|
|
|
|
|
Khanna factory FIRE
Govt to give Rs 1 lakh relief to victims’ kin
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Unit owner faints at sight of loss
Most units have inferior boilers
25% use black oil
Two labourers die at PGI
Lucky duo who escaped unhurt
Samaritans join rescue efforts
Gram panchayat locks school gate
Sarpanch Gurnam Singh locks the gate of Government High School in Jhaloor village in Lehragaga as students stage a dharna. A Tribune photograph
Govt issues directions on NRI seats
Transfers result in chaos
Govt may create specialists’ cadre
Land acquisition: CBI registers FIR
CERC issues show cause notice to MD
Engineers advise govt to appoint experts for IT project
CM: Exempt more area from PLPA
Review tubewell policy, power corporation told
Ropar residents submit memo on toll issue
Russian realtors tell Sukhbir they want to invest in Punjab
Board officials lend ear to teachers’ grievances
Husan Lal, chairman and education secretary, (left) listens to teachers’ grievances at the office of Punjab School Education Board in Mohali on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Parvesh Chauhan
Mayors’ conclave will be a meeting of minds
Frame fresh tubewell policy, Badal tells power corp
Cartoonist is innocent, say residents
Plan to bring animals from Pak scrapped
Meet future needs, NHAI told
Case transfer: HC issues notice on Captain’s plea
Man murdered
1 kg opium seized in Deon
|
Khanna factory FIRE
Khanna, September 12 Yashpal, Fire Officer, was the first to reach the spot along with his team of 40 firefighters. "We started the rescue operation at 12:30 am and managed to control the fire by 4 am. But the fire reoccurred at 8 am and fire tenders were again pressed into service. Our main aim was to control the fire from spreading further else it would have spread to the whole focal point," said Yashpal. "I have never seen such huge flames in my entire career. The smell of hexane gas was causing nausea. The burning of rice bran and coal also added to the heat. Some firefighters received burns due to extreme heat," he said. Khanna SSP Ravcharan Brar, SP (Detective) Bhupinder Singh and DSP Pirthipal Singh also reached the spot. Nearly 70 policemen reached the spot and cordoned the entire area for a smooth conduct of the rescue operation. Ludhiana DIG MF Farooqui and Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tiwari also reached the spot to supervise the operation. "We had a tough time controlling the crowd that gathered at the fire site following a huge explosion," said Pirthpal Singh. Jasdeep Singh, incharge, 108 ambulance service, said: "We sent four ambulances from Ludhiana right after getting information about the mishap. The ambulances took the injured to the PGI, Chandigarh".
|
|
Govt to give Rs 1 lakh relief to victims’ kin
Chandigarh September 12 He also asked the Ludhiana district administration to provide the best medical treatment to the injured free of cost and make
necessary arrangements for the transportation of the bodies. The Chief Minister announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 1 lakh to the next of the kin of the deceased and a financial assistance of Rs 25,000 for the seriously injured. The Chief Minister also expressed sympathies with members of the bereaved families
|
||
|
Unit owner faints at sight of loss
Khanna, September 12 A diabetes patient, Naval fainted a couple of times on seeing his unit engulfed in flames. "I got a call last night from a worker who was crying profusely. I sensed that something wrong had taken place at the factory. I rushed to the factory along with my family. What I saw cannot be explained in words," he said. "The factory workers are like my family members. I am aggrieved over the death of some workers. Since last night, I and my family members are making arrangements for the treatment of injured workers. I will take care of the kin of those who lost their life," he added.
|
||
|
Industrial safety a casualty
Ludhiana, September 12 Visits by officials of the Labour Department or the Director, Factories, are seen as a mere formality by industrialists. Mona Puri, Labour Commissioner, said it was the duty of the Director, Factories, to check fire safety measures and other security arrangements in factories. The Labour Department had nothing to do with it, she said. Jatinder Singh Bhatti, Deputy Director, Factories, said they conducted checks in factories every month. "We visit at least 20 factories every month to take stock of safety measures". When asked if the department has the data of defaulters, Bhatti said the department had been facing a shortage of staff. "There are just six officers. There are more than 2,000 factories in my jurisdiction over four circles of Ludhiana. We have to see the maps of new factories, visit and approve the sites etc. We hardly get time to thoroughly check the safety arrangements," Bhatti said. Several industrialists admit that barring a few, many establishments do not care for industrial safety. Badish K Jindal, president, Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association, said only junior officials from the Industries and Labour departments visited the factories and that too to collect a "monthly fee". "Their visits are just eyewash. The officials never give us any advice. They do not bother about the safety measures or the security of workers. They get their money and prepare the reports accordingly. Under such circumstances, mishaps are bound to take place," he alleged.
