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Finally, CM to address issues raised by BJP ministers
Badal fears BJP may walk out of govt, claims Amarinder Singh
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21,532 farmers declared loan defaulters in Bathinda
Travel agents told to get licence in a week
Barrage officials trying to save Mukteshwar caves
Abohar
MC elections
Left parties continue protest against govt
MC staff corrupt, alleges PPP
Police probing gangster’s ties with PPCC president
Work on 1984 memorial starts on Nov 1
Bus fares may be cut in January
Anganwari
worker's death on poll duty
High demand for basmati 1121, farmers cheer
Denied scholarship, SC students told to deposit fee
Patiala MC awaits nod to Rs 57-cr projects
Medical, dental teachers demand time-bound promotions
Dal Khalsa to hold a rally at Jantar Mantar
Dera followers clash with Sikh youths, 30 injured
Plan affordable housing scheme, CM tells PUDA
Despite FIR, police yet to arrest molester
Protest against unbundling of FCI
17 IAS officers transferred
After Bathinda, cow cess to be levied in all districts
PAU makes key appointments
Anganwari union head on indefinite fast
In Ludhiana, 18 vie for posts of headmaster
Rs 241 cr paid to paddy growers: DC
Kidnapping cases: Activists seek action
7 get jail term in rape case
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Finally, CM to address issues raised by BJP ministers
Chandigarh, October 28 There are indications that certain issues raised by BJP ministers regarding Health, Industry and Local Government would be taken up by the Chief Minister one by one in the coming days. Civil and police officers have been instructed to accord due respect to district-level BJP leaders and workers. They have been told to look into their complaints on a priority basis, the sources said. The BJP ministers have been resentful of the fact that despite holding important portfolios, they have had little say in the government with important decision being taken by the Chief Minister or the Deputy CM. The state BJP had cried hoarse at the SAD aligning itself with its rival (INLD) for the Haryana Assembly poll. Subsequently, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was reportedly cold-shouldered by senior BJP leaders at Manohar Lal Khattar’s swearing-in as Haryana CM. SK Sandhu, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, claimed there were no differences between the alliance partners. “There are some issues with the CMO that take a long time to be resolved,” he explained.
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Badal fears BJP may walk out of govt, claims Amarinder Singh
Patiala, October 28 “Knowing Badal well, I am sure he will start saying that the Panth is in danger the moment he realises that the Chandigarh ploy is not working,” Amarinder Singh alleged. He said Badal could go up to any extent to exploit the sentiments of the people, as he had done in the past, pushing Punjab into turmoil. The former Chief Minister said Badal was shedding crocodile tears over Chandigarh as all these years he had abandoned the issue. “Thanks to the Punjabi Suba movement, Punjab not only lost Chandigarh but most of its land too,” he said. “While Badal is today crying hoarse over Punjab waters, it was he (Badal) who as Chief Minister in 1977-78 had accepted Rs 2 crore from his Haryana counterpart, Devi Lal, for constructing the SYL canal. Later, he launched a movement against the SYL in 1980 when he was out of power,” he alleged. State Education Minister Daljit Cheema said that there was no threat to the SAD-BJP government and that Capt Amarinder Singh was “day-dreaming.” He said the issue of Chandigarh had always been on SAD’s agenda.
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21,532 farmers declared loan defaulters in Bathinda
Bathinda, October 28 As compared to last year’s debt of Rs 108.89 crore(up to August 2013), the farmers this year owe a sum of Rs 112.46 crore (up to September). The maximum 6,319 defaulters of cooperative societies are from Bathinda villages, followed by 5,646 in Talwandi Sabo and 3,514 in Phool. Housefed has maximum 126 defaulters in Talwandi Sabo, followed by 82 in Phool and 29 in Bathinda. Loans have been mainly obtained for marriages, purchasing tractors, agricultural tools and to raise crop. A majority of the defaulters took the loan for commercial or agriculture purpose, but spent the money on some other activity. A senior official said the state government had passed verbal directions not to get the defaulters arrested for the moment. Though last year the officials of cooperative societies and the PADB recovered Rs 12.62 lakh from 18 farmers by issuing threats of arrest and other tactics, not a single paisa has been collected this year. The authorities have prepared cases of 18 farmers for the auction of their land for defaulting on loans worth Rs 5.54 lakh. “We are following the legal process to recover money from defaulters. The entire loan amount has to be recovered by hook or crook,” said Deputy Registrar Harbant
Jattana.
