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| Thursday, August 17, 2000, Chandigarh, India    |
Punjab for collective action MLAs case: hearing adjourned Infrastructure bonds planned Cotton growers take more loans Breakthrough in pest control
Panches allege humiliation, quit
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| Dairy farming on road to recovery CHANDIGARH, Aug 16 — Happy days are back for dairy farming in Punjab. With the levying of anti-dumping duty on various milk products by the Union Government, the prices of milk products have started looking up. Disabled await
interview result PPCC forms two human rights panels ‘Govinda’ disappoints farmers Mayor accused of partisan behaviour Minister favours radical changes in
curricula Christians for minority panel in Punjab ‘Punjab leads in development’ Plot holders’ plea to Improvement
Trust Punjabis urged to work for progress
Pepsu driver, conductor arrested Certificates’ racket busted, one
held
AIFUCTO to court arrest on
Teachers’ Day
|
Punjab for collective action CHANDIGARH, Aug 16 — Intense lobbying has started for stalling the implementation of the recommendations of the 11th Finance Commission (EFC) with Punjab wanting “collective action” by the states hit by the report. An initiative has been taken by the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Mr Chandrababu Naidu to build pressure on the Union Government not to implement the recommendations till the states adversely affected by these are duly compensated. Mr Naidu has convened a meeting of the Chief Ministers of six states, including Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, to discuss the issue in Delhi. He has already lodged his protest with the Union Government against the recommendations. Interestingly, Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, which have been hit by the recommendations of the EFC, are states ruled by the allies of the BJP. Whether Punjab has been invited to this meeting or not by Mr Naidu is not yet clear. However, the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana have opposed the recommendations. They have also urged the Union Government to review these and do justice to the states concerned. Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Punjab Finance Minister, told TNS today that he had no information whether Mr Naidu had sent any invitation to the Punjab Chief Minister. However, he said Punjab was for “collective action” by the affected states to get the implementation of the recommendations withheld. He said Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu had been adversely affected by the recommendations. Punjab’s loss within the next five years would be Rs 1552 crore because of the recommendations. In fact, Punjab would get Rs 1,552 crore less than that recommended by the 10th Finance Commission (TFC). Punjab’s loss during the current year in plan assistance would be Rs 197 crore besides Rs 325 crore in grants-in-aid to local bodies and panchayats. Capt Kanwaljit Singh said as this was an issue which had serious consequences for progressive and developed states like Punjab and Haryana, only the drawing up of a collective strategy by the affected states could make the Centre review the recommendations. Though the Union Government had accepted the recommendations their implementation could be stopped as a number of states had objections to these. Owing to the powerful political clout of Mr Naidu at the national level, the BJP-led government at the Centre cannot afford to ignore and annoy him. As per the details available, Gujarat will be a loser by Rs 4,610 crore, Kerala by Rs 3,078 crore, Andhra Pradesh by Rs 2,875 crore, Maharashtra by Rs 5,622 crore and Tamil Nadu by Rs 4,071 crore because of the recommendations. The major gainers will be MP, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Political observers say
that it will not be an easy task for the states concerned
to get the implementation of the recommendations stalled.
