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Setback to Nabha MC chief
Nabha, September 10 The council has a total strength of 21 councillors, 15 belonging to the Congress and six to the Opposition. At the time of its formation, it was decided within the Congress circles that every senior councillor would be given a turn wise chance to be the president of the council. After the completion of pre-decided term of Mr Garg in the office of MC President, senior councillors started building up pressure over him to resign, but he refused. On August 4, 14 Congress councillors gave a memorandum to the EO seeking a no-confidence motion against Mr Garg. It was decided by him and the EO that a meeting on the issue would be held on August 21. On that day, according to the EO, no councillor turned up at the MC office in time so a resolution to postpone the meeting was taken. The Deputy Director, Local Bodies, was informed about the development. On the contrary, Mr Garg claimed that on that day he reached the council’s office at 10 am and find that barricades were put up on the both approaching roads by the police and it had locked the office. He was not allowed to enter the MC building. He sat on a dharna in front of the office along with Opposition leaders like Raja Narinder Singh and Mr Ramesh Singla. Two days ago, seven councillors, Rajnish Santy, Suman Vij, Narinder Bhatia, Gautam Batish, Sandeep and Hari Seth, sent a signed letter to the President to call a meeting for undertaking a no-confidence motion against him under the Municipal Act 1911. The letter stated that the meeting for the no-confidence motion was scheduled for August 21, but owing to the absence of many members and the MC President himself it was postponed. A fresh meeting should have been held before August 30. The councillors had suggested to call a meeting on the issue for September 8 at 11 am. Mr Garg told this correspondent over the phone that the councillors themselves organised the meeting and that he had moved to the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the local MLA, the Executive Officer (EO), the SHO, Nabha, and the Deputy Director, Local Bodies, Patiala, for not allowing him to enter into the MC building on August 21. The court stayed the meeting and asked the respondents not to hold any meeting till further orders. Mr Garg added that all 14 councillors had left the town yesterday only to appear at the meeting today at the behest of the higher authorities. The EO said his name was dragged in the controversy only to malign him. It was up to the councillors to decide among themselves. When he was asked why he was made a party in the case if he was innocent, he hanged his phone. |
Improvement Trust registers record income
Amritsar, September 10 Stating this to the media here, Mr Jugal Kishore Sharma, MLA and Chairman of Trust, said one of the major achievements of the trust was that it was able to solve the 45-year-old dispute of the 97-acre land in D-Block of Ranjit Avenue. The trust allotted the plots to the Defence personnel affected due to the dispute. He also claimed that the Amritsar Improvement Trust was the first in Punjab which had organized a camp in which 537 cases of registry, 487 cases of land transfers and 95 no objection certificates (NOC) were issued on the spot. The trust has also taken up the job of covering the nallah (drain) from Sultanwind to Chattiwind at the cost of Rs 12.8 crore and it was nearing completion. The trust would also provide 20 per cent of the total cost to the municipal corporation for construction of elevated road. First installment of Rs 5 crore had been released to the corporation. On the question of the truckers who have not shifted to the transport area near Mall Mandi, Mr Sharma said the trust's main job was to earmark the site and now it was the duty of the district administration to order the truckers to move to the new site. He said that the trust would also install the statue of Late Jawahar Lal Nehru, former Prime Minister of India, in the Nehru Shopping complex at a cost of Rs 4 lakh. |
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Bhattal lays stone for irrigation scheme
Rajpura, September 10 Addressing a gathering at Kapuri village after laying the foundation stone, Ms Bhattal informed that about 3,000 acres of land in Chharwa, Kamalpur, Rampur, Sonta, Chamaru and Kapuri areas would benefit from the lift irrigation scheme, which would be functional in three months. Farmers in the state were being supplied electricity for eight
