Bathinda, October 2
The dry port set up at the Industrial Growth Centre here 10 years ago to facilitate the movement of goods to various markets in the country has become a white elephant as it is unable to generate resources to even meet its own expenses.

The dry port was built in 1998 anticipating industrial growth in the Malwa belt. But the dream has fallen apart as it was generating only one container load of goods a month and that too produced by the government-sponsored Verka milk cooperative. All other private industrial houses have abandoned it because of hassles involved in transporting their produce from here.

The MoU between the Punjab Warehousing Corporation that runs the dry port and the Trident Group to market their products from here did not materialise two years ago because of various problems.

In the initial years, the place was buzzing with activity as the cotton exporters, toy and furniture manufacturers and importers of scrap patronised the dry port.

An employee recalled that 10 to 15 containers load of goods was generated here at that time, but the situation started becoming grim in 2003 when the requirement fell to 12 to 14 containers a year and now goods load worth only six containers a year is being generated.

The problem is that neither containers nor trawlers are available here and these have to be requisitioned from Ludhiana. Once that is done, the problem of non-availability of customs staff delays the transportation. Customs officials have to be summoned from Jalandhar to clear the transportation of goods and it is not sure that for what duration the loaded container shall have to wait for the clearance.

The place was earlier attached with the customs offices at Abohar, Dabwali and Ludhiana from time to time.

An official said that the monthly income was not sufficient to meet the wages of the two daily-wage chowkidars and clearing the electricity bill of Rs 5,825 this month would also be a problem.

The dry port was being paid Rs 6,325 by the Verka for the container load of goods each month while the trawler contractor takes Rs 4,000 out of this amount for bringing the vehicle from Ludhiana and loading it.

The employees expressed hope that things might change when the refinery opens here.

Hanumangarh/Abohar, October 2
District Collector Mugdha Sinha was joined by the civil surgeon Jagtar Singh Khosa and others in garlanding the portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri at a prayer meeting held outside the Government Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in Hanumangarh Town on Thursday.

Sinha said Gandhiji symbolised simplicity and preached non-violence while Shastri set an example by not misusing his office.

The students of Eklavya Ashram, SGN Khalsa School, government secondary school and Nehru Children Public School pledged to strengthen communal harmony.

The Abohar city Congress committee and youth Congress held separate meetings in the new grain market to observe birth anniversaries of the two great leaders. City president Banwari Lal Nagpal, Mahila Congress president Veer Bala Nagpal, Councillors Ganpat Ram, Suman Taneja, Raja Ram and Prem Kalra paid floral tributes to the father of the nation and the former prime minister.

Bathinda: Several items, including free medicines, clothes and fruits were distributed among inmates of Kushth Ashram here on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti today. Satpal Batheja, chairman, Rajiv Gandhi Lok Bhalai Manch, said, “Gandhiji’s philosophy of peace and non-violence are still relevant.” 

Bathinda, October 2
Hundreds of devotees clad in colourful attire thronged the local Haji Rattan Jama Masjid to offer prayers on the occasion of Eid today. The festival was celebrated with religious fervour and gaiety as the devotees were seen wishing Eid Mubarak by hugging each other. The devotees prayed for India’s development and the progress of the Muslim community.

Maulvi Sayed Azhar Hassan said, “Eid doubles one’s happiness as on this day, God forgives the sins committed.”

Saying that Muslims were patriots just like member of any other religion or community, he said India was dear to every Muslim and they would never tolerate anyone causing harm to it. “Martyrs reared the country through their blood. Terrorism is the biggest of all the challenges that India is facing today. Thousands have fallen prey to the violence perpetrated in the name of religion. It is time to uproot terrorism, which has been defaming Islam,” observed Hassan.

“Islam only meant peace and anyone, who bows to God’s will, is a Muslim. Every community has good and bad people. But the whole religion cannot be termed bad due to the deplorable acts of a few,” he said. “We mourn the deaths of Christians in South and what happened in Jodhpur was a slap on the face of humanity, Hassan said.

Devotees gathered at the mosque also expressed grief over the floods in Bihar.

However, some of the faithful alleged that the government was responsible for the blasts in Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Delhi.

