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Killer highways claim nine more lives
6 die near Mukerian
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Samra panel for efficient use of canal water
Residents of water-logged villages want to be relocated
Swollen dams
Sidhu on Badals’ hit list: Bajwa
Basmati farmers set to reap rich harvest
Village common land to be freed from encroachers
Tech degrees through distance
education under scanner
Bathinda schools commit faux pas
Short-staffed aided schools witness dip in enrolment
EC nod awaited for DCs’ posting
Employees up in arms against state govt
Mohali police books protesters who blocked traffic
Uncovered Sangrur nullah a health hazard
Rape of two-yr-old: Neighbour arrested
Nawanshahr woman found dead in UK
HC notice to state for defaulting on salaries
Fatehgarh Sahib cops bust arms racket
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Killer highways claim nine more lives
Kharar, September 17 Two of the deceased were identified as Anil Jindal from Kurali, executive officer in the Anandpur Sahib Municipal Council, and Amardeep Singh of Rampur Kalan village near Zirakpur. The third deceased, a young woman in her twenties, is yet to be identified. Nine persons, including bus driver Charan Dass and truck driver Manna Kumar were admitted to the PGI, Chandigarh. The rest of the injured were admitted to the Civil Hospital, Kharar. The Chandigarh-Amritsar Roadways bus (PB12N 0748), was carrying 38 passengers. The truck (HR 37C 4951), was loaded with gravel. Bus passenger Neeraj Sharma said the bus was in its lane. "The speeding truck tried to save a car that was overtaking the bus and collided with the bus," he said. He said the car driver fled from the scene after the accident. Another eyewitness Harwinder Singh said at least 25 persons, including students of nearby educational institutes, came to the rescue of the accident victims. He said a police patrol vehicle and an ambulance reached the spot within minutes and the injured were shifted to the Kharar hospital. Mohali Deputy Commissioner Tejinder Pal Singh Sidhu, who visited the victims at the Kharar hospital, said the administration would pay for the treatment of the injured. A case has been registered against the truck driver. Traffic was diverted towards Ropar for three hours after the accident. Those admitted to the PGI are Jaspal Kaur (50), Manna Kumar (20), Mani Ram (63), Vijay (25), Joginder Pal (55), Charan Dass (50), Kamal Khurana (37), Sukhjit Singh (30) and Narinder Singh (25). Those at the Kharar Civil Hospital are Anu Bajaj (33), Surjeet Singh (50), Narinder Ali (40), Randhir Singh, Bharti Chowdhary (35), Darshna (60), Baljeet Kaur (44), Raj Kumar (40), Harpreet Singh (47), Harpal Singh (40), Lahna Singh (60), Jangveer Singh (54), Anita (26), Sukhbir Singh (45), Amandeep Kaur, Ram Swaroop (51), Laikh Ram (26), Balraj Kumar, Surinder Kumar (35), Davinder Singh (25), Manjinder Kaur (25), Jagjit Singh (33), Neeraj Sharma (35) and Ravinderpal (44).
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6 die near Mukerian
Hoshiarpur, September 17 All the six deceased hailed from Hisar. They have been identified as Satpal, Madan Lal Singla, Subhash Narang and Mohinder Singh of Uklana Mandi in Hisar district, Maal Singh of Behri Akbarpur and Surjit Singh of Lehrian. The injured pilgrims were admitted to the Mukerian Civil Hospital. They were discharged in the afternoon. Joram Veba, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Hoshiarpur, visited the accident site and met the injured at the hospital. Rahul Chaba, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Mukerian, said in all 52 persons had boarded the ill-fated bus from Uklana. It is suspected that the bus driver may have fallen asleep and lost control of the steering wheel. Bus driver Satish Kumar and conductor Ranbir fled after the accident.
