 |
|
|
Foundation stone of 1980 MW power plant laid Big leap forward in power sector Banawala/Talwandi Sabo, September 2 
With the commencement of the 1980 MW Talwandi Sabo Thermal Plant, Punjab would become power surplus. The claim was made by chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and other SAD (B) leaders here today.
SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal addressing the rally after the laying of the foundation stone for the new thermal power plant of 1980 MW capacity at village Banwala in Mansa district on
Tuesday. Tribune photo by Malkiat Singh |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Cops spotting footprints of the killers at Dhingawali village on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph
Civil hospital linked with PGI
Stone laying turns into a political rally
Rajasthan cops nab notorious gangster in Moga
After Bt cotton, now it’s turn for Bt brinjal
Moga MC polls
Now, a hospital with helipad!
Up in arms
Protest against Orissa violence on Sept 5
6-year-old girl dies after wall collapse
Workshop on TB held
Post office shifted back
|
|
Foundation stone of 1980 MW power plant laid Big leap forward in power sector Rajay Deep Tribune News Service
Banawala/Talwandi Sabo, September 2
The plant, described as super critical, is being constructed by the Mumbai-based Sterlite Energy Ltd., a company of the Vedanta group, which is constructing it on the build, own and operate (BOO) basis. As per the terms of the power purchase agreement, the state would get power units at the rate of Rs 2.86 (tentative levellised tariff), which would remain in effect for 25 years.
According to the senior officials of the plant, it would generate 475 lakh units per day, after being commissioned fully. The quantity of coal used for fuel would be 8.7 million tonnes per annum. About the availability of the coal, they said it would be from the MCL coalfields, Orissa, and would be of "E" grade in quality. Hundred cusecs of water would be taken from the Joga canal flowing in the area to help run the turbines. "It would be a mega project as the land acquired for the purpose is 2113 acres. The owners of the land have been given 30 per cent additional allowance besides the market value. More over, the families whose land was acquired, have been promised jobs in the power plant. Further, it has also been said that there would be no stamp duty if those who have been dispossessed, buy land in any other area with the money," said chief minister Parkash Singh Badal. The cost of the project is tentatively estimated at Rs 9,000 crore. The commissioning of the units, of 660 MW each, would be done in three phases. The first unit would be commenced in December 2011, second in April 2012, and the third unit in August 2012.
Giving particulars, the PSEB and Vedanta group, mentioned that there would be 400KV transmission lines and the system would be developed through a power grid. As an environment-friendly step, the stacks would be fixed at a height of 275 meters and there would be low emission of gases and suspended particles. The discharge of water would be nil and the fly ash would be utilised in every possible way. To make the plant eco-friendly, 30 per cent of the land area would be kept under the green belt. Electro-static precipitator (ESP) would have 99.99 per cent efficiency and the dust extractors and sprinkler system would also be there for the coal handling plant to minimise pollution. Giving details of the project, SAD chief Sukhbir Badal said, "No other state in the country has so far undertaken such massive and wide-ranging development initiative to boost its power generation by 300 per cent in such a short span of time. After all the projects see the light of the day, we would be in a position to sell power to other states. The SAD-BJP government has embarked upon setting up a series of power plants at rajpura (1320 MW) and Gidderbaha (2640 MW) besides Talwandi Sabo. Work on Goindwal Sahib (540 MW) is also expected to begin in October.
