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No irregularities in land deal: Bajwa
Fate of Patiala Ayurvedic College hangs in balance
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State to purchase advanced equipment for VVIP security
SAD a natural ally in Delhi, says BJP’s CM candidate
Several senior SAD leaders in line to join Cong: PPCC chief
Despite govt assurance, no job for wife of ASI killed on duty
Driving test lanes to be set up in every district
Dalits demand more quota in jobs in state
Festivity takes tragic turn as 4 pilgrims die in Kapurthala mishap
Another extension for Pbi varsity VC on cards
‘Pure Punjabi Tadka’ aroma beckons one and all in the state
HC: PSEB liable for compensation even if electrocution due to illegal tapping
Cop accused of tampering with records cries foul
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No irregularities in land deal: Bajwa
Chandigarh, November 2 If summoning all the Congress MLAs for a show of strength and solidarity was what Bajwa was looking for today, he again failed in his mission. Most of the MLAs recused themselves from the breakfast invite sent out to them by the state Congress chief. Sources said only eight MLAs went to his house in the morning where he tried to win their support by saying the matter was sub judice. Bajwa also clarified first to his party MLAs there, and to the media later, that it was only the land owned by his brother Fatehjung Bajwa and sister-in-law that had been a part of the investigation by the Justice Kuldip Singh panel. "The report of the panel was read out in the Assembly yesterday, but it is only the land owned by my sister-in-law, which has been examined by the panel. My name does not figure in that report," he thundered. Though 23 MLAs and some other party leaders came for a press conference called by Bajwa after the breakfast meet, most of them did not utter a word in his support. These 23 MLAs, including the Congress Legislature Party chief Sunil Jakhar, were seated with the PPCC president as he clarified that all transactions for buying the land were through cheques, and not cash, as alleged by Revenue Minister Bikramjit Singh Bajwa yesterday. But later, most of them individually told The Tribune that since Bajwa had not bothered to clarify (to them) that the land deals were above board, they could not defend him either today or earlier during the Assembly session. Bajwa said that though the company, PCB Realty, was started with a paid up capital of Rs 1 lakh initially, being a director, he had given unsecured loans worth Rs 3 crore to the company through bank transactions, which also reflected in his income tax returns. However, Bajwa could not explain why he bought this land, whose title was under dispute. "At the time, I bought this land, I was unaware that there was any dispute regarding its title. But there is no stamp duty evasion as this land falls under PLPA (Punjab Land Preservation Act) and I had paid the stamp duty as per the collector rate," he said. Asked if he had been duped by the sellers and about the identity of the sellers of this land, Bajwa admitted his brother was one of the sellers of this land. He questioned the government on now referring to the Justice Kuldip Singh report on VIPs acquiring land in Chandigarh's periphery even as the SAD BJP government had itself filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court questioning the need for forming this panel. "This is political vendetta at its worst. They have raked up this whole issue to deviate from other key issues affecting Punjab and to stop me from questioning the poor governance in the state. Why did they not reveal that the Justice Kuldip Singh report also mentions the names of the Badals, Sikander Singh Maluka and DGP Sumedh Singh Saini for illegally acquiring land," he said. While most of the MLAs remained tightlipped as Bajwa explained the land dispute, Lal Singh, who has himself been a former Revenue Minister, did make a feeble attempt to say that the 22.5 acres bought by Bajwa was mushtarkan malkan, and not shamlat deh. He, however, withdrew once it was clarified that now mushtarkan malkan land was categorised as shamlat deh only. As a result, Bajwa was left alone to defend himself and led the charge against Revenue Minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia, SAD treasurer and realtor NK Sharma and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal. He accused them of monopolising the cable, transport and mining business and accused Sharma of being the Badals' front man for acquiring land in Zirakpur and Dera Bassi.
