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| Wednesday, August 30, 2000, Chandigarh, India    |
SAD may field Dhindsa’s son
Sukhbir makes unity efforts Victims of bank robbery cremated Disease threat to milch cattle |
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Steps to reintroduce flying at aerodrome Set up anti-terrorist courts, says Bitta Punjab withdraws
reversion orders Bar divided over judge’s remarks Chaurasia mesmerises
‘Virasat’ audience SHSAD to gherao
Punjab Assembly Fashion show held
despite ban
Jail warden remanded
in police custody Ten murders in 15 days Explain inaction on missing man, SHO told
Chintpurni Trust to
set up college PUTA elections on Sept 21 
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SAD may field Dhindsa’s son CHANDIGARH, Aug 29 — What is Mr Parkash Singh Badal’s first love? “Elections”. This he admitted today with a big smile. Even his political rivals agree that Mr Badal enjoys taking part in elections. It “frees” him from the drudgery of files and office work with which he is never at ease, say his close associates. Talking to TNS in his office today, Mr Badal said he was ready to jump into the election battle in the Sunam assembly constituency, “I am going to Sunam tomorrow where I have held meetings and sangat darshan during the past fortnight.” The Sunam byelection is scheduled to be held on September 29. An announcement to this effect was made yesterday by the Election Commission of India. Mr Badal said that his party had been waiting for this byelection and preparing accordingly. But party sources say that the announcement of the Election Commission has come too soon. The election code of conduct became operative from Monday evening. No grants or other sops favouring any section of the electorate there can be given openly now. But can one stop under-the-table, back-dated cheques being distributed, given the ways of the government? asked a leader of the Congress. Tomorrow’s sangat darshan in the Sunam constituency will be the third in a series. It was planned well before the announcement of the byelection by the Election Commission. What Mr Badal, did in Nawanshahr to win the byelection there a few months earlier, he intends to repeat in the Sunam constituency, political observers feel. Before the Nawanshahr byelection announcement, Mr Badal visited almost every village and town in that constituency and gave grants to village panchayats on the spot. This carefully planned and executed strategy paid dividends. Mr Badal’s party won the election with an unprecedented margin of about 25,000 votes. Quizzed about how he rated his party’s chances in the Sunam byelection, Mr Badal said: “We will win with an impressive margin”. Asked about the candidate, he said the Political Affairs Committee would meet soon to decide that. The party has already done a lot of homework in the Sunam constituency in the past two weeks. It has established contacts with influential social clubs and members of the bar association and organisations of traders, etc. Though Mr Badal did not disclose what was in his mind with regard to the candidate, in Akali circlet it is almost clear that Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa’s son, Mr Parminder Singh, will most probably get the party ticket. Mr Dhindsa, Union Sports Minister, has lost the last Vidhan Sabha election in this constituency by a margin of 2,500 votes. A rebel Akali candidate, Mr Sanmukh Singh Mokha, had proved to be a thorn in the flesh for Mr Dhindsa. In that election, Mr Mokha secured over 20,000 votes which were perceived to be Akali votes. This factor, besides factionalism in the Akali ranks in Sangrur district, proved a big loss for Mr Dhindsa. Mr Mokha is expected to be in the fray again. Senior leaders of the Congress are trying hard to woo him to be official candidate of the party in the upcoming byelection. Informed sources say that Mr Mokha has been contacted by the party’s top brass a number of times in recent weeks. Top leaders of the Congress know the political significance of the outcome of the Sunam byelection. It is an election which will set the agenda for all principal political parties for the next Vidhan Sabha poll due to be held 16 months after this byelection. It is a mini battle before the “big battle” due in February, 2002. The outcome will be decisive for both the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). In this byelection the political future of Mr Badal and his party as well as that of Capt Amarinder Singh will be at stake. Political observers feel that if Mr Badal wins this byelection, he may opt for a mid-term poll well before the expiry of the full term of his government. This election is crucial for Capt Amarinder Singh, president of the Punjab Congress Committee. To consolidate his hold on the party, winning the byelection is a political necessity for him. While the Congress had won the Adampur byelection under his leadership, it lost in Nawanshahr. On the other side, the Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal (SHSAD) headed by Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra has called a meeting of the party office-bearers on September 3 at Patiala. At that meeting the party will decide whether it should contest the Sunam byelection or not. However, the dominant opinion in the party is that it should put up a candidate, it is learnt. |
