|
|
|
|
|
Paddy arrival picks up in mandis
FCI gets going in Gurdaspur, to pay farmers through banks
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Cong stages walkout over PDS
'scam'
Poll turns preserve of the rich
Badal govt most corrupt in state’s history: Capt
Iceland Ambassador calls on Badal
Jail authorities in a tizzy over convict’s RTI plea
Youths jailed in Dubai may fly back home in 45 days
Frequent MiG crashes give villagers sleepless nights
Another term for technical varsity VC
5 IAS officers shifted
Demolition of Amritsar Heritage Buildings
|
Paddy arrival picks up in mandis
Ludhiana, October 5 In all, 33,517 tonnes of paddy has arrived at various procurement centres in the district in the past five days. The procurement process started on October 1. District Mandi Officer Rajpal Singh said 102 procurement centres had been made in the district. Of all these, the Khanna mandi had procured the maximum. In Khanna market, 16,348 tonnes of paddy had arrived till date, of which 14,318 tonnes had already been procured. "Today, 6,149 tonnes of paddy arrived at Khanna mandi, of which 5,786 tonnes has been sold," he said. Pungrain, said Rajpal, had been making the maximum purchases. He said the Central Government agency, the Food Corporation of India, was yet to start with the procurement process. PAU Kisan Club president Pavittarpal Singh Pangli said the farmers expected a bumper paddy crop this season. He said at certain places in Ludhiana and Kapurthala districts, where the sowing process was late, aphid attack on the crop was visible but it had not taken an alarming proportion. "The paddy has started arriving in mandis, but the maximum produce is expected between October 10 and 30. The stocks have already started piling up at procurement centres," added Pangli.
|
|
FCI gets going in Gurdaspur, to pay farmers through banks
Gurdaspur, October 5 Under the new system, the FCI has roped in several nationalised banks and the Punjab State Co-operative Bank in which farmers have opened their accounts. For the past three days, paddy stocks brought to the grain markets here were found with a moisture content of more than 17 per cent. Today, the central agency started procurement from those farmers whose paddy had less that 17 per cent moisture. Nahar Singh, Area Manager, claimed that the moisture content was decreasing each passing day and all the 15 mandis allotted to it by the Director, Food and Civil Supplies, were likely to see a glut in the next few days. Today, the FCI procured nearly 600 quintals in Kot Santokh Rai mandi near Dhariwal and credited the money to the accounts of the farmers. Likewise, in Gurdas Nangal, Bolewal, Chandoi and Chawa mandis, FCI officials procured stocks from farmers with moisture content less than 17 per cent. The Gurdaspur FCI has a daily bank limit of Rs 12 crore and payments are to be credited to the farmers from this limit within 48 hours of procurement. The FCI had announced last year that it would pay the farmers directly but after the Punjab Government approached Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, it kept the system in abeyance for a year. Under the earlier payment system, FCI issued cheque of payment to commission agents and thereafter the commission agents made payment to farmers. The FCI is all set to buy 10 per cent of the total paddy arrivals (an estimated 130 lakh tonnes) and 80,000 tonnes are expected to be procured in Gurdaspur alone. An elated Angrej Singh from Kot Santokh Rai said: “The FCI has finally pulled us out of the trap of commission agents who would exploit us.”
