Fazilka, June 18
After a long wait, the railway overbridge in Fazilka was today finally inaugurated by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Sukhbir also laid the foundation stones of various development projects including a residential colony for the poor in the name of his mother Bibi Surinder Kaur Badal, a cattle pond and a water supply scheme for the town from the Gang canal.

He also inaugurated a school in Chak Mochan Wala village.

Using the occasion to attack the Congress, he said the UPA government had lost its moral right to rule because of the scams. The Congress had also unleashed a campaign to silence the voices being raised against it, he added.

“The scams and corruption involving members of the UPA government has brought shame for the country,” he claimed, adding that the UPA government was now trying to crush the campaign of social activist Anna Hazare for the Lokpal Bill.

When told that former CM Captain Amarinder Singh had offered to release a list of 51 projects completed during his tenure in Punjab-- in response to his statement that not a single development project was executed during the reign of the previous Congress government-- Sukhbir claimed that Amarinder did not have an answer to this.

Referring to the alleged threat held out in public by Malkit Singh Keetu, former SAD (B) MLA from Barnala to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of that district on June 16, he said the incident was unfortunate the government would enquire into it before taking action.

Keetu allegedly held out a threat to the DC, Barnala, on June 16 when the SAD-BJP leaders and workers were staging a dharna to press the Central Government to bring back black money allegedly stashed away abroad and lodge a protest against rampant corruption in the Congress-led UPA government. Keetu, who is the party’s in-charge for Barnala assembly segment, allegedly declared from the stage that if the DC, Barnala, did not amend his behaviour, he would meet the same fate as the Tehsildar of Ludhiana. It may be recalled that Gurjinder Singh Benipal, Tehsildar, Ludhiana, was allegedly beaten up by a SAD (B) councillor and other leaders in 2009 in full public view. 

Fazilka, June 18
The hopes of a majority of the people of this town, were today dashed when Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal categorically stated that the Punjab government was yet to decide on according district status to this sub-division.

The people here were hopeful that Sukhbir would make some commitment on according district status to Fazilka today.

Sukbir accompanied by Jiyani, Irrigation Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon and Member of Parliament Sher Singh Ghubhaya, inaugurated various development projects and held Sangat Darshan of about 30 villages at Sukhera Bodlan, Ghubhaya, Chak Tahliwala, Fattuwala, Mohar Singhwala, Baghake Hithar and Chak Shaker and disbursed grants to the tune of Rs 4 crores.

During his press conference, when asked in the presence of Jiyani and other ministers as to when Fazilka would become a district, Sukhbir categorically said the two-member committee including him and the Local Bodies Minister Tikshan Sud were yet to discuss the matter thoroughly. “We have discussed this matter informally many times. We are yet to sit together and discuss its pros and cons,” he said, adding that the issue was on the agenda of the SAD-BJP government of Punjab.

When Sukhbir was interacting with media, Jiyani intervened and declared that he was ready to give up his ministership, if the Punjab government could accord district status to Fazilka in lieu of it.

Gurpreet Singh Lovely, member, Improvement Trust and Satinder Singh Savi, municipal councillor, also told Sukhbir that Fazilka deserved a district status and it should be accorded to it. 

Ferozepur, June 18
The induction of Irrigation Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon as member of the core committee of SAD (B) is likely to strengthen the party in the Malwa region of Punjab.

Sekhon was among those SAD (B) candidates, who won the last assembly elections in Malwa region, which decides the political contours of Punjab and was once known as the stronghold of Akalis.

While the other three leaders including Nirmal Singh Kahlon, Charanjit Singh Atwal and Sucha Singh Langah, who have been inducted as members of the core committee, belong to Majha and Doaba regions of Punjab, Sekhon is the only candidate from the Malwa region, who has been given a place in the important body of the party. The elevation of Sekhon managed to keep the party’s flock together in the area after Manpreet Badal parted company from SAD (B) and floated his People’s Party of Punjab.

Though Gurdas Badal wields considerable influence in Ferozepur district also, the leadership of Sekhon, who is also the president of district unit of SAD (B), Ferozepur, frustrated his attempts to erode the SAD (B) base in the area.

Sekhon said he has been given an important responsibility by the party leadership and he would try to the secure victory for party candidates in next assembly elections. 

Bathinda, June 18
The rainy season has not arrived yet but the local residents are already apprehending nightmares of choked sewerage and drainage channels.

Going through the harrowing experiences of the past, denizens of the city fear they will have to face the familiar trouble of accumulated water across the city once again.

However, the authorities of the local Municipal Corporation (BMC) claim to be well-prepared to tackle any kind of situation and promise to provide much better service this year.

Speaking to The Tribune, BMC Commissioner Umashankar Gupta listed a number of works, which the BMC had either completed or was carrying out on a war footing to keep the city free from seasonal worries.

Gupta said to keep the drainage system running at its full capacity during the rainy season, the officials of the Sewerage Department were already put on the job of de-silting the sewerage and other drainage channels.

Besides manual de-silting, the BMC is going to introduce automatic heavy jet-suction machines to clear the channels at a fast pace.

The BMC and the Bathinda Development Authority (BDA) have jointly placed orders to purchase several jet-suction machines to cater not only to the city but the surrounding towns also. Sources said one such machine had already reached the city and the BMC would start its operation within a few days.

Meanwhile, the capacity of the sludge carrier which was just 16 cubic feet/second has been enhanced to 60 cubic feet/second. To keep the storm sewer and the sludge carrier run properly in the rainy days, the BMC is also improving the structure of all seven bridges coming on the way (approx 16 km) before the sludge carrier opens in the Lisada drain.

Speaking further, the BMC Commissioner claimed that the pumps installed at all three ponds in the city located at Sanjay Nagar, Amarpura Basti and one on the rear of the RB DAV School, where a huge volume of rain water gets accumulated, have been placed in order to lift the water and convey it to the sludge carrier.

