Bathinda, April 2
Adding spice to poll campaigns for the Bathinda Lok Sabha seat, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, candidate of the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), today targeted former CM Captain Amarinder Singh, while the Congress nominee Raninder Singh flexed his muscles at her at Badal, the native village of CM Parkash Singh Badal.

Harsimrat was forceful in challenging Amarinder rather than targeting his son Raninder. Harsimrat and Raninder have come face to face now with the latter formally launching his election campaign.

Raninder Singh this morning drove straight to the residence of Maheshinder Singh Badal, first cousin of CM Parkash Singh Badal, where he was accorded a warm welcome by his supporters.

Houses of both Badals in the village share a common wall and the doors opening on each other’s side have now been sealed because of family disputes. Maheshinder is coordinating Raninder’s election campaign in the Parliamentary constituency.

Maheshinder enjoys considerable influence in the area and had lost the Assembly election of 2007 to Parkash Singh Badal by a margin of about 9,000 votes.

On the other hand, Harsimrat dared Amarinder to come out with detail of projects that were initiated by him in the Talwandi Sabo segment when he was the agriculture minister and then the chief minister of the state.

She accused Amarinder of only giving lip service to the people of the area that he completely ignored when he was in power.

She said her Badal family belonged to the area and has taken in hand several projects for economic and infrastructure development of the place.

Addressing a series of election rallies, Harsimrat accused Amarinder of only taking interest in road shows in the urban areas.

Decrying the “feudal tendencies” of her rival, she said problems of the commoners were not on his priority list as till yesterday, he was absent from the constituency and busy at Delhi in the polls for a shooting association.

Maisar Khana (Bathinda), April 2
The three-day religious fair at Shri Durga Mandir in village Maisar Khana concluded today with fervour and gaiety. Lakhs of devotees (as claimed by the temple authorities) of Maa Jawala Devi marked their presence during the three-day fair. The whole event was organised by the volunteers of the Sanatan Dharam Punjab Mahavir Dal.

The temple was echoing with slogans of ‘Jai Mata Di’. Various stalls including eateries, toys and cosmetic shops were set up to attract people of all age-groups, who thronged the place from various corners of north India. To cater to all, a number of langars were also arranged in and around the temple.

Expressing belief in the myth about the history of the temple, people were observed confident of getting all their wishes fulfilled after paying obeisance there.

An elderly lady, Shakuntla Devi of Sardulgarh, who along with her family members was standing in queue to pay obeisance said, “We come here every time, as our wishes are fulfilled by the goddess”.

Taking a holy dip in nearby Sarovar, a lady who was bathing her one-year-old son, said, “This water is miraculous as taking a dip here cures all ailments.” Newly-wedded couples and people carrying children to pay obeisance there were noticed in large numbers.

About the history, one of the priests of the temple said that the fair takes place after six months on the occasion of Navratra. On the sixth ‘Navratra’, it is believed that Maa Jawala Devi herself lands at the temple and showers blessings on her devotees.

Eatables were being sold in the open with layers of dust and flies sitting on them. But no official from the health department was seen checking the menace. Even volunteers of the Seva Dal were found to be irritated over the unhygienic condition of ‘parsad’ being sold outside the temple.

Bathinda, April 2
In contrast to the past experiences, this time the district administration is ‘well prepared’ to procure the wheat crop. But due to natural reasons, not a single grain of wheat has arrived at any of the mandis in this district even on the second scheduled day for procurement today.

During a visit, various mandis of the district, including the main local grain market, were found lying vacant. In the absence of any arrival, trucks and trolleys were parked under the sheds of the markets. It may be mentioned that the deputy commissioner has issued orders to all truck owners and drivers against parking the vehicles under the sheds in the grain market. But they appear to have fallen on deaf ears.

According to the district administration, the total wheat production is expected to be about 11 lakh metric tonnes, out which only seven lakh would reach market while rest would be kept by farmers for self-consumption.

When contacted, district mandi officer Ram Gopal Singla said, “Due to some climatic reason, the crop has not ripened yet. We have not recorded any arrival at any market in the district. The arrival would be in full swing after Baisakhi.”

To regulate the whole system, the administration has been receiving loads of instructions from the senior authorities because the process of procurement is being observed as a base for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The ruling party, due to high stakes in Bathinda Lok Sabha seat, has been leaving no stone unturned to ensure the procurement procedure goes smoothly. The administration has sought 28,000 bales of 500 gunny bags each, but till today, the availability is of 18000. Further, there is a shortage of storage crates also.

Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tewari said, “To streamline the process, I have been holding regular meetings with the departments concerned. The shortage of bags and crates would soon be met as I have brought the matter to the notice of higher authorities.”a“This time we are confident about the storage capacity as after arranging all godowns, we have been allotted the Backospin godown located on the outskirts of the city for piling up around 50,000 more bags in case of emergency,” the DC added.

