The Tribune – Dilapidated buildings threat to public safety; Even as a fairly large number of buildings, both private and public, have been declared unsafe in the state, the authorities have failed to get these vacated. During rains, such structures face a threat of collapse, calling for immediate preventive measures

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 18. Yesterday’s reports of monsoon fury across North India, which washed away several buildings in Uttarakhand, could be a wake up call for the civic authorities.

While most unsafe buildings in the state continue to remain occupied, the authorities need to act immediately to avoid any untoward incident.

Amritsar MC faces legal hurdles

The city has a number of dilapidated buildings and that, too, in densely populated areas.

The civic authorities have already ordered a survey to identify old and crumbling buildings which pose risk to the human life. The survey was done last year as well. The authorities had identified 113 unsafe buildings and had even demolished some in Dholi Mohalla on the Sultanwind road, Maini Chowk in Lakshmansar, Tabela Jagatram in Namak Mandi. In most cases, the officials faced legal complications as the buildings are occupied by tenants for more than five decades and the owners have moved the court for getting their properties vacated.

A resolution is possible only if some policy is made at the administrative level.

In 2011, when a series of building collapsed during heavy rain, the district administration, in collaboration with the MC and the Improvement Trust, had submitted a policy with the Ministry of Local Bodies. The administration had sought that occupants of such buildings be offered alternative accommodation. But even after lapse of two years, the ministry is yet to reply.

Most unsafe buildings are located in Dharam Singh market, Katra Ahluwalia Bazaar, Namak Mandi, Gali Chhajju and Guru Bazaar, Pratap Bazaar, Cheel Mandi, Ghantagarh and Haveli Zamidara. Several others are located adjacent to or on way to the Jallianwala Bagh and the Golden Temple. All these areas are densely populated and witness heavy commercial activities everyday.

Besides, there are some government schools which are run from dilapidated buildings. Three government schools, an anganwari centre and the Block Elementary Education Office (Amritsar-I) are functioning from a historical building on the Mahna Singh Road. Six rooms of the building, built in 1940, accommodate over 200 students of all these schools.

Similarly, Government Elementary School, Sharifpura, is running from a dilapidated building. The roof of three rooms has already fallen. The school authorities are left with three rooms to accommodate students of Classes I to V. Its construction is caught in bureaucratic rigmarole.

Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal said: “A survey is being conducted to identify unsafe buildings. Most government offices running from such buildings have been shifted, but residential and commercial areas need immediate attention. We are planning some preventive measures on a priority basis to avoid any mishap during the rainy season”.

To read more :

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130619/punjab.htm#6

The Tribune – 26/11 plotter’s group gets crores from Pakistan

Lahore, June 18. Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the parent body of banned terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba that carried out the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has received over Rs 61 million (Rs 6.1 crore) from Pakistan’s Punjab province government headed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N party.

Besides a grant-in-aid of over Rs 61 million in its budget for the 2013-14 fiscal for ‘Markaz-e-Taiba’, the largest centre of the JuD, the provincial government has allocated Rs 350 million (Rs 35 crore) for setting up a ‘Knowledge Park’ at the centre and other initiatives.

Details of the allocations were presented in budget documents tabled in the Punjab Assembly yesterday by the PML-N government led by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. One document stated: “Grant-in-aid to chief administrator Muridkey Markaz (is) Rs 61.35 million”. The JuD’s centre is located at Muridkay on the outskirts of Lahore.

In his budget speech in the assembly, Finance Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman announced that the provincial government “intends to establish a Knowledge Park in Muridkey”. He said the government had allocated Rs 350 million for the park and several other initiatives in Punjab.

Shortly after the UN Security Council designated the JuD a front for the LeT in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, the Punjab government took over the centre in Muridkey. At that time too, Punjab was ruled by the PML-N. Since then, the government has allocated money in its annual budget for the administration of the centre in Muridkey.

In 2009-10, the government provided more than Rs 82 million for the administration of JuD facilities. In fiscal 2010-11, Chief Minister Sharif, using his discretionary powers, allocated two separate grants for JuD facilities.

The government granted Rs 79.77 million for six organisations at Markaz-e-Taiba and a special grant-in-aid of Rs 3 million for the JuD’s Al-Dawa School System in several districts of Punjab.

Officials have said in the past that the allocations were needed to continue “welfare services” provided by the JuD’s schools, dispensaries and hospitals across the province of 90 million.

