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| Saturday,
July 5, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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Residents force closure of liquor shop Ludhiana, July 4 The residents alleged that the vend was situated within a 100-metre distance from a gurdwara and two schools. The residents, especially women, had been resenting its opening as they used the road for morning and evening walk on which it was located. Led by councillor Simranjit Singh, the residents gathered at Khui Sahib Gurdwara to discuss the problem created by the liquor shop. Then they decided to organise a rally and staged a dharna outside the vend. The workers on the vend, seeing the procession of the residents, locked it and fled. After raising slogans against the contractor, the women of the area put another lock on the shutter and lifted the dharna. Mr Simranjit Singh said that the vend was opened by the contractor some time ago after it was forcibly closed by the residents of some other area. He added that the contractor did not have the permission from the Excise Department and was told by him to leave the place. He further said that the contractor was given time till June 30 to shift the vend. But he failed to do so. The residents met the Deputy Commissioner yesterday and submitted a memorandum to him. But the vend opened in the morning. The residents decided to protest and staged a dharna. Women said that they had no parks in the area and used the wide road for morning and evening walk. But they could not do so now as after the opening of vend, boozers were always hanging around on the road and used foul language. |
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PTU colleges to start new
courses Ludhiana, July 4 While the Punjab College of Technical Education (PCTE), Baddowal, has already received an approval for starting all four courses, the Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology (GNIMT) has applied for three courses — MBA (international business), MSc (information technology) and MBA (part time), but is waiting for the university nod. Dr K.N.S. Kang, Director of the PCTE, said he had received an approval for 60 seats in all courses. He said classes in MBA (part time) would be held in the evening and the course would be of three-year duration. Regarding MBA (international business), he said course would be of two-year duration. Curriculum of the first year of this course would be the same as that of the other MBA classes, but the second year would deal in courses in international policies,
Dr Kang said the PGDCA would be of one-year duration and MSc (IT) would be of two-year duration. He said these courses were being undertaken by the PTU as a part of the distance education programme, but from this session they were also being introduced in affiliated colleges on regular basis. Regarding the fee structure, Dr Kang said candidates aspiring for admission to PGDCA, MBA (part time) and MSc (IT) would have to pay Rs 15,000 per semester. However, those taking admission to MSc (international business) would have to shell out Rs 22,500 per semester. Dr A.S. Bansal, Director of the Guru Nanak Institute of Management, said affiliation for three new courses in his institute had been confirmed by the university authorities over the telephone but he was still waiting for the written approval. He said the institute was also planning to open a learning centre for conducting distance education programmes of the university. Col H.S. Singha, Director of Institute of Management Studies (IMS), said he had not applied for any regular course and was instead concentrating on introducing some new distance education courses in MSc (IT), BSc (IT) and other programmes in his college. Mr Johnpreet, head of the department of computer applications, Khalsa Institute of Management (KIMT), said no new course was being introduced this time. Regarding the regular courses, Mr S.K. Bhatia, Registrar of the university, said he had received applications for starting the courses from several colleges across the state. Almost all colleges with adequate infrastructure and faculty was being granted permission to run the new courses, he added. |
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Encroachments
galore, councillors helpless Ludhiana, July 4 The issue of encroachment has been confronting the city from the past two decades and many anti-encroachment drives have been initiated to combat with the menace. However, the encroachers are thriving in every nook and corner of the city, causing inconvenience to the people. Ludhiana Tribune spoke to a number of councillors to find out the reasons and why the issue continued to dog the city. Most of them said lack of job opportunities, burgeoning population and connivance of MC officials had forced the people to become self employed and the streets of
