Sunday, October 25, 1998
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P U N J A B | |
Sunday, October 25, 1998 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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3 more
debt-ridden farmers end lives I
have no political ambition, says Tohra Agencies
start buying damaged paddy Khalsa
tercentenary seminar opens Water
supply board divisions shifted |
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Civic
neglect makes Hoshiarpur an eyesore Plea
for better |
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Minister
for stopping free medical aid Warrant
officer recovers detainee IOC
bottling plants at Ludhiana, Nabha likely Punjab's
new plan on education soon 50
per cent gram sewak's posts vacant Civil-military
liaison conference |
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I have no political ambition, says Tohra AMRITSAR, Oct 24 — Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, who has created a history of sorts with his re-election as the president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee for the 25th time yesterday, has denied that he had political ambition as alleged by his detractors. In an interview with The Tribune, Mr Tohra said his outbursts against injustice from time to time should not be termed as being "politically ambitious". He said he would continue to speak for genuine demands of Punjab and Punjabis along with other Panthic cause. "Earlier my detractors would call me comrade as they had nothing to speak against me. Now out of sheer frustration, they have started levelling baseless charges of having political ambitions". However, he agreed that there was no dividing line between Sikh ideology and Sikh politics for him. Giving secrets of his successfully wearing a "silver jubilee crown" as President of the SGPC, Mr Tohra said that he had always identified himself with the common Sikh which helped him to emerge as an "undisputed" leader of the SGPC. Mr Tohra said the committee would launch a nationwide campaign against intoxicants as a part of the 300th anniversary of the Khalsa Panth which would fall on April 13, next year. It would be ensured that majority of Sikhs get baptised as a part of the tercentenary celebrations. The SGPC would make all efforts to promote communal harmony during the tercentenary year. He said all religions were equal in the eyes of Sikhs. Answering a question, Mr Tohra said he had no differences with Mr Parkash Singh Badal. He clarified that all office-bearers who were retained by the general house of the SGPC yesterday belonged to Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal). He said he gave dissent notes on certain issues as he considered his duty to bring justice to the Sikhs being the President of the committee and member of the SAD. He said that Sikh and Hindu religions are of the view that one should revolt against injustice. The Gita, too, preaches the same ideology. Mr Tohra claimed that the differences among Jathedars had narrowed down. He said Mr Jaswant Singh Mann, a former general secretary of the World Sikh Council, and his associates were creating hurdles in the way of rapprochement among the Jathedars. He said on his initiative a case against the World Sikh Council was withdrawn to pave the way for resolving the issue. However, yet another case had been filed in the court as a part of conspiracy to create hurdles in the way to end stalemate. He hoped that the matter would be resolved before the next meeting proposed to be held at Akal Takht. When asked about the reason for the absence of Bhai Ranjit Singh from the general house meeting of the SGPC yesterday, Mr Tohra said. He said Bhai Ranjit Singh was away to attend the function of Sikh study circle while Prof Manjit Singh was busy in the organising a Sikh march. Mr Tohra said that he was
pained to read reports in a section of the Press that
there were protests at the time of his election as
president yesterday. He clarified that some members who
later staged a walkout did not propose any name for
office bearers and wanted to create nuisance in the
general house which was not allowed. |
