National Highway 54 (starts near Pathankot and ends at Kenchiya Hanumangarh district in Rajasthan) has become a hotbed of crime in the recent past. Taking serious note of the incidents the district police had formed special patrolling teams to prevent crime but there was no let-up in the incidents of robberies. The robbers have become active not only during nights but are also striking in broad daylight too. The CCVT cameras installed on the highways were either non-functional or of no use for the police during investigations. Bhupinder Singh a resident of Tarn Taran and owner of Mahindra Bolero Maxi (PB-02 CR-8461) said that he along with his school going son Gursewak Singh left for Firozpur early mooring to deliver six wooden almirahs in his vehicle. He said they had hardly covered a distance of 3-km from the Tarn Taran city when six armed car-borne masked robbers chased and abducted them to Jethuwal village in Amritsar district by covering a distance of 50-km. During this period they did not find any naka or a police patrolling party in the way. The robbers covered their journey with ease and dropped us to some undisclosed destination and then disappeared. ASI Jagtar Singh Investigating Officer said according to the CCTV footage the robbers entered the Majitha area and thereafter they disappeared. In another instance Shinda Singh who works as a junior engineer with Powercom was shot at near Thathian Mahantan on the national highway by car-borne assailants five months ago. The police have failed to nab the accused till date. Employees of the Powercom have identified the registration number of the car from the CCTV camares installed at the Usman toll plaza. Despite that the police had failed to nab the culprits. Stealing goods from parked trucks outside dhabas is common on the NH-54 and there is long list of unsolved cases. Solemnising mass marriages since 1992 The Citizen Council Tarn Taran has been working for the welfare of the needy sections of the society since its inception in 1992. The organisation had been involved in solemnising mass marriages since 1992. As many as 1000 marriages have been solemnised till date by the organisation. Avtar Singh Taneja president of the organization said besides mass marriages the organization had been involved in organising free eye camps planting saplings and warm clothes for needy students. “We have distributed masks to needy persons and thise living in slum areas” said Dr SS Lauhuka former president of the Citizen Council. Working for Wildlife Navdeep Sood who works as officer in the Telecom Department and is optimist for revival of wildlife is a postgraduate in technology and ecology pursuing PhD in wildlife sciences. He had participated in different wildlife research projects in India and abroad. Dismayed with less forest land here he is working actively in the district which has now become a home for gharials and dolphins. He studies behavior of wild animals which are trying to settle in human inhabited areas as their habitats are being destroyed. He also tracks leopards and other wildlife that enters the area and runs various awareness sites on Harike Wetland. He has several animal welfare activities on his part.

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