Faridkot MLA turns to WhatsApp

Faridkot: To reach out to the people of his constituency, Faridkot MLA Deep Malhotra has taken to WhatsApp. "We can't increase the working hours, but can surely utilise time more effectively through technology. WhatsApp is an easy and inexpensive communication tool and is available on almost all cellphones. I hope this initiative will help me resolve the problems of the people of my constituency," says Malhotra. Needless to say, the initiative comes during the election year. 

Whose line is it anyway?

Gurdaspur: At a function in Batala, Vinod Khanna, Gurdaspur MP, ended up embarrassing himself and his party workers. A tired-looking Khanna, who had arrived from Mumbai, declared that the Batala seat would be contested by the BJP in the coming 2017 elections, annoying SAD leader and Batala halqa chief LS Lodhinangal. Under the seat-sharing agreement between the SAD and the BJP, the Batala seat is to be contested by the former. A livid Lodhinangal was heard saying: “The MP should rehearse his lines well. This is not a film and there are no “retakes”. He should concentrate on his constituency. It is not for him to decide as to who will contest the seat.” 

Destination Punjab for cancer patients 

Chandigarh: In a role reversal, cancer patients from other parts of the country are coming to Punjab for treatment. On an average, 10 patients, mainly from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, are being treated for different types of the killer disease every month at the state-of-the-art Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital, set up by the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), Mumbai, in Sangrur in collaboration with the Punjab Government. Ever since it started operations in January 2015, the facility has treated around 1,800 patients with over 200 major surgical procedures. Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Vini Mahajan, told The Tribune that the immunohistochemistry test for breast cancer, which was not available at any government set-up in Punjab, was being conducted at the Sangrur hospital.

Connecting with party workers

Jalandhar: The team of Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh's poll strategist Prashant Kishor is going all out to connect with party workers. During the workers' meetings, team members have been taking down names and phone numbers of the participants. A day or two after the meet, they are being sent pre-recorded thanksgiving messages. The message in Punjabi says that the party unit chief enjoyed the interaction with the workers, who are the backbone of the party, and that he will keep meeting them. In the end, he also gives a landline number to enable them to get in touch with him.

The unfinished task

Jalandhar: Kamal Sharma, who was replaced by Vijay Sampla as the Punjab BJP president last week, had been maintaining a low profile ever since his tenure ended in January. The central leadership's indecision over the change of guard lasted more than three months. Ironically, the change happened when Sharma was in the midst of the party's first election-oriented tour programme in 23 constituencies. He chose to abandon the programme midway, with the remaining part of it being taken care of by party affairs in charge Prabhat Jha.

No stopping Fazilka’s shooting star

Fazilka: Seventeen-year-old Arjun of Jalalabad in Fazilka district has been selected by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to represent the country in the air rifle shooting to be held in Suhl, Germany, from April 28 to August 6. He will represent the country in the Junior World Cup in 10-metre air rifle event. He has the distinction of representing the country in the junior category (below 18 years) despite playing in the above 18 category in India. Son of Commercial Inspector (Railways) Neeraj Babuta, Arjun won the gold at the Indore School National Games in 2015, setting a world record of 394 out of 400 points. He is the winner of the national shooting events in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

(Contributed by Praful Chander Nagpal, Balwant Garg, Ravi Dhaliwal, Nitin Jain and Deepkamal Kaur)