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Guru Gobind Singh Marg to be extended
Bathinda, June 21 Capt Amarinder Singh said blueprint for the extension of the marg was ready. On receiving the blueprint of the project, he would take up the matter with Chief Ministers of four states — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra — as the proposed marg passes through these states. He would also meet the Prime Minister for getting the approval of the Guru Gobind Singh Marg extension project. Till now the marg existed from Anandpur Sahib to Talwandi Sabo, he added. The Chief Minister also said, according to officials of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Rs 2.50 crore was required for the repair and preservation of the Kila Mubarak. So he would take up the matter to seek funds, to the tune of the remaining Rs 1.25 crore from the Centre. If the Central Government did not give Rs 1.25 crore, then he would also provide remaining Rs 1.25 crore, he added. Earlier, Capt Amarinder Singh, along with Mr Surinder Singla, Punjab Finance Minister; Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo, President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC); Mr Bharat Inder Singh Chahal, Media Adviser to CM; and some MLAs paid obeisance at the Kila Mubarak Gurdwara Sahib. Capt Amarinder Singh was presented with a siropa at the gurdwara. The Chief Minister also partook langar at the gurdwara. The Chief Minister also visited the exhibition where utensils, clothes, manuscripts etc, belonging to Guru Gobind Singh and other Gurus were displayed. These exhibits were brought here by several families from various parts of the state. The Chief Minister also released a souvenir, published by the district administration on the occasion of tercentenary celebrations. He also released a book, “Saraswati ton Sutluj te Sind Tak”, authored by Mr Kulbir Singh Sidhu, Commissioner, Ferozepore Division. He also released another book “Lokan De Dard De Massiah”, authored by Dr Jeet Singh Joshi. The Chief Minister also honoured members of families of Mr Vijay Kumar Garg and Mr Mohinder Pal, whose forefather, Uttam Singh, had brought Guru Gobind Singh from Hazi Rattan Gurdwara to Kila Mubarak in June, 1706. The Chief Minister also honoured members of the families who had exhibited the manuscripts, clothes and utensils at the exhibition. Talking to mediapersons, Capt Amarinder Singh said in the wake of hike in the prices of the diesel, time and again, the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy should be increased. He said the Government of India had constituted a committee to examine the MSP issue and link MSP with the price index. He said there was no power crisis in the state as the state was buying electricity of Rs 20 crore daily from other states. On the abolition of octroi, the Chief Minister said the Punjab Cabinet would decide the issue next Monday.
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Teething problems for Tarn Taran dist
Tarn Taran, June 21 This is indicative of the problems faced by the newly created Tarn Taran district. The offices which have been shifted to various buildings in the city include Departments of Agriculture and Cooperation, Horticulture and Employment etc. The DC is likely to shift to his make-shift office by July 1. The white wash and renovation of the building has been going on a war
footing. Talking to the Tribune, Mr Jaspal Singh, Deputy Commissioner, who is still working from the SDM’s office said that the Vikas Bhawan would be a make-shift arrangement till the new administrative block is built. He said Rs 10 lakh had been received by the district administration and a grant of Rs 2.5 crore was in the pipeline. However, it would take a long time to recruit adequate staff for the DC’s office. The state government is contemplating the transfer of officials from different districts. The district police chief’s office is already operating from the Punjab State Electricity Board for the past 18 years. Tarn Taran was made a police district during the peak of militancy about 18 years ago. Meanwhile, Mr Gurvinder Singh Mammanke who was appointed Chairman, Improvement Trust today, has no place to sit. Earlier, the Market Committee had got the building vacated from which the police department was running the Community Policing and Resource Centre by a court order. This police wing has now been shifted to a rented building. When contacted, Mr Birpal Singh , SDM said that “everything would be functioning smoothly shortly”. He said as per earlier plans, the district was supposed to be functional from July.
