Chandigarh, August 22
The Congress feels that the Rajiv-Longowal Accord signed between former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and former President of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Sant Harchand Singh Longowal has become irrelevant today and at best can be described as “dead”. But certain issues, however, pertaining to territorial rights of Punjab like transfer of Chandigarh and Punjabi-speaking areas besides protection of the state’s riparian rights are not only relevant, but need to be redressed on priority.

Blaming the SAD leadership in general and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in particular, the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal today said, “The SAD leaders not only sabotaged the Accord, but are also responsible for the death of Longowal. The SAD leaders had rejected the accord three and a half hours after it was signed, even before Longowal had returned back”.

Recalling the events leading to the signing of the accord, Bhattal said, “I was in Delhi and had just briefed Rajiv Gandhi about the Punjab problem and the demands of the SAD -- the Prime Minister had told me that he was willing to give whatever the SAD leaders asked for to end violence in the state. I met late Balwant Singh and other SAD leaders in the central hall and told them that the Prime Minister was in a very magnanimous mood, so they should ask for all they desired for Punjab. But these leaders never supported Longowal and in fact rejected the Accord just as it was signed for petty personal gains.”

Lashing out at Chief Minister Badal, the CLP leader said that Akalis claim that they have been struggling to protect the interest of Punjab, but when the Sarkaria Commission, set up to look into the Anandapur Sahib Resolution seeking greater autonomy for Punjab, summoned the Akalis they never appeared before it. “Badal has never wanted to solve the political issues of Punjab; he has always wanted to keep issues burning so that he could draw political mileage out of it”.

Reacting to Badal’s allegations that the Centre never wanted to implement the accord and just played truant with the feelings of Punjab, Bhattal said it was the Akalis who sabotaged the Accord. “Badal has property interests in Haryana, he and other Akalis did not want Punjabi-speaking areas to be transferred to Punjab, nor did they want Chandigarh.”

Bhattal said the Congress government under the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi was very keen to create conditions that could lead to the return of peace to Punjab. But it was the Akali Dal that wanted to play politics and “conspired” to murder the Accord and also became a cause for Longowal’s death. None from among Longowal, Rajiv Gandhi or Tohra are alive today, so Badal thinks that he can get away with blatant lies.

Bhattal said if the Akalis were serious about the welfare of Punjab, they should have supported the accord, but they did not support Longowal or his commitment. Today Badal says the Centre did not transfer Chandigarh or Punjabi-speaking areas to Punjab on January 26, 1986, but he does not reveal that he and his party had rejected the Accord the same day it was signed and had gone back on the agreement between Longowal and the Prime Minister. Who is Badal trying to mislead? Bhattal questioned.

Ludhiana, August 22
A septuagenarian woman, her physically challenged son and a daughter were allegedly killed in cold blood at the Durgapuri area, near Haibowal, here today. The victims have been identified as Shakuntla Devi (70), Rajesh Kumar (40) and Nisha (32). Shakuntla Devi’s husband is reportedly missing.

While the attackers slit the neck of Shakuntla Devi, Rajesh and Nisha were stabbed in the chest.

The bodies of Shakuntla Devi and her son were found from the house in the morning and Nisha’s body was found in a sack at fields in Jassowal village, 20 km from here, in the evening.

Earlier, the police had assumed that only the mother and son were killed, but later they found Shakuntla’s husband Roshan Lal and their daughter Nisha missing. Their cellphones were found from the house.

At 9:30 am, residents of the area heard Rajesh screaming. They tried to open the gate, but it was bolted. They informed the matter to the Jagatpuri police. They then scaled the wall and opened the gate in the presence of the police. When the police entered the room, they spotted the bodies of both victims.

The scene of the crime indicated that the woman was killed in sleep while Rajesh seemed to have posed some resistance to the attackers.

The police is working on various theories. However, it has not ruled out personal enmity behind the incident, as the accused did not steal anything from the house.

The police is also scanning cellphones of the victims and their relatives to find a clue to the murder. It also recovered a knife from the scene of the crime.

The police is suspecting that the murder could be an outcome of a family dispute.

A case has been registered in this regard.

116 youths stranded in Libya return home
Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 22
As many as 116 Indian youths, who were allegedly detained in Libya for about two years, have finally managed to come back home due to exhaustive efforts made by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Of these 64 hail from Punjab. The ministry, which has been fighting their case for over two months, was also made to pay $500 for each youth as “exit fee”.

Interestingly, the heavy exit fee has been slapped by the Libyan Government on workers who leave the country before the expiry of their respective contracts.

