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DC stops registration of unauthorised colonies
‘PSPCL should have got the Gidderbaha project’
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Parking blues at Bathinda railway station
4-yr-old girl crushed to death, truck driver nabbed
Jassi meets affected families, assures help
Devoid of basic amenities, marriage proposals a tall order for border area residents
CEC seeks explanation from Punjab chief secy, govt
Cattle insurance catching up fast among farmers in Moga dist
Local unit of ABSP inaugurated at Abohar
Unplanned construction leaves princely town without gardens
Bishnois upset over defacing of statue
Changing lives of juvenile home inmates through yoga, music
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DC stops registration of unauthorised colonies
Barnala, August 21 The stoppage of registration of land in the authorised colonies is being considered as a welcome step by the authorised colonisers in the district. On the other hand, it has reportedly hit the illegal
colonisers. Confirming the order about the stopping of registration in illegal colonies, Deputy Commissioner, Paramjeet Singh said he issued the order after representation from people, who complained against illegal colonies in
Barnala. He added that the order issued by him in the third week of July would remain enforced till further
orders. Authorities of the Municipal Council, Barnala, who had reportedly submitted a list of illegal colonies to the DC, identified the illegal colonies in Barnala and on its outskirts including the colony along Sanghera road, colony near Noor Hospital along Thikriwaala road, colony near Radha Rani colony along Sanghera bypass, Garcha road, colony near Handyaya Chowk, colony near Inderlok colony, colony near a pulley near a hospital along Dhanaula road, colony near the under-construction overbridge, colony near a poultry farm along Raikot road, colony near a Trident factory and colony near Jullar
Kutiya. An approved coloniser, pleading anonymity, said, “The DC has taken a good step to check the mushrooming of illegal colonies. However, he should not succumb to the pressure which would be exerted by the illegal colonisers mafia, who has good political support.”
“Even in Sangrur, the DC there had issued such order but probably due to political pressure by the illegal coloniser mafia, he revoked the order,” he added.
He further said illegal colonies, which are mostly carved out of the agricultural land, hit the planned development of the town and also the illegal colonisers dupe the government of development funds, which is to be paid to the MC for developmental activities in an approved colony. |
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Noted dramatist to pen a play on farmers’ woes
Bathinda, August
21 “It is an elaborate play of two hours duration and has around 10 to 12 scenes. During my interaction with the villagers, I came across touching stories of the villagers. I met a widow who lives with her three daughters and is now homeless. She cannot trust living in a new locality with her grown-up daughters. Then there was an elderly, for whom his land is like his child and now he is left without that child,” said Aulakh, the recipient of the Sahitya Akademi
Award. Aulakh gives title to his plays only after they are completely drafted. His yet to be christened play has been named ‘Pagri Sambhal Jatta’ for the time
being. Concerned over the growing incidents of unrest in the farming community during land acquisition, Aulakh said the government considers this exercise just a number game, whereas it is actually a trauma for the people whose precious land is taken
away. “A farmer knows nothing but farming. He cannot run a business out of the money received as compensation or let his money lie idle in the banks. Has the government ever thought of his rehabilitation? Our governments are immune to tears, to the cultural repercussions of selling the land and to the social fabric that gets tattered,” he
added. Aulakh wishes to stage his play at various places through his theatre group Lok Kala Manch, which stages plays in the rural pockets, awakening people about their
rights. Having battled cancer himself, Aulakh is also sensitive towards the environmental disasters that the government’s mega thermal power generation projects can
unleash. “Malwa is a cancer- prone area. But the state government never bats an eyelid before ‘gifting’ it for thermal plants. People rue, sulk. But no one is listening. This is where I want to chip in and lend voice to the masses with literature,” he said. |
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‘PSPCL should have got the Gidderbaha project’
Bathinda, August
21 The PSEB Engineers Association stated this in a press statement issued here today in reaction to the reports of the Punjab Government’s decision to review or cancel the
project. President HS Bedi said at the time of signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the NTPC in October 2010, the association had cautioned the PSPCL management and the Punjab Government against the hollow promises of the the NTPC to commission the first unit by
2015. “We had suggested that the Gidderbaha plant be entrusted to the PSPCL instead of the NTPC. We even gave written communiqués to the policy makers that the NTPC is on MoU signing spree in the country only to grab as much business as it can before competitive bidding becomes mandatory for it starting from January 2, 2011," he
said. General secretary Bhupinder Singh added that the NTPC achieved an installed capacity of 34,854 MW during its 36 years of existence. It signed MOUs of more than 47,000 MW before the cut off date, which was beyond its capacity. “From October 2010 to December 2010 alone (three months), the NTPC signed MOUs of over 37,000 MW,” he
said. Bedi added that in the past too, the NTPC had backtracked from its commitments made with the PSEB. In 2005, the Central government had decided to allocate 1500 MW to Punjab from 4000 MW Lara pithead thermal station in Chhatisgarh but subsequently, the NTPC backed out. The NTPC even refused to give power to Punjab from its Dadri unit V for which power purchase agreements (PPA) were signed with the PSEB in January 2002. The NTPC even failed to start execution of projects which were signed with the PSEB in 1998, such as Anta 2, Auraiya-2 and North
Karanpura. However, then, the PSPCL and the state government ignored the feedback of the association and in haste signed an MoU with the NTPC without inserting any penalty clause in the
PPA. To bring the Gidderbaha plant in state sector is essential keeping in view that all new power plants at Goindwal Sahib, Talwandi Sabo and Rajpura are in the private sector and some other plants are being allotted to private players through the MoU route.
