360-Degree Photos For First Time From Inside Spectacular Golden Temple

Amritsar: It is the most revered shrine for Sikhs. The Golden Temple, in Amritsar, spread over 50 acres which includes a stunning moat and discounted rooms for worshippers, offers a peace and tranquility that remains with you long after you've left.

Here's a 360-degree video of evening prayers along the sarovar or "pool of nectar" - move the video around to get different views.



But the 430-year-old temple, which has brought solace, courage and inspiration to many, is now in need of help. Relentless air pollution is dulling its walls and spectacular dome. The gold-plated walls were replaced more than a century ago and then again in 1999. Despite a recent campaign to cut down pollution in the area, there's no improvement - and pollution monitoring equipment has not been installed in the area.

Gunbir Singh, a leading environmentalist in Amritsar, said that a series of studies which included the input of IIT-Delhi have found that "the levels of PM (tiny molecules or Particulate Matter) and other pollutants are two to three times than the permissible limit. So, definitely yes air pollution is playing a huge part in dulling the glittering of the Golden Temple which is the ultimate shrine not just of the Sikhs, but a universal abode for people''.

Just a few feet from the main walk-up to the temple, mounds of garbage are impossible to ignore.

Take a look at this 360-degree photo - move the image around for different perspectives.


(Garbage just a few feet from the main entrance of the Golden Temple)

Also en route, construction, sand, debris, signs of the booming construction that delivers clouds of dust - as shown in this 360-degree photo.


(Booming construction near Golden Temple sends clouds of dust into the air)

At the entrance of the 17th-century temple, devotees spend hours washing and cleaning the marble steps.

Once inside, the view is breath-taking, but it takes frequent visits to recognize the damage being done by pollution; regulars say they can see how the walls are being dulled.

Amritsar has been ranked India's ninth-most polluted city. The responsibility to improve the situation here falls both on the Punjab Government and the Shrimoni Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee or SGPC, the body that controls and manages the Golden Temple.

''A couple of years ago we used to have fireworks. We have stopped  that now. We are taking a number of steps to reduce pollution. Now, if you look at the langar (the world-famous community kitchen that provides free meals) - earlier, the kitchen used wood to cook, now it is only gas. Not just that, all the areas surrounding the Golden Temple will soon have only battery-operated vehicles'' said Harcharan Singh, Chief Secretary of the SGPC.

As you walk around barefoot, every inch of the shrine is immaculately clean. Harcharan Singh told us ''Not a single person who you see at night, the ladies with their dupattas and the men with towels who cleaning the premises, are paid. It is all voluntary''.

Gunbir Singh says there is only one way out. ''Without getting the community and the entire city together on this matter, nothing will happen''.

Here's a 360-degree photo of worshippers resting by the "sarovar"



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