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| Sunday, January 2, 2000, Chandigarh, India    |
Visit fails to unite Cong men News analysis Harike to be cleared of weeds 3 of family drowned in Jeep mishap |
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Resentment prevails against expansion It’s up to Hero now, says Amarinder MLA flays Badal over expansion Row over Sonia’s visit unfounded, says SGPC
Dr J.S Gujral Faridkot varsity VC Special wagons sought to transport paddy Living near palaces is hell
Merry makers turn rowdys Test date but no date-sheet Artificial limbs unit set up Bhakra gallery’s lock found open Martyr cremated with honours
Cops booked on rape charge Gang of thieves busted
Phulkari artisans paid peanuts
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BJP infighting comes to fore LUDHIANA, Jan 1 — Two Punjab Ministers, Mr Madan Mohan Mittal and Mr Manoranjan Kalia, narrowly escaped losing their jobs in the intense infighting within the Punjab BJP over the selection of the party nominees for inclusion in the Badal Cabinet which was expanded yesterday. The dominant group in the state unit of the BJP comprising Mr Balramji Das Tandon, who is number two in the Badal Cabinet and also the leader of the 18-member BJP group in the state Assembly, Mr Daya Singh Sodhi, President of the state unit of the BJP and Mr Ashok Prabhakar, who heads the state unit of the RSS, were able to mount such an effective campaign against them in Delhi during the days preceding the expansion that not only the two ministers were put on the defensive but also ensured the exclusion of senior party legislators and ministerial aspirants like Mr Satpal Gosain, Mr Jagdish Sahni and Mrs Luxmi Kanta Chawla. Sources in the party said here today that the group accused Mr Manoranjan Kalia of being a “leader without any mass base” who should be replaced with someone who had a “stature”. Mr Mittal was charged with ignoring the RSS which was regarded as a cardinal sin in the Sangh parivar. Both ministers reportedly spent the past few days offering “explanations” to the high command in Delhi and were, therefore, unable to lend support to the claim of MLAs like Mr Gosain, Mr Sahni and others to the ministerial berths. The dominant group was thus able to ensure the inclusion of Dr Baldev Raj Chawla, who is regarded highly in the RSS hierarchy, and Mr Tikshan Sood, who is considered to be close to Mr Tandon. The sources said at one stage the party high command had decided to have Mr Kalia replaced with someone else but intense lobbying by the latter saved the day for him. As a matter of fact, Mr Gosain was considered as a possible replacement for Mr Kalia but Mr Gosain reportedly turned down the offer. Both Mr Kalia and Mr Mittal were helped in their fightback by Mr Madan Lal Khurana, former Chief Minister of Delhi, who was now the national Vice-President of the BJP. Mr Tandon and Mr Sodhi are being accused, in the party circles, of sitting over the list of the party nominees for inclusion in the Badal ministry till the last minute so as to keep everyone in the dark. It was handed over to the Chief Minister shortly before the swearing in ceremony yesterday. |
Visit fails to unite Cong men JALANDHAR, Jan 1 — The long-awaited visit of Mrs Sonia Gandhi to the Golden Temple on December 28 has apparently failed to enthuse and unite the fractured Punjab Congress as indicated by the absence of many an important leader. While the hijack drama overshadowed the visit, the first-ever by a member of the Gandhi family after Operation Bluestar, party state President Capt Amarinder Singh seemingly failed to properly organise the event to derive mileage from what was essentially a political visit aimed at rebuilding the bridge of trust between the Sikhs and the Gandhi family as stated by Mrs Gandhi herself. Of the eight newly elected MPs of the party, as many as five were absent at Amritsar. They were Mr Balbir Singh from Jalandhar, Mr Gurcharan Singh Ghalib from Ludhiana, Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo from Ropar, Mrs Parneet Kaur from Patiala and Mrs Santosh Choudhary from Phillour. Mrs Choudhary, who is also AICC Secretary, is particularly piqued at having been denied the opportunity to be at Amritsar by the side of Mrs Gandhi to whom she is perceived to be close. Congress party sources told TNS that she had decided to complain against Capt Amarinder Singh for ill-organising the visit by not taking into confidence all those who could have contributed to its success. Besides the absence of five MPs, former MPs Umrao Singh, Iqbal Singh, Sukhbans Kaur Bhinder and Surinder Singla were also conspicuous by their absence. Also absent were former Chief Ministers Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and Mr Harcharan Singh Brar and former PPCC chiefs Mahinder Singh Gill and Mr Hans Raj Sharma. Similarly, at least seven of the 15 MLAs of the Congress, including Mr Rakesh Pandey, Mr Amrik Singh and Mr Jasminder Singh did not visit Amritsar that day. The absentee Congressmen, including two former ministers, claimed that Capt Amarinder Singh instead of deriving political mileage from the visit adopted a defensive posture stating that obeisance at Akal Takht was not on the agenda of Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s visit . They said because of lack of proper planning, Mrs Gandhi lost an opportunity to record her visit in the