The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Himachal Pradesh Edition

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

No breathing space on Mela Ram road
Bathinda, July 13
Free For All: Wrong parking and encroachments on the Mela Ram road continues unabated creating problems for motorists and commuters. Despite repeated requests, officials of the local municipal corporation have not been able to remove the encroachments on the 60-feet road area near Dr Mela Ram Hospital for the last six years.

Free For All: Wrong parking and encroachments on the Mela Ram road continues unabated creating problems for motorists and commuters. —Tribune photo by Malkiat Singh

Oz universities roll out red carpet for Indian students
Manisha Verma, AUPP student in Australia, interacting with participants at a seminar on Australian education in Bathinda on Sunday. Bathinda, July 13
Baba Farid Global Innovation Centre (BFGIC) organised its first seminar on Australian education at Bahia Fort here today. Sukhdev Singh Pakka inaugurated the seminar and welcomed all students and parents who turned up in large numbers.

Manisha Verma, AUPP student in Australia, interacting with participants at a seminar on Australian education in Bathinda on Sunday. —Tribune photo by Kulbir Beera

City girl tops in M.P.Ed
Gurwinder Kaur Bathinda, July 13
Study and sports, they say, are poles apart as one can not pursue both the streams simultaneously with ease. But a Bathinda girl has proved the saying wrong and she has set an example by scoring high in both the fields. Be it, netball or cricket, long jump or high jump, or even research work, Gurwinder Kaur has always had a few match. The girl who has been bringing laurels to the region by representing Punjab in the Netball, this time hogged limelight by clinching gold medal in the Master in Physical Education (M.P.Ed) from the Punjabi University, Patiala.

Sultry weather, heat add to woes
Bathinda, July 13
The heat wave gripping the city for over two months claimed two more lives on Saturday. The heat-related deaths were reported from Janta Nagar, Amarpura, local railway station and some slum areas of the city. Most victims were reported to be homeless, beggars and people working in the open, who suffered heat strokes and dehydration.

A tribute to freedom fighter on his death anniversary
Sathi Roop Lal: Socialist, visionary leader of Moga
Sathi Roop Lal, Moga, July 13
Persons who selflessly devote their lives for the welfare of the people are very rare in the society. Sathi Roop Lal, a freedom fighter, was a true socialist and never compromised on his principles and preferred to work for the people of his area. He was born on October 2, 1918 and passed away at the age of 85 years on this day in the year 2003. He was twice elected to the State Assembly from Moga constituency in the years 1969 and 1977.

Two petrol pumps looted in Barnala
Barnala, July 13
Four unidentified youth looted two petrol pumps at gunpoint in Barnala district on Saturday night. The helper at petrol pump in Dhanaula said that four persons came to his pump at night and asked for the cash, snatched away Rs 36,000 and fled.

Fazilka wants district status
Fazilka, July 13
The government efforts to provide justice to the people of Punjab at their doorstep particularly in the rural areas of this border belt appears to be an unfulfilled promise. Fazilka Zila Banao Sangharsh Samiti chairman Rajesh Kumar Angi says that despite two decade long efforts and a dozen aggressive agitations launched by the samiti in the Congress and SAD-BJP regimes, their demand remains unfulfilled.

