The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Himachal Pradesh Edition

	Dashed Dreams Students: Caparo worse than a below-average school Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, March 24 Envisioned as a world-class school of excellence, the much publicised Caparo PTU School of Manufacturing and Materials Technology has dashed all dreams of nearly 90 students who took admission here in August last year. The students rued that they would have been better off had they taken admission even in a below-average college of the Punjab Technical University (PTU). The said they are made to pursue their course without any internet connection, proper laboratories, adequate staff, medical facility, sports ground, extra-curricular activities, clubs, on-campus hostel facility, stationery shop and proper meals at hostel and library. The students said they had taken admission as they were told that the institute would have the latest equipments related to manufacturing and material technology including laser drill and plasma welding machines, but shockingly they did not even get adequate equipment in manufacturing practice laboratory. They said they were taking communication practicals in their classrooms or computer laboratory since they did not have a separate laboratory for the purpose. The students said they were being charged Rs 1,000 per month for the internet services, which they were not being provided anywhere, including their campus or the hostel. They lamented that the boys’ hostel was located in the campus of State Public School at Sofi village near Jalandhar cantonment, almost 25 kilometres away from their campus, and nearly 43 boys were forced to pay Rs 5,000 annually for the bus charges. “We wonder why we are being told to pay the bus charges while the institute has not been able to provide us with a hostel in the campus”, they asked. The boys said they were living in six rooms close to each other and finding it completely impossible to study. They said basic facilities, including laundry, were not available to them. “We were not being provided milk and butter in our diet and when we insisted, they cut on our paranthas and tea while restricting the number of servings of vegetables or dal”, they complained. The boys are irked over the non-availability of any medical facilities to them. Citing examples, they said, “Karan Khanna broke his ankle while playing football at 7 pm and he was shown to a hakim that night. His father had to come all the way from Amritsar to get him treated. Atul Mishra suffered from food pipe complications because of unhygienic conditions in the hostel. He had to undergo a major surgery. Rahul broke his toe in the boy’s hostel. He had to commute to the hospital on his own to get a plaster. No medical support was available for Ramit Manrai who suffered from jaundice and typhoid.” The students said they had taken admission here with a hope of completing the final year of the course in Lord Swaraj Paul’s college in UK. “We all had come here with that dream in mind but that too seems to have fallen flat as we have heard that there is some problem between the PTU authorities and the Caparo group on land issues”, they said. The students have now drafted a detailed complaint, a copy of which they are planning to submit to the senior officials of the university and the Caparo group. Vice-chancellor Dr S K Salwan was not available for comments.
	Landless In Punjab When suicides fail to end suffering Amarjit Thind Tribune News Service Jalandhar, March 24 Successive governments have turned a blind eye towards the plight of the debt-ridden landless labourers who are committing suicides. This was revealed by Tarsem Peter of the Pendu Mazdoor Union (PMU) while addressing mediapersons here today. He said, “When the land owning farmers are unable to pay their debts and forced to commit suicide, then one could easily imagine what would be the condition of the landless farm workers”. There were no schemes to ensure that the latter had work round the year, Peter pointed out. He said they were not against the loan waiver for farmers but wanted that the concession should also be extended to farm labourers. “They have played a crucial role in ushering in Green Revolution and now it was the turn of the government to come to their aid,” he added. Narrating their tale of woes, Deepak (16) and his brother Ajay (13) said, “Our mother Parkash Kaur had taken a loan of Rs 25,000 from the SC corporation to meet the medical expenses of our ailing father.” Unable to meet the bills with this loan, she had to turn to a moneylender who charged exorbitant rates of interest. They said their father could not be saved and fed up with the harassment and humiliation at the hands of the moneylender, their mother committed suicide two years ago. Parkasho of Fazalwal village said her son Hari Singh took a loan of Rs 10, 000 to buy two buffaloes. However, Hari’s venture did not take off and the moneylender kept adding penal interest on the principal amount. She rued that her son failed to pay back the loan and had to commit suicide two years ago. She sobbed that the moneylender was still forcing her to return the amount. Peter said hundreds of families across the state were trapped in the web of moneylenders and the callous officials of the SC corporation. Families have been left without bread-winners and this does not move the shylocks who demand settlement of their dues, he added. He said, “The government should bring about legislation to waive off the debts taken from moneylenders and they needed no permission in case of the corporation.” He alleged that the Punjab government had failed to implement the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA) properly in the state. Peter said the union along with six more organisations would hold a dharna in Chandigarh on March 25 for the cause of farm labourers.
