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State Cong’s crucial review meeting in Capital today
CM pulls up officials at Sangat Darshan
Dy CM honours top tax-payers
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Restoration of Golden Temple’s interiors to begin soon
Moga MLA’s son presides over official function
Nine months on, PPCC yet to get new office-bearers
CPS Navjot conducts surprise check at Rajpura Civil Hospital
Pak denies 379 pilgrims visa to Nankana Sahib
Indo-Pak trade via rail dips; poor facilities to blame
Sikh teenager masters African language
All set for Gurpurb celebrations in Nepal after 30 yrs
3 states mull joint patrolling to check drug trade
Draft road safety policy has no action plan: Experts
Mandi board officials raid Mansa rice mills
HC raps Centre over modernisation of jails in state
Notice to State on fancy number for Maluka’s wife
Name deleted from terrorists’ list, HC told
Two Babbar Khalsa men get 10-year jail
Food supply official held in wheat scam
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State Cong’s crucial review meeting in Capital today
New Delhi, November 14 The Congress is considering moving the Election Commission or the court against the SAD as the party has not honoured its poll promise to give a stipend of Rs 1,000 a month stipend to the jobless youth in the state. The Punjab Congress has prepared a document in which it has listed 45,000 unemployed youth registered with the state employment exchange. Speaking to The Tribune, Pradesh Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa said he had engaged lawyers to study the issue. “We are seriously thinking of moving the Election Commission on the issue. To make such a tall promise and not fulfill it is a corrupt practice. The Supreme Court has repeatedly called for a close watch on election manifestos of parties, so has the EC," Bajwa said. The matter will be discussed with the Congress vice-president. Tomorrow's meeting will also review the progress made at the organisational level in the Punjab Congress and the results achieved by working presidents in different regions. “Issues of unity or lack of it are bound to be taken up,” said top Congress sources, considering this is the first meeting Rahul is holding with state Congress leaders after the Sangrur gathering where differences between Bajwa and former CM Capt Amarinder Singh had become obvious. After the incident, AICC general secretary in charge of Punjab Shakeel Ahmed had hosted a lunch for Punjab leaders in an attempt to help them sink their differences. At the meeting tomorrow will be presented a report of the PPCC president's mass contact programme which enters its third phase on November 24. Bajwa has covered 42 assembly segments in the first two phases and will submit a programme for the third phase to Rahul Gandhi tomorrow.
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CM pulls up officials at Sangat Darshan
Gurdaspur, November 14 Badal pulled up lax officials and asked Deputy Commissioner Abhinav Trikha to ensure that no official came unprepared to these events. Public Health Department officials responsible for water supply in villages and revenue officials were at the receiving end. The Chief Minister was particularly harsh on officials who did not go to villages to inspect government schemes. At least 40 panchayats were given grants.
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Dy CM honours top tax-payers
Chandigarh, November 14 As many as 198 tax-payers were honoured by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) was honoured for being the highest tax-payer in the state, with the company contributing Rs 2,367 crore as VAT. The award was presented to Sudeb Gupta, executive director, IOC. The kin of Congress MLAs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and Kewal Dhillon were also honoured by the Deputy CM. Rahul Singh Sidhu, son of former CM Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, was honoured for being among the top VAT payers in Patiala. His company, Hira Motors, was among the top contributors in the district. Kanwar Dhillon and Karan Dhillon, sons of Barnala MLA Kewal Dhillon, were also honoured. Their company, Pepsi ColaBottler Dhillon Kool Drinks and Beverages Pvt Ltd was the highest tax-payer among large-scale manufacturers and had paid Rs 15.96 crore as tax. The top 10 tax-payers were Indian Oil Corporation (Rs 2,367 crore), Markfed (Rs 458 crore ), HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited (Rs 375 crore), Bharat Petroleum (Rs 211 crore), Hindustan Petrolium (Rs 162 crore), Mahindra and Mahindra Commercial Vehicle (Rs 123 crore), TATA Motors Commercial Vehicle (Rs 120 crore ), Ambuja Cement (Rs 113 crore), Hindutan Lever (Rs 104 crore) and Samsung India Electronics (Rs 102 crore). State BJP president Kamal Sharma and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sarup Chand Singla also addressed the gathering.
