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All eyes on Lambi, Patiala
Woman loses sight for objecting to spouse’s third marriage plan
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Side-stepped, it has been so far but not so good for Ferozepur
Mystery shrouds death of sparrows, pets
Missing RMP’s body found
Fazilka pins hopes on rail minister
Social activist honoured by NGOs
Murder case solved: Cops
Seminar on banking organised
1600 traffic challans in two months in Moga
Attempt to loot ATM failed
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All eyes on Lambi, Patiala
Bathinda, March 4 While Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is contesting the toughest assembly election of his political career in Lambi where his brother and cousin are pitched against him, the PPCC chief and the chief ministerial candidate of the Congress, Captain Amarinder Singh is looking for a hat-trick in the Patiala city segment after his brother Malwinder Singh split from him and joined the SAD. The election is crucial for Parkash Singh Badal as he has announced that he was contesting his last election this time. His estranged younger brother Gurdass Singh Badal who has contested on the PPP ticket and his cousin and Congress candidate Maheshinder Singh Badal have made the election spicy as it was a fight within the Badal family. The outcome in the Jalalabad and Gidderbaha segments is also keenly awaited as the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and his estranged cousin and chief of the Peoples Party of Punjab (PPP) Manpreet Singh Badal were respectively in the fray. Sukhbir has claimed that he was sure to win the Jalalabad seat and the contest this time was only to further increase the margin of “my” victory from the earlier by over 80,000 votes. Interestingly, among the 1078 candidates in the fray, Manpreet is the only one who has contested from two constituencies —Gidderbaha and Maur— although after floating the PPP, he was more than confident of winning his traditional seat of Gidderbaha that he had earlier bagged four times. The fate of Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, leader of the Congress party in the legislature, who had been aspiring to become Chief Minister, would also be decided in the Lehragaga segment where she won by a thin margin of 248 votes in the last election in 2007. Manpreet's PPP and the rebels are expected to play a spoilsport by playing the role of a double-edged sword in the Malwa region where the Congress had virtually swept the last assembly elections. The outcome of the Bathinda Urban seat is being seen as a trial of strength of the chief of the Dera Sacha Sauda, Gurmeet Ram Rahim, whose close relative and a sitting MLA Harminder Singh Jassi of the Congress is trying his luck for the third successive term. Sarup Singla of the ruling SAD has made the going tough for him although the Dera has a large number of followers here. The fate of the three bureaucrats, Darbara Singh Guru (Bhadaur), Amarjit Singh Sidhu (Talwandi Sabo) and former DGP PS Gill (Moga) is also being keenly awaited. Among other stalwarts, the transport minister Surjit Kumar Jyani of the BJP is also facing tough competition in Fazilka that was bestowed the status of a separate district because of his efforts shortly before the elections were announced. Chief parliamentary secretary Sukhpal Singh Nannu of the BJP also faced a tough contest in Ferozepur where the Congress rebel Ravinder Singh Sidhu flexed his muscles at the official candidate of the party Parminder Singh Pinki. The popularity of the former SAD stalwart Surjit Singh Barnala is at stake in the Dhuri segment where his son Gaganjit Singh Barnala is pitted against Arvind Khanna of the Congress. Congress stalwarts Sunil Jhakhar, Ripjit Singh Brar and Razia Sultana and SAD leader Prem Singh Chandumajra and irrigation minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon were among others whose result was being watched eagerly. |
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Woman loses sight for objecting to spouse’s third marriage plan
Faridkot, March 4 Ten days after the incident that took place in Zira town of Ferozepur district, 30-year-old Manjit Kaur has been shifted to the Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital in Faridkot where the doctors have examined her eyes and found them to be badly damaged and beyond recovery. In her statement recorded before the police, Manjit Kaur, the second wife of Jaswinder Singh, alleged that she was married to the accused about ten years back after he deserted his first wife. From his first marriage, Jaswinder Singh has a daughter while from his second marriage with Manjit Kaur, he has a two-year-old son. "For some time, my husband was putting pressure on me to allow him to marry a third time. Due to my protest, he kept beating my off and on," alleged Manjit Kaur in a statement to the police. "On the night of February 24, my husband offered me food laced with drugs. After eating that food, I fell unconscious and he used a chemical substance and poured it in my eyes using a dropper which caused severe burns and damaged both my eyes," alleged Manjit Kaur. "My brother and father took me to the Civil Hospital, Zira, but there was no improvement in my condition. So, I was shifted to the Faridkot medical college," she said. SP Singh, ophthalmologist at the medical college, said the examination of both eyes revealed that they were badly damaged. There was acute swelling and perforation in the eyes. "We are providing the best possible treatment to the patient," said the doctor. Sarbjit Singh, SHO, Zira, said a day after the incident took place, the police had recorded the statement of the victim after receiving a medico-legal report from Civil Hospital in Zira. "The police are waiting for the observation of the doctors and opinion about the cause of the injuries in the eye for taking necessary legal action in the case," he said. |
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Side-stepped, it has been so far but not so good for Ferozepur