Bathinda, April 2
The declining sex ratio in Bathinda and surrounding areas has shown a notable progress and the credit goes to the government, NGOs and the PNDT cell formed in 2003.

Sadhu Ram Khusla, project officer, the PNDT cell, informed The Tribune that as per a report received from the civil surgeon, Bathinda, sex ratio for the year 2008 stands at 854 against 1000 males. In 2002, the number was 740, in 2003 it was around 750 and in 2004, the figure stood at 790 and in 2005, the number of girls against 1000 boys was 808. In 2006, the number of girls went up to 834 while the year 2007 saw 838 girls against 1000 males.

The PNDT cell had asked all NGOs to keep a close watch on the activities of the ultrasound centres registered with the civil surgeon, Bathinda. Following that, 10 criminal complaints under the IPC and the PNDT Act were filed against 37 persons, most of them being doctors and husbands of the patients. In four cases, charges have been framed while in two cases, the court has declared proclaimed offenders.

The official said every panchayat that declares increase in sex ratio was given Rs 2.5 lakh for development work. If a family has one girl child and adopts family planning then Rs 700 is given to the girl every month till she attains the age of 18. If a family has two girls and the family goes for family planning then Rs 500 per month goes to both the girls till they attain the age of 18. This applies to SC, ST and BPL families. Anyone, who informs about a female foeticide case, was rewarded with Rs 5,000.

Fazilka, April 2
In the last two years of Badal regime, 42 Congress workers have been killed while over 10,000 have been implicated in different cases by registering 2200 false police cases against them, observed Captain Amarinder Singh, former chief minister of Punjab, while addressing a large rally at Kharunj village of nearby Jalalalabad sub-division.

The rally had been organised by the party to re-induct former market committee chairman of Jalalabad, Gurbir Singh Sandhu, in the party fold. Punjab election committee chairman, Amariunder Singh, claimed that Congress will sweep Lok Sabha polls in Punjab and is set to win all 13 seats.

The Captain was accompanied by LS Congress candidate from Ferozepur, Jagmit Singh Brar, his brother Ripjit Sigh Brar MLA, former PPCC president Varinder Kataria, Naresh Kataria MLA, PPCC vice-president Sajjan Kumar Jakhar, former MLAs Ravinder Singh Sandhu, Parkash Singh Bhatti and number of other regional Congress leaders.

Addressing the gathering, the Captain alleged that the Badals, father and son, have rendered Punjab bankrupt by amassing unaccountable wealth through sheer misuse of their status. The Badal family has “forcibly” purchased about 1000 bus route permits from transport operators. They have also gained wealth from illegal sand mining and wine contracts and misuse of Centre funds in purchase of paddy.

Launching scathing attack on the NDA, the Captain said the alliance is projecting a communal leader, Lal Krishan Advani, as the prime ministrial candidate. On the other hand, the Congress is led by Dr Manmohan Singh, whom he described as an honest man. He said that due to progressive policies of Dr Singh, the country stands strong despite the global economic meltdown.

He welcomed Gurbir Singh Sandhu along with his supporters for rejoining the Congress party after a spell of two years. It may be recalled that Sandhu had deserted Congress during the Punjab assembly polls in 2007 and joined SAD.

Addressing the gathering, Congress candidate, Jagmit Singh Brar alleged that the SAD-BJP regime has failed miserably on all fronts.

Former minister and former Congress MLA from Jalalabad, Hans Raj Josan was conspicuous by his absence from the rally, which gave credence to intra-party rift in Congress. Amarinder later visited Josan at his village Bandiwala. Josan, while welcoming Captain at his residence, pledged full support to Congress. Earlier, Josan had organised a rally in support of Brar last week at his village.

Our Correspondent
Mansa, April 2“By providing tickets for the Lok Sabha elections to Jadish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, the Congress has exposed its anti-Sikh face again before the people,” said Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the SAD candidate from Bathinda constituency, while addressing the public meetings in Joga area today.

Criticising the Congress she said that it did not take any interest in the development of the state. “Bathinda is my home constituency and besides me, all my family members would provide their services in the area," she added and assured that sincere efforts would be made to get job quota for women in the Bathinda refinery and other institutions.

She promised that if elected, more Central schemes would come to Bathinda and Punjab. Parliamentary secretary Jagdeep Singh Nakai and other local leaders also spoke at the public meetings. 

Moga, April 2
Local Congress MLA, Joginder Pal Jain's son, Akshit Jain and his friend Munish Monga have got anticipatory bail from the district and sessions' court here, today. They were booked by the local police under sections, 419, 420, 205 and 120B of the IPC, last week.

Akshit was supposed to appear in the court of B.S. Sandhu, additional sessions' judge, being an accused in an accident case that took place on March 24, when the crucial evidence of a key witness was being recorded in a criminal case of accident pending against him but instead of appearing himself in the court, he knowingly sent his close friend identified as Munish Monga on behalf of him in the court.

