Bathinda, December 19
Despite housing two thermal plants, one in Bathinda city and another at Lehra Mohabbat, residents of Bathinda district are facing problems due to prolonged and untimely power cuts.

The extent of power cuts is such that even the hotline (express feeder), which connects Civil Hospital, Courts Complex, Secretariat, Circuit House, DC and SSP residences and other such organisations was off from 11 pm to 2 am on Tuesday night.

According to SE, Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB), D. K. Garg, ``Last night, all four units of the Bathinda Thermal Plant tripped and that is why even the power of hotline was off.”

Even some other residential areas faced a shortage of power at that time.’’ Each unit of the Bathinda thermal plant is of 110 MW capacity and that means last night alone, when the units tripped, there was an immediate shortage of 440 MW.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, sources in the PSEB said, ``At present, there are 4-5 hour power cuts in the city whereas the villages are facing power cuts for 8-9 hours daily. The tubewell connections in the state are getting a daily power supply of 5 hours.

The reason for these power cuts is that during the paddy season, we bought power from Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal because in the summer, requirement of power is less in these states.

Now, in winters, their power consumption increases. So, we are now supplying power back to them, which we bought during the paddy season. It is called banking of power.’’

``This shortage of power in the state is also due to another reason. The PSEB thought that by the time, this banking of power would take place in winters and the two units of 250 MW each at Lehra Mohabbat thermal plant would start their operations. But that didn’t happen due to the delay of work by BHEL. That is why the residents are facing a shortage of power supply,’’ sources further informed.

Gurmeet Kaur, a resident of Namdev Marg in the city rued, ``Power cuts have now become a regular feature. They start from early in the morning and continue till late in the night. Yesterday, we faced power cuts for a total of 7 to 8 hours.’’

Even Parveen Kaur, a resident of Model Town Phase I here, informed, ``We have two thermal plants in Bathinda and still we are facing long hours of power cuts.’’ Complaints were too numerous as studies of students were affected and office-goers had to face problems as electric appliances at home were not working.

Ferozepur, December 19
In what came as a rude shock to the local populace, two separate incidents of almost a similar nature were reported today, in which the victims levelled serious charges of molestation and rape.

In the first incident, a Guruharsahai resident Veena Rani, aged around 40 years, alleged that yesterday she felt giddiness and stomach -ache and went to the HKL hospital for check-up. She charged that the doctors gave her sedatives due to which she fell unconscious.

Later, she said, the director of the hospital, Parveen Goyal along with his friend, Amrit Vohra, a prominent businessman of the town, allegedly raped her. She lodged a complaint with the police. Following which she was sent to the civil hospital for a medical check-up.

Meanwhile, when contacted, Parveen said he was in Chandigarh for the past three days. He added that a patient, Veena, came to his hospital but as she had just a minor ailment, the medical staff gave her medicine and told her to go back home but she insisted on getting admitted in the hospital. And in the morning, to everyone’s utter surprise, she concocted such a ghastly story.

Parveen said the complaint was politically motivated as certain people were trying to implicate him in a false case.

Amrit Vohra, when contacted, too vehemently denied the charges, terming them as baseless and a bunch of lies.

It is pertinent to mention that both these persons owe allegiance to the Congress and are amongst the prominent persons of the town.

When contacted, senior medical officer M.S. Tinna said the medical examination of the complainant had been carried out by Dr Sonia Gulati.

Tinna said the vaginal swab had been sent to Hyderabad for a DNA report, while the blood samples had been sent to a medical laboratory in Kharar. He added that the factual position could be known only after these reports.

Senior superintendent of police Dinesh Pratap, while admitting that the police received a complaint of Veena Rani, said the matter was under investigation. He addded that no case had been registered yet, and any action would be initiated only after checking the veracity of the facts cited by the complainant.

In the second incident, Monica (name changed), who works as a dancer with a musical troupe, alleged that two persons took her along on the pretext of performing at a marriage function in Mallanwala village. She said the accused paid her Rs 1,000 in advance.

She alleged that the two accused took her to a closed shop outside the city, where two more persons were already present and they all raped her. She further alleged that the accused were carrying sharp-edged weapons with them and threatened to kill her, if she reported the matter to the police.

Monica, who appeared in court of the CJM today stated that the police did not take cognisance of her complaint, so she had no other option but to approach the court.

The CJM reportedly instructed the SMO to get her medically examined.

When contacted, SMO M.S. Tinna said the medical examination of the complainant had been done and the report was awaited. However, he added that some minor injury marks were found on her body but anything could be established only after final reports.

Moga, December 19
The Indian railways today recommended releasing an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to a person, who succumbed to his injuries received in a road accident at the DMC, Ludhiana, last night, under the grant provided to victims of train and mini bus collision at Chuhad Chak railway crossing on Decmber 14.  

