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Congress regional conference postponed
Curfew relaxed in Malerkotla
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River Waters
More heavy rain predicted
Beant Singh Case
Quota in Post-Graduation Seats
Cong policies kept state backward: CM
Steam Plant Collapse
LBP protests against flight cancellation
Braving all odds, she made a mark in farming
Pbi varsity MEd counselling from Sept 20
Plea to recruit docs
Psychotropic drugs seized from jail premises
3 killed in mishap
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Congress regional conference postponed
Chandigarh, September 14 The session was postponed abruptly without any notice. In fact everything was as usual till 11 am this morning at the Pradesh Congress headquarters here. Office workers were busy coordinating the making of sweets and booking accommodation for delegates from various northern Indian states who were to descend on Chandigarh for the conference. PPCC chief Kaypee had even requested an appointment with state Governor Shivraj Patil to seek cooperation from the Union Territory administration for the conference. However, the subject of the meeting had to be changed at the last minute, following postponement of the conference. Kaypee said he had been told that the Mohali conference, along with four others, had been postponed due to heavy rains and floods at various places. When asked that this did not apply to Mohali, he was non-committal. Sources, however, claim that internal squabbling in the Pradesh Congress is mainly responsible for the postponement. They said the faction led by Kaypee and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal had prevailed upon the high command to hold the meeting of the new Pradesh Congress delegates who are to choose the state President till after the September 27 conference. This was done to ensure status quo in the party till the conference and would have been beneficial to the ruling dispensation. Former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had on his part urged for an early meeting of the delegates before the conference. Now with the regional conference postponed, there is no surety as to which faction will be in charge of holding the conference when it is organised next. There is also no excuse for not holding the meeting of the delegates immediately. Kaypee said this would be done now according to availability of Pradesh Returning Officer (PRO) Usha Thakkar. Meanwhile, many Congressmen have raised objections over the demand of a specific amount of money from all legislators and delegates. Few legislators told TNS that they had been asked to deposit Rs 1 lakh each within two days while delegates were asked to deposit Rs 25,000 even as big leaders indicated that they would chip in amounts in lakhs of rupees. Some legislators as well as delegates had objected to this forced collection. The PPCC chief, however, maintained that the state unit had appealed to party legislators and delegates to give money for the conference voluntarily, as the party could not collect any money from business houses or traders.
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Curfew relaxed in Malerkotla
Malerkotla, September 14 DIG, Patiala range, Jitendra Kumar Jain, said the police had arrested three persons in the case. Sangrur Deputy Commissioner Harkesh Singh Sidhu gave seven hours’ relaxation in the curfew, which was imposed yesterday morning, starting from 11 am up to 6 pm today. He said curfew would be relaxed on Wednesday starting from 6 am, adding that schools, hospitals and government offices would remain open from tomorrow. For imparting a healing touch, the district administration with the help of Rotary Club repaired and painted the church before the visit of Bishop Mal. The Bible was also put in shape during the visit of the Bishop. An all-religion prayer was also organised in the church, which was attended by persons from all communities, including former Mufti-e-Punjab Fazal Ur Rehman Hilal Usmani. Copies of The Bible which were saved by police personnel during the incident were handed over by Maria Selva Dass, Father of Roman Catholic Church, near the Civil Hospital, to secretary, Kewal Masih, of St Thomas Church in the presence of Bishop Mal. Earlier before the visit of Bishop Mal, Sangrur Deputy Commissioner and SSP HS Bhullar inspected the damage caused to the church. A meeting of the peace committee was organised this morning at the local rest house to defuse the situation. Members of the committee praised SDM Gurloveleen Singh Sidhu and DSP Sukhdev Singh Virk for controlling the situation on Sunday night. After the meeting, Maria Selva Dass, Father of the Roman Catholic Church, was sent to his residence from the local rest house amid tight security by the local police. The police has arrested three persons, namely Mohammad Sabar, Babbu Mohammad and Mohammad Harun. These persons were not named earlier in the FIR lodged by the police in this case. Meanwhile, Ajmat Ali Khan, President of the local unit of All-India Mili Council, against whom an FIR was lodged on Monday in the church burning case, was also present at the peace committee meeting. DIG Jitendra Kumar Jain claimed that the situation was under control in the city. He said tight security arrangements would remain in force during the relaxation of curfew. He directed people not to carry weapons and assemble in the form of a mob during the curfew relaxation period.
