Jalandhar, August 16
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has taken serious note of the lapses on the part of the contractor during the six-laning of NH-1. It plans to slap a case against Soma Enterprises for not raising retaining walls on either ends of the bridges before filling the soil.

As a result, the downpour on Friday night flatenned the mud bridges on the Phillaur-Goraya-Phagwara stretch. The silt on the road led to a major traffic jam that lasted well over 12 hours.

Col Rastogi, manager of the project (Panipat to Jalandhar stretch) inspected the damaged sites today. He termed the lapses as “serious” and said he would report the matter to the higher officials, recommending that the contractor be penalised. He refused to give any details.

Asked if Soma Enterprises had further sub-contracted work on the six-laning of the highway, he said this was a common practice for mega projects. Asked about the deadline, he said the project had been delayed but could not give any date for its completion.

For the past three days, there have been diversions all along the highway forcing the people to take the Phagwara-Nawanshahr-Apra-Phillaur route or even a longer one via Phagwara-Nawanshahr-Rahon-Machhiwara. As public transport on Raksha Bandhan came to a halt, hundreds of women had to walk down several kilometres through slush with their children looking for alternative modes of transportation.

SSP Rural HS Mann said the movement of traffic was near normal yesterday after cranes deployed by the contractor cleared the affected lane. Madhav, project manager, Soma Enterprises, refused to comment. 

Amritsar, August 16
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has emphasised on the need to adopt federal structure in India on the lines of the USA and to ensure equal distribution of revenue resources between the Centre and the states for proper development of the latter.

Addressing a gathering after unfurling the Tricolour at the state-level Independence Day function here yesterday, Badal blamed the “prejudiced policies” of the Centre for various ills afflicting the society and said the states had to “approach the Union Government like a beggar even for their small requirements”. He said, “We have failed to build India of our freedom fighters’ dreams as even after 64 years of Independence we could not provide basic amenities to our people. As per a survey, 70 per cent of our population is surviving on a meagre Rs 20 a day.”

Badal said Punjabis had played a significant role in the freedom struggle of the country despite the fact that they constituted only 2.5 per cent of the country’s population. “The Punjabis have not only made sacrifices to uphold our freedom in various wars with the neighbouring countries but also contributed 60 per cent of the foodgrain to the Central pool to make our country self-sufficient in food production.” The CM also dwelt on the achievements of the SAD-BJP regime. He said they have opened seven new universities and 17 new degree colleges, besides recruiting 54,000 teachers. He said they also upgraded health centres and hospitals by equipping them with latest medical equipment.

Later, Badal gave away state awards to 37 personalities for their meritorious services in various spheres.

He also felicitated the freedom fighters and their families. After hoisting the national flag, Badal took the salute from the contingents of PAP, Punjab Police and Police Band, besides inspecting the parade. Braving rainfall, schoolchildren showcased their “gatka” skills and presented a colourful programme.

Principal Secretary Darbara Singh Guru, DGP PS Gill, MP Navjot Singh Sidhu, Amritsar Police Commissioner RP Mittal, Divisional Commissioner Anurag Verma, DC Rajat Aggarwal and Mayor Shwait Malik were also present.

Meanwhile, activists of Technical Services Union (TSU) led by their circle chief Baghel Singh were detained while they were proceeding to stage protest in support of their demands outside the state-level function venue. They were later let off by the police.

Fazilka: Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal paid tribute to the martyrs of the 1971 India-Pakistan war at the memorial at border Asafwala village, 7 km from here, yesterday.

Sukhbir laid a wreath at the memorial where mass cremation of 82 jawans of the 4 Jat Regiment was done after the ceasefire of the 1971 war. The Deputy CM was here to unfurl the Tricolour at the first district-level Independence Day function in the newly formed Fazilka district. Badal also visited the War Museum raised inside the War Memorial Complex. “Displaying the photographs of martyrs is a real tribute to them as the coming generations will be acquainted with our rich culture and the legacy of sacrifice for the country’s safety,” said Badal. He directed Deputy Commissioner Dr Basant Garg to prepare a comprehensive plan for carrying out pending developmental works and further beautification of the memorial complex. Army jawans sounded the last post by reversing their arms.

