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After Badal, Capt visits Bhaini Sahib
CM showers grants to bail out SAD stalwart after setback in SGPC poll
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MoUs with power firms to be scrapped if voted to power
Groundwater uranium level 20 times higher than normal in Bathinda village
Contractors to be accountable for repairs
Library in Sekhwan’s home district in a state of utter neglect
Seeking benefits, teachers block highway
Sangrur admn among defaulters in MC list
Task force formed to implement tobacco Act
Padd(y)ing up for assembly poll
To give space to all sections, SAD firms up Jat-Bania-Dalit strategy
Subsidy on drip, sprinkling irrigation up
Hang Bhullar, demands Bittu
Now toilets being used for campaigning
251 promoted as school principal
Family alleges torture at SAD leader’s behest
ROB delay irks residents
Sans arrears, it’s ‘black’ Diwali for us, say college teachers
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After
Badal, Capt visits Bhaini Sahib
Ludhiana, October 16 After Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, accompanied by Cabinet Minister Hira Singh Gabria, visited Bhaini Sahib, yesterday, it was the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief, Capt Amarinder Singh, and incharge of party affairs in Punjab Gulchain Singh Charak who visited the village today for seeking the blessings of Guru Satguru Jagjit Singh. With lakhs of followers not only in Punjab but across the globe, both the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal are eyeing the Namdhari votes. On the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s announcement yesterday that the state government would take steps to restore the properties of the 66 Kuka martyrs to their heirs, Capt Amarinder Singh said: “Was the CM sleeping for the past more than four years? We all know that this announcement was made just to garner Namdhari votes.” Charak said the the Namdharis had always guarded national interests. He hoped that “in the same spirit they will support the Congress once again.”
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CM showers grants to bail out SAD stalwart after setback in SGPC poll
Moga, October 16 He recently decided to shift his political base from Moga to Dharamkot, a purely rural constituency. It was converted into a general seat after delimitation by the Election Commission paving the way for him, he being a Jat Sikh, to contest the assembly election from here. He has been pinning hopes on the rural vote bank to stage a comeback after the assembly election. It may be mentioned that two local Akali leaders Kuldip Singh Dhose and Sukhjeet Singh Kaka parted ways with the ruling party alleging the Jathedar’s interference in local politics. Dhose joined hands with Manpreet Badal while Kaka won the SGPC election as a rebel independent candidate and is now eyeing assembly ticket. Under such a situation, this seat won’t be a cakewalk for the SAD, though there is a ‘myth’ prevailing among the local Akalis that despite these two defections the ruling party could still win the coming elections from here by showering public funds to the panchayats and local organisations. In 1997, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sheetal Singh won the election from this erstwhile reserved constituency for three consecutive terms. In 1992, when the Akalis boycotted the polls, Baldev Singh Bhatti of the BSP won the election. In 1985, Gurdev Singh Gill of the Congress and in 1980 and 1997 Sarwan Singh of the CPI was declared elected twice. Going by the historical background of Dharamkot for the past three decades, this seat could not be termed as an Akali bastion. But of late, efforts are being made by Jathedar Tota Singh to win over the masses by influencing the government to shower money in this area for development. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, during his visit to the area on October 12 and October 13 as part of the Sangat Darshan programme, disbursed grants worth Rs 6.07 crore for the development of 146 villages of Dharamkot assembly segment, besides laying the foundation stones of 66 KV power sub-stations at Fatehgarh Kortana and Kot Mohammed Khan villages to be constructed at an estimated Rs 3.5 crore each. Badal also announced to upgrade the status of Kot-ise-Khan village to nagar panchayat, besides making it a sub-tehsil. Last month, the state government granted Dharamkot the status of a subdivision, probably to influence the masses. The Akali leaders claim that this was for the first time that huge grants had been distributed in the villages of the area alleging that the previous governments had failed to carry out developmental works. Former Medical Education and Health Minister Dr Malti Thapar of the Congress claims that doling out public funds would not work in favour of the SAD as anti-incumbency factor was prevailing in the area. “There is also an infighting going on among the Akalis, therefore, the chances of Congress winning this seat are bright,” she added.
