Sanjha Morcha

What’s New

Click the heading to open detailed news

Current Events :

web counter

Print Media Defence Related News

Punjabi-origin man in Canada wonders why police visited parents’ house days before their murder, was family targeted

Jagtar Singh Sidhu and Harbhajan Kaur, both in their 50s, were shot more than 20 times just before midnight on November 20 at their rental property along the Caledon-Brampton border

Punjabi-origin man in Canada wonders why police visited parents' house days before their murder, was family targeted

IANS

Toronto, January 1

A Punjabi-origin man has said that police spoke to his visiting parents from India just four days before they were killed in a shooting spree in Canada’s Ontario province last month.

Jagtar Singh Sidhu and Harbhajan Kaur, both in their 50s, were shot more than 20 times just before midnight on November 20 at their rental property along the Caledon-Brampton border.

While Jagtar died on the spot, Harbhajan succumbed to injuries in the hospital where she was rushed to along with their daughter who was shot 13 times and continues to battle for her life.

Devastated, the couple’s son Gurdit Singh Sidhu, a Canadian citizen, told CBC News that he wants to know why and who did this to his parents who were supposed to return to India in January.

He told the news channel that why an officer from Peel Regional Police’s Homicide and Missing Persons Bureau showed up at his property, and spoke to his parents four days before their murder.

“I felt like I should have never called them here…. I am just praying for my sister,” Sidhu said, adding that he hadn’t told her about the parents.

Sidhu, who has quit his job to look after his sister, told CBC that the first thing that came to his mind after he learnt of the shooting was the police visiting his parents before the killing.

“That’s the question we are trying to ask the police. ‘Why were you here? Why was our family targeted? Why have you not informed us of anything?’ Because for sure they knew something was going to happen,” he said.

“We couldn’t even think these things could happen in Canada. That’s why I took citizenship here — [thinking it was] a safe country.”

Sidhu’s parents were alone at home when Peel police visited the house, located near Mayfield and Airport roads, on November 16.

As neither of them spoke English, they phoned a friend, Daman Preet Singh, who offered to translate the conversation.

Daman told CBC Toronto that he asked the police officer for his badge number and then answered the officer’s questions about who was staying in the house since Gurdit Singh Sidhu moved in over a year ago.

“The police officer was telling me, ‘we are looking for somebody, that’s why we’re here to identify the people living here,'” said Daman.

Sidhu is clueless as to why Peel police would be asking questions as the area is under the jurisdiction of Ontario Provincial Police.

Sidhu said Harbhajan told him the police remained parked on the street for close to an hour, and that the police officer left his card with them, which included the badge number.

He said he has asked the police “several times” about the visit but “they are saying ‘we can’t say anything, we have no comments’,” he said.

Launching a homicide investigation soon after the incident, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said that they could have possibly died in a case of mistaken identity, and that they believe “multiple suspects” were involved in the killing.

Investigators are probing “all aspects of this homicide, including whether or not the victims of this crime were intended targets or not”, Detective Inspector Brian McDermott, OPP, had told Toronto Star newspaper.

“It is still too early to make any firm determinations on that aspect,” he had said. 


Looking ahead 2024: Ludhiana to get new international airport, highways, smart tag in New Year State’s biggest district to see new avenues of development in 2024

Looking ahead 2024: Ludhiana to get new international airport, highways, smart tag in New Year

Tribune News Service

Nitin Jain

Ludhiana, December 31

Ludhiana, popularly known as Manchester of India, is all set to get a new international airport, new highways, and become a smart city in 2024.

Besides, the 24×7 drinking water supply project, rejuvenation of the Buddha Nullah and major infrastructure development projects are also likely to be completed in the state’s biggest and largest district, in terms of area and population, in the New Year.

Ludhiana Tribune brings to its readers an overview of what is expected to come up in the business and industrial hub of the North during 2024.

International airport

Ludhiana, which is reckoned as the financial capital of the state, will get an international airport in 2023. After remaining stalled since March last year, the work has reached the advanced stage with the interim terminal building and several other components already completed at the Air Force Station in Halwara, which is one of the oldest frontline airbases of the Indian Air Force (IAF), close to Ludhiana, at the cost of Rs 47 crore. The big ticket project has been targeted to be completed by February 28.

