The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Border Watch
Rs 15-crore plan in place to save agri land from Ravi fury
Sanjay Bumbroo/TNS

Kot Razada (Indo-Pak border), May 13
With an aim to protect agricultural land along the Ravi near the Indo-Pak border, the district administration has chalked out a Rs 15 crore comprehensive plan to protect the cultivable land from floods.

Under the project, 40 works would be undertaken, including the construction of two pantoon bridges which would help farmers transport tractors and implements on the Pakistani side for farming. Constructed at a cost of Rs 4.75 crore, the bridges would help 2,000 farmers to cultivate 10,000 acres of land across the river.

A team of the irrigation department headed by deputy commissioner Kahan Singh Pannu made a survey of the 38-km river area in the Ajnala sector today. The team found that the river was changing its course and damaging the bank, thus posing a threat to the agricultural land, especially during the monsoons.

Giving details, Pannu said, “Since there is not much time for the monsoon arrival, so we have initiated a detailed survey so that a proposal could be sent to the Punjab government regarding the works to be undertaken under this flood damage control programme.”

The Ajnala sector was flood prone and had seen a lot of loss of life and property in the past. The administration does not want to take any chances this time, the DC added.

Talking about the pantoon bridges, Pannu said these would be constructed at Kamalpur and Kot Razada villages in the Ajnala sector. Besides, repair works would be started soon and the loose soil on the advanced bundhs constructed earlier will also be laid soon, he added.

The DC said farmers would be provided with three big boats at a cost of Rs 2.5 lakh each for helping them to take the machinery and agricultural implements across the river. “I would write to the state government to take up the matter of compensation of Rs 10,000 per acre with the union government as the farmers had lands across the fence”.

He said these farmers were unable to produce more than one crop a year due to financial constraints. “We would soon initiate a programme to provide facilities to the farmers of the region so that they can grow other crops apart from wheat here,” he said, adding that cultivation of pulses would be also promoted.

Amritsar Bypoll
SAD-BJP tussle may cast shadow on result: Pundits
Varinder Walia/TNS

Amritsar, May 13
Even as the members of the core committee of the BJP high command assured Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal that they would ensure victory of SAD-BJP candidate Inderbir Singh Bolaria in the Amritsar (South) assembly byelection, poll observers feel that the ongoing tussle between the coalition partners would definitely decrease the prospective winning margin.

Meanwhile, the tussle between coalition partners has greatly affected the ongoing campaign of the SAD-BJP combine due to the absence of the Chief Minister who had to rush to Chandigarh leaving the electioneering process mid-way.

Consequently, the development came as a great relief for the Congress which was finding it difficult to surpass the aggressive campaigning of Badal.

At today’s meeting with the Chief Minister at Chandigarh, Balbir Punj, party’s Punjab in charge, told him (Badal) that he had already directed the party workers to work day and night to campaign in favour of Bolaria.

However, when BJP ministers took their resignations to the Chief Minister, he told them that he won’t continue as Chief Minister even for a day without them. So much so SAD general secretary Prem Singh Chandumajra told the BJP leaders that the SAD had been accused of being pro-Hindu by the Akali workers but it never thought of snapping the relations.

However, the agitating BJP leaders told Badal that their elected representatives were not being given proper attention by the administration.

Badal blamed for poll violence
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 13
Punjab Youth Congress chief Vijay Inder Singla today criticised the state government for yesterday’s violence during the zila parishad and block samiti poll.

In a press note here, he said the violence had endorsed what the Congress had been alleging for the past 15 months of Akali rule that there was a complete breakdown of constitutional machinery and law and order in the state.

He said the attack on BJP workers and its MLA had proved that no one was safe in Punjab. “If party men of the ruling alliance are not safe what will be the position of Congress workers and the common man,” he questioned.

“It is Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal who is responsible for the violence,” he said.

He said the leaders had been claiming the BJP to be a party of principal and values, but now they should read writing on the wall that their alliance partner had not spared them and had broken the dharma of partnership. The saffron party should not continue with the SAD government if it wanted to save its face of moral values and principles, Singla said.

