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Flood-like situation in Muktsar
Not fleeing, say industry leaders
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Congress challenges Majithia to a debate
Trucks parked at the International Check Post at Attari. A file photograph
State exhausts overdrawal limit
Rakhar Punya
Fair The ruling Akali Dal’s rally venue for Rakhar Punya fair in Baba Bakala. Tribune photo
State govt lacks vision: Navjot
Beas water takes toll on crops in Amritsar, Tarn Taran districts
Traffic hit as bridge damaged in Abohar
Politics over floods unabated
3-member central team inspects mining sites
Buzz on ‘kaala kaccha’ gang refuses to die down
Moga millers fail to deliver 40,000 tonnes of rice to FCI
Three-fold hike in motor
vehicles tax
Affiliation
to private colleges, deemed universities
Ministerial staff to meet tomorrow
Labourers urge govt to fulfil poll promises
Man kills wife over gold
Inter-state gang of thieves busted
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Flood-like situation in Muktsar
Muktsar, August 19 Most of the villages are inundated with three to eight feet rainwater and people have started leaving their houses to shift to safer places. The rainwater has also inundated nearly 70 government schools, which remained closed today. The authorities at the Muktsar government college have also declared a two-day holiday as the rainwater has entered classrooms. The situation is grim in some villages of Muktsar sub-division where boats are being used to evacuate people. The villages in Malout and Gidderbaha sub-divisions too are inundated. The power supply to 40 villages has also been affected. “The 66 KV Chak Sherewala power sub-station is inundated with rainwater. But, our officials are working hard to resume the supply everywhere,” said Dilbar Singh, Deputy Chief Engineer, Muktsar circle. Nearly 50 per cent of the crops have been damaged. Beant Singh, Chief Agriculture Officer, Muktsar, said, “We were expecting bumper crops, but the excess rain has dashed our hopes. The guar crop is likely to be totally damaged while the cotton crop has suffered 50 per cent loss. The paddy and basmati fields are inundated.” Devinder Kumar Rajouria, District Education Officer, said, “The government has not announced any holiday for the rain-affected schools so far. But observing the situation, I have permitted the authorities concerned to keep the schools shut for next few days. However, the teachers are regularly going to their place of postings. Some people are even taking shelter in school buildings.” The Irrigation Department has also sounded an alert and its officials are closely observing the situation. “We are releasing only 500 cusecs water, which is mandatory to be sent to Rajasthan,” said RK Gupta, Executive Engineer (Irrigation), Abohar canal division. In such a situation, people are blaming drainage authorities for not cleaning the drains on time and have been demanding compensation for their losses. A number of buildings have collapsed while a bridge has been washed away, thus blocking vehicular movement on the Malout-Delhi national highway at Danewala village. Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister KJS Cheema, accompanied by Ferozepur Divisional Commissioner VK Sharma and Deputy Commissioner Parmjit Singh today visited the affected villages. Congress MLA from Gidderbaha Amarinder Singh ‘Raja’ Warring has demanded a compensation of at least Rs 40,000 per acre.
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Not fleeing, say industry leaders
Chandigarh, August 19 Peeved at politicians for dragging them into a “needless” controversy, they said that such statements harmed businesses. They denied they were fleeing the state. Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Partap Singh Bajwa had alleged that major industrial houses in the state were unwilling to invest in the state. Rather, they were making investment outside the state. A number of top industrial houses, admitting that many of them had earlier invested in other states, said they were now redirecting their investments to Punjab. Pankaj Munjal, co- chairman and managing-director, Hero Cycles, said they were investing Rs 1,200 crore in various plants, with most of the investment in Ludhiana. “We are coming up with a brown field project in Ludhiana to manufacture high-end bikes. We are also enhancing the total production capacity from six million to 10 million units per annum in the next five years. With this, our total share in the world bicycle market would increase from 5 per cent to 7 per cent,” he said. Munjal said the state government was not just helping industry by simplifying procedures, but also taking up their problems with the Centre. He said it was only because of the efforts of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal that the cycle industry’s demand for withdrawal of excise duty was accepted by the Centre. AS Mittal, vice-chairman, Sonalika Tractors, said: “We made investment in Himachal Pradesh because of the tax sops. Now, we have decided to invest Rs 500 crore to expand our tractor manufacturing unit in Hoshiarpur. We have already bought land for the same. We aim to double our tractor production capacity from 75,000 units to 150,000 by December 2014.”
