Mrs Bhattal was here in connection with the annual three-day function organised to commemorate the martyrdom of Sardar Sewa Singh Thikriwala who sacrificed his life for the freedom of the country in a Patiala jail 70 years ago. Besides, Mrs Bhattal, Mr Bachan Singh Pakho, a former MLA; Mr Surinder Pal Singh Sibia, a member of the District Planning Board; Mr Gurdial Singh Chatha, Chairman, Market Committee, Sangrur, also paid tributes to the martyr.

Mrs Bhattal tried to evade a direct reply to a question about the setting up of a chair in a university in Punjab in memory of Sardar Sewa Singh Thikriwala by saying that there was a financial crunch in the state.

Paying tributes to the martyr, Mrs Bhattal announced a grant of Rs 45 lakh for the development of Thikriwala village and assured the villagers that the village would be developed as a Model Town, equipped with modern facilities. She also promised that memorials would be set up to freedom fighters at the district and block levels in Sangrur district.

Mrs Bhattal criticised the SAD leadership by saying that it had done nothing during its regime from 1997 to 2002 for the fulfilment of demands of Punjab. She said the Badal government had left Punjab in a state of financial crisis.

When her attention was drawn towards the problems of private college teachers of Punjab, she said the state government had already released Rs 30 crore to the private colleges during the past some months for their survival. She said the state government could not alone bear the burden of private colleges, the management committees of these colleges should also take steps to generate their own financial resources for the welfare of teachers as well as students. She said that she would, after the Ajnala Assembly byelection, meet the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union (PCCTU) leadership to sort out the problems being faced by the staff of private colleges.