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Samra panel for efficient use of canal water
Chandigarh, September 17 Chief Executive Officer of the National Rainfed Area Authority Rajesh Kumar in the report has suggested an efficient use of the canal irrigation system from about 35 per cent to 70-80 per cent by introducing the sprinkler and drip irrigation systems. The committee has recommended that irrigation engineers be asked to visit the Narmada Canal project in Rajasthan's Barmer district where micro-irrigation systems have been efficiently introduced and managed by local water users associations in a cost-effective manner. The report says that farmers should be discouraged from cultivating paddy and sugarcane. They should be pursued to switch over to less water-consuming crops. Pointing out faults in the alignment of drains, the report says that the alignment should not be changed under political influence. The report mentions two cases in this regard, one is Chandwan and the other in Abul
Khurana, where politically influential farmers had got the alignment of drains changed which now had become counter-productive. “It is high time that the existing system is realigned to ensure smooth draining out of water in the affected areas,” the report says. It points out that at certain places such as Midha village, the level of drain is above that of village lanes. It has been pointed out that roads, canals and other infrastructure have become impediments in the draining out of the accumulated water. “Most of the roads have been laid in total disregard of the interference in the natural drainage system,” says the report. It says that excessive rainfall this year, especially in the waterlogged Muktsar-Abohar belt, had aggravated the problem. It also points out that during the levelling of land over a vast area of the affected belt, the natural
inter-dunal surface drainage system was destroyed and depressions created. This too led to
waterlogging.
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Residents of water-logged villages want to be relocated
Muktsar, September 17 The affected residents claim that they are unable to find suitable matrimonial alliances for their wards owing to the problem. “As water-logging has turned the residents poor, not many are eager to marry their daughters to boys in our village," said Karaj Singh, sarpanch of Rattakhera village in the Lambi assembly constituency. He said that village residents had asked Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to relocate them during his visit here yesterday. “But the Chief Minister assured us help by setting up new ventures in the village,” he said. An elderly resident, Rajwant Singh, said: “If the state government is unwilling to shift us to some other place, it must acquire our land and give jobs to our
wards.” Ranjit Singh, sarpanch of Sikhwala, another affected village, said the sub-surface drains installed in over 100 acres had not proved effective. “If new drains are laid as per the technical survey without any intervention, only then can the problem be solved," he
emphasised. The Chief Minister has directed the Deputy Commissioner to immediately hand over compensation cheques to the affected farmers. He has asked the Vice Chancellor of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University and the Chief Conservator, Forests, to visit the area and suggest remedial measures. Meanwhile, a team formed by BS
Dhaliwal, technical adviser to CM, today visited the water-logged areas to assess the damage to fields and roads. Punjab Mandi Board officials said a length of 250-km of roads in the district had been damaged.
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Swollen dams
Chandigarh, September 17 Farmers will now have access to plenty of water for irrigation. About 29 per cent of the cultivable area in Punjab is irrigated with canal water. Moreover, power generation at the Bhakra and Pong hydroelectric power stations would be enhanced. A senior official of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) said the level of water at Bhakra Dam was 1678.55 feet and at Pong Dam 1390.32 feet this morning. “The water level in Bhakra Dam is about 28 feet higher this year,” said the official. The Bhakra Dam is filled to a maximum of 1,680 feet during the filling period that ends on September 20. The Bhakra Dam was earlier filled up to a maximum of 1,685 feet but after the 1988 floods, the water level was brought down to 1,680 feet. As it has begun to snow in the upper reaches of the Himalayas, the inflow of water in both the dams will reduce drastically in the next few days. The inflow in the Bhakra Dam this morning was 22,492 cusecs and outflow 20,506 cusecs. During the rainy season, the inflow goes up to 2 lakh cusecs and beyond. “We will have plenty of water to supply to the canal systems for the next 12 months,” said Amarjit Singh Dullet, Chief Engineer (Canals), Punjab. He said this was a positive development since both the dams were the lifeline of the canal systems in this region.
