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Now, sand to be sold at fixed price in Ferozepur dist
Ferozepur, June 9
To bring down the ever escalating cost of sand which has severely hit the common man and impeded the speed of construction work all over the state, the district administration today instructed the sand contractors to charge Rs 286 per 100 cubic feet only towards the cost of sand at the approved sand pits.

SAD (B) declines information sought under RTI Act
Faridkot, June 9
A week after the Central Information Commission’s (CIC) order brought all parties under the purview of the RTI Act, the SAD (B) has claimed that the party was not covered under the RTI Act.

Protesters seek release of theft accused
Muktsar, June 9
Nearly 150 people today blocked the Malout-Delhi national highway outside the Lambi police station, demanding the release of those 29 persons from Gidderbaha, who were detained in connection with thefts of nearly 30-tola gold and Rs 50,000 from two houses at Tharajwala village on Friday night.

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	Now, sand to be sold at fixed price in Ferozepur dist Anirudh Gupta Ferozepur, June 9 To bring down the ever escalating cost of sand which has severely hit the common man and impeded the speed of construction work all over the state, the district administration today instructed the sand contractors to charge Rs 286 per 100 cubic feet only towards the cost of sand at the approved sand pits. Deputy Commissioner (DC) Manjit Singh Narang said the sand contractors who were hitherto charging between Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 from the transporters will henceforth be entitled to collect Rs 100 as miscellaneous charges only on account of enhanced labour costs and the cost of setting up of weighing bridges. In addition to that, sale centres have been established which include 11 sale points in rural pockets. Besides, eight centres have been created in urban areas other than which sand shall not be sold at any other place. The cost of sand at these centres has been fixed at Rs 660 per 100 cubic feet besides Rs 100 as miscellaneous charges. As per these orders, the cost of a truck/trolley of sand will come down to Rs 2,080 only. Earlier, a trolley of sand was being sold at anything between Rs 3,500 to Rs 4,500, that too, in an illegal fashion allegedly under the patronage of political bigwigs. There are 56 approved sand pits in the district out of which 21 sites had been surrendered by the respective contractors who had expressed their inability to install weighing bridge at the site which has been made mandatory. Out of the remaining sites, five were rejected and only 27 were approved by the administration. The DC said out of the 27 approved sand pits, 10 have been made functional where the weighing bridge has been installed. Besides, 17 other sites were in the process of installing the equipment following which they too shall be made functional. The DC said all the contractors have been asked to install CCTV cameras at their sites. Besides, a representative from the industries department will keep an eye on these pits so that no unauthorised sale takes place. Sources said though the price of the sand has been fixed in the district, it was still not regulated in the other neigbouring districts including Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Bathinda, among others. As a result, the transporters from these districts have started coming here to buy cheaper sand which in turn is sold at an exorbitant rate at those locations. The urban areas where sale centres have been established include Mamdot, Makhu, Guruharsahai, Talwandi Bhai, Zira, Mallanwala besides Ferozepur city and cantonment. In rural areas, sale centres have come up at Sherpur Takhtuwala, Malsian, Bahek Gujaran, Valtoha, Gurditiwala, Ratol Rohi, Jhoke Harihar, Attari, Mudki and Mamdot Uttar.
	SAD (B) declines information sought under RTI Act Balwant Garg Tribune News Service Faridkot, June 9 A week after the Central Information Commission’s (CIC) order brought all parties under the purview of the RTI Act, the SAD (B) has claimed that the party was not covered under the RTI Act. Returning the RTI application with the fee to the applicant, Bharat Bhushan of Kotkapura town of Faridkot, the SAD (B) general secretary, in his reply (No. 783 dated June 5, 2013) claimed that the party does not fall within the definition of public authority as defined in any clauses of Section 2(h) of the RTI Act. So the SAD (B) is not bound to share any information about the party under the RTI Act, claimed the general secretary. In his application, Bharat