Ferozepur, March 4 The previous rail budget present by Mamata Banerjee in Parliament on February 25 last year was no different as it too had brought nothing but disappointment not only for the people of Ferozepur, but the entire Malwa region. Even those projects which were sanctioned could not see the light of the day due to procedural wrangles. The ones which were started are moving at a snail's pace. The issue has caused immense resentment amongst the residents who blame it on the lack of initiative on the part of local politicians besides the apathetic attitude of the ministry concerned towards their genuine demands. Just as work on the Abohar and Fazilka rail link got stalled, work on the electrification of the Ferozepur-Bathinda track which was to begin two years back, is still in the doldrums. The proposal to install CCTV cameras besides making provision for modern passenger amenities at the Ferozepur railway station which was categorized as "A" class station is yet to materialise. Social worker Ashok Bajaj said the local residents have been demanding rail link between Ferozepur and Amritsar via Mahalam-Kehmkaran-Patti for which an additional 30 kms of rail track has to be laid. But the railways ministry has failed to give the nod for the same. Hoping that their demand will be considered in the coming rail budget, Bajaj said earlier, before independence, Ferozepur was connected to Amritsar via Kasur. However, after the partition of the country, this rail link was snapped. Repeated memorandums have been submitted to the ministry but all requests have fallen on deaf ears so far, Bajaj said. It is pertinent to mention that the railways even conducted a survey to restore rail connectivity between these two important border districts but things did not move beyond that. K C Sharma, a professor, said Ferozepur which is known as the land of martyrs besides being one of the biggest army cantonment, deserves much a better deal from the railways. He went on to add that the ministry should introduce more trains from this junction in the rail budget for better connectivity with other major cities including Delhi, Haridwar and Jaipur. |
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Mystery shrouds death of sparrows, pets
Abohar, March 4 Akhil Bhartiya Jeev Raksha Bishnoi Sabha president Ramesh Bishnoi along with the wildlife staff and activists including Ashok Bishnoi, Satpal, Kulwant Rai, Mehar Singh and Om Parkash of Dangarkhera village visited the orchard located within the periphery of village Kandhwala Amarkot, about ten kilometres from here in the evening. A progressive farmer Vipan Kumar and workers told a media team at the farms owned by Mani Ram that they witnessed pets dying at some distance. Within a few minutes, sparrows fell down and lay dead. White fluid was found emanating from the mouth of the pets. This happened around a kinnow plant. No insecticide was sprayed as this is the plucking season, farm workers explained. The visitors observed no foul smell also. The affected farmer and wildlife activists contacted in-charge of the Government Veterinary Hospital Dr Parminder Singh Danewalia. He said the postmortem would be conducted on Monday since no immediate cause could be ascertained. Three dead sparrows have been preserved for postmortem while the rest were buried in the evening. |
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Muktsar, March 4 The police said that Dr Tarsem Chhabra, a resident of Vinayak Colony on Maur road here, was missing since last month and a complaint was lodged by his family members in this regard. This morning, some passersby saw a body floating in the canal and informed the police which fished it out. After conducting a postmortem, the body was handed over to the bereaved family. A case of murder has been registered at the city police station in this regard. — TNS |
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Fazilka pins hopes on rail minister
Fazilka, March 4 A hefty sum of Rs 214.80 crore, about two and half times more than the initial cost of the project, has already been spent on the track. However, the railways are awaiting final inspection from the Commissioner, Railway Safety (CRS), Lucknow, since December 2010. At present, the track is lying defunct. The then Railway Minister Nitish Kumar had laid the foundation stone of the 42 kilometer long Fazilka-Abohar rail track on February 1, 2004 at the Fazilka railway station. The estimated cost of the project was Rs 84.44 crore and was scheduled to be completed by March 2007. However, the construction could start only on August 26, 2006 after about two and half years. The project, scheduled to be completed in two years, was completed in about seven years. This led to a cost escalation from Rs 84.44 crores to Rs 214.80 crore. As of now, all the four railway stations on this route have been constructed. The staff has been posted and trains running between Bathinda-Abohar-Fazilka were mentioned in the railway time-table in July 2011. But ever since, trains on this section have run only in the time-table. During the previous year's railway budget, the then Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced new trains on this "completed" track. This announcement too remained a hollow promise. “All the cut-off dates have lapsed but the CSR is yet to arrive to conduct the final inspection. The government has to suffer huge financial losses to the tune of several lakhs due to trains not being run on this completed track,” regretted Amar Lal Baghla, president of Northern Railway Passengers Samiti. He says the running of trains on the track shall offer a direct link between the Jammu region and Gujarat state when it becomes operational. "We are looking forward to the announcement of a new date in the coming railway budget to make the track operational for the convenience of the passengers for a comparatively economical journey," said Ashok Gulbadhar, president of Beopar Mandal, Fazilka. But it is still anybody's guess as to when the dream of the residents of the area would |
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Social activist honoured by NGOs
Abohar, March 4 Punjabi Sabhyachar Manch has organised the function in connection with the International Women’s Day on Sunday since March 8 will be a public holiday due to Holi festival, president Gurcharan Singh Gill explained. Dignitaries hailed the work of Jamuna
Devi.
