Bathinda, January 14
A day after the district administration held discussions with a cross-section of society to tackle the acute shortage of LPG cylinders, the district administration took some harsh steps and passed instructions to the departments concerned on Monday. 

These measures, it is believed, would be implemented from January 17.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Rahul Tewari has issued orders to all gas agencies in the district to clamp down on fake gas connections. The order also mentions that hotels and restaurants should be checked to prevent the illegal use of domestic LPG cylinders there. The traffic police in the district has been asked to seize vehicles that run on LPG in an unauthorised manner.

In the order, the DC has given a grace period of three days to all illegal users of LPG. The order will be strictly implemented from January 17.

However, the order issued by the district administration lacks provisions to check and punish those who sell LPG cylinders in black. It is common knowledge in the city that the Haji Rattan road has become a haven for selling LPG cylinders in black. One can get a refill here on paying Rs 400 or Rs 450 for the cylinder in black whereas the actual price is around Rs 300.

The extent of the problem faced by the people can be gauged from the fact that Boota Singh, a resident of Paras Ram Nagar, who had booked a cylinder on December 29, 2007 has not got the refill till date. Singh alleged that the dealers themselves are involved in selling LPG cylinders in black as they issue domestic cylinders to hoteliers “close to them at a special price.”

On the other hand, disclosing the actual reason behind the problem, a senior gas agency official said, “The main reason is the government policy as it has tightened its fist when it came to subsidies. Now, the major hurdle is that the government does not want to hike the LPG price to offset the problem as it can have serious repercussions for it. Finding themselves in a bind, the refineries have reduced the production.”

Bathinda, January 14
Realising that environmental degradation and sanitation would be serious problems in the present age of rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, the local administration has taken a major initiative to make Bathinda ‘clean and green’. 

The integrated project taking care of multiple problems like cleaning of streets, refuse collection, recycling, dumping sites, public toilets, parking lots and stray animal menace has been launched with the active involvement of the people.

The project ‘clean and green Bathinda’, would envisage the renovation of public toilets, creation and management of dumping sites, parking facility, tackling problems of stray and abandoned animals, widening of roundabouts for the smooth flow of traffic, erection of tree guards, providing dustbins and collection of polythene and plastic waste.

Under the project, seven toilets in thickly populated areas like the railway station, Gandhi market, PSEB office area and Amrik Singh road have been renovated and the upkeep of the remaining toilets is in the pipeline.

Parking of vehicles being a major problem in the city, efforts have been made to identify seven sites for the parking areas and the railway authorities have been requested to allow the use of their open space for the parking of vehicles.

To tackle the nuisance caused by stray animals, ‘Gaushala’ (shelter for cows) has been set up to accommodate around 1,500 animals. About 350 abandoned cows have been shifted to the ‘goushala’ and volunteers are on the job to rein in the stray animals. The cost of feeding one cow has been worked out at Rs 20 per day and the total annual expenditure to be incurred on them would be Rs 9 lakh, said Amit Dhaka, assistant commissioner under training (ACUT)

Further, tree guards to protect the trees from damage have been provided and 50 dustbins have been placed at vintage points in the town in the first phase and the remaining areas would be covered in the next phase. To solve the problem of proper disposal of polythene

and plastic waste, a unique strategy has been adopted to engage rag-pickers and convert them into ‘container fillers’.

Under the project, the chronic problem of solid waste management, common to all developing towns, is being solved by creating more dumping sites and erecting walls from three sides to save the solid waste from getting scattered. As many as 40 dumping sites have been identified and walled enclosures would be erected at 18 sites in the first phase while the remaining sites would be covered in the second phase.

In order to avoid accidents during the rush hours, the schools have been told to put barricades around their gates in the morning and evening and to depute two guards in uniform in order to manage the kids. In addition, tree plantations and display of green signboards would also be taken up as an essential component of ‘Clean and Green Bathinda ‘ project to give the town a green look.

The authorities are also planning a campaign for public contribution to create civic amenties.

