The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Mattewal: need to popularise lok adalats
JALANDHAR, Sept 23 — Giving rise in population, shortage of judges and lack of interest of bureaucracy as reasons behind piling up of more than one lakh cases pertaining to Punjab in the Punjab and Haryana High Court and various tribunals, the Punjab Advocate- General, Mr H.S. Mattewal, today said pendency could be brought down drastically with the active involvement of secretaries of different departments and by popularising the concept of lok adalats.

POLITICS

Action against Aliwal sought
PATIALA, Sept 23 — The Patiala District Youth Akali Dal has demanded disciplinary action against its state unit’s president, Mr Amrik Singh Aliwal.

Surjewala to visit Sunam from Sept 25
PHILLAUR, Sept 23 — The All-India Youth Congress President, Mr Randip Singh Surjewala, will visit the Sunam assembly constituency from September 25 to 27 and address party workers at meetings to be held there.

Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister, addressing an election rally at Tolawal on Saturday.
— Photo by Manoj Mahajan.

COMMUNITY

Less water in dam may defer inauguration
GURDASPUR, Sept 23 — Though all tests to generate power from all four units of Ranjit Sagar Dam have been successfully carried out, the hydel project which will generate 600 MW of electricity when run to full capacity will not be dedicated to the nation immediately as was being contemplated by the dam authorities.

Upswing in suicides alarms experts
AMRITSAR, Sept 23 — The rise in the number of suicides, especially among male youths in the district, which has crossed the 300 mark during the past two-and-a-half years, is causing alarm among psychiatrists and social activists here.

Jordan Valley Day celebrated
SOMEWHERE IN THE WESTERN SECTOR, Sept 23 — The Deccan Horse, a Cavalry Regiment with over two centuries of tradition in valour and courage, celebrated its 3rd post-Independence reunion and 82nd anniversary of its battle honour day Jordan Valley Day somewhere in the Western Sector today.

Farid festival concludes
FARIDKOT, Sept 23 — Nearly one lakh persons from all walks of life thronged the Gurdwara Godri Sahib to pay their obeisance to Baba Sheikh Farid on the concluding day of nine-day festival in connection with the agman Purb of Sufi Sant here today.

Village gains from ministers’ rivalry
FATEHGARH SAHIB, Sept 23 — Nandpur (Kalaur) village earned the unique distinction of being patronised by two Cabinet ministers, who announced grants for various development projects in the village on the same day at two different functions organised by two rival factions of SAD today.

MLA refutes allegation against kin
AMRITSAR, Sept 23 — The SAD MLA from Gharidiwal, Mr Sohan Singh Bodal, today strongly refuted the allegation levelled against his close relation and former Xen (Rural Works Division, Sirhind) Kultar Singh Kultar, for misappropriation of Rs 1 crore according to a news item published in The Tribune today.

Protest against doctor’s ‘manhandling’
HOSHIARPUR, Sept 23 — Employees of the local Civil Hospital including Class-III and IV staff, held a two-hour-long demonstration on the hospital premises today in protest against the alleged misbehaviour of Mr Kamal Chaudhry, former MP, with Dr Kiranjit Kumar, Civil Surgeon, at his residence last night.

Four-laning projects to start soon
PATIALA, Sept 23 — The four-laning of Chandigarh-Ludhiana, Zirakpur-Rajpura and the Nawanshahr-Khanna-Samrala roads will be taken up immediately.

Flying club to be shifted from aviation complex
PATIALA, Sept 23 — In the wake of a spate of accidents at the Patiala Aviation Complex here, the Director-General of Civil Aviation has decided to allow only one flying club to operate from the aerodrome and to shift the Northern India Flying Club, which has been operating from here since 1993, from the present premises.

Union resents lack of equipment
Nagar kirtan organised

CRIME

Villagers chase man to death
ROPAR, Sept 23 — An unidentified man was chased to death by a group of persons of Bahrampur village situated 10 km from Nangal.

Man run over by train

EDUCATION

Punjab school board on website
SAS NAGAR, Sept 23 — The Punjab School Education Board has tied up with a company to provide information about its activities on the Internet. Initially information relating to the examinations conducted by the board would be available by next month-end.

