 |
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| Wednesday, May 3, 2000, Chandigarh, India   |
Punjab
pays price for plenty Kamaljit
moves HC on Bibi’s passport SHSAD
may move HC Punjab
tells VCs to inspect colleges Leaders
defend RSS agenda Arbitration
award raises doubts
PPCC
rebuts Badal’s statement |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Plea
in hijacking case dismissed Punjab
unveils transfer policy DEO
to probe charges against herself! Circuit
House put on auction Ambassadors
of peace arrive Indo-Pak
border meeting today Gateway
to Amritsar soon 4000
bags of wheat destroyed in fire MP
favours baby holiday Dist
planning boards to be replaced Bedi
Lal Singh dead
DC
assumes charge
Murder
case registered 920
kg of poppy husk seized Teacher
‘molests’ minor
No
place to store paddy: rice millers
|
Punjab pays price for plenty CHANDIGARH, May 2 — The Union Government is persisting in punishing Punjab. Its fault is the fact that it feeds hungry millions across the country and is the anchor of national food security programmes. Punjab contributes 50 per cent of the wheat and 40 per cent of the rice to the national pool. But when it asks that its stocks be lifted and payment be made the central agencies just sleep on the request. Right now Punjab’s godowns are bursting at the seams with 108 lakh tonnes of wheat and 14 lakh tonnes of rice. Of this 40 lakh tonnes of wheat has been lying for the past several months while procurement agencies have added another 67 lakh tonnes in the past month. Rice is lying with millers either in the open or in covered godowns. In addition, Punjab has given covered and open space for 20 lakh tonnes of grain to central agencies. But lifting of foodgrains, required by food deficit states and areas now reeling under drought in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra and Orissa continues to be tardy. In April less than three lakh tonnes was lifted against a promised four lakh tonnes. Every year the promise is to lift stocks fast. But the promise is seldom kept. Whenever Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is in Delhi, his one perennial request is please speed up lifting of stocks. He invariably meets the Union Food Minister and also knocks at the doors of the Prime Minister. His Minister, Mr Madan Mohan Mittal, does the same. Both have also been shooting off letters and making pleas. But in vain. For even when assurances are heeded it is in part. “It seems that such problems are not serious and are left to the officers to tackle. We wish we could export to other countries and make a fast buck”, a senior food department official complained. In fact, Mr Badal often feels helpless about the problem. Then he pushes his officers to tackle the issue at their level. The circle widens but the problem remains. And Punjab suffers. The state has Rs 4,350 crore worth of foodgrains lying with it. Some of this will rot. In the meanwhile it will pay interest on the money borrowed to buy the grain at the rate of 14 per cent per annum and storage charges and suffer losses due to rodents and vagaries of nature on the hope that it will recover its investment when stocks are lifted and the money paid. Unsettled dues for wheat supplied to the central pool go as far back as 1980. Interestingly, last year Punjab agencies procured 68.59 lakh tonnes of rice of which 49.85 lakh tonnes was bought by central agencies. Millers in the state who milled 25.17 lakh of this are now forced to pay bribes to get their stocks cleared in time. But while it may be
tardy in processing or lifting stocks the Government of
India insists on owning more than 95 per cent of the
grain brought to market. So although rice or wheat rot
becomes unfit for human consumption, the Centre will not
give up its monopoly. FCI’s stock in hand in Punjab
as of today are 58 lakh tonnes of rice and wheat. Some of
it are lying in the open as the total storage capacity of
90 lakh tonnes has been exhausted. |
Kamaljit moves HC on Bibi’s passport CHANDIGARH, May 2 (PTI) — Kamaljit Singh, “lover” of SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur’s deceased daughter Harpreet Kaur today petitioned the Punjab and Haryana High Court to seize the passports of Bibi Jagir Kaur and others. “Passports of Bibi, her daughter and two residents of Phagwara, Paramjit Singh and Dalwinder Kaur Desi, be seized as they may slip away abroad to avoid investigation into the controversial and mysterious death of Harpreet Kaur”, the petition said. Besides, Kamaljit Singh
stated in his four page application that the state
government machinery had been persuading some doctors in
Phagwara to prepare a fake medical paper for Harpreet
indicating that she was referred to Christian Medical
College (CMC), Ludhiana, for a medical treatment of food
poisoning. |
SHSAD may move HC AMRITSAR, May 2 — Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra, general secretary of the Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal, has said that his party and other organisations will move the Punjab and Haryana High Court again for impounding the passport of Bibi Jagir Kaur and her surviving daughter. Prof Chandumajra alleged that the landlady where deceased Harpreet lived before her death was also said to be ‘underground’. He alleged that efforts were being made to destroy evidence which led to the death of Harpreet Kaur. He further alleged that Bibi Jagir Kaur wanted to send her surviving daughter abroad so that evidence could be ‘destroyed’. Meanwhile, Mr Sukhdev
