Bathinda, September 15
Cotton and paddy crop, standing on hundreds of acres, was inundated after breach in a canal distributary at village Kotha Guru in the early hours today. Ironically, no initiative was taken by the departments concerned to plug it till evening, which led the farmers to give vent to their ire and raise slogans.

According to information available, a breach took place in the canal distributary at around 5 am, which later widened to nearly 30-feet. Soon after news of the breach sprtead, villagers rushed to plug it but unable to do it, they informed the officials of the irrigation department.

None of the officials from the irrigation department and district administration reportedly reached the spot till evening, which caused resentment among the farmers. It was only in the evening that an SDO of the department concerned reached the place. Seeing him, villagers expressed their disappointment and accused him of not taking proper action.

The situation turned tense when farmers under the the leadership of Jasveer Singh, block president, Bharti Kisan Union (Ugrahan), started raising slogans. They blamed the department for the poor upkeep of the irrigation channels due to which breaches had been frequently taking place resulting in destruction of crops.

The agitating farmers also sought compensation for the loss incurred.

Late in the evening, Naib Tehsildar Gurmail Singh also visited the place but the farmers were involved in plugging the breach.

It may be mentioned that just two days back, standing crop in hundreds of acres had been submerged as water flooded the fields following a breach in Dabwali-Jodhpur minor canal in village Jhutti Ke Patti in the district. Even on that day, farmers had alleged that the breach had occurred due to the negligence on the part of the irrigation department.

It may be mentioned that it was only last year around Diwali that a major breach had occurred in the canal that had flooded homes and fields and it was only after huge efforts made the district administration that the breach was plugged.

Now that it is the same time of the year again, will it be yesterday once more?

Bathinda, September 15
Upset over the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, superintendents of Central Excise and Customs in the state have decided to stage protest on Tuesday to press for higher pay-scale and better promotional avenues.

"The reason behind the protest is the apathetic and indifferent attitude of the authorities concerned in matters of promotion, pay-scale, working condition, staff position etc," Tarsem Grover, president, Excise and Taxation Inspectors Association said here today.

The government had already notified the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, which would put a burden of over Rs 23,000 crore on the government coffers during the current financial year, he added.

The association has alleged that compared to employees in other cadres, the promotional opportunities were far less for inspectors and superintendents engaged in collection of indirect taxes like central excise, customs, service tax, inland air travel tax and foreign travel tax.

As per information, 200 posts of inspectors are lying vacant against a sanctioned strength of 570 in different districts of the state. The department has promoted many assistants and superintendents to the rank of inspector in the past some years. But those promoted alleged that the government was paying less salaries as compared to those recruited directly for reason best known to the authorities concerned.

"Earlier, we had taken up the matter of pay disparities with senior authorities of the department time and again, but in vain. Our day-long protest would cause loss of crores to the government," said Grover.

The association further said the Sixth Pay Commission had failed to redress their grievances of equity with the employees working in other departments like Central Bureau of Investigation, Intelligence Bureau, police etc.

The income tax inspectors, officers, examiners and appraisers have better promotional opportunities, while the Central Excise superintendents retires as superintendents, despite being recruited through the same competitive examinations, said S.S. Bhardwaj, general secretary of the association.

Meanwhile, Jagdish Raj, chief parliamentary secretary, Excise and Taxation, said all were getting salaries as per their ranks and if there was any discrepancy it would be rectified.

Moga, September 15
Taking a serious notice of having failed to comply with interim orders of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana (HC) to conduct free and fair elections in the ward number 4 of the municipal council (MC) here, a division bench of the HC today asked district magistrate Satwant Singh Johal to file a reply within a week as to why the administration did not take preventive measures for the smooth conduct of polling and avoid violence.

The division bench of Justice S.K. Mittal and Justice Jaswant Singh has also postponed the polling process till September 22, the next date of hearing the writ petition that was filed against the district administration last week by Surinder Singh Goga, an independent candidate fighting the MC election against Gulwinder Singh, son-in-law of the SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar.

The state election commission, in consultation with the DM, had earlier notified to conduct fresh polls in this ward on Tuesday, the process of which has been stayed by the HC today.

Meanwhile, on a complaint filed by Gulwinder Singh, son-in-law of the SGPC chief, the local police had registered a criminal case against Baljinder Singh of Jalandhar, Rupinder Singh of Moga and few other unknown persons under sections 307, 186, 353, 332, 506, 148, 149 of the IPC and 25, 27, 54, 59 of the Arms Act.

