Badal’s arrest soon: Amarinder
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 10
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said today that the arrest of former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in a corruption case was first a matter of a few weeks.

Reacting to Capt Amarinder Singh’s statement, Mr Badal said he was prepared for his arrest. “I would not seek any anticipatory or other bail following the arrest. Anyone could be arrested by the state government. Many Akali leaders have been arrested on false charges,” he added.

When asked whether he will deal with his arrest politically or legally, Mr Badal said that he would leave it to the party. Mr Badal said that the main objective of arresting him was to install Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra as President of the SGPC the elections of which would be held by November 30.

Addressing a press conference after the swearing-in-ceremony of Mr M.P. Pandove as a member of the Punjab Public Services Commission, Capt Amarinder Singh, said the Congress high command did not seek any explanation from him with regard to the entry of the two CPI MLAs into the Punjab Congress. “The CPI MLAs had been pressing me for letting them join the Congress for the past four months,” he added.

CPI leader Joginder Dayal had been supporting the SAD-BJP combine on various issues and opposing the Congress for the past few months. So, it was not possible to have any political relation with him though the CPI was a natural ally of the Congress”, asserted Capt Amarinder Singh.

There was no possibility of moving a joint resolution by all political parties in the special Vidhan Sabha session to be held tomorrow. There were political parties, who were a part of the NDA Government of the Centre and such parties were not willing to criticise the Central Government. Though it was a one-day session, the sitting could be extended keeping in view the number of participants in the debate.

CM stands by Mrs Garcha

Asked to comment on the feud between his OSD, Mrs Lakhwinder Kaur Garcha, and Kharar MLA, Birdevinder Singh, the Chief Minister, supported Mrs Garcha, adding that other Congress leaders in any constituency could not be ignored after the election of one particular person as an MLA. At yesterday’s function at Mohali, a seat was reserved for Mr Birdevinder Singh on the dias, he asserted.

During the next expansion of the Cabinet, Mr Birdevinder Singh’s name would be considered for inclusion. When asked about the reports about the association of 23 MLAs with Mr Birdevinder Singh, the Chief Minister said he had not heard such reports. There was no need for disciplinary action against Mr Birdevinder Singh in the wake of yesterday’s incident.

Amarinder announces payment of Rs 30 bonus
Cabinet to discuss power panel proposals on Monday
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 10
The Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, today announced that the state government would start paying Rs 30 per quintal bonus to the farmers as the Central government guidelines on the issue had been received yesterday. He said while Rs 20 would be paid as Central bonus, Rs 10 would be paid as the first instalment of Rs 30 per quintal bonus promised by the party in its election manifesto. He said, directions had been issued to all the procurement agencies in this regard.

Making this announcement during an inspection of the procurement process in the local grain market, the Chief Minister said the state government had received communication for the payment of bonus at the rate of Rs 20 per quintal to the farmers late last night. However, no funds had been received so far from the Centre. But the Chief Minister declared that the state would make the payment and get the amount reimbursed from the Centre later.

Besides the Rs 20 announced by the Centre, the state would start paying first instalment of Rs 10 per quintal to the farmers in accordance with the promise made by the party in its manifesto. The second instalment would be paid in April, 2003, the third would be paid in October, next year. He pointed out that the financial compulsions of the state did not allow full payment at one time. It is a whopping amount of about Rs 320 crore to be paid to the farmers. The only way out was to pay it through instalments, the Chief Minister said.

He expressed confidence that the procurement process would be completed within a fortnight. About 50 lakh tonnes of paddy had been procured so far across the state. The state may cross last year’s procurement limit of 105 lakh tonnes despite the drought-like conditions. He said, while the production was normal in most parts, some districts like Mansa, Bathinda and Muktsar and parts of Sangrur had been affected by the drought.

Capt Amarinder Singh said during his visit to different mandis, he found that farmers were by and large happy. While last year, 7.5 per cent paddy had been sold below the minimum support price (MSP), this year only 1.3 per cent had been sold below the MSP. On other hand, this year 6.3 per cent paddy had been sold above the MSP as compared to 1.4 per cent last year.

He said all payments to millers and arthiyas were being made within 72 hours of the submission of their bills. The payments had been cleared till October 5.

The Chief Minister was accompanied by his Cabinet colleagues, including the Finance and Food and Supplies Minister, Mr Lal Singh, the Local Bodies Minister, Chaudhary Jagjit Singh, the Industries Minister, Mr Avtar Henry, the Transport Minister, Mr Tej Prakash, and the Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr Amarjit Singh Samra.

