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VOTING RIGHTS
Pick a ‘hard working’ PCC chief, Bhatttal requests Sonia
Gastro outbreak: Ensure clean water, MC officials told
Nod to new cars despite crunch
Nod to IAS officers’ plea to serve in Chhattisgarh
HC notice to Chief Parliamentary Secys
A first: HC records evidence through video-conferencing
‘Burning’ of Birs by gurdwara head
Minor kidnapped, raped in Rajpura
Former woman sarpanch booked for misusing funds
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Power crisis deepens, Ropar plant hits a snag
Despite this, the state is not able to meet the power demand, recording a power deficit of 383 lakh unit (LU) on Sunday. The PSPCL chief, KD Chaudhri, said the corporation had to purchase power at the “unscheduled intercharge” (UI) of Rs 9.25 per unit from the Northern Grid. In May this year, the power available under UI was about Rs 3 per unit. Now the UI charges vary between Rs 5 to Rs 12 per unit. With rains eluding the state, the power demand has risen to 2,200 lakh units whereas the availability is 1,817 lakh units. Chaudhri said: “Everday we are shelling out almost double the charges because the grid frequency is low. If the Centre helps Punjab with 1,000 MW of additional power, not only will it help the farm sector and the industry, which are reeling under power cuts, but will also help the PSPCL save money it is spending on purchasing power.” Documents show while Punjab is drawing power from the grid well within its total transfer capacity (TTC) limit of 5,400 MW, Uttar Pradesh is drawing 7,100 MW against the TTC of 5,600 MW. Likewise, against the TTC of 3,100 MW, Haryana’s overdrawal (recorded by the Northern Regional Load Despatch Centre) yesterday was 4,000 MW. “Though these figures keep varying with the grid frequency, it is clear that Haryana and UP are overdrawing power by 50 per cent to 60 per cent. But whenever Punjab overdraws by just 5 per cent to 7 per cent, the NRLDC starts reprimanding us”, said a senior officer in the distribution wing. To add to the power woes, one unit of Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant in Ropar was shut down today on account of a technical snag. “It will take at least two days for the unit to be operational”, said Director (Generation) GS Chhabra. He said one unit of Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant in Bathinda with a capacity to generate 110 MW, which was closed for renovation and modernisation, is likely to be operational in a few days. An official spokesperson said the PSPCL was imposing a six to eight-hour power cut in the domestic sector.
Technical Hitch
BAN ON ACs
The power corporation has decided to re-impose the ban on the use of the ACs in its offices across the state. “We are sending a communiqué to the state government requesting that a ban be imposed on the use of ACs in all government offices,” said PSPCL chief KD
Chaudhri.
Industry Fumes
n Unscheduled cuts are being imposed on the industry. President of the Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association Badish Jindal said the weekly off cut production by 33 %, causing a huge loss to the industry
Supply
Power Cuts
Bathinda Spared
No respite in sight
Scientist JR Prasad , who monitors the only Doppler radar in the region installed at Punjabi University, Patiala, says there is no possibility of heavy rain in Punjab till July 31. Howver, there will be slight showers on Thursday.
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1,100 teachers on foreign jaunt face the sack
Kahan Singh Pannu, Director General, School Education, said: “The department has decided to terminate the services of teachers who have overstayed abroad for long periods without informing the authorities. The department has already started the proceedings to this effect. The aim is to overcome the shortage of teaching staff.” “We have compiled the data of teachers missing from work for long periods of time. These teachers have not bothered to cite reasons for delay in reporting back for work and have also not cared to send any communication regarding possible dates of return,” Pannu said.
A senior teacher said “a sizeable majority of our colleagues who get a chance to go abroad
were doing petty jobs there. Since the system allowed them to stay on rolls back home, they did not resign”.
Lakbhir Singh, vice-president, Jalandhar District Government School Teachers Union, said: “We have learnt about the action being initiated against the erring teachers who have failed to return from foreign trips. But there has been no formal communication in this regard. In the process, they are blocking job opportunities of hundreds of educated youth.”
