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SAD’s big infrastructure projects
Jhinda performs path at Akal Takht
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Punjab & Sind Bank Appoint a Sikh as CMD, ex-MP writes to PM Amritsar, January 30 Former chairman of the National Commission of Minorities (NCM) and former MP Tarlochan Singh has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to appoint a “suitable Sikh” from Central services to head Punjab and Sind Bank (P&SB).
SAD leaders counter Manpreet’s claims
I miss Manpreet: SAD leader
Nanakshahi Calendar: Panel to look into ‘changes’
Missing witness in Khalra murder case found
Threat Email by BKI
Deemed varsities offer to establish Adarsh Schools
Soon, get status of complaints with cops online
SDMs to identify vacant land for urbanisation
Rural vets threaten to intensify stir
Death of Thapar students
egypt unrest
Second wife, her kin ‘kill’ man
Drugs worth Rs 60 lakh seized from Ludhiana
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SAD’s big infrastructure projects
Chandigarh, January 30 Congress managers feel that the SAD is focusing on the completion of big infrastructure projects during its tenure even while a lot remains to be done at the village level to bring in complete development in the state. The Congress aims to do this by preparing the first development report for the Dera Bassi constituency, which will serve a model that can be replicated throughout the state. Former State Planning Board Deputy Chairman RR Bhardwaj, who is also a claimant for the Dera Bassi Assembly constituency, told TNS that PPCC president Amarinder Singh had deputed him to conduct a survey of Dera Bassi to make a comprehensive development plan for the Assembly segment. Bhardwaj said there were manifold advantages of preparing the development report. Besides general information about the village, the report would list development activities that had taken place in each village of the constituency, including establishment of schools, colleges and dairy/poultry or other industry. He said the report would also list obstacles coming in the way of the future development of each village. It would also list the main needs of the village and its development potential vis-a-vis forest, common land or other natural resources of the place. The Congress leader said the preparation of the constituency report, which would be done by party volunteers, would be checked and supervised by professionals. “We have developed software showing existing facilities as well as those desirable keeping in view the norms of the planning commission”, Bhardwaj said. The reports are also aimed at strengthening the party hold at the grassroots level, as it will ensure the involvement of party volunteers in the exercise. Bhardwaj said development reports could also be used during electioneering to highlight the precise problems being faced by the people in different areas and making strategies to remove them. He said it would be easier to carry out development tasks listed in individual development reports of each constituency, as the party rank and file would already be aware of the same and committed to carrying them out. Bhardwaj says based on the development reports, the party will prepare an agenda based on ground realities. He said besides exposing the chinks in the “uneven development” conducted during the SAD-BJP rule, would also give a new direction to the Congress.
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Jhinda performs path at Akal Takht
Amritsar, January 30 Interestingly, unlike yesterday, the SGPC didn’t interrupt Jhinda’s programme today and instead made proper arrangements for the same. The SGPC not only laid mats for Jhinda and his supporters in front of the Akal Takht, where they were to perform path, but also provided them gutkas. The supporters of Jhinda, who was accompanied by the Khalsa Action Committee chairman, Bhai Mohkam Singh, and leaders of some other Panthic outfits, first converged at Manji Sahib Diwan Hall. They then headed to Sri Akal Takht where they performed path of Sukhmani Sahib and also held ardas. Later, in his brief address, Jhinda said the Sarab Pardesh Gurdwara Committee formed by him would soon start functioning. He said the gurdwaras of Haryana were not anybody’s property but belonged to the entire Sikh community. Dal Khalsa leader Satnam Singh Paonta said ever since Haryana came into being in 1966, the gurdwaras there “are not being looked after well” and their management should be handed over to the Sikhs of Haryana on the lines of New Delhi. He said the formation of a separate gurdwara committee in Haryana will strengthen the SGPC. Sarab Pardesh Gurdwara Committee general secretary Inderjeet Singh Chugh said the SGPC “could not succeed in the management of the gurdwaras in other states and its management is restricted to only some districts”. Reacting to today’s development, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar dubbed it Jhinda’s “last show of stunt”. He said Jhinda had claimed that thousands of people would accompany him to Amritsar and had asked the SGPC to make arrangements for their stay, but today his claims turned out to be hollow as there were not more than 50 persons with him. “Even those who supported him in the SGPC elections have deserted him, as they know he is misleading the community,” he charged. Referring to Sarab Pardesh Gurdwara Committee, Makkar said Jhinda had no right to form a separate committee on his own.
