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Land offered to Reliance may be auctioned
Gurdaspur, May 22 Defending the Reliance deal, Mr Bajwa said that every state was offering incentives to the industry. TATA shifted its small-car project from Punjab just because West Bengal offered better incentives. The TATAs told the Punjab Government that they would lose Rs 5,600 per car just in terms of sales tax they would have to pay here but was exempt in many other states. If Punjab loses on the Reliance project, it would miss the opportunity to bring investment to the state. In the project Reliance was offering to increase the income of Punjab farmers from Rs 25,000 to about Rs 1.5 lakh per acre. Many panchayats have already offered to hand over land to Reliance for the purpose. The panchayats would also gain out of it as they would get Rs 16,000 per acre per annum for the common land given to Reliance. The Akalis were opposing the proposal because they feared that its success might wean away their tradition vote bank of farmers towards the Congress. Mr Bajwa, however, declined to comment on the opposition of the project by a prominent Congress leader and member AICC, Mr Jagmeet Brar. On the charges levelled against him by a former SAD minister, Mr Sewa Singh Sekhwan, that he had accumulated wealth worth Rs 4,000 crore, he said he would take legal recourse. Mr Sekhwan had no locus standi to level charges against him when he was himself facing charges of corruption.
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Engg seats rationalised
Chandigarh, May 22 The directions will apply specifically to the courses that are mentioned in the notification for reduction or for an increase. The number of seats in other courses offered by the same college will remain unaffected. Sources in the government said the notification dated May 17 had come about after an inspection by a team of the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). In some cases it was found that the seats were not filled in the past few
years. Thus the need was to reduce these to rational levels, said functionaries in the technical education wing. Infrastructure and the faculty were other issues. The following is the new schedule announced by the state. The number of seats at present available and the revised number of seats are within brackets: Adesh Institute of Engineering and
Technology, Faridkot— Electrical Engineering (60-30) and Instrumentation Control (45-zero); Amritsar College of Engineering and Technology — Electrical & Electronics (60-30) and Electronics& Communication Engineering (60-90); Bhai Maha Singh College, Muktsar — Electrical Engineering(60-zero) and Information Technology ( 45-zero); Bhutta College of
Engineering and Technology, Ludhiana — Civil (60-zero); Chandigarh Engineering College,
Landran, Mohali— Computer Science and Engineering (90-120), Electric Engineering ( 60-zero) and Information Technology ( 60-90); Chitkara Institute of Engineering and Technology, Rajpura — Computer Science & Engineering (60-120); College of Engineering & Management, Kapurthala — Electronics and Communication Engineering (120-90); CT Institute of Engineering and Technology, Jalandhar — Information Technology ( zero -60); Guru Gobind Singh College of Engineering , Talwandi Sabo, Bathinda — Information Technology ( 60-30); Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa Institute of Engineering and Technology, Malout— Computer Engineering (90-zero) and Electronics & Electrical ( 90-60); IITT College of Engineering, Nawanshahr— Chemical Engineering (60-45) and Electronics and Instrumentation (60-45); Institute of Engineering and Technology, Ropar — Electronics and Communication Engineering (120-90) and Electronics & Instrumentation ( 60-45). Lala Lajpat Rai Institute of Engineering & Technology, Moga — Applied Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering (60-zero), Electrical Engineering ( 60-30), ME Thermal Science (zero-18) and Mechanical Engineering ( 60-120); Ludhiana College of Engineering & Technology, Ludhiana — Electrical ( 60-zero) and Information Technology ( 60-zero); Malout Institute of Management Information Technology, Malout — Computer Science ( 60-120); Ramgarhia Institute of Engineering & Technology, REC Complex, Phagwara — Information Technology ( zero-40); Rayat Institute of Engineering & Information Technology, Nawanshahr — Electrical ( 60-45); RIMT Institute of Engineering, Mandi Gobindgarh — Civil ( 60-30), Computer Science (60-120), Electrical (60-30), Electronics and Communication Engineering (60-120) and Mechanical Engineering ( 60-120); SBS College of Engineering Ferozepore— Chemical (40-20), Electronics & Communication Engineering (60-90), Production ( 40-zero) and Computer Science ( 60-90); Sant Baba Bhag Singh Institute, Jalandhar — Electrical ( 60-45); Sri Sukhmani Institute, Dera Bassi — Computer Science and Engineering , Electrical, Electronics and Communication Engineering , Information Technology, MCA and Mechanical — no admissions.
