Chandigarh, May 17
Punjab Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Jagdish Sahni seems resigned not to resign. The CPS today submitted the third successive conditional resignation letter, this time to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, in which he demanded a CBI inquiry against Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla.

Sahni, who called on Badal to submit a three-page “resignation letter” in which he detailed a list of 20 charges against the Health Minister, signed off saying “if I have done anything wrong which has damaged the image of the party, then my resignation should be accepted”.

Predictably, the resignation has not been accepted. The Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary D S Guru, while admitting this, however, refused to disclose the problem, if any. The matter is likely to be put off till tomorrow evening when the CM returns to Chandigarh.

Sources, however, disclosed that Sahni might not get away with a symbolic resignation for the third time in the past few months. They said this time the party had decided in principle to accept his resignation and conveyed this to the Chief Minister also. Some time ago the CPS had asked for permission to resign. At the height of his crisis with Laxmi Kanta two days ago he had submitted his resignation to the party President and not the Chief Minister.

The resignation letter submitted to the CM today reads more like a charge sheet against Chawla. The CPS claims that he had only protested against Chawla’s high-handedness and that the party had not supported him. Demanding a CBI inquiry into the allegations levelled by him, he has reiterated some of them, including those relating to an alleged scam in the purchase of generators, unfair distribution of opium among manufacturers of ayurvedic medicines, re-employment of retired personnel and giving plum postings to “tainted” officers.

Sahni, while talking to TNS later, said his own party men had betrayed him. He said he had submitted his resignation in good faith to the party but it had turned around and accepted it without taking him into confidence.

The CPS, meanwhile, clarified that he would not leave the BJP unless he was thrown out. He claimed that some leaders who could not stand people who spoke their mind were targeting him. He claimed that these same leaders had earlier supported him when he spoke out against Laxmi Kanta.

Sahni has given up his official car. He has also started packing his belongings at the ministerial bungalow in Sector 39 here.

Amritsar, May 17
Hundreds of farmers and labourers from across the state today staged a dharna in front of the office of the Amritsar Deputy Commissioner in support of their demnads.

They demanded the arrest of the accused involved in the killing of BKU (Ekta) leader Sadhu Singh Takhtupura a month ago and the Khanna Chamiara murder episode; rollback of the decision of reducing subsidised power, diminution of fertiliser subsidy and wages under the nationwide NREGA scheme.

The protesters alleged that attempts were being made to absolve former MLA and District Planning Board chairman Veer Singh Lopoke and suspended police official Rashpal Singh in the killing of the BKU leader. They alleged that the police was under pressure to not to take action against the former MLA and the suspended police official.

“Takhtupura sacrificed his life for the cause of farmers and had managed to prevent the alleged land-grabbing attempts by ruling party leaders. Similarly, at Khanna Chamiara, the police had opened fire on farmers on the instance of influential SAD leaders, leaving one of their activists Kashmir Singh suffering a heart stroke in the melee and died. We fail to understand what is stopping them from proceeding a judicial inquiry against the culprits,” said Rattan Singh Randhawa, president, Jamhoohri Kissan Sabha.

They protested the administration’s move to refrain them from holding their protests. Jasbir Singh Gandhiwind of the state Kissan Sangharsh Committee, Punjab, rued that whenever they schedule any protest, section 144 would be imposed. The administration does not even hesitate to implement Section 307 for attempt to murder on our activists, even if our protest would be peaceful”, he said.

The activists resented that the daily wages for labourers under the NREGA scheme had been reduced from Rs 137 to 123. They also termed the dissolving of the PSEB and transforming it into a corporation as an anti-farmer decision.

Chhat (Banur), May 17
Drastic fall in number of birds on the banks of Ghaggar river that runs alongside the Mahendra Choudhary Zoological Park, famous as the Chhatbir Zoo, has upset bird lovers.

The population of birds has shown a sharp decline over the past couple of years. Rise in pollution level, release of untreated sewage in river, noise pollution and decreasing forest area due to drastic urbanisation are some of the factors influencing the steep fall.

Narbir Kahlon, a Chandigarh-based bird watcher, who has been a regular visitor to the area said the population of both summer and winter birds had reduced near the river.

He said painted storks, pied agocets, eurasion-spoonbills, grey herons and spot billed ducks used to haunt the area in abundance till a couple of years ago. However, with passage of time, the number has come down considerably.

“During monsoons, the river used to swell with water making swamps and marshes an ideal location for the birds to live and breed. Now, the water bodies have gone dry. Change of climate and urbanisation has taken its toll on the birds,” he observed.

