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| Friday,
June 20, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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Punjab wakes up to industrial safety
Chandigarh, June 19 As per the agreement, the Institute will help the Punjab government in preparing a model off-site emergency plan to tackle emergency situations arising out of industrial accidents. Official sources confirm that a payment of Rs 10 lakh has been made to the
DMI, Bhopal. Meanwhile, guidelines prepared for the purpose by the office of Chief Inspector, Factories, Punjab, Mr Jaspal Singh, have been approved by the government. To begin with, the plan will be introduced in six districts, including Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Patiala, Sangrur, Bathinda and Ropar. The selection of these districts has been made bearing in mind the fact that out of the total 54 Most Accident Hazard units in Punjab, 47 operate in these six districts alone. The off-site plans to be thus developed are considered critically significant to handle any incident that may develop into a major emergency with wide ranging consequences, both inside the factory and outside in the residential area. The tie-up with
DMI, Bhopal, an autonomous organisation set up in 1987 by the Madhya Pradesh government as an aftermath of the Bhopal tragedy, is significant because Punjab does not have any comprehensive off-site plan to avert crisis situations. Underlining the importance of this plan, the Chief Secretary, Punjab, Mr Rajan Kashyap, said that all the district level crises management committees had been directed to review the situation at the earliest and submit reports which could then be used in preparing off-site plans for the areas in question. With the formalities having been completed, DCs of the districts have been alerted on the issue. Copies of guidelines for the model off-site plans are also being sent to them from today. Talking about the tie-up with
DMI, Bhopal, Mr Jaspal Singh, Labour Commissioner and Chief, Inspector, Factories, Punjab, said the plan was very important because an off-site emergency could arise due to any accident in a plant which threatens a large number of people, large areas of the plant itself, and the environment. Guidelines prepared by the office of the Chief Inspector, Factories, lay stress upon off-site plans, both for the factory and for the area. For the first time, the minutest of details have been dealt with. The guidelines underline the need to set up an Emergency Control Centre that can serve as the focal point in case of an emergency. It also highlights the need of setting up assembly points farthest from the location of the likely hazardous events. Mr Jaspal Singh said: “We are laying emphasis on strengthening the communication system in factories. In case of an emergency failure, the telephone system may not work. So a communication officer has to be appointed. The Public Address System will be provided, besides efficient fire fighting, first aid, rescue and alternate power supply source facilities.” Every place where hazardous industries are located will have to develop an Area Disaster Control Plan. |
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Sidhu is non-entity
in UK: CM Chandigarh, June 19 On whether action against Wimpy International will adversely affect NRI investment in Punjab, Capt Amarinder Singh said Wimpy International was a defunct organisation. Mr Kanwal Sidhu bought the Wimpy outlets at very nominal rates in Delhi, he said. Moreover, the state Vigilance Bureau was investigating the
moneylaundering by Mr Kanwal Sidhu and not Wimpy business operations. The
allegation against Mr Sidhu is that he had converted the ill-gotten money of Badals into investment in Orbit Resorts. On whether Mr Sidhu was also wanted in this case, Capt Amarinder Singh said though only an investigating agency could answer this question, but as moneylaundering by Mr Sidhu was being investigated, obviously he (Mr Sidhu) was a wanted man. When asked about Mr Sidhu’s allegation against him (Capt Amarinder Singh) that he owned a flat in Oxford and a hotel in Rome, Capt Amarinder Singh said that his father had invested in a hotel in Rome. For that, permission was taken from the Government of India and all documents were available with the family. The hotel was closed in 1974-75, he added. Talking about the allegation regarding the flat, Capt Amarinder Singh said he did not own any such flat. On Mr Sidhu’s allegation that the CM wanted him to invest in his mushroom project in Himachal Pradesh, Capt Amarinder Singh said, “I don’t remember whether I had written to him or not in this connection.” When asked about the investigation against the Badals, Capt Amarinder Singh said, “If the former Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, had done nothing wrong why was he worried. He should relax. |
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Even Amarinder was ADC to General: Sidhu Chandigarh, June 19 “There was hardly any difference in the duties discharged by him as ADC to the General and me as personal assistant to the Maharaja — his father,” he said, maintaining that it was he who used to organise the Maharaja's meetings with top dignitaries, including those from India, in the USA. Reacting to the statement made by the Punjab Chief Minister about his past, Mr Sidhu told The Tribune over the telephone from London that he and his father had worked for the “Maharaja and the Patiala family” with so much loyalty and dedication that “even till today, all members of the erstwhile Patiala family make it point to visit me in London.” “If the Maharaja is talking about his status, then I must remind him that it is not only me who worked for his father but the Chief Minister’s uncle remained my employee for 14 years. “I am a self-made man. From a personal assistant or ADC to the then Maharaja of Patiala, I have become a successful businessmen and file income tax returns for my annual income of about £ 2 million. My company had a turnover of £ 30 million. I still have 1,200 employees in India, besides business interests in Asia, Europe, Africa and North America,” he said. He added that because of the “illegal and uncivilised actions of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau, I am losing about Rs 2 lakh a day.” “Everyone in the Patiala family respects me for my sincerity and integrity,” he claimed. Mr Sidhu said since Capt Amarinder Singh had a short memory as he did not remember letters he wrote to him inviting him to join his business only a couple of years ago, he — the Chief Minister — may need his assistance to know what amount of money was legally taken out from India for investment in the Rome hotel and what money came from other channels. He also maintained that his investments worldwide were of various types and all were made from his hard-earned money, every penny of which was accounted for. |