Singh Bhaur, vice-president of the SHSAD, said Mr Parkash
Singh Badal, Chief Minister, should also be involved in
the investigations as he was personally present at the
time of cremation of Harpreet Kaur. He also sought
resignation of Mr Badal as Chief Minister and President
of the Shiromani Akali Dal. He demanded the registration
of a criminal case against Mr Badal too. |
Punjab tells VCs to inspect
colleges CHANDIGARH, May 2 — The Vice-Chancellors of Panjab, Punjabi and Guru Nanak Dev Universities have been directed by the Punjab Government to spend at least two days in a month in the field to tone up the functioning of the colleges. The Vice-Chancellors have been told to inspect colleges and point out the irregularities, if any, to the Principals concerned and the state government with action to be taken at the government level. The step has been taken to set things right at the higher education level in the state. The government had got reports that college education in the state was in complete disarray and required a major initiative on the part of the government in this connection. At present the Vice-Chancellors normally remain confined to their respective universities and only visit colleges to preside over functions like annual sports meet and annual convocations etc. As colleges are affiliated to various universities, the Vice-Chancellors can inspect colleges to find out whether colleges are following the conditions laid down to get affiliation. Confirming these steps taken by the Punjab Government, the Minister for Higher Education, Master Mohan Lal, told TNS that the government had also told the Vice-Chancellors to ensure at least 180 working days in higher educational institutions in the state as per UGC norms from the next academic session. He said the five-day week in the universities would be extended to six days from the next academic session and all unnecessary holidays would be slashed. “We will be very strict in this connection”, he added. To discourage absenteeism in the colleges, master Mohan Lal said that attendance registers would be maintained strictly in all colleges and teachers would be supposed to be available there at least from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The menace of tuitions which had become a parallel education system would be eliminated by all means, he added. The government has waived the condition of Ph.D. qualification for appointment as principals of government colleges. Those having teaching experience of 20 years or so in colleges would now be eligible, said Master Mohan Lal. The Punjab Government has also decided to introduce environment course in universities and colleges. Master Mohan Lal said that the country was facing drought due to the felling of trees on a large scale in various parts of the country. Students were required to educated about the importance of forests etc to maintain eco balance in the country. Even though the Puri Committee had not yet submitted its report, it had been decided in principle to bring about uniformity in the syllabi pertaining to science, mathematics courses in all three universities. Besides, there would be uniformity in all language courses except in Punjabi University where Punjabi was taught as a compulsory subject in colleges affiliated to it. The minister said a
programme to introduce computer training in all
government colleges in the state had been finalised. |
Leaders defend RSS agenda FEROZEPORE, May 2 — Coming down heavily on critics of the RSS, senior BJP leaders today defended the organisation for projecting the Sikhs as part of the Hindu mainstream. Accusing Sikh hardliners of spearheading a “misinformation campaign”, they said the Sikh community like Jains and Budhists were a part of the Hindu society. Making it clear that the RSS was not a fascist organisation, they accused the radical Sikhs of sowing seeds of separatism. The Punjab BJP Organising General Secretary, Mr Jagmohan Kaura, charged the radical Sikhs of trying to revive militancy in the border state by raking up the question of Sikh identity. Reminding them of the days of bloodshed, he asked them not to project Sikhs as a separate nation. “This would only harm their Sikh compatriots as the Sikhs were the worst hit by terrorism in Punjab”, he cautioned. “For us, the Sikhs are an inseparable part of the Hindu society”, he said, adding. “Those who disagree with us today will gradually come to believe in our philosophy”. Denying that the RSS was trying to assimilate the Sikh minority into the Hindu fold, he said: “We at no point of time tried to meddle in Sikh affairs”. By holding the Khalsa tercentenary functions, he said the RSS was according respect to Guru Gobind Singh who saved the Hindu religion from Islamic persecution. “Khalsa is an armed wing of the Hindu society”, he said. Mr Kaura, however, declined to answer whether the Sikhs were “keshdhari Hindus” saying, “I do not want to get into the jugglery of words. Without mincing words, the Punjab Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha Vice-President, Mr Jagdeep Rai Kantor, said the Sangh Parivar considered Sikhs as “keshdari Hindus” and criticised the votaries of Sikhs as a separate nation. He said a section of the
“so-called” Sikh scholars was trying to divide
Hindus and Sikhs by raising the issue of identity.
