Bathinda, September 27
Think about Navratri, Diwali or any other festival! Now, imagine the dishes associated with these celebration times!

What comes first to your mind...sweets!

Yeah! Sweets are still reigning over taste buds and have successfully managed to retain the status of ‘first choice of all’ during the festival times, particularity in the backdrop of emergence of attractive and tasty chocolates, gift hampers and packaged dry fruits.

The battle for supremacy over taste buds in the era of high-pitched globalised fight for control over food market, however, had not been a cakewalk for these lip-smacking small pieces.

Sweets emerged winners after undergoing several experiments to get a facelift to hold its status of ‘all-time favourites’. Sweets suffered jolts over the years in the fight for its share in food-market.

“Today, sweets are inarguably number one among dishes in festive times,” claimed residents, devotees and sweets shop owners. Chocolates and other food items had, in fact, not supplanted sweets, it actually supplementing the food habit, they added.

Manoj Kumar Goyal of a prominent sweets shop in Bathinda said the place of sweets was intact. Chocolates and other items had been added on the plate.

Manoj said he had been dealing with sweets for several years and also selling chocolates and packaged dry fruits.

“But I have never witnessed drop in sale of sweets, particularly due to chocolates and other items.”

He said that over the years, sweets had also got transformation.

“In the past, there were only rasogulla, gulabjamun and jalebi, now there are varieties to choose from,” he said, adding that sweets had shed its tag of being detrimental to health, as sugar-free and low-calories sweets had come to fulfil the requirements of diabetics and health-conscious people.

Rajan Goyal of another prominent sweet shop said, “With the emergence of gift culture, sweets sellers also gave attention to packaging to create attractiveness like other food products and also to prolong shelf life of sweets.”

“There is no substitute to genuine and good quality sweets,” he said, and asked, “Given the choice, what would you pick ‘sudh ghee ki mithai, asli khoya aur paneer ki mithai’ or any thing else?”

When asked, many departmental store owners, although, claimed that people now go more for chocolates and packaged dry fruits during festival times, their voice lacked the “confidence” which the sweets sellers exuded.

They claimed that because of having a long shelf life, attractiveness and easy-to-carry features, these items were going off the shelf with no time.

Bathinda, September 27
Be it any festival or occasion, the Army celebrates it as people of all castes and religions form one big Army family. This was demonstrated yet again as the Bathinda Military Station geared up for a grand Durga puja.

Brigadier Ashish Ranjan Prasad had propagated the idea of organizing a large-scale Durga puja to make people from Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand feel at home. A pandal with massive Durga idols has been arranged at the station.

Brigadier Prasad stated that the celebrations in which thousands are taking part is led by Maj Gen AK Gujral. The celebrations began on September 25 with a programme called ‘Amateur Andaz’, a show by the Air Force orchestra from Bhisiana. An orchestra from the military station went to the Air Force station, Bhisiana, as part of a cultural exchange programme.

It was then the turn of Nishi Prasad to find out the local talent at the military station. She said that scores of people took part in the talent hunt and gave performances showcasing the heritage of the country. There were classical dances from various states, songs in various languages etc. Children and adults together put up a grand show.

A khatak troupe arrived at the military station today from Lucknow to give a glimpse of the original dance form. The troupe mesmerized the audience with their ‘thaaps’ and ‘taals’.

The visarjan and vijay-milan would be held tomorrow. “Our effort is to get various cultures closer by organizing this programme. The response we have got by now has been immense and the credit goes to all those men who have been behind putting up this show,” Brigadier Prasad added.

Tallewal (Barnala), September 27
Though a former Sarpanch of Tallewal village, Nachhattar Singh Dhaliwal is satisfied with the decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, with regard to acquitting him and four others recently in a fabricated murder case and awarding a compensation of Rs 20 lakh each to them.

But he still wants that the High Court should order a CBI inquiry to bring the truth on record that whose body had been cremated by the family of Jagsir Singh of their village as Jagsir's body in 1996 because Jagsir is still alive while they had spent five years in the jail from 1996 to 2001 (till their bail) on the charge of murdering Jagsir.

