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Bandh paralyses life, commuters most hit
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Anganwari children getting untreated water
Three inmates escape from jail, nabbed
BKU to hold protest in Delhi on Sept 25
Missing Maharaja’s painting
Badal predicts mid-term poll
Double whammy for non-BPL families
VB told to probe job unit’s working
Varsity to honour innovative farmers
Park Funds Embezzled
Punjab resumes pension to schoolteachers
PUTA ELECTIONS 2012
Bajwa for CBI probe into use of funds
HC slaps Rs 25,000 fine on two policemen
Probe employment
unit’s working: HC
Ludhiana Mayor’s election
Woman jailed for driving husband to suicide
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Bandh paralyses life, commuters most hit
Chandigarh, September 20 Though schools and government offices remained opened, the attendance was thin. Markets mostly remained closed and wherever traders dared to open their shops, supporters of the coalition partners allegedly forced their shutters down. Commuters travelling in buses, especially private, were the most hit as several operators decided to keep their vehicles off the road. Rail traffic was not much affected, though protesters staged demonstrations on railway tracks in a few cities. While the ruling alliance claimed the closure in Punjab received an "overwhelming" response, the opposition Congress called it a "forcible bandh clamped on unwilling people". In a Press statement, SAD secretary Daljit Singh Cheema claimed that reports received from various district headquarters stated that the bandh was complete and peaceful. Cheema said senior SAD and BJP leaders, accompanied by representatives of several trade and social organisations, submitted memorandums to the President through their deputy commissioners concerned. The leaders sought rollback of the recent decisions by the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre effecting a Rs 5 hike in diesel price, cap on subsidised LPG cylinders to six in a year and foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail. On the other hand, Punjab Congress general secretary Arvind Khanna criticised the state government for causing "inconvenience" to the general public. "Both the SAD and the BJP are battling an ideology crisis. Their opposition to foreign direct investment is sheer political opportunism as earlier both the parties were in its favour. They are protesting only because the Congress-led UPA Government has initiated the move," he said. Khanna alleged that the coalition partners' opposition to the hike in diesel prices was also a testimony to their double standards. "The SAD-BJP government justified the retrospective 12 per cent hike in power tariff by saying it is the need of the hour to maintain the pace of development. But when the Centre hikes diesel prices, which is determined by international factors, they call for a Bharat Bandh," he pointed out. From the SAD, Roopnagar MLA Cheema led the protest in his area, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries Inderbir Singh Bularia in Amritsar, Sarup Chand Singla in Bathinda and Balbir Singh Ghunas in Barnala, MP Paramjit Singh Gulshan in Faridkot and Cabinet Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon in Ferozepur. In Moga, the bandh evoked a good response. All the commercial establishments, including petrol pumps, and educational institutes remained closed throughout the day. The rail traffic was normal, but there were hardly any passengers. Buses too remained off the roads throughout the day. The truck and canter unions also observed a complete bandh. The government offices remained open, but there was a thin attendance of staff. Protesters blocked the main square road in the morning. Akali legislators Maheshinder Singh and Bibi Rajwinder Kaur along with local BJP leaders gave a memorandum to the District Magistrate. In Fatehgarh Sahib, it was a partial bandh. SAD workers forced shopkeepers to down their shutters. Vehicular movement was normal although protesters blocked traffic at some places like Sirhind, Mandi Gobindgarh and Bassi Pathana. SAD general secretary Prem Singh Chandumajra along with district president Jagdeep Singh Cheema submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner.
