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Undertrial says he was branded by officials Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 25 While the Jail Superintendent denied the allegation, Mohan Lal alleged that the words “neevi jaat” (low caste) was etched on his back with hot iron rods. He made the allegation in front of mediapersons in the courts complex where he was brought in connection with the murder case. Alleging that he was not allowed to visit the temple as he belonged to a Scheduled Caste, Mohan Lal claimed that the jail officials beat him up and branded him. Mohan Lal is a co-accused in the case along with the prime accused, Raman Rana. Mr Jagjit Singh, Jail Superintendent, claimed that the two were transferred from Ludhiana jail some months ago on administrative grounds. Raman Rana was again transferred to Hoshiarpur jail some days ago. Refuting the charges, he said he had not visited the jail since Wednesday last. He claimed he was on field duty for two days and then he had gone on leave. Yesterday he was at a wedding and had not visited the jail. Mr Jagjit Singh said he had not seen Mohan Lal before. He only knew about Raman Rana who was using his mobile phone to contact gang members. “That was the reason I had transferred them from Ludhiana jail earlier and Jalandhar later. They had formed a gang inside the jail premises and were fighting with other undertrials. They are now trying to get back at me,” he added.
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Badal assails CM on Pak Sikh
shrines
Chandigarh, April 25 Mr Badal also asked the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to come clean on this constitutional impropriety of the Punjab Chief Minister in directly addressing the head of a neighbouring nation. “The Chief Minister’s outburst at a function in Delhi directly seeking General Musharraf’s pro-active opposition to the SGPC is shocking beyond belief as it not only tramples on the prerogative of the Prime Minister and the Union Government, who alone are competent to approach a foreign head of state on any issue concerning the people, but is also a grave provocation to the whole Sikh community which has made supreme sacrifices to win the right to manage their shrines through their elected representatives,” said Mr Badal in a statement here today. The Akali Dal chief also wanted the Prime Minister, both as the head of the national government and as a Sikh, to come out openly on what he thought of Capt Amarinder Singh’s action in tearing international protocol to pieces and usurping the Central Government’s right to speak on matters that could have a very sensitive bearing on the country’s foreign policy, especially on an issue pertaining to the religious sensitivities of an already aggrieved minority. He said the Dal would not take his arrogance against the Panth lightly and “the Chief Minister will be given a befitting response.”
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MBBS students not allowed to attend classes over fee
Amritsar, April 25 This is in spite of the direction issued by the secretary, Department of Medical Education and Research, on April 20, which clearly stated that “the earlier decision of the fee fixation committee dated July 17, 2004, has to be strictly adhered to for new admissions for the academic session 2005-06 and also for ongoing classes till a fresh order is passed”. However, Dr U.S. Dhaliwal, Principal-cum-Director of the institute, when contacted refused to comment and asked to contact Mr Dilmegh Singh, secretary, SGPC, who expressed his ignorance over the matter. It may be mentioned here that the students were also chucked out last year for the same reasons and some of the parents had to go to court against the decision of the medical college. The parents of 36 second-year students alleged that the authorities asked them to deposit Rs 2.86 lakh more before their wards would be allowed to attend the classes. They said the college authorities had already taken more than Rs 3.50 lakh for MBBS at the time of admission. Similarly, the parents of first-year students said they had deposited Rs 75,000 and now they were again told to deposit Rs 2.86 lakh. The parents of students studying in SGPC and other privately run institutions have formed an association to take up the cases of their wards. The association, in a letter to the Minister for medical education and Research, has resented that the fee fixation committee, constituted last year under the chairmanship of Justice (retd) G.R. Majithia, has yet to finalise the fee structure, which led to this unsavory situation. The parents said other states had already finalised the fee structure before the current session. They added that the private medical institutions in absence of fee structure were pressurising the students to deposit fee as per their wishes. The notice, pasted by the authorities of the SGPC-run college, read that the state fee fixation committee had to yet fix the final fee to be paid by the students although the Punjab and Haryana high court had directed the committee to fix the fee by October 11, 2004. The authorities said as per agreement reached between SGRD Charitable Hospital Trust and the Minister for Medical Education and Research, the students would have to pay the remaining fee if the committee failed to fix the final fee. The trust in its meeting held in December 7, 2004, decided to ask the students to deposit the fee as per prospectus. They said any difference between the fee deposited and final structure would be adjusted. Meanwhile, the parents of the students threatened to pursue the legal course of action if the SGPC authorities did not permit the students to attend classes and withdraw their order of depositing excess fee.
