|
|
|
|
|
Competitive bidding best for power projects: PSERC
Truck union leader to be made Info Commissioner
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Clark for better educational ties with state
Relishes makki di roti, sarson da saag
Cong trying to defame me: Brahmpura
Misuse of Grants
A bridge that will connect border dists
600 jail inmates on hunger strike for clean food
Horse endurance meet on Nov 19
Vision paper for promoting Punjabi
It was bloodshed at donation camp!
Mapping of Punjab’s tourist places begins
HC: Ailing cops entitled to actual cost of injections
2 held with rare snakes
Rs 1.2-cr gold recovered
|
Competitive bidding best for power projects: PSERC
Patiala, November 16 As per a communiqué sent by the PSERC to the Secretary (Power), it has been conveyed that awarding thermal power projects to private players through the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) route was "not in the overall interests of the consumers" and, hence, a competitive bidding route be adopted to award the new power projects. After Punjab notified the Punjab Power Generation Policy-2010 in June 2010, the PSERC had written to the state government that the policy “was not in accordance with the Central Electricity Act, 2003, National Tariff Policy and, therefore, needed to be reviewed. However, documents procured by The Tribune show that in its reply to the letter by the PSERC, the state government justified the policy. Not convinced with the state government's reply, the PSERC has again written a letter to the state government, the excerpts of which read, "As per the decision taken in the meeting of the Group of Ministers, Union Government, in December 2009, the states should fully migrate to procurement of power by distribution companies (Discoms) through tariff-based competitive bidding for public and private sector generation and transmission projects." Secretary (Power) Anirudh Tiwari said he could not issue any categorical statement off-hand. "I will go through the PSERC letter and if there is anything that needs to be done, it will be looked into," he said.
|
|
Truck union leader to be made Info Commissioner
Chandigarh, November 16 When contacted, Chanduraiyan admitted that he had been president of the Malerkotla Truck Union for over 10 years and that his father also headed the union for over two decades. But he denied owning any truck. He described himself as a social worker. A post-graduate in Physical Education, he contested the SGPC elections as a Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate in 2004 and won. Before that in 2002 he had narrowly lost the assembly elections from Malerkotla by a margin of a mere 179 votes. The RTI Act lays down that the Information Commissioner should not have had any association with political parties or business. MPs, MLAs and those holding any office of profit are also ineligible for appointment to the post which carries the rank, pay and perks enjoyed by the state Chief Secretary. The 10-member Punjab Information Commission has four vacancies and the term of two other members is drawing to an end in
|
|||
|
Sukhbir Badal backs ex-DGP Gill
Moga, November 16 Senior party leader Jathedar Tota Singh stayed away from these functions. However, councillors backing his son Barjinder Singh Brar, president of the Moga Municipal Council, met Sukhbir to project Brar as their candidate. Sukhbir told the councillors to meet him in his ancestral village on Thursday to discuss the issue. Interestingly, some BJP councillors were also seen in the Brar camp. Anil Bansal, BJP councillor and vice-president of the MC, talking to The Tribune, said he personally favoured Brar as he had undertaken several development works in the town in the past two years. Barjinder, popularly known as Makhan Brar, claimed that more than Rs 50 crore had been spent on various development works in the town. “I have changed the face of the town and the residents have now started recognising my efforts,” he claimed. Sukhbir said the party core committee would decide on the candidate for the Moga seat. Brar said: “As a sevadar of the SAD, I have the right to stake claim to the party ticket. However, I will abide by any decision taken by the party.” In the run-up to the assembly poll, the Deputy Chief Minister today showered bounties on Moga town. Accompanied by Gill and Moga MC president Barjinder Singh Brar, Sukhbir distributed cheques worth Rs 3.7 crore for development works in 51 villages at Charik and Daroli
Bhai villages. He announced a grant of Rs 10 crore for the development of Moga town, besides commissioning of reverse osmosis plants in all 31 wards of the town. The Deputy Chief Minister also announced a state-of-the-art trauma centre equipped with ultra modern eqipment in association with the Alchemist Group, a government college for women, a sports stadium and an urban estate which is to be developed by the Punjab Urban Development Authority, besides developing a master plan for the town. Talking to mediapersons later, he said the SAD and the BJP would not allow the winter session of Parliament to function till the Congress-led UPA Government revealed the names of Indians who held Swiss Bank accounts. He said he had a discussion on the issue with senior BJP leader LK Advani. The SAD president reiterated that top Congress leaders, including Capt Amarinder Singh, had stashed several hundred crores in Swiss banks.