JALANDHAR: The Punjab Chief Minister has convened a Cabinet meeting on Monday to discuss the recommendations of the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) pertaining to the withdrawal of free power to farmers and hike in power tariff for other categories.

Accompanied by Mr K. Siva Prasad, the Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner and a number of his ministerial colleagues, he inspected the procurement arrangements in the local grain market.

He said the recommendations of the PSERC were not binding on the state government and the issue would be discussed on Monday. Evading a direct reply about withdrawal of free power to the farming sector in future as per the recommendations of the commission, the CM said that the state Cabinet was the final authority in this regard. “It will be premature to comment on such a sensitive issue at this stage. I will act as per the views of my Cabinet colleagues,” he added.

While most of the farmers were satisfied with the procurement process, others flayed the erratic power supply, which was affecting the potato crop.

The Chief Minister said the state government would disburse Rs 321 crore as bonus to paddy growers even as the state government had received no payment from the Central government as yet. He assured that after 15 days, farmers would start getting bonus along with the MSP.

No truck with CPI: CM
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 10
The Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, has ruled out any truck with the CPI in Punjab, as long as it is led by Mr Joginder Dayal.

Addressing a press conference after inspection the paddy procurement process here today, the Chief Minister said the Congress had made this decision in the backdrop of certain actions and activities of Mr Dayal. He said Mr Dayal had rallied behind communal forces represented by the BJP and SAD. “He is speaking the language of the Akalis and BJP, so how can it be possible for us to work with him?”, Capt Amarinder Singh asserted.

He disclosed that it was not for the first time that Mr Dayal had defied the principles of coalition politics. Despite the whole-hearted support to the CPI by the Congress in the state, he fielded rebelcandidates against the Congress. Even in the Sunam byelection under Akali rule, he had fielded rebel candidates. “Enough is enough, we can’t tolerate it any further”, the Chief Minister said.

To a question on the party’s prospects elsewhere, he clarified that it would not have any impact on the (Congress) party’s prospects elsewhere in the country as it was Mr Dayal and not the CPI which was not acceptable to the Congress. “We have no ideological differences with the CPI”, Capt Amarinder Singh maintained, while adding that the Congress was open to an alliance and understanding if the CPI decided to replace Mr Dayal.

Capt Amarinder Singh hailed the Congress performance in the Jammu and Kashmir poll, where the party has won 24 seats. The Chief Minister hoped that the Congress would be able to form the government in the state.

He congratulated J&K PCC president Ghulam Nabi Azad for leading the party to the victory. He pointed out, “it is not just the victory for the Congress, but the country’s democracy”.

SAD prepares ‘hit list’ of corrupt bureaucrats
Varinder Walia
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 10
During separate in-camera meetings with SGPC members and Youth Akali leaders held here today, Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal, MP and general secretary, Shiromani Akali Dal, today asked them to prepare a ‘hit list’ of corrupt bureaucrats, including police officials, who had been harassing them so that they could be booked under the law of land as and when the Akalis came to power.

Talking to TNS, Mr Sukhbir Badal said the Akali Dal was getting regular feedback regarding ‘misdeeds’ of the bureaucrats. He said the SAD would use this information when it formed the government. “Some of the officers have been harassing Akali workers as they think they will retire before the SAD forms the next government but they must understand that they (the corrupt officers) won’t go scot-free as they will be booked even after their retirement”. He revealed that certain top bureaucrats whom Capt Amarinder Singh considered ‘loyal’ were trying to mend fences with the SAD again. “Same officers who are being used as tools will be more than willing to get after the Congress leaders after the formation of the Akali government”, he said. He, however, said if voted to power the Akalis would honour those officers who had been performing their duties honestly without buckling under any pressure.

Mr Badal who also met Mr Manjinder Singh Kang, a former Chairman of the Forest Corporation, in Central Jail alleged that ‘third degree’ methods were used to interrogate him during police remand. He said Mr Kang showed the marks of ‘electric shocks’ given to him during interrogation. He said the Vigilance Bureau repeatedly asked him to provide information about property amassed by Mr Parkash Singh Badal during his tenure as Chief Minister.

Amid reports of intimidating SGPC members in the run up to elections of SGPC chief, the SAD has directed activists of the Youth Akali Dal to provide security to them. Mr Badal alleged he had learnt that SGPC members were being implicated in false cases with a view to forcing them to shift their loyalty towards the Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal, headed by Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra. “I have asked the Youth Akali Dal activists to keep a constant vigil on the nefarious designs of the Congress Government”, he said. To a question, Mr Badal said the SAD would not allow Mr Tohra to become SGPC chief with the help of the Congress.

