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Paddy cure for state’s fiscal health
The auction yard at the grain market in Sangrur. Paddy arrivals have gone up in the district following a rise in prices. Tribune photo
Another heroin haul, 22-kg seized in Ferozepur
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India, Pak must jointly fight terror: Capt
Capt Amarinder Singh at a rally in Ajnala on Monday.
A Tribune photograph
Minister Joshi’s election under HC scanner
BJP’s core committee to meet today
MC caught releasing sewage in open
Panchayats say no to audit by private CAs
Transporters block NH as students damage bus
Women inmates take to teaching in Gurdaspur jail
Pyrolysis units now only in notified areas
Security up at Floating Restaurant
Policemen with a sniffer dog at the Floating Restaurant in Fatehgarh Sahib on Monday. Tribune Photo
Villagers oppose solid waste mgmt project
Arms smuggling: Cops to probe role of babus
Chief Minister to take farmers to China
Don’t be fooled by agents, PPSC warns aspirants
PSIEC to begin mining on Nov 5
State to spend Rs
1,000cr to promote tourism
Road linking 19 villages in Bet area potholed
Industrialists seek VAT on power
Dr Sidhu raids mineral water units, 3 sealed
Bungling in MC: Audit team seizes record
SSA survey: Muktsar schools top
Wild boars a cause of worry for Fazilka farmers
US Sikhs hold nagar kirtan in Yuba City
12 booked for false cases against top cops
Ludhiana doctor booked on Medical Council’s complaint
Five killed in accidents
One held with opium
Guard found dead
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Paddy cure for state’s fiscal health
Chandigarh, November 3 Though basmati is fetching a much less rate compared to last year, government officials claim that those who cultivated basmati this year earned almost Rs 17,800 per acre more than those who opted for non- basmati varieties. Basmati is being sold at Rs 2,500-Rs 3,200 per quintal as against Rs 3,700-Rs 4,300 per quintal last season. Basmati varieties have an average yield of 18 quintals per acre. Hence, farmers who grew basmati have earned about Rs 48,600 per acre. The non-basmati varieties have a yield of 22 quintals per acre. With a minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,400 per quintal, the growers have earned Rs 30,800 per quintal. Senior officials say the area under basmati has increased by 54 per cent this year. Basmati varieties have been sown over 8.60 lakh hectares. The area under non-basmati varieties has gone down by 8 per cent (grown over 19.53 lakh hectares). Basmati production this year is expected to reach 35 lakh-37 lakh tonnes compared to 120 lakh tonnes of non-basmati varieties. “On an average a farmer gets Rs 15,000 more on basmati. As basmati has been grown on 8.60 lakh hectares (20 lakh acres), this means agro economy has grown by Rs 3,000 crore,” explained Suresh Kumar, Financial Commissioner, Development. He said the government would further streamline the marketing of basmati next year. As non-basmati production has come down, the quantity of paddy available for procurement is expected to be about 100 lakh tonnes. “Thus, the government will have to pay less for buying paddy for the central pool,” said a senior official with the Agriculture Department. Payments delayed Sangrur: Paddy growers and arhtiyas are a harassed lot. No payment has been credited to their bank accounts for paddy procured after October 22. Kesar Singh of Ghabdan village claimed that he had yet to receive payment for paddy sold 10 days ago. He alleged that the state government was wrongly claiming that payments were being made in 72 hours. The arhtiyas did not make payments to farmers till they got the same from the state government, he said. Arhtiya Pardeep Singla said he had yet to be paid Rs 1.75 crore by various government agencies. Another arhtiya Dev Raj said he had received payment only for paddy sold till October 19. District Food and Supply Controller Munish Narula claimed that Rs 904 crore (of the total Rs 1,224 crore) had been paid to the arhtiyas so far. Ludhiana: Farmers in some mandis in Ludhiana district have not been paid even after 20 days of procurement. Agencies have not made payment to commission agents after October 22. The agencies have procured 58,851 tonnes of grain from the markets at Salemtabari, Gill Road, Lalton Kalan, Khasi Kalan, Dhandra, Mattewara, Ayali, and Bagha Khurd. Market committee officials said Punsup had stopped payments on October 22, Pungrain on October 18 and Markfed on October 15. Procurement has been smooth at the Khanna and Jagraon grain markets. But payments in Khamano have been delayed by certain agencies. Paddy bags stolen Sangrur: More than 250 bags of paddy have been stolen from a rice mill at Lehragaga. A complaint has been made to the Lehragaga police by the owner. A police official said they were yet to register a case. He said an assistant sub-inspector had inspected the crime scene. Economics of basmati
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Another heroin haul, 22-kg seized in Ferozepur
Ferozepur, November 3
