Bathinda, January 5
The first ever election for the 50-seat Bathinda Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be an acid test for the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-BJP combine government as the tension between the followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda and supporters of SAD has refused to die down.

Residents of the town are keenly waiting for the elections to be announced anytime before April end. Political observers say that the BMC elections will reflect the mood of the electorate in the Malwa region and set the tone for the Lok Sabha polls that will be held a few months later. The Punjab government had recently given an affidavit in the High Court saying that the BMC elections will be held before April 30.

The elections for the BMC were postponed last year because of tension that prevailed due to clashes between the Dera followers and SAD activists. The 35 seats municipal council here was upgraded to the level of Municipal Corporation in 2003, but elections have never been held for the BMC.

The SAD was desperate to counter the influence of the Dera particularly in the Bathinda belt that generally sets the voting trend in the Malwa region where the party was badly trounced during the Assembly elections in the Assembly elections last year. The BJP activists were however hesitant to come out openly against the Dera but the top leadership of the SAD has in its public meetings launched a direct attack on the Dera chief.

Political observers claim that the Dera followers were lying low at the moment and might give a call for vote against the SAD candidates in the BMC elections when the time comes.

It is worth mentioning that except this time any particular political party has never been returned to the Assembly from the Bathinda constituency. The Congress and the SAD have been occupying the seat by rotation.

However, the continuing tension between the Dera followers and SAD activists was expected to cast its shadow on the BMC elections in which the Congress was trying to get the benefit.

Harminder Singh Jassi of the Congress had defeated his SAD rival Sarup Chand Singla with a margin of 14,645 votes in the Bathinda Assembly constituency. In the earlier Assembly elections in 2002, the Congress candidate polled 40.62 per cent votes against 28.89 per cent of the SAD. The trend was otherwise in the 1997 Assembly elections when the SAD candidate polled 50.84 per cent votes against 28.6 per cent of the Congress nominee.

In a damage control exercise, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal, member of parliament, have made a string of announcements for development of the Malwa region.

Frequent incidents of brawls between Dera followers and SAD activists in the Southern Punjab continue to vitiate the atmosphere.

Bathinda, January 5
Reacting after the announcement of made by Simranjit Singh Mann, president, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) to stop buses belonging to the Orbit Bus Service on January 7 across the state, the district administration today conducted several raids at the houses of various SAD (A) members today in the evening and arrested two persons.

The Orbit Bus Service is believed to be owned by the family of present Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and the SAD (A) had announced earlier that they would be stopping the buses of the company for at least two hours on that day.

According to Barinder Singh Mann, national president, youth wing of SAD (A), “To arrest me, around 6. 30 pm, a police party from the Kotwali Police Station raided my house on Power House road, but failed.”

Similarly, the residences of Jaswant Singh, district president, youth wing of SAD (A) in Parasram Nagar, Principal Ranjit Singh, district president, SAD (A) on Ajit Road, were also raided but the police failed to arrest them.We have got the information that the press secretary of our party, Sukhdev Singh Kala and youth wing leader Lachman Singh Bhagi Bandar were arrested by the Kotwali and Talwandi police, respectively.”

“These raids are being conducted all over the state but by doing so, the state government cannot stop us. We would carry out our protests as as per the 
schedule.”

SSP Bathinda Naunihal Singh could not be contacted despite several attempts for his reaction.

Bathinda, January 5
District president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta), Hardev Singh Jai Singh Wala, in a press release issued here has informed that in protest against the alleged fraud by two seed dealers of Raman Mandi with farmers of village Mandi Kalan, they will hold a protest outside the Rampura police station on January 10.

The press release also stated that farmers from Mansa, Sangrur, Faridkot, Barnala, Muktsar and Ferozepur will also take part in the protest.

Barnala, January 5
While trying to act as a mediator to resolve the land dispute issue, a senior BJP leader of district Barnala had to face the wrath of the police. Harnek Singh Kalyan, district general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was cane-charged along with others at Dhanaula police station, when he was heading a demonstration regarding a piece of land inside Dhanaula near Dalit basti.

