Friday, January 15, 1999
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Friday, January 15, 1999 |
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Lakhs throng Muktsar
gurdwara MUKTSAR, Jan 14 — More than one lakh devotees took a dip in the holy 'Sarovar' (tank) of the historic Shri Darbar Sahib Gurdwara here in the early morning hours today on the occasion of the Maghi Mela, braving the biting cold and thick fog. Traditional enthusiasm and religious fervour marked the Maghi festival.  A devotee preparing to take a dip in the holy "sarovar" of Gurdwara Tuti Gandhi Sahib on the occasion of Maghi Mela in Muktsar on Thursday. — A Tribune photo by Pankaj Sharma |
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 Mohindra promised justice CHANDIGARH, Jan 14 — The Congress party's high command has promised justice to the former Punjab Minister and senior Congress leader, Mr Brahm Mohindra. Allotment of plots SAS NAGAR, Jan 14 — PUDA has decided to open its scheme for the allotment of 207 residential plots in Sector 68 here from February 1. |
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A ray
of hope from Pakistan Sikh
sants: withdraw hukamnama BSP
injects caste into Akali feud 22
cr flood control proposal on Ravi Special
status for Punjab sought College
teachers to go on mass leave |
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Lakhs throng Muktsar gurdwara MUKTSAR, Jan 14 — More than one lakh devotees took a dip in the holy 'Sarovar' (tank) of the historic Shri Darbar Sahib Gurdwara here in the early morning hours today on the occasion of the Maghi Mela, braving the biting cold and thick fog. Traditional enthusiasm and religious fervour marked the Maghi festival. Lakhs of people also paid obeisance and took part in the kirtan diwan at the Akhand Path bhog ceremony in the gurdwara. Special functions were also held in several other gurdwaras. Various religious speakers reminded people that Guru Gobind Singh founded the order of the Khalsa to preserve the rich heritage and protect the values of humanism, secularism and unity of mankind. This human spirit must be carried forward to propagate the message of 'Sarbat da bhala' as preached and practised by great Gurus and sants. Maghi is celebrated in the memory of the 40 brave Sikh soldiers (Muktas), who earlier deserted Guru Gobind Singh at Anandpur Sahib and handed over a 'Dedava' (disclaimer). But later, at the instance of Mai Bhago, they rejoined the Guru at Muktsar, then known as 'Dhab Khiderana and fought the enemy under the command of a great woman, Mai Bhago, and sacrificed their lives. The 10th Guru himself cremated the martyrs on the 'Sangrand of Maghi', the day following Lohri. Since then, Maghi Mela is celebrated in their memory. The holy Darbar Sahib and other gurdwaras were beautifully decorated and illuminated. Langar of tea, bread, food and laddu and jalebis were organised at several places in various localities of the town and on all roads leading to other towns by social organisations. A religious colourful
procession would be taken out tomorrow, the concluding
day. |
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A Tribune survey BATHINDA: This town known as the heartland of the Malwa region is always considered to be the stronghold of the Akalis as it has sent a number of Akali candidates to Parliament and the Vidhan Sabha. The residents of this region, which has the distinction of producing the maximum number of Chief Ministers since the reorganisation of old Punjab in 1966, is concerned at the ongoing feud between Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Gurcharan Singh Tohra, the role of the Sikh clergy in the feud and performance of the SAD-BJP Government in the past two years. "Akali jadon power vich hunde han taan larde ne, par jadon power vichon bahar hunde han taan ekhthe ho jande han. Eh hamesha Panth khatre vich hai da nahra laa ke votan lende han", par power vich aa ke aap hi Panth nu khatre vich paa dinde han". ( The Akalis always fight whenever in power and unite when out of power. The Akalis take votes and form the government by raising the slogan that the Panth is in danger but when they come to power they themselves put the Panth in danger). This is the opinion of most residents of this district to whom the TNS talked to for eliciting their views on the feud between Mr Badal and Mr Tohra and the role of the Akal Takht Jathedar, Bhai Ranjit Singh, in this episode and performance of the SAD-BJP Government. The people also felt that Mr Badal and Mr Tohra who claimed that they were fighting for "chardi kala" of the Panth (glorification of Panth) were in reality harming the Panth by "misusing" it for their political interests. They were of the opinion that frequent intervention of Akal Takht in petty issues was not justified. Gurnam Singh, a farmer of this district, said both Mr Badal and Mr Tohra were only interested in their family welfare. Mr Badal had made his nephew and son-in-law MLAs and his son an MP and subsequently