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Malout police drops move on Narottam Malout (Muktsar), June 19 Official sources said the authorities had taken the decision on the directions of state police authorities. The local police authorities had completed all formalities to seek the production warrant of Mr
Dhillon. Yesterday, the Kharar court declined to accept the request made by the police in connection with seeking permission to arrest and subsequently send Mr Dhillon on transit remand in the criminal case registered against him in the Lambi police station. The authorities reportedly decided not to seek the production warrant after Chief Minister Amarinder Singh stated at Chandigarh yesterday that without solid evidences registration of such a case against Mr Dhillon was wrong. He had also stated that he would look into the matter. Mr Surinder Pal Singh,
SSP, Muktsar, said an application for seeking the production warrant in the local court would be moved in a day or so. However, he added that so far no instructions from the higher police authorities had been received whether to seek production warrant or not. Another senior functionary of the police, on the condition of anonymity, said instruction had been passed to them not to move any application for seeking the production warrant. |
How
Akali unity
was forged Amritsar, June 19 Talking to TNS, Mr Manjit Singh Calcutta said he had seen tears in the eyes of Mr Parkash Singh Badal when he took Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi. Mr Calcutta said after the closed-door meeting in the hospital itself, Mr Badal expressed his desire to accept any precondition set by Mr Tohra for unity. Mr Calcutta said when five confidants of Mr
Tohra, including himself, had resigned from the Badal ministry, Mr Badal had invited him (Mr Calcutta) to his residence and said they should not have quit. “On this, I told Mr Badal that the resignations were given to him instead of the Governor which indicated that he could have rejected the same”. Though Mr Badal was reluctant to accept the resignations, certain Akali leaders forced him to “wage a war” against Mr Tohra and his men, Mr Calcutta said. When he was tipped as SGPC Chief Secretary, he gave a statement that it was the need of the hour that Mr Tohra and Mr Badal should bury the hatchet. The first serious efforts for unity were made during the crucial Sunam
byelections. Mr Calcutta said Mr Badal called him at Kapurthala House in New Delhi and asked ‘him to persuade Mr Tohra not to field a candidate. Mr Calcutta said he had offered to mediate as he wanted to bring about a rapprochement. The Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal decided not to field its candidate against the SAD candidate during the Majitha
byelections. The SHSAD abstained from voting when Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal contested the Rajya Sabha elections. During the crucial SGPC elections, Mr Tohra had decided not to contest it. As a goodwill gesture, Mr Badal wanted to declare Mr Tohra as the new SGPC president, replacing Mr Badungar. However, Mr Ravi Inder Singh, a senior leader, “hobnobbed” with the Congress and played a spoilsport. A closed-door meeting was then arranged between Mr Badal and Mr Tohra by the then Jathedar of Kesgarh Sahib at Ludhiana in which the former reiterated that he was ready to appear before Akal Takht. Mr Calcutta said Mr Tohra was convinced that the split in the Akali Dal had been helping the Congress. Mr Calcutta said the unity between the SAD and the SHSAD could have been clinched much earlier as Mr Badal had offered to leave some Assembly segments for Tohra loyalists during the previous Assembly elections. However, there was a communication gap and his offer could not be conveyed to Mr Tohra in time. Before I could talk to Mr Tohra about the offer, the list of candidates had been released by the
SHSAD”, he said. Though the BJP high command wanted the Akali stalwarts to join hands, it did not play any role to bring them closer at any stage, he added. |
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Sekhon defends Badal Ferozepore, June 19 The former minister, who had ordered the suspension of engineers and some other officials of the Irrigation Department in the scam and had gone on record saying that an amount not less than Rs 50 crore had been siphoned off during the installation of anti-water logging tubewells and construction of Abul Khurana and Wahabwala aqueducts in Muktsar district, said Mr Badal had no role to play in the entire controversy. |
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SGPC meeting today at Anandpur Sahib Amritsar, June 19 Though almost all such employees may be removed at the earliest, Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti, Jathedar, Akal Takht, and Giani Bhagwan Singh may be retained as Granthi, Golden Temple, and Head Granthi, Akal Takht, respectively, despite their old age. Complying with the directives of the judicial commission, the SGPC has already relieved Mr Harpal Singh, Manager, Gurdwara Jamni Sahib, Bajidpur, who continued to be in service after the age of 60. The commission had ruled that no employee above the age of 60 could remain in service as per the bylaws of the
SGPC. |
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Action sought against doctor couple Fatehgarh Sahib, June 19 Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Mr Kashmir
