‘Statistical’ Growth in State
It’s because of change in base years: Amarinder 
Chandigarh, January 23
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Amarinder Singh today claimed that the 8.8 per cent growth rate calculated for Punjab by the Central Statistical Organisation was the result of a change in the base years for measurement from 1999-2000 to 2004-05 and not due to any effort of the present SAD-BJP Government.

Sekhewal (Ludhiana), January 23
The Army’s plan to celebrate the end of the Operation Saiyam, which was launched to detonate scrap in the Mattewara forest, went haywire when a latent bomb lying in a pit dug up to defuse it exploded, leaving four soldiers of the 202 Bomb Disposal Squad injured, one of them seriously, here today.

The incident took place at 9:30 am when the four soldiers were conducting the defusing operation in the pit and were segregating explosives to look for an unexploded scrap bomb.

The injured have been identified as Suresh Chander, FD Khan, AS Negi and YD Panwar. FD Khan, who sustained serious injuries, is now stated to be out of danger.

According to public relations officer of the DMC Hospital, Khan would be shifted to the Northern Command Hospital at Chandi Mandir in Panchkula. The other three sustained minor injures.

They said the explosion took place when they were sanitising the place where explosives were kept.

Vinod Bhatt, Commanding Officer of the 202 Bomb Disposal Squad, had yesterday officially announced the end of the phase of the Operation Saiyam and stated that the Army had successfully detonated 17,000 bombs weighing 200 quintals and the sanitisation process was initiated to check if any latent explosive was left in the area.

Bhatt said: “The incident took place when the soldiers were sanitising the pit where we had detonated the bombs. It was not a massive explosion and the soldiers are safe.”

Officials from the administration, including SDM (East) Manpreet Chatwal, said: “The incident occurred at the end of the Operation Saiyam when the soldiers were cleaning the pit.”

Meanwhile, the Army’s plan to celebrate the successful detonation of scrap explosives hit a roadblock following today’s incident. It was planning to organise a small function to celebrate their mission of successfully detonating scrap bombs. Residents of three villages and officials from the district administration were also invited on the occasion.

Jalandhar, January 23
The Tricolour will be hoisted at Lal Chowk in Srinagar at any cost on Republic Day. BJYM president and BJP MP Anurag Thakur stated this while addressing a public rally at Patel Chowk here on Sunday.

Thakur said efforts were being made to stop him from hoisting the flag at Lal Chowk. If he was not allowed to unfurl the National Flag at Lal Chowk, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would have no moral right to hoist it at the Lal Qila, he added.

Expressing surprise, he said he failed to understand why an Indian had been stopped to hoist the flag in his country. While Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had seemingly bowed before separatists as he was issuing statements against his plan of hoisting the flag at Lal Chowk, Dr Manmohan Singh had also apparently bowed before Omar on this issue, he added.

Later talking to mediapersons, he said the main motive of the yatra was to create awareness among the countrymen about the Kashmir problem. Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs were being made victims by the militants, he added.

Addressing the rally, Punjab Local Bodies Minister Manoranjan Kalia said Thakur’s yatra reminded him of a similar yatra carried out by the then BJP president, Murli Manohar Joshi, and a rath yatra by the then BJP chief, LK Advani, several years ago.

Chandigarh, January 23
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Amarinder Singh today claimed that the 8.8 per cent growth rate calculated for Punjab by the Central Statistical Organisation was the result of a change in the base years for measurement from 1999-2000 to 2004-05 and not due to any effort of the present SAD-BJP Government.

In a statement here, Amarinder said if the base years were changed for Haryana, its growth rate would cross 35 per cent, proving the survey was “a statistical smokescreen created by the government to hide its own comprehensive failure on all fronts during the past four years”.

Reacting to a statement by Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal stating he should know his economics, Amarinder said, “Before telling me this, Sukhbir should know his statistics”.

Analysing the figures, Amarinder said Punjab’s new growth rate of 8.80 per cent for 2009-10 and 8.40 per cent for 2008-09 had been derived blindly by applying the price level of 2004-05, the new base year, to the old growth data. “In fact by using the price base of 2009-10, one could even arrive at a growth rate of 19 per cent, which would only be notional and not real growth”, he said.