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River Waters
Guru Harsahai, September 14 Badal made this promise when a delegation of BJP leaders, including present and former MLAs, MPs and minsters belonging to Hanumangarh, Sriganganagar and Bikaner, met him here with a request that Rajasthan should be allowed to get its share of water as per the agreements reached between Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan before and after the Partition of the country. The situation on account of the alleged denial of full share of river waters to Rajasthan was becoming serious for the past many days as the BJP leaders had held out an open threat in case injustice was not undone. The BJP leaders, including Nihal Chand, MP, Gurjant Singh, Surinder Pal Singh Titi, OP Mahindra (all former ministers), Radhey Sham, Abhishek Mantoria, Vishva Nath (MLAs) and Ram Partap and Dharminder Mochi (former MLAs), visited different headworks in Ferozepur district yesterday to see why Rajasthan was being denied its rightful share in river waters when the water from the Sutlej was being diverted to Pakistan. Radhey Sham, MLA, Sriganganagar, and former Irrigation Minister, said, “Badal has promised that Gang canal from zero RD to 45 RD will be desilted by the Punjab government on its own. The illegal cut made in the Rajasthan feeder canal will be plugged at the earliest. The supply of polluted water to Rajasthan will be stopped immediately.” “Badal has said that the Rajasthan government has never brought this matter to his notice before. Now that he has become aware of the situation, he will do the needful at the earliest,” said Radhey Sham, adding that Badal had called the BJP leaders to Chandigarh tomorrow to solve the matter then and there in front of the officials of Punjab Irrigation and Drainage Department. Surinder Pal Singh Titi, former Irrigation Minister, said the BJP delegation, which used the good office of Gurdas Singh Badal, brother of Parkash Singh Badal, for redressing their grievances, was satisfied that Badal had been making relentless efforts to make the Sutlej and other rivers flowing into Punjab pollution free.
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Hussainiwala
Ferozepur, September 14 Earlier, extended areas of Jallo Ke, Tindi Wala, Chandi wala and Bhanewala villages came under five or six feet deep water on August 25 when the Sutlej overflowed near Jallo Ke village. Though the state government is yet to measure the quantum of loss suffered by the residents of these villages, the residents claimed that crops in about 2,000 acres of land had suffered absolute loss. Interestingly, the Punjab government is yet to give compensation to those farmers and residents, whose crops were damaged when the gushing Sutlej water entered their fields and dwellings on August 25. “We are doubly cursed as we have faced two low floods in quick succession. The state government has added to our woes by not paying any compensation,” said Balbir Singh, one of the residents of the area. Chinder Pal Singh Jalloke, a senior state BJP leader, said no district official had visited them so far to inquire about their plight despite the fact that a number of villages were hit by floods. He alleged that all officials were busy attending the Sangat Darshan programme of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal held in the Guru Har Sahai area today. Official sources said the situation might turn ugly as more than 33,000 cusecs of water had been released from Pong Dam today against 18,000 cusecs, which was being released every day till yesterday. Not only this, the level of water in Hari Ke pond, which came down in the morning, had started rising and had touched 689.47 feet by 1 pm. Official sources said to bring the situation under control, the authorities had been diverting water towards Pakistan through Hussainiwala headworks. About 36,000 cusecs of water was released yesterday while more than 31,000 cusecs of water was released today. “All officials of the Irrigation Department, who have been deployed at headworks and other sensitive spots, have been put on maximum alert to check the trend of water in rivers so that people living in flood-prone areas could be warned of any problem in advance,” said a senior functionary of the Irrigation Department.
