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Impart skilled training
to, the jobless, CM tells NRIs
MoU inked for making widows self-employed |
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Don’t fall in Sukhbir’s trap, Capt warns NRIs
Bhattal to approach Election Commission on village wards
Number of voters goes up by 9.92 lakh in a year
Family blames police for suicide by
ex-ASI
Groundwater in Sangrur falling at alarming rate
Empowering women a priority, says Landran
Jallianwalla Bagh: Govt move may set martyrs’ record right
Sehajdhari Sikh Party to fight against SAD in DSGMC poll
In a first, sitting Congress legislator in the fray
Reschedule loans, demand dairymen
Rights violation case against Badal in US court on Jan 29
HC sees no wrong in banks
financing earnest money
Ex-serviceman held on attempt to rape charge
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Impart skilled training to
the jobless, CM tells NRIs
Jalandhar, January 5 Addressing a gathering comprising NRIs and other dignitaries on the last day of the NRI Sammelan here today, Badal said the list would help the Punjab Government acquire state-of-the-art technology for its ongoing developmental schemes in various field, including in health, engineering, agriculture and technology. Badal also announced a scholarship for 50 needy students from the state for pursuing higher education abroad. He said the state government had also signed a pact with Germany for a skill development programme in Punjab. Under the plan, five lakh youth would be imparted skill training over a period of five years, he said. While seeking cooperation from NRIs in imparting skilled training to unemployed youth, he said the state government was ready to invest and provide requisite infrastructure for the purpose. Badal assured the Punjabi diaspora settled across the globe of addressing their genuine problems, including those related to property and civil matters, on a priority. He directed NRI Affairs Minister Bikram Singh Majithia to examine all their cases. The Chief Minister had the audience in splits as he narrated several incidents of his past life. He also did not forget to mention the period he had spent in jail during the freedom movement. Claiming that his government was a secular one, Badal said people of various religions had voted the Akali Dal to power for the second consecutive term earlier this year. In his address, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal called upon the NRIs not to get carried away by the "false propaganda" by political opponents. Sukhbir said 10 per cent residential and commercial plots in Punjab Urban Development Authority would be reserved for the NRIs. He said for ensuring requisite services to the NRIs under one roof, two state-of-the-art NRI bhawans had been set up in Mohali and Jalandhar. In his inaugural address, Majithia said the main motive of the NRI Sammellan was to seek suggestions from the Punjabi diaspora for carrying forward various development schemes in the state, besides addressing the problems faced by the
NRIs.
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MoU inked for making widows self-employed
Jalandhar, January 5 The MoU was singed by Loomba and Principal Secretary (NRI Affairs) SS Channy on behalf of the Punjab Government at the NRI Sammelan here. As many as 5,000 widows located in various parts of the country would be given stitching machines and imparted training for making them self-employed. The Loomba Foundation and the state government would provide Rs 1 crore each for the scheme. Expressing his gratitude to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for the support, Loomba said not only the 5,000 widows but even their children would become self-reliant under the scheme. Hailing from Dhilwan in Kapurthala district, Loomba is the founder chairman of Pushpawati Loomba Trust. The organization has already been providing scholarship of Rs 500 per month to 3,600 orphan students all over the country. Loomba recently gave Rs 50 lakh for improving infrastructure and providing clean water and sanitation facilities to Dhilwan-based Government Senior Secondary School where he had studied till Class VIII in the 1950s. Loomba said, "My mother Pushpawati's struggle during 38 years of her widowhood made me initiate this plan in my motherland."
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Don’t fall in Sukhbir’s trap, Capt warns NRIs
Chandigarh, January 5 Amarinder, in a statement issued here today, said Sukhbir and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had made several promises to the NRIs five years ago as well, but “none of them had been fulfilled so far”. The Pradesh Congress chief maintained that Sukhbir “could not hide the reality by presenting a rosy picture of the state before the NRIs who knew it well that Punjab had gone bankrupt”. “Sukhbir is mistaken if he thinks that by making a presentation in a five-star hotel he can hide the harsh realities. The NRIs move around Punjab and are well aware of the prevailing state of affairs,” he said. Inviting the NRIs for an interaction, he said they were welcome to put forth their point of view with the Congress for getting the “right” feedback from the party. The former Chief Minister maintained that Sukhbir was “always high on promises and low on delivery”. “Only a few days ago, a vice-president of the Akali Dal’s youth wing was arrested for assaulting a police officer and an NRI. The same youth leader had also grabbed the property of an NRI on which had he constructed a night club. Instead of helping the NRI, the SAD-BJP government preferred to support the youth Akali leader,” he said.
