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Cash flows as youth take to rural politics
29 polling booths hypersensitive in Fatehgarh Sahib
Excise official suspended for bogus entries
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Pannu
assault ase
Fight for respect to Sikh symbols may suffer: Experts
Congress leaders told to sink differences
Bajwa: List of office-bearers in a week
Bajwa must respond to Capt’s charge: BJP
Money power gets prominence as youth take to rural politics
Clear stance on uniform civil code: Tewari to SAD
Not given ventilator support, child dies
SGPC sacks 2 workers for diverting funds
PSPCL official comes under scanner for aiding power theft
Nine arrested for Faridkot clash
Cops accused of torture evade arrest
BSF repatriates 2 Pak nationals
Engineers for pre-emptive spillage at Bhakra, say delay may lead to floods
New Sangrur bus stand hanging fire for 2 years
Sangrur de-addiction centre staff demand hike in salaries
Strong winds uproot 4 electricity towers
Noted Persian scholar NC Thakur passes away
Denied PG quota, rural doctors to boycott work
HC hearing on petition by BDS students today
Two arrested with 4 kg contraband
Two held with 7 kg of opium
Holy books packed in used cartons seized, 4 booked
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Cash flows as youth take to rural politics
Faridkot, June 30 With three days to go for the polling, sources said in many villages, the rate per vote was being quoted in several thousands. But in Buttar village of Faridkot where two candidates are locked in a tough contest up to Rs 13 lakh are being offered for 15 votes of a politically non-aligned community. In this small village, having 425 votes, after division of votes on the basis of caste, community, family genealogy, only 15 votes are left which belong to a politically non-aligned community. There are many villages with similar trends. The sources said in Wandar Doad village, the prevailing vote rate was Rs 18,000 while it was an average Rs 5,000 in many other villages. Jagsirat Singh Bhullar, an Akali leader, admitted that there was a big shift in the panchayat elections. Earlier, elderly people had a dominant role to play, but now the younger generation wanted to get a shot at power at any cost, he said. Depending upon the size of the village, contesting sarpanch election meant an expenditure of Rs 10 lakh to 50 lakh, he added. “We are keeping a close watch on every village to curb the tendency of influencing voters with money power,” said Ravi Bhagat, Deputy Commissioner, Faridkot.
Congress protest
Tarn Taran: Congress leaders of Chutala and Rurreassal villages in the district have announced to boycott the panchayat elections in protest against the cancellation of nomination papers of party candidates. Satwant Kaur, former sarpanch of Chutala, and Gurdeep Singh, former chairman of Block Samiti, Naushehra Pannuan, alleged nomination papers of 80 Congress candidates had been rejected in the Khadur Sahib assembly constituency at the behest of Shiromani Akali Dal leaders. Congress workers of Rurreassal village also alleged
that partymen had been denied their right to contest elections by the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal. — OC
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29 polling booths hypersensitive in Fatehgarh Sahib
Fatehgarh Sahib, June 30 Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer Arun Sekhri said arrangements had been completed for ensuring smooth polling in the district. Sekhri said elections to 377 panchayats would be held in Fatehgarh Sahib. He said 863 panches in 2,488 wards had been elected unanimously. He said after the withdrawal of nominations, 923 candidates were left in fray for the posts of sarpanch and 3,172 candidates for that of panch. The District Election Officer said voting would commence at 8 am and conclude at 4 pm. The district administration has also started issuing show-cause notices to the polling staff who remained absent on the first election rehearsal held on June 26. Sekhri said directions had been issued to the polling staff to attend election-related rehearsal or else action would be taken against them under Section 20 of the Punjab State Election Commission Act 1994. Meanwhile, the number of unanimously elected panchayats has gone down by more than 30 per cent in this district with only 54 villages opting for it as compared to 78 in 2008. In 2003, a record number of 112 villages had elected their panchayats unanimously.
