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Congress mass contact programme
Government moots 10,000 MW solar park
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Cabinet okays scholarship for meritorious students
‘Kar sewa’ to refurbish Golden Temple’s interiors soon
Municipal elections
Drug addiction spells ruin for Mansa village
Rebuild classrooms in four months, govt told
books scam
AICC Workshop
Rs 48.94 crore to clean up Ghaggar
Monthly rent at govt hostels still just
Rs 2
Bhakhra power house upgraded
Not paid for 2 months, docs tell Health Minister
Projects worth Rs
11 cr launched in Sirhind
15,600 litres of kerosene seized, three held
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Congress mass contact programme
Bathinda, July 23 Addressing a series of meetings in Mansa district on the second day of his state-wide mass contact programme today, Bajwa alleged the Badals had neglected the education and health sectors which had driven the youth to drug addiction. "There is a strong resentment against the SAD-BJP government, but due to oppression by the ruling alliance, people are afraid to come out," he alleged. Bajwa said the Badal family had gained power from the Malwa region, but they had been selective in development to suit their political needs. He alleged the Badals had brought the drug culture to Malwa and spread the menace to secure votes. He said: "Mansa remained neglected for long. The credit for its existing infrastructure goes to the Congress since it was carved out of Bathinda by the former Chief Minister late Beant Singh". The PPCC president said numerous people in the region were suffering from cancer, but they had no place to go for treatment. He said the SAD in its election manifesto had promised free treatment for them, but no cancer hospital was opened here. He said cancer patients were being fleeced by private hospitals following which they were forced to go to Bikaner in Rajasthan. He said the UPA government had approved a cancer hospital for Malwa at a cost of Rs 500 crore to be set up in Sangrur district. Bajwa said Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who claimed to be working for the cause of women, had no interest in saving the girl child. He questioned her over a fall in gender ratio from 870 to 868. He claimed that Nanhi Chhan was a project launched by Ranbaxy Industries which she later hijacked. Bajwa complimented party workers for giving a good performance in the recently held panchayat, block samiti and zila parishad elections. ‘No place for honest officers in state’ Sangrur: PPCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa on Tuesday said IAS officer Kahan Singh Pannu should get himself posted at the Centre following his transfer from the post of Director General School Education (DGSE). Bajwa alleged that the attack on Pannu in Uttarakhand was part of a conspiracy against him. He alleged the Punjab Government was harassing honest officers to teach them a lesson and adjust officers of its own choice at important posts. — TNS
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Government moots 10,000 MW solar park
Chandigarh, July 23 Talking to The Tribune after a function held to allocate letters of intent to various companies, Sukhbir said he felt the state should utilise the Rs 5,500 crore subsidy given to Powercom for supplying free power to the agriculture sector much more productively. Accordingly, he said, the government was planning a 10,000 MW solar park which could either be developed by the state or private players. He said the state would give Powercom power rather than cash for power supplied to farmers. This would help the state develop a productive asset and also encourage green energy. Sukhbir said he had a power tariff model in mind to make the project viable. At a meeting with private players, he said the state was ready to purchase solar power at the rate of Rs 4.50 per unit. This was much less that the non-renewable energy rate of Rs 7.50 per unit but would continue to go up by 6 per cent to 7per cent every year as per the decision of the electricity regulator. It could even go beyond Rs 7.50 per unit. “We can fix the number of years the private players can get the enhanced rate, ensuring they do not suffer any losses”, he said. Giving details of the project, Non-Conventional Energy Minister Bikram Majithia said according to the proposal, which was at the planning stage, the government would earmark a large chunk of land and create common facilities for private players to help them set up solar panels. He said the players would be saved of teething costs and power evacuation would also be easy as the government was open to building a 66 KV substation adjoining the park. “We have separate agriculture feeders to feed power to the grids”, he explained. Private players were open to the idea of investing in the solar park. Moserbaer Solar Farms head Rajiv Garg said the cost of solar panels had come down in the past few years. He said quality panels were now available at the right cost from China and the project could be successful if the state extended adequate support to it. Punj Lloyd corporate affairs director Luv Chhabra suggested that the government could establish a solar park in Rajasthan where barren land could be leased out at rates far less than those prevailing in Punjab. Industry gives thumbs up
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Cabinet okays scholarship for meritorious students
Chandigarh, July 23 An official spokesman said each student would be paid Rs 30,000 per annum