Besides the terminal building, the work on the sub-station and toilet block has also been completed while allied works have picked up pace.

With all pending nods having been procured, the work on all other components, which were stalled since long, has been put in top gear to ensure that the new international airport takes off by February 28.

Following the intervention of Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora, the Union Civil Aviation Ministry had recently granted all pending approvals to the project and had assured to launch flights from here once the airport gets operational.

Major projects too likely to complete in 2024

The 24×7 drinking water supply project, rejuvenation of the Buddha Nullah and major infrastructure development projects are also likely to be completed in the state’s biggest and largest district, in terms of area and population, in the New Year.

24×7 water supply

The work on the much-awaited 24×7 canal-based surface drinking water supply project worth Rs 3,394.45 crore in Ludhiana will also get underway in the new year. While funds have already been allocated and land for the World Bank-funded project has already been acquired, the work will begin shortly as the RFP for the project had got the WB nod recently. The company for management of the project has been incorporated and the project implementation unit has been established.

Of the total four bids that had been received for the project, two had been found technically qualified, officials have said.

The Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company (PMIDC) would soon award the work following the formal nod from the WB. The development assumes significance as the work on the ambitious project had not been started even almost three years after its inception during the previous Capt Amarinder Singh regime.

Smart City

Ludhiana will further inch towards becoming a smart city with 52 projects worth Rs 219 crore already been completed, 20 more schemes costing Rs 711 crore have been put under execution and are under various stages of progress.

Of the 20 under-execution projects, the work on 16 projects worth Rs 549.1 crore has already been awarded and is under progress, while the remaining four deposit works worth Rs 161.9 crore have been tendered out.

With this, a total of 72 projects worth Rs 930 crore are being undertaken by the LSCL to develop Ludhiana, spread over 169 sq km area with a population of 16.18 lakh as per the 2011 Census, which was among 100 cities in the country and three in Punjab, which was selected under the SCM to be developed as a smart city in the first round of the selection by the Union Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) on June 25, 2015.

Buddha Nullah

Year 2023 will witness the highly polluted Buddha Nullah, a seasonal tributary of the Sutlej, which runs almost parallel to the river through most of Ludhiana district, including 14-km in Ludhiana city, before merging with the Sutlej, turning into Buddha Dariya, a clean water body, with the help of an ambitious Rs 840-crore rejuvenation project, 95 per cent of the work on which had already been completed.

Infra development

Work on big ticket infrastructure development projects being implemented at the cost of Rs 11,494 crore were put on fast track in Ludhiana district in 2021.

Of the total 31 major development works, 23 have already been completed or were in the advanced stage of completion, while the rest eight projects were targeted to see the light of the day in the New Year.

The work on constructing a new government senior secondary school, community centre, senior citizens’ club, sewing centre, health-cum-sports centre, bridge over Sidhwan Canal, 100-foot-wide road, special park, and recarpeting of 26.9-km-long stretch of Southern Bypass from the PAU to Doraha was also in progress and were scheduled to be completed in the New Year.

Health

The district hospital would undergo a major revamp and upgrade as the work on it has already started by Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora, who has adopted health facilities at Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur and Sangrur to develop them on a par with private hospitals.

A new 75-bed critical care unit would come up at the district hospital, which would provide 280 types of medicines from February with 190 medicines to be made available from January itself.

At present, 75 Aam Aadmi Clinics are operational in the district and in the New Year, 20 more will be added. These will help in broadening the healthcare facilities in the district.

A new intensive care unit at the district hospital would also start functioning in the New Year. It would help cut down the referral rate of patients.

Besides, the upgrade of health infrastructure, including Civil Hospital in Jagraon, CHC in Doraha, SDHs in Raikot and Khanna, MCH at Civil Hospital in Ludhiana, and CHCs in Machhiwara, Malout, Sahnewal, Pakhowal, Hathur, Payal, Dehlon and Sudhar will also be completed in 2024.

