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Release Sarabjit: Sukhbir to Pak
Security lapse in Lahore
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Deputy CM’s power boast invites criticism
Vidhan Sabha session from December 17
The Punjab Vidhan Sabha in Chandigarh. A file photograph
Dr Navjot Sidhu, BJP legislator, at a press meet in Chandigarh. A Tribune photograph
Experts back fish-duck farming
‘New Star’ that was located in Goa!
Man dies during police raid; villagers block NH
Gen Bikram Singh to attend PPS founder’s day
Ropar firm gets liquor licence after court order
Shruti’s father moves court for termination of her pregnancy
HC allows PTU to fill 37 posts
Two rice mill owners booked for cheating
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Release Sarabjit: Sukhbir to Pak
Chandigarh, November 8 In a communiqué handed over to Sharif in Lahore, Badal said the people of Punjab had high hopes on his visit to Pakistan and they were eagerly awaiting a positive outcome, especially on the Indian prisoners’ issue. Badal said various NGOs in Pakistan and India were collectively working to pursue these cases and much progress had been made in the case of Sarbjit Singh but his release was withheld after some technical problems. He said history had given an opportunity to the two nations to rewrite relations between two Punjabs'. In an official statement, Sukhbir claimed that his efforts would prove catalytic in cementing bilateral ties. Dy CM seeks corridor to Kartarpur Sahib Sukhbir has sought an early decision on the opening of a corridor from the Indian border side to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib. He also sought a positive decision on handing over of the management and control of gurdwaras located in Pakistan to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). He made these requests when he called on Sharif. He requested that the sentiments of the Sikh community were attached to gurdwaras located in Pakistan and he should request his federal government to give free access to Sikhs to pay obeisance in them. He said the SGPC and the Punjab Government had been requesting the Union government and Pakistan to give a pilgrim corridor up to the gurdwara so that Indian pilgrims could have uninterrupted access to it. He also sought Sharif's intervention for coming up with a plan for Sikh religious tourism circuit allowing Sikh pilgrims a visit to all gurdwaras in Pakistan. Sukhbir paid obeisance at Gurdwara Dera Sahib, the martyrdom place of fifth Sikh Guru Arjan Dev.
Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal and singer Hans Raj Hans at Attari before crossing over to Pakistan to join the delegation from Punjab led by Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal. A Tribune photo Biryani, paneer saag at Lahore Food Street A spontaneous visit by Sukhbir Badal and his Cabinet colleagues to the famous Lahore Food Street stumped everybody. A competition was seen among food hawkers to persuade Sukhbir to eact food in their shops. He enjoyed ‘gol-gappas’ and later had dinner. His meal comprised ‘biryani’, ‘paneer saag’, ‘haryali vegetable’, steamed ‘poori’ and ‘chana’.
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Lahore, November 8 The incident occurred last night at the Royal Country Palm Club where Pakistani businessmen had hosted a dinner for the Indian visitors. Punjab Police chief Haji Habibur Rehman took a serious note of the "security lapse" and ordered an inquiry into the incident, officials said. Superintendent of Police (Security) Shomail
Akram, however, contended the incident was not a security lapse. "The policemen performing duty with the Indian delegation were hungry and they had to eat at the function. They were present on the premises while having dinner and, therefore, there was no question of a security lapse," he argued. The Punjab Police chief's office said the inquiry would establish whether there was a security lapse. The Indian delegation yesterday visited Lahore Fort and Badshahi Mosque. He attended a Youth Festival along with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz
Sharif. Leaders of the Pakistan People's Party, which is in power at the
centre, hosted a luncheon for the delegation. — PTI
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Deputy CM’s power boast invites criticism
Patiala, November 8 Information available with The Tribune clearly shows that Punjab is highly unlikely to become power surplus by 2013. If all the upcoming thermal power plants are commissioned on time, only then will Punjab be able to meet its own power demand by the end of 2014 or early 2015. In 2013, while the first unit of the 660-MW Talwandi Sabo Thermal Plant is scheduled to be commissioned on April 13 next year, the deadline for the 540-MW Goindwal Sahib Thermal Plant is May, 2013. Even if these plants meet their deadline, the two plants will add 1,200 MW to Punjab's existing capacity (7000 MW) whereas the power demand in the state during the summer season is approximately 9,800 MW. This makes it amply clear that Punjab will see a power deficit of about 1,600 MW next summer. Sources in Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) said because of the prevailing coal crisis, the 660-MW unit of the Talwandi Sabo Thermal Plant may miss the April 13 deadline. This unit was to be earlier commissioned on November 30 this year. A senior power corporation official said: “If everything goes as planned, even then it will take at least 18 months for the power scene in the state to improve.” President of the Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association Badish K Jindal said that Sukhbir’s statement was a political one. Congress leader and former MLA Sukhpal Khaira said: “It is a silly statement by Sukhbir in a sensitive neighbouring country. Such kind of unrealistic and irresponsible statement only show that the Deputy CM just wants publicity.”
