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Finance panel members take stock of waterlogged Muktsar
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Gujarat Government braces itself for meeting with Badal on Sikh farmers
Govt’s hospital upgradation plan yet to deliver results
Cong looking for strong candidate for Bathinda LS seat
NCM raises turban issue with envoys
This technocrat holds 5 additional charges
Consumer forum fines PGI Rs
10 lakh for negligence
Akali wrangling delays ZP chief’s poll
Will not ditch Amritsar: Sidhu
‘Govt building castles in air’
Moga old-age home site turns into garbage dump
Jakhar: New agro policy ignores existing units
Traders seek scanners to stop drug smuggling
Need to develop infrastructure in SAARC nations: Dhillon
Sharanjit Dhillon, PWD Minister, speaking at the SAARC Engineers’ meet in Chandigarh on Sunday. Tribune photo: Pradeep Tewari
State to breed gambusia fish to tackle dengue
Sangrur district witnesses jump in institutional deliveries
Docs oppose change in OPD timings
Post-heavy rain, bug attacks paddy
810 biogas plants installed in Patiala
Border farmers decry meagre compensation
HC offers relief to
riot-hit company
7 shot at in Harike clash
Drive against illegal power connections
70 held in drive against drugs in Fazilka
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Finance panel members take stock of waterlogged Muktsar
Muktsar, September 8 The team was led by the commission Chairman, YV Reddy, and accompanied by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia. Interacting with the residents of Khokhar, Haraj and Udekaran villages, Prof Abhijit Sen, a Finance Commission member and Chairman, Agriculture Committee of the Planning Commission, assured them of deputing a high-level team to assess the damage due to the recent rain-fed waterlogging. Sen said the Planning Commission was aware of the waterlogging problem in the Malwa belt as it had already sent a team led by its member and an expert on water resources, Prof Mihir Shah. A detailed report to tackle the problem on a permanent basis too had been submitted, he said. “It is an established fact that the recent flooding in the region is also an outcome of water-logging,” said Sen. He also apprised the Chief Minister that the Mihir Shah Committee would revisit the affected areas to take stock of the situation. Expressing solidarity with the affected people, Sen said the Union Government was at their beck and call in this hour of crisis. Badal said the centuries old drainage system was gradually crumbling and it was the need of the hour to revamp it. “For this, the Centre should come forward with massive financial assistance to ultimately relieve the people from water-logging,” he said. The Chief Minister said the large-scale migration of people from villages due to floods was another cause for concern for the state government. Talking to mediapersons at Jhabelwali later, Badal said the commission had taken note of the hardships faced by the people of the area due to water-logging and hoped that it would certainly help the state to overcome the menace of water logging. To a query, Sen said the Planning Commission had fully endorsed the proposal for agriculture diversification sent to it and promised to recommend to the Centre the funding of this ambitious programme. Earlier, the delegation and the Chief Minister visited the damaged powergrids at Sarainaga village and in Muktsar. Not allowed to meet panel, rue residents The flood-affected people have alleged that they were not given time to speak to seek funds. "I had come with a memorandum but was not even allowed to hand it over to the senior officials or the members of team, which had come to take stock of the situation," said Gurpyar Singh of Haraj village, whose wife is a village sarpanch.