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‘Inaccurate’ estimates stall works in Muktsar
Muktsar, October 28 Further, money spent on the construction of these buildings is proving to be waste, as even before being put into use, their condition is deteriorating. Projects such as Girls’ Hostel at Rupana village, District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) at Barkandi village, Hostel for Construction Skill Training Institute (CSTI) at Abul Khurana village, Veterinary Hospital at Lambi village and a community hall at Danewala village are lying incomplete for more than a year. A visit to Girls’ Hostel at Rupana village and the
DIET building at Barkandi village revealed that besides being incomplete, these buildings were in poor shape. The walls and the flooring are getting damaged. A senior official in the district administration said about 90 per cent of the money had been spent on these projects but the buildings were yet to be completed even after expiry of deadlines, only because of “wrong surveys, project cost estimates” prepared by the officials concerned. “The agency executing these works has submitted revised estimates of the buildings, seeking more funds to complete the work, but the question is why the earlier submitted estimates were inaccurate. The revised estimates show a huge increase in the total project cost,” said the official. However, officials of the PWD (B&R) cited waterlogging behind the delay. “Mukstar is the worst-affected district from waterlogging and the construction of any building here requires more money in comparison to other districts. Further, some projects are partly or fully funded by the Centre and when the construction cost increases, the Union Government sometimes delays the sanctioning of funds,” said Nirmal Singh, Executive Engineer, PWD (B&R), Muktsar. Sukhpal Singh, an Akali sarpanch of Danewala village, said, “The government has spent nearly Rs 35-40 lakh on the construction of the local community hall, but it is still incomplete. The work was stalled more than two years ago and the building is decaying, but nobody is bothered about completing it.”
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Travel agents told to get licence in a week
Patiala, October 28 The Assembly passed the Punjab Prevention of Human Smuggling Act in December 2012 with a view to check illegal activities and malpractices by agents. The Act made it mandatory for the travel agents, emigration consultants and ticket agents to get registered. As per latest orders, the government has asked the Deputy Commissioners in all districts to ensure that "every travel agent, coaching institutes of International English Language Testing System (IELTS), consultancy and general sale agents" are registered within a week. "In future, if any person or company is found working without a licence, he/it will have to face legal action under the Punjab Human Trafficking Prevention (Revised) Rules, 2014," said Patiala District Magistrate Varun Roojam. Over the past two years, the government has been appealing to these agents to come forward and get themselves registered, but to no avail. The travel agents have been seeking reduction in the licence fee being levied on them. The also wanted that the provision allowing search and confiscation of record by the DSP or the SDM concerned from the houses of travel agents without search warrants and even by breaking locks at any time be scraped. Those in the business for over five years have been asked to deposit Rs 1 lakh, while those in business for a smaller duration will have to shell out Rs 25,000. The fee to be levied on air ticketing agents is Rs 25,000. "Moreover, the Suwidha Centres have been levying Rs 1,500 as charges for the processing of application that need to be routed through the offices of the SDMs, police stations and CID offices," an agent said.
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BSF plans day tourism, LED screens at Wagah
Amritsar, October 28 These included introducing the concept of day tourism, putting up LED screens and devising a traffic plan to de-congest the area in the evening. Talking to the media here today, Ashok Kumar, IG, BSF, Punjab Frontier, said: “We will initiate day tourism at the Wagah border on a trial basis from November 10. The tourists will be allowed to visit the border between 11 am and 3 pm, during which they could see the Indo-Pak gates, the border pillar and the parade area. At present, the border area opens for tourists at 4 pm for the Retreat ceremony.” He said the plan aimed at cutting down rush at the Retreat ceremony. “We are facing problems in controlling the crowd and regulating traffic due to increased flow of tourists. With day tourism plan, we expect a lot of tourists to visit the border during the day,” he said. MF Farooqui, DIG, BSF, said they were keen on introducing golf carts for the day tourism project so that the tourists could move around freely. Besides, BSF jawans would be deployed to guide the tourists. He said they had asked the district administration to declare a stretch of the road leading to the border as a no-parking zone, to which the administration agreed. He said usually trucks headed for Pakistan via Attari border were parked on either sides of the road, leading to traffic snarls. Besides, there was also a proposal to put up three LED screens for the Retreat ceremony so that those not finding a place in the gallery could watch it on the screen. On expansion of the spectators’ gallery, the IG said the work on the Rs 24-crore gallery expansion project would start by December. He said the work got delayed as there weren’t enough bidders when the tender was floated. Now, fresh bids had been invited.
