Abohar, April 16
Water in the Malukpura distributaries and its sub-canals have almost dried up. On the other hand, drinking water crisis in the sub-division further deepened with the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board (PWSSB) announcing that supply to over 1.5 lakh consumers in the town would be made once during 48 hours.

The irrigation department had suspended water supply in the distributaries attached to the Rajasthan feeder and Sirhind canal last week. The authorities had earlier planned to suspend water supply last month but the proposal evoked strong protests from the Punjabi farmers, who have settled in the neighbouring districts of Rajasthan after disposing of their lands in the militancy infected Amritsar-Tarn Taran areas between 1984-90.

The Kisan Sangharsh Samiti based at Sriganganagar had lamented that wheat needed more water due to the adverse climatic conditions and the ponds for animals were also to be filled up. Though the department had resolved to close the canals on the pretext of annual maintenance but hardly any work was carried out during the fortnight long closure, the Samiti alleged.

The department officials today said that supply was likely to be restored after April 24, whereas sources in the PWSSB here said that the tanks would dry up completely after six days.

The local municipal council had resolved last year to purchase 27 acres of land to expand the new water works located on the Hanumangarh road but the project could not materialise. Some Congress workers were of the view that since most of the floor beds of the reservoirs in the old water works, located opposite municipal bus stand, had collapsed, therefore, it would be better to sell it to utilise the funds for expanding the new water works.

Others wanted to convert the old water works into another beautiful park as renovation of the Nehru Park had gained a lot of appreciation. But a change of government in the state hampered the moves. Official sources have confirmed that no funds were received for the water supply and sewerage projects during the last year.

Residents of some localities on the outskirts of the town are not happy with the prevailing system of water supply. Last evening, there were brief protests over the failure in getting drinking water. The crisis has boosted the sale of filtered water in plastic jars by some units.

Health department sources today confirmed that two samples of drinking water taken from different localities had failed the lab test. The department advised the residents to use boiled water or mix chlorine tablets in it.

But where is the water, people have been asking?

Bal Ram, president of New Ekta Colony Association, regretted that the PWSSB had not fixed timings for the supply of water.

Like the PSEB, the irrigation department and the municipal council too had not been informing the public about the suspension of essential services here, the citizens rued.

Reports from the rural areas indicate that cattle may also face problems with ponds drying up gradually these days. The crisis in drinking water exists there too.

Fazilka, April 16
Fazilka is the only sub-division of Punjab which has the office of the District Public Relations Officer (DPRO). The office was established about four decades back in view of the significance of this sub-division. The office is managed by the DPRO who has also been designated as the additional district public relations officer (ADPRO).

At present, the condition of the office is pitiable. It is in shambles. The parties that came to power, chose to turn a blind eye towards the number of vacancies arising due to the retirement of employees here. Of the total 14 posts, including that of the DPRO, 12 are lying vacant while the 13th employee Mani Ram, cinema operator, is scheduled to retire by the end of this month.

Thereafter, the office is likely to be left with just one staff, Sukhminder Singh, a cleaner.

The office looks more of a solitary abode instead of looking like an orderly functioning office. The worst part of the building is its main gate and front wall, that can collapse any time.

This is despite the fact that there are sanctioned posts of DPRO, assistant public relations officer, senior assistant, typist, clerk, driver, cleaner, peon, cinema operator and assistant cleaner etc. Baljinder Singh Gill, who held the charge of additional district public relations officer, retired on February 29. Peon Jai Chand and another cleaner Subhash Chander also retired on March 31.

Due to lack of infrastructure and inadequate staff, the office has virtually become non-functional. No publicity material has ever been displayed or distributed. The media persons are seldom contacted. No press notes are issued. The journalists of Fazilka, Abohar and Jalalabad sub-divisions that are covered by this office, now feel deprived of any information furnished by the government regarding its policies and tour programmes of VIPs.

The number of vacancies in the public relations office over the past few years has risen steadily and no fresh postings in lieu of them have been made which points to official indifference.

Now the additional charge of district public relations officer has been given to the DPRO, Faridkot, who is to act as the drawing and disbursing officer and will look after the correspondence only.

Ferozepur, April 16
A delegation of Rai Sikh leaders belonging to this border area called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi to apprise him about the problems being faced by residents in this border area.

The members of the delegation also took the opportunity to thank the PM and express their gratitude to him for his active contribution for inclusion of Rai Sikhs into SC/ST fold.

It is pertinent to mention here that the union government had recently passed a Bill in both the Houses of Parliament to include Rai Sikhs into Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe category.