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GND varsity refuses to accept IGNOU
degrees
Amritsar, April
25 The GND varsity Calendar reads, “The examinations of one university should be recognised by another on the reciprocal basis provided that the entrance qualification, duration of the course and general standard of attainment are similar to those prescribed by the recognising university”. However, the IGNOU authorities pleaded that the university was passed under the Parliament Act and hence all universities in the country were bound to accept the degrees awarded by it. IGNOU has also pleaded that GND varsity had given an undertaking to recognise its diplomas and degrees. This plea is not acceptable to GND varsity at all. However, the GND varsity authorities have told IGNOU that some of its degrees could not be accepted without applying equivalence criteria. GND varsity is clear in its approach that it could not violate the norms fixed by the All-India Universities Association (AIUA) and its (university’s) own Calendar by accepting the degrees of any other university unless the Equivalence Committee of GND varsity clears these. The latest controversy over this came up when a woman candidate got a job of lecturer in a Jalandhar-based college, affiliated to GND varsity on the basis of the MCA degree of IGNOU. However, when GND varsity refused to give approval to her appointment, she approached IGNOU authorities. The IGNOU wrote to GND varsity that it was bound to recognise the degrees as per the agreement signed with the Distance Education Council (DEC) while accepting grant of Rs 5 lakh. However, GND varsity wrote back to IGNOU that it had fixed four yardsticks to recognise the degrees from any outside university of the country. The criteria of GND varsity, fixed on the basis of the AIUA and university Calendar, is that, ‘At least 75 per cent of the syllabus has to be same as that of GND varsity’. The second criterion for equivalence, fixed by GND varsity is that “the duration of the course has to be same as that of the correspondence degree of GND varsity”. Another criterion is that, “the admission to the degree should not be through lateral entry and eligibility conditions of the course contents”. Dr S. K. Verma, Director Distance Education, GND varsity said many such cases were referred to the Equivalence Committee of the university . He, however, clarified that many degrees, which had parity with the syllabus, were recognised by GND varsity. He said it was pity that certain universities adopted different criteria for same degrees provided to regular students and those under Distance Education that created such a mess. Such ‘educational muddle’ was the creation of the vested interests who wanted to ‘mint money’ by commercialisation of education.
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Irregularities worth 25.75 cr detected in excise duty
Chandigarh, April 25 Non-accounting of 45.41 lakh
proof litre (PL) of rectified spirit resulted in the loss of excise duty
worth Rs 6.81 crore. The failure of exporters of liquor to produce
certificates acknowledging the receipts of liquor by consignees outside
the state resulted into the non-levy of duty worth Rs 3.12 crore. There
are other irregularities also. These irregularities have been detected
by Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG). Under the Punjab Distillery
Rules, 1932, one quintal of molasses should yield 36.61 PLs of spirit.
However, checking of the records maintained by four distilleries
revealed that the yield of spirit ranged between 31.82 and 35.21 PLs. To
ensure the compliance of provisions of the Act , rules and departmental
instructions and to safeguard against any fraud etc, internal control of
distilleries is exercised by the State Excise and Taxation
Department. Between 2001-02 and March 2003, 688.81 lakh PLs of spirit
was produced by the four distilleries from 19.95 lakh quintals of
molasses, which is given to the distilleries on controlled rate from
cooperative sugarmills, against the envisaged yield of 730. 21 lakh PLs.
It resulted in a loss of Rs 6.96 crore in excise duty. Unauthorised
transfer of spirit from the company account to the government account
resulted in a loss of Rs 6.81 crore. During the checking of records of
two distilleries it was noticed that 74.95 PL spirit was transferred
from the company account to the government account during 1999-2000 to
2002-03. The ETO concerned stated that the matter was being examined by
comparing the distillery and excise records. Difference was detected in
the actual use of molasses. Checking of records of two distilleries
revealed that 56.09 lakh quintals of molasses was used for the
production of spirit. However, further cross verification from
government records revealed that 55.86 lakh quintals of molasses was
used. Records of a distillery from 2000 to March 2003, revealed that
certificates involving the export of 20.50 lakh PLs of spirit and 45,225
PLs of liquor (IMFL) were not received up to July 2003 from importing
states. The excise department authorities did not take action for
realising the duty of Rs 3.12 crore by invoking bonds.
