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| Sunday,
April 1, 2001, Chandigarh, India |
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Punjab exports wheat for first time Channo (Sangrur), March 31 A delegation from Israel met the Punjab Chief Minister today in Chandigarh. Mr Badal was addressing a function after inaugurating Pepsi Co’s Rs 22 crore Phase II soft drink concentrate plant in the Pepsi Foods Limited complex here. The Chief Minister said the Union Government had given its approval to Markfed to export wheat from Punjab. The Chief Minister said the need of the hour was to improve the quality of crops and process the same to send these abroad. Mr Badal also emphasised on the diversification of crops and the need for setting up factories like Pepsi in the state. He also said the punjab Government had formed a board for the potato crop. He said the farmers, the Centre and the state governments should sit together to discuss the future of the agriculture sector. Mr Badal also said a food park was being set up at Sirhind at a cost of Rs 40 crore while the state government had also written to the Union Government to approve two more food parks for Malerkotla and Amritsar. Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Finance Minister, Punjab, said the Punjab Government had earmarked Rs 50 crore in its budget for 2001-2002 for raising the Export Investment Fund. He also asked the Pepsi Co authorities to export more products. The Finance Minister also said the state government had approved facilities for the A-Class processing industry. He said in case more facilities were required, the Punjab Government would not hesitate in providing the same. Mr P.M. Sinha, President, Pepsi Foods Limited, in his welcome address, said Pepsi was totally committed to the farmers of Punjab. He said setting up of processing food plants and concentrate plants in Punjab was an endeavour of Pepsi to help the Punjab farmers. Mr Kewal Singh Dhillon, a partner of the Pepsi Co in Punjab, proposing a vote of thanks, said Pepsi had played a vital role in the agriculture field in the state. He said the production of vegetables like tomato had increased manifold with the arrival of Pepsi in the processing field in Punjab. |
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Shrug off lethargy,
farmers urged Patiala, March 31 Speaking on the occasion of a kisan mela organised by the Young Farmers Association at Rakhra village, near here, Mr Gurdev Badal said the farmers of the state would be able to counter the pact only if they started doing labour in their fields themselves. He said it was unfortunate that farmers had stopped working in the fields and were unduly dependent on migrant labour. The minister claimed that the WTO pact would harm Punjab farmers the most and alleged that the then Congress-led Narasimha Rao government was responsible for this. Mr Gurdev Badal said the increase in the procurement price of wheat by Rs 30 was also due to the efforts of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who had proposed a Rs 35 increase to the Centre. He said even the kisan unions had been demanding only a nominal increase as they feared the Centre might scale down the procurement price. Speaking on the occasion, the Director of the Agriculture Department, Mr Mewa Singh Sonar, said that during the past few decades the stress had been on agriculture production but now the government would have to focus on consumer -oriented modern marketing. He said a state-level marketing infrastructure centre could also be opened. Mr Sonar was also awarded the Amrik Singh Cheema Yadgari award on the occasion. Young Farmers Association president Jagdeep Singh Cheema while speaking on the occasion said farmers going in for diversification should be given a diversification risk allowance. He said in the absence of proper marketing system, infrastructure diversification was meaningless. The Minister of State for Public Works, Mr Ajaib Singh Mukhmailpur while speaking on the occasion said the Nabha - Patiala road would be named after the late Amrik Singh Cheema, a visionary in the field of agriculture research and development. Young Farmers Association director Bhagwan Das and Deputy Commissioner Jasbir Singh Bir also spoke on the occasion. |
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99 wheat purchase centres set
up Mansa, March 31 Disclosing this here today, Ms Raji P.
