B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

15 stray cattle run over by train
Mansa, February 5
As many as 15 stray cattle were run over by a goods train near Narinderpura village in the wee hours today. A herd of cattle gathered around the railway track where a bull got crushed under a train three days ago.

Vehicles stranded as fuel dealers go on strike
Fazilka, February 5
Following a call given by the District Petroleum Dealers Association, Fazilka, all the petrol pump dealers of the district observed a complete strike and kept their fuel station closed till afternoon. The dealers were protesting against the police inaction

Petrol and diesel filling centres remained closed in Abohar on Sunday. Photo: Raj Sadosh

Inadequate canal water supply may hit wheat production 
Abohar, February 5
Since the region had no major rainfall after the first week of September last, the cut enforced under the directions of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) recently might hit wheat production in the remote areas of Malwa region and the neighbouring twin districts of Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh.

Dharamshala inaugurated
Abohar, February 5
Junapeethadheswar Swami Avdheshan and Giri Ji Maharaj was joined by Haryana Pradesh Congress member Gobind Kanda in inaugurating a dharamshala at Salasar Balaji dhaam, located on Abohar-Hanumangarh-Sikar road today.

Zero mark in first phase of exam ‘not a hurdle’ to qualify for next level
Sriganganagar, February 5
The Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) has declared pass even those candidates who failed to obtain even one mark in the first phase of the examination for the posts of junior clerks.

 15 stray cattle run over by train
Cattle were hit by a goods train; second such incident in Mansa in the last one month 
Gurdeep Singh Mann
Tribune News Service

Mansa, February 5
As many as 15 stray cattle were run over by a goods train near Narinderpura village in the wee hours today. A herd of cattle gathered around the railway track where a bull got crushed under a train three days ago.

Carcasses of stary cattle that were hit by a goods train at Narinderpura village of Mansa district on Sunday. A Tribune photograph

Villagers said that the bull was hit by a speeding train and the villagers had buried the body of the animal adjacent to the railway track. Joginder, a resident of Narinderpura, said the cattle gathered around the place of the accident and were making noise in the wee hours.

A goods train passing through the railway line at around 4.30 am crushed the cattle.

The body parts of the cattle were littered all over the track up to many kilometres.

The villagers, while ruling out any foul play, said that a similar incident took place last month in Mansa where around 20 stray cattle died.

The farmers said the stray cattle also damaged their agricultural fields and demanded that the cattle should be shifted from the agricultural fields to gaushala so that such incidents do not recur again.

Mansa residents said that somebody offered green fodder to the stray cattle in Mansa last month and the cattle were run over by the speeding train.

The villagers said that they are planning to hold an akhand path (religious prayer) after the death of the cattle.

Surinder, a farmer of a village, said all the animals that were killed today were stray cattle.

The railway police authorities were informed about the incident. 

 Vehicles stranded as fuel dealers go on strike
Our Correspondent

Fazilka, February 5
Following a call given by the District Petroleum Dealers Association, Fazilka, all the petrol pump dealers of the district observed a complete strike and kept their fuel station closed till afternoon.

The dealers were protesting against the police inaction as the later failed to arrest the miscreants who had looted four petrol pumps during the past one week in the Fazilka and Jalalabad areas.

The robbers had looted thousands of rupees and mobile phone from the petrol pumps in village Chandmari, Mohan ke Hittar, Amir Khas and Jivan Arian of the Fazilka and Jalalabad areas.

The vehicle owners, particularly those plying on long routes, had a tough time as they could not get fuel for their vehicles.

The Fazilka police has been facing many problems these days as besides burglary and thefts at petrol pumps and in houses, traffic chaos, eve teasing have also added to their problems.

DSP Fazilka, Sukhdev Sing Brar had a meeting with the petroleum dealers association to persuade them to end their strike.

DSP Brar and the DSP Jalalabad, Harmeet Singh Deol, assured the dealers that the police was keen to deal with the miscreants with an iron hand and expressed the hope that the robbers would be arrested soon.

