Bathinda, May 25
Crossing a number of hurdles and overcoming numerous allegations, the district administration is now all set to conduct elections in 267 Gram Panchayats (GPs) out of a total of 312, on Monday.

Out of the 312, the elections for Gill Kalan and Jawahar Nagar Panchayats were postponed as they had been constituted after April 11 this year. The elections for Siryewala and Siryewala Khurd were also postponed due to some controversy over the distribution of votes.

At Ablu village, no nomination was filed, as reportedly the candidates remained embroiled in a tiff at the time of filing the nominations.

The State Election Commission (SEC), Punjab, had postponed the elections for four GPs in Bathinda district, namely Doomwali, Chakk Kharak Singh Wala, Talab Nehar Basti No 1, 4 and 5, and Talab Nehar Basti No 2 and 3.

As per the details procured from the district election office, the district administration, on the orders of the SEC, received 23 writ petitions, which were filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. As many as 20 were against the Talwandi Sabo sub-division while one was against Phul and two against Bathinda block. The question raised in the petitions was whether the nomination papers of the petitioners had been validly entertained or rejected.

The deputy commissioner, Bathinda, postponed the elections of four GPs, namely Mahinangal, Kanakwal and Nangla in Talwandi Sabo, and Ghuda in Sangat block late on Saturday evening.

Speaking on the issue, he said that in the rejection of Mahinangal, Kanakwal and Nangla GPs, the reason given like rejection of forms (non-attestation of SC certificates) was not valid. At Ghuda, inconsistency was on the part of the husband of a candidate but the nomination form of the candidate was rejected.

When asked about the remaining 19 petitions, district electoral officer Rahul Tewari said, “Most of the petitioners had complained about the fake withdrawal of the nominations. But prima facie, their complaints were not found to be correct. And due to shortage of time, we could not carry out detailed investigations.”

According to information available, 32 Gram Panchayats were unanimously elected. So, the votes would be cast for 267 Panchayats on Monday.

It has also been reported that the ballot papers for polls in seven villages have been sent for reprinting as at the time of distribution, a number of mistakes were pointed out in the ballot papers of Gramj Panchayats, namely Gill Patti, Balluana, Gurusar Sainewala, Kudi Kishanpura, Peerkot and Shekhuprua. The authorities concerned, however, informed that it would be distributed late at night.

Bathinda, May 25
Keeping the instances of bloody clashes during the recently held Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti polls in mind, the district police has beefed up the security arrangements for the Gram Panchayat elections slated for Monday.

As per the detailed report procured from the district police today, as many as 1,739 policemen will be deployed to keep tab in the district. Out of them, 200 have been reserved to meet emergencies. Of total 401 booths, 139 have been declared sensitive.

Further, it has been mentioned that 120 non-gazetted officers (NGOs), 419 head constables and 1,200 constables, including around 500 SPOs and home guard jawans, will be deputed at various points.

At a sensitive booth, about nine to 11 cops will be deployed, while five to seven policemen would keep check on a non-sensitive booth. Furthermore, some special patrolling parties will be formed and three such parties will police each sub-division.

This time, special reserve force will also be placed at the sub-division and district headquarters.

All deputy superintendents of police and superintendents of police will supervise the activities. Each of them would be provided with a patrolling force of 25 jawans.

The security arrangements have been centralised this time and for the purpose, the Bathinda police would get some PAP jawans.

Confirming the facts, SSP Bathinda Naunihal Singh said, “We have tightened security in every nook and corner. No one will be allowed to create any kind of disturbance throughout the elections.”

Adding further, the SSP said in this election, the issues were of local level, which required more precautions.

On the contrary, a senior police officer, wishing anonymity, said that in these elections the atmosphere was a bit relaxed as many of the Gram Panchayats had been elected unanimously. So, the staff would be surplus.

Another contradiction came from a policeman on GRP staff, who said, “Almost the whole of our staff has been deployed for election duty and now we are left with only three policemen to prevent any untoward incident at the Bathinda railway station.”

Bathinda, May 25
It was an enticing experience for hundreds of students, teachers and nature explorers as they entered the sparkling white train chugging across the country with ‘state-of-the-art’ exhibition.

The train, named ‘Science Express’ is carrying the “Indo-German pathway to discovery” exhibition on wheels to create awareness about science and to tell people how useful it was for them.

The fully air-conditioned train with 16 bogies, flagged off from Delhi by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and German Chancellor Angela Markel on October 30 last year, would cover a distance of 15,000 km with 57 stopovers at specified places across the country.

