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No end to Maqboolpura agony
Trade ties can sink differences: Sukhbir
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Swaminathan: Need to raise economic status of farmers
Nishan Singh remanded to two-week judicial custody
Food research centre, Adarsh School to come up in Talwara
Sarna hints at early DSGMC elections
Shortage of gunny bags delays lifting
Workers protest ‘corruption’ in NREGA plan
I-T surveys on cable, travel firms in Ludhiana
Few visiting approved centres for dengue tests
Power Corp management to meet staff today
Women workers prefer domestic sector: Survey
Look into Banur MLA's plea, HC to govt
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No end to Maqboolpura agony
Amritsar, November 6 The locality lost two more men to drug addiction last month. Both were brothers. The elder brother, Purshottam Lal, was an electrician while the younger, Amar Nath, used to work in a factory. Both of them were addicted to charas and illicit liquor. Now, their widows Geeta and Sunita with three children each are forced to send their teenage sons to a stationery unit where they earn Rs 1,500 each per month, besides working themselves as domestic helps. They are still better off considering the fact that they have Blue Cards which entitle them to 25 kg of subsidised wheat every month. There are at least 150 widows who are awaiting issuance of Blue Cards to their families. Master Ajit Singh, who is working against the drug menace in the locality, has a list of such widows. Joginder Kaur, whose husband Jaspal Singh died due to drug addiction in February this year, doesn’t have the Blue Card. “I work as a daily wager while my son plies a three-wheeler to eke out a livelihood”. Earlier, she used to get five litres of kerosene a month, but that too she hasn’t received for almost an year now. Same is the case with Seeta, whose husband Shambhu, a rickshaw-puller, died six months ago. She has four children. Twenty-two-year-old Neetu also lost her husband to drug addiction. She is now finding it difficult to sustain her family which includes two children. Both of them don’t have Blue Cards. The Tribune had taken up the issue of drug menace in Maqboolpura way back in 1999, which had prompted social activists Brij Bedi and Master Ajit Singh to set up Citizens Forum Vidya Mandir to educate the children of drug addicts. However, the locality remained neglected, irrespective of the fact that which political party is ruling the state. There is no de-addiction or health centre in Maqboolpura. Its streets are in a bad shape and sewers remain choked. Almost every household in the locality has lost one or more of its family members to drug addiction. losing hope
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Trade ties can sink differences: Sukhbir
Chandigarh, November 6 Speaking at an official lunch hosted by Chief Minister of Easter Punjab Province Shahbaz Sharif at his residence,
Badal, in a statement, said south Asian countries should take a cue from the European Union experiment and take steps to boost mutual ties. Once that done, he said, the region would usher in prosperity and the issues of discontent between India and Pakistan for the past over six decades would automatically stand resolved. Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh
Majithia, Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka and Industry and Technical Education Minister Anil Joshi also spoke on the occasion. From the Pakistan side, Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana Mohammad
Iqbal, Education Minister Mujtaba Sujaho Rehman, Member of National Assembly Parvez
Malik, Senator Parvez Rashid, adviser to Chief Minister Begum Zakia Shahnawaz shared experiences of their respective
departments. Sukhbir also agreed to a proposal by Sharif for forming a joint business committee of the two countries. He announced the first meeting of the committee, comprising politicians, industrialists, traders, progressive farmers and experts, would be held in Amritsar in the first week of December. Sharif accepted Sukhbir's invitation to be chief guest on the
occasion. MoU signed
The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry today signed a memorandum of understanding with its Punjab counterpart to strengthen trade ties between the two countries. Stress on
tractors
Sukhbir Badal presented the keys of a tractor to Eastern Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif symbolically extending an arm for business ties in the field. He said Punjab was currently exporting tractors to more than 65 countries and the tractor industry in Punjab had excelled due to sophisticated engineering.
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No teachers, schools in several Ferozepur villages locked
One room is the sole space where the children jostle with each other during their meal. The volunteers try to teach/help them, but it is simply not their cup of tea. This village, situated in the mand area along the Sutlej, is not alone in facing a virtual famine of teachers. Locked schools are a common sight in the countryside. Former sarpanch Major Singh said the situation had been the same for the past several decades. “Poor road connectivity, reluctance of teachers to serve in rural areas and the apathy of the government towards the education of poor children is nothing new,” he said. He, along with other villagers, said they had somehow persuaded the department to post a woman volunteer from a nearby village to teach the children. “But the officials shifted her to another school in Mehmudwala where they say her services were urgently required,” they said. This belies the claims of the government in implementing the Right to Education Act in letter and spirit. Things were a lot better when the Padho Punjab project was being pursued by the department. “At least there were teachers and volunteers who regularly visited us for our feedback and even our children had made good progress in their studies,” they added. “Things are now back to square one. We recently held a meeting of the parents in this area. We have decided not to waste time in making rounds of government offices. In case teachers are not posted in the village schools, we will file a petition in the high court. After all, the future of our children is at stake,” they added.