Ludhiana offered scope to set up an enterprise without a large investment. Mr Satpal Puri, councillor of Ward No. 66, covering the area of Shiv Puri near Daresi Ground, was most vocal in his criticism of certain officials of the MC. He alleged that 50,000 encroachments in the city could not thrive without the patronage of these MC officials. He said he had filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court against the encroachments in the city and the apex court had directed the High Court to issue directions to the Municipal Commissioner and the Additional Commissioner to list the encroachments and get these cleared in three months. He said in the General House meeting of the MC held yesterday, he had asked for a list of the encroachments to be placed before the councillors but was told that the list will be presented in the next meeting. He was also sore over the number of cases lost by the MC against encroachment cases filed by it. Ms Amrit Vrsha Rampal, councillor, Ward No.41 of Sarabha Nagar, Gurdev Nagar and Punjab Agricultural University, said the encroachers on the left side of the railway track near Leisure Valley answer to the nature's call in the valley, which had been developed on Convent Road at the expense of crores of rupees. “Contractors employed by the MC get cheap labour from Rajasthan and build hutments from them. They are also responsible for the majority of encroachments. It is the Commissioner who has to order demolitions. The councillors are helpless in this matter. The Commissioner and the Mayor should be accessible to the people, but they are not even available to the councillors,” she added. Mr Gurdip Singh, Councillor of Ward No. 55, Kidwai Nagar, said that from Dukhnivarana Gurdwara to Shingar Cinema, there were hundreds of encroachments around Buddha Nala. He said the only way to remove these was to cover the Buddha Nala so that the road became wider. The gurdwara at Amarpur and Dukh Nivaran gurdwara too have offered their cooperation in this matter. The encroachments cause bottlenecks in traffic movement, often causing serious accidents. Mr Satnam Singh, councillor of Ward No. 63 of Killa Mohalla, said that he had repeatedly asked the MC to remove the encroachments. “There appears to be a liaison between employees of the MC and the encroachers. If the MC wants, it can remove encroachments within no time. The maximum number of encroachments are in Field Ganj,” he added. Most councillors were unanimous in their opinion that encroachments were causing hazards to the people and presented a shabby look to the city. |
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Without
salaries for seven months Ludhiana, July 4 Hundreds of workers working under the projects staged a dharna outside the office of the Civil Surgeon today and threatened that they would not resume their duties until the department paid their salaries. The employees of the family planning programme said that they were not paid salaries since the month of January. Mr Sukhminder Singh, state president of the Punjab Health Department Subordinate Officers Clerical Association, said that they had sent reminders to the Union Government to pay their due but to no avail. He added that their salaries came under the budget head which was sponsored by the Union Government. But the
Ms Surinder Kaur, a lady health visitor (LHV), who is also an office-bearer of the union, said that they had to do without salaries for the past seven months and all the employees were having a very bad time. She further said that they had met the Civil Surgeon a number of times but he could not do anything as the salaries were to be released by the Union Government. She added that they had even met the Director, Health Services, to help them in the matter but to no avail. She said that salaries of 300 employees were yet to be paid. Dr G.K. Bansal, in charge of the leprosy control programme, Ludhiana, said that as many 200 employees had not been paid salaries in his department since October last year. Various requests by the employees had no effect on the authorities concerned. He added that they had written to the Union Government to transfer their budget plan with the state health department but nothing had come of it. The employees said that they would be forced to intensify their agitation if they were not paid their salaries soon. |
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Rare pair of hawks spotted Ludhiana, July 4 He said he did not take note of the birds initially and took the incident casually. But when the pair started visiting the tree regularly, he became curious and started watching their movements. He said these birds would come in the morning and move out during the day. After hunting the smaller birds for feeding themselves, these birds would return to the tree and sit there without much movement. Charanpreet said it was felt that this was the rare Indian sparrow hawk, which is already being counted among the endangered species. The hawks only hunt birds and do not take any other food. As people come and see them, these two birds keep watching mutely. Since some people believe that the pair of hawks brings good luck, a number of people have been visiting the house to have a glimpse of the duo. The hawks, particularly the Indian sparrow hawks, are rarely seen these days and have already been listed as endangered species. No expert could be contacted to establish which species of the hawks these birds were. However, Charanpreet said, after surfing through the Internet and matching the pictures, he concluded that these were Indian sparrow hawks, which are now quite rare. In Punjab, the hawk is held in religious reverence as the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, had also kept a pet hawk, which would accompany him in each and every expedition. Some people have even been congratulating the Grewals for being lucky to receive the pair of hawks. |
