SETTING UP OF RESEARCH INSTITUTES
Bajwa: Majha, Doaba regions ignored
Jalandhar, November 27
MP and senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa has lambasted the state government and the Vice-Chancellor of Punjab Technical University (PTU) on their decision to set up a textile technology and research institute at Ladowal, near Ludhiana, and a food technology and research institute at Sanghera village in Barnala district at a cost of Rs 50 crore each.

Ferozepur, November 27
A huge and warm welcome was extended to Ranjit Singh and Manjeet Singh, both residents of the district, after they returned to this town after winning two silver medals each in the rowing competition in the Asian Games, held at Guangzhou in China.

While Manjeet Singh alighted from a train at the local railway station today, Ranjit Singh returned to the town yesterday evening. Both Manjeet and Ranjit were given a ceremonial welcome by the district administration, including Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav, SDM GS Pannu and other district officials.

An Army band team along with a dhol beater escorted him out of the railway station and brought him to the town in an open jeep. The people belonging to all walks of life and from Manjeet’s village, who had assembled at the railway station, danced merrily. They showered petals on the “hero” of the country.

Among others who received Manjeet Singh today were Heera Sodhi, a senior Congress functionary, Sunil Kumar, sports officer, representatives of various sports bodies and Army personnel. Yesterday, Ranjit’s reception was attended by chief parliamentary secretary (CPS) Sukhpal Singh Nannu.

Ranjit, a resident of Basti Kishan Singh Wala village, and Manjeet of Isa Panj Garai village of the district, have done the country proud by winning two silver medals each in lightweight men’s four, men’s four and men‘s eight rowing competitions. They had earlier brought laurels to the country in the international sporting events held before the current Asian Games.

Yadav along with other prominent persons took Ranjit to his village yesterday where people extended to him a rousing reception. Manjeet was given a ceremonial send-off from this town and he was given a warm welcome at Jeeva Rai village, where a function was organised in his honour today.

Sunil Kumar, sports officer, said these sportsmen had brought a rare honour to Ferozepur, one of the border districts of Punjab, by putting four medals in India’s kitty. He added that Ronjan Sodhi, another youth of the district, had fetched one gold medal and one bronze medal for the country in the Asian Games-2010.

Meanwhile, a cross-section of the people, who joined the welcome ceremony of these two sportsmen, demanded that the state government must hold a big function in this town to honour all its medal winners. The Punjab government must also create necessary infrastructure in this district so that more players with the potential of winning medals in international sporting events could be produced. 

Chandigarh, November 27
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is banking on the development card a la Nitish Kumar to see it through in the Assembly elections in 14 months’ time and has jacked up the pressure on the bureaucracy, particularly deputy commissioners, to ensure ongoing projects are completed in time.

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, who has claimed that his party would do a Bihar in Punjab, has called a meeting of all deputy commissioners on December 2 to take stock of development works in their districts.

Sources here said the SAD had decided to focus on development in the coming months. It is likely to unleash a further campaign belittling former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal for his “negative agenda and anti- poor mentality” besides claiming that the new state Congress President Amarinder Singh’s roadshows lack substance.

In direct contrast, the SAD wants its big and small projects to be unveiled in a planned manner in the next few months so that it can derive the maximum benefit from them. Sukhbir Badal had banked on mega projects, particularly those in the power sector, to boost the popularity of the SAD after it took over the reins of the state in 2007. While power projects have been delayed due to recession which struck the country in between, the SAD is banking on goodwill likely to be generated by the likely start of the Bathinda refinery in February next year besides the completion of the Mohali airport project, several sewerage and water supply schemes and various road, bridge and flyover projects.

Sources said the SAD is keen on ensuring that the deputy commissioners perform according to the party agenda and that this meeting would also be a review of sorts. An earlier meeting had listed the priorities to the DCs and now, besides taking stock of how they have fared, feedback on the officers will also be taken from legislators and other important grassroots party leaders.

