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Dept to deal with unemployment soon, says Badal
Kalma Mor (Nurpur Bedi), September 8
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said this while addressing mediapersons here today. Badal was here to honour members of the family of 34 persons who died in the Tarn Taran railway accident during the Dharam Yug Morcha. Badal added that in order to provide better education facilities to the rural poor students three schools would be opened at each block level. Also adarsh schools would be set up in each constituency. He claimed that all the community health centres would be packed with the requisite machinery. He announced a grant Rs 50 lakh for Nangal constituency. Anandpur Sahib MLA Baba Ajit Singh demanded government jobs for one member of each family. Avinash Rai Khanna, MP, stated that that the Railways had cleared a project to connect Anandpur Sahib and Amritsar. He announced a grant of Rs 20 lakh for development of Nangal area. Chief parliamentary secretary Nand Lal, former minister Madan Mohan Mittal and Tara Singh Ladal and SGPC member Gurinder Singh Gogi also addressed the function.
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Free power subsidy to be Rs 2,548 cr
Chandigarh, September 8
The commission, sources said, had proposed an average increase of 9 per cent in the power tariff for the current fiscal year.Of this, 12 per cent increase is for the farm sector, 7 per cent for the industrial sector and 8.4 per cent for the domestic sector, it is learnt. The tariff rate has to be fixed for the farm sector to tabulate the subsidy. However, as power is provided free of cost to the farm sector, any increase made in the tariff for this sector will have to be paid by the government. Sources said as no final decision could be taken at the meetings held so far, another meeting would be held on Monday to clinch the issue. The sources said the commission had calculated subsidy worth Rs 2,119 crore for giving free power to the farm sector and poor sections for the current fiscal year. Out of Rs 2,119 crore, the power subsidy bill for poor sections was in the range of Rs 119 crore. Besides, it has calculated subsidy dues worth Rs 429 crore against the state government of the past two years. The government would have to foot a bill of Rs 2,548 crore to the PSEB as subsidy for the farm sector and poor sections.
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Kaka all set for second innings
Amritsar, September 8 “I have signed a total of eight films, of which three are on the floor. Even if I am able to get half of the love that my fans had showered on me in the past, I would think that I’m still in the reckoning,” he said. The first superstar of Bollywood belongs to Amritsar and spent his childhood in his ancestral house in Gali
Tiwarian. “I am a son of the holy city. Whenever people of my birthplace have called me, I have rushed to be with them. I have fond memories of the city and since I have come here after a long time, I’m reminded of the days before I moved out,” he said. Khanna avoided a direct comment on the possibility of his contesting the next MP’s election from Amritsar on Congress ticket. He, however, said he was a Congressman and took pride in this fact. There was a stampede-like situation as a large number of fans and passers-by mobbed Khanna when he arrived at the Golden Temple around 2 pm. Some of them had been camping there since 11 am, the scheduled time of arrival of the cast of “Kash…Mere
Hote.” Khanna was accompanied by actor Sneha Ullal and newcomer Kumar
Sahil. Sneha said she had some good films coming up. Khanna’s wife Dimple Kapadia also features in the film, along with Johnny Lever. The two could not make it to Amritsar today. The film is being directed by
B.H.
Tharun Kumar.
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Polio drops must for Haj pilgrims
Malerkotla, September 8 SDM Jaspal Singh today said they had deputed SMO Badri Dass of the local Civil Hospital to get the vaccination from the government. The All-India Haj Committee had already issued letters to all state Haj committees on August 31 regarding the same. The flights for Haj are scheduled to start from November 11 and as per the Saudi government letter, the vaccine should be given six weeks before that. So the local administration has only about 15 days to implement the orders. On the other hand, seats for Haj pilgrims from Punjab have also been increased by the committee. Earlier, 383 seats were allotted to the pilgrims of Punjab, but now these have been increased to 585. Being the only Muslim-dominated city of Punjab, most of the Haj pilgrims are from Malerkotla.
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BJP workers pour out heart to Sood
Bathinda, September 8
They told Sood at the local circuit house that they had to depend on the assembly segment in charge appointed by the ruling SAD for getting a work done from a government department. In the matters related to the development of the area, they were never consulted by the authorities concerned. They felt they were being treated as second-class citizens under the rule of their own party in Punjab. Sood, when contacted, said he had spoken to the deputy commissioner and the SSP, Bathinda, to give due honour and recognition to the BJP workers. Though the SAD-BJP leadership was of the view that there should be coordination among the rank and file of the two parties, he was of the view that every BJP worker should be given individual recognition by the authorities concerned.
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Mann to approach EC
Fatehgarh Sahib, September 8 Simranjit Singh Mann had got his party registered with the Election Commission in the name of the SAD (Mann) in November 1989. The party leadership said today that since the organisation was popularly know as the SAD (A), so it had been decided to seek fresh registration.
