Monthly Archives: August 2018

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 29

A special Covid-19 vaccination drive was undertaken at the Military Hospital in Jalandhar Cantonment on May 25 and 28 for veterans and their dependants of Jalandhar and nearby areas.

The drive was held with the aim to raise awareness and motivate veterans of the armed forces to get vaccinated as increasing fatalities were occurring among veterans and their dependents, who have not taken the vaccination.

Over a period of two days, a number of veterans and their dependents were vaccinated. Army buses ferried veterans from districts of Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Kapurthala, Jalandhar and Phagwara, where the ECHS polyclinics were made collection points to minimise discomfort. A Vajra Veterans Sahayata Kendra was also established at the venue to update veterans on various initiatives of the Central and state governments as well as the armed forces towards their welfare and resolution of any grievances. A special medical kit was also distributed, which included a sanitiser, masks, multi-vitamins, oximeters and information leaflets about Covid protocols.

It was heartening to see the overwhelming response of veterans towards this initiative. Naib Subedar Pritam Singh, a 91-year-old veteran, who joined the Indian Army in 1949, came all the way from Bhogpur block for the first dose. Surjit Kaur, wife of Naib Subedar Gurmail Singh, who requires a wheelchair to move around, came from Aslamabad village near Hoshiarpur.

Vajra Corps has already been fighting against the pandemic by upgrading existing capabilities in military hospitals and ECHS polyclinics, while also enhancing awareness on Covid protocols to contain its spread. The officials said more such outreach and awareness campaigns would be conducted by Vajra Corps Covid warriors in the near future for the benefit and safety of our esteemed veterans.

Chandigarh, May 30

After six days, 91-year-old Covid-hit former Indian sprinter Milkha Singh was discharged from a private hospital on a request of his family members, said doctors.

He returned to his Sector 8 residence this afternoon. However, his wife, 82-year-old Nirmal Milkha Singh, was shifted to an ICU after her oxygen saturation level dropped. Nirmal, who had led the Indian women’s volleyball team, recently tested positive.

“On a request from the family, Milkha Singh was discharged from the hospital today in a stable condition. He is on oxygen and nutritional support. Nirmal Milkha Singh, meanwhile, had to be shifted to the ICU last night due to increasing oxygen requirement. She continues to be stable,” read a medical bulletin.

Discharged on family’s request

“On a request from the family, Milkha Singh was discharged from the hospital on Sunday in a stable condition. He is on oxygen and nutritional support. Nirmal Milkha Singh, meanwhile, had to be shifted to the ICU on Saturday night due to increasing oxygen requirement. She continues to be stable.” — Medical bulletin

Farmers observe ‘black day’ at Singhu border. Tribune file Photo

Mukesh Tandon

Tribune News Service

Panipat, May 29

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) will observe ‘Sampoorna Kranti Diwas’ on June 5 across the country. It has appealed to the people to extend their support to the farmers’ movement and to burn copies of the three farm laws.

In a joint statement issued by farmer leaders of SKM, Balbir Singh Rajewal, Darshan Pal, Gurnam Singh Charuni, Hannan Mollah, Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Yudhvir Singh, Yogendra Yadav, Abhimanyu Kohar said that Jayaprakash Narayan had declared “Sampoorna Kranti” on June 5, 1974 and launched a mass movement against the central government.

Besides, the Centre had presented these anti-farmers farm laws as ordinances on June 5 last year. That’s why the SKM has decided to mark June 5 as ‘Sampoorna Kranti Diwas’ in the entire country.

The SKM has appealed to citizens to extend their support and actively participate in the farmers’ movement and to burn copies of the three laws in front of offices of BJP MPs, MLAs and representatives on June 5. Besides, SKM leaders paid tributes to former Prime Minister and farmer leader Chaudhary Charan Singh on his death anniversary today at Kisan Ghat in Delhi.

Meanwhile, a large batch of farmers from the Doaba region of Punjab reached the Singhu border. The leaders claimed that farmers would continue to come every day to the protest sites and the movement would become stronger every passing day.

Govt must clear dues with interest: Hooda

Chandigarh: Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Saturday demanded that the government must clear the dues of farmers and purchased crops must be lifted from the markets. The former CM said a large number of farmers had not been paid their dues even though it had been many days since their crops were purchased. The Leader of Opposition also expressed concern over the increase in the prices of petrol and diesel for the 16th consecutive time this month. tns

Tribune Web Desk

Chandigarh, May 31

Actor Kangana Ranaut on Monday shared pictures of her visit to Golden Temple in Amritsar with her family, as it was her first visit.