“After having failed to divide Punjab despite
decade-long bloodshed, the separatist forces are again
raising their ugly head”, he said. |
Arbitration award raises doubts PATIALA, May 2 — Allegations of bypassing the rules, favouritism, political pressure and other irregularities have cast a shadow on an arbitration award of about Rs 20 lakh in favour of private contractor for executing construction work of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) at Ropar. A senior Executive Engineer at the Ropar Thermal Plant has protested against the award by sending the case to the Legal Section of the PSEB for contesting it in a court of law. The PSEB Engineers Association has also joined the row and warned the board that they will not allow squandering of the board’s money under any kind of pressure. The arbitration award announced by Mr J.M. Vashisht on April 9 concerns the payment to a contractor, Mr Baljit Singh, for construction work of 132 quarters in Nuhon Colony thermal plant, Ropar, in 1989. The contractor had filed claims on several grounds which allegedly include wrong calculation of some expenses, among other things. While Mr S.C. Chabba, Senior Executive Engineer at Ropar, and the engineers association claim that the contractor has already been overpaid even though he had not completed the construction work and the arbitration in his favour is also unjustified, Mr Vashisht maintains that no favour of any kind has been done to any party. He also brushed aside allegations that the order has been awarded under any kind of pressure either from the board management or from the state government. In a detailed letter sent to the Legal Section, PSEB, Mr Chabba alleged that the arbitration award had been given on “considerations other than merit”. Mr Chabba said as per the amount of the contract, Rs 58.15 lakh were decided upon as payment for the construction of 132 residential quarters. However, even though the contractor constructed only 100 quarters, he was given a payment of Rs 58.08 lakh. Thus the board deducted a sum of Rs 7,000 only for the non-construction of 32 houses. Incidentally, according to him, the 32 quarters were later got constructed by another contractor on rates quoted by the first contractor. He said the board had thus suffered a loss in the transaction and now the arbitrator had again awarded Rs 8.82 lakh plus 12 per cent interest from 1991 to the contractor. He also mentioned a vigilance inquiry in the case which confirmed excess payment. Corroborating the allegations and findings of Mr Chabba, the PSEB Engineers Association has warned the board against accepting the arbitration award. Mr Padamjit Singh, president of the association, alleged that pressure from the board management and from influential persons in the state government had tilted the case in favour of the contractor. He said similar pressure was being exerted on any move to contest the case. He said contrary to a laid down procedure of referring such matter to an arbitration committee, the board was taking up the matter directly. Mr Vashisht said had he been under any pressure, he would have awarded a higher claim to the contractor. He said the contractor was paid after calculating the price rise in a few years. The Chairman, PSEB, Mr
G.S. Sohal could not be contacted. The Officer on Special
Duty, Mr P.K. Sarwal, said the board had not bypassed any
norms. He assured that the board would not blindly
implement the arbitration award. |
PPCC rebuts Badal’s statement CHANDIGARH, May 2 — The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee today reacted to the statement of Mr Parkash Singh Badal and his son, Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal, that rebel Akalis, led by Mr Ravi Inder Singh and Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, were working in tandem to dislodge the Akali-BJP Government in Punjab in connivance with the Congress. Mr Sant Ram Singla,
vice-president of the PPCC, in a written statement said
the Congress had nothing to do with the present Akali
infighting. It was their inner-party struggle for
supremacy. The name of the Congress was being dragged by
the Badal to sidetrack the issue and take away the
people’s attention from the real problems faced by
the state. |
Plea in hijacking case dismissed CHANDIGARH, May 2 —Dismissing a petition for registering a case against Amritsar’s Deputy Commissioner, the SSP, DSP and the Airport Director for alleged negligence in handling the hijacking case, Mr. Justice T.H.B. Chalapathi observed that the petition was “publicity intended litigation”. Pronouncing the orders on the petition filed by the Amritsar resident, Mr Surinder Singh, Mr Justice Chalapathi observed: “This is the most frivolous petition though it is styled as public interest litigation”.Mr Justice Chalapathi also observed: “There is no material placed before me to show any negligent act on the part of the respondents in causing the death of Rupan Katyal. There is also no material that all the respondents have conspired. Therefore the offence under Sections 304-A and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code is not attracted”. In his detailed order,
the Judge observed: “There is no material to show
that the offences for which the petitioner is seeking
registration of the case have been committed. I do not
find any grounds to issue any direction as sought for.
