Amritsar, April 10
Even as the moisture in the wheat crop delayed its arrival in the grain markets, the farmers thronged the mandis with paddy which had been held back by them in view of the crashing prices few months ago.

Jaswant Singh, supervisor of the local Bhagtanwala grain market said in view of the increased prices of paddy, the farmers were now bringing about 6,000 quintals of the crop to the market daily. 

He said the different varieties of paddy, which include, PUSA 1121, Basmati and Sharbati, were fetching a price of Rs 2,525 to Rs 2,700, Rs 2,800 to Rs 3,100 and Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,130, respectively, as against Rs 930 fixed as minimum support price including bonus of Rs 50 for the superfine variety by the union government.

Jaswant said the wheat crop was likely to arrive in the market from Monday as harvesting was yet to start. He said the delay was due to the moisture in the crop which would take another two to three days for the grain to dry. He said another reason for the late arrival could be due to the farmers opting for harvesting on Baisakhi i.e., April 13.

It is pertinent to mention here that the recent squall and heavy rains have damaged about 20 per cent of the crop as per the survey conducted by the Agriculture Department.

About the arrangements being made in the grain markets by the marketing board, Jaswant said construction activity was on a war footing to facilitate farmers who would come here to sell their new crop. 

He said proper lighting arrangements had been made and the work for construction of roads was also in full swing. He said in case of rain, tarpaulins were being provided by the arthiyas besides sheds.

Amritsar, April 10
The Bollywood stars who entered the Golden Temple premises with prayers on their lips could not perform langar sewa (voluntary service) owing to heavy rush of onlookers and members of electronic media, who were vying for bytes.

With the result, common devotees faced lot of inconvenience since SGPC officials and police were busy in controlling the curious devotees who wanted to have glimpse of the Bollywood stars.

The Bollywood stars were brought by Gurinder Singh Bawa, a SGPC member for performing “sewa” in Guru Ram Dass Langar Hall, launched by Surinder Kaur Badal, wife of the Chief Minister.

However, this system of sewa on rotation has been causing a lot of inconvenience due to scarcity of accommodation in the SGPC sarais. It was for the first time that a large number of cine and TV stars along with their family members descended at the Golden Temple to pay their obeisance.

Celebrities included Jitendar, with his wife Shobha Kapoor and daughter Ekta Kapoor, Poonam Dhillon, Monika Bedi, Shilpa Shetty along with her fiancé Raj Kundra, Shamita Shetty, Jaspinder Narula, Aditya Pancholi, Shakti Kapoor, singer Abhijit, Prem Chopra, Pankaj Dheer, Prachi Desai, Shakti Kapoor, Paintel, Mukesh Rishi.

The policemen in mufti and members of the SGPC Task force had a tough time controlling the curious people struggling to have a peep and for shaking hand with the cine stars. They were often seen breaking the human chain to come close to the celebrities m in the ‘parikarma’ (circumambulation). However, the policemen and task force worked in tandem to stop crowding of stars.

Two luxury buses and many more vehicles brought the entire group at Golden Temple. Aditya Pancholi raised religious slogan “Jo Bole So Nihal” was well reciprocated by the waiting SGPC members, employees and onlookers with 
“Sat Sri Akal”.

Sukhdev Singh Bhaur and Dalmegh Singh, General Secretary and Secretary of the SGPC, respectively received the galaxy of stars at the entrance of Harmandar Sahib. From there the Bollywood stars and TV artists were kept inside the human chain formed by the police men till they left the place.

Earlier, The Bollywood stars arrived in a 200-seater Chartered plane at Rajasansi International Airport in the early noon.

Yesteryears star Jitendar said it was a divine experience to pay obeisance at Harmandar Sahib.

About his visit to the city he replied that it was like home coming as his family was settled at Lohgarh area at the time of his birth and later shifted to Mumbai.

Amritsar, April 10
The small chowks of the holy city will be decked up with high mast lights. The streetlight wing of the municipal corporation has started the work by installing such lights at two small chowks of the city including Bhagwan Parshuram Chowk near Gol Bagh and Lohgarh Chowk, where 60-feet-high mast lights are being installed, which would illuminate a large chunk of the area which otherwise remained engulfed in darkness due to the absence of proper street lighting.

Each high mast light fitting, which would cost about Rs 7 lakh, consists of 10-12 sodium vapour lamps (SVL) of 250-400 watts. The lights would cover the about 180-feet surrounding area, whereas the normal SVL, used in streetlights at a height of 20-25 feet on main roads, covers only 60-70 feet.

