Jidda (Bathinda), August 7
Amid the ongoing Dera-Sikh row, various hardliner Sikh organisations assembled at a joint platform today and decided to launch a fresh move against the Dera Sacha Sauda sect.

Under the leadership of Balwant Singh Nandgarh, Jathedar, Takht Damdama Sahib, Talwandi Sabo, the meeting, in the shape of a Diwan Hall, was arranged at village Jidda. The village was selected to mark their protest as the police had recently rounded up some Sikh women, who were going to oppose a Dera congregation in Jidda village.

Balwant Singh Nandgarh, while addressing the gathering, said, “If the state government does not control the police and stops shielding Dera followers who are anti-Sikh, peace in the state will collapse soon.”

Lashing out at the government, Nandgarh said, “It is our bad luck that the Sikh oriented ruling party has now adopted anti-Sikh policy just to secure Dera votes.”

Accusing the in-charge of CIA staff, Bathinda, of committing atrocities against Sikhs in false cases, Nandgarh said, “I declare that if that officer does not mend his ways, he will soon be shot dead by some ‘Real Sikh’.”

At the meeting, hardliners framed two committees. A five-member committee, which comprising Ajit Singh Bhangu, Niranjan Singh Premi, Rajinder Singh, Jatinder Singh and Charan Singh, is to investigate the role of the Sikhs arrested in connection with Dera follower Lily Kumar’s murder in Mansa. They will have dialogues with senior police officials.

The second committee of seven members would give a representation to the Akal Takht for issuing fresh edict (Hukumnama) against the Dera. Jasbir Singh Rode, Harnam Singh Khalsa, Karnail Singh Peer Mohammand and Gurcharan Singh have been appointed its members, while three more members are yet to be included.

Speaking about the committees, Nandgarh said, “We have formed committees as we have doubts that the police killed the Dera follower Lily Kumar just to book innocent Sikhs in the case. Further, the Akal Takht Jathedar had earlier asked us for a ceasefire on the condition of issuing a fresh Hukumnama against the Dera after Baisakhi, but it is too late now.”

At the meeting, among the hundreds of hardliners, Harnam Singh Khalsa, chief of the Damdami Taksal, Daljeet Singh Bittu, chief of SAD (Panch Pardhani), Baljeet Singh Daduwal of Sant Samaj, Karnail Singh Peer Mohammad, president of All India Sikh Students Federation, Harpal Cheema of Panch Pardhani, Gurdeep Singh Bathinda, Jatinder Singh, state president of Ek Noor Khalsa Fauj and Jasbir Singh Rode were the prominent figures.

It may be mentioned that despite being called on the stage, Daljeet Singh Bittu and Baljeet Singh Daduwal refused to address the gathering. However, many of the hardliners delivered blunt speeches against the state government, police and Dera Sacha Sauda.

It may be mentioned that all the roads leading to the village were cordoned off by the police that was present in large numbers. Check points had been set up at various places. Police officials even searched the vehicles of some of the hardliners moving towards the stage.

Bathinda, August 7
Bank customers here today continued to suffer as public sector bank employees continued their strike for the second consecutive day. Since no transactions took place, the work at private sector banks that remained open was also hit. As per rough estimates, transactions to the tune of over Rs 600 crore came to a halt during the two-day strike.

“I have only one account and it is with a public sector bank. I could not deposit cash and wonder how smooth the functioning of banks would be tomorrow, which happens to be Saturday, as employees would be loaded with work. Even for a small transaction, we may have to wait in long queues,” said Ajay Kumar, a customer.

The business community also suffered as enterprises were unable to deposit cash, which they do on a daily basis, and conduct other transactions.

The bank employees, who were answering to the nationwide strike on a call given by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), were demanding stoppage of mergers and privatisation, compassionate appointments, wage revision and pension option.

Pawan Jindal, convener of the UFBU’s Bathinda unit, while addressing the rally in front of State Bank of India at Kikar Bazar, said the wage revision of bank employees was due from November 2007, but the Indian Banks Association (IBA) and the Government of India were not serious in settling it. He regretted the inconvenience caused to customers due to strike.

“We will continue with our struggle until our demands are met,” Ashok Sharma, president, All-India Bank Employees Association, Bathinda unit, said.

Talwandi Sabo (Bathinda), August 7
Cotton farmer Mohinder Singh in the roadside village of Jaga Ram Tirath near here is upbeat as the mealy bug, which caused enormous loss to the crop in the past years, did not appear this time. He expects to harvest a bumper crop this season.

Mohinder Singh said the bug had appeared on a couple of plants but it was inactive and gradually disappeared. He was satisfied that he did not spend even a single penny on pesticide spray so far during the current season as compared to the previous three crops when he had no option but to spray at least four times in the first five months of the crop. He was preparing for the first spray on Friday when this correspondent visited the cotton fields in the area.

