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Rising hate crimes
Section in BJP wants ties with Badal govt snapped
Drunk cop’s car hits 5 students at I-Day rehearsal
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Punjab
Votes 2014
Sisodia, Bhagwant Mann hold road show
AAP star campaigners to converge on Talwandi Sabo
Parties shun show-off tactics, prefer low-profile campaign
Poll heat: War of words
intensifies
Staff shortage hits right to service
Now, NCC nagars based on Gujarat model
Motorists cough up
Rs 2,500 crore as toll tax
Akali sarpanch accuses own party leader of stalling funds
Jalandhar effluent treatment plant working sans PPCB nod
Revenue officers, lawyers at loggerheads in Abohar
Agro plant takes up pear processing
Farmers protest new law to protect property
Ebola threat: Govt to scan travellers
Tension in Pak delays Amritsar bus by two days
Namdhari row: Protesters threaten to step up stir
Govt to do away with multiple mutation fee
Tota Singh pulls up dist officials
Badal approves Jang-e-Azadi memorial design
Freedom fighters to boycott I-Day
function DSGMC for Bharat Ratna for Sikh heroes MLA wants award for Udham Singh
IPS officers transferred
Begowal land
row
High Court issues notice to 327 clerks
Commission helps NRI get relief
SHO suspended for ‘thrashing’ youths
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Rising hate crimes
Amritsar, August 11 SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar admitted that though there had been some delay in the project, they were very much on the job. “We have already got the land registered in the SGPC's name and also got the nod from the Indian Government to set up the facility in the US. Now, we are completing formalities to pave the way for the construction of the building." Makkar said the centre would help in dealing with the problems facing the Sikhs on account of mistaken identity and security barriers in foreign countries. He said a gurdwara would also be constructed, which would have distance education programme on Sikhism in English in online format. He said the centre would also organise Gurmat and turban-tying classes. Besides, seminars would be held and literature in various languages distributed to spread awareness about Sikhism. The SGPC had kicked off the process to set up the centre last year by floating a parallel body named SGPC USA Inc to run the affairs of the centre, which would be spread over 13 acres. Sikh philanthropist Deedar Singh Bains had donated this land to the SGPC. A four-member SGPC delegation had also visited California to take stock of the property and for opening up an account with the Bank of America. A management committee had also been formed to run the new body, SGPC USA Inc. The SGPC had earlier tried to set up ‘Sikh Mission’ in Washington and a printing facility for Guru Granth Sahib at North Carolina province in the US. But, both the plans could not materialise due to various issues, including lack of approval from the authorities in India. In another development, representatives from over 50 gurdwaras would be gathering for a national meeting in Washington on August 16 to chart out a strategy to raise the profile of the Sikhs in America. As per a release issued here, newly formed National Sikh Campaign (NSC) is holding this meeting of gurdwara leaders from across the US to engage the people for changing their perception towards the community. Gurdwara leaders would discuss the issue with Hillary Clinton’s former chief strategist Geoff Garin, who is already conducting a poll and a survey on the Sikhs in the US under an agreement with the NSC. Dr Rajwant Singh, chairman, Sikh Council on Religion and Education and senior adviser to the NSC, said, “This is for the first time that the gurdwara leaders are meeting on a single agenda to display the Sikhs as vital members of the American society. The event has the potential to be the largest promotion of the Sikhs in the western world. We have tried our best to invite gurdwaras from all over the country since they have a key role in involving members of the community in this massive presidential-style campaign. As a community, we have no choice but to take this critical and much-needed step."
BJP MP takes up issue with Sushma Swaraj
New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP of the BJP Avinash Rai Khanna has urged External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to take up with the embassies concerned the incidents of hate crime targeting the Sikhs in certain advanced countries in recent days. In a letter to the minister, he drew her attention to a hate crime incident in New York on August 9. He also referred to an incident in New Zealand in which a 35-year-old Indian origin man was stabbed to death.