He said the comparison with the national growth rate and the growth rate of Haryana and freshly arrived rate of growth of Punjab is incomparable because of their use of different base years - 1999-2000 for India, 2004-05 for Haryana and 2008-09 for Punjab.

Amarinder said: “An attempt has been made to create a mirage of higher growth rate while it is nothing but a pass through of inflation between the old base year and the new base year”.

Amarinder said contrived growth rate meant nothing and was not in sync with ground realities. “How can you think of an industrial growth rate of 17.9 per cent with the industry suffering a power cut between 12 hours a day to three days a week?” he asked.

The PPCC president said it was improbable that the Central Statistical Organisation had compiled the income series based on the new base year and had released the same. “It is a little premature to celebrate,” he remarked.

Amarinder said even with this statistical trick, agriculture and services sector that together contributed 70 per cent to the state’s income, grew below the national average. “Whatever growth in the agricultural sector has been seen is largely due to the increase in the MSP which saw a substantial rise during the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre”, he said.

Chadiani-Kalan (Hoshiarpur), January 23
In violation of Section 4 of Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), members of the land mafia allegedly levelled forest land measuring 2 to 2.5 acres in a remote village in Kandi area.

The site is barely a few yards away from a check post of the Forest Department. The massive excavation on forest land came to light when Sukhdeep Singh Bajwa, a former Honorary Wildlife Warden, Hoshiarpur, informed the forest officials, including the Garhshankar Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Tajinder Singh, about the violation.

Tajinder Singh, DFO, said a NRI, Manjit Singh had allegedly violated the norms by levelling a hillock measuring between 2 to 2.5 acres, last month.

He, however, said the department had imposed a penalty as per norms of the forest department.

He said Manjit Singh had bought land in the village with the help of a property dealer who may not have disclosed the actual status of the land.

A visit to the area revealed that the excavation was still on. The violator had allegedly uprooted trees and bushes to convert the forest land into farm land. The land had also been fenced, he said.

Bajwa said violation on such a large scale is impossible without the connivance of the forest officials. Demanding strict action against the area officer, Bajwa said the government should fix responsibility of the officials concerned, he added.

The government had placed five officers, including the area Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), under suspension, after the media had highlighted similar violations by the mafia in Puhari village on August 17, 2010. The accused were later reinstated.

Ananpdur Sahib, January 23
After evoking a good response from Malwa region during launch of the Jago Punjab Yatra and in Maghi Mela, Manpreet Badal failed to strike a chord with people of Anandpur Sahib. The onset of second phase of the yatra here today witnessed thin attendance of supporters. Absence of former deputy speaker Bir Devinder remained conspicuous.

A large number of supporters were from parts of Gidderbaha, Muktsar and Malout. There were a few numbers of local residents of Anandpur Sahib. Sporting yellow bands and scarves, Manpreet and his supporters held the rally on a private plot near Panj Piara Park.

Badal received a lukewarm response from the area, whose MLA Sant Ajit Singh had earlier supported him. “Had MLA Ajit Singh remained by Manpreet’s side, the response to yatra could have been much better,” observed the locales. It is also being said many of Manpreet’s supporters, especially those from the SAD, could not come out openly out of the fear inviting wrath of their party leaders.

Manpreet justified himself for leaving the post of the Finance Minister. He drew parallels with Subhash Chander Bose and said like Bose, he renounced the ministry to remain loyal to the people of Punjab.

Manpreet said his front is not third, but new front. “Third front implies that we stand on third pedestal of race, whereas we are actually heralding new era as an alternative front to the Congress and the SAD,” he added. Manpreet promised his people moon saying that the after 12 months, when he comes to power, he would suck away all corruption from Punjab.

Patiala, January 23
Two days after Punjab Cabinet minister Adesh Partap Singh Kairon showed his soft corner for former Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Badal, former Union minister and SAD secretary general Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa followed suite and echoed similar thoughts claiming that Manpreet Badal’s ouster was more of a personal loss for him as well. Dhindsa was in city to attend a seminar at Khalsa College and termed Manpreet’s political calculations wrong of leaving the SAD.