NRI declared "tankhaiya" AMRITSAR, Oct 24 — The five head priests today declared a non-resident Indian, Bhai Mohinder Singh, based in the USA, "tankhaiya" for not responding to an explanation sought by them. He was given a month to explain his position for not reading "bani" as per the Sikh traditions. Announcing this, Bhai Ranjit Singh, Akal Takht Jathedar, said that Rattan Singh and Harbans Singh, residents of Khudda village, who allegedly arranged a fake marriage were given "tankhah". They were directed to clean utensils for five days at a gurdwara. However, two complaints against Kabir Singh, a resident of Mirzapur, and Harbans Singh, a resident of Gujjarpur village in Nawanshahr, were found baseless and dismissed. Prof Manjit Singh and Bhai Kewal Singh did not attend the meeting. They were barred by Bhai Ranjit Singh from attending meetings of Akal Takht till they submitted the accounts of the World Sikh Council. Giani Mohan Singh, Head Granthi of the Golden Temple, Giani Bhagwan Singh, Head Granthi, Akal Takht, Giani Charan Singh and Giani Gurbachan Singh — priests of the Golden Temple, attended the meeting in their absence. Talking to reporters, Bhai Ranjit Singh said that he could not attend the meeting of the SGPC yesterday as he was not feeling well. Answering a question, he
endorsed the resolution of the SGPC for demanding
personal law for Sikhs on the pattern of Muslims and
other communities. |
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3 more
debt-ridden farmers end lives BHIKHI (Mansa), Oct 24 — Three more farmers, two of Bir Khurd village near here and one of Kotshamir in Bathinda district committed suicide when they failed to repay their debt taken from commission agents and government institution due to failure of their crops. While Baldev Singh owner of four acres, committed suicide after consuming some pesticide on October 16 as he found himself unable to pay the first instalment of a loan taken from Land Mortgage Bank, Bikkar Singh ended his life on October 19 on Divali as he was finding it difficult to fulfil his social responsibilities due to meagre income and huge debt. Family sources said paddy crop of Baldev Singh was flattened by the recent rains that had hit the region and even the combine harvester operators refused to harvest his paddy crop. Baldev Singh consumed poison on October 16 when he found that rain had again come and would further destroy the crop. Baldev Singh had taken a debt of more than Rs 1 lakh from a commission agent besides Rs 40,000 from Land Mortgage Bank, family sources added. On the other hand, Bikkar Singh who had already mortgaged a part of his eight acres of agriculture land to a private person was finding it difficult to run a big family with his meagre income. Father of three grown-up daughters and husband of a woman having cancer, Bikkar Singh ended his life on October 19. Bikkar Singh had also taken huge loans from commission agent and banks for the treatment of his wife. Debt was piling up every year. He was finding it difficult to marry off his three grown up daughters. In the third case, family sources said Teja Singh had accumulated debt of Rs 3.5 lakh and he was under severe depression since October 15 as the heavy rain had damaged his paddy crop. Teja Singh, who had one son and two unmarried daughters tried to supplement his income by starting trading in buffaloes. However, he did not succeed. Teja Singh, who was having about 10 acres of land few years ago sold off about six acres gradually to pay debts and he was left with only four acres. He ended his life yesterday by consuming poison. Earlier, two farmers have committed suicide due to the non-payment of their debts in Nat Bhager village and Siriawala in Bathinda district few days ago. With the recent failure of
paddy and cotton crop, the trend of suicide by farmers
have started again in the Malwa region as 90 per cent of
farmers of this region are caught in debt trap as
repeated crop failure had ruined their economy. |
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Aliwal's
removal sought CHANDIGARH, Oct 24 — Suffocation and resentment in the youth wing of the Shiromani Akali Dal surfaced today when the party cadre made a vociferous demand for the removal of Youth Akali Dal president, Mr Amrik Singh Aliwal, who is member of Parliament from Ludhiana. A revolt has been brewing against him for the past over two years. His re-nomination for the Lok Sabha seat was not appreciated by a cross-section of Akali workers, both in the youth wing as well as in the parent body. A large number of Youth Akali Dal activists today gathered at Punjab Bhavan here to meet the SAD secretary general, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, a member of the Rajya Sabha, who had been deputed to hear the "grievances" of the Youth Akali Dal. A delegation of the youth wing had met the party chief, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, sometime back and protested against non-removal of Mr Aliwal. Armed with banners and placards, the activists sat in the Punjab Bhavan lawn demanding the removal of Mr Aliwal to "save" the Youth Akali Dal. In the over two-hour meeting, the wing office-bearers and workers aired their