Bathinda, January 14
Sukhbir Singh Badal, acting president of SAD (B), today spoke at length about the development plans for the state, at Chaina village in Faridkot district, while laying the foundation stone for a 66 KV sub-station, on Monday.

Talking about the power projects, Sukhbir said all the four thermal power plants, which are going to be launched in various parts of the state, would be in the private sector. He said that work on the Talwandio Sabo project is likely to begin in May and on Rajpura project in November while the work on other power plants would begin next year.

On acute shortage of power and the outdated supply system, Sukhbir said that Rs 1,300 crore had been granted for the distribution of power in the state and under the new plan various new grids would be started.

Assuring that the oil refinery in Bathinda would go ahead, he said that the government is also planning to set up cement factories in the state.

As far as the priorities of the state government are concerned, he listed improvement of the irrigation, drinking water and sanitation systems in the state. He said that construction work on the Bathinda-Chandigarh four-lane highway, which would be named the ‘Expressway’, would start by the end of this year.

Sukhbir also spoke about the need to lure foreign investors and set up state-of-the-art infrastructure.

About the development of sports, he said that a kabaddi league would be started. District teams from across the state would participate in the league and free coaching would be provided to selected players, he added.

When Sukhbir’s comment on the allegation that the PRTC was incurring losses due to transport companies allegedly owned by the Badal family, he said, “It is the duty of the PRTC management to chalk out a strategy to earn profit from the state buses. The government is going to introduce many new buses but saying that this is incurring losses for the PRTC would be incorrect.”

Parrying a query related to former chief minister Amrinder Singh, Sukhbir said the case was in the court and the Vigilance Bureau was doing its duty.

Bathinda, January 14
Last month, when Gurtej Singh Sra, member (generation), Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) visited the Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant (GHTP) at Lehra Mohabbat (Bathinda), he announced that the process of test synchronisation on oil of unit I of stage II would start on December 26, get completed by December 31 and the lighting up of the unit on coal would be done on January 12.

The test synchronisation on oil got completed on January 3 but the coal firing, which was scheduled for Saturday (January 12), has been further delayed by almost 10 days.

As per sources in GHTP, the fresh date given by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) for coal firing is January 22.

When this correspondent contacted K.V. Tandon, construction manager, BHEL today, he refused to comment and said. “Tusi jo likhna likh lavo, mainu koi farak nahi painda (write whatever you want to write, I don’t care).

If you want to know something about this plant, contact our corporate communications office.”

But when this correspondent asked about the contact number of corporate communications office so that the actual reasons for further delay of GHTP could be known, he said, “Jitho marzi labh lavvo, mainu nahi pata (find it on your own, I don’t know it).” And he hung up the phone.

The whole exercise of test synchronisation on oil at GHTP lasted for nine days (starting from December 26), against a normal procedure of two or a maximum of three days and during that period, oil worth more than Rs 50 lakh extra was used by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL).

The commissioning of two units at Guru Hargobind Lehra Mohabbat Thermal Plant is already running almost 16 months behind schedule.

The earlier deadline was March 2007 and later, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal set another deadline of June 2007.

Due to the slow pace of work, the cost of project has gone up from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,200 crore.

When Sra was contacted, he said that the unit I of stage II at GHTP would be completed this month itself.

“As it is a very big project, so there are many technical snags linked to it and we are working hard for the completion of this project.”

Bathinda, January 14
On the second day of the Army recruitment drive today, more than 10,000 youths from Faridkot, Ferozpur and Moga district appeared at the Government Rajindra College, the venue for the selection.

Chaotic conditions prevailed as candidates ran from pillar to post to seek information about the test, the certificate required and the arrangements for their stay.

However, Sabudar Harneek Singh, an Arjuna awardee from Kotsukhia village in Faridkot district, who came along with his son, rued that the Army personal are misbehaving and ill-treating the youth who have come for recruitment.

Another resident of Satyana village in Muktsar district said that it was for the fourth and the last time that he had come for recruitment.

