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| Saturday,
July 12, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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Advani assures Badal of action against CM Chandigarh, July 11 Both leaders accompanied by Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Mr Vijay Sampla and Dr Baldev Chawla, met Mr Advani for about 15 minutes at Raj Bhavan. They submitted a memorandum to Mr Advani seeking action against the Punjab Government. Addressing a press conference, Mr Badal and Mr Rinwa said they had told Mr Advani that the “Punjab Chief Minister’s Office was a direct beneficiary of the deliberate derailment of the course of investigations into the infamous PPSC recruitment scandal.” The disappearance of Rs 2 crore from Ravi Sidhu’s bank lockers and the role played by a senior bureaucrat and a political appointee of the CMO was widely reported by the media. Instead of coming clear on this sordid affair, the Chief Minister chose to dissociate senior officers, who refused to toe his line, from the course of investigation”. This should be got probed either from the CBI or any other Central Government agency. Mr Badal and Mr Rinwa said this was only one of the numerous cases which warranted independent investigations at the Union Government level. They also urged Mr Advani to issue directions to the Punjab Government to respect and preserve the democratic values, withdraw all false cases registered against SAD-BJP leaders, direct the state to work within the framework of the constitution and pull Punjab out of the prevailing
environment of terror, anarchy and dictatorship. Mr Badal said he was all for war against corruption but it should be uniform and not against leaders of a particular party as was the case in Punjab. Mr Badal said the situation was for worse than that during Emergency in the state. Then no opposition leader was tortured, humiliated and given electric shocks. But now the police and the Vigilance Bureau were doing all this to Akali leaders at the instance of Capt Amarinder Singh. Mr Rinwa said he would be the first to offer arrest in case any attempt was made to arrest Mr Badal. |
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Captain’s functioning undemocratic, says Badal Zirakpur, July 11 This statement was made by former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal while addressing party workers here this morning. Accompanied by SAD general secretary, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Mr Badal was on his way to attend a meeting with Mr G.S. Tohra, at Gurdwara Moti Bagh in Patiala. Criticising anti-people policies of the government, he alleged that in less than one year and a half of their rule the Congress had stopped all schemes launched by his government for peoples’ benefit. Hike in education fee, scraping of free education for girls, slapping heavy electricity bills on farmers and withdrawing ‘shagun’ and other schemes for the poor by the Congress, had left the public in a lurch, Mr Badal added. Moreover, after gross violations of code of conduct and violence in the zila parishad, block samiti and panchayat elections, the Congress had lost its image among the public. During these elections, the ruling party had ‘played with the public’s sentiments by using unfair means to ensure victory for its candidates, he alleged He said that under the Congress law and order situation in the state had deteriorated. The new SAD would win all seats in the ensuing Parliamentary elections in the state, he added. Addressing the Akali workers, Capt Kanwaljit Singh stressed upon the need to unite to fight against the victimisation by the Congress. He alleged that the Congress had not tried to implicate not only the SAD top leaders but also its workers at the block and village levels. Some cases had been registered against women and even children, he said. Also present were Mr Manpreet Singh Badal, MLA, Gidderbaha, Mr Narinder Sharma, president Zirakpur nagar panchayat, Mr Bhupinder Singh Saini. |
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Show of unity by Badal, Tohra Patiala, July 11 Today’s show of strength was different from the one held four years back. The then Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, had managed a huge gathering at the Polo grounds to ridicule Mr Tohra and establish his supremacy in the party. Today’s rally was more mute and seemed a hesitant beginning to start a new movement to counter the pressure being exerted on Mr Badal himself by the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh. The party may be with Mr Badal, but Mr Tohra had the last laugh. Speaking on the occasion, he made it clear that Mr Badal had extended the hand of friendship and he took it. He indirectly also chided Mr Badal for being soft on corruption by Congress governments. “I kept telling Badal sahib to take action against corrupt Congress men according to the recommendations of the Lok Pal”, he said, adding that if this had been done the hollowness of the Congress claims to the contrary would have been exposed. Mr Tohra, however, criticised the anti-corruption drive of the Congress government. Mr Tohra, who had till now not criticised the corruption drive, said the government could not use the State Vigilance Department and the police to implicate Akali leaders in corruption cases. He appealed to Akali workers to follow the Akali programme on the issue. Mr Badal said he needed the party to ensure a huge gathering on July 16, when a “bhog” ceremony is taking place to mark the end of penance ordained by the Sikh high priests at Amritsar. He asked party workers to reach Amritsar in full strength to ensure “chhardi kalan” of the “Panth”. Mr Badal addressed Mr Tohra as a “mahan neta” of Sikhs, even as he ridiculed the Chief Minister saying “Amarinder kehre khre di mooli hai”. He said Capt Amarinder’s days were numbered as he had not cared for any class of people of the state, including agriculturists, traders, employees or the
