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| Thursday, October 12, 2000, Chandigarh, India    |
Jagir Kaur
awaiting Badal’s nod?
Cops indicted in Dal Khalsa case |
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| Drive against power theft yields 44 crore PATIALA, Oct 11 — The Punjab State Electricity Board’s drive against power theft is achieving tangible results with the board detecting revenue leakage of Rs 44 crore till July in this financial year.
Election of Mayor on Oct 18 Amarinder, Brar in race for PPCC chief
Liquor brewed in sanctuary ‘Drugs,
alcohol major threats’ Octroi contract
benami, allege councillors Encroachments cause floods,
says expert Step on treatment
to hit poor Roadways staff
intensify stir Indefinite strike by lawyers
Gang of burglars
busted, 9 held Eight booked for assault on cops 2 schoolboys die in accident Bank
manager killed in road mishap College
student stabbed
GND
University exam dates Delay
in result puts students in quandary In the
service of the elderly
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Jagir
Kaur awaiting Badal’s nod? JALANDHAR, Oct 11 — Has Bibi Jagir
Kaur been waiting for a nod from the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash
Singh Badal, the Shiromani Akali Dal high command to plan her surrender
before the CBI in the light of developments and mounting of pressure by
the latter? Though Bibi Jagir Kaur was not available either at her local residence or on her mobile, which remained switched off, sources in the SGPC said the Bibi had left the decision in this regard to the party high command and the Chief Minister and was likely to strictly abide by the party decision. It was not known what the stand of Mr Badal was but sources said the Bibi had already apprised Mr Badal of their feelings and the details relating to the case. The SGPC sources said she was not in a mood to stick to the post of the SGPC president in the event of the party high command deciding the other way. However, no signal had been given to the Bibi in this regard, sources said. When contracted, the SGPC secretary, Dr Gurcharan Singh Bachan, did not deny the possibility of a discussion between Mr Badal and Bibi Jagir Kaur. He, however, said he was not aware of any such development and hence was not in a position to comment on the issue. Meanwhile, it was learnt the CBI had provided details of the case Mr Badal and the Director-General of the Punjab Police and had clarified that perhaps there was no alternative with the Bibi but to cooperate with it. Mr Badal could not be contacted despite best of efforts and some Daljit Singh, who responded to the call of this correspondent on his mobile said the former was not available since he was busy. |
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Visits Ambala City CHANDIGARH, Oct 11 — The President of the Shiromani
Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Bibi Jagir Kaur, was in Ambala today. According to information received here, accompanied by a member of the SGPC, Mr Surjit Singh Niddar, and her personal secretary, Mr Harjit Singh, Bibi Jagir Kaur visited the historical gurdwara of Panjokhra Sahib, where she was presented with a siropa by Mr Niddar. After spending some time in the gurdwara, the SGPC President, who has been named in an FIR registered by the CBI in connection with the death of her daughter under controversial circumstances, visited Khalsa College, Panjokhra Sahib. Bibi Jagir Kaur presented a cheque for Rs 5 lakh on behalf of the SGPC to the college management. She also asked Mr Niddar to prepare a blueprint of an engineering college to be opened with the help of the SGPC near Ambala. A number of prominent persons, including Mr Sant Singh Kandhari, senior president, Khalsa College, Mr Ranbir Singh Chhatwal, general secretary of the Haryana Shiromani Akali Dal; and Mr Harcharan Singh, finance secretary of the college, were present on the occasion.
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Bibi’s
security guard to appear before CBI CHANDIGARH, Oct 11 — The
controversial personal security officer of the Shiromani Gurdwara
Parbandhak Committee chief, Bibi Jagir Kaur, will appear before the
Special team of the Central Bureau of Investigation as and when he is
called. Assistant Sub Inspector Nishan Singh, sources in the Punjab Police said here, was asked to appear before the special CBI team yesterday. “The
request from the Central Bureau of Investigation was made on October
9. The request was routed through the office of the Director-General
of Police, Punjab, here. Since the ASI was asked to appear before the
team investigating the Harpreet case the next day i.e. October10,
there was not enough time to convey the message to him,” sources in
the Police Department said. The Director-General of Police, Mr Sarabjit Singh, confirmed that a request from the CBI was received on October 9 and because of short notice, he could not get the message in time and appear before the team. But at the next hearing, the ASI would appear before the special team, he added. Assistant Sub-Inspector Nishan Singh, who belongs to Kapurthala district, has been with the SGPC chief throughout. “He
is very much on duty and is with Bibi Jagir Kaur,” the police
sources said setting at rest rumours that the ASI has been either
missing or absconding to evade arrest by the CBI. The sources said that instructions have already been issued to him t make himself available to the CBI team as and when he was called again. “The
law would take its own course and there was no question of shielding
any one in the case” police sources said. The Special Team of the
CBI had already questioned all six members of the escort party of the
SGPC chief for a couple of hours at UT Guest House here last week.
