Maghi Mela: Political leaders prepare for mudslinging at conferences

People throng Muktsar for Maghi Mela
Political leaders prepare for mudslinging at conferences
Rajay Deep
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, January 9

Celebrations of the historical and religious Maghi Mela have started taking place, but all is not well here. Ill-maintained monuments have been baring the reality of politicians and bureaucrats, for whom the fair has apparently become just another source to gain benefits. If one takes the round of the city, which has been waiting its official status as a holy city from the past couple of years, the state of affairs will itself be exposed.
However, ignoring sentiments of the people about the system, politicians are “excited” about their conferences to be held here on January 13, when they will use the fair as “a platform to set scores by mudslinging over each other”.
Moreover, turning a blind eye to sentiments of the crowd thronging the city from various places to celebrate the mela, the administration could not yet earmark any permanent site for holding the mela.
With the passage of every year, the mela site is getting away from the main gurdwara of the city. Adjusting according to circumstances, sometimes the fair goes to the Malout road, then it shifts to the Barkandi road and sometimes moves to the Bathinda road.
The prestigious four gates of the city, constructed in 2004-05 by the state government through the construction wing of the Markfed, were named on the names of Bhai Daan Singh, Bhai Maha Singh, Mata Bhag Kaur and Bhai Langar Singh. However, after the change of the government, the gates (each worth about Rs 18 lakh) were taken as nobody’s baby. The stone of the gates and steel-made alphabets of the names of the reverential Sikh martyrs have fell down, but no one paid attention towards the menace.
Dedicating it to the 300 years of the martyrdom of the 40 Muktas, former CM Amarinder Singh had inaugurated the Mukte Minar (a memorial of 40 muktas), near the district administration complex, on May 4, 2005.
Despite spending crores of rupees from the state exchequer, neither the Congress nor the SAD (B) government could take care of its maintenance. Moreover, against the public wish, the governments could not give it the due respect as neither any politicians reportedly visited there nor it had been included as a destination of the mela.
Taking a cue from the then ruling Congress, Bibi Jagir Kaur, the then president of the SGPC and Parkash Singh Badal, who was the president of the SAD (B) at that time, had laid the foundation stone of a martyrs memorial outside the Tibbi Sahib Gurdwara.
Dedicating it to the 300 years of the martyrdom of 40 Muktas, Badal had said that the design was approved and crores of rupees would be spent there to build a great wall, where the portraits of all martyrs (Muktas) would be installed.
However, even after passing more than four years, the foundation stone is standing alone and the issue of construction has been “dumped” by the government.
A few days ago, some migrant labourers were witnessed setting their makeshift huts and burning stoves around the lone foundation stone.
However, when the issues were discussed with the SDM, Muktsar, Dalwinderjit Singh, he assured to look into the matter and take it up with the higher authorities.