Sunday, February 28, 1999
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Sunday, February 28, 1999 |
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No plan to set up party:
Tohra BANGA (Punjab) Feb 27 — Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee President Gurcharan Singh Tohra claimed that Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal president Parkash Singh Badal's determination to completely dominate the tercentenary of the Khalsa's birth and to promote his son were the root cause of the crisis gripping Panthic polity. Wary
agencies watching Bhai Ranjit |
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Badal
‘out to damage’ Sikh institutions Jathedar's
plea to Sikhs Sikh
organisations take out march 12
pc of primary schools sans teachers |
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No plan to set up party: Tohra BANGA (Punjab) Feb 27 (UNI) — Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President Gurcharan Singh Tohra claimed that Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Parkash Singh Badal's determination to completely dominate the tercentenary of the Khalsa's birth and to promote his son were the root cause of the crisis gripping Panthic polity. Addressing a religious congregation at Charankanwal Gurdwara here on the occasion of the death anniversary of the father of SGPC Acting President GS Bhaur, Mr Tohra said Mr Badal's attempt to cover up for the editor of a Jalandhar daily had exacerbated the crisis. The SGPC chief said Mr Badal's blind love for his son threatened to derail the entire Panthic polity the way Dhritrashtra's blind love for his son undermined the entire value system of Hindu history and culture. Reiterating that he would not set up a parallel Akali Party, Mr Tohra said it would remain his endeavour "to rescue the SAD from the clutches of family rule and make it a truly Panthic and democratic party — to look after the interests of the Khalsa Panth. Mr Tohra said if Mr Badal wanted to project himself as leader of Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat at the cost of Panthic interests he was welcome to do so and, in that event he would not have any clash of interest with him. But he would not allow Mr Badal to usurp the Panthic platform for promotion of his family rule. He said "I pose no threat to the Akali government nor I will try to dominate the tercentenary, but I will work to rescue SAD from the control of family rule and make it a pro-Panthic and pro-democracy party". Lambasting the ten members of the SGPC executive who suspended Bhai Ranjit Singh as Jathedar of the Akal Takht, Mr Tohra said they have committed a "sin" for which history would never pardon them. "These ten members had scripted a dark chapter in Sikh history and history will never pardon them", he said. Hailing Golden Temple head Granthi Giani Mohan Singh for declining to accept the office of acting Jathedar of Akal Takht, Mr Tohra said "Giani Mohan Singh had scripted a golden chapter in Sikh history". He honoured Giani Mohan Singh a robe of honour and kirpan on the occasion. Asked to comment on his absence at the installation of Giani Puran Singh as acting Jathedar of the Akal Takht, Giani Mohan Singh told visiting reporters from Jalandhar that his presence was not necessary because Giani Puran Singh had not been appointed Jathedar of the supreme religio-temporal seat of the Sikhs. Giani Mohan Singh claimed that he had declined to accept the office offered to him by Mr Badal and disclosed that he had also urged the Chief Minister not to go ahead with replacing Bhai Ranjit Singh. During a brief interface with journalists in the gurdwara premises before the arrival of Mr Tohra, Giani Mohan Singh was repeatedly prevented from talking with reporters by SGPC additional secretary Kulwant Singh who ultimately succeeded in taking him away to the congregation to rescue him from answering probing queries of the reporters. However, Giani Mohan Singh
said he was away to condole a death on February 15, when
Giani Puran Singh was installed as acting Jathedar of
Akal Takht. |
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Wary agencies watching Bhai
Ranjit AMRITSAR, Feb 27 — The intelligence agencies are keeping close vigil on the activities of suspended Jathedar Bhai Ranjit Singh after the publication of a wall poster by the "Darbar Sahib Committee" of the SGPC suggesting he may attend the "Khalsa darbar" at Akal Takht tomorrow. The wall poster, published on behalf of manager, darbar sahib mentioned Bhai Ranjit Singh as Jathedar of the Akal Takht though he was placed under suspension by pro-Badal SGPC executive members on February 10. The lawyer of the pro-Badal executive members, Mr Jugraj Singh Pannu has already moved the Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission against the move claiming that the Tohra camp had indulged "contempt of court" by listing Bhai Ranjit Singh's name as Jathedar Akal Takht despite the fact that Giani Puran Singh had been installed as Acting Jathedar on February 15. The practice of holding "Khalsa darbar" on the last Sunday of every month was started by Bhai Ranjit Singh after his installation as Jathedar about two years ago. Though Bhai Ranjit Singh was suspended he has been claiming that he still continues to be Jathedar. The secretariat of the Akal Takht is in the possession of the suspended Jathedar and has been visited by him even after his suspension. According to sources, Bhai Ranjit Singh will also address a public meeting as "jathedar" on the occasion of a Hola Mohalla meeting in Anandpur Sahib, being organised by the Tohra camp. The intelligence sleuths
