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It’s sand rush for Punjab politicians
Three months on, villagers’ protest goes unheeded
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52 await grants under inter-caste marriage scheme
Manoranjan Kalia, BJP spokesman
Additional Levies
Govt to promote pvt rural schools
Wisconsin Gurdwara Shootout
State exchequer stands to lose Rs 400 crore
Withdraw development fund levy: Rice millers
Rs 150 crore approved for highways
Don’t raise retirement age, say employees
DGSE: Check eve-teasing
Couple among 4 held in Moga passport scam
200 kg poppy husk recovered
Sex racket busted
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It’s sand rush for Punjab politicians
Chandigarh, August 26 A year ago, sand used to sell at Rs 1,300 per 100 cubic feet; the same quantity is now available for Rs 2,200. Similarly, gravel at present is selling at Rs 3,100 per 100 cubic feet, against Rs 2,400 in 2011. Armed with muscle power and with government officials under their thumb, leaders cutting across party lines have been indulging in the practice to the hilt, often unmindful of the fact that excess of it can lead to large-scale environmental degradation. Due to illegal sand mining, the lower 'kandi' (marshland) hills in Ropar have already vanished while the Sutlej has started changing its course in Nawanshahr and a few places in Ludhiana. Charging illegal royalty Mining, on an average, yields Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 3 crore a day as illegal royalty for politicians who now control mining operations across the state. Until 15 years ago, sand mining in Punjab was not really on the radar of politicians as they were dabbling in liquor trade. It was in 1997 that a cousin of a Cabinet minister, who himself happened to be a close relative of the then chief minister, got into the mining business as partner of a Ropar-based sand mining contractor. The next to follow suit was the son-in-law of a former Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president and former MLA from Dera Bassi who along with the brother of a senior Congress MLA from Gurdaspur district joined hands with sand mining contractors in Ropar, Mohali, Ludhiana, Patiala and Moga. A former Akali Dal MP started controlling operations in Moga while a brother of a then SAD minister, who was also into liquor business, took over the reins in Ludhiana. Cashing in on realty boom By this time, not just politicians but even bureaucrats in the state had realised that with realty boom in Punjab as well as neighbouring states, sand mining was the latest jackpot. Thereafter, politicians and 'babus' (enjoying political clout) started forming an unholy alliance to control mining. The menace began to grow leaps and bounds after the son of a Congress MLA caught the fancy of the trade in 2003. He is said to have suggested politicians to keep their party differences aside and join hands to maximise their profits by throwing local contractors out of the trade. With this began centralisation of the illegal activity under the command of ruling politicians. By 2007, the exercise was complete and ruling politicians had gained complete control of the sand mining operations across the state. In fact, those controlling the trade would also charge illegal royalty from stone crusher owners, builders or whosoever needed the gold dust. As such, rates of sand and gravel increased substantially over the past five years.
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Three months on, villagers’ protest goes unheeded
Chakk-Meerpur (Hoshiarpur), August 26 After finishing their routine work by 2 pm, these residents, including a number of women and children, assemble in Chakk-Meerpur and Handowal villages to protest (see pic left) against the mining mafia. Protesters lament that illegal mining was going on in the river bed in Himachal Pradesh blatantly and the gravel and sand were being transported in heavy vehicles through their village link road. Due to plying of heavy and loaded carriers, the village's internal roads, which are not meant for such heavy vehicles, have got damaged badly. The panchayats of Handowal and Chakk-Meetpur have even passed resolutions to block the village link roads that are being used by mafia for transporting their goods. The vehicles have not only been causing air and sound pollution, but also have been endangering human lives and property. Handowal sarpanch Sheela Devi said four villagers, including two schoolchildren, were killed in different road accidents involving vehicles carrying gravel and sand in the village till date. She claimed, “Over 100 vehicles, including heavy vehicles, trucks, tractor trailers, daily ply on our village’s link roads, which are not metalled and cannot bear such heavy load.” Sham Lal, a resident of Chakk-Meerpur village, claimed, "Illegal mining is going on in the neighbouring state and the mafia, in violation of norms, is excavating minerals by digging 50-60 feet deep on the river bed, thus, making the area vulnerable to floods." "Illegal mining may result in the river changing its course and if there are heavy rains in Himachal, the Beas will definitely flood almost 50 village downstream," claimed Vijay Kumar, president of Paryavaran Sanrakshan Samiti, Mand. Mukerian Sub-Divisional Magistrate Rahul Chaba said he had asked the Block Development and Panchayat Officers of Hazipur and Talwara to arrange his meetings with panchayat members so that their problems could be listened and necessary action could be initiated. "If required, I will take up the issue with my counterparts in Jawali and Nurpur sub-divisions of Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh for a permanent solution to the problem," Chaba said.
