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Badal supports his hospitality
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Gram Panchayat elections
Panchayat polls or festive time!
EC postpones election of four panchayats
SHO suspended on BJP complaint
Paramjit fears threat to life
‘Rs 1300-cr plan to provide drinking water in villages’
Professional pvt institutes reach out to students
Muktsar Cong to hold protest march on May 28
32-yr-old killed in Barnala
Road mishap kills two in Ferozepur
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Badal supports his hospitality
Bathinda, May 24 While talking to TNS during his visit here, Badal alleged that most of the MLAs had never been allowed to go even near the CM’s residence during Captain Amarinder Singh’s regime. They might have got excited when they found free access to his residence. “That they were frenzied, I can very well understand,” added Badal. Narrating today’s incident, Makhan Singh, MLA Pakka Kalan, said, “Though the police rounded us up, the magistrate freed us as we were not found guilty.” He added that the CM’s statements that MLAs were not allowed to move near the CM residence during the Congress regime were baseless. When asked about PPCC chief Rajinder Kaur Bhattal’s recent statement that she would visit the CM’s residence again on May 29, he said, “She would be welcome anytime.” The CM was accompanied by local bodies minister Manoranjan Kalia and SAD-chief Sukhbir Badal here on the second and final day of the foundation stones laying spree. The trio visited Goniana, Sangat and Raman mandis of the district and laid foundation stones for water, sewerage and sewerage treatment plant projects. Speaking at the functions, the CM said the estimated cost of projects was worth Rs 4.98 crore at Sangat, at Goniana (Rs 7.81 crore) and at Raman (Rs14.99 crore). He said an estimated sum of Rs 2,784 crore was required for providing the three basic civic amenities throughout the state — Rs 638 crore for safe drinking water, Rs 756 crore for sewerage and Rs1,390 crore for the sewerage treatment plants. For funds, the NABARD, World Bank, central government and some agencies had been approached, the CM added. The CM also congratulated city based Nitin Bansal who secured 155 rank in the recent UPSC examination. |
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Gram Panchayat elections
Bathinda, May 24 A candidate from Rampura area, on the condition of anonymity informed that every voter gets a bottle of country liquor, two litre soda, a packet of namkeen and packed salad with a special message: Give the soda to your children with lemon and enjoy the liquor yourself with snacks and salad. The practice has become quite popular in areas like Goniana, Nathana, Bhucho and many others around the city. Unlike the Zila Parishad and Block Samiti elections on May 12, candidates for the Gram Panchayat elections are purchasing economical brands of liquor such as Bagpiper, not costing more than Rs 150 per bottle. A liquor contractor in the city said, “Before the Zila Parishad elections, there was a lot of demand for deluxe brands such as Royal Stag, 8 PM costing Rs 250 per bottle. Right now, the demand is more for economical brands and that, too, in a limited quantity.” So country liquor, which should not be sold at less than Rs 85 per bottle, is being sold for Rs 60 per bottle to bulk buyers. “Panchayat elections cater to the rural masses and country liquor is their favourite. So the contestants are not spending on costlier brands,” said another contractor. The voters, meanwhile, are cashing in on the opportunity. A number of them are openly communicating their demands to the candidates such as money, ration and other items. Another independent candidate, Gurnaib Singh Sajan, from village Deon said, “It’s a common saying for the Gram Panchayat elections that its expenditure is almost same as that of an assembly election. People in my village are luring voters with various tactics and liquor being the most prevalent one. But I have announced that I will not distribute any kind of drugs. Even people canvassing with me don’t take any drugs.” Another candidate from village Tungwali said, “This time, due to changed process of gram panchayat elections, money is involved big time. Even ‘horse trading’ would take place once the candidates are chosen.” Ajaib Singh Bhatti, MLA Nathana, rued, “Distribution of liquor to lure the voters is a very disturbing trend, especially for weaker sections of the society. Some people who are not in favour of this trend and don’t even afford to distribute liquor, have no other choice, but to indulge themselves into it. It should be stopped.” |
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Panchayat polls or festive time!
