Saturday, August 29, 1998
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P U N J A B | |
Saturday, August 29, 1998 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Problems
plague sugar industry Patiala
traders observe bandh Activists
to blame for confusion |
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 Panel
to probe Punjab A-G office working
Sanitation
fortnight ‘a farce’ |
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Dowry deaths on the rise in
Jalandhar Couple
held for having fake currency notes Extension
to Dogra hangs fire DC
redresses grievances of villagers AISSF's
plea for prohibition Labour
unions' plea on PF Shopkeeper
told to remove generators Government
‘responsible’ for robberies Sikh
Forum for resignation of 3 jathedars |
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| Anti-adulteration drive | |
Murder mystery solved |
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Problems plague sugar industry CHANDIGARH, Aug 28 — Though recognised as an important agro-industrial activity, sugarcane cultivation and crushing is today beset with problems in Punjab. These problems include declining area under sugarcane, its varieties becoming susceptible to diseases, insects and pests, low sugar recovery, high cost of cultivation, obsolete machinery with poor upkeep, and uncertainty over cane pricing. The Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices has not yet announced the minimum support price (MSP) of sugarcane for the current season — 1998-99. Because of court intervention last year, the concept of state advised price (SAP) has now become irrelevant. It will be the "agreed" price (not below MSP) between the producer and the purchaser which will rule the market. There is no ambiguity on this issue. Yet the state's political executive is engaged in a debate with officials over the SAP. A Cabinet sub-committee has been constituted to deal with the cane price issue. Punjab, in fact, is one state which pays the highest price for sugarcane. Against MSP of Rs 48.50 per quintal last season, the SAP was Rs 82 per quintal. Informed sources say now a "middle" path is being explored to ensure that farmers got "remunerative" price and simultaneously the interest of the mills was "protected". The sugar crisis of last season is still fresh in the mind of the decision-makers. It is being suggested that Managing Directors of the sugar mills and presidents of the cooperative societies of cane growers and progressive farmers should be invited and a consensus evolved on an "agreed" price so that neither side — cultivators and crushers — suffer a loss. This exercise, however, shall have to wait till MSP is announced. Punjab has 22 sugar mills of which 21 are operational; the cooperative mill at Budhladha is closed. Of the total mills 15 are in the cooperative sector and seven in the private sector. Their total crushing capacity, per day is approximately 50,000 tonnes. With sharp decline in area, the capacity utilisation will be low. In fact the cooperative mills are in financial straits. Their cumulative losses add up to a staggering Rs 234 crore. The area (each mill has to have a captive command area) under sugarcane has declined steeply. It fell by 35 per cent last year, when it was barely 1.45 lakh hectares against 2.25 lakh hectares in the previous year. The area in the present season is 1.14 lakh hectares. Unless the area is increased the existing mills will become idle. Given the growing vulnerability of the existing varieties to diseases, the sugar content has gone down. In the 1980s, when the sweet revolution began, the percentage recovery of sugar was more than 11; it averaged 10.5. The per hectare yield was high — 65 tonnes. Now that is around 55 tonnes per hectare and sugar recovery less than nine. Because of neglect of this sector over a period of time the sweet revolution began turning bitter in the 1990s. Cyclic fluctuations in production, poor management of varieties, red rot invading the crop and ratoon stunting diseases connived to sap the sugar cultivation and industry of the sweetness. Steps are now on the anvil to save sugarcane as an agro-industrial proposition, which holds promise to break the wheat-paddy rotation. A "nodal group" has been constituted to suggest ways and means for "technological development" of sugarcane on the one hand and "modernisation" of sugar mills on the other. A report of a committee on working of cooperative sugar mills, prepared by Mr J.P. Gupta, a retired IAS officer, is also available. The centre has now delicenced the sugar industry, though, this never was an issue. Against a licenced capacity of 284 lakh tonnes, the installed capacity, countrywide, is 141 lakh tonnes. There is mixed reaction to the government's decision, which is in line with the policy of liberalisation. The concept of 40 per cent levy sugar for the public distribution system stays. But the distance between two sugar mills has been reduced from 25 km to 15 km. Detailed guidelines on the delicenced policy are awaited. The new policy, say
experts in Punjab, will compound the problem in the
state. The industry wants captive area under cane of each
mill increased to 40 km so that capacity expansion
becomes viable and poaching's checked. |
Panel to probe Punjab A-G office