are taking notes of those visiting Bhai Ranjit Singh at
his SGPC-owned house. |
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Large crowds greet Chardikalan
march MUKTSAR, Feb 27 — The 'Chardikalan-Sarbat da Bhala' march organised by Anandpur Sahib Foundation set off from Gurdwara Tutti Gandhi Sahib (also called Darbar Sahib here at 8 p.m. today on the second leg of its journey. The march, led by 'panj pyare' (five beloved ones) was attended by Punjab Chief Minister Mr Parkash Singh Badal, various ministers, party MLAs and MPs. Mr Badal addressed crowds at various villages enroute urging all political parties and religious groups to participate in the tercentenary celebrations. The entire route of the march was decorated with welcome gates, flower arches, colourful papers etc. Devotees jostling to have a better view of weapons belonging to Guru Gobind Singh. FARIDKOT: Huge
crowds lined Guru Gobind Singh Marg at Ramiana, near
Jaitu in this district today to receive the Sarbat da
Bhala march. The route was decorated with flags and
welcome arches bearing the sayings of saints of different
religions and Sikh gurus. When the nearly three kilometre
procession arrived at the border of the village, senior
officials and political leaders including Mr Gurinder
Singh Grewal, Mr Harchand Singh Sidhu, Deputy
Commissioner and S.S.P. respectively and Mr Surinder
Gupta, President DCC Faridkot and many SAD leaders
presented garlands of flowers to 'Panj Piaras'. The Chief
Minister and Agriculture Minister Gurdev Singh Badal and
other senior party leaders accompanying the procession in
an open addressing the gathering cautioned the Punjabis
to beware of the evil designs of the secessionists and
fundamentalists. |
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Where kitty parties are a way of
life LUDHIANA: Do you wish to be with the mod crowd? And show off your latest acquisitions while socialising and raising some money for yourself in the process? Join a kitty party. This is the in thing here. Everybody who is anybody in this megacity of 25 lakh is a member of one kitty party or the other. There is a kitty for almost everyone. There is a doctors' kitty, a lawyers' kitty, businessmen's kitty, morning kitty, evening kitty, ladies kitty, couples kitty, mohalla kitty, classmates kitty and even a kirtan kitty. "When menfolk go away to work and kids go to the school, housewives have a lot of time to spare", says Mrs Shashi Khullar, president of the Roopika Ladies Club. "Gone are the days when housewives had to remain confined to the four walls of the house and spend their entire life in the kitchen. With the spread of education, expansion of television and multiplicity of newspapers, women have become aware of their rights and privileges. They also know what goes on in society and the world at large. They want to go out and socialise. A kitty party offers them an excellent opportunity to interact with others..." By going out and socialising with others, a housewife can learn a lot. It also gives her confidence on how to conduct herself in public and interact with others. "I used to be a very private person", says Alka Khanna, a housewife of Model Town. "I had trouble talking to others because of lack of confidence. Things have changed dramatically after I started going to kitty parties and interacting with women of of my age and social background." "Mind you, a kitty party is not meant to be merely a device to kill time and entertain members", points out Mr Manisha Thapar, another lady active in the kitty circuit. A kitty party slowly develops into a strong grouping whose members are ready to come to the aid of each other whenever required. A kitty party can be held anywhere. The venue can either be the house of a member or at a place like a hotel or restaurant, adds Mrs Inderjeet Chawla. An increasing number of hotels and restaurants now offer "discounts" on kitty parties which generally begin around 11 in the morning and conclude at lunch time. "This is a nice way of keeping the restaurant occupied during slack hours and make some money in the process", says the owner of a hotel on the busy Ferozepur Road. Explains Mrs Gurjinder Saimbhi: A kitty party usually consists of 10 or more persons who each contribute a fixed amount ranging between Rs 100 and Rs 5000 every month towards a common pool which goes to an individual by turn. The super-rich crowd, however, regards anything involving less than a contribution of Rs 5000 per head as "beggars kitty". The party begins with an exchange of pleasantries and latest gossip in town followed by a couple of rounds of tambola