|
|
|
|
|
Cabinet expansion tomorrow
poll losses
|
|
|
Gurdaspur legislator Babbehali may find place too
AAP to raise debt issue in Lok Sabha
Power transformer thefts shock govt, Rs 50 crore loss in five years
State gets 96 lakh units daily from unallocated power pool
Hoshiarpur handicraft units look to govt for support
electoral debacle
2 boys charred to death in Fazilka
Anganwari kids not fed for 3 months in Abohar
Govt team takes stock of river cleaning project
e-auction of vanity numbers gets poor response
Clash at Golden Temple
Will meet PM for package for industry, says Mittal
Committee to resolve dispute over ‘boycott’ of Dalits
Provide better help to addicts, says Congress
State to promote floriculture
Special Adarsh schools for the meritorious
Panel to explore job avenues for rural youths
1,000 Sikh pilgrims in Pak for Jor Mela
6 days on, cops yet to arrest
murder accused
Cop among 15 arrested in anti-drug drive
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cabinet expansion tomorrow
Chandigarh, June 8 Chabbewal (SC) MLA Sohan Singh Thandal and Sham Chaurasi (SC) legislator Mohinder Kaur Josh, both from the Doaba belt, are among the frontrunners for a Cabinet berth, say sources. With 39 per cent of the SC population concentrated in Doaba, adequate representation to the community in the government has always been a priority with the Akalis. As of now, there is no woman minister in the Cabinet. Bibi had to resign after she was convicted in a case. Tota Singh was found guilty of misusing his official vehicle. Phillaur's son is wanted by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in a drug case. The Gurdaspur MLA's name is also doing the rounds. Gurbachan Singh Babbehali has been the Chief Minister's confidant ever since he left the Congress and joined the SAD in 2007. He helped BJP candidate Vinod Khanna get a lead of more than 16,120 votes in his segment. Party spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema, who stood by the Chief Minister through thick and thin when Capt Amarinder Singh was Chief Minister, could be one of those to be made minister.Other names being mentioned are Zira MLA Hari Singh Zira and former Olympian Pargat Singh. Party leaders are now talking of the need for decentralisation of power. There is talk about the "imbalance" in the Cabinet with the CM, the Deputy CM and the latter's brothers-in-law Bikram Singh Majithia and Adesh Partap Singh Kairon heading 32 of the total 55 ministries. Sukhbir had in an interview recently remarked:" The dynasty thing cannot work in the Akali Dal. People are hawkish, ever ready to throw out anyone who doesn't perform."
|
|
poll losses
Chandigarh, June 8 Also, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who carried the burden of several departments, today announced that he would expand the Cabinet on June 10. Realising the public anger against the drug menace, the authorities have put drug addicts and small-time drug peddlers behind bars. Policemen suspected to be hand in glove with drug traffickers have been dismissed from service. But why were these measures not taken earlier is the moot question. Sukhbir was reportedly told by party leaders that drug menace, spiralling sand and gravel rates and "interference" in the functioning of the administration were the main reasons for the party winning only four of the 10 seats contested by it. Sukhbir, promising to re-organise the party, has instructed the party leaders to undo the damage suffered by the party during the elections. Disagreeing with the Akali leaders, AAP leader Dr Dharamvir Gandhi says the SAD has been punished by the voters for "political patronage" to the sand and drug mafia. "There is drug mafia, sand and gravel mafia, liquor mafia, land mafia and so on. These vested interests have made life hell for the people,” he says. "Halqa chiefs have become all-powerful and their instructions are carried out by officials, putting aside all rules,” says Dr Gandhi. Bir Devinder Singh, senior Congress leader, says that with halqa chiefs "playing with the law of the land," the people of the state turned against the ruling alliance. “The SAD-BJP Government is playing with fire. Putting drug addicts in jails is no solution to the problem. Arrest the druglords, break the supply chain and then take measures to rehabilitate the addicts by making arrangements for their treatment and then jobs. Without a multi-pronged strategy, the drug problem cannot be solved,” says Bhagwant Mann, AAP Member of Parliament (MP) from Sangrur. Bir Devinder claims that annoyed with the party leadership, Akali workers did not work for the party in the elections. "The SAD leadership neglected its party workers at the lower level. Jathedars at most places remained inactive as they have been made redundant by halqa chiefs. Corruption was another reason”, he says. The Congress leaders claims that the bureaucracy has become indifferent to the people's problems. “They (officials) move into action only if a case has been recommended by a VIP, ” he says. Unless basic issues, such as effective administration, jobs to the youth and tackling the drug menace, are taken up, the ruling alliance cannot hope to recover the lost ground, say Punjab watchers.