Kangana Ranaut, who is away to her hometown in the hills in Manali, has tested negative for Covid a few days back.

She shared pictures of the visit on Instagram and spoke of the stunning beauty and divinity of the place.

“Today I visited Sri Harmandir Sahib Golden temple, even though I grew up in north and almost everyone in my family has already visited the temple many times only for me it was first time …. speechless and stunned with Golden temple’s beauty and divinity…❤️,” she wrote.View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kangana Ranaut (@kanganaranaut)

The four-time national award-winning actor donned an all-blue pastel coloured churidar suit and kept her curly hair tied in a signature bun.

Kangana, in the pictures, is seen posing candidly with her family against the backdrop of the Golden Temple.

In one photograph, Kangana posed with her nephew in front of the shrine and in another she is receiving the ‘kadha prashad’.

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 30

With thousands of acres of unused land at its disposal, The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has set in motion the first step to commercially exploit, or monetise, these surplus lands.

A letter has been sent to all three armed forces, the DRDO, Coast Guard, Ordnance Factory Board, among others to identify what all land is needed by them over the two decades and what all projects are coming up. The remaining surplus may be compiled and reconciled with the Director General Defence Estates (DGDE) within three months, says a letter of the MoD sent out on May 6.

Some of these expected surplus lands are old British time camping ground used when long campaigns had to be sustained, old unused airfields set up in War World II (1939-1945), or even lands which are now within civic areas and serve little military purpose. Another chunck of surplus lands could be with Ordnance factories – there are 41 such factories of varying vintage.

The MoD is looking at identifying two categories of vacant lands — these are ‘Class A-2 and ‘Class B-4’. The Cantonment Land Administration Rules, 1937, have bench-marked all lands as per their intended use of the land, its location and future expansions.

Class A-2 land is not actually used or occupied by the Military Authorities but is used temporarily. The Class ‘B-4’ land is the one which is not included in any other class of lands.

The letter stems from the MoD decision to take action on the recommendations of Sumit Bose Committee constituted for study on optimum use of defence land and to regulate its commercial exploitation. Bose, a former Revenue Secretary, Government of India, had submitted a report with 131 recommendations in December 2017. The Bose Committee recommendation, after a study by the MoD, has been classified under three categories.

The MoD letter sent out on May 6 says it has been decided to implement a section of recommendations of the Bose committee with regard to vacant lands and optimal utilisation of defence land.

Two categories of vacant land

• The Ministry of Defence is looking at identifying two categories of vacant land — ‘Class A-2 and ‘Class B-4’. The Cantonment Land Administration Rules, 1937, have bench-marked all land as per its intended use, location and future expansions.
• Class A-2 land is not actually used or occupied by the military authorities, but is used temporarily. The Class ‘B-4’ land is the one which is not included in any other class of land.

NEW DELHI: Nearly 45 per cent people — both in rural and urban India – feel that Chinas encroachment in Ladakh is a failure on the part of the Central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as per the ABP-C Voter Modi 2.0 Report Card.
According to the ABP-C Voter survey, 39.8 per cent people in urban areas feel that Chinese encroachment in Ladakh is the failure of the Centre, while up to 46.9 per cent respondents in the rural areas also feel the same.
The survey was carried out between May 23 and May 27 on 12, 070 people across the country.
As per the survey, 37.3 per cent people disagree with the question, including 41.8 per cent from urban areas and 35.4 per cent from the rural parts of the country.
A total of 18 per cent respondents said they were not able to make any assessment on the matter.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. PTI file photo

New Delhi, May 31

In a major push to promote the domestic defence industry, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday approved imposing restrictions on the import of 108 military weapons and systems such as next-generation corvettes, airborne early warning systems, tank engines and radars.

The first negative list for defence imports comprising 101 items was issued last year.

The restrictions on import of the 108 items that figured in the second list will progressively come into effect in the period from December 2021 to December 2025, officials said.

They said the second list has been prepared by the defence ministry after several rounds of consultations with state-owned and private defence manufacturing industry bodies.