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Anganwari children getting untreated water
Neither is there any provision for supplying water to these centres from reverse osmosis (RO) plants installed by the government. Though this will cost a mere Rs 60 to Rs 100 per month per anganwari, neither the government nor the anganwari workers are willing to spend the amount. There is no budgetary provision in the Integrated Child Development Scheme to supply filtered water to anganwari children. Anganwari workers say they are unable to pay from their pocket as they have not been paid salaries for two to three months. Anganwari workers from over 400 centres have made a written complaint to the District Legal Service Authority, Muktsar, on the matter. Sources say the Legal Services Authority has forwarded the complaint to the Punjab Legal Services Authority and the state government for action. In the Malout and Gidderbaha blocks alone, there have been complaints of untreated water from 413 anganwari centres. Gurkirat Pal Singh, Director, Social Welfare, said the government was committed to a healthy environment at the anganwaris but there was no allocation for supplying treated water to the children. "The scheme is 95 per cent funded by the Centre.There is no allocation of funds for RO plants. If need be, anganwari workers can bring water in campers from home for the children." He said there were 27, 000 children in anganwari centres across the state. Hargobind Kaur, national president of the Anganwari Workers Union, said the government paid only Rs 4,600 to a anganwari worker and Rs 2,300 to a helper. "The salaries are not disbursed in time.There are centres where workers have not got wages for the past three months.The workers spend money from their own pocket on firewood and other requirements. We can’t contribute towards RO plants,” she added.
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Three inmates escape from jail, nabbed
Ludhiana, September 20 Ram Jane of Siwan district in Bihar, Amit Kumar of Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh and Ravi Kumar alias Vicky of Daba area in Ludhiana, were undergoing a life sentence for murder. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP- IV) Sushil Kumar said the three were nabbed following a tipoff. He said a fourth jail inmate, identified as Rohit, also attempted to flee but fell from the wall. Jail sources said he was under the influence of drugs. Instead of jumping out, he jumped inside the jail. A police patrol team on duty in the vicinity of the jail premises saw the three criminals scaling the jail wall and informed the prison staff. The jail staff swung into action and sounded an alert. The police from Division No 7 and from the Jamalpur police station also reached there and cordoned the area. A manhunt was launched and Amit, Ram Jane and Ravi were nabbed from the Dhandari area. Jail guards said six inmates were lodged in a special cell of which four plotted the escape.They had used a spoon and an iron bar to make a hole in the wall, they said. Sushil Kumar said the four inmates escaped through a hole about 1.5 ft wide.They covered a distance of 1.5 km to reach the outer wall of the prison.They created a human ladder to scale the 16-ft wall.The first man who climbed the wall pulled the other three with the help of a rope made of clothes worn by them. Jail Minister Swarn Singh Phillaur and jail officials, including Deputy Inspector General LS Jakhar and Jail Superintendent RK Loomba, refused to answer media queries. Jail officials said there were only 12 jail guards on duty when the inmates escaped.
Modus Operandi
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BKU to hold protest in Delhi on Sept 25
Sangrur, September 20 Lakhowal said the state farmers wanted an increase in the minimum support price (MSP) for all kharif crops, including paddy, raised by Rs 200 per quintal, a rollback in the diesel and fertiliser prices and help for the Punjabi farmers uprooted from Gujarat. Lakhowal, who is also chairman of the Punjab Mandi Board, said the board planned to scrap the market fee on vegetables and fruit. He said during the past five years, the Mandi Board had spent Rs 458 crore on the renovating grain markets. He said the board would hold an international conference at Chandigarh on November 20 in collaboration with the National Institute of Agriculture Marketing (NIAM) and the Council of Agriculture Marketing Boards. At least 11 countries would take part in the conference.
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Missing Maharaja’s painting
Faridkot, September 19 For the past several months, a retired judge had been in the eye of the storm for “selling” the over 100-year-old painting at London’s Antique Art Market. The market value of the painting is believed to be several lakhs. A senior judge conducting an inquiry into the “theft” had recorded the statement of a renowned historian on the value of the painting in the international antiques market and an accusing finger was raised at a retired judicial officer. But the FIR registered yesterday says the CJM had got “secret information” about the theft from Lal Kothi that belongs to the erstwhile Faridkot Estate. Hence, the police had registered a case under Section 378 of the IPC (committing theft) against unknown persons. The battle between a serving senior judge and a retired judge over the ‘theft’ of the painting had reached the Punjab and Haryana High Court. With the registration of the FIR, it is clear an attempt is now being made to downplay the incident. To defend his position, the retired judicial officer had approached the Director (Antiquities), Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), New Delhi, seeking information about the historical importance and antique value of this “stolen” portrait, which is a hand-coloured photograph of Maharaja Balbir Singh dated 1895, 11-years before his death. For decades, this work of art had remained stashed behind a wardrobe.
