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Police force in want of funds
Luxmi’s day out in the city
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Power cuts plague Phagwara, Kapurthala
Pulse polio drive from April 9 to 11
Demand for additional allowances to SC, OBC
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Police force in want of funds
Phagwara, April 8 Be it arms or ammunition or maintenance of the police buildings, no funds have been sanctioned or released for the department in the last four years, say sources in the department. In 2005, as against the Police Department’s proposal to sanction Rs 8 crore for maintenance, the government approved a sum of Rs 45 lakh for the purpose. But in the end, all that the police department drew was a big blank, sources add. The DGP, Punjab, Mr S.S. Virk, sought to down play the gravity of the situation, saying that it was primarily due to a lean phase in the state’s economy. He, however, hoped that the government would be more liberal in helping the police force. The DGP admitted that the fund constraints were affecting the force’s efficiency, but the department, he added, would generate its own sources with the help of the people. With the government close-fisted to the department, the police force is feeling the pinch not only in the maintenance of their buildings, but also in keeping their weaponry well-oiled and functional. The practice sessions in the police firing ranges were practically stalled due to the paucity of cartridges, it has been learnt. Buildings of more than 200 police stations have reportedly not been provided with maintenance funds, even as more than a dozen of them were declared unsafe by the Public Works Department. Senior police officers claimed that the working of the department had lately been dependent on funds coming to the state under the police modernisation plan. Purchase of new weapons and vehicles and construction of new buildings was being undertaken with funds coming under this head. The officers, however, regretted that the state had not been releasing the entire money it kept receiving from the Centre under the police modernisation plan. Moreover, as the state had failed to contribute the department’s share of the Central grant, the modernisation plan could not achieve even 50 per cent of its target in the past few years, added the officers. The Centre had also found the state a defaulter in the release of funds provided by the Centre. For instance, during 2000-2001, the state did not release the Rs 29 crore of the Central Grant to the department, leave aside contributing the matching share of funds. Similarly, in 2001-2002, the state utilised the entire grant of Rs 32 crore for purposes other than the police modernisation and did not hand over even a single penny to the department, the officials claimed. |
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Luxmi’s day out in the city
Jalandhar, April 8 The contract would fetch the Ludhiana-based owner of the elephant a sum of Rs 2000 per day. But this is not for the first time that Luxmi has done this. The mahout of the she-elephant said she had done advertisements for various leading companies dealing in mobile phones, photography and building materials on a similar pattern. The Tribune team spotted Luxmi while she was passing through the busy Milap Chowk and Jyoti Chowk this morning. The mahout said Luxmi’s route had been specified by the company. Another caretaker of the she-elephant was distributing pamphlets of the company to shopkeepers, customers and passersby. Luxmi got a warm reception wherever she passed through. She was greeted by many, and some even bowed before her. Some of them tried to touch her forehead. Some shopkeepers fed her fruits and sugarcane, which she readily accepted. However, for many passersby, she proved to be a hurdle, too, as they found it difficult to move past her on already congested roads. Luxmi, too, had to manoeuvre her movements to keep herself safe from rash drivers. Even as all this happened, the wildlife officials in the district were either oblivious of the event or deliberately kept their eyes shut. The practice is on much against the Performing Animals (Registration) Rules 2000 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, under the notification of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. The rules state that “every owner desirous of hiring out or lending a performing animal has to give prior information specifying justification for use of animal, nature of performance, duration of performance, method of training for the purpose, besides mentioning the kind of animal, its age and physical health.” A fitness certificate issued by a veterinary doctor nominated by a prescribed authority certifying health and fitness of the animal and an ownership certificate granted under the Wildlife (Protection) Act is also necessary for the purpose. The People for Animals (PFA) members said they had lodged a complaint with the Animal Welfare Board when a telecom company had earlier launched its advertisement campaign. Mr Chandra Bhushan, general secretary of the People for Animals (PFA), said the government officials must check the ownership certificate for the animals and ensure that the animals were not forced to do anything, including walking around for long, that amounted to cruelty. Mr Bhushan also pointed out that since elephants were considered to be auspicious; these were even hired for marriage parties where they carried grooms along with the baraat. At some parties, these were also used for children-rides, where they had to do sit-ups a number of times, he added. But he pointed out that these animals could not be taken back from owners and sent to jungles, for they had an emotional attachment with their owners and stopped taking food when separated. He said these were also not trained for any self-defence. Usually the owners were mahouts, who found it hard to provide food to the animals without using them for earning, he added. Mr Sanjeev, Forest Range Officer, Phillaur, could not be contacted, as his phone was switched off. |
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Power cuts plague Phagwara, Kapurthala
Phagwara/ Kapurthala, April 8 As many as four power cuts (ranging from three to five hours) were noticed on Friday and Saturday, and these continued till 7 pm, thus reviving the agonising days. Thereafter, unscheduled power cuts continued throughout the day. The Executive Engineer of the PSEB, Sanjeev Kumar, when contacted, said the power cuts were due to some technical snag at the Ropar Thermal Power Station. He assured the residents of better power supply soon. The town of Kapurthala and its adjoining villages, too, had to go without electricity as well as water supply throughout the day today. And the difficulties were aggravated due to little and wrong information inserted by the authorities concerned in the newspapers. The electricity supply could be restored only around 6 pm in some parts of the town and it was by 7 pm that the power supply became normal. When contacted, Mr K. D. Parti, Deputy Chief Engineer, PSEB, Kapurthala, said that a 132 KV line was to be replaced at the local sub-station. He added that first it was proposed to replace the line on March 24, but as the Rail Coach Factory was also to be affected by the shutdown, the factory authorities requested to postpone the shutdown. “Today, the repair work in the sub-station was completed,” Mr Parti said.
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Pulse polio drive from April 9 to 11
Phagwara, April 8 Addressing media persons, Dr Mitra, who denied any polio case being reported in Phagwara sub-division, insisted that there was no such case of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP), the initial diagnostic stage of polio.
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Demand for additional allowances to SC, OBC
Jalandhar, April 8 The federation has also urged the state government to fix a two per cent promotion quota for such employees. Mr Bhagwan Dass Bawa and Mr Prem Pal Dumeli, the senior vice-president and a senior office-bearer of the federation, respectively, said the federation had passed a number of resolutions in this regard at its meeting held here today. Through these resolutions, the federation has sought a hike in the monthly honourarium of
Aanganwadi workers and helpers to Rs 3,000 and retrospective implementation of the 85th Constitutional Amendment from 1995. |
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