Chandigarh, November 17
The functioning of the Punjab government has virtually come to a standstill with all ministers, except one, and most bureaucrats finding a legitimate excuse to stay away from office. With Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal having left on a three-day foreign tour, none of his Cabinet colleagues attended the office today.

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, too, is in Amritsar to receive Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who is visiting the Golden Temple along with two senior ministers and several MPs tomorrow. Most ministers from the border belt of Punjab, too, are camping in Amritsar to receive the Canadian delegation.

Bureaucracy in the state, too, has found an opportunity to stay away from their offices in the absence of the top bosses. Punjab Chief Secretary SC Aggarwal was in the secretariat in the morning and he held a meeting with the Secretary Coordination, but he, too, left for Amritsar in the afternoon. Many other officials, too, are camping in Amritsar --- some finding no place to stay, the Circuit House having been cordoned off for security reasons.

The absenteeism in most government offices is likely to continue till the end of the month due to various reasons. Going by the past practice, till the Chief Minister returns, not many bureaucrats and ministers are expected to be seen in the secretariat. Again, after the Deputy Chief Minister and other ministers are free from the Canadian Prime Minister’s visit tomorrow, most of them will get busy in the “marriage ceremonies and celebrations” in the two political families.

Information and Public Relations Minister Sewa Singh Sekwan’s daughter is getting married this Thursday. After this, former Information and Public Relations Minister and Sukhbir’s brother-in-law Bikram Majithia is getting married on November 21. The ceremonies and celebrations for these two marriages are expected to continue up to November 25.

Because of these events, no major decision is expected to be taken during November. The only political and legislative activity is expected to start with the Vidhan Sabha Session starting from December 7.

Chief Minister Badal will be visiting Cairo (Egypt), Tel Aviv (Israel) and Dubai during his three-nation tour. Besides his wife Surinder Kaur, he is being accompanied by a team of nine officials that includes senior police officials in charge of his security.

Besides others, the Punjab ministers expeted to be in Amritsar tomorrow are Local Bodies Minister Manoranjan Kalia, Minister for Animal Husbandry Gulzar Singh Ranike, Minister for Rural Development Ranjit Singh Brahmpura and Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Adesh Partap Singh Kairon.

Chandigarh, November 17
State Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) Ramesh Inder Singh has held that the police will have to maintain the daily diary report (DDR) as part of investigations to any information seeker.

Taking up an appeal filed by a resident of Sangrur, the CIC ordered yesterday that the contents of the daily diary maintained by an investigator should be made available under the RTI Act.

The applicant, Jagvinder Kaur, whose husband is lodged at the Bathinda jail, had asked for copies of the DDR from the Bathinda police, but was denied the information under Section 172 and 172 (3) of the CrPC, which bar giving out any information contained in the DDR. Jagvinder appealed to the Information Commission against the order of the Public Information Officer.

In his order, the CIC stated that the relevant sections of the CrPC did not provide any blacking out of the contents of the case diary. “From the description of a case diary in Section 172 (1) of the CrPC, it is clear that a case diary is nothing but a record of the sequence of investigation steps reduced in writing. A case diary is certainly a paper or a document or a logbook within the meaning of Section 2(f) of the RTIO Act. It is also memo that is colloquial for memorandum. Therefore a case diary certainly falls well within the definition of the word information as denied under the RTI Act.”

Relying on the provisions of Section 22 of the RTI Act which state that the Act shall have notwithstanding anything inconsistent with any other law for the time being in force, the CIC has held that it will have an overriding effect on any other law inconsistent with the RTI Act.

The CIC added that a mere presumption that giving out the contents of the DDR would hamper the process of prosecution without giving any sound reasons would “shadow the right (to information) itself.”

Ordering the Public Information Officer in the office of the SSP, Sangrur, to provide information within 20 days, the CIC stated, “I have intentionally allowed the period of 20 days to the complainant as he may like to challenge the order. Undoubtedly the order may have far reaching implications not only for the right of the information seekers, but the manner in which the investigating agencies maintain records of investigations. For this reason, I further direct that copy of this order be forwarded to both the Principal Secretary, Home Punjab, and the DGP to bring this order to their pointed notice.”

Chandigarh, November 17
Punjab government has enhanced the eligibility quota of rice mills by 500 metric tonne (MT) of paddy per mill.

