The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Drive against drugs launched Anjali Singh Deswal Tribune News Service Lehra Mohabbat, August 29 Around 1,122 addicts in Punjab are spending Rs 100-200 per day to buy drugs, liquor etc. This was stated by volunteers of the ‘Naya Savera Abhiyan’ (NSA), a drive inaugurated here today to fight drug abuse in the state. An 11-member committee was also constituted that would monitor the progress of the NSA. Dr Jitender Jain, DIG, Faridkot range, launched the drive in collaboration with the Birla Plus Management, a Grasim unit based at Lehra Mohabbat. On March 8 last year, Dr Jain had adopted Behman Diwana village near Bathinda, which had gained notoriety for a high number of drug users. The Birla Plus Management had opened a de-addiction centre here last year, the idea for which was conceived by Dr Jain. In one year, 2700 patients have got registered with the centre, 2337 are under treatment and 680 have already quit drugs. While inaugurating the NSA, Dr Jain had set free a bunch of balloons carrying ‘Say no to drugs’ message and a hope that the NSA’s success would reach its zenith. Congratulating all those who decided to quit drugs, Dr Jain said, “Fighting the rising drug abuse in the state is not on the agenda of any political party or a religious organisation. On the other hand, the menace is destroying our generations. When we started with a campaign against drugs, everyone took it as a social stigma. But with our volunteers spreading awareness in this region, people have started taking drug addiction as a disease, which makes it easier for us to fight against it.” “Patients who consumed more than 100 tablets of lomotil and took 15-20 injections per day to get a high have got themselves treated here. Even we could not believe when patients told us about their daily drug consumption until they showed us injection marks on their bodies. As young as 14-year-old boys are hooked to drugs here. Women addicts who sold off their jewellery to buy drugs and men who thrashed their wives daily to extract money, jewellery or household stuff to buy drugs are undergoing treatment at the centre,” said Dr Sunil Gupta, psychiatrist at the Bathinda Civil Hospital. Dr Gupta also works at the de-addiction centre. The de-addiction centre at Lehra Mohabbat also provides free medicines to patients. Meanwhile, around 63 villages have been identified around Bathinda where a committee would be formed to encourage addicts to give up the habit. The committee would comprise of sarpanch, former sarpanch, youth club president, a doctor or the head master of the village and two persons who have quit drugs, informed Dr Gupta.
	Cotton reaches markets, growers wait for MSP Rajay Deep Tribune News Service Bathinda, August 29 Though the minimum support price (MSP) for cotton is yet to be fixed, the first yield of white gold has started arriving in the open markets of Malwa belt. The early arrival has made the markets witness a footfall, but the smile on the face of the farmers is missing as they term the current sale price as insufficient as it is even below the MSP fixed last year. Talking to this correspondent, farmers in Bathinda grain market said they had been selling their produce at a price between Rs 2,400 and Rs 2,600 per quintal. However, the previous year, the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) had purchased cotton at Rs 2,700-2,800 per quintal. “If we have to purchase anything, it is at a higher cost but if we want to sell our crop, we have to do it at a very low price. Are we at fault just because we are farmers? Prices of sugar, ghee and all other household commodities have shot up but why is our white gold being neglected?” they questioned in unison. Accusing the government of not being bothered, they said, “Every time we have to lodge protest and disrupt normal life in the state, only then the governments pays heed to our genuine demand.” “The government agencies enter the market only when almost half the crop is sold to private buyers at a low price. If the government is really sympathetic towards us, it should stop issuing frivolous statements and lend a helping hand since the early days,” said Bakhtaur of Teona village. Cursing his fate, Chand Singh of Gehari Bhagi, an elderly farmer, said, “We are helpless as we cannot store the crop at home due to fear of moisture, which may give a reason to the government buyers to reject our crop. It is due to this that despite incurring a lot of expenses during the picking process, we are here to sell it at a low price.” “This season seems unlucky for us as at first, the deficit rains created problems for us and then the size of plants remained short and now we are bound to sell it at a low price,” said Ranjeet Singh of Gehari Bhagi. Another farmer Narottam Singh, waiting for the auction of his pile said, “We feel that taking advantage of the absence of government agencies, private buyers have pooled in to buy the crop at low price. They come in the market but do not compete in auction due to which the illiterate farmers have to bow before their move.” When contacted, the general manager of the CCI Punjab, RC Sarkar said, “At present, the arrival is meagre. We regard the beginning of the season from October 1. So till the MSP is decided and we are directed to purchase, we can do nothing. Moreover, the quality of this early production is sub-standard and contains a high percentage of moisture, due to which the ginning mill owners too do not want to much risk.”
