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PBW 621 wheat seed sells like hot cakes at PAU fair
Centre mum on state government’s proposal on reuse of gunny bags
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October 2003 Notification On Sehajdhari Voting Rights
Cong: CM misusing scholarship funds
Winning SAD rebels likely to rejoin party
Calcutta writes to Centre, seeks fresh poll
Makkar wins by 7,319 votes
Capt flays poll panel for not ordering repolling in two booths
E-payment of VAT set to begin soon in state
British era steamroller on apathy lane
Release of 17 youths in Sharjah jail hits yet another obstacle
Education board textbook scam
Meetings in cooler climes for ‘better’ decisions
Forensic experts take up poor state of morgues
HC raps PSEB for failing to help duped student
Notice to Punjab over online lotteries
Plea against Sangat Darshan dismissed
Three more lawyers may be elevated as HC Judges
US court reserves ruling on Kamal Nath
SC verdict on Punjab’s plea today
Youths thrash policemen at Nandpur Kalour sports mela
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PBW 621 wheat seed sells like hot cakes at PAU fair
Ludhiana, September 22 In order to purchase this particular seed variety, thousands of farmers from all over the region reached the farm university early in the morning, something that could be made out from the serpentine queues at the sale points. Balbir Singh, a farmer from Nangal, said the seed was very much in demand among the farming community. "Last year, we could only get a kilogram of the PBW 621 seed variety…. It's indeed good." Swaranjit Singh, another farmer from Amritsar, said though he wanted to take home 20-30 kg of the seed, the cap on sale put by the administration was 10 kg to each farmer. "Compared with other routine wheat varieties, a farmer gets four quintal extra wheat straw and 25 quintals yield per acre. I have been attending the PAU mela for the past three decades and there has always been huge rush of farmers here for getting the seed of wheat varieties and other vegetable crops," he said. PAU Kisan Club president PS Pangli said the university has set the target to sell 30,000 bags of this particular wheat variety during the agricultural festival. Besides, 5,000 bags each would be sold in Bathinda and Gurdaspur districts during similar melas to be organised there in the coming days. "The variety has become a favourite due to its anti-lodging character and it has a good baking quality," said Pangli. The seed is being sold at Rs 50 per kilogram.
About The Seed
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Centre mum on state government’s proposal on reuse of gunny bags
A senior official of the Punjab Food and Supplies Department today said a proposal had been submitted to the Union Government to allow the government procurement agencies to reuse the gunny bags worth Rs 600 crore for fresh paddy to be procured during the next two months. However, there has been no response from Union Government officials. The state government procures gunny bags through the Union Government’s Director-General of Supplies and Disposal. “We place the order with the Union Government and it further procures the gunny bags through officials dealing with the jute industry”, explained a senior official. Sources said there was a strong lobby of gunny bag manufacturers that strongly opposed the recycling of gunny bags. “Vested interests want fresh procurement of gunny bags. That is why a decision has been delayed even though the used gunny bags are in a good condition and can be easily reused”, he said. The Secretary of Food and Supplies Department, DS Grewal, confirmed that the state government had sought the permission of the Centre for reuse of the gunny bags. Meanwhile, the state government has urged the Centre to extend the date for the milling of the remaining stock of paddy procured last year.Already, 67 lakh tonnes of rice has been supplied to the central pool.The remaining 16 lakh tonnes is to be supplied by September 31. ABOUT THE PURCHASE...
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October 2003 Notification On Sehajdhari Voting Rights
Chandigarh, September 22 The directions were verbally issued by the Full Bench of Justice Surya Kant, Justice MMS Bedi and Justice Mutacci Jayapaul as the Sehajdhari case came up for resumed hearing today. The case was placed before the Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant after the Full Bench of Acting Chief Justice MM Kumar recused itself from the case. The Bench decided not to hear the case, objecting to the paintiff’s counsel in the case appearing on TV talk shows. The Bench is hearing a bunch of three petitions filed by the Sehajdhari Sikhs Federation and other petitioners. They are seeking directions to the Union of India and other respondents for quashing the impugned notification of October 8, 2003. The Bench asked the counsel for the Union of India to come on Monday with the entire record pertaining to the issuance of the notification, including any resolution and communication from the state. The Bench also asked the Centre to produce parliamentary debates, especially in reference to Section 72 of the State Reorganisation Act, 1966. Directions were also issued by the Bench to the Union of India to ensure the presence of a senior officer of the Union Home Ministry. “The officer should be equivalent to the rank of Deputy Secretary in the ministry and should be able to answer queries
posed by the Bench on the issue,” the Judges clarified before adjourning the hearing.