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BJP should support Badals on Vigilance raids: Grewal Ludhiana, July 4 The leaders have demanded a meeting of the state executive to discuss the issue threadbare and adopt a tough line in not only condemning the raids but also join hands with the Akali workers who are picketing the Vigilance Bureau sleuths whenever they raid a property of the Badals or their relatives. In what could be termed an attack on the leadership of Mr Brij Lal Rinwa, a former state chief of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, Mr Sukhminder Singh Grewal, in a letter to Punjab BJP chief Brij Lal Rinwa, has urged him to clarify the party position vis a vis the raids on Badals and guide them on what is to be done by them. He said the party had done little to come to the aid of their alliance partners at a time of crises. This also gives credence to the fact that the party rank and file was of the view that the party had not risen to the occasion and had done little to come to the rescue of the Akalis. It is also being felt that since the Congress had left the BJP ministers and leaders out of the VB net, the BJP had chosen to lay low and adopt a wait and watch policy. That was the reason why no concerted action was planned even though many Akali ministers were arrested on corruption charges. Mr Grewal said the party should not waste any time and convene a meeting of the executive at the earliest. The workers had been in a fix on how to react on the goings on in Punjab and had been looking up to them for guidance. It is disheartening to note that the party had chosen to keep quiet even when it became clear that the former CM and his family were being harassed like common criminals, he wrote. He also said that it was still not clear if they are to participate in the programmes launched by the Akalis and what will be the extent of their participation. He said it may be recalled that the Akalis were the first to offer unconditional support to Mr A B Vajpayee and it was their duty to stand by their alliance partners during these hard times. Despite all the happenings in Punjab, Mr Badal has not even hinted at withdrawing support from the NDA government. He said it was the need of the hour for the BJP to adopt a tough line and come out with a solid plan to help their alliance partners. The evil design’s of the Congress to weaken their partnership by arresting Mr Badal should be resisted tooth and nail by the party rank and file, he added. |
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Akalis protest against Cong man’s ‘interference’ in poll Mandi Ahmedgarh, July 4 They were protesting against the alleged interference of a senior Congress leader and his son in the election process during the panchayat poll last Sunday. The presence of local Tohra loyalists made the rally conspicuous as it was for the first time since the Akali unity that some Akalis owing allegiance to Mr Tohra supported Badal loyalists. Addressing the gathering, various speakers alleged that a senior Congress leader known for his proximity to the President of the AICC interfered openly in the panchayat election process in the Kila Raipur constituency segment. He along with his son entered the polling booths and allegedly intimidated the staff on duty and forced them to declare the Congress supported candidates elected whereas they were trailing much behind the SAD supported candidates. Mr Jagdish Singh Garcha, former Akali minister said, “If a fair inquiry is held, it will be established that the elections were not held in a democratic manner in this constituently. They made a mockery of democracy when they got each and every ballot approved by a senior Congress leader and his son, whose entry into the booths should have not been allowed.” Mr Garcha cited a number of villages where counting was done repeatedly at the instance of the said Congress leader and the results were declared late in the night. Barundi, Jartoli, Saharan Majra, Dehlon, Narangwal, Butahri, Rausiana and Kila Raipur include the list of villages where irregularities were allegedly noticed and brought into the notice of the authorities It was alleged that the objections made by polling agents of Akali-supported candidates were not heard. The demonstrators raised slogans on Badal-Tohra unity during the address by Dr Inderjit Grewal, member of the SGPC, and Dr Jarnail Singh, both Tohra loyalists. Mr Mann Singh Garcha, Mr Raghbir Singh Saharan Majra (Chairman, Milk Plant, and general secretary, SAD), Capt Harbans Singh Sayan (circle Jathedar), Mr Daljit Singh Barundi, Mr Mohinder Singh Latala, Mr Parminder Singh, Sarpanch, and Mr Rajinder Singh Nangal were among the prominent persons who addressed the rally. |
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Improvement
Trust chief resents political intervention Ludhiana, July 4 Mr Garcha has brought to the notice of the higher authorities, including the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, that how certain vested interests were not letting him to work independently. It was learnt that even lower rung officials would at times give references of senior politicians, including ministers. Mr Garcha learnt to have confided to his associates as how these vested interests were hampering his work. He reportedly observed that it was not difficult to reform the trust and bring transparency into the system, but only if the officials and the ministry cooperated with him. In a letter addressed to higher authorities, a copy of which was procured by Ludhiana Tribune, Mr Garcha said, "I am convinced that reform can be quickly achieved in the LIT (Ludhiana Improvement Trust), which harbours some of the most persisting and vilest forms of corruption with all its interlinks of the bureaucrats and politicians". The letter also blames the local government ministry, under which the trust comes, for not cooperating with the anti-corruption drive launched by him in the trust. It added, "This reform cannot be achieved without special support from the higher authorities. The Ministry of Local Government does not adequately provide this support. In fact, at one level, the