Kalwa (Hoshiarpur), October 28
A pall of gloom descended on a cluster of villages here when 15 persons died and 35 others were taken ill when they consumed spurious liquor late last evening. According to a senior official of the district administration, the death toll could go up.

The deceased have been identified as Manjit Singh (Gilzian); Riaz; Zamal; Sadiq; Kala, alias Neelam, Ramu (all from Kalwa); Hari Chand (Kotla); Monider (Khokhar); Tribhuwan Rai; Joginder, alias Raja; Gurbachan Singh; Sukhdev Singh Saini; Jarnail Singh; Charan Singh (all from Gilzian) and Swarna (Balra).

People alleged that the spurious liquor trade had flourished in the area with support of some influential politicians.

The news regarding the hooch tragedy spread like wildfire with the death of three members of a family in six hours. However, the district administration swung into action after the death toll started swelling this morning. Members of the district administration, accompanied by health officials, rushed to the villages this morning. Those coming with symptoms similar to those who died were rushed to the Dasuya Civil Hospital. After giving preliminary medical help, three of them, who were in a critical condition, were referred to Jalandhar and Ludhiana hospitals. Hoshiarpur Deputy Commissioner Dharam Dutt Tarnach and SSP Rakesh Aggarwal also visited the affected villages and the Civil Hospital.

Talking to TNS, Tarnach said the government had announced an immediate relief of Rs 50,000 to next of kin of the deceased. Dasuya SDM Jasbir Singh had also been asked to conduct a magisterial inquiry.

Villagers alleged that people had been procuring hooch from two persons - Jaswant Singh and Kala of the same village. They used to pay Rs 10 per glass. The spurious liquor business had been going on for the past many years. The majority of the deceased had taken liquor from the duo.

Narrating the sequence of the incident, Sodhi, who lost his three family members and is also one of the victims of the tragedy, said they all had consumed spurious liquor after purchasing it from Jaswant Singh.

The SSP said Jaswant Singh and Kala had been arrested and a case of attempt to murder (Section 304 of the IPC) had been registered against them at the Dasuya police station.

He further said a joint operation was being conducted by the Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur police to nab the persons involved in the spurious liquor trade in the Bet area. Certain drug traffickers who are in the trade for the past many years have also been rounded up. Police parties have been sent to various places in Gurdaspur district from where the accused had bought spurious liquor, said the SSP.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has directed the DGP, PS Gill, to order an independent inquiry by the IG (Zonal) into the incident. He has also directed the Hoshiarpur DC to make arrangements to provide treatment to the victims.

Patiala, October 28
Taking cognisance of the news reports published in The Tribune, Patiala Divisional Commissioner GS Grewal has ordered Patiala Municipal Corporation functionaries to get removed all encroachments beneath the bus stand flyover.

He has also directed the civic authorities to make the city, especially the area surrounding the bus stand, free from cattle menace.

On September 5, The Tribune had carried a report regarding encroachments beneath the bus stand flyover by taxi operators. The report had also highlighted that taxi operators were caging stray cattle under the flyover. Subsequently, Patiala Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA) president Ravee Singh Aahluwalia had taken up the matter with the Patiala Divisional Commissioner.

Taking note of the report, Grewal recently held a meeting with Patiala Municipal Commissioner Manjit Singh Narang. During the meeting, Narang told the Divisional Commissioner that the area under the bus stand flyover came under the PWD (B & R) jurisdiction. Subsequently, after having discussions with PWD (B & R) Officials, Grewal issued orders that the area be handed over to the Patiala MC. “Now, the Patiala MC will be responsible for ensuring that all encroachments beneath the flyover are removed at the earliest,” Grewal said.

The DC also instructed Narang to make sure that necessary steps were taken to end the menace of stray cattle in the vicinity of the bus stand. “With a coordinated efforts of different government departments, we would make earnest efforts to end the problem of stray cattle and stray dogs,” said Grewal, while adding that he has also directed the Municipal Commissioner to submit an action taken report in that regard.