As soon as the news spread inside the city circles, the local leaders including BJP district president Dheeraj Kumar Dadhoor went to the spot to support their  colleague.

Dheeraj Kumar Dadhoor told The Tribune that the incident was quite shameful and they would take up the matter with party president Rajinder Bhandari.

The district BJP leadership has spoken both to the DIG Patiala and the SSP Barnala about the incident.

The DIG Patiala range, Parmjeet Singh Gill, has assured necessary action against the police officials concerned.

Sensing the gravity of the situation, Pargat Singh Khiara, DSP of Barnala, also rushed to the site to defuse the situation.

A meeting between the BJP leaders and the DSP was held. The issue of cane charging and misbehaving with party leaders was discussed at length and finally the situation was defused only after an apology of Rajesh Chibbar, station house officer (SHO) of Dhanaula. 

Meanwhile, Harnek Singh Kalyan, who was beaten up along with several others, said he would not sit idle and take up the matter with the party high command.

In spite of disclosing his identity before the SHO Dhanaula, the latter misbehaved with him. And now, he had to give explanations to the higher-ups for this act.

Harjeet Singh Garewal, in-charge of BJP, Haryana, and a native of Dhanuala, has strongly condemned the incident.

Demanding the immediate suspension of the SHO, he said the party would raise the matter before the Human Rights Commission and the Schedule Caste Commission also.

SSP Parmjeet Singh Garewal, when contacted, said the incident happened due to lack of proper communication between the BJP leader and the police officials.

But now, as both the parties had expressed an apology over the issue, the matter had been settled and the situation was under control.

On the other hand, BJP district president Dheeraj Kumar Dadhoor rejected the SSP’s version regarding expression of apology by the BJP leaders and said the mistake was on the part of the SHO Dhanaula. The latter had apologised in public for the goof-up.

Fazilka, January 5
The mini-secretariat building raised on the Municipal Council’s (MC) land has once again run into a controversy.

The fresh controversy owes to an unsuccessful attempt by the MC to adopt a resolution that allows the MC to rent out the land on which the secretariat has been built up.

The building of the mini-secretariat constructed by the PUDA at an estimated cost of Rs 7 crore is near completion but the issue of the ownership of the land has been in controversy ever since the construction started in  February 2006.

The MC had, vide its resolution number 56 dated 26 July, 2005, demanded the payment at the collector’s rate from the PUDA for constructing the mini-secretariat.

However, due to the alleged political pressure at that time, the PUDA began constructing the secretariat without clearing the ownership issue and without paying the cost of land to the MC.

During the year 2006, one Ashok Kumar and other residents of Fazilka filed a public interest litigation (PIL) at the Punjab & Haryana High Court (HC) regarding the huge financial loss to the MC.

Now, reportedly, in an attempt to set the record straight before the HC, the Congress-ruled MC summoned a meeting of its members today to discuss the issue of charging rent from the PUDA for 46 kanal and 7 marla land where the mini-secretariat has been constructed.

Surprisingly, the meeting has been requisitioned in reference to the letter number 7 dated January 2 of the SDM, Fazilka, directing the MC to adopt a resolution. However, reportedly, the meeting could not be held for the alleged lack of quorum, even as the MC has a majority in the House with 19 members out of a total of 21 members.

It is pertinent to mention here that the PUDA has to file a reply to the PIL before a division bench of the HC on January 18.

The MC in its reply, about four months back, before the HC, had admitted that the girdawari of the land where the mini-secretariat has been constructed had been changed in malicious manner and the MC had not been paid even a single penny though the value of the land was then estimated to be around Rs 9 crore at the collector rate. However, sources maintained that the present value of the land was around Rs 15 crore.

The MC had also stated that the state government had no right to occupy its land without compensation. BJP councillor R. Verma today alleged that the PUDA had encroached upon the MC’s land and now the MC was trying to rectify its mistake at the reported behest of a former Congress MLA to rent it out to the PUDA at a paltry sum.

He said that such a proposal was unjust, illegal and unacceptable. He maintained that the PUDA should pay the collector’s rate of the land to the MC so that the council could be revived from its present financial crisis.