Thermal generation capacity in Punjab 2,620 MW Bathinda plant has four units, each of 110 MW capacity Lehra plant has four units: two units of 250 MW and two of 210 MW capacity Ropar plant has six units, each of 210 MW capacity Punjab gets 7,000 MW during summers from all sources But, the demand recorded this summer was 9,800 MW This means Punjab is power deficit by about 2,800 MW If the three upcoming Rajpura (1,400 MW), Goindwal Sahib (540 MW) and Talwandi Sabo (1,980 MW) plants are commissioned on time, Punjab will have an additional 3,920 MW of power by 2014-15
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Vidhan Sabha session from December 17
Chandigarh, November 8 An official spokesman said the session would commence on December 17 in the afternoon with obituary references. Financial business, if any, would be undertaken on December 18 and legislative business on December 19. Non-official business would be conducted on December 20 and the House would adjourn sine die after the proposed legislative business on December 21. There would be six sittings during these five days. A double sitting would be held on December 19. Among other decisions, the Cabinet today approved the implementation of Bebe Nanki Laadli Beti Kalyan Scheme. The scheme, which extends financial assistance to poor families to help them to raise their girlchild, is aimed at improving the gender ratio in the state. It will benefit families with an annual income below Rs 30,000 or those covered under the Atta-Dal scheme. The spokesman said that girls born after January 1, 2011, would be covered under the scheme on which Rs 51.75 crore would be spent during 2012-13. A sum of Rs 20,000 would be deposited in Life Insurance Corporation for each of the 25,875 beneficiaries. The Cabinet also approved policy guidelines and building norms for regularising old and new marriage palaces in the state. Palaces raised before December 31, 2012, would be regularised on payment of change in land use (CLU) charges and no application would be entertained in this regard after December 20, 2012. Regularisation of new marriage palaces would be recommended by district-level committees. The state has been divided into seven zones for the levy of CLU charges. The Cabinet also approved the creation of 21 posts of the newly set up Food Processing Department to implement the food and agro-processing policy and to gove suggestions to prospective entrepreneurs on the schemes launched by National Mission on Food Processing (NMFP). The directorate of food processing would act as a single window for prompt processing and clearance of proposals of mega-agri projects under the industrial policy. To ensure proper and efficient functioning of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across the state and cope up with the shortage of craft instructors and senior assistants in the Technical Education and Industrial Training Department, the Cabinet decided to remove 255 posts of craft instructors and 33 senior assistants from the purview of the Punjab Public Service Commission/Punjab State Subordinate Services Selection Board. The posts would be filled forthwith on the basis of a written test conducted by a designated agency. Other key Cabinet decisions Approval to Bebe Nanki scheme for the girlchild Policy guidelines, building norms for regularising marriage palaces Creation of 21 posts of the newly set up Food Processing Department Removal of 255 posts of craft instructors and 33 senior assistants from the purview of the PPSC and the PSSSB The posts are now to be filled on the basis of a written test conducted by a designated agency