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Work in Lahore gurdwara stops as kar sevaks’ visa expires
Amritsar, June 21 Located in the biggest and the busiest cloth market of Pakistan (in Lahore), Chunna Mandi, construction of the building of Gurdwara started in September 2004. Mr Kuldeep Singh, Executive Committee member of the DSGMC, said the committee was trying to get visas extended for resuming work to complete it at the earliest. The fourth Sikh Master Guru Ram Das spent first seven years of his life at Chunna Mandi where Maharani Nakain, a wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, built a shrine to celebrate the birth of her son Prince Kharrak Singh. The building was built more or less like Harmandar Sahib. The Singh Sabha Leher also started from this place. Allowing the construction of the gurdwara by the Pakistan government was also seen as another step to strengthen ‘confidence building measures’. Baba Amrik Singh of Kar Sewa Wale informed that for preserving the original roof, a water-proof roof had been put on, the 200-year old building of the gurdwara made of Nanakshahi bricks. He said about 70 per cent work had been completed and the remaining would take four months to finish. He said he along with 10 persons returned from Pakistan after the expiry of visa limit. At present, he said six local persons were engaged in performing the work in the inner portion of the building. He said after getting visa clearance they would take marble with them to use it for the sarovar (holy tank). Mr Kuldeep Singh alleged that maryada of Sri Guru Granth Sahib was violated by Mr Parkash Singh Badal, President SAD and other leaders during Nagar Kirtan in Pakistan held to observe 400th martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev. Mr Kuldeep Singh said he would soon write about the matter to Akal Takht Jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti for taking appropriate action. He elaborated after the crossing over of Nagar Kirtan from Wagah border to Pakistan Mr Badal and his other leaders boarded cars and reached Dera Sahib Gurdwara, Nankana Sahib without bothering about the vehicle carrying Guru Granth Sahib. He added the vehicle was left behind and ignorant people garlanded Mr Badal instead of the holy book. A jatha of Sikh devotees led by Baba Tek Singh Dhanaula, Interim member, of the SGPC, returned to India today after participating in the observance of 400th year of martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev.
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Yash Chopra urges Pakistan to lift ban on Indian films
Amritsar, June 21 He made these comments after paying obeisance at Golden Temple here. He said that he was quite disappointed at the attitude of the Pakistan government for not allowing the screening of Bollywood films in that country. "We share a common culture and traditions and it would be highly appropriate for the Pakistan audience to see Indian movies," he said. Pakistan recently allowed the screening of two films — magnum opus 'Mughl-e-azam' and 'Tajmehal'. He urged the Pakistan government to be more open and lift ban on Indian movies. Mr Yash Chopra said that he was currently working on new film project to be shot in Punjab locales. He had been very fond of Punjab and Punjabi rural scenes and would love to start his major projects from this region. Refusing to divulge information about the script, he said that he would start the film by the end this year. Expressing dismay over lack of proper infrastructure for shooting of films in the state, he said the government must take the initiative with the private sector to set up a film city. The Chief Minister had promised to establish an ultramodern film city near Mohali but very little seemed to have been done in this direction. "The Punjab Ratan award bestowed upon me has deeply touched me. I am feeling overwhelmed by the love and affection showered by the Punjabis" said the leading film maker. Commenting on the recent shootout at producer director Mahesh Bhatt's office, he said that the film industry would never panic and not work under any fear psychosis. It was the handiwork of certain anti-social elements trying to scare the film industry. Answering questions about the obscenity in the film industry, he said that the recent episode involving Rakhi Sawant and Mika has been over blown out of proportion by media, adding that the film industry was quite responsible and knew its role.
