Sikh Sewak Sabha urges to reconstruct Gurdwara Gyan Godri at Haridwar

Sikh Sewak Sabha on Thursday urged the Uttarakhand government to reconstruct the Gurdwara Gyan Godri at Haridwar in the state.

"The Gurdwara building is no longer in existence except for round Mehrabs (pillars) that constituted the front entrance of the Gurdwara building and a small room where the Guru Granth Sahib Prakash is situated. The remaining part is a market," the group said in a press release.

Urging to reconstruct the Gurdwara immediately at its original site, the group said that it has drafted an appeal to the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand with a copy to the President, Prime Minister and Working President of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Proposing to create a petition campaign to register the involvement of the people, Sikh Sewak Sabha said: "The importance of early action is emphasised in view of the ongoing 550th birth anniversary celebrations of the Guru Nanak Dev when consolidation of his historic footprint is of prime importance."

"The site of Guru Nanak Dev's visit to Haridwar had been marked by a historic Gurdwara named Gurdwara Gyan Godri (Treasure of Knowledge) Sahib. The Gurdwara was located at Har Ki Pauri, (Landhaura House) on the banks of the River Ganga, in Haridwar. This was exactly the place where Guru Nanak Dev gave his important message," read the release.

Adding that after a Kumbh Mela stampede of 1966, Haridwar administration acquired Landhaura House to widen Har Ki Pauri and demolished a part of the Gurdwara, the release said: "Another ancient Gurdwara called Gurdwara Nanakwara, located 200 metres from the said spot was also demolished. Later there was forcible destruction of the Gurdwara premises during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.