The latest heroin recovery was made near the Ulloke border outpost. This is the second major seizure of heroin by the BSF in the state over the past 24 hours. The BSF had killed an Indian smuggler in an exchange of fire and also seized 22 kg of heroin in the Gurdaspur sector yesterday. RK Thapa, Deputy Inspector General, BSF, Ferozepur Sector, said, “Our personnel spotted suspicious movement of smugglers ahead of the border security fence on the intervening night of November 2/3. Despite being challenged, they did not pay any heed and continued with their aggressive posture. Thapa said the BSF opened fire in self-defence, but the smugglers managed to escape taking cover of wild growth and foggy weather. During a thorough search of the area, the BSF recovered 22 packets of heroin (1 kg each), besides a Pakistani SIM card and a 12-foot-long plastic pipe. Thapa said the Inspector General, BSF, Punjab Frontier, had announced cash reward and his commendation roll to the personnel who participated in this operation. The BSF authorities gave Rs 1.25 lakh cash reward to its personnel who made the seizure in Gurdaspur on Sunday. Four mobile phones with Pakistani SIM cards, a pistol, three magazines with 30 rounds and two pouches of opium (35 gm) were also seized. The BSF has seized over 328 kg of heroin during this year in Punjab. The state has a 553-km-long fenced international border with Pakistan. No let-up in smuggling
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India, Pak must jointly fight terror: Capt
Amritsar, November 3 Addressing a public meeting at Konewala village in
Ajnala, he said: “India and Pakistan must jointly fight the scourge of terrorism.” Referring to the problem of recurrent floods in the area, Amarinder Singh said he would raise the issue with the Centre and demand that a ‘dhusi’ bundh be erected. Lashing out at the
SAD-BJP government, he alleged that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had given up governance and was busy “humouring” BJP leaders to save his government. “Worried about saving his business interests, he has been tolerating every kind of insult to him,” he said. Condemning the anti-drug drive, Amarinder Singh alleged that the state government had spared the big fish. On the problems faced by border farmers, he said he would ask the Centre to increase the farming hours. He demanded ownership rights for the farmers who had been cultivating reclaimed river land for over five decades. Amarinder Singh was accompanied by Harpartap Ajnala and Sukhjinder Randhawa. Fazilka: There was a thin gathering at the Retreat at the Sadiqi joint check post in Fazilka today. About 40 persons witnessed the ceremony on both sides of Radcliff Line. The Commandant, 90 Battalion, BSF, said residents had been asked to be more vigilant. They had been told to contact the BSF in case of any suspicious activity near the international border.
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Minister Joshi’s election under HC scanner
Chandigarh, November 3 Advocate Vaneet Mahajan alleged that Joshi, in his nomination papers, had claimed that his name was on the electoral list. But an inquiry by the Election Commission of India had found this claim to be false and fabricated. The petitioner said that Joshi had been elected on the basis of a false and fabricated claim. “He is not a voter on any electoral list in Punjab and as such he does not possess the basic qualifications specified… to hold a seat in the Assembly…” The petition was placed before the Bench of Justice Ajay Kumar Mittal and Justice Raj Rahul
Garg. The Bench fixed November 25 as the next date of hearing. Seeking directions for declaring Joshi “not entitled” to sit in the state Assembly, he has sought directions for treating the Amritsar North constituency seat as vacant. His counsel Narender Hooda and Sidhu Hooda said Joshi’s continuance as member of the Assembly, when he did not possess the basic statutory qualification, would be tantamount to a fraud on the Constitution and a subversion of democracy. They said papers were filed nominating Joshi as BJP candidate on January 11, 2012. In these papers, his postal address was mentioned as 11, Medical Enclave, Amritsar. It was stated that his name appeared at serial number 498 (Part 98) of the electoral rolls for the Amritsar North constituency. Cheema’s pre-arrest
bail confirmed About a fortnight after the arrest of Punjab Inspector-General of Police Gautam Cheema in a molestation case was stayed, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today confirmed the bail. “Keeping in view the fact that the petitioner has joined the investigation, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, the interim bail granted by this court vide order dated October 16 is made absolute….The petitioner shall not leave the country without prior permission of the court,” Justice Jitendra Chauhan ruled. His counsel Karanvir Singh Khehar had earlier claimed that the accused had left for election duty on March 19, the day the alleged molestation took place.In an attempt to substantiate his contention, he had referred to a Vigilance Bureau communication, dated July 24, to the petitioner seeking a clarification on Kricpy Khera’s complaint. In his reply, Cheema had stated that he had left for Delhi by road at 8 am on March 19 for boarding a flight to Allahabad at 02.05 pm. The counsel claimed the complainant had earlier moved a similar complaint against one Karan
Arora, which was found to be without any substance.
