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Encroachments up in Muktsar town
3 get life term for killing man, wife
Fazilka police nabs courier with heroin
worth Rs 1 cr
Inspecting HC judge
pulls up judicial officers, subordinates
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Forest dept gets back its illegally-mutated land
Deras increasing drug menace: Akal Takht head
Local body claims only four buildings unsafe in Muktsar
College gets nod for new courses
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Encroachments up in Muktsar town
Muktsar, March 26 The worst affected areas are Ghas Mandi, Nehru chowk, Jalalabad road and Kotkapura road. In many areas, the encroachers have occupied both sides of the roads due to which the residents are facing several problems. As per the information obtained by a local resident Sham Lal Goyal under the RTI Act, the road near Nehru chowk, which is 57 feet wide as per the revenue records, is shrinking owing to encroachments and now measures only 26 feet. Similarly, the 87 feet wide road from the railway crossing to Rama Krishna School is only 71 feet wide now. Similarly, from the Rama Krishan School to the rivulet on Jalalabad road, the 80 feet wide road has been reduced to 74 feet, all because of the encroachments. It is worth mentioning that though a number of anti-encroachment drives were launched by the authorities, the situation never changed in the town. The traffic remains blocked at main roads, as the shopkeepers have encroached both sides of the roads, further narrowing it. The traffic mess on the roads creates problems for the residents and the motorists besides causing noise pollution. It is worth mentioning that the encroachments are also delaying the construction of the railway overbridge on Jalalabad road. About the increasing encroachments, Sham Lal Goyal said, "The authorities should launch a comprehensive drive to remove the encroachments. It should be followed by strict monitoring so that the roads are not encroached upon again." Another resident, Gurditt Singh, a septuagenarian, said, "A few months ago, the officials had demolished the footsteps built in front of a number of shops, which were made after encroaching upon the government land. But now, the shopkeepers have again built the footsteps and the drive launched by the officials concerned failed to yield the desired result." Deputy Commissioner Paramjit Singh said, "We are clearing the encroachments in the town. In some parts, the buildings found built on the encroached land have been demolished and in other areas, the drive would be launched soon." However, another senior official of the district administration said the major hurdle coming while clearing the encroachments was the shopkeepers adopting the method of protests to force the administration to go on the
backfoot. Fact file
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3 get life term for killing man, wife
Barnala, March 26 As per the case, the convicts, namely, Karamjit Singh from Bhadaur, Balwinder Singh from Barnala and Parmod Kumar had murdered a pregnant woman and her husband, residents of Bhadaur, in the first week of October, 2012. In this case, the judge also awarded three convicts 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 each under Section 364 of the IPC, five years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 each under Section 201 of the IPC, and one-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1,000 each under Section 379 of the IPC. The judge also awarded them sentence under Section 376 g (2) of the IPC. A case was registered on October 5, 2012 at Bhadaur police station by Jaspal Singh, a resident of Budhlada, who had expressed doubt that his sister Sangeeta Rani had been murdered by her husband Mangat Ram, a resident of Bhadaur, as he was missing from home. However, later, the police got the secret information that Sangeeta had not been murdered by her husband as she had been killed by Karamjit Singh, Balwinder Singh and Parmod Kumar. These three persons first killed Mangat Ram near Shehna canal and later visited his house where they tried to rape his wife Sangeeta and then murdered her. |
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Fazilka police nabs courier with heroin
worth Rs 1 cr
Fazilka, March 26 Senior
Superintendent of Police, Fazilka, Sukhdev Singh Kahlon, while speaking
to media persons here, disclosed that police party led by sub-inspector
Ranjit Singh nabbed one suspect, later identified as Gurpinder Singh
alias Bhinda near village Chanankhera, while travelling by a car.