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Fate of Patiala Ayurvedic College hangs in balance
Patiala, November 2 On the other hand, several other Ayurveda colleges in the state, including Guru Nanak Ayurveda Medical College and Research Institute, Ludhiana, Guru Nanak Ayurvedic College and Hospital, Muktsar and Dayanand Ayurveda College, Jalandhar, have already been granted permission to begin the admission process. Moreover, the college has not been allowed to enroll new students for the past two years i.e. 2011-12 and 2012-13 as it didn’t fulfill the eligibility conditions laid down by the Department of Ayush. The ministry found that the college was severely short-staffed with not even a single teacher appointed in some departments. It was also found that the Ayurvedic Hospital did not have the requisite 50 per cent bed occupancy with less than 100 patients being admitted to the OPD everyday. On June 3, a three-member team of Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) had inspected the college to check if it had met the eligibility criteria. They have already submitted its report on the college to the Health Ministry. The last date for admissions this year has also been extended from October 31 to November 30. CCIM chief Dr Rashidullah Khan said the last date for admissions was extended as the process of vetting colleges was started late in August. CCIM member Dr Jagjeet Singh said, “The government has relaxed certain criteria for admission to Ayurveda colleges, so I’m sure the college will be granted the permission.” However, sources said the three-member team had expressed concern over the low bed occupancy and shortage of staff. College Principal Dr Pardeep Kapil, however, was hopeful of getting the permission this year. Earlier, the postgraduate course at the college was scrapped in 1995 when it got affiliated to the Punjabi University. The then Vice Chancellor, after getting complaints from college students about the poor facilities there, had conducted raids on its premises. The university officials had found that the college did not even follow the university ordinance on running a postgraduate course. The college is currently affiliated to Guru Ravidas Ayurvedic University,
Hoshiapur. Grounds for refusal *
The college was severely short-staffed with not even a single teacher appointed in some departments *
The Ayurveda Hospital did not have the requisite 50 per cent bed occupancy
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State to purchase advanced equipment for VVIP security
Moga, November 2 Sources in the office of the Additional Director General of Police (Security) said the equipment would be used for providing foolproof security to the members of the Badal family and visiting senior BJP leaders in election rallies being proposed for the next Lok Sabha elections and other public functions. It becomes significant in view of the recent blasts at Patna ahead of the BJP rally addressed by its prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi last week. Interestingly, as per the specimen demanded for mini ROV, it should be able to carry out surveillance even inside the aircraft, buildings and installations, passenger terminals, air ducts, urban transportation locations and under-vehicle scanning with night vision capability aimed with the help of both camera and laser aiming pointer. Recently, the state government has also placed an order before the Union Government seeking sanction to purchase 3,350 AK-47 assault rifles at a cost of Rs 12.82 crore, which would be handed over to the commandos for protecting VVIPs in the state. 110 appear for special unit’s interview
Sources said 110 officers/jawans from the CRPF, ITBP, BSF and other central security forces with an experience of working in the Special Protection Group (SPG) for at least five years had appeared in the interview for recruitment in the special protection unit of the Punjab Police last week. There were plans to recruit 200 to 250 experienced commandos but timely action taken by the Union Cabinet Secretary asking the Director, SPG, to initiate action against all those looking forward to leave their present assignments has left the state government high and dry. The Punjab government has mooted a plan to train the special unit commandos by special trainers of the Security and Protection Training School, Israel. Gadgets to be bought *
5 X-rays baggage machines * 3 door frame metal detectors * 13 hand-held metal detectors *
3 under vehicle search mirrors * 3 non-linear junction detectors * 3 real time viewing system with laptop *
1 mini ROV (remotely operating vehicle of ROBOT) * 2 thermal cutters and two blasting machines.
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SAD a natural ally in Delhi, says BJP’s CM candidate
New Delhi, November 2 Harsh Vardhan said the BJP high command was taking a call on how many seats were to be given to the SAD for the December 4 elections. In the last elections, the SAD had contested four seats but lost all. The only silver lining was that the SAD nominee from Rajouri Garden, Avtar Singh Hit, had lost only by a few votes. Harsh Vardhan said, “We have been contesting the assembly elections in Punjab jointly and with much success. A similar formula will be replicated in Delhi.” Only the seat-sharing arrangements have to be finalised.” The BJP's initiative to salvage the alliance came in the backdrop of the SAD’s Delhi unit announcing to part ways with the saffron party and contest 16 seats on its own. Sources in the Delhi BJP said the party was not ready to give the Akali Dal more than four seats even though the SAD was not ready to accept anything less than 10.
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Several senior SAD leaders in line to join Cong: PPCC chief
Jalandhar, November 2 “Several senior Akali leaders will be joining the Congress within a fortnight,” said Bajwa, though he refused to name any of them. The PPCC chief said he wanted the Akalis to join the Congress during the parliamentary elections but that he would pre-pone the process now so as to teach the ruling SAD a befitting lesson. Bajwa spoke to The Tribune on a host of issues during his visit to the city two days ago. He said only disloyal and unfaithful leaders were quitting the party and that their action was indirectly helping cleanse the Congress. Asked to comment on his alleged failure in keeping the flock together as several Congress leaders were joining the Akali Dal, he said, “As far as turncoats are concerned, they are not accepted by people for long. Only untrustworthy leaders quit whenever any party is in opposition, as is the case in Punjab.” About Avtar Singh Brar, who recently joined the Akali Dal, he said the former was a veteran leader from Malwa and that he was aware of his decision. “I tried to persuade Brar but the lure seemed too heavy as the Akalis had promised to appoint his son a market committee chairman,” he said.