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Excise official suspended for bogus entries
Patiala, June 30 Two Excise and Taxation Inspectors have been found to be involved in the racket. Inspector Prem Singh has been suspended while Inspector Rajinder Singh has been shifted. The department is trying to identify the involvement of other officials in the scam. Confirming this, Anurag Verma, Excise & Taxation Commissioner, Punjab, said the accused dealer was selling scrap within the state, but in order to escape 6.05% VAT, showed bogus sale of scrap to firms located in Delhi and Himachal Pradesh. He even made bogus entries of goods at Information Collection Centres (ICCs), Ghanuli, Balongi, Moonak and Zirakpur. Verma said on receiving a tip-off, the Assistant Excise & Taxation Commissioner, Mobile Wing, Chandigarh, inquired into the matter. During the inquiry, the Excise & Taxation Officer, in charge of Multi-Purpose Barrier, Kala Amb, informed vide his letter dated 28.5.2013 that the firms to which Krishna Ispat Udyog had purportedly sent the material, namely, M/s HM Steel Corporation, Kala Amb, and M/s Hari Om Steel, Kala Amb, were not even registered with the Excise Department, Himachal Pradesh. Sources said the firms had been evading tax for the past several years and officials of the department were hand in glove with them. “While a few officials have been identified, more information is being collected about other senior officials who helped erase genuine entries from the official records,” they said. Verma said M/s Krishna Ispat Udyog had also shown sales to M/s Timco Steel Co, Nalagarh, but its Managing Partner Avtar Singh gave an affidavit denying having any transaction with this firm. Similarly, Krishna Ispat Udoyg had shown sales to M/s Atul Casting Ltd, Nalagarh, and Suresh Kumar, Director of Atul Casting, also gave an affidavit stating they had not purchased any goods from the said firm. “The premises of Krishna Ispat Udyog were raided and it was found that the address given to the department was incorrect. So, it was established beyond doubt that no actual movement of goods had taken place,” claimed Verma. Verma further said that they found that certain Inspectors of the department had connived with the dealer in making bogus entries regarding the passage of goods at the ICCs. “Prem Singh, Excise & Taxation Inspector, ICC, Ghanauli, was found to have made 165 bogus entries and has been suspended,” he said. Rajinder Kumar, Excise & Taxation Inspector, ICC, Balongi, made 106 bogus entries and was transferred to Fazilka.
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Pannu
assault ase
Mohali, June 30 Baba Panesar (46) a taxi driver, is a resident of Dashmesh Nagar, Ludhiana. Sources said: “Panesar had gone to Gobind Ghat with a client in his Scorpio. His role in the incident is being checked. It was also being ascertained if he had any police record, the sources said. The police was also trying to find out if Pannu had been attacked under a we-planned conspiracy. The cyber crime cell at Mohali had filed a case under Section 66-A of the IT Act and Sections 295-A, 298, 500 and 120-B of the IPC against unidentified on officer Pannu’s complaint. The sources claimed that several others believed to be behind the attack on Pannu were from Jalandhar. The police was looking for them too.
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Fight for respect to Sikh symbols may suffer: Experts
Amritsar, June 30 Talking to The Tribune, Sikh scholar Ashok Singh Bagarian said: "If the Sikhs themselves don't show respect to the turban, with what face can they ask foreigners to do so?." He said Akal Takht should take note of the assault on Pannu and act tough instead of waiting for the state government to complete its probe into the matter. He said the 'complete silence” by the ruling SAD on the issue was jarring. Dr Rajwant Singh, chairman of the US-based Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE), said even as Sikhs abroad were trying to convince the authorities abroad that the turban was a religious symbol and Sikh passengers should not be asked to remove their turban during frisking at airports, some Sikhs had not only removed Pannu’s turban but also uploaded the video footage of the incident on the Internet to portray him in a poor light. This was deplorable. "Whatever may be the provocation, what these Sikh yoths did with Pannu is totally unacceptable," he observed. Dal Khalsa leader Kanwarpal Singh said the state government could not be trusted on the matter and that Akal Takht should act on its own without waiting for the Punjab Government to conclude its inquiry. "It is for the Sikhs to understand that removing the turban portrays them in a bad light. “Even if Pannu had said something objectionable, instead of correcting him on the matter, removing his turban has sent a negative signal worldwide." Karnail Singh Peermohammed, All-India Sikh Students’ Federation (AISSF) chief, said the incident was a major setback to the community's fight for ensuring respect to its religious symbols, including the kirpan and turban, by governments of various countries. Kiranjot Kaur, SGPC member, however, was of the opinion that the Pannu incident was not likely to have any ramifications for the Sikhs living abroad. “It is, however, unfortunate that the Sikhs themselves are showing disrespect to the turban,” she added.
