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| Tuesday, January 2, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Badal outlines agenda for year Deputationists may not be reverted 2000 — a year of complete face-lift for Patiala Suraksha Dal flays Dosanjh’s remarks Farmers welcome rain Activists demand flyover, block traffic |
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BSP ‘wooing’ Sikhs
Badal ‘misleading’ people on WTO ‘Give’ sops to farmers for diversification RSS remarks on Sikh history flayed Punjab to end octroi contract system Undertrial dies in jail Goods train derailed 100 cops get pagers Prohibition orders extended Governor calls for communal harmony Four die as car falls into canal
Admn to check stray animal menace
Robbers take away Dharmani’s car
Minister invites college principals NCC camp concludes
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| Badal outlines agenda for year CHANDIGARH, Jan 1—The Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, today sought the people’s cooperation in the development of the state. Addressing a press conference on New Year’s Day, he outlined the SAD-BJP government’s agenda for 2001. The theme for the year was “accelerated development”. The endeavour would be to involve the people and empower the grassroots democratic institutions, namely municipalities and panchayats, by entrusting them with greater responsibilities. “This will inculcate a sense of belonging in the people”, he added. The Chief Minister gave a resume of the projects the government initiated in the state after it came to power in February, 1997. At that time Punjab was in deep debt, infrastructure was in a shambles and an atmosphere of confrontation and distrust was all pervasive. With great effort, he said, peace was consolidated, the rule of law enforced, the Human Rights Commission set up and communal amity reconstructed. “Above all, the dignity, respect and honour of all Punjabis was restored in the country that looked at Punjabis and Sikhs as separatists. Owing to the persistent efforts of the SAD, Centre-State relations were recast, regional political parties got an opportunity to be a part of the government in New Delhi and a commission to review the Constitution was established”, he added. Mr Badal extended his greetings to the people of the state and also called upon the media to use its pen for rebuilding the nation and writing in the interest of the people and that of the state. Referring to various achievements, he said he did not believe in exaggeration. The fact was that the mega projects that had been initiated would act as a catalyst to boost Punjab’s economy that had agriculture at centre-stage. Mr Badal, in his characteristic style, castigated the Congress for “destroying” Punjab, neglecting social security and denying equitable economic benefits and the basic requirements relating to elementary education, drinking water, sewerage, roads, healthcare, rural development and power generation. Punjab would pay special attention to kandi, bet and border areas for which specific programmes would be drawn up. Even the Centre had agreed to make a provision in the Union Budget for regularly paying compensation to farmers whose agricultural land was beyond the fence on the India-Pakistan border. For kandi areas a Rs 224-crore scheme had been approved. Punjab had always raised its voice for the people, particularly farmers, who were the backbone of the nation. It was due to the Akalis’ efforts that the Centre was now paying attention to the WTO implications and impact on national agriculture or talking of foodgrain pricing, storage and distribution. The press should highlight these aspects, he added. Earlier, Mr Badal had ladoos distributed among the presspersons to usher in the New Year. Referring to the widespread rain in the region and the snowfall in Himachal Pradesh, he said: “The New Year is a good omen for agriculture”. To the oft-repeated question on holding Assembly elections earlier than the scheduled time, he said: “You bring an affidavit and I will sign it reiterating that the elections will be held on schedule”. |
| Deputationists may not be reverted CHANDIGARH, Jan 1 — The December 31 deadline notwithstanding, the Punjab Government has reportedly decided to hold in abeyance its earlier decision of reverting deputationist civil servants to their parent states. While some of the police officers have been sent back in phases in the recent past, the state government appears to have taken a softer stand on the rest, keeping in view their contribution and role in fighting militancy in the state. In fact, there are two categories of deputationist civil servants with the state government. One, those who were here even before the present Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party government was sworn in February, 1997; and, two, those who came on deputation after that. Once the state Council of Ministers took a policy decision not to extend or seek extension for these deputationists, for the simple reason that they were over and above the sanctioned cadre positions. Subsequently, some of the police officers were reverted to their parent states while others, mostly on security duty, have