Jalandhar, June 30
Launching its scathing attack against the UPA government for its inability to check the price rise, the local unit of the BJP held its “Thali Khadkao” rally in the district administrative complex here today.

Party leaders, including MLA K.D. Bhandari, came on horse carts protesting against fuel price hike while the women brigade banged utensils demonstrating against increase in the prices of consumable products.

The party workers wore garlands of vegetables and carried paper models of gas cylinders depicting all those items that have gone costlier in the past few days.

Hundreds of party workers coming in cars bearing party flags joined the protest around noon but after a short demonstration everyone dispersed. Workers found it difficult to bear the scorching heat inside the covered tent.

Soon the round of speeches by Bhandari, Bhagat Chunni Lal and Chairman, Khadi Board, Vijay Sampla started but there were hardly any listeners. The leaders kept on calling supporters to reassemble in the tent but no one turned up till it was the turn of BJP national general secretary J.P. Nadda.

In his speech, he lambasted the Congress government for creating inflation out of no reason. “There is no shortage of grain. The grain in stores is not getting rotten either. Both the farmer as well as the consumer are losers in the game. If a farmer is selling his produce for Rs 8 a kg, a consumer buys it at Rs 25 a kg. The Congress is actually doing this to benefit the middlemen and hoarders,” he lashed out.

“Ask a Congressman, he would say that inflation is a global phenomena. But the reality is that the world over, prices have shot up by 2 per cent while in India there is a jump of 11 to 12 per cent,” he claimed, adding that the number of BPL families in the country had gone to 42 crore from 31 crore in 2005.

Pathankot: Activists of the BJP, led by Punjab unit president Ashwani Kumar, held a demonstration against rise in prices of essential commodities, petrol and diesel at Labour Shed Chowk here today.

Condemning the hike, Sharma said the wrong economic policies of the Central Government had put the common man in the grip of an unbalanced budget. He said the Congress-led government had raised petroleum prices eight times during the past two years.

He said the Central Government was trying to mislead the general public by claiming that the hike had been necessitated by a sharp rise in crude oil prices in the international market. The BJP leaders demanded immediate withdrawal of the price hike and bringing the prices of essential commodities under control.Later they submitted a memorandum to the Tesildar.

Batala: The Bharatiya Janata Party took out a protest march against price rise here today. The march started from Nehru Gate and ended at Gandhi Chowk where the protesters blocked traffic on the Amritsar-Jammu National Highway.

District BJP President Vivek Modgil criticised the Union Government for not supplying rice, wheat, kerosene, sugar and pulses for distribution through the ration depot as per the government policies on monthly basis.

“The deserving families neither get the fixed quantity of food items nor get kerosene at the fixed rates. The food articles and kerosene generally find their way into the black market,” he said. The party members also submitted a memorandum to the government through Batala tehsildar before lifting the blocked.

Hoshiarpur: Resenting increase in the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas, thousands of BJP activists, including women, led by Punjab Minister for Medical Education and Research, Labour, Forest and Wildlife and Parliamentary Affairs Tikshan Sud and senior vice-president of the Punjab unit of the BJP Vinod Sharma, staged a protest march here today by beating “thaalis” (plates) in the scorching heat.

They raised slogans against Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and his government for complete failure on all fronts and its alleged anti-people policies which were directly hitting the people badly and encouraging hoarders and black marketeers in the country.

They staged a rally in which various local leaders of the BJP addressed the gathering. Tikshan Sud and Vinod Sharma condemned the Congress-led UPA government for decontrolling the prices of petrol due to which its rates had been increased by Rs 3.75 per litre, enhancing the prices of diesel, kerosene and cooking gas and proposal for decontrolling the prices of diesel as recently stated by Dr Manmohan Singh. With the increase in the price of diesel, the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities had further shoot up.

They alleged that thousands tonnes stock of wheat was being damaged in various godowns.