Shrivastava, Deputy Commissioner, said 35 percent of the total weight produce would be procured by the Food Corporation of India and remaining by the Food and Civil Supply Department, Punsup, Markfed and Warehousing Corporation. Tenders regarding the lifting of the products had also been finalised. The Deputy Commissioner said the payment for the purchases would be made within 48 hours after the receipt of the bills. All SDMs have been deputed as nodal officers to supervise the work of all three subdivisions of the district. They will inspect the purchase centre to ensure cleaning of wheat
twice. Arhtiyas will mark their firm names on all the bags while the district mandi officer will make sure to auction the wheat every day and look after the lifting process at all centres and mandis in the district. |
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Waive loans of farmers:
CPI Bathinda, March 31 The rally was addressed by party MP Bhan Singh Bhaura, state secretary Joginder Dyal and MLA Hardev Arshi, among others. A resolution was also passed, demanding pension for farm labourers after they attained the age of 58 on the pattern of the Kerala Government. It also said pregnant women working as labourers should be given monetary help, equivalent to what they could earn in six months, by the government. Another resolution demanded that the procedure of getting social security schemes should be simplified. The CPI leaders said the fee of students should be reduced so that the poor could provide education to their children. Yet another resolution demanded a minimum salary of Rs 3,500 per month for industrial labourers. A resolution demanded that the poor in villages should be provided cooking gas connections at a subsidy of 50 per cent. Dr Joginder Dayal said the policies of the Central and the state government were “anti-poor” and “anti-student”. He said the announcement by the Punjab Government to give Rs 2.5 lakh to the families of farmers who committed suicide, would be harmful for the state. He said this would encourage suicides. Mr Arshi said the party had not lost its following in the region. He alleged people were not satisfied with the SAD-BJP alliance in the state. He also criticised the announcement of a special girdawari for assessing the loss due to the recent rain. He alleged it would not serve any purpose as no compensation would be paid to the farmers. He claimed out of the Rs 320 crore meant for the development of cities, only Rs 50 crore had been spent. Mr Bhaura said policies of the Central Government were “anti-people and were only meant to benefit industrialists.
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BBMB cuts water release from 2
dams Ludhiana, March 31 The technical committee of the BBMB met at Chandigarh yesterday and decided to reduce the water release from Gobind Sagar and Pong reservoirs in order to conserve water. The decision was taken after the beneficiery states reported that there was not much requirement of water and power for irrigation purposes. According to information available here today, water release from the Pong reservoir has been cut from 6,000 cusecs to 1,500 cusecs daily while in the case of the Bhakra reservoir, from 13,000 cusecs to 8000-9000 cusecs daily. Power generation from the Pong dam has been reduced to 7 lakh units daily against 19 lakh units and from Bhakra complex to 102 lakh units from 106 lakh units. The share of Punjab from the Pong dam has been reduced to 1.28 lakh units from 4.77 lakh units. The water-level in the Pong reservoir was reported at 1295.65 ft against 1322.59 ft last year and in the case of Gobind Sagar reservoir, it fell from 1518.80 ft last year to 1501.99 ft. Meanwhile, the PSEB has lifted the restrictions imposed on mini-steel plants and urban areas following rain in the state during the past few days. The PSEB had imposed drastic cuts on mini-steel plants three days ago and had shut down all plants for 10 days following the power crisis. Urban areas were also subjected to a four-hour daily cut. Two units of the Ropar thermal plant and one unit of the Bathinda thermal plant are still closed for annual maintenance, according to the latest information. The total power available in Punjab is 565 lakh units, including the share from central projects. |
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Power Tariff Regulatory
Authority formed Chandigarh, March 31 An official spokesman said the high-powered authority would be responsible for recommending power tariff rate revision to the state government from time to time after listening to the views of consumers from different walks of life and the Punjab State Electricity Board authorities. With the setting up of this authority, a long-pending demand of power consumers of industry, agriculture and other sectors has been met.