been given extension. Of late, none of the IAS officers on deputation with the state have been sent back. The sources maintain that most of the IAS officers on deputation with the Punjab Government have still some period of their initial deputation left. The year 2001 will witness several retirements. Eleven IAS officers, including the Chief Secretary, Mr R.S. Mann, will retire on attaining superannuation. By the end of 2003, at least 25 of the senior IAS officers would have retired . As such, there will not be much of a problem in maintaining the cadre strength in the state. Initially, some of the impending administrative reshuffles were linked to these deputationists. But now when a decision in certain cases has been taken not to revert them, even after the Central Government’s insistence, the reshuffle, as and when ordered, will ensure their continuance here for the time being. In the latest case, the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, is expected to write to the Union Home Ministry, Department of Personnel, to extend the deputation of Mr S.S. Virk of the Maharashtra cadre by another year. The Home Ministry had recently written to the Punjab Government to relieve Mr Virk. While batchmates of Mr Virk have already been promoted Additional Directors-General of Police, the case of his promotion is also pending with the state government. Now when the state government has decided to retain Mr Virk, an administrative reshuffle in the top brass of the state police is in the offing. |
| 2000 — a year of complete face-lift for Patiala PATIALA A number of beautification projects carried out during the course of this year have entirely changed the complexion of the city. Upon entry into the city itself one its greeted by Victorian-style lights lining the Mall Road along the Rajindra Tank. The tank, which is spread over a large area and which was earlier the favourite place for pigs, has been re-filled and now boating and recreational facilities established here have made it a leisure spot. There has been a remarkable improvement in the Baradari gardens during this period. New paths have been created to facilitate walking. A small portion of the garden, known as Chhota Simla, has been lighted. Piped music has also been installed in the gardens. This has facilitated the people to a great extent as they can now listen to devotional music along with their daily walk and exercise routine. Besides new flower beds have been established in the garden. Further ahead, the road leading to the Railway Crossing Number 22 has been beautified with lights, gardens and landscaping being done along its side. A walk path has also been established. Other major development works undertaken during this year include re-establishing the missing links in the canal which used to take water to the lake in Sheesh Mahal. The canal had been blocked at places and needed to be dug up. With this process having been completed water can now be directed to Sheesh Mahal through this channel. Roads in the city have also come in for largess with the Mall road from the bus stand to the Fountain Chowk having been given a fresh coat of tar. The road from Gurdwara Dukhniwaran to Children Memorial Chowk has also been widened and re-laid, removing traffic congestion on this stretch . Residents while talking of the mass beautification exercise feel some major problems being faced by the residents need to be tackled. These includes construction of an overbridge over the railway crossing number 22 and a byepass starting from the outskirts of the city connecting with the Sangrur road. While Deputy Commissioner Jasbir Singh Bir disclosed that both projects were likely to be taken up provided funds were available in the coming year, there are other city issues which are more tricky to solve and there were no answers to them this year. These include the issue of shifting of dairies from various parts of the city and the shifting of the Kabari Bazar from the Bahera road. Residents said the city would become a better place if these two problems were solved. However, lack of political will is coming in the way of solving both issues due to which repeated deadlines to execute both works have gone by. There is a glimmer of hope for the heritage of the city, which includes Quila Mubarak and Sheesh Mahal besides other places of interest. The Punjab Government has given indications that it has received funds for conducting conservation exercises in the Quila Mubarak and that wall paintings in the various painted chambers would be taken up for conservation. Besides, the city is also likely to benefit from a Rs 80- lakh central government scheme which envisages creating tourism- related facilities in both Quila Mubarak and Sheesh Mahal. |
