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Rural job scheme workers not paid for
months
Inquiry report finds Abohar MC staff guilty of bungling
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four-day cii agro tech underway in chandigarh
Akal Takht nominees wrest control of R’sthan gurdwara
Akalis back YAD leader booked for dowry death
Defunct posts a drain on state exchequer: Phoolka
Mismatch of weapons in Faridkot gunhouse theft triggers controversy
Family planning mainly women’s job in
state
9,017 applications for regularising property
Online registration for Attari Retreat soon
Govt signs MoU to boost health sector
Former panches ‘banish’ couple
Summon Sidhu, AISSF to Jathedar
Bagha gets Guru Ravidass Award
Basmati producers holding back stock
tarn taran case
Attempt to smuggle black scorpions
Refund security deposit, say rice millers
‘Rin Utaar Yatra’ flagged off from Anandpur Sahib
Drug rehab centre near Ropar school draws flak
No scholarship money, colleges to approach Centre
Women SAD wing to be set up by Dec 7
39% water samples from govt schools in Sangrur fail safety test
Headworks on Gang canal in poor state
Members of market panels in Sangrur dist nominated
Heroin worth Rs 25 cr seized
Release BPL pension on time: HC
Transporter held 26 years after killing truck cleaner
Love affair claims two lives, 8 booked
‘Barnala gang’ busted, 1 held
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Rural job scheme workers not paid for
months
Bathinda, November 23 Due to the delay, the Union Ministry of Rural Development has held back the release of funds. Apart from various projects, thousands of workers have been at the receiving end. They have been awaiting their salaries for the past six to 10 months. Ram Raj Meena, Under Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development (New Delhi), confirmed on phone that certain funds were held up due to the delay in receipt of audited accounts. Though a Principal Secretary in the Punjab Government claimed the fund flow had started again, MGNREGA workers in various parts of the state said their salaries were yet to be cleared. Under the scheme, workers are entitled for pay within 15 days of any work being done (Section 3 of the Act). Failing this, they are entitled for compensation as per the provisions of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 (NREGA, Schedule II, Rule 30). Jagroop Singh, adviser, MGNREGA Rozgar Prapat Mazdoor Union (Punjab), said, “We will hold a state-level rally in Ludhiana on November 28 to demand the release of our salaries.” The Tribune gathered figures on the pending payments from various parts of the state. Amritsar An official at the District Programme Coordinator office here said payments worth Rs 1.02 crore were pending. He said these included labour wages and material costs. Of the total amount, Rs 34 lakh was pending against material costs. Though there was no pending payment in Attari block of the district, Majitha block had the maximum liability of Rs 17.43 lakh. Ludhiana The district has 84,127 job card-holders. Sources said the beneficiaries had not been paid since January. They said Rs 2.64 crore was pending against salaries for the financial year 2013-14, which was over and above this year’s Rs 9.85 crore. Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal said, “The funds are yet to be released by the Union Government. Though some workers in a few blocks of the district were paid for January and February, a majority of others are still awaiting their salaries.” Faridkot The district has a pending payment of Rs 4.76 crore against 1,58,303 work-days so far this fiscal. “A person is paid Rs 200 a day and the Punjab Government’s contribution is 10 per cent… The poor labourers have been waiting for their dues for the past several months,” a senior officer in the district administration said. Muktsar There are nearly 63,000 MGNREGA job card-holders in the district and all of them are without wages for the last seven months. The workers have lodged protests a number of times outside the District Administrative Complex, but to no avail. Ramvir Singh, Additional Deputy Commissioner, said, “An amount of around Rs 4.5 crore is yet to be paid to the workers in the district.” Fazilka The district administration has a pending bill of Rs 6.65 crore towards the salary of labourers under the scheme. Sources said the administration had not received payment from the Centre after the General Election in May. The administration last received a payment of Rs 7.23 crore in April. “The liability has mounted to Rs 6.65 crore from May to date,” said a district administration official. Sangrur has wages amounting to Rs 3.08 crore pending for the last over four months. The figure for the same period stands at Rs 4.91 crore in Barnala. The story is no different in other parts of the state as the wait for wages is proving to be an endless one for the labourers as well as others associated with the rural job guarantee scheme. (Inputs by Manmeet Gill, Anupam Baghria, Balwant Garg, Sushil Goyal, Archit Watts, Praful Chander Nagpal and Anirudh Gupta)
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Inquiry report finds Abohar MC staff guilty of bungling
