Wednesday, December 1, 1999
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Wednesday, December 1, 1999 |
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Farooq for talks with Pak LUDHIANA, Nov 30 — The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, has said India should be prepared for any eventuality in the wake of the army coup in Pakistan and the post-Kargil scenario. Sonu withdraws plea for CBI probe CHANDIGARH, Nov 30 — In an interesting development, Gurpreet, alias Sonu, a Ludhiana-based girl, today withdrew her writ petition from the Punjab and Haryana High Court demanding a CBI probe into her alleged rape by Suba Singh, son of the Punjab Agriculture Minister, Mr Gurdev Singh Badal, and his brother-in-law. |
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Initiative to restore historical monuments GURDASPUR, Nov 30 — The Research Resources Conservation Initiative (RRCI) has been formed in the district to undertake restoration of historical monuments. The RRCI is the brainchild of Mrs Gurmeet Rai, who is working as its Director. She expressed gratitude to Mr B.K. Srivastava, Commissioner, Jalandhar division, and Mrs Satwant Sangha, local social worker, for extending help in this direction. Badal not to have Deputy CM Badal
launches pension scheme Step
to prevent ST evasion Explain
waterlogging to people: PCC Pak
pressuring militants: DIG Doc
advocates ban on pan masala
Books
on Sikhism released Plea
to set up school grants commission Lawyers
protest against govt move Held
for taking bribe Fund
created for ESI hospitals Pumps
not to supply petrol to police Mobile
phones seized Refresher
course on human rights BKU
protest rally against price hike Homoeopathy
training given Sahota
takes over as Agriculture Director Send
Sikh jathas to Pak: Khaira |
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Farooq for talks with Pak LUDHIANA, Nov 30 — The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, has said India should be prepared for any eventuality in the wake of the army coup in Pakistan and the post-Kargil scenario. Dr Abdullah was talking to mediapersons during his visit of the city here today. The relations between the two countries could either deteriorate further or being anew on a much happier note. However, we should be under no illusions, he added. The Chief Minister said after the Kargil war the then Pakistani Prime Minister, Mr Nawaz Sharif, had said they would open many more Kargils on the Indian side of the border. The stepped up activities of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan and cross-border terrorism in Kashmir were proof of this, he said. Dr Abdullah said in order to plug the loopholes in the security system in the state, some company commandants had been appointed as security advisers. In answer to a question about problems in the fencing of the Indo-Pak border in the Jammu sector, the Chief Minister said the main problem arose when the other side resorted to firing to halt fencing on the border and several lives were lost. He said our jawans, if allowed to retaliate, would be able to complete the job, but a war could break out between the two countries. When quizzed about his remarks regarding making the Line of Control between the two countries the international border, Dr Abdullah clarified that it was one of the possible solutions suggested by him to bring peace in the valley. However, he reiterated that India was still committed to taking back the areas under Pakistan occupied Kashmir. The Chief Minister also said he was more concerned about saving the lives of the people in his state through dialogue with Pakistan rather than waiting for a conducive atmosphere for dialogue. The Chief Minister also informed that he was trying to initiate a dialogue with China to get a road built through Ladakh for Mansarovar and Kailash Parbat, which would help boost tourism in the state, besides providing an easy approach to the pilgrims. When asked about the apparent differences between the BJP and the National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir and their coalition at the Centre, Dr Abdullah categorically said the party ideology was one thing and governance another and in politics everything was justified. He also said though the BJP had always been harping about scrapping Article 370 and autonomy to states nothing had been done in this regard ever they came to power. Talking about the change in people’s attitude towards the Army in the post-Kargil scenario, Dr Abdullah, while admitting that things had gone haywire initially, said the armed forces were making all-out efforts to avoid violation of human rights and were building bridges with the people by providing medical services to people, better education in remote areas and rebuilding villages destroyed in bomb blasts. The Chief Minister, who had held meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee at Delhi earlier today, informed that the state had been promised a financial package for the remaining four months of this financial year. This would be used for development activities like providing safe drinking water, higher educational facilities, health care and reparing the damage caused due to floods last year. Dr Abdullah also
informed that his government would also strengthen the
village defence committees by providing them with
sophisticated arms and better communication systems. |
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Sonu withdraws plea for CBI
