Monday, November 23, 1998
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P U N J A B | |
Monday, November 23, 1998 |
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Leaders'
wives woo women voters
Ban
on posts to be lifted soon PNFC
sick due to ‘mismanagement’ |
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 Procured paddy unlifted, payments put on hold FATEHGARH SAHIB, Nov 22 — Commission agents in the district are at the mercy of the government. The paddy procured by government agencies is not being lifted.
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Fund
crunch hits ESI Hospital Lok
Adalat inaugurated Make
education socially relevant: CJI Students
demand third counselling DoT
introduces wireless EPABX Bid
to make district cataract free "It's
always possible," says Kiran Bedi |
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Leaders'
wives woo women voters ADAMPUR, Nov 22 — In a bid to woo the 60,000-strong female vote bank, women relatives of various politicians have joined the campaigning in Adampur constituency. Mrs Gurkanwal Kaur, state president of the Mahila Congress, who is campaigning for the Congress party candidate, Mr Kanwaljit Singh Lalli, along with women party workers, has taken out numerous 'thali' marches in the constituency. She has been raising the issue of price hike of essential commodities during her visits to various villages, where she addresses the women folk. The Chief Minister's wife, Mrs Surinder Kaur Badal, too has been campaigning for the SAD candidate since the past four days. She has been promising the women voters that she will ensure that the party pays more attention to the basic problems facing women and children in the rural areas. The PPC chief, Mr Amarinder Singh's wife, Ms Parneet Kaur, on her part, is busy campaigning in the poor colonies. Claiming that she has 'roots' in this dusty constituency, she is highlighting the fact that her grandparents have lived in Alawalpur, and that the family still lives there. We need more schools, sewing centres and computer education centres in the state to stride towards progress, she points out to the women who gather to listen to her. As for the lone woman candidate for the poll, Mrs Vidwant Kaur of the BSP, her speeches too dwell on women's problems, among other things. Women voters, on their
part, will play a crucial role in deciding the outcome of
the Adampur poll. When TNS visited six villages in
different segments of the constituency — Khojpur,
Rajpur, Dada Sanuria, Behram, Darauli and Jhalbehai
— it was seen that the women voters came out in
droves and even demanded better schools and medical
facilities from the politicians. |
Punjab
pensioners, staff hold protests JALANDHAR, Nov 22 — On a call given by the Punjab State Pensioners Confederation, hundreds of Punjab Government and other pensioners marched to Adampur from all parts of the state and held a demonstration there today in protest against the 'indifferent' attitude and 'failure' of the government to settle their demands. Mr BR Kaushal, president, and Mr Ajit Singh Bagri, general secretary of the confederation, blamed the Punjab Government for forcing the pensioners to plan a demonstration at Adampur. First, the government had released revised benefits to its pensioners eight months late compared to their counterparts in the Haryana and Central Governments, who received the revised benefits in November, 1997, and January, 1998. Secondly, despite a 15-day notice to the government about today's demonstration, the government had not extended an invitation to the confederation representatives for negotiations, they said. The pensioners were demanding, among other things, merger of 97 per cent dearness relief as on July 1, 1993, in their basic pension, grant of benefit of travel concession to family pensioners, 50 per cent concession in fare from state road transport, and implementation of the Supreme Court decision in Dr Asa Singh case in favour of employees who retired before March 31, 1985. In a separate protest held under the aegies of the Punjab Subordinate Services Federation (PSSF), thousands of employees, including women, staged a black flag march in Adampur, Allawalpur, Daroli, Kathar, Pandori and other villages in Adampur today. Mr Ajit Singh Bagri,
president, and Mr Ranbir Dhillon, general secretary of
the PSSF, said the employees held the march in protest
against the 'anti-employee' policies of the Punjab
Government, the price rise and to press early settlement
of their 18-point demands.
