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Monsoon
mayhem
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What is CM there for if Centre has to do all, asks Capt
To seek fiscal emergency in
state, Congress MPs plan to meet President, says Bajwa Pradesh Congress Committee chief Partap Singh Bajwa addresses a rally in Sangrur on Friday. On his left is Sangrur MP Vijay Inder Singla and on the right former MLA Surinder Pal Singh Sibia. A Tribune photo
Sehajdhari case: Hearing now listed
for October 4 SAD-BJP govt readies road map
for LS poll Auction of 7 mines
to be held in open court Will pursue case of Gujarat’s
Sikh farmers: NCM chief
Bathinda’s
cancer hospital resorts to downsizing staff
Local scientists
develop power theft detector Fazilka dist sees
transfers of six SSPs in 2 years Students observe
strike, seek free education for girls Protect rights of
Sikhs in Canada: SAD HC dismisses
teachers’ plea for retirement at 65 Punish schools
not sticking to free education Act, state told 4 arrested with
opium, poppy husk in Patiala Two teachers
killed in road accident near Sirhind SAD factions in
Tarn Taran clash; 3 hurt
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What is CM there for if Centre has to do all, asks Capt Chandigarh, August 23 Amarinder Singh, in a statement, slammed Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for shifting the blame on the Centre for his “failure” to provide relief to the affected people. The Centre had nothing to do with such issues and it was the state government that had to take the final call, he said. “The standard practice is the state government orders a special ‘girdawri’ (revenue assessment) to assess the damage and then sanctions relief to the farmers. In fact, Badal was also doing the same in the past but I am surprised what makes him blame the Centre this time round?... Stop playing blame game when everybody knows providing relief to farmers is the state’s responsibility. If everything has to be done by the Centre, what is the Chief Minister there for? He better quit. “Badal's condition is understandable. Thanks to his myopic leadership that the state has been pushed to bankruptcy... When the state has no money to pay salary to its employees, where can it get the money from to pay flood relief,” he asked. Amarinder alleged instead of admitting to the fact that he had squandered the state coffers on petty things, Badal was trying to indulge in blame game.
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Bajwa visits flood-hit areas in Tarn Taran Amritsar, August 23 He said there should be no politics over the issue and the compensation should be directly transferred to the farmers’ bank accounts. He assured the residents that he would “pressurise” the government to release compensation at the earliest. He warned the state government of protests if there was any delay in disbursing compensation. Bajwa said he would take up the issue of construction of an advance embankment with the Union Government so that people did not have to suffer in future.
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To seek fiscal emergency in state, Congress MPs plan to meet President, says Bajwa Sangrur, August 23 Addressing a rally, held under the party’s mass contact programme at the local Grain Market, president of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee
(PPCC) Partap Singh Bajwa said the financial condition of the state was so bad that the Badal Government had been selling state properties to run its affairs. He questioned Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal as to how he could sell these properties of which he was a mere custodian and not the
owner. Bajwa said he was collecting data on the deteriorating financial health of the state after which, accompanied by all Congress MPs and Union Ministers Manish
Tewari, Preneet Kaur and Santosh Chaudhary, he would meet the President and seek his intervention for declaring a financial emergency in Punjab. The rally, organised by former Sangrur MLA Surinder Pal Singh Sibia was attended by thousands of party workers from various parts of the Sangrur constituency. Among those present at the rally were Sangrur MP Vijay Inder
Singla, Mohali legislator Balbir Singh Sidhu, former ministers Jasbir Singh Sangrur and Gurcharan Singh Dirba and Sangrur district president Subhash Grover.
Bajwa announced that while sitting MP Singla would be the party candidate for the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat, Surinder Pal Singh Sibia would be fielded from the Sangrur assembly seat in the next assembly
elections.Sia He said there would be no “parachute candidates” for the Sangrur parliamentary and assembly
seats. Bajwa showered praise on Singla for getting the Centre’s approval for a 500-bed cancer hospital at Ghabdan Kothi (near
Sangrur), for ensuring the introduction of new trains in the area and upgradation of seven railway stations of his Lok Sabha
constituency. Bajwa said he would move the Punjab and Haryana High Court by September-end to file a case seeking unemployment allowance, as promised by SAD in its election manifesto, for 1.17 lakh unemployed youths registered with various employment exchanges in the state. He said the Congress cadre had been told to register the names of 1,000 unemployed persons in each assembly segment. This exercise would be completed by August
31. Bajwa demanded a compensation of Rs 25,000 per acre for flood-affected farmers of the state. Indicating internal strife, three Congress leaders, Aman Arora
(Sunam), Surjit Singh Dhiman (Amargarh) and Manjit Singh Jawandha (Uppli, near
Sangrur) spoke against Congress leaders at the rally. They did not name anybody. They asked the PPCC chief to identify the “black sheep” and save the party.
