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Maghi Mela: All set for show of strength by political foes
Changing facets of the fair
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Set up water regulatory body, state told
29-year-old gang-raped on bus; five arrested
With Moga byelection announced,SAD plans to woo voters go awry
Govt withdraws letter barring DGP from effecting postings
Wildlife Department installs trap cameras to document state’s fauna
1,020 schoolkids found having vision problems
Snap ties with Pakistan, say ex-servicemen
Police lodges FIR 2 yrs after trucker goes missing
Man arrested for assaulting inspector
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Maghi Mela: All set for show of strength by political foes
Muktsar, January 12 The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the Congress and the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) may use the occasion to sound poll bugle for the forthcoming Moga assembly seat bypoll and the next parliamentary elections. Leaders were spotted meeting workers and arranging vehicles to ferry their supporters to their rally venue. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his deputy Sukhbir Badal today held public meetings to ensure their rally was successful. The SAD is holding its rally on the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee’s (SGPC) ground located on the Malout road near Kotkapura bypass. SAD rally SAD mela in-charge and district president Manjeet Singh Barkandi said: “We are expecting Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala to share the stage with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, though their visit is not confirmed yet.” On the other hand, the Congress has chosen a spot on Dera Bhai Mastan Singh road. Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal will be the chief guest on the party’s stage, besides other state leaders. The PPP has chosen a ground on the Bathinda road (next to Police Lines) whereas the SAD (Amritsar) will hold its rally opposite to the Congress’ venue. The district administration and the police department have made six helipads, one each for Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt Amarinder Singh and the rest for other VVIPs. Temporary bus stands have been made on all important roads as buses would not be allowed to enter the town tomorrow. The SGPC has allowed 65 organisations to distribute ‘langar’ (free community kitchen food) in and around the historic gurdwara. It has also made lodging arrangements for 3,000 devotees.
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Changing facets of the fair
Come Maghi and all roads in Punjab lead to
Muktsar, the hub of political action, about 40 km from Bathinda and equidistant from
Faridkot. This bustling district of the Malwa region, known for its stud farms and political clout, is historically significant.
Guru Gobind Singh fought a decisive battle in 1705 AD at
Kidhrani-di-Dhab. It was here that the tide of the battle was turned by the very people who had deserted him earlier. This battle has a special place in Sikh military history and in folklore. A few decades later, the town that developed there was later named Sri Muktsar Sahib, literally “the pool of liberation”. A gurdwara was built to commemorate the sacrifices of those who came back and were liberated. It is the valour of 40 Sikh warriors who sacrificed their life at the battlefield of Khidrana and fought to death against the Mughal army, more than three centuries ago, that is commemorated on the Maghi Mela (see box). Every year, the mela is celebrated on January 13 at an open space, mainly on the Bathinda and Malout roads. One-stop spot Over the time, the mela has evolved from a collective celebration of religiosity and ritualistic fervour to a bustling market of goods and commodities. It has also evolved to a site for entertainment and a platform for politics. Ranging from SUVs to guns, a dazzling variety of goods, be it clothes
(woollens and phulkari) to hi-end electronic equipment and pedigreed horses, dogs or livestock (there is a national livestock show too), the mela is one-stop spot. Of course, with time there is modernisation that has crept in. From
halwa, the sweet of choice, there are barbeques and a wide variety of foods. Folk to pop For the entertainment quotient, you have balladeers and dhadis who regale visitors with ‘qissas’ such as Bhagat Puran ka Qissa and raagis for the devotionally inclined and Punjabi pop singers trying to woo crowds. There are even folk singers plugging for political outfits. Add to this hustle bustle, are the
baazigars, magicians, circus and stalls selling false moustaches and beards. The mela has evolved from a congregation of people gathered for religious rituals when means of entertainment were few to a market-driven carnival. Political front The Shiromani Akali Dal and the Congress have tried to make use of the readily available surging crowds to pin each other down, garner votes or score brownie points against each other. As a political analyst puts it, “Crowds do not mean votes.” There is a disconnect between the crowds drawn and the votes garnered. Think Manpreet
Badal, who drew massive crowds and media attention during the Maghi Mela last year. Tracing the evolution of the Maghi fair over a period of time, Gurdial Singh, an eminent Punjabi novelist based in
Jaito, credits the then Chief Minister Giani Zail Singh for active political mobilisation of people during fairs and festivals. He rues the heavy politicisation of the cultural space and wishes that people should get primacy, instead of politicians. But for ID Gaur, Professor, History, Department of Evening Studies, Panjab University,
Chandigarh, fairs like Maghi are a part of the shared cultural space of Punjab and it is but natural for politics and culture to become enmeshed.
