Punjab Diary: Message of communal harmony

Muktsar: Though top Congress leaders have declined the invitation to attend the Ram Temple consecration in Ayodhya on January 22, PCC chief-cum-Gidderbaha MLA Amarinder Singh Raja Warring distributed ‘laddoos’ and ‘diyas’ in the town. This small town has been sending out a message of communal harmony as Hindus and Muslims jointly distributed ‘laddoos’. Mohd Saleem Khan, a local leader, said, “We are all the same. We are delighted that the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir is taking place on January 22. Everyone should pray for peace and communal harmony in the country.” On this, Swaran Singh Dhalla, BJP chief, Gidderbaha, said, “We are thankful to the Muslim brethren for celebrating our religious occasion.”

‘Warrier’ is the new warrior

Gurdaspur: Young IPS officer and Dinanagar ASP Adiya Warrier is the new warrior for the Gurdaspur police in its fight against drugs and crime. In July, he was instrumental in confiscating 18 kg pure-grade heroin being smuggled from Srinagar. This haul was the biggest ever seizure ever since Batala was carved out as a separate police district from Gurdaspur in 1988. This week, he executed an operation in which six hardcore criminals were arrested and nine weapons were seized from them. The saying doing rounds in the Police Department is that if you have a problem, call in the warrior.

Contradictory figures on billboards

Amritsar: Two unipoles highlighting ‘Corruption Free Punjab’ have become an amusing sight for commuters. Both advertisements have a picture of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, anti-corruption helpline number and the commitment to end corruption. However, both billboards quote different figures of persons arrested under the corruption free campaign. While one poster mentions that over 300 persons have been arrested, the other mentions that over 481 corrupt persons have been nabbed. Though both billboards were put up on different dates, why the outdated advertisement hasn’t been removed is hard to understand. Is it for the love for photographs of the CM that these are seen everywhere?