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Sidhu won’t be silenced, says has done no wrong
Amritsar, September 17 He was responding to media reports on his party (BJP) issuing him a gag order and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal urging the BJP to stop him from airing his views in the media. Talking to The Tribune, Sidhu asked: “Why should there be a gag order against me? Did I say something against my party or the ruling alliance? Did I make a personal attack on anybody? Should I stop raising my voice against the bias towards Amritsar?” He said he could not betray the trust of his voters. He wondered as to why his utterances were being seen as a violation of the coalition dharma. “They worked against our candidates in the MC elections. They didn't bother to invite me to the monthly meetings for discussing city's development projects. They didn't call me while announcing Rs 2,000 crore projects for the city. You tell me as to who is breaching the coalition dharma,” he asked. Maintaining that he had already cleared his stand and had nothing more to say, the fiery MP said it was now for the state government to reply to the queries posed by him. He said the last time he had received a call from the SAD was before the “Chintan Shivir” at Goa and that too from the Deputy Chief Minister's personal assistant. Sidhu said he was keen on meeting Punjab BJP affairs in charge Shanta Kumar in New Delhi on September 19 to deliberate on the issue. He reiterated he was prepared to hold talks with Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal “but the latter should ensure time-bound development works in the city.” Punjab BJP chief Kamal Sharma could not be contacted for comment despite several attempts. Alleging a step-motherly treatment to his constituency, Sidhu has been demanding a judicial investigation into the alleged diversion of funds of the cash-rich Amritsar Improvement Trust to local bodies of other towns. The MP feels that his pet projects for the city are being sabotaged.
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Sidhu on Badals’ hit list: Bajwa
Chandigarh, September 17 Bajwa said Sidhu was on the hit list of Badals for exposing the ground realities in Amritsar. In a statement issued here, Bajwa said Badal had asked the BJP high command to snub Navjot Sidhu, who had become an eyesore for him and his son Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal. Bajwa said Sidhu only reiterated what the Congress had been stating for a long time. “It is shameful that the BJP leadership is standing as a mute spectator while Sidhu has been marginalised,” Bajwa said. He said that there was no place for intelligent and sensible persons in the SAD and the BJP. Bajwa said Sukhbir’s adamance had ruined the state and made Punjab almost bankrupt. Meanwhile, Parminder Singh Pinki, Congress MLA from Ferozepur, today slammed Sukhbir for ignoring him while laying foundation stones of development projects in the area. He said Amritsar MP Navjot Sidhu was correct in levelling charges of discrimination against Sukhbir. A press note said Sukhbir did not give him credit for laying sewerage system in his constituency. Pinki pointed out that credit was instead given to BJP leaders, including Kamal Sharma and Sukhpal Singh
Nannu.
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Basmati farmers set to reap rich harvest
Fazilka, September 17 In Fazilka, a majority of the farmers cultivate paddy. Official sources said the farmers had cultivated paddy over 90,000 hectares of land in the district. Om Parkash, a farmer from Mauzam village, who was the first to bring 120 quintals of fine basmati variety of paddy to the market, sold it for Rs 2,951 per quintal. Market committee sources said the basmati paddy had fetched Rs 2,241 per quintal last year. "It is profitable to sell the produce anywhere around Rs 3,000 per quintal. Farmers are hoping to get even more than Rs 3,000 per quintal in the days to come," said Om Parkash. The arrival is likely to pick up in two to three weeks. The entire local basmati produce is exported. "The main reason for higher prices is a significant increase in the demand for fine rice variety in the middle-east," said Dina Nath Sachdeva, Pakka Aarhtiya Association president. Besides basmati, coarse parmal variety has also witnessed a rise in the prices. It is being also sold at Rs 1,400 per quintal as compared to Rs 1,300 per quintal last year. "The government should interfere to maintain the prices of the basmati variety as it is being controlled by private traders and exporters who are the bulk purchasers. They exploit the farmers by entering into a pool and fix relatively lower prices," said Parduman Kumar, president, Bhartiya Kisan Union, Fazilka unit.
