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| Tuesday,
December 5, 2000, Chandigarh, India    |
Who did it? Punjab, HP cops differ
5 new dist complexes to be set up Rail traffic limping back to
normal 25 school kids
hurt in mishap SGPC executive
meets on Dec 12 Sikh high priests
to meet tomorrow |
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Paddy purchase: minister
dissatisfied with probe ITI, polytechnic
stillborn
Oppn MLAs to move
court
Punjab Agro owes 9.96 cr to
farmers
Governor: upgrade health infrastructure
SAD leader fails to keep date with fast Ex-servicemen being
ignored: Raksha Dal From pillar to post for 3 months’
salary Of inefficient DoT working A codifier of Islamic
laws Postal staff
hold rally Ankhi
renominated Make canal functional year round: farmers Engineers reject
pay scales Term ‘VIP’ raises judge’s
hackles Decision on STD,
PCO units opposed
Dismissed cop held
for cheating Farmer shot at, robbed
of Rs 60,000
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Who did it? Punjab, HP cops differ ROPAR, Dec 4 — The Punjab police and Himachal Pradesh police have worked out different theories to explain the simultaneous incidents of murder and robbery that took place in the adjoining border areas of Ropar (Punjab) and Una (Himachal), yesterday. Early last morning, between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., four incidents of robbery and murder took place. In Basdehra village of Una district, all four inmates of a house were allegedly attacked with iron rods. Two of them, Prem Lata and her son Sunil died on the spot while the daughters — Arti and Puja — were recovered from the house in a serious condition. They were shifted to the PGI, Chandigarh. Till last reports, they were not in a position to give any information about the crime. In a simultaneous incident the robbers attacked the houses of Prem Kumar and Satish Kumar of Surewal village in Ropar, adjoining the Himachal border. The inmates were attacked in an identical fashion, leaving Satish Kumar critically injured. Another incident of robbery is reported to have taken place in Malukpur village on the same night. The DSP, Anandpur Sahib, Mr Sant Singh Dhaliwal, told this correspondent that the manner in which the incidents had taken place, shows that it is the work of the Kale Kachhewale gang. However, SP, Una, when contacted on phone told that robbers are not suspected to have committed the crime because nothing was taken away from house of the deceased. He is of the opinion that Prem Lata’s husband Vijay might have killed the entire family because of the financial crunch they were facing. Vijay is untraceable. A case of non-cooperation between the Punjab police and Himachal police came to the fore following the incidents. The family members of the injured Satish Kumar allege that the Santoshgarh police chowki was just 500 m away from their house. When the robbers started breaking the doors of their house, they rang up the Santoshgarh chowki for help. However, instead of offering immediate help the policemen told them to contact the Punjab police because their house was not under their jurisdiction. Before they could locate the number of the Nangal police station, the robbers snapped their telephone wires, they allege. The DSP, Anandpur Sahib, said that they had taken up this matter with the Himachal police and have decided to conduct joint operations to nab the culprits. |
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5 new dist complexes to be set up CHANDIGARH, Dec 4 — Five districts of Punjab will get new district administrative complexes under an ambitious project of the government to construct such complexes throughout the state. In the first phase the complexes will be constructed at Patiala, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Gurdaspur and Moga. The task of constructing the complexes at a cost of Rs 100 crore has been given to PUDA In a departure from the earlier practice, the execution of the projects will be given to reputed construction agencies. The process of shortlisting such companies has been initiated. In the second phase the construction of the district complexes at Amritsar, Nawanshahr and Bathinda would be undertaken. Stating this here today, Dr Upinderjit Kaur, Housing and Urban Development Minister, Punjab, said the government was keen on locating all district-level offices under one roof. The architectural drawings were being prepared by the state Architecture Department. Mr KBS Sidhu, Chief Administrator of PUDA, said offices which dealt with the public would be located on the ground and first floors of the complexes. Initially, Rs 20 crore had been sanctioned by the government for the project. A part of the construction cost would be incurred by PUDA by developing and marketing unutilised government land. An inter-disciplinary team had been constituted by PUDA to monitor the progress of the projects on a day-to-day basis. He said in Hoshiarpur, 8.7 acres would be covered under the district complex. In Gurdaspur district, around 10.65 acres had been handed over to PUDA for the project. In Moga the complex would come up on Zila Parishad land. |
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Rail traffic limping back to
