Mansa, July 29
It was a day of inconvenience for people as the public transport system was thrown out of gear throughout the day following violence and protest in Mansa.

Hundreds of passengers were found waiting at Tinkoni, near the DC’s residence, bus stand and railway station for conveyance to reach their destination.

On the one hand, the Dera followers damaged about 20 buses parked at the bus stand and torched one plying on the road. They also blocked the Bathinda-Chandigarh highway disrupting traffic.

The protesters also blocked the Bathinda-Mansa railway track at crossing number C-206/T-2 at Mansa.

According to railway officials, three passenger trains, 344 Hisar-Jind, 341 Delhi-Ferozepur and 342 Ferozepure-Delhi, were stopped at stations on way to their destinations as Dera followers staged dharna from Bathinda-Mansa, single line track. Movement of goods trains was also affected.

Confirming the details, Inderjeet Singh, station superintendent of Mansa railway station, said, "It was a hectic day for us as we had to keep a check on the activities of the agitators to get our track clear as soon as possible."

Mansa: Taking a serious note of the incidents involving the tragic happening in Mansa and their subsequent aftermath, CM Parkash Singh Badal said the government was committed both to maintain law and order and respect ing the sentiments of all. Meanwhile, he ordered the constitution of a Special Investigation Team comprising DIG Faridkot Range, SSP Mansa and SP (D), Mansa, to go into the entire sequence of the events. — TNS

Mansa: Taking preventive measures, the deputy commissioner, Mansa, Kumar Rahul announced school holiday for Thursday. Talking over phone, the DC said, sensing the tension due to Dera row, schools including private and government, would remain closed for the day. — TNS

Moga, July 29
Rain lashed the entire Moga district in the past 24 hours bringing cheers on the faces of the farming community. Reports reaching here at the district headquarters revealed that it was still raining in some parts of the district.

Agriculture experts said this rain was beneficial for both cotton and paddy crops. Jugraj Singh, a farmer of Raoke Kalan village said the widespread rain had reduced his expenses on diesel.

"Rainwater is sufficient enough in my fields and I do not need to irrigate my paddy crop for the coming few days," he said.

Most of the paddy growers in this district were using diesel for the past few days to produce electricity for running their water pumps as the state electricity board had failed to supply enough power to irrigate the fields.

The use of diesel had put an extra financial burden on the farmers to save their crops and good rainfall was the only option left to provide them a sigh of relief to reduce the cost inputs.

The farmers of Nihalsinghwala sub-division, popularly known as the cotton belt, were also happy as the rain augured well for the cotton crop.

Until a few days back, the cotton crop was getting water through pumps but the beneficial effect of rain seemed to be missing in the fields.

The farmers were feeling the deficiency of rain.Experts were of the opinion that rain would boost the height of cotton plants and a couple of showers in the next fortnight would see flourishing cotton crop. Meanwhile, the ongoing work on strengthening the embankments of Sutlej in this district was going on at a rapid pace as a preventive measure to deal with the rise in water level of the river.

Jaswinder Singh a resident of Takhtuwala village revealed to The Tribune that the water level in Sutlej was rising for the past couple of days but has not yet touched the embankments and as such there was nothing to worry at the moment. 

Bathinda, July 29
The rain god finally relented with Bathinda and its adjoining areas witnessing rainfall today.

The nearly two-hour long precipitation, comprising downpour and drizzle, however, brought cheers back on the faces of the people as mercury dipped considerably following the rains.

The 37.8 mm rain, as recorded by the Agro-Met Advisory Services, PAU regional station, Bathinda, made the mercury fall by 10 degrees Celsius since yesterday.

Interesting, in contrast to the normal practice, the region recorded a maximum temperature at 7.30 am as 28.6 degrees Celsius while the day's low was recorded at 2.30 pm as 25 degrees Celsius, 10 degrees lower than on Tuesday, as per the Agro-Met Advisory Services, PAU regional station, here.

However, the shower once again exposed the administration's poor preparedness for the monsoon.

The city came to a standstill following the shower as the entire areas here witnessed waterlogging which paralysed normal life for several hours besides causing traffic snarls.

The region witnessed overcast conditions in the morning with downpour beginning at around 11 am. The shower lasted for nearly two hours but the overcast conditions continued up to around 3 pm.

As far as the weather forecast is concerned, the monsoon is likely to continue its today's behaviour for the next two to three days.

According to the forecast made by the IMD, Chandigarh, for Bathinda region on Tuesday and received by the Agro-met advisory services here, there is possibility of light to moderate rainfall in a few places in the region in the next two to three days. The temperature may witness a fall during the period, weathermen said. 

Bathinda, July 29
Rains that lashed the city today proved troublesome for college authorities as the rains disrupted their movement inside the college campus and classes could not be held in some colleges. But students held a different view and termed the rains as delightful besides pointing out administration's incapability in countering rain-related problems.

