Gurdaspur Diary: Governor honours Red Cross director
On Thursday, the sight of armed security personnel posted near the Paniyar Sugar Mill raised eyebrows among local residents, especially since there were no visible protests or demonstrations. The mystery was soon resolved when it was revealed that Governor Gulab Chand Kataria was on a brief visit to the city while en route to Pathankot from Amritsar. Top officials, including Jalandhar Divisional Commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal, DC Uma Shankar Gupta, Suhail Qasim Mir and SSP Harish Dayama from Batala and Gurdaspur districts, were present for the visit. The Governor had invited only one private individual to meet him — Romesh Mahajan, the Project Director of the Red Cross De-addiction Centre and founder of an educational institute for the children of beggars. Mahajan’s work left an impact on the Governor, who has now invited him to visit the Raj Bhawan in Chandigarh.
Congress leader honoured for contribution to horticulture
Pathankot: Kartik Wadhera, a prominent horticulturist from Pathankot, has been awarded Dev Bhumi Bagwani Puraskar by the Indian Society of Horticulture Research and Development (ISHRD). Wadhera received the award for his contribution to horticulture during the Progressive National Symposium on Horticulture in the Himalayas, which concluded recently in Srinagar, Uttarakhand. The event, organised by the School of Agriculture, HNB Garhwal University, recognised Wadhera’s dedication to the field. His father, Sukhdev Wadhera, a well-known Congress figure in Pathankot, noted that Kartik’s passion for horticulture began in childhood. Kartik himself shared, “I have developed a 40-acre orchard in Lamini village, Pathankot, and I spend most of my time tending to plants and fruits.” Known for producing high-quality litchis, Pathankot now has another reason to take pride in Kartik’s achievements, which have placed the city on the horticultural map.
by Ravi Dhaliwal