Rajvinder Singh, another grower, said he had to spray pesticides every third or fourth day to control the bug last year. However, this time he had to spray only once. Rajvinder said that he and other farmers had to spray about 30 times last cotton season. Each spray over an acre costs about Rs 500.

Shingara Singh, leader of the BKU, said the cotton growers have this time got rid of the mealy bug that had become a headache in the past few years. The dry spell had initially played spoilsport for the farmers, he added.

Dr G.S. Buttar, director of the regional center of Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) here, said, “Presence of parasitoid that was a natural enemy of the mealy bug has this time outnumbered the bug and destroyed it. Parasitoid destroys the bug at the egg stage.”

He said that during the past years, the Bt cotton growers had to shell out a substantial amount on extra sprays in order to control the bug. This increased the cost of cultivation and reduced the profit.

Bathinda, August 7
Given its geographical location, Bathinda might be considered as one of the backward districts in Punjab, but thanks to some leading bus operators, including the ruling family of Badals, people here get to travel in luxurious air-conditioned buses. There are at least 60 AC buses, including six belonging to the PRTC, operating from Bathinda to different places, including Chandigarh, Patiala, Sangrur, Abohar, Amritsar and Jalandhar.

Investigations by The Tribune revealed that the AC buses were having almost full occupancy. The people, including villagers, do not mind paying some extra money for the super extra comfort. “I operate a bus on Chandigarh route (from Bathinda) and have never seen a seat going vacant,” disclosed Pritam Singh, a conductor of an AC bus here.

Iqbal Singh, general manager, PRTC, Bathinda depot, said it was not that people travel in AC buses only. The non-AC buses also see good occupancy. But when it comes to travelling on long routes like going to Chandigarh or Patiala people prefer an AC bus, which is now readily available, he added.

Most of the buses belong to the Orbit Company and the Dabwali Transport Company (both reportedly owned by the Badals), which run between Bathinda and Patiala, whereas the buses belonging to the New Deep Transport Company and the Raj Transport Company ply between Bathinda and Amritsar.

While the short distance non-AC buses have not been affected much, the transporters of the long route buses have lost considerable revenue to the AC buses.

“We are facing an unfair competition,” rued an old transporter, who operates non-AC buses, adding, “It is a ploy of the powerful transporters to introduce super luxury buses so that we are finished off.”

However, the manager of a company operating super-luxury buses said the competition was open. He claimed, “We do not force people to sit in our buses.” He alleged it was a propaganda by those who were not able to provide good services to the people and passengers.

Jagir Singh of Bathinda, a frequent traveller, said, “Earlier, a bus journey was an atrocious experience, as buses were in bad shape. But now, it is really comfortable as if you are in your own vehicle.”

Bathinda, August 7
To promote unity among youth, the Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya, an international spiritual organisation, would conduct a ‘national integration youth harmony run’ in the city on August 12.

Addressing media here today, Brahma Kumaris’ Bathinda in-charge B.K. Kailash said the run would begin from Ganesha Basti and consummate at Hotel Krishna Continental, covering a distance of six km. “The run is being organised to celebrate the silver jubilee of our youth wing. People in the age group of 16 to 40, both men and women, are eligible to take part,” she said. — TNS

Moga, August 7
The SSP of Moga, Ashok Bath, has dispatched a team of police to Bhubaneswar (Orissa) to verify the details of the passport and other travel related documents, on the basis of which, the NRI Jagdev Singh facing charges of allegedly murdering father of Paramdip Singh Gill, the present Punjab DGP went to the US and then to Canada in the year 1992.

Speaking to The Tribune, the SSP said the preliminary investigations had revealed that Jagdev used the passport of one Prashant Kumar Mohanti, a resident of New Pali village of Orissa, by manipulating with a travel agent of Mumbai to go to the US and from there he went to Canada.

"We will verify record of the passport office at Bhubaneshwar and then find out the persons on whose name he went to USA, besides, finding the role of travel agency, who helped him to go abroad," he said.

He said that a travel agent named Xavier Vizgard, c/o Raj Travels Mumbai, managed this passport for him and changed the photograph to send him to USA from New Delhi airport in the year 1992.

Bath said Jagdev first got asylum in Canada, then applied for 
permanent citizenship and submitted false documents to get a police clearance certificate mandatory for this.

"There is no entry of his name in the police record with regard to the issuance of police clearance certificate to him," the SSP claimed.

Giving details of the progress in the ongoing investigation, he said that Jagdev got the police clearance certificate wide dispatch number-1733 dated January 3, 2004 but his name does not figure in the official entry register of the police, when he applied to get this certificate.