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Set up water regulatory body, state told
Chandigarh, January 12
In fact, at a recent meeting of the National Water Resources Council, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had strongly opposed the setting up of a regulatory authority. The 13th Finance Commission had made it obligatory for every state to set up the authority by the end of March 2012. The Commission had earmarked special grant-in-aid for medium and minor irrigation schemes for the states performing this task. With the constitution of the authority, the water tariff can be charged on surface and sub-surface water used for domestic, agriculture, industrial and other purpose. The authority can also determine and regulate the entitlement of water for various sectors. The Centre is worried because of its dependency on Punjab for food security in the country. “With the ground water level becoming critical, there can be serious problems on the agricultural front,” said a senior official. The Centre has already told Punjab not to grow paddy at the cost of its vital resources such as groundwater. The state government has been giving free power to the farm sector to operate bore-wells for paddy and other crops. “In 1998, there was only one critical block. The number went up to six in 2006 and 18 in 2011. However, the number of critical blocks rose sharply to 45 in 2012. This indicates how critical the situation is,” said AK Bhatia, Regional Director, Central Ground Water Board. “We have been constantly telling the state government to take effective steps to stop a further fall in the water table”, he said. In critical blocks, no one can install bore-wells without the permission of the committee set up for the purpose. Recently, the state had to refuse permission to two industries which were to set up units in blocks notified as critical.
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29-year-old gang-raped on bus; five arrested
Gurdaspur, January 12 The incident occurred yesterday evening but the woman lodged a complaint today. The police has arrested five of the accused, including driver Daler Singh, conductor Ravi Kumar and three of their accomplices. A case has been registered at Kahnuwan police station. Senior Superintendent of Police Raj Jit Singh Hundal said raids were being conducted to arrest the remaining two accused. Hundal said the woman boarded the bus from Janakpur (in Pathankot) for Ghukla village. As the bus entered Gurdaspur, all other passengers alighted from the bus. Seeing the victim alone, the driver and the conductor drove the vehicle to a secluded place near Gurdaspur town and allegedly raped her. They also called the other accused, who too allegedly raped the victim.
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With Moga byelection announced,SAD plans to woo voters go awry
Faridkot, January 12 On Friday, the SAD leadership in Moga had held a meeting with senior officials of the District Development and Panchayat Department and made a plan to distribute Rs 4.50 crore grant in 65 villages of the constituency in Sangat Darshan programmes. These programmes were scheduled for February 15-16 and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal was to make a whirlwind tour of Moga to distribute these grants. Till yesterday, the party leadership was under impression that the byelection will be held in April-May and the party has "enough time to entice the voters". Surinder Singh, Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO), Moga-1, said the department was informed about holding of Sangat Darshan programmes in Moga in the second week of February. The preparations were underway but the code of conduct had thrown a spanner, he said. In Moga byelection, the stakes are high for both the Congress and the SAD. The result in this byelection will provide indicators of the popularity of these parties for the Lok Sabha elections. "The result will be an indication of voters' mood and priorities, keeping in view the bashing of the ruling SAD-BJP alliance by the Congress for poor law and order situation in the state," said Congress leader Darshan Singh Brar, an aspirant for the party ticket for Moga seat. "The announcement of the byelection schedule was unexpected for the Akalis. All their plans to lure the voters with false promises have fallen flat," said Avtar Singh Brar, senior Congress leader. There are three strong contenders for Congress ticket, Darshan Brar, Vijay Sathi and Malti Thappar, while the SAD has already announced Joginder Pal Jain as its candidate. Jain is, however, facing opposition from former DGP PS Gill and Tota Singh.
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Govt withdraws letter barring DGP from effecting postings
Chandigarh, January 12 An official statement today said "the order stood withdrawn because it appeared to have created needless confusion". However, feedback from the Police Department suggests the letter seemed to be aimed at clipping the wings of the DGP office. Sources said leave alone any say in normal transfer and postings, the letter proved the DGP was even being barred from ordering any temporary transfer.
