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Close finish likely for Sathi, Jain
Miseries abound in Gurdaspur’s isolated villages
The sole pontoon bridge that connects 12 Gurdaspur villages with the rest of the world. A Tribune photograph |
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Murder case of Patiala Mayor’s ‘daughter-in-law’
NCTC another bid by Centre to usurp state powers: CM
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal addresses a gathering in Dasuya on Sunday. Tribune photo
Rajoana expresses desire to be hanged
Pravesh Scheme
Govt eyes Rs 4,000 cr from liquor sale
Low returns disappoint cotton growers
Education minister finds faults in central schemes
Farmers junk drip irrigation
Gurdaspur MC limits to include more villages
Jaspal Pardhan in dock over his second marriage
Punsup finding it tough to
nail Rs 5-cr paddy swindler
Centre cold to state’s farm diversification proposal
Paid low wages, anganwari workers protest against govt
Uneven street leaves Ropar residents in troubled waters
Nod to upgrade Govt Rajindra Medical College
Malerkotla civic body chief’s resignation sought
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Close finish likely for Sathi, Jain
Moga, February 24 The 79.42 per cent polling in rural areas goes in favour of the ruling SAD. But the lead margin could not be estimated keeping in view of the dissidence that was visible in the SAD camp. Though Akali stalwart Tota Singh, his son Barjinder Singh Brar and former DGP Paramdip Singh Gill, who have a large support base in this area, had buckled under immense pressure from the party leadership, a section of their workers still appeared to have gone against the tide. It is learnt that despite these Akali leaders agreeing upon to support Jain, their supporters could not digest the turncoat's entry into the SAD. Some of them voted for the PPP while others for the Congress, sources said. A disgruntled Akali worker told The Tribune that he had voted for Sathi because he wanted Jain to lose. The sources said the SAD leadership had estimated a lead of more than 20,000 votes in the rural areas, which did not appear to be a realistic figure keeping in view the undercurrent against their candidate. Political observers believe that Jain's lead could be around 10,000 votes in the rural areas because the BSP had not fielded its candidate and its estimated 3,000 votes might have gone in favour of the Congress. The polling of 64.09 per cent in the city does not appear to be a good sign for the Congress. The observers say more than 70 per cent of polling here could have been beneficial for the Congress to cover the margin of 10,000 votes of SAD in the rural areas. There are an estimated 48,000 Hindu votes in the city. Polling in the Hindu-dominated 12 wards was more than 70 per cent, a positive signal for the Congress. But how much lead Sathi could get from these areas is again a tricky question. Another unfavourable polling trend for the Akalis in the city was visible in the outer wards where it was below 55 per cent. The outer wards are said to be the stronghold of the Akalis. Barjinder Brar and Gill both enjoy a considerable following in the outer wards.
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Miseries abound in Gurdaspur’s isolated villages
Gurdaspur, February 24 These villages are devoid of basic amenities like roads, schools, dispensaries and veterinary hospitals. They feel helpless as they are hemmed in by the Ravi and the Ujh on one side and the India-Pakistan border on the other. The villagers had put pressure on the Union Government by refusing to vote in the 1980 parliamentary elections. The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had asked the then Punjab Governor Jai Sukh Lal Hathi to visit the area. The Governor, after promising help to the villagers, returned to Chandigarh. But no action was taken to resolve the problems of the poor villagers. The only connectivity this area enjoys with the rest of the world is a pontoon bridge constructed by the PWD on the directions of the then Gurdaspur MP Vinod Khanna in 2004. However, during the rainy season, the bridge is rendered useless, forcing the villagers to fight the vagaries of nature. Citing security concerns, mobile companies have not been allowed to erect towers. Hence, there is no mobile phone and Internet facility in these villages. The Gurdaspur district administration claims it cannot do much to alleviate the misery of these people due to paucity of funds. Link roads in the villages were constructed way back in 1971. Most of these roads are now non-existent. In the name of medical care, there is just one dispensary at Bharial village, which has one nurse to cater to the population of 5,000. She visits the dispensary once in a week. "There are two primary schools and one middle school. People want to provide education to their children, but there are no teachers," said Kashmir Singh, former Sarpanch of Bharial. Rattan Singh of Lassian village said: "Girls who pass out from the middle school have to leave their education half way as their parents are reluctant to send them to the adjoining towns. Almost 90 per cent of the girls stop studying beyond middle class". There is a veterinary hospital manned by one vet. No wonder, the livestock mortality rate is high.
