 |
|
|
|
|
|
ETT teachers’ protest, infighting mar Dullo’s visit
Bathinda, November 5 The ETT teachers virtually laid siege to Jeet Palace, where Mr Dullo addressed party workers, for hours forcing the Congress workers to shut the two gates of the palace. ETT teachers had been sitting on protest since morning as they knew Finance Minister Surinder Singla would also address the party workers there. They raised slogans against the minister and the government. However, the situation became tense when the teachers tried to enter the palace, which led to their manhandling by the police. ETT teachers, including some women, lay down in front of Mr Singla’s car and did not allow it to move for about five minutes. The police had to intervene to let the minister’s car move out of the palace. Later, mediapersons were surprised to find both gates of the palace locked when they reached the venue for the joint press conference of Mr Dullo and Mr Singla. While some managed to get in when the gate was opened for a few seconds, others were left outside. A group of mediapersons kept waiting for the conference to start but Mr Dullo, who seemed unaware of it, continued to meet party workers till 2 pm. On being informed about it, he asked his party leaders to make seating arrangements for mediapersons, but none of them paid heed to it. A group of party men then took Mr Dullo to a room for the press conference without caring to invite the mediapersons there. Mr Singla was conspicuous by his absence there. Irked mediapersons expressed surprise that though the party’s press secretary had informed them about the press conference, Mr Dullo was not aware of it. Earlier, sounding a warning for the Congress leaders of Bathinda who had been trading charges against each other during his address to the party workers, Mr Dullo said he would expel anyone who raised party issues in the media. “You are free to fight it out in the Congress office and resolve your party matters there,” he added. He exhorted the workers to work for the party.
|
|
Punjab angle to oil-for-food scam, says Badal
Chandigarh, November 5 Almost all principal players were not only linked to Punjab but had also been active in various questionable activities in the state because of their close proximity to the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh. “Apart from the modus operandi employed by men of shady character in using front organisations, such as those figuring in the Punjab Intranet scam, there were a lot of other things providing a clue to the Punjab angle to this international scandal, ” the SAD President, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, said in a statement here. The party demanded that Mr Natwar Singh should be sacked immediately and the Prime Minster, Dr Manmohan Singh, must own moral responsibility and make public the role played by Mrs Sonia Gandhi in the “disgraceful episode which has a strong bearing on the country’s security, diplomatic standing and business interests. After the disclosure by Mr Volcker, the Congress and its President are left with no escape routes and must own responsibility for playing havoc with national interests.” Mr Badal claimed that there was enough prima facie evidence to prove a shady connection between the main accused in the Iraq scam and certain persons around the Punjab Chief Minister. Mr Badal said : “ The key figure in the multi-billion dollar international scandal, Amdy Singh, apart from being a relative of Natwar Singh and Amarinder Singh, has always been the favoured beneficiary of the CM’s bounty. Not only does he get a major pie in several contracts granted by the Punjab Government but has also been provided with out-of-turn and priority security umbrella by the Punjab Police. This is intriguing because Amdy Singh is neither a public figure nor is there any threat to his life. Why he has been given security cover is intriguing.’’ The SAD President said that there were reports that Amdy also allegedly had major stakes in the liquor trade through some front men. He had been allotted special sand digging rights across the state in violation of the norms.
|
|
CPI member seeks probe against Natwar
Amritsar November 5 Demanding an immediate inquiry, Dr Dayal said in case Mr Natwar was held guilty, he should be asked to quit the Cabinet and treated as “tainted”. Dr Dayal, former secretary, CPI, Punjab, was here to draft an action plan with party activists against reports of large-scale hoarding of essential items by the Department of Food and Civil Supplies in connivance with dealers. Talking to The Tribune, Dr Dayal lashed out at India’s continued support to the USA. Criticising India’s softening towards the US and taking lopsided decisions to remain in its favour, the CPI executive member said the government was unnecessary tilting towards the super power that had instigated terrorism through Pakistan and supported hostile nations against India. Dr Dayal gave a call for agitation and gherao of the Department of Food and Civil Supplies here that had been accused of hoarding and creating artificial scarcity of essential commodities with active connivance of the dealers. LPG and kerosene were allegedly being sold at higher cost while the government was profiting on procurement even as farmers were left in the lurch.
