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CM appoints 21 Chief Parliamentary Secys
State tops in milk production
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CCTVs help nab 200 thieves in Golden Temple
Karan Brar spent most in Muktsar district
Traders resent positive list for Wagah
District mining officer suspended
Patiala civic body achieves revenue target
Health Minister talks tough on drug abuse
Min assures direct payment will not be made to farmers: Singla
Moga offices mock at Service Act
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State tops in milk production
Chandigarh, April 6 The national integrated livestock sample survey for 2010-11 also notes that Punjab, despite having only two per cent of the total cattle population of the country, contributes 8 per cent of its total milk production. It has topped in per capita availability of milk with nearly one-litre milk being available per day for each individual. Similarly, the state has also topped in per capita availability of eggs with 128 eggs available for each person, which is two-and-half times the national average. Ironically, Haryana lags far behind Punjab as far as average per day milk yield of both buffaloes and non-descript animals are concerned. In case of buffaloes, against an average production of 8.5 litres per day per animal, Haryana has recorded an average production of 6.86 litres per day. Similarly, in case of non-descript (desi) animals, Punjab recorded an average per day production of 6.5 litres against 4.76 litres in Haryana. In case of Holstein Friesian crossbred animals, Punjab has recorded an average per day per animal production of 11 litres. Meghalaya comes second with an average of 9 litres and Kerala third with an average of 8.9 litres. Punjab Animal Husbandry Minister Gulzar Singh Ranike says this success story has been achieved due to the state's strategy to increase yield of buffaloes by providing better quality semen to ordinary farmers as well as encouraging modern dairy units having high yield Holstein Friesian cows. He said the state had increased its own semen bank capacity to 40 lakh semen doses for both buffaloes and cows. He said the state was the first in the country to import semen straws with an annual lactation capacity of 11,000 litres per animal and the straws (3.25 lakh) were being distributed at 50 per cent subsidy to dairy farmers. Ranike said the national survey for 2010 -11 had revealed that Punjab also had the best animal health services network. He said each veterinarian was covering four villages and each veterinary institute was covering 17 square kilometer area around it. The Minister said besides these measures more than 1,000 persons had also been trained and given authorisation to conduct artificial insemination services to increase the quality of available livestock. Ranike said Punjab was also the first in the country to provide area specific mineral mixture to dairy farmers at subsidised rates. He said from April 16 onwards the Animal Husbandry Department would start selling fodder seed at subsidised rates to farmers. As much as 18,300 quintals of fodder seed would be distributed to dairy farmers under this drive. Surpasses haryana
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CCTVs help nab 200 thieves in Golden Temple
Amritsar, April 6 Of the cases cracked till date, a majority are that of theft of mobile phones and wallets. The area where most of these thefts are reported is Dukhbhanjani Ber, which holds a great significance for devotees who wish to take holy dip in the “sarovar”. Equally prone to thefts is the Lachi Ber, which is situated right next to the Darshani Deorhi. The spot witnesses a huge rush of devotees in the peak hours as the entrance and the exit route to the holy shrine are located on its either sides. Onkar Singh, CCTV project incharge, said there were instances when they even caught hold of the thieves on the spot. In other cases, the guards on duty were shown the footage of the thief who is caught as soon as he steps into the complex next time. He said they have also nabbed minor children who were involved in perpetrating thefts. “Recently, we caught a boy aged below 15 for stealing Rs 5,000 cash and a mobile belonging to a devotee.” They have also identified a couple of women committing thefts on the premises, but they were yet to be caught. “Nabbing them is a tricky job for our male employees and, therefore, we are thinking of seeking the services of female SGPC employees to catch them,” he said. Apart from cash, valuables and mobile phones, the cases of garment theft have also been reported. With the rush of pilgrims increasing with the onset of the summer vacations, the CCTV staff is gearing up to deal with the likely spurt in theft cases, the signs of which are already visible. Onkar revealed that around 10 to 12 incidents of theft were reported on April 