“Last year, even after clearing the physical, medical and written tests, I was not recruited on the pretext that my documents were incomplete,” he said. 

Bathinda, January 14
The polythene-covered seats, temporary number plates, and the ‘for sale’ tag make it quite obvious that these two-wheeled beauties are here for sale. 

What is perhaps not noticeable is that most of these two-wheelers waiting to be disposed of had been handed as part of gift the recipient of which now probably wants to move on to better options.

The feeling of dissatisfaction over the dowry received can be seen at the used two-wheeler market held every Sunday on the Bathinda-Goniana road here. People come and park their two-wheelers in queue for sale as they wish to buy a new model in a higher price range.

As per the information available, the two-wheeler market here caters to as many as 19 dealers and on an average, every dealer claims to have sold five vehicles every Sunday. The sale of brand new vehicle is more here than the old ones. When asked about the reason for the higher sale of new vehicles, Bobby, the president of Super Scooter Dealers Association, said, “Everyday, a new vehicle is being launched. People who get the vehicle as dowry are soon dissatisfied and opt for a new one.” The customers for the used vehicles have their own version. “When we can have an used vehicle at less price, there is no fun buying a new one.”

Bargaining also goes on at this market. The tag bears the price of the vehicle, but there is a margin of Rs 3,000-5,000 also. The dealers take their pre-settled commission of Rs 500 from both the parties.

The dealers also use a crime verification slip issued by the district administration by paying a nominal fee to certify that the vehicle has not been used in any crime.

Said an employee at the Hero Honda dealer, “The market caters to customers who would have come straight to the show-room to get a new vehicle. On the other, it also provides an outlet to new customers.

Bathinda, January 14
The residents of Bathinda have a cause for worry. The groundwater in the region is contaminated with high mineral content while the fluoride content in piped water supplied by the local Municipal Corporation is on the brink of maximum permissible limit and cannot sustain RO (reverse osmosis) for purification. 

This alarming situation was highlighted during a survey conducted by Eureka Forbes, which organised a four-day workshop on water purification applications. The scientists of Eureka Forbes took about 95 samples of groundwater and piped water and found that the mineral content in groundwater was as high as 500 mg to 1760 mg per litre against the ideal permissible limit of 50 mg to 150 mg per litre.

However, the TDS (total dissoluble substances) of piped water was 80 to 150 mg per litre but the mineral contents are so precariously balanced that reverse osmosis to reduce the dissoluble contents is not feasible.

Eureka Forbes expert and microbiologist at Aqua Check Lab, Chandigarh, Yogesh Pandey said that the workshop recommended that RO should not be undertaken for purification of water supplied by the municipal corporation as it would bring the mineral contents below the required level and some other measure has to be applied to reduce the fluoride content.

The increase in fluoride level leads to decay of teeth and bones and also results in discolouration of teeth and its permissible limit is one ppm (part per million) while the existing fluoride level in piped level is three to four ppm, said Jitinder Sethi, a local dentist.

Ashwani, a homoeopathetic practitioner said that the groundwater contains high degree of minerals like iron, lead, nitrates, pesticides, mercury, arsenic, zinc and calcium etc. and it is not safe for drinking purposes.

However, XEN, Water and Sewerage Board, J.S. Deol denied this and said that TDS in the drinking water is within permissible limits, which is 500 to 2000 mg per litre. The quantity of the fluoride is also not more than .4 ppm, he added.

Bathinda, January 14
In an effort to have a greener Bathinda, the DAV College, here, recently launched mass tree plantation campaign, under which one lakh saplings would be planted in and around the city by the end of this year.

College and school students, doctors, banks as well as different NGOs (non government organisations) are taking part in the campaign, which is a brainchild of college principal, J.S. Anand. Majority of the plantation would take place in the months of February-March and July-August. Speaking to TNS, J.S. Anand, said, “We plan to plant at least one lakh saplings by the end of this year in different parts of the city. The objective of this exercise is to motivate people to plant trees, to increase awareness among the residents particularly the students about the importance of trees by inculcating tree consciousness amongst them.

