Bathinda, December 24
The year 2007 is now drawing to a close. Politically, it was full of memories both bitter and sweet. If one were to assess the year from a political prism, it can well be said that Bathinda remained in the headlines right from the time the year had commenced.

Just in the second month of the year, political power shifted from the hands of the Congress to the Shiromani Akali Dal (B) and BJP combine. The Congress lost a majority of the seats in the assembly elections but performed very well in the Malwa region, delivering the SAD (B) a rude jolt. In Bathinda district, just one SAD (B) MLA could and the rest of the five MLAs were elected from the Congress party.

The credit for the Congress victory in the area was given to the MLA from Bathinda, Harminder Singh Jassi. It is well known that the followers of Dera Sacha Sauda supported Jassi as he is believed to have a close relationship with the Dera chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

Ever since the time of the assembly elections, the Dera chief remained in the news. The scene took a serious turn when in May 2007, the Dera chief was accused of imitating Guru Gobind Singh at the Salabatpura Dera of the sect. Taking a serious note of it, Sikh followers reacted which allegedly fuelled the fire. The controversy turned into a bloody clash which had the region in the grip of tension.

In the first bloody clash, which took place on May 14, several Sikhs sustained injuries and the police was reportedly in a dilemma about selecting the method that would supress the matter. Then it became a day-to-day affair as Sikhs reportedy damaged a Dera situated near Maur Mandi. In addition to that, Jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti issued a 
‘hukumnama’ declaring the political, social and religious boycott of all Dera followers. Just days later, police registered case against the Dera chief in Bathinda.

After the situation stabilised, sundry other issues kept surfacing.

The celebration of martyr Bhagat Singh’s birth anniversary on September 28 in Barnala saw the presence of a large number of people from Bathinda on the occasion.

The chief minister of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal, celebrated his birthday on December 8 at Bathinda which gave importance to the city as prominent political seninational and state level political leaders arrived here. Badal also laid the foundation stone of the international cricket stadium in the district on the occasion.

Many senior political leaders like the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the SGPC chief, and even the chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court visited the city which made people realise the importance of it.

Speculation over who will contest this parliamentary seat is also rife towards the end of the year. The proposal for the delimitation of the constituency, if approved, will make Bathinda Lok Sabha seat into a general one. Earlier, it was a reserved constituency. Speculation is rife that SAD (B) acting chief Sukhbir Singh Badal may contest from here. On the other hand, SAD (A) chief Simranjit Singh Mann, at a press conference, declared that he would contest against Sukhbir if he fights the Lok Sabha election from here.

The frequent visits of the members of the Badal family and other SAD (B) leaders to Bathinda have also given people enough food for thought.

Bathinda, December 24
Various schools in the city celebrated Christmas with pomp and show. Lord Rama Public School distributed gifts among the students to mark the occasion.

While, the staff members of the Little Buds Play School pampered the kids by decorating the Christmas tree with gifts.

A cultural fiesta was also organised in which the children danced to various Christmas carols. Children dressed up as Santa Claus were the highlights of the day. 

Bathinda, December 24
You enter the Industrial Training Institute (ITI) here and the energetic sounds of NCC cadets marching past and answering the command of their company commanders welcomes you.

The Combined Annual NCC Training Camp organised by the 20 Punjab Battalion at the institute reached its third day today as the cadets went through drill and weapons training sessions.

As many as 530 cadets, including 70 girls, are participating in the 10-day National Cadet Corps (NCC) camp that began on December 22 under the leadership of Colonel Dinesh Syal.

The cadets here have been categorised into four companies A, B, C and D. To be precise, they stand for Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta. The girl cadets have been placed in the Delta group. As many as eight NCC officers (NOs) are imparting training to the cadets who have arrived from 12 senior secondary schools and 14 colleges of Bathinda, Mansa, Budhladha, Rampura Phul, Mandi Kalan, Bhucho Kalan and Bring Khera.

“The camp aims at developing the overall personality of the cadets and help them gain an edge over other candidates in every competition, be it banking or finance, not to mention the defence services,” said Deepak Singla, an NO at the camp.

At the camp, the cadets would go through daily march past besides weapons training, firing, fire-fighting, map reading and training sessions for officers. Apart from that, there would be seminars on AIDS awareness and female foeticide along with blood donation, traffic awareness and tree plantation camps.

During the last two days of the camp, competitions would be organised where apart from contests at the group level and individual contests, cultural programmes would also be held, Singla informed.

The day at the camp begins and ends with a simple parade. The parade at the start of the training is usually used for attendance and briefing the cadets on the schedule for the day’s training session while the parade at the end of the day is used to brief the cadets on subsequent events and as a short feedback session.

Singla regretted that the NCC was, at present, promoted only in government-run schools and colleges. He was of the opinion that if private schools and colleges also come forward, it would be good for the students and the country as well.

