|
|
|
|
|
Abohar-Fazilka train chugs off, finally
Siropa row: Suspend IG, says Cong
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
3 Youth Cong office-bearers suspended
Valmikis blocks NH in Shahkot
Punjabi flavour: 23 students to dance to bhangra tunes at Olympics
ANOTHER POWER TARIFF HIKE IN STATE
Hike reasonable, says PSPCL chief
Subsidy account, interest charges pushing up rates
Adesh varsity to admit students on PMET basis
Patiala Mayor pulls up SDO, orders probe
Bir Devinder visits ailing poet
Fatehgarh Sahib gets `28 crore under Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan
Centre neglecting Amritsar airport: Sidhu
Member of Parliament Navjot Singh Sidhu addresses a meeting of the Airport Advisory Committee in Amritsar on Monday. Photo: Vishal Kumar
Land sold to raise funds for exchequer: RTI
Shortage of funds hits police outreach centres
Students’ election: Two hurt in firing
Nawanshahr girl tops PPMET, Moga girl gets second position
HC for probe into mobile connections on fake IDs
23 yrs on, HC raises compensation
Heroin found in Pak cargo
One booked for kidnapping teenager
Woman booked for possessing fake IELTS certificate
|
Abohar-Fazilka train chugs off, finally
Abohar, July 16 The 42 km-long rail link built at a cost of Rs 225 crore connects areas in the border areas of Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. Muniyappa said the Centre was keen to link more areas via rail for which the assistance of the state governments concerned was a must. He said the Maharashatra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka Governments shared 50 per cent of the cost incurred on constructing rail overbridges and underbridges. Punjab too should do the same, he suggested. The Union Minister said the delay in completion of rail projects was normal as it involved land acquisition. This in turn resulted in escalation of the project cost. Muniyappa said the Centre was keen to restore the traditional rail link between Fazilka and Karachi in Pakistan. This would bring economic prosperity to the border areas of the two countries. Pakistan had already been approached in the issue. He said work on the Ludhiana-Chandigarh rail link would be further accelerated to help move foodgrain to other parts of the country. Groupism in the Congress came to the fore during the inaugural ceremony. While CLP Leader Sunil Jakhar and Congress MLA Rana Gurmeet Sodhi shared the dais with the Union Minister, party stalwarts Jagmeet Singh Brar and Virender Kataria chose to sit with the audience, even when invited by Muniyappa to the dais. Kataria said those who had done nothing for the project had hogged the limelight. Muniyappa, who had breakfast at Kataria’s residence, later went to Jakhar’s house from where he drove to the railway station. Jakhar urged the Union Minister to introduce air-conditioned goods trains to carry kinnow from Abohar and Fazilka to markets in the South. He also demanded that the frequency of the train to Nanded Sahib and Vaishno Devi be increased to thrice a week. Rana Gurmeet Singh demanded more trains between Chandigarh and New Delhi. SAD MP Sher Singh Ghubaya, Forest Minister Surjeet Kumar Jiyani and MLA Gurtej Singh also spoke on the occasion. There was jubilation as the train chugged into Fazilka. People from the town and surrounding areas thronged the railway station. Jiyani and Ghubaya travelled to Fazilka in the inaugural train. Kataria and Brar sat with commuters in a separate coach. Kataria flagged off the train in its return journey. The Abohar-Fazilka rail line has five railway stations. The rail line includes 106 bridges, four major and 102 minor, and 27 level crossings. (With inputs by Praful Chander Nagpal and
Raj Sadosh)
long-awaited
link * The 42-km link has been built at a cost of Rs 225 cr *
It connects border areas in the states of Rajasthan, Punjab and Jammu-Kashmir *
Work on the Ludhiana-Chandigarh link to be further accelerated to move foodgrain, says Union Minister *
The Abohar-Fazilka rail line has five railway stations and includes 106 bridges groupism to fore *
CLP Leader Sunil Jakhar and Congress MLA Rana Gurmeet Sodhi shared the dais with the Union Minister *