	Pvt players resent special treatment to Badal-owned buses Rajay Deep Tribune News Service Bathinda, August 29 Private transporters here are up in arms over the decision of the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) to allot a special cabin at the local depot to the Orbit and Dabwali Transport Company, known to be owned by the Badal family. The private transporters allege that the PRTC has favoured these two companies, a charge denied by the PRTC that has maintained that it is only giving its due to two of the biggest transport companies in the state. Irked private operators informed that the PRTC authorities had allotted a special cabin to the staff of Orbit and DTC in Bathinda depot, without asking for any charge. The private operators said, “Orbit and DTC have not only set up their office but also arranged a makeshift workshop in the open besides the cabin. A number of tyres, tools and mobile oil drum can be seen there any time.” Pleaded anonymity, they said, “The PRTC authorities at Bathinda depot give preferences to these companies in many ways, including the timing of bus routes. The cabin has electricity connection also as it is equipped with cooler and other appliances but there is no electricity meter installed.” General Manager of the PRTC, Bathinda depot, Iqbal Singh, said, “Orbit and DTC are the major source of our daily income, so we had to give them the facility they were asking for. Moreover, it is just a small cabin, which they have set up on their own.” He denied charging of any rent to the PRTC from that cabin. On a query related to the workshop, he said, “It is for an emergency as a large number of their buses keep moving from here.” Whether similar treatment to other transporters can be given, he said, “It is being given only to Orbit and DTC as they are major transport companies. If someone has a small fleet of buses, then we can not accept such demand.”
	DGSE meets teachers, lends ear to their woes Anjali Singh Deswal Tribune News Service Bathinda, August 29 The Director General of School Education (DGSE), Punjab, today cancelled the order asking government schools to purchase science and math kits. Krishan Kumar, the DGSE, was in the city today and held meetings with teachers, various teacher unions and sent teams to government schools of the city to determine their working and checking records. The DGSE felt that some of his orders were being misinterpreted and his name was being misused by juniors at some places. When he asked the DEOs to show the original copy of his orders, the DEOs failed to do so, which led to cancellation of some orders, including purchasing of kits, today, informed members of the ‘Shiksha Bachao Manch’, who met the DGSE. Earlier, teachers had suspected that embezzlement would take place at high level in the purchase of kits. When the teachers apprised the DGSE about their suspicion, he refused publicly having passed any order that bound a school to purchase the kits. “All government secondary schools of Punjab were given orders by the respective DEOs in the DGSE’s name to purchase math and science kits worth Rs 3,600 and Rs 3,200, respectively. A letter format was also issued to all schools. The schools were asked to make bank drafts in favour of M/s Sachdeva Instruments and Company, Ambala, and M/s Gupta Agency, Mohali. Since many drafts were found with the DEOs, the DGSE asked them to return them immediately,” said Rajesh Monga, a math teacher. Around 25 per cent schools in Punjab have already purchased these kits, teachers said. “The DGSE also asked the DEOs not to give any non-teaching jobs to the teachers, like disposing of the jute bags containing raw material sent for mid-day meal, maintenance of village education development committee records, opening of accounts of students, who claim scholarships,” said Darshan Maur from Shiksha Bachao Manch. During their meeting with the DGSE, teachers demanded a CBI enquiry into the funds spent on education. Gurdev Gill, DEO (Primary), when contacted, stated that the DGSE said he had not passed any orders that involved non-teaching jobs and orders on purchasing of the kits. However, Surinder Pal Kaur, DEO (Secondary), could not be reached on her phone for her comments.
	CBI begins probe into post office fraud Our Correspondent Abohar, August 29 The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has initiated inquiry into the alleged fraud worth Rs 11.49 lakh in the city post office at Suratgarh, 70 km from Sriganganagar. The amount had reportedly been fraudulently withdrawn on different occasions from the accounts of some depositors under forged signatures, sources said. Inspector SQ Ali assisted by HC Singh from the CBI visited the city post office and recorded the statement of postal worker Rajinder Prasad and a depositor Duli Chand. The CBI team also questioned former post master Mohinder Pratap and got entries in the record attested by him. The officials concentrated on collecting information about physique and spoken language of the suspected persons to reach the real culprits, well placed sources indicated.