Over the past few years, the problem of stray cattle has acquired alarming proportions. Residents have been time and again complaining that the municipal authorities were not doing anything to end the stray cattle problem. “Since the Divisional Commissioner has taken notice of the problem, we are hopeful that Patiala would be free from the stray cattle menace soon,” said PSPCA president Ravee Singh Aahluwalia.

Obama to skip Amritsar, Sikhs disappointed
Perneet Singh
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 28
The news of Amritsar not featuring in the US President Barack Obama’s itinerary for his forthcoming India visit has caused disappointment among Sikhs in India and abroad, as the community was keenly looking forward to it.

SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar said, “The entire Sikh community was enthused that the head of the world’s most powerful nation would be visiting their holiest shrine. It would have enhanced the community’s pride, while addressing the problem of mistaken identity being faced by it abroad.

Former SGPC general secretary Bibi Kiranjot Kaur said it was President Obama’s prerogative whether he wanted to visit Amritsar or not. “If it didn’t fit in his schedule, then it is okay, but the point raised earlier about covering his head should not be an issue,” she said. According to her, it would have been nice if Obama had visited the Golden Temple, as it would have spread awareness about Sikhs, a microscopic minority, at the international level. Former Akali Minister Manjeet Singh Calcutta said Obama’s visit would have gone a long way in helping Sikhs deal with the “identity crisis” with which they are grappling with post-9/11 attack in the US.

On the other hand, reports pouring in from the US suggest that the move has not gone down well with the Sikh community there, too. They feel that Obama is skipping the Golden Temple "out of fear" and not his tight schedule as is being stated by the US authorities. “I’m not really buying the excuse. I think the administration has been struggling with the false accusation that the President is a Muslim. It is not out of the realm of possibility that these fears drove the cancellation,” Sapreet Kaur, executive director of the Sikh Coalition, was quoted saying in the US media.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Paramjit Singh Sarna has shot off a missive to the US President, urging him to visit a Delhi gurdwara. Talking to this correspondent on phone from New Delhi, Sarna said they had first requested him not to cancel his visit to Amritsar and if it wasn’t possible, to visit a gurdwara in Delhi. “We cordially invite you to visit Gurdwara Bangla Sahib or Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib, adjacent to the President’s House and Parliament of India,” stated Sarna in his letter to Obama. “As the national and international media is centred in Delhi, your visit will help remove the misconception about the Sikh identity, which has led to unfortunate incidents in the aftermath of 9/11,” read the letter. Obama was expected to visit Amritsar on November 7 and pay obeisance at the Golden Temple apart from visiting the Khalsa College. 

Chandigarh, October 28
While controversy over subsidies to the farm sector continues unabated, farmers and farm workers owing allegiance to 17 organisations have threatened to disrupt rail and road traffic at 11 different places in Punjab tomorrow in protest against the “apathy” of both the Centre and the Punjab government towards their long standing demands.

Though controversy over subsidies has not only seen the ouster of Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal from the Council of Ministers, also the SAD, the agitating organisations of farmers and farm workers led by the BKU (Ekta) have been accusing the ruling party of going back on its election manifesto on farm subsidies.

The latest provocation for the farmers and farm workers has been the visit of the central team to assess losses to the paddy crop by the recent spell of inclement weather.“It was not only misleading but was a mere eyewash as the central team made no real effort to visit either the worst-affected areas by the last week’s squall but also did not take samples of grains damaged most by the unprecedented weather,” says Sukhdev Singh Kokri, general secretary of the BKU (Ekta).

Kokri said the anti-farmer policies of both the Central Government and the Punjab government had been exposed to the hilt in recent years. “In case, the Centre and the state did not do anything immediately to redress the grievances of the farmers, the proposed 24-hour rail and road roko agitation may be extended indefinitely,” he cautioned.

The procurement agencies, he alleged, under the garb of controls - maximum 17 per cent moisture and five per cent broken grains - were fleecing farmers. After refusing to lift the paddy stocks from the grain markets, these procurement agencies, in connivance with private millers and traders, were lifting the produce at lower rates than the MSP.

The Punjab farmers want further relaxations in procurement standards. The moisture limit should be raised to 22 per cent and damaged grains limit be raised to 12 per cent, they demand.