Internal rift to the fore again Congress leaders Aman Arora from Sunam, Surjit Singh Dhiman from Amargarh and Manjit Singh Jawandha from Uppli, near Sangrur, spoke against Congress leaders, without naming anybody. They asked the PPCC chief to identify the “black sheep” in the party.
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Sehajdhari case: Hearing now listed for October 4 Amritsar, August 23 The hearing in the case pending before the Supreme Court was to take place today. It has been now listed for October 4. Avtar Singh Makkar, SGPC chief, said: “We hope that the Supreme Court will deliver its verdict early and that it will be in our favour as the Centre has come out in our support.” Former SGPC general secretary Bibi Kiranjot Kaur said it was unfortunate that an institution that had fought for the rights of the Sikhs had to make the rounds of courts for its very existence. First-time SGPC member Manjeet Singh said the court should expedite the proceedings in the case. There came a glimmer of hope in April this year when Sehajdhari Sikh Party president PS Ranu said they were mulling to make a submission in the Supreme Court that the new SGPC House be allowed to function, if the Sehajdhari Sikhs were given the voting rights in the next SGPC elections. He issued the statement after two rounds of talks with Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal. However, the move was not well received in Panthic circles with the SGPC chief arguing that there was no concept of Sehajdhari in Sikhism and, hence, the Sehajdharis could not be given the voting rights. The SGPC elections were held on September 18, 2011 and 15 members co-opted on December 5, 2011. Subsequently, the Centre issued a notification constituting the new SGPC House on December 17, 2011. However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s December 20, 2011, verdict, quashing the 2003 notification barring the Sehajdharis from voting in the SGPC elections, plunged the new House into a crisis. The SGPC later challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court. Hearing the SGPC petition on March 30, 2012, the apex court allowed the old SGPC executive (elected in November 2010) to manage gurdwaras and institutions under the SGPC till further orders. The Supreme Court stated that the House elected in September 2011 without the Sehajdhari Sikhs’ participation could not be allowed to hold its first meeting and elect office-bearers in the light of the Punjab and Haryana High Court verdict restoring the voting rights of the
Sehajdharis. The Dispute Sept 1, 2011: Centre withdraws 2003 notification barring Sehajdharis from voting rights in SGPC poll Sept 2, 2011:
Centre back-tracks, says it had no intention to withdraw the notification. Sept 16, 2011:
SC says the outcome of the SGPC poll will be subject to the HC verdict. Sept 18, 2011:
SGPC elections held, SAD wins Dec 5, 2011: Co-option of 15 members takes place Dec 17, 2011:
Centre issues notification constituting the new SGPC House Dec 20, 2011:
HC quashes 2003 notification barring Sehajdharis from voting in the SGPC elections; SGPC moved SC March 30, 2012:
SC authorises SGPC executive of 2010 to manage daily affairs till further orders
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SAD-BJP govt readies road map for LS poll Chandigarh, August 23 A senior government official said, “We have been told to maintain a daily record on the progress of all these projects.” Among the roads that are to come up on BOT (build-operate-transfer) basis are Rayya to Kharar along Sabhraon, Manpur Head to Jagraon, Manpur Head to Barnala, Nidampur to Lehra along the Ghaggar branch, Tanda to Sri Hargobindpur to Amritsar link and Kapurthala-Nakodar-Phillaur road. Then there are certain roads that are up for up-gradation: Barnala-Mansa-Sardulgarh; Ratiya-Boha-Budhlada; Mukerian-Gurdaspur; Dharamkot-Zira-Ferozepur; Phillaur-Naggar-Rahon; Kapurthala-Tarn Taran-Chhabal-Attari; Chandigarh-Landran-Chunni-Sirhind-Patiala; Rampura-Maur-Talwandi Sabo-Raman Mandi and Muktsar-Malout. A number of railway over-bridges are also in the pipeline.
