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Kothari Commission
The ramshackle building of a government school in Moga district. A Tribune photo
Five killed in mishap
SAD-BJP govt failed to address Ghaggar issue: Preneet
State Minister for External Affairs and Patiala MP Preneet Kaur yesterday accused the SAD-BJP government of failing to properly present the case of Punjab in regard to the Ghaggar project to the Centre. MOS External Affairs and Patiala MP Preneet Kaur listens to problems of flood-affected people at Guru Nanak Pura village in Patiala on Saturday. — A Tribune photograph
Baba Bujha Singh to come alive on reel
Paddy Scam
Sadavart Nature Trail project in limbo
Chief swimming coach retires
Amritsar ‘not ready’ for rapid transport
Breaches to be plugged by Aug 12
Sangrur all set to regain its green cover
Conclave On Environment
High toxic metal content in crops irrigated by nullah sewage
Two boys drowned in sarovar
Divers search for the bodies of two boys who drowned in the sarovar of Gurdwara Kaulsar at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Sunday. — PTI
Panel to look at ‘objectionable’ text
College lecturer, tutor held for selling fake degrees
13-yr-old strangled
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Master-cadre teachers get benefit of pay revision
Mahesh Sharma
Ludhiana, August 1 The beneficiaries, many of them represented by successors after their death, had to wait for over 16 months after winning a 20-year-long legal battle to get 43-year-old Kothari Commission’s recommendation implemented in March last year. Though the DPI (Schools) had directed all District Education Officers of the state to send receipts in connection with payment of dues all concerned before August 1, a majority of the beneficiaries are yet to get their long-pending right. Investigations revealed that the DPI (Schools) had directed all the DEOs of the state to ensure that all master-cadre teachers, in whose favour the Punjab and Haryana court Chandigarh had passed orders on March 24, 2009, should be paid revised salaries with effect from November 1, 1971, instead of July 16, 1975. The petitioners, including Lekh Raj and others, Manmohan Kaur and others, Pritam Chand and others and Raj Kumar Sachdeva and others, had fought the legal battle for 20 years to get disparity between various categories of teachers removed. After the order, the state government extended the benefit to these teachers in two districts, Amritsar and Ferozepur, but teachers in the rest of the districts had to file contempt petitions in order to get the directions implemented. Unfortunately many died before the implementation of the orders. “Many among us have since died and several are untraceable as they have changed their homes after retirement. But we are happy that some of us will be able to harvest the fruits of a long legal and administrative battle,” said Lekh Raj, who along with others had filed a contempt petition in the high court. The Kothari Commission had in 1966 recommended the revision after five years.
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Buildings of 61 schools in Faridkot, Moga unsafe
Moga, August 1 As per the records of the education department, 33 school buildings in Faridkot district and 28 in Moga district are unsafe, posing a threat to the lives of students and teachers. Though a survey has been conducted and the proposed estimates of the reconstruction and repair work have been submitted to the state government, the funds for the same are yet to be released, exposing the insensitive attitude of politicians and bureaucrats. With the rains lashing this belt of the state for the past few weeks, these buildings have become more unsafe. As per the details available, in 2009 a survey of all schools was jointly conducted by the education department and engineers of the public works department. The survey concluded that 61 buildings of schools in Faridkot and Moga districts were in a deplorable condition. More than a year ago, a request for financial grants was sent to the state government through the directorate of education but the funds are yet to reach the district headquarters. A senior official of the education department who did not wish to be named said the grants had already been approved by the government but are yet to be released by the finance department. “As soon as we receive the funds, we will begin with the repair work,” he said. As many as 65 classrooms in the 33 unsafe schools in Faridkot have been found completely unfit for use. The unsafe buildings of government schools in Moga district are in Dharamkot and Nihalsinghwala townships and in Sahoke, Gholia Khurd, Marhi Mustafa, Manuke, Budh Singh Wala and Rajeana villages. A sum of Rs 65.78 lakh has been approved by the state government for Moga district for the repair of unsafe buildings in these areas but the money is yet to reach the district headquarters. The survey has also disclosed that the roofs of many schools have never been cleaned and at places there is no outlet for rain water.
