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‘Trapped’ Punjabis in Libya
Scramble for Bhagat Singh’s legacy
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Manpreet displaced from allotted venue
State ‘focusing on power generation, infrastructure development’
Liquor vends shouldn’t function from within walled city of Amritsar: HC
Rajewal: Cancel licences of non-cooperative arhtiyas
Uncertified
BT Cotton Seeds
Centre must ‘monitor rural health grants’
Crowd a hurdle in rescue of animals, say Experts
Farmers’ body to stage protest in Delhi on March 9
Yellow rust affects ripening of wheat crop
For three Ropar villages, he is the water ‘messiah’
Political leaders pin hopes on youth
Hondh Chhillar Massacre
Bhunder wants SIT to probe Rewari killings
Dera Baba Nanak
Ex-servicemen unions to stage dharna in Delhi
Immigrants from Libya
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‘Trapped’ Punjabis in Libya
Jalandhar, March 2 Accompanied by the Lok Bhalai Party (LBP) chief Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, parents of “trapped” Punjabis said that they had been receiving desperate calls on the phone from their relations in Libya to urge the Union Government to make quick arrangements to evacuate them. Ramoowalia said of the 18,000 Indians trapped in Libya, about 4,000 were Punjabis. He condemned the Union Government for its failure to react in time to the emerging violent situation in Libya. He said the Union Government had set up neither any control room in the state nor at the national level for passing on any information regarding those trapped in Libya. The government had initiated no other steps to console the worried parents. He said some travel agents had also not returned the passports of the Punjabis engaged by some private companies in Libya. The LBP leader said that while America evacuated all its citizens in 48 hours, China evacuated its about 27,000 citizens by February 27 from Libya. But India had brought back by air only 1,134 persons, who were rich and well connected. Ramoowalia said it was unfortunate that Punjab-based MPs did not raise the issue of trapped Punjabis in the Lok Sabha. “All of them should have forcefully raised their voice in support of the trapped Punjabis and should have made the Union Government to continue sending aircraft to Libya until all Indians were evacuated. I would request them to take up the issue in Parliament,” said Ramoowalia.
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Scramble for Bhagat Singh’s legacy
Chandigarh, March 2 The third rally will be organised by SAD rebel Manpreet Singh Badal, who is expected to announce the formation of a new political party on the same day. The sudden interest in the martyr is said to have been prompted by Manpreet Singh Badal evoking the ideals espoused by Bhagat Singh in a bid to inspire Punjab’s youth and prompt them to make a difference to the state’s politics. While the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has been the first off the block, reviving ‘Punjab Games’ after a gap of over a decade and naming it after ‘Shaheed-eAzam Bhagat Singh’, the Pradesh Congress President Captain Amarinder Singh today finalised plans to hold a show of strength at Khatkar Kalan on March 23. Addressing a meeting of PCC secretaries, more than a thousand of them, on Wednesday, the Captain declared that the rally would herald the ‘beginning of the decisive battle’ to oust the SAD-BJP alliance from power. A committee led by O.P. Soni and Tarlochan Singh was entrusted the task of making the arrangements. He told the cheering secretaries that he would always be accessible to them and they could meet him at the party office in Chandigarh. The 1,100 ecstatic secretaries claimed that today was the first time they had been invited to meet the PCC chief. The PCC President lauded their courage in facing repression allegedly unleashed by the ruling coalition and yet sticking to the Congress. The PCC president appears to have set a scorching pace for himself. On Tuesday he had addressed office bearers of front organisations like Youth Congress, Mahila Congress, Seva Dal and National Students’ Union of India. On Friday he is slated to meet the party legislators and later in the month, he is again addressing all members of the PCC, including MPs.
Cong announces team for Khatkar Kalan rally
The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee today constituted a 15-member committee to organise and manage the March 23 rally of the Congress at Khatkar Kalan. The rally to mark the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh would be held under the chairmanship of party MLA OP Soni. Former MLA Tarlochan Singh has been appointed convenor of the committee. Former Minister Lal Singh said the committee will have 13 other members belonging to Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanhahar). He said the party has also appointed 25 observers from the PPCC to supervise the District Congress Committee meetings being held all over Punjab on March 12. PPCC chief Amarinder Singh said his party had geared itself for the final electoral battle at Khatkar Kalan. He said to finalise preparations for the Hola Mohalla function being organised on March 19 will be held at Ropar on March 9. Besides, the party is also holding the meeting of the legislators immediately after the Assembly session on March 4, Lal Singh said.