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Cong: CM misusing scholarship funds
Chandigarh, September 22 Congress leaders Sunil Jakhar and Lal Singh released letters received from the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, stating that the govt had released Rs 58 crore to Punjab in March towards central assistance for the scholarship scheme for SC students for 2010-11. Jakhar said the money received by the Punjab Government was not distributed among the three lakh eligible students who were to get Rs 2,300 each per year. He showed replies by the state government, claiming it had not received the money. He said the Centre had released another monetary aid of Rs 16 crore under the scheme for the current financial year. He claimed the government had distributed this amount, but had “forgotten” about the earlier Rs 58 crore lying with it. Lal Singh said the Chief Minister had distributed Rs 50 crore in Muktsar, Malout, Gidderbaha, Nabha and Patiala between July 7 and July 25. This was done solely to please local Akali jathedars, even though the government knew that lakhs of students were waiting for this money since the past six months. The leaders claimed that the government had not given scholarship money to students from Backward Classes for three years now. They said 2.5 lakh minority community students, under which the Sikhs were covered too, were also awaiting scholarship under the pre-matric scholarship scheme.
taking on govt
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Winning SAD rebels likely to rejoin party
Chandigarh, September 22 Sources said the SAD had initiated talks with the victorious seven rebel candidates as Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal was of the view that since the rebels were essentially “Akalis at heart” and had rebelled because of local factors, they should be readmitted into the party fold. Party sources say Independent candidate Hardeep Singh from Mohali could also be approached as he has proved his supremacy in a constituency which the SAD is keen to win in the assembly elections. This is the third win for Hardeep in the SGPC elections. Two candidates who won on the Panthic Morcha symbol from Ambala are also keen to join the SAD. If these efforts by the SAD bear fruit, there will be only five or six opposition members in the SGPC, including the four SAD (Amritsar) members from Dhuri, Joga and Sri Hargobindpur. In such a situation the SAD is likely to have a free run in co-opting 15 members. A formal meeting of the SAD to constitute the next House as well as to elect the next SGPC president is likely to be delayed with the Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal leaving for Iran on September 25. This process will now be completed in the first week of October.
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Calcutta writes to Centre, seeks fresh poll
Meanwhile, the All-India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) today announced that it would file a PIL before the Punjab and Haryana High Court asking the court to invalidate and set aside the SGPC elections held on September 18 due to “widespread rigging” and to issue a directive to hold fresh elections after the forthcoming assembly elections. AISSF president Karnail Singh Peermohammad, in a statement released here, alleged that there had been statewide rigging in the recent SGPC elections. Peermohammad said advocate Navkiran Singh would be filing the PIL before the High Court on behalf of the
AISSF.
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Makkar wins by 7,319 votes
Ludhiana, September 22 Balwinder Singh Bains from Ludhiana South won with the highest margin of 20,685 votes, followed by Jagjit Singh Talwandi from Raikot (margin of 14,504 votes) and Ranjit Singh from Ludhiana Rural (margin of 12,206 votes).
— TNS
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Capt flays poll panel for not ordering repolling in two booths
Amarinder Singh also demanded an inquiry into the declaration of the SGPC election results the same day of polling when they were supposed to be announced on September 22. Making it categorically clear that as a Sikh it was his duty to question and expose the gross violations committed during the SGPC elections, he had a dig at Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for saying that "the Congress had tried to interfere in these elections". Reacting to the GEC's decision not to hold repolling in the captured booths, Amarinder Singh reiterated that this "only vindicated the public perception that the SGPC elections were a sham aimed at facilitating the victory of the SAD". The PPCC chief said the entire election process had been vitiated right from Day One. While election results were supposed to be declared on September 22, the GEC made this public on the day of voting itself, he pointed out. Such a thing, said he, was quite unprecedented and unheard of in the electoral process. "This was clearly done to rush through the process and declare the Akalis as winners so that repolling is avoided, as happened in the case of Buttar Shrin and Karaiwala villages," he added.