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MoUs with power firms to be scrapped if voted to power
Ludhiana, October 16 “According to the MoUs, the companies are not bound to give power to the state, despite the fact that they have been given thousands of acres for setting up thermal plants. So what does Punjab gain from it,” asked the PCC chief. Responding to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s statement that if the Congress had any doubt about the MoUs, it could approach the courts, Capt Amarinder said if voted to power, the Congress would scrap these projects and may even ask for a CBI inquiry. He accused Akali jathedars of pocketing Rs 10-Rs 15 per bag of paddy procured from mandis, resulting in harassment to the farmers. “The jathedars are sitting in the mandis making money and that is why the problems in the procurement process,” he said. Capt Amarinder Singh explained that being courteous with political rivals should not be seen as cessation of differences with them. To a question on his sharing dais with Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal at a function in Chandigarh, he remarked: “Certain social occasions require certain courtesies and the matter ends there.” He said the fight with the SAD would be taken to its logical conclusion. “Do you think I can forget the victimisation of my party workers and the 50,000 false cases slapped on them,” he remarked in response to a question.
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Groundwater uranium level 20 times higher than normal in Bathinda village
Faridkot, October 16 Conducted jointly by eight scientists from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai, and Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, the research says the concentration of uranium at Karamgarh Satran village (Bathinda) had been measured at 644 µg/L (parts per billion). The permissible limit, as per the Environment Protection Agency of USA’s guidelines, is 30 µg/L, meaning the concentration at the village is 20 times higher. Besides, the average concentration was found to be 99.96 µg/L, about three times higher than the normal. Karamgarh Satran is followed by Dhillawan (463.6 µg/L), Giana (292.65 µg/L) and Gudda (165.85 µg/L) villages of Bathinda. The research paper, “Geochemical modelling of uranium speciation in the subsurface aquatic environment of Punjab”, observed that most of the groundwater in southern-west Malwa region was strongly alkaline, highly saline and had high TDS and ionic strength, thereby increasing the solubility of uranium in water. With an aim to assess the redox chemistry of uranium in subsurface aquatic environment using different geochemical models, the BARC had collected 160 groundwater (bore-well and hand pump) samples at different depths from Bathinda and Mansa districts from September to October, 2009. The research pointed out that in the study area, the uranium concentration in groundwater was observed to be high in terms of public health guidelines. It suggested that precautions must be taken in case the shallow groundwater was to be used for drinking purpose and remedial measures initiated to get rid of the problems caused by uranium.
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Contractors to be accountable for repairs
Chandigarh, October 16 Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said today that the government had inked the OPRC project with the World Bank, making contractors accountable for maintenance of roads. Badal said that six roads in the state- the Sangrur-Sunam road, the Bhawanigarh-Sunam-Bhikhi road, the intersection-Kot Shamir road, the Barnala-Mansa road, the Mansa-Talwandi Sabo road, the Dhanaula-Bhikhi road and the Bathinda-Kot Shamir-Talwandi Sabo road had been chosen under the WB project. Sukhbir said the Public Works Department (PWD) was fully prepared to initiate this system by floating tenders for the repair and maintenance of the six roads in Sangrur, Mansa and Bathinda areas. He said the system would make contractors accountable as they would be held responsible for deteriorating conditions of roads. The Deputy Chief Minister said to verify the standard of roads, the government agency would visit sites at random, in the presence of contractors or otherwise. He said monthly payments to the contractors would be halted in case they failed to perform up to the desired standards No leniency would be shown.
