Thursday, November 18, 1999
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Thursday, November 18, 1999 |
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Punjab to amend
Cooperative Act HUMBRAN (Ludhiana) Nov 17 — Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has announced that a Bill regarding enactment of the Punjab State Self-reliant Cooperative Act will be introduced in the ensuing Punjab Vidhan Sabha session with a view to minimise the control of government functionaries on cooperative institutions and to make cooperative movement more meaningful. SAD cast on Cong memorandum CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — A delegation, led by the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, President, Mr Amarinder Singh, today presented a memorandum to the eleventh Finance Commission. |
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All-weather
roads for Hoshiarpur RSS
makes forays into countryside No
TB epidemic in Bathinda zoo: panel
Varsity complex to come up in Jan Cong
flays ‘false’ murder case Nagpal
is PPCC organising secy Drain
of hope for farmers March
to Wagah organised Free
education up to plus two demanded DC
orders action against contractor |
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Punjab to amend Cooperative Act HUMBRAN (Ludhiana) Nov 17 — Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has announced that a Bill regarding enactment of the Punjab State Self-reliant Cooperative Act will be introduced in the ensuing Punjab Vidhan Sabha session with a view to minimise the control of government functionaries on cooperative institutions and to make cooperative movement more meaningful. Addressing a state-level function of the All-India cooperative week celebrations here today, the Chief Minister said with this provision, the participation and say of the people’s representatives in the cooperative sector would be ensured and the cooperative sector would become more result-oriented. He also announced that the government would give more financial autonomy to the market committees. Mr Badal said the government would soon announce a policy for bringing out one-time settlement with defaulters of cooperative loans to give relief to the farming community. He said the total amount defaulted in these loans was of Rs 56 crore and after its realisation it would be put in circulation for making available more loans. The Chief Minister announced that 1 per cent of interest earned on cooperative loans would be contributed towards the education sector development in the state. He indicated that the present education cess of Re 1 would be raised to Rs 5 per bottle of wine to make available more funds for strengthening education infrastructure in the state. Rs 500 crore would be spent to equip schools with furniture, laboratories, libraries etc. Mr Badal announced the raising of cash credit limit from Rs 1 lakh to 1.50 lakh for farmers having land up to five acres and from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh possessing land up to 10 acres. He also launched another kisan cash credit scheme for making available an amount of Rs 10,000 to farmers for meeting emergency domestic needs. He appealed the farmers not to misuse the loans. Emphasising the need of bringing diversification in the cropping pattern and to start self-employment ventures, the Chief Minister said the agriculture no longer remained a profitable venture and the farmers should undertake allied activities like dairying, poultry and bee-keeping. Mr Badal inaugurated Rs 3.50 crore Weavco spinning plant in the village which would process 20,000 kg of shoddy yarns per day and would provide employment to thousands of people. He also presented cash credit cards to 24 farmers. Senior Akali leaders like Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, Mr Jagdev Singh Talwandi, Mr Jagdish Singh Garcha, Mr Sadhu Singh Ghudani, Mr Sat Pal Gosain, Mr Avtar Singh, Mallah (all MLAs) were present on the occasion. Mr Brahmpura laid the
foundation stone of the multi-storyed co-operative
housing complex of Housefed that will have 192 dwelling
units spread across 3.71 acres of land. The flats are to
be allotted under self-financing scheme and members will
have a loan facility up to Rs 5 lakh. Similar complexes
will be raised at Amritsar, Jalandhar and Kapurthala. |
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SAD cast on Cong memorandum CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — A delegation, led by the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, President, Mr Amarinder Singh, today presented a memorandum to the eleventh Finance Commission. Most of the suggestions in the memorandum are on the lines of the one submitted by the state government to the commission on Tuesday. But it blames the Akalis for states financial mess. The Congress memorandum has been prepared by the party's economic policy cell headed by a former bureaucrat, Mr R.R. Bhardwaj. The memorandum wants Punjab to be declared a revenue deficit state. It favours a tactical, progressive and forward-looking system of devolution of funds to the state for a balanced and equity-based financial federal set-up. The Congress has demanded the commission-recommend Rs 1000 crore corpus for third tier institutions to fund revenue-generating schemes. Grants