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More heavy rain predicted
Chandigarh, September 14 There have been heavy flows into the Bhakra in the last two days and unprecedented inflows of 1.80 lakh cusecs in the Pong dam yesterday, forcing its spillway gates to be opened today after a gap of 20 years today. The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has stopped filling in the Bhakra reservoir after a slight tilt or deflection of more than one inch in the dam. The dam authorities had announced that the water level would be maintained at 1,680 feet and that a margin of a few feet was being kept as an emergency measure. This margin is a cause for cheer for Punjab and other partner states, said Punjab Irrigation Chief Engineer AS Dullat. He said the margin would allow both dams to be in a position to take on more incoming water. Lauding the cautious approach of BBMB authorities, Dullat said this approach had avoided heavy and sudden discharges from both the Bhakra and Pong dams. “This would have been unavoidable had the BBMB not released water in a sustained manner from the Bhakra and now the Pong spillway gates”. Dullat said the strategy had the support of the entire three partner states of Punjab, Haryana and
Rajasthan.
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Beant Singh Case
Chandigarh, September 14 As the appeals filed in the then Chief Minister Beant Singh’s assassination case by the assassin and other convicts came up for hearing before Justice Mehtab Singh Gill and Justice Arvind Kumar this morning, senior advocate Baldev Singh said Roop Singh “has been disbelieved in the Jessica Lal case by the Supreme Court”. Branding him as “an unreliable witness”, Baldev Singh said Roop Singh gave his evidence in the Jessica Lal case as a ballistic expert. But the Supreme Court in Sidhartha Vashisht alias Manu Sharma versus State (NCT of Delhi) “rejected the expert report of this witness”. Baldev Singh appealed: Similarly, this witness should not be believed and his opinion, along with the report, should be rejected by this court also”. Accusing him of making a false assertion before the court, Baldev Singh further tried to fortify the defence case by saying Roop Singh had also claimed he had “conducted examination in connection with the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s case, in which a human bomb was used”. Baldev Singh said: “In Rajiv Gandhi’s case, he does not figure anywhere in the judgment rendered in that case”. The defence counsel added otherwise also the papers Roop Singh prepared were not handed over to the investigating officer of the case. As such, the court should presume these documents were prepared at a later stage. Digging holes in the prosecution theory of human bomb triggering off the blast, Baldev Singh added that another witness, Balwinder Kaur, was not examined, though she prepared the other ballistic report. She had nowhere stated whether the blast was from inside or outside the car. In fact, she said nothing about the damage to the car, Baldev Singh concluded. The case will now come up for further hearing on Wednesday.
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Quota in Post-Graduation Seats
Chandigarh, September 14 According to the existing policy, PCMS doctors are required to complete a minimum of three years of rural service to be eligible for the quota. Every year of service beyond three years fetches an extra mark subject to a maximum of
five marks. The Principal Secretary, Health, Satish Chandra, said it had been felt that the existing policy had not succeeded in encouraging PCMS doctors to opt to work in health institutions situated in far- off districts and border areas. “A rural area situated within the 15-km area in Ludhiana, for instance, is totally different from let’s say Mansa. The existing policy does not fully cover backwardness of the area as indicated by its remoteness and connectivity, natural and social environmental factors, availability of schooling and other facilities and difficulty in filling the
posts at such places,” said Chandra. A brainchild of the health minister, Dr Laxmi Kanta Chawla, it has now been proposed to divide all health institutions into three new categories. The ‘normal’ category will include service in those institutions situated near corporation towns and district headquarters. Service here will not
count for eligibility for PG seats. Doctors serving in the next category of institutions -‘difficult’- will be eligible for the PG quota. An extra mark will be given for every year’s additional service beyond three years subject to a maximum of five marks. Institutions situated beyond certain distance from the district headquarters have been categorised at
‘difficult’. The third category ‘more difficult’ will include institutions which are far away from the district headquarters of municipal towns.” Doctors who have completed two years of service at these locations will be eligible. One and a half mark extra will be given for every year’s service beyond two years subject to a maximum of five marks. Certain institutions which are found to be unattractive by the employees on account of they
being located in remote and far-off places or being located in the border belt or being located in the district adjoining Haryana have been categorised
as more difficult,” said Chandra. The state government proposes to implement the revised policy with effect from November 1, 2010.