|
|
|
Khanna for judicial probe into Volcker report
Phagwara, November 5 Addressing a press conference here in the presence of Ch Swarna Ram, National Vice-President of BJP’s All-India Scheduled Caste Morcha, Mr Khanna asserted that the report had put a question mark on the credibility of the UPA government besides causing a setback to the honour and dignity of the country. Mr Khanna declared that after the massive response to Jalandhar’s, state-level Dalit Boliya Sangharsh Doliya rally on October 23 for highlighting dalit issues, the BJP would now hold a one-lakh strong kisan rally in the Malwa region on February 2 next year for highlighting problems of farmers. He claimed that people’s confidence in the BJP had risen and the party would play a winning role in the coming Assembly polls. — OC
|
|
Injured girl blames it on van driver
Ludhiana, November 5 The van driver, allegedly asked the children to look out for the train while he accelerated the
vehicle instead of personally checking the approaching train at the unmanned crossing. Ramandeep Kaur, one of the injured, told The Tribune that the van driver shouted to the children to see on their left and right sides if any train was coming. The train eventually hit the rear of the van killing Amritpal Singh on the spot. His sister Simranjit Kaur was declared brought dead at the DMC hospital here. All victims, barring the driver and a UKG student, were in the sixth standard at a private school. Besides Ramandeep Kaur, her brother Hardeep Singh, studying in UKG, and a classmate Amandeep Kaur were admitted with head injuries to the hospital. The condition of Hardeep and Amandeep was serious but they were responding to the treatment, doctors said. Ramandeep Kaur revealed that despite being polio-inflicted, a student managed to jump to safety out of the van at the last moment. The children sitting in the front seat of the van escaped with minor injuries.
|
||
|
Upset stomach saved him
Ludhiana, November 5 Parents and relatives of the injured girl Amandeep Kaur, who was admitted to the DMC Hospital, said her younger brother, Sunny, who usually sat beside her in the van, had boarded the vehicle in the morning, but was pulled out of the van due to upset stomach. Her mother Vimla Devi and uncle Sheeshan Pal were in tears at the hospital seeing the bandage-covered swollen head of the girl, but thanked God for saving Sunny. The family lived in Nathan village near Noormahal and learnt about the accident from relatives of the other injured students. Vimla Devi demanded action against the driver.
|
|
Efforts on to restore credibility of Baba Farid University
Patiala, November 5 Dr Ravinder Singh, an eminent surgeon, who took charge of the university, a few days ago, pointed out that though he had inherited bad track record of the university, he had already started making efforts to restore its credibility which had suffered a number of setbacks due to leakage of question papers of PMT in the recent past. Dr Ravinder Singh, who met Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, on Thursday evening to present him the blue print which he had prepared for streamlining the functioning of the university, said he had been searching for right kind of people for right places in the university’s administrative and academic setup until such team was found, it would be next to impossible to improve the image of the university. “How can anybody expect that functioning of university can be improved without having monetary budget for the past five years,” he pointed out, adding that the BFUHS, which came into existance in 1997-98, had been functioning from a rented building. He said he was surprised over the fact that BFUHS still produced 2,500 doctors. He wondered how secrecy could be maintained in the examination system when its secrecy room had three side walls made of see-through glass. To begin with almost all staff members, whose number was around 100 and who were working on contract basis, would have to be replaced with those, who could perform. The primary structure of university would have to be revamped. He said he would request the Chief Minister that Faridkot-based medical college which had been functioning from barracks for the past 27 years, should be handed over to the BFUHS. He said to start with, he would seek Rs 40 crore to build the university campus. He pointed out that anti-social elements had started encroaching upon the land, which was acquired by the state government for building the campus. The state Irrigation Department had stopped supplying of water to about 157 acres of land which was acquired for BFUHS without assigning any
reason. The windows and doors of a number of buildings over a piece of land had also been stolen. To a question he said there was a strong need to check the functioning of dental and nursing colleges, which were coming up in the state. A comprehensive campaign should be launched against them to make them follow established norms to run institutions. To another question, he said that some sort of autonomy should be given to the government medical colleges. They must have some kind of liberty which could enable them to take decision on their own in certain matters. Meanwhile, Capt Amarinder Singh, when contacted, said Dr Ravinder Singh would be meeting him on November 14.