Party stalwarts Jagmeet Singh Brar and Virender Kataria were seated among the audience *
They refused to come on stage even when invited by the Union Minister *
Kataria said those who had done nothing for the project had hogged the limelight
|
|
Siropa row: Suspend IG, says Cong
Jalandhar, July 16
The Bibi has been getting a VVIP treatment ever since she was jailed on March 30 after she was held guilty of kidnapping her daughter and forcing her to undergo abortion. Throughout the programme yesterday, in which over 1,000 jail inmates recited Sukhmani Sahib, the IG reportedly sat alongside Bibi. At the end of the programme, the IG, Jail Superintendents SP Khanna and Karamjit Singh Sandhu and Deputy Jail Superintendent Iqbal Singh received a siropa from her. While the Congress Legislature Party Leader Sunil Jakhar has demanded the suspension of the IG, the latter says he has done no wrong. “What is wrong with receiving a siropa from Bibi? A convict now, she has been the head of an institution. Besides, we have been holding such programmes for a peaceful atmosphere inside jails,” he explained. Jakhar and former Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira, in a press note, has condemned the incident. “A convict, Bibi Jagir Kaur was not only allowed to address a gathering of officials, visitors and fellow convicts, but also had the audacity to bestow a siropa on senior jail officials. “This incident not only reflects a breakdown of the jail machinery, but also indicates how criminals rule the roost in Punjab jails. It was this very IG who had given a clean chit to Bibi in an inquiry held three months back to determine if VIP treatment was being given to her while in jail. “Now, in order to return the favour, Bibi Jagir Kaur has honoured him with a siropa,” the Congress leaders alleged. They said it was common knowledge that Bibi Jagir Kaur, besides enjoying other facilities in jail, had access to mobile phone services. She regularly called up Kapurthala district officials and those at Chandigarh. “She continues to hold a ‘daily darbar’ at the air-conditioned visitors’ room adjacent to the Jail Superintendent’s office, where she spends most part of the day,” the leaders said. However, the Jail Superintendent said: “Bibi honoured us with a siropa for curing 900 inmates of their addiction. On an average, we get 10 new inmates daily, of whom at least two are addicts.” Presidential Poll: Bibi moves High Court for interim bail Chandigarh: Punjab MLA Bibi Jagir Kaur wants to vote in the Presidential poll. Behind bars in the Harpreet abduction and forcible abortion case, she moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court today, seeking two days’ interim bail for the purpose. The bail could not be taken up today as one of the Judges in a Division Bench recused himself from hearing the case. The application is now likely to come up for hearing tomorrow. — TNS
|
||
3 Youth Cong office-bearers suspended
Ludhiana, July 16 Chaudhary said Kamaljit Singh Brar, general secretary, Deepak Khandoor, and Parvinder Singh Gill, all local leaders, had been suspended on disciplinary grounds. He said a show-cause notice had been issued to Rajiv Raja, another local office-bearer. “The suspended members had misbehaved with one of the office-bearers of the Youth Congress during a meeting held last week,” Chaudhary said. Reacting strongly to his suspension, Khandoor said he would meet senior party leaders in Delhi to apprise them of the situation. “The suspension is unfair and the charges against us are baseless,” claimed Gill. “The Congress has become weak because of groupism promoted by leaders like Chaudhary,” he alleged. Claiming that Chaudhary had no right to suspend him, Brar said he was unaware as to what had provoked the action. Chaudhary, however, said the action had been taken after an inquiry conducted by Sangram Pundir, secretary, Indian Youth Congress, and incharge of Punjab affairs (Youth Congress). Sources said two groups of the Youth Congress had been trying to run each other down on several many occasions The reported showdown during last week’s meeting was yet another instance of “rivalry” between members of the two groups.