Abohar, November 23 Two reports, based on an on-the-spot inquiry, were submitted by the Deputy Director to the Examiner, Local Funds (accounts), on November 19. The state government had received complaints on money-laundering to the tune of crores of rupees by senior MC officials and their subordinate staff. Some citizens had produced receipts claiming they had deposited development charges but no entry was made in the municipal records. Subsequently, Jaspal Singh, a clerk, was suspended on September 24, 2014, for submitting fake receipts against recovery of development charges from local residents. No effort was made to procure original copies from the erring staff. Neither did the municipal council lodge an FIR against the staff and the printing press responsible for laundering money against fake receipts. The inquiry report says the MC issued a receipt G-8 (serial number 10/230) on March 19, 2013, against cheques worth Rs 26,00,000 received from a coloniser, without specifying the purpose. However, it was mentioned in the cash book that the money had been paid as water charges. After the cheques bounced, the MC cancelled the receipt and refunded the cheques, but took no action against the coloniser, despite directions by the Assistant Controller (local audit). The report has censured the MC for realising fee for 1,99,53,20 square feet of area at the domestic rate whereas 99,550 squre feet area in the coloniser’s plan is shown as commercial area. The MC did not initiate proceedings to recover Rs 63,98,840 more. Citing another case, the report says employee Krishna Devi died on November 4, 2010. Her kin were shown to have been paid a monthly medical allowance of Rs 500 for the next 14 months. However, the deceased’s family did not receive the money. In this case too the MC did not act against the erring staff. The MC paid Rs 2.5 lakh on November 17, 2006, and Rs 6 lakh on January 3, 2007, to Azad Cooperative Labour and Construction Society for renovation of Nehru Park without the pre-audit branch’s approval. Neither was the work done, nor the money recovered. A sum of Rs 2.1 lakh was paid to Ved Parkash and Rs 50,000 to Gore Lal in 2013 without approval from the officials concerned. The report has put the functioning of the local audit staff under the scanner for releasing Rs 26,235 to another staff member, Raj Kumar Munjal, in connection with a bank loan. Irregularities galore
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four-day cii agro tech underway in chandigarh
Chandigarh, November 23 Dr MK Paliwal, Assistant Director, Regional Centre for Organic Farming, and Principal Scientist, Indian Agriculture Research Institute, said: "It is important that the best practices of organic farming are taken to the farmers. They need to be informed about various aspects that may hurt their productivity in the long run." The farmers, however, felt that huge investments were required in organic farming for which the government must extend financial aid to them. Manjeet Singh, a farmer from Kaithal, said: "We are given lectures on organic farming every now and then. If the government is serious about it, why can't it announce subsidies on the purchase of raw material and equipment." Balour Singh, an official fo the Energy Department, said: "It is important to understand the improvement that a solar energy product brings in. For instance, a solar dryer is way better than traditional method of drying crops in the open. It consumes less time and cost and ensures better yield. A solar dryer also allows farmers to store products for longer periods. The government provides 30 per cent subsidy on all solar products, again a plus point for the interested farmers." Avtar Singh, a farmer from Amritsar, said: "I am looking forward to investing in solar energy. I understand that there is a huge one-time investment, but I also understand that the benefits would be huge and long term. I would urge all my farmer brothers to give a shot to solar energy as it would prove a boon for farming operations." Products catching fancy of farmers
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Akal Takht nominees wrest control of R’sthan gurdwara
Abohar, November 23 The police had raised barricades after receiving information that members of the new committee, led by Jathedar Balwant Singh Nandgarh, and “panj pyaras” from Anandpur Sahib were reaching the gurdwara. Witnesses said trustees, some of whom had been excommunicated by Akal Takht last year, thought policemen won’t allow the cavalcade to proceed but they fled when about 200 Sikhs, including women, removed the barricades and rushed towards the gurdwara complex. Notably, some Sikh leaders of the region had complained to Akal Takht that the existence of the decades-old trust was against Sikh “maryada”. The control should be vested with the new managing committee, they had demanded. Akal Takht had last year summoned members of the trust but only a few of them had appeared. They were told to hold elections but the direction was not complied with. Some of the trustees, including a close relative of a BJP legislator, were excommunicated. He, however, challenged the decision at a conference asserting that he had been sacked without hearing him out. The trust had maintained that the body had been affiliated with the Rajasthan Dev Sansthan and the state government had released grants for renovation of the village in which the gurdwara existed. The founders of a separate Rajasthan Sikh District Collector RS Jakhar and Superintendent of Police Hari Prasad Sharma arrived at Muklawa village late evening and reviewed the situation. The administration has decided to keep police force deployed to prevent any untoward incident. Raisinghnagar Assistant Superintendent of Police and Deputy Superintendent of Police will monitor the situation. Members of the committee said they had taken over the charge for six months. Members of the ad hoc Akal Takht committee
