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| Thursday, December 21, 2000, Chandigarh, India    |
Badal, Dosanjh may sign pacts Fiscal crisis due to loans: PSEB
chief Statute review to end by March Glut of potatoes worries
farmers Small units pollute residential
areas
PPCC to issue white
paper on Badal govt |
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Cong men’s names ‘left out’ of poll
rolls Talwandi’s view on
Nirankari sect flayed Cong MP’s charge against govt
Two killed in wall
collapse Peddlers use coded
language CBI again visits ‘Jasdil Mansion’ High Court ‘Probe’ plot behind
Mukhija’s murder Screening of ‘Sant Valmiki’
restrained Arrangements for mela
completed Public ‘encourages’
violence Dhanda elected
Bar panel chief Minister opposes new bus
stand Hindus to visit shrines in
Pak
Official vehicles of
DC, ADC attached Punjab postings, transfers
10-yr RI for raping
daughter Fake currency racket
unearthed Two youths attack
school teacher
PUTA splits on dharna issue
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Badal, Dosanjh may sign pacts NEW DELHI, Dec 20 — When Mr Ujjal Dosanjh, India-born Premier of Canada’s largest province of British Columbia, reaches Amritsar tomorrow, several agreements including in the area of road building and power transmission are likely to be concluded between his state and Punjab. Talking to a group of newspersons here this morning, 53-year-old Dosanjh said a general cooperation agreement and agreement on improving trade would be signed in Chandigarh. He added that the two governments of British Columbia and Punjab were working on strengthening cooperation in the fields of road building and power transmission. Mr Dosanjh would visit Amritsar, Chandigarh, Jalandhar and his native village of Dosanjh Kalan. The Premier said, “We have a vast experience of building all-weather roads and transmitting power long distance without loss.” Stating that India is a major economic entity , the Premier said that while Indo-Canadian relations were good, they are somewhat “underdeveloped at this stage”. “We wish and desire to resume and revert to the state of bilateral relationship between India and Canada that existed before the nuclear explosions of 1998,” Mr Dosanjh said while welcoming the economic reforms process that is currently going on in the country. Inviting Indian investments to British Columbia in the fields of information technology and film production, the Premier said that it was possible to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the fields of environmental technology and tourism. He said that British Columbia was described as the Hollywood of North as the film industry there it had grown from a 100 million Canadian dollar industry to a one billion Canadian dollar industry in the past couple of years. Mr Dosanjh said that there were several advantages of investing in his province as the quality of life in terms of health care, security, education, and clean, safe and pollution-less environment was much better there as compared to other destinations. |
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Fiscal crisis due to loans: PSEB
chief ROPAR, Dec 20 — The nuclear power plant commissioning of which has been delayed may be commissioned soon. This was stated by the Chairman of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB), Mr G.S. Sohal, while talking to newsmen at the Guru Gobind Singh Thermal Plant, today. Mr Sohal said that recently he had a meeting with the Chairman of the Nuclear Power Cooperation on the issue. The PSEB has selected two sites at Patran for the project and a site selection committee from the Nuclear Power Cooperation would visit in January to assess suitability of the sites. After the selection of the site the PSEB would enter into a joint venture with the corporation for commissioning the plant. In the first phase of the commissioning of the project, two units, each of generating capacity of 220 MW would be installed. In the second phase two more units with capacity of 500 MW each would be installed, he said. The PSEB Chairman was here to inaugurate the three-day workshop on the Changing Role of a Technical Manager in the Competitive Business Scenario, being held at the thermal plant. When asked to comment on the reasons due to which the PSEB raised the fee for the 24 hour electricity supply to villages from Rs 10,000 to Rs 5 lakh he said that this had been done due to the non-payments by the state government. Under this scheme, out of the total cost incurred in installing the equipment for supplying 24-hour supply to the villages, five per cent was to be paid by the villagers, 10 per cent by the board and the rest 85 per cent by the state government. However, the board has already spent Rs 140 crore under this scheme and has been given just 40 crore by the government due to which the scheme has been dropped, he said. On the free of cost electricity for tubewells, Mr Sohal said that despite this scheme the subsidy given to the domestic sector was more than that given to agriculture. The subsidy to the domestic sector during the last financial year was Rs 350 crore, where the subsidy to the agriculture sector was just Rs 250 crore. He did not agree to the idea that the free supply of power to the agriculture sectors was the main reason behind the losses being incurred by the board. The main reason behind the tight fiscal position of the board was the loans raised by the organisation in the past. In the last financial year the board had to pay Rs 667 crore in loan repayments and this year too Rs 1245 crore had been spent for the same purpose. Due to it despite the fact that the PSEB has raised its revenue by Rs 530 crore this year, it is still incurring losses Mr Sohal said. The member operation of the PSEB who was also present said that by next year the bill collection process would be computerised by the board. Earlier speaking at the seminar that was organised as the part of the workshop today, most of the top officials of the board stressed on the need for change in the attitude of the employees for accepting the changes that have become necessary in the new business environment. The Member Generation PSEB, Mr Suresh Gupta, Member Transmission PSEB, A.K. Kundra, Member Operation, Kirpal Singh, the secretary, Mr D.K. Tiwari and the chief engineer of GGSSTP were among others present on the occasion. |
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Statute review to end by March AMRITSAR, Dec 20 — The Chairman of the National Commission to review the working of the Constitution and a former Chief Justice of India, Mr M.N. Venkatachaliah, in an interview with The Tribune reporter here said that the report of experts panels of five important areas would be put on the website: “MCRWC.NIC.in” for a public debate by January 15. He pointed out that the work on the review of the Constitution was going on in the right earnest and hoped to complete it by March 2001, as committed to the Government of India. The former Chief Justice said at present he was looking into five important areas and had formed different panels headed by personalities from the field of judiciary, Public Administration, Economy and other departments. They were preparing detailed notes for an open public debate. The commission would also go into the entire gamut of the working of the Constitution firstly, in the area of electoral reforms, the panel was headed by a former Chief Election Commissioner Mr R.K. Trivedi. Secondly, an important area would cover the pace of socio-economic development of the country which require indepth study of the various poverty alleviation programmes, including education, health services started by the governments from the time India became independent. This panel