 |
|
|
Harvesting of wheat
delayed Chandigarh, April 2 Traditionally the harvesting of the wheat crop starts on April 13, Baisakhi day. But since Punjab farmers go in for an advanced variety of wheat — PBW 343 — it matures early, thus leading to the start of harvesting operations in either the last week of March or the first week of April. An extensive tour of Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ludhiana and Patiala districts reveals widespread damage to the wheat crop in most of the area. The crop has been flattened at several places. Lodging, malformation and discolouration of grain are the other major fallouts of the freak weather last week. The yield may also come down in the weather-hit areas. It is only in parts of these districts that a few fields show a ripened or ready to harvest crop. In the rest of the area, the crop will take another 10 to 15 days to become ready for harvesting. As such, not much movement was witnessed at any of the major grain markets in these four districts. In the absence of adequate covered space for the ensuing wheat crop, the procurement and storage agencies have sought to create additional capacity in the open, thus exposing the fresh crop to the vagaries of weather, including the south-west monsoon which is less than two months away. One of the major problems has been the slow movement of stored foodgrains. For example, Sangrur alone has enough foodgrains for 1,000 special trains, each with 55 wagons. This includes both rice and wheat. The situation is no better in other districts. The idea of asking farmers to store the procured foodgrains on their own premises on a short-term basis may be given a try this time as in many areas, the procurement and storage agencies could not create sufficient storage capacity. In Amritsar, the problem of “plenty”, coupled with the new arrivals, can be judged from the fact that the Warehousing Corporation had to give a public notice, inviting offers from private parties for hiring “kutcha” and pucca/brick paved pharis/sites on actual storage basis (ASB) at rent rate for the storage of foodgrains. This is for the first time that such steps are being taken. The FCI, which engaged in intensive lobbying at the Central level, was able to move adequate quantity of foodgrains after procurement. The Warehousing Corporation has already 8.40 lakh bags of wheat stored in its godowns while more than one lakh bags belonging to the Department of Food and Supplies are still stored in Warehousing godowns. Now the Warehousing Corporation is likely to procure 14 per cent (14 lakh bags) of the total procurement of the district. Jalandhar is unlikely to face any major problem on account of the availability of adequate scientific and unscientific space for the new crop. The district authorities are expecting the arrival of 4.5 lakh metric tonnes of wheat during the current season. According to Mr K.Shiva Prasad, Deputy Commissioner, covered space for the storage of about one lakh metric tonnes of wheat is readily available while facilities aimed at ensuring the storage of 1.5 lakh metric tonnes are being created at different places in the district like Phillaur, Noormahal and Dhogri. “Godowns for creating covered space are being constructed at these places. These godowns will be ready for use by April 15,” said Mr Prasad. “In addition, unscientific storage facilities (open plinths) are also ready where we will be able to stack about 1.75 lakh metric tonnes of the crop,” he said. Meanwhile, Food and Civil Supplies Department sources said the state government had already given a relaxation in the least cost movement (LCM) arrangement this year which would result in the availability of more storage space for the new crop. In Bathinda, even as more than four lakh metric tonnes (MT) of wheat belonging to the FCI and state agencies has been lying in covered godowns and on open plinths for the past four years, the authorities have made arrangements for procuring 6.58 lakh MT of wheat this year. Sources said the Markfed authorities, with additional purchase centres, might face some shortage of space. Official sources said that 101 purchase centres had been set up in the district. The FCI would purchase 2,03,600 MT (31%), the Food and Supplies Department 56,600 (9%), Markfed 1,48,400 (22%), the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation 91,200 (14%) and Punjab Agro 52,000 (8%). The remaining 57,00 MT of wheat would be purchased by private traders. In Sangrur, 242 purchase centres have been set up for the procurement of wheat. Besides, the administration has made storage arrangements for 13 lakh metric tonnes of wheat. The available storage capacity is 11.65 lakh tonnes while additional storage arrangements for 1.35 lakh metric tonnes of wheat have been made on a temporary basis from rice-sheller owners. Mr Anirudh Tiwari, Deputy Commissioner, said there would be no problem in the storage of wheat. He also said that the labour rates had already been finalised. No decision had yet been taken on the transport rates. It is learnt that there are heavy stocks of wheat, equal to 500 special trains containing 55 wagons each, lying in Sangrur district. This huge quantity of wheat is yet to be despatched. On the other hand, rice (about 400 special trains) is also lying in godowns in this district. — With inputs from Varinder Walia (Amritsar), Varinder Singh (Jalandhar), Chander Parkash (Bathinda) and Sushil Goyal (Sangrur). |
|
BSP to contest 117 seats in
