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Slush on streets ‘exposes’ SAD’s development claim
Rain delays potato harvest in Bathinda
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moga bypoll
Winning over deras crucial for parties Moga, February 16 Political parties are vying with each other to win over religious bodies and deras who command sizable followings both in the urban and rural areas of this constituency.
Sunil Jakhar
SAD gets another turncoat
Bhattal,
Tewari joins Sathi’s poll campaign
EC for observers at polling booths
Mediation centres won’t
hit lawyers: Justice Sikri
Medical report rules out gang-rape in Jalandhar minor’s case
Excise officers threaten to resign en masse
Visually impaired accuse government of discrimination
High Court warns govt bodies on red-tape in filing appeals
Man shoots his son dead
Three held with narcotics
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Slush on streets ‘exposes’ SAD’s development claim
Moga, February 16 A visit to Ghal Kalan village on Saturday to cover a workers’ meeting of the SAD, which was presided over by Youth Akali Dal president and Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia, found that the village streets were full of slush and mud as there was no proper drainage system in the area. The Akali workers had to face a tough time to pass through the street to attend the meeting. Even Majithia was seen wearing slippers instead of shoes. The locals said the present conditions were negligible as compared to those prevailing during the monsoon. “It becomes very difficult for us to venture out of our houses during rains. Children are the worst sufferers as they are forced to skip schools,” said a villager. Ghal Kalan is one of the big villages in Moga district and has about 4,000 votes.
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Rain delays potato harvest in Bathinda
Bathinda, February 16 Farmers said as per the rain gauge meters installed in villages around
Goniana, 49 mm of rainfall had been received within two hours in the area. They said untimely rains had upset their schedule of harvesting the potato crop and sowing of maize and other crops. “I don’t feel like visiting my farm as it is inundated with water. There is no place from where I can enter the fields and drain out the water,” said Jagtar
Brar, a farmer at Mehma Sarja village. Jagtar, who is a member of the Indian Potato Association and has 35 acres of land under potato cultivation, said 10 to 15 per cent of damage to the crop was certain at this stage due to the rains. “The keeping quality of potato is damaged and due to the high cost of seeds and
labour, farmers are bound to suffer economic losses,” Brar said. Mohan Singh, a farmer from
Bhucho, said other vegetables, too, had been affected due to the stagnation of water and if the weather remained like this, the problem might aggravate. Horticulture Officer Narinderjit said so far, no major loss of vegetables, kinnows or potatoes had been witnessed. He, however, admitted that the potato crop had been damaged in areas near Goniana and
Rampura. Farmers said water for the potato crop at this stage was detrimental as 80 per cent of potato is already water. They said the per-acre output of potato, which is a
labour-oriented crop, is 120 quintal. They said the potato seeds were quite costly and the climatic conditions in the coming days would reveal the exact loss to this crop. The potato varieties grown in this belt are Kufri
Sandhuri, Kufri Bahar and Kufri Surya. Farmers said there had been no effect of rain on wheat but if the weather remained this way, wheat may infested with yellow rust.
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moga bypoll
Moga, February 16 There are two major deras in the region, Dera Beas of the Radha Soami sect and Dera Sachha Sauda. Besides, there are branches of Nanaksar Samprada and local deras headed by influential god men. Dera Beas, situated in Beas (Amritsar), has a sizable following in the town because dera head Gurinder Singh's father Gurmukh Singh had lived here. In the last assembly elections when SAD candidate Joginder Pal Jain was contesting the elections on the Congress ticket, his association with Gurmukh Singh had said to have won him dera votes. This despite the fact that SAD candidate PS Gill was a schoolmate of the dera head. Though Dera Beas followers are traditionally inclined towards the Congress, things have changed in the last one year. The help extended to the dera by the SAD when the former was confronted by radicals over the alleged demolition of a gurdwara in Waraich village is said to have brought the dera close to the SAD. Akali minister Bikram Majithia is said to have built a close relationship with the dera head. The Congress is however trying its best to woo the dera. PCC president Capt Amarinder Singh said party candidate Vijay Sathi would meet the dera head to solicit his support. Sirsa-based Dera Sachha Sauda has its political affairs committee which decides on whom to support. Unlike the Beas dera which commands the support of the middle class and the affluent, Dera Sachha Sauda has a support base amongst the poor and the Dalits. There is also a race to win the support of local deras with SAD president Sukhbir Badal and Capt Amarinder visiting most of these. These include deras of Nanaksar Samprada including the main dera at Nanaksar in Jagraon and its independent branches in Badni Kalan led by Baba Zora Singh and another in Samad Bhai led by Baba Gurdev Singh. The other important deras in the constituency are that of Baba Ram Singh in Daudhar village, Sant Jagjit Singh at Lopo village, Sant Gurjant Singh in Saneli village and Baba Gurdeep Singh in Chand Purana village. Most of the dera heads usually do not openly extend support to any political party. Gurjant Singh, a former Food and Civil Supplies officer, who heads a dera in Sanehli village in the district, said he did not know much about politics. But he did mention his old association with top politicians of the state. Residents here claim most dera heads, though remain neutral, directly or indirectly indicate their preference for a particular party on the poll eve. It is due to this reason that the politicians have to try hard to secure support of the
