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Gurudwara poll panel issues fiat
Candidates knock at voters’ doors
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Golden Arrows Diamond Jubilee Celebrations
Health Dept crisis
Dy CM’s visit to Abohar rally called off
Gidderbaha thermal plant
Man gets 7-yr jail term for raping minor
Army’s trekking team flagged in
Man gets electrocuted
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Gurudwara poll panel issues fiat
Moga, September 16 Justice HS Brar (retd), Chief Commissioner of the gurdwara elections, while issuing the orders, a copy of which is available with The Tribune, has also clarified that any document like passport, ration card, driving licence should be allowed for voters' identity at the time of casting vote, which is mandatory for only the head of the family while other members of his family do not need any document for their identification. The orders further direct the polling staff that the persons who according to the entries related to age in the relevant electoral roll are below 21 years should not be allowed to cast their votes. There had been reports that lakhs of Sehajdhari Sikhs had got their votes made for the SGPC elections during the last few years despite the notification issued by the Union Government on October 20, 2003 denying Sehajdhari Sikhs the right to vote in the general SGPC elections. President of the AISSF Karnail Singh Peer Mohammad has alleged that the names of hundreds of men and women had cleverly been changed to affix the surname ‘Singh’ for men and 'Kaur' for women to make bogus votes. Only those Keshdhari Sikhs with surnames ‘Singh’ for men and 'Kaur' for women are entitled to vote in the SGPC elections as per the rules. Many candidates from across the state have also recently complained to the Gurdwara Election Commission that the votes could be influenced upon by the ruling party or the 'powerful' candidates to win the elections. Reacting to the complaints, the Commission has today directed the polling officials that only Keshdhari Sikhs should be allowed to cast their votes. Meanwhile, the election observers had reached their place of deployment at all the district headquarters on Friday, confirmed a spokesman of the state government. Senior IAS officer PR Bishnoi has reached Moga while his colleague Ankur Gupta has reached Ferozepur as election observers. They held meetings with the district magistrates and discussed the arrangements for the elections. A delegation of the rebel SAD leader Sukhjeet Singh Lohgarh met Gupta at Ferozepur, who has been assigned the task as observer of the Dharamkot constituency in Moga district. The delegation demanded to ensure videography of the sensitive booths suspecting violence and booth capturing by the ruling party candidate. Meanwhile, a division bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has today directed the Home secretary and DGP of Punjab to make adequate security arrangements in Dharamkot besides providing security to Kaka, the rebel Akali candidate. There are nine constituencies in Moga district, out of which, the SAD has an upper hand in eight constituencies while in Dharamkot constituency there is a neck-to-neck fight between the rebel Akali leader, the sitting SGPC member Sukhjeet Singh Kaka and Gurmail Singh of the ruling SAD party. |
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Candidates knock at voters’ doors
Moga, September 16 Mukhtiar Kaur, wife of senior SAD leader Jathedar Tota Singh, is meeting the voters in Moga for the last few days to seek votes for her husband, who is contesting the polls from the Moga constituency. “I am trying to convince the voters to come out of their homes on the day of polling for casting their votes because of the fact that most of the urban voters do not come out to vote,” she said. Her son Barjinder Singh Brar, former president of the Moga Municipal Council, has held a series of meetings with the SAD workers in Dharamkot area mobilising them to make team efforts for seeking votes in their respective villages and assigning their duties as polling agents. Brothers of the rebel SAD candidate Sukhjeet Singh Kaka has especially arrived here from Los Angeles to campaign for their brother. “I have been holding meetings with the voters at their doorstep for the couple of days seeking re-election of my brother to the gurdwara body,” Iqbal Singh, Kaka's NRI brother, who himself met the election observer at Ferozepur, today. In the evening, he assigned duties to his polling agents. Meanwhile, the administration keeps a strict vigil on the candidates asking them to refrain from holding public meetings. |
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Golden Arrows Diamond Jubilee Celebrations
Bhisiana (Bathinda), September 16 The Commodore Commandant of the squadron, Air Vice-Marshal (AVM) BS Dhanoa, was the chief guest on the occasion. Displaying skills, an 11-member Air Devil team of skydivers, led by squadron leader Dinesh Tyagi, jumped from an aircraft at the height of 8,000 feet. A member of the team jumped with the IAF flag while three others synchronised to form the Tricolour with their coloured parachutes leaving the spectators spellbound. Later, an 18-member Air Warrior Drill Team presented a thrilling performance by making various formations, including tunnel, which was applauded by the gathering. An IAF officer also presented an aircraft aero modelling show by flying a model aeroplane with a remote control. Later, AVM Dhanoa and the Commanding Officer of the Air Station, Wing Commander Rajesh Nandedkar, laid wreaths at war memorial.
