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Rupee fall hits Pak imports via Wagah
Pannu assault case |
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Four judges yet to declare assets
Paddy MSP will not offset high input costs
PANCHAYAT Elections
Proclaimed offender, a poll contestant, held
Protest over Dera chief’s photo on net
NGO invents rickshaw that runs on solar power
Tribune Impact
Victims can file claims with their state govts, DSGMC told
CM had given Maluka a long rope, says Bajwa
Finish work on Patiala bypass by August 15, warns govt
Children’s park to come up in Sangrur
Malerkotla clash leaves 7 injured
Dismissed DSP held for fraud
Caught with bribe money, Patiala cops plot frame-up
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Rupee fall hits Pak imports via Wagah
Amritsar, June 28 All India Cement Importers Association chief MPS Chatha said they had stopped placing fresh orders in view of the fall in the rupee’s value. “Whatever goods are being imported now are a part of the orders placed in the past. While no goods have arrived through the rail route from Pakistan for the last five to seven days, the goods being imported through road have also declined.” He said he had not placed any new orders for the last 10 days. Leading importer and CII Zonal Council chief Rajdeep Uppal said it had left a major impact on imports even though exports were not hit as much because it was already a lean season (for exports). “The government and the Reserve Bank of India must intervene to bring the rupee to a suitable level. We are not saying that it should be brought down to 50, but it is more important for the government to ensure its stability.” Cement and gypsum importer Iqbal Singh Bedi said the imports had become expensive with the depreciation in rupee and were no more competitive enough for the traders to continue with it. “If things do not improve in the coming few days, the imports from Pakistan may completely stop. We are already not sending any payment for further orders.” He said the cement and gypsum that was arriving currently at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) in Attari had been ordered in advance. The gypsum importers said they were surviving on very less margin in today’s highly competitive market and any depreciation in rupee adversely affected their profits. Prominent clearing agent Jaspal Singh said if the declining trend in the rupee continued, nobody would place fresh orders. He said the trade was already sluggish and the quantum of import of goods like cement, gypsum and dry fruit had already dropped. Whatever goods are being imported now are a part of the orders placed in the past. While no goods have arrived through the rail route from Pakistan for the last five to seven days, the goods being imported by road have also declined The government and the Reserve Bank of India must intervene to bring the rupee to a suitable level. We are not saying that it should be brought down to 50, but it is more important for the government to ensure its stability If things do not improve in the coming few days, the imports from Pakistan may completely stop. We are already not sending any payment for further orders…. We're surviving on a thin margin and any depreciation in rupee adversely affects our profits
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Pannu assault case
Chandigarh, June 28 Talking to The Tribune, Chamoli Superintendent of Police (SP) Ajay Joshi said they had not received instructions from any quarter in the case. “We cannot commence investigations without a formal complaint. We cannot arrest anyone as no case has been registered. I have not even been issued informal orders to commence a probe,” he said. Pannu is learnt to have submitted a detailed note to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh about the attack on him. It was expected that the note would be forwarded to the police authorities concerned for registering an FIR. The top brass in the administration has chosen to keep mum on developments related to the case, that has assumed a political hue. No officer is prepared to speak on record. Several efforts to contact the Chief Secretary on his official phone proved futile. Officials attending the call said he was at a meeting. But an officer associated with the special investigating team (SIT) constituted by the Punjab Government, requesting anonymity, said: “No arrests have been made yet. Ludhiana-based Baba Panesar, one of the key suspects in the case, has absconded. His family members told a police team that visited his house that he had gone to retrieve his car from Uttarakhand ”. Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, Deputy Inspector-General (DIG), cyber cell, said: “We are working on various aspects of the case. We will be able to comment only after we have gathered the relevant information.” FIR registered in Mohali An FIR has been registered with the Punjab Police, Cyber Crime, Mohali, under Sections 66-A of the IT Act and 295-A, 298, 500 and 120-B of the IPC on officer KS Pannu’s complaint. The officer has stated that as part of a deep-rooted conspiracy, mischievous elements, by uploading the video on his manhandling at Gobind Ghat on social networking sites had defamed him and hurt religious sentiments. Awaiting orders We cannot commence investigations without a formal complaint. I have not even been issued informal orders to begin a probe
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Four judges yet to declare assets
Chandigarh, June 28 Available information suggests one of the four Judges was elevated to the Bench in September 2011.Two others were elevated in June last year and the fourth Judge was elevated in December last year. The decision to declare the assets was taken by a Full Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in February, 2010. It is believed that the general consensus among the Judges was to have a two-month time-frame for the declaration of assets. At that time, it was decided that the Judges would make their assets public by March 31. In fact, the Punjab and Haryana High Court Judges became the fourth in the country to declare their assets with details on the official website. The decision came after the Supreme Court Judges made their assets public on November 3, 2009, and asked the High Courts to follow suit. The first three High Courts to comply with the instructions were Delhi, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh. Justice K Kannan of the Punjab and Haryana High Court was the first Judge in the country to declare his assets in August 2009. The declaration is just one of the many issues facing the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The allocation of sessions divisions to administrative Judges, and the appointment of kin of Judges in the Advocate-General’s office are some of the other issues that have been raised during the recent past. Each session’s division has an administrative or inspecting Judge. It has since long been argued that a Judge with relatives as practising advocates in a particular state should be made administrative Judge of a session’s division in another state. A section of HC advocates has already raised questions on the appointment of kith and kin of Judges in the Advocate-General’s office. The advocates have written: “Now it has become a routine that as soon as one becomes Judge, his son is appointed Additional Advocate-General by the Punjab or Haryana Governments and the UT Administration takes him on the panel without any experience….”
