The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Bathinda prepares for PM’s visit SP Sharma/TNS Ramsara (Bathinda), April 25 It will be a special day for the Malwa region on Saturday when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will formally inaugurate the Rs 20,000-crore Guru Gobind Singh Refinery (GGSR) here. More than 300 labourers are working round-the-clock to meet the deadline of constructing a helipad and fire and waterproof hangars to accommodate about 15,000 invitees for the occasion. Material for these hangars has been brought from Delhi by a Mumbai-based company that has been awarded the job. The inaugural ceremony will be attended by several dignitaries, including Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil, Union Petroleum Minister Jaipal Reddy and Union Ministers Ambika Soni, RPM Singh, Ashwani Kumar, Preneet Kaur and top officers of the petroleum ministry. Besides, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Harsimrat Kaur Badal would also be present. Steel tycoon Laxmi Narayan Mittal will receive the dignitaries. Rahul Kalra, who is handling the preparations, said tomorrow was the deadline for completing the work of the inaugural ceremony. Three hangars of 100 m x 150 m were being erected. Several JCBs and road-rollers were engaged in levelling sand dunes and constructing a helipad for three helicopters of the PM's entourage. A road was also being constructed towards the venue of the inaugural ceremony. Sukhchain Singh Gill, SSP, said elaborate security arrangements had been made for the ceremony. About 2,000 policemen from Bathinda, Mansa, Fazilka, Faridkot and Ferozepur districts would be deployed. A joint venture of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Mittal Energy Investment Pvt. Ltd, the refinery has already begun trial run to produce various petroleum products. The foundation stone of the refinery was initially laid by the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on November 13, 1998. However, the project remained in limbo till July 2007, when Parkash Singh Badal after returning to power took an initiative and roped in Laxmi Narayan Mittal in the joint venture with a stake of 49 per cent. HPCL has an equal share and the remaining 2 per cent stake is held by various financial institutions. Moiz Tankiwala, chief operating officer, said the Nelson Complexity Index that indicated the value addition potential of a refinery, among other things, was the highest for this project amongst all refineries in the country. It is expected to generate a sizable number of jobs directly and indirectly, besides a source of assured supply of petroleum products in Punjab and the North India. A study has indicated growth in the state GDP in the range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 crore, if the associated downstream industry comes up. A 1,017-km-long pipeline to flow in crude oil from Mundra in Gujarat has been laid. A 14-km stretch of the pipeline is under the sea. Besides LPG, petrol and diesel, the refinery will also produce value-added products like polypropylene, food-grade hexane, solvents, nathpa and aviation fuel. INAUGURATION ON APRIL 28 More than 300 labourers are working round-the-clock to construct a helipad and fire/waterproof hangars to accommodate about 15,000 invitees for the occasion Several JCBs and road-rollers are engaged in levelling sand dunes near the venue. A road is also being constructed towards the ceremony venue About 2,000 policemen from Bathinda, Mansa, Fazilka, Faridkot and Ferozepur districts will be deployed Refinery at a glance A joint venture of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Mittal Energy Investment Pvt. Ltd Mittal and HPCL has a stake of 49 per cent each and the remaining 2 per cent stake is held by various financial institutions Besides LPG, petrol and diesel, the refinery will also produce value-added products like polypropylene, food-grade hexane, solvents, nathpa and aviation fuel A study has indicated growth in the state GDP in the range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 crore, if the associated downstream industry comes up The Nelson Complexity Index that indicated the value addition potential of a refinery, among other things, was the highest for this project amongst all refineries in the country
	Bad timing: Engg test is on April 29 Officials, students scramble for hotel rooms Megha Mann Tribune News Service Bathinda, April 25 The district is set to witness two major events this weekend. While on April 28, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate Guru Gobind Singh Refinery near Ramsara, on April 29, the district will play host to candidates across the state for the All-India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE). Bathinda is the only offline centre for the exam in Punjab while Chandigarh is the only online centre. With these two major events scheduled one after the other, city hotels are seeing a surge in bookings for rooms. Already more than 150 hotel rooms across the city have been booked for guests attending the refinery inauguration. Besides hotels, the district administration has also booked rooms at the Circuit House, Thermal Colony guesthouse, Giani Zail Singh Engineering College's guesthouse and Canal guesthouse. Bungalows at the refinery colony are also being given finishing touches to host VVIPs and HPCL and HMEL officials. "Ever since the refinery inauguration date was announced, we are seeing a considerable rise in our business," said a hotel owner. On the other hand, AIEEE aspirants are also getting hotel rooms booked. Their bookings had started two weeks ago. Satish Arora, president, Bathinda Hotels, Restaurants and Resorts Association, said the hotels were trying to adjust both, students as well as refinery guests. "For students, we are lending rooms to groups of two to three students. For this, we have added extra beds in the rooms," he added. The hoteliers, however, are preferring refinery guests as there is no bargain for the room rent. "For refinery guests, rooms are being booked in bulk, and hence there is no downsizing of the room rent," said a hotel owner.
