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Cong campaign gets a shot in the arm
Costlier vegetables add to residents’ woes
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Man booked for assault, theft
One booked for rape bid
In-laws booked for seeking dowry, attempt to murder
painting competitions
A train of problems greets passengers at city railway station
City pays tributes to ‘son of the soil’
Godman claims divine power to heal through water, Tarksheel Society seeks probe
Interrogation of terrorists gives vital leads to police
Weak monsoon leaves paddy farmers worried
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Cong campaign gets a shot in the arm
Bathinda, August 17 Slamming Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for shedding crocodile tears for the welfare of the farming community, Mann said the CM lacked vision and commitment to the cause and all his actions were politically motivated and were aimed at garnering votes. Substantiating his charge, he said the CM had failed to get any relief announced for the drought-hit farmer community from the Narendra Modi government at the Centre despite the fact that his daughter-in-law Harsimrat Kaur Badal was part of Modi’s Cabinet. Mann said it was the UPA government, headed by Dr Manmohan Singh, which was more pro-farmer as evident from the total hike in the minimum support price of paddy by about Rs 700 during the last five years. He said the Modi government had announced only a meagre Rs 50 per quintal hike in the paddy MSP which was a joke with the farmers. He also slammed the SAD MP from Bathinda, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, and blamed her for the lack of development in the constituency which represented one of the most backward areas in the state. Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president, Partap Singh Bajwa, who has been campaigning in Talwandi Sabo for several days now, appreciated the support extended by the BKU (Mann) and asserted that this would further strengthen Jassi. Leaders’ wives take
to campaigning
Wives of PPCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa and Congress candidate Harminder Singh Jassi, Charanjit Kaur Bajwa, and Manmeet Kaur Jassi, have also jumped into the poll fray and began door-to-door campaigning in Talwandi Sabo. Qadian MLA, Charanjit Kaur Bajwa, exhorted the people to vote for Jassi and called SAD candidate Jeetmohinder Singh Sidhu a turncoat. Manmeet Kaur Jassi targeted the Aam Admi Party (AAP) and stated that the party had been a total failure in Delhi since it has no organisational set-up. She added that the cancellation of the party ticket of Balkar Singh Sidhu and the frequent brawls between Balkar and AAP supporters were a clear indication of the confused state of the party. |
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Costlier vegetables add to residents’ woes
Simranjeet Kaur, a middle-aged woman, is finding it hard to manage the household with the rising prices of vegetables. Thus, it had hit hard her home-budget with no hope of inflation going down. Consumers like her are worrying and facing difficulty in managing things. Prices of vegetables have gone up by around 10 per cent only in a week. The prices of tomatoes and onions have brought tears to the eyes of consumers. Tomatoes had touched Rs 70 per kg while onions are stable at Rs 40 to 50 per kg. Besides consumers, the shopkeepers and hawkers also seem to be finding it difficult to protect their profit. The prices of vegetables have almost doubled in only a week and consumers have given up hope of it coming down. “The commonly used vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes and onions are so costly that we are finding it difficult to save a penny at the end of the month. The prices of pulses and cereals are already skyhigh and have given a lot of pain. Now, I avoid using tomatoes in vegetables and salad is no more seen in our dinner as we used to eat earlier. The government should take the necessary steps to check the rising prices or the income of people should be raised.” “The vegetables that were effectively used on daily basis are no more a daily demand because the prices of tomatoes, potatoes and onions have gone up. The vegetables like capsicum, okra, cauliflower, cucumber are all Rs 50 per kg, while peas has gone up to Rs 120 per kg from Rs 90 last week. Onion saw a decline of Rs 5 in its price with its current price at Rs 35 per kg while it cost Rs 40 per kilogram a week ago.” |
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Man booked for assault, theft
Bathinda, August 17 After beating him up, the accused took away his laptop. A case under Sections, 452, 323 , 427, 506, and 380 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at the Kotwali police
station. Three held with poppy husk
