Among various socially relevant initiatives Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ishfaq has ushered in the city the most notable is the one pertaining to free food being served to patients and their kin admitted to the Civil Hospital. The rich obviously have no interest in the government-run institutes be it hospitals or schools. Hence its only people belonging to lower strata of society who are forced to use facilities provided by the state-owned entities. Last week the DC brought together the Red Cross and the Dhariwal-based Nishkam Society (a social organisation). The duo joined hands to ensure that food packets reach beds of patients. These packets are prepared in Dhariwal itself before being transported to the hospital. Obviously the food served does not differentiate between Covid and non-Covid patients. After all food is food and is meant for all types of patients irrespective of caste colour or creed. Mahatma Gandhis quote that “There are people so hungry that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread” finds relevance in the hospitals corridors. Nothing brings different people together like hygienic food. Ishfaq said “We are doing our best to serve the poor. On day one I myself had a taste of things. It was indeed a memorable experience. You have to nourish before you flourish.” It would have been in the fitness of things if somebody scribbled some graffiti on the hospital wall proclaiming “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.” Will Batala be made a full-fledged district? A day before Dr Satnam Singh Nijjar chairman Gurdaspur Planning Board met Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh in Chandigarh he had done his homework and research well on the reasons as to why Batala should be upgraded into a full-fledged district. The doctor had a discussion with the CM on this issue. Over the years the debate on this matter had become monotonous. However Dr Nijjar picking up the ghost it again assumed urgency. After Malerkotla was declared a district voices to make the city into one has become shriller. Observers say Batala deserves the status because it is not only the eighth largest city in Punjab but also because its the second oldest after Bathinda. It already is a separate police district. The municipal committee got upgraded into the Municipal Corporation in March 2019 giving a fillip to the argument of upgrading the town. It is also a highly industrialised township following which it has earned the epithet of being the steel town of Punjab. On the flip side the argument to have the city as a separate district acts as anathema to the purists and old-timers alike. They claim that after Pathankot was carved out as a separate entity Gurdaspur district lost its importance. Now they say after Batala is made a separate district Gurdaspur will further lose its relevance and will be virtually rendered a lame duck. The coin falls both ways. If Nijjar is in the forefront there are others too like social activist Jagjot Singh Sandhu who are holding protests to ensure their city gets the exalted status. Tokyo — a bridge too far for this judoka Judoka Jasleen Sainis(pic) hopes of qualifying for Tokyo Olympics have disappeared into thin air. Three members of the Indian contingent tested positive for Covid in the Asia-Oceania championship which was held in Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan in April. This development forced the entire team to huddle into isolation in a local hotel and skip the tournament. The championship offered crucial ranking points. Saini was just a few points away from making the grade in 66-kg weight category for the Olympics through the Asian continental quota. Bishkek would well have become the springboard for his participation in the Olympics. Saini is a product of the Shaheed Bhagat Singh judo centre which has produced more than a hundred national and international-level judokas. He would have been the second player to have made it to the quadrennial sporting extravaganza from a small town like Gurdaspur. Local lad Avtar Singh has already donned India colours in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Amarjeet Shastri is the coach at the centre. A teary eyed Saini said “I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something or the other. I tried my level best for Tokyo Olympics but then some things simply do not play out as you would like them to have. As every sportsman knows the ultimate level of competition is to be found at only the Olympics and nowhere else. Everyone wants to be an Olympian. Now I will have to wait for another four years.” — Contributed by Ravi Dhaliwal

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