A new RT-PCR lab at Civil Hospital would also be launched in the coming year.

National highways

The work on several new under-construction national highways passing through Ludhiana district will also complete in 2024. These included elevated highway, Delhi-Katra, Ludhiana-Ropar, Ludhiana-Bathinda expressways, and Southern Bypass.

Municipal Corporation

As the term of the MC House ended in March 2023, the general civic elections would be held in 2024.

Issues such as poor solid waste management, overflowing sewers, rain waterlogging, stray dogs and cattle, polluted water bodies and illegal constructions that remained unresolved so far will also seek resolution this year.

The construction of ROB/RUBs on Pakhowal Road, installation of static waste compactors, construction and demolition waste management plant, and construction of vending zones were also likely to be completed in 2024.

Around 1,100 metric tonnes of waste generated in the city daily also needs regular processing.

The condition of various roads in the city, which remained in a dilapidated state, required early repair/ reconstruction.

Overflowing sewers were another chronic issue that would seek resolution in the New Year.

Punjab Agricultural University

Known as the lungs of the city, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) will get a facelift, with the beautification and restoration of its rock garden, QR coding of trees, grooming of pathways and revival of water bodies likely to be completed in the new year.

Industry

Industrialists hope to get a congenial environment for trade and industry in 2024. They look ahead for fulfilment of promises to provide power at Rs 5 per unit, better infrastructure at focal points and industrial areas, end to corruption by strengthening single windows and self-certification policy, tax and financial relief for sufferings during Covid times, technology upgrade centre and expediting work on exhibition centre and freight corridor.

Sports

The sports infrastructure that required attention is in for major makeover during 2024.

The new synthetic athletics track at Guru Nanak stadium here, synthetic surface at Olympian Prithipal Singh Astroturf hockey stadium at the PAU, second indoor basketball hall, parallel to the existing one, with a state-of-the-art structure for aspiring basketball players are likely to see the light of day this year.

Periphery

Satellite towns of Jagraon, Sahnewal and Doraha are also in for major push to infrastructure and improvement in the basic civic amenities during 2024.

(Inputs by Manav Mander, Harshraj Singh, Shivani Bhakoo, Anil Datt and Lovleen Bains)


Look beyond military approach in Rajouri-Poonch

The attacks on security forces and the alleged custodial deaths are a setback to the investment made in border management over the years.

Look beyond military approach in Rajouri-Poonch

luv Puri

Journalist and Author

There seems to be no let-up in intermittent attacks on security personnel in the Rajouri-Poonch area along the Pir Panjal mountain range that separates the homogenous Kashmir valley from the geographically, religiously and ethnically heterogeneous region of Jammu. The responsibility for the attacks, like in previous cases, has been claimed by the People’s Anti-Fascist Front, which reportedly emerged in 2019.

Since 2019, the militants’ strategy has been to carry out targeted killings in the Valley and inflict losses on security personnel in Rajouri and Poonch districts. On December 21, four Army personnel were killed in an ambush at a spot between Dera Ki Gali and Bafliaz. A total of 59 people — 24 security personnel, seven civilians and 28 terrorists — were killed in Rajouri-Poonch in the past year. Psychological warfare is a component of the militant strategy, which is reflected in the fact that attackers use body cameras to film attacks and then upload videos on social media. The mutilated bodies of soldiers, along with captured weapons, are frequently shown on social media platforms, accompanied by propaganda audios.

Unlike Kashmir, where the terrain consists of plains and a road network has been built, the transportation system in Rajouri-Poonch is underdeveloped. Therefore, the formulation of an effective counter-terrorism strategy will have to factor in the new set of challenges. By the mid-1990s, as detailed in my book Militancy in Jammu and Kashmir: The Uncovered Face, spanning the period from 1989 to 2007, the challenge intensified for the security forces in the religiously heterogeneous Rajouri-Poonch area as there was a greater presence of militants who did not speak Kashmiri, and they had started establishing their bases there.