|
||
|
Most units have inferior boilers
Ludhiana, September 12 Though Punjab Director of Boilers Satbir Singh denies that a poor quality boiler led to the blast, the tattered boiler at the site raises many questions. Satbir Singh said: "After visiting the site, I found that the incident occurred due to a leakage of hexane gas. The boiler has nothing to do with the blast". Industrial units which use boilers need to get their licence renewed every year from the Jalandhar-based office of the Director of Boilers. Bobby Jindal, general secretary, Punjab Dyers Association, said: "Ludhiana has the maximum number of boilers, but there is no designated authority in the district to issue and renew licences". "Many factory owners employ unskilled or casual workers to operate boilers. This practice needs to be checked. Only a qualified person should be appointed to operate a boiler and the Industries Department should conduct raids to check the menace,” said Badish Jindal, president, Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association.
|
||
|
25% use black oil
Ludhiana, September 12 A businessman, who is into the sale and purchase of boilers in Ludhiana for more than a decade, said the black oil or pet coke was a high temperature fuel. “When used in boilers, the risk factor of bursting of boiler increases manifolds. Still, people use it. Boilers are used in many industries including paper, rubber, dyeing, oil mills, solvent plants etc and the production increases if these oils are used instead of steam coke or rice husk,” said the industrialist. “Since there was 8 per cent of sulphur content in pet coke, 3 per cent had to be discharged by using lime powder, but industrialists preferred not to use lime powder as they don’t get proper ‘efficiency’ from the boilers,” he said. “With the result, boilers get rusted, which affects other accessories. In extreme cases, the boilers explode. There needs to be a check on the use of black oil as several workers have lost lives in various such incidents,” added a manufacturer.
|
||
|
Two labourers die at PGI
Chandigarh, September 12 Doctors and surgeons at the PGI's Advanced Trauma Care had a trying time in treating the victims, most of who have suffered severe burn injuries. Of the two deceased, one could not be identified. The other was identified as 18-year-old Vijay, a Bihar resident. Vijay was the youngest of the total 70 workers employed in the factory. "Vijay had recently joined the factory. He wanted to financially support his family," said Udan Mandal, a factory worker who accompanied the victims to PGI. The paramedical staff and senior surgeons are continuously monitoring the condition of the victims. But they said their chances of survival were bleak. "The burn injuries are intense. By the time the victims were brought to the hospital, the burns had severely damaged the skin of most of them," said an official at the trauma centre. The victims were first taken to Rajindra Hospital in Patiala, but they were referred to the PGI in view of their grave injuries. "The patients should have been brought directly to the PGI. It could have ensured timely treatment to them," said a nurse. Efforts to contact victims’ families Hailing from different villages across Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the victims had joined the factory a few years ago with hopes of supporting their families back home. While 13 of these are battling for their life at the PGIMER and GMCH, their families are unaware of their condition. With their mobile phones and other documents like BPL cards destroyed in the fire, their fellow workers are struggling to contact the families of the victims. "Some of these are from Bihar while others belong to UP. We are unable to find the contact numbers. We are now trying to get access to the records available with the factory manager," said a worker. The victims brought to Chandigarh hospitals are identified as Pawan, Kundan, Gurbachan, Janardhan, Umesh, Manohar, Ravi, Rajinder Mondal, Manjit Singh, Gurnaib Singh, Chaman Lal, Vijay, Gobind, Manover and Akram.
|
||
|
Lucky duo who escaped unhurt
Khanna, September 12 After visiting the Civil Hospital in Khanna to enquire about his friend Arun, who sustained burn injuries, Raja Babu said, “Fortunately, I was on day duty. Otherwise I would have also met the same fate. But I feel sad for those who died in the fire incident. At the same time, I am thankful to god for saving my life.” Arjun said, “I had left the factory unit only an hour before the blast. As soon as I reached my quarters, I learnt about the explosion. Now I do not want to go for work there. I am scared.”