Disclosing this here today, Punjab Food and Civil Supplies Department director D.S. Grewal said that under the amended provisions of the policy, a rice mill with an installed capacity of one MT per hour would now be allotted 3000 MT of free paddy instead of earlier quota of 2500 MT. Likewise, the rice mills with an installed capacity of two MT per hour would now be eligible to lift 4500 MT of free paddy against the earlier allotted quota of 4000 MT.

The amended procurement policy would be applicable to the districts of Bathinda, Mansa, Sangrur, Barnala, Moga, Faridkot and Muktsar, he said. Grewal further said that this move was aimed at resolving the problem of lifting of paddy in the mandis created by heavy arrival due to bumper crop this season besides taking care of short fall of milling capacity caused by 271 rice mills declared defaulter by the FCI.

Lifting of paddy by the local mills would also now result in saving exorbitant cost incurred on account of transporting paddy from one district to another, he said.

It may be recalled that the Punjab is all set to cross the procurement mark of 140 lakh MT of paddy during the current kharif marketing season as the government agencies and private millers had already procured 137.38 lakh MT of paddy so far. — PTI

Amritsar, November 17
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is not likely to have langar at the Golden Temple despite his visit to the langar hall there tomorrow.

Confusion has also gripped an advance party of the Canadian PM’s security on the issue whether mediapersons would be allowed to interact with the PM or not.

Stephen is not the first foreign dignitary to skip partaking of langar during their visit to the Golden Temple. SGPC sources said Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles had also not partaken of langar even as the new building of the langar hall was inaugurated by Prince Charles.

A Canadian media team accompanying the PM, it was learnt, was advising the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other Canadian officials on various issues, including whether the media should be allowed to interact with the PM or not in the temple complex.

Earlier, it was decided that the Indian media would not be allowed to interact with the Canadian PM on security grounds. However, a section of the Canadian team, sources in the SGPC said, was of the view that if the Indian media was to be allowed to talk to the PM, mediapersons and the PM should be positioned at such a vantage point in the Parkarma from where the sanctum sanctorum could be taken in the background in photoshoots.

Meanwhile, seeking apology from the Canadian government in respect to the Komagata Maru Tragedy, Sahib Thind, President, Prof Mohan Singh Memorial Foundation of Canada, Surrey (BC), said on the basis of principles of human rights, the tragedy was a sensitive issue for the Indo-Canadian community. The foundation had been working since 2002 to seek apology. After 94 years, the British Columbia legislature unanimously passed a motion on May 23, 2008, apologising for the tragedy, but the Federal Canadian government was yet to do anything on this issue, said Thind.

“In August 2008, the Canadian PM had made a statement during the annual Gadri Babbiyan Da Mela organised by our foundation. However, the Indo-Canadian community had immediately rejected the statement seeking a respectful apology in Canadian Parliament. The Conservative government refuses to apologise in the House of Commons for the tragedy. Harper can make amends by tendering the apology,” Thind added.

Toronto, November 17
Agriculture in Punjab will get a boost with a Canadian company introducing its GPS guidance system in Punjabi.

The system will offer guidance in farming applications, including spraying, spreading, broad-acre tillage and seeding methods, the Calgary-based Hemisphere GPS company said Monday. "The Punjabi Outback S-Lite recognises the Gurmukhi script and is targeted at Punjab, which is known for its larger farms compared to the rest of India," the Canadian company said.

Punjab has 46 million acres in cultivated land and India's largest tractor-farming population. The state, which ushered in the Green Revolution in India, produces about 1 per cent of the world's rice and 2 per cent of the world's wheat and cotton. It also has the highest per hectare fertilizer consumption in the country, accounting for more than 9 per cent of the total consumption in the country.

"The Outback S-Lite (in Punjabi) has both the features and the price point to compete in India's growing marketplace," said Mohamed Abousalem, vice-president, marketing, of the company. "We acknowledge the tremendous opportunity that exists in India with the largest arable land after the US.” — IANS

Jalandhar, November 17
The Akal Takht Jathedar should summon the Badal and Majithia families for planning a lavish wedding for former minister Bikram Singh Majithia in violation of the Sikh creed and tenets.

Charging Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, his family and the Majithias with indulging in opulence, SAD 1920 chief Ravi Inder Singh today said that in doing so both the families had sent a wrong signal to the masses that being wealthy alone was the mark of one’s standing in society.

I appeal to Akal Takht Jathedar Gurbachan Singh to take a serious view of the transgression and summon the families to explain their conduct at the earliest, he stressed.