Patiala, March 31 Meanwhile, Mr Padamjit Singh, Director, Power Regulations, PSEB, informed although unit No.5 of the Ropar Thermal Plant (RTP) had tripped yet efforts were on to revive it. The unit No. 3 was expected to be operational tonight. The board has reverted back to its original schedule of providing 6-7 hours continuous power supply to the agriculture sector. |
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Cut in sugar quota irks depot holders Amritsar, March 31 The decision on the reduction of levy sugar quota to Punjab became effective from March, 2001. The sugar quota for Punjab was apparently reduced as the number of persons registered in the below poverty line category was found to be very low. However, Mr Parkash Chand Gupta, state president of the Fair-price Shop Holders Association, said the number of such persons registered was low because the government had failed to renew and draw new lists for the past 15 years. The current situation of the depot holders is mainly due to the reason that only two levy items are disbursed through these outlets, namely sugar and kerosene. Consequently, transportation costs as incurred by fair-price shop holders, determined at Rs 4 per quintal, have not been paid for the past six years despite the approval of three government agencies, including the Food Corporation of India and Punsup. In a letter dated November 17, 1998, Mr H.S. Pabla, Under Secretary, Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs (Department of Sugar and Edible Oils) informed that at a meeting of all three government concerns, a decision was taken directing the state government to pay Rs 4 per quintal as reimbursement of transportation charges to retailers with effect from April 1,1995. Despite the notification, even when a question was raised in Parliament on May 12, 2000, the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Mr V. Sreenivasa Prasad, said the FCI and the state government had not placed the case according to guidelines and more information was required. The decision of the government to enhance the remuneration of kerosene from Rs 126 to Rs 170 per kilo litre for wholesalers only has also caused resentment among retailers. The president of the Punjab Fair-price Shops Association demanded to know the reasons for the delay in implementing a government notification on enhancing the transportation charges. He stressed that lists for cards for the financially underprivileged section of society be renewed at the earliest. |
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Technical education suffers ‘setback’ Bathinda, March 31 In a press note issued here, he pointed out that the Punjab Technical Education authorities had shifted some of the courses running in the existing Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) to those ITIs which were yet to be opened. He added that the authorities concerned had done so at the cost of careers of students of those areas from where the courses had been shifted from the ITIs to the new ITIs on the one hand and on the other hand the authorities concerned had tried to open new ITIs without arranging for the staff. Mr Dhoot added that though the authorities concerned had been trying to open more ITIs on the pertext of expanding the technical education in the state, the existing ITIs from which the courses had been shifted would close down. He said there was resentment among the employees of the ITIs against the “wrong” decision of the authorities concerned. He said employees union had urged the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, to take corrective steps by getting the sanction of new seats in the new ITIs, and cancelling the decision of state Technical Education Department authorities taken regarding the shifting of courses. |
Tohra rules out truck with SAD Jalandhar, March 31 Mr Tohra said there was no likelyhood of any patch-up with the SAD headed by Mr Parkash Singh Badal since the latter had “violated” Akal Takht hukamnamas and had been “instrumental” in the removal of former Akal Takht Jathedar Bhai Ranjit Singh. He said all “panthic” forces, including Mr Simranjit Singh Mann’s SAD(A), were likely to fight the forthcoming Punjab Assembly election unitedly. We will discuss our strategy at a meeting to be held at Damdama Sahib on April 13, he said. Referring to the definition of “Sikh”, Mr Tohra said the issue was being raked up unnecessarily by some quarters whereas, according to the Guru Granth Sahib and Parliament, whosoever followed the principles of Sikhism and wore a turban was a Sikh. Mr Tohra alleged that Gurdwara funds were being misused. Gurdwaras don’t have sufficient funds to open colleges and the Gurdwara Act also do not permit such activities, he said. He expressed hope that gurdwara elections would be held as per schedule and claimed that the Union Home Ministry had given an assurance in this regard. He alleged that corruption had become the order of the day in the state and said it was deplorable that police stations and districts were being “auctioned”. |
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Morcha to launch