Rajouri-Poonch is an extension of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in terms of ethnicity and geography. The only difference between the two areas in demographics is the presence of a significant number of Hindus and Sikhs, many of whose families migrated from across the Line of Control (LoC) in 1947; they are living majorly in Rajouri and Poonch towns in an otherwise Muslim-majority region. In PoK, there are no non-Muslims. In August 1965, many of the pockets in this belt were captured by Pakistani infiltrators as part of their Operation Gibraltar, said to be the brainchild of the Pakistani officer in command of the region across the LoC, Maj Gen Akhtar Hussain Malik. Many Muslim families had also escaped across the LoC after the Indian Army re-established control, particularly in border areas of Poonch.

After 1990, it was always impossible to completely sanitise the surrounding peaks to facilitate Army movement. Road-opening patrols became a crucial part of the strategy since the mid-1990s. Several mid-level members of the official machinery have been ambushed by militants in the region in the past two decades. No doubt, the arduous terrain is a constant. However, one cannot ignore the failures in one of the most militarised areas of the subcontinent due to its proximity to the LoC. The label of ‘foreign militants’ from Pakistani Punjab and PoK does not hold true in Rajouri-Poonch as militants coming from across the LoC are largely from the same ethnic and linguistic stock. This ensures easy assimilation. That is why the strategy of winning over the local community is at the heart of effective tactics.

A key initiative was taken by then PM Indira Gandhi, who realised the potency of the approach as part of the efforts to beef up border security. In 1976, she participated in a Gujjar conference in J&K as part of the outreach to the Gujjar-Bakarwal community, one of the main communities which live in this area. Over time, there has been a concerted effort to forge strong bonds between J&K Gujjars, who are Muslims, and Hindu Gujjars, particularly from Rajasthan and the areas around Delhi. This endeavour aims to secularise the Gujjar identity.

In 1991, Gujjars-Bakarwals were granted Scheduled Tribe (ST) status and that solidified their support against terrorism, particularly in the elite sections of the community. A number of serving IAS and IPS officers, coming from the Gujjar community, were direct beneficiaries of this decision. The multi-pronged approach yielded more dividends as the Gujjars in the area collaborated with security personnel, contributing to cleansing the region of the ranks of a terrorist outfit, Lashkar-e-Taiba. One of the Gujjar groups hailed from Bafliaz, and specifically, the Marrah hamlet, which is not far from the area where the recent attack occurred. After the attack, some community members were allegedly picked up by the Army on the suspicion that they were working for the militants; three of them died in custodial torture. The continuing attacks on security personnel and alleged custodial deaths are a setback to the investment made in border management over the years in an area that had almost become militancy-free two decades ago.

To understand the present, one cannot discount the overall context. Since the abrogation of Article 370, a number of ill-thought announcements disturbed the delicate societal equilibrium of the region. One of them was granting ST status to the Pahari-speaking community, a diverse group that includes upper-caste Muslims as well as Hindus, brought together by a shared language. An impression spread among the strongly-knitted Gujjar-Bakarwal community that the decision was detrimental to them. Also, the feedback of the political class to sensitise the security apparatus has been ominously missing since J&K has not had a legislative Assembly for the past five years. The official claim is that around 25 militants are active in the region, but it doesn’t adequately explain why substantial losses are being inflicted. In an environment of militancy, the political class is always well aware of the happenings on the ground. It is also able to better contextualise the information as it is attuned to the ground reality. And when the macro contours of decision-making are determined in the national capital, there appears to be a void in terms of policy execution and calibration.

In a nutshell, addressing the security challenge in Rajouri-Poonch requires more than just a military approach; it must be embedded in local politics and a delicate societal equilibrium. Security, after all, is never solely a military problem.


An operation on the sly

An operation  on the sly

Gp Capt JS Boparai (Retd)

HAVING quickly picked up packed breakfast from an air force base on the way, our convoy was welcomed at our destination on a sunny morning during Op Parakram in December 2001. After offloading and parking the heavy vehicles, various teams got into action, installing tech equipment, making the cookhouse functional and erecting tents for protection against the biting cold and the dark night that lay ahead in the dry, desolate and inhospitable terrain — our home and workplace in the foreseeable future. A recce team was sent to visit the nearby areas. The unit was declared partially operational before darkness engulfed the new camp-in-the-making.