The place was once haven for bird lovers who flocked it from different places. With the receding of water, the birds have now got limited food, which too is polluted.

Even migratory birds like ducks, geese and others have ceased visiting the place.

“There used to be a large number of painted storks near Ghaggar and we could spot at least 15 to 20 at a time. Now the picture is quite different and alarming,” said another bird watcher, Navjit.

He added that the decline in population is attributed to degeneration and destruction of water bodies, which was once breeding ground for many birds.

Sand banks and mudflats of Ghaggar near Chhatbir is home to larks, wagtails, large waders besides Eurasian spoonbills and pied avocets, painted and open billed storks, purple and grey herons. 

Ludhiana, May 17
The Centre has asked the Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) to switch over the Parliament House on solar energy for which the surveys have already been conducted.

Besides, PEDA will start work on putting Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, on solar system from July. This was disclosed by Manjit Singh, chairman, PEDA, interacting with mediapersons here today.

He said after Darbar Sahib, the agency would start work on other projects, including Durgiana Mandir, Amritsar, Jallianwala Bagh, the Wagah border post, the Punjab Vidhan Sabha and Raj Bhawan. He said for the first time, domestic users had shown keen interest towards solar energy and if they switched over on it, the government would provide them 50 per cent subsidy.

"At present, the state government is providing 50 per cent subsidy to farmers, whose tubewells are being run on solar energy. But we are trying hard and requesting the government to increase the subsidy to 90 per cent so that more people in Punjab switch over to solar energy. It takes about Rs 5 lakh for a tubewell to be put on solar energy, which is not that expensive", informed Manjit Singh.

PEDA aims to set up 31 solar energy plants in various districts of Punjab through which 350 MW electricity would be generated. The cost of generating one MW electricity through solar system comes out to be Rs 7 crore and the total cost of 31 plants will be about Rs 80 crore. Services of private companies are being hired by the agency to do the job. Manjit Singh said by 2012, PEDA would be able to set up 1 lakh bio-gas plants in Punjab, of which 35,000 had already become functional. The cost of one unit of solar energy was Rs 8.44 while Powercom purchased it by paying Rs 17.91 per unit.

Patiala, May 17
A Tripri resident, Jitender Kumar (50) died at the Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala today morning. His brother Rakesh Kalia blamed few doctors of Surgical Ward No 3 of negligence stating that his brother’s operation was not aptly handled by the doctors.

Rakesh informed that Jitender, who worked in PRTC as a driver, complained of stomachache a few days back and was admitted at the hospital four days back. He said the doctors did not attend him properly for three days and pressurised them to shift the patient to a private hospital.

“We informed them that we cannot take him to a private hospital, but even after that when they did not treat him properly, we decided to shift him to a private hospital. But the doctors concerned later agreed to operate him,” he added.

Kalia further informed that his brother was operated upon yesterday, but he died around 8 am today morning. He said, “While the doctors were arguing to shift him to a private hospital till yesterday, but said they will learn a lot from this case and after that agreed to operate him. I am sure this incident has occurred while training the junior doctors. My brother has been used as a subject case for the training doctors, which is highly unprofessional. If doctors said the reason for Jitender’s stomachache was the bursting of a vein in his stomach and my was that serious why didn’t the doctors inform us earlier. This is sheer lack of professionalism.”

Meanwhile, he patient’s kin created ruckus in the ward and as a result of the hospital authorities had to call the police. Dr Mahinder Singh Sandhu, in charge of ward no 3, could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. But the other doctor informed that Jitender had met with a road accident a month back for which he was treated in a private hospital earlier.

“Before he was admitted to the surgery ward, he was in the medicine ward. When the doctors in surgery ward got to know about the vein, he was then operated. Even the operation was successful. Therefore, the exact reason for the death can be traced only after postmortem,” he added.

Ludhiana, May 17
Punjabi Khatris of Pakistani origin are more prone to have thalassaemic children as the percentage goes up to 7.5 per cent in Khatri-dominated districts. To contain this rising rate, it is a must to encourage inter-caste marriages.

This was stated by Dr Praveen C Sobti, a thalassaemic expert at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).

Punjab has the highest number of thalassaemics, as its incidence is over 5 per cent in the state as compared to the national percentage 3.5. However, the state government does not have any policy to support such patients in the state.

Terming the detection of “thalassaemic trait” in the Punjabi populace as the need of the hour, Dr Sobti said it was the commonest congenital disease, which could be prevented through proper screening. One out of every 20 Punjabis has this trait as had been established in national health surveys.

“Screening should be made mandatory at the high school level as coupling of both parents with thalassemic trait results in 25 per cent increased risk of the birth of a thalassaemic major child,” he said.

