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| Friday, January 14, 2000, Chandigarh, India   |
Playing
with school kids’ lives Unrest over Tandon’s
leadership Anandgarh won’t be a
‘replica’ of UT Wadala for consensus candidate Confusion rife as govt declares
holiday JAC opposes financial emergency |
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Brar-led dharna called off
SHSAD welcomes new panel on
’84 riots Direction to SDMs on
computerisation Delegation meets PM on Netaji
issue DIET students burn minister’s
effigy Civic body chief dies
12 hurt in bus mishap No shrapnel found at explosion
site
CM lauds villagers Badal urged to float kisan relief
fund
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Playing with school kids’
lives JALANDHAR: There has been virtually no effective checks on drivers and conductors of buses and other vehicles used for carrying school children plying on main roads in and outside the municipal limits of towns. Many of these school buses violate various bylaws on smoke emission, thereby adding to air pollution. Checks by the traffic police are done only with respect to wearing of helmets by riders of two-wheelers and use of power and musical horns, and black films on windscreens of cars but not in respect of three-wheelers and heavy vehicles which use power and musical horns and emit a lot of smoke causing air pollution. The three-wheelers carrying school children are openly flouting restrictions imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court against transporting children in excess of 1.5 times of their sanctioned seat capacity. As a result several children are found in a precarious position on buses as their bodies jutting outside the vehicles. This may lead to serious accidents resulting in injury or even death. The court’s directions on school buses and other vehicles used for carrying school children have, unfortunately, gone unnoticed. Although an exercise for making an in-depth study into the whole matter was undertaken on the basis of the death of two young school children at Chandigarh three months ago, no lesson seems to have been learnt so far. Moreover, the school authorities have also failed to arrange parking of school buses inside the premises to ensure safety of the children while boarding and alighting. No regular bus stops have been fixed nor any zebra crossings marked for the safety of school children. The buses and three-wheelers engaged in transporting school children are often observed to be obsolete and not roadworthy. Many of them do not have fitness certificates. In spite of all this, no
action seems to have been taken by the authorities so far
to start any refresher courses for drivers of these
vehicles. The lives of thousands of school-going children
remain in peril under these circumstances. |
Unrest over Tandon’s
leadership LUDHIANA, January 13 — Unrest is growing in the Punjab unit of the BJP over the style of functioning of its leadership comprising Mr Balramji Dass Tandon, leader of the 18-strong BJP group in the Punjab assembly and Mr Daya Singh Sodhi, President of the Punjab BJP. Veteran BJP leader, Lala Lajpat Rai, MP, today cautioned the party leadership over the move to initiate disciplinary action against two party MLAs, Mr Satpal Gosain and Mr Jagdish Sawhney. In a talk with TNS, Lala Lajpat Rai who has headed the Punjab unit of the RSS for years, emphasised that expulsion of a person from the party was no solution to the problem. It was the responsibility of the party’s leadership to try to carry everyone along. "It takes years for the party to develop a leader but only two minutes to expel him". This is the first time Lala Lajpat Rai has publicly spoken on the ongoing controversy which engulfed the party over the selection of its nominees for inclusion in the Badal ministry which was expanded on the New Year-eve. Two ministerial aspirants, Mr Gosain and Mr Sawhney, have objected to the hush-hush manner in which the state party leadership picked up the nominees by "misleading" the party high command and have levelled a series of charges of corruption against Mr Tandon and Mr Sodhi and demanded a high-level probe. The Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, has suggested that the two MLAs should approach the Lok Pal with their allegations backed by proper documents. Lala Lajpat Rai suggested that the allegations levelled by the two party MLAs against Mr Tandon and Mr Sodhi should be looked into by the party itself. As a matter of fact, there should be a permanent forum in the party at the state as well as the national level to look into such complaints. The BJP leader was of the view that the present problem has arisen because of the lack of communication and coordination between the party leadership and its rank and file. He also objected to the manner in which Ludhiana’s claim of representation in the state cabinet had been ignored by the party leadership. He pointed out that Ludhiana was the biggest city of Punjab and was the hub of trade and industry in the state. It had also made a signal contribution to the BJP’s strength. Therefore, there was no reason for its representative to be kept out of the state ministry. On the one hand, an