Holding leaders of the UPA government responsible for the increase in the prices, they warned them to take necessary steps to control the prices of essential commodities. Later, they submitted a memorandum to the President of India through the Deputy Commissioner in this connection.

Nawanshahr: SSP Narinder Bhargav in a press release issued here said the police had arrested two liquor smugglers, Jagraj Singh, alias Babbi, of Jasra village (Amritsar), and Raghbir Singh, alias Bhola, of Raipur Aryian village (Jalandhar), who had allegedly been involved in smuggling India-made foreign liquor from Chandigarh.

Tarn Taran, June 30
The doctors of the area wore black badges to protest against the introduction of the Clinical Establishment Bill and declared that the agitation would continue till the acceptance of their demand.

A meeting of the district unit of the IMA was organised here today under the presidentship of Dr Kashmir Singh Sohal, district president. Disitrict unit general secretary Dr Dinesh Gupta said at the meeting the organisation condemned introduction of the bill which would only promote the corporate health sector and discourage small and medium hospitals.

The Indian Medical Association said the bill would put a heavy burden on poor patients and the health services would go beyond the approach of a major section of society.

The Indian Medical Association condemned the starting of the three-year BRMS course and demanded improvement in the standard of MBBS education.

Mithra, June 30
In what may be termed as joyous news especially for the residents of Sultanpur Lodhi sub-division, Guru Nanak Dev University has started the process for admission to various classes for the current academic session 2010-11 for the newly established Bebe Nanki University College at Mithra.

It is the third constituent college of the university. Earlier, two constituent colleges are running at Niari and Mukandpur villages in Gurdaspur and Nawanshahr districts respectively.

University Vice-Chancellor A.S. Brar said the college would admit students in the first year of BCA, BBA, BSc (Economics), BSc (Computer Science), BSc (Medical and Non Medical), BCom (Professional) and BA with Economics, Maths, elective English and elective Punjabi. This is the first government college which has started BBA, BCom (Professional) and BCA courses in the Kapurthala district, he added.

The prospectus is available at the office of the Nawab Jassa Singh Ahulwalia Government College, Kapurthala. Forms may be submitted there by July 10.

The classes will be held at Nawab Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Government College in Kapurthala itself during this academic session, whereas the classes would begin in the newly constructed building of Bebe Nanki University College at Mithra village.

Expressing her gratitude to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and FM Manpreet Singh Badal for establishing the college in the rural area of Sultanpur Lodhi, Education Minister Upinderjit Kaur hoped that this college would prove a boon for the students of this rural area.

Jalandhar, June 30
Though the state health authorities claim that staff shortage would not hinder the issuance of disability certificates for “physical disabilities” at the tehsil and block level hospitals, the district health authorities still seek ‘clarification’ on the ‘confusing terminology’ in the orders in this regard.

The term ‘medical authority’ is proving a hindrance in the implementation of the orders of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, in which it directed that a ‘medical authority’ at Tehsil and Block level hospitals would be eligible to examine the nature and extent of the disability and would also be authorised to issue the certificate.

In the prevalent practice, a three-member board of doctors is an authority to issue the certificate.

“As per the orders, a ‘medical authority’ at the tehsil and block level hospital is authorised to issue the certificates. However, orders don’t make it clear as to who would the ‘medical authority’ be. Would it be a single doctor or a team of doctors posted at such a hospital or any other formulation”, said Dr. SK Gupta, Civil Surgeon, Jalandhar.

He admitted that the health authorities were not able to implement the orders owing to the ‘confusing terminology’. However, Dr JP Singh, Director, Health and Family Welfare, clarified that any doctor posted at the tehsil and block-level hospitals could issue the certificate for routine purposes.

However, to get a certificate to apply for a government job, only the board of doctors is authorised, he said.

On the other hand, insiders in the department are of the opinion that once implemented, such decentralisation would lead to corrupt practices, as it would relatively diminish the accountability of individual doctors as compared to ‘board of doctors’.