Punjab Sangrur, April 2 Mr Kanshi Ram added that the BSP would work for contesting all 117 seats under his supervision to give fight to the opposition and ruling parties. He said the holding of such rallies and meetings with former MPs, including Mr Kamal Chaudhary from Hoshiarpur and other leaders to bring them in the BSP fold before the next Assembly elections were a part of action-plan of the BSP. The BSP chief also said that the BSP was searching a person who could be projected by the party as the next Chief Minister of the state. He also said that in place of giving 33 per cent reservation to the women at the time of allotment of party ticket for Assembly elections, the BSP would adjust women in unlimited numbers in case they were suitable for party ticket. On the performance of the Badal government, Mr Kanshi Ram said that its popularity would be tested in the forthcoming Assembly elections. He also said that in case the BSP formed government in Punjab it would not initiate any inquiry against any “corrupt” politician belonging to the opposition parties. He said the BSP would prefer to serve the people in place of indulging in such activities. Mr Kanshi Ram said the BSP would continue reservation benefits even for those who had already taken benefits under the reservation policy. Condemning destruction of statues of Mahatma Buddha by the Taliban in Afghanistan, Mr Kanshi Ram termed the Taliban as eunuchs who had dismantled Buddha’s statues in the wake of their failure of taking action against those responsible for the demolition of Babri masjid. Addressing the “Mulazam Chetna Rally”, Mr Kanshi Ram also appealed to the employees to strengthen the hands of the BSP in forming its government in Punjab. The BSP president also said that he was working in eight states to create at least 20 per cent vote bank for the BSP so that maximum number of MPs could be sent to Parliament from these states. He said that Punjab was one of the eight states chosen by him. He also asked the employees to launch a social change movement for strengthening the Bahujan Samaj. He said social change and economic change were the main aims of the BSP to uplift dalits. Earlier, organisers of the rally presented a purse of Rs 50,000 to Mr Kanshi Ram for the party. The rally was also addressed among others by Prof Gurnam Singh, an intellectual, and Mr Gurmail Singh Chandarh, President of SC/BC Employees Coordination Committee, Punjab. |
|
3 BJP leaders’ links with middleman ‘proved’ Hoshiarpur, April 2 A close associate of the late Om Parkash Bagga, who was the MLA from Hoshiarpur and the vice-president of the Punjab Pradesh Janata Party, showed clippings of various newspapers to mediapersons here yesterday to prove the association of Mr Raj Kumar Gupta with the aforesaid BJP leaders. Om Parkash Bagga had in April, 1979, levelled charges of corruption against Mr Tandon, the then Industry Minister, Punjab, in the Vidhan Sabha. Bagga had claimed that he had documentary proof to show that a contractor turned industrialist, who was the Director of the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation (PSIDC) and belonged to the RSS was making lakhs of rupees through several contracts from the PSIDC or its subsidiary companies. Om Parkash Bagga had told the House that some years back Mr Raj Kumar Gupta had been blacklisted by the Military Engineering Service (MES). He had informed the Vidhan Sabha that Mr Gupta got a contract of Rs 35 lakh from Punjab Scooters Complex and also received contracts worth Rs 5 crore from other sources. He had become the owner of 13 shops in a shopping complex in Chandigarh. The cost of the shops was about Rs 1 crore at that time. Mr Om Parkash Bagga had also alleged that Mr Gupta took the son of Mr V.K. Sakhlecha, the then Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, to Delhi for a auction of a building and proposed to provide funds for purchasing it. He had also promised to pay the initial sum of Rs 1.2 crore. The Blitz weekly mentioned in one of its issues in 1979 that Mr Gupta used to work as a Subdivisional Officer in Punjab Canals. He later switched over to the hotel business. To set up a chain of hotels, he formed a company at a capital of Rs 4 crore. The registered office of the company was set up in Delhi and it managed to get more than Rs 1 crore from NRIs settled in Kenya within a week of the registration. Mr Gupta went to Nairobi with BJP leader Mr Kedarnath Sahny who was the then Chief Executive Councillor of the Delhi Municipal Corporation. Though Mr Gupta had only 100 shares of the company, he had become the chairman and managing director of this company. Om Parkash Bagga’s associate also disclosed that Mr Gupta also formed three companies named United Builders, R.K. Towers and United Towers and his interest was only confined to those states where leaders had affiliation with the RSS. |
|
Last-ditch bid to end clergy
impasse Amritsar, April 2 Apart from Sant Hardev Singh Lulon, an SGPC member, many religious dignitaries have been making efforts to resolve the issue of ‘maryada’ (Sikh tradition). The high priests may meet on April 5 at Akal Takht to bring about a rapprochement if the mediators succeeded in giving final shape to the efforts. According to highly placed sources, Giani Puran Singh has softened his stand on the issue of ‘maryada’. Earlier, he had taken a firm decision not to sit with Prof Manjit Singh and Giani Kewal Singh, both jathedars of Keshgarh Sahib and Takht Damdama Sahib, and Giani Bhagwan Singh, Head Granthi, Akal Takht, whom he had ‘excommunicated’ from the Sikh panth through a controversial ‘hukmnama’ (edict) issued in his capacity as Jathedar of Akal Takht. The mediators have been working hard to find an honourable ‘way out’ to resolve the crisis and Giani Puran Singh has reportedly given his consent to cooperate with them in any manner. Giani Puran Singh has also assured Mr Jagdev Singh Talwandi, SGPC chief, and other office-bearers to help in bringing about a rapprochement. At the joint meeting of the SGPC executive and high priests (Giani Puran Singh was not invited to the meeting by the Jathedar of Akal Takht), Mr Talwandi has used ‘strong words’ against the high priests for creating the ‘unsavoury’ situation on the ‘maryada’ issue. Though Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti, Jathedar of Akal Takht, and other three