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BJP’s core committee to meet today
Chandigarh, November 3 The newly appointed Punjab affairs in charge, Ram Shankar Katheria, Member of Parliament from Agra, will be attending one of the party sessions. Party MLAs and state ministers will reportedly discuss the party’s strategy for the coming municipal elections as well as ties with the Akali Dal. One of the members of the core committee said legislators and heads of various bodies would be given targets for enrolling more members. Katheria, it is learnt, is a tough taskmaster who is hard to please. He is likely to grill some ministers and MLAs on their working. Outbursts by some of them against the government may also be discussed. Sources say it is significant that the BJP has decided to meet at the party office and not the Punjab Bhawan. The party’s state executive is to meet on November 5. There have been reports of the BJP making inroads into the state’s rural pockets with the help of the RSS. The Congress has warned against the “communal divide” that the RSS may create in the state.
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MC caught releasing sewage in open
Bathinda, November 3 Similar is the case with the houses of Sewerage Board Colony nearby. These too are bereft of a sewerage connection. The waste from the colony is also released into the Municipal Enclave septic tank, which further pumps it out in the open, thus causing major damage to the environment. The municipal authorities use five litres of diesel daily to pump the water out of the tank into the open area adjoining the Sirhind Canal, it has been learnt. Bajrang Das Singla, Municipal Corporation Engineer, claimed the water from the tank was being used for irrigating plants. He said the process to lay sewerage pipes in the colony would be started within a few months. Punjab Pollution Control Board officials said it was illegal to release untreated water from a septic tank into an open area. “Even before using treated water for watering plants, it must be tested from the pollution board. Nobody can be allowed to release polluted water from a septic tank into an open space and that too adjoining the Sirhind Canal,” said pollution board Executive Engineer Joginder Singh. He said a notice would be issued to the corporation. “The water is pumped out after it overflows from our toilets and we raise a hue and cry,” said a resident of Municipal Enclave. The colony has 33 houses, including the official residence of the Municipal Commissioner where the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) has been putting up currently. The employees living in the colony said that despite paying house tax in the form of 20 per cent of their total salary, the corporation had failed to provide them basic amenities. “The authorities deduct 5 per cent from our basic salary and 15 per cent from our gross salary,” the employees said.
Wrong ways * The Municipal Enclave, having the official residence of the Municipal Commissioner, and the Sewerage Board Colony are not connected with a sewerage network * The waste is released into the Municipal Enclave septic tank, which further pumps it out in the open, thus causing major damage to the environment * The municipal authorities use five litres of diesel daily to pump the water out of the tank into the open area adjoining the Sirhind Canal, it has been learnt * The Punjab Pollution Control Board says it is illegal to release untreated water from a septic tank into an open area
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Panchayats say no to audit by private CAs
Chandigarh, November 3 While the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats seems to be in no mood to retract from its stand, the Panchayat Union (Punjab) has decided not to allow the CAs and their teams to enter villages. The department has engaged 50 CAs from across the state to conduct the audit. The process earlier used to be carried out by the department's own audit branch. Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Sikandar Singh Malooka has assured the Panchayat Union of raising the matter with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his deputy Sukhbir Singh Badal. He said the departmental audit practice had never been able to bring out any irregularities even as complaints of misuse of funds had emerged in abundance. "There are villages where good work has been done. But at the same time there are some areas from where a large number of complaints about misuse of funds have been received… The new audit system was put in place before my taking over the ministry," said Maluka. He was talking to The Tribune after interacting with a delegation of the Panchayat Union. The union and officials of the department, including panchayat secretaries, gram sewaks, junior engineers and SCPOs, who have been on a pen-down strike for the past about a month, have refused to take any blame. "The department should improve its system. Panchayats are forced to bear the expenses of the Chief Minister's Sangat Darshan. Whenever any halqa head comes to distribute grant cheques or to lay any foundation stone, a panchayat has to bear the expenses of the function. How can transparency be expected when panchayats have to spend on their own on such unnecessary events?" questioned union president Harwinder Singh Mawi. The union alleged that it was a ploy by the department to outsource auditing of panchayats at a much higher cost. "A panchayat earlier used to extend Rs 2,900 to the government as audit fee for a period of five years. Under the new system, any panchayat getting grants up to Rs 5 lakh a year will have to shell out Rs 5,000 for a day's audit. In case of bigger panchayats, the fee has been fixed at Rs 8,000 daily," he said. Mawi said the audit of a small panchayat took three days while that of a bigger one could even last five or more days. "It means each panchayat will now be burdened with Rs 15,000 for a three-day audit instead of Rs 2,900 for five years earlier," he said.