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Auction of 7 mines to be held in open court Taking up the petitions, the Division Bench of Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice GS Sandhawalia also stayed the allotment of under-challenge mines on the basis of the August 12 auction. Five mines are in Pathankot district and two in Ropar district. The auction will now be held on September 6, where all complainant-participants can take part. One of the petitions, filed by Balbir Singh and company, pertains to five mines in Pathankot district. According to the company's partner Vikrant Mahajan, the mines are in Belichangan, Nalunga, Talwara Jattan, Kandrhan, and Terhti Narangpur. The other petition has been filed by Mohali-based Shree Marble and Building Material Store through counsel AS Sullar for mines in Ropar district. Sullar has asserted the firm's ID was blocked "just in order to facilitate the illegal mining and in order to help the political masters and the sand mafia operating in Punjab." Sullar said the auctioning of sites at a "very low price was arbitrary and against the principle of equity and justice." Going into the background of the controversy, Sullar claimed the company applied for open auction of mineral sand and stone quarries on the basis of an advertisement for Patiala, Pathankot, Ropar and Mohali districts. The firm was given a digital signature, user-ID and password by Bangalore-based Antares System Limited and the General Manager-cum-Mining Officer for the online auction. The site was to refresh every 15 seconds, but the refreshing time was between 20 and 25 seconds. The bidding was
to start at 9 am on August 12. But the system stopped refreshing the page after 10.58 am. No firm
could update the online auction bid. Elaborating, he said: "The respondents, in order to oblige their political masters and the sand mafia operating in Punjab, created a fraud online auction by hanging the user online ID of the petitioner and other
participants. The firm was the highest bidder at 10.57 am for in Plassy village in Ropar district.
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Will pursue case of Gujarat’s Sikh farmers: NCM chief Amritsar, August 23 Addressing mediapersons after paying obeisance at the Golden Temple, Habibullah said the commission had sought replies from the Punjab and Gujarat Governments over the issue. “The Punjab Government has told us that it is prepared to bear the expenses of the legal battle... If the Gujarat Government withdraws its plea from the Supreme Court and accepts the verdict of the High Court, the matter will be resolved.” He said the commission was yet to receive a reply from the Gujarat Government. “We will pursue the matter to its logical end,” he said. Following complaints from Sikhs in France on the turban issue, the commission had taken up the matter with the Ministry of External Affairs. Union Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid had even raised the issue with the French President during the latter’s visit to India, he said. On the Devinderpal Singh Bhullar case, he said: “We will see what we can do in this regard as per the law.” SGPC president Avtar Singh
Makkar, who felicitated Habibullah, also spoke of Delhi University’s “anti-Punjabi” move. The NCM Chairman assured all possible help in this regard. On the Hondh-Chillar case, he said the Haryana Government had told the commission that a panel had been already set up to look into the matter.
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Bathinda’s cancer hospital resorts to downsizing staff Bathinda, August 23 The purpose was to provide the best cancer and cardiac care to patients who had to travel all the way to Bikaner in Rajasthan or the PGI in Chandigarh or Baba Farid Hospital, Faridkot. However, high treatment cost seems to have kept most patients away from the hospital. At least 40 members of the paramedic staff have either been sacked or have had to resign since the downsizing last month. Sources in the hospital said patients continued to prefer government hospitals and the cancer hospital in Bikaner. The “Cancer Train” to Bikaner continued to ferry a large number of patients to the city. Sukhdev Singh of Muktsar, whose wife is undergoing treatment at Bikaner, said the hospital provided the latest treatment at a highly reduced cost whereas even the OPD (out-patient department) fee at Max was more than Rs 200. After a three-day wait, the Max authorities emailed The Tribune today, explaining: “The healthcare industry is plagued with shortage of manpower and our company, which is a growing organisation, as part of its human capital management process, grooms and grows its employees through training, re-deployment and even transfer to other locations... “We have recently asked a few employees for a temporary transfer to other network hospitals in the region where we are in need of trained manpower to cater to increased patient load.”