to these should commensurate with the functions assigned by the state finance commission. "There has to be a model central law to enable these bodies mobilise resources." "Cross-border terrorism" should be covered under the calamity fund along with all crop damages. There is a pointed reference to special problems like water logging, debt trap, stagnation in agricultural growth, border security and need for higher investment for Scheduled Castes. Even separate grants for border security and vigilance has been suggested. Earlier, Mr Amarinder Singh flagged off 31 trucks carrying relief for Orissa's super cyclone-hit people. Talking to newsmen at the party office, he referred to the inclusion of the name of Mr Rajiv Gandhi by the CBI in the charge sheet in the Bofors case and termed it "absurd" aimed at "embarrassing" Ms Sonia Gandhi. He also ridiculed the SAD for blaming the Congress for conniving with Mr Ravi Inder Singh, a member of the SAD's political affairs committee, who has been served a show cause notice for his alleged anti-party activities. Mr Amarinder Singh said his stand on Lok Pal had been vindicated by the high court. He criticised the government for bartering away interests of the state and resorting to sale and mortgaging of the property for raising finances. Though he did not favour an all-party meeting on such issues since the Akalis were to be blamed for all that has gone wrong with Punjab's economy. The PPCC President would lead a delegation to the Chief Minister to protest against harassment of Congressmen in Ferozepore and Faridkot during the Lok Sabha election results. The PPCC chief
circulated correspondence on the controversy surrounding
auction of "Turban" at Christie's jewellery
department, London. He dismissed the controversy and in a
veiled manner he ridiculed the party General Secretary,
Mr Bir Devinder Singh’s, statements. |
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Ultras unhappy with Pak AMRITSAR, Nov 17 — Pakistan, which remained a "second home" to Punjab militants for the past two decades, is no more a "sweet home" for them anymore. This impression was gathered during an interview with Mr Satnam Singh, vice-president, Dal Khalsa, who is back here after undergoing life imprisonment in Pakistan for hijacking an Indian Airlines plane in 1981. Mr Satnam Singh expressed disappointment with the Pakistan Government for not treating the "Sikh movement" for "independence" on a par with the Kashmir movement. "During my long stay there I had come to the conclusion that Pakistan would not be able to help us much", he said. However, he added that Pakistan helped Sikhs as per its own requirements. Condemning the cult of violence, he denied the armed campaign by militants was the creation of foreign powers. "Ours was an indigenous struggle to fulfil the religio-political aspirations of the Sikhs," he said. Ground realities were such that it required a sober rethinking on past results before formalising the future strategy. He, however, was severely critical of the "strong hand used by -New Delhi" in dealing with the movement in the state. The Dal Khalsa leader condemned train blast at Damtal (Kangra) near Pathankot in which 12 persons were killed and at least 60 injured. He said whoever masterminded the blast had caused harm to his own cause. "Blasts at public places claim the lives in innocent people and it is a heinous crime," he held. The Dal Khalsa vice president said his organisation would shortly begin a statewide awareness campaign to educate the people that "our movement was not against their basic interests." It was in the national interest to fulfil the aspirations of Sikhs and deal with the problem politically. Elaborating his stand on various issues concerning the Sikhs, Mr Satnam Singh repeatedly emphasised the need to build up a political movement and not adhering to the path of violence to resolve the pending issues. He observed that the people in Punjab saw enough blood-letting in the name of Khalistan because distinction was not drawn between the organised groups fighting for a cause and those which resorted to violent means to achieve other objectives under the garb of a cause. "The avowed goal of Khalistan lost its meaning because it was overtaken by persons for whom violence itself became an end", he said, adding that those charged with having committed excesses had paid for mistakes with their lives. Mr Satnam Singh disclosed that a move was afoot to reorganise the Dal Khalsa. Steps were also being taken to broadbase the awareness campaign to seek popular support for the organisation. When asked whether he agreed that his party had just 'nuisance value" in Punjab's electoral scene and that it had no future, he said, "If anyone thinks that we are a spent force they are mistaken. Any political party building itself from zero level required reasonable time to make its presence felt. "Right now, our priority is to concentrate our energies and resources on building up the Dal Khalsa from the grassroots level," he said. Commenting on the Dal
Khalsa's relations with the Shiromani Akali Dal, he
said," "We had differences of perception with
the Akali Dal on issues concerning the Sikhs. What's
clear is that the Akali Dal approach has changed. Instead
of fighting for the interests of Punjab singlehandedly.
