From driving tractor to learning piano, he utilises his time wisely

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 18

Tajinder Bittu, chairman, PUNSUP, has kept himself busy in a number of activities during the lockdown. From performing his official duties of checking grain markets across Punjab to providing ration to migrants, driving a tractor in his farm and learning to play a piano, Congress leader Bittu has been utilising his time effectively for the past nearly two months.

Recently, the plight of migrants touched my heart. A few days ago, I got a call from Raebareli to help out migrants in reaching Jalandhar from Amritsar. I helped them get a shelter in a gurdwara here. I got them meals and made arrangements for their journey ahead. Next day, I met a group of more migrants with more than 10 children walking near the PAP chowk. I arranged food and shelter for them at Radha Soami Dera. — Tajinder Bittu, chairman, PUNSUP

“I have visited more than 500 big and small mandis in eight districts to check various arrangements. We ensured that all procurement was done in a fair manner,” said Bittu.

On his way back, he used to spend some time in his agricultural land near Jamsher. “For the first time in my life, I got a chance to drive a tractor in my fields, which I really enjoyed. I drove the tractor for some days and oversaw planting of maize and some vegetables,” he said.

He said, “After visiting my fields in the day, I used to get free by evenings. Since my childhood, I was interested in playing piano, but somehow never got a chance to do that. So, I hired a private tutor and started learning it. I would like to confess that it was not as easy as I had thought. It took me several hours and much of my concentration to play two old Hindi songs.”

Apart from music, Bittu said he read fiction and focused on his fitness. “Recently, the plight of migrants touched my heart. A few days ago, I got a call from Raebareli for helping out migrants in reaching Jalandhar from Amritsar. I helped them get a shelter in a gurdwara here. I got them meals and made arrangements for their journey ahead. Next day, I met a group of more migrants with more than 10 children walking near the PAP chowk. I arranged food and shelter for them at Radha Soami Dera. A news story about migrants walking home barefoot telecast on a channel on Sunday touched me. So on Monday, I arranged 7,000 slippers of different sizes and distributed these among migrants through the administration,” he said.

Earlier, Bittu got ration distributed among the poor using his personal as well as PUNSUP funds. Packets of 5-kg wheat flour, 5-kg rice, 2-kg pulses, salt, sugar, spices and cooking oil were distributed by his teams among the poor.