| Suraksha Dal flays Dosanjh’s remarks AMRITSAR, Jan 1 — Expressing apprehensions over the reported statements made by Mr Ujjal Dosanjh, visiting premier of British Columbia about resettling migrants in Punjab, the Rashtriya Suraksha Dal said the ground realities in the two countries, Canada and India, could not be equated. Developed countries like Canada and the USA who allowed migration to professionals and a few other categories having a geographical area more than their population could afford limited migration but a country like India with an exploding population and resultant crime rate could ill-afford to accept migration said Col J.S. Bal (retd), president of the Punjab unit of the Dal. He suggested financial resources should be used to rehabilitate farmers and solve problems of the Punjabis instead of spending these on the resettlement of migrants when farmers in villages were committing suicides. Safeguards in the form of disallowing outsiders belonging to other states from buying land in states like Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan also as in Sikkim and some NE states had succeeded in saving their culture and identity whereas the overwhelming number of migrants to Punjab would soon reduce Punjabis to a minority in their own state, he feared. The Dal expressed its concern over the alleged remarks of the Canadian premier as something which had overlooked the ethos and culture as well as the geographical limitations of a country like India. |
| Farmers welcome rain CHANDIGARH, Jan 1 — It is a cheerful and auspicious beginning of the New Year for farmers, who have been upset because of a prolonged dry spell. Moderate to heavy rain in this region today has been welcomed not only by farmers but also by traders and industry as it will prove good for the rabi crop, which, by and large, determines the rise or fall in the economic activity in this region. Farmers as well as agricultural scientists were worried because of the dry spell over the past four months. Farmers were depending on canal water in the entire region. Even the Bhakra-Beas Management Board (BBMB), which releases water for canal irrigation in the partner states — Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan — had recently sounded the alarm, asking the beneficiary states to economise the use of canal water as level of water in the Gobindsagar had touched the lowest point in the past seven years. Another factor which was disturbing the farm scientists was the high night temperature in the past months as compared to previous years. In October and November, the minimum night temperature remained almost 1° C above last year’s figure. Till the third week of December, the average minimum night temperature was 0.5° C more than that in the corresponding period last year. It was not a good sign for the rabi crops, especially wheat, which flourishes in cold conditions. With the rain today, there will certainly be a fall in the night temperature, farm experts say. It will help in the tillering (flourishing) of wheat plants, they add. Reports received here from various parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh indicated a good snowfall in the upper reaches, which is again good news for the farming community as well as the state electricity boards in this region. In fact, the news about the heavy snowfall in the upper reaches was conveyed to the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, this morning by his counterpart Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal of Himachal Pradesh, when the former called him up to wish him a Happy New Year. Mr Badal said the rainfall in the past 24 hours or so had added to the happiness of all on New Year’s Day today. He said he was worried because of the dry spell. He said the rain had revived hopes of a bumper rabi crop. When contacted for comments, Dr S.S. Bains, who assumed charge as Director of Agriculture, Punjab, today, said the soil had almost become dry. Though rabi crops had not been affected so far due to the dry spell, farmers were a bit disappointed because they had to depend on canal and tubewell irrigation. Mr Bains said about 50,000 hectares of land was left unsown in the kandi belt in the absence of rain in the past weeks. But with good rainfall in the entire state, some of the unsown area could be brought under the wheat crop. He said the late-maturing varieties of wheat could be sown up to January 13. Already, 33.10 lakh hectares had been brought under wheat this year. Mr Bains said about 32,000 hectares of land was under barley, 66,000 hectares under oilseeds, 8,000 hectares under pulses and 85,00 hectares under gram. With rain washing leaves, photosynthesis would be enhanced, leading to the better health of crops. He said he had talked to the district agriculture officers in the state and they had reported moderate to heavy rain in their respective areas. |
| Activists demand flyover, block traffic BATHINDA, Jan 1 — Activists of the Khooni Phatak Hatao Sangharsh Committee (KPHSC) today blocked the railway traffic for about three hours this morning as they staged a dharna to press for their demand for construction of a flyover at the crossing in the Paras Ram Nagar area of the city. Mr Vijay Kumar Sharma, Municipal Councillor of the area, who had threatened to immolate himself today, if the foundation stone of the flyover was not laid, was prevented by the district administration from doing so. Mr Sharma, president of the committee and Mr M.M. Behl, general secretary, addressing the activists of the committee criticised the administration, the Centre and state governments for their indifferent attitude. Many trains including the Dainik Express (4722), the