Dalits. For the party workers, who had come in large numbers to the meeting at the Moti Bagh gurdwara here, the coming together of Mr Badal and Mr Tohra could only promise better days for the party. “There was general disappointment amongst party workers at the parting of ways by Mr Badal and Mr Tohra and the subsequent formation of the Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal by the latter”, said Mr Amrik Singh
Malakpur. He said unity between both Akali factions had made the party better equipped to take on the challenge thrown by the Congress. Later, Mr Badal, while talking to newspersons, also demanded that the Chief Minister should come clean on the status of the bank loans taken by him. He also claimed that the Chief Minister had gone on a hunting trip and not to solicit loans for the state as had been claimed by him. Other leaders who spoke on the occasion were party General Secretary, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, SGPC President Kirpal Singh Badungar, former MPs Charanjit Singh Walia and Prem Singh Chandumajra, former legislator Harmail Singh Tohra and legislator Manpreet Singh Badal. |
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Badal still hostile to NDA Chandigarh, July 11 He categorically said today for the first time that his party would not break ties with the BJP at any stage. “We have chosen the BJP for a tie-up after a lot of thinking and there is no question of looking back now,” he added. Mr Badal said there was no need for the NDA team to visit Punjab now. In fact, the NDA team was not required to make any investigation or assessment of the situation in the state as “we are capable of handling the situation on our own”. It appears he is not prepared to make up with NDA leaders, especially its convener, Mr George Fernandes, who has not given even a single statement in support of Mr Badal and his party, which was facing hard times because of the tough line adopted by the Amarinder Singh Government. Even, other NDA leaders have remained silent. The Telugu Desam party too had not yet made any statement supporting Mr Badal. A lot of confusion had been created about the NDA team’s visit to Punjab. The function to be organised at Manji Sahib in Golden Temple on July 16 was a personal affair of the SAD and the NDA had nothing to do with it. So, there was no logic of the NDA team coming to Amritsar on July 16. The NDA leaders would be invited to two political functions to be held at Baba Bakala (August 12) and Longowal (August 20). But they would not makeing any assessment of the situation in the state and just participate in these political functions. Mr Brij Lal Rinwa, President of the Punjab BJP, admitted today that the NDA team should have come much earlier. Now, top leaders of the NDA had already been briefed about the prevailing situation in the state. The Deputy Prime Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, had already made a statement from Delhi on the Punjab situation.
SAD to field ‘dhadis’ against Amarinder The Shiromani Akali Dal has decided to launch a multi-cornered attack against Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. The Akalis will field traditional “dhadis” to propagate against Capt Amarinder Singh in all important religious festivals and gurdwaras in villages. “Dhadis” have been told to prepare songs against Capt Amarinder Singh. |
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Vigilance plea rejected in Badal case Kharar, July 11 The application moved by the Vigilance Bureau to issue necessary directions for the execution of search warrants pertaining to the premises namely Orbit Resorts Ltd, Gurgaon, and a farmhouse at Balasar, Sirsa, stated that the court had passed an order dated July 1 for the searches as well as the inspection of the above premises to be returnable by July 20. But the local police authorities did not cooperate and the Vigilance team had to face stiff resistance, Vigilance sources said. The Vigilance Bureau further pleaded that the Badal family owned huge properties in Haryana as well as in Delhi and the police was acting under the influence of the political allies of the accused. In addition, it stated that it apprehended mischief and armed resistance during the execution of the court orders. It pleaded that the search and inspection of the said premises be ordered to be done in the presence of a magistrate in the interest of justice. The judge after hearing the public prosecutor, Mr Jatinderjeet Singh Punn, and the SP, Vigilance, Mr Surinderpal Singh, rejected the application. |
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Romana to sue Patna Sahib Jathedar Faridkot, July 11 The issue was hanging fire for the past two months when Mr Romana allegedly used derogatory remarks against Giani Iqbal Singh and Dashm Granth on the eve of 400 years of Guru Gaddi at Chicago on April 27. Thus Giani Iqbal Singh along with other priests of Takht Patna Sahib declared Mr Romana as tankhah on May 20 and later sacked him from the presidentship of the management for his failure to clarify his position by attending the meeting at Patna Sahib on the same day. Giani Iqbal Singh had also threatened to file a counter defamation suit against Mr Romana in Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Patna, the USA, Canada and Germany. |
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Paswan held on way to Talhan, released on bail Dhannowali (Jalandhar), July 11 Meanwhile, Mr Paswan criticised the Congress, the SAD-BJP combine and the Bahujan Samaj Party for their alleged “failure” to do something meaningful to resolve the Talhan issue, which led to the Jat-Dalit clashes in the state. Mr Paswan and his supporters first converged on the Jalandhar Circuit House and from there they proceeded to Sri Guru Ravidass chowk. But, as they learnt that the district administration had not given permission to hold a rally, they proceeded towards the party’s Basti Sheikh office. From Basti Sheikh, Mr Paswan and his supporters went towards Talhan village in buses, trucks and on bicycles. As they reached the Dhannowali level crossing, they were stopped by a police party headed by Mr Pawan Rai, SP, and was told that they could not proceed towards Talhan village due to prohibitory orders in the village. Talking to mediapersons here, Mr Paswan said situation deteriorated in