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| Thursday,
July 25, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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Congress MLA takes Amarinder to task Chandigarh, July 24 “Mr Amarinder Singh and I may be from the same party but I shall still criticise him for behaving in an immature fashion on the SYL issue”, Mr Yadav told TNS today. The Haryana Congress leader said it did not behove well for the Punjab Chief Minister to say that Punjab would not give even a drop of water to Haryana as it was against the Rajiv-Longwal agreement. “Both Amarinder Singh and Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala are interested in politicisation of the river waters issue,” the defiant Congress MLA said, adding that the worst sufferers of the SYL stalemate had been the people of the southern districts of Haryana who did not get adequate supply of water. “There is enough water in Punjab as well as in Haryana Chief Minister’s home district, Sirsa, and they are not really bothered about the waters issue”, alleged Mr Yadav. “Amarinder Singh is in a responsible post. He should better restrain himself from making irresponsible statements”, Mr Yadav said. In view of Punjab’s unwillingness to complete the canal, Mr Chautala should try to pave the way for an amicable settlement of the SYL issue by involving the central government. Mr Yadav also demanded that a compensation of Rs 5000 per acre must be given to the farmers by the state government in view of the draught situation prevailing in the state. A special girdawari must be ordered in the southern districts as the canal network was weak in those areas.
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Priests
differ over clean chit to Sandhu Amritsar, July 24 Talking to The Tribune Giani Bhagwan Singh, said Mr Sandhu could not be absolved of the charges yet as the high priests so far had not received a report from Mr Kirpal Singh Badungar, president SGPC. He said Mr Badungar was busy in religious functions and could not bring the sealed envelope containing the 18-page complaint and five affidavits in today’s meeting. Activists of the Khalsa Panchayat had alleged that Mr Sandhu had accepted money from Baba Dhanwant Singh who faced charges of rape and consuming liquor at his dera, for awarding him (Baba Dhanwant Singh) a mild ‘tankhah’ (religious punishment). Meanwhile five Sikh bodies expressed serious concern over the inability of the SGPC chief to submit the evidence of the Khalsa Panchayat to the Sikh clergy today. In a joint statement Prof Jagmohan Singh, general secretary, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) and Mr Kanwarpal Singh, a spokesperson of the Dal Khalsa said, “we believe that there is absolutely no need to acdept the unreasonable and untenable demand of the Khalsa Panchayat regarding the submission of evidence to a person or committee of their choice.” They claimed that the Khalsa Panchayat did not have the support of crosssection of the Sikhs nor was it in any position to direct the working of Akal Takht. They suggested that the Sikh clergy should treat the non submission of the evidence as an attempt to delay the case which would complicate the matter further resulting in more bad blood within the community and therefore they (Sikh clergy) should decide the case unilaterally on merit without further delay. The Sikh high priests will meet on August 12 to discuss the matter in the light of the ‘proofs’ submitted by the Khalsa Panchayat. When asked whether the demand of summoning Mr Parkash Singh Badal, a former Chief Minister and Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, president Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal, was taken up for discussion at today’s meeting, Jathedar Vedanti said that many complaints were still pouring in and the matter would be discussed at the next meeting. Meanwhile, the Sikh high priests today pronounced ‘tankhah’ (religious punishment) on four ‘granthis’ (Sikh priests) for taking holy Guru Granth Sahib at ‘samadhs’ of Baba Rode Shah and Baba Swaran Dass all the four granthis confessed to their guilt and accepted the ‘tankhah’ with folded hands. They are Bhai Baldev Singh and Bhai Gurdip Singh, both residents of village Khehra (Gurdaspur), Bhai Sarbjot Singh, a resident of Bhoma village and Bhai Kashmir Singh, a resident of Verowal village. |
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Farmers
sell cattle, jewellery to buy diesel Bathinda, July 24 The farmers have been dependent on arhtiyas for the past many years and as such most of the farmers have been declared defaulters by different banks as they have not repaid the loans. The arhtiyas have also started refusing money to the farmers. A number of arhtiyas told this correspondent that they could not take the risk of giving money to the farmers having small holdings. They said that if the present situation prevailed it was possible that both cotton and the paddy crops would be damaged. The farmers are exploiting every source from which they could secure some money for purchasing diesel. Petrol station owners have also refused to give diesel on credit. Harbans Singh, a farmer of the district, said he sold his buffalo for Rs 9,000 although its market value was nearly Rs 12,000. The condition of other farmers is not better than that of Harbans Singh. Gurdial Singh (name changed) of Gobindpura village said with no other option left he had to sell a necklace of his wife for Rs 13,000 although it had cost him Rs 14,000. He alleged that some persons were exploiting the situation and purchasing the jewellery at low prices. Manjit Singh of Kalyan Sukha, Hazoora Singh of Bath, Bhupinder Singh of Dayalpura, Makahn Singh of Dapali, Waryam Singh of Jida, Karnail Singh of Mehraj and Jasvir Singh of Bhucho villages said the committees formed by the government would not serve any purpose. They would not serve any purpose. They alleged that such committees were mere formalities. They also rejected the agitation call given by the kisan unions. |
