Heritage plaque installed in 1976 to mark second phase of UT missing from Sec 35

Times News Network
Chandigarh: The heritage plaque commemorating the inauguration of the second phase of Chandigarh city, installed in Sector 35 in 1976, is missing. The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation lodged a police complaint after the missing plaque was brought to the notice of MC officials.
However, no FIR was registered till the filing of this report.The plaque was located at the green belt near the petrol pump in Sector 35.
“Plaques, which can be found in different parts of the city, mark historic events in its development, such as inauguration by Jawahar Lal Nehru, Dr Rajendra Prasad and others. In Sector 35, the plaque marked the inauguration of the second phase of Chandigarh. It was inaugurated in 1968, and included development of 17 sectors, numbered 31 to 47,” said an official.
Another plaque in Sector 9 marks the place where former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru saw the layout of Chandigarh on April 2, 1952.
The memorial was inaugurated by M S Randhawa, chief commissioner, Chandigarh on February 27, 1967.
Rahul Mahajan, a city-based activist, who took up the issue of missing plaque with the authorities, said, “The officials are callous about such key historical items even as they plan to save heritage artefacts like furniture.”
Many Chandigarh heritage items have ended up in auction houses abroad and have been auctioned for crores. So far, the UT administration has only made half-hearted efforts to safeguard such items. Plans to create a museum for Chandigarh heritage items failed to materialise as several years of discussions at the highest levels remained inconclusive.
“This missing plaque is only the latest example of Chandigarh’s heritage being lost. A part of the Sector 35 plaque went missing around eight years back. At the time, the condition of the area surrounding it was very poor. Now that this aspect has improved, the administration has failed to safeguard the heritage item,” said a city-based architect who didn’t want to be named.