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Major drug haul at Maur
Bathinda, October 31
Sleuths of the Narcotic cell, Faridkot range, today recovered a big haul of intoxicants, including 8.81 lakh tablets, at Maur Mandi. Giving details, inspector Sukhdev Singh, who was leading the team, said that acting upon a tip-off, an unnamed store located at a remote place near Talwandi Sabo crossings in the town was raided.

Bonus on paddy: CPI seeks similar amount from state
Bathinda, October 31
The Communist Party of India (CPI) today demanded a matching bonus of Rs 50 per quintal on paddy from the Punjab government in addition to the bonus already announced by the Central government. The party said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was blaming the Centre for announcing a meagre amount of bonus just to prove himself a “messiah” of the farmers even as he himself was running away from his own responsibilities in this regard.

BMC proposes site for solid waste management plant
Bathinda, October 31
After the Handiaya municipal council refused to give land for the solid waste management plant for Bathinda region, the Bathinda Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities have again started putting their best to get an approval for setting it up in Bathinda itself.

EARLIER STORIES

	KAC for complete bandh on Nov 3 October 31, 2009
	MP urges women to make event a success October 30, 2009
	Hopes rekindled for city bus service October 29, 2009
	Another farmer gives in to debt, commits suicide October 28, 2009
	Punjab Police Range Games begin October 27, 2009
	Cong MLAs accuse cops of detaining them October 26, 2009
	Getting unemployment allowance a tough job October 25, 2009
	New project to check drug abuse October 24, 2009
	High drama as EGS teachers list demands October 23, 2009
	Prez to attend Nanhi Chhaan meet on Nov 9 October 22, 2009
	Project to educate jail inmates October 21, 2009
	State to launch pilot project for water supply October 20, 2009

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Ultra-modern equipment to ensure swift action
Bathinda, October 31
To ensure a quick action on the distress calls received on the police helpline number 100, the Punjab Police is upgrading its Police Control Room (PCR) system with ultra-modern equipment. Six major cities of the state, namely Jalandhar, Amritsar, Bathinda, Patiala, Ludhiana and Mohali, have been selected for the same.

Sardar Patel remembered
Hanumangarh/Abohar, October 31
Several functions were organised in the twin district of Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar on the occasion of 131st birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Homage paid to Indira Gandhi
Abohar, October 31
Different factions of the Congress separately organised small meetings here on Saturday to pay homage to the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The City Congress Committee organised the meeting at the residence of its president Banwari Lal Nagpal.

Banks urged to provide soft loans to farmers
Ferozepur, October 31
To enhance the agricultural produce and help the debt-ridden farmers, the DC Kamal Yadav on Friday exhorted the bank officials to help provide soft loans to the farmers for agricultural purposes. Yadav was addressing the district-level meeting of the consultative committee of banks. In the meeting, Dr Basant Garg ADC, Gurjit Singh SDM, Harpal Singh LBO besides officials from various banks participated.

Milestone in jaw surgery
Bathinda, October 31
A six cm large tumour was successfully operated and removed at the Desh Bhagat Dental College and Hospital in Muktsar in the first of its kind surgery in the region.