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Section in BJP wants ties with Badal govt snapped
New Delhi, August 11 Shanta Kumar refused to talk about what had transpired at the meeting. He said it was an exercise to obtain a feedback on ways and means to strengthen the party, especially in view of the forthcoming municipal elections in Punjab. When pressed for details, he quipped: “I will present the facts only at the right forum.” Insiders say that Shanta Kumar has advised the agitated leaders to be “patient” and “pragmatic" and help the party regain its support base in Punjab. The state leaders reportedly complained that the BJP had been weakened because its leaders had been marginalised by the SAD leadership. Not too happy with Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, they were all praise for Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for his ability to take everybody on board. A section of leaders are said to have confronted the BJP ministers in the Badal Cabinet for raising issues on government policy-decisions in the public. They advised the ministers to clear their stand on various issues during inter-department meetings. The BJP ministers reportedly defended themselves on the plea that they had raised all issues in public interest. Sources said the BJP state president, Kamal Sharma, had a hard time keeping the flock together. Some members expressed unhappiness over his style of functioning. They alleged that he was rarely accessible. Sources said a section of BJP leaders wanted ministerial posts for Ashwani Sharma and Manoranjan Kalia. Another group wanted a berth for KD Bhandari. It was against Anil Joshi being removed as Local Bodies Minister. The two groups within the state BJP accused each other of chalking out divergent paths instead of reaching a collective decision on various issues. The BJP’s tussle with the SAD to claim credit for certain people-friendly measures also featured during the discussions.
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Drunk cop’s car hits 5 students at I-Day rehearsal
Hoshiarpur, August 11 The students were reportedly on their way to board a bus after the rehearsals when they were hit by the car. The police rushed them to a nearby hospital where their condition was stated to be stable. The victims, Amarjit Pal, Rahul Heer, Jatin Kumar, Peter and Rajan, were students of the local Government Senior Secondary School for Boys near Clock Tower. They were to participate in a PT show during the Independence Day function. The injured woman, Veena Rani, was a resident of the Police Lines. Her brother is employed with the Punjab Police. Dr Lakhbir Singh, Senior Medical Officer, Police Lines Hospital, said all the victims suffered injuries on their legs, faces and heads. Deputy Superintendent of Police (City) Satish Kumar Sharma said strict action would be initiated against the drunk policeman, who was sent to the Civil Hospital for a medical examination.
Were heading home
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Punjab
Votes 2014
Patiala, August 11 The Congress is dwelling on the poor condition of roads, sanitation and traffic besides property tax. “During Capt Amarinder Singh’s government (2002 to 2007), we had turned Patiala into a modern city. But in the past seven years, the SAD has reduced it to a hellhole,” claimed former Finance Minister Surinder Singla. Endorsing his view, Preneet Kaur, Congress candidate, said a brief spell of rain could bring misery to residents. The drainage system had almost collapsed, and the condition of roads was pitiable. “While Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal gave away crores of rupees in the Talwandi Sabo constituency by holding Sangat Darshan programmes for days at a stretch, not a penny was sanctioned for Patiala,” said Hardyal Singh Kamboj, Congress MLA. The other issues being raised by the Congress are unemployment, drugs and corruption. The Akali leaders claim that because of the “discriminatory” attitude of the previous Congress government at the Centre, cities such as Patiala were denied funds under the Jawaharlal Urban Renewal Mission. No money was given for setting up a solid waste management project in the city, say Akali leaders Prem Singh Chandumajra, Surjit Singh Rakhra, Deepinder Singh Dhillon and Upinderjit Kaur. They promise to change the face of the city in the coming months. They promise to improve the sewerage and the water supply system and remove all traffic bottlenecks as they move door-to door seeking votes. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) blames both the Congress and the SAD for “ruining” the city, once among the cleanest in this part of the country. Dr Dharmvira Gandhi, local MP, said persistent neglect by successive governments had turned the city into a cluster of slums. He claimed that AAP was the only party that could improve the lot of Patiala residents.
