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Price revision delay forces Panem to cut coal supply
Power corp flip-flops on coal shortage
CMD says he won’t be ‘blackmailed’
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Sangrur set to record highest wheat yield in country, again
2.4 lakh tonnes procured in Fatehgarh Sahib
4,000 quacks on the loose in Majha
Wall paintings at Golden Temple regain glitter
Manpreet to meet CJ on poll ‘malpractices’ by SAD
Manpreet Singh Badal, Congress-PPP-CPI candidate from Bathinda, today said that he had sought an appointment with the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to apprise him of the "malpractices" adopted by the ruling Akali Dal and the high-handedness of the state police during the April 30 elections.
Jaitley, not Priyanka, arrogant: Capt
Former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Sigh today lashed out at BJP leader Arun Jaitley for calling Priyanka Gandhi arrogant. In a statement, Amarinder said Jaitley's attitude "smacks of high- headedness and arrogance." He said both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka were known to be affable.
Pakistan to expand facilities at ICP, says Lahore chamber prez
Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) president Sohail Lashari has said the Pakistan Government is committed to boost the Indo-Pak bilateral trade and a blueprint is being prepared to expand trade facilities at their side of the Integrated Check Post (ICP).
Claims on road safety campaigns
State govt fails to implement child health programme
Employees to get DA arrears in 3 months
Majithia performs ‘sewa’
25% complaints received by Sangrur election cell were anonymous
CM reviews progress of memorials
Advocate Jagdeep Singh Bajwa in police custody in Faridkot on Tuesday. Tribune photo
Protesters seek repair of roads in Phagwara
Note-for-vote scam videos
may be sent to forensic lab
Photo row event 2 years old: Ramdev
Bhupinder Preet is executive member of Sahitya Akademi
Probing tax evasion, I-T team raids liquor godowns
Soon, B Sc to be taught in Punjabi
DC seeks reply on official’s absence
Nabha school headmaster honoured
Faridkot consumer body rejects pleas against telecom firms
DGP Sharma to face
trial for murder
Man held for demanding ransom
Trailer loaded with sand seized
suicide case
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Price revision delay forces Panem to cut coal supply
New Delhi, May 6 Reports said in the event of Panem reducing the supply of coal due to “low” rates being given by the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), the power generation would be hit ahead of the strong summer months and the start of the paddy season. Sources in the state power corporation said senior state ministers and PSPCL officials had reviewed the situation and were looking for a solution to the standoff. The PSPCL has already floated tenders to buy 2,100 MW till June 30 due to shortage of power from own sources as a result of short supply of coal by Panem. While the matter has been taken up by the PSPCL with Panem officials, sources said the coal supplier’s demand of price revision was justified. The PSPCL’s rejection of the demand has led the matter to be referred for arbitration with the promise by the corporation to complete the proceedings expeditiously. It has emerged that the arbitrators have not even taken up the matter even after over eight months of it having been filed, forcing Panem to reduce the supply of coal. The supplier reportedly wants the arbitrator to take a decision and would accordingly abide by the same, the sources said. They said Panem was seeking a review in pricing as it was facing a perennial loss on account of surface transportation (of 53 km distance), since the actual cost incurred by the project worked out to much more than the reimbursement received from the PSPCL as per Coal India Limited’s norm applicable for distance of 20 km. The company was also facing major law and order situation at the mining site due to Maoists attacks, they said. The sources added Panem was also suffering loss due sizing charges, overloading and underloading charges levied by the Railways, deduction on account of diverted rakes, quality deviation/moisture content, for which it had sought a compensation from the
PSPCL.
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Power corp flip-flops on coal shortage
But what has landed Chaudhri in an embarrassing situation is the denial as well as the acceptance, though indirectly, that the PSPCL is running short of coal. "There is no shortage of coal, as is being projected," he said in a press release issued today. But in the same statement, he said, "Coal is being conserved to meet the higher demand of power during the paddy season." The latter part, thus, indicates that the PSPCL is facing coal shortage. PSPCL Member (Generation) GS Chabra also confirmed coal shortage: "We have been facing coal shortage since last month. We are conserving our own stock to ensure we have plenty of it during the peak paddy season." He said power was currently being purchased from outside, on a par or a bit higher rates. Chaudhri said a few units of PSPCL thermal plants had been backed down due to more availability of power from new or upcoming plants of Rajpura and other plants in the central sector such as UMPP-Mundra in Gujarat and Sasan in Madhya Pradesh. "The power from these plants is cheaper, which led to obvious decision of backing down own thermal plants and buying power at lower cost, something that is a commercial decision," it read. On the issues with Panem, he said parleys were on and these (less or no supply) would be resolved over the next few days. However, in an official letter shot by the PSPCL Chief Engineer (Fuel) on April 9, it was highlighted that coal supply by Panem Coal Mines had been suspended. "It is requested that necessary action for meeting power demand may be taken accordingly at your end," reads the letter, a copy of which is in the possession of The Tribune. The today's release also gave details of coal conservation to meet the higher demand during the paddy season. The CMD said at Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant in Ropar, coal stock sufficient for 24 days was available. At Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant in Lehra Mohabbat, the stock could last 12 days. The Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant at Bathinda had supply for 17 days. He claimed regular coal rakes were arriving at all the three thermal plants. But sources said sufficient stock could be due to the suspension of most of the units — nine of the 14 — at these plants.
