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| Monday, March 5, 2001, Chandigarh, India |
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Tohra rules out patch-up Bathinda, March 4 Talking to mediapersons here today Mr Tohra said he would think of a patch-up with SAD only after Mr Badal sought an apology from Bhai Ranjit Singh, former Jathedar of the Akal Takht. He said his party had not broken away from the SAD, rather the “anti-panthic activities” of Mr Badal had forced them to take the step. He said that until Mr Badal did not adhere to the “hukamnamas” issued by Bhai Ranjit Singh, the process of unification could not start. Mr Tohra said the stories about a patch-up were being spread by the ruling party and there was not an iota of truth in them. He said as SHSAD had not put up their candidate in the recent Majitha byelection, supporters of Mr Badal had started spreading such rumours. He said the only reason why SHSAD had not fielded a candidate was to refute the charges that the party was helping the Congress. Mr Tohra, however, said the party would welcome the unification of Akali factions as his party stood for the interests of the Sikh panth. Mr Tohra said he was in constant touch with other political parties of Punjab for the formation of the Third Front. He said his party had held talks with he Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and other parties. Mr Tohra alleged that the SGPC was being
misused by Mr Badal for political purposes. He alleged that during the Majitha byelection, SGPC employees who were posted at the Golden Temple had been transferred to Majitha for campaigning for the SAD candidate. He
alleged that about Rs 20 lakh had been “used” in the election from SGPC funds. He also alleged that SGPC funds were given to voters belonging to the scheduled castes in Majitha for the construction of community centres in various villages. Mr Tohra said the policies of the Central government were anti-farmers and anti-poor. He said neither the Central Government nor the state government were doing anything for
the improvement of the farming community. He said the chances of increase in the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat were slim. Mr Tohra also condemned the decision of the Central Government to give the power of procurement to the states instead of the Centre. He said the surplus produce in Punjab could not be sold to other states in the absence of a central agency. Mr Tohra criticised Mr Badal for not condemning the statement of Mr Om Prakash Chautala, Chief Minister, Haryana, demanding that Haryana be given 50 per cent share in the power generated by the Ranjit Sagar Dam. |
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What will poll-year Budget be
like? Chandigarh, March 4 What should one expect from the Budget for 2001-2002 that not only happens to be the last year of the present government’s five-year term but also the election year? One has to be cautiously optimistic to hazard a guess. It is not easy. The Budget could just as well be another “cosmetic” exercise — populist and please-all. The reductions and exemptions in the rate of sales tax granted to trade, industry and business in recent weeks give enough indication as to what announcements can possibly be expected. One has heard enough about fiscal structural imbalances, stagnant revenue, deceleration in the economic growth, rising expenditure and burden of debt servicing as also about the reforms and correctives being applied to restore the financial health of the state all these past four years. At the end of all this political rhetoric, one still finds the Governor, Lt-Gen. J. F. R. Jacob (retd.), defining the financial health to be under ‘’stress’’ in his Address to the Vidhan Sabha on March 1. This was despite some visible turnabout and government efforts continuing to control the runaway revenue deficit of the state, as he put it. He said the revenue deficit this year would be considerably lower than last year’s. Does it mean that the Budget has absorbed the impact of the Punjab Fourth Pay Commission as well as the onerous debt-servicing burden? Yes, if the Address is to be believed. Giving the government credit where it is due, TNS learns from sources that the Punjab economy is looking up. The rate of growth was 6.8 per cent in 1999-2000 against the country’s 6 per cent. This rate was much lower — 2.92 per cent and 4.24 per cent — against the country’s 5.03 per cent and 6.8 per cent in 1997-98 and 1998-99, respectively. What gives confidence to those engaged in preparing the Budget is the buoyancy seen in the tax revenue receipts. There is expected to be 22 per cent upswing this year against 21 per cent last year. This may be a ‘’historic achievement’’ but can it be sustained? If so, for how long? Consequently the tax: GSDP ratio has improved, showing buoyancy in tax collection. It is likely to be 8.4 per cent for the current year against 6.3 per cent and 5.9 per cent in 1999-2000 and 1998-99, respectively. Tax revenue, on an average, rose by 8 per cent till 1997-98, while expenditure shot up by 15 per cent to 16 per cent, per year. Now a hefty increase is on the anvil. Thus, since the mid-eighties, for the first time, Punjab’s rate of growth is higher than that of the country. The credit why the momentum of growth has gone up goes to agriculture that is showing an 8 per cent rate of growth in the current year. One way of looking at the financial health of a state is to see the ratio between revenue deficit and revenue receipts. In that sense, the ratio is 25 per cent