working CHANDIGARH, Aug 28 — The Punjab Cabinet has expressed dissatisfaction over the functioning and performance of the office of the Advocate-General. It has set up a high-level committee to suggest measures to improve its functioning. The committee will submit its report within a stipulated period. Making critical observations and adverse comments at the Cabinet meeting, certain Ministers observed that "either cases were not defended at all or very weak defence is presented in the Punjab and Haryana High Court". Although this item was not formally on the agenda of the Cabinet meeting, this issue was discussed at the meeting with the permission of Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister, who presided over the meeting. Perhaps, this is for the first time that such a serious indictment of an office has been made by the Cabinet. The Cabinet has named Mr Madan Mohan Mittal, Food and Supply Minister, Mr Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal, Medical Education Minister, Mr G.S. Grewal, Advocate-General, and Mr G.P.S. Sahi, Secretary, Home and Justice Department, as members of the committee. Both Mr Mittal and Mr Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal have a rich legal background. When contacted, Mr Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal said that he would suggest adoption of proper procedure for the selection of Additional Advocate-Generals, Deputy Advocate-Generals, Assistant Advocate-Generals and Senior Deputy Advocate-Generals. There should be some criteria to evaluate the performance of these officials. He said that a panel of judicial officials could be given the job of selecting Additional Advocate-Generals and others. Mr G.S. Grewal welcomed the constitution of the committee. He said the committee would provide him a chance to discuss the problems faced by his office in defending cases in courts. He said that about 50,000 new case files were dealt by his office every year. He said there was a very poor ministerial staff strength and other facilities to deal with such a large number of cases. He said that most government officials were not giving due importance to the office of the Advocate-General. He said that he had asked the officials concerned to give him in writing the details of cases where his office failed to defend them properly. Although he defended the appointments of the legal staff, the number of which has touched 49, he agreed that the selection process required to be streamlined. When asked why such a large number of law officers in the rank of Additional, Senior Deputy, Deputy and Assistant Advocate-Generals had been required, Mr Grewal said that he had distributed work among all keeping in view their legal expertise. Although Mr Grewal defended the appointment of such a large number of law officers, most ministers and senior advocates of the Punjab and Haryana High Court feel that the Punjab Government had reduced the office of the Advocate-General to "sifarish sanctuary". Senior advocates say that
while in January, 1996, the number of Judges in the
Punjab and Haryana High Court was 33, the number of law
officers in the office of the Punjab Advocate-General was
also almost the same. But the number of Judges and the
Court has come down to 24 while the number of law
officers has touched 49. |
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Activists to blame for confusion CHANDIGARH, Aug 28 — As expected, the People's Commission on Human Rights violations in Punjab has got embroiled in a major controversy. While the reaction to the constitution of the commission by various human rights groups with three well known retired High Court Judges by the established political set-up is along expected lines, some of the confusion owes its origin in the minds of the activists themselves. The commission was constituted by the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab blessed by many human right groups and has Mr Ram Narayan Kumar as its convener. Former Supreme Court Judge, Mr Kuldip Singh, and his World Sikh Council, which again has the patronage of the Akal Takht chief, Bhai Ranjit Singh is the driving force. Its first sitting here attracted a large number of people. Politicians opposed to the Akali Dal also lent their support. Major opposition to the formation of the commission has come from the Congress and the BJP, besides the police. At another level, certain sections of the Akali Dal are also opposed to it. But most intriguing is the silence of the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal. Despite many attempts, he would not like to make any comment. As is his wont, he would like to wish it away. But privately, Mr Badal feels that the commission would once again open old wounds and endanger the hard won peace. Similar views are being expressed, albeit privately, by his colleagues in the government. The only exception is the SGPC president, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra. But his support too lacks his usual enthusiasm. Left parties are not opposed to the commission as such, but would first like a broad consensus over the issues and then the constitution of such a commission. The Left would also extend support if an independent commission, set up with the support of the government, goes into the reasons for the senseless violence and the parties responsible for this. In fact, much of the blame goes to Mr Badal. In their manifesto for the Assembly elections, the Akalis promised that they would set up a high level judicial commission to find the powers responsible for the violence in Punjab and fix