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CHECKING ‘Immigration Fraudsters’
Decongesting Traffic in Cities |
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Direct Payment to Farmers
‘Set up JPC to visit cancer-affected areas’
Beant Singh Case
Dengue Menace
Bar Council Examination
Badal’s nod to transfer 38 acres of PUDA land for ecotourism
Sukhbir favours greenhouse cultivation
Rs 10 cr for Patiala temple: DC
Veterinary doctors seek regularisation of services
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CHECKING ‘Immigration Fraudsters’
Chandigarh, September 9 Canada recognises India as a great democracy and respects legitimate actions of its security forces. “When the issue of denial of visa to officers of Indian security agencies engaged in anti-terrorist operations came to our notice, I issued a statement in late May regretting the development. We recognise that security agencies were carrying out their legitimate actions. “Inadmissibility” clause, he says, should be applied individually and not on the force or agency he or she represents. “We recognise the need to review this inadmissibility clause. Those against whom we have sufficient or solid evidence of committing human rights violence may not be given visas as “inadmissibility” clause would be still applicable against those involved in Operation Bluestar or other terrorist activities, he added. Jason Kenney revealed that when Dr Manmohan Singh visited Canada early this year, “we took up the issue of immigration fraudsters with him. He supported it, asking us to continue dialogue with Ministry of External Affairs, Overseas Indians and Home.” “I shall be meeting Indian Home Minister P Chidamabaram and Minister for Overseas Indians V Ravi,” he said maintaining that some law has to be in place for stronger enforcement against unscrupulous consultants who charge applicants with thousands of dollars and use fake documents to bolster their cases. Immigration officials in Canadian Consulate in Chandigarh are swamped with bogus documents, including fake academic credentials, fake bank and financial statements, fake invites, fake marriage and death certificates. “I also want to break the myth or the impression that 90 per cent of the visa applications made here are rejected. Grant of visitor’s visas; student’s visas and temporary resident permits have witnessed a significant increase over the 2004 levels when the office was formally opened,”
he added. Accompanied by three MPs -- Nina Grewal, Tim Uppal and Patrick Brown - Jason Kenney also suggested India and Canada signing agreements on better economic cooperation besides reducing tariffs on improving bilateral trade. He also hinted at a possible review of law for combating commercial marriages as well as working out modalities for a package for deporting people who entered Canada fraudulently. At present, the number of those being deported for illegal entry was negligible, averaging a person a day. Talking about the Canadian Experience Class, introduced last year, Jason Kenney said many of the bright young Indians would have a convenient way to become permanent residents in Canada. Last year about 3,000 such students applied for permanent residency. This year the number may go up to 5,000, he said. Last year, India was the top source country with more than 32,000 permanent resident visas issued. It is 53 per cent more than the three-year average from 1997 to 1999. He appealed to the people of Punjab to shun all travel agents or immigration consultants. He also met the Punjab Chief Minister and senior officials to seek cooperation in checking immigrations fraudsters.
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Decongesting Traffic in Cities
Chandigarh, September 9 The state government has awarded the task of conducting a traffic survey to two companies for conducting ground surveys in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Bathinda and Pathnakot, while RITES has already submitted its preliminary report with regard to traffic in Ludhiana. The mobility proposal will also take into consideration the traffic situation in other towns and cities that have a population of over two lakh. Kalia told The Tribune that short-term measures in traffic management led to a lot of wastage of money and inconvenience to the people. The consultancies engaged by the government would submit their reports within six months after which the reports would be put out for getting feedback from the people. Once all shortcomings are looked into, the government would make budgetary provisions for flyovers, pedestrian paths, parking, over and under bridges, etc. Once the report on “comprehensive mobility proposal” is available, the government would be able to decide on the kind of mass rapid transport systems that these cities would require. After finalisation of the plan, the proposal would be implemented in short, mid and long-term phases. Though Punjab’s Vision Document, prepared and released by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, contains proposals to set up flyovers, etc, this is the first initiative of the government to decongest traffic in cities. The consultants will identify various kinds of traffic corridors like pedestrian facilities, bicycle track, provision of median, service road, carriage way widening, etc and suggest an appropriate strategy and mode of transports to service them.