Talking to The Tribune at his residence here on Sunday, Nachhattar Singh also urged the High Court to order the erring police officials, family members of Jagsir and others too to pay compensation of Rs one crore to the five persons (family of his deceased son Seera, Surjit Singh, Amarjit Singh, Nikka Singh and himself) in order to teach them a lesson for fabricating a false evidence to prove that Jagsir had been murdered though he is still alive and falsely implicating five innocent persons in a murder case that never took place.

Nachhattar also demanded immediate arrest of all the erring police officials, Jagsir and his family members, and other witnesses in the case. He also demanded that at least five years' imprisonment for all guilty persons, equal to their imprisonment period in the jail.

Kuljinder Kaur (32), widow of Seera, and daughter-in-law of ex-Sarpanch Nachhattar Singh, also sought exemplary punishment for all the erring police officials and witnesses, who had ruined the families of five persons, so that no one could dare to do so in future.

Members of Jagsir's family had got an FIR registered with the Bhadaur police station on June 11, 1996 against Nachhattar Singh, his son Seera, Nikka Singh, Surjit Singh and Amarjit Singh, regarding murder of Jagsir.

After four-five days, a body had been found to the police from Gharreli village (Bathinda) that had been then identified as the body of Jagsir by his family members.

In July 1998, all five persons were sentenced to life imprisonment, but they came out of the jail on bail in 2001 after spending more than five years there.

On Diwali in 2003 Seera committed suicide. However, Jagsir, who had been proved as dead, surfaced in December 2008.

Nachhattar Singh has now three members in his family, his wife Gian Kaur (member Panchayat), his deceased son Seera's widow Kuljinder Kaur and grandson Sukhjit Singh, who has been studying in Class IX nowadays.

During the case and jail period, Nachhattar's family had lost two acres, a flourmill, 15 tolas of gold, a house and some buffaloes.

Surjit Singh and Amarjit Singh have been earning their livelihood nowadays by working as daily wage workers.

Nikka Singh's financial condition is also very week. When Nikka was in jail, his wife left his house, leaving behind a daughter, who had been brought up by her grandmother. Nikka's 14-year-old daughter has been studying in class VIII now. Thus all these three persons are living a miserable life these days. 

A family that dared to challenge the groups of terrorists in the militancy affected village Khubban of Abohar sub-division in 1990 is still waiting for the bravery medal that the district administration had reportedly promised during the public meetings.

Rishipal (55) stays with his joint family in a small farmhouse located on the outskirts of village Khubban. He recalls that the terrorists had attacked his house on April 28, 1990 at 9.30 pm as he happened to be the only vocal communist leader to speak against the militancy.

He along with his brother Ghanshyam Dass exchanged fire using licensed weapons with the terrorists while another brother Jagdish Chander and son Jai Parkash (13) succeeded in running away to inform the CRPF post that had been especially stationed in the militancy affected area.

Meanwhile, his wife Sarbati Devi and Ghanshyam's wife Nirmala Devi ensured supply of cartridges for hour-long encounter. Their strong resistance forced the terrorists to run back before the arrival of the CRPF contingent. A case was registered at the Sadar police station in Abohar.

Feeling humiliated, the terrorists repeated attacks on September 24, November 9 and finally on June 20, 1991 but tasted the same resistance and humiliation. Such incidents resulted in awakening among the people of surrounding villages where the terrorists had earlier been taking a shelter.

The Deputy Commissioner visited village Khubban to honour Rishipal with a certificate of appreciation, cash prize worth Rs 2,500 and assured that his name will be recommended to the Central government for bravery medal.

He was also equipped with sophisticated weapons, vehicle and gunmen. The former chief minister Beant Singh later honoured Rishipal during the state-level function at Amritsar on March 2, 1994 by offering Rs 501 and shawl. Again on February 2, 2000, the Ferozepur SSP awarded appreciation certificate.

“I am one of the few in the sub-division, who had the courage to challenge the terrorists openly during the difficult times, award won't matter much since we had put our lives at stake to save the nation. However, my concern is over the false promises that the officers and leaders keep making,” rues Rishipal.

Bathinda, September 27
On the one hand, the fresh minimum support price (MSP) for cotton is yet be notified, and on the other, acting as a dampener for the state cotton growers, CCI officials today announced that the final date for procuring cotton by it is not yet certain as it depends on the content of moisture in the crop.

