Gatti Rajoke (Ferozepur), December 25
Tempers may be rising high among people across the nation against Pakistan in the aftermath of 26/11 attacks in Mumbai but in the remote villages along the Indo-Pak border across Sutlej River in Ferozepur district of Punjab, the rural folk seem to be casually leading a routine life with hardly any signs of military build-up on either side of the international border.

The 250-km long international border with Pakistan in this district mostly divided by Sutlej as natural boundary and of late by the barbed wire fencing had in the recent times faced large scale migration in the year 2000-01 fearing possibility of a war between the two neighbours soon after the attack on Indian Parliament.

At that time, both the countries had almost aimed their positions with large build-up of army on both sides by moving their tanks closer, laying mines, strengthening of bunkers/communication system but at the last moment both the nations resolved not to take up this extreme step and instead began a dialogue to end hostility.

During a visit to many border villages Gatti Rajoke, Hazara Singh, Bareke, Jhuge, Chandiwala, Khunder Gatti, Habibi Ke, Bhokhra etc. and a couple of check posts it was observed that there was hardly any sign of the movement of Army or any type of extra vigil by the border security force on the border.

Even the people were seen carrying out their routine work as usual hardly bothering about what was going on between the two nations.

Perhaps, they seem to be aware of the fact that nothing serious was going on between the two nations keeping in view that neither the Army nor the Border Security Force had so far flexed up their muscles for the war.

Sukhdev Singh Sarpanch of Bareke village was disturbed over the prevailing uncertainty of war in the country and wanted that it should be over. He said, "War is not the solution to any problem".

This correspondent visited 'Satpal' Border Observation Post (BOP) situated in this village and found that there was only one armed BSF person defending the post, besides, one sub-inspector and a head constable in civil dress sitting busy in a cosy room doing official paper work. There was no body standing on the gate of the post to check the entry of outsiders.

The BSF personnel on duty revealed that they were carrying out their duty as usual and no special instructions had come to them from the higher authorities, except, to observe the movement of Pakistani Rangers and their Army on the other side in Rajoke Burj village.

Gurbachan Singh, a resident of this village while talking to The Tribune said, "There are no signs of war, no build-up of army, no extra vigil and no such instructions from the civil administration, so far".

The old man recalled that in the 1971 war Pakistani forces had captured their village and they left their houses just one hour before the Pakistani forces entered the village. Those who had boats crossed the Sutlej to safer places while many people had drowned in the river, he remembered.

He said that two of his neighbours were captured by the Pakistani forces and held under captivity but were later released after couple of days.

It may be mentioned that this village is situated just 300 meters inside the international border landlocked on the Indian side by the waters of Sutlej.

Although, the local people had adjusted themselves to the hardships of living on a perilous border but they seem to be not happy with the government.

Even after 61 years of independence, the village sans 'pucca' roads, potable water supply and regular bus service, alleged Balbir Singh a young Sarpanch of this village.

Fazilka, December 25
Three youths were killed in separate road mishaps here. In the first incident, two youths were killed in a mishap near the bus stand of village Saidoke Hithar of the sub-division on Wednesday night.

According to sources, the incident took place when the motorcycle on which they were travelling was hit by an unknown vehicle.

The deceased Malkeet Singh (17) and Rakesh Kumar (18), residents of village Rana were returning to village after collecting their wages.

Malkeet died on the spot while Rakesh sustained critical injuries and was admitted to the local civil hospital.

He was referred to Ludhiana for advanced treatment but he succumbed to his injuries in the wee hours today. Police has registered a case against the driver of an unknown vehicle.

In another road accident, Lachhman Singh (20), a resident of border village Gaganke, was killed when a speeding truck hit the bike on which he was pillion rider, near local Government Boys Senior Secondary School.

The bike was driven by his friend Malkeet Singh of same village. Malkeet also sustained injuries.

Fazilka, December 25
Members of the Punjab State Pharmacists' Association, Ferozepur today held a meeting here. District president of the unit Shashi Kant presided over the meeting that took serious note of the alleged suicide committed by chief pharmacists of civil hospital, Hoshiarpur, Surinder Mohan.