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Shift
DC, replace observers: Amarinder JALANDHAR, Nov 22 — Casting serious doubts on the credibility of the Deputy Commissioner and two central observers here, the Congress party has demanded the removal of these "partisan" officers. The PPCC chief, Mr Amarinder Singh, today alleged that Mr Som Parkash, Deputy Commissioner who also was district election officer was in cahoots with the ruling alliance and had dubbed all complaints lodged by the Congress party as baseless and false. The PPCC chief alleged that, at no stage, the complaining party was associated with the process of inquiry. While questioning impartiality of the Deputy Commissioner, the Congress chief alleged that evidence to substantiate the complaints had also been turned down. He demanded immediate transfer of Mr Som Parkash to ensure free and fair election as he apprehended that the Deputy Commissioner and his team would make a determined bid for the victory of ruling party candidate. Taking a serious note of the conduct of the observers for the Adampur byelection the PPCC chief alleged that unfortunately the two officers had compromised with the ruling party and had been enjoying their hospitality. The media yesterday had reported that Mr G P Verma, general observer for the Adampur byelection accepted the hospitality of the Akali-BJP Government from November 13 to 15 but was also taken on a tour of the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Verma visited Amritsar during this period also. When contacted Mr Verma admitted that he was away during this period. The Congress party in its complaint to the Chief Election Commissioner today also demanded, the deployment of the central forces, and replacement of the "partisan" observers, and the transfer of the DC. The PPCC chief has also alleged that 5,000 extra ballot papers had been arranged by the ruling alliance and supplementary lists were being made by the local administration at the behest of the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal. The Congress also alleged that it apprehended booth-capturing by the Sikh Students Federation, and had categorically alleged that Mrs Surinder Kaur Badal, wife of the Chief Minister had called a meeting of the SHOs on November 20 in the constituency, directing them to poll 100-125 votes each for the SAD-BJP candidate, Mr Dalbir Singh Dhirowal. Mr Amarinder Singh has
demanded transfer of the Deputy Commissioner and
replacement of the observers so that spirit of the
democratic system could be upheld. |
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Lok
Adalat inaugurated SANGRUR, Nov 22 — Mr Justice H.S. Brar of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and Executive Chairman, Punjab Legal Services Authority, inaugurated a permanent Lok Adalat at Courts Complex here yesterday. Addressing a gathering on the occasion, Justice Brar stressed the need to popularise and strengthen the Lok Adalats as these not only provided speedy justice but also reduced bitterness among litigants by settling cases through compromises. These adalats save the time and money of the litigants giving them financial relief, he added. He said the Lok Adalats which at present were functioning only on Saturdays, would start functioning daily to ensure speedy disposal of cases. Welcoming the chief guest,
Mr D.S. Chhina, District and Sessions Judge, Sangrur,
said that as many as 3,511 cases were registered in
various Lok Adalats in the district, and of these 2,017
cases had been settled. He further added that as many as
474 applications were received for seeking free legal
aid, and of these 443 applicants were provided with this
facility. |
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Procured
paddy unlifted, payments put on hold FATEHGARH SAHIB, Nov 22 — Commission agents in the district are at the mercy of the government. The paddy procured by government agencies is not being lifted. Also they are hard up due to the non-payment by procurement agencies. Now they are unable to advance loans to the farmers for rabi sowing. Thousands of bags of paddy purchased by various government agencies are lying in the mandis of the district. Commission agents at Bassi Pathanan told The Tribune that they were being harassed by an inspector of Markfed in this mandi.They alleged that the paddy procured by Markfed was still lying in the mandis and the inspector was demanding Rs 10 per bag for lifting the paddy. Those who have obliged him got the paddy lifted and those who did not were suffering. Mr Surjit Singh Mann, Former President of the Local Arhtia Association alleged that the paddy purchased by Markfed on October 10 is still lying in mandis. Bardana of Markfed has spoiled and he had spent Rs 10,000 to change the bardana. He said repeated requests to Markfed officers had fallen on deaf ears. He alleged the inspector of Markfed was demanding Rs 10 per bag for lifting it. He said if the paddy was not lifted within few days it would start rotting in mandis causing loss of lakhs to Markfed. He said till the paddy was not lifted he would not get payment from the agency and it was not possible to clear debts of farmers. Farmers daily visit his shop and argue with him. He said he had suffered a loss of 25 bags. Mr Rattan Lal another arhtia said that labour of Markfed along with five trucks came to his shop to lift the paddy. The inspector demanded that everyone had paid Rs 10 per bag for lifting, when he refused to pay the trucks and labour went away and the paddy was rotting in mandi. Mr Raju another arhtia said that the inspector earlier