campaign Bathinda, March 31 In a press note issued here yesterday, Ms Pushplata, president of the morcha, said the campaign would be against the government decision to remove restrictions from 715 items. She said the decision would have a negative impact on farmers, labourers, and small shopkeepers. Ms Pushplata pointed out that the Central Government had opened all ways for foreign companies to exploit the Indian market, which had already been flooded with hundreds of foreign-made goods. She said due to the WTO agreement the value of tea, coconut, rubber products and other items had decreased and as a result the farmers had started selling their produce on cheap rates. The farmers were committing suicide due to the negative policies of the government, she added. |
Swindling by PWD officials, case
ordered Bathinda, March 31 The minister also directed the Deputy Commissioner, to recommend transfering the officials involved in the case. Official sources said the work of premix coating on the Ganga-Barkandi-Goniana road was to be executed by the PWD authorities through private contractors. About Rs 8 lakh was to be spent on it. The sources said the PWD authorities were supposed to call tenders and allot the work to contractors after taking technical sanction from the wing concerned. Instead of floating tenders, the officials concerned collected quotations by dividing the project into parts. The cost of each part was estimated at Rs 50,000 or less than it. The PWD authorities then accepted the quotations from one contractor only and did the patchwork on the road instead of carrying out the coating. The patchwork on the road could not survive for long and the road became unmotorable. The scam came to light when on a complaint made by an MLA, Mr Balbir Singh, MLA, to Mr Tota Singh, the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development), Mr Vivek Aggarwal, made inquiries. After recording statements of people and examining other facts and record, Mr Aggarwal found the PWD officials and the contractor guilty. Information gathered by the TNS revealed that some of the senior officials of the PWD who were found involved in the scam had retired from their services. |
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Talwandi seeks aid of
intelligentsia Amritsar, March 31 In a press statement issued here today, Mr Talwandi said the SGPC needed the cooperation of Sikh intellectuals as well as adequate manpower for celebrating the 400th anniversary of Guru Granth Sahib in a befitting manner. Giani Kewal Singh, Jathedar, Takht Damdama Sahib in an open letter to SGPC members, had stated that they (the SGPC members) had failed to live up to the expectations of the Sikh sangat. Giani Kewal Singh had pointed out that many members and their kin had become ‘patit’, which was a matter of concern. Many SGPC members had also raised the matter. Meanwhile, Dr Gurbachan Singh Bachan, Secretary, SGPC, has taken exception to the non-payment of bills by the Municipal Corporation, Khanpur, to a contractor, Jatinder Singh, forcing him to commit suicide. He has sought a high-level probe into the circumstances leading to the suicide and immediate compensation to the family members of the contractor. Bathinda, March 31 Various schemes launched under social security, water supply to villages, rural development works, fish farming, rural sanitation and nutritional food programme for students were reviewed at the meeting. Mr Tota Singh said the board had given a grant of Rs 12.18 crore for various development schemes. Rs 50 lakh were distributed under the shagun scheme and Rs 72 lakh were given as scholarships to SC/BC students, he said. Mr Tota Singh also chaired a meeting of the district Roads Committee and gave away details of development works to be taken up in the coming financial year. Various officials of the district administration also took part in the meetings. |
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Lack of sewerage brings misery Jalandhar: Sewage from buildings in the area was being diverted to a nearby pond for the past seven years. However, now the pond has reportedly been purchased by a property dealer who, in order to develop a residential colony, has started filling it up, resulting in the accumulation of sewage in lanes. The sewage spreads all over lanes and in vacant plots, making it difficult for residents, particularly schoolchildren, to have easy access to their homes. Residents say that a few children had to be hospitalised due to the unhygienic conditions prevailing in the area for the past two months. They say they have met the Mayor, Mr Suresh Sehgal, several times and demanded that sewage from the colony should be either diverted to the Bashirpura drain or to the main sewer pipe touching the GT Road but to no avail. Ms Neelam Salwan, a social worker, said that she had also met the Mayor a few times during the past four years in connection with the residents’ demands but no action had been initiated by the Municipal Corporation. “Apart from the lack of a proper sewer system, there are no arrangements for garbage collection in the colony. We are forced to dump garbage in vacant plots,” she said. The residents alleged that a political tussle between the Mayor and the Punjab Medical Education Minister, Mr Manoranjan Kalia, who represented the Jalandhar Central assembly constituency, had led to the stalling of development projects in the area. Mr Sehgal, in a move to “delay” the laying of sewer pipes, had asked the residents to get Rs 5 lakh sanctioned from the minister’s funds so that work on the project could be started, alleged Mr N.B. Prasher, general secretary of the Guru Nanak Pura (West) Welfare Society. Mr Sehgal, however, denied the allegations and said the officials concerned would be ordered to redress the grievances of the residents. |