Next morning, teams resumed their work. Slowly but surely, the setup acquired the semblance of a field camp. The unit was nearly geared up — operationally, technically and administratively — for its ‘op role’. After initial deployment, there was a lull — time to wait and watch, expecting orders to go into action anytime.

With each passing day, there were incremental improvements — providing recreation facilities, sports activities, attention to cookhouse affairs and general cleanliness in and around the camp without losing sight of the core operational training. However, micro dust particles, cement-like sand and powdered soil peculiar to the terrain played havoc with our sensitive electronic equipment, besides making our tents/bedding dust-laden and polluting our food and water despite all-out precautions. This nuisance weighed heavily on almost everybody’s mind.

Overly upset was Daler Singh, the chief housekeeper, and his dedicated team, which remained on its toes for any onerous task to ensure good living and working conditions akin to a permanent base — making sighting difficult from the air, taking precautions against attacks by insects, snakes and dogs, and keeping the tents clean. Not satisfied, he approached me one day with a weird suggestion: ‘Sir, on the outskirts of the nearby town, I saw empty wooden drums lying near an office on a vacant plot. Those things can be used to make temporary wooden hardstanding for the entire tented plinth area to keep the dust away.’ Though sceptical, I decided not to discourage Daler’s initiative and dedication.

Next day, we were taken aback by the indifferent response of the electricity department’s officials. ‘Sir, you don’t know how they work. The cross-border crisis may well blow over by the time they take a decision. We can remove the stuff quietly tonight. Rest assured, nobody will miss it,’ Daler said. Finding myself at the crossroads of legality, morality and duty, I finally opted for pragmatism. ‘Op wooden roundels’ was carried out that night. Reduced dust and improved ambience validated Daler’s idea, inviting appreciation from all, including visiting dignitaries, in the subsequent days. An elated Daler had the final word: ‘Sir, phatte bhi sewa wich la laye asin (we put even the boards/rafters to good use).’


Punjab refuses to send tableau for Bharat Parv

Centre says state didn’t adhere to R-Day theme

Punjab refuses to send tableau for Bharat Parv

Tribune News Service

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Chandigarh, December 31

Continuing his tirade against the Centre over the rejection of Punjab’s tableau for the Republic Day parade, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today refused to send the state’s tableau for display at Bharat Parv saying the martyrs who featured in the creation didn’t deserve a place in the “rejected category”.

Related News

Mann’s reaction came in response to the Centre’s communication dated December 30, which said that the “state/UT not selected for the Republic Day parade will be given an opportunity to display its tableau during Bharat Parv, being organised separately at Red Fort from January 23-31”.

The CM maintained the martyrs of the stature of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev, Lala Lajpat Rai, Udham Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Mai Bhago and Ghadari Babe didn’t need any “no-objection certificate from the BJP to prove their national standing”. “We will not allow Punjab to figure on the list of rejected states, which are being given a chance to display their tableaux separately, thereby getting second-class treatment. Punjab is capable of paying worthy tributes to its heroes and showcasing their legacy independently,” said Mann. The Ministry of Defence, meanwhile, issued a statement clarifying that the tableaux of Punjab, Delhi and West Bengal were not included in the Republic Day parade as these were not aligned with the broader themes adopted this year for the event. Their criticism on not being selected for the parade is unfounded,” the communication read.

Thirty states and UTs, including Punjab, West Bengal and Delhi, had shown interest to participate in the parade. As is the norm, nearly half of them were selected. The Punjab tableau was shortlisted for the parade six times over the past eight years between 2017 and 2022, the communication read.

The issue took an ugly turn after Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar maintained that the tableau was rejected as the state government insisted on carrying pictures of CM Mann and Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal on the tableau. The charge has been denied as “baseless” by Mann.