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Transporters block NH as students damage bus
Moga, November 3 The students reportedly belonged to the local Industrial Training Institute (ITI). It was the second incident of attack by students on private buses in the past one week. Eyewitnesses said the students signalled the bus driver to stop around 11 am, but the driver did not respond despite it being a designated stoppage. Miffed, the students allegedly pelted the bus with stones and bricks. The students have been demanding monthly passes from private bus operators on the lines of government buses. But the Private Bus Operators Union of the district has refused to meet their demand, which has led to unrest. The ITI students and private bus operators have clashed at least 10 times in the past three years. The issue could not be solved due to adamant attitude of both the parties. Harjit Singh, a student, alleged that as public transport buses did not ply on link roads, the monthly passes issued to them by the state roadways were of no use. “The students, particularly the girls, are inconvenienced as the operators have unanimously decided not to stop their buses in front of educational institutes,” he said. The transporters lifted the blockade only after the civil and the police authorities assured of action against the erring students.
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Women inmates take to teaching in Gurdaspur jail
Gurdaspur, November 3 A visit to the Gurdaspur Central Jail revealed that these days Shalini is teaching English language to 30 women inmates, a mix of both undertrials and convicts. The next batch of 35 prisoners is getting ready to be taught by Jasbir Kaur, a Masters in Law who is currently pursuing her PhD from Punjabi University, Patiala. Shalini teaches the women and their children — 15 of them are in prison along with their parents. She always starts her morning class by telling co-prisoners that ‘education’ in itself was a beautiful word “because it contains all the five vowels”. Shalini and Jasbir are joined by 20-year-old Gurdaspur girl Ekas, who is facing charges of murdering her father, and post-graduate murder convict Manjit Kaur, who teaches embroidery to the women. Ekas had cleared her PMT test and was all set to undergo the BDS course before she committed the crime. Then there is Poonam, a post-graduate who travels from nearby Abul Khair village to teach the inmates. Barring Jasbir and Poonam, who are not prisoners and are being paid Rs 3,000 and Rs 2,500 per month, all the other inmates have been appointed for the job by the District Child Welfare Council. All these teachers are part of a novel initiative undertaken by the council to teach 109 women prisoners in the jail. The scheme, Preliminary Educational Study Centre, was initiated by Deputy Commissioner Dr Abhinav Trikha and Romesh Mahajan, president and secretary of the council. Now six months down the line, the venture has caught the fancy of almost all women prisoners. The project has already earned kudos from Additional Director General of Police (Jails) RP Meena. Says Romesh, “The council is bearing all the expenses of educating the women and their children. We have purchased books worth Rs 5,000 for Ekas who wants to pursue her BDS degree. Once these women are out of prison, it will be easy for them to get rehabilitated.” Shalini, the Dinanagar-based women lecturer accused of murdering a person in Srinagar, is a changed person ever since she was put behind bars 25 months ago. “I am both the teacher and the taught. I always try to impress upon my co-prisoners that the entire purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows,” she averred. Classes behind bars
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Pyrolysis units now only in notified areas
Chandigarh, November 3 As a number of units using pyrolysis for extraction of fuel oil from waste rubber tyres were being set up in the state, various complaints were received from the public regarding pollution caused by such units. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal monitored the situation and took an initiative to save the existing 50 pyrolysis industrial units, besides framing a new policy for setting up of new units. The final policy has got the approval of the Punjab Pollution Control Board. Accordingly, the state government has issued fresh guidelines for setting up of waste tyre-based pyrolysis plants extracting fuel oil to adopt pollution prevention measures. Sorting out their long-pending issues, the Science, Technology and Environment Department, in its new guidelines, has allowed setting up of such units in notified or approved focal points, industrial areas and designated industrial land use areas, besides giving clearance to existing units which had applied before March 31, 2013, and are fulfilling new guidelines. To tackle environmental and safety issues, instructions have been issued regarding the code of practice and pollution abatement measures for all pyrolysis units. Besides, the state government has imposed a complete ban on the procurement or import of raw material from foreign shores or from other states. These units will be allowed to process waste tyres or waste rubber products generated from within the state. These units will also not be allowed to discharge waste water generated from oil-water separators anywhere. The new units will have to develop a minimum four-metre-wide green belt along the boundary of the plant.
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Security up at Floating Restaurant
Fatehgarh Sahib, November 3 Inspector Harvinder Singh and assistant sub-inspector Kuldeep Singh arrived at the restaurant with a dog squad this morning. Policemen surrounded the bus as it reached there at 10.10 am. All 25 passengers were escorted to the restaurant by police jawans. Senior Superintendent of Police Gurmeet Singh Chauhan said that security had been increased to ensure the safety of passengers.