responsibility for the misdeeds by agencies and officers. When the Lok Sabha elections were held, the Akalis tried to quietly forget this promise. When confronted by the media, the response was a poor alibi — "Since the people wanted to punish the Congress that had caused all this tragedy, there is no need to set up any commission. The Congress has been convincingly defeated and punished". Was that so simple? Indeed the Akalis too have to answer many questions and take care of the skeletons in their own cupboards. It is towards this that a former colleague of theirs and now president of the state Congress, Mr Amarinder Singh, is hinting when he says that their hands are not clean. Congressmen and the BJP leaders, besides some police officers, have their own apprehensions. They felt that the commission is a partisan body of some self-styled human right activists and wittingly and unwittingly the Judges have fallen into their trap and lent credence to their investigation. They strongly believe that the commission has a political motive and is to help the fundamentalists. A section of the Akalis see the hands of those who would like to destabilise their power position. There are all kinds of misconceptions and insinuations. But the fact remains that the commission has evoked some good response and it could not be wished away. Mr Kuldip Singh and Mr Kumar assert that the commission is non- partisan and is only concerned with finding out the truth. They say it would develop a voluntary mechanism to collect information on people who disappeared from all over the state, and to ensure that the matter of police abductions leading to illegal cremations of dead bodies, proceeds meaningfully and culminates in a just and satisfactory final order. It would evolve a workable system of state accountability, and to build up the pressure of public opinion to counter the bid for immunity. It would also lobby for India to change its domestic laws in conformity with the UN instruments on torture, enforced disappearances, accountability, compensation to victims of abuse of power and other related matters. All this sounds noble. But then how would Mr Kumar and others answer the allegation that the commission is not concerned with violence prepetuated by the armed groups. He concedes this, but only by defending his own thesis. His answer is simple:
"It is open to all those who allege victimisation at
the hands of the militants, including police widows, to
approach the commission which would treat their
complaints with other complaints"."In terms of
reference the major emphasis is on alleged state
violence. |
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Deans' nod for sons' colleges PATIALA, Aug 28 — Permission to run vocational courses in computer application and management has been granted to societies in which wards of Dean, (Colleges) and Dean, Academic Affairs, Punjabi University play an important role by their fathers. Dr Balkar Singh, Dean (Colleges) has signed the letter of intent giving permission to the Patiala College of Management and Technology (PCMT) which has been set up by his son and the College of Management and Technology (CMT) in which the son of Dean, (Academic Affairs), Dr B.S. Bhatia is the Chairman after he and Dr Bhatia along with Officer on Special Duty to the Vice-Chancellor, Dr S.S. Pahil, inspected the premises of the colleges in the city. Earlier, in the absence of the Vice-Chancellor, Dr Joginder Singh Puar, who is away in the USA, Dr Balkar Singh received applications seeking affiliation by the two societies to open colleges to run the Bachelor of Computer Application (BCA) and the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) courses in city. Upon the receipt of the applications, Dr Balkar Singh told TNS he constituted a three-member subcommittee, including himself, Dr Bhatia and Dr Pahil. Dr Balkar Singh claimed that at that point he did not know that his son was involved in one of the societies which had requested for permission to open a vocational college. He said: "I only came to know about it when I went to inspect the premises". However, Dr Bhatia when contacted said Dr Balkar Singh had told him while they were going to inspect the premises that his son was involved in one of the projects. Dr Bhatia said he on his part had told Dr Balkar Singh that one of his kin was also involved in the other project. On persistent questioning Dr Bhatia admitted that his "relative" was his son but went on to say that he did not have much role. Earlier, Dr Balkar Singh disclosed that the permission had been given to encourage unemployed graduates and that his son who was a production graduate was unemployed. Dr Bhatia was candid
enough to admit that his son was working for a private
company at Chandigarh. He went on to add that everything
was done with the concurrence of the Vice-Chancellor who
had given him permission in a telephonic message. |