|
|||
|
Clark for better educational ties with state
Amritsar, November 16 Heading a 150-member delegation from British Columbia, she paid obeisance at the Golden Temple. She said the objective of the visit here was to increase the economic and social connections between both the states as many people from Punjab were residing in British Columbia. Dressed in traditional Punjabi suit and glass bangles, the Premier said India had the maximum youngest population in the world. “Educational requirements of India are more and British Columbia can deliver expertise in imparting quality education,” she said. She disclosed that soon a non-stop flight between Delhi and Vancouver would kick off and hoped that in future the holy city would also be part of the circuit. On the possibility of sister state relations between British Columbia and Punjab, she commented that relations between the two were being built on various factors like education, business and hoped that it would subsequently graduate to the higher level.
|
|||
|
Relishes makki di roti, sarson da saag
Jalandhar, November 16 As Clark, Canada Consular General Scot Slesser and their over 50-member strong team relished the Punjabi food at the resort and cheered it in Punjabi saying “balle balle, bahut vadhiya” (cheers, very good), they also participated in “bhangra” and “gidda” dances of Punjab, displaying appreciation for the rich Punjabi culture. The exhilarating Punjabi dances were especially show-cased by Haveli management, led by its owner Satish Jain, for the visiting Canadian dignitaries. Clark and her team visited Haveli after accepting a personal invitation extended by Jain to her during his recent visit to Vancouver. “I had extended an invitation to Christy Clark during my visit to BC and she had gracefully accepted it,” said Jain, who took her around the resort known for show-casing Punjabi culture and related lifestyle. “It’s great to see the Punjabi culture. Now, I realise why Punjabi culture and food is more popular than politicians in Canada,” said Clark. They ordered ‘sarson da saag’, ‘makki di roti’, ‘karahi paneer’, ‘jalebi’, ‘kesar-rice kheer’ and ‘dal makhni’ and ‘tawa rotis’. Besides, she also liked the mixture of ‘desi ghee’ and ‘shakkar’ and ‘gulab jamuns’. In her apparent goodwill gesture towards Punjabis, Clark flashed an occasional smile and exchanged pleasantries saying “Sat Sri Akal” to other visitors. Besides traditional Punjabi cuisine, Clark and Slesser sipped fresh juices of ‘mausami’, pineapple and pomegranate.
|
|||
Bir Devinder willing to return to Congress fold
Chandigarh, November 16 “If I get the Congress nomination, I will contest from Fatehgarh Sahib”, said Bir Devinder today. “There were peculiar circumstances when I had to quit the Congress, of which I remained a member for 35 years”, he said. He had resigned from the Congress in April 2009. After resigning from the Congress, he had a brief association, first with Sukhbir Singh Badal and later with Manpreet Singh Badal. Now, he is not a member of any party. “Though, I had addressed a press conference, which I accepted was an error of judgment, along with Sukhbir Singh Badal, two years ago but I did not become member of the Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD). Nor did I become a member of the People’s Party of Punjab headed by Manpreet Singh Badal”, he said. Bir Devinder Singh, who was declared the best Parliamentarian of the 12th Vidhan Sabha, was first time elected to the State Assembly in 1980. Later, he was elected to the state assembly in 2002. “After Independence, I was the first Congress leader to be elected from the Sirhind, (now Fatehgarh Sahib) assembly constituency,” he said. Meanwhile, senior SAD leader Prem Singh Chandumajra is also eager to contest from Fatehgarh Sahib constituency.