Karnail Singh Sandhu, former president, State Government Teachers Union, said: “Those guilty of going abroad and
earning their livelihood there while maintaining their service benefits in India do not deserve to be spared. They are
blocking the career prospects of a large number of youngsters.
“The government should initiate a similar action against employees of all departments. A perusal of official records will reveal that officials from many other departments have also gone missing while on trips abroad,” he added.
The newly appointed teachers will now be required to file an affidavit saying that their leave application may be considered as resignation letter on failure to return to work within the approved vacation period.
Teaching blues
The absence of teachers has affected classroom teaching in different schools and also blocked fresh recruitment
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Don’t pay enhanced power bills: Capt
Jalandhar, July 24 “We won’t let this happen. I ask my party workers and the people of Punjab not to pay the bills at the enhanced rates from retrospect effect. Extra tariff with retrospective effect is unjustified and illegal,” warned Amarinder. “Punitive power tariff hike and enhancement of taxes is no solution to the worsening financial situation. Exhorbitant taxes can only cripple the economy and no investor will come to Punjab,” he said. Addressing a state-level demonstration here today to protest against the power tariff hike and additional surcharge on sugar and mobile sets, the PCC chief said the state was bankrupt and, hence, had started imposing taxes on the people. Among senior Congress leaders at the dharna were Arvind Khanna, Chaudhary Jagjit Singh, Chaudhary Santokh Singh, Kewal Dhillon, Ashwani Sekri, Rana Gurjit Singh, Tejinder Bittu, Jagmohan Singh Kang, Fateh Jang Bajwa, MP Ravneet Bittu, Sangat Singh Giljian, Rajneesh Bubby, Arun Walia, Lalli Majithia, Jagbir Brar, Ajaib Singh Bhatti, Gurkirat Kotli and Hardayal Kamboj. Lashing out at the new taxes, Amarinder said the entire excercise was “directionless”. He said instead of burdening the poor with more taxes, the government should widen the tax base. He said instead of encouraging investment, the government was taking retrograde measures like raising Operation Bluestar Memorial, creating a sense of insecurity among the people. While disagreeing with Home minister P Chidambaram that terrorism could return to Punjab, the Punjab Congress chief said: “In such a state of uncertainty, nobody will be ready to invest in Punjab”, he warned. Amarinder questioned the sincerity of the government in providing free power to farmers.
On the sidelines
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VOTING RIGHTS
The Central Government, which had taken away their voting right through a notification on October 8, 2003, had accepted the High Court verdict by not going in appeal to the Supreme Court, the SSF pointed out. Both the High Court and the Supreme Court had made it clear that the results of the SGPC poll held on September 18, 2011, would be subject to the outcome of the case pending in the High Court over the voting right of the Sehajdharis. In fact, the Supreme Court had passed the order with the consent of the SGPC, the SSF contended. Thus, the SGPC election had become a “nullity” following the quashing of the Centre’s October 2003 notification by the High Court, it was argued. Precisely for this reason, the Supreme Court had restrained the Centre from allowing the newly elected SGPC board to hold its first meeting. The apex court “has only allowed the executive body of the old House to look after the day-to-day affairs” of the SGPC in the interest of thousands of employees in SGPC-run schools and several other institutions, the federation contended. Since the SGPC did not have a validly constituted body in existence, the committee had no authority to challenge the High Court judgment in the Supreme Court, the federation said. It also questioned the Centre’s authority in taking away the Sehajdharis’ voting right through a notification. The Sehajdharis had been given the right to vote through a legislation and as such the right could be taken away only by Parliament and not by the government through an executive order. The 1966 States Re-organisation Act had conferred on the Centre the right to manage the functioning of inter-state corporate bodies like the SGPC board and that too till the time successive states framed their own laws. The voting right of the Sehajdharis did not pertain to the functioning or operation of SGPC and as such the Centre had no right to issue the notification quashed by the High Court, the SSF contended in the affidavit, filed ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on July 26.
