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Political parties eyeing Malwa
F’pur village girl makes it to KBC
Abohar college stars at PU zonal fest
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Teachers protest ‘odd’ timings of seminar
Encroachments on land earmarked for pond
Youth leaders take novel ways to catch the attention of Cong leadership
MP criticises UPA
Remodelled, Gang canal continues to lose water due to seepage
Tributes paid to young social reformer
Ferozepur gears up for WC Kabaddi matches
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Political parties eyeing Malwa
Bathinda, November 2 All major political parties and other organisations have these days intensified their activities, particularly in this region. The main events during the next few days would include a series of bouts of kabaddi, visit of yoga guru Ramdev, election rallies of the Congress and the third front led by Manpreet Singh Badal and the “Rath Yatra” of the BJP leader LK Advani. This signifies the importance of the Malwa region among the political parties. The beginning was made yesterday with the glittering start of the Kabaddi World Cup in which film star Shah Rukh Khan was the main attraction. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal is the spirit behind the tournament that aimed at touching the chord with the rural masses in the state. The Congress has also blown its election bugle by kickstarting its election campaign from Talwandi Sabo and holding another rally at Moga this afternoon. After touching all 117 assembly segments, the “Punjab Bachao Yatra” of the Congress would culminate at Budladha in Mansa district. Baba Ramdev, who had recently landed himself in a political controversy, arrived here today to camp for three days. His visit is expected to stir the political atmosphere in the region. Advani would begin the Punjab leg of his “Rath Yatra” from here on November 13 when he would enter Bathinda district from Dabwali in Haryana. He would address a series of roadside rallies before driving to Ludhiana . Manpreet, who also belongs to the region, has also chalked out a series of rallies of his recently-formed third front. His thrust is likely to be on Muktsar district where he and his father Gurdas Badal were planning to contest the election against Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. He would also hold rallies in Mansa district where the Left parties, which have now become his ally, have influence in some pockets. The ruling SAD is already holding “Sangat Darshan” programmes in which Parkash Singh Badal, Sukhbir and his wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal are listening to grievances of the rural folk, distributing bicycles to school girls and cheques to the beneficiaries of various welfare schemes. The proposed visit of Anna Hazare to campaign against the Congress has become an interesting issue with both Sukhbir and Manpreet welcoming his plan. The latter had met certain members of the Team Anna to invite him to Punjab. On the other hand, PPCC chief Captain Amarinder Singh says that Anna should first visualise that the people against whom allegations of corruption, nepotism and strangulation of democracy have been made in Punjab, would exploit his campaign to their own political benefit. Besides, several other organisations, including those of unemployed youth and teachers, have also intensified their protest demonstrations in Bathinda and Muktsar districts. |
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F’pur village girl makes it to KBC
Ferozepur, November 2 Sukhpreet, who belongs to Jhariwala village, is a student of Class IX at Government High School, Saiyanwala. She has been selected for the “fastest finger first” round and if luck continued to smile on her, she would be the first girl child from Punjab sitting in the hot seat facing Amitabh on the sets of KBC. Pargat Singh Brar, principal of the government school said Sukhpreet had already become a celebrity for her classmates, adding that the entire school was proud of her achievement. Brar said her rural background notwithstanding, Sukhpreet was a bright child, brimming with confidence and she had the potential of winning Rs 5 crore at the show, he added. Brar said the recording for the Children’s Day special would be held in Mumbai on November 8, adding that Sukhpreet along with her mother Gurpreet Kaur and school teacher Jyoti Nagpal would go to Mumbai. While talking to The Tribune, a beaming Sukhpreet said she had chosen Pradeep Jain, Baljeet Kaur and Shalini for “phone-a friend” lifeline, in case she gets the hot seat. “If I win there, I will give half of the amount to my school for its development,” she added. |
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Abohar college stars at PU zonal fest
Abohar, November 2 The college topped in quiz competition for the sixth consecutive year, Principal Dr Venita Singh announced at a function organised here today to felicitate the winners and team in-charges. Also, the college almost swept the theatrical items by clinching five out of seven prizes. A play titled “Sirjana” and a skit named “Big Boss” were adjudged the best. Folk dances gidha and Luddi also won the top places. Damanpreet Kaur was adjudged the best in group dance. The students also topped in mimicry, kali singing, rangoli, still life painting, poster making, collage making and Pakhi designing raising the tally of first prizes to 16. With one-third of the total number of would-be-teachers participating in dozens of competitions, the college has bagged 34 prizes, the highest so far won by any institution in the region even when 21 colleges were in the fray. |