In view of the excellent track record of the PSPCL for executing thermal projects, the association demanded that execution of the Gidderbaha project be entrusted to the PSPCL without any further delay. |
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Parking blues at Bathinda railway station
Bathinda, August
21 A few months ago, an open space adjacent to the railway road was converted into a parking lot for two and four-wheelers. However, the delay in awarding the contract for parking has left the place redundant. While chaos rules outside the railway station every evening due to the space crunch on the road, the parking space is lying useless.
Shopkeepers on the railway road said they witness heated arguments among visitors who scramble for space to park their
vehicles. “Thousands of rupees have been spent on constructing the parking lot, but it is lying useless. People get quite upset due to lack of parking space outside the railway station,” said Gogi, a shopkeeper in the market
nearby. One Ashok Kumar said the situation goes out of control after the dark when thousands of passengers enter and exit one of the biggest railway junctions of
Asia. “Every night, we have to intervene to end the fight between two or three groups. Many eating joints are situated outside the railway station and a flurry of activity is witnessed round- the-clock,” said Sumit Kumar, another
shopkeeper. People enter into a scuffle in an inebriated condition, and many a time, the police have to be called in to control the situation, he
added. Station Superintendent SN Rai, when contacted, said the parking contract got delayed as bidders failed to turn up and efforts were on to hand over the parking lot on a contract basis at the
earliest. CMI (Commercial Inspector) of the Railways MR Khan said one bidder turned up to take the contract of one of the two parking lots and in a few days, people would be able to park their vehicles there. He said the two newly-constructed parking lots for bicycles, scooters and four-wheelers would also start functioning at the railway station soon. |
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4-yr-old girl crushed to death, truck driver nabbed
Goniana, August 21 |
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Land acquisition for BDA Enclave
Bathinda, August 21 He met the affected family members and assured them of all possible help by the Congress. He informed them that PPCC president Captain Amarinder Singh had taken up the matter and the party would hold a massive rally in this regard in Mansa the next month.
Family members informed the MLA about their arrests and asked him to deal the matter with an iron
hand. "People are quite upset over the forceful acquisition of their land at a paltry sum of Rs 971 per square yard to build the BDA Enclave Urban Estate Part IV and V. The BDA will further sell the land at an exorbitant rate of Rs 11000 per square yard," said the MLA. |
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Devoid of basic amenities, marriage proposals a tall order for border area residents
Ferozepur, August 21 Interaction with the border residents revealed that people from other parts of the state are often not willing to get their son or daughter married in these villages.
“Infrastructure, of course, is an issue. However, people think that their daughter will have to go through immense hardship if she comes and settles here,” said Bohar Singh, who is looking for a suitable match for his son. “I am even ready to compromise on various things such as family and landholding. I am still not getting many proposals,” he
added. Even the girls from the border area find it difficult to find a suitable groom. “Some people think that the life of the people staying closer to Pakistan border has a lot of inherent risks and perils, especially during a tense situation between the two nations. Relatives even avoid visiting us as they think it unsafe to travel here,” lamented
Balbir. He added that they have stayed here for a long time but now do not want children to stay here anymore. He further said the situation worsens during the monsoons when due to the swollen Sutlej, the accessibility to the city and other parts of the state is snapped and the boat remains the only mode of transportation available to
us. Working in the fields under the hawk-like eyes of gun-toting BSF sleuths, these border folks do not have enough resources or skills to go and settle elsewhere. The allurement of becoming the proprietor of the land which they have been tilling since ages is probably another reason which seems to hold them back
here. “Badal had promised us that we would be made the owner of the land but nothing has been done yet,” said Maggar, a poor farmer, who has two daughters, one of whom he plans to marry off by next year provided he gets some good alliance.
