Punjab to acquire 12,500 acres in Patiala district

Patiala, October 30
With a view to develop industry and boost the manufacturing sector, the Central government and the Punjab government along with private investors will acquire 12,500 acres of land in 33 villages of Ghanaur and Rajpura tehsil, to set up a National Manufacturing and Investment Zone.
Since 1980, manufacturing in India has only contributed 15 to 16 per cent to our GDP growth whereas in other Asian countries, it has been around 25 to 35 per cent. The government is looking to set up these zones with a view to boost the manufacturing sector and bring its share in the GDP up to around 25 per cent in the next ten years.
General Manager of District Industrial Centre Harjinder Singh Pannu said they had already sent a report to Chandigarh in this regard. “We held meetings with village residents to find out what they thought about the project. Villagers seem to have no objections to it. Their only concern is that they should get good compensation for their land and that the government should ensure their rehabilitation. They have sought jobs from the government once the zone was developed. The land would be acquired only after their consent,” he said.
Asked why the government chose this particular area in Patiala district, he said the area had good connectivity, which was a must for the development of industry. The airport is nearby and the area is very close to the GT road, he added.
Meanwhile, residents of as many as 33 villages of Ghanaur had decided to formulate a committee to protect the interests of the people. The villagers refused to divulge anymore information on the subject.
Project details
Govt to set up a National Manufacturing and Investment Zone
Since 1980, manufacturing in India has only contributed 15 to 16 per cent to our GDP growth
Step taken to bring the contribution of manufacturing to around 25 per cent in the next ten years
Residents of 33 villages of Ghanaur to formulate a committee to protect the interests of the people

3 IAS, one PCS officer transferred

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Government today transferred three IAS and one PCS officer in the state with immediate effect.
Disclosing this here today, a spokesman of the Punjab Government said Ravneet Kaur, IAS, Secretary, Defence Services Welfare, has been posted as Secretary, School Education, vice Husan Lal and in addition, Secretary, Higher Education and Languages vice G. Vajralingam.
Husan Lal, IAS, Secretary, School Education, has been posted as Secretary, Home Affair and Justice. Lal will look after the work of Secretary Jails, Punjab.
Parveen Kumar Thind, IAS, ADC (G), Fatehgarh Sahib, has been posted ADC (D), SAS Nagar, against vacant post.
APS Virk, PCS, Secretary (Examination), Punjab Public Service Commission, Patiala, has been posted as ADC (G), Fatehgarh Sahib.

Ex-Barnala MLA Malkit Keetu shot dead

Monday, October, 29 2012 - 08:31

SANGRUR: Ex Barnala MLA Malkit Singh Keetu has been shot dead allegedly by his nephew Harpreet Singh. The incident took place around 9 am on Monday morning after the two had some altercation.

Keetu was a prominent Akali leader and an MLA from Barnala. He was also the president of the Punjab Truck Union. Although various factions of the truck union have fierce rivalry among themselves, police have ruled out that angle to the murder.

Hapreet is believed to have been inclined towards Congress while Keetu was a staunch Akali. The two are said to have had an altercation over their respective political affiliations. Further details are awaited.

