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Pall of gloom in Badal village
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Advani, Farooq to attend cremation
Obituary
Sibia, Khaira
submit replies to Congress high command
Khalsa
College Imbroglio
Staff underpaid at PU’s affiliated colleges
No cure for ailing Sanaur health centre
Soon, Punjab to have NSG-type force of its own
Professional courses a hit
Threat letters have Phagwara cops in a
tizzy
Panel on video conferencing visits
Ropar court
Astrologer booked for rape
Man shot over property dispute
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Pall of gloom in Badal village
Surinder would wave to the children of the locality while coming to or returning from the village. Her death is a loss to everyone in the village. She campaigned resolutely in Bathinda and Mansa districts for her daughter-in-law Harsimrat Kaur Badal during the Lok Sabha elections in 2009.
Badal (Muktsar), May 24 While the ancestral house of the Badals on the other side of the village wore a deserted look, a large number of persons, cutting across party lines, waited outside the residence of Sukhbir where the body was brought from Chandigarh late in the evening. A pandal was also being built. The mood was equally gloomy in the Chak Fateh Singh Wala village near Bhucho Mandi in Bathinda where Surinder Kaur was born in June 1938. She had taken care of the development of this village. Security
arrangements were being tightened in and around the village as several
dignitaries were expected to attend the cremation tomorrow. Sukhbir’s
mansion has been cordoned off by the police and roads were being
barricaded. The body will be kept in an air-conditioned hall in the house that will be thrown open to the people to pay tributes in the morning. The cremation ground of the Badal clan was being revamped and a new platform has been built where the last rites would be performed. Separate enclosures have been earmarked for the family members and VIPs. The wall of the grain market outside has been demolished to accommodate others arriving to attend the cremation. Security arrangements have also been tightened around the helipad at Kaljhirani, about 4 km away on the Badal-Bathinda road, where several VIPs were expected to land from Delhi, Chandigarh and other places. A
large number of people queued along the road and showered petals as
Surinder Kaur’s body was carried to the native village in a
flower-decked ambulance through Sangrur, Barnala, Bathinda and Muktsar
districts. Top bureaucrats and police officers rushed to Badal village to oversee arrangements for the cremation. (With inputs from Chander Parkash, Sushil Goyal and Rajay Deep)
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Gurdas
Badal, Manpreet share grief with CM Badal, May 24 Gurdas Badal and Manpreet Badal stayed with Parkash Singh Badal for some time before they left for their house. Since Manpreet had parted company with his uncle Parkash Singh Badal a few months back, they came to Badal’s residence for the first time. Manpreet, who was in Mansa district to hold party rallies, cut his programme short to visit his bereaved uncle. Meanwhile, people have been pouring in from distant places to pay floral tribute to the departed soul till the filing of this news. A sea of humanity is expected to reach the village tomorrow to attend the funeral of Surinder Badal. DGP, Law and Order, Punjab, Rajan Gupta has already reached the village along with his team to review the security arrangements.
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Leaders condole Bibi Badal’s death Bathinda, May 24 The chairman of the cooperative Bank, Muktsar, Tejinder Singh Midhukhera, described her demise as an irreparable loss not only to the Badal family but to the region. He said ‘Bibi ji’ was a public figure and people freely approached her to get their grievances redressed. Former SAD minister, Charanji Lal Garg said, “I always respected her as my elder sister. She used to tie Rakhi on my wrist. Our bonding was over 40 years old and her untimely departure is a great shock to me.” Despite political differences, former MLA and a senior leader of the CPI Hardev Arshi expressed condolence over the untimely demise of Surinder Kaur Badal. “I will attend her cremation on Wednesday,” he added. Balluana MLA Gurtej Singh Ghuriana said he became MLA twice only due to the efforts of Surinder Kaur. The loss caused due to her death would never be filled. Sanjeev Godara, political advisor, SAD (Badal), said that for the people of a major part of Malwa region, the death of Bibi Badal had caused a great loss. He added that the CM’s wife always stood like a rock behind party workers and initiated number of development projects in this region. Paramjit Singh Lalli, cousin of Chief Minister Badal and former member of the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC), said Bibi Badal was a pillar of the Badal clan. With her death, the entire family, party and workers have suffered personal loss. Charanjit Singh, cousin of Badal and former sarpanch of Kaljharani village, said the vacuum created due to the death of Surinder Kaur Badal would never be filled.
