Current Events
Why?
A 20 Million-Dollar Ropeway?
INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE
Chandigarh, Punjab
The Punjab cabinet Wednesday approved a Rs.100 crore - that's, roughly, $ 20 million or Rs. 1 billion - ropeway project that will link the Takht Keshgarh Sahib at Anandpur Sahib with a Hindu temple in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh.
The cabinet gave its nod to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to be signed between the governments of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh for the project. The meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.
While Takht Keshgarh Sahib is located at Anandpur Sahib, 80 km from here, the Naina Devi Hindu temple is located atop a hill in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur district, 100 km from here.
The two are located at a distance of about 15 km by road from each other.
A spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said that a joint venture, Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), of the Sri Naina Devi Ji and Sri Anandpur Sahib Ji Ropeway Company Pvt. Ltd. would be formed to develop this project on design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) or public-private partnership (PPP) basis.
July 19, 2012
Conversation about this article
1: Hari Singh (Gurgaon, India), July 19, 2012, 7:36 AM.
They say, when the citizens are starving and all that the rulers do is ask them to eat cake, then it is time for a revolution. Is it time for one in India? Or do we need some more pillage and plunder?
2: Sunny Grewal (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada), July 19, 2012, 1:24 PM.
What is going on with all of the Hindu pandering in the Punjab? First the cow protection bill and now this 20 million dollar rope? How on earth can a community which can easily be argued to posses one of the greatest potentials in the world (based on education, business and successful migration precedence, not ego) and manage to horribly mismanage the one little piece of land they own in this world?
3: Gurteg Singh (New Yok, USA), July 19, 2012, 3:16 PM.
This is clearly BJP/ RSS/ Hindutava agenda to wean Sikhs towards devi puja/ idol worship under the subterfuge of tourism.
4: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), July 19, 2012, 7:02 PM.
No, it is not 'rope puja' but 'Rupee' puja. For money they will sell their mothers, fathers and religion. The religion of Mammon is their 'Deen Elahi,' whatever the denomination. Don't worry, they will still come in droves to Anandpur Sahib for Guru's langar. The Durgiana Hindu mandir was built in Amritsar to compete with the Harmandar Sahib. See where it got them!
5: Simran Singh (United Kingdom), July 23, 2012, 11:55 AM.
I note that once again the impulsive response is to identify the Hindu element as being responsible for this project. That may be so but SURELY the issue is that the Akalis had no obligation to cooperate. This is another example of how Sikhs are losing their prerogative and primacy. Badal has sold his proverbial mother and is now putting the Panth on the auction block.