would be headed by a former justice of the Supreme Court, Mr Ramaswamy, who was also a member of the National Human Rights Commission. Mr Venkatachaliah said the third panel would look into the provision of the Article 105 of the Indian Constitution which looks into the conduct of the Members of the Parliament for their role in taking the bribe by asking questions in the Parliament and also during the vote of no confidence motions. He added that after the prosecution of the former Prime Minister, Mr P.V. Narsimha Rao and Mr Buta Singh, in the bribery case it had become important to look into the Article covering all such aspects and suggest amendments. Another important aspects of the Constitution with regard to the conduct of subordinate working under the various ministers for their acts of malfeasance and misfeasance. The former Chief Justice said such persons could not enjoy immunity for their wrongful acts. The Commission would also be looking into the implication and the allround affect of the international trade agreements on the country. The former Chief Justice added that the most important aspect of this issue was that how and when these agreements could be enforced. He felt that such agreements have wider ramification in the socio-economic scenario of our country. The commission will go into details of directive principles of state policies and justice. Mr Chinnappa Reddy will head the panel. He added that this issue requires thorough study of the directive principles. Answering questions about any parallel to the review of the Indian Constitution, the former Chief Justice said that a non-government group in the USA too had made a comprehensive study on the working of its Constitution after the completion of 200 years of independence. He added that group consisting of eminent constitutional experts, lawyers, journalists and professors of the universities had debated at length about the suitability of presidential form vis-a-vis parliamentary system. The review also looked into the electoral system and made many recommendations. Mr Venkatachaliah said while accepting to head the commission he had declined to go into the merits and demerits of the parliamentary democracy and also about the presidential form of the government as he felt that it was for the politicians to debate on the issue. Commenting on taking up the assignment, he said he had accepted to head the commission with great humility and refused to accept any remuneration for this noble task. The Chairman felt that Indian diaspora with strong national roots were emotionally attached to their motherland and he would strongly recommend dual citizenship for the NRIs as it would also help cement their bonds with India. |
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Glut of potatoes worries
farmers JALANDHAR, Dec 20 — Potato growers in the Doaba region of Punjab are unhappy due to the abundance of the crop in various pockets of the state this year. This has led to a glut of potatoes as evident from the arrival of an estimated 2 crore bags in various markets. While the people are happy, the fund-starved farmers here and other areas of Punjab are forced to sell their produce at throw-away prices. At times, the crop fetch a meagre price in the market which is as low as one third of the total production cost. The farmers have no choice but to sell their produce for fear of further decline in prices and due to high cost of storage. The worst hit are potato growers of Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Nawanshahr districts, who used to harvest the crop after acquiring hundreds of acres of land on contract basis and who had invested huge amount of money in the shape of farm inputs. A survey by The Tribune in the Doaba region, known as potato bowl of the state, revealed that more or less potato had ceased to be a profit-generating crop for the past four-five years. The sudden downward trend in the potato price was being witnessed for past about 15 days without any respite in sight for the farmers, who primarily hold the state government and the contemporary trend of sowing of high yield crops among those who wanted to make an easy buck, responsible for their plight. During a visit to different wholesale markets, this correspondent found that a standard bag containing about 80 kg of good quality potatoes was available anywhere between Rs 40 and Rs 60, while the price of the same was around Rs 120 in the last week of November. Similarly, the retail price of the commodity has come down from Rs 6-8 a kg to Rs 2-3 a kg during this period. Mr Sarabjit Singh, a potato grower said it was for the first time during past two decades that the price of potatoes had touched to such a low. “The same situation prevailed in 1978 when farmers were forced to dump their crop in ditches and along the roads for they could not even afford to take back the crop from markets to their fields,” he added. He said though the yield of even high yield varieties was less in porous soils of the Doaba region and was anywhere between 100-125 bags per acre, it was more in Majha and Malwa regions, where an acre of land produces around 200 bags of the crop. He said another reason of the glut of potatoes was that the farmers have started going in for high yield varieties which otherwise lack in taste and hence are not preferred by the users. Mr Anurag Sood, a Hoshiarpur-based potato farmer, said there was wide gap between the return and the cost of inputs. “We are getting Rs 50 per bag, though our cost per bag is between Rs 200 and Rs 250, even as the cost of seed was less this year as compared to the previous year”. Mr Sarabjit Singh, who is also a member of the Association of Potato Growers, alleged that the policies of the government had also contributed to the present situation. “On one hand we don’t get wagons from the railways for transportation of the crop to states like West Bengal and Assam, on the other, the state government has failed to take an effective step to ensure movement of the crop to other states. Instead of helping Punjab farmers NAFED authorities prefer to purchase the crop from Mumbai for its further export to other countries,” he alleged. Mr Lakhbir Singh, a farmer from Jethpura village, said he had to sell his 70 bags of potato for Rs 60 each. He said the state government should allow the farmers or their associates to directly export the crop to other countries. |
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Small units pollute residential
areas ABOHAR: This sub-divisional town of Ferozepore district has emerged as highly polluted area, thanks to the apathy of the civil and police authorities. Even when local as well as the district authorities had received a number of complaints for several months, action was deferred due to presure, sources said. The residents of several localities had raised their voice against the functioning of small scale industrial units in their areas. These units had been cleared by the local Municipal Council and the Punjab State Electricity Board had reportedly released connections without following procedure. According to the residents, some units in the Thakar Abadi area had been manufacturing leather washers for big industries. They had been dumping the waste in vacant plots adjacent to residences as well as a public school. Foul smell from the units had polluted the entire locality. The problem increased during rains. The heaps of leather waste had caught fire many a time and fire engines had never proved helpful. The council had once removed the waste and the promise to make it a regular practice remained unfulfilled. A confectionery unit is operating for many years just opposite the main post office here. The Government High School (Model) is located next