VC should be more accessible: PUTA
PATIALA, Sept 23 — The newly-elected Punjabi University Teachers Association has decided to request Vice-Chancellor Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia to be more accessible to teachers, particularly the heads of departments and centre heads .

A varsity that refuses to grow
PATIALA, Sept 23 — In today’s jet age when every decision is influenced by global trends, Punjabi University seems to be years behind others.

	Barnala men begin campaign Tribune News Service SUNAM, Sept 23 — Nine jathas of supporters of senior SAD leader and former Punjab Chief Minister Surjit Singh Barnala belonging to Barnala today launched an election campaign in favour of Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra, ‘sanjha morcha’ candidate in villages of the Sunam Assembly constituency where by-election is to be held on September 29. A decision to openly support the ‘sanjha morcha’ candidate and General Secretary of the Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal (SHSAD) Prof Chandumajra, and to oppose the Shiromani Akali Dal candidate, Mr Parminder Singh Dhindsa, was taken at a meeting of the Barnala faction at the residence of Mr Barnala in Barnala yesterday to “teach a lesson” to Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and his son Parminder Singh Dhindsa for allegedly opposing Mr Barnala during the last Lok Sabha elections. These ‘jathas’ under the leadership of Mr Gurinder Pal Singh Dhanaula, Senior Vice-President of the youth wing of the SAD, left Barnala town in several vehicles today to campaign for Prof Chandumajra. Talking to TNS, Mr Dhanaula said members of these ‘jathas’ (groups) would visit all those pockets in the Sunam Assembly constituency where they had influence and ask the voters to cast their vote in favour of Prof Chandumajra in order to defeat the SAD candidate. Mr Dhanaula said these ‘jathas’ would campaign in Sunam town and certain villages, including Ugrahan, Bhammawadi, Cheema, Sheron, Ladal and Duggan. Besides these nine ‘jathas’ other ‘jathas’ comprising Barnala supporters would reach Sunam from Malerkotla, Dhuri and Sherpur. Talking to TNS here today, Prof Chandumajra said with the entry of supporters of Mr Barnala in the election campaign, the battle had become intense. He said it also showed that many were unhappy with the Badal government and its policies. He said the supporters of Mr Barnala had been campaigning earnestly for him. Meanwhile, Mr Sant Ram Singla, Vice-President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) and in charge of the Sunam byelection for the Congress candidate, Mrs Parmeshwari Devi, today faxed a complaint to Mr M.S. Gill, Chief Election Commissioner, alleging that Mr Gobind Singh Kanjla, Punjab Social Security Minister, was distributing Rs 200 each among Dalit women in Ghassiwal village on the pretext that their pension had been sanctioned and the sum was the first pension instalment. In another communique to the Deputy Election Commissioner, Mr Singla sought a direction to the Punjab Government and the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, so far the entry of the Chief Minister, ministers and officers who had no concern with the election process in this Assembly constituency after the end of the campaigning period.
	Mulayam to canvass for SHSAD tomorrow Tribune News Service BATHINDA, Sept 23 — The ‘Sanjha Morcha’ leadership will hold another major rally in the Sunam Assembly segment to be addressed by Samajwadi Party President Mulayam Singh Yadav and BJP MP and hollywood star Raj Babbar on September 25. The leadership is also trying to organise rallies of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, Janata Dal leader Madhu Dandawate and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Tariq Anwar in favour of Mr Chandumajra. This was stated by Mr Darshan Singh Jeeda, President, Samajwadi Janata Party (SJP), and a close associate of Mr Shekhar while talking to TNS here today. He said, the ‘Sanjha Morcha’ leadership had been holding parleys with BSP national President Kanshi Ram for his party’s support to Mr Chandumajra. He said Mr Kanshi Ram was likely to announce his support within a day or two. Sources close to the ruling SAD-BJP alliance say that worried over the near-division among the rank and file of the SAD following the decision of the Barnala faction to oppose the SAD candidate, the Chief Minister has directed his loyalists to work harder and ensure that the election campaign of Mr Parminder Singh Dhindsa did not suffer. Mr Chiranji Lal Garg, Science and Technology Minister and in charge of the SAD-BJP poll campaign, has already admitted that the Congress is trying to cash in on the split in the Akali votes. He however, hoped that the development works carried out by Mr Badal in the past three years in Punjab would bring victory to the SAD-BJP candidates in the Sunam by election. Mr Bhan Singh Bhora, member of Parliament, said the SAD-BJP combine government had nothing to show on the development side. Money had been given only to special areas represented by Mr Badal and his relatives.
