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BSF to raise women’s battalion
Widows, ex-servicemen narrate
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Over 2,000 AIDS cases in state: Dogra
Makkar visits Ber Sahib,
Bibi stays away
NABARD’s nod to Rs 261.58 cr water supply project: Henry
Former headmaster gets 1-year RI, drug peddler to serve
Travel agent arrested
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BSF to raise women’s battalion
Jalandhar, December 1 He said BSF’s Director General had sent a proposal in this regard to the Government of India and a nod was awaited. Mr Dalal said a decision in this regard was taken after BSF started facing difficulties in frisking female infiltrators. “Hundreds of farm women along with their children twice a day pass through the border gates for cultivating their land on the other side of the fence, and a check had to be maintained on them.” Mr Dalal said since it would be undignified for the BSF men to frisk any suspicious looking woman passing through, wives of BSF jawans and female social activists in the border areas had to be relied on for the job. “At times, when reliable women folk were not available, the personnel found it difficult to let in even the genuine women,” he added. Meanwhile, the Inspector General denied reports of frequent infiltration across the western or north-eastern borders in the recent past. He said efforts of intruders to cross the border through tunneling and moving through elephant grass had been thwarted. Talking about a recent meeting with the Rangers in Chandigarh, Mr Dalal said the focus lay on repatriation of those who had inadvertently crossed the borderline. He said that seven Pakistanis had been sent back since then. Mr Dalal said surprise ambushes and electrified fencing was ensuring a continuous warfare on the borderline. He said men on horses were keeping an eye on men across the fences, while armed personnel moving in boats were checking infiltration in the riverine border areas. The Inspector General added that top officials of the BSF were planning to procure advanced weaponry and night imagery devices to improve surveillance. Addressing the gathering of ex-BSF personnel today, Mr R.S. Dalal, IG, Punjab Frontier, BSF, said BSF men were now being looked down upon as they were known to be “involved in corrupt practices”. Mr Dalal said, “Men from the army or BSF are better known as smugglers of liquors. Probably for that reason, there has been a move to raise excise duty in canteens. Recently there has been news of some personnel being involved in sending out an oil tanker filled with water instead of oil.” He went on giving such examples, probably not aware that the media persons were listening to him. But later, during the press conference, he countered his own remarks saying, “BSF was the most well-disciplined paramilitary force. There have been no incidents where any personnel have been caught committing unfair acts.” |
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Widows, ex-servicemen narrate tales of woe
Jalandhar, December 1 Narrating her sad saga before senior officials of the BSF Punjab Frontier on the occasion of Ex-BSF Personnel Annual Meeting held here, Ms Gian Kaur, a city-resident, sought some financial help. Addressing her grievances, she told the officials that her son too passed away recently and she had no other source of income. She said she had been able to marry off only one of her two daughters and for which she had to take a loan of Rs 18,000. “The small amount of pension that I get goes off in paying bills; from where do I get money to eat two square meals?” she asked. Venting her ire on the officials, she said the force had not even provided her daughter with a job as was committed to her. “Every time I pleaded my case before them, I was told there was no post vacant,” she lamented. Besides Gian Kaur, there were many ex-servicemen and their widows who pleaded their individual cases. Ms Kalawati, widow of Madan Lal, a retired BSF jawan, said the meagre pension of Rs 25,00 she had been getting for almost 20 years, had now been withdrawn. “My husband died two years ago and now I am going from pillar to post fighting for my right. I am being told my husband had served for 15 years only, so I could not draw pension any more. But I call it unjustified. I have spent Rs 30,000 for a surgery which I had taken as debt, but I do not know how I will return this money?” she claimed. Ms Sumitra Devi, the widow of Govind Singh, too had a grouse against the officials for giving a trivial amount of Rs 25,00 as pension. “My two sons have deserted me. How do I survive with this amount?” she argued. Many ex-servicemen pleaded their cases pertaining to lower dues. Mr S.S. Multani, a retired BSF personnel, said, “The small amount of Rs 100 that we get as medical allowance is far too low as compared to our needs. There are no medical camps being held for our welfare. We are getting a step-motherly treatment if we compare the facilities which the army ex-servicemen are drawing.” Mr Gurmukh Singh, a retired sepoy from Wagah, said there was no ration distribution system in his area. “A store at Khasa is just selling subsidised liquor. No item of daily need is available there. I have requested officials to extend ration distribution system all across the state,” he said. Mr R.S. Dalal, Inspector General, Punjab Frontier, BSF, and Mr Mahinder Lal, Principal Staff Officer, Mr Gurcharan Singh, General Secretary of Ex-servicemen Welfare Cell, and Mr Maninder Singh, Senior Vice-President, listened to the grievances and assured them that their cases would be pleaded before higher officials. |
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Over 2,000 AIDS cases in state: Dogra
