Most people at the ripe age of 80 would love a retired life, but not Pratap Singh of Heir village on the outskirts of Amritsar. Worried by the declining tree cover, he has taken up the task to plant trees, water them and even spread awareness regarding the deteriorating environment. "I don't like to sit at home. It pains me to see that the land around is devoid of green trees. When I was young, there used to be so much greenery," says the octogenarian, who has planted over a lakh trees so far.

Gutsy gal

Sapandeep Kaur, 20, is no ordinary girl. She had the bravado to not only refuse marriage to a dowry-seeker, but also to send the marriage party behind bars. This girl from Dhunda village in Tarn Taran district is so put off that now she will marry only if she meets a man who treats her as a human and not a commodity. Just a matriculate, but what guts!

Workaholic DC

While most IAS officers play golf or retreat to clubs in the evening, Amritsar DC K.S. Pannu is found poking his nose in files even at late hours. Be it protecting heritage or digging up historical sites, he is always at the forefront. Not only that, the Suvidha Centre he has set up at his office is a delight for the public. Ask him and he shrugs: "With no family in town and being a teetotaler, I prefers to take care of the piling work load."

Cracking the whip

His decisions might not be auguring well with everyone, but GNDU V-C Dr Jairup Singh's efforts to bring discipline on the campus is something few can disagree with. Be it hostels, classrooms or the library, his men are on the prowl everywhere, sparing no one. That includes former mayor Sunil Datti and an SP, who were told to stay away from the campus as they were outsiders. Irregular teachers also need to look out, as his own wife found out, when she got a heavy scolding for being absent from class.

Top Guns

Shimla SP Anand Pratap Singh and his deputy Arvind Negi (now transferred) gave the imaandar, jaanbaz Bollywood cops a run for their money when they busted several big guns in the mother of all scams in the state - HP PMT paper leak. These two young guns are known to be fast, furious and fairly handsome.

Man with a mission

Vijay Goel, president of Bathinda-based NGO Sahara Jan Seva, is a man on a mission. From launching a campaign to put reflectors on vehicles to helping abandoned female babies find suitable parents for adoption, he has led the NGO in a dynamic way. Goel recently established Shaheed Ram Singh Sahara Accident Roku Society that would operate in Muktsar, Faridkot and Mansa as well. The top brass of the administration impressed by his work include Bathinda DC Rahul Tewari and SSP Naunihal Singh.

Jan sewak

Retired as a JBT teacher from the Punjab Education Department, 65-year-old Urmil Kumari is a woman with a difference. From teaching, she has taken to serving the old and the destitute, who have been negated by their own kin. Urmil opened the Sai Vridh Ashram in Chaura village in the district with all her life savings and is now fully devoted to them at the fag end of their lives. Besides housing them, she also provides them free meals and clothing, apart from other necessities of life.

Blood line

Working with a missionary zeal, this star personality of Patiala has donated blood 131 times. Sat Paul Bansal is now off to another goal - of spreading the message of blood donation. A retired manager of the State Bank of Patiala, he has organised numerous seminars on blood donation and goes from place to place, college to school to motivate the young and the old to donate blood in the service of mankind.

Philanthropist

A name to reckon with in the Muktsar, Dr Ajay Setia was born in a family of freedom fighters. He owns one of the biggest agro-based paper manufacturing unit in Punjab that produces over 150 tonnes of paper per day. The unit has changed the economic state of the area, with farmers getting good prices for their produce. Dr Setia has been organising rural medical camps regularly and his vision has changed the destiny of more than 3,000 families.

People’s man