Jammu-Tawi Express (4806), the Fazilka DMU and a passenger train were delayed. The administration had made all arrangements to meet any emergency, including the fire tenders, police force and ambulance. Mr Behl alleged that the president of the KPHSC was arrested a day before the incident and was ‘prevented’ from commiting self immolation. Mr Vijay Sharma was, however, not available for comments. The situation became tense when the activists tried to stop the Dainik Express from leaving the station. The police foiled the attempt threatening canecharge. The traffic was restored after three hours and the railway authorities confirmed the railway track was not damaged. Mr Chiranji Lal Garg, Minister for Science and Technology area MLA assured the activists that the work on the overbridge would start soon. A representation of the KPHSC also met the Deputy Commissioner and gave the ‘demand letter’ to him. Mr Jaspal Singh, Deputy Commissioner, when contacted said a flyover had been planned and the project was estimated to be completed at a cost of Rs 16 crore. The tenders in this regard would be floated soon, he added. |
| BSP ‘wooing’ Sikhs JALANDHAR, Jan 1 — In its effort to prepare itself for the forthcoming Assembly poll in Punjab, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has started eyeing the backward classes and religious minorities. In the first phase of its programme to appease different sections of the society, particularly backward classes like Ramgarhias, Chimbas, Nais, Ghumars and Rajputs, the BSP leadership has bestowed five top berths on the leaders having influence on these communities. The leaders of these communities, including Mr Harbhajan Singh Sareenh (Parjpat Ghumar), Mr M.P. Singh Goraya (Ramgarhia), Mr Jagdeep Singh Goai (Chimba), Mr Harbhajan Lakha (Adharmi), Mr Sukhbir Singh Shalimar and Mr D.P Khosla, have been included in the recently overhauled state unit of the BSP as vice-presidents. The move, it is learnt, was initiated after the calculations made by some top leaders, including the party chief, Mr Kanshi Ram, that the BSP could emerge as a big force on the political scene of the state and challenge both the Congress and the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal if it was able to impress these sections of the society, forming about 80 per cent of the electorate when clubbed together with the Scheduled Castes and the religious minorities like Christians and Sikhs. The BSP leadership is so enthusiastic about the success of its new strategy that almost all newly appointed vice-presidents claimed that the BSP would emerge as a winner in the next election and form the next government. They maintained that in case the BSP was able to wrest power it would offer a quintal of wheat per year to each member of poor families in the state. Mr Harbhajan Singh Sarinh, said after completing the process of revitalising of the new state unit set-up, Mr Kanshi Ram would personally look after the affairs of the state unit and will try to bring these sections, particularly Sikhs, under the BSP umbrella, so as to contest the next election with their help. The party has planned to hold a cadre camp at the local Parajpat Bhavan on January 11 to acquaint people belonging to these classes with their religious and social backgrounds. That the party, which has been known to have been banking upon Dalits and backward classes, is changing its old rigid stance and trying to woo Sikhs is clear from the statement of the leaders; Mr Sukhbir Singh Shalimar and Mr Darshan Singh Jethumajra, who said, “We will try to give practical shape to the saying of Guru Gobind Singh, “In gharib Sikhan ko doon paathshahi.” They also maintained that the entire team of new office-bearers, led by the state president, Mr Mohan Singh Phalianwala, would visit the Golden Temple to pay their obeisance. |
| Badal ‘misleading’ people on WTO MALERKOTLA, Jan 1 — Capt Amarinder Singh, president, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), said here yesterday that the Badal government was misleading people of Punjab with regard to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). He was talking to mediapersons at the residence of the Congress delegate from Malerkotla, Mrs Rajia Sultana. He said WTO was the need of the hour for Punjab. Crop diversification had become a necessity and the sooner the farmers adopted it, the better, he said. He alleged that the Chief Minister was criticising the agreement only because it had Congress’ approval. In order to protect national interests, the agreement had the provisions of anti-dumping and protective duties that could go up to 150 per cent, he said. Capt Amarinder Singh was here to attend the Id function organised by Mrs Sajida Begum, general secretary, PPCC, at the Sheesh Mahal. He extended Id greetings to the Muslim community and congratulated Mrs Sajida Begum on being elected AICC member. He said the PPCC would welcome any move of the ruling SAD-BJP government to go for mid-term elections in the state. Mrs Sajida Begum claimed that the “sangat darshans” being presided over by the Chief Minister were “ election darshans” and were being conducted with an eye to mid-term Assembly elections. Mr Som Dutt Sharma, a former MLA, Mr Harinder Singh Seera, president, district Youth Congress, Mr Harminder Singh Jassi, a former MLA, Mr Gurcharan Singh Dadhaoor, a former MP, and Mr Prem Goyal, president, block Congress, were among those who attended the function. |