The first negative list of items for defence imports included towed artillery guns, short-range surface-to-air missiles, cruise missiles, offshore patrol vessels, electronic warfare systems, next-generation missile vessels, floating dock and anti-submarine rocket launchers.

The second negative list for imports was approved by the defence minister, officials said.

“In pursuance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s endeavour of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and to boost indigenisation in the defence sector, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved a proposal of the Department of Military Affairs to notify the ‘second positive indigenisation list’ of 108 items,” the defence ministry said.

“This will give a further boost to indigenisation with the active participation of public and private sector for fulfilling the twin objectives of achieving self-reliance and promoting defence exports,” it said.

The ministry said all the 108 items will now be procured from indigenous sources as per provisions of the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020.

In the last couple of years, the government has taken a series of measures to boost the domestic defence industry.

The new defence procurement policy of the defence ministry projected a turnover of Rs 1.75 lakh crore (USD 25 billion) in defence manufacturing by 2025.

India is one of the most lucrative markets for global defence giants. The country figured among the few top importers of military hardware in the world for the last eight to ten years.

According to estimates, the Indian armed forces are projected to spend around USD 130 billion in capital procurement in the next five years. PTI

Today, it covers 1,930 km between Mumbai CSMT-Firozpur Cantt in 34 hours 15 minutes

Mumbai, May 31

The oldest running long-distance train of the Indian Railways, Punjab Mail, connecting Mumbai-Firozpur — originally linking Bombay with Peshawar (now in Pakistan) — turns 110 on Tuesday, Central Railway officials said here on Monday.

The Punjab Limited as she was called then, is a little over 16 years older than its more glamorous counterpart Frontier Mail, though its origins are rather vague.

She steamed out of Bombay’s Ballard Pier Mole station – which was the hub of the erstwhile Great Indian Peninsular Railways (GIPR), that later became the CR.

Based on a Cost Estimate paper of 1911 and a complaint by an irate passenger in October 2012 about “the later arrival of the train by a few minutes at Delhi” station, the CR concluded that the Punjab Mail made her maiden run on June 1, 1912.

To begin with, there were the P&O steamers bringing in the mail, and excited officers of the British Raj along with their spouses, coming to their first postings in colonial India after a 13-day long sea voyage from Southampton to Mumbai Port.

Since the British officials held a combined ticket both for the sea voyage to Bombay and then onward inland journey by train to their place of postings, after disembarking they would simply board one of the trains from here bound for Delhi, Calcutta or Madras.

The Punjab Limited used to run on fixed mail days from Bombay to Peshawar covering 2,496 km in around 47 hours along the Great Indian Peninsular route, via Itarsi, Agra, Delhi and Lahore.

At that time, it had only 3 passenger cars with a total capacity of 96 travellers, three for postal goods and mail, and was the fastest running train in the British India.

The passenger coaches were all corridor cars in first class, dual berth compartments, and well appointed with lavatories, bathrooms, a restaurant car, a compartment for the luggage and servants of the British officers.

Later, from 1914, the Punjab Limited started originating and terminating at the Bombay VT Station, now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Mumbai and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Today, the journey time of Punjab Mail, hauled by electric engines, has come down significantly, covering the 1,930 km between Mumbai CSMT-Firozpur Cantt in 34 hours 15 minutes.

Compared to the original 6 cars of the Punjab Limited, Punjab Mail now has 9 air-conditioned coaches, 6 sleeper coaches, 5 general second class coaches, a pantry and a generator van.

By mid-1930s, it also started catering to the Indians on the move in Third class cars, it got the first airconditioned coach in 1945, from May 1976, it was hauled by diesel engines, and by 1980s with electric engines as a large part of the trunk routes on the IR network got electrified

From December 2020, the Punjab Mail started its journey with the German-designed Alstom LHB GmbH’s Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches which give more safety and a pleasant travel experience to the passengers. IANS

Beijing, May 31

China said on Monday that it is probing the case of a 19-year-old Chinese student who was held and later freed in Dubai on his way to the US after he fled from here after questioning the official media reports about last year’s clash between Indian and Chinese troops at the Galwan Valley.

Wang Jingyu, who holds permanent residency in the United States, was arrested in April by the United Arab Emirates authorities en route to Istanbul, Turkey, according to media reports from Dubai.