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Gujarat Government braces itself for meeting with Badal on Sikh farmers
Ahmedabad, September 8 Badal is among those invited to the inaugural ceremony of the four-day “Vibrant Gujarat Global Agricultural Summit, 2013,” the first mega agricultural event planned on the lines of the bi-annual Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit, to be held at the sprawling Mahatma Mandir venue in Gandhinagar tomorrow. Badal is expected to take up the opportunity to discuss with his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi the grievances of the Sikh farmers. Modi, during his recent visit to Punjab, had assured Badal that his government would not take any step to throw out the Sikh farmers settled in Kutch and a decision on their future would be taken after the Supreme Court decision on a petition pending before it. His assurance, however, has failed to re-assure the Sikh farmers of Kutch who point out that Modi should have directed the state government to withdraw the petition in the Supreme Court, if he was keen on resolving the issue. Modi has not initiated any step to withdraw the petition challenging the Gujarat High Court’s verdict of 2010 that went in favour of the Sikh farmers in Kutch. Though Modi claims that the “confusion” was caused by some “faulty amendments” in the state revenue Act made by the Congress government in the early seventies, it was only a couple of years ago under his administration that the district collector issued a notice to the 50,000-odd Sikh farmers in Kutch to vacate the land allocated to them five decades ago under a joint scheme state and central government scheme to re-settle farmers from Punjab and Haryana near the international border with Pakistan in Kutch. The affected farmers challenged the collector’s notification, which barred the Sikh farmers from buying, selling or taking bank loans on the land allocated to them, in the High Court, which ruled in their favour last year. But the Modi Government has challenged the order in the Supreme Court. While his government took a pro-active role to amend the Lokayukta Act to ensure that the Chief Minister had the final say in the selection of the Lokayukta, he has not initiated any step to remove the “confusion” from the revenue Act to help the Sikh farmers. The exhibitions organised on the occasion of the Vibrant Gujarat Agricultural Summit, is expected to be visited by over one lakh farmers from the state and elsewhere. The farmers will get a chance to directly interact with companies dealing in seeds and other agricultural implements.
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Govt’s hospital upgradation plan yet to deliver results
Chandigarh, September 8 Senior department sources said that approximately 50 per cent of the transfers had been stalled. Alternative arrangements had failed to deliver.The state government had taken back the transfer orders of 62 specialists within a few days. Doctors working under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) too had their transfers stalled after a communication from the office of the Managing Director, NRHM. Reliable sources said several other transfers had been stalled too. Besides the manpower shortage, the department has also not been able to provide adequate infrastructure and medical equipment at the identified hospitals. A senior official, requesting anonymity, said: " The department still needs to purchase the required machinery for the identified hospitals.The hospitals are also short of the para-medical staff." On the department's official website are several reminders to selected doctors to join duty. At least 29 doctors selected in 2011 have yet to join duty. The department has asked them to report by September 15 or their services will be terminated. Talking to the Tribune, Vinni Mahajan, Principal Secretary, Health and family Welfare, said: " The project is still in its infancy. The implementation details are being worked out to meet long-term objectives. The department has made some amendments on doctors' request. The results will start showing results in a while." She said the authorities were working out a plan to upgrade infrastructure in hospitals. It is learnt that the department is considering the doctors' demand for a separate cadre for specialists. Meanwhile, the government is yet to work out an effective plan for at least 60 hospitals from where manpower (mostly specialists) has been shifted to the 100 identified hospitals.
Transfers undone within days
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Cong looking for strong candidate for Bathinda LS seat
Bathinda, September 8 Several Congress leaders, including PPCC president Partap Singh Bajwa, had gone public on fielding Manpreet from Bathinda. However, the party has changed its strategy and is zeroing in on a candidate who enjoys the confidence of local leaders, the state leadership as well as the party high command. Bajwa, who recently toured Malwa areas to assess flood damage, said his aim was to bring all secular forces under one umbrella to take on the Akali-BJP alliance. The Congress and the PPP had together fought the recent panchayat elections.
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NCM raises turban issue with envoys
Chandigarh, September 8 In a letter addressed to the SGPC president, commission member Ajaib Singh said the ambassadors of the European Union and Italy had assured the commission that they would ask their respective governments to sensitise the security personnel at airports about the turban. On reports of discontinuation of the Punjabi language course at Delhi University, Ajaib Singh said Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh had clarified that the language would continue as a part of discipline course-1 and there was no plan to discontinue it in the newly introduced four-year undergraduate course. The commission has urged the university to provide the same course in the colleges affiliated to it. The commission also informed the SGPC that it had written to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to withdraw appeal from the Supreme Court filed against Sikh farmers, who were facing eviction from their land in Gujarat. Ajaib Singh said he had also written to the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal asking him to extend help to the Sikh farmers in Gujarat and urge Modi to withdraw his appeal.