They were mainly questioned about ASI Nishan Singh and his proximity
to the SGPC chief. |
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Justice on paddy rate after death SAMANA, Oct 11 — For 50-year-old Avtar Singh of
Kakra village in this subdivision justice took time is being
delivered. One week after he committed suicide after being unable to
sell his paddy crop at a reasonable rate, his produce was sold at
slightly higher prices. His family would have, however, preferred it
if he had sold his produce at any price rather than taking the drastic
step of committing suicide after waiting in vain for one week in the
local mandi. “We knew he was undergoing mental tension after being
unable to sell his produce but never thought he would take such an
extreme step’’, said his son Harbhajan Singh while talking to TNS
at Kakra village today. Harbhajan claimed force of circumstances and
extreme frustration drove his father to suicide. He says his father
was also under tremendous pressure to make the most of his produce as
he had accumulated a debt while solemnising his and his sister ‘s
marriage last year. “On the one hand he was worried about the
accumulating interest on the loan taken from an arhtiya and on the
other he was frustrated at not being able to sell his produce at the
procurement price. “The troubles of our father started a little
more than one week back when we harvested the paddy crop in our 14
acres of land”, said Harbhajan. He said his father came in for a
shock when he found there were no takers for his bumper harvest. He
said his father put up at the local mandi along with his produce for
more than one week, waiting for it to be procured. He said after one
week the farmer simply disappeared, adding that the family suspected
he had committed suicide as he was showing signs of extreme
depression. Harbhajan said the family’s worst fears were confirmed
when the body of Avtar Singh was recovered from Khanauri the day
before yesterday. He said the family feared he had committed suicide
as no other reason could be ascribed to his jumping into the Bhakra
distributary near here. Villagers of Kakra mourned his death today
with several of them turning up when his ashes were to be picked up
this morning for immersion. “We see our own desperation when we
review the step taken by Avtar”, said an elderly villager, saying
that a life had been wasted needlessly. ‘A bad example has been set’,
he said, adding that he hoped other farmers disappointed by the
distress sale could be given some compensation by the state government
. Villagers said Avtar had been indebted following the marriage of two of his children last year. They said the last of his four children, including a son and a daughter, were married last year for which he had accumulated a debt. They said Avtar had been hoping to settle part of the debt by the earnings made through the paddy crop. The real tragedy, villagers say, is that the paddy which Avtar could not sell during his lifetime, was sold at a higher price one week after he went missing. They said Avtar was not selling his crop as he was being offered Rs 400 for it by private buyers. They said the produce was picked up recently at Rs 423 per quintal . Villagers rued that representatives of the district administration did not come to offer solace to the family of Avtar. The village grieved alone for its son with Amar Kaur, wife of the deceased farmer, being consoled by the villagers. |
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Farmers
block traffic FEROZEPORE, Oct 11 — The traffic on the
Ferozepore-Moga highway was disrupted for almost three hours as
farmers protesting against the slow paddy procurement blocked the road
at Misriwala village, near here, today. The authorities diverted the movement of vehicles via Talwandi Bhai- Zira route to prevent traffic jam. The agitated farmers were protesting against procurement agencies for allegedly delaying the lifting of their produce from Ratta Khera, Shakur, Bhangar and Ubhoke mandis. The blockade was lifted after the SDM, Mr D.P.S. Kharbanda, rushed to the site of the demonstration to get the procurement process started. Meanwhile, the railway routes of at least three important trains have been altered in view of frequent blockades by the farmers. Sources
at the Railway Chief Controllers’ office said the routes of Punjab
Mail, Janata Express and 342-down Ferozepore and 341-up Delhi trains
had been diverted from the Jakhal Junction to Dhuri. The move followed frequent blockades of these routes by farmers in Mansa and Bathinda districts. Confirming the diversion of routes, a senior Railway official said the decision would remain in force till the time agitations continued. |
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Paddy procurement comes to halt PATIALA, Oct 11 — On a
call given by the Punjab Foodgrain Agencies Field Employees Coordination
Committee, employees of Foodsup, Punsup, Markfed, State Warehouse and
Punjab Agro have stopped procurement of paddy at all the purchase
centres of the Patiala district. The employees are protesting against
the last evening’s incident that took place in Patran Mandi wherein a
commission agent, Sukhbir Singh of M/s Khalsa Trading Company, roughed
up a Markfed’s Purchase Officer, Mr D.N. Jindal and tore off the
bidding register. Mr Ashok Kumar, spokesman of the Punjab State Foodgrain Agencies, informed that employees of various procurement agencies held a meeting and demanded registration of a criminal case and the immediate arrest of the involved commission agent. The employees were feeling insecure. They had expressed anguish over the sorry state of affairs wherein the procurement officials working against all odds were being subjected to uncalled for humiliations. Reports of assaults and harassment of purchase officials were increasing with each passing day, they said. They
have demanded fool proof security arrangements in the mandis. The
employees have decided to resume work only after their demands are
conceded to by the administration. |
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Congress
men block roads PATIALA, Oct 11 — Traffic
remained blocked for a few hours on the Sanaur-Devigarh road and for
some time on the Banur-Rajpura stretch due to road blockades put up by
Congress workers protesting against the tardy paddy procurement in the