2. “With the people wearing lighter clothes, it became easier for pickpockets to steal a wallet or a mobile,” he added. According to him, they also conducted raids in the complex on Saturday night and check the antecedents of the suspected persons. Whether the installation of CCTV cameras has helped curb the criminal activities at the shrine, he replied in affirmative. SGPC secretary Dalmegh Singh admitted that the project had been quite fruitful. “We keep on reviewing its progress and will install more CCTV cameras wherever needed,” he said. He also felt the need for enhancing the recording capacity at the facility, which is only a few days at present. “We will initiate necessary measures in this regard in near future,” he added. The SGPC has a separate wing of employees who man the CCTV control room that is set up near the Akal Takht. Apart from them, nine guards, dressed in civvies, are equipped with walkie-talkie sets of which eight are deployed in different parts of the complex while the remaining one is at the control room to give them the directions. There are six control room operators who man the facility round-the-clock. These operators and guards work in eight-hour shifts. Facts and figures
Salient Features
Why the need
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No brakes on free cycle scheme for girls: Badal
Fattakhera (Muktsar), April 6 "I read some report saying the Centre would stop the funds. But, this scheme-Mai Bhago Vidya Scheme-is our (Punjab Government's) own and we will continue it. We may extend the scheme to include the students of some other classes as well," he said. Also, the Chief Minister exhorted the youth to opt for technical courses so as to get "good jobs". Addressing public gatherings at almost every village on the second day of his five-day thanksgiving tour in Lambi Assembly constituency, Badal appealed to the local youngsters to get admissions in the local State Institute of Automotive and Driving Skills at Mahuana village. "A number of youngsters who did their courses from the institute have got good jobs in metros," he said. Surprising everybody present at his Sangat Darshan, he called a few youngsters from the public to know whether they were employed. If yes, the next question was whether they paid any bribe for it. Sitting on his specially designed wooden chair, Badal asked the youngsters, "What is your educational qualification and are you employed? If yes, did you pay any bribe to get the job?" However, not even a single person spoke about bribery, much to the relief of the government officials present. In a lighter vein, Badal told the officials accompanying him, "Aapne aap nu ittaan wang paka lavo. Agge agge garmi vadhni hai, par asi odon vi eithey do chakkar laauney hai. (Make yourself strong as the temperature will soar in the coming days. Even then, we will keep on visiting these villages)." Also, the Chief Minister told the residents of his home constituency Lambi to feel free to come and meet him regarding their "genuine" demands at his residence in Badal village. "I am available to the public all 365 days and those who want to meet me can come to my residence in the evening. A few people come to meet me in the morning, but I remain busy then. Whosoever wants to meet me can come in the evening," he said.
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Karan Brar spent most in Muktsar district
There are four constituencies in the district: Lambi, Gidderbaha, Muktsar and Malout. All bigwigs, including SAD patron and five-time Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, People’s Party of Punjab chief Manpreet Singh Badal, his father Gurdas Singh Badal and Congress’s Maheshinder Singh Badal, spent below Rs 10 lakh during the election campaign, as per the expenditure details submitted to the district elections office here. Congress candidate Karan Kaur Brar, who won from Muktsar constituency, spent Rs 13,23,443.88 while her close opponent from the SAD, Kanwarjit Singh Barkandi “Rozy”, spent Rs 7,80,718. If one goes by the expenditure details submitted by the Badal brothers, who contested against each other from Lambi, they spent a much lesser amount. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal spent Rs 8,49,194 while Gurdas Badal spent Rs 2,73,054. Their cousin Maheshinder Singh Badal of the Congress, who also contested from Lambi, spent Rs 9,20,743. In Gidderbaha Assembly segment, the winning candidate, Amrinder Singh Warring “Raja”, spent Rs 4,36,506 and first runners-up Sant Singh Brar of the SAD spent Rs 3,01,735. The second runners-up Manpreet Singh Badal spent Rs 4,05,066 during the elections. In Malout Assembly segment, winning candidate Harpreet Singh of the SAD spent Rs 7,68,262 and first runners-up of the Congress Nathu Ram spent Rs 8,95,704. None of the candidates in the district exceeded the Election Commission expenditure limit of Rs 15 lakh.