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E-payment of VAT set to begin soon in state
Chandigarh, September 22 The representatives of these banks held a meeting with top officials of the Excise and Taxation Department today to chalk out the procedure for receiving payment of taxes via the electronic mode. It is learnt that the Excise department will give the format for accepting e payment to these banks. But the software for accepting these payments will be developed by the banks themselves and installed at designate branches throughout the state. Though the entire procedure could take a few months, officials in the Excise and Taxation Department are hopeful that they can start accepting e-payment for VAT and excise from next year. A Venu Prasad, Excise and Taxation Commissioner, said initially the option of e-payment will be made available to the high tax payers. "As the system stabilises, we will have all two lakh assessees in the state paying their taxes electronically," he said, adding that e-filing of VAT returns has now been made compulsory for all. Once started, e-payment of taxes will bring transparency in tax collection and help solve the long standing problem of traders and industrialists regarding VAT refunds, which take a long time to be
realised.
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British era steamroller on apathy lane
It used to level several under-construction roads in the pre-Independence era, but negligence on the part of the authorities concerned seems to have flattened the device itself. It lies parked at a yard close to the railway station in Ferozepur. There is no caretaker for this steamroller even though Derek A Rayner, a mechanical and electrical engineer for the British Railway and vice-chairman of the Road Rollers Association of UK, many a times raised the issue with the Indian Railway authorities. In the latest letter to Division Railway Manager (DRM), Ferozepur Division, in March last, Rayner wrote that “the rare steamroller deserves better than just lying in its present location, uncared for”. “This venerable steamroller needs to be moved to a better position, possibly to be installed on a suitable fenced concrete plinth outside the railway station,” demanded Derek, also a steam archivist. Derek mentioned that during his visit to India in 2007, he had seen eight such rare machines. After making investigations into the history of the steamroller in Ferozepur, Derek found this machine was dispatched from Rochester on February 29, 1908. This six-tonne and four hp machine was made in 1908 by Aveling & Porter, a UK-based firm. The archive records indicate that it originally went to Karachi. In 2009, Satinder Pal Singh Bhatia, an area traffic railway manager in Ferozepur who was fascinated with this vintage machine, approached the Road Rollers Association (RRA) in the UK and collected information about the roller. Following this, Derek even wrote to the DRM, Ferozepur Railway Division, Vishvesh Chaubey, for the renovation of this machine so that it could be displayed as a historical vehicle. “It will then be stationed at a location where it will be appreciated for its worth,” Derek had written. But one year down the line, no action has been taken. The only difference that Derek’s letter and Satinder Pal Singh’s effort could make was the roller was painted. When contacted, Chaubey said the proposal for the proper placement of the steamroller was already underway but it was taking time as it needed a platform and some open space for its placement.
road of neglect
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Release of 17 youths in Sharjah jail hits yet another obstacle
Chandigarh, September 22 Their release has been stayed as the authorities in Sharjah reportedly remanded them back in the central jail from the out jail. Only those convicts or undertrials are shifted to out jail who have been either ordered to be released or have completed their imprisonment sentences. Though no official reason could be known immediately for the last minute restraint on their release, sources revealed that some legal complication had arisen as possibly the order of the Appeal Court accepting the settlement reached between the family of the victim (Mishri Khan) and the families of the convicts stood challenged. “We are not sure about the reason for this last minute stay on the release of all 17 boys. Since today was a half day and courts are closed tomorrow and also on Saturday, we will know the real reason on Sunday after courts reopen,” said Dubai-based businessman SP Singh Oberoi. Talking to The Tribune over the telephone, Oberoi said that all formalities, including police clearances, travel documents and air reservations, had been made for the boys. “Their out passes were ready. Only this afternoon we got information that the boys are being shifted back to central jail on the orders of the court.” Oberoi, however, was hopeful of getting the issue resolved quickly through legal intervention by the defence lawyers.
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Education board textbook scam
PSEB Chairman Dr Dalbir Singh Dhillon said appropriate action would be taken against the officials who were found guilty. In the previous Rs 65-lakh textbook scam that was detected by the board authorities two years ago, Dr Dhillon, following the report of inquiry officer OP Garg, had got a criminal case registered against the board officials concerned, who had released payment of lakhs of rupees to two publishers, Bharat Offset Printers, Noida, and SB Printers, Noida, without getting the required number of textbooks of different classes. The Chairman is expected to adopt the same yardstick in the fresh scam. Sources in the board said the inquiry officer was expected to probe as to how the valuable printing paper worth Rs 6 crore was released to 26 printers without taking the required security amount of Rs 1.5 crore. Instead a security of around Rs 70 lakh was taken from the publishers. The entire paper lot worth Rs 17 crore was yet to be dispatched to the publishers, said the sources. The issue of deposit of inadequate job security is also being probed. The publisher started publishing the books without getting assignment letter from the board, indicating connivance of certain board officials. To cover up the anomaly, the concerned board authorities were now trying to issue the assignment letter to the publishers in back date. The textbooks are being published for the Sarv Siksha Abhyan Authority and the Punjab Welfare Department. In one specific case, a printing press at Jalandhar had to deposit Rs 4 lakh as job security and Rs 50 lakh as paper security, but the publication officer of the PSEB allowed the publisher to lift the paper and other material by depositing Rs 50,000 as job security and Rs 5 lakh as paper security. There were many such examples where the publishers had been allowed to lift the paper and other material without getting the adequate amount as security. The sources said the practice of allowing the publishers to lift the paper without getting adequate security was prevailing in the board for the last few years.
