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Better alone than with CPI, says CM
Bathinda, April 15 He said this while talking to mediapersons minutes after addressing a huge rally in Talwandi Sabo today. The Chief Minister said they had allotted 14 seats to the CPI in the last elections of which it won only two, adding that the Congress was capable enough to fight Assembly elections on its own. On his government’s stand over farmer bodies’ protest on the Trident issue, he said the farmers whose land had been acquired by the Trident Group were paid a compensation of Rs 9 lakh per acre, whereas the land rates at the time of acquisition were merely Rs 6 lakh per acre. He asserted the farmers had voluntarily given their land to the Trident Group. The CM said the land rates in the villages, where the land was acquired, had shot up recently and added that the protesting farmer bodies were free to move judiciary. Replying to a query on the supply of polluted water through the Sirhind Canal, he said he had asked the Punjab Pollution Control Board officials to hold a meeting with the industrialists whose units were releasing effluents in water bodies. The Chief Minister assured that all industrial units would be made to follow environmental norms and anybody found violating them would be asked to shut shop. He said sewerage-disposal units were also being installed in Ludhiana to make sure that sewerage water didn’t get mixed with canal water. Earlier, launching a scathing attack on the SAD President, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, the Chief Minister asked that if the father-son duo were pleading innocence in the corruption cases, why did they move the High Court before bringing a stay order from the Supreme Court. He claimed that his government had brought an industrial investment of Rs 7,000 crore and it would generate employment opportunities for 10 lakh people. The PPCC chief, Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo, also addressed the gathering. Meanwhile, employees of the Health Department were lathi- charged, near the ruling party’s conference venue, as they were protesting against the government move to hand over about 1,200 rural dispensaries to zila parishads. The police immediately rounded them up to avoid any untoward incident. No injuries were reported.
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CM ignoring farmers: Badal
Bathinda, April 15 The former CM said this at his party’s conference in Talwandi Sabo on the occasion of Baisakhi Mela. Mr Badal alleged that the Chief Minister was not presenting true picture of the state’s agricultural sector before the Centre and unlike other states, Punjab had failed to win some package or amenities for the state’s debt-ridden farmers. He lamented that agriculture, which was the backbone of Punjab’s economy, wasn’t profitable anymore as farmers were being denied good price on their agricultural produce by the state government. Mr Badal said while the Centre was importing wheat at a much higher price, the state government was denying bonus to its wheat farmers who had suffered extensive damage due to freaky weather conditions this year. He said the state government should treat it as a natural calamity and compensate the farmers. He accused the government of failing to extend basic amenities like drinking water, health and education to people. On the Trident issue, he merely alleged that the state government didn’t take the concerned MLAs and sarpanches into confidence and went ahead with the acquisition process. Senior Akali leaders B.S. Bhunder,Sikander Singh Malooka and Manpreet Badal were also present. Meanwhile, the SAD (Amritsar) President, Mr Simranjeet Singh Mann, came down heavily on the SAD (Badal) and alleged that it had dumped the Anandpur Sahib Resolution of 1973 and the Amritsar Announcement of 1994. He wondered that while the state government was “taking away the farmers land in three Barnala villages”, there was a ban on the state’s farmers buying land in other states like Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. He alleged that both the SAD and the Congress had denied good price to the farmers. On the other hand, the SAD (Longowal) President, Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra, and the Lok Bhalai Party chief, Mr BS Ramoowalia expressed confidence that a third front would surely emerge in the state politics. Mr Chandumajra said soon a meeting of the third front partners would be held to decide a common minimum programme. Mr Ramoowalia said the third front would rid people of “corrupt and opportunistic” regimes of the SAD and the Congress.
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‘CM hampering probe’
Chandigarh, April 15 “This action of the Chief Minister is totally illegal, unconstitutional and irresponsible,” said Mr Badal in a statement released to the press here today. Mr Badal said by issuing such irresponsible statements, the Chief Minister was trying to influence the course of the investigation. “This is a direct interference in the working of the premier investigating agency of the country,”said Mr Badal.
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CM violated maryada: SGPC
Anandpur Sahib, April 15 A four-member SGPC committee, including Mr Gurinder Singh Gogi, alleged that when the CM was not presented a siropa at Gurdwara Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib, he made an attempt to wear one with the help of his two police personnel present in the gurdwara in mufti.