"Actually, one Mandeep Kaur, daughter of Nirmal Singh, a resident of Kot-ise-Khan, applied for the police clearance certificate that figures against entry number-1733, dated September 9, 2004, but surprisingly there is no further record in the available official files, on which date the certificate was issued to her," the SSP added.

Further, it has been found that there was only one entry in the official register on the date of January 3, 2004 against one Jagroop Singh, son of Harnek Singh, a resident of Darapur village to whom the police clearance certificate was issued on January 9, 2004.

It may be mentioned that the NRI was arrested by the police on Tuesday when he had come here to appear in the court in the case he was already facing of allegedly murdering former MLA late Nachattar Singh Gill, who was the father of the present DGP Paramdip Singh Gill of the state.

Meanwhile, the SSP in a communiqué to the Canadian High Commission has informed about the arrest and criminal history of their citizen with details of the criminal cases pending against him. 

Ferozepur, August 7
The Akalis seem to be in a piquant situation as far as three-time MP Zora Singh Mann is concerned. On the one hand, there is decades of loyalty for the party and "Badal parivar" in particular, and on other are the prevailing political interests and compulsions, changed political equations have perhaps forced SAD to ignore Mann and look ahead.

Even during Sukhbir's recent visit to Chak Suhelewala (the native village of Mann), neither did he meet the former MP nor Mann joined his canvassing. When contacted, Mann's PA said that "MP Sahib was away in Delhi for his wife's treatment, otherwise he would have certainly hosted Sukhbir."

Over the years, Mann remained a trusted lieutenant of elder Badal. Even in times of adversity, he stood by the Badal family through thick and thin, and was rewarded for his loyalty with a ticket for Lok Sabha in 1997, which he won with thumping majority.

However, lately Mann developed differences with the Badals ostensibly over allotment of assembly ticket to his bete-noire Sher Singh.

Owing to his opposition to Ghubaya's candidature, Rai Sikhs also developed a dislike for Mann. Notwithstanding Mann's opposition during the last assembly elections, Ghubaya won the seat with a record margin of 44,000 votes, which further diminished Zora Singh's image in the party.

When Sukhbir Singh Badal planned to contest the assembly election from Jalalabad, which hitherto used to be virtually a ‘Citadel of Mann’ till a few years back, speculations were rife that the Akalis may coax Mann and bring him back into active party fold as he still wields a lot of influence in this area, especially amidst Jat Sikhs.

However, fearing a backlash by the Rai Sikhs, who constitute almost 50 per cent of the electorate in this segment, the SAD, while treading cautiously, preferred to keep Mann at arms length and not to annoy Rai Sikh ‘biradari.’

Now, with Sukhbir getting elected from Jalalabad with over 80,000 votes margin, the chances of Mann getting back into the party mainline looks remote. 

Fazilka, August 7
Graduate Welfare Association Fazilka (GWAF) is going to organise ‘Anand Utsav’ with the help of Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board on August 8-9.

Chief coordinator of this Project, Lachhman Dost, said that the aim behind this mega cultural festival is to motivate the residents to check pollution. The festival will be dedicated to the great martyr Shaheed Bhagat Singh.

Another aim of this Utsav is to acquaint the young generation with the rich heritage and culture of Punjab. The festival will be organised in Nai Abadi, Dhingra Colony, Teacher Colony, and Basti Chandora localities comprising mainly 2,000 household, where one member from each house is being registered to maintain the green belt of Fazilka.

Some selected streets in the main city will be designated as green roads through plantations. Anyone can dedicate a tree here to their loved ones on these green roads. — OC 

Abohar, August 7
The controversy over the resolution number 77 passed by the local municipal council during a meeting that was held in the last week of July to hand over a part of the Lok Nayak Jaiparkash Narayan (JP) Park in Nai Abadi for opening a police post fails to die down.

A firebrand councillor from the locality, Prem Kalra, has said the physical status of the park will not be allowed to be disturbed till he is alive. While opposing the resolution, the councillors, who had been elected from different wards of Nai Abadi, had formed an action committee.

Geeta Chaudhary, president of the South Mandal unit of the BJP, while presiding over a meeting of the committee, said she had apprised the party high command of the sentiments of over 20,000 residents of the area.

Those present in the meeting rued the council had gifted its resthouse to the police for use as the official residence of the DSP and had not charged rent for the last two decades.

Council president Shiv Raj Goyal said the senior police officers had approached the chief minister for shifting the police post to the JP Park and in their presence, the CM had asked him to get a resolution passed.

He was not aware that the park had been developed as a memorial to Lok Nayak Jaiparkash Narain, who sacrificed his life during fight against the Emergency.