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Five killed in mishap
Ropar, August 1
The deceased have been identified as Jagdev Singh of Amritsar, his sons Rashpal Singh and Captain Singh, his brother-in-law Shingara Singh from Fatehpur and driver Dilbagh Singh from Chamiari village. They were rushed to the Ropar Civil Hospital, where they were declared brought dead.
The mishap took place at 6:30 am when the family was on its way to Chandigarh in a taxi. When they reached near Rangilpur village, the vehicle had a head-on collision with a Punjab Roadways bus, which was on its way from Chandigarh to Amritsar.
Out of the seven occupants, five killed on the spot. There were around 20 passengers in the bus, who, too, received injuries. Jagdev’s another brother-in-law Swaran Singh and his son Sonu received injuries. They have been referred to the PGI, Chandigarh. The police has registered a case.
— TNS
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SAD-BJP govt failed to address Ghaggar issue: Preneet
Patiala, August 1 “Post-floods, the Punjab government is blaming the Centre and the Central Water Commission for the delay in the second phase of the Ghaggar project whereas in reality it was the Badal government that failed to properly take up the matter,” she said. She also visited about 12 villages of the Shatrana Assembly Constituency that were hit by the recent floods.
Preneet further said the previous Congress regime in Punjab led by former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had taken up the issue with the Centre following which the Centre had released funds worth Rs 70 crore to Punjab. But ever since the Akalis came to fore, they have failed to make any further progress in this regard.
Preneet lambasted the Punjab government for the flood fury, stating that it was sheer failure on the part of the
SAD-BJP government that flood-prevention steps were not taken before the onset of monsoons. “It is ridiculous that the state did not release the funds for the de-silting and cleaning the drains and rivulets before the monsoons,” she
added. Preneet further said the UPA would surely take remedial steps to prevent the damage being caused by the Ghaggar in the form of floods. She also said petty politics being played by the SAD was unfortunate. “When people are dying and the state is suffering immense damage, it is sad that Akalis are busy playing the blame game,” she added. Listening to the residents of flood-affected Guru Nanak Pura village in
Shatrana, Preneet said the flood-hit farmers would also be taken care of. Shatrana MLA Nirmal Singh and assistant principal secretary to Preneet Kaur MP Singh accompanied Preneet during her visit to the flood-hit areas.
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Baba Bujha Singh to come alive on reel
Jalandhar, August 1 “There are three phases of Baba Bujha Singh’s life. The first phase relates to the role played by him as a “Gadharite”, a member of the Gadhar party. Through his friends, he tried to convince Jagdish Chander Bose to seek help from Soviet Union against the British for the freedom of the country. And the Baba was the first to predict the disintegration of Soviet Union in 1958 at a meeting in London,” said Bakshinder, a journalist and film critic, who will direct the film. The second phase of the Baba’s life is related to his active role in the Muzara (serf) movement in the state. The Baba played an active role in getting the land rights to the actual tillers (peasants) of the land and fought against the feudal system well entrenched in the state till the early 1960s. The last phase of the Baba’s life is with regard to his involvement in the Naxalite movement in the state. “We will focus on all the three phases. In fact, we believe that the Baba’s role in the freedom movement was far larger than what has been recorded in the history books. He deserves a better place in history as a Gadharite. His work for the peasantry will also find an adequate place in the film,” said Bakshinder. Obviously, the Baba’s role in the Naxalite movement will find a place in the film but it will not be the central theme of the film, he added. Immediately after his death in a police encounter, the Baba became an icon for a group of Naxalites. Even the romantic poet Shiv Batalavi, who was in full bloom in the 1960s, dedicated one of his poems - “Budhe Rukh Nu Fansi” - to Baba Bujha Singh. He also figured in Punjab’s progressive literature. “We shot the first scene of the film at Chakk Mai Dass village, native place of the Baba near Banga, early this week,” said the director, adding that it was based on a book authored by Ajmer Sidhu. The film has an estimated budget of Rs 60 lakh and is being funded by donations from the public in the region and also NRIs in the US, Canada and other places. According to its director, it was just a coincidence that the film was being produced at a time when Naxal insurgency was at its peak in the Red Corridor of the country. “To remember the Baba just as a Naxalite leader will be an injustice to his life,” he said.