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Dheera, Sagar miss many names Patiala, July 24 While recording his statement he said he could have forgotten some names because of the time factor. Randhir Singh Dheera forgot to mention most of the names recorded by him in two statements made under Section 364. He today, mentioned the names of Deepak Gakhar besides other prominent candidates, including Bharat Bhushan and Ranjit Singh, who were recruited to the PCS (executive) and Ramsharan, Rajinder and Preetinder, all of whom were selected for the PCS (judicial). All these names had earlier been mentioned by him. Sources said only one new name — Anil Kumar Jindal — had appeared in the statement recorded by Randhir Singh Dheera. It said other candidates referred to by him included those who had been nominated to the PCS, including Bhupinderjit Singh, husband-wife team of Pritpal Singh and Balraj Kaur, Tehsildar Gurdev Singh, ETO O.P. Verma, Mr Kahlon and Karnail Singh. For the post of DSP he has mentioned Mittal of Moga while for the post of BDPO he has mentioned the names of Daljit Singh, Harpreet Singh and Sarvvijay Singh. He has also mentioned the name of one person for the post of Principal of a College besides referring to selections of some lecturers. In case of Prem Sagar, he too adopted the predictable path, only making disclosures which were already known to the investigating agencies and which he had made in court earlier. Recording his statement yesterday, he mentioned the names of former Ferozepore SSP G.S. Pherurai’s son Gurjit Singh for the post of DSP and his daughter Kuljit Kaur for the PCS (executive), Naresh Kumar for DSP, Monica Sethi for PCS (judicial), Ish Kumar for the post of lecturer and Gursharanveer Singh for the post of DSP. Their statements will be submitted in the court of the Sessions Judge tomorrow. Sessions Judge S.N. Aggarwal while earlier directing the court of Ranjit Kumar Jain to record the statements of the accused under Section 306, had stated that the sincerity of the statements of the accused would be examined before they were given permission to turn approvers in the case and be eligible for pardon.
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Probe Badal-Sidhu ‘nexus’: Ravi Inder Chandigarh, July 24 He said circumstantial and official evidence was available to prove that Mr Badal had a nexus with Sidhu. Facts in this regard should be presented before the people after holding a proper investigation, he added. He appreciated the campaign against corruption started by Capt Amarinder Singh. He observed that when Mr Badal became Chief Minister in 1997, he had an unwritten agreement with ministers of the previous Congress government to the effect that they would not be touched by the SAD-BJP government which incidentally was voted to power on the plank of ending corruption. During his five-year rule, Mr Badal did not touch a single corrupt Congress leader, he added. Mr Badal, he said, had the impression that if after his rule, the Congress was voted to power, it would not target his( Mr Badal) men. However, since Capt Amarinder Singh was not ready to compromise on the corruption issue, “corrupt” ministers of the Badal Government were now facing the music. He said Capt Amarinder Singh would have to wield the stick against corrupt politicians in his party also as the campaign against corruption could not be a selective one. He said the bureaucracy should also be taken to task on the corruption issue. He said Mr Badal had not appointed a treasurer in his party and MLAs used to hand over money (election funds and party enrolment fee, etc) to his personal assistant, Mr Hardip Singh, who was a government employee. It was an illegal arrangement, he alleged.
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Ravi Sidhu gets copy of challan Ropar, July 24 Mr A.S. Kathuria, Special Judge, also fixed August 5 for the scrutiny of the challan. In another case the Special Judge extended the judicial remand of Amar Singh, personal assistant to the Vice-Chairman of the Punjab School Education Board, till August 7 in a criminal and corruption case. He was produced in the court of Special Judge here after the expiry of his earlier judicial remand today. |
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PSERC in a fix about PSEB bailout Ropar, July 24 Sources in the PSEB said the board had sought a major increase in power tariff, amounting to Rs 2,600 crore, out of which Rs 1,200 crore would come from the
agricultural sector, Rs 125 crore by ending free power facility to Dalits, and the rest from industrial and domestic consumers. The PSEB Engineers Association has also made a strong case for tariff revision and ending free facility before the
PSERC. However, the industrial lobby has demanded that there should not be any upward revision in the tariff and farmers have pleaded that free power should be given to them. The Punjab Government may go in for a partial revision in tariff. A spokesman for the association said the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the PSEB to fix the tariff in such a way that it was able to earn a return of 3 per cent on its fixed assets within six months as per the provision of the Indian Electricity Act, 1948. With delay in the arrival of the rains, the demand of power has increased by 15 per cent from 220 lakh units to 250 lakh units everyday. The PSEB has to purchase extra power from the central sector power companies at market rate. The PSEB has imposed a 25 per cent cut on the salary of its employees for two months to generate an extra Rs 10 crore to Rs 15 crore.