‘Gurgaddi Divas’: London academy to celebrate bigtime
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 13
Members of the Raj Academy, London, in coordination with Thames Valley University, London, have decided to celebrate “Gurgaddi Divas” of Sri Guru Granth Sahib in October on a large scale.

Nirpal Singh Shergill, chief media adviser, Raj Academy’s Indiatour, in an email to The Tribune said huge hoardings and billboards had been put up throughout Punjab to highlight their programmes to be held at various places to celebrate historic Sikh events.

Shergill said the Raj Academy would be joining the celebrations at Nanded for the 300th Gurgaddi Divas and would be accompanied by 30 Sikhs from western countries.

A day-long gurmat sangeet samagam would be held in remembrance of the sacrifices made by the Sikh Gurus for humanity.

Giving the details of the programmes, Shergill said functions would be held on October 19, 20, 24 and 25 at Hoshiarpur, Anandpur Sahib, Model Town gurdwara and Dasehra Ground, Jalandhar, respectively.

Educate masses on social evils: Tarlochan tells teachers
Our Correspondent

Amritsar, May 13
Expressing serious concern over the present state of affairs of the Indian education system, Tarlochan Singh, member of Rajya Sabha and former chairman of the Minority Commission, said the teaching community had a great role in taking the country forward on the path of development. He called upon them to come out from their classrooms and make the general masses aware of the various social problems faced by society.

He was here to inaugurate a four-week general orientation course being organised by the Academic Staff College of Guru Nanak Dev University. Director of research S.S. Chahal welcomed Tarlochan Singh and the participating teachers. H.S. Bhatia, director, academic staff college, and Paramjit Singh Sidhu of the School of Punjabi studies also expressed their views.

Tarlochan Singh said the teachers should make a habit to learn more and more about the latest advancements at the global level. They must disseminate thorough and complete knowledge so that they could become good and responsible citizens.

Citing a UNO report, he said none of the Indian universities figured in the report which selected 16,000 universities of the world which had been providing excellent education. He said in spite of the fact that the national exchequer was spending a huge amount on education, none of the universities of India had been considered at par with the other selected universities of the world.

Every year between 800 and 900 candidates were selected by the UPSC for IAS/IFS/allied services but from Punjab only two or three candidates were selected. This showed the state of affairs of the quality of education in Punjab.

He highlighted issues like skewed sex ratio, global warming, environmental pollution, reservation policy, drug addiction, work culture, two-party system, brain drain, etc. He exhorted the teaching community to come forward to serve society in a better way, in addition to teaching.

Hans against vulgarity in Punjabi songs
P. K. Jaiswar

Amritsar, May 13
The present day Punjabi singers should avoid vulgarity in songs as it was ruining the rich culture and heritage, said Hans Raj Hans, who was in the city to pay obeisance after being honored with the Padam Shri.

The Sufi singer, who has made a mark on music lovers across the globe, said the Punjabi music videos are increasingly getting vulgar. “It’s hurting the Punjabi sentiment,” he added.

Giving credit to his parents and the Almighty for his success, the legendry singer advised budding singers to not lose focus. “Do not worry about rewards. Work single-mindedly with utmost devotion. The dividends will follow.”

He said singers should help in constructing a better society. “Songs are one of the better mediums to spread awareness against social evils like drug addiction and femicide.”

He also emphasised on the need for proper training in the life of a singer. “A guru is a guiding force in one’s life,” he added.

