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Night bus service to start after 30 years
Tarn Taran linesman’s family refuses to immerse ashes
Mid-day meal scheme
Use tensiometer to save water, farmers urged
Thermal plants fail to meet central generation target
State reeling under cuts
Post-graduation quota row
Prisoners continue to have
access to mobile phones
Wagah check post in for new look
Police yet to trace missing Ludhiana man, his driver
‘Udaan’ set to be launched in 870 govt schools today
Bassi Pathana residents object to selective road repair
Residents irked as fire tender returned to Fazilka
Citrus Council owes Rs 4 crore to farmers, HC told
Despite HC order, police yet to upload FIRs
Woman, kids jump into canal
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Shops razed, Jallianwala Bagh traders stare at uncertain future
Amritsar, July 14 Insecurity writ large over their faces, around 90 shopkeepers at Ghee Mandi area, near Jallianwala Bagh, and their families are on the crossroads following displacement in view of the road widening project. Talking to The Tribune, Manmohan Kundra, president of the market association, said: “Each of these shops has been a source of livelihood for two to four families as the traders here mostly have joint families. For instance, my two sons and their families are dependent on my business.” Most of them had been doing business there for generations, he said, adding he had opened his shop in the area 50 years ago. He demanded that the displaced shopkeepers should be provided alternative shops within 200 yards of their current location. He alleged that some landlords had illegally hired JCBs to raze shops occupied by their tenants. Tarun Aggarwal, another trader, said: “We cannot leave this area as this is the hub of business activity. The options given by the administration for our rehabilitation in areas like Jahajgarh, Maal Mandi and New Amritsar are not economically viable. In these areas, we will end up putting in our hard earned money to purchase new shops and the business generated there will be no match to what we earn here.” The traders said they had sought shops at the old Sabzi Mandi near the Hall Gate, but the authorities shot down their proposal. Sources said 35 of the total 87 shops had been completely demolished. The shopkeepers whose shops have been partly razed are equally dejected. Devinder Singh, a crockery trader, and Gurmeet Singh, a sweet shop owner, said half of their 40-feet shops had been demolished. “Our landlords will not allow us to put up shutters in the remaining 20-feet shop from where we can still run our businesses. The administration should interfere and get the issue resolved,” they demanded. Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal said the shopkeepers had been given varied choices for rehabilitation and they should make up their mind quickly. “They are being offered booths at the reserve price and that too on installments,” he said, adding if they had some other location in mind they should convey it to the administration. He claimed 19 shops were demolished completely while 16 shops were retained up to 8 feet. He clarified that the administration could not interfere in landlord-tenant issues as these matters could be sub-judice. He, however, said if the owners resorted to illegal means, the tenants could report the matter to the police. Demolition unfortunate, shouldn’t have happened: Chawla
Crying hoarse
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Night patrol launched Mohali, July 14 Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today flagged off patrol vehicles at Khanpur, near here. State police chief Sumedh Singh Saini was also present on the occasion. The first-of-its-kind initiative involves setting up of highway police control rooms every 50 km. These will form the thread that will link 62 highway patrol vehicles, 1,014 police vehicles and motor cycles carrying 2,500 personnel, 22 ambulances, cranes and recovery vans. The night policing will be carried out on highways as well as urban residential areas. The step is expected to give a fillip to commerce and trade and provide a security umbrella to those on night shift. Increased police presence at night would deter criminals and anti-social elements. It would also check offences such as drunken driving and over-speeding, thus saving precious lives. The initiative is expected to curb smuggling, illicit distillation of liquor and bootlegging. This would result in increased excise revenue collections. Interacting with mediapersons, the Deputy CM said he was told that police personnel had to work for long hours and were unable to do night duty. He said he discussed the problem with DGP Saini and evolved the concept of dedicated night policing. Sukhbir said a supervisory structure was being put in place. An officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police (SP) would monitor the functioning of a police control room. Though women personnel would not be on patrol duty, they would be summoned whenever required. He said highway patrol vehicles would be equipped with automatic vehicle locators (AVL) and mobile data terminals. The AVL would help track patrol vehicles at all times while the mobile data terminals would enable police personnel to check the ownership of suspicious vehicles on the spot. The Deputy Chief Minister said all police personnel deployed under the Night Policing Scheme (NPS) would be equipped with fluorescent vests, reflective batons, LED torches, and suitable weapons. The likely benefits
