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Sewage treatment plant in the offing
Sehajdhari row a Cong creation, says Sukhbir |
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SGPC Polls Registration of new voters reveals women outnumber men
Arrangements reviewed for SGPC elections
Man gets life sentence for killing wife
Migration behind fractured development in Punjab: Expert
Ayurvedic doctors meet state’s pay anomaly committee, seek pay parity
Pension parity for RRB staff Placement drive by
Infosys, 119 students selected
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Sewage treatment plant in the offing
Bathinda, September 14 SE, Punjab Sewerage Board, Bathinda circle, ML Bansal said the project has been awarded to the Enviro Infra Engineering Private Limited (EIEPL), which will construct the structure and maintain it for the next five years. While Rs 32 crore is the cost of the project Rs 10 crore is the cost of maintenance for the next five years. The construction work would begin in the first week of October and would be over in six months. "Due to hectic political parleys in the view of Assembly elections, the time period for the project has been fixed for six months. We do not expect the work to be completed within this period and hence, delay is expected," said sewerage board officials. Preliminaries regarding the project have already been completed, including the tender, work awarding, soil testing etc. It would treat 52 MLD (million litres daily) of sewage thereby catering to the needs of the areas within the limits of the local MC. Mayor Baljit Singh Birbehman said the sullage carrying drain from the Sanjay cesspool would be emptied into the STP tanks. The plant would be based on latest sequencing batch reactor (SBR) technology. The SBR is a power intensive technology and requires 50 per cent more power than its conventional predecessor. It would either require a hotline connection or should be put on an urban feeder. Shortage of power would render the project redundant. Being less bulky and more compact, the SBR has an edge over the conventional technology. Experts in the field said setting up of conventional STPs required large areas of land. With the spiraling land prices, this technology is more favourable as it required comparatively less land. The technology is also more feasible as per the standards of the Pollution Control Board, which is strict about lessening the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of the water. "This technology is time tested in major cities but unsuitable for rural pockets. Being a project of the Municipal Corporation it has got great scope," experts added. |
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Sehajdhari row a Cong creation, says Sukhbir Moga, September 14 He was addressing gatherings at Kishanpura and Kot-ise-Khan in Dharamkot constituency of the Moga district on Wednesday morning. Trying to touch the religious sentiments of the Sikh community, the junior Badal said the Congress was responsible for the attack on the Golden Temple in Amritsar and pushed the state into the turmoil of militancy. "Our rivals are the agents of the Congress. Therefore, you should save the panth by casting votes in favour of the SAD candidates," he said. Sukhbir said the Congress, by unnecessarily raking-up the controversy over Sehajdhari Sikhs, is trying to divide the SGPC. "It is in front of you that the Congress has divided the Sikhs in Haryana by helping a group of Sikhs to demand a separate gurudwara management committee," he added. Admiring the role of senior party leader Jathedar Tota Singh, who is an aspirant for the post of the SGPC president, the Deputy CM appealed to the local people to strengthen his hands by winning all the nine seats in Moga district. About the ouster of the rebel Akali leader Sukhjeet Singh Kaka from the party, Sukhbir said he betrayed the party by breaking the discipline. Jathedar Tota Singh claimed that the SAD would win all the nine seats in Moga district with a thumping majority. He appealed to the people to vote in favour of Gurmail Singh, the local candidate of the ruling party. Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sheetal Singh, district president Tirath Singh Mahla, former Jathedar of the Akal Takht Bhai Jasbir Singh Rode, Sant Samaj chief Harnam Singh Dhumma, former president of the Moga local body Barjinder Singh Brar besides other local leaders were present. Sukhbir, who also holds the Home portfolio, asked the bureaucrats to ensure free and fair polls as per the directions of the Gurudwara Election Commission. Ruling out the chances of rigging, he claimed that the SGPC elections would be peaceful.
