PESHAWAR: The worshippers frequenting nearly 200 years old Gurdwara Bhai Joga Singh now enter the building with fear of the structure caving in on them as its cracked walls await repair.
While talking to Geo News, a local said a single major earthquake can raze the gurdwara to the ground.
The white-washed and mirror-embellished walls of the gurdwara were built in 1836 during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Peshawar, after its foundations were laid in 1702 another local said.
However, as much as locals and worshippers are concerned about the historical gurdwara, when asked, the authority responsible for the protection of such structures were unaware of the situation.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Auqaf Department Monitoring Officer Kamran told Geo.tv no team from their department has visited Mohalla Jogan Shah to assess condition of Gurdwara Bhai Joga Singh as they have not been informed of it being on the verge of collapse.
But if people of the community want government to repair the gurdwara, they must inform the auqaf department via their coordinator, the monitoring officer said.
Nevertheless, he maintained, it would still take at least a year for the auqaf department to get repair work started in the gurdwara as funds for the task would be allocated in the next budget, 2018-19.
As of now, the KP government has allocated funds for 33 places — of religious importance to the minorities — under a project started for the purpose, the officer said. But the gurdwara’s name was not mentioned even in the list of these places, he added.
Gurdwara Bhai Joga Singh, located in Mohalla Jogan Shah, is one of the few major places of worship for Sikhs in Peshawar. If the locals’ fear of the gurdwara collapsing materialises, not only will Sikhs of Peshawar lose a worship place, but those travelling from other districts to the provincial metropolis for major events will be deprived of a guest house.
Like other gurdwaras, the one in Mohalla Jogan Shah too has a section to host guests coming from far-off areas. The lodging services that come free of cost are not only open to Sikh travellers, but whoever visits Peshawar and is aware of the facility is welcomed at Gurdwara Bhai Joga Singh.