Even a sense of responsibility will be inculcated among people to nurture and look after the trees and to motivate communities and colonies together to actively participate in combating pollution at local level.’’
“More than 10,000 students from our college and the other two schools under us, Mahatama Hans Raj School, New Basti, Mall Road and DAV Senior Secondary School, Bibiwala Road would also be involved in this campaign during the plantation drive. As we do not have enough funds for this campaign, so we would request various banks, doctors and NGOs, to donate us saplings and not money.

They would donate trees and manpower to plant them would be ours. Our students would be the messengers of greening Bathinda. Even the fine collected from students would be taken in the form of tree saplings,’’ Anand added.

In-charge of this campaign, Mahesh Inder Singh said that the target would be achieved by spreading awareness among the students.

Abohar, January 14
Meenu Chandra, a senior preacher from the Vyakti Vikas Kendra, Bangalore, founded by Sri Sri Ravishankar, started a six-day Art of Living course today at the sector headquarters of the Border Security Force (BSF). Sunil Kapur, commanding officer of the 99 Bn, escorted her to a specially erected podium. DIG V. K. Sharma welcomed her by offering a bouquet. 

He said in his inaugural address that the largest paramilitary force in the world (BSF) was keeping round the clock vigil on the international borders, so tension was obvious. Even when the soldiers and officers had no immediate stress or strain, sincere endeavour was being made to make them aware of preventive measures to ensure healthy and calm living. With eating habits and fast food culture swiftly spoiling society, there was a need to usher in, a new era, he exhorted.

Meenu Chandra said she had conducted the Art of Living course for the BSF in Bihar but this was the first one in Punjab. Sudershan kirya is the soul of the six-day basic course. Efforts would be made to train nearly 150 participants to shun negative and wasteful thinking besides, gaining expertise in yoga and ideal respiratory system.

Narrating her experience, she said the style of living preached by Sri Sri Ravishankar had succeeded in averting divorces besides uniting families with ideals values. The course helped in solving chronic problems in day-to-day life automatically. The aim is to make the cosmos smile, she added. 

Takhtupura (Moga), January 14
Reiterating his party’s resolve to provide development benefits to the people of the state by the end of this year, Sukhbir Singh Badal, the acting president of SAD (B), said here today that these steps would transform the face of Punjab.

Utilising the stage set up at the historic village, which three Sikh Gurus, Guru Nanak Dev, Guru Hargobind Rai and Guru Gobind Singh had visited, Sukhbir announced that the current year would be developed as the year of development.

According to him, the target of his party was to take up development work at a fast pace so that it must be completed by the year end.

Ducking a query about Faridkot parliamentary constituency, from where he is currently MP, being reserved, he said that he would not voice his choice on the matter. Later, he said that he would follow the direction of the party in the matter.

Taking a dig at the previous Congress government in the state for scarcity of power, he said that to fill the gap, three thermal plants were established within ten months after SAD (B) came to power. Another power plant would be set up at Abohar soon, he added.

He added that 29 power grids worth Rs 200 crore were established in Faridkot Lok Sabha constituency. Out of these, 15 were in this district only, he said.

Refuting Congress allegations, Sukhbir said that by no means his party was ever involved in the persecution of opposition leaders and workers. He said that the goal of Akali-BJP coalition government was to provide benefit to the marginalised sections of society.

He said that work on building a four-lane road between Chandigarh-Ludhiana, Moga-Ferozepur and Chandigarh-Patiala-Bathinda would be finished within two years. He also announced the setting up of a hockey stadium and academy at Mohali.

When asked about the agitation of ETT teachers and Anganwadi workers, he said that the state government was mulling over their demands and it will take some time to decide.

From the Congress side, Jagmeet Singh Brar and Mahinder Singh Kaypee addressed the people. They flayed the SAD-BJP coalition for undoing the development projects initiated by the previous Congress government.

