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| Thursday, November 23, 2000, Chandigarh, India    |
SGPC poll: guessing game on Cong chief backs Amarinder Badal, Tohra should patch up: Aliwal Minister’s plea on officers seniority Boats or play objects for kids? |
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Dept to check quacks Gynaecologist booked for death Siddiqui strong contender Declare farm
policy, Badal urges Centre Trust chief, shop owner quarrel Ranbaxy
conducts health awareness camp Rally by PSEB
workers Varsity teachers
stage dharna CPI leader dead Punjab prepares for
wheat procurement Samman patras for top tax
payers Batala tax payers honoured 2 killed in mishap
More rail facilities sought
Murder suspect’s
body found Dismissed cop shoots youth Rs 73,000 looted from
petrol station Undertrial escapes
from hospital
Engg college
to adopt rural schools Fee issue referred to VC’s panel ‘Restore fiscal health of universities’ Identify your potential,
says Albuquerque
Poor response to khadi mela
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SGPC poll: guessing game on CHANDIGARH, Nov 22— Who will be the President of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) ? The answer to this question is with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President, Mr Parkash Singh Badal. He was authorised by the Political Affairs Committee on Tuesday to name the President and other office-bearers to run the affairs of the Sikhs’ mini-Parliament for one more year. What are the options before the SAD President? Should institutional interests come first or loyalty to the man who chooses the person to head an important Sikh religious institution? Should commitment to the Sikh cause come first or commitment to the family? Should the proper democratic process be allowed to elect the next SGPC President or should a person be handpicked for nomination and then members asked to vote? Whosoever it may be, the selected person must have standing in the Sikh Panth to be able to manage the affairs of the gurdwaras under the SGPC. Moreover, that person should be well- versed and conversant with the Sikhs’ religious concepts, affairs and traditions. He should also not be a political rubber-stamp. Given the long stint Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra had as President of the SGPC and the string of controversies which Bibi Jagir Kaur created and got enmeshed in only goes to show that politics and political exigencies will once again decide who is to head the SGPC, which came into being after a great many sacrifices and still remains “incomplete” in more ways than one. The task of selecting the SGPC presidential candidate and his team of office-bearers, thus, is an act of political balancing with due weightage being given to the antecedents of the selected person. The choice may not be as limited and options as few as these appear to be. Even a dark horse can emerge. There are contenders ever keen to queer the political pitch for Mr Badal and never prepared to quit for fear of going into oblivion. Mr Jagdev Singh Talwandi, who has been the SAD President in the past and is among the ageing Akali leaders, has himself hinted that he will succeed Bibi Jagir Kaur. Will he? Insiders say that there was not much discussion on the issue at the PAC meeting. Mr Talwandi himself offered to be the candidate and expressed his desire to “serve” the Panth. Understandably, Mr Badal kept quiet. No one really knows whose name Mr Badal has in mind. Names are not even important at this stage when the guessing game is on. What is important, several political observers and some members of the PAC say, is making the right choice for the post, which has to be correct and acceptable, by and large, to the Sikhs rather than to the SAD and SGPC leadership’s mute followers. Does this mean the options are limited when it comes to finding a suitable person for the SGPC presidentship? This question assumes significance now because here is an Akali Dal which has always espoused the cause of “democracy”. Yet every important meeting of the party ends by vesting “Pradhanji” with all powers to take the final decision. This has become the rule not a mere exception. Given the political stature of Mr Badal, his style of functioning and his ability to assuage the hurt sensibilities of his detractors within and outside the party fold, there seems to be very little or no scope for dissent. Even those who claim to speak up sulk later. Mr Badal’s decision will also be viewed and judged from many angles. After the tercentenary celebrations of the Khalsa Panth in 1999, the political gains, if any, were allowed to be frittered away. The crises within the SGPC and the SAD were handled in a manner that created horizontal and vertical divisions. Fissures within the religious and political organisations resulted in public ridicule of certain established concepts and traditions, raising doubts if the Sikhs could manage their own affairs, whether these related to the appointment of the Sikh head priests, their role and functions, relationship between them and the SGPC, the equation between the SGPC and the SAD, the relevance of “Hukamnamas” (religious edicts issued from Akal Takht), manner of taking “langar”, or sending pilgrims to Pakistan. There is another situation as well — the emergence of the RSS (Rashtriya Sikh Sangat), an offshoot of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which at one point of time threatened peace and seemingly the law and order situation. The manner the RSS influence was sought to be spread to rural Punjab evoked a strong protest from Sikhs. Therefore, the next SGPC President has to be one who can counter extraneous influences, contain internal rife within the SGPC and eliminate the growing menace of corruption, favouritism, nepotism and embezzlement of gurdwara funds, etc. The person should also be able to speak out his mind to Mr Badal on issue-based matters rather than squirm in his presence. For the Akalis, religion and politics go hand in
hand. The Sikhs have had an overdose of politicisation of religion. It is time politics is cleansed of malice through religion and the message of the Gurus followed in the true spirit — something which the SGPC over the years has failed to do. The new incumbent should not use religion to further his own political interests. Who will be that person ? Is there such a person, Mr Badal? |