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Cell shock for jail staff
Amritsar, August 26 Intelligence reports says Amritsar has become a transit route for smuggling drugs from Afghanistan and Pakistan to various European countries. A routine search of the jail yesterday resulted in the seizure of eight activated mobile phones. During a weeklong search operation, officials have recovered at least 16 phones from jail inmates. Since January, at least 25 cases have been registered against various inmates for possessing cell phones. Yet the state government has failed to install mobile signal jammers. Highly-placed sources in the Special Operations Cell, Counter-Intelligence, Punjab Police, said as of now, more than 350 smugglers lodged at the Amritsar jail had established links with their counterparts outside the jail through mobile SIM cards from Dubai and other Middle-East countries. A probe has revealed that mobile phones are sent inside the jail in parts which are later re-assembled by prisoners. Most of the phone parts are smuggled inside the jail by inmates during court hearings or when their near and dear ones come to meet them. Jail Superintendent BS Gill said phone jammers alone could put an end to the menace. “We recovered circuit boards of mobile phones and chargers/batteries from the inmates during the search operation”, he said. More than 300 inmates meet their family members and over 100 are escorted out for court hearings everday. “In the absence of adequate staff, we are unable to thoroughly search each and every inmate. And this helps the inmates to sneak in phone parts that are mostly concealed under their headgear and clothes”, he said.
Mobile phones in Ropar jail too
Ropar: A major search operation was conducted by the district police at the Ropar jail on Sunday. SSP Jatinder Singh Aulakh said two mobile phones and a SIM card were recovered from a barrack. More than 150 police personnel, led by SP (Detective) Raminder Singh, searched all eight barracks and the mess. The operation began at 6am. While one mobile phone was found dumped outside barrack No. 7, the other was kept inside a talcum powder container, said the SSP. — TNS
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52 await grants under inter-caste marriage scheme
Sangrur, August 26 The inter-caste marriage scheme, however, is fast becoming a victim of alleged official apathy as beneficiaries have been awaiting the disbursal of grants for the last several years. While Rs 30,000 is paid to a couple in the form of a cheque, Rs 20,000 is given as a National Savings Certificate. In the last four years, 52 couples from the district had applied to the Sangrur District Welfare Officer for the reward, but their wait still continues. Ten couples from the district applied for grants under the scheme in the 2008-09 financial year, followed by 13 couples in 2009-10, 24 in 2010-11 and five couples in 2011-12. It is learnt that the reward money in Sangrur district was last given to eight couples in April 2011 for the cases received by the welfare office in the 2007-08 financial year. Among the 52 cases, 26 youths (15 boys and 11 girls) are from the General Category while the rest are from the Backward Class community.
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BJP toughens stance on levying of fresh taxes
Chandigarh, August 26 BJP spokesman Manoranjan Kalia said the core committee had asked leader of the BJP in Vidhan Sabha Chuni Lal Bhagat and deputy leader Anil Joshi to convey its decision to the Chief Minster. The BJP adopted a tough posture against the levy of VAT on several items recently. The meeting, presided by state party president Ashwani Sharma, was attended by Madan Mohan Mittal, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Balramji Das Tandon, Prof Rajinder Bhandari, Bibi Gurcharan Kaur, Kamal Sharma, Kalia, Bhagat and Joshi. The BJP has also opposed the implementation of e-tripping. The government has been told to withdraw orders issued in this regard. “The BJP is against e-tripping, a mechanism through which traders have to give information with regard to the sale and purchase of goods worth Rs 2 lakh and above and about their transportation from one place to other to the Taxation Department. We are living in an era of free trade and imposing such restrictions is an outdated measure,” said Prof Bhandari, a former president of the state BJP. Kalia said the party wanted that the government to trust the traders and not reinforce the inspector raj on them. The core committee has also decided to convey to the government that the BJP would not approve any move to levy taxes on textiles, wheat flour and pulses, he said. It has urged the government to instruct the revenue officials in all districts to give accept the general of power attorney (GPA) for registering deeds. “The GPA is a legal document. Tehsildars and other officials cannot refuse to entertain it for getting property and land deeds registered,” said Kalia. He said people in Jalandhar and Amritsar were facing problems in this regard. A core committee member said the party was against the levy of professional tax in any form. Even in case of property tax, the party was in favour of putting bare minimum burden on the people who could not afford to pay. But the party’s stand on these issues would be conveyed to the government at an appropriate time, he added.