The AVM also inaugurated the Station Museum. Interacting with mediapersons, he said the 17 Squadron was formed on October 1, 1951, at Ambala, adding that the 60th anniversary celebrations were on and would conclude on October 1 at Delhi. The AVM said the 17 Squadron had participated in almost all the wars besides playing a key role in the ‘Operation Safed Sagar’ during the Kargil war in 1999. The squadron also won the highest number of gallantry awards in the IAF, including a Vir Chakra awarded to Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja posthumously. Family members of the officers of the Air Station also attended the celebrations.
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Health Dept crisis
Faridkot, September 16 Fearing clash between the protesting doctors and villagers, heavy police forces led by a DSP rushed to the hospital and controlled the situation. Dr GS Chahal accompanied by the villagers could not enter the hospital as faced stiff resistance from the protesting doctors and paramedical staff. The cops also did not allow him to do so to avoid any untoward incident. The villagers submitted a memorandum to the Civil Surgeon’s support to Faridkot Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat. On September 12, all the health services in government hospitals and dispensaries in the Faridkot district came to a virtual halt when over 700 medical employees, including doctors, paramedical and clerical staff in three civil hospitals, seven primary health centres and 18 dispensaries in the district went on indefinite period strike demanding Chahal’s transfer. Accusing the Civil Surgeon of harassing the Health Department employees, the doctors, pharmacists, lab assistants, multipurpose health workers, clerical and class IV employees in the Health Department over the district are demanding his transfer. “After an assurance by the higher authorities in the Health Department that Chahal would be shifted out of Faridkot after the SGPC election code of conduct ends, we resumed the duties two days back but now with an intent to threaten us with the help of some residents from his ancestral village, the civil surgeon took an extreme step, said Dr Chander Sekhar,” the president, PCMS Doctors Union, Faridkot. “Now, we have no option but to continue the strike until the CS was shifted out,” said Sekhar. Farodkot Deputy Commission Ravi Bhagat said the higher authorities in the Health Department were informed about the differences between the doctors and the civil surgeon. "However, as the strike was causing much inconvenience to the patients, the doctors should join their duties," the DC pointed out. On the other hand, Dr GS Chahal has refused that he brought the villagers to scare the protesting doctors. “The residents of various villages had reached Faridkot to convey the authorities about their problems in the absence of the treatment,” said Chahal. “I have nothing to do with the assembly of villagers,” he added. |
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Dy CM’s visit to Abohar rally called off
Abohar, September 16 His rally was earlier cancelled due to the mess created by the senior advocate Harbhagwan Singh’s statement in the Punjab and Haryana High Court over the Sehajdhari voters’ row. Hundreds of people, who had gathered to attend the rally, were informed at 1 pm that Sukhbir had cancelled his visit as he was not feeling well. Lok Sabha member Sher Singh Ghubaya and chief parliamentary Gurtej Singh Ghuriana earlier addressed the gathering. |
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Gidderbaha thermal plant
Bathinda, September 16 In a letter to the Punjab Government, Arup Roy Choudhury, chairman and managing director of the corporation, stated that in the first phase, the NTPC plans to set up two units of 660 MW each against the capacity of four units of 660 MW each as envisaged earlier. Even the demand of land acquisition for the project has been reduced to 1000 acres from the original requisition of 1999.12 acres. The NTPC has also specified that it would make payments for the land acquired only after coal linkages are made available. It has categorically mentioned that the project cannot be implemented without coal linkages. Commenting on the development, president of PSEB Engineers’ Association HS Bedi said as per the conditions of the Ministry of Coal, coal