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| Tuesday,
August
28,
2001, Chandigarh, India
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HIGH COURT
Chandigarh, August 27 Seeking an independent probe into the incident, preferably by the CBI, the father of the victim Sukhdarshan Singh alias Sukha, Harcharan Singh of Gureh village, had alleged that his son was picked up by a police party from CIA staff headed by ASI Ajit Singh and SI Bagh Singh after their residence was raided on December 29, 1992. He had added that Sukha was taken to a police post where the then SSP, Swaran Singh, and DSP Har Bhagwan Singh were present. Giving details of the torture, he had claimed that Sukha’s screams were heard even in the adjoining room. His counsel had added on the petitioner’s behalf that Sukha was admitted to Dayanand Medical Hospital at Ludhiana after being released on December 31, 1992, but succumbed to his injuries on January 5, 1993. The post-mortem report had revealed that the death had occurred due to injuries, counsel had concluded. During the proceedings, Ludhiana’s District and Sessions Judge, who was asked to look into the matter, had stated in his report that Sukha had “admittedly died an unnatural death and a through probe by some impartial agency was called for in the case”. After hearing arguments and going through the evidence, the Judges observed: “The District and Sessions Judge has recommended further inquiry and we are also convinced that the matter needs to be further inquired into.” Regarding a probe by the premier investigation agency, Mr Justice Mehtab Singh Gill, speaking for the Bench, added: “Counsel for the petitioner has made a plea that the CBI be directed to investigate. We do not see why we should not repose confidence in a senior officer of the state police.” |
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SAD to oppose water disputes Bill in
RS Chandigarh, August 27 The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on August 3 where it was not opposed by the SAD MPs. It has generated a lot of heated debate in political circles in the state. Opponents of the SAD have been desperately trying to get political mileage from this issue, obviously keeping in view the coming Assembly elections in the state. Informed sources said that the party, after prolonged deliberations on the issue, had decided not to support the Bill in the Rajya Sabha where it has two nominees — Mr Balwinder Singh Bhunder and Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal. Though Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa is also an SAD member of the Rajya Sabha, he is part of the Cabinet, which approves all such bills before introduction in Parliament. He will not be in a position to oppose the Bill. He will have the option to abstain from the House. Earlier, the SAD had five nominees in the Upper House. However, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra and Mr Sukhdev Singh Libra have already parted company with the SAD. Mr Rajmohinder Singh Majitha had recently quit the Rajya Sabha following his election from the Majitha assembly constituency. The SAD has reached the conclusion that the amendments proposed to the Bill as such will have no adverse effect as far as the state’s right over river waters is concerned. The first amendment pertains to making time bound the adjudication of water disputes by tribunals constituted by the Centre. In other words, in case any state government submits a representation on a water dispute to the Centre, it will refer the matter to the tribunal which will not take more than three years to decide the matter. The term of the tribunal could be extended by two years. However, the Punjab Government has reservations on the second proposed amendment under which the Union Government can direct the state government concerned to supply data about each river basin and water resources, land, agriculture, etc, falling in that basin. The state government cannot refuse to provide such data as it has been made mandatory under the proposed amendment. The Central Government, according the proposed amendment, shall have powers to verify the data supplied by the state government, appoint any person or persons for the purpose and take such measures it may consider necessary. The person or persons so appointed shall have powers to summon records from the state government concerned. The Punjab Government feels that if the amendment is allowed to be passed in the Rajya Sabha, it will have a direct bearing on Centre- state relations and the right of the state over river waters. As the Centre will get overriding powers to verify data by way of this amendment, the role of the state government in presenting its case will be nullified. As irrigation is a state subject, giving overriding powers to the Centre in this connection will be against the interests of Punjab. As the SAD has always been a strong votary of more powers to the states and favours the implementation of the federal structure in letter and in spirit, the amendment will be against its stand on Centre- state relations. It could give an opportunity to the SAD’s opponents, especially the leaders of the Panthic Morcha, to take potshots at it. Hence, the decision to oppose the amendment in the Upper House. Sources said that the SAD leadership is also trying to ensure that the amendments are not listed on the business of the Upper House in the current session. Already Mr Jagmeet Singh Brar, a senior Congress leader, has criticised the Badal government for not opposing the amendment in the Lok Sabha. He has urged the state government to call an all-party meeting in this connection.