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Youth Cong activists march to Badal village
Badal (Muktsar), August 26 The activists were protesting against the “failure” of the SAD-BJP government to keep its election promises. Roads leading to the village were sealed and traffic was diverted by a heavy posse of policemen. Muktsar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Inder Mohan Singh was seen at Kaljharani on the Bathinda-Badal road to monitor the situation. Vehicles carrying water cannons were also deployed but the protesters remained peaceful and dispersed after handing over a memorandum to the SDM. The Youth Congress activists carried lanterns and hand fans to protest against the erratic power supply in the state. They demanded that the government should roll back the power tariff hike. Chaudhary said industrialists were shifting to neighbouring states because of the “unfriendly” attitude of the Badal government. The government had no money to pay salaries to its employees and, hence, was disposing of its properties to raise funds. Central funds were being diverted, he alleged. Chaudhary also lashed out at the SAD-BJP government for bestowing the title of “Zinda Shaheed (Living Martyr)” on those who had assassinated Beant Singh, raising Operation Bluestar Memorial and eulogising the kin of Indira Gandhi’s
assassins.
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Additional Levies
Longowal (Sangrur), August 26 Speaking at a function here today to observe the death anniversary of Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, PPP president Manpreet Badal said with tax burden on the common man already high, the Sanjha Morcha would not allow the government to impose fresh taxes. Manpreet asked the people to gear up for a “jail bharo andolan”. Sitaram Yechury, CPM Politburo member, said initiating a struggle in the larger interests of Punjab would be a befitting tribute to Sant Longowal. He said the Sanjha Morcha would work for building a better Punjab with improved services in health and education. Sanjha Morcha patron Surjit Singh Barnala talked of his association with Sant Longowal. He criticised those who had opposed the Rajiv-Longowal accord which, he said, was relevant till date. Joginder Dayal of the CPI said Sant Longowal had played a major role in keeping the country together. Others present were SAD (Longowal) president Surjit Kaur Barnala, Baldev Singh Mann, former MLA Gaganjit Singh Barnala, PPP leader Bhagwant Mann, CPI state secretary Bant Singh Brar, CPM state secretary Charan Singh Virdi and PPP leader Abhey Sandhu.
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Govt to promote pvt rural schools
Chandigarh, August 26 Private schools will be given land free of cost in return for free education to at least 30 per cent students. The government will not bear any financial liability for the project. The government has received positive response from certain villages, offering land for schools in return for quality education for village children. The development follows meetings with certain private schools. Sources said the government had held discussions with St Soldiers, Educomp and certain other institutions. Confirming the development, Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka said: “We will encourage private institutions to open schools in rural and semi-urban areas with 30 per cent reservation for poor and local students”. Earlier, the SAD-BJP government had opened 42 Adarsh schools during its previous tenure with the help of 17 private parties. Panchayats of various villages had provided land free of cost for schools. There have been allegations of financial irregularities, under-payment to staff and mismanagement of these schools. The matter is currently being investigated by Director General of Secondary Education Kahan Singh Pannu. The state has thus kept itself out of any financial aspect of running the institutions in the proposed project. A government schoolteacher said: “The authorities need to concentrate on government and Adarsh schools before experimenting with new ideas”.
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Wisconsin
Gurdwara Shootout Fatehgarh Sahib, August 26 Shubeg Singh and his wife Nachhattar Kaur had shifted to the US in 2000. Lashing out at the state government, local Congress MLA Kuljeet Singh Nagra said except for issuing statements, it had done nothing for the families of the victims. He said senior ministers or government officials should have visited the family in their hour of grief. Brahm Mohindra, Congress MLA, Patiala (Rural), said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the UPA chairperson had urged the US to ensure the security of all Punjabis living there. Shubeg’s son Iqbal Singh thanked the gathering. He said no government representative had visited the family at their Patiala residence to pay condolences. Panchayat Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra’s message, describing Shubeg Singh as a pious man who strictly followed the path shown by the Sikh Gurus and who enjoyed immense goodwill among the Sikhs in Wisconsin, was read out to the bereaved family. Head Granthi Sukhdev Sing of Gurdwara Dukh Niwaran Sahib, Patiala, offered a siropa to Shubeg Singh’s son Iqbal Singh. Among others who paid tributes to the deceased were former SGPC president Kirpal Singh Badungar, SAD general secretary Prem Singh Chandumajra, former Fatehgarh Sahib MLA Didar Singh Bhatti and Kuldeep Kaur Tohra.
