|
|
|
|
|
3 Moga depot holders arrested in PDS scam
Heroin worth Rs 300 crore
seized from Fazilka village
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Hijacker of Indian plane wins battle for passport
Most NRIs duped of property, cash by their own kin
Hansi-Butana wall row
Lifting of ban on export a boon for paddy growers
Fazilka farmers await procurement
Nod to filling of 2,251 posts in power utilities
Bhattal seeks probe into teachers’ recruitment
Jakhar alleges misuse of border funds on Sangat Darshan
Badal demands Rs
1,800 as MSP for wheat
Special ward for dengue patients in Patiala hospital
Students take out rallies against bursting crackers
Security beefed up ahead of Diwali
Bio-medical waste collection up in Punjab
Woman donates Rs 40 lakh to Mata Gujri College
Abducted Bathinda child found abandoned near house; two held
Woman, son booked for duping youth of Rs 6.5 lakh
|
3 Moga depot holders arrested in PDS scam
Moga, October 24 As per the details available, the SHO of Mehna police station Mohan Dass, SHO of Dharamkot police station Satish Kumar and in charge of the Kishanpura police post Jarnail Singh, based on information set up a joint “naka” near Mehna village, last night. They intercepted five canters, in which 100 bags of wheat each were found being taken away for illegal sale in the open market. A total of 500 bags (250 quintals) of wheat was recovered from these vehicles. Three ration depot holders who were also travelling along with the canters too were arrested from the spot. A criminal case had been registered against them. The depot holders arrested by the police have been identified as Sandip Kumar, Jugraj Singh of Raoke Kalan village and Kuldip Singh of Minia village. A local court had today sent them to police remand for a couple of days for further investigations. During preliminary investigations, it has come to light that this wheat was being brought from a storehouse hired by the government in a rice mill at Nihal Singh Wala in this district. It may be mentioned that the PDS wheat meant for sale to the APL families is provided at the rate of Rs 781 per quintal to the depot holders, who sell it to the beneficiaries at the rate of Rs 806 per quintal. But, in the open market it could be easily sold between Rs 1000 and Rs 1100 per quintal, depending upon its quality. Depot holders too sell it illegally for profits. A senior police official of the district, while admitting that this practice of the illegal sale of PDS wheat and kerosene remained unchecked, did not rule out the possibility of a nexus between officials the Food and Civil Supplies Department and the depot holders in this racket. “We are looking into every aspect of this case of fraud and if any evidence of the involvement of an official of the Food and Civil Supplies Department, is found, legal action will be taken accordingly”, he added. Using PDS for profit n PDS wheat (meant for sale to above poverty line families) was provided at Rs 781 per quintal to depot holders n
The depot holders sold it to the beneficiaries at Rs 806 per quintal n
In the open market, the wheat can be easily sold from Rs 1000-1100 a quintal
|
|
Heroin worth Rs 300 crore
seized from Fazilka village
Fazilka,
October 24 A joint team of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI)
from Amritsar and Delhi offices made the recovery. The seized material was kept
hidden beneath a heap of wheat straw lying in the courtyard of Khan Singh’s
house. As per official sources, Khan Singh (40), who used to work as a labourer, was caught carrying a dozen packets of heroin (each weighing 1 kg), which he was supposed to hand over to his nephew (whose name the police refused to reveal due to security reasons). After his questioning, the remaining 46 packets were recovered from beneath the straw. According
to officials, Khan Singh’s nephew, who was being followed by the Intelligence
wing for the past about five months, allegedly had ties with international
narcotics mafia. Meanwhile, various security agencies operating in the area, including the BSF, were taken by surprise by the huge haul of heroin from this sleepy village located about 4 km from the international border. BSF Commandant Girdhari Lal Meena and Fazilka DSP Karamjit Singh reached the spot from where the recovery was made. However, the DRI officials did now allow them access either to accused Khan Singh or the cache of heroin and arms. BSF
(Punjab frontier) Inspector General Himmat Singh said, “We are probing from
where the heroin reached this border village.... Pakistan is always looking for
opportunities to push narcotics into the Indian territory.”
