B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Region reels under power cuts, hot weather
Moga, June 22
Life in Moga, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Faridkot, Muktsar, Barnala, Bathinda and Mansa districts of the Malwa belt in Punjab has been paralysed because of severe heat wave prevailing in the area for the past few weeks.

ASI booked for graft, illegal confinement
Faridkot, June 22
An assistant sub-inspector (ASI) has been booked for harassing a family and receiving `30,000 as bribe from them in a property dispute case.

State Budget dashes pensioners’ hopes
Muktsar, June 22
With the state budget presented the day before yesterday, the hopes of a large number of pensioners across the state have been shattered, as the SAD-BJP government did not fulfill its poll promise of increasing the pension amount for widows, old-aged and physically challenged persons from Rs 250 to Rs 500 per month.

Truck driver found murdered
Faridkot, June 22
A truck driver was found murdered while a cleaner with the truck was lying unconscious in the cabin of the vehicle at Kotkapura town of Faridkot district on Friday. It is believed that they were drugged by a gang which decamped with Rs 62,000 in cash and refined oil worth approximately Rs 3 lakh that was being transported in the truck.

Region reels under power cuts, hot weather
Kulwinder Sandhu
Tribune News Service

Moga, June 22
Life in Moga, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Faridkot, Muktsar, Barnala, Bathinda and Mansa districts of the Malwa belt in Punjab has been paralysed because of severe heat wave prevailing in the area for the past few weeks.

In Moga and Ferozepur districts, a large number of cases of fever due to rise in temperature is being reported in dispensaries and hospitals.

As per the details available, the average temperature hovered between 43 and 46 degrees Celsius in the Malwa belt during the past few days.

The temperature is likely to remain high in the coming days in the absence of rainfall. Roads at the district headquarters here have started wearing a deserted look during the day time.

The situation has also worsened for the common masses due to severe power crisis prevailing in the region. Reports from the rural areas of Nihalsinghwala, Baghapurana, Dharamkot and Moga sub-divisions of this district reveal that the villages were getting power for just seven to eight hours a day and that too at low voltage.

The situation is equally worse at the district headquarters here. Long power cuts during the past couple of weeks when the summer is at its peak, have made people’s lives miserable.

Officials of the power corporation link most of power cuts with local faults arising particularly due to overloading of transformers. They say that in summer, regular usage of refrigerators and air-conditioners put overload on the transformers. They add that the number of local faults reported on a daily basis had increased in the past few days and efforts were being made to set them right at the earliest.

ASI booked for graft, illegal confinement
Tribune News Service

Faridkot, June 22
An assistant sub-inspector (ASI) has been booked for harassing a family and receiving `30,000 as bribe from them in a property dispute case.

The accused, ASI Gurmit Singh, is already facing a criminal case in the infamous Moga passport scam for helping many criminals in escaping India by using fake passports.

In the latest case, the ASI is accused of rounding up three persons; keeping them in an illegal custody and harassing them to pay him the bribe in February this year.

The Faridkot police has registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act today.

In a complaint to the police, Kuldeep Kaur alleged that after receiving a fake complaint, ASI Gurmit Singh rounded up her husband and two other family members in a property dispute case.

They were released after `30,000 were paid as bribe to the ASI, alleged Kuldeep Kaur.

The allegations were investigated, following which the ASI was booked for the offences of corruption and illegal confinement.

State Budget dashes pensioners’ hopes
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, June 22
With the state budget presented the day before yesterday, the hopes of a large number of pensioners across the state have been shattered, as the SAD-BJP government did not fulfill its poll promise of increasing the pension amount for widows, old-aged and physically challenged persons from `250 to `500 per month.

The promise to increase the Shagun Scheme amount from `15,000 to `31,000 has also not been fulfilled.

Physically-challenged Gurpal Singh of Khunde Halal village said, “People had high hopes that the new finance minister would solve their problems to an extent, but he completely gave a miss to raise the pension amount."

A widow, who had come to the deputy commissioner's office, said, “The pension schemes had played a major role in the return of the SAD-BJP alliance to the power, as a large number of beneficiaries supported the ruling alliance. But when the time came to fulfill the promises made during the polls, the SAD-BJP alliance forgot to do so.”

When contacted, the district social security officer and the district welfare officer denied any hike in pension amount in the budget for 2012-13.

Truck driver found murdered
Tribune News Service

Faridkot, June 22
A truck driver was found murdered while a cleaner with the truck was lying unconscious in the cabin of the vehicle at Kotkapura town of Faridkot district on Friday. It is believed that they were drugged by a gang which decamped with `62,000 in cash and refined oil worth approximately `3 lakh that was being transported in the truck.

The truck was transporting the consignment from Gujarat to Ludhiana.

Kulwant Singh Kanta, the deceased, and his cleaner Harjinder Singh had entered Punjab from the Doomwali inter-state barrier on Wednesday evening. But as the truck did not reach its destination, the truck owner, Kulwant Singh of Tehna village in Faridkot, began a search for the truck as the calls made on the mobile phones of the driver and the cleaner were not being answered.

In a statement recorded with the Kotkapura police, the truck cleaner said they had offered lift to a person on the barrier for Goniana town and on the way, that person offered them a drink. After drinking the same, the driver and the cleaner fell unconscious.

The police is investigating how the truck reached Kotkapura when the driver had died and the cleaner was unconscious, said Kotkapura SHO Gursher Singh Brar.