important city like Ludhiana had been ignored and on the
other, several persons belonging to Amritsar had been
adjusted in the ministry as well as the organisational
set-up. President of the Punjab BJP as also its youth
wing were from Amritsar. Chairman of the Punjab Sewerage
Board, Deputy Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Cabinet
Minister and Mr Balramji Dass Tandon himself hailed from
Amritsar. "Does this mean that the whole of BJP
should be concentrated in Amritsar?’ he asked. |
Wadala for consensus candidate JALANDHAR, Jan 13 — In an apparent patch-up effort with Mr Parkash Singh Badal-led Shiromani Akali Dal, the President of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Democratic), Mr Kuldeep Singh Wadala, has advised the former to put up a common candidate in the forthcoming Nawanshahr Assembly by-election after taking other Akali factions into confidence. Interestingly, Mr Wadala, who had been a vice-president of the SAD (Badal), till he finally severed ties with Mr Badal in 1997, said if Mr Badal wanted to save the Akali Dal from defeat at the hands of the Congress, he should take a decision on the candidate after consulting all Akali factions, including the Akali Dal (Amritsar), Sarab Hind Akali Dal led by Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, and the Sant Samaj. Mr Wadala offered his services for initiating a dialogue with other Akali factions if Mr Badal saw a point in putting up a consensus candidate. In the same breath, Mr Wadala, who was addressing a press conference here today, predicted that if the Congress was able to corner 31 Vidhan Sabha seats in the country, the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) would not be able to retain the Nawanshahr seat. He said a third front should surface to oppose the Congress as well as the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre. Commenting on the Nanakshahi Calendar issue, Mr Wadala said the calendar should be enforced after consultations with Sikh scholars, scientists and religious leaders. He alleged that the
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has been
converted into political organisation by Mr Gurcharan
Singh Tohra. Now Bibi Jagir Kaur was following suit. |
Anandgarh won’t be a
‘replica’ of UT CHANDIGARH, Jan 13 — The new township named as Anandgarh will be located between Patiala-ki-Rao and Mullanpur nadi. It will be hardly 5 km distance from the PGI. The township will be located along the Shivalik foothills beyond the jurisdiction of the reserve forest. Quizzed in this connection, Mr Ranjit Singh Balian, Minister for Urban Development, told TNS today that the new city, Anandgarh, would have the capacity to accommodate 10 lakh persons. It would not be a replica of Chandigarh. It would be more modern and beautiful than City Beautiful. While planning Anandgarh on modern lines, every effort would be made to establish its distinct identity, architecture and otherwise to keep it away from the ‘‘shadow of Chandigarh’’. The township would be spread over an area of 10 sq. km and some villages like Kansala, Hoshiarpur adjacent to Mullanpur might have to make way for the township. The authorities concerned, according to Mr Ranjit Singh, have been authorised to hire even architects of repute from abroad but local cultural aspect should be kept in view at all costs. Apart from other sizes, there will be provision for plots of six kanals for NRIs in Anandgarh. There are no plots of this size either in Chandigarh or its soulmates — SAS Nagar and Panchkula. The size of plots in Panchkula and SAS Nagar is either one kanal or below, except in certain cases. Earlier some Cabinet Ministers had suggested for raising Anandgarh near Anandpur Sahib as the statement for setting up the township was made by the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, at Anandpur Sahib during Khalsa Tercentenary celebrations. However, Mr Badal himself told his Cabinet colleagues to adopt a practical approach in this connection as setting of such a township near Anandpur Sahib would not be viable and a wise step. All architectural deficiencies and defects in Chandigarh would be kept in mind while planning Anandgarh. There would be no roundabouts in Anandgarh. The main flaw in Chandigarh and roundabouts are being removed one by one in City Beautiful. Mr Ranjit Singh said he had visited all big cities in Europe and the USA and saw roundabouts nowhere except in Endminton. The Punjab Urban Development Authority will not take any money from the Punjab Finance department for setting up the township. It would be financed by HUDCO and some private financial institutions. ‘‘There will be no problem of funds to finance the proposed township’’, said Mr Ranjit Singh. Farmers would be given adequate compensation. As almost the barren land along the Shivalik foothills will be acquired for the purpose, it will make many influential persons, including politicians, bureaucrats and other important functionaries, ‘‘crorepatis’’ overnight. Informed sources said