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Paddy Scam Kulwinder Sandhu Tribune News Service
Moga, August 1 In a damage-control exercise, it has now filed an application in the court of Lakshman Singh in Ferozepur seeking permission for reinvestigation, which will come up for hearing tomorrow. The Tribune in its news report ‘Cops fail to recover missing paddy” published on July 27 had highlighted the inefficiency of the police in recovering missing 1,92,973 bags of paddy worth Rs 8 crore, which could have been sold in Moga, Faridkot and Ferozepur districts as suspected by some officials of the Food and Civil Supplies Department. The IG (Bathinda zone), Rohit Chaudhary, in a letter to the Ferozepur SSP has mentioned that” “Investigation into the scam is riddled with numerous flaws.” He directed the SSP to move an application in the competent court for seeking permission to further investigate this case. Earlier, the DIG (Bathinda range) had examined the investigation conducted by the Ferozepur police and pointed out many flaws. He said the role of commission agents and truck operators, who gave gate passes and transported paddy to rice mills from where it went missing, was not probed and the labour contractor who unloaded trucks at Noor Rice Mill was also not questioned. After arresting the owners of the mill, no effort was made to recover the missing paddy. Some persons - Jasvir Singh, Nishan Singh, Mangal Singh and others, who gave receipts of receiving the paddy, were also not questioned. The DIG, while pointing out these flaws, has recommended to form a special investigation team after consulting legal experts for a thorough probe into the scam.
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Telefilm on Nawab Jassa Singh Ahluwalia
Patiala, August 1 With an aim to make the younger generation aware of his contribution towards history, Azad Kala Film has made the first 50-minute telefilm titled “Sultan ul Quam Nawab Jassa Singh Ahluwalia” depicting the life of the legend. A premier show of this telefilm was organised at the Sikh Academy, Model Town, today afternoon where Charanjit Singh Walia, MP, was the chief guest. The telefim has been produced by Mahinder Singh Walia and Amarjit Kaur. Written and directed by Iqbal Gajjan, the film throws light on various wars, including Nadir Shah, Mir Manu, Jakria Khan, Adina Begh, Salamat Khan, Jalim Khan and Ahmed Shah Abdali. Talking about the telefilm, Mahinder Singh Walia said despite big contribution, Nawab Jassa Singh Ahluwalia did not get his due share in history. “He is a forgotten hero. Therefore, we decided to make this telefilm to make people aware of him and to ensure that he gets his due share in history,” he added. Komal Gajjan, Karamjeet Dhaliwal, Kailash Kumar, Gurdhyan Singh and Rajinder Singh were the prominent artists. The film shows that Ahluwalia was a prominent Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh confederacy. He was also Misldar of the Ahluwalia Misl.