On the other hand, Goga, while talking to TNS on phone from Chandigarh, alleged that though hundreds of youths, led by the two sons of Makkar, had created violence, the police under pressure from the ruling party, had registered a criminal case against his relatives and supporters.

The candidate said he would again approach the HC to apprise the judiciary about the repeated wrongdoings of the district administration and the police in particular.

The role of local police, the custodians of the law, appears to be doubtful.

The police had so far not booked the sons of the SGPC chief, Inderjit Singh alias Dimple and Tejinder Pal Singh alias Sony, who violated the model code of conduct for the elections and Section 144 of the CrPC and allegedly brought hundreds of youths from Ludhiana and other places along.

They had created terror among the residents of the town, influenced the voters with force and captured a polling station.

The way they thrashed media persons was a direct attack on the freedom of press too.

Ferozepur, September 15
Close on the heels of recovery of sophisticated arms and ammunition by the BSF from an area close to border outpost Kalash and Harbhajan last week, the security agencies here apprehended a Bangladeshi national on the charges of espionage from an area close to the India-Pakistan international border.

According to the information available, the spy has been identified as Mahammed Akbar Hussain of Kalikapur under police station Phulgazi in Phenni district, Bangladesh. Preliminary reports stated that he was an under cover agent working for some foreign agency.

When contacted, SSP Dinesh Pratap said the police conducted a raid and arrested the Bangladeshi spy from a location close to the international border near the Sutlej bridge. He added that the police had got an intelligence input regarding the movement of a spy, who was trying to cultivate local contacts and gather information about the army set-up and installations in the cantonment.

The SSP further said that the police have seized from his possession an incriminating document that contained strategic information. Apart from that, one Nokia phone with a memory card, a diary carrying some phone numbers of Bangladeshi and Pakistani contacts, around US $90 and INR 620 were also recovered from his possession.

Pratap said the interrogation was still going on for additional information.

The sources said that the spy had crossed the India-Bangladesh border through Tripura in March this year.

Later, after working for a private firm in Ghaziabad, he was trained for gathering information about strategic locations by some Pakistani agency and was subsequently sent to Ferozepur in the month of May to carry out the sinister task of collecting important data and establishing local contacts.

Meanwhile, the police has registered a case under the Official Secrets Act, the Foreign Act and the IPC against the arrested Bangladeshi national at the sadar police station here.

Bathinda, September 15
Residents of Bathinda are reeling under non-scheduled frequent power cuts. The problem, besides paralysing their normal life, has started hampering their work. And all this has made the city residents a frustrated lot, who are apparently facing difficulties in controlling their anger.

One such incident was witnessed today outside the Punjab National Bank, Kikkar Bazar, where parents of students of the MSD School were found indulging in heated exchange with the bank officials.

On being asked, they alleged that despite being well apprised of the frequent power cuts, the bank had made no arrangement for power back up, causing the computers to go on hibernation, which made the parents wait for a couple of hours to submit their fee as it was the last date.

Raj Kumar, a businessman, said that if the fee was not received today, they would all have to pay a fine of Rs 10 per day.

The senior manager of the bank, V.K. Rajput said, “We understand the problems of the people, but due to technical snag, our generator broke down. We have been suffering a lot due to the power cuts as the disruption affects work. On the one hand, it consumes our time and also makes us face such awkward situations, when people vent their ire on our staff,” he rued.

Adding to the issue, Parkash Kumar, owner of a photo lab located at Gol Diggi said, “We have a generator of 25 KV capacity, but to run it, we spend a lot of money. The non-scheduled power cuts has made our life pathetic as adversely affects production.”

“I have read in newspapers that the ruling party chief, Sukhbir Singh Badal, who claims to be developing the city on the lines of western countries, has clearly expressed his inability to resolve the problem till the new thermal power projects start functioning. So it is apparent that the SAD-led government would not be able to fulfil this basic requirement in this tenure,” he lamented.

On the other hand, Joint Action Committee convener M.M. Behal talking over phone said, “If the problem is not resolved soon, we would launch a massive protest to awaken the officials concerned from their deep slumber.”

Fazilka, September 15
The construction of the overbridge (ROB) on the railway crossing on the Fazilka-Ferozepur road here is allegedly being carried out without the approval of design and drawing of the railway authorities.