The states which have gained financially in a big way
because of the recommendations are bound to protest
strongly against any such move. |
MLAs case: hearing adjourned CHANDIGARH, Aug 16 — Mr Charanjit Singh Atwal, Speaker, Punjab Vidhan Sabha, today adjourned till September 12 further hearing in the case of disqualification of 11 rebel ruling party MLAs. Though all those facing disqualification were present when the case came up before the Speaker, their counsel argued for more than three hours that the Speaker was not competent to make a final judgement in the case as he was a member of the Political Affairs Committee and Executive Committee of the Shiromani Akali Dal. Those facing disqualification are Mr Ravi Inder Singh, Mr Manjit Singh Calcutta, Mr Inderjit Singh Zira, Mr Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal, Mr Surjit Singh Kohli, Mr Harmel Singh Tohra, Mr Hira Singh Gabria, Mr Jagtar Singh Rajla, Mr Bikramjit Singh Khalsa, Mr Gurdev Singh Sidhu and Ms Daljit Kaur. Their counsel further argued that they were not opposed to the Shiromani Akali Dal and had not defected from the party either and as such there was no cause of action. Counsels for the petitioners who are cabinet rank ministers, in the Parkash Singh Badal Government, will put forward their arguments at the next date of hearing. Five Ministers — Mr
Ajaib Singh Mukhmailpura, Mr Ajit Singh Kohar, Mr Jagdish
Singh Garcha, Mr Sikander Singh Maluka and Mr Raghubir
Singh — had on May 26 filed two identical petitions
before the Speaker seeking disqualification of 11 MLAs on
the grounds of defection. |
Infrastructure bonds planned CHANDIGARH, Aug 16 — At least 10 merchant banks in Bombay have shown keen interest in the proposed issue of infrastructure bonds by the Punjab Government. According to the Finance Minister, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, who led a team of Finance Department officers to discuss the bonds issue in Bombay, the banks rated fiscal management by the government as credible. This was despite a very serious resource crunch. In fact, Punjab was stated to be in the triple A category. “Very shortly we will float bonds worth Rs 300 crore and during the current financial year, the total amount will be Rs 1,250 crore”, Capt Kanwaljit Singh told TNS. The projects on which the money was to be spent were sound, he added. Punjab desperately required this money to build roads, bridges and other infrastructure. The construction of bridges over level crossings in several places, including Rajpura, Dera Bassi, Morinda, Kurali and Sirhind, were to be financed from the infrastructure funds. Money was also needed for some roads, now taking more than 20 times the traffic these were designed for. Most of the money would go into the widening of road links like the Chandigarh-Patiala, Chandigarh-Ludhiana, Chandigarh-Ropar and then Phagwara-Nawanshahr, besides roads in Faridkot and Ferozepore districts. Most of the projects would be on a build-and-operate basis. The cost would be met by levying a toll on vehicle owners who used these bridges and roads, officials here said. Punjab has otherwise drawn up an ambitious plan for 13 projects, falling under the categories of road corridors, high-level bridges, railway overbridges and 1500 km of road length. The total cost will be Rs 2,625 crore at the current prices. But the lack of funds had come in the way of completing these projects as per the schedule drawn up. This money could be helpful in pushing these projects through. Some projects and their estimated cost are: * Four-laning of Chandigarh-Ludhiana highway Rs 355 Cr * Widening of Zirakpur-Patiala highway Rs 80 cr * Ludhiana Ring Road Rs 600 cr * Ludhiana-Moga highway Rs 150 cr * Khanna-Nawanshahr road with HLB over the Sutlej Rs 70 cr * Ropar-Nawanshahr - Phagwara highway project Rs 250 cr * Four-laning of Ambala-Chandigarh road Rs 140 cr * Mohali Urban Development Corridor Rs 120 cr *Jagraon-Nakodar road with HLB over the Sutlej Rs 50 cr * Gurdaspur-Mukerian road with HLB over the Beas Rs 60 cr * Construction of 15 overbridges Rs 180 cr * Reconditioning and
improvement of high-traffic corridors (1500 km of Plan
roads) Rs 550 cr |