probe CHANDIGARH, Nov 30 — In an interesting development, Gurpreet, alias Sonu, a Ludhiana-based girl, today withdrew her writ petition from the Punjab and Haryana High Court demanding a CBI probe into her alleged rape by Suba Singh, son of the Punjab Agriculture Minister, Mr Gurdev Singh Badal, and his brother-in-law. A few minutes before the court was to rise for the day, her counsel stood up and made a statement before Mr Justice T.H.B. Chalapathi saying: "I withdraw the petition unconditionally." The Judge granted his request. Incidentally, it was he who had organised Sonu's press conference at his residence the day she had filed the petition in the High Court. Accompanied by her uncle, Sonu, who was smartly attired, sat in a corner of the courtroom. Immediately after the Judge accepted the request of her counsel for withdrawing the writ petition, she left the courtroom. Her father, Mr Paramjit Sharma, who was sitting in a car with tainted glass at the High Court parking lot did not come to the courtroom. A few cops from Ludhiana, including Inspector Satish Malhotra, who had conducted the investigation into the case, were present in the court. So was the daughter of the minister and a handful of his supporters. Seeking a CBI probe for unearthing the truth, Sonu had stated in her petition that the investigation was biased due to Mr Gurdev Singh Badal's influence on the local administration. She had also sought adequate security cover of cops other than those from the Punjab police. In this petition she also disclaimed any knowledge about the case which was filed on her behalf along with her affidavit that Suba Singh was wrongly named in the case. She had also stated that some documents were signed by her but she never appeared before any court to make any statement regarding Suba Singh having been wrongly named." The police had been maintaining that Sonu had been changing her statements frequently. Inspector Malhotra said she first lied about her age. Then she lied that she had not married one Kishan Bhia. In her complaint lodged
with the Ludhiana police on May 2, Sonu had alleged that
she was kidnapped by Baljinder Singh, Kishan Bhia, Sham
Bhia and Rajinder Rani. She had not named Suba Singh in
her complaint. His name was added later on. |
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Fiscal state improving: CM LUDHIANA, Nov 30 — The Fiscal situation in Punjab is being mended, according to the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal. “We are no longer going to the Reserve Bank of India for overdrafts and have been managing with our own resources for the past four and a half months,” the Chief Minister said in a talk with TNS today. This had been achieved through better fiscal management, tighter control on expenditure and cutting down on unnecessary expenditure. The state government has been attracting considerable flak for its “poor fiscal management” in the recent past, which forced it to seek overdrafts from the RBI even for paying salaries to its staff. Bad financial situation has been cited as one of the reasons for the poor performance of the ruling SAD-BJP coalition in the recent parliamentary elections when it lost 10 of the 13 seats it contested. The Chief Minister indicated that more rationalisation and economy measures might be in the offing. “We have 34,000 employees for the SYL project. What are they doing when there is no work on this project? It is the same story as regards the Thein Dam. There are so many surplus employees. We plan to redeploy them elsewhere where they can do some productive work...”. Mr Badal emphasised that there would be no retrenchment of the government staff. But the government was certainly entitled to expect a good day work out of its employees. He also emphasised that while there would be no ban on recruitment in the services. He asserted that the financial crunch had not in any way affected the implementation of important development works in the state. Nor had any decision been taken with regard to a 30% cut in the current annual Plan size of the state. Mr Badal, however, pointed out that the process of planning was not traditionally static and evolutionary corrects had been made according to various dynamic indices. “This is an age-old economic tool based on provisionality of economic projections based on essential but variable presumptions. The ultimate test is the scale of the actual Plan expenditure”, he said. In this regard, he asserted Punjab had achieved a significantly higher scale of Plan spending as compared to the annual average of five years of the previous Congress government. The annual average for the period 1992-97 came a clear increase of 47% over the previous scale of actual Plan expenditure. This underlined the resolve of his government to go all out for the development of the state and welfare of weaker sections. Mr Badal said market committees in the state were being given more financial autonomy which allowed them to spend up to 60% of their income on developmental schemes in their areas. “They need not come to Chandigarh for every little scheme”, he said. There were 144 market committees in the state and their income totalled nearly Rs 200 crore annually. It had been planned to allow panchayats to employ teachers from villages in government schools in order to overcome the problem of reluctance on the part of government teachers to serve in rural areas. A similar scheme was
being worked out for the health and veterinary sectors. |
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Initiative to restore historical
