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Tension at Amritsar temple over its possession
poll debacle fallout |
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Rising prices: Cong slams BJP
Joshi on collision course with government
Controversy over haryana sikh gurdwara management committee
Bid to stop visiting team draws flak
HSGMC chief hails Badal, SGPC for ensuring safety
Stay away from politics: Capt to Takht Jathedar
patiala assembly byelection
Patiala traders’ bandh
call has SAD worried
Former MP Preneet Kaur joins protesting ETT teachers in Patiala. She may also join the traders’ protest on Wednesday. Tribune photo
BJP leader hindering probe: Youth’s family
Grieving relatives of Manoj Kumar who is missing since May 25, in Faridkot on Monday. A Tribune photograph
tribune impact
Govt to allot 5-canal plot for last rites of Kallianwala martyrs
Heavy rain floods Ludhiana; 2 dead
Phagwara inundated, too
77 villages ‘flood-prone’
BBMB to review water level in dams every 15 days
Shooter brings laurels to Bathinda
BSF to train schoolgirls in self-defence
A training session in progress for schoolgirls at Government Senior Secondary School, Attari, on Monday.
photo: RK Soni
Vacant MBBS seats under NRI quota sought for general students
Chamkaur Sahib DSP shifted on woman’s complaint
Plan to increase area under maize by 75,000 hectares
Protest against ‘bias’ in issuance of blue cards
Expedite teachers’ recruitment, says CLP Leader
Patient ‘attacks’ doc; hospital staff strike work
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Tension at Amritsar temple over its possession
Amritsar, July 28 The high court had directed the police to hand over the possession by the next date of hearing, which is slated for August 4. A heavy posse of police was deployed at the site as the rival group, headed by Mahant Malkiat Nath and supported by Akali leader OP Gabbar, had refused to hand over the possession. The court bailiff arrived for the 18th time to take the possession of the main sanctum sanctorum. Officials from the district administration, headed by Ajnala Sub-Divisional Magistrate Surinder Singh, were also present. Bailiff Mohinder Singh said he would submit his report in the court regarding the whole episode while refusing to divulge details. A number of members of the Valmiki Community, headed by Gabbar, were also present, who opposed the move. Armed with sharp-edged weapons, they took to sloganeering. Giri said, “We will demand from the court to order deployment of paramilitary forces, instead of police, for handing over the possession.” Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat said efforts were on for an amicable solution to the dispute through a dialogue between both the sides.
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poll debacle fallout
Chandigarh, July 28 The move is aimed at reducing the prices of construction material, improving its availability and checking the influence of politically influential mining cartels. In the first such exercise, the government proposes to start the mining of 37 new quarries (all more than five hectares in area) on its own. Official sources say the proposal is almost ready, but will have to be okayed by the state Cabinet before it is implemented as it entails a change in the state’s mining policy. It is learnt that the new policy will be ready by the end of the next week. The Mining Department is trying to finalise a state government undertaking having requisite experience and infrastructure to distribute and retail the minor minerals excavated from the 37 quarries, for which the government has received an environmental clearance. The mining of sand and gravel from riverbeds has been banned till September because of the monsoon. Once the ban is lifted, this new system of mining will be adopted. The sources say though initially it was proposed to change the mining policy by merely allotting mines by draw of lots instead of e-auction to ensure that contractors get mines at reasonable rates and sell minerals at reasonable rates. Since the government cannot legally earmark or control profit margins, it has now been decided to bring mining and retail operations under the public sector. The Akali-BJP government has been drawing flak over the unavailability of sand and gravel and cartelisation of the mining business leading to escalation in their prices. In fact, this was one of the main reasons for the public disenchantment with the ruling alliance which was evident with the latter's poor show in the Lok Sabha elections. As both partners in the alliance did a post-poll analysis of their performance, the sand mining issue was identified by both as a major reason for their poor show and thus they thought of bringing drastic changes in the mining policy. Even now, the rate of sand and aggregate (a mix of bajri and sand) are high because of poor availability. Sand is available in most parts of the state at Rs 2,700 to Rs 3,200 per 100 cubic feet (Rs 21,600- Rs 25,600 per truck with a capacity of 800 cubic feet), while aggregate is available at Rs 2,800 to Rs 3,000 per 100 cubic feet (Rs 22,400 - Rs 24,000 per truck).