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Swaminathan: Need to raise economic status of farmers
Ludhiana November 6 "I had in 2006 recommended that the minimum support price
(MSP) should be at least 50 per cent more than the production cost if the farming was to be made remunerative. “Even after six years, the government has done nothing to implement the report. The commission can only make recommendations. It is the farmers who have too put pressure on the government to implement the recommendations," Dr Swaminathan said. He said the government must take steps to improve the economic status of farmers and to improve environmental security. Reacting to Dr Swaminathan's remarks, Dr Darshanpal Singh, a BKU
(Dakhonda) activist said: "The farmers belong to an economically backward class. They cannot fight the government. If the farmers have to make all the efforts, then why constitute farmers' commissions and universities. The commissions have to hold a debate with bodies like the Commission for Agricultural Coast and Price
(CACP) on the issue of MSP". Delegates from across the country and abroad attended the inaugural session of the Horticulture Congress today. Dr Bal Ram
Jakhar, former Governor of Madhya Pradesh and Union Agriculture Minister, was the chief guest. The four-day programme has been jointly organised by the Punjab Agricultural U and the Horticulture Society of India.
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Nishan Singh remanded to two-week judicial custody
Faridkot, November 6 The police had sought Nishan Singh's remand for DNA testing to establish that he had raped the minor girl, who is lodged at the Nari
Niketan, Jalandhar. But senior advocate Sant Pal Singh Sidhu argued that the police was misleading the court. "Before Nishan Singh's DNA testing, the victim's statement before the court under Section 164 of the CrPC is necessary to establish prima facie Nishan Singh's guilt in the offence," argued
Sidhu, relying on the statement of some senior police officers that Shruti was married to Nishan Singh. He opposed Shruti's statement recorded under Section 161,
CrPC, accusing Nishan Singh of rape. "This statement is not a convincing evidence," claimed the advocate during over two-hour argument. The court will hear the police application for Nishan Singh's DNA testing on November 8. The police plea that Shruti needed to be with her parents for medical care failed to move the court with Nishan Singh's counsel claiming that Shruti was getting the required medical attention at the Nari
Niketan.
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Food research centre, Adarsh School to come up in Talwara
Talwara (Hoshiarpur), November 6 Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who was addressing a gathering here today after laying foundation stones of development works worth Rs 26 crore in the area, said the centre would facilitate commercial and medicinal plant crops and food products. In turn, he said, the income of farmers would increase. The centre would also help in developing the region as the country’s ‘Herbal Hub’. In Hoshiarpur district, 543 villages fell in kandi area. He said the state government was also preparing a ‘Kandi area development plan’. “The budgetary provision for the plan will be prepared in the next financial year. The state government is aware of the difficulties faced by the people of the area. Efforts are being made to find viable solutions to their problems,” the Chief Minister said. He reiterated that there was vast scope for development of food processing industry in the region, for which cultivation of amla, lemon and medicinal plants needed to be explored. Badal said the state government had also prepared a programme to impart technical training to the area youth. “A multi-purpose mega skill training centre will be established in Hoshiarpur in collaboration with a German company. The aim is to equip the youth with world-class technical training. An ultra-modern polytechnic college will also be established in Talwara at a cost of Rs 15.25 crore, to be named after late MLA Amarjeet Singh Sahi,” he said. The foundation stone of a C-Pyte centre was also laid in Talwara, which, Badal said, would provide opportunities to the local youth to join the armed forces and paramilitary. He said an Adarsh School would also be opened in Talwara at a cost of Rs 5.25 crore. Chief Parliamentary Secretary Mohinder Kaur Josh, MLA Sukhjeet Kaur Sahi, former Minister Arunesh Shakir and Special Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister KJS Cheema were also present.
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Sarna hints at early DSGMC elections
New Delhi, November 6 Declining to give a specific date for the elections, he said there was no point in delaying the elections further and these should be held before December 31 this year. After Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal met the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister recently, asking them to ensure that the DSGMC elections were held by the year-end, the SAD started demanding that Punjabi Bagh be renamed in the memory of the 1984 riot victims. This was done to woo the electorate. Sarna said when the Congress controlled the Delhi Municipal Corporation, the Ministry of Home Affairs had given permission to rename the park in memory of Sant Harchand Singh Longowal. But the decision was put on hold by the BJP that came to power subsequently. Manjit Singh, SAD’s Delhi unit chief, said the South Delhi Municipal Corporation had agreed to renaming the park in memory of the riot victims but the Municipal Commissioner had binned the move on the "directions of the Delhi Government." VS Yadav, personal secretary to the SDMC Mayor, said a resolution on the matter was rejected by Municipal Commissioner on technical grounds.