visitors register maintained by the SGPC as is the practice with all dignitaries who visit the holy temple. They argued that Capt Amarinder Singh should at least have attempted to persuade Mrs Gandhi to record her visit, notwithstanding the fact that the SGPC had closed its information centre where the register was usually kept. The PPCC General Secretary, Mr Bir Davinder Singh, another notable absentee, has already fired a salvo against Capt Amarinder Singh to vent his ire against the style of functioning of the latter, stating that harping on the financial crisis in Punjab by Capt Amarinder Singh would boomrang on the Congress, particularly when the Nawanshahr Assembly byelection was imminent. The Congress, whose political graph had been on the rise since the party victory in the Adampur Assembly byelection in November last year and the recent Lok sabha elections might lose steam if leaders like Mr Bir Davinder Singh decide to air their differences with Capt Amarinder Singh. |
News analysis CHANDIGARH, Jan 1 — It was an arduous exercise for the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal to expand his Cabinet. He dilly-dallied for months over this, but finally effected the expansion yesterday. He, perhaps, was left with no option but to do this. His confrontation with the former SGPC chief, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra and a former Speaker, Mr Ravi Inder Singh and growing discontentment among certain party MLAs forced Mr Badal to undertake the task. Not withstanding the brave face of the Chief Minister at the press conference held after the Cabinet expansion, what happened before going in for the exercise has left a lot of bitterness in Mr Badal. Upset over the conduct of even his staunch loyalists, Mr Badal, according to his close circles, had to say that "no one is loyal and faithful in politics now a days. Even close relations do not matter. Every one wants his or her pound of flesh." They way he had to promote all Ministers of State to Cabinet rank proves beyond doubt that a lot of pressure was put on him by ministers in this regard. According to informed sources at the December 30 meeting held in his residence Mr Badal was made to concede promotion in the rank of all ministers. Mr Badal had given the party ticket to his staunch loyalists and to his close relatives, ignoring the claim of senior Akali leaders. This role of Mr Badal during the last Vidhan Sabha elections came under sharp criticism. But at the time of expansion yesterday he had to accommodate them also as they also went for "the big loaf" that they could grab from the Chief Minister when he is in the "spot". Mr Adesh Partap Singh, a son-in-law of the Chief Minister and Mr Ajaib Singh Makhmailpur, a distant relative of Mr Badal, fall in this category. Informed sources said the Chief Minister had not included the name of Ms Mohinder Kaur Josh in the list of new ministers. Her supporters created a scene at Mr Badal's residence to get her name included in the list. As supporters left Mr Badal's house in a huff, on December 30, according to sources, he asked his close aides to inform them that their demand had been conceded. |
Harike to be cleared of weeds HARIKE (Ferozepore): The Army will shortly deploy jawans to clear the Harike wetland of weeds, especially water hyacinth which has virtually choked it. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of senior Army and civilian officers held at Ferozepore on December 23. The world famous Harike wetland is situated at the confluence of the Sutlej and the Beas rivers. It forms a part of large wetland system in the districts of Ferozepore, Amritsar and Kapurthala. The lake is triangular in shape. Harike is a shallow wetland, which came into being as a result of constructing of barrage in 1952 with the objective of storing and providing irrigation and drinking water to the parts of southern Punjab and the adjoining state of Rajasthan. In 1982, 41 sq km water-based area was declared as a wildlife sanctuary by the Punjab Government. That area was increased to 86 sq km in 1992. The wetland has the record of having attracted about 400 species of birds. The most common species are pochards, widgeon, gadwall, coots, barheaded goose and garganey. Many rare species of birds, including whiteheaded stiff-tailed duck, scaup duck, rufous vented prinia, Indian skimmer and black-necked stork have also been recorded. Ornithologists from Western countries are reportedly showing keen interest in the Harike wetland and many of them visit it regularly to study possible changes in the pattern of migration of birds with the changing global scenario. The wetland attracts a large concentration of birds similar to Bharatpur National Park. According to a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) document, the Harike wetland has been facing many problems, including siltation. The spread of the water hyacinth, a free floating plant with spongy, broad leaves, inflated petioles and mauve flowers. It is stated that the hyacinth spreads mainly due to dense growth of plants depriving animal life of oxygen in the lake waters. Effluents from towns and villages in the catchment, and fertiliser runoff that find their way into the lake result in a high organic loading which aids rapid multiplication of this weed. The WWF document reveals that 12 drains fall into the river Sutlej and 13 into the Beas. Along the banks of the Sutlej are 10 major cities which collectively dispose off about 300 mld (million litres per day) of domestic sewage directly into the river. Till 1993, 13 sq km area of the lake has reportedly shrunk due to hyacinth and siltation. Now, the Army has decided to clear Harike lake of weeds and hyacinth, conceding the request of the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal. It has been reported that a team of 500 persons would be required for the job that will take eight to 12 months to complete. The idea behind the Army operation is to bring the Harike wetland on a par with international bird sanctuaries and to boost eco-tourism in Punjab. As migratory birds visit the wetland, the job of weed and hyacinth removal would be handled with care to avoid disturbance to the birds. |