Sukhbir: Food scheme already operational in state Mohali: The SAD- BJP Government seems in no mood to implement the Food Security Act. Interacting with the media, Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal refused to comment when asked if the government would implement the Food Security Act under which the poor will be guaranteed subsidised grain. Sukhbir said that Punjab had "already built the road. Our scheme is operational," obviously referring to his government's atta-dal scheme for the poor. He claimed the state's scheme was better than that proposed by the UPA Government. — TNS
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Night bus service to start after 30 years Mohali, July 14 Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said he would direct the Secretary, Transport, to take steps to restart the night bus service immediately. He said the government was of the firm opinion that Punjab was safe and that peace in Punjab was there to stay. “There is no reason why we should not restart the night bus service,” he said. He said closed circuit cameras would be installed at all highways. Steps were also being taken to launch the rural rapid response system that envisaged a dedicated call line for the rural populace. “We are gearing up the system to ensure that all calls are answered within 20- 25 minutes,” said state police chief SS Saini. Sukhbir said the DGP was also working on the safe city concept to be launched soon in major cities and towns soon. The concept would be initiated in Ludhiana and Amritsar by the year-end. Another initiative would be to launch a dedicated helpline and email service to help people reach out to the Deputy Chief Minister, who holds the Home portfolio. The helpline would be handled by the Additional DGP, Law and Order, who would directly report to the Deputy CM.
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Tarn Taran linesman’s family refuses to immerse ashes
Jalandhar/Tarn Taran, July 14 Sarabjit Singh (30) had reportedly hanged himself after the breakdown of talks between protesting linesmen and the state governmet over appointment letters. The deceased’s family, today refused to immerse his ashes till their demands, including a job for his wife and Rs 10 lakh compensation, were met. Addressing party workers in Jalandhar and Kapurthala during his visit to the Doaba region, Bajwa said it was the second such incident in a month in Punjab. Earlier, a pharmacist, Jaswinder Singh, had committed suicide in Bathinda, constituency of SAD Member of Parliament Harsimrat Kaur, under similar circumstances, the PPCC chief said. Bajwa said Sarabjit Singh was part of a delegation that had met Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal regarding their demands in Chandigarh last week. “But, Sukhbir didn’t pay any heed … It’s not a solitary case as several incidents of unemployed youths attempting suicide or protesting on overhead water tanks have been reported in the past,” he said. The PPCC chief alleged that non-governance, corruption and vested interests were responsible for these suicides. He said if the SAD-BJP alliance failed to find a solution to large-scale unemployment in the state, cases of suicide by the unemployed were bound to increase. Bajwa said the family of the deceased linesman was right in seeking a job for his wife as well as monetary compensation. In Tarn Taran, protesting members of the Unemployed Linesmen Union accused the state government of driving Sarabjit to suicide even as the bereaved family rued that nobody representing the state government had visited them. The union members met under the chairmanship of their state president Pirmal Singh today and decided to hold rallies at the district headquarters by July 24, before their scheduled meeting with Chief Minister Parkash Singh
Badal.
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MLA skips Tota Singh’s function
Moga, July 14 The function was organised by senior Akali leader Jathedar Tota Singh. The latter then invited local Member of Parliament Paramjit Kaur Gulshan to the function. Tota Singh and Gulshan bestowed the newly elected sarpanches with ‘siropas’. “At least 42 of the 65 sarpanches and hundreds of panches attended the function”, claimed Jathedar Tota Singh. A few incidents of violence between Akali groups were reported in the Nihalsinghwala subdivision in the runup to panchayat poll. On June 26, at least five Akali workers were injured in a clash between the two groups at Rania village. On July 3, MLA Rajwinder Kaur was held captive in a school at Patto Didar Singh Wala village by angry villagers for more than four hours during the counting of votes for the panchayat poll. On July 7, two supporters of Jathedar Tota Singh were brutally murdered in post-poll violence at Saidoke village. To a question, Tota Singh admitted that incidents of violence had weakened the ruling party in the Nihalsinghwala area. Asked about his differences with the local MLA, the senior Akali leader said: “I have differences with none. For me, my party is supreme. “The MLA should have attended the function as would have given the right signal to the people in the runup to the Lok Sabha elections”.
