In Lambi, it will be brother vs brother
Ludhiana, April 27
Lambi, the most keenly watched Assembly constituency of the state, will witness an electoral battle between two brothers this Assembly elections.

Chandigarh, April 27
Punjab is set to achieve a record wheat yield and is likely to overshoot procurement targets for the central pool in view of conducive weather conditions.

Wheat production in the state is likely to overshoot 160 lakh tonnes against a production of 154 lakh tonnes last year. Similarly government agencies are likely to procure more than 110 lakh tonnes of the foodgrain against the procurement of 102 lakh tonnes last year.

Intense cold wave conditions in December-January resulted in multiplication of crop shoots. This ensured development of more ears and finally more grain per plant. Agriculture Department Director Dr BS Sidhu said cold wave conditions had saved the crop from pest attack. Winter rains had also proved condusive for the crop. The clearing of the weather in March had resulted in the crop maturing by Baisakhi.

Warm weather during the winter months had in earlier years brought down the average yield in Punjab. In 2009-10 the average yield declined to 43.7 quintals per hectare due to early maturity, which resulted in shrivelling of the grain. This year the crop matured at the right time, by April 13. Though the Agriculture Department is still calculating the average yield for the present crop, Dr Sidhu said it would cross 45 quintals per hectare. The highest crop yield of 47 quintals per hectare in 1999 had gone down to 42 quintals per hectare in 2005.

Food and Civil Supplies Secretary DS Grewal said late maturity had resulted in late start to the procurement season. State agencies had procured 64 lakh tonnes of wheat till date as compared to 93 lakh tonnes procured during the same time last year. He said Sangrur was leading in procurement with 8 lakh tonnes, followed by Patiala with 7.80 lakh tonnes and Ferozepur 7 lakh tonnes.

On discoloured grain, Grewal said this was limited to a few areas. He said discoloured wheat was being stocked separately for inspection by the FCI.

He said Pungrain, slated to procure 17 per cent of the total crop, would make online payments for the wheat crop for the first time.

Chandigarh, April 27
With the aim to make the Punjab police accountable and responsive, the Punjab Government, in a major decision today, decided to bring police services under the purview of the Punjab Right to Services Act, 2011.

This legislation will make Station House Officers (SHOs) directly responsible for public services and will be liable to financial penalty on failure of time-bound delivery of services.

The move acquires a special meaning for Punjab, where the SHOs work directly under political bosses. According to the PRS Act, the SHO is proposed to be the designated officer to deliver the services to the people.

Once implemented, Punjab will become the first state in the country to bring the police under the PRS Act.

The SHOs will have to reply to issues, supply documents, deal with cases, etc in a specific time frame. This will include issuance of no-objection certificates with regard to public nuisance and safety concerns, character verification, verification of tenants, servants, granting permission for fairs, exhibitions, permission for loudspeakers, etc.

The services that will fall under the purview of the SHO under this legislation will include issuance of copies of documents, countersigning, issuing of SMS and email services.

Besides passport services that include registration of foreigners, extension or residential permits to foreigners etc will also have to be done in a time frame.

At the moment, this is normally done for a price. The SHOs will either have to accept or reject the cases and accord reasons for the same. The Punjab Government has already made provisions for making online complaints that can be accessed by the complainant and monitor the progress in the matter.

The time frame for various services is being tabulated and is expected to be put up before the Punjab Cabinet when it meets this month after which the government will pass an ordinance.

The time period could vary from one day to one month, depending on the nature of the work.

Apart from the service under the PRS Act, the SHOs will also have to perform other regular policing work like maintenance of law and order and crime prevention and detection.

“The move will restore the diluted hierarchy within the police setup by making the SHO directly answerable to the people. If a SHO is unable to deliver services like passport or arms verification, issuance of NOC of stolen vehicles etc, the Deputy Superintendent of Police at the sub-division level will decide the complaints/ appeal against the erring SHOs.

