Phullokhari (Bathinda), February 27
Soon to be commissioned Guru Gobind Singh Refinery promises to change the socio-economic profile of the Bathinda region. The district, especially Raman Mandi area, is expected to witness a change not only on the development front but in other spheres also.

The project will also provide employment avenues to the locals and others in the form of work to be generated after the setting up of ancillary industries in the area, transportation of oil through tankers, opening of new education centres and other institutions.

The trial run of the refinery, which is a joint venture of the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and the Mittal Energy Limited, is expected to be held around March 31 while it is likely to be commissioned by September.

The refinery, after its commissioning, will make polypropylene available to ancillary industries by signing memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with them. Polypropylene is used by plastic industry to manufacture woven sacks, over wraps for garments, films for print lamination, food packaging, adhesive tapes, plastic crates, buckets, mugs, plastic furniture etc.

It is learnt that two MoUs have already been signed for the setting up of polypropylene ancillary units.

There is potential for 53 such ancillary units to be set up calling for an investment of about Rs 1,300 crore. If these units are set up near the refinery or in Bathinda district, about 15,000 persons will get direct or indirect employment in the district.

The locals are of the opinion that the refinery should sign MoUs with only those who want to set up their units near the refinery or in the district.

After the commissioning of the refinery, the local transport industry will also flourish as about 400 tankers will transport oil from the refinery daily in Punjab and other states. Thus not only the truckers will get work, all kinds of businesses in the area will also flourish in a big way after the commissioning of the refinery.

The technical staff of the refinery is being trained. The refinery authorities have also been running a Construction Skills Training Centre for the past more than two years in this village through the Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC) for the unemployed youth of nearby villages.

About 900 youth have been trained so far in the trades of masonry, shuttering, carpentry, bar bending, electrician, driving, computer operations etc. Of them about 400 are reportedly working in the refinery nowadays. Though around 20,000 persons are working nowadays to complete the project but after the commissioning of the refinery about 3,000 persons will reportedly work in the refinery as technical, security, administrative staff etc.

Bathinda, February 27
The Central University of Punjab is celebrating its second foundation day on Monday. Professor GP Talwar, director, Talwar Research Foundation, New Delhi, and former director, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, will deliver a lecture on ‘Mission Oriented Research on the Problems Related to the Country’.

As a part of the celebrations, the university organised painting and photography competitions on Saturday with themes emphasising on environment, biodiversity and cancer in the Malwa region. About 110 students of various schools and colleges in Punjab participated in the competitions.

Dr Subhash Parihar, a doctorate in ‘Mughal Architecture in the Punjab’ inaugurated an exhibition of the art works of the participants.

“Environment, biodiversity and cancer are the main issues in the Malwa region and require concern from not only researchers and policy makers, but from the public as well. The university organised the contests as a part of its public awareness programme,” said Vice-chancellor Dr Jai Rup Singh. The results are:

Photography: Smridhi Mehra and Amanjyoti Kaur from the BBK DAV College for Women, Amritsar, won the first and second prizes, respectively, while Apoorva Lall from the Apeejay College of Fine Arts, Jalandhar, settled for the third position.

Painting (Colleges): Achhar Singh Rana of the Apeejay College of Fine Arts, Jalandhar, stood first. The second and third prizes were won by Shruti Khanna and Simarjeet Kaur of the BBK DAV College for Women, Amritsar.

Painting (Schools): Abhishek Jai Singh from the Police DAV Public School, Bathinda, won the first prize. Gurleen Kaur Saran of the same school was adjudged the runner-up.

Ferozepur, February 27
Punjab irrigation minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon, President, SAD (B), Ferozepur district, on Saturday accused the Central and the state Congress leadership of protecting those party leaders, who engineered the anti-Sikh riots in various parts of the country in 1984 and actively involved in Sikh genocide.

“Why no action against those Congressmen, who have killed thousands of Sikhs in different parts of the country including Delhi, Haryana and Kanpur in 1984, has been taken by the authorities concerned so far despite the fact that 26 years have passed,” asked Sekhon?

Addressing a press conference here yesterday, Sekhon said all the accused, who were involved in bomb blast in different parts of the country, in killing of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and killing of a number of people during an attack on various landmarks of Mumbai, had been sentenced. However, no one involved in the massacre of Sikh had been punished so far due to the protection of the Central and state Congress leadership.

Before talking to the media, a meeting of office-bearers of the district unit of the SAD (B), Youth Akali Dal (YAD) and other wings of the party took place in the town wherein the attitude of the successive Congress government at the Centre were condemned for protecting the accused of the anti-Sikh riots.

Sekhon said the SAD (B) workers and activists had also urged the Congress leadership to first teach a lesson to its Punjab president, Captain Amarinder Singh for using derogatory and offensive language against the state Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his wife Surinder Kaur Badal repeatedly at various public rallies instead of showing any anger against Bikram Singh Majithia, patron, YAD for his any comment against Captain.

“Can the Congress leaders including Capt Amarinder explain as to why they kept themselves so far and never condemned the killing of thousands of Sikhs in 1984 and also why they never expressed their sympathies with the families of those Sikhs, who were killed in 1948 in different parts of the country including at Hond Chillar village of Haryana,” Sekhon asked?

He claimed that the overall development in Punjab in the past four years, which was never witnessed since the independence of the country, had frustrated Captain Amarinder and his coterie. Hence, they were trying to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of Punjab.

“Can Captain name anything that he did for Punjab when he was the chief minister except his pleasure trips to hilly areas and foreign lands,” Sekhon questioned? He further pointed out that any misadventure on the part of the Congress leadership would be given befitting reply. 