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Village common land to be freed from encroachers
Chandigarh, September 17 Sources said that 2,000 cases had been reported on village common land being in possession of encroachers. Data compiled by the department shows that the maximum such cases are in Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib and Nawanshahr. The Revenue Department, Punjab, has now decided to get the land evacuated. Asking the Deputy Commissioners to ensure that the ownership of the village common land (shamlat) is with gram panchayats, the Financial Commissioner, Revenue, NS Kang, has asked them to hold monthly meetings in this regard. A committee comprising the District Development and Panchayat Officer, District Revenue Officer, Block Development and Panchayat Officers and tehsildars, will be set up to discuss all cases of encroachment and the action to be initiated. The Deputy Commissioners have been asked to send the action-taken report after each meeting to the Director, Rural Development and Panchayats, and the Revenue Department. The government has decided to get strict with the allotment of parts of village common land to private individuals. While banning the sale, exchange or mortgaging of such land, the government has instructed that the revenue records will now on mention all cases where landless persons have beene allotted this land so as to prevent its misuse. An observation regarding the landless allottee will be made while entering the mutation of such land and preparing the jamabandi. Revenue officials have been made accountable for executing the warrants on possession of shamlat land within 30 days. Action plan
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Tribune Impact
Chandigarh, September 17 Issuing the suspension orders, the committee led by Sant Sadhu Singh asked Dr Randhawa to hand over the charge to Prof Jagg Singh, Head, Department of Physics. Dr Randhawa, however, has not relinquished the charge yet. The action was taken after a series of controversies regarding the college that adversely affected the reputation of the first rural college of the state. Dr Jang Bahadur Rai, general secretary of the management committee, while talking to the Tribune said: “Dr Randhawa was issued the suspension orders today. He will be issued the chargesheet soon.” The management has sealed the bank accounts being operated by Dr Randhawa in his capacity as Principal. A special messenger of the management committee will be sent to the DPI (Colleges) and Panjab University, Chandigarh, to inform them about the developments. The college has been in the thick of controversies in the past couple of years. Things came to such a pass that the college demanded ‘autonomous’ status from Panjab University even as it faced several allegations of misappropriation of funds and starting various colleges without the requisite affiliation. In the process, Panjab University ordered several inquiries that indicted Dr Randhawa. The latter has been vehemently denying all allegations.
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Tech degrees through distance
education under scanner
Chandigarh, September 17 The Tribune correspondent, posing as a student, talked to counsellors of Karnataka State Open University
(KSOU), Mysore, at Delhi, Chennai and Ludhiana. They asked him to deposit the fees, appear in the exams and get the degree. A counsellor from Chennai said: "There is no need to attend any classes. Don't call it distance education. The degree is
part-time." KSOU has regional centres at Ludhiana, Bathinda and Amritsar in the state. The issue has come to light when a candidate having an MTech degree from KSOU applied for the post of secretary in the Punjab School Education Board. Another aspirant has raised objections over the validity of the degree. HS
Bains, Registrar, Punjab Technical University, said: "PTU does not allow admission to technical courses through distance learning." DB
Negi, Regional Director, IGNOU, said: "We don't allow any degree in technical education through distance education." An AICTE advertisement reads: "The AICTE does not recognise qualification acquired through the distance education mode at the diploma, bachelor and masters level in the fields of engineering technology, architecture, town planning, architecture, hotel management and catering." A centre head of a learning centre showed an AICTE notice which read that the Supreme Court, in a case, had said universities did not require prior approval of the AICTE to commence a new department or course and programmes in technical education. The universities, however, have the obligation to conform to the norms laid down by the AICTÉ, it read. Importantly, a judgment of Punjab and Haryana High Court in November 2012 terminated the validity of degrees and diplomas in technical courses issued by various deemed universities and institutes through distance learning
programmes. The HC had made a special mention of the decision in context of the employees of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, who had got departmental promotions. The dilemma
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Bathinda schools commit faux pas
Bathinda, September 17 The English question paper for Class V and mathematics question paper for Class IV carried the stamp "specimen". These sample papers are available on the website ssapunjab.org of the Department of School Education. Sources said the sample papers had been uploaded on the website to guide students to prepare for the examinations. But, many teachers downloaded these for use as official question papers. Sources said students who had already gone through these would get undue advantage. Marks achieved in these exams add up for the final evaluation of the students. As per the existing policy no one is failed in these classes. Interestingly, Anjali
Bhanwara, Director General School Education, does not find any wrongdoing in this development. She said it was the discretion of the local school management to select any question paper. "Moreover, it is just Class IV or V exams," she added.