for the current financial year compared to 36 per cent in 1999-2000 and 45 per cent in 1998-99. In absolute terms, in the last two years, this has been pared down by Rs 1,000 crore. The revenue deficit is likely to be Rs 2,200 crore for the current year against Rs 3,100 crore for 1999-2000. There has been an improvement in the release of funds as well, the sources disclosed, may it be for the Scheduled Castes and backward classes, the local bodies, panchayati raj institutions, etc. That money was flowing towards development activities is borne out by the fact that capital expenditure was up from Rs 1,100 crore (1999-2000) to Rs 1,500 crore for the current year. Dependence on overdraft also decreased to a mere 22 days in the current year from 80 days last year and 226 days in 1998-99. But given the experience of the past four years and the general impression about the profligacy of the government, one wonders why it failed to cut down on non-plan and non-productive expenditure, show buoyancy in revenue receipts, contain the mounting debt (Rs 29,000 crore) and why Punjab today finds itself in a debt trap? Blaming legacy is one thing. Learning a lesson or two in financial housekeeping is quite another. One hopes this government, too, will not fall in line with the Congress government that it accused of having followed the “scorched-earth’’ policy in its last Budget. The financial concerns will persist requiring mid-term and long-term solutions and restructuring. Irrespective of the political executive that comes to power after the elections to the Vidhan Sabha, Punjab’s economy and finances will have to be safeguarded and enabled to grow at a faster and higher rate. The capability and commitment of Capt Kanwaljit Singh and his team will be seen only when they put into practice their own doctrine: “The Budget looks beyond the time-frame of one year”. The tragedy of Budget presentations in Punjab has been that resulting increases were not assessed correctly and the Budgets prepared accordingly. This holds true when a major blow was given to the Budget calculations in respect of the implementation of the Pay Commission recommendations. These put up to 40 per cent pressure on the 1999-2000 Budget. The impact has now been absorbed. The Governor in his Address has given broad indications of what his government intended to do. But then nothing can be ruled out when it comes to relaxations and resorting to the same political gimmicks and jugglery of Budget figures with an eye on the ballot. Along with the Budget comes the Annual Plan. Emphasis in a predominantly agriculture-based economy has naturally to be again on irrigation and power, besides infrastructure development, agro-processing, primary education, health and social security. Every government is aware how money for social security is wasted. Yet in the name of the poor, a poor government indulges in politicking, making the state poorer. Capt Kanwaljit Singh can also not afford to ignore the hints given by Mr Yashwant Sinha in the Union Budget on food procurement and the distribution system throwing a challenge at the states. The manner in which the pricing of socio-economic services and the fixing of administered prices is being worked out in four critical areas — petroleum products, sugar, drugs and fertilisers — also does not portend well for Punjab. Here the producers, the farmers, are caught in a Catch-22 situation with the government fiddling. The Finance Minister will have to respond to such issues in his Budget because as for Punjab, there is nothing to cheer about going by the Union Budget hints. |
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PUDA promises ‘new deal’ for colonisers Chandigarh March 5 A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting chaired by the Punjab Housing and Urban Development Minister, Dr Upinderjit Kaur, who is also the Chairperson of PUDA. The meeting of all licensees had been convened by the Minister to acquaint herself with the difficulties of the colonisers as well as to receive feedback. The Minister stated that it was the Punjab Government’s declared policy to encourage private sector investment as well as entrepreneurship in the housing sector, provided it was carried out in a planned manner, in accordance with the master plans and the norms of the Town and Country Planning Department. At the same time, Dr Upinderjit Kaur warned that illegal colonisation would attract swift and certain penal measures, including criminal prosecution. She stated that an amendment was being introduced to the relevant law to include provisions for demolition in respect of structures in the illegal colonies. She appealed to people not to buy plots in unauthorised colonies, which did not provide amenities like water, sewers or electricity. An official spokesman stated that the colonisers appealed for a level playing field. While unauthorised colonies were going unchecked owing to some legal lacunae, persons getting Town Planning (TP) schemes approved from the respective municipal bodies were not paying any external development charges EDCs or licence fees. Moreover, the saleable area allowed to them was on the higher side. The Minister gave an assurance that henceforth there would be uniformity in respect of the norms for PUDA licensees and the TP schemes of the Local Government Department. The Minister also said that she would actively and favourably consider a reduction in the rate of the EDCs, which at present was Rs 7.35 lakh per acre for municipal corporation cities. Dr Upinderjit Kaur
