JALANDHAR, FEB 7: The 624th birth anniversary of Guru Ravidas was celebrated with gaiety and abandon here. Roads were decorated with flags and makeshift gates, and processions were taken out through the city. With long queues of tractor-trolleys and four-wheelers, it seemed as if all the people of the city had turned out on roads.

As a precautionary measure, police personnel were deployed near the Mission Hospital chowk, at the Patel Chowk, Jyoti Chowk, PNB Chowk and Partap Bagh to stop the flow of traffic. This resulted in a long traffic jam.

Unfortunately, the Gurparb failed to unite people, and the celebrations were marred by politicisation of the occasion. Different congregations were held by different political parties to serve their respective political motives. The Congress affiliated group organised a function at Guru Ravidas Bhavan, which was attended by prominent leaders of the party, including Avtar Hennary, Mohinder Singh KP and Raj Kumar Gupta.

The Punjab government held a function at Ambedkar Bhavan, in which state ministers, including Natha Singh Dalam, Swaran Singh Phillaur and Swarna Ram, participated.

Apart from these, many more functions were held in the city. The one organised by Shri Guru Ravidas Education and Charitable Trust at Buta Mandi also attracted a large number of people.