	Gold greed: Gang duping residents on the prowl Parmod Bharti Nawanshahr, March 24 Be wary of a phone call from Agra, Meerut and Ghaziabad districts of Uttar Pradesh and Alwar, Ajmer and Jaipur of Rajasthan, alluring you to ‘buy a brick of gold at half the market price.’ For, it may be a trap laid by a gang of gold conmen active in the area. This advice was given by city SHO Rakesh Kumar to the residents here. While talking to The Tribune, Rakesh Kumar said he had received information that a gang of robbers from other states had been operating to dupe well-off persons. The modus operandi of the gang members is to make a phone call to a rich person in the guise of a labourer informing him that while digging an ancient building they have found a brick of gold. The person is invited to check the purity of gold and if satisfied he is offered to purchase the brick of gold at half the market price. Allured by the offer, when the person contacts them, he is given a piece of gold from the brick to get the purity of the gold examined. As the piece of gold happens to be genuine, the person’s greed to buy the gold at half the market price increases, said the SHO, adding that the person has to repent when he comes to know that actually the brick is made of brass instead of gold. “A few persons of the area have reportedly been duped of lakhs by this gang, but they are reluctant to come forward as they do not want to become a laughing stock in society,” said the SHO, adding the police here could only warn the residents with a view to making them aware about the modus operandi of the gang. “Similarly, a gang which is said to be active in New Delhi allures the people of selling luxury cars at half the price. The said cars are actually purchased on loan from some finance companies on fake identity or residential proofs by the gang members. When the car is sold to a person, the gang members get themselves shifted from the place and the finance company has to lodge a complaint with the police and then the said car proves to be stolen one,” said SHO Rakesh Kumar, cautioning the people not to fall a prey to such tactics by gangs.
	MC passes Rs 250-cr annual budget Tribune News Service Jalandhar, March 24 The municipal corporation Jalandhar today passed its annual budget of Rs 250 crore for the next financial year with an estimate of an income to the tune of Rs 85 crore from the sale of various properties. The corporation plans to sell off six of its properties, including a dairy complex at Jamsher, agricultural plots at Chohkan, Dhanowali and Dakoha villages. Besides, the MC also has plans to sell land on Paragpur cantonment road, shops in its new administrative complex, 65-canal commercial site on 120-feet road and 5-kanal residential area at Lamma Pind. The councilors proposed that Rs 3.5 crore should be passed for the maintenance of new sewage treatment plant at Pholariwal village. They also said their allowance should be doubled.
	3 PSEB men nabbed on graft charge Tribune News Service Jalandhar, March 24 The Vigilance Bureau (VB) nabbed two PSEB junior engineers (JEs) Ajit Singh and Sukhjit Singh, and assistant lineman Shivcharan posted at Garhdiwala in Hoshiarpur district on the charge of taking bribe. In a press note issued here today, VB SSP Dilbagh Singh Gill stated the three PSEB employees had taken Rs 30,000 as bribery from Amandeep Singh for favouring him while checking his electricity connections. DSP Diljit Singh nabbed them in connection with an FIR registered against them under sections 7. 13 (2) of Prevention of Corruption Act at VB thana in Jalandhar and further investigation was on.
	‘Infighting affecting Cong image’ Hoshiarpur, March 24 Commenting on the ongoing controversy between the PPCC chief Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and former CM Capt Amarinder Singh, senior Congress leader Naresh Thakur said Congress workers were disgusted over the tussle between the two leaders. He said the infighting between the seniormost leaders was bringing bad name to the party. — OC