In the past, the Punjab government defended its decision of allocating money to the JuD by saying the grants had been awarded for the administrator of the Markaz-e-Taiba. There is no formal ban on the JuD and its chief, Hafiz Saeed, lives freely in Lahore despite a $10-million bounty offered for him by the US. (PTI)

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130619/main3.htm

The Tribune – ISI reviving militancy in Punjab: Shinde

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 5. Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Wednesday warned of attempts by Pakistan’s ISI to revive militancy in Punjab and other parts of the country. This is the second time in nine months that the Centre has cautioned against revival of terrorism in Punjab.

On September 6 last year, then Intelligence Bureau chief Nehchal Singh Sandhu had warned that terror groups focusing on Punjab and neighbouring states posed a challenge. Sandhu, then speaking at the inauguration of Directors General and Inspectors General of Police conference, had said: “Given the sort of external support they receive, terrorist groups – including those focusing on Punjab and neighbouring states – are likely to pose a challenge.”

Shinde, in his opening remarks at the Chief Ministers’ conference, was more candid in apportioning blame on Pakistan. “There have been some significant developments on the militancy front. Its commanders based in Pakistan are under pressure from the ISI to further the spy agency’s terror plans not only in Punjab, but also in other parts of the country,” the Home Minister said.

“Sikh youth are being trained at ISI facilities in Pakistan. Interdictions and interrogations have revealed use of jailed cadres, unemployed youth, criminals and smugglers by Pakistan-based Sikh terror groups for facilitating terror attacks,” Shinde said, adding that Sikh youth based and settled in Europe and the US were also being motivated to join in.

Shinde went on to say that a large quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives, including RDX, managed to find its way into Punjab through the borders, even as a significant quantity of RDX has since been recovered in police action in Rajasthan and Punjab in the last one year.

India’s porous border with Bangladesh and Nepal has been used by Pakistan-based jihadi groups to ex-filtrate terrorists out of India for training in Pakistan and induction of terrorist elements and money into India for actions.

Jihadis in Pakistan affiliated to Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Indian Mujahideen have set up channels for transfer of funds from Pakistan to India via the Gulf and Nepal, besides using Western Union Money Transfer and ‘hawala’ channels.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130606/main2.htm

The Tribune – Poll violence at Mann village; Congress workers lift dharna on assurance of impartial probe

Archit Watts, Tribune News Service

Badal (Muktsar), June 2. CWC member Jagmeet Singh Brar and his supporters today lifted their dharna from outside Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s residence after getting an assurance of an impartial probe into the Mann village violence episode from the district administration.

The protest lasted for almost 24 hours. Brar, his brother and former MLA Ripjit Singh Brar, district Congress president Gurdas Girdhar, Vijay Sathi and party workers were seeking the cancellation of an FIR lodged against 150 Congress workers and supporters belonging to Mann village.

A delegation, led by DIG (Bathinda range) Amar Singh Chahal, Muktsar Deputy Commissioner Paramjit Singh and SSP Surjeet Singh, assured the protesters that the matter would be probed thoroughly and no further arrests would be made.

Brar said: “The administration has assured us that no one will be harassed. But, if they failed to keep their word, we will stage a massive protest at Mann village”.

Later, the Congress leaders and workers went to Mann village to inform the aggrieved families about the development.

During the day, the protesters alleged they were not allowed to bring food from outside and their workers were stopped from entering the village. Two party workers were allegedly detained by the police.

Baljinder Kaur of Mann village, whose family members have been running since the incident, said: “The news came as a big relief for us. Now, our family members can return to their homes”.

Meanwhile, no party MLA from the district or constituency in charge turned up at the protest venue. Even Maheshinder Singh Badal, who resides in Badal village, did not join the protest. He had yesterday said that it was his father’s death anniversary, but he failed to turn up today as well.

Meanwhile, district Congress president Gurdas Girdhar said: “The District Congress Committee will issue show-cause notices to all the district leaders who did not join the protest”.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130603/punjab.htm#1

The Tribune – Three more districts declared tobacco-free

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh/Sangrur, May 31. The Punjab Government today declared Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Gurdaspur and Fatehgarh Sahib as ‘tobacco-free’ districts. Speaking on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, Health and Family Welfare Minister Madan Mohan Mittal said the School of Public Health, PGI, had in its report confirmed that there were no “active smokers” in these districts.

Mohali, Mansa, Ropar and Amritsar districts have already been declared “tobacco- free”.

In Sangrur, about 90,000 students from more than 350 schools today took a pledge not to use tobacco products and to help tobacco users to give up the habit by educating them on its life-threatening effects.

