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Akali leader accused of pilfering paddy bags
Efforts on to restore traffic on NH-15
School in border village sans basic infra
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Pathankot bound opium milk seized in Rajasthan
Harsimrat, Majithia visit religious shrine
Opium seized
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Akali leader accused of pilfering paddy bags
Faridkot, September 10 In a complaint to the police, Sandeep Bansal, Punsup district manager, alleged that the food grain agency had stored 1.11 lakh bags of paddy in the rice mill of the Akali leader in October 2011 for milling and shelling. Of this, the rice miller did not deliver 27,000 quintals of paddy after milling. The agency had sent numerous reminders to the miller but to no avail. The physical verification (PV) of the stock in the rice mill owned by the Akali leader found the stock of paddy missing, alleged the Punsup officials. Earlier, the Punsup had faced a Herculean task in getting the PV of the alleged misappropriated stock of paddy in March this year. Every time the authorities visited the rice mill for PV, the mill was found locked, making it difficult to check the stock which is otherwise mandatory for initiating legal action. It was only after getting police help that Punsup was able to get the physical verification done. Some time back, using his political connections, the Akali leader prevailed upon Punsup not to take legal action against him. He reportedly promised to pay Punsup Rs 7 crore ( Rs 5.94 crore for paddy plus the amount accruing as interest) in installments. The Akali leader even pledged his properties as surety. But none of the three cheques which the Akali leader gave to Punsup as installment were honoured by the bank. While Punsup started separate legal proceedings after the cheques were dishonoured, the food agency has now approached the police for registering a criminal case against the accused for misappropriating paddy. “As the owner of the rice mill misappropriated the paddy, Punsup has lodged a complaint with the police for initiating necessary legal action against the rice mill owner,” said Sandeep Bansal, district manager, Punsup, Faridkot. "Police has received a complaint from Punsup and necessary action is being taken against the miller as per the law after taking legal opinion, said GS Randhwan, SSP, Faridkot. Sources in Punsup revealed that the food agency’s outstanding liability toward the Akali rice mill owner has now accumulated to over Rs 10 crore as the paddy was stored with the miller two years back. Now, with the rise in the market value of paddy and with the interest on the principal amount, the total liabilities of the miller are over Rs 10 crore. Sources revealed that even a judicial court which is adjudicating the cheque dishonouring cases in Faridkot, prodded Punsup for the inordinate delay on its part in taking legal action against the miller for pilfering paddy. |
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Efforts on to restore traffic on NH-15
Abohar, September 10 Sources in the Drainage Department said construction of the Abulkhurana drain was completed in 1997 but cement pipes were used to provide a makeshift bridge on the highway near village Sayeedwala. It could not bear the pressure of heavy vehicular traffic. Hundreds of trucks and trailers transporting goods from Kandla seaport in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan pass through this highway after paying substantial VAT charges at the inter-state tax collection centre located near village Kallarkhera on the highway. Supplies to the neighbouring states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh arealso routed through the highway benefiting scores of roadside dhabas, liquor shops and petrol pumps. The officials said that they had been seeking funds from the state government to get a pucca bridge constructed on the highway for more than ten years. The senior officials had visited the partially damaged cemented pipe bridge in September 2011 when several villages were ravaged by drain water fury triggered by diversion of water from Lambi segment but no funds were released even after that. Long-distance buses had changed their route as a conductor suffered shock when a bus touched low-lying electricity wires on a link road. Smaller vehicles too had to pass through the substituted link roads before the sunset and burnt more fuel. The diversion of traffic had further damaged the link roads that had not been repaired by the Punjab Mandi Board for many years. |
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School in border village sans basic infra
Fazilka, September 10 The school was upgraded in 2001 along with 464 other schools of the state. The caste-based statistics of the students getting education in the schools are quite interesting. Out of the total strength of 614 students, nearly 600 students belong to the scheduled castes and backward classes, including 282 girls. There are only four classrooms for 614 students. As per the norms of the education department, 45 students are supposed to be taught in one classroom. If the norms are followed, eight more classrooms are needed. At present, the students have to sit on the ground braving sweltering heat, rain and biting cold. An old portion of the school building has been declared unsafe. There are 19 teachers in the school. Taking into consideration the strength of the students, five more teachers are required for subjects like computer science, art and craft, science and English. Besides, the posts of laboratory and assistant laboratory attendants and peons have also been lying vacant. Two government elementary schools in border villages of Kanwanwali and Abdul Khaliq have also been attached to the high school at Hasta Kalan. Staff members of these schools visit the high school for official work. In the absence of a regular headmaster, they have to face inconvenience. A library constructed on the school campus at a cost of Rs 7 lakh housing more than 1,000 books is without a librarian. Patron of the NGO, Shiksha Sudhar Committee, Raj Kishore Kalra has said the government has been spending a huge amount on model schools, but the old institutions have been facing hardships. He demanded filling up of the vacancies and construction of new classroom blocks in the schools wherever they are required. |
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Pathankot bound opium milk seized in Rajasthan
Abohar, September 10 Hanumangarh Superintendent of Police (SP) Kailash Chander Bishnoi said that the police, acting on the basis of a tip-off, intercepted a Swift car that was escorting a truck on Jandwala-Sadulshehar road. The search in the driver’s cabin in the truck led to seizure of 1.58 quintals of opium milk packed in polybags. The truck was loaded at Indore with 235 bags of opium each weighing 50 kg and the consignment was booked for Pathankot in Punjab. Notably, Sadulshehar is located 30 km from Abohar and is known as a major drug suppliers' hub. . Truck driver Suresh Kumar Balai and his assistant Babu Lal Dhakad of Begu (district Chittorgarh in Rajasthan) have also been arrested under the NDPS Act. Investigation indicated that the price of opium in Punjab is higher than in Madhya Pradesh. — OC |
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Harsimrat, Majithia visit religious shrine
Moga, September 10 An official spokesman of the Punjab Government said the visit was a family affair. Interestingly, neither Harsimrat’s husband Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal nor Majithia’s wife accompanied them. Majithia and Harsimrat’s visit, which was kept secret, was not combined with any of their official schedules. The local MLA of Nihalsinghwala assembly constituency, Rajwinder Kaur Bhagike and former MLA Ajit Singh Shant, were the only two main leaders of Moga district who were present along with them. Neither senior Akali leader Jathedar Tota Singh nor any other MLA of the district accompanied them unlike the routine visits of the Badal family. Bhagike and Shant were present along with their supporters because they reportedly organised their visit to the religious shrine. District Magistrate Arshdeep Singh Thind and SSP KJS Dhillon were present in keeping with the protocol. Baba Jora Singh, head of the religious shrine, welcomed them and later was learnt to have held a meeting with them, the details of which were not available. — TNS |
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