|
|||
|
Cong trying to defame me: Brahmpura
Chandigarh November 16 “Neither the CM, nor anyone else in the government, including me, is remotely connected with any part of the land transfer (in Badaphul village of Ropar), all of which took place well before the present government assumed office. I am shocked at the Lokpal even taking cognizance of the complaint,” Brahmpura said in a statement. “The fact of the matter is that we had, in fact, gone to the Supreme Court against the transfer that took place under the Congress regime”. The minister said the character of ownership of the land in question was changed by the Revenue Department from village common land to private ownership during the regime of Capt Amarinder Singh in the 2005-06 jamabandi. “This was brought to my notice on February 2, 2009. I immediately ordered an inquiry by the Financial Commissioner. “Following the inquiry report, a curative petition was filed in the apex court which was dismissed on March 2, 2011 as the entire matter had been decided threadbare in the Supreme Court by 2003.” — TNS
|
|
Misuse of Grants
Jalandhar, November 16 The sabha alleges that central funds of over Rs 6,000 crore released under various heads and schemes for the welfare of Scheduled Castes have been diverted for other schemes, leaving the beneficiaries in the lurch. Paramjit Singh Kainth, president of the outfit, said Montek Singh’s personal secretary had called up yesterday to inform that the Vice-Chairman had fixed a meeting for November 24 at 4 pm.
|
||
|
A bridge that will connect border dists
Ferozepur, November 16 The residents of border villages using boats to cross the Sutlej to go to Amritsar will be relieved of the hassle of commuting through indigenously built boats, especially when the Sutlej is in fury. The only existing bridge on Sutlej upstream this new site is situated near Harike headworks which is 640 metres long. CM Parkash Singh Badal will lay the foundation stone of this bridge on November 18.
|
||
|
600 jail inmates on hunger strike for clean food
Three days back the doctors in the jail had declared the quality of the foodgrains and pulses in the jail “not fit for human consumption” and even suggested that the officials of the jail kitchen should discard the worm-infested cooked food. But there was no compliance with the doctors’ recommendations and no improvement in quality of food. After getting many complaints from the jail inmates about the poor quality of the food and worms floating on the surface of the cooked pulses, two days back, two doctors in the jail inspected the food stock and found it not fit for human consumption. “We have made the entries in the jail journal register about the poor quality of the food, further it was the duty of the jail officials to replace the stock”, said Dr Darshan Lal, a doctor in the jail. Sources in the jail revealed that a week back when the inmates were shifted from the old jail to the new jail, the rotten and worm-infested food stock was also shifted. Besides, not one of the windows in the jail has any arrangements to check the entry of mosquitoes, thus leaving many inmates ill. Amarjit Singh Sandhu, Deputy Jail Superintendent, said, “Actually some of these inmates were demanding television and dish antenna in jail, so they made it into a big issue.”
|
||
|
Horse endurance meet on Nov 19
Chandigarh, November 16 Sumrinder Sira, president of the society, said the 40-km race would have two rounds of 20 km each. Sira said the first prize of the meet had been doubled to Rs 1 lakh this year. The runner-up and the rider coming third would be given cash rewards of Rs 51,000 and Rs 21,000, respectively. Col. Sarpartap Singh, an international equestrian judge, who is vice-president (technical) of the society, said after the first round, there would be a medical checkup of the horses and only those having pulse rates between prescribed limits would be allowed to proceed. He said horses would be subjected to a similar test after the end of the race and it was up to the riders to bring down the pulse rate to the prescribed limits within a definite time. Points would be given on the performance of the horse as well as its capability to normalise its pulse rate quickly. Kamalbir Dhindsa, society general secretary, said at least 40 riders had participated in the first meet held in Patiala in April. He said this figure was likely to go up to 100 and would give a boost to the indigenous horse industry in Punjab. Dhindsa said Punjab horses, which were still to be recognised as a separate breed, had immense athletic prowess and the endurance meet was a fit occasion to showcase its unique talent. Gagandeep Singh Ahuja, society member, said besides enhancing the health and welfare of horses in the state, the event would be a tourist attraction with horses from Rajasthan and riders from abroad were expected to participate. Ahuja said efforts were on to hold this event twice a year on a regular basis.
|
||
|
Vision paper for promoting Punjabi
Patiala, November 16 While presiding over a two-day International Punjabi Literary Conference here today, Dr Jaspal Singh, Vice-Chancellor, said a visionary approach was necessary to arrest the erosion of increasing cultural distortion and to sensitise and create awareness about the richness of the language. Dr SP Singh, former vice-chancellor, GNDU, urged the litterateurs to produce quality books carrying original ideas to make Punjabi language on a par with the other languages of the world.
|
||
|
It was bloodshed at donation camp!