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This technocrat holds 5 additional charges
Chandigarh, September 8 Surinder Pal Singh, an Executive Engineer (XEN) in the Mandi Board, seems to be indispensable for the authorities, if the record of his postings is any indication. Using his proximity to the top SAD leadership and his family ties with a senior bureaucrat in the Punjab Government, this “efficient” officer is not only managing important works of the Mandi Board at Ludhiana and Mohali, but has also been entrusted with the responsibility of crucial works of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), an arm of Punjab's Housing and Urban Development Department (PUDA). Defending the official, Chairman of the Mandi Board Ajmer Singh Lakhowal said: “The Punjab Government has given additional work to the Executive Engineer who is a capable official, his performance being number one in the state”. Before being transferred to GMADA, the official was given the additional charge of XEN and then that of Superintending Engineer (SE), Bathinda Development Authority (BDA). The Chief Administrator, GMADA, AK Sinha, said it was a stop-gap arrangement till a regular Superintending Engineer (SE) was posted. “It is strange as to how the administrative secretary of the parent department has given permission to the technocrat to hold different charges simultaneously in two departments,” pointed out a top official. Incidentally, the Secretary, Public Works Department
(PWD), has discontinued the practice of allotting additional charges. Records reveal that while posted as
XEN, Mandi Board, Ludhiana, Surinder Pal Singh was given the additional charge of Superintending Engineer, Ludhiana. Thereafter, the Faridkot and Ferozepur divisions were attached to the board's Ludhiana division. At present, Surinder Pal Singh also holds the charge of the board's Mohali division.
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Consumer forum fines PGI Rs
10 lakh for negligence
Patiala, September 8 The commission has also directed PGI authorities to pay litigation cost of Rs 30,000 to the family of the deceased. Justice
(retd) Sham Sunder gave the verdict in the case, which was filed by Kumar when he was alive. After his death, his wife Mamta Rani had pursued the case. Giving details of the case, Mamta Rani informed that Jaswinder Kumar got admitted to the PGI on June 13, 2011 (admission card no- A2721652) since he had had persistent pain in his right foot for months. “After doing Digital Subtraction Angiography
(DSA) on June 14, 2011, Dr RK Sharma and his team operated upon his leg on June 27, 2011 but did not do a biopsy,” she
said. Mamta said Jaswinder visited the hospital again on July 13, 2011 after his leg got swollen and the pain did not subside. But, the doctor concerned dismissed him, saying it was normal to feel pain after an operation. Thereafter, Jaswinder visited the hospital several times before Dr RK Sharma finally performed a second operation on him on October 5, 2011. However, Jaswinder took a second opinion from doctors at the Fortis Hospital,
Mohali, on November 5, 2011. A biopsy was conducted that found that Jaswinder had a highly malignant tumour and the doctors at the Fortis Hospital amputated his leg on November 17, 2011. But the delay in providing the adequate treatment at the PGI proved fatal and Jaswinder died on April 2, 2013.