Dairy farming on road to recovery CHANDIGARH, Aug 16 — Happy days are back for dairy farming in Punjab. With the levying of anti-dumping duty on various milk products by the Union Government, the prices of milk products have started looking up. The only sore point is the prices of milch cattle which continue to slide down. It is, of course, a cause of worry for farmers who have adopted dairying as part of their daily activity. With the removal of quantitative restrictions (QRs) by the Union Government on a large number of milk products, the prices of these products had collapsed and dairy farming was facing a tough time. Farmers had started selling their milch cattle at throwaway prices . As The Tribune highlighted the miserable state of dairy farming in the entire region, the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana took up the issue with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, who directed the Union Finance Ministry to do the needful. Information gathered by The Tribune shows that the prices of desi ghee have started moving up. Official sources in Milkfed said that earlier no one was prepared to buy Verka desi ghee for Rs 90 per kg in bulk. But now there were offers to lift stocks for Rs 105 per kg. The officials concerned in Milkfed were earlier worried because of the fall in the price to Rs 90 per kg. Before the removal of QRs, Verka ghee was sold at Rs 122 per kg in the wholesale market. A senior officer of Milkfed said the milk products market, which had turned shaky about three months ago, had stabilised in the past few weeks. Even the prices of milk powder and skimmed milk powder had started looking up. The milk supplies to Milkfed plants have also improved in the past days. In April-June, the daily supply to these plants had gone down to 5 lakh litres, but now the figure is 5.75 lakh litres. This is expected to improve in the next few weeks. The summer season is considered a lean one as far as milk production in the countryside is concerned. The average price, as per the fat content, being paid by Milkfed to milk producers varies between Rs 10.40 and Rs 11. It is a bit high compared to last year’s figures. Even the off-take of Verka pasteurised, toned and skimmed milk has gone up in cities like Ludhiana, Amritsar and Jalandhar. Official sources said the daily off-take of various kinds of Verka milk in Ludhiana last week was around 1.98 lakh litres. Milkfed, which was feeling concerned over the mounting stocks of milk products, especially ghee, in its godowns, is now feeling comfortable as it has “manageable stocks” of desi ghee at present. “We have manageable stocks which have been kept to ensure a continuous supply of Verka desi ghee in the market and to avoid any scarcity”. Farmers contacted by TNS
said the prices of milch cattle, especially buffalo, had
steadily gone down in the past months. Buffaloes yielding
up to 12 litres of milk per day are available for Rs
10,000 or so while earlier such animals commanded a price
of up to Rs 15,000. In fact, farmers said that there were
no buyers for milch cattle. Earlier, traders from Mumbai
and Calcutta used to frequent cattle markets in Punjab,
but now they were not seen there. Punjab’s milch
cattle used to have a ready market in the Mumbai, Pune
and Calcutta areas. |
Cotton growers take more loans BHAI BAKHTAUR (Bathinda), Aug 16 — As bollworm has attacked cotton plants, the farmers have started taking more loans to buy pesticides and insecticides to save their crop. Two to three sprays of insecticides on cotton plants failed to check the attack of bollworm, white fly, aphid and leaf curl virus. Sikander Singh, a farmer of this village says: “ Sundi (bollworm) has badly hit the crop”. He was not able to return the loan last year for buying pesticides and insecticides for spraying on the cotton crop but this year he had to take a loan again for the same task. Despite the use of insecticides thrice, “sundi” was still eating up the fruits. While the Agriculture Department authorities maintain that there was a mild attack of bollworm in the cotton belt, cotton growers of about 20 villages pointed out that the attack was alarming. They added that if the bollworm was not killed at this stage, it would kill the cotton growers. The growers pointed out that bollworm had become resistance to insecticides and pesticides which had been recommended by Punjab Agriculture University and the Agriculture Department. Resham Singh, another farmer said he was forced to grow cotton as the underground water was not fit for paddy cultivation. He added that for the past six years, he had been growing cotton and suffering losses. Every year, he had been taking loans to meet his agricultural and social needs and now he was neck deep in debt. On the other hand, the Agriculture Department authorities, which have failed to meet the target of bringing six lakh hectares under cotton cultivation to produce about 15 lakh bales this season, claimed that the attack of bollworm and other diseases was not alarming. Dr Arjan Singh Chandi, Joint Director (Cotton), Punjab when contacted on the phone, said the farmers had got panicky as their experience of bollworm attacks in the past two years was bad. He added that the department had constituted surveillance teams to monitor the cotton crop minutely. These teams have been visiting seven districts of the cotton belt to advise farmers on the use of right insecticides to save the crop. He pointed out that farmers were being advised to remove these plants from their fields which served as host to the bollworm. They were also being strongly urged not to use mixture of insecticides to kill the pest. He claimed that so far