sentiments. They said compared to the performance of SAD or the youth wing, the political activism of the Congress, led by Mr Amarinder Singh and that of Akali Dal (Amritsar), led by Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, had increased attracting youth. In fact the youth wing leaders expressed their anguish at the "poor" image and performance of their "own" government and the manner in which the parent body had "neglected" the presence of the youth wing, whose members are potential leaders of tomorrow. All workers of the Youth Akali Dal, therefore, reiterated their demand for the removal of Mr Aliwal and submitted a memorandum to Mr Dhindsa, which was addressed to the party chief, Mr Parkash Singh Badal. Though no names were discussed to succeed Mr Aliwal, the workers left the decision to the SAD president. The camp followers of both Mr Parkash Singh and Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, the SGPC president, are working overtime to see their nominee succeeded Mr Aliwal. Several names are making rounds. Even Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal is reported to have chipped in a name. It is said one of the youth wing senior vice-presidents is likely to become president. The senior vice-residents are Mr Jarnail Singh Dogranwala, Mr Kiran Bir Singh Kang, Mr Baljit Singh Neelmahal, Mr Nidharak Singh Brar. Other names being mentioned include that of Mr Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, Mr Karnail Singh Panjoli and even Mr Amarinder Singh, SGPC member from Chandigarh. The present development, though not new, has surfaced at a time when SAD is engaged in prestigious byelection to the state assembly in Adampur constituency; due on November 25. The SAD president will either name the new president before or after the election. Sometime back Mr Aliwal dissolved all units in the state. He had constituted a 21-member committee in which six were "new" members. At this senior and seasoned youth felt cheated and ignored. Consequently, one of the general secretaries, Mr Arvind Khanna, disenchanted with the working of the wing and the party left to join the Congress. He was replaced by Mr Gurdial Singh Chatha, president of the Sangrur district of the Youth Akali Dal, he also later joined the Congress. In fact none of the wings of SAD has played any significant role since February, 1997. Even the parent body has not met. The meetings of the working committee and the Political Affairs Committee have been few. At today's meeting the working of the government was x-rayed and criticised, insiders disclosed. The prominent among those who attended today's "hangami" meeting included Mr Harjinder Singh Lali, Mr Jatinder Singh Bajwa, Mr Rashpal Singh Randhawa, Mr Ramnik Sharma, Mr Gurinder Singh Doomcheri, Mr Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon. Mr Dhindsa, who was
accompanied by Mr Nusrat Ali Khan, a Minister of State,
will report to the party president. The meeting and views
expressed by members showed that factionalism within the
Akali Dal and among leaders was well pronounced; one of
the causes for "poor performance" of the
government. Moreover, Youth Akali Dal workers said the
Chief Minister had little hold over the administration.
"People compare him with late Beant Singh. They feel
despite corruption the latter was effective; the
corruption prevails even now", several of them
candidly remarked requesting anonymity.
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Minister for stopping free medical
aid AMRITSAR, Oct 24 — Dr Sudesh Khanna, Principal of the local Medical College, will be the next Director, Research and Medical Education (DRME) from December 1. Dr Khanna is also Dean, Faculty of Medical Sciences and Syndic, Guru Nanak Dev University. This was stated by Mr Maheshinder Singh Grewal, Medical Education and Research Minister, while talking to the Press after inaugurating the 23rd annual conference of the Indian Psychiatric Society here today. Mr Grewal said the state government would release new pay scales to medical and dental teachers soon. A high-powered meeting would be held at Chandigarh next month in this regard. The association of the Punjab State Medical and Dental Teachers had lodged a protest against the government as they were being paid less than their juniors in the PCMS and other services. Mr Grewal said the system of free medical aid should be abolished with a view to improving medicare in the state. However, 40 per cent of the poor, of the total admissions, would continue to get free medical help. He said the health university at Faridkot would conduct the next PMT tests. He said more than Rs 50 crore were required for completing the university and Rs 5 crore had already been released for the purpose. Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister, had already written to the central government to give weightage to rural students in MBBS courses, he said. The state had been chalking out a programme to admit non-resident Indians to medical colleges. Earlier, addressing the
