AI Generated Summary
- Despite its renewed charm, the site has yet to be listed by the Tourism Department, a gap that heritage advocates say should be addressed to honor the landmark’s role in the city’s industrial past.
- Officials made a conscious effort to preserve the location’s character—retaining its century-old trees and restoring the building with traditional lime plaster instead of cement, in keeping with its original architectural style.
- The UBDC itself was built after the British diverted the Ravi River at Madhopur in 1849, completing the canal system in 1875 to irrigate vast tracts of farmland.
Amritsar’s century-old hydropower plant at Tarran Wala Pul, once a silent relic of the colonial era, has been given a new lease of life. After lying abandoned for decades, the site on the Upper Bari Doab Canal (UBDC) has been transformed into a vibrant recreational hub under the city’s Smart City project.
What was once an industrial outpost has now emerged as a family-friendly destination featuring landscaped gardens, shaded walkways, an open-air gym, a children’s play area, and canal-view podiums. Spread across three acres, the site offers visitors a unique blend of history and leisure. Officials made a conscious effort to preserve the location’s character—retaining its century-old trees and restoring the building with traditional lime plaster instead of cement, in keeping with its original architectural style.
The restoration, jointly undertaken by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and Amritsar Smart City Limited, has cost around Rs 5 crore. Despite its renewed charm, the site has yet to be listed by the Tourism Department, a gap that heritage advocates say should be addressed to honor the landmark’s role in the city’s industrial past.
The plant’s origins date back to 1930, when the Amritsar Municipal Committee, under secretary P. Mardson, commissioned its construction. Equipped with turbines and machinery imported from Switzerland and England, it provided electricity to Amritsar for several years before being phased out as larger power stations came online.
Its history is intertwined with Punjab’s colonial infrastructure projects. The UBDC itself was built after the British diverted the Ravi River at Madhopur in 1849, completing the canal system in 1875 to irrigate vast tracts of farmland. Today, the 3,119-kilometre canal continues to sustain agriculture in Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Batala, and Amritsar.
With its revival, the Tarran Wala Pul hydropower site now stands as a symbol of adaptive reuse—where industrial heritage meets modern public space—awaiting the recognition it deserves.
