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SGPC seeks clarification from Unesco
Amritsar, December 13 In a communication to Unesco, the SGPC made it clear
that the Sikh sangat would accept the world heritage status on the sole
condition that the inscription on this prestigious list would not
compromise the legal status, ownership, rights and practices of the
community. Talking to TNS on the phone, Bibi Jagir Kaur, President,
SGPC, said the SGPC wanted this status but at the same time the
management and ownership of the Golden Temple would continue to remain
in the hands of the Sikh sangat. Highlighting the reasons for
maintaining the management of the Golden Temple by the SGPC, the
communication reads: “We would like to share the concerns of the Sikh
community, which forms the basis for the nomination of the site to
Unesco. The Sikh religion is the youngest of the world religions,
founded in the 15th century. It is the only world religion, whose
cultural site is not represented on the list.” “World heritage status
would also help in preserving the Golden Temple. In order to safeguard
the site, it is important for the site to be protected through the Hague
Convention of 1954 and the World Heritage Convention of 1972.” The SGPC
has said the nomination of Sri Harmandar Sahib is an initiative of the
committee, which has elected representatives. The SGPC has been managing
the affairs of Sri Harmandar Sahib and various Sikh shrines in India
since 1925. The Ministry of Culture was only the conduit to send the
three volume nomination dossier to the World Heritage Centre of Unesco
last year, claims the SGPC. It further claimed that various
organisations representing the Sikh community, including religious
heads, SGPC members, and academicians, were engaged in the preparation
of the dossier. Bibi Jagir Kaur claimed that it was the duty of the
SGPC to seek clarification directly from Unesco.
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10 p.c. extra for WB-aided water
Chandigarh, December 13 Years ago the Punjab Government had approached the World Bank to seek funds for rural water and sanitation schemes. It had submitted a project worth Rs 1819.35 crore to the World Bank for this purpose. However, the WB had laid down certain conditions in shape of reforms before sanctioning the funds for this project. One of the conditions was that certain amount of user charges should be recovered from consumers. Maintenance and operational charges should also be paid by consumers. Obviously, this money would be collected from consumers by levying monthly charges. The meeting of Council of Ministers held here today under the chairmanship of the Deputy Chief Minister, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, approved the World Bank project of Rs 1819.35 crore for providing water supply and sanitation facilities in 4,900 partially covered habitations and 1600 yet to be covered habitations in the state. The government press note issued in this connection only says that the Council of Ministers also approved other modalities regarding the adoption of reforms, institutional and financing approach with regard to the World Bank project. However, no details of reforms had been given in the statement. The council also approved the amendment of the Punjab Agriculture Produce Market Act, 1961, for the reconstitution of market committees within three years of their supersession instead of two years. The office of the Chief Parliamentary Secretary is being declared as office of no profit because the MLAs cannot hold the office of profit as per constitutional provisions. The Punjab Government has made certain MLAs as Chief Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Secretaries. A Bill to declare the office as of no profit is expected to be brought in the State Assembly on December 15. The Council also approved the Punjab Pay Scales of Teachers Ordinance 2004 (Punjab Ordinance No. 11 of 2004) to remove disparity and discrimination in the pay scales of the similarly situated teachers holding the same post and performing the same duties and responsibilities.
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Patna Sahib jathedar to attend clergy meeting
Amritsar,
December 13 Talking to TNS on telephone, Bibi Jagir Kaur
said it was the collective responsibility of the Sikh clergy to come
upto the expectations of Sikh sangat while discharging their religious
duties. Both the Jathedars, who had gone to Mumbai to attend the
marriage ceremony of the son of an SGPC member, would arrive in Amritsar
by the same flight tomorrow. It is learnt that the SGPC chief had
mediated to bring rapprochement between both the Jathedars. Earlier,
Jathedar Iqbal Singh had announced that he won’t attend any meeting of
the Sikh clergy till Jathedar Vedanti was the Jathedar of Akal Takht. He
had also levelled serious charges of tampering with the proceedings of
the meetings of Sikh clergy. Earlier Mr Parkash Singh Badal, President,
Shiromani Akali Dal, had urged the SGPC to resolve the matter which had
assumed serious proportions. Jathedar Iqbal Singh had also alleged that
in spite of his repeated requests, during the meetings of Sikh clergy,
Jathedar Vedanti had not sought clarification from Ms Surinder Kaur
Badal for allegedly visiting the Dera of Ashutosh. It is believed that
the meeting of Sikh clergy would constitute a committee of Sikh
intellectuals to take decision on the controversial book “Mundavni”,
authored by Giani Gurdit Singh. In case Jathedar Iqbal Singh attends
the meeting then it would establish once for all the supremacy of Akal
Takht. His participation in the meeting would send a clear signal that
Takht Patna Sahib can’t pronounce any edict on Panthic issues.
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First use of ‘Hindustan’ by Guru Nanak: Jodh Singh
Chandigarh, December 13 “In fact, Guru Nanak
Dev was the first holy man to conceptualise our country as Hindustan.
And Guru Granth Sahib is the first religious scripture of the Bhakti
Movement period in which the word Hindustan was used first time. Before
Guru Granth Sahib, the word Hindustan had not been used in any religious
Granth”, claims Dr Jodh Singh. “I would stand corrected if any one shows
me the reference of Hindustan in any other religious scripture before it
was used by Guru Nanak Dev”, says Dr Jodh Singh. Guru Nanak Dev wrote
the word Hindustan in his ‘shalok’ that was authored to lodge a protest
to God against Babar’s reign of terror in Hindustan. The Shalok is
“Khurasan khasmana kiya, Hindustan draya, eti mar pai kurlane, tain ke
dard na aiya”. Dr Jodh Singh, who has completed in four volumes the
translation of Guru Granth Sahib in Hindi, says Guru Nanak Dev was in
fact also the first to visualise the integration of this country which
during his period had been divided in several provinces and
principalities. All literature was full of references regarding
provinces and there was no talk of the country as a unit as such during
that period. Asked about the translation of Guru Granth Sahib in Hindi,
Dr Jodh Singh said that he had performed this task keeping in view the
requirement of millions of Hindi-reading people of the country. “The
translation was in chaste Hindi that is written and read in Central
India”, he adds. Dr Jodh Singh, who has also been designated as
Professor of Sikhism, did his Ph.D on Guru Nanak’s thought from Banaras
Hindu University and also served there as lecturer for some years before
joining Punjabi University. He is a member of the Indian Council of
Philosophical Research and had held several eminent positions in Punjabi
University and other academic institutions. He has authored several
books on Sikhism. His most recognised earlier works are the translation
of Dasam Granth in English and Hindi and also the translation of Vars of
Bhai Gurdas in English and Hindi. Translation of Guru Granth Sahib is
the latest one. In this work, on the left side pages, there is a
translation in ‘shalok’ form in Hindi and on the right side pages there
is translation in Hindi prose. This has been done to make easy the
understanding of Gurbani for Hindi-knowing people. Talking about the
translation of Guru Granth Sahib, he said that the number of pages of
this translated works is the same as those of Guru Granth Sahib. A
detailed introduction explaining about Sikh history, philosophy and its
doctrinal aspects and also glossary of technical terms used in Sikh
religious ethos has been part of the work.