Tarn Taran: Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Ranjit Singh Brahampura unfurled the national flag at a district-level function here. The Minister highlighted various developmental schemes of the state government and paid tribute to the martyrs who laid down their lives during the country’s freedom struggle. Freedom fighters and other personalities of various fields were also honoured on the occasion. As many as 30 sewing machines and seven tricycles were given to the needy.

Malerkotla: The Independence Day function was held at Dr Jakir Hussain Sports Stadium where Malerkotla SDM Bhupinder Mohan Singh unfurled the national flag. A cultural programme was organised by the students of various schools. Students and prominent citizens were also honoured. 

Chandigarh: Dr Kamaljit Soi was awarded at the state-level Independence day function in Amritsar for showing exemplary bravery and courage in saving the lives of 11 persons seriously injured in a road accident near Ludhiana last year. Dr Soi single-handedly extricated the injured from the damaged vehicles, put some in his own vehicle and the rest in an ambulance and rushed them to the CMC, Ludhiana. Dr Soi not only donated blood but also arranged for more than 50 units of blood for the victims. Dr Soi has done his doctorate in “Road Safety - Accident Prevention.” His concept of creation of “no-fatality zones” has been well accepted by international and Indian experts in the field of road safety. — TNS

Chandigarh, August 16
The date for holding the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee elections has neither been fixed in haste nor under pressure, the Punjab and Haryana High Court heard today.

As a petition seeking stay on the elections came up for hearing, a reply by the Chief Commissioner of Gurdwara Elections was placed before the High Court. It said the Centre had accorded its approval for holding the elections in accordance with the rules. The full Bench of Justice M.M. Kumar, Justice Alok Singh and Justice Gurdev Singh has already made it clear that the election result would be subject to the outcome of the petition. The petition has been filed by the National President of Sehajdhari Sikh Federation Dr Paramjeet Singh Ranu.

He has asserted that already a writ petition has been filed challenging the notification dated October 8, 2003, “vide which voting rights of the Sehajdhari Sikhs have been taken away in a totally illegal and arbitrary manner”.

Jalandhar, August 16
The arrest of social activist Anna Hazare had its repercussions in Punjab too with protests being staged in various parts of the state.

Amritsar, August 16
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh has directed all the candidates in the SGPC poll fray to get their family members baptised by August 25.

The jathedar said appropriate action would be initiated against any candidate who failed to fall in line. He said the candidates had already been warned against the use of intoxicants for luring voters.

If any complaint was received in this regard, tough action would be initiated against the candidate.

Mohali, August 16
The Congress was keeping itself away from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) election and claims of the SAD leaders that it was supporting the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) in the SGPC election were baseless, said Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Capt Amarinder Singh today.

The former Punjab Chief Minister, who was at the district courts here in connection with a hearing in the Amritsar Improvement Trust case registered by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau against him and others, said Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was levelling baseless allegations against him. “It is Badal who has not made any sacrifice for the community,” he said.

Regarding the agitation by Anna Hazare at Delhi, he said, Anna, not being an elected representative, had no right to lead the people. The masses were being misled on the issue of the Lokpal bill. “There seems to be some vested interests behind the agitation,” he added.

Meanwhile, the next date of hearing in the case has been fixed on August 27.

Bathinda, August 16
The statewide agitation by the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)staff since August 8 has crippled services in the rural areas and work in the block and district offices of the Health Department.

The staff today began an indefinite strike to compel the state government to accept their demands.

Over 5,300 employees in different categories work under the NRHM throughout the state.These include auxiliary nursing midwife (ANM) and staff nurses. The staff under the banner of NRHM Employees Association has been demanding regular jobs, service rules and pay scales as recommended by the Fifth Pay Commission.

Talking to the TNS over the phone today, state president of the association Inderjit Singh Rana said work relating to deliveries and immunisation had been primarily affected.

