Bhattal asks Congmen to shun differences

Bhattal asks Congmen to shun differences
Rajay Deep
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, April 11
Taking a serious note of the absence of party leaders belonging to the Captain Amarinder Singh camp at the Amritsar conference, PPCC chief Rajinder Kaur Bhattal is learnt to have asked the various factions to tone down their alleged differences.
Aware of the factionalism among the party MLAS in Bathinda district, Bhattal has ordered them to work collectively to make the Baisakhi conference a success. A five-member coordination committee has also been formed in this regard.
Tej Parkash Singh has been appointed as the chairman of the committee while Amarjeet Singh Samra, Bir Davinder Singh, Avtar Singh Brar and Jasveer Singh have been appointed as members of the panel.
It may be recalled that the rivalry between Harminder Singh Jassi, MLA Bathinda and Jeet Mohinder Singh, MLA Talwandi Sabo, had surfaced in the open at a conference held in Bathinda on April 8.
Sources said that the PPCC chief, through a phone call, has restricted Harminder Singh Jassi, Jeet Mohinder Singh, Gurpreet Kangar and Makhan Singh, all MLAs from Bathinda district, from making remarks against each other from the stage at the Baisakhi conference. Bhattal has also reportedly asked them not to intervene in each other's constituency.
Avtar Singh Brar said over the phone, "All MLAs and workers have assured of making their best efforts to make the conference a success. We have visited the site of the conference in Talwandi Sabo to make the necessary arrangements."
The conference is being supervised and coordinated by a committee. No senior leader from the Centre is expected to visit on the day. Moreover, Margaret Alva, in-charge Punjab Congress affairs, is also busy with elections in Karnatka. So, she too will not be able to attend the conference, Brar added.
It may be mentioned that the Congress MLAs had called a press conference in Bathinda today, which could not take place as party MLA Jeet Mohinder Singh turned up late for the event.

Villagers protest laying of pipeline for NFL project

Villagers protest laying of pipeline for NFL project
Rajay Deep
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, June 9
The much-hyped feedstock changeover project for converting the National Fertilizers Limited (NFL), Bathinda, from a fuel-based plant to a gas-based unit, hangs in balance due to protest by farmers of village Gillpatti in Bathinda.
The farmers of village Gillpatti, through which the underground pipeline (gas feeder) is to enter the NFL, are determined not to allow the laying of the pipeline beneath their agricultural lands.
Assuming it to be a simple task to get the Right of Use for laying the pipeline under the provisions of the Petroleum and Minerals Pipeline Act 1962 (P&MP Act), the authorities of the GAIL India Limited had started the project (Bawana (UP)-Nangal gas pipeline) about 18 months ago.
The project was started from the village Gillpatti but the villagers' protest made the authorities drop it midway. It was then started from Doraha in Ludhiana, from the pipeline splits for NFL-Nangal, local industry of Ludhiana and Jalandhar and NFL-Bathinda. Now, after completing 119 kms out of a total of 122 km (approximately) stretch, the work has been stalled after reaching its last leg at village Gillpatti.
Despite their best efforts, the administration and the GAIL India officials could find no alternative. The administration could neither get the right of use from the villagers nor could it distribute the compensation awarded.
Speaking to The Tribune, some villagers, whose land come under the project, said their land had come within the limits of the Bathinda Municipal Corporation so it would soon be demanded for residential and commercial purposes. “If we give our nod to lay down the pipeline under our lands, we will be debarred from raising any building over it. That means, the monetary value of not only that particular strip (100 feet wide) but of the whole chunk would never rise,” they rued.
The villagers demanded that the pipeline should be laid on the government land along the Behman canal distributary, running nearby. They proposed to change its route and divert it to villages Joganand and Kothe Amarpura. However, both the options are proving unacceptable to the administration and the GAIL as on the one hand, the Forest Department has refused to lay the pipeline along the canal distributary and on the other, the residents of village Joganand and Kothe Amarpura have warned the administration of launching a massive protest, if the pipe route was taken to their lands.
Moreover, the change of route plan at this moment would make the GAIL incur a loss of nearly Rs 20 crores as four kms of the already laid pipeline would have to be dug out. As per the details, the GAIL authorities had requested the administration to revise the collector rates manifold for getting the Right of Use over the lands but the administration, finding it an invitation to future problems in acquiring any other land in that area, turned it down.
The SDM Bathinda KPS Mahi, when contacted, said, “Efforts are on to find an amicable solution. We have now decided to have one-to-one meeting with the villagers and hope to resolve it soon as the whole project is almost complete except for this three km stretch.”
The regional representative of the GAIL India Limited, Harpal Singh said, “If the issue is resolved and work is started this month, the whole project is expected to be commissioned before the end of this year.” It was also informed that nearly 1.5 MMSCMD of gas would be supplied to the NFL daily through the pipeline.