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Inside Babudom Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service
Chandigarh,
December 13 IPS officer H.R. Chadha — on central deputation since 1999 — is also back. Awaiting posting, he has now been transferred as Inspector-General of Police (Indian Reserve Battalion) at Chandigarh. His promotion as Additional Director-General of Police (ADGP) is also due. Sources in the Punjab Police Headquarters here claim that two officers — senior to IGP Chadha — are awaiting elevation along with him. Going into the background of the case involving Mr Randhawa, the sources say that he was looking into an alleged fake pension case in which relatives of the petitioner in DSPs recruitment case were allegedly harassed. The alleged fact had come to light after a newspaper report had claimed that petitioner Jaskaran Singh’s relatives were harassed following the filing of a public interest litigation (PIL) in the matter. Mr Randhawa’a transfer orders were issued on October 25 — less than 24 hours after the news report’s appearance. Though the Home Department had termed the “transfer and posting” orders as routine, the sources had at that point of time claimed that the action was initiated due to “adverse publicity” in the matter. They had, however, admitted that the orders were issued after Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had expressed dissatisfaction with the explanation offered by the Vigilance Bureau’s top brass regarding the arrest of petitioner Jaskaran Singh Brar’s father and brother. Denying the allegations, they had claimed that proceedings had been initiated much before the PIL’s filing. Taking a serious view of the matter, the Chief Minister had also directed the Bureau Chief A.P. Pandey to submit a factual report in the matter. The sources in the Punjab Government’s Department of Home Affairs and Justice now say that the orders transferring him back to the same post were issued because nothing incriminating was found against him. They add that the officer had not harassed the petitioner’s relatives. They claim that the PIL was filed before the High Court on February 13. On the other hand, a complaint supported by a joint affidavit — dated November 13 last year — was received by the bureau on December 1, 2003. The matter was referred to Ferozepore’s SP on December 12 last year — much before the PIL was filed. As such the complaint was not procured to harass the petitioner’s kin. Postings
The Home Department has ordered the
transfers and postings of 14 other officers also. IPS Officer Dinesh
Partap, awaiting posting on promotion, has been posted as SP
(Headquarters) at Amritsar. Ludhiana’s SP Vigilance Naunihal Singh has
been posted as SP Special Branch, Intelligence Wing at Chandigarh. PPS
Officer R.S. Khatra, awaiting posting, has been posted as Commandant
PRTC at Jahankhelan. Gurinder Singh Dhillon, also awaiting posting, has
been posted as SP Vigilance at Ludhiana. PPS Officer Gurkirpal Singh,
awaiting posting, has been posted as SP Flying Squad, Vigilance Bureau
at Chandigarh. M.S. Chhina, awaiting posting, has been posted as SP
(Vigilance) at Chandigarh. R.P.S. Bajwa, awaiting posting , is now the
Commandant of 5th IRB at Amritsar in place of Gurdev Singh. He has been
posted as the Deputy Director, Administration at Phillaur. Sukhmohinder
Singh, awaiting posting , has been posted as AIG Armaments at Chandigarh.
Shiv Kumar, awaiting posting, is the new SP Intelligence at Chandigarh.
Narinder Bhargav, awaiting posting, is the Commandant of 5th CDO
Battalion at Bahadurgarh in place of Mohinder Singh Chahal. He has been
posted as SP (Headquarters) at Patiala. Kulshinder Singh, awaiting
posting, is the Commandant of 4th IRB at Jalandhar in place of R.P.
Sharda. He has been posted as SP (Crime) at Jalandhar.
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PPS officers’ welfare association chief quits
Amritsar,
December 13 Mr Gill
said accepting the high moral ground in failing to protect the rights of
PPS officers on SSPs and cadre posts, he had opted to resign from his
presidentship. It may be mentioned here that the state government has
removed all PPS officers from the posts of district police chiefs
yesterday, just a day before the hearing of tje contempt petition moved
by an IPS officer, seeking action against the authorities concerned for
deliberate and wilful disobedience of the Punjab and Haryana High Court
orders in August. The high court in its order had directed the Punjab
government to remove all non-cadre officers from the cadre posts. The
SP (City) said the PPS officers believed that a group of bureaucrats had
kept the state government in the dark due to which the PPS officer were
made to suffer. When asked about the future plan of action, he said
the PPS officers would fight to protect their rights. He said they would
abide by the decision of the association. He appealed to all PPS
officers to unite and sink their past differences for securing better
future for the officers. He expressed his hope that the state government
would review its decision in future. He said he had sent his resignation
to Mr Shiv Kumar, vice-president of the association. Mr Ashwani Kapur,
DSP and general secretary of the association has also resigned as
general secretary of the association.
New SSP takes over
Fatehgarh Sahib, December 13 After taking the charge, in his address to police officials, he directed them to maintain transparency in working and added that corruption would not be tolerated.
