Kalam to review cleansing operation of Kali Bein

Kapurthala, Aug 11 (UNI) President A P J Abdul Kalam will visit Sultanpur Lodhi for an aerial survey of the cleansing operation of the 160-km-long Kali Bein rivulet being undertaken by Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal and his followers for the past four years without any government help.

Due to the proposed visit of Dr Kalam on August 17, the district administration and officials of Punjab's drainage and irrigation departments have started preparing projects on papers to show the cleansing of the Bein on behalf of the Government.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, in meeting with the Baba at Chandigarh recently, announced a grant of Rs 13 crore to check the flow of sewage and industrial pollutants into the Bein.

Baba Seechewal and his follower's unrelenting ''kar sewa'' to clean the Bein, considered sacred as it is associated with Guru Nanak Dev, hailed by Dr Kalam as the ''biggest achievement in the country after independence to protect river water and that too, without government help.'' Dr Kalam, who came to know about the project through media reports, met Baba Seechewal in Delhi to get first hand report on the problem faced by the team and has been in constant touch with the team since.

In view of the proposed visit of Dr Kalam, high-ranking police and civil officials have begun visiting Sultanpur Lodhi to supervise the arrangements.

The river still holds important place in Sikh religion as Guru Nanak spent 14 long years by its side. It was after taking a dip in the Kali Bein that the first Sikh Guru attained enlightenment and uttered the sacred words ''ek omkar'' (God is one). Devotees still throng Sultanpur Lodhi on the Guru Purnima day to take a holy dip in the rivulet.

UNI XC JN PA DS1601