	Have a problem, take it to Sunam From Sushil Goyal and Sumer Garg SUNAM, Sept 22 — With campaigning picking up for the Sunam Assembly byelection it is becoming clear that the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has a fight on its hands. Not only is it facing tough competition in the multi-corner contest, but dharnas, rallies, chain-fasts and protest marches, being organised by various government employees and other organisations in the town since September is denting its image. These protests have become a major headache for the ruling party with the constituency converting into a virtual open house for any group annoyed with the SAD government or dissatisfied with its decisions with some of them even canvassing against the SAD candidate, Mr Parminder Singh Dhindsa. For example, members of the Unemployed Elementary Teachers Union and the DIET Students Welfare Association are touring the village of this constituency to convince the people to vote against the SAD candidate by propagating images of its police lathicharge on students, including girls at Ropar earlier this year. The Unemployed Elementary Teachers Union has also been observing a chain fast near the statue of Shaheed Udham Singh on the Sunam-Patiala road here since September 8. State government employees of various hues have also descended on Sunam to air their complaints. The PWD Workers Coordination Struggle Committee, Punjab, observed a chain fast and dharna here since September 19. Although they finally ended their dharna and chain fast yesterday after a protest march on the Sunam-Patiala road, it is learnt that the members of the committee have now headed out for villages of this constituency to register their protest at the “grassroot-level” against the state’s failure to fulfil their demands. But the SAD is not the only one at the receiving end. The 1984 Riot Victims Welfare Society, Punjab, today started a dharna here to protest against the Congress, holding it responsible for the anti-Sikh riots. About two dozens women, including widows participated in the dharna. Mr Gurdev Singh, patron of the society, said that they were also demanding that the SAD government compensate all those riot victims who had not received compensation yet. Social organisations have also been quick to cash in on the opportunity. The Shree Neel Kantheshwar Ram Mandir Sitasar Sarovar Committee, Sunam which is embroiled in a dispute over land began a relay fast to press the government to remove hurdles being created by miscreant in starting the kar sewa of the sarovar on September 7. The committee withdrew its agitation only after an assurance by the government to remove the hurdles. Other protesters are waiting in the wings. Mr Gurmail Singh Fatehgarh Sahib, Convener of the Patwari-Kanoongo Coordination Committee, Punjab, said here on Thursday that some 4000 patwaris, retired patwaris and kanoongos would take part in a massive rally of patwaris here on September 23 to press the SAD government to implement their already accepted demands and reinstate patwaris, dismissed during their previous agitation. Mr Dharamveer, President of the local Dodhi Union, said that dodhis (milkmen) from all over the Punjab will hold a massive demonstrations against the formation of the Punjab Dairy Development Board on Saturday.
	Police brutality to the fore again By Rajmeet Singh Tribune News Service FATEHPUR-SAILBA (kurali), Sept 23 — The inhuman mask of the Punjab police was uncovered once again when a 60-year-old man of this village, located on the Majrian-Kharar road, was dragged by a police party into a waiting car and ruthlessly manhandled at the Kurali police station yesterday, resulting in fracture in the hip bone. The victim was rushed by members of his family to the General Hospital in Sector 16, Chandigarh, after being referred by the doctor on duty at the Kurali civil hospital. A police party led by Assistant Sub-Inspector Chain Singh came looking for Kutabdin at his shop at around 7 am yesterday. After making enquires about another person, the police left in a white Maruti Zen, bearing registration number of Chandigarh. They returned after some time and picked up the old man without any explanation. His pleas to call the sarpanch or any other member of the gram panchayat fell on deaf ears. Recuperating on the hospital bed, where he was admitted by his son Bhadhur Khan (36), an employee in the Haryana Government, Kutabdin maintained that he was not even allowed to lock his shop. He repeatedly asserted that he was innocent. "At the police station, I was pushed to the ground, resulting in severe pain in my lower abdominal area. I was not able to stand after that. They kept on saying that wrong people come to my shop, but I am not aware of any such person." Mr Anil Kaushik, Col N.S. Pandher (retd) and Prof Gurmit Singh, activists of the All-India Human Rights Watch, demanded action against the cops. Kutabdin's nephew Jameel Khan said the family came to know about the incident after being told by a village boy and the members of the gram panchayat rushed to the police station, only to find the old man writhing in pain. Apparently alarmed at the condition of the old man, the police officials offered to take him to the doctor, but the enraged members of his family refused to take police help. In a memorandum to the DSP, Kharar, Mr Rupinder Singh, the victim's family demanded strict action against the police officials. Mr Rafiq Mohammed, a panch of the village, said a cop at the police station confessed that the man was a victim of mistaken identity. When the Chandigarh Tribune team visited the village, there was an air of resentment against the police. Mr Jaswant Singh, a postman, said the victim was not even told the reason for which he was picked up. The sarpanch of the village, Ms Raj Dulari, said the panchayat would pass a resolution demanding action against the erring cops and write to the Deputy Commissioner, Ropar, and the Senior Superintendent of Police, Ropar. Mr Rupinder Singh said the Senior Superintendent of Police, Ropar, had directed him to conduct an inquiry into the matter and to take suitable action against anybody found guilty. He said ASI Chain Singh had been sent to police lines.