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Clash between rival Akalis averted
Ropar, April 25 A large number of police personnel were deployed at various places in the city to avert a clash between workers of the two parties since morning. The SP (D), Mr S.S. Garewal, and administrative officials also reached the spot to take stock of the situation. The workers of the SAD reached Nangal Chowk at about 8 a.m. to stop the workers of the SAD (Amritsar), who had decided to burn the effigies at 10 a.m. Seeing the strength of the SAD activists, the members of SAD (Amritsar) delayed their protest by two and a half hours and also changed the venue for the demonstration. Later, at about 12.30 p.m., the workers of the SAD (Amritsar), headed by Dr Harjinder Singh Jakhu, held a rally raising slogans against Mr Badal and Bibi Jagir Kaur. The rally passed through the college road. They burnt effigies of Mr Badal and Bibi Jagir Kaur at Bela Chowk under heavy security.
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SAD (A) workers burn Badal’s effigy
Phagwara, April
25 The protesters, led
by Mr Hardip Singh Domeli, burned the effigy amid slogans. They
disappeared before the police could reach the site. Four leaders of the
SAD (A), Rajinder Singh Fauji, Resham Singh Pappi, Gurdial Singh
Mananwali and Gurmit Singh, were arrested two days ago. Additional
police force was deployed at all strategic points.
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Amarinder govt is anti-Dalit: BSP
Hoshiarpur, April 25 Under this conspiracy the government had proposed to privatise 2,000 schools, hospitals and the Punjab State Electricity Board. With the privatisation of schools, children of Dalits would be deprived of education. Health facilities being provided in government hospitals on nominal rates to Dalits and the weaker sections would also become beyond the reach of a common man and power rates would be enhanced further. He said no department should be privatised. He further alleged that atrocities on Dalits had increased during Capt Amarinder Singh’s rule. Mr Harpal Singh, Mr Bhagwan Singh Chohan, both general secretaries of the Punjab unit, Mr Sumitter Singh Sikri, District President of BSP and many others also addressed the rally. Later they presented a charter of demands to the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Hoshiarpur.
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Woman alleges rape in police custody
Bathinda,
April 25 A three-member
team of the Health Department examined the victim following a court
order but no details of her medical examination were available. It may
be mentioned here that Pawani was sent to the Central Jail, Bathinda,
after her arrest. She had alleged that four policemen raped her and the
police tortured her. Earlier, she was rushed to the Civil Hospital
when she complained of pain a few days back. Sources said the team had
sent some samples to Patiala. Unconfirmed reports said blood was oozing
out of her mouth today when she was brought to the hospital and her
condition was reportedly critical. Pawani also accused the police of
trapping her in a false case. Her relatives told mediapersons that she
had an altercation with some women of her locality on April 17 and they
lodged a complaint against Pawani at the Cantt police station. They
alleged that the police rounded her up on the same day and produced her
in the court the next day after implicating her in a false case of
possessing opium. They said they had written to human rights commission
and sought a probe into the matter. SSP Kapil Dev said he had already
ordered a probe into the matter and SP Ajay Maluja would submit a report
after investigation in the case.
