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Child labour goes unchecked at SAD leader’s farm
Jaitley will win big: Majithia
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At Hola Mohalla, Akalis, AAP flay EC ban
BJP still undecided on Gurdaspur seat
Labourers killed, bodies burnt inside car to claim insurance money
Three dry days set to dampen marriage revelry
Meharban has cheated Cong: Ex-MLA
Tewari in hospital, nomination delayed
Akali Dal to support INLD in Haryana
Workers resentful as Ghubaya kicks off campaign
BJP’s Hoshiarpur nominee faces challenge within
Cong MLA takes on spokesman for remark on PM
EC: Polling hours from 7 am to 6 pm
Poll expenditure: Even tea, samosa & kachori to count
Poll purse: Tewari spent highest in ’09
NGOs give lessons on clean Holi
Kandi belt residents have nothing to cheer about
Youth may tilt the scales in Sangrur
Cancer patients in Malwa show traces of metal, says study
Elderly couple found dead in Sangrur
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Child labour goes unchecked at SAD leader’s farm
Jalandhar, March 16
The farm is owned by Shiromani Akali Dal leader Gurdev Kaur Sangha, popular as the "Potato Queen". She is the former chairman of the Punjab State Women Commission. The children, it is learnt, belong to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Nepal. While several of them said they had come with their parents, a few alleged they were kidnapped by labour agents in their native villages and forcibly brought to Punjab to work as labourers. Sources said the families of two of the children had even filed a kidnapping case against a labour agent, Ram Chander, who had allegedly brought these children to the farm. The case is pending decision in a district court in Saharsa (Bihar). "Both the kidnapped children, Mithilesh and Surjit, are working in the fields here. Along with them, 35 more children have been brought from Madhepura village in Bihar," said a 12-year-old child labourer from Sitamarhi in Bihar. He alleged their monthly allowance was Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 but the contractor deducted half the amount citing expenses like toiletries, clothes and food. "We get only Rs 700 to Rs 900," he said. Sources said some of the children had been allegedly forced by their parents to accompany the labour contractors. "Poverty-stricken people fall in the trap of labour agents. They borrow money and when they are unable to repay it, they tell their children to accompany the agents to work on farms in Punjab, a state which faces perennial labour crisis," said sources. In most cases, the interest of the loaned amount exceeds the monthly salary of these children, which is paid to them after deduction by their contractor. As such, these children end up working for their contractors for years together. Though Sangha Farms boasts of being one of the biggest groups in the country, the child labourers are reportedly made to work in pathetic condition. Their day begins at 6 am and ends only after sunset. Today as well, these children were seen sweating out in the fields the entire day. Not only Sangha Farms, almost all sprawling fields in the area also had child labour employed by various contractors. Gurdev Kaur's son Jung Bahadur, who takes care of Sangha Farms, claimed he was "not aware about the issue, and that it was shocking". Jung Bahadur, though, accepted that he was aware about migrant labourers and their children working on his farms. He claimed he was unaware that children "were being kidnapped and then being brought to Punjab to work as child labour". "There may be children working in my fields along with their parents but none of them have been brought here illegally," he said. He admitted to having deployed Ram Chander as his labour contractor but claimed was "unaware that the latter was facing a kidnapping case in Bihar". "We never check or verify how labour is brought to our fields by agents," he said. Charanjeet Singh, a resident, said, "Children come here annually and keep on rotating throughout the year. They first come here in July during the paddy season and return to their villages for a while in March after the potato season. They again return back during the maize season in May… Contractors prefer to hire child labourers as it is easy to deduct their salaries by duping them citing various expenses," he said. About Sangha Farms
What the farm owner says There may be children working in my fields along with their parents but none of them have been brought here illegally… I am unaware that our labour contractor (Ram Chander) is facing a child kidnapping case in Bihar…. We never check or verify how labour is brought to our fields by
agents. Jung Bahadur, son of sad leader
Gurdev Kaur who manages Sangha Farms
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Jaitley will win big: Majithia
Amritsar, March 16 Majithia said Jaitley would emerge victorious with a huge margin and become the "voice of Punjab" in Parliament. He said though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh belonged to Amritsar, he had done little to ensure the city's development. On sitting Amritsar MP Navjot Singh Sidhu, he said: "He is like my elder brother. He has done well as an MP." He denied he had any differences with Sidhu. However, local Congress leaders claimed that Sidhu had been sidelined because Akali leaders were unhappy with him. Navjot Sidhu said what mattered most to him was the trust of Amritsar residents. He said he would discharge any responsibility given to him by the party high command and make all efforts to ensure Jaitley's win. "He is our pride and we will support him wholeheartedly. We will ensure that he gets a good lead in the Amritsar East assembly constituency represented by my wife," he said. On his future in politics, he said he believed in living in the present. Sidhu defeated senior Congress leader OP Soni in 2009 by a mere 6,858 votes, down by a whopping 90 per cent as compared to his victory in 2007 against then Finance Minister Surinder Singla by 77,626 votes. He won his first Lok Sabha election against Congress heavyweight RL Bhatia by over one lakh votes.
