SGPC supports celebration of Amritsar Foundation Day as annual event

Amritsar,Punjab:  JThe Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has extended its support and solidarity for celebrating Amritsar Foundation Day as an annual affair from the current year. Amritsar Foundation Day will be observed on July 6.

During a meeting held between SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar, secretary Roop Singh, Eco-Amritsar Chairman Gunbir Singh and Ravneet Singh, the proposal was discussed and was approved by the SGPC.

EcoSikh, a Washington-based organisation, took an initiative to celebrate the foundation day of Amritsar by engaging major organisations and grass-roots level bodies to care for the city and its natural resources and preserving its habitat. It had launched an Eco-Amritsar campaign in July last year by bringing major stakeholders of the city together to discuss ways and means to improve city’s environment. These included the SGPC, Khalsa College, Durgiana Mandir, Chief Khalsa Diwan, the Amritsar administration and various educational institutions and major business outlets.

A committee of Eco-Amritsar has been formed to implement the five-year Eco-Amritsar 2017 plan. EcoSikh will also hire a full-time official to coordinate this campaign. The plan, that was launched last year, focuses on creating awareness to preserve natural resources, engaging the government and NGOs to reduce air pollution, improving city’s garbage disposal system and increasing green patches in the city. EcoSikh had also facilitated Amritsar to become a founding member of the green pilgrimage network launched at Assisi, Italy, in November 2011.

Delighted with the approval of the SGPC, Rajwant Singh, president, EcoSikh USA, under whose inspiration Eco-Amritsar was formed said, “The accent of the annual event will be to spread the message of a clean and eco-friendly Amritsar which was established on Haar Vadi 13 in 1577 by Sri Guru Ram Das and was initially called Ram Dasspur.”

Thanking the SGPC chief, Gunbir Singh said, “If Surat can do it, then why can’t we? Environmental consciousness is imperative, and is well expounded in the wisdom of the Gurus as contained in the Guru Granth Sahib.

The proposal is to work with all stakeholders of the city on six fronts—to save, harvest and improve quality of water; to shun chemical usage in homes, institutions and farms; to reuse and reduce waste; to conserve energy; to nurture sustainable lifestyle and green cover; and to clean and beautify the city—.

The support of the SGPC therefore is crucial to spread this message far and wide, and also start the process for implementation in all gurdwaras and institutions under the aegis of the SGPC.

Eco-Amritsar initiative

• EcoSikh, a Washington-based organisation, took an initiative to celebrate the foundation day of Amritsar by engaging major organisations and grass-roots level bodies to care for the city and its natural resources and preserve its habitat
• It launched an Eco-Amritsar campaign in July last year by bringing major stakeholders of the city together to discuss ways and means to improve environment of the city
• The stakeholders include the SGPC, Khalsa College, Durgiana Mandir, Chief Khalsa Diwan, the Amritsar administration and various educational institutions and major business outlets
• EcoSikh has also facilitated Amritsar to become a founding member of the green pilgrimage network launched at Assisi, Italy, in November 2011

Focus on preserving natural resources

• A committee of Eco-Amritsar has been formed to implement the five-year Eco-Amritsar 2017 plan
• The plan focuses on creating awareness to preserve natural resources, engaging the government and NGOs to reduce air pollution, improving city’s garbage disposal system and increasing green patches in the city

Source: The Tribune