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Surjeet for amnesty to
cops Sangrur, August 27 Addressing a press conference here, Mr Surjeet said he condemned the excesses by policemen, but if the policemen did not control militants, terrorism could not be stamped out from the state, he added. Mr Surjeet disclosed that he had asked Mr Parkash Singh Badal in 1992 not to boycott Assembly elections but Mr Badal declined to contest saying the militants would kill him. He also alleged that Mr Badal had not shown courage in the fight against terrorists. For this reason he always visited the houses of killed militants. On allegations and counter allegations by the SAD and the Congress on the issue of Wassan Singh Zaffarwal and Dr Jagjit Singh Chouhan, Mr Surjit said Dr Chouhan was staying in Punjab Bhavan at Delhi like a state guest. He said this issue would be brought to public notice in the days to come. However, he added that violence in the state could not erupt now as people of the state were vigilant. Mr Surjeet also disclosed that in the ensuing Assembly elections in Punjab, the CPM would not align with the Congress and the “Panthic Morcha”. So the CPM was trying to form a morcha in Punjab by bringing secular and progressive forces at one platform to provide an alternative to the people of the state. He said the CPM’s main aim was to dethrone the SAD-BJP government in the ensuing Assembly elections. He said to form such a morcha in Punjab, a meeting of the Left parties would be held at Delhi on August 28 in which final decision would be taken. He also said the proposed morcha would unite progressive and secular intellectuals, writers and other individuals who had influence in their respective areas. Later, a convention would be held where a committee for the formation of morcha would be formed, he added. However, Mr Surjeet admitted that the CPM was not in a position to defeat the SAD-BJP alliance on its own. But the CPM would play an important role in defeating the SAD-BJP alliance, he added. Regarding river waters dispute, Mr Surjeet said the CPM’s stand was clear that it wanted the present usage of river waters, i.e. five million acre feet (MAF), by the Punjab should remain intact whereas remaining excess water might be distributed among other states. Reacting to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s statement that the Babri Masjid issue would be resolved soon, he said Mr Vajpayee wanted that the Muslims should construct the mosque at any other place while the Ram temple should remain at the present site. On tehelka.com issue, Mr Surjeet said people had not linked the method adopted by the website, but it had exposed the downfall in the society, for which the entire country had to think. He said resignations by the presidents of the BJP and the Samata Party in the wake of tehelka.com controversy had proved that the alliance partners had accepted the disclosures, made by the website. |
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PNFC workers gherao
official Ropar, August 27 Mr Manjit Singh had been appointed by the PSIDC (the owner of
PNFC) to look into the matter of the PNFC properties. He had come here to dispose
of furniture and other material at the plant site. The head office of the PNFC was locked out on the Punjab and Haryana High Court orders, on Saturday. After the lockout of the head office the employees of the PNFC here are expecting a lockout at the plant, any time. When Mr Manjit Singh came to the colony of the PNFC workers today after disposing off the furniture at the plant, to get the receipt of the material, the employees who are expecting the lockout gheraoed him and detained him in the house of the Assistant Security Officer. When this correspondent visited the site, the workers alleged that they had detained Mr Manjit Singh expecting mala fide intention on the part of their management. They alleged though the court on the recommendations of BIFR had ordered the winding up of the PNFC on July 27, it had also directed that the official liquidator be attached, who would take into custody the entire properties of the
PNFC. The liquidator was further directed to insert advertisement in the newspapers regarding the winding up of the plant within 14 days. However, the Punjab Government had not preceded any action on the court orders, they alleged. Though the PNFC plant stopped production in 1998, the workers are still coming to the plant and marking their attendance. They have, however, not been paid any salary since September 1999. The workers now fear that after the lockout they may be denied the salary for the period since the plant stopped production. After detaining Mr Manjit Singh the workers demanded that the CMD of the PNFC who is also the MD of the
PSIDC, Mr R.K. Bhandari, should give in writing the status of the workers after the lockout. The workers should be given proper notices of the termination of their service and should be told how would they get their due, they demanded. Union leaders talked to the CMD on the telephone and asked him to give them in writing the status of the employees. Mr Manjit Singh who was detained by the workers alleged harassment at their hands. He alleged that the workers detained him forcibly despite the fact that he had no powers to take any decision regarding their fate. The local police had reached the spot but was not able to free Mr Manjit Singh from the custody of the workers. |
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Decision on PSEB Chairman after Badal
returns Chandigarh, August 27 Official sources said today that the post could not be declared vacant as Mr Sohal had only proceeded on leave and had not resigned. The Government had the option only to appoint an officiating Chairman of the PSEB at the moment. The government is looking for a suitable senior IAS officer to fill the slot. One view favours giving the charge to Mr Sudhir Mittal, Secretary, Power, Punjab, but he is to go abroad next month on training for about four weeks. If he agrees to forgo his training, the government is expected to opt for him. However, a decision in this connection will be taken tomorrow after the arrival of the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, here. Only an IAS officer of the level of Principal Secretary can be appointed Chairman of the board, it is learnt. |
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PSEB Chairman attends
office Patiala, August 27 According to sources, the Chairman remained closetted in his office in the evening for some time. They said the Chairman was still to file his leave application and that it might be done tomorrow. Mr Sohal, however, could not be contacted at his official residence here. The Chairman had recently been asked by the government of proceed on long leave as he was not getting along with the state Minister for Power Sikander Singh Maluka. The board had recently been juggling funds to measure up to the demands of the government, which while first going in for a scheme to give 24-hour power supply to villages, had recently given further doles to the Scheduled Castes and the domestic sector. The board was in a tight spot regarding finances due to the sops and the situation had become so serious in the last month when it had coal reserves for only a few days. The board has been burdened with a heavy debt. Mr Sohal had on various occasions while speaking to the media stressed that the board must be made financially viable if it was to survive in the future. He had constantly hinted that sops were not good for the financial health of the board and that the board must be run on commercial lines. |