Congress in a fix
Meanwhile, Jaitley's candidature has put the Congress in a fix. The party may now field a celebrity from Amritsar. Already, there have been reports of the Congress approaching cricketers Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh. Among the local leaders, Punjab Congress vice-president and Amritsar Central legislator OP Soni is the front runner. He had lost to Sidhu by a thin margin in 2009. But this time a section of the party is opposed to him. The other contenders for the party ticket are Rajasansi MLA Sukh Sarkaria, Batala MLA Ashwani Sekhri, senior party leader Sukhpal Khaira and PPCC general secretary Sukhjinder Raj Singh Lalli
Majithia.
BJP leader to visit Amritsar on March 18 Amritsar: Arun Jaitley will visit the city on Tuesday. Preparations are afoot by SAD and BJP leaders to accord him a rousing reception. Jaitley will pay obeisance at the Golden Temple and the Durgiana Temple. He will address party workers at the BJP office at Khanna
Smarak. Navjot Sidhu’s rise and fall
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AAP, SAD flay EC ban at Anandpur Sahib
Anandpur Sahib, March 16 While Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal condemned the ban, alleging the EC had violated the rights of the Sikhs, Sumail Singh Sidhu, AAP state convener of the campaign committee, said there was no such rule in the Constitution of India that prevented political parties from holding conferences on private land during religious festivals. Yesterday, the EC had banned political rallies at Anandpur Sahib during Hola Mohalla, stating that political parties and candidates should desist from using religious places for election campaigns. It said political conferences should neither be held close to religious institutions or on grounds that are the property of institutions. Further, political conferences should not be held during religious festivals like Holi and Hola Mohalla, stated the EC in an order. Today a ‘kirtan darbar’ was held at the venue of the SAD conference near Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib. Leaders, including Badal, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, BJP leader and Industry Minister MM Mittal, Ropar MLA Daljeet Cheema and Prem Singh Chandumajra, candidate from Anandpur Sahib constituency, reached the spot. No posters with party symbols were displayed on the occasion. Badal was the only speaker at the SAD rally. He said in Sikhism religion and politics could not be separated. Condemning the order, Badal said the EC had violated the rights of Sikhs. “I am shocked at the decision of the EC. How do we organise political gatherings when every village and city has temples and gurdwaras,” he said. Later talking to mediapersons, Badal said now political parties would not be able to hold rallies on the occasion of Baisakhi at Talwandi Sabo. On the allegation that the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) is partial, he said the CEO was appointed by the EC. Hence, the ruling party could not interfere in the matter. At the AAP venue opposite the Panj Piara Park, campaign committee convener Sumail Singh Sidhu alleged the permission granted to them to hold a rally had been cancelled at the behest of the Congress. Sidhu said withdrawing the permission to hold a rally was against the rules. There was no such rule that prevented political parties from holding rallies on private land during religious festivals, he said.