Hardyal Singh, Ajit Singh Lakhian, Gursagar Singh, Amarjit Singh, Karaj Singh, Balwant Singh, Lakhwinder Singh Kesarisinghpur, Shiv Charan Singh Buglanwali, Nirvail Singh Jaitsar, Bohad Singh Kalian, Jalandhar Singh Anoopgarh and Kamaljit Singh of Gajsinghpur are among the members of the ad hoc committee that has been formed by Akal
Takht. Cops overpowered
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Akalis back YAD leader booked for dowry death
Goniana, November 23 Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka, Bathinda (Rural) MLA Darshan Kotfatta and Bathinda MLA Sarup Chand Singla were among those who attended a bhog ceremony at Goniana today to pay homage to the deceased. The function was organised by relatives and supporters of the accused. The bodies of Amanpreet Kaur and her two daughters Guneet (4) and Mahreen (13 months) were recovered from a canal on November 15. A lecturer, Amanpreet was married to Balkar Singh’s nephew Gurlal Singh. Amanpreet’s family, suspecting the hand of the YAD leader in the deaths, filed an FIR against him and his family members. They pointed out that neither the YAD leader nor any of his family members were present during the postmortem. Yet they had spent more than Rs 5 lakh on advertisements in various newspapers for the bhog ceremony of the deceased. Amanpreet’s family held a separate bhog ceremony at Talwandi Sabo today where Aam Aadmi, Congress and BJP leaders, demanded the immediate arrest of the accused. Deceased Amanpreet’s brother Gursharan accused the YAD leader of resorting to pressure tactics by sending a DSP at their residence for a “compromise.” Baljinder Kaur of the AAP accused the police of trying to shield the accused. Meanwhile, the initial postmortem report has revealed that Amanpreet had three injuries on her head and the face. The police have booked Balkar Singh, his nephew Gurlal, brothers Omkar Singh and Ekattar Singh (Gurlal’s father), Balkar Singh’s wife Rupinder Kaur and Omkar’s wife. Various parties and unions today gave an ultimatum to the police to arrest the accused by November 27 or face an agitation. About the case
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Defunct posts a drain on state exchequer: Phoolka
Ludhiana, November 23 Addressing a press conference here, he said there were 20 chief parliamentary secretaries in the state and a huge amount was being spent on them. "The chief parliamentary secretaries have no role to play in the government functioning. But despite this, public money is being wasted on them," he alleged. Phoolka said besides, a number of other extra constitutional posts with ministerial status had been created. "Education should be the top priority of any government. But unfortunately for the SAD-BJP government pleasing its own men and giving them facilities and perks is more important than the future of the state's youth," he alleged.
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Mismatch of weapons in Faridkot gunhouse theft triggers controversy
Faridkot, November 23 In a complaint to the police, the gunhouse owner, Ekjot Singh, had alleged that there was theft of at least 34 firearms, including 23 pistols, seven rifles of .315 bore, four rifles of .12 bore and 1,243 cartridges of various bores. After registering a case against unidentified persons, the police recently claimed to have cracked it. Three persons were arrested from Amritsar and Faridkot. However, there is a mismatch between the weapons stolen and those recovered from the trio. The police have recovered 13 rifles of .12 bore, four rifles of .315 bore, two revolvers and one pistol from the accused. But in the FIR, lodged with the police on October 6, the gunhouse owner had claimed that there was theft of only four rifles of .12 bore against the recovery of 13 such rifles, as claimed by the police. While the gunhouse dealer alleged there was theft of 23 revolvers and pistols, the police have recovered only three such small-sized weapons. As most of the weapons shown as recovered by the police do not figure in the list of stolen weapons, the police are re-investigating the case. “We are also suspicious about the figure of the stolen weapons as reported by the gunhouse owner,” said Paramraj Singh Umranangal, Inspector General of Police, Bathinda range. Umranangal said when the FIR was registered, the complainant alleged that 34 weapons were stolen, a count that he brought down to 20 post-interrogation. “The police are yet to verify the actual figure of the stolen arms from the shop as the entire record was gutted. The shop was set afire after the robbery,” he said. Ekjot declined to share the details of the weapons given in the complaint to the police. The police are still investigating the case, he said.