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Cong chief backs Amarinder NEW DELHI, Nov 22 — The decks have been cleared for retaining Capt Amarinder Singh as Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President for another term. With Congress chief Sonia Gandhi backing the candidature of Capt Amarinder Singh thus snuffing out the opposition to his leadership in the faction-ridden PPCC, just about everyone in the party organisation in the sensitive border state is expected to fall in line without as much as a whimper. After his homecoming in 1997, Capt Amarinder Singh has worked to a plan in his critics at bay despite the party’s abysmal showing in the Nawanshahr and Sunam Assembly byelections. He has also ensured that a majority of the delegates in the PPCC are his supporters. It is apparent that Mrs Gandhi as the numero uno of the Congress finds merit in the arguments of Capt Amarinder Singh to woo the Jat community in Punjab which has traditionally favoured the Akali Dal. In this context the PPCC chief has found favour with the Congress high command compared to those leaders who have underlined the need to regain the confidence of the Hindus along with the backward and other underprivileged sections in Punjab. With a clear signal emanating from Mrs Gandhi in favour of Capt Amarinder Singh, the battle by his detractors to dislodge him is over even though he is accused of having a soft corner for all those who have crossed over from the Akali Dal. Congress loyalists in Punjab find it incomprehensible that they have been given a raw deal by the party’s central leadership. The election authority of the PPCC has drawn up the schedule and fixed November 26 for the poll in case there is a contest for the post of president. This is the prelude to the battle lines being drawn for the assembly elections in Punjab slated in the first quarter of 2002. Capt Amarinder Singh wants to put his team together in facing the challenge of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Judging by the fresh developments in the Punjab unit of the Congress, PPCC presidential aspirants in former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and Jagmeet Singh Brar seem to have no option at this juncture but to take a back seat. Despite all the loud talk of inner party democracy and secret balloting, the party high command has always called the shots in installing its choice on Pradesh Congress committees. Discriminating Congressmen, who spoke on condition of anonymity, attribute the vicious fractious politics in their ranks to the continuing malady of the party high command foisting its hand picked persons to lead the state units of the Congress. They apprehend that this might well be the undoing in Punjab though Mr Badal has a big battle on his hands in countering the charges of running a corrupt SAD government and having done nothing tangible in the economic and religious spheres. Another problem staring the Punjab Chief Minister in the face is the increasing criminality in politics. Mr Badal has ruled out advancing the assembly elections in Punjab as he also needs time to put his house in order. His advantage stems from having a strong and stable non-Congress government at the Centre. Then, Mr Badal will get adequate support from Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir which also have non-Congress governments. In these circumstances Punjab Congress leaders with no interest in the leadership stakes emphasise it will be foolhardy to assume that Capt Amarinder Singh’s experiment in breaking the SAD’s stranglehold on the Jat community will succeed. |
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Poll schedule for
PPCC chief CHANDIGARH, Nov 22 — Chaudhary Sultan Singh, Chairman of the State Election Committee- cum- Returning Officer for the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee
(PPCC) Organisational Election here today announced the election schedule for the election of President of the
PPCC. In a press note issued here today, Chaudhary Sultan Singh said nominations would be received at Punjab Congress Bhavan here on November 25 from 10 am to 1 pm. The scrutiny would be held between 1 pm to 3 pm and withdrawal of the nomination papers would be allowed till 5 pm the same day. The polling, if necessary , would be held on November 26 from 10 am to 5 pm and the result would be declared by the returning officer after the counting of the votes immediately after the polling. |
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Amarinder’s remarks
incorrect : DGP
MOGA, Nov 22 (UNI) — The Director General of the Punjab Police, Mr Sarabjit Singh, this evening characterised as “absolutely incorrect” the allegations levelled by the state Congress President Amarinder Singh that growing lawlessness and politicisation of the police force was pushing the state towards old situation when terrorists ruled the roost. The DGP was talking to mediapersons after presiding over a special crime meeting of the police officers of Ferozepor range here. Claiming that the law and order situation in Punjab was well under control he said, “it is absolutely incorrect that the state police is acting under the political influence of the ruling party (Shiromani Akali Dal)”. He denied Capt Amarinder Singh’s allegations that the Punjab Police was giving shelter to criminals under the influence of the ruling party. |
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Badal, Tohra should patch up: Aliwal BATHINDA, Nov 22 — Mr Amrik Singh Aliwal, president, Youth Akali Dal, today said that a patch up between the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal and the President, Sarv Hind Shiromani Akali Dal (SHSAD), Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, was needed as it would enhance the prospects of the SAD in the next Assembly elections. Talking to TNS here today, Mr Aliwal said the SAD, under the leadership of Mr Badal, was very strong and a patch up between Mr Badal and Mr Tohra could give a crushing defeat to Congress in the next Assembly elections. He pointed out that a prominent religious figure could intervene and a compromise between these two leaders could be reached. When asked how the SGPC President, Bibi Jagir Kaur’s alleged involvement in the murder of her daughter, Harpreet Kaur, had affected the image of SAD, he said that it had no way damaged the image of SAD. He claimed the SAD was strong enough to meet any political challenge. Replying to another question, he said that a new person in place of Bibi Jagir Kaur could be the president of the SGPC when the election for it would be held on November 30. He said Mr Badal would announce the name of candidate on November 29. Mr Aliwal said he would try to get maximum number of ticket for youth workers in the next Assembly elections as it would make a election wave in favour of the SAD. He said the Punjab Government had been fighting to ensure the release of all Sikh detenues and results were very encouraging. He added now only those Sikhs were in various jails whose cases would be decided in courts. He claimed that there was no leadership crisis at any level in the Youth Akali Dal. He was aware of some factionalism in the unit of Youth Akali Dal in Bathinda district and it would be solved shortly, he added. |