Rana said it was also a matter of regret that the NRHM programme had been implemented in 2005, but service rules for the employees were yet to be formulated.

District president of the NRHM Employees Association Narinder Kumar said the Punjab Government had invited office-bearers of the association at Chandigarh on August 18 for talks. In case nothing was resolved at the meeting, the association would further intensify its agitation. Meanwhile, NRHM employees held a rally t the Civil Hospital here today in support of their demands.

Chandigarh, August 16
The state government’s Atta-Dal Scheme has become a thorn in the flesh of the government agencies engaged in its implementation. The agencies include PUNSUP, Markfed, The Punjab Agro Industries Corporation Limited and the State Warehouse Corporation. The state government which is supposed to fund the scheme, owes these agencies about Rs 1,200 crore. However, the government has been denying reimbursement to these agencies, some of which have been running the show after securing loans from banks, under one pretext or the other.

Official sources today said that the government was to reimburse about Rs 685 crore to PUNSUP and about Rs 335 crore to Markfed. It is to pay the remaining amount of Rs 180 crore to the other two agencies. “We are fully seized of the matter”, said S.C.Aggarwal, Chief Secretary, Punjab. This issue had been discussed at the appropriate level in the government, he added. Sources said that the agencies had written several letters to the authorities concerned during the last four years but the dues continued to accumulate.

While the PUNSUP has been assigned the task of providing dal (pulses) to the families covered under the scheme, other agencies have been providing wheat. PUNSUP procures about 3,000 tonnes of pulses worth about Rs 10 crore every month for distribution to the beneficiaries. The other agencies had procured about 1 lakh tonne of wheat during the procurement season for the scheme for the current fiscal year.

Bathinda, August 16
The fast pace of urbanisation in the city is making Bathinda’s Gobindgarh fort is losing its sheen, albeit brick by brick.

There is a dire need of funds for the complete restoration of this magnificent structure. The fort has remained at the epicentre of inhabitation in the city and has always been restored in phases.

While the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) mended one of its walls, another one collapsed.

The portion of the wall of the fort that had collapsed a year ago during the last monsoon was closed for a fortnight. It has been a year and the portion remains a debris. Following the collapse, access to boundary walls of the fort has been closed.

The wide wall is a known place of recreation for city dwellers and the only open space known to those living in the walled city.

“In the absence of spacious houses, the greenery of the fort served as extended playgrounds. Our children have grown up here. It is painful to see this giant structure crumbling away due to neglect. I wish the closed portions are soon made accessible to the public,” said Varinder Kumar Sharma, a resident of Pujanwala Mohalla.

The ASI authorities at the fort said that they have sent an outlay for repairs of the collapsed wall to the Director-General ASI.

The final decision could be taken only after a team visits the fort and inspects the spot. The members of the team would include Director Conservation and the Regional Director of the ASI.

Jalandhar, August 16
Farmers of villages along the Beas are watching the rising waters with anxiety. The river had caused widespread devastation in August 2008. Following news of additional spillage this morning, they have been closely monitoring the rising waters. Many had raised small retaining walls along the river bundh in 2008 to prevent water from entering their fields.

Dilbagh Singh of Gidderpindi village, which was the worst-hit in the 2008 floods, said he feared that more rain might breach these walls and damage the crops.

He said the villagers were camping at the railway bridge to keep a watch on the waters. Amrik Singh of Lakhwariyan village said the waters had been rising rapidly since yesterday and had flooded the fields between the river and the small bundhs. The waters had already entered the fields in Baupur village across the river, he said.

Sadqi (Indo-Pak border), August 16
Independence Day celebrations at the Border Observation Post (BOP) on the India-Pakistan Border at Sadqi witnessed the highest ever footfall of 17,000 in a day. Officials of the Border Security Force (BSF) said the number of visitors was 15,000 last year. Officials, however, said fewer families who were separated during Partition, turned up to meet each other at the either side of the border. On I-day, the BSF allows people from both sides of the borders to meet their relatives who were separated at the time of Partition.

