Despite being notified as a ‘protected monument’, Punjab government has not made any efforts to develop and preserve the double-storey building at Turi Bazar in Ferozepur that served as a hideout of the Krantikari Party led by revolutionary Bhagat Singh.
Due to the memories attached to the secret hideout, it has become a tourist attraction in the state. This is the place where the revolutionaries used to make strategies to drive Britishers out of the country.
According to sources, Bhagat Singh and his revolutionary comrades had made a secret hideout here from August 10, 1928, and emptied it on February 4, 1929, after the British police discovered it.
This base was built keeping in mind various necessary activities. Apart from Bhagat Singh, revolutionaries Chandrashekhar Azad, Sukhdev, Shiv Verma, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Dr Gaya Prasad, Mahabir Singh and Jai Gopal used to visit the spot. They used to travel in trains in disguise on their way to the secret hideout. Bhagat Singh’s hair and beard were also cut at this place to hide his identity from the British.
Investigative writer Rakesh Kumar said that after the discovery of the activities carried out by the revolutionaries at this place, the archaeology department had issued a notification to declare it as a protected monument. After a prolonged legal battle by locals, the Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs had declared the building as a ‘protected monument’ on December 17, 2015. Thereafter, neither any step was taken to take over the building nor any funds were allocated for it.
Currently, the building is under the control of the Krishna Bhagti Satsung Trust. Nand Kishore Sharma, one of the trustees, said his grandfather Lahori Ram Shastri had met Bhagat Singh here several times. Earlier, the district administration had served a notice on the occupants not to alter the structure or sell the premises.
According to sources, on August 15, 2017, former Congress cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu had promised a grant for the memorial. Four years have passed, but no grant has been sanctioned.