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Mid-day meal scheme
Patiala, July 14 Harjinder Kaur, state president of the front, said the overworked workers were paid a meagre salary of Rs 1,200 per month. She said the high inflation made it impossible for them to make both ends meet. “Our workers do not get any insurance benefits even though several of them get burnt while cooking food. To add insult to injury, deductions are made from our salaries on holidays,” she said. She demanded that every cook be covered under an insurance policy of Rs 1 lakh and in case of any accident at work; they should be given free medical treatment. Harjinder said, “The government should appoint one cook for every 25 students in order to ensure better quality of food. The supply of cereals should also be sent on time in order to run the scheme successfully.” She said that they should be issued identity cards and the educated amongst them should be promoted. Moreover, the government should stop deducting money from their salary on holidays. Their demands
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Use tensiometer to save water, farmers urged
Moga, July 14 Talking to The Tribune, Dr Jaswinder Singh Brar, a renowned agro-scientist and state awardee, said the Agriculture Department was promoting tensiometer to help farmers save water. It was a low-cost farmer-friendly instrument launched a few years ago by Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, in collaboration with the University of Columbia and funded by the International Development Research Centre, Canada. He said the tensiometer could help save 25 per cent water without any adverse impact on the growth of paddy saplings and paddy yield. “It is installed at a depth of 15cm-20 cm in the fields. It has yellow, green and red strips that serve as indicators. When the level in the inner tube of the instrument reaches the yellow strip, it means the fields need to be irrigated,” he said. Dr Brar said ignorant farmers needlessly flooded the paddy fields, leading to a fall in the underground water table. He sais a survey by the Union Ministry of Water Resources through the Central Ground Water Board had listed at least 110 of the total 142 blocks as dark zones owing to ‘over-exploitation’ of water. Among these were the five revenue blocks of Moga district: Moga-I , Nihalsinghwala and Moga-II. He said the Agriculture Department was holding training camps to spread awareness among the farmers about the alarming situation and the use of tensiometer. “Scientists, researchers, extension workers and farmers should join hands to prevent the water table from diminishing further and adopt new technologies and promote crop diversification,” said an Akali leader. About the devise
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Thermal plants fail to meet central generation target
Jalandhar, July 14 The combined generation by all the plants — Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant, Bathinda; Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant, Lehra Mohabbat and Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant, Ropar — was 4,180 million units (MU) against the target of 4,620 MU (see box). While the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has blamed it on low demand, sources claimed it was due to the short-term purchase agreements signed with private companies. The sources said such pacts, as such, prove dear as whenever the demand-supply gap narrows, the PSPCL allegedly shuts down its own thermal units, allegedly to accommodate the power that comes from the private companies. In the process, the power corporation suffers monetary losses. Firstly, the power coming from private companies is around a rupee costlier that the PSPCL’s own generation cost. Secondly, losses occur on account of the frequent stops and starts of thermal units, an exercise that consumes additional furnace oil and coal worth over Rs 20 lakh each time. Engineers say on an average, 40 kilolitres of furnace oil (worth Rs 20 lakh) and 100 tonnes of coal (worth Rs 3.5 lakh) is consumed during a single stop-start cycle of a thermal unit. A senior technocrat working with the PSPCL said, "The CEA target for May and June was 1,539 MU and 1,600 MU, respectively. But because of the short-term power purchase of 390 MU and 660 MU during these months, the thermal plants of Punjab generated 1,418 MU and 1,281." When questioned on the practice, PSPCL director (generation) GS Chhabra, however, said it would be wrong to conclude that the corporation preferred short-term power over own thermal generation. "The purchase agreements are signed in advance and we have to handle power demand on a daily basis. Taking into account all the factors, the PSPCL's power regulation department manages whether to surrender power purchased through short-term agreements or to curtail own thermal generation," he said.