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Direct Payment to Farmers
Chandigarh, September 9 Confirming that the letter has been sent to the FCI, Punjab’s Food and Supplies Minister Adesh Partap Singh Kairon said, “Most commission agents have decided to boycott mandis allotted to the FCI for procurement of paddy. This could lead to accumulation and slow lifting of produce, eventually causing trouble to the government.” The FCI had recently announced that it would pay the farmers directly for their produce. The move is being opposed by the commission agents, who want that the farmers should be paid by them after they receive the money from the procurement agencies. After announcing a boycott of the FCI, various groups and unions of commission agents have entered into an agreement with the Punjab government where
by they will pay the farmers cheques. Kairon said the FCI had made a unilateral announcement, but so far it had not held any consultations with the Punjab government. The FCI is allotted about 10 per cent of the mandis where procurement takes place, but it invariably ends up buying far less than it should. The Punjab government is also worried over the fact that due to a delayed monsoon, the moisture content in the paddy may be higher than the 17 per cent permissible limit. The FCI strictly adheres to the prescribed norms and if the produce is not procured, resentment among farmers will come as a set back for the government. Punjab is already facing the prospect of shortage of storage space, so it has decided not to advance procurement and to stick to the October 1 date for the procurement process to start. Tenders have been floated for stocking 70 lakh tonnes of paddy in private godowns. Punjab is expecting about 140 lakh tonnes of paddy this season.
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‘Set up JPC to visit cancer-affected areas’
Jalandhar, September 9 Ram Pal Dhaipai and Rajpal Singh, general secretaries of the PPCC, have submitted a written request to the Speaker in this regard. “We have urged her to constitute the committee immediately to interact with the people in the cancer-affected areas. Dhaipai said here today that Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Akali MP Harsimrat Kaur had failed to provide any relief such as free treatment to the affected people even in the Malwa belt, from where they were elected, what to talk of other parts of the state. Dhaipai said instead of setting up any medical institute to treat the cancer patients in the Malwa belt, Sukhbir was making empty statements to mislead people in this regard. Health was a state subject and it was the duty of Sukhbir to provide succour to people suffering from cancer and not shift the onus on the Centre. People had to go to Rajasthan for treatment because Punjab could not provide treatment to them in its own hospitals, he added. Failure of the SAD-BJP government to provide clean potable water and a pollution-free environment was mainly responsible for the growing incidence of cancer in various parts of the state, he added. Dhaipai said as the state government had failed to live up to the expectation of the people, he had urged the Centre to set up a modern cancer research and medical treatment institute at Mansa having the latest diagnostic facilities for the detection of cancer to save thousands of people suffering from the disease. Mobile vans having arrangements for diagnosis and treatment of cancer should be made available in the affected areas under the National Rural Health Mission. The Mansa-Bathinda belt should be declared a cancer-prone area and people should be insured against this disease at state cost.