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A votary of
united Punjab TODAY is the first death anniversary of Pandit Mohan Lal — a former Home and Finance Minister in Kairon’s and Mussafir’s Cabinets and President of the Sanatan Dharam Pratinidhi Sabha, to which he remained devoted till his death. Born in June, 1905, in Fatehgarh Churian town of Gurdaspur district, Pandit Mohan Lal not only witnessed the events that lead to the making of post-independence political history of Punjab but also contributed to it significantly. Having joined the Indian National Congress as a student, it was by virtue of his commitment and hardwork that he emerged as a brilliant politician whose worth was valued by politicians like Sardar Partap Singh Kairon and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. A serious reading of Pandit Mohan Lal’s book “Disintegration of Punjab” reveals the hows and whats which reduced the vast state of Punjab to its present size. Once under the Kamraj Plan, it was decided to instal Pandit Mohan Lal as Chief Minister of Punjab, replacing Partap Singh Kairon. On learning this, Panditji immediately rushed to Delhi and convinced Pandit Nehru that the proposed change would harm Punjab’s interests. And consequently, status quo was maintained. Argument was his strongest weapon. His sharp and refreshing memory would help him relate old events minutely without putting the least strain on his brain. It was due to his deep involvement that he was worried about Punjab, and would often say, “The safety of Punjab is possible if the Akalis are made to sit together in peace.” Throughout, he was a votary of united Punjab. When black days dawned on Punjab, Panditji volunteered to end the turbulence created by petty politics by organising a convention of 1,000 delegates of the Sanatan Dharam Pratinidhi Sabha at Chandigarh. This conveyed a message of Hindu-Sikh unity and changed the whole scenario. A few years prior to his death he left politics and devoted himself to religious and educational fields. Women education was his priority area. He opened schools and colleges and earmarked funds for awarding stipends/scholarships to poor but deserving girl students. For the purpose, he created a trust with his own savings. |
Sukhbir makes unity efforts PATIALA, Aug 29 — Former Union Minister Sukhbir Singh
Badal, while ruling out his candidature for the Sunam Assembly
byelection, today said the party would go in for a consensus candidate acceptable to all leaders. Addressing a press conference at the residence of Subordinate Services Chairman Tejinderpal Singh Sandhu, Mr Badal categorically said he was not in the race for the Sunam byelection ticket. When asked whether he would accept the nomination if the party high command so desired, he said it was the responsibility of every worker to accept the decision of the party. The former Union Minister said he would not like to fight from Sunam as he did not belong to the area. He said the Parliamentary Affairs Committee ( PAC ) of the party would take a decision on the party seat and all important leaders would be party to the decision. Meanwhile, there was a flurry of political activity in the city with Mr Badal visiting all important party leaders and trying to forge unity in the party. He attended small functions, mostly at the residences of the leaders, where he urged them to forget minor irritants and work unitedly for the party victory in the Sunam byelection. A notable achievement of his visit to the city today was the presence of Cabinet Minister Ajaib Singh Mukhmailpur and SGPC member Jaginder Singh Panjrath at the residence of Mr Tejinderpal Singh
Sandhu, who is the son of former Subordinate Services President Jasdev Singh
Sandhu. Both leaders were not on good terms with the late Jasdev Singh. Mr Badal met sarpanches of Dakala at Mr Tejinderpal’s residence. All important leaders of the district were together at a lunch hosted by Mr Surjit Singh Rakhra, who unsuccessfully contested the last Lok Sabha elections from Patiala. However, the absence of Finance Minister Capt Kanwaljit Singh from the exercise puzzled party leaders and cast a doubt on the unity bid. The Finance Minister came in for a flak indirectly with legislator Balwant Singh Shahpur telling the former Union Minister to ensure that ministers did not interfere in the constituencies of the legislators. Mr Shahpur had voiced this protest earlier also. He made these observations at the residence of party Vice-President Charanjit Singh
Walia. At Mr Walia’s house party workers also expressed anger at Mr Walia not getting “proper respect” in the party befitting his status. Mr Badal assured them that Mr Walia would get due respect in the party. Earlier in the morning a function of party workers was organised at the residence of party district urban president Manmohan Singh
Bajaj. Mr Badal met party workers at the residence of Mr Panjrath and at the PWD Rest House where Youth Akali Dal Vice-President Faujinder Singh had organised a function. |