and concludes with lunch or dinner. The phenomenon of holding kitty parties began quite some time ago but it really grew during the years of terrorism in Punjab, say Drs Anshu and Ravindra Vatsyayan, an ayurvedic medical practitioner couple in touch with the social scene in Ludhiana. "During those dark days, people were forced to remain confined to their homes. Movement on roads after sunset was out of the question. So they began collecting at each other's houses. These meetings slowly evolved into kitty parties." Moreover, the location of Ludhiana is such that there is no place around one can go for an outing. Unlike Chandigarh, which has popular spots like Sukhna Lake or Rose Garden, Ludhiana offers no such spot despite the fact that the mighty Sutlej river is not very far from here, observes Mrs Poonam Bali, a local industrialist. Therefore, people have to hold small get-togethers at their houses. This has been another contributory factor in the rapid growth of kitty parties here. And of course, Ludhiana is a city where trade, commerce and industry reigns supreme. "Everybody needs money here", says Mrs Sadhna Khanna, entrepreneur running a modest embroidery unit. A kitty party can be a good source of money for meeting one's urgent requirements. Most of the time, the money collected is used either on personal jewellery or for buying household articles, says Mrs Bali. "I was able to satisfy my son's demand for a bicycle through the kitty money," says Mrs Munna Chopra. But of course, most of the times the money is spent on buying clothes or jewellery. "We can spot in a jiffy a woman flush with kitty money as soon she enters the shop", says a jeweller on the fashionable Mall Road. "And we concentrate our total attention towards making sure that she spends here entire amount before she departs for home". Not everything proceeds
smoothly at the kitty parties. "There have been
occasions when an individual has tried to cheat the other
members", says Mrs Renu Joshi, another housewife
contributing to more than on kitty party. "Such an
individual either tries to avoid making her own
contribution or stops attending the party after claiming
her own amount. This can lead to a very awkward situation
but we try to carry on all the same..." |
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Badal ‘out to damage’
Sikh institutions CHANDIGARH, Feb 27 — Mr Paramjit Singh Sarna, a former president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, said today that he had no connection with the Shiromani Akali Dal headed by Mr Parkash Singh Badal. He was reacting to his suspension from the party by Mr Avtar Singh Hit, President of the Delhi unit of the SAD (Badal). Mr Sarna in a statement faxed to The Tribune said that as he was totally disillusioned with the functioning of the SAD, he formed a separate SAD (Delhi) along with many other "right-thinking Sikhs". So where was the question of my suspension from the SAD (Badal)? he asked. Mr Sarna was the general secretary of the SAD (Badal) before forming a separate party. Lashing on at the SAD (Badal), Mr Sarna said the "entire functioning was suffocating." Mr Badal had been running the party in an utterly autocratic manner. All this was being done by Mr Badal to suit his personal interests and whims. Mr Badal was out to damage Sikh institutions systematically. He further said that Mr Badal had used his political position to downgrade Akal Takht and dilute the pronouncements made by it. The directive issued by Bhai Ranjit Singh with regard to stopping the feud between Mr Badal and Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra was a well-intentioned step. But Mr Badal overawed Akal Takht and its Jathedar. He said the present
generation of Sikhs should tell Mr Badal that "thus
far and no further". Under Mr Badal's command the
party was humbled in the Adampur byelection. It was a
consequence of ignoring the grassroots-level workers of
the party. In all parties a democratic system had to
operate to some degree and the opinions of other leaders
of standing and status had to be accommodated. However,
Mr Badal did not do so. Due to these reasons, Mr Sarna
claimed, he preferred to float his own party unit. |
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Jathedar's plea to Sikhs FATEHGARH SAHIB, Feb 27 — Prof Manjit Singh, Jathedar, Keshgarh Sahib has called upon the people to follow the teachings of the great Sikh Gurus. He was addressing a religious conference in connection with the "Khalsa chetna march" organised by the SAD from Rupalheri village to Anandpur Sahib today. He said such marches and Sikh sammelans were being organised to create awareness among the people about the glorious history of the evolution of the Khalsa Panth. He called upon the people to get themselves baptised and participate in the tercentenary celebrations. He said "Guru ka langar" should be made in all houses and served to passers-by. Raja Narinder Singh, Minister for Public Health, Mr Balwant Singh Sahpur, MLA, Bibi Satwant Kaur, MLA, and Mr Randhir Singh Cheema, former minister, among others addressed the gathering. Later, the Khalsa march
