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| Sunday, August 13, 2000, Chandigarh, India    |
Can’t pull out of NDA govt: Badal 8-yr-old boy kidnapped, murdered BJP man wins by single vote Japanese team
touring villages
Industry forum to observe bandh Phone exchange -MC row over octroi
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AISSF bandh
call for Aug 14 Review controversial publications: Kiranjot Conference on construction industry in Nov Raids on 2 transport offices Residents demand bypass Scheduled Caste officers allege victimisation Devotees on fast against demolition move Website on Punjab launched
Woman stripped, beaten up Team constituted
to trace trader
RECs may fill vacant seats Dental college 'fleeces' students College staff seek full salary B.Ed entrance test
on Aug 20 
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Can’t pull out of NDA govt: Badal HOSHIARPUR, Aug 12 — Despite its opposition against the inclusion of Udham Singh Nagar in the newly proposed Uttaranchal state, the Shiromani Akali Dal has no other option but to continue supporting the NDA government in the
Centre. This was stated by the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, while talking to mediapersons at Gurdwara Such Sahib at Mandialan village, about 15 km from here, before listening to the problems of sarpanches and panches of Shamchaurasi segment in the sangat darshan programme today. He said almost all constituents of the NDA government differing opinions with the working of the central government for their individual matters but they could not afford to withdraw their support to it as all of them were well aware that Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee was the only person in the country who could run the show in the prevailing conditions. He said the inclusion of Udham Singh Nagar in Uttaranchal state was done against the wishes of its inhabitants. The formation of Uttaranchal state was purely on the basis of hilly area of UP whereas Udham Singh Nagar was totally located in the plains. There was a lot of difference between the culture of hills and plain areas. People from other states and from all walks of life had been settled in Udham Singh Nagar. They were against its inclusion as the entire trade and industrial units like sugar mills and rice shellers were mostly dependent on the agricultural growth of Udham Singh Nagar and its economy was totally in tune with that of the plains. Referring to the controversy over the implementation of the Janjua Commission report, he said it would be implemented after complying with the legal procedure. The Chief Minister said Thein Dam had been completed now and the storage of water in its reservoir was being done. He had approached Mr Vajpayee who had agreed to inaugurate this prestigious project in September. He said he had given clearance for the construction of bridges at Naushera Pattan on the Beas river and Rahon and Sidhwan on the Sutlej river with a cost of Rs 150 crore. The construction work would be started soon, he added. He said almost all buses of Punjab Roadways would be replaced with new ones and construction of new bus stands would be done on a war footing throughout the state. Mr Badal said he had granted sanction for the construction of a mini secretariat with modern amenities at Hoshiarpur for which land had already been acquired. The construction work would soon be started. Earlier, addressing sarpanches and panches of 150 panchayats of Shamchaurasi segments, Mr Badal said holding of sangat darshan programme was not aimed at any political gain. These were only being organised to know the problems of the people of rural areas and make overall rural development. He announced he had instructed the PSEB authorities to make round-the-clock power supply to Gurdwara Such Sahib, Mandialan. Referring to the demand of Sant Inder Dass, head of the dera, regarding making a railway station at Mandialan village, he said he would take up this issue with Ms
Mamata Banerjee, Union Railway Minister, shortly. Before coming to the venue of the sangat darshan programme, Mr Badal laid the foundation stone of Rs 7.52 crore sewerage disposal plant of Hoshiarpur city at Mehgowal village. |
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8-yr-old boy kidnapped, murdered ROPAR, Aug 12 — Close on the heels of the kidnapping and killing of innocent children in Jalandhar and Khanna an eight-year boy, Mahesh Kumar, of Nurpur Bedi has been killed allegedly by his kidnapper. The body of Mahesh, a student of Class III, was recovered from the Bhakra Canal near Majri village in Morinda yesterday. The SSP, Ropar, Mr GPS Bhullar, said the body of the boy could be recovered only after his alleged kidnapper, Avtar Singh of Kheri village in Nurpur Bedi was arrested. As per the police investigation Mahesh Kumar had left his house at about 7 a.m. on July 7, 2000, to go to school when the suspect Avtar Singh allegedly kidnapped him for ransom. When Mahesh Kumar did not reach his father’s shop till 2 p.m. he went home to inquire about his son. Not finding him at home Mahesh’s father went to his school, where he was told that his boy hadn’t turned up at school that day. The boy’s parents lodged a complaint about their missing son at Nurpur Bedi police station. The parents came to know about the kidnapping of their son the next day when they received a call from the kidnapper. The kidnapper allegedly asked the boy’s father to come to a local temple with the ransom of Rs 10 lakh. But suspecting the police involvement the kidnapper did not turn up at the scheduled site. The police then traced the call of the kidnapper to a local public call office (PCO). The owners of the PCO identified Avtar Singh as the person who had made the call, after which he was arrested by the police. After initial interrogation, Avtar Singh confessed having kidnapped and killed Mahesh Kumar. A case under Section 363, 364 and 302 has been registered against him. The SSP said the police was suspecting the involvement of some other persons also in the crime. The body of the boy has been sent for post-mortem to ascertain the cause of his death. |