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Minister’s plea on officers seniority CHANDIGARH, Nov 22 — The Punjab Welfare Minister, Mr Sarwan Singh, has intervened to safeguard the interests of Scheduled Castes and backward classes in the state Health Department following a representation that “ wrong calculations” had been made with regard to the fixing of the seniority of senior Punjab Civil Medical Services (PCMS) officers in the department. Informed sources said today that Mr Sarwan Singh had sent a note to the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, stating that he had received a representation from certain officers of the Health Department with regard to the alleged wrong calculation of the seniority of senior officers of the department. Such calculation would be detrimental to the interest of the Scheduled Castes. Mr Sarwan Singh has requested the Chief Minister to direct the Health Department to route the seniority documents through the Welfare Department of SCs and backward class. The sources said the controversy in the department pertaining to wrong calculation of the seniority had arisen because of the filling of the post of the Director Health Services. The Punjab Scheduled Castes Officers Welfare Association has alleged that certain senior officers in the Health Department are trying their best to deny the post of Director, Health Services, to a Scheduled Caste officer. A senior office-bearer of the association said that the Health Department had sent a case to the state government to fill only the post of the Director, Health Services, whereas three posts of the Director rank are vacant in the Health Department. Two others vacancies to be filled of are the Director, Family Welfare, and the Director, ESI. If the mention of the three posts has been made in the file, then the government would have to fill one post from the eligible officers-belonging to the reserve category. However, in case of filling a single vacancy, there is no legal requirement of treating it as reserve. |
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Boats or play objects for kids? KHURSHADPUR (Jalandhar), Nov 22 — Having been used for ferrying people across the vast Sutlej river and rescuing hundreds of residents of scores of inundated villages during the 1988 floods, about a dozen costly boats have been left uncared for to face the vagaries of nature. Lying unutilised in fields along the banks of the Sutlej for more than 10 years, these boats are used by children of nearby villages, as playhouses in the absence of any maintenance on the part of the district administration or the Public Works Department (PWD), which officially own these boats. Officials estimate that each of the boats had cost the department around Rs 2 lakh in 1984 when most of these were purchased for ferrying people across the river, which had been without a bridge till the late eighties. But as soon as the “Kaanwanwala Pattan” bridge was constructed and opened for traffic the boats were dumped along the river banks and even 4-5 km away from the river. Growth of wild vegetation inside some boats and attack of termite are a testimony to the indifference of the administration, which has allegedly never done anything to make these operational after getting them repaired. “Actually, these are good heavy-duty wooden boats and used to be a very useful commodity as these were the only source of transportation in the area before the bridge came into being. But after that villagers got the administration failed to ensure proper maintenance of these boats, resulting in their speedy rotting, “said Makhan Singh, boatman of a lone operational boat. Initially, he did not allow the Tribune team to cross over to the other side of the river, saying,” You people write and create problems for us.” Another villager maintained the reason behind the speedy decay of boats was the use of inferior wooden planks in the making of boats, which led these to be an easy prey to termite attack and the vagaries of nature,” he said. Expressing concern over the state of boats, Darshi Singh of this village said it would have been better for the administration to maintain the boat service and if this was not possible these could have been leased out to some fishermen. This would have brought revenue and at the same time ensured proper upkeep of boats instead of allowing lakhs of rupees to go down the drain like this. Officials at the Nakodar SDM’s office and the Deputy Commissioner, Mr K. Shiva Prasad, were not aware about the state of boats.” |
Dept to check quacks LUDHIANA, Nov 22 — The Punjab Government has adopted a tough stance to check quackery in the state. The directorate of Health Services has issued directives to all medical officers in the state asking them to check and verify the unauthorised medical practitioners and registered FIRs against them. Orders have been served to all Medical Officers in the state. They have been asked to file duplicate list and the copies of the FIRs to the directorate by 28th of every month. The instructions were issued by the directorate some time ago to the Chief Medical Officers who in turn forwarded them to the Medical Officers. The order warns that in case any unauthorised medical practitioner is found in any area, the responsibility would be fixed on the Medical Officer concerned. The directive is reported to have come as a follow up action in regard to a case of contempt pending against the Punjab Government in the High Court for failing to implement its decision regarding quackery. The next hearing of the case is scheduled on November 27 when state government is supposed to file its statement. Quackery is rampant in Punjab, with the number of unauthorised medical practitioners in the state being put at over 1 lakh. |
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Gynaecologist booked for death SANGRUR, Nov 22 — The local police today registered a case against Dr (Mrs) Pratibha Bansal, a gynaecologist in the local civil hospital, under Section 304-A, of the IPC on the complaint of Mrs Jagdish Kaur that her daughter-in-law, Sukhwinder Kaur (26), wife of Mr Balbir Singh of Kamomajra village, about 5 km from here, died in the civil hospital here last night due to alleged negligence. Sukhwinder Kaur was admitted to the local civil hospital at about 10.30 a.m. yesterday for the delivery and she died at around 8.30 p.m. after giving birth to a dead baby. Protesting against the alleged negligence of the doctor and demanding the registration of a case against her, women activists belonging to different political parties and others staged a dharna in front of the SMO’s office in the hospital. The dharna was lifted this afternoon when the police recorded the statements and assured to register a case in this regard. Bibi Shaminder Kaur Longowal, a Communist leader, Bibi Surinder Kaur Duggan, circle president of women wing of the SAD, Ms Madhu, a senior Congress leader took part in the dharna. Bibi Longowal sought the arrest of the gynaecologist and legal and departmental action against the doctor. Mr Balbir Singh, husband of the deceased, also alleged that the gynaecologist was responsible for the death of his wife. Dr Anup Kad, SMO of the local civil hospital, said Sukhwinder Kaur had not died due to negligence by Dr Pratibha and said Dr Pratibha had told him that Sukhwinder Kaur’s HB was only six grams besides the child in her womb had already died. She also had high blood pressure, he added. Dr Kad further stated that after delivering the dead child, the deceased went into shock due to bleeding, and later died. The SHO, Mr Harinder Singh, said the police had registered a case against Dr Pratibha Bansal under
Section 304-A of the IPC for causing death by negligence on the complaint of mother-in-law of the deceased. According to sources in the hospital, Dr Pratibha was in the operation theatre of the hospital due to a complicated case till 6 p.m. Later, she went to the gynae ward and attended to Sukhwinder Kaur, who delivered a dead baby after some time. |