Ramlila at PU: 77-yr-old tradition continues uninterrupted

Chandigarh, October 19
77 years ago, in 1935, Arjuna Amateur Dramatic Club began staging Ramlila inside the then campus of Panjab University in Lahore. Years passed, the country went through Partition and the university campus kept shifting to different places. But there was never a year when this stage was not lit up during the festivity.
“This Ramlila, in fact, reflects upon the ups and down which the university saw over the years,”[ said Deepak Kaushik, general secretary of the Hari Naam Sankirtan Prachar Mandal under whose aegis the Lahore-born Arjuna Amateur Dramatic Club has been organising this Ramlila on the Chandigarh campus of Panjab University since its inception here in 1956. Kaushik, who is engaged with this Ramlila since 1991, said that after Partition, the university shifted from Lahore to Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Shimla and Solan, before coming to Chandigarh. But the staging of Ramlila continued uninterrupted, he said.
Members of the mandal, who all are from the PU, say that people like Master Khem Raj Behal, Tara Chand Gandhi, and Babu Mohan Lal started the Arjuna Amateur Dramatic Club which was active in staging plays and cultural activities against the British rule. PU employee Rajan Sharma, who is a part of this Ramlila since the age of four, and currently plays Rama, says that the contribution of Prof Lekh Raj Sharma, former head of chemical engineering department, had a big contribution in keeping this Ramlila alive when it moved to Chandigarh, along with the campus, from Solan. “He remained the president of the club for thirty years and inspired several generations on the campus to remain attached to our roots,” he says.

Vaikunth Nath Bhandari, one of the oldest members of the club, said that after Lekh Raj, this Ramlila was on the verge of closure in the early 90’s. But the efforts of late Prof Biri Chand, ex-chairman of UBS, revived it and helped creating the team of young people who are taking this Ramlila forward.

Here, Lord Rama converses with Sita in Urdu

An interesting part of this Ramlila is that though it was uprooted from Lahore years ago, it still has the rustic ‘Lahori’ flavour. Here, the dialogues are still delivered in pure Urdu and generations after generations have ensured that the original language remains unchanged.

Sushil Puri, one of the members, says, “We never used any special or professional artistes to attract crowds. From young to old, everyone delivers their dialogues in Urdu.” 16-year-old Karan Sharma, performing the role of young Rama, says that he had some problem in learning the dialogue initially but, having participated here for last many years, is now used to it.

13-year-old Anurag, playing the role of young Shatrughan, says that he enjoys being a part of this festival. The members here believe that the tradition of this stage will hopefully continue in future too.

Dasehra celebrations go hi-tech in city

Artists work on effigies at Sector 31

Chandigarh, October 19
Not only Ramlilas, Ravanas too have gone hi-tech this year in Chandigarh. From revolving effigies to modern effigy-burning systems, there is lot of excitement stored this Dasehra celebration in the city.

National AD Ramlila Club in Mani Majra has prepared revolving effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakaran and Meghnad for Dasehra celebrations to be held in the circus ground near the housing board chowk.

“Ram Ki Barat” being taken out in Sector 28, Chandigarh.

Monu Mehra, president of the club, said that it was for the first time in Chandigarh that revolving effigies of Ravanas, Kumbhakaran and Meghnad were being prepared. The moving effigies would provide a dramatic effect to the festival celebrations, he added.

According to him, artisans from Punjab were specially hired for this purpose. Besides, the revolving effigies, they have also prepared a dummy of ‘Pushpak viman’ over a car which will be used to carry the Ravana to the vmain enue. The height of all the effigies will be around 50 feet, he says.

New sytem to burn effigies at Sector 46

Chief patron, Sanatan Dharma Dasehra Committee, Jatinder Bhatia, said that this year they had arranged a special system to burn the effigies. Rama will come on the stage and shoot arrows to set the effigies of Ravana, Kumbhkaran and Meghnath on fire.

Ravana’s effigy will be special, he says. Soon after catching fire, the crackers will ooze out first from his ears, then from his nose and it will then burst out along with other effigies.

The function will begin with the Lanka Dehan scene, he says. An artificial structure coated with golden paper, resembling Ravana’s Lanka, is being prepared at the venue, and will be burned before the effigies.

The height of the Ravana’s effigy is expected to be around 73 feet, and the other effigies would be 4-5 feet shorter in height, he said. “Last year, too, we had the biggest Ravana, which was 69 feet in hight. The total expenditure involved is around Rs 3-4 lakh,” he said.