Talhan and other parts of the state due to the failure of the political parties, including the Congress, the BSP and the SAD-BJP combine, to do the needful. “Either they did nothing or they did politics. Nobody from these parties could solve the problem,” alleged Mr Paswan, who was accompanied by Mr Amar Singh Mehmi, president of the state unit of the party. He said if the Congress government failed to do anything to defuse tension in the village for five months, the SAD-BJP combine remained a mute spectator to the whole situation. Later, Mr Paswan and his supporters were asked to board two buses by the police officials and taken to Phillaur police station, where SSP Harpreet Sidhu reportedly held discussions with Mr Paswan, who kept insisting that he and his supporters be arrested. As discussions yielded no results, Mr Paswan and his supporters were arrested formally and later released on bail. Mr Paswan and his supporters, according to Mr Shammi Kumar, SP (Headquarters), were arrested for violating prohibitory orders in force at Talhan village. Condemning the arrest of Mr Paswan and his supporters, Mr Ramesh Chokan, spokesman for the Bahujan Samaj Morcha, said by arresting the Lok Janshakti party chief and his supporters the government had
exhibited its “discriminatory” approach. He said it was ironical that while a number of Congress leaders and ministers could visit the village frequently, national level leaders of other party were restricted. PHILLAUR: Mr Paswan visited Bhattian Bet village, which had also witnessed tension between Jats and Dalits last week. He left the city late in the evening. While talking to The Tribune at Phillaur police station, Mr Paswan termed the police action as an infringement on his right to freedom of movement and a murder of democracy. He said he was on a peaceful visit to the village. A police party took them near the Sutlej where handed them over to the Ludhiana police. Mr Paswan left the city by a train. Mr Paswan said he was leading the Dalit chetna march, being taken out to spread awareness among the Dalits. He demanded that the person belonging to the Jat community, who had fired shots at Dalits should be booked under Section 302, IPC and those who had received injuries and were handicapped in the incident should be given government jobs. He demanded a high-level inquiry into the incident by a high court judge only. He also demanded 50 per cent reservation for Dalits in the management of the shrine, which was the bone of contention. The family of Vijay Kumar, who died the clashes, should be given a compensation of Rs 10 lakh instead of Rs 5 lakh, he said. Mr Paswan also demanded that the Dalits, who were arrested in the clashes, should be released. Mr Jaswant Kataria, Chairman of Vishwa Guru Ravidass Mission, and Mr Shiv Ram Saroye, president of the mission, condemned the arrest of Mr Paswan. However, Mr Balraj Singh Sekhon, senior vice-president of the District Congress Committee, welcomed the police action against Mr Paswan. He said the visit would have escalated tension in the area. |
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Frontier Mail fire report by Aug 15 Kapurthala, July 11 He disclosed this to mediapersons while visiting the Rail Coach Factory today. He had come to inspect the safety precautions being taken by the factory while developing the fire proof design of the coaches. The Commissioner said that he had almost finalised the report but waiting for the forensic report. He would get the forensic report within a week or two. When asked about his findings in the incident, he said he would suggest to install fire extinguisher in each coach as a first step. |
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Disband
NRI Sabha: Ramoowalia Jalandhar, July 11 Talking to reporters here, president of the Lok Bhalai Party Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, alleged that the Sabha was pursuing anti-NRI policies by siding with those NRI husbands, who had walked out on their wives here. Director (Media and Field) of the Sabha Satnam Chana had recently dubbed the moves of Mr Ramoowalia focusing on the plight of such wives through media, as a political stunt and termed it as an attempt to
defame NRIs. Mr Ramoowalia added that Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had instructed all police officials to register cases, when reported against NRIs deserting their wives here and demanding dowry. The stand taken by the Sabha in favour of such husbands had exposed it among the people of the state. He said that the state government should terminate the services of Satnam Chana for working against the policies of Punjab Chief Minister. “Infact, the NRI Sabha has
miserably failed to redress the grievances of the NRIs since its formation and time has come that the Congress should implement its poll promise to disband the Sabha, if voted to power,” he said, adding that Sabha officials concerned should tender an unconditional apology to the wives, whose sentiments were hurt due to uncalled for statement of Mr Satnam Chana. Mr Ramoowalia threatened that all affected wives along with workers of his party would hold dharna in front of the office of the Sabha, if an apology was not tendered by the officials concerned. Mr Chana was not available for comments. |
Cong meetings on Punjab issues today Chandigarh, July 11 While the meeting of manifesto implementation committee would be chaired by former Finance Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, the meeting of coordination committee would be chaired by Ms Mohsina Kidwai, General Secretary of the AICC and in-charge, party affairs in Punjab. According to sources, the manifesto implementation committee meeting to be held earlier in the day would take stock of the implementation of the manifesto released by the Congress in the state on the eve of the elections. The prevailing political situation in Punjab would be discussed in the meeting of the coordination committee and the removal of Punjab Forest Minister following his alleged involvement in the multi-crore tree felling scam may also come up. Besides the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, the meetings would also be attended by the Agriculture Minister, Ms Rajinder Kaur Bhattal; the Finance Minister, Mr Lal Singh and the Local Government Minister, Chaudhary Jagjit Singh. |
