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HC raps state for failing to
appoint school principals
Babbehali appears before HC after evading several notices
Cong leaders back Capt for putting up a ‘good fight’
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Moga debacle triggers war of words among Cong MLAs
Exports hit as fewer airlines fly abroad from Amritsar
Godforsaken border villages finally have a few official visitors
Sonali Giri, ADC(G), and government officials interacts with residents of border villages in Ferozepur. A Tribune photo
CM: Govt to consider demands of
teaching, non-teaching staff
CBI raids rice mills across state
Punjab seeks report on
ailing carpet industry
Anna's Punjab tour from March 31
Two surrender in Dirba murder case
103 rape cases pending for over a year in Ludhiana: Home Department
Take steps to check depleting water table: HC to govt
Clashes inside Patiala jail, 4 inmates hurt
Inmates watch a play minutes before the first clash took place at Central Jail, Patiala. Tribune photo
15 booked for pilfering fuel
using remote-control device
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HC raps state for failing to
appoint school principals
Chandigarh, March 2 During the resumed hearing of a petition filed in public interest by a retired centre head teacher, Iqbal Singh of Ferozepur district, the Bench of Chief Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain questioned the state government why could not the authorities concerned make the senior most headmasters as officiating principal of nearby schools? “What is the total number of senior secondary schools in Punjab? Tell us so that we may know the magnitude of the problem? When do you expect sufficient number of eligible head masters to be available for promoting them as principals?” asked the Bench. The law officer, appearing for the State of Punjab, sought a short adjournment for seeking instructions from the government on all the aspects of the matter. The PIL has now been listed for further hearing on March 15. The Bench also observed in its order that some of the aspects raised in the PIL have not been addressed by the state government in its reply filed in the High Court. In the PIL, the petitioner had sought issuance of appropriate directions to the government to find out ways to fill the vacant posts of principals of senior secondary schools by amending or relaxing the existing rules so that these schools get principals. The petitioner stated that principals of some of the schools were given the charge of four to five senior secondary schools. As a result, the administration of the schools concerned was unsatisfactory. The government had earlier filed an affidavit in the High Court stating that 459 posts of principals were lying vacant. Headmasters with seven years’ experience, a condition mandatory for promotion to the post of principal, were not available, it had said.
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Babbehali appears before HC after evading several notices
Chandigarh, March 2 Harmesh Singh, resident of Ghat Pohhar village, had earlier moved High Court for an anticipatory bail. He had said he had been implicated in a case of attempt to murder and trespassing. Elaborating, Harmesh Singh alleged that he and his cousin Harjinder Singh, a sarpanch, were supporting Ranjit Singh, an independent candidate, for the SGPC elections in September 2011. Babehali had asked them to support him and had even threatened to implicate them in a false case, if they did not do so. Harmesh Singh said two cases were registered against him in 2011 at the behest of Babbehali. Later, he filed an application seeking court’s permission to make Babbehali a party in the case. The bench issued notice to Babbehali, but it was not received. Two more notices were issued. One of the notices was returned with refusal-to-accept the notice. The court on February 18 observed that Babbehali prima facie was internally avoiding the notices, which was evident from the fact that he had not appeared in court even after the process server pasted a notice at his house. Justice NK Sanghi then issued bailable warrants against him. Babbehali today appeared before the court in person. In his reply, through, his counsel, he denied the allegations against him. Justice Sanghi observed since the appearance was secure through the bailable warrants, the same were no more in force as he had appeared before the court. Justice Sanghi also granted bail to Harmesh Singh.