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Siddiqui strong contender LUDHIANA, Nov 22 — After the formal appointment of Mr Gurbachan Jagat as the next Director-General of the Border Security Force by the Union Home Minister today, a search has started for his successor in the trouble-torn Jammu and Kashmir. One of the strong contenders for replacing Mr Jagat is Mr A.A. Siddiqui, Additional Director-General of Police, Punjab, at present posted as Director, Punjab Police Academy, at Phillaur, near here. Also in the race is Mr A.K. Suri, an IPS officer of the Jammu and Kashmir cadre belonging to the 1969 batch. Mr Jagat will thus become the first Punjab officer after Mr J.S. Bawa to head a central police organisation (CPO) . He is expected to assume charge of his new assignment on November 30, the day the present incumbent, Mr E.N. Rammohan, an officer of the 1965 batch, retires on superannuation. Mr Jagat, who belongs to the 1966 batch, will thus move from Srinagar/Jammu to New Delhi. At one stage it looked that Mr Ajai Raj Sharma, the present Commissioner of Police of Delhi, would be named to replace Mr Rammohan. Mr Sharma belongs to the Uttar Pradesh cadre. Mr A.A. Siddique, sources pointed out, was sounded for the Jammu and Kashmir posting sometime ago. But the proposal was never pursued as at one stage the thinking in the Union Home Ministry was to allow Mr Jagat to continue in his present position for the time being. But after today’s formal announcement of Mr Jagat’s appointment the chances about Mr Siddique given this “challenging assignment” have looked up. At present, the Jammu and Kashmir police has three officers senior to Mr Suri, a strong contender for the post now. The state government is likely to be consulted by the Union Home Ministry before finalising Mr Jagat’s successor. Officers senior to Mr Suri are Mr M.N. Sabharwal of the 1964 batch , Mr Veerana Alvalli of the 1966 batch and Mr S.S. Ali of the 1967 batch. Mr Sabharwal has 10 months to go for his retirement on superannuation while Mr Alvalli has more than 30 months to go for retirement. He is at present on deputation with the Union Government as Director of Bureau of Civil Aviation Safety. Mr Suri has seven years to go and is considered a good officer with rich experience of Jammu and Kashmir. He has held certain important positions in the civil administration, including as Transport Commissioner of the state. When contacted, Mr Siddiqui said he would “look forward” to this challenging assignment. “It would be a great honour for Punjab in case the assignment is given to a Punjab officer for the second successive time. We have rich experience of fighting terrorism in Punjab,” he said. Mr Siddiqui has been Additional Director-General of Police, Punjab, since 1997. |
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Declare farm
policy, Badal urges Centre BHADE (Bathinda), Nov 22 — Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said that the Central Government should announce the agriculture policy immediately after consulting states to bring farmers out of the economic crisis. Mr Badal, who was here today to listen to grievances of people of the Joga Assembly segment in a sangat darshan programme said the farmers were not getting adequate prices for their produce and they were facing a financial crisis. He said the Congress signed the death warrants of the farmers when former Prime Minister, Mr P.V. Narasimha Rao put his signature on the GATT
agreement two years ago. He said to overcome the problem of storage of foodgrains in Punjab, private parties would be allowed to construct godowns and open plinths. Storage capacity would be increased as per requirements and before the procurement process. He said the government would not allow disruption of peace in the state. communal harmony would be maintained at all costs, he said. The Chief Minister said a meeting between Union Home Minister L.K. Advani and Union Defence Minister George Fernandes would be held to solve the problems of residents of the border districts. He said the Central Government would be urged to deploy BSF women in areas where the farmers were cultivating land across the fence so that women and children did not face any problem. He said the Upper Bari Doab canal would be desilted and widened to provide water to Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts. A project worth Rs 180 crore with the help of the Centre had been sanctioned for the purpose would be completed in 15 months. When asked that certain MLAs had levelled the allegation that funds earmarked for their respective Assembly segments had been diverted to those areas which were being represented by the ruling SAD-BJP alliance, he said funds meant for development did not belong to any individual or a particular area and hence these could be spend on any development project. |
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Trust
chief, shop owner quarrel AMRITSAR, Nov 22 — Hot words were exchanged between the Improvement Trust Chairman and owner of a chicken shop at the Nehru complex here. Mr Surjit Singh, owner of the chicken shop had reportedly made a thoroughfare through the grill outlining the periphery of the complex. Trust chairman Bakshi Ram Arora got a wall erected to close the thoroughfare. About 20 trust personnel accompanied him along with three police personnel. A crowd gathered there for nearly half an hour while both parties shouted at each other. Mr Arora said the shop actually belonged to the trust as the owner had failed to make payments for the shop. He alleged that reports had come about Mr Surjit Singh disallowing people from parking vehicles in the trust parking and using the parking area as an open air dining hall at night. Mr Surjit, however, disagreed and said his shop was the only operative shop in the ground floor area. He denied having broken the grill but said it broke when a fight took place in his chicken shop a few months ago. He had simply sold ered the hinges of the grill which served as a swing door. |
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Ranbaxy
conducts health awareness camp PATIALA Dr Rameshwar Chander, Civil Surgeon, Patiala, was the chief guest while Dr R.S.Bakshi, Chief Medical Officer, RCHS, came from Delhi to attend the inaugural camp. Dr Jaswinder Singh, Medical Officer, Alluna, spoke on the subject of population control and its implications. He substantiated his advice by quoting demographic figures for the past 100 years. Dr Sarbarinder Kaur, Medical Officer, Badungar, spoke on the subject of care for the girl child and ante-natal care. She emphasised the need for adequate nutrition for girls right from childhood. The
Civil Surgeon himself spoke on the new and revolutionary technique of
no scalpel vasectomy. He said men should exploit this method of
sterilisation to shoulder the responsibility of being a caring husband
and father. Dr S.P.Singh, Medical Officer, In charge of the Patiala
unit of RCHS , said such events would be repeated to make the
population self reliant in the field of preventive health care.