What the PSPCL said PSPCL CMD KD Chaudhrisaid in a press release issued on Tuesday: "There is no shortage of coal, as is being projected." But in the same statement, he said, "Coal is being conserved to meet the higher demand of power during the paddy season." The latter part, as such, indicates that the PSPCL is facing coal shortage, which has purportedly forced it to go in for conservation.
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CMD says he won’t be ‘blackmailed’
Speaking to The Tribune, Chaudhry said, “We have signed a long-term agreement with the company for the supply of coal and any mid-term enhancement in the price is unwarranted,” he maintained. Chaudhry, however, ruled out any power crisis in the state due to the closure of several units of thermal plants at Bathinda, Lehra Mohabbat and Ropar due to coal shortage. The PSPCL is purchasing power from the open market at Rs 2.59 per unit, as against the generation cost (variable) of Rs 2.70 per unit. “When power is available at a cheaper rate in the open market, it is a good financial decision to shut down the thermal plants,” he said, claiming that the PSPCL was successfully meeting the present demand of some 5,700 MW. Chaudhry said the process had been put in motion for the purchase of additional 2,100 MW power to meet the rise in the demand during the paddy-sowing season.
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Sangrur set to record highest wheat yield in country, again
Sangrur, May 6 Crop-cutting experiments are conducted to obtain fair, precise and accurate estimate of yield of principal crops such as wheat. These experiments are conducted through stratified random sampling technique. In 2012-13, the district had topped the country with 5,169 kg per hectare wheat yield, while in 2011-12, per hectare yield was recorded at 5,494 kg wheat yield, again a record. Of the 589 villages in nine blocks of the district, the Agriculture Department selected 93 villages for the “crop-cutting experiments”. The District Agriculture Office was told by the department to conduct two “crop-cutting experiments” each in the 93 villages. It is expected that total production of wheat in 2013-14 in the district will be 15.65 lakh metric tonne (MT). The In the previous year, the production was recorded at 14.73 lakh MT. Wheat is sown on about 2.85 lakh hectares in the district. Chief Agriculture Officer Dr Rajinder Singh Sohi told the Tribune today that he had received results of 160 crop-cutting experiments (out of 186) from across the district. As per the experiment results, per hectare wheat yield has been recorded as 5,511 kg. Dr Sohi further said that after getting the results of all 186 crop-cutting experiments, there might be a slight change in the per hectare yield of wheat. In light of this, he was of the firm view that the district would top the country for the third consecutive year in per hectare wheat yield. Dwelling on the reasons behind the high yield of wheat in the district during 2013-14, Dr Sohi said that besides long winter spell, favourable weather conditions and disease and insect-free production of crop, the Agriculture Department contributed a lot to this direction. “The department provided farmers Propiconazole, a fungicide, on time to protect the crop from yellow rust. Besides, it organised several camps to impart technical know-how to the farmers,” the Chief Agriculture Officer added.
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2.4 lakh tonnes procured in Fatehgarh Sahib
The payments worth Rs 265 crore have been made to the commission agents, Deputy Commissioner Arun Sekhri said. “The state’s Pungrain has purchased 38,709 MT, Markfed 66,357 MT, Punsup 66,674 MT, Punjab Agro Industries 20,014 MT and Punjab State Warehousing Corporation 17,672 MT,” the DC said. The Centre’s Food Corporation of India (FCI) has purchased 29,642 MT, while the private traders have purchased 700 MT till today. Sekhri claimed that 75 per cent of the procured wheat had been lifted and stored. The DC directed the officials of the procurement agencies to ensure drinking water, light, boarding facilities in the mandis for farmers. He directed the farmers not to burn the wheat stubble.