SSF contention
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Airline’s pullout from Amritsar to hurt export of perishable goods
Amritsar, July 24 The Perishable Cargo Centre at the Sri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport has been handling the export of baby corn, snow pea, sugar snap, okra and other vegetables to London since July 2006. The export was suspended for a year following a dry spell and Air India had withdrawn its Amritsar-London-Toronto flight on October 30, 2010. The exporters had then shifted their base to the Delhi airport. The export of fresh cargo resumed only after the introduction of thrice-a-week to and fro direct service by the BMI on the London-Almaty-Amritsar section from October 14, 2011. Exporters said they would have to once again shift to Delhi to export the fresh farm produce. They felt it was faster, cheaper and easier to transport fresh vegetables from Himachal Pradesh and Ludhiana to Amritsar. Besides costing more, it would now take longer to shift the cargo to Delhi. Countries like Thailand, Kenya and Guatemala would gain at the cost of India. Sarbjit Singh, an exporter, pointed out that it would take eight hours or more, compared to three hours now, to carry the cargo by road to Delhi, where cargo trucks would have to cope with snarl-ups and face entry restrictions during the day. The adverse foreign exchange rate had already affected vegetable exporters in the region. The withdrawal of the flight would now make it impossible for them to compete in the international market, he added. After remaining affected for a year, the export of perishable cargo had seen a turnaround with the start of the BMI flight, as around 202-tonne produce was exported from October 2011 to March 2012. In the past three months, the exports stood at 141 tonne. While over 1 lakh kg fresh vegetables were exported in 2006-07, the next year saw the volume go up to 2.78 lakh kg. The volume of vegetable export continued to grow. In 2008-2009, it reached 6.23 lakh kg and the following year saw export of 9.08 lakh kg. The journey of perishable cargo has never been smooth. Initially, Jet Airways used to operate the flight but once the private airlines pulled out due to recession, Air India filled the breach. Later, the BMI followed. Officials handling the perishable cargo said the move was a rude jolt as the main season for the export of perishable cargo began in winter and there would be no flight at that time. They reasoned that the proposed Armavia’s twice-a-week flights from Amritsar to Armenia’s national capital Yerevan from July 25 will not serve the purpose of export of fresh farm produce. Armavia will operate these flights with Airbus-320 aircraft, with a seating capacity of 148/164 and a low cargo-holding capacity, which is hardly sufficient for carrying the baggages of passengers. Besides, the cargo will need to be shifted to another connecting flight to London. They said multi-handling and exposure to different climatic conditions adversely affected the quality of fresh produce, besides increasing the input cost, which jacked up the prices of produce. The BMI is currently using a modern wide-body Airbus A330-200 aircraft with 18 tonne cargo capacity.
Flight trouble
logistical issue
Armavia’s twice-a-week flights from Amritsar to Armenia’s national capital Yerevan from July 25 will not serve the purpose of export of fresh farm produce. The airlines uses Airbus-320 aircraft, with a seating capacity of 148/164 and a low cargo-holding capacity. Besides, the cargo will need to be shifted to another connecting flight to London. Multi-handling and exposure to different climatic conditions adversely affects the quality of fresh produce
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Pick a ‘hard working’ PCC chief, Bhatttal requests Sonia
Chandigarh, July 24 In a statement, Bhattal said she was of the firm view that the people would not rally under the party in case it did not prepare the ground for fighting the next parliamentary elections. The senior Congress leader said the party should organise a “jail
bharo” campaign, if need be, to awaken the people to the “unjust’ policies of the
SAD-BJP government. In an oblique reference to PCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh, she said an impression was being created that the Congress in Punjab was leaderless as the Centre was still deliberating on the PCC leadership issue. She said this would only result in demoralising Congress workers further.