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More mega projects, power cuts in the offing
Malerkotla, May 22 On the other hand, Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo, state president of the Punjab Pardesh Congress Committee (PPCC), while lashing out at former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for allegedly doing nothing during his tenure asked Capt Amarinder Singh to give Rs 500 per month as unemployment allowance abolish 500-watt condition to give 200 units of electricity to all Dalits free of cost, strengthen public distribution system (PDS) to make available sugar and pulses, etc. to the poor at cheap rates, and fresh survey of downtrodden people to give below poverty line (BPL) benefits to them. However, in his speech Capt Amarinder Singh did not pay attention towards the demands made by Mr Dullo. Capt Amarinder Singh and Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo made these statements while addressing a huge Congress rally organised by Ms Razia Sultana, local MLA and Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, at the grain market here. There was a feeling that Ms Sultana had organised such a huge rally to show her strength to the Chief Minister and the PPCC chief in the Assembly constituency. However, the rally virtually turned into an election rally as speakers criticised the SAD and predicted Congress victory in Assembly election. Meanwhile, Capt Amarinder Singh laid a foundation stone to provide Malerkotla safe drinking water and sewerage under the Municipal Development Fund Scheme. The scheme will be completed at a cost of Rs 5.32 crore. The Chief Minister also announced a grant of Rs 1 crore for the construction of a local bus stand. The Chief Minister announced that he would take the Reliance project to every village of the state. He also said the government was bringing 161 mega projects to the state which would give jobs to 16 lakh. He also said the state government had sent a special development fund scheme to the tune of Rs 2,050 crore to the Planning Commission of India. It had already approved it and was now with the Finance Ministry for the final approval. Warning the people of the state, especially in urban areas, to be ready to face major power cuts from June 10, the Chief Minister said in the wake of paddy season more power supply would be given to tubewells. He said the state government was now making efforts to purchase power from Bhutan. Among others who also addressed the gathering included Chaudhary Jagjit Singh, Minister for Local Government, Punjab; Ms Razia Sultana, local MLA, and Mr Jasbir Singh advocate, former Punjab Minister.
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Politicians queue up to welcome gangster
Bathinda, May 22 Dimpy was accorded a warm welcome on his return and about 500 cars were lined up on both sides of the Bathinda-Kotkapura road. He was spotted interacting with leaders of the state’s two main political parties — the Congress and the SAD. While an Akali MLA accompanied him in his vehicle to his village, some leaders of the Bathinda unit of the Congress were also seen welcoming Dimpy. Known for his political clout, Dimpy had various criminal cases registered against him in different states. He got discharged in some cases and succeeded in securing bail in others. Interacting with media persons, Dimpy alleged that he had always been made a target by those ruling the roost in the state. “You can see how much people of my area love me,” he said pointing towards the huge crowd that had converged to greet him. He said he would first pay obeisance at Gurdwara Gangsar. Dimpy, belonging to a well-to-do Jat family of Chand Bhan village in Faridkot district, initiated himself into the world of crime around 1985 when his name was associated with the killing of the then student leader of Panjab University, Chandigarh, Makhan Singh. Having big landholding, Dimpy was associated with different criminal gangs in other states. After joining big gangs based in Uttar Pradesh, he initiated himself into the “profession” of contract killing, kidnapping for ransom and looting. He was facing a number of CBI cases pertaining to kidnapping of business men in Bangalore and Varanasi and other criminal cases in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Dimpy was also wanted by the Bathinda police for his alleged involvement in the murder of a liquor contractor, Darshan Lal, which took place in the Rampura Phul on February 19, 2004. He was arrested in New Delhi a couple of years back and was later lodged in Bathinda jail.