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Sadavart Nature Trail project in limbo
Ropar, August 1 Set up about two years ago on the 72-acre area of Sadavart forest, the nature’s trail has been hit severely because of lack of funds and poor maintenance. Situated along Sirhind canal, the park can be utilised for tourism purposes if promoted aggressively. During its initial days of inception, many schoolchildren and college students thronged the place for they used to come here to study the plants. The Forest Department had installed scientific information about plants and their medicinal uses in the enclosure. A 1.5-km long track, made of stones and gravel, has also been laid to allow the visitors to roam around easily. In the absence of proper upkeep, the place now presents a picture of neglect. Instead of tourists, couples seeking privacy and anti-social elements now frequent the place. As there is no guard at the entrance, the place is open for all. “The Forest Department should fix entry fee so that unwanted people be barred from venturing into the area,” residents of the area said. Even the hutment, which has been constructed to provide shelter, now lies abandoned. The urinals meant for public convenience, too, have been locked. Meanwhile, Divisional Forest Officer Vishal Chauhan said this project was a part of the master plan of Punjab for promoting eco-tourism. “As per the plan, we will get a separate budget for maintenance of the park. It will soon get a facelift,” he asserted.
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Chief swimming coach retires
Patiala, August 1 He had served in many international competitions. He had been deputed from the NIS in special organising committee for the IXth Asian Games, Delhi 1982. Also he had worked from September to December 1982 at the Talkatora Garden Swimming Pool Complex, which is now the Dr Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Swimming Pool Complex, venue for the Commonwealth Games. He has trained number of swimmers during his service at the NIS, Patiala, the National Stadium and Talkatora Swimming Complex, Delhi, Kurukshetra University, the MDU Rohtak, Hyedrabad, Bangluru and Gandhinagar. In 2005-07, while posted at the Dr Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Swimming Pool Complex, New Delhi, he trained some prominent swimmers.
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Amritsar ‘not ready’ for rapid transport
Amritsar, August 1 Experts fear that the system will change the character or old-world charm of the walled city, while the commoners are of the view that the city is yet to receive the basic infrastructure, required for the project. Congested lanes, widespread encroachment, a lopsided traffic system are some of the major drawbacks being faced by the pilgrims, tourists and the locals. The government is yet to deliver on unhindered smooth flow of traffic, good roads and an efficient parking mechanism around the Golden Temple, visited by devotees across the world. Major Mohindar Singh
Sarkaria, a senior citizen, said what could be expected from the government which could not provide an encroachment-free footpath from Hall Gate to Golden Temple. He added that luxury buses were parked blatantly outside the gate at the cost of the traffic leading to the Golden Temple.
Ashwani Luthra, a teacher in Guru Ramdas School of Planning, Guru Nanak Dev University, said the PRT system would alter the old character and heritage of the walled city. Teaching traffic and transportation for the past 15 years, Luthra said in case the PRT system was to be introduced, it must be part of the Master Plan for development of the city and its feasibility could be judged going by its requirements. The experts are of the view that city residents are not prepared economically for expensive transportation but needed inexpensive pollution-free transportation.
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Breaches to be plugged by Aug 12
Ludhiana, Aug 1 The department has sought Rs 86 crore for the repair and strengthening of the banks of the rivers and the cleaning of the drains in order to meet any emergency during the next two months - August and September -- from the calamity relief fund, said Vinod Chaudhry, Chief Engineer, Drainage, Punjab. Patiala district had the maximum number of breaches (80) of canals, rivers and drains, A S Dulat, Chief Engineer, Canals, said today. The breaches were caused in the Ghaggar, Tangri, Bhavni and Markanda, resulting in devastation in Patiala district. Mohali had six breaches, which had been plugged. In Faridkot one had been plugged, in Sangrur three, in Mansa two had been plugged and seven were in the process of being plugged. In Moga - Faridkot - Langiana sector there were eight breaches in canals. Fourteen breaches had been plugged in this section so far. As many as 3.24 lakh acres of the cropped area had been affected by the floods with paddy and cotton being the worst hit. The state government was paying a compensation to the farmers at the rate of Rs 5,000 per acre. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had written to the Central Government to raise the compensation to Rs 17,000 per acre. Dulat said the canals department had sought Rs 14.56 crore for the repair and maintenance of the canals in the state to meet any eventuality during the next two months. Experts are of the view that heavy rains during the month of September could cause much devastation as the crops would be at ripening stage.