door to the confectionery unit. Students find it difficult to learn due to noise from mixers and grinders in the confectionery unit. The residents of this locality opposite Gian Cinema had lodged complaints with the sub-divisional authorities and the Municipal Council. They complained that cracks had appeared in buildings and the waste of the unit had polluted the environment. No action had been taken so far to close down the unit. The council had set up a garbage dump opposite the main post office, touching the boundary wall of Nehru Stadium. Scores of pigs could be seen spreading the garbage inside the stadium as well as on the road which led to the post office, stadium, telephone exchange and the Abohar Club used by prominent citizens. The club’s boundary wall is surrounded by dirty water as the drains are clogged. The Railway Colony had also a sewage water pool as the Punjab State Water Supply and Sewerage Board could not complete a project to link Arya Nagar sewer line with the sewer channel of Shree Bhawan Cotton Mills Road due to paucity of funds. Hundreds of citizens residing in Nai Abadi have to pass through the passage adjoining the Railway Colony and had to bear the foul smell due to sewage. This pool had polluted the environment of the Railway Colony as well. There were so many other places in the town, including Patel Park, which had been polluted due to improper disposal of sullage. Noise pollution is high in this town. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had issued instructions to check use of loudspeakers but the authorities here were turning a blind eye to offenders. More than 30 gurdwaras and temples here had fitted six to eight megaphones on the top of the shrines to force people listen to pre-recorded cassettes in the wee hours and after sunset. The functionaries at these buildings of worship were competing to raise the number of megaphones besides high-power amplifiers to increase noise pollution. Boys and girls from hostels have lodged protests with the Sub-Divisional Magistrate stating that it had become difficult for them to study due to noise pollution. They regretted that cinema owners had been given permission to use loudspeakers on rickshaws hired for publicity, but the cinema management were exploiting this and were allegedly using more than four rickshaws equipped with horns which plied outside hospitals and educational institutions. Music and ‘paan’ shops, were also playing
cassettes at full volume, adding to the noise pollution. Another irritating factor was cultural pollution. The city walls had been flooded with obscene posters of South Indian movies dubbed in Hindi. A majority of the cinemas here were trying to attract youngsters by screening vulgar films. The cable operators, too, allegedly operated objectionable films on foreign channels after midnight. Social organisations had demanded action against pasting of obscene posters but these posters, could be seen even on the boundry wall of the girls’ hostel. Medical experts here confirmed that the number of patients suffering due to noise and air pollution was increasing day by day. The OPD at the Civil Hospital as well as private clinics had majority of persons complaining of depression, hypertension, besides respiratory diseases. |
PPCC to issue white
paper on Badal govt AMRITSAR, Dec 20 — The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee is contemplating to publish a “white paper” to expose alleged corruption of the “Badal government” before the forthcoming elections to the state Assembly. Mr Partap Singh Bajwa, general secretary of the PPCC and former Punjab Cabinet Minister, alleged that Mr Badal and his ministers had institutionalised corruption in the past four years of the SAD-BJP governance. He alleged that those at the helm had “siphoned off” Rs 350 crore which the Badal government got from the Centre in shape of “package” to give compensation to the farmers who had suffered due to non-procurement of their paddy this year. Hardly any paddy grower has benefited from the “package”, he alleged. He said he was ready to hold an open debate on this issue. Mr Bajwa alleged that though the Shiromani Akali Dal had been getting political and religious power from “Majha region” comprising Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts yet the entire border belt was totally ignored from the development point of view. He said during the last Assembly elections, the ruling SAD and the BJP had won all 27 seats but they were not rewarded for bringing the Badal government into power. Since Mr Badal belonged to the Malwa region, he totally ignored the Majha region. The oil refinery costing Rs 16000 crore was being set up in Bathinda while the health university was opened at Faridkot though proper infrastructure was not available for the same. Mr Bajwa said the file pertaining to the “Maharaja Ranjit Singh award, constituted by Mr Badal for an honest officer has been gathering dust as no such official was available to the Badal government. He said the state BJP president and former BJP president Mr Daya Singh Sodhi had levelled serious charges of corruption against the Badal government which speaks volumes on this vital issue. Another senior the Minister Raja Narinder Singh had also spoken against the corruption in Finance Department and the issue of rampant corruption needed to be brought to the knowledge of masses. Mr Bajwa said the Congress under the leadership of Amarinder Singh stood united and would give crushing defeat to the SAD-BJP combine in the forthcoming Assembly elections. |
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Cong men’s names ‘left out’ of poll
rolls FEROZEPORE, Dec 20 — Accusing the authorities of dropping the names of opposition activists from voter lists under duress from the ruling Akali leaders, the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) has demanded a probe into the ongoing preparation of electoral rolls. A PPCC member, Mr Ratinder Singh Sayanwala, today charged the authorities with trying to prevent the opposition party activists from exercising their franchise, whenever the next assembly elections are held in Punjab. Demanding an inquiry into the matter, he alleged that the names of certain Congress activists of Ferozeshah village have been deliberately dropped by the authorities from voter lists. Mr Sayanwala earlier met the District Transport Officer, Mr Jaskaran Singh, who is also an Assistant Returning Officer for the Ferozepore cantonment assembly segment, to apprise him of the matter. He alleged that the names of Akali supporters were still being incorporated in the lists even after the last date of preparation of rolls. He claimed that this was being done by “back-dating” at the behest of the ruling party leaders. While the poll staff did not go to the house of Congress activists for requisite verification, the lists of the Akali Dal activists were prepared in their “drawing rooms”, he alleged. He lamented that the authorities were neither acting on his complaint, nor giving him the voter lists to file objections. He alleged that the District Transport Officer had even failed to display voter lists even 13 days after the date of filing of objections. However, the DTO, Mr Jaskaran Singh denied the charge of favouring ruling party leaders, but promised to look into the objections of the Congress. Explaining the delay in display of voter lists, he said that the field staff was still doing the work and they were in the process of verifying the identity of the voters. |
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Talwandi’s view on
