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Sikh bodies oppose DU’s ‘anti-Punjabi’ move
Badal: Food security ordinance a coverup
Market fee on agri products bought from outside state
News analysis |
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‘Uncle
Judges’ in Punjab & Haryana HC
Cong: Book former BJP state chief for damaging toll plaza
Seizure of Religious Literature
Unrest in Moga over remarks on social media
Minority panel wants mosques, churches in jails
Cattle feed units to come up in Nawanshahr, Hoshiarpur
Awaiting payment, contractor delays work on school building
Social scheme beneficiaries without pension for 3 months
Councillors, residents hold protest in Dhuri
Villagers told not to eat fish bred in filthy ponds
RO plant at Patiala jail
Two held for snatching car in Sangrur
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Sikh bodies oppose DU’s ‘anti-Punjabi’ move
Amritsar, July 9 The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) will hold a meeting with Sikh historians and intellectuals in New Delhi tomorrow to devise a strategy to thwart the move while the SGPC will approach President Pranab Mukherjee on the issue. Students, teachers and writers have launched a 'Punjabi Boli Morcha' at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in New Delhi. Urdu language lovers have joined hands with them. They are distributing pamphlets among the people to make them aware of the issue. Talking to The Tribune, DSGMC chief Manjit Singh GK said Punjabi was earlier being taught as a compulsory subject in 15 colleges. Now, 13 colleges of the university will teach Punjabi and other Indian languages but not as main subjects and that too from the second year of admission. "This is unfair to students who wish to study Punjabi from the first year in college," he said. "The move has come as a jolt to the Sikh community, which has a large population in Delhi. Punjabi language serves as a crucial link between Sikh religion and culture," he said. Sikh intellectuals in Delhi feel the university's decision to drop the graded system of teaching Punjabi language and literature such as Punjabi-A, Punjabi-B and Punjabi-C will deprive students the opportunity to learn Punjabi across different disciplines such as commerce, economics, English, social sciences and pure sciences. Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh flayed the "biased decision" against the Punjabi language. Avtar Singh Makkar, SGPC chief, has written to the President, seeking an appointment so as to take up the matter with him. He termed the DU move as "grave injustice to Punjabi and Punjabiat". He said Punjabis were being given a "step-motherly" treatment in their own country.
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Badal: Food security ordinance a coverup
Ludhiana July 9 Badal said the move to bring the ordinance was aimed at distracting people's attention from various scams. The Chief Minister said it was on record that the SAD-BJP Government had the distinction of being the first to ensure food security to its residents by starting the atta-dal scheme. He said the food security ordinance was nothing more than a “copy” of this "unique" endeavour of the state government. He said that the state deserved a special package not only for its industry but also for bailing out farmers from the current crisis. He said rather than criticising the SAD-BJP Government, the Congress leadership should cooperate with it for protecting the interests of the state. In a scathing attack on the UPA Government, the Chief Minister said the Union Government had "miserably failed in providing external and internal security to the countrymen, thereby putting the sovereignty of the nation in peril".
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Market fee on agri products bought from outside state
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today gave his approval to amending Rules 29 and 30 of the Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act,1962, to make this possible. An official spokesperson said the Chief Minister cleared the file in this regard yesterday. Approving the proposal sent by the Agriculture Department, the Chief Minister agreed to amend Rule 29 as under: “Any agriculture produce taken from outside the state to the state of Punjab, shall be deemed to have been bought or sold in the notified market area where it is brought, may be for any purpose. Any exemption granted from payment of market fee under Rules 29, 30, 30 (c) or any other rule will not be applicable and the dealer will have to pay market fee as per the procedure already laid down." Sources said agricultural produce if bought from outside the state did not attract any market fee. This invariably let to circumvention of rules with produce purchased from Punjab being shown to have been brought from outside. However, the sources said this rule would not apply to fruit and vegetables brought from outside the state. The approved draft amendment by the Chief Minister had been sent to the legal remembrancer for vetting, prior to amending the Punjab Agriculture Produce Markets Act, 1962, the spokesperson added.