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Meetings in cooler climes for ‘better’ decisions
Seventeen members of the Board of Directors, other officials and secretariat staff travelled to Darjeeling for one of the meetings on which Rs 8.68 lakh were spent on travel, board and lodging. Meetings were also held at Manali and at Timber Trail in Parwanoo in Himachal Pradesh. The chairman, Sukhdarshan Singh Marar, however, finds nothing wrong in the extravagance. The meetings, he claimed, were well within the knowledge of the state government and the trips were undertaken with the government’s approval. He also justified meetings outside the state by pointing out that they afforded a learning opportunity and interaction with counterparts in other states. However, the Darjeeling meeting has raised eyebrows because of the costs involved, which were almost ten times higher than what was incurred for meetings at Manali and at Timber Trail. The extravagance is being questioned in view of the fact that 40 per cent of the sanctioned posts in the bank are lying vacant because it apparently does not have the resources to pay for them. What is more, retired employees who are eligible for pension, are not receiving their pension regularly. What is more, when they receive their pension, it is generally 40 to 50 per cent of what is due to them. Even current employees have borne the brunt of cost-cutting measures and their annual increment has been reduced recently from 4.5 per cent to 3 per cent. Remarkably, the Board of Directors have in the past met at Chandigarh itself and spent Rs 71 thousand or so on the meeting. There are several observers who strongly feel that in view of farmers’ suicide and the growing uncertainties and challenges faced by farmers, the Board of Directors would have been wiser in holding their meetings at various parts of the state itself to learn about the situation.
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Forensic experts take up poor state of morgues
Patiala, September 22 Talking to The Tribune in this regard, Dr Bhullar said the Punjab State Human Rights Commission had some time back directed the State Health Department for mandatory provision of generators for cold chambers to keep round-the-clock power supply to the mortuaries and air conditioners. With no generators in the state’s medical college mortuaries, the dead body cooling system is not in good shape. The cold chambers of some standard company need to be installed, as the old ones remain out of order most of the times, he added. “There is acute shortage of Class-IV and Class-III employees in the department. At present, there is only one employ on duty in the mortuary, who is supposed to receive the bodies any time of the day and night, along with assisting in post mortem examinations and for sweeping and cleaning the mortuary,” said Bhullar. Notably, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has recently directed doctors of the government and private hospitals to “prepare computerised medico-legal reports”, but that requires a lot of infrastructure, including the equipment, specially trained staff for writing the reports and data entry, special duty rooms for the doctors and the staff for writing the reports round the clock, which seems to be a remote possibility if the recent budget allocation meant for updating the mortuaries is seen.
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HC raps PSEB for failing to help duped student
Chandigarh, September 22 The strictures came on a petition filed by a minor, Kerrin Sharma, through her mother Dr Indu Sharma. She had applied through Zee Study Point School, Manupur, Fatehgarh Sahib district, as a regular/open school candidate for the matriculation examination. A receipt of Rs 7,400 was also issued to her by the agent before she received the roll number from the Board. But, the petitioner was declared fail in the examination, as she did not pass in Punjabi, Mathematics and Social Studies. An inquiry into the entire affair revealed the agent had forwarded her form as a private candidate, instead of a regular/open school candidate. Taking up the case, Justice Rajive Bhalla asserted: “A clear finding has been recorded that the petitioner was duped by the agent, as he forwarded her examination form as a private candidate, whereas she had applied as a regular/open school candidate.” “The difference between the two types of candidates is that a private candidate is required to pass Punjabi with four subjects from Group-A, whereas a regular school/open school candidate is required to pass Punjabi with three subjects. Justice Bhalla asserted: “Before parting with the judgment, this court would like to place on record its dismay at the conduct of the Board. The Board has disregarded the finding the petitioner was duped by an agent. “Though accepting it is required to take action against the agent, it has chosen to decline relief to the petitioner. The Board set up to look after the education of children has an obligation to rectify wrongs, particularly where its agents have committed fraud.” “To hide behind rules and regulations reveals a lack of understanding of its role as a facilitator of education. As a consequence, the writ petition is disposed of with a direction to the Board to declare the relevant 10th class result of the petitioner by considering the petitioner as a regular/open school candidate”.