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Sisodia, Bhagwant Mann hold road show
Patiala, August 11 Sisodia and Mann were here to address public meetings in favour of AAP candidate HS
Adaltiwala. Patiala MP Dharamvira Gandhi and Adaltiwala also participated in the road show that passed through different parts of the Patiala (Urban) Assembly segment. Making a mention of the sluggish pace of development in the city, Sisodia said Patiala had fallen prey to a tussle between the Congress and the
Akalis. No party had done anything substantial for the city. "The things are getting worse. If the city wants to retain its 'royal' identity, the people will have to shun both these parties and give the command into the hands of
AAP," he added. Maintaining that AAP was overwhelmed by the response it received in the recent Lok Sabha elections, Sisodia said these bypoll would lay the foundation for the 2017 Assembly elections, wherein AAP would drub these parties and form the next government in the
state. Bhagwant Mann slammed the Akalis and the Congress for allegedly indulging in dynasty politics. While the Badal family had concentrated the entire power in its hands, the Congress was also playing in the hands of "Maharajas and Maharanis". It was important to break their arrogance for once and all, he said. 'Let Laal Singh prove his allegations' While Congress MLA Laal Singh has levelled allegations against AAP candidate HS Adaltiwala that he had forcibly acquired land of poor villagers of Adaltiwala, Manish Sisodia challenged him to produce documents to substantiate his claim. "We have already declared that we won't hesitate to withdraw any of our candidates even on the polling day, if he was found indulging in any such activities. Baffled by its recent defeat, the Congress is trying to defame AAP, but we are sure about the credentials of Adaltiwala," Sisodia said. Bathinda: Deputy Commissioner Basant Garg on Monday ordered an inquiry into the dual-vote charge against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Baljinder Kaur. As per the complaint, she has been registered voter No. 352, Jagah Ram Teerth village, where her father's name is mentioned as Darshan Singh. At another place, Baljinder Kaur is shown as a resident of house No. 272-A of the same village having voter No. 354. Her father's name here is mentioned as Amarjeet Singh. Garg said the Returning Officer had been asked to conduct an inquiry and submit a report within 24 hours.
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AAP star campaigners to converge on Talwandi Sabo
Bathinda, August 11 Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann and Jarnail Singh are already campaigning for Baljinder Kaur. Supreme Court senior advocate and AAP leader HS Phoolka, who unsuccessfully contested the 2014 General Election from Ludhaina, would start campaigning here from August 13. Yogendra Yadav would campaign on August 14, while Arvind Kejriwal would be here on August 17 and 19. AAP leader Jarnail Singh, a journalist-turned-politician who hurled a shoe at a former Union Finance Minister, would also campaign here on August 12, 14, and 15 besides accompanying Kejriwal on August 17 and 19. AAP leaders would try to publicise their slogan "Sada Khawaab Nawa Punjab" (Our dream - a new Punjab). They were likely to raise issues like drug menace, cancer spread, education facilities and unemployment. Jarnail Singh said, "We will ask the masses the reason behind this byelection despite having chosen a candidate as their MLA. Why there is a burden on them and the loss of crores to the country's economy. There should have been no byelection after the voters have elected a legislator for five years." He accused the SAD and the Congress of playing politics over the issue of Haryana Shiromani Gurudwara Management Committee. "The SAD is responsible for the situation and formation of the HSGMC. It is the duty of the SGPC to keep Sikhs united, but its leaders discriminated against Sikhs of Haryana which led to this division," he said.
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Parties shun show-off tactics, prefer low-profile campaign
Patiala, August 11 Non-existent poll din signifies a marked change in the campaign style of the political parties. Gone are the days when political parties used to hold big rallies. The parties have now switched over to personal contact programmes and door-to-door campaigns in a well organised and structured manner. Congress candidate Preneet Kaur said: “I love to interact with voters and prefer to speak at small gatherings organised by friends, supporters and party workers. I also go for door-to-door campaigning. I first listen to the voters and then try to address their concerns.” The Congress has divided the city into 30 zones and deputed a team headed by senior leaders for each zone. “Local leaders lead the teams to various localities for personal contact programmes. Each team is accompanied by a senior leader, preferably an MLA and a former MLA,” says Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa, in charge of the Congress campaign office. The SAD has divided the constituency into four zones under senior leaders Prem Singh Chandumajra, Surjit Singh Rakhra, NK Sharma and Hira Singh Gabria. The zone leaders have further formed committees at booth level to handle the campaign. The SAD has given the responsibility to Education Minister Daljit Singh Cheema to coordinate the campaign in each zone. SAD candidate Bhagwan Dass Juneja also moves from one street to other and from one locality to other for door-to-door campaigning. The Aam Aadmi Party, which has mastered the art of personalised campaigning, has adopted the same style which it followed in the last Delhi Assembly election. While leaders establish contact with people, its workers keep standing in small groups at vantage points such as roundabouts with party flags and symbols in their hands. This style of campaigning is being steadily adopted by other parties as well. AAP candidate Harjit Singh Adaltiwala does his campaigning in a simple manner. He makes it a point to have a word with maximum number of people in a day. Meanwhile, the changed campaign style has provided a lot of relief to people who had to face inconvenience in view of big rallies.