|
|||
|
Hijacker of Indian plane wins battle for passport
Allowing Davinder Singh’s petition against the Union of India and other respondents, Justice K. Kannan asserted: “The petitioner shall, therefore, be favourably considered and the competent authority amongst respondents is directed to issue a passport in accordance with law. Davinder Singh was one of the hijackers, who had taken an Indian plane to Pakistan during the days of militancy. The aircraft was, in fact, hijacked after Operation Bluestar. Settled in Chandigarh, Davinder Singh was released from prison in 1986. Taking up the petition, Justice Kannan asserted: “The application for passport filed by the petitioner was rejected on January 4, 1999, under the provisions of the Passport Act. “The Government had also in appeal rejected his passport application by its orders dated January 29, 2004. The petition is filed on the ground that after the conviction was rendered under the provisions of Anti-Hijacking Act of 1982, read with the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, where the petitioner had been serving a life imprisonment, the Supreme Court commuted his life sentence for the period of service already undergone and he was ordered to be released on October 3, 1996. Justice Kannan added: “According to the petitioner, there is no particular impediment against the issuance of passport especially when more than five years have expired since the order of release and there is no bar under any of the provisions of the Passport Act from issuing the passport”. Justice Kannan concluded: “As of now, there is nothing adverse against the petitioner….Admittedly, there is no case pending now…. The writ petition is allowed.
|
|||
|
Most NRIs duped of property, cash by their own kin
Jalandhar, October 24 More than 80 per cent of NRIs remain disturbed because their lands have been usurped as has the money sent by them for some good cause like building of a new house or purchase of a new piece of land. There is hardly any solution in sight for them because either they have to enter into a compromise with wily relatives for local pressures or they have to make rounds of courts for years together which, was hardly any viable option for most of them. “Hundreds of NRIs are grappling with problems related to forcible occupation of their lands back home by their own relatives and near and dear ones. In most cases, the NRIs send money to their relatives for building of new homes with a hope that they might be able to come and enjoy a brief stay in the comfort of their own homes but this dream rarely turns into a reality for them. In most cases, the money sent by NRIs to their families back home is usurped by their own brothers or sisters. Discord within the family is the biggest factor that has been depriving NRIs of their sleep,” said Khushi Ram, a former IAS officer and the Executive Director the NRI Sabha, Punjab which. About 16000 members are registered with the NRI Sabha, an NGO which enjoys the patronage of the Punjab Chief Minister and was headed by the Jalandhar Divisional Commissioner Anurag Verma as its Chairman. Since, most NRIs hail from the Doaba region of Punjab, the complaints or cases are mostly related to NRIs belonging to Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr and Kapurthala districts. The Sabha, according to Khushi Ram, has been able to solve as many as 401 cases out of a total of 556 cases instituted between January and September. Most of the cases or complaints were solved by way of compromise. “In fact, NRIs are not aware of whom to approach in case of a difficulty. They should contact the sabha via e-mail or telephonically. We keep following their complaints till they are disposed off,” said Khushi Ram. He said contrary to the common perception, the NRI police stations were also doing a good job by mediating and bringing about a compromise between the aggrieved parties. Despite having no executive powers, the Sabha, Khsuhi Ram claimed, was able to solve 80 per cent of problems of NRIs by way of compromise between the warring parties. “The response of the NRIs has been tremendous of late. They have started trusting the Sabha for even smaller matters,” said Khushi
Ram.
|
|||
|
Hansi-Butana wall row
Patiala, October 24 Representatives of the BKU Ekta (Dakunda) have urged the Punjab Government to file a technically correct and substantiate review petition in the SC pertaining to the matter. After having deliberations on the matter with the members of the Anti-Hansi Butana Canal Committee yesterday, coordinator of the committee Dr Darshan Pal said the Punjab Government must file a technically sound review petition in the Supreme Court so that the construction of wall could be stopped. Strongly flaying the casual attitude of Punjab, Haryana and the Central Government towards the demands of the flood-prone villages of Punjab and Haryana, Dr Darshan said the union would write an open letter in this regard to the Prime Minister, the copies of which would be sent to Union Minister for Water Resources Pawan Kumar Bansal, Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur, Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal and Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda. "We will continue our agitation till a practically feasible way-out is devised. Our union will demand constitution of a committee of experts of water, rivers and irrigation of both the states as well as the Central Government," announced Dr
Darshan.