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Cong leaders back Capt for putting up a ‘good fight’
Chandigarh, March 2 Though Capt Amarinder's leadership has come under question after the Moga defeat, there is a dominant view in the party that it is difficult to win a byelection and that the party put up a good fight under the given circumstances. Jakhar said the leadership issue was likely to be finalised soon with party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi set to submit his report. He said the manner in which Amarinder handled the Moga bypoll would be taken into consideration. "As far as I know, the PCC president led from the front and put up a good fight," he said. Youth leader Sukhpal Khaira, too, said the party leaders had done their best. He, however, said the party high command should decide on the leadership issue sooner than later. Senior leader Rana Gurjit Singh, who was in charge of the organisation in the Moga bypoll, said the party had done well in the given circumstances. He said the Congress vote bank had reduced by only 10,000 votes that too because of the use of "money and muscle power" in the last two days before the polling. Youth leader Kushaldeep Dhillon said the fact that the party did not have polling agents at several booths in both the rural and urban areas had disheartened Congress voters. He said unlike Akalis, the entire Congress rank and file moved out of the constituency after the campaign period ended, which gave the former an opportunity to "induce" the voters. However, some party leaders feel there was no collective effort as senior leaders were summoned on a few occasions only. They point out that Amarinder and senior leader Jagmeet Brar had largely gone their separate ways. They also claim Amarinder continued to depend on his coterie which has now even been classified as "vayu sena" (those who prefer to remain airborne), "thal sena" (led by an old loyalist who commandeered his vehicle) and "jal sena" (a merchant navy officer who looked after the office). Amarinder loyalists counter this by saying that they are the ones who stuck their necks out for the party and campaigned vigorously in Moga in contrast to some senior leaders who only made appearances or even stayed away.
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Moga debacle triggers war of words among Cong MLAs
Patiala, March 2 Amloh MLA Randeep Singh has termed Amarinder's style of functioning as "dictatorial" and issuance of notices as "most unfortunate". Besides Brahm Mohindra and Randeep Singh, former Punjab Minister Avtar Henry and Ludhiana MLA Rakesh Pandey were issued notices and asked to file their reply by March 5. In his letter to Amarinder, copies of which have also been sent to some AICC functionaries in New Delhi, five-time MLA Brahm has denied that he was told to lead in three booths of zone number 11 of the Moga assembly constituency. "But I did campaign for the party candidate in Moga", he said, alleging: "During the 2012 assembly elections, Capt Amarinder did not come to my constituency even once". Meanwhile, Amloh MLA Randeep Singh said: "I had conveyed to AICC secretary Vijay Laxmi and Capt Amarinder that because of my ill health and some family matter, I would not be able to devote time in Moga. I was busy taking care of my cousin, who was undergoing cancer treatment and died some days ago". He alleged issuing of notices to senior party leaders reflected Amarinder's dictatorial style of functioning. "Instead of making efforts to revive the state unit of Congress ahead of the 2014 parliamentary elections, Amarinder is creating further dissension in the party," he added. Meanwhile, the statement of Brahm and Randeep has sparked a war of words within the Congress. In a joint statement, party MLAs Rana Gurjit Singh, Rana Gurmeet Sodhi, Ajaib Singh Bhatti, Sukhjinder Randhawa, Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa and senior leaders Rana KP Singh and Fateh Jang Bajwa have said it was intriguing that why they (Brahm and Randeep) had excused themselves from the party duties when the entire party rank and file was in the battle gear. Both these leaders were now trying to defend themselves by spreading lies, they said. They urged Capt Amarinder to bring the issue to the notice of the party high command so that disciplinary action was taken against the two.
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Exports hit as fewer airlines fly abroad from Amritsar
Amritsar, March 2 Airport Advisory Committee member Gunbir Singh said the facility, which is being looked after by a government agency now, was earlier being run by a private firm on the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, but when it didn’t find enough cargo, it stopped its operations. “There are hardly any flights available to facilitate export of fresh vegetables from Amritsar,” he said. Prior to the BMI Amritsar-London flight, the Air India’s Amritsar-Birmingham-Toronto flight facilitated export of vegetables to the European market. But that too has been lying suspended due to the strike called by Air India pilots last year. Agriculturist Harinderpal Singh Bajwa used to export vegetables, including green chilli, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, ladyfinger and coriander to London between 2007 and 2010. “The daily export of vegetables at that time would vary between 1.5 to 4 tonnes. Soon, Jet Airways Amritsar-London flight was shut down,” he said. The potential of the perishable cargo facility here could be gauged from the fact that it had witnessed an export of 908 tonnes of fresh farm produce in 2009-2010. Now, in the absence of any alternative in the region, exporters have shifted their operations to the Delhi airport despite the fact that exporting merchandise via Delhi airport is not easy. En-route Delhi, the vehicles have to grapple with frequent stoppages due to toll