opposite is more true". Reiterating his commitment to wipe out corruption, he, however, reportedly expressed doubts whether it could be politically practicable. He pointed out, "this support would require immense political will and determination at the top. I am not sure whether political practicalities will allow this to happen". Concluding the letter he said, "at a personal level, I have been rendered incapable of functioning effectively through the instigation of the LIT employees by a clique of politicians who have a history of defrauding the LIT in collusion with some of the employees. Therefore, I have decided to approach the higher authorities to discuss the above and decide the future course of action from the options available". However, Mr Garcha refused any comments on the issue. When contacted by Ludhiana Tribune, he said he had taken up the matter with the higher authorities and he had nothing to say at this moment. But he assured that as long as he continues to head the trust, he would ensure a clean and transparent functioning and would not allow any corrupt official or politicians to resort to any illegal acts. |
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Mattewara
awaits bridge on Sutlej Ghumana (Ludhiana), July 4 In the absence of a bridge, residents of scores of villages in the block have to depend on boats to cross the river to reach Rahon and Nawan Shahar. “Our requests to the successive governments have fallen on deaf years. In absence of a bridge connecting the area with Rahon and Nawan Shahar, villages in the interiors could not develop as much as they should have. It was during Mr Parkash Singh Badal's regime that our requests were answered. But even after more than three years, the bridge is incomplete. The speed with which the work is progressing, it would take another 20 years to complete it,” rued Mr Sewa Singh of Mannewal village, who had come to Ghumana to cross the river. He said two spans of bridge were completed in more than three years and 13 were yet to be constructed. “It is simple mathematics. It will take almost 21 years for the bridge to be completed,” he added. Estimated at the cost of Rs 31.84 crore, the work on the bridge started on February 14, 2001. The tentative date of completion was August 13, 2002. However, only two spans of the bridge have been completed till date. The bridge would help the residents of Dhulewal, Mattewara, Hadiwal, Ghumana, Issapur, Dhulewal, Raj Rajputan, Mannewal and scores of other villages where the residents have to depend on the boats to cross the river. This way of transportation too is snapped when the water level rises during monsoons. Incidentally, there is no bus service to these villages. The bridge on the river would help the villagers cut short a distance of 17 and 24 km to reach Rahon and Nawan Shahar, respectively. Otherwise they have to go to these places via Phillaur. The bridge would also help commuters on cars as the boats only ferry two-wheelers. The authorities claim that the work was delayed due to some hiccups and the contractor concerned should not be held responsible as the permission for felling trees was granted in February, this year, by the Forest Department. Mr Amarjit Singh, Executive Engineer(XEN), Sutlej division number III, Public Works Department (PWD), who is looking after the project, said the bridge would be completed before to start of next monsoon season. He said the tentative time for the completion had been kept 18 months to build pressure on the contractor. Otherwise, no bridge had been completed in the state in less than two years, he said, adding that it was a long bridge with 15 spans. The XEN said there had been a delay by the Forest Department in granting the approval for felling the trees. The permission was granted in February after the PWD deposited Rs 16 lakh as compensation with the Forest Department. |
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Check own corrupt flock too,
IHRO advises CM Ludhiana, July 4 Welcoming the government’s crusade against corruption in the state, the IHRO has taken exception to the action of the Punjab CM of targeting only Akali leaders for amassing money illegally during Mr Badal’s regime, while ignoring the “tainted Congress ministers, his blue-eyed officers and those in the Vigilance Bureau.” The IHRO chairperson, Mr D. S. Gill, the general secretary, Mr Mohinder Singh Grewal, the administration secretary, Mr Avtar Singh Gill, and the secretary, Ms Inderjeet Kaur, in a statement have cautioned the CM that targeting Akalis for corruption will backfire if he did not check his own flock and could not root out corruption from his administration. The “Badalphobia” of the current regime will land Capt Amarinder Singh in trouble if he continued to ignore development works, they said, adding that one cannot travel smoothly through Punjab except on the GT road, Chandigarh-Ludhiana road and the Chandigarh-Patiala road. The IHRO activists expressed their concern over the “undue and unnecessary interference” in Punjab affairs of the state government by the NDA, the alliance partner of the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Home Minister, Mr L. K. Advani. They said they had started shielding their alliance partner and its leaders, even though they know that Mr Badal topped the list of corrupt state chief ministers. They said Mr Badal was given a free hand in Punjab by the NDA on the understanding that he would not raise Punjab and Sikh issues facing the state and would in turn enjoy ministerial loaves and fishes. That was the reason, beside others, why Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra and Jathedar Kuldeep Singh Wadala had parted company with Mr Badal. “Akali activists led by Mr Parkash Singh Badal and Jathedar Tohra are well advised to become anti-corruption crusaders (the real Akali activists) and expose Capt Amarinder Singh’s double standards on corruption.” They also asked the Akali workers not to become pawns in hands of the corrupt Akali leaders. Rather, become crusaders and root out corruption and emerge as leaders of the Panth, they added . |