It may be mentioned that farmers were eagerly waiting for selling their crop to the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), assuming its entry in all 25 markets of the state on October 1.Confirming the development, RC Sarkar, state manager of the CCI, Punjab said, “We have been regularly conducting surveys and the moisture level is being recorded as very high in the crop that has arrived. At present, the moisture is somewhere in between 12-20 per cent, which is beyond our parameters for procurement. We will enter the market only when the moisture will come within the prescribed limits of fair average quality (FAQ), which remains between 8-12 per cent.”

“Once we enter the market, it is for sure that the quantum of cotton arrival will jump but due to existing level of moisture, we will not be allowed to purchase the crop. And if we do not buy the crop, it may create uneasiness among the farmers,” Sarkar added.

Speaking further, he said, “Sensing the seriousness of the situation, we have informed about our views to all district magistrates concerned and district mandi officers (DMO), in writing.”

About the announcement of cotton MSP, Sarkar said, “Till date, we did not receive any fresh notification about the MSP, so presuming that the previous MSP (Rs 2800 per quintal) still stands, we will enter the market, whenever it be.”

This development has come us a jolt for the farmers who have been selling their crop over the past fortnight to private buyers.

Terming the development as ‘mischievous’on the part of the government and the CCI, Bharti Kisan Union (BKU) Ekta today called all their activists on October 1 to attend a meeting for chalking out a strategy for launching a stir against the government and the CCI.

Talking over phone, Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan, general secretary of the BKU (Ekta) said, “It is all vote bank politics due to which the state government is passing on the buck to the union. In fact, all political leaders are well versed in cashing on the situation in term votes. But we too have understood their techniques and will not let them succeed in their plans.”

Muktsar, September 27
The Punjab Rice Millers Association has claimed that due to the 'indifferent attitude' of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), nearly seven lakh tonnes of paddy was lying undelivered in the state. Speaking on behalf of nearly 4,200 rice millers, the president of the Association, Tarsem Saini, claimed that milling last year started as late as December due to the fact that the Union Food Ministry granted a relaxation in specification of paddy at a belated stage.

He claimed that normally milling commences in late October or early November. Moreover, he added, the extension in milling operations beyond March this year too was granted at a late stage by the ministry due to which paddy was still lying undelivered and no government procurement agency wished to pick it up. Bharat Bhushan Binta, vice-president of the Association, said the FCI was playing a negative role as it was not prepared to pick up massive stocks of paddy lying with the rice millers. He said under the grab of being a nodal agency, the FCIcontinued to harass the rice millers for the malpractices committed by its own officials.

He said the responsibility of the rice millers ended once their stocks are accepted by the FCI in their storagecomplexes and acceptance notes are issued to them. He said once this had been done, the rice millers cannot be asked to replace paddy stocks. "However, the FCI still insists that we replace stocks and due to this nearly 270 rice millers had been black listed." A meeting of the Association has been convened on September 29 at Ludhiana to chalk out the further action. — OC

Abohar, September 27
Many schools in Abohar and neighboring areas of Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh, celebrated Vijay Dashmi (Dussehra) on Saturday before observing a holiday for the next two days.

This is a good sign as most of the people have been expressing concern over decline in moral values, feel academicians.

"Celebrating festivals is the best way to impart good moral and culture in the minds of young ones as every festival has a message in it," said Jijoe Augustian, principal of the Abohar based St. Alphonsa Convent School. He emphasised the importance of Dussehra as it marks of the victory of good over evil. He explained the meaning of burning the effigy of Ravana during the festival.

The tiny-tots performed group and solo dance. A prayer competition was also conducted in connection with the celebration.

In the LRS DAV Senior Secondary School, the students of the primary section organised Ramlila. Malika Sharma was the chief guest.

In Padampur, the students posing as major ideals of Shri Ramcharit Manas targeted the effigy of Ravana also while performing Ramlila.

In most of the towns in the region these days there had been healthy competition among the Ramnatak Clubs/societies in making Ramlila more attractive by using modern scientific techniques.

In Suratgarh, Hanuman was shown flying in the sky while bringing Sanjeevani herb for the ailing Lakshman. The well publicised episode attracted the largest ever number of viewers in the sub-divisional town.

