The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Allotment of liquor vends More vends to come up in Bathinda MC limits The increase is aimed at fetching additional Rs 23 crores Megha Mann Tribune News Service Bathinda, March 27 To fetch an additional Rs 23 crores from Bathinda, the density of liquor vends within the municipal limits has been increased. Vends located within the MC limits alone would fetch Rs 43 crores, which is 35 per cent of the total target revenue. “Though we have increased the number of vends in the villages too, but prime impetus is on vends within the municipal limits of the civic bodies of Bathinda city, Rampura, Maur, Goniana, Raman, Bhucho, Sangat Mandi and Kotfatta,” said the excise officials. Keeping in sync with the state liquor policy, the revenue target has been increased from Rs 114 crores last year to Rs 137.83 crores this year, while the number of liquor vends has been increased to 521. There would now be 394 country liquor vends and 127 Indian Manufactured Foreign Liquor (IMFL) vends. Fifty-eight new vends have been added this year. The zone with municipal corporation Bathinda alone has 120 vends - a number that stands at 122 for the urban zone (comprising all local bodies expect Bathinda) and 279 for the rural zone that comprises all the villages spread across the city. In many a villages, there would be more than two vends from now on. "The Bacchus lovers would now have even better times ahead. Liquor would be available at each and every joint and even in the villages where potable drinking water supply is yet to reach," a local resident pointed out. Villages with two vends include Chowke, Jagaram Tirath, Seikhpura, Ghudda, Jaisingh Wala, Kanakwal, Balluana, Kotha Guru, Gumti Kalan, Pathrala, Chack Kharak Singh Wala, Gehri Bhagi, Gurusar Sainiwala and others. Villages like Bhagiwander, Lehra Mohabbat, Ramsra, Bhai Rupa and Natheha have two or three vends while the ancestral village of Congress chief Captain Amrinder Singh village Mehraj has four vends. But against these increases, the district has registered a dip in the number of applicants. Last year, the department received 2500 applications, which has been reduced to a mere 1100 this year. "Around 50 groups have applied for the open auction," said AETC Pawan Garg. ETO Surinder Pal Pahuja pointed that this was largely due to the fact that owing a vend has become expensive now. "There has been 22 per cent increase in the cost. So, only the major players could apply," added Pahuja, who is the nodal officer for the open auction to be held at Jeet Palace on March 28.
	No application for Gidderbaha Archit Watts/TNS Muktsar, March 27 Even as the excise and taxation department had invited applications before March 26 for the draw of lots to allot liquor vends on March 28, no application has been received for liquor vends in Gidderbaha circle. The circle, which consists of Gidderbaha town and three villages Daula, Peori and Husnar, has 15 liquor vends including PML and IMFL. In Gidderbaha town, there are six liquor vends of PML and six of IMFL, while each village consists of one PML vend. Officials in the excise and taxation department told The Tribune that they had invited the applications till March 26, but not even a single applicant wanted to participate in the draw of lots to get the vend in Gidderbaha. When contacted, GS Tiwana, Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Muktsar, said, "So far, we have not received any application for Gidderbaha, but nearly 1,750 applications have come for the entire district." "We have now made two groups and have invited fresh applications for Gidderbaha. If the applications come before the allotment of draw, then it is fine. Otherwise, the department will repeat the process and a fresh date of allotment of vends will be announced." On the other hand, Ramesh, a liquor contractor in Gidderbaha, said, "The department has increased the licensing fee and a few taxes have also been imposed on us. So, we are unable to do business and did not move any application to participate in the draw of lots." He added that last year, the department had collected licence fee of about Rs 6.36 crore, which had been increased to Rs 7 crore for the town and Rs one crore for the villages. It may be mentioned that the department, this year, increased the total number of liquor vends in the district from 273 to 290. The quota to sell liquor, both PML and IMFL, has also been increased by nearly 10 per cent. Similarly, the licensing fee has also gone up by almost Rs 13.37 crores. In the current financial year 2011-12, the licensing fee was Rs 65.38 crore, which has gone up to Rs 78.75 crore for the year 2012-13. It means nearly 20 per cent more than last year.