Bathinda, May 24 The candidates and their supporters, especially those who were backed by major political parties, were resorting to these tactics, thereby vitiating the atmosphere with the vulgar display of money and resources turning the elections into a farce, said Hardeer Singh, vice-president of the Panchayat Union, Bathinda. “Earlier, there used to be different elections for Sarpanch and Panch. But this time, the election is for Panchs, who would further elect Sarpanch. This has added more colour to the campaign, which is further spoiling the atmosphere,” he added. The candidates are resorting to all sort of gimmicks to catch the attention of the voters and were seen moving in the rural areas carrying their symbols, said Gurnaib Singh of Deon. A candidate with ‘pigeon’ as symbol was seen carrying a pigeon while another candidate was ‘cycling’ among the voters to garner votes. Candidate with ladder as a symbol was carrying ladder on his shoulders to seek ‘vote and support’. An elderly voter in Mehandi Kalam village, who had seen several elections in the past, sarcastically remarked that, “Earlier, the victorious candidates used to distribute sweets after the results were declared but now, the feast was available even two weeks prior to elections.” “All evils associated with ‘power politics’ have crept into the so-called democratic polity at grassroots level,” said another disgusted voter. |
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EC postpones election of four panchayats
Bathinda, May 24 The names of the gram panchayats were given as Gram Panchayat Chakk Kharak Singh Wala, Gram Panchayat Doomwali, Gram Panchayat Talab Nehar Basti No.(1,4,5) and Talab Nehar Basti (2,3). This was informed by the department of public relation. |
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SHO suspended on BJP complaint
Bathinda, May 24 Confirming the suspension of the SHO Sukhchain Singh, a senior police officer further said four accused had been arrested for assaulting the BJP activists, while some of the accused were still at large. Sukhchain Singh was deputed as SHO Phul in the absence of Sukhdev Singh, who had taken leave near the elections. But after his suspension, the later has joined today. President of the district BJP (rural) Dyal Dass Sodhi said they had placed three demands before local bodies minister Manoranjan Kalia and SAD-chief Sukhbir Badal during their recent visit. The first was to get the SHO in question suspended. Secondly, arrest of the accused, who assaulted BJP leaders in village Burj Gill on the elections day. And thirdly, cancellation of the case registered against BJP leaders, who damaged the Orbit buses while lodging their protest against the high-handedness of the ruling SAD during the elections. It may be mentioned that in FIR number 370 dated May 13, BJP activists Narender Mittal, Raju Mittal, Sunil Bitta, Pawan Kumar, Gurinder Kaur Mangat, Mohan Lal, Kultar Singh and Yash Pal Jaura were booked under sections 283, 427, 148, 149 and 188 of the IPC, but could not be arrested till date. According to information available, some leaders of the BJP have filed an application for cancellation of the case but district BJP president Narender Mittal expressed his unawareness. |
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Paramjit fears threat to life
Moga, May 24 Talking to media persons here, the victim alleged that she had been receiving threats from the alleged accused and the local police was still forcing her to put her thumb impressions on some papers. “I am illiterate and cannot read anything,” she disclosed. She claimed that one of the accused, Sonu, was freely roaming in the village carrying firearm. Sonu, according to her, was contesting the Panchayat elections of the village and hadn’t deposited his weapon in the police station even though DM had passed specific orders regarding this in wake of the elections. She demanded from the state government to immediately remove the local SHO, Gurvinder Singh Bhullar, from the post and take action against him as he was not arresting Sonu, the main accused in this case. Moreover, the SHO also delayed the registration of the FIR against the accused persons, she added. “The SHO is also influencing the local people of my village to give statements against me, in order to justify that I am characterless, before the sub-divisional magistrate, who is conducting the magisterial probe,” she alleged. It may be mentioned that neither the district administration nor the senior authorities of the police had so far removed the SHO from the police station, who delayed in registering the FIR due to which Paramjit was forced to carry out the semi-nude protest. However, when contacted, a senior official of the local police claimed that the police had today arrested one accused Shinder Singh in this connection and he would be produced before the sitting judge on Sunday. “We will soon nab the other culprit also,” the police official said. Meanwhile, it was learnt that Lakhmir Singh, SDM of Moga, had also recorded the statements of some villagers of her village in the course of the magisterial probe.