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Congress challenges Majithia to a debate
Jalandhar, August 19 “But he cannot deny the ground reality of the near collapse of the medium and small-scale industry in the state,” Khaira said. He reiterated that PPCC president Partap Singh Bajwa was right in saying that industry in Punjab was passing through a bad phase. He claimed that a study of the data pertaining to six industrial centres-Mandi Gobindgarh, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Goraya, Mohali and Batala- proved that the new industrial policy had failed to deliver. "Planning Commission figures show that the industrial growth in Punjab shrunk from 15.90 per cent during fiscal 2007-08 to 9.19 per cent during 2011-12. The total growth dropped from 9.05 per cent during 2007-08 to 5.19 per cent during 2012-13." Khaira alleged that it appeared that Majithia had arm-twisted industry leaders into giving a certificate to the government performance. "No industry can afford to annoy the government. The certificate procured by corporate giants is meaningless and cannot change the dismal
picture.”
Chandigarh: Partap Singh Bajwa, PPCC chief, said on Tuesday that he stood by the statement made be him that industry in the state was in the doldrums. He said no businessman would be willing to say so openly for fear of being victimised by the political masters. “No worthwhile industrial house has dared to venture into Punjab. A number of established industrial houses have moved out of the state to implement their expansion plans,” he said. “Let the government come out in black and white on the new industrial houses that have come to Punjab and the existing ones who have expanded in Punjab,” a defiant Bajwa said. In a joint statement , PPCC vice-president OP Soni, Rajanbir Singh, Rakesh Pandey, Surinder Dawar and Bharat Bhushan Ashu said the state government had pressured Hero Cycles and Khanna Paper Mill into denying they were setting up units in other states. They said the industrialists did not want to antagonise an “arrogant leader like Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal” — TNS
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Rupee fall hits imports from Pak
Amritsar, August 19 Talking to The Tribune, CII Zonal Council chief Rajdeep Uppal said there had been a slump of at least 25 per cent to 30 per cent in most of the commodities imported from Pakistan. “The import of raw material used for construction activity is down because of the economic slowdown and the devaluation of the rupee,” he said. He said the continuous fall of the rupee was hurting imports and the Central Government and the RBI must take immediate measures to correct the situation. Clearing agent Jaspal Singh said the imports had dipped by 35 per cent to 40 per cent. Dry dates and cement comprised a major chunk of imports from Pakistan these days. “The import of commodities is continuing despite the devaluation of rupee as traders in Pakistan are helping Indian importers in making up for their losses on account of the weak rupee,” he claimed. The All-India Cement Importers Association chief, MPS Chatha, said 20 trucks of cement were daily arriving from Pakistan via road. Indo Foreign Chamber of Commerce president BK Bajaj said at least 30 trucks carrying dry fruit arrived from Pakistan everyday. "We have to import if we are to run our businesses here, irrespective of whether or not it is feasible," he explained. However, the exports are looking up. As many as 124 trucks, most of them loaded with tomatoes, crossed over to Pakistan today. The other items being exported are soyabean and polymer.
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State exhausts overdrawal limit
Chandigarh, August 19 Sources in the Finance Department said that owing to the widening gap between revenue expenditure and revenue receipts (approximately Rs 8,000 crore), the state has exhausted its ways and means limit of Rs 360 crore, as fixed by the RBI. The state has already made an overdraft of Rs 200 crore, over and above its ways and means limit. The sources said the state could go in for an overdraft, but this had to be cleared within 14 working days. Squeezed for cash, the government has now been forced to ask its treasury not to clear pending bills of employees - be it medical bills, withdrawals from Provident Fund or loans against Provident Fund. Even retirement benefits of employees are being held back. This is the second time this financial year that the Punjab Government has been forced to stop payment of bills submitted by its employees. Last month, the state government had to stop payment of pending bills from mid-month to ensure it had enough resources at its disposal to pay salaries to its employees. The monthly salary and pension and retirement benefits bill of the state is around Rs 1,681 crore. Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, however, says there is no cause for alarm. “July, August and September are generally lean months as we have a lot of pending bills. The state’s revenue growth has been slow so far, but we are hopeful of a good revenue growth from next month. Though we have an overdraft now, we will clear it within the stipulated time,” he said. The state has been raising capital from the market so as to meet its expenditure needs. However, the Centre has now lowered the loan limit for the state governments.