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BJP seeks income insurance scheme for farmers
Sangrur, April 15 Mr Avinash Rai Khanna, president of Punjab BJP, told reporters here yesterday Mr Harjit Singh Grewal, national BJP secretary, would head the farmers’ study team while Chaudhary Swarna Ram, a former Punjab Minister, would head the Dalit’s study team. Mr Balramji Dass Tandon and Mr Manoranjan Kalia, would head the businessmen and the youth’s study teams, respectively. On seat-sharing (Assembly tickets) with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for Assembly elections, Mr Khanna said there was no dispute between the BJP and the SAD over seat-sharing in the state. A committee of both parties would hold a meeting and a decision on the issue would be taken at that meeting. Main aim of both parties was to form a SAD-BJP government in the state. Mr Khanna demanded reservation for economically backward of all sections and castes of society for their upliftment. He, however, said the present reservation for the Dalits should continue as the Dalits could not get the rights they were eligible. He also demanded from the central government “farmer income insurance scheme” to improve financial condition of the farmers. He said under the scheme, the government should also make arrangements to deposit the premium of the insurance with insurance companies on behalf of the farmers. Besides this, the government should also make available marketing facilities to farmers so that their crops could be sold at remunerative prices. Mr Khanna claimed during more than four years regime of the Amarinder government. Nearly 350 farmers had committed suicide due to poverty or debt. He said he had brought this issue to the notice of Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who had assured him that he would look into the matter.
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65 per cent state farmers under debt: expert
New Delhi, April 15 “This is the highest per farmer debt in the country. This is the state that is considered as the grain bowl of the nation. What is happening in the state, where Green Revolution occurred, needs to be pondered and solutions need to be found, otherwise it would lead to a grave situation across the country,” said Prof Sucha Singh Gill of Punjabi University, Patiala, here today. He said nearly 36 per cent of the state peasants wanted to discontinue farming as it was not profitable, because of low return from the farmland after intensive capital input. “Among those, for reasons of poor profitability, 73.71 per cent of the peasants in the state are not liking farming compared to 66.08 per cent across the country. While farmers outside the state face the risk factor, which is around 20.70 per cent, this factor is only 6.23 per cent in the state, clearly reflecting the low productivity and high input costs,” he said. Participating in a round table discussion on “Agricultural Crisis in Punjab: tried land and retiring farmers” organised by the ORF here, Professor Gill, a former Planning Commission member, said the country faced a grave situation and there was an urgent need to come up with technological breakthrough to increase declining yield and production. With factors such as productivity of land going down, increased fragmentation of land, cost of inputs like fertilisers and irrigation rising and no increase in the minimum support price of food grains, the real income of farmers has dipped considerably. Most farmers in the state feel cultivation is no longer a viable option, particularly because 76 per cent of them are small and marginal farmers with landholding less than five acres in size. In his presentation, Professor Gill showed how the annual growth rate of rice, wheat, sugarcane, cotton and others were declining in terms of cultivated area, production and yield per hectare. Saying that the number of farmer suicides because of increasing debt was between 2,500 and 5,000 during the past 10 years, he cautioned that the situation would reach an alarming stage unless effective corrective measures were taken immediately. He suggested a three-policy option to improve the conditions of farmers. Diversifying economy with progressive shift of population from agriculture to secondary and tertiary sectors, introducing the policy of corporatisation of agriculture through contract farming and involving big corporations in agribusiness. He favoured the involvement of farming community through co-operative activities in agriculture production, processing and marketing. H.K. Dua, Editor-in-Chief of Tribune, who chaired the discussion, wondered the state of farmers in other states when suicides were rocking a wealthy state like Punjab. He said it was high time that farmers’ interests were taken care of by the state and the Centre to ensure food security. He hoped that Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar would come up with some effective measures in his promised package for farmers.
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Forest Hill: did IAS officer favour doctor?
Amritsar, April 15 Even as the CBI has reportedly taken into custody, documents relating to properties, jewellery and cash from the houses of government officers where raids were conducted in connection with the case, the said officer had reportedly gone “out of the way” to save the doctor from legal wrangles by granting permission under the PAPR Act of PUDA during his stint as its Chief Administrator. After getting the licence, the coloniser- doctor got relief from the local court. The doctor had reportedly saved huge fee worth several lakhs. The officer got the prime residential plot in the resort in the name of his wife, who is also a senior central officer after getting permission from her department. However, when contacted, the doctor claimed that the plot was sold two years after the colony was carved out and the officer was not the Chief Administrator of PUDA at that time. However, a senior officer on condition of anonymity, said there was a lot of commotion in the meeting of PUDA when the case of the said colony came up for discussion. The then Chief Administrator had formed a sub committee to go into the details with a view to favour the doctor. The report of the sub-committee was sent to the Chief Administrator directly and approval for granting licence was given.
