M A I N   N E W S

Mann admitted to AIIMS
Our Correspondent

Fatehgarh Sahib, May 12
Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, MP and president, SAD (A), has been admitted to the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, for a heart surgery. Prof Sukhjinder Singh will discharge the duties as acting president of the party in his absence. This was disclosed by Mr Iqbal Singh Tiwana, official spokesman of the party, in a press note issued here today.

A five-member advisory committee consisting of Bhai Dhian Singh Mand, Bhai Ram Singh, Jathedar Swarn Singh Panjgrayee, Mr Charn Singh Lohara and Mr Anoop Singh Minhas had been constituted to help the acting president, he said.

Besides this, in order to strengthen the organisation and face the coming SGPC and Assembly elections, Malwa, Majha and Doaba zone committees had been formed, he said.

Maluka’s function boycotted
24-hr power promise met on generator set
Jaswinder paul Singh

Badiala (Bathinda), may 12
A few workers of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), who were enthusiastically waiting for the inauguration of 24-hour uninterrupted power supply to their village late last evening, were disappointed when Power Minister Sikander Singh Maluka had to inaugurate the same by using a generator set.

The PSEB authorities failed to make proper arrangements for uninterrupted power to the village. The new power lines laid for the purpose were damaged during tests conducted by PSEB personnel before the inaugural function.

Employees of the PSEB had to work overtime for making the inauguration function possible because it was rescheduled to an earlier date. To avoid the anger of the minister, they resorted to supplying the power through a generator. Senior officials of the PSEB said all would have been fine if the inauguration was done as per the schedule.

The sarpanch and most panchayat members did not attend the function. They were annoyed that the minister had held the function in a hurry without taking the villagers into confidence.

The sarpanch in fact, made himself unavailable at his residence fearing that he may be ‘coerced’ by the minister into attending the function.

The panchayat members and villagers assembled at the residence of Mr Mukhtiar Singh Badiala, brother of Sant Fateh Singh, one of those who had propounded Punjabi Suba. They were visibly upset at the way the Power Minister had held the function.

Some said the Power Minister was “patronising” those leaders who had held a rally parallel to that of the SAD at the village, during the time of elections.

Mr Mukhtiar Singh had written a letter to the Chief Minister urging him that the Power Minister be asked not to hold the function without the consent of the villagers.

The anger of the villagers was also on account of the fact that they had worked on laying the power supply line from the grid station to their village for more than two months. The PSEB authorities agreed that the task of laying about 13-km supply line would not have been possible at short notice without the help of the villagers. The task needed significant manpower and machinery.

Mr Sikander Singh Maluka, when contacted, denied he had instructed the PSEB officials to prepone the inauguration function. He said it did not matter much if the sarpanch of the village was present on the occasion or not.