Friday, October 1, 1999
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Friday, October 1, 1999 |
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Home Ministry "can't
make amends" CHANDIGARH, Sept 30 — The SGPC President, Bibi Jagir Kaur said here today that the Home Ministry had no powers to make amendments in the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925, by issuing a notification. 2 KCF (Panjwar) men held |
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Badal: exercise on to tackle fiscal crisis JALANDHAR, Sept 30 — Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said an extensive consultative exercise was on to hammer out a strategy to put the fiscal situation of the state "on a sound footing." Prof
Manjit Singh's fight against drugs FCI
to speed up paddy procurement SGPC
warning to Punjabi Channel
3
doctors suspended Alert
in Punjab over dengue Residents
rue lack of amenities Stress
on quality in Punjabi literature No
extension to School Board Controller Agricultural
attaches demanded Plea
to probe loan fraud Mayor’s
removal sought Closure
of khadi panel resented Sr
Deputy Mayor's removal demanded Food
Secy visiting Ludhiana today Kerosene
dealer arrested Surcharge
on power Panel
to study draft |
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Home Ministry "can't
make amends" CHANDIGARH, Sept 30 — The SGPC President, Bibi Jagir Kaur said here today that the Home Ministry had no powers to make amendments in the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925, by issuing a notification. Speaking to mediapersons after inaugurating the Kalgidhar Nivas, an SGPC complex in Sector 27 here, Bibi Jagir Kaur said the amendments made earlier by issuing a notification were illegal and should not have been accepted by Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, who was president then. She referred to the amendments creating 30 additional seats for women in the SGPC's general house before its election 1998. The Gurdwara Act, 1925, was passed by Parliament and only Parliament was authorised to make any amendment in it, she asserted. Talking about the controversy as regards amendments proposed in this Act, she said only the SGPC had the authority to propose such amendments. The SGPC would prepare a draft of the All-India Gurdwara Act after consulting all important Sikh organisations and would submit it to the Home Minister for framing the Act. The SGPC chief said the Home Ministry had stopped all action on the proposed amendments in the Sikh Gurdwara Act and a copy of the letter written in this connection by the Home Ministry had been received by the SGPC in Amritsar. The letter was addressed to Justice Harbans Singh (retd), Chief Commissioner Gurdwara Elections, she added. Commenting on the action of Justice Harbans Singh, Bibi Jagir Kaur said he had "exceeded his jurisdiction". He should have taken the SGPC into confidence and referred all the proposed amendments to it before sending to the Central Government. He should have not shown any haste in this respect. Asked who had authorised Justice Harbans Singh to propose amendments, she said a four-member subcommittee was constituted in August, 1998, but no proceedings were available with regard to meetings of the subcommittee and amendments proposed by it. She said the draft of
the All-India Gurdwara Act and amendments in the Sikh
Gurdwara Act 1925, would be discussed at the general
house of the SGPC before forwarding them to the Home
Ministry. |
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2 KCF (Panjwar) men held FATEHGARH SAHIB, Sept 30 — The District police claims to have solved several cases of shooting, looting, murder and highway robberies in the state and the district with the arrest of two terrorists of the KCF (Panjwar group. The police also recovered two rifles along with ammunition and cash worth Rs 7 lakh and four cars. Addressing a press conference here today Mr Paramraj Singh Umranangal, SSP, said those arrested had been identified as Damanjit Singh, alias Goldy, a resident of Maharaj Nagar Ludhiana, and Abrar Ahmad, alias Pappu, a resident of Rampur. He said during the preliminary interrogation the two had confessed having robbed and murdered Udey Chand, a cashier of Dada Motors, near Bharat Nagar Chowk in Ludhiana. They also confessed having murdered one police informer at Mata Nagar in Ludhiana and for injuring a police personnel near Ghumar Mandi Chowk. The two were also involved in the murder of a woman in Delhi and of a man in Bombay. Besides these they also stole cars and used to prepare the bogus documents in connivance with DTO and SDM office staff. The SSP said besides the
two a five-member gang of thieves had also been busted
and its members had been arrested. With their arrest the
police had solved 23 cases of theft and had recovered
cash and goods worth lakhs. |