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Badal predicts mid-term poll
Chandigarh, September 20 “It will crumble under its own weight,” the Chief Minister said while talking to mediapersons on sidelines of the first national conclave of principal secretaries (co-operation) of different states here today. The widening rift among UPA allies had set the ground for an early Lok Sabha elections, Badal said, adding due to instability of the Central Government, governance had been adversely affected. Replying to a query, the Chief Minister said the massive response of the people to the bandh call given by the opposition parties reflected their rising resentment against the UPA government. He said the recent decisions to hike the price of diesel and limit the supply of LPG cylinders were anti-people. Training his guns on the Congress, the Chief Minister alleged it had always meted out a step-motherly treatment to the opposition-ruled states, particularly Punjab. He alleged that Union Ministers belonging to the Congress had been acting arbitrarily by allocating grants to their home states.
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Double whammy for non-BPL families
Chandigarh, September 20 This means that over 56 lakh APL families across the state will be forced to buy LPG cylinders at the market price of around Rs 750 per cylinder of 14.2 kg against the subsidised price of Rs 407.50 per cylinder. With the state government so far seeming reluctant to offer three additional cylinders at subsidised rates as has been offered by Congress-ruled states, the APL families will feel the pinch. Sources in the Food and Civil Supplies Department informed The Tribune that so far there was no move to give additional subsidised LPG cylinders to the consumers of any category. The neighbouring Haryana has already announced that it would bear the cost of providing three additional subsidised cylinders to residents of the state. It was in April this year that the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had slashed the kerosene quota of Punjab by 63 per cent. This meant that over 22 lakh families (below poverty line card holders and those covered under the Antayodaya scheme) started getting less kerosene oil. All APL families were then excluded from being given kerosene at subsidised rates. From a quarterly allocation of 67,500 kilo litres (KL) of kerosene for January-March 2012, Punjab’s share for April-June 2012 was reduced to 24,936 KL, a reduction of 42,564 KL. Figures made available by oil marketing companies show that out of 54 lakh households in Punjab, 30 lakh have LPG connections. This means that the state will have to shell out an additional Rs 1,000 crore to offer a subsidy of Rs 350 per cylinder. Considering the poor fiscal health of the state, it seems unlikely that the state will take on this additional financial burden.
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VB told to probe job unit’s working
Chandigarh, September 20 “The Vigilance Department is also directed to inquire into the financial dealings by the centre within last two years and if any defalcation is found, necessary action be taken as per law. The inquiry be entrusted to the Vigilance Department forthwith and it shall be completed within six months,” the Bench of Acting Chief Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain said. The directions came after a short affidavit was filed by Department of Employment Generation & Training under secretary Satya Parkash. In his affidavit, he stated that an inquiry was conducted by Punjab Department of Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes Welfare against Rohi Ram, a member of selection committee involved in recruiting candidates on the basis of the advertisement. “In the preliminary inquiry, the respondent was found guilty of omission and commission at the time when the recruitment was made,” the affidavit said. The Punjab Department of Social Welfare too has recommended an inquiry by the Vigilance/Police Department.