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State reeling under cuts
Jalandhar, July 14 Not only the industry, cuts are being imposed in the domestic sector as well. Even the farming community is complaining that they are not being provided the assured eight-hour supply during the paddy season. The corporation has attributed the present crisis to the not-too-strong monsoon. The power demand in Punjab yesterday was 2,125 lakh units whereas the availability stood at 1,990 lakh units. There was a demand-supply gap of 135 lakh units, which resulted in cuts, said PSPCL director (generation) GS Chhabra. Officials said cuts in the industrial and domestic sectors had became inevitable as providing power to the agriculture sector was a priority at the moment.
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Post-graduation quota row
Patiala, July 14 The RMOs are going to stop sending data on various ongoing surveys to the Health department from July 21 onwards. Meanwhile, the decision of boycotting work at Suvidha centres across Punjab has been put on hold till the next meeting on July 21. The decision was taken today during a meeting of the Rural Medical Services Association, Punjab, presided over by State president Dr Aslam Parvez. The association officials condemned the various tactics adopted by the state government in preventing RMOs from availing the 60 per cent PG quota seats for admission to MD/MS courses despite being given the permission to do so by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. They alleged that the government did not let RMOs, who had cleared the post graduate entrance examination PG NEET 2013, attend the counselling sessions. Dr JP Narula, senior vice-president of the association said the Department of Health, the Department of Medical Education and Research and Baba Farid University of Health Sciences connived with each other to stop RMOs from availing the PG quota. “First the government postponed the counselling sesson on one pretext or the other. Thereafter, when we got interim relief from the High Court, the government filed a petition in the Supreme Court. “Now that the SC has given the petition a case status, the state colleges announced the counselling date for July 17. If the SC doesn’t rule in our
favour, then we wouldn’t have enough time to file a review petition,” said Dr Amanpreet
Kaur, executive member of the female wing of the Rural Medical Services Association, Punjab. She said that a few people were exploiting the state machinery and that the matter should be brought to the notice of Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister. “Over 1,200 posts are allotted to us while the Health Department has got 800 posts in rural areas. The government should divide the quota seats as per the number of posts in the respective departments,” said state press secretary Dr Manish Gupta. The rural doctors passed a resolution to demand a division of the 60 per cent quota seats as per ratio of the posts. They said that 36 per cent seats be reserved for RMOs while 24 per cent seats be reserved for doctors working in the Health Department so that no conflict of interest arises. The RMOs also demanded that they be shifted, absorbed, transferred or sent on deputation to the Health Department after they clear the PG entrance. The RMOs said they were willing to accept the terms and conditions applicable to PCMS doctors. rmos’ Demands
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Prisoners continue to have
access to mobile phones
Ferozepur, July 14 On July 9, prisoner Saraj Singh was apprehended with four mobile phones and three SIM cards. On July 5, Gobinda Singh was caught with unlawful possession of a mobile phone. On June 20, three prisoners, Jabarajung, Jaswinder and Rakesh, were booked for possessing two mobile handsets. DK Sidhu, Jail Superintendent, said despite measures, prisoners had been managing to bring mobile phone inside the jails.
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Prisoners not paid, threaten to launch stir
Patiala, July 14 “It was in October 2012 that wages were released for convicts working in jail factories. Since then no money has been released,” he said. As per the Punjab Jail Manual, 1896, convicts in Punjab jails have to work at least eight hours everyday in jail farms/factory and the kitchen. Punjab jails have 17,000 inmates of which 9,000 are convicted criminals and eligible to work and draw wages in lieu of the work they do. A government notification dated September 21, 2012, states that now on, unskilled prisoners will draw Rs 25 per day, semi-skilled Rs 30 and skilled Rs 35. Punjab has eight central jails, all with factories, five district jails, two jails at Nabha and
Kapurthala, a women’s jail at Ludhiana and 10 sub-jails. Principal Secretary (Home) DS Bains said: “We will ask the department concerned to release the money at the earliest.”