The delegation led by MLA and chief whip of the CLP, Guruharsahai, and Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi, included, former MLA Mehtaab Singh, Dr Satnam Singh, Balwinder Singh Saidu Ke Naun, Joginder Singh Kasamke, sarpanch Karnail Singh Killi, Ved Prakash, Mohinder Singh Changa Rai, all prominent Rai Sikh leaders and senior vice-president of the MC, Gurdeep Singh.

When contacted, Sodhi said that the main demand of the delegation included the increase of compensation being granted to the farmers having land holdings across the fence along the Indo-Pakistan border from Rs 2,500 per acre to at least Rs 5000.

The delegation also demanded that the Hussaniwala-Kasur border, which was closed in the aftermath of the 1971 Indo-Pak conflict, should be opened again for trade and transit so that the economy of this area could be revived.

Sodhi said that the farmers’ leaders, who were part of the delegation, also expressed their gratitude to the PM for the loan waiver.

On the occasion, Sodhi requested the PM to allocate some industrial package for Ferozepur and surrounding border areas, wherein special incentives should be provided to the businessmen and entrepreneurs keen to establish their units in this border belt.

Bathinda, April 16
With the city recording Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) as high as 492 micrograms per cubic metre — more than twice the permissible limit of 200 micrograms per cubic metre — Bathinda residents may find themselves vulnerable to a number of ailments.

Sources said that the amount of SPM in Bathinda had remained around 400 micrograms per cubic metre for the past one year. SPM is believed to carry toxic and carcinogenic matter that may alter the immune system, reduce visibility and cause many long-term respiratory disorders and at times, even lead to premature death.

Asked about the cause for such alarming and consistent levels of SPM in the city, a Punjab Pollution Control Board official put the blame on the poor condition of the roads, thermal plants and vehicular pollution. “I have not sent any communiqué to the Bathinda administration briefing them about the causes of this increased level of SPM,” the official said. He added that he would write to the authorities on the issue.

Asked about the levels of carbon monoxide (CO), the official said, “We don’t have the infrastructure to measure the levels of CO.”

Moga, April 16
Following apprehensions about the outbreak of an epidemic, the Moga district administration has issued orders under which the sale of uncovered food items in open is prohibited. The orders have been issued under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, and would remain in force till the end of 2008.

With the change in weather, there had been a rise in cases of gastroenteritis, diarrhoea and dysentery in the area during the past few weeks. The local people had also been complaining of contaminated water supply in various localities at the district headquarters here.

Under the orders issued by district magistrate Satwant Singh Johal, the sale of uncovered and exposed food items, candies, ice-cream and local-made aerated drinks have been prohibited.

Similarly, the sale of fruits, sweets, meat, fish and other perishable food articles exposed to dust and flies have also been banned. Restrictions have also been imposed on the open sale of over-ripe, under-ripe, cut fruits and sugarcane juice.

“All the ice, soda and mineral water making factories that were not complying with the norms could be shut down if the standards were not maintained, the DM warned.

The DM has asked the chief medical officer, the district health officer, the executive magistrates, the medical superintendents and the district food and supplies controller to take action against those violating the prohibitory orders within their respective jurisdictions.

Abohar, April 16
After waiting for a month to shift the electricity poles and trees that had halted the construction of the long-awaited railway overbridge (ROB) on the Abohar–Hanumangarh state highway, the daily wage earners have resumed work risking their lives because of danger from high voltage electricity transmission lines.

Even during the recent visit of the Punjab PWD minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) and forest department officials had replayed the rhetoric “very soon” but the work was not started.

The contractors and the monitoring engineers from the railways had said that the completion may take more than the prescribed time, as the administration lacked interest in removing the hurdles in its way.

The bridge was initially planned in 1996 and its cost was estimated at Rs 2.5 crore. But the proposal did not materialise, as the municipal council and the Improvement Trust failed in depositing their share (20 per cent each) with the railway authorities.

The project was again brought up in 2006 when the then state government constituted the State Infrastructure Development Board (SIDB). The proposal for an overbridge here was approved for the college road which formed a part of the Abohar-Hanumangarh state highway.

Capt Amarinder Singh as chief minister laid the foundation stone for the 800-meter-long and 12-metre-wide bridge in December 2006, but its construction could be started only after dewatering process in October 2007. The contractor is bound to complete his work by the end of December this year.

The existence of electricity poles and scores of trees on the road pose major problem in carrying on with the work.

Sources in the sub-divisional office of the PSEB had stated in February that the performa for floating tenders was routed through the divisional office to get the poles shifted.

The PSEB was not having its own labour network for the shifting. Private contractors would have to be assigned for which at least one month’s wait was mandatory.

