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NAGAR PANCHAYAT POLL
Couples await ‘gift money’
Punjab seeks more funds from Centre to tackle floods
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Govt wants Rs 1,750 wheat MSP
Spurt in smuggling activities along border in Punjab
Badal on ‘Green Mission’
NAGAR PANCHAYAT POLL
doaba
malwa majha
On poll eve, SAD, BJP expel more rebels
Govt to facilitate basmati export
Blood Bank fails to detect hepatitis C infection
Gobindpura power plant in limbo
8 IPS officers among 12 shifted in Punjab
Reforms dept restructured
Ludhiana, June 6 As many as 37 cases of hepatitis A and E have been reported at Bahubul Munj village of Mukeriya tehsil in Hoshiarpur district in a recent outbreak.
Sidhu group wins Gymkhana Club elections
Relief for 40 Nabha villages Shoddy probe into Nabha murders
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NAGAR PANCHAYAT POLL
Ludhiana, June 6 "Despite our repeated appeals and warnings, the rebels refused to fall in line. We had to initiate a strict disciplinary action against them," said District Akali Jatha Ludhiana (Urban) president Hira Singh Gabria. He claimed that supporters of nine former Akali workers contesting as Independents had returned to the party fold. Dismissing the rebel factor as "not of much consequence", he claimed that the party candidates were going strong. Akali rebels, on the other hand, have decided to stay in the fray as Independents. Earlier, district BJP president Parveen while issuing a strict warning to dissidents had expelled dissident Jasveer Singh Jassa for contesting as an Independent from Ward No. 40. Cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia during his last visit to the city had warned that a disciplinary action would be taken against party workers supporting any dissident. Congress dissidents, too, despite their repeated claims that they were not against the party, are refusing to relent. Congress Worker Forum convener Varun Mehta said there was no question of withdrawing the candidature of the forum candidates. "The candidates fielded by the forum will contest as Independents." Senior Congress leaders have been trying to win back the rebels into the party fold. Adopting a conciliatory tone, MP Manish Tewari said: "There were more than 500 aspirants for the party ticket from 75 wards in Ludhiana. We were able to persuade most of them to support the party candidates. Others were not able to surmount their disappointment. That, however, does not make them anti-Congress." He added that logically an action would have to be taken against the dissidents. "We made attempts to reach out to them. Their disappointment is a cause of concern to us". He said: "If they (the dissidents) relent, we will accommodate them in various other positions in the party". Meanwhile, former general secretary of the PPCC Ramesh Joshi joined the SAD (B). Alleging inaccessibility of the party leadership as a reason for his disappointment, he claimed that despite being a loyal party worker for the past 40 years, his contribution had been neglected. "Congress workers are being ignored by the party," he alleged. Rebel trouble in Ludhiana
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Couples await ‘gift money’
Faridkot, June 6 Under the plan, a couple (with one partner a Scheduled Caste) opting for an inter-caste marriage is given a gift of Rs 50,000 by the Welfare Department for SCs and BCs with half of the sum coming from the Centre. The aim is to help the couple in distress. But in the past four years, because of Punjab’s precarious fiscal condition, no “gift money” has been awarded to these couples. With the state government unable to contribute towards the “gift money”, a list of 552 eligible couples is pending with the state’s Welfare Department . Many more such cases are awaiting scrutiny. In the absence of funds, the authorities are going slow on the matter. HS Nanda, Director, and Anjana Sadhu, Deputy Director, Welfare Department for SCs and STs, Punjab, declined to comment on the pending cases. Baldev Singh, a Kamboj Sikh of Naseerewala village in Dharamkot, who married an SC girl against the wishes of his family three years back, is among those awaiting the “gift money”. Varinder Singh, an SC from Malout who had approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court in May, 2010, for police protection after he married an Arora girl, is yet to get any benefit. Hoshiarpur district leads in the number of inter-caste marriages in the state in the past three years (35) followed by Jalandhar (27), Amritsar (21), Ludhiana (18), Bathinda and Faridkot (13 each), Mansa (10), Muktsar (6) and Ferozepur (5). Inter-Caste marriages since 2009
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Punjab seeks more funds from Centre to tackle floods