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Patiala traders observe bandh PATIALA, Aug 28 — A near -total bandh was observed by traders here today to protest against the "vindictive" attitude of the Excise Department officials in registering false cases against traders. Almost all shops in the main Adalat Bazar, Dharampura Bazar, Lahori Gate, Arya Samaj Chowk and Sheranwala Gate remained closed today on a bandh call given by the Patiala Beopar Mandal. A few shops were open in the post 22 number railway gate market. The traders also partially blocked traffic for some time while holding a rally in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office. Riot police was also called in but no untoward incident occurred. However, the district administration and the Excise Department in a press note claimed the bandh was a complete failure. A government spokesman said only a very small section of the business community closed shutters and that most of the bazars remained open. The spokesman said the government would not withdraw cases against any trader who had not allowed raiding parties to do their duty on August 22 and manhandled a member of the raiding party. The spokesman said raids against businessmen who were evading excise duty would also continue. The government spokesman urged the trading community not to be misled by a small section of traders who were resorting to bandhs for their vested interests. He said the past two years had seen no check on evasion of excise duty. As a result, a section of traders had started evading it. Meanwhile, the District Congress Committee (Urban) shared the resentment and anguish of the beopar mandal against the state government for registering criminal cases against mandal representatives. Mr Ved Prakash Gupta, president, DCC (Urban), while addressing the beopar mandal dharna said the government was resorting to silencing traders who were protesting against the government for not fulfilling promises made at the time of elections. Mr Gupta assured the
business community of the support of the district
Congress in fighting the "nefarious" designs
against them. |
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Sanitation
fortnight ‘a farce’ ABOHAR: The city Congress has described the sanitation fortnight celebrated recently by the municipal council as "totally useless". The president and some BJP members of the council visited selected localities and markets carrying " jharoos" in their hands. The emphasis was on getting photographs of the event published in local newspapers every day, but insanitary conditions continued to grip the subdivisional town. The parks remained badly affected. The council in order to
ensure publicity for the campaign had obliged local
newspapers and those published from adjoining cities of
Rajasthan with advertisements without routing the same
through the Director, Public Relations, or the Director,
Local Bodies, Punjab. Municipal employees had been conducting meetings in the park every Saturday. It was also known as "Lovers Lane" as young couples could be seen relaxing under shady and ornamental trees, some of which being more than 50 years old. The municipal committee while converting this "zanana bagh" ( ladies' park) into a public park in 1974, in the memory of Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, had not axed the beautiful trees. The fountains in the park had gone out of order many times due to the rains. The same were made functional when Mr Kulbir Singh Kang and Mr Manikant Prasad Singh served here as administrators of the committee. Some other changes were also made, but till today there has been no arrangement for the disposal of the rain water from the park. Earlier, hundreds of families used to visit the Nehru Park daily. For children too evenings were joy-time even though the council had not been able to maintain the small sources of games in the park. The lush green lawns, trees and flower plants had attracted everyone. The reading room inside the park provided visitors with newspapers. Scores of rehriwalas selling ice cream, kulfi, golgappas, papris and popcorn were doing good business at the park. They too are a disappointed lot as all activities have been suspended because the park remains flooded with water. The authorities have not bothered to drain out the water which has now started stinking. Interestingly, the park is surrounded by the military hospital, official bungalows of the SDM and the executive officer, a government girls senior secondary school and a ladies' club. The Patel Park had been the first choice of religious organisations for holding functions. Sports lovers had been using the park for different games. Residents of Prem Nagar, Patel Nagar and Gobind Nagri preferred to use the park for marriages ceremonies. The city Congress Committee regrets that the sullage water in the park is spreading on to the roads around. Model schools and dispensaries located on the adjoining roads, have also been affected by the dirty water. Students have to walk through this water. Water has also flowed into the saree market of Street No 6. Residents of Chandigarh Mohalla, Sidhu Nagri and Thakar Abadi have also been complaining of a similar problem. They have even held protest demonstrations at the municipal office here. The condition of the Lajpat Rai vegetable market is no better. Vegetable sellers too have played a role in creating insanitation and pollution, but they blame the council for not making arrangements for the disposal of the rain water from the market. This, they say, make the inside passages muddy thereby affecting their business. Mr Babu Ram Arya,
president, Municipal Council, stated that neither the
District Planning Board nor the state government released
any grant for the sewerage system. The council was facing
a paucity of funds, but he was not able to explain why
the council had not made sincere efforts to check octroi
evasion or recover tax dues running into several lakhs.
