Bathinda, August 27
Amid hues and cries, the PUDA continued its demolition drive on the second day today in the Dhobiana Basti area of part I, Urban Estate, phase III, in Bathinda to raze hundreds of illegal constructions. Unlike yesterday, today remained more or less a hassle-free exercise for the PUDA officials as there was no resistance from the occupants. 

Many of the families had recently settled there. One Krishan Lal, a labourer along with his family members, was returning to his native place in Rajasthan. Talking to TNS, he said "We were called here by our relative Suresh Kumar, who motivated us to construct a house here, that too without paying anything. But now we are going back.” 

Having learnt from the incidents of Tuesday, the authorities were well-equipped with machinery to demolish the structures.

The administration, which was yesterday taking the residents into confidence saying the old structures would not be demolished today, started demolishing everything, the promise not withstanding. The JCB machines even flattened the boundary walls of the premises.

The machines paused only when the leaders of the Dalit Sena and Lok Janshakti Party, who have a vote bank in the colony, intervened into the matter. The PUDA officials assured the residents that structures, which had been existing in their 10-year-old survey report, would be given 15 days time to remove themselves.

Talking to the TNS, Sibin C., additional chief administrator, PUDA said, "It is a 26-acre piece of land, which we have been ordered to clear from illegal possession. According to the recent report, there were around 1,000 houses in the area ten years ago. Now, it must have increased."

Kiranjit Singh Gehri, state president of the Dalit Sena, said, "We demand from the Union government that K.K. Yadav, chief administrator of PUDA and ASP Harsh Kumar Bansal be booked for their atrocious behaviour towards poor women and children. A copy to various commissions including CM and Governor has been sent in this regard."

Congress MLA from Nathana, Ajaib Singh Bhatti, condemned the incident. He claimed that the residents had not been informed before the demolition began. It was being done at a time when people were yet to recover from the flood’s impact,” he said.

Bathinda, August 27
In what could be a major setback for the Bathinda industry and a likely loss of revenue to the state government, a number of small scale industrial (SSI) units here are likely to shift to the neighbouring state of Himachal Pradesh where they will be able to avail the incentives being offered by the government there.

Industrialists have even identified the land in Baddi and plan to develop a cluster for the SSI units there. If they succeed, it would mean a major loss to Punjab as many more units are likely to follow suit. R.S. Randhawa, managing director, Dashmesh Textiles, Bathinda, said the Punjab government was not doing anything despite repeated requests. Most of the industrialists were settled here for the past several decades. Shifting was a decision they were forced to resort to as they were left with no other option.

He stressed the need for roads, sanitation, proper sewerage system, power and infrastructure before developing an industrial area in the state.

Bathinda is a home to over 4,000 odd transformer and parts manufacturing units and is a hub of this industry, which has a major contribution in revenue to the government. Unable to face the competition from other states as well as China, the industry, which is primarily spread in and around Bathinda, the high rate of tax has compelled companies to outsource components like nuts and bolts, fabrication material, transformers parts and metal fittings from even China.

Easy availability of labour, which was earlier a boon to industry in this region, is gradually being taken over by increasing incidents of labour unrest. "The problem is politically motivated and the government has failed to tackle it effectively," industrialists allege.

While infrastructural problems like power supply have only worsened, problems like fluctuation in the prices of raw materials, scarcity of raw material have been giving this industry a tough time.

Raman Watts, president, Bathinda Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), said that the small scale industries had not received a single penny of capital subsidy, subsidy for modernisation. Both the SAD and the Congress had been promising during the past 10 years the payment of subsidy but nothing was done. Even the Finance Minister of the present government, Manpreet Singh Badal, had made a number of announcements regarding the payment of subsidy to the industry but these remained only on paper.

Similarly, the industry, industrialists alleged, had not received the arrears of VAT for the first quarter till June. All promises in this regard had also remained unfulfilled. If the government had released the arrears and paid the subsidy, the industry would have felt relieved from the financial squeeze, which it was facing.

Watts rued that the industrial policy of the state was not growth-oriented, whereas the business environment was fast becoming very competitive in the WTO regime. Instead of devising policies to attract investment, the government seems more interested in increasing the tax burden on industrialists, which would squeeze growth avenues, the industrialists felt.

Randhawa said that although both Congress and SAD failed to have any interaction with the industrialists and find a solution to their problems, yet it was a good idea of the SAD to have a conference.

Bathinda, August 27
The future of the dream project of chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, related to computer literacy in rural areas, is at stake as the persons running the centres under the aegis of District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) affiliated to the Punjab Technical University (PTU), have come under the scanner after complaints of financial irregularities.

It may be mentioned that the owners of the computer centres situated at Mandi Kalan, Talwandi Sabo, Bhagta Bhai Ka, Chak Fateh Singh Wala, Bhisiana and Kaljharani, run by Tarsem Dhingra, Laxman Garg, Iqbal Singh Brar, Vaminder Gill, Mohit Sharma and Teja Singh, respectively, had charged the Assistant Project Officer, Sadhu Ram Kusla, with misusing the name of additional deputy commissioner (development), Bathinda.