tough life
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Murder case of Patiala Mayor’s ‘daughter-in-law’
Patiala, February 24
Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra had played a key role in helping Pardhan secure the top post after the Patiala Municipal Corporation elections last year. Pardhan was appointed Mayor on September 17 but within couple of months, his relations with Rakhra got strained. Had the Rural Development Minister been standing by his side, things could have been different for Pardhan in this hour of crisis, say political analysts. SAD spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema said, “Party president Sukhbir Badal is examining all aspects related to the case. Once the exercise is complete, he will decide whether Pardhan should continue as Mayor or vacate the post.” Though none of the local Akali leaders are willing to speak on record, party insiders say in case the SAD high command asked Pardhan to tender his resignation on moral grounds, Amarinder Bajaj and Ajit Pal Singh Kohli were the likely names that may be considered for the Mayor’s post. While Kohli is the former Mayor of Patiala, Bajaj is a two-time councillor. Both the leaders had lobbied for the coveted post earlier as well, but had lost the race to Pardhan. A three-time councillor, Pardhan was one of the frontrunners for the mayoral post in 2007, but he was then outwitted by Kohli, son of former Punjab Minister Surjit Singh Kohli. A Patiala-based SAD leader said, “We had been maintaining since day one that Pardhan is not a good choice for the post. Within five months of his appointment, he has got embroiled in a major controversy and has left the Akali Dal embarrassed.” The leader of opposition in the local civic body, Sanjeev Bittu, has demanded that Pardhan should not only quit on moral grounds, but should also be arrested without any delay. “A person accused of heinous crime should never be allowed to hold the Mayor’s post. The incident has also once again vindicated the Congress’ stand that Akalis have been abetting crime,” he claimed. The complainant has alleged that his daughter, who is Mayor's “daughter-in-law” from his second marriage, was assaulted, strangulated and later poisoned by the accused. The police was yet to arrest the Mayor, though two arrests have been made ion the case. In eye of storm
Once a Rakhra aide
Who next if he quits?
"SAD chief Sukhbir Badal is examining all aspects related to the case. Once that’s done, he will decide whether Pardhan should continue as Mayor" — DS Cheema, SAD "A person accused of a heinous crime like murder should not be allowed to hold the Mayor’s post. Our stand on Akalis abetting crime stands vindicated" — Sanjeev Bittu, Congress councillor in Patiala MC
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NCTC another bid by Centre to usurp state powers: CM
Dasuya (Hoshiarpur), February 24 "We are opposed to any idea which is aimed at infringement of the rights of the states. The proposal to set up the NCTC is one of such idea. So, our party rejects it outrightly. The NCTC has been designed by the Centre to convert the country into a unitary state which, could not be tolerated at any cost," said Badal. Badal said that the NCTC was "just another deliberate move" of the Union Government to give a blow to the federal structure provided by the Constitution. “Weakening of the federal structure is not in the interests of the nation. Centralisation of powers by successive Congress governments have resulted in growth of terrorism in the country,” said Badal who was speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a function to mark the first death anniversary of former Chief Parliamentary Secretary Amarjeet Singh Sahi.