demanded Rs 20 per quintal while purchasing the paddy. He alleged that inspector offered to purchase the paddy at government price of Rs 470 only if they would pay him Rs 20 per quintal and further they should pay Rs 400 per quintal to farmers and keep Rs 50 per quintal with themselves. He said he refused and sold the paddy at Rs 435 per quintal to private rice millers. Mr Rajesh Singla alleged that Markfed inspector had collected lakhs of rupees from commission agents and threatened that he had to oblige high-ups also. He demanded an inquiry into the purchase of paddy. Certain other commission agents preferring their identity secret alleged that paddy was being stored by Markfed in a rice mill of Sirhind, which was declared defaulter by the government. They alleged that money played a big role in this deal. Similarly they said that more than 1000 bags of paddy were lying in mandi filled in the Markfed bardana without any entry into the purchase register of Markfed. They said this paddy had been purchased in number two. Till today none of the agency claimed it and they are waiting for the suitable time to strike a deal. Commission agents said that the district Food Supply Controller was apprised of the difficulty. He visited the mandi and directed the inspector concerned of Markfed to lift the paddy but he was not bothered. The staff of Markfed Committee at Bassi Pathanan told that due to high-handedness of the Markfed inspector the arrival of paddy in the Mandi decreased by one lakh bags from last year. This year 3.60 lakh bags came whereas last year it was 4.50 lakh bags causing a loss of Rs 12 lakh of market fee. They said they were sending the reminders daily to Markfed to lift the paddy and copy to the Deputy Commissioner but nothing has materialised. Similarly Mr Hirdya Ram a labour contractor of Markfed disclosed that he was facing loss because his labour was without work. He wrote to Markfed officials on October 28 and October 30 for issuing lifting orders. He alleged that Markfed inspector did not accompany them to the Mandi to tell from where the bags had to be lifted. They said they got trucks from truck union and returned them without lifting any bags. Sources revealed that the district Vigilance Department was also making inquiries about the deal of Markfed officials and it said that officials had collected lakhs of rupees. The Vigilance Department also visited the Mandi today to make inquiries. Meanwhile Mr Surjit Singh
Sahi, district president, Arhtia Association has demanded
that the purchased paddy in Mandis be lifted immediately
and the bills of arhtias cleared. He demanded a probe
into the commission taken by officials from arhtias. |
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Ban
on varsity posts to be lifted soon AMRITSAR, Nov 22 — Mr G P S Sahi, Principal Secretary, Higher Education, has categorically stated that the ban imposed by the state government on filling vacant posts in universities would be lifted shortly. At a meeting held here today, Dr Sahi asked Dr H S Soch, Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, to form a subcommittee headed by him (Dr Soch) to review the rationalisation of posts on the pattern of Punjabi University. The other members of the subcommittee would be Dean, Academic Affairs; Secretary (Education) and Director of Public Instructions (DPI), Punjab. While talking to TNS, Dr Soch said the subcommittee would be okayed by the Syndicate, scheduled to meet here on December 10. The ban on fresh recruitment in teaching and research wings of Guru Nanak Dev University and Punjabi University was imposed by the state government about three months ago. Later, the ban was also imposed on non-teaching posts. The ban has been viewed by educationists as amounting to clipping of the wings of vice-chancellors. A deputation of the Guru Nanak Dev University Teachers Association (GNDUTA), led by its president, Dr RK Bedi, also held a meeting with Mr Sahi and urged him to lift the ban on filling all types of posts as it had adversely affected the academic atmosphere of the varsity. Teachers were overburdened due to non-filling of the posts. The working of the university was also affected owing to the ban on non-teaching posts. Mr Sahi assured the
deputation that the ad hoc salary, released by the state
government to striking teachers, would be regularised in
the forthcoming Cabinet meeting. The association, on the
other hand, assured Mr Sahi that all teachers would take
extra periods to cover up the loss in study time due to
the strike. |
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PNFC
sick due to ‘mismanagement’ NANGAL, Nov 22 — Mismanagement by the authorities is the main cause for turning the Punjab National Fertilisers Corporation (PNFC) unit here into a sick one, according to Mr Madan Mohan Mittal, Food and Civil Supplies Minister. A delegation of the PNFC union met the minister and alleged that the NFL was charging extra electricity charges from them for the production of ammonia, while it has paying less to the BBMB. The union members alleged that the BBMB was charging 85 paisa per unit from the NFL, but the NFL was charging Rs 2.20 per unit from the PNFC. The General Manager, NFL, Mr Ratolia, admitted charging extra rates from the PNFC. He, however, justified the charges, saying that NFL used to get electricity at the subsidised rate of 85 paisa from BBMB. Since the past 10 months, the BBMB has asked them to pay PSEB rates of Rs 2.20 per unit. Earlier, while talking to newsmen, Mr Mittal expressed optimism about a BJP victory in the assembly elections in Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. He said the price rise would have effected the election prospects but the ‘salt affair’ had exposed the ‘designs’ of the opposition to malign the BJP government. Regarding the decision of