|
||
|
Gurdaspur legislator Babbehali may find place too
Gurdaspur, June 8 Earlier, SS Sekhwan, Balbir Singh Bath and SS Langah from the district have been Cabinet Ministers and Fatehgarh Churian MLA Nirmal Singh Kahlon Speaker. Babbehali had won the Gurdaspur seat in the 2012 Vidhan Sabha elections by an impressive 22,000 votes. The Dinanagar, Gurdaspur, Batala, Fatehgarh Churian, Dera Baba Nanak and Qadian seats form part of Gurdaspur district. Five of the seats are represented by Congress MLAs. Babbehali is the only Akali MLA from the district. Babbehali was Gurdaspur District Congress president in the year 2007. Denied the party ticket, he joined the Akali Dal. A leader of the masses, he is held in awe even by
his detractors.
|
||
|
Cong will rise like phoenix: Babbar
Amritsar, June 8 On the humiliating defeat of the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections, he said the UPA-II government initiated several pro-poor policies, but could not educate the people about the benefits. An optimistic Babbar claimed that "the Congress, like the phoenix, would rise from the ashes." He refused to comment on AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi. On AAP's success in Punjab, he said the Punjabis were known for taking risk by opting for anything new. "That is why the Punjabi-dominated Delhi voted for AAP," he said. On the way forward for the Congress, he said the party needed to adopt the Amritsar model in the rest of the country.
|
||
|
AAP to raise debt issue in Lok Sabha
He said Punjab’s main problem was its growing debt, which had already crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark. “We will demand a waiver of Punjab’s debt in the Union Budget. In view of Punjab’s contribution to the country’s food bowl in the past five decades, waiver of the state’s debt should not be a big issue for the Narendra Modi government, which is supported by the SAD,” he said. The other issue is related to industries. “The previous UPA Government’s package to the neighbouring hill states to promote industrialisation there has hit the industry hard in Punjab. We will press the Modi Government to give a similar package to Punjab,” he said. Already, the industry had collapsed in Amritsar and Batala whereas it was on the brink of collapse in mandi Gobindgarh, Ludhiana and Jalandhar, he said. “If the issues related to the industry are not addressed now, Punjab will be ruined,” he said. He said the agriculture sector too was facing crisis as numerous farmers were committing suicide. “We will demand a special agricultural package so that farming can be made a remunerative sector,” said Gandhi. He said the Centre would also be urged to take effective measures to break the drug smuggling network. Dr Gandhi said as they only had a few minutes to speak, the AAP MPs would try to squeeze in as many issues as they could.
|
||
|
Power transformer thefts shock govt, Rs 50 crore loss in five years
The perusal of documents procured under the Right to Information (RTI) Act revealed that the corporation has been suffering a loss of Rs 14,000 daily in Jalalabad alone on account of transformer thefts. Information suggests that 12,461 transformers, worth around Rs 50 crore, have been stolen from 81 power divisions in Punjab in five years (2009-13). Similarly, 922 transformers and 35 meters have been stolen from Beas power division, causing a loss of above Rs 13.5 crore to the corporation in the corresponding period. In Kartarpur division, 1,409 transformers and 555 meters, worth Rs 4.6 crore, have been stolen. The situation is no better in other parts of the state: 691 transformers have been stolen from the Moga urban division, an estimated loss of Rs 1.72 crore. In Malerkotla, the PSPCL has suffered a loss of Rs 1.59 crore from 661 transformers and 101 meters. The collective loss of Muktsar circle alone is nearly Rs 4.5 crore with 1,471 transformers and 515 meters stolen. This includes 435 transformers from Muktsar, 259 from Malout, 135 from Abohar-I, 215 from Fazilka sub-urban, 211 from Ladhuka, 77 from Khuikhera, 39 from Gidderbaha and 100 from Badal. Surprisingly, even after suffering such high losses, executive engineers across the state claimed there was no involvement of any PSPCL official. Though FIRs have been lodged in every case, the recovery has remained almost nil. The losses have only mounted with each passing year. The PSPCL authorities claimed that a few preventive measures were taken by them but that too failed to achieve the desired results. In some parts, the transformers were welded; besides, the PSPCL authorities had started the exercise of visiting scrap dealers to search transformer shells, but both the exercises proved futile. It has been learnt that thieves become active during night hours as a majority of transformers are installed in open areas, having no guard deployed there. Thieves sell copper and oil after extricating it from the transformers. “Some of the cases have been solved by the police by arresting the thieves and recovering stolen transformers. But those too are lying in police stations as the cases are under sub judice,” said BS Matharu, Deputy Chief Engineer, PSPCL, Muktsar circle.