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Dal (Mann) to probe Hemkunt incident Phagwara, July 11 After spot-study, a report will be presented to party president and Lok Sabha member Simranjit Singh Mann who will raise issue in Parliament, he said. Sikh pilgrims were attacked by shop-keepers and other rowdies after a tiff over a trible, on June 29. |
SGPC flays arrest of pilgrims Amritsar, July 11 The secretary said that the Uttaranchal government should order a probe by an independent agency into the incident. Mr Harbeant Singh urged the Uttaranchal government to provide security to the Sikh devotees visiting Hemkunt Sahib. |
High Court Chandigarh, July 11 Pronouncing the directions in an open court, the Bench, comprising Chief Justice Mr Justice B.K. Roy and Mr Justice Amar Dutt, also fixed August 7 as the next date of hearing in the case. Claiming to have been harassed, the petitioners — residents of Mangu Basti, along with voluntary organisation Jagriti — had earlier contended that no action was taken on their applications for the grant of Indian citizenship by the state government. Going into the background of the case, the petitioners had asserted that they were forced to stay back in Pakistan at the time of partition as they could not trek down due to “various handicaps”. However, in Pakistan they were ill-treated, even tortured. The women were molested and they were divested of their properties. Finally they decided to shift to India.
Poll petition dismissed Dismissing an election petition filed by Punjab’s former Chief Minister Harcharan Singh Brar challenging the election of independent candidate Sukhdarshan Singh from the Muktsar assembly constituency, Mr Justice S.S. Nijjar of the High Court today ruled that the petitioner had only levelled “wild allegations”. The elections were held on February 13 last year. Pronouncing the orders, Mr Justice Nijjar further ruled: “All the averments taken at the face value would not amount to inducement of the voters as required under the provisions of the relevant Act to constitute corrupt practice. The averments are wholly vague”. The Judge further held: “Merely because the respondent’s son happens to be a police officer would not render his mere presence in the constituency a corrupt practice. Furthermore, his mere presence at the venue of speeches would also not amount to corrupt practice. Particulars have also not been given as to what influence was exerted by the son....” |
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Hearing of bail plea put off Ropar, July 11 |
Acute climate devastates trees Chandigarh, July 11 Following the mortality of thousands of ‘‘kikkar’’ and ‘‘shesham’’ trees in most parts of Punjab, the state Forest Department had given a project to study the phenomenon to the University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, in Himachal. Experts of the university have submitted an interim report in this connection. These trees have also dried up in large numbers in Haryana and other states of this region. This region has been experiencing an abnormal fall or rise in the temperature with the mercury going up to 48°C in the summer and plummeting to 1°C in the winter. The experts feel that such wide variations have adversely affected certain species of trees. The paddy-wheat cycle has also been considered a major reason for the drying up of trees. There are areas where the subsoil water level has gone down beyond the reach of roots of trees because of the overdrawals of water for paddy. It has weakened the trees making these vulnerable to fungal attacks. Secondly, in the areas where paddy fields remain waterlogged, trees have been adversely affected. In a large area, trees have been found suffering from fungal attacks. The experts have inferred that because of the vast network of roads, canals etc, the natural flow of subsoil and surface water has been impeded which is proving harmful for trees in certain areas. The Forest Department has given a project to the Forest Research Institute at Dehra Dun to identify different climatic zones and the species of trees suitable to such zones. The Forest Department is about to start a campaign for growing herbal trees and medicinal plants in various forest areas. Punjab can become a major exporter of herbs as certain areas in the state are suitable for raising medicines plants. At present China is dominating such trade by exporting herbs to the tune of Rs 40,000 crore per annum. The Forest Department has advised farmers to enhance the area under poplar and eucalyptus, which are in big demand as raw material for wood-based industry such as paper mills etc. India imports paper products worth Rs 7,000 crore every year. |
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‘Save nation from water bankruptcy’ Amritsar, July 11 He was speaking at the seminar “water — elixir of the life”, organised by the Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences of Guru Nanak Dev University in collaboration with the Kheti Virasat Punjab here today. He said that some states of India had given ownership rights of certain rivers to multi national companies under the Boot Agreement. He named the states which took some steps in this direction as Orissa, Karnataka and Chhatisgarh. Mr Rajinder Singh said, “there is a dire need to maintain balance between the discharge and recharge of water, diversification in cropping pattern, change in attitude towards judicious use of water in domestic, agriculture and industrial sectors to save the nation from water bankruptcy”. Expressing his concern over the declining water table in Punjab, Mr Rajinder Singh emphasised that heavy discharge of water from the water table needed to be reduced and recharge of water increased to conserve it in aquifers. He said that water should be treated as a resource and not property, which was liable to be exploited by vested interests. He said that the judicious use of water in agriculture, domestic and industrial sectors might also save the state from “water bankruptcy”. He stressed that a mass campaign should be launched to create awareness about water usage. He said that the Punjab Government should take all sections of society in confidence before finalising the state water policy. He cautioned that the state government should immediately take water-saving measures, as it was heading towards “crucial zone” by losing rich and valuable acquifers. Earlier, presiding over the seminar, Dr S.P. Singh, Vice-Chancellor of the varsity, informed that the university was contemplating on the proposal to adopt “roof-top harvesting” on all buildings of the university on the pattern of the Kheti Bhavan. Mr Uminder Dutt, Director of Kheti Virasat, expressed his concern over the declining water level from 15 feet to 150 feet in Punjab. He said 85 per cent of the geographical area of the state had been declared as “dark zone” because of the going down of the water table. |