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Promotion of 28 revenue officials hangs in balance
Faridkot, April 6 A day before AR Talwar, the then Financial Commissioner (Revenue) was transferred to the post of Principal Secretary (Industries and Information Technology) on March 16, Talwar ordered the promotion of 28 kanungos, 13 in Faridkot and 15 in Patiala division to the rank of naib-tehsildar. After the Divisional Commissioner, Faridkot, received the promotion orders, the kanungos were given current duty charge (CDC) as naib-tehsildar. The CDC means that the official stature of these promoted kanungos was henceforth naib-tehsildar, but they would get kanungo's emoluments. For 10 days, the promoted naib-tehsildars were celebrating and partying their new Class-II gazetted officer's status. Performing naib-tehsildar's duty, but on March 26, the commissioner, Faridkot Division, received orders to keep these promotions in suspension till further orders. Now, bereft of new status, the promotee naib-tehsildars are eagerly waiting for further orders. "I have not received new orders from the Financial Commissioner (Revenue) office so far. The promotions will be kept in abeyance till we receive new orders," said Ravinder Singh, Commissioner, Faridkot Division. Sources in the revenue department revealed that after promotion of over three dozen naib-tehsildars to the post of tehsildar in November last year, a large number of posts of naib-tehsildar fell vacant in the state. So the revenue department had decided to promote senior-most kanungos to the post of naib-tehsildar. As there were no proper seniority lists of kanungos in Jalandhar, Ferozepur and Ropar divisions, 28 kanungos in Faridkot and Patiala division were ordered to be promoted by AR Talwar on March 16. Days after Bikramjit Singh Majithia assumed the charge as Minister for Revenue and Rehabilitation on March 26, there were new orders to keep the promotions in abeyance. Sources said that immediately after the promotion list was released on March 16, some kanungos in Sangrur district objected to the promotion and made a representation to the personnel department for ignoring their seniority.
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Rajpura farmers block traffic
Patiala, April 6 Shouting slogans against a chemical firm in
Rajpura, the protesters demanded that the Punjab Government should reclaim the unutilised 533 acres out of the total 1,119 acres of land that was acquired by the Punjab government in 1994 for the Siel Chemicals. Farmers said the firm has failed to fulfill its promise of developing the acquired area in 10 years. “The government paid a meager compensation of Rs 1.75 lakh per acre to the farmers at that time whereas the market value of the land was at least Rs 2 crore per acre as the land is located close to
Patiala- Rajpura highway and municipal limits of Rajpura. It’s been over 18 years and though the government later de-notified the acquisition of 488 acres, around 533 acres were still lying vacant as the firm has set up their plant on merely 98 acres,” they added. “As the firm has failed to fulfill the terms and conditions of the memorandum of understanding, the government must return the land to farmers. The firm has failed to generate jobs for local people, whereas it had promised that it would give 40,000 jobs to nearby village residents,” said a protester.
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Ludhiana twin murder case
Ludhiana, April 6 To make a quick buck, the trio decided to steal cars, as their fourth accomplice Hassanjit had assured them to help in selling stolen vehicles. The police got a vital clue that could help the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in establishing that the trio was behind the dual murder. The SIT found that the accused were using the phone of the victims by removing sim cards. During their visit to Naina Devi they clicked pictures from the mobile phone belonging to DSP Gill. Deputy Commissioner of Police
(DCP) Ashish Cahoudhary said, “The date and time of pictures clicked by mobile phones would be a clinching evidence in the case.” In order to make the case foolproof, the police recovered the weapons in presence of naib
tehsildar-cum-sub-registrar (West) Balwinder Singh. A wristwatch was recovered from Pritpal and the keys of Toyota Innova and Chevrolet Optra had been recovered from the possession of Umesh and
Harwinder. The police said that after committing the double murder the accused fled towards
Gurdaspur. There they tried to dispose of the vehicle, but failed to do so. Further, they sold a gold ring to a jeweller located in
Mullahpur. Sources said that in order maintain transparency, Commissioner of Police Ishwar Singh today directed Addition Deputy Commissioner of Police
(ADCP-IV) to probe the case. The accused were today sent in police remand till April 9. Chain of events
Suspect’s kin cry foul The family members of the three suspects claimed the trio had been falsely booked in the
case. Jeevan Singh, elder brother of Harwinder Singh alias Binder, said that his brother was made “victim of some conspiracy”.
