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Work to widen Abulkhurana drain commences
Solid waste management project launched
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Agitating guest faculty lecturers meet Dy CM
New jail inaugurated in Mansa
Five booked for embezzlement of funds
36 seek Congress tickets
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Work to widen Abulkhurana drain commences
Abohar, December 13 The officials confirmed that in the first phase, the government has earmarked Rs 13 crore to widen the Abulkhurana drain. Its width has to be increased from the present 50 feet to 74 feet, covering 25 kilometres of the length. The JCB machines and other heavy machinery have been pressed into service to remove the sand that had accumulated on one side near village Ramsara during the cleaning of the drain in July. The sand is being used to fill the low-lying plots in the government schools, Panchayat Ghar and other complexes. In the next phase, digging has to be taken up hoping that the water that remains accumulated might dry up or would be drained out. Since a 115-feet wide belt had already been acquired for the drain, there was no need to acquire more land for the widening work, the officials said. The officials told Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal during his visit to village Wahabwala on September 27 that the Abulkhurana drain was constructed in the year 1997. Later, the Drainage Department submitted proposals to widen it in the year 2004 but none of the successive governments allotted funds. Now, unprecedented rains prompted the authorities to divert the accumulating water from the Lambi segment villages through Sarawan Bodla, Wahabwala and Pakki drains to this part of the Abohar sub-division. Since Abulkhurana drain was already running to its capacity, the inflow of water from the neighbouring segments resulted in breaches near village Khubban, Sardarpura and Rajanwali. The gushing black water damaged the crops, spread over 26,000 acres besides claiming three lives and washing away houses. Meanwhile, sources in the Revenue Department said Rs 49.50 crore has been released for distribution as compensation to the farmers/non-farmers affected by the floods/drain-water fury. As per a special girdawari conducted by the department, the farmers in the Balluana segment would be paid Rs 13 crore only against the damaged crops. Estimates regarding loss to orchards and immovable residential property are being worked out separately. The fact that disappoints the farming community further is that they would not be given any compensation against the losses suffered due to the hailstorm and heavy rain that had lashed the region in January-February, this year. A sum of Rs 32 crore had been assessed as loss in the last girdawari. Government functionaries had repeatedly confirmed it but no money was disbursed. Well-placed sources said the farmers would be entitled to get only the compensation assessed following the drain water fury recently. |
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Solid waste management project launched
Jalalabad, December 13 The garbage collected in the three districts would generate 2 MW of electricity and 56 tons of compost. This is a part of the Rs 700 crore project that was being laid throughout the state by dividing it in nine zones and covering all the major cities and towns. Sukhbir flagged off the garbage collection vehicles and said the problem has hit the basic civic infrastructure by choking channels or emanating a foul smell thereby creating unhygienic conditions. He said that to check the menace, the state government has launched the project that was the first of its kind in the country. The entire state was being covered to make the cities and towns totally garbage free. He said that the Ferozepur cluster project would take care of 18 cities and towns with 80 vehicles collecting around 280 tons of garbage per day. The garbage collected would be handled at a centre being set up in the Faridkot district. Under he project, 2 lakh households and a population of nine lakhs would be covered and it would provide employment to more than 500 people. The project has been undertaken by Jindal Ecopolis, a subsidiary of the world renowned Jindal Steels Company. Sukhbir said that 10 MW of electricity would be generated with the garbage and 250 tons of compost produced when the project becomes operational in 52 cities of the state by December 31. |
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Agitating guest faculty lecturers meet Dy CM
Gidderbaha, December 13 Harminder Singh, general secretary of the union, said, “We met the Deputy CM twice today, who has assured us of taking our demands into consideration soon.” However, he added that their agitation will continue, until the state government accepts their demands. “If the state government does not accept our demands by tomorrow evening, we will block all the roads leading to Gidderbaha and Lambi,” said Harminder. It may be mentioned here that three of the union members have been on fast-unto-death for the past six days, demanding jobs on an ad-hoc basis claiming that they were well-qualified and had been serving for a long period. Meanwhile, a government doctor also visited the protest site and diagnosed the health condition of those members of the union sitting on fast-unto-death. |
