SGPC to beef up security at Golden Temple

Amritsar, Punjab: A day after four pilgrims were taken ill reportedly after consuming ‘parsad’ laced with toxicant, the Golden Temple authorities have put up banners on the premises cautioning the visitors not to accept any eatable from unidentified persons

The banners – installed at three different spots along ‘parikrama’ of the shrine – are in Punjabi, a language which most of the devotees coming from outside Punjab are not familiar with.

However, considering the varied nature of visitors coming to the shrine from across India and abroad, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandik Committee (SGPC) chief Avtar Singh Makkar immediately ordered installation of permanent boards, in three languages – Punjabi, Hindi and English.

MAKKAR VISITS CCTV CONTROL ROOM

Expressing regret over Monday’s incident, Makkar told mediapersons here on Tuesday, “We will further strengthen the security apparatus in and around the shrine. Despite cameras scanning almost the entire shrine complex, we will ask the SGPC staff to be watchful.”

Makkar paid a visit to Room No-50 along the parikrama. This is the control room of the CCTV close circuit cameras that have been installed at various points inside and outside the shrine.

The control room gets a copy of the daily duty rooster of the SGPC Task Force and of ‘sewadars’ on duty along the ‘parkirama’ and at various entry points and at the Darshani Deori. The mobile phone numbers of those on duty are also there in this rooster.

Source: HT