was flagged off by Prof Manjit Singh for Anandpur Sahib. |
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Sikh organisations take out
march JALANDHAR, Feb 27 — The Singh Sabha and various other Sikh organisations took out a protest march to protest against the suspension of the Akal Takht Jathedar, Bhai Ranjit Singh, and the constitution of the new Gurdwara Judicial Commission. While the decision of the 10-members of the executive committee of the SGPC was dubbed as "partisan and arbitrary", the speakers addressing the gathering at Company Bagh alleged that the SAD (Badal) had always protested against any interference by the judicial commission and the state governments in the "religious affairs", but today, the entire exercise to suspend the Akal Takht Jathedar was politically motivated and carried out by the Chief Minister himself. Announcing that the tehsil
and district-level protest marches will be held all over
the state, Bhai Jagajit Singh Gura and Bhai Shanbir Singh
Khalsa alleged that a "coterie" was misguiding
Mr Badal, while history showed that Akal Takht was the
"supreme temporal" seat of the Sikhs. |
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12 pc of primary schools sans
teachers JALANDHAR, Feb 27 — The virtual collapse of the primary education is evident from the fact that there are only two nursery schools being run by the state government for nearly 22 lakh children in the entire state. The glaring apathy of the successive state governments to "primary education" is explicit in the fact that "Punjab", a supposedly prosperous state spends just 2.5 per cent of its G.D.P. (gross domestic product) on primary education while a backward state like Bihar spends 4.6 per cent Gujarat 4.11 per cent Madhya Pradesh 7.2 per cent and Jammu and Kashmir 2.9 per cent. Leading educationist and convener of the formulation committee for non-government school Sikhia Commission, Dr T.R. Sharma, revealed these startling facts in his address at the inaugural session of the two-day conference on "primary education and health systems in Punjab" at the Desh Bhagat Memorial Hall today. He held the state government and the universities in the state responsible for the "collapse" in primary education. While providing primary education happens to be the constitutional obligation of the state government, 10 per cent of schools in the state do not have buildings while 6 per cent have 1 or 1.5 rooms, 12 per cent of schools have no teachers and 27 per cent of schools have only one who teaches five classes. In 45 per cent of schools there are between 2-3 teachers. Hope for improving the infrastructure of schools is a distant dream as more than 98 per cent of the Budget allocated for schools is spent on salaries. Urging the government to change its priorities towards the primary education, Dr Joginder Singh Puar, Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi University, Patiala and chairman of the Punjab Academy of Social Sciences, Languages and Culture, said that the government should realise that the increasing illiteracy rate was playing havoc with the whole social system. The government, he said, should come forward with a concrete education policy to bring about a qualitative change in primary education which that forms the base of advanced enquiries. The conference is being
held under the aegis of the Punjab Academy of Social
Sciences, Languages and Culture and Punjabi language
academy. |
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Residents mobilise against pollution KAPURTHALA, Feb 27 — Residents of this air pollution hit town, have constituted a 21-member action committee under the banner of Anti-pollution Organisation to mobilise public opinion against air pollution released by shellers burning rice husk. Convener of anti-pollution committee Mr Surjit Singh Bhatti alleged that air-pollution was rising at an alarming rate in the absence of official intervention. A deputation approached the Deputy Commissioner Ms Usha Sharma, only to be told that the DC had no solution to "air pollution" and a public interest litigation could be filed, said Mr Bhatti. The action committee also wrote to the chairman of the pollution control board, the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary, against the "rice mills" without success. He said 25 per cent of residents suffered from asthma and eye ailment and in the high density areas — Mohalla Raika, Araf Wala, Shehrian. Top Khana, Nabi Abadi, Circular Road and Mohabat Nagar. Many complained of bleeding in the throat throat brought on by rice husk fumes and ash. A fine film of "dust" can be seen around rice mills, most of them functioning without pollution control equipment. When TNS visited the only "green area" left in this town, the apathy of the administration was manifest in its encroaching on 2 acres of 'camera garden' to construct a house for the ADC. The remnants are being
cleared to build an agriculture laboratory in the
'gardens'. Surprisingly under state government plots for
bureaucrats' residences should not exceed an area of two
kanal, but in this case two acres have been appropriated.