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PUDA allots air-cooling
consultancy contracts Chandigarh, August 27 PUDA is executing such complexes at Patiala, Hoshiarpur and Bathinda, in addition to its corporate office building at SAS Nagar. The work for the DACs at Moga and Gurdaspur is also likely to commence soon. Earlier, a decision had been taken by the Empowered Committee headed by the Chief Secretary, Punjab, to provide air-cooling in all these complexes. The sub-committee after rigorous screening of the technical bids allotted consultancy in respect of the DAC, Patiala to V.S.Kukreja and Associates, and that of Hoshiarpur to New Delhi Consulting Group Pvt Ltd. The consultancy charges approved were well within two per cent norm of the over-all execution cost of the air cooling job. Since all these complexes are multi-storeyed RCC structures, provision of electrical lifts would be a very important functional requirement. The committee ruled out the use of hydraulic lifts since these did not have high reliability. Stringent shortlisting criteria was laid down so that only profit-making companies, with average annual turnover exceeding Rs 50 crore, were eligible. On this basis, two companies, namely, Otis Elevator Company (India) Ltd , New Delhi, and KONE Elevator India Ltd , Chandigarh, were shortlisted . However, the actual allotment of work would take place after the finalisation of specifications and through competitive tendering. PUDA has completed this exercise ahead of schedule so that there is no delay in the execution of these prestigious projects. The meeting was also attended by Mr N.S. Sodhi, Adviser (Technical), PUDA, and Mr Kanwar Jaswant Rai, Chief Engineer, Public Health. |
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Fake certificates: 2 DEOs
indicted Bathinda, August 27 Sources in the Vigilance Bureau said that there were a number of applications and affidavits given by those who had suffered due to the two officials who allegedly made monetary gains by misusing the power. Sources said that registration of a criminal case against them would be recommended. During raids at Mr Sandhu’s house the Vigilance Bureau recovered Rs 1.5 lakh about which the family did not divulge anything. Sources said that the money might have been taken from those who had received benefits from him. The main allegations against the DEO’s (Sandhu and Dani) were that they countersigned experience certificates about which they were aware that these were “Fake”. The “rates” for issuing these certificates were fixed these were Rs 1000 if the experience certificate was for one year. Likewise the rates for more years were also fixed. For gettin a certificate for five years experience the applicant had to pay Rs 5000, sources said. For the transfer of teachers the DEOs ‘charged’ Rs 15,000 is the transfer was to some rural school. The fee for a transfer to a school in the urban area was Rs 50,000, sources said. Sources said that Harsh Rahi, principal of local Janta Model School who worked as middleman for the DEOs would also be booked. It was found that most of the ‘fake’ experience certificates were issued from the school run by Harsh sources said. Sources said that Harsh used to contact the persons meeding to get their work done from the District Education Office and settled the amount for the work. Harsh also took his some share from the amount that was to be given to the DEOs by the applicants. Sources said that one of the clerks in the DEO office who was involved in the scandal would also be indicted. Transactions in the office were held through that clerk, sources added. Modus operandi of issuing the experience certificates was that the candidate who wanted to get it approached a private school which often was Janta Model School. The school principal after getting xerox copies of the certificates of educational qualifications of the candidate put his name on the attendance register of the school. Although according to rules a school have only one such register but those who were in the business of issuing fake certificates had many such registers. They showed the candidates as members of the faculty of the school. Sources said that although such schools did not have many students on the rolls but these had at least 50 or even more teachers in their school. These certificates were to be countersigned by the DEO who after verifying the authenticity of the certificate, countersigned the same. The office of the DEO had to verify that the register on which the names of the staff members were written was genuine case. But the DEOs knowing very well, that the certificates issued by them were fake did not bother to put a check on them. The sources said that the involvement of DEOs was proved beyond doubt. Mr Surinder Pal Singh, SP (Vigilance) when contacted said that the inquiry was nearly complete, but he could not divulge the details. However he added that if any person wanted to give information that could help in the inquiry he could approach the Bureau. He said that identity of such persons was always kept secret. He added that the report of the inquiry would be sent direct to the senior officer at Chandigarh. |
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Vilification campaign on poll
eve Patiala, August 27 The Teachers United Front on its part accused the university management of using official machinery to paste anonymous posters on the varsity campus. It said this was being done as a last-ditch effort by the management as it had already sighted the impending defeat of its group. While requesting the Chief Minister and the varsity Chancellor to intervene in the issue, it appealed to the teaching community not to misled by this vilification campaign. Meanwhile, a leaflet distributed on the campus meet your PUTA presidential candidate Dr
K.C. Singhal listed a long series of “aberations” by Dr Singhal during his teaching career. He leaflet also asks teachers whether the density of the faculty would be safe in Dr Singhal’s hands especially after the “unearthing” of irregularities committed during the hosting the alumni meet in 1999. They said though Dr Singhal claimed that the FIR in the case was being cancelled, the university had already brought to the notice of the District Police Chief that the investigation had not taken into account the apparently bogus money voucher of Rs 2800 bearing two dissimilar signatures of one Amarinder Singh. It also claims that Dr Singhal had not given any satisfactory reply as to why he got funds collected from outside audited from a private chartered accountant as funds provided by the university were got audited from normal varsity audit system. Meanwhile, posters put up on the campus today also listed the “historic achievements of the outgoing PUTA” by the Forum for Enlightened Opinion which has never been heard about earlier. The poster said the outgoing PUTA had wasted tonnes of paper on writing memorandums to the government and the varsity Chancellor but had not raised a single demand of the teachers. The forum also claimed the outgoing PUTA has been forced to go in for desperate acts due to the firmness shown by the Vice-Chancellor. The UTF meanwhile claimed that it has initiated special schemes for varsity teachers after taking up their problems with the authorities, including earmarking of Rs 25 lakh per year for faculty exchange programmes with foreign varsities, increase in the university fellowship, enhancement of limits for all kinds of loans and completion of the Career Advancement Scheme
(CAS) by September 30.