state. On the Sanaur-Devigarh road traffic remained blocked for around two and a half hours. The blockade had been put up outside the grain market. Speaking on the occasion, Patiala Lok Sabha member Praneet Kaur criticised the tardy procurement policy of the state government, alleging that negligible procurement had taken place in the state. She said the Punjab Government had also failed in presenting its case before the Union Government with the Food Corporation of India not paying heed to its demand to relax the specifications. Mrs Praneet Kaur said the government should immediately take up the matter properly with the Centre and ensure that the FCI procure paddy from the state according to its quota. PPCC Vice-President Sant Ram Singla said the Congress had repeatedly warned the state government to make adequate arrangements for the procurement and storage of paddy but nothing had been done in this regard. He said the recent statements of FCI Chairman Bhure Lal during his visit to Punjab were an insult to the Punjab farmers and that the procurement process had further slackened following his visit. Mr Singla said relaxation in the paddy specifications should be announced immediately and that the Centre should be convinced about the seriousness of the issue. Others who spoke on the occasion were Vice-President Lal Singh, Mr Birdevinder Singh, District Congress (Urban) President Ved Prakash Gupta and District Congress (Rural) President Hardyal Singh. Meanwhile, senior Congress leaders, Mr Surinder Singla and Mr Mohinder Singh Gill, in a statement here today, after a tour of half a dozen mandis in Patiala and neighbouring districts, said according to an estimate the farmers of the state would lose around Rs 4,000 crore due to being compelled to sell their produce at a cheaper price. They said the situation was critical in Mandi Gobindgarh, Khanna and Bassi Pathana. The
leaders said the government must announce a compensatory allowance for
those who had sold paddy at cheap rates. They said the receipts of the
commission agents should be sufficient for this, adding the government
could also compensate farmers who were compelled to sell at rates
lower than the procurement price. |
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FCI staff union to stall procurement FEROZEPORE, Oct 11 — Agitated employees of the Food
Corporation of India (FCI) today threatened to stall the procurement
of paddy following the assault on their colleague at Bage Pippal Mandi
near here by a farmer. The FCI Employees Union has given a call for stalling paddy procurement in the district. While a case under Sections 307, 353, 186 and 332 of the IPC has been registered against the suspect Darshan Singh at Sadar Police Station here, the district secretary of the union, Mr A.S. Bhogal, announced that there would be no procurement of paddy at the FCI mandis tomorrow as a mark of protest. He clarified that the move confined to the Ferozepore district alone, where FCI Inspectors would not procure paddy on October 12. Narrating the sequence of events, Mr Bhogal told TNS that an FCI Inspector, Mr Sunil Kumar Sankhwar refused to accept paddy brought by Darshan Singh as it did not reportedly conform to the specifications. Mr Sankhwar was, then, allegedly assaulted by him and is currently undergoing treatment at the local Civil Hospital. Mr Bhogal also accused the state administration of provoking farmers and pressurising FCI staff to lift defective paddy. However, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Kulbir Singh Sidhu, denied the charge and clarified that they were duty-bound to intervene whenever there were genuine complaints from the farmers. Interestingly, Mr Sidhu, who today held meeting with the FCI District Manager to review the procurement arrangements, said the threat of stalling paddy lifting was not taken up during the meeting. He assured that the procurement will not be affected. |
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Arhtiya panel flays govt on paddy issue RAMPURA PHUL (Bathinda), Oct 11 — Mr Jaswant Rai
Ballo, president, Arhtiya Association (AA), Rampura Mandi and
vice-president, Arhtiya Association, Bathinda, today predicted that
the time was not far when the farmers would give up their traditional
occupation of agriculture and the country would face the food crisis
due to the wrong policies of the government. He alleged the Punjab Government had been making false claims regarding the paddy procurement but nothing had been done so far. He said the farmers were not given justice by the government which claimed to pro-farmers. He
said Mt Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister of Punjab had reportedly
announced that the new rate for the paddy would be Rs 735 per quintal
but the agencies were not purchasing the paddy even on the old rate of
Rs 580 per quintal. He alleged that inspite of the government’s
promise the farmers who were waiting for the authorities concerned in
the mandis for the past four weeks. He said farmers were moving around like beggars to sell their paddy and only the government was responsible for the poor condition of the farmers. He said that now the farmers has started to borrow money from the agents to meet their day-to-day requirements. |
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Incentive offered to rice millers GURDASPUR,
Oct 11 — Mr Madan Mohan Mittal, Minister for Food and Civil
Supplies, talking to newspersons here today said rice millers who
purchase more than 2,000 quintals of paddy at minimum support price
would get an incentive of Rs 30 per quintal. He added that due to
erratic weather during sowing of paddy in some parts of Punjab, the
quality of paddy was not up to the mark. The central team has visited
such places and has drawn samples. Mr Mittal said the farmers under
these circumstances would be given incentive which had been “virtually
conceded” by the central government. The type and quantum of relief
would be decided at the level of the central government, he said. Mr Mittal said it had been already decided that only levy rice would be lifted. This would be done till December 31. Instructions by the central government in black and white are likely to be issued to district managers in Punjab within a few days. When asked if rice millers were reluctant to purchase paddy in view of the indifferent attitude of FCI officials to lift levy rice, Mr Mittal said there was no scope for apprehension in this regard. FCI was bound to lift rice offered to it within specifications. Regarding the shortage of space, he said it was the duty of the government to manage space. Instructions had been issued to the Deputy Commissioners to act in the matter. All levy rice and custom milled rice would be lifted by the FCI and provided space. When asked that slow procurement and distress sale of paddy would adversely affect the poll prospects of the SAD-BJP combine in the coming assembly elections, Mr Mittal said