Bathinda, April 28
The leadership of the Unemployed Linemen Union today decided to continue their agitation in front of the office of Deputy Commissioner here after the authorities concerned did not release about 273 activists lodged in different jails, as per the compromise reached between them and the Punjab Government yesterday.

Hundreds of activists of the Union, with the active support of other organisations, held a rally today and asked the state government to release the jailed activists by tomorrow failing which they would intensify their stir.

About 94 activists lodged in the Central Jail, Bathinda, were released late last evening. The remaining 273 activists, who were lodged in Sangrur, Malerkotla, Barnala and Ferozepur jails, were to be released by this afternoon as per the compromise.

The activists were arrested on April 14 at Talwandi Sabo for their alleged involvement in disturbing peace and creating hurdles in the performance of duties by policemen deployed at the rally of ruling SAD (B) held on the occasion of Baisakhi.

President of the Mansa unit of Union Darshan Singh Bareh said the jailed activists could not be released today despite the fact that the police authorities moved in that direction and approached the judicial official concerned. He said now, the police authorities concerned had promised that the jailed activists would be freed tomorrow.

He said if the jailed activists were not freed tomorrow, they would hold a meeting of state leadership of union to workout modalities to intensify the agitation. He said about 13 activists were still on hunger strike. He said though the Punjab Government had accepted their main demands, the Union leadership decided to continue the agitation till the jailed activists were released.

He disclosed that first, it was decided that the local SDM would visit the place where Ranjit Kaur, mother of state president of union Pirmal Singh, had been observing fast for the past 10 days and would offer a glass of juice to her to break her fast. However, the plan was shelved when the Union leadership decided to express solidarity with the mediapersons, who were allegedly manhandled by some persons in the presence of cops while they were covering an event here today.

Bathinda, April 28
An acute shortage of labour, faced by Punjab during the wheat harvesting and procurement season, has also hit the storage of procured wheat bags in godowns and on open plinths in a major part of the state.

Long queues of trucks and tractor-trailers, loaded with wheat bags, can be seen parked in front of godowns and open plinths belonging to different procurement agencies of Punjab and the Food Corporation of India (FCI), on main roads and link roads crisscrossing the Malwa region.

It is learnt that it takes about two days for a truck or tractor-trailer to unload wheat bags at a godown or plinth after transporting the same from the grain market and purchase centres concerned. “The situation has become a little better now. About a week ago, every truck driver was forced to wait for about three to four days as a major section of labour was involved in harvesting operations,” said Gurdev Singh, a leading transporter of this area.

Some truck drivers awaiting their turn to unload the wheat bags at a storage point located near Goniana town said they had been suffering losses on account of delay.

“First, we have to spend two days to unload wheat bags despite the fact that we are paid transportation charges on per bag basis. Secondly, the agencies concerned deduct payment of transportation charges on the basis of loss of weight of wheat bags during transportation even as weight reduces after wheat dries up in sunshine while trucks are stationed at a place,” they claimed.

They added that in the absence of night shelters, they had been forced to spend the night in their vehicles or in the compounds where wheat bags were supposed to be unloaded.

TS Chopra, District Food and Supply Controller (DFSC), said the problem of shortage of labour had gripped the state and efforts were being made to overcome the crisis.

He said field staff was being regularly motivated to expedite the unloading of wheat bags in the storage points so that lifting of the same could also be hastened.

He said a large number of labourers from Bihar were expected to reach different parts of Punjab within a day or so as the Panchayat elections in that state were over now.

Meanwhile, the stationed trucks and tractor-trailers on road sides have become a major source of disruption in smooth flow of vehicular traffic.

Abohar, April 28
Anguished over the glut of wheat due to the delay in lifting of purchased stock for the last week, hundreds of farmers, drivers and daily wage earners blocked both the entry points of the main grain market here today.

They were later joined by scores of commission agents in blocking the vehicular traffic on the Abohar-Malout road (NH 10) for two hours.

The farmers sat on dharna while another group led by the commission agents held demonstration on the same road. They shouted slogans against the state government and Punjab Mandi Board blaming them for inaction against the purchasing agencies and labour contractors.