	Major drug haul at Maur Tribune News Service Bathinda, October 31 Sleuths of the Narcotic cell, Faridkot range, today recovered a big haul of intoxicants, including 8.81 lakh tablets, at Maur Mandi. Giving details, inspector Sukhdev Singh, who was leading the team, said that acting upon a tip-off, an unnamed store located at a remote place near Talwandi Sabo crossings in the town was raided. During the raid, the police seized 8.81 lakh tablets, 34,790 capsules, 750 injection vials and 6,051 bottles of cough syrup along with a motor cycle. However, the owner of the store, Sunil Kumar, managed to flee but the police nabbed his employee Jagsir Singh on the spot. A case has been registered under sections 22, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act. The accused had been booked for running an illegal trade of intoxicants without any licence various times earlier also, but enjoying the patronage of some officials in the health and the police department, he continued with it. Sukhdev Singh said that earlier, the health department was conducting raids and the police assisted them. The health department had to follow a long procedure before putting one behind the bars. But this time, the accused could not avoid arrest as the raid was conducted by a team of the Narcotic cell. Assuring the early arrest of the main accused, Jitendra Jain, DIG, Faridkot range, said, “We have been running the anti-drug drive with a fair approach, but to make it successful we need mass support. Besides, nabbing the culprits of spreading drugs in the society, we organise awareness and counseling seminars regularly.” The DIG added that Padam Bhushan recipient Narain Singh Manaklab, who is a pioneer in de-addiction movement, recently visited here and appreciated the de-addiction drive of the police.
	Bonus on paddy: CPI seeks similar amount from state Sushil Goyal Tribune News Service Bathinda, October 31 The Communist Party of India (CPI) today demanded a matching bonus of Rs 50 per quintal on paddy from the Punjab government in addition to the bonus already announced by the Central government. The party said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was blaming the Centre for announcing a meagre amount of bonus just to prove himself a “messiah” of the farmers even as he himself was running away from his own responsibilities in this regard. Talking to The Tribune, Dr Joginder Dayal, a member of the national executive of the CPI, said the Punjab government had sufficient funds to grant a matching bonus to the farmers as it was collecting huge amounts in the form of market fee and rural development fund from the grain markets. He suggested the state government to utilise these funds to give bonus on paddy along with rural development works in the villages. Dr Dayal said Rs 50 per quintal bonus on paddy was actually not a bonus rather it was just a small compensation to the farmers, who had incurred huge expenditure on diesel this season to save their crop due to shortage of power and deficit monsoons in the state. The CPI leader asked the Badal government to provide clean and pure drinking water on war-footing in the Malwa belt. He also asked the state government to ensure setting up of a cancer hospital in Bathinda belt in a year to provide treatment to the patients (free of cost to economically weaker patients), as thousands of people had been suffering from the dreaded disease in several districts, including Bathinda, Mansa and Muktsar, of the Malwa belt due to unfit drinking water. He added that a large number of people had already succumbed to the disease during the past decade in these areas. Castigating Badal government on thermal power projects, Dr Dayal said the Badal government had planned completion of four thermal plants in the state by 2012 to make the state power surplus, but it was ironical that even the construction work for the projects had not started yet. He asked the government to initiate concrete steps in this regard.
	BMC proposes site for solid waste management plant Tribune News Service Bathinda, October 31 After the Handiaya municipal council refused to give land for the solid waste management plant for Bathinda region, the Bathinda Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities have again started putting their best to get an approval for setting it up in Bathinda itself. The BMC authorities have selected a chunk of 40-acre land on the Mansa road for acquiring the same for the purpose. To check its feasibility the administration had assigned the survey job to a group. Now, the BMC authorities term the location as best suitable as it is situated at the center of the region. According to the proposal, the plant would cater the need of Bathinda region that includes Bathinda, Muktsar, Malout, Mansa, Rampura Phul and Gidderbaha. Pursuing the case, BMC authorities mentioned that the total population of Bathinda region was 6,87,972 as per 2001 census, which would be about 8,15,726 in 2009. Total municipal solid waste generation from the region in this year is about 260 tonnes per day (TPD). In such scenario, experts believe, a solid waste management plant is a must. As per the plan, there would be two-acre chunk of land in all towns except Bathinda, which would be developed as garbage dumps. The whole collection would regularly be transported to the proposed plant in Bathinda, after sorting the types of garbage, everything would be tried to be utilised at its best. It has also been informed that the plant would strictly follow the norms fixed by the state and central pollution control boards. According to details available, Bathinda city generates 110.09 TPD, Muktsar (29.4 TPD), Malout (24.87 TPD), Mansa (25.53 TPD), Rampura Phul (15.09 TPD) and Gidderbaha (10.31 TPD). Giving information, commissioner BMC, Ravi Bhagat said, “The chunk we have selected will suit all, including the owners, BMC and other towns. It is just sand dunes, so, at one side the owner would get sufficient value of the land and the other hand, it will be utilised for public cause.” “The matter is being taken up at the state level, the chief secretary Punjab, is keen to get it set up at the earliest, so a meeting has been fixed to preview all possibility of the project at Chandigarh on November 5,” added Ravi Bhagat. It may be mentioned that the state government would get handsome subsidies from union government in setting up the solid waste management.
	Police to upgrade PCR system Ultra-modern equipment to ensure swift action Rajay Deep Tribune News Service Bathinda, October 31 To ensure a quick action on the distress calls received on the police helpline number 100, the Punjab Police is upgrading its Police Control Room (PCR) system with ultra-modern equipment. Six major cities of the state, namely Jalandhar, Amritsar, Bathinda, Patiala, Ludhiana and Mohali, have been selected for the same. The project involves Geographical Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies-based Automatic Vehicle Tracking System (AVTS) to track the PCR vans and motorcycles. Besides, it would also display the geographic position of the PCR vehicles on the digital city maps at the respective PCRs. According to information available, the Punjab Police Housing Corporation (PPHC) would arrange the system for the Punjab Police. The project requires upgrading of 605 vehicles, including 262 gypsies and 343 motorcycles, in the selected cities. To keep a tab over activities in the six districts, the digital map of cities and PCR vehicles would also be made available on a Central screen using a heavy duty map projection system at the respective PCRs and the headquarters of the Punjab Police in Chandigarh. The system would also provide the status of vehicles assigned on a particular task like whether it is on its way to the assigned site or has it finished the task and is free to take up a new one. The vehicle position provided by the GIS would be accurate to the margin of 10 meters. The system would also help in identifying the nearest PCR vehicle available to the place of requirement. Further, it will also display the shortest possible route. It has been proposed to record all calls received on the helpline number at two places simultaneously — at Digital Voice Logging System for central recording and at the Local Area Network for individual recordings. Each call would be recorded and attached to a challan form and would be forwarded to the dispatch wireless operator on the LAN along with the challan. Confirming the details over phone, MK Tiwari, managing director, PPHC, said, “The project is being launched with an aim to serve people in a better way. It will be so helpful that apart from the SSPs of the districts, the top cop of the state police can also check the location of any of the PCR vehicles. After analysing the success rate, it will be introduced in rest of the districts also.”