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Obituary
Chandigarh, May 24 Belonging
to a well-known political family of Malwa, she got married to Badal in
1959. Two years later, her husband was elected MLA. Within days of her
tying the knot, she realised that her’s would not be a sheltered
life. Her spouse would remain away from home for days, participating
in agitations for a Punjabi Suba and would often be jailed. In his
absence, the responsibility of nurturing the family would be on her. When her daughter Preneet was married to Adesh Partap Kairon, Badal was in jail. Surinder Kaur had to make the wedding arrangements all by herself. She spent her life helping her husband in running the party affairs till she was found afflicted with cancer. She was always politically active despite accusations that the Badals ran two centres of power. Proud
of her achievements, she once said, “I almost brought up my children
as a single parent. Badal Sahib would be away for months and at times
even forget in what class Sukhbir and Preneet were”. Time and again she proved her mettle. During the days of terrorism, while most politicians remained indoors, Surinder Kaur would escort her son Sukhbir to Panjab University for classes. Even
when the Badals were under attack by the previous Congress regime for
accumulating wealth, Surinder Kaur’s faith in her ownself and the
Almighty remained unshaken. A pillar of strength for the family, she would ensure that her husband and son were not dispirited because of pressure from the Vigilance Bureau and the courts. She recovered after treatment at a New York hospital, but the disease surfaced again. She was taken to the PGI in Chandigarh 12 days ago where she breathed her last. Her husband would sit by her side at the hospital and pray, putting up a bold front - something he had learnt from his wife during their 52 years of marriage.
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Cutting across party lines, leaders
express grief
Amritsar, May 24 The SGPC offices and its educational institutions will remain closed tomorrow as a mark of respect to the deceased. Kanwar Pal Singh of the Dal Khalsa, Harpal Singh Cheema of the SAD (Panch Pardhani), Khalsa Action Committee chairman Mohkam Singh and Baba Baljit Singh Daduwal have also expressed grief at the death. Patiala:
Cutting across party lines, several leaders have expressed grief over
the demise of the Chief Minister’s wife. “It is sad that
Surinder Kaur is no more,” said Preneet Kaur in a condolence message
to the CM. Former Deputy Speaker Bir Devinder said Surinder Kaur had been a pillar of strength to Parkash Singh Badal, particularly during the trying times in Punjab. “Her
pivotal role during the Akali agitations will be remembered with
reverence in times to come,” he added. Chandigarh: In a joint condolence message, the Punjab Cabinet Ministers said Surinder Kaur was a pious and god-fearing woman who had contributed her might to the welfare of the downtrodden. Punjab Governor Shivraj V Patil prayed to the Almighty to give courage to the Badal family for the irreparable loss. Capt Abhimanyu, BJP general secretary and former minister Manoranjan Kalia said Surinder Kaur had been a pillar of strength to her husband. Leaders of the Punjab Congress jointly expressed grief at the death. In a joint statement, Union MoS (External Affairs) Preneet Kaur, MPs Ravneet Bittu, Pratap Singh Bajwa, Manish Tewari, Sukhdev Singh Libra, MLAs Kaka Randip Singh Nabha, Ajit Inder Singh Mofar, Sunil Jakhar, Jassi Khangura and Tej Prakash Singh have expressed their condolences to the Badal family. PCC
general secretary attached with Captain Amarinder Singh, Pradesh
Congress president, Jagdeep Singh Cheema, president, Young Farmers’
Forum, and the Teachers’ Union of Khalsa College, Amritsar, have
also expressed grief at the demise of the Chief Minister’s wife.
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Advani, Farooq to attend cremation
CMs of various states are also expected to arrive at Badal village. The district administration has booked rooms in leading hotels and rest houses for the stay of VIPs.