The police arrested three persons with seven kg of poppy husk and an Innova car. The accused were arrested on Dabwali Road near Sharma Dhaba during a checking. A case under Sections 15, 25, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused at the Canal Colony police station. One booked for
eloping with girl
The police have booked a man for eloping with a minor girl, a resident of Goniana. In a complaint to the police, Jaspal Singh, the girl's father, stated that Gurjit Singh, a resident of Nehianwala village, had enticed her daughter, a Class VIII student. The police have registered a case under Sections 363 and 366 A of the IPC. One held for assault
The police have booked a person for assaulting a woman, a resident of Phoola village. Sukhdev Kaur alleged that she was attacked by Simmi, a resident of Phoola village, and two unidentified persons on August 15. A case under relevant sections of the IPC has been registered. |
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One booked for rape bid
Bathinda, August 17 Seeing her neighbour coming, he left the house and also blackmailed the victim that he (the accused) would upload her photos on the Internet if she dared to tell anyone about the incident. As per information, the accused had come to the victim’s house with some relative two weeks ago. After that, the accused started following her and even tried to give his mobile number to her. The police said the accused is at large and has been booked under Sections 376, 511 and 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Sadar police station. |
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In-laws booked for seeking dowry, attempt to murder
Amritsar, August 17 She alleged that the accused made her eat some poisonous substance after a dispute following which she was
hospitalised. Those booked include Vishal Sehgal, his father and mother, all are residents of Katra Moti Ram. The police said no arrest has been made so far as the case was under investigations and the accused were still at large.
— TNS |
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Teaching turban tying keeps Sikh youth's hopes afloat
Mansa: August 17 Besides, he even motivated the youth to retain their faith in turban, a unique cultural identity of the Sikhs, for which they have sacrificed themselves in history. Tejinder Singh is young, well versed about the history of Sikhism, has done his MA in History as well as M.Ed. He has even worked at the vegetable market for his survival while coaching Sikh youths about the turban tying methods not only in Malwa belt in other states too. Making it his mission to train Sikh youths in tying turban, Tejinder has organized over 350 "Dastar" coaching camps across India. Thousands of Sikh youth have received training in tying turban and the mission is on. He claims to have made many Sikhs youth return to their culture of tying turban and motivated many to remain firm on retaining their 'kesh' (hair). Tejinder (30) has been running from pillar to post to get a job but in vain. "Besides my parents, I have a family and I hardly manage to fulfill their basic needs. I used to travel to nearby areas on a bicycle to impart training in tying turban. All the training is free while sometimes, the organizers give me travelling allowance. I had to labour in the vegetable market of Mansa to earn money and meet the expenditure incurred on turban coaching camps," he said. "Earlier, I joined a private school that used to pay me just Rs 3,000 per month, which was not enough to earn two square meals a day. I left the job and then started taking tuitions. I take tuition for two hours in the morning and then go to train youngsters in tying turban," he added. "Neither any Sikh organisation nor the SGPC has held my hand in this cause even as I need adequate resources and equipment for turban tying camps," he said. |
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Students to be sensitised about energy conservation
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, August 17 The school-level competitions are to be held any day between August 27 and 29. While the students of Classes IV, V and VI will have to choose from the ‘save energy’, ‘secure your future’, ‘conserve energy for a brighter future’ and ‘bijli bachao, prakash badhao’ topics, the students of Classes VII, VII and IX will have to choose from topics like ‘global warming is global warning’, ‘make it right, change your light’, ‘urja bachat ki sanskriti ka karein vikas, ujjwal hoga bhavishya aur ghar ghar prakash’. Paintings winning the school-level contest will then compete for the state-level prize and entries winning the state-level competition will then be sent for the national-level contest. Students, who win the first, second or third position in the competition held over the last two years will not be eligible for participating in the competitions this year.