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Punjab to introduce AIDS awareness Chandigarh, July 11 In respect of Punjab, it was decided today that 20 per cent of the existing 4000 schools under the Punjab School Education Board will be covered under this scheme, which is sponsored by the Central government through NACO. The policy decision also says that the schools to be targetted will be of the high and higher secondary level. However, only Class IX and Class X students of the schools in question will be imparted awareness in HIV/AIDS. The matter was decided today at a meeting which was attended, among others, by the Principal Secretary, Education, Punjab, Ms Tejinder Kaur, the Principal Secretary, Health, and the Vice Chairperson of the Punjab School Education Board. It is learnt from sources that the State Institute of Science Education, Punjab, Sector 17, will be made the nodal agency in this regard. Before the programme is launched in the schools across eight districts (including Ropar, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Patiala), high level functionaries will be trained by resources persons from the Health Ministry of India. The idea is to orient the people concerned in the highly sensitive matter concerning general health of the public. Once this orientation workshop is over, two teachers per school will be trained to further spread AIDS awareness among children. Interestingly, Class X and Class XII students are not yet being covered under this scheme because they have to take their board examination. To make the programme worthwhile, the departments concerned have also decided that some competitions will also be organised to make the students aware of the menace of AIDS/HIV. The matter of implementation of AIDS awareness programme at school level in Punjab had been pending because the earlier Principal Secretary, Health was transferred sometime back. The matter was kept in abeyance for sometime before it was finally taken up today. With the tentative guidelines having been set, the officials will now decided how and when to finally launch the scheme in schools. Funds for the scheme are also yet to be received. |
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Rs 15-lakh hospital
machine lying unpacked Bathinda, July 11 The PHSC gave this machine to four hospitals of Punjab last year for the use of blood for the medical emergencies. This machine can separate blood in different components including Red Blood Corpuscles (RBC), platelets, plasma and leucocytes. This machine can help the use of a single unit of blood for transfuse on to a number of patients as any specific patient would be given only that component of blood that would be needed and other components would be given to other patients. However, for the past one year, this machine, worth Rs 15 lakh has been lying unused in the blood bank of the civil hospital here despite the fact that local civil hospital authorities have been making efforts to make it functional. Official sources said functioning of the blood component separator had been delayed, as the local civil hospital authorities could not get a licence to run it from the Central Drug Authority though it had applied for it through the state Health Department authorities. When the machine arrived, it was found that the civil hospital and not have 50 square feet roofed space for installing it. After some time, it was found that the supplier of machines did not send several accessories of the machine. After making lot of efforts, when the local civil hospital authorities arranged a major accessories, it was found that machine was without platelet agitator, a vital component of it. Dr Indu Bhushan, In charge, Blood Bank unit, Civil Hospital, said that the machine could run without platelet agitator accessory. He added that civil hospital authorities had been waiting for the inspection team of Central Drug authority, which would recommend to Ministry of Health for giving licence to local Blood Bank after making an inspection. Dr S. K. Goyal, Civil Surgeon, said that he had repeatedly been taking up the matter with state Health authorities to make the machine functional at the earliest so that more and more patients could benefited from it. He added every year, the local blood bank had been making achievements in the collection of blood units. In 2001, 1900 units of blood were collected, in 2002, the number of units collected was 3900 and in the first six months of the current year, the number of units collected was more than 2800. He said that the Blood Bank had been catering to the needs of all types of medical emergency. |
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Women’s role in population control stressed Mansa, July 11 Dr Kansal argued against the exploitation of women in family planning by putting the entire responsibility of birth control on women. Mr Ashok