The Punjab MP Dhindsa said Manpreet was like a son to him and he misses him in the party, and had even tried to persuade Manpreet to return back even after he had announced his detachment. “His decision to quit the SAD was more of a personal loss to me as he was like my own son, but when it comes to party lines my stance does not matter,” he said. — TNS

Patiala, January 23
In gross violation of the pollution norms besides deteriorating the quality of the underground water, the Patiala Municipal Corporation is discharging the sewage waste into various seasonal rivulets and drains. Notwithstanding the fact that the seasonal rivulets are mainly for easy passage of water during the rainy season, the civic body has turned Chhoti Nadi and Jacob Drain into a nullah.

Information gathered by The Tribune brought to light the fact that presently there is no sewerage treatment plant in Patiala. A look around of various drains was sufficient enough to expose the claims of MC authorities that de-silting of drains is being carried out on regular basis.

Speaking to The Tribune, many Patiala residents said Jacob Drain near Shermajra village, where the civic body discharges sewage waste through the main pumping station, is rarely cleansed.

According to the authorities of the Punjab Pollution Control Board, Patiala MC is grossly flouting the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, by discharging domestic effluents into several drains in the city.

Stating that Patiala MC is not keeping any check on the illegal discharge of domestic effluents in the drains, PPCB had recently directed civic functionaries to ensure that domestic effluents of the corporation should not be discharged into any drain. So far Patiala MC has not taken any action in this regard. Though there are no exact statistics available about the quality of the underground water but those residing in colonies near the seasonal rivulets and Jacob drain claimed that because of discharge of the sewage waste into the drains, the quality of the underground water is deteriorating. “Inhabitants of villages like Shermajra and Main, which are close to the Jacob drain, are suffering from water-borne diseases. We assume that it is mainly because of the drinking water that has become unfit for human consumption because of deterioration of the underground water on account of discharge of sewage waste into Jacob drain,” said Rajwinder Singh of Shermajra village.

Patiala municipal commissioner Manjit Singh Narang said: “With a view to make sure that the waste is discharged in the Jacob drain only after its treatment, two sewerage treatment plants are being set up in Patiala.” He further said a treatment plant is being set up in Ablowal village and another one is coming up at Shermajra village. He assured that both plants would be functional by November following which the waste would be treated before discharging into seasonal rivulets.

Chandigarh, January 23
Jalandhar would host the state-level Republic Day function. Governor of Punjab Shivraj Patil will unfurl the National Flag, while Sukhbir Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister, Punjab, would unfurl the flag at Ferozepur whereas Nirmal Singh Kahlon; Speaker, Punjab Vidhan Sabha, would unfurl the flag at Hoshiarpur.

A Punjab Government spokesperson said Cabinet Ministers Manoranjan Kalia would unfurl the Tricolour at Ludhiana, Ranjit Singh Brahmpura at Gurdaspur, Tikshan Sud at Patiala, Upinderjit Kaur at Sangrur, Adesh Partap Singh at Amritsar, Laxmi Kanta Chawla at Bathinda, Ajit Singh Kohar at Moga, Master Mohan Lal at Pathankot, Gulzar Singh Ranike at Kapurthala, Parminder Singh Dhindsa at Roopnagar, Swarna Ram at Taran Taran, Sucha Singh Langah at Mohali, Janmeja Singh Sekhon at Faridkot, Hira Singh Gabria at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Sewa Singh Sekhwan at Fatehgarh Sahib and Capt Balbir Singh Bath at Muktsar.

He said the Chief Parliamentary Secretaries will also unfurl the flag; Mohinder Kaur Josh at Barnala, Harish Rai Dhanda at Mansa, Nand Lal at Phagwara, Desh Raj Dhugga at Mukerian, Sheetal Singh at Nihal Singh Wala, Jagdeep Singh Nakai at Abohar, Bikramjit Singh Khalsa at Khana, Avinash Chander at Sri Anandpur Sahib, Arunesh Shakar at Dasuya, Sukhpal Singh at Zira and Raj Kumar Khurana at Rajpura. 