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Shortage of gunny bags delays lifting
Moga, November 6 Similarly, Markfed, the largest cooperative society of Asia, is likely to procure 2,90,400 tonnes of paddy for which it requires 16,594 bales of gunny bags. But it has 11,420 bales of new and 1,814 bales of used gunny bags. It is thus short of 4,712 bales (23.56 lakh bags). Likewise, Punjab Agro Corporation is short of 2,179 bales (10.9 lakh bags). Two other state procurement agencies, Punsup and Punjab Warehouse Corporation, have excess gunny bags to the tune of 313 and 1,665 bales, respectively. The state agencies have so far not fixed the rates of used gunny bags. A commission agent in Dharamkot grain market said if the rates were fixed, the agencies could purchase it from the market to overcome the shortage. There are also reports of poor quality bags being supplied to commission agents at Nihalsinghwala, Ajitwal, Badhni Kalan, Kot-ise-Khan and Dharamkot grain markets. A new gunny bag costs between Rs 36 and Rs 42 in the wholesale market, whereas one-time used gunny bag costs around Rs 22 to Rs 26. But sources said the bags being used by millers did not cost more than Rs 10.
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Workers protest ‘corruption’ in NREGA plan
Faridkot, November 6 Jagroop Singh, National Council Member, CPI, alleged the UPA government’s flagship programme had failed to meet the aspirations of people. With villagers complaining that there was no work even on demand, the scheme had failed to serve the purpose, he said. The protesters demanded an increase in working days to 200 per year for a minimum of two members of a family. Pawanpreet Singh, district secretary, CPI, said “Employment figures are plummeting, wages are too low and corruption is rampant. There is no indexing of minimum wages to inflation.”
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I-T surveys on cable, travel firms in Ludhiana
Ludhiana, November 6 I-T officials carried out surveys at three premises of the companies located at Lajja Tower, Sham Nagar and Ferozepur Road. The surveys were conducted on the directions of Commissioner Income Tax Vinod Kumar under the supervision of Joint Commissioner RN Punnia. “Details about unaccounted money will be known only after we are through with the surveys by tomorrow," said the Joint Commissioner. Meanwhile, Rs 80 lakh was surrendered by Mamta Shawl Group whose premises at Mochpura Bazar and Janakpuri were surveyed by the department yesterday.
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Few visiting approved centres for dengue tests
Chandigarh, November 6 Only a small fraction of patients are turning up at the 15 government-approved centres for dengue tests. Hundreds more are visiting private clinics. According to official figures, there have been 493 dengue cases in the state till October 31 this year. Epidemiologist Gagandeep Singh said: "Dengue figures this year are far less than those in the previous years. The figure was as high as 2,116 in 2010." He said most private hospitals were conducting "certain tests" which were not recommended by the government. "Patients can visit any of the 15 testing labs in the state which follow a set procedure to confirm dengue. Private hospitals create needless panic by showing a less platelet count." He said private hospitals had been found to be recommending tests even if a person ran mild fever. Dr GS Grewal, a Ludhiana-base medical practitioner, said: " A normal person has a blood platelet count of 1.5 lakh. A low platelet count may not necessarily indicate dengue. Even a platelet count of less than 60,000 does not necessarily indicate dengue."A private practitioner in Jalandhar admitted that private hospitals were not sending the required data to the government and that the actual dengue figures were probably higher than the official figures. On the issue, Dr Gagandeep Singh said: " A particular hospital recently announced that it had received up to 100 dengue cases. When verified, the claim was found to be false.The doctor concerned later said that he had been misquoted." The claim by Mohali doctors that the city had seen more than 500 dengue had also been found to be untrue. "The correct number is 200," he said. The Director, Health and Family Welfare, Dr Ashok Nayyar, said: "The government-approved MAC ELIZA test is done free of cost in 15 districts, except Tarn Taran, Nawanshahr, Ropar, Muktsar and Barnala." Punjab was the first state to constitute district and state-level committees to review dengue cases, he added.
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Power Corp management to meet staff today
Patiala, November 6 The meeting assumes significance in wake of the fact that the Forum and the PSEB Council of Junior Engineers had already announced that in case their demands were not accepted, over 50,000 non-gazetted employees would go on strike on November 8. Speaking to The Tribune, PSEB Joint Forum leader Karamchand Bhardwaj said that the tripartite agreement clearly mentioned that the existing differential in the salary of employees of erstwhile Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) vis-à-vis their counterparts in the government will be maintained. “But still, the Power Corporation has not given the employees an increase in their grade pay and pay band, which the Punjab Government has given to its employees”, he said.
