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CM offers sops to woo voters
Drug inspector held on graft charges
Siddhi Vinayak Educational Institution |
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Dera followers to resume activities in Gurusar Modia
Lohri fair on January 10
‘SGPC reforms soon’
SAD (B) chief Sukhbir Badal addressing a public meeting in Bathinda district on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Malkiat Singh
Hoteliers felt taxed this year
Mishap-free year for the Railways
Railway has minimised detention of loads successfully this year. Tribune photo: Kulbir Beera
Region reels under fog, chill
Admission time in schools
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CM offers sops to woo voters
Fazilka, December 30 Elated with the large gathering despite biting cold, Badal was unusually excited and targeted the Congress-led UPA government for inadequate support to Punjab on agricultural, industrial fronts. He assured to fulfill almost all demands raised by the Punjab BJP vice-president and local MLA Surjit Kumar Jyani and others but cleverly sideline the core issue of granting district headquarter status to Fazilka. Badal handed over cheques for Rs 4 crore and Rs 3 crore for development of rural areas and Fazilka town to local MLA Surjit Kumar Jyani. Badal said that the Assembly polls last year were a semi-final and the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls would be the final. He said that tax holidays have been granted by neighbouring states of Punjab due to which the industry in the state has been hit hard and no industrial units have come up in Punjab. Badal revealed that he had taken up the issue of tax holiday for industrial units in border districts of Punjab several times but to no avail. Local MLA Surjit Kumar Jyani strongly raised the demand of granting district headquarter status to Fazilka stating that Fazilka had been one of the largest and oldest sub-division of Punjab. The CM was accompanied by Irrigation Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon, Ferozepur MP Zora Singh Mann, chief parliamentary secretary and MLA Jalalabad Sher Singh Ghubaya, former minister Ch. Radha Krishan, Akali Dal Working Committee member Sandeep Gilhotra, Punjab BJP general secretary Kamal Sharma, district BJP president Mohinder Pratap Dhingra and SGPC executive member Suba Singh and Gurpal Singh Grewal. Later, at a brief press conference, the CM, replying to a query about jobs to agitating Panchayat Secretaries in Punjab, said that a decision in this regard would be taken at a cabinet meeting slated for
January 1. |
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Drug inspector held on graft charges
Mansa, December 30 He was presented in the court of judicial magistrate Poonam Bansal who ordered had a one-day police remand for the accused. Vigilance officials said that the drug inspector had taken samples from the above medical hall on December 18, for testing. The owner of the medical hall, Sanjeev Kumar, alleged that the drug inspector had demanded bribe from him for presenting a positive report. Kumar alleged that he had gone to the house of the drug inspector to give him the bribe on the evening of December 29. A vigilance team also reached the spot following a complaint by Kumar. The drug inspector was arrested red-handed with the bribe money of Rs 30,000. |
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Siddhi Vinayak Educational Institution
Hanumangarh/Abohar, December 30
The students enthralled the gathering, which had thronged the complex braving chill and fog, by performing a variety of items including Rajasthani Goga dance, Naga dance and gidha folk dance of Punjab. Addressing the gathering, Principal Ghanshyam Dass read the annual report listing achievements of the academic year. MLA Dr Param offered assistance for the brilliant students interested in becoming medicos. She honoured brilliant students including Gargi Award recipient Priyanka Mothsara, Pooja Kanwer, Manju Meena, Luxmi Kalyani and Manpreet Kaur on this occasion. School patron Ram Kumar Saraswat thanked the guests.