Nirankari sect flayed BATHINDA, Dec 20 — Mr Harmender Singh Jassi, General Secretary of the PPCC, and Mr Kewal Krishan Aggarwal, General Secretary, DCC(I), while condemning the statement of the SGPC chief, Mr Jagdev Singh Talwandi, made in connection with the Nirankari, Radha Soami and Sacha Sauda sects, said here today that it could disturb the law and order situation in the state. In a joint press note issued here, they pointed out that the statement of Mr Talwandi that these sects were “agencies” of the Central Government was baseless and mischievous. They added that Mr Badal should make it clear whether he endorsed the views of Mr Talwandi or not and make arrangements for the security and the safety of the followers of these sects living in various parts of Punjab. |
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Cong MP’s charge against govt JALANDHAR, Dec 20 — Mr Santosh Chaudhary, Congress MP from Phillaur, has alleged that the Punjab Government is not allocating funds for the uplift of the Scheduled Castes and the Tribes as per the provisions of the central government’s special component scheme. Ms Chaudhary said in spite of strict guidelines by the Government of India and three successive prime ministers, that the funds for the welfare of these classes should be allocated in accordance with their population in the respective states, the Punjab Government had failed to take any step in this regard. She said as per the 1991 census, the total population of these classes was 78.31 per cent and subsequently increased by 31 per cent, but the Punjab Government had allocated just 7 per cent of the funds towards their uplift. |
Two killed in wall
collapse SANGRUR, Dec 20 — Two persons were killed and 12 injured, two of them seriously, when a wall of a private godown collapsed this afternoon at Dirba village, about 25 km from here. Of the 12 injured eight were admitted to the local Civil Hospital. they were identified as Gulab Singh (Dharamgarh Chhanna), Lakhbir Singh (Toorbanjara), Sohna Singh (Janal), Amrik Singh (Janal), Gurjeet Singh (Tandoli Kalan), Balbir Singh (Kamalpur), Kala Singh (Kharriali) and Randhir Singh (Mauran). Talking to this reporter in the local Civil Hospital, attendants of the injured said the killed labourers were Jagga Singh of Mauran village and Maddi of Dayalgarh village. They added that the remaining four injured, namely, Amrit, Mahinder Singh and Lal Singh were admitted to a local nursing home. On receiving information regarding the mishap, Mr Anirudh Tiwari, Deputy Commissioner, Sangrur, along with Mr Rajesh Dhiman, Assistant Commissioner (General), visited the hospital and made arrangements for medicines and meals from District Red Cross Society funds for the injured. |
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Peddlers use coded
language DHALEWAN (Mansa), Dec 20 — “Jahaj uttar
gaya, chuhte lai lo” and “Depot khul gaya, khand mildi hai”... etc are examples of coded language used by drug peddlers which addicts of the Malwa region eagerly wait to listen to. The grim faces of the addicts change to smiling faces the moment they listen to such codes. Over the years, the peddlers, particularly those who deal in the sale of poppy husk, have developed this coded language to attract customers at a particular places. For them the announcement is enough and they receive hundreds of customers. However, these announcements have been affecting the poor section of the farming community which is already reeling under heavy debts due to the failure of crops. The addicts, mostly belonging to the small and marginal farming section, have been borrowing heavily from commission agents and others to buy poppy husk which is being sold at Rs 400 per kg by the peddlers. Jaggar Singh (name changed) said he started taking poppy husk about 15 years ago. With a land holding of only two acres, his debt had mounted to Rs 50,000 as he consumed poppy husk worth Rs 10,000 a year. He said most of the peddlers belonged to Mehnda village in Haryana. Mohna (name changed), who had starting taking poppy husk about two years ago, used to consume 1.5 kg of poppy husk in a month and with a small land holding, he had come under heavy debt. Jagtar Singh (name changed), another marginal farmer who took to drugs seven years ago, said he was doubly cursed as first the repeated crop failure took its toll and now the rising prices of poppy husk had pushed him neck deep in debt. Dalbir Singh (name changed) of Bohr Singh Wala village of Mansa district, Daljeet Singh (name changed) of Mehma Serja village of Bathinda district and Gurpreet Singh (name changed) of Chandbhan village of Faridkot district told TNS that their plight was not better than a beggar as they had used up their assets to buy drugs. They said they took to drugs as they believed that after taking poppy husk, a person could do double the amount of work also, poppy husk was made available to them by the peddlers at their doorstep and at very cheap prices. However, there was a turning point in the lives of the addicts of this village when a preacher of this area gave up drugs and later motivated others to do the same. Dr Mehboob Singh Sran, project director, De-addiction Centre, Bathinda, said so far 23 residents of this village had got treatment here to get themselves de-addicted, adding that 12 others were under treatment. He said as per informations from these addicts, about 66 per cent of the male population was taking drugs. Most of the addicts had decided to give up drugs after they faced humiliation at the hands of their family members and harassment at the hands of the police, he added. |
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CBI again visits ‘Jasdil Mansion’ PHAGWARA, Dec 20 — Phagwara is virtually being hunted by the CBI these days. A five-member CBI team is frequenting the town in connection with the ongoing probe into the controversial death of Harpreet Kaur, the teenaged daughter of Bibi Jagir Kaur, former SGPC President. The team visited Phagwara for the third time within a week yesterday. The frequency of its visits to Phagwara, Begowal and Bholath is being attributed to attempts to zero in on Bibi Jagir Kaur for getting her anticipatory bail cancelled and for her custodial interrogation, reliable sources today said. The team again visited “Jasdil Mansion” owned by Mrs Dalwinder Kaur Dhesi, confidant of Bibi Jagir Kaur. It wanted to know the whereabouts of Bhag Mall, husband of Satyadevi (a maid), a relative of Mrs Dhesi and wife of Harwinder Kumar. It again raided Nigahan mohalla to question Harwinder’s mother Raksha and his wife but could not succeed since the house was locked. The team is also collecting information about the business activities of the
Dhesis. |
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High Court CHANDIGARH, Dec 20 — Mr Justice VM Jain of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued notice to the state of Punjab for December 22 to show cause why Ms Mamta Sharma’s complaint of alleged attempted molestation by the Additional Director-General of Police BP Tiwari should not be handed over to the CBI for investigation. Mr Justice Jain handed down this order after grilling counsel for the complainant for making the CBI a party in the case and not impleading Punjab state, to which the police officer belongs, as a party. Can the CBI take over investigation of such cases directly, asked Mr Justice Jain while enquiring from counsel why the petitioner had not made the state a party in the case. He asked whether an FIR had been registered, adding that had the state police shown any laxity in registering it (FIR) then the petitioner should have pleaded for registering an FIR. Her demand for a CBI inquiry straight away was rather strange, particularly at the complaint stage. After hearing the Judge’s remarks, counsel for petitioner made an oral request to the Bench to implead state of Punjab as a party in the case.