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Slogans greet minister during MC visit
Amritsar,
April 25 It lamented the
“pressure tactics” used by a senior official. Union members raised
slogans when the minister arrived at the MC Town Hall two hours behind
schedule. Interestingly, two tubewells were inaugurated by the minister
today, one of which had already been inaugurated by a councillor of the
Opposition. One tubewell is located on the Mahana Singh road and the
other in East Mohan Nagar. However, Mr Sunil Datti, Mayor, said the
tubewell had not been inaugurated earlier. The minister presented a
cheque for Rs 4 crore for development of which Rs 1 crore is for slum
areas. Mr Shavet Mallik and Mr Madan Lal Aneja, both BJP councillors,
presented a list of demands to the minister that included release of Rs
38.5 crore owed to the MC by the state in lieu of collections of excise
duty that has been pending for years. The MC has to take loans to
fulfil its obligations while the state is sitting on a whopping sum
payable to the MC, which has gathered interest during this period,” they
added. Earlier, during a meeting of the Planning and Development Board
for 2005-2006, a plan was made for the development for city with a
budget of Rs 88.62 crore. The minister said a sum of Rs 4.30 crore was
released for old-age pensioners in the district, for widow pensions (Rs
35 lakh), destitute children (Rs 4.61 lakh), for the disabled (Rs 8.47
lakh), under the Ashirvaad Scheme (Rs 1.53 crore), mid-day meal (Rs 2.06
crore) and Kishori Yojana (Rs 13.85 lakh). Besides, a sum of Rs 3.26
crore was released for development of Ajnala, Chogawan, Gandiwind,
Valtoha and Patti.
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47 pc milk samples found adulterated
Chandigarh,
April 25 Milk laced with
urea, starch, formalin, glucose, sugar and salt was also detected. This
was not all. Several samples of adulterated ghee, besides low-quality
paneer, were seized by department officials from Ludhiana, Sangrur and
Gurdaspur districts. Giving details, sources said 1,506 samples, out
of the total, did not conform to the prescribed standards. Out of these,
1,466 samples were found to be adulterated with water. Twentyfive
samples were discovered to be laced with soda. The sources added that
four samples contained urea. Another four were laced with starch.
Besides, four other samples were found containing sugar, salt, formalin
and glucose. In a large number of cases tests revealed that cream had
been separated from the milk by the vendors before selling. As such, the
fat level was very low in the milk. The vendors were also adding
neutralisers to the milk for enhancing its life. The department’s Joint
Director, Mr K.S. Mavi, asserted that contrary to the general belief no
case of “pond water” being added to the milk was detected during the
awareness campaign. The sources said that the sample-testing process
was a part of an ongoing campaign launched by the department in the
state. They asserted that the samples of milk offered by vendors were
brought by the consumers themselves and tested at the laboratories set
up by the department at the district level. Most of the samples
collected from Bathinda, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib, Kharar and several
other places in the state failed the test due to water adulteration.
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Rotarians’ salute to Paul Harris
Patiala, April 25 Dr B.C. Gupta, Financial Commissioner-cum-Principal Secretary (Food and Civil Supply) inaugurated the function by lighting the ceremonial lamp. Dr Gupta later garlanded a portrait of Paul Harris and he also released a heritage stamp on Rotary’s founder prepared by the club. Dr Gupta pointed to the need for holding social dialogue as a mantra for unleashing the goodwill lying untapped in the hearts of the people. He illustrated the point with reference to the recent Indo-Pak cricket match at Mohali where every second family came to host the visitors. Rotarian Dr Vanita Gupta, a Paul Harris fellow of Rotary International District 3080, made an informative audio visual presentation while Prof S.C. Sharma underlined the need for adopting the Rotary four way test to improve the moral tone of society Renowned orthopaedic surgeon Dr R.L. Mittal thanked the speakers and other guests.
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Bank staff observe strike
Patiala, April 25 The strike call was jointly given by the All India Oriental Bank Employees’ Federation and the All-India Oriental Bank Officers’ Association. Mr Vinod Sharma, general secretary of the association, said if the government went ahead with it decision to increase private capital in banks, the ownership control and monitoring of the banks would be greatly diluted leading to instability. Mr Sharma added that neither the government nor the bank’s management was trying to recover the non-performing-assets which were more than the 2500 crores. He added that even if a part of the NPA was recovered there would be no need to go to the private market to increase capital. Prominent among those who addressed the gathering were Mr N.K Gaur of the All-India Bank Employees’ Association, (AIBEA) Mr Yog Raj Gupta, president of the All-India Oriental Bank Employees’ Federation (AIOBEF).
