Amritsar, July 23
The tall claims of the Municipal Corporation were exposed as its own building was submerged in knee-deep water early this morning.

The corporation office and the Town Hall building housing the offices of the Commissioner, Kotwali police station, Fire Brigade, library and other offices of the corporation were also inundated with water affecting the working of the corporation.

Last year, too, these offices were inundated with the rainwater and the corporation authorities had said that steps would be initiated to check this so that the water did not get accumulated in the corporation building complex.

Besides the corporation building, many posh localities of the holy city, including Lawrence Road, Crystal Chowk, Kachehri Chowk, Taylor Road (where the District Transport Office is situated), Putlighar, Majitha Road, Lohgarh, Ram Bagh and Sultanwind area, were submerged in water.

The accumulation of water on the city roads affected the normal life as it was difficult for the employees and schoolchildren to reach their destinations as the two-wheelers or the autorickshaws could not move in the knee-deep water. However, after the heavy rains the day temperature came down considerably, giving relief to the residents from the sweltering heat.

Municipal Corporation Commissioner D.P.S. Kharbanda said the Hukam Singh disposal drain project was nearing completion as only 550 feet of the drain was left which would be completed within the next 10 days. He said after the completion of the drain, the problem of the Civil Lines and Batala Road areas would be solved. He said that rains were welcome but as the city was like a saucer the water got accumulated in various parts of the walled city which was drained out within one to two hours.

Batala: The rain this morning opened up a box of miseries for the residents of Batala, inundating various places of the town like Ohri Gate, Nehru Gate, Pahari Gate, Achli Gate, Dharampura Colony, Circular Road and Girls College Road.

People had to pass through knee-deep water in low-lying areas where choked sewers made life difficult for the residents.

When contacted, Manmohan Singh, Executive Officer, Municipal Council, stated that the maintenance of the sewerage had been given to a private agency.

He said polythene bags were the cause of blockage of sewers, but he failed to give a satisfactory reply on the non-functional sewerage, saying he would visit the spot to redress the grievances. 

Gurdaspur, July 23
Sewa Singh Sekhwan, SAD-BJP alliance candidate for the Kahnuwan assembly byelection, today urged the Election Commission to register a criminal case against Congress candidate Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa for furnishing wrong information in his nomination forms submitted to the Returning Officer (RO).

Sekhwan said he had also urged the EC to ban the entry of Congress MP and Fateh Jung’s brother Partap Singh Bajwa, as he (Bajwa) had been influencing the voters in the area by promising them that they would be given grants from his (MPLADS) discretionary funds.

Sekhwan, while talking to selective mediapersons, said Fateh Jung had concealed the fact that his wife was known by two names Hanila Bajwa and Preet Bajwa and had been carrying same Permanent Account Number (PAN), issued by the Income Tax Department, for both the names. Apart from it, Bajwa had also concealed in the nomination forms submitted to RO that his wife in the name of Hanila Bajwa was one of the shareholders in one of the major property situated in the Dera Bassi area in Mohali.

He had been trying to befool voters by making their White Cards to provide them food on subsidised rates despite the fact that there was no such policy of state or centre government. Bajwa, when contacted, while dubbing all the allegations as baseless, said that Sekhwan should have raised such objections at the time when the scrutiny of nomination forms was carried out and objections were sought by RO.

Kahnuwan, July 23
Gurdaspur MP Partap Singh Bajwa has accused Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal of misleading the electorate of the Kahnuwan assembly segment regarding induction of Sewa Singh Sekhwan as minister in the cabinet if he wins the byelection.

Bajwa, whose brother Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa has been contesting against Sekhwan, said how could Badal make Sekhwan a minister when Bikramjit Singh Majithia was a strong contender for a berth in the Punjab cabinet and the number of ministers, excluding the Chief Minister, could not exceed 17.

Campaigning for his brother, Bajwa addressed a series of rallies where he said Badal had been making false promises just to influence the people to get their votes for Sekhwan. Badal had also been misusing the government machinery, police and civil officials, he added.

Apart from Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, a number of state and district-level leaders accompanied Bajwa to various places in this segment for the campaign of Fateh Jung . The family members of Bajwa brothers have also been going door to door for seeking votes.

He said Badal did not bother about this segment till a month ago. About a month ago, he came to the area and organised two days sangat darshan and distributed cheques among various panchayats for development works. “This proves that Badal’s acts were purely to influence voters,” he added. The people of Kahnuwan had suffered a lot due to atrocities committed on them by the police and goons of the area at the behest of the Akali leadership. — TNS

Nawanshahr, July 23
The local rehriwallahs, rickshaw-pullers under the aegis of All-India Federation of Trade Unions (AIFTU) yesterday held a dharna and rally in front of the local municipal council and gheraoed the residence of the Executive Officer of the MC to protest against the alleged discrimination.

Addressing the rally, AIFTU president Kulwinder Warraich said every time during the anti encroachment drives only the poor rehri and rickshaw-pullers were made scapegoat.

But people who park vehicles haphazardly in front of shops, hotels, restaurants, banks situated on the main road go scot-free, he added.

“If the MC or the administration is really sincere enough to remove encroachments on the main roads and chowks in the town for ensuring smooth flow of traffic, then it should shun its discriminatory attitude,” said Warraich. — OC 

Hoshiarpur, July 23
Former minister and senior Congress state leader Naresh Thakur has supported the residents of local Mohalla Sunder Nagar in filing a complaint with the Chairman of the Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) against the district administration and the Executive Officer of the Municipal Council (MC), and employees of the PSEB under the suburban division.

The complaint is regarding alleged threats (supposedly at the behest of some local politicians) to bulldoze the houses of Mohalla Sunder Nagar inhabitants illegally.

Talking to mediapersons here, Thakur said 451 families living in the mohalla were migrant labourers and had been living there for the past 25 years. They had constructed pucca houses and had secured electricity and water connections.

Besides, they had been issued ration cards and voters’ identity cards on their present addresses by the authorities concerned. They had come here to earn their livelihood. The displacement would be an injustice to them. Thakur urged the authorities not to displace them, failing which he would start an agitation to oppose them.

DC Megh Raj said the houses, constructed in the choe bed passing through Mohalla Sunder Nagar were creating obstacles in the smooth flow of flood water, causing a threat to the adjoining abadis. The removal of the houses from the choe bed would be done according to law. — OC