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| Saturday,
October 20, 2001,
Chandigarh, India
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PM’s visits to Amritsar may be rescheduled Chandigarh, October 19 Mr Vajpayee is rescheduled to participate in the national Executive Committee meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party to be held in Amritsar from November 2 to 4 and also preside over the concluding function of the bicentenary celebrations of the coronation of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the holy city on November 13. Sources, both in the Punjab Government and the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance, maintain that efforts are being made to adjust the two programmes in such a way as to facilitate the participation of the Prime Minister in both. They do not rule out the possibility of rescheduling of the two engagements. For example, the first part of the bicentenary celebrations could be held as scheduled on November 11 and 12 and the public rally could be postponed by a few days to be held on November 15, the day after Divali. The changes may be necessitated as the Prime Minister has been invited by the US President, Mr George W. Bush, to be in the USA on November 9. Mr Vajpayee will be in New York on November 10 to address the UN General Assembly. His participation in the Amritsar rally , as of now, is subject to his return to the Union Capital. On November 14, Divali, he would like to be in New Delhi. Similarly, there is no chance of his making it to the Executive Committee meeting on November 4 as he will be travelling to Russia early that day. Though Ms Gurcharan Kaur, a BJP MP and vice-president of the Punjab unit of the party, made a statement that the Prime Minister had advanced his Amritsar visit by a day, in view of the rapidly changing international scenario it may be difficult for him to keep even the November 3 Amritsar appointment. Sources in the Punjab Government claim that the Prime Minister’s visit to Ludhiana on December 1 to preside over the concluding ceremony of the National Games is firm. In case he is not able to make it to Amritsar on either November 3 or 13, he may address a public rally in Ludhiana on December 1 before presiding over the closing ceremony. After the success of the September 25 Killianwali “sadbhavna rally”, the ruling alliance is viewing the Prime Minister’s programme as a major morale booster in its election campaign in the state. Meanwhile, the President will release a commemorative stamp on Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Rashtrapati Bhavan on November 9. |
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Buta calls Badal’s
remarks slanderous Barnala, October 19 This was stated by Mr Buta Singh while talking to newspersons at the residence of Mr Bachan Singh Pakho, a former MLA, here yesterday. Mr Buta Singh revealed that he had written to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee bringing the matter into his notice. He visited Mr Pakho’s residence to condole his wife’s death. Mr Buta Singh said a false campaign had been started against him over his relation with Baba Piara Singh Bhaniara. He said he met Baba Bhaniara several years ago to seek herbal treatment for his ailing wife, who died in 1996. On a request he laid the foundation stone of the hall of his dera. Otherwise, he had no link with Baba Bhaniara, he added. Asked about the internal bickerings and dissidence in the Punjab unit of the Congress, Mr Buta Singh said the party was united and he was satisfied with the functioning of Capt Amarinder Singh, PPCC chief. He said the Badal government was a failure on all fronts and people were disenchanted with it. |
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Badungar
bailed out for lack of proof: Vedanti Amritsar, October 19 Jathedar Vedanti said that a former SGPC chief, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, had remarked that Mr Badungar had not been given any ‘tankhah’. He said the fact was that Baba Bhaniara used to get even an ordinary person photographed whenever anyone visited his ‘dera’. Had Mr Badungar visited Baba Bhaniara he would have been photographed with the Baba. Jathedar Vedanti said that “guilty persons” resorted to give “baseless and concocted” statements to save themselves from embarrassment. However, the fact remains that Baba Bhaniara had admitted that Mr Badungar had indeed visited his dera. |
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Sacrilege
: SAD PAC to meet on Oct 22 Patiala, October 19 Talking to newsmen at a “sangat darshan” programme here, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said a meeting of the district-level jathedars and senior party functionaries would also be held on the same day to form a broad consensus on the issue. The Chief Minister, when asked about giving 15 per cent house rent allowance to the city government employees as was announced by him around three years back, said the move was still under consideration. |
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Bail for co-author of banned book Moga, October 19 He was produced in court on October 10 and remanded in police custody up to October 17. Bhavsagar Sammunder Amar Bani, written by controversial preacher Baba Piara Singh, had been banned by the Punjab Government.