normal JEEWANPURA (Fatehgarh Sahib) Dec 4 — Rail traffic is drifting back to normal in the region, with the start of both up and down rail links which were severed on December 2, following the accident. Around 1,000 Railway employees have been working around the clock here for the last three days to set things right. Main stress has been on emergency replacement of the track, besides its reelectrification. While the down track was replaced by the evening, the up track which could be replaced only by moving the 120-tonne Howrah railway engine from its way, was restored at night yesterday. The engine which had been buried below the parcel van bogey of the same train has been placed on one side. The other bogies which were on the up track have also been moved to one side. Rail traffic is, however, passing through the repaired section of the rail track at a snails speed. Simultaneously, Railway personnel belonging to the Rail Safety wing are clearing the decks for the visit of the Chief Commissioner, Rail Safety, here tomorrow. They are taking readings of both the track and the wagons to determine the stress and overload factors. Meanwhile, all 43 bodies of the deceased have been received at the Government Medical College, Patiala, where a central control room has been set up. Deputy Commissioner Jasbir Singh Bir disclosed that only 16 bodies had been identified and handed over to the relatives of the deceased. He said the staff at the control room were also making efforts to locate the relatives of the deceased wherever any phone number had been found in the possession of the deceased. |
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Railway passengers mourn
deaths BATHINDA, Dec 4 — The Railway Passengers Association (N.Z.) has expressed grief over deaths in the train accident near Fatehgarh Sahib in which 40 persons killed and more than 130 injured. Mr Pawan Tayal, president, Railway Passengers Association (North Zone) yesterday in a written statement issued here said that the number of train accidents, blasts, de-railments were on the rise. He alleged that the Railway authorities did not make the passengers aware of the rules and regulations which govern the rail users. Every railway passenger was covered by an accidental insurance, under the railways rules but these rules are seldom told to the general public, he alleged. Mr Tayal, demanded that a compensation of Rs 4 lakh for those who lost their lives and Rs 32,000 to Rs 3,60,000 for those who were injured in the accidents depending on the severity of the injuries, should be given, under the Insurance Compensation under Railways Act. |
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Langar brings succour to
thousands JEEWANPURA (Fatehgarh Sahib), Dec 4 — The Indian Railways brought in 1,500 men to repair the rail track at this ill-fated spot following the devastating accident of December 2. However, it did not bring in any of its special trains to feed its men. It didn’t need to as volunteers from the nearby Sant Baba Ajit Singh Hansali Nirmala Dera rose to the occasion, catering to their needs for the last three days from a makeshift tent at the accident site . “It is still hard to believe the extraordinary service being rendered by these men”, said an electrical engineer of the Indian Railways who has been camping at the site for the past three days. “I could not believe people could go to such lengths to conduct humanitarian service”, said the engineer, saying from where he came, a bazaar would have come up at the accident site and he would probably have to buy his food. “However, here we are getting food and tea whenever we want it”, he added. Volunteers of the Nirmala Dera have been providing langar at the site for the past three days. “We arrived here at 8.30 a.m. along with food items and set up a langar immediately, nearly three hours after the accident.” “The first to be offered hospitality and solace were the train passengers who were not affected by the accident”, disclosed a volunteer Avtar Singh. He said on the first day the volunteers served langar to nearly 2,000 persons till late in the night. He said on the second day there were more than 1,000 persons who had meals at the langar and that the figure today was around 7,000. He said while on the first day, the train passengers, police, paramedical staff and Railway officials had partaken of the langar facility, the following days saw the railway personnel availing of this facility the most. All this is being done from a makeshift tent measuring hardly 15 ft by 15 ft. Disclosing the effort behind the move, volunteers said cooked food was being brought continuously in a pick up van from a dera situated on the nearby Sadhugarh-Badali road, about 12 km from here. He said the food was reheated at the spot. Tea was also made on the spot for anyone desiring it. Gangmen of the Railway staff, who continued to work for most of last night in an effort to restore the “Up” line yesterday also benefitted from the langar seva as hot tea was served to them till 2 a.m, and the service was restarted two hours later with a two hour rest in between. Avtar Singh and his companions, while talking to TNS said though it had been an extremely tiring three days, they had also been very uplifting morally. “The kind of reaction we have brought about in the minds of the Railway officials is reward enough for our services”, he said adding the langar seva had been appreciated by everyone. |
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Chawla visits