Mr Badal is needlessly leaning on the shoulders of the
BJP at the cost of Panthic interests. The Akali Dal has
deviated from its mission and objectives which were
instrumental in its origin. Despite our ideological
differences, we will seek to co-exist with them
peacefully." |
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All-weather roads for
Hoshiarpur HOSHIARPUR, Nov 17 — The state government has recently launched a special programme to connect the district with other districts of the state through all-weather roads for which construction of bridges on various choes and strengthening and repairing of roads has been done. Mr Iqbal Singh Sidhu, Deputy Commissioner, in a press note issued here yesterday stated that two bridges on Kali Bain on the Tanda-Sirihargobindpur road were being constructed at a cost of Rs 3.98 crore out of which one bridge had been completed and the construction of the other would be completed before January 2000. He said widening of the Tanda-Sirihargobindpur road was being done with a cost of Rs 2.75 crore and the construction of bridge on the Beas at Sirihargobindpur had already been completed. The construction of a bridge on the Pur Hiran choe at a cost of Rs 94 lakh on the Hoshiarpur-Jalandhar bypass was in progress. He said bridge on the Usman Shahid choe had recently been completed at a cost of Rs 75 lakh on the Dasuya-Hajipur road and the construction of a bridge on Chitti Bain on the Mahilpur-Phagwara road was in progress. He further said Rs 1.38
crore had been spent for the repair and reconstruction of
the 22.40-km-long Garhshanker-Nurpur Bedi road. Similarly
Rs 3.93 crore had been spent for the repair and
reconstruction of 35 km-long Hoshiarpur-Phagwara road and
Rs 3.80 crore were being spent on Hoshiarpur-Dasuya road. |
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RSS makes forays into
countryside LUDHIANA, Nov 17 — In an interesting development, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has begun a drive to expand its area of influence beyond cities of Punjab by organising a series of activities in village. Hitherto, the RSS and its political wing, the BJP, which shares power with the SAD in the state, has been regarded as urban organisations with their base consisting primarily of the Hindu trading class. The new initiative appears to be aimed at bringing about a change in the popular perception about the two organisations besides expanding the base of the RSS into the state countryside. The tercentenary year of the birth of the Khalsa appears to have provided the RSS a good opportunity in this regard. It has constituted a Khalsa tercentenary celebrations committee to mark the 300th birthday of the Khalsa. It plans to organise celebrations of the mega event throughout the year. The recently formed Punjab Pradesh Kisan Morcha, farmers’ wing of the RSS, has been assigned the task of spearheading the RSS’s foray into the villages. The morcha will organise a series of functions in villages from November 21 to December 12 to mark the tercentenary of the Khalsa, according to Mr Sukhminder Pal Singh Grewal, Secretary of the morcha. Speakers will highlight various aspects of the life and teachings of Guru Gobind Singh and exhort the masses to be true Sikhs. Thousands of pamphlets on the life and teachings of the Guru have also been published in Punjabi for distribution among masses. The pamphlet described Guru Gobind Singh as “Ik rashtrapurakh”. A backgrounder on the creation of the Khalsa Panth has also been brought out. A 100-point questionnaire for distribution among school children is also ready. Declamation contests, question-answer sessions and shabad-kirtan competitions will also be organised. The Guru’s Zafarnama, literature on four sahibzadas and their sacrifices will also be published. In Ludhiana, nine teams have been constituted to carry out these activities in each of the nine assembly segments in the district. The morcha also set up its branches in all districts of the state.
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No
TB epidemic
in Bathinda zoo: panel BATHINDA, Nov 17 — A high-powered committee comprising Mr Vinod Sharma, Director, Chatt Bir Zoo, and Mr Gurmit Singh, Director, Wildlife, Punjab, while denying the spread of tuberculosis (TB) in the local deer park, has said that strong action will be taken against those persons who had done the shooting for Punjabi song there. The committee members, who inspected the deer park today after reports in the press recently regarding the large-scale deaths of black buck here due to TB, claimed that only two deaths were reported due to TB since April this year and there was no cause for panic. They added that preventive treatment was going on and the black bucks were being treated to prevent an attack of TB. The animals could have contracted TB from any visitor to the Deer Park, they pointed out. Dr Sharma, an expert veterinarian appointed by the CZA, said that upon physical examination it could be said that only two or three black bucks might be suffering from TB. However, the treatment should be given to all animals, he added. Though the black buck enclosure was not spacious, this was not the reason for the spread of TB, he said, adding that shifting animals to other enclosures at this stage would prove fatal. Mr Gurmit Singh said that the Wildlife Department was identifying the persons who had shot a Punjabi song in the Deer Park against the provisions of the Wildlife Act. If any official of the local Deer Park was involved in the shooting of the song, he would also be punished. He maintained that reports published in certain newspapers (not The Tribune) in the recent past regarding the large-scale deaths of black buck due to TB were “false” and they were the result of “rivalry” of the local staff