Bathinda, May 7
Short of real issues in the rural polls, national parties like the BJP and Congress are trying their best to give a political colour to a road mishap at Tungwali village, and making conflicting claims about the political patronage of the deceased.

Police sources said that Bant Singh Nambardar of village Tungwali and his friend Kaur Singh were brought to the civil hospital on Tuesday night. At that time, the relatives had claimed it to be a case of road accident, as a motorcycle had hit them. Levelling allegations, they said Sukhdeep Singh, who was driving the bike and is also a cousin of the SAD (B) area in-charge Gura Singh Tungwali, had intentionally hit them. Later, Bant Singh succumbed to his injuries.

Acting upon the complaint, the Bhucho police registered a case under section 304 of the IPC against the accused. However, the accused could not be arrested. The body had been handed over to family members after the post-mortem.

The BJP district-level leaders today, in a press conference, claimed the deceased to be their party worker, who was supporting Dyal Singh Sodhi, party candidate from Bhucho Kalan Zila Parishad. Accusing the police, they said it was the SAD area in-charge, under whose influence the police didn’t register a case under section 302 of the IPC. They claimed that it was a clear case of murdering Bant Singh with iron rods.

The Congress also didn’t lag behind in claiming the deceased as their worker. Nathana’s Congress MLA Ajaib Singh Bhatti said, “The deceased was a Congress activist and was killed by the SAD leader’s cousin. Due to the Akali influence, the police is trying to dilute the case. The murder has been converted into an accident case, whereas he was killed by hitting iron rods on head.”

When contacted, Gura Singh Tungwali said, “The accused is not directly related to me and had supported the Congress in the recent Assembly polls. Even the deceased did not belong to any party. But the leaders have been trying to politicise a mishap for their vested interests.

Abohar, May 7
Former MP and AICC member Jagmeet Singh Brar today lambasted the SAD (B)-BJP government for “playing” with the health of millions by supplying contaminated water through canals in the Malwa region. While visiting some of the canals and sub-canals here on Wednesday, he told newspersons that the matter might be brought to the notice of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), as scores of residents in rural areas were suffering from jaundice and diarrhoea. The chief whip of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) would be requested to raise the issue in Parliament also, he informed.

Abohar, May 7
Scores of farmers from different villages today virtually gheraoed irrigation minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon in Seetogunno village, 21 km from here, today to express their anguish over the supply of contaminated water in regional canals.

According to the available information, Sekhon had arrived in connection with the marriage of Sanjiv Godara, a member of the SAD (B) general council. When he was heading towards his car, scores of farmers from Bahadurkhera, Jodhpur, Malukpura and Bahawalbassi villages virtually gheraoed him and started raising slogans. They rued that the canals in the sub-division had been getting black water since April 24. Even the cattle were not digesting it.

The minister tried to plead that the Bhakra dam’s reservoirs didn’t have sufficient water.

This explanation further annoyed the protesting farmers and prompted them to point out how the canals feeding the constituencies represented by the Chief Minister and irrigation minister, including the Lambi sub-canal and Sukhchain sub-canal, were running full to the capacity. Sekhon had only smiles to offer but left after about 20 minutes, assuring that he would “look” into the matter, sources said. 

Bathinda, May 7
The proliferation of shopping mall projects in the city seem to be dampening the expectations of the administration from the sale of the PWD (B&R) site measuring 16,973 square yards, located on 100-feet road. Officials feel that while commercial auction of the place might fetch a higher price, it is unlikely to be so, because of too many shopping malls being set up in the city.

Alluring bidders with forthcoming mega projects in Bathinda, the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) has invited bidders on a reserve price fixed at Rs 30,000 per square yard and an eligibility fee of Rs 1 crore.

The administration has two instances in Mind. One, the 21,780 square yard of prime land in the heart of the city, where the City Walk mall is under construction, that was sold in December last year for a fabulous price of about Rs184 crores. The other instance is of the much hyped auction for Blue Fox, a piece of land (21,261 square yard), that was withdrawn by the auction committee on the pretext that the price offered was much below the expected amount, here on March 12.

This time, the administration has both the examples in mind, before the sale of the property. Speaking about the expected amount, deputy commissioner, Bathinda, Rahul Tewari, said, “As the land has a wide front, it can be used for commercial purposes. But the already existing shopping malls and multiplexes (under construction) may cast a shadow. Moreover, as per the city’s potential, people may show less interest in the same project again.”