high priests themselves had stated that no meeting of Akal Takht could be held without the presence of the Head Grandhi, Golden Temple, yet they held at least two meetings without his presence. The volte face of the high priests on the presence of the Head Granthi, Golden Temple, was criticised by the Panthic leaders belonging to various factions. The sources said that Mr Talwandi had categorically asked the high priests to resolve the issue of ‘maryada’ amicably, otherwise SGPC would be left with no option but to initiate some action as per ‘maryada’. Mr Talwandi and Jathedar Vedanti held a closed-door meeting at the former’s office on March 30, before the beginning of the budget session, allegedly at the behest of Sant Lullon. |
|
Badal reviews work at refinery
site Raman Mandi (Bathinda), April 2 Mr Badal said at the meeting that the link roads leading to the refinery should be widened to accommodate the increasing traffic and ordered the 18.2 km Bathinda-Dabwali road be completed before June 30. The road is being built by the state government and the HPCL authorities. The distributary which would supply water to the refinery should be constructed at the earliest. The HPCL had already paid Rs 2.25 crore for land acquisition and another Rs 5 crore would be paid by the authorities for the construction of the distributary, Mr Badal said. Mr D.S. Mathur, Chairman of the refinery, said the refinery would be connected by a 1,006 km pipeline to Mudra and the construction work had already begun. The HPCL authorities spoke on the nature and scope of employment in the refinery. The government authorities said changes would be made in the course contents of ITIs and other technical institutes so as to train localities for a job in the refinery. The meeting was attended by Mr C.S. Talwar, Joint Director, PWD, Mr G.P.S. Mann, General Manager, Punjab Infrastructure Development Board, Mr D.S. Guru, Director, Industries, and other senior officers of the district administration. |
|
ISI mobilising Sikh
ultras Ludhiana, April 2 According to intelligence reports, now alignments are taking place among militant organisations in Pakistan. The International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) and the Khalistan Zindabad Force led by Ranjit Neeta of Jammu have joined hands to activate their cadre in Punjab. The ISYF is led by Lakhbir Singh Rode, who is also based in Pakistan. The establishment of the Pakistan Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee is an ISI brain child for the purpose of boosting the morale of militants based in Pakistan. The Central Government is understood to be keeping the Punjab authorities informed about the latest plans of the ISI. The Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, and the Home Secretary are understood to have expressed their worry over the seriousness of the situation to a group of MPs from Punjab. Although Punjab has not witnessed any major militant action in the state in the recent past, yet the state police and the intelligence agencies are keeping a strict vigil. The Punjab Police is on the alert. Intelligence agencies say there is a nexus between the militants and smugglers and they are trying to bring in arms and ammunition to Punjab through the Jammu border. The ISI is reported to be banking on the Babbar Khalsa International and the ISYF for revival of activities in Punjab as they have a better organisation in the state. The Khalistan Zindabad Force has indulged in some militant actions in Punjab recently. Six bomb blasts were reported last year, including the one at Tarkhan Majri village near Sirhind in which nine persons were killed. The Pakistan Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee is reported to have promised to hand over to some militant organisations the ‘kar seva’ of Sikh shrines in Pakistan which are in a dilapidated condition. Avtar Singh Sanghera, leader of the Babbar Khalsa International based in the UK, is also reported to be in Pakistan these days, besides Wadhawa Singh and Mehal Singh. Lakhbir Singh Rode of the ISYF and Gajindera Singh, of the Dal Khalsa are also in Pakistan. They hope to get the ‘kar seva’ of the gurdwaras in Pakistan. |
|
Pak activities worry