|
|
Valmikis blocks NH in Shahkot
Shahkot, July 16
Brandishing swords and sharp-edged weapons, the protesters also smashed the windowpanes of a PRTC (Pepsu Road Transport Corporation) bus (Pb03Q 9024). Eyewitnesses said the bus driver had a narrow escape as he jumped out of the bus, heading from Jwalaji to Faridkot, when the windowpanes were smashed. Prior to taking to the highway, the protesters took out a march in Shahkot and also burnt an effigy of Vedanti. Community leader Balbir Singh Cheema said the former jathedar had hurt their religious sentiments. The protesters alleged that Vedanti was not being booked by the police as he enjoyed the patronage of politicians and bureaucrats. They said if a case was not registered against Vedanti, the community would support the call for Punjab ‘bandh’ on August 15 and would wave black flags atop their houses. SDM TN Passey and Nakodar DSP HS Hundal soon arrived at the spot along with hundreds of police personnel. But, they could only convince the protesters after two hours as the community members were adamant on handing over a memorandum of demands to the Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner.
|
||
|
Punjabi flavour: 23 students to dance to bhangra tunes at Olympics
Chandigarh, July 16
As expected, ‘bhangra’ is the pick from the region and these children, students of Gems Cambridge International School in Hoshiarpur and Cambridge School in Batala, would be dancing to the beats of ‘dhol’. Among the participants are Aditi Vashishth, Akashdeep Singh, Anchal, Bhupinder Singh, Divya Gupta, Gurpreet, Harkaran Singh, Harmanpreet Sodhi, Harpreet Singh, Hitika Vassal, Kuber Sharma, Manipal, Manjot, Parveen Garg, Raghav Vassal, Rahul Gupta, Uttkarsh, Sanjeev Sood, Vidit Gupta, Yadwinder Singh, Aachman Shekar and Rajni Gupta. The Chandigarh student is Asmita Chibbar, from Strawberry World in Sector 26, who would be playing the role of ‘Bharat Mata’. A Chennai-based company, Space Kids India, has partnered with a Chandigarh firm, iMatrix, for selecting the ‘bhangra’ team. Space Kids was entrusted the job by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG). Space Kids is accredited with the LOCOG. Rohit Shekhar Sharma, CEO of iMatrix World Wide, said, “These students will be performing in the “Main Band Stand” on July 30 and August 2. The team has earlier performed at several international events, particularly at NASA in the US.” Sharma said the children are on cloud nine as they have got rare chance of representing the country at an international mega event. Space Kidz director K Srimathy said more than 500 organisations had applied for representing the country at the Olympics. Apart from ‘bhangra’, performances from India would feature ‘bharatnatyam’ and ‘kathak’. Gems Cambridge International School principal Pawan Vashishst said, “Our children have been regularly performing in various national and international events. Our team got selected on account of words of appreciation we have received from international organisations. Getting selected surely was not an easy job going by the number of applicants received for the event.”
|
||
|
ANOTHER POWER TARIFF HIKE IN STATE
Chandigarh, July 16 The basic tariff hike for industrial consumers is 55 paisa per unit for small consumers and 58 paisa per unit for medium and large industrial units. The basic electricity tariff for the small industry now is Rs 5.10 per unit while the same for the medium and large industry is Rs 5.61 per unit. In addition, the industrial consumers will have to pay an electricity duty of 13 per cent (almost 8 paisa per unit) and arrears for the first three-and- a-half months of this financial year (April 1 onwards). This will mean that each category of industrial consumer will have to pay anything between 90 paisa - 93 paisa per unit over the electricity tariff for the previous year. Calling this hike as unjustified, especially at a time when the economic slowdown has hit the industry hard, industrialists said industrial production in the state would be adversely affected. They said this was the second blow dealt to them by the PSERC in two months. On May 4, the PSERC had increased the wheeling charges by Rs 1 per unit from 27 paisa per unit imposed earlier. With the wheeling charges going up to Rs 1.27 per unit, getting power through the open access policy from power producers other than the PSPCL has become unviable. The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the hike would further burden the industry. “The commission should have fixed the tariff on the voltage supply basis and should reconsider the new tariff order.” DL Sharma, vice chairman, CII Punjab State Council, said to reduce the power deficit in Punjab, “we suggest rationalisation of free power to agriculture consumers so that free power is given according to the size of the land-holding.” Ludhiana industrialists who feel the hike will