Details of the case
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Akali wrangling delays ZP chief’s poll
Gurdaspur, September 8 In 2007 as well, officials were caught in a similar predicament. Due to infighting among all the four senior SAD leaders of the district, including the then Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon, former Ministers SS Langah and SS Sekhwan and MLA LS Lodhinangal, the chairmanship could not be decided for three years. Langah wanted either his son Sonu Langah or loyalist Sukhbir Walha to take over the reins while the Sekhwan group wanted to have Tirlok Singh Bath, son of former Minister Balbir Singh Bath, appointed to the post. Finally, Sekhwan’s had his way and Tirlok Bath was appointed the chairman. The parishad has 23 zones and this time, the SAD-BJP combine rules the roost on 21 zones, the Congress has bagged one seat while one has gone to an Independent candidate. The arithmetic is clearly in favour of the SAD. However, intra-party wrangling has meant that each of the four senior Akali leaders, all of whom have been designated as area chiefs, want their own loyalists to get the coveted post. The chairmanship has been reserved for a SC candidate. The SAD has five SC candidates who have won their respective seats. In Dera Baba Nanak block, from where Langah is the area chief, there are three SC candidates while the other two SC candidates have the backing of Sekhwan and Parliamentary Secretary GS Babbehali. The numbers being on his side, Langah wants his man appointed, while the other SAD leaders are pulling out all the stops to stop Langah in his tracks. Officials are refusing to convene the meeting citing the fact that elections to the post of chairman of the Dorangla block samiti have not been held. Block Samiti chairmen are entitled to vote in the zila parishad elections and unless the process of holding elections to the block samiti is not completed, elections for the zila parishad chairman cannot be held. “Officials are not inclined to go ahead with the Dorangla samiti elections because things can swing either way. If the ruling party loses control of the block samiti, officials may have to face the ire of their political masters,” said a senior Akali leader. Officials, hence, are using the Dorangla elections as an alibi to keep at bay the more important zila parishad elections. “The chairman will be installed only after the contentious Dorangla issue is resolved,” confirmed an official.
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Will not ditch Amritsar: Sidhu
Chandigarh, September 8 He, however, said he was all prepared to take on all those "sabotaging" his pet projects conceived for the development of Amritsar. "Amritsar is Guru ki Nagri. No one will be allowed to discriminate against it," Sidhu said. "I have the satisfaction of putting the issue of Amritsar's development on the centre stage. I will never ditch the residents of Amritsar. I am surprised that before me nobody raised the issue of the city's development forcefully. No one spoke about it in Parliament." Claiming that he had never sought the party ticket to contest the elections, he said it was while he was in Pakistan in 2004 that he was first approached by the BJP. "I was in a hotel at Rawalpindi when I received a call from then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, informing me of the party's decision to field me from Amritsar. “The next day when I reached the Wagah border, I was amazed to find hundreds of people gathered there to receive me with garlands," said Sidhu. What has hurt Sidhu most is that none of his key projects have been implemented. He brought the solid wastage management project to the city. The Centre was to fund the project. The company even started collecting garbage. However, the project was allegedly scuttled. With petty crime on the rise in Amritsar, Sidhu wanted CCTV cameras installed at important points in Amritsar. "As lakhs of tourists visit Amritsar every year, installing CCTV cameras is a must for their safety as also for the security of the local people," said Sidhu. But his this endeavour too has come to a naught. Sidhu's efforts to set up a multipurpose sports academy in the city on 40 acres of land have yielded no results. A sum of Rs 20 crore was initially sanctioned for the project. The widening of the Bhandari bridge, a project worth Rs 8 crore, has also been "scuttled". The bridge was to be widened with pre-fabricated material. "The bridges proposed at the Forest Chowk, Verka Chowk and the Tarn Taran road have met the same fate," said an angry Sidhu. The BJP leader said the city desperately needed public toilets for tourists. Heaps of garbage in the city were an eyesore. But the Amritsar Municipal Corporation was starved of funds and could do nothing in this regard. "The Amritsar Development Authority has no money to carry out the tasks assigned to it. The Punjab Assembly should have passed a resolution urging the Central Government to accord a special status to Amritsar in view of its importance. "However, the Amritsar Improvement Trust has
Rs 136 crore in its kitty. With the funds available, several proposed projects can be completed if the authorities so desire," Sidhu added.