Strategical shift
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Poll heat: War of words
intensifies
Patiala, August 11 Local issues concerning the city and its people have now taken the centrestage. The Congress has started targeting the ruling SAD-BJP alliance over incomplete projects and poor sanitation in the city. It is trying to cash in on the anti-incumbency factor against the ruling alliance. The SAD-BJP on the other hand is harping on “unprecedented development” in the state and its candidate Bhagwan Dass Juneja’s philanthropic activities. Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Capt Amarinder Singh today urged the state police not to harass chemists on the pretext of an anti-drug drive. A delegation of the Punjab Chemists’ Association led by its president Surjit Mehta met Capt Amarinder and announced support for Congress candidate Preneet Kaur. Capt Amarinder assured them that he would raise the matter with the authorities concerned. During campaigning, Congress leaders reminded the people of the contribution of the royal family to the development of the city. “The city was founded by one of their (royal family’s) ancestors Baba Ala Singh,” said former Finance Minister Surinder Singla and Dhuri MLA Arvind Khanna. On the other hand, SAD-BJP candidate Juneja alleged Patiala residents were fed up of royal politics and their style of functioning. “I have been working for the local residents effortlessly for long,” Juneja said while addressing a rally here. “The Congress has given nothing to the city. All ongoing development works will be completed within one year,” he said.
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Staff shortage hits right to service
Chandigarh, August 11 For better interaction with the people and to handle the huge rush of service seekers, the Right to Service Commission has now decided to hold Lok Adalats in each district. The aim would also be the speedy clearance of pending cases and applications. The adalats would be held department-wise. The commission has also stepped up efforts for fast entry of applications in a centralised computer server at suvidha centres so that officials could monitor the progress in imparting services at the district and block level. Officials said though pendency of cases was not that high, there were some cases that took considerable time. Figures showed that about 9 per cent of the cases filed in June were pending. Another hiccup is that computerisation of applications and the action taken on those was yet to be completed. The Right to Service Commission, as such, often gets incorrect data from various centres. A project report prepared by the commission reveals that Rs 163 crore was required to sort out the teething troubles relating to the recording of data. However, the biggest problem is of inadequate staff. A study showed that an employee only had a few minutes to hear to an applicant even though the job entailed recording the latter’s case, attaching or scanning related documents and feeding details in a computer. Another study on the performance of services at the District Transport Office in Ludhiana revealed that a person handling the counter, on an average, attended to over 1,200 applicants daily from April 2013 to March 2014. This meant that the employee got roughly about three minutes to handle an applicant, which was quite less. The data shows that there are 18 employees less against the sanctioned strength for handling the huge rush. This is despite the fact that the officials have been claiming that even the sanctioned staff strength was inadequate when compared to the heavy work load.
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Now, NCC nagars based on Gujarat model
Chandigarh, August 11 A decision to this effect was taken by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal while presiding over a high-level meeting at Punjab Bhawan today. Additional Director-General,
NCC, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh, Maj General GS
Chima, Brig SPS Aulakh and senior officers of the state government participated in the
meeting. Badal said the state would extend full support and cooperation to the NCC Directorate for intensifying its activities by involving more and more youths of the state. He said the state government had already set up NCC academies at Roopnagar and
Malout, which were running successfully. The Chief Minister also approved the proposal of the NCC Directorate for upgrading NCC companies (minor units) to the NCC battalion level. He asked the authorities to immediately initiate the process in that regard. The CM also approved the establishment of
"NCC nagars" based on the Gujarat model at Amritsar, Patiala and Ludhiana in a phased manner after the completion of the same at Jalandhar. Reviewing the ongoing works under the NCC programme in the state, Badal asked Maj Gen GS Chima to give their proposals to the Higher Education Department so that the government could release amount for the completion of various works at NCC
academies. Badal asked the Finance Department to work out modalities for making budgetary provisions as per the requirements of the NCC Directorate. Additional Director-General,
NCC, Maj Gen GS Chima assured Badal that the directorate would strive to inculcate soldier-like spirit in the youth.