Power-ful blow
|
||
|
State gets 96 lakh units daily from unallocated power pool
Patiala, June 8 Senior officials said the state had been getting additional power for the past few days after the Centre allocated 400 MW of power from the remaining unallocated power of 1,357 MW. Uttar Pradesh is the biggest beneficiary out of the unallocated power quota. "The Union Minister of State for Power allocated power to the state after Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal wrote to the Centre in this connection," said Director (Commercial) Surinder Pal. "Punjab will get 96 lakh units per day till September or till any other state approaches the Centre claiming more power in case of power shortage," he added. Meanwhile, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has decided to replace burnt/stolen transformers free of cost in case of farmers who have availed connections under the Own Your Tubewell Scheme. PSPCL Chairman-cum-Managing Director KD Chaudhri said the farmers were facing difficulty in getting faulty transformers replaced and the issue was raised by various farmer unions in their meetings with the PSPCL management recently. "Finding their demand genuine, the PSPCL management decided to replace damaged or stolen transformers free of cost in case of farmers who were allotted connections under the OYT plan," he said. The PSPCL has also decided to upgrade transformers installed under the OYT scheme in case of farmers who opted for it under the voluntary disclosure scheme (VDS), which has been extended till July 31. The demand for power in the state has already crossed 7,810-MW mark, around 10 per cent increase over the last year figures. As a result, the PSPCL has imposed unscheduled power cuts in various districts.
Open letter to the Chief Minister
|
||
|
Hoshiarpur handicraft units look to govt for support
Hoshiarpur, June 8 But ever since the use of ivory has been banned, the unique traditional artisanship has started dying. Though the artisans came up with a solution by replacing ivory with acrylic inlay, this failed to revive the handicraft industry due to rising input costs and shrinking margins. The government did nothing to help this small-scale industry and instead added to its woes by raising taxes. No wonder, the local industry is on the verge of closure. Other reasons include non-adoption of family profession by the present generation and non-availability of sheesham wood. Tilakraj Plaha, who had his two generations before him in the industry, recalled the days when the industry was flourishing. Various decorative items, photo frames and furniture were in huge demand. He still possesses appreciation certificates awarded to his forefathers by the British Empire in 1882 and 1886 for excellent artisanship during the commonwealth exhibitions in Australia and London. He said: “But the time has changed now. It is getting difficult to save this art.” Talking of the problems, he said: “Sheesham is a major raw material in this industry. Its shortage is the main problem. Many times we have orders, but fail to deliver due to non-availability of wood. The government should help us find an alternative with the help of the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun.” The organisations formed for the industry’s welfare such as the Hoshiarpur Handicraft Manufacturer and Exporters Association have been inactive for a long time. Gunesh Jain, former secretary of the association, said the handicraft Hoshiarpur industry exported items to countries such as the US, Canada, Australia and Dubai. He said the annual turnover of the industry was around Rs 10 crore a few years ago, which had now come down to Rs 3 crore. Anil Pahwa, a handicraft industry owner, said: “We are not getting any support from the government. We are not able to compete with our rivals due to higher taxes. Earlier, handicrafts were exempted from sales tax but now the industry has been burdened with 6 per cent VAT.” He said other states were promoting handicrafts by waiving taxes and providing financial help. There was no VAT on handicrafts in states such as Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Pahwa said: “In Rajasthan, the government has even exempted raw material from taxes. This has led to the enormous growth in the export of handicrafts from Rajasthan, which has gone up from Rs 3 crore to over Rs 2,000 crore in 20 years”. Deepak Matharu, a young entrepreneur, said: “Adamwal, Boothgarh, Bassi Gulam Hussein and Thathlan villages were the hubs of handicraft artisans. There were many families in these localities which had won numerous national and state awards. But now a few are left in this profession. The number of the artisan families has reduced from 800 to just 150.”