Kaypee said that the delimitation process would add five assembly seats and a parliamentary constituency under reserved category giving more opportunity to leaders from Dalit sections to present their view. Brar said that if the Badal government decided to elect sarpanches only with the consent of panch, then they would be forced to launch an agitation. The agitation would start from the ancestral village of CM Parkash Singh Badal.

SAD (A) president Simranjit Singh Mann today reiterated his warning of making public CDs of SAD (B) leaders and a BJP leader if the CM did not run his party on the basis of panth philosophy. He also lauded the district administration of Muktsar for stopping performances by females on the stage where Ajmer Singh Lakhowal, state president of Bharatiya Kisan Union was to address. Among others who addressed congregations were Lok Bhalai party (LBP) chief Balwant Singh Ramoowalia and CPI leader Jagrup Singh Gill.  —TNS                     

Abohar, January 14
Most of the institutions and organisations celebrated Lohri along with Makar Sankranti today. Lohri celebrations beat previous records in this sub-divisional town with scores of stalls doing brisk business on roads here last night.

Local MLA Sunil Jakhar celebrated Lohri along with Congress workers at a function organised by a former Youth Congress president Mukesh Vatrana at Gaushala road crossing here last night. City Congress president B.L. Nagpal and municipal council president Tulsi Ram were among those present.

In a noble gesture, the members of the Shri Bala Ji Manav Seva Samiti last night marched to railway goods yard to celebrate Lohri with people, who had no shelter. The Samiti members led by president Rajat Luthra and secretary Lalit Kamra distributed groundnuts, ‘rewari’, ‘gajjak’ and popcorns among the have-nots besides providing blankets to the needy. They performed ‘kirtan’ also.

The Innerwheel Club members led by president Kanta Narang celebrated Makar Sankranti today with the students of 105 years old Arya Putri Pathshala. DAV School teacher Ashok Sharma performed ‘havan yajna’ there. Neeraj Shrama delighted the gathering with religious songs.

Yogi Sukhnath preached ‘pranayam’ for a disease-free living. The noble members served delicious meals to the students. The Arya Samaj president Sohan Lal Setia was also present.

The Lions Club of Mandi-Abohar celebrated Lohri along with the founder’s day. President G. S. Jassal spoke on the life and ideals of Melvin Jones, who was the founder of the International Association of Lions Club.

The students of the DAV College of Education were busy with terminal examinations but they did not forget to celebrate Lohri today with principal Venita Singh and teachers— Gurpreet Kaur, Nitika and Gurdeep Kaur. The function was enriched with the presentation of Punjabi “tappe”, ‘giddha’, modelling and other dances. Sweets were also distributed.

Lohri celebrations in the Bhag Singh Khalsa College for Women, in Kala Tibba village, were preceded by a magic show. Principal Parminder Sharma and staff joined the students in performing ‘giddha’ after lighting the huge stack of wood. 

Barnala, January 14
The court of additional sessions judge, Archana Puri, acquitted all seven accused in an attempt to murder case here today.

As per the police diary, Deepak Kumar complained that on July 21, 2007, he, along with his brother Rajkumar and friend Bunti, were going to their workplace, but on the way near ‘Jandhu Motor Repair’, Kesu alias Rakesh Kumar, Bikram Singh, Romy Singh, Kamlajeet Singh, Ajeet Pal Singh, Vinod Kumar and Jeewan Singh allegedly attacked him and his brother with iron rods, sticks and baseball bats.

The accused hit both the brothers on the skull. When the clash turned violent, the neighbours and one Jagmohan Singh came to their rescue. They tried to stop Kesu and others from beating Deepak, but the accused also allegedly hit him badly. Jagmohan Singh, then had to be taken to the civil hospital, Barnala, where doctors referred him to Rajindra hospital in Patiala.

However, the doctors declared that these head injuries could prove fatal for him, but he was saved finally.

Defence counsel Jatinder Pal Singh said that in the court, a total of seven witnesses were produced, but their statements did not match with the previous statements given before the police.