|
||
|
Samaritans join rescue efforts
Khanna, September 12 Sukhdev Insan, who was heading the team of rescue workers, said, “Men, who came from areas including Payal, Mandi Gobindgarh, Amloh and Samrala, reached the accident site at 1 am and helped the firefighters in the rescue operations.” They cleared the debris of the factory to make way for the firefighters to reach the victims. Yashpal, a fire officer, commended the efforts of workers of the welfare force. “The workers were disciplined and well-trained. They made the job easy for us,” he added. Meanwhile, the injured and the dead were rushed to the Khanna Civil Hospital. Bhajan Singh, mortuary in charge, and Avtar Singh, security in charge, were busy rushing the injured and the dead to the hospital. Bhajan Singh said, “Soon after receiving the call, I made necessary arrangements at the mortuary during midnight. The bodies were badly mutilated. As the victims were mostly migrants, nobody arrived at the hospital to claim the bodies.” Avtar Singh said, “Each and every moment was crucial for factory labourers, who sustained severe burns.” Kashmir Kaur, the staff nurse at the Khanna Civil Hospital, along with her colleagues remained on the toes since the accident victims started arriving. “We have not slept since last night. Those who were serious were referred to the PGI.”
|
||
Amarinder: Govt fooling people on Metro project
Batala, September 12 Addressing a workers’ meeting organised by Fatehgarh Churian MLA Tripit Rajinder Singh Bajwa here, a livid Amarinder accused Majithia of getting 580 “false” cases registered against Congress workers in his assembly segment. He warned that if the cases were not withdrawn, he and his supporters would lay a siege to the main police station at Majithia. The PPCC chief said the police, which worked directly under the supervision of Sukhbir Badal, had failed to maintain law and order. Dera Baba Nanak MLA Sukhjinder Randhawa said no person was safe on the streets of Gurdaspur because of a spurt in the incidents of chain-snatching. Amarinder said Sukhbir was befooling the public by saying that the SAD-BJP Government would complete the Ludhiana Metro project in the next four years. “The project is worth Rs 30,000 crore and according to experts, it will be completed in 25 years. How can the Deputy Chief Minister claim that the project would be completed within four years? Even the New Delhi Metro project took 25 years to take a concrete shape,” Amarinder said. The PCC chief was accompanied by Congress Legislature Party Leader Sunil Jakhar, Youth Congress chief Vikram Chowdhury, Ashwani Sekri, Aruna Chowdhury, Raman Bahl, Fatehjung Singh Bajwa, Dr SS Nijjar and Ravinder Sharma, former Chairman of Punjab Agro Industries. Substantiate charge, Majithia to Capt Chandigarh: Punjab Revenue Minister and SAD youth wing president Bikram Singh Majithia today challenged Amarinder Singh to prove his allegations that 500 “false” cases had been registered in the Majitha constituency. In a statement here, Majithia said he was ready to resign from the Cabinet if Amarinder proved the charge. He said prior to the assembly elections, the PCC president had claimed that 50,000 false cases had been registered against Congress workers. Majithia denied that he had prevailed upon marriage palace owners not to let out their premises for the Congress dharna at Majitha yesterday. He said the PCC president was feeling frustrated because voters of Majitha had shunned the Congress dharna. He said the protest by Congress activist Shailender Shally had attracted more numbers that the dharna organised by the PCC chief. It was ironic that the Congress had held the dharna at one of the smallest villages in the constituency - Gopalpura. In a separate statement, Rampal Sharma, president of the Brahmin Sabha of Gopalpura, which manages the affairs of the village temple where the Congress dharna was held, criticised the party for “trying to show temple devotees as its supporters.”
|
|
Gram panchayat locks school gate
Sangrur, September 12 Led by village sarpanch Gurnam Singh, the protesters locked the main schoolgate and held a rally. They later blocked the Lehra-Patran road for four hours. They raised slogans against the state government, the Education Minister, and the district education authorities for not ensuring adequate staff strength. There are only two teachers for 223 students studying in classes VI, VII, VII, IX and X. The post of Headmaster is lying vacant. There are no teachers for English, maths, social studies, science and Hindi. Sarpanch Gurnam Singh said they had been compelled to lock the schoolgate as their pleas to the authorities concerned had gone unheard. He said the village panchayat, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan), the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union, the village youth club and parents of students had decided to keep the school locked till 2 pm. The BKU (Ugrahan) leader, Balbir Singh Jhaloor, said they had met the District Education Officer (Secondary), Sangrur, about a week ago and told her that if the school was not provided adequate staff, they would lock the school and organise a road blockade. The District Education Officer said she had sent the case to the higher authorities and was hopeful that the school would get at least two more teachers. She said transfer orders had already been issued to one teacher.