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BJP man wins by single vote ABOHAR, Aug 12 — The BJP candidate, Mr Satish Narang, was opposed by the SAD councillor, Mr Bhopal Singh, alias Bhola, for election to the post of vice-president of the local municipal council last evening. Mr Narang won by a single vote. At least three councillors, besides the Akalis, voted in favour of the SAD nominee. Two days ago the president of the council in a tactical move had succeeded in winning the vote of confidence by show of hands. He had reportedly insisted that the much delayed election for the post of vice-president be held after the vote of confidence, the meeting for which was requisitioned on the request made to the Deputy Commissioner by the Congress and BSP members of the 31-member council. Mr Arya, sources said, feared that he would be dropped if election of the vice-president was held earlier. The same was delayed for three months. Even as the meeting called to seek the vote of confidence the plea for allowing secret polling was disallowed, despite strong protests from the opposition. Last evening the BJP leaders were surprised when the name of the SAD councillor, Mr Bhopal Singh, was proposed to oppose the candidature of the BJP nominee by another SAD councillor, Mr Harcharan Singh Pappu. It was seconded by dissident BJP councillor Suresh Phutela. The name of Mr Narang was proposed by the council president, Mr Babu Ram Arya and seconded by the city BJP president, Mr Pramil Kalani. Two BJP councillors, Mr Charan Dass Nagpal and Mrs Jamna Devi, were brought to the Town Hall in a car by former BJP MLA Arjun Singh Siyag who had been leading the dissidents. Both the councillors put the BJP leaders to embarrassment by sitting with Congress councillors. The Naib Tehsildar and an ASI asked all political workers to leave and bolted the doors of the Town Hall before the polling. The polling and counting took half an hour. Uncertainty prevailed outside the hall. Large number of dissident BJP workers and a majority of SAD office-bearers had gathered there, besides supporters of Mr Narang. Mr Narang on being declared the winner, was garlanded by his supporters and relatives who distributed sweets. They raised slogans in Mr Narang’s favour. None of the senior BJP leaders accompanied him in the victory procession. Mr Narang had been working as acting president of the council. Mr Arya was reportedly not in favour of his election as vice-president. Dissidents and SAD councillors were known to be his close friends. Mr Vimal Thathal and Mr Mahender Kumar, leaders of the Congress and BSP groups in the council, said they had succeeded in bringing out the fissures in the SAD-BJP alliance in the hometown of Mr Brij Lal Rinwa, state president of the BJP, who had allegedly forced the BJP and SAD councillors to raise hands in favour of Mr Arya during the vote of confidence. Had secret balloting been allowed, the president could have been dethroned, they claimed. Meanwhile, BJP secretaries of the local and district units today said disciplinary action would be taken against party councillors who had voted against the official nominee. They had no answer to the question how they could be identified. Since all senior SAD leaders, including the district secretary, was present at the municipal complex, no action against the SAD councillors is expected. Some of them had earlier demanded that the post of the vice-president be given to the SAD. |
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Japanese team
touring villages JATTANA KHURD (Mansa), Aug 12 — A team of Japan Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) has been touring various pockets of Punjab and Haryana to assess the economic position of farmers who have been carrying out cultivation with modern means. Mr Yoshizawa Kenichi of JBC, who heads the three-member team, talking to TNS said the primary aim of the tour was to study the economic position of farmers of Punjab and Haryana after the green revolution. He said the team had been studying whether excessive use of pesticides and insecticides on the cotton crop had put the farmers in debt. He said the team was also studying why farmers of Punjab and Haryana had been unable to control pest attack on the cotton crop. Mr Kenichi, who interviewed a number of farmers of different villages of Bathinda and Mansa districts, said the team would find out the reasons which had driven farmers in Punjab to suicide. The team would study the problem of water logging and salinity in underground water and its subsequent effect on the crops. For this purpose, the team would visit various pockets of Punjab and Haryana where the problem was severe. The team had avoided official help and interacted with the farmers directly to get first-hand information regarding the plight of agriculture and farmers, Mr Kenichi explained. The team was studying the methods applied for sowing, the type seeds used, the method of application of pesticides and insecticides and harvesting. The team would also study the system created in Punjab and Haryana for storage of foodgrain and other items. Mr Devinder Sharma, an eminent expert in agriculture, who accompanied the team to rural areas, said various teams of JBC had been touring developing countries to study their status of agriculture. |