BSF Ferozepore, April 2 Though the BSF authorities claimed that it had been keeping a strict vigil on the border and had made arrangements for regular patrolling to check infiltration, the inadequate strength of BSF personnel on the border has given an opportunity to Pakistan’s secret agencies to step up activities. Official sources said Pakistan’s secret agencies managing the task of infiltration had been often changing their modus operandi. In 1996, these agencies tried to push 40-year-old and above inside the Indian territory through the fenced border. In 1997, the agencies started pushing young boys. In 1998, ‘mad’ and ‘deranged’ persons were sent across the border. The trend became more prominent in 1999 when the Indian forces were trying to flush out the Pakistan Army from the Kargil valley of Jammu and Kashmir. Now Pakistan’s agencies have again started sending their nationals to the Indian territory through the border in Punjab falling in Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Ferozepore districts. The BSF authorities recently detected tunnels near the border, a new phenomenon. Information gathered by TNS revealed that in February four Pakistanis were killed in an encounter on the border while they were trying to cross over to the Indian territory. These Pakistani nationals were killed when they opened fire after being challenged by the BSF authorities. Arms and ammunition was also recovered from the deceased. Sources say gaps in the barbed wire in the riverine areas on the border are being repeatedly used by smugglers and militants. Bakhshish Singh Sheeha, a supplier of firearms and narcotics to terrorists, who was arrested by the Bathinda police recently, managed to take eight persons to Pakistan from India through the border gaps. Jarnail Singh, a ‘human bomb’ was arrested by the Bathinda police more than a year ago. Jarnail Singh, who was planning to eliminate key political figures. He was trained in Pakistan in the handling of explosives. He was arrested by the Bathinda district police from Jaipur. Sources reveal that at present the total stretch of the Indo-Pakistan border falling in Punjab is not being manned by adequate number of BSF personnel. A number of BSF battalions have been deployed in the Jammu and Kashmir valley for fighting militancy. |
Cong only secular party: Mofar Mansa April 2 Talking to mediapersons at the opening ceremony of Amrit Nursing Home here, Mr Mofar, who announced joining the Congress yesterday at Chandigarh in the presence of the AICC General Secretary, Mr Moti Lal Vora, asserted he had made up his mind to join the Congress since it was the only secular party. The Congress was the only opposition party that could give a befitting reply to the misrule and anti-people policies of the government. |
|
NDA govt must quit: Amarinder Chandigarh, April 2 The meeting, presided over by the PPCC president, Capt Amarinder Singh, and attended, among others, by the AICC treasurer, Mr Moti Lal Vora, also condemned the lathi charge on Indian Youth Congress workers by the police on March 29. The police action against the peaceful Congressmen was at the “behest” of the Chief Minister of Punjab, the resolution added. As per a press note issued by the PPCC, another resolution adopted at the meeting pertained to the resolution passed in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha against the AICC President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, that she had used the word “traitor” for the Prime Minister. This was uncalled-for and a privilege notice had already been served. The party has launched a statewide programme to expose corruption in the NDA and the Punjab Government. |
||
Fraud on exchequer en
masse Mansa The state government’s instruction to the heads of the departments not to leave the district headquarters without permission has been flouted with impunity. The arrival and departure time of such officials at their offices is adjusted on the lines of the railway timetable. Trains normally run behind schedule and many a time these officers reach their workplace two to three hours late. Some of the officers use buses and rarely turn up for duty on time. Departmental vehicles wait at the railway station or bus stand, just to pick them up. For instance, the Superintendent to the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Satpal Garg, commutes from Faridkot, while the Administrative (Education) Officer, Mr Gurprashad Bansal, commutes from Giddarbaha. Similarly, Superintendent Kishori Lal, DSP (Vigilance) Gurmail Singh Neor, SDO (T) Jagjit Singh, ADA Des Raj Parihar, all come from Bathinda. Mr Shalinder Chabra, DM (Markfed), travels from Abohar, and Ms Balwinder Kaur Bhattal, DPRO, commutes from Sangrur. Sources say that eight employees commute daily from Patiala. The SDM of Sardulgarh comes from Mansa, while others commute from distant places. The state government’s instructions to the heads of departments to conduct periodic checks in their offices have also not been followed. Certain employees are believed to be running businesses in the name of their children or relatives. They are often found absent during duty hours from offices. Besides, the government rules banning the appointment of gazetted officers in their home districts seem to have had no effect as far as this district is concerned. Many officers belonging to this district are working as heads of departments. The very purpose of the rules was to provide clean and unbiased officers so that they could deal with the public in an independent manner. But these considerations in appointments and transfers have lost their significance since these are solely made at the behest of politicians, particularly ruling party bosses. For instance, an Executive Officer of the civic body, Mr Satpal Singh, who was promoted from Superintendent to EO, works in the same Municipal Council. He was transferred recently, but succeeded in obtaining stay orders from the high court. The District Education Officer (Secondary), Ms Bhupinder Kaur, is also from the home district. Interestingly, most of the district level offices are located in the Mini Secretariat under the very nose of the DC. But it is not clear whether the latter fails to check such violations of the rules. |
|
