Fifth rocket shell found in Punjab’s Dahleke Village

September 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Dahleke Sep. 13 (ANI): With another rocket shell being found in the fields of Dahleke village near the India-Pakistan border on Sunday, the total number of rocket shells discovered so far on the Indian side of the border has reached five.

The rocket has created about four feet deep crater in the field.

Incidentally, it was for the first time that Indian villages along the International Border have been targeted in peacetime from Pakistani soil.

“We heard that BSF already found the four rockets lobbed by Pakistan. We saw the rocket today morning here and informed the officials. Villagers felt relieved that the rocket landed in the fields,” said Rachpal Singh, a witness in the village Dahleke.

Bikramjit Singh, another young villager said that these incidents of blast were spreading panic in the area.

Meanwhile, Border Security Force personnel have confirmed finding three rocket shells in two villages of Attari Sector of Punjab’s Amritsar district on Saturday.

On Friday, five rocket shells were lobbed on Indian territory from Pakistan side.

Initially, it was reported that three to five rockets were fired by Pakistan, which fell in the two border villages of Dhanoae Kachye and Modahe, however no causality was reported since the rockets fell into paddy fields.

The BSF traced the fourth rocket lobbed by Pakistan last night at Daleke village.

It was second instance of firing by Pakistan in a span of two months.

Previously, on July 5, 2009, Pakistan had lobbed three rockets towards India that fell in the Dhandae, Bherwal and Konake villages on Indian side. By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)

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Shiv Sena activists burn Pakistan national flag in Amritsar

September 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Amritsar Sep. 13 (ANI): Outraged over the rocket firing incident by Pakistan on Friday night in Attari Sector of Punjab’s Amritsar district, a group of Shiv Sena (Hindustan) activists on Sunday burnt Pakistan’s national flag here.

The Shiv Sena (Hindustan) is a local outfit.

A number of activists assembled at the Hathi Gate Chowk of Amritsar and burnt Pakistan’s national flag.

The protestors said that they burnt the Pakistan’s national flag to express their anguish and register protest against the rockets lobbed from the Pakistani soil into Indian Territory.

Carrying a banner in their hands, the activists shouted anti-Pakistan slogans.
Protestors demanded that the Government of India should force Pakistan to stop anti-India activities immediately.

Ajay Seth, President of the Shiv Sena (H), condemned the anti India activities of Pakistan and said that Pakistan’s nefarious designs always have an effect on the peace initiatives. By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)

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Stitching school helps women to become self-reliant

September 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Amritsar, Sep 4 (ANI): Socially and economically deprived women in Punjab’s Amritsar district have found a saviour in Shree Lakshmi Narayan Stitching School, which has come ahead to help those women who are aspiring to become self-reliant.

The school established by Shri Durgiana Temple Management Committee in 1992, imparts training in stitching and embroidery free of cost to women belonging to the weaker sections of the society.

Everyday, over 40 women come in two batches, in forenoon and afternoon, and the students can continue training till they achieve expertise in their trade.

“It is our moral duty to help people belonging to weaker section of the society. We help them become self-reliant. We started this school 15-years-ago with the aim of helping poor girls. In the beginning, we faced problems in bringing women to the centre, but now the scene is changing,” said Harish Taneja, Spokesperson of Shri Durgiana Temple Management Committee.

Radha, a married woman with two daughters and a son, finds it’s difficult to run her family with what her husband, a rickshaw puller, earns.

To meet the expenses Radha works as a housemaid, but that too is not enough. So, recently, she got to know about Shree Lakshmi Narayan Stitching School, which helps women belonging to weaker section learn stitching and embroidery.

Now she is looking forward to a better tomorrow.

“Talent is as important as education. A person, who is not educated is called illiterate so is a person devoid of talent. Education without talent is useless,” Radha said.

Many girls have passed out from the school, and sometimes they are provided with stitching machines to help their cause.

“Learning at this institute has lots of benefits, as we can earn and better look after our family. Being self-reliant, you can contribute to household expenses,” said Arti, another student.

This initiative by Shri Durgiana Temple Management Committee is praiseworthy, as they bear the salary and other expenses of the staff as well. By Ravinder Singh (ANI)

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Stamp collector gets first stamp of ‘pride of India’ series

September 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Amritsar, Aug 31(ANI): A stamp collector from Punjab’s Amritsar district, Neeraj Jain has received the first stamp of the ‘Pride of India’ series, which was introduced by the Government on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of First War of Independence.

Jain had started collecting stamps from a very early age of thirteen and has continued with his passion since then. He has so far collected 1,50,000 million Indian stamps, which include the 2100 stamps issued after independence.

“As a child I was fascinated by the stamps on the envelopes and the people who collected them. Small children always have a habit of collecting things; I gradually developed the habit of collecting stamps and my interest in them grew with time. Also, I got helpful people to guide me in this regard,” said Neeraj Jain.