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Rising prices: Cong slams BJP
Chandigarh, July 28 PPCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa said: "All pre-poll promises of the BJP and its allies have proved a damp squib. People are feeling cheated given the rising prices of essential commodities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior BJP leaders had promised to bring back black money stashed abroad, but nothing happened." He said the BJP had also promised to bring down inflation within days of assuming the office, but the prices of most essential items had gone up manifold. "Having felt deceived by the BJP, people are asking 'achhe din kab aayenge," he said. Taking over the SAD, Bajwa alleged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had tried to revive his losing ground by launching a morcha in the name of Sikh unity. "Now since Badal has nothing to offer to the people of the state, he is trying to whip their sentiments by resorting to communal politics," he alleged. The PPCC president said the All India Sikh Gurdwara Act was the only solution to avoid such problems in future and the Akalis should press for it.
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Joshi on collision course with government
Amritsar, July 28 After the Sidhu couple, it seems that Joshi is on a collision course with the state government as he had threatened to lead a traders' protest against the state government over the matter on July 24. The government seemed to have given in to the Joshi's ultimatum to withdraw the advance tax by July 28. Earlier following an assurance by the cabinet minister, traders had agreed to suspend their agitation scheduled to begin from July 28. Joshi had even pledged to give up his post for the cause. Joshi accused officials of the Excise and Taxation Department of misguiding the government on the matter. He said: "It is unjustified to collect tax on the stocks that are lying in the shops and the traders have not sold any part of it." The minister said he had told Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, in charge BJP Punjab Shanta Kumar and state BJP chief Kamal Sharma about frequent changes in rules by the Excise and Taxation Department. He informed that a meeting over the matter would take place in a week where the decision to abolish advanced tax on stocks was likely to be taken. Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal (PPBM) president Amrit Lal Jain said the three months' reprieve was a farce. He said as per the latest instructions, the VAT dealers would need to file the same tax in the next quarter along with that quarter's return. The union president said worksheet 7 had been incorporated into VAT form 15 in which detail of the entire stocks was to be mentioned from the start of the quarter. He said it was not feasible. He said the government was earning about Rs 20 crore from VAT dealers as each dealer had to shell out Rs 800 for filing returns.
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Controversy over haryana sikh gurdwara management committee
Amritsar, July 28 Didar Singh Nalvi, another excommunicated HSGMC leader, could not make it to Amritsar due to health reasons. Though Jhinda himself opted not to visit Akal Takht, the SGPC had put in place tight security arrangements. It had deployed its task force members in an apparent bid to stop Jhinda in case he tried to make an entry. Besides, police personnel in civvies were also present around to ensure peace during the HSGMC team's visit. ‘Ardaas’ before Akal Takht A cautious Jhinda came out of the Golden Temple and performed ‘ardaas’ in front of Akal Takht. His team members too didn’t enter Akal Takht. The SGPC officials justified the heavy presence of the task force members, contending that it was their responsibility to manage the affairs and ensure that nothing untoward happened. They also made an effort to persuade Jhinda and his men to leave the area in front of Akal Takht at the earliest. 3 of five gates closed When Jhinda arrived, three of the five gates of Akal Takht were shut. The doors were opened as soon as mediapersons started clicking pictures. Sources said the SGPC had already conveyed to Jhinda that he would not be allowed to proceed towards Akal Takht. Sources said Jhinda himself decided not to pay a visit to avoid any confrontation with the SGPC. Throughout his visit, there was tension in the air even as the SGPC staff worked overtime to ensure that everything went on smoothly. An SGPC official was also deputed to escort the new HSGMC team during their visit to the holy shrine. They were not officially welcomed by the SGPC, but Khalsa Action Committee chief Bhai Mohkam Singh felicitated them by presenting them 'siropas' before they stepped into the Golden Temple. The HSGMC team also performed 'ardaas' at Gurdwara Thada Sahib and the Operation Bluestar Memorial before partaking 'langar' at Sri Guru Ramdas Langar Hall. They also washed utensils at the 'langar' facility. HSGMC executive meet today Talking to mediapersons, Jhinda said the HSGMC would hold an executive meeting tomorrow. After the meeting, he said, they would shoot off missives to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar, urging them to vacate Haryana gurdwaras where armed SGPC task force members, Akali workers and MLAs had been deployed. He claimed the SGPC control over the Haryana gurdwaras had come to an end two days ago when the HSGMC team was sworn in. Referring to the Punjab Reorganisation Act, he sought the distribution of Chandigarh gurdwaras in the ratio of 60:40 between SGPC and HSGMC. He said they would neither disturb peace nor violate law and order. He said the HSGMC was established as per the same law under which the SGPC and the DSGMC came into being. He didn't comment on his excommunication or the latest Akal Takht directive restraining the team from taking charge. He said, “We are here at the holiest Sikh shrine to seek blessings before we start working in Haryana.” Who all were along Among the HSGMC members who accompanied Jhinda were Bhupinder Singh, Joga Singh, Avtar Singh, Kirpal Singh, Karnail Singh, Baljeet Singh Daduwal, Amrik Singh, Sharanjeet Singh and Harpreet Singh.