Industry forum to observe bandh PATIALA, Aug 12 — The Punjab Industry and Trade forum will observe a Punjab bandh on August 23 in protest against the steep hike effected by the Punjab Government in the power tariff a press note said. Earlier, leading industrial and trade organisations of the state had planned to hold a protest rally in front of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) head office on July 21, but were restrained to do so after the PSEB authorities procured a court order staying the rally. The forum has condemned the steep hike in power tariff, ranging between 8 to 26 per cent for industrial, commercial and domestic consumers. The forum urged the state government to defer the implementation of the hike and asked it to hold talks with representatives of various industrial and trade units before actually implementing the hike. The forum urged the PSEB management to arrive at a consensus acceptable to both industrial and domestic consumers. The forum took strong exception to the pilferage of coal from the Ropar Thermal Plant to the tune of Rs 30 crore. The members alleged that it was with the connivance of the board authorities that such a large stock of coal vanished. The forum asked the government to fix responsibility and bring out the truth to expose the
wrongdoing. |
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Phone exchange-MC row over octroi KAPURTHALA, Aug 12 — A plan to replace old machinery with latest machinery at the local telephone exchange is being held up because of a dispute over the payment of octroi on that machinery being brought into the municipal limits of the Kapurthala town. The Kapurthala telephone exchange, having a capacity of 10,000 connections, is fitted with RLU (Remote Line Unit) machinery and is attached with Jalandhar’s main exchange. STD facility is being provided to subscribers from the Jalandhar and in the event of disconnection of telephone connection, the subscribers have to go to Jalandhar for restoration. If any mistake crepts in bill the same is to be rectified from the office of General Manager (T), Jalandhar. Keeping in view of the expansion of the telephone network and with the setting up RCF and science city at Kapurthala there is a need for setting up a separate office of General Manager (T) at Kapurthala. To replace the old machinery with the latest, the Telecom Department has brought the latest equipments from an internationally reputed firm, Seimens, for installation in the telephone exchange but it is held up in the stores of the Telecom Department at Jalandhar over the dispute of payment of octroi for bringing it in the Kapurthala municipal limits, the STM (sychronous transport module) is being introduced in the Kapurthala telephone exchange which will operate independently from the main exchange at Jalandhar. Earlier, a dispute had arised when 70 per cent of the machinery came to Kapurthala but the machinery was stopped outside the municipal limits for a long period. Ultimately the telecom department paid the octroi under protest as machinery was getting damaged. The Telecom Department is insisting that octroi cannot be levied on the machinery but the local municipal council is not allowing the 30 per cent of remaining machinery worth crores of rupees into Kapurthala town without the payment of octroi resulting this rest of the machinery is being kept in store in Jalandhar because of the dispute. The dispute was brought to the notice of Deputy Commissioner V.K. Singh who directed the local municipal authorities to allow the Telecom Department to bring the machinery in Kapurthala vide letter dated 12th June, 2000 taking a bond from the department which was complied with, but the council still insists on the payment of octroi or machinery if it is to be brought into Kapurthala town. The telecom officials expressed the fear that if the machinery is not allowed inside Kapurthala, it may be transferred to some other place which would hamper the installation of latest equipment at the Kapurthala telephone exchange. Because of installation of RLU machinery in the local exchange, the telephone service remains faulty, the subscribers complain. The officials say that the Municipal Council, Sultanpur Lodhi, has recently allowed the Telecom Department to bring new machinery in the Sultanpur Lodhi for installation in exchange without payment of octroi. This dispute over the payment ultimately effected the interest of the general public. |
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AISSF bandh
call for Aug 14 AMRITSAR, Aug 12 — The All-India Sikh Students Federation yesterday gave a call for a complete bandh in educational institutions in Punjab on August 14 to express sympathy with the Punjabi settlers in Udham Singh