(Rs 2,500 per month). The money would be sent into their bank accounts online. The students eligible for the scholarship would be sent appreciation letters from the Chief Minister, which would serve as proof for opening their bank accounts. There would be no cap on income under this scheme. The scheme would result in an additional burden of Rs 15 crore on the state exchequer this fiscal. The Cabinet also gave its approval to issuing a notification, by amending the Punjab Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955, accrediting the Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory Jalandhar, to test meat. This would help in preventing cow slaughter. The Cabinet gave the green signal to include Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahr) district in the newly created Roopnagar division. The decision will not only provide relief to the people of this area in getting routine work done but also enhance coordination among various administrative departments. Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar is already part of the Ropar Police Range. The Cabinet approved filling 461 posts of Inspector in the Food and Civil Supplies Department. The post is no longer under the purview of the Punjab Subordinate Services Selection Board. Direct recruitment to the post will be done through Panjab University, Chandigarh, on the basis of a written test. The Cabinet decided to honour three students, Prithvi Singh Chahal, Fateh Singh Brar and Hakikat Singh Grewal, with a cash award of Rs 5 lakh each. They had scaled Mount Everest. The Cabinet decided to earmark funds equal to the percentage of the SC population under the Schedule Castes Sub-Plan (SCSP) and vest the control of SC schemes in the Welfare Department. It decided to allow Anandpur Sahib Foundation to utilise Rs 20 crore out of its corpus fund to carrying out development works related to Phase I and II of Virasat-e-Khalsa. The Cabinet gave its approval to constituting a committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary with the Financial Commissioner, Revenue, Principal Secretary Finance, Principal Secretary, Transport, Financial Commissioner, Excise and Taxation, and Taxation Commissioner as members to recommend rationalisation of VAT on petroleum products and automobiles. To promote tourism, the Cabinet decided to relax the terms for setting up new hospitals, hotels and multimedia centres. The minimum area required would be 1,000 square metres. The provision of professional management tie-up or franchise for a hospital/hotel with a national/international chain has been deleted. The Cabinet deferred a decision on awarding punishment to PCS officer Parneet Bhardwaj regarding a 2008 case involving deletion of votes during the panchayat elections. The matter will now be taken up in the next meeting. Dr Hargobind Khurana Scheme
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‘Kar sewa’ to refurbish Golden Temple’s interiors soon
Amritsar, July 23 Earlier, gold-plating on the outer walls of the Golden Temple was replaced for the first time in 1999. The gold-plating and the artwork inside the shrine date back to the Maharaja Ranjeet Singh era. Sources said the gold-plating inside the shrine had suffered a damage of up to 40 per cent, mostly around the arches of the doors. But, gold-plating on only 15 per cent of this area was required to be completely replaced while the remaining would need only gold work. Similarly, only the artwork, which was severely damaged, would be repaired or replaced. The sources said all attempts would be made to maintain the originality and uniformity in the interiors of the shrine during the "kar sewa" which had been entrusted to Baba Kashmir Singh Bhuriwale. They said besides experts working under Baba Bhuriwale, the SGPC would also hire experts who would provide guidance in carrying out the intricate work which was likely to take a long time. Interestingly, the SGPC had passed the resolution for carrying out this "kar sewa" way back in 1995. At that time, UK-based Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha had replaced the gold-plating on the outer walls of the shrine, completing it in 1999. However, the work on the interiors somehow got delayed. According to 'Sri Harmandar Sahib Da Sunehri Itihaas', a book penned by former Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kirpal Singh, the gold-plating and the artwork inside the shrine was first done during the period of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who had allocated Rs 5 lakh for the purpose. The work was performed under the supervision of Sikh intellectual Bhai Sant Singh while craftsmen led by Mohammad Yaar Khan and Badru Mohiyuddin came from a place called Chanyot. Earlier, a minor research project sponsored by the UGC had highlighted the status of the artwork inside the Golden Temple in 2001. After studying, analysing and documentation of various art forms, the authors pointed out certain "grey areas". Dwelling on the "present status", it had read: "Due to age and weathering effects, these magnificent art forms require special attention to be restored to their original splendour .... It is pertinent for the present generation to give this valuable treasure to its progeny in its true form ..." The study of these artworks had shown that each of these required a technical examination to either protect these from further damage or to restore to their original form. Intricate exercise
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Municipal elections
