NEIGHBOURHOOD

Lifting of paddy fails to take off
Our Correspondent

Bassi Pathana, October 9
Though the procurement of paddy by various government agencies had started from October 1, lifting of procured paddy has not yet started resulting in heaps of procured paddy bags lying in the grain markets.

In the coming week, the arrival of paddy will pick up if the procured stock is not lifted it would cause great inconvenience to farmers and commission agents. Rajesh Singla, state press secretary of Arhtiya Association, said till today approximate 22 MT of paddy had arrived in the local grain market and procured by government agencies, but not even a single bag has been lifted so for. He urged the officials to start the lifting process.

Due to the strike of rice millers, the procured paddy could not be lifted. Now, rice millers have withdrawn the strike so the lifting process needs to be accelerated. 

Bassi Pathana, October 9
Despite assurances from officials and the local MLA to provide drinking water to the residents at the earliest, nothing has been done so far and the situation had come to such a point that people were yearning for drinking water to quench their thirst and even for sanitation purposes.

The residents are not getting drinking water supply from the past more than one month.

The Tribune had highlighted the news item and in response local MLA Didar Singh Bhatti held a meeting of councillors, officials, SDO (electricity) and public health officers and directed them to ensure supply of drinking water.

The residents have threatened to launch an agitation if the administration did not take any step to restore water supply immediately. 

Ambala, October 9
An undertrial Surender, alias Ganja, who was brought to Ambala City civil hospital for medical examination on court’s order this evening, alleged that he and a few other prisoners were mercilessly beaten up in the jail late last night.

Surender has been imprisoned at Ambala jail for the past two years in a ransom case. Charanjeet Kaur, Surender’s mother, had filed an application in a local court today in which she requested the court to order the jail authority to conduct medical examination of her son.

Charanjeet also sent an application to the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court in which she alleged that deputy superintendent of jail Sanjay Bangar and another jail official beat him up mercilessly.

She alleged that the jail officer also took her son’s signature on a blank paper and alleged that her son’s life was not safe in the jail.

She further alleged that the jail authorities had been torturing his son on the behest of a former municipal councillor.

She filed a similar complaint in the court of CJM, Ambala, who directed the police station concerned to conduct examine the prisoner.

The doctor at the civil hospital, who conducted the medical examination of Surender, said scratches of blunt injuries were found on his body.

However, jail officials filed a complaint with the Baldev Nagar police station stating that Surender and seven other prisoners manhandled the jail officials last night.

The police has registered a case against eight prisoners. 

Ambala, October 9
The residents and farmers of Panjokhra village staged protest against the alleged forcible acquisition of more than 1,700 acres on the Ambala-Naraingarh road by the Haryana government.

Balbir Singh, president of the Jamin Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, along with other members of the samiti, organised a meeting in this connection which was attended by hundreds of farmers of Panjokhra and nearby villages.

They had decided to continue stir and warned the government not to give an inch of the land for the modern industrial township (MIT). They also approached local MLA Anil Vij for help.

Due to acquisition of land by the state government for the MIT, about hundreds of families faced threat to their houses and land as they did not know where to go in case the administration evicted them, Jagdish Singh, a member of the samiti, said.

Sources in the district administration said to develop Ambala as a leading industrial hub in the state with the establishment of the MIT, land measuring 1,700 acres had been identified along the Ambala-Chandigarh and the Ambala-Naraingarh road. A blueprint regarding the proposed project has already been submitted to the state government for approval.

Deputy Commissioner Sameer Pal Srow said the government wanted to develop Ambala as a leading industrial hub. After the approval is obtained, steps to acquire the land would commence.

According to information, earlier an SEZ project, to boost industry in the town, was approved by the government similar to the one set up in Gurgaon, but the proposal remained confined to papers for years and finally the proposal was dropped.

According to local entrepreneurs, the proposed MIT would open doors for lakhs of unemployed youth of the area. The government was also expected to earn handsome revenue from the project. He said efforts would be made to attract large industrial groups and multinational companies to set up their units here. 

Kalka, October 9
Hundreds of tourists and daily commuters had to face great inconvenience today due to traffic disruption on the National Highway-22 in Kalka.

Tourists and daily commuters remained stranded in the traffic jam for hours. Long queues were seen from the Housing Board in Kalka to the Kalka-Parwanoo barrier in the evening.

Due to traffic congestion, those devotees who had come to pay obeisance in the historic Kali Mata temple were a harassed lot.

Notably, yesterday a senior citizen of Kalka had lost his life, as he was hit by a truck. Last year, a girl also died when a bus hit here.

The congested NH-22 stretch and blind curve, opposite the main gate of Kali Mata temple also caused many accidents in the recent years, needs to be widened.

The deteriorated condition of the NH-22, which passes through Kalka and Pinjore has turned into a bad shape after the recent rains.