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4,000 quacks on the loose in Majha
Gurdaspur, May 6 District health authorities unofficially peg the number of quacks operating in Majha around 4,000. Add to this the fact that spurious drugs easily find their way into the Majha belt, comprising Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran and Amritsar districts. Gautam, who works as a farm labourer in Gurdaspur, had such a very lean built. He wanted to put on some weight and got in touch with a quack, who recommended a steroid. After a month, he put on enough weight and discontinued with the steroid. A few days later, however, he suddenly started vomiting and now, he cannot move without making an effort. Many like him are exposed to such health risks as they approach quacks instead of qualified doctors due to paucity of money. “People are being taken for a ride by these quacks because of the archaic Indian Medical Degree Act of 1916, which still goes by fines imposed almost 83 years ago. That means a penalty of Rs 250 for people flaunting fake medical degrees and Rs 500 for any subsequent offence. That's not all. The state government does not have an anti-quackery cell. Out of 1,000 patients going for treatment, 100 go to MBBS doctors, 100 to super-specialists while 800 end up at the doorsteps of impostors,” says Dr HS Dhillon, a physician. Dr Vinod Beri, Civil Surgeon, Gurdaspur, said, “Whenever we receive complaints against quacks operating in our area, we form teams under the supervision of Senior Medical Officers (SMO), who raid the premises of these fake doctors.” “The favourite areas of operation of these quacks are suburbs, where the migrant population lives. Time and again the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Punjab Police and the civil administration to crack a whip on quacks but there many loopholes in the law, which are exploited to the hilt,” says Dr HS Bhatia, a surgeon.
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Wall paintings at Golden Temple regain glitter
Amritsar, May 6 The wall paintings in the area where Guru Granth Sahib has been installed will be carried out in the end as special arrangements will have to be made for it. A team of 10 members, comprising conservation experts and artists, are on the job to restore sheen of the precious artwork inside the holy shrine. Wall paintings on the first floor involve the most intricate work and it took the team almost six months to restore these. There was a considerable flaking in some areas and artists had to “reconstruct” the lost part of the paintings while taking a clue from the existing pattern. The team is yet to take up the work of reconstructing lost or deteriorated parts on the roof of the first floor as it involves precious “gach” work. SP Singh, a conservation expert associated with the project, said they were carrying out the restoration work while ensuring that the originality and the aesthetics remained intact. He said most of the work on the first floor was complete. He said they were at present assessing as to how to go about the preservation of gold work inside the sanctum sanctorum. The restoration work was preceded by compilation of a detailed damage assessment report in which the entire wall paintings were documented. It took the experts a couple of months in preparing the report before they could finally embark on the restoration work in December last year. The SGPC authorities had earlier covered the artwork on the first floor with glass enclosures to protect these. However, it still resulted in flaking due to high moisture. The damage was more in the arches as these could not be covered with glass. The SGPC has already clarified that there will be no tampering with the ancient artwork and all efforts will be made to preserve its originality. This is the first time ever that the restoration work on the interiors of the shrine is being done. The gold-plating and the artwork at the shrine dates back to the Maharaja Ranjit Singh era. The interiors boast of rare architecture comprising “mohrakashi”, “tukri” and “gach” work. The gold-plating inside the shrine has turned black apparently due to rising pollution while at a few places it has lost grip on the walls. Similarly, the artwork on the upper floor suffered damage at various spots, particularly along the staircases leading to the top floor. Earlier, the gold plates on the outer walls of the shrine were replaced in 1999 after a gap of 170 years. The task of re-gilding the domes and upper portion was entrusted by the SGPC to the UK-based Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha in February 1995, and its completion coincided with the tercentenary celebrations of the Khalsa Panth’s foundation in 1999.
Tracking progress
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Cong leader attacked in Moga village, seriously hurt
Sangatpura (Moga), May 6 Roop Singh was rushed to Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot. From there, he was shifted to the PGIMR at Chandigarh. A senior police official said a few persons reportedly jumped over the boundary wall of Roop Singh’s house and opened fire on him. No other family member was injured, said the victim's wife, Baldev Kaur. Jatinder Singh, SHO, said the police had registered a criminal case against former sarpanch Sukhdev Singh, Jagsir Singh, Jaskaran Singh, Inderjit Singh and some unidentified persons. The situation in Sangatpura village is tense. The district administration has tightened security there. It was a curfew-like situation in the village throughout the day with hardly anybody moving out of his house. Jaswinder Singh, son of SGPC member Gurmail Singh, and his associate Jagsir Singh were injured in a clash between the Congress and Akali workers outside a polling booth in this village on April 30. Jaswinder received injuries on his head. Jagsir, who was discharged from the hospital after first-aid, was believed to be behind the shootout last night. The district Congress president, Darshan Singh Brar, blamed both Jaswinder and Jagsir for the attack. Accusing the police of trying to protect them, he demanded that the assailants be arrested within 24 hours or else the Congress would launch a stir against the
SAD-BJP Government.