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Villagers oppose solid waste mgmt project
Patiala, November 3 Waste from 40 municipalities from nearby districts will be treated at the waste management plant. The plant will recycle over 250 metric tonnes of solid waste per day from areas under the Patiala Municipal Corporation and 40 towns in
six districts, including Mansa, Patiala, Sangrur and Barnala. The project will help carry out door-to-door collection of garbage and lead to scientific storage of garbage that is generally dumped at various locations in all districts. Nearly two years ago, the state government had decided to set up the plant on 20 acres in Dhudhar village. The Patiala MC had acquired 20 acres for the project in 2011. Last year, the MC had decided to call off the deal after some local residents and local politicians had decided to move court against the civic body. However, the village panchayat had passed a resolution to lease out shamlat land to the civic body. Santokh Singh of Dudhar village said, “We have been living in the village for the past over 50 years. We fear that once the plant is set up, the foul smell from the plant will spread in the village.” He further said that they had raised the issue during the open hearing with the administration and would also approach the Punjab Pollution Control Board. Patiala Mayor Amrinder Bazaz said, “We are hopeful that the project will be commissioned by 2015.” Patiala Deputy Commissioner Varun Roojam, who met the villagers in Dakala, said, “We have told them that their grievances will be addressed. However, I confirm that the project is on track as the MC has been given possession of the land.”
Will ensure cleaner surroundings * Waste from 40 municipalities from nearby districts will be treated at the waste management plant *
The plant will recycle over 250 metric tonnes of solid waste per day from areas under the Patiala Municipal Corporation and 40 towns in six districts *
The project will help carry out door-to-door collection of garbage and lead to scientific storage of garbage that is generally strewn on roads
What admn says
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Arms smuggling: Cops to probe role of babus
Faridkot, November 3 A day after arresting Gursher Singh Pannu of Chandigarh in Faridkot, the police found out that he and his younger brother Gurtej Singh Pannu — the prime accused in the business of smuggling and sale of illegal weapons — are not only politically well-connected but their family also had “strong links with bureaucrats”. Gursher’s father-in-law was a Deputy Commissioner of Mohali and a senior functionary in the Department of Labour, Punjab. The involvement of Pannu brothers in the case has already landed some senior state Congress leaders in a difficult situation as Gurtej is known for “his closeness with senior PPCC functionaries”. The Faridkot police believe that due to their connections, Pannu brothers escaped unscathed in many criminal cases, including those of kidnapping and under the Arms Act, registered in Amritsar and Chandigarh in the last three years. The police claimed Gursher Singh had come to Faridkot to help the four arrested gang members, but he was nabbed on a tip-off. Gurtej, one of the 12 accused named in the case so far, is still absconding. SS Kahlon, Senior Superintendent of Police, Faridkot, said the police had recovered 14 smuggled weapons from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh so far. As the gang members were selling these smuggled weapons to gangsters and other people in north Indian states, the police are taking the
help of these states’ police, said Kahlon. Smuggled from the US, most of these sophisticated high-tech weapons, though very small in size, are lethal. Each of these weapons is sold for prices ranging from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 30 each. This gang was also providing prohibited weapons. While the police have already seized a US-made prohibited weapon, the police believe that one such weapon recovered from gangster
Shera Khuban, who was killed in an encounter with Bathinda police in September 2012, was also provided by this gang. The police have not disclosed the names of persons from whom they have seized these weapons.
Links with bureaucrats * A day after arresting Gursher Singh Pannu, the police found out that he and his brother Gurtej were not only politically well-connected but also had "strong links with bureaucrats" *
The Faridkot police believe that due to their connections, Pannu brothers escaped unscathed in many criminal cases
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Chief Minister to take farmers to China
Muktsar, November 3 Cheema said China was ranked number one in fish production. “The farmers in China are harvesting 32 tonnes fish per year from one-hectare pond. Our farmers have recently started fish farming. They are getting a produce of just 6 tonnes per hectare per year. Even the farmers of an advanced state such as Andhra Pradesh are getting 15 tonnes fish per hectare.” Those who would accompany the CM include Dr Padmakumar, an expert in fisheries, G Vajralingam, Financial Commissioner, and other officials, besides eight progressive farmers. A farmer of Jhorar village of Muktsar is part of the team. The delegation would visit Freshwater Fisheries Research Centre located along the Taihu Lake, some universities in Gansu and Wuxi provinces. Badal would meet provincial governors of Gansu and Wuxi, Cheema said. “The sole purpose of the visit is to promote aquaculture in the state, which will prove beneficial in waterlogged areas,” said Cheema, adding that the farmers would be shown the cage culture technique adopted by the Chinese farmers, who had even made
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Don’t be fooled by agents, PPSC warns aspirants
Patiala, November 3 The commission has asked them to submit a complaint with proof against such persons. After streamlining the examination and recruitment process, the PPSC, in order to ensure transparency in the interview process, is taking stringent measures. Kumar Saurabh Raj, Secretary, PPSC, has issued a public notice urging the aspirants of the Punjab State Civil Services Combined Competitive (main) 2013 that if anybody seeks bribe from them on the pretext of assured selection, the matter may be brought to the notice of the
PPSC.