Davinder Kaur, who runs a marriage bureau in the town, said the affluent farmers with big landholdings do not face much problems as they can afford to give a handsome dowry. However, for small and marginal farmers, getting a good proposal is always a tough task.
“Some people in the area just see the landholdings of the family as they are not concerned about other things,” she stated adding that she facilitates three to four matrimonial alliances every month.
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Residential colony in eco-sensitive zone
Fazilka, August 21 The CEC has also asked for the Punjab Government's response in this regard. A letter was written by a Fazilka-based social activist Navdeep Asija to the CEC wherein he had complained that PUDA has planned to carve out a residential colony in Badha lake wetland area disturbing the eco-fragile
system. The upcoming colony has run into a controversy as earlier also, the Punjab and Haryana High Court, in response to a writ petition, issued a notice to PUDA and Punjab Government to owe an explanation regarding this before the court on August 25, this year.
Asija had filed a writ petition challenging the process of colonisation of Badha lake wetland in Fazilka against all environmental norms and even violating the Indus Water Treaty. Notably, PUDA has decided to sell 56 plots in the proposed six acres of land colony near the extinct Badha lake area. The land was transferred by the government in favour of PUDA in lieu of the construction of Mini-secretariat constructed by PUDA in Fazilka during the previous Congress regime.
— OC |
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Cattle insurance catching up fast among farmers in Moga dist
Moga, August 21 Deputy Director of the Animal Husbandry Department Dr PC Mittal, while talking to The Tribune, revealed that the cattle farmers are bringing good breeds from other regions to their places and are also cross breeding their indigenous breeds. “They are also now becoming aware of livestock insurance,” he
said. Over 1200 animals had already been brought under the insurance cover in the district. The government has fixed a target of 4,921 animals to bring under the insurance cover during the current financial year. “The farmers can get insurance cover for their adult animals for Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000 per animal and 50 per cent of the premium would be paid by the government,” said Dr
Mittal. The premium for Rs 20,000 insurance cover is Rs 712 per year, out of which, 50 per cent of the premium would be paid by the Animal Husbandry Department under the scheme. And, the annual premium for Rs 50,000 insurance cover could be calculated accordingly, he said.
He further said, “One family member can get insurance cover for two animals, which means that if there are five members in a family, they can get the insurance cover for 10 animals.” The insurance cover has also brought relief to many farmers, which could judged from the fact that the service provider United India Insurance Company has disbursed 52 insurance claims in the last financial year besides 10 claims on deaths of animals during the current financial year, so
far. Dr PC Mittal further said the animals belonging to the farmers would be identified by the veterinary officials of the Animal Husbandry Department to provide insurance for a year, which could be extended to three years.
Meanwhile, Dr Ram Chand, former joint director, extension of the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal and assistant director general of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research, who is currently studying on ‘impact of white revolution in Punjab’ revealed to The Tribune that the farmers are taking cattle insurance as a way of protecting their bottom lines.
“Dairy farmers have realised that cattle is insurable and financially includable, which has brought an awareness on prevention of health problems in cattle,” he added. “Irrespective of the cause of death of the animal, the insured amount is paid to the farmers,” he pointed out. |
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Local unit of ABSP inaugurated at Abohar
Abohar, August 21 Ashok Sharma, Naresh Nath and Mukesh Garg have been elected as president, secretary and cashier, respectively. Colonel Dilbagh Singh, Prof Ravi Dutt Sharma and Jas Raj Parnami would be the members of advisory panel. The NGO resolved to promote literary activities in the region. |
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Folk Dance, Music Competition
Bathinda, August 21 The competition was the world famous Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod of North Wales in the UK. The prestigious festival has Prince Charles as its chief patron and over 50 countries participate in it every year.
The festival was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for working toward harmony among the nations which was the dream of its founders in 1947, when they started it after seeing the havoc wreaked by the Second World War. In folk dance, artists from Punjab won the first position while France and South Africa came second and third, respectively.
In the cultural showcase competition, the Indian team got the second position after North Korea. The heritage team was led by its creative director Prof. Rajpal Singh, while Dr SS Sangha, Principal of Dasmesh Girls College of Education, played the role of manager of the team. Famous 'sarangi' player Randhir Singh, veteran folk singer SS Baath, Prof. Vanita, Prof Lakhbir Dhillon, Sunny Kumar drummer and Prof. Harpreet Kaur Randhawa played supporting roles.