|
|
Baba Didar Singh supporters take control of gurdwara
Hoshiarpur, November 5 According to sources, certain members of the committee along with police personnel reportedly stormed the gurdwara around 1.30 am and rounded up 25 sewadars, devotees and certain members of the committee present there. The police also reportedly rounded up Baba Manjit Singh and Baba Pakhar Singh, two members of the committee who have been managing the gurdwara since 2000. Sources revealed that the police reached the gurdwara and detained all those present there. Later, Baba Didar Singh, a member of the committee who also manages a gurdwara in Jalandhar, along with his associates reached the gurdwara and took its possession with the help of some police personnel. Superintendent of Police (Detective) Harish Kumar denied the allegation of police involvement in the incident. He, however, claimed that police force was sent to the site to avoid any untoward incident as the department came to know about the tension there. He also claimed that Baba Didar Singh had been a member of the Gurdwara Santgarh Prabandhak Committee, Harkhowal, for the past over 20 years and had taken possession with the help of his supporters. He also admitted that 15 persons had been booked for rioting in the case. Baba Manjit Singh told to The Tribune that the gurdwara was being managed by a four-member committee comprising Baba Pakhar Singh, Baba Jween Singh and Baba Didar Singh besides himself after the death of the fifth member of the committee. He expressed concern over the manner in which the possession was taken. Meanwhile, Baba Didar Singh claimed himself to be the actual manager of the gurdwara. Eyewitnesses said the gurdwara premises was cordoned-off by the police before it was stormed. The police has been camping at the site amid tension in the area.
|
|
Tension grips village over gurdwara control
Hoshiarpur, November 5 Mr Harish Kumar, Superintendent of Police (Detective), Hoshiarpur, said keeping in view the prevailing conditions in the village, 15 supporters of both babas had been arrested under Sections 107 and 51 of the CrPC and the police had seized one .12 bore gun, along with four cartridges, 2 swords and 2 long knifes from them. He said the situation in the area was completely under control and the police was active to avert any untoward incident. It is reported that the late Baba Jawala Singh, founded this gurdwara about 50 years ago. Baba Didar Singh, who was already looking after the gurdwara of Santgarh (Jalandhar), was declared his successor. But due to his pre-engagements, he could not spare time to look after this gurdwara. A local management was formed and Mr Balwant Singh was appointed its manager. In July, 2000, Manjit Singh of Langeri, along with his supporters, captured the gurdwara. Later, anti-Manjit Singh lobby connived with Baba Didar Singh, who was succeeded in taking the possession of the gurdwara again.
|
|
|
Family marches towards PMO to seek justice
Ludhiana, November 5 The man, Mohinder Singh of Katcha Malik road, Jagraon will first reach Chandigarh and hand over an appeal for seeking justice to the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh. They passed through Ludhiana today and will reach Chandigarh after two days. A friend of Mohinder Singh accompanied the family members with a cart on which a few belongings of them were kept in trunks and suitcases. His wife, Sukhwinder Kaur, and daughters, Neetu Singh (19), Amrita Singh (18), Parveen Kaur(16) and Rajni (12), walked with the man. Mohinder Singh was wearing a long kurta on which he had written in red ink that they were fighting for truth. A copy of the appeal application stated that the man was thrown out of his ancestral property by his brothers and relatives who shared the property. The man claimed the police was helping his relatives. He claimed that he was falsely implicated and illegally detained in a fake currency case by the Sahnewal police and also harassed later by the Jagraon police. Jagraon SSP R.K. Jaiswal, however, termed the man’s action as an unnecessary drama to attract attention. He said the police had registered a case and arrested the accused relatives of the man. The case was sub judice.