This petition is, therefore, dismissed”. |
Punjab unveils transfer policy CHANDIGARH, May 2 — The Punjab Government today issued detailed guidelines regarding general transfers and postings An official spokesman said the postings and transfers would be made till May 15 from the date of issuance of official instructions. The transfers will be kept to the barest minimum. Giving details about the new transfer policy, the spokesman said in a press note that the employees, gazetted or non-gazetted, who were due to retire within two years, would be allowed to continue in the same district or at the place. The government would show due consideration to mitigate the sufferings of the handicapped. There would be no mid-term transfers. Transfers would be necessary only in the case of a vacancy existing after general transfers or a new vacancy arising due to suspension, resignation, termination, retirement, deputation, promotion, creation of new posts and death. The administrative departments concerned were directed to fill such vacancies at their own level provided no employee was transferred without his/her written consent. The vacancies arising as a result of eventualities, would be filled only with prior approval of the Chief Minister through the Department of Personnel. Referring to the
transfers made after May 15, it was said that only cases
proposed on administrative or compassionate grounds would
be referred to the Department of Personnel following
approval from the minister concerned. |
DEO to probe charges against
herself! MANSA, May 2 — In an interesting case, the DPI (Secondary) Schools, Government of Punjab, has asked the District Education Officer (DEO), Secondary, Mrs Bhupinder Kaur, to inquire into a complaint made against her by Mr Jugraj Singh of Bhopal village in this district in connection with the selection of PTI teachers in 1996. Mr Jugraj Singh, in a complaint to the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, on December 12, 1999, had alleged that he was interviewed for the post of PTI teacher in 1996 by a selection committee. Mrs Bhupinder Kaur was the chairperson of the committee. He said he was rejected on “flimsy” ground and the selection was not fair hence it should be probed by a high-level agency. The complaint made to the Chief Minister, however, reached to DPI (Secondary), schools, after making rounds of various offices. The DPI (Secondary) then asked Mrs Bhupinder Kaur to make inquiries into the complaint. Mrs Bhupinder Kaur, in a letter written to Mr Jugraj Singh on March 31, 2000, asked him to present himself before her in her office on April 15, along with certificates and with an affidavit regarding the allegation made by him. Mr Jugraj Singh in a letter to the DPI (Secondary), Schools, on April 7, pleaded that the inquiry conducted by a higher official and not Mrs Bhupinder Kaur as the complaint was against her. Mrs Bhupinder Kaur, when contacted on the phone, said the complainant had already lost a court case on the same grounds. She pointed out that Mr Jugraj Singh had raised objections against the selection in a petition filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. She said the certificates of sports produced by Mr Jugraj Singh and other documents were evaluated in a fair manner by the selection committee and he was awarded marks accordingly by Mr Jugraj Singh, however, had failed to produce the gradation certificate of sports from the Punjab Sports Department. Moreover, the
certificates were not signed by the District Education
Officer and the Assistant Education Officer (Sports). The
recommendation on selection committee headed by her were
screened by the state selection committee then headed by
Mr M.L. Sachdeva, she explained. |
Circuit House put on auction LUDHIANA, May 2 — The Circuit House in the city, the abode of visiting VIPs and VVIPs, is to be put on auction on May 29 to generate money to be paid as compensation to a number of residents of nearby Mundian village in lieu of acquisition of their land for allotment to select industrial houses. The Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr G.S. Sran, while disposing of the petitions of Dalip Singh, Jas Kaur, Bant Singh, Karam Singh and Dharam Singh, all residents of Mundian village, had issued orders on October 27, 1998, to the Land Acquisition Collector, Industries Department, Punjab, to effect the payment of enhanced compensation to the petitioners. After the Industries Department failed to make payment to the petitioners who in turn made another plea to the court, the Additional District and Sessions Judge issued orders for the attachment of the Circuit House and further ordered that the building be put to auction if the amount of enhanced compensation was not paid to the petitioners by that date. The court orders for attachment of the building and its subsequent auction, if necessary, would be handed over to the Collector-cum-Deputy Commissioner on May 12, it was learnt. Senior district