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News analysis
Chandigarh, July 9 “I feel that I will not be able to do justice to the post that requires a lot of travelling across the country,” he said. But this appears too simple a reasoning. Badal has been active in state politics for more than 50 years. He is holding the office of Chief Minister for the fifth time. He has almost fully groomed his son Sukhbir Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister, to handle the party affairs and to run the state administration. Hence, Badal’s argument that he wants to serve the state for some more time sounds unconvincing. It is true that Badal has never been a pivotal player in national politics. His brush with politics in New Delhi in the late 1970s was rather bitter. Feeling extremely uncomfortable as a Union Minister in the Morarji Desai-led Janata Dal Government, Badal returned to state politics after a few months in Delhi. Badal is aware that holding the office of NDA convener will not be a bed of roses.There are several contradictions, ideological and regional, among the NDA partners. Tackling these will not be an easy task. As of now, there are serious problems within the BJP top brass. Badal may not be prepared to handle such a task that would invariably require taking sides. Moreover, whereas the BJP is a centralist party, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), a regional party, has been advocating more powers to states for a true federal structure. Also, the BJP’s over-emphasis on Hindutva does not suit the SAD that has fought for Sikh identity all along. Another reason for refusal could be Badal’s good ties with leaders of almost all regional parties. In his capacity as NDA convener, he may have to act tough with some of these leaders. Badal would not like to be placed such an unpalatable situation. Observers say the SAD leadership may be keen to keep its options open as the political scenario at the national level is still unclear. But if Badal accepts the post of NDA convener, he may see these options shrinking.
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‘Uncle
Judges’ in Punjab & Haryana HC
Chandigarh, July 9 Former Chief Justices and legal luminaries believe that the Judges should take upon themselves the task of ensuring that their relatives are not placed on a pedestal of advantage by virtue of being their kin. Former Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan, says ultimately it is for the Judges to make sure there is no blemish on their robe. “The moral fibre of the Judges has to be upgraded,” he says. Not too optimistic about the scenario, Chief Justice Liberhan says “idealistic courts are impossible and there is practically no remedy” for the malady that has afflicted the justice delivery system since its inception. At the same time, the “black sheep have to be identified and caught. You can’t paint everyone with the same brush. But the black sheep need to be identified, exposed and condemned,” he asserts. The lawyers too should desist from the practice of recommending the names of advocates with Judges as their relatives. “The ability to lay hands on such information is not innate and a client requires extensive experience in the justice delivery system to obtain it. As an alternative, the clients turn to lawyers to provide such details. The advocates, in turn, willingly provide such information. It is for the lawyers not to dole out such details.” The recruitment process in the Advocate-General’s office too needs to be revamped as the kith and kin of Judges are more often than not appointed as law officers. “The posts should be made permanent and recruitment carried out strictly on the basis of requisite qualification,” he suggests. Another thing. “The relatives of Judges, who have served in the AG's office, should be banned from practising in the same court for a specified number of years, after they have been removed. And the Additional Advocate-General’s post must be made less lucrative. They should be paid on a per case basis, rather than a fixed remuneration,” he recommends. Former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Justice Rajinder Sachar says the remedy does not lie in transfers. “The Judges should resolve to sort out things among themselves. If brother Judges are privy to such complaints, they should discuss the matter with the Judge concerned to ensure the wrong message does not go out to the public,” he says. “Transferring Judges is only running away from the problem”. Going into the reasons behind his assertion, Chief Justice Sachar says most of the Judges are elevated to the Bench in their mid-40s. At that time, their children are too young to even choose a career for themselves. A Judge cannot be faulted with, if at a later stage they join the profession and start practising in the same court. Strictly against the practice of sons and Judges being in the same court, former Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice Mukul Mudgal says he would not have allowed his son to be in the same court, if he had chosen to be a lawyer. “The Judges should be over-active and go out of their way to ensure that their relatives, children included, are not practising in the same court. After all, justice should not only be done; it must also be seen to be done.”