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Library in Sekhwan’s home district in a state of utter neglect
Gurdaspur, October 16 Racks containing termite infested books is a normal sight even as the authorities wait for funds to grapple with the situation. The library is being managed by Dr Babita Sharma who also holds charge of librarian at SR Government College for Women at Amritsar. The fact that nearly 40,000 books are lying in a shambles only goes on to prove that the library has ceased to remain a haven where a man's mind and soul work in complete unison. Nearly half a dozen newspapers and publications also land at the library daily but the distressing fact is that there are seldom any readers to read them. "Barring some senior citizens and students who have to take their examinations, there are not many who come to read the books, a majority of them which are lying either in a state of misuse or disuse," said Dr Babita Sharma. Old timers recall that the library used to have a steady stream of readers when it was located near the Civil Hospital. It was a favourite among residents and the chowk adjoining the library was aptly named as Library Chowk. However, in January 2006, the authorities decided to give the library a new address at an isolated location just behind the fish tank. The result was that people, a majority of whom had to trudge long distances, simply refused to knock the doors of the library at its present address. The library has nearly 2,975 readers registered as members but just half a dozen are regulars. "I have been working here for the past 15 years. It saddens me when I see just 10-12 people turning up to read the books. When the structure was at the civil hospital, we used to have at least 50 odd residents clamouring for books and magazines. However, all that is a thing of the past now," says restorer Rupinder
Kaur.
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Seeking benefits, teachers block highway
Patiala, October 16 Teachers from all over the state gathered at Rajpura and blocked the highway at 3.30 pm. The entire traffic had to be diverted through
Banur. A large number of police personnel were deployed in the area. Talking to The Tribune, one of the employees, Mandeep Singh, said union president Ajmer Singh Aulakh had been on an indefinite hunger strike since September 25, but the government had not even bothered to discuss the matter. He said, "Many leaders from various political parties have been visiting us and showing their concern, but none of them have actually bothered to help us in any way. Now, we will clear the road only when the principal secretary to the Chief Minister, Darbara Singh Guru, assures us that he would fix up a meeting with the CM in a day or two and would help get our problems
resolved". Kuldeep Singh, another teacher, said they had been demanding regularisation of their services, covering of
"sikhiya karmis" under the the Sarva Sikhsha Abhiyan, enhancement of salaries on a par with SSA teachers, maternity leave with pay, increase in casual leave as per the Civil Services rules, facility of employees' provident fund and annual increments. "While we work equally with the SSA teachers, there is a huge difference in our salaries. They are paid Rs 18,000 whereas we are working on a meagre salary of Rs 8,000. Can one imagine sustaining their families with this much money when the rate of inflation is so high in our country? This is a sheer harassment," he added.
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Sangrur admn among defaulters in MC list
Sangrur, October 16 Sources in the MC disclosed that the District Administration Complex, Judicial Courts, Improvement Trust colonies, illegal colonies, marriage palaces, cinemas and vehicle service stations have attached the sewerage pipes with the main sewerage system of the town without paying the requisite fee. They added that as per the letter of the local government in 2005, these institutions have to pay a one-time installation fee of Rs 90,000 per acre (which will be increased by 10% every year) to attach the sewerage pipes to the main sewerage system of the town besides a monthly bill for the purpose. Arti Kalra, Municipal Councillor, Sangrur, said the MC was suffering financial losses due to non-payment of requisite fee by these institutions to connect the sewerage pipes into the main sewerage system of the town. Executive Officer of Sangrur MC, Surjeet Singh said “this issue has come to my knowledge recently and we will slap notices on the defaulters soon”.
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Task force formed to implement tobacco Act
Chandigarh, October 16 Health Minister Satpal Gosain, in a statement, said the task force would comprise six officials and one non-official member. He said the members would be of the rank of Deputy Commissioner (or an official nominated by him), Senior Superintendent of Police or an officer nominated by him (not below the rank of DSP), Civil Surgeon or district-level nodal officer of district tobacco control programme, drug inspector, food inspector and district attorney. Non-official members of the task force would be taken from reputed NGOs or renowned philanthropists or a religious leader, the release said.