A district-level function was organised at Government Senior Secondary School at Uppli village near Sangrur where District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Surinder Singla spoke on the ill-effects of tobacco that contained more than 4,000 harmful chemicals. He said tobacco was the root cause of more than 50 kinds of cancer as well as heart ailments.

Dr Singla, a TB specialist, said in Sangrur district at least 1,000 persons had been challaned and fined for smoking at public places from January to May this year.

Additional DC Pritam Singh Johl asked the students to motivate addicts to give up habit-forming drugs, especially tobacco products.

Civil Surgeon Dr Subodh Gupta and District Education Officer (Secondary) Nirmal Singh Sohi sought a ban on advertisements promoting the use of tobacco products.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130601/punjab.htm#11

The Tribune – 27 resolutions against liquor vends rejected in Sangrur

Sushil Goyal, Tribune News Service

Sangrur, May 28. Resentment prevails among NGOs against the state government for not letting their movement against the opening of liquor vends in state villages flourish.

On the one hand, the government has been increasing the number of liquor vends almost every year, while on the other, it has been rejecting resolutions being passed by panchayats against the opening of liquor vends in their villages.

In Sangrur district alone, the government had auctioned 654 liquor vends for 2012-13, while it had auctioned 719 of these for 2013-14. It shows that 65 more liquor vends have been opened in Sangrur district in 2013-14.

A total of 43 village panchayats in Sangrur district had passed resolutions against the opening of liquor vends in their villages during 2013-14, of which 27 resolutions were rejected by the excise authorities.

It is also a matter of concern for NGOs that government rejects panchayats’ resolutions on the ground that someone has been arrested from their village with many liquor bottles while allowing an annual quota of thousands of bottles to the liquor vends in the same village.

President of the Scientific Awareness and Social Welfare Forum A S Mann said the annual liquor quota of 40,000 bottles had been allotted to the liquor vends of Kanjhla village.

Likewise, the annual quota of 35,000 bottles in Ladda village, 29,000 bottles in Hathan village, 25,000 bottles in Katron village and 20,000 bottles in Ghabdan village had been allotted.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130529/punjab.htm#7

The Tribune – Explain delay in widening of road: High Court to Amritsar administration

G S Paul, Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 26. Taking cognisance of traffic congestion and hassles en route the Golden Temple, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued a notice of motion to the Amritsar Deputy Commissioner, Municipal Commissioner and the Executive Officer of the Improvement Trust, directing them to furnish affidavits by May 29 and explain why the road widening project on this route could not be executed till date.

Acting on a petition filed by Amritsar resident Manmohan Singh, the High Court has questioned the delay in widening the road leading from GT road to the Golden Temple passing through Ghee Mandi even as a compensation of Rs 8.98 crore has been awarded to 105 affected property owners. The court also took notice of the old buildings in deplorable conditions on both sides of this route.

Under the project, the 1.5-km stretch opposite the momentous Jallianwala Bagh till Ghee Mandi is to be widened up to 40 ft to ease congestion on the way to the Golden Temple. The administration had issued notices to residents and traders, asking them to shift their belongings to a safer place. But due to political intervention, the authorities have so far failed to take possession of the required land despite awarding compensation.

Amritsar Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal said: “We will comply with the directions of the High Court”.

The Golden Temple is located in the centre of the walled city. Approach to this Sikh shrine, which receives over 1 lakh visitors daily, is through two main roads.

Via Hall Bazaar: Hall Bazaar is a commercial hub of the city. Temporary shops have come up outside Dharam Singh Market and loading/unloading of goods is a common sight in the narrow Katra Ahluwalia. Haphazard parking and encroachments on pedestrian paths in Bazaar Pappara, Brahambuta Market are traffic hazards.

Via Ghee Mandi, Sheranwala Gate: Main approach from the GT road. Both these roads are in a deplorable condition. On the Sheranwala Gate road, a flyover has been made, but it ends at Saragarhi parking meant for personal vehicles.

Encroachments and parking of heavy trucks on the road below the flyover lead to chaos. The only alternative for a hassle-free ride to the Golden Temple is left with widening of the Ghee Mandi road, adjoining the Sheranwala Gate.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130527/punjab.htm#14

The Tribune – 2,500 deportees to get passports after 8 years

Varinder Singh, Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 25. Over 2,500 deportees in Punjab, who have been running from pillar to post for several years to get their passports, can now breathe easy. They are set to get their passports within the next month as the regional passport authorities have carried out a massive drive to clear the backlog of such cases.

These Punjabis were deported from the US, Canada, Europe, Germany, UAE and Italy.

