Bathinda, June 29
Mild showers that lashed on Wednesday morning exposed the flaws in the drainage system of the city, touted as one of the fastest developing cities in Punjab.

Puddles of rainwater on the roadside not only exposed the poor quality of the roads, alleys and drain channels but also challenged the tall claims of the Municipal Corporation about its preparedness to tackle the problem during the rainy season.

The downpour that lasted for only some time inundated dozens of localities and the Bathinda-Goniana main road, called the artery of the city. Thanks to the faulty slope of the roads and the choked sewerage system, the rainwater remained accumulated in the city till late this evening.

It may be mentioned that the BMC had recently boasted about the introduction of multi-lakh jet-suction machines to clear all blockages in the sewer lines. However, the information collected from sources in the administration revealed that only one such machine has reached the city that too is not operational yet.

Meanwhile, the BMC authorities are waiting for their own machines, orders for which they had placed orders a firm in Faridabad. If the sources are to be relied upon, the machines the administration is claiming would be the best solution to the problem will reach the city only when the rainy season would be coming to an end.

The condition of Amrik Singh road and the localities around it was particularly found to be pathetic. The staff of the sewerage board informed that it was due to the main sewer line lying choked at Tinkoni.

Ironically, despite knowing the fault, they claimed they would not open it as the higher authorities had not issued any direction to them to set things right.

Further, it was informed that the BMC authorities also failed in achieving the target to make the drainage system run to its full capacity during the rainy season as the job of de-silting the lines, road gullies and other channels could not be completed.

On his part, BMC Commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta passed the buck to the staff of the sewerage board. He claimed that despite issuing several demi-official (DO) letters to them, they were not willing to open the blockage that had turned chronic.

"I accept that the delivery of the jet-suction machines, which was otherwise expected to be over by June 30, has been delayed. But sensing the gravity of the situation, we are now looking for other possibilities like hiring some private agency to clear the main line of the sewerage, which is lying blocked for the last few years and proving to be the main cause of the problem," Gupta added.

Irrespective of the claims, residents feel that if the administration fails to find a solution to waterlogging, it can be raised as one of the main issues by the voters of the Bathinda constituency in the assembly polls which are not far away.

Meanwhile, the temperature in Bathinda town, which hovered over 40 degree Celsius, also fell today.

The maximum temperature was recorded at 32.4 degree Celsius while the minimum temperature was recorded at 28 degree Celsius.

Mansa, June 29
Police was put on alert as the river Ghaggar, known to wreak havoc during the monsoon, rose by over 7 feet. Residents in villages located in the close vicinity of the river were alerted and senior police officials visited the Bareta area through which the river flows to take stock of the situation.

The rains today left Mansa city submerged throwing life out of gear. About 4.8 mm of rain was recorded in the town while Sardulgarh received six mm of rain.

Both the partially completed new sewerage system and the old sewerage system failed to drain water from the streets, which virtually turned into rivulets. In some pockets, the residents had to drain water from their houses by using buckets. Vehicles were stranded in submerged roads.

The town, made a district in 1992, has been devoid of basic amenities causing problems.

DC Ravinder Singh, claimed that rain water was drained out fast as compared to previous years but the ground at various points of recently laid sewerage pipes and manholes, caved in due to the rains. Motor pumps had been into pressed into service to drain out the water. The government had granted crores for laying the sewerage system but the work remains incomplete.

Meanwhile, chief agriculture officers of Bathinda, Mansa and Muktsar claimed the rain would be beneficial for both cotton and paddy crops.

Bathinda, June 29
Out of 221 unemployed teachers, including 14 girls, who were arrested from various places in Bathinda district and remanded in judicial custody yesterday, as many as 22 unemployed teachers today started an indefinite hunger strike in the Central Jail here, according to state spokesman of the Unemployed B.Ed. Adhyapak Front, Punjab, Harjeet Jeeda here this evening. Jeeda said they would continue their indefinite hunger strike till the release of all arrested unemployed teachers and acceptance of their main demand, which is scrapping of Teacher Eligibility Test (TET).

Superintendent of the Central Jail Prem Kumar Garg rejected the claim of Jeeda saying all the unemployed teachers, lodged in the jail, had taken food during the day. Besides, nothing had come to his notice, regarding the hunger strike, he added.

Bathinda SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill said that 221 unemployed teachers had been arrested by the police under Sections 107 and 151 of the Cr. P. C. and remanded in judicial custody for different number of days by the executive magistrate. He further said, however, the police let off some girls as they did not want to go jail.

It may be mentioned here that more than 250 unemployed teachers had been arrested by the police in Bathinda district yesterday when they were on their way to take part in the state- level ‘Chakka Jam (road blockade) at Bathinda in support of their demand.

