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NRI News: Surrey, BC, Canada

 

ICCC Chairman,industrialist and philanthropist Mr.Asa Singh Johal honoured its retiring manager
Richmond Gurdwara Honours its Retiring Manager

 

Surrey, Vancouver, Jan 05, 2012
Balwant Sanghera

Richmond is one of the most multicultural communities in Canada. It is home to the famous Highway to Heaven, also formally known as Number Five Road in Richmond. India Cultural Centre of Canada (ICCC) was the first organization to build a place of worship along this road- Gurdwara Nanak Niwas at 8600 No. 5 Road in 1985. In 2010, ICCC celebrated its 25 th anniversary with great enthusiasm. For the past several years, Gurdwara Nankak  Niwas has become the first choice for weddings. Its beautiful park, elegant lobby, spacious Langar Hall and Diwan Hall have made this place of worship as one of the most visited places by students and citizens from other communities.


ICCC Chairman and well-known industrialist and philanthropist Mr.Asa Singh Johal and his wife Mrs. Kashmir Kaur Johal, honoured its retiring manager, Mr. Mohan Singh Sandhu.

   On December 31, ICCC Chairman and well-known industrialist and philanthropist Mr.Asa Singh Johal and his wife Mrs. Kashmir Kaur Johal, honoured its retiring manager, Mr. Mohan Singh Sandhu. They were accompanied by president Balbir Jawanda, members of the committee and well wishers After serving the Gurdwara for more than eleven years Mr. Sandhu has decided to retire.  During his eleven years as manager of the Nanak Niwas Gurdwara, Mr.Sandhu has worked tirelessly to serve this great institution.

                        I have the privilege of being a long time friend and fellow classmate of Mohan Singh Sandhu and Sohan Singh Basi, a prominent member of the Gurdwara’s management committee. We went to school to-gather at Khalsa High School Bundala (Jalandhar) in early 1950s. It was hard to imagine that all three of us will meet again in Vancouver almost half a century later. Mohan departed for U.K. After spending almost 20 years in the U.K. he decided to move to Canada in 1973 and settled in Kamloops. In 1994, Mohan and his family made the move to Richmond.  Here, he became quite active in the community as a volunteer. Mohan was baptized in 1999 at the Nanak Niwas Gurdwara.A year later he was offered and accepted the position of manager at the Gurdwara.
                        At the ceremony honouring Sandhu, Secretary, Mr.Chain Batth stated that Mohan Singh has proven himself to be a very dedicated individual. His work at the Gurdwara is very much appreciated. Sandhu will be sorely missed not only by the management but also by the entire congregation. In thanking the management, Sandhu stated that though he is formally retiring, he would continue to volunteer at the Gurdwara from time to time. It was a very fitting tribute to a fine gentleman.

Balwant Sanghera
(Balwant Sanghera is a retired School Psychologist and Community Activist)                    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   
Balwant Sanghera


Balwant Sanghera
President, Punjabi Language Education Association . He is a retired School Psychologist and Community Activist in British Columbia ,Canada.

India Cultural Centre of Canada (ICCC) Chairman and well-known industrialist and philanthropist Mr.Asa Singh Johal and his wife Mrs. Kashmir Kaur Johal

  • Asa Singh Johal was recognized for his lifetime achievements with an honorary Doctorate degree in law, honoris causa, by the University of British Columbia on May 31, 1989.
  • Asa Singh’s interest in the sawmill industry would lead to him not only becoming President of his own company, Terminal Sawmills and Terminal Planer Mills, but also being viewed as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in British Columbia.
  • Asa Singh has devoted his life to community involvement, which have included ventures such as: being President of the International Punjab Society of B.C., funding programs in the Asian Studies department and forestry departments of UBC (in fact, a grant of $11,500.00 is granted yearly in the name of Asa Singh, to a graduate student in the Asian Studies department), endowing grants for teaching assistantships in Punjabi and Sikh studies at UBC, donating to the Children’s Hospital, organizing and funding a project to translate the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji in English, as well as providing assistance to blind children in Calcutta and Bombay.
  • Served as director of the Council of Forest Industries of B.C, Asa Singh was also a former member on the Board of Governors at UBC.