Monday, May 24, 1999
|
P U N J A B | |
Monday, May 24, 1999 |
| weather n
spotlight today's calendar |
 |
||
|
Tohra
holds meeting despite opposition
|
 |
|
|||||||
|
Amarinder
too had sent resignation Effigies of trio burnt CM ready if Pawar seeks SAD
support
117 terrorist-hit families get
financial help Gang of timber smugglers busted Akali leader stabbed to death Pbi varsity may scrap some
entrance tests City father's death: CBI probe
sought |
|||||||||
 |
||||
Tohra holds meeting despite
opposition FATEHGARH SAHIB, May 23 — The management of Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib did not allow the Tohra faction to hold its meeting in Mata Gujri Sarai in the gurdwara complex today. The doors of the hall had been locked where the meeting was supposed to be held and the police was also deployed in large number to prevent them, but the Tohra faction insisted on holding the meeting there. As soon as Mr Tohra arrived they pushed open the main gate and held the meeting in the compound of the sarai. Addressing the largely-attended meeting of party workers, Mr Tohra lashed out at Mr Badal and said that by deploying the police in uniform and with shoes in the gurdwara complex, he had destroyed the Sikh traditions and values. He said whatever the opposition governments could not do, this so called panthic government had done to the Sikhs. He said the Badal government had only one credit that was that it claimed to be a panthic government but now by showing disrespect to the Akal Takht, suspending Jathedar of the Akal Takht and deploying police in gurdwaras he had lost this credit also. He dared Mr Badal to come to the field and to face the people. He said it was easy to encourage factionalism and commit atrocities, when one was running the government. He said that he would issue a 'black paper' on the misdeeds of the Badal government compared to the white paper on the SGPC functioning. He said all development projects in the state had come to a standstill. The state was facing an economic crisis. The Finance Minister had no knowledge about finance and due to his un-imaginative policies the crisis had occurred. He said every section of society, employees, traders, farmers and petty shop-keepers were agitating. He said Mr Badal could not take any decision on his own, a coterie of sychophants around him took the decisions. The posts of 24 IAS officers of the Punjab cadre at the Centre were lying vacant. On this occasion in a
resolution the Tohra faction expelled Mr Swaran Singh
Chanarthal from the district presidentship of SAD as he
had defected to the Badal camp. In an another resolution
, the workers requested Mr Tohra to lead the party. |
||
May 30 convention to choose
leader PATIALA, May 23 — The May 30 convention called by former SGPC chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra would bring a "revolution" in Akali politics. In a press statement, Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra, former member of Parliament, said the "revolution" would bring an end to the "anti-people, anti-state and anti-employees regime" of Mr Parkash Singh Badal and herald all-round prosperity under a new leader to be chosen at the convention. The statement claimed there was widespread enthusiasm among the youth, farmers, businessmen, shopkeepers, students and Akali workers about the proposed convention. He said all sections of society were disillusioned with the governance of Mr Badal and his coterie. He claimed the Badal government had not provided jobs to any Akali worker, no school has been upgraded, roads were in a bad condition and pensionery benefits had not reached the public. Mr Chandumajra said
instead of taking people along, Mr Badal had used force
to silence any voice of protest. When the
"halwais" protested against
"arbitrary" taxes, they were beaten. The
teachers, too, received a similar treatment while the
nurses were locked in jails. |
||
Power crisis in Punjab LUDHIANA, May 23 — The state of Punjab will face a shortage in power supply from June to August, with a deficit of almost 3 per cent as a result the Punjab State Electricity Board has decided to impose the peak load restrictions on the large scale industry throughout the year. According to official sources, the 3 per cent deficit of electricity is predicted with the assumption that three phase supply to tubewells for the forthcoming paddy season would be given for eight hours, the generation at the three thermal plants at Lehra Mohabbat, Bathinda and Ropar remains normal and that the monsoons arrive on time. It is learnt that the anticipated availability as against the requirement for June, July and August indicate that with regular generation at the three thermal power plants, the full deficit would be wiped out. Thus officials at the electricity board have ruled out the imposition of compulsory staggered weekly off days on general industries as relief shall be required only on the days of outages. However, the officials say that they might have to impose peak load restrictions on medium supply consumers having sanctions load of 50 KW and above, in order to control the maximum demand of the state. The PSEB has also come up with a plan of action to be initiated for the load generation balance under the normal monsoon conditions like switching off the single phase supply to rural feeders for two to three hours, reducing the three phase supply to tubewells to one hour, power cut up to one to two hours on urban/industrial feeders (other than in Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala and SAS Nagar. In case, the monsoons
are late or below normal, officials say that the PSEB
will make a request to the Government of India for
allocating power from the unallocated kitty of the
central generating stations. The 10 to 20 per cent
allocation will bring relief to 20 LU to 40 LU's per day.
