Tuesday, October 12, 1999
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P U N J A B | |
Tuesday, October 12, 1999 |
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Mann's
party to enrol Hindus |
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Revive
re-employment scheme: teachers
PPCC executive meeting on Oct 16 BJP leaders quit posts Millers for relaxing rice
specifications
Two arrested after encounter PCMSA appeals for cleanliness Advisory board on dowry set up Probe sought into PHSC purchases Hospital staff hold rally Protest by bank employees |
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Mann's party to enrol Hindus AMRITSAR, Oct 11 — Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, president Akali, Dal Mann, who had caused a flutter by announcing that he would secure ‘Khalistan’ for the Sikhs at Anandpur Sahib on April 13 on the occasion of tercentenary celebrations of the birth of the Khalsa Panth has now said his party will enrol Hindus, who will be given a due share in the organisational set up. Now I have understood the pulse of Hindus of Punjab. They want peace, commercial opportunity and security, which will be provided by our party at all costs. Talking to The Tribune here today, Mr Mann said that he could win the Sangrur parliamentary seat with a comfortable margin due to active and whole-hearted support of the minorities. Mr Mann said that though many Hindus were already office-bearers of his SAD (Amritsar) more would be enrolled. He said a meeting of the party would be held in the near future to take stock of developments as the political scenario had changed after the humiliating defeat of the Shiromani Akali Dal. He said it was time to introspect on why the Congress, the number one enemy of Punjab and Punjabis, had won so many seats. Mr Mann said that his party was opposed to death by hanging as it was an ‘inhuman’ act and fed insurgency. He said he would lead a deputation of his party to meet the President to appeal for clemency for the four assassins of Rajiv Gandhi, a former Prime Minister of India, and convert their death sentence of the assassins of Mr Gandhi to life imprisonment. If the assassins of Rajiv Gandhi were hanged to death it would alienate the Tamil population from the rest of the country, he said just as the death sentence to the assassins of Mrs Indira Gandhi and Gen A. Vaidya had alienated the Sikhs and the hanging of Maqbool Bhat without caring for the sentiments of Kashmiris had alienated the latter. Mr Mann appealed to Mrs Sonia Gandhi, President, Indian National Congress to not oppose clemency for the assassins of her husband in the larger interest of the country. Replying another question, Mr Mann said that he wouldn't support the National Democratic Alliance or a BJP-led coalition government at any cost. He said it was a matter of concern that the SAD-BJP government had failed to take up pending issues of Punjab and Punjabis. Mr Parkash Singh Badal and his Cabinet colleague had never urged the BJP-led coalition government at the Centre for a fair adjudication of the inter-state river waters dispute or transfer of Chandigarh and Punjabi-speaking areas to Punjab. So much so that Mr Badal had failed to fulfil even his promise made to the residents of Udham Singh Nagar (UP) also. I shall raise all genuine issues of Punjab and Punjabis on the floor of the Parliament, he said. To a specific question, Mr Mann said that on the demand of his voters and supporters he would not make his ‘kirpan’ an issue while entering Parliament. "However, I would
definitely take up this issue with Speaker of
Parliament" as carrying of a kirpan was his
fundamental and constitutional right, he said. |
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SAD stress on mass contact
programme CHANDIGARH, Oct 11 — The Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) which met here today has decided on greater involvement of the party workers in formulation and implementation of the government policies. The meeting held at the residence of the SAD president, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, felt unless the backbone of the party — the rank and file — was supported to the hilt things would not improve. This would also ensure the benefits of government policies reached the doorstep of different sections of the society. In this respect launching a ‘‘mass contact programme’’, addressing of ‘‘grievances’’ of the public and ‘‘segment and blockwise’’ detailed analysis of the votes polled in the Lok Sabha election would be undertaken on priority. The mood at the meeting was sombre. A free and frank discussion on all poll-related issues was held. The common refrain was that ‘‘introspection’’ was required at all levels within the party as well as the government. Among those who took part in the meeting were Mr Surjit Singh Barnala, Mr Jagdev Singh Talwandi, Mr Gurdev Singh Badal, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Mr Balwinder Singh Bhundar, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Mr Sewa Singh Sekhwan and Mr Ravi Inder Singh. Most of these leaders did not entertain any questions. In fact