Saturday, September 19, 1998
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Saturday, September 19, 1998 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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CM to take
up ST
raids: traders Punjab
to spend Rs 1, 800 crore on roads Excise
Department |
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 Medical admissions: several duped LUDHIANA, Sept 18 — The police has registered a case against Mr K. Mahajan for allegedly duping a large number of persons of crores of rupees by promising to secure admissions for their wards to medical colleges in south India. Counselling centre Foodgrain
labs to be closed |
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Bangladesh
to buy surplus paddy More
than a lakh visit PAU mela Drive
to root out congress grass AISSF
keen on Adampur seat Congress
panel on tercentenary celebrations Rice
millers offer to store paddy |
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CM to take up Punjab demands GURU KI DHAB (Faridkot), Sept 18 — In a significant statement, Punjab Chief Minister and SAD president Parkash Singh Badal today announced that his party would unite with other regional parties for more powers to the states. Addressing a gathering on the occasion of Jor Mela here, he said during his recent Madras visit, he had held talks with representatives of various regional parties for the creation of a common forum. He said the SAD would continue such dialogue with other regional parties to build pressure on the Central Government for a federal system in the country. The Chief Minister said under the existing arrangement for sharing of revenue, the Centre took away more money than the states. This was the reason why the state governments had to depend on the Centre for development funds. In another significant statement, Mr Badal announced that he would take up all pending issues of Punjab, including the transfer of Chandigarh and Punjabi speaking areas to Punjab and exclusive rights on the river waters under the riparian law, with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee after September 30. He said the Punjab Government would ask the Central Government to introduce crop insurance scheme so that the farmers were protected against natural calamities. Lashing out at the Congress, he said that the party comprised a "bunch of looters". During its 45 years of rule, it had ruined the agrarian economy. Regarding the forthcoming visit of the AICC president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Mr Badal alleged that the Congress was the "killer of farmers". He wondered why then its chief was coming to Punjab to visit the families of farmers who had committed suicide. He said Sikhs who constituted only 2.5 per cent of the total population of the country had made 80 per cent sacrifices during the freedom struggle and during the wars that India fought with other countries after independence. He said the PPCC president, Mr Amarinder Singh, was talking of ousting the SAD-BJP government from power but he himself was "unable to run the party". He said the Sikhs had a glorious past. Every Sikh should remember this. Communities who forgot their history could not survive, he warned. The SGPC president, Mr G.S. Tohra, speaking on the occasion said the Sikhs should follow the path shown by Guru Gobind Singh. He said all Sikhs should get themselves baptised. He warned if the Sikhs did not make efforts to follow Sikh traditions, they would soon lose their identity and respect in the world. Mr Tota Singh, Mr Sucha
Singh Langah ministers and Mr Makhan Singh, MLA, also
spoke. |
ST raids: traders observe
black day AMRITSAR, Sept 18 — Traders here today observed black day in protest against the humiliation and atrocities committed by officials of the Sales Tax Department on traders in Patiala during the past over one month. The president of the Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal, Mr Amrit Lal Jain, in a press note condemned the sales tax authorities for raiding the business premises at Ludhiana and Patiala to harass and terrorise the business community. Mr Jain alleged that the department had registered false cases against the traders to harass the traders. The beopar mandal chief pointed that the country was facing serious recession which was unprecedented in the 50 years of Independence and these raids were adding the burden on the business. Mr Jain demanded strict action against the erring sales tax officers and the police officers who had fired several shots in the air at Patiala and the withdrawal of false cases registered against the traders. The mandal had sought a CBI probe against officers of the Sales Tax Department who had amassed assets disproportionate to the known sources of income. The mandal had planned to hold its next meeting on September 21 at Patiala to take stock of the situation and plan the next course of action. LUDHIANA: Shops and commercial establishments in the city observed "black day" on Friday in protest against their alleged harassment by officials of the Sales Tax Department in Patiala, Ludhiana and Jalandhar. They put up black flags
