Bathinda, July 7
If canal water is unavailable and underground water is unfit for irrigation, then what can one do? Use toxic water, released by factories besides sewage to irrigate the fields. Precisely this is what is being done for the last 15 years in three villages of Bathinda district— Kotbhara, Jeewansinghwala and Kotphatta where Nashara drain has been the only source of irrigation.

Farmers here don’t have any complaints about toxic waste. They say their crop productivity is not diminishing and there are reportedly 50 suction pumps along the drain in three villages.

Babu Singh has three-acre land in Kotbhara village. He has been using the toxic water from Nashara drain for over 12 years now. “We haven’t seen canal water since 1985. The ground water is useless for irrigation. But this sludge is good for crop productivity.” Gursharan Singh, another farmer who has 16-acre land on contract, said, “We had been using this water, which is black, for cotton, wheat and even vegetables.” Gursharan Singh has taken land at a price of Rs 11,000 per acre and denies any damage to soil because of it.

The biggest project for pumping out toxic water from the drain irrigates around 118 acres of land. The pipes, laid for distribution, stretch up to 3 km and the project was set up at a cost of Rs 350,000. “It has 20 members and they have divided the irrigation time—1 hour and 25 minutes per acre,” said Gursharan Singh.

When asked who the pioneer was, they revealed that it was Sukhdev Singh, whose fields are along the drain. First, the cement pipes were used and then later steel pipes came into being. Badal Singh, son of Sukhdev Singh, said, “We had been using the water from the drain since 1987. We have around 24-acres land and cotton productivity is around 8 quintals per acre. So we earn around Rs 17,000 per acre.” When asked whether he suffers from any health problems because of its use, he replied that the sludge stinks and there are strong skin irritations when they use it. “But then we wash it with soap or apply oil. I didn’t go to any doctor,” he said.

Throwing more light on this rare practice, Baldev Singh, owner of around 20-acre of agricultural land, said, “We had 14 acres under canal water, 2 acres under groundwater and 4 acres were dependent on the Nasahara drain. The productivity from canal water is maximum— 10-12 quintals of cotton per acre and minimum from groundwater, just 7.5 quintals per acre. Irrigation from the drain produces around 9-10 quintals of cotton per acre.”

However, one of the members of the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Welfare Club, of Kotbhara village, said that though it might be proving boon for farmers but it was also a source of awful smell.

D.K.Garg, assistant environmental engineer, Punjab Pollution Control Board, Bathinda, revealed that the drain had sewerage and industrial waste from a paper mill and a ghee factory from Bathinda.

But the drain flows from Sangrur and it could have waste of other factories too, he pointed out.  

Jatinder Brar, soil scientist at PAU’s regional centre at Bathinda, said that if the drain was not causing any damage to the soil, then heavy metals might not be present in the industrial waste. “But we can comment correctly only after testing the soil,” he said.

Shingara Singh Maan, district president of the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan), said that the use of the drain would have long lasting adverse affect on the soil and the state government must take initiatives to treat the water before it could be used for irrigation. 

Moga, July 7
A section of employees of the local municipal council including the executive officer gathered outside the office of the DSP of the Vigilance Bureau here today and forced him to push back an inquiry of corruption against Joginder Pal Jain, the local Congress MLA and former president of the local body.

A complaint was lodged against him by another former president of the council Dr K.S. Gill and a former councillor Ajay Gora who had alleged that Jain had amassed huge wealth and ‘benami properties’ indulging into corrupt practices by misusing public funds meant for development works.

The local DSP of the Vigilance Bureau Amarjit Singh had called two technical officers (civil engineers) to collect samples of some roads/streets constructed by the civic body during Jain’s period but the executive officer of the council Brij Mohan Jham instead of co-operating with the investigating agency in collecting the samples, used his influence to gather round a section of the officials and employees of the council in front of the DSP’s office to protest against the inquiry being initiated by the Bureau.

He brought a letter issued by the local bodies department dated 13/4/2008 signed by the director-cum-special secretary of the department that in a meeting with the chief minister on 11/4/2008 it was decided that the ‘interference of the Vigilance Bureau has been stopped in the local bodies and all such cases will be enquired by the internal vigilance wing of the department’.

On receiving a copy of this letter of the local bodies department, the DSP agreed to postpone the present inquiry for couple of weeks so that he could seek clarification from the Bureau headquarters.

However, Dr K.S. Gill challenged these orders of the department and said that these orders had no legal value as the state government had not issued any gazette notification regarding the decision taken by the chief minister in this regard.

“This is purely a letter issued by the director-cum-special secretary of the local bodies department to heads of various departments that acquires no significance,” he added. 
The other complainant Ajay Gora said that the powers of the Vigilance Bureau were well defined and an allegation of corruption made by anybody against any government functionary/employee could be enquired into by the Bureau and if found true, the Bureau was bound to register an FIR based on the prima facie findings of the inquiry.