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BJP still undecided on Gurdaspur seat
Gurdaspur, March 16 The party has named senior leader Arun Jaitley and Vijay Sampla as its candidates from the Amritsar and Hoshiarpur seats, respectively. The nominee from the Gurdaspur seat was also expected to be announced last night, but last-minute pulls and pressures put senior leaders in a bind forcing them to defer naming the candidate to March 19 when the party comes out with its last list of nominees. Sources say it is a toss-up between three-time Gurdaspur MP Vinod Khanna and industrialist Swaran Salaria. Khanna has the backing of a powerful section of senior leaders, including LK Advani, while Salaria is being backed by former party president Nitin Gadkari and some senior Punjab leaders. Yoga guru Baba Ramdev is pitching in for the Salaria, who joined the party five years ago. Both Salaria and Khanna have been camping in New Delhi for the past few days to impress upon the high command. Khanna is accompanied by his industrialist wife Kavita Khanna, who has was a member of the party’s national executive. A senior leader said the party’s parliamentary board and the election committee had cleared Khanna’s name for seat, but his candidature was put on hold at the last minute as Baba Ramdev and Gadkari mounted pressure on some leaders to ensure that Salaria got the ticket. To avoid confrontation, the high command deferred announcing the candidate till March 19. Khanna told The Tribune from New Delhi that the top leadership was apprised of the work he had done in the constituency during his 11-year tenure as MP from 1998 till 2009. After winning the seat for three successive terms, Khanna lost it in the 2009 elections when Punjab Congress chief and sitting Gurdaspur MP Partap Singh Bajwa beat him by nearly 8,000 votes. “I am committed to
serving the people of Gurdaspur. I will continue to serve them irrespective of what happens,”
Khanna added. Vying for ticket
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Labourers killed, bodies burnt inside car to claim insurance money Amritsar, March 16 The investigations revealed that Surinder Singh, the accused and the owner of the car, allegedly killed two migrant labourers and placed the bodies inside the car before setting it ablaze to make it look like an accident. Interestingly, family members of the car owner identified one of the bodies as that of Surinder. The bodies were badly charred. The police have booked Surinder Singh and his family members under the charges of murder, kidnapping and criminal conspiracy. Besides Surinder, others booked in the case are his wife Jasbir Kaur, his sons Sukhchain Singh, Mukhtiar Singh and Sukhwant Singh, Sahib Singh, Nishan Singh, Avtar Singh and Ranjit Singh, all relatives of Surinder. During investigations, the police also booked Sukhchain’s wife Sarabjit Kaur. A case has been registered at Chatiwind police station. Jasbir Kaur, Sukhchain Singh, Sarabjit Kaur and Sahib Singh have been arrested. The incident occurred near Manawala on the Amritsar-Jalandhar highway on January 22. The deceased were later “identified” as Surinder Singh (58) and Sahib Singh. Jasbir Kaur, wife of Surinder Singh, had stated to the police that her husband Surinder along with Sahib Singh and another person was going to Chandigarh in their car for a health check-up when the car caught fire, killing them on the spot. Rajeshwar Singh Sidhu, SP(D) Amritsar Rural, said when they found that Surinder Singh had procured insurance cover worth Rs1.50 crore and Sahib Singh had the insurance worth Rs 26 lakhs, they got suspicious. During the probe, it was found that Surinder and Sahib, who claimed to have died in the car mishap, were alive. Sahib Singh has been arrested. He said raids were being conducted to nab the other culprits. The conspiracy came to light when an NGO headed by former High Court Judge Ajit Singh Bains got suspicious. He approached senior police officials and sought a thorough probe. The probe conducted by the police had raised many questions, but the case had been closed.
Sordid tale
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Seven killed, 12 hurt in accidents
Patiala/Hoshiarpur, March 16
Four occupants of a car, including three women, were killed on the spot following a head-on collision between their car and a Punjab Roadways Transport Corporation bus on the Landran-Banur road near Patiala today. The victims are Indru Bala (38), her daughter Kiran Bala (17), Sharla Devi (37) and car driver Ashok Kumar. The police said the accident took place around 8.30 am. The bus was coming from Landran. "The mother- daughter duo had probably taken lift in the car as they were not known to the other occupants," said the police. While Ashok Kumar belonged to Karnal, the other occupants were from Balachaur. The police have registered a case and detained the bus driver for questioning in Banur. In another mishap in Hoshiarpur last night, three persons were killed while 12 sustained injuries in a collision between two buses when one of them was trying to overtake a tractor-trailer near Uchi Bassi. While two of the dead were occupants of the buses, a motorcyclist too got crushed between the two vehicles.