Regretting the inconvenience to be caused to general public by the rail/road roko agitation tomorrow, the leaders of farmers and farm workers said that since they were also a part of the general public and had been suffering because of the discriminatory policies of the Centre and the state government, public should also have a taste of suffering the farmers had been experiencing for decades.

Chandigarh, October 28
The Congress today released a new-look All-India Congress Committee (AICC) member list for Punjab by doing away with a number of senior leaders even while due importance has been given to women and mid-rung leaders.

The party has nominated all MPs from Punjab (10), including those in the Rajya Sabha, except for Anandpur Sahib MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, who is a surprise omission. It has also nominated 11 women, including some newcomers who are virtually unknown in the state politics, in keeping with the new formula to reserve 33 per cent seats for women.

With there being only 11 seats left for general candidates, there seems to be an intense competition for the same with former MPs, state presidents and legislators vying for them. The party seems to have gone in for a mixture of the old and the new but seems to have given importance to mid-rung leaders with an eye to the future.

Among the mid-rung leaders who have been included include former ministers Jagmohan Singh Kang and Ashwani Sekhri, legislator Randeep Singh Nabha, legislator Rana K P Singh, and former Sangrur MLA Arvind Khanna, who is known to be a close confidant of the Pradesh Congress President, Capt Amarinder Singh.

Among the youngsters who have got a chance include surprise entrants like Aman Arora who had unsuccessfully contested from Sunam and Tejinder Singh Bittu, who is a former chairman of the Jalandhar Improvement Trust.

While the heavy weight leaders in the state politics, including Union Ministers Preneet Kaur and Ambika Soni and Legislature party leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, have been nominated, accompanying them are relative greenhorns like Khushal Kaur, Karnail Kaur and Rajinder Kaur Babbri. Party sources claim the list of women leaders seemed out of place with the current political scene with a number of prominent women leaders of the state being left out.

Among the legislators, the Beant Singh family has been adjusted with Tej Prakash Singh being nominated. Also on the list is Samana legislator Brahm Mohindra and Dakala legislator and former minister Lal Singh.

Among the senior leaders, former MP Jagmeet Singh Brar, former PPCC presidents Shamsher Singh Dullo and Virender Kataria have also been nominated.

The party has given a miss to senior leaders, including former ministers Surinder Singla, Choudhary Jagjit Singh and Chaudhary Santokh Singh, former MP Rana Gurjeet Singh and former state Congress President HS Hanspal.

The detailed list - Capt. Amarinder Singh, Ambika Soni, Preneet Kaur, M S Gill, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal,Santosh Chaudhary (MP), Mohinder Singh Kay Pee (MP),

Ashwani Kumar (mp), Pratap Singh Bajwa (mp), Manish Tewari (mp), Vijay Inder Singla (mp), Sukhdev Singh Libra (mp), Shamsher Singh Dullo (ex mp), Virender Kataria (ex mp), Jagmeet Singh Brar (ex mp), Razia Sultana (mla), Harchand Kaur (mla), Aruna Chaudhary (ex mla), Khushal Kaur, Varinder Kaur Brar, Karnail Kaur, Laal Singh (mla), Ashwani Sekhri (ex mla), Rajinder Kaur Babbri, Randeep Singh Nabha (mla) Tej Prakash Singh (mla), Sardul Singh (ex minister), Jagmohan Singh Kang (ex minister), Upender Sharma (ex minister), Braham Mohindra (mla), Arvind Khanna (ex mla), Rana Kanwar Pal Singh (mla), Tajinder Singh Bittu (ex Chairman) and Aman Arora.

Moga, October 28
Former Finance Minister of Punjab Manpreet Singh Badal, who was recently expelled from the ruling SAD, on Thursday presided over a series of ‘nukkar’ meetings in the district in a bid to garner support of the people particularly the rural folk.

He spoke in Punjabi to touch the hearts of the rural folk, reiterating his claims on the actual financial position of the state and the problems which were likely to disturb the socio-economic situation of the farming community in the near future.