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Revenue staff go on leave, seek arrest of anti-graft forum head
Phagwara, December 13 Besides Mr Hardip Singh Dhaliwal, Tehsildar-cum-Executive Magistrate
and Ms Seema Singh, Naib-Tehsildar-cum-Duty Magistrate, Phagwara, others
who joined the protest today included Prof Rachhpal Chand, Tehsildar; Mr
Parveen Chhiber, Naib- Tehsildar Sultanpur Lodhi; Mr Inder Dev Singh,
Tehsildar; Mr Varinder Bhatia, Naib-Tehsildar, Bholath; Mr Bhupinder
Singh, Tehsildar; Mr K.D.S. Bhullar, Naib-Tehsildar, Kapurthala; and and
Mr Jasbir Singh Mahi, Naib-Tehsildar, Dhilwan. The call for this
district-level protest was given by the Punjab Revenue Officers
Association. Its executive committee would be meeting on Wednesday to
chalk out the next future course of action in case Mr Passi and his
accomplices were not arrested by the police. This was stated by the
local Tehsildar, Mr Hardip Singh Dhaliwal. The Punjab and UT Employees
Joint Action Committee also joined the dharna here today.
Ministerial/revenue staff of the Tehsil and SDM courts here is already
on strike since December 7 alongwith the local Tehsildar and
Naib-Tehsildar, according to Mr Narinder Kumar, additional general
secretary of the Patwar Union, Punjab. Meanwhile, the photostat cabin
of Mr Passi was today sealed following the cancellation of his licence.
The cabin had been allotted in the name of Mr Passi’s wife, Ms Rajinder
Kaur. Its furniture and other articles were taken into possession by the
local Kanungo, Mr Hardip Kumar. A notice had been pasted on the cabin
regarding the removal of furniture by today, failing which authorities
took the articles into their possession. Another notice had been
pasted directing Ms Passi to herself demolish the cabin in two days
failing which the demolition would be carried out by the revenue
authorities. A notice was also pasted on the door of the residence of
Passi in Onkar Nagar, Khothran road in this regard. Kapurthala Deputy
Commissioner Rakesh Verma had cancelled the licence of the photostat
cabin after the December 6 incident. Meanwhile, a noisy demonstration
was again held by the Magistrates/ Duty Magistrates and other employees
in continuation of the stir which entered its second week today. Ms
Kusam Sharma, Congress Councillor, said it was sad that the police was
shielding a culprit and was ignoring the Executive Magistrates. Mr
Kuldip Sharma, another Congress leader, said it was ironical that the
police was not believing the complaint of its Magistrate and was
conducting a probe to protect Mr Passi.
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Patwaris hold dharna
Bathinda, December 13 Mr
Gurtej Singh Pakka, district president of the union, RPU, said that
first the SDM, had placed Joginder Singh under suspension deliberately
and falsely, and now the Deputy Commissioner had been trying to keep
that matter hanging for long. He said that an inquiry being conducted
into the allegations levelled against Joginder Singh and being conducted
by the DRO on the order of the Deputy Commissioner had not been
completed so far. He alleged that the Deputy Commissioner had been
playing a partisan role in this case and had been favouring the SDM,
Talwandi Sabo. Mr Pakka threatened that if the administration did not
withdraw the suspension orders, they would intensify the agitation. Mr
Manjit Singh, president, local unit of the Class IV Government Employees
Union, said that their union would support the RPU in its protest
against the suspension of Joginder Singh.
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Marriages between girls becoming a reality
Ludhiana, December 13 While 25-year-old
Raju and his wife Mala (22) have come out in the open, two girls Surjit
Kaur and Madhu (not real names) reported missing from this city two
months ago are living in hiding. Of these, the case of Surjit Kaur
(real name) is most interesting. She had been living with three
different girls. Madhu is her ‘latest’ girlfriend while the two previous
ones, Rajji and Sunaina, were ‘rescued’ by the Amritsar and Ludhiana
police. Only Madhu belongs to Ludhiana while all the other girls hailed
from Amritsar. According to police sources here, Surjit Kaur allegedly
had a relationship with a girl, Rajji, in that city, till the police
intervened. Then Surjit Kaur ‘befriended’ Sunaina, a daughter of an ASI
with the Amritsar police, eloped and lived with her for over a year in a
rented apartment in Vishal Nagar here. It is here that she met Madhu
and eventually disappeared with her. An FIR was lodged by the parents of
Madhu at Sarabha Nagar police station in October. The FIR is probably
the first of its kind in which a girl, Surjit Kaur, has been accused of
kidnapping another girl. Surjit revealed to the landlords that they
were sisters. It was only after she went missing with the tenant’s
youngest daughter, Madhu, that the fact came to light. The devastated
Sunaina revealed to the family that she and Surjit had got married.
Within a few days, a police team from Amritsar came with her ASI father
and took her back. Mr R.K. Jaiswal, SP, City-I, and Mr Ravcharan Singh
Brar, DSP, Sarabha Nagar, said they were trying to locate the girls but
have not succeeded so far. Family sources of Madhu have expressed
resentment at the police failure to trace the two girls. They claimed
they had told the police that the girls were spotted on a motor cycle in
the city several times. They even gave the police the number of the
vehicle but still there was not much success. The police is also foxed
at the complaints on how to deal with the allegations. It considers it
more of a social problem than the law and order. The Indian society,
which disapproves of same sex relationships, looks down upon such
cases. The police can only register a case of kidnapping against one of
the girls in each case labelling the other as misled victim of her
aggression. The girls cannot be booked under Section 377 dealing with
unnatural sex till the families get the girls medically examined. It is
also not sure whether the medical examination would help in such cases.
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CPM (Pasla) criticises UPA government
Pathankot,
December 13 While addressing the
conference, state president of the party, Mr Mangat Ram Pasla, accused
the UPA Government of toeing the line adopted by the NDA government. He
said due to the privatisation policies of the government the middle and
poor class of the society was suffering. The gap between the rich and
poor in the country was increasing due to the World Bank-sponsored
policies being adopted by the union governments at the Centre, he added.
Mr Pasla said the farmers of Punjab were being forced to commit
suicide due to hardships they were facing. While the prices of all
inputs in farming have increased the government was not increasing the
minimum support price in that proportion. He alleged that the
privatisation of the public sector units has left thousands jobless and
the recent move of the privatisation of the PSEB by the Punjab
Government was against the interests of the farmers and employees. He
said the CPM (Pasla) would continue the struggle and build mass movement
against the privatisation and alleged anti-labour and anti-farmer
policies of the union and state government.