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Cong: Book former BJP state chief for damaging toll plaza
Hoshiarpur, July 9 The Congress leaders alleged that the BJP leaders, who are lawmakers in the state government, have broken the law. The incident had occurred at the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI)-operated barrier at Harse Mansar village on the busy Jalandhar-Jammu highway on Friday. Raman Bhalla, senior Congress leader and former Pathankot MLA, alleged the attack by the BJP leaders and their supporters exposed the state of lawlessness prevailing in Punjab. Bhalla, who was booked and challaned by the Punjab Government for violating the Control of National Highway Act (Land a Traffic) 2002 while protesting along with his supporters on the road owned by the Pathankot civic body in 2010, has alleged that Ashwani Sharma should be booked for creating ruckus on the highway. The highway authority had yesterday demanded a compensation of Rs 14.38 lakh for the losses incurred when the barrier remained closed for 46 hours after the clash. Meanwhile, scores of villagers living in the vicinity of the barrier have heaved a sight of relief as they would now be issued monthly vehicle passes at a nominal rate of Rs 200. On Friday night, BJP’s Pathankot unit chief Narinder Parmar and his supporters, who were returning to Pathankot from Mukerian were stopped at the toll barrier. As the BJP leader showed his return pass, an employee lowered the barrier, which damaged the bonnet of Parmar’s vehicle. An argument ensued, which later turned into an ugly scuffle.
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Gurdaspur boxer strikes gold in strawberry farming
Gurdaspur, July 9 Chetan who was part of the Punjab team that participated in the 2012 junior national boxing championship, one day decided to give up the sport he so passionately loved. He wanted to do something new and innovative, so he decided to take up strawberry farming in a small town like Gurdaspur. He risked his father’s savings and after two yields, he has now become the most sought-after young farmer in the town. To begin with, the ‘strawberry boy’ visited the local Punjab Agricultural University Research Station to get knowledge on how to grow the fruit. He was exasperated after the officials there told him they had no inkling what strawberry farming was. Last year, he visited a relative in Solan (Himachal Pradesh) who gave him a couple of thousand young plants, which he transplanted on a well-irrigated two acre plot taken on lease by his father Rakesh Verma. Now after two years of hard work involving growing and marketing of the fruit in his own home brand ‘Zoot’, he is raking in profits unheard of by farmers who grow paddy and wheat. “Nearly 32,000 plants can be grown on each acre of land. Each plant, on an average, costs Rs 6 or Rs 7. Add to each plant the cost of labour, sprays and the charges of land lease land and in the final analysis, an investment of Rs 10 is made (per plant). This means I have to invest Rs 3.2 lakh per acre. It is on this investment that I make Rs 12 lakh, which means I reap a profit of nearly Rs 9 lakh an acre,” he said. Agriculture experts opine that raking in Rs 18 lakh from just two acres of land is a financially much more viable proposition as compared to traditional paddy-wheat growing farmers who, after incurring all expenditure, make just Rs 80,000 from one acre in a year. The fruit is transplanted from September 15 till October 15 and it starts ripening in February and goes on till April. The Verma family markets the final produce in neighbouring cities like Amritsar, Jammu and Pathankot. The young farmer has no qualms about quitting boxing at a time when he was beginning to make a mark on the national circuit. “I had a promising career ahead. But for some inexplicable reason, strawberry farming just fascinated me no end. I want to become a pioneer in this trade in the Majha region,” he averred. Now, the youth has his aim set on exporting the fruit to Dubai where it commands three times more price than what he gets here.
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Seizure
of Religious Literature
Amritsar, July 9 The SGPC had complained when the Satkar panel members seized religious literature while alleging ‘sacrilege’ in its transportation a few days ago. The panel members also met Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh today. Its leader Balbir Singh Muchhal apprised the Jathedar of the matter. Talking to mediapersons, Muchhal said the Jathedar too blamed them even after hearing their side of the story. He claimed they tried to prevent the desecration of the religious literature but “this effort of theirs had become a crime”. He said they will now knock the doors of the High Court to seek “justice”. He claimed the day they seized the literature from the local railway station, the General Railway Police had booked the publisher and also those transporting it after they staged a protest. However, the case was later cancelled.
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Mansa girls top talent search test
Bathinda, July 9 Harwinder Kaur and Ramandeep Kaur, both students of a government school in the village, have pocketed the first and second position in the state. They scored 148 and 147 marks out of 180. Another girl, Amandeep Kaur, stood 16th in Punjab. Born to illiterate parents, the girls put up an exemplary show while putting behind the general perception that girls were discouraged to study in the backwaters of Punjab. All the three were honoured in the school today. Mansa Deputy Commissioner Amit Dhaka has announced an award for the trio on the Independence Day function. School principal Gurjeet Kaur Dhillon said under the National Talent Search Scheme, the girls would get free education up to Class XII.
