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Govt tightens belt, no LTC for employees
SAD uneasy, despite Jaitley’s intervention
ED grills Cong Jalandhar MP in Bhola drug case
Farmers want stay on new tube-wells to go
Dalits yet to get promised 5-marla plots
Suspended IG quizzed
Former DCC chief writes to Sonia
Post-RSS row, Faridkot DC bans flaunting arms
Need to optimise transfusion therapy: Experts
1 killed, 2 hurt in mall blast
21 lakh tonnes of paddy procured
Ludhiana to be ‘futuristic city’
SGPC meet to decide on aid to J&K Sikhs
Norms for nursing courses relaxed
One dead in boiler blast
NRI family booked in dowry case
Drugs: SAD leader told to face trial
Supriya case: Accused denied anticipatory bail
5 of gang held for fraud
17 nabbed for gambling
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HC seeks state’s reply on demand for memorial
Ferozepur, October 17 The court has issued a notice to the state government and the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) to file their reply on the matter. Yesterday, a Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice Ashutosh Mohunta and Justice AS Grewal passed these orders following a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate HC Arora. In his appeal, Arora said freedom fighters, including Bhagat Singh and his comrades, had set up a secret hideout at this building in this border town. He stated that they used to visit the place between August 1928 and February 1929 and so, it should be converted into a protected monument. Earlier, when the demand for converting the site into a memorial was raised by some local residents, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had also reportedly asked Deputy Commissioner (DC) DPS Kharbanda to visit the site and send a report. When contacted, Kharbanda said he had visited the site last week and that the report would be sent to the state government shortly. The DC further said at present, there were two shops at the ground floor, besides a residential apartment on the first floor of that building. “I have convinced the occupants to vacate the building in case it is taken over for setting up a memorial. An alternative arrangement shall be made for them then,” he said. In 1999 too, the then Deputy Commissioner, Kulbir Singh Sidhu, had invited officers of the ASI to inspect the building for the construction of a memorial. However, nothing tangible came out of it. “This building used to be a hideout for secret meetings and also for making bombs and reading revolutionary books,” said engineer Rakesh Kumar, who has authored several books on the freedom movement. It is said that even the plot to bomb the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi in 1929 was devised here, he said. Rakesh said as many as 19 witnesses, who were tested by the British Court, had stated that this building had remained a centre of activities for the freedom struggle. Rakesh stated the building was rented by Dr Gaya Parsad, a member of the Krantikari Party, who had taken over this place in the name of Dr BS Nigam and had opened a chemist shop on the ground floor while the first floor was used for the activities of the party. It is said that two comrades of Bhagat Singh, Jai Gopal and Sukhdev, had trimmed his hair and beard here to conceal his identity. An old timer, Ram Gopal, who passed away a few years ago, used to claim that their family used to provide food concealed in schoolbags for Bhagat Singh and his comrades at this building. Long-pending demand
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Govt tightens belt, no LTC for employees
Chandigarh, October 17 Sources said deliberations had been on between officers in the CM’s office and those in the Finance Department on curtailing expenditure, lest things went out of control. The circular, issued yesterday, says that foreign trips would require the Chief Minister’s permission and no lunch and dinner parties or conferences would be allowed at five-star hotels. Expenditure on ministers and MLAs would be cut by 20 per cent. They have been barred from asking for funds on this account. Punjab is facing a power crises owing to coal shortage. Punjab State Power Corporation Limited has been directed to reduce its purchase bill. All visits, whether foreign or within the country, would require sponsors. No new furniture would be purchased and no office would be renovated. Other measures include directions to the District Development