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Bid to stop visiting team draws flak
Amritsar, July 28 Talking to The Tribune, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh said, "It is a very old tradition. An individual excommunicated from the panth cannot enter Akal Takht." A section of intellectuals, however, say nobody can be stopped from paying obeisance inside Akal Takht. Former SGPC secretary Manjeet Singh Calcutta said, "As per the tradition, an excommunicated person cannot urge a priest inside Akal Takht to perform 'ardaas' for him. Besides, the 'karah parshad' offered by him will not be accepted. But, I don't think there is any precedent in which an excommunicated individual was stopped from paying obeisance at Akal Takht." Noted Sikh scholar Ashok Singh Bagrian said stopping any individual from paying obeisance is against the 'maryada' of a
gurdwara.
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HSGMC chief hails Badal, SGPC for ensuring safety
Chandigarh, July 28 Jhinda said the HSGMC team was accorded warm welcome by the SGPC and all courtesies were extended to them on their "thanksgiving" visit to Harmandar Sahib. Speaking to The Tribune, Jhinda said some people were trying to create mischief by suggesting that the SGPC task force restricted his entry into Akal Takht. "In fact after getting 'parshad', we went straight to Harmandar Sahib to pay obeisance and on returning from there, we stood outside Akal Takht and performed 'ardaas', thanking the Almighty for making HSGMC a reality". He said there was no plan of entering Akal Takht. Jhinda said the HSGMC was thankful to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for ensuring the safety and security of the HSGMC executive members who, he claimed, were facing “threats” from extremist groups. He said the executive was also thankful to SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar for cooperating with the visiting team. Though Jhinda said they were not stopped from entering any area inside the Golden Temple, sources in the SGPC said the HSGMC members were specifically told not to enter Akal
Takht.
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Stay away from politics: Capt to Takht Jathedar
Mohali, July 28 "Akal Takht, the most sacred institute of the Sikhs, should not be involved in any dispute. The Akal Takht Jathedar should maintain a distance from politics," said Capt Amarinder while referring to the controversy surrounding the HSGMC. In the city to attend a court hearing in the Amritsar Improvement Trust land scam case, Capt Amarinder said there was nothing "unconstitutional" in forming a separate gurdwara committee, and that the "Badals were misleading the Sikhs for their vested interests". "They (Badals) are more concerned about earnings from gurdwaras through offerings and donations than the Sikhs' interests," said Captain. Also, he said he would handle the forthcoming bypoll in Patiala while Punjab Congress chief Partap Bajwa would look after the affairs at Talwandi Sabo. Amarinder held the Akhilesh Yadav government responsible for the communal clashes at Saharanpur in Uttar
Pradesh. "Lawlessness anywhere shows the incapability of the state government concerned," he said.
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patiala assembly byelection
He is pitted against seasoned politician Preneet Kaur, three-time Congress MP and former Minister of State for External Affairs, and Bhagwan Dass Juneja of the SAD-BJP alliance. Besides, the Patiala urban has been a stronghold of the Congress. Former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has won the Patiala Urban Assembly poll for three consecutive terms. Even though Preneet Kaur had lost to AAP's Dr Dharamvira Gandhi in the Lok Sabha election, she had got a lead of 7,564 votes from the Patiala Urban assembly segment. There is reportedly discontent over Adalatiwala's candidature among some senior AAP leaders. Prof Mohanjit Kaur Tiwana (retd), an active party leader, said: "He joined the party just four months ago whereas many senior leaders who were in fray for the party ticket have been working for AAP for a long time. His candidature came as a surprise for all of us," she said. Sources claimed that though Dr Balbir Singh and Yashpal Sharma, the two strong contenders for AAP ticket, have pledged support to Adalatiwala, their supporters were a disappointed lot. Party's founder member Kundan Gogia alleged AAP had become a party of "khaas aadmis" who had ample money. Meanwhile, Adalatiwala claimed there were no differences within the party rank and file. He said he was overwhelmed with the support coming from all quarters.