3 of family drowned in Jeep mishap THANDEWALA (Muktsar), Jan 1 — Manjeet Kaur, sarpanch, Harike Kalan village of the district along with her husband Bohr Singh and teenaged son were killed late last evening when the Jeep in which they were going to their village plunged into the Rajasthan feeder canal near here yesterday. The district administration and the police force managed to extract the bodies and the vehicle from the canal at 3 p.m. today. The police authorities came to know about the accident from residents of this village situated on the bank of canal. The police with the help of locals started making efforts to locate the vehicle and the bodies in the canal in which water level was about 16 feet high. Due to dense fog, the police had to suspend its operation at about 10 p.m. yesterday. The search operation was resumed at 9 a.m. with the help of divers. Residents of the village said Manjeet Kaur had purchased vegetables and fruits from Muktsar to prepare special dishes for the New Year celebrations minutes before the accident. A pall of gloom descended on the village when the news of the death of the family spread in the area. Mr Kultar Singh, SSP, said a case had been registered in this regard in the Sadar police station. He added the police would reward those policemen who had made great efforts to extricate the bodies and vehicle in hostile weather conditions. |
Resentment prevails against expansion FATEHGARH SAHIB, Jan 1 — Resentment prevails among people here for not giving the district representation in the Cabinet. Hundreds of people, including various sarpanches and panches from the district, today held a protest meeting at the residence of the Akali MLA from the district, Mr Balwant Singh Shahpur for not including him in the recent expansion of the Cabinet. Supporters of the MLA passed a unanimous resolution demanding his inclusion. While talking to The Tribune, certain sarpanches said the Chief Minister had not recognised the significance of the district. They said the district, one time considered to be the stronghold of Mr G.S. Tohra, has now been converted into a stronghold of SAD. The workers said they would meet the Chief Minister for giving representation to the district. When contacted, Mr Shahpur while talking on phone said Mr Badal should honour the sentiments of the people of the district. He said Fatehgarh Sahib was a historical district having great significance and needs a lot of development but Mr Badal had completely ignored it. He said the people would give a representation to Mr Badal and it was up to him to decide. NANGAL: The leaders of the opposition parties condemned the Cabinet expansion by the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal. Mr Ravinvder Dhiwan, district General Secretary of the Congress, in a press statement issued on Friday said the expansion was suicidal for the financial condition of Punjab. He said the entire development work in the state had come to a standstill due to shortage of funds and the expansion at this time would only aggravate the situation. HOSHIARPUR: Mr Charanjit Singh Channi, MP, Mr Romesh Chander Dogra, MLA and President of District Congress Committee, Mr Ram Rattan, Senior Vice-President of the DCC, here in a press note on Saturday jointly condemned Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister, for inducting 15 MLAs into the Cabinet when the state was facing a serious financial crisis. They stated that despite the announcement for disbursement of salaries to all Punjab Government employees on December 24, 1999. The state government had failed in disbursing salaries to all its employees. They said on account of non-payments of the contractors' bills, all developmental activities had come to a standstill in the state. They alleged that the expansion was done to save the Shiromani Akali Dal which was on the brink of the division. PHILLAUR: The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee member, Mr Parminder Mehta, on Saturday condemned the Cabinet expansion by Mr Parkash Singh Badal and described this expansion as an unwanted burden on the state's economy. Talking to reporters here Mr Mehta said Mr Badal had expanded his Cabinet at a time when the state was passing through a financial crisis. He claimed that Rs 1.25 crore was to be spent on each minister annually and this would neither lead to good governance nor contribute to efficiency. |