Invitation to heads of all religions at Sector 24

Prem Shammi, general secretary of Saraswati Dussehra Committee, Sector 24, says, “We have invited heads of all the religions, including maulvis, priests, and pandits, who will give the message of communal harmony from the stage during the celebrations at the ground in Valmiki Mandir. The height of the Ravana is expected to be around 60 feet.

Effigy sizes to be increased at Sector 17

Secretary of the Sector 17 Dasehra celebrations, at the parade ground, said that the size of Ravana effigy inthe Ramlila will be of 70-75 feet. He aslo said that it would be adorned with all possible decorations.

Two die of dengue in Mohali

Mohali, October 19
Two women were reported to have died of dengue fever in Mohali.

While Balwant Kaur (80) died on October 17, a 38-year-old woman was reported to have died last night at the GMCH, Sector 32, Chandigarh.

Balwant Kaur was admitted to a private hospital in Sector 69 here on October 15 and died two days later. The other woman, a resident of Sector 66, was admitted to a private hospital here, but was later referred to Chandigarh.

Assistant Civil Surgeon Meena Hardeep Singh confirmed the death only of Balwant Kaur. She said the officials concerned had not received any report from the GMCH in connection with the death of the other woman due to dengue.

She said a meeting with pathologists of 10 private hospitals was held here yesterday. They were told about the guidelines issued by the Government of India and were asked to send samples of the patients suspected to be suffering from dengue to the Civil Hospital here.

The Mohali hospital is the only centre in Punjab for carrying out dengue tests.

Punjab government probe against officers misusing govt property

Patiala, October 19
Punjab government has decided to initiate disciplinary action against officers misusing government accommodations. Punjab Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon promised a high-level probe into the violations. Dhillon said, guilty officers would be asked to “vacate and pay penal rent”.

Sources confirmed that senior police officers and administrative officers posted in the state had kept more than one official accommodation available for themselves.

Enquiries revealed that two senior IPS officers had retained prime government properties in Patiala for the past many years while another IAS officer had kept a property in the city to himself despite being posted outside Patiala. Another politician had been getting extensions against vacating a property, despite losing the Assembly elections. Estate officers are scared of evicting these officers.

On the other hand, many government employees are running from pillar to post for the past many months to get accommodation.

“As per my entitlement, I had applied for an E type house long time ago but my application is still pending,” claimed one such applicant.

Investigations by The Tribune revealed that many government houses had been wrongly allotted to officers and bureaucrats against government rules.

Dhillon said he would mark a probe by a senior officer into the scam. “The entire list of allotted houses will be scanned and the guilty will have to pay penal rent and will be asked to vacate,” he said, warning officials from his department of meting out favourable treatment to anyone.

Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal demands drought relief package

Chandigarh, October 19
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today said if Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi really loved Punjab, he should "force" the Prime Minister and the Agriculture Minister to release the central package promised to the state.

He was apparently referring to the assurance given by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar that the Centre would sympathetically consider giving relief to Punjab farmers for the extra cost borne by them to raise their paddy in near-drought conditions.

Addressing a press conference here, along with ministers Bikram Majithia, Sikander Singh Maluka and Sarwan Singh Phillaur, Sukhbir said a high-powered team led by Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar had visited the state and promised a package for the loss suffered by the farmers which had been calculated at Rs 5,112 crore.

Sukhbir said the SAD would raise the issue in the winter session of Parliament and urged Punjab Congress MPs to express their feelings on the issue to the party high command "if they have the guts."

Asked whether the Agriculture Minister had told the state that it would no longer need its paddy, he said this might be the case but the Centre should not be a fair weather friend. " "Only two years back the Centre had expressed its gratitude to Punjab for filling the national coffers in time of drought."

Sukhbir said the Punjab farmer needed money for diversification which could only happen gradually. He said the Centre could support the state farmers by giving them minimum support price (MSP) for alternative crops.