Nagar, which has been included in the new hill state of Uttaranchal. The federation’s president, Mr Harminder Singh Gill, in a statement said the decision for the call was taken after a four-hour meeting of the central committee which was also attended by federation activists. At the meeting it was felt that the Punjab Chief Minister had betrayed the interests of the Punjabi settlers in Udham Singh Nagar. The federation, he said, had further decided to resist the inclusion of Udham Singh Nagar in the new state. The federation criticised SAD for drifting away from its stand that it would withdraw support to the BJP in case Udham Singh Nagar was included in the new state. |
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Review controversial
publications: Kiranjot AMRITSAR, Aug 12 — Bibi Kiranjot Kaur, former executive member of the SGPC and granddaughter of Master Tara Singh, has urged the SGPC to withdraw or review all books published by the SGPC on controversial matter. Welcoming the decision of the SGPC President, Bibi Jagir Kaur, to refer the controversial version of “Sachi Sakhi” to the Dharam Parchar Committee for review, Bibi Kiranjot Kaur said the SGPC should identify those elements who were causing harm to the Sikh Panth. She was referring to some derogatory references to Master Tara Singh in the book. She said the original “Sachi Sakhi” did not contain controversial references to Master Tara Singh but these were added in the subsequent version. |
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Conference on construction industry in Nov CHANDIGARH, Aug 12 — To discuss the various aspects of construction industry in India, the Institution of Engineers (India), (IEI), is organising an international conference on the Panjab University campus from November 18 to 20 this year. To be organised for the first time in the north, the objective of conference is to discuss infrastructure development, disaster management, environment and its relationship with the construction industry to meet the challenges posed by the economic development in the country. The conference will be attended by 1000 odd delegates from India and abroad. A plan would be chalked out to help in bringing about interaction among the policy makers, financing agencies and other professional bodies. Many eminent engineers will also give lectures. This information was given by Mr Jagman Singh, the President of IEI, speaking to media persons here. An exhibition is also being organised by associates of the IEI. The product profile for display-cum-demonstration will comprise construction technologies and methods, construction machinery and equipment, materials and chemicals, building services including electrical, airconditioning, security equipment, fabrication and erection of structures. There will be a display of devices related to power generation, construction of roads, bridges,
high-rise structures and commercial complexes, communications and environment around these structures. The event will also concentrate on disaster management and environment management. Various systems and instruments to forecast earthquake disaster and safety measures, monitoring earthquake and other natural calamities, relief measure services for cyclone, floods and man made disasters will be demonstrated in the exhibition. For environment management, eco friendly building system, green production technology, industrial pollution and recycling of industrial and other waste, technologies and equipment to check air, water and noise pollution will also be exhibited. The exhibition will be participated by Central and states government organisations, public sector undertakings, large, medium and small scale enterprises from the private sector besides a number of professional organisations, including machinery and materials manufacturers, architects, designers, engineers, interior decorators, policy makers, Central and state government development institutions. The conference has been sponsored by the Ministry of Railways, Ircon International Limited, National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, Delhi Metro rail Corporation, National Thermal Power Corporation and many other leading organisations of India and abroad. The institute has already received 105 technical papers on various themes of the conference. Raids on 2 transport offices FEROZEPORE, Aug 12 — Following reports of registration of stolen vehicles, two simultaneous raids were conducted at the district transport offices in Ferozepore and Muktsar by the Vigilance Bureau teams. The record pertaining to the registration of vehicles and cash dealing has been seized by the raiding parties. This follows departmental source reports — indicating irregularities in cash dealings of the transport offices — reaching the local Vigilance Bureau office. Although the Ferozepore range Superintendent of Police (Vigilance), Mr Hardyal Singh Mann, confirmed the raids in the two districts, he did not elaborate on the matter. As the documents seized are still being scrutinised, the details of irregularities, if at all detected, are not yet known. It is however learnt that the Vigilance Bureau is acting on reports indicating registration of some stolen vehicles, besides irregularities in cash dealings. Apart from registration record, the cash chests have also been inspected. It is learnt that a team handed by the DSP, Mr Baljit Singh, conducted a raid at the local transport office, where the staff members did not cooperate on the plea that they were pre-occupied with preparations for the Independence Day celebrations. The team sent to the Muktsar transport office was headed by Inspector Harinderpal Singh.
