Bathinda, April 22
Frequent landing of chief minister Parkash Singh Badal’s helicopter in the playground of the Rajindra College in the heart of the city has not only become a source of inconvenience for the students and residents of the adjoining residential locality, but was also detrimental to the air safety rules.

The entire area was sealed during Badal’s departure to Chandigarh from here this morning. The helicopter remained parked in the college ground since yesterday as a result of which neither the students and nor the morning walkers were allowed to go there by the policemen who were deployed in strength in the area.

There is no air traffic control (ATC) system in the town to regulate the flights and the nearest such facility is available in the Air Force station at Bhisiana, about 15 kms from here.

In the past, the helicopter of the Punjab government had been landing on the helipad of the PSEB in the outskirts of the town. However, the practice of landing it in the college ground that is surrounded by residential buildings has been started now.

House owners in the periphery of the playground complain that policemen take positions on their rooftops causing inconvenience whenever the chief minister’s helicopter flies there.

Bathinda, April 22
An unidentified person reportedly stole files and other documents from the district transport office (DTO) and set them on fire at Civil Hospital here today.

Sources said that a person came to the hospital premises with a bundle of books and files in the morning. He, later, set them on fire near the blood bank and left the place soon after. He could not be traced.

Eyewitnesses noticed the fire and found that the papers being gutted were related with the transport department. They doused the fire and informed the district transport authorities, who then checked and collected the remaining.

When contacted, DTO Manish Kumar, said, “It is matter of concern and we have been investigating how the documents went outside from the office.”

He said, “Till now, we are yet to ascertain the loss. We have been checking the records to find out how many files are missing.” He said that the department had lodged a complaint with the police.

Bathinda, April 22
With hundreds of acres of ripened wheat crop gutted all across the state, scientists at the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, have issued a list of preventive measures to keep away farm fires.

According to PAU’s farm scientist, Jaskaran Singh Mahal, electrical transformers and electricity wires passing through the fields some times produce sparks that could ignite the standing wheat crop.

“Such wires should be suitably staggered with the help of the staff of the electricity department and can be fixed with a small wooden stick to avoid contact. Area under the transformers, electric poles and power supply cables should be kept free of any mature crop or dry trash and crop surrounding them should be harvested manually.”

“The farmers should harvest only fully mature crop with combine harvester to avoid fire like situation. If the crop gains moisture due to rains, the farmers should give enough time to let it dry before threshing or harvesting. There is a minimal possibility of fire if the crop is dry and the dry crop also needs less energy for threshing,” Jaskaran added.

 Labour involved in wheat harvesting commonly camp around the tubewells surrounded by the standing crop and often cook their meals in the open. “Such places may result in the spreading of the fire. So, indoor cooking is recommended.”

Dr S.S. Ahuja, farm scientist, PAU, said, “There should be a complete ban on smoking during wheat harvesting seasons and labour addicted to such things should be strictly banned in the wheat harvesting region. A thresher should not be installed near an electric transformer or below the overhead transmission wires. Even the combine operators must remain cautious from the sagging electric wires that could result in fire.”

Dr Gurmit Singh Buttar, director, PAU Regional Research Station, said, “Self-ignited fire on the fields could pose a danger to standing crop in the adjoining fields. Burning of the straw cannot be justified in any way. Direction of the silencer of the engine should not be towards matured dry crop. Tractor with a silencer that emits smoke horizontally to a side or below the chassis should not be operated in the field with the crop. Vertical silencers should only be used. Spark arresters can also be fitted with a silencer to avoid sparking.”

Other precautions are that the tubewells should be in a proper working condition so that water is easily available to stop the fire from spreading. If fire is noticed, everybody concerned authorities should immediately be informed.\

Fire once erupted may not be easy to stop and could also prove to be fatal. Thus, all possible causes responsible for starting the fire should be eliminated.