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Punjab & Sind Bank
Amritsar, January 30 His request has come in view of the recent media reports that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has raised questions over the practice of reserving the P&SB chairman-cum-managing director’s job for a Sikh despite the bank’s nationalisation three decades ago. In his letter to the PM dated January 24, Tarlochan said: “The bank was founded in Amritsar by leading Sikh intellectuals and religious leaders to help the Sikh community. In 1980s, when this bank was nationalised, there were protests from Sikh leaders and at that time the then PM Indira Gandhi had given them an assurance that the government will always appoint a Sikh as the bank’s CMD to maintain the Sikh character of the bank. This assurance has been fully honoured for the past 30 years.” According to him, when there was no suitable Sikh available in the banking cadre he, as the NCM chairman, proposed to the successive Union Finance Ministers to have an appropriate IAS officer to head the bank. He expressed his gratitude to Jaswant Singh, P. Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee who continued the existing practice while urging the PM not to deviate from the promise given by Indira Gandhi. “Your government is committed towards helping the minorities and here is a case which is highly sentimental to the Sikh community,” he concluded. The post of Punjab and Sind Bank CMD has been lying vacant since GS Vedi’s retirement in June last year. According to sources, with no senior Sikh banker available to fill the post, the Finance Ministry is processing the proposal to appoint a Punjab cadre IAS officer to head the bank. Sources said the ministry had sent DS Bains’s name for the post. Interestingly, this is not the first time that questions are being raised on appointing a Sikh to the top post. The scenario was no different last year too, but in view of protests from the community, the government decided to initiate the process for zeroing in on a Sikh bureaucrat for the job. The bank has traditionally been led by a Sikh except for a few instances where non-Sikhs were given the responsibility as an interim arrangement.
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SAD leaders counter Manpreet’s claims
Ferozepur, January 30 Gurtej Singh Ghuriana, MLA, Balluana, today asked Manpreet to explain why Manpreet had been opposing subsidies to the poor as well as the agriculture sector when he himself had enjoyed the same for his Kinnow orchards. Sanjeev Godara, Political Advisor of the SAD, asked Manpreet, “Why Manpreet kept endorsing the policies of the SAD for 15 years after becoming the SAD MLA for the first time in 1995.” “Manpreet has been trying to create an illusion among the people over the issues related to granting of subsidies to the poor as well as the financial health of Punjab for his own interests,” they pointed out. The leaders claimed that Manpreet’s personal agenda would not cause any damage to achievements of Punjab government. The leaders credited the state government for providing Atta and Dal at subsidised rates to the poor, administrative reforms, filling vacancies of teachers, doctors and others in various departments, setting up thermal plants, model schools and installation of RO systems.— TNS
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I miss Manpreet: SAD leader Patiala, January 30 The Punjab MP Dhindsa said Manpreet was like a son to him and he misses him in the party, and had even tried to persuade Manpreet to return back even after he had announced his detachment. “His decision to quit the SAD was more of a personal loss to me as he was like my own son, but when it comes to party lines my stance does not matter,” he said.
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Nanakshahi Calendar: Panel to look into ‘changes’
Chandigarh, January 30 According to the statement, the members of the Sikh community spread all over the world want fixed dates to celebrate Gurpurbs. Pal Singh Purewal was thus requested by the institute to initiate these reforms, the statement adds. Amendments to the calendar implied conversion from the lunar to a solar calendar. Under the lunar system, the dates keep changing every year, which were not possible for Sikhs abroad to follow, it added. A separate solar calendar will establish a separate and independent identity of Sikh Panth, the statement added. A panel of experts has been constituted to look into any further changes without changing the basis of the calendar. “The members of institute do not want to take sides,” the statement added. — TNS
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Missing witness in Khalra murder case found
Tarn Taran, January 30 Kuldeep went missing on Friday night and a report in this connection was lodged with the City police station, Tarn Taran, on Saturday. Tarn Taran SSP Pritpal Singh Virk said Kuldeep was recovered by the Batala police from Gurdwara Kandh Sahib. He said the Khalra case witness told the police that he had gone to the gurdwara to pay obeisance. According to the SSP, Kuldeep also told the police that “I was afraid as terrorists are moving around in Punjab and the situation is very serious”. Virk said Kuldeep had fallen prey to drug addiction and had been taking “some medication” to get rid of it. However, in the process he started having hallucinations, he claimed. He had also been provided security cover of eight CRPF jawans. Before he went missing, he would often tell his acquaintances that he feared for his life and he will run away, said the SSP.