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Dera followers to resume activities in Gurusar Modia
Hanumangarh/Abohar, December 30 As was made clear by the Dera sources a few days before the polling for the Assembly that the 35-member Saadh Sangat's political committee despite of visiting most of the segments twice had not issued specific instructions to the followers for supporting out rightly any of the political parties. However, the local committees were given a free hand to decide on the issue keeping in view the conditions prevailing in their respective area. Well placed sources stated that most of the Congress candidates had assured the Saadh Sangat that they upon formation of their party's government would extend all kind of cooperation in restoring normal functioning of all the Deras. As per media reports, Gangajal Meel who had bid adieu to the BJP terming it as anti-Jat party and contested the election from Suratgarh had promised during a meeting that he would be attending the Naam Charcha at least once in a month. Upon his election Meel was the first to visit the Dera and offer prayers. Other Congress MLAs including Aad Ram Meghwal and Santosh Saharan too kept their word given to the Dera followers. Today Sangria MLA Dr Param was also honoured by the Saadh Sangat during a brief function. Significantly her husband Navdeep Singh is posted as Additional Director General of Police (Admn). He had recently attended other receptions organised by the electorates to felicitate Param upon her election as Congress MLA. The Congress legislators while justifying their visits to the Deras said the followers had been regularly carrying on public welfare activities even when they faced tough opposition from the radicals. How we can ignore that they provide monthly food kits to the downtrodden families besides organising free medical check up and blood donation camps, a senior party functionary said. |
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Lohri fair on January 10
Mansa, December 30 Data shows that one-third of the 12 million girls born every year in India die in their first year and 25 per cent don't survive beyond 15 years. There are just 927 girls for 1000 boys in the country. In Punjab, the ratio is 798 and in Mansa, the ratio is 779. Fatehgarh Sahib district in Punjab has 755 girls for 1000 boys, which is the lowest in Punjab. Therefore, Sabhyachar Chetna Manch is giving a message for bringoing about a balance in the sex ratio. "Gone are the days when the birth of a girl child was considered to be a bad omen. Today, girls are not only competing with boys in every field, but are also leading them in many areas," Malwa said. The prime aim of the club is to create public awareness and encourage people to celebrate Lohri for their daughters with the same fevour and gaiety as they do it for their sons. Now, there is no difference between a boy and a girl, Malwa said. On the occasion, a cultural programme would also be conducted by noted Punjabi folk singer Harjit Harman. An exhibition of ancient Sabhyachar articles will also be held for the people. Earlier, the Manch has honoured famous singers like Hakam Sufi, Surinder Shinda, Mohammad Sadique, Baba Kashi Nath Jogi, comedian Bhajna Amli, Playwright Prof. Ajmer Singh Aulakh, Darshan Mitwa, Kuldeep Deep, song writer Albel Brar and S. Jagdev Singh Jassowal besides other well-known personalities. At this programme, the Manch will honour girls from the district with distinct performances in various fields. Jagdeep Singh Nakkai, Chief Parliamentary Secretary, will be the chief guest. Deputy Commissioner Kumar Rahul and SSP Manminder Singh would preside over the function, Chairman of Zila Parishad, Dilraj Singh Bhunder, would be the guest of honour. |
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‘SGPC reforms soon’
Singo (Bathinda), Dec 30 Earlier, after paying homage at Gurudwara Takht Sri Damdama Sahib at Talwandi Sabo, he went on his foundation stone laying spree in Talwandi Sabo constituency. At a press meet at village Singo, Sukhbir said in 2009, there would be three major priorities, namely, administrative reforms, setting up of anti-drug force and rejuvenation of the education system. Speaking further, he said, "To destroy the drug network completely from the state, a special force will be set up to launch a war against drugs." He mentioned that this set up would be a part of the police department but would act as an independent force like the Vigilance Bureau. Citing Vigilance Bureau as an example, he said just as the Bureau acts as an anti-corruption force, this force will be accountable for checking drug peddling and related activities. He said that services of police officers up to the Inspector General level, would be requisitioned under the new system. When asked him about the policemen facing harassment due to frequent VIP duties, he said, "I am also aware of the facts and feel sympathy for them." He disclosed that the government was going to invite applications for 2000 vacancies in the police force within a fortnight. When he was reminded about his promise to ensure a day's rest in a week for policemen, he said, "I will make a request to the CM to ensure a day's off for every employee." As part of the administrative reforms, a mission for 2009, Sukhbir said the government would soon fill up vacancies in departments dealing with public services. He said departments like excise, public health, police and co-operatives are in such list. About the status of the cancer hospital in Bathinda, he said the project is at the bidding stage. The Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) would soon complete this process to start construction at the earliest. About the international cricket stadium in Bathinda, he said the project would definitely be completed as the PIDB would take it up. |
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Hoteliers felt taxed this year