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Rakhar Punya Fair
Amritsar, August 19 While the SAD is making all out efforts to ensure a huge turnout at its rally, the Congress is grappling to put up a united front though it claims to have brokered peace between its two rival factions that earlier planned to hold separate rallies. Talking to The Tribune, state Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia, in charge of the SAD rally, said they expected a record turnout. In a dig at the Congress, he said unlike the Opposition, they were not a divided house. He said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal would address the rally. Sources said it took the Congress much effort to pacify the rival factions led by former MLA Jasbir Singh Dimpa and constituency in charge Ranjeet Singh Chhajalwadi and to convince them to desist from holding parallel rallies. The Congress rally is to be held at the venue chosen by the Dimpa faction. Dimpa said the party expected a crowd of 50,000 at its rally. Chhajalwadi said he was satisfied with the agreement worked out by the party leaders. “The PPCC will conduct the stage while I will receive the top leadership, including PPCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa, at the rally. Later, I will host a press conference and lunch at my residence,” he said. The two factions were brought together by PPCC vice-president and Majha zone in charge OP Soni after a meeting on Sunday. Dimpa had been the MLA from Beas (now Baba Bakala reserve constituency). Chhajalwadi contested the seat during the last assembly elections.
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State govt lacks vision: Navjot
Amritsar, August 19 Expressing her anguish while speaking at a school function here, she said prior to the elections, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal had promised Rs 100 crore for the development of her constituency (Amritsar East), but not a single penny had been released. “Except for false promises, the leaders and their blue-eyed officials deliver nothing. They lack commitment and willpower to work for the public. They have directionless policies which only fulfill their vested interests. No action was ever taken against erring officials who fail to perform. They have no solution to problems like traffic chaos, missing manhole covers and faulty streetlights,” she alleged. Dr Navjot pointed out that the funds belonging to Amritsar were being transferred to other cities whereas the condition of roads, sewerage, streetlights and other basic infrastructure was pathetic in the constituency. “I have learnt that Rs 110 crore meant for the development of Amritsar are being utilised for works in other cities even as the holy city lacks basic facilities,” she said. “Even I am a victim of such poor policies. I could not get Rs 10 crore for providing safe drinking water to the residents of my constituency despite getting it sanctioned by the Ministry of Local Bodies one-and-a-half-years ago. The Amritsar Improvement Trust diverted these funds. We are answerable to the people and have to face embarrassment due to slow pace of work and non-performance,” Dr Navjot added.
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Beas water takes toll on crops in Amritsar, Tarn Taran districts
Amritsar/Tarn Taran, August 19 Talking to The Tribune after visiting the flood-hit villages today, Jamhuri Kisan Sabha leader Rattan Singh Randhawa said crops on around 28,000 acres had been damaged in the villages adjoining the river in Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts. Randhawa said the crop had been completely destroyed in villages like Bhalojala, Bulenangal, Sheron, Kot Mehtab, Jhalari and Seeto. He said the farmers in these areas would not even get a single kg of paddy from their entire field. He said the state government must announce a suitable compensation to the tune of Rs 30,000 per acre for the affected farmers. He said the state government should not extend a meagre compensation, as had been the practice till now. Tarn Taran Deputy Commissioner BS Dhaliwal said 50 villages had been affected by the flood-like situation in Mand area of the district and crops on 30,000 acres had been damaged badly. The Tarn Taran district administration, however, claimed to have initiated timely measures for repair of the breach that occurred in the ‘dhussi bundh’ near Gatti Harike, 35 km from the district headquarters. It also claimed to have rescued 250 families from the Mand area of the district. Dhaliwal also visited the affected areas and issued instructions to the officials for providing medical aid to the residents. On the other hand, members of Kisan Sangharsh Committee Punjab staged a dharna at the Sub-Divisional Magistrate office in Patti to lodge their protest against the alleged delay in extending help to the flood-affected people.