Bathinda, January 5
The birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh Ji was celebrated with traditional fervour and zeal all over the city and in surrounding villages and towns today. Hundreds of devotees thronged the gurdwaras in the city and nearby areas on the occasion.

Most of the gurdwaras were tastefully decorated, the notable ones being Gurudwara Qila Sahib, Gurudwara Hajiratan Sahib and Gurudwara Singh Sabha.

A large number of residents visited the gurdwaras early in the morning and took part in kirtan darbars organised on the occasion. The activity started early in the morning as women cooked langar for the devotees. Kirtans and shabads filled the air. A large number of private and social organisations had also organised langars at various places. Long queues were also seen at the langars. Enthusiasm was witnessed among the devotees who turned out in large numbers at the gurdwara inside the Qila Mubarak in the heart of the city. People also took a holy dip in the sarovar located inside Gurudwara Hajiratan Sahib.

A colourful firework show was also organised in the evening inside the Qila Mubarak. Reports of the birthday celebrations were also received from the rural areas in the district.

At many places, social organisations set up tents to serve refreshments to the people. The police had made elaborate arrangements on the occasion. 

Abohar, January 5
Even when the mercury fell to 3 degree Celsius and the sky was covered, devotees were seen thronging the gurdwaras in the wee hours to pay obeisance to the Holy Book and join shabad recitation to celebrate the birth anniversary of the 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh today.

Devotees also took holy dip in sarovars inside some gurdwaras. Community kitchens were also arranged on the occasion. — OC

Bathinda, January 5
With the price of cotton going up to Rs 2,725 per quintal, the farmers of this cotton belt seem to be a happy lot.

But due to the appreciation of the Indian rupee as compared to the US dollar in the recent past, the textile mills are a harried lot.

Textiles companies rue that due to appreciation of the Indian rupee, the export of cotton yarn, produced by them, has decreased incredibly. “A big chunk of cotton yarn is exported and now due to almost nil exports, our industry is suffering,” an official of Vardhman Industries informed.

Overall, the industry has purchased 30 per cent less cotton as compared to last year.In this regard, the textile industry has already given a representation to the government of India and they want the government to intervene.

“Our rupee has appreciated by almost 14 per cent, whereas the Chinese Yuan appreciated by 6 per cent. Instead the currencies of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, also major cotton yarn exporters to the world, have depreciated. Due to that, companies from other countries prefer Sri Lanka and Bangladesh than India or China. Our textile industry is severely hit because of that,” officials at Vardhman Industries added.

“Till January 4, Punjab mandis have received around 14.25 lakh bales as compared to 16.75 lakh bales at the same time last year. Presently there is a clear-cut shortfall of around 2.5 lakh bales already. Also the textile mills are suffering losses due to the appreciation of the Indian rupee. A huge chunk of cotton tarn was exported every year from India and now this has decreased,” Mandeep Singh Brar, OSD (Cotton), Markfed, Bathinda informed.

Industry experts feel, “Usually the textile mills used to produce cotton yarn in advance, say for five to six months. But now, due to the appreciation of the rupee, there are producing very less. They can’t stop their production because of strict labour laws so it’s a kind of losing preposition for them. There is a shortfall of almost 50 lakh bales in Pakistan due to mealy bug attack there. Even the area under cotton in the US has decreased by almost 27 per cent because farmers there have shifted to soybean farming.”

Ferozepur, January 5
After busting a gang of thieves responsible for over a dozen cases of theft and other crimes, the Ferozepur police received yet another shot in arm when it arrested a gang of drug-peddlers operating in the area.

Addressing the media persons at the CIA staff headquarters today, SSP Dinesh Partap Singh informed that following a tip-off from the intelligence, the police was not only able to crack an inter-state gang of smugglers, but also recovered a huge quantity of poppy husk besides arms and ammunition.

The SSP said following an alert, the police laid a ‘naka’ near Kaliewala village on the Talwandi-Zira road, intercepted a car and arrested two persons, identified as Gursharan Singh of Sursinghwala, Taran Taran and Gurmit Singh alias Meeta of Kabirpura. On search two bags of poppy husk, one .315 bore country-made gun and 4 cartridges were recovered.