	Ring road work in fast lane Rs 5 crore distributed as compensation to affected farmers Rajay Deep Tribune News Service Bathinda, July 13 The district administration today went ahead to complete the process related to the acquisition of land from where the refinery-airport ring road is supposed to cross despite the ongoing court proceedings. Sub-divisional Magistrate, Bathinda, was busy even on a Sunday, distributing nearly Rs 5-crore as compensation to 70 farmers whose land was sought to be acquired for the project. The administration had reportedly announced information regarding the distribution of money on Saturday itself. The ring road phase II project has been planned visualising Bathinda as a business hub in the coming years. The road would be a connecting joint between the under construction Bathinda oil refinery with the civil airport planned at Bhisiana. The road would cater to the plying of vehicles like a bypass as it would be a direct link to Badal road and the Malout road stretch. The road would pass through the Lal Singh Basti, Multania road, Behman road, Patti Jhutika and some other localities on the outskirts of the city. As per the survey report, for the construction of the 100-feet broad 7.8 kilometer road, the administration has to acquire around 90 acres of land from around 500 owners. The administration has fixed three categories of compensation at Rs 46 lakh, Rs 60 lakh and Rs 65 lakh per acre, while the owners had raised a demand for Rs 1 crore. On the other hand, a number of land owners filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The high court has fixed July 21 as the next date of hearing and the state counsel would file the reply then. Till that time, the court has said that the petitioners should not be dispossessed from the land in question. Replying about the urgency of distributing compensation even on a Sunday, SDM Bathinda KPS Mahi said, "There is no bar on working even on a Sunday." He further said that the court has stayed the acquisition of land only in the case of the petitioners. So, they were not called to receive the compensation, he added.
	PADB letter to registrar sparks controversy Our Correspondent Abohar, July 13 The Punjab Co-operative Agricultural Development Bank’s (PADB) letter number 4258 to the Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Punjab, on June 27 has sparked a controversy. The coordination committee of the staff, which had been declared surplus following the closure of cooperative spinning mills in the state, held an emergency meeting here today. President of the committee Sukhdev Singh, who presided over the meeting, said in the evening that the PADB, through this letter, had conveyed its consent to absorb 30 employees of cooperative sugar mills. There had been a secret pact between the cooperative mills' employees union and the top brass of the SAD (B) during the Assembly elections under which the union offered to support the latter, after getting the assurance that the employees would be absorbed in other cooperative institutions before the sugar mills were abandoned, he alleged. Sukhdev Singh said about 100 employees of the cooperative spinning mills, who were rendered surplus after the final closure of all units on September 15, 2003, were still waiting for adjustment in other cooperative institutions. The state government had installed cooperative spinning mills at Sandhwan, Tapa, Malout, Abohar, Mansa, Bathinda and Goindwal Sahib and gave their control to the Spinfed at Chandigarh. All the units collapsed allegedly due to wrong policies adopted by the Spinfed rendering 8000 workers jobless. The Registrar, Cooperative Societies, had issued directions to the entire apex cooperative institutions to absorb the surplus staff but the institutions including the PADB preferred to indulge in long legal battle and defied the directions. The matter was taken to the Punjab and Haryana High Court by the surplus staff and the institutions failed to get the instructions reversed even by filing a petition in the Supreme Court in 2005. Later, on December 3, 2007, Kusumjit Sidhu, Financial Commissioner, Cooperation, while dismissing the revision petition filed by the PADB, also held in her orders that the registrar can issue such directions as he considers beneficial to the efficient functioning of any cooperative institution. Sukhdev Singh demanded that the surplus staff of the abandoned cooperative spinning mills should be absorbed in other institutions on the priority basis. The heads of the institutions, who had been defying the instructions issued in our favour by the registrar since 1997, should be brought to book, he further said.
	No breathing space on Mela Ram road Rajay Deep Tribune News Service Bathinda, July 13 Despite repeated requests, officials of the local municipal corporation have not been able to remove the encroachments on the 60-feet road area near Dr Mela Ram Hospital for the last six years. Due to the alleged official apathy, the road leading to the posh localities of the city has become accident prone. The residents of Vishal Nagar, Panchvati Nagar, Green Avenue, Tagore Nagar and New Shakti Nagar formed a joint action committee for the widening of the road as it has been approved under the 60 feet scheme. The committee has been struggling hard for this for the last six years, but no attention has been paid to the issue. The committee brought the matter to the notice of the local bodies department, Deputy Commissioner and SSP Bathinda from time to time. But nothing concrete emerged out of it. Producing the documents, M.M. Behal, convener of the committee, said that the Punjab government, vide its letter number W 280/6C III-75/34913 dated 16.1.75, had declared this area as unbuilt and in 1981, the TP scheme number 1, part III, was prepared and sanctioned by the Punjab government vide number 278, unit 1/83/7926 dated 4.5.83. Keeping this in view, the municipal council issued a notice on September 10, 2004, vide notice number 109/B, to the different parties to vacate the encroached area to widen the said road from 30 feet to 60 feet. But no heed was paid to the notice.Dr Mela Ram and his wife Raksha Devi filed a civil suit to get a stay against the widening of the road. The civil court, Bathinda, dismissed the case on March 2005. Even then, the MC authorities did not take steps to widen the said road. It may be mentioned that the road connects a number of localities, which are called the posh areas of the city but due to neglect, the narrow road has become accident prone. During the last few years, a number of accidents have taken place here and many casualties were also reported. When contacted, the executive officer of MC, Kamal Kant, said, "Efforts are on to implement the TP scheme. For this, we have been trying to convince the parties concerned."