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Patiala traders’ bandh
call has SAD worried
Patiala, July 28 The Patiala Vyopar Bachao Sangharsh Committee has given the bandh call. "Traders are fed up with the poor policies of the state government," said committee president Rakesh Gupta. With a little less than a month to go for polling, the bandh call has left the SAD worried. The Congress and AAP both will try to capitalise on the current situation. Congress leader and Sanaur MLA Lal Singh said: "We feel the pulse of the trader community. They are feeling cheated by the ruling alliance." Chatanya Sharma, AAP legal head, said no state could prosper if it ignored its trade. "AAP will raise its voice against this injustice done to the traders," he said.
SAD kicks off campaign Chandigarh: The SAD on Monday kicked off its election campaign for the Patiala bypoll at a party meeting held here. The meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and and Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal. The party rank and file pledged to ensure a historic victory of party candidate Bhagwan Dass Juneja. —TNS
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BJP leader hindering probe: Youth’s family
Faridkot, July 28 Accusing the police of not making sincere efforts to trace the 24-year-old youth, who went missing from his house on May 25, the family members demanded a CBI inquiry, claiming a BJP leader was influencing the police probe. Manoj Kumar's father Prem Kumar alleged the police were going slow in the case on the directions of a Ferozepur-based BJP leader. He alleged a close associate of the BJP leader was the prime suspect in his son's case. The youth's family and local residents have held a number of protests since his disappearance on May 25. They have also been urging the police to solve over 24 other cases of missing persons in the district. In the other cases, victims include a number of children and women. Accusing the police of misleading the public, Pushpa Rani, a maternal aunt of Manoj Kumar, alleged the police were projecting the missing boys as drug addicts and missing girls as having been eloped. Pushpa belongs to Haryana. She along with her other relatives has been camping in Faridkot for the last over a month. Refuting the allegations, Mohnish Chawla, DIG, Faridkot, said a special investigation team (SIT) was working on the case. He said the police had questioned all suspects named by the victim's family. "We have obtained phone call details of Manoj Kumar. We are working on various leads." The SIT was constituted after the matter was raised by Faridkot MP Sadhu Singh in the Lok Sabha on July 15. The MP had also met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh asking him to take up the matter with the Punjab Government. The issue was also raised by HS Phoolka, an AAP leader and Supreme Court lawyer.
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tribune impact
Chandigarh, July 28 Highly placed sources in the CM office said Badal was shocked at the observations of the Chandigarh bench of the Debt Recovery Tribunal where presiding officer Harcharan Singh observed that “influential defaulters were dictating their own terms and conditions and the corporation was hand in glove with the defaulters to delay recovery worth crores.” There was hectic activity in the Sector 17 office of the corporation with officials racing against time to prepare a detailed report of all the defaulters and the measures taken to recover the debt. Efforts were also being made to list the status of all the court cases pending in the civil courts or the tribunal, the sources said. The CM is learnt to have conveyed his displeasure that bureaucrats were dithering in recovering public money when the state was passing through a financial crisis. He is said to have conveyed to his officers that “responsibility should be fixed and heads would roll” in this context in the coming days. Several entrepreneurs had approached the CM on the partial functioning of the PSIDC wherein certain industrial houses cornered most of the loans/equity extended by the corporation. A case in point being Rajinder Gupta, promoter of Abhishek Industries, who is also vice-chairman of the Punjab Planning Board. He owes Rs 109 crore to the corporation, the sources said. They alleged that it was common knowledge that senior officers of the corporation were playing favourites and certain well-connected individuals always got their proposals approved.
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Govt to allot 5-canal plot for last rites of Kallianwala martyrs
Amritsar, July 28 In a press statement issued here this evening, Amarjit Singh Sarkaria, president of the committee, and Surinder Kochhar, a historian, said this was informed by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ravi Bhagat during a meeting held in Amritsar in which Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Amarpal Bony was also present. They said the DC had informed that the government would hand over the land before the cremation scheduled for August 1. A suitable memorial would be constructed at the spot. The CPS reportedly said he would meet Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to discuss the construction of the memorial. Kochhar said as per the programme, priests of all religions would pray for the peace of the departed souls and candles would be lighted to pay homage to the martyrs. On August 24, a rally headed by the CPS would be organised at Ajnala to pay respects to the martyrs, whose remains would be immersed in the Ganga at
Haridwar.