officials confirmed that they were aware of the court
orders. “We shall take necessary steps and take up
the matter with state government at the appropriate
level,” was all that they had to say. |
Ambassadors of peace arrive WAGHA, May 2 — “Mazhab Nahin Sikhata Apas Mein Wair Rakhna...” (no religion teaches enmity or “Tor Tor Ke Bandno Ko Dekho Behne Ain Hain...” (sisters from across border have arrived after breaking barriers). Singing these songs 38 women delegates crossed the Wagha check post today. There was not any formal reception to the first ever women delegation from Pakistan after the Kargil conflict. Earlier, a delegation of Pakistani women had gone to Bangalore in March this year by the Samjhauta Express. The members of the delegation, led by Asma Jehangir, a former chairperson, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and an eminent lawyer, said that the delegation would try to meet the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, with a view to briefing him about their mission. The delegation, under the banner of Women Initiative for Peace in South Asia (WIPSA), has reciprocated the visit by a delegation of the Indian chapter of the WIPSA. The Indian delegation visited Pakistan on March 25 this year. The delegates said that they would fight fundamentalists of both countries. An artiste, Oma, from Lahore said that she would like that artistes of both the countries come on a single platform to produce a ‘great play’ of the subcontinent. While people of Pakistan love to see Indian movies, Indians enjoy Pakistani plays. She said the news bulletins of both the countries were full of distortions which create ill will in the region. “People of both the countries believe in love. We are for peace in the subcontinent”. Roshani Ali, a student of Panjab University, Lahore, said the WIPSA was of the firm opinion that the will of common people would prevail and help in bridging the communication gap between the two countries. In response to a direct question on the Kashmir problem, they said “this issue should be left to the residents of Kashmir”. Nasim Malik said that
the women of both countries had been struggling to scale
down tension. The delegates would visit Agra, Delhi,
Ajmer Sharif and Jaipur. |
Indo-Pak border meeting today JALANDHAR, May 2 — The three-day bi-annual meeting between the Director General Pakistan Rangers and the Inspector General Border Security Force (BSF) is scheduled to be held at BSF Headquarters here from May 3. The Indian delegation will be headed by Mr A.S. Aulakh, IG, BSF Punjab Frontier while the Pakistani delegation will be headed by Major General Abdul Quadir, Director General Pakistan Rangers (Sindh). The Indian delegation will include BSF officials from Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir in addition to surveyors, engineers and officers of the Narcotics Control Bureau of both countries. Efforts will be made to
impress upon the Pakistan rangers not to indulge in
unprovoked firing and instead strengthen the cordial
relations between the two forces, a defence press note
said. |
Gateway to Amritsar soon AMRITSAR: An amalgam of the “ancient” and the “new” a gateway to Amritsar on the main highway is fast nearing completion. It’s inauguration took place nearly five years ago by Chief Minister Beant Singh. The project with an outlay of Rs 44 lakh, took off three years ago. For a second, one is transported to the UK as the sloping sides of the architectural design reminds one of London Bridge. Atop the sloping sides are typical “burjis” that gives the feel of old architectural marvels incorporated from the imposing Khalsa College building and the Golden Temple to retain the flavour of this region. Designed by a Delhi architect, Mr V.K. Bansal, the gateway comes complete with “gumbads” “mumtis” and arches of yore. A profusion of natural red Kota stone from the Amber mines of Rajasthan have been used with stone jalis and carved stone pillars artistically placed to create a “special scent” of the city. “Red Kota has been chosen because its colour and feel is both eye-catching and gives the touch of earth besides being less corrosive as the structure is exposed to the vagaries of nature” said the Superintendent Engineer of the corporation, Mr Inderjit Chawla, who is