New Delhi, June 6 It said the state was engaged in a “water battle,” managing the swollen Ravi and Sutlej during the rainy season. It needed money to undertake preventive measures and not merely for disaster management. Talking to The Tribune on the sidelines of a conference on development and management of water resources, Punjab Irrigation Secretary Karan Bir Singh Sidhu said the flooding of border areas was an issue that needed immediate attention. “The Ravi and the Sutlej form a natural border between India and Pakistan. While destruction of crops due to floods is one issue, there are more serious matters related to the country’s safety and security. As it is, the Indian terrain is slightly lower. Pakistan has created physical barriers on its side. Whenever there is heavy rain, villages in our border areas are flooded with water diverted from Pakistan areas. While hectares of standing crops are damaged, there have also been instances of the barbed wire fence getting damaged,” he said. A proposal by Punjab, which is backed by the neigbouring Haryana, states that instead of huge investments in new irrigation projects, priority should be given to repair and maintenance of the existing systems. The two agricultural states have well-established irrigation networks that now need urgent repair work. Haryana had asked for funds allocated under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) to be extended for renovation of the state’s canal system, a proposal, which according to state officials, has been given the go-ahead by the Centre. Punjab has suggested that issues like water-logging, water re-charge and salinity be dealt by the Irrigation Department and not the Environment and Forests Department. Making a significant change to ensure micro-management of irrigation networks from the point of delivery to field-level channels, the government has asked for works under the Command Area Development and Water Management (CADWM) programme to be taken up alongside the AIBP during the 12th Plan. Ministry officials say the AIBP is being restructured with an enhanced outlay and increased participation of the Centre to close the gap between the Irrigation Potential Created (IPC) and the Irrigation Potential Utilised (IPU) for micro management of water resources. “While big contracts under the AIBP get executed due to large funding under the scheme, construction of field channels under the CAD is often neglected”, an official said. The new scheme also proposes strengthening of Water Users Associations (WUAs) in the country with direct involvement of all stake-holders.
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Chandigarh, June 6 An official at the Chief Minister’s Office directed the Agriculture Director to write to the secretary, Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP), on the need to streamline policy regarding the marketing of the rabi crops during 2012-2013. The official said the state government had recommended an increase in the MSP in proportion to the increase in the input costs. This was a must in view of the steep hike in the input costs of agricultural commodities. He pointed out that in order to fix the cost of wheat for the year 2012-2013, the market price of various inputs like seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, irrigation cost and labour must be kept in mind along with other factors such as weather and marketing expenditure. The official said that keeping in view all these factors, the MSP for wheat must be fixed at Rs 1,750 per quintal. In the same manner, the Centre should fix the MSP for barley, gram and mustard at Rs 1,493, Rs 2,990 and Rs 2,805 per quintal, respectively. — TNS
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Spurt in smuggling activities along border in Punjab Chandigarh, June 6 Till the end of May, the BSF’s Punjab Frontier had seized 157 kg of narcotics and FICN with a face value of over Rs 40 lakh. The total seizure last year was 68 kg and Rs 42 lakh, respectively. Eleven intruders or smugglers have been killed and 12 weapons have been seized so far this year compared to four killed last year and nine weapons being seized. “In Punjab Frontier, the number of incidents along the border and the quantity of seizures of narcotics, fake currency and weapons has already crossed last year’s total figures,” BSF Special Director-General (West), Himmat Singh, said. “Though there was some decline in smuggling activities after 2007, these have increased over the past six months,” he added. He said smuggling activities were higher along the Punjab border as compared to other states due to the long established networks and syndicates of smugglers and proximity of habitations and cultivated fields right up to the Zero Line on both sides. This makes person-to-person contact relatively easier. While smuggling methods have largely remained the same over the years - burying contraband in a pre-decided location, using plastic pipes pushed through the fence or throwing packets over it - the use of the goods train ferrying cement into India from Pakistan is a new development. In the last week of May, a BSF patrolling party noticed packets along the railway track that contained 10 packets of heroin and Rs 16 lakh in FICN. Though Kashmir remains volatile, there has been no seizure of narcotics or FICN by the BSF since 2009 as the LOC beyond Akhnoor is manned by the Army and the BSF has relatively little presence in that Sector. The same is the case in Gujarat where the BSF has seized 2 kg narcotics and two weapons since 2009. Except for three intruders being killed and two being apprehended in 2009, the BSF’s score on this account in Kashmir has been nil. BSF’s Jammu Sector, on the other hand, has seen several intruders being killed since 2009.