the Union Industry Minister. On the other hand, Mr Tohra made his son-in-law a Cabinet Minister, who had resigned after the crisis in the party. He said both had done nothing for Punjab and its people. Farmers were caught in the debt trap and were committing suicide due to failure of their cotton and paddy crops. Mr Badal had not made any effort to order special girdawari for giving them compensation for loss of their crops. Mr Mohinder Singh Sidhu, an advocate, said Bhai Ranjit Singh should concentrate on the religious affairs of the Sikhs instead of trying to mediate in the Akalis' political infighting. He pointed out that Akal Takht was the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs hence its Jathedar belonged to the entire Sikh community, not just to the Akali Dal. Mr Krishan Kumar Garg, an industrialist, said Mr Badal should be more interested in fulfilling the promises made in the election manifesto, instead of making moves to neutralise his political adversaries. Development of the state had come to a complete halt. Corruption had touched a new pinnacle in Punjab. The Akalis always fought against each other whenever they came to power. They always fought for personal gains, instead of the community. Dr Joginder Singh, president of Gurdwara Jeewan Parkash, which is not affiliated to any Sikh gurdwara organisation, said the Badal-Tohra fight could disturb the atmosphere at any time and the state could again witness the dark days of terrorism. Bhai Ranjit Singh should work for strengthening peace in Punjab instead of trying to settle the Badal-Tohra feud. Mr Ajay Gupta, a printing press owner, said Mr Badal should provide rule similar to that of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and he should give up his 'kursi' (chair), if he was not able to do that. Mr Badal had made SAD his private company while Mr Tohra had done the same thing to the SGPC. Mr Kishan Singh, a retired teacher, said the Akalis had established a history of fighting each other whenever they came to power and always toppled their own government before it had completed its full five-year term. Mr Badal and Mr Tohra should solve their problems by sitting across the table instead of "misusing" Akal Takht. Politics should not be mixed with religion. Mr Surinder Mohan Dixit, sales tax consultant, said Mr Badal should be more interested in the development of the state instead of controlling the political as well as religious affairs of the Sikhs. Akal Takht should issue hukamnamas (edicts) only for removing social evils from society. The survey also found that
most of people, particularly Sikhs, felt that the
Badal-Tohra feud was more for their personal political
interests rather than for the betterment of Sikhs and
Punjab's population as a whole . They felt that both the
leaders were indulging in the misuse of Akal Takht for
personal gains. |
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Mohindra promised justice CHANDIGARH, Jan 14 — The Congress party's high command has promised justice to the former Punjab Minister and senior Congress leader, Mr Brahm Mohindra. Informed sources here said that Mr Mohindra, who explained his stand on the proposed "Degh Tegh Fateh march" being organised by the Punjab Congress to celebrate the tercentenary of the Khalsa, was assured by several leaders that they understood his objections in the light of the Congress Party's commitment to secularism and equal respect for all religions. Among others, Mr Mohindra met Ms Meira Kumar, in charge of Punjab Affairs at the AICC headquarters. He also gave a note to Mr Vincent George, secretary to the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi. In the note he said that he had great respect for all religions and since he belonged to Punjab, he had more respect for Sikhism and its historic role against tyranny. But the Congress should stop competing with the Akalis in organising religious marches. In that case there would be no end to the competition and it would spoil the communal amity. Earlier attempts by the Congress to build Guru Gobind Singh Marg and organise "Sarbat Khalsa" meant a heavy political cost. According to sources, the note also said that his objections were twisted and the state Congress President, Capt Amarinder Singh, telephoned various leaders in the districts to orchestrate statements against him. The disciplinary committee headed by Mr Kewal Krishan, a former Congress Minister, had indicted Mr Mohindra on several counts. It found him violating the party discipline by criticising the party's decision to hold the march. It emphasised that Mr Mohindra was a party to the decision and the Punjab Pradesh Congress executive at its meeting at Patiala last month did discuss the issue and an unanimous decision was taken to organise the march. Again, Mr Mohindra had hurt the sentiments of Sikhs and Punjabis by challenging the march. The Committee said that the Congress party respected all religions and had been in the forefront in organising