The ThunderBlogs

Sewer upgrade work has led to the closure of the road to 50^th Avenue from Main Street for over a week. The intersection is the site proposed some two years ago for the construction of an India Gate to pay a tribute to the first Indo-Canadian community that settled in Vancouver nearly a century ago, according to media reports.

Two years later, there is neither a gate nor any sign of its construction which was supposed to be completed before the 2010 Winter Olympics. There are construction materials and ‘sidewalk closed’ signs on the road, but they are not for the construction of the gate, but for the sewer upgrade.

Local merchants believe that construction of such a gate at the center of Punjabi Market (that extends from 48^th to 51^st avenues) would add to the attractions of the market.

In was in 2008, a year before the B.C. provincial elections that the issue of construction of the gate was reportedly raised by politicians including Premier Gordon Campbell.

Madan Dhingra of Mona Cloth Warehouse said he did not believe that the construction was anymore on the cards. “It seems, they (leaders) will talk about it again when elections come,” he said. He said he had found neither the neighbourhood association nor his fellow businessmen talking about it these days.

Dhingra believes that anything like the India Gate that would add to the value of the area would help the business in the Punjabi Market.

Naresh Shukla, another merchant in the area, said there was never a plan to build such a gate. “It was just put on the air by some political leaders to woo votes from certain section of the community,” he said. “It was just a political stunt.”

But he also believes that construction of such a gate would add to the attractions of the Punjabi Market.

Dr Nitya Sharma who lives a few blocks southwards said he had not heard about the plan for India gate. But Jyoti Nijjar who owns a business near the proposed site for India Gate had heard about the proposal. “But after the election, I have not heard a single word from any one about it,” she said. Nijjar and her husband Paramjit both agreed that the gate, if built, would help the business in the market by adding touristic value to the area.

But Sarabjit Chandan who is also a migrant from India and owns a store at Main Street had a different opinion. He said there was no point in building an India Gate here. Rather, he said, the community, business and political leaders should focus on the problems of high rents and parking space to give a boost to the business in the market.