the press note faxed to the newspersons, news agency offices and the resolution adopted by the PAC was a replay of the lengthy statement issued by the Chief Minister on October 7. He had reiterated that the party accepted the verdict of the people and called for introspection. The PAC members opined that there had to be an in-built system in SAD for redressal of grievances of workers. Despite the development already initiated more was required to be done to match the peoples’ expectations. At one stage, Mr Barnala expressed anguish that the party’s own leaders, like Mr Dhindsa, did not help. He was told by Mr Dhindsa that it was wrong he had worked against anyone. Since he was on duty in Jalandhar and no word was received from Mr Barnala he concentrated elsewhere. Certain members felt the administration should be toned up and political executive should become proactive in dealing with the bureaucracy. For strengthening and resuscitating the party the PAC decided on a mechanism for district-level meetings of ministers and MLAs to revive the situation every fortnight. Such reviews would be held at district headquarters. In Chandigarh, a minister would sit in the party office to attend to the workers. The main refrain at the meeting was to keep workers in good humour and listen to them. It was also agreed that the vote bank of the Akali Dal as such had remained intact. Henceforth positive achievements and people-friendly policies should be pursued with greater vigour. The Chief Minister has
already had a meeting with the district presidents of the
party. Next in line is the legislature wing. |
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Siropa to Chautala justified ANANDPUR SAHIB, Oct 11 — Justifying the ‘siropa’ given to Mr Om Prakash Chautala, Chief Minister, Haryana, in the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple, Bibi Jagir Kaur, President of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), said that Mr Chautala had been presented with a ‘siropa’ (robe of honour) in the sanctum sanctorum in accordance to the ‘maryada’ (conduct) of honouring personalities in for a long-time. She was talking to mediapersons after inaugurating Gurmat Sangeet Academy in a building near Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib here today. The SGPC has earmarked Rs 40 lakhs for its infrastructure while the rest of the expenditure will be borne by it. Bibi Jagir Kaur said the SGPC, through a resolution, had only stopped commercialisation of the ‘siropa’ as it had been earlier given in the sanctum sanctorum to those who paid obeisance with Rs 100 or more. She said as presentation of ‘siropa’ to those who paid obeisance Rs 100 or more created a sense of discrimination among devotees and the SGPC had decided to stop this practice. She clarified that Mr Chautala had not been presented ‘siropa’ in lieu of any money but as an honoured as the people of Haryana had made him the Chief Minister of the state. The SGPC president said she would reply to the controversy over the right to vote to the ‘Sehajdhari Sikhs’ in the SGPC elections after adoption of a resolution in the General House of the SGPC in this regard. She said the SGPC had sought the opinions of scholars to discuss this in the House. She also claimed that there would be no impact of the recently held Lok Sabha election results on the performance of the SAD candidates in the next SGPC elections. Bibi Jagir Kaur said the SGPC had been trying its best to bring all members of the Sikh Samaj closer and remove caste lines, by inspiring them to follow the path shown by the Gurus in letter and spirit. Earlier, addressing the gathering at the inaugural function of the Sangeet Academy, Bibi Jagir Kaur lashed out at the former leadership of the SGPC, holding it responsible for not promoting Gurmat Sangeet and maryada. As a result Sikhs had to pay kirtan jathas thousands of rupees. She also expressed anguish over the fact that Sikhs in the name of administering ‘amrit’ from the heads of different Sikh sects, had been divided though there was no place for division in Sikh religion. Prof Manjit Singh, Jathedar of Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib, addressing the gathering said due to commercialisation of the ‘kirtan’ its importance was being reduced each day. Kirtan was now based on film tunes. He said this academy could be considered as a beginning of the World Sikh University. Earlier, talking to newsmen, Prof Manjit Singh said the sangeet academy would start its functioning from November 1 and classes would be held daily. He said 24 students had already been selected for the first course, though the target was of 30 students for each batch of the three years course. He said Rs 600 per month would be given to each student as stipend and free education and accommodation provided to them. The Jathedar said besides training in Gurmat Sangeet the students would also be educated to the graduate level here. They would also be trained in alternative medicines like acupuncture and acupressure etc. Prof Manjit Singh said
the syllabus of the three-year course was based on the