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Unrest in Moga over remarks on social media
Moga, July 9 Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Surjit Singh Grewal, however, said the matter between two communities had been sorted out. The Deputy Superintendent of Police (City), Gurdeep Singh, said that on the complaint of Kulwant Singh, an activist of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a criminal case under Sections 153-A, 153-B, 295-A, 120-B of the IPC and 66-A of the Information Technology Act-2000 had been registered against three youths. In the morning, an angry mob marched towards a shrine in the heart of the city but was stopped by the police. “We have been assured by senior police officials that the culprits will soon be arrested. “Therefore, for the time-being we have put off our protest,” a Shiv Sena activist said.
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Minority panel wants mosques, churches in jails
Jalandhar, July 9 The Ludhiana jail is the only place to have a mosque while not even a single prison in the state has a church to facilitate the prisoners to offer prayers. Commission members Hamid Masih and Tehseem Ahmed, who were in the city after visiting the Model Jail at Kapurthala, said the government should construct places of worship for the Muslims, Christians and Buddhists too. The commission members have been touring various jails in the state for taking stock of the problems, if any, being faced by the inmates belonging to the minority communities. The duo expressed satisfaction on the facilities being provided to the prisoners in Ludhiana and Kapurthala jails.
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Cattle feed units to come up in Nawanshahr, Hoshiarpur
Chandigarh, July 9 Presiding over a meeting of the chief agriculture officers of the state after launching the Agriculture Department’s website here, the Chief Minister said the state government’s efforts to boost farm diversification would fructify only if the assured marketing mechanism was put in place. The two units would be established by Markfed and Milkfed. Likewise, to boost the cultivation of sugarcane as an alternate crop to paddy, Badal announced a budgetary provision of at least Rs 100-150 crore in the next annual budget to ensure marketing support to cane growers. Badal asked the chief agriculture officers to motivate the farmers through frequent seminars and camps to adopt crops like maize, cotton, basmati and sugarcane, besides oilseeds like soyabean, conola and hyola, as these were not only less water-guzzling but also highly remunerative. The Chief Minister also stressed the need to promote bee-keeping in a big way. He also asked the department to ensure installation of adequate community maize dryers at strategic locations, especially in maize-producing zones, to help the farmers fetch better prices.
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Drugs meant for poor rot at Patiala hospital
Patiala, July 9 The hospital authorities were once again caught on the wrong foot today as expired and decayed medicines worth thousands of rupees were found in the storeroom of the newly renovated ward no. 1 of the hospital emergency. When a team of officials opened the store for a final inspection before its inauguration, they found a heap of medicines, mainly life saving drugs, expired and damaged by termites and other insects. The expired medicines included ciprosym seftrioxone and dexamethazone injections. There were others with a short shelf life like bazxy (due to expire in August), monnopile (September), adren aline (September). Dr Virender Verma, in charge of the medical store, handed over the medicines to staff members and asked them to sort these according to expiry date and prepare a list. Dr Harshinder Kaur, Deputy Medical Superintendent, said she had brought the matter to the notice of senior authorities. She said she would ensure that expired and damaged medicines were not distributed among patients. Earlier, a huge quantity of expired medicines was found in various wards of the hospital on May 27. The authorities had discarded such medicines after the incident was highlighted in the media. Following this, a two-member committee, comprising Managing Director of Punjab Health System Corporation Hussan Lal and Director, Research and Medical Education, Tejveer Singh, was constituted by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. They raided the hospital, but could only find a few medicines with a short shelf life.