|
|
Riot-hit seek martyr status for lost kin
Patiala, November 5 Ishar Kaur, whose two children have now grown up, is disappointed over the fact that successive governments at the Centre have failed to give her a proper answer as to why the body of her husband was not given to her after his killing. She find it difficult to make both ends meet with the meagre pension she gets from the Defence Department. “I want to eradicate the Congress which engineered the anti-Sikh riots but I cannot do it as I am alone,” she said while talking to TNS, adding that her husband should be given the status of martyr and they should be treated as riot victims by the Punjab Government and other authorities concerned so that they could lead a dignified life. Balvir Kaur’s son Pritam Singh, who was a sepoy in the 22 Punjab Regiment, was killed at the Pautaudi railway station on November 1, 1984, while he was travelling to Jaipur from Delhi on the Pink City Express. Residing at Chak Saido Ke village in Ferozepore district, Balvir Kaur and her husband Balwant Singh, who are in their late seventies, do not have enough money to buy medicines for themselves. She demands that apart from justice, they should be given monetary help so that they get two square meals a day. The family of Rifleman Avtar Singh of the JAK Rifles suffered the first tragedy when he was killed by a mob near Ghaziabad on November 3, 1984, during the anti-Sikh riots when he was travelling back to his house on the Teen Sukhia Mail. As the family members were trying to come to terms with the tragedy, they suffered another jolt when his mother suffered a heart attack and father Amar Singh got paralysed. The family members, who are getting pension from the Defence Department have demanded that Avtar Singh should be declared a martyr and they treated as riot victims so that they get some monetary help to live respectfully. These are not isolated incidents as a number of families of Army men killed in the carnage in 1984, have been running from pillar to post to get justice. Col Partap Inder Singh Phulka (retd), secretary-general, ex-servicemen wing, SAD, who has been collecting information on Sikh Army personnel killed during the riots, said as per rough estimates, there were about 300 such families. He said the party president, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, would take up the matter for demanding the setting up of a commission to probe the killings of Sikh Army personnel during the riots with the authorities concerned for which data was being compiled by the ex-servicemen wing.
|
|
Govt flayed for not celebrating ‘Punjabi week’
Sangrur, November 5 Dr Tejwant Mann, general secretary of the sabha, said “anti-Punjabi” face of the Amarinder government had been exposed as it had neither celebrated the “Punjabi week” nor chalked out any programme related to Punjab Day this year. Dr Mann said during the recent debate on “Terrorism in the state” in the Punjab Assembly, Capt Amarinder Singh had rejected the formation of the Punjabi language-based state. He alleged that Capt Amarinder Singh had also termed the Punjab Day as a “black day” the previous year. He said the Punjab Government should also build pressure on the Central Government to include the Punjabi speaking areas from neighbouring states and Chandigarh in Punjab. He also urged the government to celebrate Punjab Day and “Punjabi week” every year to promote the language. Dr Mann also urged the government to announce new programmes on Punjab Day every year for the development of Punjabi.
|
|
|
Sena men stage dharna, seek aid for terrorist-hit
Patiala, November 5 Earlier, the activists launched their “dharam yudh” morcha after paying their obeisance at Kali Mandir in the morning. Then they assembled at the YPS chowk. They wore black clothes and held placards, pronouncing their demands. Heavy security arrangements were made by the police. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Pawan Kumar Gupta, the Shiv Sena (Hindustan) President, alleged that the present government was playing with the religious sentiments of the Hindus and it was due to this reason that terrorism had taken deep roots in Jammu and Kashmir. On the occasion, the first batch of the “dharam yudh” morcha, comprising 51 Shiv Sainiks led by the Ludhiana district president, Mr Krishan Sharma, was given the green signal to stage a protest in front of the Chief Minister’s residence. The protesters blocked traffic at the busy YPS chowk.
