Gurdaspur Diary: Batala no longer the crime capital of Punjab

Batala: Apparently acting on directions from the top, the Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) of Batala and Gurdaspur police districts have gone in an overdrive informing people about what they have achieved in the year that has gone by. Both these districts are commanded by upright IPS officers. Batala police has Suhail Qasim Mir as its chief while Harish Dayama leads Gurdaspur. Qasim Mir is an effective officer whose enthusiasm and fervour has rubbed off on his colleagues.

This fact was much in evidence when criminals, financed and directed from across the border, attacked a police station in Batala. The SSP led from the front and took no time in getting the assailants arrested. A story, which is immensely likened and repeatedly narrated by senior officers in the corridors of power, is that on the very first day Qasim Mir wore his uniform, he went up to his father, Mohammad Qasim, a JK police constable posted in Hazratbal, and saluted him. After all, his father had given him the greatest gift anyone could give another person --- he believed in his son. Batala was once known as the crime capital of the state. Indeed, a champion believes in himself, even when no one else does. The police chief broke the back of narco-terrorism and the gangster-terrorist nexus vanished into thin air within days of his joining. That the crime rate has dropped is evident from the fact that women now walk the streets of the city at night sans any fear. The layman is no longer complaining. Industrialists can now focus on running their businesses. The officer knows that every morning he puts on his uniform, he is taking risks to protect others. The SSPs in Batala are known to be transferred at the drop of a hat without any rhyme, reason or rationale. There is a famous quote that “the only thing permanent about life is change”. The joke doing the rounds is that this quote could as well be pasted on the wall behind the police chief’s chair. Fifteen SSPs in 10 years with an average tenure of eight months says it all. It remains in the realm of speculation how Qasim Mir is able to break this great jinx. He surely has the potential to do so. For him, leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those under his charge. Likewise, in Gurdaspur, Harish Dayama, an IPS officer, acted with alacrity when gangsters lobbed hand-grenades at two police posts --- Wadala Bangar and Bakshiwal. He formed a team of capable officers who first identified the culprits and later went all the way to UP to knock them down. He is a firm believer in the adage that “terrorism is enemy No. 1 of humanity, and there are no ifs and buts in dealing with it”. Batala and Gurdaspur can now sleep well at night because these officers, and their able men, guard the borders at night.

27 more Aam Aadmi Clinics added in Gurdaspur

Gurdaspur: Healthy citizens are the greatest asset that any country can have. This has dawned upon the powers that be, subsequent to which more and more focus is being laid on health and allied services in this border district. Gurdaspur now has 62 Aam Aadmi Clinics of which 27 were added last year. A total of 19,122 persons received medical care in these clinics under the flagship health programme, Ayushman Bharat Health Insurance Scheme. Raman Bahl, Chairman of the Punjab Health Systems Corporation (PHSC), is the spirit behind the show. He has also ensured that a 50-bed critical care block is being set up in the precincts of the Civil Hospital, Babri, at a cost of Rs 16.75 crore. For newborn babies, an Early Intervention Centre (EIC) has been started at a cost of Rs 1.30 crore. To top it, Gurdaspur district has stood first in the Indian Hypertension Control Initiative (ICHI). Earlier, health facilities in this district and its satellite towns were at a premium. People had to travel all the way to Amritsar to get treatment. In other words, the Gurdaspur healthcare system was neither healthy, nor caring, nor was there a system. Things have now changed with infrastructure at the Civil Hospital being improved from time to time. As they say, good things take time. Contributed by Ravi Dhaliwal