As the Regional Passport Office (RPO) authorities initiated the drive, the Indian consulates cleared the cases of most deportees. Only deportees involved in drug trafficking won’t get their passports.

Passport officer Harmanbir Singh Gill said deportees, who have got their no objection certificates (NOCs) from Indian consulates, would be issued passports immediately.

Over 5,000 Indians have been deported for breaking the law. The delay in issuing passports was a result of the authorities failing to obtain information from Indian consulates.

“Most of the deportees are from Dubai, Europe, US, Italy and Canada. We have invited more than 3,500 deportees to visit our office on May 31 to participate in a Mega Lok Adalat,” said Gill.

The passport authorities have already obtained NOCs from Indian consulates for over 85 per cent of the deportees in the past three months. “We communicated with the consulates on a daily basis to get the NOCs. Deportee cases wherein we have received the NOCs will be cleared on May 31 and their files will be sent to the Passport Sewa Kendra,” said Gill while talking to The Tribune.

Explaining the procedure adopted by the passport authorities to clear the backlog of deportee cases, Gill said consulates were sent three queries for each deportee. “In cases where we received no response from the consulates concerned, we decided in principle to grant the passport to the applicant. Thereafter, another query was sent to the consulate concerned to advise if it had any objection to it,” said Gill.

“It is our priority to clear deportee cases in one go this time. We have already cleared files of over 2,500 deportees and the files of around 2,300 would be cleared during this week,” said Harmanbir Gill.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130526/punjab.htm#7

The Tribune – State to High Court: Won’t allow groundwater for construction

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 23. Underground water will not be allowed for construction purposes in Punjab. Affidavits to this effect were submitted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court by the state government and the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority.

The affidavit said only surface or treated water from the nearby sewage treatment plant would be allowed for construction work. Water meters would also be installed on borewells or tubewells within a month.

The claims came on a petition filed in public interest on the issue by advocate HC Arora. He was seeking directions to the Punjab Government for ensuring strict implementation of notifications issued by the Central Ground Water Authority.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130524/punjab.htm#12

The Tribune – SAD’s poaching strategy paid off

Jangveer Singh, Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 22. Poaching of effective workers and leaders by the SAD proved dear for the Punjab Congress in the panchayat samiti and zila parishad elections with Congress defectors “rising to the occasion” and showing their worth to their new bosses.

The SAD has been poaching Congress workers and leaders for more than a year now ever since the 2012 assembly victory. The objective is to take on board anybody who is effective in his or her area.

While this strategy saw senior Congress leaders, including Joginderpal Jain, Mangat Rai Bansal and Deepinder Dhillon, entering the Akali fold, at the junior level, the exodus from the Congress has been even more.

The poaching of Congress workers has been the most in the Malwa and Majha belts. Hundreds of local Jat leaders have opted to go with the ruling party.

Sources said this exodus of the Congress grassroots cadre to the SAD demoralised senior Congress leaders who realised they had lost their base in the traditional pocket boroughs. Even the parliamentary seat of Patiala, which has always looked safe for the Congress, appears no longer so following the massive win registered by the SAD there.

Another reason for the poor Congress showing was that though Punjab Congress president Partap Bajwa led an aggressive campaign and took on the Akalis fearlessly, he failed to understand that the Congress cadre was not ready to take on the Akalis in a similar manner.

With four years to go for the next assembly elections and already facing the wrath of Akali workers at the village level, even committed Congress cadres seem to be biding their time.

Besides tackling the demoralised cadre, the Congress needs to reckon with some legislators who at the best offered a “friendly” opposition to the Akalis in the rural elections.

These MLAs are more concerned about getting works done in their constituencies by “cooperating” with the Akalis.

With Bajwa opting for competitive politics with former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, senior leaders close to the latter took little interest in the elections. This did not send the right message to the cadre.

Bajwa’s aggressive posturing would have paid off against SAD president Sukhbir Badal. But the latter kept away from the poll, pitting Bajwa against Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

The latter focused on peace and communal harmony to offset the Congress attempts to make “repression” of Akali workers a mass movement.

How it worked

The SAD has been poaching Congress workers and leaders ever since the 2012 assembly victory

The objective is to take on board anybody who is effective in his or her area

This strategy saw senior Congress leaders deserting the party and joining the SAD

The exodus of the Congress grassroots cadre to the SAD has been even more

Punjab Congress chief Partap Bajwa took on the Akalis fearlessly but the Congress cadre did not

Some Cong MLAs offered only a “friendly” opposition to the SAD

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130523/punjab.htm#1