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Rajoana expresses desire to be hanged
Patiala, February 24 In the past also, Rajoana had refused to appeal against his death sentence. In the letter, written from Patiala jail recently, he has reasserted his readiness to go to the gallows. Rajoana sent the letter through his sister. The letter puts the ruling SAD in a fix as the party had lobbied with Union Government for commutation of the death sentence awarded to Rajoana. Rajoana has said that after Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's execution, major political parties were asking one another to clear their position on his hanging. Rajoana was a party to the assassination Beant Singh and sixteen others. They were killed by a human bomb at Punjab civil secretariat on August 31, 1995. Rajoana was sentenced to death in 2006. Rajoana's hanging was scheduled to take place on March 31, 2012 but was postponed in wake of a review petition moved before President of India by SGPC and Badal Dal. Rajoana's mercy petition is pending with the President. Beant Singh is credited with fighting terrorism with an iron fist along with the then Punjab police chief KPS Gill. — PTI
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Pravesh Scheme
Patiala, February 24 The department had tried to introduce it this year but could not hold post line tests in time after holding base line tests at schools in December, 2012, and January, 2013. Therefore the authorities made post line tests optional this year. The base line tests will be held at the beginning of the session to evaluate the academic standards of the students. Based on the results, the teachers will be asked to work on the weak areas of the students. Then post line tests will be held towards the end of the session to evaluate how much the students have improved. However, teachers feel it is a useless exercise and will put additional burden on them. “We are already taking monthly tests so these new tests won’t make any difference. We were asked to take base line tests of every student but since not all students are present on any given day, the tests got delayed and wasted a lot of our time,” said a maths teacher. Kahan Singh Pannu, Director General of School Education, said, “These tests will help teachers in assessing students’ performance and let them work on the students’ weak areas,” added Pannu.
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Govt eyes Rs 4,000 cr from liquor sale
Patiala, February 24 Upbeat after nearing its target of Rs 3,400 crore for the current financial year, the Punjab Excise Department has now set a goal of Rs 4,000 crore for the next fiscal term. But, a higher revenue target through an increased sale of liquor could spell disaster for a state like Punjab, which is already battling rampant drug abuse. From Rs 2,100 crore in 2009-10 to Rs 3,400 crore during the 2012-13 financial year, revenue through the sale of liquor has been steadily rising for the state government. Over the past four years, the total revenue generated from the sale of liquor in Punjab stands at Rs 10,620 crore — Rs 2,370 crore in 2010-11 and Rs 2,750 crore in 2011-12. Sources said excise officials had forwarded a few proposals to Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal. Once he approved them, they would be sent to the Cabinet for the final nod. Punjab Excise and Taxation Commissioner Anurag Verma said he had held meetings with liquor contractors in Amritsar and Jalandhar divisions to discuss the next financial year’s liquor policy and to seek their feedback. “We are eyeing an increased revenue collection. The target will be decided by the Cabinet,” he said.
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Low returns disappoint cotton growers
Fazilka, February 24 The cotton arrival season began mid-September and will end in two weeks. There has been a drastic fall in cotton arrivals this season as compared to last year. Sources said only about 90,000 bales (each bale weighing 1.70 quintal) of cotton arrived in Fazilka market so far. Experts expect the arrival of another 10,000 bales during the remaining period. Last year, the total arrival was 1,60,000 bales. "The area under cotton cultivation has declined as farmers switched over to basmati and guar due to good prices of these crops," said Agriculture Cotton Extension Officer Hardayal Rai. "Cotton growers are not getting a remunerative price this year. Though the price has increased in the last two weeks, most of the produce was sold at Rs 4,100 per quintal to Rs 4,200 per quintal. The price went up to Rs 6,000 per quintal last year," said Satnam Chand, a farmer of Shajrana village. Another discouraging factor is that the farmers have to incur losses as the yield of cotton this year has gone down from 10-12 quintal per acre to 6-8 quintal per acre due to inclement weather, said Vinod Kumar of Khippasnwali village. "The input costs have increased manifold. The price of DAP fertiliser has increased from Rs 700 to 1,200 per 50 kg. Diesel price has also gone up from Rs 41 per litre to Rs 45 per litre. Labour charges for picking cotton have also gone up from Rs 3 per kg to Rs 4 per kg," said Avtar Singh of Islamwala village.