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Cong policies kept state backward: CM
Guru Harsahai, September 14 “The previous Congress government brought the state on the brink of economic disaster. The SAD-BJP combine not only dealt with economic crises but also managed to usher in an era of development in the state,” claimed Badal. Lashing out at the Congress for opposing sangat darshan programmes, he said it was the only platform to maintain direct communication with the masses to redress their grievances. He said to combat the menace of growing incidence of cancer in the state, especially in the Malwa belt, the government had embarked upon an ambitious plan to eradicate pollution from the Sutlej, Beas and the Ghaggar. Meanwhile, Badal distributed grants of about Rs 4.20 crore to the panchayats of 64 villages.
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Breweries get rotten paddy for
` 288 a quintal
Khamano, September 14 Though officials of Punjab Agro, agency that sold the booty, refused to disclose price of paddy,they, however, pleading anonymity, confirmed that paddy was sold at Rs 288 per quintal. The rotten paddy was categorised differently and disposed off with a difference of a few rupee. Agency sold off paddy at a mere Rs 288. Fair and timely distribution of paddy could have fed lakhs of poor people but lack of vision and pro-active approach led to the entire lot being wasted, said Manoj Kumar, a resident of Fatehgarh Sahib. A section of rice shellers from Fatehgarh Sahib and adjoining areas, while talking to TNS said the rotten paddy could never be used for human consumption but was mainly used to prepare wine and beer by the distilleries. Officials of Punjab Agro, pleading anonymity said those participating in the process of disposing had further sold off rotten paddy lot after earning profits. Buyers queue up to buy this paddy and are quite happy to pay Rs 16 per quintal to labourers for loading rotten paddy into trucks. Besides, they also earn Rs 4.5 per kilogram from the paddy husk. Experts say that paddy procured at throwaway prices could be converted into refined rice and sold at higher prices. But this possibility is rare as paddy is lying under unhygienic conditions for the past more than three years and would end up being used by the distilleries to make wine and beer, they added. Nakesh Jindal, a miller in Sirhind said the government depots or private traders did not accept excessively damaged grain. Rotten paddy would be milled at rice shellers and damaged rice would be sorted out with the help of Sortex machines. Today’s price of paddy is Rs 1030 per quintal and distillery owners and millers would be quite happy to purchase rotten paddy at a mere Rs 288 per quintal. Truckers and labourers loading this paddy near tehsil complex of Khamano said they had been told to transport paddy to Barnala, Malerkotla, Ludhiana, Raikot and Rajkot near Gujarat and parts of Delhi. DM Punjab Agro Gurinder Singh said Punjab Agro had procured paddy on behalf of Food Corporation of India (FCI). Paddy had been categorised from bad to worse and was disposed off through sealed tenders accordingly, he said. Sources said disposing of another 3,600 MT paddy lying in the warehouse is in the offing.
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Steam Plant Collapse
Khamano (Fatehgarh Sahib), September 14 According to the police, 17 labourers were working at the newly built steam plant. While six of them escaped with minor injuries, the condition of one of them was said to be critical. The body of one of the three missing labourers, Surinder Kumar (55), was pulled out from the debris at 2 pm today. Khamano SHO Palwinder Singh said the police was supervising the rescue operations. “We are trying to lift machines from heaps of paddy and locate bodies, since the possibility of life is remote,” the SHO added. Ruling out the possibility of more labourers buried under the debris, he denied the need of Army’s help in the rescue operation, adding that there was a large number of workforce in the mill who can handle the situation. On delay in rescuing labourers, police officials said four cranes from Ludhiana and Mandi Gobindgarh were pressed into service. “Work suffered last night due to rains and tired labourers,” the officials added. They said since labourers were not experts in locating bodies or removing debris, it might take another day for the entire operation. Meanwhile, Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira demanded a CBI inquiry into the delay in the rescue operations and an ex-gratia grant of Rs 10 lakh for the family of the deceased. The Punjab State Human Rights Commission has also sought a report from the DC and SSP in the regard.
