B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

HC gives hope to residents
Abohar, January 31
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the state government to make available Rs 65 lakh to provide relief to over 1.75 lakh residents of Abohar who have been suffering due to the choking of the sewerage system.

GLADA reaps a rich harvest at auction in border town
Ferozepur, January 31
The Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) has reaped a rich harvest during the auction of 10 SCOs (shop-cum-offices) situated behind the Central Jail, which took place recently.

Barnala residents protest against MC
Barnala, January 31
The residents of three wards today staged a protest against the sewerage problem being faced by them. The agitators surrounded the office of the municipal council here and raised slogans in support of their demand.

Arrests reveal drug addiction behind crime incidents
Faridkot, January 31
Five days after the Faridkot police started an intensive campaign to check drug addiction among the youth and identify their involvement in crime, the arrest of some chain snatchers, vehicle lifters and those involved in theft cases, has revealed that these youths were committing crimes to earn quick money to buy smack costly drugs.

Head constable run over by speeding car
Fazilka, January 31
A head constable of the Punjab Police was run over by a speeding car while on duty at a barrier near village Sukhera Bodla in Fazilka district on Wednesday night.

Buses impounded
Bathinda, January 31
The district transport officials have impounded 15 buses, included seven school buses, for not paying road tax. The officials have also issued challans to seven tractor-trolleys and a peter-rehra plying illegally in the city.

 HC gives hope to residents
Asks state govt to give funds to solve sewerage woes
Our Correspondent

Abohar, January 31
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the state government to make available Rs 65 lakh to provide relief to over 1.75 lakh residents of Abohar who have been suffering due to the choking of the sewerage system.

A residential colony surrounded by sewage in Abohar. Photo: Raj Sadosh

Congress councillors Vimal Thatai and Suman Taneja who had filed a contempt plea on a public interest litigation (PIL) against the state and the local Municipal Council informed that Justice Rajesh Bindal, during the hearing held today, expressed surprise over the inability of the civic body in making the sewerage system functional despite the extensions given during the past three hearings.

The HC pulled up the chief engineer of the Local Bodies Department Vijay Kanwar and the chief executive of the Abohar Municipal Council Bhushan Aggarwal as photographs produced in the court by the petitioners through their counsel Surinderpal Singh Tinna depicted the grim situation prevailing in more than 20 colonies.

The petitioners regretted that more areas including the DAV College campus and Subhash Nagar near Shri Satya Sai Hospital had been submerged in the last few days. They also submitted that the state government had not paid heed to the directions issued by the HC a few days back to sanction substantial funds to the cash-strapped Municipal Council.

They informed the HC through their counsel that most of the colonies inhabited by the Dalit communities had not been supplied drinking water for the last ten days. The HC reportedly directed the council to ensure water supply besides making the sewerage system fully functional by February 11.

Welcoming the HC orders, local MLA and leader of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) Sunil Jakhar said the state government had ignored development works in Abohar for the last six years. It needs to be ensured that the MC avoids misusing funds for purposes other than sewage clearance, Jakhar said, and added that he will ask the Congress councillors to keep vigil.

 GLADA reaps a rich harvest at auction in border town
Anirudh Gupta

Ferozepur, January 31
The Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) has reaped a rich harvest during the auction of 10 SCOs (shop-cum-offices) situated behind the Central Jail, which took place recently.

As per the information, the SCOs were sold out within no time for a whopping Rs 11.76 crores against a reserved price of Rs 2.45 crores. Baldev Singh, ACA, GLADA, said the department was not expecting a profit of over Rs 9.5 crores to the government.

The ACA said the highest price was quoted by one Ganpati Associates, that bought the corner SCO measuring 101.17 square metres at a cost of Rs 1.38 crores against a reserve price of Rs 26.6 lakhs.

The ACA further said that the other SCOs were bought by Jagdish Kumar (Rs 1.06 crore), Sunil Vij (Rs 1.03 crore), Surya Land Promoters (Rs 1.15 crore), Shanti Housing Development Ltd (Rs 1.21 crore), Bakshinder Singh (Rs 1.16 crore), Vij Agro Pvt Ltd (Rs 1.16 crore), Sidhu Agro (Rs 1.23 crore), Sagar Kohli (Rs 1.13 crore) and Saurav Sachdeva (Rs 1.25 crore).

The land where the SCOs have been constructed by GLADA earlier belonged to the jail authorities. But later, this land measuring around 10 acres was handed over to GLADA under the optimum utilisation of vacant government land (OUVGL) scheme.

Even the proposal to relocate the existing Central Jail, situated in the heart of the town, had been planned to exploit the high commercial value of the jail land. However, it is still in abeyance. Sources said the proposal had also been approved by the Chief Minister. However, the government is yet finalise an alternative site for relocating the jail which has caused the delay. GLADA officials said another ten sites have also been identified under the OUVGL scheme which will go under the hammer for an auction in a phased manner.