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Badal on ‘Green Mission’
Chandigarh, June 6 The Chief Minister took this decision at a meeting with senior officers of the Forests and Wildlife Department here. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests said the mission had become all the more important with the constant rise in the level of air pollution, caused by heavy traffic and industrial influx, besides the alarming proportion of water pollution. Soil pollution due to excessive use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, coupled with waterlogging and rise of salinity in Punjab had further aggravated the problem. The Chief Minister asked the Forests and Wildlife Department to launch a plantation drive across the state to increase the green cover from the existing 7 per cent to 15 per cent over a period of 15 years on all available institutional land, panchayat land, mandis, jails, paramilitary areas, hospitals, educational institutions, cremation grounds, focal points, PSEB colonies and urban areas. The Chief Minister asked the Rural Development and Panchayats Department to motivate village panchayats to plant trees over 150,000 acres of panchayat land. The Punjab Vidhan Sabha had already passed a resolution to plant trees on 20 per cent of panchayat land. He sought the cooperation and support of farmers for implementing the government’s initiatives for making Punjab more green. Badal asked the Forest Department to work out modalities for generating additional resources to make the tree plantation drive financially sustainable. Forest Minister Surjit Kumar Jayani said the department had already prepared a perspective plan for 15 years. The jurisdiction of forest beats was being revised to cover forest as well as non-forest areas. New beat boundaries would now be carved out village-wise. He said the newly recruited 180 forest guards were being trained to handle the tree plantation drive in villages.
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NAGAR PANCHAYAT POLL Chandigarh,
June 6 The nagar panchayats include Khem karan, Rajasansi, Goraya, Shahkot,, Begowal,
Dhillwan, Bholath, Ghanure, Ghagga, Mullanpur Dakha, Sahnewal, Malodh, Cheema,
Bhogpur, Mehalpur, Bhikhi, Barriwala, Talwandi Saboo, Mallanwala Khas, Makhu, Bagha
Purana, Amloh, Hanadya, Moonak, Dirba and Khanauri. The municipal committees are
Machiwara, Dhramkot and Balachaur.
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doaba
Bhogpur (Jalandhar), June 6 The administration has deployed additional police force around polling stations. Besides, a company of commandos has been camping at Government Senior Secondary School (Boys) here for the past couple of days. Tall claims of the SAD-BJP alliance to provide sewerage and potable water in the 13 wards of the MC have fallen flat as most localities are still deprived of civic amenities. The nagar panchayat was constituted after merging parts of Bilpalke, Nangal, Moga and Laroi villages with Bhogpur and Dalli villages in 1993. The civic body is financially independent and falls in category C with a total population of 12,815. There are 9,150 registered voters - 4,636 men and 4,514 women. Sources of Income
Value added tax (VAT), house tax, water supply charges, octroi on power, excise duty, fee for approval of building plans and some other direct and indirect taxes are the main sources of income of the MC. The civic body's income for the fiscal 2011-12 was Rs 1.92 crore while it has fixed a target to increase it to Rs 2.75 crore for 2012-13. Expenditure
The Bhogpur MC spent Rs 70.06 lakh on establishments, Rs 1.27 crore on development and Rs 4.34 lakh under contingency head. It also purchased land measuring 6 kanal, 15 marlas from the Market Committee for Rs 1.04 crore for the construction of bus stand. A loan of Rs 61 lakh was also taken from Punjab and Sindh Bank for the purpose. Even two decades after its formation, the Bhogpur MC is operating from a rented and dingy accommodation located adjacent to the level crossing on the Bhogpur road. Sewerage, water
Filthy ponds at all four entry points of the MC welcome the visitors. Storm water and sewage from the town accumulate in fields on the outskirts, posing problems for farmers. The authorities had prepared a plan for laying the sewerage but it could not be finalised because of financial constraints and callous attitude of the government. To meet the requirement of potable water, a deep tubewell was recently dug in Ward No. 12. Infrastructure
The town does not have a government hospital, college, stadium, parks, bus service and other basic facilities. The civic body also lacks a proper dumping ground. A suvidha centre and a tehsil complex were constructed recently. Future plans
For scientific disposal of sewage and solid waste, the civic body has planned to set up a sewage treatment plant and earmark a proper dumping site on priority.