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Threat Email by BKI
Patiala, January 30 In the letter, former Deputy Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Bir Devinder Singh said the threat email was a clear evidence that there were efforts to revive militancy in Punjab. “My dossier and the security file available with intelligence and security wings of the Punjab Police speak volumes about my struggle against the militancy in Punjab and my vulnerability to militants’ attacks,” reads the letter. The email has threatened to eliminate BJP leader from Ludhiana Satpal Gosain, Beas MLA Manjinder Singh Kang, Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Youth Akali Dal (Longowal) chief Ranjit Singh Nikkra and former Deputy Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Bir Devinder Singh. In December last year, the Punjab Government had withdrawn the security cover that it had extended to Bir Devinder Singh from the past over two decades. In October last year, the security cover provided to Manjinder Singh Kang was also curtailed. An application for providing security cover to Ranjit Singh Nikkra is pending with the police from the past over a year. The police has started a thorough probe into this and is trying to verify the origin place and the server of this email.
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Deemed varsities offer to establish Adarsh Schools
Chandigarh, January 30 An official release here said each deemed university had given an assurance to adopt a minimum of 10 Adarsh Schools and that all these schools would be commissioned by June. It said representatives of various deemed universities and private engineering colleges today called on Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal and offered to set up a minimum of 10 Adarsh Schools each in the state. At a high-level meeting with the Deputy CM, they said they were interested in setting up Adarsh Schools because besides providing free education to the economically poor students of Punjab, these schools would also become a feeding channel for their upcoming universities. They sought the Deputy CM’s help in the allotment of sites for setting up Adarsh Schools at the earliest so that construction work could be started immediately. Krishan Kumar, Director General School Education, gave an assurance to the Deputy CM that he would identify 160 sites that would be allotted for the construction to the deemed universities within one month. Appreciating the gesture of the deemed universities, the Deputy CM asked the Secretary (Education) to put a precondition while granting licence for a deemed university that the institution would have to operationalise five Adarsh Schools in one year of getting the licence and another five within two years. The Secretary (Education ) informed at the meeting that there were 16 pending applications for deemed universities and that Chitkara University had been recently granted the status of deemed university. Krishan Kumar said that out of the 61 allotted sites, 31 Adarsh Schools would be operational by June whereas another 30 would be operational by October.
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Soon, get status of complaints with cops online
AMRITSAR: Knowing the status of your complaint with the police may soon be only a click away. The state police plans to launch a project within this year under which complaints and their current status will be made available online, said PS Gill, DGP here.
“The work is in the final stages and will be launched within this year,” he said. The project is part of bringing administrative reforms in the police delivery system.
— TNS
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SDMs to identify vacant land for urbanisation Patiala, January 30 The decision comes after the authorities concerned failed to attract those who were willing to sell 50 acres land to the government. The state government wants to develop these vacant land holdings in modern urban estates in three districts and one town. The government had tried to ask farmers to come up collectively with land holdings above 50 acres. The lukewarm response forced the government to follow another policy and identify available lands. Sources in the state government said the decision came after agitations by farmers, who did not want to part with their land. Following expensive litigations and wasted government resources, the government wanted to simplify the process of acquiring new land. As per a the new land purchase policy, the government wanted to know from the SDM-level officials if any vacant land was available in Patiala, Sangrur, Barnala and Malerkotla. “PUDA officials have sent a copy of this notification to the officials concerned in the three districts and the process has been initiated,” claimed a senior officer. Additional Chief Administrator (PUDA) Amrit Gill said earlier the government wanted to get land from single owners who had 50 acre plus land, but despite repeated expressions of interests given in newspapers, no one had turned up. Sources said the department concerned (PUDA) had floated newspapers advertisements in November, but failed to get a positive response till December, following which the SDM’s were asked to report any vacant land to their Deputy Commissioners who would then inform PUDA office. “This move would surely make the process simpler and also help identify government land, which is under encroachments or is vacant. Rather than acquiring land forcibly, the recent decision would help the government to use their own vacant land best use”, claimed Patiala ADC APS Virk. “I have directed our officials to start identifying such land holdings”, he said.
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Rural vets threaten to intensify stir
Patiala, January 30 Vice-president of the association state unit, Dr Jiwan Kumar Gupta, said meeting the association office bearers recently had a meeting and deliberations were held on the issue of the non-acceptance of the long pending demand to regularise the officials. “During the meeting, all the association representatives have condemned the state government for not conceding the genuine demand of the officials,” he said.