These sites include the office of the deputy director, animal husbandry, old civil hospital, the area near Ram Sharnam ashram, old TB hospital, Tehsil complex and the office of the deputy registrar, cooperative society. Since the old TB hospital has already been dismantled, the GLADA is likely to auction SCOs at this site also after the necessary development of the land.

It may be mentioned that Ferozepur district falls under the administrative control of GLADA for the urbanisation and development projects.

 Barnala residents protest against MC
Tribune News Service

Barnala, January 31
The residents of three wards today staged a protest against the sewerage problem being faced by them. The agitators surrounded the office of the municipal council here and raised slogans in support of their demand.

However, the president of the Barnala municipal council Paramjit Singh Dhillon pacified them by giving the assurance that their grievances would be redressed at the earliest.

As per the information, the improper disposal of sewage leads to its accumulation in the streets of ward numbers 9, 10 and 11. Due to this, the residents have to face problems. It has also lead to the fear of an epidemic outbreak.

The residents said they had brought the problem to the notice of the executive officer and the president of the council, but no steps had been taken so far.

The agitation was later deferred after an assurance given by the president of the municipal council. The residents, however, warned the authorities of the civic body that if the work did not start in their wards within 12 hours, they would re-launch their agitation.

President of the local municipal council Paramjit Singh Dhillon said the problem had occurred due to the closure of the disposal point during the construction of the road overbridge here. He said no new disposal point had been constructed so far. Due to this, the council had installed a motor to remove the dirty water. He said the problem of the agitators would soon be resolved. 

 Arrests reveal drug addiction behind crime incidents
Balwant Garg/TNS

Faridkot, January 31
Five days after the Faridkot police started an intensive campaign to check drug addiction among the youth and identify their involvement in crime, the arrest of some chain snatchers, vehicle lifters and those involved in theft cases, has revealed that these youths were committing crimes to earn quick money to buy smack costly drugs.

Besides drugs, malls and shopping arcades also fascinate these addicts. So, to meet their need for money, these youngsters take to crime. But addiction is the main reason why these youngsters get involved in crime, said GS Toor, SSP, Faridkot while giving details about the five youths arrested by the police today.

The interrogation of these youths and the recovery of four stolen motorbikes from them revealed that they took to theft to meet their demand for drugs. Everyday, they need about Rs 500 to buy their dose of smack. So, lifting a vehicle or snatching a chain earns them at least between Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000, the police said.

"Varinder Singh, Gaganpreet Singh and Rajdeep Singh, all residents of Faridkot, who have been arrested on the charge of theft, admitted to the police about their drug addiction which compelled them to commit the crime, said the SSP.

Jasvir Singh and Sukhdev Singh, residents of Lande Ke village in Moga, have been arrested for snatching the ear-rings of a woman in Faridkot. Both are drug addicts.

About the choice of crime, police officials said that during the investigation, they found that compared to a crime like committing robbery at night or robbing someone at gunpoint, chain-snatching and vehicle lifting is less risky. The chances of being caught are also less and no weapon is needed to commit such crimes.

Earlier, the police used to be reluctant in laying its hands on drug users as it was a huge task for police to control these addicts in custody.

Police officials feel that the withdrawal symptoms not only put such detainees at risk but can also land the police in a difficult situation if an addict dies. 

 Head constable run over by speeding car
Our Correspondent

Fazilka, January 31
A head constable of the Punjab Police was run over by a speeding car while on duty at a barrier near village Sukhera Bodla in Fazilka district on Wednesday night.

According to police sources, a speeding Tata Indica car, number Pb-22C-4540, with five occupants, was coming from Ferozepur side. As Harnam Singh signalled the car to stop, it ran over head constable Harnam Singh (41) and collided with the barricades laid there. Harnam Singh died on the spot. His post-mortem was conducted at the local Civil Hospital today.

The occupants of the car were returning from Ferozepur after attending a marriage but they had a miraculous escape.

Investigating officer Joginder Singh said the driver of the car Surinder Singh has been arrested. The car has also been impounded.

It was learnt that Surinder Singh (19) did not possess a permanent driving licence.

Poppy husk seized by police, one held

The city police have recovered one quintal and 40 kg of poppy husk from two different persons during the last 24 hours. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ram Parkash said a team led by the city police in-charge Surinder Singh intercepted a car near the local Truck Union for routine checking and recovered two jute bags filled with 70 kg of contraband. Police also nabbed the courier, identified as Sanjeev Kumar.

In another case, a police team led by assistant sub-inspector Jagtar Singh nabbed a local resident Kala Singh and recovered 70 kg of poppy husk from his possession. 

  Buses impounded

Bathinda, January 31
The district transport officials have impounded 15 buses, included seven school buses, for not paying road tax. The officials have also issued challans to seven tractor-trolleys and a peter-rehra plying illegally in the city.