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malwa
Bariwala (Muktsar), June 6 Elections will be held for only six wards tomorrow. Congress candidates had filed their nominations from all the wards. But their papers were cancelled during scrutiny. Those elected unopposed include four SAD candidates - Bood Chand from Ward 2, Charan Dass "Channa" from Ward 5, Baljinder Singh from Ward 8, Rajinder Kumar from Ward 8 and Maya Devi of BJP from Ward 9. "Now, 14 candidates in the fray will try their luck tomorrow," said Paramjit Singh, Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer. Six polling booths have been set up at three polling stations, two booths each at Government Senior Secondary School, Government Primary School and the local dharamshala. To rule out unruly incidents and the use of money, security in the town has been beefed up. Securitymen have been deployed outside polling stations. During the filing of nominations on May 24, local Congress MLA Karan Kaur Brar had accused the Akalis of tearing off the nomination papers of two persons on their way to file papers as Independents. Initially, Congress candidate Pushpa Rani was elected president of the Bariwala Nagar Panchayat. Later, some Congress members joined the SAD and Alka Rani became president. Residents said the town lacked basic civic amenities such as adequate supply of potable water, link roads and a sewage treatment plant. "Since the past 15 days, there has barely been any potable water supply. We need new waterworks that can cater to the 8,700-odd residents of the town," said Lovely Kumar, a shopkeeper.
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majha Rajasansi,
June 6 The town has well-paved streets, better than in most wards of Amritsar, four government schools, a veterinary hospital, a community health centre and a sprawling nagar panchayat office. The panchayat candidates thus have nothing much to offer. Though the town does not have a sewerage system, the residents do not seem to mind. "We have a water drainage system which is pretty better than a sewerage system for a town having a population of 20,000," said a local resident. There are around 12,000 voters in the town. Rajasansi voters have devoutly supported Congress candidate Sukhbinder Singh Sukh Sarkaria in the recent assembly elections. The SAD is desperate to strengthen its base here. Two-time MLA Sarkaria had managed to win with merely 1,084 votes over SAD's Veer Singh Lopoke. "With a close fight in all other areas, the candidate who manages to win Rajasansi, takes the seat. Primarily, it is a desperate effort by the SAD to conquer Congress bastion," said Harjeet Singh, a communist leader and local resident. Incidentally, the SAD has managed to win four wards unopposed as Congress candidates withdrew in favour of SAD nominees. This had given the SAD an edge over the Congress before the nagar panchayat elections tomorrow. The Congress has accused the SAD of pressuring its candidates to withdraw. In the outgoing 13-member
panchayat, the Congress has 11 members. With cost of land running into crores per acre and local farming affluent of funding costly elections, the candidates seem to be doing every bit to uphold their leaders' 'prestige'.