|
|
Lifting of ban on export a boon for paddy growers
Chandigarh, October 24 With the paddy procurement now on at full swing, the private traders are reportedly buying sizeable quantities of PR varieties for export. The government recently allowed the export of non-basmati rice, which created an interest among exporters to purchase such varieties. With the Punjab Government, too, having reduced the levy on the purchase by private traders, the purchase of non-basmati paddy from the mandis has become more lucrative for these traders. No wonder that these exporters are paying an average of Rs 1,200-1,230 per quintal, which is much above the MSP of Rs 1,130 per quintal. Of the 71.87 lakh tonnes of paddy brought to different mandis so far, 3.22 lakh tonnes (4.48 per cent) has been purchased by private traders. Comparatively last year, of the 130 lakh tonnes of paddy that was procured in Punjab, private traders had purchased only 1.1 lakh tonnes (or just 0.84 per cent) of paddy. Sources said as of now most of the non-basmati varieties grown in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka were being exported from the country. The export of non-basmati rice from northern India was still limited, leading to the exporters offering a small profit of Rs 70-Rs 100 per quintal over and above the MSP. As exports from Northern India picks up, farmers can hope to get higher prices for their produce. Vijay Setia, president of All-India Rice Exporters Association, said the Indian rice exporters were now selling non-basmati rice at around $450 per tonne. “Comparatively, other rice exporting countries like Thailand, Pakstan and Vietnam are selling their rice at $480-600 per tonne. In the coming days, the Indian rice will capture a major chunk of the export market as it is much cheaper,” he added.
|
||
|
Fazilka farmers await procurement
Fazilka, October 24 As per official sources, about 40,000 quintals of basmati variety of paddy had arrived at the market. As the procurement could not be undertaken, the farmers have stopped bringing paddy to the market and have started stocking it. “I will bring the basmati quality of paddy as soon as the procurement begins because we cannot wait in the grain market for a long time following the festival season,” says Baldev Dhingra of Mohammad Pira village alleging exploitation at the hands of the traders. The worst hit are the farmers who have been camping in the market. “We have been camping here for the past 10 days awaiting the sale of our produce but nobody is ready to purchase it. The farmers should not be forced to bear the losses due to the wrangle between commission agents and private traders,” rued farmers Wirsa Singh and Amar Singh. Notably, the 1121 variety of basmati paddy does not fall in the minimum support price category. Therefore, the farmers have to depend on private traders for the sale of their produce.
|
||
|
Nod to filling of 2,251 posts in power utilities
Chandigarh, October 24 A decision to this effect was taken at a high-level meeting presided over by the Chief Minister at his official residence in Chandigarh this morning. Badal was apprised by the Secretary (Power) Anirudh Tiwari that of the 2,251 posts to be filled, 293 were new posts while the remaining 1,958 were being revived, which had been abolished earlier. The recruitment would be carried out in various categories, including AEs (electrical and civil), AAEs (electrical, testing and civil), JEs (civil), UDC, account officers, law officers, revenue accountant, division accountant, assistant manager (HR and IT) and electrical grade-II
employees.
|
||
|
Bhattal seeks probe into teachers’ recruitment
Chandigarh, October 24 “As per rules, in 2008, the candidates were required to apply in one district alone but many applied in multiple districts and managed to secure jobs where merit was low. However, later they managed to get transferred to districts where the original merit was high and more meritorious candidates were awaiting jobs,” she said. Bhattal alleged that this showed that the selection rules were flouted with impunity to accommodate candidates who would not have been selected otherwise. She asked Education Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan to order the probe to bring the guilty officers to book.
|
||
|
Jakhar alleges misuse of border funds on Sangat Darshan
Chandigarh, October 24 In a statement issued here today, he said that the lack of even the basic amenities such as sanitation, drinking water, and health facilities in these areas is being showcased by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to extract more funds from the Centre. Under the Border Area Development programme, the UPA government has already released Rs 84.37 crore to the Punjab government for the current financial year. Similarly, he said, hundreds of crores had been received by the Punjab government in the last four years of their rule under this scheme. For want of any planning and vision for development, these funds are invariably misappropriated and used to finance Sangat Darshans, he alleged. The distribution of these funds as largesse to favourites and party workers by Parkash Singh Badal, has resulted in massive bungling of funds, without any concrete development at the ground level, which is the main reason why these areas continue to be in this miserable state. The Congress legislator said that even if a small part of these funds could be used to provide a fiscal incentive to set up industries in these areas, the complexion of the whole economy of Punjab would change. The employment generated through these industries would also wean the youth away from drugs and sponsors of cross-border terrorism. The half-hearted effort by Sukhbir Badal to get Maruti Suzuki to set up its plant in Punjab is very intriguing, he added. A comparison between the benefits accruing to the state from these plants raises very serious questions. The envisaged car plant will generate revenues that will help a revenue-deficit state like Punjab immensely. Haryana gets a substantial portion of its revenue from the auto hub, situated at Manesar, comprising of Maruti Suzuki and Hero Motor Corporation alone, he said. He said that disappointed with the attitude of the Akali Dal-BJP alliance, he had written to Maruti Suzuki to explore the opportunity of investing in
Abohar.