During preliminary interrogation, the arrested accused revealed that their accomplices along with their leader Kuldip Singh of Ayali Kalan village were coming in a truck from Rajasthan bearing registration number RJ-13GA-0378 and were carrying another consignment of poppy husk, arms and ammunitions. They informed about their route and said that the truck would go towards Amritsar to supply poppy husk, arms and ammunitions to their clients.

Getting the information, a barrier was laid near Fidde drain on the Talwandi-Faridkot road. Soon a truck bearing the same registration number, that the accused have told, approached the barrier and its occupants were arrested by the police. The truck was searched and 30 bags of poppy husk (each 40 kg), two .32 bore pistols along with 11 cartridges and another .315 bore pistol with 4 cartridges were recovered.

On interrogation, it came to light that Kuldeep Singh, the gang leader, was involved in the murder case of one Nirmal Singh of Sultanpur lodhi, registered at the Sultanpur Lodhi police station in Kapurthala district. It was also revealed that Kuldeep Singh had been declared a proclaimed offender and was wanted by the police of Kapurthala and Taran-Taran districts.

Faridkot, January 5
Balwinder Singh alias Pappu, of the local Bazigar Basti, ruthlessly killed his neighbour Gurpreet Singh alias Kala(27) on Friday night.

According to police sources, Pappu had doubts that Kala had illicit relations with his wife. With the intention of taking vengeance, he arranged for an axe and getting an opportunity, hit mercilessly on his head and neck. It resulted in deep gashes on his neck and cracked open his skull. It resulted in his death on the spot.

Later, the accused surrendered at the nearest police station.

The city police station registered a case under the relevant sections of the IPC.

After conducting the postmortem, the body was handed over to the deceased’s family.

Mansa, January 5
The Mazdoor Mukti Morcha, Punjab, today presented persons to whom the police had reportedly meted injustice. At a press conference held at Baba Bujha Singh Bhawan, Bhagwant Singh Sammaon, general secretary of the Morcha contradicted the statement of M.F. Farooqi, SSP Mansa, in which he had denied the allegations of the Morcha.

It was in this connection that the Morcha staged a dharna against the Joga police station. Regarding the Beera Singh case, the SSP had said that charges levelled by the Morcha were baseless. The SSP said that the police had acted in keeping the legal provisions. The Morcha today presented persons including women and alleged that the police had not taken any action against persons who had illegally occupied a Dalit area.

They said that the Boha police had registered a false case against the Dalits. Another case was from village Dhaleva in which they alleged that the police had not taken any action.—OC

Abohar, January 5
The DAV College here will now organise a national-level conference on the recent advancements and developments in the chemical sciences on Monday and Tuesday. Earlier, it had been a prerogative of the universities to host such conferences.

Principal B.C. Josan and convener B.B. Sharma said the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Defence and Research Development Organisation (DRDO) have agreed to sponsor the conference. Science students from various colleges in Punjab and Haryana will be attending the meet, which is scheduled to have three sessions daily. Eminent scientists would address the conference that would cover topics related to electro-chemistry, photochemistry, biological sciences and chemistry, synthetic organic chemistry, solution and polymer chemistry, he informed. — OC

Bathinda, January 5
The Indo-Canadian Punjabi Sports and Cultural Club, Toronto (Canada), a club promoted by non-resident Indians of this area, will be organising International Kabaddi Cup on January 6 at the sports stadium, Bathinda.

Giving information regarding this one-day event, club president, Parvez Dhillon said that eight teams would be participating in the Kabaddi Cup. “The winner would get a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh.

The team that stands second would get Rs 75,000 and the rest of the teams taking part would get Rs 20,000 each.”

Ravinder Singh Mann, general secretary of the club, informed that a cultural function would also be organised at the heritage village Jai Pal Garh, adjoining the sports stadium. “Singers like Gulzar Lahoria, Gora Chak Wala and Masha Ali would perform there,” he informed.