conference of the psychiatric society, he said the mental
hospital at Amritsar would be shifted to Guru Nanak Dev
Hospital for better treatment of patients, adding that
efforts would be made to post qualified psychiatrists in
each district. |
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Agencies start buying damaged paddy LUDHIANA, Oct 24 — Unable to resist pressure from the top any longer, Punjab Government food procurement agencies have begun to purchase rain-damaged paddy in the state. The widespread rain shortly before Divali has caused a big damage to the fresh harvested paddy which has been assessed by a central team sent to the state after the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, had a meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, in New Delhi a few days ago. Simultaneously, the Chief Minister issued instructions to the state government procurement agencies to go in for the large-scale purchase of paddy without strictly adhering to the specifications laid down by the Government of India. He also directed the Deputy Commissioners to personally ensure paddy purchases by official agencies in mandis. Till Divali, official procurement agencies remained circumspect about purchasing paddy which did not meet the prescribed specifications. This led to distress sale of paddy by farmers to private millers at below the minimum support price fixed by the government. According to official figures available here today, private millers have so far purchased 26.97 lakh million tonnes (MT) of paddy, which is in excess of what has been purchased by the FCI and state government procurement agencies so far. This is what forced the Punjab Government to direct the state government procurement agencies to go in for the purchase of paddy without being too particular about the specifications set by the Centre besides seeking a compensation of Rs 300 crore from the Government of India. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Arun Goel, has been making rounds of mandis, including the one at Khanna, which is reputed to be Asia's biggest grain market and has been getting daily reports on paddy purchases from the SDM. Mr Goel said today that paddy purchases were being made by the state government agencies in accordance with the relaxed specifications ordered by the Government of India last year. However, the FCI continues to turn down paddy which does not meet the fixed specifications. "We are already burdened with lakhs of tonnes of damaged paddy purchased under official pressure last year," said an official here today. "We cannot afford a repetition of the same this year unless there is a clear announcement regarding relaxation of specifications from the Government of India." State government procurement agencies, including the Markfed, PSWC, PAIC, PUNSUP and Food and Supplies Department, purchased 95.562 MT on October 16 and 29.874 MT on October 18. On October 20, the agencies procured 37,060 MT. On October 21, it was 53,575 MT, on October 22, it was 1,25,245 MT and on October 23, it was 93,900 MT. The FCI purchased 61.766 MT on October 20, 46,376 on October 21, 54,357 MT on October 22 and 44,701 MT on October 23. The total paddy purchased by the FCI so far is 14,93,606 MT against state agencies' figure of 21.78 lakh MT and private millers 26.97 lakh MT. The total paddy purchases in Punjab so far add up to 63.69 lakh MT. The FCI sources here say
that it had been maintaining its procurement share much
above the allotted share of 40 per cent. Private millers
have already procured 26.97 lakh MT of which 20 lakh MT
has been exempted from levy. This would mean that levy
contribution for the central pool would be reduced by at
least 10 lakh MT of rice. The Punjab Government has so
far been unable to come to a firm conclusion with regard
to the estimates of the paddy arrivals this year. Against
the original estimates of 120 lakh MT not more than 90
lakh MT of paddy is expected this year. Last year, it was
initially estimated by the government that about 70 lakh
MT of paddy would arrive in the mandis. The estimate was
later revised thrice. The paddy arrivals finally touched
more than 98 lakh MT. |
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Civic neglect makes Hoshiarpur an