Officers to ensure that they did not spend beyond the budgetary allocation. Officers holding multiple charges will use only one vehicle. Power consumption too would have to be brought down by 10 per cent. An officer in the Finance Department said similar measures, initiated in 2012 by Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, had helped the government save about Rs 200 crore. By the end of this fiscal year, the state hopes to mop up around Rs 100 crore. The Centre has refused a financial package for the cash-strapped state. Tax earnings from petrol have declined because of the fall in prices. The state’s revenue generation capabilities leave a lot to be desired with 87 per cent of its earnings going into committed liabilities such as salaries, pensions, interest on loan and subsidies. The state government has already hiked VAT on diesel, cold drinks and cigarettes. More such taxes are likely to be imposed
post-Diwali. In dire straits
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SAD uneasy, despite Jaitley’s intervention
Chandigarh, October 17 The outbursts by state BJP leaders and ministers in the Punjab Cabinet and BJP’s bid to take in its fold Akali leaders, such as former police chief PS Gill, has raised the hackles in the SAD camp. Time and again snubbed by the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre, the Akalis are a worried lot. Though publicly the Akali leadership maintains that all is well, the anxiety in the Akali camp is becoming palpable. Senior party leaders say they are sure that the SAD–BJP government will complete its term but the party will have to be prepared for any eventuality before the 2017 Assembly elections. The Akalis are aware that the BJP can ill-afford to snap ties with them at this juncture. The SAD represents the Sikh minority community and is, hence, a help to the BJP in projecting a secular image. Sources say while the older generation of Akali leaders favour appeasement of the BJP, the younger generation is unwilling to “be bulldozed by the junior alliance partner.” The latter is confident that the SAD can win the elections on its own. The sources say the party plans to renew its efforts to wean away Congress MLAs. The SAD has 57 MLAs in the 117-member Vidhan Sabha, two short of a majority. Its alliance partner has 12 MLAs. The SAD may wean away Congress MLAs, make them resign and force a byelection. A section of Akali leaders favour returning to the Panthic agenda to retain its vote bank in the rural areas, especially in view of reports that the BJP is attempting a “reverse polarisation” (consolidating non-Sikh votes. The party could cosy up to the INLD and the Janata Dal (United), if need be, the sources added. Growing tension
SAD using police to punish opponents: Cong Chandigarh: Former Congress MLA and PPCC spokesman Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Friday accused Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his deputy Sukhbir Badal of “using the state police to intimidate and coerce its political opponents”. In a statement issued here, Khaira alleged the recent withdrawal and restoration of security cover to Navjot Sidhu was part of this strategy, to which the Punjab Police had become a convenient tool.
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ED grills Cong Jalandhar MP in Bhola drug case
Jalandhar, October 17 Chaudhary Santokh is the first Congress leader whose name has cropped up in the matter. The ED officials summoned him after his name reportedly figured in the diary of Goraya-based industrialist Chuni Lal Gaba. The diary had list of persons who had allegedly taken money from Gaba. The Congress leader has been summoned under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The MP came along with his brother and former minister Chaudhary Jagjit Singh, former minister Amarjit Singh Samra, son and Punjab Youth The Enforcement Directorate had earlier grilled Akali leaders Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Avinash Chander and Kartarpur MLA Sarvan Singh Phillaur four days ago. They too were summoned after their names figured in Gaba's diary. Sources said Phillaur was interrogated by ED Assistant Director Niranjan Singh for around five hours. He was accompanied by his supporters, his brother Steven Kler and former Chief Parliamentary Secretary from Ludhiana Harish Rai Dhanda. Sources said Avinash Chander was questioned over the entry of Rs 48 lakh against his name in the Gaba's dairy.