Action committee is deliberating on an agitation against
the menace of air pollution. |
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Judicial officers write to
President, PM CHANDIGARH, Feb 27 — The Punjab Judicial Officers' Association today appealed to the Supreme Court to issue directives to all high courts that such policy decisions and executive instructions as affecting service conditions of subordinate judiciary should be subject to the approval of the apex court. A letter issued by the association urged the apex court that the annual inspection conducted by high courts should be dispensed with. It demanded that a uniform policy should be framed for assessment of performance of judicial officers throughout the country. Punitive orders of high courts affecting judicial careers of subordinate judges should be made appealable to the Supreme Court directly and not to the same high court. "This independent mechanism will save the independence of subordinate judiciary against unjust and ruthless onslaught of high court". Endorsing the stand taken by the Haryana Civil Judges' Association about their grievances (published in The Tribune) dated January 22, 1999, the association said: "The plight of judicial officers is worse than an ordinary criminal as he cannot get justice by assailing the impugned punitive order passed against them by the same high court. He is treated with bias and vengeance condemned, unheard and sacked with ignomity. Let it be made clear that this association should not be construed as a sanctuary of incorrigible and corrupt officers. The letter adds: "This association stands for just and righteous cause of judicial officers and shall act as a formidable force in unison against unjust and biased treatment of the high court against members of its association. An honest upright and industrious officer has a unique moral strength within him". The association gave a
clarion call to all judicial officers in the state to
rise, wake and be ready to act in unison whenever a
member of "our esteemed association is subjected to
callous arbitrary, whimsical and unjust decision of the
administrative authority. |
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Install panchayats, directs govt HOSHIARPUR, Feb 27 — The Punjab Government has instructed the officers of the District Development and Panchayat Department to get the charge of all those panchayats handed over to the newly elected bodies in their respective areas within 15 days, sarpanches of whom have not given any relevant record of these panchayat to their newly elected counterparts, failing which strict action will be taken against them. This was stated by Mr Nirmal Singh Kahlon, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayats, Punjab while addressing a gathering of students, sarpanches and panches at Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa Mahila College, Dasuya, 40 km from here, yesterday. He said, the state government had recently completed the inquiry against 155 sarpanches in the state for misusing panchayat funds. He added that action would be taken in this regard. He said Rs 418.30 crore were being spent for rural development during the current financial year as against Rs 990.52 crore during the Eighth Five Year Plan. He said as many as 2,500 villages had been selected in the state for making streets and drains besides drains for sullage water, Rs 9.50 crore had been given to 18,000 families living below the poverty line in the state, he added. Earlier he awarded degrees
to final year students of the college. |
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Same outfit behind blast
attempts PATIALA, Feb 27 — Preliminary investigations into yesterday's recovery of an explosive device from a railway track at Ghaggar bridge near Shambu suggest it was the handiwork of the same militant outfit that planted a similar device on Shahbad-Markanda bridge on February 7. Highly placed sources in the Railways revealed that in both cases, the RDX was of similar weight and the manner of planting it on the rail track, along river bridges, point to one organisation being behind the two incidents. The sources however said that no militant organisation had come forward to claim responsibility. While the Haryana police was reportedly of the view that the banned Babbar Khalsa International was behind the two incidents, sources in the Railways Police said they were yet to reach a conclusion. The hand of Punjab, Kashmiri militants has not been ruled out as recently two Kashmiri youths were arrested from Patiala district along with RDX and some weapons. A top official of the 'GRP' Punjab revealed that following this second attempt at sabotage of the Amritsar-Delhi rail line the railway police of Haryana and Punjab have decided to launch joint operations to tackle future attempts. The police officers who helped in discovery of yesterdays explosive device will receive special rewards. Meanwhile, security has
been beefed up in the region. Senior railway officials
held a day long meeting at Shambu yesterday and the
district administration and police officers held meetings
today to decide on strategy. |
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Pak farm experts for