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Manpreet displaced from allotted venue
Chandigarh, March 2 It would mean that former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal will be forced to move to a venue away from the Bhagat Singh Memorial. He had booked an area for his rally adjoining the land behind the memorial. However, with the government’s decision to hold the official function at Khatkar Kalan, it will get the 10 acres adjoining the memorial. This means that the land adjoining the 10 acre land will not be available to Manpreet. SAD spokesperson Dr Daljit Cheema visited Khatkar Kalan yesterday and made assessment of the preparations that would be required to hold the function. It is learnt that the government is likely to invite artists like Harbhajan Mann, Satinder Sartaj, Gurdass Mann, etc, to sing patriotic songs, besides being crowd pullers. Raagis and thadis are also being arranged.
Samrala: Brushing aside all speculation that Manpreet Singh Badal was all set to quit his Assembly seat, the rebel leader made it clear that he would not do so at any cost, even under pressure from the SAD. He was talking to mediapersons at Dana Mandi, Samrala, during his ‘Jago Punjab’ yatra. He clarified that the berth in the Cabinet that was taken back from him was in the hands of Akali Dal leadership but the Assembly seat of Gidderbaha was awarded to him by the people of the constituency. He said if he needed, he would consult the people of that area. He said he would take an oath on March 23 at Khatkar Kalan along with lakhs of his supporters to finish corruption, poverty, literacy, unemployment and drugs in the state. He also said that red beacons atop vehicles would be a thing of the past if he was given support by the people. Contrary to the claims of some leaders of Manpreet faction, no big leader of the Akali Dal or the Congress of Samrala and Machhiwara joined the Manpreet faction. Later he also addressed a rally at Dussehra Ground Machhiwara. Bir Devinder Singh and Gurpreet Singh Bhatti also addressed the gathering.
— TNS
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State ‘focusing on power generation, infrastructure development’
New Delhi, March 2 Addressing the Chief Minister’s session at the 83rd
conference of the FICCI here yesterday on the topic, “Governance for
growth and empowerment-how states will play a critical role in
addressing these challenges”, he pitched for investment in Punjab
saying the state provided ideal opportunities and was the right
investment destination. He said the state would be power surplus in the
next two years. Three international and three domestic airports were
also being established. With the establishment of an international
school of business, IIT, and Central University, Punjab would provide
the right human resource back- up to the upcoming industry. He said with
the setting up of a knowledge park with research facilities in
biotechnology and nanotechnology, Punjab was focusing on future
industrial growth. He assured cooperation from the state government to
industrialists. The basic concern was to change the dependence of
Punjab’s economy on the agricultural sector and give a boost to
industrialisation in the state. He said in an era of open economy,
where the industry was no longer dependent upon the Centre or states for
licences, the states can attract investment only by strengthening
infrastructure and streamlining the process of governance. On power
projects, Sukhbir claimed that he personally got them a clearance for
environment and pollution besides ensuring rail and coal linkages.
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Liquor vends shouldn’t function from within walled city of Amritsar: HC
Chandigarh, March 2 The directions came during the hearing of a petition filed in public interest by Amarjit Singh against the State of Punjab and other respondents. Taking up the petition filed through advocate Navkiran Singh, Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Jaswant Singh asserted: “This public interest litigation has been filed seeking directions from the court to ensure that for the coming auction of liquor vends commencing from April 1, there should be no liquor vends within the walled city of Amritsar, in accordance with the provisions of the Punjab Liquor Licenses Rules, 1956.” “Specifically, it has been pointed out that wine shops bearing number five and six situated outside Sultanwind Gate and a wine shop situated at Sheran Wala Gate, are contravening the provisions of the rules,” they said. In its detailed order, the Bench asserted: “As the issue raised required the determination of the basic facts, this court, by order dated January 24, had directed the Amritsar Deputy Commissioner to cause a physical verification of the present location of the wine shops in question and submit a report to the court.” “The DC has so acted by submitting a report dated February 22. A perusal of the report would go to show that while the three wine shops in question open outside the walled city, a part of the premises of the shops is within the said walled city”. Disposing of the petition, the Bench directed: “Though the provisions of Clause 9 of Rule 37 of the Rules impose a prohibition on the sale of liquor within the walled city and the report of the DC would indicate that such sale would strictly be outside the walled city in as much as the shops open outside the walled city, yet as the report of the DC would indicate that a part of the premises is located within the walled city, we are of the view that for the coming auction year commencing from April 1, the auctioning/licencing authority would seriously consider the shifting of the location of the three shops.”