Even two-wheelers could not pass through the national highway as incoming vehicles loaded with wheat remained stranded forming a two kilometre long line.

The protesters said the ruling politicians including the Chief Minister, members of his cabinet and legislators had been assuring that all arrangements had been made to ensure lifting of wheat within 48 hours of purchase but the system had never been perfect for the past four years. Truck union members said the labour contractors requisitioned 320 trucks but labour was not available for loading at any of the 35 purchase centres or downloading at the warehouses.

Arhtia Association president Pramil Kalani rued that the authorities had not given weight to the caution notice issued before the beginning of the harvesting season.

The district administration had imposed a ban on operating combine harvesters after sunset but not a single violation had so far been checked.

The labour contractors had always been hampering lifting of wheat from purchasing centers but the same coterie was being given contracts again and again.

After two hours, SDM Jasdeep Singh Aulakh arrived at the scene along with other civil and police officials. During the meeting in the market committee office, he asked the contractors and heads of the state purchasing agencies to arrange labour within the next 24 hours to expedite the lifting process. The blockade was lifted following his assurance.

Bathinda, April 28
A couple along with their five-year-old daughter died after a head-on collision between the scooter they were riding and a speeding canter at the railway overbridge on the Bathinda-Dabwali road, here late this evening.

The deceased were identified as Harmander Singh, a resident of Housfed Colony, who had recently returned from Kuwait, his wife Veerpal Kaur and daughter Honey.

Eyewitnesses informed that the three were riding a scooter. They were about to reach the end of the bridge when a speeding canter, bearing the number ,PB03J1231 hit them from the front. The couple fell on the ground and the truck kept dragging the scooter some meters away.

When the canter stopped, people found that the girl had been squeezed between the canter and the scooter that was badly crushed. Finding that the girl was still breathing, people turned aside the canter to rescue her.

Meanwhile, volunteers of the Sahara Jan Seva reached the spot and rushed them to the Civil Hospital. The doctors there declared the man and his daughter brought dead, while the woman also succumbed to her injuries soon after.

On receiving the information, the Canal Colony police reached the spot but the accused driver and conductor of the canter managed to flee.

The couple is survived by two daughters, aged 14 and two. The eldest daughter was inconsolable after the tragedy.

Bathinda, April 28
With the rise in temperature during the past few days, diarrhoea and gastroenteritis have started affecting the health of city residents as about 30 persons suffering from both the diseases have been visiting government hospitals and private clinics daily for treatment.

The main causes behind the spread of diarrhoea and gastroenteritis cases in the city are stated to be the consumption of unhygienic and uncovered food products, over-ripened and cut fruits, cooked food items kept for a long time and contaminated water. Those suffering from these diseases complain of loose motion, vomiting and pain in abdomen.

Dr Parminder Bansal, a medical specialist at the Civil Hospital here, said today that since Monday, he had been examining about eight to 10 patients daily for diarrhoea or gastroenteritis in the OPD. Another medical specialist Dr KK Goyal said on an average, he had been examining five patients suffering from diarrhoea or gastroenteritis daily.

However, the doctors said a majority of the patients had been suffering from diarrhoea.

Dr Satish Jindal and Dr Partik Kapila, child specialists at the Women and Children Hospital here, said that for the past some days, they had been examining seven to eight children suffering from diarrhoea or gastroenteritis.

Dr Jindal advised the parents to give a sufficient dose of oral re-hydration solution (ORS) to the children suffering from these diseases, besides lemon water and plenty of liquids. However, plain glucose, cold drinks and juices should not be used for re-hydration purpose, he added.

Local private doctors Mohinder Singh and Bharat Bhushan also said some patients suffering from diarrhoea had been visiting their clinic/hospital for treatment for the past some days. A doctor said there were several other patients who relied upon self-medication. This was the reason that many of the cases remained unreported, he added.

When contacted today, District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Raghubir Singh Randhawa said they had taken over 15 samples of water from hotels, dhabas, marriage palaces and other places during past some days to ascertain its purity. He said they had also initiated a move to get the overripe or rotten fruits at the rehris and the shops destroyed.

