Jalandhar, January 31
Hundreds of farm labourers picketed the administrative complex in support of their demands here today giving a tough time to the visitors since the police regulated entry to the complex.

The agitators, who began arriving from various parts of the district since morning, assembled at the Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall and then marched towards the complex. The protesters were carrying placards demanding an end to the privatisation process and better civic amenities for the poor in Punjab.

Addressing the gathering, Baldev Singh Nurpuri and Kashmir Singh Ghughshor said if the government did not stop its anti-people policies they would be forced to call a statewide strike on February 19.

The leaders said the privatisation policy being followed by the state government in every sector was a death knell for the poor. “A large section of population still struggles for potable water. Even the subterranean water is receding due to which hand pumps of shanties are not working and people have to spend more money every year to sink deeper bores,” they pointed out.

“The government’s proposal to hand over the water supply to private hands means one has to pay for every glass of water he drinks. What about the poor who have already forgone the luxury of milk due to its higher prices? How they would survive without water,” they questioned.

Similarly, the government’s proposal to split the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) into several small companies meant free power would not be available to the poor as the private companies would hike power costs plunging their houses into darkness, the leaders added.

Likewise, the government’s decision to rope in entrepreneurs in the education sector would mean no education for wards of economically weaker sections. The same was in the case of health services that were already out of the reach of the masses, they said.

Criticising the setting up of toll plazas, the leaders said, “The barriers are a burden on the poor since transportation costs have gone up considerably. Besides, the government has done very little to provide employment opportunities to the youth who were disillusioned and were resorting to drug abuse and anti-social activities. The worst affected were the landless labourers, the leaders said.

Others who spoke on the occasion included Tarsem Peter, Gurnam Singh Sanghera, Darshan Nahar, Hans Raj Pabwan, Nirmal Singh Bhagat, Des Raj and Bibi Gurbaksh Kaur Sadakpur.

Nawanshahr: Various farmers and farm and industrial labourers, under the aegis of the Anti-Privatisation Coordination Committee (APCC), gheraoed the office of the deputy commissioner here on Thursday to raise their voice against the privatisation of public utility sectors like electricity, health, education, transport, etc.

AIFTU state vice-president Kulwinder Singh Warraich, while addressing the dharna, condemned the policy of privatisation being pursued blindly by the central and state governments under the influence of the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation. The policy has been playing havoc with the interests of the weaker sections of society as they are being deprived of basic needs like education, healthcare, safe drinking water, etc., he alleged.

Harpal Singh Jagatpur, Sarup Singh Rahon (CTU), Harmesh Singh Dhesi, Surinder Singhg Bains (Kirti Kisan Union), Hari Ram Rasulpuri, Kamaljit Sanawa (Pendu Mazdoor Union) also spoke on the occasion.

Meanwhile, a deputation comprising office-bearers of various employees’ organisations submitted a memorandum to the ADC for onward submission to the Chief Minister.

The committee demanded scrapping of the policy of privatisation of the various government departments and starting recruitments on regular basis in different departments.

Amritsar, January 31
To provide security to the tourists in the holy city, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal launched “Amritsar tourism police” here on Thursday. Lauding the efforts of the police, Badal said Amritsar was an important tourist destination and a transit point from where many international and national tourists made their journeys.

The 30-member Amritsar tourism police, led by inspector Ramnish Kumar, would be supervised by police chief Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh. The officers of the squad have been carefully selected keeping orientation and work requirements in mind.

Besides, special training in tourism management has been given to these officers.

The officers of the squad would be vigilant to protect tourists from harassment by touts and help them in hiring transportation and lodging services.

They would be active at the Golden Temple, the Attari border, the railway station, the airport and the bus terminal round the clock.

Moreover, they would be also present on important tourist places like malls, clubs, etc to protect visitors from pickpockets, eve-teasing, molestation and drugging.

Talking about the service, deputy commissioner K.S. Pannu said, “The Punjab Tourism Development Corporation has been directed to provide all information, including accommodations, theatres, transportation, tourist spots, etc to the tourism police.

This will help the squad members to answer all queries of the tourists.”

In addition, the Amritsar Tourism Development Board would also be set up with assistance from the United Nations Tourism Development Programme.

Mohali, January 31
The Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) has increased the reserve price of residential plots in the areas under its jurisdiction.

The rates have been increased from Rs 7,950 per sq yard to Rs 10,000 per sq yard for plots sized 100 sq yards and above. For plots sized less than 100 sq yards, the rates have been increased from Rs 3,150 per sq yard to Rs 5,000 per sq yard. These rates are revised for the allotment of plots through draw of lots.

