THREE-DAY-LONG PROCESSION BEGINS FROM AKAL TAKHT

 The three-day-long colourful Nagar Kirtan, a Sikh religious procession, began here from the highest Sikh Temporal seat Akal Takht marking the 305th year of compilation of the Guru Granth Sahib.

Earlier, Jatehdar Akal Takht Gyani Gurbachan Singh performed Ardas or prayer as per Sikh rituals in the presence of nearly 50,000 Sikh devotees before the beginning of the procession in the marbled periphery of the Golden Temple. There was a big cavalcade with the Nagar Kirtan when it was passing through the city's streets and was accorded rousing welcome at various places in the city.

Gyani Gurbachan Singh on this occasion said that tenth Singh Guru Gobind Singh had compiled the Guru Granth Sahib after inserting religious discourse scripted by ninth Sikh master Guru Teg Bahdur.

Read More:http://www.punjabmailonline.com/Punjab%20News_news2.aspx#52636

New thermal power plants to start generation from next year

The three new supercritical thermal power plants with the total installed capacity of 3920 MWs coming up in various places in Punjab would begin generating electricity next year with the first unit of the Talwandi Sabo project of the Vedanta likely to be commissioned in November 2012.

GS Chhabra, Director (Generation) of the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) today said the second and third units of the 1980-MW Talwandi Sabo project were slated to be commissioned in February and May 2013, respectively.

A meeting of the coordination committee has been convened on August 25 to discuss the progress in construction of the project.

Chhabra said that the first unit of the 540-MW Goindwal Sahib thermal power project being constructed by the GVK Group would be commissioned in January 2013 and the second in April 2013.

The 1400-MW Rajpura Thermal Plant being built by the L&T Group would be commissioned in 2014 with its first unit going to stream in January and the second in May.

Read More:http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110824/bathinda.htm#1

No new thermal plant before 2012

No new thermal power power plant in the state, including those at Talwandi Sabo, Rajpura and Goindwal Sahib, will be commissioned before November 18, 2012.

The Union Ministry of Power has said this in a reply to a query by Lok Sabha MP Ravneet Singh Bittu. Union Minister of State for Power, KC Venugopal has stated that as per the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the first unit of the 3660 MW thermal plant at Talwandi Sabo will be commissioned on November 18 next year, the second unit on February 8, 2013 and third unit on June 10, 2013.

Similarly, the first unit of the 2270 MW thermal plant at Goindwal Sahib will be commissioned on January 31, 2013 and the second unit on April 30, 2013. The Rajpura thermal power plant of 2700 MW capacity will have its first unit commissioned on January 17, 2014 and the second unit on May 17, 2014.

"These figures translate into the fact that Punjab cannot be a power surplus state. As all these thermal plants are being set up on build-own-operate (BOO) basis, neither the state government nor the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has spent a single penny on these projects," Bittu said.

Read More:http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110819/bathinda.htm#1