Prof Jyoti Prakash from Government Rajindra College of the city said that, “Due to downpour, we were unable to carry on the normal routine in the college.”

Howver, students said that rains proved more of an enjoyment for them as they could enjoy hot tea and samosas at the college canteen, on the first or second day of their college.

A student Komal said that no wonder rains brought problems like water-logged streets and breeding of mosquitoes at places etc but rains were always awaited and good monsoon would prove beneficial. “I do not mind going to college when the city gets water-logged because for me it is a slight form of adventure,” she added. 
— TNS

Bathinda, July 29
Over 38,000 families living below poverty (BPL) line will be able to benefit from the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna in Bathinda, Mansa and Faridkot districts, which will give each registered family member a health cover of up to Rs 30,000 per annum.

Punjab government has launched the pilot project, the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY), to provide health insurance cover to BPL families (below poverty line) in 12 districts with the cooperation of the Union Government, said Raji P. Shrivastava, Managing Director, Punjab Health Systems Corporation.

She was addressing at a district-level workshop for rolling out the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna for BPL families organised by the Health Department, Punjab Health Systems Corporation, Oriental Insurance Company and Safeway TPG at the Mini-Secretariat here today.

Shrivastava said the head of each family along with four members would be covered under the scheme. The beneficiary family will have to pay a nominal fee of Rs 30 for registration, after which each registered family member will get a premium of Rs 30,000. She said that a smart card would be issued to such BPL families.

Elaborating on the scheme, she further said the BPL category and their family members (a family unit of five) would become the beneficiaries under the scheme. The facility would be available at 170 hospitals of the PHSC and all hospitals notified by the Punjab government and the Oriental Insurance Company.

Shrivastava said that under the scheme, the Central Government would provide only Rs 30,000 while the state would be providing Rs 1.10 lakh from its kitty. "Punjab has been ranked among the leading states with the best health infrastructure and facilities in the entire country and we want to ensure that we make further improvement to emerge as number one," she said.

"We are hopeful that the scheme would further enhance the efforts of the state government in providing quality health services to the people," she said.

"Under the first phase of the scheme, eight districts have been covered under the scheme, which include Amritsar, Patiala, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Muktsar and 1.05 lakh smart cards had been made," she said.

She added that the scheme was extended now in the remaining 12 districts -- Bathinda, Barnala, Faridkot, Fatehgarh Sahib, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Moga, Mansa, Mohali, Nawanshahr, Ropar and Tarn Taran. 

Bathinda, July 29
The side-effects of centralized planning is evident from the fact that the uniform criteria adopted by the Centre to list below poverty line (BLP) families is proving to be irrelevant in Punjab.

The criteria formulated keeping in view very poor states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar has resulted in keeping a large number of families in Punjab away from availing the benefits due to BPL families merely because the nature of poverty here is different.

Officials responsible for social welfare and development at the panchayat level said that welfare activities in the state are getting hampered because Punjab is getting less money as grants-in-aid because the number of BPL families here is less as compared to UP and Bihar.

Sources said that a survey is conducted as per the directions of the Central government to list BPL families in every state. This survey has not been updated since 2002 which means that families that came to Bathinda since 2002 have not been included in the list.

"Punjab can not be compared to Bihar or UP in terms of poverty and unemployment. Here, people are progressive and poverty is less as compared to other states. Yet, the Central government has the same criteria for giving BPL status to families in every state. The criteria lists factors like a household should not have a fridge, should not possess more than 10 clothes, should not own a TV set etc. It is not successful in Punjab because here, almost everyone has a TV or a fridge. So, those who deserve the benefit schemes given to BPL families by the Scheduled Caste and Land Development and Welfare Corporation and District Rural Development Agency (are not getting the benefits," said Shashi Tyagi, District Programme Officer, Bathinda.

Zila Parishad officials in Bathinda also said that grants-in-aid for a state depends on the number of BPL families it has and with Punjab having a meagre number of such families, the grants-in-aid is less as compared to other states.

Bathinda has more than 13,000 BPL families and every family gets the benefits due only once. The maximum one-time monetary assistance provided to each family is Rs 50,000.

Sources in the Zila Parishad said that in a meeting held with the governing body last year, it was decided that the state government would ask the Central government to change the criteria for listing BPL status in Punjab because the present system was not proving to be successful here, but nothing happened. 

Ferozepur, July 29
Reacting to the charges made by the opposition, SAD-BJP nominee for Jalalabad assembly by-election, Sukhbir Badal today said that accelerated and time-bound development of Punjab by creating high-tech quality infrastructure and generating large-scale employment was his sole mission.