The decisions
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Motorists cough up
Rs 2,500 crore as toll tax
Bathinda, August 11 Also known as turnpikes, setting up toll barriers is becoming the government’s favourite way to raise money for roads. The Khanna-Jalandhar national highway, popularly known as the Ladhowal toll plaza, collected Rs 699 crore till June 30, 2014, reveals a Road Transport Ministry report. The Sambhu toll plaza on the Ambala-Khanna road collected Rs 366 crore in past seven years. The report reveals that there are 288 toll plazas over roads and bridges across the country, the maximum being in Uttar Pradesh (51), followed by Tamil Nadu (48), Andhra Pradesh (43) Gujarat (34), Rajasthan (31) and Haryana (10) and Punjab (9). The contractor of the toll plaza on the Amritsar-Wagah road earned Rs 9.92 crore. The tax collected at the Jalandhar-Pathankot toll plaza in seven years was Rs 11.45 crore, the Jalandhar-Amritsar toll plaza Rs 113 crore, the Zirakpur-Parwanoo-Chandi Mandir toll plaza Rs 66.68 crore and the Ambala-Zirakpur toll plaza Rs 139.59 crore. Like inflation, toll tax increases every year. AK Singla, chief engineer, Public Works Development, Punjab, said the toll tax was raised on the basis of wholesale price index. He said the PWD had installed toll plazas on 12 roads in Punjab. “The toll tax rate is determined on the basis of the road length,” said Singla. On the Bathinda-Zirakpur road, motorists would have to pay at four toll plazas, he said.
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Akali sarpanch accuses own party leader of stalling funds
Muktsar, August 11 “We have raised this issue with the Deputy Chief Minister too, but no action has been taken till now. The development works of the village have been stalled due to the interference in the working of the district administration by that leader,” said Surjit Singh. He added, “We even sought a reply on the undue delay in handing over of the cheques by filing two applications under the RTI Act to the district development and panchayat office. However, two months have elapsed, but no reply has come.” The sarpanch further informed that the Chief Minister had sanctioned funds amounting to Rs 12 lakh, which included Rs 5 lakh for a gym, Rs 4.5 lakh for an anganwari centre and Rs 1.10 lakh for a dharamsala, in January. Besides, some other works such as the construction of streets in the village are also pending because of this, he said. “We have time and again raised this issue with the leader, who has stopped the cheques, but he tells us to approach him through an SGPC member, whom we don’t like,” claimed Surjit. When contacted, Naval Ram, District Development and Panchayat Officer, Muktsar, said, “I am not aware of the current status of this case, but
will soon check it. I will also investigate whether the reply to the RTI
query has been given or not to the applicant.” ‘Village projects getting affected’
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Jalandhar effluent treatment plant working sans PPCB nod
Jalandhar, August 11 Inquiries made by The Tribune found out that the sanction by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) to operate the plant, having 5 million litres of discharge per day, had expired on July 26 last year. Nazar Singh, Senior Environmental Engineer at PPCB, confirmed the development: “The permission to operate the plant was valid only till July 26 last year.” Despite repeated attempts, the society’s chief executive officer and secretary, Steven Kler and Ajay Sharma, were not available for comment. Incidentally, Kler is the brother of Avinash Chander, Chief Parliamentary Secretary and an MLA of the ruling Akali Dal from Phillaur. If senior authorities in the PPCB were to be believed, operating a plant without approval was a major violation that could land the society in trouble. They said it was an offence under the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. They even said that the society was allegedly a habitual violator of pollution norms.
PPCB files complaint
Perturbed with non-compliance with the regulations, the PPCB has filed a criminal case against the society, its board of directors, secretary and two others in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jalandhar. The matter will come up for hearing on August 12.