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Beant Singh Case
Chandigarh, September 9 The left-out eyewitness was “introduced” by the prosecution to put in place the “human bomb” theory about four days after the blast, the High Court heard 15 years after the explosion killed Punjab’s then Chief Minister Beant Singh and 12 others outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat. As the appeals filed by the assassin and other convicts came up for hearing before Justice Mehtab Singh Gill and Justice Arvind Kumar, senior advocate Baldev Singh said “eyewitness” Harkesh Singh was set up by the prosecution for claiming he had seen a 5 ft 10 inch man trigger off the blast. In an apparent attempt to say the prosecution used him for concocting the theory, Baldev Singh said Harkesh Singh was examined only on September 4, 1995, though he was available from the very beginning of the probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The former Chief Minister and others were killed on August 31, 1995. The RDX, stuffed in a belt, was used by “human bomb” Dilawar Singh. Convicts Jagtar Singh Hawara and Balwant Singh are facing the death sentence. Three other convicts, Shamsher Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Lakhwinder Singh, have been sentenced to life imprisonment Referring to the statement of the prosecution’s “star witness” Palle Ram, Baldev Singh said he had categorically asserted the explosion had taken place in the car; and he had not seen any suspicious person roaming around, even though he was 7ft to 8 ft away from the vehicle. The Chief Minister, surrounded by security guards, sat direct in the car after one of the security personnel opened the rear door. He did not see anyone else enter the car, Baldev Singh argued, adding the CBI had not challenged Palle Ram’s assertion to this effect. Palle Ram was posted as a sentry at the time of the blast and the first information report was registered on his statement. Baldev Singh added Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, posted as Superintendent of Police in the Chief Minister’s security, too, had not seen the “human bomb”, though he had stepped back just before the blast and was injured in it. His statement, too, was recorded on September 11.
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Water-level rises in Sutlej
Anandpur Sahib, September 9 By around 7 pm, Mehndli Kalan was completely cut off from Anandpur Sahib city, with all the roads leading to the village submerged in water. The fields of most of the villages along the Sutlej too are flooded. While the bundh near Lodhipur village had already got damaged around 15 days ago, the studs installed at different places near the village too were seen being swept away in gushing water. “If these studs too get washed away, there is the fear of water entering the inhabited areas of the village. Clusters settled right on the bank of the river will be the worst sufferers,” pointed out a villager from Lodhipur. Increasing releases from spillways of the Bhakra reservoir, the BBMB released 30350 cusecs of water into the Sutlej. With the water level in the Bhakra reservoir at 1680.95 ft today, the BBMB has increased the release into river Sutlej to maintain level in structure. For this purpose, the BBMB raised the spillways by 4 ft today.
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Sikhs construct shrine of Sufi saint
Bharur-Sunam (Sangrur), September 9 “Members of the Sikh community not only got the shrine constructed but they are present here in maximum numbers on Thursday and light candles at the shrine,” says Omar Din
Mujawwir, manager of the shrine. “Devotees not only from this village, but from adjoining villages throng the shrine on Thursday. I salute the Sikh community for upholding secular values and communal harmony,” he said. Village sarpanch Balbir Singh Bhatti said people of the area donated generously to get the shrine constructed. “The offerings by the devotees are collected and utilised for augmenting the infrastructure,” Bhatti said. Congress leader Arvind
Khanna, who also runs an NGO, “Umeed”, said Punjabis were known for practising secularism and communal harmony and the shrine was the best example of that.
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Bandh over poor health facilities
Jalalabad, September 9 Agitators also took out a protest march against inadequate medical facilities. The bandh call was given by the Jalalabad Consumer Association. Residents said they were irked over the way they were being treated after they elected Sukhbir to the Vidhan Sabha with a record margin of about 80,000 votes over a year ago. When the protesters blocked traffic at Udham Singh Chowk, the administration came into action and a senior revenue official reached the spot. “We lifted the blockade only after the Ferozepur Civil Surgeon assured us that doctors will be posted at the Civil Hospital. Its blood bank will also be made functional,” said Rajeev Dahuja, one of
the leaders. Association president Parshotam Bajaj said the Civil Surgeon had ordered three doctors to work at the hospital. Civil Surgeon Kanwarjit Singh Kakkar said all doctors who were on deputation had been called back. Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav said as it was an issue between the protesters and the state Health Department, the district administration was not into the scene. He said the protesters had given a memorandum to the tehsildar, Jalalabad, which would be examined by him whenever he received it.