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‘Govt building castles in air’
Amritsar, September 8 “We welcome the government announcement that it will invest Rs 2,000 crore on Amritsar's development in the next two years. However, the people of Amritsar are fed up with such hollow declarations. Let us not build castles in the air,” said the BJP leader.. He asked as to what had the SAD-led government done for the holy city during the past seven years of its rule. “Good intentions die unless they're executed. Why don't they come out with a time-bound programme to spend Rs 2,000 crore on Amritsar's development,” he asked. Claiming that he had no axe to grind and nursed malice towards none, Sidhu claimed his sole ambition was to ensure the development of Amritsar. “ The CCTV project requires a mere Rs 4 crore for execution. Why hasn't it been executed when the Amritsar Improvement Trust has had Rs 150 crore in its kitty in the past three years? Why was a sum of Rs 60 crore from the Amritsar Improvement Trust transferred to other towns,” he asked. He claimed that his pet projects could be executed with the Amritsar inprovement Trust funds within six months if the authorities so desired. “On the one hand, the Mecca of the Sikhs is facing a funds crunch and on the other you are transferring money to other towns. Under which law are you doing so,” he asked.
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Moga old-age home site turns into garbage dump
Moga, September 8 Over five years later, there is no sign of the old-age home. A de-addiction centre was set up, but it runs with fits and starts due to lack of funds. A part of the land is being used as a garbage dump by the Moga Municipal Corporation. Heaps of garbage can be seen lying there. Even the plinth level of the land is uneven. Ironically, the drug de-addiction centre is located at an ideal place. It is few kilometres short of Daulewala village, infamous as “village of addicts”. Almost every house there is affected by the drug menace. However, the centre is ill-equipped and does not have sufficient beds. Its staff said at least 50 beds and related equipment bought at a cost of Rs 5 lakh were lying unused as the government had given approval for 15 beds only. Though the foundation stone for a senior citizens’ home was laid, the project failed to materialise. Gill, who now lives in Chandigarh, said he regretted donating his land. “The Moga Red Cross has failed to keep its promise of putting the land to optimum use. Though the government is opening state-of-the-art de-addiction centres in all districts, it has failed to maintain the existing ones. Even the garbage dump has not been cleared,” he told The Tribune. He said he had taken up the matter with the government and the state Governor, but to no avail. Ashok Handa, secretary, Red Cross, claimed that they were using the land optimally. “We need funds to level the land and beautify it. We are in touch with the local MC for removing garbage. We are running the centre with limited resources." He claimed that the former MLA’s complaints had been filed after holding inquiries. Employees of the de-addiction centre lamented that they were working in adverse circumstances. They alleged they never get salaries on time.
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Jakhar: New agro policy ignores existing units
Chandigarh, September 8 “There exists a huge gap between the government’s announcements and what it actually delivers. The government had announced a new industrial policy two months ago, but failed to notify it, turning it into a mere paperwork. In 2008, the government had announced a policy to set up industrial parks by giving lavish concessions. But, it fails to revive the state’s struggling industry,” he alleged.
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Traders seek scanners to stop drug smuggling
Amritsar, September 8 Suneet Kochhar, Director, Khanna Paper Mill, said, “For quite some time, we’ve been demanding that the movement of goods through the ICP should take place in containers. It will ensure proper movement of goods.” Gunbir Singh, member of CII National Council on Public Policy, said, “The government must step in to ensure that the ICP authorities are more vigilant in future. They should install full truck scanners at the check post and ensure that goods move in containers,” he said. At present, only cargo scanners are installed at the ICP and these can not detect contraband hidden inside a cavity in a truck. Already, the India-Pakistan trade via the rail route is suffering on this count. Cement import from Pakistan had dipped following repeated heroin seizures in rail cargo. Over 150 kg of heroin was seized from rail wagons carrying cement from Pakistan between May and October last year. Consequently, the cement importers had shifted their trade to the road route via the Attari-Wagah border.
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Need to develop infrastructure in SAARC nations: Dhillon
Chandigarh, September 8 Over 150 delegates, including 44 representatives from abroad, exchanged technical know-how and expertise at the meet that concluded today. Several workshops were held on infrastructure development, water resource management, regional power grid systems development and climate change and environment protection. Mohammad Shamsur Rehman, Secretary General (Bangladesh), SDEF, said South Asia was emerging as a hub of technological innovation. While presenting a report of the All India Federation of Diploma Engineers, RK Singh, Secretary General, SDEF, spoke about the objectives of the forum that represents 4.5 lakh engineers. He said there was a need to raise the basic qualification for admission to diploma engineering courses from Class X to Class XII. This proposal is lying pending with the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Though the Parliamentary Committee has decided to raise the entry qualification, AICTE has ignored it.