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Farmers block highway against land acquisition
Amritsar, July 24 Farmers were protesting against the notification of the Rayya panchayat to acquire 14 kanal and 11 marla agricultural land. Nine families of marginal farmers, who grow vegetables, own the patch of land. The aggrieved families along with members of various associations had been sitting on the agricultural plot for the past 25 days. It was only yesterday that members of the unions decided to shift their protest to tehsil complex. To further intensify their agitations, over a thousand farmers today decided to move towards Beas to block a bridge over the river. However, they were stopped by the police near Umranagal village. Traffic on the road had to be diverted towards Baba Bakala. The vehicles covered an extra five kilometres to reach Beas. Initially, the unions decided to block the traffic only for two hours, but then converted it into an indefinite protest till their demands are accepted. Satnam Singh Pannu of the Kisan Sangarsh Committee said, “The land is the only source of livelihood for 70 members of nine families. It is hard to manage from such a small piece of land but they are doing it. Now, the government wants to deprive them of their only source of meager income.” He said Nagar Panchayat, Rayya, already owns a piece of land near the place. When contacted, Baba Bakala SDM TK Goel said, “The land is required for the construction of a sewage treatment plant. It was acquired through a notification issued on June 27. Later, when we tried to take possession of the land, farmers opposed it.” He said the administration had already recommended to the government that the piece of land owned by Nagar Panchayat could be used to construct the sewage treatment plant. “Since the matter is under consideration of the government, in view of the inconvenience to the general public, we have appealed to the unions to wait for the decision,” said Goel. point of dispute
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Gastro outbreak: Ensure clean water, MC officials told Chandigarh, July 24 Senior officials of the civic bodies have been directed to inspect personally the water supply system in areas from where reports of gastroenteritis have come. Three deaths were reported during the past some days from Badungar area in Patiala. Reports of gastroenteritis also came from Mukerian, near Hoshiarpur and Jalandhar. It has been alleged that gastroenteritis has been caused due to supply of poor quality water. Reports of dengue cases have also come from some towns. Officials have been told to launch fogging operation in all towns to check the mosquito menace. Pools of accumulated rainwater in low-lying areas have become breeding centres for mosquitoes. Responding to reports of heaps of garbage in various towns and cities, the state government directed the officials concerned to remove all such heaps within the next 24 hours.
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Hospitals urged to comply with waste disposal rules
Patiala, July 24 In a joint statement issued here today, IMA president and secretary Dr BL Bhardwaj and Dr DS Bhullar, respectively have appealed to all members of the association to be vigilant regarding disposal of the bio-medical waste, particularly keeping in view the outbreak of gastroenteritis in the city. “Bio-Medical Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 1998, must be complied with,” they said. Dr Bhullar said, “We must set our own house in order and if untreated bio-medical waste is kept stored and not lifted by the concerned authority even after 48 hours in the hot and humid climate (June 15 to September 15), the matter must be reported to the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) or to the leadership of the IMA.” The bio-medical waste consists of solids, liquids, sharps and laboratory waste that are potentially infectious and dangerous, which must be properly disposed for protection of the general public, healthcare staff and the sanitation workers, who are regularly exposed to the bio-medical waste as an occupational hazard and it should not be mixed with other types of wastage.
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Sidhu demands more flights from Amritsar
New Delhi, July 24 The trigger for his latest outburst is an indication that Air-India may withdraw the Delhi-Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flight due to lack of financial viability. Sidhu, who met Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh, said “shifting lucrative international routes and cargo to IGIA under the garb of the hub-and-spoke model is harming Punjab, and in particular Amritsar”. Arguing his case for more international flights from Amritsar, he said the Amritsar airport had the potential of making an annual profit of Rs 100- Rs 150 crore but was instead facing a loss of Rs 35 crore. “Despite having all facilities, a profitable international route was withdrawn to benefit GMR. Amritsar has less user charges and lesser VAT on ATF as compared to Delhi. The airport can also help decongest the busy IGIA. It is fact that more than 500 passengers buy tickets from travel agents everyday and board flight from Delhi. Is this not a loss for the Amritsar airport as well as to Punjab,” he questioned. Sidhu also sought direct flights to New Zealand, Australia and Singapore. Air-India officials, however, say that in times of increasing operational costs, the hub-and-spoke system had became a norm with most major airlines.
