Bathinda, December 4
The Punjab government has initiated steps to establish nine computerised inter-state checkpoints on its boundaries with other states to check leakage of revenue. These checkpoints would be monitored online.

Sources in the Transport Department, which is the nodal agency for setting up of these checkpoints, said tenders would shortly be floated for the purpose.

Punjab shares its boundaries with the states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir where hundreds of goods-laden trucks enter every day and reports of leakage of revenue were piling.

Among the places where these checkpoints will be established are Kilianwali (the exit point of Bathinda for entry into Haryana), Gumjal in Abohar, Khanouri in Sangrur, Madhopur (bordering J&K in Pathankot), Shambhu and Lalru on the National Highway.

The checkpoints will be set up on Build-Operate-Own-Transfer (BOOT) basis and each truck would be scanned with electronic gadgets before allowing it to proceed. Closed circuit TV cameras (CCTV) would be installed for better supervision.

These 8-lane checkpoints were expected to be made functional within six months.

It is worth mentioning that the excise and taxation department of Jammu and Kashmir has already started constructing a hi-tech check post at Lakhanpur, the entry point from Pathankot, to de-congest the existing one. The checkpoint of Punjab at Madhopur would be in its neighbourhood.

The Punjab authorities have identified 6 acres of land for setting up of the checkpoint at Madhopur and 3 acres at Killianwali.

Bathinda, December 4
Though the state’s 35 per cent population belongs to scheduled castes (SCs) and keeps a close relation with the Welfare Department, Punjab, from birth to death, the department has been a victim of the state government’s indifferent attitude towards it. The department has been facing severe shortage of officers in several districts, due to which the department’s functioning has reportedly been affected adversely nowadays.

Sources in the Welfare Department told this reporter that it was a matter of concern that in a state like Punjab, which had more than one-third population belonging to the SCs, three districts of Muktsar, Moga and Nawahshahar had not been sanctioned posts of district welfare officer (DWO). Furthermore, out of 17 sanctioned posts of DWO, six were still lying vacant in the districts, the sources added. Thus, the official work in the district welfare offices in nine districts of the state was being run through dual charge given to the regular DWOs or by giving officiating-charge to the tehsil welfare officers. For example, the Bathinda DWO had an additional charge of Mansa district while the Barnala DWO had an additional charge of Moga district, the sources said.

It is learnt that there are 46 sanctioned posts of tehsil welfare officer in the state, of which 10 are still lying vacant. Interestingly, the state has 77 tehsils, thus 31 of them does not have sanctioned post of tehsil welfare officer. A tehsil welfare officer works like a “field officer” in the tehsil as he have performs various works like filling up of forms of various schemes for the SCs, investigation of the application forms etc.

An officer in the Welfare Department told this reporter that two posts of deputy director had also been lying vacant in the department for long as these posts were to be filled by way of promotion. But the meetings of the departmental promotion committee had been postponed time and again in the past for the reasons best known to the authorities concerned.

The Welfare Department caters to the needs of not only SCs but also performs duties for minority and backward class students as it makes available scholarships to the minority students, SC and BC students as per government norms. It also distributes free books to SC students from classes 1 to X.

Bathinda, December 4
The Red Cross-run de-addiction centre here received a fresh lease of life with the Central government sanctioning Rs 5.13 lakh grant and the Ambuja Cement Foundation coming forward to revive it.

The de-addiction centre in this area, which has over the years earned the distinction of having the highest number of addicts, was facing closure due to lack of funds.

Rajiv Jain, general manager of the local unit of Ambuja Cements, has announced a grant of Rs 51,000 for the centre in the shape of medicines, ration, bed sheets, blankets and an inverter. Jain assured additional grants by the end of the current financial year.

DC Rahul Tiwari, who is also the chairman of the Red Cross, has been making efforts to streamline the functioning of the centre. It is worth mentioning that the centre was starved of funds for the past few years as the ministry of social justice suspended its financial aid. Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal had taken up the matter with the Central government and had sought release of grants.

Bathinda, December 4
Additional district & sessions judge-cum-special judge HPS Mahal today awarded two years of rigorous imprisonment to a former manager of the Punjab Agriculture Development Bank (PADB), Talwandi Sabo.