with a veterinary doctor, Dr Bhagwant Singh. He pointed out that various schemes had been sent to the Punjab Government and the Central Zoo Authority for the widening of enclosures and for other necessary equipment. He added that the local staff would medicate the black bucks according to the prescription of Dr Vinod Sharma. Dr Bhagwant Singh, on the other hand, alleged that if a proper test was carried out on the black bucks, more than 70 per cent of them would be found to be suffering from TB. He alleged that he was being involved in an unnecessary controversy relating to the shooting of a Punjabi song by a folk singer here by the local staff, who wanted to cover their own “misdeeds”. He alleged that the local staff did not care for the animals, who were underfed. He also alleged that the ripe ‘bajra’ which was given to the black bucks and other animals was ‘unfit’ for consumption. Dr Sharma, however, claimed that malnourishment and the small size of the enclosure were not the reasons for the deaths of black bucks. He added that a test of all black bucks should be carried only when a new, unexpected death was reported. Mr Gurmit Singh claimed that the fodder and other eatables being given to the animals were of best quality and fit for consumption. The animals were being looked after well by the Deer Park staff, he further claimed. Incidentally, Mr
Gurcharan Singh, Inspector, Wildlife, and Dr Bhagwant
Singh indulged in a heated exchange when Dr Sharma and Mr
Gurmit Singh were making an on-the-spot inquiry. |
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Punjab to focus on prevention
of dengue CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — Widespread dengue fever, growing incidence of diabetes and blood pressure and psychiatric disorders has made Punjab authorities to review state's health policy. This was disclosed here today by Dr G.S. Preet, Director Health Services Punjab. Dr Preet told TNS that as part of new health policy, the main thrust would be on preventive measures. Incidence of diabetes, blood pressure and psychiatric disorders could be minimised by taking preventive steps. No doubt curative part would be given due importance. Adequate stress should be put on spreading health education in the state, the authorities felt. Dr Preet said according to an assessment made by the department, every fifth Punjabi in the state was a diabetic. The incidence of blood pressure and psychiatric cases had gone up. Dr Preet said orientation programmes would be held for doctors to educate patients about preventive steps. Dr Preet said health education and preventive measures were part of courses in medical colleges. There would be no difficulty in making doctors to adopt the same at the clinical level. Talking about the spread of dengue fever, Dr Preet said that he had proposed a nodal officer for coordination among public, health and local bodies. He said lack of proper sanitation in urban areas and impure drinking water in rural areas was by and large responsible for the spread of dengue, gastroenteritis. He said the health department alone would not be able to curb the spread of such diseases. There were 390 confirmed cases of fever and 734 suspected cases of dengue fever in the state so far. The most affected district was Ludhiana and followed by Hoshiarpur. In fact, dengue cases were reported almost from all districts. Dr Preet said the "dos and don'ts" would be enforced strictly from the next year to eliminate the spread of dengue fever in the state. Instructions in this connection were given this year. He said dengue fever was caused by aedes mosquito which injects virus either in the morning or in the evening. It remains operative either between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. or between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. People should be alerted to be careful against mosquito bites during such time. Special campaign would be launched to protect youth from drugs. It was a problem which required to be tackled at this stage, he added, otherwise its consequences would be very dangerous for youth and the state.
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Varsity complex to come up in
Jan FARIDKOT, Nov 17 — The construction of the first phase of a complex of the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences here will be started in the middle of January next year. A requisite piece of land of 156 acres has been acquired and the Punjab Government has agreed to release a grant of Rs 6 crore before the end of this month to monitor the project. This was stated by Dr L.S. Chawla Vice-Chancellor of the university, at a press conference here today. Out of the total amount, a sum of Rs 2.50 crore will be paid to clear the balance of the land payment. The remaining amount will be utilised to start the construction of the project. Earlier, the government had allocated Rs 9 crore to start the project, out of which Rs 3 crore was spent on paying the first instalment of the land. Talking about the progress made by the university so far, Dr Chawla said Internet mail services had been introduced in the institution at a cost Rs 25 lakh given by the central government under the scheme to start informatic centre. All colleges affiliated with the university had been advised to correspond through Internet mail in future. The Vice-Chancellor said it had also been decided to provide Internet mail services to some of the colleges the cost of which would be borne by the university after getting a grant of Rs 75 lakh from the union government. Dr Chawla said during its first counselling in August last 920 students were admitted to MBBS, BDS, Ayurvedic and Nursing courses in different colleges. The entire process was completed in a record number of 24 days. As many as 220 more students would be admitted in four private dental colleges after getting the final approval from Dental Council of India, he added. He said, Dr Malkiat