Once born with thalassaemia major, the child is on blood transfusion for the rest of his/her life or has to undergo bone marrow transplantation, which costs between Rs 6-11lakh and is unaffordable for majority of the people. “Also, chances of finding a matching donor are only 25 per cent,” Dr Sobti said.

He claimed the DMCH was the only dedicated unit with trained staff nurses, doctors and a special ward for such patients after the PGI, which was catering to 276 children from Punjab. Some patients from Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh are also undergoing treatment in this unit.

Dr Sobti said: “Out of the total 276 children, only six going to government schools have been covered under the congenital disease curative programme started by the state Health Ministry under the Sarv Sikhiya Abhiyan. The rest of the children are going to private schools and their parents are unable to afford the treatment despite getting help from the hospital management,” added Dr Sobti.

Chandigarh, May 17
“Punjab has failed to make optimum use of the funds allocated to it under the flagship scheme of the Union government, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), launched in December 2005,” said Kumari Selja, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, at a press conference organised by the UT Administration here today.

Punjab was one of the three states that lagged behind in reaping benefits of this scheme, others being Rajasthan and Bihar, she stated.

“Punjab has been unable to take full advantage of the JNNURM. Against the 7-year allocation of Central assistance of Rs 617.02 crore, Punjab is yet to avail Rs 547.10 crore,” she said.

“Though there has been communication about the same with the top functionaries of Punjab and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal himself is very enthusiastic and has met me also on two to three occasions, but still they have failed to benefit from it,” the Minister said.

To give a fresh lease of life, Selja said, “ The Centre is now set to introduce a scheme under the Rajiv Awas Yojna, which will instill a sense of competition among the states so that they can surge ahead and take benefit of the schemes”.

In the past, while the Punjab Government has been citing lack of land as the reason for not being able to implement the scheme suitably, Selja said land availability and its prices were high in many other states as well, but they successful in implementing this scheme.

Chandigarh and neighbouring state of Haryana have already availed their 7-year mission period allocation commitment from the Centre under the JNNURM.

Out of the total Central share of Rs 396.13 crore committed, Central Assistance (ACA) of Rs 188.94 crore was released for construction of 25,728 dwelling units, including basic amenities like water supply, sewerage, roads, drainage, community centre and community toilets. Out of the total sanctioned dwelling units, 12,864 units are either completed or in progress.

Similarly, in case of Haryana, of the total Central share of Rs 240.88 crores committed by the Centre from which ACA of Rs 128.23 crore was released for construction of 3,248 dwelling units under Basic Services to the Urban Poor Scheme and 16,426 dwelling units under Integrated Housing & Slum Development Programme, including basic amenities like water supply, sewerage, road/streets, drainage, community centre and community toilets. 

Ferozepur, May 17
The relining of Sirhind and Rajasthan feeder canals running parallel to each other has been delayed by six months. The project, which was scheduled to start from March, will now start from October and executing agencies will have to complete the project within five years starting from March.

State Irrigation Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon said the work had been delayed on the request of the Rajasthan government, as it could not afford the closure of the Rajasthan canal from March to May due to a huge demand of water for irrigation purpose.

He said the Rajasthan government had agreed for the canal closure in October, and hence the relining work to be executed by the state Irrigation Department would start in that month only.

He said though the Centre had sanctioned funds for its relining, an application for its release was not moved to the authorities so far as its execution had been delayed. The Centre had promised to give Rs 1,300 crore for the work.

Constructed over the confluence of the Sutlej and Beas, the canals are in a bad shape as its slopes had caved in major areas and its beds had been chocked due to a wild growth and hyacinths.

Sources said now, the brick lining of both these canals would be replaced by a thick lining of concrete by using modern technology.

Faridkot, May 17
Faridkot Chief Judicial Magistrate DP Singla today framed charges of fraud and conspiracy against 47 persons in the PMET scam unearthed in 2008, in which hundreds of youth had paid money to clear the test.

Investigations into the scam are still in progress and more arrests could be made. An FIR in this regard was registered in 2008 by the state police on a complaint filed by SS Walia, registrar of the Baba Farid University of Medical Sciences, Faridkot. The entrance test for the admission to state medical colleges was held on June 22, 2008.

During arguments, the defence counsel objected to the jurisdiction of the court in the framing of charges against the 47 persons pointing out that the scam broke out in Patiala, therefore the Faridkot court had no jurisdiction to hear this case.

However, the CJM accepted the plea of the prosecution side that the main FIR was lodged by the registrar of the Baba Farid University of Medical Sciences (Faridkot), and hence the local court has the right to go ahead with the trial of this case.