“We have been following up their case for over two months. We are also tightening the noose around illegal travel agents, who exploit unemployed youth in the name of fetching lucrative jobs for them abroad,” said Preneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs, over phone.

The ministry, Preneet Kaur informed, was also in the process of extending help to the youths struck up in other countries like Spain where they were taken by illegal agents. “The youth in Libya were a terrified lot and some of them had been giving me missed calls as they had no money to pay for ISD calls. I had to call them back,” the minister said.

They were forced to live in sub-human conditions and were not given salaries promised by their contractors. Passports of most of these labourers were usurped by the contractors to prevent them from going back to India, sources added.

Most of the youths from Punjab had gone through New Delhi-based travel agents and each of them had paid about Rs 1.5 lakh per head to go to Libya. Apart from them, about 150 persons from Nepal and Bangladesh were working as “bonded” labourers in Libya, which holds poor record in respect of rights of foreign workers, sources stated. 

Chandigarh/Patiala, August 22
Despite orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) has not handed over key records pertaining to the recruitment of medical officers in 2009 to the Punjab Government. The recruitment of 312 doctors is under the scrutiny by the state Vigilance Bureau, which has demanded records for investigation.

However, the PPSC has not given application forms of selected candidates as well as unselected candidates to the government so far. It has also failed to hand over minutes of the commission’s meetings, where important decisions regarding these selections were taken.

While PPSC Chairman Sanjit Sinha claims that “whatever facts were to be provided have been given to the Chief Secretary and the Health Secretary”, Chief Secretary SC Agrawal said he had not received any records from the PPSC.

“Following the HC orders, I had written to the PPSC asking it to comply with the orders and hand over the records. But no records have been sent to my office,” said Agarwal.

Sources in the Health Secretary’s Office said they asked the PPSC twice to give the information sought by the VB. “We received some information from the PPSC, which was handed over to the VB. But the VB found that information useless and reiterated its list of the required records. That list was sent to the PPSC but no reply has been received from them till now,” said an official in the Health Department.

Sources in the VB said they had asked for the application forms and all other documents submitted by the candidates found eligible by the commission and interviewed by it. “We have not been given this data till now. Other than this, we had asked for minutes of the meetings in which the PPSC decided to change the selection criteria from that suggested by the Health Department to the one they followed. But we have received none of these documents which were crucial to the selections,” said a VB official.

The PPSC Chairman, however, said, “Whatever facts were to be provided, we gave it to the Chief Secretary and the same were also provided to the Secretary (Health) also. It seems that they have not read properly the records that were provided to them.”

He said the facts as available to the PPSC were given not only to the Chief Secretary but also to the Health Secretary. “And the records that were provided were “absolute” and were also uploaded on the website of the PPSC to make it transparent”, he added.

On May 18, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had asked the PPSC and Sinha to hand over the records required by the government for the inquiry. Taking up the PIL filed by former Punjab DGP KPS Gill, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Jasbir Singh had directed the PPSC to give all records to the Chief Secretary and the Health Secretary.

Jalandhar, August 22
The Congress has decided to corner the SAD-BJP government on the issue of the alleged improper implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Punjab.

Talking to TNS on phone, Anandpur Sahib MP Ravneet Bittu said he would raise the issue in the zero hour either on August 26 or 27 during the ongoing session of the Lok Sabha. Also president of the Punjab Youth Congress (PYC), Bittu demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged failure of the government and officers concerned to implement MGNREGA properly.

Bittu said he would also participate on Tuesday in the relay fast, which has been started by the Jalandhar District Youth Congress (DYC) Rural outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office since August 16. DYC (R) president Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary said he and three other Youth Congress workers would join Bittu in the relay fast on Raksha Bandhan.

National Facilitator (Training) of Jawahar Lal Nehru Leadership Institute Gurmeet Monty Sehgal said Bittu’s decision of joining the ongoing relay fast would strengthen the Youth Congress agitation against the government on the issue of improper implementation of one of the prestigious policies of the Centre.

Meanwhile, the ongoing relay fast has entered seventh day. Five DYC (R) activists sat on fast on Sunday. Earlier Congress MLAs Amarjit Singh Samra and Sukhpal Singh Khaira announced to raise the issue in the ensuing Assembly session scheduled to start on September 24.

Ludhiana, August 22
A five-member delegation of the SGPC, led by its chief Avtar Singh Makkar, will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tomorrow on the issue of threat to lives of Sikhs in Kashmir.

This was stated by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who was here today to participate in the 10th death anniversary function of Makkar’s wife. He said former Union minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa would also accompany the delegation.

