The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Manpreet challenge makes SAD look for lost friends; Sukhbir meets Wadala Dharmendra Joshi Tribune News Service Jalandhar, October 24 As sacked Finance Minister Manpreet Badal had announced to declare his future course of action on November 14, the ruling SAD has also started pulling its socks up to effectively meet the challenge being posed by him. As a part of its exercise to strengthen the party, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal called on veteran Akali leader Kuldip Singh Wadala’s residence on Sunday. He was accompanied by CM’s media advisor Dr DS Cheema, parliamentary secretary Avinash Chandra, MLA SS Makkar and Improvement Trust chairman Baljeet Singh Neelamahal. Wadala was considered as right hand of Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal till he had floated his own party Akali Dal (Democratic) after some differences between the two leaders. However, he returned to the SAD at the behest of former PM Inder Kumar Gujral when the latter’s son Naresh Gujral contested parliamentary elections from Jalandhar. However despite his return to SAD, he did not get his earlier place in the party. Earlier on Saturday, Sukhbir stated that SAD would hold brain storming sessions in each district soon and he would personally solicited feedback from the party cadre to strengthen it. In an informal chat with a few journalists here, Sukhbir said the focus of this whole exercise was to rejuvenate party cadre to take the message of development initiatives of Parkash Singh Badal-led SAD-BJP Government to every home and give feedback, if any on people’s perception to improve governance. Sukhbir further said it had also been decided that the meeting of core committee of the party and all organisational bodies, would meet at least once, in a quarter to discuss the emerging challenges before party and strategy to deal with such challenges. When asked about future agenda of the government, Sukhbir said that the SAD-BJP Government was moving with a focused approach on economic agenda by strengthening infrastructure such as roads, power, air connectivity in the state so as to attract industrial investment in the state. Infrastructure projects including roads, ROBs, thermal plants have started culminating into completion now, he added. Answering a query regarding his agenda for the new responsibility of public relations department, he said that the working of the Public Relations Department would be streamlined to make it techno savvy to meet the new emerging challenges in the field of media.
	98 villages in Kandi to benefit from lift irrigation Rs 126 crore would be spent for the purpose Parmod Bharti Nawanshahr, October 24 Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal laid the foundation stone of Pojewal Lift Irrigation System under the ongoing Kandi Canal project and inaugurated a deep tube-well at Chandpur Rurki village, to ensure irrigation and drinking water facilities for the Kandi area falling in the district here on Sunday. A sum of Rs 126 crore would be spent on the lift irrigation schemes at Pojewal and Bhaddi village under the ongoing Kandi Canal project to provide irrigation facility to as many as 27,531 acres of agriculture land belonging to 98 villages of Kandi area. The deep tube-well set up at Chandpur Rurki at a cost of Rs. 40 lakh would provide irrigation and drinking water facility in the Kandi area. Later, Sukhbir attended a religious function organised to commemorate the birth anniversary of Baba Gurditta. Paying obeisance at Gurdwara Baba Gurditta, he reiterated his commitment to continue various welfare schemes including free power and water, atta-dal at cheap rates, pension and shagun scheme etc launched by the SAD-BJP government for the farmers, Dalits and weaker sections of the society. Without naming his cousin and former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, the Deputy Chief Minister said while his ‘Chhota Veer’ (younger brother) wanted to withdraw the various welfare schemes and subsidies but the SAD was fully committed to honour the promises made by it to the marginal farmers, labourers, traders and weaker sections of the society. Reacting to the demands put forth by Chief Parliamentary Secretary Nand Lal, the Deputy CM announced that the Garhshanker-Balachaur and Banga-Anadpur Sahib roads would be constructed soon. He announced a grant of Rs. 10 lakh for the village and said that a veterinary dispensary and a gym would also constructed and sports kits would be provided to the village for channelising youth energy towards sports and constructive purposes.