plazas and traffic jams. Commercial vehicles are also not allowed to enter Delhi between 8 am to 11 am and 5 pm to 9 pm. In case the vehicle breaks down on the way, it becomes extremely difficult to salvage the cargo. On the other hand, an alternate container can be arranged on the route from Ludhiana to Amritsar if the vehicle breaks down. Some of the leading fresh farm produce exporters have their processing units at Ludhiana. The distance between Ludhiana to Amritsar airport is about 150 km while the distance between Ludhiana and Delhi is about 350 km. Ever since BMI discontinued its Amritsar-London flight and Air India its Amritsar-Toronto flight, the losses of the airport have been mounting with each passing year. Airport Advisory Committee Chairman and Amritsar MP Navjot Sidhu recently revealed that the losses have increased from Rs 33 crore to Rs 55.86 crore annually. Mounting woes
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Godforsaken border villages finally have a few official visitors
Ferozepur, March 2 The people here are yet to taste the fruits of freedom even after six decades of Independence. In Kaluwala, the only mode of transportation available for farmers to go to their fields is the wooden 'bera' (indigenously built boat). The village is surrounded by the Sutlej creek on two sides. Agricultural equipment, including tractors and combines, have to be transported on these private 'beras' for which the farmers have to cough up a substantial amount. During the monsoon, the families are stuck inside their houses as the 'beras' are no longer an option due to the rise in water level. “More often than not, river water even inundates our dwellings,” said octogenarian Munsha Singh. He said that every monsoon, his fields are wrecked by the Sutlej. Narrating his tale of woe, he said, “Politicians only come when elections are round the corner. They make utopian promises only to forget them next day. “Year after year, the story is repeated, but nothing has changed here on the ground,” he said. Munsha is not an isolated case. Hundreds like him doing farming in this area echo his sentiments. The villages here even do not have access to basic amenities like education, healthcare, potable water, sewerage or proper roads. “The nearest government school is in Chandiwala which is up to class V and the nearest government dispensary is in Rajoke," said farmer Joginder Singh. “We have never seen the DC or the SP,” he said. On Thursday, Sonali Giri, ADC(G), along with a battery of officials belonging to various government departments, visited some of these villages including Kaluwala, Tindiwala, Chandiwala, Gatti Rajoke, Bhakra and Gatti Rahim Ke situated on the right bank of the Sutlej. Giri admitted that the villages lacked basic amenities. “We will arrange a big 'bera' for the residents of Kaluwala,” she said adding that the PWD has been asked to repair the 4-km stretch of the road near the village that is not motorable at the moment. “We are also planning to organise health check-up camps in these villages. The Education Department has been told to make a blueprint for the upgrade of the schools here,” she said. “The Health Department will check the quality of potable water here as many persons have complained about it,” Giri said.
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CM: Govt to consider demands of
teaching, non-teaching staff
Chandigarh, March 2 A spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s office said here today that the Chief Minister held a series of meetings with representatives of different associations who called on him at his official residence. These associations included the Zila Parishad ETT Teachers Association, Rashtiya Madhmik Sikhsha Abhiyaan (RMSA) Teachers Association, School Lab Attendants Association, Education Guarantee Scheme Association, 7654 Teachers Association and Sikhya Provider Association. Expressing concern over the inordinate delay in the implementation of decisions taken at the Chief Minister’s level during various meetings, Badal said that no laxity of any sort in this matter would be tolerated and the accountability of the concerned officers would be fixed for such delays. During the meeting with the ETT Association, Badal directed the Rural Development and Panchayat Department to expedite the process of setting up the Directorate of ETT (Zila Parishad) Teachers with Director, Rural Development and Panchayats, as its director. He also directed the department to ensure that necessary formalities like appointing the additional director, district education officers and others on deputation basis from the Education Department should be completed at the earliest.
Badalspeak
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CBI raids rice mills across state
Moga, March 2 Confirming the development, the regional officer of the CBI based at Chandigarh, DIG Mahesh Aggarwal, said he had dispatched three teams of the agency to various locations in the state. “As of now, I do not have details of the checking done by these teams. The details will be available only after the teams return to office,” he said. He said the Punjab and Haryana High Court had recently directed the CBI to look into the functioning of the Food and Civil Supplies Department, particularly with regard to the allocation of paddy to rice mills blacklisted by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) pending CBI cases against them. Sources in the CBI said the CBI teams had raided at least 15 rice mills in Moga, Barnala, Sangrur and Faridkot districts. The raids were on when the reports last came in. In 2005-2006, as many as 166 rice mills were involved in the supply of substandard rice to the Central pool with the connivance of some officials of the FCI. The CBI registered a case against the managements of these rice mills and as many as 164 officials of the FCI and other departments.