Ferozepur, February 27
Golden Arrow Division, which has been organising the Western Command Football Championship in the local cantonment area, defeated Vajra Corps Troops 2-0 in the first match on the fifth day of the championship. The goals were scored by Gunner Samar Boro and Mahender Topo in the 57th and 65th minutes of the match, respectively.

In the second match of the day, which was played between Elephant Division and Rising Star Corps Troops, each team scored one goal against each other and hence ended in a draw.

HV John scored the first goal of the match for the Elephant Division in the 36th minute while Lance Havildar JM Jamatia of the Rising Star Corps scored the equaliser in the 60th minute of the match.

Moga, February 27
Two siblings have allegedly been duped of Rs 13 lakh by four persons on the pretext of sending them to Canada.

An FIR under sections 420 and 406 of the IPC had been registered against Gurjant Singh, son of Gurmail Singh, a resident of Baggeana village of the Faridkot district and three others at the police station Mehna in the Moga district.

As per the details, Charanjit Singh, son of Bachittar Singh, a resident of Bhinder Kalan village (Moga) gave a written complaint to the local SSP stating that Gurjant and his associates had taken Rs 13-lakh from him to send him and his sister Kamaljit Kaur to Canada.

However, he neither sent them abroad nor returned the money. The SP (city) conducted a formal inquiry into the allegations, after which, Gurjant and his associates have been booked on the charges of fraud.

Ferozepur, February 27
About 12 boys and eight girls hailing from the Kupwara district of Jammu & Kashmir will stay in different houses of Nurpur Sethan village of this district from February 26 to March 7.

They would have the firsthand information about the lifestyle of the rural population of Punjab under the Youth Club Exchange Programme (YCEP), being organised by the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, Punjab.

Likewise, the youths from Lahaul and Spiti valley of Himachal Pardesh would spend ten days at village Chelela of Patiala district.

Official sources said the youths will stay in the houses of the localities of those villages where the 10-day YCEP camp would be held. Sources said earlier the youths under the YCEP would camp at one common place for the whole period. To participate in different activities, they would move from one place to another.

“Now a new concept of village has been introduced. Under the village placement scheme, the participants in the YCEP will stay in the houses of different residents of that village where the YCEP will be held,” disclosed Jaswinder Singh Kooner, Zonal Director, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, Punjab and Chandigarh.

“We have organised a ten days all India youth exchange programme at Chajjalwid village in the Amritsar district from February 4-13,” he informed.

He said about 160 youths belonging to Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana and Lahaul and Spiti valley of Himachal Pardesh would participate in eight YCEP programmes being organised in Ferozepur, Tarn Taran, Sangrur, Kapurthala, Faridkot, Ropar, Patiala and Amritsar district.

He further added that a total of 160 youths belonging to Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Mansa, Ludhiana, Gurdaspur, Bathinda, Fathe Garh Sahib districts of Punjab and Chandigarh would go to different states of India.

During the programme, the main stress would be laid down to inculcate the spirit of national integration among the participants and motivate them to fight agaibst social evils.

Fazilka, February 27
It seems that the issue of bifurcation of the districts of Ferozepur and Gurdaspur and carving new districts out of it has been kept in abeyance by the state government. Two months back, there was a row over the issue in the political circles of Punjab.

The local BJP MLA Surjit Kumar Jyani went on fast-unto-death in support of the demand of the residents to get district headquarter status for the Fazilka sub-division.

Similarly, the demand of bifurcation of the district Gurdaspur was also raised by the BJP leaders there.

Since the BJP state president Ashwani Kumar Sharma and another BJP stalwart and the Transport minister Master Mohan Lal belongs to Pathankot, they also demanded district status for Pathankot.

Another BJP senior leader Jagdish Sawhney, MLA from Batala constituency, a part of the district Gurdaspur, had also threatened to take extreme step of committing suicide, if Batala was not accorded the district headquarters status. Keeping in view the gravity of the matter, the Badal government was forced to constitute a sub-committee on the issue.

Two senior cabinet members including Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal of the SAD and Manoranjan Kalia of the BJP were appointed the members of the committee.

Following the assurance of the BJP high command to look into the demand favourably, Jyani had ended his fast-unto-death.

The high command had assured Jyani that the issue would be resolved till March 2011.

“If the demand of the resident of Fazilka and nearby areas was not accepted and promise made by the high command was not fulfilled, I will again be compelled to take a ‘tough’ stand,” threatened Jyani.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that even after the lapse of two months after the constitution of the sub-committee, not even a single meeting of the sub-committee was held. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Manoranjan Kalia preferred to remain tightlipped over the issue.

Fazilka, February 27
Now, the consumers of Powercom could deposit their electricity bills round-the-clock. Punjab State Power Corporation has set up a Cash Collection Machine (CCM) at the office of the local powerhouse to facilitate the customers. The machine is expected to be functional in couple of days.

“Besides saving time, the consumers would not be burdened to pay the penalty due to late payment of the bills owning to the long queues, said executive engineer Sham Lal Arora.

While explaining the functioning of the machine, Arora said the consumers will have to feed the power connection number and amount of the bill. Subsequently, the machine after confirming the number and amount would request for depositing the money. In turn, the consumer would put the notes in the available denomination in the machine.

A receipt of the deposited currency note would be delivered by the machine. Notably, the machine does not accept the coins. — OC

Barnala, February 27
Infosys India Private Limited selected 14 students of the SD College (Barnala) in a placement drive at the college campus recently.

A total of 63 students of various graduate courses participated in the programme.

“The aim of the placement drive was to provide the students with an opportunity to get lucrative placements,” said college principal Dr ML Bansal.

He added that the selected students will join their respective jobs after the completion of their final exams.