Norms for milling paddy relaxed
BATHINDA, Nov 29 — The Union Ministry of Food has announced the specification for milling the paddy procured by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and other Punjab Government agencies in the current season.

Elite seed from tissue culture
PATIALA: Even as the government is contemplating diversification of agriculture in the state, an alternative is being provided to farmers by the Nasirpur Tissue Culture Laboratory, near here, which is producing high quality tissue culture propagated planting material.

Substantial hike in exam fees
PATIALA, Nov 29 — Notwithstanding the ongoing protests by students over the hike in fees, Punjabi University has now increased the examination fees charged from the students of the Correspondence Courses Department.

Amarinder flays Bhattal's remarks
JALANDHAR, Nov 29 — Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh has strongly criticised former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal for the latter’s allegations of a conspiracy behind her in absentia removal from leadership of the party’s legislative wing.

‘Need to revamp' education system
NAWANSHAHR, Nov 29 — "Education is the pivot around which the development of any society revolves and to make the youth capable of facing the challenges of the present era of science and technology, it is the dire need of the hour to revamp the education system."

Bonded labour at brick-kiln alleged
GURDASPUR, Nov 29 — One hundred labourers working at a brick-kiln at Hardarwal under Fatehgarh Churian police station in Dera Baba Nanak subdivision in the district are being kept as bonded labourers allegedly by the owner.

Chitrakar society honours 4
BATHINDA, Nov 29 — Four persons — P.S. Verma (Chandigarh), Hans Raj (Budhlada), Inderjit Singh (Mansa) and Rajinder Singh (Bathinda) — were honoured by the S. Sobha Singh Memorial Chitrakar Society here today for their contribution in the field of art.

Gang of thieves busted

36 victims’ bodies unclaimed
Belongings with recovery panel

CHANDIGARH, Nov 29 (PTI) — The bodies of 36 of the 208 victims, including 55 women and 20-children, of the country’s worst train disaster in a decade near Khanna in Ludhiana district were yet to be claimed while 12 more injured persons were discharged from different hospitals.

A senior officer of the Ambala Division said here this evening that 17 bodies were claimed from Rajindra Hospital at Patiala, where the bodies of 36 were still lying. The administration had decided to wait for relatives to turn up as long as it is possible.

A total of 100 injured persons were recovering in different hospitals at Patiala, Khanna, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Mandi Gobindgarh.

Meanwhile, the Railways today commenced the work of making the electric traction overhead wires functional. The wires on the up and down tracks had snapped after the Jammu Sealdah Express rammed into three derailed coaches of the Mumbai-Amritsar Frontier Mail between Kauri and Daurpul villages near Khanna on Thursday.

The Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety (CCRS), Dr M.S. Mani, who has been asked to probe the accident, met senior railway officers at Ambala to ascertain the circumstances leading to the accident.

The Commissioner of Railway Safety Mr V.S. Dutta, who was asked to conduct the inquiry earlier, is assisting the CCRS, who is expected to submit the preliminary report within 15 days and final report in two months.

"This is Neelu's body", "no it is Heemanshi's"
From Jangveer Singh
Tribune News Service

PATIALA, Nov 29 — Confusion prevailed over the identification of unclaimed bodies of the Khanna mishap victims brought to Government Medical College here with the same body being identified as being of three different girls — Neelu, Heemanshi and Moorina.

While the relatives of Jai Kishan Ambani from Mumbai and Radhey Shyam Garg of Saharanpur, both of whom died in the accident, identified a badly mutilated body of a girl as that of Neelu and Heemanshi, respectively, another woman, Suropam Wawa, claimed that the body was that of her daughter, Moorina.

The confusion was somewhat cleared this evening with two of Heemanshi's cousins, aged eight and 10, saying that the body was not hers. The claim of the Ambani family on the body was somewhat strengthened with a relative, who had left Neelu at Mumbai Railway Station, coming here and recognising the suit worn by her when she boarded the train. The hospital authorities still have to take a final decision in the matter.