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Three dry days set to dampen marriage revelry
Patiala, March 16 Highly placed sources said the EC was most likely to declare three dry days in view of the Lok Sabha elections. While the formal orders are awaited, the Excise and Taxation Department is making sure that no licences to serve liquor are issued for these three
days. Asiem Gupta, a Ludhiana resident, said: “I have my brother’s wedding scheduled for April 29. The sangeet ceremony will be held on April 28. Now I if no liquor is allowed to be served, he celebrations will remain subdued. We can’t even change the dates as invitation cards have already been printed, but we may shift the venue to Chandigarh”. Liquor traders are not happy as well. April is the first month of their trade after a fresh auction of vends. “April will have three dry days which will cost us dear in the first month itself,” said a businessman who will bid for a liquor
licence. During the 2012 assembly elections, the EC had two dry days before polling and one on the day of polling. Jaideep Narula of Star Wedding Planners said: “I have already got four cancellations and three requests for postponement of functions. I have advised my clients to shift venue out of Punjab if they cannot hold their functions without liquor”. An excise official said: “All liquor vends will remain closed on these days. We stand by the EC’s move since the chances of misuse of liquor to influence the voters are high especially when 60 per cent of the liquor trade is run by politicians and their aides.” Additional Chief Electoral Officer Raminder Singh said: “Under no circumstances, liquor could be allowed 48 hours before polling. We will soon issue formal orders. People should make arrangements accordingly to avoid inconvenience”. Polls play spoilsport I have already got four cancellations and three requests for postponement of functions. I have advised my clients to shift venue out of Punjab if they cannot hold their functions without
liquor. Jaideep Narula, star wedding planners All liquor vends will remain closed on these days. We stand by the EC's move since the chances of misuse of liquor to influence the voters are high especially when 60% of the liquor trade is run by politicians and their
aides. Raminder Singh, Additional Chief Electoral Officer
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More Congress leaders rebel, join Akali Dal
Chandigarh, March 16 The state Congress has seen the flight of many senior leaders in the past one year. With two-time former Congress MLA Ishar Singh Meharban and senior leader Rajbir Padiala switching loyalties to the rival SAD today, the state Congress leadership has come under sharp criticism. All the leaders who have quit the party in the last one year have accused Bajwa of failing to lead from the front; carrying senior party men along; and disturbing seniority within the party rank and file. Earlier, his declaration of the PPCC office-bearers' list had led to a revolt in the party, forcing the high command to send its emissaries to restore peace. At least seven senior leaders have quit the party since March last year. These include Talwandi Sabo MLA Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu (who has now resigned), former MLAs Ajit Singh Shant, Avtar Singh Brar, Malkit Singh Birmi, Ravinder Singh Sandhu Bubble, Ishar Singh Meharban and senior party leader Rajbir Singh Padiala. Former Congress MLA Surjit Singh Dhiman has also decided to contest the Lok Sabha poll as an Independent against party candidate Vijay Inder Singla from Sangrur. On his part, Bajwa is dismissive of this flight of Congressmen to the Akali Dal. "These are not prominent leaders. Moreover, those who have left the party are doing so for their personal gains and reasons other than politics. I believe that the party will be cleansed," he told The Tribune, adding that the situation was much worse in neighbouring Haryana where a sitting Congress MP, an MLA and a chief parliamentary secretary have defected to other parties. However, Bajwa's bête noire and former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh feels that this flight of Congressmen was demoralising for the party. "The leader of a party has to have a big heart and an open mind. He has to lead from the front. He has to repose faith in his party men and carry them along in all decision making," he said in an oblique reference to Bajwa's style of functioning. Capt Amarinder said during his tenure as PPCC chief, only one MLA, Joginder Pal Jain, had left the party while he had got more than 20 Akalis into the Congress-fold like Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon, Ajit Singh Mofar, Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu and Harminder Gill. While Bajwa remains dismissive on the issue, his rival Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal seems to be getting an edge. "Soon you will see that the Congress will be a party without any leader as most of them are approaching us to become Akalis," he told mediapersons while inducting Meharban and Padiala into the party this morning. Sukhbir said more Congress MLAs would soon join the Akali Dal. Bajwa refuted these claims, saying Sukhbir had a "use-and-throw" policy. "The leaders who had earlier joined the SAD have realised that the Akalis are using them. Shant was promised the Lok Sabha ticket from Faridkot as a trade-off, but it was not done. He is now ready to return to the Congress if we promise him the ticket. Even Meharban met me four days ago, requesting ticket from Fatehgarh Sahib. Since I expressed my reservations, he joined the SAD," he added. Padiala back with SAD Punjab’s ‘Taksali’ leader Rajbir Singh Padiala, who had left the SAD to join the Congress five years ago, today returned to the SAD. The Deputy CM welcomed him back at a function in Padiala village of Kurali this morning. He announced that now on, Padiala would be incharge of every developmental work in his area. The Akali district president, Ujagar Singh Badali, and his supporters did not attend the function. Facing severe criticism
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Meharban has cheated Cong: Ex-MLA
Jagraon, March 16 The party had trusted him by giving him the ticket to contest the last assembly elections from Jagraon. "By deserting the Congress, Meharban has not only cheated the party but also the people of Jagraon," he said. Congress leaders Pritam Singh Akhara and Gopal Sharma alleged the party workers as well as people of Jagraon never liked Meharban because he was an outsider. The workers were feeling relieved with Meharban leaving the party, they claimed. PPCC general secretary Major Singh Bhaini said Meharban's move would prove beneficial for the party ahead of Lok Sabha elections.