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‘Probe’ plot behind
Mukhija’s murder MOGA, Dec 20 — Accusing the Punjab Police of shielding the Akali Dal legislator, Mr Sheetal Singh, who allegedly is involved in the killing of a senior Congress leader, Mr Harmesh Kumar Mukhija on November 13, his party colleagues (Mukhija’s) are mounting pressure for a CBI probe into the incident. Congress activists led by the former Minister, Dr Malti Thapar, today held a demonstration in the city to press for a CBI inquiry to unravel the murder mystery, which is being projected by the police as the outcome of personal enmity. Making it clear that Mr Mukhija was a victim of political murder, Dr Thapar alleged that Mr Sheetal Singh had not been questioned even though the relatives of the deceased had charged with the conspiracy in the FIR. While the police claims that Mr Mukhija was murdered at the behest of his detractor, Gurbux Singh Kukku, who is also a Congress activist due to personal grudges, the opposition party fears that an attempt was being made to cover up the larger political conspiracy. Dr Malti Thapar pointed out that since Kukku’s association had cropped up with Mr Sheetal Singh to “cut down” the deceased to size in Dharamkot municipal limits, the police should enlarge the scope of its probe. “The focus of the investigation has been deliberately confined to the personal enmity angle”, she alleged. |
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Screening of ‘Sant Valmiki’ restrained SANGRUR, Dec 20 (PTI) — Additional Civil Judge J.S. Khushdil restrained from screening the Hindi film “Sant Valmiki” and its exhibition in any cinema house and in any place of the country. Passing strictures against the Central Board of Film Certification Bombay in his 16-page judgement the certified copy of which was obtained today, the court declared illegal the certificate and cancelled it and further directed the board to withdraw it. The court also restrained from further circulating the audio and video cassettes of the film to any company in India as the said Hindi feature film injures the religious feelings of Valmiki community of India which is against the guidelines issued by the central government. The judgement was delivered responding to the suit filed by Dr Dev Singh and Mr Raj Kumar in their personal capacity and the representatives of the All-India Valmiki Community on August 9,1994. A criminal trial against the actor of the film Suresh Oberoi and Arvind Bhatt on the charge of obscene acts and songs with deliberate and malicious acts intending to outrage religious feelings defaming religious beliefs if also pending before the court of chief judicial magistrate here. It was asserted in the complaint that Sant Valmiki was considered as ‘bhagwan’ (God) by the Valmiki community while Suresh Oberoi used the word ‘Daku’ (dacoit) for Sant Valmiki deliberately. It was also alleged that Sant Valmiki was shown in the film dancing with semi-nude women which is against the history of Hindu religion. It was pleaded if the exhibitions of the film continued then there may be violence in the country and law and order problem would be created as the film was against sovereignty and integrity of the country. The judge had to watch the vidio film in the court in the presence of Darshan Kumar Gupta the counsel for the plaintiff. The judge observed that the perusal of the script of the film shows that invariably Valmiki Ji was shown as dacoit in the name of “Ratna Gir” which is not fair. The court opined that the Censor Board had not taken in view that the dacoit is a dacoit whether he might ultimately turning a good person or doing better for the public in the end. The court also opined if the exhibitions of the picture was allowed then a permanent record may be created contrary to the history and Hindu religion as there was no such reference in the Ramayana written by Sant Valmiki Ji. |
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Arrangements for mela
completed FATEHGARH SAHIB, Dec 20 — The district administration has made all arrangements for the three-day annual Shaheedi Jor Mela, which will begin from December 25 in the memory of two younger ‘sahibjadas’ of Guru Gobind Singh who were bricked alive here. Lakhs of devotees from all over the country and abroad come here to pay obeisance at Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib. The SAD conference will be organised in front of the gurdwara, from where Mr Badal and other Akali leaders will make their address. According to Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Minister for Finance, who is also supervising the arrangements for the conference, the new programmes and policies of the government and the SAD would be declared at the conference and a pledge would be taken to oust the Congress from the state. Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra’s SHSAD has been allotted the site next to the railway crossing. Adjoining this will be the Akali Dal (Amritsar) stage and opposite to these will be the Congress dais. The BSP will also organise its political conference, which will be addressed by Mr Kanshi Ram. The district unit of the Lok Bhalai Morcha will also hold the conference, which will be addressed by Mr Ramoowalia. Dr Sikandar Singh, President of the District Congress Committee, said that all arrangements for the political conference had been completed. Capt Amarinder Singh President of the PPCC and other Central and state Congress leaders would address the conference. The party’s strategy for the coming election would also be announced. Earlier, the main attraction of the mela used to be the light-and-sound programme, “Sirhind ki Dastan” organised by the Public Relations Department. However, this year there is uncertainty about the programme being held, primarily due to the financial crunch, sources said. However, the SHSAD will organise a light-and-sound programme on the premises of Mata Gujri College. Mr Sanjeev Gupta, DIG, Patiala range, who was here to supervise the security arrangements for the mela, said that this time fewer forces would be deployed. He said subways were being made so that traffic was not disrupted during the mela. Special observation posts and nakas are being erected and policemen in plainclothes would be deployed to nab anti-social elements. Mr B.S. Sudan, Deputy Commissioner, said the leave of all employees had been cancelled and they had been asked to report on duty. Drinking water and toilet facilities would be provided to the devotees. An information centre would function round the clock. Special medical teams had been formed to provide health services. |
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Public ‘encourages’