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BSP rally opposes govt schools in pvt
hands
Sangrur, April 25 Among others who attended the dharna were Mr Ran Singh Mehlan, Mr Amrik Singh, secretary of the Punjab BSP; Mr Pavitar Singh, district president of the party; Mr Jagtar Singh Changal, district president of Bahujan Volunteer Force, and Mr Nachhatar Singh. The BSP activists held a protest march, carrying banners and placards, condemning the proposed move of the government regarding handing over of government schools to private parties. The leaders termed the government move to privatise government schools as “unconstitutional”. They also asked the Punjab Governor to intervene and not allow the government to execute its proposal. They said this move of the government would be in violation of the fundamental principles of the Constitution. The leaders said the government was considering handing over other public sector institutions like the Punjab State Electricity Board and Punjab Roadways, to the private sector. This would create unemployment and unrest among the youth. A deputation of the party submitted a memorandum, opposing the move to privatise government schools to the Deputy Commissioner.
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BSF, Pak Rangers to step up vigil
Amritsar, April 25 This was revealed by Mr G.S. Gill, IG, BSF (Punjab), who returned along with other personnel from Karachi after attending a biennial meeting with the Pakistan Rangers, at a news conference at Wagah joint checkpost, about 26 km from here, yesterday. He said they had provided names of two prisoners of war (POW) languishing in Pakistan jails to the Rangers. However, the latter denied having any POW in their jails.
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ATM replaces water taps
Bathinda, April 25 Thousands of people,
who visit the station daily, have been deprived of the most basic
necessity at a public place. Volunteers of the Sahara Jan Seva, an NGO,
have put up a water stall there for passengers. The passengers said
unavailability of potable water in the circulating area had affected the
poor as they could not afford to buy a bottle of mineral water costing
Rs 10 or Rs 12. Ms Anita Chowdhary, a passenger, said the ATM would be
used only by a few passengers, while the water facility was for all.
Ranjit, a porter, said they had to go to shops outside the station to
drink water. Mr D. K. Singh, Station Superintendent, said a water
cooler would be installed in the circulating area. He said no
circulating area of any railway station had potable water facility.
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Cong to launch ‘nari
chetna lehar’
Kharar, April 25 This was stated by Ms Sarbari Begum, secretary, PPCC, at a meeting held in connection with the employment of women at Khanpur here today. She told the gathering that women, who were even educated, were no aware of their rights and as a result had to face various problems in their day to day life. The chetna lehar was being started to make women aware of their rights, she added. She said that in case of dowry and female foeticide only women were held responsible even when they were not the only ones to be blamed. She said that apart from creating awareness, the lehar would also discuss other problems being faced by women.
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Major power shutdown today
Patiala, April 25 The areas where power supply would not be available from 9 am to 5 am on Tuesday are Chotti Baradari, Sai market, Khalsa Mohalla, AC market, Bahera road, Nabha Gate, Top Khana mor, Old Anaj Mandi, Old Tehsil, Ragho Majra, Dhillon Colony, Ragho Majra, Officers Colony, Malwa Colony, Good Earth Colony and New Officers Colony.
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Lightning kills two labourers
Amritsar, April 25 According to information, two migrants, Mohammad Ziauddin and Mohmmad Quyyam, both residents of Katihar in Bihar, were engaged in harvesting in the fields when the lightning struck.
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HIGH COURT Our High Court Correspondent
Chandigarh, April 25 The Judge also set aside the permission granted for prosecution of the officer in 1988, as earlier, in 1979, a request for launch of prosecution proceedings against him had been turned down. Disposing of the petition filed by Amarjit Singh, a former Executive Engineer, the Bench noted that it was wholly inappropriate to allow the prosecution of the petitioner as the government had previously denied permission for the same years ago. The court also observed that no material had been placed on record to show that the petitioner was ever subjected to departmental proceedings. This was inspite of the fact that the respondents had been given ample opportunity to conduct departmental inquiry against him. In his petition, which was filed in 1988, Mr Amarjit Singh had questioned the validity of permission granted in 1988 to prosecute him. He said the sanction was granted almost nine years after the government had refused to sanction his prosecution. He had also claimed that the sanction to prosecute him was illegal and violative of Article 21 of the Constitution. His petition was admitted in 1989 and next year, an application filed by the government for vacation of stay on further proceedings was dismissed. In its order, the Bench also noted that there was no material that justified a review of the decision not to grant sanction for prosecution.
