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Sewerage woes in Abohar
Govt told to provide enough funds to MC
Abohar, January 15
While hearing the contempt plea against the state government and the Abohar Municipal Council (MC), the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the government to provide sufficient funds to the MC and ensure that the staff and equipment dispatched to Abohar last week to solve the sewage problem stays there till the work is over.

Sewage spilled on to a road in Abohar putting commuters to inconvenience. A Tribune photograph

4 Jat Regiment’s Raising Day
Army commemorates its ’71 Indo-Pak war heroes
Fazilka, January 15
Officers and jawans of the 4 Jat Regiment celebrated their 51st Raising Day at the 1971 Indo-Pak war memorial in Asafwala village, 7 km from here, today. Busts of Major Narain Singh and Havildar Ganga Dhar, who were awarded with the Veer Chakra posthumously, were unveiled by Colonel Viresh Thapar, Commanding Officer, 4 Jat Regiment, and other war veterans in the presence of a large number of widows and kin of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the Fazilka sector during the 1971 war.

Abducted Bathinda girl recovered, 2 held
Abohar, January 15
The Sriganganagar police today arrested two persons, Vinod Kumar and Raj Kumar, in connection with abduction of a girl from Bathinda. It is learnt that Raj Kumar claimed that Pinky turned 18 on August 2, following which they got married at a religious place. On December 13, Pinky's father Sheyodaan along with 15-20 persons stormed into Raj Kumar's house located on the SSB road in Sriganganagar and forcibly took her along. The intruders also thrashed the other inmates of the house.

Mystery shrouds woman’s death in Ferozepur cantt
Ferozepur, January 15
A girl identified as Ramandeep Kaur was found dead under mysterious circumstances at her residence in the Ferozepur cantonment today. The deceased, who belonged to Ludhiana, was married to one Davinder Kumar around three years ago. However, she remained perturbed allegedly due to ill-treatment meted out to her by her in-laws who were allegedly seeking more dowry.

Sewerage woes in Abohar
Govt told to provide enough funds to MC
Our Correspondent

Abohar, January 15
While hearing the contempt plea against the state government and the Abohar Municipal Council (MC), the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the government to provide sufficient funds to the MC and ensure that the staff and equipment dispatched to Abohar last week to solve the sewage problem stays there till the work is over.

The petitioners, Congress councillors Suman Taneja and Vimal Thatai and Vijay Chhabra, informed after the hearing that the executive officer (EO) of the MC, Bhushan Garg, in his report submitted before Justice Rajesh Bindal, stated that the MC was facing financial problem but was trying its best to make the sewerage system functional.

As per the directions of the HC, the work started on January 11 and the EO was to submit a report to the HC.

The petitioners, through their counsel Surinderpal Singh Tinna, produced photographs taken in different localities of Abohar yesterday. The pictures depicted the sad state of affairs even when two sewer jet and sucking machines and 10 desilting machines were installed to give impetus to the work. The petitioners sought to explain that they would prefer to get the problem solved instead of praying for sacking the officials concerned as the latter needed more time.

Justice Bindal directed the state government to make sufficient funds available to the local MC for making the sewerage system functional in letter and spirit. The HC also told the EO to appear on January 22 again and submit the status report.

Welcoming the directions of the HC, CLP leader and local MLA Sunil Jakhar claimed that he had asked Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for providing funds for maintenance of the Abohar sewerage system inside as well as outside the Vidhan Sabha. Regretfully, the state government did not pay heed to his pleas for the past six years even when its coalition partner, the BJP, runs the MC and the Minister of the Local Bodies belonged to the saffron party, he added.

"Abohar got funds to the tune of Rs 64 crore only when the Punjab and Haryana High Court had intervened. Again, the HC has issued directions to the government for releasing funds for the sub-divisional town's maintenance," Jakhar said.

The Congress councillors are of the view that at least Rs 20 lakh was immediately required to put the sewerage system in order.