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Barrage officials trying to save Mukteshwar caves
Pathankot, October 28 Despite assurances from barrage officials to keep these caves at Shahpur Kandi and Dung villages intact, villagers are not sure if these archeologically significant sites can be salvaged at all. Shahpur Kandi XEN Sudhir Gupta said there were four such caves of which two were in danger of being submerged in the Shahpur Kandi lake. He claimed that the villagers were needlessly getting panicky as the lake was to be completed by 2017 and there was enough time to chalk out a plan to save the sites. “We are working on a project to save the heritage sites. Recently, a delegation of villagers met Deputy Speaker Dinesh Babbu and Pathankot Deputy Commissioner Sukhwinder Singh on the issue. They were assured that the caves would be saved,” Gupta said. The Deputy Speaker is keen on saving the caves that are located in his Assembly constituency. The locals have immense respect for these sites and do not want to see the caves submerged. There is a temple, Mukesran Mandir, near the caves where a mela (fair) is held in April every year. Despite the efforts of the barrage authorities, officials with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) are not sure if these caves can be saved. The ASI recently abandoned its plans to take over the site. “I understand that the locals are sentimental about these caves. We are finding a way to save these,” said Gupta.
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Abohar MC elections
Abohar, October 28 The meeting held at senior activist Krishan Nagpal’s residence was presided over by veteran worker Raj Kumar Tandon, who has held various key positions in Jansangh too in the past. The party workers were of the opinion that the “irresponsible” utterances reportedly made by the local SAD unit members had hurt the “coalition dharma”. They asked BJP state executive member Sandeep Rinwa and district president Sita Ram Sharma to bring this to the notice of the BJP and the SAD leadership to avert damage to the coalition. Rinwa and Sharma said only “honest, devoted candidates with clean image” would be fielded in the local Municipal Council elections to ensure BJP’s win for the second term. The SAD city unit had invited applications for contesting elections in all the 33 wards, whereas the party had only five members in the past council that was run by the BJP with the strength of 19 councillors. The SAD initiative indicated that it plans to oust the saffron party in Abohar. The SAD high command had recently rewarded detractors from the BJP in the last Vidhan Sabha elections with key posts while reorganising the city unit.
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Left parties continue protest against govt
Sangrur, October 28 The CPI, the CPM and the CPI-ML (Liberation) are jointly organising
the march for creating awareness among the masses against the alleged "anti-people" policies of state government. It would culminate at Mohali on October 30. The march later passed through Dhuri, Longowal, Bakhshiwala and Chhajli (all in Sangrur district). Workers and leaders of Left parties welcomed the march at every place. Senior leaders of Left parties, including former MLA Hardev Arshi, Harbhagwan Bhikhi, Bant Singh Namol, Bhup Chand Channo and Bhim Singh Alampur, participated in the march. Addressing the gatherings at different places, the leaders briefed people about the alleged "änti-people" policies of the state government and the adverse fallout of the Prevention of Damage to Public and Private Property Act. They also raised the issue of property tax. They also demanded Rs 15,000 per month as wages for unskilled workers. They said the homeless should be given 10-marla plots and a grant of Rs 3 lakh for the construction of houses. They also urged the government to improve education facilities and health services throughout the state.