A social activist Manoj Swami said Navratras and Ramlilas had given a severe blow to the cinema houses that had been vying to maintain even 50 per cent occupancy. 

Bathinda, September 27
Strict action along with suspension has been recommended against the Nehianwala High School’s teacher who in the presence of school staff and students manhandled the woman principal of the school on Saturday.

The district education officer (DEO) Surinder Kaur Sidhu has ordered transfer of the accused, Nand Lal, to the Government School, Natheha. She has also recommended the DPI (schools) to suspend the teacher along with demanding strict action against him.

However, the accused teacher is still at large despite the police claimed of conducting several raids to nab the accused.

Speaking over phone, Sidhu said, “Some representatives of headmasters’ union approached me and I assured them for all the possible action. Moreover, I have also said that if the principal wishes to get transferred to any other school, I will recommend her case.”

When contacted, Ranjeet Kaur Bhatti, member, Punjab State Women Commission, said, “It was a shameful incident. We are waiting the principal to approach the commission so that the issue could be taken up at higher level.”

On Saturday, the Nand Lal of Awa Basti Bathinda getting irritated over a minor issue hurled abuses to the principal Bhupinder Kaur, sources said and added that accused also manhandled her. He also attempted to assault her with a sharp edged shovel.

Nehianwala police had lodged a case under sections 353, 186, 506 and 354 of the IPC against Nand Lal.

During the police investigation, villagers and school staff charged Nand Lal with often clicking of their photographs in mobile phone. It had come to police record that the accused was having some objectionable video clipping in his mobile phone. Further people accused him for his misbehaviour.

Fazilka, September 27
The city police have booked five persons for allegedly beating a person to death over a petty issue on Sunday.

According to Malkiat Singh, he and his father Hansa Singh (42) were working in their fields on Saturday evening in the border village Mauzam.

At the same time, some sheep entered their fields and starting damaging the standing paddy crops. Malkiat Singh has stated that his father Hansa Singh asked the shepherds to stop the sheep from damaging the crops and drove them out.

Enraged over the objection, the shephered identified as Surinder Singh, Baghicha Singh, Satnam Singh, Rehsam Singh and Hansa Singh allegedly started beating up Hansa Singh.

Due to the severe thrashing, the victim Hansa Singh died on spot.

A panel of Dr NK Sethi and Dr Hans Raj conducted the post-mortem of Hans Singh.

Fazilka MLA Surjit Kumar Jyani visited the civil hospital to console the family of the deceased Hansa Singh and assured them of necessary aid. Police have registered a case under section 302,323 and 140 of IPC.

Bathinda, September 27
The All India Mahatma Hansraj sports festival concluded on a vibrant note at the RB DAV Senior Secondary Public School here today with DAV Public School, Jalandhar, picking up the top honours.

The local RB DAV school was placed second in the race for the overall championships as the curtain came down on the sporting extravaganza amid a colourful closing ceremony that was marked with traditional Punjabi dances like gidha and bhangra.

Results: Cricket (boys): DAV public school, Patiala-1, SVJ DAV school, Dasuya-2.

Badminton (boys): DAV public school, Malerkotla-1, Dayanand Model school, Jalandhar-2.

Badminton (girls): Hindi Putri Pathshalla, Khanna-1, LID DAV Public School, Jalalabad-2.

Basketball (boys): Police DAV public school, Amritsar-1, Police DAV school, Jalandhar-2.

Basketball (girls): DAV public school, Kurali-1, DAV public school, Kotkapura-2.

Handball (boys): Police DAV public school, Jalandhar-1, DAV public school, Ludhiana-2.

Handball (girls): DAV public school, Ludhiana-1, DAV public school, Lawrence road, Amritsar-2.

Volleyball (girls): DAV International public school, Amritsar-1, DAV public school, Lawrence road, Amritsar-2.

Volleyball (boys): DAV public school, Ludhiana-1, DAV public school, Attari-2. Hockey: Police DAV senior secondary school, Bathinda-1, DAV Edwardganj public school, Malout-2.

Archery: DAV public school, Jalandhar-1, DAV public school, Phillaur-2.