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New employment project in
Punjab Hoshiarpur, March 31 He asked government officiers to find out the possibility of more projects which could be successful and beneficial for the people of the area. The Governor said facilities for good health and education would be given to the inhabitants of the area around Talwara and maximum job opportunities would be provided to the youths of the area under self-employment schemes. He advised the youths to avail of loans under various beneficial schemes of the government to start businesses. The Governor said the Punjab government was trying to provide maximum facilities to the students of those schools located in the remote and backward areas of the state. Special attention would be paid to open libraries and to promote sports in the schools in rural areas of the state. He said to eradicate TB from the state, a campaign was being launched by the government. The Governor met old men, farmers, women, ex-servicemen, panches, sarpanches and students of the area on this occasion and listened to their problems. He instructed the district administration to find early solutions to their problems. He also visited Government High School, Chingerwan, and announced Rs 1 lakh for the school. |
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Border fence “cut at several places” Ferozepore, March 31 The cobra concertina coil which is installed as a hurdle between the two barbed wire fencing was also found removed. Although senior BSF officials posted at Mamdot admitted cutting of wire but described it as a case of wires being damaged due to rusting. However, sources in the BSF on condition of anonymity, expressing concern asserted that it could be the handiwork of Pakistan-based intelligence agency, ISI, which wanted to vitiate atmosphere in Punjab by encouraging smuggling in the area. |
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Manch to release 7 Pak books Amritsar, March 31 Dr Jatinder Paul Singh Jolly, an authority on Pakistani Punjabi literature, said Dr Karnail Singh Thind, who had done significant work on Pakistani literature, would be the chief guest. Dr Harbhajan Singh Soch, Vice-Chancellor, would preside. The translation of the seven books from the Persian to the Gurmukhi script has been done by Dr Jolly and his wife, the late Narinder Kaur Jolly. These books are ‘Pandh’, a novel by renowned Punjabi writer Afzal Ahsan Randhawa, “Kamzat”, by Fakhar Zaman, a former minister of Pakistan, the “Pakistani Punjabi Kahani”, a collection of short stories by Om Parkash Panahgir and Jagjit Kaur. |
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Court directs MC to file affidavit Jalandhar, March 31 Mr Namit Kumar, a local resident, had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1995 that some buildings had been constructed against the provisions of the by-laws of the local municipal corporation. A special High Court team had also visited the city about six months ago and inspected the buildings. The court has asked the municipal corporation to submit a detailed report by April 19 regarding Lovely Autos, Kings Hotel, Kamal Palace, Cargo Motors, Haver Regency, Shingar Regency, Narula Foam, Police lines no 14 and 28 (Jagmohan buildings), a nursing home in the local Gurjepal Nagar and Major Singh Market. According to the MC officials, they would file the actual status of the buildings on the next hearing on April 19. |
Panel for ensuring
safe drinking water Chandigarh, March 31 Representatives from the Public Health Environment, Pollution Control Board, Science and Technology, Rural Development Central Ground Water organisation and the Punjab Water Supply Sewerage Board will be taken as members in the committee. Expressing concern over the growing problem of contamination of underground water through various pollutive factors, the Chief Minister said effective steps should be taken for arranging safe water to the salinity, nitrate and flourides in some areas of Jalalabad and Fazilka. Sangrur, March 31 The Tata Sumo was on its way to Mansa Devi near Chandigarh from Bathinda while the truck was going towards Barnala. Meenakshi Goyal, Vimal Goyal, G.R. Goyal, Kaushaliya Devi, Vivek, Gurdip Singh and Sonu were injured. They have been admitted to the local Civil Hospital. Two of them have been referred to DMC, Ludhiana. Anita Goyal, succumbed to her injuries.