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PSIEC to begin mining on Nov 5
Hoshiarpur, November 3 Deputy Commissioner Amit Dhaka said the PSIEC would begin mining at Dagana Khurd village from November 5. He said the Agriculture Department would transport the sand and gravel to the market.— OC
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State to spend Rs 1,000cr to promote tourism
Chandigarh, November 3 With the increase in the arrival of tourists to the state, the state’s hotel industry was witnessing a boom, he said. The state also plans to grant industry status to the hotel sector. “Various incentives like duty-free electricity and various kinds of VAT concessions have also been extended to hoteliers,” he said. Thandal added that the Central Government recently conferred the “Most Progressive State in Tourism” award to Punjab. — IANS
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Road linking 19 villages in Bet area potholed
Hoshiarpur, November 3 It has been three years since the project to widen and repair the dilapidated road was passed. It even missed its deadline last year due to want of funds. Thousands of pilgrims of the Ravidass community travel on this road to visit Khuralgarh. Though the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD) granted Rs 1.5 crore for the project over two years ago, it could not start for want of environmental clearance from the Forest Department. It took the PWD authorities over a year to get the clearance, for which they also paid Rs 1 crore. Thereafter, NABARD did not release any more funds as the PWD changed the project plan. Instead of widening the road by four feet as planned, the PWD sought to widen the road by just two feet. When NABARD objected to the change, the PWD once again applied for clearance. The project to widen and strengthen the Garhshankar-Santokhgarh road, Dallewal-Khurali-Haibowal-Beeru da Poh road was initiated by NABARD. Construction division no. 2 of the PWD (B&R) Hoshiarpur was nominated as the implementation agency. A private company was allotted the work on November 20, 2012. It was to complete the project by November 19, 2013. Former MLA Luv Kumar Goldy said, “When we found out that the road was widened by just two feet instead of the planned four feet, we objected to it.” He said they then brought the matter to the notice of the then MP, Ravneet Singh Bittu, who got Rs 5 crore sanctioned for the project. However, he said the state government misused the funds and the road has still not been widened. Ajaib Singh, Director, NGO Voice of the People, said, “The construction has not begun since the formalities are still pending.” Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Ram Singh said the construction work was halted because NABARD didn’t release the funds. He said, “The matter has also been discussed in the meetings of the grievances committee. We had constructed around 6 km of the road, but then NABARD withheld the funds. We have now completed all the formalities and we are hopeful that NABARD will soon release the funds.”
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Industrialists seek VAT on power
Fatehgarh Sahib, November 3 The committee, which was constituted by Deputy Chief Minister in Chandigarh on Thursday, will now submit its report to the state government on November 5. Meanwhile, the chain hunger strike by the owners of small scale and steel re-rolling industries associations in Mandi Gobindgarh entered day 26. SSSRA spokesman Jatin Sood said that they had asked the committee to ensure free trade.
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Dr Sidhu raids mineral water units, 3 sealed
Batala, November 3 Accompanied by health officials, Dr Sidhu inspected the records and manufacturing process of the factories, Shiv Ganga Natural Mineral Water Company, Festo Mineral Water and Shiv Durga Mineral Water Company. After detecting discrepancies, she asked officials to take action against the owners. All three units are located in the Focal Point area of the city. Dr Sidhu found the factories did not even have a valid licence to manufacture mineral water. Sources said the factories did not have any laboratories and water purifying equipment. The owners had been selling normal water as packaged drinking water, posing health hazards to the consumers, they said.