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Cut-throat
tonsillitis surgery kills woman Fatehgarh Sahib, July 24 Saroj’s relatives said they feared that doctors here would conceal the real cause of death under pressure from their colleagues. The district police has registered a case under Sections 304-A and 34 of the IPC against the accused doctors. The Sirhind woman, 35, had died allegedly after the doctors had cut a vein in her throat. When her condition deteriorated in the operation theatre, the doctors sent her relatives to bring refreshments for the staff and took her to the PGI without informing anyone. While the PGI admit card was being prepared, the doctors fled from there, abandoning the woman. At finding this, the PGI doctors refused to admit the woman and declared her brought-dead. No post-mortem was conducted there and the body was sent to the mortuary. The woman’s relatives alleged that she had died in Civil Hospital here due to a loss of blood caused by the cut. Meanwhile, Ms Anita Takyar, Municipal Commissioner, has also sought action against the doctors. She also said the woman’s family would be looked after. The viscera from the body has been sent for testing to find out the cause of death. Some doctors, however, said there was no need for a chemical analysis of the viscera, as the woman had not died of poisoning. |
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Ex-MD granted loans ‘bypassing rules’ Chandigarh, July 24 According to the Chief Director, Vigilance Bureau, Mr A.P. Pandey, ADGP, Mr Parmeshwer Singh, currently posted as Additional Registrar, Cooperative Societies, was booked under Sections 420, 120B, IPC, and Prevention of Corruption Act. Preliminary investigations showed that Mr Parmeshwer Singh had distributed loans totalling crores to public and private sector units without taking adequate securities. These were disbursed when he was the Managing Director (1998-99) PSCB. Loans were offered to seven companies some of which were still to start production. The loans were granted violating the rules and regulations A loan of Rs 82.68 crore was given to M/s Heal L Toes Footwears Ltd while Rs 28.28 crore was given to Punwire. The loan to M/s Heal L. Toes Footwears was granted despite the objection of Mr K.S. Pannu, the then Additional MD. Loans to certain other parties were also granted by Mr Parmeshwer Singh, ignoring the remarks of officials of the bank. KHARAR: Mr Roshan Lal Chouhan, Judicial Magistrate, Kharar, today remanded Parmeshwar Singh, former Managing Director of Punjab State Cooperative Bank, Chandigarh, who was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau yesterday, in police custody till July 29. Mr Jatinderjit Singh Punn, public prosecutor, however, pleaded for 14 days’ remand for the accused. He alleged that the accused was the Managing Director of the bank in 1998-99 and had sanctioned loans to seven firms without taking adequate securities from them. As a result the bank suffered a loss of Rs 53.3 crore. He has been booked under Sections 420 and 120B of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Mr Punn said Parmeshwar Singh had visited Canada thrice and he was yet to be questioned in this regard. The defence counsel on the other hand refuted the charges that the firms to whom the loans were given belongs to a former MLA of Punjab and police officers and there was no question of receiving any bribe from these persons. The court allowed the defence counsel to meet the accused for an hour daily during the police remand.
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‘Convert’ Morcha into Akali outfit Chandigarh, July 24 Addressing a press conference here, he said efforts had been started by various leaders of the Panthic Morcha to give a practical shape to this concept. Baba Sarabjot Singh Bedi, convener of the morcha, has been authorised to take the necessary steps in this connection. The SAD had become a private company of Mr Badal, who for selfish gains had caused a great damage to Akali politics in Punjab. An appeal would be made to honest and dedicated Akali leaders, who were now part of the SAD, to leave Mr Badal and join the rejuvenated new Akali party. When asked whether former SGPC chief G.S. Tohra would also be a part of the new outfit, Mr Ravi Inder Singh said he had great regards for him and would consult him on this issue. In fact, all constituents, including Mr Tohra, had performed “ardas” to convert the morcha into a political party after the Assembly elections. Accompanied by Mr Jasbir Singh Rode, a former Jathedar of Akal Takht, Mr Ravi Inder Singh said seminars would be organised at Bathinda, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and other important cities to highlight the misdeeds of Badal rule. He said he was in a position to form a government by removing Mr Badal as Chief Minister about two years ago. “ I had 36 Akali MLAs with me at one stage,” he said. It was Mr Badal who made Capt Amarinder Singh quit the SAD for his vested political interests. One by one, Mr Badal removed all senior Akali leaders as he wanted to perpetuate his family rule in the state. |