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Lokpal’s office faces fund crunch
Chandigarh, June 21 The new Lokpal took over three months ago and sources in the government said the budget sanctioned for the office of Lokpal was no more than a princely Rs 11,000 for the current financial year. The matter relating to the provision of a proper budget to pay the salary of the Lokpal and meet the expenses of the office is pending with the Punjab Government, with approvals and ratifications required from a slew of departments. More than Rs 10 lakh is required to run the office and this does not include the salaries of the staff to be appointed. Another proposal gathering dust is the filling of 19 posts in the judicial wing of the Lokpal's office. The posts had been abolished during the austerity drive launched by the Amarinder Singh government years ago and need to be revived. Nobody was appointed the Lokpal after Justice D.V. Sehgal died in December, 2002. In the last Budget session of the Punjab Assembly it was decided to appoint a Lokpal. In March, Justice D.S. Dhaliwal was administered the oath. In the first week of May he started the process of court hearings of all pending complaints. Actually, posts in the judicial wing existed even during the time when there was no Lokpal. On the investigation side a DGP-level official was appointed the DGP, Lokpal, even as though there were no hearings, said sources, adding that judicial posts would need to be revived to ensure smooth functioning. Owing to confidentiality any order dictated by the Lokpal cannot be seen by any government employee. Similarly, correspondence relating to any complaint is also supposed to be secret. The judicial wing has to be independent of the government. About 280 complaints are pending and are being heard in order of pendency determined from the date of filing. The complaints are at various stages such as inquiry, investigation and verification. A notice had been issued in newspapers informing the public about the procedure of submitting complaints. The notice, issued yesterday, says complaints can be filed only against a "public man" as defined under the Act. This includes the Chief Minister, Ministers, MLAs, chairmen and members of boards and corporations and government-aided companies. It will deal with misconduct by any of these persons and can be filed within five years of the alleged misconduct. The complainant will be required to file an affidavit and submit a bank draft for Rs 1,000 in favour of the Lokpal.
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Ex-PPCC member Saifdipur quits
Patiala, June 21 Meanwhile, Mr Saifdipur, while talking to TNS here today, said two other senior party leaders Mr Gulab Singh Gill and Mr Sukhwinder Singh Gill, former General Secretary and Vice-President of the Punjab Youth Congress, respectively, had also quit from the primary membership of the party. Mr Saifdipur, who was acquitted by the court in a criminal case, which he claimed had been registered against him on political grounds, alleged that he along with his associates had been forced to quit the party as the present ruling set up had been using police force to stop distribution of free ration in the region, which he had been doing for the past many years under the banner of the International Bhau Bhaichara. Last night, a police official raided the premises where items, which were to be distributed as free ration in the Rajpura area, had been kept and stopped the distribution of the same. He added that the same police official had also threatened him that he would not allow any member of the International Bhau Bhaichara to reside in the area.
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Poll panel clarifies on delimitation
Chandigarh,
June 21 Clarifying the position in this regard, Mr
C.L. Bains, State Election Commissioner, who is a member of the Delimitation Commission, said yesterday that the notification had been issued only by the commission. It had not yet been issued by the Union Law Ministry. When it was issued by the President of India at the request of the Union Law Ministry, only then would it be considered as implemented. He said he had got telephone calls from politicians enquiring whether the Assembly elections would be held as per the notification issued by the Delimitation Commission. Mr Bains said as of now the elections would be held on the basis of the Assembly
segments which existed during the elections held in 2002. However, if the Union Law Ministry notified for implementation the notification issued by the Delimitation Commission, the Assembly elections would be held on the basis of the new delimitation of Assembly constituencies made by the commission. Most probably the elections will be held on the basis of the 2002 segment pattern, it is learnt, because the ruling party in Punjab is not eager to get the notification issued by the Delimitation Commission further notified by the Law Ministry for its implementation for the Assembly elections due in February next year.