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Victims of bank robbery cremated AMRITSAR, Aug 29 — Senior Manager of Punjab and Sind Bank, Rajinder Mohan Singh, who was shot dead during the bank robbery yesterday, was cremated here this morning. The staff from all branches of the bank in the district paid last respects to their colleague and attended the cremation. The General Manager of the bank, Mr Swaran Singh, who represented the acting chairman, laid a wreath on behalf of the bank management and read out the message. Former MP and president of the Chief Khalsa Diwan Kirpal Singh, former Jathedar of Akal Takht Bhai Ranjit Singh, Mr Jaspal Singh, Mr H.P. Singh and Mr Devinder Singh all DGMs of the bank, laid wreaths on the body of Rajinder Mohan Singh. Later, his son Gagandeep Singh, lit the pyre of amidst recitation of hymns from Guru Granth Sahib. Meanwhile, gunman Gurdeep Singh, who was also killed in the shooting, was cremated at his native village Mullawal. Work at the Punjab and Sind Bank came to a standstill and clearing operation too was stopped for the day. |
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Disease threat to milch cattle JALANDHAR, Aug 29 — The large-scale spreading of the dreaded rinderpest disease among milch cattle in neighbouring Pakistan and Afghanistan might afflict countless livestock in the bordering states of Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan. Rinderpest is a deadly disease commonly found in milch cattle like buffaloes, cows and goats and has successfully been eradicated in large parts of the globe under the Freedom From Rinderpest Programme launched by the Office of International Epizootes (OIE), Paris, and the Food and Agriculture Organisation, Rome. The incurable and communicable disease, which appears in an epidemic form, ultimately leaves animals dead after bouts of diarrhoea and high fever. Unlike its neighbours, India, at present, was largely free from rinderpest and a declaration of freedom from rinderpest was made by the Indian Government on March 1, 1998, sources in the Department of Animal Husbandry, Ministry of Agriculture, said. But what is worrying department officials and those associated with the National Rinderpest Eradication Programme, launched in 1992, is the recent spreading of disease in an epidemic form in Pakistan and Afghanistan. “What is giving us sleepless nights is that from Pakistan, the disease can easily be transported to India due to the frequent movement and straying of animals across the border, particularly in some parts of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, which is devoid of barbed wire unlike the Punjab border,” said an official. He said though the entire Jammu and Kashmir border was prone to intentional or accidental movement of cattle, animals could also stray into some pockets, particularly in certain areas of Ferozepore district, and elsewhere where there was no barbed wire owing to the flow of rivers through these areas. Mr Rupinder Singh Kanwar, in charge of the Animal Husbandry Department-run National Rinderpest Eradication ELISSA Laboratory in Jalandhar, said though there was no reported case of mass animal movement from Pakistan into the Indian territory through the Punjab border in the recent past, it was common in early eighties and before the setting up of the barbed wire along the border. “In 1998, 209 buffaloes had strayed into our side and all were sold after a physical check-up as per the procedure,” said Mr Kanwar. He said though there was a remote possibility of the disease spreading in the state due to few entry points, it could cause widespread livestock destruction since there was no marked territory in Jammu and Kashmir. Worried over the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the department is busy taking a number of preventive steps, besides providing three vehicles to its officials posted in the border districts of Amritsar, Ferozepore and Gurdaspur to check any possibility of the movement of animals from Pakistan. To discuss the situation, Dr. V.K. Taneja, Animal Husbandry Commissioner, Government of India, had held a meeting with officers of the Army, Border Security Force and the SSB in Chandigarh last week to explore the possibility of development of an emergency response system in these states, in addition to considering issues like trans-border animal movement, surveillance system and preparedness plan to meet any eventuality in view of development in the two neighbouring countries. Under the proposed system, cattle coming from Pakistan will be pushed back into the country. To make the response system a real success, the security forces manning the border have been suggested to keep tabs on any movement of animals towards India and report it immediately to the department. |
Steps to reintroduce flying at aerodrome PATIALA The corrective measures include building of a fence around the air field, making the club grounds more secure and taking efforts to tackle the issue of power cuts. Aerodrome sources said the Director, Air Safety, New Delhi, had been informed about the steps being taken by the authorities by the Punjab Civil Aviation Director and that flying would start in the aerodrome within a week to 10 days’ time. Flying had been stopped at the club grounds following an accident on July 15 when a Pushpak aircraft belonging to the Northern India Flying Club collided with a jeep on the runway. A wing of the aircraft had been badly damaged in the accident. Following this, there was another mishap when the emergency locator transmitter (ELT), which automatically switches on during an emergency, remained on for some time causing concern in aviation circles before it was located to Patiala. Club authorities have, however, maintained that the ELT was switched on accidentally during repairs of the