Sadiora, convener of the Check Population Movement of Mansa, said India had long passed the ecodemographic stage when it could control its population growth through education and healthcare alone. Mr Sadiora said that the government should not only offer a carrot to the person who limited his family, but also give a stick to anyone who didn’t limit the size of his family. Mr Jasbir Singh, District Mass Education Information Officer of Mansa, talked about the necessary requirement of registration of births and deaths. Mr Anshi Ram, Non-Medical Superintendent made the audience aware of the consequences of AIDS and precautions against this disease. On this occasion, an on-the-spot painting competition was also held on the school premises. Mr Khushdeep Singh, Mr Amandeep Singh and Mr Deepak got first, second and third positions, respectively. Among those present on the occasion were Dr Ramesh
Katodia, Dr Kulwant Singh, Dr Naresh Kumar, Dr Asha Kiran and Dr Monika Singla — all of Civil Hospital at Mansa. FARIDKOT:
On World Population Day more than 2,000 members of various youth clubs and NGOs, besides school students, carry a more-than-100-m-long banner depicting the main causes of India’s bulging population took out a march through the main streets of the town here today. Earlier, at a district-level function are, Mr Hussan Lal, Deputy Commissioner, described the overpopulation as the mother of all social evils and stressed the need for taking concrete steps for eradicating illiteracy to overcome the problem. He said the district administration, in collaboration with various voluntary organisations, had constituted more than 20 medical teams that would regularly visit the rural areas to spread awareness on the methods for checking the growth of population. The NDA government was criticised for “failing to check the high rate of population growth” by Mr
S.K. Gupta, a veteran Congress leader and chairman of the Improvement Trust, who urged the AICC president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, to direct all chief ministers of the Congress-ruled states to hold special camps to motivate their legislators to launch campaigns in their areas to check the high rate of population growth. |
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SAS Nagar to have seven new sectors SAS Nagar, July 11 According to a pressnote issued by the authority today, the 550 acre urban estate in SAS Nagar will be the largest of the seven urban estates being planned across the state. The other big urban estate has been planned at Zirakpur where PUDA will be acquiring 530 acres of land on the link road to village Nagla. Jalandhar will have an urban estate built on 500 acres of land on the Jalandhar-Hoshiarpur road. At Kharar, PUDA proposes to acquire 250 acres of land on the Chandigarh-Kharar road for development into an urban estate. PUDA will also acquire 225 acres of land near the Jyoti Swaroop Gurdwara, Fatehgarh Sahib for the urban estate while 125 acres of land will be acquired on the portion of the GT road between Khanna and Mandi Gobindgarh for urban estate, Khanna. Another 212 acres will be acquired on the Chandigarh-Nawanshahr road for urban estate, Nawanshahr. PUDA has already acquired 110 acres of land at Seed Farm, Nabha for urban estate, Nabha. Here PUDA is in the process of announcing a scheme offering 695 residential plots. Earlier, PUDA had conducted a demand survey across 26 towns in the state to assess the customer preferences for residential plots and built up houses. |
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Few takers for Mini Secretariat Patiala, July 11 Various offices are showing reluctance to shift to the Mini Secretariat with PWD employees even starting a series of dharnas against the shifting. While for some departments, the new building lacks the old world charm of the earlier buildings, others feel uncomfortable having senior officers in the same building. Non-shifting of the PWD (Building and Roads) into the new Mini Secretariat has created a piquant situation. The district administration has been left saddled with a large number of rooms which it does not want to allocate to anyone else because the rooms were modified according to the requirements of the PWD officers. Deputy Commissioner Tejveer Singh, when contacted, said PUDA had constructed large rooms along with bathrooms and even resting rooms for the senior most officers of the department. He said these rooms could not be offered to junior officers of other departments. Similarly, air-cooled rooms which were better ventilated than the old building known as “Bhupindra Kothi” in which the office is at present located were being provided to its employees. The employees, however, have a different version. They say that the administration is forcibly trying to shift the “A” class office to use the building for some commercial or heritage related project. The employees have formed a State level Joint Action Committee on the issue. They claim that this was being done despite the fact that the administration is allowing some “B” and even “C” class government offices to retain their rented and in some cases even unsafe buildings. Employees Action Committee general secretary Gurcharan Singh Pardesi said there are several offices which should be shifted to the Mini Secretariat. These include the offices of the Superintending Engineer, Public Health and Irrigation, Executive Engineer, Drainage and Public Health departments, Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner (DETC), Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner (AETC), Chemical Examiner, Chief Electrical Inspector and several offices of the Mechanical and Electrical Circles. Meanwhile the district administration is making efforts to fill the huge Secretariat complex. The Deputy Commissioner said the R T A Office as well as that of the District Public Relations situated in the Baradari Gardens would be shifted to the new complex soon. He said it had also been decided to shift the Public Health offices to the complex. Mr Tejveer said some offices, including those of the DETC and the AETC had not been planned to be shifted to the new complex. He said there were practical problems in shifting other offices, including that of the Deputy Director, Agriculture, situated in the Baradari Gardens because a Soil Testing Laboratory was also situated at the site. Even
as efforts are being made to shift more offices to the new complex,
sources said it would be sometime before the Mini Secretariat is used
to its optimum capacity as the administration has been liberal in