and displayed black banners on their establishments,
according to Baba Ajit Singh, Mr Kasturi Lal Mittal and
Mr Sunil Mehra, leaders of the Punjab Pradesh Beopar
Mandal, which had given the protest call. |
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Medical admissions: several duped LUDHIANA, Sept 18 — The police has registered a case against Mr K. Mahajan for allegedly duping a large number of persons of crores of rupees by promising to secure admissions for their wards to medical colleges in south India. According to a complaint filed with the police by Dr K.P. Singh, former Head, Department of Surgery, at D.M.C. Hospital, the accused came to his clinic to enquire about the condition of a patient who was under treatment. During the course of conversation with Dr Singh, Mahajan claimed that he knew a number of persons who were on the management committees of different medical colleges in south India and he could arrange admission of any person in a medical college. Dr Singh asked him to arrange admission for his son in a medical college. The accused asked Mr Singh to arrange Rs 7 lakh as donation. He received Rs 3 lakh from the complainant and another Rs 10,000 as the travelling expenses. Later, Dr Singh checked the antecedents of Mahajan from the latter's neighbour and found that he had cheated a large number of persons to the tune of crores of rupees on the pretext of getting them admitted to medical and engineering colleges in the south. When Dr Singh asked
Mahajan to return the money, he gave him a cheque for Rs
3.10 lakh which bounced in the meantime, Mahajan fled
from Ludhiana along with his family. |
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Counselling centre poses problems KHUNIMAJRA, (ROPAR) Sept 18— A large number of students coming to the counselling centre opened at Government Polytechnic in this village in the hope of getting admission to different courses in polytechnics have been facing a number of problems due to the location of the centre in a remote area. The counselling centre, where counselling began on September 4, was set up by the Punjab State Board of Technical Education last year. this had been done as the Board had been reportedly facing problems in conducting the admission process at Central Polytechnic in Sector 26 in Chandigarh. Till last year the Board had been conducting the test at this centre. In absence of any arrangement by the authorities for the stay of students and parents in the premises, those coming from far-away places have been facing many problems. They have to either go to Chandigarh for night stay or are forced to return to their native places after the conclusion of counselling sessions late in the night. Talking to TNS, a number of parents complained that due to the location of the centre in a remote area, they had to hire taxis. Bus service on the Kharar-Banur road was poor, they added. Baldev Singh, father of an aspirant, suggested that the counselling should have been held at some centrally located place like Ludhiana or Jalandhar. Mr Rakesh Kumar, father of another student, who had come all the way from Talwara township in Hoshiarpur district said the old system of conducting the admission process at the respective polytechnics was convenient. He said due to counselling at this village, he was forced to stay in a rest house at Chandigarh. He urged the authorities to adopt the old admission process. However, parents expressed satisfaction over the arrangement of bus service for aspirants from the Kharar bus stand. Mr Ramesh Sehgal, father of an aspirant from Rajpura, complained that though announcements were made over the public address system regarding the latest admission position, no arrangements had been made for the display of result for the anxious parents waiting outside. "We are totally in the dark, as we cannot go inside," he added. When contacted, the
Principal of the institute, Mr Amar Singh, said the Board
authorities had made elaborate arrangements for the
visiting students. He said the venue of the centre had
been changed by the authorities as there were certain
problems in acquiring the Central Polytechnic and
Chandigarh. |
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Punjab to spend Rs 1, 800 crore