	Oz universities roll out red carpet for Indian students Bhartesh Singh Thakur Tribune News Service Bathinda, July 13 Baba Farid Global Innovation Centre (BFGIC) organised its first seminar on Australian education at Bahia Fort here today. Sukhdev Singh Pakka inaugurated the seminar and welcomed all students and parents who turned up in large numbers. Pakka stressed on the quality education and repeated the assurance of providing quality education at Baba Farid Innovation Centre, which is established with the collaboration of the Australian Unified Pathway Program (AUPP) for providing top most Australian university’s bachelor’s programmes like BIT, BHM, BBA, BIS, B.Acc. The whole programme is supported by the AUSTRADE and Australian Science and Management Academy. The AUPP not only claims to provide international education at Indian price but also saves cost incurred during one year in Australia. Ankit Dutt and Manisha Verma, who are studying in Australia under AUPP, said that the programme saves around Rs 11 lakh while staying in India for a year. While speaking at the seminar, AUPP Indian operations head G. Bajwa explained that the whole programme and informed that e-visa facilities would be provided to the BFGIC students for which there was no need for an interview. AUPP student Manisha Verma, said that girls need not worry as the AUPP Australian office not only provides accommodation but also helps in opening bank accounts and job search. Ankit Dutt, another AUPP student, informed that every student is allowed to work for 20 hours per week and after completion of studies every student gets a work permit for one year. Regarding a query about Permanent Residence (PR) status, he said students who had completed their degrees were easily getting PR. 0In the end, managing director of Baba Farid Institute of Higher and Foreign Studies, Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal said that various facilities including live interaction with the Australian universities experts through video conferencing, digital library would be provided.
	City girl tops in M.P.Ed Sudhanshu Verma Tribune News Service Bathinda, July 13 Study and sports, they say, are poles apart as one can not pursue both the streams simultaneously with ease. But a Bathinda girl has proved the saying wrong and she has set an example by scoring high in both the fields. Be it, netball or cricket, long jump or high jump, or even research work, Gurwinder Kaur has always had a few match. The girl who has been bringing laurels to the region by representing Punjab in the Netball, this time hogged limelight by clinching gold medal in the Master in Physical Education (M.P.Ed) from the Punjabi University, Patiala. She scored 84 per cent marks in the examination. Daughter of Manjeet Kaur and Jaskaran Singh Sidhu, Gurwinder did her graduation from Government Rajindra College, Bathinda. As far as sports records are concerned, besides representing Punjabi University, Patiala in Netball, Gurwinder represented Punjab in the game, including four times in senior national. She had been adjudged best athlete in the college for three years. On the other hand, she attended several national-level seminars, including ‘Emerging trends in physical education’ and presented a paper on ‘The Athlete and Sudden Death.’ She also presented paper on ‘Weight loss through exercise’ during another national-level seminar on ‘Holistic approach on health and fitness.’ Her paper on ‘Comparison of vital capacity among sedentary persons and recreational exercisers of middle age’ has been selected to be published in Journal of Sports and Sports Science, NIS, Patiala. “Sports has been my passion since childhood,” she told The Tribune on Sunday. “Now I want to hone the skills of budding sportspersons,” she added. For her achievements, she gives credit to her father for encouraging her. “My family, particularly my father, always boosts my morale,” she said. When asked how she managed time for both sports and study, she said, “In day time, I toil in the field. I do burn the midnight oil as there is no short-cut to success.”
	Sultry weather, heat add to woes Anil Jerath Tribune News Service Bathinda, July 13 The heat wave gripping the city for over two months claimed two more lives on Saturday. The heat-related deaths were reported from Janta Nagar, Amarpura, local railway station and some slum areas of the city. Most victims were reported to be homeless, beggars and people working in the open, who suffered heat strokes and dehydration. High temperatures coupled with frequent power outages crippled daily life in the city adding to the woes of the residents. The ongoing development work in the city and the resultant power cuts to facilitate it also added to people’s woes. The blazing sun continued to bake the district and other adjoining areas on Sunday with the mercury rising to over 38 degrees Celsius at several places. The Met department said neighbouring Sriganganagar in Rajasthan was the hottest, recording 41.3 degrees Celsius today. But weather officials predicted that this southern part of Punjab would soon get a break from the searing heat. While the rest of the Punjab has been receiving adequate rainfall, Bathinda is yet to receive showers and after the rains on June 29, the city is yet to witness a wet day. While temperature has plummeted, humidity and high moisture content have created problems for the people, especially for the office-goers in the city. But if the weatherman’s forecast comes true, some relief may well be in sight.