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Padd(y)ing up for assembly poll
Gurdaspur, October 16 These very Congressmen were nowhere to be seen at the mandis during procurement, either for wheat or paddy, last year. However, with the elections round the corner, Congress leaders, mostly ticket aspirants, are seen in the grain markets everyday to woo the farmers. Frontrunner for the Congress ticket from Gurdaspur town Pritam Singh Bhinder has been visiting the mandis ever since procurement commenced on October 1 “ to listen to the problems being faced by the farmers.” Similarly, ticket aspirant from Dera Baba Nanak and former Minister SS Randhawa is touring the markets. Raman Bahl, another aspirant for the Gurdaspur town seat, is also busy lending an ear to the farmers’ grievances. PPCC spokesperson Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa is slugging it out in the markets of nearby Qadian, from where he hopes to stand for the elections. Former Minister SS Chhotepur, who is a contender for both Qadian and Gurdaspur seats, makes his way into the gatherings at the mandis and at once strikes a rapport with the farmers. Likewise Tripit Rajinder Bajwa, a former minister and a ticket aspirant from Fatehgarh Churian, is often seen touring markets in his assembly segment. A senior Congress leader said: “The leaders are visiting the mandis because wee want to ensure that the state government agencies and the FCI procure paddy in a smooth manner, that there are no hiccups.” That, of course, is the party line. There is little doubt that these leaders want to make the most of the paddy procurement season, reaching out to the farming community, just before the elections.
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To give space to all sections, SAD firms up Jat-Bania-Dalit strategy
Chandigarh, October 16 Sources said out of the total of 1,300 municipal councillors in the state, 800 were from the SAD, followed by 300 of the Congress and 190 of the BJP. The SAD is heading the Mohali, Patiala and Bathinda municipal corporations. Party sources said the SAD cadre was undergoing a change with a large number of Hindus being appointed office-bearers. As the party heads towards the assembly elections, the party has appointed Hindu Banias as vice-presidents in all its district units. Observers claim the SAD feels the BJP has lost ground and is in no position to win 19 seats as it did in the last assembly elections. The party can, however, ill-afford to reduce the BJP quota of 23 seats, lest it sends out an “anti-Hindu” message. Keeping this in mind, the party has decided to create a Jat-Bania-Dalit combine. While it already has candidates from the Jat and Dalit communities, it has now identified Bania candidates who will be fielded from semi-urban seats. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said the party had extended its base by giving space to all communities. He said the party would approach the urban voter in the coming months and explain the development works undertaken by the SAD-BJP alliance.
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Subsidy on drip, sprinkling irrigation up
The state government has also decided to provide
over 1,000 priority tube well connections to farmers engaged in this kind of irrigation. According to an official spokesman, the Irrigation Department has chalked out a comprehensive scheme to lay underground pipes in private fields for the purpose of drip and sprinkling irrigation. He said the government had also facilitated 90 per cent subsidy for farmers under the National Agriculture Development Scheme to ensure irrigation in areas having contaminated ground water. The spokesman said farmers could save 50 to 70 per cent water and increase yield from 30 to 100 per cent by using the drip and sprinkling techniques of irrigation. He said these techniques would also encourage farmers to move out of the wheat-paddy cropping cycle and go in for horticulture and vegetable cultivation. The spokesman said the government had spent Rs 120 crore under various schemes launched by the Soil and Water Conservation Department to conserve and preserve 34,000 hectares of agricultural land in the state. He said of the 141 blocks in the state, 103 had been “blacklisted”, where the level of groundwater had depleted due to unnecessary and unlimited usage of water.