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Farmers want stay on new tube-wells to go
Chandigarh, October 17 Punjab State Power Corporation Limited had issued demand notices to release 1.25 lakh power connections for tube-wells a few months ago. But the process had to be stalled after the stay, an official said. The stay came after a Hoshiarpur-based NGO approached the tribunal seeking a ban on new connections. The state government provides free power to farmers to run tube-wells. The NGO also pleaded that the facility should be withdrawn in view of the depleting water table. The NGO also petitioned that farmers should be cautioned against excess use of chemical fertilizers, which had polluted the subsoil water. It also batted against cultivating eucalyptus, which consumes a lot of water. Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Balbir Singh Rajewal alleged the petition appeared to have been filed to target the farmers. His application for becoming a party in the case was accepted by the tribunal during the last hearing. Rajewal claimed it was ironical that the petitioner objected to annual power subsidy of Rs 3,000 crore to the farmers, but “failed to notice concessions worth Rs 5 lakh crore announced in the Budget to corporate houses in various forms”. He asked why the industry was not included in the petition, which too used water drawn from tube-wells in bulk to run their units. He said in all big cities, there were high capacity tube-wells installed by municipal bodies to provide millions of gallons of water daily to the residents. Demand for cut in diesel rate
The farming community has urged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to persuade Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reduce the price of diesel. Various farmer bodies claimed that for the past several days, the Union Government was making an over-recovery of about Rs 4 per litre on diesel and, thus, earning a huge profit. “For the past several weeks, there has been steady fall in the prices of crude oil. But the Modi government has not ordered any cut in the diesel price,” they said. Rajewal said farmers had been affected the most due to over-recovery. “When there was a drought-like situation in Punjab, farmers paid through their nose to buy diesel for their tube-wells to irrigate their crops,” he said. Rajewal said it would be appropriate for Badal to get his protest registered with the Centre on the over-recovery on diesel. The union said it would resort to agitation in case the government dithered on slashing the price.
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Dalits yet to get promised 5-marla plots
Bathinda, October 17 Jora Singh Nasrali, Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union president, said: “In Punjab, more than 2 lakh Dalit families are homeless. The government had itself declared that 70,000 Dalit families are homeless. But none of these families have been given possession of plots. The Deputy Commissioner has refused to give us a list of aspirants allotted the promised plots.” The union president said a survey had revealed that 200 Dalit families in Chakk Fateh Singh village of Bathinda were roofless. In Kotda Kaudianwala village 206 Dalit families, in Jethuke village 175, in Bhundar village 150, in Kotha Guru village 250 families and in Pitho village 153 Dalits were homeless. Nasrali claimed that when Parkash Singh Badal first became Chief Minister in the seventies, he had promised five-marla plots to the Dalits. But the promise was yet to be honoured. “Ahead of the 2012 Assembly poll and the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Badal had promised to help homeless Dalits,” Nasrali said. Bathinda Deputy Commissioner Basant Garg said the matter was being handled by the Additional DC (D), Bathinda. “As he is on leave, I will look into the matter,” he added.
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Suspended IG quizzed
Mohali, October 17 Accompanied by advocate Sumit Sehgal, he drove to the police station in a swanky car (DL3C BX 0616) at 9.50 am. He was quizzed by Inspector Pawan Kumar, Station House Officer (SHO) of the Phase I police station, in the presence of Mohali Superintendent of Police (Detective) Gursharan Singh Grewal, for 50 minutes. Cheema, who seemed relaxed, was in no mood to talk to waiting mediapersons. “I am confident that justice will not be denied to me,” he said as he walked out of the police station. After that Cheema left for the Mataur police station where a molestation case was registered against him and two others on August 30. Sources said he was questioned by the investigating officer and SHO, Sub-Inspector Rajeev Kumar, for 20 minutes. Superintendent of Police Grewal said Cheema denied he had any role in the kidnapping of Sumedh Gulati, a proclaimed offender, from the Phase I police station. “Cheema said he did not visit the police station that day,” the SP said. At both the police stations, advocate Sehgal furnished bail bonds worth Rs 1 lakh each. Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police Inder Mohan Singh Bhatti said Cheema had deposited his passport with the Mohali police.
