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Police rains lathis on linemen
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Recovery from retirees
Online transfer of pension fails to check fraud
Patiala Mayor lists his priorities
Power corp rectifies inflated bill
CM orders probe into missing wheat stock
Two more swine flu cases in Ludhiana
Row over airport’s name
Hike bus fares: Transporters
State to promote olive cultivation
PSPCL rectifies inflated bill
Factory Inferno
Dasuya resident awarded death for killing sons
Akali leader convicted in cheque bounce case
Embezzlement
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Police rains lathis on linemen
Tarn Taran, September 18 The conference was organised to mark the Gurta Gaddi Divas (installation of Guru Angad Dev as the second Sikh master). The Congress too was supposed to hold a political conference, but the party failed to find an appropriate site in view of the heavy rain in the town. On the other hand, the CPI organised a conference, which was addressed by former party MLA Hardev Singh Arshi. In a Press statement, the linemen union claimed that 100 workers had been detained by the police either from the conference or from other entry points to the town. The union also alleged that its members were tortured in custody. On protest path for the last five years, the union has been demanding early issuance of appointment letters to its members against the 4,000 vacant posts in various power utilities in the state. The protesters managed to sneak into the conference before the Chief Minister had arrived and sat at different locations. They took to sloganeering after Badal started his address. The linemen disrupted the conference at least thrice before they were, amidst resistance, arrested by the police and bundled into buses. In his address, Badal lashed out at the Union Government for the "steepest ever" hike in the price of diesel. He alleged that the price hike was an attempt on the part of the Centre to extend largesse to oil giants. He claimed the Congress had always meted out a "stepmotherly" treatment to the state, "a recent example being a much lesser drought package as compared to Haryana". Lok Sabha MP Rattan Singh Ajnala and former Punjab Minister Ranjit Singh Brahmpura also spoke on the occasion.
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Capt Amarinder, Manpreet a spent force: Sukhbir
Faridkot, September 18 Also, to a query about "bonhomie" between state Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh and People's Party of Punjab chief Manpreet Singh Badal, he said, "Both the leaders were spent forces and desperate to find a foothold in the state politics." Talking to mediapersons after addressing a gathering at Jor Mela at Guru ki Dhab near Jaito, Sukhbir said, "The UPA Government should clear its stand on the controversial issue. There are a number of stake holders in the country and it is imperative for the government to dispel their fears on the issue," he stressed. He claimed the Shiromani Akali Dal believed in value-based politics and resignation of three ministers in the past six months was a proof of this. On the other hand, the Centre was landing itself in embarrassment as its ministers were allegedly involved in scandals but were sticking to their ministries, he said. He said the SAD-BJP government had chalked out an ambitious plan of more than Rs 10,000 crore to upgrade the basic infrastructure to provide quality amenities in rural areas. He said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was reviewing the progress of Adarsh schools and action would be taken if any discrepancy was found in their functioning.
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Ruling alliance takes to dinner diplomacy
Amritsar, September 18 The 65-member Amritsar House comprises of 25 SAD, 24 BJP and four Congress councillors. It has one Independent and one CPI member. The names for the top positions will be revealed only at the investiture ceremony of the new House at 11 am tomorrow in the presence of observers, including Local Bodies Minister Chunni Lal Bhagat, BJP state general secretary Kamal Sharma and local MLAs. There is speculation that in case the alliance fails to reach a consensus on BJP's Bakshi Ram Arora or Rajesh Honey for the Mayor’s post, Sukhminder Singh Pintu could emerge as the dark horse. The RSS factor too will come to play. Arora has a five-decade-long association with the RSS and has never tasted defeat. Insiders say Arora is disliked for his inflexible nature. As chairman of the Improvement Trust or BJP district president, he seldom went out of the way to oblige a party worker. Honey, a two-time councillor, belongs to the Navjot Singh Sidhu camp and, hence, might not be acceptable to the SAD camp. Pintu, a two-term councillor, is known for his mild mannerism. He had won with a record margin. His candidature is unlikely to be opposed by any camp. Surinder Sultanwind and Avtar Singh Trukkanwala are in the race for Senior Deputy Mayor’s post. Both belong to the SAD. If the young and energetic Sultanwind has held prominent party positions, Avtar’s rapport with the masses cannot be ignored. For the post of Deputy Mayor, the choice could be between former Deputy Mayor and Congress rebel Om Parkash Gabbar, who has joined the SAD, and Ajit Lal. Avinash Jolly’s name is also being mentioned for the post.