— OC
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Tewari in hospital, nomination delayed
Ludhiana, March 16 They said the MP had not declined to contest. He was admitted to a south Delhi hospital owing to a heart ailment. Certain medical investigations were being carried out, but he would visit Ludhiana on March 18 as per schedule, they said. Earlier while talking to The Tribune on the phone, Tewari (48) had reiterated that he would only contest from Ludhiana. He had refuted reports that he was keen to contest from Chandigarh. Political analysts say the delay in Tewari's nomination may cost the Congress dear. Candidates of other parties, including SAD-BJP, AAP and even Independent Simarjit Bains, have already started their campaign.
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Kejri to leave for Varanasi on martyrdom day
Chandigarh. March 16 He urged party activists all over the country to reach Varnasi on March 23. The Punjab unit of AAP had planned to invite Kejriwal to the martyr's native village Khatkar Kalan on March 23. It had planned a roadshowon the occasion. Bhagwant Mann, AAP candidate from Sangrur, said Punjabi youths donning saffron turbans would leave for Varanasi on March 23.
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Akali Dal to support INLD in Haryana
Anandpur Sahib, March 16 Badal has had close relations with the Chautalas since the days of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi
Lal. Badal had recently mediated between the BJP national leadership and the INLD leadership in order to help engineer an alliance for the parliamentary poll. However, the INLD chose to fight the poll alone, while the BJP preferred to forge an alliance with the Haryana Janhit Congress in Haryana. On being asked why the two parties couldn’t form an alliance for the elections, Badal said it was the choice of both the parties.
Badal further said the SAD had always supported the INLD in Haryana and this time too it would support them. On the prospects of the SAD candidates winning the elections, he said there was a wave in favour of the NDA and the common man was fed up with the Congress. He said the Congress had failed on all fronts, including security at borders and in the country, black money and corruption.
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Workers resentful as Ghubaya kicks off campaign
Abohar, March 16 Most of the state executive members of different wings and other senior functionaries were conspicuous by their absence. Former BJP MLA Ram Kumar Goyal though endorsed workers’ resentment against Ghubaya for the latter's “non-performance”, he urged the supporters to work for the party to ensure Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre. For “poor” development in his constituency, Ghubaya blamed factionalism in the party. He, however, assured the party workers that he would work hard if re-elected and clear backlog on development front within two years.
Trouble brewing Most of the state executive members and senior leaders were conspicuous by their absence
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DCC posers to Rahul during video conference
Amritsar, March 16 Through a video conference conducted from the party headquarters in New Delhi, Rahul answered several of DCC (Rural) Gurjeet Singh Aujla’s questions. Various block heads of the Amritsar Rural Congress also attended the session that lasted nearly 10 minutes. During the session, Aujla asked why the Congress high command had failed to hold anyone responsible for the wrong distribution of tickets in the 2012 assembly election. —TNS
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BJP’s Hoshiarpur nominee faces challenge within
Hoshiarpur, March 16 Why so? Fissures in the BJP runs deep, so much so leaders of the two main factions do not attend the party programmes of another. There are two main groups in the BJP’s district unit — one led by Chief Minister’s adviser Tikshan Sud and the other by Rajya Sabha MP Avinash Rai Khanna. And both don’t see eye to eye. The recent membership drive launched by the Tikshan faction was a case in point. “During the last membership drive, the Tikshan’s faction governing the party affairs had refused to provide membership forms and receipts to us. Now, let them collect the notes and we will do the rest,” Khanna’s political secretary Sanjiv Talwar said. He was referring to BJP’s “Ek note, ek vote” campaign. Parallel party functions have become a common thing in Hoshiarpur. Be it a function on the party’s foundation day or the Republic Day or the “chai pe charcha”, no one from Khanna group was present. Even during “Ek note, ek vote” campaign, Khanna group was missing. In such a situation, it seems difficult for Sampla to make a balance between the two factions. Shiv Sud, BJP district president, said: “We will act as per the party’s strategy to ensure Narendra Modi becomes the Prime Minister. It is a common cause and invites should not be sent out for party
programmes.”
