Bathinda, February 16
The state government is planning to develop the Bathinda region as a power generation hub. While this is a welcome step keeping in view the power shortfall that the state has to witness from time to time, it has also started increasing the worries of the residents here.

Recently, the authorities had announced that there would six thermal plants in a 50-km radius of Bathinda. On the environmental front, it has raised some eyebrows as people here are already reeling under the impact of the fly ash and groundwater contamination and steps to check this have not been quite visible.

The two already functional thermal power plants in Bathinda district—the 440 MW Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant and 920 MW Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant — consume thousands of tonnes of coal, nearly two and four rakes of 52 coal wagons, respectively, every day.

Besides the thermal plants, Bathinda has a fertilisers factory, which also contributes its share to environmental degradation. Though there are two cement factories in the district, the hazardous fly ash being dumped in the open and near the rail tracks is a common sight here.

That cars parked in the city get covered with a thick coat of fly ash within hours speaks volumes of the pollution residents are being subjected to. Almost every second child is visiting a paediatrician or general practitioner showing symptoms of respiratory or ophthalmic diseases like cough, shortness of breath, asthma and symptoms of nasal allergy.

It is learnt that one 2,640 MW thermal plant at Banawali (Mansa) is under construction while the other three — 1,320 MW capacity each at Gobindpura (Mansa) and Kotshamir (Bathinda) and one 2640 MW at Gidderbaha (Muktsar)—are undergoing land acquisition process.

Though the government claims the new thermal plants will meet the pollution control norms, skepticism prevails.

Executive Director of the Kheti Virasat Mission Umendra Dutta said setting up six thermal plants in the region is the best example of the imbalance in government’s approach as well as that of the PPCB.

“A clear blue sky has already become a rare occurrence,” rues MM Behal, president of the joint action committee formed to campaign against the problem of fly ash.

An environmentalist, Dr GS Dhillon, who is also a former chief engineer, irrigation, says burning of coal in thermal plants results in creating 30 per cent fly ash and it will only lead to air and water pollution. It is also a possible cause for the presence of uranium in water in the Malwa region, he said.

Asked why the Punjab Pollution Control Board allowed so many thermal plants to be set up within a small area, Board chairman Rajat Aggarwal said, “Selection of land is the prerogative of the entrepreneur, we are just concerned about the norms, which they must follow.” Asked if the existing level of pollution was beyond the permissible limits, he said the plant authorities had been directed to check it.

Bathinda, February 16
Vice-president Mohammad Hamid Ansari’s itinerary has been revised. Ansari will now skip Bathinda and only visit Badal village, tomorrow.

Cutting short the programme, the schedule suggests that after attending functions at Ferozepur, Ansari would land at Kaljharani in a chopper and directly visit Chief Minister Paraksh Singh Badal’s house at Badal village, where a lunch is being organized in his honour.

Then, the Vice-president would visit the Old Age home in the village and after meeting the inmates there, he would board his chopper in Kaljhari and leave for Bhisiana Air Force Station (Bathinda), where he would board the plane for Delhi.

Due to his tight schedule, the Vice-president’s expected visits to other places in Badal village as well as a stitching centre at Rai Ke Kalan village (Bathinda), where he had to meet cancer affected families, have been cancelled.

Highly-placed sources informed the Vice-president would be accompanied by members of his personal staff including the medical and security component. The local administration of Muktsar and Bathinda is also on its toes.

The brief to the administration mentions that the blood group of the Vice-president is O negative, and directives have been made to make available a cardiac defibrillator and oxygen cylinder during the visit.

For the Vice-president’s lunch, it has been suggested to the Muktsar administration that the food should be prepared in vegetable oil/saffola with less chilly and moderate spices. It has also been informed that he is allergic to all sea food except fish, prawns and fish eggs. (Ferozepur ready for VP, P4)

Ferozpur, February 16
A massive facelift is being given to this town bordering Pakistan in view of the visit of Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Vice-president of India, who will visit three institutions located in the city and the cantonment area, tomorrow.

A large numbers of workers have been pressed into service by various agencies of the state government to clean the roads, roundabouts and areas surrounding the venues where Ansari along with Shivraj Patil, Governor, Punjab and HK Dua, MP, is likely to visit tomorrow. All the roads from where the cavalcade of the VVIPs will cross are being cleaned and given a fresh look.

The Municipal Council authorities are also working overnight to see that the area near the Circuit House where the Vice-president will visit during his brief stay in the town is spick-and-span without any garbage scattered around. Ansari will visit the local Dev Samaj College for Education, Arya Anathalya (orphanage) and Home for the Blind, located in city and cantonment areas of this border town. The Cantonment Board authorities are also making all-out efforts to ensure cleanliness around Arya Anathalya, which falls under its jurisdiction.

Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav, who reviewed the arrangements made in connection with Ansari's visit, has directed all the district officials to execute the task assigned to them in a flawless manner.

Yadav said foolproof security arrangements were in place for all the three functions. He said traffic plan had also been chalked out to ensure smooth movement of the VVIP. The roads, which would be used by the VVIPs were being sanitised.

Senior Superintendent of Police Kaustab Sharma said anti-sabotage drills had been carried out under the watchful eyes of the sleuths of the intelligence agencies, which would continue till tomorrow morning.

The vehicular traffic would be diverted for the general public during the movement of the cavalcades of the VVIPs. It was being ensured that minimum inconvenience is caused to the general public and alternative routes are being provided to them for movement.

Information gathered by TNS revealed that if the weather remained clear, Ansari along with the other dignitaries would land at the Fattu Wala airstrip at around 10.20 am. About three choppers would be used for his visit. Ansari would be taken to the Circuit House directly from the airstrip.

Meanwhile, flex boards welcoming Ansari and other dignitaries have come up at the busiest points in the city and the cantonment area. These flex boards have been put by the management of the college and Parminder Singh, general secretary, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC). 

Bathinda, February 16
Waging a war against corruption, some local NGOs and societies launched an awareness campaign in the city a fortnight ago urging people against giving or receiving bribe for the creation of a healthy society.

Members of the NGOs and societies, including the Bathinda Vikas Manch (BVM), the Yoga Sewa Samiti, the Suraksha Helper and Thakur Sabha, today gathered at the Fire Brigade chowk here for the third consecutive Wednesday.

Carrying banners appealing against corruption, they urged people to raise their voice to eradicate corruption.

They asked people to take pledge that they would neither take nor give bribe.

Advisor to the BVM Prof NK Gosain said that on next Wednesday, they would gather at the Fire Brigade chowk again and make a similar appeal. After that, they would shift the venue to other parts of the city on every Wednesday.

Rakesh Narula (BVM), Radhey Shyam Bansal (Yoga Sewa Samiti), Ramneek Walia (Dost Welfare Society), Balram Rana (Thakur Sabha), Rajiv Kumar (Amar Parkash Educational Development Society) and Sham Sharma (Suraksha Helper) were present on the occasion.

Abohar, February 16
Senior political functionaries have again focused on the demand, ahead of the rail budget, for enlarging the ambit of 12985/86 Sriganganagar-Nanded Sahib weekly train.

PPCC former president and Rajya Sabha ex-member Virendra Kataria today submitted a memorandum to the Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee and also had a meeting with the Railway Board chairman Vivek Sahai.

He said, in the memorandum, he has quoted official data to assert that there is a long waiting list for ticket till April 1 to go on pilgrimage to the sacred land of the 10th Guru Gobind Singh.

The train was announced in 2009 but was flagged off in the middle of 2010 on a weekly basis while the cent per cent occupancy supported the long pending demand for running it at least as tri-weekly train. The copy of the memorandum has also been given to the Executive Director (Coaching) Mukesh Nigam asking him to increase the trips. — OC

Moga, February 16
Reacting to a petition of contempt of court, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued a notice to the former DSP of Moga, Balbir Singh, presently posted at Jalalabad in Ferozepur district, demanding status report on an affidavit filed by him in the High Court regarding cancellation of FIR against Canadian citizen Jagdev Singh, who is also facing a charge of allegedly murdering former MLA Nachattar Singh Gill, father of Paramdip Singh Gill, the DGP of Punjab.

The counsel for the petitioner Barjeshwar Singh Bhalla, while talking to The Tribune, revealed that Justice Rajiv Bhalla, while taking up the matter on Wednesday morning, has directed the state counsel to get the instructions on this case by March 3, the next date of hearing in the case.

It may be mentioned that the Moga police allegedly is dilly-dallying in filing a cancellation report in the sessions court in a criminal case of corruption even after nine months of cancellation of the FIR that was registered on August 20, 2009 against the India-born Canadian citizen.

An FIR under sections 7 and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 was registered at the police station (City-I) of the Moga town against Jagdev, three cops: Gurdial Singh, Jaswinder Singh, Ranjit Singh allegedly involved in the infamous passport scam, Hakam Singh, a retired cop, travel agents Moga-based Satinder Pal Singh Bittu and Goa-based Xavier Vizgard.

Surprisingly, the police failed to file a challan in the trial court in this regard so far. The NRI went for quashing of the FIR registered against him in the High Court.

On May 3, 2010, the police cancelled this FIR and submitted an affidavit in this regard in the High Court. However, it did not file any status report or the cancellation report in the court and as such the NRI is still appearing in the court on the dates fixed for hearing, awaiting challan, in the case while all others were granted anticipatory bails by the court.

