Thehari (Muktsar), March 31
The Punjab government’s move to develop the Malwa region as the hub of thermal power generation has landed into a controversy with local farmers in three identified places protesting against acquisition of their fertile lands for the purpose.

Besides two existing thermal power plants in the Bathinda district, the government has allocated four more power plants in the region, out of which the 2,640-MW thermal plant at Banawali (Mansa) is under construction while the other three — 1,320 MW each at Gobindpura (Mansa) and Kotshamir (Bathinda) and 2640 MW at Gidderbaha (Muktsar) — are in the process of land acquisition.

The agriculturists of Gobindpura and Kotshamir have declared that they would not allow the government to acquire even an inch of their fertile land for the power plants.

Meanwhile, farmers of Thehari, Ghagga and Babania, adjoining villages of Gidderbaha sub-division in Muktsar district, sat on an indefinite dharna on the Malout-Bathinda roadside at village Thehari to persuade the government for upward revision of the compensation that has been fixed at nearly Rs 21.60 lakh per acre. They are demanding the compensation to be raised to Rs 50 lakh per acre.

The land owners of the three villages today held a largely-attended conference at village Thehari. It was addressed by state general secretary of the BKU Ekta (Ugrahan) Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan, senior vice-president of the union Jhada Singh Jethu Ke, state general secretary of the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union Lachman Singh Sevewala and others.

To avoid any untoward incident, a heavy contingent of Muktsar police, anti-riot vehicles, water cannons and other equipment were deployed in the area.

Paramjeet Singh, convenor of the 11-member action committee, said the government had initiated revenue proceedings to acquire 2004 acres of land for setting up the thermal power plant by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). In 2008, the compensation against the acquisition was fixed at Rs 14 lakh per acre and nearly Rs 6 lakh as other allowances and no litigation premium. Later, the total compensation was revised to Rs 21.60 lakh.

"At that time, we were ready to give our land for the plant but the government kept on delaying the acquisition process and now, when the price of land in this area was touching about Rs 30 lakh per acre, the government by issuing the notification under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act has initiated the land acquisition process at the old rate of Rs 21.60 lakh per acre. It would be protested by residents of the three villages," said Paramjeet Singh. He said among their other demands were a job to a member of each family whose land is acquired and rehabilitation of 100 Dalit families living on the village common land.

Muktsar Deputy Commissioner Varun Roojam said the compensation was fixed only after the land owners had agreed upon the rates fixed by the revenue authorities. But now, a few of them have started demanding enhancement of the compensation. The matter has been brought to the notice of the government and the decision is awaited, he added.

Bathinda, March 31
As many as 118 service centres have been set up till today by the multi-purpose agriculture cooperative societies in Bathinda district to make agricultural implements and machinery available on hire basis to farmers, especially marginal and small ones. Of these, 61 were set up from October 2010 till date.

As per information, there are a total of 182 multi-purpose agriculture cooperative societies in the district. A service centre is approved by the Punjab State Farmers Commission to grant 33 per cent subsidy on the purchase of agricultural machinery and implements worth Rs 10 lakh by a society. For setting up an agriculture service centre, purchase of a tractor and a laser land leveller is must while out of other implements like rota-vator, paddy transplanter, happy seeder, disc harrow and tiller, the society can buy any two.

To establish an agriculture service centre, a multi-purpose agriculture cooperative society first passes a resolution and then sends it to the office of Cooperative Societies. The resolution is forwarded to the Punjab State Farmers Commission for approval. After getting approval, the society purchases agricultural implements and machinery and sends the case to the office of the deputy registrar, Cooperative Societies, for sending the same to the Punjab State Farmers Commission to get the sanction for the 33 per cent subsidy.

Deputy Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Bathinda, Harbant Singh Jatana said here today the setting up of agriculture service centres was beneficial for the farming community, including those farmers who could not purchase costly agricultural implements and machinery like tractor. They could hire such implements from the societies to fulfill their agriculture-relating needs. He said such centres were helping the farmers, especially marginal and small ones, in a big way.

Fazilka, March 31
Chairman, Improvement Trust, Fazilka, Mohinder Partap Dhingra, has approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, through a writ petition, to save a piece of land, located in the heart of the city and whose value runs into crores.

Interestingly, Dhingra found he was left with no other option but to approach the High Court to get the necessary relief after some persons, backed by a section of the ruling politicians, allegedly made an attempt to get possession of that land in an illegal manner despite the fact that the land in question was in possession of the Improvement Trust.

Dhingra told TNS that though a commercial scheme had been sanctioned on that land in 2006, some persons had tried to take possession of that piece of land in an illegal manner.

He said the High Court had been approached to keep such elements away from that land permanently. He said the land in question was transferred to the Improvement Trust by the local Municipal Council authorities.

On the other hand, Mohinder Kumar Rinwa, former Congress MLA, Fazilka and former chairman, Punjab State Tube well Corporation, while demanding a high-level probe into the matter, said Fazilka had witnessed a number of such instances in the last four years.

He said if the state government failed to enquire into and punish those involved in taking illegal possession of the government land, the Congress, if it comes to power, would institute a CBI probe and also ensure punishment for the guilty.

He said that when a senior functionary of the BJP, a partner of the ruling SAD, levelled serious allegations that illegal possession was being taken of a piece of valuable land belonging to the state government, the state government must take the matter seriously and take necessary steps to prevent it. 

Abohar, March 31
Even as the Central and the state governments have reiterated their resolve to implement the Right to Education (RTE) Act by April 1, most parents in Dhaani Hari Ram, a village located on the outskirts of this sub-divisional town, have decided not to send their children to school.