|
||
Cong stages walkout over PDS
'scam'
Chandigarh, October 5 The Congress alleged that there was large-scale pilferage in subsidised kerosene and wheat flour meant for the poor. The government had prepared itself for an attack on the transport policy and the cable network issue raised by the Congress outside the House. The Opposition outsmarted the government, referring to these only in passing. Instead, the Congress took on the government regarding the “bungling” in the public distribution system (PDS). Soon after question hour, Congress legislator Sunil Jakhar was informed that his adjournment motion on the matter had been rejected by Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon. Carrying 10,000 affidavits “signed by deprived PDS subscribers,” Jakhar alleged that the subsidised kerosene was not reaching the needy. The Speaker told Jakhar since his adjournment motion had been rejected, he could not speak on the matter but could mention the same during zero hour. At this, the entire Opposition demanded a debate and later marched to the well of the House, raising slogans against the government. Even as SAD legislator Virsa Singh Valtoha brought a resolution asking the Centre to resume subsidy on DAP, the Congress kept raising slogans, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House for 30 minutes. Congress legislator Lal Singh made it clear that the Congress would not settle for anything less than a CBI probe into the matter. After the House resumed, Jakhar was allowed to speak on the issue. He pointed out that 22.98 crore litres of kerosene had been lifted by the Department of Food and Civil Supplies to be distributed among BPL families at the subsidised rate of Rs 15.90 paise per litre. He said he had 10,000 affidavits signed by PDS subscribers, claiming they had not received the subsidised kerosene. He alleged that wheat flour meant for BPL families too had not reached them. Minister Adesh Partap Singh Kairon said the Punjab Government had modified the PDS policy to ensure that the subsidised kerosene and flour reached those who “really needed it.” He said the first priority of the government was 4.62 lakh families who lived below the poverty line (BPL), then came 15 lakh Blue Card holders and last those affected by riots and terrorism. Kairon pointed out that the government had started a pilot project in Ferozepur district under which all trucks carrying kerosene would be painted in different colours to indicate which one carried kerosene for the PDS. He said these vehicles had been fitted with GPS devices to reveal their precise location. Not satisfied with the answer, the Congress legislators again marched into the well of the House, demanding a CBI probe. When the Speaker ignored their request and asked Master Mohan Lal to read out his calling attention motion, the Congress staged a walkout. Defacements to be removed after a week A calling attention motion prompted CM Parkash Singh Badal to announce that the government would remove defacements around highways and public buildings after a week. Reacting to a motion by Sukhpal Khaira of the Congress, the CM said the parties should take a unanimous decision not to put up billboards and posters. He said the government on its part would wait for a week for all concerned to remove such boards following which these would be removed forthwith. Khaira said the defacements not only marred the look of cities and towns, but also endangered the lives of motorists with road signs barely visible. Local Bodies Minister Tikshan Sud said the government was taking appropriate measures, but Khaira said these were only on paper. Cong blocked HUDCO loan, alleges Badal The Opposition ridiculed the BJP for failing to create the proposed Rs 1,100 crore municipal infrastructure fund, but the Chief Minister alleged that it was the Congress that had prevailed upon HUDCO to refuse Rs 750 crore for the fund. Following a discussion on a question by Congress legislator Surjit Singh Dhiman on the distribution of municipal funds, the CM said the government had prepared a case and had met all conditions listed by HUDCO for a Rs 750 crore loan. He claimed Congress leaders from Punjab had pressurised HUDCO not to release the loan. Local Bodies Minister Tikshan Sud claimed that PCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh had given a statement, claiming the Congress would not allow the government to take the loan from HUDCO. Congress legislators hotly contested this allegation. The ruling alliance also faced much heat from the Opposition on the issue of funds spent under MNREGA. Congress legislator Sunil Jakhar claimed Panchayati Raj Minister Ranjit Singh Brahmpura had said in the House that works worth Rs 1,415 crore had been approved under the scheme, but only a small fraction of the amount had been actually spent. Earlier Congress legislator Ripjit Brar pointed out that the government was not following a proper policy while posting/ transferring officers. MLA Jakhar leads the protest Carrying 10,000 affidavits ‘signed by deprived PDS subscribers,’ Sunil Jakhar alleges that subsidised kerosene and flour was not reaching the needy Speaker tells Jakhar that his adjournment motion has been rejected and he may mention the issue during zero hour The entire Opposition insists on a debate and later walks to the well of the House, raising slogans House adjourned for 30 minutes amid din; Jakhar allowed to speak as House resumes Not satisfied with Minister Kairon’s reply, the entire Opposition walks out