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Bitta: hand over Bira to CBI or IB
Chandigarh, June 21 Mr Bitta, who heads the All-India Anti-Terrorist Front, said the Punjab Police had presented a weak case against Daljit Singh Bittu, another former militant, which allowed him to be exonerated in court. Mr Bitta claimed that Bira's case would also be weakened. He had allegedly gunned down former Punjab Minister Darshan Singh Kaypee and was also instrumental in attacks on various other political leaders, said Mr Bitta. The CBI or the IB must probe who all had been in touch with Bira and the sources of funds to the lawyers of these militants. Mr Bitta said he would meet the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister to demand a special court and seek that all deported militants should be tried by that court, which should be set up in Delhi. He alleged the plan of bringing former militants to India and later allowing them to get a clean chit by presenting weak cases in court was part of a sinister
design of some politicians and officials.
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Resentment against power bills
Muktsar, June 21 Talking to this reporter over the phone yesterday, Mr Bhagwan Bansal, president of the Punjab Cotton Factories and Ginners Association, said that the issuance of power tariff bills now to the cotton factories was not justified as they were not using even a single unit of power now. In a letter to the Punjab Chief Minister, the association also stated that as per the guidelines of the PSEB, the cotton ginning industry was a seasonal industry. So, it had to pay for four- and- a-half months as minimum charges. In spite of this, the PSEB had extended the period to six months for minimum charges.
Thus, it had given a harsh blow to the cotton ginning industry. The association also termed the recent steps, related to the power tariff bills, taken by the PSEB as totally “unjustified”. It also stated that this would lead to the closure of all ginning industry units in Punjab. Mr Bansal urged the Chief Minister to initiate steps to compel the PSEB to withdraw the “unjustified” power tariff bills and enhancement in the period for minimum charges.
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Rotary team returns from Sweden
Patiala, June 21 The team, which was headed by Rotarian Professor S.C. Sharma, visited Rotary Clubs, schools, hospitals, castles and churches of Sweden and Denmark and studied the history and culture of Scandinavia. The team comprised Professor S.C. Sharma, Dr Sanjeev Kumar, Mr Jaideep Sareen, Mr Jagvinder Singh Mann, Mr Jaipal Sharma. The team members took part in the National Day celebrations of Sweden and presented the Rotary flag to the Governor of Anderstorp. The team, which also visited a number a factories and business houses, gave a presentation of India’s National Anthem and at one such presentation, hundreds of Swedish Kroners were collected by the team for earthquake victims of Indonesia. Elaborating on his trip, Dr Sanjeev Kumar said the traffic in Sweden was so organised that the team had failed to find even a single incident of accident during their stay there. He added that the crime rate in that country was zero and the team hardly came across policemen during their stay.
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Cong leader loses daughter, son-in-law in mishap
Barnala, June 21 Starting from Shahkot, Manjit Singh (40) was travelling along with his family in his car. He lost control over the vehicle and it collided with a tree. Nirmal Kaur, daughter, and Manjit Singh, son-in-law of Mr Balwant Singh Sekha, died on the spot while his two daughters Pirmaldeep Kaur and Tarundeep have been hospitalised at the civil hospital here.
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Labourer’s ‘killing’: CPM decries police inaction
Hoshiarpur, June 21 Addressing the rally, Mr Mangat Ram Pasala, a CPM leader of Punjab, criticised the police for not catching the culprits. He alleged the police and the administration were ignoring atrocities against labourers by employers. He alleged the employer of Sakhai Mukhia did not even pay wages to the deceased and other labourers. But Mr R.N. Dhoke, SSP, Hoshiarpur, said no mark of injury on the body of Sakhai Mukhia had been found. After investigation, it was presumed that he died a natural death.
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Sacked Home Guards hold demonstration
Sangrur, June 21 Mr Daljeet Singh president of the Sacked/Dismissed Punjab Home Guard Jawans Welfare
Association. alleged that more than 1,000 jawans of the Punjab Home Guard had been sacked or dismissed since 1992 by showing them absent from duty or getting “false” cases registered against them. He said many of these jawans had fought against militants. At an employees’ rally held at Patiala on February 11 , the Punjab Chief Minister had promised that the sacked/dismissed jawans would be reinstated. But due to a dharna on the same day by the serving Home Guards at Patiala, the Chief Minister got annoyed with them though they had no role in that dharna, he added.