The residents had arranged a piece of land in 1997 and succeeded in getting a government primary school sanctioned but the school was later closed citing technical reasons. The successive governments did not sympathetically consider their demand for reviving the school even after launching of the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan and the Padho Punjab campaign.

"Our children have to traverse a distance of about 3 km to get education in the nearest government school located in Azeemgarh area," rued Ram Krishan, who lives in the village.

"Most of the children have not been able to get admission in any of the government high schools since these were located in far-flung areas. How can the daily wage earners afford to send their wards to such schools," asked Sita Ram.

During a visit to the village today, the media persons were told that the residents were neither registered as voters of the panchayat of any village nor for the local Municipal Council. Some time back, the hamlet fell under Kailash Nagar but during the revision of the electoral rolls, their names were struck off on the ground that Dhaani Hari Ram was located at a distance of 5 km from the township. They have thus been deprived of their constitutional right to elect their representatives. Their ration cards have also not been renewed.

The residents had been facing power cut from 9 am to 5 pm for most of the year. No arrangements have been made to provide them with potable water. The children have to line up to collect contaminated water from the hand pumps that were installed by pooling together funds. 

Bathinda, March 31
Rural health pharmacists, working in government rural dispensaries of this district today raised their voice in support of their demands outside the Mini-secretariat here. They also submitted a memorandum enlisting their demands, to the district administration to forward the same to the state government.

Their demands include regularisation of services of the rural health pharmacists and Class IV employees, implementation of pay-scales recommended by the Fifth Pay Commission, Punjab, and release of rural health pharmacists and Class IV employees arrested at Mohali besides withdrawal of cases registered against them.

District president of the Rural Health Pharmacists Association Sunil Kumar said their services should be regularised on the pattern of regularisation of services of 1,186 rural medical officers working in rural dispensaries. He said the services of Class IV employees working in rural dispensaries should also be regularised.

Bathinda, March 31
Tension at the Makbara Meera Sahib Peer Khana resurfaced today but a timely intervention by the police ensured that the matter was resolved amicably.

It is learnt that some members of the Muslim committee of the Peer Khana offered prayers there with the permission of the administration and lit lamps outside. However, representatives of the Hindu committee reached there and objected to the lighting of lamps. Irked, members of the Muslim committee assembled there and raised slogans on this “interference in their religious matters”.

Cops reached the spot and pacified the agitators. — TNS

Abohar, March 31
While taking up the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the Cotton Mill Labour Federation (INTUC) challenging the demolition of the Labour Colony of Shree Bhawani Cotton Mills here, the Supreme Court has issued notice to the Shree Bhawani Cotton Mills and Industries Ltd (SBCM), Mehndi Macs Trade Pvt 
Ltd, SDM Abohar and the SSP Ferozepur.

The colony was razed to the ground on December 4 last year to enable colonisers take physical possession of the land in compliance of the permission reportedly granted to them by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Over 150 families, who had migrated from UP, Bihar and Orissa decades back, were affected by the drive. — OC

Bathinda, March 31
Mystery shrouds the death of 33-year-old Paramjeet Kaur at her residence in Balraj Nagar here.

Receiving information in the morning, the police reached the spot and found her lying dead on the bed. The police rounded up her paramour, who lived with her in the rented house. They also summoned her husband, who lives separately, to probe the matter.

Canal Colony police station SHO Sandeep Singh said there was no visible injury mark on the body. Her paramour stated that she used to take heavy dose of sedatives. “An investigation is on to ascertain if it was a case of murder or suicide,” said the SHO. — TNS

Abohar, March 31
Hundreds of Army personnel accompanied by their family members enjoyed the thrills of paramotor flying expedition of the Army’s Stallion Brigade that concluded here today.

The local cantonment ground reverberated with applause when the members of the Stallion Brigade including Nirbhai Singh, Sunil Reddy and Sunil, exhibited their skills.

While Nirbhai Singh unfurled the national flag and the flags belonging to the different wings of the Army in the air, Sunil Reddy showered coloured chaff over the crowd. These three Army men, who kept hovering above the ground for an hour, landed safely after Major General KJS Thind, GOC, Amogh Division, flagged in the team.

Expressing satisfaction over the smooth completion of the four-day paramotor flying expedition, which covered a distance of 500 kms across varied terrains of Punjab and Rajasthan from March 28-31, the team members said adventure was part of their lives.

According to them, they covered a distance of 80 to 90 kms daily and the changing wind pattern, rise in mercury and the strains of flying, while strapped in a harness, were the major challenges which they faced during the expedition, led by Captain Sunil Sangwan. The team was supervised by the instructors of the Army Adventure Node, Agra. — TNS

Ferozepur, March 31
Thousands of non-resident Indians (NRIs) in the US Canada and other European countries remained glued to their TV sets to watch the semi-final of the ICC World Cricket Cup between traditional rivals, India and Pakistan, at Mohali on Wednesday.

Though cricket as a game is yet to acquire popularity in the US and in many European countries, a large section of the NRIs there was gripped by the World Cup fever.

The NRIs, particularly those from Punjab, had also been inviting their friends through social networking sites like the Facebook or on telephone. They even held small parties while watching the clash to make the win memorable.

"I took leave from work. It was a rare opportunity that I couldn't afford to miss,” said Mohinder Partap Singh Mickey, a software engineer, working in Washington DC.

"Whenever the Indian and Pakistan teams clash, every Indian feels concerned. This is why I stayed away from work for a day to watch the match," said Sukhchain Singh, who lives in Vancouver, Canada.

"Though I wanted to be present in Mohali, I could not make the arrangements for my journey to India," disclosed Jagmeet Brar, a resident of California, who watched the match on TV at home.

Kanwarjit, who lives in Surrey, Canada, said geographical boundaries and distance cease to matter whenever the Indian and Pakistan cricket teams play a match.