|
||
|
Badal demands Rs
1,800 as MSP for wheat
Chandigarh, October 24 In a statement, the Chief Minister said that his demand was based on a study on the impact of recent hike in prices of farm inputs conducted by the experts of the Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana. Badal described as “cold-blooded and inhuman” the Centre’s opposition to the already inadequate recommendations by the Commission on Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP) which had asked the Union Ministry of Agriculture to raise the MSP by a meagre 10 per cent. “Have the costs of agricultural inputs gone up by just 10 per cent? Also has the increase in the prices of essential commodities risen only by that margin? If not, what is the basis for a highly discriminatory MSP of wheat?” asked Badal. Badal also lashed out against the Congress and the UPA for its anti-farmer bias. The Chief Minister said that on the one hand the prices of major agricultural inputs like diesel and fertilisers have already increased manifold in the recent past but on the other hand by making such reckless proposals and subsequently backtracking on them, the Centre was trying to rub salt into the wounds of the distressed farming community that was already reeling under the mounting debt. He said that such a negligible hike in the MSP of wheat at a time when prices of agricultural inputs, especially the DAP and urea, had touched the sky. The Chief Minister warned if the Centre did not desist from implementing such anti-farming policies, then the Union government would be solely responsible for the decay of
agriculture.
|
||
|
Special ward for dengue patients in Patiala hospital
Patiala, October 24 Medical Superintendent Dr Manjeet Kaur Mohi said the isolation ward has six beds, which are already occupied by patients. “As we received more cases, we had to establish a special ward so that we would not have to shift the patients. This special ward will have 15 beds and the doctors would be on duty round-the-clock to ensure proper treatment for these patients,” she added. Dr Mohi further said there had been no dengue-related death, which indicates that the situation of dengue is not that worse. “There is no dengue-related crisis as the number of cases are limited. But if this continues, the situation might be out of control,” she
said.
|
||
|
Students take out rallies against bursting crackers
Patiala, October 24 Students of Government Multipurpose School for Boys, Passi Road, marched throughout the city carrying placards with a message against burning crackers and celebrating an eco-friendly Diwali. The Eco Club of DAV Public School, Bhupindra Road, Patiala, organised various activities in order to spread awareness among the students about the pollution created by burning crackers on Diwali. Students took a pledge against burning crackers on the occasion and to contribute the same amount for helping the needy and less privileged section of the society. Col Bishan Das, Chief of Mission 3G Gauri, and Gurkaran Singh, SDO, Punjab Pollution Control Board, enlightened the students by imparting knowledge about the air and noise pollution caused due to burning crackers. St Xavier’s International School’s kindergarten wing celebrated Diwali along with the grandparents’ day. Grandparents walked on the ramp setting it ablaze with their unique style and that million dollar smile on their faces. Ravshinder Singh bagged the Handsome Grand Father title, while Jaswinder Gill was crowned Beautiful Grand
Mother.
|
||
|
Security beefed up ahead of Diwali
Patiala, October 24 Meanwhile, pre-Diwali shopping spree has forced the police to make elaborate arrangements by holding special night vigils and nakas at all prominent markets in the city. However, without a proper earmarked route in the city and haphazard parking at the Leela Bhawan market, the commuters were left fuming for hours as they waded through jams on arterial roads. With clear instructions to the police wing to carry on comprehensive search operations at prominent traffic joints, the city police has started searching all cars passing through the city and issuing the challans to the ones violating norms. However, the cops have failed to clear traffic at the important stretches. With vehicular movement suspended at the busy Mall Road due to construction, Shera Wala Gate, Chotti Baradari stretch and polo ground stretch faced long queues of vehicles.