| ‘Give’ sops to farmers for diversification FEROZEPORE, Jan 1 — Appeals to farmers in Punjab for diversification by the government sounds hollow without any incentives. This observation was made by a former member of the Agriculture Price Commission, Mr Gurnaib Singh Brar, while talking to TNS here today. Ridiculing the state government’s appeal to the farmers to shift to floriculture and vegetable farming as an alternative to paddy and wheat farming, Mr Brar said in the absence of special incentives, like the minimum support price for unconventional farm products, no cultivator would venture into new areas. He observed that when crops like potatoes were not being included in the list of items entitled for support price by the authorities, it was unlikely on part of the government to assure bright prospects in diversification. He said the cultivation of pulses, maize, soyabean and sunflower virtually saw the farmers “burning” their fingers in the absence of any package. Mr Brar said farmers should be compensated to shift from conventional farming as this involves huge amount of risk for marginal farmers. Only those having bigger land holdings can cultivate alternative crops in the surplus area, he said. Mr Brar said the farmers should be encouraged to voluntarily leave 10 per cent of their land for diversification experiment for which they should be compensated monetarily. The government should also evolve some mechanism to provide a market to those growing new crops, he said. He, however, felt that it was time for the farmers to go for diversification as the challenges of globalisation had reduced the market for paddy and wheat. As deficit states like Andhra Pradesh and Bihar had also started growing paddy, the demand for Punjab paddy had declined, he said. |
| RSS remarks on Sikh history flayed AMRITSAR, Jan 1 — Taking a stern note of the statements reportedly made by the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat (RSS), the Akal Takht Jathedar, Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti, warned the RSS to desist from distorting Sikh history of suit their own ends. He cautioned the RSS against, its continued move in this direction and warned that the RSS should not put the patience of the Sikhs to further test. He said the Panth would not tolerate further distortions of its history and ethos. Any such efforts would force them to convene a general meeting of the Sikh sangat and take strict action against those indulging in the misleading propaganda, he warned. The statement issued on Sri Akal Takht letter head was deliberated upon by three of the five head priests taking note of a number of objections issued by the Sikh Panthic organisations against the RSS propaganda. Denouncing the efforts of some ‘vested’ interests trying to instigate the Sikhs by creating dissensions using ways and means to distort Sikh history, Giani Vedanti said, Sikhism is open to all mankind without discrimination but anyone indulging in veiled conspiracies to create discord would not be tolerated. |
| Punjab to end octroi contract system SUNAM, Jan 1 — The Punjab Government has decided to abolish octroi contract system soon. This was stated by Mr Chiranji Lal Garg, state Science and Technology Minister, while presiding over a cultural programme organised in connection with the New Year celebrations by the Yamaha Sales Corporation here last night. He said with the abolition of the octroi contract system in the state, the long-pending demand of traders would be fulfilled. He also appreciated the cultural programme presented by artistes from Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh and announced Rs 30,000 for the participants. He also presented momentoes to them. Meanwhile, some traders have criticised the statement of the minister regarding the abolition of the octroi contract system, alleging that this step was just an eyewash to please the traders in view of the Assembly elections. Mr Garg, however, has ruled out the possibility of a mid-term election. |
| Undertrial dies in jail BATHINDA, Jan 1 — Jagdish Singh, an accused in a case of attempt to murder, died under mysterious circumstances in the local central jail late last nigh. Official sources said Jagdish Singh (28) cried loudly and within minutes after that he was found dead. His father and brother, who were co-accused in the same case and in the jail with him were present when Jagdish Singh died, they added. Mr Jaspal Singh, Deputy Commissioner, deputed Mr Kamal Kumar, general assistant, for an inquest into the death of Jagdish Singh. Mr Kamal Kumar said there was no visible mark on the body of Jagdish Singh and a post-mortem was recommended to know the cause of death. Official sources said the post-mortem had been conducted and viscera sent to Patiala for chemical examination. |