ragas of Guru Granth Sahib. Visiting lecturers from
universities would be invited for the students and an
audio-video library would be set up. |
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Revive re-employment scheme:
teachers PATIALA, Oct 11 — The issue of restarting the re-employment scheme at Punjabi University is set to stir up a hornets nest with the university authorities reported by not in its favour but all teachers unions deciding to prevail upon Vice-Chancellor Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia to restart the scheme immediately. The scheme, which was started with the objective of creating source material in Punjabi and was funded by the Punjabi Development Fund, was discontinued by former Vice-Chancellor J.S. Puar towards the fag end of his tenure on the plea that it had failed to serve its purpose. Instead he started giving re-employment selectively before stopping it completely. It was then felt that university resources were being drained by the scheme and that it was easier to engage someone to write needed source material. Some teachers reemployed under the scheme had not submitted their project work in time. Though the anti-Puar lobby had made restarting of the scheme a prestige issue during his tenure, the scheme has now also not found favour with the new dispensation. But talking to TNS Vice-Chancellor Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia said the reemployment scheme was not likely to be restarted in the university again, as it had not been able to achieve its objective. He said the university was in the process of fine-tuning itself and cutting financial expenditure. The re-employment scheme was not suitable under the circumstances. Another reason why the university is baulking from restarting the scheme is the steep increase in teachers salaries, say sources. While earlier the basic pay of a professor was Rs 4,500 under the new scale it is around Rs 16,000. Similarly a reader now has a basic of around Rs 12,000. The university will have to pay far more money now than it did under the scheme earlier as re-employed teachers were only eligible for basic pay and house rent. Punjab University Teachers Association (PUTA) president, Dr Gurdeep Singh said PUTA had already written to the Vice-Chancellor regarding the scheme and would meet him soon. He said a scientific assessment of the scheme should be made as PUTA felt it had helped in encouraging teachers to give their best back to the university. He said the scheme also helped in strengthening the departments as teachers could also participate in department activities. The Teachers United Front (TUF), a group of teacher organisations which lost the PUTA elections to the United Teachers Front, has also written to the Vice-Chancellor regarding the scheme and will meet him to press for its reimplementation. TUF convener, Dr S S Joshi said he was hopeful there would be some way out as Punjabi University teachers had been deprived of extension in service to 62 years as recommended by the UGC and discontinuation of the re-employment scheme, unlike Panjab University, where teachers could avail of both extension in service as well as the reemployment. Dr Joshi said if there was some problems in giving money through the Punjabi Development Fund, rules could be changed by giving teachers money outside the ambit of the fund. He said if the desired
results could not be achieved in collecting sources
material in Punjabi through the scheme, it did not mean
that the scheme itself be dropped. He said raking up the
issue of failure to propagate Punjabi should not be used
to deprive the teachers of a deserved benefit. |
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Plot holders near IAF area
duped AMRITSAR: Objections by the Indian Air Force to construction activity in the Defence Enclave area of Amritsar have upset plot holders. Owing to defence concerns regarding sensitive electronic surveillance and radar activity a 900-metre security zone within the Air Force headquarters was declared a non-construction zone. As recently as September 9, a demolition took place of four-walled enclosure unauthorisedly built in the Defence Enclave area. The demolition was in response to a letter by the IAF authorities to the Amritsar Improvement Trust chairman on August 31 renewing the objections to any construction being carried out in a 900-metre area. The building was reportedly put up by plot holders of the said area. Interestingly, a two-storied building just a stone's throw away from the demolition site falling in the no-construction zone was left untouched by the corporation. There are at least 465 plot holders in the Defence Enclave area. The plot holders of the area are said to have been duped by the original owners, who knew about the IAF objections, given way back in 1966. The owners were lured into buying 200-300 sq yard plots in by dropping names of VIPs to impress buyers. Consequently, most plot owners are retired Army officers, doctors, professors and other professionals. Mr S.S. Rajput, Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation, Amritsar said: "All sale-purchase of Defence Enclave