The exhibition reached Bathinda today on the last leg of its journey for a three-day halt. Bathinda happens to be the 49th station and only eight more stations remain to be covered before the journey culminates at Delhi after rolling on the track for eight months.

The rich collections displayed at the ‘in-house train’ exhibition includes 300 large format visuals, 150 video clips and multimedia display, dealing extensively with cutting-edge research in science and technology.

Around 50 persons, including 40 with a science background from the Vikram Sarabhai Community Science Centre were accompanying the exhibition and explaining the exhibits and other science experiment to the visitors, especially the students.

The objective of this unique endeavour is to create awareness about science, develop a scientific temperament among the younger generation and encourage them to pursue their interest in science besides taking modern research out of the labs to reveal how useful it is for everybody, said a scientist while talking to the visitors.

Some of the unique exhibits and visuals of the exhibition afforded an opportunity to peep into the mysteries of the universe, have glimpse of space, black holes, galaxies, spaceship earth, ultra short light, the world of senses, architecture of the mind, renewable energy, technologies and energy sources for future, nanocosmos, bio-engineering, genetics, cell biology, computer application in medicine and many more.

The exhibits were displayed in 13 bogies out of which one showcased India’s achievements in science and technology and has the BASF’s kid lab.

Ruchi, who was accompanying the train, said it was the most fascinating and memorable journey across the country. “I can surely say that India is a land of unity in diversity,” she said.

Bathinda, May 25
It was not just the ordinary Sikhs who had to face the wrath of rampaging mobs during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Serving Armymen also became the target of mob fury and perished in the fire of hatred. What is more unfortunate is that their names have failed to find mention in the list of victims who fell during that unfortunate period.

But Col Partap Inder Singh Phoolka (retd), secretary general, ex-servicemen wing, Shiromani Akal Dal (Badal), has taken up the initiative to find out the unsung heroes who fell to that hate crime. Today, he released a rankwise list of 50 officers and jawans, with their registration numbers and unit name.

“Capt IPS Bindra (25) and Sowar (Recruit) Sukhwinderjit Singh (18) were coming back from a gunnery course from the Armoured Corps Center and School, Ahmednagar, in Maharashtra, when they were killed during the 1984 Anti-Sikh riots. Capt Bindra was cut to pieces near Meerut while diesel was poured on Sukhwinderjit and he was set on fire near Morena in Madhya Pradesh. Their only crime? That they were Sikhs!”

“Even the Nanawati Commission, in its report, had mentioned that ‘even the Sikh Army officers and jawans in uniform were pulled out of trains and killed ruthlessly by unruly mobs,” said Col Phoolka, his eyes filled with tears.

“The goons of the Congress party at that time massacred more than 300 such armed forces officers, Junior Commissioned Officers (JCO) and those of other ranks.”

He said that Major Sukhjinder Singh of 150 Field Regiment died defending his family during the riots, Lt Col RS Anand of 74 Armoured Regiment was killed while he was coming to Delhi from Ahmednagar. “Capt UPS Jassal was captured by the mob, both his arms were chopped off and he was massacred at Maripet railway station near Delhi, Subedar Anup Singh, who hailed from village Fatta Maloha in Mansa, was about to go on a United Nations Mission, when he was killed, Naik Gurcharan Singh of 284 Medium Regiment was set on fire using his bottle of rum, Lance Daffedar Harmit Singh of 5 Armoured Regiment was set on fire at Jodhpur railway station and many others were killed in more or less the same way,” Col Phoolka said.

“I demand from the Ministry of Defence that a list of these jawans be made public and they be declared martyrs and subsequent benefits be extended to their families, most of whom are living in penury at present. Had these Armymen been killed in war or at the border, they would have been treated as martyrs,” Col Phoolka demanded.

The list that includes a Lt Colonel, a Major, four Captains, Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) and other ranks, has been made after five year of untiring effort by Col Phoolka who also resorted to the Right to Information (RTI) Act to gather the information.

Moga, May 25
A large number candidates for Panchayat elections in Moga district are undergoing a frustrating time due to the alleged arrogance and biased attitude of returning officers, who haven’t only misplaced various nomination papers, but have also failed to allot symbols to those, whose nominations papers were duly accepted by them. Some people have also complained of not providing with the postal ballots to them.

In village Kot Sadar Khan, three women, Pritam Kaur, Palwinder Kaur and Balveer Kaur, filed their nomination papers before the returning officer concerned, which were duly accepted by him. But, he allegedly came under political pressure and even after accepting the nomination papers did not allot symbols to Palwinder Kaur and Balveer Kaur, in order to pave the way for an ‘easy victory’ of Pritam Kaur, who is a close relative of local SAD MLA Sheetal Singh, chief parliamentary secretary in the state government.