supervising the project. The “new” comes in the form vertical metallic frame similar to computer graphics, symbolising “India’s industrial revolution.” The gateway spreads over 210 sq feet of land with four beautiful stone fountains, pathways and triangular greens. Only the canopy proposed to be designed like the outline of clouds affixed with fiberglass inlays in the colours of the national flag remains to be completed. Meanwhile, commuters on the highway had a hard time for 40 days as one kilometre stretch of highway was closed to traffic due to the construction of the gateway. The alternate route through a private property created a nuisance as the diverted road is both “kutchha” and unlevelled. Clouds of dust was seen as traffic passed from the diverted road. Even though a part of the route was opened on April 12, still many commuters are unaware of the route’s thoroughfare. Consequently an accident occurred here recently at the junction of the diversion. A commuter, Mr Kanwar
Pal, complained that the double road just before the
gateway sharply coverages into a single way and the
absence of luminous signs or signboards to caution the
drivers, especially at night, has made the single lane a
highly accident-prone zone. |
4000 bags of wheat destroyed
in fire FEROZEPORE, May 2 — Over 4,000 bags of wheat stocked near Palla Megha village near here are feared to have been destroyed in a fire reportedly caused by snapping of an overhead electricity cable today afternoon. According to eyewitnesses, an overhead electricity cable snapped and fell on the wheat straw in the fields causing fire that eventually spread to the two nearby private ‘mandis’ burning more than 4,000 wheat bags stocked there. The two mandis are owned by Rattan Lal Monga and Surinder Kumar respectively. While Monga claims that over 1,500 of his wheat bags were burnt, Surinder Kumar says that his 3,000 wheat bags were destroyed. The two blamed the procurement agencies for delaying the lifting of these wheat bags. Rattan Lal charged that these bags were stocked here for more than 10 days. Although Karaj Singh, a teenaged labourer was caught in flames while trying to extinguish the fire. He however was rescued and administered glucose. His condition is stated to be stable. The fire brigade took almost two hours to extinguish the flames. Later, the ADC
(General), Mr R.G. Sahota, and the SDM, Mr D.P.S.
Kharbanda, rushed to the spot to take stock of the
situation. However, Mr Sahota told TNS that it was too
early to announce the compensation package. |
MP favours baby holiday LUDHIANA, May 2 — Senior BJP leader and member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, Lala Lajpat Rai has called upon the people of the country to observe a self-imposed baby holiday for a period of two years from May 2001 onwards. In order to deal with the menace of overpopulation. Lala Lajpat Rai was talking to media persons here on Sunday. He said that the continuous increase in population of the country had offset all developmental projects. “The rate at which our population is growing, we are proceeding towards a catastrophic situation with over population becoming a burden on our economy. All efforts made by the government during the past so many years have failed to curb this menace, he said. The MP opined that national debate on the issue of declaring a “no-baby period” from May 2001 to May 2003 should be initiated. He said that the intervening one year period should be utilised for educating the public of the disaster awaiting them upon their failure to control population and awareness regarding this should be created via print and electronic media. The government
machinery, educational, social, cultural and religious
institutions should “be involved in this
process” he said. Lala Lajpat Rai also stressed that
persuasion and not coercion could be the only effective
approach. |
Dist planning boards to be
replaced GURDASPUR, May 2 — The District Development and Planning Boards in the state will be replaced by the District Planning Committees as part of the plan to strengthen the panchayati raj system. Mr Nirmal Singh Kahlon, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayats, said this while talking to newsmen at Dera Baba Nanak today. Under the new system, the Secretary, Zila Parishad, will be ex officio Secretary of the District Planning Committee and the Chairman, Zila Parishad, will be its ex officio vice-president. Mr Kahlon said a
property cell had been created in the ministry to clear
encroachments of panchayat land. The cell had cleared
encroachments from 18000 acres of panchayat land so far. |