He challenged Capt Amarinder Singh to hold ‘secret voting’ of Congressmen to judge his popularity in his own party. “I am sure more than 90 per cent Congress workers and leaders will vote against him”, he claimed. Mr Sukhbir Badal alleged that Capt Amarinder Singh was behaving like a Chief Minister of a section of the Congress and was resorting to the intimidation of the Opposition. “Capt Amarinder Singh must rise above petty politics and should behave like a Chief Minister and the SAD would extend all support for the overall development of the state”.

Special Assembly session today
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 10
Political strategies have been drawn up by the ruling Congress and the main opposition — Akali-BJP — for tomorrow’s special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha. Both key political parties have submitted their respective “resolutions” to the Vidhan Sabha Secretariat.

Is the issue confined only to the delayed and inadequate announcement of minimum support price (MSP) for paddy and other kharif crops? Or why did the Centre not advance the procurement date to September 21 from October 1 despite farmers having brought a substantial quantity of paddy into the markets? Or has the BJP-led NDA Government in “connivance” with its partner, the SAD, deliberately meted out a step-motherly treatment to Congress-ruled Punjab? Or if the “dharna” by the Chief Minister in front of the Prime Minister’s residence in New Delhi was justified or not?

These are just some of the issues that will be echoed in the House tomorrow.

SAD-BJP leaders today met and have submitted a joint resolution to the Vidhan Sabha. The leader of the Opposition, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, who held a meeting of the party’s legislators to draw up at strategy for the session, later told mediapersons that the need was for a serious discussion to save kisan and kisani as much from exploitation under the WTO as safeguarding the economic interests of the state, which depended upon agriculture.

He regretted the Congress had never consulted the Opposition all these months on key economic issues and policies. The session, should not confine itself to the MSP alone. “Agriculture’s future has to be discussed in totality, including subsidies, free power and water, withdrawal of taxes and levies on inputs, agri-business, agro-processing, diversification with assured market and price, strategies to meet challenges and opportunities provided by the WTO etc”, he added.

Who will foot PSEB salary bill?
Tribune New Service

Patiala, October 10
The prevarication on the part of the Punjab government in implementing the tariff hikes allowed by the State Electricity Regulatory Commission is proving dear to the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB).

The Board is finding it difficult to generate resources. A recent visit by the Member, Finance and the General Manager, Finance, to Mumbai in this regard proving unfruitful. This has made it difficult for it to even meet its salary bill of Rs 170 crore.

Besides this the Board is also saddled with dues of coal companies supplying coal to its thermal plants and the Railways on account of freight charges. Coal companies have staggered the supply of coal. There is only six days stock of coal at Bathinda and for seven days at Lehra Mohabbat power stations. While the board owes the coal companies Rs 51 crore, it owes the Railways Rs 147 crore. It is also saddled with a bill of Rs 380 crore which it has to give to central agencies on account of purchase of power from them. Though there has been a long-standing move to securitise a major portion of this money under an agreement reached with the Central agencies. Even this has not been done till now. The Board owes Rs 153 crore to other suppliers.

With financial liabilities of Rs 733 crore as on October 1, the Board had hoped to get some ready cash with the implementation of the tariff order. The Board would have got around Rs 200 crore extra if the government had implemented the tariff order from August one.

The Board, which is unable to meet its cash requirements, is also hampered by the fact that it is not getting any money from the state government. The Rs 100 crore which the state government had committed to the Board on account had been divided into four equal installments, the first of which was to be paid this month. As the tariff order has not been implemented the Board has not received even this Rs 25 crore from the government.

Due to paucity of funds the PSEB is not able to even comply with the directions of the Regulatory Commission with regard to cutting costs and improving its efficiency. The Regulatory Commission had asked the Board to decrease the coal transit loss from the present 3.5 per cent to less than 3 per cent. Board officials said an agency would have to be hired for this purpose as the coal was transported from areas which were controlled by local mafia and that the Board would have to spend money on any scheme to reduce the transit losses.

80-yr would-be groom booked
Our Correspondent

Bathinda, October 10
The police has registered a case against three persons, including an 80-year-old man of Maur village, near Tapa in Sangrur, for putting pressure on a class XII student to marry him. She had tried to commit suicide yesterday. Police sources said today that the girl of Phuli village, near here, had been admitted to the Civil Hospital. A case has been registered against Jasbir Kaur, Seeto and Gurdial Singh.

Chandigarh, October 10
Mr M.P. Pandove was sworn in as a member of the Punjab Public Service Commission by Governor J.F.R. Jacob at a simple impressive ceremony at Raj Bhavan here today. The warrant of appointment was read out by Chief Secretary, Y.S. Ratra. Among those who attended the swearing-in ceremony was Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh and several of his colleagues. Mr Pandove is a sports personality and he quit as Chief Auditor, Directorate of Co-operative Audit, to become a PPSC Member.