Fatehgarh Sahib, November 16 The camp was to be inaugurated by SAD general secretary Prem Singh Chandumajra, but before the camp could start, a bloody clash occurred between the two groups. The group which comprised orgainsers of the camp was led by club president Jagjit Singh and the other by Kulwant Singh Kharora, circle president of the SAD. Kharora allegedly locked the gate of Gurdwara Sahib, the venue of the camp, which led to a dispute. Members of both groups hurled stones at each other with one group resorting to firing. The agitated club members along with villagers blocked the Sirhind-Patiala highway for an hour and raised slogans against Kharora. They demanded registration of an FIR against him for firing at them. RS Khatra, Fatehgarh Sahib SSP, pacified the protesters and convinced them to lift the blockade. Later, with the intervention of senior Akali leaders, both groups reached a compromise. Locals term the clash as part of the proxy war between the two Akali leaders as both are contenders for SAD ticket from Fatehgarh Sahib and both claim support of the party high command. The SSP said some villagers had blocked the Sirhind-Patiala highway. No one lodged a complaint and he was told that both parties reached a compromise, he added.
|
||
|
Mapping of Punjab’s tourist places begins
Ludhiana, November 16 Dr Brijendra Pateriya, director, PRSC, said, “We have started detailed mapping of places having historical importance like Amritsar, Patiala, Anandpur Sahib, Fatehgarh Sahib etc. Later, we will cover other historical places too”. Dr Pateriya said, “There will be detailed information on hotels, ATMs, hospitals, places to be visited, different routes to different places and the distance from a particular place. This will be of great help in promoting tourism in Punjab”.
|
|
HC: Ailing cops entitled to actual cost of injections
Chandigarh, November 16 The reimbursement shall be made “at the rates at which they had already purchased” the injections. The Division Bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia said: “Henceforth, the Police Department will coordinate with the hospitals of Medical Colleges of the State, which are procuring the injections at the rate of Rs 6,300 per injection and will provide injections to its employees, subject to approval by the PGIMER, Chandigarh. “Each of the employees, to whom an injection is provided, will furnish a certificate of the doctor concerned that the injection indeed has been administered upon him”. In its detailed order, the Bench added: “Seeing the peculiar facts of the case, we have ordered that injections shall be provided by the Police Department…. The payment of balance amount due to the petitioner-employees towards the medical reimbursement for purchase of injections till today shall be made by the Police Department within two months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order”. The petitioners are posted as head constables and constables in Bathinda, Patiala and
Hoshiarpur.
|
|
2 held with rare snakes
Patiala, November 16 On a tipoff, the police intercepted a car carrying a sealed bag. When opened, it was found containing a pair of the Indian sand boa. “We immediately informed Wildlife officials who rushed to the spot and took away the snakes,” the police said. Ashwani Kumar, Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife), Patiala, said the “rare snakes fetch a high price. There is a misconception about their medicinal and aphrodisiacal properties as well as the belief that keeping this snake as a pet brings wealth and prosperity.” In recent times, the trade of the sand boas has increased not just in South India but also in the North. Jugraj Singh, Range Forest Officer, Patiala, said the arrested persons had been sent to judicial custody for 14 days by a local court . The court had further ordered that the snakes be sent to the Chattbir Zoo.
|
|
|
Rs 1.2-cr gold recovered
Patiala, November 16 Manmohan Sharma, Rajpura SP, said one Mohit had gold hidden in his baggage. The gold was to be supplied to some persons in
Ludhiana, he said. — TNS
|
|
| 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 | |
Notwithstanding the claims of the state government that the Punjab Power Generation Policy-2010 was aimed at accelerating the addition of generation capacity, the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) has reiterated that some sections of the policy would lead to an increase in the power tariff in the state.
The name of Ajit Singh Chanduraiyan, who belongs to Sangrur, is learnt to have been cleared for the post of Information Commissioner by the Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.The nomination has raised eyebrows because Chanduraiyan is known in Sangrur as a political leader and a trade unionist, which actually makes him ineligible for appointment to the post.
Faridkot, November 16