|
|
|
Govt issues directions on NRI seats
Chandigarh, September 12 The government decision allowing shifting of vacant seats in the NRI quota for medical and dental colleges in the state to the management quota had come as a shock to students. A spokesperson in the Chief Minister’s office said there were 63 MBBS seats and 175 BDS seats lying vacant under the NRI quota in 10 medical and 14 dental colleges in the state. He said all NRI quota seats that remained vacant after September 15 must be filled as per the PMET merit list. “Private colleges have made a mockery of the admission process by ignoring meritorious students in the open category who should have got the vacant seats. Instead, the government has allowed black-marketing of seats,” said a senior official, pleading anonymity
|
|
|
Transfers result in chaos
Chandigarh, September 12 More than 500 teachers have visited education officials in the capital complaining that the schools they had been shifted to did not exist. In some cases, more than two teachers have been posted at the same school. In one case three teachers have been posted at a Sangrur school. Outside the room of the Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka is a signboard that says ‘Transfers are closed’. The teachers are complaining on the basis of the list of transfers on the official website. The list of computer teachers alone has 23 names. Minakshi Rani has been transferred from Government High School, Kadial, Kanchan Bala from GHS, Mojowal, and Gurinderpal Singh from Govt Sr Sec School, Raidharana Shadihari, to the lone post of a computer teacher at Govt High School, Chatha Nanheda. In another case, Geetika Joshi, GSSS, Talwandi Sondha in Amritsar, has received transfer orders for two schools -GSSS, Chehrata, and GSSS, Town Hall. Pankaj Loona serving at Arniwal in Fazilka has been transferred to Senior Secondary (Boys) School in Fazilka which has no vacancy. When approached, the Education Minister said: “there are certain mistakes in the transfer orders which are being looked into. The errors have primarily occurred because teachers have given two or more choices for a posting.” Meanwhile, the government has decided not to transfer six teachers in Mohali district who had shown zero per cent results. Maluka said the transfers had been held back because “our basic purpose was to warn the teachers and tell them that their performance was under scrutiny.”
Mindless Exercise MINISTERSPEAK
|
|
|
Towards Better Healthcare
Specialists had been reluctant to join the government healthcare system because of poor salaries. Also, they were resentful for being treated on a par with MBBS doctors. That is why the government could recruit only 23 doctors against 147 posts in 2008 and 40 against 110 posts in 2009. In 2011, the government tried to woo specialists by offering them a posting of their choice, but to no avail. As of now, there are 60 vacant posts in anaesthesia, 48 in gynaecology, 39 in medicine, 127 in paediatrics, 37 in radiology, 23 each in psychiatry and surgery, eight in pathology, nine in orthopaedics, five in TB, four in ophthalmology and two each in dermatology and community medicine. A government doctor at the trauma centre gets a consolidated salary of Rs 43,000 per month. A specialist under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) gets Rs 40,000 per month and Rs 5,000 more in a difficult area. In comparison to this, a specialist in the private sector gets a salary of at least Rs 1 lakh a month. There are certain private hospitals which are known to be paying orthopaedists and radiologists Rs 2 lakh per month and even more. Health Minister Madan Mohan Mittal said: “To rectify the situation, a proposal for a special cadre for specialists will be placed before the Cabinet for a final decision”. The Director Health Services, Dr JP Singh, said the authorities were seized of the matter. The president of the Punjab chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Dr Shiv Dutt, said: “Certain specialists are getting a pay package of Rs 25 lakh per year and even more. The government will have to give major incentives to attract doctors to a government job, particularly in areas which are away from major towns and cities”. He said since government doctors were paid poor salaries and had no job incentives, they were unwilling to be posted in rural areas.