| Goods train derailed DHURI, Jan 1 — One wagon of a goods train carrying coal was derailed here at midnight. According to railway officials, one coach of a goods train coming from Ambala and bound for Lehra Mohabat Thermal Plant derailed at 12.15 a.m. near the Dhuri Railway Station. Due to the derailment, traffic on the Dhuri-Ambala and Dhuri-Jakhal rail sections remained suspended for more than eight hours. The traffic resumed at 8.25 a.m. The route of Bathinda-New Delhi (inter-city) Express was diverted via Sunam-Jakhal instead of Patiala-Ambala. Similarly the routes of Kalka-Jodhpur and Jodhpur-Kalka Expresses had also to be diverted and both the trains reached Dhuri via Sirhind-Ludhiana instead of Patiala-Nabha. The following five passenger trains had also to be cancelled: Dhuri to Hisar, Ludhiana to Hisar, Jakhal to Ludhiana, Bathinda to Ambala and Ambala to Sri Ganga Nagar. |
| Prohibition orders extended PHAGWARA, Jan 1 — The Subdivisional Magistrate, Phagwara, Pritam Singh, has extended the prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC already enforced on the premises of the Swami Ganga Nand Parbat Math and Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi, Hadiabad, a suntown of Phagwara. An official press note today said that holding of any public meeting/assembly of five or more persons on the premises had been banned, erection of pillars between the boundary of talab (a dry tank) and road leading to the gurdwara and digging of any trench adjoining the building had been prohibited. Construction activities near the disputed area had been ordered to be stopped, added press note. The math-gurdwara row had resulted in repeated communal tensions, flare-ups, stand-off and violent clashes during last year, forcing authorities to clamp prohibitory orders. |
| Governor calls for communal harmony CHANDIGARH, Jan 1 — The Punjab Governor, Lt. Gen. JFR Jacob, (Retd.), today called upon the people to spread the message of universal brotherhood and communal harmony as propagated by Guru Gobind Singh, to every nook and corner of the country. Felicitating the people on the eve of birth anniversary of the tenth guru, the Governor said Guru Gobind Singh was a fearless warrior, a great poet, a champion for the rights of down-trodden who fought oppression, injustice and tyranny. “We should follow the example of the guru and work for the upliftment of oppressed and under-privileged”, he added. The Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, has also sent a similar message of Gurpurb greetings to all Punjabis. Four die as car falls into canal SANGRUR, Jan 1 — Four persons were killed when the car in which they were travelling fell into a canal last night at Sular Gharat village near Dirba, 16 km from here. They were going to Patran from Dhandoli Kalan village near Sular Gharat when the accident occurred. The Sular Gharat police said the bodies of three persons, namely Charanjit Singh, Mukhwant Singh, both from Shatrana, and Harmohan Singh of Patran had been recovered while the body of Parshotam Dass from Patran had still not been fished out. The post-mortem examination of the three was conducted at Sunam Civil Hospital today. The police has initiated proceedings under Section 174 of the IPC. |
| 100 cops get pagers PATIALA While addressing the media after inaugurating the scheme, the district police chief, Mr H.S. Sidhu, said that Patiala district was the first in the state to have initiated the scheme which was basically meant for the welfare of the citizens. He informed that Punwire had provided the hardware free of cost and would take just Rs 250 per month for each pager as rental services. The rental funds would be paid by the Police Department out of its welfare fund. The investigating officers to whom the pagers were given today were from Kotwali, Sadar and Civil Lines police stations. Some pagers were also being given to the traffic police and officials in charge of some other important branches of the police. Army recruitment rally AMRITSAR, Jan 1 — An Army recruitment rally for dharm guru (Pandits) and ‘Granthis’ will be held from April 2 to April 6 Jalandhar recruitment office. Desirous candidates may apply till February 26. According to rules the candidates should be born after December 9, 1966 and before October 26, 1974. The educational qualification for the candidates in the Pandit category is ‘shastri’, ‘madhyama’ bhushan or sanskrit from a recognised university. Similarly for Granthis it is important that they should have knowledge of Punjabi. |
| Delay in payments irks traders MOGA, Jan 1 — Foodgrain traders of the town today protested against the failure of Markfed to make payments, running into crores, of the paddy procured by it during September and October despite repeated requests. They said the farmers from whom they had purchased the paddy were annoyed as the traders could not pay them money unless they received the payments from Markfed. |
| Plan to open LPG agencies in villages HOSHIARPUR, Jan 1 — To establish focal points in rural areas, the Punjab Government has decided to open LPG agencies there. The Central Government has been approached in this regard. This was stated by Mr Sohan Singh Thandal, Minister of State for Food and Supplies, at a prize distribution function of the Kundan Singh memorial football tournament at Badon village, 24 km from here, last evening. Mr Thandal announced a grant of Rs 75,000 for drains and the pavement of streets and Rs 25,000 for a veterinary dispensary in the village. |