|
|||||||
|
Triple murder rocks Abohar
Abohar, September 2 Some residents of the village informed that none responded when Rajinder Kumar, a farm worker, knocked the door of 32-year-old Ranbir Saharan’s house in the morning today. The milkman, who visited later, too got no response. Growing suspicious, he informed Ranbir’s elder brother Mahabir Saharan, who then asked his wife Indira Devi to enter the house. She cried and fainted on finding the bodies of Ranbir, his wife Suman Rani and son Sumit lying on the twin beds. Raveena, daughter of Ranbir Saharan, survived as she was away to Makkasar village in Hanumangarh district. Later, Mahabir informed the police through the former MLA and district BJP vice-president Dhanpat Siyag. SSP Dinesh Partap Singh along with DSP Parampal Singh and all SHOs of this sub-division reached the village. Fingerprint experts and sniffer dogs were also summoned from the district headquarters at Ferozepur. The bloodstained weapon used for killing was found at the spot. However, in the evening, Anil Kumar Bhambhu, brother of Suman and a resident of Makkasar village, reached Dhingawali and reportedly informed the investigating police team that his sister rang him up around 1.30 am to tell that Mahabir and his farm helper Ram Kumar was attacking her husband and son besides her. The phone got disconnected after that. A case under sections 302 and 460 of the IPC has been registered against Mahabir Saharan and Ram Kumar on the basis of Bhambhu’s statement. It was found during the search that Suman’s gold necklace was also missing. Further investigation indicated that there was a dispute over the agricultural land between the two brothers. It is believed that Mahabir conspired to eliminate his younger brother’s family to grab the entire land, the police sources indicated. |
|||||||
|
Civil hospital linked with PGI
Bathinda, September 2 Talking to TNS, Dr Neelam Bajaj, civil surgeon, Bathinda, said health department authorities were taking early steps to link the civil hospitals with this project to help the doctors and patients in managing clinical problems. She said that poor patients came to these hospitals with no means of transport and no access to diagnostic centres for medical and clinical investigations like X-ray and laboratory tests and this facility could benefit them greatly. She said the healthcare network in the civil hospitals was being expanded with the setting up of a trauma centre with the required infrastructural facilities. She complimented PHSC for linking civil hospitals with PGI through this facility and asked PHSC authorities to further streamline the systems by increasing the outreach and cumulative impact with focus on rural areas and urban slums. The PHSC will provide 46 computers at 25 selected hospitals in the area at a cost of Rs 11 lakh. One doctor will be put on special duty for videoconferencing. In Malwa region, Bathinda, Muktsar, Mansa, and Faridkot are the districts where this policy will be implemented. "Telemedicine facility would be helpful in providing the best care to the patients in the hospitals and have the facilities of medical consultancy with PGI specialists. It will also help the faculty members in keeping abreast with the latest developments in different areas of the healthcare system," civil surgeon added. She said this project would involve academic interaction through which excellent academic activities going on in PGI would be made available to the faculty of civil hospitals. Dr Bajaj assured that the PGI would do its best in making this facility a fruitful venture for the doctors of the civil hospitals and the patients coming for treatment to the hospital. According to a survey, the groundwater in the region is contaminated, which is the main reason for many of the diseases prevailing in the area. After launching of the scheme, the patients and common people will benefit. |
|||||||
|
Stone laying turns into a political rally
Banwala, September 2 He said that Captain Amarinder Singh did not care for the problems of the people and called upon the Akali workers to prepare for the parliamentary elections. To provide good education in Punjab, he informed that four new universities would be set up. Sukhbir Singh Badal, president of SAD, said no other state in the country has so far undertaken such massive and wide ranging initiatives to boost power generation. Nearly seven to eight thousand youths would get jobs in this thermal plant, he claimed. In the field of education, one Adarsh School is being opened in every block. Captain Kanwaljeet Singh, cooperative minister, Punjab, challenged the Congress party for a debate on all issues in Punjab. Anil Aggarwal, chairman of Vedanta group, which is establishing the thermal plant, said it is the biggest in Punjab and the best technique would be used. During his speech Balwinder Singh Bhunder demanded that Sukhbir Singh Badal should be the party candidate from the Bathinda parliamentary constituency.