many influential persons had their big farms in areas
where Anandgarh has been proposed to be set up. They had
bought land at almost throw-away prices but now they
would get compensation in lakhs. |
Confusion rife as govt declares
holiday AMRITSAR, Jan 13 — The last minute announcement of a public holiday tomorrow on the occasion of birthday of Guru Gobind Singh by the Punjab Government has created confusion among Sikhs about the affairs of the SGPC and Akali government in the state. The government had also declared a holiday, on January 5 and the Centre had also notified January 5 as restricted holiday for the celebration of Guru Gobind Singh’s birthday in accordance with the new Nanakshahi calendar. The government offices, schools, colleges and banks will remain closed tomorrow while these had also observed a holiday on January 5 under the Negotiable Instruments Act. There was confusion over the Martyrdom Day of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib also last year. It was observed twice within 15 days — on November 24 and on December 11. Earlier, a number of Sikh organisations had planned to hold a nagar kirtan in the city today but it was cancelled after the intervention by certain influential persons. The local Singh Sabhas had organised a nagar kirtan on January 4 at the request of manager of the Darbar Sahib. In a hard hitting statement the Dal Khalsa spokesman, Mr Kanwal Pal Singh, today criticised BJP minister, Balramji Dass Tandon for having described the Nanakshahi Calendar as "anti-national" and a threat to the integrity of nation. He said the remarks of Mr Tandon amounted to BJP’s interference in the internal affairs of Sikhs. Mr Kanwal Pal said Mr Tandon had no authority to comment on religious issues. Meanwhile, the confusion over new Nanakshahi Calendar is compounding with the Sikh intellectuals finding it increasingly difficult to set things right, a spokesman of the local Singh Sabhas said. He said Mr Badal’s government was actually trying to appease both sides. Interestingly, the programmes connected with the Tenth Guru’s birthday were telecast live from Patna Sahib gurdwara on the National Network this morning. The senior functionaries of the SGPC were tightlipped over these developments and refused to comment on the confusion. However, various Sikh
organisations and Singh Sabhas based here asserted that
they would follow the decision of the seven-member
committee formed under the aegis of the Jathedar, Akal
Takht. |
JAC opposes financial
emergency PATIALA, Jan 13 — The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Punjab and Union Territory employees yesterday said the imposition of financial emergency in Punjab would result in the forfeiture of salaries of government employees. Committee general secretary Darshan Singh Labana said it would be a blow to the employees and would not be helpful to the state. Mr Labana said the JAC would urge Congress President Sonia Gandhi to direct her partymen not to raise irrelevant issues causing hardships to the employees. He said the JAC also urged the President to write off loan instalments of the Punjab Government as well as interest accrued on these. Mr Labana further
alleged that the Congress had been discriminating against
employees and denied the benefits to them during the
emergency. He claimed the employees held a procession in
protest against the resolution of the Punjab Pradesh
Congress Committee as well as anti-employee policies of
the Badal Government which, he said, had failed to honour
its commitment for the grant of 15 per cent house rent
allowance to the employees posted in Patiala. |
Brar-led dharna called off MUKTSAR, Jan 13 — The Congress workers led by Mr Jagmeet Brar, Member Parliament, and Senior vice-president, PPCC, has called off dharna staged at the site of their party’s political conference. Official sources said the dharna was lifted by Mr Brar and Mr Avtar Singh Sidhu, President, DCC late last night what an agreement reached between them and the administration. Sources said the
Congress would hold its conference near a cinema house
and the Akalis would hold their conference near Dera
Mastan Singh. The way leading to Maghi Mela from the Akal
Academy side has been closed. |
SHSAD welcomes new panel on
’84 riots CHANDIGARH, Jan 13 — The Sarab Hind Shiromani Akali Dal headed by Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra has appreciated the decision of the Central Government with regard to appointment of a commission to probe anti-Sikh riots in Delhi and elsewhere in 1984. Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra, general secretary of the party, in a statement said it would have been better if the Prime Minister had announced the setting up of the commission when the former SGPC chief submitted a memorandum to him in this connection a year ago. He added that the terms and reference of the commission should be clear and specific. All ‘‘black forces’’ involved in the riots should be identified and exposed. There should be a time frame for submitting the report by the commission. He has criticised the