Bathinda, December 30 Bikramjit Singh Bahiya of the Bahiya Resorts said, "The year began on a good note but as the economic recession loomed large, we had to bear the jolt. Customers declined and occupancy dipped. The recession was world-wide and everything else is related. Hotel industry is connected to the world, it's not only about India and we had to bear the brunt of the recession." The business at hotels was also badly affected when the state government on November 28 announced charging of luxury tax from hotels in the state. Hoteliers feel that customers here are not used to such taxes which definitely was a blow to the industry. Kanwal Gupta, who owns hotel Holiday Home and the popular eating joint Pizzano, said, "The year 2008 was not favourable for the hotel industry at all. The clientele dipped by 14 per cent because of the luxury tax imposed by the government. Hotel association protested the exorbitant taxes levied by government but nothing came out of it." Bahiya said that as the recession had already affected hotel business, the government should not have added more taxes, it could have waited for a while. Already VAT of 12.5 per cent was being paid by restaurants and 12.5 per cent tax was being charged from the resorts. Now, an added 10 per cent luxury tax was imposed on hotels which made the situation go from bad to worse. Some people also said that they now hesitate to pay taxes because their money was being invested in unwanted things like extra security for VVIPs and their family members. They expressed interest in knowing where their money was being spent. Hoteliers felt their business for sure did not flourish as expected in 2008. |
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Leaving ’08, entering ’09
Bathinda, December 30 Third, its efforts to minimise detention of loads has also yielded positive results, said ATM, Bathinda, Sher Singh. He also said that in one of the measures to maintain punctuality of passenger trains, the railway accorded these trains priority over goods trains. As far as the beautification of one of the major station of the Northern Railway, which is also Asia's biggest railway junction, Bathinda, is concerned, platform 9 has been elevated. The railway installed Electronic Display System at several places to make commuters aware about trains and the positioning of the coaches. The department has also been making efforts to install the display system for coaches of trains. Following huge demands, the facility of Head Quarter Reservation (HQR) quota has also been provided in some trains. To upgrade passenger amenities, efforts are on to make the pay-and-use-service outside the booking counter, functional, soon. In a step to ensure safety, the railway turned the several non-interlocked level-crossing in Rajpura-Bathinda-Sriganganagar section, interlocked. As far as the technology upgradation programme is concerned, the process to commission the Route Relay Interlocking (RRI) system is in advanced stage. "RRI is likely to be commissioned in March 2009," sources in the railway said. Throughout the year, the railway made extra efforts to keep the station tidy and clean. In this effort, the six 'floor-cum-scrubber machines' pressed into action in May this year, proved instrumental. Besides, rag picking from tracks after 20 minutes of departure of a train, use of bleaching power, liquid soaps, lime powder, steam cleaning and other steps are also proving to be handy. Sources in the Northern Railway said that as far as cleanliness is concerned, the Bathinda railway station is among the top stations in this respect in the zone. However, the president of the Railway Passengers' Welfare Association, Bathinda, A.K. Garg, said that from the commuter's point of view, the railway needed to take some more steps. He said that the enquiry system at the station required urgent overhaul. Passengers had been facing inconvenience throughout the year due to late running of trains, he added. Garg said that due to the non-introduction of any new train for the Malwa residents, the year could not be termed as a satisfactory one from their point of view. |
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Region reels under fog, chill
Bathinda, December 30 Moreover, the weathermen on Tuesday have also not predicted any break in the condition in next the two to three days. A look on mercury movement on Monday and on Tuesday indicted that the zone is under the grip of cold wave. The minimum temperature on Monday was recorded at 6.5 degree Celsius at 7 am, while the maximum was 15.0 degree, as per the Agro-MeT advisory services, PAU Regional Station, Bathinda. On Tuesday, the mercury dipped significantly and retreated up to 5.0 degree Celsius while the maximum could manage to touch only 13.5 degree to leave the region under a severe spell of cold wave. Like previous days, the residents again got up to a foggy condition on Tuesday and faced inconvenience due to nearly-nil visibility till late in the morning. The condition improved a bit at noon as the weak sunshine turned strong to some extent and fog began descending. The city, however, felt some respite but only from fog in the evening as the condition remained fog-free at about 8 pm. The rail and road movement, in the region, remained disrupted in the morning due to fog. Most of the trains were found running behind schedule. According to the weather forecast made by the IMD, Chandigarh, for Bathinda region and received by the Agro-MeT advisory services, PAU Regional Station, Bathinda, there may be dry condition with no possibility of rain in the next two to three days. Foggy condition may continue with possibility of a fall in the night temperature. The weathermen, however, expressed apprehension that if similar condition continues for the coming two to three days or worsen, there might be a possibility of frost. |
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Admission time in schools
Bathinda, December 30 Silver Oaks principal Neelam Verma that the school would reopen on January 2 and the sale of prospectus would begin in the second week of January. A single prospectus would cost Rs 150. DPS principal Arun Jee said the school would reopen on January 2 and prospectus would be on sale from January 6. The cost of a prospectus would be Rs 200. — TNS |
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Singo (Bathinda), Dec 30
Bathinda, December 30
Bathinda, December 30