Eminent dancers included Rajbir Kaur, Navjot Kaur, Amritpal Kaur, Ripneet Kaur, Rimplejit Kaur, Veerpal Kaur, Raminderjit Kaur, Deepanjot Kaur, Sushpinder Kaur, Sharanveer Kaur, Manpreet Kaur, Sandeep Kaur, Navneet Kaur and Ramandeep
Kaur. Punjab Chief Minister honoured Prof Rajpal Singh, Dr SS Sangha and Randhir Singh by presenting ‘siropas’ and Sri Sahib to them. The Department of Higher Education, Punjab, awarded commendation certificates and trophies to all the members of the Team. |
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Unplanned construction leaves princely town without gardens
Ferozepur, August 21 Of all these places, Gole Bagh was the only garden under the supervision of the municipality and all other gardens were either the property of individuals or trusts. In the early sixties, these individuals and trusts started disposing of the garden land as it became difficult for them to maintain such vast tracts of land which were vulnerable to encroachments. The only municipality garden, ‘Gole Bagh’ used to be full of fruit trees, which has now become a huge garbage dump.
The Nehru Park, located in the heart of the city, was converted into Shaheed Bhagat Singh Stadium, which was built in the aftermath of the 1988 floods when a swollen Sutlej had flooded the region. MLA Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi said before independence, the park was popularly known as ‘Herne Park’ named after one of the Deputy Commissioner posted here. Later, it was rechristened as Karm Pavilion before finally getting the name of Nehru
Park. Now, in the name of garden, only a small green patch in front of the ‘Town Hall is left where the city residents come for a morning walk. However, efforts are being made to convert this place into a commercial site too as it is situated on the prime piece of land along The Mall, where the property prices are touching the sky. The only garden which has come up here after independence is ‘Gyan Devi Vatika’, which was set up by Lieutenant General (Retd) OP Nandrajog in the memory of his mother Gyan
Devi. This hitherto neglected patch of land now caters to the needs of nsmall kids who come here to enjoy the ride. The Nandrajog family has created a trust for the maintenance and upkeep of the ‘Vatika’. In the neighbouring cantonment, the situation is equally appalling. Gandhi Garden is the only place for thousands of people to enjoy the serenity of nature. However, the garden which over the years has become an evening rendezvous for the residents, is also crying for attention.
Though the Cantonment Board, which maintains this garden, has been making concerted efforts to improve the park and even more fountains have been added. However, still a lot needs to be done. The old military guns, which were installed at the entrance of the park, have also been removed for unforeseen reasons.
The only amusement park, located here next to the historic Saragarhi Memorial, has also been closed following a dispute over the piece of land. Amit Kumar, CEO, Cantonment Board, said the CBF was making all efforts for improving the Gandhi Garden, adding that even a lifesize statue of Mahatma Gandhi was being installed at this location. |
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Bishnois upset over defacing of statue
Abohar, August 21 The incident sent shock waves in more than a dozen villages that form part of the Asia’s largest wildlife sanctuary. The community members led by Ramesh Bishnoi, national president, Akhil Bhartiya Jeev Raksha Bishnoi Sabha staged dharna at the Jeev Raksha Chowk on the city bypass, parked vehicles in the middle of the surrounding roads, blocked traffic and shouted slogans against the state government.
The protesters said the police had not been able to identify or nab the accused who had long back removed the statue of the founder president Sant Kumar of the supreme organisation of the
community. The statue had been removed a few months after it was unveiled by the then Union Minister Maneka
Gandhi. Nain Tehsildar Ashok Bansal along with SP Virender Brar reached the site and negotiated with the protesters. They sought a one-week time to identify and nab the suspects besides establishing police post besides installing CCTV cameras to check such acts. The Akhil Bhartiya Jeev Raksha Bishnoi Sabha warned the administration that stir would be launched, if the accused were not nabbed within next 10 days.
The NGO regretted that neither the Forest Department nor the local administration had initiated action against the elements that axed scores of trees around the crossing last year. |
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Changing lives of juvenile home inmates through yoga, music
Faridkot, August
21 As many as 36 youths, including a few nationals of Pakistan and Bangladesh, are lodged in this juvenile home. They have recently been shifted to a new building, three times bigger than the old complex, with better amenities. District Magistrate Ravi Bhagat said he had introduced ITI courses, yoga and music classes, besides improving language skills to change the mental psychology of the youths.
“I hope these children can start their own work or do job after going out of this observation home,” he said. The administration has hired resource persons who do motivational activities with the youths like drama, dance, music and games.
Bhagat said the administration had provided separate beds to each of the inmates so that they could come out of the myth of being lodged in a ‘jail’ and lead a relaxed life. They have also been provided with the facilities of outdoor and indoor games to keep them busy and healthy.
Social Welfare, Women and Child Development Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla along with senior officials of her department visited the observation home on Friday.
She inspected the new building and looked into the facilities being provided to the
juveniles. “We have provided an opportunity to these children to shape a better future for themselves through learning and physical and mental exercises and shed the pre-occupied mindset of violating the laws,” she said. |
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Ferozepur, August 21