Japan issues tsunami warnings after a series of very strong earthquakes shook its western coastline

3 metre high tsunami expected to hit Niigata and other prefectures on western coast of Japan
Japan issues tsunami warnings after a series of very strong earthquakes shook its western coastline

Tokyo, January 1

Japan issued tsunami alerts and ordered evacuations following a series of earthquakes on Monday that started a fire and trapped people under rubble on the west coast of its main island.

In videos, watch tsunami waves hit Japan after massive earthquake strikes Ishikawa

The Japan Meteorological Agency reported more than a dozen quakes off the coast of Ishikawa and nearby prefectures shortly after 4 p.m., one of them with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6.

The agency issued a major tsunami warning for Ishikawa and lower-level tsunami warnings or advisories for the rest of the western coast of the island of Honshu, as well as the northernmost of its main islands, Hokkaido.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK TV warned torrents of water could reach as high as 5 metre and urged people to flee to high land or the top of a nearby building as quickly as possible.

NHK said the tsunami waves could keep returning, and warnings were continuing to be aired hours after the initial alert. Several aftershocks also rocked the region.

Government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said it was critical for people in coastal areas to get away from the oncoming tsunami.

“Every minute counts. Please evacuate to a safe area immediately,” he said.

A tsunami of about 3 metre high was expected to hit Niigata and other prefectures on the western coast of Japan, and the waves were confirmed to have reached parts of the coastline.

At least six homes were damaged by the quakes, with people trapped inside. A fire has broken out in Wajima city, Ishikawa Prefecture, and electricity is out for more than 30,000 households, Hayashi said.

He said no reports of deaths or injuries had been confirmed, saying the situation was still unclear. Japan’s military was taking part in the rescue efforts, he said.

Japanese media footage showed people running through the streets, and red smoke spewing from a fire in a residential neighborhood. Photos showed a crowd of people, including a woman with a baby on her back, standing by huge cracks that had ripped through the pavement.

Bullet trains in the area were halted. Parts of the highway were also closed, and water pipes had burst, according to NHK. Some cell phone services in the region weren’t working.

The Meteorological Agency said in a nationally broadcast news conference that more major quakes could hit the area over the next week, especially in the next two or three days.

More than a dozen strong quakes had been detected in the region, with risks of setting off landslides and houses collapsing, according to the agency.

Takashi Wakabayashi, a worker at a convenience store in Ishikawa Prefecture, said some items had tumbled from the shelves, but the biggest problem was the huge crowd of people who had shown up to stock up on bottled water, rice balls and bread.

“We have customers at three times the level of usual,” he said.

Tsunami warnings were also issued for parts of North Korea and Russia. Russian officials issued a tsunami alert for the island of Sakhalin, warning that areas across the island’s west coast could be affected by the waves.

In nearby South Korea, the weather agency urged residents in some eastern coastal towns to watch for possible changes in sea levels. Tsunami waves that hit later can be bigger than the initial ones.

The Japanese government has set up a special emergency centre to gather information on the quakes and tsunami and relay them speedily to residents to ensure safety, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters.

He reiterated the warning for immediate evacuation in affected areas.

Japan is an extremely quake-prone nation. In March 2011, a major quake and tsunami caused meltdowns at a nuclear plant. Government spokesman Hayashi told reporters that nuclear plants in the affected area had not reported any irregularities on Monday. 