The CM said he had already taken up the issue with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah twice impressing upon him to ensure the security of Sikhs there. This was a sensitive matter and and might have a backlash in Punjab, he apprehended.

“It is a grim situation in Kashmir. I have instructed party MPs to raise the issue in both Houses of Parliament tomorrow. The entire country should know what is happening,” he remarked.

The CM said he had also written a letter to the Prime Minister asking him to ensure safety to the lives and properties of Sikhs in J&K. “The PM should personally look into the matter,” he said. On the Rajiv -Longowal Accord, Badal called it a mere eyewash and an act of treachery with the people of Punjab.

Commenting on the release of Govind Sagar waters into the Sutlej, Badal said there was no need to panic as the government was fully conscious of its implications and was keeping a close watch on the situation . He said the Drainage Department was prepared to meet any eventuality if happened.

Jalandhar, August 22
In what may be termed as negligence and deficiency in service, the State Bank of India (SBI) dishonoured two cheques of one of its customers despite adequate funds in his account.

Sunil Kalra of Charanjitpura locality issued two cheques for Rs 6,100 and Rs 10,540 on June 14 and August 9 respectively from his savings account number 30436535472 at the Imam Nasir branch of the SBI in favour of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) for depositing his domestic electricity bills.

Surprisingly, the SBI dishonoured both his cheques despite adequate funds of Rs 1,94,848 in his account.

Showing both the dishonoured cheques, Kalra told The Tribune that he had not only to bear a loss of Rs 2,300 for the “deficiency in service” by the leading bank of the country but it also affected his reputation adversely.

Kalra said he had to pay Rs 1,600 more as 10 per cent surcharge to the PSPCL for depositing the bill amount after the last date. The PSPCL charges Rs 500 for dishonoured cheques. Interestingly, the SBI also imposed a penalty of Rs 200 for the cheques dishonoured, allegedly due to its fault.

The SBI Branch Manager, Tarsem Lal, admitted that Sunil Kalra’s two cheques had been dishonoured despite adequate funds in his account either due to some technical snag in the computer or some clerical error.

Tarsem Lal said he had assured Kalra to compensate him in one way or the other in future.

Chandigarh, August 22
While Punjab’s former Finance Secretary Dilsher Singh Kalha is back from the Planning Commission, none of Punjab officers could make it to the key Secretary-level positions in the recent mid-year appointments in the Union Government.

Punjab Chief Secretary Subodh Aggarwal was in the panel of 1975 batch of IAS officers short-listed for appointment as Secretary to Government of India. He was in the run for the post of Secretary, Road Transport and Highways.

But it has gone to Raminder Singh Gujral, a 1976 batch officer of Haryana, who has come in place of Brahm Dutt, a 1973 batch Karnataka-cadre officer, who retired on July 31. Gujral had earlier worked in the Ministry of Commerce and was Director-General, Foreign Trade.

Sources in the Punjab government maintain that the name of Aggarwal is no more on the list of Secretary-level officers available for posting in the Union Government.”

Bathinda, August 22
Union Minister for Water Resources Pawan Bansal said here today interlinking of rivers was necessary as it would not only prevent floods but would also provide succour to the dry basins in many parts of the country.

Bansal said though river water was a state subject, respective state governments should not hesitate sharing their waters with those facing drought. Transfer of surplus water to the deficit areas would solve the problem of floods.

He regretted that many states were against water sharing but said there was a ray of hope with three states agreeing to sign a memorandum of understanding on water sharing.

The minister also urged the state to revive its traditional cropping pattern to escape further depletion of underground water that has already touched an alarmingly low level.

Bansal said paddy cultivation does not suit Punjab as the farmers were utilising huge quantity of ground water for its irrigation. Cultivation of paddy should be left for the traditional areas of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and Punjab should revert to the old pattern that did not require excess quantity of water for irrigation.

Bansal said studies had revealed that Punjab and certain other northern states were utilising 153 per cent more groundwater than what was being recharged. Immediate need was to take judicious measures in this direction. However, Punjab has said no to the draft Bill that was circulated to the state governments by the Groundwater Regulatory Authority.

He said the urgent need was that the state governments should take policy initiatives to prevent misuse of water resources. Rooftop rainwater harvesting should also be made mandatory. The states should not hesitate utilising expertise of the Central government agencies in preserving groundwater.

Referring to the Indus Water Treaty that has come in the way of execution of many hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir, Bansal said India and Pakistan had ample scope for management of the resources for their benefit. An arbitrator has been announced for the dispute between the two countries on the construction of Kishenganga hydroelectric project in Kashmir valley and three umpires for the purpose would be nominated soon, he added. 

