J A L A N D H A R

IGNOU’s petition to SC dismissed: PTU
Jalandhar, May 5
Deciding in favour of the Punjab Technical University (PTU), the Supreme Court today reportedly dismissed a Special Leave Petition filed by the Distance Education Council (DEC) of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) against the interim order passed by the Himachal Pradesh High Court on March 27 asking the council not to interfere in the distance education programme of the PTU.

Major relief to RCF workers, PSU proposal dropped
Kapurthala, May 5
In a major relief to the agitating workers of the Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Mr M. Ghosal, Director, Mechanical Engineering, Production Unit, Railway Board, in a letter to the RCF management and the Staff Council, has said that as the stakeholders in the factory did not want its corporatisation, the Railway Board had decided that the proposal of the Railway Minister in his Railway Budget speech need not be pursued further.

Kidney racket: Committee under police scanner
Jalandhar, May 5
The functioning of the committee responsible for giving permission for kidney transplants has come under police scanner following the arrest of three members of a kidney transplant racket.

Now, families campaign for Gymkhana Club polls
Jalandhar, May 5
Adding weight to the Gymkhana Club elections on scheduled for May 7, wives, daughters and female family members of many contestants are now mustering support for their husbands and fathers, even though there are no women candidates in the polls.

IGNOU’s petition to SC dismissed: PTU
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 5
Deciding in favour of the Punjab Technical University (PTU), the Supreme Court today reportedly dismissed a Special Leave Petition filed by the Distance Education Council (DEC) of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) against the interim order passed by the Himachal Pradesh High Court on March 27 asking the council not to interfere in the distance education programme of the PTU.

Mr R.P.S. Bedi, Deputy Registrar, Distance Education Programme, confirmed this to the media in a press note issued here today.

Mr Bedi said IGNOU had claimed that PTU was not authorised to run any distance education course outside Punjab and that all universities including PTU came under the purview of IGNOU as far as the matters connected with distance education were concerned.

Briefing on the SC verdict, Mr Bedi has written, “The court opined that the distance education has to run at a distance. It is not correct on the part of IGNOU to stop any university from offering such courses since it was helping a large number of students. It also opined that various other universities such as Madurai Kamraj University and Madras University are offering courses anywhere in the country including in Delhi like PTU.”

Mr Bedi further added, “The court also questioned that suppose a students at Delhi wants to take admission in a course offered by PTU, how could any other university such as IGNOU or DEC stop the student from taking the course. The court felt ironical that foreign universities were being allowed to offer their courses in India through distance education but not PTU.”

PTU and IGNOU had been on loggerheads ever since Mr Swaraj Basu, Director, DEC, IGNOU, had passed a statement over ineligibility of PTU degree holders for government jobs, as he had said that the university had not acquired permission from the council for running various courses.

The students of Himachal Pradesh enrolled in the programme had appealed to the High Court. The court on March 27 had passed interim orders in favour of PTU. 

Major relief to RCF workers, PSU proposal dropped
Tribune News Service

Kapurthala, May 5
In a major relief to the agitating workers of the Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Mr M. Ghosal, Director, Mechanical Engineering, Production Unit, Railway Board, in a letter to the RCF management and the Staff Council, has said that as the stakeholders in the factory did not want its corporatisation, the Railway Board had decided that the proposal of the Railway Minister in his Railway Budget speech need not be pursued further.

When contacted, Mr Sarbjit Singh, a member of the Staff Council and Zonal Secretary of TEAR, RCF, said that after this assurance, the unions would decide on the future course of the agitation in a meeting of the Staff Council and unions on Monday. The RCF unions have now demanded that the criminal cases registered against the leaders during the agitation be withdrawn.

The RCF workers have been on agitation for the last two months regarding the proposal of the Railway Ministry to convert the factory into a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU), apprehending that it would eventually be privatised. The workers had held dharnas which were addressed by MPs and MLAs, blocked a train and clashed with factory officials and even policemen. The unrest had also led to the RCF’s General Managing being sent on a leave. 

Kidney racket: Committee under police scanner
Anuradha Shukla
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 5
The functioning of the committee responsible for giving permission for kidney transplants has come under police scanner following the arrest of three members of a kidney transplant racket.

The police is now studying the record of the Kidney Transplant Authorisation Committee constituted less than two years back, the SP, City (I), Dr Surinder Kumar Kalia, said here today.

The committee is headed by the an officer of the Assistant Deputy Commissioner rank and is responsible for scrutinising all such cases before giving the green signal for kidney transplants.

The police is now verifying all previous decisions made by the committee.

The other members of the committee are a SP rank police officer, Assistant Civil Surgeon, Assistant District Attorney, two social workers and two doctors.

The committee is responsible for verifying the credentials of a case by enquiring why the donor wants to donate his kidney, what is the relation of the donor with the recipient and a proof of the relations and the association before giving permission for a transplant.

The hospitals where the persons accused of indulging in the illegal sale of kidneys had named, claimed that they had obtained permissions from the committee before any kidney transplant, putting the spotlight on the committee.

Sources said interrogation of the three accused had revealed a nexus between lawyers, known doctors and even bureaucrats in the kidney racket.

Sources claimed that the committee had only given permission for 19 kidney transplants in its tenure so far.

The police is trying to find out whether the committee had properly verified the relations of the donors with the recipients on the basis of connections like studying together, relations or other associations, why no other family member is ready to donate and various other credentials.

Sources also claimed that many known doctors doing kidney transplant operations tried to become members of the committee, but were not allowed.

The Kidney Transplant Authorisation Committee reportedly gave permission to 30 to 40 per cent of all the cases coming before it for approval.

Now, families campaign for Gymkhana Club polls
Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 5
Adding weight to the Gymkhana Club elections on scheduled for May 7, wives, daughters and female family members of many contestants are now mustering support for their husbands and fathers, even though there are no women candidates in the polls.

Since candidates are finding it an uphill task to contact all of 3001 voters individually, wives and daughters of several candidates are contacting the voters.

For the purpose, the family members are not only send SMSs to the voters, but are also calling them up and urging them to vote for the “best candidate”.

“It is difficult to contact all voters individually. So our family members have come forward to help,” one of candidates said. Though the club reportedly has nearly 66 women members, none of 27 candidates is a female.

Meanwhile, unlike in the past, when issues of group politics were predominant, voters seem more concerned about the welfare of the club.

The group headed by Dr H.S. Maan and Dr Pawan Gupta have raked up issues like heavy tax burden on members, transparency in accounts, requirement of a change in constitution to make the club member-friendly and democratic, the Kaka-Gora group is promising to reduce the interest rate on dues, decrease eligibility age of senior citizens from 65 to 60 years, get sponsors for cultural programmes and remove certain bar limitations.