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Year on, officials yet to get payment
Abohar MC chief not inclined to quit
Ultrasound centre in-charge slaps SDM
PAC members from Rajasthan visit Indira Gandhi Canal
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Visiting Pak VIP’s native village getting facelift
Less rainfall may have little effect on produce in Muktsar
105 kg poppy husk seized
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Socio-economic & caste Census
Muktsar, September 11 In September 2011, the Central Government had embarked upon a massive socio-economic and caste census to identify the below poverty line (BPL) families and to ascertain the caste status of the population. The state governments were given the responsibility to conduct the exercise. The deputy commissioners were made the principal census officers for rural and urban centres. Talking to The Tribune, a number of employees engaged for the census, said they were told they would be paid Rs 4,500 for each block and three to five blocks were assigned to one person. “But even after a year, our remunerations have not been paid. We have made a number of rounds to the District Administrative Complex (DAC), but the problem has not been resolved,” said an enumerator. He further said the problem of distributing the remuneration was mainly in the rural areas. When contacted, Deputy Commissioner, Muktsar, Paramjit Singh, said, “I have confirmed from my subordinate staff that some employees engaged to do the job have not been paid their remuneration as yet. But the money has been sanctioned and it would be paid to them shortly.” He further said the enumerators and supervisors appointed for the census were also responsible for the delay as they did not submit the details well in time. |
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Abohar MC chief not inclined to quit
Abohar, September 11 Interestingly, Goyal had on September 3, lambasted the state government for not paying heed to his demand for appointing a full-time executive officer, municipal engineer and other technical staff to maintain the sewerage and water supply system. He had told a section of the media that he would quit on September 10 if the state government failed to fulfill his long-pending demands by September 8. Later, when president Goyal convened a meeting of the council on September 5, after a gap of more than three months, 21 out of the 29 councillors refused to confirm the proceedings of the previous meeting held on April 26 and expressed their lack of confidence in him. The state government had appointed a naib tehsildar as observer for the crucial meeting. A section of the BJP and SAD leaders urged Goyal to quit on moral grounds but he did not budge. Now, Shivraj Goyal is not inclined to quit as he says one of the demands has been accepted. The state government has shifted a sub-divisional office of the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board (PWSSB) here. The PWSSB officials, when contacted, clarified that their job is only to supervise the ongoing construction projects that includes the laying of a pipeline to connect the sewerage disposal works with Sayeedwala drain located at a distance of 8 km. Since the municipal council had not passed the annual maintenance budget submitted by the PWSSB, they cannot be expected to take up the cleaning of the sewerage system that was lying choked for the last six months. |
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Ultrasound centre in-charge slaps SDM
Abohar, September 11 As per the available information, SDM Parkash Rajpurohit headed the sub-divisional committee constituted under the PNDT Act. During the inspection at an ultrasound centre located near Sukhadia Circle, as the team asked the in-charge to explain how some columns in Form F had been left blank while conducting the ultrasound test of a patient, he allegedly lost his temper and slapped the SDM and fled after pushing away the other officials. Cops from Jawahar Nagar police station arrived on receiving the information and assisted the team in seizing the ultrasound machine. The police also registered a case against the doctor in charge. Earlier, two machines were seized at an ultrasound centre located on the Gagan Path as the inspecting team found that no specialist had been employed by the owner after the previous licensee had quit the job. |
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PAC members from Rajasthan visit Indira Gandhi Canal
Abohar, September 11 PAC chairman Gulab Chand Kataria, former Home Minister and members like parliamentary secretary Kanhaiya Lal Jhanwar, Devi Singh Bhaati, Mohan Lal Gupta, Amra Ram and Bansi Dhar Shandilaya were told by the progressive farmers of Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh districts that the outlived lining of the Ferozepur Feeder needs to be replaced. The Central Government had sanctioned Rs 900 crore for the project but the state governments concerned (Rajasthan and Punjab) are not serious about it, said the farmers. The farmers regretted that the Punjab Government had not taken steps to check the siphoning of water from the Gang (Bikaner) canal and allowed functioning of tubewells on the land owned by Rajasthan government on both sides of the canal. Rajasthan Kisan Sangharsh Samiti spokesman Subhash Sehgal regretted that Rajasthan had not revised the annual maintenance charges payable to the Punjab irrigation department for the canals originating from Ferozepur headworks and Hari Ke barrage for the last 10 years even when the labour rate and the cost of material had gone up. |