deras. Race for support
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Jakhar wants Cong ticket norms changed
New Delhi, February 16 Instead, he said, workers active at the grassroots level, including office-bearers of block and district committees, should have the final say in the selection of candidates. "This will prevent outsiders from securing the party ticket. Such measures will also strengthen the party and enhance the morale of the party cadre," he said while speaking at a two-day conference convened by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi here. Jakhar said mere promises of putting in efforts towards changing the political ideology and functioning of the Union Government would prove to be of little help. "It is high time that the party transforms itself to match the ground reality. The transformation should, among other things, take care of the interests of the youth," he said. The Punjab leader advocated exemplary action against those responsible for scams. "A strong message needs to be sent across that the Congress will sternly deal with corruption. An independent cell should be set up by the Union Government to keep a check on the disbursement of grants to various states and to ensure they are not misappropriated," he said. Citing an example, he said, "In the last five years, the UPA government allocated 1.42 crore quintals of wheat for disbursement among the masses at Rs 6.10 a kg. But, not much of this reached the beneficiaries and most of the stock was sold in the black market." Jakhar also brought to the high command's notice the cases of alleged political vendetta against Congress workers in Punjab. "The Youth Congress workers are being targeted. Several activists were implicated in false cases when they participated in an anti-drugs campaign led by Member of Parliament and former Punjab Youth Congress president Ravneet Singh Bittu. The party should come forward to the rescue of such workers," he said.
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SAD gets another turncoat
Moga, February 16 Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Revenue Minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia had met him at his residence on Saturday evening. Paggy announced to join the SAD after the meeting. Welcoming him to the party fold, Sukhbir said Paggy’s joining the Akali Dal was a big blow to the Congress. He claimed in the next couple of days, they would induct more Congress leaders into the SAD.
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Bhattal, Tewari joins Sathi’s poll campaign
Moga, February 16 Addressing a public gathering at Moga held in support of the party candidate Vijay Sathi here on Saturday evening, Tewari pointed out that CM Parkash Singh Badal visited New Delhi every week asking for more grants. “Unfortunately once Badal returns to Punjab, he would accuse Centre of discriminating against Punjab,” he said. Referring to the poor state of economy in Punjab, Tewari said, under the Akali rule, Punjab had gone down from sixth to 12th place in the development index while the state debt had broken all records. He appealed to the people of Moga to vote for the Congress candidate and reject the lopsided policies of the SAD government. The minister said the people of Moga had got a rare opportunity to reject the Akali candidate as a mark of protest. Tewari questioned as to what happened to the laptops and bicycles the government had promised to distribute among the schoolchildren. Tewari said this government was trying to survive on mere lies. “But you cannot befool all the people all the time with your lies,” he said.
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EC for observers at polling booths
Moga, February 16 Confirming this, Joram Beda, Returning Officer (RO), said micro-observers would be deployed at all the 188 polling booths in the constituency. “We are in the process of appointing them,” he said. He said the EC had also ordered that cameras be installed and central paramilitary forces be deployed at all the polling booths. This virtually means that the whole constituency has been declared sensitive. There have been reports that the ruling party may resort to pressure tactics to lure voters. Beda said six companies of the central forces had arrived and two more were on the way. Paramilitary forces will also patrol the constituency both intensively and extensively. It is learnt that the ECI has also ordered that all persons from outside the constituency and those who aren’t voters or candidates be asked to move out of the constituency after the campaign period is over. Tough measures
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Mediation centres won’t
hit lawyers: Justice Sikri
Bathinda, February 16 Addressing a function after laying the foundation stone of the centre and inaugurating two new blocks of the Judicial Complex, Justice Sikri said the centre would give a chance to litigants and lawyers to settle the dispute through mediation. "It is a well-established practice in the West. It has become so popular that litigants prefer to go for mediation even before moving the court. Trained professionals will be deputed as mediators at these centres," he said. "Mediation results in a win-win situation for both the parties whereas judgment may go in favour of only one," he added. Others who spoke on the occasion included Justice Jasbir Singh, Executive Chairman, Punjab State Legal Service Authority, Justice Ranjit Singh, Chairman Building Committee, Punjab and Haryana High Court, and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, Bathinda Sessions Division.