land is illegal. The corporation cannot presume a NOC (No-objection certificate) from the Air Force authorities if a certain fixed period of reply has lapsed. We cannot pass a scheme on the basis of presumptions if a certain time period has elapsed," he said while disclosing the strict action taken against a former municipal town planner for misleading plot holders regarding the NOC. On the other hand, many plot holder who are former defence personnel argue that many constructions have taken place in the vicinity of 900 metres in areas like Kiran Colony, Amar Colony, Labh Nagar close to the IAF Hq. While the IAF authorities do not rule out the possibility of the existing constructions affecting their performance, they point out that the Defence Enclave being to the west was closer to the border and hence extra-sensitive. Even the argument about radar activity being upwards of 30 metres from the ground level by virtue of which constructions of limited height could be allowed does not hold water as Wing Commander A.K. Srivastav says that the latest state-of-art equipment negates this point of view. Another point in
question is of the Punjab Governor's order last September
to change the status of the Defence Enclave land from
governmental to residential for framing a town planning
scheme by the local Self-Government Department. In
response, Mr Rajput said even if an order of such nature
was passed by the Governor, no clearance from the
department should be expected. |
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PPCC executive meeting on Oct
16 CHANDIGARH, Oct 11 — Capt Amarinder Singh, President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, has called a meeting of the party executive on October 16 at the Punjab Congress Bhavan here to review the post-election situation in the state. Disclosing this here today, Mr Ramesh Singla, General Secretary of the PPCC, said all party office-bearers, Presidents of the district units, MLAs and MPs, heads of the frontal organisations and cells also had been invited to attend the meeting. A meeting of party observers for the recently held Lok Sabha election would also he held and they would submit their reports about the election to the PPCC chief, he added. Mr Singla further said
the Punjab Congress candidates had got a lead over
SAD-BJP candidates in 66 Vidhan Sabha segments in the Lok
Sabha election in Punjab. |
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BJP leaders quit posts ABOHAR, Oct 11 — A large number of senior BJP workers submitted their resignations on Sunday in protest against the ‘undemocratic’ attitude of Mr Brij Lal Rinwa, state vice-president of the party. Mr Arjun Singh Siag former MLA and convener of the farmers cell, addressing a press conference at the residence of former Municipal Council President, Mr Bhagwan Dass Jain late in the evening said he had sought an appointment from Mr Rinwa to submit a memorandum demanding removal of city party president Mr Arun Narang. But Mr Rinwa not only refused to meet any deputation but also threatened disciplinary action against those spearheading the a move. Mr Siag, Mr Om Parkash Sharma former state secretary and Mr Suresh Phutela member of the Municipal Council said senior leaders of the party had assured them three months ago that Mr Narang would be replaced after the Lok Sabha election, but now no body was prepared to listen to the workers. They accused Mr Arun Narang of adopting a negative and insulting attitude towards party workers and said no account was maintained of receipts and payments. Signatories to the
memorandum included Arjun Singh Siag former MLA, Mr Ravi
Dev Siag former Chairman Improvement Trust, Bhagwan Dass
Jain former President Municipal Council, Ashok Chhabra
President District unit BJP Yuva Morcha, Sohar Lal
Rajoura District President BJP SC BC Cell, Sat Narain
Aggarwal, Net Ram Kashmiri Lal Aneja all former MCs. |
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Millers for relaxing rice
specifications PATIALA, Oct 11 — The Punjab Rice Millers Association today said it would be impossible to prepare rice unless there was a relaxation in the specifications. In a statement here, association president Tarsem Saini said under the tightened specifications for acceptance of levy and custom-milled rice during 1999-2000, small broken rice had not been allowed and percentage for damaged had been fixed between 2 to 3 per cent. He said milling of rice could only be undertaken if the government accepted 3.5 per cent damaged, 5 per cent discoloured and 14 per cent admixture. He said the state government and the union government were ignoring the long-pending demands of the rice milling industry of Punjab. He said rice millers were stressing for the past three years for the enhancement of milling charges and during the last two seasons, the millers undertook milling of paddy after being assured that issue of enhancement of milling charges was under the consideration of the union government. Mr Saini said while the Bureau of Industrial Costing and Prices had been given work on deciding modalities for the enhancement of milling charges, till now nothing had been done on this account resulting in huge losses to the millers. He said besides this the