Officials feel that in such a scenario, they might also
have to impose compulsory off days on all industrial
consumers. |
||
Amarinder too had sent resignation JALANDHAR, May 23 (UNI) — The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), chief Capt Amarinder Singh today said that he, too, had submitted his resignation from the office of state president to pressurise Mrs Sonia Gandhi to withdraw her resignation from party presidentship. The PPC chief said that he would not stay as PPCC President if she did not withdraw her resignation. Addressing mediapersons here, Capt Amarinder Singh said he had faxed his resignation to 10 Janpath on May 18 from London and the same had been acknowledged having been received. Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Choudhary Jagjit Singh, who was sitting with him, replied in the affirmative when asked if he had also submitted his resignation. However, when a delegation of 45 Congressmen from Punjab, including eight MLAs, three ex-PPCC Presidents, six former MPs besides several former ministers and PPCC office bearers, met Mrs Gandhi at 10 Janpath on May 19 under the leadership of Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, both Capt Amarinder Singh and Choudhary Jagjit Singh were absent. While Capt Amarinder Singh by his own admission was away in London, the CLP leader was in the country but he did not pen his signature to the memorandum submitted by Mrs Bhattal to Mrs Gandhi, appealing her to withdraw her resignation. Asked if he would support Dr Manmohan Singh as president of the AICC in case Sonia Gandhi did not agree to the demand for withdrawal of resignation, Capt Amarinder Singh quipped: "I will not be PPCC President if Soniaji is not party president". Claiming that her foreign origin was not an issue, Capt Amarinder Singh claimed that Sonia Gandhi had been accepted as Indian leader of the Congress as proved by the party success in state elections in November under her able leadership. The PPCC chief Amarinder Singh claimed that no one in Punjab would desert the party to join the trio of Sharad Pawar, P.A. Sangma, and Tariq Anwar whom he described as "petty people" who raised a totally "irrelevant issue" at a time when the party was successfully preparing for the mid-term Lok Sabha poll. Asked if he approved of the demand for legislation debarring persons of foreign origin from holding the office of President, Vice-President and Prime Minister, he said: "Any Indian citizen can hold these offices as there is no constitutional bar on it." He alleged that Mr Pawar had 'betrayed' the Congress to raise a pressure group with the hope of becoming Prime Minister like Mr I.K Gujral. The PPCC President said the state unit would short list candidates for the coming elections keeping in view the spirit of Pachmari resolution. He, however, said there could be an exception in the case of Mr Jagmeet Singh Brar in respect of the Pachmari resolution which barred the allotment of ticket to a Congressman who had lost the Lok Sabha election twice because "he (Brar) is a fighter". But he did not say so in respect of Jalandhar where Mr Umrao Singh had lost both the 1996 and 1998 Lok Sabha elections. Capt Amarinder Singh said there was a great rush for party tickets and nine applications had been received for Jalandhar and 27 for Ludhiana by the May 20 deadline. Asked to clarify his
stand on party entering into some electoral arrangement
in Punjab, the PPCC chief reiterated: "We can win
election on our own in Punjab and coalition was not
necessary but the final decision will be taken by the
party high command." |
||