In the absence of proper evidence, judge Archana Puri acquitted all the seven accused in the case.

Moga, January 14
Their love for fast disappearing kabaddi drove them to introduce an annual edition of the game for its promotion. Going a step ahead, they honoured former players with gold medals while the current bright players were encouraged with motorcycles.

These people are NRIs and residents of Lande Ke and nearby villages on Moga-Amritsar road. With a view to reviving “mother of all games”, as they fondly called kabaddi, these people formed the Dashmesh Youth Welfare Kabaddi Club.

Besides, they also liked to check the menace of growing addiction and intoxicants among youth. “The game would wean away youth from the growing stranglehold of drugs and intoxicants”, confided Karampal Singh Sidhu, a NRI. Resident of the same village, he got inspired to fund for the revival of the game after he migrated to Canada in 1997. His affection for the game and his village grew stronger during his stay on foreign shores. His coming together with the former national player, Kaka Fatehgarh, turned his affection into resolve and they decided to float a club not only to patronise the game but also promote the players.

Hence, they gifted brand new motorcycles to nine outstanding players. Meanwhile, this year they honoured 11 former players with gold medals.

Sidhu informed that they had been holding two-day kabaddi tournaments for the past two years and would continue to hold the same annually. Over Rs 20 lakh was required to organise the two-day kabaddi fair, which they pooled together. As many as 10 clubs of kabaddi from every nook and cranny of Punjab participated in the tournament, which concluded last week.

Aficionados of the game feel that it is best suited to the Indian conditions, as it hardly requires any accessories or equipment. It requires stamina, both mental and physical skills, extraordinary reflexes and exceptional eye-hand-leg coordination. It has a distinct flavour which resembles in some aspects that of both wrestling and rugby. It is a game played throughout Asia with very minor changes and is loved by the Punjabis, whether Indian or Pakistani.

Kaka played in the All India Inter-University in 1993 and was state team player for nearly five years. It earned him a job in the Punjab Police in 1996. Besides, he played for various kabaddi clubs in Canada, England and Norway, being run by the migrated Punjabis there.

He said their effort helped in reviving the game in villages around Lande ke. He said influence of cricket enamoured the youth of their villages and it was high time to popularise kabaddi with concerted efforts and hastily added that it should not be construed as detesting cricket but work for survival and popularising kabaddi. 

Mansa, January 14
Mansa received Rs 2,68,62,000 from the MPLAD fund during the last three years, out of which Rs 2,37,87,000 had been released for around 307 development works, said MP Paramjeet Kaur Gulshan, while presiding over a meeting of the district vigilance and monitoring committee.

She said that many roads were constructed under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna’. The MP further said that construction work on the overbridge on Barnala-Sirsa road is progressing fast and the overbridge would be completed by the end of April. After this, the traffic problem would be solved.

Gulshan also informed that on Bathinda-Delhi railway line, the construction work of an underbridge, at an estimated cost of nearly Rs 9 crore , had also been started.

To provide drinking water, Rs 3 crore and 19 lakh had been received out of which Rs 2 crore and Rs 84 lakh had been used till now. On this occasion, DC Surjeet Singh Dhillon said that under the Indira Aawas Yojna, 392 new houses and repair of 196 houses would be undertaken.

Bathinda, January 14
A policemen reportedly injured himself after he attempted to shoot his colleague near the AC Market after an altercation here on Sunday night.

Sources said constable Paramjit Singh and Badal Singh were deputed at the AC Market to keep vigil on the occasion of Lohri. Around midnight, both of them were involved in a heated discussion.

During the quarrel, Badal Singh pulled out his service revolver and fired at him, but as Paramjit ducked, the bullet hit Badal Singh, who was injured in the shoulder.

Confirming the facts, SHO Kotwali, Davinder Singh said that on the basis of a complaint filed by Paramjit Singh, a case has been registered against Badal Singh. But as he was injured, he has been admitted to the Civil Hospital, Bathinda.