matter regarding fixation of out-of-turn ratio for the
recovery of custom-milled rice was also lingering since
long and each time millers were assured that the Central
Food Technology and Research Institute, Mysore, would
carry out experiments for the fixation of out-of-turn
ratio but nothing had been done on this account. |
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2 solar energy units by
Oct-end CHANDIGARH, Oct 11 — At least two solar energy projects, costing Rs 321.40 lakh, are in the final stages of commissioning. The projects are being put up by the Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) with the financial support from the Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources (MNES) and the Indian Resource Energy Development Agency (IREDA) which have secured funds from the World Bank for the purpose of demonstration of grid interactive solar photovoltaic system. According to the PEDA Chief Executive, Mr P.S. Aujla, while one project is being put up at the Punjab Mini-Secretariat in Sector 9, Chandigarh, the second project is at Bajak village in Bathinda district. Both projects are expected to be commissioned by the end of October. While the project in Chandigarh will provide "peak load shaving" application for the Mini-Secretariat, thereby, supplementing the electricity being supplied to it, the project at Bajak is being installed for the purpose of "voltage support function" at the fag-end of the rural grid. A visit to the Mini-Secretariat here today showed that as many as 651 panels have been installed on the roof. Each panel is of 75 watts and each contains 36 mono-crystalline silicon cells, which will convert the solar light into electricity and add to the power grid. The installed capacity of the project is 50-kilowatt power per hour. The capacity is the same for the Bajak project as well. PEDA is getting this installation done through M/s Tata-BP Solar India, which has installed the power conditioning unit imported from Australia, which will convert the solar (DC) power into the AC current and also synchronise it with the power grid. The purpose is to supplement the electricity available for the Mini-Secretariat. This system, explained Mr M.P. Singh of PEDA, will last at least 30 years. Thereafter, the deficiency in cell functioning could dip by 2 per cent. In between, the maintenance cost is almost zero. There is no raw material hassle for energy generation since the main fuel will be solar energy. This system taps the electromagnetic radiation’s "light" component and not the "heat" component. The power gets generated throughout the year. The efficiency is all the more during winter when temperature and climate are a bit cool because as "temperature rises, the efficiency decreases", added Mr Singh. Mr Aujla said the MNES had sanctioned its share of Rs 2 crore for the two projects. IREDA had approved the grant of the World Bank loan amounting to Rs 70.40 lakh. The state had also allocated its share of Rs 51 lakh out of which Rs 10 lakh had been received for 1998-99. The MNES had also released Rs 52 lakh for the Bajak and Mini-Secretariat projects. The balance was awaited, he added. The infrastructure at the roof top in the Mini-Secretariat and the very concept of tapping solar power to generate electricity is environment friendly. This concept will be used in Punjab for meeting the "de-centralised small-scale power requirements". PEDA, he disclosed,
proposed to set up a 200-kilowatt power per hour solar
photovoltaic power generation project, based on the
distribution utility concept, in rural locations in the
state with World Bank assistance. |
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Two arrested after encounter LUDHIANA, Oct 11 — The city police managed to arrest two persons of a four-member gang of criminals after an encounter here last night. At a press conference here today, the SSP, Ms Gurpreet Deo, said that while two of the gang members — Darshan Singh and Jaswinder Singh, alias Jassi — were arrested. The other two members — Baljinder Singh and Gurdeep Singh, alias Kaka — are at large. Constable Baldev Singh was seriously injured in the encounter. Around 9.15 p.m. last night, this gang of miscreants accosted one Shambu Singh Parmar and tried to stop him. When he resisted, he was attacked with knives. The police, on learning about the incident, sounded a red alert and all the naka points in the city were alerted. Meanwhile, the gang divided itself into two groups with Darshan Singh and Jaswinder Singh getting into a car and Baljinder Singh and Gurdeep Singh on a scooter. The two groups decided to meet at a particular place near Jhabewal village on the Chandigarh road. The duo on the scooter were intercepted at the naka on Tajplur Road. The police party led by constable Baldev Singh caught the two. During a scuffle that ensued the two criminals stabbed the constable and grievously injured him. They took away his carbine and fled. The other two members in
the car were also stopped at a naka near Vardhman Mills.
