Ludhiana City’s colonial Clock Tower

Ludhiana Clock towerhindustantimes.com

Clock Tower, Ludhiana, Punjabengrave.in

Ludhiana City has a beautiful iconic clock Tower in the prime locality close to the railroad station and business  center - Chra bazaar is near-by. Popularly known as Ghanta Ghar, it is the most impressive one among many clock towers in the state of Punjab. It was  inaugurated on 18 October 1906 by the then Lt- Governor of Punjab and its dependencies, Sir Charles Montgomery and Deewan Tek Chand, the then Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana. Its architect was the then municipal chief engineer of Amritsar, John Gordon and the construction  work began in 1862. The name of the clock tower built in Indo-Gothic style  was Victoria Memorial Clock Tower and was erected  as a memorial to mark  the silver jubilee year of Queen Victoria’s regime. It was built long before the worst Jallianwalla  Bagh Massacre in 1913. Since its construction, it has been an emblem of Ludhiana city. In the colonial era, it had a manually wound clock later it was  replaced by an electronic clock

Clock Tower, Ludhiana The Tribune

However, during the reign of  Giani Zail Singh, on Jain community's request the landmark clock Tower was renamed was Bhagwan Mahavir Clock Tower. 

Tit-Bits:

 Like many clock towers across India, this one is not well maintained and the local administration fails to pay attention to these structures that carry historical value.. According to media reports, the following need to be taken care of immediately to preserve this beautiful colonial structure. 

01. The digital clock fixed in the past shows incorrect time and the original clock - manually wound type is lying unfixed.

02. Though countless people want to go to the top of the tower through the spiral stair way, they can not do it. Above the first floor, stairs and wooden planks are either broken or weak. So, for heritage freaks, this clock tower's top floor is out of reach. The entry is prohibited by the Municipal Corporation..

03. The stench from the adjacent place is very bad. Illegal bill boards on the wall around this place mar the elegance of this historical tower,

04.  The structure has cracks and there are plant growths at many places that might weaken the building. Since, the building above the  ground floor is not in use, it has become a home to pigeons.


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