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CM vows Blue Revolution even as fish farm back home hits troubled waters
Haley hard-sells South Carolina, wants to connect her two homes
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punjabi welcome: Nikki Haley with her husband at LPU, Phagwara. Tribune Photo Malkiat Singh
Tarn Taran village awaits its daughter Nimrata Nikki Randhawa
Akali Dal, BJP’s love-hate alliance continues
Firing a salvo: Sukhbir Badal and Harsimrat Kaur. file photo
hitting back: Navjot Sidhu and Navjot Kaur. file photo
Probe corruption charges against Joshi, says Bajwa
Majithia’s men get key YAD posts
Infighting to fore in Ropar Congress unit
Dalit factor counts as MPs adopt villages
Haley gives tips to college students
Officials told to provide services in stipulated time
Abohar, November 14 Even as the state government reportedly tried to keep Children’s Day a “low-key affair” as it coincides with Pt Jawaharlal Nehru’s birth anniversary, the Congress and NGOs held several functions today.
Surprise checks find 35 teachers absent
2 Punjabi women charged with fraud in Singapore
Police remand for terror accused Goldy
Rs 20 cr not paid, debt tribunal attaches Khangura’s house
High Court for jail lok adalats
Punsup employee booked for fraud
Man booked for impersonation
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CM vows Blue Revolution even as fish farm back home hits troubled waters
Raike Kalan (Bathinda), November 14 Badal returned after a week-long tour to China. He had led a delegation of pisciculturists to study the modern concepts in fish farming. It is one of the 14 government modernised fish farms of Punjab. The government claims to have created these farms at a cost of Rs 18.34 crore. During a visit to the farm, spread on 11 acres, The Tribune found that it lacked basic facilities. The farm was built at a cost of Rs 60 lakh 22 years ago and its present value, including the land, was around Rs 3 crore. All bookshelfs in different rooms lay empty. The only vehicle, a Jeep, of the Fisheries Department is placed on a pile of bricks. The contract workers in the field said they had never seen any activity pertaining to the breeding of fish in the farm for the past five years. "There is one person each for the post of fisherman, field assistant, chowkidar and farm superintendent. The farm requires at least five fishermen, two field assistants and extra manpower for maintenance," said Beerinder Singh, a farmer. Though Farm Superintendent Kewal Krishan Goyal claimed the unit produced 20 lakh fish seed last year and 14 lakh this year, only two of the 34 ponds had water, and that too brackish. All others had wild growth of grass. Village sarpanch Shivraj Singh, an Akali Dal leader, expressed doubt over Goyal's claims: "Nobody can dare to enter the farm even during the day as it is full of snakes and other reptiles. The matter has been brought to the Chief Minister's notice, who visited the farm in January last."
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Haley hard-sells South Carolina, wants to connect her two homes
Chandigarh, November 14 “Connecting her two homes through strong trade ties” is how she summarises the purpose of her visit here. Accompanied by top officials from the Commerce Department of the government that she has just been re-elected to head, Haley personifies the new era of governance, where governments are run more like corporates. Asking industrialists from the region to come and invest in South Carolina, she made it apparent that she could be directly approached by investors and no government regulation was big enough to come in the way of getting foreign investment in her state. “As Governor of South Carolina, I seek investment from all countries -– be it China or Korea. But here I am seeking connect between my home (South Carolina) and the land of my ancestors. Thus, I urge you to come and invest in my state. There is no threshold limit for allowing companies to come and invest in South Carolina. The proposal has to be good, able to generate jobs for the locals and contribute to the state’s economy,” she said, convincing industry leaders, including bigwigs like Sunil Kant Munjal, joint managing director of Hero MotoCorp. Her forthright marketing of her state, the facilitation that her government could offer and her assurance that no red tapism could come in way of getting investment that ultimately benefits constituents in her state, were well appreciated by top industrialists who had come to listen to her proposals. She assured the industrialists that the work force in her state was skilled to suit industry needs as skill development courses were design-based on industry needs. “There are no labour unions in South Carolina and the government is in customer service business. We will assign a project manager for each investor who will help the investor at each stage,” she assured, adding that 60 per cent of fresh investment in the state is from existing investors, showing how happy they are with business environment there. Maintaining that South Carolina was now one of the most sought-after destinations for investment, she said she was specifically looking at pharmaceutical companies, auto and auto component manufacturers and information technology companies to invest in South Carolina. She also said that her government also saw India as a potential market for companies in South Carolina and called for two-way exchange of industry delegations from both India and her state to explore strategic business and investment options. “I have been to India only once when I was two years old. It is an emotional home coming for me and I am overwhelmed at the hospitality extended to me here. I had no memories of India and what my parents have referred to as home. But now, I can go back and chat with them as I will take along beautiful memories of the place,” she said. Haley and her 18-member delegation is on a 10-day trip to India and they plan to hold 90 meetings with investors in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and
Chennai.