The cleric appealed to all those present on the occasion to work for peace and development in the country and said education was the primary tool that could help in eradicating social evils in the country. 

Hanumangarh/Abohar: Eid prayers were offered by hundreds of Muslims at Qabirstan Dargah in Hanumangarh on Thursday morning. The members of other communities also greeted them on the festival. Similar prayers were held in Sriganganagar, Sadulshehar, Tibbi and other towns of the region. In Abohar, large number of Muslims gathered at the Panjpeer and Idgah in Indira Nagri locality to offer namaz and exchanged greetings afterwards. — OC

Bathinda, October 2
The prize distribution function of the district-level competitions organised under the leadership of deputy commissioner Rahul Tiwari on the Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Divas was held at the MSD Secondary School here today.

The competitions, including quiz, model-making, declamation and painting, aimed at sensitising the students about the benefits of renewable forms of energy. The competitions were held first at the tehsil-level and the winner thereof competed at the district-level contests.

Shruti Singh, ADC (Development), presided over the function and gave away the prizes to the winners. She persuaded the students to conserve energy and use the current technology wisely.

Others, who were present on the occasion, were DEO (Secondary) Baljinder Singh Mann, Sadhuram Kusla, APO, and Makhan Lal, DM, PEDA. The event was organised by Gurdeep Singh Sidhu, district science superintendent.

Bathinda, October 2
“The present rulers who claim to be the well-wishers of the Scheduled Caste (SC) community in the state, are in reality befooling them. One such example has come to light in the appointment of lecturers (Punjabi). The appointment letters issued have so many gaps that it will only mean harassing them,” alleged Ajaib Singh Bhatti, Congress MLA from Nathana.

In support of his allegation, Bhatti presented a copy of the appointment letter, in which the appointee was not allotted any district, where to report. Bhatti termed it as yet another gimmick by the ruling party.

He said there were more than 60 people in his knowledge, who were facing harassment due to the error on the part of the education department.

A bureaucrat-turned-politician, Bhatti condemned the bureaucracy for being a tool in the hands of the ruling party. “No government official is ready to pay heed to the woes of the Congress workers because of the ruling party’s hold on them, he alleged.

Bhatti, while speaking to media persons, shared his experience gathered during his recent foreign tour of the UK, US and Canada. He said people of Punjabi origin abroad were pained to learn that democracy had been “throttled” during the recent local bodies elections. He spoke about the demands of the NRIs like extension of industrial corridor, implementation of the nuclear deal and other topics.

About the expulsion of former CM Amarinder Singh, he said, “The Vidhan Sabha has been converted into a ring where the personal tussles of the legislators are being played out.”

About the role of the Punjab Police, he said, “They are busy with VIP duties and have no time to listen to the grievances of the poor people.”

Expressing his helplessness in getting justice for people during the SAD (B) regime, he said, “I had sacrificed my job as ADC (D), when I came to know that the bureaucracy was taking a political colour. Now if some day, I realise that as a politician, I cannot serve the people, I will not prefer to be even on this seat.”

Abohar, October 2
Members of the Bhartiya Kisan Union staged a demonstration at the new grain market on Thursday as the traders refused to participate in the daily auction (purchase) of Narma cotton.

The BKU workers were planning to block traffic on the national highway but timely intervention by the SDM N.S. Brar prompted them to postpone it. Brar reportedly assured to get the matter resolved by tomorrow, sources said.

A spokesman for the Punjab Cotton Factories Association alleged that the sales tax officials were harassing the  purchasers by directing that detailed reports on the purchase of Narma cotton should be  submitted to the local office by the evening.

The purchasers said it was not practically possible as the commission agents would send them the bill by next morning after getting the Narma cotton weighed.

The factory owners further alleged that the market committee had posted an employee in each factory under the pretext of checking evasion of market fee.

“The officials always brand us as thieves/evaders wrongly whereas they never try to check the evasion by unscrupulous elements due to reasons best known to them,” the spokesman for the factory owners rued.

The commission agents had already started migration to neighbouring areas of Rajasthan and the officials now want the factory owners to follow the same path, he added.