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Punjab seeks report on
ailing carpet industry
Amritsar, March 2 WEAVCO Managing Director Nisha Rana said the report would look into the market potential of the local carpets. It would also look at how their production could be increased and marketing improved. The problems faced by the weavers would also be looked into. “Once we are aware of the ground reality, it would be easier for us to support artisans,” she said. Many families in Ajanala sub division of the district earn their livelihood from carpet weaving but without government support and better access to the markets, they are bound to perish. Rana said WEAVCO would help them in marketing their products so they could earn more profits.
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Anna's Punjab tour from March 31
Jalandhar, March 2 Dr Inderjeet Singh Bhalla, local convener of the morcha, said: "General VK Singh will hold a meeting with the state representatives of the Jantantra Morcha at Desh Bhagat Yadgaar Hall. Anna will start his state tour from Amritsar on March 31".
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Two surrender in Dirba murder case
Sangrur, March 2 The Dirba police said today that Darshan Singh, Teja Singh and Avtar Singh Bhola had been named in the FIR registered against nine persons in connection with the murder on February 28. The police said that Darshan Singh has also deposited his revolver in court. The court had remanded all the three accused in police custody for five days.
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103 rape cases pending for over a year in Ludhiana:
Chandigarh, March 2 Data submitted by Under Secretary, Punjab Department of Home Affairs and Justice, Harchand Singh, to Justice Ranjit Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court reveals that 99 rape cases have been pending for more than 12 months before Additional District and Sessions Judges. Another four are pending before the Juvenile Justice Board. The list was submitted during the hearing of a petition by a Gurdaspur district resident through counsel Ramdeep Partap Singh. He was alleging that adjournments were being taken unnecessarily in the rape case on one pretext or the other. Taking into consideration the fact that the rape case was registered in May 2006 and the trial was still on, Justice Ranjit Singh had summoned the details of other pending rape cases. The list shows Ludhiana is followed by the holy city. No less than 26 cases of unholy nature are pending before Additional District and Sessions Judges in Amritsar. Just one case is pending before the Sessions
Judge. Fazilka has 20 such pending cases, Khanna has 18, Amritsar rural and Kapurthala have 17 each, Gurdaspur has 16, Taran Taran has 15, Batala and Sangrur have 14 each, Ludhiana rural and Muktsar have 13 each, Mansa has 12, Moga and Ropar have 10 each, and Bathinda and Patiala have nine
each. Faridkot, Ferozepur, Nawanshahar, Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib,
Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar rural, Pathankot and Jalandhar each have less than nine cases. Barnala with one is at the bottom of the list. The data come at a time when the need for fast tracking rape cases is being felt with full impact following the Delhi incident. Already, the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Arjan Kumar
Sikri, has issued orders for designating 11 courts in Haryana and eight in Punjab as fast-track courts for speedy trial of heinous crimes against women.
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Take steps to check depleting water table: HC to govt
Chandigarh, March 2 The rap on the knuckles came during the resumed hearing of a petition filed in public interest by advocate HC Arora. He was seeking enforcement of notifications issued by the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) for declaring a number of blocks in Punjab as “notified areas” and for banning the use of underground water in the construction of buildings. Directions were also sought for appropriate directions to the State of Punjab to permit construction only by utilising treated water from sewerage plants. Taking up the matter, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain observed that the steps taken by the Punjab Government and PUDA were not sufficient. Mere issuance of notifications or instructions to the deputy commissioners was not enough. Steps were required to be taken by the government and PUDA to chalk out a concrete action plan for the enforcement of such notifications by the appropriate authorities. “The notification declaring Ludhiana as a notified area” was issued in 1998, and similar notifications declaring Moga and Sangrur were issued in 2006, yet till date those notifications banning construction by using underground water have not been enforced? What is the concrete action plan with you for the enforcement of these notifications? Why don’t you ensure that only sewerage treated water is used for construction of buildings?” were several questions put by the Bench to the counsels for the Punjab Government and PUDA. PUDA, along with its reply, had earlier enclosed a circular dated February 27 addressed by PUDA Chief Administrator directing the DCs to ensure implementation of notifications issued by the CGWA. It was also stated by PUDA that provision for rainwater harvesting had been made in Building Rules through a notification dated August 25, 2010. While adjourning the PIL to April 25, the Bench directed to the respondents produce before the Bench a concrete action plan for enforcing the ban against the use of ground water for construction of buildings and other measures for checking the depleting level of water table.
