Balianwali (Bathinda), August 5
Expressing sorrow over the tragedy at the Naina Devi shrine, Sukhbir Singh Badal, the chief of the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal, said here today that besides providing financial aid to the affected families in the state, he would also write to the Himachal Pradesh government to provide fool-proof security arrangements to the pilgrims like at the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu. The Punjab government would provide all assistance to the Himachal Pradesh government in this regard, he assured.

Sukhbir was here on a foundation stone laying spree. The SAD leader laid the foundation stones for power grids, a canal distributary and water works in various villages of the Joga Assembly constituency.

Agreeing that the Haryana government was lackadaisical towards paying its share in the construction of the Mohali airport, he said that the Punjab government was committed to the completion of the project, even if it alone has to bear the cost.

When asked about the resignation of Joginder Singh Vedanti, Jathedar of Akal Takht, he passed on the buck to the SGPC chief, Avtar Singh Makkar, saying that being the head of the religious body, Makkar is the right person to answer any questions in this regard.

Taking the Congress leaders to task for the low price of paddy, he said, "I request all those, who were urging us to vote for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the ground of his being a Sikh, to request him to increase the MSP of paddy. And if they feel the need for my presence in this effort, I am ready to join them."

About the SAD entering the poll arena in Delhi, he cleared that the party would contest the Delhi Assembly elections on its own symbol, but in collaboration with the BJP. But the ratio of the seats would be decided later, he added. Denying that the violence in Jammu had affected trade and commerce in Punjab, he said that except for tourism, nothing else had been affected.

Focusing over the development of Malwa, Sukhbir announced that within a period of three years, the region would be the power hub of Punjab with an investment of around Rs 50,000 crore, inclusive of the oil refinery, thermal plants and cement factories.

Expressing his inability to resolve the power crisis this year, he accused the previous Congress government of creating the mess and alleged that the states that were provided power by Punjab in the past had refused to reciprocate by supplying power to the state. He disclosed that at present, Punjab was purchasing power at a cost of more than Rs 10 per unit but according to the new agreement, the upcoming private companies would provide it at a cost of less than Rs 3 and for at least 20 years. When asked about the flow of river water from Punjab into Pakistan, he said it is happening due to poor infrastructure and surplus water. But after the completion of the canal revamp project, the capacity of canals, distributaries and dams would be increased, which would solve the problem, he added.

Trying to parry a query regarding the violent clashes between SAD activists during the sarpanch elections, he said the party did not interfere directly in the sarpanch elections. So, it was a matter involving the voters and the winners, he pointed out.

Bathinda, August 5
Avneet Kaur Sidhu, the first woman shooter from Punjab, who is participating in the Beijing Olympics that begins on August 8, was on Monday chosen for the Arjuna award, the highest sports award of the country, for most outstanding performance last year. 

In a message to her family, Union Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel hailed Avneet and said that she represented India in Commonwealth Games with distinction and deserved the honour. Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa MP and former Union minister and mayor Baljit Singh Bir Behman have also hailed Avneet’s nomination.

A product of St. Joseph's Convent School, Bathinda, Avneet has, in a short span of six years, won 14 gold medals, 7 silver medals and 6 bronze medals in international and national level competitions. She was also granted state award by the Punjab chief minister at a state level function held in Ludhiana on Independence Day last year. — TNS

Bathinda, August 5
Punjab truckers will not ferry goods to Jammu and Kashmir till any tangible solution to the allotment of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) is sighted. Charan Singh Lohara, president, Truck Transport Yyapar Bachao Committee, Bathinda, announced here today.

Charan Singh said that the ongoing 36-day-old Amarnath land row agitation has become one of the biggest movements and has brought to the fore the simmering regional divide between Jammu and Kashmir. "We will resort to 'chakka jam' all over the country in support of the allocation of land to the SASB," threatened Lohara.

Harpreet Singh Gill, general secretary, All-India Motor Transport Congress, said that truckers all over the state pledged their support to the SASB for its struggle to get the land allotted to the shrine board.

"We want the government to be serious in providing the allotted land to the Amarnath board. We will carry on with the agitatation in the days to come if the demand for revocation of land was not met," said Gill.

Lohara and Gill condemned the handing over of Hindu-dominated areas of Jammu to the Army. They added that people's religious sentiments are attached to the issue and the inept handling of the entire matter by the state authorities has only helped in spreading it. Both leaders demanded the Central government's intervention in solving the land row soon.

Moga, August 5
One person has died and 27 others hospitalised after reports of diarrhoea outbreak possibly due to consumption of contaminated water infecting over a hundred people at village Lohara, seven kilometres from the district headquarters, here.

The chief parliamentary secretary of medical education department Sheetal Singh, sub-divisional magistrate Lakhmir Singh, chief medical officer Adarsh Sood and a team of medical officers rushed to the village this morning to monitor the situation and make adequate medical arrangements to control the disease.

The CMO while talking to The Tribune revealed that 11 persons suffering from acute diarrhoeal disorder were immediately admitted to the district hospital while 16 others had been hospitalised at a makeshift medical camp in the village. She revealed that 172 people were medically examined by a team of doctors in a special medical camp organised in the village today. However, not all were suffering from diarrhoea, she added. She said that it was difficult for her at this point of time to differentiate between the nature of symptoms reported by the visiting patients but it could be said that most of them complained of loose motions and vomiting.

When asked about one Bachan Singh who reportedly died of diarrhoea while under treatment at the district hospital last night, she said that it was impossible for her to confirm that the patient had died of diarrhoea as the post-mortem and chemical examination report of the patient was still awaited.

She revealed that the patient’s pulse rate was irregular when he was admitted to the district hospital and he died within one-and-half hours after his arrival in the hospital. “A patient suffering from diarrhoea cannot die within hours of getting infected,” she added.

Meanwhile, the local administration, on the directions of the district magistrate Satwant Singh Johal has made adequate arrangements for the supply of potable water through water tankers in the affected village. 

Moga SDM Lakhmir Singh who visited the spot, confirmed that the consumption of contaminated water was the main cause for the diarrhoeal outbreak. He said that the village had a very good system of potable water supply through water pipes but these pipes had been found to be broken at some points. CMO Adarsh Sood said, “Some people have installed their own water pumps in their houses that are not so deep. Therefore, shallow water may have contaminated the pipes creating health problems.” 

Abohar, August 5
The wife of a daily wage earner reportedly jumped into the Malukpura canal along with two daughters and a son near village Kerakhera in this sub-division today. The son was however rescued later, but others were still missing, sources said. Poverty is believed to be the reason for such an extreme step.

According to sources, Krishan Lal’s wife Raj Rani left house along with all of her children at 6 am. Later, at about 7 am, some workers of a poultry farm noticed the body of a child floating. They rescued him and found that he was still breathing. The boy was rushed to village Kerakhera. Announcement through the loudspeakers at the gurdwara created panic and people rushed to identify the child. The identification indicated that Raj Rani along with her daughters, Chander Kala (10), Ekta (8) and Vinod Kumar (9), might have jumped into the canal. The boy was in a critical condition. Search for others was still going on. — OC

Ferozepur, August 5
The Guruharsahai police has registered a case against two persons including a woman, Jasveer Kaur and her alleged paramour, identified as Malkeet Singh, for allegedly murdering one Karaj Singh, the husband of the accused woman. 

Earlier, the wife of the deceased, Jasveer Kaur, had told the police that her husband had committed suicide. However, after the statement given by Gurdeep Singh, the brother of the deceased, the police reopened the case and carried out investigations, in which it was found that Karaj Singh was killed by his wife in connivance with her Malkeet Singh.