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Medical report rules out gang-rape in Jalandhar minor’s case
Jalandhar, February 16 The report also does not rule out the possibility of termination of pregnancy. It says this aspect could be established only after the final pathological report was received. The report, however, does mention that the minor was sexually assaulted. In her statement to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to investigate the case, the girl had reportedly said that she was neither kidnapped nor gang-raped on January 28. The girl also said that she was almost bedridden even before January 28 and her health kept on deteriorating thereafter, said the SIT in charge Rajinder Singh. The victim, under-treatment at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Amritsar, where she was operated upon for subtotal hysterectomy (removal of uterus), recorded her statement in the presence of a lady doctor and a social worker. Senior Superintendent of Police (Rural), Jalandhar, Yurinder Singh Hayer, confirmed to have received the medical report. “As the case is sensitive, further investigations will be carried out after taking legal opinion,” said Hayer. The three accused in the case, Balwinder Singh, Sher Singh and Charanjit Singh, were today produced before a magistrate in Nakodar and discharged of the gang-rape allegation. Hayer said though the medical report had almost solved the case, the police was working on various theories to reach a final conclusion.
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Excise officers threaten to resign en masse
Chandigarh, February 16 Association President Ashok Sharma, who heads the association of officers of Punjab and neighbouring states, said the association would also observe a protest week from February 25 to March 1. The demand has been lying pending with the central government for six years. Association president Ashok Sharma said the officers demanded four functional promotions in their service career besides parity with executive officers in other departments.
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Visually impaired accuse government of discrimination
Faridkot, February 16 Special chess boards, which consist of raised and sunken squares to represent the difference between black and white squares, and ball-bearing rattle to track cricket balls is all it takes for these enthusiastic players to cover up for their lack of vision. However, the endeavour of these blind persons is not just to have fun but to show the world their potential in their three-day conference here. Rajesh Mohan, a music teacher at Barjindera College in Faridkot, said they had assembled under the banner of the National Federation of Blind and wanted to root out the prejudice towards the blind, to promote faith in their abilities so that they could participate in various activities of society. He said political leaders in Punjab saw no potential vote bank in them, so most of them offered them ‘merciful’ pension but not jobs. Jage Ram, a lecturer of political science and general secretary, Hayana unit of the National Federation of Blind, said in the joint meeting of visually impaired from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh, they had discussed how the Punjab Government was discriminating towards the blind in comparison to other states. "While in all other states, blind persons are social science teachers, in Punjab, they are generally given the role of music teachers only due to the contention that blindness leads directly to deficiency and incapacity," said Rajesh.
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High Court warns govt bodies on red-tape in filing appeals
Chandigarh, February 16 Dismissing the appeal on grounds of delay, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain asserted: “In our view, it is the right time to inform all the government bodies, their agencies and instrumentalities that unless they have reasonable and acceptable explanation for the delay and there was bonafide effort, there is no need to accept the usual explanation that the file was kept pending for several months/years due to considerable degree of procedural red-tape in the process”. Mincing no words, the Bench added: “The government departments are under a special obligation to ensure that they perform their duties with diligence and commitment. Condonation of delay is an exception and should not be used as an anticipated benefit for government departments. The law shelters everyone under the same light and should not be swirled for the benefit of a few.” The Bench has already admonished the Punjab Government for filing an appeal after more than 630 days against the permissible period of 30 days in a service matter. The Bench minced no words to say that the State’s conduct was “highly reprehensible”. The rap on the knuckles came on the State’s appeal against an employee, Tej Kaur. Taking up the appeal, the Bench asserted: “All this shows sheer and utter negligence on the part of the appellants in prosecuting the case and such a conduct of the appellant is highly reprehensible”. The appeal was preferred by the State against judgment dated April 5, 2011. The Bench held that it was “patently time-barred”. There was an “abnormal delay” of 638 days in filing this appeal. To make matters worse, the application for condoning the delay too did not mention sufficient reasons for the holdup, except for the fact the file moved from one officer to other officer. “It is not even explained how at each level abnormal time was consumed in taking the decision. The State should be mindful of the fact that law of limitation provides for 30 days for challenging such an order and, therefore, the appellant needs to move with due alacrity and with due diligence,” the Bench added.
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Man shoots his son dead
Barnala, February 16 Tapa Station House Officer Sanjiv Singla said preliminary investigations suggested that Balwinder Singh opened fire at Nirmal following an altercation over some dispute. A case was registered against Balwinder Singh on a complaint by Nirmal’s wife.
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Three held with narcotics
Fatehgarh Sahib, February 16 The accused have been identified as Jaswinder Kaur, Gogi, both residents of Mandi Gobindgarh, and Satnam Singh, a resident of Morinda. SSP Hardial Singh Mann said they had recovered 4 kg poppy husk from Jaswinder Kaur. The police recovered 100 sedative injections of Lupigesic of 2 ml each and 100 injections of 10 ml each of Avil, besides 44 bottles of liquor from Gogi and Satnam Singh.
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lashed Moga and its adjoining villages last night have exposed the development claims by the ruling SAD, a point on which the party is banking on to win the February 23
byelection.
Farmers of Bathinda have expressed apprehensions about a low yield due to heavy rains. Potato growers rue that the harvesting of the tuber had been delayed due to the weather conditions.
Allaying fears of the lawyer community of losing business after opening of an Alternate Dispute Redressal Centre here, Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice AK Sikri has said such centres will, in fact, benefit the lawyers apart from disposing of cases quickly.