|
|
|
Land acquisition: CBI registers FIR
Chandigarh, September 12 The development is significant as the Punjab Government paid a compensation of about Rs 8.67crore within days of the land being purchased by the families for just over Rs 1.50 crore. Ordering the probe, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had last month set a one-month deadline for the premier investigating agency to complete the inquiry. The High Court had also made it clear that it would be monitoring the progress in the probe. As the case was taken up this morning, counsel for the CBI informed the Bench that an FIR in the matter had been registered. He sought an additional three months for completing the probe. The Bench of Acting Chief Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain extended the deadline by a month and fixed the case for October 11. In a petition filed in public interest, Jarnail Singh and three other residents of Mandi Khurd village in Bathinda had demanded an inquiry into the acquisition of land for engineered sanitary landfill facility. The petitioners, through counsel Ramandeep Singh Pandher, had alleged that a decision was taken to acquire land in Mundi Khurd village for setting up the project after a land survey was conducted on February 10 last year. In the meantime, most of the land was purchased by Yadwinder Singh and two other politically influential families for Rs 1.59 crore. A compensation of about Rs 8.67crore was later paid to acquire the land. The petitioner placed reliance on news reports stating Yadvinder Singh was district president of the Ludhiana Youth Akali Dal and a close associate of Revenue and Public Relations Minister Bikram Singh
Majithia.
|
|
|
CERC issues show cause notice to MD
Patiala, September 12 The Commission has threatened to penalise both the officials and have sought an explanation from them. CERC had issued clear instructions to curb overdrawing of power and to comply with the directions of the Northern Regional Load Despatch Centre
(NRLDC).
|
|
|
Engineers advise govt to appoint experts for IT project
Patiala, September 12 The state government had recently announced that Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) was all set to expand the scope of call centers and customer care services, under its project of IT implementation, in 47 towns of Punjab with a population of more than 30,000. Association president and general secretary Baldev Singh Sran and Sanjeev Sood said the project has not been able to achieve the desired results in Patiala and Mohali among other places. “Our association demands that the project should immediately be handed over to a group of expert engineers from the distribution, billing and IT fields, who could steer it successfully on the ground,” Sran and Sood said.
|
|
|
CM: Exempt more area from PLPA
Chandigarh, September 12 In a meeting with the top brass of the Forest Department here, the chief minister was briefed that the department had delisted 1.4 lakh acres of cultivated and inhabited area from PLPA. Badal directed the top brass to immediately depute one officer each to be designated as Project Officer for ensuring responsive and proper coordination among all the departments concernedto carry out various development works like provision of drinking water, sewerage, electricity, irrigation and road-network facilities in sub mountainous areas. The Chief Minister also announced the setting up of a Timber Market at Balachour for which modalities would be chalked out soon. He also informed that Under Kandi Canal Stage-I project, government would undertake the work of laying underground irrigation pipes in this area. He directed the Irrigation department to expedite the survey work so that the project could be completed in the current fiscal year. He further said more sites would be identified to construct check dams in Kandi area to introduce Drip Irrigation and Sprinkler systems.
|
|
|
Review tubewell policy, power corporation told
Chandigarh, September 12 A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister to review issues related to the welfare of farmers. On the issue of pending arrears of Rs 357 crore on account of tubewell bills relating to the period when tariff was imposed on the farm sector, the Chief Minister was informed that the state government had reimbursed the money to PSPCL on this count. Regarding the issue of land acquisition for Gobindpura thermal plant in Mansa district, Badal told the officials concerned that the process of giving a job to an eligible member of the family whose land had been acquired should be expedited. Likewise, the compensation package of Rs 3 lakh for the family of landless labourers should also be granted forthwith. Badal also called for a quick disposal of matter relating to the exchange of land and its de-notification in a time-bound manner. Referring to the issue of suicides by farmers, the Chief Minister asked the Financial Commissioner, Revenue, to examine all such cases for a prompt payment of compensation as per the prescribed norms. In this regard, he said the compensation in two instalments of Rs 1 lakh each should be released immediately and in future such cases would be jointly verified by the deputy commissioner and the SSP concerned within one month. The compensation of Rs 6 lakh for the farmers who were injured during the protest was also released out of the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to the Mansa DC for disbursement. It was also decided in the meeting to give a job to the next of kin of eight persons who lost their lives in various farm agitations across the state and also of the two persons who were killed in police action at Akalian village in
Mansa.