The DSP, while talking to The Tribune, also admitted that this letter had no binding on proceeding with the inquiry but he needed to clarify whether the state government had issued any notification in this regard or not. “I will bring it to the notice of my senior officers and go ahead with the inquiry as per their advice,” he added. 

Ferozepur, July 7
Amid speculations over the proposed decrease in the fees of the private medical, dental and other paramedical colleges in the state, the Punjab Unaided Medical and Dental Colleges Association (PUMDCA), taking strong exception of the same, has threatened to boycott the counselling as it had happened last year.

Talking to TNS here today, Kamal Baghi, spokesman PUMDCA, said that the government had no right to decide on the fees to be charges by the private colleges as per the Supreme Court guidelines. However, every year, the government was making it a big issue.

Baghi said that there was no rationale behind decreasing the fee structure as it was enhanced last year only. He said that the fee being charged by the private medical and dental colleges in Punjab was still less as compared to other states. Nevertheless, instead of bringing it at par with other states, the government was contemplating to decrease it further.

It is pertinent to mention that the state government had enhanced the fee structure in these colleges last year following protest by the management of these colleges besides management of Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana and Sri Guru Ram Dass Institute of Medical Sciences Amritsar also, due to which, the students seeking admission in private medical and dental colleges had to face a lot of inconvenience.

Now, under pressure from various quarters of bringing it down again, Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal had constituted a committee to look into the matter, but no decision has been taken as yet.

Baghi also demanded that the PUMDCA representatives should be invited to the meetings of the committee formed by the CM to decide on the matters relating to fees. 

Bathinda, July 7
With the arrest of the five accused of a seven member gang, the CIA staff today claimed to have cracked the snatching case, in which some unidentified miscreants had snatched a motorcycle and a mobile phone from a Tribune employee, Sanjeev Dogra, at gunpoint on the evening of July 1 near the under construction City Mall.

Giving details, in-charge CIA staff, Ranjit Singh said that during the operation, they found seven persons under a cloud of suspicion. After verification, four of them were found to be involved in the case of snatching, while the rest were their accomplices in other crimes. Police could arrest five, namely, Hafiz Mohammad, Javed Khan, Harjot Singh, Roshan Ram and Gulsher Singh while Jagtar Singh and Jodha Singh were still at large.

A fresh case against the seven has been registered at the Kotwali police station under sections 399, 402, 411, 412 of the IPC and section 25 of the Arms Act.

Bathinda, July 7
Ashish Chaudhary, SP (City), Ludhiana, will be the new senior superintendent of police, Bathinda. He will take over from Naunihal Singh who has been transferred to Sangrur in the same capacity.

As per the information, Naunihal Singh will also hold the additional charge of SSP Mansa as his counterpart M..Farooqi will be on leave till July 14.

Naunihal Singh was posted in Bathinda in May 2007 in the aftermath of the Dera-Sikh row. Singh had found himself in the eye of many a storm here but was known best for standing by his subordinates.

The Behman Jassa Singh self-immolation tragedy is an instance as he lent his support to the policemen who were accused in the case. Then in the lawyer-police stand-off, he reluctantly agreed to suspend three policemen including a sub-inspector after continuous protests. In the media-police controversy after protests by Anganwari workers at the CM’s function, he was accused of shielding his staff.

Surprisingly, the SSP had gone on leave during the Bathinda Municipal Corporation elections. Sources in the police said he had told the ruling SAD leaders that he would not allow violence and rigging to go unchecked and so, was asked to go on leave by a top leader of the ruling party.

During a visit to his office today, a number of policemen were found standing in a long queue with applications ranging from transfer requests to sundry other issues to seek his approval on his last day in office.

Police sources said a team of his loyalists might accompany him to his next place.

Speculation is also rife after the SSP’s transfer that a similar shake-up may be in the offing in the civil administration here too.

Bathinda, July 7
With the addition of one more charge of blackmailing through alleged sex workers, ex-SHO Nathana, Harnek Singh and the two women, who have been absconding from June 5 after being booked in a similar case, were rebooked under various sections of the IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act again today.

This time, Natha Singh, a resident of Nathpura village, lodged a complaint with the police saying that Harnek Singh had duped him of Rs 90,000 with the help of two women on April 21. He had avoided reporting the matter to the police fearing loss of reputation.

As per the details available, Natha Singh allegedly had an illicit relationship with the accused, Raj Kaur, of Poohla village. One day she told him that Kuljit Kaur of Nathana wanted some kind of relationship with him.

As per the pre-decided plan, they were in a compromising situation when Harnek Singh reached the spot. He then sought bribe of Rs 1 lakh to dispose of the case. But the matter was settled at Rs 90,000.

After this complaint, the matter was handed over to DSP (R) D.S. Brar, who after conducting the investigation, found the accused guilty.

It may be mentioned the accused used the same modus operandi and the accused were also the same. But in the previous case, the matter was settled at Rs 40,000 which he had returned after the matter was leaked. But the matter was publicised greatly and the police initiated a DSP level inquiry. Brar, after conducting the investigation, handed over the case to ASP P.K. Yadav.