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‘Punjabis keen to take up farming in Madagascar’
Kharar, September 14 This was stated by Ambassador of Madagascar to India Olivier Achille Andrianarison Sahobisoa while talking to The Tribune. He along with his wife Betty Rabetaliama was here on a visit to the Rayat-Bahra Group of Institutes to invite it for setting up an aviation institute in Madagascar. Olivier added that to attract investors to the island country, the Madagascar Investment Promotion Board had been set up to facilitate all liaison services in the country. “India and Madagascar share Indian Ocean region and have historical trade and travel interactions. We invite investment in multiple areas to mutually benefit people of both countries in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry, food processing, mining of minerals, oil, gas and petroleum,” he said. The Madagascar Government had opened its doors for the Indian film and entertainment industry to capture the exotic beauty of beaches and natural reserves. He added that the government was interested in forging educational ties with India. “We do not have any hassles in granting visas, unlike the developed nations. The government is in fact interested in promoting nation as a tourist destination,” he said. Talking about building ties with the Rayat-Bahra Group, he said with eight international airports and 55 domestic airports, Madagascar had the right kind of infrastructure to set up an aviation institute in association with the group. “For this, we will provide one fully-functional airport with a fleet of 380 aircrafts to give practical training to budding pilots,” he added.
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LBP protests against flight cancellation
Amritsar, September 14 On the other hand, officials said AI had decided to schedule its flight on “hub and spoke” (connecting flight) basis instead of the direct flight from Amritsar to Toronto via London from October 1. LBP chief Balwant Singh Ramoowalia said with the withdrawal of this flight, scores of NRI Punjabis would have to suffer. “Amritsar being the holy city always find an important place on their touring list when they visit India. The withdrawal of this flight will be nothing but lack of vision of the government,” he said. On the other hand, AI (station head) Shashi Kant Kaundal clarified that the flight had not been discontinued, but put on “hub and spoke” basis. “With this new arrangement, Amritsar-Toronto-London passengers will be flown to New Delhi from where they will board their connecting flight to London and Toronto. To benefit them, instead of one, as many as four flights have been started from Amritsar to New Delhi. Moreover, passengers boarding from Amritsar will not be charged anything extra. They will just have to change the plane from New Delhi,” he added.
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Braving all odds, she made a mark in farming
The owner of two vermicompost units, bee-keeping farm and a dairy farm, Sukhminder Kaur, who developed proficiency in net-house cultivation, was today honoured with the Sardarni Jagbir Kaur Memorial Award, on the inaugural day of two days PAU Kisan Mela in Ludhiana. She took to farming enthusiastically on 12 acres of land that she inherited from her parents and started growing rice and wheat with the help of her son. Gradually diversifying to horticulture, this farmwoman took additional eight acres of land on lease and initiated net-house cultivation after availing loan and additional help of her relatives. The mother of two, Sukhminder while revealing her story of struggle said, “My son was doing his MBBS when my husband died and had to give up his studies to support me. But I took up the challenge and worked day and night making it possible for him to complete his medical degree.” To get up early, motivate field helpers and supervise all units is a part of her routine that she follows every day. “It gives me an immense pleasure to educate village women, especially who are needy,” shared Sukhminder Kaur. She accredited her success to her training with the National Horticulture Mission project of the Centre, interaction with PAU experts and Punjab State Bee-keepers Federation, Bassi Pathana.