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Residents demand bypass GARHSHANKAR: The traffic problem is grave here. The main market is the only way of going to Jammu from Chandigarh. There is also a level-crossing in the middle of the town. If the gates at this crossing are closed even for a short while, long queues of vehicles form on both sides, adding to the chaos. A few years ago the then SDM, Mr Satwant Singh Johal, had planned to construct a bypass, but the scheme could not be finalised due to the lack of funds. Residents have demanded the early construction of a bypass. * * * Residents are unhappy over the failure of the state Health Department to provide the DPT vaccine for children. They allege that the vaccine has been out of stock in government hospitals and dispensaries in this area for the past two months. Meanwhile, patients and their attendants have complained that toilets at the local Civil Hospital are not kept clean. Besides, there is a lot of wild growth near the boundary of the hospital, increasing the mosquito menace. * * * The stormwater drainage system is poor here. Various areas get virtually inundated when it rains heavily. Among the worst affected localities are Deep Colony and Ambedkar Nagar. * * * In 1998 the then Deputy Commissioner, Mr Som Parkash, laid the foundation stone of a mortuary, but work on it is yet to begin. The present mortuary is in a dilapidated condition, lacking even the basic facilities of water and electricity. Moreover, it is situated near a school. Residents have demanded the completion of the mortuary project. Scheduled Caste officers allege victimisation CHANDIGARH, Aug 12 — Scheduled Caste officers, who held a convention here today under the banner of the Punjab State Scheduled Castes officers Association headed by Mr Rakesh Ahir, said that the Punjab Government was victimising and harassing them. They said the state government was not sincerely implementing the reservation policy. With today’s convention, Scheduled Caste officers have opened a front against the Punjab Government. The confrontation of the officers has started with the government because they (Scheduled Caste officers) feel that the government was deliberately resorting to “wrong” implementation of the Janjua case judgement. The convention, in which Scheduled Caste officers from all districts participated, passed four resolutions urging the Punjab Government to stop the practice of downgrading the annual confidential report (ACR) of Scheduled Caste officers. They sought the protection of their legal right of seniority, promotion and placement. They also demanded the implementation of the Janjua case judgement in letter and spirit and to stop misrepresentation of its contents. The Association also urged the Punjab Governor to open a special cell in Raj Bhavan to remove the grievances of reserved categories. They also condemned those general category employees who were involved in the gherao of the house of Mr Swarna Ram, Cabinet minister, and sought action against such employees. A spokesman for the Association told media persons after the convention that the Chief Minister had set up a committee on June 26. Mr Charanjit Singh Atwal, Speaker, Punjab Vidhan Sabha, and ministers — Mr Gurdev Singh Badal, Mr Gobind Singh Kanjla, Mr Swarna Ram, Mr Sarwan Singh and the Advocate General, Mr H. S. Mattewal, were members of the committee to resolve the grievances of Scheduled Caste employees. But nothing had been done in this connection so far. He alleged that the government was patronising the general category employees and misrepresenting the facts in the courts to favour non-Scheduled Caste employees. Ministers and MLAs belonging to Scheduled Castes had also given a memorandum to the Chief Minister highlighting the problems faced by Scheduled Caste employees but the government did not take any note of it. The spokesman said that the Association would approach the President of India, Prime Minister, Chief Justice of Supreme Court, National Commission for SC and STs and Governor of Punjab to seek justice for the Scheduled Caste employees. Among those who spoke at the convention were Mr Rakesh Ahir, President of the Punjab Scheduled Castes Officers Association, its general secretary, Dr Mewa Singh Sonar and finance secretary, Mr Shesh Pal. Representatives of other ogranisations including Mr Jasbir Singh Pal, Mr Bant Singh, Mr Karanvir Singh, Mr Piara Singh, Dr Joginder Singh, Mr Karnail Singh Sahota, Mr Dev Raj , Dr G.S.Preet and Dr M.L.Puri also addressed the convention. |