They alleged that Surinder was annoyed with the behavior of assistant civil surgeon of the hospital, Dr Davinder Singh.

Several members of the association, including senior vice-president Harpreet Singh, vice-president Sachbeer Singh, finance secretary Sham Lal Sachdeva, organising secretary Rajinder Passi, press secretary Kulwinder Singh and others attended the meeting.

They demanded the doctor should be suspended and arrested as a case had already been registered against him in light of suicide note of the deceased.

They also demanded of the health minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla to give compensation of Rs 10 lakh and government job to the kin of Surinder Mohan.

Fazilka, December 25
The Army School, Fazilka, celebrated its annual day function with great enthusiasm. The theme of the programme was unity in diversity.

Army School, chairman Brig K.K. Sinha, was the chief guest at the function which began with the recitation of Ved mantras.

The audience was enthralled by the interesting blend of programmes, including Vande Matram, Bihu dance of Assam, Kalbelia dance of Rajasthan, Christmas carol, rock band, skit, Hindi couplets including religious dohas and bhangra.

Tiny tots of K.G. wing mesmerised the audience. School principal Vandna Doda highlighted the achievements of the school.

Mansa, December 25
Altogether six organisations of farmers decided to defer their proposed 24-hour rail rook agitation scheduled for Thursday at Mansa and Rampura Phul following assurance from state Chief Minister.

Farmers were to stage protest against the conditions which were imposed on the farmers for selling cotton.

State secretary of the Punjab Kisan Sabha, Lehmbar Singh Taggar, said that Punjab CM had send a letter to the farmers organisations assuring them that conditions, including fard and jamabandi, seeking by the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), was not compulsory for selling the crop.

The letter which was send to Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) was issued under the sign of principal secretary of the CM Chief Darbara Singh Guru informed that CM had raised the above issue with Union Textile Minister.

In the letter, it was also informed that chief managing director of CCI had
conveyed his consent that conditions of (Jamabandi and Fard) would not be
compulsory for the farmers.

In the letter, it was also assured that full MSP of cotton would be given to farmers after meeting the all specification. Farmer organisations postponed their agitation for 10 days.

A meeting of these organisations would be held on December 27 to review overall situation and to decide next course of action.

Farmer organisations as Punjab Kisan Sabha (Taggar) Punjab Kisan Sabha (Sambar), Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan), Punjab Kisan Union, Kirti Kisan Sabha and Kisan Shangarsh Committee Today held winning rallies at Mansa and Rampura Phul.

Farmers leaders Lehamber Singh Taggar, Boota Singh and Ram Singh Bhaini Bhagha addressed the rallies and said that if the government did not implement the above assurance, the farmers would launch and intense struggle.

Bathinda, December 25
Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal has once again scheduled a visit, from December 27-30, of Bathinda, to lay the foundation stone for various development projects in the area, in an attempt to nurse the constituency for the forthcoming parliamentary elections.

This time, besides laying more than 40 foundation stones, Sukhbir is scheduled to inaugurate a number of school buildings, power grids, community kitchen, water works etc. He has also chalked out a strategy for lunch and dinner diplomacy to bridge the gap between SAD and its ally, the BJP.

Party sources have confirmed that during his visit, Bathinda would be decorated with hoardings and bill boards welcoming their chief.

This time, Sukhbir would try to strengthen his position by attending some religious ceremonies like bhog of Ramayan Path, inauguration of Kuka community centre and paying obeisance at the Takht Damdama Sahib.

In the schedule, it is mentioned that he would pay proper attention to the Dhanak and Balmiki Samaj by holding meetings and releasing a calendar.

The total package, which Sukhbir has been claiming will be showered upon four assembly constituencies, namely, Rampura Phul, Bathinda, Joga and Talwandi Sabo is Rs 300 crore.

As per the details, he would lay around 25 foundation stone of reverse osmosis (RO) plants, nine for roads, one of railway overbridge at Badal road, which would smoothen the journey to his village from Bathinda.

Further, three canal distributaries, three power grids, two storm water sewer lines, eight sewerage system and some other projects have been mentioned for which he would lay the foundation stones.

But it may prove to be a tough task for him with the BMC councillors planning to air grievances in front of their leader regarding the disrespect they have been getting from the BMC officials.