The problem
|
||
electoral debacle
Chandigarh, June 8 Sources said since two candidates, Preneet Kaur from Patiala and Sunil Jakhar from Ferozepur, were in Delhi as they had been summoned by the party high command, the committee members who left for Delhi last evening, would interact with them there. A preliminary report on the reasons behind the party losing vote share in Punjab will also be presented to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi. Since two other candidates, Ambika Soni who lost from Anandpur Sahib and Manpreet Badal (PPP chief) who lost from Bathinda, are abroad, the committee would meet them on their return. The panel will hold a separate interaction with Congress MLAs in whose Assembly segments the party fared badly. The committee would also discus the rise of AAP in Punjab and work on a strategy to counter it.
|
|
2 boys charred to death in Fazilka
Fazilka, June 8 The fire broke out around 11.45 am today. As most of the male members were away grazing the livestock, the women tried to extinguish the fire with help of villagers. As the fire tender at Fazilka was reportedly out of order, a sewerage cleaning jet of the local municipal council helped in extinguishing the fire. But by the time the flames were tackled, the duo had been charred. Additional Deputy Commissioner Charandev Singh Mann rushed to the site and gave a grant of Rs 10,000 each of the bereaved families. Mann said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had expressed grief over the incident and had announced a grant of Rs 1 lakh each to the next of the kin. The cause of the fire could not be ascertained.
The victims
|
||
|
Anganwari kids not fed for 3 months in Abohar
Abohar, June 8 Sources say for the last three months children at several of these centres have not been served food due to lack of funds. They said only wheat and rice was available at most of these centres. More than six lakh children are served food at these centres. The central government had sponsored the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme to tackle malnutrition and health problems in children below 6 years of age and their mothers. The ICDS aims to provide 300 calories (with 8-10 grams of protein) to each child below 6 years of age every day. Adolescent girls are to be fed 500 calories, with up to 25 grams of protein, every day. Anganwari workers allege the centres are not supplied with potable water and electricity. Women and Child Development Department Director Gurkeerat Kirpal Singh said the Finance Department had been requested to release funds. Sources said Social Welfare Board chairperson Vijay Laxmi Bhadoo, who had gone to Malaysia for a fortnight on a family trip, would look into the matter on her return. All India Anganwari Workers Union president Hargobind Kaur slammed the state for neglecting the children.
Falling short of target
|
||
|
Govt looks away as industrialists dump toxic waste in Sutlej
Faridkot, June 8 Some of the units on Faridkot-Ferozepur road are discharging a large amount of pollutants in the Gung Canal near the bridge on Burji number 1,39,247, on Faridkot-Ferozepur road. Surjit Singh Dhaliwal, PPCB executive engineer in Faridkot, denied such reports even as residents of adjoining villages in the area say it is an open secret. The industrialists began discharging the effluents in the Gung Canal since residents of Golewala village objected to them dumping the waste in Sem Nala. Some days ago Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje had sought legal action against the industrial units and local bodies responsible for severely polluting the Sutlej. The high level of pollutants in Gung and Indira Gandhi canals, which are the distributaries of the Sutlej, is a cause for concern for the residents of Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh, Bikaner and five other districts. The Water and Irrigation Department supplies water to several homes from the two canals. Some time ago, an ‘Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojna’ study revealed the chemical pollutants were leading to the spread of several waterborne diseases and cancer in Rajasthan. The study was conducted by MS Rathore, a senior professor at Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur. The study found that 70.6 per cent of the people surveyed in Rajasthan were afflicted with diseases due to bacterial and heavy metal content in the water of the canals.