Singh, former Principal, Government Dental College,
Patiala, had joined as Dean in the university to
streamline various development works. |
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Cong flays ‘false’
murder case AMRITSAR, Nov 17 — Local Congress leaders here smell foul play in implicating senior party leaders in a murder case. The General Secretary of the Punjab Pardesh Congress Committee, Dr Raj Kumar, today alleged that the move was meant to demoralise the Congress cadre following the humiliating defeat of the SAD-BJP combine in the Lok Sabha elections. He said in case the police did not withdraw these cases within three days, the party would launch a series of rallies to force the administration to take back the cases. The Manager of the Oriental Bank of Commerce, Mr Naresh Mahajan, was murdered last year in October and the alleged assailants had continued to elude the police. Suddenly, the police named three senior officers of the bank and two prominent Congress leaders, Mr Inderjit Sharma and his businessman brother Omkar Nath Sharma, and issued warrants against them. Dr Raj Kumar pointed out that these persons were never interrogated during the last year’s investigation and alleged a deep-rooted conspiracy to defame the Congress leaders. He said with the
intervention of the state Congress chief, Capt Amarinder
Singh, the case had been transferred to Chandigarh for
further investigation. He alleged that the local police
was being influenced to involve the Congress leaders in
such cases. |
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Nagpal is PPCC organising secy FAZILKA, Nov 17 — Mr Vijay Nagpal, resident of Abohar, has been appointed organising secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, by Captain Amarinder Singh, president of the PPCC. Dr Mohinder Kumar Rinwa, PPCC secretary and former MLA from Fazilka, told this correspondent from Chandigarh on telephone today that Mr Nagpal had been given the appointment letter today. Mr Nagpal was elected member of the Municipal Council Abohar twice and remained vice-president of the council. He has been associated with the Congress for the past about 20 years. He has been general secretary of the District Congress Committee and executive member of the PPCC. In the recent Lok Sabha poll Mr Nagpal took active part in the Ferozepur parliamentary seat campaign. Dr Rinwa, Mr Hans Raj
Josan, former minister, Major Harminder Singh, president
of the DCC, Ferozepore, Mr Roshan Lal Khunger and Mr Des
Raj Kamboj, both presidents of the Block Congress
Committee Urban and Rural, respectively, Fazilka, Mr
Suresh Walia, organising secretary of the DCC Mr Parmjit
Singh Pammi, Mr Joginder Lal Satia, Mr Surinder Kumar
Kalra, all municipal councillors, Fazilka welcomed the
appointment of Mr Nagpal. |
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Drain of hope for farmers NAWANSHAHR: With the completion of the digging work for a 48,000-foot-long Banga-Gopalpur, drain farmers of about 45 villages in Banga block of this district have heaved a sigh of relief as their long-pending problem of waterlogging and drainage of stagnant rain water, which used to play havoc with their crops, seems to have been solved now. It is worthwhile to mention here that the problem of waterlogging had been becoming more and more acute in the Banga area. In the absence of proper drainage, rain water used to stagnate in about 19,000 acres of agricultural land in the affected villages. Farmers of these villages had suffered high losses as either they could not sow crops or not reap their harvest due to stagnant rain water in their fields. But for financial support from their NRI relatives, these farmers would have been forced to commit suicides. Though the 41,000 foot-long stretch of this drain had been dug earlier, the digging work on the remaining 7,000 foot-long stretch remained suspended for years as a farmer of Kaleran village obtained a stay order from the court. But the government got the stay vacated after a legal battle. Vacating the stay, the court instructed the government to pay compensation to those farmers whose land was needed to be acquired for digging the drain. Mr Parkash Singh Badal,
Chief Minister, handed over a cheque for Rs 84.33 lakh to
Mr Mohan Lal, MLA, Banga, during a public rally at
Nawanshahr a few months ago to pay compensation for
acquiring 8.90 acres of land to complete the job. The
Banga-Gopalpur drain has now been linked with the White
Bein in Gopalpur village with a view to averting further
damage to the crops. |
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March to Wagah organised WAGAH, Nov 17 — A march from Jallianwala Bagh to the Wagah border was staged on the second day of the Raja Porus Punjabi (Indo-Pak) Mitterta Mela. The march was led by Mr Jagmeet Singh Brar, MP, Dr Joginder Dayal, Secretary, CPI, Punjab, Mr Harneik Singh, former Punjab Minister, Dr Tara Singh Sandhu, president, Folklore Research Academy and Dr I.D. Gaur, general secretary of the academy. Wreaths were placed on the memorials at Jallianwala Bagh and Wagah by prominent leaders, academicians, artists and writers. Inaugurating the mela, Mr Brar, said all Punjabis prayed for return of democracy in Pakistan as it was important for the peace and prosperity in South Asia. Prominent fiction writer Bhisham Sahni and Punjabi critic from Pakistan Nazam Hussain Sayeed were honoured by the Folklore Research Academy. Bhisham Sahni said the memorial at the Wagah border gave a message of peace, love and friendship to humanity. Mr Sandhu, presented resolutions which were unanimously passed. He stressed the need of cultural confederation among Punjabis all over the world. He also highlighted the need to develop Persian and Gurmukhi scripts in India and Pakistan A kavi darbar was also