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US Guv says transparency won her second term
Kharar/Phagwara, November 14 She was interacting with students at Rayat-Bahra University in Kharar and Lovely Professional University in Phagwara (near Jalandhar). Accompanied by her husband Michael Haley and other senior officials from the US, she struck an instant rapport with the students during her interaction with them. “We were the only Indian family which was very different, especially with my turbaned father, from others in Carolina. We were taught to do things differently in a positive way,” said Haley. Students asked her about opportunities for them in the US. She visited the skill development centre of the Kharar university and showed keen interest in training techniques and diplomas there. In Phagwara, she shared her life’s struggles as a young Indian businesswoman in the US and the changes she had brought about since she took to the Governorship in South Carolina. She said she had brought some changes in the legislation and made the system transparent, following which her state had become home to one of the topmost manufacturing companies for aeroplanes, tyres and carbon fibres. Sharing her experiences, she said, “I am a proud daughter of Ajit Singh Randhawa of Punjab. I have grown up hearing the stories about their simple yet spectacular life and I am here to see it myself now. When I go back I will tell them that I now know about you. When our family went to South Carolina, we were the only Indians there. There was no other turbaned man around and everyone would ask us what we were doing there.” She went on, “We began our business from the living room of our home and I started taking care of the account books of our family business when I was just 13. I faced a lot of challenges being young, a woman and an Indian. Even when we had enough money, we never celebrated for I was told that happy days could be followed by tough days again. I worked as a supervisor for a company to finally join our family business in a full-fledged way. Soon I realised how hard it was to make a dollar and how easy it was for the government to take it away. That is when I decided to jump into politics.” She signed off saying her agenda was to bring transparency in the legislation.
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Tarn Taran village awaits its daughter Nimrata Nikki Randhawa
Pandori Ran Singh
(Tarn Taran), November 14 The family is ecstatic with her homecoming after almost four decades as she landed in Amritsar this evening for a daylong visit. A visit to the village is not in her itinerary. Mahinder Singh Randhawa, cousin of Nikki’s father Ajit Singh Randhawa, said Nikki had made them proud. “We will accord her a warm reception if she visits her ancestral house,” he averred. Incidentally, Mahinder was unaware about Nikki’s Amritsar visit and was skeptical whether she would visit the village. “I also wonder whether she will recognise us as she was too small when her family shifted to the US,” he said. He said the two families lived together in the village at the same place where his house was today before Nikki’s father shifted to Amritsar and finally migrated to the US in the 1960s. An emotional Mahinder said, “This is the same house where Nikki’s parents lived, though there was a wall dividing our two houses. Prior to their immigration, they handed over their house to us and later we reconstructed it by acquiring more land nearby.” He said their families jointly owned 3.5 acres of land and Nikki’s parents had sold off their share before leaving the village. Surjeet Kaur Randhawa, another relative, said though Nikki’s grandfather lived in the village for quite a long time, her father didn’t stay there much. She said Nikki’s family used to live at Katra Dal Singh area near the Golden Temple in Amritsar and her brother Harmeet Singh alias Mitti was born in the holy city. She also showed a childhood photograph of Nikki, besides another of her parents at their ancestral home in the village. Surjeet Kaur’s son Gurnam Singh Randhawa said his father and Nikki’s father used to play together in the village. He also stated that they would like Nikki to visit the village, though they doubted she would recall anything. Kundan Singh, a village resident, said they were proud that a girl who had her roots in the village had made it big in the US. Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia described Haley’s visit to Punjab as beginning of a new era of the US-Punjab joint collaborations. Welcoming her at Sri Guru Ramdas International Airport on behalf of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Majithia said he was hopeful that the South Carolina Governor would do her best to strengthen collaborations with Punjab. He said her visit to the holy city would put Amritsar on the international tourist circuit.