POLITICS

J&K win boost to Cong: Natwar
Our Correspondent

Amritsar, October 10
“The election results in Jammu and Kashmir today are a boost to the Congress”, said Mr Natwar Singh, former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, while talking to newsmen here today. Earlier, he delivered a talk on challenges before the Indian foreign policy at Guru Nanak Dev University. He said the people in Jammu and Kashmir had voted for peace and prosperity in the state.

Answering questions on the possibility of the Congress forming the government in the state, he said it was possible to forge an alliance with like-minded parties. He said the free and fair elections were a rebuff to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s statement that they were a farce, he said.

The Congress leader said the present government had totally abandoned the policy of non-alignment pursued by the Congress during 45 years of its rule. He said the foreign policy of the present NDA government was being dictated by the USA and other rich nations.

Mr Natwar Singh asserted that India should oppose attack on Iraq as proposed by the USA, adding that the USA should not be allowed to go ahead with its plan to attack Iraq without UN approval.

Regarding the solution to the Kashmir issue, he felt that the dialogue must continue with Pakistan and India must implement the 1994 resolution passed in Parliament for taking over the entire Jammu and Kashmir, including the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

COMMUNITY

Central team visits drought-hit areas
Tribune News Service

Ferozepore, October 10
A high-powered Central team from New Delhi today visited the drought-affected areas of Ferozepore and Moga districts to assess the loss incurred by farmers.

The team comprising Mr R.S. Thakran, Senior Resident Officer, Central Planning Commission, and Mr R.R. Deshpande, Deputy Adviser, (PHE), along with officials of the state government and the district administration, visited Tumbarh Bhann, Lalhe, Kotkrorh Kalan, Bholuwala and Machiwara villages of Ferozepore district and Dhalleke, and Ghal Kalan villages of Moga district.

It was brought to the notice of the team that marginal farmers suffered a lot due to insufficient rain. A farmer of Ghal Kalan village said the water level had gone down, putting an extra financial burden of at least Rs 5,000 per acre.

In Ferozepore, the farmers said alkaline content in underground water had gone up during the past few years, affecting production. They said canal water should be supplied in alkaline affected areas. Mr Thakran and Mr Deshpande said they would take up the matter with the state government.

Mr Dharamveer, Commissioner of Ferozepore, told the team that 68,165 acres in 563 villages of Ferozepore had been affected due to drought. As against the normal rainfall of 115.4 mm during June and July, there was only 57 mm rainfall this year. He also said 7,196 tubewells in this district had gone dry while 5,751 new tubewells had been sunk.

The team was also told that the discharge of water from the Harike headworks during July and August had drastically decreased though in June it was satisfactory. As against the 7,25,280 cusecs in August 2001, the water discharged this year was just 4,13,808 cusecs. Similarly, in July, this year it was 5,38,196 cusecs as against 6,23,480 cusecs during the same period last year.

It was also brought to the notice of the team that milk production had decreased due to drought.

Central team visits Rajpura subdivision
Tribune News Service

The team comprised Mr S.K. Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Mr V. Vivekanand, Under-Secretary, and Mr Naresh Bhandari, Deputy Director in the Union Agriculture Ministry. The delegation visited Rajgarh and Ramnagar villages, both of which fall under Rajpura subdivision.

Temple issue becomes murkier
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 10
Even as BJP-backed Durgiana Temple Committee members have written to various banks to freeze accounts worth crores, former office-bearers have refused to hand over keys of “toshakhana” to the new committee.

The office-bearers, supported by the BJP, feared that the locks of the “toshakhana” might be broken by the new committee as Congress leaders had started making “baseless allegations” that gold plates were missing from the “toshakhana”. They said since the keys were with them, the new committee could not know what was inside the “toshakhana”.

With the virtual “coup” by Congress-backed members, the process of gold plating has come to standstill. Donation worth crores had been collected in the form of cash and gold before launching kar sewa of the temple. So much so, the then Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, had donated Rs 1 crore from his discretionary quota and a number of Akali and BJP ministers had given huge donations.

Meanwhile, in press statement, Mr Nand Lal Nagpal, former general secretary of the committee, threatened to launch an agitation if the state government or the district administration failed to take action against the Congress-backed committee. He said the interference of the Congress government in religious affairs would not be tolerated. He also demanded a judicial probe into the “coup”.

The administrative secretary of the new committee, however, said the records, allegedly tampered with by the office-bearers of the old committee, were being scrutinised. He alleged that the previous committee had misused and embezzled temple funds.