Sanawa, chairman of the association, said the medical profession was considered the noblest one and patients treated doctors as next to God, but it was unfortunate that now the main aim of doctors was to earn money by fleecing poor public. He said not only had Dr Padda charged heavy amount for minor treatment from Mr Jargar but his wife had also been threatening to eliminate him if he did not withdraw the complaint. He said the next meeting of the executive committee of the association would be held on June 22 and the course of action against the doctor couple would be decided at the meeting if no action was taken against them. Mr Balwant Singh
Dardi, state president, said the association had complained to the Chief Minister against the doctor couple. He said the doctor was known in the area for his
misbehaviour and heavy charges. Many patients had approached the association in this regard and expressed willingness to join agitation. He said it was unfortunate that the wife of the doctor had threatened the general secretary over a trivial matter. He also demanded thorough probe into the claims of the doctor couple that they were from late Beant Singh’s family. He warned if the government and the administration did not take any action against the hospital owners, association would start a state level agitation. Mr Jargar had gone to Gurpreet Hospital,
Sirhind, for treatment of a minor injury for which Dr Padda had demanded Rs 850. When he objected to it, doctor had got annoyed. He had forcibly taken Rs 750 from them and directed his staff to throw them out. When he made a complaint in this regard, the wife of the doctor threatened that she belonged to late
Beant Singh’s family and if they did not withdraw their complaint, she would get them eliminated. |
Talhan: BSP plans rally Jalandhar, June 19 An official spokesman said the curfew had been relaxed between 7.30 am and 6.30 pm today for the second successive day. Meanwhile, the BSP has decided to hold a state-level rally at Buta Mandi on July 7 to highlight the failure of the government in handling the Talhan shrine dispute, which resulted in the killing of a Dalit in police firing. Addressing a press conference today, the in charge of Punjab BSP affairs, Mr Narinder Kashyap, said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati would address the rally. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Ashok Gupta, said he had received an application from the BSP seeking permission to hold the rally at Buta Mandi and it had been forwarded to the SSP to submit a report on the issue. “We will allow the rally only after receiving a complete report from the SSP in this regard,” he
said. |
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PANCHAYAT
POLL Fatehgarh Sahib, June 19 The elections are proving to be a boon for photostat machine owners, stamp paper vendors, typists and notaries. Notaries had a field day today, thanks to the strike of revenue officials. Long queues were witnessed before the offices of the notaries at the District Court complex, who were allegedly charging as per their will. Being on strike, tehsildars and naib tehsildars were not available for attesting papers. It is learnt that nomination forms were out of stock and photocopies of the forms were being sold at a premium. Besides, wine contractors are also doing brisk business and have arranged good stock as still 10 days are left for the polling. Petrol station owners said due to the elections the sale of diesel and petrol had gone up. Nominees are facing difficulty in completing their set of nominations. They say there are no clear instructions from returning officers regarding the clearance certificate of illegal possession of panchayat land. The District Electoral Officer said there was no need for such a certificate. He said the returning officers had been directed to provide all information to the nominees and also nomination forms, which were available in adequate quantity with the administration. |
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SAD workers hurt, ex-MLA manhandled Jalalabad, June 19 According to reports, Mr Ghubaya along with Amir
Chand, a prospective candidate for Araianwala, panchayat was coming out of old tehsil complex after getting the nomination papers completed when a large group of Congress supporters allegedly attempted to snatch papers from their possession. Mr Amolak
Chand, brother of Amir Chand, and Mr Dharam Chand were seriously injured and were referred to the Medical College, Faridkot. Mr Ghubaya has stated that he managed to secure nomination papers from Amir Chand during the scuffle and reached Government Girls Senior Secondary School, the venue for submitting nomination papers, as there was a little time left for the submission of papers. But as soon as he reached there, the returning officer allegedly closed the door. Thereafter, a group of at least 50 Congress supporters reached there and thrashed him before snatching the papers. Mr Amir Chand alleged that his opponent, who was a close relative of the local Congress MLA, made every effort to prevent him from filing nomination papers. First his no-due certificate was got delayed and later he was obstructed to file the same. No FIR had been lodged till late in the evening. |
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Panchayat poll on schedule
The Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, made it clear that the panchayat elections would be held as scheduled. There was no move to postpone these. He said legal experts had examined the court judgement regarding reservation in panchayats and concluded that the election process should continue as the court had not stayed it. |
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Sarpanch’s poll set aside Jalandhar, June 19 The residents of the village, 42 km from here, had “unanimously” decided to elect Ms Ranjit
Kaur, belonging to the general category, as the village sarpanch instead of going in for a reserved category candidate. The residents had also decided the names of five panches for the new panchayat of the village and had requested the Election Commission that their decision should be upheld and all of these six persons should be declared as elected unopposed. The residents had also conveyed to the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr S.S.