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‘Make
caste certificate
process easier’ Ludhiana, July 4 First of all, after buying the required forms, one has to attach a copy of the ration card and get the signatures of the councillor of their wards for urban areas. For rural areas, one has to get verification done by either a sarpanch, or a
nambardar. The next step is to go to the patwari who has to write that the facts are correct. After that one has to go to kanugo for his signatures and finally to Tehsildar who will also affix his stamp to say that the facts are correct. The procedure is very long and drawn out and very tiresome and time consuming. Mr Matharoo has urged the government to simplify the entire process to save time and energy of people. He suggested that after attaching the ration card to the form, the
councillor or Sarpanch should issue verification certificate and then straight to Tehsildar who will be the final authority. This would make the process easier and less time consuming. |
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Power demand rises in Punjab Ludhiana, July 4 The water level in the Bhakra reservoir has been rising for the past few weeks and the authorities are confident that if the monsoons remain normal, the optimum level of 1680 feet will be achieved this year. The water level of the Bhakra reservoir was reported at 1598 feet on Thursday against 1579 feet of last year which is higher by 19 ft. Similarly, the water level of the Ranjit Sagar Dam reservoir is also rising and was reported at 504.28 metres against 490 metres of last year — 14 metres higher compared to last year. Ranjit Sagar Dam has been generating record power of 100 lakh units daily for the past few days which is equivalent to the generation being given by the Lehra Mohabbat thermal plant which is run on coal. Three units of Ranjit Sagar Dam are generating power. Release of water from the Ranjit Sagar resorvoir is being maintained according to the water carrying capacity of the canal. The Punjab State Electricity Board authorities have removed weekly off restrictions following availability of power and no power cut is be applied in the industrial areas and urban sectors of the state. The availability of power from various sources is as under: thermal unit 379 lakh units, Punjab hydro units 207 lakh units, National Thermal Power Corporation 154 lakh units, hydel 85 lakh units, nuclear 25 lakh units and underbacking it is getting 26 lakh units from Himachal Pradesh, 25 lakh units from Jammu and Kashmir and six lakh units from Uttaranchal, respectively. The power trading corporation is buying 16 lakh units of power from Delhi for the PSEB. The coal supply position to the three thermal plants is being maintained and there is no problem with the same. The PSEB has also paid to the Coal India and the Railways freight. Eight hours power supply is being maintained to the tubewells in three shifts. But single-phase power supply in rural areas is being subjected to six to eight hours power cut daily. |
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Defacement
of property
continues unabated Ludhiana, July 4 The administration has been taking action against violators for
defacing martyrs' statues and had also got them cleaned after a
stringent drive. However, many statues have again been covered with
posters. One such statue, which has had to bear the brunt, is that
of Kartar Singh Sarabha at the Ghanta Ghar chowk. The statue is
covered with banners, including advertisements political and religious
posters. However, no action has been taken against the violators till
date. At present, the entire city has been decorated with posters in
view of a yuva rally by Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, President, Lok Janshakti
Party, scheduled on July 2 at Ropar. The roundabouts on the entire
Ferozepore road, almost all government offices and buildings have been
adorned with the posters of the rally. Under the provisions of the
Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 1997, defacement of private
property can invite strict punishment for violators, but disgusted
with the way the legal system works, most people prefer to spend money
to undo the damage than file a complaint. “Nothing is going to
happen if we lodge a complaint. We will only invite the ire of workers
of political parties,” says Mr Pritpal Singh, a city resident.
According to the law, no one can paste posters, banners and slogans
on a building unless a written permission is granted by its owner. The
political party, association, body, candidate or person concerned is
liable to be prosecuted and charged with causing wilful damage to the
property of others. Though there is a lot of resentment among
residents over pasting of posters by politicians and their supporters
but not many like to come forward to air their grievances. Under the
Defacement of Public Property Act, the act of defacement of the
properties included interfering with the appearance or beauty,
damaging, disfiguring, spoiling or injuring in any other way,
whatsoever, and the property included any land, building, hut,
structure, wall, tree, fence, post, pole or any other installations.
