B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Gang of looters busted
Barnala, February 15
With the arrest of six persons, the district police today claimed to have busted a gang of looters which targeted petrol stations and liquor vends.

Basant Panchami celebrated with fervour, gaiety
Ferozepur, February 15
The overcast conditions failed to dampen the spirits of the kite fliers who converged here from various parts of the state in huge numbers today to celebrate Basant Panchami with gaiety and fervour.

Residents celebrate on the occasion of Basant Panchami at Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar in Bathinda on Friday. Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma

Banned kite-string sold with impunity
Muktsar, February 15 Despite ban, the sale of Chinese kite-string goes on with impunity. The district administration's drive to keep a check on the sale of such kite string has proved futile so far.

Central team inspects hi-tech godowns in Abohar
Abohar, February 15
A team from the Planning Commission of India comprising Prof Abhijeet Sain and Dr Sumitra Chaudhary along with Punjab Food and Supplies Minister Adesh Pratap Singh Kairon visited the state-of-the-art godowns developed by a private company at Kala Tibba village, about 8 km from here on the Abohar-Sriganganagar road (NH-15) today.

Finally, sewage disposal works linked with drain
Abohar, February 15
Deputy Commissioner Dr Basant Garg today launched the link between sewage disposal works and the Sayeedwala drain here.

Gang of looters busted
Six members of the gang that targeted petrol stations, liquor vends held
Tribune News Service

Barnala, February 15
With the arrest of six persons, the district police today claimed to have busted a gang of looters which targeted petrol stations and liquor vends. The SP (Detective) Balraj Singh Sidhu said on Wednesday, the police received a tip-off that six persons, namely Manpreet Singh of Tibba village (Sangrur), Satnam Singh of Barri village (Sangrur), Maninder Singh of Malerkotla, Uma Shanker of Naushehra (Sangrur), Bhim Singh of Ina Bajwa and Mohammad Arshad of Rohirra, were planning to commit a crime in the Mehal Kalan area.

Following the information, the police raided the site but the accused fled from the spot in a vehicle while opening fire on the police party, he added.

The SP (D) said the police continued its search to nab the accused and today, it succeeded in arresting all of them at a naka laid on the Nihaluwal-Pandori link road.

The police also recovered a car, three pistols, some cartridges and other weapons from the accused persons' possession.

The SP (D) said out of the six accused, Manpreet Singh and Satnam Singh were close aides of a gangster active in Barnala district and were wanted in different cases registered in Barnala, Sangrur, Patiala and Ludhiana districts.

Basant Panchami celebrated with fervour, gaiety
Our Correspondent

Ferozepur, February 15
The overcast conditions failed to dampen the spirits of the kite fliers who converged here from various parts of the state in huge numbers today to celebrate Basant Panchami with gaiety and fervour.

Basant Panchami is one of the most popular festivals in this part of the country and heralds the end of winter and arrival of spring. The day saw the skyline dotted with kites of various hues and shapes.

People climbed onto the terraces of their houses since morning and flew kites amidst drum beats and playing of DJ systems. The kite flier's joy knew no bound every time he succeeded in cutting the string of another kite.

Relatives and friends of the city residents come from far-off places to celebrate the festival this town.

Krishan Lal Sachdeva, a businessman based at Chandigarh, said he comes here every year along with his family to celebrate Basant with his old friends.

At some places in the town, kite flying competitions were also held. "Kite flying begins at the dawn and continues throughout the day," said Dr Harsh Bhola.

Sources said the festival generates business worth crores in this border town, which is otherwise considered as economically backward.

Several kids were reportedly injured while flying kites today. A child got stitches in the forehead after he accidentally fell from the roof of a house in the cantonment area while he was flying a kite.

SDM GS Pannu today seized China-made strings being sold in the town despite a ban. He also confiscated four gas cylinders being used for filling air in balloons.

A few years ago, two persons had died and several injured on Basant Panchami when a cylinder being used to inflate balloon burst in the town.

Banned kite-string sold with impunity

Muktsar, February 15
Despite ban, the sale of Chinese kite-string goes on with impunity. The district administration's drive to keep a check on the sale of such kite string has proved futile so far.

Central team inspects hi-tech godowns in Abohar

Abohar, February 15
A team from the Planning Commission of India comprising Prof Abhijeet Sain and Dr Sumitra Chaudhary along with Punjab Food and Supplies Minister Adesh Pratap Singh Kairon visited the state-of-the-art godowns developed by a private company at Kala Tibba village, about 8 km from here on the Abohar-Sriganganagar road (NH-15) today.

Sources said the company had purchased fertile agricultural land to develop warehouses to store grains in a scientific way covering about 50 acres of land. As of now, 14 godowns have been developed with a storage capacity for 92,000 metric tonnes of grains. — OC

Finally, sewage disposal works linked with drain

Abohar, February 15
Deputy Commissioner Dr Basant Garg today launched the link between sewage disposal works and the Sayeedwala drain here.

Garg said it was a trial run and that he along with SDM Gurmail Singh and PWSSB officials would visit the drain on Monday to see whether water flows smoothly.

PWSSB SDE Hakam Singh told reporters that the work of laying a 9-km pipeline has been completed at a budgeted cost of Rs 40 lakh, much before the March 31 deadline.

The construction of a water treatment plant at a budgeted cost of Rs 20 crore has also been started; the same is likely to be made functional by next year. — OC