B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

 Liquor baron in fray in Faridkot
EC keeps an eye on ‘free flow ‘of liquor
Faridkot, December 28
Punjab is known for the high influence of liquor during the election process. But when the owner of many distilleries himself is contesting election on SAD (B) ticket , it is supposed to be happiest time for the tipplers but it is also putting extra burden on the Election Commission (EC).

Over 55 per cent booths in Moga sensitive, hypersensitive
Moga, December 28
The district police of Moga had identified more than 55 per cent of the total polling booths being set up in four Assembly constituencies of this district as sensitive and hypersensitive for the ensuing assembly elections scheduled for January 30, next year.

Man kills wife for asking him not to drink 
Moga, December 28
A liquor addict allegedly killed his wife after she asked him to stop drinking at Mehna village in Moga yesterday. Police sources revealed that Baljinder Singh murdered his wife Sarabjit Kaur by strangulating her. The accused has been taken into custody.

Candidates may not ‘fly high’
Moga, December 28
Candidates aspiring to contest the assembly elections in Punjab may not be able to ‘fly high’ in the hired aircraft and helicopters along with their party presidents or the star campaigners because part of the cost of air travel will be included in their poll expenses after the notification of  the elections.

Drain construction after poll schedule raises eyebrows
Abohar, December 28
Eyebrows have been raised over the construction of a carrier drain alongside Sarawan Bodla drain that finally culminates in the Abulkhurana drain passing through Abohar sub-division. Notably, surplus water from Sarawan Bodla, Wahabwala and Pakki drains located near Abohar-Malout road had been diverted to the Abulkhurana drain in September after heavy rain.

Rs 5 lakh unaccounted money seized in Mansa
Mansa, December 28
Mansa police today claimed to seize unaccounted Rs 5 lakh from a resident of Rajasthan during a special checking near Sardulgarh. The accused was carrying the money in a Scorpio bearing the registration number of Rajasthan.

Integrated agri-biz model for wasteland in the offing
Fazilka, December 28
The barren waste land owners are likely to get a boost as the Punjab Government (Punjab Agro Industries Corporation), Kirloskar Group and a local private firm (NASA Agro) have entered into an historic agreement to install a Rs 500 crore integrated agriculture business model for wasteland development in the Malwa region of Punjab.

 Liquor baron in fray in Faridkot
EC keeps an eye on ‘free flow ‘of liquor
Balwant Garg
Tribune News Service

Faridkot, December 28
Punjab is known for the high influence of liquor during the election process. But when the owner of many distilleries himself is contesting election on SAD (B) ticket , it is supposed to be happiest time for the tipplers but it is also putting extra burden on the Election Commission (EC).

The seizure of 35 cases of liquor two days back and penalising of a marriage palace today for stocking liquor in Faridkot is also a pointer to the impending unchecked flow of liquor during the elections in the area.

Deep Malhotra, a famous liquor baron and owner of many liquor distilleries, is the SAD candidate from the Faridkot constituency.

After the election code of conduct came into force, there is a complete ban on graffiti, pasting of posters and display of election hoardings. But in Faridkot constituency, where most of the liquor shop owners readily oblige Malhotra, most of the liquor shops had the big size SAD hoardings until these were removed today in the afternoon.

Apprehensive of the free flow of liquor in Faridkot, the EC is more attentive to the potential problem which in many cases might end up as a law and order problem.

At a meeting of all liquor shop owners in Faridkot yesterday, the district election officer (DEO) Ravi Bhagat directed that no consumer be given more than two liquor bottles. In case of bulk sale of liquor for a marriage or any other function, the liquor contractor is bound to maintain proper record and the district election office would be informed about it.

Alarmed over the growing influence of liquor in the election process, the EC has already directed district-level election officials and the police to strictly monitor the sale and distribution of liquor till polling is over, said the DEO.

Those who make bulk purchases for distribution as part of election campaign would be arrested and prosecuted. So, all liquor shop owners have to provide us the details of bulk sale, he said.

Avtar Singh Brar, sitting Congress MLA, said the trappings of a typical poll were already there in Faridkot when most liquor shop owners were a part of SAD campaigning and enticing the voters.

All these stern steps to check the free flow of liquor is not going down well with the liquor contractors.

As earlier, no bill is issued for the sale of liquor but with new directions, fearing action from the EC, all the liquor shops have to issue the bills.

 Over 55 per cent booths in Moga sensitive, hypersensitive
Kulwinder Sandhu
Tribune News Service

Moga, December 28
The district police of Moga had identified more than 55 per cent of the total polling booths being set up in four Assembly constituencies of this district as sensitive and hypersensitive for the ensuing assembly elections scheduled for January 30, next year.

A total number of 685 booths were being set up in the district, out of which, 205 had been identified as sensitive and 173 as hypersensitive.