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Paddy MSP will not offset high input costs
Chandigarh, June 28 Farmers in the paddy-growing areas were hoping that the government would announce a reasonable hike in the MSP after taking into account the increase of Rs 8.60 per litre in the price of diesel and Rs 500 to Rs 750 per acre in labour costs. But their hopes were dashed to the ground yesterday after the government announced that the paddy MSP for the current season would be Rs 1,310 per quintal, only Rs 60 higher than the previous season’s Rs 1,250 a quintal. Jagdeep Singh, a farmer at Kanoi village near Sangrur, said this year a very few labourers had come to paddy-growing areas and were quoting exorbitant rates. “Since mechanical paddy transplantation has failed, we have no option but to rely on these labourers for manual transplantation. They are charging Rs 2,200 per acre as labour. The rate last year was Rs 1,700 to Rs 2,000 per acre. The price of diesel (used for running farm machinery and operating tube wells) has gone up from Rs 40.15 per litre to Rs 48.75 per litre. The situation will only add to the debt burden on my family,” said the distressed farmer. In view of the high input costs this year, the Punjab Government too had recommended that the MSP be raised to Rs 1,750 per quintal (and Rs 1,800 per quintal for A-grade paddy). The state government had argued that the high cost of labour and diesel would drastically hit the profit margin of farmers. MS Sandhu, Director of Agriculture, Punjab, claimed paddy growers would be pushed into debt as they were bound to suffer losses. “The area under paddy this year is 27.50 lakh hectares, a little less than 28.12 lakh hectares last season. As farmers are finding it economically unviable to grow paddy, they are slowly shifting to other crops. We are expecting an increase of 1 lakh hectares area under basmati varieties. Against 4.5 lakh hectares last time, 5.5 lakh hectares is expected to be under basmati, mainly Pusa 1121 and Pusa basmati 1509, this season,” he said. Badal slams Centre Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has slammed the Centre for the negligible hike in the MSP of both paddy and cotton (the MSP of long staple cotton has been increased by Rs 100 per quintal). The Chief No more viable?
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PANCHAYAT Elections
Moga, June 28 In most of the 50-odd villages in Moga assembly segment, Jain has fielded his loyalists for the posts of sarpanch and panch in the ensuing panchayat elections. Most of these candidates had joined the ruling party along with him and are seen as newcomers. They are pitted against the traditional Akali candidates who have been associated with the SAD for the past several years and even decades. As a result, groupism within the Akali Dal has emerged in almost all the villages. A local Akali leader went to the extent of saying, “It may harm the political prospects of the ruling party in the next Lok Sabha elections.” In Mahesari, one of the biggest villages in the assembly segment, Jain has fielded Baljinder Singh against two-time Akali sarpanch Gurdeep Singh Sandhu, leaving the ground wide open for groupism within the party. Gurdeep has been loyal to the SAD for the past several years and he, all of a sudden, is witnessing “opposition from within”. In Daulatpura Ucha village, sitting Akali sarpanch Angrej Singh, associated with the party for the past several years, is facing opposition from Buta Singh, a Jain confidant. Interestingly, Buta Singh has also been elected as a member of the zila parishad and there appears to be no justification for his contesting another election. In Kahan Singh Wala village, Amar Singh, a traditional Akali, is pitted against Sukhdev Singh who recently helped Jain in the Moga assembly bypoll. A perusal of the current political situation in the area indicates Jain is trying to develop his own group of supporters within the party. Senior Akali leader Jathedar Tota Singh appears to be worried over the visible vertical split of the party workers in the panchayat poll but hopes things would be sorted out after the elections. “I have tried my best to evolve a consensus in several villages. As many as 55 sarpanches and 804 panches have been elected unanimously,” he claimed.