weather conditions in the cotton belt were not much
suitable for the growth of “sundi” in large
quantity and added if untimely rains lashed the region
for days together then spray of insecticides would be of
no use. |
Breakthrough in pest control CHANDIGARH, Aug 16 — Panjab University scientists have found an effective method to control pests damaging stored grains. They have come out with a biological method for the control of dhora (callosobruchus species), beetle attacking a number of pulses and grains. The method will help farmers and godown owners reduce losses. The scientists say the eggs of this insect can be destroyed by a wasp, which lays the eggs inside the eggs of a dhora beetle. “It is very difficult to control the pests in stored grains because pulses cannot be mixed with toxic chemicals. So we worked to find a biological control method. The new method is very effective and has shown very good results in the laboratory,” say Dr HR Pajni, a scientist in the Department of Zoology. “The indigenous methods used by Indian housewives have proved to be effective as these are harmless. Chemicals available in the market contain mercury as the main constituent which can be fatal. This new method is very cheap and is harmless for humans,” adds Dr Pajni. The wasp used in this method is of 0.5 mm size and is best suited to control these beetles as these lay eggs on the surface of the pulses. The wasp deposits its eggs inside the dhora eggs and prevent its development. The eggs fail to hatch thereby controlling the population of beetles. The wasp can be cultured in the laboratory on dhora eggs by placing the infested seeds in glass dishes. The emerging adults can then be released at places where the control of dhora is desired. According to Dr Pajni, various companies can come up and culture these wasps and these can be sold to farmers and godown owners in small tubes. The Agriculture Department can also distribute vials of these insects at nominal prices to the customers. Dr Pajni has been
working on this project named, “Studies on the egg
parasitoids of family bruchidae and their effective use
in the biological control operations,” since April
1999 and has sent his first report to the UGC about the
successful operation. His fellow researcher, Dr P.K.
Tiwari is going to present a paper on this method at
international congress of entomology, to be held in
Brazil this month. |
Panches allege humiliation, quit FATEHGARH SAHIB, Aug 16 — Several panches and sarpanches of the district in a letter to the Chief Minister have submitted their resignation in protest against their humiliation by the district police during the Independence Day celebration function here. According to Mr Inderjit Singh Sandhu, a senior Akali leader as well as Sarpanch and member of the block samiti at Bassi Pathana, he along with other panches and sarpanches of the district was invited for the Independence Day function. When they approached the entry gate the police officials posted there misbehaved with them as they had forgotten their invitation cards at home. He said he along with other sarpanches showed them their identity cards issued by the Punjab Government but they refused to recognise these. He said after a long discussion the policemen present started misbehaving and pushed them. Mr Sandhu said the government claimed to give respect to the elected representatives of the rural people. He said if this was the kind of respect the government gave they did not want to continue as representatives. They have also demanded action against the erring police officials. The public as well as mediapersons also faced a similar situation. The police at the entry gate also manhandled Mr Bhushan Sood and Mr Surjeet Sahi, senior journalists of the district, as they also forget their invitation cards at home. When they showed their
identity cards issued by the Punjab Government the police
refused to allow them in. It was only due to the
intervention of Mr Balwant Singh Sahpur, Akali MLA from
Amloh, that mediapersons were allowed entry into the
venue. They have also criticised the arrangements made
for the function as well as the behaviour of the police. |