aircraft. Sources said the office of the Director-General, Aviation, had objected to the open grounds adjoining the runway. They said milch animals, who invariably came into the grounds during the night to graze on the grass, also sometimes remained in the grounds during the day causing a security hazard. They said the state public works department had been contacted for constructing a fence around the grounds. However, as this will take some time the aviation authorities have immediately gone in for digging a trench along the boundary of the flying grounds so that animals do not intrude into the grounds. Besides, the aerodrome authorities have urged the Director, Air Safety, to allow flying to start again in the club, saying they would also employ security staff around the periphery of the grounds to secure them till the permanent fencing did not come up. The main entrance of the aviation grounds has also been secured as per the directions of the Director, Air Safety. More guards have been placed at the main entrance which has now been permanently closed. All employees and visitors coming to the club grounds now have to take a side entrance which has also been secured. The club authorities have also taken up the matter of frequent power cuts in the aerodrome with the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB). They said frequent power cuts made it difficult to operate the air safety control, adding that efforts were being made to establish uninterrupted power supply to the aerodrome. The runway is also being marked presently so that safety standards can be observed properly. Even as steps are being taken to restart flying here, students and employees with the Patiala Aviation Club have to travel to Pinjore and Ludhiana for conducting flying. Some of the students have left for their homes while the employees say they have problems in commuting to Pinjore everyday as there is no provision for halting there at night. The Northern India Flying Club, which is also functioning from Patiala, ever since it came here on a temporary basis from Jalandhar in 1993, is presently not functioning following damage to its aircraft which is still to be repaired. There is reportedly rivalry between the Patiala Flying Club and the Northern India Flying Club, with the former claiming it had suffered revenue loss ever since the second organisation started operating from Patiala. Employees of the Patiala Club have also demanded shifting of the Northern India Club from here, saying they had not received collective salaries for around 15 months due to low revenue generation. Lack of coordination between the two clubs is also a source of concern. In the recent accident on July 15 a jeep belonging to the the Patiala Club collided with the aircraft of the Northern India Club. |
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Set up anti-terrorist courts, says Bitta PATIALA Addressing a press conference here, Mr Bitta said such courts could effectively tackle cases of terrorism, besides other designs of the anti-national forces. He said the courts could also strictly implement the rule of law so that terrorists were awared exemplary punishment. Mr Bitta also claimed that the new central government policy of not interfering in the affairs of various states could boomerang on it. He said the central government should interfere in the Rajkumar kidnapping case so that rule of law could be observed. He said such kidnappings needed to be dealt with strictly, adding the manner in which the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments had capitulated on the issue could lead to other persons holding the state to ransom. He also called for formation of a special committee by the President to expose the criminal-political nexus in the country. He said the committee could, after holding inquiries, bar politicians found having ties with criminals from contesting elections. Mr Bitta also called for dismissal of the Farooq Abdullah governemnt in Jammu and Kashmir. He said Dr Abdullah was trying to weaken the country by instigating other states to demand autonomous status from the centre. He said the National Conference government had also failed to maintain law and order in the state, adding the army had been withdrawn from the route of the Amarnath yatra deliberately by the National Conference government. Mr Bitta also addressed workers of the local unit of the Anti-Terrorist Front at a function organised by front Vice-President Harpal Singh. He announced the appointment of Mr Harpal Juneja as the new District Urban President of the front. |
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Punjab withdraws
reversion orders CHANDIGARH, Aug 29 — In pursuance of the orders of the Supreme Court, the Punjab Government has withdrawn the reversion orders of three Chief Engineers — Mr D.P. Bajaj, Mr B.K. Thapar and Mr Sarbjit Singh — of Punjab PWD (B and R). They were promoted on June 1 last. But a Superintending Engineer had challenged the promotion of Mr Sarbjit Singh in the Punjab and Haryana High Court which quashed all promotions. However, the Supreme Court upheld the promotion and set aside the orders of the high court. Mr D.P. Bajaj will remain on deputation with the Punjab Health Systems Corporation and Mr Sarbjit Singh has been posted in the PWD (B and R) Patiala. Mr B.K. Thapar has since retired. |