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Teachers protest ‘odd’ timings of seminar
Fazilka, November 2 The atitators are protesting against the instructions of the Education Department to the teachers to attend residential training seminar round-the-clock. The Education Department, Punjab, has started five-day residential seminars for master cadre teachers on trial basis in Fazilka, Ferozepur and Ropar tehsils only. As per the instructions the teachers of English, Hindi, Punjabi, science, social studies, physical education, mathematics, etc have to attend the seminar from 9 am to 7 pm. Notably, in all other tehsils of the state teachers of this cadre have to attend the seminars during the school hours only from 9 am to 3 pm. The prolonged seminar time and round the clock presence in the school has caused much resentment among the teachers, particularly those participating in the seminar. Siksha Sudhar Committee Patron Raj Kishore Karla has demanded that the timing of the seminar should be confined to school working hours only. — OC |
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Encroachments on land earmarked for pond
Abohar, November 2 The HC had further held: “Public interest demands that no encroacher, for his personal gain, should usurp public property”. The district magistrates had directed the block development and panchayat officers to prompt panchayats and provide logistical support, but they too are yet to wake up. A survey indicated that life in many villages, including Kandhwala Amarkot, Diwankhera and Jandwala Meerasangla, had become miserable for public as political workers had encroached upon a major part of the pond land. At Kandhwala Amarkot, panchayat members Arjun Singh, Puran Singh and Chamba Ram rued that the land earmarked for ponds number 3 of 4 had been encroached upon. The issue was raised during gram panchayat meeting but no step was taken against the erring person. Like other villages, waste water is drained out in the main pond that overflows to make streets muddy besides affecting the environment. Intriguingly, funds were available with the panchayat samitis in the sub-division, but the same were not utilised under the MGNREGA to remove silt from the ponds in different villages, a former sarpanch resented. Local legislator Sunil Jakhar had recently represented to the state government that MGNREGA funds either remained unutilised or were allegedly misused by preparing fake muster rolls in connivance with the officials concerned. None from the government had come forward to refute the allegations so far. |
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Youth leaders take novel ways to catch the attention of Cong leadership
Moga, November 2 Many budding leaders carried out road shows leading to the rally site, few others were seen carried on the shoulders by their supporters with banners and posters while some others made arrangements for raising slogans in their favour probably to attract the attention of former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh and other senior leaders of the party. Perhaps it was for the first time that such intra-party shows have emerged in Punjab like what its happening for years in the neighbouring states of Haryana, Uttarakhand and Western UP among the local-level leaders of political parties hoping to get into electoral politics. A local party leader Dr Harjot Kamal was seen carried on the shoulders of his scores of supporters. He is an aspirant for the party ticket from the Moga constituency locking horns with Joginder Pal Jain, the sitting party MLA from here. Similarly, youth leader Manjit Mann also carried out a huge procession on foot before reaching venue of the rally. His supporters raised slogans in his favour carrying his posters many-a-times interrupting the speeches of senior party leaders. He is an aspirant of party ticket from Dharamkot constituency. Harpreet Singh Hero, son of former PPCC president late Harcharan Singh Hero, Ravinder Singh Garewal and few other youth leaders came along with their supporters, banners and posters in road shows from Dharamkot constituency. There were also reports of a couple of youth leaders from Baghapurana and Nihalsinghwala constituencies coming to the rally in a similar fashion to get the attention of senior party leadership. Some of them were even seen going on the stage one by one for a photo shoot with Captain Amarinder, which they would either use in vernacular newspapers in the form of advertisements or in the posters in future rallies. It appears to be that in the run-up to the elections, a number of new young faces enjoying some clout in their respective areas are emerging to stake claims for Congress ticket either with money power or claiming to have a clean image. Senior party leader and CWC member Jagmeet Singh Brar was of the view that the workers at the grassroots level were so enthused that they insisted on accompanying their respective leaders. |
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MP criticises UPA
Ferozepur, November 2 Khanna said given the state of affairs, the government had no right to continue in the office, adding that the Congress, which claimed to be running an “Aam Aadmi Ki
Sarkar”, stabbed in the back of the common man with inflation, nepotism and corruption becoming the order of the day. On the occasion, Khanna handed over a cheque of Rs 8 lakh out of MPLAD funds for the development of a public park outside the Town Hall. He also presented a cheque of Rs 7 lakh to the Municipal Committee for various developmental