— TNS
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Mill staff detain GM for hours
Tarn Taran, June 21 According to reports received here, the employees of the mill were demanding their monthly salaries which had not been paid to them for the past more than six months. Mr Harpal Singh Sra, a leader of the employees, said that the employees had submitted repeated memoranda to the officials. Mr Sra alleged that the officials were not hearing the genuine demand of the employees and the employees, who were facing acute financial problems, decided to take this extreme step today.
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High Court Move to privatise copy branch Maneesh Chhibber Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 21 The decision would result in the outsourcing of all functions of the copy branch, including supplying of certified copies of the various types of court orders. Inquiries made by The Tribune showed that on an average, the High Court copy branch receives over 18,000 applications each month for supply of dasti, urgent and ordinary orders. On an average, the branch, which currently has a strength of 80 full-time employees, hands out between 15,000-20,000 pages to the lawyers and litigants every day. Currently, the copy branch is unable to handle the work-load effectively, resulting in long delays in meeting requests for certified copies of orders. So much so, that there have been many instances of litigants not being able to get certified copies of High Court orders even months after the orders are passed. As a result, the litigants, who wish to appeal against the High Court orders, are forced to go slow. The per-day income of the High Court from the copy branch is over Rs 30,000. This is one of the reasons why a private player might show an inclination to handle the job. According to highly-placed sources, a three-member team led by the Acting Chief Justice, Mr Justice H.S. Bedi, is going to Bangalore to study the functioning of the system at the Karnataka High Court. The Karnataka High Court is the only High Court in the country which has successfully involved private players in effectively managing the copy branch. Apart from Acting Chief Justice Bedi, the other two members of the team are Mr G.K. Khanna, Additional Registrar (Judicial), and Mr Anmol Rattan Sidhu, president, Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association. The team would also interact with Judges and senior officials of the Karnataka High Court to understand the nitty-gritty of outsourcing the operations of the copy branch. A senior High Court official told The Tribune that the intention of the High Court in contemplating privatisation of the copy branch is to ensure prompt delivery of certified copies of orders to the litigants. “But for unforeseen causes, it would be our endeavour to provide certified copies of all orders and judgements to the parties within 24 hours. In case of lengthy judgements, which run into many pages, copies would have to be provided to litigants within days and not months as is happening now,” said the official.
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Filling station sealed
Abohar, June 21 According to information, some farmers with their tractors and trailers gheraoed the Indian Oil Corporation filling centre near Kundal, 10 km from here, on the Abohar – Muktsar road. One of them said that he had purchased 50 litre diesel for the brand-new tractor on June 20 but the vehicle got jammed. When examined by an automobile mechanic, it was found that the diesel had water contents in it. Others who aired similar grievances included Mr Kulwant Singh, Mr Bachittar Singh, Mr Gurdeep Singh Kundal and Mr Sukhdeep Singh. They spotted substandard measurements used for supplying petrol and diesel. As the caretaker tried to hide the measurements and “abused’ the farmers, the latter got agitated. They started thrashing him in a bid to snatch the measurements. Those present there rescued him. The farmers alleged that the adulterated oil was stored in the room attached to the office of the filling centre. The civil and police officials rushed to the village and examined quality of diesel and measurements. The filling station was immediately sealed as the officials found serious discrepancies.
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Change in ‘girdawari’ of custodian land banned
Gurdaspur, June 21 The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Vivek Pratap Singh, said he had issued directions in this regard due to large number of disputes pertaining to their control. The custodian land belonged to the Union Government. In this district most of the land on the banks of the Beas is the custodian land. The government has allocated such land to landless Dalits. However, certain influential persons, mainly politicians, have been circumventing the law to get control over such land.