Duggan (Sangrur), July 23 PPP president Manpreet Singh Badal said during the panchayat and block samiti poll, the PPP had a seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress. This experiment turned out to be a success as over 330 sarpanches and 1,200 panches of the PPP emerged victorious, he added. Manpreet said it had provided a strong base to the party in rural areas. He expressed hope that during the municipal council elections, a similar arrangement might be made with the Congress at the local level, but the final decision was to be taken by the Congress. Manpreet was here today as part of his mass contact programme. He was accompanied by president of party’s youth wing Bhagwant Mann. Manpreet addressed gatherings at Sheron, Tungan, Kapial, Jhanerri and Sunam. With regard to the Bathinda Lok Sabha seat, Manpreet said the aim of the Sanjha Morcha was to defeat the SAD candidate from Bathinda, which the latter considered as its bastion.
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Drug addiction spells ruin for Mansa village
Narinderpura (Mansa) July 23 He turned violent and began eating into the family savings. He sold the family land. With the cattle gone too, he sold bricks of the cattle-shed. He hanged himself to death when he ran out of money to buy drugs. Daljit now works as a labourer. He has no money to take land on lease. Married to his dead brother's wife, he has three children to take care of. This is the story of several families in the village. Most youths in the village, belonging to Jat and SC families, are hooked on drugs, claim the residents. Jarnail Singh, a village elder, said: “Our village may become as infamous as Maqboolpura in Amritsar, which is known as the village of widows," he said. There is hardly any house in the village not affected by the menace. "The electricity meter outside my house was stolen recently. Pipes, taps and wires are often stolen from houses by addicts who sell these for a few hundred rupees to buy drugs," said Darshan singh, a farmer. Sources said peddlers sold drugs, especially smack, in small quantity at about Rs 30 per one-hundreth of a gram. "When we nab them with such small quantity, they get bail in a few months," said a police officer. Mansa SSP Narinder Bhargav said: "Owing to the village's proximity with Haryana and Rajasthan, smugglers are often able to sneak into the village. We are keeping an eye on them." Gurpreet Singh, who quit drugs after a long battle, offers a ray of hope to others. He now works on his farm with his father. "After a long struggle, I am now cured of addiction." Our village may become as infamous as Maqboolpura in Amritsar, which is known as the village of widows Owing to the village's proximity with Rajasthan and Haryana, smugglers are able to sneak into the village. We are keeping an eye on them
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Rebuild classrooms in four months, govt told
Chandigarh, July 23 The Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Augustine George Masih, during resumed hearing of a PIL filed by advocate HC Arora, directed the Punjab Government to “complete the process of identification of all dilapidated and unsafe classrooms, release of funds, reconstruction of new classrooms and construction of separate toilets for girls in all government schools within four months.” At least 110 classrooms in state government schools are unsafe. Another 966 government schools in the state have no separate toilet for girls. As of now, funds are being released for construction of new classrooms and demolition of unsafe ones. In a written statement filed in the registration branch of the High Court today, Principal Secretary of Punjab School Education Anjali Bhawara referred to the District Information System for School Education (DISE) report for 2013-2014. She said there was a shortage of 966 girls’ toilets. But a sum of Rs 43.44 crore for common toilets and separate toilets for girls had already been released and construction was underway. She said that in 10 districts of Punjab, at least 110 classrooms in various government schools were “unsafe”. These districts were Bathinda, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Moga, SBS Nagar, Patiala and Ropar. She said a letter was issued to all district education officers on July 5, directing that “students should not be made to sit in unsafe buildings/rooms and before the start of the rainy season, the same should be demolished." HC Arora has sought directions to the Punjab Government to demolish unsafe portions of government schoolbuildings in Ludhiana and build new classrooms. Safety concerns
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books scam
Chandigarh, July 23 Waiting for a reply to his RTI application on the matter, Kamalpreet Singh will be heard again on August 12. He had alleged that the department had almost gone ahead with providing the science kits to schools at the exorbitant rate of more than Rs 90,000. Reliable sources said the department's defence was that no firm had been issued payment and, hence, no financial loss had been incurred. A senior officer said the department would find it hard to deny the official communication to the schools, asking them to collect science kits from a particular site. The commission is likely to submit its report within three months. But it has made little progress, two months after it was told about the terms of reference. The Congress, expressing reservations on the probe outcome, has warned to approach the High Court if the matter is not thoroughly probed. The commission is expected to soon begin its probe on the Rs 39.33 lakh paid to a Sangrur-based firm for supplying library books for upper primary classes.