	93 lakh fraud detected in Education Dept From Our Correspondent TARN TARAN, Sept 23 — A two-member audit party of the Accountant-General (A.G.), Punjab headed by Mr Hari Ram, Assistant Accounts Officer (AAO) and assisted by Mr Gian Chand, Senior Accountant, has detected irregularity worth Rs 93 lakh in the office of the block primary education officer-II, Amritsar, where for four months. a retired employee worked as a BPEO (block primary education officer) and drew Rs 29000 as salary. Sources told this correspondent here today that Mr Prem Kumar who was working as block primary education officer-II, Amritsar, retired on October, 1999. However, after his retirement he allegedly went on working as the BPEO and drew the monthly salaries of the teachers working in the block from November to December, 1999, and January and February, 2000. The audit party, in its report sent to the AG, Punjab, had written that a retired employee using the powers of DDO (drawing and disbursing officer) was violative of the Punjab Civil Services Rules. Not only this, Mr Prem Kumar also allegedly withdrew his own monthly salary worth Rs 30,000. When contacted on the telephone Mr Prem Kumar denied committing any irregularity, adding that being a state awardee, he deserved a one-year extension in service. Thus, he could not be considered to be a retired employee. Sources in the AG office said that according to a letter issued by the Punjab Government, fresh orders for the reappointment of an employee, who happens to be a state awardee, are issued, whereas in the case of Mr Prem Kumar the government had not issued reappointment orders. The reappointment orders have not been isssued so far, but Mr Prem Kumar is still working in the Education Department.
	Mattewal: need to popularise lok adalats Tribune News Service JALANDHAR, Sept 23 — Giving rise in population, shortage of judges and lack of interest of bureaucracy as reasons behind piling up of more than one lakh cases pertaining to Punjab in the Punjab and Haryana High Court and various tribunals, the Punjab Advocate- General, Mr H.S. Mattewal, today said pendency could be brought down drastically with the active involvement of secretaries of different departments and by popularising the concept of lok adalats. Interacting with mediapersons at the local Circuit House, Mr Mattewal said rise in population and awareness among people about their rights were two major factors responsible for burgeoning of cases in courts and there could be a major reduction in the number of cases if administrative secretaries of different departments paid more attention to the issues pending before them. ‘‘I am sure that the number of cases will go down if a secretary spent 10 attentive minutes on every case instead of leaving these at the mercy of babus,’’ said Mr Mattewal. Another step towards this direction could be filling of vacancies of judges and making lok adalats popular among people. He said the government had already withdrawn 50-60 cases which had been decided or were pending before lok adalats since, ‘‘Our objective is to make the system simple and people-friendly.’’ ‘‘We have just 29 judges in the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the sanctioned strength of 40, hence the piling up of cases was natural,’’ said Mr Mattewal and added that some amendments in the process of appointments of judges was resulting in the delay. Mr Mattewal who is the Chairman of the Punjab and Haryana Bar Council, said the Bar Council had already recommended that a Judicial Commission should be setup to look after appointment and removal of judges and to keep a tab on their conduct. He said it was a matter of concern that no judge had ever been impeached in India on charges of misconduct owing to intricacies of the present system and it was because of this that the Bar Council had favoured the setting up of a commission in this regard. Talking about the fate of those detained under TADA and the possibility of withdrawal of such cases, Mr Mattewal said it was a continuous process but, ‘‘plainly speaking, I tell you, no government is going to save those who had indulged in heinous crimes.’’ Referring to the working of his office and any possibility of political interference, Mr Mattewal said the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, had never interfered in the work. ‘‘Moreover, we are professionals and not politicians and know our job, a major part of which is to defend the government legally.’’ Later speaking at a function organised by the Jalandhar Bar Council, Mr Mattewal said the Punjab and Haryana governments had decided to create a Development Fund for the welfare of lawyers. He said the fund would be generated by introducing a stamp fee of Rs 6 on every ‘‘waqalatnama’’. In addition to this, presidents of the District Bar Associations would be the members of the District Grievances Committees.