technology exchange LUDHIANA, Feb 27 — A delegation of Pakistani farm scientists led by Dr Hafeez Abdul Kyum, from the university of Faisalabad, have advocated the exchange of farm technology between India and Pakistan as the material and human resources in both countries were similar. The Pakistani delegation was here to attend the annual alumini meet of the College of Agriculture at PAU. Dr Kyum said that India could benefit from importing cotton production technology from Pakistan, as could Pakistan from wheat and rice production technology of the PAU. On the second day of the
meet yesterday, Dr D.R. Bhumbla, former Agricultural
Commissioner to the Government of India delivered the key
note address at the technical symposium on
"retrospect and prospect of agricultural
research". He lauded the PAU for generating farm
technology which had enabled the country to become
self-sufficient in food. Speaking on the occasion, Dr
G.S. Kalkat, Vice-Chancellor, stressed the need for
effective coordination in research and extension systems
so that the problems of farmers could be brought to the
notice of researchers by the extension workers, thus
helping to make the research more need-based. Earlier,
the delegation also visited the Nishkam Seva Ashram at
Daad village and appreciated the services and hospitality
of the ashram. |
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Sangeet sammelan JALANDHAR, Feb 27 — The local Sangeet Kala Manch will organise a music conference, dedicated to Hazrat Amir Khusro, at Guru Nanak Dev District Library on March 7. Dr Joginder Bawara,
general secretary of the manch, said here today that Mr
Jai Kishan Saini, former Mayor and Minister, would be the
Chief Guest. Several artistes from different parts of the
country would participate. |
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Manhandling of lawyer decried JALANDHAR, Feb 27 — The District Bar Association has condemned the manhandling of a lawyer appearing before the Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission at Amritsar by the General Secretary of the SGPC. The District Bar Association President, Mr S.C. Nanda, today condemned the "manhandling, restraining and hackling" of senior members Surjit Singh Sood and Manpreet Singh Sood by the General Secretary of the SGPC in the complex of the judicial commission. The association had
written to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, asking him
to ensure security to lawyers. |
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6 booked for barging into
DC's office PATIALA, Feb 27 — The Kotwali police here has registered a case against six members of the Punjab Kisan Sabha and the state unit of the CPM party who had barged into the Deputy Commissioner's office on Thursday. According to the FIR, the persons have been booked under relevant sections for allegedly manhandling government employees, obstructing officials performing government duty and for forcibly entering a premises. The sabha and the CPM had
staged a dharna on Thursday demanding waiving of loans
given to farmers in Punjab. Hundreds of their activists
had entered the DC office and occupied it for several
minutes before being evacuated by the police. |
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MLA flayed for vulgar display
of wealth AMRITSAR, Feb 27 — Former CPI MLA and patron of Punjab Istri Sabha Vimla Dang today expressed deep shock and dismay over the vulgar display of wealth by Haryana Vikas Party MLA Kartar Singh Badhana on the occasion of the marriage of his two daughters at Faridabad. Lashing out at such an enormous expenditure which ran into crores of rupees, she said it should be condemned by all. She urged the government
to put a ban on such extravagance and appealed to the
National Women Commission to look into the matter. |
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Fleecing by cinema house owners
alleged BATHINDA, Feb 27 — The People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Bathinda unit, has alleged that thousands of cinegoers were being fleeced by local cinema house owners by charging more than what was printed on tickets. In a press note issued here today, Mr Ved Parkash Gupta, General Secretary, PUCL, Punjab, alleged that while the cinema houses were minting money by charging more than the printed amount on the tickets, the Income Tax and district authorities had failed to take action in this regard. He said that the PUCL had also urged the Union Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha and the Commissioner of Income Tax to recover Income Tax from the cinema house owners allegedly evaded by them. He alleged that tickets of face value of Rs 5.50 and Rs 3 were being sold for Rs 30 and Rs 20 respectively in many cinema houses. He added that open-loot of the cinegoers was going for a long time and authorities concerned had failed to take action as most of the cinema houses belonged to influential persons. He pointed out that on the one hand, the Punjab government was facing financial crisis on the other it had been allowing the cinema houses the theft of taxes. Mr S R Ladhar, Deputy
Commissioner, when contacted said that a complaint filed
by the PUCL in this regard was being looked into and
necessary action would be taken on it. |
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College teachers, principals