The next date of hearing in the case has been fixed for March 24, 2011 by the trial court.

It may be mentioned that the police station (City-I) of this town is situated just one kilometres from the district courts but even after more than nine months of cancellation of the FIR the police has so far not submitted the cancellation report in the trial court, here. 

Muktsar, February 16
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today said that Punjab’s infrastructure based growth model has accelerated the state economy besides opening new vistas for the employment for youth.

Talking to the media at Bhagsar after inaugurating the Government Model Adarsh School, four RO plants and laying the foundation stone of 66 KV station at Bhagsar besides two sewerage treatment plants and mini water works, in district Muktsar, Sukhbir Badal said Punjab’s economy has picked up pace solely because of the infrastructure-based growth model.

Sukhbir said by 2013, Punjab would emerge as the biggest exporter of power. Speaking about the Adarsh School model, he said 119 Adarsh schools being set up at a cost of Rs 800 crore would be ready by June 2011 to provide free and quality education to over 2.5 lakh poor students of the state. After the transparent recruitment of 49,000 teachers during the last four years, state was geared up to recruit 6500 more teachers to fill all vacant post in the village schools, he added. Describing Amarinder Singh as a rootless leader who was frustrated seeing the writing on the wall in the impending Vidhan Sabha elections, Sukhbir said Amarinder failed to lay a single brick for any development project during his five year rule.

Speaking about the initiatives in sports, Sukhbir said for the Kabaddi World Cup, Punjab, has doubled the prize money to Rs 2 crore and 13 countries have already given their consent for the tournament. He said 13 world class stadiums including six hockey stadiums would be ready by August 15, this year.He said Punjab was also contemplating an IPL in hockey besides a Kabaddi league. 

Abohar, February 16
Lady Luck has again favoured a small farmer in the region through the Punjab Lottery Basant Panchami bumper draw. Mahabir Prasad, a small farmer of village Panjkosi, has won the first prize worth Rs one crore.

Notably, one Banwari Lal, who runs a private dispensary at village Sayeedwala of this sub-division, had become the first crorepati through the Punjab Lottery in 2005 after purchasing the ticket through Pradeep Pasricha, a newspaper agent at Ghantaghar Chowk here.

Even when the latest winner, Mahabir, had been able to arrange only 60 boxes for bee farming as an allied business out of the agricultural income from four acres of agricultural land, he did not react much when Mohinder Kumar of village Dodewala informed him about the result of the draw late last evening.

Mahabir said he had purchased the lottery ticket (B 143079) from Mohinder during a visit to village Khuyiansarwar located on the Abohar-Sriganganagar road (NH 15) a few days back. Initially, he was reluctant to spare Rs 100 to buy the ticket.

The ticket bearing number A 143079 that carries a prize of Rs one lakh had also been sold in this sub-division but the seller Joginder Kumar said he was yet to identify the buyer.

Interestingly, when he along with a friend Praveen Kumar visited Khuyiansarwar today to confirm he had actually won the first prize, he had no money to buy the newspaper that carried the result.

Mahabir’s brother works as teacher in a government school while his father had retired as headmaster a few years back. Mahabir said he plans to increase the number of boxes for bee farming besides procuring more land.

Malout, February 16
Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa Institute of Engineering and Technology (GTBKIET), Chhapianwali, Malout, is in the process of celebrating its annual day with mega events on February 17-18. The events include Techfest and alumni's meet on February 17 and convocation and annual day celebrations on February 18.

Dr Rajneesh Arora, vice-chancellor of Punjab Technical University will be the chief guest at the convocation and annual day function. A mega job festival is also being organised on February 24-25 in which 42 companies have confirmed participation. There are also plans to start an institute of IT and life sciences. 

Ferozepur, February 16
Neha Khan, a girl belonging to Sayianwala village of this border district, braving all odds, has taken a long leap forward and as she was selected for the national cricket camp to be held at Nangal shortly.

Her father died a few years ago. Second youngest of the five sisters, Neha’s mother Shameem Akhtar, a labourer, is hardly able to earn enough to make both ends meet.

Pargat Brar, principal, Government Senior Secondary School, Sayianwala, where Neha is studying, said she took up cricket two years back when the school girls (U-19) team was being selected. Thereafter, she played at the tehsil-level and got selected for the district girls cricket team.

There, her performance was praiseworthy as a batsman and wicket-keeper. She was then selected for the state-level games where her team came third. “Finally, she caught the attention of the selectors and made it to the national camp for girls,” said Brar.

“I practice daily,” said Neha adding that she was confident of making it to the national women’s cricket team one day.