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Wagah check post in for new look
Amritsar, July 14 BSF IG Aditya Mishra said the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had approved their proposal for the acquisition of six acres of land at the Attari border. The move will help create better facilities for the tourists visiting the Indo-Pak border for the retreat ceremony. Another BSF project for the expansion of the visitors’ gallery is in the pipeline which will help the authorities cope with a huge rush of tourists and accommodate them in a proper manner. During weekends, the number of visitors touches as high as 20,000. The BSF is also working on a project to lay wooden planks at the retreat ceremony spot. It has already sent the proposal to the ministry as jawans were experiencing medical problems due to heavy foot stomping during the ceremony. The BSF plans to lay wooden planks at certain identified areas where jawans stomp their feet with force and then coat these with paint so as to maintain uniformity with the surroundings.
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Police yet to trace missing Ludhiana man, his driver
Ludhiana, July 14 Munish, son of city industrialist Harminder Bharara of Newcorn Industries, was on his way back home in his BMW (PB-10-DN 6575). The police has sounded an alert in Khanna, Fathegarh Sahib and Ludhiana city. Raids were conducted at Morinda and surrounding areas today after Munish’s last call was traced to a tower in Morinda. His car was found abandoned near a factory. Police sources claimed that a migrant, who ran a tea stall on NH-I, had reportedly seen Munish and his driver being ‘kidnapped’ by four armed persons who were in a white Maruti Swift car. The sources said that state police chief Sumedh Singh Saini was supervising the investigations. Munish’s family had approached the Deputy Chief Minister. Khanna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) S Bhupati as well as Doraha Station House (SHO) refused to comment. "We have yet to gather any evidence. Investigations are in progress," said the SSP. No FIR has been lodged in the matter so far.
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‘Udaan’ set to be launched in 870 govt schools today
Sangrur, July 14 This project is a brainchild of Devi Dayal, a mathematics teacher in Government High School, Benra (Dhuri). He had started a similar project at his school on September 19, 2012, which later spread to 45 schools of Sangrur district during the academic session of 2012-13. Devi Dayal said the project would be launched at all the schools interested in it. He said under the project, 10 general knowledge questions would be sent daily to the schools by noon. During the session, 900 such questions would be supplied to the schools, Devi Dayal said. On April 13, Kahan Singh Pannu, Director General School Education (DGSE), Punjab, had announced at a function at Government High School, Benra, that in the light of success of the ‘Udaan’ project, it would be launched in all the government schools of the state on July 1. The project
— TNS
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Bassi Pathana residents object to selective road repair
Bassi Pathana, July 14 BJP councillors alleged that broken streets were being ignored while those in good condition were being relaid. Anu Jhanji, coucillor at ward no. 5, alleged the MC authorities were turning a blind eye to a street near the gaushala that hadn’t been repaired for the past few years. When questioned, MC president Raman Gupta said he would inspect the site. Executive Officer Ranbir Singh said he would take strict action against the contractor if any irregularities were found. MC Section Officer Amit Kumar said the MC had not carried out any work in ward no 5 or 2 and said the contractor would not be paid. BJP mandal president Rajeev Malhotra said he would soon write to the local government minister and demand a high-level probe in the matter.
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Residents irked as fire tender returned to Fazilka
Abohar, July 14 The Fazilka MC executive officer had last evening revealed that the 1985 model fire tender had been shifted to Abohar for just 48 hours. The action has put the local BJP leadership, including its district president, Municipal Council president and convener of the action committee, who had warmly welcomed the vehicle with much pomp and show, in a spot on Wednesday evening. None of them was available for comments as fire station officials Suraj Kumar and Viplesh Kumar arrived here from Fazilka to take the custody of the vehicle. Meanwhile, sources said shifting of the fire fighting vehicle from Fazilka to Abohar was a well-planned spinner as Health Minister Madan Mohan Mittal was to visit the district yesterday and the action committee had planned a protest march and a dharna on the same day. Interestingly, the term of the local municipal council is going to expire on
Monday. The BJP runs the Municipal Councils at Abohar and Fazilka. The leaders of the saffron party were confident that the stir over fire tenders once foiled would not be able to raise its head again. However, the current development can harm the prospects of the ruling party in the next elections as it had been under fire for not resolving chronic problems related to sewerage and water supply.