He complained of interference in removing temporary
encroachments which augmented the sewerage problem. |
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Chaturanan flays economic policy LUDHIANA, Aug 28 — Former Union Minister for Agriculture and member of the central secretariat of the Communist Party of India, Mr Chaturanan Mishra, inaugurated the 17th state conference of the party here today. Addressing a public rally, Mr Mishra said the Left parties were all set to oust the present government. He, however, said no party in the country would be able to provide able governance at this juncture. Condemning the economic policies being pursued by the Union Government, he said such policies were leading the country towards bankruptcy. The value of the rupee against the American dollar had fallen from Rs 36 to Rs 43, leading to trade losses. He said 45 per cent of the Budget presented by the Finance Minister was being allocated towards repayment of interest on foreign loans. He lauded the government for upgrading the country's nuclear arsenal, but lamented this had intensified the arms race in the region. Dr Joginder Dayal, secretary, state council, warned that linking religion with politics was to degrade religion and mentioned the events at Akal Takht in this regard. Senior Communist leader Vimla Dang spoke on police atrocities. Mr Shamim Faizi, member, central secretariat, Mr Jagjit Singh Anand, Mr Kartar Singh Buani, Dr Mitra and Mr Gulzar Singh also addressed the rally. Later, Dr Mishra
inaugurated the conference and announced the formation of
a 21-member steering committee, a six-member credential
committee and two commissions, one for political purposes
and the other for organisational purposes. |
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DC redresses grievances of
villagers LUDHIANA, Aug 28 — In a novel scheme launched by the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, the district administration is required to visit a central village once a week to redress public grievances on the spot. In this regards, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Arun Goel, and all other district officers organised the first such function at Sahauli village in Raikot tehsil to listen to the grievances of people residing in a dozen villages of the area. Members of village panchayats and the general public gathered in large numbers to get their problems solved on the spot. Some five dozen complaints were presented before the Deputy Commissioner concerning various departments. Like revenue, police, public health, social security, PSEB etc. After examining complaints, orders were passed for their redressal. A large number of people complained about the delay in sanctioning various kinds of pensions by the Social Security Department on one pretext or the other. The Deputy Commissioner directed the District Security Officer to camp in the village in the afternoon and get all formalities completed for sanctioning the pensions to eligible people. A village panchayat made another complaint regarding the construction of a water tank at the wrong site by the Public Health Department as a result of which water was not reaching all houses. The Deputy Commissioner handed over the inquiry to the SDM, Raikot, and assured strict action would be taken in case any irregularity was found. Mr Goel directed the revenue staff to complete the jamabandis and girdauri as per the rules and told them to expedite all pending mutation cases at the earliest. The Deputy Commissioner appealed the people to make maximum use of the new scheme and bring their complaints in a written form. The district officers of different departments apprised the people regarding development and welfare scheme. Among others who addressed
the function were Mr Jagdish Singh Garcha, MLA, Mr
Jatinder Singh Aulakh, SSP, Jagraon, and Mr Sarabjit
Singh, ADC(D). |
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Dowry deaths on the rise in
Jalandhar JALANDHAR, Aug 28 — Almost everyday somewhere a young married woman is burnt alive or beaten to death or forced to commit suicide. The statistics are appalling in this district as more than 80 dowry deaths have taken place from January, 1997, to March, 1998. Mr Mohinder Singh Mohrak from Sriganganagar (Rajasthan) alleges that his daughter, who had been married for two years, was killed by her husband and in-laws. The parents of the victim were not informed. It was only when Mr Mohrak visited her house here that he came to know of her death and cremation. Today a distraught man, he has been successful in getting a case registered under Sections 413, 304-B and 498-B, IPC, against the accused, after the initial apathy of the police. No arrests have, however, been made so far. Mr R.K. Sagar, a government contractor, had married his daughter to one Rajesh Kumar Sanan of Udham Singh Nagar here on January 23, only to be informed on May 28 that she was dead. He says he could not afford to give a Ceilo car in dowry. The police has submitted a challan and the viscera report which states the cause of death as asphyxiation. Tilka, a vegetable vendor, married his 18-year-old daughter four months ago. It is alleged that she was burnt to death by her in-laws after three days of her marriage. She succumbed to her burns in the Civil Hospital, Kapurthala. Heartbroken, her father says he had spent Rs 10,000 on her marriage. According to statistics, 147 dowry deaths were reported in the state in 1993 — a figure much lower than other states. Uttar Pradesh reported the highest with 1,952. Delhi reported 107, Andhra Pradesh 746, Madhya