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Despite govt assurance, no job for wife of ASI killed on duty
Amritsar, November 2 Talking to The Tribune, Simarjeet Kaur warned that she would commit suicide if she was denied the government job as per the commitment made by the state government. Following the ASI’s death, the state government had announced that his wife would be given a job in the education department as she was BA, B.Ed. She said she had been making the rounds of government office for the last over six months, but had got nothing except “mental harassment”. Besides, she said it had also taken a toll on her family monetarily. She said the state government, in its letter dated May 5, had recommended her for the teacher’s job. She said soon after the recommendation, she received a letter from the government that she would have to clear Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), which was made compulsory for the recruitment of a teacher. She said she failed to appear in the TET conducted after the death of her husband as she was under great mental trauma. Subsequently, she approached the DGP for the job. The office of the DGP, in its letter dated July 2 to the Principal Secretary (Home), recommended a job of Sub-Inspector for her. Simarjeet said she was now being pressurised to accept a clerical job. She said her son and daughter were studying in school and she was facing great hardship to make both ends meet. (With inputs from Gurbaxpuri in Tarn Taran) ‘Promise’ not kept *
ASI Kulbir Singh had died in Tarn Taran on March 6 * He was there to detain farmers on eve of their stir *
The state government had recommended her for the teacher's job
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Driving test lanes to be set up in every district
Faridkot, November 2 In DTLs, automatic sensors will examine the driving competence and skill of a person before he/she is issued a driving licence. There are only eight MVIs to examine the driving skills of over five lakh applicants every month, said Harmel Singh Sra, Additional Transport Commissioner. He admitted that the current mechanism of testing a driver’s skills was inadequate. He said the Transport Department had now decided to establish DTLs in every district. Under Rule 11 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, every applicant has to pass a multiple choice objective type preliminary test on traffic rules and road signs even to get a Learner’s Driving Licence. But with an acute shortage of MVIs and Children Traffic Parks in the state, testing of driving competence is just a paper formality. Presently every MVI has an additional charge of three or more adjoining districts. In Bathinda, Muktsar and Faridkot, an inspector is supposed to examine the driving skill of over 4,000 applicants in two days of a week. The Punjab Police issued 6,36,536 challans worth Rs 24.58 crore from January to July, collected Rs 34.77 crore last year and Rs 20.02 crore in 2011 for the same. But challaning commuters has failed to increase road safety and reduce the number of road mishaps.
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Dalits demand more quota in jobs in state
Chandigarh, November 2 Dalit leaders threatened to withdraw their support to the Akali-BJP combine in the coming Parliamentary elections if it their demands were not met. "The population of the Scheduled Castes in Punjab has increased from around 20 per cent to over 30 per cent now. In view of the increase in their population, their reservation quota in jobs should also be increased,” said Paramjit Singh Kainth, convenor of the Maha
Panchayat.
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Festivity takes tragic turn as 4 pilgrims die in Kapurthala mishap
Kapurthala, November 2 The pilgrims belonged to Nussi, Bhatija, Rasoolpur and Raipur villages. The police said the driver of the truck (PB-08-L-9757) lost control of the vehicle and it hit the railing of a bridge and fell into the gorge near Gurdwara Santsar. Among those who died on the spot were truck driver Balraj Singh (55) of Mansurwal village in Adampur, Balvir Virdi (50) of Raipur and Pritam Das of Bhatija village. Sukhwinder Kumar (32) of Bhatija village died on way to hospital. The 15 injured were first taken to a hospital nearby but were later shifted to a hospital in Beas. The injured included Kanta, wife of deceased Sukhwinder Kumar, Charanjit Kaur, her children Nandini (14) and Darshan (13), Paramjit Kaur (43), Tanya (4), Sukhwinder Singh (7), Amarjit Kaur, Gurpreet, Gian Kaur, Gurdial, Poonam, Gurjit Kaur and Kamaljit Kaur. Station House Officer (Subhanpur police station) Iqbal Singh said prima facie it appeared the driver wanted to overtake another vehicle when the accident occurred. Inquest proceedings have been initiated under section 174 of the Indian Penal Code.
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Another extension for Pbi varsity VC on cards
Chandigarh, November 2 His current term is to end on December 11. The Governor’s Principal Secretary MP Singh today said the file had been received by the Raj Bhavan and decision in this regard was under consideration. Sources said the file was sent to the Governor, following Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s clearance on the matter. If Jaspal Singh’s extension in term is approved, then he will continue as Vice Chancellor till December 2015. He was appointed as the VC for three years in December 2007. His term was extended for three years in 2010.