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Rally by PSEB
workers PATIALA Mr Sunil Kumar, division president, warned the management that if the agitation was not taken seriously, the protests would be strengthened. He appealed the board management to solve the employees’ problems through table talks. Mr Sunil Kumar encouraged the employees to participate in the all-Punjab rally on December 1. In another press note, members of Punjab State Electricity Board Employees Federation stated that the employees were furious over the reduction of 7000 posts in the management. It was further stated that the actual culprits for the loss in the electricity department were the management and the government. The leaders of PSEB will hold a rally on November 23. The rally will cover the whole of Punjab and participants will wear black badges. A dharna will be held in front of the headquarters of the department on November 28. Mr Amarjit Singh Sodhi criticised the ill-treatment meted out to the employees by the management. Instead of reaching at an agreement, the management started an inquiry to disturb their employees, he said. A huge rally against the victamisation of the employees will be held on December 1 in front of the head office in Patiala. The members of Ministerial Services Union and some other organisations are expected to participate. Mr Joginder Singh, secretary of the committee, informed that the PSEB Employees Joint Action Committee had tried to solve the problem mutually. It had a long meeting with the Electricity Minister, Mr Sikander Singh Malooka, and the board management in this regard, but no decision was taken. The committee criticised the cut posts by the management. It said the committee would also participate in the all-Punjab rally on the November 23 and in the meeting on November 25 at Jalandhar. |
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Varsity teachers
stage dharna AMRITSAR, Nov 22 — On a call given by the All-India Federation of University Teachers Associations, teachers of Guru Nanak Dev University staged a dharna in front of the Vice-Chancellor’s office and observed ‘save higher education day’ today. The teachers were protesting against the step-motherly treatment being meted out to the higher education by the Central and state governments. In a press statement, Dr Jaspal Singh Sandhu and Dr Tarlok Singh Banipal, vice-president and joint secretary respectively, of the GNDUTA, criticised the policies of the Central Government. The failure of the government to implement the UGC’s recommendations for the pay structure of university teachers was creating unrest on the campuses and would lead to disruption in academic activities, said Dr Sandhu and Dr Banipal. They demanded immediate implementation of the recommendations. |
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CPI leader
dead MOGA, Nov 22 (UNI) — Mr Nazar Singh Tarewala, veteran CPI leader and freedom fighter, died at his native village, Tarewala, near here last evening after a brief illness. He was 91. The leader had taken part in the freedom struggle and kisan movements. He spent many years in different jails. He joined the CPI in 1943 and became member of the party's National Council in 1985. He remained the president of the district unit of the CPI for many years. |
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Punjab prepares for
wheat procurement CHANDIGARH, Nov 22 — Punjab now is preparing for wheat procurement in Rabi 2001. Having burnt its fingers in paddy purchase it does not want to be caught unawares. With this in view, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, held a meeting here on Tuesday night and directed all the officers/officials of procurement agencies, including the FCI, to do timely spadework for smooth, efficient and effective procurement and adequate storage of wheat. According to the estimates of the Agriculture Department, total production of wheat was expected to touch 144 lakh tonnes. The procurement agencies, including the FCI, were expected to procure 100 lakh tonnes against 96.78 lakh tonnes last year. The Chief Minister was informed of a storage shortfall of approximately 90 lakh tonnes of space (70 lakh tonnes for the plinth and 20 lakh tonnes for godowns). He suggested land belonging to the Rural Development Department and the Punjab Mandi Board might be selected and used for the construction of plinths/godowns for the storage of food grains. |
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Samman patras for top tax
payers PATIALA, Nov 22 — Three top income tax payers of Patiala Income Tax Charge were awarded commendation certificates at a 'Samman function' organised by the Income Tax Department here today. The Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, North West Region, Ms S.P. Kaur awarded the certificates to Mr Shardha Singh, Chairman, Banking Services Recruitment Board, Bhopal, Dr Saminder Sharma and Mr Girdhari Lal, a businessman from Abohar. Speaking on the occasion, Ms S.P. Kaur said stress would now be laid on widening the tax base in the region from Rs 2,500 crore to Rs 5,000 crore. She said the functioning of the department was also aimed to be changed with importance being given on guiding the people about tax payment. She said the honouring of the three highest tax payers in the salary, professional and business categories today was a new approach of the department to treat honest tax payers as clients of the department. She said those engaging in tax evasion would be dealt with firmly. Mr B.M. Singh, Commissioner of Income Tax, Patiala Charge, emphasised the importance of widening the tax base. He said the department was being modernised with computerisation being taken up in Patiala. Mr Shardha Singh and Dr Saminder Singh also spoke on the occasion and expressed their happiness on being awarded samman patras and appreciated the changing face of the Income Tax Department. |
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Batala tax payers honoured BATALA, Nov 22 — The local Income Tax Department organised a meeting of assessees at the office of the Foundry Industries Association, Batala, to honour highest income tax payers of the town. The taxpayers were honoured by Mr S.J.S. Pal, Income Tax Commissioner, and Mr Jagtar Singh, Additional Income Tax Commissioner, Amritsar. The three highest tax payers were Mr Ashok Kumar Aggarwal, Mr R.P. Jain, Chief Engineer, Batala Co-Operative Sugar Mills Limited and Dr Santokh Singh, respectively. Mr Pal said the highest taxpayers would be given immunity from the scrutiny of return for the next 3 years. Mr Jagdish Sawhney, local MLA, was among those who attended the function. |