eyesore HOSHIARPUR: On account of the shoddy working of the municipal sanitation staff, Hoshiarpur, once known for its cleanliness, has now become a dirty town. Localities in and around the town have become eyesores causing great inconvenience to the inhabitants. Heaps of garbage can be seen in almost all localities along the roads. Stray cattle, especially cows, rummage through garbage dumps, emanating a foul smell. The Municipal Council recently set up a garbage dump adjoining the Government Industrial School at Red Road. All the municipal and private safai karamcharis throw rubbish, including night soil, into this dump which causes inconvenience not only to the students but also to passers-by. The Ganda Nullah, which passes from the main bazaars and localities of the city is cleaned once a year only. It has become a fertile ground for mosquitoes and flies. Toilets constructed in various localities, are now in a dilapidated condition. The toilets on Una Road, Railway Road, District Court complex and Shimla Pahari Chowk are hardly used as these are not cleaned regularly. The town's garbage is dumped into the Bhangi choe bed, adjoining the city. This not only is a serious health hazard but lets out a stink that pervades surrounding areas. Haphazard laying of sewers in various localities has resulted in choking of sewer lines in most mohallas. This has resulted in obstacles in the smooth flow of rain water which now enters in houses and shops in several areas besides the District Courts complex and the SSP's office. There is no arrangement for maintenance of the town's 19 parks which are a picture of negligence. Almost all gardeners concentrate more on maintaining the lawns at the houses of senior government officers and political leaders. Street lights within the Municipal Council are mostly out of order or are missing. On account of sub-standard material being used during the recent repairs, almost all roads and lanes in the town have developed potholes. During the rains, rain water fills these potholes causing frequent accidents. Town residents have made
several requests to the Executive Officer, civic body
president and municipal councillors to set things right
so that people may get better amenities, but their pleas
have fallen on deaf ears. They now say that the Municipal
Council working has collapsed. |
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Plan
to remove encroachments HOSHIARPUR, Oct 24 — Mr Iqbal Singh Sidhu, Deputy Commissioner said today that to remove encroachments on government lands a special campaign was being launched in the district. He was addressing a meeting of the SDMs. Tehsildars, Block Development & Panchayat Officers, Executive Officers of the Municipal Councils, PWD officers, kanoongos, patwaris and panchayat secretaries of the district here. He said the month-long campaign would begin on November 1. Encroachments along roads would be removed. While giving details of this campaign, he said the kanoongos, patwari, junior engineers and panchayat secretaries would do the preliminary work to remove the encroachments at the village level. They would daily submit their reports to the SDM concerned. The SDM would be responsible for his respective areas to get the work completed within the prescribed period. After removing encroachments, demarcation of roads would be done according to the revenue. The Forest Department would make plantations on the boundary lines to prevent future encroachments. Those officers and employees who would take keen interest in removing the encroachments on government lands would be honoured on Republic Day. Mr R.P. Mittal, SSP, said
that due to encroachments along roads the number of
accidents had increased. He said the police would ensure
the success of this campaign. |
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Khalsa
tercentenary seminar opens CHANDIGARH, Oct 24 — There is no difference in the teachings of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh and the call to establish the Khalsa order had been given by Guru Nanak himself. In fact, the 10 "patshahis" were the manifestation of the same divine light. This was brought out in papers on theology and history presented by eminent scholars on the opening day of the two-day Khalsa Tercentenary Seminar organised by the SAS Nagar-based Institute of Sikh Studies at Gurdwara Kanthala Sahib here. "Khalsa — fulfilment of Guru Nanak's mission" was the topic of the day. Delivering the keynote address, Mr Bhagwant Singh Dalawari of Amravati came down heavily on those who sought to draw inferences about the difference in approach of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh. He said the tenth guru made no essential change but in those days of persecution