injured AMRITSAR, Dec 4 — Dr Baldev Raj Chawla, Minister for Health, took a round of the hospitals where injured passengers of the ill-fated train are being treated after the accident near Sirhind on December 2. A medical team accompanied the minister. He visited Civil Hospital, Phagwara, A.P. Jain Hospital, Rajpura and SMI Hospital, Phagwara. The survey revealed that 600 students from Patna travelling in the train were to appear for a bank examination, and most of them disembarked at Ambala. The rest were to appear for examination at the Ludhiana centre. |
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25 school kids
hurt in mishap KAPURTHALA, Dec 4 — Twentyfive schoolchildren, all below the age of 12, of BST Public School, Dudwindi, were injured, five of them seriously, when a school van carrying them to their homes turned turtle on the Kapurthala Sultanpur Lodhi road this evening. According to police sources, the van hit a scooter coming from the opposite side near Dudwindi village. The injured have been admitted to the local Civil Hospital and Civil Hospital at Sultanpur Lodhi. The five injured seriously have been shifted to Jalandhar and Ludhiana hospitals. The police has registered a case. |
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SGPC executive
meets on Dec 12 AMRITSAR, Dec 4 — The crucial meeting of the SGPC executive, which was postponed many times by the previous president, Bibi Jagir
Kaur, has been fixed for December 12 and 13 here. The meeting is likely to take up sensitive matters including reinstatement of Giani Puran Singh as
Granthi, Golden Temple, and the Nanakshahi calendar issue. Dr Gurbachan Singh
Bachan, Secretary, SGPC, however, claimed that the meeting would be a routine one. Mr Jaspal Singh, confidant of the newly appointed president, Mr Jagdev Singh
Talwandi, who is likely to be appointed as his personal assistant, said that the agenda of the meeting would be finalised by Mr
Talwandi. He said Mr Talwandi would visit Amritsar on December 6. The executive meeting had been postponed for four times since October 4 after the registration of a CBI case against Bibi Jagir
Kaur. The other issues which might be taken up are the alleged corruption and misappropriation of funds by certain persons. |
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Sikh high priests
to meet tomorrow AMRITSAR, Dec 4 — The meeting of five Sikh high priests which would be held at Akal Takht on December 6 may discuss the current Panthic issues. The meeting might discuss the issue of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat as some leaders of this organisations had already met the
Jathedar, Akal Takht, Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti, a few days ago. According to official sources,
Jathedar, Akal Takht, has already expressed concern over the literature of the RSS which has distorted the Sikh history. |
Paddy purchase: minister
dissatisfied with probe SANGRUR, Dec 4 — Mr Joginder Singh Gill, Additional Director, Food and Supplies, Punjab, today visited this town for the second time to hold inquiry into matters related to paddy procurement and working in the office of the District Food and Supplies Controller (DFSC) on the complaint of Mr Nachhatar Singh, a local social worker. He had earlier visited the town on November 29 but the complainant could not appear on that day. Mr Nachhatar Singh in his complaint, alleged malpractices in paddy procurement, renewal of licences of defaulter rice-shellers and allotment of paddy to them by the local food and supplies authorities, and allotment of four important seats in the local circle office by the DFSC to Mr Rattan Lal, a junior auditor. The inquiry was held today at the local PWD rest house. Mr Ranjit Singh Ballian, a minister was also present. He asked the inquiry officer to hold the inquiry in the open, but the officer declined to do so. On this, Mr Ballian suggested to the complainant not to make any statement in the closed-door inquiry. Mr Nachhatar Singh gave in writing to the inquiry officer that he did not want to say anything more. Later, Mr Ballian said he would now send the complaint and other relevant documents to Mr P.Ram, Secretary, Food, Punjab, to seek a high-level inquiry. He said he was not satisfied with the inquiry being done by Mr Gill. He also alleged that the local Food and Supplies authorities had pressured arhtiyas and rice-shellers not to give statements against their department. Mr Gill, talking to mediapersons said he had found that Mr Rattan Lal had been “holding” four seats. He said Mr Rattan Lal would be transferred out of this district soon. Showing signatures of Mr Nachhatar Singh on his earlier complaint and today’s reply, Mr Gill said he had got a doubt whether Nachhatar Singh who appeared before him today was the same one who had made the complaint as the signatures were different. No farmer had appeared before him to say he had got lower prices than those fixed by the government, he added. |
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ITI, polytechnic
stillborn ANANDPUR SAHIB, Dec 4 — The ITI and polytechnic buildings which were to be completed as part of the Khalsa tercentenary celebrations, have proved to be stillborn babies of the state government. Even as both buildings have been constructed up to the roof level, one of the foundation stones of the latter, which was laid by the then Chief Minister, Mrs Rajinder Kaur