	Soaring jaggery rates send bootleggers packing Ravi Dhaliwal/TNS Gurdaspur, October 24 Bootleggers have been forced to close shop in this district, which, in the not too distant past, had earned the epithet of being the ‘hooch capital’ of the Majha region for its high consumption of illicit liquor. The rates of jaggery, the base component of illicit liquor, have soared in the recent months, forcing bootleggers virtually out of the trade. Statistics culled from the Excise Department reveal as compared to the corresponding period last year, the department has registered very few cases this year. Last year the departments had its hands full as far as booking makers of illicit liquor were concerned. Inderjit Singh Bhambra, Assistant Excise and Taxation Officer (AETC), said, “The rates of jaggery have increased manifold, following which bootleggers have been sent packing. This development means that more and more people are taking to consume country-made liquor and sales of this product have increased by about 25 per cent as compared to the corresponding period last year.” “Jaggery has increased by 40 to 50 per cent as compared to the rates last year. Now it costs Rs 35 per kg, while last Diwali the same product was available for Rs 24 per kg. This has forced Bacchus lovers, particularly those addicted to illicit liquor, to look for other alternatives, including going in for country made liquor,” says Neeraj Salhotra, who is into the liquor business. However, the drowning bootleggers are now clutching the proverbial last straw in a bid to remain afloat. They are now using a chemical- Methanol- which, when mixed with water and a particular essence, gives the taste of hooch. However, an Excise Department insider disclosed that sometimes methanol gets interchanged to ethanol which, in turn, makes hooch potent enough to damage the liver, nervous system and the digestive system. Ranjit Singh, a producer of illicit liquor, disclosed, “Adjoining districts are also witnessing the same trend. Here, too, the rising cost of jaggery is forcing bootleggers out of business. The high input cost of jaggery, the basic component of illicit liquor, has indeed disturbed the economics of our trade. Now it has become impossible to produce hooch, although right now we are not resorting to using methanol.” Country made wine shop owners are smiling all the way to the bank. Increase by about 20 to 22 per cent has been recorded in the sales of country made liquor. There are 288 country made wine shops in this district and all of them have recorded a high percentage of increase in the sales of liquor. Sushil Kumar, excise inspector, revealed, “People, particularly villagers, have got money after selling their paddy produce in the markets. Moreover, with Diwali just round the corner, we expect our revenue, based on sales of liquor, to go up. The absence of bootleggers has also helped our high sales pitch.”
	Ramoowalia not happy with Punjab leftists Amaninder Pal/TNS Jalandhar, October 24 President of Lok Bhalai Party (LBP), BS Ramoowalia, first time in the over decade long history of his party, today took a sharp dig at the mainstream left parties of the state and said contrary to the expectations, the leftists of Punjab neither recognised the thousands of duped Punjabi migrants as their brethren nor considered the sufferings of such families ‘genuine enough to be fought for’. Asked in this regard, he said it was for the first time he was targeting the leftists owing to their reluctance to take up the issues of such families, scattered over the entire state. I am saying this despite my year-old known proximity with the left circles, he added. “Leave aside Akalis, BJP and Congress, not even communists, who agitate everyday over issues of brick-kiln labourers, peasants, employees and daily wagers, offered a helping hand to thousands of such families. Don’t they fall under the category of working or exploited class, he questioned. He said this during the press conference, organised to narrate the sorry tale of a woman, duped by her in-laws and eight Punjabi youths, who were allegedly detained illegally by the immigration agents in Malaysia in connivance with their Punjabi counterparts. Later, he, along with Avtar Singh Mullapuri, senior vice-president, Amrik Singh Varpal, in-charge of Majha-Doaba zone, Ramandeep Singh Bharowal, secretary general and Darshan Singh Puppy, handed over a cash amount of Rs 4.5 lakh, facilitated as compensation by the party from the in-laws of a duped woman during the conference.
	Wife drives man to suicide Our Correspondent Hoshiarpur, October 24 Continuous harassment and torture by his wife and mother-in-law compelled a man to commit suicide at the Bahowal village of this district. The Chabbewal police has booked Neeru and her mother Premlata, wife of Baldev Raj of Amritsar, under section 306 of the IPC, in this connection. According to police sources, Kulwinder Kaur of Bahowal, alleged that Neeru and her mother Premlata used to torture and harass her son Harjit Singh, due to which he committed suicide.
	Women Studies Centre inaugurated Batala, October 24 A Women Studies Centre, sponsored by the University Grants Commission (UGC), was inaugurated by Lakshmi Kanta Chawla, Punjab Health Minister, at R.R. Bawa DAV College for Girls here yesterday. Dr Kalpana Sharma, coordinator, Women Studies Centre, said the objective of the centre was to create professionally competent women with secular outlook and having a flair for socio-economic development. — OC