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Devotees on fast against demolition move SANGRUR, Aug 12 — An 11-member group of devotees of the local Mangla Devi temple, led by Mr Vinod Kumar Vodha, president of the Yuvak Mandir Sudhar Sabha of the temple, today began a chain fast in front of the temple to protest against the proposed demolition of a kothi, adjoining the Mangla Devi temple, by the PUDA. The sabha and the devotees claimed that this kothi was a part of the temple where priests lived during the regime of Jind state while the queens of the Jind rulers entered the temple from the kothi side to worship the ‘devi’. Besides, the kothi had many other religious symbols which proved that it was a part of the temple. The kothi had also a well which was later converted into a ‘garki’ (sewage dump) when officers started living in it, they claimed. Mr Vodha said this chain fast by the devotees would continue indefinitely till the acceptance of their demands. He also said a senior patron of the sudhar sabha, Mr Chand Parkash Maghan, would start an indefinite fast from August 15 to fight for this holy cause. He also charged the PUDA authorities that they were creating tension in the town by making efforts to take possession of the kothi, forcibly. He said religious minded people and the sudhar sabha would not allow the PUDA authorities to hurt the religious feelings of the people. He also claimed that their agitation would remain peaceful. He further said the devotees and the sabha appealed to the state government to hand over kothi to the Mangla Devi temple as the temple as well as the kothi, both belonged to government. |
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Website on Punjab launched CHANDIGARH, Aug 12 — The Union Minister of Sports and Mines, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, launched a new website on Punjab — justpunjab.com — here this afternoon. Conceived and designed by two young entrepreneurs — Mr Satinder Singh and Mr Amardeep Singh Tiwana — the site would feature business, news, education, government and administration, religion, places of interest and folklore. Visitors to the website would also get complete information on art, culture and heritage of Punjab. Besides, it would work as a complete guide on entertainment, law, marriages, jobs and travel. Mr Dhindsa said such websites would bridge the information gap among youngsters, especially of Punjabi immigrants. Such websites would provide them information regarding their roots. He also wanted that software in Punjabi should be developed to facilitate the use of Internet in Indian languages. Both Mr Satinder Singh and Mr Amardeep Singh said their website would be a global gateway to Punjab market. They plan to cover Punjab and Delhi before extending it to the USA, Canada and Europe in next six months. |
Karnataka MLAs visit gurdwara ROPAR, Aug 12 (PTI) — A seven-member committee of legislators from Karnataka paid obeisance at Takht Kesgarh Sahib in Anandpur Sahib hear today. Legislators, along with their families, prayed at the shrine, the venue of Khalsa tercentenary celebrations last year. The group comprises a committee of the Karnataka Assembly which is studying development works related to women and children being undertaken by the state authorities. |
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Punjabi cell shifted PATIALA, Aug 12 — The Punjabi cell of the Punjab Languages Department located at Chandigarh has been shifted from its present location in Sector-17 E to 1062/1063, Sector-22B, according to a press release of the
department. |
Woman stripped, beaten up LUDHIANA, Aug 12 — A woman was reportedly stripped and beaten up by a police officer and a sarpanch while she was alone at her house in Jhamat village, about 30 km from here, on August 6. The 35-year-old victim, who was admitted to the L.M. Civil Hospital here yesterday, said that her husband, Harnek Singh, had a property dispute with the Sarpanch of Jaghera village, Malkit Singh. She alleged that on the fateful day the sarpanch along with the SHO of Malaud police station, Hari Mittal and about 20 other persons barged into her house when she was all alone and demanded that they vacate the house. When she refused to concede their demand, the two beat her up and stripped her naked. She was then admitted to the Civil Hospital, Khanna. Since suitable treatment could not be provided there, she had to shift to the Civil Hospital Ludhiana. She alleged that though she had approached all senior police officers, no action was being taken against the suspects nor was any FIR registered. |
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Team constituted
to trace trader KAPURTHALA, Aug 12 — Mr Iqbal Singh, SSP, has
constituted a special team headed by Mr Tulsi Ram, SP (D), to trace
the whereabouts of Mr Jagtar Singh, an animal trader of Darida Rehana
village, Hoshiarpur district, who has been missing since July 31 from
Khojewal village of the district. In a press note issued today, the
SSP said Mr Jagtar Singh had come to Kapurthala on his scooter for
purchasing buffaloes and was carrying Rs 1.10 lakh. His servant Resham
Singh was accompanying him. After purhcasing a buffalo he dropped
his servant at the dera of Resham Singh and went to Wadala Khurd
village to meet Kewal Singh but did not return. The police has
registered a murder case in this connection. |