Contempt case Mr Justice A.K. Goel
of the High Court has directed the Secretary, Animal Husbandry
Department, Punjab, to be personally present in the court on September
6. The personal appearance of the officer was ordered during hearing of
a contempt petition moved by Mr Wazir Singh and some other Class IV
employees of Mansa district. In their petition, Mr Wazir Singh and
others have stated that an despite an order of the Punjab and Haryana
High Court, directing the Punjab Government to grant consequential
benefits to them, no such benefits have been granted. However, the
state government did not implement the High Court order on the plea that
a special leave petition (SLP) against the order was pending in Supreme
Court. After hearing counsel for the petitioners, the Bench ordered
the officer to be present in the court on the next date of hearing.
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Insurance officer held for graft
Pathankot, April
25 Vigilance officials laid a trap for the Manager on the
complaint of Ranjit Singh, resident of Chak Phool village, near
here. Ranjit Singh had complained to the Vigilance Department that the
Manager had been demanding a bribe from him for the settlement of some
claim. The deal for the work was settled at Rs 1,500/- This evening
Ranjit Singh handed over Rs 1,500 to the Manager and vigilance officials
accompanying him nabbed him.
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Girl, brother found murdered
Gurdaspur, April
25 Sources said the deceased were alone
at their house last night along with their servant, a migrant
labourer. The servant, who was sleeping near the room of the deceased,
reported the incident to the police in the morning. The police reached
the spot and took the bodies for post-mortem to Civil Hospital here. The
mother and brother-in-law of the deceased had gone out for some work
leaving them alone in the house along with the servant. The SSP, Mr
Ishwar Singh, when contacted said in the post-mortem signs of
strangulation had been found on the body of Lakhwinder Singh. However,
no mark of resistance or strangulation was found on the body of the
girl. The viscera of the deceased had been sent for chemical
examination. A case under Section 302 of the IPC has been registered.
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Six booked for fraud
Muktsar, April 25 According to a press release issued here today, Baljinder Singh and his friends, in their complaint to the SSP, had alleged that Shaminder Singh, along with his parents and three friends, had formed a gang and would loot those aspiring to settle abroad. They alleged that the accused charged Rs 90,000 from each aspirant and kept with them his school/ college certificates. They used to tell people approaching them to pay the rest of the money after landing on foreign shores. They accused them of looting nearly 70 persons in this manner. They alleged that whenever a person would ask them to return his money they would threaten him. Following their complaint, a case has been registered against Shaminder and his aides under Sections 406 420, 467, 468, 471, 506 and 34 of the IPC at the Sadar police station. The police has arrested Shaminder Singh and his father Jagraj Singh, while search is on for the remaining accused.
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2 injured in attack
Kapurthala, April 25 According to the police, the victims were accompanying Rajinder Singh and his nephew Sarabjeet Singh when they were going to attend proceedings of a case at the District Courts, when a group of assailants attacked them with swords. Ashok Kumar and Banta Singh (76) sustained injuries in the clash while Rajinder and Sarabjeet managed to flee the spot. Sources maintained that the accused had enmity with Rajinder and Sarabjit. The police is investigating the case and an FIR is yet to be registered.
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Three held for selling adulterated
petrol
Amritsar, April 25 The arrested include Sham Bahadur, a resident of Jalandhar, driver of the tanker, cleaner of tanker Surinder Kumar, a resident of Kangra, and Raj Kumar salesman at the petrol station. A case under Sections 420 and 120-B, IPC, and the Essential Commodities Act was registered at Mehta Police station. Ms Vibhu Raj, SSP, Majitha police district, in a press note issued here today said that the samples were drawn from the tanker, the petrol station in the presence of Mr Amarjit Singh, District Food and Supply Officer (DFSO), and the Assistant Sales Manager of Bharat Petroleum, Mr Sanjeev Arora. She said the accused were in the process of adulterating the petrol with MTO.
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Three die in accident
Hoshiarpur, April 25 According to police sources the
truck driver fled after the accident. The bodies were sent to the Civil
Hospital, Dasuya, for a post-mortem. The Dasuya police has registered
a case under Section 304 A of the IPC.
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One killed in accident
Kharar, April 25 Jasmer Singh, a resident of a colony falling on Landran road was going on a scooter when a jeep which was going towards Chandigarh allegedly hit his scooter while trying to overtake another vehicle. The injured was taken to the Civil Hospital at Mohali where he died.