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Restoration of Golden Temple’s interiors to begin soon
Amritsar, November 14 SGPC senior vice-president Raghujit Singh Virk said they had hired the services of a Delhi-based firm that has expertise in restoration of heritage buildings. The restoration work will be monitored by National Museum former director SP Singh. The work, which was to start in mid-August, got delayed following concerns from several quarters about the SGPC move to hand it over to ‘Kar Sewawale Baba’. Subsequently, the SGPC sought the opinion of conservation experts, who conducted a survey over the last few months and prepared a comprehensive report that will form the basis of the restoration work. It has also now been decided to replace only that gold-plating that could not be further maintained. Similarly, all efforts will be made to preserve the ancient artwork in the interiors of the sanctum sanctorum. Virk also said the restoration work could start anytime. The experts have already ordered the material required for it, including the colours used in the artwork. These colours are being imported from abroad. The restoration work will start with the artwork for which an area of one square foot will be taken up on an experimental basis. First, an attempt will be made to resurrect the artwork by cleaning it up with certain chemicals while new colours will be used, only if needed. The experts will take forward their work on the basis of their initial experience. The restoration of artwork will start from the upper floor of Sri Harmandar Sahib. The work for the upkeep of gold-plating will start at a later stage. Virk clarified there will be no tampering with the heritage character of the holy shrine and all efforts will be made to preserve its originality. The gold-plating inside the shrine has turned black apparently due to rising pollution while at a few places it is peeling off the walls. Similarly, the artwork on the upper floor has also suffered damage at various spots, particularly along the staircases leading to the top floor. Earlier, the SGPC had put up glass over the artwork on the upper floor, as a result of which seepage has taken a toll on it. When launched, it would be the first ever ‘kar sewa’ on the interiors of the shrine. The gold-plating and the artwork inside the Golden Temple dates to the Maharaja Ranjeet Singh era. The interiors of Sri Harmandar Sahib boast of rare architecture comprising ‘mohrakashi’, ‘tukri’ and ‘gach’ work. According to sources, gold-plating inside the shrine has suffered damage up to 40 per cent, mostly around the arches of the doors. However, out of this damaged area, gold-plating on only 15 per cent is required to be completely replaced while the rest will need only gold work. Ambitious project
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Moga MLA’s son presides over official function
Moga,
November 14 Jain Junior today had teachers and Education
Department officials dance to his tunes as he presided over a function to
distribute cycles among Class XI and Class XII girl students under Mai Bhago
Vidya Scheme at schools in Ghal Kalan and Daroli Bhai villages. An employee of
the Education Department said he was told that the local MLA would preside over
the function “But on arrival I came to know that it was Jain’s son who was
presiding over the official function,” he said. Tarsem Singh Rattian, a
senior Akali leader of the area and former Chairman of the Punjab Tourism
Development Corporation and District Planning Board and a few other SAD leaders
were seen seated in the back row.
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State govt failed to use OBC grants: Bajwa
Chandigarh, November 14 Addressing a meeting of the OBC cell at the Congress Bhawan here, Bajwa said he would take up all demands raised by leaders of the OBC cell with the concerned ministry at the Centre. He said he would take up the case for removal of condition of income for issuing OBC certificate. Dr Gurinder Pal Singh Billa, chairman of the OBC cell, presented a charter of demands to Bajwa. Bajwa said the benefits given by the Centre to SCs and OBCs were not passed on by the state government led by Parkash Singh Badal. Talking about the shagun scheme for SCs, Christians, backward classes and other economically weaker sections, he said allocation under the scheme in the last two years was Rs 214.27 crore. Out of this, Rs 144.83 crore was released and Rs 136.79 was disbursed. As many as 78,866 applications under the scheme were pending with the state government. Bajwa said the Parliament had passed the Children’s' Free and Compulsory Right to Education Act in 2009 and the Punjab Government had issued a notification in this regard in November 2010, but had failed to implement it even three years later. Shamsher Singh Dullo, former PPCC president, said SCs and OBCs were the Congress’ backbone and they must get due representation in the party.