The confusion over the identification of the body of a young woman has been cleared. The Ambani family had claimed that a body of a young woman which was claimed by one R.P. Dogra as that of his daughter-in-law and was taken by him to his native place in Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh last evening, was that of the wife of Jai Kishan Ambani.

The district administration had earlier allowed Mr Dogra to take the body of his 'daughter-in-law', which he had identified three days earlier at Khanna but did not take home then as his son was still to be found.

The Ambanis were, however sent to Hamirpur last evening and they came back this evening after being convinced that the body was not of their relative.

Amid all the confusion and gloom involved in identifying bodies, there have been some happy scenes too. Mukhtiar Singh and his two brothers, who had come here to locate the 'body' of their brother Mohan Singh, started rejoicing when, on not finding his 'body', they phoned home and were told that Mohan Singh was alive and had reached home.

Meanwhile, Rajindra Hospital Medical Superintendent, Dr S.S. Sidhu, said that 55 of the 79 bodies had been identified and that 37 had been despatched to their native places. Bodies of 18 victims had not been taken possession of by relatives.

Badal should resign: Congress
Tribune News Service

JALANDHAR, Nov 29 — Punjab Chief Minister and SAD, President Parkash Singh Badal today accepted the outcome of the Adampur byelection saying the party was totally committed to democratic values and respects and accepts the verdict of the people with total humility.

"In a statement here, Mr Badal said although the Akali-BJP alliance had worked day and night with deep commitment for the prosperity of the people of Punjab over the past couple of years, it was clear that the Punjabis' expectations were even greater. He said, "We will try to understand were exactly we have fallen short of their expectations and take all possible steps to measure up to these."

Regarding the reasons for the party's loss in a tight finish, Mr Badal said factors like natural calamities pushed the farmers and other sections of society into a serious crisis. People were clearly upset over the sudden and countrywide spurt in price. The steep hike in the prices of onions and other essential commodities had influenced the poll outcome in various parts of the country.

The Congress party, while dubbing the Adampur victory as symbolic, urged the Chief Minister, Mr Badal to resign on moral grounds as the people had given their verdict against him and his party.

PPCC General Secretary Birdevinder Singh and Mr Kanwaljit Singh Lalli, who won the seat, while briefing the media here said in spite of tremendous pressure, misuse of state machinery, vulgar display of money, liquor and other intoxicants as inducements the voter elected the Congress, which captured the seat after three decades.

Alleging a conspiracy behind withholding declaration of the result for hours, Mr Birdevinder Singh questioned the prolonged presence of the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Som Nath, and the SSP, Mr PS Gill, in the counting hall.

The blatant partisan role played by the DC was made explicit when he along with Mr PS Gill tried their best to protect the SP, CID, Mr Jaskaran Singh Chahal, who was seen going around tables "illegally".

The Congress throughout its campaign had complained against Mr Jaskaran Singh to the Chief Election Commissioner. The Congress has demanded action against Mr Jaskaran Singh and also written to the Chief Election Commissioner and lodged complaints with the two central observers and the returning officer.

However, the role of the returning officer, Mrs Sarojani Sharda Gautam, was appreciated by the party for not giving in under pressure from the ruling alliance. Mrs Gautam rejected the request for re-counting on the plea that the parties did not complain of wrongdoing during the first five rounds.

Hailing the victory Mr Birdevinder Singh said PPC chief Mr Amarinder Singh's appointment and Ch Jagjit Singh's appointment as CLP leader and the choice of a clean candidate has led to the success of the party.

The Congress will hold a meeting at Chandigarh on December 8 to deliberate on the political scenario.

UNI adds: The Congress state unit president Capt Amarinder Singh, claimed that defeat of the ruling Akali candidate in Adampur was a direct reflection on the misgovernance of the Chief Minister. In a statement here, he said victory of the Congress in Adampur was a clear rejection by the people of the Akali-BJP government in Punjab.

