5 officials behind the grand Sultanpur Lodhi show
On the momentous occasion of 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, a grand 15-day religious event was held by the Punjab government in Sultanpur Lodhi, the place where the Sikhism founder attained enlightenment. Over 50 lakh devotees attended one of the state’s largest events in many years.
The celebrations will not only be remembered for years, but are a testament to the months of advance planning – a group of bureaucrats even went to Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh in January-february this year and took a cue from there – and hard work put in by a legion of state officials.
Jatinder Mahal brings to you five officers who worked on the ground and made it possible:
BARJINDER SINGH DEPUTY DIRECTOR, LOCAL BODIES
With a footfall of 50 lakh people, the biggest challenge was to keep the city clean. The task of running the cleaning and sanitation operations was assigned to 2012batch Punjab Civil Services (PCS) officer Barjinder Singh who managed it so well that it became the talking point. Singh began by making arrangements to clear construction debris in the town. On his request, super suction machines and other equipment were brought for cleaning.
“We faced several challenges but overcame each one. A major leakage in the water supply pipe in front of Gurdwara Ber Sahib occurred on the night of November 10. Our teams quickly fixed it before morning. Similarly, we cleared the roads after rain in the mid of celebrations,” says Singh who commanded a team of 4,500 workers.
Lauding their effort, state local bodies minister Brahm Mohindra said they did a commendable job by keeping the town clean despite heavy influx of devotees.
NAUNIHAL SINGH INSPECTOR GENERAL, JALANDHAR RANGE
Right from conceiving the idea of new footbridges, high-level bridges and pontoon bridges for the smooth flow of traffic to setting up of the integrated command and control centre (ICCC) for vigil, the 1997-batch IPS officer left no stone unturned. A hard task master, he started planning for the grand celebrations about a year ago and became the main troubleshooter. His biggest challenge was to manage the huge rush of devotees in the town located between tributaries of Beas and
Sutlej rivers and not directly connected with any national highway. CCTVS, drones, hybrid public address system, wireless communication and smart traffic management through Gpsbased automatic location tracking system were used. “As Sultanpur Lodhi could accommodate only 1.5 lakh pilgrims, managing 50 lakh devotees was a big challenge but we did it through meticulous planning,” he said. His peers and local MLA Navtej Cheema have praised the effort.
RAHUL CHABA ADDITIONAL DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, KAPURTHALA
The 2004-batch Punjab Civil Service (PCS) officer was the visible face of the administration on the ground from the time preparations began. Posted in Kapurthala since 2017, Chaba organised the 549th Parkash Purb celebrations of Guru Nanak last year and knew about the challenges and detailed planning required for an event of this magnitude. He coordinated with all the line departments of the state government and was the go-to official for most of them. He worked overtime for months together to oversee the arrangements and completion of the development works worth Rs 400 crore in the holy city within the stipulated period. The dedication demonstrated by Chaba earned him appreciation from his boss, Kapurthala deputy commissioner DPS Kharbanda, who said that the ADC and other officials remained on their toes and put in tremendous hard work to make the event a mega success.
NAVNEET KAUR BAL MELA OFFICER
A 2013-batch PCS officer, the young bureaucrat was a key member of the team constituted to hold the event. As the local sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) till September-end, she played a crucial role in acquisition of 900 acres of land for setting up the tent cities with parking lots for lakhs of devotees. As the mela officer, she was among those who planned and executed the facelift of Sultanpur Lodhi. Bal and her batch-mate and present SDM Charumita worked as hands-on organisers throughout, ensuring proper access to potable water, washrooms and other basic facilities. “There were hiccups such as devotees having problem in locating the tent city, but we deployed volunteers to guide them,” she said. Also, pamphlets were distributed and posters put up at various places. “Despite the floods a few months ago, she (Bal) ensured everything went off smoothly,” says Kharbanda.
PARNEET SINGH MINHAS GENERAL MANAGER, TRANSPORT
As the state government provided free public transport in the holy city during the celebrations, Minhas was the officer given the task of managing public transport coming to the city to arranging mini buses, e-rickshaws, golf carts, etc for devotees. He also planned routes to monitored vehicle movement to ensure hassle-free transportation of people from parking areas to Ber Sahib Gurdwara and back. Over 300 mini buses and 800 e-rickshaws were deployed. Minhas remained stationed at Sultanpur Lodhi for 15 days and had been working on the project for the past six months. “It was herculean task requiring constant monitoring and prompt response. There were instances of buses halting due to technical glitches and had to be repaired to keep the operation going,” he says. Besides NRIS and other visitors, chief minister Amarinder Singh also praised the efficiency with which the transportation system was managed.