further debilitate production, squeeze liquidity and throw the industry out of competition in the national and international market. "The hike by 12.8 per cent to meet the power demand is not justified. This s an indirect admission of failure of the government to honour its promise to make the state power surplus," said Vinod Thapar, chairman, Knitwear Club. Badish Jindal, president, Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association, said: "The industry is paying Rs 981 crore as additional charge to the PSPCL because of cross subsidy. The PSPCL has failed to improve its financial position." PD Sharma, president, CII, said the hike was unjustified. “In Punjab, power tariff is being hiked every year. The yearly hike should be nominal with a ceiling of 5 per cent.” Sharma said the industry was also burdened with electricity duty, 11 paisa per unit octroi and fuel surcharge. Yet, it faced unscheduled power cuts. Avtar Singh, general secretary, and Upkar Singh, joint secretary, CII, said: "One cannot hope to see any new industry coming up in the state with repeated hike in power rates and imposition of taxes and duties every now and then." Instead of raising power tariff, emphasis should be laid on reducing transit loss of coal, T&D losses and curbing the menace of power theft, they added. President of the Patiala Industries Association Naresh Gupta said the hike was unexpected. “The PSPCL should improve its working to generate more revenue,” he said. — Inputs by Manav Mandar from Ludhiana and and Umesh Dewan from Patiala
|
||
|
Hike reasonable, says PSPCL chief
Patiala, July 16 He said most states had two types of tariff in the domestic category - fixed charges based on connected load and the other based on consumption. “As such tariff rates appear lower in these states, but actually consumers have to pay higher charges. In Punjab, we do not have any fixed charges and consumers pay for whatever electricity they consume,” he said. The power tariff for the industrial and commercial categories in Haryana, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka was much higher than that in Punjab,
he added
|
||
|
Subsidy account, interest charges pushing up rates
Chandigarh, July 16 The PSPCL is facing problems because the Punjab Government does not pay timely subsidy to it. Moreover, it is in the habit of making paper adjustments against cash spent by the power utility to supply power to farmers. This year too subsidy arrears of Rs 273 crore for 2011-12 have been carried forward. Besides lack of timely payment of subsidy, sources fear that power losses are also transferred into the subsidy account. This is because the agriculture subsidy is calculated on 10 per cent of the supply that is metered. Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission chairperson Romila Dubey when asked if power theft could also be adjusted in the subsidy amount, remarked: “To some extent, you must be right.” She, however, said it was not possible to meter the entire agriculture load. Dubey said power consumption allowed by the commission had increased from 10,843 million units allowed last year to 11,003 million units this year. Sources said this was mainly because of the increase in tub wells with the state fixing a target of 40,000 new connections this year. The employee cost is also responsible for the frequent tariff hike. Despite the unbundling of the electricity board into two corporations, the new power utilities have failed to decrease the employee cost. Against an employee cost of Rs 2,916 crore allowed in the 2011-12-tariff order, the PSPCL had filed for an employee cost of Rs 3,629 crore. The regulatory commission has allowed Rs 3,213 crore in its present tariff order.The PSPCL has cut down power purchase only marginally despite a two-year effort to make banking arrangements in advance. Against the approved power purchase of Rs 5751 crore in 2011-12, the utility proposed a Rs 5,608 crore power purchase this year. It has, however, been allowed only Rs 5,110 crore. Equally worrying is the increase in the interest charges being paid by the power utility on loans taken by it. Against the approved interest charges of Rs 1,066 crore allowed in 2011-12, the utility proposed interest charges of Rs 2,300 crore for this year. It has been allowed Rs 1,423 crore in this year’s tariff order.
|
||
|
Cong: Roll back hike
Chandigarh, July 16 The PCC president said, his party had consistently maintained that the state government would increase the power tariff after the municipal elections and the Dasuya byelection. Amarinder asked Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to forego the huge subsidy he was getting on power for his thousands of acres of agriculture land. Demanding that the hike must be rolled back immediately, the former Chief Minister said the power corporation should instead prevent losses because of massive pilferage.