Bains, who was also the Returning Officer, that they had “unanimously elected” Ms Ranjit Kaur as sarpanch and five others
—Chanan, Joginder, Gyan, Mohinder and Gurdial Singh — as panches. Mr Bains had forwarded the request of the villagers to the State Election Commission, which, in turn, turned down the request as it was a reserved seat. The election of
panches, according to official sources, was likely to be a cakewalk as only the post of sarpanch was reserved. And in case no fresh nominations were filed on the last day of filing of papers today. Mr
C.L. Bains, State Election Commissioner, confirmed that the sarpanch’s “election” was turned down by the commission. |
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Panchayats to recruit teachers on contract Chandigarh, June 19 The recruitment of teachers will now be made by the panchayats. However, their salary will be paid by the government. The school curriculum will also be decided by the government, but local control over the schools concerned will be of the panchayat. The teachers will be recruited on a contract basis. Likewise, supervisory control of rural dispensaries will be handed over to the panchayats. The Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, said orders empowering panchayats for the management of government schools would be issued soon. In the urban areas, such control would be given to municipal bodies. “All Congress-ruled states have given such powers to panchayats and Punjab is also doing the same,” said Capt Amarinder Singh. About the appointments of chairpersons of the boards and corporations which have been put on the chopping block by the State Disinvestment Commission, Capt Amarinder Singh said that all newly appointed chairpersons would have to implement the policy regarding disinvestment. After the completion of the disinvestment process, the chairpersons would be adjusted elsewhere. He said the government would pay salaries etc to the chairpersons of the boards and corporation which were in red. He said the required changes would be made in rules to appoint chairpersons of certain boards and corporations. There was no proposal to call a special session of the Punjab Assembly to pass the new Punjab Electricity Bill, he said. It was a matter of satisfaction for the state that certain portions in the National Electricity Act had been incorporated from the Punjab Electricity Bill, which is yet to be passed, he added. Capt Amarinder Singh said there was no proposal for expanding the Council of Ministers. The newly constituted Punjab State Service Selection Board would be asked to make fresh recruitments. The results of the interviews and tests conducted by the previous Board that was constituted by the SAD-BJP Government would not be
declared. However, the candidates, who appeared in the tests and interviews before that board would be given a fresh opportunity to appear again in all such interviews and tests. The government had not lifted the ban on new recruitment in the state yet. However, recruitment, wherever essential, could be made after seeking the permission from Council of Ministers. |
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Encroachers
use politics, religion to evade action Bathinda, June 19 Another unauthorised colony, which also came up on government land, was named as Indira Colony by its dwellers with the same motive — to escape legal action by the authorities concerned. As the trend remained unchecked for more than a decade, a number of unauthorised colonies sprang up on private and government land. The residents of these colonies kept on escaping legal action by fixing flags of the ruling party of Punjab on the rooftops of their dwellings and shifting their political leanings with the change in the government in the state. Following the same practice, a section of those, who have constructed houses and commercial establishments by violating the law and have purchased residential plots on the Bhupindra Flour Mill premises in the heart of the city have named it as Maharaja Aggarsain Nagar and Maharaja Aggarsain Market to give it a religious touch so that they could prevent any action by the authorities concerned. A criminal case under the PUDA Act was registered against three persons, who have converted the mill into a residential and a commercial area by violating the PUDA laws. The matter is pending in the court. Sources said Bhupindra Flour Mill was named as Maharaja Aggarsain Nagar and Maharaja Aggarsain Market by a section of residents and plot holders on the directions of a Congress party functionary, who wielded considerable influence in the municipal corporation and PUDA offices, to get this unauthorised colony legalised by using the religious sentiments of a section of society as a tool. The sources said about four years ago, the then municipal council sanctioned about nine site plans on the mill’s premises and people constructed residential and commercial structures. A number of structures also came up in the mill which were not having any sanctioned site plan. However, after some time, the municipal council authorities cancelled all the nine sanctioned site plans. Efforts were even made by the municipal council authorities to provide this unauthorised colony with piped water and sewerage facilities, but these did not materialise. The sources said a number of politicians and government functionaries kept their eyes closed in lieu of a consideration when the mill was being converted into a residential and commercial area during the previous SAD-BJP government in the state. A section of those, who had taken money for not raising their voice against one of the biggest land scams in the city, were still enjoying the confidence of the Congress government in the state. However, the Local Bodies Department authorities took a token action when they placed some employees of the municipal council under suspension for sanctioning the site plans for houses and commercial buildings on the mill’s premises. Mr D. K. Tiwari, Commissioner, municipal corporation, pointed out that the Vigilance Bureau was conducting an inquiry into the conversion of Bhupindra Flour Mill into a residential and a commercial area. Further action would be taken as per the outcome of inquiry. He added that signboards which mentioned Bhupindra Flour Mill as Maharaja Aggarsain Nagar and Maharaja Aggarsain Market would be removed. |
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Improvement
Trust set to go hi-tech Jalandhar, June 19 All important and even minute details such as the connecting roads of a plot, their width and length, progress of development works and all other schemes of the improvement Trust will be available to the residents and the applicants at the click of the mouse as these will be displayed on the trust’s website. The first local body of Punjab which is going to set-up an enquiry counter for the convenience of the people, particularly those who have either purchased property from it or are planning to do so in the near future. “The enquiry counter will be functional within two weeks and all a person will need to do is to give a slip mentioning the data of an application or the nature of his work. He will get all details such as at which stage his application was being processed or why his work has not been done as yet on the same day. He will not need to do rounds of the office again and again,” said Mr Tejinder Bittu, newly appointed Chairman of the trust. To eliminate any possibility of corruption at any stage, a grievance box will be available, wherein people could drop their
complaints. The box will be opened by me at regular intervals,” said Mr Bittu. “Our website will be so exhaustive and interactive that most of the people will not need to personally visit the trust’s office as they will get almost all details sitting at their homes. The work on the website has already started and it is likely to be functional within two months, “he added. Mr Bittu said six employees of the trust had been placed under suspension within one week for their failure to adhere to office timings. These included Mr Raman Kapur, a superintendent, and Mr Surinder Singh, a patwari. “I think people should get a better deal. If anybody has any complaint he can take it up directly with me,” he said, adding that transparency will he ensured at any cost. |
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HIGH COURT Chandigarh, June 19 The MLA was booked under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act on January 29. Claiming to have been implicated in the case due to political vendetta, the petitioner had asserted that he had signed a memorandum submitted to the Punjab Governor for initiating action against now Finance Minister Lal Singh. The MLA had added that his application for regular bail had been adjourned 17 times. Seeking the grant of bail, the MLA today contended that his earlier application was rejected by the Sessions Court despite the failure of the investigating agency to file the challan within the stipulated period of 60 days as applicable in his case. Describing the order as “illegal”, the MLA had asserted that an accused, as per the law settled by the Supreme Court, was entitled to be released on bail in case the challan was not filed within the stipulated period. Giving details, he had asserted that the 60-day period had expired on March 30. The bail application was filed the very next day, but the same was rejected on the ground that as per the zimmini it was necessary to add offences under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code. As such the period for filing challan was 90, and not 60, days.
