J A L A N D H A R

‘Pak has refused to take its men back’
Gabria: As many as 47 Pak prisoners languishing in Punjab jails

Jalandhar, September 25 About 47 Pak prisoners are languishing in different jails of Punjab even after completing their sentence. The reason being the Pakistan government has refused to take them back. This was disclosed by Punjab jails, tourism and culture minister Hira Singh Gabria while talking to mediapersons here today.

Jails, tourism and culture minister Hira Singh Gabria addresses press meet in Jalandhar. — A Tribune photograph

3 die, 7 injured in separate accidents
Batala/ Hoshiarpur, September 25
Two youths riding a motorcycle died on the spot here today when they were hit and run over by a truck.

Brothers killed
Phagwara, September 25
Two brothers were killed on the spot when their motorcycle skidded on the Phagwara-Banga road on Monday evening. The deceased were identified as Shiv Chander and Ranjit Kumar , both residents of Panchkula. The accident occurred due to slippery road caused by rain. Meanwhile, the bodies were handed over to the family after a postmortem. 

Dera is Wakf property, says Sharif
Hoshiarpur, September 25
The BSP, Punjab had already stepped in to support the ongoing dispute between the Hindu organisations and Dalits over the Dera Fattu Shah Bibi Sahib temple of Sri Rameshvaram Mahadev, Rahimpur. But matters heated up on Tuesday when the Punjab Pradesh Muslim Welfare Commitee's senior vice president Master Mohammad Sharif of Khadiala Mirzapur in a representation to the deputy commissioner, Hoshiarpur, claimed that the land of the Dera is Wakf property.

Stevia Cultivation
Farmers told to usher in sweet revolution
Nawanshahr, September 25
To educate farmers about cultivation of Stevia (sweet plant) for better profit and provide a sugar alternative, a seminar, ‘Contract farming of stevia', was organised at Green Valley Farm here. Chaudhary Nand Lal, chief parliamentary secretary, inaugurated the event and also laid the foundation stone of herbal garden. Progressive farmers from different parts of Punjab and Himachal Pardesh attended the seminar.

Bank duped of Rs 20 lakh
Hoshiarpur, September 25
On the complaint of Bakshi Ram, branch manager of Union Bank of India, Purhiran, Model Town police has registered a case under sections 420, 406, 4667, 468 and 471 of the IPC against Pritam Singh and his son Gurnam Singh, both of Ajowal and Lachhman Dass of Tillewali for duping the bank of Rs 20 lakh. According to police sources, the trio allegedly took a loan of Rs 20 lakh by presenting fake documents.

Water Woes
Residents take to streets
Phagwara, September 25
Irate residents of Chahal Nagar, Green Park and Hoshiarpur Road today blocked the national highway near Sugar Mill Chowk for more than half an hour in protest against scarcity of water in their localities.

15-yr freeze on sale of allotted sites 
Chandigarh, September 25
Now on, there will be a 15-year lock-in period on the sale of property allotted to an institution or society at subsidised rates. The allottee will not be able to dispose off the property before the stipulated period.

IT sleuths raid exporter’s shop
Phagwara, September 25
Income tax officials raided different complexes of Frontier Bazaar, a prominent exporter and cloth merchant, here early this morning.

‘Pak has refused to take its men back’
Gabria: As many as 47 Pak prisoners languishing in Punjab jails
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 25
About 47 Pak prisoners are languishing in different jails of Punjab even after completing their sentence. The reason being the Pakistan government has refused to take them back.

This was disclosed by Punjab jails, tourism and culture minister Hira Singh Gabria while talking to mediapersons here today. He said, “The state government has brought it to the notice of the union government several times, but it replied that it was in touch with the Pakistan officials.”

Giving details about the proposed model jails, Gabria said, “The construction of model jails at Kapurthala and Faridkot would be started this year. The capacity of these jails would vary from 2500 to 3000 prisoners each.” Even the new jails at Ropar and Nabha were nearing completion, he added.

The minister said the state government had decided to lease out all 37 tourist complexes to private firms. Of these 37 complexes, five were big while the rest were small.

Accusing the previous Congress government of selling 10 tourist complexes at throwaway prices to private firms, Gabria said a departmental enquiry was still on. He added if irregularities were observed, the vigilance department would to look into the matter.

3 die, 7 injured in separate accidents
Our Correspondents

Batala/ Hoshiarpur, September 25
Two youths riding a motorcycle died on the spot here today when they were hit and run over by a truck.