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Tohra asks Oppn to join Morcha Barnala, August 27 Mr Tohra expressed these views at Tapa about, 20 km from here yesterday while addressing a public conference organised by the SHSAD to welcome three municipal councillors of Tapa — Avtar Singh Gora, Mrs Sati Devi and Mrs Vateri Devi and four municipal councillors of Longowal — Pawan Kumar Garg, Jagjit Singh, Mahinder Singh and Ajmer Singh, two sarpanches Pritam Singh of Bilga, Bhim Singh and Harphool Singh, ex-sarpanch into the SHSAD and the Panthic Morcha fold. Mr Tohra flayed Union Home Minister L.K. Advani for his declaration of granting general amnesty to about 500 police officials of Punjab facing trials which Tohra said was quite unfortunate. He asked why Sikh youths who were languishing in various jails could not be given general amnesty. The SHSAD leader regretted that Mr Badal did not help any Sikh family tortured at the hands of the police during the days of terrorism. He said because of the wrong and anti-public policies and programmes of the SAD-BJP combine farmers, traders, industrialists, labourers, employees were very unhappy with the Punjab Government. The development of Punjab had come to a standstill for want of planning as the Punjab Government was under a debt of Rs 26,000 crore and the Punjab State Electricity Board under a debt of Rs 13,000 crore. |
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Badal may skip non-BJP CMs’
meeting Chandigarh, August 27 Informed official sources said today that Mr Badal had pressing engagements next week and would not be in a position to attend the meeting. However, there appear to be political reasons for Mr Badal staying away. At this stage it does not suit Mr Badal at the political level to be in the company of Chief Ministers who are opposed to the BJP-led alliance on all fronts. Mr Badal needs the all-out support of the Centre to help him in the huge task of paddy procurement in the next two months. The smooth procurement of paddy could help lift the sagging political morale of the Badal government in a big way. Mr Badal is supposed to be in New Delhi on September 1 to attend a meeting of the National Development Council, but he will return to Chandigarh the same evening, it is learnt. The Education Minister, Mr Tota Singh, will also not be able to attend the meeting as he is supposed to be abroad in September, according to official sources. The West Bengal Chief Minister has called the meeting of Chief Ministers to oppose the Union Human Resource Ministry’s move to “saffronise” education at the school and university levels by making drastic changes in the syllabi and introducing courses like astrology. The West Bengal Chief Minister feels that the Centre’s move to take unilateral decisions on matters like education should be opposed by all states. Subjects like astrology should not be introduced without consulting the states. The issue had recently come up in Parliament and even certain members of the National Democratic Alliance had opposed the “saffronisation” of education. |
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Win has consolidated SAD-BJP position: FM Chandigarh, August 27 Talking to The Tribune, Capt. Kanwaljit Singh, Finance and Planing Minister of Punjab and party General Secretary, said Congress had been adopting “divide and rule” policy in the past 50 years and was now facing its consequences. Ignoring the public and the development works in urban as well as in rural sectors of the state, the Congress leaders kept on aiming at and fighting for power. A majority of the problems, which the public is facing nowadays, have been created by the Congress when it was in power, alleged the minister. Capt. Kanwaljit Singh said the Congress after being defeated in the Assembly byelections in Majitha, Sunam and Nawanshahar had only maintained its loosing record in the Dera Bassi Municipal Councillor’s election. He said victory by the SAD-BJP nominee, Mr Maam Raj Gandhi, who defeated his Congress rival Mr Sarwan Kumar Saini by 787 to 130 votes in the byelection held for Ward No. 6 of Dera Bassi Municipal Council on Sunday, clearly reflects the popularity of the SAD-BJP combine in the area. He said the victory of the SAD-BJP candidate was the result of the development work which the party had done in the last four and a half
years.
