Gurdaspur Diary: Kavita Khanna bats for manned railway crossing under Dera Baba Nanak over-bridge

There is no force more powerful than a clear-headed woman trying to make a mark. The statement aptly suits Kavita Khanna, wife of four time ex-MP and film icon Vinod Khanna. Even as her peers were wondering where this lady had gone, she surfaced in her husband’s former constituency in style. Recently, she uploaded a video on social media sites in which she is seen taking up the issue of how dangerous the area under the Dera Baba Nanak over-bridge can be. She had taken up the cause after a section of the residents asked her to do so. As they say, a strong woman stands up for herself. A stronger woman stands up for everybody else. Twenty six trains pass on the rail track under the over-bridge but there is not even an iota of protection for people who cross the tracks. The rule of the thumb is that the train has to stop once it approaches the area. However, there have been occasions when trains make a run-through. Kavita wants the Railways to establish a manned railway crossing on both sides. This will bring some order to the chaos. She reminds you that the then Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had claimed that there were no unmanned crossings left in India. But here, she wants the rail ministry to rectify things. Old-timers will remember that Kavita was in the forefront of solving the issue of nine rail crossings located on the narrow gauge line in Pathankot. She became close to solving the problem but as ill luck would have it, she lost interest after the death of her husband. She has now reignited the cause. The lady is now on cloud nine after the Union Government appointed her as the chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Information and Technology (IIIT), Sonepat. One thing about her is clear, that she is not like that Greek mythological creature —- Icarus—- the one who flew too close to the sun and got its wings burnt. Unlike others, she knows her limitations and works accordingly. There are many factors and many pointers which go on to prove that the London School of Economics (LSE) post-graduate is surely in the reckoning for the BJP ticket from this parliamentary constituency.

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Batala SSP gets tough with ‘crooked cooks’

Batala SSP Ashwini Gotyal has got tough with domestic helps and labourers working in the famed industrial units of the steel city. It is this strata of society that is proving to be a headache for the police chief. She has asked residents to inform the nearest police station whenever they recruit domestic servants. Officers say such offenders first win over the trust of the people who have recruited them and later go on to commit crimes. These servants have earned the sobriquet of ‘crooked cooks’. Now, SSP Gotyal is making things difficult for them. Author Diane Mariechild had once said, “A woman is a full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.” Let us hope for the best and see how the SSP unfolds her plans of transforming Batala into a crime-free city.

(Contributed By Ravi Dhaliwal)