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Hang Bhullar, demands Bittu
Chandigarh, October 16 In a statement, he said the recovery of 5 kg of RDX in Ambala clearly showed that the terrorist groups were reviving their activities in the region. “While the respective governments are talking about commuting the death penalty of hardcore terrorists, whether in Tamil Nadu or in Punjab, these terrorists are again trying to kill innocent people.” He criticised the move by the Chief Minister to commute Bhullar’s death penalty to life imprisonment. Bittu demanded fast-track courts to decide terror cases as early as possible.
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Now toilets being used for campaigning
Faridkot, October 16 Five month back, the Union Ministry for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation had started the integrated low-cost sanitation scheme (ILCS) that envisaged converting dry latrines into low-cost flush latrines and construction of new toilets for economically weaker sections in urban areas. In Faridkot, about Rs 2 crore has been earmarked for the toilets. Avtar Singh Brar, former Education Minister and Congress MLA from Faridkot, said this welfare scheme was part of the 14 flagship programmes of the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre but the SAD-BJP government was trying to take credit for it. “The Chief Minister had earlier put his picture on bicycles for schoolgirls and on the utensils distributed among the poor. Now, the toilets are also being used for campaigning”, he remarked.
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251 promoted as school principal
Chandigarh, October 16 A government spokesman quoting Education Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan said the move follows the promotion of 17 senior college lecturers as principals to ensure all 52 government colleges were appropriately headed. Also, the spokesman said decks had been cleared for the promotion of 450 headmasters and 3,500 lecturers. He said the department had already promoted 842 headmasters last week.
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Family alleges torture at SAD leader’s behest
Patiala, October 16 Alleging harassment, Prema Devi, who works as a domestic help, has shot off a letter to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and the DGP demanding a CBI probe into the case. “The district police is trying to implicate my family members at the instance Prema Devi has alleged that her daughter Pushpa, husband Chottu Ram and son Pardeep had been been summoned and questioned numerous times by the Crime Investigating Agency (CIA), Patiala. “They are physically torturing my family members to save a politician”, the letter reads. Denying the allegations, the police said that Pushpa Devi’s son-in-law was a suspect in the murder case. “Prema Devi’s son-in-law Ram Kishen has been missing since the day of the murder ”, claimed CIA incharge, SS Chauhan. The SAD district president, Indermohan Singh Bajaj, refused to comment on the matter. Lakhvinder Kaur, a power board employee, was found murdered. She was repeatedly stabbed and set her room set on fire. Patiala SSP Gurpreet Singh Gill said: “The police will brook no interference in the matter. Prema Devi should ask Ram Kishen to join the investigations”, he said.
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ROB delay irks residents
Fatehgarh Sahib, October 16 The cost of the project was estimated to be Rs 1,945 lakh. The PWD (B&R Branch) was to share Rs 1,680 lakh and the Northern Railway's construction wing, Rs 265 lakh. The contract was given to CDS India on February 20, 2009, and the work was to be completed by June 12, 2010. However, despite the fact that the deadline has been revised twice, the work is still far from over. Similarly, a 30.18-m span was to be made by the construction wing of the Northern Railways. The work on the portion was allotted to Yashpal Chopra & Co. This work is also facing an inordinate delay. Bir Devinder Singh, former MLA, Sirhind, has served an ultimatum to the chief engineer, Northern Railway, and the PWD Department, Punjab, stating that if the ROB was not completed by November 30, he along with the locals would start an agitation.
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Sans arrears, it’s ‘black’ Diwali for us, say college teachers
Patiala, October 16 Prof Jaipal Singh, PGCTA president, said in protest against the non-acceptance of their demands, the teachers would stage a two-hour dharna (11 am to 1 pm) in their respective colleges from October 19 to 21. He said, “Following the recommendations of the UGC, the Punjab Government had revised our pay scales with effect from January 1, 2006. But till date, the government has not released the arrears for the period 01.01.2006 to 31.09.2009.
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Chandigarh, October 16
Patiala, October 16
Fatehgarh Sahib, October 16
Chandigarh, October 16