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Varsity to honour innovative farmers
Ludhiana, September 20 The farmers to be awarded are Mangal Singh Nagra, Rajesh Behl, Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon, Karamjit Kaur and Manjit Singh. A progressive farmer, Mangal Singh Nagra from Kohla village in Jalandhar district, will be awarded "Parwasi Bharti Award 2012" for diversified farming. Nagra had given up traditional rice-wheat rotation system and adopted diversified agriculture. Besides owning 45 acres of land, he has taken additional 335 acres of land on lease and thus, carries out his farm venture on a total area of 380 acres. Rajesh Behl of Hayat village in Gurdaspur district, will be conferred with "Shri Ujagar Singh Dhaliwal Memorial Award 2012" for excellence in vegetable production. A qualified mechanical engineer, 62-year-old Behl adopted his ancestral profession and has been producing vegetables on 16 acres of land for the last 30 years. Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon, a qualified electronics engineer from Rataul Rohi village in Ferozepur district, will be presented with "Sardar Dalip Singh Dhaliwal Memorial Award 2012," for his significant contribution to agriculture development. Forty-one-year-old Dhillon has been farming for the last 20 years and cultivates field crops on 92 acres of land. He has adopted resource conservation technologies like use of tensiometer for saving water and use of laser land leveller to level his fields. A successful kinnow grower, Karamjit Kaur from Danewala village in Fazilka district, will be honoured with "State Awardee Sardarni Jagbir Kaur Memorial Innovative Woman Farmer Award 2012" for her contribution to agriculture and allied enterprises. She holds the world record by producing 132.25 tonnes of kinnows from one hectare area in 2001. She earned the title of "Kinnow Queen" in 2004 from Punjab Chief Minister, Parkash Singh
Badal.
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Park Funds Embezzled
The RTI activist and social worker NK Syal, who sought a probe against the accused, alleged that officials in the Municipal Council tampered with the records. He alleged that the records were found tampered with on September 6 last year as the same was not matching with the information gathered by him under the RTI Act. He said the next date of enquiry in the case was fixed for September 21 which has now been postponed to October 1. Syal said the total estimated cost for the construction of the Parshuram Park was around Rs 11.25 lakh and Rs 5 lakh had been provided by the state government. Municipal Council Executive Officer, Bhushan Rana said the next date for enquiry had been postponed to October 1 on the request of the accused. He said work on the project started five years ago and it was abandoned once enquiry was marked into the project. After Syal had complained about the alleged embezzlement to Chief Minister and Prime Minister, the Vigilance Department of the Local Bodies Department had indicted a junior engineer of the Municipal Council. Earlier, an enquiry into the case was conducted by an engineer of the Improvement Trust, Patiala, who had given a clean chit to the Municipal Council.
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Punjab resumes pension to schoolteachers
Chandigarh, September 20 An official spokesperson said Badal and Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka gave away PPOs to the 50 beneficiaries out of nearly 3,000 retired personnel. Also present on the occasion was former minister and MLA Jathedar Tota Singh, who along with Master Mohan Lal, played a vital role in the resumption of pension benefits to these teachers. Master Mohan Lal was the first recipient of the PPO from the Chief Minister as a retired social science teacher of Arya Senior Secondary School, Pathankot. The teachers of privately managed government-aided schools were getting pension till May 31, 2003 when it was discontinued. The teachers have now welcomed the government’s decision to extend all pension benefits to them.
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PUTA ELECTIONS 2012
Patiala, September 20 Teachers from Punjabi University Teachers Coordination Committee (PUTCC), Democratic Teachers Front (DTF) and Punjabi University Teachers Front (PUTF) were part of the delegation. The delegation conveyed to the VC that the decision to postpone the counting of votes was undemocratic, unconstitutional and arbitrary. Dr Jaswinder Singh Brar, DTF convenor, said High Court orders did not debar the authorities from counting the votes. The delegation apprised the VC about the mishandling of the situation by the Returning Officer. On September 14, after polling was finished, the Returning Officer issued verbal orders instead of issuing a valid written notification to postpone the counting of votes. He also did not inform the contesting parties, in writing, about how many ballot papers were printed; how many votes were polled and where the unused ballot papers were sealed and kept. Teachers complained to the VC about the high-handed manner in which the authorities took away the ballot boxes without the consent of contesting parties. The Vice Chancellor told the delegation that the decision to not count the votes was taken on September 13 after consultations with top officials of the university.