hours, Ms Bhattal claimed adding that officials concerned had been directed to adhere to the stipulated time for supplying power to the farmers. Saying that the Punjab elections would be held on schedule as per the directions of the Election Commission, Ms Bhattal claimed that the Congress would again form the next government in Punjab. Ms Bhattal informed that the Lehra Mohabat thermal power station would start producing 500 mw more power by December this year. Later during a brief chat with mediapersons, Ms Bhattal said a decision to have tie-up with the Left parties would be taken by only the party high command. The view expressed by the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, and the President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) on the issue were their “personal views”, she said. Mr Jasjit Singh Randhawa, minister and the local MLA, highlighted the developmental activities undertaken by the government in the area in the last five years. |
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PSEB to give 40,000 tubewell connections
Dhadrian (Barnala), September 10 Ms Bhattal said the PSEB had chalked out a plan to clear the backlog of tubewell connection seekers up to 1992 in few years. Along with the new connections, 10,569 temporary connections, which were given to farmers during the past paddy season, would also be regularised. She said round the clock power supply had been provided to 12,385 out of total 12,428 villages across the state and remaining 43 villages would also be covered under the scheme soon. Accompanied by Ms Preneet Kaur, MP of Patiala, Ms Bhattal was in the city to lay the foundation of 66 KV grid sub-station Dhandrian village. She said the PSEB in the past years had erected 69 grid sub-stations and augmented 220 at a cost of Rs 600 crore. It had plans to install 100 sub-stations in the current year at a cost of 400 crore. The Power Minister claimed that to provide eight-hour uninterrupted power supply to tubewells during paddy season, the board had purchased electricity worth 1,467 crore from other states. She said the grid, being set up in the village at a cost of Rs 2.9 crore, would be cater for nearby Dayalgarh, Togewal, Rattoke, Sahoke, Bugra, Manderkhurd and Takipur villages and would ease load on Longowal and Cheema sub-stations. The board was planning to spend Rs 127 crore to improve the supply system by December 31. |
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Resentment against raising retirement age
Amritsar, September 10 In a press statement issued here yesterday, the forum leader said there was strong resentment among the young officers and they would oppose the government’s move. He urged the Punjab Government not to implement such a decision in a haste, as it would not serve any purpose.
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Doctors honoured
Amritsar, September 10 More than 200 delegates, including the faculties of Community Medicine from all medical colleges of Punjab, eminent scholars from field of public health working in state health services and international agencies like the WHO and Unicef, participated in the meet. Prof Lal, who was the chief guest on the occasion, appreciated the efforts of the organising team and announced a grant of Rs 1lakh for IAPSM. Dr J.S.Dalal, principal, Government Medical College, was the guest of honour. IAPSM awarded lifetime achievement awards to Dr M.L. Chugh, late Dr Harcharn Singh, Dr V. Lakhanpal, Dr Harjit Singh, Dr Surinder Singh, Dr Davinder Singh, Dr Satnam Singh for their rich contributions to the field of public health. Dr W.P. Singh, Prof and head, Social and Preventive Medicine, SGRD Medical College, was given award for his contributions to the field. Dr A.S.Padda, patron, IAPSM, highlighted the changing pattern of the disease from communicable to non-communicable disease and stressed the role of preventive medicine in the present health scenario. Dr S.S. Deepti, organising secretary, said the theme of the meet was “The role of Community Medicine in the changing health scenario”. Various public issues like AIDS, Rabies and other emerging diseases discussed. |
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Unique elbow replacement
Patiala, September 10 According to Dr J.P.S Walia the patient got her elbow treated by a quack following which she started suffering from “fixed flexion deformity” and was unable to perform daily routine work. |
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38 transit teams administer polio drops
Patiala, September 10 The programme was inaugurated by Dr Rakesh Gupta, Patiala Civil Surgeon, at the Civil Dispensary, Tripuri township. Dr S.B. Pandhi, District Immunisation Officer (DIO), and Dr Goldie, Senior Medical Officer (WHO), accompanied him. Dr Rakesh Gupta said a total of 38 transit teams were constituted which administered polio drops to children at bus stands, railway stations, main highways and prominent road-crossings in the district. He said in addition to these transit teams, 41 mobile teams were put to service. These visited every nook and corner of the district and administered polio drops to children in slums,