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Obituary Bhai Harbans Singh Jagadhari Wale had carved a niche among the raagis as a person who explained the shabads using simple idioms. His bhog ceremony, which took place in Ludhiana on Sunday, was attended by people from all walks of life, including SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar and Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh. He died on May 13 of prolonged illness at the age of 71. He is survived by three daughters and a son. The industrial town of Ludhiana had been his home for the last three-and-a-half decades. Earlier, he lived in Jagadhri (Haryana) where he had migrated to after Partition. A person who reached out to wide audiences using the then-new medium of audio cassette tapes, Bhai Harbans Singh’s rendering of Gurbani spread to many hearts. He will long be remembered for his melodious voice and success in the endeavour to make the words of the Gurus reach the masses.
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Sibia, Khaira
submit replies to Congress high command
Jalandhar,
May 24 Both the MLAs defended their positions and reiterated their loyalty to AICC president Sonia Gandhi. When
contacted, Khaira said: “As far as we are concerned, the matter
regarding the notices is over. We shall abide by the decision of the
high command.” It is interesting that the MLAs preferred to submit
their replies to the party high command instead of Lal Singh. Insiders said the PPCC could only recommend action against an MLA but the power to take action remained with the AICC.
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Uranium traces in water
Faridkot, May 24 District Magistrate of Faridkot Balwinder Singh Multani said that rural people used to draw water from these pumps, located at Tehna, Faridkot (rural) and Narayangarh villages, for drinking purposes. He has asked health authorities to collect samples of underground water from all suspect areas in the district. “I
will send a report to the state government in this regard requesting
it to install reverse osmosis water treatment plants in these villages
to provide clean potable water to the residents,” he said. Dr Dilraj Singh Gill, District Health Officer, said that he would also take samples from other hand pumps located in these areas. Meanwhile,
it is learnt that a few months back, the health department took as
many as 12 samples of underground water, out of which two samples got
‘damaged’ while handling. Out of these 10 samples, the reports of
three samples were received by the district health authorities
recently. The uranium content in these three samples was more than 200 micrograms, which is far beyond the permissible limit of 60 micrograms per litre of water. In January, 18 samples of underground water in Moga and Kotkapura areas were also found to have uranium more than the permissible limit of 60 micrograms. The Department of Water Supply and Sewerage had installed reverse osmosis (RO) systems in more than 400 villages and work is also going on to establish these systems in more than 200 villages. The state government has planned to cover 1,000 villages under this scheme by the end of the year. Uranium poisoning in Punjab first made news in March 2009 when a South African toxicologist Dr Carin Smit found high levels of uranium in hair and urine samples of 149 children of Faridkot who had birth abnormalities including physical
deformities, neurological and mental disorders. In 2010, water samples taken from Buddha Nullah, a water canal which merges into the Sutlej, showed high heavy metal content and the presence of uranium 1.5 times the permissible range together with pollutants like ammonia, phosphate, chloride, chromium, arsenic and pesticide residue.
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Khalsa
College Imbroglio
Amritsar, May 24 Nevertheless, the president and honorary secretary of the Khalsa College Charitable Society, during the meeting reportedly hinted that during the current session all the three colleges -- Khalsa College, Khalsa College for Women and Khalsa College of Education -- will remain affiliated with the Guru Nanak Dev University. However,
PCCTU secretary HS Walia, who attended the meeting on behalf of the
teachers, said the meeting remained inconclusive because the
management was “eying to set up the university from the building of
the Khalsa College for Women, located in the main Khalsa College
campus, which was not acceptable to them”. “We are against setting
up of a private university, irrespective of any place within the same
campus, so the question does not arise of our backing out from our
stand,” he said. On the other hand, the honorary secretary, RS
Chhina, stated that no proposal of starting the university from the
women’s college building was ever there on the management’s
agenda. “The proposal to upgrade the college to a university is
still there and it is yet to decide when and how to execute it. But,
it was never debated to start it from women’s college building,”
he said. Meanwhile, the 41 teachers who have been issued notices for participating in the ongoing hunger strike after availing casual leave have submitted their reply. The teachers stated in their reply that it was their democratic right to safeguard the heritage of the college and were never engaged in any anti-establishment act. About the action against the teachers, Chhina said those who violated the constitution of the college would have to face the consequences.
