Gurdaspur diary: Women empowerment
The world said “be invisible” but she heard “be invincible”. That is how it goes in Gurdaspur as far as women empowerment is concerned. Four young women officers are holding the charge of seven top administrative posts. Given the sobriquet of ‘The Foursome’, officers are hard working and deliver results on time. And that is what matters for a common man. Dr Nidhi Kumud Bambah is the ADC (General), Amandeep Kaur is ADC (Urban Development), Shayari Bhandari is the Batala SDM and also the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation while Amandeep Kaur Ghuman holds three posts: SDMs of Gurdaspur and Kalanaur and District Revenue Officer (DRO). She, indeed, dons many hats. The word doing the rounds in the city is that “if you want something said, ask a male officer. If you want to get something done, ask these women.” Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ishfaq praises their work, and so does everybody else who steps into the precincts of the District Administrative Complex (DAC). During the Congress regime, Bhandari was the Batala SDM. However, a Gurdaspur based Cabinet Minister got her shifted to Bholath. Once the new dispensation took over in Chandigarh, the lady was back in the saddle, on the same post. Dr Nidhi has this to say about her fellow sisters: “Women have become leaders in their own right. Right from the CEO of a top multinational company to the housewife who raises her children and heads the household, we are here, there and everywhere. Our country was built by strong women and we will continue to break walls and defy stereotypes.” Right now, these officers have just one target that is to ensure the Independence Day celebrations go off with clockwork precision. Wishing them all the best!
Flooding in hospital cause for concern
In the last week of July, Pathankot faced a deluge and flooding was witnessed in the civil hospital too. On August 5, a torrential downpour again swept the city and the hospital was flooded giving many anxious moments to patients and their kin. Power supply, too, was affected throughout the day as the sole generator meant to provide power back-up in emergencies remained dysfunctional. Doctors on duty reported that the hospital suffered a black-out around 4 am and till evening power supply could not be restored. Water had entered the emergency, trauma, female, male and children wards. Civil Surgeon Dr Rubinder Kaur said all 50 odd patients of the female wards, including many in the family, had to be shifted to safer places. Mayor Panna Lal Bhatia said the drainage system was overwhelmed because of excess rainfall. The tax-paying residents, however, questioned the Mayor’s logic by claiming that what are drains meant for if they cannot act as outlets for rainwater in emergencies such as these? Bhatia countered this argument by claiming that “water was drained out as fast as it had entered.” The argument and counter arguments are still going on but nobody is willing to answer the question: Who is going to be the saviour of the hospital? If nobody comes forward, the entity may end up getting damaged beyond repair.
Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal approves road already cleared by central government
Perhaps he was misinformed by officials accompanying him. Perhaps he was playing to the gallery. The argument cuts both ways. Whatever it was, Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal committed a gaffe by claiming that the temporary structure connecting mainland Gurdaspur to a cluster of a dozen villages located across the Ravi at Makorran Pattan would be converted into a permanent bridge. On March 31, Gurdaspur MP Sunny Deol had got all mandatory approvals from the Union Surface Transport and Highways Ministry for building Rs 100-crore 100 feet long bridge.
(Contributed by Ravi Dhaliwal)