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2 killed in mishap ABOHAR, Nov 22 — Two persons were killed, one was injured when a school van hit them at the bus stop near Danewala-Satkosi village in this subdivision today. Sources said the yellow van carrying students after school hours reportedly hit three persons who were trying to catch a private bus outside the village. Two of them died later. The third was admitted to the Civil Hospital here. The victims were identified as Sadhu Singh of Danewala and Raj Singh of Kotli in Gidderbaha. |
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Jansewa Express delayed PHILLAUR, Nov 22 — Barauni-bound 5210 down Amritsar-Barauni Jansewa Express started for its destination eight hours late today as its corresponding 5209 up Jansewa Express was running nine hours behind the schedule. |
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Laxmi Kanta flays
power tariff hike AMRITSAR, Nov 22 — Ms Laxmi Kanta Chawla, BJP MLA, today lashed out at the government for the unprecedented hike in power tariff. She said in a press note that instead of preventing power theft the government was putting burden on the public by hiking the tariff. She demanded a roll back in the prices and said the government should take interest to redress grievances of the public. |
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Census operation
in Punjab from Feb 9 CHANDIGARH, Nov 22 — The Population enumeration will be undertaken in Punjab from February 9 to 28, 2001, with a revisional round from March 1 to 5, in the second phase of Census Operations, an official press note said. The Local Government Department will be the nodal department for census work and the Principal Secretary, Local Government, has been designated as a state-level nodal officer for census. |
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Badal mourns Tarewala’s death CHANDIGARH, Nov 22 — The Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, today expressed grief over the demise of a distinguished freedom fighter. Mr Nazir Singh Tarewala, who died at his native village Tarewala in Moga district. He conveyed his sympathies to the members of the bereaved family, an official press note said here today. |
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Khalsa institute
stone-laying today CHANDIGARH, Nov 22 — Fulfilling a pledge made on the eve of Khalsa tercentenary celebrations in 1999 to set up an University at historic Damdama Sahib. The Punjab Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal, will lay the foundation-stone of Khalsa Tercentenary Institute of Advanced Studies at Talwandi Sabo (Damdama Sahib), tomorrow. It will be developed into an Open University. This is part of tercentenary commitment of the government, says a press release.
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More rail facilities sought MANSA: Though Mansa was declared a district in 1992, much remains to be done in many spheres, including the provision of various railway facilities. For decades only a quota of two berths has been available for reservation on the Punjab Mail, which runs between Ferozepore and Bombay via Mansa. As Mansa’s population has risen many times over the years, residents have demanded that the number of berths should be increased to at least 10. They have also demanded that the double rail track between Delhi and Jakhal should be extended up to Bathinda, which is one of the main junctions. In Mansa an association has been formed which works for the welfare of rail passengers. Mr Lachhman Das, one of the members of this association, says nine memorandums have been sent to the railway authorities in connection with certain demands. The demands include the construction of a subway at Phatak C-206 and an overbridge at Phatak B-208, the extension of the DJJ1 and DJJ2 trains up to Bathinda and connecting of the lavatories on the railway platform to the towns sewer system. * * * The Gaushala and Mandir Sudhar Committee has been doing yeoman service in providing various facilities at the local cremation site. Mr Sat Pal Goyal of the committee says about Rs 25 lakh has been spent within three years on the renovation or construction of sheds, and lavatories and the installation of statues. The premises have also been beautified. Mr Mangat Ram, convener of the committee, says there is also a plan to construct a temple. * * * The Shri Gaushala Bhavan Charitable Trust has constructed a community bhavan at a cost of Rs 60 lakh. Mr Makhan Lal Mehta, the driving force behind the project, says the work will be completed at a total cost of Rs 1 crore. The bhavan premises are spread over two acres. There is one hall measuring 6,000 sq ft, one dining hall (2,400 sq ft), one kitchen and 16 rooms with attached bathrooms. The bhavan will be used by the public for organising weddings, bhog ceremonies and other functions. The charges will be “reasonable.” Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister of Punjab donated Rs 10 lakh for the construction of the bhavan while Rs 50 lakh was collected from the public. |
Murder suspect’s
body found FAZILKA, Nov 22 — According to an FIR lodged with the police, Bhan Singh of Boorwala village, his son Sham Singh (25) was allegedly murdered by his brother Nidhan Singh’s three sons — Harvinder Singh, Baljinder Singh and Baljit Singh — on Monday night. He alleged that the three suspects came to his house on Monday and took Sham Singh along with them to their fields on some pretext. As Sham Singh did not return he thought he might have slept at his cousin’s house as usual. However, he was shocked when his neighbour Thana Singh informed him the next morning that his son was dead and his body with multiple injury marks was lying in the fields of Nidhan Singh. According to the FIR, Sham Singh’s cousins reportedly harboured a grudge against him because they suspected that he was behind the breaking up of Baljinder Singh’s engagement some months ago. Although later Baljinder Singh’s marriage was to be solemnised with the same girl, Nidhan Singh’s sons held it against Sham Singh. Baljinder Singh’s body was also found some distance from the body of Sham Singh under mysterious circumstances. A bottle of poison was found near the body. It is suspected that Baljinder Singh committed suicide after the crime. A case under Section 302, IPC, has been registered. |