He claimed that since Mr Badal had staked his reputation and the reputation of his government by involving 22 ministers in the campaign and had even enlisted the services of his wife and son, the poll outcome was a resounding signal by the people of Punjab to him to resign. Captain Amarinder Singh claimed that since Mr Badal has failed to govern Punjab he should call it quits.

The Congress leader said in spite of having addressed more than forty election rallies and making gross misuse of the government machinery, the people of Adampur refused to be overawed. He alleged that the Akali attempts to entice voters with money, liquor and other influences failed to sway voters.

Thanking the CPI and CPM for supporting the Congress, Capt Amarinder Singh said total unity in the Congress and tireless work done by a dedicated band of leaders and workers from all over the state helped the Congress in wresting the Adampur seat from the Akalis after 32 years.

Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Choudhary Jagjit Singh said his party victory in Adampur has clearly proved the process of marginalisation of the Bahujan Samaj Party, which began with the Assembly byelection in Sham Chaurasi (reserve) in April and has now gathered momentum in Adampur, where the BSP vote came down to 8,000 from 18,000 in the February, 1997 Assembly elections.

The first Dalit CLP leader in Punjab since Independence, Choudhary Jagjit Singh said the Adampur victory had also demonstrated that weaker sections of society, who had been misled into joining the BSP, have started returning to the fold of the Congress. Captain Amarinder Singh said the Congress victory in the predominantly rural and Sikh constituency (seventy per cent of the 1.19 lakh electorate comprises of Sikhs), showed Sikhs, too, were getting disillusioned with the Akali government's "misgovernance".

Sikh League president Bharpoor Singh Balbir, considered close to SGPC President Gurcharan Singh Tohra, said the Adampur verdict was "people's revolt against one family rule and feudal oligarchy in Punjab."

In a statement here today, Mr Balbir suggested that the time had come for Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to relinquish the post of President of his party in the larger interests of the people of Punjab and his own party. He said Mr Badal should hand over the presidentship of the party to an able and experienced colleague and devote full time to governing the state.

In a statement in Chandigarh, Dr Joginder Dayal, secretary, Punjab state council of the CPI, said the victory of the Congress candidate Kanwaljit Singh Lali in the Adampur Assembly bypoll has said that the people were against the anti-people policies of the ruling Akali-BJP alliance.

Dr Dayal said this victory further showed that it was unity of secular and democratic forces which defeated the Akali-BJP combine that was considered invincible once.

PATIALA: Former Lok Sabha member and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Sant Ram Singla today urged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to resign on moral grounds following the loss of the Akali candidate in the Adampur assembly byelection.

In a statement here, Mr Singla said the victory of the Congress candidate was a referendum on the rule of the Akali-BJP combine as well.

Mr Singla said the victory of the "secular forces" over "communal ones" had proved that people were "fed up" with the Akali-BJP alliance.

In a separate release, former legislator and president of the Minorities and Dalit Morcha Satwant Singh Mohi also demanded the Chief Minister's resignation saying the people of Punjab had rejected him in favour of Capt Amarinder Singh.

PHAGWARA: AICC member and former minister Joginder Singh Mann demanded that both the central and state governments should resign or be shown the door in view of the people’s "no-confidence motion" against the BJP-led coalition. Reminding Mr Badal of his repeated election statements that the poll was a verdict on his performance Mr Mann asked Mr Badal to step down.

SANGRUR: Mr Bhan Singh Bhaura, member of the national council of the Communist Party of India (CPI) has termed the defeat of the Akali candidate in the Adampur byelection as a verdict against the policies of the SAD-BJP government. Mr Bhaura demanded the resignation of Mr Badal on moral grounds.

GURDASPUR: There is jubilation among Congress workers in view of the party victory at Adampur. Senior leaders of the party including Mr Khushal Bahl former minister, Mr Chanderpal Singh, president, DCC, Tilak Raj Gupta, former General Secretary, PPCC, and Neeraj Salhotra, member, PPCC, said the election results of Adampur Assembly constituency ware a clear verdict against the policies of the SAD-BJP government. The result has demonstrated that in spite of threats, intimidation and inducements given to voters, the people were no longer with the Chief Minister.