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Sidhu to quit Bigg Boss, says his wife
Chandigarh, November 8 Dr Sidhu, who represents the Amritsar East assembly constituency, said since she did not have access to her husband, “I have talked to the promoters of the show.” She said she had received a phone call from BJP president Nitin Gadkari. He wanted her husband to campaign in Gujarat. Dr Sidhu, however, denied that her husband's exit from the reality show had been pre-scripted. Asked why the former cricketer had not exited the television show to campaign in Himachal Pradesh, Dr Sidhu replied: “The party has needed him for the last eight years. But he also has to earn his bread and butter.” Claiming that she had urged her husband to participate in Bigg Boss, Dr Sidhu said the decision was made primarily for money. “Earlier, Navjot quit cricket commentary. We need money now. We have sold our house in Patiala and our house in Amritsar is only half complete”. She, however, maintained she did not know what fee was being commanded by her husband for participation in Bigg Boss. The BJP legislator said that she "absolutely adored" Narendra Modi. She repeated this a few times during the media interaction. She said she and her husband were ready to extend any help to Modi and that she wanted to see Modi become Prime Minister. “I have seen what Modi has done in Gujarat. This needs to be replicated all over the country,” she said. Grilled on Modi’s role in the Gujarat riots, she said since she did have access to the case details, she could not comment on the issue. The BJP leader claimed that the TV show had helped dispel wrong notions about her husband. “Now people know more about him.There was a misconception that Navjot had a quick temper. Now people know that this is not true, that Navjot does not take liquor and that he spends a lot of time meditating and helping others."
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Experts back fish-duck farming
Ludhiana, November 8 Moreover, scientists have also proven that fish-duck farming improves fish productivity. In aqua-farming, pond water productivity plays a major role in achieving higher fish productivity. Various organic manures (cow dung, duck droppings, poultry droppings, biogas slurry, pig dung etc.) and inorganic fertilisers (urea, SSP, DAP etc.) are added to the fish pond to provide essential nutrients (N,P,K) for plankton (phytoplankton and zooplankton) development. Abhishek Srivastava, Assistant Professor, College of Fisheries, GADVASU, said that in integrated fish-duck farming duck farming was incorporated with fish farming. "It is a common farming system in various states of India like Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Tripura, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu etc," said Srivastava. Dr Asha Dhawan, Dean, College of Fisheries at GADVASU said that both fish and ducks benefited in this system of farming as duck droppings fell into the pond and acted as manure, increasing the productivity of the water. No supplementary feed was given to the fish and no artificial fertilisation was required thereby reducing the cost of fish production. "Ducks clean the pond water by eating insects, tadpoles, larvae and vegetation present in it. Ducks also aerate the water while swimming in the pond. The paddling movement of its wings and feet help in increasing the dissolved oxygen level in the water. In other words, they are bio-aerators," said Dr Dhawan. She added that integrated duck-fish farming had the potential of improving the rural economy and generating employment.
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‘New Star’ that was located in Goa!
