Amritsar, February 24
Politics and irony go together. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, who had launched the “nanhi chhan” campaign to spread awareness regarding female foeticide and promoting plantation and increase green cover fast depleting in the state, has set the stage for actions inherently opposed to the ideas he and his wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal were so busy propagating.

As many as 452 trees are ready to be axed to pave the way for the ambitious project of setting up a five-star hotel and IT hub, the foundation stone of which was recently laid by the Deputy CM amid much fanfare.

Leading NGOs of the holy city, Mission Aagaaz, Amritsar Vikas Manch, Pollution Control Committee, SAATHI, Taraksheel Society, Baba Bagga Singh Charitable Mission, Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti and the teachers and students of Police DAV Public School have been opposing this project.

Leaders of the NGOs pointed out that though the Punjab government claims to be environment friendly, its actions refute all such claims.

Rejecting the proposal of local MP Navjot Singh Sidhu who claimed that 10,000 saplings would be planted in lieu of these trees, they said even one lakh saplings would not equal the good done by 150-year-old full-grown huge “bohar” and peepal trees to the environment.

Apart from “bohar” and peepal there are numerous varieties of rare plants which are required to be conserved. They said the state government failed to respond to the letters written time and again requesting them to convert this land into a botanical garden.

Now the government eyes this only green cover for superficial gains.

They appealed to the public of the holy city to join their hands to save the green cover. 

Nawanshahr, February 24
Ever since the Machhiwara bridge across the Sutlej, 10 km from Rahon, got opened here last year, the volume of traffic across the main bazaar in the town has increased manifold.

Since this route makes journey to Ambala and Delhi shorter by 40 km from Hoshiarpur, Jammu, Pathankot and neighbouring areas, most transporters prefer to follow Nawahshahr-Rahon-Machhiwara-Samrala-Khanna route than the other passage via Chandigarh or Jalandhar. The route clearly saves time and money of those commuting across to Delhi side.

But as a fallout of the same, the number of heavily loaded trucks, fuel bullets, taxis and other tourist vehicles zipping past the tight Chandigarh tri-junction and main bazaar of the town day and night have increased manifold. The bumper-to-bumper traffic has led to a spurt in the number of accidents.

The local population and the shop owners in the area seem to be rather disturbed and are pressing the administration for working out a quick solution to the problem. The residents complain that the plan to construct a bypass is being put off time and again.

“A foundation stone for the construction of a bypass was laid on Rahon Road in 2006. Decades back, a foundation stone for the same purpose was also erected on Chandigarh Road. We have made a representation in this regard to the DCs from time to time. Recently, a committee had also been formed to look into the problems but no possible solution seems to be in sight as of now,” rued Surinder Arora, general secretary of the District Congress Committee.

Traffic in charge sub-inspector Surjit Singh agrees that the traffic across Chandigarh Chowk has increased in the last few months. He said the route clearly was a preference to take a shorter way but many had also started following it to avoid the toll plaza on the Sutlej near Ludhiana. He added that a proposal to construct a ring road on the outer side for the heavy vehicles was also being discussed as the possible solution.

SSP Rakesh Aggarwal said he was holding discussions on the matter. “Some solution will be arrived at soon. I need some more time to reply on that,” he said. 

Hoshiarpur, February 24
Former minister of state for sainik welfare Naresh Thakur today expressed anxiety over the recent return of their gallantry awards by ex-servicemen to the government of India in protest against the non-acceptance of their long-outstanding demand of .

Supporting the demand of ex-servicemen, Thakur said non-acceptance of the demand would demoralise the armed forces and none of the army man would show courage to risk his life for the country.

It would adversely effect the recruitment in the armed forces which was already declining day by day. As a result, many of the posts of army officers’ had been lying vacant since long.

When all the bureaucrats and politicians were getting one rank, one pension, why not the retired personnel from the armed forces could get the same, questioned Thakur.

During the late Beant Singh’s regime, the Punjab government had recommended the case of one rank, one pension to the then Union government, but it was not accepted.

There were more than 50,000 ex-servicemen only in this district, of which 350 decorated soldiers with various medals.

He warned the UPA government to accept the long-pending demand of ex-servicemen before the announcement of the general election, otherwise families of ex-servicemen would oppose the candidates of the UPA constituents. 

Hoshiarpur, February 24
The only dialysis machine in the local civil hospital going out of order has left patients a harried lot.

The machine has been non-functional for the past one month and the hospital authorities, it seems,  have done little to solve the problem.

The civil hospital is the only institute in the district where this facility is available. Now, the patients had to go to Jalandhar or other cities for dialysis, leaving a big hole in their pockets.