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Bungling in MC: Audit team seizes record
Abohar, November 3 The Deputy Director had observed that the allegations levelled in complaints prima facie appeared strong enough and so, the chief engineer should conduct a probe. The letter sent by him had stated that the Municipal Council was not inclined to offer any explanation. The Retired Municipal Employees Union, which had launched a drive against malpractices, has now submitted a five-page memorandum to Deputy Director (Local Audit) Vinod Sharma, who led a surprise check here today. The team said that record related to the “bungling” in the council affairs had been taken into custody and a detailed report would be submitted to the Chief Examiner at Chandigarh after scrutiny. The team was told by residents that “fake receipts” had been detected in the building section of the council. Santosh Rani of Panjpeer Colony, Vijay Kumar of Nanak Nagari and Suman Narula of Nai Abadi claimed they had been issued receipts against payments of Rs 10,480, Rs 12,980 and Rs 8,680, respectively, during 2011-13 but money was not deposited in the MC accounts. The council administration on October 16 had placed a clerk ,Jaspal Singh, under suspension but neither the charges were framed nor a complaint was lodged with the police. No steps have been taken to collect information from local banks or public to determine how much money had been embezzled by issuing fake receipts. A perusal of the record by the audit team reportedly indicated that the council had allowed a coloniser to raise a commercial mall against 25 per cent payment of Rs 26 lakh on March 18, 2013, but the cheques bounced due to insufficient balance in the coloniser’s account. The same were again presented in June which bounced again. Instead of initiating legal proceedings against the coloniser, the MC refunded the cheques. The Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board allowed water and sewer connection in the same colony against a part payment of Rs 23 lakh, but the actual demand of Rs 3.06 crore has not been reportedly met by the coloniser. The memorandum submitted by the former employees’ union through president Ram Prasad and secretary Ashok Watts resents that the council had been paying monthly medical allowance to an employee even after 14 months of his death. A cooperative society was given an advance payment of Rs 8.5 lakh for renovation of Nehru Park in 2006-07. No work was executed but the council issued notice for recovery on June 6, 2014, when a complaint was filed. The money has not been received so far. In another case, Rs 2.16 lakh was wrongly paid as retirement benefit to a clerk on July 13, 2010. No recovery has been made till date. The union alleged that the erring officials had “stalled” action using influence in the state directorate.
Retired employees submit memo
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SSA survey: Muktsar schools top
Muktsar, November 3 Muktsar Deputy Commissioner Jaskiran Singh today said the ministry had conducted the survey earlier this year, the result of which was declared last week. He said, “During the survey, 100 Government Primary Schools from the
district were selected randomly and knowledge of their Class III students were tested in the survey. Under the survey, tests of Punjabi, English and mathematics were conducted to assess the knowledge of students. The result of students of Muktsar district in mathematics was 73 per cent, in Punjabi 83 per cent and in English was 81 per cent against the state average of 59 per cent, 71 per cent and 68 per cent, for the respective subjects.” He said to make the
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Wild boars a cause of worry for Fazilka farmers
Fazilka, November 3 The wild boars, which stray into Indian territory, end up damaging crops as the area has to be left unattended after dusk. Jattu Singh, former sarpanch of Guddar Bhaini village said, “We are not allowed to go across the fence from dusk (5 pm) to dawn (8 am) due to security reasons. We incur financial losses as there is no one to guard the crops for 15 hours.” “I harvested only eight quintals of paddy against the average of 20 quintals as most of the crop was damaged by wild boars,” said another farmer, Harbans Singh, of border village Walleshah Hithar of Fazilka district. Farmers said the most affected villages were Gatti number 1 and 3, Guddar Bhaini, Gulaba Bhaini, Walleshah Uttar, Bachiter, Mahatam Nagar. The problem is acute as Pakistani nationals do not kill the boars for religious considerations. Boars hide in “sarkandas” on the Pakistan side, cross over to India at night and return after damaging the crops. Notably, some farmers cultivate to the last inch near the zero line inside India. “We demand suitable compensation from the Centre for the damage caused to farmers’ produce,” said Karnail Singh of Gatti number 1 village. Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Border Security Force (BSF), HS Garcha said he was aware of the problem. He said the process of shifting the fence near the international border would be completed soon and the problem of the farmers would automatically get solved.
The problem The wild boars in Pakistan, which stray into Indian territory, damage crops when the area has to be left unattended after dusk.
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US Sikhs hold nagar kirtan in Yuba City
Yuba City (California), November 3 Led by the Panj Pyaras or the five Sikh clerics, the religious parade was taken out about 125 miles from the San Francisco Bay area. Yuba City has developed into a trading and service centre. The city is known for having a sizeable Sikh community. Each year, on the first Sunday of November, Sikhs from the United States, Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world commemorate the coronation of the Guru Granth Sahib in 1708 by the Sikhs. Sikh devotees thronged in large numbers to pay obeisance to the Guru Granth Sahib at the gurudwara, built in 1969 on the 500th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. Tajinder Singh Dosanjh, a senior member of the committee, said over 85,000 devotees from the US and other countries had assembled for the parade. He said it helped people to meet each other and offered a platform to Sikhs to discuss their issues. Flower petals were strewn from a helicopter hovering above the ceremonial dais and the path of the parade. The devotees attended a free langar (community kitchen) on the roadside. Many US Congressmen attended the parade. —ANI
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12 booked for false cases against top cops
Ludhiana, November 3 Among the officers, against whom complaints under Section 156 (3) CrPC are pending in various courts, are a commissioner of police, a deputy commissioner of police, six additional deputy commissioners of police, a deputy superintendent of police, five station house officers and a PWD officer. Complaints had also been filed against lower rung policemen, say sources. Joginder Miglani, who exposed the racket, alleged that the prime accused, advocate ND Sharma, in connivance with Kulwinder Kaur, Prabhjot Kaur and Kamal Sharma, had abused the law against molestation and filed 150 complaints in various courts of the city. Miglani alleged that after filing false cases, Sharma would extort money from the victims for reaching a ‘compromise.’ Refuting the allegations, Sharma said: “Miglani had been pressuring me to withdraw an FIR registered against him in April. When I refused, he and his accomplices implicated me in a false case”. Vijay Goel, an advocate, is facing 14 complaints and an FIR. He claimed: “I am paying the price for heading a panel constituted by the District Bar Association (DBA) to look into complaints against Sharma and his accomplices.” Goel had held Sharma guilty of wrongdoing. He was removed by the DBA on September 17, 2013. Goel alleged since then, Sharma had filed a number of complaints against him. When contacted, Dharampal, SHO, Division No. 5, said: “We have come across 120 complaints filed by the accused in less than a year. The number could be higher. We are verifying the molestation complaints filed by Kulwinder Kaur and her daughter Prabhjot Kaur, each of which ended in a compromise”.