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On poll eve, SAD, BJP expel more rebels
Jalandhar, June 6 Among those expelled are Sahib Singh Dhillon and Partap Singh from Ward 8, Mandeep Jassal from Ward 13, Bhagat Singh, Mahinder Singh Goli, Joginder Singh Jogi and Gurmeet Singh Pappi from Ward 43 and Inderjeet Singh Sonu from Ward 56. Much to BJP’s relief, the SAD has also expelled Bhogpur Zila Parishad member Iqbal Singh Dhindsa whose wife Raminder Kaur is contesting as an Independent from Ward 31. Supporters of Ram Lubhaya Kapoor, BJP candidate from the ward, had been pressing for action against Dhindsa for quite some time. The BJP has expelled Suresh Marwaha for reportedly working against party candidate Manjit Kaur in Ward 14. The BJP had expelled Darshan Lal Bhagat, party councillor from Ward 59, last Saturday. Denied ticket this time, he is contesting as an Independent. Ashok Gandhi, whose wife Nirmal Gandhi is fighting from Ward 14 against party candidate Manjit Kaur, has also been expelled. Sudesh Bhagat contesting from Ward 50 against Deputy Mayor Parvesh Tangri has been renoved from the party’s primary membership.
sad rebels
bjp rebels
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Cong ousts 15 in Jalandhar
Jalandhar, June 6 Those expelled include Daljit Kaur, Amrik Singh Gill (both from Ward 2), Deepak Kalia (Ward 4), Naminder Kesar (Ward 13), Amit Dhall (Ward 19), Rakesh Kumar Neeta (Ward 25), Kanwaljeet Kaur and her husband Mohinder Singh Gullu (Ward 26), Tilak Raj Kashyap (Ward 40), Sukhdev Singh Khalsa (Ward 42), Chanchal Rani, Prithvi Raj Chauhan (Ward 47), Pawan Kumar (Ward 50), Purshotam Kaler (Ward 54) and Bishambar Dass (Ward 59). The action has been taken by district Congress (Urban) president Arun Walia on the direction of PCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh, who was in the city today to address a meeting of party workers. Walia said a list of those party men who were supporting rival candidates had also been sought. Earlier, the Congress had issued a "final" warning on Monday to party rebels. PCC vice-president Ashwani Shekhri had met the dissidents to persuade them to withdraw their nominations.
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Candidates were offered money, says Capt
Jalandhar, June 6 On the other hand, Sukhbir Singh Badal has alleged that the Congress leadership was gripped by "leadership crisis". He said he had directed the civil and police administration to ensure free and fair polls. "People can cast their vote in favour of any party or individual of their choice. Amarinder's allegations of coercing voters and making attempts to "buy" Congress candidates by the ruling alliance are baseless". "I will order a probe into the allegations levelled by Jalandhar-based Congress candidates Manjinder Kaur and Shetty Goraya against the SAD of offering them money," he said.
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Kinnow plants dying in Fazilka district
Fazilka, June 6 State awardee Sidharath Periwal of Khippanwali village and Rubash Jakhar of Pattrewala village said the disease was yet to be diagnosed. At least 25,000 hectares of land in the district is under kinnow cultivation. The worst-hit villages are Karni Khera, Penchanwali, Mohammad Pira, Muradwala, Sappanwali, Khippanwali, Jhumianwali, Aalamgarh, Patterewala, Wazidpura and Mammukhera. “We have been compelled to pluck the dying plants as they have become resistant to chemical fungicides used on them to fight the disease for over several years”, said Raj Davinder of Mammu Khera village. His family has cultivated kinnows on 40 acres of land. Eminent horticulturist Prem Babbar said infection in the plant’s root is known as phytopthora. Surprisingly, the fungicide recommended by Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, to treat phytopthora-hit plants had proved ineffective.This gave rise to the suspicion that the plants may have been attacked by some other disease. Fazilka and Abohar areas are known for quality kinnow. Horticulturists of this area have won state and national prizes. Deputy Director (Horticulture) Jagnandan Singh Brar said besides phytopthora, deficiency of micro nutrients and intense heat may be affecting kinnow plants.
