GUJRAT: The Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) will provide technical expertise for the rehabilitation of at least three sacred sites of the Sikh community in Jhelum district.

The sites include Gurdwara Bhai Karam Singh in Jhelum city, Gurdwara Choa Sahib and Janam Asthan Mata Sahib Kaur located within the limits of the historical Rohtas Fort near Dina.

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Kamran Lashari, the director general of WCLA, along with Conservation Director Najamul Saqib inspected these sites on Tuesday where Jhelum Deputy Commissioner (DC) Saif Anwar Jappa briefed them about the background of these places.

Talking to Dawn, the DC said that rehabilitation of these sites was the need of the hour for which the administration had launched practical work as per the directions of federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry.

He added that the WCLA experts would study the project, including the estimated cost as well as its feasibility, after which the government would be requested for the required funds. The authority would send a team of experts for a tour of Jhelum next week, he added.

Earlier, talking to senior officials of the district administration, Mr Lashari said that the Bhai Karam Singh Gurdwara would be rehabilitated to its genuine form with the help of old photographs, maps and building designs, and a museum on the Lok Virsa model as well as a book centre and restaurants established.

The gurdwara would become a tourist site as well as an attraction for the Sikh community from around the world, he added.

Later, the WCLA delegation visited the Rohtas Fort and inspected the Gurdwara Choa Sahib and Janam Asthan Mata Sahib Kaur and directed the local administration to restore these sites.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2019