the farmers know that both the Punjab Government as well as the Central Government were friendly to farmers. The large-scale dharnas organised by the Congress were tantamount to shedding crocodile tears to win the sympathy of farmers. Mr Mittal said so far 3856700 lakh metric tonnes of paddy had been procured till yesterday. State agencies procured 1762518 metric tonnes, the FCI 188305 metric tonnes and millers 1305877 metric tonnes. Earlier, Mr Mittal accompanied by Deputy Commissioners, representatives of procurement agencies, Mr Ram Lal, MLA and Mr B.K. Mittal, president of the district unit of the BJP, visited grain markets of Kanhuan, Seora, Taragarh and Gurdaspur today. At Taragarh and Gurdaspur, he ordered certain commission agents to reclean the paddy already sold on cheaper rates and assured that farmers would get higher rates. At Gurdaspur he ordered the district mandi officer to shift the secretary of the mandi board at Gurdaspur from the local grain market and post somebody else in his place. Mr Harbhajan Singh, Chairman of the Market Committee, Gurdaspur, said the farmers were being exploited by monopolists and were resorting to distress sale of paddy. Mr Om Prakash, president of the Kachcha Arhtiyas Association here, during an interaction with the minister in Panchayat Bhavan today said, the ordinary variety of paddy was being purchased by the millers at a rate ranging from Rs 300 to Rs 360 and the fine variety of paddy from Rs 400 to Rs 470 per quintal. Only Lal Mudh variety of paddy was being purchased at a minimum support price of Rs 540 per quintal if it was within the specifications. Mr Bal Krishan Mittal, who is himself a rice miller, assured the minister that the millers henceforth would lift paddy at the minimum support price provided their levy rice was lifted by the FCI. The minister said farmers were facing the worst crisis and it was the duty of the government, rice millers and commission agents to come to their rescue. |
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Cops indicted in Dal Khalsa case AMRITSAR, Oct 11 — The Punjab State Human Rights
Commission has observed that the arrest of Kanwar Pal Singh, the then
secretary general of the Dal Khalsa by the Amritsar police in June
1999 was motivated by other than legal and legitimate reasons. In his inquiry report submitted before Justice (R) J.S. Sekhon, member PSHRC, ADGP Mr A.P. Bhatnagar, also a member of the commission, has stated that the police officers concerned ought to face action. In June 1999, the police uprooted tents and thwarted a function organised by the Dal Khalsa to pay homage to those killed in the 1984 Army action at the local Khalsa College. The main organiser Kanwar Pal Singh along with Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, president, Shiromani Akali Dal (A) were taken into custody. Both were released the next day. Kanwar
Pal Singh was re-arrested on June 7, charged in four different cases
and kept in police remand for 7 days before being sent to judicial
custody. He was released on bail on July 5. After his release, the Dal
Khalsa leader lodged a complaint with the PSHRC chairman Justice V.K.
Khanna against police “high-handedness” and demanded a high-level
inquiry into the cases filed against him. In his complaint he alleged
that the ruling Akali Dal- BJP combine in the state was persecuting
the Dal Khalsa. He said the police action against him was malafide and
requested the commission to recommend exemplary punishment against the
officials concerned. An inquiry was conducted by ADGP Mr Bhatnagar. The
inquiry report reads that “although the complainant was legally in
police custody from June 5, 1999 to June 14 it is reasonable to
conclude that his custody was motivated by reasons other than legal
and legitimate. The letter of the law was followed without following
spirit of the law”. It further states that the police version is
apparently “concocted”. However, they apparently acted either on
the advice of their superiors or in anticipation of the wishes of
their political masters. The inquiry report has recommended the commission to advise the government to be mindful of the fact that laws of the land should be enforced both in letter and spirit. When contacted the complainant, Kanwar Pal Singh said that after examining the inquiry report he has filed a rejoinder before the commission. The next date of the hearing is November 2, 2000. |
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Drive against power theft yields 44 crore PATIALA, Oct 11 — The Punjab State Electricity Board’s drive against power theft is achieving tangible results with the board detecting revenue leakage of Rs 44 crore till July in this financial year. Disclosing this in a statement here today, board Chairman G.S. Sohal said the board had checked 6.48 lakh connections till July in the current financial year out of which power theft was detected in 1.57 lakh cases. He said power theft was to the tune of 1.76 lakh units. Mr Sohal said during September this year two big industrial units in Machhiwara and Ludhiana were found to be indulging in power theft. He said penalty of Rs 57.47 lakh and Rs 60.79 lakh had been imposed, respectively, on these units. He said apart from this nine other industrial consumers at Hoshiarpur, Patiala, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Moga were found to be indulging in power theft. He said penalty in the range of Rs 2 lakh had been imposed on one industrial unit at Ludhiana which was found to be indulging in theft where no connection had been released by the board. He said most consumers were found to be indulging in power theft by tampering the seals. He said it had also been revealed that domestic and commercial consumers were resorting to theft of power by tampering the current coils and counters of the meters. The PSEB Chairman said in Amritsar a factory had been found by the Enforcement wing of the board which manufactured fake lead seals, paper seals and sealing pliers. He said an FIR had been lodged against the owner of the factory and investigations were on in the case. Mr Sohal also disclosed that the revenue of the board had picked up. He said there had been an increase of 9.23 per cent in the units sold and a corresponding increase of 10.89 per cent in the revenue accessed up to July this year as compared to the corresponding figure last year. He said similarly there was an actual growth in revenue of 15.89 per cent for the month of July alone as compared to the same period last year. The Chairman said during the year 2000-2001 gross energy consumption of 15,882 million units had been recorded which was an increase of 2.27 per cent over the same period last year. He said this energy consumption was limited due to adoption of power regulatory measures that had to be adopted from June 2000 to September 2000 to contain overdrawals. He said had these measures not been taken the gross energy consumption would have increased by another 500 million units. He said the other measures being taken by the board included self financing scheme for tubewell connection and release of industrial connections on priority for setting up software development centres. He said an own-your-tubewell scheme had also been started under which 5,700 applications had been registered under the scheme. |