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Govt to facilitate basmati export
Chandigarh, June 6 The Chief Minister, who met a delegation of the Punjab Rice Millers Exporters Association led by its executive director Ashok Sethi here, said the board would create a congenial atmosphere for the export of basmati. He said the area under basmati cultivation had increased from 6 lakh hectares to more than 8 lakh hectares in the state during past few years. Badal hoped that the strengthening of the board would not only be instrumental in improving the quality of basmati rice but would also safeguard the interests of the industry as well as farmers. Emphasising the need to enhance the export of basmati from Punjab, Badal said the board would initiate a worldwide campaign and create awareness among the farmers to refrain from excessive use of pesticides and fungicides. Conceding the long-pending demand of the association, the Chief Minister asked the Rural Development Board to release a sum of Rs 8 crore on account of refund. On the demand to reduce the Punjab Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) cess on rice mills, the CM asked the departments concerned to study the issue in a holistic manner before taking a final decision. Food and Civil Supplies Minister Adesh Partap Singh Kairon assured the delegation that he would take up the matter of relaxing pesticide norms for rice exporters with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Indian Council of Agriculture Research.
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Blood Bank fails to detect hepatitis C infection
Muktsar, June 6 This became evident when a resident of Malout, suffering from hepatitis C, donated blood at a camp organised by an NGO in Malout recently. Blood bank officials at the Civil Hospital failed to detect the virus in the blood and declared it fit for transfusion. This is the lone blood bank in the district that supplies blood to other government hospitals in the district. When contacted, incharge of the blood bank Ikattar Singh said: “We are using old technology to conduct blood tests. This at times causes glitches.” Dr Harinder Singh, SMO, Muktsar Civil Hospital said: “We have written to the higher ups seeking the ELISA technology.”
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Gobindpura power plant in limbo
Patiala, June 6
In violation of the terms and conditions mentioned in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between the developer - Poena Power Supply Limited, a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Indiabulls Group and the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), has not been signed. As per the MoU, the PPA was to be signed either within three months from the date of award of tariff by the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) or 18 months from the date of signing of the MoU, whichever was earlier. In the present case, almost 22 months have elapsed but the PPA has not been signed. "The violation of the terms and condition of the MoU is a serious matter and cannot be dealt in a casual manner. If the PPA has not been signed, there must be some major issues between the developer and the Power Corporation", said a senior PSPCL official. The PSPCL had signed an MoU with M/s Indiabulls Power Ltd on August 20, 2010 to set up 1,320-MW thermal power plant. A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) Peona Power Supply Limited was created for the project. In another development, the PSPCL high powered committee, comprising senior engineers and officers from the finance wing, had recommended the Board of Directors (BOD) that PSPCL did not want to procure power from the Gobindpura thermal plant. Sources said, "The high powered committee of the PSPCL had recommended to the BOD that PSPCL is not interested in procuring power from this particular thermal plant but the matter is pending with the BOD." An official spokesperson of the Peona Power Supply Limited in an e-mail stated that they had already submitted the Detailed Project Report to the PSPCL and discussions were on regarding signing of the PPA. Meanwhile, PSPCL, Director, Generation, GS Chhabra has said not only the Gobindpura plant but viability of all the upcoming projects is related with the fuel linkage (coal supply) issue. "Obviously, the investment decisions and initiation of the work would only be taken by any developer if the developer gets assured fuel linkage", he said, while referring to the prevailing coal crisis in the country.