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DMC faculty wants hospital working resumed Chandigharh, July 24 The hospital functioning has been lying paralysed for the past more than 10 days now. Though the faculty claims that it even tried to reach the Chief Minister with a prior appointment but the meeting could not materialise because of the latter’s non-availability. The faculty members, however, met the state Public Health Minister, Mr Jasjit Singh Randhawa, who assured all help and cooperation. Talking to TNS members of the faculty maintain that the unfortunate and ghastly events that took place on July 13 have only strengthened the deadlock between the employees and the management. On that day, the employees were peacefully protesting against certain policies of the management but what followed has been described by the media as the “worst bloody carnage”. The faculty has viewed as a positive step the assurance which the President of the Managing Committee is reported to have got from the Chief Minister after a meeting yesterday over the release of the arrested employees. “The tussle was between the management and the employees union. The faculty was not involved at any point of time. It does not support the agitation of the employees. Its involvement in the whole episode has been purely on humanitarian grounds and its intentions “to secure the welfare of the employees, particularly the release of employees arrested under frivolous cases and to restore hospital services in the best interests of Ludhiana and its neighbourhood” have been made clear. The present situation has arisen because of the mishandling of the situation by the management and the district administration. Further, several days after the July 13 police action, claims and counter-claims have been made with reference to certain missing employees. Of late the police has been successful in locating one missing person. “The faculty is relieved by this development. However, it urges the administration to uncover the mystery regarding other persons claimed to be missing. More importantly, the faculty denounces allegations that it was involved in a conspiracy with an employee who was reported to be missing. All such allegations are false and against the interest of creating an atmosphere conducive for the restoration of hospital services. Meanwhile, the Punjab State Medical And Dental Teachers Association has also expressed its deep concern over the happenings in DMC, Ludhiana.The association appreciated the DMC faculty for its endeavour to defuse the crisis. The association also condemned efforts of the district administration to implicate doctors in false cases and warned that if action is taken against any doctor, the entire fraternity would rise as one. It also appealed to the Chief Minister to intervene and solve the crisis in the interest of the suffering humanity as well as employees.
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DMCH row:
IMA writes to CM Phagwara, July 24 Dr Raman Aggarwal, vice-president of the
association, demanded the release of all DMCH workers arrested during
the clash between the workers and the police.
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Ex-minister ‘threatens’ DFO, Forest staff Sunam, July 24 Mr Sharma said today that Mr Balian occupied the inspection hut for staying there for a few days but he extended the stay there without permission from the Forest Department. Mr Sharma added that Mr Balian had allowed his supporters to stay there instead of himself. Mr Sharma said furniture and costly items of the Forest Department were lying in the hut so it was necessary to take the possession of the hut. Mr Sharma added that a letter requesting the Deputy Commissioner Sangrur for help was sent in this regard. The district administration appointed an executive magistrate to prepare Panchnama of the items inside the hut. When officials of the Forest Department were in the hut to take its possession, then Mr Balian, his brother and supporters tried to attack them and threatened them. On this the SSP Sangrur was informed. He sent police force to disperse the mob and to maintain status quo, Mr Sharma added. Mr Sharma refuted charges of the former Minister that Forest Department officials evicted him from the Forest Inspection hut. Mr Balian was not available for comments. |
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Phillaur
lawyers up in arms against police Ludhiana, July 24 The meeting expressed grave concern over the inaction of the police despite the culprits having already been identified. The bar regretted that the culprits were openly claiming that nobody could harm them since they held considerable influence in the police. All the Bar members condemned the attack on Mr Aggarwal and demanded that the police should arrest the culprits against whom the FIR under Sections 307, 323, 324, 341, 148, 149, 506, IPC, and 25/54/59 of the Arms Act was registered in Haibowal police station, Ludhiana. Mr Jitender Aggarwal explained that his client had moved a complaint to the High Court which was entrusted to the Jalandhar police for an inquiry. But the Jalandhar police had falsely and against the direction of the court registered a “false and frivolous” case/FIR in the Division No 4, police station, Jalandhar, against Mr Jitender Kumar Aggarwal and his client at the instance of the culprits. The members of the Bar also condemned the role of the Jalandhar police for registering the false case against an advocate. The Bar Association also demanded that the false FIR registered against Mr Jitender Aggarwal be cancelled immediately. The Bar Association unanimously decided to observe a strike till July 26 in protest against the registration of the false case against Mr Jitender Aggarwal and the murderous attack on him. They demanded that the accused be arrested immediately. They also demanded that security should be provided to Mr Jitendar Aggarwal. The Bar Association, Phillaur, has also appealed the to Bar Association of Ludhiana and Jalandhar to support them.