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60-yr-old woman murdered in Rajpura
Rajpura, June 21 The blood-splattered body of Kuldip Kaur was found in a pool of blood by her neighbours this morning. The throat of the deceased was slit by the unidentified assailants, said the police. The incident came to light when Kuldip Kaur, who was an early riser, did not respond to the repeated knocks at the door of her upper- floor residence. The neighbours later informed the police which swung into action to nab the culprits. A police party, led by the City Police Station SHO, Mr Surinder Singh, reached the spot and started investigations. After attacking the deceased with sharp-edged weapons, the assailants escaped through bathroom, the police said. Meanwhile, the top brass of the Patiala police, including the SSP, Mr Parmod Bann, the SP, Mr Gurmeet Chauhan, and the DSP, Mr Manmohan Sharma, reached the spot to supervise the investigations. Mr Bann claimed that the culprits would be apprehended soon. Sources said the police was working on several theories, including the property dispute. It may be recalled that all four sons of the deceased and her close relatives were settled abroad. In fact, one of her sons was to arrive shortly. She had sold a portion of her house last year. The murder of an elderly single lady has spread panic among the residents in the posh colony. The residents have demanded security, particularly for the senior citizens. Meanwhile, the body has been sent for a post-mortem examination at the Civil Hospital. The police has registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC.
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Rs 1 lakh stolen from scooter
Hoshiarpur, June 21 In another incident, miscreants stole seven gold rings, one gold bracelet, one gold chain and cash from the house of Mangat Trehan at Milap Nagar, Hoshiarpur. According to the police, Mangat Trehan, along with his family, had gone to his in-laws’ house on the night of June 18. When he came back, he found household articles scattered in the house. A case under sections 457 and 380 of the IPC has been registered in this connection.
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Fake currency seized
Barnala, June 21 Mr S.K. Asthana, SSP, said a police party raided the premises of Daljit Singh at Tapa and arrested three main accused Daljit Singh, Balwant Singh and Bhura Singh while the other three managed to flee. The police also recovered a sum of Rs 50,000 and Rs 10 lakh in duplicate currency notes. An FIR u/s 420, 489E,120 B, IPC, has been registered. As many as 11 cases of robbery and dacoity are registered against Bhura Singh.
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Employees Democratic Front sweeps poll
Patiala, June 21 Information gathered by TNS revealed that candidates of the Employees Democratic Front led by Mr Sukhwant Singh Sidhu emerged victorious in the election to the post of president, general secretary, vice-president, secretary, press secretary, finance secretary and five executive members. Information revealed that Mr Darshan Singh was elected president of the union after defeating Mr Jarnail Singh of Young Forum. Mr Hari Chand Mendiratta, Mr Harish Kumar, Mr Jagjit Singh, Mr Ravinder Singh Walia and Ms Parkash Kaur of Employees Democratic Front were elected general secretary, vice-president, secretary, press secretary and finance secretary respectively. Mr Malkiat Singh was the lone candidate for Young Forum to be elected as assistant secretary. Mr Ram Lok Singla was the Chief Election Commissioner for the election.
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Class XII supplementary exams on July 25, 26
Mohali, June 21 In a press note issued here, Mrs Sukhwinder Kaur Saroya, Controller of Examinations, said the supplementary examinations would start at 2 p.m. The admission forms for the examinations could be deposited at textbook depots located at district headquarters till June 30. Later, the admissions forms would only be deposited at the head office of the Punjab board alongwith a late fee.
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PU results
Chandigarh, June 21
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Council of Ministers to consider RIL project
Chandigarh, June 21 In total, RIL intends to set up 52 such hubs to procure vegetables and fruits from farmers and supply them direct for sale to its own retail outlets across the country. The RIL project intends to also procure milk and start its supply in certain cities. Mr Ambani had met the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, on June 19 and expressed his keenness to go ahead with the project, which had been mired in controversy over land allotment to RIL. Subsequently, some clauses were added and also the controversial 20 acre plot at Mohali would not be available to RIL. RIL is scouting for land in the open market in the vicinity of Mohali.
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