Golden Temple replica at Delhi park dismantled, says DSGMC president

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday said a replica of the Golden Temple being built at a park in Punjabi Bagh area of the national capital has been dismantled as it was against "Sikh decorum".

The Bharat Darshan Park, being developed by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, has replicas of 18 popular monuments from across the country including Mysore Palace, Charminar and Khajuraho Temple.

The Golden Temple replica was being built using scrap material and was the most expensive of all in the park, officials said.

In a tweet, Sirsa said, "Big Victory for DSGMC: Thanking the Sangat. We have succeeded in getting the replica of Sri Darbar Sahib dismantled from Punjabi Bagh Park. This replica was against Sikh Maryada (decorum)."

In a video posted on his Twitter handle on Monday, the DSGMC president had said, "Sri Darbar Sahib, Amritsar is not a tourist spot that can be replicated. It is the sanctum sanctorum for Sikhs and seeing a replica for touristy offends us to the core."

Sirsa said the DSGMC learnt about the replica on Sunday.

On Monday, Sirsa talked to MCD officials to express the committee's reservations. Later, members of the committee reached the park and started dismantling the structure with the support of MCD staff.