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MC staff corrupt, alleges PPP
Hoshiarpur, October 28 Addressing protesters, party state secretary Sandeep Saini alleged that the MC had failed to perform its duty towards people of the city. He alleged that MC officials connived with contractors to indulge in corrupt practices. They said residents were at the receiving end due to corruption. “The condition of Hoshiarpur city is worse than a jungle, but the MC and the administration have turned a blind eye towards it. The administration and the state government should have take stern action against corrupt MC officials,” demanded Saini.
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Police probing gangster’s ties with PPCC president
Chandigarh, October 28 Pala Brar is a member of the infamous Paras gang with operations across Punjab, Haryana, western UP and Delhi. The gang is involved in several cases of extortion, kidnap and snatching. Bajwa has vehemently denied any link with the gangster, calling it a conspiracy against him. SS Kahlon, Faridkot SSP, said: “It was while investigating a robbery at a gunhouse in Faridkot that the police discovered that the Paras gang was operating in Punjab with help from Pala Brar and Gurcharan Singh alias Rinka. It was only after Paras Brar was brought here on production warrant from the Agra jail that we zeroed in on him. He claims to have done this assignment for Bajwa.” The SSP said that while investigating Pala Brar’s links with Chandigarh resident Gurtej Singh Pannu, booked for selling smuggled foreign-made arms on fake licences, the police had learnt that Pannu, at Bajwa’s instance, had accompanied gangsters to the Congress Bhavan on October 16 to keep certain persons away from the Congress vice-president. He said Pala Brar had told the police that while on “the assignment,” they had left their weapons in a car parked outside the Congress Bhavan and entered the bhavan on fake identity cards. Investigations had shown that Pala Brar and other gangsters were given shelter by Pannu in his farmhouse in Jabli (HP). That the latter had summoned them to the Congress Bhavan had been established by telephone calls between the two. “Call details of Pannu’s brother Gursher Singh reveal that 10 calls were exchanged between him and Bajwa beginning July, each lasting several minutes. Pala Brar has revealed that they were given the ID card of one of Bajwa’s employees, identified as Gurdeep,” the SSP said.
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Work on 1984 memorial starts on Nov 1
Amritsar, October 28 Manjeet Singh GK, DSGMC president, said they were not raising any structure for the November 1984 memorial. “We are only constructing a wall, which will have the names of those massacred in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination inscribed on it. The memorial complex will also have a water body, stonework and beautiful landscaping around it,” he averred. GK said it would not only be a memorial to those killed on the streets of Delhi, but also in the other parts of the country. “We also intend to dedicate it to the non-Sikhs who saved the lives and properties of Sikhs in November 1984,” he said. Referring to a controversy in the past, he clarified that the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) could not raise any objection this time as they were not building any structure. “We don’t need any permission from the NDMC as we are simply constructing a wall. The memorial will be a symbol of harmony. The work will be completed within a couple of years,” he said. To a query on building a museum along with it, GK said it would come in the next stage of the memorial. The museum would have photographs and media reports of 1984 riots on display. He also hinted that they did not wish to construct a new building for the museum and would rather dedicate an already existing building in Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Complex for it. He accused the previous Congress government of trying to sabotage their attempt to construct the memorial in the memory of those killed in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Dwelling on the November 1 ceremony, GK said it would be attended by five Sikh high priests, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, members of Sant Samaj and Nihang organisations. The foundation stone of the memorial was laid on June 12 last year. The move to build the memorial at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj premises had sparked a controversy with former DSGMC chief Paramjit Singh Sarna moving the Delhi High Court against it. The Akal Takht issued directions to Sarna on July 26, asking him to withdraw his petition against the memorial.
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Bus fares may be cut in January
Chandigarh, October 28 After the prices of diesel were slashed by Rs 3.37 per litre earlier this month, the government is under pressure to reduce the fares. In an official statement, Kohar said last year the government issued a notification which proposed a formula about increasing/decreasing the fare in accordance with the diesel price. The formula stated that the fare would increase/decrease by 0.40 per cent for every percentage point increase/decrease in the price of diesel as well as increase in the rate of motor vehicle tax. The revision will be effected on quarterly basis in April, July, October and January. The minister stated that the rates of diesel had been slashed from October 18, 2014. After the previous increase in fare, rates of diesel are up by Rs 2.63 and the loss in
the price of diesel has been Rs 3.37, the difference being 74 paise. According to the formula, its impact should take effect from January 1. So, the prices of diesel prevalent at that time should determine the increase/ decrease in fare. If the Union Government doesn’t effect any changes in the prices of diesel, the decrease in fare in that case could be considered according to per km formula. In case there is no increase/decrease in diesel prices, the
fare would be less by 0.48 paise per km.