Punjab Government for fixing an unremunerative price for
the sugarcane. He said the state government had ignored
the recommendation of its own agriculture department
which had proposed Rs 103 a quintal as the price. Haryana
had fixed Rs 110 a quintal as the price of cane, and
Punjab should not be behind it. |
Direction to SDMs on
computerisation LUDHIANA, Jan 13 — The offices of Sub-Registrars in Khanna, Payal, Jagraon, Samrala and Raikot will be fully computerised in the beginning of next month. The decision was taken during a meeting of revenue officers held here today under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner. The Deputy Commissioner directed the SDMs and Tehsildars concerned to immediately start groundwork for the introduction of computers in their respective subdivisions. He said Mr K. Shiva Prasad ADC, had been given the responsibility to execute this project other subdivisions. During the meeting the functioning of the highway ambulance scheme launched in the district was reviewed. Instructions for monetary incentives to employees carrying out work on the computer were issued. The Deputy Commissioner
asked the S P, Traffic, to submit a proposal for
improvement in the traffic light system installed at
Samrala Chowk. |
Delegation meets PM on Netaji issue ROPAR, Jan 13 — An eight-member delegation of Netaji Probe and Research Foundation appealed to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, to shift the office of the Commission of Inquiry appointed by the Union Government to probe the disappearance of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose from Calcutta to New Delhi on the plea that it was a national issue and not just an issue of West Bengal. This appeal was made to the Prime Minister by the delegation led by Mr D.B. Kalmankar, Chairman of the Karnataka Legislative Council, and Mr Debabratta Biswas, General Secretary of the All-India Forward Bloc, which met him last evening at New Delhi. The delegation also appealed to the Prime Minister to take initiative to declassify the classified documents related to Netaji and the INA, presently lying in the archives and various departments in the country. Disclosing this here
today, Mr V.P. Saini, a member of the delegation and
publicity secretary of the foundation, said the
delegation had also urged the Prime Minister to take some
steps to give a clear feeling to the nation that the
political will of the government was really behind the
Commission of Inquiry. |
DIET students burn
minister’s effigy ROPAR, Jan 13 — Students of the local District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) and members of the Unemployed ETT Teachers' Union today burnt the effigy of Punjab Education Minister, Mr Tota Singh, at the local cremation ground on the Ropar-Nangal road. The students, including girls, also held a ‘siapa’. Earlier, they held a protest march and raised slogans in favour of scrapping of the "Sikhia karmi" scheme. Mr Avineet Chadha, general secretary of the Unemployed ETT Teachers' Union, Punjab, said despite an invitation from the Punjab Government for talks on January 16, the state-level rally at Moga on January 15 would not be cancelled. He said all members of
the state-level action committee would take part in the
meeting. The meeting should be attended by the DPI
(Primary), Director, SCERT, Education Secretary and
Education Minister. |
Civic body chief dies BATALA, Jan 13 — The Municipal Commissioner of Batala, Mr Ajit Singh, died yesterday when his car collided with a truck at Kartarpur. His funeral procession was taken out today. Mr Harkirat Singh, ASI of the Punjab Police, and Mr Dalbir Singh, who accompanied him, also received serious injuries. They have been admitted to a private nursing home in Amritsar. They are out of danger. Ajit Singh was the
counsellor of Ward No 6 of the Batala Municipal Council
and belonged to the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal). |
Army jawan cremated FEROZEPORE, Jan 13 — The body of an Army jawan, Arjan Singh, who was posted at Sangrela in Himachal Pradesh, was cremated at his native village, Fatehgarh Sabhraon, in this district yesterday with full state honours. According to official
information received here the jawan had died in a road
mishap in Himachal Pradesh on January 8. He was 36. |
Arms seized during Kargil on
display AMRITSAR, Jan 13 — The fifth armoured regiment today put up a display of various weapons captured during the Kargil conflict and equipment of the Indian Army including tanks, guns, missiles, and other ammunitions at the Panther stadium in the cantonment. Brigadier R.S. Sanghera,
Deputy GOC 15th Infantary Division, inaugurated the
two-day weapon show, he told mediapersons that the Army