The SDM had also demanded from the police to furnish copies of the statements and representations given by the woman to them, besides, the medico-legal report and any other relevant material, in possession with the police. On the other hand, a fact-finding team of a human rights organisation from Chandigarh came here to collect relevant material related to this incident and had talked with the victim. A spokesman of the organisation said that they would pursue the case of this woman at the highest level to provide her justice. The Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) had already taken cognizance of this unfortunate incident by asking the district magistrate to send a detailed report of the incident along with a copy of the report of the magisterial inquiry to the commission. |
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‘Rs 1300-cr plan to provide drinking water in villages’
Mansa, May 24 The CM said directions had already been given to the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) to provide 24-hour electricity supply to all the water works. He said the Punjab government had envisaged a plan of Rs 1,300 crore for drinking water in villages, in which the villages would provide 10 per cent of the money. Cabinet minister Manoranjan Kalia said the government would try to save ground water from further pollution. To remove unemployment, skill centres would be established in every block, Badal said. A model college would be opened in Sardulgarh for which Rs 5 crore had already been given and teachers would be appointed soon, he said. He announced Rs 2 lakh grant for the Malwa Degree College, Sardulgarh. Badal also said efforts were on to increase the production of cotton as different departments had been given responsibility for this. He assured that the land for government works would be purchased at market rates with the consent of farmers. President, Shiromani Akali Dal, Sukhbir Singh Badal, alleged that the Congress government hadn’t done anything for the development of Punjab. He assured of all round development of Mansa district in one year. Sukhwinder Singh Aulakh, former MLA, Jagdeep Singh Nakai, MLA Joga, Harbant Singh Datewas, district president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, were present on the occasion. |
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Professional pvt institutes reach out to students
Bathinda, May 24 Few years ago, there were very few medical and engineering colleges in the region and professional courses like management sciences, IT, finance, law, mass media, fashion designing, acting, cinematography etc. were either unknown or little known. But the situation had changed drastically due to the mushroom growth of institutions offering professional courses. With private sector foraying into the area of professional education in a big way, hundreds of engineering, medical, business management, media, law, hotel management, IT, B.Ed and other professional institutions have sprung up and plenty of seats are available for the students. The situation had reversed and the institutions are not getting adequate number of students to fill the seats, said Abhinav, a teacher. “We have been holding ‘educational camps’, career-counselling seminars to create awareness among the students since April,” said Vishdeep Brar, PRO of Baba Farid Institute of Foreign Sciences and Higher Studies. The seats were being sold like products and different institutions were adopting different modes to reach out to the prospective students in rural areas and boasting about their standards and placements of the students. Running professional institutions and private universities had become a ‘business’ and mushroom growth of ‘teaching shops’ was inevitable lowering the education standards, said an academician. But the students keen to get admission in professional course of their choice, that too in reputed institutions have no time to relax. In fact, they were under severe pressure and preparing for competitive pre-admission tests. It is ‘golden period’ for coaching centres in Bathinda, area known as ‘coaching hub’, next only to Kota in Rajasthan, Chandigarh and Delhi. The students are filling up the entrance test forms online besides acquainting themselves with profiles of various professional institutions that mushroomed in the region during past few years. The results are out but the parents are not in a position to rest. “We are spending sleepless nights worrying about the future of our ward and until they get admission in some good institution, the nightmare would continue,” said Amritpal Singh, whose daughter has just passed. |
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Nearly all villages have Mealy bug: Survey