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Proclaimed offender, a poll contestant, held
Moga, June 28 A police official said Jagroop Singh had been declared a proclaimed offender in a smuggling case. There were at least three cases of drug smuggling and a few other criminal cases pending against him. A SAD supporter, Jagroop is pitted against Paramjit Singh of the Youth Akali Dal and Nachattar Singh of the Congress. Jagroop’s supporters, however, alleged that intra-party rivalry had led to his arrest. They also protested outside Ajitwal police station. The police claimed Jagroop had been evading arrest for the past several months.
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Protest over Dera chief’s photo on net
Ludhiana, June 28 The dharna started around 8 am and was lifted around 4.30 pm after DCP Harsh Bansal assured the protesters of action against the accused, Sukhjinder Singh (22) of Sangowal village. They also demanded the suspension of SHO Satwinder Singh Dugri for delaying the arrest. — TNS
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NGO invents rickshaw that runs on solar power
Fazilka, June 28 The model, Surya, was kicked off on the fifth anniversary of Ecocab (a light-weight modern rickshaw) at the Non-Motor Research and Development Centre here. Surya has been developed by NGO patron Dr Bhupinder Singh, a recipient of Uttarakhand Government’s Urja Purush title. Kabir Sharma, a mechanical engineering student and an intern at the centre, assisted him in the project. The rickshaw generates 200-watt solar power through four photo voltaic panels, which also act as a roof for the 250-watt DC motor (fitted on the rickshaw). The rickshaw weight has been kept around 80 kg in order to reduce its cost as well as to provide comfort to the operator for pulling it in the absence of sunlight.
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Tribune Impact
Patiala, June 28 The panel took suo-motu cognisance of the news report “10-yr-old latest victim of apathy at Patiala hospital" published in The Tribune. After the news report was published, Dr DS Gill, Chairman of the Patiala Child Welfare Committee, reached the hospital to enquire about the condition of the unidentified child. He was surprised to find that the hospital authorities were about to refer the child back to Ludhiana without treating him. Dr Gill said, “The hospital had by and large completed all the formalities to shift the patient back saying he was fit to be shifted. “But, I called the surgeons and other doctors concerned and found that the child was still bleeding as it was a case of severe Rectal
Prolapse. The doctors had not done anything to treat the child.” Dr Gill then directed the authorities to start the child’s treatment and told them to shift him to
Navjiwani, home for special children. However, sources said that despite Dr Gill's intervention, the doctors delayed the child’s treatment till today morning. His treatment began only after the matter was brought to the notice of Dr KD Singh, Principal of Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital. Dr KD Singh said, “The child had 3.5 gm of blood remaining in his body. We have ordered a blood transfusion so that he is fit for operation. We will operate on him on Monday."
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Victims can file claims with their state govts, DSGMC told
Chandigarh, June 28 Manjit Singh said the delegation had demanded the state government should set up a centre where the victims could file their claims for financial aid. He said Bahuguna had told them the victims should file claims with local bodies in their native states. The latter would send these to the state Chief Secretary who would forward it to the Uttarakhand Government. — TNS
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CM had given Maluka a long rope, says Bajwa
Chandigarh, June 28 He alleged that the CM had hushed up the books scam by ordering an inquiry by a retired Judge “of Maluka's choice” and demanded that either the CBI or a sitting Judge of the High Court probe the matter. Bajwa alleged that the assault on Pannu was “a result of the long rope given to Maluka.” He claimed that Pannu, in his capacity as Director General of School Education, had tried to prevent the purchase of library books, science kits and practical books. “It is the Chief Minister’s constitutional duty to protect the honour of its officers,” Bajwa added.