The forest department sources indicated that it may take much of time to complete the formalities to remove scores of trees that obstructed the construction of pillars for the bridge. However, no time limit has been fixed so far.

Meanwhile, the project has hit the business activities in the markets on the college road due to blockades.

Bathinda, April 16
Bathinda city would be beautified with the money received by the sale of properties and task will be undertaken by the Bathinda Development Authority (BDA).

In a document, vide number 65, dated April 4, 2008, received under the RTI Act, it has been mentioned that neither the Centre nor the state government has issued any funds to the BDA. But the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) has transferred all its assets and properties to the BDA. The Authority, it is believed, would sell these properties and the money received from the sale would be spent on development work.

It may be mentioned that the state government has notified the BDA on July 16, 2007 vide number 5398. The area of the BDA was fixed through a letter issued from DTP vide number 1507/2007 dated June 26, 2007. As per the notification, BDA will take the responsibility of the development of all surroundings in the city. On July 17, 2007, the state government, through an order, constituted three committees on the PUDA format. The officers appointed in BDA are on deputation from the PUDA and the state government.

It is pertinent to mention here that the BDA is being supposed to develop the areas in the periphery, but they have not given any funds and grants. Initiating the step of selling properties, till January 2008, the BDA has earned Rs 282.72 lakh and the amount is lying in its account.

The document shows that PUDA is the owner of OUVGL sites, while BDA is for the urban estate.

It may be recalled that on December 7, 2007, the BDA sold a piece of land in the heart of the city through an auction for Rs 184 crore but in the document, the amount is nowhere mentioned. The total earned amount of Rs 282.72 lakh shown by the BDA in the document is 25 per cent share of the total earned money through the selling of commercial and residential plots in the period from November 6, 2007 to January 16, 2008.

Bathinda, April 16
The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited’s (BSNL) claim of ‘Connecting India’ is apparently losing its meaning as its many subscribers of its mobile phone have been facing inconvenience due to congestion in the network for several days now.

During the past couple of days, a number of consumers reported that whenever they tried to make a call to a BSNL subscriber, they got a one-liner in reply: “This route is busy, please try after some time.”

Surender Jain, a shopkeeper in Dhobi Bazar, said, “The repeated sentence irritates a lot. I wanted to convey an urgent message to my employee, but due to network congestion, I was not successful.”

“I have complained about this problem to the BSNL authorities a number of times, but it seems they are not ready to wake up from their deep slumber,” rued Sangita Sharma, who works with a private bank.

After receiving a number of complaints from the subscribers today between 3.15 pm and 4 pm, this correspondent tried to contact several BSNL numbers from various networks, but received the same reply: “Please try after some time.”

Lamenting over the problem, Charanjit Singh of village Mandi Kalan said, “The company boasts of connecting its subscribers in every nook and corner of the country but the poor state of the connectivity can be termed as a slap on the face of this large public sector undertaking.”

When contacted, general manager, BSNL, Bathinda office, Vinod Parkash said, “We are aware of the problem which has occurred because the BSNL has been expanding its network. The problem will soon be rectified.” 

Bathinda, April 16
Kabul Singh, a resident of Tripuri in Patiala district, who arrived here to meet his brother by a Punjab Roadways bus, was drugged and robbed of his valuables on the way. It took him seven hours to reach here in a stupor last night and another 12 hours to regain consciousness fully this morning.

It was learnt today that the 50-year-old businessman had boarded the bus from Patiala yesterday in the afternoon, which was to reach Bathinda. A youth occupied the seat beside him from Patiala. When the bus stopped at Barnala, the youth bought a bottle of soft drink and poured it in two glasses.

He gulped one glass himself and politely offered the other glass to Kabul Singh who accepted it.

After consuming the drink, Kabul Singh fell unconscious. The youth decamped with valuables, including a cell phone and Rs 5,000 in cash. When Kabul Singh regained consciousness partially, he found himself lying near a kiosk on the GT Road. Somehow, he reached the house of his brother Karam Singh on Amrik Singh Road last night.

Kabul Singh, who keeps shuttling between Patiala and various cities of Punjab in connection with his business of readymade garments, was in a state of shock over the incident.

Bathinda, April 16
A bystander sustained bullet injuries when a family dispute turned violent at village Bhucho Kalan today.

Sources said that members of the family of the in-laws of one Jaswinder Singh allegedly opened fire on him but the bullet missed the aim and injured his friend Makhan Singh. Sources said that there was a dispute between Jaswinder Singh and his in-laws. Police has registered a case. — TNS