Bathinda, April 28
Activists of the PSEB Engineers’ Association (GNDTP region) today held a protest meeting at the local Officers’ Club. The meeting was presided over by KS Mann, vice-president of the association.

The meeting condemned the state government’s decision to carry out all the future recruitments on contract basis for cadres barring the IAS, PCS and judiciary.

“The decision has also been imposed on power companies. The companies have been asked to recruit assistant engineers on contract despite the fact that the needs of the power sector are different from other state government departments,” said members of the Association.

“The intelligent and talented professionals will not opt for making their future in power companies and it will damage the companies in the long run,” they feared. — TNS

Bathinda, April 28
With the summer setting in, the scarcity of potable water in Bathinda has started swelling. It is learnt that the total potable water requirement of the city is nearly 32 million litres per day, which increases to about 40 million litres during summer. Bathinda is one of the fast developing cities of the state but ironically, nearly 40 per cent of the population in the city (around 2.85 lakh) is still reeling under the shortage of potable water supply.

Residents of over a dozen localities like Udham Singh Nagar, Kothe Kame Ke, Dhillon Basti, Mehna Basti, Kothe Godara, Dhobiana Basti, Balraj Nagar, Lal Singh Basti, Awa Basti, Multania road, and Naruana road don’t even have access to tap water as at many places, pipelines are yet to be laid.

The issue of shortage of water supply has stormed general house meetings of the local Municipal Corporation (BMC) a number of times but the authorities concerned, despite repeated promises, failed to bridge the gap between its demand and supply.

Following repeated protests by residents as well as the councillors representing them, the authorities initiated a step to supply water to some localities through tankers by spending lakhs of rupees per annum, but still a majority of population in the worst-hit localities depends upon the highly-contaminated underground water and falls prey to various diseases.

On the contrary, the Water Supply and Sewerage Board in its official records claims that it releases the total required volume of water everyday. The officials blame the topography of the city for the low and uneven pressure of the supplied water, which leaves various localities either without water or less quantity of it.

To overcome the problem, the Water Supply and Sewerage Board, with the Union government’s budget in which the BMC and the state government were to add the matching grants, had initiated a project worth Rs 29.40 crore to enhance nearly 14 million litres of water supply per day.

Under the project, various works, including the construction of five overhead and five ground water tanks along with a main water treatment plant near the Rose Garden and laying of 53-km-long pipeline, were to be completed by September 2010, but nearly half of the works are still incomplete.

Ironically, the authorities could not even get the land for two of the five new sites for water reservoirs.

BMC Commissioner Umashankar Gupta, when contacted, said, “Sensing the gravity of the situation, we have put the construction works on the priority list and all the officials have been directed to speed up the works. Though the completion of the project would take a couple of months, we are trying to cover nearly 50 per cent of the work this summer.”

Bathinda, April 28
The local court today sent the ASI Gurjant Singh, who along with two others including a Block Samiti member Jasbir Kaur was nabbed for taking bribe from a resident of Bhucho village on Wednesday, in judicial custody. Earlier, a number of Congress activists claiming that Jasbir Kaur and Parkash Singh were the active members of the party so they were falsely implicated in the case, lodged a protest outside the Courts Complex and submitted a memorandum to senior police officials seeking a fair inquiry into the case.

Later, when the police was taking Gurjant Singh to the courts, his supporters had hot words with mediapersons and tried to sntach their cameras. ASP Bikramjeet Singh Bhatti has assured of necessary action against the guilty. — TNS

Bathinda, April 28
Now, the unavailability of canal water in a major part of the cotton belt of Punjab has been causing delay in its sowing even when the Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) has recommended that the period from April 15 to May 15 is useful for cotton sowing for a better yield.

First, the sowing of cotton crop was delayed due to delayed ripening of wheat crop in the cotton belt comprising Bathinda, Mansa, Muktsar, Ferozepur, Moga, Faridkot, Barnala and Sangrur districts of Punjab.

The farmers had to scramble for getting adequate quantity of the Bt cotton seeds from the government agencies and private dealers. A number of farmers have still been making efforts to get the Bt cotton seeds.

Official sources said about thousand acres of area had been brought under cotton cultivation in Punjab owing to these reasons so far this year despite the fact that the Agriculture Department was trying to bring 6.25 lakh hectares of area under cotton crop, this season.