Photo exhibition of anti-Sikh riots at Jallianwala Bagh

New Delhi, October 19
Several organisations working for the betterment of the Sikh community in Delhi today said a mobile photo exhibition of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots would be inaugurated at Jallianwala Bagh on November 1. It would reach Sultanpur Lodhi on October 24, Jalandhar on October 25, Ludhiana on October 26, Anandpur Sahib on October 27 and Chandigarh on October 28.

A seminar on “Effective legislation against communal and sectarian violence" would be held on November 4, said senior advocate of the Supreme Court HS Phoolka.

He said the photo exhibition and the seminar were being organised to pressurise the government into punishing the guilty as not one accused in the anti-Sikh riots had been convicted. He said there were only five cases being heard by courts, the rest having been dismissed for want of evidence or witnesses. 

Punjab CM backs Army Institute’s plea

Mohali, October 19
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today assured the management of the Army Institute of Law (AIL) here of all possible support to make the institute a deemed university at the earliest.

Addressing the fourth convocation of the institute, Badal said giving AIL a deemed university status would go a long way in making it one of the best institutions in the field of legal education. He exhorted the students to play a pro-active role as upholders of law and justice in society and reminded them of their foremost duty to bring justice to the downtrodden, the underprivileged and the poor sections.

Conceding the request of the AIL for starting LLM classes from the next academic session, the Chief Minister asked the management to send a proposal to him in this regard so that he could take up the matter with the Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi University, Patiala.

Over 100 students from three different batches were awarded degrees.

Buy power meters from 7 listed firms

Patiala, October 19
Under fire for not releasing new electricity connections, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has allowed power consumers to purchase their own meters. The corporation had a shortage of meters. The circular released by PSPCL has listed seven private firms which can provide the consumers with meters. Till June 30, the total number of new electricity connections pending was 27,233.

The corporation would only install the connections according to the seniority list. For instance, consumer figuring at number 58 in the seniority list would have to wait for the first 57 connections to be installed before getting his connection.

Most new connection seekers are of the view that PSPCL had done this to save its skin. “If even a single consumer in the seniority list is unwilling to purchase the meter, the rest won’t be able to avail the facility,” said a PSPCL official, preferring anonymity.

Furthermore, only consumers seeking a new connection can purchase their own electricity meters and not those with defective/burnt meters. Despite repeated attempts, senior PSPCL officials were not available for comment.

FARIDKOT ABDUCTION CASE

Sukhbir promises action against erring officers
Chandigarh, October 19

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today said the government would take stern action against police officers who had shown laxity in the Shruti abduction case even as he accused the Congress of giving a political hue to the abduction case.

The Deputy CM was talking to mediapersons here. He was accompanied by state police chief Sumedh Singh Saini. He claimed that he was closely monitoring the case and that the main accused, Nishan Singh, would be arrested “at any cost”.

He said the Home Department was examining the conduct of officers involved in the investigation and that action would be taken against anyone found to have committed lapses.

Saini admitted that there had been laxity in the investigation in the initial stage. He said two police officers (then Deputy Inspector-General Paramraj Singh Umranangal and Senior Superintendent of Police Gurinder Singh Dhillon) had been transferred for their lack of sensitivity in handling the case involving a minor.

“We have received directions from the government to be sympathetic to the girl and her parents”, he said, indicating there was no pressure on the police to help the accused as claimed by the Congress.

Sukhbir said his government was fighting a war against drugs and had put peddlers on the backfoot with record seizures in the last six months. He said the survey quoted by Rahul was conducted in 2006 when Capt Amarinder Singh was Chief Minister. Moreover, it was a sample survey of drug addicts and 70 per cent were young boys and girls.

The Deputy CM said for the first time, he had appointed an Inspector-General of Police (IGP) as head of the anti-narcotics cell. Similarly, a special operations cell had been opened in Amritsar which had the authority to check narcotic activities all over the state.

He said drugs, including heroin and smack, had been seized in large quantities and his government had urged the Congress-led Rajasthan Government to stop the open sale of poppy husk.