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Anganwari
worker's death on poll duty
Moga, October 28 Kamlesh Kaur, the deceased woman employee, was on medical leave for a month before her death. She was especially called on poll duty by the administration despite her ill health. She pleaded before the SDM and senior officials of her department a number of times not to send her on poll duty, but no one listened to her. The administration constituted a special team of senior officials to inquire into her death. However, the team gave a clean chit to the SDM, alleged the Democratic Teachers’ Front, which later filed a complaint with the rights' panel demanding justice. Soon after the woman's death her husband Jarnail Singh revealed that she was suffering from heart disease and high blood pressure. She waited for many hours to get exemption from poll duty
on April 29. Suddenly, she fell down on the ground in the afternoon. She was taken to a local government hospital at Nihalsinghwala from where the doctors referred her to the district hospital at Moga. She was declared "brought dead" by the doctors in the evening. Family members of the woman alleged the insensitive attitude of the administration led to her death. She was on leave since February 21 on medical grounds till her death. They have demanded registration of a murder case against the district administration authorities.
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High demand for basmati 1121, farmers cheer
Fazilka, October 28 Official sources said area under the fine 1121 variety of basmati had witnessed an increase of 20 per cent in the district this year. The 1121 variety, which consumes less water as compared to the coarse paddy variety, was cultivated on 72,000 hectares this year against 59,000 hectares last year. The sources said 3,19,530 tonnes of basmati paddy arrived in the district last year. “Due to a bumper crop and high yield, the Agriculture Department is expecting the highest ever arrival of about 4 lakh tonnes this year,” said Resham Singh Sandhu, Chief Agriculture Officer. The basmati variety, which started arriving in Fazilka a fortnight ago, was sold at Rs 3,131 per quintal today, the highest this season so far. Enthused at high prices, marginal farmers have started thronging the district grain markets, resulting in about 30,000 quintals of arrival per day. Sources said since the prices were witnessing an upward trend, big farmers had held back their produce in anticipation of a further hike in prices. “I will bring my produce for sale only after leading exporters enter the market,” said Sunil Kumar of Kheowali Dhab village.
Crushing season from Nov 20
Chandigarh: The crushing of cane in sugar mills will begin from November 20. An official spokesperson said the Chief Minister had cleared a proposal in this regard. In all, 16 sugar mills are operational in the state of which nine are in the cooperative and seven in the private sector. The crushing capacity of the cooperative sugar mills is 15,766 TCD and that of private mills 34,000 TCD. The mills require 896 lakh quintals of sugarcane. But cane production this year is expected to be 720 lakh quintals, of which 520 lakh quintals will be available for crushing.
Use ‘spreaders’ while harvesting, farmers told
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Denied scholarship, SC students told to deposit fee
Faridkot, October 28 Most of them studying in senior secondary schools in the area have been told to pay the annual examination fee. Refusing to pay the fee, some affected students submitted a complaint to Inder Singh, District Welfare Officer, Faridkot. The officer has issued notices to eight schools, asking them to produce record of fee charged from SC/BC students. He said the Punjab Government had issued directions to all deputy commissioners to ensure strict compliance of the Punjab and Haryana High Court orders that scholarship amount be directly credited to the accounts of colleges/institutions and no fee be charged from the eligible students. The district school education department authorities claimed that they did not receive any instructions. Rather they were told to collect the examination fee from all students, they said. Paramjit Singh, Director, Welfare Department, said for the financial year 2013-14, Rs 163 crore was released to various educational institutions and departments under the post-matric scholarship scheme. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment started the scheme to provide financial assistance to the SC/BC students in July 2010. As per the scheme, no educational institution, government or private, can charge tuition fee from an SC/BC student whose family income from all sources does not exceed Rs 2.5 lakh per annum.