Dangerous portends
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Manpreet to meet CJ on poll ‘malpractices’ by SAD
“I have already met the Chief Election Commissioner of India in Delhi. Now, I will be going to Chandigarh to seek an appointment with the Chief Justice to apprise him of the malpractices adopted by the Akalis during the elections,” said Manpreet. "Post-elections, at least 12 of our polling agents have been booked in fake criminal cases,” he said. Manpreet has sought a repoll in five Lambi villages- Kolianwali, Chhapianwali, Shamkhera, Burj Sidhwan and Lohara. “It seems the Election Commission is toothless. It failed to act on a report submitted by me a month prior to the elections. I had sought that the movement of SGPC member Dyal Singh Kolianwali be restricted but nothing was done. On the polling day, Kolianwali did not allow our polling agents inside the polling booths,” claimed Manpreet. He dared his uncle, Chief minister Parkash singh Badal, to slap a criminal case against him instead of targeting his supporters. On his victory chances, he said: “Whether I win or lose, the margin will not be in thousands, but lakhs.” In the same breath, he claimed that a majority of people had cast their vote in his favour as they wanted to bring about change. Manpreet is pitted against CM's daughter-in-law Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who is sitting Bathinda MP. Manpreet, his father Gurdas Badal and District Congress committee (DCC) chief Gurmeet Singh Khuddian visited the local sub-jail to meet a supporter, Dalip Singh of Kolianwali village. Manpreet alleged that Dalip Singh and his children were booked in a fake criminal case, only because they had supported him.
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Jaitley, not Priyanka, arrogant: Capt
"Jaitley should introspect and ask himself as to when he last shook hands with a party worker or supporter. It sounds like the pot calling the kettle black," said Amarinder. The former Chief Minister claimed that Jaitley would lose from Amritsar because of his arrogance as he was yet to learn to treat party colleagues as equals and not subordinates. He alleged that a desperate BJP was resorting to dirty means, such as unfairly attacking the Congress leadership, to win the elections. "They actually do not have anything against Priyanka, who has outclassed them in Amethi. Now they are resorting to personal attacks," he added."
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Pakistan to expand facilities at ICP, says Lahore chamber prez
Lashari along with PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry director Dalip Sharma today announced to hold "The Pakistan Show" in Amritsar on May 8-12. Addressing a press conference, the LCCI chief said the Pakistan Government was making efforts to simplify the bilateral trade, besides liberalising the visa regime. Terming the trade as a game changer in the bilateral ties, he said the trade would not only boost people-to-people contact but would also help the two countries resolve other issues. He said Lahore had hosted "The India Show" sometime ago. Such events were a win-win proposition for the trading community on both sides of the border. "More avenues and events need to be created which give an opportunity to the people of both the countries to come together, participate and get a first-hand impression of each other's perceptions," he added. Sharma said the traders were upbeat with India and Pakistan agreeing for 24x7 trading from the Attari-Wagah land route. Emphasising on the need to protect the small investors, Sharma said: "An enhanced trading through the Attari-Wagah border could save billions of dollars to both the countries, presently being wiped out because of illegal trade. If both the rail and the road routes are fully utilised, the Indo-Pak trade could go up by 200 per cent." Talking about "The Pakistan Show", Sharma said over 75 exhibitors would put up their stalls during the five-day event. He said the exhibits would range from the popular Pakistani onyx marble, textiles, dry fruits, to carpets and jewellery. "The objective is to bring people of both the countries together," said Sharma.
