US-Based Sikh Foundation Halts Renovation Work At Gurdwara Chowa Sahib in Pakistan: Report
The Nagara Foundation, largely funded by the Sikh diaspora, was working on renovation of Gurdwara Chowa Sahib in Pakistan's Jhelum, as the building constructed in 1834 needed repairs.
New Delhi: US-based Ranjit Nagara Foundation, which was overseeing the renovation and construction of Gurdwara Chowa Sahib in Jhelum and other gurdwaras in Pakistan, has said they have stopped all construction activities.
Notifying its decision, the foundation said it took the deicision due to non-compliance by the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) and the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) in providing them with bills and expenditure details of the work carried out so far, news agency IANS reported.
Quoting Satpreet Singh, director of the Ranjit Nagara Foundation, the report said US rules mandate them to provide documentation of their expenditure to the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Justice, annually. The details are to be updated on the department's site to put it in public domain "on or before May 15", but the ETPB office in Pakistan has not provided the requisite documents, the report said. The NGO, therefore, decided to put its activities on hold.
According to the report, misappropriation of gurdwara funds by ETPB and PSGPC officials had been reported in the past also.
The foundation is largely funded by the Sikh diaspora.
About the Gurdwara Chowa Sahib project, the foundation says on its website: "Guru Nanak Dev Ji started the water to flow in that area. Water spring is called 'Chowa' hence this place was got the name of Chowa Sahib. Jagat Guru Nanak Dev Ji arrived here from Tila Jogian."
According to the foundation, the present building of the gurdwara was constructed in 1834 on the orders of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The building has Ghan river on one side and a fort on the other. There are uneven and undeveloped land around the building on the remaining sides.
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