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Patiala MC awaits nod to Rs 57-cr projects
Patiala, October 28 The corporation has submitted a Rs 10-crore proposal for a sewage pumping station to clear choked drains, especially during the monsoon. Another project relates to the construction of a multi-level parking to ease parking woes of the city. The project would cost around Rs 15 crore. The corporation also plans to have a four-lane road linking the National Institute of Sports (NIS) to Rajpura Road. This would help ease traffic on the busy Rajpura Road. The civic body wants additional Rs 10 crore for undertaking miscellaneous works in various parts of the city, including repair of roads. The failure of the Patiala Municipal Corporation to complete even a single big project in the city in recent past dented the coalition government's prospects in the recently concluded parliamentary elections and the Patiala bypoll. SAD-BJP candidate Deepinder Dhillon lost the Patiala (city) seat. While the Congress has repeatedly claimed that the state government is not bothered about city residents, SAD leaders have always claimed that funds will be no hindrance in city's development. However, many important projects are pending due to lack of funds.
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Medical, dental teachers demand time-bound promotions
Patiala, October 28 The faculty of Government Medical College, Patiala, was represented by Dr BL Bhardwaj, Dr DS Bhullar and Dr Avneesh Kumar, whereas the faculty of Government Medical College, Amritsar, was represented by Dr HS Sohal and Dr Shivcharan. Besides demanding time-bound promotions for doctors, they also wanted the government to increase their retirement age from 62 to 65 years. It was brought to the notice of the Chief Minister that both their demands were in accordance with the norms of the Medical Council of India. Dr BL Bhardwaj told The Tribune that more than 90 per cent of the teaching faculty in government and private medical and dental colleges of North India was already getting these benefits. These demands involved no financial consideration, he said. He said the CM assured them that the interest of each and every faculty member would be kept in mind before taking a final decision on time-bound promotions and the issue of retirement age. A senior faculty member of the Patiala college said the non-acceptance of these demands also affected fresh recruitments. "Young MBBS doctors and specialists are not keen on joining state-run colleges in the absence of time-bound promotions. Moreover, there are many doctors who have been serving on the same post for the past 10 years. On the other hand, doctors in other institutions are getting promoted at regular intervals," he added.
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Dal Khalsa to hold a rally at Jantar Mantar
Amritsar, October 28 Disclosing their plans to observe the 30th year of the Sikh carnage after presiding over the meet of party colleagues, Dal Khalsa president HS Dhami and spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh said, “Pushed to the wall and having exhausted all internal forums, Sikhs see no place except the United Nations for justice.” They said the representatives of Sikhs, Kashmiris, Tamils, Nagas, Manipuri and Christians will converge on a single platform at the rally being organised by them at Jantar Mantar. Supported by Damdami Taksal and SAD (Panch Pardani), the Dal Khalsa will undertake a march from the Akal Takht to Delhi on November 2 where a “Rights and Justice Rally” would be held before heading to the UN headquarters to submit a memorandum to its officials. Elaborating their plan to knock the doors of the United Nations, they said they “would seek a peaceful resolution to the conflicts that give rise to incidents of genocide against the Sikhs, like the one in Delhi in November 1984”.
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Dera followers clash with Sikh youths, 30 injured
Tarn Taran, October 28 The Sikh organisations were upset at the Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan organising satsang (religious congregation) at the residence of a village resident. Eyewitnesses said the trouble began when Sikh youths, carrying swords and batons, attacked the satsang venue. In retaliation, dera followers hurled stones at them. Leaders of the Sikh organisations alleged that two policemen attached with the dera followers opened fire, injuring several Sikh youths. Among those injured are Kanshi Ram, Jasmeet Singh, Jaswinder Kaur and Subheg Singh, all dera followers, and constable Tajinder Singh. A grievously injured Sikh youth was admitted to a hospital in Amritsar. The dera followers accused the police of inaction. They alleged that the Sikh organisations had threatened them against holding the satsang, which was why the police had been deployed in the village. Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal, DC, and Manmohan Sharma, SSP, rushed to the village when told about the violent incidents. More policemen have been deployed at the village to avert further clashes. The Akal Takht jathedar, Giani Gurbachan Singh, has asked the state government to initiate action against the dera supporters for their "anti-Sikh activities". He has sought action against the police constables who reportedly opened fire at Sikh youths during the clash.
