M A I N   N E W S

Wooing voters with liquor, poppy husk
Varinder Walia & Chander Parkash
Tribune News Service

Majitha (Amritsar), June 23
Even as the election scene hots up after the withdrawal of papers illicit liquor is being distilled openly in border villages of the district to woo the voters in the panchayat elections, slated for June 29. Though the police has been deployed heavily all over the district yet it is a mute spectator to such illegal activities.

The cartloads of ‘gur’ are being taken to villages for running the illegal distilleries round the clock. Apart from “lahan”, the cases of whisky are being supplied in bulk to the villages. Despite scorching heat, there is no let up in campaigning. It is festive time in the evening. So much so, some candidates have been distributing deadly drugs in the border villages.

Since the state government has given sufficient time for campaigning, the affluent candidates have opened the ‘money bags’ to purchase the votes even at this stage. This is being done by the leaders of almost all political parties.

The villages which were hotbeds of terrorism are being viewed as ‘very sensitive’. The police has started collecting licenced weapons from the villages as a precautionary measure.

Amid serious allegations of rejecting the nomination papers of the opposition candidates, as many as 198 panchayats have been elected unanimously in the district. Mr Raminder Singh, Deputy Commissioner, said that 75 sarpanches and 79 panches had also been declared elected unopposed. In Ajnala block 21 panchayats were elected unanimously while four sarpanches and 38 panches were elected unopposed. In Bhikhiwind block 21 sarpanches and five panches were elected unopposed. In Khadur Sahib block 16 panchayats and in Rayya block 31 panchayats were elected unanimously. In Jandiala Guru 13 panchayats were elected unanimously while in Tarsikka 13 panchayats were elected unanimously.

The symbols have been allotted to the candidates. In all 16 blocks, 13,471 candidates for the election of 8,084 panches have been left in fray after the withdrawal of papers. Out of total 20,760 candidates for the posts of panch, papers of 1,685 have been rejected while 5,604 candidates have withdrawn their papers. Of the total candidates for the posts of sarpanch 3,428 belong to general category. However, 1,648 and 219 posts of sarpanch have been reserved for Scheduled Castes and women, respectively.

BATHINDA: As the campaign for panchayat elections has been picking up in the rural areas of the Malwa region, the demand for poppy husk and illicit distilled liquor has also been witnessing a significant jump.

A large section of candidates, who have been contesting for the posts of sarpanch and panchayat member, have started wooing the electorate by supplying poppy husk and liquor at their doorsteps. In a few villages, where the contestants belong to well-off families, the voters are being wooed with the supply of opium and cash also.

This is the second time in the past two months that business of poppy husk has been witnessing an upward trend. Earlier, during the harvesting of wheat and other crops in April, the smugglers of narcotics witnessed a boom in their business.

Though most of the contestants have been reeling under heavy debt due to repeated failure of cotton crops, they have been arranging money through borrowing and election funds to keep the supply of poppy husk and liquor to the electorate uninterrupted. Due to rise in the demand of poppy husk, its rates have also witnessed a significant jump and now the prices are ranging between Rs 600 and 1,000.

To keep the expenditure within limits, a number of contestants have started illicit distillation of liquor on their own so that they could use the same freely in the panchayat elections.

To cash in on the situation, the drug peddlers have started supplying the poppy husk and other narcotics at the doorsteps of their consumers. Most of these smugglers have been bringing the poppy husk, opium and other drugs in large quantity from Rajashtan, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. After reaching Punjab, they pack the poppy husk and other drugs in small bags and supply the same to their customers, who have already placed their orders to them.

Some liquor vend owners have also been supplying the country-made liquor to contestants at their doorsteps. However, in certain villages, located near towns, the contestants have been arranging cough syrups for the young voters who have been hooked to same after leaving liquor.

To keep their business of smuggling of narcotics hassle-free and to avoid detection by the police the smugglers have also been using coded language to interact with their prospective customers and to supply them the drugs.

Talhan poll put off
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 23
The Punjab State Election Commissioner, Mr C.L. Bains, has postponed the Talhan Village Panchayat elections for an indefinite period due to caste violence fears. Mr Bains said the situation was not yet conducive to hold the elections at Talhan and the new date for it would be fixed after reassessing the situation.

Mr Bains said he had received a lot of complaints regarding the wrong cancellation of the nomination papers, but he had no power to redress such complaints. “The powers are with either the Deputy Commissioners or the Punjab and Haryana High Court,” said Mr Bains.

In certain cases where it was established that the Returning Officer concerned had played mischief in cancelling the nomination papers, the Deputy Commissioners concerned had been asked to conduct an inquiry and submit the report within 24 hours.

Talhan curfew

Jalandhar, June 23
The indefinite curfew, which was clamped on Talhan village, on June 5 after clashes between Dalits and Jats following a dispute over the management of a gurdwara, was today lifted completely. — UNI