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Chamkaur Sahib readies for devotees
Ropar,
December 13 As devotees from different parts of India have
already begun to arrive at Chamkaur Sahib, the administration has
divided the town into nine sectors. The main function will be held at
Gurdwara Katalgarh Sahib, which falls in Sector-2 near the Sirhind
canal. The administration has made arrangements for special buses to
carry the devotees from parking sites to the samagam site. Vehicle
owners have to park vehicles at parking sites, about 2km from the
Gurdwara. Only those carrying special passes would be allowed to ply
vehicles on internal roads. A 24-hour langar would be served at sites
close to the parking sites. The SDM has received several applications
from people expressing their desire to organise langar for the
devotees. The Deputy Commissioner, Ropar, Ms Seema Jain, said eight
committees had been constituted to make various arrangements. The
committees could take care of security and traffic arrangements, water
supply, sanitation, transport, health services, hospitality and the
media. These would be headed by PCS officers. A member of the SGPC
from Anandpur Sahib, Mr Gurinder Singh, told The Tribune that the SGPC
had taken 80 acres to organise different programmes. A temporary tent
would be erected on about 35 acres and langar served at 15 different
places by the SGPC. The rest of the land would be used by the SGPC to
organise religious programmes, highlighting the sacrifice of the
Sahibzadas. Convener of the Akali Dal and the SGPC media committee Babi
Badal said a Nagar Kirtan from Anandpur Sahib and Poanta Sahib to
Chamkaur Sahib would also be organised by the SGPC. On December 19,
various sports events, including wrestling, Kabaddi and Marshal arts
would be held at the site allotted to the SGPC. Sportspersons from
Pakistan would participate in the sports events to be held here, he
added.
Vice-President
to attend
function
Amritsar, December 13 Bibi
Jagir Kaur, President SGPC, in a press release here today, said that
all the necessary arrangements had been made to observe the
tricentenary function at Chamkaur Sahib and Fatehgarh Sahib from
December 18 to 26. A massive nagar kirtan would be taken out from
Paonta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh on December 17 which would reach
Chamkaur Sahib the next day. Another nagar kirtan would commence from
Qila Anandgarh (Anandpur Sahib) to Chamkaur Sahib on December 18. A
sikh youth conference would be held on December 19 which would be
attended by former Union ministers, Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal, Mr Shah
Niwaz Hussain, Mr Omar Abdullah, Mr B.D. Pandey and Mr Ajay Chautala. |
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Setback to SGPC unity
efforts
Fatehgarh Sahib, December 13 He clarified that the proceedings on the
stage would be totally religious in nature and there would be no
political mud-slinging. He had come here to preside over the meeting
of working committee of the SAD (Longowal) as well as of the district
presidents called to finalise the programme. He alleged that the SGPC
was befooling the public as well as the other political parties by
giving advertisements in newspapers to have one common stage set up by
the SGPC. He further alleged that the Badal had totally overpowered
the SGPC and the SGPC had become a puppet in the hand of Mr Badal. He
said the SGPC had not sent any formal invitation to his party to take
part in the programme nor it had sent any proceedings to be held on
this occasion. Answering a query, he said that PPS officers should
also be given a chance to head the districts but following the court
orders, the government had posted IPS officers, which was an injustice
with the PPS officers. He criticized the government for not declaring
the MSP of sugarcane. He also criticised the privatisation of the PSEB
and said his party would oppose it and support the employees. Latter
he presided over the meeting of the working committee and passed
various resolutions criticising Mr Badal and the government policies.
Mr. Inderjit Singh Zeera General Secretary Mr Randhir Singh Rakhra,
State Youth SAD (L) president, also addressed. |
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Unfinished projects bare govt’s claims
Chamkaur
Sahib,
December 13 The work on widening of the
Ropar-Chamkaur Sahib road along the Sirhind Canal and the Chamkaur
Sahib-Bela road is still under progress and if it continues at the
present pace, then it will take another month to complete these
projects. The Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, had laid the
foundation stone of the widening of the roads on September 29 and had
announced that the projects would be completed by November end. Lakhs
of devotees from India and abroad are expected to attend the samagam to
be held at Gurdwara Katalgarh Sahib from December 19 to 21. Of the
15-km long Ropar-Chamkaur Sahib road along the Sirhind Canal, work has
been completed on just 4-km stretch. Similarly, work on just half of the
13-km long Chamkaur Sahib-Bela road stretch has been completed so far.
All other development works in Chamkaur Sahib were to be completed
before December 10. But a visit to different parts of the town
demonstrates incomplete work on internal roads too. The order of the
district administration to remove encroachments for the widening of the
roads has not been implemented yet. Although the administration had
banned the entry of vehicles from outside at Chamkaur Sahib and made
separate nine parking slots, it did not work out any plan to control the
use of a large number of vehicles by residents of the town. There is
hardly any space for parking of vehicles in the markets and they were
seen parked on the roads. If the trend continued during the samagam, it
would add to the woes of devotees. The administration is also paying
little attention to the colonies along the link roads to Gurdwara
Katalgarh Sahib.
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Jathas may now travel in buses to Pakistan
Chandigarh, December 13 “We have been given an assurance by the External Affairs Minister, Mr K. Natwar Singh, last night that when the next jatha goes to Pakistan on December 28 to participate in the birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Gobind Singh, it may be permitted to travel by road in chartered buses,” revealed Mr Sarna, while talking to The Tribune over the telephone this afternoon. Facility of bus travel once granted would make the travel of Sikh pilgrims to various shrines within Pakistan easier and comfortable. The DSGMC has been demanding for a long time that rules should be amended to treat Indian nationals visiting Pakistan at par with foreigners. At present only foreign nationals are individually allowed to enter Pakistan by land route from Wagah. Only in exceptional cases, the Ministry of Home Affairs allows Indian nationals individually to enter Pakistan by road. The only exception is New Delhi-Lahore bus service. “If foreigners and Pakistani nationals can travel by road, why not Indians in general and Sikh jathas in particular,” argued Mr Sarna. Mr K. Natwar Singh promised to discuss the issue with the Prime Minister on his return from tour abroad on December 17. “We will take a decision on this genuine demand of the Sikh jathas before their next pilgrimage to Pakistan at the end of this year,” Mr Natwar Singh told the DSGMC delegation yesterday. The External Affairs Minister also promised to amend rules to permit the DSGMC to take funds collected from the “sangat” for “kar seva” of historic Sikh shrines in Pakistan. As of now, donations for religious purposes are not allowed to be carried to Pakistan. The DSGMC wants that the Home Ministry control on travel of Sikh jathas should go. It should not be left to the Home Ministry to decide who is to be allowed to travel by road or rail. “At times this control causes many problems for the pilgrims. Last time, two Sikh pilgrims died. And see the apathy of the Home Ministry. It did not allow their bodies to be brought back by land route. So we told the External Affairs Minister of our problems and urged him to ensure all such irritants are removed. “Now when we are talking of the bon homie and cordial relations with Pakistan, why not make relaxations for the Sikh jathas,” Mr Sarna added.