Disabled await interview result FATEHGARH SAHIB, Aug 16 — Due to a controversy between the Executive Officer, M.C. Sirhind and the Deputy Director, Local Government, Patiala, over the fixing of priority to select physically handicapped candidates for various posts in the Municipal Council, Sirhind, the selection has not yet been finalised, though the interview was conducted on August 7, causing resentment among the candidates. The EO has written to selection sub-committee that according to directions of the Deputy Director, top priority should be given to blind candidates, then to deaf and dumb and then to other physically handicapped candidates, where as Deputy Director denied issuing any such instructions and rather said that top priority should be given to physically handicapped candidates then to deaf and dumb and then to blind candidates. Mr Manmohan Jargar, president of the Physically Handicapped Association, alleged that EO had misguided the selection sub-committee by changing the priority and misused the name of the Deputy Director, just to favour his own candidate. A delegation of the candidates today met an Akali leader of the area and demanded justice. According to information, the interview for the post of safai sewak and peon in the physically handicapped category was conducted on August 7 by the selection sub-committee. After two days on August 9 the EO vide his letter No. 2548 issued a clarification that as per his discussion with Deputy Director on phone, the top priority should be given to blind, then to deaf and dumb and then to other physically handicapped candidates. But the candidates said that the EO was misguiding, as according to the government policy the top priority should be given to physically handicapped the blind candidates come last in this list. They alleged that EO wanted to adjust his own candidate. When contacted Mr Nirmal Singh, Municipal Councillor and a member selection sub-committee, said that had the EO given the instructions before the interviews, they could have conducted the interviews accordingly. He said after conducting the interview the change in priority was likely to irk the candidates. He said they had already signed the selection list. When contacted the Executive Officer, Municipal Council, Sirhind, said that due to the High Court’s directions, the interview was conducted in a hurry, so we forgot to issue these instructions in advance. He said the selection had not yet been finalised as the Deputy Director had given directions to give top priority to blind candidates and then to other categories. He said he had also read in some newspapers about the priority. He could not give any concrete answer. Meanwhile, Mr Rajesh Paul Singh Lalli, a senior Akali leader told The Tribune that a delegation had met him in this issue. He had then talked to the Deputy Director, Local Government, Patiala, who refused that he had issued any such instructions. He said rather top priority should be given to physically handicapped. He said he had brought the matter to the notice of higher officials and they assured to look into the matter and to provide justice. The Deputy Director
office at Patiala denied that they had issued any
instructions to the EO, Municipal Council, Sirhind about
the priority of the candidates. |
PPCC forms two human rights panels JALANDHAR, Aug 16 — The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) has formed two panels of the Human Rights Department. The state-level committee comprises Mr Harnam Dass Johar, Mr Naresh Thakur, Mr Jaspinder Singh, Maj-Gen P. K. Batra (retd), Mr Ved Dewan, Mr Sanjeev Bhargava, Capt S.K. Dutta, Mr Manorma Khullar and Mr Shamsher Singh Rai. The state advisory committee members are Mr Khushal Behl, Mr Surjit Singh Atwal, Ms Malti Thapar, Mr Raj Kumar Vashisht, Mr Gurmail Singh Gahir, Dr Kewal Krishan and Mr Gulshan Sharma. Meanwhile, the district
presidents are Mr D P Sehgal (Jalandhar urban), Mr
Harbans Singh Chandi (Jalandhar rural), Mr Joginder Singh
Dhingra ( Amritsar urban), Mr Harpartap Singh Ajnala (
Amritsar rural), Mr Nirmal Singh (Ludhiana urban), Mr
Jagjit Singh Mukandpuri (Ludhiana rural), Mr Mohinder
Kumar Aggarwal (Kapurthala), Mr Mehtab Singh (
Ferozepore), Mr Pakhar Singh (Nawanshahr), Mr Satinder
Sharma ( Moga), Mr Harbans Singh Sidhu (Bathinda), Mr
Bharat Bhushan Menon (Sangrur), Mr Chaman Lal Bansal
(Muktsar), Mr Ranjit Singh (Hoshiarpur) and Mr Gurpreet
Singh ( Patiala). |