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Congress leaders told to sink differences
Chandigarh, June 30 Dr Ahmed, who was recently made incharge of Punjab affairs, held his first meeting with the state unit which was attended by Union Ministers Preneet Kaur, Manish Tewari and Santosh Chaudhary, Pradesh Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Sunil Jakhar. Addressing mediapersons after the meeting, the AICC general secretary said the Congress defeat in the last Vidhan Sabha elections had come as a shock to the party high command. He said while the reasons for the defeat were still being debated, the need of the hour was to launch a sustained campaign against the “excesses” being committed by the SAD-BJP alliance. He said he was making this statement on the feedback from Congress workers, adding that party workers should confront the ruling alliance head-on as “excesses against Congress workers will not be tolerated.” Earlier, AICC secretary Harish Chaudhary, speaking at the closed-door meeting, reportedly said it was for the Pradesh Congress to prepare a strategy to take on the SAD-BJP alliance as well as how to keep the party united. Jakhar, speaking at the meeting, said Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP poll campaign chairman Narendra Modi had failed to clarify his party’s stand on the memorial built in the Golden temple complex as a tribute to those killed in Operation Bluestar. Also, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had failed to speak up for the 30,000 Sikhs uprooted by the Gujarat Government, the CLP Leader said. Jakhar said the Punjab Congress should make the people aware of both these issues. Dr Ahmed expressed surprise as to why the issue of PCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa’s alleged links with Punjab militants was being raised at this juncture. The Congress general secretary said the purported report, that had appeared in a section of the media, had not quoted PCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh who was said to have raised the issue with the party high command. Dr Ahmed said he was not aware of any such letter. He said Bajwa had served in the Amarinder Singh ministry for five years. He had also served in various capacities in the organisation when Amarinder was PCC president. Dr Ahmed, when asked why senior leaders Capt Amarinder Singh and Rajinder Kaur Bhattal were not present at the first meeting held by him, he said he had been told that Amarinder was not in the state. He said Bhattal’s mother-in-law had passed off recently because of which she could not attend the meeting today.
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Bajwa: List of office-bearers in a week
Chandigarh, June 30 Talking to mediapersons here, Bajwa said he would take all castes, communities as well as regional equations into consideration while forwarding the proposed list to the party high command. He said he had already held consultations with party leaders to finalise the list which was almost ready. Bajwa said the party was gearing up to take the SAD-BJP combine head-on and that a rally would be held in Jalandhar on July 9 which would be addressed by Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. He said Dalit issues would be taken up at the rally. The PPCC president said he would also take up the issue of extending concessions to the border districts of Punjab in case the Centre extended concessions to the hill states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. He said the earlier concessions, which had been given by the BJP-led NDA government, had resulted in the shifting of 287 big industrial units from Punjab to the hill states. The Punjab Congress would also take up the issue of unfulfilled promises made to unemployed youth. Bajwa said he would mobilise the youth to force the government to fulfill promises made to them. He said the party would also take on the government on the issue of law order, economic position of the state as well as "neglect" of the social sector.
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Bajwa must respond to Capt’s charge: BJP
Jalandhar, June 30 Talking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a meeting here today, Sharma said the government should ask Bajwa to give an explantion in view of the serious allegation levelled against him by his senior party colleague.