Eearlier, during his one-day visit in February, Sukhbir laid 23 foundation stones for a single project-the Rs 40 crore-worth city beautification project-- launched with much fanfare. But ever since, the project has been mired in controversies.

Later, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Badal both had laid 12 foundation stones for the beautification and development projects in September, for which the Union government had sanctioned around Rs 100 crore.

The Badals had even laid a foundation stone for the cricket stadium, which is yet to see the light of the day.

"Sukhbir Badal sought the agriculture minister's personal intervention to immediately direct the CCI to continue procurement of cotton without insisting upon production of revenue records and instead accept the certificate issued by village sarpanch or agriculture produce market committee (APMC) certifying the prospective seller to be an actual farmer," said SAD in a statement.

The delegation also met Union Textiles Minister Shankar Singh Vaghela and sought his help in helping out the farmers of Punjab, who contribute 70 per cent in the central cotton pool.

Bathinda, December 25
Low water level in reservoirs at hydro power plants of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) has hit power generation from the plants by 30 per cent, forcing the board to order power cuts for all categories of consumers.

The ever-rising demand from all sectors, including industry, agriculture and domestic consumers, and reduced generation has widened gap between demand and supply.

In view of the constraints faced by the PSEB, people of Punjab will have to live with power cuts till fall in demand after the winter season.

Y.S. Ratra, chairman, PSEB, said today that power generation by the hydel plants of the board had registered a steep fall due to poor inflow of water in reservoirs.

The board had been returning power, under barter system, to Himachal, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, besides some southern states.

Ratra said the board took power from these states under the loaning system between May and October this year as a result of which it could supply uninterrupted power to different categories of consumers across the state.

Ratra said in view of these constraints cuts being imposed on different categories of consumers would continue and there was no respite in sight as of now.

The PSEB was, therefore, left with no option but to resort to power cuts, Ratra said. The cut on the domestic and other feeders in other towns of the state was between four to six hours.

The cut on domestic consumers in the rural areas ranged from six to seven hours while the motors in rural areas were being supplied power from six to seven hours.

The present availability, according to sources, was 783 lakh units against demand of 912 lakh units leaving a shortfall of 129 lakh units while the board was returning 125 lakh units of power to states from which it had borrowed power in summer.

The sources said one unit of the Ropar thermal plant was also closed for maintenance saying it was an annual exercise to undertake maintenance work in winters so that generation was not affected in summers.

Bathinda, December 25
Ambuja Cement Foundation and National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) have adopted a village, Sivian, on city outskirths, for overall development.

The development programme is based on the needs of the particular village and will be conducted for three years. It will cover various components of development like agriculture, women empowerment, health and sanitation and youth development.

District development manager Rajeev Aggarwal from NBARD explained the various steps of the programme to the villagers present. The programme was inaugurated on Wednesday by ADC (development).

In agriculture, organic agriculture will be explained to the villagers, bio-gas plants will be set up and subsidy for the same would be provided by KVIT, Ambuja Cement Foundation and Punjab Energy Development Agency.

Pond renovation will be explained to the villagers and farmers will also be provided exposure visits to upgrade their knowledge and learn know-how.

Women empowerment also was also taken up as a major component of the development programme. Around 50 self-help groups will be formed to help women.

Womenfolk would be taken to Himachal for a look at mushroom cultivation.

Income-generating skill development and awareness camp to curb the menace of female foeticide will also be organised.

In health and sanitation, assistance from water supply and sanitation department would be sought.

For the youth of the village, rural entrepreneurship development programme would be initiated and youth will be trained for self-employment. The training would be provided majorly by Ambuja Cement Foundation and NBARD.

The authorities present assured the villagers that the administration would provide every help needed and the organisations involved will try to solve maximum problems the village is facing today.

ADC (Development) C. Sibin told TNS, "This village was chosen after analysing various problems being faced by villages today. It is an integrated development programme which would cover various components of development. Some part of it is covered by NBARD and some by Ambuja Cement Foundation.”

According to field officer of Ambuja Cement Foundation Jora Singh Sandhu, there were around 150 villagers present at the inauguration and they seemed keen.