marches and processions, It was not the party of atheists. Also, why should the Congress allow Akalis to steal the show. At the national level committee to mark the celebrations, two senior Congress members, the leaders of the Opposition in the two Houses of Parliament, Mr Sharad Pawar and Dr Manmohan Singh were members of the National-level Committee. So there was nothing wrong in this. The report is now said to be with Capt Amarinder Singh and is likely to be sent to the AICC very soon. Mr Mohindra also had serious objections about the five member disciplinary committee which had indicted him for indiscipline. He said that the decision to organise the march was not taken by the party executive. Another serious objection by Mr Mohindra was that Capt Amarinder Singh has tried to approach the Akal Takht chief Bhai Ranjit Singh, on two scores. He first went to him complaining against the SGPC President, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra for having approached the Nirankaris, a religious sect ex-communicated by Akal Takht, for votes and later to persuade him to lead the Congress march. Sources here also said that Mr Mohindra had provided the details about the whole affair as it appeared in the leading newspapers and also details about the disciplinary committee members. Two of the members, Mr Lal Singh and Mr Balmukand Sharma, both former ministers had been indicted by the Punjab Lok Pal and the third member, a former senior Minister and Chairman of the committee, Mr Kewal Krishan was facing a probe in the infamous sugar mills scam in Punjab. Mr Amarinder Singh who now
finds that charges and counter-charges could hurt the
image of some senior colleagues, has now directed
Congressmen to stop making statements. But it is
certainly too late. The damage has already been done. |
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Allotment of plots from Feb 1 SAS NAGAR, Jan 14 — PUDA has decided to open its scheme for the allotment of 207 residential plots in Sector 68 here from February 1. Under the scheme there will be 72 plots of 6 marlas each, 93 of 8 marlas and 42 of 10 marlas each. Applications will be received up to February 26. As per the policy of PUDA, reservations have been provided in the case of each of the three categories of plots. Under the 6-marla category six plots have been reserved for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes, one each for freedom fighters and handicapped/blind persons, six for serving and retired defence personnel/paramilitary forces/gallantry award winners of the defence forces and legal heirs of Army personnel, besides one for sportspersons who have won medals in the Olympics, Commonwealth Games or Asian Games. In the 8-marla category, the reservations for these sections are seven, two, two, six and two, respectively, while in the 10-marla category the plots reserved are three, one, one, two and one, respectively. After taking into account the reservations, the remaining plots for the general category applicants in the 6, 8 and 10-marla groups are 57, 74 and 34, respectively. Ms Seema Jain, Additional Chief Administrator of PUDA, SAS Nagar, said today that 15 per cent of the earnest money amounting to Rs 72,000, Rs 96,000 and Rs 1,35,000 would have to be deposited along with the applications for the 6, 8, and 10-marla categories, respectively. Ms Jain said the draw for
the allotment of the plots would be held within three
months from the closing date of the scheme. Refund of the
money of the unsuccessful applicants would be given
within three months after the date of the draw of lots. |
A
ray
of hope from Pakistan WAGAH (Indo-Pak Border) Jan 14 — Beaming a bright ray of friendship on a foggy morning the first ever bus from Pakistan entered Indian soil after more than fifty years for a dry run from Lahore to New Delhi. The bus carrying fifteen officials and a four-member crew, led by Dr Tajul Islam Yousafzai, general manager. Pakistan Government's National Highway Authority, crossed the zero line after the respective entry gates of India and Pakistan were opened by security jawans about two and a half hours later than scheduled. After the formalities and a welcome by Indian officials the bus resumed its onward journey to New Delhi at 9.50 a.m. The trial run of the Pakistan Tourism with a bus capacity of 24 seats followed two days after India completed its dry run of launching regular bus service between India and Pakistan on the initiative of the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan. Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and Mr Nawaz Sharif. The Indian bus of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) went to Pakistan on January 8 and returned to India on January 11. The Pakistani bus was received at the Wagah check post by the Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar, Mr Narinderjit Singh, the S.D.M. the A.D.C. development, senior Police officials. The Akali MLA of Attari, Mr Gulzar Singh and a sizeable number of Amritsar citizens who drove all the way from Amritsar to Wagah check post amidst thick fog. The Pakistani officials and crew members were garlanded and presented bouquets on alight from the bus outside the customs complex for formalities which were completed in about fifteen minutes. Earlier the immigration did their formalities near the gates and checked the bus in a routine manner the DTC general manager Mr Mansoor Ahmed who went to Pakistan in the Indian dry run bus on Friday last was present at the Wagah check post to receive the Pakistan officials. As a matter of security two officials of the Punjab police, sub-inspector Kulwant Singh and ASI Tarsem Singh boarded the bus from the checkpost and will accompany the Pakistani team till they return to Pakistan on January 17. Besides this the bus was escorted by a five-member security team of the Punjab Police in a separate vehicle in the Punjab area upto Shambo. The vehicle is equipped with the latest communication facilities. The Pakistan officials of the bus comprising of different Ministries, Communications, Security and crew are from Lahore and Islamabad. A beaming Dr Yousafzai talking to newsmen at the checkpost expressed the Pakistan Government's pleasure that a bus was being started between India and Pakistan after a gap of over fifty years on the traditional route of GT road connecting Dhaka with Kabul. Expressing hope that the dry run of buses of India and Pakistan for trial would pave the way for starting a four-days a week bus service probably from the next month, he described the launching of the bus service as a "friendship venture — which would develop with the passing of time and would enable people of both countries to come closer to each other. This service could be improved to cover the whole continent, he added, and pointed out that this would be the fastest and most economical form of transport between the two countries. When questioned about the possible threats from certain quarters, Dr Yousafzai dismissed them by saying that such elements were everywhere in the world. We should not be bothered about it", he said confidently. He said that the team would have talks with Indian officials for final modalities although most difficulties had already been sorted out. He said that it had already been decided that both Pakistan and Indian buses would have four-day runs from Lahore and New Delhi respectively. On getting a good response from the people the frequency could be increased to a daily service he stated. Asked whether the team would meet the Prime Minister Mr Vajpayee during their stay in Delhi, the team leader said that they were scheduled to meet the Delhi Chief Minister, Mrs Sheila Dixit. Our meeting with the Prime Minister depends on our hosts, he remarked. Asked whether he carried any message from the Pakistani Prime Minister he said that message is very clear that this bus service must begin as this is the first step towards friendship. The deputy leader of the team, Mr Syed Ishtaq Hussain Managing Director of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation, sharing his views with newsmen said that "It is a good shagun".On the security aspect he said "We won't feel unsafe in India". We are in a peaceful and Islamic mission. Why we should worry about threats", he remarked. Certain team members expressed a desire to see Golden Temple and enquired from the Indian official whether the bus would pass near this Sikh shrine. The Indian official said
that it might be possible in the future to take the
Pakistani passengers to see the temple but it was not
possible now as permission was not taken from the Indian
Government. |
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Sikh sants: withdraw hukamnama JALANDHAR, Jan 14 — Sant Baba Kashmira Singh and 37 Sikh sants today took exception to what they dubbed "political hukamnama" by Akal Takht Jathedar Bhai Ranjit Singh and appealed him to reconsider it and withdraw the "hukamnama". Speaking on behalf of the assembled Sikh sants, Baba Kashmira Singh told reporters here today that this group of Sant Samaj was of the view that the hukamnama, calling upon the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, and the SGPC chief, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, to call off their feud till April 15 was political in nature and should be reviewed and withdrawn be Akal Takht. But at the same time Baba Kashmira Singh agreed that the Akal Takht Jathedar had right to safeguard the basic concept of "miri and piri". However, he insisted that he could not issue the hukamnama to save "one person". When asked to cite a single instance in Sikh history when a hukamnama had been withdrawn, Baba Kashmira Singh failed to give an answer. Five Sikh sants, who later dissociated from what Baba Kashmira Singh said, had earlier penned their signatures on the resolution which was passed in the assembly. While criticising Bhai
Ranjit Singh for issuing the hukamnama without
associating jathedars of the four remaining takhts, he