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New jail inaugurated in Mansa
Mansa, December 13 On the occasion, District and Sessions Judge HPS Mahal, IG (Jails) Jagjit Singh, chairman of District Planning Committee Sukhwinder Singh Aulakh, chairman of Zila Parishad Dilraj Singh and Superintendent of Mansa jail Jagir Singh were also present. Gabaria said six new modern jails had been constructed in the state so that congestion in the jails could be reduced. Besides, crores of rupees had also been provided for improvement in the old jails by the SAD-BJP government. At present, there were 26 jails in the state, he added. He also said that earlier, there was a capacity to accommodate 12,000 prisoners and undertrials in the jails of the state, but now with the construction of six new jails, it had increased to 19,500. He said the prisoners, belonging to Mansa district, were being shifted to this jail due to which their relatives would get relief in meeting them easily. Gabarria also inspected the jail and heard the problems of its inmates. He also directed the jail officials to initiate steps to redress their problems. He also appealed to the prisoners to improve their life while staying in the jail. On the occasion, he also announced the installation of a reverse osmosis (RO) plant, an STD booth and cable connection for the TV for the recreation of the jail inmates. |
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Five booked for embezzlement of funds
Ferozepur, December 13 As per information, Sukhwinder Kaur, sarpanch of the village Bholuwala, had lodged a complaint with the police apprehending misappropriation of funds by some former members of the management of the Gurudwara Kalgidhar Sahib. Acting on the complaint, the police found the alleged misappropriation of Rs 18 lakh, regarding which a case has been registered against five persons identified as Gurdev Singh, Amarjit Singh, Jarnail Singh, Amarjit Singh and Malkit Singh. However, no arrest has been made in this connection yet. |
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36 seek Congress tickets
Moga, December 13 A senior functionary in the party revealed that for the Moga constituency, besides, the sitting Congress MLA Joginder Pal Jain as many 9 other aspirants had applied for the party ticket. They include former MLA Vijay Sathi, youth leaders — Harjot Singh Kamal and Gursharanveer Singh ‘Paggy’, trade union leader advocate Vijay Dhir, local businessman Ramesh Kukku, veteran party leader Pandit Sham Lal, Vijay Kumar Sharma, Ashok Kalia and Inderjit Singh Bir Charik. Local observers say that Jain is facing a stiff competition from Sathi and Kamal who are also serious contenders for the party ticket. Sathi is close to CWC member Jagmeet Brar while Kamal is claiming the party ticket on youth quota. However, Jain has the advantage of being sitting MLA, besides, having got the lead of more than 9,000 votes in the last Lok Sabha elections. From Dharamkot, prominent aspirants are former minister and president of the Punjab Mahila Congress Dr Malti Thapar, Harpreet Singh Heero, Ravinder Garewal, advocate Vijay Dhir, former district president Dr Tara Singh Sandhu, Daler Singh, former minister Inderjit Singh Zira, Gurinder Singh, Baldev Khosa, Devinder Singh Bhullar, Manjit Singh Mann and a couple of others. Dr Thapar has the advantage of being a woman leader and is eying on women quota while Inderjit Singh Zira is close to PPCC president Captain Amarinder Singh, besides, Dr Sandhu and youth leader Manjit Mann as serious contenders. From Baghapurana, besides, the sitting Congress MLA Darshan Singh Brar among others who have applied for the party ticket are Amarjit Singh Brar, Amarnath Bansal, Bibi Jasveer Kaur, Gurbachan Singh Brar, Harjit Bhutto and few others. Brar is the strongest contender from here being the sitting MLA but has off late been indulged into controversies by his son Kamaljit Singh Brar who was recently booked by the police in two separate cases of looting, assaulting and attempt to murder in the ‘face-off’ in youth Congress elections. From the Nihal Singh Wala (reserved) constituency, the sitting independent MLA Ajit Singh Shant who joined the Congress soon after winning the elections is on the top of the list along with former district president Colonel Babu Singh (retired), Pritam Singh Bhatti, Jagseer Singh and couple of others. Local observers say that Ajit Shant and Colonel Babu Singh are serious contenders. |
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The Drainage Department has started the long-awaited work to widen the drains that had ravaged cotton, green fodder crops and kinnow orchards in 28 villages of the Balluana segment in the Abohar.
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today launched the Rs 67-crore Solid Waste Management Project of the Ferozepur cluster here to ensure total cleanliness in the districts of Ferozepur, Fazilka and
Faridkot.
Mansa, December 13