Notice issued If allegations in a writ petition are to be believed, five gram panchayats were carved out of one in Muktsar district in 1998. The story did not end here. One more gram sabha was constituted in May 2003 allegedly due to the “vested interest” of Punjab Irrigation Minister. Taking up the petition, a Division Bench of the High Court, comprising Mr Justice Hemant Gupta and Mr Justice S.S. Grewal, on Thursday issued notice of motion for July 7. In their petition, Mohkam Singh Bhullar and four others had earlier contended that “no public interest was involved in the constitution of the new gram sabha area”. Arguing before the court, counsel for the petitioners had submitted that “the new gram sabha area was consisting of just 211 persons, all relatives of the minister”. He had asserted that “the new gram sabha area had been carved out only due to the vested interest of a family in power in the state of Punjab”. He had added that the constitution of the new gram sabha area — Dhani Kartar Singh Zaildar — was also “in patent disregard of the mandatory provisions”. Counsel had added that the “action of the respondents in carving out a new gram sabha area and rejecting the villagers’ demand of merging all the gram sabha areas into one was wholly arbitrary and illegal”. He stated that village Sarawan, with population of around 12,000, had just one gram panchayat till 1998. Five gram panchayats were carved out of the existing one vide corrigendum dated May 18, 1998. The sixth gram panchayat was constituted vide memorandum dated May
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Scuffle
between
Indian, Pak
porters Wagah, June 19 The Pakistani porters came to the rescue of their companion and the Indian porter retreated to the Indian side. BSF officials manning the checkpost took control of the situation and held a flag meeting with Pakistani Rangers to defuse tension. |
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Mine blast: report belies Army claims Ferozepore, June 19 The report says that the samples tested positive for tri-nitrotoluene used in powerful explosives. Mr Praveen Sinha, SSP, said forensic experts had reached a conclusion that the explosion occurred due to a plastic mine blast. Gurcharan Singh (11) and Harjit Singh (8) had died on the spot and Baljit Singh (4) was grievously injured in the explosion that rocked the residence of Resham Singh on June 9. The Army authorities had ruled out the possibility of a mine explosion since the blast took place inside the residence but the report of the forensic experts has put a question mark on their claims. |
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Jagmohan
clears funds for ‘galliara’ project Amritsar, June 19 The Union Minister said approximately Rs 70 crore would be made available for phases IV and V of the project. Municipal Commissioner
K.S. Kang, SGPC chief Kirpal Singh Badungar, Additional Commissioner (MC) Kirpal Singh,
Xen, Galliara project, besides Mr Ajaib Singh, manager of the Golden Temple, attended the meeting
today. |
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Another
jatha to visit Pakistan Amritsar, June 19 This is after a long gap that Mr Tohra’s confidant would lead the jatha. Sources in the Akali circles feel that this is the first indication that major changes in the SGPC are in the offing. Mr Pakrash Singh Badal, president Shiromani Akali Dal, has accepted in principle that Mr Tohra would be given free hand in the religious affairs. The Jatha would return on June 29 after paying obeisance at various gurdwaras of Lahore, Panja Sahib and Nankana
Sahib. |
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3 die as car rams into tree Gurdaspur, June 19 They had gone to attend a marriage at Amritsar and were returning home. The injured person was identified as Bittu, driver of the car. He has been admitted to Civil Hospital, here. It is said the driver fell a sleep, leading to the accident. |
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PSEB cancels order on meters Patiala, June 19 Ironically, only the Chairman of the board has changed during this period. The five members who had cleared the proposal earlier, have now cancelled it and agreed to the earlier objections which were overruled by them in the first instance. Highly placed sources revealed that the full board has taken a decision to cancel the purchase order for the meters which was given to a south Indian firm a few days back. The sources said the order was cancelled on the plea that similar meters were being bought by the Himachal Pradesh Electricity Board at much lower prices. It was felt that the decision had been taken in a haste without taking all the aspects of the case into consideration. The sources said while the PSEB had signed a deal for purchase of the meters at a cost of Rs 320 per meter. The same was being purchased by Himachal Pradesh for less than Rs 300 per meter. They said the board had earlier taken a decision to purchase electronic meters for small consumers to bring in more efficiency in the system as well as to rule out power theft after a similar experiment in the case of the industrial sector had paid rich dividends. Accordingly, a decision was taken to purchase both single phase and three-phase meters. Mr Mittal, when contacted on the issue, said the decision to purchase the meters had been taken by the full board and not himself alone. He said all the other members of the board were the same and if they had taken back their own decision they must have had reasons to do so. He said the matter was put before the board by the Member, Distribution, after collecting all information on the subject. Mr Mittal said objections had been raised about the purchase then also, particularly the fact that the meters were being bought by