incurring loss
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Education minister finds faults in central schemes
Bathinda, February 24 He said the Education Department would make sure that the Act was implemented not only in the government schools but also in private schools. On protest by teachers employed under various schemes, he said: "They are facing problems due to the faulty policies of the Centre, which first launches schemes and then discontinues them". "We have requested the Centre to launch long-term schemes instead of offering employment under short-term schemes. We have asked the Centre to release funds for strengthening the education sector in the state," he said. He admitted that teachers employed under schemes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan, Central Security Scheme spend a lot of time in protesting. "Some of the demands put forward by the protesters are valid while some are not. We are ready to discuss their valid demands," Maluka said.
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Farmers junk drip irrigation
Faridkot, February 24 However, a recent inspection by Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) found that there are a few farmers who are using this system. After two rounds of inspection of agricultural fields, the PSPCL's enforcement wing found that the scheme proved a drain on public exchequer as the state and central governments give 75 per cent subsidy for installing this system. Besides, there was a massive misuse of power connections given to farmers on priority to run this irrigation system. Within days of installing this drip and sprinkler system and getting power connections, most of the farmers removed the equipment and sold off PVC pipes to junk dealers at throwaway prices. "The priority for most of the farmers was to get a power connection under the garb of the drip irrigation system. After this, the farmers started growing paddy and wheat," said a senior functionary in PSPCL. The drip system was provided to promote plantation of fruit, vegetables, medicinal, ornamental, aromatic plants and cereal crops, pulses and oilseeds to break paddy-wheat rotational cycle in Punjab, said Mohinder Kanwal, Conservator, Soils, Punjab. As per the norms, a firm installing the drip system has to maintain the equipment for three years. But since farmers hardly used the system, there was rarely a compliant, said a DSWC official in Faridkot.
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Gurdaspur MC limits to include more villages
Gurdaspur, February 24 This means the legislator may be in a position to get his own man installed as MC president. For the past several decades, the MC has been headed either by a BJP or a Congress councillor. The 21-member House will be increased to a 28-member one, once the move gets the approval of the Local Bodies Department. Peeved at the lack of support he got from the BJP in the January assembly elections, Babbehali managed to pull of a coup of sorts by coercing six Panchayats to pass a resolution in favour of being made part of the MC. "This is being done in the name of urbanisation. However, the bottom line is that the MLA has killed two birds with one stone. By bringing in diehard Akali votes into the MC fold he has sent the jitters in the BJP rank and file which did not whole-heartedly support him during the last elections. " At the same time he has a chance to install an Akali councillor as the next MC president," claimed a sitting Congress MLA of the area.
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Jaspal Pardhan in dock over his second marriage
Patiala, February 24 While Pardhan today denied he had any second wife and a son with her, the victim's family claimed they knew him only as their daughter's father-in-law. The family said it was even ready to accept a DNA on Pardhan, his wife and their son to establish the "fact". They maintained they had never met any Tirlochan Singh who, the Mayor claimed, was his friend and Paramjeet Kaur's deceased husband. "My daughter married Harpreet 10 years ago and we all knew Jaspal Pardhan as her husband's father," the victim's father Amarjt Singh, the complainant in the case, said. "He (Pardhan) is trying to save himself by presenting a fictitious story," he said. Terming the allegations as "baseless", Preetinder Singh, the Mayor's son from his first marriage, claimed that Tirlochan went to Russia a decade ago and never returned back. He claimed his father took care of Paramjeet and her son Harpreet after Tirlochan's death. The complainant, however, rebutted the claim: "He (Pardhan) was present at my daughter's marriage. He accepted all honours meant for her father-in-law." Amarjt contended that Pardhan's name also figured in the voter list as Paramjeet's husband of Harpreet's father. "These facts are enough to nail him, but the police is going soft on him due to political pressure and his association with the ruling Akali Dal," he said. Already booked for murder, Pardhan insisted that it was a case of suicide and his name was being "unnecessarily dragged in the case". Senior Superintendent of Police Gurpreet Singh Gill said investigations were on into the case. He, however, refused to comment on the demand for a DNA test.
