Martyr’s Day at Gandhi Dham in Phillaur: Saplings planted, statue garlanded

Brij Bhushan Goyal, a member of this NGO and a retired bank employee, said, “This place was a total of 17 kanals in 1948 when the Centre had announced to make it Gandhi Dham. It used to be well-maintained till early 70s. Later, lack of interest of the masses and government made it a neglected spot. However, now our NGO and even few other philanthropists are contributing in keeping the monument site clean and green. We hope that the fruit plants planted by Sheetal Parkash will not be uprooted this time.”

Pucca houses have come up in the nearby area. Goyal, who is a resident of Phillaur, said, “Now it is not more than 3 kanal area and the rest has been encroached upon.”

The site used to be a hub of weavers before 1970 who used to sell their handmade products at this site. Even people used to weave cloth at the charkha installed inside the Gandhi Dham and later would gift the cloth to Sutlej Khadi Mandal within this Gandhi Dham.

On Friday, NGO members and the general public garlanded the monument of Mahatma Gandhi. Goyal appealed to more NGOs to join hands and keep this area clean and green.

The fruit plants planted were of jamun, guava and mango, and the idea behind planting fruit plants was to provide ample fruits to visitors.