In town to encourage workers to donate generously for the Uttarakhand victims, Sharma tendered an unconditional apology for a BJP worker portraying Sonia in a poor light on a social networking site. He said action would be taken against the worker. Sharma said that BJP president Rajnath Singh would visit Punjab for a two-day state executive meeting in Amritsar beginning July 6. To a query, the state BJP president said chairmen of various boards and corporations and heads of Jalandhar and Mukerian party units would soon be appointed.
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Money power gets prominence as youth take to rural politics
Faridkot, June 30 With three days to go for the polling, sources said in many villages, the rate per vote was being quoted in several thousands. But in Buttar village of Faridkot where two candidates are locked in a tough contest up to Rs 13 lakh are being offered for 15 votes of a politically non-aligned community. In this small village, having 425 votes, after division of votes on the basis of caste, community, family genealogy, only 15 votes are left which belong to a politically non-aligned community. There are many villages with similar trends. The sources said in Wandar Doad village, the prevailing vote rate was Rs 18,000 while it was an average Rs 5,000 in many other villages. Jagsirat Singh Bhullar, an Akali leader, admitted there was a change in the panchayat elections. Earlier, elderly people had a dominant role to play, but now the younger generation wanted to get a shot at power at any cost, he said. Contesting sarpanch election meant an expenditure of Rs 10 lakh to 50 lakh, he added. “We are keeping a close watch on every village to curb the tendency of influencing voters with money power,” said Ravi Bhagat, Deputy Commissioner,
Faridkot.
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Clear stance on uniform civil code: Tewari to SAD
Ludhiana, June 30 BJP parliamentary poll panel chief Narendra Modi had, during the "Sankalp Rally" held at Madhopur in Pathankot on June 23, said enforcement of the uniform civil code was his top priority. Talking to The Tribune, Tewari said the Akali Dal should clarify its position on Modi's call for a uniform civil code. "Where does the Akali Dal stand on the issue of the uniform civil code? What about the Anand Marriage Act," asked Tewari. The minister said SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal needed to clarify the party’s stance vis-à-vis its alliance partner. Hitting out at Modi's “digital programme" to reach out to the public in cyberspace, Tewari said it borrowed heavily from the initiative on "digital volunteer programme" undertaken by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Tewari, known for his political tweets, said the new (social) media was a multi-edged sword. But, he said, the editorial rigour of the traditional (print) media was missing in the social media. "Unverified information is being disseminated. Many people are misusing the privacy that it (the social media) provides, with a deleterious effect on healthy public discourse," he said. Tewari is in Ludhiana to conduct block-level meetings of the Congress.
Hits out at Modi — Manish Tewari, MoS for Information and Broadcasting
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Not given ventilator support, child dies
Patiala, June 30 The boy, who urgently needed a ventilator, was admitted to the paediatrics ward and not given ventilator support. His inconsolable parents blamed the hospital authorities for not giving the child oxygen support even though he was gasping for air. Dr Dharampal Singh, in charge of the paediatrics unit, said the doctors tried their level best to save the child but failed.
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SGPC sacks 2 workers for diverting funds
Amritsar, June 30 It is learnt that the SGPC has directed the two to return the money with 18 per cent interest, applicable from the date when the scam was discovered 18 months ago. Working with the SGPC for over two decades, the employees were earlier placed under suspension following discrepancies in the purchase of 65,000 metres of saffron cloth. Talking to The Tribune, Manjit Singh, additional secretary and personal assistant to the SGPC president, Avtar Singh Makkar, said the decision to dismiss both the employees was taken at the SGPC’s executive committee meeting held recently. He said the two had been asked to deposit the embezzled amount in the SGPC exchequer, along with the interest accrued. “The employees were given an opportunity to respond to the allegations levelled against them. They failed to give a satisfactory reply to the sub-committee tht was especially constituted to investigate the matter,” Manjit Singh said. No employee caught embezzling gurdwara funds would be spared, he warned.
