FAISALABAD: The haveli and the school, where Bhagat Singh lived and studied in Chak 105-GB, Jaranwala, have little to show even though the Faisalabad district government has spent Rs20 million on their preservation.

The place holds importance for Sikhs and historians who visit the place to pay homage to Singh, a revolutionary socialist who influenced the independence movement and was executed by the Raj on March 23, 1931, for murdering police officer JP Saunders.

The preservation work of both sites remained under way for more than a year under the Lyallpur Heritage Foundation, an initiative of District Coordination Officer (DCO) Noorul Ameen Mengal.

Some documents regarding Singh’s execution have been placed in the residential area. Even though they were preserved recently, plaster and paints of the classrooms have started coming off. Similarly, the preserved rooms of Singh’s haveli are dark making it difficult for the visitors to see the 25 pictures of Singh and his fellows put on display there.

The school lacks basic facilities like water, sanitation and classroom furniture. Schoolteachers have provided three plastic mats to children for seating. The windowpanes of the classrooms are missing and garbage litters floor of the school.

Villagers said they had read in newspapers a couple of months ago that the district government had spent millions on the haveli and the school of Singh but the project failed to show any visible change in the sites.

Mohammad Irfan, a visitor, said there should be a board carrying a portrait and history of Singh for the visitors.

Ali Afzal, whose family is living in the house where two rooms of Singh are situated, told Dawn that a number of Sikhs visited the rooms whenever they came to Pakistan for their religious rites.

He said Sikh visitors would see the pictures displayed on the walls of the two rooms with a profound reverence.

He said the district government had completed the restoration work recently and rooms would be provided adequate lights soon.

DCO Mengal told Dawn the district government had notified 45 heritage assets as special premises, including the haveli and the school of Singh, in the district.

The restoration of the residential rooms, now owned by a lawyer, had been done while the classrooms of the primary school were built completely.

He said the preservation work was undertaken with the original material of the buildings about a year ago.

He said inspection teams would check the issues of both sides and that the executive district officer would be directed to provide basic facilities like water and furniture to the school.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2016