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SGPC Polls
Bathinda, September 14 Harsimrat further said Sarna and other such persons were among those who had presented ‘siropas’ to those who were responsible for the attack on Sri Harmandar Sahib and the massacre of the Sikhs in 1984. She even accused Sarna of ‘taking money’ from the Congress for winning the elections. Regarding Congress leaders, she said though Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Union minister Preneet Kaur were Sikhs and from Punjab they did not take up the turban issue and the atrocities on the Sikhs abroad, with their counterparts in countries like Germany. Harsimrat was here today to campaign for Sukhdev Singh Bahia,the joint candidate of the SAD and the Sant Samaj for the Bathinda SGPC constituency. Among those present on the occasion included Sikendar Singh Malooka, Baljit Singh Birbehman, Sarup Chand Singla, Darshan Singh Kot Fatta, Gurminder Kaur Dhillon and Om Parkash Sharma, all SAD leaders. She urged the voters of local SGPC constituency to vote for Bahia. She also asked the SGPC voters to vote for the SAD candidates throughout the state to give power in the right hands. To a question, she replied while distributing tickets for the SGPC elections, the SAD had given sufficient representation to women and expressed hope that the women voters would cast their votes in large numbers to the SAD candidates. |
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Registration of new voters reveals women outnumber men Faridkot, September 14 For the Faridkot SGPC seat, where the election office registered 568 new voters in the last one week, there are 536 females and only 32 males. Though the election office received 2,395 new applications for registration as voters, only 568 of these applications were cleared as 'eligible voters' for the SGPC elections. Over 75 per cent of these applications were rejected as the applicants were assessed not to be Keshdhari Sikhs, ones who do not drink, do not cut their hair or eat 'halal' meat. But a more interesting aspect, visible in these 2,395 applications was that almost 98 per cent of the applicants were women and only 2 per cent were men. The applications received from many villages in Faridkot have no male applicants. All 30 applicants from Kingra village are women. Similar is the trend in Mehmuana (84 applications), Ahal (78 applications), Mumara (67 applications), Naraingarh (34 applications), Balwinder Nagar (32 applications) and many other villages from where there was no male applicant. More interestingly, while the rejection rate of the male's application was just 10 per cent, over 80 per cent applications received from the females were dismissed for not being Keshdari Sikhs. About high percentage of applications rejection and female outnumbering the male in the new SGPC voters list, Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar, Balwant Singh Nandgarh said the cutting of hair was now so prevalent among the new generation of Sikhs, that most of these Patit Sikhs were not eligible as SGPC voters. "It is not a localized tipping point that females outnumber males in the SGPC voter lists but the trend is prevalent all across the state," said Nandgarh. Though they cut their hair and make eyebrows, most of the women submit the application for registration as voters as it is not possible to judge them as Patit. But even a hurried look at the males makes the cutting of hair quite visible, said Varinder Singh, election tehsildar in Faridkot. A male having beard and turban can apply for his registration as new voter. So, there is low rejection rate among them, said the tehsildar. This gap is increasingly widening, said Nandgarh. Last counted on September 11, the total number of SGPC voters in Faridkot district was 1,40,935 voters — 74,832 female and 66,103 male voters.
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Four institutions, one premises Ferozepur, September 14 Notably, four educational institutions including two primary schools, one Anganwadi (ECCE) centre and an IEV (Inclusive Education Volunteer) centre for the mentally and physically handicapped children are being run from the same school premises on the outskirts of the town. A visit to the school reveals the poor functioning of the department which boasts of schemes such as 'Padho Punjab', 'Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan' besides recruiting thousands of teachers in the state. There are 83 students in the Government Primary School Nanak Nagri while the Government Primary School Kucha Ramji Dass comprises 52 students on its rolls. The Anganwadi centre has a total of 40 children while the IEV centre has 12 special children, The building does not have any provision for playground, proper sanitation and drinking water. Due to insufficient rooms and inadequate furniture, there is no proper sitting arrangements for the students. The incomplete pantry area meant to prepare mid-day meal looks more of a store. Two posts of teachers in Nanak Nagri School and one in Kucha Ram Dass School are lying vacant. Moreover, the mentally and physically challenged kids can be seen sharing the same rooms with other children with no special aids available to them. An old dilapidated building exists close to the four rooms posing a threat to the kids. Heaps of garbage are scattered near the only handpump that caters to the drinking water requirements of all the children on the campus. “It's surprising to see the future of India being shaped in such surroundings,” lamented PC Kumar, a social activist, said that he has written to the government many times but to no avail. Kumar demanded that either the two primary schools should be merged or some alternative place should be identified to shift one of them to another campus. An official in the Education Department said instead of establishing 'Adarsh Schools' all over the state, the government should have first improved the condition of the existing schools. The school teachers here confided that the issue has been taken up with the authorities a number of times. They said both the primary schools work under the administrative control of the local municipal authorities. The teacher also rued that even their salaries are not paid on time.