Similarly, fixing of posters on power and telephone poles or putting
up banners on poles on roadside is also punishable under the
provisions of the Act. Violations under the Act are cognizable and
punishable with imprisonment for a term extending up to six months or
a fine up to Rs 1000 or both. Under the provisions of Section 3 of the
Act, the government was competent to take steps which may be necessary
for erasing any writing, removing any defacement or any mark from any
property. |
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Rotary
Club holds installation meeting Ludhiana, July 4 Dr Johl requested the members to serve humanity with humility and propagate the Rotary spirit. He aid Rotarians should work to bring peace and harmony by serving those who need help. He stressed upon the need of creating family environment in club meetings so that the maximum motivation could be generated among members. Past District Governor Suresh Choudhary, who installed S.P. Dua as president, R.S. Behl as secretary and their team. He also honoured Mr Balwinder Singh Bhattal, head constable with the SSP, Ludhiana, who had given outstanding service to the humanity in the area of eye donations. It may be recalled that Mr Bhattal had so far filled 1,400 forms of eye donation and has helped 50 eyes transplantation so far. After taking the oath of office, Mr S.P. Dua apprised members of the forthcoming projects to be undertaken by the club which included construction of an old-age home, three cleft lip surgery operations free of cost at the CMCH, Ludhiana. He also informed the members that his chapter has given donation of $ 41,000 to the Rotary Foundation till date. Mr V.K. Aggarwal and Mr Yash Pal Gosain from the Rotary Club Ludhiana South End were special invitees. |
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READERS WRITE To repay society for the innumerable things they received, an association has been formed by Mr R.N. Sehgal and Mr K.K. Sharma, which will do social work with a view to justify the title of senior citizens. This has also been done to dispel the notion among people that all pensioners’ associations always seek various sops and concessions from the government. The Government Pensioners Association, at a meeting held in Ludhiana, has decided to give financial aid to Vishnu Priya and Jashanjeet, who have secured sixth and seventh position, respectively, in the Plus two examination (Humanities Group) conducted by the Punjab School Education Board this year. The aid will be given for a period of 3 years enabling them to pursue their studies up to the graduation level. Each of them will get Rs 1,000 annually. Both of them belong to ordinary families. Vishnu Priya’s father works in a factory and Jashanpreet is herself running a beauty parlour to supplement the family income. They have also appreciated the Hero Cycles, which has offered to bear all the expenses of higher education of Tulsa who has got second position in the same examination. Her father is employed as a watchman with Hero Cycles. Pensioners congratulated all the toppers as well as their institution, BCM Senior Secondary School, Focal Point, Ludhiana. Yash Paul Ghai Plight of Kashmir We strongly condemn and protest the wrongful act of Pakistani President Pervez Muharraf to try and internationalise the bilateral issue of Kashmir and the LoC. What needs to be discussed is the plight of Jammu and Kashmir’s residents and what they are going through due to infiltration from across the border and cross border terrorism being promoted by Pakistan. Gurinder S. Sood Confusion in higher education There is lot of confusion in higher education in Punjab. Firstly, the Education Department Punjab vide DPIs memo no. 12/13/2003-6 Edu-1/dated 17.5.2003 revised the fees funds and other charges for Government Colleges, Government aided private colleges, universities teaching departments including Regional centers. This was an unwarranted circular. Never before the state government has interfered in the domain of the universities in formulating the fees structures. Punjab University, vide letter no. 3887-3920/Misc/6 dated 26.5.2003 has prescribed tuition fee and other charges for the students of the colleges. There is marked difference between the two: whereas the university circular mentions Rs 63 and Rs 70 as tuition fee for undergraduate and postgraduate courses and Rs 165 as admission fee, the DPIs circular puts it as Rs 350 and Rs 650 respectively (almost five and ten times) and admission fee at Rs 750 and Rs 1,000. The steep hike in
tuition, admission fee and other charges will discourage students desirous of going in for higher education in the colleges. They will be in disadvantage than the students of other states. A student belonging to economically backward or poor families cannot dream of studying in the colleges. The circular further said that free education for girls is discontinued. It is a rectograde step and is against the national policy on education. This has created unrest among the students and parents. Again in May, 2003, the colleges were told not to conduct admission to +2 classes as these were being shifted to the schools. Now the announcement has come that the colleges can admit students to +2 classes. It is a very confusing situation. The government is not clear about its own policy. Earlier, the government had made cut in grant-in-aid. There has not been any revision of posts in the colleges after 1986. There has been an increase in the strength of the students in the colleges and the revenue generated because of this is being taken away by the state government but no post has been