Bathinda dist home to over 6800 special kids

Bathinda dist home to over 6800 special kids
Rajay Deep
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, June 2
In a shocking revelation, as many as 6,871 children (6-14 years) in Bathinda district are found suffering either from mental or physical disability. Of these, 3,302 are girls.
As per the details collected by the education department through various surveys, 3,145 children in the district are suffering from visual impairment, 877 from hearing impairment and 698 from orthopedic disability. Besides, 648 are victims of mental retardation, 275 of cerebral palsy, 52 of autism, 912 of the learning disability (including slow learning) and 264 are facing multiple disabilities.
The staff and volunteers of the education department have collected the data under the Inclusive Education for Disabled (IED), a special component of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), which ensures that each of the children with special needs is provided with a meaningful and quality education.
After identification, the education department officials are now going for formal assessment, appropriate educational placement and preparation of Individualised Educational Plan (IEP).
A large number of such children are admitted in the 41 resources rooms located in the district. Apart from this, the education volunteers have been assigned to visit hundreds of children, who are not capable enough to visit the resource room/ school, personally to provide home-based education, which includes training to deal with routine needs.
Though a majority of the children in the district have been provided with the required aids and appliances, a case for the requirement of 351 children has been recommended to the union ministry this week.
The district coordinator of the IED component, Ram Pal Singh, said, “Earlier, the special children used to avoid schools or leave it mid way due to one or the other disability. Under the IED, we provide the best possible aid/appliance to help a special child to get at least the basic education.”
He rued, “Despite best efforts of the education department, a large number of parents still do not show much interest in the scheme that may lead their children to suffer the whole life.”

Gala road show round the corner!

Gala road show round the corner!
New look Bathinda-Goniana highway soon
Rajay Deep
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, April 24
To charm voters in the forthcoming municipal corporation elections, the ruling party is going all out to present to the city a revamped Bathinda-Goniana highway. To complete the assignment within the stipulated time, the Improvement Trust officials are leaving no stone unturned.
The Rs 11 crore project aimed at giving the Bathinda-Goniana road a makeover was launched in March last and is expected to be completed in August.
As per the plan, the 4.8 km stretch of the road, from Rose Garden to ITI Chowk, will have five-feet broad pavements on both sides with interlocked double coloured tiles. Both sides of the road would also facilitate parking for vehicles. Maroon and grey colour tiles would work as frame line for every vehicle. It would be 6 inches above the metalled road.
The main attraction of the road, the 155 illumination poles of a new style, have been purchased from Kolkata. Keeping the future plan for a local bus service in mind, bus lanes are also being constructed.
The centre of the road, which was having a bit of greenery, is now being demolished and a new concrete divider is being constructed in its place. As per the plan, a two feet iron grill would be raised for separating both sides of the road.
At a distance of 18-feet, on the footpath, at least one tree of around 15-feet height would be planted on both sides of the road. There is also provision for benches and traffic posts on the roadsides.
The project has also a provision for the speedy flow of drainage, especially during the rainy days. These channels would be connected with the main sewer line existing under the road.
The work of utility ducting is also going on, which would carry all wires of BSNL phones and the electricity department.
Confirming details, administrator, Improvement Trust, K.K. Yadav said, “It is project worth Rs 11 crore, out of which Rs 6.75 crore is for civil works while Rs 2 crore is for electrical works. Rs 2.18 crore has been sanctioned for the PSEB out of which half the money has already been deposited with the department concerned for the underground wiring. After this, the B&R department will also work on the road.”
When asked about the controversy that had erupted with the forest department claiming that both sides of the national highway are part of a green belt and any construction in it could not be permitted without the prior approval of the union government, he said, “It has been resolved as we have filed a reply saying there is no tampering with the green belt. We have sent them the project file according to which 1,000 trees would be planted on the roadsides.”

