Phagwara/Jalandhar, July 31
With plans to enter the banking sector, the Indian Postal Department proposes to launch a project called Postal Finance Mart in the near future.

This will mean that a team of post office executives may now offer services like commercial bank executives.

“First, we have to compete with the corporate sector. Second, with our resources and network, the project’s success is guaranteed. Otherwise also, we are into banking operations with saving schemes, that too in remote areas,” Director General of Postal Services P.R. Kumar said here today.

Claiming that the department had the highest deposits in terms of FDs and other schemes to the tune of Rs 3.5 lakh crore, Mr Kumar hoped to launch this project by the next financial year.

He attributed the department’s foray to the government’s move of segregating banking from postal services.

“To start with, we will have core banking facilities in all locations where we have computerised operations. An account holder will be able to access his savings or any other account from any computerised post office in the country. This will be followed by the launch of other products and facilities like ATMs on the lines of other financial institutions,” Mr Kumar added.

Also, to bring its services at the doorsteps of consumers, the Department of Posts is introducing Mobile Postal Service in Jalandhar from tomorrow onwards.

Under the programme, the first of its kind in the Punjab Postal Circle, various services like Speed Post, Express Parcel Post, sale of postage stamps, stationery like post card, envelopes, Rakhi Mail Envelope, booking of registered articles, collection of ordinary mail and collection of e-post messages would be provided daily through a Mobile Business Van.

The van will halt at the main points of the city for collection of postal mail beginning at 11.10 am with half an hour halt at every stop.

The daily collection will commence at Narinder Cinema, followed by Model Town Market, Ambedkar Chowk, Basti Nau, Football Chowk, Leather Complex, HMV College, Sodal Mandir and would end at the Doaba College point. The last collection session will end at 6.40 pm daily.

Senior Superintendent Post Offices N.R. Meena will flag off the mobile business van from the General Post Office tomorrow.

Jalandhar, July 31
After the decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to cancel 12.5 per cent reservations for Valmikis and Mazhabi Sikhs in government jobs, there were protests from the communities today outside the Bhagwan Valmiki Mandir, Basti Shiekh, here today.

They also gave the call for a Punjab bandh on August 4.

The community members alleged that the reservations were cancelled since the state government could not “aptly” present its case.

They claimed that the ruling party would have to bear the brunt of dealing with the case with laxity in the coming Assembly elections.

The protesters also announced the formation of a ‘Valmiki Mazhabi Sikh 12.5 Per Cent Reservation Bachao Sangharsh Morcha’ with a retired ADC, Mr G. K. Sabharwal, as its convener.

The protesters said they would make people-to-people contact in village and tehsils in all the districts, requesting them to observe the bandh.

They said memoranda would be given to the administration for passing on to the government authorities.

They said only hospitals and medicine stores would be allowed to remain open on the day of the bandh. 

Kapurthala, July 31
Several landline phones in seven villages under the Didiwindi Bharatiya Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) exchange have been lying dead for about a week now. Mr Sarup Singh of Jainpur village said his landline BSNL phone had been dead for about eight days, but none of the BSNL employees bothered to reactivate it despite several complaints. He said he had gone to the exchange thrice to lodge complaints, but nothing came out of it.

Almost similar is the case with the phone of one Dr Charan Singh of the same village. He said his emergency patients had to suffer due to this.

According to information, as many as 750 BSNL landline phones in Didiwindi, Shikarpur, Kalewal, Mohblipur, Kotla, Bhaur and Jainpur villages of Sultanpur Lodhi sub-division falls under this exchange and a large number of these phones have been lying dead for many days.

Some of the BSNL customers said there were faults in telephone cables at several points. Others said no lineman was available at the exchange to reactivate the dead telephones.

As a result, these telephones continue to be out of order, they added.

When contacted, Kapurthala BSNL Deputy General Manager Rajiv Goel told said there was no possibility of any fault in the Didiwindi exchange as due to the installation of a new technology, all the exchanges were RSU.

He though admitted that DP of a particular area might be down. He said he would get the DPs checked and the dead telephones would be reactivated at the earliest.

He said there was only one lineman for the entire exchange covering an area of about six km and that lineman was on a long leave.

Phagwara, July 31
BJP’s Punjab Affairs assistant in-charge R. P. Singh today said that the though SAD-BJP alliance was “as strong as a rock” and the BJP wanted to increase its seat sharing in the next Assembly elections, detailed talks with SAD (B) for seat sharing would only materialise after Punjab BJP elected a new state president.

Talking to mediapersons here, he said the election process had been initiated and the membership drive was going on in the whole state.

He said touring the state to “mobilise BJP activists”.

When asked if the BJP would object to SAD striking an alliance with some other political party, he said the main aim of the BJP-SAD alliance was to “defeat the Congress at all costs”.

He denied that the SAD would make a poll alliance with the BSP.

On reports of factionalism in the state BJP, he said “these family affairs will soon be sorted out”.

About the ongoing controversy about a hukamnama issued by Shri Akal Takht against Rashtriya Sikh Sangat and his meeting with SAD president Parkash Singh Badal and Akal Takht Jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti at Amritsar last month,
Mr R. P. Singh said he, along with BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu, went to meet Mr Badal to discuss matters related to the alliance and incidentally Mr Vedanti was also present there at that time. He said no matter related to the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat was discussed in the meeting.

He claimed that Rashtriya Sikh Sangat national president Gurcharan Singh Gill had given his clarification on the issue a few days back.