Kala Sanghian continues to be Jalandhar’s bane
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Revenue officers, lawyers at loggerheads in Abohar
Abohar, August 11 The Punjab Revenue Officers’ Association strongly condemned the attack, its president Kanwer Narinder Singh said. The body expressed concern over the “inaction”
by the police as no arrest has been made in this case. Kanwer Narinder further said that a
meeting to decide the course of action would be convened this week. A call for an indefinite pen-down strike might be the first phase of the agitation, he indicated. The Punjab Revenue Officers’ Association has fixed a meeting on August 20 with the state chief secretary to discuss their other pending demands. He said if the police failed to act before that, the incident would also
be discussed in the meeting, he said. The Bar Association here has told the authorities that their agitation would spread across the state if “false” allegation of murder attempt isn’t deleted from the FIR. After observing a strike on August 8, a deputation of the Bar had apprised the sub-divisional magistrate, Rajpal Singh, of
the resentment prevailing amongst lawers over “exaggeration” of the
incident. They claimed that no serious injury was detected during the Naib Tehsildar’s medical examination. The deputation alleged that the employees accompanying the revenue officer had thrashed the lawyer couple. However, the lawyer couple had not lodged any FIR against the Naib
Tehsildar, sources in police station said. The district Senior Superintendent of Police Swapan Sharma has assured Revenue Department officials that
action would soon be taken against those found guilty in the case.
About the attack
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Agro plant takes up pear processing
Hoshiarpur, August 11 He said the state grew pear on about 10,000 acres of land and farmers had to sell “C&D grade” (small-sized) pear at very low prices. Therefore, the unit had started a market intervention by processing 500 MT of small-sized pear from farmers. He said
the juice plant would market pear juice and paste directly. Pannu said that looking at the health and medicinal value of pear juice,
the market had started responding positively. Punjab Agro Juices Limited plants which were lying closed for many years started functioning this year. Currently, the company has plants at Hoshiarpur and Abohar. The Hoshiarpur plant has already processed 10,000 MT of tomatoes, besides processing of kinnow, watermelon and litchi.
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Farmers protest new law to protect property
Sangrur, August 11 Addressing the protesters, state president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) Joginder Singh Ugrahan said, "We are staunch votaries of the safety of public and private property. This is the reason why farmers never damaged any public or private property during various protests organised by them. But the enactment of the Prevention of Damage to Public and Private Property Act is a method to deprive them of their right to protest." Ugrahan asked the government to withdraw the Act without any delay, or the stir would be intensified.
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Ebola threat: Govt to scan travellers
Amritsar, August 11 The department will set up a facility to scan passengers at Sri Guru Ramji Das International Airport and the Attari-Wagah check post. A team of experts would look for symptoms of ebola infection in travellers with a recent travel history to any West African country. The travellers from Pakistan through train and bus would also be scanned. The department today sprung into action after receiving instructions from the Union Ministry of Health. Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat called a meeting of local officials of the Airport Authority of India, health Department, Government Medical College, and the border authorities. Civil Surgeon Rajiv Bhalla said instructions had been issued for setting up isolated wards at Government Medical College and district hospital.
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Tension in Pak delays Amritsar bus by two days
Amritsar, August 11 Talking to mediapersons, bus driver Amrik Singh said they were about to start their journey from Nankana Sahib when the security forces asked them not to proceed as the situation was not okay in Lahore and they apprehended violence. As a result, they had to stay back in Nankana Sahib before starting their journey today. He said there were four passengers in the bus, all of whom were associated with Baba Jagtar Singh who is undertaking a ‘kar sewa’ at Nankana Sahib. The bus service operates on four days in a week —Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Indian and Pakistan buses used to ply on the route on alternative days. Though the bus service continues ever since its launch amid much fanfare on March 24, 2006, with an aim to connect the two holy places, it is not a preferred choice of the pilgrims from either side of the border. It is so primarily due to two reasons: lack of a visa centre in Amritsar and requirement of security clearance from the police for the passengers.