sanctioned by the government. Strangely enough during the last two years the government has not allowed the managements to fill up the posts which have fallen vacant because of the retirement of the lecturers or even otherwise. The colleges are catering to the needs of the
students through ad hoc appointments. Not only this, even the post of the Principal which has fallen vacant is not being allowed to be filled up. This is a strange situation. Can anybody conceive of a college without a regular Principal? This has affected the standards of education, discipline and development of the colleges. M.L. Anand Transparency a must
I want to draw your attention to the system of bureaucratic working in our country which is not at all transparent. Since the laws, bylaws and other rules and regulations are neither clear and specific nor transparent, the in charge officials use these rules to harass the honest and innocent people. Some of these officials were using the same laws for amassing personal wealth and assets. There is a dire need to make the rules transparent so that the common masses are not harassed. It is high time we start thinking in the national interest and give up our individual and vested interests. Only then can we build up a strong nation and also help individuals grow without any harassment. D.V. Saharan |
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Drug peddler held with charas Ludhiana, July 4 The police said 1 kg of charas was seized from his possession. One held with poppy husk:
12 booked for stealing power:
Beaten up:
The Model Town police yesterday registered a case under Sections 452,323,427 and 34 of the IPC on the statement of Ms Sukhwinder Kaur, a resident of LIG Flats, Dugri, against Rashpal Singh and his sons Sonu, Luckey and Kaka, residents of the same locality. The woman had alleged that the accused forced their way into her house on Wednesday night, beat her up and injured her. The accused also damaged furniture lying in the house, she added. No arrest has been made so far. The Shimla Puri police yesterday registered a case under Sections 324,341.323.379,506, 148 and 149 of the IPC on the statement of Mr Sukhwinder Singh, a resident of Ram Nagar, against Raj, a resident of Ram Nagar, Bhag Singh, Sohan Singh, Raju and Sohan Singh and three other unknown persons accompanying them. The complainant had alleged that the accused intercepted him on the road, beat him up and also snatched a mobile phone and Rs 3,800 from him No arrest has been made so far. The Jodhewal police yesterday registered a case under Sections 323,324,506 and 34 of the IPC on the statement of Mr Kailash Rai, a resident of Iqbal Nagar, against Chanchla Devi and her sons Latu and Rakesh Kumar. The complainant had alleged that the accused had beaten and injured him on Wednesday. No arrest has been made so far. The Shimla Puri police registered case under Sections 353, 186 and 506 of the IPC yesterday on the statement of constable Gurmeet Singh, on duty on a PCR motor cycle No 71, against Surjit Singh, Hardev Singh and Seva Singh, all residents of Azad Nagar. The complainant had alleged that the accused scuffled with him and interfered in the discharge of his duty on Thursday evening. Eve-teaser booked:
2 held for rash driving:
Stolen goods recovered:
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Liquor seized Ludhiana, July 4 |
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‘IPRC harassing hoteliers’ Ludhiana, July 4 In his welcome address, Mr Nanda thanked Mr Suri, for their untiring efforts to get exemptions and relaxations like withdrawal of expenditure tax, exempting hotels from service tax as mandap keepers in Union Budget and certain other incentives and concession in the exim policy, as announced on March 31, 2003, and it was only their submission of memoranda repeatedly that Mr Jaswant Singh, Union Finance Minister, gave due recognition to the tourism industry in the Budget. While giving details of other major problems of the hotel industry, Mr Nanda further informed that members of the Hotel and Restaurant Association, Punjab, were being harassed by the Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS) and Phonographic Performance Ltd (PRL). Both these agencies are sending legal notices to the members of the HRAP unnecessarily, urging them to obtain licenses from them regarding playing the music in their hotel and restaurants by paying huge annual license fees. Mr Nanda presented a momento to Mr Shyam Suri on behalf of Hotel and Restaurant Association of Punjab. He also honoured Mr NipunVig, GM Park Plaza for his first visit at Ludhiana. The prominent hoteliers who were present include S.S. Grewal, Mukesh Nayar, Avtar Singh Taksonz, Devinder Batra, Inderbir Singh Nanda, Subash Kumar, Taranjit Singh, Vishwajit Sethi, Mohinder Chawla and others. |
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