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Akali Dal, BJP’s love-hate alliance continues
Mansa, November 14 Replying to queries about the statement of CPS Navjot Kaur Sidhu that the BJP should sever ties with the SAD, Harsimrat said, "The SAD-BJP ties are strong. Senior BJP leaders have time and again said that the alliance will stay. Some low-rung leaders are, however, making statements that can benefit the third party, besides disturbing peace and harmony in the state." Addressing students at a government school in Bhikhi town of Mansa district, she said, "Each one of us will have to contribute to make Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan a complete success. We should devote at least two hours daily to keep our surroundings clean." About the Centre Government's "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" initiative, she said "Women will have to step forward to save themselves. If we decide to step forward with a strong determination, no one can stop us." Harsimrat inaugurated a 30-bed community health centre at Bareta that has been set up at a cost of Rs 4.50 crore. She said food parks and food-processing units would be set up in the country very soon. "The Government of India would provide subsidy for setting up food-processing units in states, including Punjab. Farmers would be directly benefited as they would get better returns for their crops." "Parents should adopt a proactive approach for curbing child labour. They should send their children to school for ensuring their bright future," she said. Harsimrat heard problems of residents at a sangat darshan programme and distributed development grants. Earlier, she paid obeisance at Gurdwara Sahib Bhikhi.
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Sidhu targets CM, but retracts on break-up
Amritsar/Tarn Taran, November 14 Talking to mediapersons at Sri Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College for Women near Tarn Taran today, she said she had only said that "the Akali Dal needed to mend its ways and would have to reform its policies to make cordial relations with its partner BJP". During the day in Amritsar, she shot off a missive to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, lamenting that none of the issues raised by her with him and various ministries regarding her Amritsar (East) constituency had been addressed during the last around three years. In her letter to the CM, a copy of which was released to the media, she said, "My area is a picture of complete neglect, lacking even the most basic facilities like sewerage, drainage, roads, water supply and street lights. The Deputy CM had promised Rs 100 crore, but even its first instalment is still awaited." She also hit back at Akali leader Virsa Singh Valtoha for demanding her resignation. She said "she was not Arvind Kejriwal to put in her papers".
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War of words a media creation: Sampla
Phagwara, November 14 He said the SAD and the BJP contested the Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections jointly in the past and would do the same during the forthcoming local body elections. Addressing a press conference here today, he, however, appealed to leaders and workers of both parties to restrain themselves from taking potshots at each other. On the issue of drug menace in the state, he said the Congress-led UPA government could not control the flow of drugs from across the border, but the Modi government was now dealing with anti-national elements with an iron hand. This was Sampla's first visit to the town after getting a ministerial berth at the Centre. He was warmly welcomed by party workers at different places in Phagwara. He thanked them for their support. He told them that they could approach him without any hesitation for any genuine work. Former minister Swarana Ram, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Som Parkash, Markfed Chairman Jarnail Singh Wahid and Punjab Traders' Board Chairman Narotam Dev Ratti also spoke on the occasion.
