Balianwali (Bathinda), August 29
Thanks to the indifferent attitude of the authorities concerned, the Balianwali Fort, which was established around 1810 as part of the Jind Estate, is now in a dilapidated condition and crying for attention.

The strong boundary walls are collapsing and the whole fort, one of the historical monuments, is on the verge of turning into a debris. Despite this, no one is ready to pay a heed to its pathetic condition.

Taking advantage of the attitude of the Department of Tourism, Department of Archaeology and Museum and the villagers, who were supposed to take care of the Fort after the Jind Estate came to an end, the Punjab Police took over the structure. Ironically, cops have painted Police Station, Balianwali, at the main entrance of the Fort.

According to information collected from villagers, about 200 years ago, the king of the Jind Estate, Raja Rajput and his brother Baba Alam, got the foundation stone of the Fort laid by Baba Gudarh Ji. Later, Raja Rajput granted 14 villages in the Fort's vicinity to his brother with the right to collect taxes for his livelihood. After that, a gurdwara in the name of Baba Gudarh Ji was established in the Fort.

According to unconfirmed sources, a small police post was also established in the Fort during the period of Jind Estate. With the end of the Jind Estate, the Fort was vacated and it was said that the land of the Fort belonged to no one. However, the Punjab Police allegedly encroached upon it and modified it as per their requirements.

The police station catered to 16 villages, including those that were highlighted in the media during the militancy period in Punjab because some extremists hailed from there. The huge gate of the Fort is still there. It remains open as it is the lone entrance to the gurdwara and the police station.

A major part of the Fort is being used as a store by the police, officially called the Maalkhana. Showing scant regard for the rules, the cops have allegedly tampered with the electricity meter installed there and are receiving direct power supply. "Had it been preserved, the Fort could have been in the list of historic monuments. Ironically, the police has encroached upon it. Sometimes, we plan to renovate it but finding the cops reluctant to leave the place, we chose not to court a controversy," rued some villagers sitting outside the Fort.

Speaking over the phone, Husan Lal, special secretary-cum-director, state tourism, said, "As the Fort is not a protected one, the department has no proposal for its renovation."

About the alleged encroachment of the police on the Fort, the officer said he could comment only after going through the records of the Fort.

Bathinda SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill said, "It is not a lone case where a police station is being run. However, we are making efforts to get land in the village to set up a modern police station there. Once a new police station gets constructed, we will immediately leave the Fort as it is unsafe for our staff also."

Bathinda, August 29
The Bathinda police today claimed to have busted a gang of six, who used to steal LPG cylinders from godowns and sell them in black market.

During interrogation, the accused admitted that they had stolen over 300 cylinders from different parts of the state. However, the police could recover only 50 of them from their possession.

The police said one Avtar Singh, a watchman at Amrit Pal Gas Agency, Kotli village, lodged a complaint with the Nehinawala police that on August 16, four youth broke into the godown and stole some cylinders from there.

He alleged that the accused loaded the cylinders in a red Tempo (which resembled that of Indane) and fled from the spot. He maintained that he could identify them.

Acting upon his statement, police teams were constituted and an operation was launched, which resulted in the Nehianwala police nabbing all four accused, identified as Avtar Singh alias Tari, Inderjeet Singh, Rakesh Kumar and Avtar Singh alias Piara Singh from a Dhaba in village Jeeda along with seven LPG cylinders and the tempo in question.

During interrogation, the accused led the police to catch two of their accomplices, namely Kashmiri Lal and Dev Dhawan, both of Shahkot, who used to buy cylinders at the rate of Rs 1,750 and further sell it in black at Rs 2,500 per cylinder.

Bathinda SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill said the accused had committed a similar crime in over dozen towns and villages of the state. “We hope their interrogation would expose more persons involved in the illegal trade,” the SSP added.

Bathinda, August 29
The Department of Employment Generation and Training conducted a skill gap survey in Bathinda and Muktsar districts to prepare an annual action plan under the Skill Development Initiative Scheme of the Government of India for the current financial year.

The survey was conducted to meet the increasing demands of skilled manpower in different sectors, besides giving opportunities to the skilled youths.

Survey found that six industries of the two districts need about 430 skilled persons in various trades.

In Bathinda district, Vardhman Polytex Limited, Bathinda, Spintex Limited, Behman Diwana, Hindustan Insecticides Limited, Bathinda, Chehal Spintex Limited, Kotshamir, and Partap Spintex Limited, Maur, need about 280 skilled persons for different jobs like technical operator, laboratory analyst, electrician, welder and fitter.