Party sources said once the achievements on the development front are compiled, they will be highlighted at various religious and cultural conferences which are invariably held during the winter starting from the Shaheedi Jor Mela in Fatehgarh Sahib in December to the Baisakhi conference at Talwandi Sabo in April. This is expected to be a departure from the past, with the SAD usually projecting its “panthic” (religious) side at such conferences. 

Sangrur/Mandi Ahmedgarh, November 27
From now on, the state government will not dismiss lightly maternal deaths in government and private hospitals. As part of the National Rural Health Mission, it has started adopting measures to review maternity deaths. According to directions from the state government, every case of maternal death in the age group of 15-49 will be reviewed, the cause will be ascertained and adequate steps taken to check the preventable cause of the death.

The state government has already directed Civil Surgeons of all district hospitals across Punjab to constitute panels at the district level to review and suggest preventive measures for future. The panel comprising the Civil Surgeon, a gynaecologist, an anaesthetist, a pathologist, the District Family Welfare Officer and a senior staff nurse in Sangrur held its first meeting yesterday for maternal death review (MDR).

One of the doctors, who attended the meeting, told TNS that from now on the death of any female aged between 15-49 would have to be reported to the Civil Surgeon, Deputy Commissioner of the district and Secretary, health. The doctor said whereas at the PHC and CHC levels, the gynaecologist or a female medical officer would be responsible for reporting the maternal death in their institutions; in the case of deaths in the community and private hospitals, the auxiliary nursing and midwife (ANM) concerned would report the death to the SMO.

The doctor further said that in case of the deaths in civil hospitals, the case would have to to be reported within 24 hours.

Saying that no punishment would be meted out to the authorities concerned, the doctor averred that it was a preventive measure to bring down the maternal death rate.

Claiming that the most common cause of maternal death was poor diet, illiteracy, food fad and lack of ante-natal care, the doctor said the health authorities distributed free folic acid and iron tablets to all pregnant women at all government centres, sub-centres and hospitals, but because of lack of awareness among people they don’t take advantage of that.

Neelam Bajaj, Civil Surgeon, Sangrur Civil Hospital, confirmed that the meeting was held, adding that at the block level also SMOs had already sensitised their staff. “We held a meeting yesterday to review a maternal death in Longowal. Such meetings will be held as and when maternal deaths occur in the future,” said the Civil Surgeon.

Sangrur, November 27
As the state government grapples with the problem of medical drug addiction, an NGO has devised a strategy to overcome it. However, sources say the police, under pressure from some politicians who have some stake in the business, and the Medical Store Owners Association refuse to allow them to stage dharna outside shops and houses of erring medical store owners.

The Baba Banda Singh Bahadur International Foundation (BBSBIF), an NGO with more than 150 workers, has devised a strategy to check sale of medical drugs being used by addicts.

They simply stage dharna outside the house and shops of those medical store owners from whose shops such drugs have been recovered. This, the activists say, results in humiliating store owners who have been found selling drugs or who have stocked huge quantity of medical drugs, including pain killers, sedatives and cough syrups, without any receipt. “By doing so, we try to humiliate him in society as well as in the eyes of his family members, including his children, so that he does not indulge in the sale of killer medical drugs to addicts who, too, are somebody’s children,” says Sukhbir Singh, BBSBIF president.

“Till date since after the formation of our NGO from May this year, we have staged six such dharnas so far,” he adds.

Sarjivan Singla, president of the Action Committee of Medical Store Owners, which has been formed to protest against the NGO, claims that the Medical Store Owners Association first fully supported the NGO, but later on when its members started “blackmailing” innocent store owners, it backed out. He adds NGO members also started taking law into their own hands and began raiding medical stores.

SSP, Sangrur, HS Bhullar, while commenting on the allegation that the police does not allow NGO members to stage dharna outside shops and houses of store owners selling drugs illegally, says this is being done to avoid a face-off between the two parties.

Faridkot/Moga, November 27
In his struggle for a separate identity in state politics, former state Finance Minister and rebel Akali leader Manpreet Singh Badal has given ‘basanti’ colour to his supporters, who have started wearing ‘basanti patti’ around their turbans.