It’s up to Hero now, says Amarinder PATIALA, Jan 1 — Punjab Pradesh Congress President Capt Amarinder Singh today said it was up to the Disciplinary Action Committee (DAC) to take action against party General Secretary Birdevinder Singh, for his recent criticism of party actions. Talking to newsmen here, Capt Amarinder Singh said it was upto DAC chief Harcharan Singh Hero to take cognisance of the utterances of Mr Birdevinder Singh on the issue of financial emergency. He made it clear that he had not recommended to the DAC to take action against the Congress General Secretary. He said Mr Hero was coming to Chandigarh tomorrow and would go into the issue himself. The PPCC chief, when asked about his reaction to Mr Birdevinder’s statement saying there was no need for the Congress to demand financial emergency in the state, said Mr Birdevinder Singh had not understood the issue properly. He said if a financial emergency was imposed, only development projects would be stopped. He said, however, there would be no bar on salaries, and that a financial regulator would take much needed corrective measures to bring the state out of the financial crisis. While referring to the action recommended by the Pradesh Congress against certain party leaders for anti-party activities during the recently concluded parliamentary elections, he said a report had already been submitted to the high command and follow-up action was likely to be taken soon. He said the Patiala District Congress Committee (Rural) had, however, recommended action against four Congress councillors who had voted against the Congress candidate in the council elections held recently to facilitate the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party-Akali Dal nominee DCC (Rural) President Hardyal Singh Kamboj had conducted an inquiry into the matter. The PPCC chief said organisational elections would be held in the state soon as envisaged in the Pachmari resolution. He said the PPCC would be pruned down to 31 members from its present strength of nearly 280. Though this may cause certain bad blood in the party, there was no choice as a decision in this regard had been taken by the high command. He had also directed all district Congress chiefs to send a report about the number of government properties which were being auctioned by the state government to raise money. He alleged that the government, instead of taking the interest of the exchequer in mind, was offloading its properties to its own party men and legislators. He dismissed talk that the party was not active in the state. He said the Sankalp Yatra had been organised recently in the state to generate brotherhood amongst all communities and instil national pride. Awareness seminars were also being held as part of the Sankalp Yatra. Besides this, the Congress was gearing up to fight the Nawanshahr assembly byelection, besides helping out the Haryana Congress during assembly elections being held there. |
MLA flays Badal over expansion AMRITSAR, Jan 1 — The BJP MLA from Amritsar, Mrs Laxmi Kanta Chawla, today flays the expansion of the Punjab ministry. “This shows there is no financial crisis the state as was being claimed”, she added in a statement. She expressed surprise that the expansion of the ministry was given preference over the non-payment of salaries, pensions grants to educational institutions and the execution of developmental works. She claimed that the salaries to teachers and old-age pensions were not given for the past six months and employees were not given DA instalments. She also criticised Mr Parkash Singh Badal of making jumbo-size Cabinet when one minister from each district was sufficient. |
Row over Sonia’s visit unfounded, says SGPC AMRITSAR, Jan 1 — The SGPC today accused former SGPC President Gurcharan Singh Tohra and some Congress leaders of raising a controversy over the visit to the Golden Temple by Congress President Sonia Gandhi on December 28 alleging that the SGPC did not allow her to go to Akal Takht for paying obeisance. Describing the controversy as “unfounded and unfortunate”, SGPC Secretary Gurbachan Singh Bachan said in a statement that remarks of Mr Tohra and others were creating unnecessary doubts in the minds of the Sikhs. He made it clear that the SGPC never prevented Ms Gandhi from going to Akal Takht and this was confirmed by state Congress Chief Amarinder Singh who had made it clear that Ms Gandhi had no programme to go to Akal Takht and nobody denied her permission to visit the Takht. Mr Bachan said those levelling such charges were doing so to settle score of political rivalry with the ruling party. Asking the political leaders to end the controversy, he said those having belief in “gurughar” should not indulge in such acts as it “effected religious sentiments of the Sikhs”. |
Dr J.S Gujral Faridkot varsity VC CHANDIGARH, Jan 1—Dr J.S Gujral, a former Dean of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), has been appointed as Vice Chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, by the Punjab Government. His appointment has been made for three years from the day he assumes office. Dr Gujral told TNS that he would assume office on January 3. His field of specialisation is cardiovascular and thoracic surgery. Dr Gujral did his MBBS from Medical College, Amritsar, in 1955 and his postgraduation (FRCS) from Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, in 1962. Before becoming Professor of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery in the PGIMER here, Dr Gujral served in Safdarjang Hospital in Delhi, Rajendra Hospital in Patiala and several hospitals in the U.K. from 1956 to 1962. He also remained Registrar of St Charles Hospital, London (a part of Hammer Smith Teaching group). He joined the PGIMER in March, 1964, and stayed on till March 31, 1993. He was also a member of board of studies of several educational institutions. Mr Gujral has been posted in place of Dr L.S. Chawla, who resigned a few weeks ago. Dr B.S. Tung, a Medical Superintendent in Radhasoami Hospital at Beas, was also offered the post of VC but he declined the offer. |