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Truckers
oppose industrialists’ decision Dera Bassi, July 24 Truckers of this subdivision alleged that the local industrialists had opened the office from where they would ply their vehicles and permit vehicles belonging to other unions, expect the Dera Bassi Truck Union. Truckers said the industrialists and traders were enjoying political patronage and had started harassing them openly. They alleged that the Punjab Government’s new policies were favouring the business houses and had given a cold shoulder towards their demands. Members of different truck unions of Patiala district today staged a dharna here in protest against the Punjab Government for an indifferent attitude against various truck unions operating in the state. The protesters raised ‘anti-government’ slogans and criticised policies of the Amarinder Singh government. To press their demands, they formed a district-level union, District Patiala Truck Operators Union, and threatened to organise a rally and dharna at the Matka chowk in Chandigarh next month if their demands were not given immediate consideration. The government had asked the truckers to follow the guidelines framed by the government under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and the Punjab Motor Vehicles Regulation Act, 1989. |
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Tohra let me down, says Bhai Ranjit Singh Amritsar, July 24 Talking to TNS, Bhai Ranjit Singh said he had no option but to support Mr Sarna. Expressing disillusionment, he said it was a matter of concern that Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, SHSAD President, did not accept the demand that Mr Sarna should not be made the President of the DSGMC. He said Mr Tohra had let him down. He alleged that both Mr Sarna and Mr Avtar Singh Hit, President of the Delhi unit of the SAD had distributed liquor to woo voters in gross violation of Sikh traditions. |
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Councillors
catch ‘EO’s fraud’ Fatehgarh Sahib, July 24 They alleged that the EO got their signature of attendance on the proceedings book and after the meeting, he added some lines that permitted octroi collection through private contractors. They said it was a major issue in the last meeting and they had opposed it. The issue had not been included even in the circulated agenda, but he managed to add some lines in the proceedings book allowing the move. They alleged that the EO and the acting president were hand in glove with a particular contractor. They had signed a memorandum against the EO to be submitted to the Chief Minister and the minister concerned. While talking to Ludhiana Tribune, majority of the councillors said the vice-president had no right to decide on major issues, as he himself was facing a no-confidence motion. They said the EO and the acting president were in a hurry to give octroi collection to a private contractor and they had given a notice in this regard in a vernacular paper on July 23. The date for auction had been mentioned as July 29. They said according to rules a minimum 15-day notice was a must. They said just to avoid opposition the minutes of the meeting had not yet been circulated among members, although it was mandatory to circulate minutes within 48 hours of the meeting. They said the matter of no-confidence motion against the acting president was to be decided on August 1, so he had knowingly fixed the date for giving octroi on contract a day prior to this. The councillors further said the acting president had constituted a committee to sort out dispute, if any, between the private contractor and the traders in an arbitrary manner and nominated Mr Yash Lahoria as its chairman. They said it was unfortunate that he did not know that the rules and regulations did not permit the formation of any such committee. Meanwhile, Mr Varinder Rattan, general secretary of the district Beopar Mandal, said a delegation of traders had met the acting president and he had assured that the collection of octroi would not be given on contract. But, in spite of that, he got the resolution passed without including this item in agenda for the reasons best known to him. They demanded the council should reconsider its decision keeping in mind the interests of the traders. |
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FBI man questions Patiala, July 24 According to sources, Mr Horton came here to question Abdul Latif in the hijack case as one American national was travelling in it. The sources said Mr Horton had filed an application through CBI counsel Y.K. Saxena to interview Latif. Latif, reportedly, declined to speak to the American in the absence of his lawyer, following which Sessions Judge S N Aggarwal allowed his lawyers — Brijinder Singh Sodhi and H V Rai to be at his side during questioning which was done in the room of the Superintendent of the jail. Mr Horten asked Latif whether he had ever been to Pakistan, Bangladesh or Nepal to which Latif said he had visited only Nepal when he was a child. Latif also denied any knowledge of the kidnapping and later murder of journalist Daniel Pearl or the kidnapping of foreign tourists in Kashmir in 1994. Latif also said he knew nothing about the hijacking of the aircraft IC-814 from Kathmandu to Kabul in December 1999 claiming he had been made a scapegoat by the CBI in the case because he had studied in a madrasa and fitted the description of the accused, the CBI wanted to nab in the case. |
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Problems
galore in Ferozepore dist: MLA Abohar, July 24 Mr Sunil
Jakhar, MLA, said today that the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd might not be able to meet the expectations of customers with regard to private companies. Sign boards offering Internet connections had been displayed at telephone exchanges in the region, but the BSNL was yet to commission its towers. STD services collapse after every second or third day due to malfunctioning of the TAX exchange at
Kotkapura, he added. Regretting that the NDA government had ignored the region regarding the rail services, Mr Jakhar said the Abohar-Fazilka rail link project had not been started despite a provision of Rs 32 crore in the supplementary rail Budget. Refuting the allegations that the town had suffered in development due to the withdrawal of funds from the sangat darshan accounts, he asked why the former BJP MLA had withheld the release of Rs 40 lakh when the BJP was in power.
