B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Vet inspectors go on hunger strike in Faridkot jail
Faridkot, December 7
Three days after 132 veterinary inspectors who were arrested at Badal village and they were sent to Faridkot jail announced indefinite hunger strike in the jail today. The veterinary inspectors said until their demands were conceded, neither they will take the food nor apply for bail to get out of the jail.

38 applicants for 3 Congress tickets in Faridkot
Faridkot, December 7
After three-day extension for submitting of the applications for Congress party tickets for the forthcoming assembly elections, total 38 Congress party leaders in Faridkot district have applied for the ticket for three assembly constituencies in the district.

Cost of proprietary rights of land reduced
Ferozepur, December 7
The Punjab Government has reduced the ownership cost of the agriculture land situated across the barbed wire fencing along the Indo-Pakistan border from Rs 75,000 per acre to Rs 50,000 per acre as per the latest notification of the revenue department.

Ex-servicemen seek safety of property
Abohar, December 7
During a meeting held to celebrate the Flag Day here, the Land Grabbing Victims Association chairperson Lt Colonel Onkar Nath Chopra (retd) appealed to the Punjab Governor and Chief Minister to ensure that the ex-servicemen should not become victims of land mafia that had allegedly strengthened its roots across the state to grab land.

Loan distribution by banks surpasses target in F’pur
Ferozepur, December 7
Banks in Ferozepur distributed loans amounting to Rs 1,052 crores against a target of Rs 939 crores during second quarter of the current financial year, said S Karuna Raju DC while presiding over a review meeting to take stock of the progress achieved under the annual loan plan for the year 2011-12.

Raninder to visit Daula village today
Bathinda, December 7
In a bid to take political leverage out of the incidence of slapping of a woman teacher by a sarpanch of the ruling SAD, the Congress leader Raninder Singh will tomorrow visit the Daula village near Gidderbaha to express sympathy with the protesting teachers.

Vet inspectors go on hunger strike in Faridkot jail
Balwant Garg
Tribune News Service

Faridkot, December 7
Three days after 132 veterinary inspectors who were arrested at Badal village and they were sent to Faridkot jail announced indefinite hunger strike in the jail today. The veterinary inspectors said until their demands were conceded, neither they will take the food nor apply for bail to get out of the jail.

After a scuffle between the police and veterinary inspectors on December 3 in Badal village, the police had arrested 132 inspectors under the attempt of murder charges.

About 1,800 veterinary inspectors in Punjab are demanding a pay grade equivalent to that of the pharmacists in the Health Department and amendment in their service rules as they were given no promotion.

On December 3, these protesters crashed into Badal village and staged a dharna outside the CM's house. To chase them away, police resorted to lathi-charge, ensuing into a scuffle between the police and veterinary inspectors, leaving many injured.

Kishan Chander Mahajan, press secretary of Punjab State Veterinary Inspectors Association, said all the 132 inspectors in Faridkot jail started their hunger strike today morning. The vet inspectors said the food being served to them in the jail was of very poor quality and there were no adequate medical facilities.

Tajinder Singh Maur, jail superintendent declined of having any information about the hunger strike by the inspectors in jail. “Before the food is served to inmates, it is checked by the jail doctors,” said Maur.

The veterinary inspectors today also give a call to boycott all annual animal fairs in the state. These zonal animal fairs are scheduled to start from December 8 in various parts of the state, starting Moga and culminating as National Animal Fair at Muktsar on December 17.

We have requested the farmers and animal owners not to take their animals to the fairs as there were high threats of spreading of food and mouth (FM) disease among the animals in absence of any vaccination, said Kishan Chander Mahajan.

Though the FM Vaccination reached the veterinary department two month back but not even a single dose has been used so far as the veterinary inspectors are on strike.

38 applicants for 3 Congress tickets in Faridkot
Tribune News Service

Faridkot, December 7
After three-day extension for submitting of the applications for Congress party tickets for the forthcoming assembly elections, total 38 Congress party leaders in Faridkot district have applied for the ticket for three assembly constituencies in the district.

Besides two former ministers, a grand-nephew of former President of India, Giani Zail Singh and a retired IAS officer are some names among the frontrunners for Congress tickets in Faridkot district.

Earlier December 2 was the last date for submission of the applications for ticket, later the date was extended to December 5.

The applications are submitted with District Congress Committee President.

On Faridkot seat, besides former education minister and sitting MLA, Avtar Singh Brar, the DCC President Surinder Gupta and Kultar Singh Sandhwan, grand-nephew of Giani Zail Singh, there are total 15 ticket aspirants.

On Kotkapura seat, among total 13 ticket seekers, the frontrunner are Ripjeet Singh Brar, the sitting MLA and younger brother of senior Congress leader Jagmeet Singh Brar and former jail and justice minister, Upinder Sharma. A former president of Faridkot DCC, Pawan Kumar is also an applicant for Kotkapura seat.