They tried to flee, but were rounded up. The police
recovered one butcher knife, one khukri and one datar
from their possession. |
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PCMSA appeals for cleanliness JALANDHAR, Oct 11 — The Punjab Civil Medical Services (PCMS) Association appealed to the people of the state of make cleanliness a way of life and maintain hygienic conditions in and around their habitations. It asked the municipal authorities in all the urban areas to remove garbage and stagnant water to control the spread of dengue. In a joint statement, Dr B.S. Sahota and Dr Ajay Bagga, president and publicity secretary of the state PCMS association said here today that the government itself had confirmed the occurrence of 263 cases of dengue in Ludhiana alone and reports of suspected cases of dengue were also appearing from other places such as Hoshiarpur and Kharar. They said the government should make available the kits for confirmation of dengue in all civil hospitals at district headquarters. Dengue is caused by a mosquito aedes agegpti. The present climatic conditions are suitable for the growth of aedes aegypti, however, the fall in temperatures would result in the death of the mosquito. Dengue hemorrhagic fever
is the less common but more serious strain of the
disease. They warned that aspirin was contraindicated in
dengue fever and it should not be taken. |
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Advisory board on dowry set up PATIALA, Oct 11 — An advisory board under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner Jasbir Singh Bir has been set up to take action on alleged omissions and commissions of the Anti-Dowry Act. A meeting of the board, which has been constituted following directions of the state government, was held here today at which it was decided to proceed strictly under the Anti-Dowry Act. The meeting also decided to lay emphasis on eradicating the menace of dowry by proceeding against those who demanded it. The Deputy Commissioner said complaints in this regard would be processed quickly in a time-bound manner so that the victim was able to receive justice. Mr Bir also highlighted
that if a person demanded dowry, he was liable to be
prosecuted under Section 3 of the Anti-Dowry Act and
could be imprisoned for a period of three years, besides
being fixed Rs 15,000. |
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Probe sought into PHSC
purchases PATIALA, Oct 11 — The PCMS Association today demanded an inquiry into the purchases made by the Punjab Health Systems Corporation (PHSC) during the past two years and their impact on health services. In a statement here association president B.S. Sahota and General Secretary D.C. Sharma alleged that there was no transparency in the purchases being made by PHSC and the Health Department and misuse of loans obtained from the World Bank, WHO and the Centre. Reacting on the reported decision of the Punjab Government cancelling the orders for a controversial consignment of medicines and equipment worth Rs 90 lakh received by Civil Hospital Sangrur on the last day of the previous financial year, they said it was a welcome step but more needed to be done. They said PCMSA had been
demanding formulation of a comprehensive purchase policy
and a ban on placing any orders in the month of March,
even if it meant budget lapses as March purchases were
prove to be scam oriented. |
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Hospital staff hold rally HOSHIARPUR, Oct 11 — A rally was staged at the local Civil Hospital today by the joint action committee of the employees of the hospital. Dr Vijay Kumar Bodal, organising secretary of the PCMS Association, Hoshiarpur, said leaders of the PCMS Association condemned the irresponsible act of the local BJP MLA and Mr Sat Pal Sareen, President, Municipal Council, who led workers of the BJP in demonstration against a doctor and obstructing the emergency services in the ward on Sept 26. They had also threatened the doctor on duty. The joint action committee warned that if an FIR was not registered against the culprits, employees would freeze the health services in the district. JALANDHAR: All staff members of the Civil Hospital gathered in front of the Emergency Department and held a rally here on Monday. Dr M.B. Bali, president
of the joint action committee, said keeping in view the
arrest of the culprits involved in the September 26
incident, the committee had called off the strike which
was scheduled for Monday. |
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Protest by bank employees JALANDHAR, Oct 11 — Employees and officers of various bank branches of the city held a demonstration here today in front of UCO Bank at the call of the United Forum of Bank Unions to protest against the Verma committee report published a few days back. Mr Amrit Lal and Mr R.K. Dhawan, convener and co-convener of the Jalandhar unit of the union, said the report was basically anti-employees, biased and amounted to attack on employees’ job security and wages. They said as per the report 25 per cent of the employees were to be shunt out by voluntary retirement scheme and wages were to be frozen for five years. The report had virtually sidelined the issue of bad loans and bypassed the issue of NPAs of Rs 45,000 crore. The leaders urged the