on roads CHANDIGARH, Sept 18 — The Punjab Government is engaged in an exercise to raise a huge loan from financial institutions to fund its ambitious special project on road network in the state. The loan amount is in the vicinity of Rs 1,800 crore. There are two components of the proposed project: one pertains to the state’s plan roads; the second involves the village link roads, existing as well as constructing new ones. While the first component is to be undertaken by the State PWD (B and R) Department, Punjab Mandi Board will take up work on the link roads. Punjab has a 34,000-km network of village link roads, which is in a state of neglect and disrepair. Informed sources have told TNS that for the village link roads project a sum of Rs 570 crore is involved. The Oriental Bank of Commerce is firming up the financial commitment. Consequently, the Mandi Board will take up repair work on link roads (8,000 km) which stand identified. It will construct new link roads (2,000 km) in different districts. The same have been identified by the government. These are spread over 100 rural assembly constituencies. While selecting the "new" links (20 km per constituency) the orders of the High Court have been kept in view. In respect of the state’s plan roads, the financial involvement is heavy (Rs 1,800 crore) and money is just not available. Therefore, the eye of the government has focused on the Rural Development Board, which manages the rural development fund. As per a decision taken at the level of the Chief Minister on September 11, a sum of Rs 150 crore will be "diverted" from the Rural Development Fund in two years to form a corpus. Once the state gets the money as a deposit on "mutually agreeable terms" then the PWD (B and R) will be able to raise a loan from financial institutions as well as Hudco for repair, widening and strengthening and maintenance of the plan roads. For the return of the corpus funds to the Rural Development Board, the state government will make a budgetary provision and allow utilisation of the funds received from sale and allotment of plots by the Director, Colonisation, for repayment. So far, sources disclosed, the account-keeping in respect of road development, upgradation, repair etc was "chaotic". Now an apex committee has been constituted. Computerised account system is being introduced. Each link road has been given a code number to avoid duplication and overlapping of work undertaken by the board as well as the PWD Department. One major aspect of the proposed exercise is introduction of a provision for carrying out "patch work" on link roads. Earlier, this system was not there. The repair cycle was for five years. As a result, thereof, the condition of the link roads worsened. Now a six-year repair cycle has been evolved. At the same time for "patch work" to be undertaken there is an annual provision of approximately Rs 30 crore. In fact the Financial Commissioner (Development) is believed to have told the meeting chaired by the Chief Minister that diversion would be difficult since the Mandi Board had prepared a Rs 828 crore project. Since plan roads were on priority of the Chief Minister at least two components were pruned and allowed to deal with just the link roads: existing and new ones. As a sequel to the decision, the apex committee met and approved the communication which has been sent to all Deputy Commissioners in the state regarding the September 11 meeting on link road repair schedule. The letter is jointly signed by the Financial Commissioner (Development) and the Secretary, PWD (B and R). Detailed procedures are contained therein. The cost of repair of link roads has been approximated at Rs 4 lakh per km and executive engineers have been asked to adhere to this cost. In case the cost is on the higher side, the case will be submitted to the apex committee. The secretary, PWD, is to scrutinise the ongoing works which show an outlay of Rs 81 crore against the length of 1209 km, giving an average of Rs 6.75 lakh per km. The project covers the period from October 1 to June 30, 2000. The work starts right away. For the plan roads, it is believed that the loan to be raised may be to the tune of several hundred crores. Hudco, banks etc are expected to be approached for assistance. The project estimate is Rs
1,400 crore: Hudco may give Rs 250 crore and banks will
give a loan of at least Rs 1,000 crore. The mode of
repayment is being worked out. |
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Excise Department to step up
drive PATIALA, Sept 18 — The Patiala Division of the Excise and Taxation Department plans to intensify its drive against Sales Tax evaders during the coming festival season. Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner (AETC) I.S. Chahal said here today the department would come down with a heavy hand on traders who tried to intimidate officers on duty. Mr Chahal said this decision had been taken following a meeting of departmental officers held by Excise and Taxation Commissioner Sudhir Mittal here on September 16. He said the Excise Commissioner had reviewed the field work undertaken and the results of various sales tax raids conducted recently. Mr Chahal said the departmental officers had been told that no interference would be tolerated in the process of tax collection. He said all efforts would be made to recover government revenue. There have been two bandhs
in the city following the conduct of Sales Tax raids.