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State to breed gambusia fish to tackle dengue
Ludhiana, September 8 Dr Ashok Nayyar, Director, Health Services, Punjab, said, “This project will be launched in a phased manner. A hatchery unit will be constructed in Faridkot in the first phase. From there, the fish will be transferred to perennial ponds in Muktsar,
Ferozepur, Fazilka, Bathinda, Mansa, Faridkot and Tarn Taran.” Dr Nayyar said, “The Faridkot unit will become operational soon and therefore we will be able to use this fish in this season itself. Cases of dengue
are reported until December and malaria throughout the year.” State Epidemiologist Dr Gagandeep Singh said, “Under ideal conditions, gambusia fish gives birth to more than 1,000 offspring in a span of one year. It starts breeding within 2-3 months of being introduced in a pond.”
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Sangrur district witnesses jump in institutional deliveries
Sangrur, September 8 The number of deliveries in government hospitals had begun increasing after the introduction of Mata Kaushalya Welfare Scheme about two years ago. Under the scheme, every woman, who delivers a baby in a government hospital, is given Rs 1,000, besides free diet and medicines at the hospital. The scheme was introduced to encourage institutional deliveries and reduce child mortality rate. In January, 305 deliveries were conducted at the hospital, followed by 249 in February, 275 in March, 229 in April, 286 in May, 319 in June and 378 in July. Dr Kuldip Singh, District Family Welfare Officer (DFWO), said under the Janani Suraksha Scheme, every woman belonging to a below poverty line (BPL) family or the Scheduled Caste community was
also given Rs 700 in rural area and Rs 600 in urban area.
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Docs oppose change in OPD timings
Patiala, September 8 PCMS Specialist Doctors Association’s state president Dr Kashmir Singh Sohal said, “Since they are also doing VIP, medico-legal and emergency duties and are on call for 24 hours, this move will put additional burden on them. Moreover, doctors are working seven days a week.” Dr Vikas Goyal, association spokesman, said the move would disrupt the smooth functioning of the already burdened health services in the state. — TNS
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Post-heavy rain, bug attacks paddy
Faridkot, September 8 To get rid of the bug, farmers in Bir Sikhan Wala and Kameana area of Faridkot are resorting to indiscriminate spraying of insecticides and chemicals. Since use of pesticides recommended by the Agriculture Department and the Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) are not making any visible impact on the rice leaf folder, cnaphalocrosis medinalis, many farmers are turning to a cocktail of synthetic insecticides and chemicals. Leaf folder is capable of defoliating or removing the chlorophyll content of leaves, which leads to a considerable reduction in the yield. Chief Agriculture Officer Sukhwant Singh said there was no need to panic as the bug has thrived only on some late-sown ‘basmati’ fields due to the prevailing humid weather. Experts in the Agriculture Department said high use of nitrogen (urea) followed by heavy rain was the main reason for the attack of the leaf folder. With heavy rainfall, farmers used more urea than what the PAU and the Agriculture Department had recommended. It resulted in high vegetative growth of paddy plants, inviting the leaf folder bug.