The ‘Pride of India’ stamp collection showcases the unique culture and chronicles the great historical events of the country and contains twenty-five stamp replicas made of pure silver and encrusted with twenty-four carat gold.

“Once I went to the post office and overheard someone talking about a gold series of stamps. The idea struck my mind and I collected all the necessary information from the Internet and the post office. I came to know that there twenty-five stamps and one stamp would be issued every month. The cost of one stamp is Rs 6,000 and the whole collection costs up to Rs 1,50,000,” said Neeraj Jain.

He further informed that he has received first two stamps from the collection, first being of “Krishnagarh’ and second of ‘Mahatma Gandhi’.

Among the great collection that Neeraj possesses is the stamp of ‘Radha Krishna’ painting, which dates back to May 5th, 1973, and gold and silver coins launched at the silver and golden jubilee of the Independent India. By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)

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Male officers not allowed to frisk women: Supreme Court

March 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, March 15 (ANI): The Supreme Court has held that male officers cannot frisk women for the purpose of confiscating contraband materials like narcotics, as it is illegal.

The Court stated, during hearing of a case related to confiscation of narcotics, that any personal search of a woman by male officers amounts to violation of Sub-section 4 of Section 50 of the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act.

Making observations in a case a three-judge Bench comprising Justice S.B. Sinha, Justice Mukundakam Sharma and Justice H. L. Dattu observed, “Personal search of the accused was conducted by DSP Baldev Singh which as indicated herein before was violative of the provisions of Sub-section 4 of Section 50 of the Act,” a three-judge bench of Justices S B Sinha, Mukundakam Sharma and H L Dattu observed.

Search of women, if any, can be conducted only by women personnel, the apex court said.

The bench passed the ruling while dismissing an appeal filed by Punjab Government challenging the acquittal order passed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in favour of an old lady Gurnam Kaur and her daughters-in law- Ranjit Kaur and Gurjit Kaur.

A sessions court had convicted the trio for possessing narcotic substances and sentenced them to 12 years rigorous imprisonment.

However, on an appeal the High Court acquitted the accused on the ground that there were several infirmities in the prosecution’s case, besides holding as illegal the search of the women by male officers.

The State then filed an appeal in the apex court.

The three women were arrested by the police, who claimed that they recovered heroin and opium from their house at Thatha village in Amritsar district and DSP Baldev Singh claimed to have personally conducted the search of the trio. (ANI)

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Village heads join hands to enable administration to fight social problems

March 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Amritsar, March 3 (ANI): To bring change in public life by active participation, a novel beginning has been made here under which 100 village heads have extended their support to district administration to fight social evils and ensure development.

The coming together of 100 village heads is a quite an unusual event in Amritsar city and has made the local governing bodies speed up their efficiency.

Named the ‘Group 100′, the team will focus its efforts on issues like drug-addiction, female foeticide and casteism. Members of the team have joined hands with social scientists from Guru Nanak Dev University and the Amritsar district administration to eradicate social evils.

“The government has brought together all departments on a single platform – be it rural development, health, education, welfare association, agriculture or the cooperatives, they will provide support to the villages. If the villagers have any problem, they can raise their problems in the concerned department. Sometimes the officials ignore the village heads and their problems but now they can’t do so, as they know that the Deputy Commissioner (DC) will be conducting a quarterly meeting and village head can give their name to the DC. So it’s a two way process and I hope it will benefit us in a big way,” said K.S. Pannu, the Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar.

Bureaucratic hurdles has stalled development work in many villages. And village heads often fail to persuade the authorities and make them aware of their problems and needs. It is often noticed that they have limited or no experience of dealing with social issues like-drug abuse, illiteracy and sex ratio.

Now, with proper coordination among village heads, district administration and social scientists, it is expected that there would be a major change.

“I hope, if development can successfully take place in about 100 villages, it will provide an example to other village heads also. The step that the DC has taken was very important for the progress of the villages and a lot of development will take place. Earlier, the village heads were unable to perform their duties, it’s been almost 8 months but I have failed to carry out any development work. But, after the meeting I am feeling encouraged and am determined to do my work properly,” said Sukhdeep Singh, the Village head of Majvind.

“The village heads were hesitant earlier and faced difficulties taking their problems to the government. Now with the introduction of this system, there won’t be any hesitation. Direct communication will be established with the government and administration, which is very good for the development of villages,” said Jagir Singh, the Village Head of Boshara.

Local governance bodies can play a major role in bringing about a social revolution, and the formation of ‘group 100′ is one step forward in this direction.

Amritsar has made a beginning. It is hoped that its successful outcome could start off a new wave of local governance throughout the Punjab.By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)

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