Gurdaspur Diary: Batala’s makes transition from ‘crime capital’ to peaceful township
Residents of Batala are talking of a silent revolution brewing in the city. Once known as the “crime capital of Punjab”, the crime rate has actually slithered a few notches below the red line, if statistics are to be believed. In the past, whenever there would be a spurt in crime, the poor SSP would be made the scapegoat. The joke was that the district police chief’s office had a revolving door. That is no longer true. The jury is out on whether Batala’s first ever woman police chief Ashwini Gotyal (IPS) has arrested the trend or have the Gods finally decided to smile on the city. Either way, the locals have never had it so good.
Chamrod wields its charm as Punjab’s ‘Mini Goa’
It is said that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. When entrepreneur Puneet Pinta and his father BK Saini, a retired civil engineer, took their baby steps four years ago in an endeavour to develop the unused area of Chamrod, little did they realise that they were embarking on something big, really big. So big in fact that it would change the face of tourism in Punjab. The area has now earned the sobriquet of ‘Mini Goa’. So enduring is its charm that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has already visited it four times in the last one year. The father-son duo surely knows that the world is indeed a book and those who do not travel read only one page. ‘Mini Goa’ is surrounded by the snow-clad mountain ranges of Dhauladhar and Pir Panjal. More than 5,000 tourists, fond of boating and other outdoor activities that include taking rides in hot air balloons, make their way to the spot on weekends. The count on other days is anything between 300 and 400. Once here, tourists live their lives by a compass, not by a clock. The owners, backed by the CM, are now in talks with top hotel chains like The Taj, Club Mahindra, and Hyatt. Talks are in the final stages and in all likelihood, these chains will be establishing their hotels here within the next few months. Connectivity is not a problem as there are four airports —- Jammu, Dharamshala, Pathankot and Amritsar —— which fall within a radius of 110 km. The Sainis are now eyeing the thriving ‘destination wedding’ business. They say there are enough religious places near ‘Mini Goa’ where marriage rituals can be performed. Puneet Pinta says he rechristened the area as ‘Mini Goa’ because the climatic conditions are akin to Goa and Kerala making it a tourist’s delight. There are three state-of-the-art boats, including a yacht, all powered by Volvo engines, for tourists to take a ride in the 87 sq km and 27 km long lake. The CM admits that once big hotel chains set up businesses here, ‘Mini Goa’ will have the potential to attract tourists from all over the country. Robert Frost once said, “Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.” Indeed, when the Sainis took the road less travelled, little did they know that the tourism business they would set up would attract thousands. Their next aim is to establish a Wellness and Health Centre. “There are so many people who spend their health gaining wealth, and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health,” said Puneet Pinta. Now, that is well said.
(Ravi Dhaliwal)