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Staff underpaid at PU’s affiliated colleges
Ludhiana, May 24 Manveet Kaur, who
used to work as a lecturer in history at Khalsa College, Mahilpur (Hoshiarpur),
said, “I asked for my right but I was relieved by the principal on
the pretext that my appointment had not been approved by the DPI
(Colleges). However, in our case only PU’s approval is mandatory.
And, it was there. When they relieved me, I went to the Educational
Tribunal, Punjab, at Chandigarh, which directed the college to allow
me to join the duty. The management was also told to grant me salary
and consequential benefits that were admissible to me as on August 2,
2010.” Though the management allowed her to join duty, she was
issued dismissal orders within an hour, in sheer disregard of the
tribunal’s order. Khalsa College principal SS Randhawa, however,
said, “Manveet tried to create groupism in the college, which could
never be tolerated. The management has every right to remove anybody
from any post without giving prior warning or reason. We are not bound
by the tribunal’s orders.” In another incident, Tarun Ghai, who
was a lecturer at Swami Ganga Giri Janta Girls College, Raikot, was
dismissed by the management on May 16, 2011, after he allegedly
demanded salary as per UGC scale. “After I approached the PU, the
university sent several letters demanding all the details about my
case. However, the management did not respond to any of the letters. The
last letter came in September 2010 stating that if relevant record was
not submitted, the PU will not receive any document from the college.
In fact, the PU should have issued a show-case notice to the
management instead of taking a stern action of not receiving the
documents. The management later approached the High Court and won the
case. The PU was directed to withdraw all the letters,” said Ghai. He
said one of the letters stating that “no action should be taken
against him by the college management” was also withdrawn following
the orders. “And I was dismissed after that. All I wanted was a
raise in salary...... I had to suffer due to a mistake committed by
the PU.” College general secretary R Kaura maintained the High Court
had issued orders in their favour. “The PU issued us a letter not to
take action against Prof Ghai. But as we won the case, the PU was told
to withdraw all the letters.... We took action (against Ghai) for
creating indiscipline, ” said Kaura.
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No cure for ailing Sanaur health centre
Patiala, May 24 The Civil Dispensary, Sanaur, is one such health care facility in Patiala. It lacks basic facilities due to which hundreds of patients from nearby areas either have to get treatment from private clinics or reach Patiala for it. Notably, the dispensary was inaugurated in 1992 by the then Chief Minister, the late Beant Singh. The dispensary began with spacious rooms for doctors, 25 beds for patients, an operation theatre, a laboratory, etc. But with time, it failed to maintain its standard and serve the purpose it was meant for -- courtesy the alleged apathetic attitude of the administration. While the dispensary matches civil hospitals in terms of infrastructure, the quality of care available here is always allegedly found wanting. At present, one doctor, one pharmacist, one helping hand, one sweeper and a class IV employee are working at the dispensary. The building is in a shambles and tall grass has grown on its backside. The dispensary does not even have a board outside it. Besides,
potable water is another problem being faced by patients and the
dispensary lacks any kind of emergency services. Many patients also
rue that there is always a shortage of medicines here. “The
medicines are always out of stock, due to which we have to buy all
medicines from outside,” said one of the patients. When contacted,
Civil Surgeon (Patiala) Dr Jatinder Kaur said she was “helpless”
in the matter. “It is a dispensary and there is not provision to
convert it into a hospital. Therefore, we can employ only the staff in
accordance with the dispensary norms,” she said. However, she
refused to reply to a query regarding the pitiable condition of the
dispensary.
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Soon, Punjab to have NSG-type force of its own
Rajpura, May 24 The police officials, most of them young recruits, from different units and battalions of the Punjab police will be trained here. The cops will be deployed on deputation and will get special uniform, pay, weapons and training at the school. Their chief task will be to fight terrorism and offer security cover
to the VIPs and the politicians. A senior police official of the
Punjab police said, “The SSG will be shaped on the lines of the
National Security Guards (NSG) and cops will undergo strenuous
training sessions at the school. Different training sessions will be
added gradually.” The school would be the first of its kind
initiative in Punjab, wherein the super-specialised force would learn
to use sophisticated weapons and undergo challenging physical
training. IG Sanjeev Kalra confirmed that the land had been allotted for the training school and money would be deposited soon to get possession of the land. “There
will be two components of the SSG, including the VIP security and
Special Weapon and Tactics Team (SWAT). The force will get regular
training at the school and recruitment for the specialised forces will
be done gradually,” he said. Sources in the police said, “The
SSG will comprise around 800 cops who would undergo special training
in a phased manner to combat terrorism and provide unprecedented
security to the VIPs. Also quick reaction team (QRT) would be formed.