| South Korean envoy visits Tarn Taran TARN TARAN, Jan 1 — Mr Lee Chang Shu, Ambassader, South Korea, along with his wife yesterday paid his obeisance at Sri Darbar Sahib here. He was presented with a siropa and a memento of Sri Darbar Sahib by Mr Balwinder Singh, additional manager, Mr Shu took keen interest in the Sikh history and the religion. Before coming here Mr Shu also visited the bird sanctuary at Harike. Later he left for Amritsar. Remand extended PATIALA, Jan 1 — The police remand of three Golden Forest directors was extended till January 3. The police remand of Lehbar Singh, Neena Sayal and H.K. Sinha was extended by two more days by the Duty Magistrate, Ms Preeti Sahni, at the District Courts here today. |
Admn to check stray animal menace BATHINDA, Jan 1 — Mr Jaspal Singh, Deputy Commissioner, said today that steps would be taken to solve the problem of stray animals, a major cause of accidents in the district. At a press conference organised here, Mr Jaspal Singh, said most of the people engaged in piggery and dairy farming were poor and it was necessary to provide them with alternative occupations to enable them to keep earning their livelihood. He said estimates of the Ring Road in the city had been prepared and the process of acquisition of land had also started. After the construction of the refinery at Phulo Khari, the volume of traffic would increase in the city and to regulate it, the Ring Road would play an important role, he said. Mr Jaspal Singh said the municipal committee had been issued instructions for the disposal of solid waste of the city and he would work as a coordinator in this regard. To solve the problem of salty potable water, various schemes initiated by the Public Health Department had been implemented, he said The Deputy Commissioner said more than Rs 9 crore would be spent on hospitals. He added that the district administration would organise tuberculosis camps. |
| Robbers take away Dharmani’s car PATIALA A case under Sections 382/34 and 25-54-59 has been registered at the Civil Lines police station and investigations are on. At about 9 pm yesterday, when he was returning to his Power Colony residence in his white Maruti Zen car, four armed youths waylaid him near the Number 23 railway crossing. Only two of them had got down from their Maruti car that had been parked near Dharmani’s car. The other two youths remained inside the car. One of the youths who had got down from the car, put a revolver at Dharmani’s temple, dragged him out of his car and asked him to give them the keys of the vehicle. They also took away his wallet that contained about Rs 1,200. They dumped Pankaj on the road and drove away his car. Pankaj walked all the way to his house and asked his servant, Munni Ram, who is also a rickshawpuller, to take him to the nearest police station. Pankaj Dharmani played for India against Cronje’s South Africans on their soil in 1997 under Sachin Tendulkar. He has been Punjab’s highest run-getter in this season’s Ranji Trophy matches, scoring 450 runs at an average of 75. |
| Minister invites college principals PHAGWARA, Jan 1 — A deputation of Federation of Principals Associations of non-government colleges of Punjab and Chandigarh has been invited by Punjab Minister for Higher Education, Mr Mohan Lal, at Chandigarh on January 4 for talks. This was disclosed here yesterday by the minister. The issue of creating work culture in higher education would be the major thrust in the New Year, said Mr Mohan Lal. He admitted that the standard of education in government institutions was not up to the mark and added that steps would be taken for restoring their credibility. He said understaffing in government colleges had been removed with recruitment of 600 part-time lecturers. As many as 7,200 school teachers would also be appointed immediately after the issue pending in Punjab and Haryana High Court was settled, he added. |
| NCC camp concludes ROPAR, Jan 1 — Cadets from Punjab won the competition of cultural events in the national-level NCC camp that concluded at Government Shivalik College, Nangal, yesterday. Cadets from Delhi came second. In the drill competition, cadets from Orissa won the first position while Karnataka cadets came runners up. In the line and layout competition, Maharashtra cadets won the first position while Punjab cadets came second. In the best turnout and discipline competition, Jharkhand cadets came first and Tamil Nadu cadets second. The All-India National Integration Camp for the Senior Wing (boys) II, 2000, in which 600 cadets from across the country participated, started here on December 27. The Camp Commandant, Mr J.P.S. Mann, told mediapersons that during the camp the cadets were made aware of the industrial and agricultural development in Punjab. They were also taken to places of religious importance in the state. They took out rallies to make the local people aware of the ills of the dowry system and the spread of the AIDS. Mr Kartar Singh, Padamshree, Commandant, 27th Battalion, Jalandhar, gave away the prizes. |
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