	Moga teacher shootout case Victim alleges police inaction Kulwinder Sandhu Tribune News Service Moga, April 25 Harpreet Kaur (35), a computer teacher working in a government school at Raonta village in the district who was shot at by unknown assailants, has alleged that even two months after the incident, the Moga police has failed to identify and arrest the offenders. An FIR under Sections 307 and 120-B of the IPC and 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act was registered against her NRI husband Gurajit Singh and five other unknown persons. Gurajit is presently settled in Canada. Harpreet had alleged that her husband tried to eliminate her by hiring local contract killers. At present, she is rceiving medical treatment at the DMCH, Ludhiana, and needs support to walk. The left side of her jaw is swollen and her nose has been disfigured due to the attack. She told TNS that the Moga police had failed to arrest the persons who attacked her. “Having limited options of mobility, I am left with no option but to bear the humiliation of the attack and the denial of justice,” said the aggrieved teacher. It was on February 27 that Harpreet was attacked by some unidentified and armed persons who fired shots at her when she was returning home on a car from Raonta village (Moga) to Ludhiana after the school hours. She said before attacking her, the assailants came close to her car window and said her husband Gurajit had sent them. But before she could talk to them, they fired shots at her. This was the reason why she named her husband in her complaint and on the basis of which the police registered a criminal case against him. “After the attack, my husband has been calling me regularly and telling me that he did not hire the contract killers to eliminate me and that it could be the handiwork of Gurdeep Singh, his first cousin, or his uncle Ajaib Singh, who wants to grab the property that my husband owns in his village,” she said. Adding that the Moga police had failed to question both these men, Harpreet alleged that the police was not investigating the case seriously, probably due to some political pressure. Harpreet married Gurajit in 2009 to seek permanent residency in Canada. He was first married to a woman through his uncle Ajaib Singh and has two children from that marriage. Ajiab wanted Gurajit to sign a will to give his property to his divorcee wife and their children. But Gurajit married another woman before solemnising his marriage with Harpreet, which brought many twists in their life. The second wife of Gurajit is known to Harpreet and as per an understanding, Gurajit promised to divorce his second wife and take her to Canada. The second wife of Gurajit would marry Harpreet’s cousin and then she would take him to Canada. “I saw the second wife of my husband coming from the very spot where I was later shot but the police has so far not even questioned her,” she alleged. When contacted, a senior official of the state police revealed that the investigation in the case was in progress and a DSP-rank official was conducting the probe. “It has taken some time but we will arrest the culprits soon,” he added.
	Admn complex in Muktsar ill-prepared to tackle any exigency Archit Watts Tribune News Service Muktsar, April 25 Here is a wake-up call for the district administration, as almost all fire extinguishers installed in the three-storey District Administrative Complex (DAC) here have expired. Even as the given situation puts hundreds of lives as well as official records at risk, hardly any official has shown concern to get the fire extinguishers refilled. A visit to the DAC revealed that the fire extinguishers hanging on the walls were either empty or had expired. In case fire breaks out in the building, there will hardly be any fire-fighting arrangement to extinguish the same. The buckets of sand and water were also found to be empty. Only one fire extinguisher was found refilled and it was in the office of the Excise and Taxation Department, on the top floor of the building. The remaining units installed in different corners of the building were found to be expired. Sources said the fire extinguishers had not been refilled since the building was inaugurated and it was the reason that most of them did not carry the refill slips. Deputy Commissioner Paramjit Singh said, “I was not aware that fire extinguishers have expired. However, it will be ensured that all fire extinguishers are refilled.”
	Staff resent withdrawal of powers of officiating school principals Praful Chander Nagpal Fazilka, April 25 Resentment prevails among the staff of government senior secondary schools (GSSSs) against the recent decision of the Education Department, Punjab, for withdrawing the drawing and disbursing (DD) powers of officiating principals of these schools. The DD powers have been delegated to regular principals of other distant schools. As a result, the staff of the schools, whose DD powers have been withdrawn, shall have to visit regular principals after covering long distances. For financial matters, the schools where the posts of principals are vacant have been attached to the schools with regular principals. In this connection, the District Education Officer (Secondary) Fazilka had released a list on April 23. “The Education Department’s decision would hit Fazilka district hard as out of 48 GSSSs in the district, the posts of principal in 28 schools are vacant,” said Ram Krishan Dhunkian, a spokesman of the district unit of Government Teachers’ Union. “The staff and even the principals will have to cover a distance, up to 50 km in some cases, to get fiscal matters cleared from regular principals,” said patron of the Shiksha Sudhar Committee Raj Kishore Kalra, spokesman Hans Raj and educationist Ashok Monga. They said the GSSS at Ghubaya village where the post of principal is vacant have been attached to the GSSS at Sabuana village, which is around 35 km away. Similarly, the GSSS at Chack Weroke village and the Government Girls Senior Secondary Schools of Jalalabad and Mamu Joian have been attached to the GSSS at Khui Khera village, about 40 to 55 km away. The leaders maintained that in some cases, a regular principal has been allotted the DD powers of as many as five schools. How would a regular principal manage the financial and administrative affairs is anybody’s guess. “The Education Department should immediately fill the vacant posts of principals for smooth running of schools,” demanded the teachers. DEO Sandeep Dhuria said handing over the DD powers to other officers in a government set-up is a regular feature, adding that he has only implemented the department’s policy of handing over the DD powers to regular principals.