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Independence Day celebrations
Sukhbir promises foreign coaches for players |
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HC: Take steps to prevent stamp duty evasion
Back with SAD, Bhatti snubs Chandumajra
PPP decides to fight back, may field Manpreet against Harsimrat
‘Torture’ in Lahore Jail
Clergy for tough steps to stop sacrilege of holy granth
Leaders squabble for ‘mining spoils’
PTU may scrap MBA entrance
Wetland gets new lease of life
CBI court frames charges against suspended AIG
ITO held for graft
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Independence Day celebrations
Patiala, August 16 After unfurling the National Flag at a state-level Independence Day function here yesterday, Badal said: "It is time to do self-introspection as to whether we have fulfilled the dreams of our great freedom fighters". Observing that even after 65 years of Independence, India is still facing problems pertaining to poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and inequality, Badal said: "The Centre should give a serious thought to setting up a strong federal structure in the country. The tendency of the Central Government to usurp the powers and authority of the states ensured by the Constitution is detrimental to the interests of the nation". He said the real tribute to the martyrs of the freedom struggle would be to cherish the aspirations of the people by ensuring them a quality life. Badal said to make Punjab clean, green and pollution-free, the state government had launched a vigorous drive to plant 40 crore saplings in the next eight years. The Chief Minister said though Punjabis constituted only 2 per cent of the country's population, their contribution to the freedom struggle could never be ignored. Earlier, Badal took the salute at an impressive parade led by commander ACP Swapan Sharma. The parade comprised contingents of the PAP, Punjab Police, NCC (Boys and Girls), Police Brass Band, Saint John Ambulance Brigade, scouts and girl guides. During the function, Badal presented state-level awards, comprising a memento, citation, shawl and a cash reward to 34 prominent personalities for their outstanding contribution to different fields Badal, son on foreign jaunt Chandigarh: With Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal flying abroad again, it is uncertain if they will be here for the death anniversary of Sant Harchand Singh Longowal on August 20. Official sources said the Badals had left for South East Asia. While the CM would return on August 22, the Deputy CM would be here probably on August 26. The CM, who had left for the US to attend a marriage, had returned on August 14. The Deputy CM had also returned from London on August 14. Protest by teachers Patiala: Activists of the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) Pass Unemployed Teachers Union held a protest here yesterday after they were not allowed to meet the Chief Minister who was in the city to preside over a state-level Independence Day function. The teachers gathered at Dukhnivaran Sahib gurdwara and raised slogans against the government, demanding job openings. The protesters blocked traffic for an hour. Union general secretary Raghvir Singh said: "We want to meet the Chief Minister as he had promised that all TET teachers would be employed. But despite the fact that there are a large numbers of vacancies, the government is not advertising new posts". Stadium renamed Gurdaspur: Chief Parliamentary Secretary Gurbachan Singh Babbehali yesterday announced that the government had decided to rename the Government College Stadium as Lt Navdeep Singh Memorial Stadium. The Gurdaspur-based Army officer had laid down his life on August 20 last year while fighting insurgents in the Gurez sector of North Kashmir. — TNS
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Sukhbir promises foreign coaches for players
Mohali, August 16 Lack of a concrete plan to nurture sportspersons on part of the Union Government led to a dismal show by Indian players in the recently concluded Olympic games, he said after unfurling the National Flag at Government College, Phase 6, here on Wednesday. “Those who won medals in the London Olympics did it with their own hard work and efforts. The Union Government has no role in their success,” he said. Miffed over the Centre’s failure to resolve issues between the two hockey bodies, the Hockey India and the Indian Hockey Federation, he said: “There was a time when we used to be a strong contender for a gold medal. But now, we finish at the bottom. Who is responsible? Even players are confused about under which body they come. In such a situation what results one can expect?” Sukhbir asked. On the development front, the Deputy Chief Minister said the state was progressing and very soon Punjab would be one of the leading states in the country on the development index. “With the starting of new thermal plants by next year, Punjab will be a power surplus state. Besides, Punjab will be the first state in the country to have all its cities linked with four or six lane roads by 2014,” said Sukhbir. He said apart from Mohali airport, which would be ready within six months, upgrading of the Ludhiana airport was also underway. “Domestic flights from Bathinda will start by next month and the state government has already approached the Union Government to allow civil flights from the Adampur air base. With this, Punjab will become the only state in the country to have airports at a distance of every 60 km,” he added.
