05062022-TTC-01.qxd 6/5/2022 12:40 AM Page 1 123 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 6 NO. 154 | 24 PAGES | ~6.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2021-2023 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 SWIATEK BEATS GAUFF, WINS FRENCH OPEN TITLE SPORT /thetribunechd THIRD ARREST IN UDHAMPUR IED BLAST CASE J&K RHYTHM OF AN OMINOUS BEAT SPECTRUM INDUSTRY KEY TO NET ZERO EMISSION GOAL, SAYS PREZ BACK PAGE sunday | 5 june 2022 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Revoke bond or won’t join duty, warn Kashmiri Pandits Samaan Lateef HC: Hand over plots to Kashmiri Pandits without formalities Chandigarh, June 4 Just about two months after the Punjab and Haryana High Court observed allotment of plots to Kashmiri Pandits had been hanging fire “for one reason or the other” for the past three decades, a Division Bench has directed the State of Haryana to hand over possession to them “without insisting on mutation entries in the revenue record and settlement deed”. The direction by the Bench of Justice Amol Rattan Singh and Justice Lalit Batra came on a plea by Roop Krishen Koul and other petitioners through counsel Padamkant Dwivedi. The Bench, during the course of hearing, was told that plots of different sizes spread over 10 acres, purchased by the Kashmiri Pandits in Bahadurgarh, became a part of the acquisition process. INSIDE Srinagar, June 4 A day after hundreds of Kashmiri Pandit families left the transit camps in the Valley after a spate of targeted killings, the migrant employees today said they won’t join their duty till the J&K Administration revoked the bond, which makes their positing in the Valley mandatory. The fresh migration has put the administration in a tight spot as it faces an uphill task to relocate the employees to Jammu region. Talking to The Tribune, Vikas Hangloo, a migrant employee, said, “Until the administration relocates us outside the Valley and revokes the unconstitutional bond, we won’t join our duties. We are being exploited. Our lives are at stake.” Under the PM’s Rehabilitation Package for migrant Kashmiri Pandits, the employees have to sign a bond as per which they shall be terminated from service if they seek transfer from the Valley for any reason at any stage. “The selectee agrees that in case he/she migrates from Kashmir for any reason, he/she will be automatically continued on page 7 KEY PROVISIONS ■ Bond makes it mandatory for KPs to serve in Kashmir ■ If they seek transfer, their services shall be terminated ■ Further, they shall have no claim against any post ■ 4,500 KPs appointed under PM’s relief plan since 2010 ■ Majority of Pandit employ- ees left Valley amid a spate of fresh targeted killings << Panun Kashmir members raise slogans during a protest in Jammu on Saturday. PTI Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 4 The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has constituted a highlevel panel to assess the quantum of illegal mining at 16 locations in the Aravallis, its impact on environment and loss to the state exchequer. The orders came on a plea by the Aravalli Bachao Citizens Movement, which alleged despite a ban, illegal mining had been taking place in the Aravallis for years. Group members claimed they undertook field visits and found illegal min- ‘Rerun of 1990s, govt has failed to protect us’ Arjun Sharma CARVE OUT SEPARATE UT Jammu, June 4 Hundreds of Kashmiri Pandit employees who fled the Valley after a spate of targeted killings say this is another exodus being faced by the community members. “We are being killed one after another with no one there to protect us. We have lost all hope,” says Rajat Raina, a schoolteacher who has returned to Jammu. He says they shifted to Kashmir and took up jobs under the PM’s Forms panel, seeks info from Haryana DGP . FILE 16 SITES where illegal mining is underway: Citizens Movement ing taking place at 16 sites. At some places, the hills were completely razed. The members took photographs and IN BRIEF Hyderabad minor’s gangrape: 2 juveniles detained HYDERABAD: Two juveniles were apprehended on Saturday in the 17-year-old girl gangrape case, the police said. Of the identified five accused, an 18-year-old was arrested on June 3. BACK PAGE Govt tells Twitter, YouTube to remove perfume ad NEW DELHI: I&B Ministry has asked Twitter and YouTube to take down derogatory men’s perfume ads after netizens slammed these for “promoting sexual assault culture”. BACK PAGE Rajoana’s sister to contest as SAD-BSP candidate PATIALA: Kamaldeep Kaur, sister of Balwant Singh Rajoana who is jailed in the ex-CM Beant Singh assassination case, has been named the SAD-BSP candidate for Sangrur Lok Sabha bypoll. TNS HC stays order allowing Jain’s lawyer during quizzing NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has stayed a trial court order allowing the presence of a lawyer during the interrogation of Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain, held by the ED in a laundering case. TNS ❝ Pandits can be rehabilitated only when a separate UT is carved out of Kashmir exclusively for us. Kuldeep Raina, PANUN KASHMIR GEN SECY Rehabilitation Package, but little did they know they would have to face a similar situation as their parents did in the 1990s. The government’s made videos of the destruction. Before moving the