Himachal Pradesh at a lower rate. He said it had been decided to look into the matter again. When the matter was raised at the meeting of the whole time members, it was disclosed that there was nothing wrong in the price difference. It was argued that the meters being purchased by the PSEB were of better quality than those being bought by H.P. The PSEB would have to pay more because it had a payment schedule under which payments were to be given after a 90-day gap. Meanwhile, the Chairman as well as Member, Distribution S.K. Anand could not be contacted as they were attending a meeting. Sources, however, disclosed that the cancellation of the order would be a setback to the ongoing meter replacement drive initiated by the organisation. The board had chosen not to officially disclose the reasons behind the cancellation even though the
decision was taken a few days back. |
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PSEB suspends two officials Patiala, June 19 A board press note issued here today said both officials were found absent from their headquarters at the time of the incident. No official could leave his headquarters without the prior approval of the competent authority. The board had constituted a committee comprising the Engineer-in-Chief (Plant and Machinery), Ludhiana, the Chief Engineer (Operations), Amritsar, and the Chief Engineer, Substation, Patiala, to probe the incident. |
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PSEB retires 7 engineers Patiala, June 19 A board release here said a decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Whole Time Members
(WTM) of the board today. It said the decision was taken to give a clear signal that inefficiency and corruption would not be tolerated in the
PSEB. The board has, however, not released the names of the engineers who have been retired prematurely. However, sources said the action had been taken after an examination of the past record of the officers over a period of time. Earlier the PSEB Vigilance Department had submitted a list of engineers of questionable integrity to the board management also. |
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Govt appoints directors of Boards Chandigarh, June 19 The following is the list of the appointments in various boards/corporations: Punjab Financial Corporation — Dr Satwant Singh Mohi, Mr Amrik Singh Juneja. Punjab State Warehousing Corporation — Dr Sikandar Singh, Dr Gopal Singh, Mr Ajit Singh Kankwal, Ms Seelam Sohi, Bhai Manvinder Singh Jhumba. Punjab State Scheduled Caste Land Development and Finance Corporation — Ms Balbir Kaur, Mr Rameshwar Rajoura, Mr Pal Singh and Mr Sukhdev Singh Sukhladi. Punjab Backward Classes Land Development and Finance Corporation — Mr Mewa Singh Bazigar, Mr Salamat Masih, Mr Niranjan Singh Sanaur and Mr Bhupinder Singh Saini. Pepsu Road Transport Corporation — Mr Tarsem Lal, Mr Surjit Singh Ahluwalia, Mr Karam Singh Chauhan, Mr Jagtar Singh Sadhuheri. Punjab Khadi and Village Board — Mr Mewa Singh Chauhan, Mr Bal Bhushan, Mr Mushtaq Masih and Mr Roop Lal Saharia, Mr Faqir Chand Bansal, Mr Parshotam Lal Khalifa, Mr Yunus Masih Hans, Mr Dilbar Mohammed Khan, Ms Gurnam Kaur, Mr Dwarka Dass and Mr Mohinder Singh Saini. PUNSUP — Mr Narinder Singh Sehgal, Mr Rajiv Goel, Mr Balraj Kumar Bhasin, Mr Prem Gupta, Mr Sohan Lal Jalota and Mr Joginder Singh Chinna. Punjab Agri Exports Corporation — Mr Sanjeev Garg, Mr Khushwant Singh, Mr Harpartap Singh Ajnala, Mr Sukh Sarkaria and Mr Shamsher Singh Rai. Punjab Pollution Control Board — Mr Baldish Singh Toor, Mr Babu Ram Chawla and Mr Gurdip Singh Bhaini. Punjab Mandi Board — Mr Gurdev Singh Lalli, Mr Tejpreet Singh Sandhu and Mr Surinder Mittal, Mr Sukhraj Singh Natt, mai Roop kaur Bagrian, Mr Narinderjit Singh Kaurian and Mr Gurdev Singh Lapran. Punjab State Land Use and Waste Land Development Board — Mr Jagjit Nanasu, Mr Sangat Singh Tanda, Mr Balwant Singh Dalewan and Mr Simranpal Singh Gill. Punjab School Education Board — Prof Charan Singh, Mr Dalbir Singh and Mr Gurinderjit Singh Kukku. PSIDC — Mr Anand Sarup Singh Mohi, Mr Pawan Goyal, Mr Daljit Singh Ahluwalia, Mr Devinder Singh Babbu, Mr Sanjeev Garg, Ms Paramjit Kaur Pirzada and Ms Nirmal Singh. PSIEC — Ms Romila Bansal, Mr Karanbir Singh Anand, Mr Ajay Mahajan, Mr Amarjit Singh Tikka and Mr Sadhu Singh. Punjab Land Development and Reclamation Corporation — Mr Pawan Dewan, Mr Jasbir Singh Dhindsa. Punjab Forest development Corporation — Ms Rajwant Kaur, Mr Gurnaib Singh Brar. Punjab State Tubewell Corporation — Mr Gursharan Singh, Mr Satbir Singh, Mr Bhag Singh, Mahant Narain Muni, Mr Bharat Bhushan and Mr Jiwan Dass Bawa. State Women’s Commission — Ms Barjinder Kaur, Ms Harsimrat Kaur, Baba Surinderjit Kaur Cheema. Punjab Recorders Ltd — Mr Joginder Singh, Mr Iqbal Singh Kamboj. Planning Board — Mr Sant Singh Brar, Ms Surjit Kaur Kalkat, Mr Lakhmir Singh Randhawa, Ch. Gurmail Singh and Mr Sukhdev Wadehra. State Social Welfare Advisory Board — Ms Chand Kaur, Ms Surinder Kaur Ballian, Mr Ram Singh, Mr Amrik Singh Marhri and Mr Sujat Hussain. Punjab Health Systems Corporation — Dr Kuldip Singh