During the second bandh on September 7, the police had to
resort to firing in the air and a lathi charge to
disperse a stone-pelting mob |
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Foodgrain labs to be closed CHANDIGARH,Sept 18 — The Punjab Food and Supplies Minister, said today the Government had decided to wind up the foodgrain laboratories run by the Department. It had also been decided that the lab staff would not be retrenched but accommodated in the Food and Supplies Department. The Punjab millers were demanding closure of these laboratories since the FCI laboratories were already testing foodgrains under the "quality checking system". This decision would spare millers from double checking of rice. Mr Bhaghirath Lal, Acting President, Punjab Rice Millers Association, Mr Ashwani Kumar, Secretary, Ludhiana District Rice Millers Association, and Mr Sat Pal Aggarwal, President, Khanna Rice Millers Association, have welcomed the Government decision to wind up the foodgrain laboratories. In a joint statement, they thanked Mr Mittal, for taking this decision. It would save millers from being harassed and save a lot of time. Meanwhile, paddy arrivals in the various mandis in Punjab have started picking up. Till Thursday a total of 6.33 lakh tonnes of paddy were unloaded in different mandis. Out of this 5.66 lakh tonnes was bought by millers and 67,000 tonnes by various government agencies. The Minister attributed the low procurement by government agencies to delayed start of their operations. Ferozepore still leads the districts, quantity-wise, procuring 2.56 lakh tonnes followed by Amritsar and Kapurthala. The Food and Supply and
Health Departments have jointly called a meeting of civil
surgeons and food and supplies controllers here to
interact with mustard oil dealers to devise means and
methods to ensure supply of pure and standard quality oil
to consumers. |
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Bangladesh to buy surplus paddy AMRITSAR, Sept 18 — A high-powered team from Bangladesh will be visiting India shortly to buy surplus paddy. This will solve the problem of storage of new arrivals. Addressing the press conference here today, Mr R.S. Mathur, Union Food Secretary, said that apart from making sufficient storage for the expected bumper crop of paddy, the Government of India would ensure that farmers did not resort to distress sale of their produce. He said Centre would also ensure that there was no dearth of gunny bags in the markets. To a question, Mr Mathur said elaborate arrangements had been made in all markets to ensure payment to farmers within 24 hours. Under the RBI guidelines, the banks had been given sufficient cash credit limits to ensure timely payments to farmers. All arrangements had been made to ensure the movement of stored foodgrains in various godowns for storing the new arrivals, he added. Mr Mathur led a team of high-powered committee, including Mr S.S. Dawra, Managing Director, FCI, Mr Ashok Sinha, Zonal Manager, FCI, Mr D.P. Reddy, Senior Regional Manager, FCI, Mr A.S. Chhatwal, Director, Food and Supplies, and Mr Kripa Shanker Siroj and Mr P. Ram, Secretary Food and Supplies, Punjab. They also visited various grain markets to ensure the procurement of quality paddy as per the specifications. Mr Mathur said all Deputy Commissioners had been directed to ensure that there was no distress sale of paddy by the farmers. He said Punjab had become the largest paddy-producing state in the country. Mr Mathur said farmers should not show undue hurry in bringing paddy as the produce would be procured as per the specifications. There could not be compromise on quality, he added. It may be mentioned that the procurement agencies were facing lots of problems as the farmers were bringing their produce with higher moisture content. Akali leaders of certain areas were forcing the procurement agencies to purchase the paddy, which led to altercations in some mandis. The Punjab government is
facing a serious problem of handling paddy as the
previous stocks have not been moved so far. The Chief
Minister has already taken up the matter with the Prime
Minister for making arrangements for the movement of
stocks to the deficit areas. |