Both the women approached the SEC, who asked the DM to look into the matter. Having failed to get any response, they filed a petition before the high court against returning officer, but so far no action has been taken against the alleged guilty officer.

In another case, Jaswinder Singh Aulakh, a youth Congress leader and resident of village Takhtuwala, whose family member is contesting the elections, alleged that he demanded from the returning officer to issue some postal ballot papers for some of the residents of his village, presently working outside, but was denied by the officer without assigning any reason.

No matter, in some cases action has been taken by DM at the behest of the SEC by removing the returning officer of Nihal Singh Wala and also postponing the elections in few villages but still a large number of illiterate and helpless rural people were having a harrowing experience at the hands of returning officers. As per the reports gathered from various sources, more than 150 complaints of various natures from across the district were received at the office of the SEC, DM and other officials of the district administration, regarding the panchayat polls till Saturday evening.

Ajay Sood, a local political observer associated with the socialist movement, was of the view that the woes of rural folk began from the moment, when the returning officers were pitch-forked into election duty without providing them with required training and instruction manual of the elections. Even if the instruction manual was provided to them, they hardly bothered to go through the guidelines.

According to one polling official, election classes were over by the time he had received the orders.

Most of the polling staffs whose duties were cut-off by the DM on certain grounds, as per the orders of the SEC, did not receive proper orders in this regard and were found roaming in some of the rehearsal centres.

DM Satwant Singh Johal admitted that most of the returning officers and other senior members of the poll staff hardly went through the instruction manuals that made the things worse for the smooth conduct of the polls. “I think there is no chance of any complaint being left, if polling officers read the instructions carefully. Though there is a need to streamline the instruction manual of the SEC in a more effective way, giving no room for the loopholes,” Johal said. 

Bathinda, May 25
To discuss the effects of genetically modified foods and related health problems, the Kheti Virasat Mission (KVM) is organising a seminar on June 1 at the Wheat Auditorium, Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana,where prominent scientists will dwell on the subject. L.S. Chawla, former VC of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences & president, Indian Doctors for Peace and Development, and Dr Daljeet Singh, Amritsar, will be taking part in it.

A press release issued by the Environmental Health Action Group, a unit of KVM, described GM foods as a silent scourge that is looming large on the Indian horizon.

GPI Singh, convener, alleged that GM foods are being developed and pushed into developing countries in the name of helping them to handle the ‘hunger’ of teeming poor millions. The ostensible suggestion is that GM crops would increase yields per acre, will be cheaper, will contain desirable contents like proteins in higher proportions and will be pest resistant hence more economical.

 However, the facts are unfortunately its opposite, Singh claimed. In an appeal to the medical fraternity, the release points out that most EU countries have banned or restricted GM foods or GM crops within their borders. The latest is the French Parliament resolution dated 14 May. Some European supermarket chains have announced that they would not sell GM foods. There is no system of labelling of GM foods for sale in the food stores possibly due to pressure from bio-tech corporations pushing such products.

There is mounting evidence of serious health problems among humans involved in cultivation/ handling of GM crops like Bt cotton, the release claimed. There is evidence of retention of GM DNA in human gut bacteria with potential to contaminate human DNA.

There is also evidence that GM crops contaminate non-GM plants by cross pollination leading to irreversible and progressive damage to biodiversity and genetic pool of the nation. The group appeals to doctors to be prepared for the new set of syndromes related to GM foods. 

Bathinda, May 25
National Safai Karamchari Commission chairperson Santosh Chaudhry has urged PM Manmohan Singh to stop development grants of those states, which were not implementing the policy of the Union government to stop the old tradition and social evil of carrying the ‘night soil’ by the scavengers in the country.

Talking to The Tribune over phone here recently, Chaudhry sought free education for the kids of scavengers.

She alleged that most of the states were giving false figures about this evil and diverting the funds on other sectors meant for this purpose only.

She said all officials concerned should be punished according to law in areas the social evil of carrying the night soil by scavengers was detected.

Chaudhry said the commission had released a huge amount of Rs 7.5 billion to the different states since 1993 and 34 per cent share was given only to Uttar Pradesh which openly violated the rules and diverted the funds on other purposes.

She expressed concern that several states could not utilise the funds as they had to submit ‘utilisation certificates’.