“If the complainant’s grievance is not resolved, he or she can approach the Senior Superintendent of Police with a second appeal and if the SSP finds the delay on part of the SHO as unjustified, he will fine the SHO Rs 500 for each day’s delay. This amount will be recovered from the SHO’s salary,” a senior government official disclosed.

After the jurisdiction of the police stations were marked on the basis of political constituencies, the SHOs in Punjab had started acting at the behest of the MLA rather than their superior officer.

By bringing the SHOs under the PRS Act, these SHOs will again become directly answerable to the DSP and SSP at the sub-division and district level.

Amritsar, April 27
South Australia's Minister of Multicultural Affairs Grace Portolesi has said that her state is keen to have cultural exchange programmes with Punjab to encourage Punjabi youth to study in Australia.

During a meeting with the Indian parents whose wards were studying in Australia, Grace assured them that safety, security and quality education were the watchwords of the Australian government.

On some previous acrimonious scenes involving Indian students and local residents, Grace said that her government was already running some orientation programmes to help Indian students adjust in a new culture and environment.

The parents told her about the various emotional and technical problems being faced by them.

One Lakhwinder Kaur said her son went to Australia on a study visa nearly four years ago, but nobody in the family was granted visa to visit him.

One Daljit Singh took up the matter that less number of permanent residence (PR) were being granted. He demanded that the rules be relaxed and made more favourable for intelligent and diligent students.

The South Australian Minister assured the parents that she would convey their concerns to the government.

Earlier, dressed in a light sky blue kurta, salwar and chuni, she, along with her daughter Ilika, paid obeisance at the Golden Temple. They partook langar and cooked some chapatis at Guru Ramdas langal hall inside the Golden Temple complex.

Amritsar, April 27
The Amritsar administration has commenced a unique endeavour to identify the poor, determine the reasons for their penury and the intervention required for improving their lot.

Talking to The Tribune here, Deputy Commissioner KS Pannu said a registered society named PEHAL (Poor Empowerment Helping And Liasioning) would undertake the task. “To start with, we have selected the Chogawan block where we have identified 1,488 families in 115 villages.

“Our survey teams identified the poor, collected data on the reasons for their poverty and the kind of help they expected from the authorities to break the vicious cycle of poverty.

“The data was then critically analysed and put into groups (like widows, the elderly, the chronically ill, the debt-ridden). Now, aid, either in cash or kind, shall be provided to the target families.

Also, these beneficiaries shall be monitored for any further help so that assistance provided to them actually improves their quality of life.”

He said assistance to the identified poor under government schemes would also be provided to them through the efforts of the society.

The data about the Chogawan block was available online (www.amritsarpoorempowerment.com). The DC said the society had opened a bank account and “anyone can deposit money in this account after identifying the family for whom the money is meant on our website. Our executive will then not only pass on the aid to the target family, but will also facilitate interaction between the donor and the beneficiary through video-conferencing.

He said the aim was to empower the poor by helping them build brick houses and acquire technical skills, jobs. Money could also be sent to the chronically ill. “We will make it a point to update the donors about the status of the family adopted by them from time to time.”

All success stories would be displayed on the website. The society held its first meeting in Amritsar on April 21.

Amritsar, April 27
The Khalsa College row has now started taking a toll on the evaluation process in the entire state, including Chandigarh, as the teaching fraternity stayed away from the evaluation work today on the call given by the Punjab Federation of University and College Teachers Organisation.

Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union general secretary HS Walia claimed that teachers from five universities and 225 government/ non-government colleges boycotted the evaluation work in the state and the call was cent per cent successful. He warned that if the Khalsa College management didn’t revoke the suspension of the three teachers and withdraw cases against 20 others by tomorrow, they would intensify the agitation.

Amritsar, April 27
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh today said he has taken up the matter of baptising Balwant Singh, convicted in the Beant Singh assassination case, with the jail authorities twice, but in vain.