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Short-staffed aided schools witness dip in enrolment
Patiala, September 17 As many as 20 schools have shut down due to shortage of staff and 28 are on the verge of closure as several teachers are due to retire. Sources said permitting these schools to shut down was a waste of resources worth several crore rupees. School teachers, who have not received their salaries for the past six months, have been demanding for long that aided schools be merged with government schools since 95 per cent of their salaries are supposed to be paid by the government. But, the state government has not taken any decision in this regard. A member of the Aided School Teachers and Other Employees Union, Punjab, said the governments in neighbouring states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh had already merged the staff of aided schools with that of government schools. However, he said, the Punjab Government refused to see the benefits of the merger, he said. Gurcharan Singh
Chahal, state president of the union, said the merger would reduce the government’s expenditure by around Rs 300 crore as they wouldn’t have to fill 5,000 vacant posts. “The RTE Act and orders of the Supreme Court state that the government has to fill the vacant posts by September, 2013. The 60 per cent vacant posts of the aided schools are more than 5,000 and to fill these will cost more than Rs 300 crore. Moreover, Rs 200 crore provident fund of aided-school employees can be utilised by the government,” he added.
In dire straits
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Tributes paid to former CM’s wife
Chandigarh, September 17 A former Member of Parliament and a former leader of Opposition in Punjab Legislative Assembly, she breathed her last on September 7. A pioneer in the early political arena, she served as Vice President of Indian Council for Child Welfare and also Chairman of Social Welfare Board. Apart from Parkash Singh
Badal, Punjab Chief Minister, Mohsina Kidwai, a member of Rajya Sabha and member of
Congress Working Committee, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh
Hooda, Punjab Governor Shiv Raj Patil, Justice SS Sodhi, a former Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court, President of
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee Pratap Singh Bajwa, Sunil Jakhar, Leader of Opposition in Punjab Legislative Assembly, Simranjit Singh Mann were among those present. Besides politicians, eminent persons from other walks of life were present.
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EC nod awaited for DCs’ posting
Chandigarh, September 17 The DCs are to be posted in districts of Amritsar, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr and Faridkot. Sources in the state Election Commission said the names of these officers had been forwarded to them for approval by the state government, before a notification regarding their posting could be issued. However, since the work with regards to summary revision of electoral rolls for the Parliamentary elections is on, and the state government wants to post new deputy commissioners (who are also the district election officers), the permission of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) is required. The officers who were posted as deputy commissioners-cum-district election officers are Ravi Bhagat (Amritsar), Varun Roojam (Jalandhar), Tanu Kaashyap (Hoshiarpur), Anandita Mishra (Nawanshahr) and MS Jaggi (Faridkot). Other than Jaggi, all the other officers are IAS officers. Besides these officers, the state has also issued instructions for the transfer of 18 other officers in the state. “We have forwarded the state government’s request for transfer of these officers to the CEC, who is now considering the request,” said a senior official in the state Election Commission. He said that only after the CEC’s clearance will the new transfers be brought into effect.
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Employees up in arms against state govt
Sangrur, September 17 Besides, they have reportedly not been receiving payments of their bills through treasuries due to the reported verbal ban on passing of the bills. Talking to this reporter here today, state general secretary of the Democratic Employees Front (DEF) Swaranjit Singh said due to financial crisis in the state, the employees had been suffering a lot as the state government had not been giving them salaries on time. Besides, the state government was also delaying instalment of the DA due from January while the Centre had already given it to its employees.
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Mohali police books protesters who blocked traffic
Mohali, September 17 "We are going to procure arrest warrants of all those who have been named in the FIR registered in this connection," said a senior officer of Mohali police. Notably, a number of members of the union sat on a dharna on Traffic Chowk at Kharar on September 14 and blocked the traffic on the busy highway. The police registered a case under Sections 283 and 188 IPC against protesters. Mohali SSP Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said he had already issued directions for start of proceedings to arrest those booked.
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Uncovered Sangrur nullah a health hazard
Sangrur, September 17 Apart from becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes, this open stretch of the 14-feet-wide nullah has turned into a dumping yard in Nurpura locality outside Sunami Gate in the city. Residents of Nurpura locality said since the railing along the nullah was on the verge of collapse, they feared for the lives of their children. Recently, two electric poles along the nullah had collapsed due to the weak side walls of the nullah. Three years ago, almost half of the nullah was covered at a cost of Rs 1 crore. The Municipal Council was planning to spend the money earned from the sale of plots to cover this particular stretch. But, the cash-strapped council spent the funds on other projects. State BJP secretary and former councillor Jatinder Kalra said the state government should immediately release funds to the council for completion of the project. The Executive Officer (EO) of the Improvement Trust said they had sent a proposal of Rs 92 lakh to Director, Local Government, to cover the nullah but a reply in this regard was awaited.