more stress had to be laid on manly courage. He said we had brought a bad name to our Guru. We are still caste-ridden, we kill our girls and burn our brides. Still more disgusting was the way we carry on divisions on the basis of caste in our gurdwaras and in langar, he said. We (as a community) are in a shambles, our highest religious institutions, our leaders in all fields seem to give impression that parading of gurus' actions and paying lip service was enough. The Gurus need no certificate from us that they were great or that the Khalsa was the fulfilment of Guru Nanak's mission. Today the image of the Khalsa Sikh is of one drenched in alcohol, pelf and power, illegal wealth, on sale to the highest bidder and had gone down the drain, he added. Mr Jarnail Singh from Canada said even as we are going to celebrate the tercentenary of the Khalsa Panth no thought had been given to services needed by the community. Mr N. Muthu Mohan, elaborating on the concept of sant sipahi(saint soldiers), said a sant is more universalistic than a sanyasi and a sipahi is more socialised and activistic than the grahasta. Others who presented papers included Mr Verpal Singh, Dr Gurbakhsh Singh, Dr Harkirat Singh, Brig Hardit Singh, Dr Man Singh Nirankari, Dr Harbans Lal, Dr Gurnam Kaur and Ms Sarabjot Kaur. Earlier Dr Kuldip Singh, welcomed the speakers and guests. Books on Sikh personal law
and Gurdwara legislation were released by Justice Harbans
Singh. |
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Plea
for better transport system PATIALA, Oct 24 — The Director of the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Dr MP Kapoor, has said that solutions to traffic problems must be found to ensure efficient, eco-friendly and safe road transportation system. Speaking at a seminar on "Road transportation — issues and strategies", here yesterday, Dr Kapoor said the objective of the seminar was to provide a forum for discussion on the transportation system to evolve strategies to promote a cross-fertilisation of ideas among scientists, engineers and professionals. Dr VS Batra, Professor and head of the Department of Civil Engineering of the institute, said that the country had performed well within the limited means of transportation. Significant developments have been made in highway engineering, planning and transport economics. But at the same time, new challenges have surfaced which demand major changes in strategies. Since the problem of funds' constraint continue to remain serious, uncertainties shroud the future scenario in road transport. Dr Batra said one of the ill effects of road traffic was its adverse impact on environment. Two-wheelers and three-wheelers are endangering the quality of air. The decibel level of vehicular traffic was rising. Growth of inharmonious structures along highways mar the countryside beauty. It was essential that highway engineers should be made aware of these, he said. He said road accidents contributed 13 to 14 per cent of total accidental deaths in the country. According to one of the estimates annual loss due to road accidents in 2001 would mount to Rs 1350 crore. Traffic on the roads had increased beyond expectations. All possible measures should, therefore, be taken to make roads less vulnerable, he said. The need of the hour was
an efficient transportation system, he added. |
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Water supply board divisions shifted ABOHAR, Oct 24 — The Punjab Government today ordered immediate shifting of Abohar division of the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board (PWSSB) to Ludhiana. Subdivision 2 has also been shifted from here to Ludhiana and it will now be known as subdivision 9. According to the orders received here, subdivision 1, Abohar, will now be under the control of the Executive Engineer, PWSSB, Malout. Certain other subdivisions have also been shifted. Subdivision 2 Gurdaspur has been shifted to Ludhiana and subdivision 2 at Ferozepore to Ludhiana. The subdivision at Kotkapura will now work under the Executive Engineer, Malout. Reacting to the changes, the District Congress President and a former minister, Mr Sajjan Kumar Jakhar, alleged that the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, seemed to be going ahead with his reported plan to ruin the Abohar area. Talking to reporters here
today, he said the PWSSB was assigned with the task of
constructing a sewerage channel for the disposal of
sullage. The previous Congress Government had released
two instalments of Rs 150 lakh each for the purpose, but
the second instalment could not be utilised as the
assembly elections were announced. |