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Breach in Sunam distributary
Sangrur, June 30 Deputy Commissioner Kumar Rahul said the Irrigation Department had stopped the release of water into the distributary from the main source. He said the breach would be plugged by tomorrow. While the district administration failed to clarify how the breach occurred, the villagers claimed the reason was that the canal “had not been cleaned properly”. The Irrigation Department, however, refuted the allegation as “false”.
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PSPCL official comes under scanner for aiding power theft
Jalandhar, June 30 Chaudhri has ordered a probe into the matter. In his six-page affidavit, Nirmal has claimed that he had sent a written complaint to the authorities in Patiala in December last year, but no action was taken. He alleged the officer concerned was posted in the Enforcement Directorate. Whenever power theft was detected, the erring consumer contacted the official, who in turn instructed the raiding party not to initiate any action, he alleged. Nirmal Singh, who was posted as Executive Engineer (Enforcement) in Amritsar from May 31, 2012 to December 20, 2012, said he had raided a hotel and found that excess load was being consumed. “I immediately got a phone call from my senior not to proceed against the consumer,” he alleged. Chaudhri said he had not received any complaint in December. “A few days ago, after he received a complaint, he ordered an inquiry. Action, if any, will be taken on the basis of the inquiry report,” he added.
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Nine arrested for Faridkot clash
Faridkot, June 30 Seven supporters of Faridkot legislator Deep Malhotra were injured in the clash.
Balraj, general secretary, SOI, is a supporter of Akali leader and former chairman of the Faridkot Improvement Trust Parambans Singh.
Malhotra and Parambans Singh have both fielded their candidates for the post of sarpanch of Rupianwala village.The village has 404 registered voters. During the clash yesterday, Balraj had allegedly opened fire on seven members of the rival group, leaving two seriously injured. They are being treated at the
DMC, Ludhiana. The police had registered an attempt to murder case against Balraj and his 30 accomplices. Sources said Balraj was arrested after MLA Malhotra approached the Chief Minister and the state police chief. GS
Randhawa, Faridkot Senior Superinrendent of Police (SSP), however, denied there was any pressure on the police from political bosses.
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Cops accused of torture evade arrest
Muktsar, June 30 Raj Kumar Verka, vice-chairman, National SC/ST Commission, had on June 21 told IGP (Law and Order) Jagdish Kumar Mittal, DIG (Crime) Balkar Singh and Muktsar SP (H) Narinderpal Singh Sidhu to speed up the investigations and arrests all the accused in three days. On a complaint by Gurlal Singh of Danewala village, an FIR was lodged against former Block Samiti member Sukhapl Singh, SHO Rameshwar Singh, ASI Puran Chand, constable Judgebir Singh and two unidentified persons.
— TNS
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BSF repatriates 2 Pak nationals
Fazilka, June 30 After the inquiry, it was found the Pakistanis had inadvertently crossed the border, said Commandant Girdhari Lal Meena. The youths had strayed up to 30 metres inside the Indian side; the fence stands erected at 60 metres of the zero line. “Nothing objectionable was recovered from their possession,” the Commandant said. After investigations, the BSF conducted a flag meeting with their Pakistani counterparts and handed over the intruders to their home country last evening. The BSF said this year, it had handed over 13 Pakistanis who had unknowingly crossed the border.