|
|
|
Ropar residents submit memo on toll issue
Ropar, September 12 The memorandum, addressed to the Governor, the Chief Minster, the PWD Minister and the Chief Secretary, was received by Such Singh Mast, Additional Deputy Commissioner. An RTI activist Dinesh Chadda, who led the protest, said the Central Works Division had failed to present the case before the arbitrator properly. Hence, the toll plaza management had been able to charge commuters for eight more months. Going by a survey on the traffic flow conducted eight years ago, the company had already collected over Rs 100 crore against an expenditure of Rs 18.81 crore incurred on the railway over- bridge, he claimed. The revenue, however, could be much more as the traffic flow had increased manifold, he said.
|
|
|
Russian realtors tell Sukhbir they want to invest in Punjab
Chandigarh, September 12 Sukhbir said Punjab was focusing on investing Rs 1 lakh crore in the infrastructure sector. He said the government’s primary focus was timely execution of projects besides strict quality control.
|
|
|
Board officials lend ear to teachers’ grievances
Mohali, September 12 The move was an attempt to lessen the number of litigations filed against the department by the teaching staff. Husan Lal, secretary, education and chairman of the PSEB, said he settled disputes with 104 teachers from across the state today. “The teachers have approached the court on issues like anomalies, seniority, promotion, pay and retirement benefits. Several have also challenged the recruitment process of 2006, 2010 and 2011. Out of the total cases, 52 were contempt cases in which we could not comply with the courts’ directions. So I decided to call the teachers and address their grievances,” said Husan Lal, adding that most of the cases were redressed today. “Now we are going to streamline the system by setting up a legal cell for the purpose. We are going to appoint an Officer on Special Duty (Litigations) who would look after all such issues to avoid legal complications,” said Husan Lal. He also said from now onwards he would start hearing teachers’ grievances every fortnight. There are over 1.25 lakh government teachers in the state. The number of court cases against the Education Department or the PSEB is said to be over 3000.
|
|
|
Mayors’ conclave will be a meeting of minds
Bathinda, September 12 The four other municipal corporations in Punjab — Jalandhar, Patiala, Amritsar and Ludhiana — will also get lessons from the more experienced civic bodies in the country on how to cope with the increasing burden of providing potable water and dealing with sanitation problems when there is a perennial shortage of funds and many big cities in Punjab are on the brink of an environmental emergency. "We are hopeful that the two-day meeting will help us gain a lot. There will be an exchange of ideas and experience to create a culture of better governance in the local bodies of Punjab," said Baljit Singh Birbehman, Mayor, Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB). While the mayor and the elected representatives from the Mumbai Municipal Corporation, the richest and largest civic body in the country, can give brilliant tips to the civic bodies in Punjab about the financial and administrative matters, the Mayor of Surat Municipal Corporation, the third cleanest city in India, will share his experience on how the brushing and scraping of 300 km of roads in the city on a daily basis at night helps keep the city free from dirt and garbage. With its population close to 4.6 million and 1,300 workers employed with the civic body, how is the city of Surat managing its financial and administrative affairs? To learn about this, some days back, two senior officials of the Municipal Corporation Bathinda visited Surat and the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporations in Gujarat, said Birbehman. The two-day meet will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Punjab Minister for Local Government, Chunni Lal Bhagat, will preside over the conclave that will be held at the Antique Palace, Bathinda. The Home Minister of Madhya Pradesh and the national organising general secretary of All India Council of Mayors, Uma Shankar Gupta, chairman, All India Council of Mayors, Krishan Murari Moghe, Mayor, Indore, and mayors from over 20-25 cities, including Indore, Surat, Delhi, Mumbai, Bhubaneshwar, Jaipur, Ujjain, Nagpur, Varanasi, Ranchi, Raipur, Patna, Asansol, Bhopal, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Lucknow and Hyderabad will take part in the two-day meet, said Birbehman. There are many items on the agenda for the AICM executive committee meeting. But the 'strong mayor' is a major one. Demanding more focus on executive and financial powers for the mayor and the urban local bodies as per the 74th amendment of the Constitution, most mayors in Punjab are of the view that after the abolition of octroi, the municipal bodies are finding it increasingly difficult to get adequate finance. Another item listed on the agenda is to demand a five-year term for mayors in all the states and union territories (UTs). New Delhi and Chandigarh have one-year term for theirs mayors. The demand for adopting a uniform policy for all states and setting up of State Mayor-in-Councils, represented by the respective mayors of each state, is another item on the agenda.