	Security beefed up in Fazilka in view of bandh Our Correspondent Fazilka, March 27 “All the entry points in the three towns of the district including Fazilka, Abohar and Jalalabad have been sealed by laying 25 nakas (barriers) at different places. As many as 520 police personnel have been deployed at the nakas, railway stations, bus stands and other vital installations,” informed Fazilka SSP Ashok Baath while talking to The Tribune. Keeping in view the sensitivity of the occasion on Wednesday when different organizations have called for observing a strike to protest against the orders of hanging of former Chief Minister Beant Singh's assassin, Balwant Singh Rajoana, the police have made elaborate security arrangements. “The SHOs and additional SHOs would keep a vigil on link roads and highways round-the-clock as police patrolling have been intensified,” added the SSP. Police have geared up to maintain law and order by carrying out a flag march in the town today. The flag march was led by SP (H), Fazilka, Balbir Singh. Hundreds of police officials moved on dozens of vehicles during the flag march. "The basic objective behind the march was to instill confidence among the citizens and to give a message to all the communities and sections that no one would be allowed to disturb law and order as the machinery was prepared to foil any bid to create disturbance," maintained the SSP SP (H) at Fazilka, Balbir Singh, and SP Abohar, Varinder Brar, have been made nodal officers for Fazilka, Jalalabad and Abohar, Balluana segments, respectively.
	World Theatre Day celebrated Our Correspondent Abohar, March 27 The Sparsh theatre society has added another feather to its cap by staging a full comedy play “Jinney Jhalley Mere Palley” at Kala Bhawan in the state capital Chandigarh, said Colonel Dilbagh Singh while felicitating the artistes on World Theatre Day here. The play, directed by Prof Gaurav Vij of DAV College, recipient of the Best Actor award from Sangeet Natak Akademi, was recently staged before an august gathering of personalities connected with the film and theatre world during the Basant Festival. The comic tragedy, authored by eminent dramatist, Suhail Ahmad of Pakistan, was earlier staged twice at Abohar and later at Fazilka, Sirsa and Amritsar. At a philosophical mid-way, a dramatic twist, as subtle as it was lent by Oscar Wilde himself, bared the pathos lying under the sheets of comical content. Each one put in a larger than life share of performance and by the time, the play had crossed the twist. Director Gaurav Vij played the key role, Sonu Babbar, Anshuman Gandhi, Ruby Sharma, Ashish Makkar, Sahil Wadhwa, Shalu Dawra, Tushar Narang, Neeraj Sachdeva and Ajay also displayed their talent. Meanwhile, in neighbouring Sriganganagar, the Rashtriya Kala Mandir organised a function on World Theatre Day at Ramjas Kala Sadan.
	Dalit NRI commits suicide after killing his wife Kulwinder Sandhu Tribune News Service Moga, March 27 A Dalit NRI has allegedly committed suicide after killing his wife after being suspicious over her extra-marital relations at Himmatpura village in the Nihalsinghwala sub-division of Moga district. Police sources revealed here on Tuesday that an NRI, Atma Singh (65), chopped-off the head of his wife Guddi Kaur (60) with a sharp-edged weapon on Monday evening. After killing his wife, the husband consumed a poisonous substance to end his own life. He was rushed to a private hospital in a critical condition but died while undergoing treatment in the wee hours, on Tuesday. The post-mortem of the bodies of the husband and wife was conducted in the district hospital, here today. Earlier, the police had registered a criminal case of murder against Atma Singh on the charge of killing his wife while inquest proceedings under section 174 CrPC had been initiated into the suicide. The elder son of the couple, Joginder Singh, in a statement recorded before the police, alleged that his father did not have good relations with his mother. He stated that his father had returned from Dubai only a few months back and was suspicious that she had extra-marital relations with a local man belonging to an upper caste. Last evening, when Guddi Kaur went to the fields to fetch green fodder for the cattle, Atma Singh went after her and killed her with a sharp-edged weapon leaving her dead on the spot.
	Student held for running away with answer sheets Moga, March 27 A student of class-X was arrested after he tried to run away with the question paper and answer sheets during the Board Examinations at the Sita Ram Senior Secondary School at Fatehgarh Panchtoor village in the Dharamkot sub-division in the district today. As per the police, Jatinder Singh, a resident of the nearby Makhu block of Ferozepur district, tried to run away with his answer sheets after the examination was over. But he was chased and caught by the supervisory staff and later handed over to the police. Adding that the question papers and the answer sheets had been recovered from his possession, a police official said a criminal case had been registered against him on the complaint of Sharanjit Kaur, the superintendent of examinations. He would be produced before a local court on Wednesday. — TNS