the local municipal council to stop the financial aid to
the local diploma college of Pharmacy, he declined any
knowledge about the matter. He, however, said he would
try to keep the education institution in the area. |
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Victims
of circumstances AMRITSAR: Nishan was born two months after the gruesome killing of his father, Jaswant Singh, a constable, by militants in 1991. What is more tragic for her mother is this that Nishan who was suffering from some incurable disease too died at a tender age of seven. Manjit Kaur, mother of Nishan who got a job on compassionate grounds says despite her best efforts she could not save the life of her son who could not see his father. Monika Rani now studies in the fifth standard. She also took birth after the killing of her father, Banarsi Dass. Her father was killed along with eight others in the border town of Bhikhiwind in 1988. Her mother, Veero, who is president of the Shaheed Parivar, said Monika Rani would miss her father when parents met their children during parents' meeting at the school. However, Manoharjit Singh studies in KG in a police school. He was also born after the death of his father who was in the police. He always plays with toy guns like other children of terrorist victims. Navjotbir (9) who was only one-year-old at the time of the killing of his father would ask mother about his father. Her mother would always tell a lie that his father had been to some foreign country and that he would come back after some time. How long I would continue to tell a lie, she asks. The questions of these children are numerous which could not be answered. Similar is the case of children of militants who were either killed in 'fake encounters' or who "sacrificed" for the "cause". There is nobody to look after them. However, the Director-General of Police, Mr P.C. Dogra, had announced that the police would look after the wards of those militants who had joined the mainstream. However, the question is who would look after those hapless children who were not being looked after by society. Whether they would become good citizens with the support of society, only time will tell. What is worse, there are
some organisations who have been taking political mileage
by exploiting their sentiments instead of providing real
help to them. |
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5
projects planned to check waterlogging BATHINDA, Nov 22 — Even though the Punjab Government has been spending crores for checking waterlogging every year, about 1.75 lakh hectare area in the state is still waterlogged. To expedite the process of removing waterlogging, the Punjab Government has conceived five projects, including two at Anandpur Sahib in Ropar District and one at Banga in Hoshiarpur district in the current financial year. Mr A.S. Randhawa, Director of Agriculture, Punjab told TNS that so far only 10 per cent area had been treated for waterlogging in Muktsar district, where about 1.25 lakh hectare was waterlogged. The unseasonal rains in September and October had adversely affected operations to clear waterlogging in this area. While denying the fact that DAP was being smuggled to Rajasthan from Punjab owing to price difference, he said a number of teams from the Agriculture Department and the police had been deployed to check such activities. Besides, 17 licences of fertiliser dealers with outlets near the Rajasthan border had been suspended in Ferozepore district. He claimed there was no shortage of DAP anywhere in Punjab except in Muktsar, where about 4000 bags of the fertiliser were still required. In the next three to four days, the state would be supplied with the required quantity of DAP, he said. Mr Randhawa said wheat would be sown on 32.5 lakh hectare in Punjab in this rabi season and farmers had sufficient quantity of seeds of the PB-343 variety. The wheat production target had been fixed at 140 lakh metric tonnes. Referring to the repeated failure of cotton crop, he said for the next cotton season, six new varieties of narma and one desi cotton variety had been identified. These varieties were less prone to the attack of the American bollworm. About 30,000 quintal seeds of these varieties were being prepared by Punseed. If there was no let-up in the attack by the the American bollworm it would be advisable for farmers not to sow cotton for two to three years in Punjab to break the cycle of the disease. This year, 32 licences of fertiliser dealers and 108 licences of pesticide dealers had been cancelled and cases had been registered regarding the sale of substandard material to farmers, he said. Mr Randhawa, who reviewed
the sowing of wheat in five districts of the Malwa region
yesterday, said that in Faridkot district about 95 per
cent of the sowing work had been completed and in Mansa,
Muktsar, Ferozepore and this district about 60 per cent
of the sowing had been done. |
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Fund