Art works express plight of quake-hit Bathinda, April 2 It is perhaps the first opportunity for residents of the city to see the well-expressed and well-made paintings, drawings and installation work on the plight of earthquake victims of Gujarat. The exhibition is being considered as a very significant event in the cultural circuit of the city. “It is an effort to create an
environment for meaningful paintings which have soul and spirit and to create awareness among the masses,” he said. The three-day exhibition, inaugurated by Gurdial Singh on Saturday, has been organised to collect money for the earthquake victims of Gujarat. The theme of the exhibition is “Prarthana”. The paintings are an attempt to support the victims of the Gujarat earthquake. The theme of the installation conveys the message — “Aao Phir Se Diya Jalain”. The installation which symbolised the after-effects of the Gujarat earthquake shocked the sensitivity of many visitors. The debris of buildings, people buried under debris, scenes of destruction all around, crows sitting on debris and, among all these things, a lit latern — the symbol of hope for those hit by the killer earthquake. The drawing “Helping Hand” conveys the message that there is a need to help those who have already suffered a lot but have still not lost hope. The paintings on Indian folklore and the landscapes of the city are also examples of significant work. All paintings are the products of love, labour, creativity and imagination of the artist. Water colours have been used effectively by the artist to express himself. It was sensitivity which inspired Samir to make paintings on the theme of the plight of earthquake victims. When asked whether art should play a social role, Samir said: “Art has a significant role to play in society. It creates awareness among the masses and has the power to change society. Moreover, art provides self-satisfaction”. Samir, who is working as a drawing teacher in Kendriya Vidyalaya No 5, along with his students made a painting on the spot on a 20x4 canvas to tell people what students thought and felt about the earthquake. “I was surprised to see such meaningful and creative work in the city. With these paintings, Samir has set the trend of creative work in the city”, said Preeti, a visitor, talking about the exhibition. A painter, after watching the paintings, drawings and installation work of Samir, decided to organise a workshop on installation art so that experiments with new art forms could be done. |
|
Punjab to give aid to 10 lakh
persons Ropar, April 2 Last year 7.41 lakh persons were provided aid under these schemes. The Minister for Social Security, Women and Child Welfare, Punjab, Mr Gobind Singh Kanjala, gave this information while talking to mediapersons at a district-level programme held at Ambedkar Bhavan today to distribute grants to the needy persons of the area. Earlier, while speaking on the occasion, Mr Kanjala said the state government during the last financial year spent 166.67 crore on various welfare schemes. The government had set up a social security fund to continue these schemes in future. In case of pensions for senior citizens and poor people the SDMs had been authorised to take the decisions to avoid the procedural delays, he said. Mr Kanjala said to check the rising crime against women in the state the government had formed a women’s commission that would take up the complaints of atrocities against women. Besides this Rs 45 crore had been especially earmarked for the welfare of women, he said. Ms Satwant Kaur Sandhu, Minister for Printing and Stationery, who was also present on the occasion, claimed that the present government had started unique schemes for the upliftment of the Scheduled Castes in the state. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr G.S. Grewal, said till date Rs 8.62 crorehad been distributed among 41,648 persons under various welfare schemes. |
|
Resentment among bank staff over
VRS Bathinda, April 2 Although policy-makers were saying that the move would reduce surplus staff in the banks but the employees’ union were terming it as a suicidal step for the banks. Mr Surinder Singh, zonal secretary of the Punjab National Bank Workers Union (PNBWU), said the non-performing expenses of the banks were increasing while the recruitment of employees had been banned. He said the working of all banks in general and that of Punjab National Bank had been affected. He alleged while senior officials of the bank were given financial benefits, the juniors were not given their due. Mr Singla alleged employees of the New Bank of India which was merged with Punjab National Bank seven years ago were facing problems as the management was adopting a step-motherly approach towards them. He said there were several cases where the employees quit their jobs as they could not bear the indifferent attitude of their seniors. Mr Singla also criticised the proposal to reduce the rate of interest on the provident fund. A meeting of the PNBWU has been scheduled for April 8 to discuss the problem. |
|
|
‘Poor’ implementation of