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On ‘padayatra’ for peace and harmony Phillaur, July 24 Bhartiya, president of the Yuva Shakti Jagriti Manch Lahore of Bhind district Madhya Pradesh, having five brothers and three sisters, asked his father Radhey
Shayam, to go on a ‘peace march’. His father gave content after a long discussion with him. He started his “Pedal Shanti March” from his village on June 25 with only Rs 1000/- a national flag in his hands and “nange
Paumb”. After one month of his peace march, he reached Phillaur and Phagwara today, after covering Madhya Pardesh, Haryana, Delhi. He walked about covering 30 km daily. Talking to The Tribune on the GT Road, at Phillaur, he said on roadside he would reach Jammu on August 5. Then he will proceed to Srinagar and Kargil to conclude, his peace march. He will hoist national flag at Kargil. He wants to wave National Flag through a “para shoot” in somewhere in Kashmir to spread message of peace among citizens of the country. He said that people in all states welcomed him and his “National Flag”. Bhartiya wants army jawans near the border to boost their morale”. He will cover six states to convey peace message. Bhartiya felt hurt over communal tension in different parts of the country and wanted to work for communal harmony. Bhartiya started fast from today and said that he would continue fast till reaching Jammu. He refused to wear chappals or shoes even in extreme heat. He claimed that he had Rs 1000 intact as people as different towns helped him. In extreme heat he restarted his march and headed for Jammu.
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Survey
on number of scavengers Fatehgarh Sahib, July 24 He said the Social Welfare Department would prepare a fresh list of scavengers with the help of Executive Officers of Municipal Committees falling in the district and would report after each 15 days to the SDMs concerned regarding the identification of these people. He said that after knowing the authentic number of these people, the Government of India would provide special facilities to these people so that scavengers may live a dignified life in the society. Mr Ganga Ram Teja said that many beneficiary schemes had also been launched by the Government of India for these down-trodden people of society but due to lack of their exact number they were not getting the facilities. He said that all special component schemes would be reviewed to assess the real situation. On this occasion Executive Officers Bassi
Pathana, Gobindgarh, Sirhind, Amloh and Khamano Municipal Committees told the number of sweepers working in their respective Municipal Committees. Mr Ganga Ram pointed out that the numbers of sweepers in these Municipal Committees were less according to population. He said that five sweepers should be at least for the population of 1000 according to law. He urged all EOs that the strength of sweepers may be enhanced according to population. He also directed the Municipal Committees that uniforms, shoes, masks, gloves may be provided to the sweepers and a medical check up must be ensured within three months so that these people may not suffer any health problem. Mr Ram Parsad
Balmiki, member of the commission, was also present on the occasion. The ADC, Mr VK
Ohri, assured that implementation would be done in the same manner and number of sweepers would be enhanced after the sanction by state government. |
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Solar lanterns for state villages soon Chandigarh, July 24 However, it will not be the traditional electricity-based streetlight system. It will be a solar energy-based streetlight system. The plan in over 10,000 villages will be executed by the Punjab Energy Development Agency in collaboration with the Rural Development Department in a phase manner. Informed official sources said that a high-level committee under Chief Secretary Y.S. Ratra has been set up to implement the proposal. Each village will have 40 solar lanterns, each costing around Rs 3,300. The total cost of the project will be Rs 120 crore as about 4 lakh solar lanterns will be required. The elected panchayat of each village will be asked to contribute 25 per cent of the total expenditure to be incurred on the system in the village concerned. In the first phase, small villages with a population up to 500 will be covered under the scheme. The number of such village is 38,00. After that villages having population between 500 to 1000 will be covered. And then villages with larger population will be covered. Each lantern will have the capacity to function for four hours. These lights will be used between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. |
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Special
road tax opposed Ludhiana, July 24 Dr M.D. Sabharwal, Mr R.S. Bains, Mr R.L. Sewak, Mr Inder Mohan Dutta and Mr Inderjit Malhotra comprised the delegation. The delegation further told Mr Tej Parkash that the buses had only been purchased for the convenience of the students who came from distant places. These schools buses only ply on the roads in the morning and evening. This special road tax on school buses is an extra burden on the parents. The delegation stressed upon the minister to give concession to school buses.
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PSSSB officials sent to police remand Kharar, July 24 Mr Jatinderjit Singh Punn, public prosecuter and Mr Jaspal Jassal (DSP vigilance) pleaded for a police remand of five days for all accused. Mr Punn alleged that Virsa Singh had purchased a house worth about Rs 8 lakh in Amritsar and Ashoke Loomba had purchased two cars. He alleged that Manuwar Masih had purchased a plot for Rs 6.83 lakh in SAS Nagar. Jarnail Singh had purchased 25 per cent shares in a sugar mill. He pleaded for police remand as information was yet to be collected from them about the above mentioned investments. The defence counsel refuted the charges and opposed the demand of police remand. Meanwhile, members of the BJP, SAD and Christian Front staged a dharna outside the Judicial Complex and raised anti-Punjab Government slogans.