This new identity has been given by Manpreet to his supporters after having been inspired from Ram Prasad Bismil, a great revolutionary of the freedom movement who wrote the song, ‘Rang de basanti chola’, that is still played across the country on the Independence Day and Republic Day celebrations.

Manpreet says this colour is a symbol of sacrifice, hoping for a bright future. Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh also sung ‘Rang de basanti chola’ just before he was to be hanged.

Adding that the youth need to learn lessons from the great freedom fighters who dreamt of making a strong nation, Manpreet says that the current scenario in the country is not up to their aspirations. “We are in such a phase where I feel there is a need of a second freedom movement to get rid of social evils of corruption, communalism and dirty politics,” he adds.

“Basanti colour reminds me of my responsibilities towards the nation and I think it will also motivate the youth to become responsible citizens of the country”, Manpreet adds.

Driving his car passing through dusty roads of rural areas to reach out to the masses through his Jago Punjab Yatra, the former minister looked at mustard flowers that bloom these days and denote the coming prosperity.

Rakhra (Patiala), November 27
Launching scathing attacks on Punjab Congress, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today said that Congress roadshows are mere gimmick to create an impression that mass support in with the Congress, whereas the reality is otherwise.

“It has been a Congress tradition that whether their party is in power our out of power, their presence in the state is visible only during the last year of the government tenure. But now they have been exposed before the general masses and their tactics to befool the electorate won’t yield any positive results”, said Sukhbir, while speaking to mediapersons, after paying tributes on the 14th death anniversary of Kartar Singh, father of District Planning Committee chairman Surjit Singh Rakhra, at village Rakhra, in Patiala district, here today.

Sukhbir claimed that the SAD-BJP government has performed exceptionally well for the all round development of the state and our alliance would seek votes from the Punjab electors solely on the basis of the progress in the agrarian state witnessed during their regime.

“The results of the Bihar Assembly elections, itself speak about the pathetic fate of the roadshows, organised by the stalwarts of the Congress, including AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi. Hence, we are sure that the SAD-BJP alliance would return to power in the next Assembly elections with thumping majority”, he asserted.

Saying that the previous Congress regime had not done anything for the betterment of the Punjab, Sukhbir said their government has provided employment to almost 50000 unemployed youth on merit basis.

Sukhbir alleged that the Congress had been trying to adopt cheap tactics to capture the SGPC from the past six decades. “Within one month, all the wings of the SAD, including the youth wing, would be revamped”, announced the Deputy CM.

Prominent among those, who paid tributes to Late Kartar Singh were Rajya Sabha member and Secretary General of SAD Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Rajya Sabha member Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Punjab Transport Minister Master Mohan La, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Raj Khurana, MLA Bikram Singh Majithia and SAD general secretary Prem Singh Chandumajra. 

Patiala, November 27
The beautification project to develop Patiala’s historic Rajindra Lake on the Mall Road as a tourist spot has failed to pick up. Though few months back, the district administration and the Patiala Municipal Corporation had made tall claims that lost glory of the lake would be restored by first week of November this year, but a visit to the lake today revealed that hardly anything has been done to develop it, which at present is in shambles. Wild growth of weeds and garbage in the lake could be seen whereas boats in dilapidated condition were placed alongside the concrete pavements of the lake.

Notably, the Punjab government had sanctioned a grant of Rs 22 lakh for the completion of the project but the authorities of the Municipal Corporation have not made much effort in this regard and the project is yet to see the light of the day. Notably, because of the deplorable condition and partial drying up of the lake over the years, there has been considerable decline in the number of migratory birds from Siberia, which used to come at the lake during the winters.

Once upon a time the lake was a favourite excursion spot for the erstwhile Maharaja. Some efforts were made to develop the lake as a tourist spot during the previous Congress government. A Boat Club was set up and the contract of maintaining the lake was awarded to a private company by the Patiala Municipal Corporation. But during the fag end of the Capt Amarinder Singh-led Congress government, the contractor withdrew from the agreement with the Patiala MC and since then the lake is in a deplorable condition.