‘Govinda’ disappoints farmers PATIALA, Aug 16 — “Govinda” may be a huge box office draw but the early paddy variety by the same name is failing to live up to the reputation of its namesake and giving nothing but trouble to farmers of the state who have gone in for its sowing to reap three cash crops in a year and supplement their agricultural income. The “Govinda” paddy variety, which is also known as “sathi” because it ripens in around 60 days time, is sown immediately after harvesting of the wheat crop in April. Farmers benefit by sowing this crop as they can take a double paddy crop or other crops, including vegetables and fodder. This year, farmers putting their faith in “Govinda” have had their hopes belied with their produce selling cheaply in the entire Malwa belt. All major grain markets in the Malwa region are swamped with the early paddy variety which is being sold at a pittance. A quick survey of the Patiala, Rajpura and Nabha grain markets revealed farmers had to sell their paddy produce at prices ranging from Rs 350 to Rs 400 per quintal. The procurement price of paddy is Rs 520 per quintal. Farmers told TNS this was the first time that the early paddy variety had been sowed in such a large area in the region. They said earlier sowing of this early variety was restricted to the Samana subdivision. However, they said this year the early variety had been sowed in Patiala, Sangrur and Fatehgarh Sahib districts besides other areas of the state. They said farmers, who had been left to the mercy of private traders, had got a bad bargain with prices of the produce being low. They said last year the farmers had been able to get a price close to the procurement rate but this year the produce had been sold far below the procurement rate. As farmers have to get on with the task of sowing the next crop they are in a hurry to offload their produce at the earliest. Jaskaran Singh of Nabha said the early sowing of paddy had not been beneficial for him as he had planned to sow the same crop again. He said while the first crop had sold cheaply he would get less yield from the second crop as it would be planted late. Others who will use the intervening period before October to sow vegetables or fodder may however be able to retrieve their losses. The farmers interviewed by TNS said they wanted that proper marketing facility should be made available for the early paddy variety. Agricultural experts are, however, against the early sowing of paddy. Punjab Agricultural University (PAU ), Ludhiana, had also recommended the farmers not to go in for the crop. The appeals, however, have not made much impact with the early variety being planted in more area of the state this year. The experts said the early variety did not yield good quality rice. Besides this, they said the variety further lowered the water level and was particularly harmful when planted twice a year in the same field. They said besides this insects which were harmful to crops were exterminated during the summer heat when the fields were not cultivated for some time due to a gap between the rabi and kharif crops. The experts said the insects did not die a natural death if the fields were not kept empty and paddy sown immediately after the wheat was harvested. Talking to TNS at the
Patiala grain market, Punjab Federation of Arhatiya
Associations president Bal Kishan Singla said the early
variety was able to get a lower price than the later
variety as its moisture content was more and the rice
yield from it was also lower than that from the later
variety. He said besides that the price was governed by
market forces and that the present market rate of paddy
was low because rice bran was not finding a market. |
Mayor accused of partisan behaviour PATHANKOT, Aug 16 — Large-scale violations of building by-laws and encroachments of vacant land have taken place in the town. It is alleged that the Mayor of the council, Mr Satish Mahajan, and Mr Vijay Sharma, Executive Officer, have undertaken the development projects only in those wards which are headed by BJP councillors. Mr Anil Viz, leader of Opposition in the council alleged that other wards in which Congress councillors had been elected were being neglected and funds were not allocated for the development projects in these wards. Cows and other animals are seen on the roads causing traffic problems.The town has not experienced any heavy rain this month but the newly constructed roads have been damaged due to the alleged use of substandard material. The council has allegedly ignored roads opposite St. Thomos School and the Mission road area. The sewerage system is also not functioning properly in spite of heavy taxes being paid by the residents to the municipal council. Moreover, there is no place for garbage disposal. Mr Arvind Kalra, a doctor said the council employees are using his land without his permission for garbage disposal for which he had complained to the authorities but to no avail. Shimla Park has no
drinking water facility and even has no toilet. |
Minister favours radical changes in