During the search, 200 grams of heroin was recovered from Bhind's
pocket. The SSP said that on preliminary interrogation, the accused
revealed that he had brought 200 grams of heroin from his brother-in-law
Balwinder Singh, a resident of Ferozepur city at the cost of Rs two
lakhs. "The accused Gurpinder Singh had been indulging in the
smuggling of heroin for the last 7-8 months and was to supply it to his
permanent customers in Abohar area," said the SSP. |
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Inspecting HC judge
pulls up judicial officers, subordinates
Faridkot, March 26 "If an aggrieved person has to wait for a long time to get the court decree implemented, it amounts to non-redressal of grievances," said the judge during his meeting with the judicial officials and advocates in Faridkot as part of his annual inspection visit here yesterday. "You need to explore the reasons for the delay in the implementation of court orders," said Justice Malik to the judicial officials and subordinate staff in the court. There are hundreds of cases in which the aggrieved persons are waiting for the implementation of the decades old court orders. Over 38 years after the Ministry of Defence acquired over 1850 acres of farmers' land in Faridkot to establish a cantonment and the court passed a decree to award compensation to the affected, a large number of farmers are still waiting to get the compensation for their land. Waiting for the money, many of the landowners have already died while the descendent of some others are working as daily wagers as there was no other source of income for them after their land was acquired. Baldev Raj Watts, an advocate in Faridkot, who is contesting the case for many of these landless farmers, said though the court passed a decree in favour of the farmers, directing the Defence Ministry to pay compensation to them about 30 year back, the aggrieved have not yet got the amount. After a court awarded him a decree in October 2000 for recovering Rs 70,000 in loan from a person, Mohan Singh, an NRI in Faridkot, is still waiting for the money. More pitiable is the case of Sundra Bai whose husband died in a road accident and the court awarded her Rs five lakh in compensation. But the two guilty persons disappeared after the court decree and the widow is now working as a daily wager to keep her hearth burning. In another case, over 20 years back, the court in Faridkot, issued directions to evict over 150 families from the illegal possession of the land which they were holding for over three decades in Bir Sikhan Wala village. The revenue department executed the orders three week back after the court prodded the revenue department for the inordinate delay in the compliance of its orders. Twenty-five years back, Punjab government acquired 135 acres land to establish a sugar mill in Faridkot but a large number of farmers are still waiting for the compensation many years after court order in their
favour. |
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Forest dept gets back its illegally-mutated land
Ferozepur, March 26 Divisional Forest Officer Sanjeev Tiwari said the girdawari of around 115 canals of land situated in Bareke and Hussainiwala area which belonged to the forest department had been erroneously entered in the name of private persons owing allegiance to the land mafia by a section of the revenue officials in a fraudulent manner. He said the matter was brought to the notice of the district administration several times following which an inquiry had been marked into the same. The DFO said after going through the inquiry report and keeping in view the seriousness of the matter, Deputy Commissioner MS Narang finally placed the patwari concerned under suspension and restored the status of the land back into the name of the forest department. Around 900 acres of precious forest land is still under illegal encroachment of private persons in the region. Tiwari said in another similar case, around 600 canals of forest land estimated to be worth around Rs 30 crore has also been allegedly transferred in the name of private persons by changing the girdawaris after affixing false orders of the Tehsildar regarding which the matter was still pending. The DC assured the forest officials of stringent action in cases related to the illegal occupation of the forest land. He said efforts were on to get the forest land vacated from the unauthorised occupation. |
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Deras increasing drug menace: Akal Takht head
Dhulkot (Muktsar), March 26 Expressing his views on the proliferation of dera culture, Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh said, "It does not mean that the religious committees of Sikhs are not propagating the religious literature among the public, but the free availability of narcotics, especially poppy husk in some deras, are increasing their popularity among the people." He was here to inaugurate a Sachkhand at village gurdwara, where the old holy books of Sikhism, including Guru Granth Sahib, collected from the area, would be placed before taking them for the final cremation at Sri Goindwal Sahib. The Akal Takht Jathedar also appreciated the efforts of Jagdeep Singh 'Kala' Sodhi, the president of Nirol Seva Organisation, in this regard. While replying to queries, Giani Gurbachan Singh made it clear that the controversy between the Sikhs and Dera Sacha Sauda followers that had erupted in 2007 would end only if the Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim tendered an unconditional apology for "imitating" Guru Gobind Singh. Replying to another query over regular complaints of Sikh sacrilege in Pakistan, he said the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) was asked to take up the matter with its Pakistan counterpart. Later, a religious ceremony was held at the local gurdwara, which was attended by a large crowd. An exhibition related to Sikh history was also arranged. |
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Local body claims only four buildings unsafe in Muktsar
Muktsar, March 26 It is learnt that the MC has served notices to the owners of these unsafe buildings. Eviction notices have been sent to the caretakers of these buildings. As per the records of the Municipal Council, the buildings that have been declared unsafe are the Post Office, a dharmshala near railway station, a mosque and the old Tehsil office inside the MC office (which has been partially demolished). However, there are buildings in Rambara bazaar and a century-old building on the Maal Godam road opposite the office of the Food Supply Department that appear to be equally unsafe. Similar is the condition of some government buildings like the Panjab University’s Regional Centre (PURC) on the Tibbi Sahib road. However, these buildings do not find a mention on the list of buildings that have been declared unsafe by the Municipal Council. When contacted, the Executive Officer of the MC, Gursewak Singh, said, “As per our records, only four buildings have been declared unsafe and notices have been served to their owners and caretakers. Public can inform us if they believe any other building in this town is unsafe.” A social activist, Sham Lal Goyal, said, “It seems the MC officials have done this survey half-heartedly. If they had carried out the survey in a proper manner, the list of unsafe buildings in the town could have been longer. The MC officials must conduct another survey by taking help of all the departments concerned to reach at the correct figure.” |
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College gets nod for new courses
Fazilka, March 26 Principal of the college Parmjit Singh Sehra said the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has approved the courses of BTech in CE, ME, ECE, CSE and diploma courses in ME CSE in its evening shift for the next academic session. “The college shall thus also be a polytechnic in the evening. The management wants to develop this backward border area by imparting quality education and moral values,” said the college principal. — OC |
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