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Traders resent positive list for Wagah
Amritsar, April 6 CII National Council on Public Policy member Gunbir Singh said they will certainly take up the matter with the state as well as the Union Government on Monday. “We will urge the government to open the channel of talks with Pak government to sort out the issue. Apart from it, we will also write a letter to the Lahore Chamber of Commerce so as to raise the issue with our counterparts on the other side of the border,” he added.
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Faridkot district bags prize
for high voter turnout
Faridkot, April 6 Days before the polling day, in a first-ever-of-its kind initiative in the state, the Faridkot district administration and the election commission office had jointly organised public meetings and played videos on projectors in the rural and urban areas to educate the voters. Aimed at generating awareness among the voters about the power of their vote and the importance of casting it to ensure that the right candidates are chosen to represent them, a catchy audio-video song was prepared under the SVEEP programme of the ECI. As the SVEEP programme brought a lot of change in voters’ mindset and helped in improving the polling percentage, so the ECI has selected Faridkot district for a special prize, said Ravi Bhagat, Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Electorate Officer, Faridkot. This award will be given in a special function at New Delhi on April 10, he said. The total turnout of voters in Faridkot district was 84.11 per cent this Assembly elections, improving from 83.20 per cent in the 2007 Assembly elections and 73.26 per cent in the 2009 parliamentary elections. With three Assembly constituencies in Faridkot district, the maximum turnout of the voters was 85.10 per cent in Jaitu, followed by 83.94 per cent in Faridkot and 83.32 per cent in Kotkapura. Inspired by the popularity of the YouTube that was being used by the political parties and other organisations to reach out to the masses, especially the tech-savvy youth of Punjab in the poll-frenzied state, the district administration and the election commission in Faridkot had also joined the technology bandwagon, releasing a song-cum-video on the YouTube "Punjab Vote 2012 ". The aim of the campaign was to urge the voters not to get swayed by money or drugs and increase the polling percentage, Bhagat said.
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tribune impact
Chandigarh, April 6 Ludhiana Industries and District Mining Officer Vishav Bandhu has been transferred in Brar’s place. The action has been taken following an expose by The Tribune on large-scale illegal mining of minor minerals in the river beds of the Sutlej and Suar in Ropar district. Principal Secretary, Industries, AR Talwar, confirmed Brar’s suspension on the charges of dereliction of duty and for his failure to check illegal mining. The mining officer of Mandi Gobindgarh, Mukesh Khanna, has been transferred to Ludhiana. Following the publication of the news report in these columns, the Ropar administration, led by Deputy Comnmissioner GK Singh and SSP JS Aulakh got into action and over the past four days, they have been surveying the area and booked all those involved in the illegal mining. The district administration has registered over 50 FIRs against those involved in the illegal mining, booked as many people, besides sealing 52 stone crushers that have come up in Ropar district without the requisite permission from the state government and for involvement in crushing of gravel lifted from the river bed and other places that have not been categorised as legal quarries. The Tribune, in its issue dated April 2, had highlighted how the “mining mafia” has set up more than 20 new crushers in two villages of Agampur and Suhara in Ropar district along the Sutlej. More than 600 trucks ferry sand and gravel from these two illegal mining sites daily, doing business worth more than Rs 4.5 crore a day. The illegal miners also pay “royalty” to their
political bosses in order to carry on their clandestine operations.