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Visiting Pak VIP’s native village getting facelift
Fazilka, September 11 Watto is also a former chief minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province. “We will be glad to welcome the Pakistan minister to our border village,” said the sarpanch Desa Singh. The civil administration is in working overtime in making preparations to welcome the visiting dignitaries. According to available information, during his visit to the village, Watto will meet 75-year-old Taro Bai and her two sons Joginder Singh and Mohinder Singh. He will also meet Ram Chand Kamboj and his family members who are reportedly living in the house believed to be the ancestral house and the place of birth of Watto. “We purchased part of this house 23 years back from Sher Amir Singh Sachdeva of Fazilka who had migrated from Pakistan at the time of partition and had been allotted this house,” said Taro Bai. It is stated that the present houses occupied by Taro Bai, Ram Chand and yet another family comprise parts of the area of about six kanal of land held by the Watto family in the pre-partition days. A haveli existed there but now there is only one room which is believed to be the only structure in which the Watto family lived. The other dilapidated parts were reportedly demolished and the houses of Taro Bai and Ram Chand Kamboj were built in due course at the site. In Mauzam village, there exists a small mosque that was constructed in 1934 where the Muslims, including the Watto family, offered prayers. The mosque, now defunct, is now in possession of Bakho Bai and is used to store straw. Since Mauzam is at a distance of about 4 kms from the town along the Zero Line in a flood-prone area, it has remained underdeveloped. “If there is moderate to heavy rain, the entire village virtually turns into a pond with no effective drainage system,” said a village elder Jangir Singh. The rural populace, most of them belonging to the Rai Sikh community, lives in penury. There are about 750 houses in the village. There are heaps of garbage lying on the streets and roads. The administration, in a bid to welcome the foreign dignitary, is making all efforts to spruce up the village. |
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Paddy season
Muktsar, September 11 Chief Agriculture Officer (CAO), Muktsar, Beant Singh said, "We are expecting nearly 5 lakh metric tonnes of paddy in Muktsar district. The less rainfall has, so far, just decreased the expected yield by up to 4 quintal per hectare." "Though the unfavourable weather increased the expenses of farmers forcing them to buy diesel to run the tubewells, yet most of the crop has been saved and the harvesting will start on October 1. The total area brought under the cultivation of paddy crop is about 95,000 hectare in the district. Similarly, the harvesting of basmati will start on October 15." Speaking further, the CAO said, "On an average, we are expecting nearly 45 quintals of paddy from one hectare which last year was at 48 quintals per hectare." Meanwhile, the district administration has also started preparations for the purchase of paddy crop. Chairing a meeting of the officials of all procuring agencies, Deputy Commissioner, Muktsar, Paramjit Singh, directed setting up of 117 purchase centres in the district. "The commission agents have been told to make all arrangements for the timely purchase of paddy. Each commission agent will install two power cleaners in the mandi. The arrangements for power genset and tarpaulin for sheds would also be made by the commission agents," said the Deputy Commissioner. He further said there were a total of 147 rice shellers in the district. So, there would be no problem in the storage of the purchased paddy crop. The agriculture department also appealed to the farmers to harvest their crop only when it matures completely. |
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Abohar, September 11 It is learnt that cops led by ASI Gurmeet Singh intercepted a white Maruti Zen car (DL4 E0221) near village Kundal on the Abohar-Muktsar road. One of its occupants managed to flee while two others were taken into custody. The police recovered three bags of poppy husk weighing 105 kg during the search. The occupants, identified as Gursewak Singh and Suraj Singh of Dhaani Kundal have been arrested under Sections 15/61/85 of the NDPS Act. They had smuggled poppy husk from the neighbouring Sadulshehar of Sriganganagar district. — OC |
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