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Probe corruption charges against Joshi, says Bajwa
Amritsar, November 14 Bajwa said Akali Dal leader Upkar Singh Sandhu had levelled charges of nepotism and corruption against Joshi; the SAD should now lodge a complaint against him with the Lokpal or in a court of law. "If they don't do it, they should tell the people what are their compulsions?" he said. Similarly, the BJP should tell the people what their grouse was when it charged the SAD with patronising sand, land, liquor and cable mafia. "Is the BJP not getting its share in the pie?" he asked. The Akali Dal and the BJP had 70:30 share in the illegal trade in the state, he alleged. He wondered how the two parties were continuing their alliance even after levelling serious allegations against each other. "The two parties know they will be wiped out in the 2017 Assembly poll. Therefore, the SAD is now toeing the Sikh agenda, while the BJP is addressing the Hindu agenda by roping in the RSS. They want to create a communal divide," he said.
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Majithia’s men get key YAD posts
Chandigarh, November 14 At least three of his close associates, Rozy Barkandi, Inderbir Singh Bolaria and Harpal Singh Juneja, have been appointed YAD presidents — the youth wing was trifurcated in September. But against speculation that Majithia may continue to control the wing by being made the SAD general secretary (coordination) for all new regional YAD presidents, the job has been entrusted to former YAD president and PWD Minister Sharanjit Dhillon. The names were cleared by SAD chief Sukhbir Badal at a meeting here tonight. The new YAD chiefs are: Rosy Barkandi (south Malwa districts), Harpal Singh Juneja (Patiala, Sangrur and Fatehgarh Sahib) and Tarsem Singh Bhinder (Ludhiana and Moga); the trio the new chiefs in Malwa; Inderbir Bolaria, president for Majha and Sarbjinder Singh Sabi for Doaba. All these five YAD presidents will report to Sharanjit and Parminder Singh
Brar.
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Infighting to fore in Ropar Congress unit
Ropar, November 14 At Ropar, Congress district president Harbhag Singh Saini organised the function with other party workers at the Congress Bhavan. His bête noire Sukhwinder Singh Whisky, former district unit chief, and his supporters held the function at Shalki academy. Whisky has been opposing Saini's appointment. — TNS
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Dalit factor counts as MPs adopt villages
Chandigarh, November 14
Under the scheme, the MPs have to develop the villages by 2016.Modi wants the MPs to adopt two more villages that should be developed by 2019. Under the scheme, an MP can choose a village with a population of 3,000 to 5,000. Funds for the development scheme will be sent directly to the village. Bathinda MP and Union Minister for Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal has made a deft political move by adopting Mann village. About 150 families, owing allegiance to the Congress had fled the village after violence during panchayat elections. The village is barely 2 km away from her native Badal village. Mann village was neglected. Badal village, on the other hand, boasts of paved roads, stadiums, modern sewerage system. Harsimrat has vowed to make it an ultramodern village on a par with Badal village. “Apart from ensuring civic amenities, I plan to rope in women to make the village self-sustainable, to check the gender ratio and to ensure education for all.” Capt Amarinder Singh, Deputy Leader of the Congress Legislature Party and Amritsar MP, has chosen an underdeveloped village Dhaul Kalan, about 15 km from the Indo-Pak border. The majority of the population is of reserved category. Anandpur Sahib MP Prem Singh Chandumajra has adopted Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s native village Khatkar Kalan, which is already a tourist destination. Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu from Ludhiana has chosen Issewal – the native village of Param Vir Chakra awardee Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon. Bittu said he adopted the village in honour of the 1971 war hero. Congress leader and Jalandhar MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary picked Ganna, a village near Phillaur. Several cases of shop-lifting, chain snatching and drug-peddling have been registered against residents. The village was also adopted by Punjab Police about ten years ago. Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann has chosen Benra village in the Dhuri segment. Benra falls in the Assembly constituency of Congress MLA Arvind Khanna. Patiala MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi has adopted Marori village. The village is battling drug addiction. BJP Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Gujral chose Dheena village of Jalandhar. It is underdeveloped and a sizeable population of the village is below the poverty line. Another BJP Rajya Sabha member Avinash Rai Khanna has adopted Adamwal village that was once famous for ivory inlay work.