	Upswing in suicides alarms experts From Varinder Walia and Ashok Sethi AMRITSAR, Sept 23 — The rise in the number of suicides, especially among male youths in the district, which has crossed the 300 mark during the past two-and-a-half years, is causing alarm among psychiatrists and social activists here. Figures collected by TNS have revealed that out of about 400 suicide attempts, in about 75 per cent cases the persons lose their lives primarily due to the use of highly toxic pesticide “sulphose”, commonly used by farmers and easily available. Dr Gurpreet Inder Singh, Head of the Department of Psychiatry, Guru Ram Dass Hospital, pointed out that this pesticide was highly fatal. The Head of the Department of Psychiatry at Medical College, Dr Parampal Singh, attributed the high rate of suicide among the youth to the highly competitive, stressful life styles expectations and pressure from parents. Young children can not cope with tension and thus find an escape in suicide. The other reasons, Dr Parampal Singh added, were financial problems, maladjustment, family tensions, matrimonial clashes, etc, which led to suicide in the age group of 20 to 40. More than 65 deaths were reported from the government-run Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, a majority of them males in the age group of 25 to 35 while only 10 per cent were females. At least 150 persons who had made suicide attempts were admitted to the SGPC-run Sri Guru Ram Dass Hospital alone during the two-and-a-half years. As many as 35 persons out of the 150 could not be saved. Dr Gurpreet Inder Singh said the tendency of suicide was more prevalant among male youths between the ages of 13 and 25. However, in the USA, where at least 75 persons commit suicide everyday, the victims are mostly above the age of 45. Suicidal tendency was more among males as compared to females in India, he said. Most of the persons who commit suicide use aluminium phosphate tablets (sulphas tablets), rat poison and sleeping pills, which are easily available in houses. In most of the young women, depression and family adjustment problems with in-laws were the main causes of suicide. The main reason for young boys committing suicide is easy availability of drugs. Most of the young boys who committed suicide were either drugs addicts or alcoholics.
	Jordan Valley Day celebrated From Our Correspondent SOMEWHERE IN THE WESTERN SECTOR, Sept 23 — The Deccan Horse, a Cavalry Regiment with over two centuries of tradition in valour and courage, celebrated its 3rd post-Independence reunion and 82nd anniversary of its battle honour day Jordan Valley Day somewhere in the Western Sector today. Addressing the serving and retired officers and men on the occasion, at a ceremonial Sainik Sammelan Lt Gen T.S. Shergill called upon the Deccan Horsemen to emulate the deeds of their illustrious predecessors, who with their supreme sacrifices have carved a niche in the annals of Indian Army. He said “the Reunion”, the first of the millennium, gave an opportunity to the serving soldiers to hear the personal accounts of the war veterans and it helped in motivating the men and strengthened bonds between the retired and serving personnel of the regiment. The celebration included a “Barakhana” which was preceded by a variety entertainment show presented by the troops. A family welfare meeting was held in which the war widows were honoured. The main function was held followed by a Reunion tea with the pensioners. Besides 20 war widows, over 250 retired officers, JCOs and ranks attended the function. The regiment battled not only in central India but also abroad in the Afghan war, Burma and in Africa. In a daring action at Chichamba (central India) in 1858, it won its first Victoria Cross. The process of Indianisation of the Cavalry started in 1903 when it was selected for merger into the Indian Cavalry as