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HC: Take steps to prevent stamp duty evasion
Chandigarh, August 16 Directions have been issued to the State of Punjab and other respondents to take to its logical conclusion an FIR registered against Barnala revenue officials. The directions by a Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Tejinder Singh Dhindsa came on a petition filed in public interest by Tarsem Lal Jindal against the State of Punjab and other respondents. In his petition, Jindal had sought that directions be issued to the State of Punjab and other official respondents to conduct an inquiry into the loss to the exchequer by way of evasion of stamp duty on sale deeds. Directions were also sought for constituting a committee to carry out a probe. Giving details of the stamp duty evasion fraud, counsel for the petitioner had contended that sellers and purchasers of property were paying less stamp duty at the time of registration of sale deed by showing the wrong location code.This was being done in connivance with government officials, Jindal had contended. Pursuant to the issuance of notice, the Under Secretary, Revenue Department, Punjab, sent a reply, stating that an FIR (No.119) had been registered on May 10 after inquiry against Barnala Joint Sub-Registrar Gurinder Singh, Sub-Registrar Saroj Rani Aggarwal and a “registry clerk”. The Bench asserted that since appropriate action in the matter had already been taken by the state, the writ petition was being disposed of with directions to the respondents to take the “investigation of the FIR to its logical conclusion”. “It is further directed that the state government should devise appropriate ways and means to prevent such-like frauds in future”, and the Financial Commissioner, Revenue, “should take necessary action in that regard forthwith”. About the case n Tarsem Lal Jindal had sought that directions be issued to the State of Punjab and other official respondents to conduct an inquiry into the loss to public exchequer by way of evasion of stamp duty on sale deeds n
Directions were also sought for constituting a committee to carry out a probe
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Back with SAD, Bhatti snubs Chandumajra
Fatehgarh Sahib, August 16 Bhatti and his supporters refrained from making a mention of Chandumajra in their speeches. Bhatti promised to work with dedication for the betterment of the party. Sources said Chandumajra was reluctant to attend the rally but was coaxed into doing so by party chief Sukhbir Badal. Chandumajra, a shrewd politician, welcoming Bhatti’s return to the party fold, said this would strengthen the party in the area. Addressing the gathering, Sukhbir said Bhatti would be given due respect and responsibilities. He said PPP chief Manpreet Badal’s political ambitions had come to an end with the decimation of the PPP. He said the PPP was now a single-man party. The SAD chief set at rest rumours that there would be a change of guard in this assembly constituency. Talking to the media earlier, Badal said Chandumajra would remain in charge of the party in the constituency. He said Bhatti, a senior leader, had returned to the party unconditionally. Prominent among those who spoke at the rally were Cabinet Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra, Bassi Pathana MLA Justice (retd) Nirmal Singh, SGPC member Gurpreet Singh Randhawa and district president Jagdeep Singh Cheema
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PPP decides to fight back, may field Manpreet against Harsimrat
Chandigarh, August 16 Sources said the PPP had decided to launch its party’s election campaign for the 2014 parliamentary poll from Bathinda next month. The party is keen on fielding its president Manpreet Singh Badal against the SAD’s sitting MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal. The Bathinda parliamentary seat had witnessed a prestigious contest during the last elections with the Congress pitting Pradesh Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh’s son Raninder against Harsimrat. This time the PPP wants to put pressure on the SAD by focussing on Bathinda. The party had won the largest number of 1.75 lakh votes from the nine assembly constituencies of the Bathinda parliamentary seat in the assembly elections. The sources said the manner in which the SAD had managed to win back leaders who had joined Manpreet in the runup to the assembly poll is pushing Manpreet towards the Congress. There is a growing realisation within the party that the PPP may not be able to put up a good show in the parliamentary elections without an understanding with the Congress. The PPP is keen to arrive at an understanding with the Congress, demanding that two seats be left for it in the parliamentary elections. There is talk that the party may agree to an understanding in Bathinda alone with the Congress abstaining from putting up a candidate from there. The other seat that may be left for the PPP could be Sangrur or Ropar. A PPP leader said no other candidate other than Manpreet could give a befitting fight to Harsimrat. This would limit the Badal family to Bathinda and would help the Congress’ cause too. The sources said such an understanding could be a precursor to an understanding for the 2017 assembly elections. The Congress rank and file is demoralised and there is a feeling that an understanding with the PPP would help get back the Left votes. The Left parties form part of Manpreet’s Sanjha Morcha. A PPP spokesman said the party candidate from Fatehgarh Sahib, Didar Singh Bhatti, had been expelled from the party a week ago. He ridiculed SAD chief Sukhbir Badal’s claim that the PPP had been decimated.
