B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Tension prevails outside Muktsar admn complex
Muktsar, March 31
Tension prevailed for almost three hours outside the District Administrative Complex (DAC) here today, when the activists belonging to various labourer and tractor-trolley operator unions pelted stones at a police vehicle alleging that they were not being allowed to take part in the allotment process of the tender for the labour and transportation work for the supply of foodgrain (wheat and rice) for the financial year 2012-13.

Illegally confined in jail, Mann tells visiting HC judge
Bathinda, March 31
The SAD (A) chief Simranjit Singh Mann has written to the visiting High Court judge to the Bathinda Central Jail alleging that he had been illegally confined along with his three party workers.

Tipplers delighted as liquor prices fall
Faridkot, March 31
For the last three days, it was raining booze in this part of Punjab but Saturday was the climax for the tipplers who got to savour their liquor at a much lower price.

Technical snag halts computer network
Abohar, March 31
Hundreds of persons, most of them government staff, vying for more savings to meet the provisions of income-tax suffered as the computer network at the old mandi post office located on the south circular road here failed to work on Friday here.

Tension prevails outside Muktsar admn complex
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, March 31
Tension prevailed for almost three hours outside the District Administrative Complex (DAC) here today, when the activists belonging to various labourer and tractor-trolley operator unions pelted stones at a police vehicle alleging that they were not being allowed to take part in the allotment process of the tender for the labour and transportation work for the supply of foodgrain (wheat and rice) for the financial year 2012-13.

A police bus was damaged in the incident while two cops and a labourer sustained injuries during the incident.

The violence erupted at about 12 pm when the activists of the unions were lodging protest on the road leading to the DAC saying they had come to buy the forms to file the tender on the last day today, but were "rejected" by the authorities concerned.

Finding that no senior administrative official came to listen to their demands for a long time, the angry mob reportedly pelted stones at a police vehicle ferrying seven undertrials from the local court complex to the sub-jail.

However, the protesters alleged that they tried to stop the vehicle but the driver did not apply the brakes and the vehicle ran over the leg of an activist, Gurpreet Singh. It made the mob furious and they pelted stones at the vehicle.

The injured cops were identified as driver Lakhwinder Singh and constable Jagsir Singh. They were immediately rushed to the local Civil Hospital for treatment.

A huge posse of police was also deployed there which converted the DAC into a fortress. The officials deployed at the entrance of the DAC also locked it from the inside, so that no protester could enter the complex and cause any disturbance in the sale of forms.

Meanwhile, Karanbir Singh Brar, son of local Congress MLA Karan Kaur Brar, reached the DAC, and alleged that the district administration was "supporting" the Akalis.

“Only the Akalis are getting the forms and genuine applicants, who actually do the work of loading, unloading and transportation of grains, are not even being allowed to enter the DAC to buy the forms,” alleged Karanbir, while pointing towards the kith and kin of some senior Akali leaders present inside the DAC.

On the other hand, Kaushal Rao Singla, District Food Supply Controller, Muktsar, said, "The sale of forms was done in a free and fair manner and the allegations levelled by the Congress legislator's son as well as the labourers are totally false."

"We had invited everyone to buy the forms for the 111 purchase centres in the district and a total of 285 forms were sold," he added.

Giving further details, Singla said it was the last day to buy the forms and the department would accept the filled up forms till April 2 and the allotment would be done on April 4 to those who would quote the lowest price.

Later, some of the protesters got the forms. However, the situation remained similar, as the labourers remained present outside the DAC for a long time.

SSP Muktsar, Indermohan Singh, when contacted, said, "A case under various sections of the IPC including 323 and 341 and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act has been registered against nearly 25 persons and six of them have been identified."

However, no arrest was made till the filing of this report.

Illegally confined in jail, Mann tells visiting HC judge
Says his detention is not legal
Megha Mann
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, March 31
The SAD (A) chief Simranjit Singh Mann has written to the visiting High Court judge to the Bathinda Central Jail alleging that he had been illegally confined along with his three party workers.

In the letter, which was circulated in the media today, Mann has stated that he was detained with his three supporters, namely, Gurjant Singh Kattu, Jaskaran Singh Kahan Singh Wala and Bahadur Singh on March 28.

He alleged that all the four have been detained and lodged at Bathinda Central Jail without 
any reason.

“Under Article 21 of the Indian constitution, we have the right to engage a lawyer of our choice. We should have been produced in an open court before the magistrate and the magistrate should have heard our plea before sentencing us to imprisonment, which was not done,” the letter states.

On March 29, all the four were granted bail, but before they could leave the jail premises, they were again arrested as per the orders of the government.

Mann has demanded that the district authorities be held accountable for violating law and the constitution.

Tipplers delighted as liquor prices fall
Balwant Garg/TNS

Faridkot, March 31
For the last three days, it was raining booze in this part of Punjab but Saturday was the climax for the tipplers who got to savour their liquor at a much lower price.

On Saturday, in the southern western region of Punjab and the border area of Haryana, the rate of liquor and milk was almost same. While a bottle of 750 ml country-made liquor (desi) was being sold for Rs 30-Rs 35, the rate of one litre of milk was Rs 30-Rs 32.

“So, the old dictum that the river of milk flows in Punjab and Haryana has a rival in the modern day maxim that liquor is cheaper than milk and easily available at every nook and corner,” said Balwinder Singh, the owner of a dairy in Deep Singh Wala village in Faridkot.

This was thanks to the expiry of contract for the liquor vends on March 31. The liquor prices were slashed by Rs 50 per bottle this week, but on Saturday, the rates dipped further to Rs 30-Rs 35 as the liquor shops were desperate to finish their stock as they had already paid the licence (excise) fee on this stock of liquor to the state government.

As liquor contractors can not carry forward their quota to the next fiscal, so they have to finish it, and that too, at any rate, said a liquor shop licensee in Faridkot.

More over, the liquor contractors who failed to get the allotment of liquor shops for the financial year 2012-13, are anxious to finish their stock before the midnight of March 31. Otherwise, their unsold stock would be of no value and it needs to be surrendered to the excise department.

So, all the contractors want to finish their stock and to woo tipplers, at some places, they even put up big hoardings to attract customers with highly subsidised liquor.

And the Bacchus lovers don't want to miss this opportunity. Besides gulping down the brew beyond their capacity, they purchased huge stocks of liquor at the slashed prices to meet their consumption needs in the days ahead.

“This is the reason why in the first week of the new fiscal, the sale of liquor is minimum as most tipplers already have enough stock to meet their demands,” said a liquor contractor in Kotkapura.

A senior official in the excise and taxation department said the sudden fall in the price of liquor is due to the desperation of the liquor contractors to finish their stock. This practice has been going on for the last many years, he said.

Technical snag halts computer network
Our Correspondent

Abohar, March 31
Hundreds of persons, most of them government staff, vying for more savings to meet the provisions of income-tax suffered as the computer network at the old mandi post office located on the south circular road here failed to work on Friday here.

The heads of the government schools too faced problems in financial transactions as the Director General, School Education, informed them through the website, vide a letter on March 28 that Rs 828 lakh has been received under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA). The heads were directed to rush to their respective district headquarter immediately to draw money from the State Bank of India.