Bhattal, in 1996 is missing. A caretaker of the project, who spoke to TNS at the site, said that the foundation stone was broken by some boys some time ago. The cement, which has been lying unused after the work came to a standstill, has solidified. Villagers on the Agampura road said that the work has been stopped for more than a year. Wild grass has grown inside and outside the abandoned structure. The Industrial Training Institute
(ITI) for (girls) on the Agampur road is in the same condition. The foundation stone of the ITI (for women) was also laid by Mrs Bhattal on December 8, 1996. The brochure by the Anandpur Sahib Development Authority, published during the tercentenary year, had claimed that the ITI and polytechnic would be completed before October, 1999, at a cost of Rs 1.42 crore and Rs 2.60
crore, respectively. These projects were to be completed by the Public Works
Department. Mr Gurinder Singh Grewal, Deputy Commissioner, Ropar, said that he did not know about the ITI and polytechnic as the Anandpur Sahib Development Authority was responsible for this. Mr
A.S. Shahi, SDM, could not give a satisfactory reply on the fate of the ITI and polytechnic. Sources said that the amount for completion of the ITI and polytechnic had been included in the plan but the funds had not been released so far. The main reason for non-construction of these projects was the financial crunch. The residents of the area feel that the ruling party had indulged in populist decisions to gain political mileage by illumination of gurdwaras and construction of gates during the tercentenary celebrations. However, the government did not bother about educational institutes and other projects which could have given direct benefit to people. Anandpur Sahib had no postgraduate institute at present and priority should have been given to educational institutes, the residents say. To be concluded |
Oppn MLAs to move
court BATHINDA, Dec 4 — A section of MLAs belonging to opposition parties and a rebel Akali group have decided to approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the alleged discrimination shown to them in matters related to the development of their assembly segments by the state government. Mr Baldev Singh Khiala, MLA, Joga, while talking to TNS here today, alleged that Punjab Government had been giving grants only to those villages whose sarpanches had proved that they were with the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal). He added that apart from this, the Punjab Government had changed the proposal sent by him in connection with the laying of 20 km-long link roads in his assembly segment. He said that he had been gathering evidence to prove the alleged discrimination by the Punjab Government in those areas which were being represented by opposition MLAs. He added Mr Hardev Arshi MLA, Budhlada, had already written in this regard to Chief Secretary and Speaker Vidhan Sabha. Mr Harminder Singh Jassi, MLA, Talwandi Sabo, in a press note issued here today, alleged that the Punjab Government had been befooling the people on its financial position. He said that Rs 1 lakh, which was given to those panchayats which were elected unanimously, had not yet been given in this district. He alleged that the Punjab Government did not release the money which was earmarked for the minor repair of the water works despite the fact that Rs 35 lakh were lying in the Personal Ledger Account (PLA) in Bathinda district. The Punjab Government was also diverting funds given by the Central Government for various welfare schemes of the people for benefiting the ruling politicians, he further alleged. He alleged that the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, who used to claim that his party had been fighting for the decentralisation of powers, was himself doing the reverse as he had been announcing grants from the development funds without the approval of district planning and development boards. He alleged that even the money belonging to untied funds and meant for particular assembly segments had been diverted to those areas which were represented by ruling Akali MLAs. Mr Jassi said that apart from approaching the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the MLAs would press the authorities concerned to order a CBI probe into these bunglings so that people could know about the fraud being committed by Mr Badal. Mr Jaspal Singh, Deputy Commissioner, said that there was no rule that new link roads would be constructed as per the desire of an MLA of a particular area. He added that before sanctioning the construction of new roads, recommendations and views of public representatives were also taken into consideration. Then, on the basis of all recommendations, priorities were fixed. |
Punjab Agro owes 9.96 cr to
farmers MANSA, Dec 4 — Despite the government claims to the contrary local farmers are still awaiting payments. As per the dat available here the procurement agencies owe about Rs 19.92 crore to farmers in the district even after a month of the completion of the procurement process. Only the Food Corporation of India has made the full payment amounting to Rs 70.53 crore. Punjab Agro still owes a maximum of Rs 9.96 crore to the farmers, while other agencies like Markfed owes Rs 4.71 crore, the Punjab Warehousing Corporation owes Rs 4.11 crore, the Food and Civil Supplies Department 52 lakh and Punsup Rs 32 lakh. Mr Radhey Lal Munshi, commission agent, and president, Beopar Mandal, alleged that they were not being paid their dues despite the fact that they had submitted the bills in time. As a result the commission agents were unable to make payments to the farmers. The District Food and Civil Supplies Controller, Mr