Effigies of trio burnt PATIALA, May 23 — Senior Congress leaders and workers today organised a rally and burnt effigies of the expelled leaders, Mr Sharad Pawar, Mr P.A. Sangma and Mr Tariq Anwar. The trio were criticised by the speakers at a rally, "unnecessarily creating a crisis" in the party by opposing the candidature of Mrs Sonia Gandhi for the Prime Minister's post. Senior Congress leader Ajay Thapar said the effigies were burnt as the three leaders had brought a bad name to the "disciplined force of the Congress party". Mr Thapar argued that if a resident of Rohtak could become the Prime Minister of Fizi, then why could Mrs Sonia Gandhi not hold the premier office of the country. Mr Sanjeev Garg, Organising Secretary, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, said all Congress workers and leaders in the state were with Mrs Sonia Gandhi. He appealed to Mrs Gandhi to withdraw her resignation in the "larger interests of the party and the nation." The rallyists blocked traffic at the Rajbaha road. Among others who spoke on the occasion were Mr Vishnu Sharma, Mr Kabir Dass, Mr Nirmal Bhattian, Mrs Satya Walia and Mrs Amarjit Kaur Bhattal. AMRITSAR: At least 2500 prominent Congress workers belonging to the Amritsar Rural district unit, led by Mr Gurinder Singh Kairon left for Delhi on Sunday in a caravan of 50 vehicles to urge the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, to withdraw her resignation. Each of the workers wore a saffron siropa. Mr Kairon said he had applied for the party ticket for the Tarn Taran Lok Sabha seat which he lost to the Akali Dal candidate, Mr Prem Singh Lalpura, in the last Lok Sabha elections. The seat again went to the Akali Dal in the by-election that followed. One of the banners
carried by the workers read "Bahu, beti ka apman,
nahi sahega Hindustan". |
||
CM ready if Pawar seeks SAD
support HOSHIARPUR, May 23 — The proposed formation of a new political party by Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra will not affect the SAD campaign and its candidates in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister, Punjab, said while talking to mediapersons at Saini Bar College, Khadiala Sainian, 15 km from here, today. He said people were wise now and were aware about the role played by Mr Tohra during the tercentenary celebrations of the Khalsa Panth. Replying to a question Mr Badal said that he was never against Mr Tohra and had provided him enough time to rectify his attitude but Mr Tohra failed to do so. Referring to a particular incident Mr Badal said that certain decisions were taken at a meeting of the tercentenary celebration committee at Anandpur Sahib before the event, but instead of implementing those decisions Mr Tohra after forging signatures of certain members in the proceeding book who were not present at the meeting, issued press statement against those decisions. He further said that the SGPC had not spent even a single paisa on the tercentenary celebrations. He ruled out any patch up with Mr Tohra in near future. Mr Badal said that Mr Tohra was responsible for his expulsion from the SAD. When asked about the expulsion of other supporters of Mr Tohra from the SAD, Mr Badal said that he was also giving them ample time to amend themselves according to the situation. If they fail to do so they would also be expelled from the party. Replying to another question he said that the SAD had alliances with the BJP and the BSM. If Mr Sharad Pawar approached him to make any adjustment in the ensuing elections he would give or take support from his proposed party to defeat the Congress. Replying to one more question he said that there was no financial crisis in Punjab. However there were always some financial problems in almost all states. Negating the rumours of a financial crisis, he said the state government had recently provided Rs 400 crore for the Thein dam and Rs 1200 crore to its employees. Later, while addressing the Akali Dal workers' conference, Mr Badal said the working committee of the SAD would decide the candidates for all Lok Sabha seats in Punjab in near future. Mr Balwinder Singh,
Bhunder, General Secretary, SAD, Mr Kamal Chaudhry,
former MP, Mr Balbir Singh Miani, Mrs Mohinder Kaur, Mr
Sohan Singh Dhandal and Mr Tikshan Sud, all MLAs, Mr
Devinder Singh Bajwa, president of district unit of SAD,
and many other local leaders also addressed the
conference. |
||