“People are allowed to meet after we have checked their credentials. Over time, the number of such families has dwindled, while other visitors to the border have increased,” observed the BSF officers. Three or four families met on August 14, the Independence Day of Pakistan and similar number of families met on August 15. Families are allowed to converse alongside the barbed fencing amidst tight security. These families are too poor to cross the border or avail the services of other communication devices. “I was waiting for this day to meet my brother who got separated from me in 1947 and is now living with his family in

the Bahawalnagar area of Pakistan,” said 84-year-old Bhakta who had come from Ganganagar to see his brother’s family. Her two daughters, sons and grandsons accompanied her. Tears rolled down the cheeks of family members when Bhakta blessed her brother’s two great-grandsons standing on the other side of the fence.

She was denied the permission to hug her brother by gun-toting securitymen on both sides. Mohammad Rafiq who too came from Ganganagar met his uncle and grandfather on the zero line. The BSF officials said mostly elders in families insist on meeting their Pakistani relatives but the number of such families is reducing with the passage of time.

Officials said visitors from Pakistan are always more keen than their Indian counterparts to see the retreat ceremony parade of the BSF jawans. “The crowd at Sulemanki Post in Pakistan was more than double as compared to the Indians to see the ceremony which is held on a cemented platform in a more orderly manner,” they added. Pakistan authorities do not have seating arrangements like India and people sit on the uneven ground. “We have sent a proposal to set up a replica of the existing stadium with roof and fans so that more people could be accommodated the next time,” said the commander of 199 Battalion Deepak Kandpal. He said the district administration has drafted a proposal to set up a park near Pakka Chishti village, around 2 km behind the border post and a conference room at the post.

Issru (Khanna), August 16
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt Amarinder Singh has accused the state government of “forcibly” occupying the land of farmers at Gobindpura village in Mansa district.

Talking to mediapersons after the party’s rally here (held to pay homage to martyr Karnail Singh Issru) yesterday, Amarinder said the Congress would launch an agitation in case the state government continued “committing atrocities” on the farmers.

Amarinder demanded that the land should not be acquired without the consent of farmers and those who agreed should be provided adequate compensation and other benefits.

Also, the PPCC chief announced that he would visit Gobindpura village on September 2 to take stock of the situation and meet the affected farmers. The Shiromani Akali Dal, he said, always used to “boast of being the farmers’ party but the latest unrest in Mansa had exposed the ruling coalition anti-peasant policies”.

Not only Gobindpura, he said, the Congress would not allow such a practice (read “forcible” acquisition of land) anywhere in the state. 

Issru (Khanna) August 16
The Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said that there is no controversy regarding occupaton of land in village Gobindpura as more than 90 per cent farmers have given their consent in this regard. He was addressing mediapersons at Issru village after paying tributes to Shaheed Karnail Singh Issru at a party conference. 

He clarified that only some persons are trying to mislead the farmers of the village for the sake of their vested interests. Badal said: “To promote industry we will have to provide land to industrialists. The farmers of the village have agreed to the rate and other terms offered by the company with the help of the state government.” He, however, made it clear that the project will continue and no outsider will be allowed to disturb the peace of the village.

Badal failed to give a satisfactory answer when asked about the deployment of the police force in such large numbers and the cutting of the fence by villagers. He said that this acquisition of land at village Gobindpura is no issue and every thing is limping back to normal.

He said that states should be given more powers by the Centre for development

Patiala, August 16
Controversies pertaining to the Punjab Power Generation Policy 2010 refuse to die down.

After coming under criticism from the engineers working with the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), now representatives of the All-India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) have also said the power generation policy, which empowers the state government to award the new power generation projects to the private players, through the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) route, is not in the interest of the state and would lead to increase in the power tariff.

Chairman of the federation Padamjit Singh has stated that by following the MoU route, the SAD-BJP Government has violated the national tariff policy of the Union Government notified under the Electricity Act 2003.

“As per the national tariff policy, power projects are to be setup through competitive bidding, under Section 63 of the Electricity Act-2003. Setting up of the private sector plant, through MoU route is illegal and even the Union Government had moved the Supreme Court to uphold the provision of tariff policy regarding the competitive bidding. The MoU route gives the private sector players a free hand to inflate capital costs and claim higher tariff that will affect the power consumers of the state.”