Charges & the defence? I never had any second wife and a son with her. The allegations are baseless — Jaspal Pardhan, Mayor
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Punsup finding it tough to
nail Rs 5-cr paddy swindler
Faridkot, February 24 Punsup had demanded assistance from the local administration last month for checking the stock in the rice mill owned by the Akali leader. On one pretext or the other, the district administration is buying more time. But, sources attribute the delay to alleged political pressure. In January, a naib tehsildar was assigned the duty to check the stock, given to the mill for shelling in October 2011. The verification, however, could not be done as the rice mill was found locked. After this, the Punsup moved an application seeking assistance from the district administration to break open the mill’s lock. The authorities this time gave another “excuse” of inclement weather and VVIP visits. The naib tehsildar was then sent on election duty to Moga. Therefore, it further impeded the stock verification, said Punsup district manager Sandeep Bansal. Questioned on the delay, Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat said, “We will now be deputing the Faridkot tehsildar for the task.” Sources in Punsup said the agency had stored 1.11 lakh bags of paddy for milling. Of this stock, the miller failed to deliver 27,000 quintals of paddy to the agency. Though several reminders were sent, the mill owner failed to respond. As a result, Punsup did not give any consignment to the mill for milling in the 2012-13 season. Now that the local Punsup authorities are under pressure of their higher-ups to fix responsibility for the misappropriated paddy, the agency first needs to make physical verification of the stock. Only then can it initiate legal action against the mill owner. For their part, procurement agencies now have gone tough on mills misappropriating paddy. While earlier physical verification of stock was done only once, the procedure is followed several times at present. Each time, videography of the stock is also done.
Ducking Action
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Centre cold to state’s farm diversification proposal
Chandigarh, February 24 Last year, the Centre had conveyed to the state government to stop growing paddy as most of the rice consuming states have become self-sufficient. Following the Centre’s advice, the state government had submitted a proposal to it for drastically changing the wheat-paddy crop pattern. Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had also discussed the issue twice with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. But there is no further progress. Mangal Singh Sandhu, Director, Agriculture, said: “It was an important issue and diversification is not possible without assured financial support from the Centre”. He said farmers were not prepared to take any risk in this regard. Sandhu has urged the Revenue Department authorities to properly verify and tabulate the area under wheat this year. He said it would not be more than 33 lakh hectares whereas the Revenue Department reports suggested it was more than 35 lakh hectares. “Last year, we lost the productivity award to Haryana because our area under wheat was shown more than what it actually was,” said Sandhu. “While Haryana had shown 5,182 kg as its per hectare wheat yield, ours was 5,097 kg owing to miscalculation of our area,” he said. The total sown area in the state is 41.5 lakh hectares. Of it, 4 lakh hectares is under green fodder, 2 lakh hectares under horticulture, one lakh hectares under fish ponds, poultry and dairy farms and about 1.5 lakh hectares is under sugarcane, farm forestry, oil seeds and other crops. “Taking this into account, how can area under wheat be more than 35 lakh hectares? It will not be more than 33 lakh hectares, he asserted. “I have also requested the PAU, Ludhiana, to check per hectare yield of wheat again,” said Sandhu.