|
||
|
Adesh varsity to admit students on PMET basis
Bathinda, July 16 The merit list of the Punjab Para-Medical Entrance Test (PPMET-2012) conducted by the BFUHS will be the basis for admission in B Sc (Nursing) and Bachelor in Physiotherapy courses for the session 2012-13. The decision was taken at the governing body meeting held today. University spokesperson said eligible students from Punjab stand to benefit from this process for admission in current session. “The total MBBS seats available under the PMET merit is 920 and not 770 as some reports suggest,” said the spokesperson.
|
||
|
PURCHASE OF GARBAGE CONTAINERS
Patiala, July 16 Sources said Harkiranpal was found allegedly favouring a private firm from which the civic body was to purchase 50 garbage collection containers. The matter came to light during the Finance and Contract's Committee (F&CC) meeting of the Patiala MC presided by Mayor Ajit Pal Singh Kohli. Speaking to The Tribune, Kohli said for the purchase of garbage containers, e-tendering procedure was adopted. "When I came to know that the firm, Kakkar Associates, which was to be awarded the contract, would supply one container at a cost of Rs 58,000, I was shocked because it was an highly inflated amount. Subsequent inquiries brought to light that during the e-tendering, only one company submitted the tenders and keeping the officers in dark, Harkiranpal, who is working as SDO in the Engineering Branch, was allegedly hands in glove with the firm," he said. The Mayor further said he had ordered an inquiry into the matter, which would be conducted by an officer not below the rank of the Joint Commissioner. "At the same time, the erring SDO has also been asked to submit a written explanation," he said, while adding that fresh tendering would be done for the project. He also said whosoever would be found guilty, would be dealt strictly. "We will certainly not allow anyone in the MC to indulge in any sort of unlawful practice," said Kohli. An official in the Municipal Corporation said Harkiranpal was suspended in the past as well.
|
||
|
Bir Devinder visits ailing poet
Patiala, July 16 Zakhmi was unwell for the past one-month, he was admitted to the hospital some 10 days ago. Zakhmi is a Punjabi poet, who is known for singing popular classics of Punjab and was honoured by late Giani Zail Singh during his tenure as Chief Minister of Punjab from 1972 to 1977. After the visit of Bir Devinder, the hospital authorities, who were earlier unaware about Zakhmi’s past, swung into action. Hospital Deputy Medical Superintendent Dr Harshinder Kaur went along with Bir Devinder and subsequently shifted Zakhmi from the general ward to a special room. “Authorities said that medicines and other expenses to be incurred for Zakhmi’s treatment would be borne by the hospital,” said Bir Devinder, while talking to mediapersons. Dr Harshinder also directed the doctors attending Zakhmi to file daily treatment-cum-progress report in the office of the Medical Superintendent.
|
||
|
Fatehgarh Sahib gets Rs 28 crore under Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan
Fatehgarh Sahib, July 16 Deputy Commissioner Yashvir Mahajan stated this while addressing a meeting of the District Education Development Committee here today. He said the money would be spent to provide modern facilities to students besides strengthening the basic infrastructure at primary and upper primary schools in the district. Mahajan also directed the Sub-Divisional Magistrates to regularly conduct inspections of these institutions to ensure that development works were being carried out in a proper way. He said a sum of Rs 1.20 crore had been spent in providing modern washrooms in about 60 schools last year. He said 60 additional classrooms were constructed at a cost of Rs 60 lakh and besides this, Rs 26 lakh had been spent on construction of additional classrooms in upper primary schools. Similarly, Rs 21 lakh had been spent on major renovation works in various primary schools in the district, he added. The DC said ramps would be constructed in 52 schools at a cost of Rs 7.80 lakh for differently-abled students in the district. He said in order to encourage girls towards education, Rs 20 lakh would be spent on various activities associated with the girl students. Also, Rs 4. 17 lakh would be spent to encourage scheduled castes students towards education, he added. Bassi Pathana MLA Nirmal Singh directed the officials of the Education Department to bring transparency in various development works being carried out under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan. He said the authorities should ensure proper distribution of books to students on time.