Pradesh 370, Bihar 336, Rajasthan 271, Karnataka, 266, and Orissa 209. However, within a year, Jalandhar has reported more dowry deaths in comparison to other cities. Academicians and social workers want to go deeper into the problem. They feel that the actual number of dowry deaths is considerably higher than that mentioned in police records. The police is often accused of inaction as it treats violence against women as "family affairs", alleges Mr J.S. Multani, a social activist and former minister. The government has, on its part, recognised three women's organisations and authorised them to directly file complaints under the Dowry Prohibition (Amendment) Act, 1984, in lower courts or at police stations. The complaints are treated as FIR to prevent the tampering of evidence. These organisations are, the All-India Women's Conference, the Mahila Dakshta Samiti and the Guild of Services. So far, none of these
organisations have availed of the facility. |
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AISSF's plea for prohibition HOSHIARPUR, Aug 28 — The All-India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) in a letter to Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister of Punjab, has demanded the opening of "janata thanas" (public police stations) and complete prohibition, keeping in view the proposed celebration of 300 years of the formation of the Khalsa. This was stated by Mr Harminder Singh Gill, president of the federation while talking to mediapersons here yesterday. He said the government should accept the demand of the federation for an intoxicant-free society. Referring to the dispute among the head priests he said this was unfortunate and urged Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra, president, SGPC, to intervene in the matter to end the dispute. He pointed out that some of the leaders were trying to exploit the situation for their selfish motives. Earlier, addressing a
workers' meeting he said the 54th anniversary of the
formation of the AISSF would be celebrated at Moga on
September 13, in which workers from all over the country
would participate. |
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Labour unions' plea on PF GURDASPUR, Aug 28 — Several representations made by labour unions here, including INTUC AITUC, and CITU, to the Ministry of Labour, Punjab, to direct owners of brickkilns, rice shellers, stone crushers and big contractors to cover their employees under the employees' provident fund appear to have fallen on deaf ears. Most of the representations have elicited no response. An enquiry by the Labour Ministry was held more than a year ago, according to the unions, but the findings, if any, were not known. More than 60 employees were needed to run a brickkiln, 30 to run a stone crusher and 25 to run a rice shellers. Big contractors in the district had a work force of about 10,000 each. The contractors did not issue any regular employment cards to these employees but instead showed them as daily-wage earners on contracted labour. The district had more than 150 brickkilns and 80 rice shellers. The total number of employees in the district who were not being covered under the Employees Provident Fund Act exceeded 23,000. According to the Act which
was amended in 1971, an employer violating the act could
be sentenced to one year's imprisonment or fined Rs 4,000
or both. |
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Couple held for having fake
currency notes KAPURTHALA, Aug 28 — The city police on Thursday arrested Harkishan Singh Bhatia and his wife Sarabjit Kaur of Santokhpur mohalla in Jalandhar on the charge of possessing fake currency notes of the denomination of Rs 500. Mr Iqbal Singh, SSP, said on a tip-off Mr S.S. Mand, DSP, along with a police party arrested the couple near DC Chowk and seized 70 notes of the denomination of Rs 500. The SSP said Harkishan Singh originally belonged to Sopore village in Baramula district in Jammu and Kashmir. He opened an educational institution at Jalandhar in 1992 and also started a travel agency. His brothers have cloth shops in Kashmir. The police suspects he brought the fake currency notes from Kashmir. The notes bore the series 2-AV, 8-CM, 2-CF, 3-CQ and 4-CO. The SSP said the paper of the fake currency notes was different than the real notes and Ashoka Pillar in the fake notes turned black when seen through ultraviolet light. The couple was produced
inthe court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr Jaspal
Singh, on Thursday who remanded them in police custody
till Friday. |
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Shopkeeper told to remove generators ABOHAR, Aug 28 — Mr Dhirender Kumar Tiwari, Subdivisional Magistrate has directed all shopkeepers of the Gandhi Chowk area here to remove their generators by September 7. The SDM while deciding a complaint filed by Mr Sushil Goyal, the outgoing president of the Gandhi Chowk Vikas Parishad, under Section 133, Cr P.C., relied on the report of a two-member committee which included Mr Iqbal Singh Sandhu, Tehsildar and Senior Medical Officer, Dr J.C. Garg. The committee which visited the Gandhi Chowk area, found 10 generators kept at close distance and polluting the environment. They were creating so much of noise which Mr Goyal said it could impair the hearing of people. The shopkeepers were reportedly suffering from respiratory problems due to smoke too. The judgement might set
precedent for others as more than 1000 generators are
operating here. A majority of these had been installed on
roads and streets encroaching upon the government land.