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Family planning mainly women’s job in
state
Chandigarh, November 23 The count of vasectomy cases (male sterilisation surgery) has been just 6.3 per cent when compared to tubectomy (female operation) in 2013-14. Though male sterilisation is a far simpler process, 14 times more females went in for surgery for birth control in the state. The male sterilisation ratio has been constantly declining since 2010-11 when it was recorded at 18 per cent of the total women who went in for the surgery. The low number of males coming forward for the procedure has come under discussion following the death of more than 10 women at a sterilisation camp in Chhattisgarh recently. In 2013-14, 10 times more females had gone in for tubectomy than males. In 2011-12, the figure was a little better with 8,187 males (12 per cent) opting for the surgery as compared to 61,925 women. Doctors attributed the low male graph to a myth that the surgery could reduce the vitality of a man. They said the lack of male health workers in the state to encourage men could be the other reason. Dr Kiranjit Singh, Director, Health, said about 1,650 posts of male health worker were vacant in Punjab. “The women health workers, commonly known as Asha activists, have been doing a wonderful job. They are trying to motivate men too. Our figures are still better than other states,” he said. Puducherry is the worst when it comes to male-female sterilisation ratio. The national average for 2011-12 is six males per 100 women. Among the bigger states, Tamil Nadu has 165 women per male going in for the operation. Several states even give more cash incentives to men (Rs 1,100) than women (Rs 600), but the strategy has not helped much.
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9,017 applications for regularising property
Chandigarh, November 23 He said Ludhiana district was leading with 2,871 applications, followed by Jalandhar (1,932) and Amritsar (1,031). He said under this policy, urban local bodies and development authorities namely GMADA, ADA, PDA, BDA, GLADA and JDA had collected revenue amounting to Rs 17,29,35,785 that would be utilised for developing infrastructure for these colonies. He said the state government had deputed nodal officers for each illegal colony where awareness camps were being organised under the supervision of an SDM and tehsildars so that maximum people could avail benefits of this special opportunity. The spokesman said the government had also warned to initiate legal proceedings against errant plot holders, colonisers, promoters and developers under the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulations Act, besides disconnecting water and electricity connection if they failed to get regularised their colonies and plots.
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Online registration for Attari Retreat soon
Amritsar, November 23 Talking to mediapersons in Attari, BSF (Punjab Frontier) Inspector General Ashok Kumar said, “Firstly, we will soon be putting up LED screens outside the spectators’ gallery at Attari so that those who could not get inside are not deprived of the opportunity to witness the event. We are also making sincere efforts to have an online registration system in place in which 5,000 seats would be available everyday while another 1,000 will be kept aside for the on-the-spot registration.” Kumar said they would not charge anything for the online registration, and that the entry would continue to remain free of cost. He said they would also work out a mechanism so that the online registration facility was not misused by anyone. He said these measures would help them cope up with the heavy rush for the ceremony, particularly during weekends when a large number of people return dejected on not getting space in the gallery. He said they would also be installing CCTV cameras at the Attari border. Talking about the expansion of the spectators’ gallery, he said there were some issues related to tendering process and design with the CPWD, but all that had been sorted out now and the work on it was expected to start soon. He also clarified that the project cost had not escalated due to the delay and it stood at Rs 24 crore. He said it would take around a couple of years for the new gallery with more capacity to come up. About the ‘Day Tourism’ plan, he said it had been deferred due to the Wagah blast and they had not yet decided about the fresh date for its launch. He said right now they were focusing on dealing with the huge crowd at the Retreat ceremony. Kumar said the BSF was all geared up for its golden jubilee celebrations in the first week of December. He said a half marathon would be organised from Amritsar to Attari border in which they were trying to rope in schools as well as people from different walks of life. Besides, there would be a horse safari at the border by the BSF’s mounted force. Free service
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Govt signs MoU to boost health sector
New Delhi, November 23 The aim would also be to enable qualified youths to gain employment in the state. The MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal here. The signatories from the government side were Director, Technical Education for Punjab Skill Development Mission, GS Gumman, and the Secretary, Medical Education and Research, Hussan Lal.