Notably, some days back, the power sector experts and the engineers had stated that power tariff in the state would go up in the future, just because of not awarding the power projects through competitive bidding process.

Meanwhile, defending the state government on the issue, SAD spokesperson Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal has said according to the Union Power Ministry guidelines, the process of competitive bidding was best suited when the government had land and coal linkages.

“When both these rare commodities are elusive, the MoU route was the best solution to meet the challenge of growing power needs of the state to match its development,” he said. Grewal added that Punjab was not the only state, which has taken the MoU route as one of the methods for accelerated addition of power generation capacity. “Many other states like UP, Orissa, Bihar have opted this approach instead of adhering to the usual competitive bidding model,” he said.

Chandigarh, August 16
Opposing certain rules framed by the state government for nomination of various officials to the PCS (Executive) cadre, the Excise and Taxation Officers’ (ETOs) Association has appealed to Chief Secretary SC Aggarwal to look into the matter.

At least 35 officials are to be nominated to the PCS cadre from the departments of Excise and Taxation, Revenue and Development besides ministerial services.

Owing to the paucity of PCS officials for conducting the assembly elections, the government is eager to fill all the vacant slots at the earliest with the approval of the Punjab Public Service Commission.

Kuldip Singh Dhaliwal, president of the association, said since the inception of rules in 1976, nominations to the PCS was made only from among the eligible ETOs. However, the government had amended rules to also include Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioners (AETCs) for the PCS nominations.

Dhaliwal urged the Chief Secretary to look into the matter, saying no nomination would be possible from among the ETOs under the new rules because the nominations would be considered on the basis of seniority and all slots would go to the Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioners.

Five officials are to be nominated from among the AETCs and ETOs to the PCS and remaining from other departments. For each slot, three names are to be considered. That means, names of 15 AETCs would be considered for nomination, leaving the ETOs high and dry. Already, there were 42 AETCs on the rolls of the government.

The association said if at this stage the rules could not be altered, the government should fix a quota for the PCS on the basis of the strength of the AETC and ETO cadres.

Chandigarh, August 16
Ludhiana District Bar Association president Ashok Mittal is in contempt loop for allegedly interfering with the court proceedings.

Prima facie holding that his conduct amounted to criminal contempt, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued a notice to Mittal. He has been asked to show cause why contempt proceedings be not initiated against him.

The notice by the Bench of Justice Satish Kumar Mittal and Justice Arvind Kumar came after a copy of a communication by Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Amrinder Pal Singh to Ludhiana District and Sessions Judge was forwarded to the high court.

In his letter dated August 10, the Magistrate asserted that during the hearing of a court case at about 2.45 pm the same day, Mittal “came forward and interfered in the court proceedings”.

The Magistrate asserted the case in which Mittal was a counsel too was pending before the court. After he was asked to wait for some time, Mittal used unparliamentary language and started misbehaving and shouting in the court.

He became “furious and arrogant and gave fist blows on the dais” when the court tried to pacify him. He sat down on the arm of the stenographer’s chair and challenged the court to take any action against him. Mittal went up to the extent of saying he was not bothered about any action, as he was "already facing contempt proceedings in the high court”, the Magistrate added.

The communication further added Mittal also raised slogans outside the court room and pasted a notice on the court’s door calling for a boycott. In all, the proceedings remained disrupted for half an hour due to his “behaviour and conduct”.

Taking up the matter, the Bench observed: “We have perused the letter dated August 10 by Amrinder Pal Singh, JMIC, addressed to the Ludhiana District and Sessions Judge, which has been forwarded to this court.

“After going through the contents of the letter, we are prima facie of the view that the alleged conduct of Ashok Mittal, advocate and president, District Bar Association, Ludhiana, amounts to criminal contempt as defined in Section 2 (c) (iii) of the Contempt of Court Act”. The suo motu case will now come up for further hearing on August 23.