|
|||||||
|
Rajasthan cops nab notorious gangster in Moga
Moga, September 2 Confirming this, Pankaj Kumar Singh, IG of the Rajasthan police, told TNS over phone that a team of the Rajasthan police led by DSP Ram Singh posted in the crime branch of Jaipur had conducted the raid to nab him. The local police of Moga was taken into confidence before carrying out the operation, he said. The youth identified as Yogesh Sharma, a student of third year of Bachelor of Pharmacy, was residing in the hostel of this local pharmacy college and was leading a luxurious life, he said. The IG said that the youth hailed from Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. He further said another youth of his gang, identified as Saurabh Sharma, also a resident of Aligarh, had been arrested and Rs 2.90 lakh recovered from him. Revealing a few cases of the robberies carried out by them, Pankaj Kumar said they looted the State Bank of India, Aligarh branch, on July 5, a bank in Mathura on August 2, State Bank of Bikaner, Rajgarh branch (Alwar district) on August 8-9 and State Bank of India, Jaipur, on the intervening night of August 23-24, this year. The IG further said some more youths were also associated with this gang and a hunt had been launched to nab them. They used to wear gas masks, carry small gas welding machines to break the locks and lockers of the bank at night, he added. The youth nabbed from Moga was living here in the name of Pushpinder Rajput revealed from the mobile phone recovered from him. Meanwhile, DSP Ram Singh produced both the youths in a local court at Jaipur this evening and managed to secure a police remand of seven days. The DSP said during the interrogation, the youth arrested from here had given clues of many other criminal activities and names of some other youths involved in criminal activities along with them. Another senior officer of the Rajasthan police, posted in the state intelligence wing, told TNS on the condition of anonymity that they were also interrogating the youths to look into the possibilities of their involvement in the recent Jaipur blasts. The officer said that intelligence inputs were also being sought from the Punjab Police about the youths arrested by the Jagraon police with RDX from Moga, last month. There could be a possibility of these youths having some connection with the terrorists and the Rajasthan police would definitely go deep into the mater, the officer added.
|
|||||||
|
After Bt cotton, now it’s turn for Bt brinjal
Bathinda, September 2 With the green signal from the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee
(GEAC), Bt brinjal, a genetically modified (GM) food crop developed by the seed company Mahyco, is ready for large-scale field trials and seed production. But the clearance is facing stiff resistance from farmers, environmentalists and consumer groups across the country, who fear that GM food crops have major health risks. Of the three GM food crops in India -
brinjal, mustard and potato - awaiting permission for large-scale field trials and seed production, brinjal is the first one to get GEAC approval. Bt cotton is the only other GM crop permitted in Punjab. Mahyco has sought permission for four Bt brinjal hybrids: mhb-4 Bt, mhb 9 Bt, mhb 80 Bt and mhbj -99 Bt. "The hybrids have successfully completed bio-safety trials," says Sanjay Deshpande, spokesperson of Mahyco, a seed producing company. A coalition of anti-GM groups has produced evidence and scientific validations suggesting potential health hazards relating to Bt
brinjal. "We need to be extra cautious before going for such large-scale trials of GM food crops," says Rajesh Bhandari, an agricultural
expert. GEAC has taken notice of allegations raised by anti-GM groups and asked Mahyco to clarify certain safety concerns. The company is yet to come up with a proper explanation. But Mahyco refutes this. "Toxicological, nutritional and allergenicity studies in public sector institutions have found Bt brinjal absolutely safe, says Sanjay Deshpande, Bt brinjal has been developed in collaboration with a number of public sector institutions like the Indian Institute of Vegetable Research,
Varanasi, TN Agriculture University, Coimbatore, University of Agricultural Sciences,
Dharwad, Bt brinjal, with its pest resistance capacity, will drastically bring down crop loss and thereby increase the brinjal yield in the state by 60-80 per cent, claims Deshpande. |
|
Congress delays list of candidates, aspirants on tenterhooks
Kulwinder Sandhu Tribune News Service
Moga, September 2 The infighting among local party leaders has started coming in the way of the announcement of party candidates for the elections even as the process of filing nominations has entered the second day. The elections in all the 31 wards of the council are slated for September 14. District president of the party Colonel Babu Singh (retd.) informed TNS that the party had decided not to announce the list of their candidates. “We will call all our aspirants outside the office of the returning officers on Thursday, the last day of filing the nominations, and give party authorisation letters to the deserving candidates on the spot to file their nomination papers,” he said. He said that the list of aspirants who applied for getting party tickets was not yet discussed with the state leadership; therefore, he was not in a position to release the list of candidates in advance as only two days had left for filing the nomination papers. City president of the party Ashok Kalia, upset over the attitude of the local MLA Jain, indicated that he may resign from the party post. He said it was humiliating for him the way party affairs were being handled by Jain without taking him into confidence. Meanwhile, district president of the BJP Tarlochan Singh said the party would announce its list of 10 candidates on Wednesday. “We have invited applications from the aspirants, which will be discussed with the state leadership before the formal announcement of the candidates,” he said. On the second day, two candidates filed their nomination papers before their respective returning officers. Parshotam Puri, a BJP party worker, filed his nomination papers from ward number 5 even as his party was yet to announce its list of candidates. Fakhir Massih from ward number 23 has filed his nomination papers as an independent candidate.
|
|
Now, a hospital with helipad!