curricula CHANDIGARH, Aug 16 — The Punjab Education Minister, Mr Tota Singh, today underlined the need for bringing about radical changes in the curricula at various stages of learning both at the national and state levels to inculcate moral values and the spirit of self-introspection among students. Inaugurating a two-day workshop on “Curricular concerns for future school education ”, Mr Tota Singh said the teacher should mainly become a facilitator of learning. He should act as a guide providing resources for the learner and enabling students to decide “how” and “what” to learn. With a view to providing feedback for further improvement among students, the minister said an effective evaluation system was necessary. A relevant participatory and transparent system could encourage students to learn more. A continuous and comprehensive evaluation system had been implemented in the state. The minister appealed to eminent academicians, subject experts and educationists to give their suggestions on possible changes in the existing curricula. Mr R.S. Sandhu,
Education Secretary, in his presidential address, said
the advent of the 21st century had brought about rapid
and significant technological changes. With knowledge
expanding at an ever-increasing rate, it had become
imperative to effect changes in the curricula in
consonance with hi-tech information technology. |
Plot holders’ plea to
Improvement Trust GURDASPUR, Aug 16 — The plot holders in scheme No. 2 of the Improvement Trust here warned the authorities to withdraw the scheme failing which they threatened an agitation followed by relay fasts. According to official sources, the scheme was floated in 1984 but stayed later by the then Finance and Local Bodies Minister, Dr Kewal Krishan. The reasons for granting the stay was that the scheme was being implemented in a well-planned and well-developed colony where more than eight acres of land was Waqf Board Property, seven acres of land under JBT training centre and more than nine acres of land under fruit-bearing trees. A deputation of the locality met Mr Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, Cooperation Minister, Punjab, yesterday and impressed upon him to use his office to prevent implementation. When Mr Sulakhan Singh,
Chairman, Improvement Trust, was contacted in this
regard, he said 30 structures constructed on the scheme
before July 27 would be exempted from acquisition. He
added that the scheme would be implemented as soon as
possible and the proceedings in this regard are in
progress. |
Punjabis urged to work for progress BARNALA, Aug 16 — Mr Gobind Singh Longowal, Punjab Minister of State for Irrigation, hoisted the national flag at the Independence Day function organised by the local administration at the new grain market complex here yesterday. On the occasion, Mr Longowal took a salute from contingents of the Punjab police, Home Guards, NCC cadets of the local SD College, Guru Gobind Singh College, Sanghera and Arya Mahila College. He complimented the people of Punjab for displaying valour in the freedom struggle and urged them to work for the progress of Punjab and India. Nine tricycles to
disabled persons and seven sewing machines to widows of
the region were distributed. |
Christians for minority panel in Punjab JALANDHAR, Aug 16 — The Christian community has demanded that the Punjab government should immediately set up a state minorities commission with statutory powers for the welfare of the minorities. Mr John Dyal, national convener, United Christian Forum for Human Rights while addressing a press conference said that they would soon meet Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister, Punjab, to discuss the problems faced by the Christians in the state. He criticised the Punjab government for allowing free electricity to farming sector. He said the forum would
coordinate the monitoring of the situation relating to
minorities, especially of Christians, in state and would
ensure due place for them in the economic, social and
political spheres. |
‘Punjab leads in development’ PATIALA, Aug 16 — “The people of Punjab have always been in the forefront while defending the country against an enemy or in the freedom movement.” Capt Kanwaljit Singh, The Punjab Finance and Planning Minister, said this after hoisting the National Flag on Independence Day in Yadavindra Stadium here yesterday. He said, in the Kargil conflict, the Indian Army had given a befitting reply to the enemy and more than 200 Punjabi soldiers had laid down their lives in the war. He said Pakistan would pay a heavy price if it encouraged terrorism. He said development activities in Punjab were increasing and the per capita income of Punjab was much higher than that of any other state in the country. Capt Kanwaljit Singh
gave the Red Cross Patron certificates to Mr Vijay Kumar