‘The Pakistan Show’ in Amritsar from May 8-12 More than 75 exhibitors will put up their stalls during the five-day exhibition. The exhibits will range from the popular Pakistani onyx marble, textiles, dry fruits, carpets, jewellery to home appliances, crockery, quilts, artificial flowers among others. A special food court offering Pakistan cuisines will also be put up
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Claims on road safety campaigns
The High Court legal services committee, apparently at the behest of the Legal Services Authorities, has expressed its inability to submit reports on the issue. As a case on traffic safety came up for resumed hearing today, an application filed by the legal services committee was placed before Justice Rajive Bhalla. It expressed its inability to inform the Bench whether the orders passed by the Supreme Court and the High Court on the issue were being complied with. Justice Bhalla asserted: "The order was passed under a bonafide belief that the Legal Services Authorities would be keen to assist this court in verifying whether the orders passed and provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act are being implemented. "But as it appears from the application that the secretaries of the Legal Services Authorities of Punjab and Haryana are busy with other matters and are hard-pressed for time, the order dated March 28 is recalled to the extent that the secretaries of Legal Services Authorities of Punjab and Haryana shall not be obliged to assist this court or to file any report in the present matter?. "In view of this order, it would be necessary to explore the possibility of appointing some responsible persons/advocates, who may voluntarily monitor the implementation of the orders passed by the Supreme Court as well as by this court." Censuring the Punjab Police for doing nothing beyond issuing challans to motorists and exhibiting a compete distrust in its claims of effectively implementing the Motor Vehicles Act, the High Court had on the previous date asked the district Legal Services Authorities to verify the assertions. Refusing to take the claims without a pinch of salt, Justice Bhalla had also called for a general report on compliance of the provisions of the Act. " In my prima facie opinion, the affidavits do not reflect the true picture as it is well known that in almost every town, provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, are violated with impunity. "Apart from issuing challans, the police does nothing to ensure that the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, are implemented. In order to verify the affidavits, the secretary, Legal Services Authority, in each district, shall submit a general report about the state of compliance with the provisions of the Act, pn orders passed by this court from time to time," Justice Bhalla said.
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State govt fails to implement child health programme
Mansa, May 6 The Centre had approved Rs 1.76 crore for the construction of district early intervention centres (DEIC) under the programme at five districts, Bathinda, Hoshiarpur, Ropar, Tarn Taran and Ludhiana, in February 2013. An area of 2,200 sq ft was to be covered for each centre that would comprise an anthropology department, a dental clinic, laboratory, psychiatrist room, occupational therapy room, speech therapist room, pantry, counselling room, audiologist room, nutrition-cum-pharmacy immunisation department, optometrist room and a specialist doctors’ examination room, besides a 50 sq ft play area for children. The government has also failed to recruit the DEIC staff, including paediatricians, medical officers, dentists, physiotherapists, audiologists and speech therapists, psychologists, optometrists, special educator-cum-social workers, lab technicians, dental technician managers and data entry operators. Two mobile health teams consisting of two AYUSH doctors, a staff nurse and a pharmacist in each team were also to be recruited in all 118 health blocks of the state. The Baba Farid University of Health Science was handed over the task to recruit doctors and paramedical staff. But till date no staff has been appointed. However, without putting in place the required infrastructure, the state Health Department has instructed all district health officials to send a progress report of child health check-up. Hussan Lal, Mission Director, NRHM, admitted that the department committed an error by seeking a report under the programme. He said: “The tenders have been cleared for constructing the centres in the five districts.”
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Employees to get DA arrears in 3 months
Sources in the Finance department said the government had obtained the Election Commission's clearance in this regard. But herein lies the catch. This DA of 10 per cent, due since July 2013, will be released to Class IV employees in July. All other categories of employees will get it in August. Since the state government does not have enough resources at its disposal to release the arrears right away, the payment has been deferred till the second quarter of the current fiscal. This amount is likely to be credited in the employees' General Provident Fund. Though the state government had announced the DA in July 2013, the employees received it from February 2014 onwards. The DA from July 2013-January 2014 was kept pending. Sensing a huge discontent among the government employees, that form a sizeable vote bank, the government made efforts to release the pending arrears in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. Even as the government was yet to pay the pending arrears, it had to announce yet another DA of 10 per cent for its employees in January 2014 to keep in step with the Central Government. Sources in the Finance Department said that this DA would be given in cash and would be released in December 2014.
The catch
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Majithia performs ‘sewa’
Amritsar, May 6 During a public rally here on April 25, Majithia had distorted Guru Gobind Singh’s ‘shabad’. Instead of saying “Nischay kar apni jeet karu”, he had ended his speech with: "Nischay kar Arun Jaitley ki jeet karu”. Realising his mistake, he tendered a public apology a day later. Subsequently, he submitted a letter of apology to Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh. The latter called a meeting of the Sikh clergy on May 1 to discuss the matter.The clergy directed Majithia to perform ‘langar sewa’ at all five Takhts and hold Akhand Path at Akal Takht. Talwandi Sabo: Bikramjit Singh Majithia undertook ‘sewa’ (community service) at Takht Damdama Sahib here. Majithia said that distorting a hymn was a grave mistake for which he deserved to be punished. Also present at the Takht were head granthi Bhai Balwant Singh, SGPC members Bhagwant Singh Syalka and Jodh Singh Samra and manager Jagpal Singh.