organised. |
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Free education up to plus two
demanded AMRITSAR, Nov 17 — The Punjab units of the All-India Youth Federation (AIYF) and the All-India Students Federation (AISF) observed the Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha day in the form of a ‘rozgar prapati chetna rally’ to demand work for all from the age of 18 years or ‘work wait’ allowance of Rs 1750 per month as their main slogan. Activists of the both organisations converged from all corners of the state to participate in the rally. The rally was addressed by veteran CPI leader and former All-India general secretary of the AISF, Mr Satya Pal Dang. Former leader of the International Union of Students Vimla Dang, former MLA Baba Bhagat Singh Bilga, former state leader of the AISF Jagroop Singh and others. The rally also passed resolutions demanding free and compulsory education for all up to ten plus two level to bridge the gap between rich and poor students and recruitment of more school teachers so that there was one teacher for every 22 students in the state. Both the organisations
decided to set up units in every village of the state |
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DC
orders
action against contractor ROPAR, Nov 17 — The Deputy Commissioner here has ordered the Mining Officer, SAS Nagar, to take immediate action as per law against a sand contractor, Pritpal Singh, for ‘unauthorisedly’ lifting sand from the ‘Jayanti ki Rao’ rivulet near Teerra village, about 25 km from here. According to an official press note issued here yesterday, the DC issued this order on the basis of an inquiry conducted by Mr J.C. Sabharwal, Assistant Commissioner (Grievances)-cum-Executive Magistrate, Ropar, on a complaint made by the Sarpanch and villagers of the Teerra village. Mr Sabharwal, along with Mr A.S. Dhindsa, SDM, Kharar, and Mr S.P. Singh, Mining Officer, SAS Nagar, raided the spot and inquired into the matter. It was found that the sand was being lifted by Pritpal Singh, who is only authorised to lift the sand from the area of Dhanoran villager's river bed. This was confirmed by the sarpanch, former sarpanch and villagers also, the release added. Seven trucks were found
on the spot being loaded with sand from ‘Jayanti ki
Rao’ rivulet near Teerra village to whom the slips
for lifting sand were issued by Pritpal Singh, the
release added. This was unauthorised lifting which was
confirmed by Mr S.P. Singh, Mining Officer, on the spot. |
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4
arrested
for robbery bid LUDHIANA, Nov 17 — Alert resident of Shanglawala Shivala Road today prevented a burglary in the house of a resident, Navin Kumar. According to information available from the police four persons — Amarjit, Makhan, Naresh and Kuldip Singh — went to the house of Navin Kumar when his wife and a servant were alone in the house on the pretext of doing routine checking of the electricity meter. The four persons told the unsuspecting victims of some irregularity on their part and demanded to be shown the power points inside the house. Once inside, they took out a revolver and asked them to hand over the cash and jewellery in the house. The servant was also beaten up by the four. However, two raised the
alarm and the neighbours gathered and caught the four.
They were then handed over to the CIA staff which has
registered a case against them. One revolver and a knife
have been seized from them. |
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Kidnapped child recovered JALANDHAR, Nov 17 — The police has solved a case of kidnapping for ransom and has recovered the kidnapped child from Nepal. The SSP, Mr Gaurav Yadav, stated here today that eight-year-old Pawan Kumar, alias Paddu, son of Mr Chaman Lal, was reported missing from his house on November 8 in the evening. His parents noticed that their neighbourer Ram Pravesh was also missing and they grew suspicious. A case under Sections 363, 366, IPC, was registered in this regard. The SSP said the
telephone of Mr Chaman Lal was put under observation. A
ransom call demanding Rs 3 lakh was received on November
10 and an ASP talked to the kidnapper posing as a
relative of the child. The caller unknowingly divulged
some information on the basis of which the whereabouts of
the kidnapper were traced to a village in Nepal. A police
party was sent to Nepal which raided the hideout of the
kidnapper with the help of the local police and recovered
the child. The kidnapper, Ram Pravesh, was apprehended by
the Napalese police. The kidnapped child has been
restored to his parents. The process for extradition of
Ram Pravesh is being initiated so that he could be
brought to India and tried in Jalandhar in accordance
with the Indian law. |
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1
cr sanctioned for vet dispensaries NAWANSHAHR, Nov 17 — The Kendriya Kandi Board has sanctioned a sum of Rs 1 crore for the betterment of livestock in the Kandi area. The amount will be spent on the construction of veterinary dispensaries in that area, said Dr Rattan Singh, Animal Husbandry, Fishery and Dairy Development Minister while presiding over a function organised to mark the Gopashtmi festival organised at Manohar Gaushala at Mutton Bet village about 20 km from here, yesterday. He said to check the quality of cattlefeed a new feed Act had been prepared and the Centre had approved the Act. He called on farmers to adopt fishery and cattlefeed as occupations to increase their income. He said that against 600
vacant posts of pharmacist about 25 posts had been
filled. At least 150 pharmacists would be recruited soon.