The moment railway officials came to know of their mistake, they approached the deceased’s family to get back the Rs 50,000 cheque, issued for the injured in the railway accident.

The name of Karamjit Singh of Jagraon was erroneously shown in the list of injured persons of the dastardly accident and was also taken to the DMC, Ludhiana along with the injured of the train-mini bus accident from Jagraon’s civil hospital.

Karamjit Singh was reportedly admitted in the civil hospital, Jagraon on the night of December 9 by the National Highway Patrolling team after they found him writhing in pain following a road accident.

Interestingly, a  GRP team recommended his case for the benefits to be given to the killed persons after his post mortem was conducted.

Barjesh Dharmani, senior divisional commercial manager, could not be contacted as his mobile was switched off.

However, Poonam Chand Dhudi, assistant commercial manager, said that though he was not authorised to speak to media but added that no inquiry was ordered in the case.

He said that due to some error in the civil hospital, Karamjit was shown in the list of the train-bus accident.

He added that anomaly was timely detected and relative of the deceased had assured to return the cheque soon.

Bathinda, December 19
To probe the case filed against the ex-MLA of Nathana and his family relating to the harassment of his daughter-in-law in a dowry related case, a special team from Amritsar today visited their residence. But finding no one present there, the team had to return.

The team lead by inspector Lekh Raj said that as no one was present there, they were going back and the investigation had been postponed to some other day.

It may be mentioned here that Nirmal Kaur, wife of Harwinder Singh, son of Jasmel Singh, ex-MLA, had filed a complaint of harassment for the sake of dowry. Acting upon the complaint, police registered a case under sections 406 and 498-A of the IPC.

On his part, Harwinder Singh termed it an act of political vendetta. “His family is close to senior members of the Congress party. It is because of this that some rival groups are stoking the fire. Some years back, he got married with the complainant and was separated after a short span of time.”

He refuted the allegations levelled by the complainant over his family.

Abohar, December 19
Transparency and strong will power has rewarded the Red Cross Society here that is facing a financial crunch.

The community hall, a brainchild of the former Rajya Sabha member Virendra Kataria, today fetched Rs 25.50 lakh as lease money to the Red Cross Society for the next three years.

Kataria had arranged Rs 30 lakh from the MP Local Area Development Fund for this project and had to seek help from then CM Parkash Singh Badal not only for giving the complex a finishing touch but also to remove hurdles created by the bureaucrats in transferring the land in records.

Interestingly, the land had been used for decades in the past to house the sub-tehsil offices.

The revenue department and the municipal committee staked claims on the land. Then there was a proposal to extend the civil hospital by merging this piece of prime land located in the heart of the city.

Kataria was of the view that a common family could not afford the rising charges of the marriage palaces, so a complex must be developed close to the old localities for arranging small-scale marriages and social or official gatherings.

The community hall, inaugurated by Badal, was named Abohar Place. The promoter (Kataria) was of the opinion that if the hall was managed by the sub-divisional Red Cross Society it could generate funds for helping the down trodden.

Now, SDM N. S. Brar, who heads the sub-divisional Red Cross Society, learnt that the hall had been leased out earlier only for Rs 3 lakh for a period of three years. He decided to put it on an open auction for next three years period beginning February 2008.

The deputy commissioner gave his consent to the decision. Wide publicity was also given to the proposal. And today, 19 persons thronged the SDM office for a bid.

Around an hour’s exercise finally ended with a final bid of Rs 25.50 lakh for the next three years period.

The authorities reportedly thwarted all kind of intervention to stall the open auction as vested interests wanted to get the contract for a song, well placed sources said.

The society will now have sufficient funds in hand to meet emergencies besides serving those who were needy and deserved financial assistance.

Bathinda, December 19
Barely weeks back, two students of a Gurgaon school shot dead their classmate. The gory incident was followed by another one, this time in the US, where two students of Indian origin were shot dead inside the university campus. And lest we should forget, 32 students at the Virginia Tech. University, also in the US, were shot dead about eight months ago.

These incidents left the entire world in a state of shock. What was disturbing was that a trend that was so far typical of the US, was starting to rear its ugly head on Indian soil. The incident was even more worrisome because carrying arms is fashinable in these parts of the country.

The incident has sent shock waves across the country and parents and school authorities are a worried lot. But these incidents of stray violence have their roots in anger and distress that have gripped the adolescent minds.

The problem is complex and multi-dimensional and calls for a collective societal response. The parents and school authorities realise it and agree that family, school and society have to work in tandem under the guidance of the authorities to root out the causes which make the youth impulsive, intolerant and aggressive, says a social worker.