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8 IPS officers among 12 shifted in Punjab
Chandigarh, June 6 An official spokesman states Ram Singh, IPS, DIG Border Range, on promotion has been transferred and posted as IGP, Border, Amritsar, whereas Naresh Kumar, IPS, DIG, Ropar range, has been posted as IGP, PAP, Jalandhar, on promotion. Neerja, IPS, DIG Economic Offence Wing of the Vigilance Bureau, has been posted as IGP, EOW of the Vigilance Bureau on Arpit Shukla, IPS, IGP-cum-Director, SCRB, has been posted as IGP, Provisioning, Sham Singh, IPS, IGP/Legal Affairs/Crime Wing, has been posted as IGP/Policy and Welfare, BK Garg, IGP/Policy and Welfare, has been posted as IGP-cum-Director, SCRB, with additional charge of IGP/Legal Affairs. Rohit Chaudhary, IPS, IGP, Counter Intelligence, has been posted as IGP/GRP, Patiala, whereas Gautam Cheema, IPS, has been posted as DIG, Swat Teams, Administration and Training, SSG Punjab. Khubi Ram, DIG, Swat Teams, has been posted as DIG, Security, whereas AK Pandey has been posted as DIG, Modernisation, and additional charge of DIG, Provisioning. SPS Basra, DIG/Security, has been posted as DIG/Administration CDO, Bahadurgarh, Patiala and Narinder Bhargava, AIG/Provisioning, CPO, Punjab, has been posted as
AIG/Security.
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Reforms dept restructured
Chandigarh, June 6 A notification issued by the Secretary, Governance Reforms, states that amendments have been made for allocation of business rules and it has been decided to shift the administrative reforms branch and the record retention branches of the Department of Information Technology besides Punjab Governance Reforms cell of the Department of Personnel to the Department of Governance Reforms with the basic aim of streamlining the working of this department. An official spokesman said, “The notification has created two branches in the Punjab Civil Secretariat, GR-I and GR-II headed by superintendents having five assistants and work has been reallocated to both the branches for its smooth functioning.” He said the department would be focusing on administrative re-organisation, streamlining and improvement of office procedures and systems, E-governance of administration besides implementing the report of the Administrative Reforms Commission. It would also have liaison with Indian Institute of Public Administration besides dealing with the all-administrative works of the Right to Information Commission and all issues relating to the Right to Information Act. The GR-I branch would also deal with management of the state data centre, statewide area network, state service delivery gateway and all establishment matters. Giving details of the work allocation to GR-II branch, he said besides allocated work under rules of business, would also look after the administration and all matters regarding the Right to Service Act, administrative re-organisation, streamlining and improvement of office procedure, E-governance, administration of social development and Punjab Governance Reforms Commission, formulation of policies and its implementation besides maintenance and retention of records.
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37 cases of hepatitis in Mukerian village
Ludhiana, June 6 Confirming this, Dr Deepak Bhatia, state nodal officer for the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project, Punjab, said in the first outbreak, there were 20 patients who suffered from hepatitis and later 17 more were reported to be suffering from the decease. This year by now, as many 319 cases of hepatitis outbreak have been reported in the state through five outbreaks. These districts include Jalandhar, Amritsar and Pathankot, Nawanshahar and Hoshiarpur. However, it was in the month of December and January when outbreak of jaundice was first reported in Nawanshahar district although it was winter season but outbreak was reported due to contaminated water. Dr Bhatia said outbreaks of hepatitis A and E were reported less in 2011 as compared to 2010. In 2011, there were 1,258 people who reportedly suffered from hepatitis. Contrary to this, in 2010, as many as 1,562 cases were reported of hepatitis A and E, said the nodal officer. He said, “It is a water-borne disease and teams of the health department have been instructed to visit places of outbreak and act accordingly.”
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Sidhu group wins Gymkhana Club elections
Patiala, June 6 KVS Sidhu trounced his rival Umrav Singh and Ajay Thapar. For vice president, Vinod Dhundia emerged victorious. For the post of secretary Dr Sudhir Verma got 1470 votes while his rival Suresh Kumar Nikka managed 213 votes.