Besides, as many as 336 posts of veterinary doctor had
been filled. The remaining vacant posts would be filled
soon. The minister announced a grant of Rs 1 lakh for the
veterinary dispensary of the village. |
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Cong man flays govt for
amending Act NAWANSHAHR, Nov 17 — A former Rural Development Minister, Chaudhary Santokh Singh, while addressing a press conference here at the office of Mr Iqbal Singh, PPCC member, on Tuesday criticised the Badal government’s recent decision to issue an ordinance with a view to amend Section 99 and 100 of the Panchayati Raj Act. The Act would ensure an indirect election of 70 per cent seats of the panchayat samities in the ensuing elections. He termed it totally undemocratic and against the spirit of the Panchayati Raj Act and said the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, had taken this decision as a face saving device in the samiti elections as he had lost the confidence of the people. The Minister said during
his tenure as the Rural Development Minister, a committee
under the chairmanship of Mr J.P. Gupta was formed to
grant more powers to panchayats and samities. But, with
the recent decision of the Badal government the basic aim
of the Act to bring democracy to the grassroot level had
been negated. |
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"Shaheed Udham Singh" for
film festival CHANDIGARH, Nov 17— Raj Babbar's film 'Shaheed Udham Singh' has been selected in the Indian Panorama Selection for the forthcoming International Film Festival of India 2000. This was revealed today by Mr Vinod Sharma, PRO of the film. This film, parts of which have been shot in and around Chandigarh, has been directed by Mr Chitrath Singh, of 'Chann Pardesi' fame and produced by Iqbal Dhillon. The cast of the film includes Raj Babbar, Amrish Puri, Shatrughan Sinha, Ranjeet, Juhi Chawla, Gurdas Mann, Tom Alter and Barry John. 'Shaheed Udham Singh' will be released in Chandigarh and Punjab on December 10. The 10-day International
Film Festival begins on January 10, and will also include
Shyam Benegal's 'Samar', Jabbar Patel's 'Dr Baba Saheb
Ambedkar' and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Hum Dil De Chuke
Sanam'. |
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Threat by PSEB unions BATHINDA, Nov 17 — The Punjab State Electricity Board Engineer Association, the Punjab State Electricity Board Federation, the Technical Service Union and the Council of Junior Engineers today threatened that activists of all unions would lodge a protect with the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, during his visit here tomorrow if the authorities concerned failed to arrest Pardeep Kumar, who was involved in a murderous attack on board employees in the recent past. The union activists also held a rally here in protest against the murderous attack on the XEN, Mr Kartar Singh Brar, the AEE, Mr Fakir Chand, and other employees of the board by three persons when they raided a hotel to check theft of electricity. They demanded that adequate security should be given to those officials who were arresting those indulging in power theft. The activists alleged that so far the authorities concerned had arrested only two out of the three accused involved in the murderous attack on the board employees. They added that the third accused, Pardeep Kumar, had not been arrested so far. The activists also threatened that if the authorities concerned did not take them seriously then there may be problems in the supply of electricity to the city.