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‘Torture’ in Lahore Jail
Amritsar, August 16 "I will meet Interior Ministry officials and the Home Secretary and appeal to them to take note of the letters. I will also meet Lahore Jail officials and ask them to treat Sarabjit well and provide him quality food besides making arrangements for his treatment," said Awais Sheikh. Sarabjit has written letters to his sister Dalbir Kaur informing her about the problems he has been facing in the jail. He has also written to UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, urging her to make arrangements for his family's visit to Pakistan. Talking to mediapersons here, Awais also showed the "confessional statement" of Sarabjit Singh on the basis of which the Supreme Court of Pakistan had awarded him death penalty for carrying out bomb blasts that killed several persons. Awais said Sarabjit had never claimed in his so-called "confessional statement" that he had carried out the blasts. "He had just admitted that he was caught smuggling liquor in August, 1990. He was never produced before any magistrate nor had he made any confessional statement. Sarabjit has told me that one Manjit Singh was arrested in August, 1990 but he was let off and in his place Sarabjit was implicated". Quoting media reports, Awais said Sarabjit might be released during the proposed visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Pakistan. He said he was hopeful that Sarabjit would be released. He said NGOs in India and Pakistan could play a vital role in highlighting the issue of release of prisoners languishing in Pakistani and Indian jails. He said several months ago, both the governments had decided to release the prisoners who had completed their sentence, but bureaucratic hurdles were delaying their release. Till now, only 33 prisoners had been released by both the countries, he added. Meanwhile, Sarabjit's sister Dalbir Kaur said she would try to meet President Pranab Mukherjee, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and other Union ministers. "Though I have not yet received the letters written by Sarabjit, it is unfortunate to learn that he is being mentally tortured in jail," she said. Excerpts from sarabjit’s letter I feel a lot of pain in my left leg. The officers on night duty hardly care to give me medicines. Instead, they mock at me. The food is difficult to swallow and digest. The judicial committee had recently allowed us (Indian prisoners) to meet each other, but the jail authorities are not implementing it. Please tell the Indian Government that there are certain officials and employees here who are torturing me mentally. I think they want me to become insane. Several jail employees say only your bones should be sent to India. Indian prisoners have been facing a lot of difficulties ever since the appointment of new jail superintendent Mohsin Raffiq." Note: I have been given something in the food for the last three months due to which my body is getting weak. My left arm feels a lot of pain besides my left leg is also getting weaker and it has not been functioning properly.
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Clergy for tough steps to stop sacrilege of holy granth
Amritsar, August 16 Addressing mediapersons, Akal Takht Jathedar Gurbachan Singh said: “We have decided that Guru Granth Sahib Bhawans will be constructed at all the Takhts. These will house the birs as per the Sikh maryada. The SGPC has already been issued directions in this regard.” He said the Sikhs from Himachal Pradesh could get ‘birs’ from Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib, Anandpur, and those from Haryana and Rajasthan from Takht Sri Damdama Sahib. Meanwhile, the high priests of the other four Takhts have endorsed the clean chit given to the Radhasoami Dera regarding the ‘demolition’ of a gurdwara at Waraich village. However, the Dal Khalsa alleged that the decision was taken to provide “ a shield to the wrongdoing’ of the dera management.
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Leaders squabble for ‘mining spoils’
Chandigarh, August 16 It is estimated that illegal mining in Ropar district alone yields Rs 1 crore each day. Till last week, the entire mining operation in Ropar district was being controlled by SAD leaders from Muktsar and Zira. Now, a senior BJP leader from the area has joined hands with owners of stone crushers in Ropar in the name of providing them protection and allowing them to continue mining operations in local rivulets. The mining activities in the state are controlled by the Industries department and the Industries Ministry is with the BJP. Little wonder that the BJP wants to get its share of the "mining spoils". Mining and stone crushing in Ropar was banned by the state government in April this year following media reports and hue and cry by villagers in the district. However, because of rising prices of sand and aggregate (sand and gravel) and other construction material, the government allowed stone crushers to begin operations from July onwards for a period of two months to exhaust their "pending stocks" and to do away with the shortage of construction material. Before starting operations, the owners were asked to give an indemnity bond to the district authorities concerned regarding the stock available with them. However, the mining mafia in Ropar and Nawanshahr agreed to allow the stone crushers to operate on the condition that they pay the mafia bosses a royalty (an illegal tax) of Rs 260 per 100 cubic feet. This means that on a truckload of sand or gravel, a crusher owner has to pay Rs 1,900 per truck (each truck has a capacity of 750 cubic feet) as royalty. Since the stone crusher owners refused to pay, they approached a senior BJP leader, who then stepped in and agreed to allow them to operate under his "protection". In the past two days, his henchmen have reportedly taken control over all stone crushers located between Ropar and Kiratpur Sahib and they are not only allowed to sell the "pending stock" but also mine fresh sand and gravel. As a result, the SAD leaders now only have a control over the stone crushers operating from Kiratpur Sahib to the Himachal border. Check the menace, Sukhbir to SSPs Chandigarh: Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today issued instructions to all SSPs to work in tandem with the Industry and Mining Departments to check illegal mining. He told them it would be their responsibility to initiate a campaign against the menace. He said he would personally monitor the performance of each SSP. The SSPs have also been told to submit a detailed monthly report to the Deputy Chief Minister giving details of number of cases of illegal mining detected in the month and progress of investigation, including submission of challan in the court. — TNS
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PTU may scrap MBA entrance
Jalandhar, August 16 The PTU has proposed that the admissions should instead be carried out on the basis of Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) conducted by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). The proposal came after the realisation that multiple examinations not only bothered the students but also cost more. The entrance test for MBA, which is conducted by the universities of the state on a rotation basis, was organised by the PTU this year. The PTU authorities made the proposal after taking consent on the matter from staff members and students of various colleges. As many as 12 colleges had already approved of conducting admissions on the basis of the national level test. Vice Chancellor PTU Dr Rajneesh Arora said, "CMAT of the AICTE has a wider coverage and visibility and applicants across the country would be able to sit for it.”
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Wetland gets new lease of life
Gurdaspur, August 16 The Tourism Department has taken this iniative as it has received a loan of Rs 9 crore from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Geetika Kalha, principal secretary (Tourism), confirmed this development and added that work on the project would commence soon. Earlier, the project was mired in controversy with the panchayats of five villages in the area refusing to lease out land to construct the ADB funded Tourism Interpretation Centre, which would come up in an area of 25 kanals, located close to the main wetland. However, the panchayats of villages Keshopur, Mattam, Daala, and Miani recently passed a resolution to lease out 850 acres of the land to the government. At one stage the wetland was on the verge of extinction with village elders refusing to cooperate with the authorities to save the area, which has been a winter home for many migratory birds for centuries. However, after much persuasion from the wildlife authorities, the panchayats finally decided to lease out the land. Deputy Commissioner Dr Abhinav Trikha, who is co-ordinating various agencies engaged in revamping the project, said "Wetlands are considered to be one of the most productive aquatic ecosystems. Punjab is home to three internationally acclaimed wetlands - Harike, Kanjli and Ropar - and three others including the Keshopur wetland. It is an important site and had a profound impact on the economy of the villages surrounding it." As initially there was some scepticism about the project, the Tourism Department in an attempt to placate the villagers planned a trip for them to the famous Bharatpar Wildlife Sanctuary. They were shown how the project would be financially viable. Harpreet Kaur, Community Development Officer, said that nature trails, huts, bird heights and pause points would be developed. A Mumbai based design consultant was roped in to create the right ambience for eco-tourists, she added. Sources revealed that the Forest Department had recorded more than 400 bird species in the Keshopur wetland. Out of these, 45 species of migratory birds numbering over 40,000 visited the area in the winter season, which extended from October to March.
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CBI court frames charges against suspended AIG
Chandigarh, August 16 The trial will begin on September 12 with the recoding of evidence. Sandhu, then posted in the Vigilance Department, was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000 from complainant Nishant Sharma on July 12 last year. A Mohali resident and former Shiv Sena youth wing president, Sharma had alleged that Sandhu had demanded Rs 3 lakh for favouring him in a case. A CBI team had raided Sandhu's house in Sector 28 and seized certain documents. A charge sheet against Sandhu was filed last month. The CBI told the court that Sandhu was "in the habit" of abusing his official position and taking illegal gratification. It said that in 2008, when posted as Superintendent of Police (Headquarters), Moga, Sandhu was arrested in the infamous Moga sex scandal case along with the then Moga Senior Superintendent of Police DS Garcha and DSP Raman Kumar.
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ITO held for graft
Jalandhar August 16 Uppal claimed that he had not taken any bribe and was being implicated in a false case. "The said amount was not a bribe. I was told by the person (complainant) to keep the amount for a few days which he would collect the same at a later time," Uppal claimed. Sources said the team of 12 officials raided the Income Tax Office near Sky Lark Chowk here at 10.30 this morning and remained there for seven hours. The CBI had also raided Uppal's residence in Phagwara, the sources said.
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Patiala, August 16
Fatehgarh Sahib, August 16