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Paid low wages, anganwari workers protest against govt
Sangrur, February 24 Usha Rani, state president of the Anganwari Mulazam Union, Punjab, said a large number of anganwari workers and helpers have been working for more than 35 years. However, once they retire they would not get any pension benefits from the government, she said. She said the state government should initiate steps to construct buildings for anganwari centres so that work at the centres could run smoothly. The workers also demanded that the monthly honorarium be raised to Rs 15,000 for an anganwari worker and Rs 10,000 for a helper. They also demanded that workers and helpers alike should be entitled to pension benefits. They pointed out that the anganwari supervisors should be recruited from workers.
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Uneven street leaves Ropar residents in troubled waters
Ropar, February 24 Interestingly, the authorities concerned after conducting an inquiry into the complaint of the aggrieved residents issued a clean chit to the officials concerned. This despite the fact that the Block Development officer (BDPO) BS Grewal and junior engineer concerned had clearly mentioned that the village panchayat neither got the level of the street measured, nor followed the directions of the BDPO before re-laying the street. Since then the affected families have been running from pillar to post to get justice. The case dates back to September 2010 when on the plea of the local residents, the local panchayat began the groundwork to re-lay the 500-feet long street. The residents had complained that the rainwater in the street overflowed into their houses since it flowed from west to east. There was no drain in the east. Following this the village panchayat started re-laying the street with gradient towards the west side so that the rainwater is drained into a pond situated there. The work, however, was suspended halfway due to paucity of funds. The work was resumed in September 2011. On September 23, 2011, the residents brought it to Grewal’s notice that the work was being started without any technical support and this could result in the accumulation of rain water in the street again. The BDPO immediately issued directions to the village sarpanch Suraj Sharma not to pursue the work further so that he could inspect the work to redress the complaint of the residents. The sarpanch, however, did not follow Grewal’s instructions and got the work completed. Grewal in his report mentioned that during his visit to the spot on October 3, he had found out that the street was laid on the weekend of September 24 and 25. The junior engineer in his report had also confirmed that no work was carried out by his department before the street was relaid. Manohar Lal Sehgal, a resident of the street said the officials concerned had done nothing to resolve the issue. Sarpanch Suraj Sharma confirmed that the BDPO had asked him to stop the work. He said it was the collective decision of the panchayat to continue re-laying the street. Additional Deputy Commissioner SS Marar, said an inquiry had been conducted into the complaint but the committee had found nothing wrong with the work carried out on the street. Hence, no action was taken against anyone, he added.
Costly mistake
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Nod to upgrade Govt Rajindra Medical College
Patiala, February 24 Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur had been urging the Centre to upgrade the hospital which is one of the oldest in the region. She further said, “The hospital even lacks basic facilities and poor patients suffer because of this. I had even written letters in this regard to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal but to no avail.” If the grant goes through, the hospital will get Rs 150 crore.
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Malerkotla civic body chief’s resignation sought
Sangrur, February 24 Kewal Krishan Jindal, the complainant and a sitting municipal councillor of Malerkotla civic body, said Dara should also resign on moral grounds as many other ministers of the state had done after being convicted. Jindal said Dara and three others, who had launched a murderous attack on him on August 26, 2002, should have got a longer sentence. He said he would appeal against the decision of the CBI court in the Punjab and Haryana High Court and seek an enhancement in the sentence. Jindal said Mohammad Shakeel, Mohammad Yasin and Mohammad Shakeel were the other attackers. The CBI court had awarded three years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 56,000 to each of the four accused.
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Even after 65 years of the Independence, around 5,000 villagers living in a cluster of 12 villages do not know the meaning of freedom.
Dasuya (Hoshiarpur), February 24
Bathinda, February 24
The Punjab Government’s proposal to the Centre seeking Rs 5,300 crore for diversification in the agriculture sector has failed to generate any response.
Last year, the Centre had conveyed to the state government to stop growing paddy as most of the rice consuming states have become self-sufficient. Following the Centre’s advice, the state government had submitted a proposal to it for drastically changing the wheat-paddy crop pattern.
Though both the candidates are confidant of their victory, an analysis by The Tribune revealed that it could be anybody's game.