Amritsar, January 23
More than 2 lakh children in the age group of 0-5 years were administered polio drops on the first day of the pulse polio campaign launched by state Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla at a state-level function organised here today. The campaign started from Suraj Prabhat Public School situated in slums of Bangla Basti here.

The minister said nearly 70,000 workers had been put on duty to administer polio drops to about 38 lakh children across the state. She appealed to all parents, especially in the slums or belonging to the labour class families, to participate in the campaign.

Dr Chandanjit Singh Kondal, Civil Surgeon, said the Health Department had set up 1,525 polio booths besides constituting 3,050 medical teams, 48 transit teams and 34 mobile teams for administering polio drops to over 3.46 lakh children in the district.

He said teams would visit each and every home in the next two days to administer drops to the remaining children.

Dr Ashok Nayyar, Director (Health and Family Welfare), Dr Satish Duggal, District Family Welfare Officer and Dr A Gauba, District Immunisation Officer, were present on the occasion. 

Patiala, January 23
On the first day of the National Immunisation Day Campaign being undertaken by the Union government from January 23-25, Patiala Civil Surgeon Jatinder Kaur inaugurated the pulse polio campaign from a transit point near the bus stand.

Polio drops were administered to the children in the age group 0-5 years. Dr Kaur said, “The pulse polio campaign being undertaken by the government to eradicate polio from the society is a laudable step and people should take their children to the pulse polio camps, so that no child should be physically handicapped.”

Medical officer Sajila Khan, who was also the supervisor for the polio campaign, said the campaign covered the entire district. “We had also tried to make the camps at various places a little attractive for children by fixing see-saws and other giant balloons, so that more and more children are attracted,” she stated. 

Nangal, January 23
The second bird census carried out at Nangal wetland revealed few new birds, while few went missing. While ruddy shell ducks were difficult to locate in Nangal lake, Surkhab was found in lesser number as compared to last year. Plenty of bar headed geese were a pack of surprise for the participants of census.

One of the participants Prabhat Bhatti pointed out that ruddy shell ducks might be present downstream, while Narbir Kahlon from the Chandigarh Bird Club said the birds’ absence from the lake should not be viewed as any major change in trend. The team also recorded a sarus crane in the area of the state notified Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary. It also recorded 1,100 bar headed geese, 950 red crested pochards, 900 coots, 1200 gaidwal, 600 common pochards, 700 wigeon, 400 pintail ducks, 400 northern shoveller and 22 mallards.

Kahlon pointed out that documenting birds at the sanctuary is an important part of creating database of birds visiting the area. After a span of five years or so, the impact of declaring the area as sanctuary can be studied better with wider data to analyse.

Interestingly, the participants also visited Swan River that has become highest known breeding ground for sarus cranes.

Narbir Kahlon said that the habitat where sarus cranes breed, urgently need protection. Team members also noticed Eurasian Skylarks in hundreds seen in floodplains of the Swan near Nangal. “These birds have been possibly coming for years but went unnoticed due to camouflage and its striking similarity to skylarks. This dull bird blends well with the surroundings,” he said. There was also a small flock of Northern Lapwings wintering at the Swan. Conservator wildlife DV Ratna, deputy chief wildlife warden TK Bahera, DFO wildlife Ropar SP Singh and others were also part of the exercise.

Patiala, January 23
The Patiala police have foiled a flesh trade racket and arrested six persons, including three call-girls following a raid in Vikas Nagar, here today late evening. A case has been registered at the Tripuri police station, under the Immoral Trafficking Act. The police are investigating the case to ascertain if more people are involved in the racket.

According to SHO, Bimal Sharma, the arrested include kingpin Manjit Kaur (35) and two more women in their mid-thirties. Three others who have been arrested on the spot are Mandeep Singh, Harjinder Singh and Balwinder Singh.

Sharma said following secret information, a team of policemen swooped at a residence in Vikas Nagar and sent a decoy customer and once the deal was struck, the raid was conducted under a DSP level officer. “The couples were arrested in compromising positions from three different rooms,” he said.— TNS