Committed to peace ABOHAR: She travelled with members of the Pakistan cricket team on her seventh tour to India. This time too she was here to spread the message of Lionism. She happens to be International Director (Endorsee) of the International Association of Lions Clubs. The invitation for the visit was extended to her by delegates from Rajasthan to an international conference. "Believe me, I was so much preoccupied in my country that it was virtually not convenient to come to the deserts of Rajasthan, but my husband got fed up with calls from young organisers of the regional conference at Sriganganagar. He asked me to oblige the Indian admirers, Ms Nilofer Bakhtiar said with a smile turning her face rosy. She said on her first visit she stayed at a five star hotel near the zoo in Mumbai. She looked out of the window and was hurt to see the poor in jhuggis. "None of them had adequate clothes. I had a different picture of India. To me India was one of the most developing and prosperous country. But the view I saw made me realise that there was hardly any difference between people of India and Pakistan. Fifty per cent women were illiterate, medical facilities and other basic amenities were inadequate. Why Atom bombs have become a priority on both sides of the border? Why our governments were more concerned about missiles than providing clean water to people in villages and slums? She questioned. Born in a rich Pathan family, 5 feet 8 inches beautiful Nilofer (41) looks after three children besides attending to a senior executive job. Her family is one of the highly reputed families of Rawalpindi, which is associated with a large number of social service projects. She has held different posts in the Lions Club. She says Lionism had made the way for the Lahore-Delhi bus diplomacy. Mr Nawaz Sharif and Atal Behari Vajpayee had understood our motto of universal brotherhood and peace. No Prime Minister can deny that we share river waters, floods, springs, languages and rich cultural heritage. Political thinkings could not separate the people of the two nations who were brothers living in different houses. We in Pakistan enjoy Indian movies and songs, use Dabur hair oil and "paan masalas". Similarly I found that Indians still preferred PTV plays. We have Mukesh and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - very between us, you can't brand the music in terms of religion or politics. Nilofer asked the leaders, who had failed to provide books, clothes, medicines to people, what right they had to spend crores of precious public money on manufacturing explosive weapons and boast of its use. "My mother was not able to visit her birthplace at Dehradun. She was not issued a visa during last 50 years only because she was daughter of an army officer. Other visa applicants are equally callously treated at diplomatic offices in New Delhi and Islamabad. Why the common man should be deprived of visiting a birth place or shrine or friend? she asked. Ms Nilofer, visited
Tapovan, a social service complex which also runs a blood
bank, after attending the regional conference organised
by her soul brother Jyoti Kanda. She also donated blood.
"Our blood too is common. If my blood would be used
to save any Indian brother or sister, I will be proud.
This will further strengthen our relations. Lions will
have to tell the political leaders that we Indians and
Pakistanis were brothers and sisters and would remain so
for ever. But Lions everywhere should take a pledge to
work for the welfare of the society irrespective of
caste, creed and religion. |
||
117 terrorist-hit families
get financial help JALANDHAR, May 23 — Punjab political parties have been misusing Akal Takht for their own ends for a long time. This was stated by Mr Satya Pal Dang, a CPI leader, at a function of the Shaheed Parivar Fund organised by the Hind Samachar group of newspapers here today. He said the supreme authority of the Sikhs was Akal Takht, but its jathedars had been changed at will for the fulfilment of political objectives, totally ignoring religious and social purposes. He said terrorism had not been totally wiped out from Punjab. He also criticised the setting up of the Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. Financial help of Rs 11,70,000 was given to 117 terrorist-affected families in the shape of Unit Trust of India certificates. Bhagat Hans Rajji of Ram
Sharnam Ashram, Gohana (Haryana), was a special invitee.