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Finish work on Patiala bypass by August 15, warns govt
Patiala, June 28 While the work of land acquisition was completed in 2006, the BRO has missed almost four deadlines to complete the road till date. It is close to missing one more. The state government has now warned the BRO to finish the work by August 15. The incomplete work is a perfect example of official apathy, and that too by a defence organisation. With the completion of the bypass, commuters from Zirakpur, on their way to Sangrur, Bathinda and some parts of Haryana and Rajasthan, will not have to enter Patiala city. “The state government has at least got the work started. Once the work on the bypass is over, it will help the district administration plan a traffic exit,” said sources. The BRO has been missing deadlines ever since it was alloted the work. The project cost has also increased because of the delay. In 2006, the state government handed over the project to the BRO and the project took off in 2007. Initially, it was to be completed by March 2011 at a cost of Rs 83 crore. However, following delays, the project cost escalated to Rs 110 crore and the deadline was revised to October 2012. It was again missed. Patiala Deputy Commissioner GK Singh had taken up the matter with the state government, which then wrote to the Army. “Thereafter, I regularly started holding meetings with the BRO officials following which we were assured that the project would be completed by June 30, 2013,” he said. “The BRO had assured at a meeting that the work would be completed by July 30. But government officials believe that the organisation would be unable to keep its word. We will be monitoring the project regularly from now on,” stated a state official. Superintendent engineer, BRO, AK Agarwal, told The Tribune that the work suffered a setback in the past because the contractor left the project midway. “Now we are hopeful to complete the project by September 15. The state government wants us to wrap up the work before August 15,” Agarwal added. Delayed affair
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Children’s park to come up in Sangrur
Sangrur, June 28 Sibia said a committee would be constituted for the development of the park so that the funds could be utilised in a proper manner.
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Malerkotla clash leaves 7 injured
Sangrur, June 28 Tension was reportedly triggered when a few activists of the BJP and its youth wing Yuva Morcha entered into an argument with a few shopkeepers while collecting donations for the victims of the Uttarakhand flood tragedy. An old enmity between the traders and the BJP activists is stated to be the reason. However, the police soon arrived at the scene and managed to defuse tension. Deputy Superintendent of Police Bimal Kumar Sharma said all the injured were release after treatment at various hospitals. Senior Superintendent of Police Mandip Singh Sidhu dismissed the rumours that it was a communal clash. He said the police was preparing to lodge
cross-FIRs in the case.
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Dismissed DSP held for fraud
Chandigarh, June 28 Deol (42), a resident of Hoshiarpur, was arrested by CBI sleuths from the Sector 38 (West) residence of his friend Updeep. The sleuths impounded Deol's SUV with a Punjab registration number and a red beacon parked outside Updeep's house. It bore a sticker “Deputy Commissioner, Income Tax Department.” The CBI said Deol owned more than eight cars. He would rent these out to government officials. Deol is among nine accused in a case of cheating registered by the CBI in October last year. The prime accused in the case is Regional Accounts Officer, IT Department, Subhash Solanki. Solanki reportedly gave a loan of Rs 2.33 crore from IT Department funds to eight persons against rules. The loan can be sanctioned to officials and employees of the department alone. Deol will be produced in the special CBI court in Patiala tomorrow. Solanki and two others were arrested on June 24. The three were remanded to three days' police custody. They were sent to judicial custody today. Meanwhile, CBI sources said that at least two more complaints of financial fraud are being investigated against
Deol. About the offence
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Caught with bribe money, Patiala cops plot frame-up
Samana (Patiala), June 28 The latter was reportedly kept in “illegal confinement” at the Ramnagar police post but managed to get away by allegedly paying a bribe of Rs 2.20 lakh to the police. However, the bribe money was recovered from an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) at the Ramnagar police post who was booked on corruption charges. This perturbed the police that registered an NDPS case against Mittal at a nearby police station. The Ramnagar police had on June 17 picked up Mittal and recovered tablets and capsules from his house following the arrest of another smuggler. “Instead of registering an FIR against him, Ramnagar ASI Narpinder Singh allegedly accepted a bribe of Rs 2.20 lakh and let him off,” reads the FIR against the ASI. “Mittal was kept in illegal confinement at the police post. Two head constables accepted a bribe of 30,000 from Mittal's aides to settle the matter,” revealed a senior police officer. Even as the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Patiala Hardyal Mann ordered that a corruption case be filed against Narpinder Singh on the complaint of his friend, another police team whisked away both Mittal and Narpinder from the Ramnagar post. While the latter was let off the following day after questioning despite an FIR against him, the former was booked in a separate case. According to the FIR (a copy of which is with The Tribune) the Jhulka police station registered a case under the NDPS Act against Mittal on June 18. The FIR states that a team headed by Sub-Inspector Nirmal Singh had arrested Mittal from near Dudhan Sadhan village and recovered psychotropic drugs from his Alto car worth lakhs. But Mittal's family claims that he was picked up on June 17. “If he had to pay a bribe to be let off, it obviously means that he was under arrest,” claimed Mittal's relatives. Sukhbir Singh, SHO, Jhulka police post, denied that Mittal had been framed. When contacted, the SSP said he would look into the matter. Tracking the case
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Ludhiana, June 28
Fazilka, June 28
Patiala, June 28
Chandigarh, June 28