wanted students to get an impression of the recent arms
operations. |
SAD PAC to meet on Sunday CHANDIGARH, Jan 13 — A meeting of the political affairs committee of the Shiromani Akali Dal headed by Mr Parkash Singh Badal will be held on January 16 at Mr Badal’s residence, a statement issued by Mr Kirpal Singh Badungar, secretary of the SAD, said. The candidate for the
Nawanshahr by-election is expected to be selected at the
meeting. The issue of organisational election of the
party will also be discussed as the party’s chief
election officer and the district election officers have
also been invited. |
Appointment cancelled LUDHIANA, Jan 13 — The Punjab Government has cancelled the appointment of Mr Daljit Singh Sandhu as Chairman of the Improvement Trust, Ludhiana, following objections from the BJP. A PCS officer, Mr Sandhu
is on the verge of retirement. He has now been appointed
as Additional Commissioner, Municipal Corporation,
Ludhiana. |
12 hurt in bus mishap KHARAR, Jan 13 — As many as 12 persons, including five children, were wounded in a road accident between a private bus and a three-wheeler near Gharuan village on the Kharar-Morinda road today. According to Mr G.B. Singh, SHO, Kharar, the incident occurred when a fast-going private bus (No PB-10 R-9795) hit a three-wheeler (No CHV-671). The bus was going from Mohali to Ludhiana. After this the bus fell into deep khud near the road. Mr Harinder Singh and some other injured persons told correspondents in the Civil Hospital, Kharar that the bus was very fast and they all were taken out of the bus by a large number of passers-by. Dr H.S. Oberoi, who was
on duty at the hospital, said that in all 12 injured were
brought to the Civil Hospital. He said that five children
were discharged after first aid. He said seven injured
were admitted to the hospital out of them five persons
including Mr G.S. Ravat, his wife Shiama and
daughter-in-law Sushma, and Sanjeev Kumar have been sent
to the PGI, Chandigarh. He said Harinder Singh and Daler
Kaur were still in the hospital.
|
No shrapnel found at
explosion site JALANDHAR, Jan 13 — No shrapnel or any tell tale mark of an army explosive has been found by Army experts who have inspected the site of explosion in Bathinda. The explosion had occurred on January 11 in which five persons were killed. In a press release issued here today, the Army authorities denied that the explosion was caused by a discarded army explosive. The Army authorities had said the conjuncture that the explosive was obtained from the cantonment garbage dump was untrue as garbage was disposed of as per the laid down procedures. Moreover, there was no
field firing range in the area from where blind
ammunition could be obtained, the authorities said. |
CM lauds villagers NAWANSHAHR, Jan 13 — The Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, has lauded the efforts of the residents of the village for launching a cooperative movement in a big way. Presiding over a function organised at Dera Sant Baba Mangal Dass at Mahil Gahilan village, about 15 km from here in connection with the ‘Maghi Mela’, he said that the great Gurus and saints had purified human life by showing the right path to the people. Reacting to the demand of the villagers to upgrade the government school up to plus two level, he called upon the NRIs belonging to the village to come forward to provide the latest infrastructure for the school so that courses related to information technology could be introduced to meet the challenges of new millennium. Mr Swarna Ram, Tourism
and Cultural Affairs Minister, Mr Jatinder Singh Kariha,
Mr Hardev Singh Kahma, Mr Mohinder Singh Hussainpuri, Mr
Resham Singh Thiara, local SAD leaders also spoke. |
Badal urged to float kisan
relief fund CHANDIGARH, Jan 13 — A deputation of five farmers organisations today met the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, to urge him to set up a "Kisan relief fund" to provide aid to those farmers whose crop is damaged due to natural calamity or some other such reason. The deputation consisted of Dr Joginder Dayal, secretary of the All-India Kisan Sabha and others. Apart from the Chief Minister, the Finance Minister, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Mr Sewa Singh Sekhwan, Dr Rattan Singh, Mr Madan Mohan Mittal and Mr Ranjit Singh Brahmpura were present when the deputation presented a memorandum to Mr Badal. Deputationists told the Chief Minister that the cost of production of wheat had gone up from Rs 425 per acre in 1974-75 to Rs 2810 per acre and the cost of paddy had risen from Rs 434 per acre in 1974-75 to Rs 4485 per acre in 1996-97. The per acre yield was either stagnant or decreasing. They urged Mr Badal and his colleagues to fix the price of cotton between Rs 2800 and Rs 3000 a quintal and the Cotton Corporation of India should enter the market every year. They suggested a
provident fund scheme, a credit card scheme and a special
assistance and relief for the farmers. |
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