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Election of Mayor on Oct 18 AMRITSAR, Oct 11 — The countdown for the election of
the Mayor, municipal corporation, has begun with the date of polling
fixed for October 18. However, the ruling BJP-SAD has not yet reached
a consensus for the candidate for the post. Meanwhile, the Congress
has announced its candidate. When contacted, Mr Gurwaryam Singh, Joint Commissioner, confirmed that the election of the Mayor would be held on October 18. The election would be supervised by the Divisional Commissioner, Jalandhar. The post of Mayor fell vacant after the resignation of Mr Subash Sharma who was expelled from the BJP for six years. The general house of the corporation has 66 members including six MLAs, who have the voting right. While the BJP has 23 counsellors, the SAD has eight members, and the CPI seven. Meanwhile, the officials of the corporation and the acting Mayor, Mr Lakha Singh, have locked horns over the issue of holding the general house meeting. The officials have sought legal opinion about whether the general house could be convened by an acting Mayor when the election process was in progress. |
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Amarinder, Brar in race for PPCC chief BATHINDA, Oct 11 — After the defeat of the Congress
candidate, Mrs Parmeshwari Devi, in the recently held Sunam
byelection, the party organisational elections in Punjab seem to have
been gaining importance as the race for presidentship of the PPCC has
been hotting up between the present incumbent, Capt Amarinder Singh,
and MP Jagmeet Brar. Mr Brar, who is convener of the Punjab CLP, has already expressed his willingness to contest the election for president and is lobbying for the same by meeting people who matter the most in the party high command. On
the other hand, Capt Amarinder Singh, who has been facing some trouble
after the defeat of the party’s candidate in Nawanshahr and Sunam
byelections has been trying to retain the presidentship on the basis
of the fact that under his leadership the party had won byelections
and nine parliamentary seats. Sources close to Congress said both Mr Brar and Capt Amarinder Singh had been meeting the AICC president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, and other senior leaders frequently. Capt Amarinder Singh had so far met Mr Moti Lal Vora and Mr Sultan Singh, who has been appointed as Punjab Returning Officer for the organisational elections. Mr Brar, on the other hand, has met Mr Vora, Mr Arjun Singh and Madhav Rao Scindia apart from Mrs Gandhi so far for paving his way to the post of president. Sources close to Mr Brar said he had claimed the presidentship on the grounds that he had been fighting the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, and his family members throughout his political carrier and had defeated Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal during the chief ministership of his father. A section of the party rank and file owing allegiance to Mr Brar said a change in the leadership of Punjab Congress was the need of the hour and only a young and energetic leader could form the Congress government in the state. They claimed meetings addressed by Mr Brar during the election of Mrs Parmeshwari Devi in the Sunam byelection drew a big crowd. The people of Punjab had also pinned their hopes on Mr Brar for getting rid of the misrule of Mr Badal. On the other hand, party workers owing allegiance to Capt Amarinder Singh claimed that out of 62,700 active workers who had got the voting right, 58,400 workers were with Capt Amarinder Singh. They claimed they were pressing the party high command that the PPCC should not be selected through consensus but an election would decide who was the real leader. |
Punjab
Shiv Sena’s merger PHILLAUR, Oct 11 — In a major development the Punjab
Hindu Shiv Sena led by Mr Surinder Dogra has merged into the Shiv Sena
(Bal Thackeray). Stating this the Punjab Hindu Shiv Sena General
Secretary said here today that, the decision of merger was taken in a
joint meeting, which was attended by Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) Punjab
chief Pawan Gupta, vice-presidents Vinay Jalandhari, Parmod Babla and
Punjab Hindu Shiv Sena patron Swami Pushpendra Swaroop, President
Surinder Dogra, Vice-President Ravinder Arora, General Secretary Pawan
Parbhakar, secretary Pawan Sharma last night. Mr Pawan Gupta will
continue as president, Mr Parbhakar said that new office-bearers would
be announced at a state-level convention being held next month. |
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Liquor brewed in sanctuary HARIKE (Ferozepore), Oct 11 — The Harike wildlife
sanctuary is becoming a den of illicit stills who frequently use
secluded pockets of the wetland lake here to prepare liquor. Still owners frequently trespass on the sanctuary area while ferrying their material by boats to secluded islands to elude the excise officials and the police. The wildlife sanctuary officials have tightened their noose around the influential still owners. Recently, a team of the Wildlife Department confiscated the drums and boats of the still owners. However, nobody was caught during the raid, as those working at the stills had fled the same. Confirming
the developments, the Divisional Forest Officer, Mr Jagdeep Singh at
Harike Sanctuary told the Tribune News Service that the practice had
been continuing for the past several years. He also indicated the
influence the still owners wielded in the area saying, “They have
been threatening out staff not to touch them”. The department has also informed the excise officials about the practice. Most still owners are from Marar, Chamba and Kambho Dhaya villages. Pleading
anonymity, the contractors of the Indian made foreign liquor alleged
that some hardened criminals with a terrorist background were also
engaged in illicit brewing in and around the sanctuary. They said
frequent raids had not deterred the still owners.