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Axe may fall on freebies CHANDIGARH, Sept 30 — Alarmed by the worsening fiscal situation, the Punjab Government is likely to end most of the freebies. It may not include free power and water to the farmers, but benefits like free travel and other facilities may end. Also, the government may prune some of the boards and corporations, say goodbye to those retired officers re-employed and claim all dues from public and cooperative sector institutions. It has already forced Markfed, an apex cooperative body to pay Rs 29 crore which was due to it as Punjab Government's share of taxes. It is another matter that Markfed had to shell out Rs 8 crore to meet the demands of the Chief Minister. And, Markfed has mortgaged its office complex, a new posh building to raise the money from the banks. A Cabinet sub-committee which met here under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal for four neat hours, deliberated on all aspects of the fiscal mess into which Punjab has fallen. This was an inconclusive meeting and a final word would come on October 2, when ministers and officers meet again. The government is not only worried that it is being treated as a soft one, but the noise which the opposition is making and demanding financial emergency has made it sit up and worry. Each department is being asked to restructure its working and save as much as it could. Several corporations have accumulated huge losses. The PSIDC, the Pepsu Roadways Corporation, power board and several other corporations have accumulated losses to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore. It is a big drag. In fact the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India reads like a slimy tale of corruption and missed opportunities. The governments over the years have been floundering public money. All this today formed the background for a discussion. It was felt that the Excise and Taxation department should be streamlined and asked to collect taxes and bail out the government from the present crisis which could mean that the state has no money for the payment of salaries. It has already been denying the benefit of DA to many employees. But one major question is whether the department could be get rid of political interference. It is now run more as a fiefdom than as a department by the powers that be. Last year has ended with a shortfall of Rs 1483 crore and this year may end with Rs 1800 crore and even more. All development works would come to an end. Already the contractors are pushing hard to clear the bills. Punjab is spending heavy on its Human Rights Commission, large office of the Advocate General, its Lok Pal, and there are numerous retired officers and consultants, enjoying heavy pay packets and status. Punjab's share in Centre of IAS and IPS services is down. And it has been encouraging officers from the cadre of other states to come to Punjab. At least 40 IAS and 25 IPS officers have very little work to do. Each one of them costs Rs 1 lakh a month in terms of pay and other benefits. "All this will be
discussed and we promise hard decisions", a senior
minister who attended the meeting said. "Clear
instructions will be there on October 2 and we shall not
fail Punjab", he added. |
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Badal: exercise on to tackle fiscal crisis JALANDHAR, Sept 30 (PTI) — Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said an extensive consultative exercise was on to hammer out a strategy to put the fiscal situation of the state "on a sound footing." "We are in the middle of an elaborate consultative process. Even today, I attended a meeting of the Cabinet sub-committee and some senior officials to thrash out a solution to the deepening fiscal crisis," Mr Badal told reporters here. The Chief Minister, however, remained non-committal about whether any move was afoot to withdraw free power and water to farmers in the state, freebies granted by the SAD-BJP government since February 1997 which is costing the state exchequer hundreds of crores. Badal said, "Too much was being made about these concessions to farmers even when it was a known fact that agriculture was no more a profitable venture. Instead, our attention should be focussed on how to improve the peasantry’s lot throughout the country." "The farmers, through their hardwork and enterprise, are helping the country but have themselves become the victims of an economic system which is heavily weighed against farming," the Chief Minister, who was here to inaugurate a Doordarshan serial on the life of Sikhism’s founder guru, Guru Nanak Dev added Mr Badal criticised the reported greed signal by the Minorities Commission to the proposed amendments in the Sikh Gurdwara Act of 1925 despite opposition by the ruling Akali Dal and the SGPC. "The National Commission for Minorities has no role to play in the gurdwara affairs. The SGPC is the premier Sikh body which can recommend any amendment in the Act. I am sure it happened due to some ignorant official, Mr Badal told reporter here. He said he had taken up the issue with Union Home Minister L.K. Advani when Chief Commissioner of Gurdwara Elections, Justice Harbans Singh (retd) had sent a draft notification amending the 1925 Act, to the ministry. Asked whether he would take up the matter of alleged interference by the Minorities Commission at the highest level, Mr Badal said, "I had earlier talked to Advani ji. Now, should I keep talking to every one." The Minorities Commission had yesterday sent its recommendation to the Home Ministry on the basis of draft notification sent by Justice Harbans Singh. Mr Badal said even
Justice Harbans Singh had no authority to send the draft
notification to the Home Ministry "and only SGPC can
do so". |
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Prof Manjit Singh's fight