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Women workers prefer domestic sector: Survey
Ludhiana, November 6 According to a Knitwear Club survey, only 5 per cent women were contributing to industrial production. Vinod Thapar, chairman of Knitwear Club said, "We need women to form 40 per cent of the total workforce working in production. Work atmosphere, night shifts and meagre salaries are the main reasons why women are not coming forward to work in industrial units." Amarjeet Kaur, president of All India Working Women Forum, said industrial workers were facing three problems. Firstly they were paid less as compared to their male counterparts. Secondly they were forced to do night shifts and thirdly, the management did not arrange a vehicle for them to be dropped home from work. Geeta, who was initially working with an export unit, has now switched over to the domestic sector. "It was not possible for me to commute late at night. The management did not arrange a pick up vehicle for us either.," said
Geeta.
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Look into Banur MLA's plea, HC to govt
Chandigarh, November 6 The suggestions came on a petition filed by Banur MLA Hardyal Singh Kamboj. In the petition placed before the Bench of Chief Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, Kamboj had asserted that the "reconstitution of the jurisdiction" as per the parliamentary constituencies had caused "certain inconveniences". Elaborating, his counsel Abhinav Oberoi had asserted that as a part of the process three police stations were to be carved out at Sohana, Zirakpur and Lalru after dismantling the Banur police station following a notification issued by the Punjab Government in September this year. Oberoi had asserted that the existing police station at Banur was bang on the highway. In the event of an accident, police personnel could be easily informed about it and the latter could complete the formalities without delay and promptly provide the necessary information to the victim's family and the hospital concerned. But with the dismantling of the Banur police station, the entire process would be delayed as police personnel would have to be called in from not-so-near Sohana, Lalru or Zirakpur. Taking up the matter, the Bench observed: "The petition only states that reconstitution of the jurisdiction of police stations as per the parliamentary constituencies has caused certain inconveniences. These are the aspects to be looked into by the executive and the same do not fall within the domain of the judiciary…. "No legal right is projected or alleged to have been infringed. The grievance raised in this petition may be treated as a representation to the government, which may look into the same". The Bench concluded: "We, thus, dispose of this writ petition with the observation that the government may look into the problems faced because of the creation of the new jurisdiction and make an attempt to redress the same". The development is significant as Banur residents have been holding protests against the government notification for dismantling the Banur police station. Leaders and workers of all political parties have formed a 21-member committee to oppose the government decision.
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Gambling racket in Rajpura busted
Rajpura, November 6 Sources said the kingpin of the nexus was Ashok Mehta, a Rajpura resident, who enjoyed cordial relations with local politicians and the police. He managed to flee from the spot. The accused gambled at an abandoned factory situated only a few hundred metres away from Shambhu police station. Police said that Mehta had been running the illegal gambling business in Rajpura for several years. “The raid was kept secret from the local police as we suspected their role in letting the gambling nexus continue unabated,” said a senior police officer. “It is crucial that we arrest the kingpin as then we would be able to find out who helped him in running the business,” he said. Patiala Superintendent of Police (D) Pritpal Singh Thind said CIA teams from Patiala, Samana and Rajpura raided an abandoned factory unit late Monday night near Shambhu police station. “We have arrested 49 persons from Ambala, Samrala, Saharanpur, Khanna, Rajpura, Patiala and Ludhiana,” Thind said. Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police Gurpreet Singh Gill said we would not let off those police officers who have been helping the accused. Police has recovered 10 luxury cars, including a Fortuner with a VIP number, allegedly belonging to the kingpin Ashok Mehta. Rajpura Superintendent of Police Bhupinder Khatra said Shambhu police was not a part of the gambling nexus. “When I got a complaint that policemen were accepting bribes at nakas, I ordered that only Assistant Sub Inspector and above ranked officers held nakas,” he said. A case has been registered under the Gambling Act.
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There seems to be no end in sight to the miseries of residents of Maqboolpura, also known as “locality of widows”, as men continue to lose their lives to drug addiction.
Dr MS Swaminathan, Rajya Sabha member and noted agriculture scientist, inaugurated the Indian Horticulture Congress: 2012 at Punjab Agricultural University here today.
"I had in 2006 recommended that the minimum support price (MSP) should be at least 50 per cent more than the production cost if the farming was to be made remunerative.
In its bid to boost economy in backward ‘Kandi’ area of Punjab, the state government has decided to set up a Rs 6 crore natural bio-resources research and food processing institute here.
Shera Madhar, November 5
At the last stage of paddy procurement, three state-owned procurement agencies, Pungrain, Markfed and Punjab Agro Corporation, are facing a shortage of at least 5,980 bales of gunny bags (29.90 lakh bags) even as the Union Government allowed using one-time used jute bags to store the foodgrain. The shortage is hindering the process of lifting of the produce from the markets.
An official of the Food and Civil Supplies Department said Pungrain was likely to procure 3,16,100 tonnes of paddy for which it required 18,063 bales of gunny bags. However, it had only 12,996 bales of new gunny bags and 4,000 bales of used bags, a shortage of 1,067 bales (5.34 lakh bags).