Sikh volunteers offer helping hand, build govt school in Punjab

Chandigarh, Punjab: An upcoming government senior secondary school in Punjab’s Amritsar district has become a mark of perseverance and voluntary workmanship rendered by members of the Sikh community who are sweating out each day to construct the school building all by themselves.

The school premises is being built without any labour cost since hundreds of kar sevaks – Sikh volunteers who put in physical labour for all work at Sikh shrines as part of their religious tradition – have taken up the task, free of cost.

The kar sevaks have doubled up as labourers reducing significantly the construction cost of the Rs 2 crore Punjab government-funded project.

Sewa or altruistic service was preached by the Gurus as a means to realise God.

It has been several months since construction on the village panchayat land at Khadoor Sahib in Amritsar started this year and the structure has now started to shape up.

The volunteers includes the young and the old, contributing in whatever way they can to build the school brick by brick. A long make-shift wooden ramp witnesses kar sewaks in plenty queuing up in a chain as they pass on building material right to the top of the under-construction structure.

As dusk begins to settle, a feeling of accomplishment dawns on their faces seeing their dream grow bigger each day.

The work began on the initiative of Padam Shri Baba Sewa Singh of Khadoor Sahib, a widely respected personality acclaimed for his role in various environment-friendly initiatives. The 40-room school building will span across an area of 19,000 square feet.

The state government has released much of amount needed for the construction. Building material and equipment have been provided at the site. The building will be unique in its own way, somewhat akin to the structure of a Sikh shrine, with a big dome on the top.

Baba Sewa Singh said the work epitomises community service for the good of society.

Source: DeccanHerald.Com