Jeeda said among the 22 unemployed teachers, who today started the hunger strike, were Pavittar Singh, Navjot Singh, Basant Jeeda, Lachhman Singh, Manjit Sharma, Inderjit Singh, Satnam Singh, Balwant Singh and Gagandeep Singh. He also said that four girls in the jail were also facing health problems. Of them one, Monica, had been shifted to the emergency ward of the local Civil Hospital this evening, he added.

However, an emergency medical officer (EMO) on duty said Monica had been suffering from anxiety, otherwise, she was fine.

He also said at a meeting of the leaders of unemployed teachers' unions here today, it was decided to hold a ‘Chakka jam’ on July 2 in Bathinda to compel the government to release the jailed teachers and accept their demand. He said besides the unemployed teachers, their parents and members of other organisations would also take part in the agitation programme. 

Mansa, June 29
The jail, which is being constructed near this town, is likely to start functioning by August 15 this year. While disclosing this, Anil Kaushik, DGP, Prisons, Punjab, said the jail was one of the four constructed by the state government to tackle the problem of overcrowding in the existing jails of Punjab.

He said while the Mansa Jail was likely to be inaugurated by the middle of August, the other two jails at Kapurthala and Faridkot were expected to start functioning even before that.

The Punjab Police Housing Corporation, which was constructing the local jail, was expected to hand it over to the State Jail Department by the end of July 2011. He said the local jail would be the first in the state where double-storeyed barracks had been constructed for the inmates.

Information gathered by the TNS revealed that the local jail, which would be equipped with all the modern facilities, was being constructed over a piece of land measuring 21 acres at a cost of Rs 11 crores.

The jail, having a capacity to accommodate 432 convicts and undertrials, would cater to the needs of Mansa, Barnala and Sangrur districts.

At present, convicts and under- trials of Mansa district, were lodged in the Bathinda Central Jail.

The jail had been provided with all the facilities required for providing better healthcare to the inmates and for protection of their human rights. A sewage treatment plant and a water treatment plant had also been set up on the jail premises. The houses of jail officials and warders had also been constructed on the premises. Special rooms had been those, who would come to meet their kin in the jail.

After all the four new jails are functional, the capacity to accommodate the inmates in all the jails of Punjab would go up to 19500 against the existing capacity of 12000. Presently, the state jails had been accommodating about 18000 inmates daily. 

Barnala, June 29
The Barnala police have launched a drive against drug addiction to curb the growing menace that has affected the youth throughout the state. As part of the drive, the Barnala police organised a play against drugs 'Koi Deo Jawab' to celebrate the International Anti-Drug Day at Green Palace here last night.

Speaking on the occasion, Gurpreet Singh Toor, SSP Barnala, said drug addiction is a very serious issue and everyone should join hands and collectively launch a campaign throughout the district with the help social organisations against the menace.

The SSP informed that the Barnala police have launched a strong campaign against drugs from this month wherein plays would be staged in the rural and urban areas to caution people about its ill effects.

Earlier, a team from the Kala Kriti Manch, Patiala performed a play ‘Koi Deo Jawab’ authored and directed by Parminderpal Kaur highlighting the problem.

Lakhpat Rai, noted social worker of the area, inaugurated the play.

Bathinda, June 29
In protest against the registration of a case under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the IPC against a teacher, Kamal Kaur, in the ANM Training School at the Civil Hospital, Bathinda, hundreds of persons, belonging to various organisations, today gathered in the premises of the Civil Hospital and took out a march to the Mini-secretariat.

The case was registered against Kamal Kaur on the statement of the brother of Malka Rani, a student in the ANM training school, who allegedly committed suicide in her hostel room on June 4.

The march was taken out under the banner of an action committee, formed for getting the case cancelled. The protesters raised slogans demanding cancellation of the case registered against Kamal Kaur and and end to the raids on her house by the police to arrest her. A delegation of the protesters also submitted a memorandum, demanding cancellation of the case, to the Bathinda SSP to forward it to the Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab. In the memorandum, they alleged that before registering a case against Kamal Kaur, the police had not conducted any investigation. After reaching the Mini-secretariat, the protesters observed one-minute silence to pray for peace to the departed soul and held a dharna for hours.

Addressing the dharna, the leaders said Kamal Kaur was not responsible in any way for the suicide, allegedly committed by Malka Rani in her hostel room. Among those who addressed the dharna included the convener of the action committee Pushap Lata, state president of the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union Zora Singh Nasrali, district president of the BKU (Ugrahan) Shingara Singh Mann, Attarjit Singh, Ravinder Goyal (Pharmacist) , Jagjit Singh Lehra Mohabbat, Veer Pal Kaur (Student of ANM school), Jagmail Singh, Balwant Makhu and N.K. Jeet.

