Hyderabad,April 20 : The Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC), the highest temporal and apex body of Sikh community in the country has spread its wing to South India by opening a full-fledged zonal office in Hyderabad on Sunday by SGPC president, S Avatar Singh Makkar.
This is the first zonal office to be opened in South India at Gurudwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Ashok Bazar, Afzalgunj, Hyderabad.
The office will be under the control of SGPC. Last month, the SGPC president was in the city and held a series of meetings with Prabhandak Committees of various Sikh Gurudwaras located in the twin cities in connection the 300 years of the installation of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and Parlokgaman of tenth Sikh Guru, Sri Guru Gobind Singh which is going to be celebrated on a large-scale during October and November 2008 at Takhat Sachkhand Shri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib in Nanded, Maharastra.
The Prabhandak Committees of Andhra Pradesh have been requesting the SGPC to open a office in Hyderabad for last several years which got materilaised last month.
Speaking on the occasion, Avatar Singh said that the SGPC Zonal office would benefit the hundreds of people residing in Andhra Pradesh and other South Indian states as it would help them to book Gurudwara rooms or book for performing Akhandpath Sahib for Sri Guru Granth Sahibji' (continuous reading of holy Guru Granth Sahib for 48 hours) at Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple), Amritsar and other facilities.
For SGPC, the zonal office would serve as a platform to spread the message of Sikhism and activities that are being taken up by the SGPC.
The zonal office will be headed by Chairman Harminder Singh Bagga, Vice-Chairman, Gurucharan Singh all the Prabhandak Committees of Sikh Gurudwaras will be the members. The overall supervision and monitoring will be under the control of SGPC member from Andhra Pradesh, S Huzur Singh.
Prabhandak committee members from Gurudwara Guru Singh Sabha, Ashok Bazar, Gurudwara Saheb Ameerpet, Central Gurudwara Saheb Gowliguda, Charmahal, Sikh Chawni Barambala, Uppuguda, Seetafalmandi and Secunderabad, etc., falicitated the SGPC chief on the occasion.
-By S Bachan Jeet Singh, Hyderabad, India