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Late monsoon surge could hit crop yield, say experts
Chandigarh, September 18 Although the dam is not expected to fill to capacity (1680 ft), the fact that the level has risen to 1,653 ft indicates that the fear of a drought year has all but passed. Experts say the dam was earlier expected to reach a level of 1,635 ft by the end of the filling season (Sept 26), lower than the drought year level of 1,640 feet recorded in 2009. However, heavy rains in the catchment areas of the Bhakra and Pong dams has raised the expectations of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) authorities. It is felt that the late monsoon surge could prolong the rains beyond September 26. If this happens, the water level in the Bhakra dam could rise further. Sources said the last two days of rain in Himachal had increased the inflow into the Bhakra dam substantially. The dam had received one lakh cusecs of water yesterday and was likely to receive 50,000 cusecs of water today. This late surge had resulted in the dam level rising to 1,653 feet today. This was a dramatic increase if seen against the level of 1,555 ft on July 21 this year that had prompted the BBMB to enforce water supply cuts to partner states. The water level in the Pong Dam has risen dramatically too in the last one month. Sources said the level was 1,329 ft as on August 15 this year. Today it was recorded at 1,382 ft (the dam has a maximum filling level of 1,390 ft). Sources said if the rains continued, the dam could reach its near filling point till the end of this month. However, farmers in Punjab are suffering from a surfeit of rain. Large portions of the state, including Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala, Sangrur, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar, have been lashed with moderate to heavy rainfall in the past three days.This is worrisome for areas which go in for early sowing, including parts of Patiala, Amritsar and Ferozepur. Heavy rain has damaged crops in Patiala, Jalandhar and Amritsar districts.This is likely to affect the crop yield though, it it may be marginal. “The rain will surely affect the ripened paddy seedlings which will develop blackened seeds”, said Bhadson farmer Jhujhar Singh. “Even the four acre vegetable crop in my fields is totally submerged in water and destroyed”, he added. Patiala Chief Agriculture Officer BS Sohal, said the yield would be less in the early sown and early maturing varieties. State Agriculture Adviser Dr BS Sidhu said there the heavy rainfall could result in a spurt in blight and fungus-borne diseases. — With inputs from Aman Sood in Patiala
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Not many farmers opting for certified wheat seed
Bathinda, September 18 Speaking to The Tribune on the sidelines of a Kisan Mela organised by the Agriculture Department, Dr Sandhu said the department had certified seed available for 7 lakh hectares. Wheat is expected to be sown on 35 lakh hectares of land after the paddy harvest. Asked the reason behind the shortfall of certified seed, he said, "A majority of farmers are unaware about the benefits of certified seed. Most of them use stored granules of their last season's crop as seed. Though we have not imposed any ban on the sowing of any kind of wheat seed, farmers must be aware that certified seed is more beneficial." Dr Sandhu said there was not much difference between the prices of both kinds of seed. "The certified seed is less prone to diseases. The yield may almost be the same, but the certified category saves expenses that have to be incurred on chemicals. They must understand its value and opt for it," he suggested. He said the department was holding awareness camps to promote the seed. Also, he said at 236 kg per hectare, the average consumption of fertilisers in Punjab was the highest in the country. He advised the farmers to use fertilisers judiciously.
new is gold!
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Recovery from retirees
Chandigarh, September 18 Taking a serious view, Justice Rajesh Bindal has already asked for details regarding the system followed by the audit department. The Punjab Accountant-General too has been called for personally explaining the procedure. He has also been told to detail upon the corrective steps required to be taken. The matter was brought to the notice of the High Court by Balwinder Singh Sethi, in his petition filed against the State of Punjab and other respondents. After going through the documents and the issues raised by the counsel for the petitioner, Justice Bindal asserted: “In a number of cases listed before this court, the issue regarding the recovery of excess amount paid to the employee is raised. In a majority of the cases, the demand is raised when the employee has either retired or is nearing retirement.” In his detailed order, Justice Bindal added: “The pay fixation is sought to be reopened, which may even go up to the date of his initial appointment or for the last 15-20 years. As to what is the process followed in the Audit Department and as to why this issue is examined or audited only after the employee retires is required to be ascertained from the Accountant-General, Punjab”. Pursuant to the directions issued by Justice Bindal, the Accountant-General appeared before the Court on September 17 for explaining the procedure adopted and corrective steps to be taken in the matter.