Bhatia, when contacted, admitted that the funds from the agencies had not yet arrived. |
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Governor: upgrade health infrastructure CHANDIGARH, Dec 4 — The Punjab Governor, Lt-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), today underlined the need for upgrading the health infrastructure, especially in rural areas. Presiding over the annual general meeting of the Punjab State Red Cross, in which the Deputy Commissioners participated, the Governor said it was the duty of a welfare state to provide health cover to its citizens. “We must quip our hospitals with all facilities”, he added. Appreciating the initiative taken by Dr Baldev Raj Chawla, Punjab Health Minister, to launch a drive against tuberculosis, the Governor said the help of non-government organisations must be sought to locate, isolate and treat patients of tuberculosis. Thanking the Chief Minister for enhancing the grant to the Punjab Red Cross from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 50 lakh this year, he said the amount must be utilised to purchase dental vans, which should go to villages to provide health cover there. Commending the work done by residents of Sarai Banjara and adjoining villages in providing timely relief to injured train passengers, the Governor said the Rs 10 lakh grant announced by the Chief Minister for the villages would motivate them to continue their good work. He said the sarpanch and other villagers who worked selflessly during this tragedy must be honoured on Republic Day. The Governor appreciated the efforts of the Red Cross in providing timely relief to the injured train passengers. Earlier, Dr Chawla said the state government was constructing 154 hospitals at a cost of Rs 422 crore. He said in Punjab there were 30 lakh tuberculosis patients. In addition, 74 lakh had been identified as sputum positive. He said this disease was killing one patient every minute in India. District-level committees under the Deputy Commissioners had been constituted to seek the help of non-government organisations in eradicating the disease from Punjab. |
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SAD leader fails to keep date with fast SANGRUR, Dec 4 — An SAD leader and president of the local Trinjnan Club, Ms Surinder Kaur Duggan, today failed to turn up at the local civil hospital to observe indefinite fast from today. She had announced on December 1 that she would observe
an indefinite fast from December 4 to demand the arrest of Dr Pratibha Bansal, a gynaecologist in the civil hospital, against whom a case had been registered on November 22. Mrs Jagdish Kaur, mother-in-law of Sukhwinder Kaur of Kamo Majra village, near here, had alleged that Sukhwinder had died after giving birth to a still born due to the negligence of the gynaecologist. Ms Duggan had also announced that five other women would also observe the fast. This correspondent visited the civil hospital twice but was told that she had failed to turn up. |
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Ex-servicemen being
ignored: Raksha Dal GURDASPUR, Dec 4 — The Rashtriya Raksha Dal held a rally here yesterday to get the support of the people. Col Dharam Singh, president of the district unit presided. More than the 90 per cent of the participants were ex-servicemen. Those who addressed the rally included Air Marshal J.S. Punia, National President, Air Marshal Jain, Lt-Gen Baldev Singh Randhawa, Col J.S. Sekhon, Lt-Gen K.J.S. Kahlon all members of the National presidium, and Col J.S. Ball, president Punjab unit. Air Marshal Punia, addressing the rally, said that even after 53 years of independence the successive governments, both, at the state and national level, had failed to provide proper infrastructure for health and education, very vital for the development of the nation. Marshal Punia said that top-heavy administration both at the Centre and in states had told upon the financial health of the country. He demanded that only 10 per cent of the elected representatives should be included in the ministries both at the Centre and in states. Air Marshal Punia said that his party advocated the rights of the farmers as well as the Jawans who had been ignored by the people in power. The way, the paddy witnessed distress sale in the market is a glaring example of the concern of the governments for the welfare of the farmers. Air Marshal Punia said that ex-servicemen mostly, were retired after 15 years of service and get paltry pension of Rs 1200 per month which was far from adequate to get two square meals a day. The demand of ex-servicemen for one-rank, and one-pension, was still not accepted despite assurances by the present rulers. Corruption has to be checked to send a healthy message to the society around. Air Marshal Punia said that his party would contest the coming Assembly elections in the country. In this regard he appealed to the audience to support his party in the interest of clean administration in the country.
