LAHORE
CHAIRMAN Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Siddiq-ul-Farooq has said that Indian government should foil any attempt of making the agreed Nanakshahi Calendar of the Sikh community controversial on its soil.
Talking to the media after holding a consultative meeting with Pakistan Sikh Gurdawara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) to finalise the arrangements for the Sikh Yatrees on the upcoming Besakhi Mela to be held in the next month, Farooq said the Indian government should fulfil its duty and foil any attempt being made to make the agreed Nanakshahi Calendar a controversial in India. The meeting was attended by the members of PSGPC from across the country including its President Sardar Sham Singh, Sardar Sahib Singh, Sardar Sham Singh, Sadar Tara Singh, Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora, Sardar Manindar Singh and Srdar Gopal Singh. Senior officers of the ETPB including ETPB secretary Khalid Ali and others were also present.
According to a press release issued on Friday, ETPB chairman also shared his plan with others for arranging the Besakhi Mela which would be completed soon adding their focus was on providing the better facilities to the visiting Hindu and Sikh Yatrees. He added that for the better cooperation the Board had approved the establishment of offices and recruitment of staff for the PSGPC in different places including Gurdawara Panja Sahib, Hassanabdal, Gurdawara Dera Sahib Lahore and Gurdawara Janam Asthan, Nankana Sahib. President PSGPC Sardar Sham Singh said all the changes, which had been made in the Nanakshahi Calendar in India, were not acceptable to the Sikh community adding the original Nanakshahi Calendar was agreed by the representatives of the Sikh community.