Patiala, August 22
Perturbed with the non-disbursal of salaries for the last 28 months, employees working in the defunct Rakhra Sugar Mill have urged Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to accommodate them under the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS). While stating that they are running from pillar to post to get their salaries released, majority of the employees said that in wake of the government’s casual attitude towards their problem, they felt it would be better to opt for VRS.

Families of as many as 450 employees are struggling for survival. Though the employees have made several requests to the Punjab government for releasing their salaries but to no avail. “Even the Punjab State Human Rights Commission had also taken cognizance of the matter and had sought a report from the Punjab Government but nothing concrete was done by the government”, said general secretary of Sugar Mill Workers Union (Regd), Rakhra (Patiala) Gurmeet Singh Assemajra.

Gurmeet said that during Badal’s visit to Patiala on August 20, a delegation of their association had met him. “We have now urged Punjab CM to accommodate the employees of the Rakhra Sugar Mill under VRS. But Badal has not given us any assurance in this regard”, he told The Tribune. He further said that the employees were facing extremely tough time on account of the non-disbursal of salary.

Meanwhile, the union president Surjit Singh Mann said, “Whenever we take up the matter with the government functionaries, they assure us of early release of salaries or make commitment to adjust the employees of the defunct sugar mills in other government departments. But till date nothing concrete has been done by the state government.”

Notably, a few months back, Punjab Cabinet had given its nod for giving the defunct sugar mills of Punjab on long term lease to private sector. Sources in the State Cooperative Department stated that they failed to get response from private sector for taking over the mill.

Bassi Pathana, August 22
Lack of sub-treasury office in Bassi Pathana has upset its residents who complain of false promises by the district administration over setting up of the office in this sub-division.

Senior officials of the administration, including former deputy commissioners, had assured the residents of setting up sub-treasury office but nothing has been done in this regard.

“It’s a harrowing experience for all pensioners, government employees, tax depositors and buyers of stamp papers to travel all the way to Sirhind and stand for hours in serpentine queues to complete treasury-related pending jobs”, said Ravinder, a resident of Bassi Pathana.

In view of this problem, the district administration had decided to set up a sub-treasury office in Bassi Pathana a few years ago. A place was allotted with computers, furniture and other necessities arranged for proper functioning of the office. However, nothing was done later and the office is still a dream for the area residents.

NGOs and Municipal Councilors had submitted a memorandum to the Punjab Fnance Minister Manpreet Badal in this regard sometime ago.

“We have tried to draw the minister’s attention towards common man’s problem who feel harassed after covering a distance of more than four kilometers from Bassi Pathana and its adjoining villages to Sirhind for treasury-related jobs”, said Manoj Banda general secretary of Hindu Organisation, a non-governmental organisation.

He said that despite assurance to the residents of setting up sub-treasury office it was still unfulfilled on the pretext of staff shortage.

The officials had, initially agreed to start the office with an assistant, a clerk and a peon. But this arrangement is still in limbo after a long time, he said.

Banda alleged that residents shell out extra money for ease in purchase and submission of forms and to complete other formalities related to the sale and purchase of property.

He pointed out that during the reign of the princely state of Patiala, the treasury was in Bassi Pathana, which was subsequently shifted to Sirhind much to the dismay of the residents.

Bassi Pathana SDM (Sub Dvisional Magistrate) Ravinder Kumar when contacted admitted the prevalence of the problem saying staff shortage had prolonged the setting up.

Patiala, August 22
With a view to restoring the lost glory of the district’s historic Rajindra Lake on the Mall Road, the district administration has chalked out a beautification project to develop the lake as a tourist spot.

The state government has already sanctioned Rs 22 lakh for the project, which is likely to be completed by Diwali.

The lake had become a popular tourist spot of the city during the tenure of the previous Congress regime. A boat club was also set up and the contract of maintaining the lake was given to a private company by the municipal corporation. However, at the fag-end of Amarinder Singh-led Congress government, the contractor withdrew from the agreement and since then the lake has been in a shambles.

But now, the lake, which was a favourite excursion spot for the erstwhile maharajas, had been put on the path of revival. In a fresh initiative, Deputy Commissioner Dipinder Singh has announced to develop the lake as a site of tourist attraction. Giving details of the project, Dipinder said the project details had been chalked out with the municipal authorities.

“A boundary wall will be constructed and lights installed alongside the lake. Fountains will be installed and the work to level the lake bed will also be undertaken by the municipal corporation,” he said.