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From pillar to post for 3 months’
salary BATHINDA, Dec 4 — Mrs Gobinder Kaur, a teacher in the nursery section of a school of the local Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant (GNDTP) has been running from pillar to post to get salary for the past three months. In a press note issued here today, she said that she was received of her duties and asked to bring fresh orders regarding her post from the Director (Personnel), PSEB, when she represented her case. She was made a regular teacher under the directives of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1992 and an ad hoc teacher who was working in the same school was transferred to Joginder Nagar. However, the GNDTP authorities by violating the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, started giving her salary against a vacant post lying at the school, Joginder Nagar. The ad hoc teacher who was transferred was brought back here and given salary against a regular post. She alleged that payment of her salary was stopped on the pretext that the post against which her salary was charged had been abolished at the Joginder Nagar school. Mr Ashok Kumar Pathak, Officiating Principal of the school said he was not authorised to make any comment on this issue. He said that he had relieved Mrs Gobinder Kaur in compliance of the order of the Chief Engineer, Mr U.S. Lucky. Mr Lucky said since the post against which her salary was given had been abolished, the GNDTP could not accommodate her. He added that direction given by the high court was not related to her appointment. It was connected only with granting certain allowances. |
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Of inefficient DoT working MOGA, Dec 4 — Residents of this town particularly businessmen yesterday urged the Telecommunication Department to make arrangements to increase the strength of the employees of the Moga Telegraph Office, the only office in whole of the town on the Grand Trunk road. They said that business of other establishments remains paralysed due to only one man working on the table either to receive telegraphic and fax message and also to transmit them almost daily which they said could not meet day to day requirements in this respect. According to reports there were, at present, only three employees working in this department against the sanctioned strength of seven and this practice has been going on for one year and the department had not cared to meet the requirement of the people of the town. They said that if their problems were not solved and grievances redressed they would sit on dharna in front of the department.
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A codifier of Islamic
laws MALERKOTLA: A few weeks ago an eminent Islamic scholar was in the news. His rare accomplishment is that he has done extensive codification of Islamic laws by giving detailed references from their main sources — the Quran, books of Hadith (sayings of Prophet Mohammed) and works of experts on Islamic jurisprudence. He is Mufti Fuzail-Ur-Rahman Hilal Usmani of the Darus Salam Islamic Centre (DSIC), Malerkotla. The Mufti’s plan includes the codification of all Islamic laws, which will obviously run into volumes. The first volume in Urdu, “Islamic Qanoon”, was brought out several years ago after extensive research and consultations for over three years. This volume, published by the DSIC, covers the laws related to marriage, divorce and inheritance. These laws also form part of the Muslim Personal Law Act. An English edition of the book, “The Islamic Law”, was brought out two months ago by the DSIC. The Registrar of the DSIC, Mr Tariq Umair Usmani, has done the English translation of the book. According to him, the translation was not an easy job, especially at a place like Malerkotla where there is no facility for such work. However, he completed it successfully after hard work of several years. Earlier the book was brought out in Arabic. It is considered a legal document and is used as a reference book in the Arab world. The Mufti claims that his book is the only one of its kind in the world. In fact, the need for such a scholarly work had been felt for decades, but no one could muster the courage to undertake the responsibility because the codification required strenuous efforts by a dedicated team. However, he