wanted to know about the expenses the party had incurred on its two-day ‘Chintan Shivar‘ (brainstorming session) held at Goa on April 7-8. Besides, he wanted to know about the expenses incurred by the SAD (B) on a similar session held in Shimla in 2009. Bharat said he will challenge the denial of information as it was a violation of the CIC’s directions. Though the CIC had directed all political parties to appoint public information officers within six weeks to respond to RTI queries and adhere to all legal provisions, the refusal of the SAD (B) to provide information has come as a violation of the order. On June 3, in a landmark ruling to ensure transparency in the functioning of political parties, the CIC held that the parties are public authorities and answerable to citizens under the RTI Act. The commission, a quasi-judicial body, has said six national have been substantially funded indirectly by the central government and they have the character of public authority under the RTI Act as they perform public functions. After the order of the full bench of the CIC, the parties will be answerable to the citizens regarding their source of funding, how they spend money and the choice of candidates for elections, among other issues.
	Protesters seek release of theft accused Muktsar, June 9 Nearly 150 people today blocked the Malout-Delhi national highway outside the Lambi police station, demanding the release of those 29 persons from Gidderbaha, who were detained in connection with thefts of nearly 30-tola gold and Rs 50,000 from two houses at Tharajwala village on Friday night. The protesters, including a number of women, said the cops had detained their relatives without any fault. "We want the immediate release of those detained which includes some minors. They have not committed any theft, but the cops are unnecessarily harassing them," said Nanak Chand, district general secretary, Khet Mazdoor Union. The protesters lifted their dharna after an assurance by Gurpreet Singh, SHO, Lambi police station, that no one would be harassed unnecessarily. Later, the protesters said 24 of those detained had been released by the police. They warned that if the remaining five persons were harassed, they would again block the highway tomorrow. — TNS
	Four years on, Rlys compensate passenger Raj Sadosh Abohar, June 9 Shruti, a college student, has finally won the legal fight for justice against railways. After four years of struggle, the railways have paid her Rs 34,248 in compliance with the award passed by the Permanent Lok Adalat (Public Grievances). Shruti had filed a complaint with the court as the railway officials paid no heed to redress her grievance. She submitted that a berth was got reserved in the 13007 Udyan Abha Toofan Mail train on May 30, 2009 in coach number S-4 but she and two elderly female commuters found that their berths were occupied by commuters who had reservation in coach number S-5 but that was not attached to the train at New Delhi. Three of them had to traverse 371 km without any seat. This caused mental agony as well as physical discomfort. The Railways officials summoned by the court failed to prove that she was provided with an alternate seat. The court directed the Railways to pay Rs 25,000 as compensation along with 9 per cent interest from the date of travel.
	Kidnapped boy rescued, two arrested Tribune News Service Muktsar, June 9 The Gidderbaha police today claimed to have solved a kidnapping case after rescuing a five-year-old boy and arresting two persons, who had allegedly kidnapped him yesterday. The police said that Jagmeet alias Babbu had kidnapped Akashdeep, son of his landlady yesterday, after his paramour Manjit Kaur ran away from the house. “Babbu had told her landlady Sarabjit Kaur to convince his paramour Manjit Kaur to return or he will not return her son,” said Varinderpal Singh, SHO, Gidderbaha police station. He further said that Sarabjit Kaur had lodged a complaint with them last evening, acting upon which a case under sections 384, 365 and 506 of the IPC was registered in this regard. “Immediately after the registration of a case, the cell phone number of the accused was traced and he was nabbed soon,” added Varinderpal Singh. The SHO added that Babbu and Manjit Kaur were staying here in a rented house for the last four months. “Babbu is married to a woman of Kot Bhai and Manjit Kaur is also married to someone,” maintained the SHO. The police said that one more accused, Sandeep Singh, who was riding the motorcycle on which the boy was being taken somewhere, has been arrested. Meanwhile, the kidnapped boy was handed over to his mother Sarabjit Kaur.