Chaudhry said that several states were hiding the facts. She further said that she had suggested to PM Manmohan Singh to summon a high-level meeting of the chief ministers of all states to discuss this major issue.

She revealed that more than 3.5 lakh scavengers were still working in the job of carrying night soil till now despite the efforts of the commission, but the state governments were hiding the factual position.

Barnala, May 25
Though the conference of district businessmen was organised at the local Bansal Palace on Saturday night to redress the grievances of the business class, yet it even failed to raise the issue of the murder of a local trader that took place only 17 hours ago.

The gathering, despite pointing towards actual problems being faced by the business class, kept busy in praising Badal for appointing Madan Lal Kapoor as chairman, Punjab Pardesh Beopar Mandal, who also presided over the conference.

About 400 traders participated in the meeting. District president Piara Lal Raisar Wale and local president Anil Kumar Bansal appealed to traders to discuss their professional problems with Kapoor.

While addressing the gathering, Kapoor claimed that the Punjab Pardesh Beopar Mandal had no affiliation with any political party, yet a big banner having the joint photo of the CM with Kapoor was displayed on the stage.

Most of the participants praised Badal and the BJP state leadership for giving a cabinet rank to Madan Lal Kapoor.

Kapoor assured that he would raise the matter of the increased taxes on the business community. He claimed that any body ranging from a vendor to industrialist or person working on commission does fall in business category. So, if any body had any problem regarding his business, he could personally visit him without any hesitation.

In the middle of the conference, few persons raised slogans against the local leadership and Kapoor for not giving any berth to late Prem Chand Aggarwal’s family in the Punjab Pardesh Beopar Mandal. The situation became odd and unpleasant.

Madan Lal Kapoor then had a brief discussion with his colleagues on the spot and declared Rajneesh Kumar Aggarwal alias Bhola, son of Prem Chand Aggarwal, as vice-president of the Punjab Pardesh Beopar Mandal.

It may be mentioned here that Prem Chand Aggarwal, resident of Barnala, was a state-level leader of businessmen, who worked hard during his life time for the cause of the community.

Ferozepur, May 25
Inspired by the TV serial “Shabash India”, an eight-year-old boy of this border town has expertise in performing several daring aerobic feats, which leaves everyone spellbound.

Popularly called as “ Nanha Spiderman” by family members and local residents, Vansham, a student of Class III in the local Dev Samaj Model School can smoothly zoom beneath any vehicle with his skates on, lying almost flat on the ground.

Vansham’s father, Sunil Kamal Bajaj, who is a local businessman, told that two years back, he spotted that Vansham had some natural ability to perform amazing aerobic feats.

Bajaj said since that time, he started encouraging his son with a dream that his name could appear in the Limca Book of Records.

Vansham is also an expert in Yoga and can walk up stairs in inverse fashion.

Bajaj claims that his son can jump upside down 400 times in 15 minutes on 9-inch wide wall.

Some people even call him Junior Ramdev as he performs yoga with amazing perfection and ease.

His achievements have been well recognised by district administration also; he was awarded on the Independence Day function last year by none other than education minister Upinderjit Kaur.

He has now been invited by the “Shabash India” programme to send CD of his achievements. 

Bathinda, May 25
The recruitment rally for the selection of firemen, conducted at ordnance depot, Bathinda, received an overwhelming response as more than 1500 candidates turned up for ten vacancies.

Officers who had been detailed by Command Headquarters conducted the recruitment. The candidates were tested on ground for physical fitness and fit candidates were called for written test and interview on May 24.

The aspirants and their family members were satisfied with the fair and transparent process and even agreed that as the number of aspirants were way beyond the number of vacancies candidates were bound to be rejected.The vacancies were earlier advertised in national and local dailies.

Fazilka, May 25
A middle-aged farmer, assaulted about 10 days ago, succumbed to his injuries at the Apollo Hospital, Ludhiana, on Saturday night.

According to the first information report (FIR) lodged with the Khui Khera police by Madan Lal (55), a resident of Jhumianwali village, Lachhi Ram, his two sons, Ram Parkash and Om Parkash, and three other accomplices identified as Gopal Chand, Pohla Ram and Om Parkash of the same village allegedly assaulted him.

He sustained multiple injuries and was admitted to the civil hospital at Abohar. Since his condition deteriorated, he was shifted to the Apollo Hospital, Ludhiana, where he succumbed to his injuries last night.

The Khui Khera police, who had earlier registered the case under sections 323 and 324 of the Indian Penal Code, has now registered it under section 302 of the IPC against all the six accused.

The cause of the murder is stated to be a dispute over water turn.