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Nine months on, PPCC yet to get new office-bearers
Chandigarh, November 14 The Congress high command had appointed Partap Singh Bajwa as PPCC president about nine months ago. But, it has not yet released the list of new office-bearers of the state unit. “The high command has been sitting over the list of office-bearers for the past several months. No one is sure as to how much more time it will take,” said a senior leader hopeful of getting a post. He said the new team, including district presidents, secretaries, general secretaries and vice-presidents, should have been announced immediately after the appointment of a new president. Some weeks ago, it was announced that the list had been cleared by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and that it would be released soon after it is approved by party president Sonia Gandhi. Sources said a faction of the state party had suggested to the high command that in view of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, the party should continue with the existing team and that a new team should only be announced after the elections. It has been argued that the announcement of new office-bearers may widen rift within the party.
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CPS Navjot conducts surprise check at Rajpura Civil Hospital
Patiala, November 14 Moreover, patients had also been complaining that doctors at the hospital referred them to private laboratories for tests. Taking stock, the CPS directed the Patiala Deputy Commissioner to immediately remove a private laboratory adjacent to the hospital. Since the government provided several medicines free of cost at the hospital, Navjot directed the Civil Surgeon to identify the medicines being sold at pharmacies in the area. Dr Navjot Kaur said her visit was aimed at setting the system right. “I had received various complaints that the doctors were charging patients extra. I will take stern action against the defaulters and make an example of them,” she said. She said the government was trying to help doctors concentrate solely on the job and rid them of extraneous duties. “We will soon ensure that doctors do not have to go to courts for hearings. I have directed the doctors to get all medico-legal cases recorded on camera. We are taking steps to ensure that doctors can record their statement through video-conferencing at the local Sub-Divisional Magistrate’s office,” she said. Meanwhile, during an interaction with the CPS, the doctors alleged they had been compelled to pay a monthly amount to Patiala Civil Surgeon Dr Virinder Singh Mohi for several months. Dr Navjot said, “I have told the doctors not to pay anyone anything. If someone does so, I will take action against both parties.”
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From a sleepy Kandi village to PCS
Nawanshahr, November 14 A brilliant student throughout, Sonam of Jalapur village was determined to be a civil servant since childhood. Daughter of an agriculturist and social worker, Satnam Singh, she did her matriculation from Shivalik Public School,
Nawanshahr, in 2005 and moved to Shishu Niketan Model Senior Secondary school in Chandigarh for higher studies. She cleared her senior secondary examination from the school in 2007. She completed her BTech (computer science) from Swami Sarvanand
Giri, Panjab University Regional Centre, Hoshiarpur in 2011. Sonam cleared the test of Reserve Bank of India and joined as the bank as an assistant last December. Her father Satnam Singh, a postgraduate in commerce, says his daughters’ education was top priority for him. Sonam was a brilliant student throughout and after doing her
BTech, she passed various competitive examinations in the first attempt, he said.