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Wildlife Department installs trap cameras to document state’s fauna
Hoshiarpur, January 12 Official sources said the authorities were forced to install such cameras apprehending straying of a tiger in the kandi area. Chief Wildlife Warden Dhirendra Singh said: "We had received reports regarding the presence of a tiger in the area. But ever since we have installed the trap cameras, we have not found any signs of the big cat". He said two trap cameras each have been set up in Gurdaspur, Ropar and Hoshiarpur districts and the documentation of wild animals was under process. This would help us in the exact census of wild animals besides keeping a close watch on intruders in the wildlife sanctuaries, he added. Rajesh Mahajan, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Gurdaspur, said three cameras had been installed at different locations in Kathlaur Kushlian Wildlife Sanctuary, located on the Amritsar-Jammu highway. The cameras have given good results with fine quality pictures during night. "After seeing the results, I have demanded five more cameras from the department," he added. Balbir Singh, DFO, Ropar, said with the setting up of two cameras in the Jhajjar-Bachauli Wildlife Sanctuary, situated 15 km from Anandpur Sahib city, we have succeeded in recording the movement of leopards, sambars, barking deer, hares, jackals, wild boars, porcupines and other animals. "In addition to the census of wild animals and birds, the cameras will also be helpful in keeping tabs on poachers in this area. I have advocated the installation of more cameras in other wildlife sanctuaries of the state," he said. Satnam Singh, DFO (wildlife), Hoshiarpur, said: "It is difficult to keep the cameras safe from intruders as their flash goes on automatically while clicking pictures. One such camera had already been stolen by intruders. We have lodged a complaint in this case."
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1,020 schoolkids found having vision problems
Chandigarh, January 12 Doctors at the check-up camps also examined out-of-school children who visited the camps. Kahan Singh Pannu, DGSE, said the camps were organised in collaboration with Sightsavers, an international NGO working for the eradication of blindness/ low vision in over 30 countries. As many as 391 children would be provided special spectacles to correct their vision, 333 require surgical correction while 296 children would be provided low vision aids and adapted assistive devices. ALIMCO, a public sector undertaking, collaborated on identifying the hearing impaired children. It will provide 5,057 state-of-the-art cordless behind-the-ear hearing aids before the commencement of the next academic session.
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Snap ties with Pakistan, say ex-servicemen
Patiala, January 12 Association president Col Kuldip Singh Grewal (retd) said the act not only violated the international law enshrined in the Geneva Convention but also exposed the psyche of Pakistan Army which crossed all limits of barbarism. The association urged the Centre to snap all ties with Pakistan and suspend the ongoing peace talks.
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Police lodges FIR 2 yrs after trucker goes missing
Kiratpur Sahib, January 12 "When Kirtan did not return home, I approached the then police Ghanauli post incharge Jagan Nath Kalia who refused to register a case on the pretext that the truck had started its journey from Himachal Pradesh," he said. Bagga Singh alleged since a relative of Gurcharan was posted as a personal security guard of Kalia, the police was reluctant in taking any action. "I finally moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had directed the district police on July 4, 2011, to look into matter. But it took the district police one-and-a-half years to register a case," said Bagga Singh. Ropar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Inder Mohan Singh said the matter was brought to his notice after he joined the district three months ago. "I got it inquired and an FIR was registered on January 4.
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Man arrested for assaulting inspector
Bathinda, January 12 Brar said the police had arrested
Bheema.
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Activists of various political parties were today seen making last-minute arrangements to outsmart their rivals in terms of attracting crowd at the Maghi Mela beginning here tomorrow.
The Punjab Wildlife Department has set up six thermal sensitive trap cameras in three districts for the documentation of state's fauna. This is for the first time that the authorities have decided to prepare a database of wild creatures, especially in the kandi belt.
Not sure about the jurisdiction of area of incident, the Ropar police had refused to take action for over two years on the complaint of a man whose truck driver son went missing on December 13, 2010.
After the recent directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the police finally registered a case of kidnapping with the intentions of murder on January 4.
“We have sent to the state government a model draft of the Act required to be passed to set up the authority,” said a senior official of the Union Government. No response has been received from the state so far, he said.
The announcement of the byelection schedule was unexpected for the Akalis. All their plans to lure the voters with false promises have fallen
flat
Bagga Singh, the father of Kirtan Singh, said his 30-year-old son, the only breadwinner of the family, was employed as truck driver by Gurcharan Singh of Basot village in Himachal Pradesh. "On December 13, 2010, Gurcharan came to my house. He alleged Kirtan had fled after replacing the new tyres of his truck with old ones. The truck was found parked near Ghanauli," he said.