He addressed gatherings at Dharamkot, Jalalabad, Kadarwala and Singhpura Munan during daytime and at Moga town late in the evening. A former SGPC member, Kuldip Singh Dhos, and at least 40 sarpanches and panches of the area accompanied him during his visit throughout the day.

A little reluctant to talk on his political strategy, Manpreet avoided talking on his future course of action but hinted indirectly at forming a separate political outfit by seeking the support of splinter Akali groups, who were, in one or the other way, worried about the sorry state of affairs in the state and were willing to contribute to steering Punjab to the number one position among states.

“The fight is not against any individual or for becoming the political successor to his uncle, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, but for restoring the lost glory of the state and take out the people from the rising debt trap,” he said to the people.

Manpreet’s visit to Moga district in the Dharamkot area has political overtones. The senior vice-president of the SAD, Jathedar Tota Singh, is eyeing the Dharamkot Assembly seat in the coming Assembly elections.

Chandigarh, October 28
The Punjab Congress today urged state Governor Shivraj Patil to immediately intervene and stop the SAD-BJP government from taking a Rs 1,100 crore loan from a consortium of banks to develop the constituencies of 19 BJP legislators in the state.

Party leader and Bholath legislator Sukhpal Khaira in a statement here said the state’s decision to take loan to finance development of urban constituencies of BJP legislators would result in a further collapse of its sliding economy.

Khaira said the state was under a Rs 70,000 crore debt and did not even have money to pay salaries and pensions to its staff and that the treasury was often in default. He said in such a situation, the decision to further burden the public exchequer with a huge loan was tantamount to playing around with taxpayers’ money.

The Congress leader said it was astonishing that the state government would stand guarantee for this huge amount, which is to be used for cheap political gains. He said it was surprising that only BJP MLAs and councillors would make recommendations for the works to be undertaken and no elected representative of the Congress or any other party would be involved in the distribution of this largesse. By doing so, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal would be directly responsible for violating the laid down constitutional norms and principles of government functioning,” he added.

Khaira said in case the government wanted to avail such a loan, it should use the money for planned development of the primary sectors of education and health. “Our 18,397 government schools and 229 state-run hospitals besides thousands of dispensaries are in a shambles. We can improve the plight of at least 5,000 government schools and some number of dispensaries and government hospitals if this money is used for them,” he added. 

Chandigarh, October 28
Punjab is apparently in no mood to expose its tainted officers. Even though the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the previous date of hearing gave yet another last opportunity for conveying position of “tainted cops”, the state today again sought time for the purpose.

As the case came up before the Division Bench of Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Ajay Tewari, the state counsel contended a meeting for the purpose could not be convened as CM Parkash Singh Badal was unwell. Counsel said the meeting would now be held soon after Diwali.

Taking a note of the assertion, the Bench adjourned the case to November 25.

The high court had earlier asked the state to convey the position of officers facing criminal trial, against whom charges have been framed by the court of competent jurisdiction and ones convicted and sentenced, but sentence 
suspended by the competent court.

Taking up a petition on the continuation of “tainted officers” on “sensitive posts”, the high court had earlier verbally asked the state of Punjab to file an affidavit on officials against whom departmental inquiry was pending. The matter pertains to the mandate of the Punjab Police Act against the continuation of tainted police officers on plum postings.

Taking a serious view of the continuation of tainted police officers on plum postings in alleged violation of the Police Act, 2007, the Bench headed by Justice Mehtab Singh Gill had earlier ruled propriety demanded their removal or transfer.

Maur (Bathinda), October 28
“Hard work and sincerity are the only mantras for success,” said Raghunath Medge, famous Dabbawala of Mumbai. Medge has posed with the likes of Richard Branson, the owner of Virgin Atlantic Airways and Prince Charles, the heir to the British crown.

The president of the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association, Raghunath Medge delivered a lecture on the business management skills at Punjabi University neighbourhood campus, Maur Mandi.

Giving an impressive presentation, Medge informed that the Dabbawala association was formed in 1890, with 800 teams delivered around two lakh tiffins to its customers daily with help of its 5000 employees, a majority of whom, were illiterate. The association now has a certificate of six-sigma performance that too without technological backup.