linkage could not be assigned unless and until land was acquired for the project. “We had earlier warned the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) against awarding work to the NTPC as the latter was on MoU-signing spree with states in the country to grab as much business as it can before competitive bidding become mandatory for the NTPC from January 2, 2011. The NTPC had signed the MoU for the Gidderbaha thermal power plant during the same period,” he added. The NTPC achieved an installed capacity of 34,854 MW during its 36 years of existence. It signed MOUs of over 47,000 MW before the cut-off date, which was beyond its capacity. From October 2010 to December 2010 alone (three months), the NTPC signed MOUs of more than 37,000 MW, he said. Bedi added that in the past, the NTPC had backtracked from its commitments made with the PSEB. In 2005, the Central government had decided to allocate 1,500 MW to Punjab from the 4,000-MW Lara pithead thermal station in Chhatisgarh but subsequently, the NTPC withdrew its commitment. The NTPC even refused to give power to Punjab from its Dadri unit V of 490 MW for which power purchase agreements were signed with the PSEB in January 2002. “The NTPC has purposely mooted conditions that are not conducive. It neither wants to backtrack from the commitment nor does it want to honour it,” Bedi added. Meanwhile, secretary power, Government of Punjab, Anirudh Tiwari said the NTPC’s letter had been forwarded to the PSPCL to seek its opinion. “A meeting of the PSPCL’s board of directors was held on Wednesday in which the matter was discussed. We are yet to hear from the PSPCL. But the Ministry of Coal has not earmarked coal linkages for any of the plants proposed in the country under the 15th annual plan since its standing committee is yet to conduct a meeting,” he said. |
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Man gets 7-yr jail term for raping minor
Bathinda, September 16 In a complaint to the Bathinda cantonment police station on August 9, 2010, the victim’s father had stated that his daughter was missing. The complainant, who was a rickshawpuller living at Dhobiana Basti with his wife, three sons and two daughters, had alleged that Mukesh Kumar had enticed his daughter away on the pretext of marriage. The police traced the accused on August 29 and rescued the girl from his custody. The medical examination of the girl was conducted and subsequent results of vaginal swabs taken revealed that she was raped. The court awarded Mukesh Kumar two-and-a-half years of imprisonment under Section 363 of the IPC for abducting, three years of imprisonment under Section 366 of the IPC for compelling the girl for marriage and seven years of imprisonment under Section 376 of the IPC on the rape charge. |
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Army’s trekking team flagged in
Bathinda, September 16 The team of nine soldiers from the youngest regiment of the Indian Army was led by Lieutenant Vijay Kumar Sharma. The team negotiated the mighty peaks of the most rigorous and tough terrains, including the Tiger Hill, Tololing, Drass, Kargil, Batalik, Jubar,Sonal Top and Chorbat la. The team scaled heights of over 5000 meters over a period of 31 days from August 15 to September 16 and paid homage to the martyrs of the “Operation Vijay” on the 12th anniversary of the victory of the Indian Army in the Kargil War. |
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Man gets electrocuted
Bathinda, September 16 He was moving around on his tractor and found a hanging electricity wire in the way. He got electrocuted when he tried to push it away using a wet baton.
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The Gurdwara Election Commission has today directed the district election officials and presiding officials that only the Keshdhari Sikhs should be allowed to cast their votes on September 18 in the ensuing SGPC elections.
Justice HS Brar (retd), Chief Commissioner of the gurdwara elections, while issuing the orders, a copy of which is available with The Tribune, has also clarified that any document like passport, ration card, driving licence should be allowed for voters' identity at the time of casting vote, which is mandatory for only the head of the family while other members of his family do not need any document for their identification.
Moga, September 16
