Roof of Sirhindi Gate collapses

Historians say that the Maharaja provided incentives to those migrating to Patiala from Sirhind and rehabilitated them in this city. In fact, there still is a market in the city called Sirhindi Bazar where several of these migrants settled down.

Since the road where this gate is located was at that time the only route from Patiala to Sirhind, when this gate was built, it was named Sirhindi Gate.

Though the Punjab Public Works Department had declared this structure unsafe, there was an effort to save this historical structure by building a concrete supporting arch under the gate.

A few years ago, the Sheranwala Gate, in the heart of the city, was pulled down after it developed cracks and shopkeepers in the area expressed apprehensions that it would cause colossal loss of life and property if it collapsed.

Meanwhile, a number of residents of the Sirhindi Gate area have in a memorandum to the deputy commissioner, demanded that the gate be pulled down since it had created a traffic bottleneck as now it had been closed to traffic by erecting temporary walls on both sides of the gate. They have also pointed out that since the gate was a weak and crumbling structure, it posed a serious threat to the life of the passersby.

Deputy Commissioner Viswajeet Khanna said that since the state Archaeology Department was looking after the Sirhindi Gate, the matter was being taken up with that department. The department was being requested to either make arrangements for repairs and reinforcement of the gate or accord permission for demolition of the structure.