Jalandhar, October 28
After taking paddy samples from Patiala, Sangrur, Ludhiana, Bathinda and other districts, the Central team left for New Delhi today.A team of food scientists will test the samples in various laboratories in New Delhi, and submit a report to the Union Food Ministry within next 24 hours.

The team was sent by the Centre as a response to an SOS sent by the state government with regard to the paddy procurement crisis. The state had asked the Centre to relax specifications such as moisture limit to enable the Government agencies to procure paddy.

The team found 10 percent green, black grains and fungal affected grains.

Due to the fungal infection the grains appeared liked boiled rice with traceable fissures. For damaged grains, the Centre had given relaxation up to 4.75 per cent last year. The Centre is not in a position to allow the relaxation beyond 5 per cent. The reason for blackened grains is the attack of jassid and prolonged rainy season this year and that for the fungal attack is excessive rain in some part of the state.

Despite grains not drying fully, people started harvesting the crop. 

Faridkot, October 28
The Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, has cancelled the affiliation of two more private ayurvedic colleges on the recommendations of the Central Council of Indian System of Medicines for not fulfilling norms mandatory to run these colleges.

The affiliations of LN Ayurvedic College, Amritsar, and Urmila Devi Ayurvedic College of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Hoshiarpur, have been cancelled. Dr SS Gill, Vice-Chancellor of the university, said the council had also barred these institutions from conducting admissions to degree courses for 2010-2011.

New Delhi, October 28
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said land productivity in Punjab and Haryana would improve after the extension of second green revolution to the east. At thee Economic Editor’s Conference, Pawar said soil health would improve once the burden of producing grain, specifically water-intensive paddy, for PDS gets shared by the east and northeast.

While, the second green revolution may help the Centre fulfill its enhanced PDS requirement after UPA-II’s ambitious Food Security Bill becomes a reality, Punjab farmers are not sure if shifting to some other crop will help improve financial or soil health. They want the government to create an account for loss of nutrients and a get the soil back to health.

Intensive cropping to fill the national food kitty has depleted the soil of its mico-nutrients resulting in lesser yields. The Bharti Kisan Union leaders, explained how intensive agriculture cropping pattern through the yearshad affected the crop producion.

Onkar Singh Agaul Farmers’ representative said even if the cropping pattern was changed, shifting from the water intensive paddy to the rainfed crop pulses would not be possible due to unsuitability of soil.

Patiala, October 28
The Punjab Government has announced a new sports policy to lift the standard of sports and provide best facilities to its sportspersons, but it is caring little about the rights of many sportspersons who have made the state proud.

As many as 59 sportspersons are working on contractual basis in the power corporation for almost five years now, but their request to regularise their services has not yet been considered. Despite claims by Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal that national and international-level sportspersons would be given high posts in different boards and corporations, nothing has been done for these players yet.

According to sources, the interim management committee of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) and the Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited (PSTCL) had earlier regularised the services of 92 substation attendants.

According to a new policy framed by the managing committee for administering PSPCL and PSTCL on May 4, 2010, any employee who had been working in the organisation for three years on contractual basis should be regularised whereas these sportspersons have been working with them for almost five years now. Director, Administration, PSPCL, Gurbachan Singh Bachi said the higher authorities had rejected the proposal for their regularisation, but we were trying our best to get their cases cleared. “I would also seek CM Parkash Singh Badal’s intervention in this regard,” he added. — TNS

Chandigarh, October 28
Apprehending threat to his life since the day he openly sided with ousted Akali Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, SAD MLA from Beas Manjinder Singh Kang today moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court. His petition against the scaling down of his security cover will come up for hearing before Justice Jaswant Singh on Friday.

Kang had earlier asked for paramilitary force security cover. He had claimed that he was receiving threatening calls from unidentified phone numbers ever since he lent support to Manpreet Badal.

Kang had claimed before the media that the state government withdrew more than half of the 50 security guards deployed with his family and a relative - SGPC member Jagir Singh. Kang had asserted that the Punjab Government would be responsible, if anything happened to his family.