Busy with Nanded, govt forgets New Punjab Day

Busy with Nanded, govt forgets New Punjab Day
Rajay Deep
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 2
Because of its preoccupation with the Gurta Gaddi Diwas celebrations at Hazur Sahib in Maharashtra, the Punjab government apparently forgot to celebrate the New Punjab Day on November 1.
The state government neither held any state-level function nor did it declare the day as holiday.
Deputy commissioner, Bathinda, Rahul Tewari said: “We did not receive any letter from the state government regarding the declaration of a holiday or celebrations for the day. So, we did not do it”.
On the other hand, the SGPC announced a holiday for its offices on November 1, but it too did not hold any function to mark the day.
There were some differences over the declaration of a holiday on November 1.
When contacted over the phone, Daljeet Singh Cheema, adviser to the Chief Minister, said: “We all were busy with the Gurta Gaddi Diwas celebrations at Nanded. We have reached here just today, so it was not possible to celebrate the day.”
Speaking further, Cheema said: “Moreover, there are already many scheduled holidays. So it was not required to give one more holiday on the day.”
“The state government has already done a lot for the Punjabi language which can not lose its sheen just because the day was not celebrated,” he added.
SGPC chief Avtar Singh said: “We never announce a holiday suddenly. It was scheduled in the committee’s calendar. So we closed our offices.”