Deadly river
|
||
|
Govt team takes stock of river cleaning project
Nawanshahr, June 8 The state government has launched a project to clean the Sutlej, Beas and Ghaggar. Singh said
a lot of industrial and domestic waste flowed into these rivers. The team comprised Babu Ram, member secretary, Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), Chief Engineer Gurinder Singh Majithia and officials of the Drainage, Rural Development and Revenue Departments. The team visited Gujjarpur, Mahalon, Bheen, Palli Jhikki, Surapur, Bhaura villages and localities in the vicinity of the local Sugar Mills in the district. The Special Principal Secretary directed the different departments to prepare an action plan to clean the East Bein. He said the industrial waste be drained into ponds, where the waste water could be vaporised. “The state government is planning clean the Sutlej from Nangal to Harike Pattan,” said Singh.
|
||
|
e-auction of vanity numbers gets poor response
Jalandhar, June 8 Only 41 of the total 266 vanity numbers in the PB-07-AN series were sold in Hoshiarpur through an online auction held recently. While 64 numbers were sold during the first e-auction for PB-08-CJ series held in Jalandhar in mid-March, the number has come down to just 50 for the PB-08-CK series for which auction concluded on June 3. The response was no better in Sangrur, where the transport office managed to sell only 51 numbers in the PB-13-AJ series. In Mohali, only 62 numbers in the PB-65-Y series were bid for. In Fatehgarh Sahib too, 61 numbers of PB-23-Q series were booked online. Since most participants bid for more than one number, the successful bidders depositing the amount with the DTO offices after the auction is even less. While a series on an average fetched the DTO office an amount of Rs 20 lakh by way of manual auction in Jalandhar, the collection stood at just Rs 15.76 lakh for the CJ series for which online bidding was held in March. At least 200 numbers in each series have not been sold since there is no provision for repeating the numbers in e-auction again. People say the response was not good as the reserve prices had been too high. The reserve price of 0001 number had been increased 10 times and raised to Rs 5 lakh. The most sought after number could not be sold in Hoshiarpur and Fatehgarh Sahib. The reserve price of numbers 0002 to 0009 was increased from Rs 10,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh. For numbers between 0010 and 0099, the reserve price stands at Rs 1 lakh. In addition, the bidders also have to pay non-refundable fee of Rs 2,000 for 0001, Rs 500 for numbers between 0002 and 0009 and Rs 200 for all other numbers. State Transport Commissioner Pirthi Chand said, “There has been a decline in the number of takers for fancy numbers. This happened as the base prices of the numbers have been too high. We will observe the trends in more districts and accordingly plan some revision.” He added that the unsold numbers in e-auctions were currently available with the DTOs on first-come-first-serve basis at a payment of reserve price.
|
||
|
Clash at Golden Temple
“The police have been biased and are toeing the SGPC line by registering criminal cases against innocent youths. Similar cases should be registered against the members of the SGPC task force who attacked the youths during the clash,” said SAD (A) chief Simranjit Singh Mann, a former IPS officer. Mann, a former MP, said he would move the High Court seeking directions against what he alleged was biased working of the Punjab Police. He said a cross-FIR must be lodged against the SGPC task force for "attacking innocent youths". Mann held a press conference here. He alleged he was being chased by the police since morning. He dared them to arrest him. He claimed the police had registered criminal cases against 28 youths. He alleged the SGPC employees had denigrated the sanctity of the Golden Temple and should be punished by Akal Takht.
|
||
|
Will meet PM for package for industry, says Mittal
“We are preparing a comprehensive proposal in this regard," he said. Mittal said the SAD-BJP alliance had to face a hostile electorate because of the spiralling sand rates, the drug menace and property tax. He said the government had started a drive against drugs and was considering slashing the property tax. "The prices of sand and other minor minerals will be brought down soon," he claimed. To a query on fixing responsibility for BJP stalwart Arun Jaitley’s defeat from Amritsar, Mittal replied: " To ensure his win was the responsibility of those who had invited him to contest from the constituency."