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Warrant officer recovers detainee ROPAR, Oct 24 — Mr Ravi Ahuja, director of a finance company and a detainee was found by the warrant officer, Davinder Mohan Parti, from the premises of a local police station on October 20. According to information today, the warrant officer has mentioned in the police record that in compliance with the order passed by Mr Justice K.S. Kumaran passed in a criminal writ petition, searched the police station and found Mr Ahuja. The warrant officer was
appointed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the
criminal writ petition of Mrs Seema Ahuja, wife of Mr
Ahuja, in which she said her husband was taken away from
their house by the police on October 18 to the city
police station and was not allowed to come to the house
to celebrate Divali. There was no case against her
husband and he was being kept in illegal custody, she
added. |
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IOC bottling plants at Ludhiana, Nabha
likely CHANDIGARH, Oct 24 — Bottling plants at Nabha and Ludhiana and a storage centre at Ludhiana are among the major projects planned by the Indian Oil Corporation in Punjab, Mr A.M. Nagar, Deputy General Manager, IOC, told newsmen here today. He said that investments in Punjab in next couple of years would be nearly Rs 200 crore. Besides, the IOC was awaiting a formal approval from the Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Home Affairs about setting up "Amar jawan jyoti" at historic Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar. Once the proposal was cleared, Mr Nagar said, it would take the IOC 90 days to commission "the Amar jyoti". A similar "jyoti" had already been commissioned by the IOC at Jalandhar. Talking about participation of the IOC in the tercentenary celebrations of Khalsa at Anandpur Sahib next year, Mr Nagar said that the Punjab Tourism Development Corporation wanted a modern filling station to come up in the new tourist complex planned by it. The proposal was under consideration, Mr Nagar said that the IOC
was also planning to increase the capacity of
Kandla-Bathinda pipeline from present six million tonnes
of crude to 11.5 million tonnes. |
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2
minor girls recovered, 1 still missing BATHINDA, Oct 24 — The local police recovered two minor girls out of the three who were allegedly abducted by a barber from Maur yesterday. According to a press note issued here today, Mr Harnek Singh, SSP, said the three girls, all students of Government Senior Secondary School, were abducted by Mohinder Kumar, a barber, who was running his shop in front of the school. Special teams were sent to bus stands and railway stations to look for the girls. Two girls were recovered about 11 pm from the railway station. However, Mohinder Kumar managed to escape with one of the girls. A case has been registered
and the girls have been handed over to their parents. The
SSP said investigations revealed that the accused had
taken the girl to Gota Shahpur village in Alwar district
of Rajasthan where a police team had been sent to arrest
him. |
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Demand
to shift factory SANGRUR, Oct 24 — On a call given by the Anti-Pollution Committee, a large number of town residents and people from the adjoining rural areas participated in a rally held at Pheruman Chowk here today. The rally was organised by the Anti-Pollution Committee to demand the immediate shifting of the National Agro Chemicals Limited factory manufacturing insecticides. The factory is located at a distance of only 1300 metres away from the city kotwali and only 700 metres away from the local Raj Higher Secondary School for Boys and only 200 metres away from the Malwa Milk Plant. A panic was created when a gas leaked from the factory on the night of October 3. Representatives of social and political organisations also participated in the rally and they demanded that the factory should be shifted away from the town. A number of village panchayats, including Balbar, Andheri, Sohian, Kamo Majra Khurd, Ghabdan, Chatha Sekhwan, Channa, Kalodi and Bhindra passed resolutions demanding the shifting of the factory. Mr Kiranjit Singh Sekhon, convener of the Anti-Pollution Committee, said a dharna would be organised on November 2, outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner to press for their demand. A deputation of the committee will also meet the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister in this regard. Members of the Sangrur Bar
Association today abstained themselves from work and did
not attend the court to demand the shifting of the
factory.