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Engineers for pre-emptive spillage at Bhakra, say delay may lead to floods
Jalandhar, June 30 By doing so, the union claimed, those living downstream various Bhakra channels would be saved from getting marooned if ever the dam floodgates had to be opened in an emergency. Federation chairman Padamjit Singh said the exercise — usually done in September when the monsoon is normal — should be advanced by three weeks this year in view of the heavy rains. The controlled spillage, he said, would take two to three weeks. In a letter to Union Minister of State for Power Jyotiraditya Scindia, the federation claimed preventive measures appeared must after assessing the current water level at Bhakra. Four days ago, the BBMB had witnessed a 40-year record of the month of June being breached, with water level at the Gobind Sagar reservoir crossing the 1,600-feet mark. Having a capacity of 1,680 feet, the water level had only once risen past the 1,600-feet mark in June in the dam’s 50-year history. The last record was set on June 25, 1973 - 1,607.24 feet. The federation also demanded that it was essential to increase the reservoir limit from 1,680 feet to 1,685 ft. Padamjit Singh stated in the letter that even if power generation from Bhakra was kept at its maximum throughout July and August, the reservoir level will touch 1,679 feet (as per a study done by them) on September 10. As such, he said, spillage would become compulsory. The federation study states that the anticipated water level in Bhakra would be 1,619 feet on July 10, 1,629 feet on July 20, 1,642 feet on July 31, 1,655 feet on August 10, 1,667-ft on August 20, 1,675 feet on August 31 and 1,679 feet on September 10. Meanwhile, the Patiala unit of the Punjab State Electricity Board Engineers Association will hold a dharna outside the Power Corporation headquarters (in Patiala) on July 5. Association president Baldev Singh Sran they would be protesting non-acceptance of various demands, including doing away with the practice of issuing notices to engineers on “flimsy grounds”.
‘Snag caused tripping’ KD Chaudhri, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited Chief Managing Director, has claimed the tripping at various thermal plants on Saturday was not because of any communication failure between corporation officials but due to a technical snag in the 500-MVA transformer at Moga. He said the snag was being rectified.
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New Sangrur bus stand hanging fire for 2 years
Sangrur, June 30 In April 2011, a decision was taken by the government to construct the new bus stand on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. The Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) floated the tender for the construction of the bus stand in June 2011. The proposal was to build a workshop on two acres and construct the bus stand on the remaining six acres. The successful bidder was to build a hotel, a bank, a multiplex and a few commercial outlets on the bus stand and operate it for 33 years. Two companies showed interest in the work and the government began negotiating the terms with one of the companies. But, talks between the company and the government failed as the company offered only Rs 36 lakh per annum to the government. The government sought Rs 1 crore as the PRTC was earning around Rs 60 lakh per annum in the form of adda fee at the time. In December 2012, the government once again began the process of issuing a tender and issued an expression of interest (EOI) but no company bid for the project. Sources said the PIDB recently decided to float a tender for the third time. This tender might be issued in a few weeks. The government has decided to increase the time span for which the company could operate the bus stand from 33 years to 50 years. The successful bidder will finance the construction of the bus stand as per the specifications of the PIDB and the
PRTC.
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Sangrur de-addiction centre staff demand hike in salaries
Sangrur, June 30 The ministry pays the staff members a total of Rs 51,000 per month. The employees, who have been working at the centre for several years, demand that their salaries be doubled. The centre became operational in September 2005. The project director gets Rs 8,000 per month, the psychologist, the counsellor and the social worker get Rs 6,500 each, the ward boy Rs 5,000, the educator Rs 2,000, the chowkidar and the sweeper get Rs 2,200 each. A medical officer, an accountant and a yoga therapist have been employed on a part-time basis and are paid Rs 5,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 2,200, respectively. The Rs 6,000 allocated per month to purchase medicines for indoor and outdoor patients is also inadequate. When contacted, project director Mohan Sharma said the staff members could not make both ends meet as their salaries were meagre. Sharma said that however, the 10 per cent salary hike announced by the Sangrur Deputy Commissioner Kumar Rahul in May boosted their morale to some extent.
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Strong winds uproot 4 electricity towers
Fatehgarh Sahib, June 30 The damage to the 220 KV high tension wires supplying power from the Ropar Thermal Plant to Mandi Gobindgarh and other areas also caused heavy losses to the farmers in these villages. A team of officials of the Punjab State Electricity Board, who visited these sites, claimed the department had suffered losses to the tune of several lakh rupees. They said it would take a few days to repair the damaged poles but that would not hit the power supply in the region. They informed that power would be supplied through other power lines. Farmers, Gurpreet Singh and Baldev Singh, said they had been directed to not irrigate their fields for the next few days as it would hamper the department’s efforts in repairing the damage. The farmers said if they couldn’t irrigate their fields for more than three to four days, it would damage their paddy crops. The high speed winds also damaged 15 transformers as the poles on which these were erected fell down at several places in the district. Rajveer Singh, Bhaddi Sub-Division Junior Engineer, said efforts were on to repair the damage. He said the transformers that were being used to supply power throughout the day were being repaired on a priority basis.