Bedi Lal Singh dead AMRITSAR, May 2 — Prominent writer Bedi Lal Singh passed away yesterday. He was 90. A research scholar, thinker and writer, he had written nearly 12 books on the Sikh history and Guru’s teaching. He was the Editor of a pamphlet published by the Chief Khalsa Diwan after retirement from the Education Department. Mr Kirpal Singh,
President, Chief Khalsa Diwan, Dr M.S. Dhillon,
Principal, Khalsa College, Mr Darshan Singh, Director
(Schools), Chief Khalsa Diwan, Bibi Jagir Kaur,
President, SGPC, and Dr Gurbachan Singh Bachan,
Secretary, SGPC, mourned his death. |
DC assumes charge LUDHIANA, May 2 —
Mr S.K. Sandhu took charge as Deputy Commissioner of
Ludhiana yesterday. The outgoing Deputy Commissioner, Mr
Arun Goel, introduced Mr Sandhu with district officers
present on the occasion. |
Murder case registered PATHANKOT, May 2 — The Narote Jaimal Singh police has registered a case under Sections 302, 323, 120-B and 34 of the IPC and under Sections 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act, against Vyas Dev, his wife, Kanchan Devi, and brother, Jarnail Singh, for killing Kumar Chand and assaulting Kashmir Chand, brother of the Sarpanch of Kartar Chand of Anial village. According to complainant Kashmir Chand, there was religious congregation (jagratta) on April 29 in the house of accused party, wherein complainant party also participated. At about 9 p.m. the PSEB authorities raided the house of accused party and found illegal connection (kundi) installed by Vyas Dev. The accused suspected
that the PSEB was informed by sarpanch Kartar Chand and
his brothers. Next day Vyas Dev shot at Kumar Chand. He
died while being shifted to the Kathua hospital. |
920 kg of poppy husk seized FEROZEPORE, May 2 — The district police has seized 920 kg of poppy husk from a truck on the Ferozepore-Zira road, according to a press note issued today by the SSP Mr Gurcharan Singh Pherurai. The poppy was carried in 23 bags along with 205 bags of salt. The owner of the truck, Bakshish Singh, a resident of Dolewala village, was arrested on the spot. Balkar Singh and Angrej
Singh, driver and conductor, respectively, of the truck
managed to escape. The Mallanwala police has registered a
case under the NDPS Act. |
Teacher ‘molests’
minor FATEHGARH SAHIB, May 2 — Residents of Sirhind city yesterday beat a teacher of a local school when he allegedly molested a minor boy and handed him over to the police. According to information available Mr Jean C.K., a teacher from Kerala, while giving tuition allegedly molested the boy. The boy revealed the incident to his parents. While talking to this reporter at the police station, the teacher admitted his crime and apologised to the parents. Mr Paramraj Singh
Umranangal, SSP, said action would be taken against the
culprit. |
No place to store paddy: rice
millers ROPAR, May 2 — Rice millers in the state are facing problems due to slow movement of the old stock in godown to other states. The millers are ready to mill the paddy procured in the last season but have no place to store it as the FCI has not been able to move the old stocks of wheat and rice to other states. The Punjab Government has been forced to store the recently procured wheat in the open said Mr Madan Mohan Mittal, Food and Civil Supplies Minister, while talking to mediapersons here yesterday. He was at Nangal to sympathise with the family members of Mr Laxman Dass Chakarvarty, Vice-President of the district BJP, who passed away a few days ago. Asked to comment on the statement of Union Minister for Food and Civil supplies, Mr Shanta Kumar, that an inquiry would be held into the procurement of paddy for the year 1994-95, Mr Mittal said the Punjab Government welcomed any inquiry and was ready to provide any record the Union Government needed for such investigation. Mr Mittal said the Punjab Government had procured paddy for the FCI in 1994-95. However, at that time the FCI had decided against the purchase of rice and asked millers to auction the paddy available with them without consulting the Punjab Government. The Punjab Government had then asked the FCI to pay Rs 273 crore, which was the cost incurred by the state for procuring paddy. The government had received Rs 120 crore but the FCI still had to pay Rs 153 crore to the state. Regarding the procurement of wheat, Mr Mittal said 641491 lakh metric tonnes of wheat had been procured till April 30 in the state, 97.8 per cent by the state agencies and the FCI and 2.2 per cent by private traders. The FCI which had a
procurement quota of 33 per cent was lagging behind, Mr
Mittal added. |
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