A young cadet at the camp, Varun Dhingra (22) from DAV College, Bathinda, is all set for his SSB interview to be held at the Air Force Selection Board, Dehradun. Dhingra said he was upbeat about the interview. The oozing confidence was noticeable from his body language, which in turn stemmed from the NCC training camps that he had attended. He has returned from Singapore only a few days back after attending a similar camp there.

Subedar Major Lekh Raj, another NO, said the camp would help the cadets get a ‘C’ certificate as to get this certificate, the cadets have to attend two such camps.

The ‘C’ certificate would provide them with the opportunity to qualify for appearing in the Services Selection Board interviews conducted by the defence services, he added.

Tomorrow’s schedule at the camp includes a seminar on AIDS awareness, weapons training session and firing exercise, informed the Subedar Major.

Cadet Kuldeep Singh, a teenager, who is from Government High School, Barnala, said, “I am looking forward to the firing exercise which is scheduled for tomorrow.”

The NCC cadets, by attending the camp, gain confidence and learn to lead life in a disciplined manner apart from inculcating team spirit. This is what the motto of the voluntary organisation, ‘unity and discipline’, says. 

Bathinda, December 24
Someone knocking at the rolled down shutter of a liquor shop and then thrusting his hand inside a small hole in it to get his favourite bottle of liquor, of course at a price! This is the usual scene at liquor shops located near the railway station in Bathinda, late at night.

During visits to such outlets, the TNS team found that these shops have regular customers who come to buy liquor from them in the late hours. It has also been learnt that the price of liquor varies from that sold during day time. The sellers from inside the closed shutters charge Rs 5 to Rs 15 extra for every bottle, ostensibly for providing service late at night.

The regular closing time for liquor shops in the city is 11 pm, but these shops have no such limits. It has been observed that passengers who have to board trains at night buy liquor from these shops to take along in the trains for the journey.

When contacted, a liquor seller in the area said on the condition of anonymity, “We are just providing additional services for which we get nothing from the contractors. It is an illegal practice but nobody bothers as the custodians of law also come to avail of it.”

The practice is known to be carried out on the sly despite the presence of cops in the area. A policeman patrolling the area said, “We just follow the orders. If officers ask us to take the orders seriously, we shall do. But there might be some understanding between the officers and the contractors.”

When SHO Kotwali, Davinder Singh, was apprised of the fact, he said he was not aware of the practice. Singh, however, assured of taking strict action. 

Bathinda, December 24
Students of the ITI, Bathinda, today took out a protest march and sat on a dharna in front of the DC’s office against the police’s alleged brutal action on their fellow students on December 20.

According to a press release, the Punjab Students Union (Shaheed Randhawa) took out a demonstration on the same issue in the ITI colleges of Barnala, Faridkot and Budhlada. While addressing students at Bathinda’s ITI College, PSU leader Pawel alleged that the government was in cahoots with the private transporters. That’s why the police had beaten up the students, he alleged.

He warned that the struggle would continue if the students’ demands for bus pass, withdrawal of cases, stoppage for buses outside ITI colleges and filing of cases against the accused officials, were not met.

PSU’s state president Gurmukh Singh Maan and vice-president Rajinder Singh, in a press statement, also levelled allegations saying the government’s soft corner for the transporters was because of its high stake in it.

Lok Morcha’s Bathinda unit stressed upon the validity of providing subsidised passes in private buses and setting up stoppages for buses outside the colleges to help the students. 

Moga, December 24
Showing solidarity with the students who were thrashed by the police in Bathinda, the students of the Industrial Training Institute (ITI) here blocked the vehicular traffic on the busy Moga-Ludhiana road.

Raising slogans against the Punjab Police, the students squatted on the road and blocked the traffic for about 30 minutes.

The students said that it was against the democratic spirit if those in power suppressed the peaceful agitation of the students.

They demanded the immediate dismissal of the police personnel responsible for the despicable act. They criticised the state government for turning its back on the promises that it had made to the student community before the assembly elections.

They alleged that the ITI students were being harassed by the private bus operators in Bathinda. They also added that if the bus operators did not mend their ways, then the students would be left with no other option but to launch an 
agitation against them. — TNS 

Abohar , December 24
The registration of a first information report (FIR) alleging stamp duty evasion might open a pandora box here, well informed sources in the real estate business indicated.

The city police on the recommendation of the revenue department have registered an FIR against five persons under sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Former member of the local municipal council, Jamuna Devi, a property dealer and ward Congress Committee office-bearer Mahipal Pehalwan, Jagdish Kumar, a resident of Band Gali, Ranjeet Kaur and her husband Baldev Singh have been identified as suspects in the FIR.

According to the information available, Jagdish Kumar was reported having sold a house located in street number 13 of Nai Abadi locality to Ranjeet Kaur by falsely showing its location in street 17 of the Kandhwala road.