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Local scientists develop power theft detector Chandigarh, August 23 Developed by Dr Navneet Singh Aulakh, a scientist at Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO), and Inderdeep Kaur Aulakh, a professor at the University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Panjab University, the system was demonstrated at a seminar on the emerging trends on embedded system technologies organised by the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers here today. The technology behind the project is to have multiple current transducers along with embedded system to detect theft of electricity and enunciate an alarm. Power cables are run through rings comprising copper wires and ferrite materials. The flow of electricity will create a magnetic field and any change in the level of the field due to excess power load will be passed on to a central processor through the rings. Power theft is a big issue in the country. There have been instances of some large industries resorting to illegal means to draw excess power without accounting for it. The use of kundis or illegal connections to draw power directly from overhead mainlines is also widespread in slums, colonies and the agricultural sector. Dr Aulakh said trials of the system on a small scale had been successful and the technological concept behind it had been established. The detection of kundis or unauthorised connection in the network was 100 per cent accurate with zero false alarm. The system has been developed using components easily available in the market. The signal from the rings will be carried back to the control unit based on the power line embedded carrier communication mode, where the power cable, on which the rings have been installed, can transmit the signals through a modem using phone or wireless technology.
Low-cost appliance
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Fazilka dist sees transfers of six SSPs in 2
years Fazilka, August 23 RK Sharda was posted as the first SSP of the district. His tenure ended on November 13, 2011. Thereafter, Ashok Bath assumed the charge up to April 23, 2012. Following Bath’s transfer, Gurinder Singh Dhillon was posted till August 6, 2012. After
Dhillon, Amar Singh Chahal served the longest tenure of about seven months up to March 5, 2013. He demitted office on being elevated to the IPS cadre and his subsequent promotion as Deputy Inspector General of the Bathinda Range. After
Chahal, Sukhdev Singh Kahlon had the shortest stint of about two months till May 7, 2013. Interestingly, Rajpal Singh filled the post after
Kahlon, but he was posted as Commandant, PAP, on August 20, 2013. Surjit Singh Grewal was named his successor today. This border district is considered to be a politically high-profile area represented by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal from Jalalabad assembly segment, Leader of Opposition Sunil Kumar Jakhar from Abohar and BJP Minister Surjit Kumar Jyani from
Fazilka.
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Students observe strike, seek free education for girls Patiala, August 23 Speaking to mediapersons, district president of the union Prabhjot Ghagga and press secretary Manpreet Khanaouri said a case should be registered against college managements for charging fee from the SC students. They also demanded that Punjabi University, Panjab University, Chandigarh, and Guru Nank Dev University, Amritsar, should roll back the hike in examination fee.
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Protect rights of Sikhs in Canada: SAD Chandigarh, August 23 The Quebec assembly proposes to impose a ban on the turban and kirpan as also the Muslim and jew headgear. The Deputy Chief Minister said the move to target the minorities could not be accepted. He said a delegation of Akali MPs would call on the Prime Minister and the External Affairs Minister in this regard.
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HC dismisses teachers’ plea for retirement at 65 Chandigarh, August 23 A Division Bench of the High Court has also made it clear that directions cannot be issued to the state government to provide financial assistance to “unaided colleges or to unaided staff of aided colleges,” since the claim has financial implications. The ruling came on a bunch of petitions filed by KRM DAV College, Nakodar, and other petitioners against the State of Punjab and another respondent. The significance of the judgement can be gauged from the fact that the Bench of Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Inderjit Singh decided no less than 49 cases through the single order. The UGC on December 31, 2008, framed the University Grants Commission (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and other Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2010. The regulations contemplated enhancing the age of superannuation to 65 in terms of an earlier decision of the Central Government. Taking up the matter, the Bench asserted the Supreme Court on July 17 examined the issues arising from judgements of different High Courts (including this court) in the Jagdish Prasad Sharma and others versus State of Bihar and others case “The court, inter alia, examined the question whether the regulations framed by the UGC under Section 26 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, were binding on the states and state-funded other universities and colleges being run therein….. “It was held that the state government is at liberty to frame its own laws relating to education in the state and is, therefore, not bound to accept or follow the regulations framed by the commission,” the Bench ruled.