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Heavy rain floods Ludhiana; 2 dead
Ludhiana, July 28
Shilpa was a native of West Bengal. She was on her way to a temple in the morning when she accidentally came in contact with an electricity pole and got electrocuted. She died on the spot. When she did not return even after an hour, her employers set out in her search and found her lying dead in the street. In the second case, Akash fell into a pit dug up by labourers to lay sewers in Mahadev Nagar. Akash was taken to Apollo Hospital, where the doctors declared him "brought dead." A case has been registered against the Sewerage Board on the complaint of Shiv Kumar, Akash's father. Heavy rainfall continued for around three hours in the city this morning. It threw life out of gear. The city recorded 101.4 mm rainfall that resulted in water-logging all around. Long queues of vehicles could be seen on city roads, many of which got stuck in water, thus leading to traffic chaos. Rainwater entered many houses and shops. The situation was the worst in low-lying areas adjoining Budha Nullah. Rainwater also entered some government offices in the Mini Secretariat, causing inconvenience to employees and visitors. The server at the licensing authority office in Model Town remained out of order throughout the day. In the basement of the Mini Secretariat, employees were seen draining out rainwater from their offices. However, Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal said, "The record is safe." Rain also hit power supply in many areas. High-velocity winds that preceded showers uprooted many trees, leading to snapping of LT and PVC cables in many localities. Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) officials said 30 to 40 per cent of around 500 feeders in the city were affected due to heavy rain. While supply was restored in most localities in two to three hours, many areas went without power for 4 to 6 hours due to snapping of cables.
Phagwara inundated, too
Phagwara, July 28 Vehicles were seen stuck in knee-deep water on roads. The situation exposed the functioning of the Phagwara Nagar Corporation. Clearly, the civic body authorities had failed to make proper arrangements to tackle the monsoon fury. Sarai Road, Gaushala Road, Banga Road, Subhash Nagar, Model Town and Hargobind Nagar were the worst-affected areas. Water entered huts and shops in several areas of the town. Gaushala Road, Subhash Nagar and Guru Nanak Pura had turned into pools. Shopkeepers were seen draining out water from their shops in the Gaushala Road area. Inder Duggal, a shopkeeper, attributed today's mess to the MC's failure to take precautionary measures, including timely cleaning of the sewerage. MC Executive Officer Adarsh Sharma, however, claimed the rainwater would drain out soon. Chief Parliamentary Secretary Som Parkash said the Sewerage Board had been instructed to clean the sewerage in the town using modern machines.
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77 villages ‘flood-prone’
Muktsar, July 28 Though the monsoon is reportedly weak this year, the authorities seem determined not to allow a repeat of last year's events. Drains have been already cleaned and the authorities are now busy making other arrangements. Till today, the district has witnessed 107.3 mm rain since June 16. The officials have been assigned the task of making arrangements to deal with any flood-like situation. Separate committees have been formed to monitor day-to-day developments and report to
the higher authorities in Chandigarh.
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BBMB to review water level in dams every 15 days
Ropar, July 28 Today, the water level in the Bhakra reservoir was 1,641.44 feet against 1,646.7 feet recorded last year. The situation at the Pong Dam, however, was bad as the water level there was found to be 1,328.38 feet today against 1,361.2 feet last year. The inflow into Gobind Sagar was 62,435 cusecs today against last year's 47,360 cusecs. The outflow was 25,900 cusecs against last year's 36,458 cusecs. Similarly, the inflow in rain-fed Pong reservoir was recorded at 39,503 cusecs against last year's 25,829 cusecs and the outflow was 15,512 cusecs against last year's 14,006 cusecs. The filling period of both reservoirs is considered to be up to September 20. While the maximum capacity of the Gobind Sagar reservoir is 1,680 feet, the Pong Dam reservoir can be filled up to 1,390 feet. A meeting of technical committee officials from partner states was held at Chandigarh today. It was decided that keeping in view the dip in the water level of the Pong Dam reservoir, there was a need to review the situation at a shorter interval. It was also felt that in case there was good rain over the coming days, the water levels in both dams would increase substantially and under such a condition, it would be imperative to release more water from the Bhakra Dam.