In the Muktsar district, Setia Industries Limited, Rupana, requires 152 skilled persons in its mechanical, instrumentation and electrical departments.

Talking to TNS, Harpal Singh, Deputy Director, Employment Generation and Training, Bathinda, said they approached over 90 industries in the Bathinda district to know the number of skilled persons required by them. He said five industries had sent their requirement. In the Muktsar district, only one industry sought skilled persons.

The Deputy Director said the survey report would now be sent to the state government. It would forward the same to the Centre for seeking funds to provide training to the candidates. After the receipt of funds, the department would begin training the candidates in skills required by the industries.

He said his department would provide training to the candidates through private ITIs that were registered with the Department of Employment Generation and Training, Punjab.

Harpal Singh has asked owners and operators of other industries to approach his office in case they required skilled personnel.

Abohar, August 29
For thousands of members of the local Muslim community, Sriganganagar, in neighbouring Rajasthan, seems to have become the 'ultimate destination' where they bury their dead in the absence of any burial place in Abohar for the past many decades.

For carrying out the burial of their dead, members of the community would travel more than 40 km to reach the Purani Abadi area of Sriganganagar, where a burial ground is available to them. In the process, they have to spend a large sum on arranging transportation and performing the last rites.

“Now we have started facing problems in the burial of our dead in Sriganganagar also due to space crunch in the graveyards. Objections are being raised by the local Muslim population of that town,” said Maulana Raees Ahmed Qadri, Imam, Medina Jama Masjid of this town.

Due to this problem, some members of the community had started taking their dead to their native places in faraway Rajasthan and other states for burial, he added.

"Thousands of Muslims belonging to UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Rajasthan and other states are living in this town for the past many decades. They could not make arrangements to get enough land for their graveyard," pointed out Feroze Khan, chairman, local Muslim Intzamiya Committee.

"Though we were promised two acres of land for a graveyard during the previous Congress government, it is yet to materialise. The Punjab Wakf Board has 
also failed to redress this problem of Muslims in this town, whose population is around 7000," he added.

Atiqur Rehman, chairman, minority cell, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, said he would take up the matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he holds an Iftar party in September.

The matter would also be taken up with Union Minister for Minority Affairs, Governor, Punjab and in-charge, Congress affairs, Punjab.

Meanwhile, Qasim, president, Intzamiya Committee, said the community must be handed over those land which belonged to it as per the revenue record and was under illegal occupation. He said the state government must intervene so that the community gets enough land for a graveyard in this town only. 

More than a thousand students participated in the talent search contests organised by three leading colleges of Abohar during the past few days. Lauding the overwhelming participation, noted academicians, Captain (retd) SK Dutta, former district education officer and Prof. Sudershan Dhingra, former HoD PG in the DAV College observed, “The main objective of the institutions is not only to foster educational excellence but also to make learning an enriching and fulfilling experience. Art and sports are distinctive features that aim to develop the overall personality of the student.”

Interestingly, the local DAV College has been authorised by the Panjab University to organise the zonal festival this year.

Pooja was adjudged as best solo dancer in the 'Talent Hunt' held in Gopi Chand Arya Mahila College.

In the talent search programme that marked the golden jubilee of the DAV College, Sukhwinder Kaur was adjudged the best gidha dancer while Shreya and Anshika topped in other dances.

In Bhag Singh Hayer College for Women, the two-day talent hunt was very colorful. Sabdeep and Gurveen shared the top position in the dance competition. — Raj Sadosh

Sriganganagar, August 29
The struggle to cremate a woman with dignity succeeded on Sunday afternoon when Dr OP Mohindra, former deputy chief whip in the erstwhile Vasundhara Raje government of the BJP approached the Border Security Force (BSF) to spare a patrolling boat to transport the body from village Purana-Binjaur.

The woman, wife of an octogenarian farmer Charan Singh, had died last night but the family was finding it difficult to take it away for cremation since the border village, known for the existence of mazaars of legendary lovers Laila and Majnu, was surrounded in four to five feet of water of the Ghaghar for over a fortnight. The link road to the village had been washed away by the floods. Same was the condition of other smaller villages including 90-GB and cluster of dhaanis. The residents had to pass through the knee-deep water that flows into Pakistan. Children had stopped going to the schools.

Mohindra said the Congress-led government in Rajasthan had regretfully not made any effort to provide relief to the villages that remain marooned by the Ghaggar water for more than two weeks. Thousands had to face a similar situation during the rainy season but the government had not planned construction of a bridge over Ghaggar to provide safe connectivity to them, he resented. 

