Year Ender: Of floods, gangsterism & eccentricities

The three events that dominated the year in Gurdaspur were the monsoon floods that ravaged hundreds of villages, the scourge of gangsterism that has directly or indirectly touched each and every resident in Batala and an IPS officer finding himself face to face with an eccentric AK-47 wielding Army man

The floods, emanating from almost all rivers flowing through the district, ravaged hundreds of villages, destroyed the livelihood of thousands, leaving innumerable people still grappling with its ramifications.

An interesting thing that surfaced was that the affected villagers successfully used old-school methods to fight the deluge while people living in cities failed to come to their rescue. They were also conspicuous by their absence when it came to rehabilitation initiatives. The city folks rather remained busy posting pictures on social media platforms.

How serious were local politicians in salvaging the situation became clear when CM Bhagwant Mann gave his official chopper to the district administration to deal with the floods. What happened next was akin to comedy. Every leader took turns having joy rides along with his relatives, some of whom came from far off places just “to sit in the CM’s chopper”. On his part, the CM had erred in handing over the machine to the locals. The chopper could neither drop packets of ration and potable water nor could it land in difficult terrains. The pilots informed him about this lapse but the state’s chief executive went ahead trying to cash on some sympathy. Local satraps made a complete mockery of the CM’s ‘generosity,’ yet no inquiry was ordered.

Batala has somehow dubiously earned the euphemism of being the ‘crime hot-spot of Punjab’. The new SSP, Dr Mehtab Singh, is trying hard to handle the turf war between gangsters Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and foreign-based Balwinder Singh Donny Bal. This battle had become more pronounced this year even as assailants shot dead Bhagwanpuria’s mother in a crowded area of the city.

Further, scores of businessmen and professionals, including leading doctors, industrialists, goldsmiths and property dealers were recipients of threat calls. Many gave in and paid their way out without informing the law-enforcement agencies while some others were given protection by the police. Still, there are others who fake an encounter just to avail a few bodyguards to satisfy their ego and enhance their self-worth.

An Army man wielding an AK-47 rifle went on a rampage in a nearby village and after killing his wife and mother-in-law, he hid in a flat at the Improvement Trust Colony No 7 in Gurdaspur city. SSP Aditya and two hundred of his men surrounded the flat. The SSP repeatedly knocked on the front door but got no response. Thinking that the Army man might have died by suicide, the officer entered the flat after breaking open the door. Much to his horror he saw the army man standing barely 10 feet away with his AK-47 aimed at him. The officer collected his wits and managed to put a hand on his pistol. However, before he could take it out, the Army man, after aiming the AK-47 directly at the SSP, suddenly took a U-turn and shot himself. The SSP and two other officers were awarded the DGP’s Commendation Disc.

The poverty-stricken judo players of the famed Shaheed Bhagat Singh JFI Judo Coaching Centre kept on their coaching centre’s flag flying high this year with their performances in the domestic and international circuit. It is a shame these judokas have to practice on worn out mats as all pleas of the centre to the State Sports Department for a new set of mats fell on deaf ears. The coaching centre has proved that in modern sporting, attitude and aptitude beat poverty.

This year, the Minister of State for Railways, Ravneet Bittu, announced that the stalled Qadian-Beas railway link would be restored soon. This was a long pending demand of the locals. So was the demand to construct the Gurdaspur-Mukerian track. Both these endeavours will give some much needed oxygen to the sagging industries of Batala.