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VAISAKHI
IN PAKISTAN
Photos by Saiyna Bashir
T he annual festival of Vaisakhi or
Baisakhi is a centuries old spring celebration observed by farmers across nor thern India, par ticularly in the Punjab. It has special significance for Sikhs, as it was during Vaisakhi in the year 1699 that the tenth Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh, laid the foundation of the Panth Khalsa (Order of the Pure Ones).Many Sikh holy sites lie in the Pakistani side of the Punjab. However, tensions and strict visa regimes bew tween India and Pakistan make it difficult for Indian Sikhs to visit these holy places. This year, Pakistan welcomed over a thousand Sikhs from India who arrived at the Wagah railway station on April 11 for a ten-day visit to visit different Gurdwaras. The main celebration was held at Gurdwara Hasan Abdal (Rawalpindi) on Friday. Sadly, many Sikhs were denied visas. However, those who were able to come appreciated the facilities provided to them by the Pakistani government, including the new accommodation at Hassan Abdal.

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INTERNATIONAL

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Wednesday, April 17, 2013

AN INITIATIVE OF THE JANG GROUP AND THE TIMES OF INDIA

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Hassan Abdal: Gurdwara Panja Sahib comes alive with the arrival of Sikh yatrees

Young Sikhs at the Nagar Kirten ceremony

Sikh men and women at Nagar Kirten chant Vahe Guru

Punjab provinces to cooperate for waste management

eputy Chief Minister of Indian Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal has directed Commissioner Ludhiana to prepare a feasibility study to establish the Indian Punjab Waste Management Company (IPWMC) replicating the successful model of Lahore Waste Management Company. In a meeting with Waseem Ajmal Chaudhary, MD LWMC in Jalalabad, Indian Punjab, Mr. Badal appreciated the LWMCs efforts to introduce and maintain a successful state-of-the art waste management system over the past year with the introduction of modern machinery and door-to-door waste collection services in collaboration with Turkish contractors. The Indian Punjab local government plans to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with LWMC for consultancy after approval from Indias federal government. These matters were discussed during the recent five-day visit to Indian Punjab by a three-member LWMC delegation comprising MD Waseem Ajmal Chaudhary, GM Operations Khalid Majeed and Manager Operations Asif Iqbal. During their visit, the LWMC delegates observed SWM systems and discussed collaboration opportunities between LWMC and various cities of Indian Punjab. The delegation visited Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalalabad, Jalandhar and Chandigarh and observed their solid waste management system.

Nagar Kirten ceremony Sikh children greet their elders at Punja Sahib

Sikh pilgrims eat traditional food distributed by the langar (food kitchen) at Punja Sahib

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Sikh yatrees in traditional clothes

Saiyna Bashir is a freelance photographer studying journalism at Beaconhouse National University, doing her thesis on the facilitation of Sikh visitors to Pakistan and the role of media. saiyna.bashir@gmail.com

BRIEFS

We got tremendous support in India

The moving story of a 16-year old girl airlifted from Lahore to New Delhi by air ambulance for a life-saving liver transplant operation
Its a rebirth for 16-year-old Pakistani girl Madiha Tariq Sheikh, who recently underwent a successful liver transplant surgery in India, which she feels is her own country. Madiha, who hails from Lahore, was flown to India in February after she slipped into coma due to acute liver failure. She underwent a liver transplant surgery at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi. This is my own country (India)... It has been four months now and I am missing my school. Inshallah, I will return home next week, Madiha told reporters recently. Her brother Rizwan, who donated a part of his liver to save her, was also present. We are very happy my sister has recovered. It has been great coming here (to India). We have already shared stories of tremendous support we got here with our people back home, he said. Madiha is the 350th Pakistani to have undergone liver transplant at the hospital. Apollo Transplant Programme has performed 1,252 liver transplants in children and adults from 27 countries in the past 15 years. Although discharged on March 6, Madiha was staying on in India for further check-ups. What seems like a fairy tale now was initially a very tough road, reflected Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director of Apollo Hospitals. We sent our air ambulance with a group of doctors to lift Madiha from Lahore, you know how tough it is to get the visas and other formalities completed between the two countries. Again in India you have to take government authorisation before carrying out a transplant. But thankfully, authorities on both sides were very supportive and we got everything done in time. People in the External Affairs Ministry were very helpful, said Sibal. Madiha had developed Hepatitis in January. After her condition deteriorated, she was flown to India on February 2 and operated upon on the next day. It took a team of 18 doctors, two operation theatres, five units of platelets, 10 units of plasma and 18 hours to perform the two surgeries simultaneously, said Prof Subash Gupta, Chief Liver Transplant Surgeon of Apollo Hospitals. PTI report

All smiles: Madiha Tariq with her brother in New Delhi, April 12, 1013. PTI photo. THE FIRST STEP LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK
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