schemes Bathinda, April 2 He said several schemes had been launched by the Union Government. These included the margin money schemes, education loan scheme and welfare schemes for girls. However, these were very poorly implemented by states, particularly Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Mr Mazhari said Rs 5 crore were given to Punjab for various welfare schemes but only Rs 3.5 crore had been utilised and the remaining would be used in the current financial year. “The state government was liable to pay a penalty at the rate of 2 per cent on the unutilised money, but the point was why the money had not been utilised” he said. He said there was no separate wakf board in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and whatever board was there, was under the chairmanship of a non-permanent non-elected chairman. There was 100 per cent recovery of the loans distributed to the minorities from the funds of the NMDFC but even then the state government was not making efforts to distribute the loans, he said. The situation was the same in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh,while Haryana had fallen short by Rs 2 crore, the Himachal Pradesh had fallen short by Rs 2 crore, the Himachal Pradesh had fallen short by Rs 1 crore, of the total grant given by the NMDFC. Mr Mazhari said the total budget of the NMDFC for 2001-2002 was Rs 120 crore. Funds had never been in short supply, but had been underutilised. The land of wakf board had been encroached upon and even if the present assets of the board were taken care of, there would be no need of a government aid. The net collection by the Punjab wakf board was the highest in the country, he said. He said the Maulana Azad Educational Foundation had been declared as minorities which could benefit from the schemes of the NMDFC. |
|
|
No
threat from WTO pact: Chautala Jalandhar, April 2 Mr Chautala, who was in the city to participate in a Ram Navami procession today said 60 per cent of duty had been imposed by the union government on the import of milk and other dairy products to safeguard the interests of dairy farmers. The Chief Minister stressed the need for diversification in agriculture. “A delegation headed by Mr Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, Agricultural Minister, had been sent to Israel to study water management, agriculture, horticulture and dairy system as the climatic conditions in Israel and Haryana were similar,” he said. He ruled out the possibility of procuring foodgrain by any state, saying that it could only be done as an agent of the Centre. |
|
23 cr Dalits live in misery:
morcha Phillaur, April 2 Addressing a rally at Dusanjh Kalan village today, Mr Kainth alleged that almost all political parties only politicised the Dalit issues for their selfish interests. He alleged that Mr Kanshi Ram formed a new team of the Bahujan Samaj Party to isolate the Bahujan Samaj Morcha, but had failed. More than 23 crore Dalits out of 25 crore were living in miserable conditions, he said, alleging that the Congress was largely responsible for their present condition. He announced that after the completion of the current series of rallies of April 10, he would start a state-level campaign to attain more political power for the Bahujan Samaj Morcha in the state. He stressed the need for compulsory primary education in the state. Ram Chand Talwandi, senior vice-president of the morcha, and Des Raj Mall also addressed the rally. |
|
Income from mandis to go for road repairs Bathinda, April 2 This was stated by Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister, Punjab, while presiding over a meeting to review various development projects being run in the districts of Bathinda and Mansa here yesterday. He said as the condition of the mandis in the state was good, the larger part of the earnings should be spent on development of infrastructure of villages. He said officials of the two districts had been given instructions that work on link roads should be done on a war footing so as to complete repair work by June 30. The Chief Minister said Rs 50 lakh would be given to each Assembly for the purpose from the Punjab Infrastructure Development Fund. Bathinda district would get Rs 2.75 crore from that fund. Under the sector reform scheme, the district would get Rs 77 crore for water supply schemes in villages. Mr Badal said the Central Government would provide 90 per cent of the expenditure for these schemes, while the rest would be arranged by local committees. |
|
|
Ardour marks
Ram Navami procession Bathinda, April 2 Thousands of people marched in procession which started from SSD Girls’ College and stopped in the Sirki Bazaar. The people and shopkeepers showered flowers on the procession and distributed sweets and fruits among the participants. The participants dance to the beat of drums. Religious songs were also played. The procession was led by heads of social and voluntary organisation apart from religious organisations. The entire city was decorated and illuminated by the members of the
samiti. |
|
Garang is BBMB Chief Engineer Chandigarh, April
2 |
||
Fertiliser, farm loan
cheaper Raman Mandi, April 2 Announcing this at a function organised in connection with the inauguration of 85th branch of Primary Agriculture Development Bank (PADB) here last evening. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said that the state government had also decided to open offices of Assistant Registrar of cooperative societies at Tehsil level. Mr Badal said that to give farmers more facilities in agriculture operations, the Punjab government had also reduced the rate of interest from 16 per cent to 14 per cent on loans taken from cooperative banks. He added that in the current year, the farmers would get DAP and urea fertiliser cheaper by Rs 15 and Rs Six respectively as compared to the price of fertiliser last year. The loan limit for agriculture purpose had been increased to Rs 1.5 lakh for those who were having one acre of land while it had been increased to Rs 3 lakh for those having five acres of land. The Chief Minister said that share money of the farmers in the loans taken from cooperative banks had been reduced to three per cent from five per cent and loan fee had also been reduced by 50 per cent. The bank managements had been directed to sanction the loan within 15 days of application moved by the farmers in this connection. Mr Badal pointed out that arrangements had also been made to give loan money direct to the farmers for purchasing agriculture-related machinery and equipments according to requirements. The policy of ‘Third Party’ payment in the loan cases worth Rs one lakh had been finished. Mr Badal alleged that some political parties had been trying to befool the farmers on the hike in the price of wheat. He added the Rs 30 had been added to the MSP of wheat of last year for giving financial benefits to the farmers. Earlier, Mr Badal laid the foundation stone of Hem Raj Jain Girls College here. He also announced that sale deeds of land would be registered in this town for two days in a week. He gave Rs 25 lakh for various development works relating to the town. |
CM gets angry, orders Secy to shift SE Bathinda, April 2 Mr Badal became angry with a senior official of the PWD and B and R, rang up Secretary, PWD and B and R at Chandigarh and asked him to immediately transfer the same fellow to a place where there was no work to do. Official sources said that Mr Badal got angry when he was reviewing the progress of some works relating to the PWD and B and R Department. When he came to know that the senior official of the department was absent from the meeting despite the official (concerned official) had not completed the job, he (Mr Badal) immediately rang up to the Secretary from the meeting hall in the Deputy Commissioner’s office here. Mr Jaspal Singh, Deputy Commissioner, when contacted admitted that the incident had taken place pointed out that Mr Badal had ordered the Secretary, PWD and B and R for the transfer of Mr Hakam Singh, Superintendent Engineer (SE), PWD and B and R from Bathinda to some non-significant place. |
2 killed, two hurt in road mishap Kapurthala, April 2 The police said the victims were going on a scooter to Bijala village after attending a marriage ceremony when the two wheeler hit a four wheeler coming from the opposite direction. The deceased have been identified as Surjit Singh (25) and Antarpreet Kaur (3). The injured have been identified as Gurmit Kaur and Jhirmal Singh. They have been admitted to the local Civil Hospital. The condition of one of them is stated to be serious. PTI |
|
12 of marriage party injured Bathinda, April 2 Sources said the marriage party had come to Kot Shamir village from Raghuana (Haryana) village and they were on their way to home. The driver lost control of the vehicle as the axle of the jeep broke. It hit a tractor-trailor loaded with bricks. Two of the injured were referred to Ludhiana after preliminary treatment and two have been admitted to the local civil hospital. Two of the injured were identified as Jaswinder Singh and Janta Singh, the others were yet to identified, the sources added. |
Sainik School gets better
facilities KAPURTHALA The institution, housed in the sprawling palace of the Maharaja of the erstwhile State of Kapurthala, is one of the 18 Sainik Schools of the country and has been providing public school-standard education since the day it was inaugurated by the then Defence Minister, V.K. Krishna Menon, on July 8, 1961. The CBSE-affiliated school is being run by an autonomous body, the Sainik Schools Society, under the Defence Ministry. Though the school has a magnificent building, the lack of funds for the development of infrastructure and the creation of new facilities has been a constant worry for the management. Under the Defence Ministry’s guidelines on the running of the Sainik Schools, the state governments concerned are responsible for generating funds for the maintenance and creation of the school infrastructure. Almost all state governments have been contributing funds to help their respective Sainik Schools. However, in the case of Punjab, the state government did not bother to keep its commitment over the years on the development of the state’s only Sainik School with the result that various facilities started deteriorating. However, what has brought cheer to the school management this year is the one-time grant of Rs 50 lakh by the Punjab Government, even as the school Principal, Col Manohar Prasad, maintained that the original commitment by the state was to provide Rs 2 crore against the school’s demand of Rs 3 crore. “Though we have so many areas to cover, particularly the restoration and maintenance of the main building, we were happy to get money at least for infrastructural development and have been engaged in the work for the past six months. It is for the first time that money has been given by the state government to us,” said Colonel Prasad. The management has already got the swimming pool renovated. A filtration plant has also been installed there and a changing room provided. “We have set up four new basketball courts with fibre boards, two lawn tennis courts and a modern squash court,” said Colonel Prasad. Old cots, study tables, benches, dining tables and chairs had been replaced. “Moreover, we have even provided the intercom facility to the school captain. In addition, to cope with the problem of erratic power supply, the cadets have been provided with a new 82.5 kva generator,” he added. |