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810 biogas plants installed in Patiala
Patiala, September 8 State Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra said PEDA had given a subsidy of Rs 8,000 on installing biogas plants. — TNS
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Border farmers decry meagre compensation
Ferozepur, September 8 While talking to The Tribune, Karan Singh Dhaliwal, a farmer whose agricultural land is situated across the fence in DT Mal enclave, said the delay in their payment had added to farmers’ woes. Dhaliwal said the Rs 3,000 per acre compensation awarded by the state government was not enough, adding that the farmers needed whatever little relief they could get as their standing crops
had been damaged in the floods. “It will certainly provide us with some respite as no compensation had been granted to us since 1999 notwithstanding umpteen assurances by the politicians,” said Joginder Singh, another farmer. He demanded that the compensation for the period between 1999 and 2012 should also be provided at the earliest, adding that the compensation amount should be enhanced to at least Rs 10,000 per acre. The state Revenue Department had approved Rs 6 crore as compensation for border farmers from districts of
Ferozepur, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Pathankot and Fazilka. Sources said around 20,103 acres was spread across the fence in Punjab with maximum 4,984 acres in Ferozepur. The border farmers faced immense hardship in tilling their land owing to limited access due to security reasons, lack of resources, manpower and equipment close to the fence. Apart from Ferozepur, several districts have huge chunks of land across the fence. Fazilka has 4,477 acres, Amritsar (3,367 acres), Tarn Taran (3,589 acres), Gurdaspur (2,612 acres) and Pathankot (1,071 acres). Deputy Commissioner (DC) Manjit Singh Narang said the process of awarding compensation for the year 2012-13 had been initiated and would be completed soon. “Barring a few farmers, several have been compensated. The process is still underway,” the DC said. He further said an amount of Rs 1.48 crore would be distributed among the farmers
while no compensation would be paid for “gair mumkin” land. The last time, border farmers were compensated were in the year 1999-2000, when they were paid a meagre Rs 2,500. Despite several protests by the farmers, successive state and central governments have failed to redress their grievances. “During his visit to border areas in Punjab two years ago, the then Home Minister P Chidambaram had also promised to look into the matter but nothing has been done,” said farmer Jagdev Singh. The farmers have also been demanding compensation in lieu of their land, which was acquired by the defence authorities for building an 11 feet wide road along the Zero Line. Dhaliwal said they have not been compensated for DCBs (ditch cum bandhs) raised by the military on their land during the Kargil conflict. He further said some of the farmers had not even been recompensed for the 44 feet wide area,
which the Centre had acquired along the border to erect the barbed wire fencing.
Farmers' demands
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HC offers relief to
riot-hit company
Chandigarh, September 8 A bank withdrew its credit limit and the company was compelled to retrench its workers. But, it can now look forward to a one-time settlement (OTS), with the Punjab and Haryana High Court coming to its rescue. The company is still in business and is expected to be on its feet again after OTS. In its petition filed through senior advocate Anand Chhibbar, the company had challenged the cancellation of its OTS proposal by the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. Appearing before Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Augustine George Masih, Chhibbar said the company was initially carrying out the business at Faridabad. But as an aftermath of the then Prime Minister’s assassination in 1984, the factory was completely burnt in the riots, resulting in displacement of the promoters and their families. They were forced to shift to Kurali in Ropar district in early 1985. After the company account was declared a non performing asset with the disintegration of the USSR, a reference was filed under the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act before the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction in March 1999. The board in March 2006 recommended the company be wound up. Its appeal was dismissed by the appellate authority and the matter went to the Delhi High Court, where the company confined its relief to the consideration of the OTS application. During the petition’s pendency, the Punjab Government and the respondent-corporation floated OTS to facilitate development of industries in the state. The company applied for benefit and deposited approximately 15 per cent of the tentative OTS amount. In October 2011, the company sent cheques for Rs 16.24 lakh and Rs 1.99 lakh “for making good the 30 per cent amount as per the OTS policy”. Chhibbar argued the corporation did not encash the submitted cheques to cancel the OTS sanctioned in September 2011. The bench asserted apparently there was “some mix-up”. A cheque either did not reach the corporation or was not processed in time. “Keeping in view the peculiar facts and circumstances of the present case and also taking into consideration the admitted fact that the petitioner is riot affected…we are of the considered view that the ends of justice would be duly served by directing the company to show its bona fides by depositing Rs 10 lakh, along with the interest due….”