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BSP to contest 117 Assembly
seats Bareta (Mansa), August 27 The BSP chief said party would hold a state-level conference at Hoshiarpur on September 23. A rally of farmers and labourers would be held at Longowal (Sangrur) on August 28. Addressing the rally Mr Kanshi Ram said the money collected by the Badal government in the past four years was being distributed in the name of sangat darshan programmes to woo the voters. |
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Jakhar for action against Rajni
Mehta Abohar, August 27 Confirming this Mr Jakhar told newspersons today Ms Mehta has allegedly been spearheading a campaign against him for the past few months in gross violation of all norms and ethics. She had formed a ‘front’ to indulge in activities prejudicial to the interests of the party. She had been quoted by the media saying that she and her supporters would openly campaign against the Congress if party ticket was given to Sajjan Kumar Jakhar in next Assembly elections. Since the day of her appointment Mrs Mehta had cared less to strengthen women wing and concentrated more on launching scathing attack on flimsy grounds against the DCC president. This kind of indicipline could prove injurious to the interests of the party. Mr Jakhar said his detractors were projecting Block Congress President, Mr Sudhir Nagpal, as an aspirant for the party ticket from the Abohar constituency instead of their own claim. This seemed to be part of a deep-rooted conspiracy hatched with the consent of leaders of the SAD-BJP alliance to create misunderstanding between him and Mr Nagpal. He was not in the fray for ticket and would support Mr Jakhar’s candidature. |
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Police station built with people’s
help Mehatpur (Jalandhar), August 27 The earlier two-room police station was functioning from the PWD rest house. Generous residents donated six kanals of land and Rs 2.5 lakh to realise their need for a police station. They have set an example for others to follow. Earlier, under the community policing programme, a special police-public meeting was convened on March 18, at which representatives of local businessmen and traders, sarpanches and panches of more than 50 villages had participated. The participants had offered to donate land and money for the construction of a model police station on the Mehatpur-Sangowal road. While villagers donated Rs 2.5 lakh, the Mehatpur panchayat gave a piece of six kanals of land worth Rs 50 lakh. Thereafter, a seven-member committee was constituted by the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr Gaurav Yadav, and the project was completed within a record period of six months under its supervision. Residents of Shah Salimpur, Rasoolpur, Shahpur, Patti Jhuggian, Chotte Bille, Sanghowal, Khurampur, Bangiwal and adjoining villages voluntarily brought hundreds of tractor trailers loaded with soil to fill the 15-foot-deep trench on the land. Residents of the Bilga area in Jalandhar district had similarly helped the police in setting up a police station at Bilga. The newly built police station comprises an office of the SHO, the “maalkhana,” an ammunition room, two lock-ups, a kitchen, an office of the munshi and a waiting hall for people. |
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KCF militant arrested Ferozepore, August 27 According to Mr Harchand Singh Sidhu, SSP, a police team led by Sub-Inspector Jaspal Singh arrested Angrej Singh following a
tip-off. Angrej Singh had forcibly taken away the tractor-trailer from a person in Kurukshetra after stabbing him with a knife. He hails from Dhun village under Khalra police station. Mr Sidhu said Angrej Singh who was working under the command of Wassan Singh Zaffarwal was involved in over 10 cases of kidnapping, extortion, killings and other crimes at several places in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. He surrendered before the Ferozepore police in 1992. He was then sentenced to life imprisonment in two cases relating to the killing of two persons of his own
village. Angrej Singh was released on parole in February this year. He, along with Baghel Singh, who was undergoing life imprisonment in terrorist related activities, had planned to restart criminal activities and extortions. The two of them were joined by Harmeet Singh of Ladwa Baghela village who was with Angrej Singh in the Muzaffarnagar jail was released later. The trio had assembled at the house of Angrej Singh in Makhu in June this year and had allegedly planned to carry out terrorist activities in Punjab and Haryana. |
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HC strikes down Municipal Act provision Chandigarh, August 27 The Division Bench, comprising Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi and Mr Justice M.L. Singhal, declared the impugned provision as unconstitutional while allowing about 100 writ petitions filed on behalf of owners of lands and buildings who were occupying it. It was contended by Mr Rattan Lal Kalra and other petitioners that the provision was discriminatory in as much as the house tax in the case of buildings and lands given on rent is leviable on the basis of annual value determined under the East Punjab Rent Control Act on the basis of rent received by the owner which is much less than that determined in case of self-occupied land and buildings or occupied by specific relatives. |
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Villagers oppose NAC
notification Kapurthala, August 27 A joint meeting of workers of all parties and residents of the area was held on Sunday. It decided to oppose this "undemocratic and dictatorial" move of the Punjab Government. In a press conference organised here today, Mr Sukhpal Singh Khaira, secretary, PPCC, and Mr Jarnail Singh, sarpanch of the Nadala Gram Panchayat, said the shopkeepers had decided to file a writ in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh, for setting aside the notification dated June 14, 2001, issued by Mr Rajesh Chabra, Secretary, Department of the local Government. The notification had been issued at the behest of Ms Jagir Kaur, MLA, to dislodge the democratically elected gram panchayat, they alleged. They alleged that Ms Jagir Kaur could not tolerate the defeat of an Akali Dal (B) candidate in the elections of the gram panchayat held last year. Hence, she wanted to set up a notified area committee to nominate her own men as office-bearers of the committee. The gram panchayat was still to complete four years of its term. Residents and members of the gram panchayat were not taken into confidence and no promulgation was made in village before the issuance of the notification seeking objections, they added. They said, earlier, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had stayed the setting up of the committee in the village following a writ filed by its residents on May 15, 1998. In April, 2000, the Punjab Government decided to retain gram panchayat in the village and elections to the gram panchayat were held in June, 2000. The village has a population of about 10,000 and is considered to be one of the important villages in the Bholath Assembly constituency. Officers of the Panchyat Department had shown ignorance about the issuance of the notification, they alleged. |