|
|
|
Frame fresh tubewell policy, Badal tells power corp
Chandigarh, September 12 A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister to review issues related to the welfare of farmers. On the issue of pending arrears of Rs 357 crore on account of tubewell bills relating to the period when tariff was imposed on the farm sector, the Chief Minister was informed that the state government had reimbursed the money to PSPCL on this count. Regarding the issue of land acquisition for Gobindpura thermal plant in Mansa district, Badal told the officials concerned that the process of giving a job to an eligible member of the family whose land had been acquired should be expedited. Likewise, the compensation package of Rs 3 lakh for the family of landless labourers should also be granted forthwith. Badal also called for a quick disposal of matter relating to the exchange of land and its de-notification in a time-bound manner. Referring to the issue of suicides by farmers, the Chief Minister asked the Financial Commissioner, Revenue, to examine all such cases for a prompt payment of compensation as per the prescribed norms. In this regard, he said the compensation in two instalments of Rs 1 lakh each should be released immediately and in future such cases would be jointly verified by the deputy commissioner and the SSP concerned within one month. The compensation of Rs 6 lakh for the farmers who were injured during the protest was also released out of the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to the Mansa Deputy Commissioner for disbursement. It was also decided in the meeting to give a job to the next of kin of eight persons who lost their lives in various farm agitations across the state and also of the two persons who were killed in police action at Akalian village in Mansa district.
|
|
|
Cartoonist is innocent, say residents
Bathinda, September 12 "If telling the truth has made him a traitor, then he is. He has painted the real picture of our political system. The time has come to call a spade a spade," says a young local businessman, Nakul Bhargava. Similarly, an advocate Nitin Jindal said, "I am baffled as to how a cartoonist, who uses his right to speech and expresses his views through his cartoon, is a threat to national security? Trivedi's cartoon may have offended sensibilities, yet he has presented the real picture." A litterateur, Gurinderjit Singh, said, "Though the cartoonist has been arrested for his objectionable depiction of the national emblem and Parliament, yet his arrest seems to be a case of over-reaction." A youngster, Suresh Garg, said, "I am proud of whatever the cartoonist has done. He has depicted in his cartoon what we really see around us nowadays. The government must drop the charge of sedition against him." Meanwhile, a number of people have started expressing their views on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. One of them, Ankur Gupta, posted on his Facebook wall, "Sedition is too much. It attracts life imprisonment. It is meant for anti-nationalists but Trivedi is a nationalist." One more FB user, Rajani Sharma, wrote, "Before Trivedi's arrest, the issue should have been debated. If our MPs can disgrace the institution, that too in the well of the House, then this cartoonist has done nothing in comparison. His arrest, especially on the charge of sedition, is totally wrong. He must be released as soon as possible." A local journalist wrote on a social networking site, "Nothing wrong has been done by the young cartoonist. He has depicted in his cartoon what every Indian feels. If someone has expressed his views publicly, then he is not a danger to national security. The charges slapped against him must be dropped." Meanwhile, the CPI (ML) Liberation, today took a serious note of the framing of a case of sedition against Trivedi. Kavita Krishnan, its central leader, said the UPA government was trying to suppress the voice of the people.
|
|
Plan to bring animals from Pak scrapped
Patiala, September 12 A committee of experts had in July 2011, drafted a proposal to exchange wild animals with a zoo in Lahore. The trip was backed by Arunesh Shakar, Minister for Forests and Wildlife at the time, and the then chief wildlife warden Punjab, Gurbaaz Singh. However the state government has not sanctioned the trip. Procuring a few pairs of the Baaj (Eastern Goshawk), which is nearing extinction in Punjab, was on top of the agenda. Instead the state government is now keen to get animals and bird species from zoos and sanctuaries across the country. The department planned to exchange black bucks, deers, zebras, lagoons and monkeys with Pakistan, as they are in abundance here. Dhirendra Singh, Chief Wildlife Warden Punjab, said his department had given up on the idea of exchanging animals with a Pakistani zoo as it was never formally sanctioned.
