‘Udta Punjab’ clicks in Badal’s district

Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, June 17

The much-hyped film “Udta Punjab”, which highlights the impact and menace of drug abuse on society, particularly in Punjab, won hearts on the first day of its release in Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s home district Muktsar today.

Except the first two morning shows, all other shows remained houseful here. The viewers, mostly the youths, appreciated the film crew for “portraying the true picture of state”.

Karan Kumar, a youth, said, “The film has nothing objectionable as was being said before the release. Though some dialogues are abusive, it is the need of the story and doesn’t look odd. It is a must-watch movie especially for the youth.” Another youngster Prince said, “This movie is close to reality. It has presented the reality of Punjab. The nexus of drug smugglers, cops and politicians have been presented in the movie, which is a fact.”

Meanwhile, Gurjeet Singh, an elderly man, said, “The movie carries message on drug de-addiction. It would have been better if abusive dialogues had been removed from the movie.”

Courtesy: The Tribune

Tension over snatching of holy book from Dalits

Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, June 13

Tension prevailed in Shivpur Kukrian village after two Balmikis were beaten up by residents of some neighbouring villages who allegedly mistook them for thieves running away with Guru Granth Sahib.

However, a Ramayana was found from their possession.

The duo, Naginder Singh and Daleep Singh of the village, were bringing the holy book on a motorcycle to perform a religious ceremony following the death of an elderly woman in the village.

A large number of people from the Balmiki community from across the state today gathered in the village and took out a protest march seeking action against the assailants.

They threatened to launch a state wide stir if the assailants were not arrested till Wednesday. A large number of policemen were deployed in the village as a precautionary measure. A case was also registered against unidentified persons in this regard at Sadar police station.

Mandar Singh, whose mother died on Thursday, said, “My nephew, Naginder, had gone to neighbouring Ranjitgarh village yesterday to get a copy of Ramayana to perform a religious ceremony. However, when they were returning, 40 persons from Lopo and Gehri villages attacked them and snatched the holy book after mistaking them as thieves running away with Guru Granth Sahib. They not just injured them but also hurt the religious sentiments of our community.”

Courtesy: The Tribune

Patiala operating in Muktsar mode

Patiala operating in Muktsar mode

Muktsar: Going by the current postings of bureaucrats in Patiala district, it seems that the royal city is being run from Muktsar. The key posts of Deputy Commissioner (DC), Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) and Subdivisonal Magistrate (SDM) are held by officers who earlier served in Muktsar district. DC Rambir is a former ADC (D), Muktsar; ADC Kumar Saurabh Raj worked as Assistant Commissioner (under training), Muktsar, and the Gidderbaha SDM; and SDM Harpreet Singh Sudan has also served as Assistant Commissioner (under training) in the CM’s district. All three are IAS officers (regular recruits).

Contributed by Archit Watts
Courtesy: The Tribune

Addict? Not us, say Akalis

Addicts? Not us, say Akalis

Muktsar: Amid the uproar over the drug menace in Punjab, the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has started a damage-control campaign on the social media. Several Akali activists are uploading messages on Facebook and Instagram, such as: “I live in Punjab and I am not a drug addict. Stop defaming us Punjabis.” The idea is to portray a ‘clean’ image of Punjab and Punjabis. Misleading?

Contributed by Archit Watts
Courtesy: The Tribune

Workers unhappy for 21 yrs, Warring tells Amarinder

Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, June 10

IYC chief and Gidderbaha MLA Amrinder Singh Raja Warring today virtually opened a front against PCC chief Capt Amarinder by saying the party workers were unhappy for the past 21 years.

Addressing workers here regarding the scheduled protest on June 18 in Lambi Assembly segment against the multi-crore recruitment scam, he said, “It has been 21 years since the workers experienced happiness (Nazara ni liya). They are suffering since 1995. The last time they were happy was during the tenure of the late CM Beant Singh. I was kid then but I remember everything,” he added.

Notably, he did not mention even a single word in his speech about the five-year rule of the Congress government under the leadership of Amarinder from 2002-07.