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Relief for 40 Nabha villages
Chandigarh, June 6 About 31.65 km in the periphery has already been fenced and the remaining area, measuring 52.75 km is likely to be fenced soon. This and much more was told to the Punjab and Haryana High Court during the hearing of a bunch of petitions filed in 2006 for directions to the State of Punjab and other respondents to take appropriate steps for protecting the “life, property and crops of the villagers”. On December 4, 2007, the High Court had sought information from the government on how much time was required for it to fence the area. The government was also asked to specify the steps that have been taken to supply water and fodder to the “beasts”. The requisite information was filed only on August 8, 2008, by way of an additional affidavit of IAS officer RC Nayyar. It has been stated that six “birs” have been declared as wildlife sanctuaries in Patiala district - Bir Motibagh, Bir Bhunerheri, Bir Gurdialpura, Bir Dosanjh, Bir Mehas and Bir Bhadson. Out of these, Bir Bhadson, Bir Dosanjh and Bir Mehas were under the jurisdiction of the Punjab Chief Wildlife Warden. It was further submitted that under the 11th Five-Year Plan, provision was made for grant of Rs 500 lakh under the scheme known as “Ft 5.10 - Providing fencing to wildlife sanctuaries Bir Gurdialpura, Bir Bhunerheri, Bir Bhadson, Bir Aishwan, Bir Mehas and Bir Dosanjh”. In the latest status report filed on May 1, it was stated that out of Rs 500 lakh, only Rs 1 crore was released. Another Rs 1 crore was made available under the Rural Development Fund. The work of fencing was undertaken by the Forest Department and out of the total periphery area of 84.4 km of the wildlife sanctuaries in Patiala district, 31.65 km periphery has been fenced and 52.75 km is yet to be fenced. It has also been disclosed that the fencing work has received a jolt due to inadequate budget and procurement of chain link required for fencing. Disposing of the petition, the High Court asserted: “The state government shall allocate necessary funds for the purpose expeditiously for completion of work within the period of one-year”.
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Shoddy probe into Nabha murders
Patiala, June 6 Sources said the then DSP, who monitored the case, did not raise any objections on the manner in which the challan was prepared and later presented in the court by the then SHO Harbhajan Singh. “It is the primary duty of the DSP to ensure that challan pertaining to such a heinous crime was verified and read by him. In case he felt dissatisfied, he should have informed his seniors,” they stated. Enquiries by The Tribune revealed that the role of the then naib tehsildar was also under scrutiny as the statement recorded by him with the police and later in the court were different. “The SHO is being made a scapegoat as he is the person who was the investigating officer and even if it was his folly, the role of the naib tehsildar is very important and it needs to be probed, why his statements were different,” said a senior police officer, now posted out of Patiala. “The Patiala police top brass headed by DIG LK Yadav, heading the investigations, should summon all officers, including the DSP and the naib tehsildar, and ensure that their role is also probed,” said a senior police officer. Last month, a fresh FIR against the accused officer had been registered in the same police station where he was posted as SHO in 2010 and a Special Investigating Team (SIT) had been formed to probe the role of others in the case. Retired DSP Harbhajan Singh was booked under Sections 217, 218 and 201 of the IPC for his negligence that led to the acquittal of the accused. The police yesterday added the Prevention of Corruption Act against Harbhajan Singh. When contacted, DIG LK Yadav said he would issue show-cause notices to the then DSP Arshdeep Singh Gill and Naib Tehsildar Harinder Sharma. “We will wait for written replies by Gill and Sharma and send it to the DGP,” Yadav said. CASE HISTORY
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Faridkot, June 6
New Delhi, June 6
Data available with the Border Security Force (BSF) reveal that among the four Indian states that share international borders with Pakistan, Punjab remains the centre point in the transit of narcotics and fake Indian currency notes (FICN). Smuggling and seizure of narcotics and FICN along the border in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Gujarat was negligible vis-ŕ-vis Punjab, though these states witnessed a significant number of intruders being killed or apprehended.
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will launch the “Green Punjab” mission from Hoshiarpur and Fazilka on July 1 to generate awareness among the masses on the need for a clean and pollution-free environment by initiating a massive plantation drive across the state.
Candidates of the SAD-BJP alliance are contesting elections to the Bhogpur Municipal Council on the SAD poll symbol while Congress candidates are contesting as Independents with "almirah" as their symbol.
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today assured a delegation of rice exporters that the Basmati Development Board would be strengthened to facilitate basmati export.
