Fazilka’s oldest building to be sold for commercial gain
PEOPLE OPPOSE MOVE, WANT PROPERTY RESTORED TO EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY TO WHICH IT WAS DONATED
Surprised that the Fazilka improvement trust wanted to sell the oldest building of the town for commercial purposes, people opposed the decision.
The building of Raghuwar Bhawan was donated to a local education trust originally. Munshi Ram Aggarwal, a prominent citizen in 1901, had got it made and laid a beautiful garden around it for cultural activities. Later, he transferred the 16-acre property to MR Education Trust.
The donation’s objective was to promote education in the border town. “It was shocking when the improvement trust published a notice in a newspaper about its decision to exploit the land for residential or commercial purpose,” said social activist Laxman Dost, former member of the local civic body who has written the history of Fazilka and other books. “The education trust was neither consulted with nor informed.”
“Raghuwar Bhawan is the oldest building of the town. Instead of saving it, the property donated for education is being sold out,” said Dost. Many
MLA’S ASSURANCE
films and songs have been shot at the property. “It can be developed into a tourist centre,” said the historian.
The people of Fazilka have decided to move court to save the land, Navdeep Asija, secretary general of the graduate welfare association of Fazilka (GWAF), has said. “It was okay, if they had converted it into a school or community centre,” he added.
On Sunday, the townsfolk gathered for a meeting against the improvement trust decision. “We will launch a signature campaign against it and submit memorandums to the chief minister, tourism minister, and deputy commissioner,” said Kuldeep Singh, man from New Abadi locality here.
Efforts to contact the deputy commissioner of Fazilka, who is also chairman of the city’s improvement trust, were futile. Expressing concern over the issue, cabinet minister Surjit Kumar Jiyani, who is also legislator of Fazilka, said there had been no complaint, so far, against the proposal sale of the land that Munshi Ram Aggarwal had donated to MR Education Trust. The trustees had surrendered the property to the government, said Jiyani. “However, if locals are opposed to the idea, I will look into the matter and restore the land to the education trust,” he said
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