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25% complaints received by Sangrur election cell were anonymous
Sangrur, May 6 Sources in the administration said the cell received the complaints through
the offices of the Punjab Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and the Deputy Commissioner, besides on telephone and e-mail. Most of the complaints pertain to the violation of the model code of conduct and breach of expenditure cap by candidates. In several cases, proceedings have been initiated. The administration has issued notices to candidates for the model code violations such as installing hoardings and putting up flags at public places. Some complaints are of general nature such
as encroachment on panchayat land. The administration has taken up harsh steps in some cases. In one of the cases, a Junior Engineer (JE) of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSCPL), posted in Sangrur, was suspended for allegedly attending an election meeting. In another case, an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) and a head constable posted at Barnala were suspended. Besides, the administration has written to the state education authorities to initiate action against three teachers, posted in two schools in Sangrur district.
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CM reviews progress of memorials
Chandigarh, May 6 Presiding over a meeting of senior officials here, Badal said special focus should be laid on the design of the proposed memorials so that these could emerge as an example of Punjab’s rich legacy and culture. During the meeting, the Chief Minister reviewed the progress of the War Memorial and Bhagwan Valmikiji Memorial at Amritsar, Jang-e-Azadi Memorial at Kartarpur, Guru Ravidassji Memorial at Hoshiarpur, Bhai Jaitaji Memorial, Baba Moti Ram Mehraji Memorial, Swami Vivekanandaji Memorial and Bhai Mardana Sangeet Academy, Ferozepur. Badal also reviewed the maintenance arrangements of Baba Banda Singh Ji Bahadur Memorial at Chapparchiri, Wadda and Chota Ghalughara Memorials. He directed that the maintenance of these memorials should be done in an effective manner so that the people could be attracted towards these monuments.
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Not paid honorarium, Fazilka election officials to protest
Fazilka, May 6 Scores of BLOs of Fazilka district gathered at the local Pratap Bagh to discuss their strategy to press the government to fulfill their demands. BLOs belonging to the Education Department alleged that they had been performing their duties for many years at the cost of the studies of students but they had not been paid their honorarium. They have constituted a BLO Union, Fazilka. Ashok Kumar Dhuria, Ashok Kumar Dhamija, Satya Swaroop Poonchhi, Jagdish Singh Saini,
Ravi Dhawan and Jaswinder Singh have been elected president, vice president, secretary, chief advisor, cashier and press secretary of the union, respectively. The office-bearers have demanded that they should be paid Rs 18,800 annually on the pattern of Delhi and should also be given an additional increment for their duty related to elections. “The government does not provide the desired stationery items, forms and photostat facilities. The BLOs have to shell out the expenses from their own pockets,” said Satya Swaroop Poonchhi, the secretary of the union. They said if their demands are not met
they would launch an agitation soon.
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Lawyer’s arrest triggers protest
Faridkot, May 6 The police arrested advocate Jagdeep Singh Bajwa for allegedly sending a "sarcastic" SMS on the mobile of Gulshan's daughter on April 24. Though the police had registered the case against an unknown person on the complaint of the MP the same day, the accused was arrested this evening. The police has arrested the advocate for allegedly hurting the religious feelings of the MP. However, on April 24 in the FIR, the accused was booked under Section 66 A of the Information and Technology Act and Section 125 of the Representation of People Act for sending an "offensive and menacing character message" to the sitting MP and promoting enmity between classes in connection with the elections. Both these offences are bailable. However, today the police arrested the advocate under Section 295A of the IPC, which is a serious and a non-bailable crime and Bajwa was sent to the police lockup. Sat Pal, the investigation officer, said the police added Section 295A in the FIR after investigating into the case. A delegation of advocates registered its protest with the police for arresting the advocate. Sukhwinder Singh Brar, president, Bar Association, Faridkot, said the police had been requested to provide the wording of the SMS to examine the merit of the case. The advocates said what annoyed them was that that the police summoned advocate Bajwa in the police station in the evening and put him under arrest all of a sudden. Gurdeep Singh Bajwa, the father of the advocate, alleged his son was being targeted as he dared to openly support the Aam Aadmi Party candidate in Faridkot, which annoyed Akali candidate Gulshan.