|
||
|
Committee to resolve dispute over ‘boycott’ of Dalits
Sangrur, June 8 The committee members are Moonak Sub-Divisional Magistrate Bakhtawar Singh (chairman), Moonak Deputy Superintendent of Police Bimal Kumar Sharma, District Development and Panchayat Officer Baljit Singh (member secretary), District Welfare Officer Kulwant Singh and Khanauri Station House Officer Vijay Kumar. Baopur Dalits alleged that the upper castes started boycotting them on May 15 after they themselves started cultivating 27 acres of panchayat land. The land was reserved for the SCs but was being cultivated by the upper caste people after getting it auctioned on the name of the village Dalits. Punjab SC Commission chairman Rajesh Bagha here today held a meeting with the district administration officials to resolve the issue. He also heard the grievances of the
Dalits.
|
||
|
Provide better help to addicts, says Congress
Chandigarh, June 8 “Arresting drug peddlers and addicts won’t solve the problem. We need to chalk out a plan to create awareness against drugs and provide better infrastructure to addicts for their rehabilitation, he said. He alleged that the government was not going after the "big fish" involved in the drug trade. He demanded an inquiry to "expose the nexus between politicians and the drug mafia." Dhillon, expressing concern over the state's economy, said the government, instead of mobilising resources, was solely banking on a debt relief by the NDA Government.
|
||
|
Chandigarh, June 8 A spokesperson today said the initiative will help the farmers get out of the vicious cycle of wheat-paddy cultivation and supplement their income with the plantation of flowers, the demand for which is on the rise. — TNS
|
||
|
Patiala boy ranks third in law test
Patiala, June 8 With a top rank, he is all set to head to one of the country’s best law schools - National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore. Kosheel attributes his success to his father Ranjan Gupta, who is also a lawyer. He also credits his teachers and his coaching institute, Career Launcher. He said: “One doesn’t have to spend hours studying. The idea is to study smart.” Besides his regular coaching, he spent time reading literature to improve his English language. Kosheel is also an active user of social networking sites, which he said had also contributed in preparing for his exams. “We have a group on Facebook where general questions are posted. Some questions that I read there appeared in the exam,” he added.
|
||
|
Special Adarsh schools for the meritorious
Mohali, June 8 The Punjab Government will open six such schools in Mohali, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Bathinda and Patiala. The admission process was today started for the Mohali school, which would be opened at Sector 70 here. As many as three students were admitted on the first day. Dr Kamal Garg, DPI (Schools) and Mewa Singh Sidhu, District Education Officer, Mohali, were among those present. "In these schools, science and commerce students, who have got 80 per cent or above marks in Class 10, will be admitted. We will provide free education and residential facilities to such students," Sidhu said. There would be separate hostels for boys and girls. The process of appointing teachers for these schools had also been initiated. The schools would start functioning from July 1, he said. Sidhu said the construction work of the school building in Sector 70 would be completed soon.
|
||
|
Panel to explore job avenues for rural youths
Ferozepur, June 8 DPS Kharbanda, Deputy Commissioner, said the aim was to keep the unemployed youths constructively engaged so that they could become self-dependant. He said officials belonging to various departments, including dairy development, horticulture, fisheries and panchayat development, had been asked to identify various projects to provide self-employment to the youths under state and central sponsored schemes. Kharbanda said the administration would encourage the formation of self-help groups (SHG) who would set up small-scale units.
|
||
Sikhs march through London to protest Operation Bluestar
London/New York, June 8 The military raid on the Golden Temple in Amritsar in June 1984 was conducted to flush out Sikh militants led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. British Sikhs have also been angered over the recent revelations in de-classified documents published by the UK government in January, which showed that a British SAS officer was recruited to help plan the operation. In New York, Sikh men, women and children held a demonstration outside the United Nations yesterday. They announced to hold a referendum among Sikh diaspora in 2020 on the right to self-determination. The Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a rights group, submitted a complaint to the UN human rights body, urging it to set up a tribunal to investigate and prosecute the "crimes" related to the June 1984 military raid on the Golden Temple. The group also asked the UN to "condemn" the use of force against the Sikh community during Operation Bluestar. It said the UN should "recognise that the Sikhs have right to self-determination under the UN Charter, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights". SFJ legal adviser attorney Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said a referendum in 2020 would be held around the world in which the Sikh diaspora would be able to vote on the question of right to self-determination. — PTI
|
||
|
1,000 Sikh pilgrims in Pak for Jor Mela
Around 1,000 Sikh pilgrims reached Pakistan from India in special buses on Sunday.