Fazilka, March 4 But following subsequent enquiries on the request of Balwinder Kaur, the wife of Baljit Singh, it has come to light that a distantly related paternal uncle and his wife, in connivance with three other relatives, had allegedly murdered Bajit Singh as the later allegedly had illicit relations with Surjeeto Bai.
— OC
Seminar on banking organised
Ferozepur, March 4 Pushpinder Gill, professor and head, School of Management Studies, Punjabi University, Patiala read the keynote address. Vishal Kumar, convener of the seminar, said the first technical session was chaired by Kulbushan Chandel, reader, HP University, Shimla, and Puran Singh, associate professor, SCD Government College, Ludhiana.
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1600 traffic challans in two months in Moga
Moga, March 4 The union cabinet's approval to the amendments in the Motor Vehicle Act on Thursday has, however, brought a ray of hope for the cops who are of the view that the people would surely fall in line and obey traffic rules fearing high penalty and imprisonment. The district in-charge of the traffic police, inspector Pharshan Singh, said during the past two months this year, the traffic police issued 1600 challans in Moga town. Besides the district transport officer, cops posted at police stations outside the district headquarters and the highway patrolling, had also imposed penalty on more than 500 violators including the private bus operators. "We have tried our level best to regulate the traffic on the main square and on other main roads at the district headquarters, besides making the people aware about carrying full documents of the vehicles and the driving licence while driving and obey the traffic rules," he said. When asked about his reaction to the proposed amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act, Pharshan Singh said it would help in developing a sense of fear among the drivers and encourage compliance. Otherwise, they would have to pay a hefty fine for common violations like not using seatbelts, not wearing helmets on two-wheelers, signal jumping, drunken driving and driving without carrying the driving licence and registration papers of the vehicles. Adding that the proposed amendments with severe punishment could help bring about a change in the mindset of the people, he said, "It will definitely help people be more cautious and less complacent. The move should have come much earlier," he said. He said the traffic police had initiated a move to educate the people on traffic laws and held many workshops in the truck union and colleges in the town and at various other locations in the district so that more and more people become aware of the rules. Dwarka Bansal, president of the Citizens' Welfare Council of Moga, was of the view that strict implementation of traffic laws would help reduce traffic violations and reduce the accident rate. At the same time, he pointed out that a proper mechanism should also be evolved by the union or the state government to keep a check on traffic cops who by-and-large are being accused of taking bribe and allowing the violators to go scot-free. Meanwhile, investigations made by The Tribune revealed that the electronic equipment to check the speed of the vehicles available with the police in the district is lying defunct for the last couple of years. The facility to check drunken driving is available only with the cops engaged in highway patrolling and not the traffic police at the district headquarters and those posted at the police stations. |
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Attempt to loot ATM failed
Abohar, March 4 Notably, the ATM is located opposite the Sunbeam Hotel on the Sadar Thana road, a few meters away from the police complex that houses the city and rural police stations besides the residential quarters of cops. Sources said the police and bank officials, who watched the CCTV cameras, found that the miscreants entered the cabin at 2 am, pulled down the shutter, targeted the ATM with iron rods that they were carrying in a bag and smashed its upper portion within ten minutes. Unable to open the cash box, they decamped later. Bank officials said technical experts from New Delhi have left for Abohar and are expected to put the ATM in order by Monday evening. Intriguingly, this is the tenth attempt on ATMs in different parts of the sub- |
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Faridkot, March 4