The Himachal Pradesh Governor, Ms V.S. Rama Devi, was the
chief guest. |
||
Gang of timber smugglers
busted GURDASPUR, May 23 — The police has busted a gang involved in the smuggling of khairwood from Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab. The gang includes Banjo and Kaku of Jammu and Kashmir, still at large, Sahib Singh, Angrej Singh, lodged in the Dharamsala jail for a case of murder. The other two gang members Dharam Singh and Som Raj have been arrested by the district police. Mr Varinder Kumar, SSP, said here today 219 quintal of khairwood worth Rs 5.5 lakh was found in their possession. The district police chief said Banjo and Kaku used to bring khairwood from Jammu and Kashmir and supply it to their accomplices Sahib Singh, Angraj Singh and Dharm Pal , alias Roda, who would further bring it to the authorised khairwood contractors at Mukerian, Hoshiarpur and Jalandhar. He said the Sujanpur police on a specific information interrogated Som Raj, a resident of Chhann Kothe under Pathankot sub-division and found stolen goods including TVs, cycles, and electric motors worth several thousands in his possession. Som Raj during his interrogation disclosed that Sahib Singh and Angrej Singh both residents of Chhann Kothe and Dharam Pal, alias Roda of Sujanpur were also involved in the crime. The district police
chief said Sahib Singh and Angrej Singh were brought here
on production warrants. On interrogation they said they
had also hidden 219 quintals of khairwood. The police
recovered the wood and registered a case under section
379, 411 of the IPC against the suspects. |
||
Akali leader stabbed to death PATIALA, May 23 — District SAD dal (SC-ST wing) president Sohan Lal Dukhi was today stabbed to death allegedly by two youths. According to the FIR registered at kotwali police station, the deceased went to open his hotel near the local bus stand around 3.30 a.m. when Rakesh Kumar and Ajay Kumar, both belonging to the same locality where Sohan Lal lived, attacked him. Mr Narjinder Singh Sekhon, SP (Headquarters) said one of the accused had been arrested. He said according to reports available Mr Dukhi who was a selfless social servant had earned the wrath of the two accused as he stopped them from indulging in anti-social activities. Leaders of various political parties mourned the death of Mr Dukhi and condemned his murder. In a joint statement the SAD "BJP" Bahujan Samaj Morcha, INTUC, the Safai Mazdoor Federation and the Punjab State Services Federation have expressed sympathies with the family of Mr Dukhi. The leaders have demanded immediate arrest of the killers. They have urged the district police chief to beef up security of politicians due to the mid-term poll. Mr Sohan Lal Dukhi had
fought elections for the local parliamentary seat in 1992
on BSP (Ambedkar) ticket. Later he joined the SAD. |
||
Pbi varsity may scrap some
entrance tests PATIALA, May 23 — Punjabi University here is likely to scrap the entrance test for admissions to post-graduate courses in languages, pure sciences and social sciences from the next academic year. However, entrance tests would be held for courses where number of students would be more than the available seats. The entrance tests were introduced in year 1993 by the then Vice-Chancellor, Dr Joginder Singh Puar, whose term ended on May 14 this year. According to highly placed sources, Dr Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia, Vice-Chancellor, held meetings with office-bearers of the Punjabi University Teachers Association last week in which dean academic affairs and other administrative officers also participated. The issue of entrance tests was also discussed. It was decided that entrance tests for admissions to professional courses like MBA, computers, pharmacy, bio-technology etc run in the campus would be conducted according to the previous policy. The tests for admissions to courses in languages, sciences and social sciences would be scrapped. Mr S.S. Khaira,
president, Punjabi University Teachers Association, when
contacted said abolition of entrance tests had been one
of their main demands. He said ever since the
introduction of entrance tests in 1993 many departments
were getting none or few students. |
||
City father's death: CBI
probe sought SANGRUR, May 23 — Family members have demanded a CBI probe into the death of Mr Mohinder Singh, a Municipal Commissioner from ward No. 20 of the Sangrur Municipal Council. The demand was made in a memorandum submitted to the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, when he visited Nankiana Sahib near here to address an Akali conference. The body of Mohinder Singh was found near the railway line on April 7 at about 11.30 p.m., say family sources. The family members and their neighbours shifted the body to the local Civil Hospital where he was declared brought dead. The railway police and the local police were informed about the matter. According to family sources, Mohinder Singh was taken from his house by the husband of a local woman Municipal Commissioner. Both of them were on friendly terms. However, when Mohinder Singh did not return home after several hours, his family members searched for him and found his body near the railway line. The police considers it
a case of accident. But the members of his family suspect
that Mohinder Singh was murdered. |
||
‘Yuva chetna yatra' flagged