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Traffic hit as bridge damaged in Abohar
Abohar, August 19 The road stretch forms part of the National Highway 15 and the bridge is situated on the Abulkhurana drain near Sayeedwala village in Abohar sub-division. Breaches have occurred in the drain, thus affecting several villages. As the government machinery failed to rise to the occasion, farmers took help from volunteers of the Dera Sacha Sauda’s Green Social Welfare Force to plug the breaches at two places. The Drainage Department officials said the Abulkhurana drain was constructed in 1997 and cement pipes were temporarily used to construct bridges on the national and state highways. The farmers said for the past 10 years, the state government was time and again requested to sanction funds to construct permanent bridges “but to no avail”. The makeshift bridge was partially damaged in 2011. The suspension of heavy traffic has affected supplies of onion, coconut, banana and other fruits and vegetables. Truckers have been advised to take the Hanumangarh-Abohar route even though they would have to cover an additional 85 km (to reach
Abohar).
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Politics over floods unabated
Chandigarh, August 19 In a statement here today, Majithia said Soni visited the flood-affected areas recently, evaluated the situation and expressed satisfaction over the flood control measures. “Instead of creating panic, Bajwa should approach Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and ensure a package for the beleaguered farmers,” he said, adding if he failed to do so it would prove that he was shedding crocodile tears.
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3-member central team inspects mining sites
Chandigarh, August 19 The team comprising Surinder Kumar, Regional Director, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Sonu Singh, Deputy Director, Ministry of Environment, and GC Meena, Deputy Controller, Indian Bureau of Mines, Dehradun, inspected quarries and mining sites in Mohali, Ropar, and Nawanshahr. The team was accompanied by district mining officers. Sources said the team checked environmental clearance from the authority concerned and the equipment used for excavating the earth. The team reportedly made inquiries about the rate at which sand and aggregate was being sold in retail.
Crushers suspend operations
Pathankot: Scores of crushers operating in Pathankot district suspended operations ahead of the visit of a Union Government’s team to inspect sand mining in the district. The team was scheduled to reach here on Monday but was delayed for some reasons. This was confirmed by Siben C, Pathankot Deputy Commissioner. The team is expected to inspect sites at Kirian, Madhopur, Mirthal and several other places near the Ravi where illegal mining is being going on. District mining officials will accompany the team members during the inspection on Tuesday. Sources said the officials would have a tough time in locating illegal mining sites owing to the heavy flow in the Ravi. “They will not be able to fathom the depth at which mining is taking place,” the sources claimed. — Ravi Dhaliwal
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Buzz on ‘kaala kaccha’ gang refuses to die down
Scores of SMSes regarding the gang’s modus operandi and brutality are being sent on mobile phones of villagers, who are spending sleepless nights these days. Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts are the worst-affected areas. Messages like “bacche andar rakho nahin taan negro chukk lau” (keep your children indoors or a black man on the prowl will take them away) are being circulated, thus leading to panic among residents. “Theekri pehras” (night vigil) have been started in several villages to search for trouble-creators. However, there are instances where people deputed on “theekri pehras” have thrashed innocent people, besides attacking police parties at certain places. The police has taken a serious view of the “pehradaars” creating untoward scenes. Interestingly, not a single incident of robbery involving any organised gang has been reported anywhere in the state so far. Residents of Kotla Tarkhana village in Amritsar district had even injured a DSP and seven other policemen in a clash over the matter recently. The police had to fire in the air to disperse the crowd. In an adjoining village, residents had intercepted a police jeep alleging that it was carrying arms for the gang. Talking to The Tribune, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Amritsar (Rural), Manmohan Singh said: “We have tried to trace the source of SMSes creating rumours. But there is no definite source. There have been cases where unnecessary noise was created by unruly youth”. In a village near Ajnala, a youth desirous of meeting his beloved had created a rumour to send fellow villagers in a particular direction in search of the gang. Patiala SSP Hardayal Mann has also rubbished reports that such a gang is active in the state. He said the police would chalk out a plan to check the nuisance. ADGP (Security) Dinkar Gupta said: “The police is creating awareness among villagers on the matter”.