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Clashes inside Patiala jail, 4 inmates hurt
Patiala, March 2 A jail official said artistes belonging to the National Theatre Arts Society (NTAS), Patiala, were invited to stage a Punjabi play inside the jail. "Soon after the play started around 4 pm amidst the presence of over 1,800 prisoners, including women inmates, a scuffle broke out among two groups of prisoners," he said. NTAS director Pran Sabharwal said: "We were performing our second play at time of the incident. As the situation got tense, the guards escorted us out of the jail," he stated. Sources said after the theatre group left the jail premises, a group of inmates, led by Jeeta Jalandharia and Shaminder Singh, turned violent and got into an altercation with the jail staff and other inmates around 5 pm. Senior jail officers failed to resolve the issue when the first clash broke out, they added. Another clash took place around 5.30 pm following which Deputy Superintendent Ramandeep Singh intervened. But after the situation got out of control, jail officials raised an alarm. Additional force was rushed inside the jail even as some senior jail officials were conspicuous by their absence. The violence did not end here. In another clash around 6.30 pm, four inmates sustained injuries. Two jail guards also sustained minor injuries. "We had to use heavy force as a large number of prisoners were involved in the clash," said Deputy Superintendent Karanjit Singh Sandhu. Jail Superintendent Bhupinderjit Singh Virk claimed three inmates were injured. "I was not present at the jail at the time of the incident. Senior officers have been informed about the incident," Virk said.
Group rivalry
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15 booked for pilfering fuel
using remote-control device
Bathinda, March 2 The incident has put a question mark on the working of the State Weight and Measures Department (Legal Metrology) and the oil companies that failed to detect the ‘hi-tech’ pilferage of petrol and diesel going on for over a year, according to the admission of the main accused Ankur Verma. It seems highly improbable than neither the field inspectors of the Legal Metrology Department nor the oil companies were completely ignorant of the theft of fuel. Though the oil companies are keeping mum in front of mediapersons, a senior official of the Legal Metrology Department admitted they had got wind of the ‘loot’ but the hi-tech device could not be detected. The official conceded that the field staff required training in advance technologies and some field inspectors had even contacted senior officials with a request in this regard. The official claimed the department had informed the oil companies about it but these too failed to crack the system of pilferage. The Mansa police was inundated with phone calls from oil companies and petrol pump owners who wanted to learn about the device to check pilferage at their end. Mansa SSP Narinder Bhargav said a countrywide operation was required to check the various kinds of pilferage going on at fuel stations. “Main accused Ankur Verma, who is just a class XII-pass, has shown how technology can be misused while engineers with higher qualifications failed to detect it. Ankur has told us that there are several like him installing such or even better devices at petrol pumps,” said the SSP. He said that Ankur had got developed chips with different single-digit numbers like 2, 4, 6 or 8. The number indicated the percentage of fuel pilfered for a certain quantity. The SSP said more salesmen were booked than owners as the pumps were mostly managed by the staff. He claimed at several places, the owners helped them catch the salesmen.
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Senior Punjab Congress leaders, including Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Leader Sunil Jakhar, today rallied in support of PCC president Capt Amarinder Singh after the party's loss in the Moga byelection even as they urged the high command to take a decision on the leadership issue in Punjab at the earliest.
Ferozepur, March 2
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has taken a serious view of inaction on part of the Punjab Government and Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority
to prepare a concrete action plan for meeting the challenge of depleting underground water level.
The rap on the knuckles came during the resumed hearing of a petition filed in public interest by advocate HC Arora. He was seeking enforcement of notifications issued by the Central Ground Water Authority for declaring a number of blocks in Punjab as “notified areas” and for banning the use of underground water in the construction of buildings.
Patiala, March 2