Living near palaces is hell PATIALA, Jan 1 — Marriage parties might be fun for the participants but for scores of people living around marriage palaces in this city, they are a nuisance. With music played at a loud pitch, feasting, dancing and bursting of crackers at the marriage palaces continuing well past midnight, life has become difficult for residents living nearby. The residents of Punjabi Bagh and Sant Nagar area living near the Shambagh, Raj Kamal and Khoobsurat Palace are the worst hit. Residents of Lehal living near Maharaja Palace have also complained of the same problem. The vehicles of marriage parties are parked well up to entrances and boundary walls of residential houses. While the rejoicing guests have a ball, the residents shut doors, windows and plug their ears to have rest or sleep. Apart from the ear-splitting noise, residents have to face litter and leftovers spread all around by the guests. The attitude of the administration has added insult to the injury. The residents are tired of making rounds of the Municipal Corporation and Deputy Commissioner’s offices, but till date they have only received assurances. Mr Tarlok Singh, President of the Punjabi Bagh Welfare Association, says: “Our life is a hell in such circumstances. We wait for noise-free evenings and peaceful nights.” Speaking on behalf of all the residential associations affected by the nuisance, Mr Tarlok Singh showed a file of correspondence with the authorities. He said the representations had not reaped any dividend. He said every Baraat is accompanied by mounted loudspeakers which are played at a deafening pitch. Further, the guests eat, drink and make merry on the roads. They even fire in the air, besides bursting crackers near our houses. Any effort to stop them is inviting trouble. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Jasbir Singh Bir, and the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation, Mr K.S. Kung, admit that their is a problem. Mr Kung said the road on which the marriage palaces are situated had been declared a commercial area. So, the palaces cannot be stopped from doing business. He said if some law and order problem is caused the district administration should check it. Mr Jasbir Singh Bir, however, said according to the Municipal Corporation Act, the corporation has the power to refrain the guests from causing nuisance to the public. He claimed that no one had approached him with the complaint but now that it had been brought to his notice he would take action. Mr Raj Sethi, manager, Shambagh Palace, said they were not responsible for the noise and the car parking. “When the music is played in the palaces we keep the volume at a level that it remains within the premises,” he said, adding that trouble is actually caused by loud music played by baraatis and the band wallahs over which the palace authorities have no control. Regarding the problem of the vehicles. Mr Sethi said earlier the vehicles were parked at the front entrance of the palaces which open on the busy Bhupindera road. The parked vehicles caused traffic jams there, so on the orders of the previous Deputy Commissioner, the vehicles were parked at the rear end. This caused problems to the residents. Mr Sethi added that they had kept security guards who regulate parking so that the entrances of the houses are not blocked. |
Merry makers turn rowdys AMRITSAR, Jan 1 — People celebrating arrival of new year in the city created rowdyism on the Lawrence road, Certain clubs and hotels resulting in 24 clashes, including one major clash resulting in injuries to 12 persons. In certain incidents clashers used hockey sticks, and broken bottles of liquor. Some cars and other vehicles were damaged, molestation of some women allegedly by drunk persons was also reported. In a major incident near a club outside the government colony on the Taylor Road one policeman was injured seriously as he was allegedly shot at by two scooter-borne persons. The SSP, Mr Parampal Singh Sidhu, told The Tribune that constable Rajesh Kumar, who was in plain clothes and off duty was involved in an altercation with the culprits after their scooters got damaged in a minor accident outside the club gates. The policeman was operated upon today in the Guru Nanak Dev hospital where he was admitted in a serious condition last night. His condition was still reported serious. Meanwhile merry makers who thronged in large number the Fashionable Lawrence Road to celebrate the occasion cared very little about the police arrangements and instructions and created free for all situation. They performed ‘bhangra’ at the stroke of zero hour and blasted crackers. The road was littered with broken glasses of liquor bottles. The celebrations continued till wee hours today. |