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Brick-kiln owners making a fast buck while on strike
Chandigarh, December 13 In fact, brick kiln owners have jacked up the rates
of good quality bricks to Rs 2,800 per thousand. Earlier rate was in the
range of Rs 1,400 and Rs 1,600. In other words, by selling the bricks at
such a high rate, owners of most of the brick kilns would earn money in
six months which otherwise they would have earned in a year. Various
kiln owners from districts like Sangrur, Mansa and Patiala supply bricks
to Chandigarh, Mohali, Zirakpur, Panchkula and other towns in the area.
These bricks are brought in trucks from the countryside and unloaded at
various brick markets around Chandigarh for further supply to
house-builders. “If they are on strike, then why are they selling
bricks at such a high rate”, asked Dr Narinder Singh Kapoor, a
professor, who is constructing a house. He said: “It means that the
strike was being used as a tool to charge high rates and not as a means
of protest against the government”. A retired superintendent, who is
constructing a house at Mohali, says that the strike was suiting most to
the brick kiln owners. “On strike they are selling bricks and earning
loads of money. The existing situation has become a blessing for them”,
he adds. House-builders say that most of the brick kiln owners stocked
the bricks in huge numbers at their kilns before going on strike. Now
those stocks are being exhausted at a high rates. There are also
allegations that some of the brick kiln owners mix certain quantity of
salt and gypsum in the material used to prepare bricks. With the mixing
of salt and gypsum in the material, less coal is used to manufacture
bricks in the kilns. Moreover, mixing of these two chemicals in the
material provides a better look and colour to the bricks. However, the
strength of the brick is affected by doing so, say those having some
knowledge in this regard. Meanwhile, a senior leader of the Brick Kiln
Owners Association said that the strike was justified as the state
government had refused to extend any help in lifting the fly ash from
various thermal plants. He said that the association was ready to use
fly ash in the manufacturing of bricks but it should be provided to them
at the kiln sites by the government. He said the transportation of fly
ash to kilns from the thermal plant dykes would cost about Rs 120 crore
per annum to owners of brick kilns. The Union Government has made it
mandatory for kiln owners to mix fly ash in earth used to manufacture
bricks. No fresh stock of bricks was being prepared by kiln owners. Only
the old stock was being cleared, he added. Tomorrow, owners of kilns
would stage a dharna here to urge the Union Government to withdraw its
decision regarding the mixing of fly ash.
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Dalit girl’s father insists on public
apology
Moga, December 13 Talking to mediapersons after meeting with the
SDM, Mr Gurnam Singh Gill, Mr Preetam Singh also demanded that the
gurdwara committee should pass a resolution making the gurdwara
available for the wedding ceremonies of people belonging to all
castes. However, the SDM said the committee chief of the gurdwara,
Mr Rajinder Pal Singh, had today submitted a written apology in the
form of an affidavit, which also stated that there would be no
restriction on holding “anand karaj” at the gurdwara. Sources said
Mr Rajinder Pal was also ready to apologise personally for the
incident. However, Mr Preetam Singh was not satisfied with the
affidavit. He remained adamant on his stand that the committee chief
and “those who forced him to stop the marriage” apologise publicly.
The SDM said he would submit his report to the Deputy
Commissioner. According to sources, the controversy, which seemed to
be heading for an end, is getting dragged due to the contradictory
statements of the girl’s family and Dalit community members. Mr
Preetam Singh had come out against Mr Mukhtiar Singh, president of
Dalits’ separate gurdwara, who had claimed that they stopped his
daughter’s marriage fearing a fall in the offerings at their gurdwara. The
administration said the committee of the gurdwara had denied
preventing the marriage, while the president of the Dalits’ gurdwara
was taking the responsibility for it. The girl’s family said Mr
Mukhtiar Singh was making such statements due to political rivalry and
only committee members of Gurdwara Chardi Kala were responsible for
the incident. When contacted, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Mandeep
Singh, said if the girl’s family was not satisfied with the written
apology and sought legal action against someone, the administration
would move according to the law. |
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IMA kicks up a row over bio-medical waste
Jalandhar,
December 13 In its
order, issued on November 22, the PPCB had authorised all four CBWTFs
based at Ludhiana, Mohali, Amritsar and Pathankot to collect, receive,
store, transport, treat and dispose of bio-medical waste from various
health-care establishments and had, in a way, made the owners of these
establishments jointly responsible for the proper handling and treatment
of the waste in accordance with the Bio-Medical Waste (Management and
Handling) Rules, 1998. The PPCB had also divided the areas of operation
among these four CBWTFs. But the exercise has upset the IMA, which,
maintains that the areas of operation had already been allocated among
the CBWTFs by it and by “re-allocating” these facilities the PPCB has
supcerceded earlier decisions. “The PPCB has exerted its authority in
the allocation of areas, forcing the doctors to sign up with the CBWTFs
of its choice. The PPCB has violated the fundamental right of consumers
to select a service provider of their choice and at the same held the
owners of hospitals responsible for the failure of the CBWTFs in the
proper handling of bio-medical waste,” said a letter to the Member
Secretary of the PPCB by the IMA-Punjab president, Dr O.P. Singh Kande. “They
cannot hold people running hospitals jointly responsible with the CBWTFs.