violence LUDHIANA, Dec 20 — “Films have a deeper influence on the minds of people than theatre. Theatres are staged now and then. They, too, convey a moral, but movies definitely leave a deeper impact on the audience’s mind”, said Kader Khan, a prominent TV film and stage personality at a press conference held here yesterday. He is here in connection with the staging of his play, “Taash Ke Patte”, in Guru Nanak Bhawan. “Violence will certainly work in a negative way. But the public is responsible to a large extent. If the public shuns the movies that show violence, it will automatically stop. Similarly the public has to encourage theatre. When one goes to the theatre, one should go to see the play and not stars. For every play cannot have Kader Khan or Amitabh Bachchan to attract the audience”, Kader Khan said. He said his philosophy was not to work for money. Money was not his sole consideration. He worked for pleasure. “Taash Ke Patte” was a play that was gifted to him by his guru, Pramod Joshi, the original writer of this play in Gujarati. Kader Khan translated the play in Hindi and Pramod Joshi liked his adoptation and gifted it to him. His son, Sarfaraz, who will be playing the protagonist accompanied him. Sarfaraz had deep admiration for his father while his father treated him like any other artiste on the stage. Sarfaraz will be starring in two films — “Kya Yahi Pyar Hai: and “Mujhe Pyar Ho Gaya”. Gauri, the main lead of the play, was of the opinion that all characters of “Taash Ke Patte” were well defined and each one had ample scope to show their talent. About the mafia and movie makers’ nexus, he said: “The mafia had not come all of a sudden into Bollywood. It has been entering insidiously. No one knows who brought them in. The film industry is a disadvantage because it is being crushed by the mafia and the underworld. They threaten and coerce filmmakers to yield to its demands. The police also does not offer them the required security. Life was like “Taash Ke Patte”. Every person is dealt a different hand and how the person manages to turn bad cards into good owes is the winner. Talking about his future plans, he said he was going to start a school for audition in Mumbai where proper diction, voice modulation, correct pronunciation will be taught, for this is the area most of the young aspirants neglect”. They generally go for training in dance, martial arts etc. Earlier, actors and actresses like Meena Kumari, Dilip Kumar and Rehman mesmerised the people with their well-modulated and excellent diction and dialogue delivery”, he added. |
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Dhanda elected
Bar panel chief LUDHIANA, Dec 20 — Mr Harish Rai Dhanda was reelected president of the District Bar Association in a keenly contested against a former president, Mr Kimat Rai Sikri. Out of the total 1063 votes polled, Mr Dhanda secured 566 while 480 went in favour of Mr Sikri. The third contender to the coveted post Mr Sri Pal Sharma polled just 7 votes. The counting of votes, taken up in the Bar Room in the old judicial complex, immediately after the voting ended at 4.00 PM, witnessed many tense moments, with supporters of candidates to different posts, raising slogans and trading charges. There was a dispute over the votes polled by candidates contesting for the post of vice-president. Even after repeated recounting, the matter could not be resolved and a fresh recount was in progress late in the evening, when last reports came in. Mr Rajiv Duggal defeated Mr Rakesh Sabharwal by a margin of 108 votes for the post of the secretary in a straight contest. The two candidates polled 581 and 473 votes respectively. Mr Gur Kirpal Singh was elected joint secretary with a huge margin of 325 votes over his nearest opponent Mr Vinod Sharma, with the two contenders securing 589 and 264 votes respectively. The other candidate Mr N.S. Sidhu received 187 votes. Earlier, Mr Rajiv Bali was elected Finance Secretary unopposed and the six members of the executive committee were also declared elected in the same manner. The election campaign of the District Bar, the biggest bar association in the region, which extended to almost 10 days, was marked with hectic activities by the contestants, who resorted to personal and group meetings, in addition to deploying various other methods like throwing lavish parties, within and outside the courts complex, to woo the voters.
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Minister opposes new bus
stand HOSHIARPUR, Dec 20 — Mr Tikshan Sud, Minister for Excise and Taxation, Punjab has opposed the proposed modernisation and construction of a new bus stand at the existing site in the city. The state government has already approved the site and given the green signal for the construction. The Punjab State Industrial Export Corporation has provided a loan of Rs 4.37 crore for the purpose and accepted the tender of a Ludhiana firm. In a letter to the Deputy Commissioner, Hoshiarpur, Mr Sud pointed out that the existing bus stand was constructed about 40 years ago outside the then city. But now the area has fallen in the heart of the city. Regarding the erection of a new bus stand, a meeting was called by the Deputy Commissioner for the selection of a new site. He said according to his knowledge, the consensus was on taking the existing bus stand to a place outside the city. He said that though the old bus stand was in his constituency none of the officials tried to consult him. |
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Hindus to visit shrines in
Pak AMRITSAR, Dec 20 — After the decision of the SGPC to resume the sending of jathas to Pakistan for paying obeisance at Sikh shrines, the Hindu religious organisations may also resume sending their jathas to visit Pakistan. Earlier, some Hindu organisations had joined hands with the SGPC to boycott the sending of jathas to Pakistan in protest against the formation of the Pakistan Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee. However, after taking over as president of the SGPC Mr Jagdev Singh Talwandi, has announced to withdraw the boycott. Following in the foot-steps of the SGPC, the Hindu organisations may also withdraw the boycott decision. Indication to this affect was given by Mr Surinder Kumar Billa, president of the All-India Hindu Shiv Sena, here today. In a letter addressed to Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, Prime Minister, Mr Billa said he (Mr Vajpayee) should take up the matter with his Pakistani counter-part for providing fool-proof security to the Hindu pilgrims in that country. It may be mentioned here that a jatha of Sindhi Hindus which visited Pakistan recently had to cut short its visit when pilgrims were humiliated by Pakistani officials, especially the ISI. Mr Billa said that thousands of Muslims visited India every year to pay obeisance at their religious places without any apprehension. However, the Hindu pilgrims were threatened in Pakistan. |
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SBI staff threaten
to intensify stir FEROZEPORE, Dec 20 — The agitating employees of the SBI have threatened to intensify their protest against the transfer of a staff association leader in Moga unless the transfer orders were reversed.