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AICC Workshop
New Delhi, July 23 The question by Congress spokesperson from Punjab Sukhpal Khaira was posed to Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari, Lok Sabha MP from Ludhiana. Khaira openly questioned the party strategists on why there could not be a tangible and permanent solution to the lingering issue. He is reported to have told Tewari that the party continued to bear the brunt for the “actions of a few”, even asking as to why “some black sheep could not be sacrificed in the larger interest of the party”. He was referring to Congress leaders Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar who are facing trial for their role in the 1984 riots. The Punjab Congress spokesperson said that the Congress role in the riots was being repeatedly equated to that of the BJP in the 2002 anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat. Tewari is reported to have emphasised that while the anti-Sikh riots were unfortunate, there was no parallel between these and the Gujarat riots. “Whereas the Congress leadership has regretted the anti-Sikh riots, the BJP leadership has consistently remained arrogant regarding the 2002 riots against Muslims with its leaders going on to equate the riot victims with puppies. Asked if he was satisfied with Tewari’s response, Khaira said: “He (Tewari) was correct in saying there was no equating Gujarat riots and the 1984 riots. But the Congress continues to be in the dock over the 1984 riots and our adversaries use it against us all the time.”
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Rs 48.94 crore to clean up Ghaggar
Sangrur, July 23 Vijay Inder Singla, Member Parliament (MP) from Sangrur, said the central government had sanctioned Rs 20.52 crore for Lehragaga, Rs 13.46 crore for Khanauri and Rs 14.96 crore for Moonak. The plants are meant to clean the Ghaggar. Singla said all sewerage systems and sewage treatment plants would be completed by the end of June, 2015. He said the funds granted also covered operational and maintenance costs of the existing sewage treatment plants for the next five years. A survey, conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board in 2011, indicated that only 160 out of the nearly 8,000 towns had both sewerage systems and sewage treatment plants. He also urged the state government to provide 30 per cent assistance to ensure completion of the projects on time. Singla said pollution in the Ghaggar that runs for 180 km in Punjab was a major cause for concern. A recent report of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) had revealed that at several places, the quality of water in the Ghaggar had degraded to Class E, which was unfit for even bathing. Tackling pollution
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Monthly rent at govt hostels still just
Rs 2
Patiala, July 23 They can only charge each student Rs 2 per month as room rent whereas private hostels are charging thousands of rupees per month. Even though the colleges passed a resolution some years ago to annually charge each student Rs 3,600 to run the hostels, the authorities feel they don’t have enough funds to maintain the buildings. One of the hostel wardens, requesting anonymity, said at a time when students were paying around Rs 3,000 for a shared accommodation in private colleges and guesthouses, we were being compelled to manage the hostel by charging each student just Rs 328 per month for miscellaneous expenses. “We have to pay our employees and pay electricity and water bills from this meagre hostel fee. The government must revise it for the betterment of the hostels,” he said. Dr Sukhbir Singh Thind, Principal, Government Mohindra College, and Dr Rajinder Kaur, Principal, Government College for Girls, said increasing the fee was not their prerogative. However, charging a higher fee would help authorities improve the facilities at the hostels, they said. Tarsem Singh Dhaliwal, DPI, Colleges, Punjab, said the government was mulling a hike in rent and would soon come up with the new rates. The irony
We have to pay our employees and pay our electricity and water bills from this meagre hostel fee. The government must revise it for the betterment of the hostels
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Bhakhra power house upgraded
Nangal, July 23 In phase I, each of the five units was upgraded from 90 MW to 108 MW. After this addition of 18 MW, BBMB’s share has gone up to 62 per cent in the Hydro Power Generation of India. The remaining four units of the power house will also be upgraded within the next two years.