MOGA: Congressmen on Sunday reacted with enthusiasm to the victory of the Congress in the Assembly poll. PPCC general secretary Ms Malti Thapar and others congratulated Congress workers on the victory of the Congress candidate Kanwaljit Singh Lalli. Congressman also distributed sweets among the people here over victory of the party’s in Delhi, Rajasthan and Punjab.

NANGAL: The defeat of the BJP in the assembly elections is demoralising said Mr Kamal Chaudhary. He, however, ruled at the possibility of mid-term elections. He said that the results will not have an immediate effect on the stability of the Vajpayee government. Citing reasons for the debacle he said the main reason was the price rise. He added that pressure groups in the party and the allies of the BJP were damaging the image of the party.

SAD "should review" ties with BJP
By P.P.S. Gill
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 29 — At least two demands have emerged after the Adampur byelection outcome. One demand is that the SAD must "review" its stand vis-a-vis future relationship with the coalition partner, the BJP. The second one is the SAD President must be someone other than Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

This has become discernible from the discussion which took place among members of the Panthic Vichar Manch here today and from the letter which the SAD MP and Youth Akali Dal President, Mr Amrik Singh Aliwal, has sent to Mr Badal.

The vichar manch is of the view that despite the magnanimity shown by the SAD and the uninhibited support extended to the BJP, the latter has not responded warmly when it came to settling politico-economic issues of Punjab. The burning issues include the future of Chandigarh and the territorial dispute, Udham Singh Nagar, the second language status for Punjabi in Delhi state etc.

The politics of the BJP has "eroded" the SAD base, credibility and credentials. The national policies of the BJP have alienated the minorities and the open pursuit of "Hindutva" has distanced the BJP allies and the minorities. The "National Agenda" was forgotten. Lack of governance resulted in inflation, higher unemployment and little relief for Punjab farmers who have suffered a lot of damage. Therefore, the manch demanded that the SAD should review its relationship with the BJP and chalk out an independent policy in the larger interest of Punjab. Like the Congress, the BJP too has lost the moral right to have Sikhs as allies. The SAD leadership has to devise its own course and consolidate other regional parties and minorities to achieve more for the states and strengthen their economies.

It is time the SAD leadership learns some lessons from the Adampur defeat and resuscitate the organisational wing of the party. Unless firm decisions are taken there was every possibility of the SAD coming to the brink of a serious crisis, particularly when the resurgence of the Congress was a certainty.

The manch proposes to hold a conclave here on December 12 for further introspection.

On the other hand, Mr Aliwal is "upset" over the manner in which the Youth Akali Dal has been dissolved by the SAD Secretary-General, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. Mr Aliwal today resigned as President. In his letter Mr Aliwal has recalled how during the dark days of terrorism some leaders had either got into jails or remained confined to their houses under security cover. He also mentions about the manner the Akali leadership has been "misusing" Akal Takht for settling personal religio-political scores. The trouble in the youth wing has been brewing for quite some time. There was an open revolt against Mr Aliwal on October 24. Thereafter on November 11 differences were said to be resolved. Several aspirants, including Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal, were there to head the youth wing.

The salvo fired by Mr Aliwal at SAD President Parkash Singh, the views of the vichar manch and Mr Gurcharan Singh's hard-hitting statement in New Delhi against the BJP are all a pointer to what the SAD is heading for. In fact, Mr Aliwal has also convened a meeting at Jalandhar for December 4.

Both district jathedars and members of the SAD working committee have been sending "feedback" to the party chief about fading government image, irresponsive bureaucracy and cult of corruption. A warning of Congress resurgence because of the SAD's wrong policies was also given but nothing was done.

Mr Badal has blamed "prices and natural calamities" for the Adampur debacle. He admits that Punjabis' expectations were far greater than those addressed by the SAD-BJP government.