works. Khanna said he was aware of the problems being faced by the residents of the border areas, adding that he would put his best efforts to resolve the long-pending issues like opening of
Hussainiwala-Lahore border, relocation of fencing and compensation to the border farmers having land holdings across the
fence. Sukhpal Singh Nannu, Chief Parliamentary Secretary (Revenue), thanked Khanna for the grant. Nannu said soon a library would also be constructed in this newly-developed park. |
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Remodelled, Gang canal continues to lose water due to seepage
Abohar, November 2 Intriguingly, the Punjab officials had not favoured the proposal that Skoda system should be installed at Khakha headworks to measure the flow of water from Punjab. The Rajasthan officials last year asserted that Skoda would help check the evasion of water. Gang Canal is one of the oldest irrigation systems in
Rajasthan, completed in the year 1928, to serve the north-western part of Sriganganagar district. The canal starts from the Sutlej near the
Harike, downstream of the confluence of Beas, in Punjab and enters Rajasthan area from the Abohar sub-division. The length of the feeder canal from the Harike to Rajasthan border is 112
kilometre, a total length of the canal system, including the feeder canal is 1,363
kilometre. The canal was originally lined with lime concrete when Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner got it constructed, but with the passage of time the lining deteriorated. It was remodelled and relined under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme
(AIBP) of the Government of India with the design discharge of 3,027 cusecs. The project cost (Punjab portion) was Rs 165.07
crore. Out of the total length of 98.63 kilometre of the canal in Punjab, 71.86 kilometre had been remodelled on the basis of the deposit work by the Punjab Irrigation Department at a cost of Rs 72.07
crore. The cost of the project had been borne by the Government of Rajasthan. The water was released in July 2003 after the first phase of remodelling but desilting was done only once in 2007. Now, the Rajasthan Government has arranged Rs 620 crore to carry the pending remodelling work in the Sriganganagar
region. Rajasthan Kisan Sangharsh samiti spokesman Subhash Sehgal said the arrival of water at the Khakha headworks ranged from 1600-1700 cusecs even when the discharge at Ferozepur headworks was recorded as 2200-2400 cusecs. The Rajasthan Government had paid Rs 87 lakh to the Punjab Irrigation Department for the repair work that included replacing pressure release valves that had been damaged by the farmers in Ferozepur and Fazilka areas to derive water through the
tubewells, illegally installed on both sides of the canal. Regretfully, the Bhakra Beas Management Board has now reduced discharge in the Gang canal from 2,000 to 1800 cusecs for this month. The farmers have started sowing the wheat and mustard crops but it is bound to be adversely affected due to the reduced inflow of canal water. “Rains had made soil friendly for this crop season, bumper crop can be expected if losses in the Gang canal between Ferozepur and Sriganganagar are checked,” he said. Surprisingly, all the dams had enough water, what forced the BBMB to enforce cut in releasing water, he wondered. The Gang Canal Users Council has urged the Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot to urgently take up the issue with the Punjab CM and the Central Government to save the agricultural economy in Sriganganagar that had emerged as food bowl for the state. |
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Tributes paid to young social reformer
Abohar, November 2 The dignitaries said Sahu had performed rituals as guardian for 767 girls at their marriage ceremonies during the past few years. The marriages were organised under the aegis of the Baba Ramdev Seva Samiti founded by Sahu to help downtrodden families. — OC |
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Ferozepur gears up for WC Kabaddi matches Ferozepur: The arrangements for the World cup Kabaddi matches at the Shahid Bhagat Singh Stadium here are in full swing. Deputy Commissioner S Karuna Raju on Wednesday reviewed the preparedness to host four league matches. The DC said the first match would be played here between women teams of the United Kingdom and India followed by three men category matches between Canada and Nepal, Australia and Afghanistan and the UK and Germany. — OC
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A dream to meet her all time favourite superstar Amitabh Bachchan does not seem to be too far for this young girl from rural hinterland who has made her village and school proud after she was selected for the Children’s Day special edition of “Kaun Banega Crorepati” (KBC) to be telecast on November 14.
Even when the Punjab and Haryana High Court had held in many cases that gram panchayat being a democratically-constituted body, has a statutory duty to safeguard the property vested in it and bound to remove the encroachments from its land, the panchayats in Abohar and Balluana segments are yet to initiate a drive
against the persons who had encroached upon the lands.
The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) had off late become an “Ulta Pulta Alliance” as there was no synergy in the working of its various constituents and its ministers were themselves involved in large-scale corruption, alleged Avinash Rai
Khanna, Rajya Sabha MP, while speaking to mediapersons here today. Khanna added that 2010-11 would be remembered as “The Year of Scams”.