Moreover according to sources no permission has been
obtained from the PSEB. |
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Government ‘responsible’
for robberies JALANDHAR, Aug 28 — The State unit of the Janata Dal has held the Akali-BJP government responsible for the worsening law and order situation in the state, particularly the spate of robberies and killings in the rural areas. The convener of the state unit, Mr Harish Khanna, alleged here today the victims of looting, robbery and killings were usually women, the downtrodden and those belonging to middle class families. He said reviewing the increasing incidents of crime it seemed the state government had lost its grip over the administrative machinery. The guilty were moving
scot-free and no deterrent punishment was meted out to
them. He also alleged adulteration in essential
commodities and life-saving drugs was rampant. The
government, he said, was not taking any stern action
against the adulterators. |
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Sikh Forum for resignation of 3
jathedars AMRITSAR, Aug 28 — The Sikh Forum, Guru Nanak Dev University, today sought the resignation of the three warring jathedars to keep the dignity of the Takhts. It expressed concern at the avoidable allegations levelled by the three jathedars against each other. This war of words involving the three jathedars had caused confusion among the well-meaning Sikhs. The forum was of the view that the old tradition of appointing jathedars, through larger involvement of Sikh bodies like the Singh Sabhas, accredited saints of deras, Sikh intellectuals should be revived. Prominent among the
members of the forum who attended the meeting were Dr
S.P. Singh, Professor Punjabi Studies, Dr Sewa Singh,
Professor Sant Kabir Chair, Dr Surjit Singh Narang,
Professor, Political Science, Dr S.S. Sabar, Professor
Guru Ravi Das Chair, Dr S.S. Sekhon, Applied Physics, Dr
Gurmit Singh, Associate Professor School of Punjabi
Studies, Dr Ramandeep Singh, Department of English and Dr
Bikram Singh Hundal, Department of Business and Commerce. |
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Drive to check adulterated
mustard oil CHANDIGARH, Aug 28 — The Punjab Government has decided to launch a special campaign to check the sale of adulterated mustard oil in the state. The government has instructed all civil surgeons to take samples of mustard oil from oil mills (kohlus), wholesalers, retailers, villages and labour colonies and send them for analysis to food and chemical laboratories immediately. The authorities have been instructed to initiate action under the relevant provisions of the PFA Act against those whose samples fail the test. The government has also
issued instructions that samples of other edible oils
sold in the market should also be taken and sent for
analysis. |
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Murder mystery solved KHARAR, Aug 28 — The local police has solved a mystery about a murder allegedly committed on August 2, 1998, in Chaju Majra village and has recovered a body buried in the fields from the village today. The Kharar SHO, Mr Jasdev Singh, while addressing a press conference here today said the identity of the deceased was not known as yet but he seemed to be in the 25-30 age group. He said the incident occurred when the deceased came to the tubewell of Jasmer Singh to drink water. The accused took him to be a thief and started beating him. He died on the spot. The accused dug a 5-ft-deep trench and buried the deceased. He said the police got the information about the crime on phone and started investigations. He said the body was recovered today from the fields in the presence of the duty magistrate, Mr Gurmail Singh. Earlier, the police raided the house of the accused and rounded up Jasmer Singh from whose fields the body was recovered. The other accused were absconding. A case has been registered
under Sections 302, 201 and 34, IPC. |
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2 killed in accidents ABOHAR, Aug 28 — Two persons were killed and 12 occupants of a jeep, most of them women, were injured in separate accidents in Abohar subdivision yesterday. Mr Swaran Singh, a telephone operator, was crushed to death when his scooter was hit by the truck on the Seeto road. Another scooterist, Jaspal Singh (25) son of Jaimal Singh, a resident of Laduka village, was killed when his vehicle hit a truck near Khuikhera village on the Abohar-Fazilka road. Twelve persons were injured when their jeep hit a tree Seetogunno village yesterday. The injured were