Lawyers seek action against SP
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 10
Members of the District Bar Association today observed a strike for the third consecutive day today against the behaviour of the SP, Mr Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh. They said they would intensify their agitation if the government failed to take action against him.

Mr Maninderjit Singh Bitta, president of the All- India Anti-Terrorist Front, meanwhile, has appreciated the police for busting the gang indulging in organ sale.

The police, meanwhile has taken records of the Authorisation Committee, headed by Principal of Medical College.

French co. offers solution to garbage problems
Jangveer Singh
Tribune News Service

Patiala, October 10
The Patiala Municipal Corporation is likely to partly privatise the sweeping of the city as well as garbage collection, with a French company submitting a proposal offering to do everything, sweeping — to door collection — to dump station facility, to the corporation.

The company, which made a presentation in this regard before corporation Commissioner Vishnu Sharma and other senior officials at the corporation office here today, wanted the corporation to hire it to complement the setting up of a power plant by an American company which would generate power from solid waste besides turning the waste into tiles.

A delegation of the company, including its general manager, gave a presentation of the work done by the company in Chennai in this regard. The company officials briefed the Mayor that it was collecting garbage from three zones in Chennai. It said around 1200 metric tonnes of garbage was collected by the company mechanically and that it employed its own fleet of vehicles and sweepers for the purpose.

The company, which charges around Rs 20 per head for the service in Chennai, wanted to offer the same service to the people of this city. Though the service may be top class, it would be some time before people started getting used to paying so much for garbage collection even though a many people were giving as much as Rs 20 per family under a joint scheme launched by various welfare societies and the Municipal Corporation.

Mr Vishnu Sharma disclosed that the French company wanted to prove its usefulness in efficient transfer of garbage to the dump station where it could be used for generating power by the American firm Plasma whose proposal was also being finalised. He said under the proposal the American company needed 500 metric tonnes of garbage everyday. He said while 200 metric tonnes of garbage would be available from the city, the rest could be collected from nearby towns of Rajpura and Nabha.

Mr Sharma said the US firm had asked for seven acres of land as part of the corporation’s share in setting up the project in the city. He said work was going on in identifying the land which was otherwise available with the corporation. He said a covered dump would be set up where the entire garbage of the city would be collected.

The Mayor said under the project the US company would give 25 per cent of the power generated by it by burning the garbage to the corporation which it was likely to use to run its street-light network. He said the company, on its part, would burn the garbage to a heat of around 500 degrees at which level even building materials melted. He said the solid waste, which would also include polythene bags, would be converted into tiles which would be sold commercial by the company.

Industrialist ‘was killed’ before being set afire
Our Correspondent

Faridkot, October 10
Nearly 5,000 persons from all sections of society attended the funeral of Mukand Singh, an industrialist of Kotkapura, held today. His son Gagandeep Singh lit the pyre.

Mukand Singh was burnt alive by some persons in his Zen on the night of October 8 on the Moga-Barnala road.

According to family sources, he had gone to Chandigarh with a friend. While returning, he dropped his friend at Moga and asked his servant to reach Kotkapura. He might have been kidnapped and burnt alive, they said, adding that they got to know of it on the phone from the police the next day.

Mr Surjit Singh, nephew of the deceased, alleged that neither a fingerprint expert nor a dog squad had been called to get clues.

Criticising a news report published in a section of the Press that a senior official of the Moga police had talked of the illicit relations of the victim with a woman, he said. No senior police official had reached the site to investigate in the matter.

He said Mukand Singh’s briefcase containing documents and a revolver were also missing. He had demanded a high-level inquiry into the case.

Mr Shiv Kumar, SSP, Moga denied that any demeaning statement had been made by a senior police official against the victim.

Meanwhile, a post-mortem examination report said many injuries had been found on the head, leg and arm of the victim, indicate that he had been killed with sharp-edged weapons before being burnt.

Mr Mantar Singh Brar and Mr Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon, MLAs of Kotkapura and Faridkot, respectively, have demanded an inquiry into the incident through an independent agency.

Hearing adjourned in Giani Kewal case

Bathinda, October 10
The hearing in dowry death case against former Sikh high priest Giani Kewal Singh, his son Baljinder Singh and their family kin, Ms Joginder Kaur, was today adjourned till December 10 by Additional Sessions Judge Jaspal Singh for want of prosecution witnesses.

Charges under Sections 304-B and 306 of the IPC against them were framed in the court on August 6 after the judge had earlier rejected the Giani’s plea for bail in the case of death of his daughter-in-law Sharanjit Kaur.