RECs may fill vacant seats JALANDHAR, Aug 12 — At least 500 seats in the Punjab quota lying vacant in colleges affiliated with Punjab Technical University (PTU) are likely to be thrown open to students from other states. According to the state government policy, 85 per cent seats for different engineering courses in the PTU-affiliated colleges are meant for students belonging to Punjab. The rest of 15 per cent seats are for students from other states, including union territories. There are at least 3000 seats in engineering and technical streams in different PTU colleges of which 500 are lying vacant in the slot meant for students of Punjab, even after the completion of first counselling on August 7. No seat, however, has been left vacant in the category meant for students of other states. Last year, too, the PTU colleges had to start the academic session with 600 seats vacant since there were no clear guidelines till the end of 1999 on the part of the state government regarding filling of such seats. By the time the government had contemplated giving the nod to the PTU authorities to fill the seats with students from other states, a major part of the academic session was over. Faced with a similar situation and to overcome the problem of shortage of eligible candidates this year, the Punjab Technical University is contemplating approaching the states government to give its nod for filling the seat with eligible aspirants from other states. “We are going to write to the state government and hope it will grant permission before the onset of second counselling”, said a senior PTU functionary. According to Dr H.S. Sagar, Principal, Regional Engineering College here, the number of vacant seats could even cross the 600 mark. “The picture will be clear only after second counselling which is likely to take place on August 21 or 23, he said. A number of reasons, including the recent fee hike by the local REC and popularity of computer and information technology courses, are responsible for the current situation. According to PTU sources, the recent fee hike has made the local REC as one of the costliest in the country. While other RECs charge an annual fee not exceeding Rs 10,000, an amount of Rs 30,000 is being charged by the local REC as annual fee. The issue of fee hike had figured at the July 7 meeting of principals in Delhi. The Education Secretary had then directed all RECs not to charge an annual fee exceeding Rs 10,000. |
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Dental college
‘fleeces’ students PATIALA, Aug 12 — Parents of students of Baba Jaswant Singh Dental College, Ludhiana have lodged a complaint against the overcharging of fees at the time of admission. In a letter to the Vice-Chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Science the aggrieved parents said the management of the dental college was charging a tuition fee of Rs 18,000 per annum as against Rs 11,000 per annum, which was the fee structure notified by the Punjab Government. Even the hospital fee being charged was double the amount, the letter said. Besides this, the college demanded Rs 35,000 under the category of miscellaneous fee. As for the paid seats, the college authorities demanded Rs 35,000 material charges per annum and Rs 1,00,000 cash or Rs 2,25,000 bank guarantee for three years’ tuition fees which was not required as fee notification, the letter added. |
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College staff seek full salary BATHINDA, Aug 12 — Members of the teaching faculty of the local Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa Girls College have urged the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, to make arrangements for payment of full salaries to them by the college authorities. Addressing a press conference here today, Mr Y.R. Handa, president of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union (PCCTU), Mrs Jatinder Kaur and Dr Parminder Kaur, president and secretary, respectively of the college unit of the PCCTU, alleged that for the past five years the teachers here had not been paid full salaries. They further alleged that whenever they tried to speak against this injustice they were threatened that the college would be disaffiliated from Punjabi University, Patiala, and they would lose their jobs. They demanded that they would be given the total amount which had been illegally deducted from their salaries in the past five years with interest. The employees should be paid salaries through page account cheques. Apart from it, they demanded that the teachers be paid salaries according to the new pay scales of the UGC. Mrs D.K. Mann, Principal, when contacted, said she was not a part of the management and she could not comment on this issue. No office-bearer of the management could be contacted. |
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B.Ed entrance test
on Aug 20 PATIALA, Aug 12 — The entrance test for admission to the two- year B.Ed course through correspondence at Punjabi University will be conducted on August 20. Dr Tarlok Singh, co-ordinator of the test, has said 17 centres have been set up in different parts of the city. He added that the roll numbers to the eligible candidates had been despatched and all necessary arrangements for the smooth conduct of the test had been finalised. This was stated in a press note issued by the university here yesterday. |
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