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States to exchange records of criminals
Chandigarh, May 22 This decision was taken at a regional workshop on interstate crime held at the Punjab Police Headquarters here today. It was the first ever meeting of officers of the ADGP-level, IG-level and the DIG-level of the northern states. The joint strategy on mutual cooperation and exchange of vital information will help check crime in the whole region, said the ADGP, Intelligence, Mr J.P. Birdi, while addressing a press conference at the conclusion of the conference. He revealed that crucial information was important for the police. He said militants still maintained 59 camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Officers pointed out that while a small town in Muzzafarnagar district in Uttar Pradesh had become the main supplier of country-made pistols, the verification of migrant labourers was another problem. Meanwhile, Mr Birdi said Punjab would join the facility of online verification started by the Delhi Police called “Zipnet”. This would provide real time information on crime and criminals, missing person, unidentified bodies, stolen and unclaimed vehicles, among other things. Earlier, the Director-General of Police Punjab, Mr S.S. Virk, while delivering his inaugural address, said all northern states, specially those bordering neighbouring countries, were facing terrorism-related activities through splinter groups. Besides this, kidnappings for ransom, extortion, smuggling, organised crimes and its various shades, fake currency, land mafia and contract killings were also posing great challenges to the law-enforcing agencies. The DGP added that there were various instances when kidnappings were made in one state, the ransom was paid in another states while the kidnapped person was held captive in a third state. He said about 1,172 interstate smugglers and 22 Pakistan spies had been arrested in the state since 2001. A study conducted regarding these inter-state smugglers revealed that 92 of them had influence in adjoining states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Cheap and easy availability of poppy husk and opium in the states neighbouring Punjab and ample availability of the cannabis plant in northern India and its intoxicating properties were the root cause of a large-scale smuggling of these into Punjab. During the meeting it was also decided to create effective responsive system for faster verification process of migratory labourers. To check the increase in the vehicle theft cases, it was also decided to exchange computerised information of the Regional Transport Authorities to trace such vehicles immediately. Among others who attended the conference were Mr D.R. Nagar, ADGP UP, Mr K.S. Bains, Joint Director, SIB, Chandigarh, Mr Omendra Bhardwaj, ADGP (P&W), Rajasthan, Mr Mukesh Chander, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), Delhi, Mr R.S. Meena, DIG, Gharwal Range, UP, Mr N. Ahlawat, DIG, CID, Haryana, Mr Rajinder Kumar, SP, Crime, Haryana, Mr O.C Thakur, DIG, CID, Himachal Pradesh, and Mr Ravinder Kotwal, DIG, CID, Jammu and Kashmir.
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Pvt hospitals closed on May 25
Jalandhar, May 22 The call for the closure of the private hospitals and nursing homes has been given by the Indian Medical Association, Punjab. The decision was taken at a specially convened meeting of the apex body of doctors under the chairmanship of Dr G.S. Gill, president, IMA, Punjab. Earlier, the IMA had armed its Punjab unit to take any decision about the fixation of the date of strike and subsequently, Dr Gill convened an emergency meeting of the executive of the Punjab unit, which, finally decided to give a call for closure of hospitals and nursing homes on May 25. “OPDs will remain closed, while, emergency services will be provided to people in these hospitals on May 25. We are with the agitating students and extend our full solidarity towards their cause. The government should find an amicable and widely accepted formula,” said Dr Gill.
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Rajindra Hospital opens OPD
Patiala, May 22 Although a section of medicos that was in support of reservation attended duties, it could not run the OPD effectively due to shortage of staff. A large section of senior doctors also supported the doctors on strike. On the other hand, a section of social and trade organisations have given a call for Patiala bandh on May 25 to lodge its protest against the Centre’s move to reserve seats for OBC categories in professional colleges. These organisations have already come out in the support of the agitating medicos. Though a section of medicos that had come out in support of the reservation tried to make its presence felt in the local hospital, the authorities concerned had taken necessary steps and requisitioned police to prevent the situation from taking an ugly turn.
TNS
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End politics of vote bank: Sidhu
Amritsar, May 22 He said the death of young Srivastav was an irreparable loss, which could have been avoided. He said it was very unfortunate that youngsters had taken to streets. He added that the need of the hour was to fulfil the needs of the downtrodden. He suggested that the government should give them free education and other facilities to improve their lot.