Talking to mediapersons here today, he said: “I have written to the DGP (Jail) besides taking up the issue with Jail Minister Hira Singh Gabria, but am awaiting their response.

“A reminder was sent to the DGP on February 25 but there has been no reply yet,” he said. “This is not the first time that somebody would be baptised in a jail,” he claimed, adding that “Amrit Sanchar” or other religious programmes in jail would have a positive impact on prisoners.

He said the government should not allow the forthcoming Ashutosh Maharaj of Divya Jyoti Jagran Sansthan (DJJS) function in Ludhiana as it had disturbed peace on a previous occasion. He warned Dr Iqbal to remove derogatory remarks on Akal Takht from his website or else action would be initiated against him.

There are reports that convict Balwant Singh had written to the Jathedar, expressing disappointment over the delay in his being baptised. Balwant was awarded the death sentence by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on October 12 last year.

Abohar, April 27
With the temperature rising and reaching as high as 48 degrees celsius in May-June, the authorities have decided to serve lemon tea to BSF jawans manning posts on the Indo-Pakistan border in this sector. Every year, there are several cases of jawans suffering sunstroke.

“We have provided ice box at every observation tower so that cold water is available for the jawans round the clock,” pointed out Vimal Satyarthi, DIG, Abohar. He said all border observation posts (BOPs) had been equipped with freezers and refrigerators. Desert coolers had been installed in all barracks. — TNS

Patiala, April 27
Following the intervention of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the state government has worked on preparing a master plan for Rajpura, which will cover 166 villages.

Recognising the need for regulating the development of Rajpura, the Punjab Government had declared a Local Planning Area Rajpura (LPA Rajpura) in December, 2007, and had designated a Chief Town Planner, Punjab, as the planning agency to prepare the master plan of LPA Rajpura.

Patiala Deputy Commissioner Dipinder Singh said the master plan was drafted in a manner that all sections of the society, including the public sector, the private economic sector and he social sector had representation.

“The main aim is to develop the industry, trade and commerce in Rajpura by striking a balance in the distribution of predominant land-uses with enhanced connectivity through road, rail and freight corridor in an environmentally sustainable manner,” he added.

The government believes that the population of LPA Rajpura is estimated to grow to 4.06 lacs out of which urban population of Rajpura is estimated to be 2.90 lacs by 2031.

District Town Planner Mandeep Kaur said logistic corridor and industrial zone had been proposed at a distance from the proposed urban limit because of upcoming crossing station of Dedicated Eastern Freight Corridor and the existing connectivity to this station through Shambhoo-Ghanaur road from National Highway 1 and the Banur-Tepla road.

Similarly, The Nabha Thermal Plant, coming up in north-west of LPA Rajpura, is far away from the proposed urban limit.

The DC said based on the existing character of town and various major projects which were in the pipeline, following land-use zones had been proposed for LPA Rajpura residential zone, the commercial zone, wholesale and warehousing zone, the industrial zone, the logistic zone (corridor), mixed land use zone and rural and agricultural zone.

Transport network and land use need to be considered in an integrated manner. For the master plan of LPA Rajpura, extensive road network has been proposed taking into account the connectivity requirements and comprehensive proposals related to six and four laning of the National Highway 1 and the National Highway 64, respectively.

Moreover, the future road network has been proposed as per the policy requirements of railways that “No new level crossing will be provided on the Ambala-Ludhiana stretch and all the roads of the master plan will be adjusted within the existing level crossings or flyovers and railway over bridges,” they added. Meanwhile, public objections have been invited till May 11, 2011, and the map of the project is available at many government offices in Chandigarh and Patiala.

Chhat (Banur), April 27
After getting a pair of Asiatic lions from Gujarat, the Mahendra Chaudhary Zoological Park will carry out an exchange programme of animals for in-situ conservation with the Nandan Kanan Zoological Park, Orissa. The exchange programme aims at protecting endangered species in its natural habitat.