However, a concerted approach with a well formulated strategy is yet to be evolved and every section is trying to tackle the problem within its own domain.

Arms or weapons are already banned in schools. A close vigil is maintained on the activities of students in school but the school authorities are not bothered about the activities of their students after the school hours and maintain that it is the responsibility of the parents.

The principal of St. Joseph School, Bathinda, Sister Ophelia says that students are not allowed to carry firearms or any sharp-edged weapon in the school and regular checks are made. However, the possibility of some untoward incident taking place is not ruled out as the students spend more time outside the school with their parents and friends. “We impart moral education in the school and there are a number of activities to channelise the energy of the students,” she adds.

The principal of DPS, Arun Gee, also maintains that students are properly watched. “We have a committee to take care of the activities of the students and the Head Boy and the Head Girl of the school, under the guidance of the teachers, are entrusted with the responsibility of keeping a check on students and ensure that no bullying takes place,” he adds.

When contacted, DIG, Faridkot range, Jitendra Jain said that minors are not allowed to carry or use arms and even the majors are required to keep the arms in safe custody. In case of any violation of the Arms Act, strict action will be taken against the defaulters, he said.

However, Nidhi Gupta, a psychiatrist at the Civil Hospital in Bathinda, says that over exposure due to TV, Internet and other modes of the media and easy accessibility of arms are the reasons behind such incidents.

Reducing the stress level of the students, as it leads to abnormal behaviour and manifests itself in violence and aggression, could provide a clinical solution to the problem, she suggests.

Barnala, December 19
To check the adulteration in eatables and other food items, a team of health department conducted raids at Barnala and Tapa here today.

According to information, Jeewan Singh, medical officer, Barnala, filled the samples of gur (jaggery) from a shop called Khm di hatti at Pinki market here while another team headed by Subash Singla conducted the raids at Tapa.

While in Barnala the process of filling the samples was peaceful and without any sign of protest, at Tapa, the health team had to face the wrath of Tapa Kiryana Association.

Surinder Kumar, secretary of the Association, said that as soon as it was known that a team from health department came to collect the samples, the shop owners pulled the shutters down.

The traders held a meeting at the local Aggrawal dharmshala and decided not to allow the team to collect the samples. As a result, the inspection team had to return empty-handed.

The traders gathered in the main market, raised slogans against the authorities at the health department and the state government for harassing the business community without any reason.

The secretary said that the team told them that the samples were being collected as part of a drive started by health minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla to check the adulteration in essential food items.

He said the traders were not against inspection but the authorities must do it in a respectable way and any attempt made to insult the traders would not be allowed.

Bathinda, December 19
Under the ‘Kaomi Ann Surakhiya Mission,’ 100 zero-till drills and 100 rotavators would be given to Punjab farmers at 50 per cent subsidy. Regarding this, applications of farmers who are interested in the scheme is being sent to the government, revealed members of the agriculture department.

Bathinda has 2,83,163 hectare under cultivation and 2,68,661 hectare (95 per cent of the total cultivated area) is irrigated.

The agriculture officials estimated that this year, about 2.48 lakh hectare area would be under wheat crop, while it was 2.45 lakh hectare last year. In case of cotton, yield was reduced to some extent this year due to the Mealy bug attack.

They also disclosed that two district level, 14 block level and 100 village level camps were being planned to strengthen the farmers about the technical know-how in agriculture.

The officials announced that for maintaining the quality, 435 samples of pesticides, 230 of fertilisers and 700 of seeds would be taken for testing this year.

So far, seven samples of pesticides, three samples of fertilisers and 16 samples of seed were found to be of low grade and legal action had been taken in all these cases, they added.

Under the new modern machinery programme, a number of exhibitions are being organised in different villages to educate people on ways to increase the yield and use new modern agricultural machinery in the current rabi season.

Zero-till drill, rotavators, bed-planter, happy seeder and fodder cutter is being given to farmers on a rent of mere Rs 50-200 per day.

For exhibition across the district, 5,400 mini kits of wheat, 1,200 kits of gram and 1,442 mini kits of different varieties of mustard have been given by the agriculture department under the ‘Kaomi Ann Surakhiya Scheme.’

Talwandi Sabo (Bathinda), December 19
A farmer atop a tractor is no strange sight in Punjab. But the worth mentioning is a cluster of tractors parked on both sides of the road that leads to Mansa, slightly ahead of the deputy superintendent of police’s office, here today.

Queries revealed that it was the tractor fair, a regular feature in the region, held every Wednesday. Buyers and sellers assembled there informed that other than this place, there was another, Tarksheel Chowk in Barnala, where a tractor fair is held every Monday. Besides tractors, the agriculture equipment like combine, trolley and ripper are also sold at the fair.