Fazilka, June 29
The commission agents and farmers have demanded the Central Government that for smooth sale and to accelerate the pace of cultivation of 1121 basmati variety of paddy, it should declare the minimum support price (MSP) in the coming days.

Arhtiya Association president Daya Krishan Sachdeva has also sent a memorandum to the Prime Minister and Chief Minister of Punjab in favour of their demand. The payment of crores of rupees to commission agents of the local grain market has been lying pending with the exporters for the last two years.

The commission agents and farmers are at the ‘mercy’ of private traders in the absence of any government policy as they have to sell the paddy to them only. At present, their principal amount of sold paddy is at stake. As per the information, the payment of more than Rs 50 crores is yet to be received by the Fazilka-based arhtiyas from the exporters. As a result, the economy of this border town, which is based on agriculture is adversely affected.

“The cash crop of 1121 variety of basmati has virtually turned into a credit crop,” maintained the Commission agents. “We demand declaration of MSP to Rs. 3000 per quintal before the coming season of paddy in September as there is fluctuation in the prices of the paddy in the market due to private purchase only during the last couple of years,” said Pritam Singh of village Pharmawali and Kundan Singh of village Dholla Bhaini.

As per official sources, during the previous season of 2010, the prices of the paddy ranges from 1900 to 2400 per quintal and in the peak season during year 2009 the paddy was sold from Rs 2000 to 3000 per quintal. Hence, to mitigate the fluctuation and for prompt and assured payment to the commission agents and the farmers, the government should come out with MSP declaring policy, the farmers added.

Makhu (Ferozepur), June 29
The CM Parkash Singh Badal today alleged that instead of giving more autonomy to states for making a true federal structure in India, the Congress-led UPA Government had been encroaching upon the autonomy, which the states had already been enjoying.

Badal, who was here to for Sangat Darshan functions, said the situation had reached a point where the foodgrain producing states including Punjab, were not being allowed to make a policy for setting up silos and other godowns for storing the foodgrains by the Centre even when foodgrain stocks were rotting in the absence of proper storage facilities.

“Though I have met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other Central Minister for allowing the Punjab Government to create its own storage facilities, these meetings failed to bring any relief to the state,” Badal said.

Abohar, June 29
The structure of zones for electing the new Board of Directors for the Fazilka Central Cooperative Bank has been amended in compliance with the outcome of the writ petition filed in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana by a former chairman, Rajinder Singh Brar.

About 150 cooperative societies have been divided into seven zones. Applications for preparing the electoral roll have been invited till July 9 but the societies will have right to exercise franchise only if they achieve 100 per cent target in recovering the debts from their members.

The bank has its headquarters here and covers Fazilka and Jalalabad sub-divisions as well. Nominations for the elections are to be filed by July 12 while votes would be polled on July 17, if needed

Moga, June 29
A section of the rice millers are at loggerheads with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) following a dispute over quality of rice. They staged a protest against the local authorities of the Central Food Procurement Agency at Dharamkot in Moga on Tuesday night.

The FCI authorities rejected some consignments of rice milled in the local mills due to poor quality, which had triggered the protest. The FCI authorities had also refused to accept these consignments in the central pool.

The millers alleged that the consignments of rice rejected by the quality control wing of the FCI were of good quality while the FCI authorities maintained that the rice in these consignments was not of good quality as per the specifications laid down by the central food procurement agency.

The Deputy General Manager (quality control) of the Punjab Circle of the FCI AS Arunachalam, while talking to The Tribune on phone, confirmed that the FCI had rejected some consignments after the samples of rice tested from these consignments failed to pass as per the specifications.

Though he did not comment on the protest but asserted that the rejected consignments would not be accepted by the agency until the rice millers fulfill the conditions of quality control laid by the agency.

“I have instructed the area manager of Moga not to accept the poor quality of rice at any cost and ask the millers of the district to maintain quality. Otherwise, action would be taken against them as per the rules,” he said.

The Tribune tried to contact the area manager KD Jain but he did not pick up his mobile and when tried again after some time, he switched off his phone. It was learnt that he was under pressure from a powerful lobby of millers to accept the rejected consignments of rice. It may be mentioned that about 45 per cent of the paddy from the last year's procurement was still lying in the mills yet to be milled by the millers in the Moga district. 

Abohar, June 29
Recovery of 500 gram of smack from two youth by the city police indicate that the state government seed farm colony continues to be the hub of drug trafficking.

DSP Harinder Singh confirmed that the city police SHO Amarveer Singh had nabbed Lakhwinder Singh and Paramjit Singh of seed farm area at a special naka near Bahawalbasi village.

Preliminary interrogation revealed that they were held for the same offence earlier but had resumed activities after being released on bail. They have now been booked under various sections of the NDPS Act. DSP Harinder Singh said such activities would be strictly checked. — OC