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New
patrolling plan in Patiala PATIALA, Oct 24 — Punjab police chief P.C. Dogra today flagged off mobile parties under a city patrolling plan here today. Later talking to reporters, Mr Dogra said the mobile parties, which would be manned from the control room, would patrol the city round-the-clock. Specific points had been fixed for members of the public who could approach the parties there. Mr Dogra said while the motor cycles would patrol the walled city, the four-wheelers would patrol the outskirts, including the outer colonies. He said each motor cycle would be manned by a havaldar and a constable who had been given special identity cards. He said this had been done to fix accountability. Speaking on the occasion,
district police chief Parampal Singh Sidhu said four
halting points had been fixed for each beat and added
that the mobile parties would carry information with them
regarding liquor shops, religious places and cinemas so
that special patrolling could be done at such spots. |
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Kisan sabha seeks compensation JALANDHAR, Oct 24 — The Punjab Kisan Sabha has alleged that the apathy of the state agencies toward procuring paddy has ruined farmers economically. The general secretary of the kisan sabha, Mr Lehbar Singh Tagger, said here today that the state government should come to the rescue of farmers by giving support price for the paddy. He alleged that the farmers had to sell their produce at a much lower rate than the support price. "The government had fixed the support prices at Rs 470, this season while the rice shellers have been paying not even half of what the farmer is entitled to", he alleged. A compensation of Rs 7500 per acre where entire crops have been ruined due to unseasonal rains has also been demanded. The sabha issued an
ultimatum to the SAD-BJP government that if it failed to
announce compensation to the farmers, by October 31, the
sabha will launch traffic jams from November 1 in the
state. |
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Punjab's new plan on education soon HOSHIARPUR, Oct 24 — To make education job-oriented and raise its standard, the Punjab Government has prepared a comprehensive scheme, which will be introduced very shortly. This was disclosed by Capt. Kanwaljit Singh, Finance Minister, after inaugurating the new block of Guru Nanak Girls Senior Secondary School, Mukerian, 60 km from here, last evening. He said the government was trying to fill all vacant posts of teacher, repair school buildings and provide furniture. He said Rs 12 crore would be spent on the construction and repair of primary school buildings in the state during the current financial year. The government had prepared a Rs 750-crore plan for the generation of more electricity in the state. The construction of the Thein Dam would be completed by September, 1999. The second unit at Lehra Mohabbat would start power generation very shortly. Later he presided over the
concluding function of the 21st rural tournament at
Alabaksh village and gave away prizes to the winners. He
announced a grant of Rs 2 lakh each to the Behwal
panchayat and Guru Nanak Girls Senior Secondary School. |
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50 per cent gram sewak's posts
vacant ROPAR, Oct 24 — Nearly 50 per cent posts of gram sewak in the offices of Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO) in this district are lying vacant. As a result implementation of a large number of schemes by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), have been hit in some blocks. According to sources, in seven blocks of the district, there are 63 sanctioned posts of gram sewak, of which 32 posts have been lying vacant for a long period. Each block has 10 posts while Morinda block only has three posts. Ropar block has five vacant posts while Kharar and Anandpur Sahib blocks have three and seven posts vacant, respectively. Chamkaur Sahib, Maajri and Nurpur Bedi blocks have five, eight and four posts vacant, respectively. There is no vacant post in Morinda block. The sources say that the state government had not filled the posts of gram sewak for the past couple of years. More than 75 schemes, including TRYSEM are being implemented by the DRDA. The sources also disclosed that due to vacant posts of gram sewak, a regular link with banks is not being maintained and the controlling office could not get the exact position of the cases financed by the banks, or regarding their pendency. Gram Sewaks are supposed
to go to the banks to collect information as to how many
cases are financed and how much subsidy amount is lying
with the bank branches. |
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Traders
threaten to
hold dharna LUDHIANA, Oct 24 — Various trader's organisations in the city have threatened to stage a dharna at the Vishwakarma Chowk on October 26 if the Sales Tax Department did not withdraw the FIR lodged with the police against four local industrialists. This was declared by Mr Agya Paul Singh, Secretary of the Youth Akali Dal, while addressing a press conference here today in protest against yesterday's incident when sales tax officials visited a cycle parts unit for inspection. Traders alleged that the officials forcibly entered the factory and tried to take away some documents. Meanwhile, at another press conference, the Assistant Commissioner of Excise and Taxation (ACET), Mr N.S. Brar, alleged that the owners of the factory had tried to prevent the officials from checking the documents and burnt them. He said the officials were abused and manhandled. An FIR was registered by
the department against four traders for manhandling and
burning the documents. |
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Civil-military liaison conference BATHINDA, Oct 24 — Major-Gen C.M. Seth, Chief of Staff of the local corps headquarter, presiding over the civil-military liaison conference here today stressed the need for a close coordination between the civil and military authorities. He said the civil and military authorities should enhance mutual respect and cooperation in matters needing an integrated response. The Deputy Commissioner,
SSP, SPs and Army officers participated. |
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