The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Wife of PoW meets Burney for husband’s repatriation
Balwant Garg
Tribune News Service

Faridkot, April 29
At a time when the frosty relations between India and Pakistan have started showing signs of a thaw in the backdrop of Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari visiting India and the integrated check-post at the Attari-Wagah border becoming functional, it is only natural that the hopes of 63-year-old Angrej Kaur of Faridkot gets revived again.

In the last 41 years, after her husband Surjit Singh, a BSF sepoy, went missing in the 1071 Indo-Pak war, Angrej Kaur has prayed for thaw in the normally tension-charged relations between the two neighbouring countries.

Whenever there were talks of peace between the two countries in the last four decades, Angrej Kaur believed that the renewed efforts for peace would bring back her husband, a prisoner of war (PoW) lodged in a Pakistan jail.

"My son was barely one-year-old when my husband was captured by the Pak Rangers during the 1971 war," says Angrej Kaur.

Now after the "pilgrimage" to Ajmer Sharif by Zardari and the "friendly" luncheon in his honour by the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, Angrej Kaur and her son reached Delhi to meet Ansar Burney, the former federal minister for human rights in Pakistan, on Monday. They sought Burney's help in tracing Surjit Singh and his repatriation.

Accredited as being the first man to introduce the concept of human rights in Pakistan, Burney is also known for securing the release of a large number of innocent prisoners. So, Angrej Kaur and her son, Amrik Singh, have also pinned their hope on Burney.

"Assuring me of tracing my husband and his repatriation, Burney told me that 53 war prisoners have already died in Pakistan and the urns containing the ashes of these cremated PoW is lying in Pak jails," said Angrej Kaur, quoting Burney.

"We have handed over the photographs and many other relevant documents to Burney to trace my father in Pakistan jails," said Amrik Singh.

"The strained relations between Indian and Pakistan is not only causing the death of soldiers from frostbite and bullets in Siachen heights, but also, many families, like ours, are waiting endlessly for our dear ones to return home," said Angrej Kaur.

"Tension between these two nations has not only left many sons without their fathers, as in my case, but it has also had a devastating affect on the economy of the two countries," said Amrik Singh.

Newly-laid railway track awaits trains
Praful Chander Nagpal

Fazilka, April 29
The Railways is trying to underplay the issue of commencement of trains on the newly-laid railway track between Fazilka and Abohar on one pretext or the other. This is despite the fact that the department has already spent a hefty amount of Rs 216 crores on this 42 kilometers long track.

Information revealed that the total amount of Rs 86.44 crore was to be spent on the project had the construction work been completed in the stipulated period, by March 2007.

But the track was completed in March 2011, and at present, is not in operation.

“Since then, the officials of the department have been reportedly making lame excuses to cover up their alleged failure in making the track operational,” said a social activist Lila Dhar Sharma.

Earlier, the officials of the department kept telling the people in the area for about a year that when the Commissioner, Railway Safety (CRS), Lucknow, will carry out the final inspection of the track, it shall start functioning.

But now, the officials have started making another excuse that the desired staff has not been deputed on the track.

Senior Division Operative Manager, Ferozepur Division, Rajnish Aggarwal told a delegation of the Northern Railway Passengers Samiti, led by its President Dr Amar Lal Baghla, that the staff has yet not been deployed on the railway stations and the track. Hence, it would take some more time to run the trains. Interestingly, he said he would write to the higher authorities in favour of the demand.

“The railway department has spent a hefty amount on the track but surprisingly, does not seem keen to earn by running the trains. Had the department made the track operational a year back, it could have earned handsome revenue,” questioned Baghla.

The common man is the one who is most affected as he has to pay more for the bus journey as compared to rail travel. The passengers have alleged that an influential transport lobby of the area has been successful in shelving the proposal of running the train because of the fear that the passengers would switch over to train travel, which is nearly five times cheaper.

Past perfect but future tense for Ferozepur
Bifurcated several times, the district has lagged behind in terms of development
Anirudh Gupta

Ferozepur, April 29
Ferozepur, the land of the martyrs, which was one of the biggest districts of the erstwhile composite Punjab, is today struggling to survive due to its poor economic condition juxtaposed with lack of infrastructural growth and development.

Once a flourishing town and an important trade and educational hub, the economy of the district had fallen on bad days following the partition and subsequent closure of the Hussaniwala-Lahore border for trade and transit in the aftermath of the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war. Notwithstanding the rich legacy and historical importance, the government has always accorded a step-motherly treatment to the district which was bifurcated several times due to vested political interests of the leaders from the region.