“The reserve price for the auction is around Rs 51 crore. So, we hope to release it at Rs 100 crore, but if the bidders would be purchasing it for a residential colony, then it will not touch the expected price,” he added.

It is pertinent to mention here that the auction of the Blue Fox land witnessed a lukewarm response as there was a doubt amongst the bidders that somebody has filed a writ petition against the allegedly illegal transfer of the property to PIDB in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

To ascertain the fact, when advocate Binderjit Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, who appeared in the case, was contacted, he said a notice of motion has been served to eight parties including the state of Punjab, Chief Minister, Director, Local Bodies, Secretary, Local Bodies, Punjab, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, PIDB and PIDA, for July 8 this year.

Expressing awareness about these facts, DC Rahul Tewari, who was the executer of the auction, said, “The wording of the order of the High Court did not obstruct the PIDB from conducting the auction. The order just sought a reply,” he added.

Bathinda, May 7
Despite ban, the sale of cut fruits continues in Bathinda these days, with vendors doing a brisk business. Also, with the onset of summer, roadside vendors selling chaat, chana-kulcha and coloured drinks have mushroomed here.

“The notification banning the sale of cut fruits in the district is just a routine annual feature of the local administration in the wake of the threat of summer ailments,” says Gurpreet Singh, a city resident. He adds that there is hardly any check on those who flout the ban.

As per the notification, the sale of cut fruits and other eatables exposed to flies and dust is to be stopped with immediate effect. Despite the notification, the health department is yet to take any step.

A vendor selling chana-kulcha, while pleading anonymity, alleged, “We have to pay a monthly fee to the officials concerned for not disturbing our business.”

Though “checking and raids” may “happen”, it does not affect them, says a vendor, trying to shoo away flies from overripe watermelons that have been cut and displayed. “When things are brought to the media’s notice, the authorities wake up and harass us, but after few days, the situation is normal,” he adds.

A vendor Ram Murti on the Mall Road, when asked about the notification banning the sale of cut fruits, expressed his ignorance and said “ I am not aware of any such rule and no one has ever told me to stop selling cut fruits.

A vendor selling cane juice on the Goniana Road here said, “We have a well-wired network in the city. Whenever any raid is conducted by the authorities, our friends from the area inform us and we make our exit hurriedly.”

The local health authorities, when contacted, said that food inspectors of various areas would be directed to conduct raids from time to time. Charanjeet Garg, SMO, Bathinda, said, “We confiscate and destroy the foodstuff which is not fit to be consumed.” 

Bathinda, May 7
The farmers of this cotton belt, who have suffered huge losses in the last season due to spurious Bt cotton seeds, have found a saviour this time. Markfed has taken up the task of distributing more than 2.5 lakh packets of certified Bt seeds in the cotton belt of the state this season. Last year, Markfed had distributed around 85,000 packets of certified Bt cotton seeds here.

Gurinder Singh Grewal, managing director, Markfed, informed this while speaking to TNS over the phone.

“The National Commission of Farmers had said that almost 60 per cent of Bt cotton seeds sown in Punjab are spurious, with a majority of them coming from states like Gujarat. Last year, the total area under cotton in the state increased to 6.41 lakh hectares as compared to 5.80 lakh hectares in 2006 and 3.84 lakh hectares in 2005,” Grewal said.

“This season, with the distribution of 2.5 lakh packets of Bt seed, around 2.5 lakh acres of area will be covered by Markfed. Out of these 2.5 lakh packets, around 50,000 will be distributed in Bathinda district alone. These packets would be of three different companies, namely, Rasi, Mahyco and Ankur, and stocks have been placed at various branches, agro service centres of Markfed and co-operative societies. This seed is available at the rates fixed by the state government,” he furthe said.

Mandeep Singh Brar, OSD (Cotton), Markfed, said, “Usually the farmers use one packet (of 570 gms each) for sowing it in one acre of land. But the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) recommends that 700 gms of cotton seed is required for one acre of land.”

Markfed has also adopted the whole of Maur block of the district, with a geographical area of 28,293 hectares, for this season. “In the Maur block, we have 34 villages, where we will be distributing 80-90 per cent of certified Bt cotton seeds of recommended companies. Besides, we would also provide technical know-how to the farmers and organise training camps for farmers regularly,” Brar added.