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Pak denies 379 pilgrims visa to Nankana Sahib
Amritsar, November 14 The SGPC had submitted a list of 1,153 pilgrims to the Pakistan High Commission, seeking visas for them to attend Gurpurb celebrations. However, 379 pilgrims didn’t get the visa due to denial by the Pakistan High Commission as also objections by the Indian Government in some cases. Confirming this, SGPC official Jaspal Singh said the jatha, headed by SGPC member Randheer Singh Cheema, will leave for Pakistan from the SGPC headquarters tomorrow morning and travel by a special train. The jatha will first reach Gurdwara Sri Nankana Sahib from where it will proceed to Gurdwara Sacha Sauda. It will return to Nankana Sahib the same evening to celebrate Gurpurb on November 17. Later, the jatha members will head to Sri Panja Sahib on November 18. The jatha will also visit Gurdwara Dehra Sahib in Lahore, Gurdwara Rori Sahib and Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib before returning to India on November 24. This is not the first time that a sizable number of pilgrims of an SGPC jatha have been denied visa by the Pakistan High Commission. The SGPC did not send its jatha to Pakistan for Baisakhi celebrations this year after the Pakistan High Commission said it could give visas to only 300 pilgrims as against the list of around 1,400 it had sent. The SGPC had alleged that the Pakistan High Commission had been continuously discriminating against it on this count for the past some time. It also shot off missives to the Indian Prime Minister and the Pakistani President. Not the first time
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Indo-Pak trade via rail dips; poor facilities to blame
Amritsar, November 14 Sources in the Customs Department said the volume of trade between the two countries via rail had dipped significantly over the past one year. Imports had been hit owing to the alleged indifference of the Indian Railways. Cement, one of the main commodities being imported from Pakistan, was now being entirely sent via road after instances of seizure of heroin in rail wagons. Talking to The Tribune, CII zonal council chief Rajdeep Uppal said the rail route had a huge potential for bilateral trade but this was only possible if the Indian Railways addressed the concerns of the trading community. “We need more rail wagons. We also require proper roads, sheds and warehouses. The rail cargo facility needs an overhaul, both from trading and security point of view,” he said. When The Tribune team visited the rail cargo facility today, it wore a deserted look. There was none to check the movement of outsiders on the premises. The road leading to the facility was full of potholes while the sheds were in a shambles. The traders say there are no proper godowns for storage of goods and that they suffer 25 per cent to 30 per cent losses whenever it rains. Local trader Rajesh Setia said the rupee depreciation had also taken a toll on the trade via the rail route. The traders say that wagons of Pakistan trains are in a bad shape and importing goods in the rainy reason is always a risky proposition. The India-Pakistan trade via rail had suffered a setback when over 150 kg of heroin was seized from rail wagons carrying cement between May and October last year. Subsequently, the cement import from Pakistan declined drastically. The trade via rail was primarily thriving on cement imports with traders receiving 70 to 75 wagons of cement from Pakistan at one go, which now is almost nil. The traders have long been demanding measures like modern scanners and sniffer dog squads besides basic infrastructure at the rail cargo facility here.
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Sikh teenager masters African language
Johannesburg, November 14 When Angad arrived in Pretoria in 2011 with his father Tejinder and teacher mother Amarjeet, he opted for Afrikaans, rather than Zulu, as a second compulsory language at Theresa Park Primary School. His father was on a three-year contract, working as an engineer for a Tata company. Afrikaans came easily to Angad, who speaks English, Hindi, Marathi and Punjabi. In 2012, after having studied the language for just two years, he came first in a national contest. This year, he came second nationally after speaking about his own success in mastering Afrikaans. "There was a girl who beat me because she was in an Afrikaans school from the start," he said. Proudly wearing his turban, Angad said it was not difficult being the only boy in his school doing so. "They ask questions because they are curious about it and it gives me the opportunity to educate them about my culture, religion and language." — PTI
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All set for Gurpurb celebrations in Nepal after
Amritsar, November 14 Talking to The Tribune on the phone from Kathmandu, Guru Nanak Math committee member Bhag Singh Saini said there was great enthusiasm as the Gurpurb celebrations on such a scale had been planned after 30 years. He said an “akhand path” would start tomorrow while its “bhog” ceremony would take place on November 17 to mark the occasion. “We have planned to put up langar at various points in the city, including a big one near Pashu Pati Nath Temple. Two buses of pilgrims have reached here from Punjab and Chandigarh. Among them are devotees from UP and Bihar as well,” he said. He said pilgrims from Malaysia, England and America had also reached Nepal. He, however, said the number of pilgrims arriving there had dipped in view of the elections in Nepal a couple of days later. There were around 150 Sikh families in Nepal, most of them in transport business, looking after the gurdwara. Saini said Sri Guru Nanak Sewa Society, California, had undertaken upkeep and construction work at Nepal gurdwaras following approval by the Akal Takht in 2006. “At present, the ‘kar sewa’ of a gurdwara associated with Baba Sri Chand is underway.”
