Still not included under a national programme for prevention of the disease. The alarming rise in cancer-related deaths in Malwa saw Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, during his recent visit to the state, including Bathinda, Hoshiarpur and Mansa districts under a national programme for prevention and control of the disease. But, Muktsar district, where around 1,100 deaths have been reported in the last 10 years, continues to be neglected in terms of steps to detect or prevent the disease.

The controversy over the land acquisition in Gobindpura refuses to die down with the hearing on a writ petition filed by an NGO, alleging that the government grossly violated the SC/ST Act, set to be held on February 14. The petition, filed by NGO Universal human rights commission (UHRO) on December 20 last year, also accuses the government of reneging on an agreement that promised Rs 3 lakh for landless labourers and Rs 50,000 for those injured in clashes.

For the first time, ecology will become an issue in the state assembly elections with environmentalists floating a front that will vote for candidates committed to an agenda which supports sustainable livelihood, including health security. The environmentalists, led by the Kheti Virasat Mission, include the BKU (Rajewal), the BKU (Ekta) and Sidhupur factions. These organisations have pockets of influence in Bathinda, Mansa, Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Hoshiarpur districts. Former Takht Damdama Sahib jathedar Giani Kewal Singh is a member of this mission.

Upon taking over the reins of the state, the SAD-BJP government conceived establishing six new thermal plants in the state to generate 10,640 MW of power. Three plants at Rajpura, Goindwal Sahib and Talwandi Sabo are well on the way now after delays due to recession, and rebidding in the case of the Rajpura plant. The three other plants, however, have still to take off.

The sheen of the power sector, which plays a vital role in vote-bank politics in Punjab, was tarnished by a substantial hike in power tariffs, the ballooning power subsidy and strident farmers protests over land acquisition for a new power project in 2011. Despite being a corporatised entity after unbundling of the erstwhile Punjab State Electricity Board, power generation-cum-distribution company Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) continued to experience high transmission and distribution losses and a "mammoth" gap in the revenue requirement to meet its costs.

The delay in the widening of the water channel at Bhainibagha Rajbaha has left more than 15 villages in Bathinda and Mansa high and dry.These villages have not been getting water for irrigation and drinking purposes for the past more than one-and-a-half months. The 26-km-long water channel is being widened to increase the water carrying capacity from 326 cusecs to 428 cusecs.This is being done to meet the water demand for the under-construction Banawali thermal plant. An amount of Rs 25 crore is being spent on the project.

Farmer leaders protesting against the forceful land acquisition in Gobindpura were today shown alternative land at six different places in two adjoining villages. The land was shown by a team comprising Paramjit Singh Grewal, DIG, Bathinda range, and Ravinder Singh, Mansa deputy commissioner, besides officials of the agriculture and revenue departments. Before proceeding to see the land, the farmers demanded that their two leaders, Gurlal and Joginder Dyalpura, who were arrested during protests, should be released at the earliest.

A day after police and farmers clashed over the construction of a boundary wall over a piece of land for the proposed Indiabulls power plant, the police arrested a group villagers heading towards the trouble-torn Gobindpura even as a section of farmers held protest march in the village and the Opposition parties criticized the police action.

Himachal Pradesh’s solution to land acquisition hassles for hydropower projects - reserve one per cent of its production for project-affected people - should also be followed by Punjab for its power projects, Congress MLA Sunil Jakhar said on Monday.

Accusing the state government of coercing farmers of Gobindpura village in Mansa to part with their land for the Indiabulls’ power plant for a pittance, he said even one paisa of every unit of power generated would ensure farmers Rs one lakh in annual income for every acre acquired by the government for power projects.