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Order on removal of generators upheld Abohar, August 27 Mr Sushil Kumar Goyal, a resident of Gandhi Chowk here filed a complaint before Mr D.K. Tiwari SDM u/s 133 (i) of the Cr. P.C. in 1998 against use of generators by 10 shopkeepers of the Gandhi Chowk area. The generator sets had been installed in open space owned by the Municipal Council. Mr Goyal stated that these generators were source of nuisance to public and residents of the locality. All generators had been installed at a distance of 10 feet from one another. Such generators had been installed even in streets making it difficult to pass through as these give out heavy quantity of smoke polluting the environment besides sound pollution. The shopkeepers raised preliminary objection that the petitioner had no locus standi to file the complaint. The generators had become a necessity in the modern life and they had been using these for more than nine years. The nuisance if any was of civil nature and as such provisions of Section 133 Cr.P.C. could not be attracted. No certificate had been obtained from the State Pollution Board, they argued. The SDM Mr D.K. Tiwari (now posted as Secretary, PSEB) had directed the Tehsildar and the SMO to visit the area and examine all aspects. The Tehsildar in his report submitted that all respondents (shopkeepers) had installed 5 kw generators and using municipal land in front of their shops. The generators had been causing noise as these did not have good silencers, these gave out huge smoke also. The SMO in his report said that the smoke discharged by the generators had carbon mono-oxide dangerous to health of the inhabitants and general public. Noise pollution was also hazardous. Mr Tiwari passed an order on August 25, 1998 that all generators be removed by September 7, 1998. The shopkeepers filed revision petition in the district courts on September 5, 1998 praying that the orders of the SDM be set aside. They pleaded that the SDM had no power to issue order u/s 133 Cr.P.C. Dismissing the revision petition, Mr Bhupinder Singh Additional Sessions Judge in his judgement observed that the SDM, at any stage, could order for the removal of any machinery which caused nuisance to the general public and the residents of the locality. Rather these generators had been creating pollution of noise and air. Thus the orders of the SDM were quite legal and valid. Any person affected by the nuisance caused by any machinery is competent to file such complaint. Even the SDM was competent to pass such order if he had attained knowledge that any machinery was causing nuisance. |
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HC judge inspects
Hoshiarpur jail Hoshiarpur, August 27 The judge listened to the grievances of jail inmates and inspected the kitchen. He directed jail authorities to modernise the kitchen. He also directed the departments concerned to provide free legal aid to those undertrials who could not engage lawyers. He inspected the newly constructed block of the jail. Later, he discussed with the Deputy Commissioner and jail authorities the ways and means to start a nursery in the jail complex with the help of an NGO. He also addressed a meeting of the district Bar Association and inspected functioning at district courts. |
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Employees learn how to save
lives Patiala, August 27 Mr Vijay Kumar Goel, Vice-President of the Red Cross here, said, due to increasing population, pollution and stress, diseases were on the rise, but people did not have proper knowledge of healthcare and first-aid. He said the International Red Cross was trying to educate people on these issues. Mr Mool Narayan, Medical Superintendent (MS) of DCW Hospital here, said prevention was better then cure and everyone should learn first-aid. He said self-treatment could be dangerous and an excessive and wrong usage of life-saving drugs was bad for health. Workers of the Red Cross, Mr Verma and Mr Gurdeep Singh, taught the participating employees how to deal with patients in cases of heart attack, blocked respiration, bleeding burns, poisoning, fits, shocks, unconsciousness, head injury, fracture of the spine and the other kinds of fractures. Employees were also taught about blood and eye donation, balanced diet and proper sanitation. Mr S.S. Sodhi, head of the DCW Training Centre said accidents were regular on roads, in houses and at work, but the lives of injured persons could be saved before the arrival of doctor if they were given a proper first-aid. More than 102 officials of the local Railway Department received the training. |
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IN FOCUS Our Correspondent Patiala The palace has an art gallery and a gallery of stuffed animals and birds. This gallery was opened recently after renovation but it still is far from attractive. All the grandeur seems to have lost for ever. The walls show ugly patches and cracks. It contains some rare and old stuffed animals and birds but these are not properly preserved. Frequent floods in the past have left a mark on them. The palace has old canons placed in the open, which remind one of the wars of yore, but now their wooden wheels are falling off. The Palace presents a deserted look. The railings on the towers in the water tank are crying for care. The entire building needs a face-lift, wild plants are growing in the crevices, which ultimately can harm the building. The lawns around the water tank are in bad shape with wild vegetation growing all around. The paint on the walls is falling off. Few local residents feel like visiting Sheesh Mahal these days. Other joints in the city offer more fun and recreation. People coming from outside do visit the palace but they also are disturbed to see the condition of the monument. Sangeeta Nayar, a tourist, said the government had failed to exploit the tourist potential of the spot. Another visitor said though one felt excited about the unique swinging bridges over the huge water tank, but the tank could be filled and water games or boats would attract local residents as well as other visitors. Or the place can be used as an amphitheater with the palace forming an impressive backdrop, if there is any difficulty in filling the tank with water.
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NFL: no toxic
discharge Chandigarh, August 27 The calorific value of the ash was nil. The cement plant had collected a sample of dry carbon slurry, which had a calorific value equal to about 500 k.cal per kg. The matter was being taken up with the cement plant for the sale of dry carbon slurry. Mr Mehta further said that since the Nangal plant was an ISO-9002 and 14001 unit, all emissions and effluents met the Minimum National Standards.