Jalandhar, December 1 Stating this while presiding over a function to mark the World AIDS Day today, the minister for Health and Family Welfare, Mr Ramesh Chandra Dogra, said “The rising figure indicates at the increasing threat of the dreaded disease and the awareness among the people is the only solution to the problem.” Appealing to the people to exercise great caution in using syringes, during blood transfusion and in establishing physical relations, he said the government with the help of educational institutes and social service organisations had launched a special awareness campaign. Under the campaign, various events including quiz, rallies, functions, seminars, painting and competitions would be organised to make people aware of the disease and the precautions required, he said. He further informed that voluntary counselling and testing centers have also been established in all the districts of the state, where tests are done at a paltry fee of Rs 10. Two anti-retro wheeler treatment centers are being established in the city, where AIDS patients will be treated free of cost. The state is working to fight against the disease under the theme of ‘Stop AIDS keep the promise’ till the year 2010. The message will be taken to every house and persons from 15 years to 24 years of age will be made aware about the disease. The Director Health Department, Dr Rajinder Rana Bawa, said that precaution was the only cure in saving oneself against the disease. School children from various schools of the city took out an awareness rally, which was flagged off by the minister from the Company Bagh. The children carried placards and banners with slogans to warn people against AIDS. The Lovely Institutes here organised an educative seminar on AIDS and drugs, which was addressed by Dr Raghbir Singh Bains. The National Association of Reproductive Child Health of India too held a seminar advising safe sex to the participants to prevent AIDS. |
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Makkar visits Ber Sahib,
Bibi stays away
Sultanpur Lodhi, December 1 On the issue of the recognition to Pakistan Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandhak Committee (PSGPC) by SGPC, Mr Makkar said there were many gurdwara
Prabhandhak committees in the world, and the SGPC was always ready to help them out. Meanwhile, Bibi Jagir Kaur, the former SGPC President, commenting on the phone over her absence from the function at Gurdwara Sri Ber Sahib where Mr Avtar Singh Makker was present, and where she was supposed to have been honored along with other former SGPC Presidents by the local MLA, Bibi Upinderjit Kaur, she said she could not reach there because of some preoccupations. “Otherwise I am always ready to serve the Panth.” Bibi Jagir Kaur also denied any regrets for not being re-elected to the post and said she would now be giving more time to religious activities of SAD and work to strengthen the base of the party for the forthcoming assembly elections in Punjab. The MLA from Bholath added there was no base in the new report published in a Punjabi daily saying that she had “regrets” over being taken into confidence by Mr Parkash Singh Badal, President, SAD (Badal), before declaring the candidature of Mr Avtar Singh Makkar for the SGPC chief. “I was elected to the post twice with the blessings of Mr Badal, and now I will work towards strengthening the party,” Bibi Jagir Kaur said. |
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NABARD’s nod to Rs 261.58 cr water supply project: Henry
Jalandhar, December 1 Stating this in a press note, Mr Henry said the project would cover villages of Bet area of Punjab primarily in Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Nawanshahr, besides some parts of Ferozepore, Sangrur, Bathinda, Mansa, Patiala, Amritsar and Gurdaspur as well. Taking the credit for getting the water supply scheme approved, he said the villages covered under the project would start getting piped and potable water supply at the rate of 70 litres per capita. The minister said the project would cover 33 water supply schemes in Jalandhar involving expenditure to the tune of Rs 11.94 crore and covering 82 villages of the Bet area. He said the project would cover 89 villages of Kapurthala district. Contrary to Mr Henry’s claim, Mr Sukhpal Khera, a senior Congress leader, had held a press conference in Kapurthala on Monday owing the credit for the approval of the scheme. |
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Former headmaster gets 1-year RI, drug peddler to serve 10-year term
Jalandhar, December 1 Subhash Chander, former headmaster of the Janata High School, was awarded the sentence for ‘misappropriating’ an amount of about Rs 20,000 from a government grant of about Rs 62,000 entrusted to him by the school’s management during 1997 to 1999. However, Subhash Chander could not be proved guilty of another charge which said he took fees over the specified amount from students belonging to Scheduled Caste and Backward Class category. The investigation against the headmaster started after a complaint in this regard was filed by Mr Pritam Singh, manager of the Janata High School, with the office of the Senior Superintendent of Police. Subsequently, an FIR was registered by the police under different sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The court handed out a decision in a case of drug peddling, Bawa Singh, a 32 year old resident of Baloki village near Mehatpur was sentenced to 10 years of Rigorous Imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh. In case he is unable to pay the fine, Bawa Singh would have to serve an extra term of two years. The sentence was awarded under Section 15 of the NDPS Act. 5-yr RI to ex-principal
Phagwara: The District and Sessions Judge Mr Shyam Sunder Gupta, Kapurthala, has awarded five-year jail term to former Principal Harbhajan Kaur, Government Senior Secondary School for Boys, Phagwara, who was caught red-handed by a team of Vigilance Bureau while accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 on July 27, 2004 from two school teachers. She was holding additional charge in the school at that time. |
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Travel agent arrested
Jalandhar, December 1 One Davinder Singh, a resident of Basti Bawa Khel, had filed a complaint against the travel agent, alleging Gullu demanded Rs 16 lakh for sending his friend to Canada. The travel agent had taken Rs 4 lakhs as advance for making a passport of his friend, the complainant alleged. But the agent neither sent his friend abroad nor did he return money, Davinder alleged. |
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