|
||
|
Bio-medical waste collection up in Punjab
Patiala, October 24 While stating this, PPCB chairman KS Pannu has said the crackdown on the hospitals and health institutes in the state has increased the collection of bio-medical waste at the four bio-medical waste treatment facilities operational at Mohali, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Pathankot. Pannu said the four facilities handled over 91,539 kg of bio-medical waste generated by about 3,000 registered hospitals and health care centres in June. “After the increased surveillance since July, the collection of bio-medical waste touched the figure of 2,28,847 kg (increase of 250 per cent) by September end,” he said. Pannu said apart from conducting the surprise raids, the board authorities also convened meetings with the representatives of the Indian Medical Association and the National Integrated Medical Association at the district level. Besides, meeting was also held with the state unit of these associations at the PPCB headquarters in Patiala. “During the meetings, the representatives of the associations were given details about the significance of the proper disposal of the bio-medical waste,” Pannu added. He said the board has also published and circulated a poster, depicting various modes of production of bio-medical waste and its collection at the source level, as per the colour code of the Bio-Medical Waste Rules. The board authorities said the bio-medical waste is a major cause of concern and many vector-borne diseases spread from this waste. “Now the focus of the board will be veterinary hospitals, clinical and pathological laboratories, blood banks and unregistered doctors so that bio-medical waste from all centres should reach the treatment facility,” said Charanjit Singh, Deputy Director (PR),
PPCB.
|
||
|
Woman donates Rs 40 lakh to Mata Gujri College
Fatehgarh Sahib, October 24 Her donation for the noble cause has been widely acclaimed. She handed over the cheque for the amount to the college principal in the presence of staff and students. She said it was the utmost desire of her father, who settled here after migration from Pakistan that his entire property should be donated, especially a major chunk to Mata Gujri College. She said out of this amount, Rs 20 lakh was the share of her late sister Jatinderpal Kaur Phoolka. She urged director principal Jatinder Singh Sidhu to spend the entire amount for the welfare of the needy students. Sidhu said the college itself was founded by a visually impaired woman with a visionary insight Bibi Gurbachan Kaur Mann of Talania, who donated her land for this institution, which was earlier started in the shrine of Gurudwara Fatehgarh Sahib and later taken over by the SGPC. Ranjeet Singh Libra, honorary secretary of the college, thanked Shivinderpal for making the
contribution.
|
|
Abducted Bathinda child found abandoned near house; two held
Bathinda, October 24 Paramjit Singh, who was on a morning walk, first spotted the child who was wrapped in a piece of cloth with only legs left uncovered. Kartik was abducted from near his house in Model Town, Phase-II. “I was on a walk with my wife when another couple walking ahead noticed the child. We called up other people and removed the cloth…he was the same boy whose photographs were published in newspapers,” Paramjit said. The child was unconscious, he said, adding his parents were informed who arrived at the spot within minutes. It appeared that the child was dropped there in the wee hours while he was asleep. An ambulance was called and Kartik was taken to the Civil Hospital for medical examination. The family members said a black necklace, which did not belong to the family, was found hanging around Kartik’s neck and a portion of the peepal tree was soaked with some liquid material. The Tribune team, too, reached Kartik’s house at around 6:30 am while he was being shifted to the Civil Hospital. “We heaved a sigh of relief as Kartik returned home safe and sound,” said Manu, one of the neighbours standing outside the house. Bathinda SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill said two of the three accused, Happy and Sandeep, had been arrested while the third accused, Raj Kumar, was still at large. All the accused are in their twenties and are residents of Dhobiana Basti in Bathinda. Meanwhile, while the family members of the arrested boys said the police picked them up from their respective homes, SP (D) Sukhdev Chahal said they were held following a police chase. Interestingly, no police official managed to reach either the recovery spot or the victim’s house in the morning, though the SP (D) visited him at the hospital later.
|
|
|
Woman, son booked for duping youth of Rs 6.5 lakh
Moga, October 24 In his complaint, Baljinder Singh of Badhni Kalan village of the district alleged that the woman, Amarjeet Kaur, and her son, Lakhwinder Singh, residents of Malerkotla town, took the amount from him last year. However, even after a year of taking the money, they could neither fulfill the promise of sending him abroad nor did they return back the money, he alleged. After verifying the facts, the police conducted an inquiry into the allegations and prima facie found the woman and her son took the money from the complainant, after which a criminal case under Sections 420 and 406 of the Indian Penal Code was registered against them. However, they were yet to be arrested by the police.
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Chandigarh, October 24
Patiala, October 24
Patiala, October 24
Bathinda, October 24
Chandigarh, October 24