SANJHA MORCHA TEAM WISHES HAPPY NEW YEAR 2024 TO ONE AND ALL

ਆਗੈ ਸੁਖੁ ਮੇਰੇ ਮੀਤਾ ॥ ਪਾਛੈ ਆਨਦੁ ਪ੍ਰਭਿ ਕੀਤਾ ॥
ਨਵੇਂ ਸਾਲ ਦੀਆਂ ਮੁਬਾਰਕਾਂ ਦਿੰਦੇ ਹੋਏ
ਅਰਦਾਸ ਕਰਦੇ ਹਾਂ ਕਿ ਨਵਾਂ ਸਾਲ (੨੦੨੪) ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਅਤੇ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਪਰਿਵਾਰ ਲਈ ਖੁਸ਼ੀਆਂ ਖੇੜੇ, ਤਰੱਕੀ ਅਤੇ ਸਿਹਤਯਾਬੀ ਲਿਆਵੇ।
ਆਪ ਜੀ ਜਿੱਥੇ ਵਸੋ ਉੱਥੋੰ ਦੀ ਮਿੱਟੀ, ਪੌਣ, ਪਾਣੀ ਸਭਨਾਂ ਜੀਆਂ ‘ਤੇ ਮਿਹਰਵਾਨ ਰਹਿਣ।
ਪੁਰਾਣੀਆਂ ਯਾਦਾਂ ਤੇ ਬੀਤਿਆ ਵੇਲ਼ਾ ਆਪ ਦੀ ਤਾਕਤ ਬਣੇ। ਆਉਣ ਵਾਲਾ ਸਮਾਂ ਜ਼ਿੰਦਗੀ ਦੇ ਤਮਾਮ ਖੂਬਸੂਰਤ ਰੰਗ ਲੈ ਕੇ ਆਵੇ।🙏🏻
🙏ਕੈਪਟਨ ਖੁਸ਼ਵੰਤ ਸਿੰਘ 🙏
ASST SECY SANJHA MORCHA


28DEC:Gurudwara fatehgarh Sahib || Gurudwara MotiRam Mehra ji || Gurudwara Joti saroop sahib ||Bibangarh

Indian Army Sticker by Creative Hatti for iOS & Android | GIPHY

ਵਜ਼ੀਰ ਖਾਨ ਬਹਿਰੂਪੀਆ ਥਾ ਮੁਸਲਮਾਨ ਨਹੀਂ | Muslims ☪️ Talking About Chote Sahibzaade shaheedi & wazir khan


3-day Shaheedi Jor Mela begins at Fatehgarh Sahib

Over 30 lakh devotees expected to pay obeisance

3-day Shaheedi Jor Mela begins at Fatehgarh Sahib
ilgrims at Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib on the first day of Shaheedi Jor Mela. Tribune photo

Surinder Bhardwaj

Fatehgarh Sahib, December 26

The three-day annual Shaheedi Jor Mela to commemorate the sacrifices of the Sahibzadas and other Sikhs began here today with religious ceremonies amid great fervour. To mark the beginning, ‘akhand path’ of Sri Guru Granth Sahib was started at Gurdwara Jyoti Swarup Sahib, which stands at the site where the Sahibzadas were cremated. Harpal Singh, head granthi of Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib, performed the ‘ardas’. Deputy Commissioner Parneet Shergill, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Isha Singhal, SDM Arvind Kumar, SGPC member Gurpreet Singh Randhawa, SAD leader Jagdeep Singh Cheema and a large number of devotees were present on the occasion.

On the first day of the Jor Mela, a sea of devotees thronged the gurdwaras and long queues were witnessed at Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib and Gurdwara Jyoti Swarup Sahib. Approximately 30 lakh devotees are expected to pay obeisance in the Jor Mela.

DC Shergill inaugurated an exhibition highlighting public-oriented schemes initiated by the state government. She also flagged off a fleet of mini-buses and e-rickshaws to ferry senior citizens and ladies free of cost from different destinations to gurdwaras. Apart from the transportation facility, night shelters, toilets and samadhan centres have been set up for the pilgrims, the DC said.

Defying the diktat of SGPC to prepare simple langar, over 500 community kitchens here are serving a variety of dishes.

SSP Dr Ravjot Grewal said the district police have made fool-proof security and traffic management arrangements. Twenty free parking sites and three temporary bus stands have been set up. Four thousand police officials and personnel have been deputed, and 54 nakas and 13 observation posts have been set up. Moreover, CCTV cameras have been installed at various spots and drones are being used to watch out for any untoward incident, the SSP added.

Preparations for the pilgrims

Twenty free parking sites and three temporary bus stands have been set up. Four thousand police officials and personnel have been deputed, while 54 nakas and 13 observation posts have been set up. Moreover, CCTV cameras have been installed at various spots and drones are being used to watch out for any untoward incident. — Dr Ravjot Grewal, SSP