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Bar divided over judge’s remarks AMRITSAR, Aug 29 — The Amritsar Bar Association stands divided over the alleged remarks made by a Sessions Judge against its vice-president, Mr V.P. Singh Bhatia. While a majority of office-bearers have passed a resolution against the Sessions Judge and urged the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to hold an inquiry in this regard, president Sarbjit Singh Sandhu and two executive members, Mr Kushdevinder Singh and Mr J.S. Chawla, differ on the line of action. A copy of the resolution has been sent to the Chief Justice, Supreme Court, along with the complaint seeking a high-level probe against the Sessions Judge by a sitting Judge of the High Court. However, Mr V.B. Handa, Sessions Judge, says the resolution passed by the association has no ‘value’ as the president and two executive members have dissociated from it. The resolution reads that the Sessions Judge “taunted” Mr Bhatia at a monthly meeting of the Vigilance Committee held on August 24. |
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Chaurasia mesmerises
‘Virasat’ audience AMRITSAR, Aug 29 — The building of 108-year-old Khalsa College came alive to the soulful tunes of the legendary Hari Prasad Chaurasia at the inaugural function of the “Virsat-2000” held here last night. The maestro captivated thousands of school and college students who had gathered to get first hand experience of the richness of Indian music. The Coordinator of the Punjab chapter of the SPICMACAY, Ms Manveen Sandhu, said SPICMACAY was planning to host over 150 shows throughout the state during September and top Indian artistes, including the top Gurbani kirtankar Bhai Baldeep Singh, sitar player Niladari Kumar, Punjab folk singers Wadali brothers, Habi Tanwar, Asad Ali Khan, Rajan Sajan Mishra, Gurmeet Bawa, will take part in these shows. Chaurasia opened with invocation, Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite bhajan, and later rendered an hour-long flute recital based on raga “wachaspati” accompained by tabla star Vijay Ghate and his pupil Mahaveer Parsad. |
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SHSAD to gherao
Punjab Assembly CHANDIGARH, Aug 29 — The SHSAD headed by Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra will gherao the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on September 5. The call has been given by a number of farmer
organisations. Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra, general secretary of the party, said here today that the Badal government had failed to protect the rights of the farmers. Because of this reason, the party had decided to extend support to the farmers. |
Fashion show held
despite ban AMRITSAR, Aug 29 — The Deputy Commissioner here had banned the holding of a fashion show scheduled for Sunday night. But in spite of his orders, the
organisers, allegedly in connivance with the district police, staged the show. The BJP MLA, Mrs Laxmi Kanta
Chawla, in a press note issued here yesterday, demanded a probe into the “wilful disobedience” of the executive orders issued by the Deputy Commissioner. Mrs Chawla demanded that the inquiry must look into the coercive methods adopted by the organisers for the collection of funds from the business community. She alleged that reportedly, no entertainment tax was collected from the
organisers. |
Jail warden remanded
in police custody ROPAR, Aug 29 — Warden of the Burail Jail in Chandigarh Om Vir Singh, who was arrested yesterday by the Morinda police on charges of trying to fax message of terrorists lodged in the jail to their supporters in England, was remanded in police custody till August 31, by the additional Civil Judge, here today. He admitted before the Judge that he was given Rs 50,000 by some person, whom he declined to know, to fax a message of a terrorist Balwant Singh, lodged in the Burail Jail in Chandigarh, on charges of conspiring in the assassination of the late Chief Minister, Punjab, Beant Singh. The sources said that the police seized a visiting card of a human rights activist from the possession of Om Vir Singh. The police is trying to locate this activist as he is suspected to have given money to the warden for faxing the message of the terrorist. Om Vir Singh was arrested last evening when he reportedly tried to fax a message of the terrorist Balwant Singh from a STD/PCO, owned by a reporter of a leading Hindi Daily, at the Morinda bus stand. However, the reporter got suspicious about the person when he went through the contents of the handwritten message in Gurmukhi script, given to him by Om Vir Singh for faxing. The message which carried the slogans as ‘Khalistan Zindabad and Khalistan Liberation Force Zindabad’ had urged the supporter of terrorists in England to observe August 31, as the ‘martyrdom day’ of the human bomb, Dilawar Singh, who had assassinated the late Chief Minister Beant Singh. The reporter informed the local police, who caught Om Vir Singh red handed along with the message. The SSP, Ropar, Mr GPS Bhullar, said that the Om Vir Singh was resident of Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh and had been serving at the Burail Jail in Chandigarh since the last few years. |