Fazilka wants district status
Our Correspondent

Fazilka, July 13
The government efforts to provide justice to the people of Punjab at their doorstep particularly in the rural areas of this border belt appears to be an unfulfilled promise. Fazilka Zila Banao Sangharsh Samiti chairman Rajesh Kumar Angi says that despite two decade long efforts and a dozen aggressive agitations launched by the samiti in the Congress and SAD-BJP regimes, their demand remains unfulfilled.

Due to this reason, the residents of Fazilka-Abohar and surrounding areas have to cover more than 300 kilometers to the district headquarters at Ferozepur even for petty officials works. This entails tardy journeys besides wastage of money and time and is great injustice to the affected people.

Bar Association, Fazilka, president Anil Jain and Rajesh Angi lamented that no political party had lent any support for granting district headquarters status to Fazilka.

Now again they have sent a memorandum to CM Parkash Singh Badal, seeking fresh consideration of their long pending demand. Making plea in this regard, the samiti maintains that Fazilka deserves to be granted district headquarters status as it is equi-distant from the sub-divisions of Jalalabad and Abohar, both of which are 32 kilometers apart from Fazilka. Both these sub-divisions have been carved out of the Fazilka sub-division, which was one of the largest and oldest sub-divisions of the state before its fragmentation.

The Sangharash Samiti maintains that residents of rural areas of the Abohar sub-division adjoining Rajasthan border have to travel around 150 kilometers for one side of journey to Ferozepur.

Many a time, the litigants scheduled to appear at the district and sessions court and the common people visiting the district headquarters remained dismayed only to learn that the concerned officer is on leave or not available for different reasons.

The sangharsh samiti members maintained that even towns like Muktsar, which was earlier a part of the Fazilka sub-division, and some other towns, which were smaller sub-divisions, were granted district headquarters status. Some districts were created at a small distances of 20 to 50 kilometers from each other. In case of Fazilka the length of Ferozepur district has been totally ignored.

Citing other strong reasons in favour of district headquarters status, the Samiti, members of the Bar Association and citizens of Fazilka say there is sufficient infrastructure for housing offices. The "A" class municipal council of Fazilka is one of those civic bodies of the state, which has maximum land at its disposal for raising new offices. Besides, the town houses an old spacious sub-jail and has a newly constructed mini secretariat. It has sufficient space for judicial and revenue courts. There is ample vacant space around these structures, which can expand suitably.

There is a small ray of hope as the BJP executive meet resolved that Fazilka and Pathankot should be granted district headquarters status. It remains to be seen when it catches the CM 's attention.