Correction course
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Online transfer of pension fails to check fraud
Muktsar, September 18 Akali and BJP leaders of Mandi Killianwali have reportedly complained to senior officials of the company disbursing pension that one of its employees was "collecting" Rs 250 from each beneficiary on the pretext that the amount went towards a life insurance policy. However, there is no need for any such insurance for the beneficiaries. It is learnt that an agent of the company who visited Mandi Killianwali in Lambi to disburse pension for the months of May and June neither disbursed the actual pension amount to the beneficiaries, nor issued them receipts for the same. The agent was suspended. Talking to The Tribune, Rajvinder Singh Gill, District Social Security Officer, said" "We have given the contract to the ICICI Bank, which has further hired the services of a technical service provider company, FINO, whose official was reportedly cheating the beneficiaries. "We have sought an explanation from senior bank officials in this regard. We have been told that the cheating agent has been sacked. But we want legal action against him." He said the bank would be told to give details of its employees to the department. The EBT system was launched during Sangat Drashan at Raniwala village in the Lambi assembly constituency on July 14 with much fanfare.
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Patiala Mayor lists his priorities
Speaking to The Tribune, Pradhan said: "Establishing a better public interface will be a priority". He said his focus would be to ensure that all the areas under the jurisdiction of the civic body get proper civic amenities and complaints of the residents were addressed on priority, besides a smooth functioning of the corporation. "I will also ensure that the ongoing development projects, including setting up of a solid waste treatment plant, canal-based water treatment plant and shifting of dairies outside the municipal limits, are completed at the earliest," he said. Pradhan along with Minister for Rural Development and Panchayats Surjit Singh Rakhra and Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka today called on Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at his residence in Chandigarh. Thanking the Chief Minister, Pradhan assured him that he would work for the development of the city. Badal, while congratulating the Mayor, asked him to work with utmost sincerity, diligence and commitment to make Patiala a model city of the state. Meanwhile, Senior Deputy Mayor Jagdish Rai said ensuring clean drinking water and metalled roads in the city would be on top of the agenda. For Deputy Mayor Harinder Kohli, cleanliness is one of the major areas of concern. "The corporation's sanitation wing will be entrusted with the duty to get the city rid of filth and heaps of garbage," he said.
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Power corp rectifies inflated bill
Ludhiana September 18 PSPCL had served the bill of Rs 11.11 lakh to the Guram family on Sunday. Shocked at the whopping bill, Guram had highlighted the issue in the media, besides urging PSPCL to rectify the same. KL Sharma, Chief Engineer, PSPCL (Central), said: "There was a technical fault in the electricity meter, which had resulted in an inflated bill. Now, we have rectified the same on the basis of average of their previous year's bill. We will examine the meter to find the fault". "Officials who came to deliver the rectified bill, appreciated that we had highlighted the issue and hoped that other consumers will also come forward to report such discrepancies,” Guram said.
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CM orders probe into missing wheat stock
Ludhiana, September 18 This has been done on the recommendation of the Financial Commissioner, Development. Mela Singh was booked on the complaint of NK Sharma, Senior Divisional Manager, Punjab Agro Food Grain Corporation. Sharma said that Mela Singh, who was in charge of Dakha area from 2006 till March this year,
“ took pre-mature retirement in March. However, he did not hand over the charge of the wheat stock at the time of relinquishing duty.”
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Two more swine flu cases in Ludhiana
Ludhiana, September 18 Dr Deepak Bhatia, state nodal officer for swine flu & state surveillance officer, Punjab, said seven cases of swine flu had been reported in the state so far this year. "Two cases were reported in January while the remaining five, one each from Hoshiarpur and Mohali and three from Ludhiana, were reported this month". He said 15 samples were tested negative in September. Out of the three recent samples from Ludhiana, one had been tested negative while the other two were positive. "Both the patients are being treated at hospitals in Ludhiana. One is admitted at the DMCH and the other is being treated at SPS Apollo Hospital". Dr Bhatia said there would be no new outbreak, but cases of swine flu might continue to pour in. He said the disease resurfaced due to a change of season, particularly the damp weather. "Swine flu spreads through the air route and needs immediate medical intervention. The symptoms include high-grade fever, cough, cold, sneezing, headache, diarrhoea, vomiting and breathlessness," he said. Among the precautionary measures include maintaining good personal hygiene and frequent washing of hands, he added.
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Row over airport’s name
Bathinda, September 18 Registering their displeasure, the villagers have written to the Director, AAI, as well as the Member of Parliament and the Deputy Chief Minister, through the Bathinda Deputy Commissioner, demanding that the airport be named after the village. Dr Gurcharan Singh, a Block Samiti member, said 45 acres of land in the village had been given for constructing the domestic airport, which is expected to herald unprecedented development in the Malwa region. "The villagers have been an integral part of the project right since its inception. They were privy to the land acquisition and the Bhumi Pujan ceremony. They also played host to the officials visiting the place," he said. Villagers said of the 50 to 60 airports in India, 90 per cent are named after the villages they are located in. "Even the Bhisiana air field of the Indian Air Force (IAF) is named after the village. Bhisiana is a small village with a population of around 700. Still, the Defence Ministry has been kind enough to name the Air Force Station after the village," said Dr Gurcharan Singh.