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Rape of two-yr-old: Neighbour arrested
Ludhiana, September 17 Govind Paswan was arrested and the latter confessed to raping and throwing the two-year-old in bushes. Govind came under a cloud when he returned home late. His absence evoked the police's suspicion. The accused, who is married and has a month-old daughter, was working for a private caterer at
PAU. — TNS
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Nawanshahr woman found dead in UK
Nawanshahr, September 17 The family of the deceased was shocked after learning about the alleged murder. Varsha’s father Surjit Singh was at a loss of words. — OC
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HC notice to state for defaulting on salaries
Chandigarh, September 17 Alleging that they have not been paid for almost 18 months, the teachers have moved the High Court seeking directions to the State of Punjab and its functionaries to pay them salaries along with arrears. They have also sought directions for withholding the salaries of the Director-General of School Education and Director Public Instruction (SE) during the pendency of the petition, so that "they may realise where the shoe pinches". Taking up the matter, Justice Tejinder Singh Dhindsa has put the State of Punjab and its functionaries on notice. In their petition filed through counsel Kapil Kakkar and Hema Kakkar, Poonam of Muktsar district and 28 other petitioners claimed they were selected and appointed as Hindi teachers on contract in July 2010 after an advertisement was issued for filling 455 posts on a consolidated salary of Rs 16,500 per month. Kakkar said the teachers' salaries were subsequently raised to Rs 18,000 per month. Though the petitioners performed their duty "with honesty and without any break", they were not paid wages in "an illegal, unjust and unfair manner" with effect from April 1, 2012. After they submitted numerous representations, the teachers were told that their appointments were made "under the financial assistance for appointment of language teachers of the Central Government" and they would be paid salaries "as and when funds from the Central Government are received". The petitioners later met the respondents and prayed for immediate release of salaries as funds had been received from the Government of India. But to their shock and surprise, they were on August 3, 2013, given new appointment letters, with changes in the terms and conditions of service.
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Fatehgarh Sahib cops bust arms racket
Fatehgarh Sahib, September 17 More than 14 persons have been arrested so far. The police has seized at least 10 weapons, including an AK-47 rifle. Senior Superintendent of Police
(SSP) Gurmit Singh Chauhan said the questioning of the leader of the terror module, Satnam Singh, who had been arrested from Sangli in
Maharashtra, had led to the arrest of another accused, Gurwinder
Singh. Gurwinder’s interrogation had helped the police unearth the arms racket in
Maharashtra, the SSP said, adding that the district police of Nanded Sahib along with the Punjab Police had arrested four persons, Bhag Inder Singh alias Lucky, Manpreet Singh, Rajwinder Singh and Parminder Singh. The SSP said that more arrests and recoveries were expected.
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Kharar, September 17
Six pilgrims died on the spot and 24 were injured when a private bus (UP-17T-4358) owned by Gupta Travels Transport Company of Uttar Pradesh rammed into a tree.
The Samra committee, sent to the state's water-logged areas by the Planning Commission to suggest remedial measures, today submitted its report to the state government.
Chief Executive Officer of the National Rainfed Area Authority Rajesh Kumar in the report has suggested an efficient use of the canal irrigation system from about 35 per cent to 70-80 per cent.
The number of students
in government aided schools has declined sharply following a fall in the number of teachers by up to 50 per cent.
As many as 20 schools have shut down due to shortage of staff and 28 are on the verge of closure as several teachers are due to retire. Sources said permitting these schools to shut down was a waste of resources worth several crore rupees.
The foul stench emanating from the 200-yard-long uncovered stretch of the ganda nullah from Gurdwara Sahib to Shaheed Bhagat Singh Chowk has made it difficult for area residents to go about their daily chores.
The number of students
in government aided schools has declined sharply following a fall in the number of teachers by up to 50 per cent.