They gave this complaint in writing and submitted the copies to the ADC (D), SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, Punjab State Human Rights Commission and also to the DC, Bathinda, and ADGP (Crime) Punjab.

Despite submitting the applications to the higher authorities, the applicants were still apprehensive of not getting justice as they had alleged about the links of the accused with the various officials.

In this case, the deputy commissioner, Rahul Tewari marked an inquiry to Amit Dhaka, IAS (UT), who was then posted here.

Further, the complianants sought the transfer of the case to some other officer, alleging that Dhaka was hand-in-glove with Kusla.

The inquiry was marked to the district revenue officer, Bathinda, who recently submitted a detailed report to the DC, in which he exonerated Kusla and mentioned that the allegations were levelled just to defame him.

As per the copy of the report procured, the DRO, who was the inquiry officer, has clearly mentioned that the nine issues were examined but all the allegations were found to be baseless and devoid of any reasoning.

He further recommended a vigilance case against the persons running the institutions, regarding the issues of embezzlement of PTU fees and study material.

In this regard, when contacted, Sadhu Ram Kusla presented a number of documents in his favour. He further mentioned that copies of the papers had also been sent to various offices, from district administration to the director, CBI, Delhi, to investigate the fraudulent activities of the persons.

Despite repeated attempts, Teja Singh and Tarsem Dhindra, whose number were available, did not attend the phone calls to give their versions.

Bathinda, August 27
Construction of a civilian airport in Bathinda, regarded as a dream project for Malwa and a prerequisite for economic growth in the area, is close to seeing the light of the day.

According to senior officials, the civil aviation enclave, spread over 40 acres would come up in village Virk Khurd, adjacent to the Air Force Station, Bhisiana, which is just 15-km away from the city. As per the initial plans, two flights for Delhi, one in the morning and one in the evening, would operate.

With this, Bathinda would become the third place after Chandigarh and Halwara in Punjab, where a civil airport terminal would come up in close proximity to an Indian Air Force (IAF) station.

The district administration, Airport Authority of India (AAI), Ministry of Defence and the Department of Civil Aviation have conducted an in-depth survey to check the feasibility of the project but it is learnt that the decks have been cleared.

As per the details available, there would be a civil enclave, instead of a full-fledged airport. The AAI would construct and look after the enclave while the state civil aviation department would acquire and provide land for the project. The district administration would execute the project.

As per the sanctioned project, civil flights would use the air strip (runway) already existing at the Air Force Station, Bhisiana. But a new air strip would be constructed there to connect with the new terminal. The aviation department has sought a formal no objection certificate (NOC) from the district administration regarding the use of land, for which the deputy commissioner, Bathinda, has been contacting various departments including forest, agriculture and revenue, among others.

After receiving the NOC, the land acquisition process would be initiated, which the administration thinks, should not be a hurdle as the farmers of the area have reportedly given their nod for the project. The approach road, which is still narrow, would be given a facelift and widened.

Confirming the details, deputy commissioner Rahul Tewari said, "I have been contacting various department and within a day or two, the NOC would be sent."

Speaking about the viability of a civil airport terminal in Bathinda, the DC said, "The officials of the Guru Gobind Singh oil refinery-- a key project for economic growth of the area-- regard the construction of the civil terminal as essential. Moreover, they have assured of compensation if the terminal is not initially able to generate much passenger traffic or if some loss is incurred."

On the other hand, the Rs 100-crore ring road project to facilitate traffic from the refinery to the terminal is hanging, as the Punjab and Haryana High Court issued a stay order on it. 

Moga, August 27
Thousands of residents of five villages, recently included into the municipal limits of this town, will have no say in democracy at the grassroots level. They have not got the right to elect their representatives in the municipal council (MC) nor has the gram panchayat been constituted despite the fact that elections of the panches have already been held in these villages in May, this year.

The state government in a notification issued on August 14 extended the limits of the local body by including five villages, Duneke, Landeke, Sant Nagar, Kotha Patti Mohabbat and Mehma Singh Wala, besides, some parts of Bughipura and Talwandi Bagherian villages into the council limits. The wards were also notified and the process to revise the voters’ list was in progress.

But, reacting to a petition filed by Swaran Lata Jain, wife of local MLA Joginder Pal Jain, who was the former president of the council, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the state government to hold the elections of the MC by September 20 this year. She went to the apex court challenging a decision of the High Court that earlier accepted an affidavit of the state government promising to hold elections of the council as per the extended limits by revising the voters’ list within four months.

Since, the state government was not in a position to revise the voters’ list in the shortest available time, it requested the State Election Commission (SEC) to hold the elections for the old 31 wards, which existed before the extension of limits. The commission had issued a notification to hold the elections on September 14, this year. Unfortunately, the panches elected in the above mentioned five villages were not administered oath despite holding elections on the pretext that these villages were being included in the municipal limits. However, the people of these villages have now been left in the lurch without any say in democracy at the grassroots level as they had not been given a chance to send their elected representatives in the local body.