As claimed by the municipal authorities in mid-August this year that a boundary wall would be constructed and glittering lights will be installed alongside the lake, so far nothing has been done in this regard. Apart from these, the two fountain proposed to be installed in the lake are nowhere to be seen and the work to level the bed of the lake is yet to be undertaken by the civic body.

“Since, the project is still hanging fire, the lake is not opened for the visitors. It is really sad that lake is at such an ideal location, near to the historic Kali Devi Temple and a shopping mall, but still the corporation is not serious in completing the beautification project”, said Rajinder Singh, Suresh Arora and Jatinder Kaur, all residents of Patiala and frequent visitors to the Mall Road.

Mayor Ajit Pal Singh Kohli claimed that project was on and would be completed soon. “Soon water would be released in the lake from the water channel coming from the Bhakra canal and it would be cleaned properly,” added Kohli.

Rampur Haler (Hoshiarpur), November 27
The Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal has announced the sinking of 10 more tube wells in villages of Kandi area.

With the sinking of these tubewells, residents of this sub-mountainous area will not face water scarcity any more in the coming years, the minister claimed.

Sukhbir Badal was here to attend the bhog ceremony of Mahant Ram Parkash Dass, former Health Minister, Punjab, and a veteran BJP leader, who died on November 13 while undergoing treatment in a hospital in Mohali.

Addressing the gathering at a dera here, Sukhbir announced that Government College, Talwara, will be renamed after Mahant Ram Parkash Dass and the grant of Rs 3 lakh, promised by the government for the promotion of Sanskrit language in the state, would be increased to Rs 10 lakh.

The announcements were made to fulfil the dreams of the Mahant and as a tribute to the departed leader.

Fissures in the SAD-BJP coalition came to the fore at the bhog as all BJP leaders, except Manoranjan Kalia, Master Mohan Lal Sharma and local MLAs Sahi and Shakar, left the venue before the arrival of Sukhbir.

Patiala, November 27
The Punjabi Literary Society, Department of Punjabi, Khalsa College, organised a face-to-face interaction with renowned Punjabi author Waryaam Singh Sandhu on the college campus. Sandhu is one of the famous writers whose contribution to Punjabi literature is immense.

While interacting with students and faculty members of the college, he said the characters of his stories like 'Ang Sang', 'Bhajiyan Bahin', 'Naun Baran Das', face hurdles with confidence and carve a niche for themselves. While recalling his past memories, he shared various incidents of his life which have an indelible imprint on his personality and inspiring him in his writings.

College Principal Dr Dharminder Singh Ubha, while welcoming Sandhu said the chief aim of the college was to impart value-based education to the students and to inculcate moral values and ethics among them, in addition to offering them job-oriented and time-relevant courses. He said various events had been organised by the college for the overall development of the students. — TNS

Chandigarh, November 27
Nearly 23 years after an engineer moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court for claiming the benefit of military service rendered by him some 49 years ago, the court has directed the state of Punjab and other respondents to pass the necessary orders after considering his case. The directions by Justice Ranjan Gogoi came on a petition filed by JS Joshi against the state of Punjab and other respondents.

Taking up the petition, Justice Gogoi asserted: “This writ, filed in the year 1987, is for direction to the respondents to grant the benefit of military service rendered by the petitioner in the General Reserve Engineering Force for the period from April 19, 1961, to April 18, 1963”.

Justice Gogoi added: “The petitioner, it may be noticed, joined as temporary engineer under the Government of Punjab, after due selection, on April 3, 1963, during the leave period. In support of the claim made in the writ petition, the petitioner has relied upon the provisions of Rule 4 of the Punjab Government National Emergency (Concession) Rules, 1965, which, according to the petitioner, entitled him to the grant of relief prayed for.

“No reply has been filed on behalf of any of the respondents. The claim of the petitioner, therefore, remains uncontroverted. In the facts, the writ petition is disposed of with a direction to the authorities concerned in the state of Punjab to consider the case of the petitioner and thereafter pass necessary orders granting him the relief, if he is found to be so entitled”. Setting a timeframe for the purpose, Justice Gogoi asserted: “This will be done within a period of two months from the date of receipt of copy of this order.