the XXth Deccan Horse and XXIX Lancers Deccan Horse. The regiment’s valour, both in mounted and dismounted actions in France, Belgium, Flanders and Palestine. The outstanding services of the regiment led to it getting the title “Royal” in 1921, the first for the Indian Cavalry Regiment. After Independence, the “Musalman Squadron” of the regiment went to Pakistan and in exchange a squadron of the Dogras of the Probyn’s Horse came to the regiment. The Dogras soon imbibed the “Deccan” spirit and the regiment was in action at Chhamb Jaurian in 1948 where the advance of the Pakistanis was halt and lost territory was recaptured. On January 26, 1950, the regiment was renamed as “The Deccan Horse”. In the Indo-Pak war of 1965 the regiment with its antiquated Sherman tanks faced the might of Pattons of Pakistan’s Ist Armoured Division in Khemkaran. It was the fierce actions of the regiment which contributed 36 Patton tanks to the famous graveyard of these tanks known as “patton nagar”. The regiment was then commanded by Lt Col (later General) A.S. Vaidya. The Indo-Pak war of 1971 saw the regiment at the fore in the Chhamb sector.
	Farid festival concludes From Our Correspondent FARIDKOT, Sept 23 — Nearly one lakh persons from all walks of life thronged the Gurdwara Godri Sahib to pay their obeisance to Baba Sheikh Farid on the concluding day of nine-day festival in connection with the agman Purb of Sufi Sant here today. A large number of devotees took dip at the Baba Farid holy Sarovar. A congregation was held on the gurdwara premises. Speakers called Baba Farid as an architect of Punjabiat. The Sufi saint was also an embodiment of love, peace and oneness of mankind. He occupies a place of pride in the galaxy of holymen who lived and preached for universal love and brotherhood. Among the prominent speakers include Mr Inderjit Singh Khalsa, President, Baba Farid Committee, Deputy Commissioner, A. Venu Prasad and Mr Karnail Singh Doad, president, Sikh Educational Society, Faridkot. Sant Amar Singh of Ferozepur who was to be given the Bhagat Puran Singh Award for service to humanity did not turn up. However in his message to the President of the Baba Farid Society he requested that his award sum of Rs 51,000 be distributed among the poor.
	Village gains from ministers’ rivalry From Our Correspondent FATEHGARH SAHIB, Sept 23 — Nandpur (Kalaur) village earned the unique distinction of being patronised by two Cabinet ministers, who announced grants for various development projects in the village on the same day at two different functions organised by two rival factions of SAD today. The occasion was the annual fair organised in the memory of Baba Rode Shah, a regular feature here. Due to the ongoing rivalry between the two warring groups of SAD in the district, two separate tournaments were organised in the village on the occasion. One tournament was organised by the village panchayat under the aegis of the Randhir Singh Cheema group, while the other tournament was organised by the village sports club under the aegis of the Didar Singh Bhatti and Rajeshpaul Singh Lalli group. Interestingly, both groups invited Cabinet ministers, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Minister for Finance, presided over the tournament organised by the village panchayat, while Mr Ajaib Singh Makhmailpur, Minister for PWD, presided over the tournament organised by the sports club of the village. Moreover, both ministers addressed the gathering on different stages at the same time and both completed their speeches at almost the same time. The problems of the village were highlighted and a charter of demands presented to the ministers. The ministers conceded to their demands and announced grants for various projects. Capt Kanwaljit Singh announced Rs 1 lakh for each project of the village, while Mr Makhmailpur announced Rs 50,000 for each project.