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‘Drugs,
alcohol major threats’ PATIALA,
Oct 11 — “Drugs and alcohol are the major threats to our coming
generation. Earlier alcohol was prevalent only on marriages and other
parties, but of late, it has corrupted the younger generation as never
before. This is very unhealthy”, stated Ms Jagir Kaur Sekhon, Mayor
of Greenwitch, UK. Ms Sekhon was in the country for nearly three weeks during which she organised a free eye check-up camp in her native village in Ludhiana district. The other two issues on her agenda for Punjab are donations for disabled children and providing university education to two students. She stated this at an informal meeting with the press. Ms
Sekhon and her husband migrated to England in 1968 and have ever since
helped other Indians in settling there. She started her career as a
nurse. “I used to assist other Indians in translation and
transportation as they were unable to approach anybody due to language
problem”, she said. She said," India is in very good eyes except
for a few issues like Kashmir. The whole wants a solution to this
problem. The best asset are our students who are doing wonders in all
the fields. Those who have migrated to other countries have excelled
beyond the natives. The improvement is remarkable. The world has set
its eyes on our nation.” When questioned about more drawbacks, she
said," Gender equality and equality for all irrespective of class,
caste, creed is the demand of the day. In addition to this, birth
control should be propagated forcefully. We all should come together
as a family to solve these problems of our country.” Mr Mohant
Singh Sekhon, her husband, supported her and said,” India is a vast
country, with rich resources. If we improve it further and make it
clean, it will help us in earning a lot of foreign exchange in the
form of tourism.” |
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Octroi contract benami, allege councillors ROPAR, Oct 11 — The row between Municipal
Councillors over the issue of octroi contract intensified as even the
ruling party councillors traded charges against one another. Two councillors Mr Sudarshan Lal Saraf and Mrs Shanta Kumari, in a joint press statement issued today alleged that the octroi contract of Ropar was benami. The work has allegedly been allocated to relatives of the junior vice-president and the president of the council, in gross violation of the CVC guidelines, they said. Karam Singh, one of the contractors, is a cousin of the junior vice-president, Mr Gurmukh Singh, they alleged. They also alleged that the president and the vice-president were misusing their position to help the contractor. The
president of the council Mr Inder Singh Chatwal, has, however, termed
the charges “baseless”. He said nobody had ever approached him
with a complaint against the contractor. Certain traders were opposing
the contractor just because he was forcing them to pay the octroi, he
added. A few days ago, members of the Ropar Veyopar Mandal, led by the opposition municipal councillors, had reportedly ransacked the office of the said octroi contractor. Veyopar mandal members had also observed a two-hour bandh on October 6 to protest against the alleged harassment of the
traders at the hands of workers of the contractor. The president of the mandal, Mr Sudarshan Lal Saraf, who is also a member of the council, in a police complaint, had alleged that the traders were holding a dharna in front of the octroi post near the old bus stand, when workers of the contractor allegedly abused the crowd and incited them to violence. The contractor has also lodged a complaint with the police, stating that certain leaders, led by an opposition councillor barged into his office, destroyed his papers and took away certain valuable items. The police has registered a case on the complaint of the contractor. |
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Encroachments cause floods,
says expert ROPAR, Oct 11 — Encroachment by some influential
persons in the seasonal river beds in Ropar district were a major
cause of the flood in the rainy season. The encroachments, which are
in the form of plantations of poplar and other trees in the river bed,
block the natural path of river and cause floods in the low-lying
areas. This was stated by Mr Tarjinder Singh, an Assistant Engineer in the local Drainage Department while delivering a lecture at a function organised by the district administration to observe International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction. The function was organised at GMN High School and was attended by the principals of about 20 high schools of the district besides the District Education Officer, Mr Ajmer Singh, the CMO, Ropar, Dr Rajinder Singh and the Deputy DFO, Mr Dev Raj. Dr Rajinder Singh said many man-made disasters were fast turning into natural disasters. Mr Ajmer Singh said the children in schools should be told how human beings were responsible for natural disasters. |
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Step on treatment
to hit poor JALANDHAR, Oct 11 — The poor will have to spend more
money for treatment in government hospitals as the Punjab Health
Systems Corporation has decided to scrap the provision of concessional
treatment. Before revocation, the patients had been divided in three categories according to which the facility of free treatment had been provided to those with monthly income up to Rs 1,000. A marginal fee of Rs 10 was charged for minor treatment from those who monthly income between Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000, while those with monthly income more than Rs 2,000, had been clubbed in the High Income Group and had to pay minimum charges of Rs 20 for their minor OPD treatments. An order issued by the Punjab Health Secretary, Mr P.K. Verma, said the two lower categories have been scrapped with effect form October 3 and now practically all patients have been clubbed in the High Income Group. The order did not specify anything about the enhancement of charges, which varied with the nature of treatment. The operation fee, which was earlier Rs 100 has been increased to Rs 200. Though the cost of medicines has been included in the fee structure, the few hospitals in the state have no medicines because of which the patients have to purchase the same from outside. |
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Bengal magic on
canvas PATIALA, Oct 11 — The people of Patiala caught a
glimpse of rural Bengal through the artwork of Prabal Pramanik. He is
exhibiting his paintings and Devasthanakala paper-cutting art in
Banasar Art Gallery here. He is known for his ability to work in diverse
mediums. His series of works on landscapes and old forts in mixed
media and cut-paper mythological figures were appreciated by visitors.