off HUSSAINIWALA (Ferozepore), May 23 — Certain external powers, by using the influence of the leadership of the Congress, are hatching a conspiracy to recapture India. This was stated by the Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Mr Mukhtar Abas Naqvi, here today. He was addressing a gathering of workers of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) who were to participate in the "Yuva chetna yatra" of the BJYM. Mr Naqvi said it was a matter of regret that the Congress was projecting Ms Sonia Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate. It was strange that the party was unable to find any other candidate in a country having a population of about 100 crore. He said the yatra was being undertaken to awaken the people of Punjab regarding various issues, including corruption and unemployment. It would also spread the message of the nation’s unity and integrity and peace, he added. Lauding the achievements of the BJP-led government at the Centre, he said it had under the leadership of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, given the right direction to the country in every field. The state president of the BJYM, Mr Tarun Chugh, said this year would be celebrated as "yuva chetna varsh". The yatra, he said, would end at Amritsar on May 30. Wreaths were placed at the samadhi of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. Later, Mr Naqvi flagged
off the yatra. |
||
End anti-staff policies: BMS LUDHIANA, May 23 — A meeting of the executive committee of various employees associations/federations affiliated to the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) was held here today and the members condemned the anti-employee and anti-labour policies of the state government. The members criticised the government for not taking any note of the memorandum of demands of the employees submitted to the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal. The Committee demanded
that dearness allowance should be paid in cash, Class III
and IV employees be given wheat loan, ban on promotion
should be lifted and orders regarding the raising of
licence fee from 5 per cent to 10 per cent on government
accommodation should be withdrawn. |
||
Mill worker found beheaded GURDASPUR, May 23 — The body of Randhir Singh of Chava village was found on the premises of a saw mill owned by Bhupinder Singh. SSP Varinder Kumar said today that Bhupinder Singh informed the police about the incident yesterday suspecting the involvement of a migrant from Orissa whom he had employed about a week ago. Bhupinder Singh told the police that Narsimha, employed by him for doing sundry jobs, was missing after the murder and, therefore, he suspected his involvement in the crime. Randhir Singh, who had been working in the mill for over six years, was beheaded with a hand-operated electric cutter, the SSP added. The police has
registered a case of murder. |
||
80,000 infected with HIV: report HOSHIARPUR, May 23 (UNI) — The World Council of Alternative Medicine’s (WCAM) Secretary-General, Mr D.B. Kapur, has called for an intensive campaign to create awareness about the threat of AIDS among the country’s youth as they seemed to be more vulnerable to the deadly disease. He said 89 per cent suffering from HIV-positive virus in the country were below the age of 45 years and hence the need for concentrating efforts on the youth to make them aware of the danger of this incurable disease. Dr kapur said of the 80 lakh people screened in the country, 80,000 were found infected by the deadly virus. He said a UN agency had estimated the number of persons infected with the disease at around five million and said the number could go up to fifty million in the next 10 years. Dr Kapur said in India, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, besides the Manipur belt in the North-East was worst hit by the virus. He suggested that besides an awareness campaign among the youth, health workers should also be guarded against the disease which could get transmitted through a needle injury if adequate protective clothing was not worn by health workers while looking after patients. He underlined the need to tackle the disposal of hospital waste in a scientific manner. Dr Kapur also called for
a campaign against the use of unsterlised syringes and
needles. |
||
Ban tobacco sale: IMA PHAGWARA, May 23 — The general body meeting of the local, unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) today urged the Centre to enact law for making government office and public work places tobacco-free zones,, according to Dr Raman Aggarwal, state secretary (legal) IMA. The meeting held in connection with the observance of "world no tobacco day" on May 31, also asked the state government to ban the sale of tobacco and tobacco products. It expressed concern
over the fact of smoke-related ailments were claiming
over 6.5 lakh lives every-year. |
||
RJD to contest 5 seats JALANDHAR, May 23 — The president of the Punjab unit of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Mr Kesar Singh, said today that the party would contest only five seats in the Lok Sabha elections in the state. Addressing a Press conference here, Mr Kesar Singh said the Punjab Government was responsible for the political and financial crisis in the state. Earlier Mr Parkash Singh Badal, President of the SAD, had promised that measures would be taken for corruption if he came to power. However, he had not taken any step in that direction even after two and a half years as Chief Minister, he said.