against drugs ANANDPUR SAHIB, Sept 30 — Prof Manjit Singh, Jathedar of Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib, who has already taken steps to provide pollution-free environment and has been distributing saplings as "prasad" at the Takht, is now making efforts to ensure a drug-free society. He has been working on a drug de-addiction project and has detected several causes leading to drug addiction following a study. Before talking about the causes, Prof Manjit Singh said it was a matter of concern that drug addiction had been increasing among Punjabi youth and there was a need to launch a campaign to check it. The Jathedar said as a part of the drug de-addiction programme, a three-day all-India conference be organised on "Drugs de-addiction: Motivation and Treatment" from December 17 to 19 here. He said religious leaders and doctors from all over the country would participate in this conference. A drug de-addiction camp would also be organised. Besides, films on the topic "Bad results of drugs" would be screened. To make the school and college students and villagers aware of this menace the campaign against drugs would be intensified in collaboration with the other social and voluntary organisations. Explaining the causes of drug addiction, Prof Manjit Singh said instead of imparting knowledge of spiritual values at the educational institutions, students were being pushed into unethical competition which created frustration among the youth and they indulged in the use of drugs. Prof Manjit Singh said under a deliberate "conspiracy", drugs were being made available to the students at the hostels and canteens of the educational institutions. He also added that religious leaders, office-bearers of religious places and preachers in majority of the cases could not present themselves as a example because they also used intoxicants and liquor. Another cause of drug addiction is that the Indian politics is now based on intoxicants, including liquor, opium and poppy husk, etc. As Punjab is a border state, smuggling of drugs and their use here is on the peak. It cannot be checked properly as it is a big source of income for the powerful lobby. Cultural-interaction with other states, especially southern states, is another cause of increasing drug addiction in this state. Prof Manjit Singh also held the impact of western culture through television channels and video on our youths responsible for the spread of drugs. He was of the view that Punjab's social life was also responsible for it as no social ceremony, including birthdays, marriages and other parties, was considered "complete and successful" without the use of liquor. A Research Institute of Alternative Systems of Medicines and De-addiction Centre is one of the several plans which have been drawn up by Prof Manjit Singh for this holy town. It is expected that the building of this research institute-cum-centre will be completed by the end of January, next year, and inaugurated in February. Researchers from this country and abroad will do research in various therapies at the institute. He said on the occasion of inauguration of the building of the institute, a four-day international conference on alternative systems of medicines would be organised here from February 24 to 27. During the conference, a camp on alternative medicines will also be organised in which demonstration of various therapies will be held. At the conference the participants will also discuss on inter-exchange of new researches in the field of alternative system of medicines and cooperation in the field on scientific lines. The conference is being organised by Gurmat Sagar Trust here and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Holy Healthy and Happy Organisation and International Consultancy on Religion, Education and Culture Organisation. The Chief organisers of the conference are Dr Jaswant Singh Neki, a former Director of the PGI and Dr Jamil Ahmed, Dean of Medicines Department, Hamdard University, New Delhi. Prof Manjit Singh said
the experts would study the herbs found here to know
their medicinal value and present their project report by
the end of November. The report would be published in a
book which would be released at the conference. |
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FCI to speed up paddy
procurement RAKHRA (Patiala), Sept 30 — The FCI Managing Director S.S. Dawra said today that the FCI would speed up procurement in Punjab in the coming days and that 90 lakh tonnes of paddy was expected to be procured against 63 lakh tonnes procured last year. Talking at a kisan mela organised by the Punjab Young Farmers Association here, Mr Dawra said till now the FCI had purchased the maximum amount of paddy among all the other agencies in the state. Mr Dawra, however, made it clear that the FCI would not purchase sub standard paddy. He also said about 10 lakh tonnes of food grains were being sent out of the state every month. The FCI Managing Director said 2.12 crore tonnes of food grains had accumulated in the state because only five lakh tonnes of these were being consumed in the Public Distribution System as compared to 10 lakh tonnes earlier. He said the FCI was now going in for open sale of accumulated foodgrain and the state was likely to pick up in winter. Speaking on the occasion, Punjab Young Farmers Association President J.S. Cheema said diversification itself was not enough until corresponding marketing infrastructure was created. He said unless the marketing infrastructure was created for vegetable and flower cultivation besides cereals, the farmers would not be encouraged to take them up. Mr Cheema said the farmers of Punjab could also go in for organic farming of paddy and wheat and urged them to shift focus from quantity to quality. He said once the organic farming took ground the farmers would be saved from spurious insecticides and pesticides which were becoming a drain on the farm economy. Mr Cheema also called for making special zones for the propagation of vegetable and flower cultivation and opined that once zones were created infrastructure could be provided to them. He also urged that in case of agro industry the cost of land should be considered as working capital to make the project viable. Earlier, the Secretary of the Young Farmers Association, Mr Bhagwan Das Arora welcomed the chief guest at the function. There was some chaos when some farmers protested against the association for taking Rs 100 from them to make them members before giving them seed of HD-2687 varieties of wheat worth Rs 50 while many others who were not members of the association were also given seed. Later the organisers returned the membership fee to some of the protesting farmers. An agricultural