“The artist has shown his wide vision in painting the landscapes,”
said Mr Pran Sabrawal, who visited the exhibition today. “The
Devasthanakala series by the artist is an unique form of art. The
intricacies of the work can be seen in the work Bamboo Grove,” said
Khushjinder Kaur, a fine-arts student of the local Government College
for Girls. Pramanik has used soothing pastel and
watercolours to catch the various moods of the nature. The artist’s
experiment with mixed media — a combination of watercolour, pastels
and poster colour — has produced a series of beautiful paintings like
The Mood of the Wooded Hills, Evening By the River, The Fishermen’s
Net, The Clouds and the Sea and Majesty of Himalayas. His pencil
creations Buddha and A View of Rural Bengal were simple, yet
eye-catching. Pramanik, who gets inspired by nature,
considers the traditional method of painting the best for depicting the
various faces of nature. “However, the modern abstract art has it’s
own expression,” he said. Pramanik said love for art in had increased in Punjab in the recent past. He demonstrated the Devasthanakala paper-cutting techniques by cutting out profiles of people on request. His cut-paper-shadow puppet animations have been appreciated in India and abroad. The artist has a number of group and solo exhibitions to his credit. Earlier, the exhibition was inaugurated by Mr P.S.
Chhabra, Secretary General of the School Games Federation of India (SGFI) at Banasar Art Gallery of the North Zone Cultural Centre in Sheesh Mahal here today. The exhibition is week-long. |
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Roadways staff
intensify stir NAWANSHAHR, Oct 11 — Strike of
employees of the local Punjab Roadways depot, which started on Tuesday
to get the suspension orders of a conductor Jagroop Singh revoked,
took a new turn today as the Director, State Transport, instead of
revoking the suspension orders, directed the General Manager, Punjab
Roadways, to issue notices to striking employees. The General Manager
has also been asked to implement “no work and no pay” rule and
enter a break in the services of the striking employees. These orders further aggravated the agitation, as the employees decided to intensify their stir. |
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Indefinite strike by lawyers PHAGWARA, Oct 11 — Members of the local Bar
Association have gone on an indefinite strike in protest against the
failure of the police to arrest those who had assaulted a family
member of the president of the association recently. At an emergency meeting of the Bar Association today, presided over by its vice-president, Mr Vijay Sharma, it was alleged that the assailants moved about freely. It was resolved that the matter would be brought to the notice of the District and Sessions Judge,
Kapurthala, and the District Bar Association. |
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Gang of burglars busted, 9 held AMRITSAR, Oct 11 — The Punjab Police today claimed
to have busted an inter-state gang of burglars with the arrest of nine
of its members. The gang was operative in five districts of Punjab and was involved in about 32 crimes in which two persons had been killed and 17 injured. Six country-made pistols, cartridges along with looted jewellery were recovered from them, the Inspector-General of Police (Border Range), Mr Bakhshi Ram said, in a press conference here today. The
“banjara” gang belonged to the Gaur area of West Bengal and its
members were mostly related to each other, he said. Describing their modus operandi, the IG said gang members used to go to villages in the guise of jugglers and toured the villages and identified the target house. Nine members of the gang headed by Gareebu, alias Furken, alias Ustaad, were arrested by the Majitha police. |
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Eight booked for assault on cops ABOHAR, Oct 11 — Eight persons, including three
women, have been booked the under Sections 307, 332, 353, 323, 186,
148 and 149 of the IPC for allegedly assaulting a police party which
had gone to government Seed Farm Colony here on Monday to investigate
a criminal case. Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Bharpur Singh was admitted to the Civil Hospital whereas another ASI Jarnail Singh received minor injuries in the scuffle in which women and girls of the colony also participated. Sources reveal that Vinod Kumar, sarpanch of the Pucca Seed Farm Panchayat, had blamed an employee of the Health Department for two hepatitis-B deaths last week. The employee had allegedly been doing practice illegally in the colony. Sources said Vinod Kumar had lodged an FIR against Sampuran Singh, his brother Harbhajan Singh and other members of the family for assaulting him and his family due to the complaints regarding hepatitis-B. On the other hand, Sampuran Singh had lodged an FIR against sarpanch Vinod Kumar and his family members alleging that the complainant had got public distribution system shop allotted to Vinod Kumar cancelled for alleged pilferage of ration goods. This irritated him and he attacked the family of the complainant, he alleged. Members of both families had been admitted to the Civil Hospital last week. Police sources said a party led by two ASIs had visited the Pucca Seed Farm for an on-the-spot investigation. The police said the party was gheraoed and attacked by Satnam Singh, Kala Singh, Nand Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Santo Bai, Paslo, and Suman Rani. The residents alleged that the policemen who visited the colony on Monday were tipsy and misbehaved with the wife of the sarpanch as well as her neighbour. As the sarpanch was not at home, she raised the alarm. |
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2 schoolboys die in accident KAPURTHALA, Oct 11 — Lalit Gandhi (14) and Happy,
both residents of Miani Bhagupurian falling under the Bholath police