— TNS
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Death of Thapar students Rajpura, January 30 Two students, including Gagandeep of Mohali and Gaurav Verma from Delhi were killed in an accident in Rajpura while two others survived. The survivors were Zorawar Singh, Patiala SDM’s son and another Jaskaran Singh. Zorawar was allegedly driving a Ford Endeavor car bearing a red beacon in an inebriated condition. Gagandeep’s father alleged that the scene of actual accident is quite different from that of the FIR report. He alleged that the truck, which collided with the speeding car, was shown as overtaking in the FIR. However, the police had earlier informed his relatives and the media that the truck was parked at the roadside as its fuel got exhausted. Despite the police claims that liquor bottles were recovered from boys car they did not registered a case of rash and negligent driving against driver, Zorawar Singh. Gurbax claimed that one Jarnail Singh, who was not even present at the time of accident, lodged a false complaint with the police following which the FIR was registered. He also stated that the time of accident told by the survivors and in the FIR is quite different. The differences have been done to save the Patiala SDM’s son in connivance with the local police, he alleged. He said the FIR stated that the complainant, Jarnail Singh, was coming behind in his Verna car. “If he was coming behind then why he wasted time to wait for another vehicle to rush injured to the hospital,” Gurbax said. He pointed out that the contents of the FIR were misleading and had been recorded.
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Second wife, her kin ‘kill’ man
Ferozepur, January 30 Hira Singh had married Rupi, the daughter of his first wife’s sister, three years ago. His second wife Rupi, her brothers, Judge and Goldi, and her mother, Swaran Kaur, allegedly killed him with sharp-edged weapons, according to the police. According to sources, the murder was pre-planned as Hira was killed the moment he entered Rupi’s house. The accused fled the spot. Rachpal Singh, driver of the car hired by Hira to go to Rupi’s house, reported the matter to Hira Singh’s relatives. Hira Singh (35) had three children from his first wife Chinder Kaur of Kasoana village. He began living in Amritsar after marrying his Rupi. Hira shifted to his village Nizamdin Wala after Rupi delivered a baby girl five months ago. Both wives Rupi and Chinder Kaur lived cordially with Hira but later developed differences and relations between Rupi and Hira turned sour. Rupi left Hira’s house to live at her parental house two months ago. Hira was murdered when he went to Rupi’s house to sort out their differences over the custody of the baby. A case has been registered.
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Drugs worth Rs 60 lakh seized from Ludhiana Ludhiana, January 30 The drugs were seized from an unlicensed godown operating from Pindi street, the wholesale drug market of Ludhiana. Punjab Health minister Laxmikanta Chawla, was present during the raid. She said the police was given the documents carrying the details of the absconding store owner, Jagdish Kumar. “We will register a case against him under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act,” the minister said. Drug inspector, Balram Luthra, has previously seized drugs worth Rs 16 lakh from another unlicensed store owned by Jagdish Kumar on January 28. The raid today has taken the figures of estimated amount of seizure of psychotropic drugs to Rs 76 lac in the past three days. The confiscated drugs included capsules, tablets, syrups and injections, categorised under schedule H drugs. These cannot be sold in absence of a prescription from a qualified medical practitioner. Health director Punjab Dr JP Singh and Ludhiana civil surgeon Dr Satwant Bhalla were also present during the raid. Pointing at a pack of 25,000 lomotil tablets, used by drug addicts, were also seized from the store. A 5-litre container of cough syrup, meant for hospital supply, was also stocked in the unlicensed store. A senior official said the store owner was selling cough syrup to chemists and distributing it among young boys from the nearby villages. The Punjab health minister, while making an important announcement, said those helping the department of health and family welfare, by giving information of those selling habit-forming drugs could come out in open and take credit for their work. “We will acknowledge the individuals for waging a war against the drug mafia,” the minister said. When asked about the missing action against the actual offenders operating as the drug mafia from Ludhiana, Laxmikanta Chawla said any information against any illegal activity in drug trade would be looked in to, irrespective of the name and stature. “But people should come forward with the complaint,” she said.
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egypt unrest Patiala, January 30 Talking to The Tribune over the phone from Luxor, Karamjit Singh Jattana of Patiala said that he found all business establishments closed due to violence on Saturday evening after his return from a three-day cruise on the Nile. “Mobile phones have limited connectivity while the Internet facilities are jammed following the curfew,” he said. Another Patiala resident Gurjeet Singh Garcha, also in Luxor, said, “Over 50 tourists are still on a cruise and are likely to reach in two days. Authorities of the Indian Embassy are yet to contact us. There are no flights and even making it to the airport is difficult as rioters have blocked all roads,” he said. Jattana said a group of over 50 tourists, mainly newly-wed couples from Punjab, were still on a cruise on the Nile and were unaware of the happenings in Egypt.
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After the Akali focus on development, it is the turn of the Congress to do the same. The Congress is seeking to conducting a village-level development survey in all constituencies of the state. The purpose is to go to the people with a micro-level development plan, which can be executed speedily.
Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (ad hoc) chief Jagdish Singh Jhinda along with his supporters today gathered at the Golden Temple complex.
Patiala, January 30
Ludhiana, January 30