According to details available, Nachatar Singh, the then branch manager of the PADB, was booked in January 2005 for accepting a bribe of Rs 4,000 from one Daljit Singh of Ralla village, whose car was attached to the bank on contract basis before clearing the log book. Before paying the amount, the taxi owner lodged a complaint with the Vigilance Bureau (VB), Bathinda. Acting upon the complaint, VB sleuths had nabbed the accused red-handed and booked him under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Confirming details, deputy district attorney Manohar Singh Brar said though the accused had retired from his services within a few weeks of getting caught he had been awarded two years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 4,000. In case he failed to pay the fine, he would have to undergo an additional imprisonment of one month. — TNS

Mamdot (Ferozepur), December 4
Ramandeep Kaur, a young girl of this area, who got married to Karamjit Singh with the intervention of the Punjab and Haryana High Court about six months ago, got a criminal case registered in connection with her rape against her husband and other kin in the local police station today.

The case was registered against Karamjit Singh, his brother Inderjit Singh, mother Chinder Kaur and father Puran Singh, residents of Kadma village of this district, on the statement made by Ramandeep Kaur in the court of judicial magistrate, Ferozepur, a few days ago that she was raped by Karamjit Singh after he married her forcibly and fraudulently.

Interestingly, Ramandeep Kaur, after solemnising marriage with Karamjit Singh in a religious place at Chandigarh, also gave her consent for registration of the marriage in a court of law located in Chandigarh. During this process, she never alleged that she had been cheated and had been married forcibly.

Police sources said that Ramandeep Kaur alleged before judicial magistrate, Ferozepur, a few days ago that she was kidnapped by Karamjit Singh and his kin on July 14 this year when she was going to her village Nawa Qila from village Kadma, where she used to go to learn stitching.

She alleged that after kidnapping her, all the accused made her unconscious and she was taken to Chandigarh. At Chandigarh, she was asked to get married to Karamjit Singh under the threat that if she refused to do the same, her father and brother would be eliminated.

She added that she agreed to the marriage and after the solemnisation of same, she was brought to Zira town of Ferozepur district, where she was kept in a room in an unknown locality and that too under watch of all the family members for three months. She was raped by Karamjit Singh during this period.

She added that one day, she managed to escape from that room and reach Ferozepur bus stand. She telephoned her father, who took her to her house. After she narrated her tale of woe, she was produced before the judicial magistrate and she recorded her statement.

Rakesh Kumar, investigating officer, when contacted, said that as in the medical examination, done on the order of court of judicial magistrate, it was found that Ramandeep Kaur had been raped. So a case in this connection had been registered under sections 376, 366 and 120-B of the IPC. No arrest had been made in this connection so far, he added. 

Ferozepur, December 4
The Punjab government would spend an amount of Rs 7.50 crores on providing basic amenities to the rural folks during this fiscal, stated Janmeja Singh Sekhon, Irrigation Minister, while addressing a congregation of village panchayats here today.

Sekhon distributed grants to the tune of Rs 3 crores to 204 village panchayats for executing various development works.

Sekhon said that the government was providing free power to the families residing below poverty line for which electric meters were being installed.

He added that concerted efforts are being made to improve the power scenario in the state for which the CM Parkash Singh Badal has even demanded a nuclear power plant to be set up in the state.

Sekhon further said that NRIs who were keen to set up their ventures in the state would be accorded all possible help to improve the industrial scenario in Punjab. On the occasion, Jaskiran Singh ADC General, GS Pannu SDM besides SAD leaders were present.

Fazilka, December 4
The members of Bar Association, Fazilka, decided to withdraw the boycott of the court of additional senior sub judge, SS Mann, today afternoon after district and sessions judge, Jaspal Singh assured them that their grievances would be removed.

The members of the Bar Association have been observing boycott of the court of Mann since December1, 2009 to lodge their protest against the contents of the report given by Mann in connection with the feasibility of setting up the court of addition district and sessions judge in this sub division.

Rajesh Kalra, president, Bar Association, while talking to TNS said that Mann had claimed in his report, submitted to district and sessions judge, that there was no space to set up court room, residences for staff and addition sessions judge available in this town despite the fact that such infrastructure was available here.

The report was sought by the Punjab and Haryana High Court for working out the feasibility of setting up the court of additional sessions judge in this town, which was a long pending demand of members of the local Bar.

Kalra pointed out that district and sessions judge, Jaspal Singh visited the court premises today and himself inspected all the infrastructure available in this town for setting up the court of addition district and sessions judge. He added that Jaspal Singh also promised that a report to the high court would be sent accordingly.

He added that after this assurance given to the members of the local Bar, the members decided to withdraw the boycott of court of Mann being observed by them for the past three days. He added that now the function of court had been running smoothly. 

Muktsar, December 4
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) was a pebble thrown into the vast ocean that Indian poverty is and was intended to create a ripple in the form of creation of jobs to rural unemployed but the fact remains that much hyped scheme has failed to have the desired effect.