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Haley gives tips to college students
Kharar, November 14 Accompanied by her husband Michael Haley and other senior officials from the US, she made an instant rapport with the students during her interaction with them. “We were the only Indian family which was very different, especially with my turbaned father, from others in Carolina. We were taught to do things differently in a positive way,” said Haley. Students asked her about opportunities for them in the US. Earlier, she visited the skill development centre of the university and showed keen interest in training techniques and diplomas there.
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Teachers forced to bear cost of sports event in Muktsar
Muktsar, November 14 Irate over the directions, two of the six block heads refused to participate in the event, which was held at a stadium in Doda village. Nearly 350 students from Muktsar I, Muktsar II, Gidderbaha and Doda participated in the championship. However, not even a single student from Malout and Lambi blocks participated in the event. The teachers, who had brought students to the venue, said they had paid
for transport arrangements from their pocket. “Even mementos, medals, white powder and other arrangements were made from our money. The department did not give us a single penny,” said a teacher. The teachers said even the expenses for holding the prize distribution ceremony were borne by them. When contacted, Jaspal Monga, Deputy Education Officer, Muktsar, said, “We were given instructions
to organise the district-level primary sports tournament, but no money was sanctioned. So, it was not possible to allot funds for this purpose among teachers or organisers.” He said it was a low-budget event, so it wasn’t a big burden on teachers. “Moreover, chief guests and some politicians, who had come to witness the event, announced to contribute some money,” said Monga. About refreshments given to students, he said the mid-day meal had been served to them. The event witnessed competitions related to athletics, kabaddi, kho-kho and football.
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Officials told to provide services in stipulated time
Fazilka, November 14 He was in Fazilka today to take stock of the time-bound services being offered by various departments in the district. The Chief Commissioner disclosed that 1,750 centres would be opened in rural areas while 424 such centres would be set up in urban areas of the state where people would be offered time-bound services under a roof. He said the commission would take stringent actions against officials who failed to provide the service in a stipulated period. He also held a meeting with Deputy Commissioner Manjit Singh Brar, Senior Superintendent of Police Swapan Sharma, Additional Deputy Commissioner Charandev Singh Maan, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (Abohar) Rajpal Singh, District Revenue Officer Parmjit Singh Sahota, District Transport Officer Jaswant Singh Dhillon and Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry Department, Naresh Sachdeva. He asked them to implement the Right to Service Act in letter and spirit.
