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Sir
Ganga Ram’s 85th death anniversary Puneet Pal Singh Gill
A
Lahore-based NGO, Friends of Ganga Ram (FGR) has observed the death
anniversary of Sir Ganga Ram, an Indian philanthropist and agriculturist,
at his samadhi in Samadhi Ganga
Ram area located in the heart of Lahore city yesterday. Ironically,
Sir Ganga Ram's samadhi is in a dilapidated condition and the FGR has
vowed to take care of it, besides raising this issue with the Pakistani
government. Sir
Ganga Ram had passed away in London on July 10, 1927. His body was
cremated there, but his ashes were brought back to India. A portion of the
ashes was consigned to the Ganga river and the rest was buried at this
place in Lahore. It
was on July 6 this year that a group of friends, including SQ Mehdi from
Punjab Lok Sujãg, Amjad Salim Minhas of Sãnjh publications, Qaisar Abbas
from Punjab Lok Rahs and some others got together to form the FGR. Speaking
to the Tribune over the phone
from Lahore, Mehdi, a member of FGR, said philanthropists should be
remembered irrespective of their caste, colour or creed. He
was the "father of modern Lahore". This man contributed so much
to the Punjab and now no one really remembered him, he said, adding that
it is sad that his samadhi had
been neglected by the government. "That
is why we decided to form the FGR and work in this direction so that every
body in Pakistan knows who Sir Ganga Ram was. The social movement started
by him should be continued. The FGR has decided to look after Sir Ganga
Ram's samadhi and other historical places in the city. “I
have come to know that a few years ago, his great granddaughter had
visited Sir Ganga Ram Hospital of Lahore and was saddened to see its
plight. She had donated a large sum of money to the hospital, but not many
in Lahore know about this fact," said Mehdi. "It
is not just the responsibility of the government but also of the citizens
to take care of these historical places. We have demanded from our
government that funds generated from Ganga Pur Power Station be given to
Sir Ganga Ram Trust so that places related to him can be taken care
of," Mehdi said, adding: "Our NGO will also celebrate his birth
anniversary in April next year by organising a seminar, dance and drama
festival and other such activities". More
about Sir Ganga Ram Sir
Ganga Ram was born in Mangtanwala (now in Sheikhupura district) in 1851.
While starting his career as an assistant engineer in 1873, he designed
the Lyallpur (now Faisalabad) district courts complex, Lahore Museum,
Aitchison College, Mayo School of Arts (now the NCA), Ganga Ram Hospital,
Lady Mclagan Girls High School, the Albert Victor wing of Mayo Hospital,
the Hailey College of Commerce and Lady Maynard Industrial School. He also
designed and constructed Model Town, Lahore. He purchased thousands acres
of barren land in Lyallpur and by using engineering skills and modern
irrigation methods, turned the arid lands into fertile fields. [Edited
for apnaorg.com]
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