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Pbi varsity MEd counselling from Sept 20
Patiala, September 14 According to Coordinator and Co-Coordinator Meenakshi Sharma and Kirandip Kaur respectively, the counselling would be held in the Department of Education of the university for every category of admission seekers. The counselling, however, would not entitle a candidate for admission, as it would be made purely on the basis of merit for the available seats in each category, they said. The counselling for the general category would be held on September 22 and for the SC, ST, BC and OBC categories on September 20. September 21 has been reserved for counselling for the remaining categories that include sportspersons, backward areas, border areas, disabled persons, widows, divorced women, children, widows of defence personnel and paramilitary forces, wards of political suffers, freedom fighters, terrorist affected and riot victims.
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Plea to recruit docs
Patiala, September 14 Association general secretary Dr DC Sharma said their association strongly opposed recruitment of gazetted officers through any other department except the PPSC. “If the PPSC can be entrusted the job of conducting the test for the judicial services or recruiting other gazetted officers, then why can’t it recruit doctors and medical teachers,” he added. Sharma alleged that the Department of Health and Family Welfare was now recruiting doctors through it’s own committee for it’s own vested interests. The CMS-I association demanded that the DMER should fill vacant posts through the promotion committee by promoting the present incumbents in the medical teaching cadre, he added. Sharma said if the posts were not filled due to the non-availability of eligible candidates in the medical teaching and the PCMS cadres, the government should go in for direct recruitment in such a situation and that, too, through the PPSC and not the selection committee.
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Psychotropic drugs seized from jail premises
Ludhiana, September 14 The accused was identified as Balbir Chand, a resident of Shahi Mohalla, and was handed over to Division Number 7 police. According to jail officials, Balbir Chand's friend Surinder Kumar is lodged as an undertrial in the Central Jail here. He was arrested in connection with drug smuggling. Balbir had gone to meet Surinder Kumar and was carrying a box containing ‘rasgullas’. When he was about to hand over the box to Surinder Kumar, jail official Nishan Singh got suspicious and thoroughly checked the box. This is when the incident came to light. Talking to The Tribune, SP Khanna, Superintendent of Prisons, Ludhiana, said, "The drugs were packed very nicely so as to evade detection. However, head constable Nishan Singh noticed that the weight of the box was much more than the number of ‘rasgullas’ it carried. This made him suspicious. On checking thoroughly, the drugs were recovered." Khanna added that the seized tablets were of Nomodil, a kind of psychotropic drug. "The tablets have been sent for a chemical examination," he said. Shockingly, numerous cases of smuggling of drugs into the Central Jail have come to light in the recent past. "The modus operandi of the accused, however, has remained the same. In all cases, visitors have been caught with drugs concealed in different articles, including eatables," revealed Khanna. Earlier, in a similar case, drugs were seized from a visitor from the milk he was carrying for his relative lodged in the jail. The wife of a prisoner was also caught with drugs hidden in eggs and in yet another case, a prisoner's relative was held with charas hidden in capsicum, said Khanna. "In a similar incident, a life convict's father was caught by the jail officials for smuggling drugs into the jail in two pairs of shoes that he had brought for his son," the Superintendent of Prisons said.
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Heroin worth ` 10 cr seized
Patiala, September 14 On August 24, Patiala CIA cops had arrested Gurnam Singh of Kapurthala for possessing 2 kg of heroin, worth Rs 10 crore. Patiala SSP Gurpreet Sing Gill said it was a big achievement of the Patiala police that heroin worth 20 crore had been confiscated in just three weeks. Giving further details, he said acting on a tip-off, under the supervision of SP (Detective) Gurdeep Singh Pannu and DSP (Detective) Ashish Kapoor, a team of CIA cops led by Inspector Jassa Singh apprehended Buta during checking at T-point bypass on the Sirhind road yesterday. “The accused was coming from the Sirhind side on black Bajaj Pulsar motor cycle (PB-02 VG 2591). Two kg of heroin was seized from his possession,” the SSP added. During interrogation, Buta said heroin was given to him by Balwinder Singh, alias Billa, of Majitha district.
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3 killed in mishap
Tarn Taran, September 14 Baljit Singh and Ranjit Singh died on the spot while Suba Singh succumbed to injuries on way to a hospital.
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Ludhiana, September 14