crunch hits ESI Hospital SAS NAGAR, Nov 22 — Fund crunch has almost strangled the local ESI referral hospital turning it into a mere apology for a treatment centre for industrial workers. Conditions have deteriorated to such an extent that one wonders how the hospital is being run at all. Industrial workers, who are mostly poorly paid and exploited by factory managements, are bearing their deprivation of a vital facility in silence. At times workers from Kharar prefer to go direct to the PGI instead of spending their meagre resources on bus fare and wasting time in visiting the ESI Hospital. The 30-bedded hospital covers the Kharar, Dera Bassi and SAS Nagar areas and caters to about 45,000 eligible card holders. Workers say it is a shame that the ESI Corporation, which collects around Rs 2,000 from every employee annually, provides only Rs 500 per insured person to the hospital for the same period. The primary aim of treatment is obviously not being fulfilled. About 80 per cent of the hospital funds go towards the staff's salaries, leaving only 20 per cent for other purposes. Sources say although over the past 15 days or so the medicine supply has been "satisfactory," this is not always the case. With medicines come more patients. It is shocking that there is hardly any equipment in working order at the ESI Hospital. Sources say the X-ray machine and the power generator have been out of order for the past seven to eight months. The ECG machine gave way three or four months ago and there is no ultrasound facility. The ambulance broke down about a year ago. Interestingly, the hospital gets only Rs 5,000 per year for "miscellaneous" expenses. Further, the sources say, about two years have passed since the hospital received disposal syringes, and glass ones are being used after boiling. In the laboratory only routine tests are done. Although equipment in the laboratory can be used for 40 or 50 different tests, the supply of testing kits is always short. Gloves, stitching materials and cotton are usually scarce. Often patients have to make arrangements for various items and later go through the tedious reimbursement process. Statistics indicate that on an average the ESI Hospital has 20 indoor patients daily, who, too, are having a tough time. No breakfast or evening tea is being provided and they are surviving on dal, chappatis and, sometimes, vegetables. About two years ago patients used to get eggs, milk and bread for breakfast and meat once a week (or paneer for vegetarians). Egg consumers got 250 ml of milk and those who did not, 500 ml per day. The diet budget of the hospital has been surprisingly shrinking — Rs 1.15 lakh in 1996-97, Rs 60,000 in 1997-98 and only Rs 45,000 in 1998-99. Ration for the patients was being obtained from Constofed on credit. That agency stopped the credit facility as hospital bills piled up. Some part of the debt had to be paid to restore the facility. It is learnt that a
high-powered team from the ESI Corporation, Delhi, had
visited the hospital about two months ago proposing to
provide the latest equipment. It was dismayed to find
that even the equipment already with the hospital was out
of order. |
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Make
education socially relevant: CJI PATIALA, Nov 22 — The Chief Justice of India, Mr Adarsh Sein Anand today said that the education system had assumed the role of merely awarding degrees without paying attention to fate of students, he stressed the need to take remedial measures to solve this problem. The Chief Justice, who was speaking at the golden jubilee academic function of the Yadavindra Public School here, said all persons connected with the policy, planning or teaching of education must strive to make the system socially relevant. He said the education policy must be so formulated and implemented that each individual commenced education from the primary stage to imbibe the core values of the Indian polity and developed personality in true sense. Mr Justice Anand said education sould aim at an integrated development of students at physical, mental, moral and spiritual planes. He said a modern education system based on India's rich cultural heritage could be a perfect synthesis of eastern maturity and western activity. The Chief Justice said it disturbed and distressed him when the youth of today expressed cynicism and scepticism about the system of education. He said this feeling of disillusionment probably arose because the youth looked upon education as only a means of a lucrative career. He said while this should concern them, education should also be looked to as a self-elevating experience. Mr Justice Anand said there were certain hints which should act as guidelines for students to follow. He said they must crusade for a new social order without which it would not be possible to build a value-based society, develop a spirit of inquiry by getting to the root cause of events and phenomenon and become truly independent both from external restraints and internal constraints. Earlier while welcoming the chief guest school principal A S Jawanda highlighted the various activities during the golden jubilee celebration year. He said the school, which had started with 20 students in 1948, presently had a student strength of 1700. He said presently the school was trying to increase the strength of boarders in the school which was only 200. He said there had been vast improvement in facilities being provided to boarders. School captain Gurpreet Bains and other prefects of the school read out the academic, sports and extra curricular reports. Some students also spoke of their experiences in trekking and stay abroad during an exchange programme initiated by the school. The function besides being
attended by the governor's of the school board was also
attended by a 24-member team of students from Aitchison
College, Lahore which earlier participated in
inter-school sporting activities, Pakistan High
Commissioner Ashraf Jahangir Kazi also attended the
function.
