Pingalwara

Information About Pingalwara, founded by Bhagat Puran Singh, is a home for the homeless, a hope for the forlorn, a hospital for the sick and a cradle for the orphaned and abandoned child. It was conceived in the serene environment of Gurdwara Dehra Sahib, Lahore where the founder used to come across some destitute and hapless, uncared sick and old people fending for themselves on the road-side footpaths, etc. And, it was built in Amritsar after the partition of the country. Pingalwara was got registered as ‘All India Pingalwara Charitable Society (Regd.), Amritsar’ by its founder from the Registrar of Companies, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh on 6.3.1957. The idea and the need for establishing this institution came into the mind of its founder in the said Gurdwara, which was further intensely felt by him in 1934 C.E. when a spastic child of four came under his care. In the beginning, the founder had to face many difficulties. He was not only shelterless but also had no provision for food, clothing, medicines etc. He was keeping his inmates in shanties built on road berms, footpaths etc. Ultimately, he was able to purchase the land under the present Head office from the District Rent and Managing Officer of the Rehabilitation Department in 1958. At present, Pingalwara has seven branches, one each at Chandigarh, Sangrur, Jalandhar, Goindwal, Mananwala and Pandori Waraich, in addition to the head office and main branch at Amritsar. In all these branches, there are 1700 inmates In addition to looking after these inmates, Pingalwara is running 5 schools, 2 dental clinics, an ultrasound centre, an eye clinic, an artificial limbs centre, a physiotherapy centre, a sewing and stitching centre, etc. etc. All these services and facilities are provided free of cost. In addition, Pingalwara has got its own printing press where a lot of literature is printed and distributed free of cost for spreading awareness about social, religious, health, environmental and other national problems, etc. among the general public. Awareness is also spread for conservation of natural resources such as petrol, diesel, coal etc. The daily expenditure for running all the said projects and taking proper care of the inmates is to the tune of Rs. three and a half lacs. For all such activities, Pingalwara totally depends upon charities pouring in from various quarters throughout the world.