Punjab Diary: Slugfest over flooding in Pathankot

Pathankot: The recent floods in Pathankot sparked off a no-holds battle among the BJP, Congress and AAP. The city’s political configuration is not helping as the Mayor belongs to the Congress, the MLA owes loyalty to the BJP and the AAP has appointed Vibhuti Sharma as a caretaker. Came the deluge and a blame game began much to the chagrin of locals. Amid the pandemonium, it surfaced that the Municipal Corporation (MC) does not have a disaster management plan. All decisions pertaining to emergencies are taken only after 9 am, when the MC employees come to work. On Friday, when the Civil Hospital got flooded, water started receding only after 9 am following a meeting of the MC officials. Logically, this means, any emergency occurring outside the MC office hours will remain unattended.

Novel protest

Ludhiana: Students of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) are sitting on a dharna and urging the government to fill vacant posts. As a mark of protest, they are selling vegetables, tea, pakoras and polishing shoes. Recently, AAP MLA Gurpreet Gogi went to pacify the protesting students, who served him snacks prepared by them. Left with no other option, Gogi had to eat what was served to him. Though the MLA had gone to mollify the agitating students, he had to return after facing a unique protest.

What’s in a name?

Muktsar: Pradesh Congress Committee chief-cum- Gidderbaha MLA Amrinder Singh Raja Warring is grabbing headlines due to his fierce protests, but his office is still unaware of his exact name! Yes, it’s true. Recently, the PCC declared the names of special spokespersons and spokespersons by issuing a letter. As per the letter head, PCC chief is Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, but as per the signatures, he is Amarinder Singh Raja Warring. Notably, as per this three-time legislator’s election affidavit, he is Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.

Safeguarding tradition

Ludhiana: Women came together to recognise weavers to celebrate National Handloom Day. FICCI-Flo in collaboration with Kalingarup showcased varied hand woven garments from the GI tagged ‘Phulkari’ of Punjab to ‘Ikkat’ cotton and silk of Odisha. The women felt that the uplift of traditional weavers was the need of the hour to safeguard traditional culture.

Art of forging friendship

Amritsar: Tehsildars usually attest documents of applicants, but power to put the official stamp is often delegated to a clerk. Even if you know the tehsildar, it’s important to greet and do ‘chah-paani’ for the ‘babu’. Most gullible applicants do not know about the hidden power of this custodian of the official stamp. A not-so-happy ‘babu’ would either mark the stamp at the wrong place or would altogether miss it. This forces the applicant to return to the ‘babu’. “This is an age-old tactic used by babus to show their power. If you want to make friends with ‘Sahib’, first forge friendship with his security guards and clerical staff,” quipped a retired government official.

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