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Former DCC chief writes to Sonia
Ludhiana, October 17 A disappointed KK Bawa, former District Congress Committee president, has shot off a letter to AICC president Sonia Gandhi. Talking to The Tribune, he said: "The Pradesh Congress has insulted senior party leaders and freedom fighters." He said in his letter to the high command, he had urged that due importance be given to freedom fighters, terrorist-affected families and senior Congress leaders so that the party could be strengthened. This, in turn, would ensure the Congress win in the next Vidhan Sabha elections. Rahul had yesterday met party Members of Parliament, legislators, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee’s office-bearers, its former presidents, block and district presidents and leaders of the National Students’ Union of India at
Chandigarh.
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Post-RSS row, Faridkot DC bans flaunting arms
Faridkot, October 17 Local Congress leaders had submitted a complaint to the police and civil authorities, demanding action against RSS activists and the police officials who were part of the procession. The Deputy Commissioner, in his orders, said the display of fire weapons, including licensed, had been banned henceforth under Section 144 of the CrPC. He also banned the display of unsheathed swords or javelins. A number of RSS members, brandishing weapons, had taken out a procession as part of Dasehra festivities at Jaitu on October 5. Terming it a violation, Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa had demanded stern action against the RSS activists. He had described it a "dangerous trend" having the potential to disturb peace in this sensitive border state. District Congress leaders had submitted a complaint to the Deputy Commissioner and the SSP. Joginder Singh, Jaitu MLA, and president, Faridkot District Congress Committee, alleged no permission was taken by the RSS activists who flaunted fire weapons to create terror among the people. Instead of taking legal action against the activists and the accompanying policemen, the DC had only promulgated Section 144 of CrPC to prohibit such activities, he alleged. Local RSS leaders said the "show of weapons" was an annual ritual. "Shastra puja" (weapon worship) and "pathsanchalan" (street march) near Dasehra was a decade-old tradition, said Tirth Verma, RSS district chief. He said weapons were worshipped during Dasehra to celebrate the foundation of the
RSS.
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Need to optimise transfusion therapy: Experts
Patiala, October 17 The conference is being organised for the first time in the state. Dedicated to the theme of optimising transfusion therapy, the conference is being conducted by the Department of Transfusion Medicine, Government Medical College, Patiala, in collaboration with the Punjab chapter of the society. At least 11 sessions were held today in which more than 60 papers were presented. Various topics such as regenerative medicine, cellular therapies, evidence-based transfusion medicine, transfusion practice in transplantation, blood safety and automation, cell/gene therapy and legal and ethical issues related to transfusion medicine were discussed. Society founder awarded
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1 killed, 2 hurt in mall blast
Abohar, October 17 The impact of the explosion was felt even about 3 km from the complex. Hundreds of people in the adjoining residential colonies came out of their houses in panic. Ambulance, fire tenders and police teams reached a few minutes after the incident. The fire fighting staff used indigenous safety system to douse flames. The wiring had caught fire and panel boards, steel sheets had blown off. Rescue workers later found the body of Blue Star Company’s engineer Mayank (29) of
Dehradun, trapped between two pipes, and doused fire that had engulfed his assistants Shahrukh Hussain (19) and Surinder Kumar (20). They were shifted to the Civil Hospital, but doctors referred them to a super-specialty hospital. Residents of Jawahar Nagar and Ekta Colony residents organised a protest at the shopping mall to express resentment over the damage caused to some houses of their colonies. A deputation met the district officials and said security norms had not been adhered to by the owners of the 10-storied shopping complex.
