Nawanshahr, August 30
Though the plan to shift the Sabzi Mandi from its present site in the heart of the town to a site adjoining the new Grain Market, near Karyam Road, was envisaged about two decades ago, it is yet to be materialised.

Whenever the authorities fix a date for the auction of the booths at the proposed site, the Sabzi Mandi Arhtiyas Association starts registering its protest by announcing to boycott the auction of booths. Besides, the association also starts lobbying with political leaders at the helm of affairs to get the auction of booths postponed.

But this time, local MLA Jatinder Singh Kariha, it seems, is in a mood to resolve the issue amicably as well as prudently, instead of just conceding to the demand of the association which met him to get the move of shifting Sabzi Mandi postponed.

Kariha has come forward with a proposal, which he is going to take up with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. While divulging details to The Tribune, he said presently, Sabzi Mandi was situated on prime municipal land in the heart of the town.

By getting the mandi shifted from here, the prime municipal land could be developed into an ultra-modern commercial complex. To address the grievance of the arhtiyas’ sassociation, which has been raising objections with regard to its location in the vicinity of Grain Market, it has been planned that the Chief Minister would be urged to get land allotted for setting up of Sabzi Mandi merged with the present Grain Market.

In lieu of that, land for shifting Sabzi Mandi be provided at nearby Gujjarpur village on the Nawanshahr-Jalandhar road, said the MLA, adding that he had found the site near Gujjarpur village suitable for the mandi.

“Now, the proposal, in consultation with the Sabzi Mandi Arhtiyas Association and other officials concerned would shortly be given a final shape and submitted to the Chief Minister for approval,” said Kariha.

Nawanshahr, August 30
Besides facing a drought-like situation coupled with errant power supply, the farmers also have to battle the hassles of alleged corrupt practices and delaying tactics of the PSEB officials to ensure irrigation facility for their crops.

In nearby Ghakewal village, a group of farmers, who have been cultivating about 60 acres of land, had to struggle a lot to get the burnt-out transformer replaced. The farmers not only made several rounds to the concerned PSEB officials but even had to grease their palms.

All this effort proved futile as a dysfunctional transformer was all they got from the PSEB authorities.

Fed up with the hassles and corrupt practices, a farmer, Jujhar Singh lodged a complaint with the Vigilance Department.

Responding to it, the department laid a trap and caught a Junior Engineer Atma Ram red-handed while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000.

The Vigilance Department registered a case, got their action highlighted in the newspapers but the affected farmers continue to face the problem as even after exposing the corruption by them, the PSEB officials were delaying the replacement of the transformer.

Coincidently, Jujhar Singh, shared his woes with a few mediapersons, who in turn, brought the issue to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner, Gurkirat Kirpal Singh.

Thankfully this proved a happy turning point as the DC immediately grilled the PSEB officials and issued strict directions for immediate replacement of the transformer. The PSEB officials at once sprung into action and replaced the transformer. The DC also rang up Jujhar Singh to verify about the replacement of the transformer. 

Batala, August 30
A day after Municipal Council president Ambika Khanna and other councillors urged shopkeepers to remove encroachments from the roads, many shopkeepers removed the same on their own here on Sunday.

A few days ago the municipal authorities had removed few encroachments near the bus stand, which led to the confrontation between the authorities and public. Then it was alleged that the action was aimed against the opposite political group only as the adjoining shopkeepers also had raised illegal structures but because they allegedly belonged to the ruling party workers, those structures were not touched.

Meanwhile, the MC authorities have also warned the erring shopkeepers that if they fail to remove encroachments then MC would do the job.

Jalandhar, August 30
The district health authorities have received three kits to conduct confirmation tests of dengue at the local Civil Hospital. The kits have been procured from a Pune-based national virology laboratory.

District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Roop Lal claimed that the kits would be sufficient for conducting tests on 216 blood samples collected from suspected dengue patients.

The DHS claimed that the Health Department had already issued guidelines regarding dengue to various government officials, schools, colleges and hospitals. He said private hospitals had been asked to inform the district administration in case any suspected dengue patient came to them.

Dr Lal said that the tiger mosquito breeds in fresh accumulated water, water coolers in majority of the cases, and bites during daytime. He said health volunteers had launched an awareness drive in the rural and urban areas to educate the general public about the spread of the disease.

When asked if gastroenteritis claimed two deaths in the Phillaur area, the DHS said the exact cause of the deaths in Phillaur could not be ascertained as yet.