The Canadian Parvasi-issue 52

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The International News Weekly india June 29, 2018 | Toronto 08 First batch of Amarnath pilgrims leave for Kashmir Indo-Asian News Service Srinagar/Jammu: Heavy rainfall today delayed commencement of annual Amarnath Yatra to the cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas from Pahalgam and Baltal base camps. “The yatra has not commenced yet from either Baltal or Pahalgam base camps due to rain,” a spokesman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) said. He said the yatra will commence only after weather improves and the tracks are safe for the pilgrims to move on. Amid tight security, the first batch of nearly 3,000 Amarnath pilgrims from Jammu reached the twin base camps at Baltal and Pahalgam in Kashmir last evening. Of this group of pilgrims, 1,904 have opted for traditional Pahalgam route while 1,091 choose the Baltal route to reach the Himalayan cave shrine in south Kashmir. The batch comprises of 2,334 men, 520 women, 21 children and 120 Sadhus, officials said. The pilgrims, coming from across the country, were taken to their respective base camps as security forces Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi,: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, noting that the second phase of Gram Swaraj Abhiyan is now underway in over 40,000 villages in the aspirational districts, called upon officers to work towards achieving the best possible outcomes in this context by August 15. Modi on Wednesday chaired his 27th interaction through PRAGATI - the ICTbased, multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation - and reviewed the progress of eight infrastructure projects in the railway, road, and power sectors. According to an official statement, he called upon all officers, both from the state and Central governments, involved with this effort to work towards achieving the best possible outcomes in this dotted the 400-km road length from Jammu to Baltal and Pahalgam. The government is for the first time using radio frequency (RF) tags to track Amarnath-bound vehicles, while the CRPF has introduced motorcycle squads with cameras and various life-saving equipment. Around 40,000 security personnel from the Jammu and Kashmir Police, paramilitary, National Disaster Response Force and the Army, have been deployed for this year’s pilgrimage. A total of 2.60 lakh pilgrims offered prayers at the shrine last year. Considering the carrying capacity of the existing tracks and other available infrastructure in the pilgrimage area, the SASB has decided to allow 7, 500 pilgrims on each route daily. Ensure best outcome of Gram Swaraj Abhiyan by Aug 15: Modi tells officers context (Gram Swaraj Abhiyan), by August 15. The 26 PRAGATI meetings so far have seen a cumulative review of projects with a total investment of over Rs 11 lakh crore. Resolution of public grievances has also been reviewed across a range of sectors. "In the twenty-seventh meeting, the Prime Minister reviewed the progress of eight infrastructure projects in the railway, road, and power sectors. "These projects are spread over several states including Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Chandigarh, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh," said the statement. The Prime Minister reviewed the progress in implementation of the scheme for establishment of new medical colleges attached with existing district/referral hospitals. Mentioning that the Union Government is taking many initiatives in the health sector, Modi called for expeditious upgradation of health infrastructure. "The Prime Minister said that the first phase of the Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, which ran from April 14 to May 5 2018, had achieved great success in the implementation of seven key schemes of the Union Government in over 16,000 villages," said the statement. BJP raising Vadra issue to divert attention from Nirav, Lalit, Mallya: Congress Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi : The Congress on Wednesday said BJP was raising the Robert Vadra issue just to divert attention from the questions being raised against the Narendra Modi government over "4Ms -- Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Vijay Mallya and Mehul Choksi". Days after the I-T Department served notice to Robert Vadra to pay Rs 25 crore for evading taxes, the BJP on Wednesday alleged that his close aide Krishnan Srinivasan was appointed AICC Secretary as a "quid pro quo" for his services to the Gandhi family. Responding to the charge, Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi said: "They are doing this just to divert attention from the questions being raised against Modi government on Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Vijay Mallya and Mehul Choksi." Giving details of IT Returns filed by Robert Vadra's company Skylight Hospitality, she said that on September 18, 2013, it disposed off 3.53 acre land for Rs 58 crore and there was "no corruption involved in selling a piece of land". "In the same year, Skylight filed Tax Return and said that its Capital Gains Tax is Rs 8.52 crore and also paid it. The tax return was also accepted." "This is also above board. They followed the guidelines at a set for the every single individual in this country and every single entity who files an income tax return in this country. Now, pressure is put on him by the Income Tax authorities at the behest of BJP on the retrospective tax," she added. Chaturvedi said: "They are arbitrarily telling him that this will be shown as business income and he cannot pay Capital Gains Tax. Now, attempts are being made to change the rules and norms for one individual." "Skylight has filed an appeal with the Income Tax Commissioner and has deposited Rs 3 crore under due protest," she said, adding Income Tax returns can't be leaked in this manner.
