Indian man ties knot with Pakistani woman, amid tensions
Patiala, Mar 9: Transcending borders amid renewed tensions between the two countries, a Pakistani girl Saturday tying the knot with an Indian man at an SGPC-run gurudwara here.
Kiran Surjeet Kaur (27) married Parvinder Singh (33) of Tepla village in Ambala district of Haryana at Gurudwara Shri Khel Sahib according to Sikh traditions.
Kaur's plan to reach Patiala on February 23 got delayed due to heightened tension between India and Pakistan following the terror attack in Pulwama. She reached Patiala on a 45-day visa by Samjhauta Express on Thursday.
As the Indian Embassy in Pakistan gave her visa only for Patiala, she came here and stayed with her relatives at Samana. Parvinder Singh and his family reached here on Saturday to solemnize the marriage.
Executive member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) Jarnail Singh Kartarpur also attended the ceremony and presented 'siropa' (robe of honour) to the bride and groom on behalf of the SGPC.
Parvinder Singh told the media their families had arranged their marriage in 2016.
He said his request for a Pakistani visa was denied last year, following which it was decided that Kaur and her family will come to India.
After solemnizing the marriage, Singh said his wife, who is in India on a 45-day visa, would apply for Indian citizenship.
Singh is the youngest of three siblings, and Kaur is a distant relative of his aunt, who had stayed back in Sialkot after the Partition in 1947.
They had first met in 2014, when Kiran had come to India and stayed in their village along with her family.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