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Tribune Impact
Jalandhar, April
25 The District Education Department has directed the authorities of Government Senior Secondary School, Bilga village, to send teachers of different subjects on rotation to the school daily for taking classes and conducting admissions. The two teachers working in the Government Elementary School of the villages have also been directed to take classes. The DEO, Mr R.R. Badhan, visited the school and has initiated an inquiry in this regard on April 21, the day of publishing of the report. He said he held a meeting with the panchayats of both villages and asked them to appoint a teacher by mobilising their resources. The DEO said it had been decided that the school would now be a part of cluster under a high school in Pawadla village, 2 km from the school, instead of Bilga which was 9 km away. The DEO said he had been assured by villagers that they would take an initiative to get students for the school by visiting door-to-door campaigning. They also said students from the two villages who had joined Sangowal village school would be called back to join this school in their village.
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Teething troubles in store for new veterinary university
Ludhiana, April 25 Before
finalising the draft of the new university which was passed by the
Punjab Vidhan Sabha in its budget session, the PAU authorities were not
taken into confidence. There are many contradictions in the new
university’s act itself. The Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal
Sciences University which is being established in the memory of second
Sikh guru shall have division of assets with the Punjab Agricultural
University in the ratio of 30-70. This has been provided in the new
university Act and there certain buildings which stand transferred to
the new university under the Act. But legal experts maintain that the
unilateral orders cannot be issued by the state government PAU being an
autonomous university, its board of management must first grant the
sanction for the transfer of the assets. No doubt the board of
management of PAU is also dominated by the senior officials of the
Punjab Government, yet certain formalities have to be fulfilled to
legalise the things. Further there can be tension on the otherwise
peaceful campus on the question of sharing facilities of library,
medical, playgrounds, guest houses, auditorium, clubs, public health
services and accommodation for employees of any other facilities
available with PAU. Under the Act, the first Vice-Chancellor of the
veterinary university shall be the Secretary, Animal Husbandry, of the
state government and he shall hold charge till the university starts
functioning smoothly or till the board appoints a regular
Vice-Chancellor. The Secretary, Animal Husbandry, is in fact, the brain
behind this new university. Under the Act, 70 acres of prime land
adjoining the immunology building where the veterinary university will
be located has already been transferred to the new university. Besides,
the fodder area (155 acres) small animal colony in the department of
zoology and hostels attached with the veterinary college shall stand
transferred to the new university. The PAU at present is undertaking
research on wheat, maize and pulses on 70 acres of land located on the
Ferozepore road. Mr Parkash Singh Badal during his tenure as Chief
Minister wanted to dispose of this prime land but the then
Vice-Chancellor, Dr G.S. Kalkat, put his foot down and did not allow the
same. PAU had witnessed a land scam during the tenure of Dr A.S. Khera
when valuable land of the university was sold to a leading industrial
house now close to the state government. The scam was enquired into the
Dr Khera was indicted. Dr Kalkat did not allow another scandal on the
campus. Interestingly the board of management of the new university will
have two NRIs as its members. The question is will they come to attend
the meeting of the board from abroad. Dr D.R. Bhumbla, a senior soil
scientist of the country who served as Director Research at PAU and also
Commissioner Agriculture, Government of India, strongly feels, ‘there
should not be a university within a university. The PAU Teachers
Association (PAUTA) and the non-teaching employees are going to
challenge the new university in count.
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Teacher complains to DC against Headmaster
Fatehgarh Sahib, April 25 The teacher
had alleged that after she marked her attendance, the Headmaster called
her to get her charges of the examination duties. He handed over a Rs
100 currency note to her when she demanded Rs 80 more. He caught her
from the arm and said, “take as much money as you want”. She alleged
that she went to the primary school and told her colleague Mel Singh, Mr
Mel Singh called the Headmaster and asked him why he had molested the
staff member. She had written that the Headmaster apologised to Mr Mel
Singh. She further mentioned that she along with her husband went to the
Headmaster’s residence at Sirhind and his wife assured them that she
would ask him to apologise to her. They had also informed the sarpanch
of the village, panchyat members, and other prominent people. The
Headmaster was urged to apologise and her husband Manoj Kumar was also
told apologise to the Headmaster for beating him. She urged the Deputy
Commissioner to conduct a thorough inquiry and punish the guilty. Meanwhile,
the Deputy Commissioner marked an inquiry to Mr Kaley, GA to Deputy
Commissioner today.