Bathinda, October 2
Two groups of youth laced with arms today ransacked two houses and a chemist shop at Paras Ram Nagar locality in the city today. Old enmity is believed to be the reason behind the incident. Ironically, the miscreants indulged in vandalism for about an hour but by the time the police reached the spot, the incident was over.

According to information, the incident took place at around 8 am, when the accused had a brawl in the area. Later, the youth belonging to another group escaped and hid themselves in a nearby chemist shop. Chasing them, the other group reached there and started hurling abuses at them. Unable to target them physically, the group pelted stones at the shop.

After the marauding youth left the place, the youths, who were hiding in the shop, fled.

In just half an hour, the group that was hiding in the shop thronged the house of one of their rivals along with some other youngsters. They damaged a number of articles at the house of a neighbour, Pawan Kumar, who had nothing to do with the incident.

Narrating the incident, the residents of the area rued that the police reached late.

The in-charge, Canal Colony police post, Manoj Kumar, refuted the allegation and said, “Soon after receiving the information, we reached the spot. Moreover the persons, who were accusing the police, now have given to us in writing that no action is needed against anyone as nothing happened with them.” He added, “Though they don’t want any action, but we ourselves have filed the DDR against seven of the accused and all of them would be nabbed by morning.”

Bathinda, October 2
Noted Punjabi singer Babbu Mann today visited the local Urang theatre for the promotion of his recently launched Punjabi movie— Hashar, a love story.

Mann visited the theatre at about 2 pm but his fans were so overjoyed to have him amid their midst that they had been waiting for a glimpse of his since morning. His supporters thronged the cabin where he was seated for an interaction with the media.

Pointing to student politics which is one of the issues that the movie focuses on, Mann said, “Students politics is not bad if one allows it in a normal way. But youth indulge in violence in the name of student politics which should be condemned.”

“In this movie, all the scenes have been based on real incidents in people’s lives. The movie, in one way or the other, will definitely force the viewers to think about the incidents that took place in their lives,” he said.

On a query, Mann replied, “Whatever I am, it is because of the love of the people, which has proved to be a source of strength for me.”

It is Mann’s third movie as an actor after “Hawayein” and “Rabb Ne Banayeiana Jodiyan.” According to the manager of the theatre, the film had been fetching handsome returns at the turnstiles.

Nimma contractor, who has taken the theatre on rent, said, “I bought the prints of the movie for Rs 3.71 lakh and in the first week itself, the film was a great success.”

Meanwhile, at Thursday’s first show of the movie, a number of youths damaged chairs and glasses at the theatre, when the generator broke down. Later, the theatre staff reportedly returned the cost of the ticket to the viewers. Police had also been called in to intervene in the matter.

Bathinda, October 2
The United Welfare Society, Bathinda, retained the first position in the state for securing the maximum number of voluntary blood donations in the state. The society arranged for as many as 2200 units of blood by organising over 100 camps, most of them in villages, in the year 2007-08. State health minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla honoured the society for the noble feat at a state-level function organised by the State Blood Transfusion Council, Punjab, on the occasion of the Voluntary Blood Donation Day at Guru Nanak College for Women, Banga, district Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (erstwhile Nawanshahr), on Wednesday.

The second position was also bagged by a local unit, the Aasra Welfare Society, which collected 961 units of blood during the same period. Besides, regular donors of the society Prem Mittal and Bhagwant Singh were also honoured on the occasion. Hukum Chand Sharma, patron, and Avinash Singh Sodhi, member, received the award on behalf of the society.

The adviser and the executive member of the society, Dinesh Pathania, informed that the society had been arranging donations for the blood banks of other districts as well, for which the society had been honoured at separate functions in Patiala and Barnala on Wednesday.

He added that the region had been leading as far as voluntary blood donations were concerned. While the percentage of voluntary blood donation in the state stood at 21 per cent, it was 53 per cent for Bathinda. Fifty nine per cent of the total blood donations came from volunteers in India.

Neelam Bajaj, civil surgeon, Bathinda, congratulated the society and expressed hope that the society would continue spearheading the altruistic act in the times to come as well. Vijay Bhatt, the president of the society, informed that the society had a target of creating a blood donor in every house.

The society had recently organised Mela Khoondaniyan Da, where close to 1200 donors were honoured.