At a meeting of the association in Ludhiana, the members have cautioned against strikes and demonstrations in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Chandigarh from December 22 to January 4, 2001. CM pays tribute to Baba Kartar Singh NAWANSHAHR, Dec 20 — The Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, paid tributes to Sant Baba Kartar Singh at a ‘shradhanjali samaroh’, organised at Pathlawa village, about 15 km from here today, to mark the 26th death anniversary of the baba. He called upon people to follow the path shown by the religious leaders. The SAD-BJP government had been observing this year as the development year, he said. The Chief Minister announced that the schools in Pathlawa and Moranwali villages would be upgraded. He also announced Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakh grants for the Dalit dharamshala and Dalit basti respectively in the village.
Mr Sohan Singh Thandal, State Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, Mr Jatinder Singh Kariha, Mr Mohanlal, Mr Nand Lal (MLAs) and Sant Baba Labh Singh also addressed the gathering. |
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Rs 40 lakh given as grant-in-aid CHANDIGARH, Dec 20 — The Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister, Dr Baldev Raj Chawla, disbursed Rs 40 lakh as grant-in-aid to 16 non-government voluntary organisations (NGOs) here last evening.
Addressing the gathering, Dr Chawla said no government policy could be implemented without the cooperation of voluntary organisations and the public, according to a press note.
He said at present 53 blood banks were functioning in the state out of which 24 were run by NGOs. CHANDIGARH, Dec 20 — The Punjab State Pensioners Confederation, led by its president, Mr B.R. Kaushal, and the general secretary, Mr Mohinder Singh Parwana, today met the Minister of Finance, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, regarding its demands.
It was decided to convene the next meeting of the confederation in January, 2001, to discuss the implementation of the pending demands. |
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Assurance to
homoeopaths JALANDHAR, Dec 20 — The Punjab Health Minister, Dr Baldev Raj Chawala has assured the Government Homoeopathic Medical Officers Association that all its demands will be accepted soon.
Dr Darshan Singh Khurmi, president of the association, in a press note issued here yesterday, said that the Health Minister at a meeting at Chandigarh promised to grant pay scales as per the central government status.
Dr Chawala also agreed to create five posts of District Homoeopathic Medical Officer in the new districts, he
added.
Plea on job quota
for Muslims PHILLAUR, Dec 20 — Punjab Pradesh Muslim Welfare Committee president Dilbag Hussain has alleged that several parties, including the Congress, were politicising Muslim issues for selfish interests, but no party could stamp up for the community’s interests.
Talking to mediapersons here yesterday he said political parties always ignored the Muslims. He demanded 2 per cent reservation in government jobs and in the education field for the Muslims. Mr Hussain alleged that encroachments were being made on the lands of the Wakf Board under political patronage.
He expressed the hope that the SAD wanted to take constructive steps to safeguard the interests of the Muslims.
SANGRUR, Dec 20 — Mr Balraj Singh Sohi was elected today president of the Sangrur District Bar Association. He got 212 votes to defeat Mr Des Raj Markan.
Mr Harkewal Singh Sajuma, and Mr Sat Pal Sharma were declared elected vice-president and secretary, respectively of the association. Mr Sharma defeated Mr Jasbir Singh Dhiman. Mr Sanjay Garg and Gurbinder Singh Cheema were elected unopposed joint secretary and treasurer, respectively, of the association.
This information was given by Mr Bhupinder Singh Sekhon, Returning Officer for the elections to the District Bar Association, Sangrur, this evening here. The elections were held here today. |
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Official vehicles of
DC, ADC attached MANSA, Dec 20 — Ms Baljinder Kaur, Additional Civil Judge, senior division-cum-judicial magistrate, has issued a warrant for the attachment of the official vehicles of the district administration. The vehicles include an air conditioned of Deputy Commissioner, cars of Additional Deputy Commissioner and Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development), gypsy of Subdivisional Magistrate and jeep of tehsildar on an execution application filed by Mr Bhagwant Singh and Mr Sukhdeep Singh. An air conditioner, a chair, a table and 10 chairs belonging to the retiring room of Deputy Commissioner have also been attached. |
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Punjab postings, transfers CHANDIGARH, Dec 20 — The following postings and transfers were ordered with immediate effect in Punjab today: Mr B. Sarkar has been made Special Secretary, Labour and Employment.
Mr Ajeet Singh Pannu becomes Joint Secretary, Department of Education.
Mr Dilraj Singh is the new Land Acquisition Collector, Improvement Trust, Amritsar, and Mr Harminder Singh becomes Land Acquisition Officer, PWD (B and R), Jalandhar. Mr Jaspal Singh becomes Special Land Acquisition Collector, Amritsar. He will also be the Executive Magistrate.
Mr Randeep Singh becomes Assistant Commissioner (General), Amritsar. The orders on the posting of an officer as AC (General), Moga, will be issued in due course. |
10-yr RI for raping
daughter BATHINDA, Dec 20 — In a significant decision, Mr Bhupinder Singh Sidhu, Additional Sessions Judge, Bathinda, has sentenced Teja Singh, a resident of Parasramnagar locality of the town, to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment for raping his married daughter. According to a certified copy of the judgement procured by TNS, the Additional Sessions Judge has also imposed a fine of Rs 1000 on the accused and ordered that in case of default made by the accused in the payment of fine he would further undergo rigorous imprisonment for a year. The accused, Teja Singh, raped his daughter in May 1998. He did not allow her to live with her husbad and wanted to kill him too. The victim made a formal complaint in this connection to the SSP, Bathinda, on May 6, 1998, and investigation was started. After the investigation the accused stood trial under Sections 354, 506 and 376 of the IPC. After hearing the arguments of the prosecution and the defence, Mr Sidhu observed the prosecution’s case had been established beyond any reasonable doubt and the guilt of the accused under Section 376 of the IPC had been established. He said the accused who had been raping his daughter did not deserve any liniency. The accused had been found to be an anti-social element and his act was not only highly abnormal but a shameful act and deterrent punishment deserved to be awarded to him so that society and other persons might learn a lesson. The judge said keeping in view the totality of the circumstances the accused was convicted and sentenced under Section 376 of the IPC to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 10 years. |
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Fake currency racket
unearthed AMRITSAR, Dec 20 — A well-organised racket in pumping fake currency was unearthed today with the detection of fake currency in lakhs from a courier service. Two persons, both belonging to Amritsar, were arrested in this connection. A huge cache of counterfeit currency to the tune of Rs 9.67 lakh in Rs 500 denomination notes was seized from the courier packet which came from Ludhiana. Most high-ranking custom officials were tight-lipped about the seizure, disclosing only that “investigations are under way”. However, Mr Chaman Lal, DSP, Civil Lines area, Amritsar, while confirming the news disclosed the alleged racket was just the tip of the iceberg as part of a greater plan of the ISI to pump in fake currency with an eye to crippling the economy of the country. The two persons arrested are Sunil Sharma and Vikas Chhabra of Amritsar. It is learnt the packet was addressed to P.K. Sharma, a non-existent person, in Amritsar. The courier service named in the case is “Big Guy Courier”. The two have been booked under Section 489-C of the IPC. Mr Chaman Lal does not rule out the possibility of a greater gameplan being unearthed. This is for the first time that counterfeit currency was detected from a courier packet, he said. Meanwhile, fake currency has been seized from the Samjhauta Express running between India and Pakistan from Attari. Two persons were arrested in this connection. They include a Pakistani national and an Indian woman. Two other women and a man were arrested for using fake passports to sneak into Pakistan. According to reports, a Pakistani national, Prem Sareen, son of Bishan Das, a resident of Karachi, was apprehended by customs authorities while disembarking from the Samjhauta Express on Monday. He was carrying Rs 10,000 in fake currency in denomination of Rs 500. An Indian woman, Sahida Begum, a resident of Sadar Bazar, Delhi, was also arrested following the detection of fake currency of Rs 2200 in denomination of Rs 100. Besides, Satya Begum, a resident of Moradabad, Noorjahan, a resident of Delhi, and Mohd Ayub, a resident of Muzaffarnagar, were arrested for carrying fake passports to illegally enter Pakistan.