Norms for milling paddy relaxed
Tribune News Service

BATHINDA, Nov 29 — The Union Ministry of Food has announced the specification for milling the paddy procured by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and other Punjab Government agencies in the current season.

The new specification has given a relaxation of 4.5 per cent on damaged, 8 per cent on discoloured and 27 per cent on broken rice for the milling of paddy procured in 1998-99.

Talking to TNS, the Punjab Food Minister, Mr Chiranji Lal Garg, said relaxation for milling had been announced by the Central Government on November 27. With the announcement, milling operations of paddy would start on a war footing in the state.

The specification would remain in force up to March 31, 1999. He added that if the need arose, the date of specification relaxation would be extended. Punjab's rice was in great demand in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and other rice-consuming states of the country.

The Punjab Government was actively pursuing the demand for Rs 300 crore from the Central Government for compensating the rain-affected paddy and cotton growers. The state Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, would meet the Union Food Minister, Mr Surjeet Singh Barnala, and the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, in this connection shortly.

About 92 lakh mt of paddy was purchased by private and government agencies in Punjab in the current procurement season. The procurement by government agencies was still going on.

On the victory of the Congress candidate by only six votes in the Adampur assembly byelection showed that a major section of the electorate had 'appreciated' the development works being carried out by Mr Badal in Punjab, the Minister claimed. It also reflected that Mr Badal was a believer in and protector of democratic values as the elections were conducted in a free and fair manner, he added.

The results of the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi were not a victory for the Congress but merely reflected the 'resentment' of the voters against the price rise of essential commodities, he claimed, adding that the BJP-led coalition faced no danger from the poll verdict.

Elite seed from tissue culture
From Jangveer Singh
Tribune News Service

PATIALA: Even as the government is contemplating diversification of agriculture in the state, an alternative is being provided to farmers by the Nasirpur Tissue Culture Laboratory, near here, which is producing high quality tissue culture propagated planting material.

The laboratory has already achieved success in rejuvenating the COJ-64 variety of sugarcane and is in the process of providing elite breeder seed potato.

The laboratory director, Dr Teja Singh Tiwana, a former agriculture teacher, and Dr Paramjit Singh, who has specialised in plant breeding genetics, stated that the laboratory was concentrating on sugarcane and seed potato, besides strawberry, eucalyptus, poplar and tissue culture propagation of ornamental plants.

They said the propagation of sugarcane tissue culture material had been successful as the new seed was free from inherent diseases like rat rot. They said though the seed was initially expensive, it was cost-effective as more cane was propagated from less seed. In case of seed potato there was an acute shortage of pathogen-free seeds, which would be offset once seed production began at the laboratory, they added.

The farm technocrats said Pepsi had picked up all its breeder seed potato this year but that they would start making breeder seed available to farmers also. The Yamunanagar Sugar Mill had bought one lakh sugarcane plants. Other companies like MC Cain were also taking interest in tissue culture propagated seed of the laboratory, they claimed.

A visit to the laboratory revealed that the entire process of tissue culture propagation was done in a very exacting manner. Care had been taken to maintain cleanliness and avoid the development of viruses. As a first step plant media, involving nutrients and plant growth hormones, is made. This is inoculated in sterile conditions with the plant tissue seed being put in the plant media. It is then taken to the growth room where it is given 16 hours of light to enable it to grow. Following this it is either multiplied by further cutting or it is taken to a greenhouse for hardening. It is slowly acclimatised in the greenhouse.

The laboratory is expected to benefit from the visit of Prof Richard Veilleux of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute (USA). Prof Veilleux came to Nasirpur for the transfer of technology and upgrading of its facilities under the farmer to farmer programme funded by USAID.

Talking to TNS at the laboratory, Prof Veilleux, a potato expert, said he had come to introduce the virus testing technology for viruses of potato cultivars, and practices of producing micro-tubers from elite virus-free potato plantlets.

