The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Invest to be partners in state’s progress: Sukhbir to NRIs Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 18 Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today urged the NRIs to become equal partners in the state’s progress by investing here. Punjab has now emerged a land of opportunities where NRIs can invest in power, renewable power, infrastructure and industrial growth sectors and the state government would provide single-window service to process their investment proposals. The state was not after their money, but seeking investment was to strengthen the emotional bonding with them and the investors would be assured of total cooperation from the state government, Badal said while addressing the diaspora at the Punjab NRI Summit-2011 here today. Giving details of development initiatives, he said the state was focusing on power generation, infrastructure development and human resource development to provide backup to the upcoming industry. Besides linking all cities with 4/6 lane roads, Punjab would be power surplus in the next two years. With the upcoming three international and three domestic airports, the state was the right investment destination for the future. With the establishment of ISB, IIT and Central University, Punjab would provide the right human resource backup to the upcoming industry. “With the setting up of the knowledge park with research facilities in biotechnology and nanotechnology, we are focusing on future industrial growth,” he affirmed. Emphasising on the need of educating the future generation regarding the rich cultural and religious heritage of Punjab, he said every NRI family must bring their children to the upcoming Khalsa Heritage Centre at Sri Anandpur Sahib, which would educate the children about their cultural identity. He also spoke about the three memorials being set up at Chapparchiri, Khanuwan and Kup Rohira to perpetuate the martyrdom of thousands of Sikhs who laid down their lives protecting the frontiers of their kingdom. The newly opened NRIs thanas and NRI courts were doing commendable job in solving the revenue and other cases, he added.
	Amarinder’s proposed rally charges up Gurdaspur Congressmen Ravi Dhaliwal/TNS Gurdaspur, January 18 The faction-ridden Gurdaspur District Congress is pulling out all the stops to ensure that the proposed rally to be addressed by Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt Amarinder Singh on January 21 turns into a successful event. It will be Amarinder’s first public meeting in Gurdaspur since he took over the reigns of the PPCC. This political conference assumes all the more significance as he would address party cadres in the bastion of Gurdaspur MP Partap Singh Bajwa’s bastion who, till recently, was at daggers drawn with the former Chief Minister. Political observers believe that if the rally is successful, it will be a major triumph not only for Bajwa but also for his detractors including former minister Tripit Rajinder Singh Bajwa, former MLA Sukhjinder Randhawa and senior Congress leaders Raman Bahl and Naresh Puri, sons of former Ministers Kushal Bahl and Raghunath Sahai Puri, respectively. Like Bajwa, his opponents too are leaving no stone unturned to ensure the rally is turned into a ‘political accomplishment’ for all Gurdaspur congressmen - irrespective of the faction they represent. The Bajwa faction held a meeting at Qadian on Saturday to chalk out preparations for the rally. The meeting was attended by former MLA Rumal Chand, PPCC spokesman Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa, former minister Raman Bhalla, PPCC (SC Cell) Convener Joginder Singh Chinna, former Gurdaspur Improvement Trust chairman Neeraj Salhotra, former Gurdaspur District Congress Committee president Chandar Pal and senior Congressmen Ajay Verma, Anil Dara, Dinesh Mahajan and Davinder Darshi. Last week the group, led by Tripit Rajinder Bajwa, Sukhjinder Randhawa and former Minister Ashwani Sekhri, held a meeting at the Congress Bhawan here to chart out ways and means to bring the maximum number of people for the PPCC chief’s public meeting. Former Union minister and Rajya Sabha MP Ashwani Kumar, who hails from Gurdaspur, is also expected to attend the proceedings on January 21.
	Harried pensioners of 19 MCs await payments Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Gurdaspur, January 18 Hundreds of pensioners of the 19 municipal councils of the Amritsar region are peeved over the fact that they have not been paid their dues for the months of November and December. Many of these pensioners have now been forced to take the help of local money-lenders to fulfill their daily needs. There are nearly 900 such pensioners who have been running from pillar to post to get their pension payments released from the government. All of them are former employees of the municipal councils of Amritsar, Ajnala, Tarn Taran, Raja Sansi, Majithia, Batala, Qadian, Fatehgarh Churian, Dera Baba Nanak, Sri Hargobindpur, Dhariwal, Dinanagar, Sujanpur, Rayya, Pathankot and Gurdaspur. All these councils fall under the Amritsar region of the Local Bodies Department. The other regions are Patiala, Ferozepur, Jalandhar and Ludhiana. These pensioners have now approached union leaders, including Ramesh Gupta, general secretary of the Punjab Nagar Palika Karamchari Mahansangh (PNPKM), in an attempt to get their payments released. Ramesh Gupta claimed that pension funds were routinely transferred to other heads to fulfill financial obligations of municipal councils, including giving money to contractors who execute jobs. However, this contention was vehemently refuted by Manjinder Singh, Gurdaspur municipal council executive officer. “It is just that we are facing a shortage of funds. Pension funds are not being transferred to other heads. We fully understand the problems of our pensioners. We have written to the Local Bodies Minister and Director, Local Bodies to immediately release a grant of Rs 5 crore, so that we can pay pensions to our former employees,” he claimed. Sudesh Kumar, who retired as a junior assistant from the Batala municipal council, said, “We have appealed to the authorities concerned on innumerable occasions to release funds for our pensions. However, as things stand, we are unable to see light at the end of the tunnel.” Ramesh Gupta said if funds are not released soon, pensioners will be left with no option except to launch a series of protest rallies. “We have planned the first such protest in front of the Deputy Director’s (local bodies) office at Amritsar on January 18. I also plan to meet the Local Bodies Minister soon to apprise him of the problems being faced by pensioners, a majority of whom belong to lower middle class families,” he added.