exhibition was also organised on the occasion which
received an enthusiastic response. |
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SGPC warning to Punjabi
Channel AMRITSAR, Sept 30 — The SGPC today threatened to serve legal notice to the proprietors of a Punjabi channel which failed to beam “Gurbani” from today. In a letter, Mr Kulwant Singh, Secretary of the SGPC, asked Mr Darshan Singh Harwinder, Director of the channel, to beam Gurbani within a week as per the six-year agreement between the SGPC and the channel otherwise a legal action would be initiated. According to the letter the agreement would stand cancelled if the channel failed to take off by October 7. The letter warned the proprietors of the channel against the misuse of the recorded Gurbani in any form. Earlier, the SGPC had cancelled an agreement with “Punjabi World” channel which had been closed after about five months. This agreement was signed by Justice Kuldip Singh (retd) on behalf of the SGPC and Mr Motiani, Managing Director of the Punjabi World channel. Mr Gurcharn Singh Tohra, the then SGPC President, had inaugurated the channel. Though the channel became very popular all over the world it was closed down after some time. On the other hand, the new Punjabi Channel, could not even take off. While replying to the SGPC letter the owners of the Channel regretted the failure to telecast ‘Gurbani’ from September as per the agreement. The proprietors of the channel had failed to meet the revised deadline on September 30 also. Mr Kulwant Singh said the SGPC had received a number of calls from all over the world regarding the telecast of “Gurbani”. Mr Kulwant Singh
informed the proprietors of the Punjabi Channel that the
SGPC would not grant any more extensions to the channel
after October 7. |
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Indians tend to stick together:
NRI LUDHIANA: An American NRI who has headed the local chapter of the Indo-American Association in Tampa Bay, Florida, for six years, says the best way the Indians can find acceptance abroad is by becoming a part of the local culture and participating in activities of the community of the country they have adopted. “If we have been kicked out of Uganda and if there is dislike for the Indians in England and Canada, it is because we tend to stick together and insulate ourselves from the general public in the country we adopt. This is bound to be resented by the locals”, points out Mr Krishan Bahl, a medical practice consultant, who has been in the USA for nearly three decades now. Mr Bahl says that he was quick to realise this drawback in the Indian community and took immediate corrective steps. “Tampa Bay is a rich, prosperous locality which has only about 1000 Indian families. Our area is called the prime rib consisting only of millionaire physicians and engineers....There too Indians tended to stick together. They would celebrate their festivals but would not participate in those celebrated by the Americans. Mr Bahl, who hails from Jalandhar, was in Ludhiana to visit “Ek Prayaas”, an institute for mentally retarded children set up by the Social Action Group, a small band of civic-minded citizens of Ludhiana on a voluntary basis. Mr Bahl appreciated the good work being done in the institute and spontaneously donated Rs 10,000 for the institute. He also undertook to introduce the institute to his circle of acquaintances in the USA. Mr Bahl says that he has always been interested in community work and setting apart a part of his earnings for the needy. But the turning point in his life came when his son suffered serious leg injury in a road accident a few years ago. “Both his legs were badly smashed and there was little hope of him walking again. But by God’s grace, a series of delicate operations put the crushed bones in his legs together. This has made me even more God fearing. I have always felt this urge to do something for my home country. I can go to Paris or Switzerland for holidaying at half the cost of the air ticket but I prefer to spend more to come to India every year to be among my people and do whatever I can in my small way to help projects like ‘Ek Prayaas’. Earlier, Mrs Sameera
Bector, President of the Social Action Group and Mrs
Radhika Jetwarni, another office-bearer of the
institution gave a brief presentation to Mr Bahl and took
him round the institute. |