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Nod to new cars despite crunch
Chandigarh, July 24 Chief Parliamentary Secretaries today met with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and demanded new cars. The Chief Minister has accepted their demand. Sources here said the chief parliamentary secretaries told the Chief Minister that most of them presently possessed Toyoto Carolla cars, which had become old. They sought better cars within the amount allocated earlier for the purpose. Some were in favour of being allotted Toyota Innova vehicles, claiming the car was more suited to the rural areas than the present cars. They also suggested that a diesel vehicle was a better alternative in the long run and would result in saving revenue. Their present cars run on petrol. A Chief Parliamentary Secretary said they had told the Chief Minister that they deserved a “wadiya gaddi” (better vehicle). Besides the issue of cars, they also took up the issue of being without work for years. Referring to a directive issued by the Chief Minister yesterday that chief parliamentary secretaries should be invited to all department meetings, they said such orders had been issued earlier but without any success. The Chief Minister assured them that they would not only be invited to all department meetings, but also be given access to files before these were routed to the minister concerned. The Chief Minister said the Chief Secretary had written to all secretaries in this context.
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Nod to IAS officers’ plea to serve in Chhattisgarh
Chandigarh, July 24 Dr Karthik is Additional Secretary in the Local Bodies Department. Some months ago, the officers had expressed their willingness to serve in the tribal region of Chhattisgarh to work for the upliftment of poor sections. With the Chhattisgarh Government having given its consent already, their case has now been sent to the Central Government for approval. Usually, the Centre does not deny approval in such cases. Dr Adapa, an MBBS, belongs to Andhra Pradesh. Rupanjali is the daughter of former IAS officer RL
Kalsia.
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HC notice to Chief Parliamentary Secys
Chandigarh, July 24 The notice by Justice Ranjit Singh came on a bunch of petitions filed by gram panchayats of Sherpur and Raowali in Jalandhar district against the State of Punjab and other respondents.The petitioners, through counsel RS Bajaj and Swaran Sandhir had referred a Division Bench judgment dated August 21, 2006, to substantiate their contention against the release of grants to individuals. In the judgment, the High Court had directed that all sanctioned grants, whatever may be the source or scheme, were to be credited to the gram panchayat funds and put at its disposal for utilisation. The stand taken by the department concerned, on the other hand, was that "the grant had been sanctioned by Avinash Chandler, Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, from his discretionary grant for the development and welfare of Raowali village in Jalandhar district…." The case will come up for further hearing on October 30. Already, the High Court has directed the States of Punjab and Haryana to furnish rules under which the Chief Parliamentary Secretaries have been appointed. The High Court has also asked the states to come out with a detail report on the job profile of the secretaries, their salaries and perks paid to them. The directions by the Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain came during the hearing of a bunch of petitions challenging their appointments in Punjab and Haryana. The case has been fixed for August 13 when both the states will provide the details.
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A first: HC records evidence through video-conferencing
Chandigarh, July 24 This is the first time the High Court has logged on to the technology of video conferencing and has examined a midwife, who facilitated the birth of the girl child before she was drowned in Pathankot. Her body was thrown in a canal and recovered the following day by the Irrigation Department. The midwife, whose deposition is being considered vital for linking the accused with the crime, was examined through the facility by Punjab Law Officer Pavit Singh Mattewal on behalf of the prosecution. She was also examined by the counsel for the accused in the special video conferencing cell near the High Court museum. Already the victim’s father Madan Lal and his brother Charanjit Singh of Pathankot have been convicted by the trial court for killing the day-old girl. They have been sentenced to life imprisonment and are before the Bench of Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Rajiv Narain Raina in an appeal against the conviction and sentence. During the course of hearing, the Bench expressed its dissatisfaction with the recording of the midwife’s evidence. She was, as such, summoned to appear before the High Court on July 22 for the recording of her evidence. But, there was a legal glitch. The evidence of a witness is to be recorded in the presence of the accused. It meant summoning the two accused to the High Court, a process which led to the raising of financial and safety concerns. Moreover, the process of bringing them to the High Court would have been time consuming. It was, under these circumstances, that the High Court issued the exceptional order of recording the evidence of the witness, in front of the two accused, through the facility of videoconferencing. As per the format, the Jail Superintendent brought the two convicts to the National Informatics Centre at Gurdaspur and the recording of evidence started at 2 pm under Section 391 of the CrPC.