Others present were State Bank of Patiala's lead manager M.S. Dhaliwal, Ambuja Cement's general manager Rajeev Jain, sarpanch of Sivian village Gurtej Singh and the panchayat members of the village.

Bathinda, December 25
A seminar on Investor's Awareness in Stock Market was organised by Stock Holding Corporation here today.

R.S. Basant, CEO of the corporation, said, the seminar was aimed at making investors aware of the tricks of the trade.

Rakesh Jolly, a representative from the Ludhiana Stock Exchange, exhorted the investors to be vigilant while investing.

He said that SEBI was a monitoring authority and could come to their rescue in safeguarding their interests provided proper procedures had been followed.

He highlighted the corporate governess and its importance in selecting a particular company at the time of making investment decision.

R.P. Sagar, another representative of Ludhiana Stock Exchange explained about investor's psychology.

He discussed on how an investor loses and how the so-called tips carry him away.

He also explained the relevance of proper knowledge while investing through an audio-visual clipping from SEBI.

Abohar, December 25
Two residents of this sub-division Sanjeev Godara of village Seetogunno and Hanuman Dass president of the Akhil Bhartiya Jeev Raksha Bishnoi Sabha have been given representation on the newly constituted Punjab State Board for Wild Life as non-official members.

As per notification issued under signatures of R C Nayyar, principal secretary Department of Forests and Wildlife Preservation the board will be headed by the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal while Tikshan Sood minister of the department will be its vice chairman.

The notification issued in pursuance of section 6 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 amended in 2003, other nonofficial members have been listed as Dinesh Singh Thakur MLA Sujanpur, Bishambar Dass MLA Narot Mehra, Surjit Kumar Jiyani MLA Fazilka, Mohinder Pal Jain Advisor People for Animals Ludhiana, Rachhpal Singh Thandi Balachaur, Chhaju Ram Gupta ex-MLA Pathankot, Sanjeev Bhandari Ludhiana, Mahant Raminder Dass Hoshiarpur and Deepak Mittal chairman Clean and Green Association. In all there will be 26 members.

Abohar, December 25
Large number of farmers and farm workers thronged the rallies which were today organised by the Technical Services Union (TSU) village Panniwala Mahla near the inter-state border and Jandwala Hanwanta villages.

TSU leaders addressing the “Pol khol” rallies alleged that the government had not kept promise made in the election manifesto last year.

They exhorted the farmers and farm workers to join the TSU workers in organising a demonstration on January 7 at the PSEB headquarter in Patiala to force the management reinstate all the union workers who had been terminated in Patiala and suspended in Muktsar circle.

Abohar, December 25
Instead of observing a holiday on Thursday some of the educational institutions in Abohar and neighboring areas of Hanumangarh and

Sriganganagar celebrated Christmas in their respective complex by organising many competitions besides facilitating the NGOs to come to the aid of needy students.

Members of Guru Nanak Modi Khana Society during a function in the Government Primary School in Jain Nagar provided woolen pullovers to 35 students. Sandeep Watts was the chief guest.

Members of the Royal's Club visited the GPS in Shiv Shakya Nagar to distribute woolen wears to 75 students who belonged to migrants' families.

In Hanumangarh, BJP workers today celebrated birthday of former PM, Atal Bihari Vajpayee by distributing fruits among the children in the Eklavya Ashram.

The former PM has stayed away from the limelight but it did not affect the celebration of the event.

Barnala, December 25
Reciting an unmatched composition of words in a poem, titled "Kukh vich maari dhi," eminent poet-cum-writer, Prof. Gurbhajan Singh Gill today urged people to take up the responsibility to check female foeticide.

Gill mesmerised all at a function held at the Gurpreet Kaur Yaadgari Trust, Barnala. The Trust honoured him with 'Gurpreet Dardi Soni Award.'

Gill said if the problem is not taken seriously, there would be a serious problem in finding a suitable match for the boys.

Punjabi writer Buta Singh Chauhan hailed Gill and spoke about his contribution to society and Punjabi literature.

MLA from Ghunas constituency, Sant Balvir Singh Ghunas, said, "Gill is a writer, who with his efforts, has taken Punjabi poetry to foreign shores."