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Moni elected councillor Gurdaspur, August 27 Mr Moni polled 939 votes whereas 679 votes were polled by the Congress candidate. Eight votes were declared invalid. A total of 1626 votes were polled in the election. |
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Dam oustees await relief, allege
fraud Pathankot, August 27 According to the investigation
conducted by this reporter, Rs 3.84 crore was received by the administration to be disbursed among 769 oustees but only 129 of them were given cheques worth Rs 40 lakh by the authorities till July 21, 2001, while as many as 640 oustees of Ranjit Sagar Dam are still waiting for their compensation. The Ranjit Sagar Dam oustees have alleged that they have been victims of red-tapism, with the government taking a long time to settle their claims since 1981, when their land was acquired. Not only this there were alleged disparties in payments for the land acquired. More than 20 families of Upperla Thara and Phangota villages had alleged that certain officials of the administration in connivance with the land mafia transferred land records to their names to receive the compensation. |
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2 die in mishaps Bathinda, August 27 One person was killed and an other injured when the scooter they were riding on was hit by a tractor-trailer near Gobindpura village, 12 km from here. The deceased has been identified as Balkaran Singh (28) of Gobindpura village, while the injured has been identified as Joginder Singh of Bhairupa village. He has been admitted to a hospital where his condition is stated to be serious. A farmer of Lehra Mohabbat village in the district died today when he accidentally consumed an insecticide. In another incident, an aged sadhu died on the platform of the local railway station. The sadhu who was sick for many days died today. The Railway Police took the body and after post-mortem examination handed it over to the volunteers of the Sahara Jan Sewa for funeral. Two persons were injured when the scooter they were riding on collided head on with a bus near Kotshamir village, 18 km from here, today. Both of them were admitted to the local Civil Hospital. The condition of one of them was serious. |
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Badal’s sangat darshan goes on Bhunder (Muktsar), August 27 Mr Badal who held sangat darshan at Bubania, Kuraiwala, Wadian, Bhunder villages today said that Rs 70 crore had been allotted for the various schemes to uplift the Dalits which include free books to Dalit students, stipends, repair and maintenance of Dalit dharamshalas etc. To provide 24-hours power supply to villages a grant of Rs 250 crore had been given to the PSEB, Mr Badal said. He said that about 93,000 acres of water logged land had been made fertile in the state and 445 km of new drains had been dug up. The water supply in the rural areas would be improved and last year Rs 118 crore were being spent on it. |
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Foundation stone of
dharamshala laid Bathinda, August 27 Speaking on the occasion Mr Garg said that work for the construction of dharamshala would be completed at the earliest. He added that the government would make every effort for the uplift of the poor and downtrodden. Welfare camps would be held regularly in villages for providing certificates to Scheduled Caste families so that they could avail of welfare scheme of providing 100 units of electricity to them. |
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Woman killed Jalandhar, August 27 |
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Farmers stage
dharna Sangrur, August 27 Their main demands include the inclusion of Jat Sikhs in the OBC list in Punjab, waiving off loans due towards farmers and linkage of crops’ rates, especially paddy and wheat, with the price index with base year 1966. Subedar Jhanda Singh demanded compensation for those farmers of Duggan village whose crops had been bedly affected due to poor-quality insecticides. He said the administration should take strict action against the insecticide dealers and companies. The rally was addressed by Mr Balbir Singh Rajewal, national general secretary of the BKU, Mr Sukhdev Singh vice-president of the Punjab unit of the BKU, Mr Sher Singh, Mr Malkeet Singh and Mr Niranjan Singh, vice-president, general secretary and secretary, respectively, of the district unit of the BKU, among others. |
Tax likely in lieu
of octroi Amritsar, August 27 Mr Tandon elaborated that wherever the octroi was abolished, a tax was imposed. The tax, he said, could be in the form of cess on sales tax, turnover tax or entry tax. Talking to mediapersons, Mr Tandon categorically stated that the state BJP President, Mr B.L. Rinwa, had no authority to make statement on the government policy matter. “He can only suggest” as he is not in the government Mr Tandon said while reacting to a query regarding the reported statement of Mr Rinwa regarding the abolition of octroi at all costs by end of August. He said the three-member MLAs’ committee was going deep into the octroi issue before a final decision could be made. He termed octroi as the most “obnoxious way” to make money for the government. “It is the worst kind of harassment that people could be put through.” The Local Bodies Minister endorsed the statement of Union Home Minister that some relief should be provided to those police officials who fought militancy. But he refused to comment on any plan the government had in mind about those Punjab police officials who were languishing in jails.