|
||
|
Left wants Barnala to join alliance
Chandigarh, October 5 Confirming the development, Joginder Dayal, member of the CPI national executive, said he along with other leaders was in touch with Baldev Singh Mann, a former minister considered close to Barnala. "We hope to meet Barnala in the next few days," said Dayal. "Not only Barnala, we are also keen to meet the top leadership of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to make it a part of the broader alliance," said Dayal. He refused to reveal the name of the BSP leaders he had met. Meanwhile, the PPP, CPI and CPM leaders met today in Jalandhar to shortlist the issues to be included in the common minimum programme (CMP) of the alliance. Dayal said there would be two segments of the CMP. "One would deal with national issues such as poverty, corruption, unemployment and rising prices. These were national issues as well as state issues. Then there were issues related to the state such as poor health services, falling standard of education, poor civic amenities, lack of governance, lawlessness, failure of the administration to give justice to people, looting of the state and its resources. These would also be part of the CMP," he said. He said the committee set up to prepare the CMP would meet again at Ludhiana on October 12. "As there is a possibility of the Barnala group becoming part of the alliance, another meeting has been fixed to prepare the CMP," he said. At today's meeting, PPP's Jagbir Brar and Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon, CPI's Joginder Dayal and Jagroop Singh and CPM's Charan Singh Virdhi and Raghunath Singh were present.
|
||
|
Poll turns preserve of the rich
Jalandhar, October 5
The data presented by the two organsiations indicates that the election process has virtually been reduced to a “money game” with the assets of candidates of all major parties like the Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and the BJP running into crores. “In 2007, the assets of each of the 94 candidates of the SAD (Badal) and that of 117 of the Congress were worth Rs 4 crore and Rs 3 crore, respectively. Similarly, the assets of each of the 23 BJP and 13 CPI candidates was valued at Rs 1 crore,” said Prof Jagdeep Chhokar, founder member of the Association for Democratic Reforms. “ Sixtyfive per cent candidates of the Congress as well as that of the SAD were crorepatis,” said Prof Chhokar. Also, 18 of the 34 Independents in the fray were crorepatis. Of the 23 Bharatiya Janata Party candidates, 14 were crorepatis. Three BSP candidates were also crorepatis. A total of 176 candidates of the 351 were crorepatis and 78 of them (44 per cent) won the elections. The maximum number of crorepatis were from the Congress (33), followed by the SAD-Badal (31), the BJP (10) and Independents (4). Top leaders like Capt Amarinder Singh, Parkash Singh Badal, Manpreet Badal and Bibi Jagir Kaur were among the top 20 crorepati politicians.
|
||
|
Badal govt most corrupt in state’s history: Capt
Ludhiana, October 5 Speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of an interactive session organised by the National Students Union of India, he said: "Post-Independence, the Punjab residents have not seen corruption of the scale that the senior government functionaries, including the Badal family, have been indulging in.” Amarinder chided Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal for justifying his financial stakes in an electronic (read PTC) channel. He said what Sukhbir had purportedly confessed was not even the proverbial tip of the iceberg. "What the Deputy Chief Minister has chosen to hide are his vast stakes in the sand mining, transport and liquor businesses," he said. In reply to a query whether or not the Badals would be put behind bars for their acts of “omission and commission” if the Congress was voted to power, Amarinder said each and every act of the government would be investigated and action would be taken as per the law. On civil activist Anna Hazare's ultimatum to the UPA government to bring the Jan Lokpal Bill in the winter session of Parliament or else he would ask people to vote against the party, the PPCC chief said his party had all respect for the Gandhian and his crusade against corruption. "But if Anna Hazare learns about the corrupt deeds of the SAD-BJP government, he will any day prefer the Congress to the incumbent government," he said.
