SAD sets stage for display of power at rally

Super critical thermal power plant
SAD sets stage for display of power at rally 

Preparations in full swing to make it ‘historic’
Rajay Deep
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, August 28
Arrangements for the rally being organised by the Shiromani Akali Dal (B) on September 2, to mark the commencement of the construction work for the 1980 megawatt super critical thermal power plant, is going on full throttle.
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and SAD chief Sukhbir Badal will be among those present at the rally, which is being held at village Banawali, near Talwandi Sabo, and is being billed as a show of strength to counter the Lambi rally that Captain Amarinder Singh is scheduled to address a day earlier.
To make the rally a success saga, the official machinery of Bathinda, Mansa and Faridkot districts have been deployed in full strength. The venue for the rally has been cordoned off and a heavy posse of policemen is present to prevent any untoward incident.
During a visit to the site, policemen were seen supervising the cleaning of the road sides and making arrangements for parking and barricading.
"It would be a historic rally," was the refrain one heard from the cops, SAD (B) workers and the PSEB employees.
As per the details procured from senior police officials, B&R and the PSEB officials, there would be three stages-- one for the VVIPs, which would accommodate 75-80 persons, a second one for the VIPs, where arrangements would be made to seat around 500 persons and a third one for the singers including Dhadhi Jathas and well-known Punjabi folk singer Harbhajan Mann.
The stage for the singers would be set up by Harbhajan Mann's group. The three stages would be covered with a steel structure. To cordon off the rally venue, 20,000 feet of barricading has been ordered.
The contract for the tent (pandal) has been given to Sethi Tent House of Amritsar, which would cover an area 800x400 feet in size, where one lakh chairs would be arranged for seating people. The contractor and the officials spoke about the difficulty in procuring the required infrastructure of this scale. As per the plan, 1000 pedestal fans and 500 others are required, but it has not been arranged so far.
Giving details, Paramjeet Singh Sidhwan, political secretary of SAD (B) chief Sukhbir Badal said, "As per the expectations and the response, we are hoping for one lakh people to be present at the rally."
Speaking about the arrangements made for providing eatables, he said that 50 trucks of fruits, one lakh bottles of mineral water, five lakh glasses, and lakhs of samosas have been ordered. Sidhwan made it clear that nothing would be taken from the SGPC account.

PSEB pursues ‘power surplus’ Punjab dream
1980 MW power to be generated
Rajay Deep
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, August 28
The Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) has set up a make-shift camp office at village Banawali, where the construction of the super critical thermal power plant would begin on September 2.
The PSEB camp office keeps bustling with activity with senior officials including member distribution, H.S. Brar, secretary Husn Lal and chief engineers present there along with other officials to work out the details.
Brar told TNS that it would be the first plant with such a huge capacity for power generation. "In this plant, three units would be installed with a capacity of 660 MW each," he pointed out.
Dispelling the worries of residents in the surroundings areas, he clarified that the plant has taken a no-objection certificate (NOC) from various departments concerned and it would have electronic respirators for minimum pollution.
When asked about the details, he said that the special purpose vehicle (SPV), that would manage the project like an intermediate agency, was yet to come. After that, more details would be available, he said.
"The commencement of the construction of the project would be like a family function and it would be a moment of happiness for all," Brar added.
When asked about the rally being organized on the day, he said, "It is just to celebrate one of the major events in the state."
The super critical power plant would be unique in character and would be run by a private company, Sterlite Energy Limited.
Sukhbir Badal, the SAD chief, had recently made it clear that as per the MoU between the state and the company, the power given to the state would cost less than Rs 3 per unit, which would be cheaper than buying power from other states.
To pull out the state from the power crisis, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has already said that he is "committed to transforming Punjab into a power surplus state during his government's tenure."