The issue is serious since the Akalis claim to be the custodians of the Sikh nation and also enjoy a majority in the SGPC that has been governing the religious affairs of the community since the thirties, he added.

This conduct, where thousands of people took part in the festivities at Amritsar, was contrary to the established Sikh tenets that exhort simple living and high thinking, he pointed out.

It also shows the “insensitivity” of the two leading families of the state towards the suffering and misery of the masses that were groaning under price rise and other ills plaguing the state, he alleged.

The former Speaker also alleged that hectic preparations were underway to create an elaborate venue for the reception of the Majithia couple at Seonk village near Chandigarh on November 25. Roads and allied infrastructure are coming up at unlimited government expense at a site adjacent to the village, he alleged.

Lashing out at the Akalis for demanding an N-plant in the state, he said the latter had vehemently opposed the civil nuclear deal with the US and had even voted against the motion in Parliament. In case such a plant is sanctioned for Punjab, it should be set up in Badal village, he quipped.

On the 1984 pogrom, he said the Akalis were shedding crocodile tears since they had done not a thing for the victims in the past 25 years and even when they were part of the NDA regime, he pointed out.

Bathinda, November 17
Taking suo motu cognizance of the report on presence of high level of nitrate in ground water, the Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) today sought a reply from the Punjab Government on steps being taken to tackle the serious health problems it was causing.

Commission chairperson Justice R.S. Mongia and members Avinash Rai Khanna, K.K. Bhatnagar and Justice Baldev Singh observed that the matter calls for a report from the state government through the secretary, Punjab State Pollution Control Board, Patiala. Taking immediate notice of the report published in The Tribune on November 16, the commission ordered the government to submit its report by January 4, 2010.

A study by Bangalore-based NGO Greenpeace in Bathinda, Muktsar and Ludhiana districts indicated high levels of nitrate in ground water. It said persons consuming such polluted water were more prone to cancer, Blue Baby Syndrome and Parkinsons. Doda in Muktsar’s Gidderbaha block was worst affected - 601.6 mg nitrate was found in one litre water as against the allowed safety limit of 50 mg. Another sample from Muktsar contained 110.7 mg nitrate. Samples collected from Bathinda, Jagraon and Ludhiana also showed alarmingly high presence of nitrate. The study indicated that ground water in all three districts is highly polluted and levels exceed drinking water safety standards in 44 per cent villages. Nitrate was also found in samples of Phul, Payal, Raikot and Malout.

Ludhiana, November 17
Parminder Kaur (19) of Ludhiana has brought laurels to the city by scaling an 18,000-foot-high peak in Sikkim. Oxygen levels at such a high altitude are very low, making breathing difficult sans any alternative mode of oxygen. The peak, which is yet to be named, is a part of the Kabru Range that stands next to the Kanchanjunga.

Parminder, an NCC cadet, managed the feat during a 28-day-long advanced mountaineering course organised by the Himalaya Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling. Prior to this, she had undergone a basic course on mountaineering from Manali in June, scoring an alpha that made her eligible for the advanced course.

A student of BSc-III at SCD Government College, Ludhiana, she was part of a 61-member team that included senior Army and Air Force officers and NCC cadets among others. And she is the only girl from Punjab to have achieved the feat.

“The conditions were very hostile and difficult. Out of the total 61, six of our team members withdrew at the start itself due to physical problems. Rest 55 of us managed the climb in three days,” said Parminder said while talking to The Tribune.

“While most of the members were facing some physical problem or the other during the trek, I was quite comfortable. We stayed at an altitude of 15,000 foot for 13 days and throughout, I did not feel the need for oxygen,” added Parminder, who aspires to join the Indian Air Force after completion of her graduation.

Describing Discovery Channel as being her biggest source of inspiration, she says adventure gets her going. “I love to live on the edge,” said Parminder, who belongs to a lower middle class family.

Chandigarh, November 17
Linking the fight against drugs to tenures of senior superintendents of police (SSPs) has worked wonders in Punjab. The state has shown a consistent month-on-month increase in drug seizures and arrests in the last three months.

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had told SSPs to perform or prepare to move out. Performances are to be assessed in the first week of December.

Though the state has a special anti-narcotics cell very active in border areas, it was widely felt that the district police lacked the focus to curb narcotic activities. Recoveries had been on the rise along the border belt and in the Doaba region. While heroin originates from Afghanistan and enters the state from Pakistan, poppy husk comes in from Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh.