Bathinda, November 8 The joy was not at the discovery of any new celestial body, but "New Star" was the code during the month-long operation to locate Shruti, the minor who was allegedly kidnapped by 19-year-old Nishan from Faridkot on September 24. Going by the initials of their names, "New" stood for Nishan and "Star" referred to Shruti. Fearing leakage of their operation, the policemen only interacted in the code language. A 12-member team had arrested Nishan and recovered Shruti from Doba Paula beach in Goa that day. Doba Paula is one of the most visited beaches in Goa. A Portuguese girl is said to have committed suicide there centuries ago when she was not allowed to marry a poor fisherman. But in this case, Nishan by no means was a poor youth. He had Rs 2 lakh with him when he allegedly abducted Shruti. Policemen involved in the investigation said after roaming around in Goa for three days, they almost had called off the operation after Nishan could not be located, despite having been spotted once in a crowded market. An hour before a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and a woman constable, attired in a Hippy dress, caught Nishan and Shruti idling on a pair of lounge chairs, another team searching for the duo in the opposite end of the city had sought their assistance. But, the DSP and the woman constable sent back a message "Weather is romantic", signifying the duo may be there. They were proved right. The police team in Goa and the one back home in Faridkot had not slept for 72 hours, claimed Inspector-General (Bathinda Zone) NS Dhillon. "The policemen mostly worked at night as during the day, they had to handle dharnas," he said. Dhillon said the police reached Goa only after conducting raids at several possible hideouts and checking hundreds of hotels in Delhi. "A staff member in a hotel had overheard Nishan enquiring about air tickets to Goa. That led us to the beach city. The case was challenging. Nishan was not even using ATMs or mobile phones. He had Rs 2 lakh cash with him, given by a woman relative. Of this, Rs 57,000 was recovered from at the time of arrest," he said. Action committee to stage dharna Bathinda: Members of the Shruti Kidnapping Case Action Committee, a group of several trade unions, teachers and students associations, would stage a dharna outside Mini Secretariat here on Friday. The committee is demanding "release" of Shruti from "police-managed custody" in Nari Niketan and her reunion with her parents. A committee spokesperson claimed that Shruti was not even being allowed to meet her parents without the police's permission. — TNS
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Gen Bikram Singh to attend PPS founder’s day
Patiala, November 8 School headmaster Jagpreet Singh said the school had a unique tradition of honouring its ex-students, who had excelled in their chosen field, with the Roll of Honour Award. He said this year Arvinder Singh
Bubber, presently the Chancellor of Kwantlen Polytechnic University of British Columbia (Canada), will be conferred with the Roll of Honour Award. — TNS
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Man dies during police raid; villagers block NH Ludhiana, November 8 The protesters kept the body of the victim, Balwinder Singh (42) of Talwandi village, on the National Highway-1, blocking traffic. They even damaged some vehicles. The protest led to a major traffic jam. The incident occurred at 9 pm when the Ladhowal police received a tip-off that illegal sand mining was on at a vacant plot near the Sutlej riverbed in Talwandi Kalan village. The police party raided the place and surrounded those involved in the illegal mining. A panic-stricken Balwinder Singh tried to escape on a tractor. He was chased by the police party. His tractor turned turtle and Balwinder Singh was crushed underneath. He died on the spot. Angry residents spilled on to the roads following a rumour that Balwinder had died in police firing. The protesters demanded that the services of the raiding police officials be terminated. Police Commissioner Ishwar Singh said the police party had conducted the raid following a tip-off. He denied that the police had resorted to firing. The residents had not lifted the blockade till the filing of the report.
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Ropar firm gets liquor licence after court order
Chandigarh, November 8 Appearing for the State of Punjab before the Bench of Justice Ajay Kumar Mittal and Justice GS Sandhawalia, Punjab Advocate-General Ashok Aggarwal stated that the permits for purchase of liquor were being denied because the petitioner was in arrears. Appearing on behalf of petitioners, Additional Advocate-General of Haryana Vikram Jain contended that the Punjab Advocate-General was contradicting the order dated October 5 of Excise and Taxation Commissioner A Venu Prasad. The order renewing the L-1 liquor license of the petitioner was passed by the Excise and Taxation Commissioner after taking into consideration the fact that nothing was in arrears towards the petitioner company. Jain insisted that the Punjab Advocate-General should file an affidavit that the company was in arrears, as the Excise and Taxation Commissioner categorically stated the department has no objection for the renewal of the licence as the VAT had been deposited. Jain added despite the renewal of L-1 licence, the state was arbitrarily not issuing the permits for purchase of IMFL to the petitioners; and the action was totally illegal and uncalled for. Finally the state of Punjab changed its stand and Punjab Additional Advocate-General stated that the Excise Department had issued the permits for purchase of IMFL to the petitioners. Taking on record the assertion, the Bench disposed of the petition.