brick kilns, construction sites, marriage palaces and other sparsely populated areas. The entire exercise was monitored by WHO officers. |
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Former Cong MLA Gurdev Singh dead
Chandigarh, September 10 He will be cremated tomorrow morning at Bakshiwala village, near Bareta Mandi in Mansa District. He was elected MLA in 1968 and 1972. During the Darbara Singh government, he remained chairman of the Punjab Khadi and Village Industry Board. He was a member of the Paraza Mandal that waged struggle to get land rights for Serfs (Muhajars) in the Malwa region in 1950s. |
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4 pulse-loaded trucks flagged off
Pathankot, August 10 Talking to mediapersons, she said the scheme to provide pulses at cheap rates had been initiated by Punsup and every ration card holder would be entitled to get 3 kg of sabut moong and massari at the rate of Rs 34 and 27, respectively, every month. She said the Punsup had set up 297 distribution centres for the distribution of both pulses, apart from arranging 895 mobile vans to cover each village in the
state. In Gurdaspur 24 centres had been set up to distribute pulses, she added. |
Ludhiana lawyers sore with CM over unreleased grant
Chandigarh, September 10 Reason, the Chief Minister had announced a grant of Rs 50 lakh to the District Bar Association (DBA), Ludhiana, for the construction of lawyers’ chambers, which were to be named after his grandfather, Yadavindra Singh, but it hasn’t yet come. A total of 232 chambers for lawyers were to be constructed so that those practising at the Ludhiana District Courts had a proper place to work. On May 6 last year, Amarinder Singh, while laying the foundation stone of the Yadavindra Lawyers Chambers project, had announced a grant of Rs 50 lakh to the DBA for it. One year on and many representations and reminders later, the money has not yet been released to the DBA. On January 26 this year, when the Chief Minister was in Ludhiana to hoist the national flag, a delegation of lawyers met him to remind him of his promise. He immediately told the Deputy Commissioner to do the needful and ensure that the grant was released. The next day, the DC wrote to the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, informing him about the assurance and requested the release of the grant as per the Chief Minister’s directive. Seven months have elapsed ever since, but the Chief Minister’s Office, which is headed by Principal Secretary Suresh Kumar, has not released the promised grant. “Is this how promises are kept by the Chief Minister? Do his officers always take his directive so lightly? If the Chief Minister has no intention of giving the money, why did he even announce it?” asks DBA president N.K. Chhibber. On September 7, the Chief Minister was scheduled to attend a conference of representatives of all district bar associations of Punjab organised by the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana. At the last moment, his office informed the Bar Council representatives that he was occupied with some important work in New Delhi and hence could not make it. But had the Chief Minister come, he would have faced strong protest from a section of lawyers assembled there, as representatives of the DBA, Ludhiana, led by Mr Chhibber, had made it a point to be present at the meeting. “We would have asked him about the grant. The DC has sent numerous reminders to his office, but to no avail. Similarly, I have personally met Principal Secretary Suresh Kumar many times,” said Mr Chhibber. Meanwhile, office-bearers of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association and the Bar Council have assured the DBA, Ludhiana, of getting the grant released. |
Inside Babudom
Chandigarh, September 10 The committee has met for the second time during the past one week. Twentysix members attended today’s meeting held under the chairmanship of the association president, Mr P.S. Shergill. The association has sought an appointment with Capt Amarinder Singh for Tuesday. A few months ago the Chief Minister had asked the representatives to meet the Chief Secretary to discuss the demands in detail with him. The association had met the Chief Secretary on May 19 in this regard. However, in spite of reminders to the Chief Secretary’s office, it has yet to get an appointment with the Chief Minister. The association is seeking the earmarking of 33 per cent posts of Deputy Commissioner for PCS officers, excluding the same from the IAS cadre. At present, only IAS officers are appointed as Deputy Commissioners in the state. However, the association argues that there are about 130 officers who fall in the eligibility