Goyal and Ms Poonam Goyal. He said people should come
forward to organise blood donation camps and take part in
the other social activities. |
Pepsu driver, conductor arrested JALANDHAR, Aug 16 — A driver and a conductor of the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation has been arrested for allegedly disposing of dead body of a woman who had died after she fell off from a Pepsu bus on August 6 near Dhannowali level crossing on the city outskirts. According to the police conductor of the bus Bhag Singh and driver Kulwant Singh admitted during interrogation that they had disposed of the body of the woman identified as Mohinder Kaur, a resident of Salarpur village, as she fell off the bus, which she had boarded to pay obeisance at a gurdwara in Dakoha village. The driver and the conductor took her to the Guru Nanak mission hospital, where authorities did not admit her on account of her critical condition. When she died, they threw the body in bushes near Ramidi village, a case under Sections 279/338/304-A/201 and 34 of the IPC has been registered. Meanwhile, two persons have been arrested in the Rachhpal Singh murder case. Rachhpal Singh of Sunar Kalan village had been living with one Manjit Kaur at her house in Jandiali village even as no marriage had been solemnised between the two. His body was found in the house on August 14 by his brother Tarsem Singh. Mr Gaurav Yadav, SSP
said, during investigation it was found that Manjit
Kaur’s niece Sukhi had come to spend vacations with
her, during which she was allegedly raped by Rachhpal
Singh. She informed her parents about the incident and
they came to inquire about it from the couple. An
altercation between the two groups took place and
Rachhpal was allegedly killed by Manjit’s brother
Amarjit Singh and his wife Bimla. Both have been arrested
while Manjit Kaur is absconding. |
Certificates’ racket busted, one held GURDASPUR, Aug 16 (UNI) — The police today claimed to have busted a racket of fake certificates of matric and ITI diploma with arrest of an accused who has turned out to be a railway technician posted at Jammu. Senior Superintendent of Police Varinder Kumar said while grade two technician Tilak Raj has been arrested and two forged certificates of ITI diploma seized from him, his accomplice Hira Lal, a registered medical practitioner at nearby Sujanpur town, was absconding. Preliminary interrogation of Tilak Raj revealed that the accused had been selling the fake certificates for Rs 8,000 to Rs 20,000 depending on the need of the person. The SSP said Hira Lal was a member of the bigger ring which was first busted by the Shahpur Kandi police in June last year but Hira Lal had escaped then also. However, his accomplices Raj Kumar and Shiv Kumar were arrested, while third accomplice Joginder Kumar had also escaped, he added. Tilak Raj confessed that when the racket, which had been in operation for the past three years, was first busted last year, several people had come to them to reclaim their money but all were turned away and he believed most of them had burnt their certificates. However, he confessed that his gang used fake certificates and fake stamps of ITI's of Nangal township, Ludhiana and Delhi. The certificates seized from him carried the name of Dharmpal with stamp of ITI, Nangal township and of Rakesh Kumar, which carried the stamp of Delhi ITI. The Shahpur Kandi
police, who arrested Tilak Raj yesterday, has registered
a case against him and Hira Lal. |
AIFUCTO to court arrest on
Teachers’ Day JALANDHAR, Aug 16 — The All-India Federation of University and Colleges Teachers Organisation (AIFUCTO) has decided to court arrest in front the office of the Ministry of Human Resource Development on Teachers’ Day to protest against the betrayal of the agreement of September 1998 by the central government. According to a press note, the Ministry of HRD had violated the sanctity of the mutual understanding and thus had not fulfilled even a single provision agreed to earlier. Parliament was informed by Mr Murli Manohar Joshi, HRD Minister, that the pending issues had been finalised in consultation with the federations of teachers and formal cabinet clearance was awaited. But Dr Joshi reportedly had taken a unilateral decision not to grant any benefit to the teachers said Mr Vijay Kumar, general secretary, AIFUCTO. He said that on the
Teachers Day they would be courting arrest with readiness
to remain in jail as long as the central government
desired. Hundreds of teachers would court arrest in
Delhi. Others would cease work for one hour and hold
protest rallies on the campuses of universities and
colleges in the country, he said. |
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