marking rooms for the use of all departments. |
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Excise Act modified,
computerisation proposed Ferozepore, July 11 He said the work on the computerisation of the Shambhu tax barrier unit has already begun. At the meeting, Mr D.P. Reddy, Excise and Taxation Commissioner; Mr Kuldip Kumar, Additional Commissioner; Mr P.C. Kumar, DETC; Mr Samarjit Singh, DETC (Appeals); Mr S.C. Sharma, AETC; and the AETCs from Muktsar and Moga were present, besides other officials. The minister gave the tax-collection target for this financial year to be Rs 3,200 crore. He said to prevent tax evasion, the department had modified the Excise Act and added a new Section 61-A to it. Under this Act, anybody brewing illicit liquor if apprehended would attract a penalty of Rs 50,000. In case of non-payment of this fine, his property and vehicles would be auctioned. Mr Sardool Singh also said no businessman or trader would be harassed; rather they would be motivated to deposit tax in time without a hitch. He further instructed the officials to go for 20 per cent more tax collection than the target. The department had already collected Rs 1,105 crore in excise and sales tax till June 30, which was Rs 104.52 crore more than the collection last, year, he said. |
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Job quota in private
sector opposed Bathinda, July 11 In a press note here today, Mr Raj Bir Singh Sidhu, the General Secretary, the General Samaj Party (GSP), said that political parties had been adopting unfair means to acquire power. Due to tactics being adopted by the political parties to acquire power, the innocent people of the country were being victimised. He added that even BJP leadership had expressed its opposition over the Congress’s declaration that reservation should be made in the jobs in private sector. Mr Sidhu pointed out that China, the country, which got independence two years after India, had made great progress and was now one of the best economic powers in the world but India still was a developing state though became independent 55 years ago. He said the GSP would make every effort to protect the people from anti-people policies being followed by the political parties that had been ruling the country so far. He added that GSP was in favour of the fact that all people belonging to weaker section of the society should be given monetary help only and no reservation should be given to any one in jobs and career promotions. |
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Ban on sale of drugs without prescription Bathinda, July 11 The problem of drug addition has increased manifold in the district and a large number of patients are getting themselves treated at various de-addiction hospitals in the region, including Bathinda and Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan. According to sources, most of the drug addicts take injections, tablets and capsules for “kick” and pointed out that the problem had increased due to the sale of these medicines without the prescription of a qualified doctor. Dr Vandana Singla, a psychiatrist at the local Civil Hospital, confirmed that many addicts had been using the drugs which should ideally be sold through prescription of doctors. Dr Singla said that even the sleeping pills being sold by chemists without prescription were habit-forming and the people should be warned of the ill-effects of these medicines. She said the problem was also prevalent in rural areas, where addicts switched over to tablets, injections and capsules when they were unable to procure poppy husk or opium. Dr Mehboob Singh Sran, in charge, Red Cross De-Addiction Centre, Bathinda, said many patients of Muktsar had got treatment at the centre. Meanwhile, Mr Aggrawal, in his orders under Section 144 of the CrPC, said the misuse of some medicines was the reason for the ban on banning the sale of such medicines. Some of the medicines of the total 34 which have been banned from sale without written prescription are salts of codeine,
diphenoxyalte, dextroporpoxhphene, alprazolam, morpheine etc. The orders will remain in force till September 9. |
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Medical
Officer suspended Hoshiarpur, July 11 Dr Bharati was found absent from emergency duty on the night of July 8 by the minister when he visited to check patients in the hospital. The Secretary, Health, has also transferred Dr Surinder Singh Dardi, Primary Health Centre, Phuglana, to Hari-ke-Pattan, Amritsar. The Health Minister has also recommended action against Dr Dardi for not treating a serious patient at the Hoshiarpur Civil Hospital. |
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‘Illegal’ colony overlooked Ropar, July 11 They were offering sewerage and water connection to buyers of the colony and selling plots for hefty sum. However, sources said that unless the colony was laid as per plans approved by the council or PUDA no such facility could be provided to the residents. If the colony was not approved even power connections could not be provided to residents, the sources said. The executive officer of the Nangal Council, Mr A.L. Bansal, said that the colony builders had approved the plan of just the boundary wall of the colony. The plan was returned to the developers with a direction that they should submit a complete plan of the colony. Additional Chief Administrator, PUDA, Yashvir Mahajan said building of an unauthorised colony had not been reported . |
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Encroachments on vacant
plots to be checked Jalandhar, July 11 Stating this while presiding over the Punjab’s first “Improvement Trust Lok Durbar”, Mr Tejinder Bittu, the newly appointed Chairman of the Jalandhar Improvement Trust, said the decision to provide security in these localities had been taken after complaints by a number of residents, particularly NRIs whose properties were subjected to thefts or encroachments in their absence. He said for the implementation of the scheme, the Trust authorities were in touch with some private security agencies. “The scheme will take off from August 1. We have written to the government for the approval of the scheme,” said Mr Bittu adding that about 200 complaints were redressed on the spot during the Lok Durbar. During the “Lok Durbar”, clearance was given for 80 registration deeds of the Transport Nagar locality, 28 sale agreements, and eight house plans, said Mr Bittu. |