A case has been
resgistered. |
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Rajwahas’
cleaning begins Bathinda, March 31 Last year also, the residents of the district took a lead in the state to clean the Rajwahas of their villages. Last year the villagers had saved about Rs 1.5 crore of the state exchequer by rendering help.
Since the villagers have again taken the lead, they are likely to take full advantage of the fact that the canals and Rajwahas have been closed for one week on a rotation basis.
Mr Jaspal Singh also inspected the Sehna diversion situated on the Bathinda-Barnala border, which has been constructed for the diversion of excessive water. Mr Jaspal Singh pointed out that he would work for getting financial aid for the cleaning of the Sem nullah. Officials of various departments, panchayat members, and other citizens were also present along with the Deputy Commissioner on the inspection tour. |
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Liquor vends auctioned Patiala, march 31 The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Jasbir Singh Bir, said vends of Ferozepore road were auctioned for Rs 16.26 crore as compared to last year’s price of Rs14.51 crore. The Samrala road liquor vend fetched Rs 12.86 crore against previous year’s revenue of Rs 11.7 crore.
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9 held under Excise Act, liquor
seized Bathinda, March 31 To check liquor hoarding and prevent its illegal possession, the district police and Excise authorities have increased vigil and arrested nine persons under the state Excise Act and seized large quantities of liquor from them. Dr Jatinder Kumar Jain, SSP, said nine persons arrested during the past 24 hours had been identified as Sukhpal Singh, Jaspal Singh, Gurmail Singh, Gurwinder Singh, Jaga Ram, Satnam Singh, Balwir Singh, Major Singh and Balwir Singh. Sixty six litres and 750 millilitres of liquor has been seized from their possession, he said. In another incident, Ajmer Singh of Sandhu Khurd village has been arrested under the NDPS Act and 20 kilograms of poppy husk was seized from him. The district police has also arrested Radha Ram Arora and Seema under the Prevention of Gambling Act and seized money. |
4-yr course on
liberal arts soon Amritsar, March 31 This decision was taken by the Senate of the university last evening. In a press note here today, Dr Harbhajan Singh Soch, Vice-Chancellor, said the university would introduce a four-year course on liberal arts. The curriculum was being designed. The university had also decided to introduce diploma in jewellery to cater to the needs of jewellers of the region. Dr Soch informed the house that the Punjab Government has sanctioned Rs 50 lakh for the development of the Regional Centre, Gurdaspur. On the development of the Regional Centre, Jalandhar, Dr Soch asked senators hailing from Jalandhar to impress upon their MLAs and MPs to approach the state government to release adequate funds for the same. The
university has decided to establish a Chair on Sri Guru Granth Sahib to mark the 400th anniversary of the holy book. |
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Change in exam dates
sought Bathinda, March 31 A cross-section of students, who approached The Tribune, today said the months of May and June were crucial as almost all entrance tests to various undergraduate medical and veterinary courses were conducted in these months. |
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Mansa college sans
Principal Barnala, March 31 Last year, for a few months, Mrs Krishna Devi joined as Principal and retired on November 30, 2000. The promotion of senior lecturers to the post of Principal recently by the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) had raised the hope of local residents, but the college seemed to have been overlooked by the authorities. Mrs Sneh Prabha, who was promoted as Principal in January and posted at the college, did not join within the stipulated period. |
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