PTI |
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Sangrur
leads in paddy procurement Sangrur, October 19 Talking to newsmen here, Mr Mittal said Punjab had procured 87.83 lakh tonnes of paddy as compared to 61.23 lakh tonnes during the corresponding period last year. He further said the state government was not facing any difficulty from the Union Government in paddy procurement. He also said there was no shortage of space for paddy storage. Mr Mittal stated that under a new plan this year, the state government had asked the FCI to not move the foodgrains to other states from Punjab till November 6 for the speedy lifting of paddy from the grain markets. Mr Mittal said though there was enough surplus foodgrain in the stores of the state, procurement of paddy or wheat would continue as otherwise the farmers would suffer. He claimed that the state government would make every effort to sell the surplus foodgrains as early as possible. Mr Mittal stated that it was a matter of pride for the Punjab BJP that in the golden jubilee year of the party, a meeting of the All-India Working Committee of the BJP was being organised at Amritsar from November 2 to 4 this year. He said the national president of the BJP would reach Amritsar on November 1 while the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, the Union Home Minister, Mr Lal Krishan Advani, and other top leaders would reach on November 2. Mr Mittal also said a meeting of the national council of the BJP would be held in New Delhi on October 21 to celebrate the golden jubilee of the BJP as the party had been floated in the name of Bharatiya Jana Sangh 50 years ago on October 21. The minister also stated that the BJP would stake its claim on more seats as the SAD-BJP alliance partner in the ensuing Punjab Assembly elections. However, he added that there was no dispute between the SAD and the BJP over the allotment of seats, as victory chances of a candidate would be the main consideration. |
Home faces fund crunch Ferozepore Dr Sadhu Chand Vinayak and some other philanthropists had decided to establish a home for the visually impaired. Soon a society, the District Council for the Welfare of the Handicapped, was formed in 1956. Initially, the Home for the Blind was set up in rent-free accommodation (Tulsi Ram Ashram). From a modest beginning, the home gradually made progress and was later shifted to a spacious building of its own near Makhu Gate. The home soon became a model institution. It was affiliated to the Indian Red Cross Society and the National Association for the Blind, Bombay. Admission was open to all. The home still attracts visually impaired persons not only from Punjab and adjoining Haryana and Himachal Pradesh but also from areas in UP and Bihar. Persons from Nepal have also been accommodated here. The home provides board and lodging and medical facilities to the inmates free of cost. Education up to the matriculation level is also free besides training in the caning of chairs, making of handloom items and music. However, this institution is now facing financial problems despite appeals for donations. According to Mr Ashwani Sharma, secretary of the council, the monthly expenditure of the home is Rs 30,000 besides that on annual maintenance work. It does not have a permanent source of income. A major source of income from the sale of its handloom items suffered a jolt as the Controller of Stores, Punjab, stopped orders for the products without giving any reason. Mr Harish Monga, assistant secretary, says letters have been written to the authorities in this connection but to no avail. Looms are lying idle and their condition is deteriorating. The home today survives on door-to-door collections. Around Rs 25,000 is earned annually from the caning of chairs. However, the need of the hour is to restart the handloom section so that the financial position of the home stabilises. |
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Small newspapers allege discrimination Patiala, October 19 In a statement here, Dardi who is also the Chairman of the Press Council of India said a commission of Rs 1.5 crore was given to different agencies in utter violation of government’s rules while distributing advertisements. He said the advertisements of most of the Punjabi newspapers, except the bigger ones, were stopped leading to closure of these papers. He said the people of Punjab had also been affected due to the government’s decision directing all departments, corporations and boards not to release any advertisements to small newspapers. He said this was not all. He said no meeting of the Punjab State the Press Relations Committee and Press Accreditation Committee had been called for the past five years whereas these meetings were regularly held during the tenure of previous government after Independence. He added that payments of more than Rs 10 crore were lying unpaid in different departments of newspaper advertisement bills for the past three years. Mr Dardi demanded a comparative study of facts so as to find how much advertisements were being released by previous governments to small and medium newspapers and said the figures should be supplied to the Press Council of India and The Indian Newspaper Society. |
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IMA hails PHSC’s privatisation move Phagwara, October 19 Moreover infrastructure raised by the corporation at the cost of Rs 400 crore of public money could be utilised to full capacity, continued Dr Aggarwal. Fears of a section of the PCMS Association that this decision would make the PHSC a commercial organisation were unfounded and ill-conceived as the charges were to be fixed by the corporation. Under this move hospitals will make available all facilities under one roof. Privatisation is the