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Former panches ‘banish’ couple
Jalandhar, November 23 The police and the village panchayat learnt about the matter after the girl filed a police complaint against the “panchayat decision.” Chandiram, the village sarpanch, said that Nitish Paswan, 23, and Anjali Rajak,19, belonged to different castes. They lived near the Railway Colony. They got married in an Amritsar court in August this year, despite opposition by Anjali’s parents. “Anjali’s family connived with some former panches to throw the couple and the boy’s family out of the village,” he said. He claimed that he learnt about the matter recently only when Anjali filed a police complaint. Guddi, a sitting panch, who was among those to have signed the “verdict”, said she was an illiterate. “I was cooking when Anjali’s brother came with a piece of paper. He said the village sarpanch wanted my signatures on it. I signed in haste without consulting the sarpanch,” she explained. The police today got Nitish’s mother and brother back to the village and helped them get back the possession of their house. But they seemed reluctant to take action against the former panchayat members. “The couple is living in nearby Bacchowali village and the boy’s family is back at home. There is no need to open the case again,” said police official Harinder Singh. No FIR has been registered against the former panches who were called to the police station today.
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Summon Sidhu, AISSF to Jathedar
Amritsar, November 23 Sidhu refrained from commenting on the issue, insisting: “I have not said anything objectionable against anybody.” The AISSF has demanded that Sidhu be instantly summoned by Akal Takht for blasphemy. It has submitted an audio clip of his speech to the Jathedar. The Jathedar said the issue would be deliberated upon during the next meeting of the Sikh clergy. In a letter to Giani Gurbachan Singh, AISSF chief Karnail Singh Peer Mohammad has alleged that Sidhu had deliberately distorted Gurbani at the instance of the RSS, which is trying to spread its wings in the state. Earlier, in an apparent swipe at SAD slogan “Raj nahi, sewa (service, not rule)”, Sidhu had said: “For them (Akalis), it is only 10 per cent sewa (service) and 90 per cent mewa (commercial gain).” This had evoked strong criticism from the Akalis. Sidhu will be leaving for Jammu tomorrow to campaign in Udhampur, Ram Nagar and Chanani areas for the BJP candidates.
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Bagha gets Guru Ravidass Award
Chandigarh, November 23 A commission spokesperson said the jury had selected Bagha for his selfless work for the betterment of the underprivileged and oppressed sections of society. The academy noted that Bagha had done a commendable job in ensuring that post-matric scholarship was awarded to SC students. The spokesperson said Indresh Kumar, senior RSS leaders, Dr Satiya Narayan Jatiya and Dr Sanjay Paswan, both former Union Ministers, and eminent scholars from across the country and Nepal would attend the award function. — TNS
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Basmati producers holding back stock
Fazilka, November 23 Although the market opened at a comparatively higher rate of over Rs 3,000 per quintal in the first week of October, the abundance of crop has led to a stagnation in rates. The basmati prices have hovered around Rs 2,700 - Rs 2,900 per quintal in the past few days. “I have stocked 800 quintals of basmati in the hope that the prices will go up in the coming days”, said a leading producer, Raghav Rishi, of Muthianwali village in Fazilka district. The arrival of basmati has declined in the past 10 days, from 30,000 quintals - 35,000 quintals to 15,000 quintals - 20,000 quintals now, said official sources. Nearly 6 lakh-8 lakh quintals of basmati has been stocked by affluent farmers of Fazilka area in the hope of fetching higher prices later. Sandeep Kumar of Shajrana village said his family had cultivated basmati on 60 acres and had stocked 600 quintals. Some farmers with small land-holdings too are stocking their produce. “The farmers are left to the mercy of private traders. Being bulk purchasers, they determine the price of basmati. “The state government should declare a minimum support price (MSP) for the aromatic variety of basmati as in the case of the parmal variety. This will encourage the farmers to take to basmati which consumes less water,” said Satnam Chand, a farmer of Shajrana village. Arrivals fall
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tarn taran case
Tarn Taran, November 23 Jagjit Singh, who had filmed a policeman hitting a woman with a lathi, was provided a security cover on the directions of Supreme Court. He reportedly left for the market with one of his three security guards on Friday noon and did not return. His wife said from the market he had gone to The Golden Temple in Amritsar.
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Attempt to smuggle black scorpions
Chandigarh, November 23 Shivnarayan, a father of three, chatted with her for hours everyday. He fell in love with her. Little did he realise that he had walked into a honey trap, said police sources. The police suspect that the woman may have trapped more men. Her facebook page shows she has 2,900 friends, most of them Indians. “Shivnarayan told us that the women called him and Arjun to the Retreat ceremony at the Wagah and Hussainiwala. But she did not turn up at either places,” said a police official. Besides the police, the Army and other central intelligence agencies have visited the city to question the Shivnarayan and Arjun. The DSP, Ferozepur, Vibhor Kumar, said the accused had told the police that they left Bhopal in a taxi on October 30 with 35 black scorpions caught from nearby They waited for about 10 days for a signal from Jaya to hand over the four boxes containing the scorpions to her contact in India. In the meantime, they ran out of money. The manager of the guest house where they were staying received a call from Jaya, saying she would foot the bill on behalf of the two men. The manager got suspicious and informed the police about the call he had received from a Pakistani mobile number.