With this, the corporation has also proposed to install more such lights on about a dozen small and busy chowks, including Khalsa College for girls, Polytechnic Chowk, Gate Khazana, Hakima Gate, Lahori Gate, Gobindgarh Fort Chowk, Bhagtanawala, Gillwali Gate Chowk etc.

In these chowks, manual high mast lights, costing about 2.50 lakh each, will be installed.

Earlier, more than 15 high mast lights were set up at the major chowks of the city which include SSSS Chowk, Brij Bhushan Mehra Chowk, Income Tax Chowk, Novelty Chowk, Cantonment area, Putlighar, Khandwala, Guru ki Wadali, Chheharta, Haathi gate chowk, near Golden Temple and Duurgiana Temple, Chatiwind Gate, Dr Baldev Parkash Park, Gole Bagh etc. 

These are mechanically operated lights with almost negligible effort to be put in for repair whenever any fault occurs.

M P S Bedi, XEN, electricity wing of the corporation, said the works on other smaller chowks would be started after getting permission in the house meeting of the MC to be held after the parliamentary elections.

He added that earlier, SVL and energy saver lights were put up at these chowks. However, needs of high mast lights were being felt due to increase in traffic rush.

Tahli Sahib (Majitha), April 10
The SAD-BJP candidate for the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat, Navjot Singh Sidhu, today received a shot in the arm when more than 250 families associated with the Congress joined Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).

Bikram Singh Majithia, patron, Youth Akali Dal (YAD), and former Information Minister, while welcoming these families at a rally organised by Bhagwant Singh Sialka, former president of the Amritsar Bar Association, said SAD-BJP candidate Sidhu would win by a big margin. 

Urging the voters to vote in the name of the development, he said the combine would win all 13 seats in the poll and play a major role in the formation of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.

Lashing at the Congress over the issue of Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, who were given clean chit by the CBI, Majithia said the Congress had withdrawn the tickets allotted to them after resentment shown by the people of the country.

Giving the details of the development works initiated in the Mathitha assembly constituency during the past two years, Majithia said about 90 per cent works had started.

He said whatever works were left it would be his responsibility to get them completed before the completion of five-year term of the SAD-BJP government. 

He said roads, water, sewerage, renovation of bus stand, establishment of schools and colleges, seven bridges, five grain markets, four new power grids were being set up at an estimated cost of Rs 150 crore.

Amritsar, April 10
Capt Sardool Singh (retd), who had fought two wars for the country, was suffering from acute pain after a road accident about 10 years back in which he had a brachial plexus injury. 

He had lost his memory without any sensation in hands and acute pain had made his life hell. He was operated thrice in other parts of the country but in vain.

However, Implantation of Neurostimulator at a private hospital gave him a new pain free life. Dr Ruchi Gupta, pain therapy specialist of Amandeep hospital, said the neurostiumator or spinal cord stimulator is a new technique, which releases mild electrical impulses that interferes with shooting pain signals travelling to brain. 

This is first kind of technique used in the northern part of the country, claimed Dr Gupta adding that this therapy is widely used in the western countries for the cure of various neuropathic problems.

Amritsar, April 10
Asking for the location of Lady Emerson-Seth Chaturbhuj Maternity Home would put any local in quandary. However, mentioning of ‘Lal’ hospital would immediately elicit the response.

Still everyone here refers to the place as ‘Lal’ hospital, made popular by its red colour building dating back to British era.

The hospital established way back in 1937 - a decade before the country won freedom from the British - is a charitable organisaiton to the help the expectant mothers in delivering healthy babies, to help the poor and the needy.

As its name suggests a gentle British lady Emerson and a local philanthropist Seth Chaturbhuj joined hands to set up the maternity home, not far off from the General Post Office and the famous Income Tax Chowk of the city.

The hospital is still doing well in the sense a stream of expectant mothers along with their relatives continue to come and go from the hospital day and night.

The maternity home continues to be managed by a trust. A retired Colonel of the Army is putting his life and soul together to make the hospital more and more popular in the city.

A dedicated team of lady doctors, nurses and other medical staff are the assets of this landmark of the holy city. It houses a garden with flowers, fruit and shade trees.

Amritsar, April 10
The devotees here truly had a fun time as they enjoyed the performance of “gatka” being presented by students of the Miri Piri Academy today. They came all the way from Mumbai to pay obeisance at Golden Temple.

Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee President Avtar Singh was the chief guest on the occasion. He was overwhelmed with the performance of the foreign students who had come here from 13 countries across the globe to study. 