Information gathered by the TNS revealed that though water had been released in some of the canals, distributaries and minors, crisscrossing the cotton belt, the water in a large number of irrigation channels is yet to start flowing.

The Abohar canal and its distributaries including minors had received water to their capacity and is being supplied to farmers to enable them to irrigate their fields for preparing it for cotton sowing. The eastern canal, which supplies water to another cotton growing area of Fazilka, is yet to be started.

Gopal Singh, Executive Engineer, Irrigation, Mansa, assured that the water in Bhikhi, Ghuman, Mansa, Talwandi, Pakka, Bangi and other distributaries would start flowing at the earliest.

A cross-section of the Agriculture Department officials pointed out that as the cotton sowing would pick up within a few days, the irrigation authorities would have to ensure that all the channels must carry water to every nook and corner of the cotton belt. 

Moga, April 28
Reacting to the news item ‘Liquor smuggling on a high in Moga’ published in these columns on April 18, the Excise and Taxation department has launched a regular campaign to check smuggling and sale of illegal liquor in the town.

Claiming this, SJS Beesla, Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner of the Ferozepur division, revealed that he issued two notices to liquor contractors of the rural areas, who were selling ‘smuggled’ liquor at lesser rates, which could have been illegally sold in the town.

"I have issued instructions to the excise staff for launching a regular campaign against the sale of illegal smuggled liquor in the town,” he said.

Excise and Taxation Officer BS Gill said they had also raided a few places in the town with the help of the local police from where smuggled liquor was recovered and a few challans were issued on individuals.

Raids were also conducted at the main bus stand in the town from where a few bottles of smuggled liquor from Chandigarh were also recovered and a penalty was imposed on the smugglers.

He said Sadhan Wali Basti, Hakam Ka Akwarh and a couple of localities on Bukkanwala have recently become hot spots for the sale of illegal liquor.

“Without the help of the police, it is very difficult to raid houses in these areas, because the smugglers including women in these areas are notorious," Gill said.

A few bottles of liquor smuggled from Chandigarh had also been recovered from a woman identified as Bholi, who has in the past been involved in many case of liquor smuggling in the town.

There were reports that in Moga, the smuggled liquor was reducing the sale of contractors and in the rural areas the illicit liquor manufactured in different villages has also become a big worry for the contractors.

Balwinder Singh, a liquor contractor, while appreciating the recent efforts of the Excise Department in curbing liquor smuggling, also apprehended that in case smuggling continues, the contractors may not be able to deposit the licence fee on schedule.

Chandigarh, April 28
The Punjab Government today released 6 per cent additional dearness allowance installment with effect from January 1 this year to its employees and pensioners. With this decision, the 45 per cent dearness allowance would be increased to 51 per cent on the basic pay, as per a notification.

While the increased ADA would be given in cash from June, the arrears from January-May would be credited to GPF. Retired employees would get the ADA in cash. 

Abohar, April 28
The local police have been groping in the dark for over four months now to find a clue to trace out the accused, involved in the theft, which took place in the house of Randhir Verma, judicial magistrate, here in December, last year.

A theft took place in the house of judicial magistrate Verma in the third week of December last year while he was away on leave.

A case was registered under sections 454 and 380 of the IPC at the city police station number one, Abohar on the complaint lodged by Om Parkash on December 21, last year, in connection with the theft. Sukhdev Singh, SHO, city police station, said the investigation in the case was being done by the in-charge, CIA police station. 

Muktsar, April 28
The district Agriculture Department authorities today suspended the licence of a business firm M/s Ashok Kumar and Sons, Muktsar, for committing irregularities in maintaining the record in connection with the sale of the Bt cotton seeds. Yesterday, the licences of two seed dealers of this town were suspended.

Darshan Singh Sandhu, Chief Agriculture Officer (CAO), said during a checking conducted by the agriculture officials of M/s Ashok Kumar and Sons on April 27, this year, the firm was found committing irregularities in maintaining the record of sale of the Bt cotton seeds as per the provisions of the seed Control Order.

The firm had been stopped from selling the seeds till further orders, he added.