Tarn Taran Diary: Distressed traders want to air their grievances

Politics has entered the organisational set-up of shopkeepers of Tarn Taran town who have been fighting for their demands for the last many years. The shopkeepers are disturbed over the frequent thefts of their precious assets in addition to their other demands not being addressed. Many a time, the shopkeepers have come out on roads against theft incidents by downing the shutters of their shops in protest against the theft incidents besides highlighting other issues. The shopkeepers organised a mass meeting recently to condemn the administration over the poor law and order situation as armed men often fire at shops which is affecting their business. The shops are forced by gangsters to pay extortion money on a large scale. The police even hesitate to lodge complaints in this regard. There is no proper arrangement to drain out rainwater in the town and from the bazaars. Even a spell of moderate rainfall causes waterlogging in the bazaars. All the roads of the bazaars are in poor condition, broken at each step with no renovation work initiated for years. For the last many decades, the Municipal Council has failed to provide proper toilets to the shopkeepers and customers. The shopkeepers are disturbed over the issuing of challans to the vehicles of customers when they park their two-wheelers outside the shop as they come for shopping. There is no proper supply of drinking water to the shopkeepers, nor is there proper arrangement for sanitation. The bazaars are encroached upon and even the pedestrians cannot commute easily. The shopkeepers alleged that on the two-day monthly Amavasya-Chaudas mela, devotees face trouble even in going to answer the nature's call and the bazaars are overcrowded causing great inconvenience to the residents of the town and shopkeepers. The administration is planning to beautify the town though it has its links with the fifth Sikh Guru Sri Arjan Dev who established the town more than 400 years back. To stress on their current demands, the representatives of different trader unions like Karyana, goldsmith, cloth merchant, sweet maker, tent owners, chemists, electronics shopkeepers, ready-made shopkeepers re-elected Gurinder Singh Ladi as the president of the city-based shopkeepers’ association. The ruling AAP has formed a separate organisation at the grassroots level to take up their issues.

Civil Hospital gets nod for diploma course

The district Civil Hospital, Tarn Taran, has become one of the few top medical institutions which have been given the accreditation for post-MBBS diploma course by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS). The diploma course would be in child health (DCH). Dr Sarabjit Singh, Senior Medical Officer (SMO), said that the approval letter in this regard has been received by the district authorities and the Civil Hospital. The accreditation would be for five years from January 2025 to December 2029. The candidates for the course would be selected through NEET Punjab. Civil Surgeon Dr Gurpreet Singh Rai said that in the Civil Hospital, there is approved faculty for the course of Diploma in Child Health. There are two child specialists, Dr Neeraj and Dr Vipul. The Civil Hospital, Tarn Taran, has been rendering medical health services to hundreds of kids daily successfully. The hospital is waiting for the medicos to receive higher education with speciality. The hospital is being given an attractive look on a war footing, probably for the ‘Health Kranti programme’.

Sarbat Da Bhala Trust in service of society

The ‘Sarbat Da Bhala Trust’, run by the well-known philanthropist Dr SPS Oberoi, besides providing social security services to the needy, has been giving free training in sewing and embroidery to unemployed girls from economically weaker families for the last more than three years. The trust, at a function organised recently, distributed certificates for completing the sewing course. The girl candidates were given training by well-qualified instructors. The Trust provided sewing machines and other material. Dilbag Singh Yodha and Kulrajveer Singh Kang, president and general secretary of the district branch of the Sarbat Da Bhalla Trust, said that the candidates are given training by qualified instructors. They said that the girls have not just been trained to sew the clothes of their family members, but also earn handsomely and help their families meet their expenditure. The Trust also organises free medical and eye camps in slum areas. The Trust plans to start training classes in villages located in remote areas to provide training in sewing at the doorstep to girls belonging to needy families. The Trust has recently introduced the facility of free dialysis kits to be provided to kidney patients in case of need.