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Moga millers fail to deliver 40,000 tonnes of rice to FCI
A senior FCI official said 14 rice mills of Ajitwal were yet to deliver 15,000 tonnes of rice to the central agency from last year’s stock. The rice mills of Kot-ise-Khan area had failed to deliver 7,000 tonnes, Dharamkot 13,000 tonnes and Nihalsinghwala 8,500 tonnes even after the end of the milling period. One rice mill of Moga has also defaulted to deliver the rice in time. The extended time period for milling expired on July 31. Punjab has already sought extension twice from the Union Government for the delivery of rice. The District Manager of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation has already written to Senior Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh Grewal to register an FIR against two rice millers of Ajitwal for allegedly siphoning off paddy. Hundreds of tonnes of paddy of various state agencies was said to be missing from the stocks of several rice mills during recent physical verifications; however, no stern action was taken against them, said sources. At least 3,000 tonnes of paddy allotted by Markfed and Punjab State Warehousing Corporation to some rice mills in Dharamkot and Kot-ise-Khan was said to be missing in the recent physical verifications but due to “political considerations”, legal action has not been initiated against them, sources said. The Pungrain has initiated a move to forfeit the security deposits of the defaulting rice mills to recover the losses.
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Three-fold hike in motor vehicles tax
Mohali, August 19 In the latest revision of taxes, the annual tax on buses having 31 seats and above has been increased from Rs 90,000 to Rs 3 lakh, a whopping 233 per cent rise. For buses up to 12 seats, the tax has been hiked from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh, an increase of 100 per cent. Similarly, tax on buses with 13 to 30 seats has been revised from Rs 75,000 to Rs 2 lakh. Interestingly, the operators have to pay the revised tax from July as per the order issued on August 8. “We come under the category of private service vehicles, running up to 50 km from the place of registration. Two years ago, the tax was Rs 45,000, which was hiked to Rs 90,000 on August 31, 2013. The latest hike has made our vocation unviable. We will be forced us to sell our vehicles,” said Jaswinder Singh, a private transporter. Expressing similar sentiments, Manjit Singh, another transporter, said they would hold a protest by mounting black flags on their vehicles on August 21. “We will urge the government to roll back the hike, failing which we will intensify our protest,” he said.
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Poor civic amenities irk residents
Patiala, August 19 They said despite an assurance given by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal a few years ago to adopt the city, they were still facing the problems of water shortage, garbage dumps, potholes, dilapidated buildings, illegal encroachments and poor traffic management. Once known for rich green gardens, the city is now fast losing its sheen to mismanagement on the part of the district administration, which has failed to check encroachments and illegal parking by car dealers on busy roads. Heaps of garbage lying on various roads stink badly and despite efforts and repeated claims by the Municipal Corporation (MC), the garbage dumps are increasing in size. Tall claims by MC functionaries to keep a check on illegal buildings coming up in almost every nook and corner of the city have turned out to be a farce as many illegal buildings are being constructed unabated. Besides, illegal encroachments at the Lower Mall, Guru Nanak Nagar, Lehal Colony, Bhadson Road, YPS Road, near Bus Stand and other areas have added to the problems being faced by commuters. Though Patiala Mayor Amrinder Singh Bazaz has often repeated that the corporation would try to solve the problems at the earliest, nothing much has changed.