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Abohar, November 14 Congress workers participated in functions held in Abohar, Sadulshehar, Sriganganagar, Sangria and Hanumangarh. NGOs distributed sweets and stationery in Sriganganagar. — OC
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Surprise checks find 35 teachers absent
Chandigarh, November 14 A government spokesman said 24 teachers were found absent in Jalandhar, five in Nabha and six in Faridkot. He said checking would continue to maintain punctuality in schools. — TNS
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2 Punjabi women charged with fraud in Singapore
Singapore, November 14 Engaging in a conspiracy together, the duo of Jasvinder Kaur Dhillon, 29, and Sanjeet Jasbirsingh Kaur, 34, was also alleged to have prepared a voucher for an internal audit that falsely stated that payment had been made to a stationery supplier. The accused had committed 16 and 11 offences respectively, mostly involving the forging and cashing of cheques in the name of the then president Karpal Singh, The Straits Times reported. Except for the five forgery charges that Jasvinder faces alone, involving almost SGD 11,000, she and the other accused are believed to have acted together on 10 other occasions. Twice, they allegedly submitted a false payment voucher and supporting documents so that Singh and then treasurer Manjeet Singh would authorise the issuance of cheques worth SGD 3,700. The two women were former clerks with the Central Sikh Gurdwara Board, which manages two gurdwaras here. Singapore’s Sikh community of about 15,000 has five other gurdwaras. — PTI
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Police remand for terror accused Goldy
Patiala, November 14 A police team led by DSP (City) Gurdev Dhaliwal brought Goldy to the court. The investigating agency said it had to ascertain the funding channel of the plot and identify the local people who helped Goldy. While the counsel for the police said they needed more time to question Goldy to get his password and email details, the counsel for the accused said Goldy had nothing to do with Rulda's murder. The court directed the police to get Goldy medically examined every day. Sources said the police interrogated Goldy for his alleged links with some NRIs who had been linked with the attackers who shot at Rulda Singh. "Some local channels and those in the UK are under probe. Though some vital leads are available, it will be a little early to comment on the issue," said a senior police official. Rulda Singh was shot at his shop-cum-flat in grain market on July 28, 2009, by two assailants. He was admitted to the PGI, Chandigarh, but he could not be saved.
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Rs 20 cr not paid, debt tribunal attaches Khangura’s house
Chandigarh, November 14 It has attached house number 237 in Sector 9, Chandigarh. Former Congress MLA from Kila Raipur, Jassi Khangura's wife Raman owes over Rs 20 crore to the Punjab and Sind Bank. The family owns the five-star Park Plaza Hotel in Ludhiana and has other commercial interests. Coming down heavily on the bank authorities, the judge noted, "This is not the first case in which such hard instruments of recovery are being tarnished by such highly resourceful defaulters who are even successful in their entry in the corridors of justice." Sincere efforts of recovery to strengthen the economy would be further shattered if such practices were not curbed, the judge noted. The matter went up to the Debt Recovery Appellate Tribunal where Justice Ranjit Singh too made a scathing observation that it appeared that the bank could not even realise the overdue amount due to its carelessness despite the impugned order dated March 1, 2013. When called up on his phone, Jassi's secretary Onkar Singh said the ex-MLA was out of station and he had no number on which his boss could be contacted. "I will convey your message and he will get back,” he said. Jassi, however, had not got back till the filing of the story.
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High Court for jail lok adalats
Chandigarh, November 14 The development is significant as it is expected to reduce the burden on subordinate judiciary by dealing with cases, especially involving petty offences. — TNS
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Punsup employee booked for fraud
Moga, November 14 A case has been registered under Section 408 of the IPC against Aman Kumar of Ferozepur, who works at the Punsup agency falling under the jurisdiction of the Dharamkot police station. Pradip Dhawan, district manager, Punsup, lodged the complaint with the police a couple of months ago but the FIR was registered after legal opinion yesterday. As many as 1,025 bales of new gunny bags were received by the agency from the Food and Civil Supplies Department in June. These bales were stored at STL
Rice Mill located on the Dharamkot-Jalandhar road on the outskirts of Dharamkot town in the district. During an inspection by the Food and Civil Supplies Department in September, at least 653 bales were found missing. The Punsup authorities suspect that these gunny bags could have been sold in the open market, due to which a formal complaint had been lodged with the police. The total value of the missing gunny bags is more than Rs 1.5 crore. The Punsup had handed over the responsibility to look after the gunny bags to the accused employee.
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Moga, November 14 Superintendent of Police (D) Harjit Singh Pannu today said the matter came to light when Matto held a media interaction at Chandigarh recently. He posed as the chairman of the Punjab State Human Rights Council. The Directorate of the Bureau of Investigations, Chandigarh, carried out a preliminary inquiry, after which Pannu took over. He summoned Matto many times to justify himself but he did not turn up to face the inquiry. — TNS
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Mansa, November 14
Amritsar, November 14
Fazilka, November 14
Patiala, November 14