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Namdhari row: Protesters threaten to step up stir
Ludhiana, August 11 The committee leaders are demanding unrestricted entry to Bhaini Sahib, the sect headquarters, and its shrines. The incumbent group at Bhaini Sahib has so far not responded to the allegations of the protesting group. Suba Darshan Singh, president, action committee, said: “Neither the administration nor priests at Bhaini Sahib have so far made any effort to unite the sect. We will wait for another five days after which we will intensify our stir." Today, seven devotees fasting for the past five days have been replaced by fresh volunteers. They are Preetam Singh and Jageer Singh
(Gurdaspur), Harbej Singh (Madhya Pradesh), Shinder Singh (Sangrur), Jaspal Singh
(Kalanaur), Daljit Kaur (Amritsar) and Rajwant Kaur (Mundian Khurd).
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Govt to do away with multiple mutation fee
Chandigarh, August 11 The decision has reportedly been conveyed by the Revenue Department to the state-level Bankers' Committee. Sources told The Tribune that the announcement in this regard would be made on Wednesday. As of now, banks secure the loan amount by mortgaging properties. The Revenue Department charges fee for creating mutation in favour of the bank. The fee is charged on the loan amount and can be as high as 1 per cent. There is no problem in case the change in mutation is to be made for one property, but if more than one property is mortgaged, the department charges separate mutation fee for each property mortgaged. Sources said if the properties mortgaged were in different districts, the borrower was now allowed to pay the fee in just one district.
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Tota Singh pulls up dist officials
Moga, August 11 Along with Additional Deputy Commissioner Arvind Pal Singh Sandhu, he visited the offices at 9.05 am and found 30 employees with the Market Committee and 12 with the Mandi Board office absent. An official spokesman claimed that these employees were neither on leave nor on any tour. Pulling up Mandi Board and Market Committee officials, he said that the absence of their subordinate staff reflected their lack of administrative control. Although, the minister did not take any action against the absentee employees, he issued a strict warning to all officials to reach their offices in time.
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Badal approves Jang-e-Azadi memorial design
Chandigarh, August 11 The decision was taken at a meeting of the Jang-e-Azadi Memorial Foundation held at Punjab Bhawan here today under Badal’s chairmanship. Badal said, “It is a unique initiative of the state government to construct this memorial at a cost of Rs 200 crore. It will showcase the rich legacy and enormous contribution of the Punjabis in the Indian freedom struggle.” The CM also approved the layout of the memorial, designed by the world’s leading architect, Raj Rewal, who has several architectural marvels to his credit.
— TNS
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Begowal land
row
Chandigarh, August 11 The order by Justice K. Kannan came on an application by Begowal resident George Subh against the Punjab Government and other respondents. Acting on the petition accusing SGPC's former chief Bibi Jagir Kaur of encroaching upon prime land, the High Court on the previous date of hearing had issued notice of motion to the state and the Lokpal. Notice for October 28 was also issued to Bibi Jagir Kaur, Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner and other respondents. Subh was seeking a CBI probe into the alleged multi-crore land scam Claiming that the land's market value was more than Rs 100 crore, the petitioner had alleged it belonged to the Begowal Nagar Panchayat. But some part of the land was being utilised to run Sant Prem Singh Khalsa High School. It was occupying approximately two to three acres, but the remaining 18 to 20 acres was being used by Bibi for agricultural purposes and for personal gains, he alleged. He further added that "the private respondents have raised a 1-km-long 6-ft-high boundary wall. The Nagar Panchayat, Begowal, had issued a notice on August 8, 2009, to stop the construction, but to no avail". The petitioner claimed no action was taken because of the influence wielded by the respondents and also due to their proximity with the Chief Minister. They later approached then local MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira. Information received by Khaira under the Right to Information Act regarding the land showed there was no record of any lease for the land. "There was also no record to show as to how and on whose orders the name of the president of Sant Prem Singh Khalsa high School entered in the revenue records of the nagar panchayat".
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High Court issues notice to 327 clerks
Chandigarh, August 11 As the matter came up for hearing this morning, Justice Mahesh Grover issued notices for September 11 to the State of Punjab, the Punjab State Subordinate Services Selection Board and the general category candidates recruited as clerks in two civil writ petitions filed by Parminder Singh and other candidates. The petitioners prayed for quashing the complete list of 1,192 candidates on the ground that selection had been made in gross violation of the legal proposition declared by Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in the Indira Sawhney case. They contended that initially the list had to be prepared purely on merit of candidates, irrespective of the category to which they belonged. Thereafter, category-wise lists was required to be prepared. The petitioners alleged that the respondents had straightaway prepared category-wise lists. As a result, at least 327 candidates on the general category list, who were granted marks between 54.25 or below, had been selected while the petitioners and many other candidates on the backward category list with more marks than 54.25 marks had been left out.