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3 doctors suspended BATHINDA, Sept 30 — The Punjab Government has placed three doctors, including a senior medical officer and a surgeon, under suspension for various acts of omission and commission. Official sources said that Dr Jugraj Singh Sandhu, Senior Medical Officer, Civil Hospital, Bathinda and Dr Kultar Singh, Medical Officer, Hoshiarpur, were placed under suspension for their negligence leading to the”wrong” medico-legal report in the case of Kewal Singh of Kotha Guru Ka village. Dr Kultar Singh was posted at Civil Hospital, Bhagta Bhai Ka, when the incident took place. Mr Rajesh Chabra, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, in his order issued on September 28 said that their suspension would come into effect immediately. The headquarters of these officers during the period of suspension would be the office of the Civil Surgeon, Bathinda. The charge sheets against the doctors be submitted to the government and the Director, Health Services, within a week. In another order, Dr Ramesh Gupta, Surgeon, Civil Hospital, Rampuraphul, and driver Zora Singh have been placed under suspension for their negligence leading to the death of a patient Gurmeet Singh on July 15, 1999. The Punjab Government have also decided to issued charge sheets to two other doctors, namely Dr Sushil and Dr Nagpal for their negligence in conducting the medical examination of teenaged Dalit rape victim of Killinihalsinghwala village off the district. Official sources said
that a number of senior officials of the Health
Department had been facing a number of inquiries in
different scams and due to “misuse of powers”. |
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Alert in Punjab over dengue CHANDIGARH, Sept 30 — An alert has been sounded in the entire state by the Punjab Health department authorities following reports of outbreak of dengue fever in Ludhiana city. Mr Manoranjan Kalia, Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister, and Mr Rajesh Chabra, Principal Secretary of the Health department, said here today that all civil surgeons had been directed to take adequate precautionary measures as regards dengue fever. People should be educated about the fever and fogging should be made in all urban areas. Likewise, rural areas also should be fogged with anti-mosquito chemical substances. Mr Chabra said as many as 21 cases of fever were reported in Ludhiana and 18 of these had been found confirmed cases of dengue fever. These include three students of Dayanand Medical College. They were staying in college hostel. Mr Chabra said vigil was being maintained on the situation and if need be other measures would be taken. Meanwhile, Mr Kalia here
today launched a social mobilisation campaign for
intensified pulse polio immunisation in the state. |
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Residents rue lack of amenities BATHINDA, Sept 30 — For the past four and a half years, residents of Bharat Nagar Colony developed by the Improvement Trust have been living in miserable conditions allegedly due to the apathetic attitude of the authorities concerned. Though the Improvement Trust authorities have taken development charges from each person to whom the plot was allotted in the colony in 1995 no development work has been carried out by it so far despite repeated requests of the residents. The Improvement Trust authorities have failed to provide drinking water and sewage facilities in the colony. The residents have to spend Rs 20,000 on an average to make arrangements for drinking water and septic tanks for sewage. The residents alleged their repeated pleas to the authorities concerned and the local minister, Mr Chiranji Lal Garg, had failed to yield any result. They alleged even the higher local bodies authorities did not do anything despite their repeated requests. Mr Paramjit Singh, president of the Bharat Nagar Welfare Society, said the Improvement Trust authorities had started charging heavy amounts from the plot owners in the shape of non-construction penalty after three years of allotment. He added that this action of the authorities was not justified as the authorities had failed to provide basic amenities in the so-called developed colony. He pointed out that in the absence of sewage facilities, the foul smell emanating from the stinking stagnant water had started affecting the health of residents. He added that so far the Improvement Trust authorities had failed to provide street lights and footpaths. The roads of the colony were also in bad shape. They demanded that no
non-construction penalty should be charged from the plot
owners and the Improvement Trust authorities should
provide the promised amenities in the colony immediately. |
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Stress on quality in Punjabi
literature PATIALA, Sept 30 — Bringing quality in Punjabi literature, presenting a picture which was in consonance with the state's culture and making the written language more easy to reach out to a wider audience were the main points on which a consensus was reached on the concluding day of the Punjabi Sahit Sammelan which drew a good response at Punjabi University here. Moreover, the participants felt the uniqueness of spoken language of different areas in the state should be maintained and felt the past should be taken into account while developing new ideas. Speaking on the occasion, former Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi University, Dr S.S. Johl, stressed the need for quality in Punjabi literature. He said books which people could not read could not do well in the market. He further said the system of forming a mutual society of writers who wrote books and got them distributed among themselves should be discouraged. Dr Johl also called upon the literary fraternity to shun authors who presented a picture which the society was not ready to accept. He said concepts which had been accepted in the West like the system of unwed mothers could not be propagated in the Indian culture. He said the easy