In the Moga constituency, out of 180 polling booths, 77 had been identified as sensitive and 36 as hypersensitive. In the Dharamkot constituency, out of 171 polling booths, 48 had been identified as sensitive and 45 as hypersensitive.

The election commission had already declared both Moga and Dharamkot constituencies as sensitive anticipating the use of muscle and money power by the former DGP Paramdeep Singh Gill who is contesting from Moga and Akali stalwart Jathedar Tota Singh who is contesting from the nearby Dharamkot constituency.

The sitting Congress MLA of Moga Joginder Pal Jain, if re-nominated from this seat by the party, is also likely to be under the scanner of the EC keeping in view his shady past.

In the Baghapurana constituency, out of the total of 154 polling booths, ten booths had been identified as sensitive and 57 as hypersensitive from where the sitting Congress MLA Darshan Singh Brar known as a heavyweight candidate, is likely to contest the elections.

His son Kamaljit Singh Brar was recently entangled in controversies in the recently held youth Congress elections, in which, two separate criminal cases of attempt to murder and looting/assaulting were registered against him. The locals fear that the Brar family may use muscle power in the assembly elections also.

In the Nihalsinghwala (reserve) constituency, out of 180 polling booths, 70 had been identified as sensitive and 35 as hypersensitive but there appears to be no threat to law and order as of now, said a senior police official.

 Man kills wife for asking him not to drink 

Moga, December 28
A liquor addict allegedly killed his wife after she asked him to stop drinking at Mehna village in Moga yesterday. Police sources revealed that Baljinder Singh murdered his wife Sarabjit Kaur by strangulating her. The accused has been taken into custody.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused, a three-wheeler driver, is an alcoholic and his wife often used to argue with him over his drinking habit.

Yesterday, when she asked him not to drink, he allegedly strangulated her to death. She was married ten years ago.

The deceased is survived by two children, both school- going boys.

The post-mortem examination of the body was conducted at the district hospital in Moga after which it was handed over to the family members for cremation. — TNS

 Candidates may not ‘fly high’
Kulwinder Sandhu
Tribune News Service

Moga, December 28
Candidates aspiring to contest the assembly elections in Punjab may not be able to ‘fly high’ in the hired aircraft and helicopters along with their party presidents or the star campaigners because part of the cost of air travel will be included in their poll expenses after the notification of 
the elections.

In the run-up to the polls, the Chief Minister of Punjab Parkash Singh Badal, his son Deputy Chief Minister and SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal and former CM and President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) Captain Amarinder Singh have become ‘habituated’ to using helicopters along with their legislators to attend public rallies.

Apart from them, the CM of UP, Mayawati, whose party BSP is contesting the elections in Punjab, is also likely to use aircraft/helicopter, desides the CMs of other states and leaders of most of the political parties during campaigning in the elections.

Keeping in view the growing trend of using aircraft/helicopters in the elections for quick mobility by the politicians, the Election Commission (EC) has issued instructions for assembly elections in Punjab, UP, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa making it mandatory for the star campaigners/party leaders either directly or through the party to intimate in writing to the EC through the Chief Electoral Officer within seven days of the notification of election on the use of aircraft/helicopters.

Otherwise, the travel expenses would be added to the respective candidate's expenditure where he/she goes for campaigning.

If the candidate, any of his representative, a family member or any other leader of the political party share air transport facility with the party leader/star campaigner, then 50 per cent of the expenditure for hiring such facility, would be included in the respective candidate's election account.

If more than one candidate shares the facilities, then 50 per cent of the travel expenditure would be apportioned among such candidates.

The EC in its instructions has also clarified that if a star campaigner of another political party or a party in alliance with the party of the candidate, attends the rally and seek votes for that particular candidate or shares the dais with the candidate, then the travel expense of that campaigner of allied party up to the constituency would not be exempted and added to the expenditure accounts of such candidates.

However, these instructions would not apply if an attendant, security guard or medical attendant travels with the star campaigner and expenditure incurred on them would not be included in the candidate's expenditure, provided such personal staff do not play any role in the campaign.

Further, the expenses made for the representatives of the electronic and print media accompanying the star campaigner for election reporting would also not be exempted from election expenditure accounts.

It may be mentioned that private helicopters charge Rs one lakh to 
Rs 1.75 lakh per hour and the expenditure limit of candidates is Rs 16 lakh in the polls, which means that the candidates would not be practically able to ‘fly high’ to keep their poll expenditure within the prescribed limit. 

 Drain construction after poll schedule raises eyebrows
Raj Sadosh

Abohar, December 28
Eyebrows have been raised over the construction of a carrier drain alongside Sarawan Bodla drain that finally culminates in the Abulkhurana drain passing through Abohar sub-division. Notably, surplus water from Sarawan Bodla, Wahabwala and Pakki drains located near Abohar-Malout road had been diverted to the Abulkhurana drain in September after heavy rain.