For Jaitu seat, Joginder Singh, the sitting Congress MLA, a retired IAS officer, Narinder Singh and eight others have applied the party ticket.

In Kotkapura, the veteran leader and former minister, Upinder Sharma is seeking his re-entry in active politics after about two decades.

In July 2001, he was sentenced life imprisonment for his involvement in the murder of a BJP leader of Kotkapura. Sharma won the Kotkapura seat in the 1992 elections.

In 1997, Joginder Singh, son of Giani Zail Singh contested on Congress ticket but lost. In 2002 Upinder Sharma's daughter, Vibha Sharma contested the election on Congress ticket but she also lost and in 2007, it was Ripjeet Brar who, riding his brother, Jagmeet Brar's influence, got the ticket and won the seat.

So this time it is Ripjeet versus Upinder Sharma for Congress ticket in Kotkapura.

Cost of proprietary rights of land reduced
Anirudh Gupta

Ferozepur, December 7
The Punjab Government has reduced the ownership cost of the agriculture land situated across the barbed wire fencing along the Indo-Pakistan border from Rs 75,000 per acre to Rs 50,000 per acre as per the latest notification of the revenue department.

Earlier, the state government had decided to grant Proprietary rights (P-rights) of this land to those landless farmers who have been tilling this land for the last several decades. Thereafter, following this decision, the revenue department had fixed a cost of this land at Rs 75,000 per acre for granting the P-rights.

However, the tillers and farmers occupying this land had expressed their inability to pay that much price. The farmers had contended that due to close proximity to international border they had limited access to these fields, besides due to often flooding by Sutlej which zigzags through this area, they were not able to generate much income out of the same, hence could not afford the price due to their poor financial position. Keeping in view their demand, the state government has now finally reduced the cost.

The DC S Karuna Raju while confirming the same said there was around 7,000 acres of agriculture land situated across the barbed wire fencing and river Sutlej towards Pakistan side, regarding which the government had decided to grant P-rights to the landless tillers occupying this land.

Raju said once the amount was deposited in the treasury by the concerned farmer who is the bonafide occupier as per the official record, the further necessary action regarding giving the ownership rights shall be initiated.

Ex-servicemen seek safety of property
Our Correspondent

Abohar, December 7
During a meeting held to celebrate the Flag Day here, the Land Grabbing Victims Association chairperson Lt Colonel Onkar Nath Chopra (retd) appealed to the Punjab Governor and Chief Minister to ensure that the ex-servicemen should not become victims of land mafia that had allegedly strengthened its roots across the state to grab land.

Chopra said safety and security of ex-servicemen's agricultural land that is generally cultivated on contract basis besides residential property must be ensured. “The political leaders, irrespective of parties to which they belong, will have to Anna Hazare's ideology to become role models in the democratic set up, he said.

Chopra suggested that recruitment in the army should be made purely on merit basis.

Loan distribution by banks surpasses target in F’pur

Ferozepur, December 7
Banks in Ferozepur distributed loans amounting to Rs 1,052 crores against a target of Rs 939 crores during second quarter of the current financial year, said S Karuna Raju DC while presiding over a review meeting to take stock of the progress achieved under the annual loan plan for the year 2011-12.

DC said that in the industrial sector, over Rs 200 crores loan was granted against target of Rs 75 crores while in other sectors the loan amounted to Rs 127 crores was distributed against the specified plan of Rs 92 crores.

DC said the representatives from various banks to provide more loans under DRI scheme to the small scale industrialists. He also instructed them to provide more loans for various government schemes like dairy development, Prime Minister Gram Rozgaar Yozna, Swaran Jayanti Gramin Rozgar Yozna and others. — OC

Raninder to visit Daula village today
SP Sharma
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 7
In a bid to take political leverage out of the incidence of slapping of a woman teacher by a sarpanch of the ruling SAD, the Congress leader Raninder Singh will tomorrow visit the Daula village near Gidderbaha to express sympathy with the protesting teachers.

Although the sarpanch Balwinder Singh was arrested and later bailed out, but the Congress and other opposition parties are not letting the opportunity to go out of their hands to whip the Parkash Singh Badal led government on the eve of the assembly elections.

The incident is being seen as a god sent gift particularly for the Congress and the PPP of Manpreet Singh Badal.

Other opponents of Badal, including the Dal Khalsa have also criticised the slapping incident.

Dal Khalsa spokesman Kanwarpal Singh in a statement said alleged that the arrest of the sarpanch Balwinder Singh Toti was a mere eyewash. Had the SAD leadership been serious about the incident then they should have expelled him from the party.