flow of Punjabi language should be maintained and deplored the Sanskritisation of the language. He said if writers found it difficult to find words they could look for them at the grassroot level and write according to the form in which the language was spoken. Earlier while presiding over the first session in the morning writer Dalip Kaur Tiwana observed that development was possible within the language and it was upto an individual how he received various ideas. She said, besides this culture needed to be joined with the spiritual element. The Kurukshetra University Vice-Chancellor, Dr M.L. Ranga, while giving the concluding speech of the session, said why Punjabi culture was allowed to be affected needed to be discussed. He also painted a grim picture by saying that Punjabi was now only present at the village-level as those who became reasonably educated chose to shun it. Dr Ranga said Punjabis needed to shun this mentality if they wanted the language to develop further. He said schemes should be formulated to bring people going away from the language back into its folds. He also gave an account of how steps needed to be taken to propagate the language in Himachal Pradesh where it used to be spoken earlier and the steps taken by Kurukshetra University in this regard. He said students were studying Punjabi in Kurukshetra University at the graduation level. Writer Santokh Singh Dhir said challenges to Punjabi were related to the challenges being faced by society. Mr Khalid Husain, a writer from Jammu, urged for propagating Shahmukhi. The Punjabi spoken in Pakistan's Punjab along with Gurmukhi which was spoken in Indian Punjab should be joined together, he added. Dr Ahluwalia announced on the occasion that a computer software would be developed so that both Shahmukhi Punjabi could be available to the people by translating it into Gurmukhi. He also said a sangeet sammelan would be organised at in the university to give a fillip to the Patiala "gharana". Two papers of Prof
Raghbir Singh on modern Punjabi novel and Dr Dhanwant
Singh on modern Punjabi story were also presented during
the morning session. |
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No extension to School
Board Controller SAS NAGAR, Sept 30 — The controversy over extension to the outgoing Controller of Examinations of the Punjab School Education Board today ended as the issue did not figure at the emergency meeting of the members of the board, convened at Chandigarh today. According to sources the meeting held in the evening reportedly approved the appointment of Mr Varinder, presently working as Personal Assistant (PA) to the Chairman, as an Assistant Secretary. The issue was contentious one on the agenda of the Punjab School Education Board Non-teaching Karamchari Union. The union had opposed his appointment. The issue of extension
to the outgoing Controller of Examinations did not figure
at the meeting, which the sources said meant that he
would be considered retired from September 30. Meanwhile
the other points of the agenda, which included appeals by
some employees against their punishment orders were
discussed in the meeting. |
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Agricultural attaches demanded LUDHIANA, Sept 30 — Indian embassies throughout the world should have agricultural attaches in order to have better exchange of agricultural technology among different countries of the world and study the markets for farm produce. The USA has already introduced this concept and the agricultural attaches of the USA continuously study the markets and feed back the information to their country. This was suggested here yesterday by Dr Sukhdev Singh, member, Board of Management, Punjab Agricultural University, and former Agricultural Commissioner, Government of India. Dr Sukhdev Singh further
stated that the state government had already approved the
scheme for introducing agriculture as an optional subject
up to matric in all schools. |
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Plea to probe loan fraud BATHINDA, Sept 30 — Mrs Ranjit Kaur Romana, general secretary, Punjab Pardesh Mahila Congress Committee, has urged the Deputy Commissioner to order an inquiry by a senior Executive Officer into the fraud that took place into the Municipal Council’s loan cases in recent months. In a letter to the Deputy Commissioner, Mrs Romana said she was made the president of the community development scheme and asked to recommend loan cases of poor families to the local municipal authorities. She alleged that the municipal authorities had sanctioned two cases in which she had not made any recommendations and her forged signature had been put on the papers. She added that the Municipal Council authorities had also got the amount of loan from the banks for the two beneficiaries. Mr Bhupinder Singh Bhuller, president, Municipal Council, when contacted, said that the Executive Officer (EO) had been asked to conduct an inquiry into the two cases in which the signature of Mrs Romana had been forged. He added that regarding
the other cases, the municipal authorities had not
received any complaint so far. |
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Mayor’s removal sought JALANDHAR, Sept 30 — The Senior Deputy Mayor, Mr Gurcharan Singh Narula, alleged that he had been threatened by the Mayor, Mr Suresh Sehgal, with dire consequences. He said he had complained to the Punjab Government about the Mayor’s “corrupt practices” and the arbitrary style of functioning. He said he would hold
the Mayor responsible for any harm to his family or him.