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2 Mandi Board officials caught taking bribe
Chandigarh, May 22 The Vigilance Bureau caught Manmohan Singh (SDO) and Gurinder Singh (JE)
while accepting bribe at Kisan Bhavan in Sector 35 here this evening. The SSP (Vigilance), Mr
Gurpreet Bhullar, said the duo had been booked along with their XEN B.S. Kahlon. Efforts were on to nab the XEN. Mr Bhullar said besides the bribe amount, a sum of Rs 36,000 was recovered from the JE and another Rs 11,000 from the SDO. Both could not explain as to why they were carrying that money. They had allegedly accepted bribe from a contractor, Ranjit Singh Baath. The contractor alleged that he was awarded a contract of Rs 98 lakh in June, 2004, under a scheme of the Mandi Board to lay a system for providing 24-hour power supply in villages in the Jaito and Moga areas. The work was completed in November, 2005, and a sum of Rs 13 lakh was withheld by the Mandi Board officials. Despite his repeated reminders, the money was not released. He even sent written reminders in that connection but to no avail. The contractor then contacted the bureau which laid a trap to nab the duo. A sum of Rs 5 lakh was withdrawn by the contractor and handed over to both of them in Kisan Bhavan. The duo was caught accepting the money.
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Labourers rally for free power
Bathinda, May 22 A large number of union activists had converged on the city from the neighbouring districts of Muktsar, Moga and Faridkot to take part in the protest. The protesters presented a charter of demands to the Chief Engineer in which they urged the government to waive the condition of 500-watt load so as to pave the way for extending free power to the farm labourers. They demanded back the money they had deposited in lieu of power bills since the formation of the Congress government in the state. They demanded that power supply be resumed to the homes of poor labourers whose electricity connections were snapped owing to non-payment of bills. They also demanded that all farm labourers be given the facility of free power and that 24-hour power supply to villages be ensured. Addressing the agitators, the state president of the union, Mr Jora Singh Nasrali, alleged that the Congress government was running away from its poll promises and was ditching farm labourers by imposing various conditions on the free power facility. On the other hand, the government was bearing losses of Rs 190 crore by extending free power even to rich farmers, he alleged. He said the government was taking off electricity meters from the homes of poor labourers. He accused the government of misleading people by making false claims of reimbursing power bills of some families of farm labourers. Corroborating his point, he claimed that while the government was promising to waive farm labourers’ power bills worth Rs 62 lakh in six districts of Bathinda zone, it had recovered over Rs 100 crore under increased power tariff from labourers of these districts last year. He warned the government that they would continue their stir till their demands were met. The union’s general secretary, Mr Lachhman Singh Sewewala, alleged that the government had given proofs of it being an “anti-labourer” on more than one occasion. He said the state government could prevent large-scale power thefts being perpetrated by factory and hotel owners and could provide free power to labourers, but instead it was putting a burden on the common man by increasing the power tariff.
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Illegal mining continues in Khadi rivulet
Pathankot, May 22 People involved in illegal mining said the material being dug out was being used for the construction of the Pathankot bypass road. Trenches ranging from 15 to 20 ft have been dug up by the miners. By a rough estimate, thousands of tonnes of gravel has been lifted from the banned areas of the rivulet The mining in the area is banned as it is close to the building of the government school. Illegal mining can also change the course of the rivulet that can flood residential areas during the monsoon. Last year also, contractors of the PWD resorted to illegal mining in the area. When the matter was highlighted in these columns, the district administration forced the contractors to stop the mining activities. The then General Manager, Industries, who heads the Mining Department here told The Tribune that the PWD and Irrigation Departments that resorted to illegal mining in the rivulet had been asked to deposit a fine of Rs 30 lakh. However, once again the mining operations have started right under the nose of the Mining Department authorities. Sources said the contractors were illegally mining gravel from the Khadi river while in papers it would be shown as purchased from some other source. The material lifted illegally cannot be shown
in papers as the cost for it is not paid to anybody. If an inquiry is conducted, it could turn out to be another scandal involving a revenue loss worth crores. The sources also alleged that a nexus of ruling party politicians and bureaucrats was supporting the said mining due to which the police and the district administration dithered to take action. The SDM Pathankot, Mr Amarjeet Paul, assured action against the illegal miners. Officials of the Mining Department were not available for comments.