monuments GURDASPUR, Nov 30 — The Research Resources Conservation Initiative (RRCI) has been formed in the district to undertake restoration of historical monuments. The RRCI is the brainchild of Mrs Gurmeet Rai, who is working as its Director. She expressed gratitude to Mr B.K. Srivastava, Commissioner, Jalandhar division, and Mrs Satwant Sangha, local social worker, for extending help in this direction. The RRCI has identified three historical monuments for restoration which include Kishan Mandir at Kishan Kot, Guru Ki Massad in Sirihargobindpur and Massania Dargah in Massania village, all in Batala subdivision of the district. Mrs Rai said the support for undertaking restoration of the said monuments had been extended by the Archaeological Survey of India, UNDP and UNESCO. The work on restoration of Kishan Mandir had already started and first instalment of Rs 8 lakh has been received by the RRCI for this purpose. Each of these monuments draw attention to the cultural heritage of the Bhakti movement. They are dated back to about 300 years ago. Kishan Mandir has wall paintings which depict stories from Shiv Puran, Bhagvat Puran and from Sikh history. Guru Ki Massad was constructed by the sixth Sikh Guru Hargobind Singh as a gesture of friendship to the Muslims. Massania Dargah was being taken care of by the Syeds until the Partition. According to the folklore, they asked their pir for directions and the lamp at the shrine went off. They left for Pakistan and handed over the responsibility of lighting the lamp to a Christian family. Restoration work on all three sites has been entrusted to a team consisting of social workers, sociologists, conservation architects and art restorers. The work has started at Kishan Mandir. The conservation architects have document the building. The art restorers have started examining the paintings so as to identify the damage and work out the defects for restoring them and the social workers and social scientists have initiated three sets of activities to strengthen the bond of people with the temple. Through gardening, non-formal education and health awareness programmes, an effort is being made to draw attention to values of restoration, conservation and preservation. Restoration and
conservation work at Kishan Kot is an example how people
can become the caretakers of the cultural heritage of
these historical sites. A village club has been
constituted for this purpose. |
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Badal not to have Deputy CM CHANDIGARH, Nov 30 — The Akali Dal President and Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, is in no mood to oblige the coalition partner, the BJP, with the position of a deputy chief ministership, ruling Akali Dal sources here pointed out. Recently certain statements have appeared and one particularly by the general secretary of the BJP, Mr Jagmohan Kaura, seeking the position and at least three ministers’ posts in any future expansion of the Punjab ministry. "There was no agreement to provide the position of a Deputy Chief Minister at the time of the Assembly elections. Was there any reciprocal agreement with the BJP at the Centre during the previous Lok Sabha poll? We helped the BJP win four seats, including the one from Chandigarh. But this was a natural alliance and no preconditions were attached. It was the prerogative of the Prime Minister, and here it is the prerogative of the Chief Minister", a senior leader, obviously showing his displeasure, said. The Akali leadership is unhappy the way the BJP, a coalition partner in the government is publicly pressing its claim to have at least three more ministers from the BJP taken in the Punjab Ministry. "Frankly speaking we do not understand the claim at all. Seven vacancies, if one could call, fell in the Punjab ministry. Five of those supporting Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra resigned, Mr Sarup Singh died and Mrs Jagir Kaur had to quit to take the position of the SGPC presidentship. There was none from the BJP. So what is the fuss?", a senior Akali leader considered close to the Chief Minister, said. He wondered as to why some BJP leader like Mr Jagmohan Kaura has laid claim to the position of deputy chief ministership. "It is an afterthought after the results of the recently Lok Sabha poll. The BJP is emboldened and is asserting as it considered Mr Badal weak and vulnerable", he said. Talk with this functionary of the Akali Dal was on the condition of anonymity. In fact Akali leaders feel slighted the way the induction of Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa has been done. First, he was given an insignificant portfolio of Works and Estates and later even this was taken away and he was given Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation. One does not know what sense it makes? Now the Prime Minister, Mr A.B. Vajpayee, has told Mr Badal that after elections in Bihar and Orissa, Mr Dhindsa would get a suitable department to prove his mettle. Back in Punjab, Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, MP from Sangrur, the home district of Mr Dhindsa, has been making fun of the Akalis. Mr Mann considers, as he wont is, as insulting the Sikhs. Akalis also wonder at the sharp division among the BJP ministers and leaders. Both Local Bodies Minister Balramji Das Tandon and Food and Supplies Minister Madan Mohan Mittal are bitterly opposed to each other. Mr Kaura's hint that two ministers were not behaving referred to Mr Mittal, and one more BJP minister may be Master Mohan Lal. Internecine rivalry too is showing, these Akali leaders asserted. But the BJP leadership, which is yet to make public why the coalition lost so badly in the elections to the Lok Sabha, feels it is united and there is no bickerings. "Small differences should not be played up", one BJP minister said. Meanwhile, Mr Badal during the coming expansion may accommodate some BJP MLAs and also shuffle certain portfolios of the BJP ministers. A clear assessment has
been made, sources pointed out. |