The issue was also raised in a petition filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court by Dharamveer, a former member of Zila Parishad and an electorate of Balluana segment.

The state government has not been able to expedite distribution of compensation amounting Rs 14.81 crore before the EC announced the poll 
schedule.

Senior officials asserted that the project with a budgeted cost of Rs one crore had been sanctioned earlier and the state government had released the first installment of Rs 20 lakh well before the Election Commission announced poll schedule for the Vidhan Sabha.

However, a media team found that the work has just been started by using one JCB machine and two trucks.

Drainage Department Executive Engineers Daljit Singh and Rajinder Singh sought to explain that the tender processing had been completed three days back. So, the work does not come under the preview of violation of the election code of conduct.

The junior officials monitoring the work at Burji number 498/5 of the Sarawan Bodla Link drain remained tightlipped when confronted by the media team but were quick enough to inform the top brass over the cell phone about the unexpected presence of media persons besides some farmers.

Engineers in the Drainage Department explained that the new carrier drain would be utilised to divert the surplus water from waterlogged villages into the makeshift drain since diversion of water in the past had ravaged about 28 villages falling under the Balluana segment.

Scores of pumps had to be used for 56 days to drain out the water from the affected villages.

The expenses amount to Rs 20 lakh incurred on draining out were yet to be reimbursed by the state government.

The Drainage Department had, however, received funds for the widening of the Abulkhurana drain last month and hopes to complete the work by February next year, the officials said. 

 Rs 5 lakh unaccounted money seized in Mansa
Gurdeep Singh Mann/TNS

Mansa, December 28
Mansa police today claimed to seize unaccounted Rs 5 lakh from a resident of Rajasthan during a special checking near Sardulgarh. The accused was carrying the money in a Scorpio bearing the registration number of Rajasthan.

The naka was headed by DSP Satnam Singh who immediately informed the Jhunir Tehsildar and other senior income tax officials who too arrived to inquire into the 
matter. The vehicle was coming from the Haryana side and it tried to evade a police naka laid near Jhanda Kalan but its path was blocked by the police force present.

Mansa SSP Pardeep Kumar Yadav said that the case was detected by the police but it has now been handed over to the income tax authorities who are inquiring into the matter. The money has been confiscated with the help of police as per the guidelines by the election commission, he said. The SSP pointed out that no case has been registered in this regard and no formal arrest has been made.

Income tax authorities counted the money in the presence of the police officials, tehsildar and the accused. The man rounded up by the police has been identified as Pappu Ram of Banusar village in Alwar district of Rajasthan.

SSP Yadav said that people have been told not to carry unaccounted money or jewelry as strict guidelines have been issued to immediately seize the money or jewellery. He said people are supposed to carry documents pertaining to the cash (more than Rs 1 lakh) and jewellery.

He said that the flying squads also keep a close watch on the movement of political leaders in their respective Vidhan Sabha constituencies. 

 Integrated agri-biz model for wasteland in the offing
Praful Chander Nagpal

Fazilka, December 28
The barren waste land owners are likely to get a boost as the Punjab Government (Punjab Agro Industries Corporation), Kirloskar Group and a local private firm (NASA Agro) have entered into an historic agreement to install a Rs 500 crore integrated agriculture business model for wasteland development in the Malwa region of Punjab.

In the project, being installed as Sampuran Agri Venture in village Penchanwali in the Fazilka sub-division, bio-fertilizer shall be produced which would change the barren land into a fertile one. The company shall install a water treatment plant which would make brackish seepage water fit for agriculture purposes.

The Agri Venture shall also install a one MW power generation plant and would make the use of power for running the project. The project would be set up in about 90 acres of land.

"About 3 lakh acres of land has been adversely affected by the brackish water of the seepage drains which terminate at a point between the villages of Chananawala and Sivana of Fazilka sub-division. The most affected villages are Sivana, Kerian, Ramkot and Chananwala and others where the fertile land is turning into barren," claimed Sanjeev Nagpal, Managing Director of NASA Agro. Nagpal said the salt content in the brackish water is alarmingly high and has been ruining the land.

The tripartite agreement was inked in presence of Chief Secretary of Punjab SC Aggarwal, Managing Director Punjab Agro Sanjay Kumar, CMD Kirloskar Group Atul Kirloskar, Chairman Punjab Farmers Commission GS Kalkat, Chairperson CII Punjab Council Kamna Raj Aggarwal, Directors of NASA Agro Sanjeev Nagpal and Sameer Nagpal on December 23 this year.

The project is a major success to revive the Malwa belt which is reeling under innumerable socio-economic problems with its depleted resources, vanishing cultivable land, alkaline soil and un-potable brackish water that is endangering the lives and health of the residents.

"Kirloskar Group under the leadership of Atul Kirloskar, Chairman cum Managing Director, has developed paddy-straw based biogas plant specifically for this region with forward integration to use brackish water for biogas digesters,” informed Nagpal.