took it up as a challenge, of course with the backing of the DSIC. After “Fatawa Hindia”, an attempt on the subject was made in Turkey resulting in the publication of “Majallatul Ahkaam”. But this work, too, does not have the much-needed references as are available in the book by Mufti Fuzail-Ur-Rahman. His book is in accordance with the needs of the day. It is in a simplified form and can be consulted by anybody. The Mufti says that he has endeavoured to explain every law concerning marriage, divorce and inheritance in a logical manner, keeping the spirit intact. For instance, when he discusses the marriage laws, he explains that marriage is not just a contract between a man and a woman to live together as husband and wife, but it also has a third factor — their accountability to Allah in this respect. That is why he describes marriage as a kind of worship. He explains that he has begun his voluminous project by first taking up the laws of marriage, divorce and inheritance because it is these aspects which have been mainly generating one controversy after another. The other aspects will be dealt with in the later volumes. Mufti Fuzail-Ur-Rahman, who basically belongs to Deoband in Uttar Pradesh, traces his descent from one of the four distinguished caliphs of Islam — Hazrat Usman Ghani. The Mufti’s forefathers have been actively associated with Darul Uloom of Deoband. He, too, is a product of the famous school at Deoband from where he obtained his Mufti degree in 1958. Then he left for Saudi Arabia for further studies at Madina University. His work has been approved and appreciated by Islamic experts all over the world. The Urdu edition of the book was released during the annual conference of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board in Bombay. The Mufti says he had made up his mind to start work on this project (Islamic law), when he met the Prime Minister as one of the representatives of the Personal Law Board in connection with the controversy generated by the Shah Bano case. There was then no single authentic book which could be submitted to the government for a quick yet correct study of Islamic laws. The only book that had been so far available for such consultation was Fatawa Aalamgiri” ( in seven volumes), which is also known as “Fatawa Hindia”. This book, though in codified form, is a very old work. It was brought out under the guidance of Aurangzeb. However, “Fatawa Aalamgiri” does not have extensive references from the sources of the Islamic laws. Originally, it was in Arabic. It is also very difficult to consult by an ordinary seeker of knowledge. After the completion of his formal education, he worked at Darul Uloom, as Professor of Arabic. He remained there for nearly 12 years. On January 12, 1973, he was given the responsibility of Mufti of Darul Ifta of the state of Punjab at Malerkotla. Darul Ifta issues fatwas ( religious decrees). He is the founder of the DSIC, an educational and research institution. He has written more than 60 books, including a translation and commentary on the Quran and the life of Prophet Mohammed. Apart from the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board, Darul Uloom of Deoband and the Islami Fiqh Academy, the Mufti is associated with a number of national and international societies and organisations. Postal staff
hold rally BATHINDA, Dec 4 — The Postal Employees Joint Front held a rally in front of the General Post Office here today to press for its demands. Three federations of the employees of the postal department took part in the rally. This was stated by Mr Devinder Singh Sibia in a press note. They demanded that the scales of Group D employees be increased, the revised pay scales of the postmen be implemented from January 1, 1996, the three promotion pay scales of the postal assistants be increased and increments be given to the drivers and the accountants. Mr Sibia said the employees would go on strike from tomorrow. |
Ankhi renominated AMRITSAR, Dec 4 — Mr Bhag Singh Ankhi has been renominated as secretary (honorary) of Chief Khalsa Diwan for two years. The name of Mr Ankhi was proposed by Mr Mohinder Singh Dhillon, Principal, Khalsa College. Mr Ankhi is known educationist who was instrumental in opening educational institutes in various parts of the state on behalf of Chief Khalsa
Diwan. Literature was published during his tenure as secretary.