Sukhwant Singh, who hails from Talwandi Sabo, says the fair is being held there for past five to six years. According to him, it is not only the farmers from Punjab who flock the tractor fairs but those from the neighbouring states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh also come here for trade.

Says Jaswinder Singh of village Maur Tarampura in Barnala district, “Tractors of all companies like Eicher, Ford, Escort and Holland are bought and sold here. Buying a tractor is cheaper here. If we buy a tractor from a showroom, it will cost us somewhere around Rs 4 lakh. But if we buy it here, it will cost us around Rs 3 lakh only.”

At the fair, Jaswinder has bought a 2002 model Holland tractor for Rs 1,70,000 and says that a new one would have cost him around Rs 3 lakh.

And there is no problem of paying instalments. You finalise a deal, hand over Rs 10,000 - Rs 20,000 as the signing amount and pay the rest of the amount next Wednesday when the fair is held again.

But it is not only the lure of economic advantage that brings farmers to buy and sell their tractors here. It is also compulsion that drives them to this fair to sell their tractors and the reasons for which also capture the dilemma of rural Punjab.

Says Makhan Singh of village Lalliana in Talwandi Sabo, “Zameen se ab gujara nahin hota (land is inadequate for subsistence now). These days, we have less land and more machinery. Most of the people who come here to sell their tractors do so as they have to pay off their loan. About 70 per cent of the people here come because of this reason only. So, sale of tractors is actually a sort of distress sale.”

Makhan goes on to say that weddings in the family and the hole that they burn in the pocket also force the farmers to sell their tractors. “The more the compulsion, the more the sale,” he adds.

According to Nirmal Singh, who also hails from Maur Tarampura, there is another reason why farmers have to sell their tractors. Tube-well connection in the villages is becoming costly with farmers made to shell out around Rs 25,000 for a connection. Then, it is the price of diesel, at Rs 30 per litre, which adds to the burden. “Tube-well connection le rahe hain aur tractor bech rahe hain,” he says.

The problem of pests like Mealy bug that destroyed the narma crop and the duplicate Bt cotton seeds have compounded the problem. “To pay off their dues, they come to sell their tractors,” says Nirmal.

According to Balbir Singh, who is involved in the business there, there are 70 sale and purchase centres. The average sale at each counter is around 3-4 tractors. The sale centres, out of their income, levy one per cent charge on both the buyer and the seller. They give to the Red Cross Rs 100 for each sale, adds Balwinder Singh, another tractor dealer.

But J.R. Goyal, secretary, Red Cross, said that the practice had been stopped from today. He also said that the money collected was used for the deaf and dumb school located on Goniana road in the city.

Bathinda, December 19
In a bizarre incident, the wife of a Naik ranked army man was charred to death while her husband and their son received severe burn injuries in the late hours on Wednesday, at their residence in Model Town, Phase I, here.

One of the sons of the Naik narrated the shocking incident. He said that his father, Naik K.P. Rangaiah, in his thirties, set himself on fire following an alleged family dispute. A moment later, the wife named Laxmi also set herself ablaze, pouring kerosene on her body. Their younger son (5-year-old) sustained severe burn injuries while trying to douse the flames.

When asked about the reason for the incident, he said that his father had come to the house in an inebriated condition and a quarrel took place between the two.

Getting frustrated, his father poured kerosene upon his clothes and set himself on fire. His mother also took the same step and succumbed to her injuries. His brother attempted to douse the flames and sustained burn injuries in the attempt.

The boy further said that quarels were a regular scene at their house. The family had reportedly shifted just a few days earlier to Model Town, Phase I, where the incident took place.

It was reported that Rangaiah and his son were rushed to the civil hospital, from where the army persons took them to the military hospital in the cantonment. The emergency medical officer on duty at the civil hospital said the Naik had 99 per cent burns while his son had 30 per cent burn injuries.

Meanwhile, volunteers of the Sahara Jan Seva, an NGO, brought the body of the woman to the hospital which was then kept in the hospital mortuary. ASP Harsh Bansal said that further action in the case would be taken on Thursday.

Ferozepur, December 19
The Punjab government has released an amount of Rs 1.10 crore under the Ashirwad scheme to be given on the marriage of the girls belonging to SCs or STs and some minority communities from the economically backward strata.

While giving this information, DC Bhagwant Singh said each beneficiary under this scheme would be granted an amount of Rs 15,000 each. He said till date, 600 applications were pending for grant under this scheme.

Mansa, December 19
Chief agriculture officer Davinder Singh said today that cultivation of wheat would take place in 1,66,000 hectares of land in Mansa district. Till now, wheat has been sown in an 1.50 lakh hectare area. He said free seeds had been distributed in 100 villages and some pesticides had been given to improve the seed at 25 per cent subsidy. — OC