|
||
|
Centre neglecting Amritsar airport: Sidhu
Amritsar, July 16 Addressing mediapersons after chairing a meeting of the Airport Advisory Committee here today, Sidhu demanded that more international flights be introduced from Amritsar airport to help it tide over the financial crisis. He sought flights to Australia, New Zealand, the US and Auckland via Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. He said a single international flight would help the airport earn Rs 12 crore every year. Sidhu claimed that around 500 passengers from Doaba and Majha regions head to New Delhi by road to catch their flights to various international destinations. “It is a conspiracy. When we have an airport here why are Punjabis being forced to travel six hours by road to Delhi? We should get more international flights here," he said. Why the government spent Rs 400 crore on raising infrastructure at the Amritsar airport if it was to be given a raw deal? Sidhu asked. He alleged 11 new international flights were introduced in the last one year and none of these had gone to the airports belonging to the Airports Authority of India. “This is all being done to benefit the private players in the airline sector,” he charged. The Amritsar MP said he would not allow withdrawal of Air India's Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flight which had been cancelled till August 30 in view of a strike by pilots. He said landing, parking and other charges at the Amritsar airport were much less as compared to Delhi and starting more flights from here would also help decongest air traffic in the national capital. Sidhu said the passenger traffic has witnessed an impressive growth at the Amritsar airport over the last few years. It registered an average increase of 22.7 per cent from 2008 to 2010. It increased by 16.3 per cent in 2011-12. He said the number of flights from Amritsar airport had gone up from 313 to 460 in the last one month alone, a major chunk of which were domestic flights. Sidhu said he will also be meeting Union Defence Minister AK Antony to get the Indian Air Force (IAF) evacuate the Amritsar airport’s 975 acres of land which is under the IAF's possession at present. "The IAF structures on the airport land are a big eyesore and hindrance in the way of further expansion of the airport which is crucial in view of its future requirements”.
|
||
|
Women can help check female foeticide: Chawla
Bathinda, July 16 Speaking on the occasion, organizer Ashok Gupta said the BVP was founded in 1963 and is involved in different social activities. It has organized events such as Bharat Ko Jano competition, national song singing competition, medical camps and has provided stipends, uniforms and books to the schoolchildren. Widows are given ration worth Rs 300 daily. As many as 17 women were given the ration on the occasion. Laxmi Kanta Chawla spoke on the need to bring modern India at par with the people living in rural pockets. She lauded the organisation saying it was the biggest institution involved in donating artificial limbs to the physically challenged. She also dwelt on the cultural dilemma confronting sociaety and pointed out that people were moving away from their basic social mores and cultural roots, leading to confusion among the new generation. The former Health Minister also spoke about corruption taking deep roots in society and said those wsho preach honesty must practice it first. Chawla also pointed out that the role of women was important in checking social crimes like female foeticide. Prominent among others present on the occasion included PN Garg, Satpal Mahajan, SL Latika, KC Mittal, Madan Mohan Jindal and others.
|
||
|
Land sold to raise funds for exchequer: RTI
Bathinda, July 16 Information procured under the Right To Information (RTI) Act revealed that the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) has so far sold off lands in pocket D, E and F of the Canal Colony area through the Punjab Urban Development and Planning Authority (PUDA). On January 15, 2010, 19 bighas and three biswas of land in pocket F of Canal Colony were sold to BCL and Infrastructure Limited at the rate of Rs 7,300 per square yard. The land was sold for Rs 14.20 crore of which the company has deposited Rs 10.72 cr with the PIDB
so far. Similarly, 0.8 acre of land in pocket D of the area was transferred in the name of BDA on December 25, 2010 for plotted development. BDA further chalked out 15 commercial plots and three shop-cum-flats. BDA sold 90.75 yards of three plots at the rate of Rs 30,600 per square yard, but no amount has been submitted with the PIDB so far. On May 4, 2011, 5.58 acres of land was sold off from pocket E of the Canal Colony at the rate of Rs 13,900 per square metreto BCL and Infrastructure Private Limited. The total land was sold at Rs 13.38 crore, but only Rs 8.25 cr has been deposited with the PIDB so far. Besides this, the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) has taken a loan of Rs 92 crore from PIDB against its Blue Fox Property near Rose Garden, which has further been transferred to the Bathinda Improvement Trust.