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Rajewal: Cancel licences of non-cooperative arhtiyas
Jalandhar, March 2 All government procurement agencies, including the FCI were given Rs 150 crore for disbursement among farmers as a drought relief related to a previous year. Each farmer, who sold paddy to the procurement agencies and to private traders, was to be given Rs 18.26 per quintal as relief. While Rs 150 crore was to be distributed during the last kharif crop, the remaining Rs 150 crore is to be distributed after the coming Rabi crop. Of the Rs 800 crore given to it as drought relief by the Centre, the state government had earmarked Rs 300 crore for distribution among farmers following the pressure built on it by the Bharti Kisan Union (Rajewal) in this regard. Sources said about 65 farmers were yet to get drought relief yet in the Bathinda region. Likewise, in some other parts of the state, it had not been disbursed yet. Rajewal said the state government should immediately order the cancellation of the licences of those commission agents, who were not cooperating with the procurement agencies for the disbursement
of relief. He said the decision was taken at a high-level meeting of officials and the BKU over the distribution of relief. Rajewal said the distribution of the relief should not be delayed anymore. Distribution of the remaining Rs 150 crore would also be due shortly.
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Uncertified
BT Cotton Seeds Chander Parkash/TNS
Abohar, March 2 So far, only one instance of this kind has come to light in Killianwali of Muktsar district, where more than four quintals of BT cotton seeds were allegedly brought from Gujarat in an authorised manner and was seized by a special squad of the department. Every year in the months of February, March and April, unscrupulous traders of Punjab and other states supply uncertified BT cotton seeds at exorbitant rates by cashing in on an artificial scarcity of certified BT cotton seeds created by a section of the traders, including dealers of companies involved in the manufacturing of certified seeds. Gurdial Singh, Joint Director of the department, said squads had been set up at the state, district and subdivisional levels to check activities of unscrupulous traders. Criminal cases would also be registered against them. To fulfil the demand of BT cotton seeds to be raised by growers in the coming crop season, the department had asked Markfed and Punseed to tie up with the companies concerned so that any type of shortage could be avoided during the sowing season, which would start from April 15, he added. To check “malpractices of authorised dealers” for creating an artificial scarcity, the department had directed them to disclose in advance the fact that how much quantity of certified cotton seeds would be made available to farmers by them and what would be their distribution plan, he said. On the other hand, a section of the agricultural experts demanded that the authorities concerned must register criminal cases against Gujarat and other states-based companies, which had been selling uncertified BT cotton seeds to unsuspecting farmers of the state.
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The tricky art of keeping a torch burning
Ludhiana, March 2 But more than the cost, it is logistics that has robbed organisers here of their sleep. Normally, they point out, the Games flag is lowered and the Games torch is doused at the completion of the Games and before athletes and guests. But the state government in its wisdom chose Ludhiana for the opening ceremony and Jalandhar as the venue for the closing function. The torch is fixed and cannot be moved and taken to Jalandhar, they point out. And how would the Deputy Chief Minister sitting at Jalandhar douse the flames in Ludhiana is the question baffling them. ‘‘If they had hoisted the flag here, they should have respected the customs and conventions of such Games. Sportsmen are groomed to respect sports, rules and customs. What would they learn here,’’ fumed Sukhbir Singh Grewal, a former Indian Hockey player. Harmeet Singh, District Sports Officer (DS) Roop Nagar, who is also a member of the Torch Committee constituted for the Games, also had no answer. He merely said that due to windy conditions the burner was consuming more fuel. The torch has been at the centre of several controversies already. Initially, organisers had installed domestic LPG gas cylinders but following reports in The Tribune, the cylinders were replaced with commercial cylinders.