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Sangrur all set to regain its green cover
Sangrur, August 1 To regain the lost forest cover, an initiative has been taken by Additional Income Tax Commissioner Garima Singh, who decided to start tree plantation in and around her office and started with a target of 300 trees. But what she thought to be a small initiative, turned out to be a massive campaign when various associations started joining hands in her
mission. Manoj Garg, vice-chairman market committee; Upkar Singh, SDM,
Sangrur; Naunihal Singh, SSP, Sangrur; Pawan Garg, SDO, BSNL; Deepak
Anand, president, Income Tax Bar Association; Parmod Oberoi, president, Charted Accountant Association, were prominent among those who joined the venture. Trees are being planted on various locations in the city like the PWD road, Mall Godham road, Club road and DC
Office. Garima said while moving in and around Sangrur, she always had a strong feeling within and felt sad whenever saw roads lacking green borders. Then one day, she asked herself that why could not she herself come forward for the cause. Thus, she started the move which others agreed to join it readily. Social organisations have also came forward to take it as a mission to help Sangrur regain its green
cover. Garima said plantation of trees might not be difficult but care and nurturing of saplings was the real job. Therefore, she wants involvement of all in the campaign to safeguard every plant planted at various places. Nearly, Rs 3 lakh had already been spent by her team in Sangrur on 300 plants and tree guards, she added. Moreover, special emphasis is being laid on selection of trees and the appropriate places. Trees like
Alstonia, Arjun (Terminalia Arjuna), Gulmohar(Delomix Regia), Jamun (Eugenia
Jambolana), Dek Amaltas (Casia Fistula), Teek (Tectona) are some of the varieties to be planted here.
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Green brigade vows to wage war on felling of trees
Varinder Singh Tribune News Service
Amritsar, August 1 More than 2,500 saplings were distributed among people who participated in the conclave organised jointly by noted environmentalist Baba Sewa Singh and the Mahatama Gandhi Institute of Public Administration, Punjab. Interestingly, the Akal Takht Jathedar, Giani Gurbachan Singh, attributed proliferation of drug addiction in Punjab partly to the slack approach of the Punjab police. Exhorting people of the state to launch a movement against prevailing vices, Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal said every citizen of Punjab could contribute in waging a war against female foeticide by participating in the ‘Nanhi Chhaan’ movement initiated by her. “Felling of trees has led to drastic changes in the environment. Glaciers are melting and natural resources are drying up fast due to the looming spectre of global warming,” said Harsimrat Badal, who has already announced that she was going to launch a movement against drug addiction in Punjab. She said more than 2,000 unborn girls were being killed in India every day by people whogo in for illegal abortions. Giani Gurbachan Singh made an appeal to the people of the state to plant small trees on their rooftops to arrest the disturbing phenomena of global warming. “The police should deal with drug addiction as a challenge. They should be stricter so that young Punjabis could be saved from falling in the trap of drugs,” said Giani Gurbachan Singh. SGPC chief Avtar Singh said awareness against drugs was being created in 1,000 villages of the Malwa area by the SGPC and the NGO, ‘Nanhi Chhaan’. Environmentalists Baba Sewa Singh Khadoor Sahib Wale and Balbir Singh Seechewal distributed saplings among participants even as the Punjab police distributed a booklet, “Nasha Mukat Punjab Banaiye”. Baba Seechewal said industry was responsible for pollution in Punjab particularly when the 1974 Act against pollution was not implemented in the state. The Director of the Mahatama Gandhi Institute of Public Administration, BK Srivastava, said his organisation had done a lot to make people aware about the environment and social vices.
