Tarn Taran Diary: Pile of garbage on roadside is troubling residents
The residents of Tarn Taran are troubled by the foul smell of garbage dumped in an unauthorised way at Sachkhand road which has made their lives miserable. The residents said the site is a few yards away from the office of the SDM, Tarn Taran, who is also the administrator of the local Municipal Council. Unfortunately, the civic body has remained indifferent toward the misery of residents who have been facing the problem for more than a decade. The picture speaks for itself!
Tarn Taran has contributed immensely to public life
Keeping in view the Lok Sabha elections due to be held early next year, political parties have started their activities in the district. Tarn Taran has played a notable role in national politics for many decades. Most Sikh movements started from this land. Tarn Taran caught the public eye with Partap Singh Kairon who was the Chief Minister of undivided Punjab. Dr Gurdial Singh Dhillon, a resident of Pajnwar village of Tarn Taran district, who remained the Speaker of Lok Sabha for more than two terms, also had a similar stature. Previously, four brothers who were the residents of Chabal village, also brought laurels to the area. One of these four, Sarmukah Singh of Chabal village, was the founder president of Akali Dal. Jathedar Mohan Singh Tur, a resident of Tur village, once headed the SAD and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). Jathedar Mohan Singh Tur, who won the Tarn Taran Lok Sabha seat from the Congress party in the 1977 Lok Sabha elections was the first personality after Independence who remained with the SAD till 2019, except during the 1992 elections when the SAD boycotted the polls. The 1977 election were held after the lifting of Emergency. Tarn Taran district has four Vidhan Sabha constituencies and all these are being represented by the ruling AAP candidates. A Congress leader Jasbir Singh Dimpa (Gill) represents the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat. Before the 2022 elections, there were two main political thoughts, though the BJP (once the Jan Sangh) and the Leftists had a remarkable presence in certain pockets of the district. With AAP entering state politics, Tarn Taran too has been affected and the district is heading towards a three-cornered contest. The BJP has a feeling of satisfaction having lured second-rung leaders from other parties, but it is still far away from garnering mass support. Besides the AAP, the activities of the Congress and SAD are visible in the district. All four MLAs of AAP are busy establishing contacts at the grassroots level and in trying to lure village-level leaders of other parties which is creating differences between the old-timers and newcomers in the party. The Congress is organising party workers at the village level. A large number of party workers participated in the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and its first anniversary. Recently, a remarkable number of Congress workers led by Sukhpal Singh, former MLA, organised a march in Tarn Taran on the first anniversary of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra ‘. The SAD has appointed former minister Bikram Singh Majathia as the party in-charge of Khadoor Sahib (Tarn Taran) Lok Sabha constituency. The move is aimed at remobilising SAD workers towards active politics. The political activities are expected to gain momentum which will be closely watched in political circles.
Work on Renovating darshani Deoari yet to pick up steam
The work of renovating Darshani Deoari in progress in Tarn Taran. Photo: Gurbaxpuri
The restructuring of the Darshani Deoari, Darbar Sahib, in Tarn Taran is going on at a snail’s pace. The historic shrine was partially razed in April 2019 before the onset of Covid-19 pandemic. Sikh religious organisations lodged a strong protest against its demolition which was stopped immediately. Since then, the Sikh masses had been demanding the early structuring of Deoari but the SGPC was unmoved. The SGPC allotted work for constructing the Deoari to a private firm on June 24, 2022 to be constructed at a cost of Rs 78 lakh. According to the terms of the contract, work was to be completed within a year but the period was extended by three more months. The extended period too is going to expire in the coming days but most of the work is still lying unfinished. It is a matter of great satisfaction that the work is quite up to the mark and the shape of the under-construction Deoari also matches the old historic look. The Deoari was constructed after the Darbar Sahib (1590) which was built by fifth Sikh master Guru Arjun Dev ji.