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SDO held for accepting bribe Bathinda, August 27 Mr Surinder Pal Singh, SP (Vigilance) Bathinda Zone in a press note issued here today said that Sudagar Singh had demanded the money from Hardev Singh, a resident of Bambiha of Faridkot district for allowing him power connection. He said that Hardev Singh had informed them that the SDO was demanding bribe. He added that they laid a trap to nab Sudagar Singh and caught him red-handed. |
Get PG degrees recognised:
MCI Ludhiana, August 27 Dr Chawla in an interview said almost 50 per cent of the postgraduate courses of the medical colleges and institutes in the country were not recognised by the MCI and as a result the student were suffering. The students were possessing the postgraduate degrees but they were not being considered for the jobs by the state and the Central Governments, he pointed. Dr Chawla explained that prior to 1993 amendment in the MCI Act, medical education was the state subject but with the amendment in the ACI Act in 1993, the medical education came on the concurrent list and became a central subject. However, the health remained the state subject. Under the amended Act, the permission for starting a new medical college or the postgraduate courses is granted by the Central Government with the approval from the MCI which conducts the necessary inspections. He said before the amendment in the MCI act, the universities were granting affiliation and recognition but now the degree (both undergraduate and postgraduate) can be recognised by the MCI only and the universities grant affiliation. Dr Chawla disclosed that in the last year a survey was conducted by a deemed university of Chennai which found that more than 50 per cent of the postgraduate courses being run by the medical colleges in the country were not recognised. In Punjab, there are six medical colleges out of which five have postgraduate courses and half of these were not recognised by the MCI. Under the MCI act, two inspections are done regarding the staff strength and the standard of examinations before granting the final recognition. These institutes can get the inspections done by depositing a fee of Rs 50,000 while for the new institute, the fee is Rs 2 lakh. He said in Hyderabad, the MCI had done all inspections and the medical colleges deposited Rs 69 lakh for the same. Dr Chawla revealed that after the amendment in the MCI Act, 50 new private colleges were opened. There were 179 medical colleges in the country out of which 60 were government run. The private medical colleges were going in for more postgraduate courses, he said. He said Chandigarh medical colleges applied for recognition of 12 PG courses and permission was granted for eight courses. Dr Chawla emphasised that the medical colleges should go in for inspections by depositing a fee of Rs. 50,000 and get the PG courses recognised as it was in the interest of the students and the institutes. |
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Govt school in deplorable state Bathinda This school imparts education to about 225 children of trans-railway colonies. The school, having 12 classrooms, was inaugurated on April 3, 1985. It lacks all basic facilities needed for its smooth functioning. Of the 12 rooms, only six are being used at present for holding classes. Four rooms are in danger of collapsing and are being used to store broken furniture and other waste equipment. Some rooms on the first floor of the school building are not being used for holding classes as these are considered to be unsafe. The students are not even allowed to go to these rooms. Students have no option but to attend classes in the open. There is no furniture for the students. They sit on mats donated by residents of the city to the school. Also, two toilets have been built with donations. The cracked walls, broken doors, exposed electric wires and leaking roofs reveal the carelessness in construction work. All rooms are filled with dust and waste paper as there is no sweeper to clean these. The toilets are also lying blocked as these have not been cleaned. In the rainy season, things go from bad to worse, as classrooms become unsafe due to faulty wiring. During this period, parents avoid sending their wards to school. As no chowkidar has been appointed to take care of the building after school hours, many thefts have taken place in the school. Chairs, taps, switches and plugs have been stolen from classrooms. Interestingly, the school has been without a principal for the past 10 months. One teacher out of the six working here has been appointed by the district education authorities to manage the school. The school also does not have a principal’s office. When this correspondent tried to talk to the teachers about the problems of the school, they said the higher authorities had ordered them not to reveal any information about the school to mediapersons. When contacted, parents of students of the school said they were aware of the condition of the school but could not afford to send their children to private schools. The District Education Officer (Primary) was not available for comments. The Deputy Education Officer, when contacted, said he was not aware of the condition of the school.
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Class time, teachers, take your seats Patiala, August 27 According to sources, the syllabi of various departments is not updated every year and no effort is made by the university lecturers to add to their knowledge and raise teaching standards. This means that students rarely get to know the latest in their fields of study and fail to compete with students of the other universities of the region in interviews for various jobs. Students who join professional courses like the MBA, mass communication, finance management, pharmacy and computers programmes do so to have good career prospects. However, they complain that they are being taught what their seniors were taught, while professional organisations look for something “extra” in newcomers and choose talent persons over greenhorns. However, good job prospects are possible only if students get competent teachers who are experts in their field of study. There should also be specialist teachers who who can pick up knowledge from magazines, computers, the Internet, journals and books and recommend these sources to their students. Unfortunately, this is not happening in any of the university departments here, due to which, students have to make do with the available subject combinations and the old syllabi. Sources said there certain departments of the university were facing another problem. Students of the business management programme said, earlier, the authorities had agreed to introduce a new course, but, later, said this could be possible only if a specific number of students joined the course. Though as many students as desired by the university were ready to join the programme, the course could not be introduced. Many students said, either there should be more specialist teachers or more UGC refresher courses for teachers. However, things in the Department of Business Management are yet to improve. In the Departments of Sanskrit, Hindi and Linguistics, the number of teachers is more and the number of students is proportionally less. Students don’t like studying the same syllabi year after year. They say that, if the UGC introduces more refresher courses for teachers, things may improve. “In their long teaching career, teachers forget that they should not leave books. There should be regular teaching classes for teachers as well so that students do not suffer,” said a first-year student on the condition of anonymity. The university students have demanded specialist teachers for courses like information technology and international business management. They want that teachers of most other departments should be given practical training in view of the rapidly changing technology. However, who will convince these teachers that they need to relearn, is the question. |
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