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Four labourers hurt as construction material falls on them
Rajpura, May 22 According to information, Satya Dev,
Bindram, Dulal and Pinku, were busy tying a net of steal rods for constructing a floor on the second floor of the college complex when the material fell on them. The victims who sustained injuries were rushed to AP Jain Hospital, Rajpura, where they were given
medicare. According to the labourers, who were accompanying the victims at the hospital, neither the collage management nor the contractors came to see them at the hospital and no monitory relief was given to them. Meanwhile, the police is investigating.
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No action against lift pump operators
Abohar, May 22 The department had simply served notices on the operators drawing additional water from the Sirhind canal. The four-week time given by the high court lapsed on August 31, 2005. The farmers have termed it as eyewash. The court had passed an order in 2004, directing the irrigation and police officials in Ferozepore and Faridkot divisions to take action in this regard. Sources said the authorities had “legalised” some water pump connections, reportedly under “verbal instructions” from the top brass in Chandigarh.
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Jobless vet pharmacists stage protest
Chandigarh, May 22 Around 200 members of the union are demanding immediate employment as promised to them when they did the course three years ago. Talking to the TNS, they alleged that around 1,300 posts were lying vacant, however they were yet to get any jobs. One of the affected persons, Ravinder Kumar
Pheruman, has been sitting on a hunger strike for the past week. Union president Jaswinder Singh stated that in case of mishap, the Punjab Government would be held responsible and they would return only once they got appointment
letters.
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Yoga in day’s routine
Abohar, May 22 We can escape from abdominal diseases by taking meals in vajra asan, enjoy the benefits of shav asan before going to sleep, and after waking up try bhujang asan and sarp asan. We must sit straight always. We can take advantage from the singh asan while brushing teeth. Pashmotang asan is useful during bath. Finally, we can change our life style to ensure a healthy, disease-free life by switching over to the Alak Yoga.”
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Duststorm lashes region
Amritsar, May 22 Electricity connections were snapped due to which power supply
to various localities in the holy city was affected. Traffic also came to a standstill
for a while when high-velocity winds lashed the area.
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2 held for killing diamond merchant
Amritsar, May 22 Mr Kaustab Sharma, SP City-I, said they were identified as Satnam Singh, alias Satta, of Chawinda village and Joginder Singh, alias Jinda, of Dodde village. He said the accused were nabbed during a nakka at the DAV College chowk. They were riding a motor cycle. The police seized a 12-bore pistol, three cartridges and a knife from them. Mr Sharma said during interrogation the accused confessed to have committed the crime. Apart from the two, there were some other persons who perpetrated the crime, he added and said that investigation was in progress to trace them and recover the booty.
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Garments, Rs 25,000 stolen
Rajpura, May 22 According to the police, burglars entered the showroom by making a hole after breaking some bricks of a wall. They ransacked the showroom and took away Rs 25,000 after breaking open a cash box, besides garments and rolls of cloth. The burglary came to light when Mr
Darpan, a proprietor of the showroom, opened it this morning. He informed the police and a case was registered.
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Two jail inmates try to flee
Patiala, May 22 Jail Superintendent G. S. Sidhu said the accused made a big hole in the wall of their cell easily as the wall was old and made of mud and bricks. He said when they reached near the main wall, warder Gurdial Singh caught them before they could scale it.
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Dean writes to Governor against VC
Amritsar, May 22 The letter, a copy of which is in the possession of The Tribune, the Dean sought immediate intervention of the Chancellor to order a probe into the matter. He alleged that in violation of the university rules, a non- Punjabi teacher of the Physical Education Department was allowed to evaluate the answer books written in Punjabi. The Dean, Academic Affairs, had written to the higher authorities that the teacher had no proficiency in the Punjabi language and suggested probe into the matter. Meanwhile, Dr Kanwaljit Singh claimed that he had never allowed evaluation of papers written in Punjabi by the teacher who did not know the language during his stint as Head of the Physical Education Department as alleged by the new incumbent (Head of Physical Education), Dr Sukhdev Singh. Earlier, Dr S.P. Singh, Vice-Chancellor had claimed that he had not yet received any complaint from any quarter regarding evaluation scam. Meanwhile, the Vice Chancellor has ordered for internal evaluation of the papers of BPEd and MPEd for the year 2005-06, reversing his earlier orders for external evaluation.
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