On the alert * A meeting of technical committee officials from partner states in the Bhakra-Beas Management Board was held at Chandigarh on Monday *
In view of the declining water level in Pong Dam reservoir, it was decided that the committee should review release and inflow of water into the dam fortnightly *
The next meeting of the committee will be held on August 12
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Shooter brings laurels to Bathinda
As soon as the news of Gurpal winning the silver medal reached here, a wave of joy spread across his village. Gurpal had been passionate about shooting since his childhood and he always dreamt of representing India in international events, said his friends and relatives. He completed his studies from the village government school. After clearing the Class XII examination, he joined the Army at the age of 19. At present, he is a Subedar. His father passed away while he was young. He and his mother Rajinder Kaur started staying with his maternal uncle Bhola Singh, who motivated him to take up shooting. Bhola Singh works as a constable in the Army.
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BSF to train schoolgirls in self-defence
Attari, July 28 The drive was kicked off from Government Senior Secondary School, Attari, today. The pilot project has been started from the Amritsar sector and it will be adopted in other parts of the state in future. The BSF has also adopted around 20 schools in border villages. Besides helping in beautifying these schools, their students will also be trained in undertaking various social causes. The BSF will also try to solve their problems by providing proper guidance to them. MF Farooqui, BSF DIG (Amritsar sector), formally launched the drive today. He called upon teachers and women of the villages to participate in the endeavour as it would help make girls self-reliant. "Under this project, the girls will first undergo 14-day physical training. Then they will be trained in unarmed combat and some tricks of martial arts for self-defence," Farooqui said. The girls undergoing this training would also be involved in sports activities of their choice, he said. On adopting schools, he said they had experienced during a de-addiction campaign that a fundamental movement could succeed only if schools were involved in that. "Therefore, we asked each company in the Amritsar sector to adopt a school. We would involve teachers and students of these schools in various social activities, besides providing them proper guidance in tackling their problems. A group of Class XI girls approached the DIG BSF urging him to arrange some career-guidance programme for them. Farooqui said the crime against women had increased and it had become necessary for the girls to get training in self-defence. "This will help in boosting their morale and make them more confident," he said.
Empowering women * The Border Security Force has decided to train schoolgirls in unarmed combat techniques for
self-defence * The drive that kicked off on Monday will be adopted in other parts of the state in future
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Vacant MBBS seats under NRI quota sought for general students
Chandigarh, July 28 These parents have cited rules laid down in the prospectus of the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, which state that the seats falling vacant under the NRI quota would be transferred to the general category after the second counselling. As only three NRI students cleared the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) against 100 seats marked for their quota, a large number of students under the general category became eligible for admission in medical colleges. A delegation of parents of the eligible students met Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and requested him to ensure that merit, and not money power, prevailed in the matter. They said certain college managements had been pressing the government to lower the qualification marks for NRIs. The MCI is yet to respond on the issue.
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Chamkaur Sahib DSP shifted on woman’s complaint
Ropar, July 28 Following the allegations by the woman on July 18, an inquiry was ordered against the DSP by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Varinder Paul Singh. The woman had alleged that the DSP indulged in indecent behaviour
when she had gone to his office for the redressal of a complaint. She alleged the police officer even sent objectionable messages on her mobile phone. Even as the inquiry is still going on against the police officer, the SSP today received the orders of Lakhbir Singh’s transfer.
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Plan to increase area under maize by 75,000 hectares
Chandigarh, July 28 With the Centre announcing a minimum support price (MSP) on maize and the state government now facilitating infrastructure such as maize driers and pneumatic planters to be distributed to self-help groups of farmers and cooperative societies, it seems that the efforts on convincing paddy farmers to grow maize would yield better results. The government is targeting to increase the area under maize cultivation to two lakh hectares. “Last year, the area under maize was 1.26 lakh hectares. As of now, we have increased the area under maize cultivation to 1.52 lakh hectares. With concerted efforts, we hope to achieve our target,” said Tota Singh, state Agriculture Minister. He said as the Centre had announced Rs 1,350 per quintal as the MSP, it had encouraged more farmers to cultivate maize. The state had tied up with three seed companies —- Shriram, Monsanto and Pioneer —- to make good-quality hybrid seeds available to farmers. About 1,000 tonnes of seed have already been distributed (out of 1,600 tonnes that the state had ordered) and Agriculture Department officials say they had managed to get more farmers to start maize cultivation in Moga and Ferozepur areas, besides the Doaba region. The state had earlier installed two maize driers, at Nawanshahr and Hoshiarpur, each having a capacity of drying 64 quintals of maize in an hour. Since these were too big, the state is now buying and installing new maize driers with smaller capacity to be installed at Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Kapurthala and
Amritsar.