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Badal launches pension scheme NAWANSHAHR, Nov 30 — The Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, today, launched "pension scheme for panchayat secretaries and employees of zila parishads and panchayats samitis and distributed pension cheques to employees belonging to Barnala, Bhunorheri, Sangrur, Chamkaur Sahib, Ludhiana and Sirhind Zila Parishads and panchayat Samitis at a function organised at Doaba Arya Senior Secondary School here. Employees of zila parishads and panchayat samitis, which came into existence in 1962, had been demanding pension benefits since long. With the acceptance of the demand, as many as 3049 employees of 17 zila parishads and 138 panchayat samitis would be benefited. Addressing the gathering, Mr Badal, urged people to vote in favour of the SAD-BJP nominee in the coming Nawanshahr byelection. Describing the Congress as a gang of tricksters, Mr Badal said it had always pursued the policy of 'divide and rule' for capturing power while the SAD was a pro-people party and had always worked for the welfare of people. The Chief Minister said though the result of byelection would have no bearing on the state government, yet verdict in favour of the SAD-BJP nominee would give a boost to the development of Nawanshahr. Without naming anyone, the CM said certain leaders of the Panth had struck an unholy deal with the Congress for harming the interests of the Panth. He asked people to beware of them. Mr Nirmaljit Singh Kahlon, Rural Development and Panchayats Minister, said the SAD-BJP government was committed to giving more powers to panchayats. The Chief Minister distributed cheques for Rs 5100 each to as many as 200 beneficiaries of the shagun scheme. Mr S.P. Angra, BDPO, Nawanshahr, gave a draft for Rs 50,000 to the CM as contribution of panchayats of the area for the cyclone victims of Orissa. Later, the CM visited the local judicial complex and addressed members of the local Bar Association. He announced a grant of Rs 51 lakh for the library of the Bar. He also met a number of delegations, which included teachers, medical practitioners, traders etc and heard their grievances. JALANDHAR, (TNS): Mr Badal alleged that ‘sangat darbars’ initiated by the SAD-BJP government to eliminate corruption from the state had been hijacked by the Congress. Talking to newspersons here the Chief Minister said to derail the anti-corruption move of the government the Congress was sending its men to these darbars who were trying to sabotage these by raising irrelevant and political issues. He, however, said ‘sangat darbars’ had been a great success and would continue to function. On the proposed Cabinet
expansion Mr Badal said experience, reputation and
honesty would form the basis for the selection of
ministers. Denying that there was any rift between
Shiromani Akali Dal and its alliance partner BJP, Mr
Badal said the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee,
had assured him that a portfolio of substantial
importance would be given to Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa,
who had recently been inducted into the Union Cabinet,
after assembly elections in February. |
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Step to prevent ST evasion PATIALA, Nov 30 — In a bid to tighten loopholes in the tax structure, the Punjab Government has put a stop to exemption certificates being issued by the Khadi Gramodyog which were being misused by traders to avoid paying sales tax. The Khadi Gramodyog will no longer be authorised to issue certificates which entitled dealers from availing the benefit of exemption from payment of sales tax and purchase tax. This facility had been allowed for the cottage industries of the state in 1992. The certificate issued by the gramodyog stated that small manual work was being done by the unit owner. Sources said since the inception of the scheme, other traders, specially rice millers and brickkiln owners, were misusing the facility by getting a certificate from the gramodyog. The accessing authorities could do little in the matter. They said the government would have lost crores of rupees if the concession to cottage industries had not been withdrawn. However, with the withdrawal of the notice, genuine cottage industries are likely to feel the pinch. The sources said if something was not done to offset this loss, cottage industries employing intensive labour would be discouraged. Patiala Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner (DETC) Daljit Singh said that the Commissioner's office here had issued a notice stating that the earlier notification allowing the Khadi Board to issue certificates of genuiness had been withdrawn. He said the notice had directed all senior taxation officers in the state to examine the old Act and take necessary action urgently. Mr Daljit Singh said in Patiala and Sangrur districts the earlier scheme had been grossly misused by shellers and brick-kiln owners. He said in both these districts the rice millers had saved more than Rs 15 lakh in taxes per year by availing of the scheme. He said as the extent of the loss suffered by the department was still to be calculated, it was difficult to say how much money had not accrued to the exchequer due to the earlier scheme. The DETC said he had asked all assistant excise and taxation officers to give a report as to how much money would be generated through those who had not paid sales tax and purchase tax by availing of the earlier scheme. He said the final picture would emerge after this revenue was accessed. The government had
issued a notification on February 17, 1992, under Section
30 of the Punjab General Sales Tax Act which entitled
exemption from sales tax and purchase tax on the strength
of exemption certificate issued by the commission
constituted under the Khadi and Village Industries
Commission Act, 1956. |
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Explain waterlogging to people:
PCC CHANDIGARH, Nov 30 — The Economic and Planning Cell of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee has urged the state government to explain to people why the problem of waterlogging in the Muktsar belt has not been solved so far despite having spent Rs 300 crore on it. In a three-page statement here today by the Chairman of the cell, Mr R.R. Bhardwaj, it is alleged that whatever funds the state government has at its disposal are not being utilised properly. Drawing the attention of the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal to the statements he had made in poll meetings in the Lok Sabha election, Mr Bhardwaj said the Chief Minister asked the people to vote for his party as he had solved the water-logging problem of the area. But from the representation made before the 11th Finance Commission that the problem of waterlogging required to be tackled in a comprehensive way, it is clear that much needs to be done and what had been done earlier has not been done properly, Mr Bhardwaj said. The official documents released by state government presented a different picture as regards waterlogging. They state that the problem of waterlogging has resulted in a loss of revenue due to a fall in cotton production. Besides it has caused a damage to the infrastructure facilities such as buildings, roads, drinking water supply schemes, canals, etc on a large scale. In fact, the government has requested the Centre to give a grant of Rs 300 crore for the purpose. The government has also admitted that in addition to Muktsar areas, the waterlogging is taking place in the pockets of Nawanshahr, Gurdaspur and Ludhiana districts and 1.5 lakh hectares of water-logged land remains in south-west districts of Punjab. Where then has Rs 300 crore gone which the Punjab Government spent in the past three years for waterlogging? Mr Bhardwaj asks the government. He has also questioned
the measures taken to tackle waterlogging in the
Muktsar-Malout belt. He quoted Dr G.S. Dhillon, an expert
on the subject, as saying that the drainage system did
not have independent outfall into the Sutlej and it is
impeded with weed growth in the bed. It would also create
problems in the Fazilka belt. |
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Pak pressuring militants:
DIG GURDASPUR, Nov 30 —Pakistan has stepped up terrorist activities against India after coup there. This was stated by Mr S.P.S. Tanwar, DIG, BSF, Gurdaspur sector, here today. Mr Tanwar said Taaj Hussain Seth, a Pakistani smuggler had been given 2500 acres of land on a 99-year lease obviously against a task to be carried out by him against India. Taaj is the blue eyed favourite of the ISI. He was sceptical that Taaj was at the back of the digging of tunnel in the Kamalpur Jattan sector which was recently detected by the BSF. The involvement of the ISI and Jacca Masih who is working on the farm of Taaj was also not ruled out. Mr Tanwar said the ISI was also putting tremendous pressure on Punjabi militants based in Lahore. They included Paramjit Singh Panjwar, (KCF), Wadhawa Singh and Mahal Singh (Babber Khalsa), Ranjit Singh Neeta (Khalistan Zindabad Force) and Wassan Singh Zaffarwal. He said despite vigorous
efforts of the ISI the BSF had been able to check
trans-border activities in the Gurdaspur sector and not
even a single border crossing had been reported this year
so far. As many as 38 Bangla nationals were arrested
while trying to cross over to Pakistan and 11 Pak
nationals were arrested and one Pak national killed while
attempting to cross over to India this year. |
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Doc advocates ban on pan
masala AMRITSAR, Nov 30 — A study conducted by leading cancer specialists here has revealed that Sikhs remain almost free of oral cancer as the community had not been using tobacco in any form. While in Mumbai alone more than 16 persons out of 10,000 suffer from this dreadful disease. Giving these statistics, Dr B.R. Srivastva, Director of the Gwalior-based Cancer Institute, added that Chennai and Gwalior too had 14 and 13.5 persons per 10,000 suffering from oral cancer which, he pointed out, was primarily due to the intake of pan masala, smoking and chewing of tobacco. Dr Srivastva felt the government should impose a total ban on the consumption of pan masala and chewing tobacco in any form as the study had confirmed that supari and tobacco were the main culprits causing mouth cancer. Dr Srivastva along with Dr N. Rajan, head of the Department of Radiotherapy, R.C. College, Trivandrum, were here to attend a two-day seminar on early detection and treatment of cancer held under the auspices of the World Health Organisation and the Ministry of Health and Family Planning. The seminar was held at the Department of Radiotherapy at the local medical college. The cancer specialist while talking to The Tribune reporter here today said a recent study conducted by Japanese doctors revealed that persons who consumed non-vegetarian food and smoked and took liquor were five times more prone to cancer. Indians would not be far behind in comparison to the Japanese, he claimed. Dr Srivastva was of the opinion that self-diagnosis could prove to be a boon for the people. He suggested that while cleaning teeth in the morning one should see if there was any red sore or wound on the lips or on the inner side of the mouth. The patient should immediately contact the doctor for a thorough screening. Early detection could save many lives. He was confident that a large number of patients could be saved as cancer was curable as much as preventable. The lack of awareness was resulting in patients coming with cancer at an advanced stage. This had caused many fatalities. He suggested that the message about its early detection and prevention should be spread throughout the country. The doctors attending the seminar expressed dismay over the lack of a proper cancer treatment centre in Punjab. There were only three centres in the state while Tamil Nadu have over 17 such centres. The seminar was aimed at