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Centre must ‘monitor rural health grants’
Patiala, March 2 President of The Docsfed India Dr DC Sharma said the projected GDP for 2011-12 being Rs 8,98,0860 core, the allocation for the health sector should have been at least Rs 1,69,617 crore (approximately 2 per cent of the GDP), instead of Rs 26,760 crore. Dr Sharma welcomed the 16 per cent increase in the funds for the National Rural Health Mission (NHRM). “Major chunk of the grants received under NHRM, being spent by the state governments through State Rural Health Missions, are often not used properly. Hence, the Union Government and the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, must formulate some mechanism to oversee and check the use of the NRHM grants by the respective state governments,” he demanded. Representatives of the In-Service Doctors Wing of Indian Medical Association, Punjab, have stated that the proposal to increase the tax exemption limit for general tax payers by just Rs 20,000 annually is a bad decision. Chairman of the In-Service Doctors Wing of IMA, Punjab, Dr DS Bhullar, said under the present tax regime, doctors are annually paying the income tax, almost equal to their two-month salary. “Hence, the tax exemption limit for the general tax payer must have been increased to Rs 2 lakh,” he demanded. Dr Bhullar said the In-Service Doctors are among those government employees, who are heavily burdened with the income tax. “Under the Section 80 on the Income Tax Act, the general tax payer can claim rebate under various insurance schemes like LIC, PLI, NSC, PPF, UTI, mutual funds or tuition fee of their wards, only up to limit of Rs 1 lakh. This exemption limit should have been increased to Rs 3 lakh,” he added.
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Widening of Kharar-Kurali road may begin soon
Kharar, March 2 The total cost of the project is Rs 50 crore and its tenders would be floated by the next week. While the work on the road widening is expected to start by May, a bridge at Khanpur is not included in it. For the road widening, the department does not require to acquire land except for 3 to 4 feet extra land on sides. It seems that a respite for commuters on this stretch is not possible in the near future, as the Khanpur Bridge will be widened next year. Gurmukh added that for the widening of the bridge, land of farmers was needed to be acquired. “Had we added the bridge to the project, it would have resulted in delaying the entire project. Consequently, we decided to work first on the widening of the road,” he added. In the past three years, the stretch has witnessed an unprecedented rise in traffic. Meanwhile, forest officials are conducting a survey to calculate number of trees planted on this stretch. The stretch is mainly dotted with Sukhchain and eucalyptus trees that are more than 10 years old. The officials said in lieu of the trees axed down at the stretch, the same number of trees would be planted in the forest area. Divisional forest officer Vishal Chauhan said the survey would be completed in another two or three days and thereafter permission would be given for clearing the green cover.
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Crowd a hurdle in rescue of animals, say Experts
Chhat (Banur), March 2 Experts from the Wildlife Trust of India said, “Crowd is a major obstacle during every rescue operation in India. People usually get excited over the presence of a wild animal in the residential areas and start chasing them.” “While an animal gets exhausted, which leaves marginal possibility of it falling unconscious with regular tranquilliser dosage. Officials then use overdose. Consequently animal fails to recover and dies. Ideally the animal must be allowed to get relaxed first, after which it should be tranquillised or should be captured using a net,” said Dr NVK Ashraf. Laying emphasis on need of providing a comfortable transportation for rescued and unconscious animal, officials said instead of carrying animal slung on back, it should be held in a sitting position. The speakers reasoned that when put in wrong position, the animal might choke or end up with couple of fatal fractures. “Also animal should not lie down on one side. To reduce its excitement, its eye should be covered using a cloth,” Dr Ashraf added. Dummy animals were used for demonstration today wherein veterinary doctors Dr Prajna and Dr Arjun from the Wildlife Trust of India, a Delhi-based NGO, showed how to revive animals from an unconscious state.