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Patiala man murdered in US
Patiala, August 26 The victim’s brother-in-law Harcharan Singh, a resident of Vidya Nagar near Punjabi Universit here, said they had been informed by their relatives in the US that Kashmir Singh, who owned a convenience store, was attacked by unidentified men. Kashmir Singh suffered head injuries and died on way to hospital. Harcharan Singh said the assailants took away cash from the store. The victim, a truck driver, shifted to the US in 1995.
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UK ex-minister’s daughter turns devout Sikh London, August 26 Alexandra Aitken's new look — a spear clutched in one hand, a bag of bananas in the other, a dagger slung over her white tunic and iPod headphones tucked beneath a white and purple turban — is a far cry from the tight dresses she favoured in her days as an 'It' girl around London, the Mail Online reported. The 32-year-old Alexandra took her family, including twin Victoria, by surprise when she announced in January last year that she was marrying a Sikh warrior. She also changed her name to Uttrang Kaur Khalsa. She had first spotted Inderjot Singh in 2009 when she was practising yoga at the Golden Temple in Amritsar before meeting him on a second visit. Their wedding was arranged with such haste that her parents were unable to attend. On her website, Alexandra says she lives with Nihang Sikhs — the sect to which her husband (Inderjot Singh) belongs — but is staying at an ashram run by a sect of yoga Sikhs in the village of Bani in Punjab. — PTI
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Rickshaw-puller’s son sings success note
Ferozepur, August 26 Son of Charat Singh, a rickshaw-puller, 24-year-old Anantpal has no formal training in music. The family belongs to Malwal Jadid village on the Ferozepur-Moga road. Having studied in the village school up to Class V, Anantpal helped his father in household chores after the demise of his mother 12 years ago and even did some menial jobs to make both ends meet. Despite these hardships, he did not leave his passion for singing. “I used to sing at school functions and on religious occasions. I never had an opportunity to show my talent before a large audience, including who’s who of the Punjabi music world,” said a gleaming Anantpal. On his role model, Ananatpal said: “I admire Feroz Khan and Sardul Sikander. They are my favorite Punjabi singers”. Thousands of aspiring singers had given auditions for this show. Out of them, 64 had qualified for the quarter finals. Earlier, Anantpal was accorded a warm welcome by his friends and villagers on his arrival here this morning.
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Furnaces begin indefinite strike
Ludhiana, August 26 Members of the Induction Furnaces Association, North India said the Gujarat Government had already invited them to visit the state and explore business avenues there. Dev Gupta, general secretary of Induction Furnace Association of North India, said Induction Furnace industry was one of the most prominent among all the major sectors like steel, rolling mills, cycle and cycle parts and auto-parts. "Government needs to protect our interests. The industry in Punjab is already facing many hardships and by introducing e-billing, which entails a cumbersome filing process, state government is putting additional burden on it," Gupta said. "The state has no policy for industry and power-supply here is minimal. Moreover to our disadvantage, we are quite a distance away from the ports," he added. Dev said they were keenly looking at investing in Gujarat. "We have accepted Gujarat's invitation and are soon sending a delegation of 20 people to the state." The 200 induction furnaces and 300 steel rolling mills in Punjab meets 75 per cent demand of its small and medium enterprises.
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State exchequer stands to lose Rs 400 crore
Ludhiana, August 26 Upset over the introduction of e-billing system by the Excise and Taxation Department, Punjab, over 200 furnace units went on a strike on Sunday. KK Garg, president of the association of North India, KK Garg said it was not just the furnace industry but also forging, cycle parts and auto parts industry that would bear losses as these sectors were dependent on them. "Closing our industry for just one day costs the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) Rs 20 crore; the Excise Department Rs 30-40 crore, as we pay excise duty at the rate of 12 per cent and the state government Rs 15 crore in terms of VAT collection. The ball is in the government's court now. It is up to them to seize the initiative,"
said Garg. He said the Induction Furnace Industry had set the deadline of August 28 until when the government had to take a decision on the matter. "We now want decisions and not assurances from the government. If our demands are not met, we will move our industry to Gujarat," said
Garg.