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Students
demand third counselling BATHINDA, Nov 22 — Students who have got admission in BDS and BAMS courses in different medical colleges of the state have urged the Chairman, Admission Committee, for conducting the third counselling immediately. In a press note issued
here today, the students said by holding the third
counselling many of them would be able to get admission
in the MBBS course. Apart from it, a number of students
would get admission in the medical college of their
choice.
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JE
accuses govt of apathy BATHINDA, Nov 22 — Mr Gurcharan Singh, Junior Engineer of Public Health, in a press note issued here today alleged that he had been getting only basic pay since 1975 due to the indifferent attitude of the authorities concerned. He alleged that due to the fault of his department his service book had not been completed so far. Besides, no reimbursement had been made to him of the expenditure bills of his treatment in major hospitals of India, he added. He alleged that his
repeated pleas to the higher authorities in this regard,
had fallen on deaf ears. |
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DoT
introduces wireless EPABX BATHINDA, Nov 22 — The Department of Telecommunication has cleared the policy of introduction of wireless EPABX for individuals, organisations and companies within the premises of 500 metres. In a press note, Mr Rakesh
Kapur, General Manager, Telecom, said the department had
also approved a DATA node at Bathinda. |
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Lensmen’s
complaint CHANDIGARH, Nov 21 — The Chandigarh Photographers Association, which met here today under the chairmanship of Mr J.S. Bedi, today decided to complain to the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, about the award of all photography assignments to one particular photographer of the city. The Association maintained
that the Department of Information and Public Relations,
Punjab, did not invite tenders or offers from other
photographers in the city for various important
assignments, including the tercentenary celebrations
starting from tomorrow at Anandpur Sahib. |
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Bid
to make district cataract free PATIALA, Nov 22 — The District Blindness Control Society is striving to make the district cataract free by the end of next year. Stating this in a statement here yesterday, Mr Viswajeet Khanna, Deputy Commissioner and chairman of the society, said the district had already achieved the target set in the past three years. The society had organised many eye camps in which 8,693, 9,097 and 8,685 eye operations were performed in 1995, 1996 and 1997, respectively. This year 4,500 operations had already been performed. He said 7 per cent of school-going children suffered from defective vision. All students would be screened shortly by the society. Till now 1,210 children had been provided with medicine and spectacles. Mr Khanna further informed
that the society had formulated a four-point plan to
achieve reduction in avoidable cases of blindness in the
district. |
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Dal
Khalsa supports SAD (A) candidate AMRITSAR, Nov 22 — The Dal Khalsa has alleged that the Shiromani Akali Dal, led by Mr Parkash Singh Badal, can not come up to the expectations of voters, and hence voters of the Adampur constituency should give a chance the candidate of the SAD (Amritsar), led by Mr Simranjit Singh Mann. In a press statement, Mr Kanwerpal Singh, general secretary of the Khalsa, has alleged that the Badal Dal has failed to deliver the goods as it lacks the political will to defend the interests of the Sikhs residing in and outside Punjab. The Dal Khalsa has also
appealed to the Sikh electorate not to vote for the
Congress or BJP candidates in the forthcoming assembly
elections in Delhi and Rajasthan. The statement alleges
that the election manifesto of both parties, that they
will punish the culprits of the '84 riots, is nothing
more than an election gimmick. These parties have done
nothing to book the culprits in the past, the statement
adds. |
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"It's
always possible," says Kiran Bedi AMRITSAR, Nov 22 — "It's always possible" said Kiran Bedi while releasing her book of the same title in her home town here today. Mrs Bedi dwelt at length on her two-year work in transforming the culture of hate which would turn the Tihar jail into an ‘ashram’. This required changes in the prison management. Mrs Bedi said after initial hesitation, the prisoners and staff accepted ‘correction through a collective approach’. The function was organised by the Citizens Vision. The Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, Dr H.S. Soch, who presided over the function, lauded the efforts of Mrs Bedi and exhorted the youth to emulate her experiments. The pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof Inder Pal Singh, referring Mrs Bedi as the daughter of Amritsar, said she should be a role model for the students. The BJP MLA, Mrs Lakshmi Kanta Chawla, praised Mrs Bedi's determination and motivation. The veteran CPI leader, Mr
Satya Pal Dang, felt women like Mrs Bedi had the capacity
to change. |
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