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Notice to Punjab over online lotteries
Chandigarh, September 22 In its petition filed in public interest through counsel Sukhwinder Singh, petitioner A4C (Awakening Civic Consciousness Among Common Citizen) asserted the number of draws cannot be more than 24 daily. But, the total number of draws goes up to 72. The petitioners have also alleged a nexus between “persons operating authorised computer terminals, shopkeepers, financiers and the police” in selling online lottery tickets. The petition, placed before the Bench of Acting Chief Justice MM Kumar and Justice Gurdev Singh, asserts: “The petitioners have come across many families, which have been ruined because of the nexus… “The public is attracted to the malaise and mostly the tickets are brought by the people from the lower strata of the society… they spend their hard-earned money on these lotteries and are trapped in the web of the financiers who are running the nexus with the police”. The petitioner has added the State of Punjab and Director of State Lotteries organising online lotteries through computer generated tickets; and two-numbered lotteries are absolutely banned throughout the State. But, the respondents are conducting the two-numbered lotteries in the garb of four-numbered lotteries”. The case will now come up on October 12 for further hearing.
— TNS
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Plea against Sangat Darshan dismissed
Chandigarh, September 22
In his
PIL, Thakur Mehar Singh of Patiala had made the Punjab Chief Minister, the Finance Minister and the State of Punjab a party.
Thakur, in his petition, placed before Acting Chief Justice MM Kumar and Justice Gurdev Singh, had sought directions for restraining the respondents from going ahead with the
programme, as it was violative of not only Article 202 of the Constitution of India, but also Punjab Budget Manual.
— TNS
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Three more lawyers may be elevated as HC Judges
Chandigarh, September 22 Already, the names of six advocates recommended for elevation as High Court Judges have been cleared by the President. The oath ceremony is expected to be held next week.
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Anti-Sikh Riots Case
During the hearing on Wednesday, Kamal Nath failed to produce a “statement of interest” from the US Department of State in support of his claim on diplomatic immunity. Paintiffs Sikhs for Justice requested the court to issue a default judgment against Kamal Nath for failing to respond within 21 days of receiving the summons on April 6, 2010. The group has already demanded a “jury trial” from the court during which the plaintiffs will submit documentary evidence, proving participation of Kamal Nath and other leaders of the Congress in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
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Canal Row
New Delhi, September 22 Punjab had said that in a cooperative federalism, no state could resort to such a construction (of the toe wall) unilaterally and prevent the natural flow of flood waters in order to protect its areas at the cost of its neighbour. Haryana's move also amounted to violating the SC order for maintaining a status quo on the the controversial Hansi-Butana canal, effectively preventing Haryana from puncturing the Bhakra main line (BML), Punjab had said. On the other hand, Haryana had argued that it was duty-bound to protect its residents from floods by strengthening the bund. The Ghaggar river bund was constructed in 1951 and as such had nothing to do with the Hansi-Butana canal, it had argued. It had begun the strengthening work in the wake of the July 2010 breach that had resulted in the rainwaters playing havoc in several of its villages.
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Youths thrash policemen at Nandpur Kalour sports mela
Fatehgarh Sahib, September 22 “Certain miscreants started misbehaving with a lady singer, who was performing at the mela. The policemen tried to prevent them from doing so, but they started abusing the policemen and fled from the spot,” said DSP SP Singh. “When Jaswinder, along with other policeman, was on his way back to Bassi Pathana, the miscreants stopped his car near the Nandpur Kalour grain market and attacked the cops with swords and sticks,” added the DSP. The DSP said five of the accused have been identified as Gursewak, alias Guri, Jagroop, Simranjit, Manpreet and Maru, residents of Chuni Majra, Mulanpur and Silkapra. A case has been registered under Section 307, 341, 323, 506, 147, 148, 149, 120B, 186, 353 IPC against the five arrested and six unidentified persons.
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Chandigarh, September 22
Independent candidate Hardeep Singh (see pic) from Mohali likely to be approached by SAD
Amritsar, September 22
Chandigarh, September 22
Ferozepur, September 22
Mohali, September 22
Chandigarh, September 22
Amritsar, September 22