	Finding meaning of human existence through poems Amritsar, May 13 “Neelkanth”, a compilation of poems by Manmohan, is an attempt to find answers to the complex issue of human existence. He, while accepting the significance of words, points towards their limitations as they cannot transform human eternal and natural realisation entirely. The book connects relations of different aspects of life with philosophical realisation. In the opening poem “Vapsi” like all inverted behaviours of reality language also is in search of its misplaced roots. In “Chiria Ghar”, while trying to learn the language of birds, the poet feels closer to them. These poems are creations of philosophical thoughts which exist on the level of mature psychology. His poetry is an endeavour to search of meanings, demeaning and new meanings. Besides “Mere Mein Chandni” in Hindi, “Agle Chourahe Tak” (1982), “Man Mahial” (1989), “Sur Sankat” (1998), “Namit” (2001) and “Ath” (2004) are some of the other books produced by Manmohan. From the poems one could judge Manmohan’s concern about social problems towards which he is committed and does not correlate himself directly with these issues. He recognises the fighting spirit in human character against injustice and finds the parallels in other natural phenomenon also like iron, coal and wood. Similarly, this deep social consciousness also reflects in the poem “Neelkanth”. Shiva, in its mythological significance, drinks poison to save the world. By using this myth the poet wants to be “Neelkanth” so that he can save the existence of the world he lives in. In his poems “Booha” and “Virkan”, he touches upon the existential aspects of human being. The signs of door and crevices signify the dichotomies of human character in relation to the physical scenario of life. — TNS
	Honour At Stake Declaring former jathedar tankhaiya wrong : SAD body Our Correspondent Amritsar, May 13 Terming Takht Patna Sahib Jathedar Giani Iqbal Singh’s decision of declaring former Akal Takht Jathedar Darshan Singh as “tankhaiya” (guilty of religious misconduct) as wrong and irresponsible, the Shiromani Akali Dal (Presidium) said such decisions were dividing the community. Party chairman Daljit Singh, in a statement issued here to the press today, said Akal Takht was the temporal seat of the Sikh panth and the other Takhts only represented Akal Takht. He said the present panthic situation was a challenge for intellectuals, politicians and religious heads who gave preference to panthic interests instead of personal interests. He said the need of the hour was not to sharply react and issue sensational statements but it was high time that the basic issues surrounding the Sikh panth be looked into. He said by ignoring these issues the panth was facing such unfortunate situations. The party appealed to the members of the community that wherever the questions rose on guru sahiban, Sikh history and Sikh martyrs they should work with patience, responsibility and farsightedness and should avoid irresponsible statements.
	Youth Pulse Dancers deliver their best shot Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 13 Students from 16 schools participated in a dance contest, “Kuch Kar Dhikaye,” at Gurukul Institute here on Saturday. Arshpreet of Sacred Heart School stood first. While Harnoor of Sri Guru Harkrishan Senior Secondary School was second, Rhythm of DAV School came third. Lakshya of the Voice of India fame and artiste Pawandeep Singh were the judges. The top three winners of the contest will get the chance to perform in the video album of the school, said Amit Sharma, director of the institute. The institute, located at Putli Ghar, is conducting a summer workshop in the institute from June 1. The children between the age group of 10 years and 15 years can participate. The girls below the age of 20 are also eligible for the workshop. Annual function The DAV College of Education for Women today organised its annual day function. The dean, college development council, Guru Nanak Dev University, M.S. Dhillon, was the chief guest. The principal, Aruna Anand, welcomed the guests and read the college annual report. Dhillion honoured students and staff members on the occasion. Mother’s Day Mother’s Day was celebrated by tiny tots of Sri Guru Harkrishan Senior Secondary School at a function held in the school on Sunday. Students of the primary section presented a cultural programme that began with the recitation of shabads. Parveen Thukral, principal, Madan Lal Memorial Institute of Education, R.S. Bawa, principal, Sri Guru Ram Dass Girls Senior Secondary School, Amarpali of Government Girls Senior Secondary School and Sawraj Kaur of Khalsa College were present. On the occasion, mothers took a pledge to fight against female foeticide. Harwinder Kaur proposed a vote of thanks.
	Blind murder solved, 1 arrested Our Correspondent Amritsar, May 13 With the arrest of one person, the district police claims to have solved the blind murder case of an immigrant from Nasopur who was found killed on April 25. The accused has been identified as Kamlesh Kumar, resident of Mauja Hasanpur, Uttar Pradesh. This was informed in a press release issued by SSP Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh. He said Sewa Ram was found dead with serious head injuries in a room at Nazuk factory in Rana Garden. During investigations, the accused revealed that Sewa Ram had borrowed Rs 10,000 from him. However, he failed to return the amount which led to a dispute between them and he hit Sewa Ram with a brick.