zone for promotion to the IAS cadre but cannot make it to that cadre due to their crossing the age of 54 years. “ There is no age bar condition in other cadres for promotion to a higher cadre”, says the association. The association is for increasing their promotion quota to IAS cadre to 50 per cent from the existing 33 per cent which actually comes down to 25 per cent because of certain technical reasons. The association is also for increasing the retirement age of PCS officers to 60 years on the pattern of IAS, IPS, IFS and other Central cadre officers. Redesignation of PCS officers as special secretaries on the completion of 13 years regular recruitment of PCS officers and training of these officers on the pattern of IAS officers are among the other demands of the association. It has also sought a pay scale of Rs 18,000-20,000 on the completion of 16 years of service. Parallel progression of career scheme, categorisation of PCS officers and posting of these officers on the basis of their seniority have also been sought by the association. Timely promotions to the IAS cadre, timely placement of PCS officers in relevant pay scales and allocation of vehicles to officers of the rank of Joint Secretary and above are also part of the demands of the association. |
Three held for murder
Hoshiarpur, September 10 Mr R.N. Dhoke, SSP, stated here last evening that Raja Ram, alias Kiti, son of Puran Chand, Surinderpal, alias Jumma, son of Karam Chand of Jahan Khelan, and Sonu, alias Ghori, alias Kamaljit Singh, son of Sohan Singh of the local Mohalla Aslamabad, had been arrested for the murder of Kuldip. Two more suspects, Param Baghal Singh, son of Satwinder Singh, and Tinku, alias Praveen Kumar, son of Ashok Kumar, both residents of Mohalla Aslamabad, would be arrested soon. The SSP said on the night of June 19, 2004, four miscreants made a murderous assault on Kuldip. He succumbed to his injuries at the PGI, Chandigarh, on June 23, 2004. The Sadar Police had registered a case under sections 302, 324 and 34 of the IPC. A special team, headed by Mr Darshan Singh Dhindsa, SP (D), was constituted, which arrested the three suspects. During the interrogation of the suspects it was emerged that Surinderpal Singh of Jahan Khelan, a notorious liquor smuggler against whom eight cases had been registered, suspected Kuldip, who was a dismissed police constable, used to inform the police about his activities. He gave Rs 5,000 to Raja Ram for teaching a lesson to Kuldip. On June 19, Raja Ram and Kuldip consumed liquor at Adda Jahan Khelan. Later, Raja Ram called his accomplices and on the way they assaulted Kuldip. The SSP said Raja Ram had a criminal background and was involved in many dacoities. |
Couple die, son hurt in mishap
Tarn Taran, September 10 The couple has been identified as Guravtar Singh (36) and his wife Rajwant Kaur (32) of Granthgarh village (Ajnala), now residing in police lines, Majitha district police (Doburji).Tanveer Singh (12), their son, who escaped in the accident, has been admitted to Guru Ram Das Hospital, Amritsar. Guravtar was a constable in Majitha police district. According to the information, the couple on their scooter (PB05-E 0035) was coming to this town to pay obeisance at the local gurdwara when a rash driving truck (RJ –31 G 1518), which was coming from the opposite side, hit them coming at the wrong side . Both husband and wife received serious injuries at their heads and died on the spot. A case under Sections 304A , 279, 337, 338 has been registered at against the truck driver who is absconding. |
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3 killed in accidents
Hoshiarpur, September 10 Dalip Kumar Bhayia, who was working as a servant at the house of Puran Singh of Galowal Purana, was drowned in the Beas the same evening while he was carrying water for his cattle. Pritam Singh (70) of local Aslamabad, succumbed to his injuries at the Civil Hospital here on Friday. He was seriously wounded when a scooter struck him when he was crossing the road at Tanda Chowk. |
75 students donate blood at camp
Patiala, September 10 The camp was organised by Sanatan Dharam Kumar Sabha and was inaugurated by MP Preneet Kaur. Ms Preneet Kaur, while speaking on the occasion, called upon the gathering to get inspiration from the life of Bir Ji and donate blood so that lives of needy patients could be saved. She further said that blood donation was a noble cause that helped in creating universal brotherhood and unity among human beings. She appreciated the efforts of school authorities for inculcating moral values among students by organising such camps. Later, the school Principal J.K. Garg thanked the gathering and promised to involve students in social activities in the future. |
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