THE Penang Wadda Gurdwara Sahib Conservation and Restoration Committee would be meeting the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and the Heritage Department at the end of this year or early next year to finalise the drawings and plans for the conservation and restoration of the gurdwara.
State Local Government, Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said it would be the final meeting before the gurdwara’s Conservation and Restoration Committee submit the plans to the council for approval.
“After the approval of all the relevant plans, we will be given the date for the commencement of works on the building.
“We hope that actual physical works can begin by the second half of next year,” he told a press conference after launching the Phase Three of the Wadda Gurdwara Sahib heritage conservation project at the gurdwara today.
It was reported that the conservation and restoration of the gurdwara would take about three years to complete.
Heritage architecture and cultural anthropology consultant Dr Gwynn Jenkins said the gurdwara conservation project was a wonderful project for the community.
“The gurdwara is an important heritage building, not just tangible but also intangible.
“The conservation and restoration process are not uncommon. They are similar to the conservation and restoration process for Suffolk House and the Church of the Assumption,” she said.
The gurdwara Conservation and Restoration Committee chairman Datuk Mahinder Singh Dulku appealed to the public to donate generously to the restoration project.
It was reported that the gurdwara, a Category One heritage building, had not undergone any restoration work since it was constructed.
The construction of the gurdwara, then called the ‘Diamond Jubilee Sikh Temple’, started with the laying of the foundation stone on June 3, 1901.
The condition of the gurdwara has deteriorated with visible cracks all over the building, causing grave concerns and anxiety to its community.
Despite the temporary closure of the gurdwara’s old wing, the Guru Nanak’s 550th birthday celebration was held in a joyful way.
Jagdeep was happy that the celebration was held smoothly.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Law Suun Ting