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Bhattal to approach Election Commission on village wards
Sangrur, January 5 After listening to the grievances of the people at her residence in Lehragaga today, Bhattal said the wards had been formed "as per wishes of the jathedars, insteead of set parameters so that the Akali candidates can win the panchayat elections in a big way". Bhattal said crime had increased in Punjab as the station house officers (SHOs) were "taking orders" from SAD leaders and jathedars instead of their senior officers. She said it seemed that the jathedari system had been "prevailing upon" the democracy in the state. The MLA said Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal should explain why power cuts were being imposed during winter months in Punjab despite his claims to sell power to Pakistan and making Punjab a power surplus state. She said the SAD-BJP government had failed in issuing "white paper" on utilisation of central grants despite persistent demand by the Congress.
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Number of voters goes up by 9.92 lakh in a year
Chandigarh, January 5 Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Kusumjit Sidhu today said this while declaring that the final publication of the photo electoral roll had been done across the state. Kusumjit, who attended a meeting with various political parties at the Punjab Chief Election Office here, said the projected population of the state was 2.84 crore whereas the number of electors, as on January 1 (2013), stood at 1,84,26,262. Of them, 97,11,487 were male voters, 87,14,538 were females and 237 were others voters, she said. The Chief Electoral Officer said the number of voters had increased by 9,92,495 over the last year’s figure and there was an increase of 7,50,397 over the draft published on October 1, 2012. The gender ratio of Punjab, as per the Census, was 893 females per 1,000 males whereas the electoral roll showed a gender ratio of 897:1,000, she said. A special campaign is being launched from January 6 to 25 for registration of young voters, it said.
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Family blames police for suicide by
ex-ASI
Ropar, January 5 Manak Singh was allegedly upset over a property dispute with his brothers. He has also left a suicide note naming his brothers. He had even faxed a copy of the suicide note to the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) which the latter received yesterday morning. Another copy of the suicide note was posted by him to the city Station House Officer (SHO) which too was delivered at the police station yesterday. Harpreet Singh, the deceased's son, alleged though the police had filed a case under Section 306 IPC against Surinder Singh and Amarjit Singh, the two brothers of his father, the names of Ropar CIA inspector and reader Deepak, who had also been named in the suicide note, were not mentioned in the FIR. A few months ago, Manak had lodged a complaint against his two brothers alleging that they had usurped his share in ancestral property. The complaint was being investigated by the CIA staff. Manak had mentioned in his suicide note that CIA officials were favouring his brothers. Ropar SSP Inder Mohan Singh said the FIR was registered on the statement of family members. At that time, they did not name any CIA official. However, any person irrespective of his status found guilty during the investigation would be booked, he added. Case file Victim Manak Singh was 'upset' over a property dispute with his brothers whom he had named in his suicide note He sent a copy of suicide note to the city SSP and SHO The ASI's son alleges the names of Ropar CIA inspector and a reader, who have also been named in the suicide note, were not mentioned in the FIR Ropar SSP claims the family did not mention the name of any official while giving statement
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Groundwater in Sangrur falling at alarming rate
Sangrur, January 5 Sources said in 2002, the groundwater's depth range was between 10 m and 25 m in the district. The same went down to 18 m to 30 m by 2012. Deepak Sethi, Assistant Geologist, Agriculture, said as per an analysis of groundwater, prepared in 2004 by the Central Ground Water Board and the Water Sources Directorate of Irrigation Department, in collaboration with the state Agriculture Department, if the recharge of water (through rainwater, canals etc) was 100 per cent then, its discharge was 192 per cent. As per another analysis done in 2009, if the recharge of water was 100 per cent then, its discharge was 264 per cent. Sethi said after implementation of the Punjab Preservation of Sub-Soil Water Act 2009, the depletion of groundwater was restricted to some extent. There are nine blocks in the district, namely Sangrur, Sunam, Dhuri, Malerkotla, Ahmedgarh, Sherpur, Andana, Lehra and Bhawanigarh. As many as 18 piezometers have been installed in these blocks by the authorities to record the groundwater level. On the basis of measurement, through these piezometers in June (pre-monsoon) and October (post-monsoon), an analysis report of groundwater is prepared every year.
