Cleanliness is next to godliness

Dinanagar town is known for two things. One is that it was the summer capital of Maharaja Ranjit Singh while the other is that it is a known educational hub of the border district of Gurdaspur. Among the many colleges it has, Shanti Devi Arya Mahilla College takes the cake. It has several feathers to its cap. And last week, the college profile got more impressive when it won the prestigious ‘Green Championship Award’ instituted by the Mahatma Gandhi National College of Rural Education (MGNCRE) for its contribution to the Swachhta Action Plan (SAP). The moving spirit behind this accolade is Principal Dr Reena Talwar and SAP committee head Sangeeta Malhotra. Prominent among the things the SAP did was to harvest rainwater, sapling plantation and formation of a Covid sanitation committee. Benjamin Franklin had said: “Clean your fingers before you point at my spots.” Following these words of wisdom, Talwar and Malhotra went on an overdrive to ensure no dirty spots were left when the evaluation report was submitted to the MGNCRE. The staff and students were in awe when a news spread that their college had got yet another award. Dr Talwar, too, was over the moon. “There are those who get out and live life and there are those who stay home and clean their house. And there are those like us who call it our own choice in the way we live. Nobody else gets to choose except for your own self. Hence, we decided to give everything we had to make certain that we end up winning a prize. To me cleanliness is a habit that keeps the mind, body and environment neat, clean and free from dirt and toxics. The state of our surroundings reflects upon the state of our soul,” said Dr Talwar. Malhotra was a bit more philosophical when she said although it is good to keep our campuses clean, the time had come to keep our minds and souls clean too. “We all clean a lot of things as we go through life. We clean our clothes and wear them over our unclean hearts. We wash our hands and leave our souls untouched. We pour water on our heads and as it drips down to our feet; it cleans the dirt off our skin. But, we leave our thoughts and words out of this cleanliness,” said Sangeeta. Other members of the SAP were Dr Sushma Gupta, Sunita Verma, Dr Kulwinder Kaur Cheena, Deepak Jyoti and Parveen Saini.

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Consider Vet inspectors as frontline workers

Veterinary inspectors across the state have urged the state government to bracket them in the ‘frontline workers’ category as far as the ongoing pandemic is concerned. Punjab State Veterinary Inspectors’ Association president Bhupinder Singh Sachar (pic) said they had to travel a lot during the ongoing pandemic to treat animals. Other members of the Association — Jawinder Singh, Rajeev Malhotra, Kishen Chand Mahajan and Gurdeep Singh — said they had taken up the issue in all seriousness with Animal Husbandry minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa who had assured them to take up their demand at the highest levels. “Already many of our inspectors have got infected with Covid. We want the government to accept our demands which in any case are genuine in nature,” said Kishen Chand Mahajan.

Batalvi remembered on 48th death anniversary

The 48th death anniversary of Shiv Kumar Batalvi, noted poet, playwright and writer of Punjabi language was observed recently. Old timers say he was best known for his romantic poetry with all that heightened passion, pathos, separation and lover’s agony. Several events are organised by the Shiv Kumar Arts and Cultural Society every year to mark the day but this time due to the pandemic, the organisers, led by Gurdaspur Planning Board chairman Dr Satnam Singh Nijjar, kept it a low key affair. “In 1967, Batalvi became the youngest recipient of the Sahatiya Akademy Award for penning down Loona-his epic based on the ancient legend of Bhagat Puran Singh. He also earned the sobriquet of being the John Keats of Punjabi literature for his works,” said Dr Nijjar. — Ravi Dhaliwal

IN A SHMBLES: Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s fort in Dinanagar is in a dilapidated condition. The six gates built during the Maharaja’s rule with Nanakshahi bricks are also in bad shape. Archaeological Survey of India officials claim that they can step in only if the double-storeyed building is declared a heritage site, which is a long-drawn-out process. Tribune photo