Amritsar, December 9
The historic Sultanwind village, which is a picture of neglect due to the apathy of the authorities, can now see a ray of hope of development as funds have been sanctioned to the councillors of the area.

The area that came under the jurisdiction of the municipal corporation in 1978 still waiting for its development with all the political leaders of consecutive governments only giving lip service to them.

The village is said to be about 800 years old and settled much before the inhibition of the holy city of Amritsar.

However, now the government has sanctioned about Rs 1.25 crore each to its three wards for providing water supply, concrete and brick flooring in its roads and lanes, said MC commissioner D.P.S. Kharbanda while talking to The Tribune.

He said the Sultanwind area, which was situated in the periphery of the city, came under three municipal wards and funds had been allotted to councillors of these wards for carrying out developmental works.

The village also came under the ambitious Rs 360-crore Japan Bank International Consortium (JBIC) Scheme under which sewerage would be laid, besides construction of road and other infrastructure of the city.

He said at present planning work was going on and work was likely to be started next year.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal would lay the foundation stone for the construction of a Sultanwind bridge on December 11. The bridge would connect the main city with the village.

The century-old bridge was damaged, causing great inconvenience to the commuters. The CM has directed the authorities to complete the bridge within three months.

The corporation has also decided to set up a sewerage treatment plant in the village. Three such plants would be established in the city. The other two sewerage treatment plants would be set up at Bharariwal and Ram Tirath.

Named after Pir Sakhi Sultan, Sultanwind has a historical importance. Guru Hargobind stayed here when he was returning after solemnising his marriage.

Besides Guru Hargobind, prominent Sikhs who came here included Baba Buddaji, Bhai Gurdasji, Bhai Bahloji, Bhai Saloji, Bhai Bidhi Chand.

An old tree of “karir”, where the sixth Guru tied his horse, still exists in the gurdwara.

The residents of the area alleged that the authorities and the political leaders had turned a blind eye towards them. There is no facility to provide clean and safe drinking water to the population of about 35,000 of this area.

The village made the city proud by making supreme sacrifices in all the world wars, Jaiton Morcha, Morcha of Guru Ka Bagh or freedom struggle.

Over 1.38 lakh Indian troops fought in Belgium and France during World War I, many of them Sikhs. The marble slab outside the police station displays that 135 residents of this village participated in World War I.

Amritsar, December 9
The citizens of Amritsar and especially the residents of the Batala Road have been up in arms in protest against the abject apathy of the state government and Public Works department in relaying of about five-km stretch of the vital Batala Road which connects the border region to Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.

Taking up the cudgels against this deliberate neglect, BJP MLA Anil Joshi today threatened to hold protest dharna in front of Public Works Department (PWD) office for not reconstructing the road.

Speaking at a press conference, he said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has instructed the authorities to complete the reconstruction of the road as soon as possible. However, the authorities of the PWD have turned a blind eye to the inconvenience being suffered by the commuters and residents of the nearby areas, 
alleged Joshi.

Joshi pointed out that all the funds allocated by the central government have been with the department for last several months now.

BJP MLA Anil Joshi said the issue was taken up with PWD minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, who had assured to complete the work on priority basis in July last year. However, till now nothing has been done so far. He said that even the municipal corporation has completed work of cementing both sides of the road while PWD was still looking other way.

The BJP MLA said he had promised the residents of the area to rebuild this road during elections and he would leave no stone unturned to fulfill his promise.

Meanwhile, the Public Works Department authorities could not be contacted even after repeated attempts.

Amritsar, December 9
To promote education in the rural areas, Mata Mohinder Kaur Memorial Trust (MMKMT) has decided to give awards to six children of Government Secondary School, Chawinda Devi village, here, who had topped in 10+2 exams in the past three years. The awards will be presented tomorrow.

The Niranjan Singh and Pandit Dina Nath memorial awards would be given to boys and girls for academic achievements.

The trust has adopted four schools - Government Higher Secondary School, Talwani Dassaundha Singh, Government Higher School, Fatehgarh Shukarchak, Government Higher Secondary Girls School, Kathunangal, and Government Secondary School, Chawinda Devi village.

The trust was formed after the name of Mata Mohinder Kaur, a native of the region who devoted all her life to social causes. She believed that all social ills were due to the neglect of education  of the girl child.

The trust provides infrastructure and other necessary items, besides providing building for imparting quality education to the children of the rural belt.

Amrik Singh Gill, Chairman of the trust, said, “We have to be cautiously alert to preserve our heritage and hand it down to the future generation as we have received from our elders, which is possible to achieve only through all-round quality education, which is the main aim of this foundation.”

Amritsar, December 9
Amritsar-born Bhupinder Singh of Holland has come up with his third book, “The Dutch Singh: A brief history,” on the accomplishments of Sikhs who have adopted Holland as their country.

Known for his great work on the world wars depicting Sikhs’ contribution to the world during the wars, the book revealed the history of Sikhs living in Holland.

The book contained a large number of coloured and black and white photographs about the Sikhs activities in the country, besides preserving several precious documents, including letters of the government officials about the Sikhs position, rights, role and their identity.

The present work disclosed that the Sikhs were known to the Netherlands since the times of Sikh general Banda Singh Bahadur.

Amritsar, December 9
Students of Spring Dale Senior School have won the Signal award in the ninth International Children Festival of Performing Arts held at National Bal Bhavan, New Delhi, in which about 100 schools from 25 countries participated.

The theme of the show was “Imagine the world as one”. The team of the school participated in the theatre competition. Class XI student Shikha Arora, who played the role of a protagonist, was declared the best actress of the festival in the play “Bitya Rani” which sent out a message against the menace of female foeticide.