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Professional courses a hit
Patiala, May 24 Punjabi University has
developed the knack of experimenting by starting new courses every
year keeping in view the changing job scenario. The latest in the line
is a three-year BA (Hons) course in journalism, mass communication and
media technology. The course has been started by the university’s
newly created Centre for Advanced Media Studies (CAMS), which started
a four-year BTech course in television, film production and media
technology last year. Director of the CAMS Dr Gurmeet Singh Maan said
the centre recently entered into an agreement with Communications
Studies and Integrative Media Departments of Wilkes University,
Pennsylvania, USA, for two of its courses from the forthcoming
academic sessions.
— TNS
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Threat letters have Phagwara cops in a
tizzy
Phagwara, May 24 Purported to have been written by LeT
“area commander” Karim Ansari, one of the letters has warned the
Hindus against undertaking a pilgrimage to the Amarnath and Mata
Vaishno Devi shrines. Phagwara DSP Sandip Sharma said the priest of the local Sheetla Mata Mandir had received the letters today. The letters said that eight important temples in Himachal and several important ones in Punjab-Hanuman Garhi Mandir, Sheetla Mata Mandirs in Phagwara and Kapurthala, Shri Kali Mata Mandir in Patiala and the Durgiana Temple at Amritsar-were on the hit list.
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Panel on video conferencing visits Ropar court
Ropar, May 24 The committee comprised joint secretary Department of Justice Government of India, New Delhi, Snehlata Srivastava, director Mediation and Cancellation Centre/Registrar, Punjab and Haryana High Court, Tarsem Kumar Mangla and joint registrar, Punjab and Haryana High Court, MS Gill. Video conferencing is being used at Ropar for telecommunication between the district court complex and the Ropar district jail for remand cases on daily basis. The press statement released here stated that the poject envisages development of hardware, software and networking to assist district and taluka courts in streamlining their day-to-day functioning. Key functions such as case filling, allocation, registration, case work flow, orders and judgments will be made available on the web and made accessible to litigants, advocates and general public. — TNS
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Astrologer booked for rape
Patiala, May 24 After
the victim tried to commit suicide by jumping into the Bhakhra Canal
and was saved by the onlookers here on Sunday, a case has been
registered against the accused following a complaint lodged with the
city police. The police said the accused Sandeep Sharma was
originally a resident of Bassi Pathana and ran an astrologer’s shop
in Lehal Colony in Patiala from some time. “The victim who stayed
nearby, often visited the accused, who took her to his house where
they allegedly developed physical relations for over two years and
even took Rs 40,000 from her,” they said. The police further said
when the victim pressed Sharma to marry her, he refused, following
which she was perturbed and jumped into the Bhakhra Canal near the
Passiana police station. “She was saved by some passersby, who saved
the victim. Later, she gave a statement to the police where she named
the accused astrologer of allegedly raping her,” they added. As
per the FIR, the accused refused to marry the victim and their
arguments led the 28-year-old Sant Nagar resident to commit suicide.
“The accused is on the run and efforts are on to nab him,” claimed
the cops. A case under Sections 376, 511, 306 and 420 of the IPC has
been registered at the Passiana police station.
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Man shot over property dispute
Moga, May 24 Manjit Kaur, wife of the
victim Sukhmander Singh, in a statement to the police, alleged that
her husband was shot dead by Major Singh with the help of his
associates Harjinder Singh, Harpreet Singh and Thatha Singh. She said
that her father had sold the house in which they were staying to one
of her relatives Harjinder Singh against which she, being a legal heir
of the property, had got a stay order from the High Court.
— TNS
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Bathinda,
May 24
It is learnt that Shivraj Patil and Jagannath Pahadia, Governors
of Punjab and Haryana, respectively, and BJP leader Sushma Swaraj would
attend the cremation.