Make canal functional year round: farmers MOGA, Dec 4 — Residents of various villages in the district yesterday urged the Punjab Government to make the Kingsway Canal passing through their villages functional throughout the year since, they alleged, it remained dry for several months and did not fully serve the purpose of watering their fields. Farmers of Jaimalwala Bheke and several other villages also alleged that some farmers having political and administrative links caused breach in the canal for watering their own fields. They urged the government to look into the matter and do the needful so that they should not face harassment and their crops should not be affected due to the shortage of water. |
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Engineers reject
pay scales CHANDIGARH, Dec 4 — Mr Purshotam Lal Garg, regional secretary of the PSEB Engineers Association (Chandigarh branch), in a statement said that there was resentment among engineers over the revised pay scales announced by the management. He said compared to their counterparts working in other departments of the state government, the scales of PSEB engineers had been downgraded considerably. Rejecting the pay scales, Mr Garg said they had started a work-to-rule stir with effect from today. A protest meeting would be held on December 6 and the next course of action would be planned in consultation with the executive committee of the association. |
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Term ‘VIP’ raises judge’s
hackles JALANDHAR, Dec 4 — Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi of the Punjab and Haryana High Court yesterday appealed to people to nurture love for greenery to make earth clean and green. “My grandfather had planted about one lakh trees in his lifetime at Jodhpur.” Mr Justice Singhvi, who was addressing an interface organised by the local thinkers’ forum, urged people of the state to educate one child in their lifetime. “You can build so many Jawahar Lals and Atal Behari
Vajpayee's by educating children who don’t have any resources. We the haves can do a lot, but the tragedy is that we don’t realise our potential. Do not depend upon government for everything.
“Yeh sarkaar varkar kutch nahin hai.” He said retired people could do a lot in this direction. You can start giving or getting formal education at any point of life. Do that, it can take shape of a jan andolan”, said Mr Justice Singhvi. Talking about the executive and the judiciary Mr Justice Singhvi said no professional had a right to go on a strike. “When we sit in the court, we lose our individual identity since we think we are trustees of people’s faith. But the judiciary has its own “lakshman rekha”and stepping out that would be dubbed as nothing but hyper-activism. “The High Court had put a ban on misuse of red lights atop vehicles. But later on same people were allowed to use the red lights by the Punjab government by effecting a notification,” observed Mr Justice Singhvi. “Had I got a chance, I would have abolished the term VIP,” yearned Mr Justice Singhvi. Decrying commercialisation of the law as a profession, Mr Justice Singhvi said,” I know we cannot bring back the old values. “See new entrants in the profession. They purchase cars and computers in the first year of their service. You can see the change. But I still think that the lawyers have a great responsibility towards the society.” |
Decision on STD,
PCO units opposed MOGA, Dec 4 — Owners of PCO and STD booths numbering about 240, today protested against the decision of the Telecommunication Department to install coin-collection boxes in front of their respective units with immediate effect.
A spokesman for these units said the installation of these boxes would cause inconvenience Re 1 coins were not available with banks and most of the public did not carry them. |
Dismissed cop held
for cheating GURDASPUR, Dec 4 — The police has busted an inter-state racket of cheats for their involvement in extorting huge sums of money by alluring people with jobs in the Railways and MES. Mr Varinder Kumar, SSP, today said that a dismissed Head Constable of the Punjab police, Sukhjit Singh, and his sister-in-law Latika, alias Sweety, had been arrested while Kamaljit Kumar, husband of Latika, was absconding. Mr Kumar said that the accused got Rs 35,000 each for recruitment from Mr Sukhwinder Singh and Mr Tarsem Lal Jammu and Mr Banarsi Das of Sarna. But when the three did not get appointment, the matter was reported to the police yesterday. A case under Sections 420, 170 and 34, IPC was registered against the accused. The police raided their houses from where Sukhjit Kumar and Latika were arrested. |
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Farmer shot
at, robbed of Rs 60,000 JALANDHAR, Dec 4 — Two scooter-borne robbers today shot at Baldev Singh of Jand village near Goraya and fled with his bag containing Rs 60,000. Baldev Singh, a farmer, was returning home at around 12.30 p.m. when two persons riding a scooter signalled him to stop. When he stopped, the duo tried to snatch his bag, but he resisted it. They then shot at his chest, overpowered him and took away the bag. Baldev Singh has been referred to the local civil hospital, where his condition is stated to be out of danger. In another incident, as many as 13 women were injured when the four-wheeler in which they were travelling was allegedly hit by a Punjab Roadways bus near Kapurthala Chowk here today. The women were returning to the city after attending a religious congregation at Beas. The bus driver, however, escaped. Six of the injured, all residents of Nallan village, have been identified as Satya Devi, Ram Piari, Baksho, Krishna, Purshotam and Gian Kaur have been admitted to hospital. |
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