It is clear that the CBWTFs have been established as per the guidelines
issued by the Central Pollution Control Board, under which the generator
of bio-medical waste is responsible for collection and providing
segregated waste to the CBWTF operator and not beyond that. He is not to
be held responsible for the proper lifting, transportation and disposal
of bio-waste. Moreover, the PPCB order was discussed at a meeting under
the chairpersonship of the Principal Secretary, Environment and Science
and Technology, on the same day and it was decided that the order would
be kept in abeyance till a final decision was taken after a meeting with
representatives of the IMA and the PPCB,” said Dr Kande. Though no
senior PPCB official was available for comment, it is learnt the order
was circulated by the board among all regional offices. PPCB officials
are also asking doctors to sign up with the CBWTFs.
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NGO seeks action against Jalandhar cops
Chandigarh, December 13 In a representation to Mr A.P. Pandey, Director (Vigilance), the NGO alleged that officials of the Adampur police station deliberately leaked “case diary” details to the accused, Gagandeep. Gagandeep is accused of having attacked and injured Mr Sushil Kumar, a resident of Daroli Kalan village in Jalandhar district. While the inquiry against the accused was pending with the SP (Detective), the investigating officer declared him “innocent” before the high court, the representation alleged. While moving an application for bail, the accused attached the copies of the case diary — a confidential document — with it. Also, certain persons were interrogated by the police with a view to helping Gagandeep, the FOLAC alleged. The case was an example of corruption in the police amounting to violation of human rights, the representation added.
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Censor board for TV channels demanded
Sangrur,
December 13 Talking to mediapersons at Gurdwara
Nanakiana Sahib, near here, today Mr Brinder Singh Mann, president of
the youth wing of the SAD (A), said the constitution of a censor board
for private TV channels was a need of the hour to control the screening
of objectionable scenes, especially in Punjabi songs. He said the youth
wing of the SAD (A) would submit a memorandum to the Director of
Jalandhar Doordarshan soon to initiate steps to stop the screening of
such scenes. Mr Mann also declared that he would announce the Punjab
body of the youth wing of the party and district units of the youth wing
within two months. Later, Mr Mann also attended a meeting of the party
held in connection with preparations of Sikhi Sidak March from Damdama
Sahib to Fatehgarh Sahib from December 23 to December 24 to mark the
martyrdom tercentenary of four sons and the mother of Guru Gobind Singh.
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Army jawan cremated with military honours
Sangrur,
December 13 Jasbir Singh was unmarried and is survived by his mother, father, a
brother and a sister. A contingent of the Army jawans reversed the arms
and fired in the air, besides observing a two-minute silence, to pay
respects to the martyr. Col Satpal Singh, Station Staff Officer, Sangrur
Military Station; Mr Gobind Singh Longowal, MLA from Dhanaula; and Major
Pishora Singh, Deputy Director, Sainik Welfare Board, Sangrur; were
those, who paid tributes to the martyr. Major Pishora Singh said that
Jasbir Singh was the injured seriously in an encounter with militants on
Burma border on December 8, but he succumbed to his injuries on December
10.
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25 Indian youths in Pak jail go on fast
Jalandhar,
December 13 Meanwhile, the
International Bhai Mardana Yadgaari Kirtan Darbar Society had urged the
Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to have a dialogue with his Pakistani
counterpart and secure the release of Indian inmates of Mach
jail. Regarding the alleged poor sanitary and medical conditions in the
Mach jail of Balouchistan, 13 of 25 Indian youths are suffering from
weakness, fever and and other health-related maladies, it is learnt. Mr
Harpal Singh Bhullar, president of the society, revealed that three
Indian youths Sohan Singh, Tilak Raj and Amarjit Singh, who had gone to
Quetta to secure medicines, told him on the telephone that all of 25
Indian inmates of the jail had decided to go on an indefinite fast from
today in protest against poor conditions in jails. “They have told me
that they have already written a letter to Indian Embassy officials in
Pakistan. They feel that Indian Embassy in Pakistan does not do the
needful as far as their fate is concerned and hence they will not write
any letter to it in future. I tried to pacify them and to dissuade from
taking such an extreme step by promising that talks with Punjab
(Pakistan) Chief Minister Pravez Ilahi and other leaders about their
early release would bear fruit, but they have resolved to go ahead with
their decision,” said Mr Bhullar in a statement here. Mr Bhullar
alleged that though 76 Indian youths were lodged in different Pakistani
jails along with 476 Indian fishermen, but the issue of their early
release was not discussed by Indian leaders with their Pakistani
counterparts who were on a visit to India recently.
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Hooch claims four lives
Gurdaspur, December
13 The police authorities said the accused used to distil
hooch in his house. Yesterday four persons namely Shinda Massih, Avtar
Singh, Davinder Singh and Raju consumed illicit liquor supplied by the
accused. After consuming the liquor they fell ill. The victims were
rushed to local quack but he could not save them and all of them
died. The post-mortem of the deceased was conducted at the primary
health centre Naushera Majha Singh. The police has arrested the accused
and registered a case under Section 304 of the IPC.
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Seminar on diabetes
Bathinda, December 13 As per a press note issued here
yesterday, Dr Vitull Gupta, MD, stressed on the need for education and
motivation of patients. He highlighted the role of regular exercise
and importance of diet in preventing diabetes and its complications,
including heart diseases kidney failure and blindness. It was
unanimously resolved to nominate Dr Amrit Sethi, president, IMA,
Bathinda branch, for the office of IMA state president for the year
2006-07. It was also decided by members to approach the district
administration to involve the IMA in national health programmes.
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Residents question police
conduct
Chander Parkash Tribune News Service
Mansa,
December 13 Mr Lakhwinder Singh said Gajjan Singh Makkar had come to him for joining the investigation and he was not arrested formally. He did not disclose whether Gajjan Singh Makkar was in police custody or not. Pinky, whose husband Palwinder Singh was working in a rice mill at Bareta town of this district and owned by Baghirath Lal, a senior BJP leader, died mysteriously on December 1. She was allegedly raped and subsequently administered poison by the accused. Mr Raj Kamal Chaudhary, Deputy Commissioner, Mansa, had already ordered a magisterial probe into this case. Mr Sukhwinder Singh, ADC, had been asked to conduct the probe and submit the report within 15 days. The members of Pinky Katal Kand Sangharsh Committee had organised gherao of the local police station many a times to lodge protest that no accused involved in that heinous crime could be arrested. They had also demanded that those police officials, who had played a partisan role in this case, should be transferred from this place immediately. Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, President, SAD (Amritsar), has also held out a warning that if accused involved in this crime were not arrested by the police by December 14, when the bhog ceremony of her death would be held, his party would launch an agitation.