Khera. |
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Kain is Transport Principal
Secretary Chandigarh, June 19 Mr Vijay Kain will be the Principal Secretary, Transport. Mr Dilsher Singh Kalha, Secretary Science, Technology and Environment will also look after the work of the Secretary, Medical Education and Research. Mr Jasbir Singh Bir becomes Special Secretary, Finance while Mr R. Venkat Ratnam will be the new Director, Cultural Affairs, Archives, Archaeology and Museum and in addition Special Secretary, Cultural Affairs and Director, Tourism. Mr S.S. Puri has been posted Special Secretary, Parliamentary Affairs. The posting of Mr Navjot Pal Singh Randhawa, as Joint Director, Cultural Affairs Archives, Archaeology and Museum and in addition Joint Director, Tourism has been cancelled. He will continue to work as AC(General) and AC (Grievances), Fatehgarh
Sahib. |
MLA’s confidant arrested Rampura, June 19 The police authorities, which have already registered a case under Section 380 of the IPC and arrested Mr Pal yesterday, have started examining the role of Mr Kangar into the incident. The case against Mr Pal was registered after he was found guilty of committing a crime in an inquiry conducted by the SP (Headquarters), Mr Harbhajan Singh, into a complaint lodged by Mr N. K. Garg, a resident of Bathinda town, with the SSP, Mr Ishwar Singh. Mr Charanjit Singh Jatana, former President of the local municipal council, who stopped the truck carrying the TV sets in October last year and later seized the same, had alleged that Mr Mohinder Pal along with Mr Kangar took away the TV sets after pressurising the municipal council employees. The TV sets were kept at the local fire station after these were seized. The then Executive Officer of the municipal council, Mr Rakesh Kumar Garg, had also written to the authorities concerned for registering a case against Mr Pal and Mr Kangar but nothing came out of it. Though Mr Devinder Attri, SHO, local police station, pointed out that Mr Kangar would not be booked in a criminal case in connection with this incident as he had not been found guilty of any offence in the inquiry conducted by Mr Harbhajan Singh, the latter said the role of Mr Kangar in the incident was being examined and the police authorities would shortly reach a conclusion. Sources said Mr Kangar earned the displeasure of the Congress government when he along with two other Independent MLAs, Mr Sukhdarshan Singh Mrar and Mr Harmeet Singh, decided to boycott the Panthic conference organised at Talwandi Sabo on Baisakhi by an MLA, Mr Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu. After this incident, a criminal case was registered against Mr Raj Balwinder Singh, a police official and a son of Mr Mrar, MLA, who boycotted the conference. Mr Kangar was also told of the displeasure of a section of the Congress leadership for not participating in the conference. The sources said Mr Kangar might be booked in a criminal case as a section of the Congress leadership was trying to teach him a lesson. Besides, some leaders of the SAD, who are known opponents of Mr Kangar, had started playing a role in the affair as they had been trying to win the confidence of the Congress government. Mr Kangar said he was not involved in forcibly taking away the TV sets from the employees of the municipal council. He added that one of his political opponents from the SAD, who had committed big scams during the tenure of the previous SAD-BJP government in Punjab, had joined hands with a section of the Congress leaders to save his skin and for his political victimisation. Mr Ishwar Singh, SSP, could not be contacted for his comments. |
Police
clueless about murder Tarn Taran, June 19 Mastan Singh was found murdered at his farm house under mysterious circumstances on Tuesday night. Gurpartap Singh (17) was a plus two student of the local Shri Guru Arjan Dev Khalsa Senior Secondary School when in October 1993 the local police allegedly killed him in a fake encounter. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to whom the case was handed over by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, indicted Mr Ranbir Singh Khatra, the then local SSP, two DSPs, two Inspectors, three Sub-Inspectors, three ASIs’, one Head Constable, 10 constables and an SPO in this regard. The CBI had held that Mr Khatra was responsible for not exercising control over his subordinates and for preparing an incorrect record as he failed to take prompt action for the release of Gurpartap Singh from the illegal custody of the local CIA staff in spite of repeated requests to him by Gurpartap Singh’s grandfather. Mr Amarjit Singh, son of Mastan Singh, who happens to be the sarpanch of Walipur village, said his family had neither any enmity with any one in the area nor any property dispute. He suspected the involvement of accused police officials as the matter was still pending in the court. He said a senior Congress leader had called Mastan Singh at his house at Amritsar for a meeting with Mr Khatra who wanted a compromise in the case, but Mastan Singh rejected the proposal. Meanwhile, the police has failed to reach any conclusion about the murder. The murder has raised many questions about the role of the police. While Mr Narinder Bhargav, SSP, could not be contacted even after repeated attempts, Mr Chander Shekhar, IG (Border Range), said he would look into the matter as he was not in the city for the past few days. Mr Ashok Bath, SP (detective), said the killers could be more than two in number. He said he did not know that Mastan Singh was pursuing the murder case of his grandson. |