It may be mentioned that the process for the extension of municipal limits was started in the year 2004 when a resolution regarding this was passed by the then president Joginder Pal Jain with the consent of the elected members, on the basis of which, a survey was conducted early in the year 2006 and later, objections were filed in November 2006. After completing all the formalities, a draft resolution was sent to the local bodies department for approval. Meanwhile, the term of the MC expired on March 21 this year. The draft proposals sent by the elected body were rejected by the local bodies department twice and then after the expiry of term of the council, the local administration sent the proposal 'arbitrarily' that was considered by the department.

The department had taken the plea that the new areas proposed by the elected body (3,375 acres) had over 50 per cent agricultural area that was not permissible as per the MC Act of the year 1911. There was no proposal for revenue generation, employment opportunities and it, by and large, had no economic importance.

In the process, a notification was issued to extend the council limits on August 14 without taking into consideration the 55 objections raised by the former elected members and the common public. 

Barnala, August 27
About 300 trucks loaded with sub-standard rice are parked at various places in the city. The consignment was allegedly purchased by the FCI’s Barnala unit but the media persons highlighted the issue and the delivery of rice has been suspended for the time being. The cost of the consignment is estimated at Rs 3 crore.

According to sources, some trucks have already unloaded at warehouses and the sub-standard rice has been stored there. On Tuesday, DSP Vigilance Ashok Mohan raided the warehouses and sealed the sacks containing the sub-standard rice.

The sources added that the consignment was first sent to Faridkot but was rejected by the FCI officials there as the rice was yellow in colour and was broken.

Now, the private rice mill owners have reportedly struck a deal with FCI officials at Barnala and tried to give the rice to the local unit of the FCI. But the media highlighted the issue, which pre-empted the move.

General manager of the FCI, Sarbjit Singh, said the FCI would neither take sub-standard nor the rejected rice. The matter will be investigated, he added.

Abohar, August 27
The couples belonging to the Aggarwal community, blessed with girls and who had no son even 15 years after their marriage, would be honoured by the Aggarwal Sabha during its annual Pariwar Milan function scheduled for September 28, informed Pardeep Bansal, secretary of the NGO, on Wednesday.

A decision to this effect was taken recently during a meeting that was presided over by Faquir Chand Goyal, former vice-president of the local municipal council and president of the Sabha.

The step was aimed at promoting love, respect and social security for the girl child, Bansal said.

As part of Maharaja Aggarsein Jyanti celebrations, the sabha also decided to arrange a pilgrimage to the Agroha Dhaam in Haryana on August 31.

Mehandi, rangoli, flower decoration and thaali decoration contests have been fixed for September 21.

To encourage brilliant students of the community, the Sabha would honour the students, who obtained 85 per cent marks in middle standard, 80 per cent in matriculation, 75 per cent in class XII, 70 per cent in graduation and 65 per cent in post-graduation classes this year.

The Aggarsein Jyanti function would be held at the Aggarsein Chowk on September 30, the secretary further informed. 

Abohar, August 27
Principal of Gopi Chand Arya Mahila College, Neelam Arun Mittu, has been honoured with the Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award and Education Excellence Gold Medal. The awards were recently presented to her during a function that was jointly organised by the New Delhi-based International Institute of Education and Management and the International Business Council in the presence of distinguished luminaries.

While welcoming her on her return from New Delhi, the staff and students recalled that she had earlier been honoured with the prestigious “Saraswati Samman” and the “Jewel of India” award also.

Abohar, August 27
Jhamku Devi Senior Secondary School (JDS) of village Dhora Mehrajpur, close to the inter-state border, emerged as the overall winners in the district-level tennis tournament for the third consecutive year, an official release said Wednesday. Twelve teams had participated in the tourney.

Ankit Siyag and Vikas Delu of the school emerged as winners in the under-19 category while Ankit Bagria and Arvind Godara clinched the top slot in the under-17 category. The Brahmarishi Mission School boys were declared winners in the under-14 category. In the under-19 category for girls, Pawandeep and Alka of the JDS stood as winners. In the under-17 category, winners were Deepa Rawat and Komal and in the under-14 category, Sanjeeva and Sonam clinched the top position.

Meanwhile, in the hockey tournament held at Government Senior Secondary School in village Nihalkhera, the under-17 (boys) team of the JDS emerged as the winner. The same school won in the under-14 category as well. Besides, in the under-19 (girls) category, the JDS team was declared the winner. — OC

Bathinda, August 27
The organisations affiliated to the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) staged a protest outside the mini-secretariat here today.

The meeting was addressed by district president of INTUC Pritam Singh Brar, among others. They demanded hike in wages, implementation of pay commission report, absorption of contract workers, end of contract system and strict enforcement of labour laws. — TNS

Bathinda, August 27
The Goodwill Society, Bathinda, in association with the Focal Point Industrialists Association, organised the 51st blood donation camp on the premises of PP Industries here today.

Over 262 donors, who had given blood, were given mementoes at the camp. Sarup Singla, SAD (B) area in charge, was the first to donate blood after inaugurating the camp.

While Dr Neelam Bajaj, civil surgeon, Bathinda, was the chief guest at the camp, R.S. Kalaria, assistant general manager, Punjab National Bank, Bathinda, presided over the function.

K.K. Garg, president of the society, thanked all the participants for making the camp a grand success. — TNS