Jalandhar, November 21
The Punjab Congress now seems to have taken up the issue of dwindling financial status of Punjab as their core agenda while addressing public meetings.

All senior party leaders, including PPCC chief Captain Amarinder Singh and MP Partap Singh Bajwa, took up the same issue while addressing the gathering at Shaheed Pariwar Fund function organised by a media house here today.

On his first visit to the city after being appointed on the party post, Capt Amarinder said while the country’s growth rate was 9 per cent, but Punjab was nowhere near it. “There are over 40 lakh unemployed youth in the state but no new industry has come up. In fact, the industrial sector itself is in doldrums. There are no medicines for the poor in health centres and no teachers to teach in the government schools. Most farmers too are ploughing land holdings measuring merely 4 acre or even less”, he spoke out.

Soon Bajwa too stuck on the same issue saying that Punjab had come down to 14th position instead of the first on the development scale. The level of education in the state has gone so down that no government teacher is getting admission for his child in the same school and is rather sending him to a private one.

Local Bodies Minister Manoranjan Kalia used the forum to highlight the delayed comments of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the 2G spectrum allocation scam. He even termed the visit of US President Barrack Obama in India as “a futile exercise owing to his silence on terrorism issue”.

PPCC Secretary Dr Ram Lal Jassi, however, flayed the minister’s comments saying that it was unwise to make such statements at a solemn function.

Several supporters of Capt Amarinder too used the occasion to shower him with gifts and souvenirs after his recent appointment. In fact, the former CM was in much hurry after his speech to go to Amritsar that many of his supporters could not even avail the chance to offer him their presents.

Others who spoke on the occasion were Lieut-Governor Iqbal Singh, CLP leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, former PPCC president Mahinder Singh Kaypee, Revenue Minister Ajit Singh Kohar, Technical Education Minister Tikshan Sud, Transport Minister Master Mohan Lal, chief of Anti-Terrorist Front Maninderjit Singh Bitta and senior journalist Kuldip Nayyar.

Jalandhar, November 21
Although over 80 various parties have been prosecuted under violation of various pollution control norms, nobody in the state has been convicted for such violations. This was revealed by Rajat Aggarwal, Chairman, Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), who was here yesterday to attend the workshop on Saltless Preservation of Hides and Skin, jointly organised by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and PPCB, here yesterday.

Besides, senior officials of CPCB and PPCB, owners of leading leather tanneries unit and slaughter houses participated in the workshop.

He, however, said the campaign to enforce the pollution control norms even over government owned units have been gained momentum and recently Civil Hospital, Ludhiana, has been prosecuted for violation of norms.

On the issue of management of biomedical waste, he said the board was on its way to involve organisations like Indian Medical Association to minimise the hazards of biomedical waste.

Vishwajeet Khanna, Secretary, Department of Science, Technology, Environment and Non-conventional Energy, said the state government was committed to clean all the rivers of the state. He said the Ministry of Environment has diverted 25 per cent of the total fund for the purpose, to Punjab.

J.S. Kamyotra, member secretary, CPCB, stressed over the need to minimise the use of salt treated hides and skin in leather tanneries as such salts cause high level water pollution.

Gurdaspur, November 21
The Red-Cross Integrated Rehabilitation Centre for Addicts has sent an SOS in the form of a multi-action plan to curb the scourge of drug abuse which has spread its tentacles deep and wide in this district due to widespread unemployment and an assortment of other factors.

Statistics culled from various sources give a Kafkaesque depiction of how youngsters are addicted to various forms of drugs particularly propoxyphene capsules, opium, brown sugar (a derivative of heroin), bupinorphine injections, poppy husk and cough syrups like Corex and Phensydryl.

Out of a total of 11,570 addicts who have been treated at the Red Cross centre here in the last 2 years, 1,050 were between the age group of 15-20 years and another 1611 were between the age categories of 20 to 25 years which means youth comprised nearly 25 per cent of the addicts treated at the centre.

Alarmed by these dreaded statistics, officials of the de-addiction centre were forced to send an action plan to the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry in an attempt to rein in the menace.

The action plan envisages an unambiguous discussion among Gurdaspur’s school and college principals, holding of seminars, formation of village-level committees which should include government health workers and camps at truck unions and bus depots, which would target drivers who are notorious for not only consuming but getting involved in trafficking of drugs of all types.

Significantly, the action plan moots a programme for employees of those government departments or entities, including the police, health, revenue, block development, social welfare and Nehru Yuva Kendra, which are regularly in touch with rural people.

Romesh Mahajan, Project Co-ordinator of the Centre, said Revenue department officials must be involved as many cases show that many frustrated farmers, with small land holdings, sold their agriculture lands, just to satiate their physical urge to have drugs.

The action plan also puts emphasis on the fact that chemist shops in towns and villages should be reigned in as it is through these shops that psychotropic substances are being sold without any fear of the police or the district health authorities.

Mahajan disclosed, “It is has been found that codeine and other drugs which produce an instant high are easily available. The profit is high and chemists do not hesitate to bribe drug inspectors to ensure that they look the other way. In certain villages, many chemist shops which were earlier just shanties, have flourished.”

Tarn Taran, November 21
Three persons died on the spot and one was seriously injured when two trucks collided head-on near Thathian Mahantan village, 18 kms from here, today.

A report under section 174 of the CrPC has been registered at Sarhali police station.

Both the drivers of the trucks, identified as Hakam Singh of Burj Fatehpur village (Barnala) and Kewal Singh of Mehma Sarja, and cleaner Jatinder Singh of Goniana (Bathinda) were the victims.

Hakam Singh was driving a lime-loaded truck (RJ-13-G-9090) and was coming from Harike side while the other truck (PB-03-W-4126), driven by Kewal Singh, was coming from the opposite side. Jatinder Singh was a cleaner in Kewal Singh’s truck. The injured passerby has not been identified yet. It is said the incident happened as Kewal Singh lost control over the truck. 

Jalandhar, November 21
A 16-year-old died under mysterious circumstances here this morning. The police intercepted the body of the girl and sent for the post-mortem examination to the local Civil Hospital. The deceased has been identified as Neetu, who was working as a domestic maid at the house of Dr Jaswant Singh Mann, the owner of Medicity Hospital.

According to police, the condition of Neetu deteriorated on Saturday night after she started vomiting. The girl died this morning. However, Bhargo station police intercepted the body and sent it to the civil hospital for the post-mortem examination.

Interestingly, her father Onkar Prashad who is working as a security guard at the Medicity Hospital did not rake up the issue of the sudden death of his daughter and took the body home. The police is investigating the mysterious death of the girl and awaiting the report of the post-mortem.

Phillaur, November 21
Mysterious death of a villager sparked tension at Sidhwan village in Noormahal. The situation was brought under control when Phillaur DSP Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh visited the village and ordered the police to register a case against village lambardar Harbans Singh under section 302 of the IPC.

Balihar Singh (47) was found burnt in a kacha room in the fields of Harbans Singh yesterday. Balihar’s family members refused to cremate the body till registration of a case against Harbans Singh.

DSP Khakh said Jaswinder Kaur, sister of Balihar Singh, had alleged in her complaint that her brother was misled by the lambardar. Balihar was staying with the lambardar for the past three years.

She alleged Harbans Singh cheated her brother, who sold his three-acre land on cheaper rates and the money was grabbed by the lambardar. She further alleged that the lambardar first thrashed her brother and then set him on fire. DSP Khakh said after preliminary inquiry Harbans Singh was booked. The body was handed over to the family members after the post-mortem examination.