Ferozepur, April 22
The Pakistani tanneries situated in and around the border towns of Kasur, Barki and Sehjra are polluting the water in river Sutlej, making it not only unfit for potable use and irrigational purposes, but also leading to immense loss of aquatic life and diseases amongst fishermen and farmers in this border belt.

As thousands of fishes and other aquatic species have already died supposedly due to the contaminated water, the alarmed administration has now swung into action and has decided to take up the issue at the highest level.

Irrigation minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon, who also represents the Ferozepur Cantonment constituency, assured that he would apprise the CM about the matter so that the state government could approach the union government to take up the case with the Pakistani authorities.

Hundreds of tanneries are reportedly based in Kasur (the closest town of Pakistan), which is famous for leather products.

Since, this town is situated in close proximity to the Indo-Pakistan border, its tannery effluents are being discharged into Sutlej, which criss-crosses into Pakistan at several places along the border in this sector. Sutlej enters into Pakistan at nine places along the border and re-enters into India at 10 places in the Ferozepur-Fazilka sector.

The Sutlej, when it enters Pakistan through Tapu and Basti Ramlal, BOP (border outposts) area, has clean and placid water, but when it re-enters into India near Kassoke and Shameke, the BOPs, the water apparently looks discoloured and contaminated.

The Pakistani forces have also reportedly constructed a ditch-cum- bandh ( DCB) along the international border in this area and this drain may have been designed to suit their defence requirements also.

However, whether the river water is being polluted deliberately or by compulsion is best known to the higher officials, but the chemicals and toxics being discharged into the river are for sure causing harmful effects.

The farmers belonging to the villages situated close to the border, where this water is used for irrigational and household purposes, rue that the hazardous effects of this contaminated water may cause permanent damage to their health.

In the vicinity of this river, where wheat and rice are usually grown, the likelihood of getting these crops affected is another reason to worry about.

Fazilka, April 22
Following a tip-off, the civil administration along with the local police, jointly conducted a raid at a local unauthorised clinic on the Dead House Road locality here on Monday night.

They recovered an undeveloped foetus reportedly removed by an “unqualified” woman posing as a lady doctor.

The administration and the police had got the information on telephone that female foeticide was being carried out in Ashu Nursing Home, being run in two small rented rooms in the Dead House locality. Saroj Rani, a resident of village Shajrana, who used to pose as a doctor, was running the nursing home.

During the raid, the police found a woman, Parkash Kaur of Jandwala Mirasangla village of this sub-division and her family members in the nursing home. According to sources, Saroj Rani, who managed to escape, had terminated the pregnancy of Parkash Kaur.

As the raid was being conducted, the medical officer of the local civil hospital, Narinder Sethi, was also called.

Sethi informed that parts of the undeveloped foetus were recovered in a bag. He said that the foetus appeared to be of a female but it had to be confirmed by further tests. Some instruments used for terminating pregnancy, medicines and a computer set were also recovered from the nursing home.

Parkash Kaur, who allegedly got her pregnancy terminated, stated that she developed pain in stomach last night, as she was pregnant for about two months.

She was taken to a “lady doctor” Saroj, who administered her injection following which she got sedated.

She maintained that she could not recall the events thereafter. After the raid, Parkash Kaur was admitted to the local civil hospital for medical examination.

SDM Fazilka, Rajiv Prashar, personally supervised the entire raid proceedings and the police sealed both the rooms of the alleged nursing home and also sealed the chemist shop being run in the facade.

The police registered a case under sections 316/318 and 34 of the IPC and section 23 of the PNDT Act against Saroj Rani and Sandeep Aabrol alias Deepa, who was running the chemist shop.

Parkash Kaur was also taken into custody while being lodged in the civil hospital.

Civil surgeon, Ferozepur, S.S.Walia, who had specially visited Fazilka today after the news broke, said the foetus had been sent to the Government Medical College, Faridkot, for forensic test. He further said that raids would be conducted on ultrasound scan centres.

Fazilka, April 22
Following a call given by the Congress to stage dharnas at grain markets across the state in order to protest against the delayed lifting and payment of wheat, the party workers staged dharna outside the grain market here today.