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Plan affordable housing scheme, CM tells PUDA
Chandigarh, October 28 The Chief Minister asked the Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, to come out with an economically viable and financially sustainable group housing policy for the middle and lower middle income groups. He asked the Chief Administrators of GMADA and PUDA to work out the details in consultation with the Country and Town Planning Department. Taking part in the deliberations, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal asked the officers to prepare the blueprint for strengthening and widening roads connecting SAS Nagar (Mohali) with New Chandigarh (Mullanpur) and Chandigarh. He asked the Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, to tie up with the Principal Secretary, Industry and Commerce, and the CEO, Industrial Promotion Bureau, to motivate leading business and corporate houses to set up ventures in the upcoming Medicity and
Ecocity.
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Despite FIR, police yet to arrest molester
Sangrur, October 28 The FIR does not mention rape. It says the accused made obscene gestures and touched
the girl’s private parts. At this, she ran out of the house and approached
the neighbours. When contacted, Station House Officer (SHO) Sukhdev Singh said the police
had been waiting for doctors’ opinion. General secretary of the Punjab Youth Congress Poonam Kangra and former councillor Darshan Kangra today met the
victim and her mother in hospital. They told them that they would take up the matter with the Sangrur
SSP.
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Protest against unbundling of FCI
Chandigarh, October 28 Regional secretary of the union Megh Raj said the trifurcation of the corporation would not be in the interest of the country. The Union Government should stop it, he said. The union also demanded 40 per cent cafeteria allowance for Class III and IV employees, pension scheme and post-retirement medical scheme. It also demanded relaxation in storage-loss norms and regularisation of casual workers employed with the corporation since 1986-87.
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Chandigarh, October 28 Principal Secretary (Home) Jagpal Singh has been given the additional charge of Financial Commissioner (Revenue) as NS Kang is all set to proceed on central deputation in the Union Ministry of Health. Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal has taken the additional charge of Director General, Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration. Karan Avtar Singh has been given the additional charge of Industries Department, besides continuing with his charge of Investment Promotion Department. Dharamvir has been posted Principal Secretary, Punjab State Human Rights Commission. The other postings are: C Roul, Principal Secretary, School Education; B Sarkar, Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities; Ravneet Kaur, Principal Secretary, Parliamentary Affairs and General Administration; Sanjay Kumar, Principal Secretary, Jails; Anjali Bhawra, Principal Secretary, Tourism and Cultural Affairs; KAP Sinha, Secretary, Science and Technology; Rakesh Kumar Verma, Secretary, Governance Reforms; Rahul Bhandari, Secretary, General Administration; Seema Jain, Secretary of SCs and BCs; Kripa Shankar Saroj, Secretary, Printing and Stationery and Raji P Srivastava, Director, Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration. Samir Kumar would be the Secretary, Revenue; Rahul Bhandari the Secretary, General Administration whereas RK Kaushik would function as Special Secretary, Home Affairs. — TNS
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After Bathinda, cow cess to be levied in all districts
Jalandhar, October 28 The notification directs the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) of all the districts to form district animal welfare societies and get them registered with the Registrar of Societies. It has even defined the constitution of the societies, which would have DCs as chairpersons and ADC (Development) as member, secretary. The notification was released by G. Vajralingam, Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary of the department, on October 22, a copy of which reached the district administration office here last evening. The other members who too would be a part of the committee would include a representative of the municipal corporation or committee, SSP, district development and panchayat officer; deputy director, Animal Welfare; deputy director, Dairy Development; district forest officer and SDMs of the tehsils concerned. Besides, there would be 10 other members, including veterinary experts, those running cow sheds and concerned with animal welfare and NGO representatives. The notification also mentions that the Panchayat Department would arrange for at least 25 acres of suitable land, which would be transferred to the society on lease at minimum rates. The space would be used for providing shelter to 2,000 stray cattle and providing them immunisation and treatment. The notification, however, is silent on how the collection for the cess is to be made. In Bathinda, the residents have been asked to pay Rs 1,000 as cow cess on the purchase of every four-wheeler and for holding a function in any air-conditioned marriage palace. They have also been asked to shell out Rs 500 as cow cess for holding a function in a non-airconditioned palace. Even a buyer of a two-wheeler has pay Rs 200 extra, if he makes a purchase in Bathinda. Also, the refinery there has to pay Rs 100 for every round of an oil tanker in the city. Even the booze lovers have to shell out Rs 10 extra on every bottle of India-made foreign liquor and Rs 5 on a bottle of beer or country-made liquor. In Jalandhar, there are two main cattle sheds, including Pinjar Pole gaushala on Tanda Road and another in Bulandpur. But there often are reports of animals dying because of lack of hygiene, care and funds. BJP activist Manit Malhotra has welcomed the move and demanded that quick action should begin on the matter.