He said Rs 10 lakh would be spent on installing fancy lights at the lake, whereas another Rs 10 lakh would be used for constructing its boundary wall.

“Rs 1 lakh will be spent on installing two fountains with different colour lights in the middle of the lake,” he said, adding that once the bed of lake was levelled, water would be released into it from the Bhakra canal. He said the lake would be opened for visitors most likely before Diwali.

Meanwhile, officials of the municipal corporation said earlier migratory birds from Siberia used to come to the lake, but its partial drying up over the past few years had lead to a considerable decline in the number of migratory birds.

“On Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s directions, the work to beautify the lake has been started on a war footing,” municipal commissioner MS Narang and mayor Ajit Pal Singh Kohli added.

Chandigarh, August 22
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has for the first time drawn a distinction between “breach of law” and “anti-social” activity for coming to the rescue of a traveller found carrying foreign currency clandestinely.

Holding that the act of traveller Mohammad Akbar, alias Muna, amounted to “a breach of law” but not an anti-social activity, Justice Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia reduced his sentence from three years to the period already undergone.

In his complaint, the Amritsar Assistant Commissioner of Customs had earlier alleged that Pakistani and US currency was seized from Muna on January 30, 1995. His luggage was searched after he reached Attari railway station on Delhi-Attari special train for onward journey to Pakistan by Samjhauta Express.

The trial court, vide its impugned judgment dated November 14, 2000, held the petitioner guilty and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three years and to pay a fine of Rs 2,000. The seized foreign currency was ordered to be confiscated to the state. His appeal against the orders was, subsequently, dismissed by the Amritsar Additional Sessions Judge on June 1, 2002. Taking up the revision against the order, Justice Ahluwalia asserted that: “I have perused the statement made by the accused petitioner to customs officials, wherein it has been stated that for carrying the foreign currency, the petitioner was to be paid Rs 2, 000 by one Sajid.”

“The petitioner was not a habitual smuggler. It cannot be ruled out that in 1995 when the liberalisation had not taken place and rigour of the law regarding use of foreign currency was stringent, the petitioner, for the purposes of shopping or gaining some advantage, may have been allured to carry the foreign currency,” he added.

“In these circumstances, the act of the petitioner may be considered as a breach of law but not an anti-social activity. Considering the whole gamut of the case and the case law cited, this court is of the opinion that no useful purpose will be served by sending the petitioner behind the bars at this stage after 15 years. Hence, the sentence awarded to the petitioner is reduced to the period already undergone. However, the sentence of fine is enhanced to Rs 25, 000,” Justice Ahluwalia maintained.

New Delhi, August 22
The Supreme Court has advised about 400 victims of terrorism in Punjab in the 1980s and 1990s to give up the PIL route for seeking a rehabilitation package from the Centre and instead come through a proper writ petition.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia said there was no public interest in their PIL as they were the only victims for whom relief was being sought.

The affected people said they were residing in Delhi’s Peera Gharhi, Mangolpuri and Trilokpuri areas after being forced to leave their state in the wake of terrorism. They said they had made several representations to the Central Government seeking rehabilitation on the lines of the package offered to the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had also written to the Union Home Minister and others at the Centre but to no avail, they argued through their counsel Debasis Misra. The Bench, which included KS Radhakrishnan, dismissed the PIL, giving the petitioners the liberty to file a proper petition. “If you want a direction from this court, file a proper petition,” it advised them.

Barnala, August 22
In yet another alleged dowry death, a mother of two was allegedly beaten and then strangled by her husband and mother- in-law in Dhaula village, near Tappa, Barnala, this morning. Timely ‘intervention’ by the parents of the victim prevented her husband and in-laws from performing her last rites to hush up the matter.

Shamsher Singh, uncle of the victim, Birpal Kour (25), said her niece, was first beaten and then strangled before there was a bid to bury her by her husband, Gurminder Singh of Dhaula, this morning and her mother-in- law. He alleged that after the marriage of his niece to Gurminder Singh six years ago, her husband and mother-in-law used to torture her for dowry.

He alleged that the husband of the victim used to beat her up and demand his share in the land owned by her parents as also money. “This morning the husband and the mother- in-law of my niece first beat her up for dowry, then strangled her and later poisoned her. They tried to bury her in a pit but failed to do so,” alleged Shamsher Singh. “They later called my brother and sister-in-law to inform them that their daughter was not well. When we reached here, they were trying to perform her last rites but we didn’t allow them to do that. We informed the Tappa police authorities.

The SHO, Tappa, said they were ascertaining the facts before registering a case.