Baba Labh Singh, builder of 7 bridges in Punjab & Haryana, dies

 Elderly philanthropist Sant Baba Labh Singh, 96, who served hundreds daily at community kitchens and played a crucial role in construction of seven bridges in Punjab and Haryana, died on Sunday.

Known as 'Pullan Wala Baba', he died of cardiac arrest at Qila Anandgarh in the Anandpur Sahib district of Punjab. 

He was credited with construction of seven bridges in the two states. A 600-ft bridge with a charity of Rs 10 crore by Baba Labh Singh was completed last year on the Sutlej river, connecting Shahpur Bela village near Kiratpur Sahib with the Bunga Sahib-Nurpur Bedi road.

The bridge benefited nearly 250 residents, who remained marooned in the village every monsoon due to the swollen river.

He had helped construct six other bridges, including five on the Sutlej in the surrounding areas of Anandpur Sahib, and one over the Ghaggar in the Fatehabad district of Haryana without any government help.

He was credited with construction of 29 schools and several colleges, some of them being run by the government, and for financially supporting wedding of 600 poor girls.

A shelter home is being run for 1,000 people, including patients and their attendants, at the gurdwara at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), here. IANS