Tarn Taran diary: SGPC’s building lying unused for years

A multi-storey building of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) in Tarn Taran near the Amritsar-Jhabal bypass lying vacant (unused) for over seven years after its completion has become a bone of contention. Sixteen years back, the SGPC, on the occasion of the 400th martyrdom day (Shaheedi Purb) of the fifth Sikh Guru Sri Arjan Dev, gave two projects to the Tarn Taran area in the name of a nursing institute and a modern well-equipped skin hospital in the Guru’s memory. The foundation stone for these projects was laid by Parkash Singh Badal, then president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on April 23, 2006. The SGPC reserved a land of seven and half acres of agricultural land for these projects. The building for the nursing institute and the skin hospital, spread in an area of four acres at a cost of Rs 5 crore, was completed seven years back and had been lying vacant since then. The remaining three and a half acres of land was being used for agricultural purposes. No nursing institute or skin hospital had been established here till date. The SGPC had decided to sell these four acres of land. In a resolution passed, the SGPC decided to purchase 30 acres of land at another site nearby with the income accruing from that sale. It was also earmarked for purchase on the Tarn Taran-Jhabal bypass. The date of auction to sell the four acres of land and to give the building on lease was fixed but was opposed by the Sikh Sangat resulting in postponement of the auction for an indefinite period. The present situation had not only blocked the amount of Rs 5 crore of the SGPC but also all the seven and half acres of land lying unused. The SGPC has been facing huge losses due to the present situation.

College gets principal

Dr Kawaljeet Kaur, an educationist with illustrious record of leadership, had been appointed the principal of Guru Arjan Dev College, Chohla Sahib. The college is managed by the SGPC. Dr Kawaljeet Kaur has has done her PhD (human genetics), MPhil (neuroscience and neurochemistry) and has a PG diploma in Bioinformatics). She has published about 40 research papers in various national and international journals and has also attended various conferences globally and presented more than 40 academic papers among which her visit to the University of Massachusetts, USA, is notable. One of her papers has been awarded at the All-India Conference of Principals held at Bali in Indonesia.

(Contributed by Gurbaxpuri)

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