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Shruti’s father moves court for termination of her pregnancy
Faridkot, November 8 In two different applications moved in the court today, Ashwani Sachdeva, Shruti's father, demanded medical termination of the pregnancy of the minor girl. Terming it as unwanted conception, the father demanded that as his minor daughter was a rape victim, the pregnancy would be a grave injury to her mental health. The police had moved an application before the court on October 30 for Nishan Singh's DNA finger-printing to prove his guilt in the rape case. NK Jeet, counsel for Ashwani Sachdeva, quoted Section 2 (i) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, under which the pregnancy of a rape victim, if she is a minor, can be terminated with the written consent of her guardians. Shruti too had given her consent to the termination of pregnancy, her father claimed in his application to the court. "Yesterday my advocate went to Nari Niketan, Jalandhar, to get Shruti's signature but the police there did not allow him to meet her," he alleged in the application. In his second application, he demanded the custody of his daughter. "Under the garb of Nari Niketan, my daughter is under police custody and this has already had an deleterious affect on her mental health," he said. The court adjourned the case till Friday.
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HC allows PTU to fill 37 posts
Jalandhar, November 8 In a civil writ petition filed by the Anti-Corruption Society, the court had issued a notice on November 14 last year, restraining the university from making any appointment without the permission of the court. "The finalised selection process has to be put up before the Board of Governors which has the right to reject or approve the recommendation. We hope the Chairman of the Board of Governors will look into the selection process and if the board members are satisfied with the selections, they can proceed further and issue appointment letters," Justice Satish Kumar Mittal and Justice Inderjit Singh said while adjourning the matter till December 7. With the High Court orders, the university's ambitious plan to start six new Punjab Institutes of Technology (PITs) in rural areas across the state had failed to take off. The Anti-Corruption Society had charged Rajneesh Arora, VC, of violating the PTU Act in conducting appointments.
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Five held with sand boa in Ropar
Ropar, November 8 Ropar Station House Officer (SHO) Manvir Singh said he got information that five people were spotted near Sadavrat forest area under suspicious circumstances. We nabbed them and upon searching them found a sand boa concealed in a bag, he said. On interrogation, Suleman, Johnson and Charanjit said they caught the snake with the help of Nadim and Arshad. Charanjit told the police that according to a myth if a person worshipped these snakes on Divali, it would bring him fortune. He further said that there were plenty of clients in the region who had offered him Rs 1 lakh to possess the snake for a day so they could worship it. Wildlife officials said it was alarming that this endangered species was poached and smuggled out of the country. In November last year, the Patiala Wildlife Department had busted a gang involved in the trade wherein two persons were arrested. The two were allegedly trying to smuggle a pair of sand boas to Ludhiana for Rs 19 lakh. According to sources, most of these snakes are smuggled to the US, where a sand boa is sold for several million dollars. All the five accused have been arrested under The Indian Wildlife Act 1972, said the Station House Officer. Endangered species Wildlife officials say sand boa is an endangered snake species There is a myth that if a person worships these snakes on
Divali, it will bring him fortune Sources say sand boa is smuggled to the US, where it is sold for several million dollars
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Two rice mill owners booked for cheating
Patiala, November 8 Police are yet to make arrests in both the cases. A case has been registered against Ashok Suri, a resident of Urban Estate, as 41,054 bags of government-stocked paddy were missing at his rice mill in Mardaherhi. In another case, Harpal Singh, owner of Hargobind rice mill at Daun Kala was booked by the police under Sections 420 and 406 pertaining to cheating after 41,054 bags of government-stocked paddy went missing from his mill. District manager, PUNSUP, will send a detailed report to the head office. A thorough inspection of rice mills in Patiala and Samana is also planned. — TNS
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The Cabinet today approved the summoning of the third session of the Vidhan Sabha from December 17 to 21. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting here that was chaired by Chief Minister Parkash Singh
Badal.
Over a thousand residents of Ladhowal and surrounding villages went on the rampage following the death of a man during a police raid to check illegal sand mining.
The protesters kept the body of the victim, Balwinder Singh (42) of Talwandi village, on the National Highway-1, blocking traffic. They even damaged some vehicles. The protest led to a major traffic jam. 
Harsimrat too joins delegation in Pakistan
Not so power-full