Special wagons sought to transport paddy PATIALA, Jan 1 — Shiromani Akali Dal working committee member Chajju Ram Sofat today demanded allocation of special wagons to transport unmilled paddy out of the state besides granting special incentives to export rice. In a statement here, Mr Sofat said at present around 70 lakh tonnes of paddy was lying unmilled in Punjab. He said the state should be allocated at least 1200 special loads of Railway wagons per month to meet the milling capacity available in the state. He said to improve the movement of rice and wheat road transport could be used from various centres in Punjab as it was available at rates which were almost similar to Railway freight. This practice had been followed in the past also and proved to be effective. He said, Mr Sofat said wheat lying in covered storage space should be transported on priority to facilitate the storage of rice. Mr Sofat said special incentives should be given to promote the export of rice which was lying in stores from last two to three years to facilitate the storage of fresh rice. Such measures have been taken by earlier governments to clear the old stocks of the FCI, he added. In a separate release, Mr Tarsem Saini, president, Punjab Rice Millers Association said the central government through a fresh communication to the state government had issued instructions to accept rice from the millers only in 50 kg packing instead of the practice prevailing for the past 20 years to deliver rice in the gunny bags supplied with paddy stocks. He said with this decision all gunny bags of 95 kg filling supplied to them with paddy stocks would have been retained by them and its cost would be recovered at the rates to be fixed by government. He said this belated decision had put the rice milling industry in jeopardy as the price of once used gunny bags supplied to them with paddy would come down in the market whereas the cost of 50 kg, bags would increase and the millers would suffer losses worth crore of rupees. Mr Saini appealed to Mr Madan Mohan Mittal, Punjab Food and Supplies Minister, that in wake of the decision millers of the state would not be in a position to run their mills any more and the milling work would be disrupted. He said on the one hand the millers of the state would have to face financial hardship and at the same time state agencies would also suffer losses worth billions due to non-milling and the economy of the state too would be hit. Mr Saini has also appealed to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal that like last year he should personally interact with the Union Government to protect the milling industry from closure and to curb their strategy to reduce the cultivation of paddy in the state which inter alia would also harm the interests of the farmers, who are already enjoying average economic status due to indebtedness. He said, the demands of the millers be got accepted by the central government immediately and steps to arrange creation of rooms on moving out the stocks from the state otherwise milling would not be possible and the millers would be forced to close down their units. |
Novel way to usher in New Year SANGRUR, Jan 1 — Over 100 youth led by Ms Gagan Geet Kaur took out a torchlight procession through main bazars and streets of the town at midnight yesterday to welcome the year 2000 shouting slogans of “Vande Mataram” and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and singing patriotic songs with a view to awaken feelings of patriotism and nationalism among people on the eve of the New Year. The processionists urged the people to welcome the New Year not by consuming liquors and watching TV shows but by taking a pledge to preserve the unity and integrity of the country and the Indian culture. Mr Vikas Partap, Additional Deputy Commissioner, who presided over the function administered the pledge to preserve the unity and integrity of the country. |
Test date but no date-sheet FAZILKA, Jan 1 — To rationalise the examination system, the Director, Public Instructions (Secondary), Punjab, has decided to hold house test for about 14 lakh students in 4,978 middle, high and senior secondary schools of the state studying in class VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X from January 3. All schools of the state have deposited the house-test fees, but surprisingly the Education Department has so far not issued a detailed date sheet of the house tests. This has put the students and their parents in a quandary. Like all previous years the government has declared the winter break from December 25 to 31. Hence in the prevailing situation with no date sheet available it is not clear to the students in which paper they shall have to appear on January 3. Moreover, the offices of the department shall remain close on January 1 and 2 on account of Saturday and Sunday. Prior to it the government had reportedly decided to conduct the house tests from December 26 in all schools and necessary instructions in this regard had been issued. However, on November 26, Mr Tota Singh, Education Minister, Punjab, at a meeting with the district education officers in Chandigarh postponed these house tests to the first week of January. It is believed that the exams were postponed as the government had not been able to make the necessary arrangements, which included printing 4.20 crore question papers. The students and their parents are a worried lot and apprehensive that the old situation may arise again, and house tests may be postponed. It is for the first time that the Punjab Government has decided to conduct house tests. Besides this, to check the menace of copying five sets of different question papers of each subject shall be provided to students in a row. Due to this there has been delay in making arrangements for conducting house tests in January. Majority of the teachers feel that such a delay shall have an adverse impact on the revision of the syllabus and preparation for the annual examination to be held in March. |