A visit by The Tribune team reveals that the stretch from Kalka Gandhi Chowk to Kalka-Parwanoo barrier, in the main bazaar of Kalka, stretch from old bus stand to railway over bridge and in the main bazaar of Pinjore has turned into a bad state after the rain, posing a serious threat to life.

Chandigarh, October 9
The CBI special court of Darshan Singh adjourned the cash-at-judge’s-door scam case after the investigating agency said the sanction for prosecuting Justice Nirmal Yadav was still awaited. Justice Nirmal Yadav is presently a judge at the Uttarakhand High Court. The case is adjourned to November 13.

The CBI stated before the court that it had sent the report to the secretary, President of India, as well as the Secretary, Law and Justice, seeking prosecution sanction under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, of the President against Justice Nirmal Yadav on June 18, 2010. The communication from the competent authority was still awaited, it said.

The case sent shockwaves to the judiciary when Rs 15 lakh were wrongly delivered at the residence of Justice Nirmaljit Kaur, a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in August of 2008.

The money was delivered by Parkash Ram, a clerk of former Haryana additional advocate general Sanjeev Bansal, who is one of the prime accused in this case. Thereafter, an FIR was registered on August 16, 2008, at the Sector 11 police station. Sanjeev Bansal, Rajiv Gupta, a businessman, and Parkash Ram, clerk working with Sanjeev Bansal, got the bail on October 13, 2008.

The fourth accused in the case, Nirmal Singh, had got bail on October 16, 2008, while the fifth accused, Ravinder Singh, who is a Delhi-based businessman, had got the bail on November 6, 2008.

Cash-At-Judge’s Door 

The CBI stated before the court that it had sent the report to the secretary, President of India, as well as the Secretary, Law and Justice, seeking prosecution sanction under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, of the President against Justice Nirmal Yadav on June 18, 2010. The communication from the competent authority was still awaited, it said 

Chandigarh, October 9
The Chandigarh Police has arrested a youngster with 300 gm charas from Sector 23 here today. The accused has been identified as Suraj, a resident of Mandi, HP.

According to the police, they have arrested Suraj, who has been pursuing a computer hardware course at a private computer institute in Sector 34 here, at a ‘naka’, which was set up near Children Park, Sector 23, around 5.30 pm. The police recovered 300 gm of charas from his pocket.

Panchkula, October 9
Chaman Lal DAV School, Sector 11, defeated Delhi Public School, Pinjore, by eight wickets in the final of second Clive Shear Six-A-Side Cricket Tournament at the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex, Sector 3, here today. St Xavier’s School, Panchkula, organised the tournament. All-rounder Dinesh was responsible for CL DAV’s comfortable victory. He top scored with 32 as DAV replied with 76 for 2 in reply to DPS Pinjore’s 71 for 3. He also bagged 2 for 20. Dinesh was adjudged the best player. Semifinals: St Xavier’s-Panchkula (50 for 5) beat DPS Pinjore (55 for 2), while CL DAV-Panchkula (65 for 2) beat Saupin’s Chandigarh (59 for 3). — TNS

Chandigarh, October 9
Rajeshwar Football Club will lock horns with NPS Club in the final of fifth Kanwar Harbans Lal Memorial Football Championship being organised by the Youngsters Football Club.

In the first semifinal, Rajeshwar Football Club drubbed Star Football Club by three goals. Samer Singh of Rajeshwar l Club scored the first goal in the 18th minute of the match, Deepak Hooda scored the second goal in the 39th minute of the match, while Samer Singh scored the third goal in 52nd minute of the match. Samer Singh of Rajeshwar Football Club was adjudged man of the match.

In another semifinal match, the NPS Club defeated Friends Football Club by five goals to nil. Johny Chand of NPS showed his brilliance and scored two goals in 10th and 24th minutes of the match. Other scorers were Jatinder Rawat and Waris. Waris Rashid of the NPS Club was named man of the match. In the U-13 category, Saupins School will clash with CFA Academy-42 in the final to be held tomorrow. In the first semifinal, Saupins defeated St Kabir School by three goals to 1. Harnaaz of Saupins School scored two goals in the 11th and 19th minute of the match. Abhinav Khetarpal of St Kabir reduced the margin by scoring in the 22nd minute of the match. Aryaman of Saupins School Scored the third goal in the 32nd minute and sealed the fate of St Kabir. Harnaaz of Saupins school was declared man of the match. In a well-contested second semifinal match, CFA Academy-42 defeated Durga Public School, Solan, by two goals to nil. Jatinder of the CFA scored the first goal for his team in the fourth minute of the match, while Inder scored the second goal in dying minutes of the match. Goalkeeper of Durga Public School Rohan showed brilliance under the bar and was adjudged man of the match. Results

Senior section: NPS Club beat Friends Football Club 5-0; Rajeshwar Football Club beat Star Football Club 3-0. Junior section: Saupins School beat St Kabir School, Sector 26, 3-1; CFA- 42 Academy beat Durga Public School 2-0.