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Patiala civic body achieves revenue target
Patiala, April 6 Sources in the department said that the department had set a target of Rs 9 crore for 2011-12 financial year and had generated Rs 6.48 crore till February 25. Senior MC authorities then asked the building branch to act fast. The department cleared all the pending building plans of the Change of Land Use Committee and within four days on February 29, the department generated Rs 40.17 lakh. Then the department touched its target of Rs 9 crore by earning Rs 2.15 crore in March. Mayor Ajitpal Singh Kohli said that the department had worked tirelessly to complete the target and finally succeeded. “Now, we are working to complete our pending projects at the earliest,” the Mayor said.
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US students take pledge against dowry
Patiala, April 6 Talking to The Tribune over phone from New York, Dr Harshindar Kaur informed she delivered a factual talk about female foeticide and underlined the reasons goading the people to indulge in this social evil. She exhorted the young to shun the practice of dowry and offered a petition against the dowry system to be signed by willing youngsters. Surprisingly, boys were more enthusiastic and signed the petition in large numbers. The signed petitions were added to the petitions signed in Canada, Europe, England and India. They would be submitted to the
UNO.
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Health Minister talks tough on drug abuse
Fatehgarh Sahib, April 6 “It is a matter of great concern that youths of the state are falling in the trap of drugs and it would lead to social disorder as well as chaos in society. Now, would be the priority of the health department to wage a war against drug abuse and social organisations should also come forward to support this cause,” the Health Minister said. He said that anyone can inform him on his mobile number about sale of drugs and his or her identity would be kept secret and if found true would be awarded. The minister said that he would try to remove whatever shortcomings were there in the health sector. He said that rationalisation of doctors would be initiated and the department would ensure doctors in every hospital and dispensaries.
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Min assures direct payment will not be made to farmers: Singla
Chandigarh, April 6 Singla had led a delegation of ‘arhtiyas’ comprising their president Vijay Kalra and the office-bearers following reports that the Centre was considering introducing a direct payment system for foodgrains procured from farmers. Presently, these payments are routed through commission agents. Singla said he had apprised the minister that commission agents were making timely payments to farmers within 72 hours of procurement of their foodgrains and that this system was in force since the past two years. He said the minister was informed of the work done by ‘arhtiyas’, including unloading of foodgrains, cleaning, weighing and sealing them in bags. The MP said following the meeting Thomas assured the delegation that the old system would not be upset and ‘arhtiyas’ would continue to get their commission.
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Moga offices mock at Service Act Moga, April 6 Although application forms for arms licence are available at the Suvidha Centre set up in the Mini-secretariat, the employees there do not give the form until one obtains a written approval from the Deputy Commissioner (DC). Sometimes, it takes days to meet the DC, according to many complainants. Rajinder Singh, a local resident, downloaded the arms licence form from the district administration's website, but the Suvidha Centre employees refused to accept it. The staff argued that none of the public utility forms available free of cost on the website was acceptable. One has to pay at least `20 for an application form even if it is downloaded from the administration's website. At the District Transport Office, the story is just the same. A nexus between the contractor/employees of the Suvidha Centre and agents is giving rise to corruption.
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It is soon going to rain red beacons and Toyota Camrys' in Punjab with the state government deciding to promote 21 legislators as Chief Parliamentary Secretaries. Of them, 17 MLAs would be from the Shiromani Akali Dal while the remaining four would be from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Punjab, which has for long been known as the food bowl of the country, could now be termed as its milk bowl too. The state has not only topped the country in average milk production of buffaloes by beating Haryana, but also in average milk production from Holstein Friesian and even non-descript animals.
The national integrated livestock sample survey for 2010-11 also notes that Punjab, despite having only two per cent of the total cattle population of the country, contributes 8 per cent of its total milk production.
With the CCTV cameras in place for almost a year now, the SGPC authorities have succeeded in curbing thefts and nabbing the culprits in around 200 such cases at the Golden Temple complex, the shrine being a hot spot for thieves due to the inflow of thousands of pilgrims daily.
Muktsar, April 6