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Topper loses seat due to change in norms
Amritsar, April
25 In spite of securing the top position along with Dr
Alka Gupta, he has been ignored because of fresh norms reserving 50 per
cent seats for students belonging to their parent government
institution. This is, however, not mentioned in the
prospectus. Narrating his tale of woes, Dr Bhandari said that a
circular dated March 25, 2003 was released through an advertisement a
week before the examination. It stated that reservation had been
provided to PG students as per the directions of the apex court. It did
not mention the criteria for the reservation. When contacted, Dr J.S.
Dalal, Director Research and Medical Education, said the government had
fixed the criteria according to the notification and the authorities
could do little in the matter.
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Teachers hold rally against
privatisation of education
Ropar, April
25 Addressing gathering, the leaders alleged that the decision of the government to privatise the education system was against the national policy to provide free education to students between six to 14 year. The decision of the government to handover government schools to private parties would increase the cost of education and it would be difficult for children of the poor sections of the society to get education. The leaders also informed that on May 10, a large number of teachers would join the massive rally to be held in front of Parliament against the move of the state government. They said in the first week of May a convention of teachers would be held to raise the issue. Prominent among those who addressed the gathering included Ranbiir Dhillon, Ranjit Singh Halwara, Sital Singh Chahal, Paramjit Singh, Gurbachan Singh. Meanwhile the district unit of the BSP on Monday also organised a separate rally against the privatisation of education in the state and submitted a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner for submission to the Punjab Governor. The president of the district BSP unit, Mr Charanjit Singh Ghai, said that the decision of the government was against the fundamental rights of education and poor section of the society.
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Painting competition results
Patiala, April 25 As many
as 150 students from 14 schools participated in the competition. The
Rotary district governor-elect Dr Harbans Pathak distributed the prizes
to the winners. Results: 4-7 years — Janvi Gupta Sri Aurobindo
International school-1, Ajay Bharti (Teja Singh Kandhari Public
School)-2. 8-12 years — Harnoor Kaur (St. Peters Academy)-1, Jatin
Ahuja ( Guru Harkishan Public School) - 2, Pallavi (Sri Aurobindo
International School) - 3. 13 to 16 years: Varun Sharma (Playway High
School) - 1, Nitin Singla (Our Lady of Fatima Convent school) - 2, Kalam
Preeet (Modern Senior Secondary School) - 3. Best Budding Artists of the
Year: 13 to 16 years — Sapna Dahiya (Army School). 8 to 12 years:
Jagmeet Singh (Blossoms School).
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Vegetable traders go
on strike
Malerkotla, April 25 The traders closed
their shops and protested against the decision of the government. The
traders alleged that contractors and their goons would harass and
intimidate them for fee. The meeting convened by the Market Committee
authorities to allot the contract was cancelled earlier due to traders’
resentment. The residents and small traders faced a lot of problem due
to the strike.
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Punjab reduces rate of interest on cooperative loans
Fatehgarh Sahib, April 25 Taking a major decision for the benefit of the farming community, the
state government has reduced the rate of interest on the co-operative
loans to the farmers by 1 per cent from present the existing 11 per cent
to 10 per cent from the current financial year, said Mr Jasjit Singh
Randhawa, Minister for Co-operation while addressing a press conference
here today. He had come here to install Mr. Gurdaman Singh Dhillon
newly-elected MD of the Fatehgarh Sahib Central Co-operative Bank. He
said that the state government had reduced the rate of interest from the
previous 14 per cent to 10 per cent within three years, which was a
great relief to farmers. He said as per the directions of the Centre the
quantum of advances in the agriculture sector had been increased by 30
per cent, which was to be doubled within three years. Answering a
query, he said that in the present WTO regime, the co-operative sector
had to play an important and more relevant role in the economy of the
state by delivering quality agri-inputs and by reducing the cost of
agriculture through the large network of the co-operatives. He said at
present Australian wheat was available at Rs 450 per quintal at Kandla
port, whereas the MSP was Rs 650 per quintal.
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