Looking back
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7 shot at in Harike clash
Tarn Taran, September 8 Sources said the accused included Jassa Singh, Jagpreet Singh, Manjit Singh, Amritpal Singh and Gurpreet Singh. Sukhwinder told the police that the accused, who came in a Tata Sumo vehicle, fired at least 30 shots. Sub Inspector Balraj Singh said no one had been arrested so far.
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Drive against illegal power connections
Amritsar, September 8 Committee state president Rasal Singh alleged that some political leaders had encouraged the farmers to go in for unapproved lines prior to the 2012 assembly elections in the state with an eye on electoral gains. However, the leaders did not bother to ensure that these connections were regularised later. He wondered as to what the PSPCL had been doing for the last couple of years when these connections were functioning. "We are totally against power theft. But, the PSPCL should have served them notices prior to initiating any action, offering them a chance to get their connections regularised." Rasal Singh alleged that the sudden crackdown against the farmers with the help of the police spread so much panic in rural areas that even the peasants using legal connections ran away from their fields. He demanded that these farmers should be immediately given fresh connections after following the due process, otherwise they would suffer huge crop losses. “At present, there is a dire need to water paddy and if left unattended, the crop will be ruined. Scores of farmers in about a dozen villages of Tarn Taran will have to bear the brunt," he said. Among these villages are Valtoha, Lakhna, Rajoke, Algo Kalan, Algo Khurd, and Kotli Rasala Singh, he informed. He said the people in one of these villages resorted to sloganeering against the PSPCL drive, after which around 35 person were detained. Jamhuri Kisan Sabha leader Rattan Singh Randhawa said it was sheer opportunism on the part of the political leaders who encouraged the farmers to resort to illegal means while failing to get their connections regularised at a later stage.
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70 held in drive against drugs in Fazilka
Fazilka, September 8 As much as 344 kg of poppy powder has been recovered from 40 persons involved in 35 cases of drug trafficking. Besides, 10.4 kg of opium has been seized from four persons, 300 gm smack from 10 persons and 7,510 intoxicating capsules from eight persons. The offensive has been launched as part of the government’s decision to curb the rising trend of addiction among the youth. “The district police has set another week’s target to free entire Fazilka from the menace of drug abuse,” said Senior Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh Grewal. For this, he said, a comprehensive policy had been worked out. “Forty additional personnel have been provided to each of the 10 police stations of the district to intensify the surveillance against peddlers. These officials have been deputed from the Police Lines and other wings of the department,” he said. After a week, the police station in charge shall be held responsible for the menace in his respective area, he said. “All the village panchayats have been summoned and directed to take a pledge to fight addiction. Some of the identified addicts in more than 10 villages have been directed to be sent to different de-addiction centres,” he said.
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Patiala, September 8
When former MLA Jugraj Singh Gill donated his five acres of land to Moga Red Cross in Jhaner village a few years ago, he was promised that an old-age home and a drug de-addiction centre would be developed.
Over five years later, there is no sign of the old-age home. A de-addiction centre was set up, but it runs with fits and starts due to lack of funds.
Developing infrastructure in SAARC countries was the need of the hour, said Sharanjit Singh
Dhillon, Minister for Public Works Department, Punjab, while addressing the delegates of the 12th Apex Body meet of SAARC Diploma Engineers Forum here today.
Farmers, who have land holdings across the barbed wire fencing along the India-Pakistan border in Mamdot block, are an aggrieved lot as they are yet to receive compensation of Rs 3,000 per acre for their land acquired by the government.
While talking to The Tribune, Karan Singh Dhaliwal, a farmer whose agricultural land is situated across the fence in DT Mal enclave, said the delay in their payment had added to farmers’ woes.
Owing to opposition to Manpreet's candidature within the Congress, the party is looking for a strong Congress candidate to take on sitting Member of Parliament Harsimrat Kaur Badal. 
Speaking to The Tribune today, Sidhu claimed that elections are far from his mind at this point of time. of now.