Artificial limbs unit set up KAPURTHALA, Jan 1 — ‘Attempt’ a social organisation in cooperation with “District Red Cross Society” has set up an artificial limb manufacturing unit here. The space has been provided by the District Red Cross Society in its building in local Shalamar garden. The unit was inaugurated today by Mr V.K. Singh, Deputy Commissioner at a function organised on this occasion. He announced that artificial limbs manufactured in this unit would be given to poor persons free of cost. Forty handicapped persons were provided with artificial limbs free of cost in the presence of the Deputy Commissioner. He said that limbs would be given to 200 persons till January 26 as measurements of these persons had already been taken. Dr D. Ghosh in charge of the unit told reporters that limbs would be provided to handicapped persons on no loss and no profit basis while the expenses for providing limbs to poor persons would be borne by District Red Cross Society. The society was planning to set up such units at Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur while its one unit was already operating in Ludhiana. Persons without hands and legs were fitted with artificial limbs, who were given training by a physiotherapist about limb’s movements. |
Bhakra gallery’s lock found open NANGAL, Jan 1 — The breaking of locks in the high security, 10th gallery of Bhakra dam has caused a flutter in the BBMB administration here. Almost all high officials of the BBMB have visited the site of the incident. According to sources, the lock of 10th gallery which goes up to the basement of the dam was found to be broken by the officials during their routine visit. Generally none of the worker is allowed to visit the gallery. This gallery contains the seismometers to detect earthquakes, according to the sources. Moreover, nothing seems to have been stolen from the gallery, as no complaint has been lodged in this regard at the local police station. The internal security of the dam has been beefed up after the incident. The sources said the administration here was suspecting the involvement of one of the workers working at the dam site for the incident. The only approach to the gallery was through the lifts meant for the workers. |
Martyr cremated with honours AMRITSAR, Jan 1 — Army jawan Lakhwinder Singh of the 27th Punjab Battalion, who was killed in Pakistan firing in the Jammu and Kashmir area on December 29 was cremated at his native village Bohey, near Baba Bakala today with full military honours. Sepoy Lakhwinder Singh, who was attached to the 7th Rashtriya Rifles as a commando was killed in an encounter with Pakistani raiders near village Sagar in Anantgarh area. His body wrapped in national flag was brought to his village by Army jawans, this morning. Sepoy Lakhwinder Singh is the 29th martyr from Amritsar district killed in Pakistani action in Kargil and other places since last year. He was only 24 and served the Army for four months. He leaves behind besides his old parents his young wife Harjit Kaur and a month-old daughter Mandeep Kaur. His pyre was lit his father and cremation was largely attended by senior Army, police and civil officials. Wreaths were placed on the body on behalf of the Army chief and the Punjab Governor. |
Zail Singh’s brother passes away SANDHWAN (Faridkot), Jan 1 (UNI) — Veer Singh, elder brother of former President Giani Zail Singh, died at his native Sandhwan village near Faridkot late this evening. Mr Joginder Singh, son of the late President, said his uncle Veer Singh died at the age of 90 after a brief illness. He is survived by two sons. The cremation will take place tomorrow at Sandhwan, according to family sources. Former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and former state minister Avtar Singh condoled the death. |
Salaries not paid PATIALA, Jan 1 — The Government College Teachers Association of Mohindra College here today said that the staff of the college had not received salary for the month of December. Mr Anoop Singh Virk, President of the association, said this was in sharp contrast to the state government’s assurances that salaries to all the government employees would be disbursed by December 24. Mr Virk said the non-payment of salaries had affected the new millennium celebrations planned by the employees. It had been particularly harsh on the class IV employees. He said the employees had approached the district treasury office several times for the release of salaries but the treasury officer said that they had not received the budget for the salaries |