The dealers, meanwhile, have demanded that the police should increase vigil on the highway to check such incidents. They maintain that there is a sense of insecurity amongst the dealers. A representative of the association Sanjeev Doomra said that following an assurance from the police officials, they called off their strike after 3 pm. However, they warned that if such incidents continue in future, the dealers may proceed on an indefinite strike.

Abohar, February 5 Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on the way as all the petrol and diesel filling stations remained closed in the region on Sunday. District Petroleum Dealers Association president Sudesh Dhuria said the call for one-day strike was given to express resentment over the failure of the police in checking crime in Fazilka and Ferozepur districts. The miscreants had targeted a dozen petrol pumps last month when the police was busy with poll arrangements. The criminals, wielding firearms and sharp-edged weapons, looted the pumps and sped away comfortably. But the police did not bother to swing into action immediately upon getting calls. Such a situation had earlier emerged only during the turmoil of militancy. Broad daylight robberies and loot were committed during the last two days of January, he regretted. The Association might resolve to intensify the stir, he warned.—OC

 Inadequate canal water supply may hit wheat production 
Raj Sadosh

Abohar, February 5
Since the region had no major rainfall after the first week of September last, the cut enforced under the directions of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) recently might hit wheat production in the remote areas of Malwa region and the neighbouring twin districts of Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh.

A group of progressive farmers led by Rajasthan Kisan Sangharsh Samiti spokesperson Subhash Sehgal visited the Gang (Bikaner) canal in the sub-division to check whether there was pilferage in water supply.

Speaking to The Tribune in the evening here, they regretted that the BBMB had reduced the Gang canal share to 1300 cusecs against the sanctioned allocation of 2500 cusecs. The details obtained from the Rajasthan irrigation department clearly indicated that the twin districts had only once (in 2006) been given the due share since 2001.

Quoting the BBMB officials, he said 1628.08 feet of water was available at Bhakra Dam against its maximum capacity of 1680 feet. There was no genuine reason for enforcing cut on supply to headworks at Hari Ke that diverts 12,000 cusecs to Rajasthan and 8800 cusecs to the Punjab canal system.

Rajasthan Water Resources Department chief engineer SN Satsangi confirmed that the BBMB had fixed 1300 cusecs for Gang (Bikaner) canal, 9500 cusecs for Indira Gandhi canal and 1200 cusec for Bhakra canal system that feeds Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh areas.

Sehgal said Gang canal loses about 250 cusecs on the way in the Abohar-Ferozepur section before entering Sriganganagar district. Half of the water received by the farmers has been highly contaminated as the Punjab government had not been able to check the mixing of chemical waste and sullage in the main canal system. The reduced supply in the Abohar, Fazilka and Jalalabad areas through the Eastern canal and Malukpura distributaries is going to hit the prospects of bumper wheat crop as only two months were left for ripening.

The Samiti has urged the state governments in Punjab and Rajasthan to take due notice of the reduced water supply. 

  Dharamshala inaugurated

Abohar, February 5
Junapeethadheswar Swami Avdheshan and Giri Ji Maharaj was joined by Haryana Pradesh Congress member Gobind Kanda in inaugurating a dharamshala at Salasar Balaji dhaam, located on Abohar-Hanumangarh-Sikar road today.

Salasar is a religious place for the devotees of Lord Hanuman.

The new complex named as “Chameli Devi Aggarwal Seva Sadan” has been developed with a contribution of Rs 7 crore by the Indore based Aggarwal group who had their origin in Sirsa. — OC

 Zero mark in first phase of exam ‘not a hurdle’ to qualify for next level
Our Correspondent

Sriganganagar, February 5
The Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) has declared pass even those candidates who failed to obtain even one mark in the first phase of the examination for the posts of junior clerks.

As per the marks sheets issued by the RPSC to Sunil Kumar Tiwari (roll number 7159220 and Parmod Sharma (roll number 715978), they obtained zero mark in the exam conducted last year but have been declared eligible to appear in the phase-II exam. This has raised many eyebrows over the working of the RPSC.