appealed to the SGPC to convene "sarbat khalsa"
to review the appointment of Bhai Ranjit Singh as
Jathedar of Akal Takht. |
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BSP injects caste into Akali
feud KHARAR, Jan 14 — Mr Man Singh Manheda, Secretary of the BSP Punjab unit said here today that various Akali leaders were not obeying the Hukamnama issued by the Jathedar of Akal Takht as the Jathedar belonged to a Backward Caste. He was speaking at a party rally here. He threatened that landless residents would start taking direct electricity supply unless the state gave at least 100 units free to all landless residents as farmers were being given free electricity. Mr Avtar Singh Karimpuri, General Secretary of the Bahujan Samaj Party, Punjab demanded that the Punjab Government implement the SC/ST Atrocities Prevention Act as atrocities against members of these castes had increased during the present SAD-BJP regime. He said the Centre had already passed this act but it had not been implemented by the state so far. He demanded that the
Jathedar of the Akal Takht should issue a Hukamnama so
that the culprits responsible for murder and rape of
SC/ST women can be brought to book. |
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22 cr flood control proposal
on Ravi GURDASPUR, Jan 14 — An ambitious plan for Rs 22 crore has been sent for approval to the Punjab Government to undertake flood protection measures on the left and right banks of river Ravi. According to Mr S.K. Sandhu, Deputy Commissioner, Rs 10 crore will be spent on the Majha Scheme which involves district Amritsar also and relates to widening, strengthening and channelising Sakki Nullah. The project after completion in addition to supplying irrigation benefits to the lands surrounding the nullah will reclaim more than 10000 acres of land under water-logging due to silt deposits in the nullah. Mr Sandhu said that Rs 12 crore will be spent to strengthen the present flood protection measures and undertake new ones to prevent floods. As many as 62 drains in the district, mostly in Kahnuwan Shamb area, have been identified for desilting. This job will be taken up on a priority basis and will be started in March so that the drains can be desilted before the rains set in, paving the way for reclamation of more than 25,000 acres of water-logged land. Mr Sandhu said that he had ordered the Drainage Department to prepare estimates of the proposed works and make priority for their execution. A flood protection team toured the Ravi to inspect flood-protection measures taken up last year and flood protection measures to be taken on a priority basis this year. Mr Sandhu ordered that Dhussi bandh from R.D. 14000 to 16000 be strengthened at 3 points so that the land of farmers on the left side of the Dhussi are given proper drainage by laying pipes. Surprisingly during inspection of the area it was found that the work of laying of cables by the Telephone Department from Tarapur to Gajju Jagir village was of sub-standard quality. The work was stopped and the Telephone Department advised to take prior permission from the drainage department before laying underground telephone lines on Dhussi bandh. Mr Sandhu said that it was also observed that 150 acres of land had been ordered at Tarapur by river Ravi on its left bank. The team decided that one spur and a few more studs would be constructed. In Gajju Jagir, Kathlour and Chandigarh, the team felt that the studs constructed on the left bank of the Ravi opposite these villages was inadequate. The villagers of Kathlour demanded construction of a new Dhussi bandh from Dhupsarri to Kathlour. Mr Sandhu said the works executed at Narot spur has been able to save hundreds of acres of fertile land of Narot Jaimal Singh area. However, the committee recommended that this spur be further strengthened by restoring its nose portions. Enroute the Deputy
Commissioner checked the government primary school,
Paharochak in Narot Jaimal Singh area and ordered
provision of 200 metres of jute making for the children
sitting on the ground during the current harsh winter. |
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Special status for Punjab sought PATIALA, Jan 14 — The Central Government should accord special status to Punjab like Jammu and Kashmir, Prof Karamjit Singh Sidhu, a defence analyst, demanded while presenting a paper on the second day of the 16th International Punjabi Development Conference being held at Punjabi University here today. Dr Sidhu said Punjab was a border state the strategic value of which in national security was of great importance. Further, being the largest contributor of agricultural produce, Punjab was the "food bowl" of the country. He said the people, especially those along the border with Pakistan, were facing adverse conditions but yet producing a large quantity of food products. It was unfortunate that people of Punjab could not buy land in states like Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir. Dr