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Noted Persian scholar NC Thakur passes away
Chandigarh, June 30 In 1962, while working as an ‘Oppenheimer Awardee’, he was awarded the MLit degree by the Oxford University for his dissertation ‘Symbolism in the Novels of Virginia Woolf’. Having taught for many years at Government College, Dharamshala, he retired from Government College, Sector 11, Chandigarh, as a senior lecturer in English in 1974. The theatre group ‘Abhinet’ also came into existence in the same year with the debut production of ‘Ashad Ka Ek Din’ under his able direction. For his directorial contribution to indoor theatre, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Academy Award by the President in 2008. His books on ‘Virginia Woolf’ and ‘Ashad Ka Ek Din’ are the prized possessions of the State Library of New York, USA. He is survived by his daughter, Jaishree Thakur and son, Meru Thakur.
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Denied PG quota, rural doctors to boycott work
News, June 30 The rural health care system is bound to be paralysed. Its functioning has already been affected as the rural pharmacists and Class IV employees have been on a strike for over a month. The PG quota was introduced in 1982 for serving doctors. It was later reduced to 60 per cent of the total MD seats in Punjab. Earlier, all dispensaries in the state were under the Department of Health and Family Welfare. However, in 2006, the then Congress regime introduced the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution to strengthen the Panchayati Raj System. It shifted 1,186 rural dispensaries from the Department of Health and Family Welfare to the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats and posted one rural medical officer in each rural dispensary. The problem arose when the Health Department kept the entire 60 per cent quota for itself and considered rural medical officers ineligible for the PG quota. There are 1,186 posts of doctors in the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats and nearly 800 posts of non specialist medical officers in the Department of Health and Family Welfare in the rural areas. Now, the Punjab government claims that the quota was basically for PCMS doctors. Now, since rural medical officers (RMO) are only providing primary services in subsidiary health centres, the government is of the view that they did not need specialists there and has decided to allot the quota to the Health Department which provides both primary and secondary care. A Single Bench recently gave the decision in the Punjab government's favour, saying that rural medical officers were not eligible for PG quota. But a double bench provided interim relief to rural doctors and the Punjab government now wants to challenge this stay in court. So, the government has cancelled the counselling date for admission in MD courses. Speaking to The Tribune, Dr Anand Malhotra, State General Secretary of Rural Medical Services Association, Punjab, said the quota was introduced so that more doctors could be motivated to reach out to peripheral rural areas to lend preventive, curative and promotive health care services where the poor play into the hands of quacks. He said, "It was not aimed at producing specialists as interpreted by the Punjab Government. The so called urgency on the part of the government to produce more out-of-the-term specialists will definitely lead to the collapse of primary health care services in the near future." The rural doctors are agitated because of the biased attitude of the Secretary, Health and Family Welfare and Secretary, Research and Medical Education. They are changing the rules frequently to restrict the doctors working in the Rural Development Department from taking admission in post graduate courses under the quota, said Dr Reetika Sharma. Vini Mahajan, Principal Secretary of the Health Department said that PG quota was for PCMS doctors and they needed specialists in the Health Department since they provided secondary health services. On the other hand rural medical officers provided only primary services.