He sent out a message on May 20 calling on the international community for help after he was detained by Dubai police while transiting the country on his way out of China, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on May 27.

Activists and his supporters said plainclothes police officers arrested Wang as he came off an Emirates flight in April at the Dubai International Airport, trying to connect on to New York.

The State Department acknowledged his arrest, describing the case as a “human rights” concern and warning that he could have faced extradition to China, the RFA report said. 

Asked for his comments on Wang Jingyu’s arrest and release in Dubai and whether China is seeking his extradition, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, “I have noted the relevant report”.

“As we speak, competent Chinese authorities are investigating and handling the case in accordance with law,” he told a media briefing here on Monday. There should not be any speculation about this incident, he added.

Wang Jingyu, who spoke to RFA’s Mandarin Service UAE, said that he was detained shortly after he got off the plane in Dubai.

“I was just about to head to the transit security check area, when I was suddenly stopped at the gate for no apparent reason,” he said.

“The allegations against me were trumped up,” he told RFA.

Wang Jingyu, who hails from the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing, said he suspected that the Chinese government may be behind his detention, and that the criminal case could be used as a pretext to force him to return to China.

On February 21, state-run Global Times reported that two netizens were detained in China for allegedly smearing four People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers who were killed in last year’s Galwan Valley clash with Indian troops.

They were reportedly detained under a 2018 law which stipulates that it is illegal to defame the country’s heroes and martyrs.

While the Indian Army quickly announced that 20 of its personnel were killed in the clash with Chinese soldiers on June 15, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army took some eight months to reveal that it had lost four of its military personnel and one officer was injured.

Wang then publicly questioned on social media why the Chinese government waited six months to release the information about the death of Chinese soldiers, sparking a harassment campaign that saw him flee to Istanbul, the Associated Press (AP) quoted rights activists as saying.

Police in Wang’s hometown of Chongqing reportedly have cited him for violating a 2018 law against demeaning heroes and martyrs and called his parents in for questioning, the report said.

Meanwhile, state-run Global Times reported on Monday that the ruling Communist Party of China, which marks its 100th founding anniversary on July 1 this year, will honour Chen Hongjun, one of Chinese military personnel killed in the Galwan Valley clash. PTI

A consensus formulation could include two deputy chief ministers

Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 31

The Congress’s festering issue — Punjab factionalism— is finally in for some healing with the official panel constituted to resolve differences commencing discussions with key stakeholders on Monday.

The first to meet the three-member committee appointed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi this morning from 11 am was state Congress chief Sunil Jakhar, known for his proximity both to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and to former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.

Jakhar, famed for speaking his mind to the Congress high command, hasn’t been able to constitute the state Congress committee due to lack of consensus on accommodation of people close to former minister and Amarinder Singh critic Navjot Singh Sidhu.

A resolution through the Sonia Gandhi panel, which constitutes her loyalists Mallikarjun Kharge, JP Agarwal and AICC General Secretary Harish Rawat, would mean meeting ground between CM Amarinder Singh and Sidhu on the constitution of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee with a few months left for the 2022 state polls.

Besides Jakhar, who met the panel for over half-an-hour, top ministers Brahm Mohindra, OP Soni, Manpreet Badal, Tript Bajwa, Rana Sodhi, Sukhjinder Randhawa, Sunder Sham Arora, Charanjit Channi, Aruna Chowdhry also met the committee, which has kept three days for consultations until Wednesday and plans to move quickly to end the stalemate, which is rooted in the 2019 exit of Navjot Sidhu from the state Cabinet and his continued existence in the cold.

Sidhu wants a respectable rehabilitation, which could mean a deputy CM post in this election year although he is known to have wanted Jakhar’s job for long.

MLAs Ram Awla, Gurkirat singh, Rana Gurjeet Singh, , Arun dogra, Raj Kumar Chabbewal, Rana KP, Rakesh Panday are also meeting the panel today with meetings expected to last until this evening.

Reliable party sources say a consensus could involve appointment of more than one deputy CMs, may be two, one being Sidhu and the other a leader from another dominant Punjab caste.

The CM would like a balance at the top going into elections and has not been very happy with public vituperations of Sidhu and some other MLAs.

Meanwhile, AICC sources say change of CM was never a matter or discussion.

“The objective of discussions is achievement of broad unity and the best way forward for that,” a Congress source said.