Modus operandi * Twelve persons, including four women and three advocates, have been booked for “implicating” residents in false molestation cases *
Sources say the accused had filed 150 cases, including 24 against police officers *
They say after filing
cases, the gang kingpin would extort money from victims for striking a ‘compromise’ *
Among the victims is a Ludhiana advocate * He had headed a panel set up by the District Bar Association to look into complaints against the accused *
He had found the accused guilty of
wrongdoing. The latter was removed by the association in September 2013
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Ludhiana doctor booked on Medical Council’s complaint
Ludhiana, November 3 Tightening its noose around doctors indulging in illegal practices, the PMC had written to the Commissioner of Police, Ludhiana, and Senior Superintendents of Police, Tarn Taran, and Patiala, to register cases against such doctors. Sharma claims to be a doctor holding MBBS (A.M.) and MD degrees which are not recognised and registered with
the council. The PMC, in a letter to the police, stated that it was mandatory to get registered with the council for medical practice. It said the doctor failed to turn up to give a
satisfactory explanation regarding his degrees. The council has also complained to the Patiala police that two BAMS degree holders working in a hospital near the bus stand had been prescribing allopathic medicines. The PMC has sought registration of criminal cases against them. Dr GS Grewal, president, PMC, said anybody indulging in unethical practices or quackery would not be spared.
Degrees not 'recognised' The Punjab Medical Council has complained that Sharma claims to be a doctor holding MBBS (AM) and MD degrees that are not
recognised.
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Five killed in accidents
Abohar, November 3 They were going to attend the cremation of Laxman’s mother-in-law. The police have seized
the vehicle. A pedestrian, Tek Singh (53) of Sarabha Nagar, died when a motorcyclist reportedly hit him on the Malout road in Abohar on Sunday night. Gaurav Balmiki (17) of Railway Colony in
Sriganganagar and Wazir Chand (25) of Khatlubana were run over by a train on Monday on
the Abohar-Sriganganagar section here. The Government Railway Police handed over the bodies to their
families after post-mortem examination.
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Abohar, November 3 The police have also seized 1.5 kg of opium from her, which she had reportedly smuggled from Rajasthan. Paramjit Singh of Jalalabad was held with 8 kg of poppy husk. — OC
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High basmati production in Punjab this season has helped boost agro economy by almost Rs 3,000 crore.
More and more farmers in the state are taking to high-value basmati varieties, primarily PUSA 1121 and PUSA 1509.
Amritsar, November 3
Private bus operators resorted to blockade for more than two hours on the national highway (NH) at Main Square in the city today after a group of students attacked a vehicle with stones and bricks.
The students reportedly belonged to the local Industrial Training Institute (ITI). It was the second incident of attack by students on private buses in the past one week.
Shalini (name changed on request) has been facing trial in a murder case. She was working as a lecturer in a reputed
Jalandhar-based university before she committed the crime. A visit to the Gurdaspur Central Jail revealed that these days Shalini is teaching English language to 30 women inmates, a mix of both undertrials and convicts. The next batch of 35 prisoners is getting ready to be taught by Jasbir
Kaur, a Masters in Law who is currently pursuing her PhD from Punjabi University,
Patiala.
Security at the Floating Restaurant here has been tightened. The “Sada-e-Sarhad” Lahore-Delhi bus halts at this restaurant for about 20 minutes.
Inspector Harvinder Singh and assistant sub-inspector Kuldeep Singh arrived at the restaurant with a dog squad this morning. Policemen surrounded the bus as it reached there at 10.10 am.
Residents of Dudhar village have opposed the government’s decision to set up Solid Waste Management Project
(SWMP) in the area. The project will address the garbage disposal problem of over 40 municipalities and six districts of the state. While the villagers fear that the project will harm the ecology of the village, the administration says the matter will be sorted out.