The audience was spellbound as the American students at the academy also presented shabads at the Gurdwara Sahib on the complex. Sikh Dharma California Ambassador Satpal Singh Khalsa, presented siropas among the guests.

The academy at Chheharta in Amritsar is an international boarding school for students from America, Canada and other counties across the globe. About 113 students were getting quality education up to XII. 

Besides full academic curriculum, these children were getting lessons in daily yoga classes based on the teachings of the founder of the academy Late Harbhajan Singh Yogi to prepare them physically, mentally, and spiritually. The students were visiting Golden Temple in different groups from 2 am to 5 am to pay obeisance.

The comprehensive academic programme is accredited by the University of Cambridge International Examinations, and the academy was offering both IGCSE and A-level Certification. This solid academic foundation is combined with a unique opportunity for practice and mastery of Kundalini Yoga and meditation balancing ‘Miri’ and ‘Piri' the temporal and the spiritual realms.

Call it a fair, a festival or a day of jubilations; a simple warble of the word Baisakhi instills among us verve of vivacity, hilarity and joviality. Normally, we rejoice to celebrate many a memorable historic day or a festival - may it be some Gurpurab, may it be Holi or Holla Mohalla or Dussehra or Divali or, with equal gusto, the world level celebration of Christmas. But Baisakhi festival has its distinct and dignified identity in many respects.

The day whereas is codified to correlate with numerous aspects of cultural and social importance in different communities all over India, it garners special significance for the people of Punjab with regard to cultural and seasonal ethos as well as with the religious sentiments of Sikh people.

It was on the Baisakhi day in 1699 when Guru Gobind Singh laid the foundation of Panth Khalsa - the Order of the Pure Ones, and evidently, the people of Punjab celebrate the festival of Baisakhi with extra enthusiastic exuberance and gaiety.

In line with the changing modes in nature, the day is the ripening time of many a fruit, and the harvesting time of Rabi crops specially for the farming community in Punjab. The particular period marks the days of fructification that comes after the outgoing of winter followed by spring.

The auspicious day of Baisakhi is celebrated all over India though under different names and with different sets of rituals. People of Assam celebrate April 13 as Rongali Bihu, while those in West Bengal celebrate it as Naba Barsha. Bihar celebrates Baisakhi as Vaisakha in honour of the Sun God, while Kerala celebrates it as Vishu and Tamil Nadu as Puthandu. 

In Kashmir, a ceremonial bath and general festivity mark Baisakhi, while in Himachal Pradesh, devotees flock to the temple of Jwalamukhi and take a holy dip in the hot springs. In Punjab, the day falls on first day of Vaisakh month (April-May).

It has special religious significance enriched with agricultural bounties to promote the prosperity of the people in Punjab and Haryana. As the festival has tremendous importance in the Sikh religion, major activities of the day are organised in gurdwaras. People wake up early for the day. 

They get ready and pay a visit to their neighborhood gurdwaras where special congregations are organised for the day. People take out processions under the lead of ‘panj pyaras’. The procession moves through the major localities of the city amidst the rendition of songs by the participating men, women and children. Mock duels, bhangra and giddha performances make the procession joyous and colourful.

For the large farming community of Punjab and Haryana, Balsakhi marks the beginning of harvesting of rabi crop. Farmers thank God for the bountiful crop and pray for good times ahead. People buy new clothes and make merry by singing, dancing and enjoying the best of festive food. 

Many more recreational activities like wrestling bouts and kabaddi matches are also held. Everyday farming scenes of sowing, harvesting, winnowing and gathering of crops are enacted through zestful movements of the body to the accompaniment of ballads and dhol music.

Suffice it may so far be as the fun and frolic façade of the festival is concerned, but we have a sanguine and religiously sacred side of this historic day when, on this day in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh laid the foundation of Khalsa Panth and called upon the newly created faith to sacrifice themselves for their community and the country. 

Besides, it was on this day that Guru Gobind Singh administered amrit (nectar) to his first batch of five disciples, the Panj Pyaras, a martial community. Every male was ordained to use ‘Singh’ and every woman ‘Kaur’ with their names.

The Amritsar Plus edition has launched readers’ grievances column in the twice-a-week city edition of The Tribune. All the readers of the holy city are hereby invited to send their grievances with regard to civic amenities, power position, water and sewerage, traffic snarls and complaints of general nature in their respective wards or neighborhood. These can be forwarded at our dedicated email tribuneamritsar@gmail.com <mailto:tribuneamritsar@gmail.com>.