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Punish schools not sticking to free education Act, state told Chandigarh, August 23 The directions by the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Augustine George Masih came on a petition filed in public interest by Balraj Singh and another petitioner against the State of Punjab and another respondent. The directions came after the Bench was informed by the Punjab Principal Secretary-cum-DGSE that 219 schools on physical verification were found not complying with the provisions of the Act. In an affidavit, the officer said the schools were required to be closed down and necessary instructions had already been issued by the Department of Education for de-recognition. The District Education Officers too have been asked to admit the students in neighbourhood schools. The affidavit said of the 9,301 private schools, 8,880 had applied for recognition on time. No less than 931 schools have already been closed down as they failed to provide necessary information. The petitioners had earlier sought directions for constituting an independent body to regulate the standard of education in private primary schools. They had claimed there were more than 20,000 private unaided and unrecognised primary schools, which prescribed their own books and syllabus without uniformity.
Cracking the whip The High Court has set October 31 as the deadline for Punjab. It will have to ensure action against schools not following the free and compulsory education Act.
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4 arrested with opium, poppy husk in Patiala Patiala, August 23 During preliminary interrogation, it was revealed that the accused had bought the consignment from Bikram, a resident of Madhya Pradesh. He had bought the opium at the rate of Rs 52,000 per kg and had to sell it for Rs 65,000 per kg in Patiala and its nearby areas. The SSP said further investigation was going on. In another incident, the police arrested three persons with 30-kg poppy husk and 1,900 capsules and a case has been registered against them.
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Two teachers killed in road accident near Sirhind Fatehgarh Sahib, August 23 Eyewitnesses said the impact of the accident
was such that the Mohindra Verito in which the victims were travelling was badly damaged. Giving details about
the accident, Mullepur police station ASI Kulwant Singh said the teachers were coming from Patiala and when they reached Gunia Majra village, their car collided with a truck parked on the road.
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SAD factions in Tarn Taran clash; 3 hurt Tarn Taran, August 23 There were reports of another clash between SAD factions in Beharwal village. Mohan Singh and his nephew Gurbaj Singh were shot at in Talwandi Mehar Singh village. One person of the rival group too was injured. The Patti police has registered a case under the Arms Act against Surjit Singh, Joginder Singh, Resham Singh, Jasbir Singh , Gurjant Singh and Pooran Singh.
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Former Chief Minister and a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee, Capt Amarinder Singh, today lashed out at the state government over its alleged failure in providing relief to the flood-hit farmers in Punjab.
Amarinder Singh, in a statement, slammed Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for shifting the blame on the Centre for his “failure” to provide relief to the affected people. The Centre had nothing to do with such issues and it was the state government that had to take the final call, he said.
Congress
Members of Parliament and Union Ministers from Punjab will meet President Pranab
Mukherjee in a couple of weeks and seek his intervention for declaring a
financial emergency in Punjab as the state’s financial health was fast
deteriorating.
Amritsar,
August 23
Chandigarh,
August 23
Accepting
a memorandum by the SGPC on various issues concerning the Sikhs, National
Commission for Minorities (NCM) Chairman Wajahat Habibullah today said the panel
was looking into the issue of eviction of Sikh farmers from Gujarat. Addressing
mediapersons after paying obeisance at the Golden Temple, Habibullah said the
commission had sought replies from the Punjab and Gujarat Governments over the
issue.
Max
Super Specialty Hospital that came here at the initiative of the Punjab
Government for countering the spread of cancer in the Malwa region is reportedly
downsizing its staff. The state government had provided four acres of land on
lease at a rent of Re 1 per year to the private hospital.
“The
inundation shows negligence on the part of the department officials.
This can only happen when drains have not been cleaned. Now, not only
people are suffering but even the government is at the receiving end,”
Badal told Chief Engineer, Drainage, Vinod Chaudhary in front of the
flood-affected people at Seerwali village.
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, at a recent meeting, issued deadlines for the completion of the major projects. He also asked the work-executing authorities for regular updates on these. Officials said four-laning of the Pathankot-Amritsar and Bhogpur-Mukerian highways was scheduled to be completed by December-end. Among the other four-laning projects, the overcrowded Kharar-Ludhiana section may only be completed by 2017. The Kharar-Kurali section, another busy stretch, is likely to be completed by December 2015.
Chandigarh, August 23