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MP wants airport at Adampur, not Halwara
Jalandhar, April 15 Mr Bajwa has suggested that instead of Halwara, a civil airport at Adampur will be more suitable will prove to be a great aid to thousands of NRIs of Punjab, particularly, those hailing from the Doaba region, and those from adjoining areas of Himachal Pradesh. “Conversion of the Halwara Air Force airfield into a civil airport will hardly serve any purpose as more than 70 per cent NRIs of Punjab belong to the Doaba region of Punjab. Instead, the government should set up an international airport at Adampur. A number of other Air Force airfields, like the one at Amritsar, have already been converted into international airports and there should be problem for the authorities concerned,” said Mr Bajwa, while talking to The Tribune. “An international airport at Adampur will result in added advantage to NRIs as they will alight just near their home. Moreover, congestion at the Amritsar international airport is creating a lot of problems for them and it will ease the pressure on the Amritsar airport. Besides Punjab, an airport at Adampur will effectively serve Himachal Pradesh,” said Mr Bajwa.
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Remission granted to convicts for good conduct
Amritsar, April 15 The SSP, Central Jail, Mr Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, said the remission had been granted on the basis of ‘good conduct’ so that their fellow inmates were encouraged to participate in the ‘drug awareness programme’ in the jail premises . Meanwhile , at least 300 bootleggers and other undertrials lodged in connection with excise-related case have been released following amendments in the Act. Such cases are now under the jurisdiction of the AETCs (Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioners) who has the power to impose fine as per quantity of the seized liquor as specified in the Act (Section 61-AA of the Punjab Excise Act) instead of trial in court. The excise cases can no longer be tried by Judicial Magistrates as per the amendments in the Punjab Excise Act. However, despite the amendment in the Act, a large number of bootleggers continue to languish in various jails of the state. Talking to The Tribune here today, Mr Kunwar Vijay Partap said the decongestion of barracks was possible after setting up a legal aid cell with the help of some dedicated lawyers who volunteered to provide legal help to the poor and needy persons lodged in the jail. He said hundreds of such persons languishing in various jails of the state could be released by adopting a similar model. This cell is also working for prisoners who have been behind bars for a long period despite no chargesheet having been filed against them in violation of basic human rights. Giving the break-up, Mr Kunwar said around 100 prisoners had already been released by furnishing personal bonds after taking permission from the courts concerned. “We are in the process of releasing at least 50 other prisoners of this category,” he said. He further said the jail authorities had short-listed 60 prisoners against whom chargesheets had not been filed by the police, despite the expiry of the stipulated period of 60 or 90 days. Some of them had been languishing in jail for over a year. The process of releasing them on personal bond had been started in liaison with the judiciary, the prosecution and the police. A letter has been written to the District Attorney and SSPs of Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Majitha to take necessary action in this regard. The jail authorities said unnecessary and illegal detention of prisoners not only amounted to gross violations of human rights, but was also an extra burden on the state exchequer. The SSP-cum-Jail Superintendent said it would be in the interest of the state if a statewide campaign was launched to ensure the release of these prisoners from all jails of Punjab.
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Durgiana committee alleges embezzlement
Amritsar, April 15 Mr Harnam Das Arora, president, DMC, told the media that they had asked the police to register a case against Mr Arjun for misappropriation of funds and articles and tampering with the records of the DMC. Mr Arora said Mr Arjun had taken Rs 30 lakh deposited by Mr Anil Kishore and Mr Naval Kishore in July 2004 . He said though they were issued receipts numbering 9306 and 9307, respectively, but no entry had been made in the cash books, thus embezzling the committee funds. He said the DMC had purchased LIC mutual funds worth Rs 10 lakh in November 2000 and on its maturity a cheque for Rs 15.26 lakh was sent by the LIC which fell into the hands of Mr Arjun, but this amount also did not find any place in the accounts of the DMC. Mr Arora said the accounts showed debt/payments of Rs 20 lakh approximately to be made to suppliers of raw material for “bhog bhandar” which prima facie established that cash proceeds of the sale had been embezzled. He alleged that Mr Arjun had taken away jewellery and articles from the toshakhana. Mr Arora said the committee would take back the controversial land of a gaushala which had been sold by Mr Arjun for Rs 42 lakh. He said the land of the gaushala was donated by a devotee under the condition that it would be specifically used for that purpose. The DMC president said soon a general body meeting would be called to duly elect a representative body of the committee.