Besides, the utility of the flyover and increase in toll tax for the users have also raised some questions. The adverse effect on the business of large number of shopkeepers around the flyover at the busy crossing surrounded by a variety of shops is yet another aspect, which is haunting the affected people.

Fazilka-based Graduate Welfare Association general secretary Navdeep Asija, research scholar at IIT Delhi, and keenly associated with development projects in and around Fazilka, had sought information under Right to Information Act regarding the designing of the proposed ROB.

Surprisingly, due to reported messy affair, the information was provided to Asija after lapse of ten months. The information was sought on October 4, 2007, whereas according to Asija, the incomplete reply was submitted on August 4 this year.

The information furnished by the office of the executive engineer, Central Works Division, PWD, B&R Ferozepur, clearly states that the general arrangement drawing of the ROB has not been approved by the Railway authorities. The murkier aspect of the construction of the ROB is that the actual construction at the proposed site has been commenced without approval of the company managing the toll plazas.

The construction activity has been started on a war footing at the Fazilka railway crossing without constructing a temporary metalled diversion road. However, at the railway crossing near Ferozepur, the pucca diversion road has been laid for constructing the ROB there. This has created more traffic hazards for the people of Fazilka. The area has become accident-prone.

Engineer Asija points out discrepancies in the proposed length of the ROB. He maintains that the normal length of the ROB is 700 to 750 metres. The length of the proposed ROB at Fazilka railway crossing is more than 800 metres. This shall entail an additional toll tax of Rs 2 per four-wheeler. Asija alleges that the enhanced length of about 100 metre shall prima facie be a source of corruption and will benefit the builders.

Another aspect is that even if four-wheelers do not use the flyover for crossing the railway track, they shall have to pay for it. This acquires significance because there are other link roads connecting Fazilka to Ferozepur road. They shall have to pay an additional amount at the toll plazas and shall be considered as having crossed the flyover even if they did not.

Besides, the ROB is likely to enhance traffic bottlenecks. The structure of the flyover is such that it does not directly connect the traffic between Fazilka and Malout road. The vehicles plying on this road shall have to take big U-turns to reach short distances.

Scores of shopkeepers running their business for several decades shall be hit hard with the construction of the flyover. The shopkeepers rue that they have not been offered any alternative opportunities or sites for shifting their business.

The Graduate Welfare Association, Fazilka, has demanded that the construction of the ROB should be initiated only after approval of the drawing by the railway authorities. They also feel that the total length of the flyover should be rationalised to minimise the already exorbitant toll plaza charges, which are considered a financial burden for the people of Fazilka.

Bathinda, September 15
One person was killed while seven others suffered injuries when two buses collided at village Mandi Kalan, today in the afternoon. The deceased has been identified as Dalip Singh Bhatti, a retired PSEB employee.

Some of the injured were discharged after being administered first aid while others were under observation at civil hospital, Rampura.

According to sources, alleged competition between drivers of the buses to pick up passengers from the bus stand caused the mishap.

As per sources, the driver of a mini bus belonging to the Gill Bus Company (PB03H-3596), hit another bus of the Deep Bus Company (PB03M-1248), when it stopped at the bus stand. The bus was on its route from Talwandi to Rampura, while the mini-bus was en route to Mansa-Rampura. The injured include Jaspinder Singh, Gurdev Singh, Sukhpal Kaur, Piara Singh, Sant Ram, Niranajan Singh and Amrik Singh.

Officials at the Balianwali police station said that a case had been registered against the driver of the mini-bus under sections 304-A, 279 and 337 of the IPC. The accused is, however, learnt to be absconding.

Bathinda, September 15
The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) would organise a Kisan Mela at its regional station, Dabwali road, on September 25.

Gurmeet Singh Buttar, director, regional station, said that the theme of the regional Kisan Mela would be 'Save Environment, Save Punjab'.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal would be the chief guest on the occasion while M.S. Kang, vice-chancellor, PAU, Ludhiana, would preside over the function, he added.

He said that the seeds of improved varieties of different rabi crops as well as fruit plants recommended by the PAU would be distributed among the growers.

Different departments of the PAU and other allied concerns would participate in the exhibition. The live demonstrations of latest technologies developed by the PAU would also be organised for the farmers. Agriculture scientists would share their research work with the farmers. Crop competitions would be major attraction of the mela. 