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More than a lakh visit PAU mela LUDHIANA, Sept 18 — The two-day kisan mela concluded here today at Punjab Agricultural University. Dr Gurcharan Singh Kalkat, Vice-Chancellor, while presiding over the prize distribution function exhorted the farmers to follow the recommendations of the university experts in various farm operations. He said scientists of the university had learnt from farmers as the latter had posed various thought-provoking questions to the experts during the mela. Dr Kalkat said more than one lakh farmers had visited the mela. He cautioned farmers regarding the overuse of pesticides and weedicides etc. Dr Jaspinder Singh Kolab, Director, Extension Education, called for judicious use of irrigation water. He said PAU had undertaken an innovative approach of training farmers in hybrid seed production. According to Dr S.S. Gill, Additional Director of Extension Education (Communication), farmers purchased agricultural publications worth more than Rs 2.5 lakh during the mela. Dr K.S. Aulakh, Director of Research, said the university had laid emphasis on breeding high-yielding, short-duration varieties, tolerant to abiotic stresses with multiple resistance to diseases and pests in addition to desirable agronomic traits. The Vice-Chancellor
awarded prizes to the winners of best agro industrial
stalls, produce competition and home science competition. |
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Drive to root out congress grass BATHINDA: To save people from the ill-effects of congress grass (parthenium), the local Army authorities and the civil administration of the district carried out two congress grass eradication exercises separately. The army personnel pressed a large number of tractors with shrub cutters and tillers for about 21 days to clear this large cantonment spread over 17,000 acres of congress grass recently. The district administration with the help of voluntary organisations and village panchayats have cleared almost all rural areas from congress grass in a seven-day operation, which concluded recently. The spread of congress grass was affecting the health of cantonment and town residents, who fell victim to various diseases such as asthma and bronchitis. The spread of congress grass was also affecting agricultural activities and was affecting the foodgrain output. According to Lieut-Gen. G.K. Duggal, GOC, the eradication of congress grass at the military station was taken up as a pilot project and the entire operation was done by machines. No weedicide was used because of its exorbitant cost and due to its ill-effects in populated areas. He said only a few jawans were employed for the clearance of congress grass weed that could not be cleared mechanically. The uprooted plants were buried in the soil since burning of these plants produced smoke that was suffocating as well as toxic, he added. Mr S.R. Ladhar, Deputy Commissioner, told TNS that in the seven-day operation, congress grass in rural areas, particularly in the residential areas, had been destroyed. In the second operation, more areas would be covered. He pointed out that all
the municipal councils falling in the district had been
directed to ensure that there was no congress grass at
public places, especially vacant plots. Village
panchayats were also being motivated to maintain the pace
of the drive against congress grass. |
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AISSF keen on Adampur seat JALANDHAR, Sept 18 (PTI) — The All-India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) today staked its claim to the Adampur Assembly seat and urged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal not to give Akali ticket to any member of the family of late Punjab minister Sarup Singh whose death had caused the byelection. The AISSF would oppose the move to give the Adampur ticket to any family member of the late minister as it would mar the chances of Akali Dal and put a question mark on the future of dedicated party workers, AISSF president Harminder Singh Gill told reporters here. He said the AISSF would hold a public rally at Adampur on September 22 which would be addressed by Mr Badal and the SGPC president, Mr G.S. Tohra. The AISSF would publicly
stake its claim to contest the Adampur seat at the rally,
he said. |
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BATHINDA, Sept 18 (UNI) — The Punjab Government had purchased medicines worth more than Rs 13 crore state Health Minister Inderjit Singh Zira said here today. These medicines would soon be made available to the needy by the government which was spending another Rs 421 crore on health under a World Bank scheme, claimed the minister, who came on a surprise visit to the local Civil Hospital in the morning. The minister warned six doctors who came late. Mr Zira, who is also Jail
Minister, said the government would strictly deal with
reported cases of indiscipline in the state prisons. |
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Congress panel on tercentenary