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3 states mull joint patrolling to check drug trade
Muktsar, November 14 After a visit to Kandukhera village, located on the boundary of Rajasthan and Haryana and often used as a transit point by smugglers, the police officers decided on joint patrolling along the boundary of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. “We will meet once every three months to discuss further measures,” said Dhillon. The Bathinda police handed over a list of 136 proclaimed offenders and absconders to the Rajasthan Police and 109 proclaimed offenders and absconders to the Haryana Police. The Rajasthan police reportedly admitted that the sale of poppy husk through licensed vends in Rajasthan had had its repercussions in Punjab. Janardan Sharma, Bikaner Inspector-General of Police, said: "Robbers from Punjab are active in Rajasthan." The Haryana police too claimed that robbers from Punjab were active in that state.
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Draft road safety policy has no action plan: Experts
Chandigarh, November 14 It is being pointed out that no concrete action plan has been offered to check the rising number of deaths on Punjab roads. The Reforms Commission is awaiting proposals by a 10-member committee, set up on the directions of Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal, to vet its recommendations for the final draft. Dr Kamaljeet Soi, Vice-Chairman, Punjab State Road Safety Council, said the policy was nothing more than an assimilation of research papers. "I had told the the commission that any workable road safety policy required safe road users, safe roads, safe vehicles, post-crash care and road safety. All this will have little meaning without speed management," he said. Harman Sidhu, a traffic rules awareness activist, said what was needed was a policy that was practical. "The policy first needs to spell out short-time goals like ensuring the use of safety helmets and checking over-speeding," he added. Additional Director-General of Police (ADGP) SK Sharma, member secretary of the committee on policy formulation, said a unified road safety agency was a must. "At the moment we are going through recommendations from several quarters," he said. Former DGP, Railways and Traffic, Chander Shekhar, saidbefore his retirement in 2010, "we had recommended safety gadgets like alcometers and machines to check speed but nothing was done." He said except for highways coming up on the BOT (build, operate,transfer) basis, most roads in the state had no markings, making these susceptible to accidents. Parmod Kumar, chairperson of the Governance Reforms Commission, said: " We are looking for suggestions from all stakeholders, including users and planners. All constructive criticism is welcome."
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Mandi board officials raid Mansa rice mills
Chandigarh, November 14 Board’s flying squads conducted raids at various places to check the evasion of market fee. It was
found that paddy worth Rs 1.74 crore was purchased by certain millers without paying market fee and RDF. Board Chairman Ajmer Singh Lakhowal said raids were conducted following report that certain traders were procuring paddy at a price less than the minimum support price. He said it was reported that taking advantage of discolouration of paddy grain due to bad weather, traders forced farmers to sell their produce below MSP.—TNS
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HC raps Centre over modernisation of jails in state
Chandigarh, November 14 The strictures of sorts came in a suo motu case on the issue. As the case came up for resumed hearing before the Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Augustine George Masih, the counsel for the Central Government stated he had received a communication from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs addressed by an under-secretary. He had conveyed that although a proposal had been received from the Punjab Government for Phase 2 of the prisons’ modernisation scheme, “it needs examination to the extent of its acceptability, based on laid down norms”. He had added that the time-frame could not be considered at present for its execution “as it was to be decided by a number of other deciding factors, not the least of which would be the availability of funds”. Taking a note of the assertions, the Bench asserted: “We are quite surprised at the communication, since the scheme under which the funds are being sought is of the Central Government itself. That being the position, the least that would be expected would be that the Central Government would be aware of the financial concerns arising from the scheme. “We would have understood a response that a particular period of time is required to examine the proposal of the state government, whereafter a specified period can be provided for execution. But, it appears from the letter that there is reluctance even to state as to within how much time period would the proposal be examined – this is the position of an important matter which in a sense concerns security of State!” The Bench added: “The inadequacy of response leaves us with no option but to call for the presence of the Joint Secretary of the Ministry with relevant records to explain to us as to within how much period the proposal would be examined.”
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Notice to State on fancy number for Maluka’s wife
Chandigarh, November 14 The notice came on a petition filed by Varinder Jeet Kaur of
Mohali. She alleged that she had deposited Rs 2, 20,000 for the number. But, the same was allotted to Surjit Kaur for Rs10, 000 only. Though she was denied the number, the amount was not returned to her.The petitioner said even though there was some delay in depositing life-time tax, the number could not have been withdrawn from her without issuing a notice. The Mohali DTO stated two notices were sent to her through ordinary post and, hence, there was no record about the same. Moreover, as per the government guidelines, only Rs 5,000 could have been forfeited. The petitioner has alleged that this action of the Mohali DTO had resulted in a net loss of Rs 2, 05, 000 to the state exchequer. As per the guidelines, the number should have been awarded to the next highest bidder, who had bid for Rs 2, 10, 00, she has contended. Taking up the matter, Justice Rameshwar Singh Malik issued a notice to the State of Punjab.