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Dismissed cop shoots youth FAZILKA, Nov 22 — Manoj Kumar (28) of Bodiwala Pitha village of this subdivision was shot dead in front of a marriage palace at around 10.30 p.m. last night. According to an FIR lodged with the police by Mr Ashwani Kumar, brother of the deceased, he along with Manoj Kumar, and some other relatives had come to attend a marriage. As they came out of the marriage palace, Tara Chand, a dismissed head constable and of the same village, allegedly shot Manoj Kumar and fled on a scooter. Manoj Kumar was rushed to the civil hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. Mr Ashwani Kumar said old enmity between them and Tara Chand was the cause of the crime. He stated that Tara Chand and his brother Om Parkash had made a murderous assault on Manoj Kumar in a land dispute case in 1996 for which Tara Chand and his brother had been sentenced to three years, rigorous imprisonment. Later, he was dismissed from his services. The suspect was on bail and killed Manoj Kumar to take revenge, he alleged. The police has registered a case under Sections 302, 25, 54 and 59, IPC against Tara Chand who is reportedly missing. Dr Mohinder Kumar Rinwa, Secretary, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, has flayed the murder. |
Rs 73,000 looted from
petrol station BATHINDA, Nov 22 — Two unidentified persons looted a petrol pump at gun point at the Chack Ruldu Singh Wala village and took away Rs 73,000 from the manager of the petrol pump. Police sources said two armed persons threatened the manager demanding cash. A case had been registered under Sections 382, 506 and 34 of the IPC on the complaint lodged by the manager, the sources added. |
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Undertrial
escapes from hospital JALANDHAR, Nov 22 — An undertrial escaped
from the local civil hospital here yesterday. A mobile phone was recovered by the police during a search of the ward from where he slipped away. Meanwhile, six policemen, including a Head Constable, have been suspended for showing negligence in keeping a watch on Balwinder Singh Binda in the hospital where he was admitted for the treatment of a minor disease. The undertrial prisoner who had been booked under the NDPS Act had been in judicial custody since November 2. SSP
Gaurav Yadav said an inquiry had been entrusted to the SP (City), Mr
Pawan Uppal. A case under Sections 224 and 223 of the IPC had been
registered against the escapee and the police officials. |
Engg college
to adopt rural schools ROPAR, Nov 22 — The Institute of Engineering and Technology, Bhaddal, will work for the uplift of education standards in remote villages near the college. Dr R.S. Seehra, Principal, gave this information while talking to newspersons at a function organised on the foundation day of the institute. He said he had visited schools in the vicinity of the institute. Most of them had neither the appropriate staff nor laboratories. Hence, the institute had decided to adopt these schools. The proposals in this regard had been sent to official concerned for approval. Besides this, the institute would also organise coaching classes free of cost for rural students to train them for competitive exams, he said. The institute had also got approval from the All-India Council for Technical Education to start information technology and mechanical engineering courses from the next session. Besides this, Punjab Technical University had also given a go-ahead to the institute to initiate research in various fields, the Principal said. |
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Fee issue referred to VC’s panel CHANDIGARH, Nov 22 — As the Punjab Government obviously does not want to invite any trouble on the students’ front at this stage, when the elections to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha are only a year away, it today handed over the issue of enhancing the fees in colleges to a high-powered committee of Vice-Chancellors. Informed official sources told TNS that the VCs of all three universities — Panjab, Punjabi and Guru Nanak Dev — would be members of the committee. Mr Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia, Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi University, had been made convener of the committee while the Principal Secretary for Higher Education, Mr G.P.S. Shahi, would represent the state government on it. The decision to enhance the fees in the colleges in the state was to be taken at a meeting of the State Council of Higher Education which met here under the chairmanship of Master Mohan Lal, Minister of Higher Education. The proposal was to bring the fees in the colleges on a par with those in the universities. Whenever, the government wants to postpone a decision on any issue, the standard practice is to hand over the matter to a high-powered committee. Official sources said the government did not want to take any risk as an increase in the fees could lead to a statewide student agitation which could be exploited by the Opposition parties. Confirming that a committee had been set up to decide the issue of fees in colleges, Master Mohan Lal, said the panel had been told to examine all aspects of the matter. Another important issue pertaining to the redemarcation of the jurisdiction of the universities in the state had also been handed over to a committee of the Vice-Chancellors. Mr H.S. Soch, Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, had been made convener of this panel. Master Mohan Lal said the three VCs had been told to prepare a blueprint for the reallocation of colleges to the universities. At present the allocation of colleges had been done in a haphazard manner. For instance, all colleges in Ropar district fell within the jurisdiction of Punjabi University with its headquarters in Patiala even though many of them were at a short distance from Panjab University’s headquarters in Chandigarh. Master Mohan Lal said he wanted to change this. The next meeting of the committee of VCs for the redemarcation of the jurisdiction of the universities would be held on December 21 here. Taking serious note of the defiance of his instructions with regard to the surprise checking and inspection of colleges by VCs, Master Mohan Lal said he had told the VCs to report twice a month on such checking. He said the education system in the colleges, especially in the rural