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Bajwa for CBI probe into use of funds
New Delhi, September 20 In letter to Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Bajwa said the task of monitoring and implementation of the BADF be allotted to the District Vigilance and Monitoring Committees. He alleged that in a number of instances, funds sanctioned under various sponsored schemes had been misappropriated or siphoned in Punjab. Bajwa reminded Shinde of the letter written by him dated July 5 expressing apprehension over the manner in which funds were being utilised in Punjab. “The resignation of Gulzar Singh Ranike, Animal Husbandry Minister of Punjab, for his alleged involvement in the embezzlement of Border Area Development Fund through bogus accounts in his constituency (Attari) in Amritsar district clearly indicates the rot that has set in the system,” the Congress MP added.
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HC slaps Rs 25,000 fine on two policemen
Chandigarh, September 20 The then SHO of the Ferozepur Cant police station Dalbir Singh and Head Constable Karam Singh have been asked to be present in the court on the next date of hearing. The vehicle too will now be delivered by the SHO at the resident of the petitioner. The directions came on a contempt petition filed by Gurpinder Singh through his counsel KB Raheja against Dalbir Singh and another respondent. The High Court on August 17 had asked the petitioner to visit the police station concerned on August 21 for release of the vehicle. A report in this regard was to be submitted to the HC. But the petitioner claimed Karam Singh refused to release the vehicle when he visited the police station, asking him to produce the orders. Dalbir Singh’s counsel claimed the petitioner never turned up with the order. Justice Ranjit Singh asserted: “The action of the SHO and the Head Constable, declining to release the vehicle to the petitioner is a deliberate violation of specific direction issued by the Court.
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Probe employment
unit’s working: HC Chandigarh, September 20 “The Vigilance Department is also directed to inquire into the financial dealings by the centre within last two years and if any defalcation is found, necessary action be taken as per law. The inquiry be entrusted to the Vigilance Department forthwith and it shall be completed within six months,” the Bench of Acting Chief Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain said. The directions came after a short affidavit was filed by Department of Employment Generation & Training under secretary Satya Parkash. In his affidavit, he stated that an inquiry was conducted by Punjab Department of Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes Welfare against Rohi Ram, a member of selection committee involved in recruiting candidates on the basis of the advertisement. “In the preliminary inquiry, the respondent was found guilty of omission and commission at the time when the recruitment was made,” the affidavit said. The Punjab Department of Social Welfare too has recommended an inquiry by the Vigilance/Police Department.
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Ludhiana Mayor’s election
Chandigarh, September 20 Taking up the petition filed by Daljit Singh Grewal and other councillors, a Division Bench of the High Court issued a notice of motion on the plea seeking a stay on the election.The Bench made it clear that the poll would be subject to the decision of the writ petition. Ludhiana is the richest Municipal Corporation with a budget of more than Rs 700 crore. Appearing before the Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice RP Nagrath, senior advocate SK Garg Narwana argued that the Independent councillors were receiving threats from two Punjab ministers. They wanted the councillors to vote for the Akali candidate. Narwana argued that the councillors were in a catch 22 situation. They had no option but to either toe the line of the ministers or face their ire. Worse still, the election was being conducted through the procedure of raising hands. In the process, the much-needed secrecy of the ballot was a casualty. Narwana said there was no rule under which the election could be held by way of raising hands. Moreover, the government had no power to frame such a rule. Also, the rule had not been placed before the House for approval. Narwana said the election could not be expected to be fair and free. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal had only recently appointed Irrigation Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon as observer for Ludhiana.
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Woman jailed for driving husband
to suicide
Moga, September 20 Gurpal Singh, a resident of Masitan Marian village of Zira sub-division in Ferozepur district, had committed suicide on April 7, 2008, at his in-laws’ house in Kot-ise-Khan town of Moga. In his complaint, deceased’s father Harbans Singh said his daughter-in-law Kirpal Kaur had been forcing Gurpal to part ways with the family and stay separately. When Gurpal did not agree, his wife moved to her father Gurdeep Singh’s house. Gurpal consumed a poisonous substance, the complaint stated.
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Ludhiana, September 20
Bathinda, September 20
Fatehgarh Sahib, September 20