Behind bars
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Protesters seek repair of roads in Phagwara
Phagwara, May 6 These included Balbir Raja Sodhi and Ashwini Kumar (Congress), BSP state general secretary Jarnail Nangal, Akhil Bharitya Hindu Suraksha Samiti, Punjab, president Deepak Bhardwaj, Shiv Sena leader Inderjit Karwal, SAD leader Iqbal Singh Kundi and BJP leader Sarita Sood. They were accompanied by hundreds of the
residents and together they protested the deteriorating condition of roads, specially in the Satnampura locality and blocked the Phagwara-Nakodar road and on the national highway for about two hours. The protesters sat on a dharna near Satnampura police station and near the Sugar Mills crossing on the highway, raising slogans against the administration. Long queues of vehicles were seen stranded due to the blockade. The demonstrators were demanding immediate repair of the broken roads. The blockade was lifted when Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Phagwara, Parminderpal Singh arrived on the dharna site and assured the protesters that repairing works would be started by Thursday. The protesters threatened to intensify their stir if the promise was not
fulfilled.
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Note-for-vote scam videos
may be sent to forensic lab
Muktsar, May 6 The probing officer-cum-ADC (Development), Muktsar, Ramvir Singh, today recorded the statements of both the complainants who had shot the videos. One of the videos is of the alleged vote-buying incident while the other shows the Gidderbaha SDM conducting an inquiry on April 30. The statement of the SDM was also recorded today. In their statements, both the complainants mentioned that they had shot the videos on the day of polling. However, the district administration has some suspicion over its authenticity as the date which had appeared on one of the videos was of 2013. To this, the complaints said the video could be checked from any laboratory to confirm its authenticity. They claimed the date error could have been due to a fault in the settings of their spy camera. “If I shoot a video with the same device in the presence of the inquiry officer now, the same date of 2013 will appear again. This is only a fault of the spy camera’s settings. Both the camera and the video clip can be sent to any laboratory to test its authenticity,” said the complainant. The complainants have also demanded that the statements of SGPC member Navtej Singh Kauni and a security guard shown in the video should also be recoded. Ramvir Singh said, “I will submit the inquiry report to the DC tomorrow. We may send the clips to any expert to confirm their authenticity.”
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Photo row event 2 years old: Ramdev
Amritsar, May 6 In a statement released by his spokesperson, Baba Ramdev said “Guru Gobind Singh's photograph was presented to me by a group of villagers who had inadvertently kept it on the dais”. He said “as soon as I came to know that the photograph was placed there against the traditions, I immediately apologised and regretted for the same”. Ramdev also stated that he had immense respect for the Sikh gurus, adding that the Sikhs had contributed a lot in the country's freedom struggle. He said he could not imagine showing disrespect to the Sikh gurus while, expressing regret for the mistake committed by his volunteers during the camp. He said they had no intention to hurt anybody's sentiments.
— TNS
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Bhupinder Preet is executive member of Sahitya Akademi
About her Bhupinder Kaur Preet is a Punjabi poetess. As many as four anthologies of her poems ‘Saleeb te latke haraf’, 'Main shabdan nu keha’, ‘Barse megh sakhi’ and ‘Ehran’ have been published, besides publications in newspapers and magazines
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Probing tax evasion, I-T team raids liquor godowns
Jalandhar May 6 The officials also raided a distillery owned by Jagatjit Industries Limited at Hamira in Kapurthala. Sources said the raids were conducted to inquire tax evasion and money laundering by liquor contractors. Raids were also conducted at a liquor godown on the Pathankot bypass owned by Gautam Wines and another owned by Satluj Liquor at the Workshop Chowk early this morning. The officials confiscated the record and computers lying in the godowns and started an investigation. The sources said the IT officials had reportedly detected huge tax evasion. Sanjeev Kaushal, Joint Director, Income-Tax Investigation, Ludhiana, said there were complaints of tax evasion through unaccounted sale of liquor by these groups. “Our officials are investigating the matter. Action will be taken after assessing the extent of tax evasion,” Kaushal said.
— TNS
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Soon, B Sc to be taught in Punjabi
Fatehgarh Sahib, May 6 “It is difficult for students from rural Punjab to study the subjects in the English medium. So it has become imperative to teach science subjects in Punjabi medium,” Walia told the media here today. “In countries such as France, Germany, Italy and Russia, the education of science, technology and medical is conducted in the mother tongue. UNESCO has emphasised that education should be conducted in the mother tongue as far as possible as it provides greater chances of development,” he said. The vice-chancellor said that though efforts had been made in this direction on individual and institutional levels, but due to non-availability of standard textbooks in Punjabi, success could not be achieved. To ensure the success of their initiative, Walia said a Punjabi dictionary would be prepared for the specialised vocabulary of basic scientific subjects such as physics, chemistry and biology.