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Chandigarh, October 28 Balwinder Singh has been appointed Director, Research; RS Sidhu, Director, Extension Education; RS Singh, Director, Regional Research Station (RRS), Gurdaspur; Paramjit Singh, Director, RRS, Bathinda; RIS Gill, Head, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources and Jagdish Kaur, Head, Department of Agricultural Journalism. — TNS
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Anganwari union head on indefinite fast
Muktsar, October 28 The anganwari workers earlier in the day gheraoed the complex and handed over a memorandum to Additional Deputy Commissioner Karnail Singh. The district administration has reportedly sought two days time from the protesters. The workers have been on protest for the last 97 days. "Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had last year assured to recruit 286 anganwari workers as supervisors. But the department recruited only 172. We are demanding that the remaining workers should also be recruited," said the agitating workers.
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In Ludhiana, 18 vie for posts of headmaster
Bathinda, October 28 While Ludhiana has submitted 18 claims of master cadre teachers for promotion, Amritsar comes a close second with 14 cases. While Moga has submitted 10 claims, Hoshiarpur follows with nine. Jalandhar and Gurdaspur districts have submitted seven cases each, Bathinda has submitted six cases, Barnala, Kapurthala and Sangrur have presented five cases each, Fatehgarh Sahib, Faridkot, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Fazilka and Muktsar have proposed three cases each, Pathankot has submitted two cases and Tarn Taran has submitted only one case for promotion. While 112 teachers shortlisted for promotion belong to the general category, only one teacher belongs to the Scheduled Caste. The list has only 25 female teachers while the remaining 88 claims have been submitted by male teachers. The list includes teachers belonging to general category who were appointed between November 9, 1987, and December 10, 1987, those from the Scheduled Caste appointed before December 5, 1989, and those of the category reserved for differently abled appointed before July 21, 1988.
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Rs 241 cr paid to paddy growers: DC
Fatehgarh Sahib, October 28 Till today, over 2.41 lakh MT of paddy has been procured by government agencies and rice millers. The farmers had been paid around Rs 241 crore for their produce, he added. He said Pungrain had purchased 90,025 MT, Markfed 68,335 MT, Punsup 71,556 MT, Ware House 16,600 MT, Punjab Agro 24,247 MT and FCI 11,200 MT. Private traders had purchased 272 MT of paddy till today, he said. The DC said 95 per cent of the procured paddy had been lifted from grain markets while payment had been released in respect of 90 per cent.
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Kidnapping cases: Activists seek action
Muktsar, October 28 Manga Singh of the
Naujawan Bharat Sabha, said, “A large number of organisations have decided to lodge a zonal
protest in Faridkot on November 18.” — TNS
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7 get jail term in rape case
Sangrur, October 28 The case was registered against Harjinder Singh, and his aides on a complaint by the victim’s father on December 8, 2013. The remaining accused are Hardeep Kaur, Harwinder Singh, Raj Kaur, Karan Kumar, Harwinder Kaur and Pargat Singh.
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Sangrur, October 28
Tarn Taran, October 28
Arrest warrants have been issued against 49 defaulters against an amount of Rs 11.34 lakh. The properties of 19,766 farmers have been attached, though no action has been taken yet.
Row over memorial