Wrangling
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Cong MLA takes on spokesman for remark on PM
Chandigarh, March 16 In a statement, Pinki differed with Chacko that the Prime Minister had not done enough to project the achievements of the UPA Government as he remained tight-lipped during most of his tenure. According to Chacko, it was his disconnect with the people and the communication gap that would prove costly in the elections. Pinki said Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was working hard to ensure the UPA’s victory for the third time. “No party leader should make observations that can demoralise the party rank and file. The senior leaders should stand like a rock behind the young leader, who has a modern vision for India,” he said. The legislator said that rather than talking about Prime Minister’s so-called disconnect, Chacko should explain as to what role he played to project the achievements of the government as a party spokesperson and a senior leader. “Chacko could have addressed a press conference every week to highlight the achievements of the government. Rather than finding fault with the senior leaders such as Manmohan Singh, one should introspect about own’s role.” Pinki claimed that the achievements of the pro-people policies of the UPA Government under Manmohan Singh were spectacular and the party was committed to carry forward its agenda of empowering common man. He made it clear that the issue was not about reconciling to the situation and being prepared to sit in the opposition as had been made out by Chacko, but fighting the elections with determination to deal a crushing blow to the anti-people and communal forces represented by the
NDA.
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Maluka's son quits YAD post
PPP, Congress bonhomie
Cong MP Bittu performs seva
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EC: Polling hours from 7 am to 6 pm
Chandigarh, March 16 Under the provision of Section 56 of the Representation of People’s Act 1951, the commission is empowered to fix polling duration, which shall not be less than eight hours. A spokesman of the office of Punjab Chief Electoral Officer said polling in all parliamentary constituencies of the state would be conducted from 7 am to 6 pm. The spokesman said the decision had come after taking into account various factors, including extreme hot weather. He said the move would help voters to turn out in large numbers to exercise their franchise. The commission has also directed District Election Officers to give wide publicity about polling hours in their respective constituencies.
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Poll expenditure: Even tea, samosa & kachori to count
Patiala, March 16 Among others things that will be taken into consideration will be the quantity of
ladoos, samosas, kachoris and cups of tea/coffee and mineral water offered by candidates to supporters. Garlands used to felicitate leaders will also be counted. To ensure transparency and a level playing field for all candidates, the deputy commissioners will fix rates for all things used during canvassing. In the past, different candidates quoted different amount for similar items to show their poll expenditure within EC limits. The EC has now made it mandatory for the district election officers to make a list of items used during electioneering. The items will be put under various categories. The list will be handed over to every party and
candidate. Gopal Krishan Singh, Deputy Commissioner, Patiala, said: "We have prepared a list of items for which rates will be fixed. The move is to keep uniformity in calculating poll expenditure". Rates for using helicopters will also be fixed, but separate charges will be levied on candidates constructing helipads if used only for electioneering.
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Poll purse: Tewari spent highest in ’09
Muktsar, March 16 Vijay Inder
Singla, Congress MP from Sangrur, had declared the lowest expenditure at
Rs 7.24 lakh during the last
elections. BJP MP from Amritsar Navjot Singh Sidhu was second on the lost. He had declared that he had spent
Rs 17.03 lakh. He was followed by SAD MP from Ferozepur, Sher Singh Ghubaya, who had declared his expenditure at
Rs 16.82 lakh. Congress MP from Jalandhar Mohinder Singh Kaypee had declared his expenses at
Rs 15,83 lakh. Congress MP from Anandpur Sahib Ravneet Singh Bittu had declared his expenses at
Rs 14.75 lakh. Patiala MP Preneet Kaur had declared her election expenditure at
Rs 14.39 lakh. Congress MP from Hoshiarpur, Santosh Chowdhary, had declared her expenses at
Rs 12.45 lakh. Gurdaspur MP Partap Singh Bajwa had declared his election expenditure at
Rs 11.61 lakh. SAD’s Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal had spent Rs
11 lakh during polls. She had, however, received Rs 10.6-lakh grant, meaning she spent
Rs 39,704 only on her own.
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NGOs give lessons on clean Holi
Abohar, March 16 The Morning Club organised a laughter session at Nehru Park and advised its members to shun harmful China-made colours and products that caused pollution. Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle members cautioned a gathering in Gurdwara Azeemgarh on the ill-effects of chemicals and dyes on both health and environment. Later, the organisation held a painting competition for children at Nehru Park where a documentary on environment preservation was screened. The top three winners were awarded. The members of the NGO also picked polythene carrybags littered at the sprawling lawns of Nehru Park. They asked the children to keep their environs clean and observe a clean Holi this time.