celebrations BATHINDA, Sept 18 — To celebrate the tercentenary of the birth of the Khalsa Panth, the Congress has constituted a 15-member committee headed by the PPCC vice-president, Mr Jagmeet Brar. The committee will hold its first meeting on October 7 at Anandpur Sahib to plan various programmes for the occasion. Mr Brar told TNS that other members of the committee were Mr H.S. Hanspal, general secretary, Namdhari Darbar, Mr Jasbir Singh, Mr Jagdev Jassowal, Prof Darbari Lal, Mr Jhujhar Singh Bagrian, Chaudhary Jagjit Singh MLA, Mr Sardul Singh, former minister, Mr Iqbal Singh, Mr Gurcharan Singh Galib and Mrs Jasbir Kaur. Mr Brar alleged that the SAD and the SGPC wanted to drive political mileage from the occasion. He said the Congress would
celebrate the occasion in the same spirit which was
behind the creation of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh. |
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Ludhiana MC bans plastic bags LUDHIANA, Sept 18 — The Municipal Corporation of Ludhiana yesterday adopted a resolution imposing a blanket ban on the use of plastic bags in the city. The resolution was tabled by the Councillor, Mr Pran Nath Bhatia, and seconded by Mr Sunil Mahra and Mr Balkar Singh Sandhu, was adopted unanimously by the House. It was observed that plastic bags were a major source of pollution, a health hazard, and a cause of frequent blockage of sewers. The corporation also passed a resolution regarding the metropolitan status of the city. The corporation also
decided to constitute a committee to dispose of some
property of the corporation. The committee constituted of
the Deputy Commissioner, the Municipal Commissioner, the
Regional Deputy Director and the Town Planner. |
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Steps to boost Punjabi culture FARIDKOT, Sept 18 — The Punjab Government with the help of NRIs plans to form cultural troupes to promote Punjabi folk culture at the international level. Talking to newsmen here yesterday, Mr Sewa Singh Sekhwan, Minister for Public Relations, Punjab said Ms Sushma Swaraj, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister had accepted the plea of the state government to broadcast national news bulletin in Punjabi too from Delhi Doordarshan kendra shortly. Steps were underway to telecast serials showing the role of Punjabis in the freedom struggle through the micro channel subcentre working at Chandigarh. Earlier giving free bus
passes to the journalists of Bathinda, Faridkot, Muktsar
and Moga, the minister reiterated the government's
determination to provide more facilities to newsmen who
were working in the field. |
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Rs 40 crore
for school buildings ROPAR, Sept 18 — The Punjab Government has earmarked an amount of Rs 40 crore in the current financial year for the purpose of extending the buildings of 4,000 schools and for the construction of new school buildings. This was stated here yesterday by Mr Tota Singh, Education Minister, Punjab while addressing a function organised in connection with a post-literacy campaign at Barra Pind, about 20 km from here. Mr Tota Singh said the
government had decided to fill all vacant posts of
teachers in the state. As part of this programme, 1400
primary teachers were being recruited, he added. |
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SFI
strike against fee hike PATIALA, Sept 18 — The Students Federation of India observed a strike at the Punjabi University campus here today against the recent fee hike by universities in the state and other "anti-student" policies of the state government. In a statement, Mr Harpal
Singh Cheema, president, said the government should
reduce the student fee and end pressure on parents and
their wards. |
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Suspect
wants to be shifted to Burail jail CHANDIGARH, Sept 18 — The Judicial Magistrate, Mr A.K. Bishnoi, today deferred to September 25 the question of committing suspects in the Burail jail blow-up conspiracy case for trial to the court of the Sessions Judge. The suspects in this case are D.S. Rajput, Jaspal Singh Dhillon, Balvinder Singh, Satnam Singh, Jaswant Singh, constable Jaswinder Singh, Jagtar Singh Tara, and Jagtar Singh Hawara. The request for adjournment was made by counsel for the defence on the ground that two of the suspects Tara and Hawara were not present in the courtroom. They could not be brought out of the jail in view of the notification issued by the Chandigarh Administration, forbidding their taking out of the jail premises. Rajput also placed before the magistrate an order issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the persons from whom the mobile telephones were purchased by him should also be examined to avert any delay in the trial of the case. Rajput also made a request to the magistrate that he should be shifted from the Nabha jail to the Burail jail on health grounds. He told the magistrate that he had sustained a fracture on his foot. Therefore, he was undergoing treatment at the PGI. His shifting to the Burail jail would facilitate his treatment. The judge will consider