It is pertinent to mention here that the police have not been able to trace the whereabouts of the accused so far.

Bathinda, July 7
The three-day exhibition on fashion designing and handicraft organised by the students of the Vivekananda Girls College here turned out to be big draw.

The college campus, the venue of the exhibition, looked like a fashion street with gorgeous and dazzling designs of women’s wear. Striking designs of saris, lehengas, skirts and suits were displayed at the exhibition.

Besides designer clothing of different hues and fibre, handicraft artifacts also won the appreciation of the visitors.

All the creations were unique in their own way, yet the originality of different types of clothes was preserved. About 70 students of the college participated in the event.

Inaugurating the exhibition, Garima Singh, Joint Commissioner, Income Tax, lauded the efforts of the students and said that fashion designing was becoming a mainstream profession, especially for girls. 

Mansa, July 7
A student of class-IX of the Government. High school, Joga has brought laurels to the state by representing India at an international level under-13 soccer tournament held in Malaysia.

Veerpal Kaur is daughter of Rajwinder Dass, a resident of Joga village under Mansa . In this tournament, teams from eight countries had participated. China emerged the winner while India secured second position in this event.

Before this, Veerpal played at national level games which were organised at Bhubneshwar in Orissa. In this tournament, 16 teams from across the country took part.

Veerpal said that that after that she had a chance to get coaching in Bhopal from May 12 to June 24.

In this coaching camp nearly 42 girls from different states took part. Veerpal’s father Rajwinder Dass expressed happiness over his daughter’s performance.

President of Sabhyachark Chetna Munch, Kamaljeet Malwa said that the government should provide proper facilities and diet for those players who have the will and the potential to do better at the international level.

Abohar, July 7
Nine students of the DAV Collegiate Senior Secondary School have qualified in the PMT, principal Anil Makkar informed.

They are: Shaifali Chhabra, Akanksha, Mehak Sethi, Priyanka Bhateja, Anjali Handa, Vaibhav Watts, Priyanka Chaudhary, Sarv Gurjeet and Ankush Chhabra.

Significantly, the institution had maintained its tradition of providing coaching to students for PMT, AIEEE and IIT and this would be continued, he said. — OC

Abohar, July 7
Chief Minister's brother Gurdas Singh Badal and the animal husbandry minister Gulzar Singh Ranike finally succeeded in bringing consensus over choice for chairman and vice-chairman for the panchayat samiti (PS) here after two-hour closed-door meeting on Monday.

Vipin Neol from village Kular has been elected as chairman while Jaswant Singh Shergarh as vice chairman of the Panchayat Samiti. The latter belongs to the BJP while Neol was elected to the PS as SAD (B) nominee. They were garlanded by the supporters after the presiding officer Jaskiran Singh, the additional deputy commissioner, officially declared them as elected.

Earlier, the scheduled meeting had to be deferred for more than 75 minutes as two factions remained adamant on getting their nominees elected to the coveted posts, sources informed. However, 10-member Congress group again boycotted today's meeting. The ruling alliance has 14 members in the PS. 

Abohar, July 7
Neelam Arun Mittu, principal of the Gopi Chand Arya Mahila College inaugurated 10-day training camp organised by the 2nd Independent Punjab NCC Company at the DAV College here on Monday.

Lt Col Dilbagh Singh CO of the unit exhorted the youth to decide on noble goals and work hard with sincerity to achieve the same.

Captain Iqbal Singh Godara said that students from the government senior secondary schools of Abohar, Fazilka and Khuyiansarwer, local G D Senior Secondary School, DAV Senior Seconadry School and SD High School of Fazilka were participating in the annual camp.

Captain Sarabjit Singh said the cadets would conduct field survey on children of the rag pickers to get them immunised for prevention from Hepatitis-B. 

Ferozepur, July 7
Three persons, including a child, were killed while four others sustained injuries in a road accident that occurred on the Ferozepur-Moga road today morning.

According to sources, the incident took place at 8:45 am when a Santro car in which they were travelling collided with another Lancer car coming from opposite direction. Manish, a resident of Ludhiana, who was driving the Santro car, died on the spot, while the other injured family members were admitted to a hospital.

Sources said that Manish along his family members was coming to Ferozepur to meet his in-laws at Basti-Takanwali. Manish had got married to Namarta just about four months ago.

In this accident, Manish, Shimla Devi and a child named Shivang were killed and Sanjeev, Manish’s wife Namarta, his sister China and two kids Rahul and Tanvi were injured.

The bodies were taken to Ludhiana. The persons travelling in Lancer car were identified as Baljeet, Jagtar, both residents of Village Toot and Surinder, resident of Dhalonke. 

Ferozepur, July 7
Two children were feared drowned while talking bath in a river. According to sources, three children belonging to city area had gone to take bath in the river, while two skipped and got drowned, the third one got frightened and went back home.

However, he did not disclose the mishap to his parents.

Meanwhile, the parents of the missing children started looking for them but in vain. In the morning today, the police found a body floating near village Karma while the other body was located near village Bareke.