Substantial hike in exam fees
From Jupinderjit Singh

PATIALA, Nov 29 — Notwithstanding the ongoing protests by students over the hike in fees, Punjabi University has now increased the examination fees charged from the students of the Correspondence Courses Department.

Figures available from the department reveal that the hike which affects nearly 10,000 students in the region is not a nominal one but more than 100 per cent in some courses. For instance, the examination fee for master's degree in a subject has been hiked from Rs 250 to Rs 600. For all BA and B.Com courses the increased fee is Rs 500, while earlier it was Rs 250. The fee for the Punjabi elementary course has been doubled from Rs 300 to Rs 600.

The new fee for the diploma in divinity and gurmat sangeet is Rs 500 against Rs 350 earlier. The fee for the "Giani" course has been raised to Rs 600 from Rs 350.

The examination fee for the diploma in library science has been raised to Rs 500 from Rs 350, for M.Com. (parts I and II) to Rs 600 from Rs 400, for B.Ed to Rs 500 from Rs 350 and for M.Ed to Rs 600 from Rs 350.

The examination fee charged in late or re-appear cases of the Correspondence Department has also been increased. For Punjabi elementary course it is Rs 600 against Rs 500 earlier, for BA class Rs 900 from Rs 650, and for B.Com. class Rs 1,000 from Rs 750. The highest increase in this category comes for the MA class where the fee has been raised from Rs 750 to Rs 1,500.

An official said that the fee had been hiked as the department was in urgent need of funds. He said the proposal for the hike was made in August but the Syndicate approved it only recently.

The Correspondence Courses Department plans to inform the students by post about the revised fee structure as the fees are to be deposited in the second week of December. About 10,000 students have enrolled for various courses run by the department.

It may be mentioned here that Punjabi University had increased the fees charged from the postgraduate students of regular courses in July. It had also added new chargeable components in the fee structure, besides increasing the money charged under the existing ones.

Last year the university had announced a hike in the fees charged from private students as well as of the undergraduate classes.

Meanwhile, the strike by students of two colleges has spread to M.M. Modi College also where the students boycotted classes yesterday to protest against the fee hike for regular students.

Mr Devinder Singh Rehal, president of the district unit of the National Students Union of India, threatened to go on fast if the university did not withdraw the fee hike.

Students of three colleges — Government Mohindra College, Girls College and Modi College — held a procession in the city. They raised slogans against the university and the Punjab Government for making the education a costly affair.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad also supported the ongoing strike by the students. An executive meeting of the ABVP condemned the university decision to increase the fee.

Amarinder flays Bhattal's remarks

JALANDHAR, Nov 29 (PTI) — Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh has strongly criticised former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal for the latter’s allegations of a conspiracy behind her in absentia removal from leadership of the party’s legislative wing.

" Ms Bhattal was asked to resign, step down by party President Sonia Gandhi from Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leadership but was granted one month grace time as she was going abroad in her capacity as leader of the Opposition," Mr Amarinder Singh told reporters here late last evening.

He said when Ms Bhattal failed to put in her papers long after the grace period expired, party general secretary in charge of Punjab Meira Kumar contacted her last month and informed her of Ms Sonia Gandhi’s wish to make Choudhary Jagjit Singh the CLP leader.

He said Mr Singh was chosen as he was a Dalit, a section which was not properly represented in the party hierarchy.

Asked about Ms Bhattal’s allegation that she was not informed about the change Mr Amarinder Singh said, "She seems to be suffering from a serious memory lapse as I was myself present when Meira Kumar made the call to her on October 8 evening waking up Ms Bhattal at 4.30 a.m. local time in California."

Ms Bhattal had alleged that she was removed through a conspiracy and Ms Sonia Gandhi was kept in the dark.

"If any one thinks that a CLP leader can be changed behind the back of the party president through conspiratorial means, then he or she does not understand the party’s functioning", he added.

Asked whether the dissenting noises being made by Ms Bhattal would affect the party’s recent show of unity during the Adampur Assembly bye-election, which it won by a wafer this margin, Mr Amarinder said the Congress rank and file was fully united.