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Farmers’ body to stage protest in Delhi on March 9
Patiala, March 2 Confirming this, CIFA Punjab unit president Satnam Singh Behru said CIFA members would take part in the protest demonstration to express resentment against the anti-farmer policies of the Union Government. CIFA is a NGO working for the development of farmers and agricultural sector to increase its share in the national economy and also use global opportunities. Appealing to all farmer associations of Punjab to take part in the protest, Behru said, “In wake of the fact that the Union Government is not serious towards implementation of the Swaminathan Committee report, farmers are left with no option but to take to the path of agitation.” Behru said the Centre should give constitutional status to the Agricultural Cost Commission of India because the present Agricultural Cost Commission does not have any legal authority and its recommendations are not binding on the Union Government. “We must find a viable way to free Punjab farmers from financial liabilities, in the form of loans amounting to thousands of crore. Majority of Punjab farmers are burdened with huge agricultural debt and so far, the Union Government has failed to resolve the issue,” Behru said.
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Yellow rust affects ripening of wheat crop
Fatehgarh Sahib, March 2 Agriculture Department officials admitting damage to the standing wheat crop due to increase in moisture said medicines to control yellow rust had been distributed among farmers at 50 per cent subsidy. Small yellow-coloured pustules appear on the leaves and leaf sheaths, which cannot be controlled if rain or clouds persists. “Medicines can reduce affect of the yellow rust only when the weather is clear. Farmers have been advised to spray 200 ml of Tilt and 25 per cent EC with 200 l water for one acre crop to get rid of yellow rust,” said Agriculture Development Officer (ADO) Pirthi Singh. Though yellow rust has not affected any particular village or area at large scale but it can be seen in the areas, which have received maximum rainfall in the past one week, said the ADO. He added that the farmers had been advised to spray Tilt medicine once and in case yellow rust persisted, then twice after 15 days. Nearly, 2,000 l of Tilt medicine has been provided to the farmers on subsidy in all five blocks of district. Around 500 l has been distributed in Sirhind block, 400 l each in Khamano, Khera and Bassi Pathana and 300 l in Amloh block. Paramjit Singh, a farmer, Jalvehri village, said the farmers, who had grown the non-recommended variety HD-2733 were the worst-affected. He added that though the area under this variety in his village is around 10 acres but one of his relatives from Bagh Sikandar village near Bassi Pathana said the maximum area under this variety is in Bassi Pathana. He added that the farmers from Bagh Sikandar had grown this variety in 40-45 acres.
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For three Ropar villages, he is the water ‘messiah’
Railon Khurd (Ropar), March 2 It’s Balbir’s determination that has brought a World Bank-assisted project right on the doorstep of 350 households in these villages, all of which now enjoy the uninterrupted treated water supply. “It was in 2006, when I got water samples of the village tested. It revealed that water was unfit for human consumption. Consequently, I raised the issue with government departments, but no one responded,” said Balbir, who had retired from the Army 45 years ago. Thereafter, Balbir came to know about the project and started convincing villagers to contribute 10 per cent of the funds. “It was necessary to tell villagers that the water they were using was unfit and just 10 per cent contribution can lead to wonders,” Balbir added. The task was an uphill with most of villagers refusing to part with Rs 1,500 per family. Balbir decided to collect money in three instalments and the trick succeeded. General secretary and treasurer of the Gram Panchayat Water Supply Committee (GPWSC), Balbir sought loan from a gurdwara of village to meet with Rs 1.2 lakh amount the committee was falling short of. Laying water pipes and raising water tank alone did not serve any purpose. “Villagers started complaining that over head water tanks in houses were not getting filled. We realised that this was due to lot of water going waste,” he said. Since people paid just Rs 70 per month, they did not care for it. Consequently, it was decided that meters be installed to check water wastage. In association with the district programme director-cum-superintending engineer, Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Department, NK Dhir, said the meters were installed at all 350 households saving large quantity of water. “Now, villagers are being charged Rs 3 per unit with each unit comprising 1,000 litres. We just want that people should save water and realise its value,” Dhir said. He said Balbir had been nominated for a state-level award for his services, which would be conferred upon him during the Independence Day celebrations.