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A train of problems greets passengers at city railway station
Bathinda, August 17 Moreover, people can be seen riding their motorcycles on the platforms. The railway station also lacks sufficient seating arrangements for the passengers. The Railways had installed fans for the passengers at the platforms but not even a single fan works, leaving the passengers to the mercy of the elements. The cleaning contract of the station had expired sometime ago following which only 20 workers are looking after the cleanliness of the junction. They are working on daily wages. Earlier, 60 workers were employed for the job. A safai karamchari said earlier, 60 workers used to look after the cleanliness of the railway station but now only 20 persons were looking after it, so it was impossible to keep the entire Railway station clean. The passengers are also to blame as they throw litter on the platforms with impunity. Darshan Singh, a passenger, said fans were installed by the railway authorities but they always remained out of work. He said while the officials were sitting comfortably in their offices, the passengers had been suffering in the sweltering heat. RPF in-charge Rajesh Kumar said issued challans for crossing railway lines many a times. When contacted, Station Superintendent Pardip Sharma asked to contact the area officer and when the area officer was contacted over the phone, he did not answer the call. |
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City pays tributes to ‘son of the soil’
Amritsar, August 17 He said the state government was committed to educate the young generation about the sacrifices made by Punjabis. “For this, memorials are being built to keep youngsters awakened and linked to their past,” he added. The minister said the sacrifice of Madan Lal Dhingra was duly acknowledged by the state government. He said the martyr challenged the mighty British empire in their own land. Though he was hanged, his sacrifice inspired the coming generations to continue the struggle to free the country, he added. Joshi felicitated Punjab Shiromani Hindi Sahitkar Dr Harmahinder Singh Bedi, who has researched and written about the contribution of Punjabis, including Dhingra, to the freedom struggle. Bedi has also written a book ‘Rashtrawadi Shaheed-E-Azam Bhagat Singh’. Dr Bedi delivered a speech on the life and sacrifice of Dhingra. Earlier, the cabinet minister paid floral tributes to the martyr. At the beginning of the programme, a documentary on the martyr was telecast. Students of various schools sung patriotic songs and presented choreography. Anita Devgan theatre group presented a play “Balidan” on the life of the martyr. Nehru Yuva Kendra gave away 50 sports kits to different youth clubs. |
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Godman claims divine power to heal through water, Tarksheel Society seeks probe
Bathinda, August 17 The Baba claimed that the reverse osmosis (RO) water has the power to cure diseases. With this claim, the Baba sold water worth lakhs on the first day of the camp on Saturday. When media persons questioned him in this regard, he stopped the sale of water bottles at the camp today. On the first day, about 7,200 bottles of water were sold by the Baba. Call it faith or the marketing strategy of Baba, a large number of people from all sections of society are turning up at the Baba's function to get water from him. Before coming to the city, the Baba had campaigned claiming he will cure all diseases with just one glass of water and invited the people to come to the three-day camp being held in the Bhupinder Flour Mill area. But when the camp began on Saturday, the Baba started bottling water taken out from a tub and his followers reportedly charged Rs 15 per bottle. The camp raised a serious question-whether it was really a method of treatment or a way of branding and selling water. A local company of Sivian village reportedly sold its water on Saturday. It may be mentioned that even the literate were seen standing in a queue asking for the bottles of water. Baba Radhe Krishna, while talking to the media persons today, claimed that the people after drinking the water sold by him get cured of diseases they are suffering from. He also clarified that he was neither a doctor nor did he possess any magic powers and claimed that it was all divine grace. Speaking on the controversy over bottled water being sold at his camp, the Baba said he was not aware that water bottles of a local company had been sold on the first day. He pointed out that when the matter came to his notice, he immediately told the organisers to stop the sale of bottled water. He also said that this had been done by some young members of the organizing committee. However, the Tarksheel Society, Punjab, has demanded a probe into the claims of the Baba. Baldev Singh, zonal head of the society, said the claims of the Baba were fake as water alone can't cure any disease. Baldev Singh demanded that the Deputy Commissioner and the Indian Medical Association (IMA) should act in the matter and conduct a thorough probe as the Baba was befooling the gullible people. |
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Interrogation of terrorists gives vital leads to police