4 Jat Regiment’s Raising Day
Army commemorates its ’71 Indo-Pak war heroes
Praful Chander Nagpal

Colonel Viresh Thapar, CO, 4 Jat Regiment, unveils the bust of Havildar Ganga Dhar at the war memorial in Asafwala village on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph

Fazilka, January 15
Officers and jawans of the 4 Jat Regiment celebrated their 51st Raising Day at the 1971 Indo-Pak war memorial in Asafwala village, 7 km from here, today. Busts of Major Narain Singh and Havildar Ganga Dhar, who were awarded with the Veer Chakra posthumously, were unveiled by Colonel Viresh Thapar, Commanding Officer, 4 Jat Regiment, and other war veterans in the presence of a large number of widows and kin of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the Fazilka sector during the 1971 war.

The busts have been laid in the museum of the complex.

About 100 family members from distant parts of the country reached the town to attend the event. Nearly 26 war widows, a dozen retired army officers and soldiers, who participated in the war in the Fazilka sector, recalled one of the most ferocious man-to-man combat.

The war widows and kin paid obeisance at the sanctum sanctorum where collective cremation of 82 war heroes of the 4 Jat Regiment was performed after the ceasefire in 1971. Some of the kin had visited the memorial complex for the first time. They included Sabuna (42), the daughter of Colonel JB Ale who had come from Dehradun. "It was during the battle at Sabuna bund on the intervening night of 13-14 December, 1971, that I got the news of my daughter's birth. Later, while the family was selecting a name for her, we zeroed in on Sabuna so as to commemorate the battlefield," said an emotional Colonel.

Another such visitor duo was Parkash Wati and Pratap Singh, wife and son of Colonel Sukhpal Singh who had come from Kasani village (Gurgaon, Haryana). "My father was injured with 16 bullets and was directly airlifted from the battlefield to Delhi where he succumbed to his injuries. He was awarded the Veer Chakra posthumously," said Pratap Singh.

A living legend Havildar Birjinder Singh (86), the Veer Chakra award winner, accompanied by his grandson Captain CP Singh recalled some events of the furious battle in Fazilka sector.

Brigadier (retd) Sham Lal, who had participated in the war as adjutant, recounted the horrific war scenes that took place in areas adjacent to the war memorial.

The president of the Shaheedon Ki Samadhi Committee, Sandeep Gilhotra, and other members honoured as many as 26 war widows by presenting them with woollen shawls.

Abducted Bathinda girl recovered, 2 held

Abohar, January 15
The Sriganganagar police today arrested two persons, Vinod Kumar and Raj Kumar, in connection with abduction of a girl from Bathinda. It is learnt that Raj Kumar claimed that Pinky turned 18 on August 2, following which they got married at a religious place. On December 13, Pinky's father Sheyodaan along with 15-20 persons stormed into Raj Kumar's house located on the SSB road in Sriganganagar and forcibly took her along. The intruders also thrashed the other inmates of the house.

The police said Pinky was recovered from her maternal uncle's house in Agra. She was taken from Sriganganagar to Agra by her father.

Interestingly, the police has been delaying the registration of an FIR for which Raj Kumar had filed an application a few days ago.

He had to approach a court in Sriganganagar to get the case registered under Sections 365, 452, 323, 341, 147, 148 and 149 of the IPC on January 2.

The police said the other accused, including Sheyodaan, would be arrested. — OC

Mystery shrouds woman’s death in Ferozepur cantt

Ferozepur, January 15
A girl identified as Ramandeep Kaur was found dead under mysterious circumstances at her residence in the Ferozepur cantonment today. The deceased, who belonged to Ludhiana, was married to one Davinder Kumar around three years ago. However, she remained perturbed allegedly due to ill-treatment meted out to her by her in-laws who were allegedly seeking more dowry.

In a complaint lodged with the police, Surinder Singh Bawa, the deceased’s father, alleged that she was strangulated to death by her in-laws.

On the basis of the complaint, the police has booked her husband Davinder besides brother-in-law Goldy and mother-in-law Suresh Rani. However, no arrest has been made so far. The couple had a one-year-old son. — OC