	Protest against doctor’s ‘manhandling’ From Our Correspondent HOSHIARPUR, Sept 23 — Employees of the local Civil Hospital including Class-III and IV staff, held a two-hour-long demonstration on the hospital premises today in protest against the alleged misbehaviour of Mr Kamal Chaudhry, former MP, with Dr Kiranjit Kumar, Civil Surgeon, at his residence last night. It is reported that Monika, a resident of Binjon village, who was an MA student of the local DAV College succumbed to injuries sustained in a bus mishap at the civil hospital at 5 p.m. yesterday. When her parents came to know about her death they approached Mr Chaudhry for a post-mortem examination of her body late in the evening. Mr Chaudhry asked Dr Kiranjit Kumar on the telephone to get the post-mortem examination done at the night, for which he sought written permission from the District Magistrate. However, Dr Kumar did not agree. Dr Kumar alleged that Mr Chaudhry along with five to six gunmen and dozens of supporters, forcibly entered his residential premises and manhandled him.
	Four-laning projects to start soon From Jangveer Singh Tribune News Service PATIALA, Sept 23 — The four-laning of Chandigarh-Ludhiana, Zirakpur-Rajpura and the Nawanshahr-Khanna-Samrala roads will be taken up immediately. The work on the Ludhiana-Moga, Ropar-Phagwara and the Zirakpur-Ambala sections has been held up for paucity of funds. Besides this it has also been decided to construct a ring road in Ludhiana to link northern and southern parts of the city. The proposed road will remove traffic congestion. The Punjab Public Works Department (PWD) which has headquarters here has already started processing tenders for these projects. The projects will be undertaken on the built, operate and transfer (BOT) basis. If the department does not get good response for construction on BOT lines, it will raise a loan or three lane the highways, and collect revenue to repay the loan. The PWD, Chief Engineer, Planned Roads, Mr G.S Sodhi, said the four laning on Chandigarh-Ludhiana, Zirakpur-Rajpura and Nawanshahr-Khanna-Samrala sections was likely to start within two months. He said to make four laning effective, the department would also make bypasses, specially on the Nawanshahr-Khanna-Samrala track. He said bypasses had been planned for Banga, Nawanshahr and Phagwara. He said similarly a bridge had been planned on the Nakodar-Jagraon road which would link the area to the Malwa region. Mr Sodhi said the Patiala-Bathinda road was also under consideration for four laning. He said, however, this project would be taken up only after the four laning of the Zirakpur-Rajpura section was completed.
	Flying club to be shifted from aviation complex From Jangveer Singh Tribune News Service PATIALA, Sept 23 — In the wake of a spate of accidents at the Patiala Aviation Complex here, the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to allow only one flying club to operate from the aerodrome and to shift the Northern India Flying Club, which has been operating from here since 1993, from the present premises. The Northern India Flying Club has been operating from the aerodrome here since 1993 after the Army authorities did not give it an yearly extension to use its field at Jalandhar. Sources said following the move, coordination could not be achieved between the Northern India Club and the Patiala Aviation Club and that there had been a lot of heartburn as the revenue of the latter club had gone down with another club functioning from the same premises. The aerodrome incharge Lakhbir Singh said the Punjab Government had assured the DGCA that the Northern India Club would be transferred out of Patiala before the body gave permission for restarting flying at the aerodrome. Flying had been suspended at the aerodrome following an accident, when an aeroplane of the Jalandhar Club hit a jeep belonging to the Patiala Club around two months back. He said the Jalandhar Club could go back to its old venue and the Army authorities had been approached by the Punjab Government in this regard. He said it would be easy for the Northern India Club to set base in Jalandhar again as its old infrastructure, including hangars, was still intact. Sources said the state government was also considering the request to establish the Northern India Club on the Jalandhar-Kapurthala road. Land for an aviation club had been earmarked there but, it could not come up as the land was acquired for the establishment of a science city. The sources said efforts were on to convince the government to give 30 to 40 acres for operation of a small flying club. The Patiala Flying Club manager had given an undertaking to the government that he would be able to make the club self-sufficient again once the Northern India Club was shifted out. He said at present, all revenue from chartered services, joy rides and student trainees was halved due to presence of two clubs on the premises. He said there were also problems as to who should spend on mantainance of the runway and other costs as the Northern India Club maintained all along that it was a guest at Patiala. Meanwhile, Mr Lakhbir Singh disclosed that a pilot error was responsible for damage to the nose of a Cessna aircraft while it was being landed by a student yesterday. He said efforts were being made to get a spare propeller from another club to make the plane air-worthy again. He said a new propeller would be imported in due time, costing Rs 1 lakh. He added that flying had been restarted at the aerodrome today. The manager said efforts were also being made to make a runway secure. He said trenches had been dug on its borders to ensure stray cattle did not intrude into it. He said the police authorities had also been approached to stop women coming into the aerodrome grounds to cut grass for fodder. He said other lapses pointed out by the DGCA were also being rectified.
	Union resents lack of equipment From Our Correspondent BATHINDA, Sept 23 — Activists of the Technical Services Union (TSU) have started functioning normally but they resent the indifferent attitude of the authorities concerned. The Punjab State Electricity Board Employees Struggle Committee (PSEBESC), here has asked the TSU activists to work normally although the activists have been asking the authorities to provide them the necessary equipment. They alleged that the authorities concerned were adopting an indifferent attitude.
	Nagar kirtan organised Tribune News Service PATIALA, Sept 23 — A colourful procession to mark the birth anniversary of Sikh Guru Hargobind Singh was taken out in the main bazars of the city here today. Hundreds of schoolchildren participated in the procession. Traditional Punjabi culture could be seen in full bloom as Nihangs played Gatka and children exploded crackers. The procession started from Gurdwara Singh Sabha and concluded there in the evening.