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DC seeks reply on official’s absence
Fatehgarh Sahib, May 6 The DC, Arun Sekhri, has issued him a notice, seeking his explanation for the absence. He has asked why Sharma should not be treated as absent from duty willfully and action be initiated as per service rules against him. Sharma was earlier Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Khanna, and transferred to Fatehgarh Sahib as the Assistant Commissioner on the intervention of the Election Commission.
— OC
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Nabha school headmaster honoured
In a convocation organised at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on May 4, Singh was honoured for his contribution to education and missionary zeal. Earlier in the week, Singh was appointed the IPSC, joint director, sports, at the executive meeting held in Delhi. In January, he had won the Derozio Award. — TNS
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Faridkot consumer body rejects pleas against telecom firms
Faridkot, May 6 A large number of complaints under the CPA were made against telecom companies in Faridkot after the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Government of India and the Department of Telecommunications, wrote to all the state consumer disputes redressal commissions on March 7 that consumer forums have the right to listen to and resolve complaints regarding issues between telecom companies and individual consumers. However, the consumer forum in Faridkot is not accepting such complaints, saying the forum has no jurisdiction in such matters and that the only remedy with the complainants is by way of arbitration proceedings under the Indian Telegraph Act. In its letter to all the state consumer disputes redressal commission, state governments and UTs (a copy is with The Tribune), the Director, Consumer Protection Unit, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, on March 7, 2014, wrote that all consumer forums are to entertain disputes between consumers and telecom service providers henceforth. District Consumer Forum officials in Faridkot claimed that they had not received any such letter, but GN Singh, Director, CPA, said a copy of the letter had also been posted on the website of the department of consumer affairs. With its letter, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has attached another letter, which stated that the powers of the Telegraph Authority are not available with the private telecom operators. So the district consumer forums have the power to resolve telecom sector consumer complaints.
Centre’s letter A large number of complaints under the Consumer Protection Act were made against telecom companies in Faridkot after the Ministry of Consumer Affairs wrote to all the state consumer disputes redressal commissions on March 7 that consumer forums can resolve complaints against telecom companies.
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DGP Sharma to face
trial for murder
Ropar, May 6 The case has been transferred to the District and Sessions Judge.The court had on April 21 rejected Sharma's application
that he be discharged in the case. Kuldip Singh of Amrali village was kidnapped by unidentified persons from Morinda on October 24, 1990. On May 15, 1991, his father Ajaib Singh read a report in The Tribune carrying a statement issued on behalf of then Patiala SSP (SK Sharma) that one Kuldip Singh of Amrali village had been killed in an encounter on May 1. Ajaib Singh approached the authorities for justice, but in vain. A case was finally registered in 1998 under Sections 364 and 34 of the IPC against the four police officials.
The kidnapping and thereafter
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Man held for demanding ransom
Mansa, May 6 The accused had in these letters threatened the victims of dire consequences if his demand for ransom was not met. Senior Superintendent of Police, Mansa, Bikrampal Singh Bhatti said, "The accused has been arrested under Sections 384, and 386 of the Indian Penal Code. We made a team, headed by Deputy Superintendent of Police (D) Harmeet Singh Deol, after the complaints were lodged. The letters
are in the possession of the police. The accused was a former servant of retired Assistant Sub-Inspector Nachattar Singh. Harbhajan had been demanding ransom through letters from these villagers for the past one month, but we could not trace him earlier as we were busy due to the elections."
Threat letters The accused, Harbhajan Singh of Tamkot village in Mansa district, allegedly sent letters threatening a retired lecturer, former Assistant Sub-Inspector and village
nambardar.
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Trailer loaded with sand seized
Fazilka, May 6 The police impounded the tractor-trailers, three of which were empty. The mining mafia have been illegally excavating river beds and other smaller tributaries of the Sutlej river. The police have booked unidentified persons under Section 379 of the IPC and Section 21 of the Mining Act, 1957. The police is investigating the matter.
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suicide case
Jalandhar, May 6 Pradeep, 30, who committed suicide at her residence in Jalandhar on Saturday, has in her suicide note accused her paternal aunt Davinder Kaur and her husband Gurmej Singh, posted as head constable in Pathankot, of sexual abuse. “He (Gurmej) would take her away for days. When we stopped Pradeep from visiting him, he came to our house and claimed that her (Pradeep's) heart was with him (Gurmej),” said Balwinder.
— TNS
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Patiala, May 6
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Muktsar, May 6
Amritsar, May 6
Amritsar, May 6
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Chandigarh, May 6
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