Jalandhar, June 20
Punjab Technical University’s has got its new board of governors for a term of three years with an addition of a representative each from affiliated colleges and the university.

A notification in this regard has come from the principal secretary, technical education, Tejinder Kaur, who is currently having the dual charge of vice-chancellor of the university.

The fourth board so far, however, has been appointed by Gen S.F. Rodrigues, governor of Punjab and chancellor of the university.

The dean (examination), PTU, Dr N.P. Singh, will represent the university, while Dr M.S. Saini, principal of Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, has been taken as the representative from the colleges. The college principal’s nomination is, however, on rotation basis.

Even as the university rulebook clearly has a provision for the college and university representative, the officials have said that there was no representation from the either side in the last term.

The addition of the two members brings hope for more favourable decisions for the colleges with their cases getting pleaded more strongly.

A physicist, Dr N.P. Singh, had earlier remained director of PTU-Caparo School of Excellence and officiating director of the Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology. Dr Saini, too, had earlier served in the university.

There is yet another change in nominated members. The two eminent industrialists on the board this time will be Jalandhar-based Narinder Sehgal of Kapson Industries and Ludhiana-based S.P. Oswal, CMD, Vardhman Spinning Mills.

The two eminent technologists on the panel will be the same - Dr R.S. Khandpur, director-general, Pushpa Gujral Science City, and Chandra Mohan, chairman, Twenty First Bedary Century Ltd, Mohali.

The chairman’s post will be retained by chief secretary, Punjab.

There were reports saying that the minister of technical education, Swarna Ram, was keen on getting the key post.

There is no change in the ex officio members. The seven members are vice-chancellor of PTU, vice-chancellor of Roorkee University, director, IIT, Delhi, principal secretary, technical education and industrial training, Punjab, principal secretary, department of finance, chairman of the north-west committee, All-India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), Chandigarh, and president, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Jalandhar, June 20
Relief has to be sought from the courts to strike down alleged irregularities which should not have been committed by pliant bureaucrats at the behest of their political masters in the first place.

Stating this here today, Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira said three Congress councillors had to go to the Punjab and Haryana High Court after the department of local government arbitrarily removed Sardari Lal, Mohinder Pal and Jeeto from the primary membership of the Begowal nagar panchayat in an apparent move to defeat a no-confidence motion moved by the Congress against Akali president Dalip Singh Tibba.

Explaining the composition of the panchayat, Khaira said his party initially had five members in the 11-member house but their tally increased by one member after the assembly poll. Since the sitting legislator too could vote, they were still one short of the required two-thirds majority needed for removing the president, he added. “With the joining of Mohinderpal Singh, confidant of former SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur, we served the no-confidence motion on February 6,” he pointed out.Faced with this embarrassing prospect, the government served show-cause notices on the three councillors asking for their position on the panchayat land grab cases.

The urgency of the government could be gauged from the fact that the notices were served on February 8 and a decision to remove them from the membership was taken within a week by the department which was unheard of in Punjab, he added. He said an FIR of theft was registered against Sardari Lal who was a renowned goldsmith of Begowal. Another FIR under section 452 was registered against Jeeto. They were pressured to join the Akalis or face prolonged persecution, he said.

Khaira said the councillors had been served notices under section 16 1(E) of the Punjab Municipal Act ,1911, a provision which had rarely been revoked in recent memory.

If this provision was to be revoked then Bibi Jagir Kaur would be the biggest violator in Begowal since she had encroached upon over 10 acres of panchayat land, he alleged. He added he was compiling a list of civil servants and policemen who were acting as agents of the ruling combine, and would move the court to seek action against them.

Jalandhar, June 20
The coordination committee of the pendu and khet mazdoor unions will organise demonstrations and dharnas at all tehsil headquarters on July 28 to protest against the anti-labour policies of the government.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the committee held under the chairmanship of Dehati Mazdoor Sabha general secretary Gurnam Singh here today.

Stating this in a press statement, Pendu Mazdoor Union Punjab president Tarsem Peter said the committee would hold flag marches, rallies and meetings from July 10 to 25 to unite labourers for the planned protest.

The demands of the coordination committee include waiving of all kinds of loans of labourers, an end to arrests, grant of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of those debt-ridden mazdoors who had committed suicide and government job to one member of each affected family, distribution of ration through depots, restoration of electricity connections to the houses of labourers after one-time waiving of power bills, placement of all labourers in the below poverty line category and allotment of residential plots to mazdoors along with grants to build houses.

Representatives of the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union, the Pendu Mazdoor Union (Mashal), the Krantikari Pendu Mazdoor Union, the Pendu Mazdoor Union Punjab, the Dehati Mazdoor Sabha and the Mazdoor Mukti Mortha attended today’s meeting.

Nawanshahr, June 20
The Sandeep Murder Action Committee today decided to organise rallies at different places in Balachaur subdivision to mobilise people in favour of the ongoing agitation to ensure immediate arrest of the accused in murder case.

Giving this information, former MLA Ram Krishan Kataria said the action committee had peacefully completed its first phase of agitation by holding fast for one week in front of the office of the SDM, Balachaur. State-level leaders belonging to the Congress, the CPM, the Bahujan Samaj Morcha, the Janata Dal (S), etc. participated in the agitation during the week. But the police has failed to nab the accused despite promises and claims.

In its bid to convert its struggle into a mass movement, the action committee would organise a rally at Balachaur on June 24, Kathgarh on June 27, Bhaddi on June 29, Chaniani Khurd on July 1, Pojewal on July 2, Rakkran Dhahan and Mazari on July 3.

After mobilising people in these rallies, a big rally would be organised at Balachaur on July 4 in which state-level leaders of the different political parties, including PPCC president Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, CPM state secretary Balwant Singh, CPI state secretary Joginder Dyal, Janata Dal (S) state president Mehar Chand Bhumbla, Bahujan Samaj Morcha president Satnam Kainth, among others, would take part, said Kataria.

Jalandhar, June 20
The police today claimed to have busted a gang of auto-lifters with the arrest of four of its members and recovered stolen vehicles, including a motorcycle and a mini-truck.

On receipt of secret information that some persons were coming through the Dhongri road who had stolen a motorcycle from Hoshiapur district recently, a special naka was put up and a specific vehicle was intercepted, police sources said, adding that as soon as a motorbike was salled to stop, the trio on it tried to run instead of stopping the vehicle, but they were overpowered by the cops.

During questioning, the trio could not give satisfactory answers and when the registration papers of the vehicle were checked, it came to light that the motorbike was carrying a fake number plate, the sources said.

The trio identified as Ravi Kumar, Kulwant Singh and Happy were arrested and on their revelation, their fourth accomplice, identified as Sarabjit Singh, alias Sabbi, was also arrested and another stolen vehicle Canter was recovered.

During preliminary interrogation the arrested persons admitted that the gang was also involved in various incidents of chain and purse snatching in the Doaba districts, sources added. — PTI