providing first-hand knowledge to doctors working at
primary and community health centres in Punjab so that
these doctors could spread the message and improve
awareness among the community they are closely associated
with. |
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The vulture is back in
Punjab CHANDIGARH, Nov 30 — It has happened. Call it a miracle. The vulture is back. It has been sighted in Ferozepore district of Punjab. Though their number is very small, only eight, but state wildlife officers are elated over locating the world’s best natural scavenger. As vultures, which used to be most common sight a few years ago, have disappeared in almost all parts of the country, a nationwide “vulture alert” has been sounded by Dr Asad R. Rahmani, Director of the Bombay Natural History Society in December last year, requesting the conservationists across the country to look out for these giant-sized birds. Since then, Punjab’s wildlife department officers have been on an extra alert on the vulture front to locate the birds. Success for them came only a few days ago. Mr B.C. Bala and Mr Gurmit Singh, Chief Conservator and Chief Wildlife Warden and Director, Wildlife, Punjab , respectively, were on their way back to Chandigarh from Harike wetland when all of a sudden they sighted big birds perched on trees along the road side near Makhu. Mr Bala said as “our vehicle was moving a bit fast. We remained in doubt for a while about the identity of the bird”. But then the driver was told take the vehicle nearer the trees. As sun has almost set and daylight was fading fast, after having a close view it was confirmed that the birds were vultures, he added. “For us it was a moment of joy as well as surprise. We found for what we were looking for the past one year or so,” he added. A report is being sent to all concerned in this regard including the Bombay society. The Wildlife Research Institute, Dehradun and Salim Ali Centre for Ornothology and Nature Conservation, Coimbatore. Mr Bala said the Salim Ali centre had been given the project by the Central Government to study the problem with regard to disappearance of vultures in the country. The Centre had requested the state governments concerned to give them these birds if found anywhere in the country for proper study and to find out the reason for their mortality en masse in the past few years. It would not be possible to give these birds to the Centre as their number is very small. “We would consult experts in wildlife and if possible try for their breeding in captivity to enhance their number”. It has been reported that due to some viral disease, vultures were almost wiped out in the country. Mr Bala said an undertraining India Forest Services (IFS) officer Mr Saurabh Gupta, has sent a report that he had also seen some scavenger vultures in the Dhar-Dunera area near Pathankot. A team of officials would be rushing to that place to find out the exact number of vultures there. Mr Bala said his immediate concern was to keep track of the vultures. Only after consultations with experts the next step would be taken. He said anyone who would
provide information about vultures in any part of the
state, the department would honour him and give a
commendation certificate. |
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Books on Sikhism released AMRITSAR: Two books — “Grandeur of Khalsa” (English) and “Name ki Wadaye” (Punjabi) — both authored by eminent Sikh scholar and former Pro Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University were released here recently to mark the 30th Foundation Day of the university. Both books are written in simple language for the benefit of the new generation. The first book was released by Yogi Harbhajan Singh, an internationally renowned Sikh preacher, and the second by Mr S.S. Ahluwalia, a former Union Minister. “Grandeur of Khalsa” is published by Guru Nanak Dev University. The title cover carries a photo of Nishan-e-Khalsa of Sri Anandpur Sahib and makes an instant impression on the reader. Likewise the chapters, namely the Grandeur of Khalsa, the Spiritual Splendour, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Great Sikhs and Saints and Kadre Har Kar Guru Gobind Singh deal with the most significant aspects of Khalsa and provide an evaluation of various dimensions of Sikh spirituality and sublimity. The second book ‘Name ki Wadaye’ is published by Bhai Chattar Singh Jiwan Singh, Amritsar. It is in Punjabi and very rich in content ranging from universal brotherhood, message of Gurbani, Gurbani and education to educational problems and experiences. Dr Inderpal Singh is a
Shiromani Lekhak of the state having written, edited and
compiled over two dozen books on diverse subjects like
Dharma, education, life and also textbooks. Last year a
book edited by him entitled “Guru Nanak — A
Global Vision” was released by Mr I.K. Gujral, the
then Prime Minister. Another edited book,
“Education: New Horizons” was recently released
by Mr G.P.S. Sahi, Principal Secretary for Higher
Education. |
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Plea to set up school grants