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Baba roughed up in court complex
Amritsar, December
13 The
Baba had been booked on the charges of fraud and extorting money from
innocent persons.
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Kisan sabha activists stage dharna
Moga, December
13 Addressing the
protesters, the state vice-president of the sabha, Giani Gurdev Singh
expressed concern over the depleting watertable in the state and said
that 26 irrigation projects were lying incomplete in the state. He
said that the completion of these projects would facilitate irrigation
of about 30 lakh acres of land. He said that about 2.5 lakh acres of
land in Moga, Faridkot and Ferozepur was deprived of canal water. He
said that under the 10th Five-Year Plan Rs 29 crore had already been
allocated for constructing a canal in this area, but the work on this
project was not being carried out at the required pace. He said the
water scenario in about 1,600 villages of Ropar, Patiala, and Fatehgarh
Sahib districts was also grim and demanded faster completion of the
Kandi dam project. He urged the state government to increase the
capacity of village ponds for water harvesting. He demanded that the
debts of farmers having land below 17 acre be waived and they be given
loans at 4 per cent annual interest. Comrade Surat Singh termed Rs 1.5
per quintal hike in the sugarcane price as "unfortunate" and demanded
that the dues of cane farmers amounting to Rs 80 crore be paid
immediately. He asked the government to continue subsidy for the
farming sector and sought the permission for selling farm produce in the
neighbouring countries. The sabha leaders demanded unconditional
release of the farmers arrested during their recent agitation.
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MC to recover payments from govt deparments
Jalandhar,
December 13 Addressing
a press conference here today, the Commissioner of the MC, Mr Satwant
Singh Johl, said the state government departments and undertakings were
not jpaying the water and sewerage bills for the past several years and
it had been decided to take action against such defaulters. The water
supply would be disconnected in case the departments failed to pay the
outstanding bills which had touched a whopping figure of over Rs 2 crore.
Elaborating further, Mr Johl said major state government department
defaulters included Market Committee (Rs 45 lakh); Police complex at
Patel chowk (30 lakh); police colony at Police Lines (Rs 25 lakh); Civil
Hospital (20.45 lakh); Public Health Department (19.15 lakh); Jalandhar
Improvement Trust (Rs 9.45 lakh); Central Jail (7.5 lakh); Director,
Sports at Kapurthala road (Rs 6.17 lakh); and ESI Hospital (Rs 5.37 lakh). The
Commissioner maintained that the MC would shortly issue final notices to
the defaulters to deposit their dues. “In case, these defaulters fail to
pay up, we will disconnect their water supply and sewerage facilities. I
had personally discussed the issue with the Deputy Commissioner, Mr
Ashok Gupta, who had assured me to get the matter resolved soon,” he
said, adding that special efforts would be made to ensure the recovery
of the total outstanding sum of more than Rs 44 crore towards water
supply bills in the city. He also informed that a
parking-cum-commercial plaza would be constructed near Jyoti Chowk to
solve the parking problems of vehicle owners. “In fact, with the expiry
of the stay granted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to a private
contractor, who is running a parking lot at the scheduled place near
Jyoti Chowk, we have decided to get the land vacted from the illegal
occupation of the contractor.” Mr Johl added.
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MLA writes to DC on panchayat land
Kharar,
December 13 In a letter to the DC copies of which were
sent to the ADC (D), Ropar, the DDPO, Ropar, the SDM and the BDPO,
Kharar, the MLA said that it had come to his notice from reliable source
that the panchayat land of Badali village was being sold in a
clandestine manner by khewatdars/panchayat in connivance with certain
influential “land sharks” who were operating to set up illegal colonies
in this area. He said these “land sharks” were also assuring the
innocent khewatdars and prospective buyers that they would get the
necessary orders passed by the district authorities and would also get
the mutations done in the revenue records. He asked the DC to warn all
officers that their indulgence in any such act, whether advertent or
inadvertent, shall be viewed very seriously. All Revenue officials of
the Kharar subdivision and also of the panchayat department should be
directed to act immediately and effectively to check the sale of
panchayat land at throw away prices.
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8 booked for misuse of funds
Chandigarh, December
13 Disclosing this here today a
spokesman of Punjab Vigilance Bureau said a criminal case under Section
120 B of the IPC and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act has
been registered against SE Ashok Kumar, Executive Engineers M.S. Syal
and V.K. Setia, besides SDO Sham Lal Gupta, Section Officer Subhash
Chandar, Junior Engineer Ramsharan, storekeeper Balwant Singh and
another. He further added that the bureau has put up its best efforts
to eradicate corruption amongst the public servants and others in every
sphere of the state. During October, 2004, two gazetted officers (GO)
and 16 non gazzetted officers (NGO) were caught red-handed in 17 cases.
He further revealed that during November, 2004, four GOs and nine NGOs
were caught red-handed in 12 cases and nine criminal cases have been
registered. He further added that 18 vigilance inquiries were ordered in
which 11 GOs and seven NGOs were involved. He added that Chief
Director-cum-Additional Director-General of Police (Vigilance) A.P.
Pandey also reviewed the progress reports during a crime meeting here
today. It was attended by Vigilance Range Officers from all over. Deputy
Inspectors-General Ishwer Chander, G.S.Sahota and N.S. Dhillon, besides
Joint Directors Arpit Shukla and RPS Brar were also present.
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2 arrested in minor’s rape case
Ropar, December
13 The minor girl,
who hails from Nangal, in her statement to the police had alleged that
she was raped by Parsotham with the connivance of her relative, Poonam.
The minor was claimed to be seven-month pregnant.
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1 held in shop allotment controversy
Pathankot,
December 13 According to the
police, Avtar Singh on September 3, 2003, had filed a complaint and
requested for an inquiry to be conducted regarding the allotment of
shops of DSPMSC, constructed by the Pathankot Improvement Trust. It was
alleged that the ADC had never ordered the Executive Officer, Pathankot
Improvement Trust, to carry out the inquiry but the orders of the ADC
were allegedly tampered by the accused. The police said the inquiry was
marked to the Pathankot SDM. The arrest of Maninder Singh Lucky was
criticised by the district BJP President, Mr Ashok Prashar.