|
|
Jail authorities in a tizzy over convict’s RTI plea
Patiala, October 5 Lodged at the Mumbai Central Jail, Abdul Latif has moved an application under the Right to Information Act, seeking information on the register kept at the main entrance of the Central Jail, Patiala. With the information denied by the jail authorities for technical reasons, Abdul Latif moved the Punjab State Information Commission to get vital details. The commission dismissed the case last month. The authorities at the Patiala Central Jail are in a tizzy as to why Abdul Latif needed the information in the first place. Interestingly, the convict has claimed to belong to the a below poverty line (BPL) category in his RTI application dated April 2011. “We cannot give such details to a person convicted in a hijacking case as the entry register is an important document and it comes under the secrecy Act ”, said Deputy Jail Superintendent Rajan Kapoor. According to the jail manual, any convicted criminal can seek information under the RTI Act. Might of the right Sent to life imprisonment and lodged at the Mumbai Jail for his role in the hijacking of Indian Airlines plane IC-814, Abdul Latif had sought information on persons visiting the Patiala jail. The plea was rejected
|
|
|
Youths jailed in Dubai may fly back home in 45 days
Jalandhar, October 5 Of the 17 youths facing death sentence in the infamous Mishri Khan murder case, three returned to India on May 30 while others were still languishing in a Sharjah jail on other counts, including bootlegging. Oberoi said, “The three-member Supreme Court jury, headed by Sheikh Abdullah Rashid Shamsi, is going to discuss the possibilities of effecting an amendment of the high court judgment in the case on October 9. I am also going to meet the jury to seek early release of the youth. Our five lawyers have assured me that the boys were likely to be released within one-and-a-half month.” The death sentence pertaining to Mishri Khan murder case was condoned vide a September 12 high court judgment after “diya” (blood money) was paid to the victim’s family in Pakistan. The release of the youths, however, was withheld at the last moment owing to other charges pending against them. The parents of 42 Punjabi youths jailed in Dubai met Oberoi and enquired about the well being of their wards. Meanwhile, Oberoi said he was striving to get released another group of 10 youths, including eight from India and two from Pakistan’s Punjab province. “If all goes well, they will fly back home by the first week of November.”
|
|
|
Frequent MiG crashes give villagers sleepless nights
Bapror (Rajpura), October 5 “I do not allow my grandson to sleep on the rooftop for the fear of a plane crash as we have heard many thunders in the past five decades,” said 80-year-old Dalip Kaur, who had lost her elder son to one such crash near the village almost 40 years back. “My son Daler Singh was killed in his fields after a jet fighter crashed on him and we could not even identify him,” she recalled. Similar is the story of many villagers who have now become used to the thundering roars of flying MiGs of the Indian Air Force that flies to-and-fro above their village. As The Tribune team visited this village, thundering sounds of MIGs passing above the village astonished all. “It is an everyday nuisance for the elderly and the children. Sometimes the sound is such that it feels as if it is going to crash,” ex-serviceman Preet Singh said. “My son and two daughters are hearing impaired and I firmly believe that the sound of these planes is the prime reason for their impairment,” Kirpal Kaur, a villager, said, as another MIG passes above their house making it impossible for anyone to hear anything. Villagers here do have sleepless nights and sometimes as many as 10 planes pass above the village at night. Villagers narrated how their children wake up at night hearing the planes go at this velocity. “Last month crash on September 6 near our village in the morning scared everyone. But thankfully it crashed in the fields,” they said. “The nuisance has threatened our domestic animals also,” the villagers added. LIFE ON THE EDGE Over nine plane crash incidents related to Ambala Air Force station have been reported since 2002 claiming lives of three pilots and civilians May 9, 2002: An aircraft crashed on the runway of Ambala airbase. The pilot died November 5, 2002: In Bayal, 13 persons died and several were injured April 7, 2003: A fighter aircraft MiG-21 BIS crashed in a populated area in Ambala leaving 6 people injured. The crash took place within a few hours of a MiG crash in the residential area of Mullanpur near Ludhiana April 2004: Two Jaguars returning to Ambala from Srinagar airbase collided in air and crashed. Both pilots on the jets died September 28, 2006: MiG-29 crashed on the Ambala-Chandigarh route September 6, 2011: A MIG crashed in the fields near Bapror, the pilot ejected safely
|
|
|
Another term for technical varsity VC
Jalandhar, October 5 Confirming the development, Suresh Kumar, Principal Secretary, Technical Education, said that the issue of taking over government-run Giani Zail Singh Institute of Engineering and Technology at Bathinda as constituent college had also been cleared. The move will make the institute a university property and teaching staff as its own team of academicians. An approval from the state government for starting new courses would also be not required in future, as had the case been earlier.