commission ROPAR, Nov 30 – The Punjab State Aided School Teachers and other Employees Union today demanded from the Union Government to set up a school grants commission on the pattern of the University Grants Commission to ensure regular flow of funds for school education throughout the country. Mr Manohar Lal Chopra, general secretary of the union, said here that besides the setting up of a school grants commission, the government should also raise the allocation of funds for education from the existing 3.8 per cent to 6 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). He said such a move would provide more funds for elementary and secondary education to meet the ever-increasing recurring and non-recurring expenditure to improve the infrastructure for school education. Mr Chopra while hailing the statement of the Union Human Resource Development Minister, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, to make elementary education a fundamental right also demanded that education should be completely free up to at least the secondary-level. The general secretary urged the government to replace the present examination-dominated system by making fundamental changes in the National Policy of Education-1986 so that the dropout rate could be reduced. Mr Chopra also advocated that education should be imparted only through mother tongue while the English language should be introduced from the third standard throughout the country. The general secretary
also demanded liberal grants for the schools run by
non-government organisations. |
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Lawyers protest against govt
move FEROZEPORE, Nov 30 — Members of the local Bar Association took out a march through the main markets in the cantonment area here yesterday in protest against the alleged move of the Punjab Government to further bifurcate the district. Lawyers have been observing strike and boycotting all court work here since November 9. They had also gheraoed the DC office here on November 15. Mr Hari Chand Kamboj and Mr Rakesh Arora, President and Secretary, respectively, of the district Bar Association, stated that the lawyers would continue their strike till December 6 and if their demands were not met by the state government the future course of action would be decided at their next meeting scheduled to be held on December 6 at 1 p.m. They said the agitation was started in protest against the merger of nearly 150 villages of Dharamkot area in Ferozepore district into the newly carved Moga district. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, on his visit to Abohar on Sunday was given resolutions passed by about 36 gram panchayats of the Abohar subdivision regarding the demand for the inclusion of the subdivision in Muktsar district. The Bar Association leaders opposed the alleged move of the government to merge Abohar subdivision with Muktsar district as they said Ferozepore district had already been bifurcated several times by respective governments to achieve their political motives. Any further division would deteriorate the economy of the district. Mr Kamboj and Mr Arora said if the Badal government wanted to compensate the local population it should set up the court of Financial Commissioner, Revenue (Appeals), which was presently established in Chandigarh. They further demanded the setting up of a labour court at Ferozepore. Criticising Mr Badal they said when they had met him in connection with their demands but he did not give any positive response. "Mr Badal told us that he had to see the interests of the people concerned", they added. The association leaders
said if Mr Badal wanted to further bifurcate the district
in view of the distance from one place to another he
should do the same with other districts too, besides
Ferozepore. Mr Badal should reorganise all districts in
Punjab and allocate equal geographical area to each
district, they suggested. |
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Held for taking bribe KAPURTHALA, Nov 30 — The vigilance police today arrested S.D. Sharma, Chairman, Kapurthala — Ferozepore Kshetriya Gramin Bank, for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 5000 from Lakhbir Singh of Tongawala village. The vigilance police recovered 10 notes of Rs 500 from S.D. Sharma. Gurmit Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Vigilance) said the accused had demanded a bribe of Rs 8000 to sanction the loan case of Mr Lakhbir Singh for the purchase of truck and a deal was struck at Rs 5000. On knowing about the
case the employees of all local nationalised banks went
on strike and staged a dharna on the Kapurthala-Jalandhar
road blocking traffic. |
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Fund created for ESI
hospitals LUDHIANA, Nov 30 — A revolving fund of Rs 25 lakh has been created by the ESI Corporation for the various ESI hospitals in the state. This fund would be utilised for making advance payments to the super speciality hospitals for the labourers getting themselves operated there. This was disclosed by the Punjab Health Minister, Mr Manoranjan Kalia, while talking to this correspondent here today. He also said pending bills worth Rs 1.5 crore would be remitted within the next two months. Mr Kalia, while talking about the ministry’s plan to update the health services in the various ESI hospitals, said that ultrasound scans, X-ray machine and semi-auto analysers would be installed in seven ESI hospitals at Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Rajpura, Bathinda, Amritsar, SAS Nagar and Mandi Gobindgarh. The Health Minister also
informed that he had convened a meeting of the various
civil surgeons at Chandigarh on December 7 to discuss the
third phase of pulse polio immunisation to begin on
December 19. He said that 16000 camps would be organised
and 64000 volunteers would participate in this campaign. |
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Pumps not to supply petrol to
police MOGA, Nov 30 — Owners of all petrol pumps in the entire district have decided not to supply petrol, diesel and other petroleum products to the police, body guards of the VIPs and those connected with them in view of the failure of the Police Department to make payments of their outstanding bills which runs into lakhs for the past several years. The decision to this effect was made at a meeting of the Petrol Pump Owners' Association of the district held here yesterday. Mr Ashok Thapar, a member of the All-India Petrol Pump Owners Association, said the Police Department in the district had failed to make payments of their outstanding bills despite assurances given by them that all their bills would be cleared shortly, but nothing had been done in this connection. They urged the Chief
Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal and Director-General of
Police, Mr Sarbjit Singh, to intervene in the matter. |
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Mobile phones seized AMRITSAR, Nov 30 — Customs staff under the supervision of Mr Amresh Jain, Deputy Commissioner (anti-smuggling), detected two cases of 165 smuggled mobile phones of different brands valued at around Rs 16 lakhs, which arrived by the flight IC-882 from Sharjah. In the first case 147 mobile phones were seized which were concealed by Manjit Kaur Multani. During preliminary investigations she revealed that she was carrying the phones as per her husband Avtar Singh Multan’s directions who was also travelling separately on the same flight. Interrogation of both the persons was in progress. In the second case 18
mobile phones were concealed in a box under biscuits by
another passenger Balbir Singh Saini. Further
investigations are on. |
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Refresher course on human rights AMRITSAR, Nov 30 — The adverse sex ratio in Punjab meant serious implications for gender equality, warned Justice V.K. Khanna, Chairman, Punjab Human Rights Commission, while inaugurating a refresher course on “human rights education” at the Senate Hall of Guru Nanak Dev University last evening. Justice Khanna said
Punjab had the lowest jatha of 721 females against 1000
males as compared with the all-India ratio of 927 males.
He said foeticide and a high mortality rate among female
infants adversely effected the quality of life. In
Kerala, he said, a high sex ratio had made a major
contribution towards overall social development. |
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BKU protest rally against
price hike HOSHIARPUR, Nov 30 — Members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union BKU led by Mr Swarn Singh Dhugga, President of the district unit, staged a dharna and a rally in protest against the hike in diesel, petrol and LPG rates in front of the District Courts here today. Addressing the rally Mr Ajmer Singh Lakhowal, State President of the union, condemned the State and Centre governments for increasing prices of petrol and diesel and alleged that, this had hampered the economy of farmers. He said farmers were suffering because of the wrong policies of the government. He demanded reservation for farmers. Mr Lakhowal condemned reservation policy of the government. He said reservation had not shown desired results. Only a few families of Dalits had benefited from it. Referring to the prevailing corruption in the Revenue Department he said the government should fix value of rural and urban lands according to the prevailing rates in the market. This would definitely minimise the corruption in the department. He demanded the payments of arrears of farmers for their supply of sugarcane to the mills. Later they presented a
memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner in this regard. |
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Homoeopathy training given LUDHIANA, Nov 30 — The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare sponsored a re-orientation training programme in the field of homoeopathy in Sri Guru Nanak Dev Homoeopathic College, Ludhiana, today. The programme was inaugurated by Dr Bhupinder Singh, Chairman of the Homoeopathic Council, Punjab, which was attended by at least 200 delegates. This programme has been started first time in Punjab for imparting special training in homoeopathy to teachers, physicians and research workers. Dr Bhupinder Singh in his speech said more such programmes would be held at different institutions in the state. Dr Tejinder Pal Singh,
member, Central Council of Homoeopathy, and member,
Homoeopathic Council, Punjab, said the programme would go
a long way in the development and growth of the
homoeopathy system in Punjab and urged the government to
conduct more such programmes to train the homoeopathic
fraternity in the state. |
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Sahota takes over as
Agriculture Director CHANDIGARH, Nov 30 — Capt Deep Singh Sahota, Joint Director of Agriculture (Plant Protection, today took over charge as Director, Agriculture, Punjab, a press note here today said. Known as a cotton expert, Capt Sahota got training in cotton production technology in the USA. As Army officer, he served in Nagaland and also fought two battles —1965 and 1971 against Pakistan. He also worked as Deputy Director (Cotton) World Bank Project at Muktsar. He was promoted Joint
Director in July, 1991. |
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Send Sikh jathas to Pak:
Khaira CHANDIGARH, Nov 30 — The secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, Mr Sukhpal Singh Khaira, in a statement here today has urged the SGPC chief, Bibi Jagir Kaur, to start sending Sikh jathas to Pakistan. He said Bibi Jagir Kaur was making statements to make political advantage and to have publicity. Neither she had met Prime Minister Vajpayee nor sent any delegation to Pakistan for resolving the issue pertaining to the formation of the Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PGPC). Sikh devotees, who
recently returned from Pakistan, have stated that they
faced no problem and proper arrangements had been made
for the celebration of Guru Nanak Dev's birth
anniversary. |
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