threaten JALANDHAR, Feb 27 — Holding the Punjab government responsible for "arbitrary and discriminatory" policies towards the non-government Colleges the federations of "principals and managements" which are on strike, threatened to boycott university examinations. Addressing, a joint conference, here yesterday the non-government College Management Federation and the Principals Federation, of Punjab and Chandigarh, Mr Ashwani Kumar Sharma and Mr Amrik Arora, alleged that due to "negative attitude" of the Punjab government the longstanding demands of teachers like the release of pending 95 per cent grant for 1997-98 of Rs 10 crore and a likely cut in 95 per cent for 1998 is feared while the government also has not released revised pay scales for the teaching and non-teaching staff. Alleging, that the Akali Dal (Badal) had promised in its "manifesto" to implement pension and gratuity schemes, but had backed out from it and now was toying with the idea of freezing of 95 per cent grant-in-aid scheme. This is against the principle of justice as the 95 per cent grant scheme has been in vogue since September 1, 1978 virtually will force the colleges to close down and lead to unrest on the campuses of higher learning. He said that "we fully support the just and genuine demands of the college employees and warned the government to read the writing on the wall. University examinations can not be conducted without the cooperation of the teaching and non-teaching staff and looking into career of lakhs of students, government must accept the demands of college employees without further delay failing which principals, federation and managements' federation will be forced to draw up a common action plan and the Punjab government would be responsible for the consequences which might totally derail the system of higher education in Punjab. AMRITSAR (FOC): The Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union yesterday condemned the Punjab government for "blatant injustice" to the teaching community by distorting the structure of pay scales notified by the Human Resource Development Ministry and the UGC. The president of the union Prof S.S. Hundal, and general secretary Dr VK Tewari in a joint press note here yesterday criticised the exclusion of teachers of non-government colleges from the purview of the revision and sought composite revised orders. The union threatened to intensify the agitation and even boycott the ensuing final examinations if the government failed to respond to the demands. Earlier, addressing a rally at the Guru Nanak Dev University campus, Mr Tewari said that teachers would hold a dharna at Chandigarh on March 1 and also march to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha and court arrest on March 12 for the implementation of the demands. The teachers urged the Punjab government to follow the notification issued by the HRD Ministry for uniform implementation of the pay scales recommended by it. Later the teachers met the
Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Dr HS Soch,
and urged him to convey teachers' feelings to the
government and sought his good offices to help to end the
impasse. |
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'Jail bharo' plan by rice
millers CHANDIGARH, Feb 27 — Punjab rice millers who organised a dharna in front of the residence of the Union Minister for Food, Mr Surjit Singh Barnala, will start a 'jail bharo' agitation from March 1, according to a press note here today by their association. Mr Tarsem Saini, president of the association, said the decision to start the 'jail bharo' agitation was taken at a meeting of the association. The association organised
dharnas and protest marches in the past 15 days in
various parts of the state in support of the demands.
Which include relaxation in specifications for rice. |
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CPI leader for review of ban BATHINDA, Feb 27 — Mr Jagjit Singh Joga, District Secretary, Communist Party of India (CPI), Bathinda unit, today urged the Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, to review the ban on treating the patients over 14 years of age in the local children's hospital. In a letter written to the Secretary, Mr Joga pointed out that due to the shifting of 17 medical specialists from the local civil hospital to the children's hospital, the civil hospital was facing an acute shortage of doctors and it also had forced a large number of patients above 14 to get treatment from doctors posted in the children's hospital. Mr Joga said for public
welfare, patients of all categories should be treated in
the children's hospital till it had its own building,
laboratories and wards. He added the children's hospital
was easily accessible to people due to its location. |
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Implementation of resolution stayed MALERKOTLA, Feb 27 — The Civil Judge, here by an order has stayed the implementation of the resolution passed by some members of The Ahmedgarh Vidya Parcharak Sabha on February 16 by which these members had allegedly removed Mr Rajnish Sharma Guddu from the membership of the sabha and nominated Mr Abhay Jain as the new president. Mr Rajnish had challenged the resolution at the civil court here which, passed the stay orders to be effective till March 16. Meanwhile, Mr Rajnish has
again taken the charge of the presidentship of the sabha. |
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