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Name deleted from terrorists’ list, HC told
Chandigarh, November 14 Taking up a petition by Shingara Singh for direction to the police to delete his name from the list of “non-hardcore terrorists” in police records at the Behram police station (Nawanshahr), Punjab law officer today produced a letter in Justice RC Gupta’s court. The letter from Punjab AIG (Intelligence) to the SSP said: “As recommended by you, name of Shingara Singh, resident of Behram police station, is hereby deleted from the list of non-hardcore terrorists.” — TNS
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Two Babbar Khalsa men get 10-year jail
Mohali, November 14 Pronouncing the decision in the four-year-old case, the court awarded 10-year-sentence to Darshan Singh and Jagmohan Singh and three years jail to Harpreet Singh, along with a fine of Rs 5,000 each. The fourth accused in the case, Amarjit Singh, has been acquitted by the court. Amarjit had already got bail. The accused were arrested by the Counter Vigilance from near the Punjab Cricket Stadium on September 25, 2009. The police had recovered RDX and illegal weapons from their possession. Thereafter, a case was registered against them.
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Food supply official held in wheat scam
Nangal, November 14 While a depot holder and two flour mill owners were also arrested in the case, many depot holders were on run after the scam was unearthed in August. On August 29, more than 40 tonnes of wheat procured for the PDS was seized by the district police. It was going to be sold in the open market at Nangli Tapparian village. Thereafter, three accused identified as Pawan Kumar, Charan Dass and Munish Kumar of Nangli Tapparian village were booked. Later, Pawan Kumar was arrested on September 5. On Pawan’s interrogation, depot holder Dinesh Kumar’s name also surfaced in the scam. After he was arrested, Dinesh told the police that depot holders bought wheat from the government for the PDS at a price of Rs 7.81 per kg (Rs 781 per quintal). This wheat that was supposed to be sold to ration card holders for Rs 8.10 per kg (Rs 810 per quintal) was sold to flour mills at Rs 1,480 per quintal. Dinesh would also purchase wheat from other depot holders at a price of Rs 1,200 per quintal. In the process, each depot holder would pay Avtar Rs 150 for each quintal sold. Dinesh would then sell this wheat to Pawan for Rs 1,300 per quintal, who then supplied it to two flour mills at Rs 1,480 per quintal. Earlier, Pankaj Goyal, the owner of Ganesh Flour Mill at Baddi and a resident of Sector 8 in Panchkula, and Kamlinder Singh, owner of Thakur Flour Mill, Barotiwala, were also arrested in the case. Ropar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) IM Singh said a case had been registered against Avtar under the Anti Corruption Act and that he was sent to two-day police custody. How they worked
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Punjab Government today honoured, traders, businessmen and top corporate houses in the state for paying taxes regularly and, thus, being partners in the state’s growth.
The SGPC is likely to launch restoration work of the interiors of Sri Harmandar Sahib soon and has roped in a private firm with expertise in the field.
Akshit Jain, younger son of Moga MLA Joginder Pal Jain, has
started presiding over official functions, pushing senior Akali leaders of the
area into the background. Jain Junior today had teachers and Education
Department officials dance to his tunes as he presided over a function to
distribute cycles among Class XI and Class XII girl students under Mai Bhago
Vidya Scheme at schools in Ghal Kalan and Daroli Bhai villages.
In the wake of receiving complaints regarding government doctors charging patients extra, Dr Navjot Kaur
Sidhu, Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS), Health and Family Welfare Department, conducted a surprise check at Rajpura Civil Hospital here today.
Non-availability of adequate number of wagons coupled with lack of infrastructure at the Amritsar rail cargo facility has adversely hit the bilateral trade between India and Pakistan.