his application at the next date of hearing. |
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Environment in technical curriculum
mooted CHANDIGARH, Sept 18 — A five-day training course on 'Infusing environment issues in technical education' which was organised by the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology, Department of Technical Education Punjab and UNESCO concluded here today with the suggestion that environment education should be included in the curriculum of the technical education. The course was attended by 25 participants from 16 polytechnics of Punjab. Mr R. Parkash, Principal, Punjab Engineering College, in his keynote address, highlighted the need for awareness among the technical personnel so that they could integrate environmental issues at the conceptual of all developmental projects. Ms Anu Dhillon, UNESCO observer expressed the hope that more such programmes would be organised for creation of awarness among more and more people regarding biodiversity conservation in Punjab. The training course
included field visits to the catchment area of Sukhna
Lake. |
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Technical
varsity VC clarifies JALANDHAR, Sept 18 — The Vice-Chancellor of Punjab Technical University has clarified that students of the 1997 batch had been exempted from the rule which debarred the promotion of those who did not get 50 per cent marks according to the CPAM formula, to the third semester. He said the abolition of
the provision would be considered at the next meeting of
the Academic Council. |
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Two
held for robbery KHARAR, Sept 18 — The police has arrested two persons, Rajwinder Singh and Harneik Singh, on a charge of committing a robbery at a liquor shop in Kurali, about 10 km from here, yesterday. According to a press note issued by Mr R.S. Khatra, SSP, Ropar, the two robbed the shop of Rs 10000 at pistol point on September 12. They were arrested by the
SHO, Kurali, during nakabandi on the Kurali-Morinda road
yesterday and a .315 pistol and ammunition was recovered
from their possession. |
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Indo-Canadian
society
to hold seminar PATIALA, Sept 18 — The Indo-Canadian Friendship Society will hold a seminar on "Multi-culturism in Canada and its relevance to India" in the first week of November at Punjabi University. Disclosing this here
yesterday at a function, society president Amarjit Singh
Dhillon said senior functionaries of the Canadian High
Commission besides delegates from the Shastri
Indo-Canadian Institute, Delhi, were expected to take
part in the seminar. |
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Rice millers offer to store
paddy PATIALA, Sept 18 — The Patiala Rice Millers Association, in a representation to Food and Supplies Minister Madan Mohan Mittal here today, offered to store and mill 20 lakh bags of paddy and urged that the same should be shifted from Mansa and Bathinda purchase centres to their rice mills. The millers, who met the minister here under the presidentship of their president Megh Raj Bholi, also submitted a charter of demands to him. The millers requested a relaxation of 2 per cent on fine and superfine varieties on the same pattern as allowed in case of common rice. They said the relaxation should be allowed from September, 1995, and urged a notification in case of old, fine and superfine varieties at present known as "A-grade" variety. The millers also demanded
revision of custom milling rate. |
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PWD
staff hold dharna PATIALA, Sept 18 — A dharna was staged by supporters of the Punjab State PWD Field and Workshop Workers Union in front of the PWD head office at The Mall here today. The dharna was staged to press the PWD authorities and the Punjab Government for early acceptance of the demands of these employees. The district representatives of the union came in large numbers to take part in the dharna. Later in a statement, the
union leaders said they would launch a statewide
agitation if their demands were not accepted. |
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JALANDHAR, Sept 18 (UNI) — Two women, including the wife of a police personnel, allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison, police sources said here yesterday. Santosh Rani (30), who consumed poison at her house in the PAP quarters here, died in the Civil Hospital a few hours after she was admitted, the sources added. In another case, Mrs
Bhajan Kaur (30) of nearby Hirapur village, who consumed
celphos tablets at her house yesterday, also died in
hospital yesterday. |
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