Taking a serious view of this scam, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered the state government to constitute a special investigation team for conducting investigations. The SIT headed by the Ropar SSP is at present conducting the probe.

Sources said nearly 60 persons had been arrested so far in this case and more arrests could be made. As on the date, the police had arrested 10 doctors, 16 impostors and 27 students in this scam. 

Chandigarh, May 17
Just over a fortnight after Bikramjit Singh was sentenced to two-and-a-half years rigorous imprisonment in a disproportionate assets case, the former IAS officer today moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Also the former principal secretary to the Punjab Chief Minister, he has challenged the trial court’s orders of holding him guilty in the case and sentencing him to imprisonment, besides imposing a fine of Rs 30,000.

The petition, filed through the office of senior advocate-cum-former advocate-general R.S. Cheema, is expected to be placed before a Single Bench of the High Court on Tuesday.

In the petition, Bikramjit Singh has asserted that he has explained his assets. The trial court had held him guilty of owning assets worth Rs 24 lakh, which came from unaccounted sources.

In 1997, a case under Sections 13 (2) and 13 (1e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered against Bikramjit Singh after obtaining prosecution sanction from the then Punjab government.

Before the registration of the case by the CBI, the Vigilance Bureau had conducted an inquiry against the accused and found movable and immovable assets worth Rs 16,78,577, in addition to his known sources of income. The Vigilance Bureau had recommended the registration of a case, which was approved by the DG, Vigilance Bureau, in 1994. 

Malout, May 17
Six youths allegedly raped a woman and killed her paramour, who attempted to rescue her, at Malout village in Muktsar district late last night.

Acting swiftly, the police booked the accused in two different cases (of gangrape and murder) and arrested four of them by this afternoon.

The woman (37) was married to Kaur Singh of Ghumiara village and had a son. She was living separately after having a dispute with her husband. She boarded a train from Bathinda for Malout village to meet her paramour Gurjant Singh last evening. The six accused were also travelling in the same compartment. As she got down at Malout railway station, they started chasing her.

Finding her aloof on the way, they all pounced upon her and two of them raped her. Then, rest of the four youths indulged in verbal duel, claiming their turn to rape her.

Meanwhile, finding the opportunity, the woman fled the place and ran towards Gurjant’s fields, located nearby, but the four desperate youths chased her.

Witnessing her in trouble, Gurjant dared the four accused with a sharp-edged agricultural tool in his hand. He inflicted some injuries to the accused to save his beloved.

However, they overpowered him, snatched the tool from his hand and killed him by inflicting a deep cut at his neck. Then the accused again pounced upon her. After committing rape with her, they left her nude and fled the spot. Later regaining senses, the victim informed the Malout police. The police nabbed four accused, Ravi Kumar, Pawan Kumar, Sikander Singh and Sunil Kumar, all residents of Malout, within hours of the crime.

Zira (Ferozepur), May 17
Hargopal Singh, a youth of Botianwala village of this subdivision, was happy when his marriage was solemnised with Paramjit Kaur, a citizen of Canada. He was at cloud nine when he landed in Canada along with his better half a few months ago.

However, within a few months his life became hell due to torture allegedly by his wife and his in-laws in Canada. He was shocked when he came to know that his wife was in the business of “illegal immigration” and she brought youths of Punjab to Canada after getting married to them in lieu of money.

Though Hargopal tried his best to get rid of his wife by coming back to India, he could not succeed. He is allegedly being subjected to physical torture by his wife Paramjit despite the fact that she has taken 10 acres of land, 40 tolas of gold and Rs 10 lakh from Hargopal before entering into wedlock with him.

After having fed up with the repeated torture of his son, Amar Singh, father of Hargopal, approached the police with a complaint that Paramjit had defrauded his family. He also alleged that Paramjit Kaur had got married twice before getting married to Hargopal. Paramjit, who originally belonged to Moga district, was living in Surrey, Canada.

Paramjit, who got married to Hargopal, was trying to divorce him, so that she could get married to another boy and loot him.

On his complaint, a case against Paramjit Kaur was registered in the local police station. Apart from it, Chinder Singh and his wife Chinder Kaur, who acted as “matchmaker” between Hargopal and Paramjit, Baljinder Singh and Tarsem Singh, brothers of Paramjit, had been booked for their involvement in these “illegal activities.”

Police sources said Chinder Kaur had been arrested while the other accused would be arrested shortly. Paramjit was still in Canada. The anti-fraud wing of the police was investigating the case.