The sale was executed for Rs 72,000 and misrepresentation regarding location involved invasion of Rs 4,420 as stamp duty.

The deputy commissioner had fixed different rates as the minimum price for 
selling property.

Some one lodged a complaint to the divisional commissioner who asked the deputy commissioner to get the matter investigated. The revenue officials here after a spot visit confirmed that the seller and buyer in connivance with the property dealer had indulged in projecting wrong locations which were verified by the former municipal councillor, sources said.

Well-placed sources said this was just a tip of the iceberg. By going through complaints pending with the financial commissioner of the revenue department, it might be observed that all controversial property sale deeds including some by non-resident Indians and political heavyweights were executed without going through the process of mandatory computerisation.

Undivided properties of joint families had been purchased over night by making wrong projections on locations.

In the posh locality of the new Suraj Nagari and the neighbouring areas, properties had allegedly been sold without mentioning the 
correct locations.

In some cases, Azeemgarh village, which is now within the municipal limits, had allegedly been shown as the location instead of new Suraj Nagari.

Some of the illegal real estate developers had crossed all limits in this kind of malpractice obviously with the connivance of the property brokers, document writers and staff of the revenue department, the complaints suggested.

However, action on such complaints is still being awaited. 

Barnala, December 24
Barnala, the hub of intellectuals and noted Punjabi writers, cannot provide a congenial academic atmosphere for its people, much to the dismay of readers who frequent the municipal library here. 

The only municipal library in the town is now languishing for want of proper attention.

It is really difficult to inculcate reading habits among the youngsters here in the absence of adequate space or proper atmosphere. Though hundreds of readers throng the library, they all go back disappointed.

The only reading room of the town at the local municipal library is in a state of neglect. It has been declared unsafe by the municipal authorities.

The roof of the room starts leaking once the rany season begins. The library, located in the heart of the city, used to draw readers, especially those interested in reading newspaper, but its dilapidated condition has forced many to stop coming.

Rainwater accumulates in the centre of the reading room because its roof leaks. Then there is the danger of electric shocks as wiring is not properly done. The storage capacity for newspapers too is insufficient and the roof leaks right at the place where the newspapers are stacked and filed.

Sahit Shiromani award winner Om Parkash Gasso, who has penned more than five dozen novels and books of poems, is disappointed with the facilities.

He said reading habits die hard but circumstances can prove it otherwise. If unsafe building and unhygienic surroundings confront the readers, they surely will think twice before heading for the library.

Municipal committee president Makhan Sharma, while admitting that the library is unsafe and fit for readers, said, “ We are looking for another location to shift the librray. As soon as the budget is sanctioned, readers will be provided with a modern and spacious library.” 

Muktsar, December 24
As many as 78 students from different colleges of Punjab were sensitised on issues like the menace of drug addiction, environmental hazards and right to information at a 10-day NSS camp which concluded at Dasmesh Girls College of Education at Badal village in the district today.

The students also visited the Pingalwara Trust centre at Amritsar where the students learnt how the deaf and dumb students were being given computer education. A seminar in the Right to Information (RTI) was held during the camp in which they learnt how the citizens could seek the required information from the government and how this Act was an opportunity for a common man to check exploitation at any level in the government departments.

A wall newspaper also became a daily schedule at the camp as the students came out with their poetry, articles on various issues like potential of the media and other 
literary activities.

On the last day of the camp today, a cultural bonanza was organised which became an opportunity for the students to show their talent in folk art. Eminent singers Sabar Ali and Yusuf Ali, the inter-varsity gold medallists, presented a Sufi qalam on the occasion.

Panjab University’s NSS Director Rabinder Nath Sharma, who presided over the concluding function, expressed his hope that holding of such camps would definitely sensitise the young generation which could bring in a “revolutionary change” in society. 

Faridkot, December 24
A woman and her paramour along with her two and a half-year-old child jumped into 
a canal near village Machaki Mal Singhwala near here on Sunday night.

The police with the help of the villagers succeeded in retrieving the body of the woman, a resident of village Lamb Wali of Jaito block. But the body of her daughter could not be traced. Police sources said the woman’s husband works in Dubai.

The sources said her lover named Lucky, unmarried and electrician by profession, however, escaped and was admitted to a hospital here.

The police has registered a case against him. However, the police officials said the reason behind the incident would be known only after the inquiry was completed. 

Barnala, December 24
To protest the proposed unbundling of the Punjab State Electricity Board, scores of farmers and labour unions held a meeting here today.

It was presided over by the Bharti Kisan Union’s (Ekta) state vice-president Manjeet Singh Dhaner. After the meting, Dhaner said the state government is bent for ruining the poor people. The basic facilities like education, health, transport and now power supply were getting privatised. The common man couldn’t afford these facilities, as the private sector was very costly, he added.