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25 artists hold exhibition Patiala, July 11 Most of the canvasses were in the modern art
style with the young artists using vivid colours and trying diverse
themes. Some of the examples of abstract art were praiseworthy as the
artists had not exhibited their works earlier. North Zone Cultural
Centre Director R.T. Jindal inaugurated the exhibition. Mr Jindal said
there had been a demand to provide a forum to young artists of the
state to exhibit their works. He said it was with this in mind that
the Gurudev Fine Arts Society had been established. Mr Jindal said
the NZCC was doing its utmost to promote new artists. He said attempts
would be made to provide more forums to artists at the NZCC at
Chandigarh, besides sponsoring artists for shows outside the state. He
said the NZCC hoped to sponsor more shows of young artists in the city
also. |
House allotment scheme extended Bathinda, July 11 Mr G.K. Singh, Additional Chief Administrator PUDA, said directions had been given to the staff that all work should be done in time. He also said, on public demand, the scheme for allotting vacant houses of the LIG and MIG categories on first-come-first-served basis had been extended till September 30. These houses were in Model Town and complete in all respects with all basic facilities. These were available for allotment on reasonable rates. An LIG house here would cost between Rs 54,000 and Rs 1,60,820 and the earnest money with application would be Rs 5,000. Each MIG house would cost between Rs 1,76,000 and Rs 2,70,390 and the earnest money would be Rs 10,000. Mr Singh said the possession of the house would be given after receiving 15 per cent of the price and the remaining amount would have to be paid in easy instalments within 15 years.
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Kapurthala MC chief booked for fraud Kapurthala, July 11 In a FIR lodged with the police, the District Manager, Punjab Agro, alleged that the Punjab Agro had allotted 24,328 quintals of paddy for milling to the sheller owners during 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 but the firm did not deposit the rice to the department and instead misappropriated more than 18,000 quintals of paddy. He further alleged that the officials of the Punjab Agro found only 6184 quintals of paddy during the physical verification of stocks at the rice mill. He also alleged that the cheques worth to Rs 1.6 crore given by the party were dishonoured by the bank. These cheques were given by the party in lieu of rice to be delivered to the department. On the other hand, Sudesh Kumar Aggarwal said damaged stocks of paddy was allotted by the department for milling purpose and the rice shelled from the paddy was not fit to be delivered to the department as per their specifications. He disclosed that he was still ready to supply the rice to the department and had made a request for the extension of the time period till December, 2003, after increasing a huge loss. He said he had submitted the cheques worth Rs 1.26 crore to the department as a security for the supply of rice. District Manager Punjab Agro Y P Gupta was not available for comments. However, R N Dhoke, SSP, when contacted said he had deputed Jaspal Singh, DSP, to investigate the case and said action would be taken against the accused when sufficient evidence
would be collected. The police has registered a case under Sections 405, 406, 420 of the IPC, 120B against three partners of firm and no arrest has been made so far.
— UNI |
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One killed in clash at wedding Sunam, July 11 Mr Deepak Rai, SHO of the local police station, said that Ashok Kumar a relative of the
bridegroom was killed with bullet injury while Mr Satish Kumar, Mr Inderjit and Sanjeev Kumar ( all members of the marriage party) and Mr Bahadur, a security guard of the palace were injured in the clash. He said two of the seriously injured persons had been referred to DMC Hospital Ludhiana while others to Civil Hospital Sangrur and Sunam. The SHO said the clash started after an altercation between members of the marriage party and owners of the palace over orchestra performance. He said owners of the palace asked the members of the marriage party to stop orchestra programme at midnight as use of loudspeakers was not allowed after midnight. On this marriage party members opposed it and asked the orchestra party to continue the programme. This led to the clash, the SHO added. The police has registered a case against Parveen Kumar and Davinder Singh Sethi owners of marriage palace under Sections 302, 307, 34 and of the IPC and 25,27,54,59 of the Arms and Ammunition Act in connection with the killing of Ashok Kumar. Parveen Kumar one of the owners of the marriage palace claimed that they were innocent and had nothing to do with the killing of Ashok Kumar. |
Sacrilege alleged Kharar, July
11 A team of mediapersons
reached the spot after the incident and found smithereens of glass
strewn all over the room where the holy book has been placed and even
the ‘palki’ of Guru Granth Sahib had been pushed. The photographs
associated with Sikh Gurus too had been broken. Residents of the
village, who had gathered on the spot, including sarpanch of the
village Jagat Singh and the president of the gurdwara committee
Balwant Singh and others told the mediapersons that the attacker tried
to insult the holy book and even brake open the ‘gollak’. Residents
of the village said the name of the accused is Sarvjeet Singh, alias
Roda and that he was an employee of the Punjab Irrigation Department.
The accused was later held. Meanwhile, the SSP, Ropar, Mr Gurpreet
Singh Bhullar visited the site and said a case under Sections 295-A,
454, 380, 427 of the IPC has been registered. |
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