Addressing a massive election rally in Jalalabad here today, Badal wooed the border farmers saying “The people of Jalalabad have golden opportunity at their hands as they have to decide between focused development or stagnation,” adding that he would leave no stone unturned to bring this region at par with other developed areas of Punjab.

Lashing out at Congress for lop-sided model of mega projects, Badal said that farmers of Punjab were looted with both hands by the previous Congress regime as their land was acquired at low prices and later handed over to big realty companies. Sukhbir said that it was SAD-BJP government which ensured adequate compensation of land at the cost of Rs 1.5 crore in addition to 30 per cent displacement allowance per acre.

He further said that by introducing land pooling scheme, SAD has embarked on a journey to make farmers partners in the growth process.

Sukhbir said that his family has always nurtured their constituencies like their own babies and treated every constituent as their own family member, adding that “Parkash Singh Badal even as CM spends more time in Lambi rather than in Chandigarh.”

Criticising the Congress for ignoring the power sector, Badal said that previous government has pushed Punjab in the dark era of perennial shortage of power, alleging that the previous CM Capt Amarinder Singh purchased electricity from private companies to the tune of Rs 23,000 crores in order to ensure that the state remained totally dependent on these private companies.

He said that SAD-BJP government was already probing the underhand deals in the power sector for which Punjab was being made to suffer these days.

Jalalabad, July 29
The Qila Raipur MLA, Jassi Khangura, today warned the voters of Jalalabad against Sukhbir's inducements saying, “Sukhbir is not going to be here again as he is not at all interested in this constituency,” adding that he is here just because he could not find any other assembly segment to fulfill his dream of becoming the chief minister.

While lashing out at SAD-BJP nominee Sukhbir Badal, he said "His only qualification is that of being vindictive towards his political opponents," while pointing out that about 50 Congress workers have been killed since this government took over while hundreds others have been injured and thousands more implicated in false cases. While appealing the people to vote for Congress, Khangura said that it was the most opportune time to hold Sukhbir accountable for his acts of omission and commission. — OC

Muktsar, July 29
In a boost to the rural students of this district, the Punjab government, in collaboration with renowned construction firm Larsen and Toubro, has decided to introduce three new job-oriented courses at the State Construction Skills Institute at village Abul Khurana, near here, from October 1.

Addressing a press conference after inspecting the facilities at the centre, KJS Cheema, principal secretary to the chief minister, who is also secretary, Employment Generation, Punjab, said that the trainers to run these courses had already been recruited by Larsen and Toubro.

He added that arrangements had been initially made to train 100 students. Cheema added that in order to get jobs for the initial batch ofstudents, a project manager was also being employed, who will deal directly with the construction companies to ensure jobs for the students.

He added that hostel facilities were being made available for students, who came from far off areas.

The Muktsar deputy commissioner Rajat Aggarwal said that the Punjab government had already released a grant of Rs 1.5 crore to upgrade infrastructure at the institute. Larsen and Toubro were represented by their vice-president PK Talpade, S.Balakrishnan, General Manager, MS Natarajan chairman, construction skills and colonel NB Saxena, regional training head, Delhi.

Fazilka, July 29
The Punjab and Haryana High Court, while disposing of two writ petitions regarding the auction of 53 acres of prime Municipal Council land have dismissed them on plea that there in no need of trial for these cases. Municipal Council counsel Manoj Tripathi disclosed that since the council had deposited the requisite amount of money against the auctioned land with Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) about one month back, the court dropped both the cases on Tuesday considering them as "unnecessary" for trial.

According to Tripathi, the division bench comprising chief justice C Thakur announced since that the MC had deposited the requisite amount, demanded by the DRT within stipulated period, hence, there is no need for further trial of the cases.

With this decision of the court, the dispute over 53 acres of prime land of Municipal Council comes to an end.

The council has been again allowed to take the possession of this land.

“All this was possible with the help of local MLA Surjit Kumar Jyani and senior cabinet minister Manoranjan Kalia, who arranged the funds,” said MC president Anil Kumar Sethi, while commenting on the decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. 

Barnala, July 29
Three children were drowned today when they were taking a bath in a field at Sahore village under Mehal Kalan police station, about 18 km from here. Their bodies were recovered from the water accumulated in the field, on Wednesday evening.

SHO Mehal Kalan police station Rashpal Singh said that the deceased had been identified as Jatinder Singh, son of Bugga Singh, Jarnail Singh, son of Nirbhey Singh and Jagdip Singh, son of Amrik Singh, all residents of Sahore village.

He said all the three children were students within the age group of 8 to 15 years. The children were drowned when they entered deep water in a field, while taking bath at Sahore village, he added.

The postmortem examination of the bodies would be conducted at the Civil Hospital in Barnala. Barnala SDM Amandeep Bansal said he had sent an officer to the spot to inquire into the matter.