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Citrus Council owes Rs 4 crore to farmers, HC told
Chandigarh, July 14 The council, which had taken 5,000 acres on lease from farmers in 2006 to promote citrus fruit farming, has not paid them since December 2011. The council has returned most of the land. Now, about 1,187 acres is in its possession. Since its inception, the council has paid Rs 18.72 crore to the land owners. Farmers have urged the state government to pay the lease money dues with interest and reimburse the expenditure incurred by them on the maintenance of orchards and construction of water tanks. Farmers favour project
The larger issue regarding this project, which was initiated by the then Capt Amarinder Singh government in 2006 as a first major step towards diversification, is that most of the farmers are in favour of the project. But the government is keen to wind it up. However, there is no lease termination clause before the expiry of the lease period, which is 12 years in case of most lease agreements done in Punjabi language. There are 50 such agreements covering about 1,116 acres. However, the agreements done in English, there is a clause to terminate the agreement before the expiry of the lease period. Reet Mohinder Singh, president, Association of the Land Owners of Citrus Orchards, said to promote citrus fruit farming, the government had set up four councils. One of the councils was allegedly involved in a series of frauds, but the farmers had given land to the Citrus Council about which there was no controversy at any level, said, adding there was no reason for the government to wind up the council. Another farmer who has given his land on lease to the council said there had been frauds in several government departments, no department had been closed. “No farmer will trust the government if it violates the agreement signed with the farmers to promote citrus farming”, he added.
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Despite HC order, police yet to upload FIRs
Mohali, July 14 On May 16, a High Court Division Bench had directed the police officials of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to begin the exercise from July 1. The court order had stated: “The copies of the FIR, unless the nature of the offence is sensitive, should be uploaded on the Punjab Police, Haryana Police and Chandigarh Police websites within 24 hours of the lodging of a case so that the accused or any person connected with it can download information and file appropriate application before the court for redressal of his grievances”. Ajay Jagga, a senior High Court advocate who himself was a petitioner in the case, said: “Non-compliance with the order will be tantamount to contempt of court.” Punjab Additional Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta (also a Punjab Police spokesperson) said efforts were being made to comply with the court’s order. “There are many technical issues involved in it… Uploading FIRs is also part of the ongoing Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems project,” said Gupta. There are 386 police stations in Punjab and several of these are yet to be computerised. Jagga said in case the police was unable to carry out the order within the stipulated period, it had to seek extension from the court. Gupta, however, said he was unaware whether any extension had been sought by the Punjab Police.
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Woman, kids jump into canal
Muktsar, July 14 The police said the deceased woman had gone to wash clothes at the canal.
— TNS
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They have done business to eke out their livelihood in the heart of the city for generations, but today they stand helpless, watching their shops razed.
To make Punjab safer at night, the Punjab Police has launched night patrolling. As many as 4,000 police personnel have been put on the job.
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Partap Singh Bajwa today said the
SAD-BJP Government was to be blamed for the suicide by an unemployed linesman.
The Democratic Midday Meal Cook Front, Punjab, today criticised the decision of the Punjab Government to impart training only to those mid-day meal cooks, who have passed Class VIII, and demanded that the decision be rolled back immediately.
Harjinder Kaur, state president of the front, said the overworked workers were paid a meagre salary of Rs 1,200 per month. She said the high inflation made it impossible for them to make both ends meet.
Amritsar, July 14
Reacting to the demolition of shops, former Punjab Health Minister and BJP leader Laxmi Kanta Chawla on Sunday said it was unfortunate that traders were being targeted in the name of beautification. She said political leaders, who claim to serve people, were hand in glove with the land mafia.
All the three thermal plants in the state have failed to meet the power generation targets, set by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), for the first quarter of the current financial year ended June 30.
They said though the PSPCL, as per the agreement, can surrender 90 per cent of the power in case it has sufficient generation from its own sources, the provision is seldom used allegedly to give preferential treatment to the private players. 