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Not paid for 2 months, docs tell Health Minister
Mohali, July 23 While blasting the administrative staff of the health services, one of the doctors told the minister that most of them had not got their salaries for the past two months. “Sir, we are virtually being harassed at the hands of clerks and accountants. We did not expect such a start to our career,” said a doctor, while addressing Mittal. The state-level function for these doctors, who have completed their 12-week induction training at various health centres across the state, was held at the State Institute of Health and Family Welfare, Phase 6, here today. The minister, however, told the doctors that it was also a part of their new journey. The doctors lamented that there was no clarity about the schedule of their counselling for station allotment. “Such a counselling is held every time for medical staff before allotting them their posting stations. Nobody is ready to tell us when the counselling would take place. The authorities are not giving us a clear reply in this regard,” said a doctor. Mittal assured the doctors that the issue would be sorted out soon. He assured the doctors of full cooperation and support from the department. While exhorting the doctors, Mittal said they should not run after money. “Your profession is very pious so serve the people and earn goodwill,” he said. Talking to The Tribune, Mittal said as many as 300 doctors had completed their training today. “These would be given their stations of posting in a day or two. A batch of equal number of doctors will be recruited in August and after that 300 more doctors will be recruited. By the end of this year, there will be no shortage of medical officers in the state,” he said. On this occasion, as many as 21 counsellors/medical (psychiatric) social workers were also given letters of appointment by the minister. Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Vini Mahajan; Mission Director, NRHM, Hussan Lal; and Director, Health Services, Dr Ashok Nayyar were present on the occasion.
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Projects worth Rs
11 cr launched in Sirhind
Fatehgarh Sahib, July 23 Som Parkash, Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Local Bodies, Punjab, stated this after laying the foundation stone of a tube well and other projects worth Rs 11 crore in Talania village near Sirhind today. Parkash said the state government would also spend Rs 1,700 crore on building new roads and re-carpeting existing link roads in the state. He said the project would entail laying of a 61 km-long pipeline in Sirhind city at a cost of Rs 7.5 crore and setting up of 5 tube wells at a cost of Rs 75 lakh. The CPS said a 50,000 litre overhead tank would also be constructed at a cost of Rs 50 lakh in Talania village. He further said Rs 2 crore would be spent on laying main transmission lines, re-carpeting roads and other works. The Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Punjab, would complete these projects within nine months so that safe drinking water could be provided to 60,391 residents of Sirhind town.
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15,600 litres of kerosene seized, three held
Patiala, July 23 Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Hardial Singh Mann said the police, acting on a tip-off, arrested Ram, tanker driver Bhupinder Singh and Ram Kumar with a tanker (PB 11 A-8288) and 18 drums containing kerosene. A case has been registered against the three. However, the leader of the gang, Vijay Kumar alias Tina, and his father-in-law, Rattan Lal, are still at large. Three held for murder
Meanwhile, the police has solved a 2011 blind murder case and arrested three persons. Inspector Rajesh Kumar Chhiber arrested victim Rajesh Kumar’s wife Seema Rani, Jaswinder Singh of Mandor village and Gurtej Singh of Palia village for allegedly killing Rajesh Kumar. Mann said the three accused killed Rajesh Kumar on December 17, 2011, as Seema had an extra-marital affair with Jaswinder and Gurtej. Further investigation is on.
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Amritsar, July 23
Narinderpura (Mansa) July 23
Sangrur, July 23
Fatehgarh Sahib, July 23