D.P. Singh from Nangal in his paper on "Punjab from environment point of view" sought to drive attention towards the environment degradation in the state due to the heavy use of fertilisers in agriculture. He said as 70 per cent of Punjab's population thrives on agriculture, the state had also become the largest consumer of chemical fertilisers. Excessive use of these fertilisers had resulted in soil pollution, air pollution and soil erosion. Even underground water had been affected, Dr D.P. Singh said. Dr K.K. Singhal in his paper on "Toxic chemicals and our environment" explored the dangers being faced by society at large from the industrial waste which was a major contributor of pollution. When these chemicals get mixed with water, soil or other agents and reach our food, these become harmful. Dr D.P. Bhatnagar discussed the effects of thermal and radiation pollution. He said over population, industrialisation and urbanisation had directly affected environment. He also threw light on the accidents caused by nuclear reactors at many places in the world like Idhaho Falls (USA in 1967) and Chernobyl (USSR) in 1996. Dr Sanjay Modi and Dr K.C. Singhal of the Business Management Department spoke at length about the impacts of globalisation and liberalisation. They felt that these had more negative effects on industrial workers. Commenting on the
political effects of globalisation and liberalisation Dr
Jasmel Singh Brar, Head, Correspondence Courses, said it
was relevant to adopt liberalisation as the economic
condition of India was not very good. To have a better
and stable political situation, it was necessary that the
economic condition was good. |
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College teachers to go on mass
leave LUDHIANA, Jan 14 — In compliance with the decisions of the executive committee of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers (PCCTU) Union, college teachers will go on mass casual leave on January 19 and hold a demonstration at Banur, the constituency of the Punjab Finance Minister. Briefing the Press here today, Prof K.B.S. Sodhi, Secretary, PCCTU, said the teachers had been forced to resort to an agitation due to the indifferent attitude of the state Finance Department towards their demands cleared by the union, HRD Ministry and the State Education Department. Mr Sodhi alleged that while in the other states, the process of implementation of new pay scales was being expedited, in Punjab the files were moving at a "snail's pace". The erratic release of regular quarterly grants of expenditure by the Finance Department had created a financial crises in colleges. The pension-gratuity scheme, to be implemented with effect from 1992, had yet to see the light of the day. Meanwhile, on a call given by the All-India Federation of Agricultural University Teachers Association, the executive of the PAUTA has decided that teachers of Punjab Agricultural University will bear black badges tomorrow in protest against the "undue delay" in the release of the revised pay scales of teachers of the State Agriculture Universities. AMRITSAR: The Non-teaching Employees Association, Guru Nanak Dev University, on Thursday organised a massive rally in protest against the attitude of the state government towards the release of grants to the university. Employee leaders, addressing the rally, alleged that the state government had been reducing grants which had resulted in the deterioration of higher education. They threatened to launch
an agitation if their demands were not accepted. |
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Police rescues 23 bonded labourers JALANDHAR, Jan 14 (UNI) — The police has rescued 23 bonded labourers from a brick-kiln near here and sent them to Muzaffarnagar UP. District police chief Gaurav Yadav told uni here today that a case of illegal confinement and criminal intimidation under Sections 342, 506/34 IPC, had been registered against brick-kiln owner Sukhwinder Singh Sukhi but no arrest had so far been made. Sukhi is a brother of Congress legislator Kamaljit Singh Lalli. Mr Gaurav said though Mr Lalli was not directly involved in the recruitment of these bonded labourers six months ago, he had been named as one of the four accused in the fir lodged by Dhir Singh, one of the rescued labourers. The rescue operation was conducted in the presence of the city SDM. Dhir Singh told the police that he and 22 others were recruited six months ago and were given an advance of Rs 50,000. He alleged all labourers were kept in "illegal detention’’ at Manak village from where they were rescued by the police. Besides Mr Lalli and his
brother, Satpal Singh, accountant Jasbir Singh
"jamadar" of the brick-kiln had been named in
the fir at Kartarpur police station. |
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Board to conduct exams on new