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Political leaders pin hopes on youth
Ludhiana, March 2 On the other hand, the SAD has already been doing the same with the party having set an agenda for the Youth Akali Dal under the patronage of Bikram Majithia, the brother-in-law of Deputy CM and SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal. Sukhbir is making all efforts to attract the youth by announcing huge grants to promote sport events. Talking to TNS, Sukhbir said: “We want the youth to come at the centre stage.” Former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, who is on the verge of forming a new political party, has mainly been appealing to the young, which has caused a considerable concern among the mainstream parties like the Congress, the SAD and the BJP. The trend is primarily being attributed to Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, who during the last parliamentary elections, had allotted party ticket to the youth.
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Hondh Chhillar Massacre
Amritsar, March 2 “It is the worst example of organised crime encouraged and supported by the state authorities against a particular minority community. In this unfortunate incident, more than 32 Sikhs were hacked and a gurdwara building was demolished on November 2, 1984. The site of the tragedy narrates a pathetic tale of torched houses, the burnt gurdwara,” he said. “The worst part is that the matter has been kept under wraps during the last 26 years. The Shiromani committee has stressed upon the authorities at the Centre to intervene in the matter,” he added.
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Bhunder wants SIT to probe Rewari killings
New Delhi, March 2 Bhunder, one of the senior-most leaders of the SAD, was among the lot of MPs who raised their voice in the upper house yesterday.
Bhunder, while asking for an SIT, cited the example of the SIT formed by the apex court in the case of the recently decided Sabarmati Express burning case of Gujarat. In the Rewari killings, justice has been delayed the this time in not speed up matters, said the Akali leader, who hails from Mansa district. He also wants that a team of parliamentarians be formed to visit the place for an on-the-spot assessment. Bhunder is among those handful of leaders who have already visited the village in the recent past while accompanying a delegation of Sikh leaders. The MP said one of the key issues was to punish cops who registered the FIR and then sent the case as “untraced” in court. Another issue was to punish those cops who lost the FIR itself.
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Dera Baba Nanak
Amritsar, March 2 In a press note issued here today, Sarna said the gate was being built with the consent of the BSF and the entire cost of its construction was being borne by the DSGMC. He said they would also provide modern binoculars to facilitate ‘darshan’ of Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib to the devotees. He said the construction work of the gate and expansion of the canteen would be carried out by Baba Jagtar Singh Kar Sewawale. He said a large number of devotees throng the area daily to pay reverence to the gurdwara, though from a distance, as India and Pakistan were yet to take policy decisions to pave the way for a smooth pilgrimage to the shrine.
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Ex-servicemen unions to stage dharna in Delhi
Jalandhar, March 2 The All-India Defence Brotherhood (AIDB) and other unions of retired defence personnel has started mobilising ex-servicemen to protest against the minister in New Delhi. Brig Kuldeep Singh Kahlon, president of the Punjab Chapter of the AIDB, said all ex-servicemen organisations of Punjab and Haryana had come on a common platform towards the accomplishment of their demand. He also cited the example of anomaly in the Fourth Pay Commission wherein rank pay benefit upheld by the Supreme Court had not been granted by the government. To lodge their protest, Kahlon said all associations and unions of ex-servicemen would stage a national-level dharna on Jantar Mantar Road in New Delhi on March 6.
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Immigrants from Libya
Chandigarh, March 2 Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal took a decision to this effect here today, an official spokesman said. The spokesman said an apex committee comprising Financial Commissioner, Revenue, AR Talwar, Principal Secretary, Home, DS Bains and Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister DS Guru had been constituted under the chair of Chief Secretary SC Agarawal to look into the policy issues involved in the rehabilitation process. The state government has also set up a ‘help desk’ at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New to extend assistance to the immigrants from Libya to enable them to reach their home places
comfortably.
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The result of the scramble among political parties for appropriating the legacy of Shaheed Bhagat Singh is that there will be not one but three political rallies on his birth anniversary this year. Both the Shiromani Akali Dal ( SAD) and the Congress have announced plans to hold their rallies at the martyr’s ancestral village.