‘Need to revamp' education system
From Our Correspondent

NAWANSHAHR, Nov 29 — "Education is the pivot around which the development of any society revolves and to make the youth capable of facing the challenges of the present era of science and technology, it is the dire need of the hour to revamp the education system."

This was stated by the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, while presiding over the concluding session of the three-day All India Sikh Educational Conference organised at the Guru Nanak Mission Educational and Medical Trust, Dhahan Kaleran, about 20 km, from here today. The conference was organised in collaboration with the Chief Khalsa Diwan, Amritsar.

While lauding the role of the trust and the Khalsa Diwan in providing educational and medical facilities in the rural areas, the Chief Minister exhorted them to make efforts to set up educational institutions on modern lines for the development of science and computer education as the present system of education had become obsolete.

Mr Badal said the wrong policies of the successive central governments were responsible for the plight of farmers who were in the debt-trap.

To improve the lot of farmers, the burden on agricultural land should be minimised and industrialisation promoted. He said a new "self-employment scheme" had been launched in Bathinda district and a Rs 16000 crore oil refinery project set up. The Thein Dam would be functional within a year and the work on the Goindwal thermal plant would also be completed soon.

Mr Badal announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh for the proposed medical college at Dhahan Kaleran. He also honoured scholars, journalists, social workers and educationists on the occasion and released a souvenir to mark the conference.

Earlier, Mr Budh Singh Dhahan, president of the Guru Nanak Mission Educational and Medical Trust, in his address of welcome said the trust had established a 250-bedded hospital, a nursing college, a senior secondary school, and a de-addiction centre.

Bonded labour at brick-kiln alleged
From Our Correspondent

GURDASPUR, Nov 29 — One hundred labourers working at a brick-kiln at Hardarwal under Fatehgarh Churian police station in Dera Baba Nanak subdivision in the district are being kept as bonded labourers allegedly by the owner.

According to Mr Gurmeet Singh, a member of the Punjab unit of the Indian Federation of Trade Union, a report in this regard was lodged with Fatehgarh Churian police station, but no action had been taken yet.

Instead of making efforts to free the labourers, the police was helping the brick-kiln owner, he alleged.

Mr Gurmeet Singh said labourers working at the brick-kiln had been on strike for the past more than 10 days in protest against the failure of the brick-kiln owner to pay them minimum wages since March 1.

Chitrakar society honours 4
Tribune News Service

BATHINDA, Nov 29 — Four persons — P.S. Verma (Chandigarh), Hans Raj (Budhlada), Inderjit Singh (Mansa) and Rajinder Singh (Bathinda) — were honoured by the S. Sobha Singh Memorial Chitrakar Society here today for their contribution in the field of art.

Mr S.R. Ladhar, Deputy Commissioner, said the society would be given suitable accommodation here for holding its workshops.

Earlier, hundreds of persons visited on the concluding day an exhibition of paintings at the local Teachers Home. More than 160 paintings of 90 artists of the northern region were displayed.

The paintings focussed on various themes ranging from the "economic condition" of farmers to the "beauty" of the Punjabi bride.

Mr Amarjit Singh, president of the society, in a memorandum submitted to the Deputy Commissioner, urged the Punjab Government to set up a college of art in the state and an art gallery in this town.

Gang of thieves busted
From Our Correspondent

BATALA, Nov 29 — The Batala police has busted a gang of thieves and arrested its three members, Vinod Kumar of Gurdaspur, Givarndip Singh of Ludhiana and Baljit Singh of Majitha, and seized from them two .12-bore country made pistols, five cartridges and a tractor, Mr Lok Nath Angra, district police chief, said here today.

During interrogation they confessed having stolen a Mahindra International tractor from Rai Chak village on November 23. They committed a theft in Sukha Raja village a few months ago and stole jewellery from some religious place in Amritsar. They had also stolen cash and other valuables from a shop in the Madhopur police station jurisdiction, Mr Angra said.

A case under the Arms Act has been registered against them.