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21 lakh tonnes of paddy procured
Chandigarh, October 17 The government agencies procured 20,17,169 tonnes (95.2 per cent) whereas 1,00,728 tonnes (4.8 per cent) was procured by private traders. A spokesman said maintaining its lead, Ferozepur had procured 2,99,139 tonnes of paddy till date while Kapurthala and Jalandhar remained on second and third positions with procurement of 2,20,857 and 2,05,814
tonnes. He said Pungrain had maintained its lead among the government agencies with procurement of 5,70,729 (28.3 per cent) tonnes of paddy. The agency is followed by Markfed (4,89,589
tonnes; 24.3 per cent), Punsup (4,56,953; 22.7 per cent), PAFC (2,05,448; 10.2 per cent) and PSWC (1,91,350; 9.5 per cent). The central government agency Food Corporation of India has procured 10,31,00 tonnes (5.1%), he said. — TNS
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Ludhiana to be ‘futuristic city’
Chandigarh, October 17 Taking stock of ongoing development projects, Sukhbir asked the Local Bodies Department and GLADA to interlink the beautification and landscaping along with rehabilitation and maintenance of all roundabouts with "Swachh Bharat" drive to achieve the targets. Officials said 17 major roundabouts of the city had been handed over to industrial houses for beautification, landscaping and maintenance. Ludhiana Municipal Corporation Commissioner informed the Deputy CM that the Hero Group had adopted Rakh Bagh to make it world-class while some more green belts would be adopted by other industrial houses. He said the project would be completed at a cost of Rs 20 crore. Sukhbir directed Ashok Gupta, Secretary, Local Bodies, to expedite the ongoing works in all wards and complete the same before December 31. The work on Rs 268 crore sewerage project would be completed by March 31, 2015. Gupta told Sukhbir that 100 per cent water supply project worth Rs 116 crore would be completed till December. It was also informed that the project regarding mechanised sweeping of city roads had been initiated under which 47-km stretch of city roads would be swept and cleaned mechanically.
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SGPC meet to decide on aid to J&K Sikhs
Amritsar, October 17 A decision in this regard will be taken during its executive meeting at Fatehgarh Sahib on Monday. The SGPC had constituted a sub-committee to take stock of the loss of life and property caused due to floods in Jammu and Kashmir. The committee had extensively toured the Kashmir valley for around a week before submitting its report to SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar. According to the panel report, around 124 houses belonging to the Sikhs were destroyed in the floods, out of which 50 per cent were completely damaged. The panel has recommended that Rs 1 lakh be given to the Sikh families whose houses were totally destroyed while Rs 50,000 to those having partial damage in their residential units.
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Norms for nursing courses relaxed
Faridkot, October 17 Private nursing colleges had been finding it difficult to fill seats in view of lack of eligible candidates and high tuition fee. Hussan Lal, Secretary, has issued a circular, according to which the candidates who have passed their last annual exam with 60 per cent marks in the general category and 55 per cent in the SC/BC category are eligible for admission to the MSc and post-basic BSc nursing. The relaxation is a one-time measure for this year. Only 188 students had cleared the Punjab Master of Sciences Nursing Entrance Test conducted by the BFUHS. Even 61 of these eligible candidates did not opt for the admission. A total of 300 MSc seats are thus lying vacant. Similar is the case with the post-basic BSc nursing seats. Sources said despite a relaxation in the eligibility criteria, a large number of seats would remain vacant owing to high tuition fee in private nursing colleges. The tuition fee for MSc course in a private nursing college is Rs 1.75 lakh per annum. In two government nursing colleges, one in Faridkot and other in Badal village, the fee is Rs 50,000. All 50 seats in these two colleges were filled during the first
counselling. High fee
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Ludhiana, October 17 The deceased has been identified as Narinder Kharwar (23) of Bihar. The injured, Chandan, was rushed to a local hospital where he was undergoing treatment for burns. The blast occurred around 10:30 pm in the furnace unit of APS Associate Private Limited. Around 25 workers were present in the unit when the boiler exploded reportedly due to overheating. — TNS
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NRI family booked in dowry case
Abohar, October 17 A case has been registered against Canada-based Harmandeep Singh Grewal, his father Hardev Singh and mother Ranjeet Kaur under Sections 498A, 406, 323 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. The complainant had approached the district police chief, seeking action against the NRI family for intimidating her over dowry. Hunardeep, who is now staying here in the Kothi Faiz area with her maternal relatives, said she was married to Harmandeep in Ludhiana on November 28, 2008. She alleged that she had been harassed by her in-laws over “insufficient dowry” since her marriage. After preliminary investigation, the Abohar police today registered a case. — OC
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Drugs: SAD leader told to face trial
Moga, October 17 Eleven bags of poppy husk were recovered from a vehicle allegedly owned by Kataria on June 4, 2011. An FIR was registered at Ajitwal police station. The vehicle was being driven by Sukhdev Singh alias Sukha, a resident of Sherpur Takhtuwala village, who was arrested. Kataria too was reportedly present in the vehicle. He is learnt to have been let off by the police because of his political influence, The police gave a clean chit to Kataria during investigation reportedly at the behest of senior Akali leaders as he joined the ruling party. He was elected an MLA from Zira constituency (Ferozepur district) on the Congress ticket in 2007, but lost to Hari Singh Zira of the Akali Dal in 2012. He joined the Akali Dal on May 30, 2012, after which he was given the clean chit. Before summoning Kataria to face trial, the court also summoned record of registration of the vehicle from the District Transport Office in Ferozepur to ascertain its ownership. The transport officials stated in the court that the vehicle was owned by
Kataria.