Giani Kewal Singh, a former Jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib, had surrendered at a Talwandi Sabo court on May 10 after the Supreme Court had rejected his plea for an anticipatory bail in the case. His son had surrendered on March 7, while Ms Kaur gave herself up on May 30.

The case was registered against them on the direction of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1999 after Mr Amarjit Singh, brother of the victim, moved the court.

Sharanjit Kaur had died in mysterious circumstances and her body was found floating in Likhinsar gurdwara’s sarovar at the Damdama Sahib complex at Talwandi Sabo on May 18, 1997, a year after her marriage with the son of Giani Kewal Singh. The Sikh cleric was then the Jathedar of the Takht. UNI

Man gets life term for killing ex-wife
Tribune News Service

Moga, October 10
The District and Sessions Court here today sentenced a person to life imprisonment on being found guilty of murdering his divorced wife as his son appeared as the eyewitness against him.

According to the details available from the court, Bhupinder Kaur, daughter of Mr Jagdeep Singh of Dhanetha village in Patiala district was murdered by her former husband Harbans Singh son of Sarwan Singh of Deena village falling under the Nihal Singh Wala police station on October 23, 1999.

The deceased got divorced from her husband in 1994-95. The court fixed a remuneration for her and the child. But when she went to his village to collect the remuneration amount, he allegedly attacked her with a sharp-edged weapon. She tried to escape by taking shelter in the house of Ms Karnail Kaur, but he dragged her out from the house and allegedly murdered her on the spot in the presence of their son, Ms Karnail Kaur and the village sarpanch.

During the course of trial, both Karnail Kaur and the sarpanch refused to give evidence against the accused. However, Harpreet Singh (12), son of the accused, gave his evidence in the court as an eyewitness to the murder.

Mr Jagmohan Singh Chawla, Additional District and Sessions Judge, after recording the statement of Harpreet Singh, sentenced Harbans Singh to life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 5,000. If the accused fails to deposit the fine, the term of imprisonment would be extended by another year.

Electronic Punjabi media conference

Jalandhar, October 10
An international conference of the electronic Punjabi media would be held here in December to discuss ways and means of popularising Punjabi satellite and radio channels worldwide.

The second session would involve presentation of Punjabi cultural programmes. Mr Brar said invitations to private Punjabi channels running in western countries and Pakistan were also being sent. UNI

New sanctuaries to come up
Tribune News Service

Patiala, October 10
Punjab MP Preneet Kaur today said the newly constituted State Advisory Board would consider establishment of new sanctuaries which would work towards preserving endangered species in the state.

Speaking at a function held to mark Wildlife Week at the Deer Park here, she said the Wildlife Department would start an awareness programme to make the new generation aware of their rich biodiversity. She said it was essential to involve people in any preservation programme to make it successful.

Wildlife Principal Chief Conservator A.S. Dogra said the government had identified endangered species in the state, which included ‘sraal’ and black deer and that efforts were on to make a comprehensive programme to ensure their preservation. He said the government expected to get funds from a Japanese organisation for preservation exercise.

A painting competition was also held on the occasion in which many schoolchildren participated. Later, Ms Preneet Kaur gave away prizes to the children.

MC staff threaten strike
Our Correspondent

Jalandhar, October 10
Even as the Vigilance Bureau today continued with its arrest spree in the Rs 9.5-lakh fogging machine scam by nabbing a sanitary inspector of the municipal corporation, employees of the civic body have said they will go on indefinite strike and threatened to stop the supply of drinking water from Monday.

The vigilance today arrested Baldev Singh, sanitary inspector, who was currently posted at the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation, for his alleged involvement in the scam even as 10 officials of sanitary department. Who were arrested yesterday, were remanded in police custody for a day by the Ilaqa Magistrate. The employees staged a dharna in front of the MC office here and raised anti-government slogans.

Caught in debt trap, farmer ends life
Tribune News Service

Ferozepore, October 10
A farmer reportedly committed suicide in Fazilka subdivision due to heavy debt.

Amardeep Singh of Alliana village in Fazilka subdivision was suffering from depression for the past three years due to a heavy burden of loan raised from a commission agent and local banks.

As the crop yield suffered this year due to insufficient rain, he could not repay the Rs 5 lakh loan amount raised from a commission agent. Apart from this he had also taken loans from local banks.

Last night, he allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan of his room. When contacted, Jamuna Devi, wife of the deceased, refused to comment on the death of her husband.

Two killed as earth caves in
Our Correspondent

Fazilka, October 10
Two labourers died at Jhuge Gulab Singhwale village yesterday as earth caved in while they were digging a well.

The bodies of Puran Singh (45) and Om Singh (18) were retrieved after a four-hour operation. Puran Singh is survived by five children.