NGT, the group filed police complaints, but in vain. The NGT has directed the Director, Mines and Geology, and Haryana DGP to file affidavits on complaints regarding illegal mining in the area in the past five years. They have been told to explain in how many cases FIRs were registered and challans submitted and the number of vehicles impounded or released after payment of fine. Information has also been sought on initiation of proceedings for the recovery of penalty and steps taken for environmental restoration. The NGT observed, “Complaints continued on page 7 Corbevax cleared as India’s first mixed Covid booster New Delhi, June 4 The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) on Saturday approved Hyderabad-based firm Biological E’s Corbevax as India’s first heterologous booster to individuals aged 18 years and above after six months of administration of primary vaccination (two doses) of Covaxin and Covishield. Biological E said the clearance was the first for any heterologous (different from primary dose) booster dose, with only Covaxin and Covishield cleared for homolo- DIFFERENT FROM PRIMARY DOSES ■ Trials showed Corbevax booster provided better immune response ■ To be given after 6 months of Covaxin or Covishield (twin doses) ■ It’s first booster to be cleared that’s different from primary dose gous (same as primary dose) booster doses, at a gap of nine months after the first continued on page 7 Lahaul valley’s last village gets road connectivity Tribune News Service Mandi, June 4 Khanjar, the last village of the remote Miyar Valley in the tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti, has finally been connected with a road. Fulfilling the long pending demand of the locals, Technical Education Minister Ram Lal Markanda on Friday inaugurated a bridge, built at a cost of Rs 4.5 crore, at Khanjar vil- BUS SERVICE FLAGGED OFF, LOCALS CHEER KHANJAR LAHAUL SPITI HIMACHAL PRADESH lage to connect the stretch. After the inauguration, the minister flagged off a bus serv- CONGRESS EXODUS 4 former ministers, 2 ex-MLAs join BJP Sanjeev Singh Bariana Tribune News Service NGT to assess mining toll on Aravallis Bhartesh Singh Thakur Union Home Minister Amit Shah with the parents of slain Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in Chandigarh on Saturday. TRIBUNE PHOTO ■ Bridge at Khanjar village of Miyar Valley opened, providing road connectivity to locals ■ Thanpatan, nearby tourist place, set to gain popularity for adventure sports ■ Villagers cheer as transporting farm produce to distant markets to get easy ice to Khanjar, bringing cheer and hope to the locals. “Thanpatan, an adjoining Today’s issue is of 24 pages, including four-page Jalandhar Tribune. tourist place, will now be easily accessible. It has the potential to become popular among tourists for adventure sports,” Markanda said. Villagers said they would now be able to transport agricultural produce to distant markets in time to fetch good prices. The road would also be of great help in case of medical emergencies as taking patients to nearby hospitals would become easy, they said. promise of providing us adequate security has proven hollow,” says another employee. Fearing for their life, Kashmiri Pandit employees have been returning to Jammu in hordes. They are putting up in Jagti township, Roop Nagar, Muthi, Barnai and other parts of the city. Rubin Saproo, another teacher who has returned to his Roop Nagar house here, says the Pandit community is facing a bleak future. “Now, we either lose our jobs continued on page 7 Chandigarh, June 4 With four former ministers, two ex-MLAs and a mayor joining the BJP today, the Congress in Punjab is a sinking ship. The new entrants were welcomed by Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat at the party’s office here. Ex-ministers Balbir Singh Sidhu, Raj Kumar Verka, Sunder Sham Arora and Gurpreet Kangar jumped the ship. So did former MLAs Kewal Dhillon and Amrik Dhillon and Balbir Sidhu’s brother, who is the mayor of Mohali. Former SAD MLAs Mohinder Kaur Josh and Sarup Chand Singla also joined the BJP . ❝ Grateful the elite who enjoyed privileges in the party have vacated the place for the younger generation Raja Warring, PUNJAB CONGRESS CHIEF They were all photographed with Union Home Minister Amit Shah later. The media was not allowed inside. Former ministers Sidhu, Arora and Kangar were sidelined after Charanjit Channi took over as CM last year. They were lying low since then. Denied the party ticket continued on page 7 Identify minorities district-wise: Plea in apex court New Delhi, June 4 A PIL in the Supreme Court has challenged the Centre’s notification declaring Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains as minorities at the national level, saying it went against its 2002 ruling in the TMA Pai case that the unit for determining linguistic and religious minorities would be state. Petitioner Devkinandan Thakur has questioned the validity of Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, that empowered the Central Government to notify minorities, terming it arbitrary, irrational and contrary to Articles 14, 15, 21, 29 and 30 of the Constitution. Thakur has sought directions to the Centre to define ‘minority’ and lay down ‘guidelines for identification of minorities at district level’, to ensure continued on page 7