Abohar, September 15
The serial bomb blasts which recently rocked metropolitan cities apparently haunted the minds of the poets during the “Kavi Goshthi” held as a part of Hindi Diwas celebrations at the DAV College here on Monday. Not only about two dozen students but their teachers, special guest Brahm Ved Sharma from Malout and even chief guest Neelam Arun Mittu recited poems. One of the participants said: “Har taraf aag ki lapten badhti ja rahin hain, kavi ab lorian sunana band karo.”

The audience applauded to Naresh Kumar’s “Guftgu of death and life” besides Mittu who said: “Zindagi saari gunahon mein bita di, jab marunga devta ban kar marunga.” Principal of the host college B.B. Sharma also presented some couplets.

Those who regaled the gathering included Kiran Grover, Rekha Sood, Ankur Makkar, Sanju Bajaj, Kashmiri Lal, Pardeep Kumar, Priya, Sania, Pooja, Vishu, Puran Chand, Trishna, Neelu, Naresh Kumar, Shalu, Ankita, Priyanka and Vineet Kumar.

The Hindi Diwas was also celebrated at the DAV College of Education here. Principal Venita Singh informed that Nand Lal and Seema stood first and second respectively in poem composing, Rashmi, Priyanka and Saroj got top three positions in essay writing while Simran, Saroj and Seema were adjudged first, second and third respectively in short story writing contest.

Mansa, September 15
“The All India Youth Congress has decided that the office-bearers for the state of Punjab would be elected through a democratic process,” informed Vijay Inder Singla, president of the Punjab Youth Congress.

He added that for this purpose, the Punjab Youth Congress had launched membership campaign in all the districts of the state, which started on September 2 and would continue till September 30. After that, the elections would be conducted through delegates from block-level to state-level. Every member would have the right to elect and be elected, said the state youth Congress leader.

The Foundation of Advanced Management for Election (FAME) would conduct the elections, Singla said. Age limit to get the membership would be 18 to 35 years and the tenure of the office-bearers would be of three years.

Abohar, September 15
Municipal council president Shiv Raj Goyal handed over cheques of Rs 2.5 lakh each to the heads of seven government schools of this town during a brief and simple ceremony on Monday.

The beneficiaries included primary/elementary schools located in the seed farm colonies, Nai Abadi, Prem Nagar, Jain Nagar, Dhaani Latkan besides the government senior secondary school for boys.

Goyal informed that the grants were received under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) to provide basic amenities in the local schools.

Senior vice-president Kaushal Kumar Pihwal, vice-president Swaran Lata Nagpal and some councillors of the ruling alliance were also present.

Mansa, September 15
Although the government officials have been claiming that more cotton would come in the markets this year, some farmers are reportedly going to markets in Haryana as they could get extra rates there.

District mandi officer Narinder Singh Sidhu expressed hope that more cotton would come in the markets of Punjab this year in comparison to last year. He said nearly 23 lakh bales of cotton came in the markets last year, adding that the average production of cotton this year would increase. One bale of cotton includes nearly 5 quintals, he said.

In the market of Mansa, about 7,523 quintals of cotton had been brought till date in this season.

Leader of Bharatiya Kisan Union Ram Singh Bhaini Bagha said the average production of cotton was about 10 quintals per acre. He added that attack of mealy bug on cotton crops was avoided this year by repeated sprays of pesticides. The BKU leader, however, said cotton crop was destroyed by early rains at various places.

He demanded a rate of Rs 4,500 per quintal for cotton due to heavy expenditure on the crop. The BKU leader admitted that farmers were going to Haryana as they were getting more rate for cotton there than in Punjab.

Bathinda, September 15
The pulse polio drive for children of migrant population in the district, which was scheduled to be held from September 21 to September 23, has been put off for the time being.

Stating this here today, Dr Neelam Bajaj, civil surgeon, Bathinda, said instructions to this effect were received from the directorate of health and family welfare, Punjab, through fax on Saturday evening. Though no specific reason for postponement of the campaign was given, the new date for the drive would be announced later, she added.

Bathinda, September 15
A 24-year-old daily wager labourer, Iqbal Singh of village Kot Shamir, reportedly sustained 60 per cent burn injuries, when he was lighting a wooden stove by pouring kerosene into it.

The injured was rushed to the Civil Hospital in Bathinda, where he is undergoing treatment in the emergency ward.

According to the volunteers of an NGO, who took him to Bathinda, he was alone at the time of the accident. They also expressed doubts that it might be a case of attempted suicide as the victim was facing economic problems.

On the other hand, the investigation officer Angrej Singh did not confirm any such probability saying the injured did not gave any such statement.