Auditorium built in memory of poet incomplete after 34 years

An auditorium to be built in the memory of a local poet still remains incomplete even after 34 years of its foundation stone laying.
The poet, Shiv Kumar Batalvi, died on May 6, 1973, while the foundation stone of the auditorium, named after him, was laid by then Punjab Governor Aminu Din Ahmad in 1980.
The auditorium is still incomplete even after 34 years have passed since its foundation stone was laid, sources said.
Batalvi was one of youngest recipient of Sahitya Academy Award at the age of 31 years in 1968. Known as John Keats of Punjab, he has penned down the best of local literature.

The same year, Shiv Kumar Batalvi memorial trust was formed under the chairmanship of the then Gurdsapur Deputy Commissioner Ashok Kumar Kundra.
Apart from the contribution from local residents and industrialists, successive governments in Punjab had been doling out funds for its development, sources said.

Due to the incompletion of the auditorium, local artists and residents were unable to organise any cultural function there and they have to depend upon other available means, they claim.
The Punjab government had provided Rs 1.80 crore two years ago to complete the auditorium. Besides, the administration spent Rs 60 lakh for constructing its roof and floor, officials said.

Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Abhinav Trikha said, "the administration has received an amount of Rs 1.80 crore to complete the work of auditorium. The government is in process to built the auditorium.