in thing and this move will prove that private sector succeeded where public sector failed, added Dr Aggarwal. |
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‘Appoint
DRME from among doctors’ Chandigarh, October 19 A press note issued by the association said a memorandum was submitted to the Chief Secretary demanding that the vacancies in medical and dental colleges should be filled at the earliest. The issue of the redesignation of posts was still pending, though this demand did not involve any financial implications. The association pointed out that 45 senior teachers had sought premature retirement during the past two years due to the lack of promotion avenues. Meanwhile, the core group of the association met today and elected the following office-bearers: chairperson — Dr Kiranjeet Kaur; vice-chairperson — Dr Bholla Singh Sidhu; general secretary — Dr Baljeet Singh Dhillon; joint secretary — Dr Dilbir Singh; state co-ordinator — Dr Tejbeer Singh; press secretary — Dr Kuljeet
Singh Aujla; and finance secretary — Dr Avinash Kumar. |
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Ex-servicemen throng rally Jalandhar, October 19 After inaugurating the rally, Lieut-Gen Surjit Singh, GOC-in-C, Western Command, along with host of other senior officers interacted with the retired personnel of the armed forces and listened to the problems of war widows. The rally was preceded by a recruitment screening test conducted at Guru Nanak Stadium. Hundreds of young men from different parts of the state appeared in the test. Thousands of ex-servicemen thronged stalls which were put up to provide information about medical, banking, agricultural and educational facilities available in the district. More than, 1,000 patients, particularly those belonging to remote villages, were provided medicines free of cost at a special medical camp, equipped with ultra-modern facilities. Apart from Punjab Agricultural University, which had put up a stall to explain latest improvements carried out in different varieties of seeds and latest techniques for soil treatment, the Animal Husbandry Department educated the people about artificial insemination and preventive measures against disease. The kin of martyrs and old-aged ex-servicemen were presented gifts, including shawls and blankets, by the authorities. |
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Survey
begins on old structures Amritsar, October 19 Centuries old buildings have given way to the vagaries of nature and time. More than nine persons, including six children, lost their lives and more than five persons were severely injured in the collapse of buildings from May 30 onwards. Litigation in some cases of these precarious structures and feud between tenants and landlords delayed the operation that the corporation had charted out, fearing more collapses in clustered buildings. The corporation is planning to repair or demolish these dangerous structures shortly. |
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Atwal honoured Chandigarh, October 19 Mr Atwal said that he was elected to the coveted post with the grace of the Almighty and the blessings of his well-wishers. Earlier, the president of the association, Mr Bodh Raj described Mr Atwal’s election as an honour not only for Punjab but also for the country. |
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Removal
of bank AGM sought Amritsar, October 19 Addressing the gathering, the leaders stated that the AGM (Zonal Manager) should be removed for tampering with records and evidences against himself in the Varpal, Sharifpura, Sarain Guru Ram Dass branches. |
Kisan mela: farmers
seek incentives Patiala, October 19 Farmers expressed these lines at the ‘Kisan mela’ organised by the Young Farmers Association’ at Rakhra village near here. They said rates of crops should be increased to facilitate cultivation in advance so to ensure good returns. Farmers said if this was done, the government could reduce the procurement rates of wheat or paddy if it wanted less area under grain cultivation. The ‘mela’ was presided over by Union Fertiliser Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. He said framers would also be covered under the Life Insurance Scheme by the major fertiliser companies. Association General Secretary Bhagwan Das Gupta said the association this year distributed 3200 kits of foundation seed of HD-2627 wheat variety ideal for sowing after November 10. Dr B.C. Gupta said the PBW -343 wheat strain was already occupying 90 per cent of the area in the North West zone. The association advocated PUSA basmati rice seed which had an average yield of 22 quintals per acre. Other experts said at least two to three different varieties of seeds should be sowed in the state so that if one variety was struck by a disease the other variety could act as a buffer against its spread. Forum Vice President Harbhajan Singh Chahal advocated that farmers should get preference for stay in various Kisan Bhavans and guest houses constructed in the State. The situation had become such the farmers were not welcome at such places. Mr Dhindsa assured that directions would be given in this regard. |
Submit inquiry reports