He said, “I respect Capt Amarinder Singh and had introduced a number of schemes for farmers and saved our river waters, but we could not give a befitting reply to the Akalis for their highhandedness in that period.”

Courtesy: The Tribune

Irrigation Dept staff gears up to tackle waterlogging

New monitoring system in offing

• The Irrigation Department has decided to implement the Public Works Information Management System from June 15. Under this system, every junior engineer will have to fill a measurement book online, which means the physical verification of all ongoing works will be done online every week and, that too, by uploading pictures of the site. Further, the bills have to be submitted online. KS Pannu, Secretary (Irrigation), said, “This system is being implemented to bring in more transparency.”

Secretary, Irrigation, KS Pannu (centre) and Irrigation Department officials review works in Muktsar district on Friday. Tribune photo

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Lambi, June 10

Senior officers of the Irrigation Department today claimed that they were fully prepared to tackle rains, especially in the waterlogging-affected areas of the south-western state, comprising Muktsar, Fazilka, Ferozepur and Faridkot districts.

The state government is spending Rs 44.83 crore for cleaning village ponds and drains in these districts.

On a two-day tour of Muktsar and Fazilka districts, KS Pannu, Secretary (Irrigation), while reviewing the cleaning work of Wahabwala Drain, said, “We are prepared to tackle rains of up to 40 mm in a day. A majority of the large drains have been cleaned and de-silted. Besides, the village ponds have been cleaned. The remaining drains will be cleaned before the first week of July. I have also directed the Chief Engineer to install lift pumps in waterlogging-prone villages and station heavy excavating machinery there to clear the blockade during the rainy days.”

He claimed that due to their immense efforts under the ‘Roko Sem’ project, the water level had also gone down to six feet in a majority of the waterlogging-affected villages. “The water which was earlier available at the depth of just one or two foot is now available at the depth of nearly six feet in Muktsar district,” claimed Pannu.

Meanwhile, PS Ghuman, Chief Engineer (Drainage), said, “The department has started the construction of a new drain named the Abohar Link Drain. It will control waterlogging in some villages of Fazilka district. Besides, the sub-surface drainage system is being laid in a number of villages. Some new drains including Arniwala Wazira, Phullukhera, Khubban, Saidanwali link drain and Abul Khurana link drain are also in the pipeline.”

Courtesy: The Tribune

Drainage dept fails to pay power bill of shallow tubewells; supply cut

Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, June 9

The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has disconnected the power supply of 280 shallow tubewells along the Sirhind Feeder canal as the Drainage Department has not paid the bill for the past four years.

The Drainage Department had installed the tubewells to deal with the seepage of water.

The outstanding amount has now gone over Rs 3 crore and the department has requested the PSPCL to transfer the tubewell connections on the name of some farmers.

This move has irked the PSPCL officials who have turned down the request and asked the authorities concerned to first clear the outstanding amount.

These shallow tubewells were installed under the NABARD project at Rs 5.3 crore in 2001 and the department had earlier too failed to pay the electricity bills for a long period.

Even the state government’s high-level panel on water-logging headed by the Chief Minister’s technical adviser Lt Gen BS Dhaliwal (retd) had mentioned this in his report in 2013. The report said, “Initially, these tubewells worked well. But due to non-receipt of maintenance and running expenses, the power connections were disconnected and these stopped working within a year in 2002. These did not work till 2011. Later, 237 were re-energised, but 43 could not be re-energised.”

Gulshan Nagpal, Executive Engineer, Drainage Department, Gidderbaha, admitted that the electricity bills of the shallow tubewells were not paid for 4-5 years.

“The shallow tubewells have no utility now. The water level has gone down by 4 ft. When these tubewells were installed, the water level was high, available on just 1-ft depth from the surface. The state government has mooted a proposal to transfer the shallow tubewells on the name of farmers for irrigation as well as anti-waterlogging purposes,” said Nagpal.

Rajinder Kumar, Executive Engineer, PSPCL, Gidderbaha, said, “The Drainage Department has not paid the electricity bills of above Rs 3 crore for running the shallow tubewells. Hence, we have disconnected the power supply and also turned down their request of transfer of the connections on the name of farmers.”

Courtesy: The Tribune