YPS Baisakhi mela Patiala, April 2 During an hour long interview with this correspondent, Jaspinder Narula opined that Punjabi folk music, particularly the classical form, has been obliterated from the Punjabi culture leaving behind only distorted form of Punjabi music. Western music has had so much of impact on the listeners that one does not have the patience to enjoy the fine notes of classical music. “The element of real folk music is obviously missing. Punjabi music is rich with all types of gharanas and various other sensitive tunes which cannot be found in any other culture”, Jaspinder said with a feeling of nostalgia. When asked if she herself was making any contribution towards reviving the old cultural form of Punjabi music, she replied that there were very few admirers of such music. Keeping in mind the competition and the commercial aspect, her thrust primarily is on pop music and various Hindi film songs. She said recently she had sung for the movies including ‘Chori Chori Chupke Chupke’, ‘Officer’, ‘Daman and Mehndi’ apart from signing up some other forthcoming movies. Jaspinder Narula said she is working on her latest Sufi music album. She added that she has been to city for quite a number of times but due to time constraints, she has not been able to see it properly. She added that still she likes Patiala jutti, duppatas and salwars. When asked about her marriage plans, she said the day will come very soon. Talking about her philosophy of life, she said the inner self mattered the most and external beauty was superficial. The others who performed at the function were Surinder
Kaur, Dolly Singh, Aditi Mann, Mikki Narula, Bhupi and Sirdool
Sikandar. The function was organised by Zee TV and Alpha TV and will broadcast on these channels on the eve of Baisakhi on April 13. |
||
|
‘WTO pact has led country into trap’ Patiala, April 2 Stating this at a special lecture on ‘’Globalisation, Liberalisation and Privatisation with reference to WTO’’, organised by the All India Peoples Resistance Forum, Punjabi University academician Prof Suchha Singh Gill said it was tragic that the development role model for the country was now being decided by the imperialistic powers. He said even more surprising was the fact that all ruling parties governing the country in the recent past succumbed to pressure from foreign powers and tailored their development programme according to the whims and fancies of these powers as well as international bodies like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. He said the entry of multinational companies into the country was leading to the ruin of the domestic industry. He urged the people to raise their voice against the WTO regime. Dr Varvara Rao, a special guest from Andhra Pradesh, criticised capitalisation and its effects. He said soon a counter campaign would be launched against capitalisation in the country. Forum President Darshan Pal also urged the people to gather on a common platform to fight against the effects of capitalisation and privatisation in the country. |
||
Exim policy hits textile
industry Amritsar, April 2 A spokesman of the Amritsar Small scale woollen Manufacturers Association, Mr Gunbeer Singh, said here today that their segment had been hit the hardest as the Commerce Minister, Mr Murasoli Maran, had literally opened up the entire textile trade, including import of cheap cotton and synthetic fabrics and also readymade garments. He pointed out that it was an ill-conceived game plan which will virtually wipe out the small scale textile units already facing the onslaught of the heavy excise burden, higher interest rates and poor infrastructure, besides the local taxes. Majority of the powerloom units in the city had closed. Now the liberalised import policy without any visible safeguards would signal their closure forever. Rampant corruption, inefficient
governance, lack of infrastructure and other ills have already played havoc
with the SSI sector. With the new exim policy, it was not hard to predict the future of the textile industry in the border state. Likewise, the shoddy yarn and blander units which were heavily taxed in the recent Budget, also face a very bleak future. |
|
Disinvestment: govt to talk to Dhindsa Ropar, April 2 Taking to this correspondent at Nangal today, Mr Mittal stated that the agitating workers met him and asked him to take up the matter with the Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. They said the NFL was a profit-making unit, and there was no logic in disinvesting in it when other units were not being privatised. The government would take up the matter with Mr Dhindsa and urge the ministry to first disinvest in loss-making units before carrying out the privatisation of NFL. Mr Mittal was in Nangal to attend religious programmes on the occasion of Ram
Navami.
|
|
Tata Infotech centre inaugurated Patiala, April 2 Giving this information during the inaugural function of the Tata Infotech centre here, Mr Shalinder Soni, manager, Tata Infotech, New Delhi, said the company already had its offices in 52 other countries with approximate of 5700 employees and an annual turnover of Rs 430 crore. Prof Kuldip Singh Dhir, Dean of Academic Affairs, Punjabi University, inaugurated the institute. He appreciated the efforts and contributions made in the IT education by the Tata Infotech. Mr Manmohan Singh, Chairman, Improvement Trust, also graced the occasion appealing the management of the centre to provide latest courses available at affordable rates. Dr
N.L. Dhawan, managing director of the centre, assured the gathering to provide the best of the facilities of the institute. |
|
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 121 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