He urged the state government to replace Mr Suresh
Sehgal. |
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Closure of khadi panel resented HOSHIARPUR, Sept 30 — Resentment prevails among the local inhabitants especially youths against the Central Government for closing the office of the Khadi Village and Industrial Commission. In a press note issued today Mr Kuldip Kumar Nanda, General Secretary of the district Congress Committee, stated that the office had done a commendable job by providing loans worth Rs 3.50 crore to the unemployed youths of the rural areas of this district for starting various works during past two years. As a result of which hundreds of unemployed youths had started earning their livelihood. He urged the Chairman of
the Khadi Village and Industrial Commission of India to
review the decision and reopen the aforesaid office so
that more and more unemployed youth could start their
work with the financial help from this office. |
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Sr Deputy Mayor's removal demanded AMRITSAR, Sept 30 — Mr Satya Pal Dang, former MLA, has demanded the removal of the Senior Deputy Mayor of the local municipal corporation for "gross misuse" of his powers. He said the Deputy Mayor had led a crowd into a municipal park for children at Rani Ka Bagh, destroyed the corporation property and installed a Nishan Sahib there. He had declared that he was donating the park land for the construction of a gurdwara. Mr Dang said the irregularity was prevented because of a stay order granted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The court had got the Nishan Sahib removed. The Senior Deputy Mayor
had justified his action alleging that the Mayor had
donated a park to a mandir. |
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Food Secy visiting Ludhiana
today CHANDIGARH, Sept 30 — Mr M.D. Asthana, Food Secretary to the Union Government, will visit Ludhiana tomorrow to inspect the paddy procurement operations. He will also meet officials concerned. The Punjab Government authorities will urge the Food Secretary to direct the FCI staff to gear up the paddy procurement operations in the state. The FCI is lagging
behind as far as procurement of paddy is concerned.
Against its share of 40 per cent in procurement of paddy
by government agencies, it has procured less, according
to sources. |
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Kerosene dealer arrested PATIALA, Sept 30 — The district police here today arrested an oil trader on the charges on selling spurious kerosene. Mr Harpreet Singh Sidhu,
SSP, said in a press release that Ved Parkash, owner G.P.
Oil Company, Samana Gate, was arrested by a party of
Kotwali police station along with 12 drums of adulterated
oil. He said the dealer used to chemically adulterate
kerosene. A case under Section 420, IPC, has been
registered against the dealer. |
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Surcharge on power PATIALA, Sept 30 — The Punjab State Electricity Board has decided to level a fuel surcharge of one paisa per unit on energy consumption with respect to all categories of consumers with effect from September 1 this year. Board officials said
this is the third time a fuel surcharge has been levelled
on energy consumption since October last year. |
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Panel to study draft PATIALA, Sept 30 — A meeting of the World Sikh Intellectual Council (wing of Shiromani Akali Dal) held here today under the chairmanship of Prof Baldev Singh Balluana, president of WSIC, has decided unanimously to constitute a five-member panel under the convenership of Lt-Col S.S. Nishan, secretary of the council, to discuss various draft amendments suggested by Justice Harbans Singh to be made in the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925. The other members in the
panel are Dr Amrik Singh, former Vice-Chancellor of
Punjabi University, Patiala, Dr Sukhdev Singh, former
Agriculture Commissioner, Government of India, Mr Jarnail
Singh Wahid, member, Subordinate Services Selection
Board, Punjab, Dr Mohinder Singh Chugh and Dr O.P.S.
Kande of Patiala. |
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