Amarpal singh (23), son of Shivraj Singh of Urban Estate, and Zorawar singh (22), son of Jaspal Singh of Rangar Nangal village were going on a motorcycle (PB-06-M-7289) towards Jalandhar side when a truck (PB-32-B-7305) coming from the opposite side at high speed ran over them.

Both died on the spot. They were students of Baring Union Christian College, Batala.

SSP R.N. Dhoke said that truck driver Jarnail Singh of Ropar district has been arrested under section 304-A of the IPC. The police has handed over the bodies to the relatives of the deceased.

Meanwhile, as many as 7 persons of Mount Carmel School, Bhunga, including 5 students and a woman were injured when their van (No. PB-07J-3443) collided head-on with a tractor-trailer near Adda Dhoot Kalan on Hoshiarpur-Dasuya road today morning.

The injured, identified as Anu Sharma, Amarjit Singh and his brother Navpreet, Abhey and his brother Jaswinder Singh, Gurjap Singh and driver Daljit Singh all of Khurdan village were admitted in Civil Hospital, Bhunga.

According to the police sources, there were about 22 children in the van and it was on its way to the school after collecting the students from their homes.

In another incident, Amrinder Singh son of Swarn Singh of Dhiangarh succumbed to his injuries at local Civil Hospital last night. Amrinder Singh was seriously injured when a truck (No. RJ-13-GA-0828) hit his scooter (No. PB-08Z-6459) near Purhiran on Monday night.

The truck driver who was identified as Kashmir Singh of Abohar fled from the scene.

Brothers killed

Phagwara, September 25
Two brothers were killed on the spot when their motorcycle skidded on the Phagwara-Banga road on Monday evening. The deceased were identified as Shiv Chander and Ranjit Kumar , both residents of Panchkula. The accident occurred due to slippery road caused by rain. Meanwhile, the bodies were handed over to the family after a postmortem. In another mishap, seven persons sustained injuries when a mini bus collided with a jeep at Hargobind Nagar on Monday evening. The injured were admitted to the hospital. 

Dera is Wakf property, says Sharif
Our correspondent

Hoshiarpur, September 25
The BSP, Punjab had already stepped in to support the ongoing dispute between the Hindu organisations and Dalits over the Dera Fattu Shah Bibi Sahib temple of Sri Rameshvaram Mahadev, Rahimpur. But matters heated up on Tuesday when the Punjab Pradesh Muslim Welfare Commitee's senior vice president Master Mohammad Sharif of Khadiala Mirzapur in a representation to the deputy commissioner, Hoshiarpur, claimed that the land of the Dera is Wakf property.

He said, “As per the revenue record of village Purhiran located in the periphery of the Hoshiarpur city for the year 1930-31, 1940-41 and 1960-61, there are two kinds of Wakf lands, one Muslim graveyard in six Kanal and the property of Baba Fattu Shah father of Bibi Sahiba caste Faqir in 11 Kanal and 12 Marla where the present Dera of Fattu Shah Bibi Sahiba temple of Sri Rameshvaram Mahadev is located.”

"It is a Muslim Wakf property which is in the ownership of the Allah (Almighty) and it can be used only for the welfare of the humanity and for religious and charitable purposes", Sharif said.

The Muslim community has no objection if pre-occupied land is kept for Hindu, Guru Ravi Dass and Rishi Balmik temples, he said.

He urged the deputy commissioner to convene a joint meeting of all the affected parties immediately so that the needful may be done at the earliest, failing which he would proceed to the court to get justice.

Meanwhile, BSP activists continued their agitation on the 5th day on Tuesady, in protest to the alleged disrespect to the idols of Guru Ravi Dass and Maharishi Balmik and their being allegedly ‘missing’ from the dera complex since July 11, 2007.

Stevia Cultivation
Farmers told to usher in sweet revolution
Our Correspondent

Nawanshahr, September 25
To educate farmers about cultivation of Stevia (sweet plant) for better profit and provide a sugar alternative, a seminar, ‘Contract farming of stevia', was organised at Green Valley Farm here. Chaudhary Nand Lal, chief parliamentary secretary, inaugurated the event and also laid the foundation stone of herbal garden. Progressive farmers from different parts of Punjab and Himachal Pardesh attended the seminar.