	Adampur coldest at -0.5ºC Kusum Arora Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 18 Despite a cozy day today, mercury plummeted to sub-zero level at Adampur with a freezing low temperature of minus 0.5°C. While the maximum temperature was recorded at 15.3°C. It is almost after a week that mercury declined to sub-zero level at many places with Adampur recording the lowest temperature. However, yesterday Adampur and its surrounding areas had remained in the grip of cold waves with overcast sky, leading to more chill in the weather. Earlier, the same day Adampur had recorded a low of 2.4°C. Adampur situated in the Doaba belt usually witnesses extreme cold with mercury hovering around 1 to 2°C during peak winters. As per the information from the Met Department at Adampur Air Force Station, it has been witnessed that Adampur had recorded sub-zero level during the past too as mercury had plummeted to a freezing low of minus 5°C. In 2001, Adampur had recorded a minimum temperature of minus 0.8°C. After a gap of five years, 2006 too recorded a low of minus 2.6°C. In 2007, mercury had declined to a low of minus 3.8°C at Adampur. While in 2008, mercury had gone to a freezing low of minus 5°C. Till date, it was the year 1972 which recorded the lowest ever temperature throwing normal life out of gear as Adampur had remained freezed with a minimum temperature of minus 5.2°C. Among other cities of Punjab, Amritsar recorded a low of 2°C followed by Bathinda which saw a minimum temperature of 2.1°C. While Pathankot saw a low of 3.9°C. Even the state capital, Chandigarh, too witnessed a decline in the mercury with a minimum temperature of 4.8°C as compared to 5.7°C yesterday. The Met Department has predicted a fair to partly cloudy sky with fog and mist during the next 24 hours.
	Gurdaspur residents stand united against making Pathankot a district Ravi Dhaliwal/TNS Gurdaspur, January 18 United we stand, divided we fall. This in essence sums up the attitude of Gurdaspur’s harried residents as, cutting across party affiliations, they put up a collective show of strength to ensure that the tourist hub of Pathankot, at present a tehsil of Gurdaspur, is not converted into a separate district as is being envisaged by the Punjab Government through the Sukhbir-Kalia Committee. Various social, religious organisations and members of the Gurdaspur District Bar Association (GDBA) held a meeting at Hanuman Mandir today and charted out the next course of action to be taken if the Sukhbir-Kalia Committee proposes that Pathankot Tehsil should be converted into a district. The meeting took place under the banner of the newly formed ‘Zila Bachao Sangharsh Committee’ whose convenor S.S. Kahlon also attended the meeting. The issue has all the ingredients of snowballing into a major controversy with Arvind Majajan, former Gurdaspur Beopar Mandal president, threatening to commit self-immolation in case Pathankot is taken out of Gurdaspur district. GDBA president Pushkar Nanda has already vehemently voiced concerns of layers against conferring Pathankot the status of a district. “We will fight tooth and nail if the Sukhbir-Kalia Committee recommends making Pathankot a district. We will intensify our protest till justice is delivered to us.”Gurdaspur MLA Gurbachan Singh Babbehali has also thrown his hat into the ring and opposed the creation of Pathankot district. The MLA today met the GDBA members and assured them that he would take up their cause with the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Local Bodies Minister Manorajan Kalia. Ramesh Sharma, a spokesman of the sangharsh committee, said if their demands were not met, they would intensify their agitation which would include giving a call for ‘Gurdaspur Bandh’. The common man has also got involved into controversy with Saroj Bala, a life member of the Punjab Child Welfare Council, saying, “The creation of a new district serves no purpose. If at all Pathankot is made a district then Gurdaspur should be compensated by giving the adjoining tehsil of Mukerian to it.”
	Red Cross Bhawan inaugurated Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, January 18 Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat, Punjab, inaugurated the district Red Cross Bhawan during a function organised by the district administration here today. Sources said the building had been constructed with a cost of Rs 50 lakh and completed within les than six months. The minister while addressing the gathering highlighted the development schemes. He said during the past four years of the SAD-BJP regime Rs 1 lakh crore had been invested in big projects and a large number of people were provided with jobs. Brahmpura further said the state government had also released grants worth crores for the development of towns and villages. He added that the town which had been given district status six years ago would be given the facility of “District Administrative Complex” shortly and its foundation stone would be laid by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Deputy Commissioner Khushi Ram and Punjab State Warehouse Corporation Chairman Alwinder Pal Singh Pakhoke were among those who spoke on the occasion.