|
|
Railways orders probe
Noormahal (Jalandhar), November 5 Two trains-LNP-1 and LNP-2 — on the Lohian-Ludhiana section got delayed for more than an hour because of the accident, it was learnt. Meanwhile, the Northern Railway authorities have ordered a high-level probe into the accident, which resulted in the death of two students and injuries to three other students of the Noormahal-based S.D. Model School. The inquiry has been ordered by Mr Dharam Singh, DRM, Ferozepore, after inspecting the accident site. Sources in the railways pointed out that the DMU-3-LL lost power as a result of the huge impact of the accident. The DMU train, which, used to shuttle between Ludhiana and Lohian, had to be detained for about 55
minutes for this reason. The engine had to be towed to Lohian with the help of another engine as it failed to get started. Railway officials maintained that though nothing could be said at this point of time, the van driver might have failed to take note of the approaching DMU train. Luckily, none of passengers of the train was injured.
|
|
Heritage procession held
Bathinda, November 5 A group of children attired in Punjabi dresses presented ‘bhangra’ and other Punjabi dance forms during the procession. Children and elderly rode 21 bedecked horses following a series of tableaux depicting the cultural heritage of Malwa. Finance Minister Surinder Singla, IG Rajinder Singh, DC Rahul Bhandari, and Income Tax Commissioner L.R. Nayyar took part in the procession. Balkar Sidhu, Saroop Parinda, Barkat Sidhu and other artistes also participated in the procession, which passed through main areas of the city before culminating at Quila Mubarak. The smooth flow of traffic was hampered for
some time.
|
|
Malta boat tragedy: govt thanked for compensation
Hoshiarpur, November 5 In a press statement issued here today, Mr Khera, while giving details of the letter, said the Punjab Government had instructed that a special officer should be deputed for the disbursement of the compensation. He thanked the Prime Minister of India, the Governor of Punjab, the Revenue Minister, Mr Amarjit Singh Samra, and especially Ms Rupon Deol Bajaj for their efforts to provide compensation.
|
2 held, poppy husk seized
Kharar, November 5 Those who have been arrested are Data Ram, a resident of Railon village, and Rashpal Singh, a resident of Harhera village. Both villages fall under Fatehgarh Sahib district. The arrested persons were blocked under Section 15/61 and 85 of the NDPS Act. They were produced in a local court today and remanded in police custody for two days. They were stopped by a police party on the link road connecting Khanpur and Bhagomajra while going on a scooter. The vehicle has also been impounded.
|
|
Militant arrested in Amritsar
Amritsar, November 5 The militant, Amarjit Singh, was arrested under various sections of the IPC and the Arms Act in the city late last night by Amritsar police, SSP R.P.S. Brar said here. The police has also recovered arms and ammunition from the accused, who had been held earlier in 2003 from Tarn Taran and was currently on bail. An FIR has also been lodged against Amarjit Singh in Haryana in
the case of a conspiracy to assassinate Bhajan Lal. — UNI
|
Institute for international studies inaugurated
Fatehgarh Sahib, November 5 Lauding the vision of Chief Minister, he said he was fully aware of the future of the state, which depended upon the agriculture sector and development of knowledge industry. He said neither the Congress nor the opposition parties of the state had bothered to develop these sectors. He said there was stagnation in the agriculture sector which was between Rs 15,000 crore to Rs 22,000 crore but now Capt Amarinder Singh had taken initiative to double it. He further added that to get knowledge industry, state was proud to have such high quality private colleges and government was looking towards such institutions for a bright future. Lt General K.S. Mann (retd), Director of the institute said the students who were willing to study and settle abroad had great opportunity to fulfill their dreams with the help and guidance of the CIIS. Explaining another feature in studying the CIIS, he said the cost of various study programmes was cheaper than 50 per cent in comparison to studies abroad. On this occasion the students were awarded degrees. The Canadian delegation led by John Bobbette, Associate vice-president Community Education, and International Studies Georgian College, Canada, Cheryl Simpson V.P. Students and organisational Success, Marrie Noelle Bonicalzi, Dean, Canadian Automotive Institute Georgian College, Canada, Dr K.N. Pathak, VC, Panjab University, Dr S.K. Salwan, VC, PTU, also addressed the crowd on the occasion.