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Refund security deposit, say rice millers
Fatehgarh Sahib, November 23 Nakesh Jindal, press secretary, Punjab Rice Millers Association, said procurement agencies seemed to be least bothered about directions of Commissioner, Food and civil supplies and Consumer Affairs, regarding refund of their security deposit. He said paddy milling bills were cleared annually and millers had submitted affidavits regarding the payment of any type of recovery to the district heads of the procurement agencies from time to
time. Jindal said there were over 3,000 millers in the state who were facing financial crunch due to non-release of their security deposit. He said as per rules, the procurement agencies retained 10 per cent security deposit of two milling seasons. However, the agencies had delayed their payments, he rued. He urged the Food Minister to intervene and get their security deposited refunded at the earliest.
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‘Rin Utaar Yatra’ flagged off from Anandpur Sahib
Anandpur Sahib, November 23 Cheema said construction work on memorials of Bhai Mati Dass and Sati Dass and Bhai Dyal Dass who sacrificed their lives with Guru Teg Bahadur would be started at a site near Virasat-e-Khalsa within a year. An announcement in this regard was made by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal two years ago. Before flagging of the yatra, members of the Brahmin Sabha and others paid obeisance at Gurdwara Bhora Sahib. Addressing the gathering, Punjab Brahmin Sabha president Pandit Devi Dyal Prashar said the yatra had helped in creating awareness among the younger generation about the sacrifices made by the Sikh Gurus for the Hindu community. "Such events help create a congenial atmosphere between the two communities," he said.
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Drug rehab centre near Ropar school draws flak
Ropar, November 23 The visit of drug addicts in the area would adversely affect the atmosphere and pose a threat to the safety of the students, she said. Demanding immediate suspension of construction work at the site, the school manager suggested that the land of the Irrigation Department at some distance was lying vacant which could be used for the centre. "We have submitted a request for the shifting of the rehabilitation site to the district administration officials," she said. Ropar civil surgeon Surinder Gangar said the centre would be used to rehabilitate those patients who had been successfully treated for drug addiction. Their rehabilitation would ensure that they did not fall prey to drug addiction again, she said. "We have received a representation of the St Carmel School management, but only the deputy commissioner and the higher authorities were authorised to take a decision in this regard," the Civil Surgeon added.
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No scholarship money, colleges to approach Centre
Chandigarh, November 23 “While officials at the district headquarters instruct the colleges not to charge fee from OBC, SC and ST students, the government is not paying any money to compensate us in lieu of providing free education to such students,” said Dr JS Dhaliwal, president, Punjab Unaided Technical Institutions Association. “Soon a delegation of unaided colleges would meet Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Smriti Irani and the Minister of State for Social Justice Vijay Sampla to brief them about the present scenario,” he said. The colleges had admitted OBC students expecting that the government would release the money to them under the Centre’s post-matric scholarship scheme, but none of colleges has got any funds. Most of the colleges are under heavy debt because they have secured loans from banks to meet their financial requirements expecting to repay it after receiving funds under the central scheme. “We are in a dilemma as to whether to start charging fee from the students or wait for the government to release funds,” said Dr Dahliwal. He said many states, including Himachal Pradesh and Bihar, reimbursed the scholarship money to the students on a regular basis. A delegation of headed Dr Dhaliwal met Director, Welfare of SC/BC, Paramjit Singh and demanded the release of scholarship money. “The district administration has not been paying any heed to our problems. We are told not to charge anything from SC/ST students, but who will compensate us for the fee loss,” said Anshu Kataria, convener of the association. Aided college staff without salary for 18 months
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Women SAD wing to be set up by Dec 7
Hoshiarpur, November 23 She was addressing mediapersons on the sidelines of the meeting of the Hoshiarpur unit of the WSAD in Hoshiarpur yesterday. She said it was an honour for her to be given the responsibility of handling the women’s wing. Addressing the meeting of the WSAD, she said women had always played a vital role in building the society. — OC
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39% water samples from govt schools in Sangrur fail safety test