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Dengue Menace
Jalandhar, September 9 Jalandhar is the most affected with 60 dengue cases followed by Ludhiana where 16 cases have been reported today. Eight cases have been reported from Mohali and five from Amritsar. Dengue cases have also been reported from Bathinda, Barnala and some other districts. Principal Secretary (Health), Satish Chandra said the meeting would be presided over by state Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla. He said representatives of the Municipal Corporations, especially from Jalandhar, had been asked to attend it. Interestingly, the number of common malaria cases is far less than this compared to the last year. Till July-end, the number of common malaria cases in the state was 712 compared to the last year’s figure of 1,112 during the corresponding period. Satish Chandra said six sentinel surveillance centres had been set up where dengu tests would be conducted free of cost. These centres were at Amritsar, Patiala, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Mohali. Kits for dengue testing have been supplied by the National Institute of Virology, Pune. Entomological surveillance with the assistance of the Centre was already being done in Jalandhar, said an official of the Health Department.
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Bar Council Examination
Patiala, September 9 Recently, BCI had made it mandatory for law graduates to clear an entrance examination before starting practice of law in India and scheduled December 5, 2010 as the date for the examination. However, when the student community in Punjab got to know that the BCI had excluded Punjabi from the list of nine languages, in which the AIBE would be conducted, they raised objections. A large number of students has submitted a representation to the Punjabi University VC to take this up with the authorities concerned. Expressing his surprise over the decision of excluding Punjabi as a medium for the AIBE, Jaspal Singh said, “Punjabi is one of the languages specified in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution and, therefore, it cannot be ignored for any purpose for which other regional languages are allowed at the national level.” He also said that the UPSC allows use of Punjabi along with other Indian languages in the Civil Services Examination. Besides, the law degree of Punjabi University is duly recognised by the BCI. The Punjab Legislative Assembly has adopted Punjabi as the official language of the state for all purposes and notified it for use in the subordinate courts in Punjab, the communiqué read. The VC asserted the move to omit Punjabi from the languages for the AIBE will adversely affect the interest of the candidates who have obtained their degrees in the Punjabi medium.
Students submit memorandum
Expressing resentment against the Bar Council of India’s decision to not allow law graduates to take the eligibility test for lawyers on December 5 in Punjabi language, law students have met the Education Minister of Punjab, Upinderjeet Kaur, to seek her intervention in the matter. A delegation led by Sikh Student Federation national president Parmjeet Singh Gazi, today met Upinderjeet Kaur at her official residence in Sector 2, Chandigarh, and raised their concern. The memorandum given to the minister stated: “Officially nine languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannad, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Oriya and English, have been recognised for the test. Punjabi is not included in the list.” Gazi said in Punjab various institutions approved by the BCI were providing legal education in Punjabi medium. Moreover, Punjabi was the official language of the state and work of lower courts was also conducted in Punjabi. “When the BCI has recognised the sanction of law degrees in Punjabi language, there is no reason to exclude the language from being a medium for the eligibility test,” said Gazi. The delegation maintained that the decision of the BCI would not only affect law students but would also hamper the development of Punjabi language as a medium of instruction in professional courses. “Law students, who are pursuing their studies in Punjabi, are already facing many problems, including unavailability textbooks and text of decisions of higher courts in Punjabi language. The BCI decision would raise unnecessary doubts in their minds regarding the viability of education in Punjabi language,” said advocate Parvinder Singh Aujla and law graduate Jarman Singh, who were part of the delegation. Upinderjeet Kaur assured us that “appropriate and timely action” would be taken in the matter, said the delegation, which also included Akashdeep Singh, a law student; and Harjeet Singh, a research fellow at Punjabi University.