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Man, nephew murdered Gurdaspur, June 19 The accused had attacked them earlier also and were facing a trial under Section 307, IPC. Rattan Singh and Tahal Singh along with their associates had invited the victims to the fields for settling the dispute yesterday. As soon as they reached the spot, the accused allegedly attacked them with sharp-edged weapons, resulting in their death on the
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Wife killed, body thrown into drain Amritsar, June 19 According to a complaint lodged at Beas police station, about 40 km from here, Mr Harbhajan Singh, brother of the deceased, alleged that his sister was regularly beaten up by the accused. He alleged that the accused strangled her to death when she was alone at home and then threw her body in a drain. |
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Another
murder in Tarn Taran Tarn Taran, June 19 Sucha Singh (22), of Deenewal village, that falls under the local Sadar police station, was allegedly murdered by Kulwinder Singh of same village. According to the FIR, the accused stabbed Sucha Singh to death over a dispute on supporting candidates in the ensuing panchayat elections. |
Pay salaries to DIETs staff, govt urged Sangrur, June 19 Mr Tarsem, Lal, district secretary of the Democratic Teachers Front (DTF); Mr Megh Raj, district convener of the DIET Staff Association, Punjab; and Mr Ram Murti Goyal, district secretary of the Government School Lecturers Union, Punjab said here yesterday that the Punjab Government should take a final decision, as early as possible, to release the salaries to the staff of DIETs so that hundreds of employees working in DIETs could be spared the humiliation which they faced at the time of borrowing money from money-lenders or shopkeepers. The leaders also suggested to the Punjab Government that it should pay salaries to the staff first from its own sources and later adjust the amount in its accounts after receiving a grant from the Ministry of Human Resource Development meant for salaries. They also said that the staff of DIETs in the neighbouring states had been receiving salaries every month as the governments of these states made arrangements from their own sources for paying the salaries without waiting for the grant from the HRD Ministry. Later, these governments adjusted the salaries amount after receiving the grant from the ministry in their exchequer. The leaders urged the government to follow the same pattern. |
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Schools not teaching Punjabi
may be derecognised Chandigarh, June 19 In order to promote the language, the Punjab Government has recently made it compulsory for all schools, including private ones to teach the subject from Classes I to X. According to sources in the school education department, the order comes in the wake of the fact that many recognised public and convent schools , particularly those affiliated to the CBSE or the ICSE, have not been teaching Punjabi at the primary level. A few English medium schools were teaching the subject as a second language from Class III onwards. The Principal Secretary (Higher Education and Languages), Mr N.S. Rattan, has asked the Education Department to send a list of the schools which were violating the orders within the next 15 days. But the order has not been implemented so far. The Chairman of the Punjab School Education Board, Mr Kehar Singh, has recommended action against those schools, which are teaching the subject from Class III. Sources in the department disclosed that all such schools, which are found guilty, are liable to forgo their recognition. And the department is very particular about this clause while issuing NOCs for affiliation purposes. He further said if the CBSE or the ICSE boards fail to make this provision, the schools seeking affiliation to these board might face problems in getting NOCs and recognition in case of others could also be withdrawn. In fact, no school henceforth would be allowed to sabotage the government policy as conditional NOCs would be given subject to their fulfilling the conditions laid down. However, the DPI (Schools), Mr Sohan Lal, said the order was not new as a similar letter dated April 11, 2002, also made teaching of Punjabi mandatory in all schools. As per the letter, all schools seeking affiliation to the CBSE or the ICSE boards were required to give an undertaking that they were teaching Punjabi from Class I in their affidavits at the time of obtaining NOCs. The students of defence personnel and others joining the schools mid-way could opt for Kendriya Vidyalayas, which were not governed by these conditions or take tuitions to cope with the standard, which would be basic and simple, he said. While the Punjab School Education Board had an option of History of Punjab and Culture for the outsiders, there is no such provision here. The orders also do not specify clearly whether the subject was to be introduced as a first language or the second language, especially in the English-medium schools. |
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BBA, B.Com results today Amritsar, June 19 The results will be available on Internet after 7 p.m. |
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