|
||
Ex-servicemen's plea to
Badal LUDHIANA, May 23 — The Indian Ex-Services League, Punjab and Chandigarh, has pleaded with the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, to honour his promise made to them during a rally at Jalandhar in January this year, regarding removal of excise duty on the CSD goods supplied through the Army canteen by April 1, 1999. In a press note issued
here today , Lt Col. C.S. Dhillon (retd), president of
the league, said that this imposition of excise duty on
CSD goods was causing a lot of heart burn in the rank and
file of the veterans. |
||
| Diary | ||
Potable
water in villages in 3 years PATHANKOT: All villages in Punjab will have pure drinking water facility in the next three years. Talking to The Tribune here the Public Health Minister, Mr Narinder Pal Singh, said a sum of Rs 63 crore would be spent on various drinking water supply schemes in the financial year 1999-2000. Earlier inaugurating the Dhalwara Tarati water supply scheme, he said over 2000 families of the villages would benefit with the water supply scheme. A sum of Rs 32.63 lakh was spent on the scheme. An underground reservoir having a capacity of 2,91,000 litres would be constructed to ensure uninterrupted water supply. He assured the people that two more comprehensive water supply schemes at a cost of Rs 53 lakh and Rs 64 lakh, respectively, would be accorded sanction soon. He accepted the demand of the people for installing motors on old wells. The Punjab Forest Minister, Mr Mohan Lal, said the state government was committed to providing pure water supply to each and every village in the state. The government was taking all necessary steps to ensure potable water. The officers had been directed to inspect the old wells and ponds to check the purity of water. * * * The Association of Surgeons will hold a two-day workshop on endo-surgery, named "On to millennium with endo surgery" on December 4 and 5 here. Disclosing this A.K. Sharma, president of the association, said the workshop would provide detailed information on surgery, gynaecology and urology. Expert surgeons, gynaecologists, urologists from across the country, including Dr T.E. Udwadia from Mumbai, who first performed laparoscopic cholecystectomy in developing countries; Dr Pradeep K. Chowbey from Delhi who did record laparoscopic operations and Dr Lalita Badhwar gynaecologic endoscopic surgeon of Apollo Hospitals, will attend the two-day workshop. * * * The shifting of the sub-post office from the Kali Mata Mandir road to the Sailli road has not only caused resentment among the residents of Dalhousie road and adjoining areas but also put them under financial stress. The recently opened sub-post office is 2 km away from the old one. The people in Dalhousie road and adjoining areas have to go either to the main post office or the one on the Sailli road and spend Rs 20 on rickshaw. Mr Vinod Mahajan, a social worker, has said while the government states that it would provide postal facilities at the door step of people but the postal authorities have shifted the sub-post office from a thickly populated area to a thinly- populated area. Mr Mahajan and several others have demanded that the post office should be shifted to the Kali Mata Mandir road. * * * The city model, Mr Rohit Sayal, is happy over being crowned as "Mr Punjab" at the Man of Substance fashion show held by the Amity group at the Desh Bhagat Yadgar auditorium, Jalandhar. As many as 61 models and film artistes, including Aditya Birla, Guddi Maruti, Rakesh Seth, Sarbjit Kaur, participated. Mr Sayal said his dream of being crowned as "Mr Punjab" had come true. He said hard work and encouragement by parents and friends had brought the title to him. Sayal has been booked by Aditya Birla for a fashion show at Delhi. * * * As many as 45 out of 60
cases were settled at "Khula darbar" held at
Marwa village in Dhar block. Master Mohan Lal, Forest
Minister, spoke about water harvesting scheme. |
|||
 |
||
 |
| Nation
| Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | Jammu & Kashmir | Chandigarh | | Editorial | Business | Sport | | Mailbag | Spotlight | World | 50 years of Independence | Weather | | Search | Subscribe | Archive | Suggestion | Home | E-mail | |