government to withdraw the report and called upon the
employees to be prepared for a struggle against this. |
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Employees protest against torture ABOHAR, Oct 11 — Hundreds of employees and residents sat on a dharna inside the Civil Hospital and shouted slogans against the police yesterday. They were expressing their resentment over torture of Swarna Devi and her husband Gauri Shankar in police custody. The trade union leaders of PSEB, Public Health, FCI workers and representatives of the local rickshaw and rehri unions narrated incidents of police torture of innocent people. The protesters were told
that ASI Gauri Shankar involved in the Swarna Devi case
had been sent to police lines. |
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Murder case solved GURDASPUR, Oct 11 (UNI) — The police today claimed to have solved a case of murder of a woman allegedly by her stepson through a contract killer over the denial of share in his dead father’s property. Senior Superintendent of Police Varinder Kumar said here that Mukhtiar Singh confessed to have got killed his stepmother Kamlesh alias Dashmesh Kaur through Kulwinder Singh whom he had already paid Rs 50,000 of the contracted Rs 80,000 for the crime. Kulwinder Singh of Kanwan village in Amritsar was absconding, while Mukhtiar Singh was arrested yesterday, the SSP said. The body of the woman who was murdered about five months ago, was fished out of a nullah by the Lopoke police a few weeks after the murder. The victim was
identified by her second stepson, Shivtar Singh, on the
basis of a photograph preserved by the police, the SSP
said. |
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Woman beaten to death PHAGWARA, Oct 11 — A middle-aged woman, Dalbir Kaur, was allegedly beaten to death by her husband Manga Ram and sister-in-law Tarsem Kaur. Belonging to nearby Manawali village, Dalbir Kaur was bashed up because she had objected to her husband’s affair with Tarsem Kaur. She died in a private hospital here today. Dalbir Kaur had four
children. On the complaint of her son Parshotam Lal, the
local police has registered a case under Section 302,
IPC, against Manga Ram and Tarsem Kaur for murdering
Dalbir Kaur. |
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17 quacks held, released FAZILKA, Oct 11 — Seventeen unregistered medical practitioners were arrested and released here today following the registration of an FIR by the city police on a directive of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The FIR was registered against 22 unregistered medical practitioners before the Lok Sabha poll to check quackery. Of the 22, five are
registered medical practitioners. They were not arrested
as they presented their registration certificates. The
remaining 17 had secured anticipatory bail. Hence, they
were released immediately after the arrest. |
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Alcoholics help each other quit NANGAL, Oct 11 — All of them are or were alcoholics and admit to this at their meetings addressing each other as "sharabis". The only uniting factor is the desire to leave alcohol. They are all the members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), which celebrated its anniversary here yesterday. The basic concept of the group is that it considers alcoholism as a disease caused by a combination of physical and mental weakness. They believe in group therapy in which all the members of the group get a chance to say their mind. The basic thrust is to work through suggestion rather than coercion. The local chapter was formed on October 10, 1995. Now the group has about 100 members. In addition to the AA
group there is also an Al-Anon group which comprising of
the wives of alcoholics and the Al-teen groups of their
children. These groups also hold their separate meetings
in the same periodicity on methods to cope with alcoholic
family members. |
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Girl killed in bus mishap NABHA, Oct 11 — A girl was killed and 20 others injured when a bus carrying them to their place of work turned turtle at Chitwal village, near here, today. The bus was taking the girls to the Nahar Fabric unit. The deceased was identified as Rajwinder Kaur, a resident of Ajnoda Kalan. The injured were discharged after giving them first aid. In another incident a
scooterist, Lucky, was killed in an accident which
occurred near Rakhra village on the Patiala-Nabha road
last night. Lucky was returning to Patiala after
attending a marriage ceremony here. |
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