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Non-bailable warrants against PSSSB ex-chief Kharar, July 24 Mr Jatinderjit Singh Punn, Public Prosecutor, informed the court that a case had already been registered against the accused on July 12 at SAS Nagar but they could not be arrested. Meanwhile, the court also gave permission to open two lockers of Jarnail Singh, a former PSSSB member, and his family in a bank in Phagwara and ordered that the list of all goods recovered should be submitted in the court on July 27.
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SAD to revamp media network Jalandhar, July 24 To achieve this objective, SAD chief Parkash Singh Badal camped here for two days and held talks with party workers and leaders of Jalandhar and Kapurthala, apart from appointing his loyalist and youth Akali leader. Daljit Singh Cheema as the party’s press secretary. Mr Badal asked the party workers to mobilise people, particularly in the rural areas, and make them aware about the “anti-people” policies of the Congress government. Sources said the appointment of Dr Cheema, who was shunted out of the SAD after he contested the Sri Hargobindpur Assembly segment as an Independent after being denied party ticket, was achieved by Mr Badal’s former OSD, Harcharan Bains. Dr Cheema said he had been instructed by Mr Badal to tour the state and assess the possibility of setting up a vast media network.
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Harike
barrage water level up Ferozepore, July 24 Mr
V.K. Matrao, Superintendent Engineer of the Ferozepore division, said the outflow of water from the barrage today was 17,238 cusecs as compared to an average of 15,000 cusecs last week. “The situation has considerably improved as compared to the past few days but the actual requirement of water for irrigation purposes in the Ferozepore division and Rajasthan is estimated at around 22,000 cusecs. The situation is expected to further improve in the coming days with rain in the catchment areas of the Ravi and
Satluj, he said. He said 9,150 cusecs had been released to Rajasthan today. This accounted to 58 per cent of the total water released from the barrage as per an agreement signed between the two states. |
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Declare
all water accords null and
void, govt urged Ludhiana, July 24 The NGO, along with other outfits like the Bharti Kisan Union (Lakhowal), the Bharti Kisan Union
(Rajewal), the Sikh League, the Panthic Akali Dal, the Ex-servicemen League, the Dal Khalsa, the Punjab Sikh Lawyers Council, the Akal Federation and the International Sant Khalsa Foundation, while appreciating the firm stand taken by Capt Amarinder Singh also decried the ‘‘instigating ’’ statements made by the Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala on the issue.
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Kiran Dhawan denied bail second time Ropar, July 24 This was the second bail application, moved by Ms Dhawan on June 17 last. Her earlier application for bail was rejected on May 20. The Judge also adjourned consideration of the bail application of Jathedar Tota Singh, MLA from Moga and a former Punjab Education Minister, to July 29 in a case, registered against him by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau at SAS Nagar. Consideration of Jathedar Tota Singh’s bail application was adjourned due to the non-production of police record by the Vigilance Bureau in the case.
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Ex-MLA’s bail plea rejected Ropar, July 24 The police has registered the case under Sections 406 and 498-A of the IPC on the directives of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The petition was filed by Harinder Kaur, daughter-in-law of Daljit Kaur.
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PSEB staff resent salary cut move Bathinda, July 24 Members of the GNDTP Employees Thermal Federation said the salary cut would prove a blow to their financial position. They said the move would affect the efficiency of the workers.
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PSWC employee killed in mishap Gurdaspur, July 24 In another accident near
Jungal, three persons identified as Sandeep Salaria and Shubh Singh, residents of Dodwan village, and their servant Amarjit Singh of Mahal in Amritsar district died on the spot when a truck loaded with marble fell on them.