Bathinda, May 24 Last year, the Mealy bug attack on cotton caused 5 to 7 per cent loss and that is why, PAU is creating awareness amongst cotton growers for the timely managment of the pest. The PAU’s monitoring team, which surveyed the villages reported incidence of Mealy bug on various weeds in wasteland, around cotton fields and stacked cotton sticks in around 150 villages. Cotton stacks infested with Mealy bug were also observed in the cotton belt. The report has indicated that new population of pest is building up on weeds like congress grass. In Mansa, the PAU team found that around 27 per cent villages were infested with Mealy bug and in Bathinda, the insect was observed in almost all villages. “The pest has already migrated to cotton in few fields. In order to manage the pest, the village panchayat could play a significant role in eradication of weeds that harbour this pest. Pests multiply fast and can migrate to cotton crop quickly. Since weeds at waste lands have higher population of this pest, collective action is needed to uproot the weeds,” Dr Dhawan said. According to Dr Nachhatar Singh Malhi, director Extension Education, the major emphasis has been to reduce the carryover of the pest by removing alternate host of Mealy bug and disposal of the infested cotton sticks by regular monitoring. Dr Malhi informed that the cultivation of recommended varieties and regular eradication of weed and monitoring are the key factors for the management of this pest. Malhi said PAU’s strategy should be adopted in total for the management of this insect. As the survey had indicated the build up of pests on weeds and thus proper steps should be taken to prevent its spread to cotton crop. Farmers should properly dispose off the weeds and should not throw them in the irrigation sources like canals and channels. He cautioned that once the pests migrate to cotton, eradication would not be possible and use of insecticide early in the season might result in build up of new pests. Farmers were thus advised to remove the entire weeds in and around cotton fields, wasteland and in the vicinity of cotton stacks. The weeds should be properly disposed off by burying them immediately. The farmers should regularly monitor the incidence of Mealy bug on cotton crop and should adopt recommended practices without any further loss of time. |
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Muktsar Cong to hold protest march on May 28
Gidderbaha(Muktsar), May 24 The Congress leaders have been reportedly indulged in collecting proofs to submit them to the state Governor and for the purpose they have sought appointment from the latter. Accusing the ruling SAD of high-handedness in the connivance of the district police and poll staff, Sant Singh Brar, member of the PPCC, said that on the day of elections, a poll observer visited the polling station at Madhir, where the ‘rigging’ was going on. But nothing had been done in that regard yet. The Congress leaders also levelled allegation of fake and forcible withdrawal of the nominations forms of Congress-backed candidates for the forthcoming Gram Panchayat polls. Ex-MLA from Gidderbaha, Raghubir Singh, alleged, “The ruling party had adopted every tactic to reject the nomination forms. Even the NOC for “Chulla Tax”, which was nowhere mentioned in the SEC guidelines, was made compulsory. On the basis of this, the forms of a number of our supporters were rejected.” The leaders said the “misdeeds” of officers would be complained with complete documentary evidences. When contacted, SAD-chief Sukhbir Badal said, “Congress leaders are not accepting the public verdict. They are still under a state of shock for losing almost all seats in Zila Parishad and Block Samiti polls throughout the state.” |
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32-yr-old killed in Barnala
Barnala, May 24 Jiwan Kumar, brother of the deceased, said that Ganesh, who was travelling by Kalka mail called them at 2:40 am to inform about his arrival and even asked him to open the main gate as the station is just 10 minutes walk from their residence. He said after an hour passed, the family members got worried and started searching for him. As they reached Tagore Street, K.C Road, they were shocked to see his dead body. All his belongings like mobile, wallet and bag were lying near his body. So it did not seem to be a murder for snatching or looting, he added. As per the doctors report, he sustained a major head injury with a sharp-edged weapon, which was responsible for his death. SHO Harmeek Singh said a case under section 302 of the IPC had been registered. Prima facie, no single motive of his murder had been judged. Though preliminary investigations indicated possibility of more than one person in the murder, he added. |
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Road mishap kills two in Ferozepur
Ferozepur, May 24 According to the information available, the accident took place when the motorcycle on which the deceased were travelling collided with a tractor-trailer. The deceased have been identified as Balwinder Singh and Roop. The two were going from Khai Pheme Ki village to Bodla village when the accident took place. The Mamdot police has registered a case. However, the driver of the tractor is reportedly absconding. |
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