This was decided at a meeting of officers of the authority and the department of housing and urban development held recently under the chairmanship of the Punjab chief secretary.

Though these rates have been recently revised by GMADA, the authority has no plots to offer. Since GMADA has not been able to acquire any land in the area due to opposition from farmers, residential plots at these rates would remain a distant dream.

It was also pointed out at the meeting that recently GMADA had auctioned some leftover plots available in the developed sectors. The average auction rate went up to Rs 36,000 per sq yard as against the reserve price of Rs 7,950 per sq yard.

It was noted that collector rates were also revised for Mohali in September 2007. The rates for residential properties were increased from Rs 6,000 per sq yard to Rs 10,000 per sq yard and rates for commercial property from Rs 30,000 per sq yard to Rs 50,000 per sq yard.

Collector rates for industrial property were increased from Rs 2,500 per sq yard to Rs 5,000 for plots sized below 1,000 sq yards and Rs 2,000 per sq yard to Rs 3,000 for plots sized more than 1,000 sq yards. The market price of these properties is, however, far higher.

Sources added that though GMADA had no plots to offer, these rates had been increased as rates of institutional, commercial and other sites were based on the reserve price of residential plots. Also, the rates of extension fee for non-construction of plots were calculated on the basis of the reserve price.

Jalandhar, January 31
Bright sunshine brought cheers in Punjab this morning but still there was no let up in the cold wave with Adampur recording sub-zero temperatures for the third successive night.

The minimum temperature at the Indian Air Force (IAF) base at Adampur remained at minus 0.6 degrees Celsius, turning it into the coldest place in the state. This was a marginal rise from minus 1.2 degrees recorded last night.

However, the night temperatures in the rest of the border state showed a marginal decrease last night. Amritsar was cold at 1.0 degree, down by 2.8 degrees from last night. The temperature at the IAF base at Halwara also went down to 2.4 degrees Celsius.

The night temperatures in the Malwa belt showed a marginally decrease with Bathinda recording 2.4 degrees. The night temperature in the border town of Pathankot also fell by one degree and was also recorded at 2.4 degrees. The met office at Adampur has forecast clear and dry weather in Punjab tomorrow with haze and fog in the morning hours.

The Union Territory of Chandigarh, despite bright sunshine this morning, was cold at 2.4 degrees. The night temperature in Ambala fell to 0.8 degree last night from 1.2 degrees on Tuesday night. — UNI

Nawanshahr, January 31
The Fraud Marriage Victims Society, Canada, in a memorandum to the Canadian Prime Minister, the immigration minister, the public safety minister and the Canadian High Commission at New Delhi and Chandigarh has demanded conducting of a comprehensive survey of frauds in the solemnisation of marriages allegedly being committed by Punjabis just to fulfill their ambition of settling in Canada. 

They have also demanded a ban on granting “family class immigration” to at least four districts which have been topping the list of maximum marriage frauds for at least seven years.

Society president Palwinder Singh Gill, while talking to The Tribune, said the society had taken such a stern stance to save victims of fraudulent marriages by NRIs. They are in a fix as to which door they should knock at to get justice.

“The Punjabi NRIs have vitiated the sacred institute of marriage to satisfy their lust of settling in Canada,” rued Gill, adding that “the menace of fraudulent marriages has played havoc with the lives of a large number of spouses.”

“The society has launched a movement against the menace of fraudulent marriages in Canada. It has been trying to mobilise public opinion by organising seminars, rallies, signature campaigns and submitting memorandums to parliamentarians to introduce strict laws to combat the menace of marriage frauds in Canada, but the desired results are still eluding the society for want of proper legal and social support,” lamented Gill.

With the imposition of a ban on granting “family class immigration”, the tendency of committing frauds in marriages could be curbed to a large extent, opined Gill. The applicants seeking immigration on the basis of skilled labour should be given priority, he said. The number of Punjabi immigrants to Canada was bound to decrease in the near future as the Canadian government was going to enter into a pact with the southern states in India for educated immigrants, he said.

Palwinder Gill criticised the political leaders who claimed to be championing the cause of the victims of fraudulent marriages by the NRIs in Punjab. Such leaders were trying to play with the sentiments of the victims just to get political mileage, said Gill.

These complaints would be brought to the notice of the Chief Minister and the DGP by the society, Gill said Gill, adding that the victims could e-mail their complaints at: fraudmarriage@hotmail.com