The digging of wells in Ferozepore district continues despite a ban by the Deputy Commissioner until November 3. According to government order, prior permission of the Executive Engineer, Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board, has to be taken for digging wells and sinking tubewells.

A case under Section 188, IPC, has been registered.

Hundreds throng village for mela
Our Correspondent

Maiserkhana (Bathinda), October 10
Hundreds of devotees have thronged this village to attend a mela to be celebrated tomorrow.

The mela is held every year in October and March. The fair is associated with Gooddess Bhagwati. Both Hindus and Sikhs throng the temple at the village in large numbers. An SP-level official has been assigned the job of looking after the security arrangements at the mela.

AGRICULTURE

Farmers burn paddy straw despite ban
Chander Parkash
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, October 10
Even as the district magistrate has banned the burning of paddy straw, farmers of the region continue to burn paddy straw and stubble causing damage to the environment and the fertile upper layer of the soil.

While the burning of paddy straw and stubble has been under Section 144 Cr P.C. a large number of farmers continue to do so to serve their time and efforts.

The situation is so bad that the state highways and roads in the interior villages have become non-motorable due to dense fog and smoke in the wee hours. This has also resulted in road accidents on several occasions. Most villages are engulfed by dense smog daily due to the practice.

Agriculture experts pointed out that the immense heat generated due to the burning of paddy straw killed crop-friendly insects and earthworms present in the fields. Apart from it, the burning of straw also led to reduction in the fertility of the soil as the upper fertile layer got hardened and the moisture content reduced in the soil.

“Proper texture, micronutrients and trace elements of the soil are necessary to maintain its fertility. The ash generated by the burning of paddy straw reduces the permeability of the soil and also kills the friendly bacteria present in the soil,” said experts.

A cross-section of farmers contacted by TNS said the equipment needed to crush the paddy straw was very costly and if the straw was left in the fields, they would be losing precious days needed for the preparation of the fields for the next crop Admitting that the administration had imposed a ban on the burning of paddy straw, a farmer of a nearby village claimed that no official had stopped them from doing so. The farmers added that the advice of the agriculture department to plough the paddy straw back in the soil with a tractor and then water the fields did not work well. They claimed that paddy straw needed to be ploughed more than 10 times which was not economically viable.

The officials of the Punjab Pollution Board (PPCB), while admitting that the burning of paddy straw added to air and soil pollution, asserted the farmers needed to be educated about the ill effects of the practice.

Farmers await procurement staff
Our Correspondent

Amritsar, October 10
Even as the government agencies started the official procurement of paddy on October 1, farmers at the Bhagtanwala grain market, the biggest market in the city, alleged that no government official had approached them so far. Some farmers alleged that government officials allegedly demanded commission for procuring poor-quality paddy on the price fixed by the government.

However, some farmers were not upset over this private buyers, including rice-shellers had purchased the paddy from them at reasonable prices.

Mr Amrik Singh a farmer from a border village, said a private buyer had given him Rs 20 more than the minimum support price of Rs 560 per quintal fixed by the government. When asked about the bonus announced by the government, he alleged that the commission agents did not provide J-form, required for the purpose, to small farmers.

Mr Shiv Singh of Harbarwal village alleged that “sharbati” (high-quality paddy), which used to sell at more than Rs 600 per quintal, was now selling at prices between Rs 550 to Rs 575. He alleged that the government agencies had not approached them.

ADMINISTRATION

Corporation seeks CM’s help in recovering dues
Tribune News Service

Patiala, October 10
The Patiala Municipal Corporation has asked the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, to help it in recovering house tax dues of Rs 60.25 lakh from various government departments in the city.

The corporation wrote a letter to the Chief Minister in this regard today. It cited the fact that it was short of funds and needed the money for various ongoing development schemes. It also pleaded that the matter of recovery of dues from the various departments had been in limbo since the time of the SAD-BJP government. It requested the Chief Minister to intervene in the matter so that the recovery of the dues could be expedited.

Meanwhile, sources disclosed that the department-wise dues were: the Director, Cultural Affairs (Rs 22.96 lakh), the District Sports Office (Rs 6.85 lakh), the small-scale industry office at Sirhind road (Rs 3.94 lakh), Government Rajindra Hospital (Rs 7.5 lakh), Circuit House (Rs 12 lakh) and the Zila Parishad (Rs 7 lakh).

The sources said even though the Municipal Corporation had asked the Chief Minister to help it in recovering the money owed to it by various government departments, it was not doing anything to recover the money owed to it on account of sewerage and drinking water bills of various colonies inhabited largely by Dalits. These colonies owe the corporation around Rs 1 crore.