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Ten murders in 15 days AMRITSAR, Aug 29 — With yesterday’s dual murder of a bank manager and his gunman, the total number of murders in the district during the past 15 days has reached the startling figure of 10 in 15 days. While the city has been witnessing an unprecedented crime wave during the past few months, the police has done precious little to set things in order. Only one person accused of murder has been arrested till date The series of murders, though random, started on the night of August 13 when a woman in connivance with her paramour poisoned her husband to death in Jhabal area. Baldev Singh of Jhabal was murdered when he objected to his wife meetings with her paramour. The accused fled and are untraced. Just five days later in the area of Jajnagar under the jurisdiction of the Sadar police station, Gurveer Singh and his wife Tejinder Kaur were murdered on the night of August 19. Both were strangulated to death. Their four-year-old daughter, Timsi, was spared. In another case of marital discord due to an extramarital affair, a woman and her paramour strangled her husband, Baldev Singh, while he was asleep in Bhikhiwind area. Yodha Singh and Baldev Singh’s wife committed the crime on August 18. The police has arrested the wife whereas Yodha Singh is at large. Four days after this incident on August 22, in a gory massacre, a nephew wiped out the entire family of his paternal uncle for an acre of land. This happened in Rajasansi area. The land was under dispute Jaaj and Satnam Singh, nephew of Kulwant Singh, conspired with a known criminal, Gurveil Singh, alias Geyla, and killed four members of the his uncle’s family while they were asleep with sharp-edged weapons. The accused have absconded. The incidents have terrified the residents. Yesterday’s daring robbery in broad daylight, too, exhibits “laxity” on the part of the police. |
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Explain inaction on
missing man, SHO told CHANDIGARH, August 29 — The mystery shrouding the disappearance of a 26-year-old Ludhiana youth, allegedly seen in police custody by a relative before he went missing, moved towards a solution today with Mr Justice S.S. Nijjar of the Punjab and Haryana High Court asking the Station House Officer of the police station concerned to explain the reasons behind inaction in the case. Delivering the directions, Mr Justice Nijjar also asked the state of Punjab “to place on record material showing what action has been taken on the basis of a complaint” by the victim’s mother. The Judge also issued notice to the state, besides three other respondents. Earlier during the proceedings, petitioner Gurjeet Kaur of Vishvakarma Colony in Ludhiana alleged that SHO Navdeep Singh of Division No 6 police station was not helping her in investigating the case regarding the disappearance of her son, Sukhdev Singh alias Bunty. Deposing before the court, she stated that Sukhdev Singh was missing since October 10, 1999. But Sukhdev was seen in police custody by his wife’s brother. Alleging foul play, she claimed that her son was taken away by his friend,
Dayala. She also expressed apprehension regarding the involvement of Sukhdev’s in-laws in the disappearance. |
Chintpurni Trust to
set up college PHILLAUR, Aug 29 — The Shri Chintpurni Mandir Trust will set up a Sanskrit college near Bharwain in Himachal Pradesh to educate youth about the Indian culture. Stating this here today, a trust official, Mr R.C. Katoch, said the college would start functioning from this session. Pujaris of the shrine would be taught in the college how to conduct karamkand and puja ceremonies, he added. Mr Katoch said the trust had taken over Swami Vivekanand Arts College, Bharwain. A cloakroom and a shoe bank were being set up near the old bus stand, Chintpurni. He said the construction of langar and satsang halls, along with the expansion work of the temple, had been started at a cost of Rs 1.75
crore. |
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PUTA elections on Sept 21 PATIALA Mr Boparai said August 31 was the last date for renewal of membership, September 13 the last date for filing nominations and September 15 the last date for withdrawing candidature. Sources said the contest this time would be between the United Teachers Front (UTF) and the Teachers Unity Front (TUF). The UTF is presently commanding a majority in PUTA as all the four office-bearers including the President, Vice-President, Joint Secretary and four out of the seven executive committee members belong to this group. Presently there are six major groups in the university, three each are aligned to both the groups . While the UTF team consists of the Liberal Teachers Centre led by Dr R.K. Choudhary, the Progressive Teachers Front led by Dr S.S. Grewal and the Sikh Intelligentia Forum led by Dr D.S. Dhillon, the TUF comprises of the Democratic Teachers Front led by Dr K.C. Singhal, the Progressive Teachers Council led by Dr S.S. Khera and the Free Thinkers Forum led by Dr S.S. Joshi. The UTF, which is the ruling group, is likely to contest elections on the achievements made by it during its present tenure. Dr Boparai said his group had pursuaded the Vice-Chancellor to release 50 per cent of the arrears of the teachers from the university ‘ s resources rather than waiting for the government to release the arrears. He said besides this the Career Advancement Scheme would help around seventy teachers in the university in getting promotions. He said some teachers had already benefited under the scheme. |
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