in time: DC Fatehgarh Sahib, October 19 This direction was given at a sangat darshan programme which was held under his chairmanship at Bachat Bhavan here, today. As far as 14 complaints were received today, out of which eight were redressed on the spot and the remaining were marked to the concerned officers for verification of the facts within a week. Disposing off a pending complaint of Chadha Exporters of Sirhind for refund of extra power bill, the DC directed the Executive Engineer of the PSEB to take up the matter with the SE, PSEB, personally and get it expedited at the earliest and submit action taken report in written within a period of three days to him. On the complaint of Subedar Surjit Singh of Amrala village regarding the pollution and dampness being caused to his house from the gobbar gas plant installed by his neighbourer adjoining to his wall, Mr Vikas Partap handed over the inquiry to the SDM, Khamanon. Dealing with another complaint of Mr Shakti Vashisht of Sirhind regarding the illegal encroachment on the municipal council land in his neighbourhood, the DC directed the Executive Officer of the MC, Sirhind, to visit the spot after the sangat darshan programme today and take immediate action if the allegation is established. Among others who attended the sangat darshan programme included Mr M.P. Arora, ADC (G), Mr Shami Kumar SP (O), Mr Surinder Singh Sidhu and Mr Tejinder Singh Dhaliwal, SDM, Fatehgarh Sahib. |
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Readers
not given revised pay scales Pathankot, October 19 According to sources, the high court on March 25, 1998, upgraded the post of Readers attached to the District and Sessions Judges and the Additional District and Sessions Judges in the revised pay scale of Rs 6,400-10,640. Similarly, the post of Readers attached to the court of Civil Judges were upgraded in the revised pay scale of Rs 5,800-9,200 and the draft rules were approved and published in the government
gazette on March 19, 1999. The employees alleged that even after two years of the publication of notification the authorities concerned had failed to implement the orders. |
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Ban orders in Maiser Khana Bathinda, October 19 In a press note issued here today Mr Ratnam said that keeping in view the religious fair to be held at Maiser Khana village of this district on October 22, carrying of fire arms and sale of liquor had banned on the day of the fair. |
Sarpanch charged with graft Gurdaspur, October 19 Mukhtiar Singh of Nahipur had complained to the Deputy Commissioner on May 8, 2000, that two acres of land of Nahipur panchayat which was on lease with him for Rs 60,000 per year had been encroached upon. He alleged that the accused has sold the land illegally at a rate of Rs 20,000 per marla. Some of them had built illegal constructions on the land. The accused, according to the complaint, has collected Rs 1.5 crore by illegal sale of the land. Meanwhile, the complainant filed a writ petition in February, 2001, in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in this regard. The court directed the Deputy Commissioner to hold an inquiry into the matter and register a case against the accused as per law. Mr Kuldeep Singh Chandi, ADC (Development), was deputed to hold the inquiry. He submitted his findings and held the accused guilty of misappropriating the panchayat land. A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against, the accused, but no arrest has been made. |
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Two held in dowry case Malerkotla, October 19 Amarjeet Kaur, Randeep Kaur’s mother, in a complaint lodged with the police said her daughter was married to Ranjodh Singh in 1994 and since then her in-laws, including her husband, were torturing her to bring more dowry. A case was registered against five persons — Ranjodh Singh, husband, Jatinder Singh, father-in-law, Harbans Kaur, mother-in-law, Ashwinder Kaur, sister-in-law and Amlokh Singh, brother-in-law, under Sections 406, 498, 506 and 34 of the IPC yesterday. |
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Fraud by PFC officials alleged Chandigarh, October 19 The complainant, Mr V. Ingle, has alleged that he had bought an industrial unit at Patiala from the PFC, but on taking possession of the unit, he found that machinery was not complete. Consequently, he could not run the unit and machinery worth Rs 20 lakh was lying idle, which resulted in huge losses to him. According to the complainant, he had entered into an agreement with the PFC for the sale of the unit following an advertisement. However, after paying several lakhs to the PFC, he found that the unit did not have the machinery as was mentioned in the agreement. He alleged that certain persons had connived to remove some machinery and other parts before giving him possession of the unit. He further added the that was also sold a 200 kva transformer, which actually belonged to the Punjab State Electricity Board, but was claimed by the PFC to be its property. |
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Robbers
take away car, cash at gun point Rajpura, October 19 Harcharan Singh, the victim, said he was travelling towards Fatehgarh Sahib, when near Rajpura, a car blocked his way. He reportedly got out to see what the matter was, when four men came out of the car and saying they were policemen started searching his car for illegal weapons. Later, they threatened the victim with guns and took away his car and other belongings which included cell phone, gold rings, passport, etc. |
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One held for