In August, 9.3 kg heroin was recovered from all over the state, 4 kg from Amritsar alone. In September, this figure rose to 14.3 kg with the maximum single recovery of 5 kg again being again made by the Amritsar CID. In October, heroin seizures spiralled to 23 kg with the Amritsar CID seizing 14 kg and their Jalandhar counterparts 5 kg.

The state police have also moved to seize the poor man’s ‘nasha’ - poppy husk. As much as 55 quintal poppy husk was seized in August, 64 quintal in September and 62 quintal in October. The seizure of tablets used as intoxicants has increased from four lakh in August, 9.8 lakh in September and 11.77 lakh in October. Significant seizures of injections used as intoxicants, opium and ganja have also been reported.

Anti-narcotics cell chief Rajpal Meena told TNS that “clear directions” from the top were fuelling the fight against drugs. SSPs seconded his statement. Ferozepur police chief S.P.S. Parmar said that there was no political interference in the ongoing drive. Ropar SSP L.K. Yadav said apart from drug hauls across the length and breadth if the state, scores of drug couriers had also been arrested.

IG Meena said 163 kg heroin had been seized till October 31. A whopping 405 quintal poppy husk, 526 kg opium, 898 kg bhang, 67 kg ganja and 67 kg smack had also been seized. Some 4,234 cases had been registered under the NDPS Act this year and 4,275 persons arrested.

The Punjab Police seized around 200 kg heroin in 2008 as against 92 kg in 2007 and 54 kg in 2006, clearly establishing Punjab as a transit point in international drug trade.

Chandigarh, November 17
The Punjab Home Ministry has decided to restrict district police chiefs and the commandants of reserve battalions from assigning gunmen at their own level besides creating a separate cadre for security duties in order to streamline the entire process.

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has issued instructions to all SSPs and commandants in this regard following complaints that the officers were disregarding the rules according to which only the Security wing can assign gunmen after assessing the threat perception of the person concerned.

According to sources, an earlier estimate by the Security wing had revealed that SSPs and commandants of reserve battalions had accommodated politicians and others by providing around 1,000 gunmen to them. This had been done without informing the Security wing. Most SSPs have, however, officially denied they have deputed gunmen to anyone though an earlier exercise had a few SSPs writing to request the regularisation of the security cover given by them.

The sources said the Deputy CM had told the SSPs that they would be held responsible if any case of unauthorised gunmen provided by them came to light. The situation is also likely to be reviewed in Sukhbir Badal’s next scheduled meeting with senior officers in the first week of December.

The Deputy CM, when questioned on this, said the directions had already yielded results. “I know this because people are approaching me to complain that their gunmen have been withdrawn”. He said he on his part had also directed that the present security cover given to protectees should be rationalised further by conducting periodic checks to ascertain the threat perception against them. He said to streamline the process, three battalions were being created which alone would assign gunmen for security cover duties.

Sukhbir Badal said the security cover provided to government officials, including Excise and Transport Department officers, was also being streamlined. He said in the case of the Excise Department, a separate battalion had been created to provide security to department officers while conducting official work. He said the security cover was also being trimmed where possible while citing the case of district transport officers whose security cover had been reduced to two from the earlier seven.

According to the norms laid down by the Security wing, ministers are entitled to a security cover of 20 police personnel, parliamentary secretaries to 13 and legislators to only four. Other protectees who include political and religious leaders have varying degrees of cover depending upon the threat perception.

Patiala, November 17
The Punjab government has drawn up a comprehensive five-year action plan to combat the menace of drug addiction and illicit trafficking effectively.

Announcing this here today at a press conference, Punjab Inspector-General of Police, Anti-Narcotics Task Force, Rajpal Meena, said the action plan for Bathinda district was likely to be launched very shortly.

Dedicated Anti-Narcotics Cells have been set up in Patiala, Amritsar, Bathinda, Ferozpur, Jalandhar, and Ludhiana under the direct supervision of the Deputy Inspector-Generals of Police concerned.

Meena said a tollfree helpline number (96462 60000) has been installed in the office of the Inspector-General of Police, Anti-Narcotics Task Force, for the public to provide information about drug peddlers and get details about drug de-addiction centres being run by the state government and non-governmental organisations.

Rajpal said a number of anti-drug rallies and seminars are being organised in parts of Punjab to create awareness against drug abuse among the public with the assistance of educational institutions and non-governmental organisations.

He said a large number of drug peddlers had been arrested and huge quantity of narcotics and psychotropic substances been recovered during the current year.