station, were killed in a road accident near their village yesterday. According to police reports, both the deceased and another companion were returning from their school in Nangal Lubana village on their scooter. When their scooter reached near the turning to their village a Jeep hit it. Lalit died on the spot while Happy died on the way to the civil hospital at Kapurthala. The driver of the Jeep fled from the spot. Their companion, Gurjit, who was also injured in the accident, is stated to be out of danger. The police has registered a case under Sections 304-A, 337, 338 and 427 of the IPC against the driver of the Jeep. |
| Bank
manager killed in road mishap TARN TARAN, Oct 11 — Faqir Chand, a branch manager
of the State Bank of India, Dhotian branch, was killed in a road
accident near Mianwind village on Tuesday when his scooter was hit by
vehicle. The police has registered a case under Sections 304A, and 427
of the IPC. The body has been sent for post-mortem to the local Civil
Hospital. A scooterist Surinder Singh of Padhri Kalan village, who was injured in a road accident near the local Chabal bye-pass on Monday, succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday at the local Civil Hospital. He was allegedly hit by a tractor of Kirpal Singh of Sugga village, against whom a case under Sections 338, 279, 427 of the IPC has been registered. A police party of police station Goindwal Sahib has seized 8 kg of poppy husk from Bhajan Singh of Bharowal village. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against the suspect. |
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College
student stabbed PATIALA, Oct 11 — A BA
final-year student of the local Mohindra College was seriously injured
today morning when he was stabbed by an unidentified assailant while
coming out of the college following a strike by students . Police sources disclosed that the student, Nazar Singh, was attacked with a sharp-edged weapon today morning outside the gates of the college. He was coming out following a strike by students protesting against non-issuance of passes for buses being run under the kilometre scheme by the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation ( PRTC ) . Sources said he had been admitted in a serious condition in the Government Rajindra Hospital, adding that the case had been complicated as the injury was very close to the heart . They said Nazar was referred to the PGI in Chandigarh in the afternoon . The
sources said group rivalry appeared to be behind the attack. It could be
connected to a group clash around one year back, when few students had
been injured, they added. |
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GND University exam
dates AMRITSAR, Oct 11 — Guru Nanak Dev University here
today announced the dates of annual and semester examinations for the
session 2000-01. All semester examinations of MA MSc (all subjects), LLB and all other classes will commence on December 1. The examinations of BA, BSc, BCom, BCA (part I, II and III) and B.Ed/M.Ed will commence on March 31, 2001. The examination of all subjects of BA/BSc/MSc (honours), BBA (part I, II and III), BIT and LLB (annual system) will commence on April 14, 2001. |
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Delay
in result puts students in quandary JALANDHAR, Oct 11 — Aspirants for admission to the
‘‘physiotherapy’’ course, who appeared at the entrance tests
at the local DAV College last month are frustrated by the failure of
the college authorities to declare the result. More than 100 students appeared in the test. Raminder Kumar Jain, a student, who appeared in the test, said he had visited the college four times but the college officials had failed to give a satisfactory answer to his queries. Anita another student, said she was waiting for the result before applying for admission in another course. When this correspondent visited DAV College, the principal, Mr Subash Kumar refused to talk on the issue. The Vice-Principal, Mr R.K. Kukreja, also ducked the issuing saying he could not speak without the permission of the principal Mr Sham Sunder superintendent of the college however said the college was facing some problems with Baba Farid University authorities which was delaying the result. |
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In
the service of the elderly FARIDKOT: The local Elders Service Society has been making tireless efforts to educate young persons for the overall development of their personality. The society has been holding camps on a regular basis in the city to inculcate among youth a desire to serve elders and for encouraging them to keep good
health, fight social evils and build the nation. At one such camp organised recently young persons were made aware of the role of education in society and of youth clubs in village
development. They were also told about various job avenues, road safety, their
role in the maintenance of law and order, ways to keep healthy and how to develop national character through education. For
the camp 60 youth were selected, two each from 60 villages adopted by
the society. The participants were trained to be role models for
others and motivated to spread the message, said Mr Jagmohan Singh Brar, president
of the society. Established on August 25,1997,the society, which is
a non-political, on-profit and non-government organisation, has been
making efforts to ensure a dignified place to elders in society
besides providing medical care to them. The organisation has also been honouring sons and daughters-in- law who have been serving their elders with dedication. Mr
Brar said the society had also drawn up a programme to honour students
for achievements in the academic field. Besides, it would encourage
young persons to take a pledge to respect and serve their elders. |
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