Claiming to be particular about the water accumulation at the depressions on the sides of all main roads that could further lead to the outbreak of vector-borne diseases, the BMC Commissioner said a special pumping-suction machine was also purchased that would remain on move to clear all depressions.

However, sources in the BMC said despite making efforts for a couple of days, teams of the Sewerage Department could not yet clear the chronic blockages. The sources added that unless these blockages were cleared, the drainage system could not function properly.

Abohar, June 18
The Railway Passengers Welfare Association, Consumer Movement, Senior Citizens Welfare Association, Beopar Mandal and Akhil Bhartiya Grahak Panchayat have sent memorandums to the Deputy CM and Chairman of the Railway Board, expressing concern over the delay in construction of the railway overbridge (RoB) by the PWD outside Dangarkhera village on the Abohar-Fazilka road (NH-10). This is the last RoB awaiting completion to make the 42.25 km Abohar-Fazilka rail link functional.

It has been pointed out that work remained suspended for a long period due to change in the design of the pillars.

Later, the length of the RoB was also enhanced. Now, the railways completed their part of work on the RoB but the PWD moves at slow pace. Only two dozen daily wage earners were found working when a media team reached the site during two-hour survey of the rail link on Saturday. Information gathered from different sources indicated that adequate funds were not being released for the work.

Railway Passengers Welfare Association general secretary Hanuman Dass Goyal said Divisional Railway Manager, Ferozepur last month requested the Commissioner, Railway Safety to get the rail track tested but the officials based at Lucknow have not fixed any date so far.

The officials in the divisional office at Ambala also confirmed that there was no communication on the issue.

Mansa, June 18
The volunteers of National Service Scheme (NSS) unit of the local Nehru Memorial College seems to have come to the aid of the district administration by carrying out the cleanliness of the district administrative complex and its surroundings, where sanitary conditions were not hygienic.

About 40 volunteers of the NSS unit of the college including girls were pressed into service today to carry out the cleanliness of surroundings of district administrative complex (DAC) today to give it a better and clean look for tomorrow's public rally, which will be addressed by Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

Deputy Commissioner Ravinder Singh and Additional Deputy Commissioner Rajesh Tripathi claimed that cleanliness drive launched by NSS volunteers in the surroundings of the DAC was neither in their knowledge nor any consent was taken from them, information revealed that the authorities requested for the services of NSS volunteers to give the DAC a facelift.

Interestingly, Inderpal, Programme Officer, NSS unit, Nehru Memorial College, in a press note issued here, claimed that the camp was organised under the patronage and supervision of the DC and the ADC. She disclosed that refreshments was served to the volunteers by the district Red Cross Society.

A few days agao, reports had appeared about the poor conditions prevailing in the surroundings of the DAC. While the DC said he had no knowledge of such camp, the ADC claimed it was a routine activity of the NSS unit of the college. He said he was surprised when he saw volunteers cleaning the DAC surroundings.

He claimed that cleanliness of four venues, where functions would be held in tomorrow, would be carried out early in the morning. For this, the Executive Officer of the local Municipal Council, had been entrusted the responsibility.

He added that today's camp of the NSS volunteers was having nothing to do with tomorrow's rally in the DAC premises. 

Bathinda, June 18
A large number of delegates and members of the General Categories Welfare Federation, Punjab, staged a state-level dharna outside the Mini-secretariat here today to get orders of the courts on reservations implemented.

They also levelled allegations against the state government, including non-implementation of the orders of the Supreme Court regarding caste-based reservations in the matters relating to promotion.

The protesters alleged that the employees belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SC) were being promoted in excess to their quota. They alleged that despite clear orders from the Supreme Court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court, regarding collection of case to case data proving backwardness of each employee concerned, the government had been promoting the SC employees without such data.

Chief organiser of the federation Shyam Lal Sharma said in the M. Nagraj versus the Union of India case, the Supreme Court had ordered that caste-based promotions could only be done if the government was able to prove the backwardness of the employee and that there was a dire need of promoting him/her on the basis of the caste quota.

President of the federation Nirmal Singh alleged that the government was discriminating against the employees of the general categories.

Spokesman Harbans Singh Sidhu said the government should set up a General Categories Welfare Department.

The website of the federation www.generalcategories.in was also launched during the dharna.

Bathinda, June 18
A day-old girl, who was found lying in ‘Panghura’ in the city on Thursday, was handed over to the Yadwindra Puran Bal Niketan, Lahori Gate, Patiala, by the local Red Cross Society today.

It is learnt that four new-born and abandoned children that the society had handed over to the Bal Niketan in the past two years have found homes after their adoption.

The fifth one was found lying in the ‘Panghura’ (cradle) installed at the entrance of the Mahant Gurbanta Dass School for Deaf and Dumb and Blind here on Thursday evening. She was taken to Patiala by JR Goyal, secretary of the Red Cross Society, along with another functionary Vidya Sagar today after she was declared fit by a child specialist at the local Civil Hospital where she was taken for treatment immediately after being found lying in the cradle.

Goyal said the Bal Niketan at Patiala was a centre authorised by the state government to offer adoption of abandoned children. He added that four new-born babies (three girls and a boy), who were found in the ‘Panghura’ here, were handed over to the institute in the past two years and they had already been adopted by families from Faridabad, Bengaluru and Patiala.

Abohar, June 18
The Central govt has agreed to extend pension parity to more than 70,000 employees working with 82 Gramin Banks.

All Punjab Gramin Bank Officers Association president APS Brar told The Tribune today that the Ministry of Finance had calculated the corpus required to meet the pension liability.

The share holders of regional rural banks have been asked to be ready to share the liability.