Moga, September 2 Malti Thapar, former medical education minister and chairperson of the college, informed that the nursing bridge programme had been developed by the Institute for Nursing Healthcare Leadership, Boston. The chairperson claimed that it was the first nursing institute in the state to improve the knowledge and skills of the nurses. Pawan Thapar, director of the college, said they had developed a modern multimedia laboratory connected by a V-Set having a video-conferencing system to teach from the headquarters of the AHEGH in Boston. “The students can not only listen to the tutor but also interact with him through videoconferencing.” Meanwhile, the Indian Nursing Council and the state government has granted permission to the institute to run M.Sc nursing programme from the current session. It would be the first of its kind. It may be mentioned that a 350-bed multi-speciality hospital with a trauma facility was also under construction adjoining the institute with a provision for helipad on its roof top. The helipad facility would also be first of its kind in the state. |
|
Teachers to hold protest on Teachers’ Day
Anil Jerath Tribune News Service
Bathinda, September 2 Front members said they would wear black badges from 8 am to 2.25 pm as they would take classes on September 5 in their respective schools of the district. At 3 pm, they would assemble and take out a rally to the office of the deputy commissioner to present him a memorandum. The members said thousands of teachers working in aided schools had been working without salaries since April this year. They pointed out that the retired teachers had not been paid pensions since May. As a result, they said they were finding it difficult to make their two ends meet. Front president NPS Kang and general secretary Vishal Sharma said the teachers were upset with the attitude of the government. They urged the government to take up the issue of the restoration of pension soon. Despite several representations, the government has failed to release the salaries, rued some teachers. Besides, the government is yet to release the hiked medical benefit to the teachers, they added. However, the department officials claim that the matter was pending with the Punjab finance minister.
|
|
Protest against Orissa violence on Sept 5
Ferozepur, September 2 The meeting was presided over by Rev Father Verges and Rev Darbara Singh. Representatives from various Christian organisations took part in the meeting. Bhatti informed that the meeting resolved to show solidarity with the community members suffering in Orissa and for the same, a peaceful protest march would be organised on September 5, which would pass through the city’s main market. The march would be addressed by various Christian leaders and priests, he said. The spokesman further said a memorandum, condemning the incidents of violence that erupted at Kandhamal and others towns in Orissa rendering thousands of innocent Christians homeless, would also be submitted to the DC. Bhatti demanded a CBI probe into the incident besides ex-gratia grant to the next of the kin of those who lost their lives in the violence. |
|
6-year-old girl dies after wall collapse
Barnala, September 2 The deceased Pooja was the daughter of a migrant labour Arjun Singh, who resides in Akalgarh Basti here. The incident occurred when a truck bearing number PB-Q 3381, coming at high speed, lost its control and hit the railway wall. The wall collapsed and Pooja who was then playing with her friends got buried under it. She received serious injuries in brain and legs and was rushed to the local civil hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. The truck driver, identified as Gurcharn Singh alias Teeto, has been arrested. The Railway police has registered a case. — OC
|
|
Barnala, September 2 District TB Officer Navjot Pal Bhullar said under the programme, the patients were provided free medicine. Besides people could get themselves examined at the district TB hospital free of cost. “The patients could get free treatment and medicines at all government hospitals.” The doctors also responded to the disease-related queries made by villagers attending the workshop. — OC
|
|
Bathinda, September 2 Des Raj Chhatriwala, general secretary of the Bathinda Western Welfare Organisation, informed that it was due the united efforts of organisation's activists that the post office had been shifted back in the area and started work from today. Residents of these areas had been moving from pillar to post to get the decision reversed. — TNS
|
||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