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Empowering women a priority, says Landran
Chandigarh, January 5 Paramjit Kaur Landran, lawyer activist who was appointed as the new chairperson of the commission yesterday, said her priority will be to empower women in each and every way possible and ensure speedy deliverance of justice to these women. “The commission will act as a bridge between the women and the government and seek government intervention in gender sensitisation and in creating gender equality,” she said. Landran, who is an elected member of the SGPC from Mohali, has been actively involved in women empowerment. She had remained the sarpanch of Landran village near Mohali from 1998-2003 and is also the vice-chairperson of Kharar block
samiti.
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Jallianwalla Bagh: Govt move may set martyrs’ record right
Amritsar, January 5 Among these lists, one is with the district administration, other with the Jallianwala Bagh National Trust and yet another with the Jallianwalla Bagh Shaheed Parivar Samiti. The list with the district administration is the one which was prepared by the British Government in 1921. It has 501 names. The Trust list puts the number of martyrs at 388 whereas the Samiti list shows the number as 464. Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal said they will soon be kicking off the exercise to identify the martyrs and trace their descendants. “We will form an identification committee, which will comprise Sub-Divisional Magistrates and also the members of Jallianwalla Bagh Shaheed Parivar Samiti.” Aggarwal said the Samiti members were being included as any record or information that they were having would help them reach such families. He admitted that it will be a difficult task to locate the second or third generation of the martyrs. Similar attempts to clear the confusion and have a single list of the martyrs have been made in the past as well. A couple of years back, the district administration had set the ball rolling to identify the families of the martyrs after the government accorded them (Jallianwalla Bagh martyrs) the status of freedom fighters. The Centre had also commissioned a National Registry of Martyrs to set the record straight over the conflicting numbers of martyrs who were killed at the Jallianwalla Bagh within the walled city due to firing ordered by General Dyer. Some quarters also raised the demand that the matter should be resolved only after shortlisting the names that were common in all the three lists. However, despite efforts the final list was still awaited. Jallianwalla Bagh Shaheed Parivar Samiti president Bhushan Behl said they had been making efforts in this regard for years and it had finally bore fruit today with the government forming a panel in this regard. Behl’s grandfather Advocate Lala Hari Ram had led a jatha to the gathering at the Jallianwalla Bagh on April 13, 1919.
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Sehajdhari Sikh Party to fight against SAD in DSGMC poll
Amritsar, January 5 The federation had been instrumental in getting the notification debarring "sehajdhari" sikhs from voting in the SGPC elections quashed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Ranu along with his supporters was here to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple after the ECI approved the change in the federation name. Ranu said the Sehajdhari Sikh Party would also contest the next Lok Sabha elections. He claimed the party had supported Congress candidates in the state assembly elections held last year by withdrawing 21 candidates it had fielded from various constituencies. "The Congress had won 17 seats where we had supported them," he said. Ranu said the party would seek votes for its candidates having good moral values. Party workers from Haryana and Punjab would put up in Delhi during the elections, he added.
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In a first, sitting Congress legislator in the fray
New Delhi, January 5 Marwah has filed his nomination papers from the ward no. two, Defence Colony, consisting of 10,803 Sikh electorates. He has filed his nomination on the ticket of Kendriya Guru Singh Sabha. Marwah said he wanted to serve the community in a right manner. The Sikhs contribute money to the "Guru Ki Golak" for the benefit of the community, but the current gurdwara committee headed by Paramjit Singh Sarna had not used it in a proper manner, he alleged, adding instead of investing the money, it had been used to purchase gold for the gurdwara. However, sources said Marwah had decided to contest the election to take "revenge" from Sarna as the admission of his daughter in Mata Sundri College was stuck on the charges of submitting "forged" documents. The college is being managed by the
DSGMC.
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Reschedule loans, demand dairymen
Chandigarh, January 5 Claiming that they were in debt due to failure of their dairy farms, the farmers said they could not afford to repay their loans and the government should urge the banks to reschedule the installments for 20 years. BKU president Balbir Singh Rajewal said at least 400 dairy farms had been closed in the recent months in Dera Bassi-Morinda-Ropar belt. He urged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to set up a high-level committee to ascertain the reason behind the failure of such large number of farms. The farmers also alleged the authorities concerned did not guide them properly They said the slashing of milk procurement price and rising cost of inputs was responsible for the crisis in the dairy sector. While dairies in Gujarat were doing very well and were out to capture the market in Chandigarh region, Punjab had failed to do anything worthwhile on this front, they said.