areas, required to be streamlined and the VCs had been told to take the necessary steps in this connection. There are 162 government-aided colleges, 48 government colleges and 27 affiliated colleges in the state. The most significant decision taken at the meeting was to start professional courses in rural areas. Master Mohan Lal said he had told the VCs to start courses like information technology, food processing, computer applications and fashion designing in villages by tying up with the panchayats. He said the available school buildings or panchayat buildings could be utilised for this purpose. The response of the VCs was positive in this connection. He said he would personally monitor the starting of such courses. There was no progress on the pension issue which has been hanging fire for the past several years. Teachers retiring from the private aided colleges have urged the government to implement the decision taken in this regard. A deputation of the Principals of colleges also met Master Mohan Lal. However, their demands could not be discussed because certain senior officers were not present at the meeting. The Principals were asked to come again. |
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‘Restore fiscal
health of universities’ PATIALA, Nov 22 — Prof H.S.Deol, former Commissioner of the Linguistic Minorities in India, lambasted the higher education system in India as irrelevant, repetitive and boring at the Save Higher Education Day which was organised by the PUTA in the Arts Auditorium. He said that education has failed to satisfy the intellectual curiosity of students and they feel alienated. He argued that such a situation has emerged because education is planned, controlled and administered not by the professionals but by the politicians supported by the bureaucracy. This has resulted in the complete annihilation of creativity and originality. He also pleaded the government for the restoration of fiscal health of the universities. The funding can be done by private agencies and must not be done through fines, fee rise and increasing the prices of the various forms, he added. He also urged the school teachers to fulfill the social responsibility both inside and outside the class rooms. He also discussed lethargy and hypocracy in our system. Prof Sucha Singh Gill said the universities are centres of establishing and disseminating education. This education helps in understanding the social, economic and political changes of the country and thus plays a key role in the development of society. He said that the funds for higher education which are not adequate, were the responsibility of the government. Professor Bhupinder Singh Klera, president, PUTA, presided over the function. |
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Identify your potential,
says Albuquerque PATIALA Addressing students of Kendriya Vidyalayas and the Blossoms School at the first Armoured Division Headquarters, Ms Albuquerque said it was important for children to know a parallel field within a particular subject . The career counsellor, who was here from Delhi alongwith a team to guide senior students and show them various avenues open to them other than the conventional courses. Following the lecture, Ms Albuquerque also interacted with the students in a question and answer session in which the students as well as their parents participated. The students seemed to be quite aware of the new career opportunities in both the information technology and management. Most of them asked about career courses which were completely removed from the traditional choices of engineering and medicine. Earlier Ms Ravi Singh, Principal, Blossoms School, welcomed the chief guest. She said the lecture by Ms Albuquerque was aimed at exposing the students to various career choices so that they could make their final choice carefully. She said the career councellor would take a test of the students to gauge the individual aptitudes of the students and she would interact with students again in January by which time they would have made a definite choice. |
Poor response to khadi mela PATIALA Khadi is not attracting sales despite the fact that it is for the first time that the KVIC has organised a mela on such a scale in which khadi cooperatives from all over the state have put up their stalls in Patiala. The situation is so despite the fact that a rebate of 33 per cent is offered on all khadi and associated village craft items. For the people who have put up stalls at the mela, it is proving to be a losing proposition. The proprietors of various stalls said they might not even recover the expenditure incurred in putting up their stalls and bringing their goods to the city. The fee for the stalls itself is on the steep side with their being two categories of Rs 5,000 and Rs 3,000. Stall owners said they had come to Patiala hoping that there would be a demand for khadi and they would do good business, but their hopes had been belied. They said one factor could be that winter was still to set in and most of the stalls have put up winter items. ‘’There are few buyers for winter items as it is difficult to wear a sweater during the day ‘’, said one stall owner. Some visitors to these stalls said the mela had not attracted crowd as the festive season was on the wane and people were not on a buying spree as was the situation a month earlier. Besides this, they said, there was a tradition of sales in Patiala with many garment houses putting up sales of clothes, woollens and ladies suits regularly which were popular with the people. Moreover, khadi apparently is not in fashion presently. KVIC Development Officer S L Sehgal while talking to TNS also admitted that stall owners were not happy with the state of affairs. He said normally these entrepreneurs used to put up an exhibition in Chandigarh, but this time with the aim to spread khadi movement, an exhibition-cum-sale had been planned for Patiala. Mr Sehgal said the choice of the mela site near the bus stand could be another reasons for the poor response as this place is away from residential areas. He said the fee for the stalls was reasonable if compared to the lease cost in Chandigarh or other big cities as the entrepreneurs were going to showcase their products for one month and could easily recover the stall rent even if they got a marginal response. However, he said those who had come from far away places would be hit by the poor response. |
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