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‘Pure Punjabi Tadka’ aroma beckons one and all in the state
Sangrur, November 2 He started preparing material for cooking vegetables at home in 2011. On someone’s advice, he began selling it in polythene packets in the market. As demand increased, he began selling his products under the trade name of 'Pure Punjabi Tadka'. Now he prepares about 500 packets of 250 gm each in a week at his village residence. He buys raw material from Malerkotla and nearby villages. Marketing his products on his own in Ludhiana, Patiala, Khanna and Doraha, he now plans to set up an automatic plant to expand his business that he started with a meagre investment of Rs 2 lakh. Jagwant Singh, a post-graduate in Social Work, told The Tribune that he discovered the formula for his products from an little known book. He said he used garlic, ginger, green chilly, onion and salt to prepare ‘Pure Punjabi Tadka’. He did not use any colour, chemical or preservative. Jagwant Singh said during a visit to the Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET), Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, he was given the address of a firm that he had now hired for packaging. He said he prepared ‘Pure Punjabi Tadka’ with a workforce of 10 women who readied 500 packets in a week. The shelf life of his products was three months as these contained natural preservatives. The Deputy Director, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kherri, Sangrur, Dr Mandeep Singh, said they were extending technical help to Jagwant Singh who had put up stalls at various Kisan melas and got an overwhelming response. Passion for food *
Farmer Jagwant Singh prepares material for cooking vegetables at home under the trade name of 'Pure Punjabi
Tadka' * He prepares about 500 packets of 250 gm each in a week at his village residence *
He buys raw material from Malerkotla and villages in the vicinity * Marketing his products on his own in Ludhiana, Patiala, Khanna and Doraha, he plans to set up an automatic plant *
A post-graduate in social work, he started with an investment of Rs 2
lakh.
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HC: PSEB liable for compensation even if electrocution due to illegal tapping
Chandigarh, November 2 The ruling is significant as the prevalence of illegal tapping or “kundi” connections, particularly in slums and colonies, is hardly a matter of dispute. The ruling by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Augustine George Masih came as it upheld the orders directing the board to pay Rs 8 lakh as compensation to the kin of a 35-year-old electrocution victim. The Bench was told that victim Sher Singh came in contact with a hanging PVC electric wire passing over his fields on October 25, 2006. The joints and cracks in the wire were stated to be without insulation. Taking up the matter, the Bench observed: “The supply of electricity by PSEB is not in dispute. That electrocution resulted in the death of Sher Singh is really not disputable. The anguish caused to his family again is not in dispute. However, the burden of making the payment for damages is sought to be shifted on to one Som Nath, who is stated to be an offender who took illegal electricity connection by tapping the wires. “In our view, it not permissible for the petitioners to absolve themselves of the responsibility and liability since they are principal supplier of electricity. If there is an unauthorised supply of energy from which illegal tapping takes place, the officers at the ground level are duty-bound to take remedial measures. “The condition of the wires clearly shows that the wires had been in existence for quite a long period of time. Thus, if illegal tapping was going on, the process was on for some time and under the nose and eyes of the representatives of the petitioners. “It is not necessary that a direct connection must cause damages but even inaction to perform statutory duties, which may cause such consequences, would result in the liability being fixed on PSEB at least qua the suffering party. If PSEB is of the view that Som Nath has contributed to the same, it can always establish its case...” Before parting with the order, the Bench concluded: “It is an unfortunate case where the deceased passed away at the young age leaving behind not only his widow but two minor children and the amount of compensation of Rs 8 lakh computed by the impugned order on the basis set out therein can hardly be said to be excessive in the given facts of the case”.
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Cop accused of tampering with records cries foul
Ludhiana, November 2 “Jagshir is facing a case of fraud and was imprisoned for eight months. After Jagshir got out on bail, he wanted me to depose in his favour. When I refused, he started filing false complaints against me and accused me of not depositing case properties worth Rs 25,000 in the malkhana (storeroom). I have nothing to do with the case, Sub-Inspector Naveen Kumar is the investigating officer,” said Bedi in his message, who is currently abroad on leave to compete his PhD thesis. Yesterday, Maninder Bedi and Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Gurbaljit Singh were booked in the case. Sources said the police was compelled to register the case after the Punjab Human Rights Panel sought a status report in the matter. It took notice of the reports filed on March 20 and April 12, in which Inspector Bedi and Munshi Gurbaljit Singh, were found guilty and departmental action was recommended against them.
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The fate of Government Ayurvedic College and Hospital, Patiala, once considered a prestigious institute, hangs in balance as the Department of Ayush, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, is yet to grant it permission to enroll students for the 2013-14 academic session. The college was set up in 1952 up by the then Raj Vaidya, Ram Parsad Sharma.
Four pilgrims from Jalandhar villages on way to a dera at Beas were killed while 15 other sustained injuries when the mini-truck they were travelling in fell into a gorge near Subhanpur along the GT Road here.
The pilgrims belonged to Nussi, Bhatija, Rasoolpur and Raipur villages. The police said the driver of the truck (PB-08-L-9757) lost control of the vehicle and it hit the railing of a bridge and fell into the gorge near Gurdwara
Santsar.