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Rights violation case against Badal in US court on Jan 29
New York, January 5 Judge Rudolph Randa would hear the case after a motion was filed last month to solve the basic jurisdictional issues and seek the court's protection against the alleged intimidation and abuse to the families of the plaintiffs in India by the "agents of Badal," rights group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), one of the plaintiffs in the case, said. The other plaintiff in the case SAD (Amritsar) headed by Simranjit Singh Mann alleged that several individuals were tortured during the Badal regime. The lawsuit has been filed against Badal in the US federal court under Alien Torts Claims Act and Torture Victims Protection Act on the charges of custodial torture and shielding police officers responsible for torture, extra judicial killings and continuous human rights violations against the Sikh community in Punjab. A law firm representing Badal had sought dismissal of the human rights violation case citing that his client was not served the court papers when he had visited a high school in Oak Creek following the shooting massacre in a gurdwara in August. During the evidentiary hearing, SFJ sought to challenge Badal's claim that he was not present at the Oak Creek High School where a ceremony was being held in the memory of the Sikh victims of Wisconsin gurdwara shooting. Badal has claimed he was at a different location in Milwaukee. Pannun said to refute Badal's claim, evidence and witnesses would be presented in court to prove that Badal was personally served the court papers by a professional process server. — PTI
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HC sees no wrong in banks
financing earnest money
Chandigarh, January 5 In one of the petitions, Gurpreet Singh had sought directions to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to restrain all the banks from financing earnest money for the allotment of plots and flats. Claiming to be a riot victim, he had alleged in his petition against the State of Punjab and other respondents that the process of financing the application money amounted to gambling. Persons not even having the capacity to pay 10 per cent of the proposed costs were applying by paying interest in advance to the banks on the application money. He was also aggrieved by the advertisement whereby the banks proposed to finance the application money. In the other petition, Renu Sharma had sought additional directions to the states to provide residential accommodation to the citizens at a reasonable price. She had also sought directions to the State of Haryana and other respondents against proposing master plans and urban scheme "without first collecting data of actual requirement or necessities for such urban schemes in extension of cities". Directions were also sought "not to issue conversion of land use from agriculture land into urban colonies without first carrying out external development of the proposed urban area". Taking up the matter, the Bench of Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Rajiv Narain Raina asserted: "The action of the banks in financing the application money on receipt of interest is a commercial transaction for both the bank as well as the applicant desirous of applying for a plot/flat. The applicant gets money for submitting his application and the bank is assured of interest on the loan amount, which is equivalent to the application money. "The petitioner alleges the same to be gambling. We do not find that any gambling activity can be read into such act of financing of amount of application money for allotment of plots/flats. For the banks, it's an action to finance short-term loan on payment of interest in advance". Also dismissing the other petition on development issues, the Bench asserted: "We do not find that any direction in the matter of framing of policy can be issued, when there are statutes governing the development projects in the states".
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Ex-serviceman held on attempt to rape charge
Barnala, January 5 SP Vipin Chaudhary said the ex-serviceman was arrested on the complaint of the girl's family. — TNS
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Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has asked the Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to prepare a directory of 10 distinguished Punjabis across the globe in every field.
Alleging that the SAD-BJP government has "completely politicised the formation of wards in villages ahead of the panchayat elections in the state, Lehragaga MLA Rajinder Kaur Bhattal said she would approach the Election Commission (EC) in this regard. She asked Congress workers to highlight "discrepancies" in the formation of rural wards in their respective villages.
the main reasons of the depletion of groundwater is said to be its over exploitation.
Sources said in 2002, the groundwater's depth range was between 10 m and 25 m in the district. The same went down to 18 m to 30 m by 2012.
Deepak Sethi, Assistant Geologist, Agriculture, said as per an analysis of groundwater, prepared in 2004 by the Central Ground Water Board and the Water Sources Directorate of Irrigation Department, in collaboration with the state Agriculture Department, if the recharge of water (through rainwater, canals etc) was 100 per cent then, its discharge was 192 per cent. As per another analysis done in 2009, if the recharge of water was 100 per cent then, its discharge was 264 per cent.
Chandigarh, January 5