Punjab Forest and Wildlife Minister Tikshan Sud recently held meetings with the officials of the Orissa Forest Department and the Nandan Kanan Zoological Park.

The minister was accompanied by Chief Conservator of Forests Punjab Jatinder Sharma and Patiala District Forest Officer (DFO) Dharminder Sharma during the tour to Eastern states. He is also scheduled to visit the zoos of Gangtok and Darjeeling.

Zoo authorities said authorities had agreed to give a female white tigress to the Chhatbir Zoo and talks were on to get a chimpanzee as the zoo had no chimpanzees for the past one year.

The zoo presently houses a four and half years old white male tiger, in isolation, for the past two years. The white tigress had died due to some ailments. The pair was brought from Delhi zoo around four years ago.

Also, a proposal is likely to be prepared for the transfer of Chinkaras, white bucks and Sarus Cranes to Nandan Kanan Zoo as these animals were breeding well at Chhatbir Zoo.

At present, Chhatbir Zoo has one male zebra without a mate while Nandan Kanan has some female zebras. Modalities are been chalked out to send the male zebra for breeding to Orissa. The male will be brought back after sometime. In exchange, a female zebra will be brought from Orissa.On the lines of Nandan Kanan Zoo, which has an aquarium, authorities in Chhatbir too are contemplating to add an aquarium to attract more visitors.

Patiala, April 27
Efforts of the eco-friendly city residents have transformed a barren piece of land into a park with a fresh lease of life. With a decision to redo the park, more than 100 members formed a club, Friends of Environment, and gave the park a facelift.

The park was also a popular among the drug addicts of the city. The club has been maintaining and developing the Environment Park ever since.

The members, who met each other during their morning and evening walks, got together and formed the club. They started making efforts a year back, by cleaning the wild growth and ensuring that anti-social elements were not permitted entry in the park.

“When we started working, the park was full of wild growth, filth and was a was popular among drug addicts,” president of the club, Balbir Singh, said.

Pooja Sidhu, a resident of the area, said, “Almost a year back, drunkards and drug addicts used to throng the park. This made it impossible for us to even step out of our house, leave alone a walk inside the park.”

Adviser to the society, Karamjit Singh Jattana, said the park had a scarce water supply and litter all around, “Initially, we had a tough time, but we collected money from the members and after cleaning the park we planted around 300 saplings. We have fixed a new motor for watering the plants,” he said.

Jalandhar, April 27
The police remand of all the four suspects in the high-profile Gurkirat murder case has been extended by two more days. Amid tight security, the suspects were produced in the court of Judicial Magistrate (first class) Avtar Singh Barda who was a Duty Magistrate today. Interestingly, the licences of the two main accused - Ram Simran Singh Makkar alias Prince Makkar, a nephew of MLA Sarabjit Singh Makkar and Amardeep Singh Sachdeva, a practicing advocate and son of a senior advocate - to possess weapons had expired in 2010.

The prosecution had demanded that their police custody be extended by five days as the accused were not cooperating during investigations. Moreover, the police needed more time to locate the persons who provided them shelter while they were on the run.

The police have also to find out whom they talked to after committing the crime.

The prosecution stated that the person(s) who provided them shelter was equally at fault. Countering the prosecution, the defence counsels of Makkar and Sachdeva claimed that there was no need for further police remand as they have surrendered before the court and the police has already recovered the weapons, cartridges, mobile phones and even the vehicle.

The defence counsel also demanded that the court should direct the investigating officer to gather the CCTV footage from the Mission and Satyam Hospital where the victim was rushed to after the incident Sachdeva’s lawyer made the point that his client was not involved as the bullet that hit Gurkirat was not fired by him.

The defence counsel of Amanpreet Singh Narula, son of the Chairman of MGN Educational Trust, and Jasdeep Singh, son of the owner of hotel Regent Park, said that their clients did not carry any weapons at the time of the incident. Moreover, Jasdeep’s family members had surrendered the weapon that he had kept at home.