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Arrangements reviewed for SGPC elections Ferozepur/Fazilka, Sept 14 An information to this regard was given by the Deputy Commissioner S. Karuna Raju to the Gurudwara Election Commissioner, Justice (retd) HS Brar during a video conferencing held here to take stock of the preparedness and review security arrangements for the polls. The DC said that there were a total of 2, 21,522 voters in the district eligible to exercise their right franchise. He said that in order to ensure the smooth conduct of polls, 2137 persons have been put on poll duty, and two rehearsals for the training have been organized for them so far, adding that the final rehearsal will be held on September 17. The DC further said that 595 ballot boxes have been arranged. Besides, 99 buses will be used to ferry the polling staff to the polling booths. SSP Surjit Singh said that foolproof security arrangements have been made. The district has been divided into four constituencies from where six SGPC members will be elected. Of the total 109 booths set up for SGPC elections in Fazilka district, 21 have been declared as hyper sensitive while 66 have been declared sensitive. According to a press communiqué issued by the Fazilka Deputy Commissioner Basant Garg, 1,04,522 voters would exercise their right to franchise in the SGPC elections for four candidates in the district comprising the Fazilka, Abohar, Jalalabad and Balluana assembly constituencies. The DC also allowed the candidates to get the election process videographed outside the polling booths at their expense with the prior permission of the returning officers. He said that no one would be allowed to carry weapons on the day of the polling. Moreover, the vehicles will have to be parked 200 metres away from the polling booths. A total of five candidates are in the fray for the Fazilka area. Two seats for the SGPC elections falls in the Abohar assembly constituency while one each are in the Fazilka and Jalalabad constituencies.
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Man gets life sentence for killing wife
Bathinda, September 14 The convict, 27-year-old Nirmal Singh alias Beera of Malkana village under Raman police station, had murdered his wife Karamjit Kaur alias Melo. In his complaint to the police, the victim’s uncle Gulzar Singh stated that Melo was married to Nirmal Singh for the past seven years. At the time of incident, the couple had two sons, aged two-and-a-half years and seven months. Nirmal had administered blows on Melo’s head killing her on the spot. Gulzar had also named Melo’s brothers-in-law, Rampal and Jagga Ram, and mother-in-law Bachan Kaur in his complaint. The issue was of re-marriage of Rampal with a relative of Melo, which the latter had objected to. For this reason, she was done to death. The court has sentenced Nirmal to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000. In case of non-payment of fine, he would further undergo three years of imprisonment. |
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Migration behind fractured development in Punjab: Expert
Bathinda, September 14 She said though there was a lot of diaspora investment in philanthropy and village development in Punjab, different from other major emigrant-sending states like Kerala, its potential to make changes in development remains weak. Dr Margaret added that the fractured development along with individualised and community lines had intensified the existing social hierarchies rather than loosening them. Challenge for state and people, therefore, was to utilise the resources sent by the diaspora for more equitable development and include the marginalised sections in the rich Punjabi trans-national migration network. Commenting on national migration scenario, she said though India was receiving the highest remittances in the world, it was not being translated into an increase in per capita GDP or value added foreign direct investments as it happened in the cases of China and Philippines, the two other major remittance-receiving countries in the world. Migration and remittances were also not translating into sound social development in India as shown by adult literacy levels in the country. Prof P Rama Rao, Prof Paramjit Singh Romana and Dr VJ Varghese participated in the discussion. Prof RK Saini proposed the vote of thanks. |
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Ayurvedic doctors meet state’s pay anomaly committee, seek pay parity
Bathinda, September 14 Dr Romana said while recommending non-practising allowance (NPA) of 25 per cent of the basic pay to the Ayurvedic doctors, the Fifth Punjab Pay Commission had observed “The Commission is of the view that their demand is justified. They should, therefore, be granted the NPA of 25 per cent of the basic pay on the Central Government pattern. Not granting the NPA to them would be discriminatory”. Dr Romana said they argued for the total pay parity, including all allowances to the Ayurvedic medical officers with their counterparts in the Central Government and in the State of Punjab. The association demanded the entry scale of Rs 15,660- Rs 39,100 with a grade pay of Rs 5,400, grade pay of Rs 6,600 after four years of service, grade pay of Rs 7,600 after nine years and pay-scale of Rs 37,400- Rs 67,000 with a grade pay of Rs 8,700 after 14 years of service. — TNS |
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Abohar, September 14 The decision will benefit more than 70,000 employees working in 16,000 branch offices across the country. Youth fest held: Hundreds of students from 17 colleges showcased their talent during the Panjab University Zonal Youth Festival, organised by the Bhag Singh Hayer Khalsa College for Women at village Kala Tibba. The festival was inaugurated by former minister Sajjan Kumar Jakhar. Principal Dr Parminder Sharma welcomed the guests and the participants. Hindi Diwas: Hindi Diwas was celebrated with enthusiasm in Swami Keshwanand Senior Secondary School, Swami Keshwanand Memorial College and other educational institutions here. Various competitions were organised for the students to mark the occasion. Educationist Saroj Nagpal and others expressed their dismay on the present status of the national language. — OC
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Placement drive by Infosys, 119 students selected Ferozepur, September 14 Out of the 119 selected candidates, 35 were from SBSCET Ferozepur, 32 from MIMIT Malout, 30 from BCET Gurdaspur while 22 belonged to GZSCET, Bathinda. — OC
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With just a day left for campaigning to end, the President of ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has called upon the Sikh community to give their votes in favour of the SAD.
Bathinda, September 14