Atleast in Punjab, the scheme has ended up a partial failure with the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal admitting that there should be a re-look into the scheme to ensure that benefits flow to those people for whom this scheme is actually meant. Even the BJP Member Parliament Navjot Singh Sidhu has criticised the ruling alliance in the state for the improper implementation of the scheme.

It is pertinent to mention here that NREGA, a centrally government sponsored scheme being implemented on a cost sharing basis between the centre and the states, provides for a minimum of 100 days guaranteed employment in a financial year to those households whose adult members are willing to do unskilled manual labour.

The scheme is considered to be a strong social safety net for the vulnerable groups by providing a fall-back employment source, when other employment alternatives are scarce or inadequate. However, the consensus among officials of the Rural Development department till yet is that NREGA has not tasted much success in the state.

Because it is a government scheme, not many officials were willing to speak on the failure of the mission.

A senior Muktsar based official admitted that, " The Punjab Commissioner of NREGA Dr Karun S.Raju has asked for fresh details pertaining to the scheme from all districts of Punjab. Questions are also being asked about the slow pace of the scheme and why it has not picked up in the state. The Commissioner has also asked officials to go to rural areas to see for themselves what ails the scheme. An amount of Rs 300 crore as sanctioned by the central government but just Rs 80 crores have been spent so far. This means that the scheme is not being implemented properly at various levels."

Shiv Charan Singh Brar, a noted social worker engaged in the implementation of the scheme in Muktsar said, " There is a lot of discrimination in distribution of job cards. These cards are being given to rural masses who have voted for the SAD-BJP combine. Job cards to rural people aligned with the Congress are being denied. This is a totally transparent scheme and sarpanches are not willing to take the scheme ahead because there are no chances of making money. It is high time that the government abandons the idea of fooling people with grand schemes of social welfare and poverty alleviation. Instead the people will be better off if government only concentrates on creating durable infrastructure like road, electricity, drinking water supplies. Poor people will rid themselves of poverty even by simple measures like self help groups and micro finance."

Abohar, December 4
More than 20 persons have been rounded up for interrogation as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that was constituted under the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to nab two proclaimed offenders continued to camp here for the second day.

The SIT comprises Iqbal Singh Sahota IG Border Range, RPS Brar DIG (Crime), Ramandeep Singh SP Ferozepore zone, HS Pannu SP (D) Ferozepur and Tarun Ratan Sharma DSP Abohar. ADGP (Crime) Rajan Gupta is supervising the investigation.

As per details available, the Khuyiansarwar police had earlier arrested 18 of the accused, some of them of Rajasthan origin, in connection with the murder of three brothers over a land dispute in village Usmankhera of this sub-division, after registering FIR number 99/2008 under sections 302, 338, 148, 149 IPC and 25/27/54/59 of the Arms Act. One of them Jagsir Singh was also wanted by the GRP Hanumangarh in connection with FIR number 43 dated May 13, 1983 that had been registered under sections 392, 397, 34 of the IPC and the trial was pending in a court at Jaipur that had declared him PO.

Sources said the GRP had obtained production warrant against Jagsir Singh who was locked in the sub-jail at Fazilka. Two head constables of the Punjab police identified as Dharam Pal and Har Narain Singh were deputed to produce him in the trial court at Jaipur on November 20, 2008 but they were allegedly won over by some relatives of Jagsir Singh.

The cops reportedly facilitated Jagsir Singh to visit his relatives in village Kikkarkhera, 8 km from Abohar, even when it was not on the Jaipur route. Under a well hatched conspiracy, Jagsir Singh was allegedly helped by his relatives in escaping from the police custody on November 19, 2008.

Subsequently, the Abohar sadar police registered a case under sections 223 and 224 of the IPC vide FIR number 234 dated November 19 against Jagsir Singh, his relatives including two women and PP head constables.

All except for Gursahib Singh were arrested after frequent raids. Gursahib Singh was later declared PO and he is still at large besides Jagsir Singh.

While confirming the information, DIG (Crime) RPS Brar told this correspondent late in the evening that police parties have been rushed to different areas in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan to nab the proclaimed offenders on the basis of some vital clues provided by their relatives today. Help of the police in neighboring states has also been sought. Both the accused head constables, now locked in the sub-jail at Fazilka, had been dismissed from service.

Abohar, December 4
Having been under scathing attack from the Congress and NGOs over the crumbling sanitation arrangements for a couple of months, the municipal committee has launched a special drive using JCB machine and other measures to remove months-old garbage dumps in different localities.

While supervising the drive, MC president Shivraj Goyal and executive officer Devinder Kumar Goyal informed today that the fortnight long campaign will cover 17 wards in the first phase while pending wards would be covered during the next fortnight. The councillors of the respective wards have been requested to coordinate so as to ensure success, they said. — OC