On having noticed the 'mischief', the court ordered an inquiry on the spot, which found him prima facie guilty of cheating the court, following which, a case of cheating by impersonation was registered against him and his said friend.

The anticipatory bail applications of both the accused persons came up for hearing and arguments before Amarjot Kaur Bhatti, another additional sessions' judge on Thursday.

The court agreeing to the plea of the defence counsel had granted anticipatory bail to both of them.

It may be mentioned that the sessions' court on January 10 this year had framed charges of 'culpable homicide not amounting to murder' against Akshit under sections 304/304A of the IPC in an accident case.

This case was registered against him on October 10, 2007 in a local police station. One person, Jarnail Singh, a resident of the nearby Saleena village, who was driving a scooter, succumbed to injuries sustained during the collision with Akshit's car. The accident occurred on the Moga-Ferozepur road in Duneke village. This case was still pending against Akshit for final verdict in the sessions' court, here. 

Abohar, April 2
The consumers have been asked by the civic authorities that they will have to bear the brunt of a fraud that was allegedly committed by an employee of the local municipal council.

Interestingly, the council has passed a resolution seeking permission from the state headquarters to proceed against the suspicious person but his name has not been mentioned in the resolution.

Ashok Kumar Watts of Lajpat Nagar, in a complaint lodged with the senior officials of the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board, SDM, EO of the council and SHO of the city police, stated that he was "forced" to pay Rs 2,520 against arrears of sewerage and water charges on March 31 vide receipt number 31 of book number 1843 even when he produced receipt number 17 of book number 1720 to confirm that Rs 1,260 for the previous quarters had been paid on August 12, 2008. The previous receipt carried signature of an employee Jai Parkash. The connection stands in the name of his wife Asha Rani.

Similarly, Roshan Lal Jain, a former employee of the BSNL and resident of Nai Abadi, has said in his complaint that he had paid Rs 630 vide receipt number 2 of book number 1720 on October 6, 2008 but again forced to pay Rs 1890 vide receipt number 44 of book number 1841 on March 31, 2009 inclusive of the previous payment.

There are many such customers. The receipt produced by Mr Jain bears the signature of one J.P. Mishra. There were 100 receipts in the book. It is yet to be ascertained that how much amount was collected against this book.

As per the complaints the consumers were warned that they would lose the water and sewerage connections due to non-payment by March 31. The authorities told them that the receipts which they had got were issued from the book that was stolen from the office.

Why the authorities did not get FIR registered and alerted the citizens about such fake receipts, none is prepared to answer.

The period of the receipts ranged to three months. The complainants have given the authorities ultimatum for making refund with 24 per cent interest besides urging the police to register a case under section 420 of the IPC. 

Bathinda, April 2
The Punjab government's decision to shut down the AIE (Alternative for Education) centres that were running in almost all villages of the state has come as a shock for the teachers working at these centres. The step would render many teachers jobless, sources in the Education Department said on Wednesday.

According to the sources, block resource persons working with the department called up the head teachers of government schools and told them to inform the AIE centre teachers that they have been relieved of their duties.

The government had started the AIE centres around nine months back to impart education to the children who could not attend schools due to any reason. An AIE centre was opened in almost every village of the state. One teacher was appointed for about 30 students at each centre. The 'Pendu Sikhya Vikas Committee' was also set up to appoint these teachers. Every child studying in these centres was given Rs 250 per month.

DEO (Primary) Gurvinder Pal Dhillon, when contacted, said, "The students were taught for nine months at the centres. The centres that have not completed nine months would be closed only after completing the stipulated period. Students studying at these centres would be absorbed in regular schools. We would conduct a survey and if we find that a good number of children are still not attending schools then these centres would be reopened. But as of now, they may be considered as non-functional.”

Mansa, April 2
The ETT teachers have decided to encourage the village children to get admission in the government schools. In this regard, the ETT Teachers Union has launched a “School Chalo” campaign. Awareness rallies and marches would be carried out till April 15. The district president of the union, Hardeep Singh Sidhu said they would provide every possible help to poor children for their studies.

He claimed that many members of the union are visiting the houses of people to motivate them to educate their children in government schools. The union has also decided to provide the children with the maximum help in their education. — OC

Mansa, April 2
Mansa police today arrested the members of Kala Kachha gang, involved in cases of thefts and murders at various places in Punjab and other states.

SSP Mansa, Manwinder Singh said that three members of this gang were arrested and two pistols and sharp-edged weapons were recovered from them.

Some other members of this gang are absconding and the police is trying to arrest them, the SSP said. The arrested members of the gang said that they had robbed people at Sajju Mazra, Dappar, Daddu Mazra, Kharar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Ambala, Meerut, and Muzaffar Nagar and some persons were killed during the robbery.