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Two youths attack
school teacher FATEHGARH SAHIB, Dec 20 — Two unidentified youths yesterday attacked a teacher injuring him seriously and fled on a motor cycle.
According to information, the two youths came to S.N.A.S. Senior Secondary School, Mandi Gobindgarh, and asked for the DPE, Mr Raj Kumar. The teacher met them but as he moved towards the main gate to see them off, they attacked him with a knife. The DPE ran for shelter. They chased him and injured him.
The teacher was taken to Civil Hospital, Mandi Gobindgarh. The police has registered a case. Murder case: 7
get life term ROPAR, Dec 20 (PTI) — Additional District and Sessions Judge Ropar Mahendar Pal today convicted seven accused to life imprisonment in a murder case.
The name of the accused are Gurmail Singh, Sardara Singh, Dharminder Singh, Raghbir Singh, Lakhbir Singh, Amar Singh and Major Singh.
All accused are residents of Malikpur Taprian village under Kharar, police station.
They murdered Harmesh Kumar of the same village with a sharp weapon.
Woman
found murdered LUDHIANA, Dec 20 — Parminder Kaur, a middle-aged woman, was found murdered at her house in Partapsingh wala village here this morning. Her body was spotted by a village
chowkidar. According to the police, she was living alone for the past nine years. She was stabbed several times in the neck. The police has registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC.
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PUTA splits on dharna issue PATIALA, Dec 20 — The Punjabi University Teachers Association ( PUTA ) today split into Pro-Vice-Chancellor and anti-Vice-Chancellor lobbies with the latter group comprising the Teachers United Front ( TUF ) and which effectively controls PUTA holding a dharna in front of the Vice-Chancellor’s office to protest against his “authoritative and insincere” attitude towards the genuine demands of the teachers. While the TUF, which has a majority in the PUTA executive, called for an end to the “humiliating, arbitrary and irresponsible” functioning of the Vice-Chancellor at the dharna, its rival group — the United Teachers Front (UTF), called the dharna “illegal, untimely and uncalled for” and charged the PUTA leadership with trying to the deliberately vitiate the academic atmosphere which had been restored by the Vice-Chancellor, Dr Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia . The UTF consists of the Liberal Teachers Centre (LTC), the Sikh Intelligentia Forum (SIF), the Progressive Teachers Front (PTF) and the Nationalist Teachers Council (NTC). The university authorities, however, claimed the dharna had evinced a poor response and hardened its stance on the issue of the career advancement scheme by saying the top management would decide tommorrow whether the facility of offering a second chance to those rejected under the scheme should be continued or not. The authorities claimed in case the facility of giving a second chance was withdrawn by it, the PUTA executive would be responsible for it. Speakers at the dharna, including Punjabi University Teachers Association (PUTA) President Bhupinder Singh Khaira, Secretary Balwinder Singh, besides Prof R.S. Ghuman, Prof K.S. Sidhu, Dr N.S. Atri, Dr Joga Singh and Dr U.C. Singh also called for an end to the “humiliating and arbitrary” functioning of the Vice Chancellor. The speakers said if the present trend of promotions under the scheme notified by the UGC continued, it would take the university three and half years to conduct the exercise while the promotions under the same scheme were nearly complete in other universities. Talking of the student appraisal scheme proposed to be launched by the university under which students would evaluate their teachers, the speakers said the scheme had been got passed by the Syndicate after taking a proposal in this regard written by some students. They said the scheme had not been deliberated upon in any academic or administrative forum of the university nor had any elected body of students or teachers made any demand in this regard. The representatives of the teachers appealed to the Punjab Government to pay immediate attention towards the near collapse of the university administration due to the “unacademic, inefficient and undemocratic” style of the Vice-Chancellor before it was too late. They also appealed to the Vice-Chancellor to adopt the healthy path of negotiations and act upon the genuine demands of the teachers to create the right academic atmosphere in the university. The UTF in a release issued by its co-convener, Dr Hari Singh Boparai, said the staging of the dharna had exhibited the negative attitude of the present leadership and amounted to stalling the ongoing promotions of the teachers under the career advancement scheme, specially at a time when the interview dates for providing a second chance for promotion had been fixed by the authorities. Display of a banner on the university campus stating that teachers who would participate in the dharna would not be considered for promotions caused a flutter. The PUTA executive alleged the authorities were responsible for displaying the banner. The agitating teachers also did not let a videographer shoot a film of the dharna sitters. |
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