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Foodgrain stocks’ verification ordered Ropar, July 24 Verification implies the counting of bags in godowns, analysing quality of foodgrains and ascertaining quantity of foodgrains in bags. Sources told The Tribune that verification of foodgrain stocks was being done for submitting a status report to the Government of India. There have been reports of theft and rotting for foodgrains in godowns. The state government has directed the formation of committees under the SDM’s and DFC’s to verify stocks of foodgrains. The Deputy Commissioner, Ropar, Ms Seema Jain admitted that the government had ordered verification of foodgrains in the district
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Punjab
postings, transfers Chandigarh, July 24 Mr Himmat Singh goes as Resident Commissioner, Punjab at New Delhi and will also coordinate the schemes of the Rural Development Department vice Mr A. Didar Singh. Mr A. Didar Singh, is now Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare. He will also look after work of the post of Project Director, Punjab State AIDS Control Society, Chandigarh, according to an official press note. |
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Gang of car thieves busted Dhuri, July 24 Mr Gurbachan Singh, DSP, Dhuri, in a press note issued here yesterday, said the gang used to steal cars from Delhi and sell these in Punjab by preparing fake documents and registration numbers. The car thieves have been identified as Jatinder Singh, alias Goldy of Bhalwan village, Jarnail Singh, alias Jaila of Guara village and Sukhchain Singh, alias Chanchal of Satirwala village. A case under Sections 420/467/468/471/120B/379/411 of the IPC has been registered against the three. In another case the Amargarh police seized a country-made pistol from Jagdeep Singh of Mehmadpur village. |
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53 bonded
child labourers rescued Amritsar, July 24 The search for livelihood brought them to the holy city all the way from West Bengal. Some were even suspected to be
Bangladeshis. Most of these children were brought on the pretext of getting them employed on attractive salaries, but on coming here they were forced to do cheap labour, apart from being subjected to physical and mental torture. It is also learnt that these children were also being used for smuggling gold, diamond and other precious stones in the Guru Bazar area. A crying Mustkin (12) said his employer Rabial mercilessly beat him up everytime he failed to prepare the food in time, he said he was brought by Rabial two years ago and used to work in a jewellery shop and in the house for just Rs 10 a week. Ram Khilawan (10) had a similar story to tell. He was brought here by his maternal uncle. He recalled how he was severally beaten up when he broke a glass by his employer. Other children who were rescued by the police were Khagan (14) from Kolkata, Manyal (12) and Billa, (15). Those arrested were Abdul, Nasir, Shahjahan, Shekh Mujibudeen, Bapi, Naseerudin, Sukumar, Shakti, Sham Sunder, Somnath, Nirmal Dinesh Kumar, Rabial and Joharwan. A case has been registered undersection 26 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, section 14 of the Child Labour Act, 1986, and various sections of the IPC.
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Contract
killer, 7 accomplices held Hoshiarpur, July 24 Mr Rohit Chaudhry, DIG, Jalandhar police range, at a press conference here today stated that a police party arrested them after an exchange of fire on the Phagwara road. The others have been identified as Manjit Singh of Rasulpur, Balkar Singh of Dhadde Majra, Sukhwinder Singh of Jandi, Jaswinder Singh of Shamchaurasi, Satwant Singh of Theppal, Onkar Singh of Lakhpur Sahni and Hardeep Singh of Harshi. Three country-made pistols, one 12-bore gun, 129 cartridges, a Yamaha motor cycle, a Maruti van and three mobile phones have been recovered from them. Four accomplices of Seetal Singh escaped during the exchange of fire. A constable was also injured in the firing. UNI adds: According to the DIG, a naka had been laid on the canal bridge on the outskirts of Bhungane village. The police party signalled a car and a motor cycle to stop, adding that the occupants of the two vehicles opened fire on the police party. The DIG claimed that a back-up police party surrounded the gang and forced it to surrender.
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Woman rescued from kidnappers’ clutches Moga, July 24 The SSP, Mr Major Singh, said here today that Surjit Kaur was married only three days ago with Jaswant Singh of a nearby village. She was kidnapped by four car-borne miscreants when she was going to her village with her husband. Although her husband raised the alarm no one came to help him. The SSP said on a tip off the police rushed to spot and chased the car and overpowered the four occupants. They were later identified as Kuljit Singh, alias Ladoo, Kulwant Singh, alias Kanta, Jaspal Singh alias Jessa, and another person. A case has been registered against them under Sections 366/506/341, 120 of the IPC. |
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Challan
against Bhaniarawala followers Kharar, July 24 The police had arrested the accused for keeping “Bhav Sagar Granth” of Baba Bhaniarawala which had been by the Punjab Government.
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Suicide case Phagwara, July 24 |
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Teachers to be appointed on
contract Patiala, July 24 Addressing a ‘’sarv sikhya abhiyan’’ function at the anaj mandi here, the minister said there were reports that certain schools in the rural areas were suffering on account of lack of teachers. He said primary and middle schools which did not have buildings of their own would be given financial aid by the government. He said Rs 129 crore was being spent in the first phase of the programme which would continue till 2010 with the help of Central assistance. He said committees had also been set up for the purpose. |
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Varsity
dept without teachers Patiala, July 24 Of the three teachers belonging to the department, Prof R.N. Mishra is scheduled to retire on July 31, Reader Rakesh Dutta has proceeded on long leave and is not expected to return having taken up a new appointment in Chandigarh and Prof K.S. Sidhu is presently the Acting Registrar of the university. The department had announced August 1 as the date for its classes to begin. However, when teaching will resume remains to be seen as no fresh appointment for teaching staff has been made so far.
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Varsity
students block traffic Amritsar, July 24 Dr R.S. Bawa, Registrar, said trouble started when some securitymen objected to the presence of certain students near the hostel for girls last evening. The students burnt the effigy of the Chief Security Officer and decided to stage a dharna tomorrow. |
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