Last season, Markfed had adopted Talwandi Sabo where the average yield per acre of raw cotton came out to be around 22 mounds (1 mound = 37.324 kg), as compared to 18 mounds for the state.

Bathinda, May 7
Tension gripped the city when a SAD leader Gurdass Garg arranged a satsang of Ashutosh Maharaj, head of the Noormahal sect, at his residence on Amrik Singh road, here today.

Though the administration had given the permission for holding the ceremony, but some Sikh organisations took a serious note of it and expressed their resentment.

The Sikh leaders, including Baljit Singh Dadu Sahib, gathered at Gurudwara Singh Sabha, where Garg went and expressed his ignorance about the seriousness of the issue. Later, he removed the tents and other arrangements made for the satsang.

Sensing the tense situation, heavy deployment of police personnel was resorted to near his residence. 

Abohar, May 7
Congress MLA Sunil Jakhar, during a hectic campaign for the PRI elections, was shown 
samples of “unfit” water today, being supplied by the water works.

The legislator addressed meetings in jaundice-hit villages of Gidderanwali, Kallarkhera besides, Dalmirkhera and Sappanwali today.

Jakhar said the SAD-BJP government in the state was going to damage the “Gabru” image of the Punjabi youth, who were victims of the drug menace and were now subjected to deadly diseases due to failure in making arrangement for potable water.

The farmers who were already suffering because of poor arrangements in purchase of wheat might be ruined due to non-availability of water for cotton sowing.

“I will lead a sit-in against the government if the situation doesn’t improve,” Jakhar said.

The legislator was accompanied by Congress candidates including, Suman Bishnoi, Saroj Rani, Jit Kumar Rinwa and Puran Chand Kamboj.

It appears that insufficient supply of canal water for irrigation and contaminated water for drinking is going to hog the limelight in the run-up to the elections in this sub-division.

Abohar:The authorities here had increased the number of booths for the employees reporting for election duty during the second rehearsal at the DAV campus here in Khuyiansarwar block. But similar problems were encountered again today, this time in the Abohar block.

Newly-weds, women with less than a year old babies and the physically handicapped were seen searching for their names in the duty register for about two hours, when the election observer Arvinder Singh, along with other senior officers, was present inside the auditorium. — OC

Mansa, May 7
The SAD (B) here has launched its election campaign in support of party candidates. Balwinder Singh Bhunder, general secretary of the Akali Dal, visited Bhamme Kalan, Bhamme Khurd, Jaurkian, Raipur, Bajewala, Sahnewal and Jhuneer and other villages of the Sardoolgarh area.

Addressing a public meeting, Bhunder said the state government was going to establish a thermal plant at Banawali, where the youth of the district would get employment. He informed that the Akali Dal had given tickets to educated young workers. Meanwhile, district president of the SAD(B), Harbant Singh Datewas, also visited Kisangarh, Bhadarpur, Bareta, Datewas, Rally and Dodra villages. — OC

Mansa : CPI national council member Hardev Singh Arsi addressed public meetings in support of the CPI candidates for Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti zones. Addressing a public meeting, he said that the CPI had been supporting Amarjeet Singh Khudaal, a candidate of the Lok Bhalai Party from Kulrian Zila Parishad zone, Ranjit Singh from Budhlada Zila Parished and Devi Ram Ramgrial, an independent candidate from Dyalpura Panchayat Samiti zone.

Master Balbir Singh Mandran, Harpreet Singh and others addressed public meetings. — OC

Mansa, May 7
District Congress president and MLA from Sardoolgarh, Ajitinder Singh Moffer, and Budhlada MLA Mangat Rai Bansal today visited different villages in support of the Congress candidates and also addressed public meetings. They visited Bhamme Khurd, Jhanda Kalan, Jhanda Khurd, Kauri, Aaloopur, Khera Khrd, Rourki, Beerewala, Rianod, Maghania, Cherkala, Uddat, Jheengar and Mandran villages.

Jasbir Kaur, candidate from Jhuneer Zila Parishad zone, was among those present. Congress leader Bikram Singh Moffer claimed that the Akali sarpanch Balwant Singh of Sahnewal village had joined the Congress. — OC