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10 pc seats for rural students in law varsity Tribune News Service
Patiala, September 8 He was presiding over a seminar on “Family law: Problems and Perspectives” organised by the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL) at Central State Library here today. Showing concern towards poor students from rural areas, Badal asked the chancellor of the RGNUL to make special provision for the reservation of seats in the university. Badal pointed out that only 4 per cent of rural students pursued studies at the university level. The Chief Minister assured the university management all possible assistance to make RGUNL one of the premier institution in legal education. Later, Badal handed over Rs 80 lakh cheque to Sukhpal Singh Sidhu, sarpanch of Sidhuwal who had donated 50 acres of shamlaat for setting up of the RGNUL campus, for development projects in the village. Earlier chief guest Justice Arijit Pasayat, a judge of the Supreme Court of India, said children were the worst victims of family disputes resulting from domestic violence, divorce and problems of the deserted wives and abandoned children by NRIs. He pointed out that breakdown of marriages on flimsy grounds ruined not only families but also disintegrated society at large. In a lighter vein he remarked, “If the trend of divorces continues like this in our country, the day is not very far when the spouses will prefer anticipatory divorce petition to seek divorce on the pattern of anticipatory bail”. He said this was happening due to the lack of tolerance and ego which must be sacrificed for the sake of the future of children who were innocent. Justice Ashok Bhan, also a judge of the Supreme Court, was the guest of honour.He underlined the need of changing the mindset of people to create public opinion against these social evils because law alone could not change society. He said the erring doctors, nurses and even parents involved in female foeticide should be put behind bars, as they did not deserve mercy. He lamented that Punjab and Haryana were the worst affected states in terms of declining female sex ratio. Chief Justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court and chancellor RGNUL Vijender Jain accepted the request of the Chief Minister and announced the provision of reservation of 10 per cent seats for poor students from rural areas in the law university. He said the plight of deserted wives by NRI husbands was grim and 25,000 such cases had been reported so far in Punjab. Vice-chancellor, RGNUL,Gurjeet Singh highlighted achievements of the university. Justice Pasayat released a souvenir on the subject brought out by RGNUL and presented to the first copy to the Chief Minister. Justice Mehtab Singh Gill, Justice Rajive Bhalla and Justice M.M. Kumar, judges of Punjab and Haryana High Court, presided over the technical session. Advocate-general H.S. Mattewal, District and Sessions judge, Patiala, Inderjit Singh Walia, judges of District Courts and senior civil and police officers attended the seminar.
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Radiotherapy unit proposed
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 8 Jagjit Puri, secretary, medical education and research, has requested Dr Naresh Dyal, secretary, health and family welfare, union government, to approve the project at the earliest. The project will also be beneficial for the people of the Ganganagar belt of Rajasthan. Wagah renamed Attari border
On the recommendation of the Punjab government, the government of India has changed the name of the Wagah border to the Attari border with immediate effect. This was stated here today by an official spokesman of the state government.
Monorail
A project to connect Sri Guru Ram Das international airport at Raja Sansi and the Golden Temple by monorail and building world class infrastructure for the proposed Mohali international airport are highlights of Asian Development Bank project plans. A high-powered team from the bank led by Ludwig G. Rieder, along with Gurmeet S. Rai and Aurobindo Ogra, here today met Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. They discussed the salient features of the proposed projects. The bank officials sought detailed reports of the projects in the next 10 days.
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They went with green dreams, but returned dejected
Ludhiana, September 8 The workers, moslty masons, carpenters and mechanics, had shelled out between Rs 90,000 and Rs 1,50,000 to work for the company. They were promised handsome salaries between Rs 15,000-20,000. However, they got a pittance of this promised amount. “The agent sent me on a working visa. I worked for two months, after which they gave us 20 dinars ($5.62). When we asked for more money, they beat us up,” said Bindar Bandra, a mason from Jalandhar. Jeevan Ram, a metal mechanic, was shocked to hear that the company he worked for did not exist. “I was to be sent to a certain Al-Fahad Travel and Tour Company. On reaching Kuwait I found that the company did not exist. They made me do menial work, like sweeping, scavenging and carrying load around the work site,” he said. “If we refused, they would whip us with belts. They would force us to work at gunpoint, saying that at 5 dinars ($1.5) bullets were too cheap for them to give a second thought to shooting us dead,” he added. Those who returned said the Indian Embassy in Kuwait failed to provide any kind of assistance. They said they would file police complaints against the company’s agents, both of whom had reportedly gone missing. Millions of semi-skilled and unskilled labourers from across India migrate to Gulf countries every year and most of them are absorbed in the construction sector, which is enjoying a boom in the oil-rich nations. — ANI
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Govt yet to select agency for designing exhibit gallery
Megha Mann Tribune News Service
Anandpur Sahib, September 8 The project,the foundation stone of which was laid in 1998, ran into rough weather with a plethora of fund crunches before the consortium of five banks came to its rescue in 2004. Out of the Rs 48 crore sanctioned by the Central government, the Anandpur Sahib Foundation has already received Rs 13.72 crore. The consortium of banks, led by Punjab National Bank, had so far released Rs 48 crore out Rs 100 crore sanctioned for it. The Congress government had claimed to complete the project by September 2004 to coincide with the 400th year of the installation of Guru Granth Sahib at Darbar Sahib, Amritsar. Earlier, the National Institute of Design (NID), Hyderabad, has conducted a study on Sikh history. It has been decided to showcase Sikh history from the period of Guru Nanak Dev's birth to the constitution of Misl in the sect. However, with the construction work near completion, the government is yet to decide which agency should be roped in to design the interiors. One more agency, A.B.Design Habit from New Delhi, has emerged as a strong contender for visualising the gallery and the museum. Sources in the department pointed out that NID, Hyderabad, had urged the government to sanction the payment in advance, while A.B. Design Habit has agreed upon taking the payment during the course of work or after it gets completed. Boston-based architect Moshe Safdie, who happens to be the project designer, had during his earlier visit apprised the Chief Minister of completing the project by February, 2009. The heritage project, when completed, will be one of largest interpretive historic museums in the world with over 5,000 sq m of the exhibit area. The museum is inspired by Holocaust Museum in Washington DC. However, chief executive officer of the foundation D.S.Kala was not available for comments despite repeated attempts.