|
||
|
Shortage of funds hits police outreach centres
Bathinda, July 16 The officials at these centres fail to arrange stationery items, including paper, stamp pads and printer cartridges, as they are yet to be provided with any specific funds to purchase stationery. The officials alleged that the authorities had failed to provide them with funds. An ASI, who is the in-charge of one of these centres, said though the government raised each centre by spending around Rs 10 lakh in the district, it failed to provide for the running expenses, on daily or monthly basis.“A signboard was lying with the painter for the past four months as an amount of Rs 850 was not released by the department,” said an official.
|
||
|
Students’ election: Two hurt in firing
Tarn Taran, July 16 The city police has registered a case aginst a dozen persons under various sections of the IPC and Arms Act. Only three accused have been identified so far. They are Jaiveer Singh, Tejinder Singh, Soni of Kakka Kandiala village. The accused, riding an SUV and three motorcycles, reportedly reached the residence of Sukhchain Singh, an aspirant for the president’s post in the students’ election, at Noordi. Jaiveer Singh and others were opposed to the candidature of Sukhchain Singh for the president’s post. Jaiveer Singh and his supporters allegedly opened fire and ransacked Sukhchain Singh’s house. They also damaged the motorcycle of Sukhchain’s father Paramjit Singh. Another person, Gurjit Singh, was also injured in the firing. Reports said as the accused continued their attack for more than half an hour, Paramjit Singh fired in the air from his licensed rifle. Sukhchain Singh’s supporters pelted the accused with stones after which the accused fled.
|
||
|
Nawanshahr girl tops PPMET, Moga girl gets second position
Faridkot, July 16 In the result of the test announced by the university today, Manpreet scored 648 out of the total 800 marks in the test. The second position also went to a girl with the same name. Scoring 640 marks, Manpreet Kaur of Langeana Khurd village of Moga stood second, followed by Preet of Batala, who got 620 marks. In the Scheduled Caste category, Indrani Verma of Amritsar got the first position, while in the Backward Class category, Mirru of Piranbagh village of
Gurdaspur secured the first position. Total 3,390 candidates appeared at 15 examination centres set up in Faridkot for the PPMET yesterday. In the PPMET, the competition for the 220 seats in three government nursing colleges at Amritsar, Faridkot and Patiala and 15 high ranking private colleges. Of the 82 nursing colleges in Punjab offer 4,000 seats and the total number of candidates in the PPMET were 3,390. But as the fee in the private nursing colleges is much higher than the government colleges and all three government nursing colleges are attached with medical colleges, so students prefer government nursing colleges. So the competition is for these 220 seats. After these three government nursing colleges, there are 15 private nursing colleges which are in the priority list of the students. "The response of the applicants is encouraging as last year only 3,200 appeared in the test. The test is very important to seek admission in B Sc (Nursing) in government colleges and colleges of repute," said Satpal Singh, Deputy Registrar of the
BFUHS.
|
|
HC for probe into mobile connections on fake IDs
Chandigarh, July 16 The directions came while deciding a petition filed in public interest by Bathinda-based Noujawan Welfare Society for action against a mobile service provider and its agent in Bathinda for giving connections on the basis of fake identity proof. An inquiry into the grant of mobile phone connections was also sought in the petition filed through advocate H.C. Arora. The petitioner had attached along with the PIL as many as 59 “prepaid customer application forms” vide which new mobile connections were allotted during four days from March 15 on the basis of fake ID proof documents. Taking up the petition, the Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain directed Bathinda Superintendent of Police to depute a senior officer for conducting the inquiry into the matter. The investigation officer has also been told to probe whether the services provider or the distributor connived in this matter with a retailer.
|
|
|
Land acquired for storm water drain
Chandigarh, July 16 The directions came on an appeal filed in 1989 by Norata Singh and other appellants against the State of Punjab and another respondent. In their plea placed before Justice K.