EDUCATION

Punjab school board on website
By Rajmeet Singh
Tribune News Service

SAS NAGAR, Sept 23 — The Punjab School Education Board has tied up with a company to provide information about its activities on the Internet. Initially information relating to the examinations conducted by the board would be available by next month-end.

The facility would enable the students to go through the model papers, instructions for papers setters and best attempted questions by examinees. This would help the students prepare better for their respective examinations.

The company with which the board had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) a few months ago to provide the middle class examination results will provide the information on its website : //www.egurucool.com.

Initially the model paper and attempted questions by toppers in the science stream in the senior secondary school examinations would be provided on the net.

Mr Jagjit Singh Sidhu, Secretary of the board, said since most of the science stream students opted for English medium the information would be available in English. The other streams of the 10+2 class, matric and the middle classes would be added later once the software was prepared in other languages.

The board had also decided to provide information about the syllabus of the science stream. Beginning with chapter-wise information questionnaire to test the learning skills of the students would be available on the website. The board planned to have a series of question banks which would change each time the website was opened. The board authorities were planning to provide immediate feedback to the queries received through e-mail. Presently, e-mail was not replied to immediately as different branches were not computerised.

Mr Sidhu said a website on the Punjab Education Department was being prepared by a government department. The website would also have information about the board.

VC should be more accessible: PUTA
Tribune News Service

PATIALA, Sept 23 — The newly-elected Punjabi University Teachers Association ( PUTA ) has decided to request Vice-Chancellor Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia to be more accessible to teachers, particularly the heads of departments and centre heads .

In a statement here today , PUTA Secretary Balwinder Singh said at an emergency meeting of the Executive Committee here yesterday, it was decided to request the Vice-Chancellor to fix a specific time when teachers and heads of departments could meet him.

The executive decided that none of its members would meet the Vice-Chancellor individually regarding the PUTA affairs. It said in case of an emergency the PUTA president and secretary were authorised to meet the Vice-Chancellor.

The executive also debated upon the fate of the career advancement scheme ( CAS). It resolved to ask the university authorities to announce a two months’ time schedule for its implementation . It decided that all eligible teachers in the discipline should be called for interview simultaneously and that the interviews should be held discipline-wise and seniority-wise. It also felt there should not be any rejection and that teachers likely to be promoted within one year should be interviewed on a priority basis.

The executive has also decided to meet the Vice-Chancellor regarding holding of interview in the discipline of History next week.