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Baisakhi mela ends
Bathinda, April 15 Thousands of Nihangs from different parts of the state converged at the holy township. They put up a show of gatka skills and horsemanship. They also showcased their proficiency in sword fighting and tent pegging while riding horses. The fair witnessed the participation of scores of pilgrims in religious diwans, kavi darbars and kirtan darbars held as part of the celebrations. Langar was also organised at various spots on roads leading to Takht Sri Damdama Sahib.
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Ambika stresses on tourism development
Amritsar, April 15 She said her ministry had sent the proposal for a 10-year infrastructure status for the industry but the Finance Ministry had refused it due to financial constraints. She said they had now sent a proposal to the ministry for granting infrastructure status up to 2010. She said there was a great scope for developing tourism and it was the second sector after agriculture which provided employment. The Central government was providing funds for identifying freedom struggle sites which would be developed as tourism spots and would be maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. Facilities such as transport and guides would be provided so that tourists did not face any inconvenience.
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‘Umeed’ to help curb female foeticide
Patiala, April 15 The conference, which is being organised jointly by the IMA and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, GMC, will be inaugurated by the local MP, Ms Preneet Kaur. The Punjab Health Minister, Mr Ramesh Chander Dogra will preside over the inaugural session while Mr Darbara Singh Guru, Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, and Dr Ravinder Singh, VC of the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, will be the guests of honour. Deliberation will also be held by Dr V.K. Goyal, Dr O.P.S Kande, Dr S.B. Pandhi which will focus on the socio demographic profile of female foeticide and will also suggest measures for the safety and protection of the girl child.
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Riot victims given relief
Jalandhar, April 15 Punjab Food and Civil Supply Minister Avtar Henry disbursed cheques for Rs 2 lakh each to the riot victims at the Red Cross Bhawan here. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Henry said the Centre as well as the Punjab Government were sensitive and sympathetic towards the needs and miseries of the riot victims. He said the Centre had granted a total package of Rs 450 crore for about 22,000 victims settled in different parts of the country. A similar monetary compensation worth Rs 2.74 crore was granted among 137 riot victims in Moga yesterday, he said.
— UNI
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Governor goes fishing
Ropar, April 15 The Governor along with his wife and son arrived here at 4:30 p.m. for fishing after getting permit from the Irrigation Department. A large number of police force and senior officials were deployed along the banks of the Sutlej. The officials had a tough time as the place which was chosen for the fishing was said to be in danger zone and was risky. A diver was also deputed on the small concrete portion along the river. General Rodrigues and his family members continued fishing in the area till 7.30 p.m., but could manage to catch just one fish. It is learnt that it was the first trip of the Governor to this place and no other VIP had ever came here for fishing.
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Pharmacists to intensify stir
Fazilka, April 15 They alleged that this was a conspiracy of the government to abolish the posts of pharmacists as the government was headed towards privatisation of health institutes, which would ultimately make the health services out of reach of the poor. Mr Luthra and Mr Sodhi said according to the decision of the state committee of the association five members each of the state committee shall sit on a relay fast before the office of the Director in Chandigarh on April 19 and 20. After this five office-bearers of district units shall sit in fast from April 21 to May 7. The five members of Amritsar district shall sit on fast on April 21, followed by five each of Moga, Bathinda, Ferozepore, Nawanshahr, Ropar, Faridkot, Muktsar, Jalandhar, Gurdaspur, Fatehgarh Sahib, Paitiala, Ludhiana, Kapurthala, Sangrur, Mansa, and Hoshiarpur.
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Jewellery worth Rs 5.5 cr seized
Amritsar, April 15 Mr Dheeraj Rastogi, joint director, DRI, confirmed the incident and said the process was going on and anything would be said only after completion of investigations. According to information, the accused were of Indian origin. All accused were green card-holders and had passports of Singapore, USA and UK. They had six pieces of jewellery studded with expensive diamonds. A team of DRI searched the passengers boarding the Uzbekistan flight. However, they got suspicious of the group of five arriving from London. The jewellery was concealed in their pockets.
— OC
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Pickpockets nabbed from gurdwaras
Amritsar, April 15 The accused have been identified as Rahul, Mohammad Akhtar, Naresh Chouhan, Om Vir and Sunil Kumar. According to information, first Rahul was caught and the other accused were arrested on his identification.
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