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Hike bus fares: Transporters
Chandigarh, September 18 The press note said the state-run companies were already facing huge loses and had been urging the government to increase the fares. However, after the recent increase in diesel prices, the transporters wanted the government to take an immediate decision in this regard, it added.
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State to promote olive cultivation
Chandigarh, September 18 Badal told the officials to explore the feasibility of olive plantation in the state on the basis of a pilot project on 10 hectares of land with the active involvement of the Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana. He also asked the Financial Commissioner (Development) to draft a policy in this regard to provide subsidy to farmers interested in olive cultivation. By taking to olive cultivation, farmers could earn up to Rs 2 lakh per hectare annually as compared to an average of Rs 60,000 from conventional farming. Experts claim that climatic conditions in the North were suitable for cultivating high-yielding varieties of olive.
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PSPCL rectifies inflated bill
Ludhiana September 18 PSPCL had served the bill of Rs 11.11 lakh to the Guram family on Sunday. Shocked at the whopping bill, Guram had urged PSPCL to rectify the same. KL Sharma, Chief Engineer, PSPCL (Central), said: "There was a technical fault in the electricity meter, which had resulted in an inflated bill. Now, we have rectified the same on the basis of average of their previous year's bill. We will examine the meter to find the fault".
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Factory Inferno
Ludhiana, September 18 Led by Deputy Director (Factories) MP Beri, a team of experts was to visit the factory at noon. But the team arrived at 4.30 pm, said the SDM. He said the experts failed to arrive at any conclusion and would revisit the factory site on September 20. “We will then inspect the hexane gas chambers at the factory,” the SDM added.
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Dasuya resident awarded death for killing sons
Jasbir, a mason, set his wife and sons Lovepreet and Lakhwinder ablaze while they were asleep on January 27, 2012. Jasbir, according to the prosecution, would often beat his wife over trivial issues. On the fateful day, Jasbir returned home drunk at around 4 pm. His wife told him that officials had disconnected the power supply to their house for not paying electricity dues. Later in the night, he set the room in which his wife was sleeping with her two sons on fire. The victims were taken to the Dasuya Civil Hospital where the children were declared "brought dead". Narinder Kaur suffered 50 percent burn injuries. The judge observed : "Jasbir came home after consuming liquor and thereafter started arguing with Narinder Kaur. He asked her to ask her parents for money at which she told him that her parents had already given her Rs 2,000 for payment of electricity bill, whereupon the accused beat her with an iron rod. "The convict being 35 years of age could well understand the consequences of this misdeed... So in the considered opinion on the court, if a sentence less than capital punishment is awarded, after serving the same, he will remain a threat to the
society. "The attack was cold-blooded and, hence, calls for deterrent punishment." A seemingly unrepentent Jasbir said he would challenge the judgement in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The case was entrusted to the court on July 30 and the charges were framed on August 27. A shattered Narinder Kaur said he was happy with the sentence. “He should be hanged. What he did was inhuman."
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Akali leader convicted in cheque bounce case
Ludhiana, September 18 The orders came on a complaint by Jagmohan Singh of Tamkoudi village, Ludhiana, who said he had paid Rs 9 lakh for allotment of a gas agency, as sought by Bulara'a son, on May 9, 2005. But no such allotment was made. Later, Jagmohan Singh was issued two cheques of Rs 7 lakh. But the same were not honoured by the bank because of insufficient funds. Bulara was let off on bail, Parupkar Singh Ghumman, the complainant's lawyer said.
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Embezzlement
A case under Sections 409, 406, 420, 467, 468, 471 IPC has been registered against them. The action came following a complaint by a former employee of Punjab Agro, Amarjit Singh, who had alleged records of the agency mentioned that 520 lots of "bardana" were received from the Nakodar centre in Jalandhar. The officials concerned had prepared fake documents to show the receipt even as no such consignment was received, he had alleged. An investigation by the police revealed that the officials had presented bogus consignment bills of a Jalandhar-based truck union which had stopped its operations 18 years ago. The Nakodar Truck Owners Union also certified that not a single truck of their union had transported "bardana" to Punjab Agro’s Fatehgarh Sahib office. The scam came to the fore when the local office received a debit note from the agency’s Jalandhar office asking the local authorities to deposit the amount towards 520 lots of "bardana" received by it. The district manager had returned the debit note with remarks that "bardana" had not been received. The agency had earlier suspended another employee in this case.
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Patiala, September 18
Jalandhar, September 18
Fatehgarh Sahib, September 18