Sangrur, November 23 Tested by State Public Health Laboratory, Chandigarh, 39 per cent of the samples were found to be unfit for human consumption on account of bacteriological contamination or high fluoride content. Out of 57 failed water samples, 41 were collected from Government Primary Schools, 10 from Government Middle and Elementary Schools, five from Government Senior Secondary Schools and one from Government High School. Underground water is drawn with submersible pumps in 55 of these schools. The schools whose water samples failed laboratory tests on account of fluoride content are Government Primary School (East), Bhasaur; Government Primary School (West), Bhasaur; Government Senior Secondary School, Bhasaur; Government Primary School, Beer Kalan; and Government Primary School, Jain Patti, Longowal. The schools whose water samples failed the laboratory test are situated in Dehlij Kalan, Fatehgarh, Gandhuan, Sangrur, Khillrian, Matoi, Natt, Buraj Sedha, Bhudan, Kherri Jattan, Bhawanigarh, Ghabdan, Baopur, Gullarri, Kalbanjara, Narike Kalan, Bhogiwal, Kalabula, Bunga, Sherpur, Lehal Khurd, Banbhora, Bhullran, Jhaner, Manki etc. The district authorities had also collected 20 water samples from private schools in the past 10 months, out of which six samples failed in the test. A health official said they had written to the district education authorities and heads of the schools to take corrective measures to improve the quality of water. Poor show
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Headworks on Gang canal in poor state
Abohar, November 23 Farmers’ organisations have been blaming the Punjab Government for not releasing water from the Harike headworks as per the sanctioned share of Rajasthan but the “Rajasthan Government is to be equally blamed” for the menace. Representatives of the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti
(KSS) had expressed concern to Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje over theft of water from the Gang canal in
Abohar, Fazilka, Jalalabad and Muktsar segments. Raje spoke to her Punjab counterpart Parkash Singh Badal at the swearing-in ceremony of the Modi cabinet in New Delhi but no relief has been reported. Samiti team led by spokesman Subhash Sehgal on Sunday visited some of the headworks of the Gang canal with mediapersons. Sehgal said a network of distributaries and sub-canals had been developed to provide water for irrigating about 8 lakh acres of land in Sriganganagar and neighbouring districts. The main distributary known as Gang Feeder had been equipped with eight headworks in 1927 to regulate supply. Even after the closure of canals, leakage of water from most of the headworks had been 30-40 cusecs due to damaged gates and walls. The team said it had found water abundantly leaking from the headworks near Netewala village. Inquiries made from the Ferozepur headworks indicated that the flow in Gang canal was about 2,400 cusecs as per the requisition, but the Irrigation Department authorities in Sriganganagar circle were running the sub-canals on an eight-day rotation basis to prevent breaches. Sehgal said BB,
KK, RB, PS, MK, Sameja and Karniji canals need 1,470 cusecs of water but 1,200 cusecs were available from the Netewala headworks resulting in frequent closures. Samiti had submitted series of memorandums to the Water Resources Department but none of those were paid heed to. The Rajasthan government had informed Punjab about its plan to repair the canal system next year but projects to reconstruct the headworks had not been cleared. The Samiti has given a one-week notice to the authorities saying if the problems are not addressed they would launching an agitation, Sehgal said.
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Members of market panels in Sangrur dist nominated
Sangrur, November 23 An official spokesman said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday morning cleared the names and formal orders, regarding nominations would be issued shortly. Sukhpal Kumar has been nominated chairman of Market Committee, Dhuri, while Kewal Singh and Shamsad Ali have been nominated chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of Market Committee, Malerkotla. Jeet Singh and Jiwan Kumar have been nominated chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of Market Committee, Cheema. Rupinder Singh Randhawa and Jagdish Singh have been nominated chairman and vice-chairman of Market Committee, Bhawanigarh. Nirmal Singh and Ajmal Khan have been nominated chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of Market Committee,
Ahmedgarh. Megh Singh and Harbans Singh have been nominated chairman and vice-chairman in
Amargarh. Bugha Singh and Gurjeet have bagged the top two positions, respectively, of Market Committee,
Sherpur, and Baldev Singh and Sham Lal of Market Committee,
Sangrur, Jagtar Singh and Sukhwinder Singh have been nominated as chairman and vice chairman of Market Committee,
Sandaur.
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Heroin worth Rs 25 cr seized
Ferozepur, November 23 RK Thapa, DIG, BSF, Ferozepur Sector, said troops in the Barreke area were on high alert following an intelligence input regarding the possible drug smuggling in the area. He said during midnight, the BSF troops spotted suspicious movement of smugglers near the border fencing. "Our men challenged them but Pakistani smugglers managed to escape taking cover of foggy weather and darkness" the DIG said, adding that during a search of the area, five packets of heroin were recovered. He said 330.77 kg of heroin had been seized by the BSF along the Indo-Pakistan border in Punjab this year so far. In an earlier incident, a Patti resident was nabbed with 14 kg of heroin and Indian currency amounting to Rs 9 lakh from Ram Talai area near Amritsar bus stand. The accused was identified as Sahib Singh alias
Saaba. The drug consignment is worth Rs 70 crore in the international market.