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Supriya case: Accused denied anticipatory bail
Ludhiana, October 17 Dismissing the bail plea, the court observed that it would not be fair to extend the concession in view of the serious allegations levelled against the accused. Additional Public Prosecutor SS Latala vehemently opposed the bail plea. He said it could hamper investigations as there was every possibility of the accused influencing the same. Dr Balwinder, District Health Officer, Jalandhar, and his wife were present in the court during the proceedings. He placed a file before the court on his deceased daughter’s academic record. Harpreet Sandhu, counsel for the accused, argued that Supriya’s suicide note did not carry the names of the accused doctors. Also, they had joined the police investigation. Meanwhile, the state government has constituted a committee to probe the death of the postgraduate student of DMCH, Dr Supriya. Anil Joshi, Minister for Medical Education and Research, said a three-member committee under the chairmanship of Dr KD Singh, principal, Government Medical College, Patiala, had been constituted to probe the case. The committee would submit its report within seven days.
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5 of gang held for fraud
Abohar, October 17 Those arrested are Komal alias Silky Hans of Sector 7, Faridabad; Vasim Akram of Vrindavan village; Pawan Manjhi of Padwa village in Bihar; Jahid Hussain of Ismail Sayed village; and Amit Tomar of Thanpur village in Uttar Pradesh. Superintendent of Police (SP) Hari Prasad Sharma said at Sriganganagar today that Kuldeep Singh of Mohanpura village had complained that he had been duped of Rs 3.81 lakh by a caller from Pakistan. The caller told him he had won a lottery of Rs 17 lakh but the money would be released if he paid Rs 3.81 lakh in four bank accounts. Kuldeep deposited the money, which was drawn from ATMs in Faridabad and Delhi. The caller did not respond to Kuldeep’s calls after that. The police said the four accounts in which Kuldeep Singh had deposited the money were maintained in Kolkata, Faridabad, Bihar and Orissa. Only one branch manager provided relevant information, which led the team to the arrest of Komal Hans, the kingpin of the gang. She reportedly revealed that she had been working for Saudi Arabia-based Rana, who used to pass on information to Iqbal in Pakistan, who would make phone calls to Indians randomly to convey that they had won a lottery but would have to deposit a part of it to avail the prize. Modus operandi
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17 nabbed for gambling
Abohar, October 17 Those arrested under the Gambling Prevention Act are Monu Batra, Mohit Bajaj, Harjinder Singh, Tejinder Singh, Vicky, Vinod Kumar, Rajiv Kumar, Sushil Kumar, Amit Kumar, Surinder Shanker, Vikram, Suresh Kumar, Surinder Ved, Rakesh Kumar, Sandeep Kumar and Raj Kumar.
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Jalandhar, October 17
Chandigarh, October 17
Abohar, October 17
