| Shalla Pattan (Gurdaspur):
Gliding down the hills from Jammu, Gurdaspur is like a gust of hot air, heavy with dust and smoke. Only the golden fields, stacked with freshly-harvested wheat, are some visual relief as we begin the bumpy ride to the most talked about destination in the district—the new bridge.
 No ordinary brick and mortar structure, this is a Very Very Important Bridge, which’s not only turned around 70-odd villages but will also decide the political fortunes of Akali-BJP star candidate Vinod Khanna. That comes home as villagers turn lyrical about the miracles of this magic bridge. For 55 long years, they had been crossing the whimsical Beas on a creaky boat bridge which had to be dismantled every monsoon. ‘‘During the rains, we’d to row across the swollen river which would often invade our houses... it was a nightmare year after year,’’ says Raj Masih, wife of Munir Masih, the sarpanch of Dauwal village perched on the banks of the Beas.
For cane farmers, it meant a long haul to the Oswal sugar mill at Mukerian. ‘‘It used to take us 12 hours to just reach the mill via Pathankot, now it’s a matter of an hour or so,’’ says Jaswant Singh of Jagatpur Kalan village. The distance to Chandigarh too has been cut short by an hour. And the fare by Rs 15.
 | | | | RELATED STORIES |
|
|
But most gratifying has been the unprecedented spurt in commercial activity in this backward belt. Drive down the short stretch from Tibri to the bridge, and you’ll count at least two petrol pumps, two wedding palaces, one dhaba, and two-dozen shops, all of which have cropped up in the last eight months. ‘‘Thanks to this, the land prices have shot up from Rs 1 lakh an acre to Rs 30 lakh,’’ beams Rasal Singh, sarpanch of Tanda village, who says the mere sight of the tall and gracious bridge gives him a high.
But the greatest relief has been freedom from flooding. White beard quivering, voice shaking, Jaswant Singh rasps: ‘‘Thank God we won’t lose any more lives to Beas.’’ He lost one, that of his 18-year-old son Gurmukh during the 1988 floods.
It was worse for Jeeta of Dauwal whose voice became one long shriek when four of his children were washed away right in front of his eyes. Even villages falling in Hoshiarpur district are grateful for the bridge.
Narinder Singh Kahlon of Nowshera Pattan says it’s become the favourite haunt of morning and evening walkers. It’s also united families living on both sides of the river. Twenty days ago, a grateful farmer of Jalala village held an akhand path and langar on the bridge.
Little wonder then both Congress Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and local MP Vinod Khanna are claiming the rights for it. Last year, Khanna beat Singh to the inauguration by doing it on August 20 amidst lots of action, filmi style, which had Khanna lying down on the road, while his followers had a stone-flinging match with the police. The next day, it was the CM’s turn to do the honours. Today, the imposing black granite board carries the name of the CM and Sukhbans Kaur Bhinder, the present Congress candidate who’d won this LS seat a record five times before Khanna wrested it from her, last time by a mere 1,390 votes.
But board or no board, Jaswant Singh would have you know that ‘‘yeh sab Khanne da kamaal hai.’’ (Vinod Khanna has wrought this miracle.) ‘‘We are told Khanna saab did it,’’ echoes Sarabjeet Masih of Dauwal, who’s quick to add that traditionally this Christian village has always voted for the Congress. But this time, however, they will leave it to the big bridge.
|