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Awaiting payment, contractor delays work on school building
Patiala, July 9 The Public Works Department (PWD) is yet to release Rs 1 crore due to the contractor engaged in the work. As a result, the contractor has allegedly slowed down the work on the building, which is nearing completion. He is "deliberately" keeping some work pending so that the building cannot be handed over to the Education Department. The school is being constructed under the Punjab Government's optimum utilisation of vacant government land scheme under which surplus land of various departments was transferred to PUDA to generate funds for infrastructure projects. The PWD had given the contract for this school in March 2010. The work was to be completed in one-and-a-half years, but even after three years, the school has not been handed over to Education Department following which Government Girls Senior Secondary School, New Power House Colony, is still operating from its old premises. A source in the Education Department said the contractor was willing to hand over the building in March 2012, but when the PWD failed to clear his payment, he delayed works like electrical and sanitary fittings. "In the process, the building is getting neglected due to lack of upkeep. In fact, a few windowpanes have already cracked," he added. Patiala District Education Officer (Secondary) Balbir Kaur Gill said the department had not been handed over the building since it was incomplete. Contractor Sanjeev Gupta said his payment of Rs 1 crore was overdue. He refused to comment when asked why he had not finished the work. PWD Executive Engineer Rajiv Berry said the pending installation of electrical panels had caused the delay. "We have directed the contractor to finish the work at the earliest. As far as his payment is concerned, there are some procedural issues that are being handled at the senior level," he added.
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Social scheme beneficiaries without pension for 3 months
Sangrur, July 9 For the past eight months, the beneficiaries have not been getting their pension on time perhaps due to poor financial health of the state government. Earlier, the government had released the payment for November and December 2012, in February this year and for January and February in the month of May. Also, pension for March was released by the government in June, which is still being disbursed by the district office of the Department of Social Security. Darshan Singh Dhaliwal, District Social Security Officer, Sangrur, said they had received funds for old-age pension and financial assistance for March in June. These funds were being sent to the beneficiaries these days, he added. In Sangrur and Barnala districts, there are over 1.70 lakh beneficiaries who are getting financial assistance under various social security schemes to the tune of Rs 250 per month. There are about 1.27 lakh old-age pensioners, 21,000 widows, 6,600 dependent children and 16,000 disabled persons who have been getting financial assistance in these two districts. Some beneficiaries said they had been facing hardships due to non-release of pension. They said they had to visit their banks time and again to know about the status of their pension.
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Councillors, residents hold protest in Dhuri
Sangrur, July 9 Ishar Ram said the residents held a protest as the contractor had not been constructing the road even as the work was allotted to him in November last year. Ashish Kumar, Executive Officer, said the contractor had not constructed the road as he was demanding his pending payments. He said the council had told him that his dues would be cleared soon. The EO said they had told the contractor to construct the road at the earliest. If he failed to do so, the council might reissue the tender, he added.
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Lt Gen Campose calls on Punjab Governor, CM
Chandigarh, July 9 He discussed issues of mutual interest pertaining to these states. The newly appointed Army Commander highlighted the need for enhancing resettlement opportunities for retiring Army personnel and also delved upon issues regarding training of youth for induction as officers in the Army and assistance for disaster relief during natural calamities.
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Villagers told not to eat fish bred in filthy ponds
Fatehgarh Sahib, July 9 A team of health officials visited Dera Meeh Meran village and found that migrants from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Nepal were catching fish from dirty village ponds. The officials informed them that the government had banned the consumption of mangur fish. Civil Surgeon Neelam Bhardwaj said they had received information that labourers were catching the mangur fish for consumption. She said the consumption of mangur fish which bred only in dirty ponds was harmful.
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RO plant at Patiala jail
Patiala, July 9 Punjab ADGP (Jails) RP Meena said the department would rope in more NGOs to extend better facilities inside Punjab jails. "The aim is to provide all basic facilities to thousands of prisoners in state jails," he added. — TNS
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Two held for snatching car in Sangrur
Sangrur, July 9 The police has recovered the car from their possession. Sangrur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mandip Singh Sidhu said the car was snatched by the accused by throwing chilli powder in the eyes of the driver in Sangrur on June 27. One of the accused Jaswinder Singh alias Chhinda was yet to be arrested, he said. The SSP further said on a tip-off, three persons travelling in a stolen car with fake number plate were intercepted by a police team led by Longowal Station House Officer Subeg Singh at a naka near Loha Kherra village. Though the police managed to arrest two of the accused, the third, identified as Jaswinder Singh, managed to flee, the SSP said.
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Delhi University’s move has come as a jolt to the Sikh community, which has a large population in Delhi. Punjabi language serves as a crucial link between Sikh religion and
culture
Chandigarh, July 9