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High toxic metal content in crops irrigated by nullah sewage
Ludhiana, August 1 The
nullah, which runs 18 km through Ludhiana town, causes a number of problems for residents living along it, particularly during the monsoon. Like every year, the municipal corporation this time, too, failed to get it cleaned before the onset of the monsoon. The Drainage Department is assigned the duty of cleaning the
nullah. According to a latest study conducted on the Buddha Nullah by the Department of Soils, Punjab Agricultural University, a high concentration of lead, chromium, cadmium and nickel has been found in the soil irrigated by the nullah sewage. Consequently, the crops grown in the area irrigated with sewage has a high toxic metal content, says Dr Yadvinder Singh, Professor and Head, Department of Soils,
PAU. The study has pointed out that leafy vegetables like spinach, Indian mustard, Indian clover and coriander accumulate relatively higher concentration of toxic elements in the sewage-irrigated soil as compared to the tube well-irrigated soil. The Department of Soils has observed that the concentration of lead, chromium, cadmium and nickel in shallow underground water
(handpump water) within 200m of Buddha Nullah was significantly higher than the permissible limits.
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Two boys drowned in sarovar
Amritsar, August 1 The body of Sonu was recovered while rescue operations were on to recover the body of the other boy when the report was last filed. Sonu along with his two friends - Kaushik and Sagar -had gone to pay obeisance at the gurdwara where they decided to take a holy dip in the sarovar. According to eyewitnesses, Sonu slipped into the sarvor while Sanju jumped into it to save him. However, they could not reach the banks of the sarovar and drowned.
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Panel to look at ‘objectionable’ text
Mohali, August 1 However, the two books ‘Gyan Sagar’ and ‘Balu da bal’, had evoked sharp criticism from different quarters for containing text that had hurt the religious sentiments of the Sikhs. The committee comprises of Dr SP Singh, former vice-chancellor of Guru Nank Dev University; Dr Harpal Singh Pannu, head of the Religious Studies Department, Punjabi University; Dr Balwant Singh Dhillon, Department of Guru Nanak Studies, GNDU; and Rajinder Singh, former director of the Punjab Language Department.
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Nominated
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College lecturer, tutor held for selling fake degrees
Rajpura, August 1 They have been booked under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC. However, preliminary investigations revealed that Sharma might be alluring students of his college for sale of fake degrees. The police officials investigating the matter said the accused demanded Rs 15,000 from failed students and those having compartment in various subjects. Out of this amount, they pocketed Rs 5,000 and gave Rs 10,000 to people associated with various printing presses from where universities get their degrees printed. The cops said two Patiala residents Taranjeet and Manpreet, were earlier arrested by the police with the 13 fake marksheets, provided a lead and on its basis Sharma and Vinay were arrested. The cops said there would be around 18 or 19 persons involved in this racket and all of them would be arrested soon. They said the role of printing press came under scanner as paper, ink and stamps used for preparing the fake marksheets are original. Meanwhile, the director of Gurukul Vidyapeeth Des Raj confirmed that the arrested lecturer was as an employee of the Swami Vivekanand Institute of Emerging Technologies and was deployed in the admission branch. “We will take action against him as per the AICTE norms,” he added.
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13-yr-old strangled
Amritsar, August 1 Police Commissioner Varinder Kumar said on the basis of the statement of the victim’s mother, a case had been registered and efforts were on to nab the accused. The victim’s mother said that his son used to perform sewa at Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Deep Singh. Yesterday evening when he went to pay obeisance at the gurdwara, he failed to return home.
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Chandigarh, August 1
Jalandhar, August 1
Sadavart Nature Trail, a project that was launched here to promote eco-tourism, lies in the doldrums with wild grass, inadequate civic amenities and anti-social elements plaguing the place.
Set up about two years ago on the 72-acre area of Sadavart forest, the nature’s trail has been hit severely because of lack of funds and poor maintenance. Situated along Sirhind canal, the park can be utilised for tourism purposes if promoted aggressively.
Amritsar, August 1
Chandigarh: AR Sharma of Dhuri, a pioneer in extraction of oil from rice bran in North India, has been nominated as a member of the Expert Group on Oils and Fats formed under the Food Safety Standards Authority of India. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has constituted the authority under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
— TNS