Kannan, the appellants had sought enhancement in compensation for the property acquired for the public purpose of constructing the storm water drain at
Ropar. The Reference Court, while determining the compensation, had relied on the compensation calculated for acquisition of property for the thermal plant itself in 1975 and had fixed the price at Rs 55,000 per acre. The property acquired from the appellant was adjacent to the acquired land and the court, as such, ruled that same price could be adopted for their property. Arguing before Justice
Kannan, counsel for the appellants states that the property for the thermal plant was acquired in 1975, while the property for laying the storm water drainage was acquired much later. In fact, the notification for the same was issued on November 7, 1985. The court observed that at least 10 per cent appreciation in the value of the land must be provided for every year, but did not provide for such an increase in the operative portion of the order. After hearing the arguments, Justice Kannan observed the counsel for the appellants has only asked for a marginal increase of Rs 10,000 over what has been already granted to them. “If an enhancement at the rate of Rs 10,000 could be provided for 10 years, it would amount to double the value of what was determined. The counsel for the appellants is unable to give to me the details of the actual extent of property that was acquired.” “However, I find that the compensation assessed by the Land Acquisition Collector was Rs 1,517.75. I assess the value of the property per acre at double the value of what was assessed by the reference court….”
|
|
Heroin found in Pak cargo
Amritsar, July 16 This is the second such incident since June 3. Vijay Bahadur Singh, Rail Cargo Customs, said the contraband hidden in plastic packets was found in wagon No. 70049. After chemical examination, it was confirmed that the seized material was heroin. Its value in the international market was Rs 35 crore, he said. He said the rail cargo authorities would take up the matter with their counterparts in Pakistan. “It is not possible to hide narcotics inside a goods wagon without the connivance of people responsible for loading the material in Pakistan. It is a serious lapse on their part,” said an official. Jalandhar: The BSF seized four packets of heroin-like substance near the Narli post on the Indo-Pak border on the intervening night of July 15 and 16. Constables B Saikia and BN Meena of the 163th battalion were on duty when they heard a noise in a paddy field. They rushed to the spot, but the smugglers had escaped by then. The constables searched the areaand found four packets of contraband, suspected to be heroine, worth about Rs 20 crore in the international market. — TNS
|
|
|
One booked for kidnapping teenager
Hoshiarpur, July 16 The victim’s father Kulwinder Singh told the police that his daughter, a student of Class VIII, had gone out to the fields when the accused, Ranjit Singh kidnapped her and fled on his motorcycle. Kulwinder alleged that the accused had threatened to kidnap his daughter if he did not allow his daughter to marry Ranjit Singh.
|
|
|
Woman booked for possessing fake IELTS certificate
Bathinda, July 16 Shaminder married Rajvir a few months ago. At the time of their marriage, Rajvir’s family claimed that she had cleared the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam and even produced a certificate to prove the same. Shaminder’s parents agreed hoping that their son would be able to go to a foreign land on the basis of the test Rajvir had cleared. Sometime after the marriage, Rajvir allegedly took Rs 2 lakh from Shaminder’s family for applying to go abroad. Later, Shaminder’s family found out that the certificate Rajvir had produced was a fake. On the complaint of Shaminder’s family, the Phool police have registered a case against Rajvir Kaur, her brother Rajdeep Singh, mother Amarjit Kaur and father Sukhmandar Singh.— 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 | |
Patiala, July 16
Amritsar, July 16
The subsidy to be paid to the PSPCL on account of free power to farmers to run their tubewells and the limited free power supply to Scheduled Castes and below poverty line families has been on the increase since 2008. This subsidy amount, which was Rs 2,000 crore in 2008, has jumped to Rs 5,784 crore now. It was Rs 2,600 crore in 2009, Rs 3,140 crore in 2,010 and Rs 4,257 crore in 2011.