|
|
|
Chandigarh, October 5 Karan Singh has been transferred and posted as Principal Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, in addition to Project Director, AIDS Control Society and Commissioner, Food. Satish Chandra becomes the Principal Secretary, Department of Planning and Special Economic Package, and ex-officio member secretary of the Social Development and Governance Reforms Commission. Kalpana Mittal Baruah becomes Chairman, Punjab State Board of Technical Education and Industrial Training. SK Sandhu is Secretary, Department of PWD (B&R) and Commissioner, Roopnagar Division. He holds the additional charge of Secretary, Department of Sports and Youth Services. He is also Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sarvjit Singh has been posted as the Chief Administrator, GMADA, Mohali. He is also Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Mohali, and Chief Administrator, GLADA, Ludhiana. — TNS
|
|
Demolition of Amritsar Heritage Buildings
Chandigarh, October 5 The directions by the Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice MM Kumar and Justice RN Raina came on a petition by the National Welfare Society. Counsel for the petitioner had alleged that rather than filing a response to their PIL, the government had chosen to demolish the buildings. If allegations in its petition filed in public interest against “demolishing or tampering with the heritage buildings” are to be believed, the government under the “Chief Minister and his son Deputy Chief Minister” has “made up its mind to give away the prime heritage public property into private hands”. The petitioner has also alleged that “it has further decided to raise hotel/shops etc at the cost of the heritage of the state”. The petitioner added: “On February 4 last, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of the present Deputy Chief Minister, wherein it was decided that the Town Hall Complex, which houses the offices of the Municipal Corporation, Amritsar, be shifted. “Further plans to reuse the Town Hall complex were materialised. It was decided that the feasibility of reusing the town hall complex as a hotel under public/private partnership be considered. “It was further decided that the entire project which would include hotels, shops, museums etc, should be undertaken by private partners for running and maintaining the same”. Arguing on the petitioner’s behalf, counsel Deepak Sibal asserted that the building was 143 years old. ProtectingTHE PAST The National Welfare Society in its petition had alleged that rather than filing a response to their PIL, the government had chosen to demolish the buildings The petitioner also alleged that the govt had decided to raise hotel/shops etc at the cost of the heritage of the state
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Though a few days late, paddy procurement has finally started picking up in this part of the region. So far, the five major state government agencies, including Pungrain, Markfed, Punsup, Warehouse and Punjab Agro, apart from private millers, have procured 27,319 tonnes of paddy. 
Gurdaspur, October 5
Alleging bungling in the public distribution system, Congress legislators demanded a CBI probe into the matter during the Vidhan Sabha session today. With the
SAD-BJP alliance refusing to oblige, led by the Congress, the entire Opposition walked out of the House amid sloganeering.
Dubai-based businessman SP Singh Oberoi, who has been pursing the case of the 17 Indian youths (16 of them from Punjab) lodged in a Sharjah jail, here today assured their families of their safe return probably within a month and a half. As many as 59 Punjabi youths and one from
Haryana, all in their twenties, have been serving terms in various Dubai jails in 11 separate cases. 
Jaivir Singh (16) has never slept on the rooftop of his single-storey house in Bapror village due to his parents’ fear that a plane might crash on their house. With as many as eight MiG aircraft crashing in almost 50-km radius in the past decade and two crashing near their village, the residents here feel unsafe.
Residents in the remote Bapror village, near the Punjab-Haryana border, live a threatened life as its falls in the line of the Ambala Air Force Station. With pilots flying from the Ambala airbase, the villagers are in a constant fear.