Earlier a train, scheduled to bring Sikh pilgrims from India to Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hassanabdal to perform rituals in connection with the 408th death anniversary of Guru Arjan Dev, arrived empty.
Citing security concerns, the Indian authorities refused to send pilgrims in the special train. The pilgrims were made to walk down to Wagah, as the authorities feared the train might be attacked by terrorists. The pilgrims were told about the security concerns and asked to make their way to the border on foot, sources said. Sikh pilgrims would attend Jor Mela celebrations in Pakistan. Officials of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) and the Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee greeted them at Wagah. The visit comes days after Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited New Delhi to attend his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony. ETPB deputy director Fraz Abbas said the pilgrims faced some inconvenience in reaching Wagah as the Indian authorities refused to send them in a Pakistani train. "They had to walk up to Wagah, which caused a lot of inconvenience to them," he said. "The Indian authorities have given no reason for not sending Sikhs in a Pakistani train, but it seems to be a security issue," he said. Group leader Gul Charan Singh told reporters that pilgrims had to cross Wagah on foot in the scorching heat. However, the warm welcome given to them in Lahore made them forget all the inconvenience, he said. "We are excited as during our 10-day stay here we will visit Sikh holy places, including Gurdawara Janamesthan in Nankana Sahib," he said. Another pilgrim Harbair Singh said both Modi and Sharif should work for peace in the region. "The people of India and Pakistan want peace. There should be extensive trade between the two countries as it will benefit their people," he said. After arriving here the pilgrims left for Gurdwara Janamasthan, some 80 kilometres from Lahore. The main function in connection with Jore Mela will be held at Gurdwara Dera Sahib Lahore on June 16. They will return to India on June 17.
(With PTI inputs)
|
|
6 days on, cops yet to arrest
murder accused
Batala, June 8 The father of the deceased, Malkiat Singh, told the police that his son, a labourer at a grain market, got a call from
the girl on the night of June 2, asking him to visit her at her home. The two were caught by the girl's father, Pawan Kumar. Infuriated, he called his brothers as well as the village panchayat and "hanged" the boy. “Pawan Kumar tried to mislead me. He said my son was lying unconscious at his house. But when I reached there, I was shocked to see my son's body hanging from the ceiling,”
said Malkiat Singh. He alleged that he was coerced into performing his son's last rites the
same night. The Ghania-ke-Bangar police have booked Pawan Kumar, his brothers Satpal and Jaspal, sarpanch Amarjit Singh and panchayat members Ranjit Kaur, Ram Singh and Kuldeep Singh. Bikram Pal Singh Bhatti, SSP, said he was monitoring the probe.“I have formed an SIT to go into the sequence of events leading to the boy's death,” he said.
|
|
|
Cop among 15 arrested in anti-drug drive
Gurmeet Singh Chauhan, Senior Superintendent of Police, said a massive drive had been launched against drug peddlers. He said the accused havildar, Gurdev Singh, had allegedly stolen drugs from the court "malkhana". He said at a naka, Lakhbir Singh Lakha of Badali Ala Singh was held with 100 gm of narcotic powder and 5 gm of smack. Sandhya Rani of Sirhind was held with 7,000 intoxicant tablets. The SSP said they arrested Sukhwinder Singh of Sirhind, Ashish Kumar and Narinder Singh of Mandi Gobindgarh with 17,000 intoxicant tablets and 111 injections; Karam Singh of Sirhind with 60 kg of poppy husk; Gurpreet Singh, Karam Singh and Gurjeet Singh of Sirhind with 2,000 tablets and 9 kg of poppy husk; Rajbir Singh and Rajesh Kumar of Mandi Gobindgarh with 5 gm of smack and tablets; Parveen Mohamad, Khan and Lakhwinder Singh of Sirhind with 4,000 tablets. Separate cases under the NDPS Act had been registered, he added.
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Chandigarh, June
8
Muktsar, June 8
Amritsar, June
8
Anandpur Sahib, June 8
Fatehgarh Sahib