The Municipal Corporators had even tried to ensure the waiver of the bills due from these colonies during a recent general body meeting. The corporators had claimed that the bills should not be collected from the residents of the colonies as they pertained to a period when they were not in power, besides citing the political implications of the move. However, the matter is now being referred to the government for a final decision, Mayor Vishnu Sharma disclosed.

Police districts not to be disbanded
Tribune News Service

Ropar, October 10
Six police districts, created during the days of militancy at Barnala, Khanna, Jagraon, Batala, Majitha and Tarn Taran, will not be disbanded.

Stating this, Mr M.S. Bhullar, Director-General of Police, Punjab said today that there was no intention to disband the police districts as these were needed to tackle crime.

Mr Bhullar was talking to mediapersons after inaugurating a three-day PTU inter-college table tennis tournament at Rayat Institute of Engineering and Information Technology, Railmajra village, 8 km from here.

He claimed that there were no hardcore militants in the state at present. Besides, no terrorist had entered the state from outside the country in the recent past. He admitted that there was an increase in the crime rate due to the influx of migrant labour.

Mr Bhullar said the police had stopped promotions under the “own rank and pay” (ORP) scheme. Besides, no police official promoted under the scheme would be reverted as the apex court had ordered a status quo on the ORP promotions.

Mr Bhullar said unlicensed travel agents in the state were under police scrutiny. He said the police had received several complaints against certain travel agents from those who had been cheated by them.

The DGP said all women police stations would be set up at a few places in the state. Besides, there was a women wing at all district headquarters to solve the problems of women. He said there was no proposal to set up all women police stations in every district.

He said the police was not in a position to set up a public relations wing in every district as this could be run only by a professional to brief the press. He said the Punjab police would not change the uniform of its personnel. However, he added that some minor changes in it could not be ruled out.

2 patwaris chargesheeted
Our Correspondent

Fatehgarh Sahib, October 10
The Deputy Commissioner of Fatehgarh Sahib, Mr Vikas Partap, issued charge sheets to two Patwaris and a notice of termination of service to another in the district, allegedly for the negligence of duty and not maintaining the revenue record properly.

Mr Partap said here today that stern action would be taken against those indulging in corrupt practices.

Patwari Pritpal Singh of Balhari Kalan Halka and Mohan Singh Patwari of Rurkee Kalan Halka were found guilty of not maintaining proper records of Jamabandis, the Deputy Commissioner said, adding that Ram Karan, Patwari of Ajnali Halka had been terminated from the service as he had been convicted in a corruption case.

CRIME

Robbers kill 1, injure 8 villagers

Batala, October 10
One person was killed and eight, including women and children were injured when a gang of robbers armed with rods and lathis struck at two farmhouses in Longowal and Kali Brahmani villages under the sadar police station last night.

A police report here today said a band of about 15 robbers first struck at the farmhouse of Mr Gurdip Singh and injured him, his wife Sukhminder Kaur and daughters Mandeep and Kamaljit. Before decamping with household items they tied Amandeep Singh, 11-year-old son of Gurdip Singh, to a pillar.

Later, the same gang struck at nearby Kali Brahmani village and thrashed Chanan Singh, who died on the spot. The gang also injured Mr Gurnam Singh, son-in-law of the victim, Mr Gurmukh Singh son of Chanan, and Raji and Chindo, both daughters of the victim.

In both incidents, residents of the two villages resorted to firing in the air as a result the robbers fled. Raji and Kamaljit, who are stated to be in a serious condition were referred to Government Medical College at Amritsar, while the rest have been admitted to the local Civil Hospital. UNI

Woman ‘forced’ to commit suicide
Our Correspondent

Hoshiarpur, October 10
Sonu of Garhi Mohalla here was allegedly forced by her husband, father-in-law and mother-in-law to commit suicide yesterday. She set herself afire and was seriously burnt. She was admitted to Civil Hospital here in serious condition but was later referred to DMC at Ludhiana.

The police said today that on the statement made by Sonu in the presence of Mr D.P. Singla, Judicial Magistrate, at DMC, Ludhiana, a case under Sections 406, 498 A of the IPC had been registered against her husband Pardeep, her father-in-law and mother-in-law.

Kale kachhewale gang busted
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, October 10
The police busted seven-member gang of kale kachhewalas and recovered stolen gold ornaments worth Rs 50,000 from them.

The gang was reportedly operating in Jalandhar, Nakodar and Hoshiarpur. The police said Mohammed Aslam, Mohammed Rais, Mohammed Anwar, Manal, Mohammed Affal, Tasveer and Mohammed Qasim were arrested from Lidran village.