Manjeet said as the deadline to unbundle the electricity board had been extended to February 29, 2007, so the unions demanded from the state government to cancel the Electricity bill, 2003 or be prepared to face the ire of dozens of farmers and labour unions.

He said these unions would hold dharnas at the tehsil and district levels on January 31 and a Punjab bandh call had also been given for February 19. Later, the union leaders presented a memorandum to the chief minister through the deputy commissioner. 

Bathinda, December 24
Parthenium weed, commonly known as the congress grass, is becoming a chronic problem for farmers in Punjab.The exotic weed, which came to India along with imported wheat from the US in the early 60s, has spread its roots all over the country and the wheat bowl of the country, Punjab, has been the most affected by it.

The congress grass, spreading its tentacles in rural Punjab, especially in the Malwa region is rendering cultivable lands infertile, playing havoc with the health of the people and contaminating water and air through the transfer of pollen.

The people are facing the consequences due to the rapid growth of parthenium but are not fully aware of the killer aspect of this plant.

The scientists have so far not succeeded in rooting out the plant and the only crude method available to deal with it is to physically uproot and burn it. The plant has so far shown great resistance, rising from the ashes like a phoenix. So much so that the process of burning has to be repeated four to five times to completely eradicate it.

“The transfer of pollens through the air causes respiratory and skin diseases and allergies, which in the long run affect the reproductive system,” said B. S. Gill, skin specialist at the civil hospital and district leprosy officer.

The menace is also spreading through the water and in Bathinda area, it has already spread on the banks of the canals. While the scientists and local authorities are yet to come out with a comprehensive strategy to eradicate the weed, the local military station has taken the initiative to check the menace by launching a project.

According to Colonel P. Bindra, the military station has achieved the desired success in eradicating the plant by physically uprooting and burning it by involving civilian volunteers.

Due precautions are taken by wearing gloves, covering the faces and taking a bath after the task is over, Bindra added.

The uprooting of plant is best undertaken immediately after the rains when the soil is soft and chances of roots breaking and remaining rooted in the soil are very remote. The repetition of process to five times yields desired results.

The people are so ignorant about its ill-effects that children playing in fields full of congress grass is a common sight and in some cases, the situation is so shocking that people have even kept a potted plant inside the house.

However, the animals are wiser and do not eat the congress grass and that is one reason why this grass is growing at a magic pace.

Bindra says that to avoid any future growth of congress grass, it must be removed before it reaches the stage of maturity and spreads pollen to other areas. Civilians and Armymen living in the cantonment area are sensitised about the problem.

The Army is trying to build linkages with the civil authorities to replicate the project in other areas, Bindra added.

The seriousness of the situation can be gauged by the fact that even the Punjab Chief Secretary has directed the administration to take strict measures for the eradication of the wild plant, says Amit Dhaka, assistant commissioner. The congress grass is one of the reasons for the spread of Mealy Bug which destroys the cotton crop, he added. 

Moga, December 24
Teachers’ organisations, including ETT teachers’ union, boycotted the week- long seminars being organised by the state government under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, which kicked off here today.

Jaswinder Singh Sidhu, leader of the ETT union, said that seminars were being organised during the winter holidays. He said that they were not against seminars aimed at providing education but its timing was wrong.

He informed that to express resentment and annoyance against the education policy of the SAD-BJP alliance, they would burn an effigy of chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on December 26.

Leaders of the teachers’ union felt that privatisation of education would only help a handful of people involved in the business 
of education to consolidate themselves and added that the government must have a re-look at its education 
policy to rectify the shortcomings. 

Abohar, December 24
Karmanyta Ranade, a student of the LRS DAV Senior Secondary Model School, here has returned with four gold medals after participating in the 38th All India Rural Archery Championship held at Jaipur in Rajasthan.

She won in the 40 meter, 30 meter and overall events in individual as well as in team category. About 22 teams from different states participated in the competitions.

Principal Kusum Khungar felicitated Karmanyta and announced that she had also been selected for the National School Archery. — OC 

Abohar, December 24
Two persons were crushed to death in Sriganganagar region during the past 24 hours, sources confirmed today.

A speeding car drove over one Vipan Kumar, aged about 14, while he was returning on his bicycle to his house in Vivekanand Colony. The police has registered a case against the driver of the car.

In another mishap, a truck ran over one Lakha Singh of village 15 NDR on the Rawatsar road while he was going to his fields on Sunday. He died on the spot.

In yet another case, a youth was found on the railway track in unconscious condition near village Fatuhi. The alert driver of the Sriganganagar-Abohar-Ambala passenger train halted on noticing the youth lying on the track. He was later shifted and admitted to a hospital in Sriganganagar. The victim was identified as Ram Karan (19) of village Ghamoorwali. The police said it would be investigated as to how Ram Karan fell unconscious and who put him on the railway track.