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Case against car dealer LUDHIANA, Nov 17 — The local police has uncovered an interesting case involving the bogus registration of Maruti cars and then selling them off in black by a local Maruti dealer. According to the FIR registered at the police station division No. 5 against Saini Motors under Sections 467, 468, 471, 420 and 120-B of the IPC, it is alleged that the car dealer firm was itself booking Maruti cars under fake names and then selling them off at prices higher to the cost fixed. Interestingly, it was during a dowry dispute that the police uncovered this scandal. Paramjit Kaur had alleged her husband’s family was not returning her a Maruti car after their separation. The car had been given to her at the time of her marriage by her brother. During investigations, the police found this car bought from Saini Motors had been purchased in the name of Satish Kumar of Hoshiarpur and had wrongfully been transferred in the name of Paramjit Kaur’s mother-in-law by forging the registration certificate. The police managed to
trace Satish Kumar, who submitted an affidavit that he
had not gotten the car booked at Saini Motors. The police
investigations also revealed that the dealer firm made a
bogus booking and incurred a profit on this deal. |
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DC orders action against
contractor ROPAR, Nov 17 — The Deputy Commissioner here has ordered the Mining Officer, SAS Nagar, to take immediate action as per law against a sand contractor, Pritpal Singh, for ‘unauthorisedly’ lifting sand from the ‘Jayanti ki Rao’ rivulet near Teerra village, about 25 km from here. According to an official press note issued here yesterday, the DC issued this order on the basis of an inquiry conducted by Mr J.C. Sabharwal, Assistant Commissioner (Grievances)-cum-Executive Magistrate, Ropar, on a complaint made by the Sarpanch and villagers of the Teerra village. Mr Sabharwal, along with Mr A.S. Dhindsa, SDM, Kharar, and Mr S.P. Singh, Mining Officer, SAS Nagar, raided the spot and inquired into the matter. It was found that the sand was being lifted by Pritpal Singh, who is only authorised to lift the sand from the area of Dhanoran villager's river bed. This was confirmed by the sarpanch, former sarpanch and villagers also, the release added. Seven trucks were found
on the spot being loaded with sand from ‘Jayanti ki
Rao’ rivulet near Teerra village to whom the slips
for lifting sand were issued by Pritpal Singh, the
release added. This was unauthorised lifting which was
confirmed by Mr S.P. Singh, Mining Officer, on the spot. |
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Supply of 10 ration depots
suspended ROPAR, Nov 17 – The supply of commodities, including kerosene, to 10 ration depots in Ropar district has been suspended on the basis of irregularities found during special checking of the depots in the first half of this month. Besides, show-cause notices have also been issued to 12 ration depots in this connection. Mr Diljit Singh Bhatia,
District Food and Supply Controller, here today said the
special checking of the ration depots and licensees of
the kerosene was being done to check blackmarketing,
especially of kerosene. |
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Kanungo, patwari suspended ROPAR, Nov 17 – The
Deputy Commissioner has suspended Jaswant Singh, Kanungo
in the office of deputy commissioner here, and Shamsher
Singh, Patwari of Mehroli Patwar circle in Kharar tehsil,
from November 16. Both were arrested by the Vigilance
Department on November 3 under Section 13 (1) C.D. 13(2)
of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. |
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Master Tara Singh function on
Dec 4 CHANDIGARH, Nov 16 — The Secretary of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Mr Kirpal Singh Badungar, said here today that the 32nd death anniversary of Master Tara Singh would be observed on December 4. The SGPC and the SAD would organise a function at Manji Sahib at Amritsar on December 4. Earlier, a function in
this connection was to be organised on November 22, but
it had to be postponed. A committee, including the
President of SGPC Bibi Jagir Kaur, Mr Ranjit Singh
Brahampura and others, has been constituted for
organising the function. |
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Cong seeks special Assembly
session AMRITSAR, Nov 17 — The general secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, Mrs Ratna, has lashed out at the collapse of the state’s economy. Mrs Ratna, in a press note issued here yesterday, has sought the calling of a special session of the state Assembly to discuss the present state of economy. The government led by Mr Parkash Singh Badal had failed to run the fiscal affairs. She blamed the SAD-BJP combine for ruining the once prosperous state which enjoyed the highest per capita income and now faced a virtual debt trap. She added that at present the government was paying the salary of the administration staff through overdrafts and taking loans from banks etc. The senior Congress leader supported the call for a White Paper on the state of economy which was due to rampant corruption, complete mismanagement and lack of vision at all levels. Mrs Ratna condemned the
recent steep hike in bus fares by the Punjab Government
which would severely affect the poor people. She demanded
an immediate roll back in the fare. |
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SHSAD demands 33 pc share for
women AMRITSAR, Nov 17 — Bibi Bhupinder Kaur Khalsa, President, Sarb Hind Istri Akali Dal (SHSAD), has condemned the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) for not inducting any woman in the SGPC executive at the annual election of the Shiromani Committee. In a press statement
issued here yesterday, Bibi Khalsa said as per pattern of
33 per cent share, at least three women members should
have been inducted in the committee. She appealed to Bibi
Jagir Kaur for giving due representation to women in the
executive. |
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