Abohar, August 29
The Punjabi jutti manufactured in Abohar and Fazilka may hit the stands in more than two dozen countries during the annual exhibitions. So far, the juttis manufactured in Kasur town of the west Punjab province in Pakistan had been the first choice of Indians as well as Pakistan nationals settled abroad.

Officials of the Union Ministry for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Indian Institute of Rural Development and Regional Centre for Entrepreneurship Development informed during a meeting of entrepreneurs held in the Regar Basti here on Saturday evening that the government had decided to involve about 750 families in forming self-help groups under the Cluster Development Programme (CDP) to boost jutti production. So far, these families were hardly able to make their both ends meet, a survey indicated. Most of the families are sans basic amenities.

The CDP and the Scheme of Fund for Re-Generation of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) to enhance competitiveness of MSMEs had been launched to help the micro, small and medium-scale industries. The MSME Ministry had helped set up 441 clusters so far and Common Facility Centres had been taken up in 41 of these clusters. More than 120 clusters had been taken up under SFURTI, which included programmes to upgrade facilities for artisans.

The government expected revolutionary changes in the khadi industry in the country with the implementation of several programmes with loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Programmes like the Rajiv Gandhi Udyami Mitra Yojana and the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme, under the Ministry of MSME, is being implemented throughout the country using the Khadi and Village Industries Commission as the nodal agency. During the 11th Five Year Plan, the target for financial assistance is Rs 4,735 crore and the expected employment generation is to the tune of 37 lakh, the officials added.

As per the details given during the meeting, each family will be offered loan of Rs 10,000. The margin money will be just Rs 500 while subsidy worth Rs 3,500 would be paid. The loan will be refundable in five years. The government will also offer insurance cover through the Life Insurance Corporation against a premium of Rs 262 out of which the entrepreneur will have to pay Rs 12 only. The rest of the amount is to be paid by the government. In case of natural death, the kin of the entrepreneur will get Rs 30,000. The amount will go up to Rs 75,000 in case of accidental death and Rs 37,500 in the case of disability.

Under the scheme, free of cost stalls will be made available to the self-help groups during the national exhibitions that are held in Pragati Maidan at New Delhi and other states. As much as 95 percent concession in air fare will be offered if the entrepreneurs opt to go abroad to boost the sales of the juttis abroad. The government plans to organise exhibitions in more than two dozen countries, an expert Ramanpreet Kaur told the gathering. A computerised unit would be set up here to design. 

Bathinda, August 29
Hosts Bathinda emerged victorious in both boys and girls groups in their inaugural encounters in netball U-19 contest in the 56th State School Games, which began at the Khalsa Senior Secondary School here on Sunday.

Bathinda boys crushed Moga (12-1) while Bathinda girls defeated their Ludhiana counterparts (17-4).

Teams from all 20 districts of Punjab are vying for the top slot in the five-day competition. The winner will qualify for the national-level competition.

In other matches in boys category, Sangrur beat Fatehgarh Sahib in a one-sided match (14-2) while Barnala managed to beat Muktsar by just 2 points (13-11).

In the match between Patiala and Ludhiana, the former failed to open its account while latter scored 10 points in another one-sided game.

The match between Faridkot and Jalandhar provided some exciting moments to the spectators as both the teams exhibited techniques and skills, but at the end Faridkot emerged winner. The former scored 11 points while latter managed to get 7.

The match between Tarn Taran and Amritsar proved to be another one-sided game as the former won the encounter (13-3).

In the matches in girls group, Ferozepur beat Barnala (12-6), Faridkot defeated Amritsar (12-2), Tarn Taran crushed Gurdaspur (14-1), Muktsar defeated Jalandhar (9-7) while Sangrur got walkover as Moga team failed to turn up.

Earlier, deputy director, education, Amarjit Kaur, inaugurated the tournament. District Education Officer Harbans Singh Sidhu and other senior officials of the district education department were also present during the opening ceremony.

Bathinda, August 29
Nathana clinched the overall trophy in the Block-level U-16 Boys and Girls Rural Sports Tournament which concluded at the Sports Stadium here on Sunday. Bathinda bagged the second position while Talwandi Sabo bagged the third place.

The tourney was organised under the Punjab State Panchayat Youth and Sports plan for 2010-11.

The top three slot holders were given cash prizes of Rs 40,000, Rs 24,000 and Rs 8,000 respectively.

Chief guest deputy commissioner, Bathinda, Gurkirat Kirpal Singh handed over the prizes to the winners.