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Bid to grab land
Dera Bassi, December 13 In his complaint to the SSP,
Mr Deepak Kumar said that the said persons had made an attempt to grab
his land and they had attacked him and his family last night. The land
was a disputed one and a court case was pending. Mr Deepak Kumar also
alleged that Jai Singh and others were being shielded by some political
person. Meanwhile, Mr Jai Singh said that Deepak Kumar and his father
Mangat Ram had tried to sell the piece of disputed land to a third
person. “Since a part of the land was under his ownership so we asked
them not to make any deal before the court case was solved. Following
which Mangat Ram and family members objected and lodged a complaint
against us at Dera Bassi police station,” claimed Jai Singh.
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One dies in mishap
Kharar, December 13 The police has registered a case under Sections
279 and 304A of the IPC in this regard.
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Adolescent girls to be counselled
Kharar, December
13
The schools would be allocated
to doctors who would provide guidance to students. He said under the
project an almirah, cotton, sanitary napkins, medicines would be stocked
for use when needed. A committee of women teachers would be formed in
each school to help the girl students with their problems. He said Quark
would provide the almirahs while Ranbaxy would provide medicines, cotton
and sanitary napkins. The MLA said the project would kick off on
January 7 when an interactive session of teachers and doctors would be
held. At a later stage, efforts would be made to seek WHO grant to
sustain the project on a continuous basis. He said efforts were being
made to provide two machines for dialysis at the local Civil Hospital.
He said a number of persons were facing problems of kidney failure and
the treatment at private hospitals was expensive. NRIs from the area
had offered help in this regard. A public welfare trust would be set
up., involving NRIs, so that a proper account of donations could be
maintained. The amount involved in this project was about Rs 20 lakh. He
said the MD of the Punjab Health Systems Corporation would be requested
to arrange equipment. The MLA inaugurated the maternity ward today
after its renovation. He said the area used to stink. But now beds had
been repaired, mattresses sheets had been changed and an exhaust fan
provided. Immunisation charts and those relating to the benefits of
breast feeding had been displayed.
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Dropout rate up as students fail to get stipend
Jalandhar,
December 13 Addressing a
press conference here today, Mr Satnam Kainth, president of the Bahujan
Samaj Morcha and convener of the Dalit Jabar Virodhi Front, Mr Jasbir
Singh Pal, president of the Gazetted and Non-Gazetted SC/BC Employees
Welfare Federation, Punjab, Mr Malagar Singh, president of the SC/BC
Teachers Union, Punjab, and Mr Daler Singh, president of SC/BC
Federation, Punjab, alleged that the state government was not watching
the interests of Dalits and Backward Classes. “Proof of this fact is the
government’s failure to implement the 85th amendment of the Constitution
and non-release the money for stipend meant for disbursal among poor SC
and BC students. While the amendment has been implemented by 22 other
states of the country, Punjab has done nothing despite the fact that it
could benefit about 50,000 SC and BC employees as far as their promotion
is concerned,” said the front and morcha leaders. Mr Kainth alleged
that the school dropout rate of SC and BC students was going up because
of the failure of the state government to release funds for stipend.
“There are a large number of poor families which cannot afford to send
their wards to school without some sort of financial help and these
scholarships, though very meagre, meant a lot to them. But in the
absence of these the poor had no choice but to keep their children at
home,” said Mr Kainth. He further said the benefit of promotion in
accordance with the provisions of the 85th amendment was the
“constitutional right” of Dalits, but, this right was not being passed
on to SC and BC candidates, which showed the discriminatory policy of
the government towards the members of these communities. “We will have
no option but to launch a statewide struggle after the session of Vidhan
Sabha was over,” said Mr Kainth. Mr Kainth also demanded punishment for
teachers of a Phagwara school, where a Dalit girl student was allegedly
“humiliated” by an upper caste teacher in October this year.
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Special education scheme to be launched shortly
Bathinda,
December 13 While disclosing this in a meeting of district development
committee, Mr K.A.P. Sinha, Deputy Commissioner, said that talks for
launching a special scheme for education were going on with the state
government. He said that this scheme came to light when the district
administration started receiving complaints from the panchayats about
the acute shortage of teachers, which was having an adverse effect on
education. He said that both district education officers (Secondary and
Elementary) had been directed to collect details pertaining to the
number of sanctioned posts, number of posts of teachers lying vacant,
number of students who had been attending the schools and number of
students, who were on rolls in each school within four days. Apart
from it, they had been directed to collect details pertaining to the
number of students belonging to general category and scheduled caste
category, the plight of school buildings and infrastructure and other
shortcomings. Not only this, Mr D.P.S. Kharbanda, ADC (Development) had
been asked to physically verify all the details pertaining to the number
of students and teachers in those schools which were situated close to
the towns. Mr Sinha said that district administration had also been
collecting information in connection with those students who were
suffering from some diseases and were handicapped by sending medical
teams to the schools. The handicapped students would be given tri-cycles
and artificial limbs as per the merit of individual cases. In an other
significant step, he said the Revenue Department had almost prepared a
big map pertaining to the revenue record of Bathinda city and when it is
put into use, there would be no problem of earmarking any piece of land,
road and other things. He added that for the convenience of the people,
a local bus service would be started in the city shortly and bus
shelters were being constructed at various places.
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Students to stage dharna at campus gate
Patiala,
December 13 In a press release, the PUSC has said that a
“massive dharna” will be held at the main gate of the campus on December
15, where they would also discuss the course of the agitation. Among
their demands are the withdrawal of criminal cases against 11 PUSC
members, reinstatement of four students who were expelled from the
campus, hostel for research scholars and end to the “victimisation” of
staff by the authorities. The press note, signed by Gurnam Singh Virk,
co-ordinator of PUSC, Gurpal Dhaliwal of the Students Federation of
India and Sukhjit Chahal of Punjabi University Students for Harmony,
also condemned the cartons of whisky being found in Waris Bhavan, where
delegates stayed during the World Punjabi Conference and the Indo-Pak
Punjab Games. They alleged top functionaries of the university were
involved in this and said the Vice-Chancellor, could not blame the
students since all of them had been sent away on leave during the games.
The students leaders claimed that all hostels had been vacated well
before the Punjabi Conference.
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