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HC hearing on petition by BDS students today
Ferozepur, June 30 Most of these students had appeared in the pre-medical entrance test in 2012, conducted by the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), but had “not cleared” the same. Despite this, they were admitted by 11 private dental colleges on the basis of marks scored by them in Class XII. Sources said the practice had been going on for the past few years, but neither the BFUHS nor the government had objected to it. But this year, the BFUHS has so far not registered these students. They were also not issued roll numbers for the first semester examinations, which were earlier slated to begin from June 26, but have now been postponed. The matter had been referred to the Dental Council of India (DCI) twice which had reportedly asked the state government to initiate action against the erring colleges. The Punjab Private Self-Financed Medical and Dental Colleges Association has justified the admissions, accusing both the BFUHS and government of biased attitude. Dr Kamal Baghi, association president, claimed the admissions were not illegal as these were done according to Para 7.7 of the prospectus issued by the BFUHS which says after admitting Punjab candidates, the remaining seats shall be left open for candidates having passed 10+2 examination. Refuting allegations that students had paid huge amounts to secure seats, Dr Baghi said all the 11 dental colleges in question had already sent a report of the students admitted in the respective colleges to the DCI in October 2012, which the latter had accepted as well. He said even Adesh University in Bathinda had followed the same criterion for admissions to the BDS course. Prabhjot Kaur, first-year BDS student, Genesis Dental College, Ferozepur, said she was anxiously waiting for the court orders. She said the college should have apprised them of the risk involved at the time of admission as two years of her career were at stake. A number of parents said their children were apprehensive over the status of their admission.
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Two arrested with 4 kg contraband
Sangrur, June 30 The DSP further said the Bhawanigarh police today recovered 2 kg of opium from Gurdeep Singh of Ballran village (Moonak), at a naka that was laid by the police near a canal close to Bhattiwal village (Bhawanigarh). The police has registered a case against both of them under Sections 18/61/85 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
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Two held with 7 kg of opium
Patiala, June 30 HS Mann, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Patiala, said, “We arrested Kuldeep and recovered 3.5 kg opium from him and held Kumar while he was trying to smuggle the same quanitity of the contraband into the state.”
Gang busted
In another case, the police arrested a gang, including two men and a woman, for blackmailing people. The woman in the gang would first befriend a male, record video footage of the two getting intimate and later blackmail him. The arrested persons included Indian Reserve Batallion employee Fariad Singh, Harbans Singh and a woman. Another woman was on the run, Mann said.
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Holy books packed in used cartons seized, 4 booked
Amritsar, June 30 The boxes were lying at the railway platform. The persons accompanying the consignment managed to flee after spotting the committee members, led by Balbir Singh Muchhal. The General Railway Police (GRP) has registered a case against Baljinder Pal Singh, Harmeet Singh, Prabhjit Singh and Rabjit Singh. The consignment comprising 11 boxes consisted of 15 “sainchis” (sets) of Guru Granth Sahib in Punjabi, 12 “sainchis” in Hindi, 100 “nitnem gutkas” in Punjabi and an equal number of “nitnem gutkas” in Hindi.— TNS
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With the rise of young leaders in rural politics, there is an increasing trend of use of money to influence voters in the July 3 panchayat
elections.
The Excise and Taxation Department, Punjab, has lodged an FIR against M/s. Krishna Ispat Udyog, Ludhiana, for trying to defraud the state and making bogus entries of sale of scrap to the tune of about Rs 23
crore.
The state cyber crime cell today arrested Baba Panesar alias Gurwinder Singh, one of the key accused in the attack on senior IAS officer Kahan Singh Pannu at Gobind Ghat in
Uttarakhand. The attackers also uploaded a video clip of the incident on the Internet in a bid to defame him.
Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh , Deputy Inspector-General (DIG), said Baba Panesar, who was produced in a District and Sessions Court here, was sent to a four-day police custody.
Punjab Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed today urged all senior Pradesh Congress leaders to sink their differences and take revenge on the
SAD-BJP for the party’s “shock defeat” in the last Vidhan Sabha elections.
The new state-of-the-art bus stand that was to be constructed at a cost of Rs 40 crore at the site of the old PRTC bus stand here has been hanging fire for the past two years.
High speed winds, rain that lashed the region last night uprooted four high voltage towers located in Mustafabad and Kotla Masuda villages and disrupted power supply in various parts of the district.
It (Narendra Modi's digital programme to reach out to the public in cyberspace) has borrowed heavily from an initiative by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on digital volunteer programme