Cops booked on rape charge TARN TARAN, Jan 1 — After a gap of eight days, the Khadoor Sahib police station registered a case against two policemen under sections 376, 342, 34 IPC, for allegedly raping a 25-year-old married daughter of a poor resident of Darapur village near Verowal. Mr Jagdish Kumar, SSP, said here yesterday that the case had been registered against Gurbachan Singh, ASI in charge Khadoor Sahib (Verowal) police post and Balraj Singh, head constable, who had allegedly raped the girl on the night of December 22 by forcibly entering the house of the poor man. The poor man alleged that he along with his wife and son was locked in a room and his daughter was raped by the two policemen for five hours. They were threatened with dire consequences if they disclosed the matter to anyone. CPM workers along with Ms Parkash Kaur, a member of the gram panchayat, raised their voice against the alleged rape, forcing the police to register a case. The victim was medically examined in an Amritsar hospital. |
Gang of thieves busted PATIALA, Jan 1 — The city police today claimed to have achieved a major success by busting a gang of thieves allegedly responsible for as many as 21 thefts in the recent past. A police official disclosed that five members of the gang have been arrested while their leader Jatinder is absconding. Judicial magistrate Preeti Sahni remanded the five accused — Raju, Arun Kumar, Suresh Kumar, Aklesh and Prem Chand — in police custody for three days. The police said the gang members, most of whom were labourers, had confessed their involvement in as many as 21 thefts. He said goods worth Rs 2 lakh have been recovered from the accused. They were nabbed at a checkpost at the outskirts by the police here last night. The police said while goods like jewellery, imported watches, blankets, and expensive sarees were recovered from the accused, most of the expensive jewellery was still with the gang leader. According to the police, the modus operandi of the thieves was to look for houses locked during day time. Such houses were convenient to break into. |
Phulkari artisans paid peanuts PATIALA, Jan 1 — Even as Punjabis get set to rule the world in the next millennium, scant attention is being paid to its traditional phulkari art. This has already lost its purity and been hit by intense competition, reducing profits and making its artisans virtual beggars. Phulkari is identified with Patiala as it was here in the refugee township of Tripri that it took rebirth after Partition. Women migrating from Bahawalpur in Pakistan took it up as a cottage industry. Since then the industry has grown manifold with more than one lakh suits embroidered with phulkari and thousands of dupattas and household linen being produced in the city every month. Even though the spread of the craft has resulted in employment for thousands of women with nearly every other household in Tripri taking up the craft, intense competition has resulted in phulkari work selling cheap. The artisans are being paid a pittance. An exclusive survey by the Tribune revealed that women are paid around Rs 45 as embroidery charges per suit and around Rs 500 as labour charges for a dupatta taking one month to complete. Shanti Devi, 75-year of age, who has been practising the craft for nearly 45 years. Is among the few expert embroiders left. “It has taken me one month to embroider this dupatta for a shopkeeper in Adalat Bazar for which I will get only Rs 500 even though it will be sold for around Rs 2000. Even out of my share, I have to spend around Rs 50 on threads,” she added. Shanti Devi is resigned to her fate and does not militate against being paid less. She wants to remember happier times like the Rs 60 per day she got for a week from a Delhi trader who wanted samples of the craft. “Sadly, he did not come back”, she added. Walking through the streets of Tripri one comes across many other women embroidering clothes while seated on cots in the streets. Most are reluctant to tell how much they earn. It is reportedly around Rs 10 to Rs 12 per day. Prodding reveals they have no choice. If they do not work at these prices, the work will go to others or even village women. It is not the women alone who are caught up in the competition. So are the small shopkeepers who supply them the cloth and threads. A shopkeeper said there had been a virtual mushrooming of people doing business in phulkari. As a result, profit margins had been reduced to around Rs 10 per suit. He said those doing business in large volumes could sustain themselves, but it was difficult for the others to make ends meet. He added that phulkari traders were now solely dependent on government exhibitions. Guddi, daughter of the doyen of phulkari art in Patiala — Kundan Devi — echoes the same views. She says there has been a sea change in phulkari since the time of her mother who started phulkari in Patiala and now. She herself is disillusioned with the art and has wound up 90 per cent of her business. She says commission from exporters and others is so less that she has got her son to open a handloom shop in the same premises. “Though he has learnt this business, I feel he would be better off doing something else”, she adds. Guddi says in such circumstances, genuine or skilled labour cannot exist and she foresees a degeneration in the quality of work. Social worker N.S. Sodhi says there is an urgent need to organise the women. He said a cooperative of the women embroiderers could be formed in which they could be equal partners which could result in better quality work being sold directly to consumers at prices in competition with the shopkeepers. This would remove the middle man specially in case of big and export orders. A service outlet could also be opened by the cooperative, he added. |
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