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Dhindsa gives Rs 30 lakh to 25 panchayats
Sandaur (Malerkotla), September 8 Dhindsa was here today in connection with the distribution of development grants worth Rs 30 lakh among panchayats of 25 villages of the Sherpur Assembly constituency. Besides Dhindsa, executive committee member of the SGPC Baba Tek Singh Dhanaula, former MLA Gurcharan Singh Dirba and district president of the SAD Rajinder Singh Kanjhla addressed the gathering. On the deletion of names of all those Sikhs whose names had been included in the “black list” by the Central government, Dhindsa said the Union government had told them cases of all “blacklisted” Sikhs (who had shifted to various foreign countries during militancy in Punjab) would be reviewed as Law, Home and Foreign ministries were involved in this issue.
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Villagers reject MLA’s offer
Abohar, September 8 Some residents of Gumjal, Panniwala Malha, Kallarkhera and Jandwala Hanuvanta villages, in a memorandum faxed to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and the chief engineer (Irrigation) today, sought their intervention to avert a clash.
— OC
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Women prisoners in pitiable condition
Gurdaspur, September 8 Amarjit Kaur was accompanied by her husband, former editor of Punjabi Tribune, Singhara Singh
Bhullar.
— TNS
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Pack of six adds Panther punch to Chhatbir
Banur, September 8 Kinnar and five other leopards arrived at the park this morning from the rescue and rehabilitation centre at Shimla. And while the others are either sleepy or munching away at buffalo bones, Kinnar chose to give photojournalists some good shots of an angry young panther. “He is actually not that young. Panthers survive for less than 20 years in captivity and in the wild their average life span is only about 18 to 14 years. You could say he is middle aged,” said Dharminder Sharma, Filed Director of the park. With the arrival of six panthers their total population in the park is now nine. “The new arrivals are three pairs. Kinnar got his name from Kinnaur, the place from where he was rescued. His other male companion Teju is also 10 years old. The female panther Shalu is seven years old and was rescued from Theog. The oldest among the group is Bina a 14-year-old female panther from Solan. “The youngest couple is of Mangal and Manju. Both were born in captivity at the Rescue and Rehabilitation centre at Tuti Kandi, Shimla. Manju is Teju’s daughter,” said Sharma. Visitors will, however, have to wait for at least three weeks before these are brought out for display. “We will observe them for this time and during this quarantine period they will also be tested for various diseases, added Sharma.
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Drugs godown raided
Bathinda, September 8 Keen Healthcare, which allegedly stored drugs in the godown, used to sell drugs without licence. The team seized 37 kinds of medicines and took samples of around 50 medicines to check their genuineness. When the checking started at the godown last morning, mediapersons were not allowed inside the building.
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IT conference concludes
Rupnagar, September 8 The second day of the conference started with lectures by Dr H.K. Sardana, a scientist from the CSIO, on image/signal processing and pattern recognition and J. Virmani, assistant professor, IET, Bhaddal, on medical image analysis for disease diagnosis. It was followed by different technical sessions. More than 35 institutions from all over India participated in today’s session. Participants who presented research papers and attended the session along with the IET, Bhaddal, were from Hindustan College of Science and Technology, Mathura, GFEC, Hyderabad, DUIT, Karnal, DRDO, Banglore, NV Patel College of Pure and Applied Science, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat, and various colleges from all over Punjab.
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Lakhowal seeks Rs 900 MSP for paddy
Sangrur, September 8 In reply to a question Lakhowal said the Mandi Board had not received any information from the Central government with regard to the fixation of the paddy MSP for the current paddy procurement season. However, they had received information from the economic and statistical adviser, Government of India, who had informed them that the paddy was priced at Rs 675 per quintal plus Rs 40 as bonus for the current paddy season, he added. Lakhowal, who also happens to be the BKU (Lakhowal) president, said they wanted linkage of the MSP with wholesale price index to improve the financial health of the farmers. He also said they were not against acquisition of land, but it should be for construction of government hospitals, colleges, roads rather than handing it over to the multi-national companies. Lakhowal also stated that the Mandi Board would set up six modern grain markets at a cost of Rs 259 crore and first such grain market would come up at Ludhiana with the cold storage facility.
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