pattern SAS NAGAR, Jan 14 — The Punjab School Education Board will conduct its examinations on a new pattern from next year. Stating this while presiding over a three-day workshop for training of paper setters, Dr Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia, Chairman of the board, said the board would go in for a thorough revision of its textbooks and phasing out the old ones in the coming years. Prof R.M. Kalra, of the NCERT laid stress on positive co-relation between the examination system and education. Earlier, Mrs S.K. Sandhu,
Secretary, School Education, Punjab, said paper-setting
should be done in such a manner that the students faced
no difficulty in the competitive examinations. |
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Night
curfew
along rail lines GURDASPUR, Jan 14 — Mr S.K. Sandhu, District Magistrate has imposed night curfew along both sides of railway lines, canals and their distributaries and on the Dhussi bandh on the Beas falling in this district. The curfew will start from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. every day and will remain in force till March 12. The order will not apply to the employees of Indian Railways and Irrigation Department, Punjab and village abadis/residential areas and railway stations/level crossings falling in the curfew bound areas. By another order issued
today he banned the use of loud speakers and pressure
horns without permission. |
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OT assistants' plea on
recruitment PATIALA, Jan 14 — The Punjab Operation Theatre Assistants, Supervisers and Anaesthesia Technicians Union has urged the Punjab Government to recruit technicians in civil hospitals in the state to improve the health services. In a statement here
yesterday, Mr Gurcharan Bir Singh, General Secretary of
the union, stated that at present these posts did not
exist in the hospitals. Since only the technicians were
qualified to provide sterilised equipment in operation
theatres, there was need for recruiting qualified
persons. |
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President
urged
to remove George BATHINDA, Jan 14 — Mr Sukhinder Dhaliwal, President, United Communist Party of India (UCPI), Punjab, has urged the President to remove Mr George Fernandes from the Defence Ministry. In a Press note here yesterday, he alleged that Mr Fernandes was creating a wedge between the defence forces and the civil authorities which was dangerous for the country. He said Mr Fernandes, who
was destabilising the nation, should not be allowed to
run the Defence Ministry. |
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Bajrang Dal: ban cow slaughter AMRITSAR, Jan 14 — The Bajrang Dal, Punjab, today threatened to launch a statewide agitation if no action was taken against those responsible for transporting about 400 cows to Calcutta, allegedly for slaughter. The cows were reportedly transported from near Dera Bassi (Punjab) recently. A press note of the Bajrang Dal alleged that the local administration had failed to take action against the culprits even though they were arrested on November 8 from the Ghaggar railway station near Dera Bassi. Mr Arun Khanna, Convener,
Bajrang Dal, sought ban on the transportation of cows for
slaughter. |
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Proclaimed offender arrested GURDASPUR, Jan 14 — The Police today arrested Gurbachan Singh of Beri Chak under Kathua district in Jammu and Kashmir and seized a countrymade revolver from his possession. The accused is a declared
proclaimed offender in a case registered against him
under Section 411, IPC, and section 25, 54 and 59 of the
Arms Act since December 17, 1990, the SSP said. |
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Shop
gutted ROPAR, Jan 14 — A triple-storey shoe shop, popularly known as Jagota di Hatti, in the Pul Bazar area here, was reduced to ashes in a fire last night. The cause of fire could not be immediately ascertained. The loss of property is assessed to run into several lakhs. According to Mr Satish Jagota, a brother of the owner of the shop, the family learnt of the fire at about 4-15 a.m. this morning. But by the time they reached the spot the entire shop was gutted. The fire was brought under control with the help of a fire tender which arrived at about 5-00 a.m. Smoke continued to pour out of the gutted remains till 9.30 am. However, adjoining shops
were unaffected by the fire, though cracks were visible
in some walls. |
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Nurses threaten stir PATIALA, Jan 14 — The Punjab Nurses Association today threatened to launch an agitation, if the state government did not accede to their demands. In a statement here, Mrs Jeewanpreet Kaur, President of the association, said resentment prevailed among nurses against their pay scales. She demanded that the basic pay scale of a nurse be more than that of a junior engineer. The association also
demand a special nursing allowance of Rs 1600 on the
Central Government pattern and a uniform allowance of Rs
3000 per year. |
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