|
||
|
CM visits Danewal with younger brother Gurdas Abohar, September 12
|
||
|
|
Toll Plaza near Ropar
Chandigarh, September 12 Acting Chief Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain have also directed another concessionaire to continue with the existing arrangements for ensuring uninterrupted traffic flow at Kurali toll plaza. The arrangement includes deployment of men with hand-held machines for collecting toll. The Bench asserted: “It was noticed that flow of traffic at toll plaza in Kurali is not smooth. Taking note of this fact, vide order dated August 16, Kurali Toll Bridge Company Private Limited was directed to permanently put at least two more persons, in addition to the staff already deputed, on each pass-way of the toll plaza, equipped with hand-handled machines….” The Bench added the company has filed an affidavit claiming the compliance of the High Court order. “Be that as it may, we direct respondent company to continue with the arrangement made in compliance with the directions issued by this Court vide order dated August 16,” the Bench asserted. Taking up the petition filed in public interest by Gurpreet Singh, the Bench added: “The NHAI and Messer B.S.C., C & C Kurali Toll Road Limited are also directed to explore the options to meet the future requirements, considering the fact that there would be an increase in number of vehicles crossing toll plaza, so as to keep free flow of vehicular traffic at the toll plaza set up at Solkhian village”. Messer B.S.C., C & C Kurali Toll Road Limited had carried out the four-laning project on build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis. The company has set up a toll barrier at Solkhian village to collect the toll fee, as per an agreement with the NHAI. The petitioner had earlier contended that a toll plaza could not be established within a distance of 60 km from another toll plaza. But the norm had been violated as a toll plaza was established by Kurali Toll Bridge Company Private Limited at Kurali within a distance of 8 km from the toll plaza at Solkhian village. The Bench asserted: The argument is not tenable because the rule itself provides that a toll plaza may be established within a distance of 60 km from another toll plaza, if such toll plaza is for collection of fee for a permanent bridge or by pass or tunnel. “The toll plaza at Kurali is set up for collection of fee for a permanent bridge built up as per notification dated January 12, 2007. Therefore, it does not create a bar for setting up of toll plaza at Solkhian village, which is collecting fee for development of four lane road from Kurali to Kiratpur Sahib”.
|
|
|
Case transfer: HC issues notice on Captain’s plea
Chandigarh, September 12 Justice MMS Bedi also issued notice regarding stay on the petition filed through senior advocate APS Deol. The Bench took note of the allegations of bias against the state government, the prosecuting agency as well as the presiding officer, while issuing the notice. As the case came up for hearing, the Bench was told that investigating officer in the case Surinder Pal Singh, being prosecuted for perjury, was also a prime witness in the case. He was still serving with the Vigilance Bureau after being given extension in service; and was not expected to depose independently. The case will now come up on October 15 for further hearing. In his petition, Capt Amarinder Singh stated he was booked in a corruption case for allegedly releasing 32 acres of Amritsar Improvement Trust. The proceedings in the case, registered on September 11, 2008, were going on before Mohali special judge (Vigilance). The job of a public prosecutor was to assist the court and to inform it if any guidelines were being violated. But, the public prosecutor was under administrative control of the home department of the state government, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal. Referring to the earlier cases between his and Badal family, Capt Amarinder Singh said in view of political rivalry between the two, the trial could not be held in a fair manner as the public prosecutor might follow the diktat of state government and could not be presumed to be impartial. The petition also stated that the case was an outcome of a resolution passed by Punjab Vidhan Sabha, based on report of a committee comprising Vidhan Sabha members belonging to Shiromani Alkali Dal. This resolution was later termed invalid by Supreme Court of India. Petitioner further stated that the power centre was the same today and would be ready to hound its political opponent.
|
|
Man murdered
Hoshiarpur, September 12 They were booked under Sections 302, 34 and 506 of the IPC. Police sources said Ravinder Singh worked at a dhaba at Ghogra village. Ravinder Singh was admitted to the Civil Hospital,
Dasuya.
|
|
|
1 kg opium seized in Deon
Bathinda, September 12 In another incident, police arrested a resident of Gehri Bhagi village for possessing 30 litres of country-made liquor (lahan). The accused has been identified as Darshan Singh who was arrested on the basis of secret information. Police had laid a naka to arrest Darshan Singh. A case under sections 61, 1, 14 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act has been registered against the accused at Kotfatta police station.
|
|
| 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 | |
Chandigarh, September 12
Khanna, September 12
In protest against the acute shortage of teachers at Government High School, Jhaloor village, 10 km from
Lehragaga, members of the village gram panchayat and agriculture workers’ union locked the school gate for hours today.
Mohali, September 12
Chandigarh, September 12