|
|
UGC-sponsored conference on corporate governance
Fatehgarh Sahib, November 5 He said country like India, who has very limited resources and one third part of the population is living below poverty line cannot afford to ignore the concept of good governance, accountability, transparency. In the morning session, Dr B.B.Tandon, product of the London School of Economics and Dean Faculty of
Business and Commerce, Punjab University delivered key note address in which he set the tone for the conference and stressed the need, relevance and importance of corporate governance in the present era of
globalisation. Dr Sukhpal Singh Associate Profession, Center for Management in Agriculture From IIM Ahmedabad and Mr Naresh Bishnoi, CEO, Stock Exchange, Ludhiana, who were guest of honour in their addresses enlightened the participants by their discourse on objectives of the conference and regarding the core values of corporate governance. They said the basic purpose of the corporate governance should be to raise the living standard of the people. The first technical session chaired by Prof K.K. Uppal and presided over by Sanjeevan Bajaj discussed the sub theme of the corporate governance of banking sector. Dr J.S. Pasricha of Punjabi University presented special paper. The second session was chaired by Dr Alok Roy, Secretary committee on corporate governance the ICAI, Delhi and was presided over by Dr Ravinder Vinayak from MDU, Rohtak, which was dedicated to sub theme of corporate governance, conceptual framework. The special address was presented by Dr G.S. Batra of Punjabi University. The third session was chaired by Dr B.S. Bhatia, presided over by Dr Nageshwar Rao and the session discussed the sub theme of
business ethics and corporate governance. The fourth and final session was chaired by Mr Charnjot Singh Nanda, member Central Council, ICAI, Delhi and presided over by Dr Nageshwar Rao. It discussed the theme of empirical studies on corporate governance. Dr R.S. Ghuman, Dean colleges, Punjabi University, who has the distinction of being an authority on Punjab economy presented a special paper. Ms Amar Deepika GM(HR) PTL, Mohali, presented scintillating impressive and scholarly presentation on corporate governance of India. The function was presided over by Bibi Jagir Kaur, president, SGPC. In her address she touched upon the core values of corporate governance like good governance, transparency, credibility, creativity, business ethics, value creation, trust, truth, honesty, fairness responsibility, accountability and ethical values, which are the basic pillars of corporate governance. She quoted extensively from various religious sources on the theme national conference. Dr Gurmohan Singh Walia, principal of MG college Fatehgarh Sahib proposed vote of thanks for successfully concluding the conference. He also highlighted the achievements of the college in various fields.
|
Board’s decision, not mine, says MD
Chandigarh, November 5 In a communication to The Tribune, Mr Gupta further claimed that it was incorrect to say that irregularities committed by him had been highlighted in the inquiry report. Mr Gupta added that his explanation was called for by Punjab’s Registrar of Cooperative Societies on the basis of the report. It was stated that the investments were made by the BoD and not by him, Mr Gupta asserted. Accusing The Tribune correspondent of pressuring the bank for appointing him the legal adviser and to route the advertisements through him, Mr Gupta claimed that he, being the Managing Director, was targeted. The Tribune correspondent says: “I stand by my story. The allegations made by Mr Gupta are false and baseless.” TNS
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