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Commission helps NRI get relief
Chandigarh, August 11 Maan who, had an NRO account with the HDFC bank's Sector 17-C branch, had deposited the sale proceeds of his land in the bank as fixed deposits. He also had an account in the Tarn Taran branch of the bank. Officials of the Chandigarh and Taran Taran branches of the HDFC bank allegedly converted the fixed deposits into five insurance policies in a 'fraudulent' manner. While Maan claimed that he was never keen on an insurance policy, the bank's insurance section threatened to forefeit the premium amount paid for the insurance policies. The commission intervened after it was approached by the complainant and a notice was issued to the bank and HDFC Standard Life Insurance. "The complainant and the HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd and the HDFC Bank have reached a compromise. The company is willing to refund the insurance premium of Rs 90,00,000 to the complainant," said commission chairperson Justice Arvind Kumar (retd).
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SHO suspended for ‘thrashing’ youths
Amritsar, August 11 The SHO, claiming that he was innocent, said they had only stopped two groups of youths from creating a ruckus after repeated requests to them went unheeded. Sources said 35-40 youths created a ruckus outside a bar in the posh Ranjit Avenue on the intervening night of August 9/10. The Civil Lines police received a message from the control room at 2 am and it swung into action. Several youths were taken to the Civil Lines police station where they were allegedly thrashed. One of them, Gaurav, was later identified as the son of an ADCP-rank officer. The SHO claimed that he had only performed his duty and prevented a situation from getting out of hand.”
— TNS
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Patiala, August 11
Senior AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann led a party road show in Patiala today.
Lashing out at the Congress and the SAD-BJP combine, the AAP leaders said these parties had become deaf and dumb and could not hear the cries of the common man. "Protests by employees and unemployed youth have no effect on these parties. They understand the language of the EVMs only and the people should now talk to them in the same language.
For the maintenance of roads, motorists in Punjab have had to cough up Rs 2,500 crore in the past seven years. They have paid Rs 1,495 crore as toll tax for using nine national highways and nine state highways in the state. Motorists have paid about Rs 1,000 crore during this period, reveals information obtained from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Also known as turnpikes, setting up toll barriers is becoming the government’s favourite way to raise money for roads. The Khanna-Jalandhar national highway, popularly known as the Ladhowal toll plaza, collected Rs 699 crore till June 30, 2014, reveals a Road Transport Ministry report.
Violating the laid norms, the Punjab Effluent Treatment Society has been operating a common effluent treatment plant at the Leather Complex here without having requisite permission from the pollution authorities.
Inquiries made by The Tribune found out that the sanction by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) to operate the plant, having 5 million litres of discharge per day, had expired on July 26 last year.
The Punjab Agro Juices Limited plant in Hoshiarpur is in the process of crushing pear to make pear juice and pear paste. KS
Pannu, Chairman, Punjab Agro Juices Limited, who inspected the plant on August 9, said the unit was processing 500 MT of pear.
He said the state grew pear on about 10,000 acres of land and farmers had to sell “C&D grade” (small-sized) pear at very low prices. Therefore, the unit had started a market intervention by processing 500 MT of small-sized pear from farmers.
The Pakistan Government's move to restrict movement in Punjab province to stop Pakistan Awami Tehreek supporters from heading to Lahore for a protest on Sunday led to a delay of couple of days in the
Amritsar-Lahore-Nankana Sahib bus service.
The bus, which was supposed to reach here on Saturday, arrived in the city this afternoon.
On August 7, Naib Tehsildar Neeraj Sharma (in pic) along with patwari Jagsir Singh, nambardar Mohan Lal and driver Kuldeep were on an official visit in Abohar to settle a dispute over ‘girdawari’.
A farmer, Shaminder Singh, had submitted an application to get the dispute solved. The rival faction had reportedly engaged advocate Jagnandan Singh Brar. During
the course of hearing, Sharma was allegedly attacked by Jagnandan and his lawyer wife Jasbir Kaur.