Not losing gift of gab after getting the jab!

Batala-based Dr Satnam Singh Nijjar, Chairman of the Gurdaspur District Planning Board, became the first person in Gurdaspur district to get injected with the Covid-19 vaccine. Cabinet Minister Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa was also present when the Civil Hospital doctors jabbed Nijjar. The doctor dons many cloaks. At times, he also becomes a politician. And when two powerful Cabinet Ministers of Gurdaspur Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa stray into each other’s turf, it is left to the doctor to play peacemaker. He has earned the respect of both the leaders and they immediately call truce at his calling. As for the vaccine, Nijjar says the pandemic would be over in two years. When asked who told him so, pat came the reply, “Yes, WHO said.” After getting the gift of the jab, the doctor surely has not lost his gift of the gab.

Respecting smugglers, Gurdaspur cops style

The Gurdaspur cops stumbled upon a new phenomenon which was alien in the border areas earlier. Acting on a tip-off, SSP Rajinder Singh Sohal formed a special team of detectives to nab heroin smugglers. They tasted success a week later but were amazed to find that two Nigerians had infiltrated into Gurdaspur without valid papers. The duo was engaged in smuggling of the white powder from Delhi and had even made several local contacts in the town. This powder made its way to the border belt where it was sold at three times the rate at which it was procured from Delhi. The foreigners were identified as Mense and Justin. However, what took the cake was the fact that the cops addressed the smugglers as Mr Mense and Mr Justin in the press note. This obviously accorded them an aura of respect which, in any case, was never the motive of the cops. Later, when the SSP realised that his officers were giving undue respect to the smugglers, came another press note in which the ‘Mr’ was removed. For the record, the cops seized 400 gram of pure grade heroin from the Nigerians valued at Rs 2 crore in the international market. “The two have disclosed during questioning that many of their ilk were into this business, particularly in the border villages. We have now formed as many as eight teams which are fanning out in Dorangla, Behrampur and Dinanagar,” said Sohal.

Opening the gateway of learning

Dinanagar School Principal Upma Mahajan has done Gurdaspur district proud by winning the ‘Bhishma-The Determination Award 2021’. The prize was given by the All India Principals Association (AIPA) at a function held in Mohali on January 16. She was given the award under the category ‘community outreach programme in border areas.’ AIPA brings together private school principals on a single platform from all over the country. Mahajan heads the Sumitra Devi Arya Senior Secondary School in Dinanagar. She made her students fan out in border areas, particularly in villages located near the International Border (IB), where they exhorted parents to send their wards to schools to make sure they become better human beings in life. They also created awareness about diseases, cleanliness and mental health problems. “Education is one thing which no one can take away from you. It actually breeds confidence and confidence breeds hope. Hope, in turn, breeds peace. People in border areas, where literacy rate is extremely low, do not know what education actually means. My students took part in the community outreach programme to make villagers aware of the benefits of education. People living near the IB should understand that education is important because it broadens our knowledge and this knowledge then opens our minds to new vistas, new perspectives, ideas, beliefs and cultures,” she remarked. — TNS