‘Busy’ Sukhbir leaves residents dejected

Long wait proves futile!
‘Busy’ Sukhbir leaves residents dejected
Rajay Deep
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, April 25
The stormy visit of Shiromani Akali Dal (B) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal here today, apparently with the hope of luring voters, disappointed people who were made to wait for him in scorching heat today.
In his rhetoric, Sukhbir had only one line to say at the end: “I have a very busy schedule, so I am leaving.”
People waiting for him desperately to put forth their grievances before him, were left in a lurch as he was in a hurry to move on.
The visit to Model Town Phase I, where a SAD leader had arranged a public meeting with Sukhbir, also annoyed residents of the locality.
The SAD chief just claimed that the skyline of Bathinda would be changed within a year. Pleading shortage of time, he left without even seeing the people holding their complaints in hands.
An ex-serviceman attempted his best to draw Sukhbir’s attention to put forth his grievance, but paying no heed, to Sukhbir left in his “Pajero” car.
It has also been reported that Sukhbir Singh Badal, sitting on the stage, complained to a senior SAD leader that he could not find the local crowd of the Model Town area in the gathering.
Some senior mediapersons complained to Sukhbir about the mismanaged event, who then expressed his displeasure to the SSP Bathinda for the lapse.
It may be mentioned that the over-reaction of the public relations department authorities and the district police, who claimed to have prepared a file with photographs of all mediapersons for security purposes and to make foolproof arrangements for undisturbed coverage of events, today resulted in a futile exercise as there was no proper arrangement for the press conference that became a free for all affair.

Badal, Bhattal console fire-hit families

Badal, Bhattal console fire-hit families
Rajay Deep
Tribune News Service

Midhu Khera/Tharajwala (Muktsar), May 3

Nursing their burns

To comfort families of victims of the fire which engulfed fields in the Malwa belt on Thursday, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, today visited the villages in Muktsar district.
The CM was tight-fisted, mostly giving assurances to bereaved families, citing the election code of conduct in force due to the rural bodies’ polls.
The Chief Minister visited Midhu Khera village where he met Soma (18), a Plus II student, who due to smoke, has suffered respiratory problems. He asked the family to shift her to Ludhiana for treatment and assured that the cost of treatment would taken care of by the government.
After that, he met the family of the deceased Bimla (32) and her daughter Mamta (14), a student of class VII, and assured her husband Om Parkash of a fixed income in the name of his three children (aged 10, four and two years). He also handed over a cheque of Rs 10,000 on the spot. It has been reported that Badal has assured him of a compensation worth Rs 2 lakh, but after the elections.
He then moved to Tharaj Wala village, where he met the family members of the deceased Agwan Kaur (65), belonging to the Dalit community, who was burnt alive and assured support to the family members
The CM said, “Investigation has been initiated and the loss assessment report has reached the Finance Department, which will decide on the compensation”.
Meanwhile, Bhattal too visited the affected villages. After a halt at Bathinda and Badal villages, she too, in a cavalcade, visited Midhu Khera, Tharaj Wala and Bhullar villages and assured the families of her support. She even sought the photographs of members of the victim families, with the promise of putting up their case before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and AICC chief Sonia Gandhi.
As the Leader of the Opposition, she assured support to the ruling party in passing a Bill or enacting a law banning the burning of straw in the wheat fields.

Sarna for separate SGPC for Haryana

Sarna for separate SGPC for Haryana
Rajay Deep
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, August 8
“Not personal grudges but difference of opinion has led to rift between me and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal,” said Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGPC) chief Paramjeet Singh Sarna here today. Sarna was here to address a meeting of the Shiromani Panthic Council (SPC).
After the meeting, Sarna said, “We will give tough fight to Badal in the SGPC elections on all 170 seats under banner of the SPC”. On selection of candidates, he said, “We will give ticket only to those who are ‘true Sikhs’ and have not had political post in the past one decade”.
Criticising Badal, Sarna said, “Badal himself is not a true Sikh, and has no right to interfere in the free will of Haryana Sikhs who want a separate SGPC. I will support the formation of Haryana SGPC”.
On a recent statement of Badal offering Haryana Sikhs to keep offerings of Haryana gurdwaras with them, but not demand a separate SGPC, Sarna said, “It is tactics. He wants to keep the SGPC under his control so that he can bargain with Chautalas and the BJP in Haryana in elections”. He accused Badal of shielding the anti-Sikh organisations for votes.
“Badal can go to any extent for votes to rule the state. Not only the Dera Sacha Sauda, he may befriend anyone for selfishness,” Sarna alleged.
On his statement over the Vienna incident, Sarna said, “I have nothing to worry about those words as videography of the incident will soon be with me. One Sikh recently contacted me in Delhi and expressed willingness to provide pictures and video footage of the incident, which will be enough to make my stand clear”.