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‘Burning’ of Birs by gurdwara head
Chandigarh, July 24 “A word of caution is given to respondent number two (the SGPC) to take steps, if any unlawful act is being done by respondent number three (Narinder Singh, head of Gurdwara Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Naam Simran Centre, Small Jawadi, Ludhiana)”. In her petition, chairperson of Mohali-based Janbaaz Force Surinder Kaur had earlier sought directions to the State of Punjab, the SGPC, Narinder Singh and the Union of India against the “destruction of the great legacy of Sikhism”. She had alleged that Narinder Singh was burning holy Birs of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, kept at homes by individuals for personal use, after forcibly taking them away. She had, as such, sought directions to restrain Narinder Singh “from destroying the great legacy of Sikhism, and thereby putting to an end his reprehensive act of burning the rare and ancient manuscripts of the Sikh Gurus, hand written Birs of Guru Granth Sahib.” She had asserted: “The Angitha Sahib is burning the ancient Sikh literature and heritage books under the name of cremation service, even though they need to be preserved". Her counsel RS Bains had added no citizen has the right to destroy the heritage books "merely in the name of religious sewa". Bains had further told the Court that “there are some places as Goidwala Sahib, where old copies of Guru Granth Sahib and historical books are cremated in the Angitha Sahib". Before issuing a word of caution, the Bench of Acting Chief Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain asserted specific instance has not been given in the present writ petition “where religious books were taken away from any individual by Narinder Singh or anybody else. In the circumstances, no case is made out to cause interference by this Court and the present writ petition is dismissed”.
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Minor kidnapped, raped in Rajpura
Rajpura, July 24 The police registered a case under various sections of the IPC, but it has failed to arrest the two accused identified as Anil Kumar and his mother Manju Rani. The police said the 14-year-old girl, who belongs to a poor family, was dealing in supplying clothes to some local shops. “On Sunday, Anil forcibly packed the victim in his autorickshaw and took her home, where he along with his mother allegedly pressurised and threatened the girl before Anil raped her many times,” reads the FIR registered at the Rajpura police station. When the victim was in the captivity of the accused, his mother threatened the girl to keep mum or her brother would be eliminated. “There was nothing that I could do and the accused continuously raped me,” she told the police in her statement. After the incident the two accused threw the girl near her house in a critical condition from where her parents took her to a hospital and informed the police. Even after recording the statement of the victim, the police has failed to take any action or provide security to the girl, who is in a state of shock and fears for her life. Instead of making any arrest, the police changed the investigating officer and the new officer is yet to have a look at it. “I have received the file, but honestly, I cannot comment on the case as I was busy and the case was registered by another ASI,” said investigating officer Manjit Singh, posted at the City police station. “We will soon arrest the accused,” he added.
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Former woman sarpanch booked for misusing funds
Fatehgarh Sahib, July 24 The police has registered a case on the complaint of Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO), Khera, who alleged that Kusam Rani, during her tenure as sarpanch of the village, had misappropriated funds of over Rs 4.15 lakh. The state government had issued financial grant of Rs 10 lakh for various development works in the village in 2006-2007. The Divisional Deputy Directorate, Village Development and Panchayats, Patiala, had ordered an inquiry after receiving a complaint in this regard. A case under various sections of the IPC was registered today at Bassi Pathana police station, police said. Sources said the inquiry officer in his report had stated that Kusum Rani had embezzled Rs 3.03 lakh out of the Rs 10 lakh grant given by the government. Not only this, she had also caused loss to the panchayat to the tune of Rs 73,642 besides embezzling Rs 39,270. The inquiry officer had also reported that despite several reminders, the sarpanch had failed to deposit the amount with the department. Bassi Pathana SHO Shamsher Singh said a case had been registered against the former sarpanch for misappropriating government funds to the tune of Rs 4,15,912 on the complaint of the BDPO.
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Patiala, July 24
Chandigarh, July 24
New Delhi, July 24