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Tributes paid to war hero Abdul Hamid
Asal Uttar (Tarn Taran), September 9 The Army men led by GOC, 7th Infantry Division, Brig S Sengupta paid tributes, laid a wreath and offered a chadar at the tomb of Company Quarter Master Havildar Abdul Hamid, while Subedar Religion Teacher, Rayis Ahmad read ‘dua fatiya’ for the martyr, who had been posthumously awarded Param Vir Chakra for his exemplary bravery. The tomb located on the Amritsar-Khemkaran road stands amid a lush green field. It has become a worship centre. Recalling the events unfolded during the intense three-day battle in the Khemkaran sector, starting from September 7, 1965, Colonel Sidhu said his unit had arrived here on September 3 and was given the task of capturing the Ishogill canal. Colonel Sidhu, like Abdul Hamid, belonged to Four Grenadiers. He said Abdul as commander of a recoilless gun detachment moved out to a risky flanking position with his gun mounted on a jeep under intense enemy shelling and tank fire. Hamid moved from one firing position to another and destroyed three patton tanks. However, while engaging the fourth tank, he was fatally wounded by an enemy shell, he added. He recalled that his raw courage had encouraged the Grenadiers to put up a gallant fight. The sarpanch of the village, Gurmit Singh, who also laid a wreath, said about 12 persons of the village had perished in the battle while a majority of its natives had moved out to safer areas during the battle. Meanwhile, the three-day annual fair held in the memory of the martyrs also concluded today. Volleyball and kabaddi matches between villagers and Army men were conducted. This was followed by a free medical camp for locals and ex-servicemen. A number of food stalls, CSD canteen services were also part of the programme. The bhog of akhand path was also held at the village gurdwara, where a community kitchen (langar) has been going on for the past three days.
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Badal’s nod to transfer 38 acres of PUDA land for ecotourism
Chandigarh, September 9 A decision to this effect was taken by the Chief Minister at a high-level meeting held under his chairmanship here. Taking part in the deliberations, Badal directed the Forest Department to chalk out a comprehensive plan to promote eco-tourism over this chunk of land. It was also approved in the meeting that 14 acres of the transferred land might be adjusted in lieu of Amaltas (Ludhiana) and Blue Bell (Phagwara) - the two hotel projects of Punjab Tourism Development Corporation - and the case might be sent to the Government of India for approval. In another significant decision, Badal also approved the transfer of 14.5 acres in Ghalauri village and 3.5 acres in Alipur Araiyn village belonging to the Municipal Corporation, Patiala, to the Forest Department for tree plantation under the pool system with a facility that as and when the Municipal Corporation, Patiala, needed land for widening the roads and other projects, the Forest Department would adjust this land accordingly.
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Sukhbir favours greenhouse cultivation
Chandigarh, September 9 In a statement issued on his behalf here today, he said this would lead to a substantial improvement in the quality and yield of crops giving better returns to farmers. Sukhbir Badal is accompanying a Union Government delegation to Costa Rica for an on-the-spot assessment of the technological intervention required for the improvement of yield and quality of crops. He has visited four farms in different parts of Costa Rica. In his statement Sukhbir Badal said since Punjab was facing a major problem of near-stagnation in the productivity of major crops i.e. paddy and wheat and degradation of its natural resource base, there was a dire need for diversification.
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Missing IT Addl Commissioner
Ludhiana, September 9 The DCP, who reportedly visited his house, said: “A person known to him had seen him in PAU around 8 pm on Tuesday. We have constituted search teams to locate him." The SHO of the PAU police station said all guest houses in the city as well as in Khanna, Jagraon and Patiala were searched.
— TNS
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Rs 10 cr for Patiala temple: DC
Patiala, September 9 He said under the project, work of the Satsang Bhawan had been initiated on September 8 to give a face lift to the building. The work would be completed in 20 days. He said a multi-storey parking facility would be set up at a cost of Rs 9.94 crore. “We have invited tenders for installing a water treatment plant in the temple,” he added.
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Veterinary doctors seek regularisation of services
Patiala, September 9 Speaking to The Tribune, Dr Jiwan Gupta, vice-president of the PSVDA, said they had been working on contractual basis for the past five years, as no regular recruitment of veterinary doctors had been made from the past 12 years by the state government. “Now, the government has decided in principle to regularise the services of 14,000 teachers, working on contractual basis, with effect from April 1, 2011. But as far as 450 veterinary doctors working on contractual basis are concerned, nothing is being done,” rued Dr Gupta. He said if the government did not pay any heed to their demand, they would resort to protest demonstrations.
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Chandigarh, September 9