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Kandi belt residents have nothing to cheer about
Janauri (Hoshiarpur), March 16 The Tribune team visited some of the villages in the Kandi belt to find out the ground reality. Poor health services
Notwithstanding the state government’s claims of providing good healthcare in rural areas, there is shortage of physicians as well as essential medicines at health institutes. A visit to the Community Health Centre in Hariana village brought to light that even medicines
like paracetamol were out of stock. Only two doctors were posted at the centre despite the fact that it caters to 80 villages. One of the doctors at the centre, Dr Simran admitted that essential medicines remained out of stock and in case of an emergency, they had to purchase medicines from private chemists with their own money. Since the medicines were unavailable, the board listing the medicines available at the centre was kept out of sight. It is mandatory to disclose this information to the patients. MB Khanna, president of the Hariana Village Town Welfare Committee, said, “Specialist doctors only visit the centre on a rotational basis. It is unfortunate that the government has no concern for the people living in the remote areas of the Kandi belt,” he rued. The situation in other health centres of the Kandi belt is no different. Infrastructure lacking
Almost a decade and half ago, the then state government had begun the process of setting up a Focal Point in Janauri village. Today, with not even a brick laid on the land marked for the Focal Point, herds of cattle are seen grazing here. Furthermore, the Pashu Bhalai Kendra in the village lays abandoned. The condition of the veterinary dispensary in the village is also deplorable. “Every election, politicians promise to sort out our problems and develop the area, but once the poll is over, all is forgotten,” said residents of
Bassi Wazad and Khetran villages. The state of the roads in the area is also poor with no roads having been built in several villages. Residents have also complained that there is no public transport in the area. “Neither the Punjab Roadways nor the PRTC runs a bus service in the Kandi belt. Due to this, people have a hard time commuting in the area,” say residents. Moreover, power cuts in the Kandi belt are long and the issue has not been addressed for over a decade. Menace of wild animals
Wild animals destroying the crops in the area have also troubled the residents for long. Farmer Randhir Singh said, “We already have to toil hard on our land since it is not very fertile, wild boar, sambhar and monkeys compound our woes.” The inhabitants of Dholbaha village in the area said wild animals also lead to several road accidents. “But despite our repeated requests, the state government has not addressed the problem,” said Jasminder of Tappa village. Museum in a shambles
The museum here that houses sculptures from across the Dholbaha area in Hoshiarpur that is of archaeological value is dilapidated. Dholbaha has been in existence since prehistoric times. Based on the artefacts recovered from here, scholars are of the opinion that Dholbaha was among the early inhabited regions of the world. The museum is protected under the Punjab Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1964. The sculptures at the museum have not been maintained.
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Youth may tilt the scales in Sangrur
Sangrur, March 16 The gender ratio of the voters in the constituency is poor with 879 females for every 1,000 males. The constituency has 7,46,283 male voters and 6,56,024 female voters. Moreover, there are 26,914 voters in the age group of above 80 in the constituency. RTI activist Kamal Anand said in light of the results of the previous two Lok Sabha elections (2004 and 2009), the role of young voters (up to 29 years of age) would be very important. He said the winning margin was 40,872 votes in the 2009 elections and 27,277 votes in 2004.
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Physically challenged protest in Jyani’s village
Fazilka, March 16 They squatted on a road leading to the minister’s house on the Fazilka-Abohar road, 22 km from here. The protesters led by union’s district president Baljit Singh and state senior vice-president Sukhdev Singh Sukh alleged that the state government had adopted a “dilly-dallying” attitude towards their long-pending demands. They want that the handicapped persons securing 40 per cent marks in ETT (Elementary Teachers’ Training) and B Ed Teachers’ Eligibility tests should be considered qualified for the government jobs and the backlog of vacant posts in government departments and semi-government bodies should be cleared by direct recruitment. Their other demands are increase in the amount of monthly pension from Rs 250 to Rs 3,500, free travel in buses and trains, facilities on par with government employees, 5-marla plots, 200 units of free electricity per month and increase in reservation from existing 3 per cent to 12 per cent. They union threatened that if their demands were not met, they would launch negative propaganda against the government for the injustice meted out to them. Elaborate security arrangements were made at the sight of the dharna by the Police administration.