Reward for info on key accused

Chandigarh: Sukhbir Badal has announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh to anyone facilitating the arrest of Nishan Singh, the main accused in the Shruti abduction case. Nishan Singh,19, is at large. Search teams have been sent to Rajasthan and Nepal to track him down.

The Deputy Chief Minister has also directed the authorities to attach the properties of Nishan Singh's family. 

Punjab suspends Vigilance IGP, SP

Chandigarh, October 19

The Punjab Government has suspended two senior police officers. While Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Vigilance, SK Asthana, has been suspended with immediate effect for keeping unauthorised manpower, Superintendent of Police (SP) Dharm Singh Uppal has been suspended for intimidating witnesses.

It is learnt that Asthana had at least 31 personnel at his disposal. Disciplinary proceedings against him will be conducted by an officer nominated on the recommendation of the Chief Secretary.

The department also proposes to take action against government wings that illegally provided manpower to Asthana.

The inquiry report says that the IGP took “police and Home Guards personnel without the sanction of the competent authority. The unauthorised manpower was misused for personal work”.

Superintendent of Police Uppal has been suspended following reports that he intimidated witnesses in an assault case in which his son has been named an accused.

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal warned that no police officer would be allowed to take law into his own hands.

Punjab embarks on green mission

Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal has embarked on a green mission to double the forest cover to 15% from 7%

Dehradun Oct 14, 2012 - Punjab may be famous for its rich agriculture production in India. But very little is known about its miniscule forest cover of 7% as against 65% green cover of states like Uttarakhand.

In what is being billed as the first major afforestation initiative, chief minister Parkash Singh Badal has embarked on a green mission to double the forest cover to 15% from 7%. Badal, who became the chief minister for the record fifth time last year, today formally inaugurated the Rs 1,900 crore “green Punjab mission” in the hallowed precincts of the prestigious Forest Research Institute (FRI) here. Under the project, the state government signed an MoU with the FRI here to achieve the goal 5-8 years time with the involvement of farmers and the state forest department.

For this purpose, the state government has also set up a green fund and has already raised Rs 22 crore, Badal said. From seed to trees, the MoU envisages the FRI to tackle all the forest-related problems and provide its technical expertise to farmers in the maintenance of the green cover. “FRI will take only plant a sapling but take care of for 3 to 5 years till it properly grows,” said Badal after the signing of the MoU.

Plantations of industrial timber and ornamental tree species will be carried out in this programme, Badal said. To ensure the proper price for the timber grown by farmers, timber market will be strengthened and upgraded throughout the state.

To cater the research needs of the state, a research institute will be established in Punjab with the help of FRI. “Through this green mission, the Punjab government has set an example which will be followed by other states in future,” said V K Bahuguna, Director General Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education which controls the FRI.

Chitkara University closed for six days

Rajpura, October 10, 2012 - The management of Chitkara University has decided to close the varsity for six days as a precautionary measure following protest by students over the death of a BCom student, Rohan Singla, on Monday.

Mohit Chitkara, vice-president of Chitkara Educational Trust said they have closed the university for six days. The university will reopen on Monday. He said this has been done to maintain peace on the campus.

The university has also decided to appoint more hostel wardens. Sources said the university has now decided to appoint a chief hostel warden, a warden, an assistant warden and a caretaker in the university who would remain on the campus 24 hours a day. This was seen as a step to maintain discipline among students.

On the appointment of hostel wardens, Mohit Chitkara said they have sufficient number of wardens and more appointments were being made to maintain discipline and peace on the campus.

Though the body of the deceased was handed over to the family, resentment prevailed among the students over the lack of medical facility on the university campus. Some of the students on the condition of anonymity said that they do not want to disturb peace on the campus and added that the authorities should make arrangement for providing medical treatment to the students in case of emergency.

Following death of a BCom student, the students of the university held a massive protest on campus and blocked the Rajpura-Chandigarh road on Monday evening.