The Arhtiya Association, Fazilka, in a press note issued here today flayed the dharna led by former MLA Mohinder Kumar Rinwa over the issue.

President of the Association, Om Parkash Setia, in a written statement here described the dharna as unwarranted, adding that lifting of wheat and its payment was being done in an orderly manner and as per set norms.

Setia maintained that the payment was brisk by the government agencies. He said all payments up to April 18 had been cleared.

“The officials of the government procuring agencies have assured the commission agents that if they submit the bills of the sold wheat in time, the payment shall be released within a day.” He said the dharna was organised only to derive political mileage.

BJP’s district president Mohinder P. Dhingra among others alleged that it was an attempt to mislead commission agents and that the Congress was trying to carve out issues only for being in Opposition.

Abohar, April 22
The office of DSP Parampal Singh here had received a letter from the sub-registrar, revenue department, Narinder Singh Saini, for registering a case against an employee of the food and civil supplies department, his wife, and others under section 47/A of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, sources confirmed today.

The sub-registrar had been directed by the DC vide letter dated April 4, 2008, to initiate action against the culprit.

The action has been initiated on the basis of a complaint lodged with chief secretary, Ramesh Inder Singh, by a widow Kaushalya , a resident of Idgah Basti here.

It was alleged that Ranjit Kaur, in connivance with her husband Baldev Singh, working in the food and civil supplies department, and others had indulged in the evasion of stamp duty in the sale of property located in Nai Abadi here by misleading the department on location of the house.

The sale deed projected the value of the property at Rs 7.25 lakh, whereas the sub-registrar had now assessed the value as per the collector rates fixed by the DC at Rs 11.45 lakh.

Mansa, April 22
Hundreds of labourers of Dalel Singh Wala village under the leadership of Mazdoor Mukti Morcha allegedly occupied the common (Samlat) land measuring four acres, today.

The state secretary of the Morcha, Bhagwant Singh, informed that the labourers had occupied the land as they did not have plots where they could construct houses for themselves and the administration did not pay heed to their demand for providing the plots.

He added that they submitted a memorandum to the village panchayat and deputy commissioner demanding plots so as to construct their houses but it was not considered yet.

“Today, around 200 labourers of the village took a possession of four acre of Samlat land which was given on contract by the panchayat,” Bhagwant said.

He further said they had put up flags of the Morcha on the land and that the rally was also held for two hours.

On the contrary, deputy commissioner Surjeet Singh Dhillon denied the claims that the land has been occupied. He said according to the reports of SDM and Naib Tehsildar, there was no occupation. “Only flags were seen on the land,” he added.

However, Naib Tehsildar Baljinder Kaur Brar said that she visited the site and assured the labourers of resolving their problems. She also asked them to adhere to law.

Barnala, April 22
Timely intervention by the district police helped in defusing the situation that arose after a tussle between followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda and activists of various Sikh organisations at Jangiana village near Bhadaur, about 25 km from here today.

The mother of a Dera Sach Sauda follower, Darshan Singh, a resident of Jangiana village, died a few days back.

As per Dera Sacha Sauda rituals, the ‘premis’ wanted to hold a ‘naam charcha’ (religious discourse) on her ‘Bhog’ ceremony.

When Sikh organisations learnt about this, they gathered in large numbers at the local gurudwara to oppose it.

On the other hand, Dera followers were adamant on holding the ‘naam charcha’ at any cost. Both the sides were not ready for a compromise.

Realising the gravity of the situation, the police personnel in the village informed the district headquarters.

All the police stations of the district were put on alert to meet any sort of eventuality. Additional forces were also called from Sangrur.

Senior superintendent of police Paramjeet Singh Garewal himself stayed at the village and prevented Sikhs from reaching Darshan Singh’s house. Meanwhile, Darshan Singh, along with other ‘premis’ held the ‘naam charcha.’

SSP Garewal informed that the situation was under control but vigil was being maintained.