possessing opium Bathinda, October 19 Mr Kanwarjit Singh Sandhu, SSP, Barnala, said in a press note issued today said Kulbir Singh of Barnala town was arrested for allegedly possessing 500 gm of opium. A case has been registered against him. He further said Sumandeep Singh of Bhadaur in Sangrur district was arrested for allegedly selling intoxicating pills and injections. |
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Illicit
liquor seized Bathinda, October 19 Dr Jatinder Jain, SSP, in a press note issued here on Wednesday said Raju of Talwandi Sabo and Najar Singh of Jaga Ram Tirth were arrested and nine litres and seven litres of illicit liquor, respectively, were recovered from their possession. The duo have been booked under Sections 61, 1 and 14 of the Excise Act in two different cases. |
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Duped Rajpura, October 19 |
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Students get no question paper at exam centre Patiala, October 19 Three students, including two students doing their doctorate in Punjabi language, were first asked to wait by the authorities of the local Mohindra College where the paper was scheduled to be held. After some time they were told that the university authorities had been told about the non-delivery of their paper and that the paper would be delivered soon. The students, while talking to TNS, said they were told by the college authorities after more than an hour and a half of waiting that the varsity had failed to print their paper. They were told that their examination would be scheduled again. The varsity examination branch, when contacted, said it had failed to deliver the papers to the college and there was no question of the papers not being printed by the varsity. Officials concerned said there had been some problem in delivery of the paper, regarding which an inquiry had been ordered. The university made alternative arrangements to deliver the paper again at the college. The officials said the paper would be delivered tomorrow to the college along with the Sanskrit - B paper. They said the college authorities had been asked to hold the examination for the Sanskrit - A paper, on October 28. Earlier this month, a virtual question mark had been put on the holding of the supplementary examinations when a varsity employee refused to do the necessary programming needed to make cut list of candidates who were to take the examination. The matter had been resolved at the level of the Vice-Chancellor. |
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GND varsity starts police admn course Amritsar, October 19 According to a spokesman of the university, all candidates who graduated with 50 per cent marks from any recognised university or those with five years of service are eligible to appear for the course. |
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Gurdial
Singh made
Visiting Professor Chandigarh, October 19 His appointment was
announced by Prof S.P. Singh, Vice-Chancellor of the university. It
is the first such appointment in the department in the past three
decades. |
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Students
put up food stalls Patiala, October 19 The college also arranged a declamation contest on October 16 on the themes of ‘Paradox of poverty and plenty’, ‘Role of junk foods’, ‘Food fads and fallacies’ and ‘Health hazards of environmental pollution’. Dr Jaggi presided over the function and gave away the prizes to the winners. Abha Mishra of BA III bagged the first prize, followed by Mehak (MSc I) and Simrat (BA III) who got the second and the third prizes, respectively. Rashim (MSc II) got a consolation prize. Dr Jaggi said the objective of celebrating World Food Day is to analyse the problems related to food and nutrition and to put theoretical knowledge into practice. The participants of the contest stressed upon avoiding junk food, adopting healthy eating habits. |
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World Food Day celebrated Bathinda, October 19 Mr Anshu Kataria, administrator of the college in a press note here today said that the Desh Bhagat Group of Institutes would make efforts to help the poor. Mr Anil Garg, tehsildar, speaking on the occasion said that starvation was one of the major problem of nation and people were dying due to starvation whereas production of food was so much that there was not enough space to store it. Mr Pruthi said that the Union government should give special attention towards uplift those below the poverty line. |
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Bungling
alleged in
selections Bathinda, October 19 In a
letter to the State Education Minister, Mr Tota Singh, the candidates
said though the interview marks accounted for only 18 per cent of the
total merit, the candidates with lower percentage in education
qualifications had been selected. |
Industrialists meet CM Patiala, October 19 Giving this information, Mr Vijay Tayal, activist of the union,
said the State Officer of PSIEC, Mr S.P. Singh, and Chief Engineer, Mr
Bhatia had especially come from Chandigarh on being called by the CM. Mr
Badal directed them to redress the problems of the industrialists with
the help of the Managing Director of the PSIEC, Mr Kulbir Singh.
President of the Association Mr Murari Lal Goyal, said grievances
regarding street lights, potholes and congress grass were discussed at
length with Mr Bhatia during a separate meeting where he assured the
industrialists that their problems would be solved at the
earliest. |
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