The International News Weekly Punjab June 29, 2018 | Toronto 09 Punjab: Mass movement against drugs launched on social media, Amarinder under fire for staying mum Continued from page 01 Gurbhej’s mother said in the video that his son was an addict and went to washroom to inject himself and died minutes later.At least nine deaths have been reported leading to public anger against Chief Minister Amarinder Singh whose pre-poll promise was to eliminate drugs from Punjab within ‘four weeks’ after assuming office. The mass movement is already gathering massive support from youths, Punjabi singers, actors, advocates, theatre artistes besides others across the state who are planning to launch it as a mass movement on the ground as well. Initially, a map of Punjab in black colour is being circulated to protest the deaths and people have already made it their display photograph on Facebook and WhatsApp. Speaking to The Indian Express, advocate Hakam Singh from Chandigarh, one of the initiators of the movement said, “We have launched this non-political movement after witnessing the recent spate of deaths and ground level situation in Punjab. Nothing has changed in a year and youths are dying taking drugs. We are getting support of many Punjabi singers, actors, advocates, retired IAS and IPS offices, philanthropists among others. From July 1-7, there will be massive protests and demonstrations on roads against drugs. We will be reaching villages where people will be encouraged to come out and speak against drugs. If government is doing nothing, we cannot sit and keep mum. If they cannot, we have to save the youths of Punjab. People should wear black turbans, suits, dupattas, ribbons to show their protest.” Questioning why Chief Minister has not visited a single drug death family till now, he said, “Sitting in Chandigarh is not going to give him a real picture of what is happening in villages here. Why not a single word of sympathy for such families from our CM,” he asked. Mahinder Pal Loomba, a government employee (health supervisor) from Moga who too has joined the movement said, “After seeing the ground reality in Punjab, I am not afraid of anything. Even if I lose my job, I will speak against drugs and this government. I have done some ground work before declaring this war against drugs. There are 22 rehabilitation centers for addicts in the state and shockingly, there are not more than 10 inmates in any of them. The centers have failed to provide any skill development to addicts, thus failing the entire purpose of their existence. In Civil Hospital Moga, we have seen addicts injecting openly but none is there to help them. Where is Captain Amarinder Singh? Is he so busy that he cannot see what is happening in Punjab? Why he cannot travel and see condition of these families whose children have died injecting drugs?” Padma Bhushan awardee Dr Sardara Singh Johl, a world renowned food economist, who too has announced support for the movement said that he has failed to find any difference between Congress and SAD- BJP government. “If not 10, then Captain could have met at least one or two families where drug deaths happened. His promise of eliminating drugs within four weeks was anyways untenable. But now why this insensitivity? He did not even express two words of sympathy for families. Visibly, government has no plan ahead to tackle this menace because they are catching patients with small quantities of drugs not main suppliers. Both Captain and Badals are traditional politicians. According to me, entire Punjab should wear black badges and ribbons till drugs do not end because nothing can be expected from SAD-BJP or Congress both.” It was on March 11 that The Indian Express reported that government has no official data on drug deaths in Punjab. Health minister Brahm Mohindra maintains that due to social stigma, families hide actual cause of death and thus there is no data available. Punjab Groundwater Severely Depleted, State Will Have No Water in 15 Yearas, Says CM Indo-Asian News Service Chandigarh: Punjab may mean the land of five rivers but the agrarian state may not have any water left in the next 15 years, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh warned June 26. "Punjab would have no water left in the next 15 years unless immediate steps are taken to control the situation. "With the highest rate of decline in ground water level, Punjab has the highest percentage of dark zones in the country," Amarinder Singh said, expressing serious concern over the depleting water levels. Mission Director of the Directorate of Ground Water Management Arunjit Singh Miglani said: "Punjab, which has the highest rate of groundwater exploitation, had during 2008-2013 on an average withdrawn 28.2 Million Acre Feet yearly, with yearly average replenishment of only 18.9 MAF, thus causing a severe shortage." The chief minister underlined the need for a master water conservation plan and suggested including water conservation in school curriculum to create awareness among children about the importance of saving ground water. Assessing the critical situation, Amarinder Singh appealed to farmers to minimize the use of tube-wells and shift to canal-based irrigation. Miglani, who made a detailed presentation to the Cabinet highlighting the gravity of the problem, said: "Punjab uses 73 percent of its groundwater for irrigation, while only 27 percent of surface water is utilized for irrigation purposes. "The number of tubewells in the state had gone up exponentially – from 2 lakh in 1971 to 12.50 lakh in 2015-16 – with 41 percent of these having the availability of water at the depth of beyond 60 meters." The chief minister also exhorted farmers to diversify their crops, instead of sowing water-guzzling crops like paddies, which require 150 cm of water, though the actual requirement for plant growth is only 60 cm, as the remaining 90 cm water is lost due to evaporation, a spokesman said here.
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