Chairman of Green Valley Farm Rajpaul Singh Gandhi, in his welcome address, exhorted the farmers to dedicate themselves for 'sweet revolution in agriculture' by adopting cultivation of stevia plant which has natural sweetness. It’s powder is 300 times sweeter than sugar but does not contain any calories or carbohydrates, hence, can prove a boon for the diabetic patients and health enthusiasts.

Nodal officer of state medical plant board Dr Manju Dubey and Dr YC Markan, secretary, Ayurved Guidance, in their lectures gave detailed information about stevia and herbal plantation, its benefits and facilities provided by government for the cultivation. Dr NC Jain, GM, PNB and Dr P Renganathan, GM, NABARD, detailed the loan facilities and subsidies for plant’s cultivation. Sukhdev Singh Bhaur, general secretary, SGPC, suggested that the government should set up special zones for promoting cultivation of different crops on international pattern. 

Bank duped of Rs 20 lakh
Our Correspondent

Hoshiarpur, September 25
On the complaint of Bakshi Ram, branch manager of Union Bank of India, Purhiran, Model Town police has registered a case under sections 420, 406, 4667, 468 and 471 of the IPC against Pritam Singh and his son Gurnam Singh, both of Ajowal and Lachhman Dass of Tillewali for duping the bank of Rs 20 lakh. According to police sources, the trio allegedly took a loan of Rs 20 lakh by presenting fake documents.

Water Woes
Residents take to streets
Our Correspondent

Phagwara, September 25
Irate residents of Chahal Nagar, Green Park and Hoshiarpur Road today blocked the national highway near Sugar Mill Chowk for more than half an hour in protest against scarcity of water in their localities.

For the past two days water supply and sewerage disposal have been paralysed in the several parts of the town due to wreckage and earth collapse caused by the heavy rain on September 22.

Phagwara nagar council executive officer Paramjit Singh along with other officials rushed to the spot and assured the protesters of restoration of normal water supply by the evening.

He told The Tribune that three water tankers had been sent to the affected localities. Meanwhile, sewerage board SDO A.K. Verma said the department had already started laying alternative pipes in place of underground sewer pipes near Hoshiarpur Road Chowk.

He said, “It was suddenly found that 25 metre sewer and water pipes were bent due to earth collapse and we were forced to plug the water pipes to prevent any untoward incident.”

Sucking machines have also been deployed to dispose off stagnant water in 17-foot deep area. The situation would be normal by the evening, the SDO added.

15-yr freeze on sale of allotted sites 
Rajmeet Singh
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 25
Now on, there will be a 15-year lock-in period on the sale of property allotted to an institution or society at subsidised rates. The allottee will not be able to dispose off the property before the stipulated period.

The rule forms part of the Chandigarh Estate Rules, 2007, which will be notified by the Chandigarh Administration any time now.

After seeking legal opinion, the final draft rules have been sent for approval to UT Administrator Gen S.F. Rodrigues (retd)

Adviser to the Administrator Lalit Sharma said most changes would be on the lines indicated in draft rules earlier.

The proposed rules will get tough on those indulging in misuse of premises and violating building bylaws.The adviser said those indulging in misuse of premises, residential and commercial, would have to pay a heavy monthly penalty which have to be shared by the owner as well as the occupant. The penalty is proposed to much more than the existing one.

Earlier, the penalty was imposed on the owner alone and the occupant would go scot-free.

Now, all allotment of commercial and residential properties will be by way of auction. A senior official said the amendments were being done to make the process of transfer of property more transparent and to reduce litigation.

At present, 30 per cent of the total cases pending with the Estate Office pertain to litigation.

Another significant amendment is that the lease period for the properties has been reduced from 99 years to 33 years. For the auctioned property, interested bidders will have to deposit an earnest money of Rs 2 lakh in order to be eligible for participating in the auction.

The highest bidder will have to deposit 25 per cent of the total bid at the fall of the hammer. The remaining 75 per cent will have to be paid within 90 days.

The letter of allotment will be only issued after the bidder pays full and final consideration to the administration.

IT sleuths raid exporter’s shop

Phagwara, September 25
Income tax officials raided different complexes of Frontier Bazaar, a prominent exporter and cloth merchant, here early this morning.

The team, comprising 25 income tax officials arrived, at the closed shop of the exporter in four vehicles. The shopowner was brought from his house and was asked to open his commercial establishments for a thorough search. Till the filing of this report, the IT raid was still on. — OC