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Protest against ‘bias’ in issuance of blue cards
Abohar, July 28
Led by Parkash Kaur, Amarjit Kaur and Jaipal Singh, hundreds of people from the Government Seed Farm colony and members of the Raisikh community said they had on Sunday organised a march through the main roads of the town and met Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Rajpal Singh, who had reportedly assured that their grievances would be redressed on Monday. They said the response today was not satisfactory. Alleging bias in preparing blue cards, protesters said their community leader Sher Singh Ghubaya had been elected Member of Parliament for the second term as the community stood like rock behind him, but they felt “betrayed” now as they were not listed as BPL families. They said a majority of worked as farm workers or daily wage earners. However, they alleged, affluent people had managed to get the cards. The protesters raised slogans against the state government and sought justice. They demanded a high-level probe and verification of the beneficiaries in the sub-division. Naib Tehsildar Neeraj Sharma and some senior police officials visited and negotiated with the protesters. The officials said both the Block Development and Panchayat Officers (BDPOs) in the sub-division were on leave and that a meeting of the protesters would be fixed with the BDPOs soon, following which the protesters deferred the stir.
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Expedite teachers’ recruitment, says CLP Leader
Abohar, July 28 He said here today that the government had advertised the recruitment of ETT teachers for schools run by zila parishads on February 22. The merit list was released on June 17 but the counselling for issuing posting orders has not been conducted so far. Official sources said the government had collected Rs 10 crore from 13,000 unemployed youths to fill 4,900 vacancies. For the past six years, the government had been exploiting unemployed youths this way, they said. Jakhar said the ruling politicians blamed the youths for switching over to addiction but the SAD-BJP government was to be “blamed” for their frustration. He said it was unfortunate that the alliance government in the state “woke up” only when youths climbed atop water tanks and organised protests.
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Patient ‘attacks’ doc; hospital staff strike work
Fazilka, July 28 Grover, a surgeon, said Sunil Kumar of border village Bareka was admitted at the hospital after he
was injured in a scuffle a few days ago. He was discharged from the hospital yesterday. The doctor said while he was on
a round of the Indoor Department this afternoon, Sunil, who was on a bed, allegedly manhandled and thrashed him claiming he had been discharged without being given
proper treatment. Enraged over the incident, medical officers, paramedics, pharmacists, nurses and class IV employee staged a protest before the office of the Senior Medical Officer, demanding action against Sunil and his relatives who also reportedly supported him. They also sought security for hospital staff. Station House Officer, City Police, Fazilka, Bittan Kumar reached the
hospital and took Sunil into custody. It is said Sunil was later admitted to a private hospital. He alleged that the hospital staff had used caste-based abusive language against him.
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Abohar, July 28 The police said the victims were returning home after paying obeisance at Chanana Dham last night. A case has been registered. The bodies were handed over to their families after post-mortem examination. Babu Lal (17) drowned while practising in a swimming pool near Naal village on the Sriganganagar-Bikaner highway last evening. Neither any coach was on duty, nor safety jacket was used by the victim, preliminary inquiry reportedly indicated. A case has however been registered against Nemi Chand Gehlot, caretaker of the water park. — OC
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Tension prevailed at the ancient Ram Tirath Temple premises near here today after bailiff of the local court reached there for handing over possession of the shrine to Mahant Baldev Giri faction, who have won a case in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The ruling SAD faces a tough time as various industrialists and shopkeeper associations of Patiala have decided to hold a complete bandh on July 30 against the "anti-trade policies" of the state government. The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) have decided to join the protesting traders. SAD candidate Bhagwan Dass Juneja is locked in a tough battle against Congress' Preneet Kaur and AAP's Harjit Singh
Adalatiwala.
Sitting on a dharna for the last 63 days in front of the city police station here, family members of a missing Faridkot youth, Manoj Kumar, have little hope of his return.
Accusing the police of not making sincere efforts to trace the 24-year-old youth, who went missing from his house on May 25, the family members demanded a CBI inquiry, claiming a BJP leader was influencing the police probe.
After launching a successful drive against drug abuse, the Border Security Force
(BSF) has now embarked upon another civic action. This time, they have decided to train schoolgirls in unarmed combat techniques for
self-defence.
Patiala, July 28
Bathinda, July 28