identified as Bhagitath, Gopi Ram, Romi, Dropadi, Vidya,
Soni, Guddi, Rampyari, Veeranbai, Saraswati and Bhanwar
Lal. All of them were admitted to the Community Health
Centre at Seetogunno. |
||
Lensmen robbed PHAGWARA, Aug 28 — Two local photographers Vijay Dogra and Sukhwinder Sukha were drugged and robbed of their valuables today near Kariha village on the Phagwara-Chandigarh road. Five persons came here in a Tata Sumo and hired them for clicking marriage of their maternal cousin at Mohali. They served them with lassi at a dhaba near Banga and drove on. The photographers fell unconscious near Kariha since the lassi was drugged. After taking out their wristwatches, two cameras, including a video camera, Rs 1500 in cash, both were thrown into the fields. Two farmers spotted them
and admitted them to hospital at Nawanshahr. Mr Mohan
Narang, General secretary of the local Photographers
Association, condemned the incident demanding arrest of
culprits. |
||
Encroachment's removal sought SAS NAGAR, Aug 28 — Residents have demanded the removal of the encroachment in a pocket of Phase XI made in the green belt. They said they had approached PUDA regarding the removal of the encroachment adjoining plot numbers 364 and 350 in Phase XI but to no avail. The construction of
structures illegally in the green belt would deprive the
residents of an open space for holding functions and
other public use, the residents added. |
||
Punjab to fund central projects CHANDIGARH, Aug 28 — The closure of 52 child development projects in Punjab by the end of September has been postponed for the time being as the State Government has agreed to provide funds for this Central Government sponsored programme. The prospect of imminent winding up of the projects had impelled the anganwari staff to stage dharnas and hold rallies. Responding positively to the staff's demand, Ms Jagir Kaur, Minister for Social Security, moved the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, to avert the closure of these projects. Earlier, last April, Mrs Romila Dubey, secretary, Social Security Department, had urged the Ministry to accord the necessary permission for continuing these projects as staff had already been recruited. She also met Ms Asha Das, Secretary in the Union Government, to press the request for the continuation of these projects. Considering the urgency
and seriousness of the issue, Ms Jagir Kaur and Mrs Dubey
took up the matter today with the Punjab Finance
Minister, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, who agreed to run the
projects by state funds although these projects were 100
per cent Central Government funded ones. |
||
Extension to Dogra hangs fire NEW DELHI, Aug 28 — The recent request of the Punjab Government to the Centre seeking extension in service by another six months to the Director General of Police, Mr P.C. Dogra, seems to have run into rough weather as it would require amendment to existing rules. Highly placed sources in the Ministry of Personnel, confirmed today that the issue was pending for approval by the Cabinet since it would require amendment to the recently notified All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement Benefits) Amendment rules. As per the existing rules no employee, other than certain highly placed technical personnel, be granted extension after completing their term of service. After the implementation of recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission, the retirement age for Central government employees was raised to 60. However, it was clarified that the benefit will not be available to those who were already on extension prior to the day the notification was made during May, this year. The Punjab Government had granted six-month extension to Mr Dogra, who was due to retire on March 31, this year. As per the extended tenure his date of retirement from the service will be September 30. The sources said for
granting an extension in this case, the government would
have to amend the rule and it could well become a
precedent. |
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