EDUCATION

Despite being the district and divisional headquarters, there is no government college here for which representations from the local residents have fallen on deaf ears. As far as the school education is concerned, the scenario continues to be dismal. Though the schools have seen tremendous improvement in terms of infrastructure, shortage of staff has taken its toll on the quality of education. At present, over 350 posts of lecturers, 54 principals besides 174 masters are lying vacant in 446 schools in the district. In terms of progress, 42 schools are being upgraded from middle to high. Besides, six model schools are also being set up here. The poor literacy rate continues to be a matter of concern. The Government In-service Training Centre which imparts guidance to the school teachers, is in an appalling state as the roof of two of its rooms have already crumbled and rest of the building is in a state of collapse. The condition of the district library is even worse.

SEWERAGE & SANITATION

Sanitation woes continue to haunt the residents. In Ferozepur block, out of a total of Rs 37.48 crores required for laying 24.86 km of lateral sewer and 7.36 km of main sewer besides establishment of a sewage treatment plant (STP), only a meagre Rs 2.20 crore was received due to which work could not be completed. In other towns of the district, including Zira, Guruharsahai and Talwandi Bhai, only 50 per cent of the total population is covered under the sewerage facility whereas Makhu and Ferozepur Cantonment have no sewerage facility till now. In the absence of an STP, the raw sewage is pumped into the Sutlej which pollutes the river water. In rural areas, there is a proposal to construct 20166 IHHL (toilets) at cost of Rs 2380.05 lakhs out of which till date, 8817 toilets have been constructed. Ravinder Kumar, X EN, said the work on small bore sewerage has been started in 16 villages on which Rs 1,520 lakhs is being spent. Still, most rural folks defecate in the open in the absence of proper sewerage facilities.

WATER SUPPLY

Though more than 90 per cent population has been covered under the water supply scheme in the urban areas, projects related to the construction of 5 OHSR (overhead storage reservoir) and 11 tube wells are pending. In Ferozepur, 29 tube wells are functioning whereas another two are under construction. Out of Rs 9.23 crores required for water supply works, only Rs 3.20 crore has been received here. Similarly in Talwandi, out of Rs 1.44 cores required to augment the water supply, only Rs 15.48 lakhs was sanctioned. 1043 villages and hamlets have been covered under rural water supply scheme. The state government had sanctioned RO plants for 465 villages here, of which RO plants have been installed in 276 villages while 189 were still pending. In Ferozepur town, the polluted condition of potable water in the municipal area has invited public wrath but the MC authorities always come up with excuses, citing paucity of manpower and funds.

DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

The District Administrative Complex (DAC) on which an estimated cost of Rs 56.91 crores is being spent, is far from complete. Though the DC wing has been commissioned, the police wing and he engineering wing, besides other blocks are still under construction. Apart from the DAC, the work on the construction of a new judicial complex, which got delayed due to hullabaloo over the selection of its site, finally started last year. An amount of Rs 5047 lakhs is being spent on the complex which will house 22 courts and 485 lawyers' chambers. The ROB connecting the city and the cantonment areas in Ferozepur was revamped at a cost of Rs 718 lakhs but still, two more ROBs at Basti Tankan Wali and Ferozepur-Moga road are required in the absence of which frequent traffic jams hinder the vehicular movement. On the border, the MHA has sanctioned a visitors' gallery which will be constructed at a cost of Rs 16.39 crores. Many other projects, including four-laning of circular road, construction of Rai Sikh Bhawan, Tehsil complex at Zira and a veterinary hospital at Machiwara are also under construction.

HEALTH

Though the state government has spent crores on the construction of new paediatrics and maternity wards here, but the doctors for the same are not available. There is an acute shortage of emergency medical officers (EMO).

In their absence, the specialists have to double up as EMOs due to which their own work suffers. Another 67 posts of medical officers are lying vacant in other civil hospitals, CHCs, PHCs and mini PHCs in the district.

There is also a shortage of four SMOs besides 64 staff nurses, 10 nursing sisters and 44 MPHWs which has crippled the health services. Shortage of medicines and the required medical equipment also add to the woes of patients.

INDUSTRY

The slogan, "industrialise or perish" seems to have eluded this district. The Industrial Development Colony, which has 62 plots and 18 industrial sheds, wear a deserted look. At present, there are 4347 small-scale units with a scanty investment of Rs 244.41 crores. Besides, there are no medium or heavy industries or any employment generating institutions. The government has also failed to offer any tax subsidy or soft loans to encourage entrepreneurship which is vital for the development of the industry here.

SPORTS

Despite having produced players of international repute, the district has just one sports stadium which is at present used for all games and purposes. There is only one regular coach posted here who also officiates as the District Sports Officer. All posts of coach for the other games are lying vacant. There is also a dire need for a separate hockey stadium.

The opening of the Hussainiwala border for trade and transit, night bus service to other towns, high-speed train connectivity to New Delhi and other important destinations, subsidy for industry besides better flood protection mechanisms are the other main demands of the local residents.