Jalandhar, August 17 One of the terrorists, Harpreet Singh, alias Pintu, whose police remand was extended by four days, was today produced in the District Courts, which sent him to judicial custody. Two of his counterparts were already sent in judicial custody after a nine-day interrogation. A police team had arrested the three Jammu-based accused in Jammu on August 4. Harpreet Singh, alias Harmeet, alias Pintu, of Simbal Camp, Karanjit Singh, alias Pamma, of Basti Gobind Puri and Sarwan Singh Shabba of Narri, all places in Jammu, were working for two Pakistan-based outfits, Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) and the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF). The interrogation of the trio had made startling revelations regarding their plans to spread terrorist activities in Punjab. The terrorists had admitted that they had held series of secret meetings in Punjab in Gurdaspur and Dali village in Bhogpur near Jalandhar, where they reportedly finalised their anti-national plans to orchestrate bomb blasts at Anandpur Sahib in Punjab and at Sunday Market, the busiest place at Jyoti chowk in Jalandhar. Sources said five of the terrorists, who had now been named by the Jalandhar rural police in a fresh case of conspiracy to strike terrorist acts in Punjab, were also involved in plotting a conspiracy to assassinate Jograj Sharma, state president of the Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) in September last year. It is learnt that these five terrorists, namely, Narinder Pal Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Surinder Singh, Harpreet Singh and Manpreet Singh, were arrested by the Gurdaspur police on September 15, 2013, on the charges of committing terrorist acts in Punjab. Out of these five, four have been granted bail by the court, while Manpreet was declared a proclaimed offender (PO) Two women were deputed as sleeper cells in Ropar to implement their plans to strike in Punjab. Now police teams are reportedly camping at various places in Punjab and Jammu to arrest these suspect women. |
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Weak monsoon leaves paddy farmers worried
Jalandhar, August 17 The Agriculture Department here claims that its officials and workers are in constant touch with farmers in such a time of crisis. A paddy farmer, Sulakhan Singh from Chak Ckela village, said he was worried what to do next. Since there had been less than average rainfall and power crisis had been looming large, it was really difficult to bring up the crop this season. He said fortunately his crop had not suffered from any disease or faced pest attack. However, he had not got any assistance or suggestions from the Agriculture Department lately. “The fact is that due to the lack of proper rainfall, the crop is prone to several diseases and pest attacks like leaf folder,” he added. Speaking to Jalandhar Tribune, Dr Suttantar Kumar said they had been organising camps in the villages to educate the farmers like what to do next and how to deal with the water crisis. He said they had hired farmers in the villages under “Farmer Friend Programme”, who are provided information to spread among farmers. He said after a few days of paddy transplantation, it doesn’t need water every day. The paddy fields need to be filled with water only twice or thrice a week or before cracks come up. There is no need to water the paddy every day. |
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Residents want MC polls at the earliest
Development works take a beating due to delay in civic body elections Due to the lack of public representation in the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB), various development works in the city have come to a halt. Politics is behind the delay in the MCB election. As the ruling SAD-BJP combine is not confident of getting a mandate in the MC elections, it is using delaying tactics. Politics should be kept at bay when it comes to development works. By delaying the elections, the government has tried to favour some politicians, who are carrying out development works in the areas of their supporters. Harmanpreet Singh, Pujjan Wala Mohalla Hold elections soon
The authorities should ensure that there is no technical problem in holding the MCB elections. Like other elections, people should be allowed to choose their representatives within a stipulated time-frame. Earlier, when the Bathinda civic body was notified as a corporation, the government appointed an administrator for five years to run the show. The city witnessed real development only after the elections for the Municipal Corporation. Sukhwinder Bansal, Power House Road Residents at receiving end
Most city residents are unaware of the exact reason behind the delay in the elections but they are concerned about the delay in the completion of the routine work. Earlier, we used to approach our councillors for any pending work but the delay in the election process has forced the residents to live without the basic facilities. We don’t know which officer to approach for our works. Dheeraj Kumar,
Model Town Phase-II Indifferent attitude of MC officials
Municipal Corporation officials are not as concerned about the plight of the residents. Our area is the worst hit in terms of civic amenities. For the past two years, the sewerage work is in progress. Despite the lapse of the deadline for the project several times, no action has been taken by the authorities. Till the time our councillors were in the house, our issues were raised at every meeting. Now, despite a court case filed by the residents of the city, no progress has been made on the sewerage project. It is not only that Bathinda is paying the price for the delay in the MC elections, the state government has failed to hold elections to 95 other civic bodies in the state. Saurabh Gupta,
Parasram Nagar |
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Bathinda, August 17