According to Prem Pal Sharma, president of the Punjab PWD Worker’s Union, the hospital charges Rs 750 for dialysis for one time, whereas the same costs Rs 2,000 in the private hospitals.

When contacted, civil surgeon Dr S.K. Gupta said the machines had developed some major snag. The company, which has roped in for repair, had sent the estimate. The said estimate had been sent to the managing director of Punjab Health System Corporation for providing requisite funds, he said. As  soon as the funds were received, it would be got repaired, he added.

Meanwhile, Prem Pal Sharma has also written to health minister Luxmi Kanta Chawla in this regard. 

Nawanshahr, February 24
Though the Congress is yet to announce its candidates for the ensuing Lok Sabha poll, the SAD-BJP nominee from Anandpur Sahib parliamentary constituency, Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, has started targeting union tourism minister Ambika Soni on the issue of “Ram Setu” in his election rallies here.

Ambika Soni is expected to be fielded by the Congress from the Anandpur Sahib constituency.

By grilling the union tourism minister, Ambika Soni, his probable rival during the coming parliamentary poll, Dr Cheema has virtually been trying to kill two birds with one stone. Dr Cheema, while raising the issue of filing an affidavit in the apex court denying the existence of Lord Rama and the epic Ramayana, is dexterously trying to woo the alliance partner BJP to actively work for ensuring the victory of the SAD-BJP in ensuing Lok Sabha poll.

It is pertinent to mention here that Dr Cheema after holding a meeting with the SAD-BJP leaders and workers here at Baradari Garden last month, has frequently been visiting the town.

On Monday evening, SAD leader and vice-president of the local municipal council Jinderjit Kaur, councillor Param Singh Khalsa and SGPC member Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa organised a meeting at Arya Samaj Road here to give a fillip to the poll campaign of the SAD-BJP nominee.

Addressing the well-attended poll rally, Dr Cheema raised the issue of “Ram Setu” to woo BJP activists and the urban Hindu voters.

Besides, the SAD-BJP nominee, while enumerating the various achievements of the Badal government during the past two years, said the development would be the major poll plank. Dr Cheema also addressed the gathering of small industrialists at the local Industrial Focal Point here. He heard their problems and assured that the industry would be ensured uninterrupted power supply soon. 

Nawanshahr, February 24
“The prophecy made by Comrade Bujha Singh with regard to the disintegration of USSR during the meeting of the Communist Party of Britain, proved quite true,” this was stated by Gandharva Sain, a veteran freedom fighter and former general secretary of the Desh Bhagat Yadhgar Committee, Jalandhar, while addressing a seminar on the Punjabi book “Baba Bujha Singh” authored by Ajmer Sidhu, here at the Punjab Mata Vidhyawati Bhawan, on Sunday. The seminar was jointly organised by literary organisations -‘Lok Kavi Sant Ram Udasi Yadgari Trust’ and Doaba Sahitaya Sabha.

“Comrade Bujha Singh had termed the line of action adopted during the 20th congress of the Communist International held in 1956, as ‘anti communist’ and ‘anti labour class’, said Gandharv Sain adding that Bujha had regretfully predicted that the USSR, which had been known as a model of communism in the world would perish due to the wrong line of action adopted by the Communist International.

Prof. Jagmohan Singh, nephew of Shaheed Bhagat Singh lauded the effort of Ajmer Sidhu. Comrade SS Azad, Ajit Singh Rahi (Australia), Sukhwinder Singh Kandola, Surinder Kumari, Kulwinder Singh Warraich, Paramjit Dehal, among others, also spoke on the occasion. — OC

Pathankot, February 24
Amita Salaria, a young girl from the remote area of Chhotta Bianpur village in Dinanagar block, has all the high dreams to touch the sky of the glamour world.

MA political science (part-I) student of Shanti Devi Arya Mahila College, Dinanagar, Amita, said she wanted to act in Punjabi movies for promoting her mother tongue, Punjabi.

She has won the “Punjabi Mutiar” award at the Dr Sadhu Singh Hamdard folk arts festival recently held at Kapurthala in which she won the gold among the 41 contestants.

Eldest among the three children in the family of Prem Singh Salaria, she has remained the brilliant girl and had been actively participating in the cultural programmes since her childhood, while she was studying in the primary school of the village.

Principal Nirmal Pandhi and youth coordinator Dr Kulwinder Kaur Chhina of Shanti Devi Arya Mahila College said she had remained the best student in the college and her outstanding performance and achievements in the cultural field would surely pave a way for her entry into the glamour world.

Amita has received many awards for her contribution in promoting the Punjabi language by participating in the cultural programmes at the college, inter-college and university levels. The best camper award was given to her before she was declared “Punjabi Mutiar”. She was also adjudged the best camper at the national camp held at Kerala last year.