Their long-pending demands
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Cancer patients in Malwa show traces of metal, says study
Faridkot, March 16 The study was conducted on 49 cancer patients and 50 healthy persons (control group) from the families of the cancer patients in the Malwa region. The control group comprised 27 men and 23 women, while the group of cancer patients constituted of 17 men and 32 women. The cancer group included 15 breast cancer patients. For the study, hair samples of the cancer patients and the control group were collected during December 2012 to January 2013.The hair samples were tested for the presence aluminum, arsenic, barium, cadmium, manganese, lead, strontium and uranium. The study indicated high concentration of several elements in the hair samples of cancer patients. Compared with standard reference ranges, the mean concentration of aluminum, barium, manganese, strontium and uranium exceeded reference ranges in both control and cancer groups. Uranium, the highest mean concentration was found in the breast cancer group, exceeding the reference six fold. South African clinical metal toxicologist Dr Carin Smith, who was here yesterday, confirmed the excess concentration of uranium and other heavy metals leading to cancer in Punjab. — TNS
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Undertrial planning to contest against Harsimrat attacked in jail
Faridkot, March 16 Harsimrat Kaur, wife of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, of the Akali Dal is pitted against her brother-in-law Manpreet Badal (Congress-PPP) from the segment. Incidentally, Seghal is also the complainant in a 1999 poll violence case lodged against Sukhbir. Faridkot Jail Superintendent Kulwinder Singh confirmed that there was a clash between Sehgal and two other inmates. “We have sent a report to the police for necessary action after recording the statements of both the parties,” the jail official said. Sehgal has appealed in the court of the District And Session Judge, Faridkot, demanding permission to enter the election arena. “To contest elections, I have to visit the office of the District Election Officer and other government departments to complete various formalities related to nomination papers,” he wrote in his application. The Jail Superintendent attested Sehgal’s application before it was filed in the court. The court will decide on it on March 21. Sukhbir is facing a criminal case after Sehgal filed a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the Deputy Chief Minister in 2001. But the case was registered on June 21, 2002, following directions from the High Court. In October last year, Sehgal was arrested in an alleged abetment to suicide case. The complainant in the suicide case is a local resident, Mangal Singh, who blamed Sehgal for the suicide of his 20-year-old son Amritpal Singh. However, Sehgal alleged that he was implicated on Sukhbir’s order to pressure him to withdraw the complaint. Two months ago, Sehgal had approached the Governor alleging that he had been implicated in the case. He also demanded a CBI probe into the case. Sehgal alleged that “some Akali leaders and police officers had hatched a conspiracy to engage him in a false case so that he succumbed to pressure and withdrew the case against Sukhbir”. In his counter-complaint, he had also claimed that the youth had died of police torture after some policemen nabbed him for eve-teasing at the Dasehra ground. Sehgal had also sent some photographs and a video clip of the Dasehra function, which purportedly showed the police picking up the youth and taking him to the police station before his death. Alleging conspiracy
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Elderly couple found dead in Sangrur
Sangrur, March 16 The couple has been identified as Mohinder Singh and his wife Gurmail Kaur. Station House Officer (SHO) of the city police station, Harinder Singh, said after receiving information about the bodies from an area resident, they reached the house and took the bodies into their possession. The bodies have been kept at the mortuary of the Civil Hospital here. A post-mortem examination would be conducted tomorrow, he said. “The cause of death would be ascertained only after the post-mortem examination report,” the SHO said. The police official said when the couple failed to open the door till the evening, their neighbours broke open the main Later, the neighbours also broke the door of the closed room where the bodies of the couple were found. He said the couple’s son had been informed about the incident. The police have registered a case.
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In an act of child labour, a practice prohibited by law, hundreds of children, most of them in the age group of five to 10 years, were today found working at Sangha Farms here.
The SAD and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today criticised the Election Commission (EC) for banning parties from holding political conferences at Hola
Mohalla. While Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal condemned the ban, alleging the EC had violated the rights of the Sikhs, Sumail Singh
Sidhu, AAP state convener of the campaign committee, said there was no such rule in the Constitution.
With successive governments turning a blind eye to the problems of the people residing in the Kandi belt, this sub-mountainous region depicts a picture of neglect. People complain about the poor medical facilities, poor roads, long power cuts and wild animals destroying their crops.
The members of the Union for the Handicapped People, Punjab, protested in the Health Minister Surjit Kumar Jyani’s native village of Kathera today.
2004: Enters politics, defeats RL Bhatia (Cong) by 1 lakh votes
The Election Commission’s move to observe April 28, 29 and 30 as dry days in the state has dampened the spirits of those who have wedding of their close relatives scheduled for these days.
It is (leaders quitting Cong) demoralising for the party. The leader of a party has to have an open mind. He has to lead from the front. He must repose faith in his party men and carry them along in all decision
making.
The leaders who had earlier joined the SAD have realised that the Akalis are using them. Shant was promised the Lok Sabha ticket from Faridkot, but it was not done. Meharban too wants ticket from Fatehgarh
Sahib.