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Withdraw development fund levy: Rice millers
Seeking a complete withdrawal of PIDF, they say the imposition of this tax will have a multiplying effect on rice, which the industry willnot be able to bear. It may be noted that the state government had introduced the PIDF six years ago at the rate of 1 per cent. It was hiked to 3 per cent in 2010. However, because most of the rice shellers in the state were exporting rice or involved in intra-state trade, they were not liable to pay the PIDF. But over the past two months, the state government is undertaking an exercise of summary assessment of all rice mills with a three-year retrospective effect. Ashok Grover, a rice sheller owner from Jalalabad, said the levy of PIDF had led to disparity in taxation with the neighbouring states. “The tax levied on rice shellers is 12 per cent in Punjab. This includes 5 per cent purchase tax, 2 per cent each market committee fee and rural development fund and 3 per cent PIDF. In Haryana, there is no PIDF and the total tax liability of rice shellers is
9 per cent. In Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan, no tax is imposed on the rice industry while Delhi rice millers pay just 1.5 per cent market fee. Thus, we are losing out on business as we do not have a level playing field,” he said. The Punjab Government has already exempted flour mills from all kinds of taxes, including the PIDF, to encourage wheat-based and other agro-processing industries. The rice millers, too, are demanding similar benefits in order to remain economically viable.
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Rs 150 crore approved for highways
Chandigarh, August 26 PWD minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon said the budget was approved in a high-level meeting held here to review the status of the ongoing construction work of 4/6 lane roads in the state. Dhillon said the construction work of the highways, including Shambhu-Jalandhar, Pathankot-Amrtisar, Ludhiana-Talwandi Bhai and Bhogpur-Mukerian, was on full swing and these highways would become operational by the end of March 2014. He said the Punjab Government had also directed the contractors and PWD officials to expedite the construction work of nine high-level bridges. The bridges would be made operational by December 2013.
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Don’t raise retirement age, say employees
Patiala, August 26 Baldev Singh Sran, president of the association said jobs in distribution, transmission and generation fields of the power sector are physically taxing. Young people are well equipped to meet this
challenge. "Moreover, our sector is witnessing rapid technological changes and we need to induct fresh blood into it to attain a healthy mix of experience and youth," he said. "Besides, the youth of the state will be denied employment opportunities in the near future if the retirement age of our employees is raised from 58 to 60 years," president of the association, Baldev Singh Sran added.
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DGSE: Check eve-teasing
Chandigarh, August 26 A communication in this regard has been sent to all government schools. It said teachers needed to ensure that no girl was troubled once the school was over. Underlining the seriousness of the issue, the communication mentioned that in case hooligans did not listen, the teachers should call the police at once. As a precautionary measur, the schools have been asked to send girls out of classes at least 15 minutes before boys.
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Couple among 4 held in Moga passport scam
Moga, August 26 A case has been registered against five persons at the Baghapurana police station in the district. One accused is still at large. SSP Surjit Singh Grewal said a retired army official, Subedar Charan Singh, had complained to the police that Monika and her husband Jaspal Singh, both residents of Baghapurana, along with two travel agents and a mediator duped him of Rs 4.5 lakh on the pretext of sending his two daughters to Malaysia on work permit. The accused had deserted the sisters in a hotel in New Delhi after taking away their passports.
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200 kg poppy husk recovered
Patiala, August 26 The police confiscated the contraband and the car. Gurpreet Singh Gill, Senior Superintendent of Police, Patiala, said the CIA team tried to stop the car near village Hajipur main road. "But, the driver didn't stop the vehicle and turned towards Hajipur village where he abandoned the car," he said. The police team recovered 5 bags full of poppy husk, which was later weighed to be around 2 quintals. "On the basis of the documents from the car, we have booked Tarsem Singh from Fatehgarh Sahib and Malook Chand from Bakhshiwal village," Gill said.
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Sex racket busted
Patiala, August 26 The police arrested Baljit Kaur, Parveen Kaur and Gurpreet Singh from the spot and are investigating the matter. Police said Baljit Kaur ran the racket from the house and had many clients in the city and nearby villages.
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Furnaces begin indefinite strike
Chandigarh, August 26