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Affiliation
to private colleges, deemed universities
Ludhiana, August 19 Members of the Punjab Agricultural University Student Association (PAUSA) also pasted posters on walls of the university with slogan: "Save yours and agrarian society of Punjab's future". The students said the university was providing research and extension
education to students with an annual budget of Rs 500 crore. "What are the criteria to give affiliation to a college to offer agriculture courses? Everyone can open a college and offer the courses. This practice will increase the number of unemployed degree holders in the state. These colleges get a huge amount of money in the form of fee from the students but they are not providing quality education," said Parminder Gujjar, former president, PAUSA. "We are not against education but there should be rules and regulations for affiliation of the private colleges. We are opposing the commercialisation of education. The PAU has to increase the number of seats to accommodate more students," said Karanvir Singh Sandhu, vice-president, PAUSA. Sharnbir Singh, president, PAUSA, said, "The government has to constitute a body to give affiliations to colleges." Registrar, PAU, had written a letter to the Under Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Punjab, in December 2011, to make PAU as the affiliation authority to affiliate other government and private colleges to offer agricultural courses. The university seeks amendments to university rules to get the authority to provide quality and uniform education in the discipline of agriculture in the state.
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Ministerial staff to meet tomorrow
Fatehgarh Sahib, August 19 Union district president Jaspreet Singh Aujla said the Excise and Taxation Department had advertised 100 post of inspectors and as per rule, 50 per cent posts were to be reserved for the existing staff, while the remaining were to be filled through direct recruitment. He said with direct recruitment of 100 inspectors, the existing staff would not get any promotions. — TNS
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Labourers urge govt to fulfil poll promises
Sangrur, August 19 Rajwinder Singh Rana, state secretary, CPI ML (Liberation), said they demanded allotment of 10 marla plots along with Rs 2 lakh for construction of houses for homeless persons, 200 days employment in a year under NREGS and Rs 300 daily wages, waive loans of farmers and labourers, Rs 2 lakh and a government job to every family of debt-ridden farmers and labourers who had committed suicide.— TNS
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Man kills wife over gold
Mansa, August 19 Within a month of the marriage, she was allegedly axed to death by her husband in connivance with his father and a cousin. Manjeet’s body was found on the Mansa-Ralla road on August 17. It had seven injuries on the neck, face and head. There were cuts on the hands and arms too. The Mansa police and municipal staff cremated the body today after no one came forward to perform the last rites. While eloping, Manjeet had taken away nearly 160 gm of gold, worth about Rs 5 lakh, and Rs 50,000 in cash from her home. Her husband Makhan Singh, a mobile phone tower mechanic, began to quarrel with her over her possessions. The police claimed that Makhan Singh wanted to sell the gold for a comfortable life. This was vehemently opposed by Manjeet. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Narinder Bhargav said Makhan Singh and his father Mandir Singh had been arrested for the murder. Makhan’s cousin Amarpal Singh had absconded. The SSP said Makhan, who earned Rs 12,000 a month, had confessed to serious differences with his wife. Makhan Singh, in a bid to mislead the police, had earlier claimed that his wife was murdered by three unidentified persons.
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Inter-state gang of thieves busted
Patiala, August 19 Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Hardyal Singh Mann
said the arrested persons had been identified as Sikander, his wife Sonu, Bablu, Chandana Bai
and Madhu. Initially, the accused were arrested by the Sadar police on the charge of possessing contraband. But during preliminary interrogation, they revealed that they were members of a gang who used to divide themselves into two groups, one was headed by Sikander while the other group was headed by Mohar Singh. “They all belong to Paardi tribe and Sikander was the head of the gang and
a murder case was registered against him in Jammu in 2006,” the SSP added. “On entering Punjab on August 11 this year, the two groups separated. The Sikander group went towards Nabha while Mohar group went towards Dhuri. We are in touch with the Sangrur district police to ensure the arrest of the other members of the gang,” the district police chief added.
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Muktsar, August 19
July, August and September are generally lean months as we have a lot of pending bills. We are hopeful of a good revenue growth from next month. We will clear the overdraft within the stipulated
time
Except for false promises, the leaders and their blue-eyed officials deliver nothing. They lack commitment and willpower to work for the public. They have directionless policies, which only fulfill their vested
interests
Chandigarh, August 19
Moga, August 19