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Release BPL pension on time: HC
Chandigarh, November 23 The directions by the Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Ashutosh Mohunta and Justice Harinder Singh Sidhu came on an application filed by the State of Punjab to review and modify an order dated September 2. The State, vide the orders, was directed to release the pension for 2014 to all persons belonging to the BPL category within a month from the date of the said order, if not already released. The Union of India was also directed to release funds to the State of Punjab under the Central Pension Scheme for the BPL category within two months from the date of the order. Appearing before the High Court, the State counsel submitted that the Punjab Government would release the pension within a month from receiving funds from the Centre. After hearing the counsel, the Bench disposed of the review application with a direction that "the State of Punjab shall release the amounts to all the persons belonging to the BPL category within a period of one month on receiving of funds from the Punjab Government. The directions for release of funds were issued on a petition filed in public interest Kuljit Singh Bedi against the Union of India and other respondents. In his public interest litigation, Bedi had prayed for directions to the respondents "to disburse the amounts of pension as granted by the Government of India to the eligible members of the families living below the poverty line". His counsel had told the court that the pension had been withheld since June-August, 2013, in an arbitrary manner. Responding to the allegations levelled in the petition, the respondents, on the other hand, had contended that the pension "has already been released to the persons living below poverty line in the State of Punjab for the financial year 2013-2014". Counsel for the petitioner Ranjivan Singh, however, refuted the claim by submitting that “the amounts which have been released to the persons living below poverty line are only up to December 2013, and no amounts have been released for 2014”.
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Transporter held 26 years after killing truck cleaner
Ludhiana, November 23 Investigating officer Davinder Singh said Bhagwant Singh was operating a transport company and moved to Maharashtra in 1970. During his visit to Ludhiana in 1987 in connection with his business, he had allegedly caught his cleaner Balkar Singh while pilfering oil from his truck. In a fit of rage, Bhagwant reportedly thrashed Balkar Singh at Neem Wala Dhaba in Dehlon area near Ludhiana. Balkar Singh sustained serious injuries and died. Bhagwant was arrested and sent to jail. In 1988, he jumped parole and fled to Maharashtra. He allegedly changed his identity and started his life afresh. His transport business flourished. But life took a tragic turn after his only son died recently. Bhagwant sold his property in Maharashtra and returned to his native village with his wife to spend the fag end of his life. On a tip-off, the city police raided the village yesterday and arrested the accused. He was produced before a local court which sent him to jail. Case file
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Love affair claims two lives, 8 booked
Jalandhar, November 23 The deceased were identified as Janga (45) and his cousin sister Maango (25). The Behram police had registered a case against Mushtak (25) and seven of his accomplices. They have launched a manhunt to nab them. Sources said Mushtak had eloped with a girl from Janga's family in the past following which the village panchayat had levied a fine on him and had warned him against the act. A few days ago, Janga had allegedly eloped with Mushtak's sister, but this time the panchayat didn't interfere. Sources said this irked Mushtak who then decided to take revenge from Janga. They said Mushtak and his accomplices last night attacked Janga and Maango with wooden sticks and killed them.
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‘Barnala gang’ busted, 1 held
Abohar, November 23 Superintendent of Police Hari Prasad Sharma said gold ornaments of some aged women were snatched on October 20, November 9 and November 16 by the Barnala gang. They had duped on the pretext of filling forms, which the gang had claimed would entitle the ‘beneficiary’ to Rs 3,000 monthly pension under a government-sponsored scheme. The women were looted at isolated places. Assistant Superintendent of Police Rashi Dogra said CCTV footages had indicated that a man using unnumbered motorcycle had been on a prowl to target such women. Ten policemen were deployed in civvies at various locations to keep a tab on such vehicles. A team spotted a motorcyclist targeting a woman near a vegetable vendor. An alert was sounded and Garja Ram was nabbed on the spot. Preliminary investigation reportedly indicated that the gang had targeted three women in Sriganganagar, one in Sadulshehar and six in Sangria. About 50 cases of crimes had been registered against the gang in Punjab. About the gang
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Ludhiana, November 23
Amritsar, November 23
Jalandhar, November 23
Fazilka, November 23
Anandpur Sahib, November 23
Abohar, November 23
Ferozepur,
November 23