emphasised that the relationship of PUDA vis-a-vis the private licensed coloniser should be seen as one of cooperation and collaboration, rather than that of confrontation. She also stated that competition between the state agencies and private parties in the provision of plots would only increase efficiency and quality, apart from providing plots at lower rates to the masses. She said the Chief Minister had already taken a policy decision that wherever any application for the grant of a colony licence was pending, PUDA would not enter into compulsory land acquisition proceedings. However, the need of the hour was to suggest innovative public-private partnership models so that the capital and managerial skills of the private sector could be optimally utilised along with the states concern for balanced and planned urbanisation and its sovereign right to acquire land. The Minister also agreed to consider sympathetically the demands of the colonisers regarding reduction in the quantum of the bank guarantee, acceptance of plots as security in lieu of the bank guarantee and easing of the norms for the issue of the completion certificate. The Principal Secretary, Housing, Mr A.K. Dubey, said the provision of high-quality internal and external development works by colonisers would not only lead to a better living environment but also boost the demand for plots in the such licensed colonies. The timely payment of the EDCs would also facilitate the overall development of the towns, especially the creation of infrastructure in the vicinity of the colonies. The Chief Administrator, PUDA, Mr K.B.S. Sidhu, said that the procedure for the acceptance of applications had been simplified and a system of single-window service introduced. Now, the applications were required to be submitted only at PUDA’s head office, and all technical reports were being called for by the office in a time-bound manner. The grant of licences were discussed at a meeting, where the departments concerned were invited, along with promoters, so that any minor issues could be sorted out face to face, thus avoiding inordinate back-references. The Chief Town Planner, Mr H.S. Bhogal, said that master plans for all major towns were under preparation and the promoters were welcome to apply for licences in respect of the areas earmarked for residential and commercial usage. |
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Assaulted by cops, he escaped abduction bid Faridkot, March 4 What has happened to Mr Gurmeet Singh and his family members in the past few years put a question mark on the claims made by the Punjab Government that rule of law prevails in the state and the police personnel are not allowed to enjoy “unbridled powers”. Information gathered by TNS revealed Mr Gurmeet Singh was allegedly recovered from illegal police custody by warrant officers from the Bariwala police station a few years ago and a writ in this connection was filed by his sister in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. On the writ petition, Mr Justice H.S. Bedi imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on police officials at fault and handed over the investigation of the case to the CBI. The CBI after its investigation had filed a chargesheet under Sections 342, 346, 365, 211 and 120-B of the IPC against Sub-Inspector Gurmail Singh, ASIs Teja Singh, Naib Singh, Ranjit Singh, Head Constable Karamjit Singh and Pritam Singh. The harassment of Mr Gurmeet Singh and his family members and other relatives did not come to an end though the police officials were made to face the criminal proceedings by the CBI on the directive of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The police personnel kept on pressing Mr Gurmeet Singh to withdraw proceedings launched against their colleagues. To Make Mr Gurmeet Singh allegedly toe the line of police officials he and his relative Mr Sawinder Singh were beaten up and a criminal case slapped against them under the Arms Act. Mr Gurmeet Singh, in a complaint made to the Punjab State Human Rights Commission alleged the two were falsely implicated in a criminal case by the then Station House Officer (SHO), Faridkot, Mohinder Singh, Assistant Sub-Inspector, Amar Singh and five other policemen. The police officials also tried to abduct him on July 4, 1999. He added that all these police officials had done so because he had got a criminal case registered against many police officials earlier also who were very close to SHO Mohinder Singh and others. Justice J.S. Sekhon, member, after going through all the details of the case minutely, held that Inspector Mohinder Singh and ASI Amar Singh had not only criminally assaulted the complainant Mr Gurmeet Singh, but also framed him as well as Sawinder Singh in a criminal case. He added that a recommendation was being made to the state government to get the criminal case withdrawn against the accused and his relative Sawinder Singh and register an appropriate criminal case against Inspector Mohinder Singh and ASI Amar Singh. The commission also recommended that the state government would pay immediate interim relief to the tune of Rs 10,000 each to Gurmeet Singh and Sawinder Singh, who were the victims of atrocities of the two police officials. The amount had to be paid within one month from February 26, 2001, under Section 18 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, with qualification that the state would be at liberty to realise the amount from the erring police officials. The commission had also sent a copy to the Home Department of the Government of Punjab and the IGP, Litigation, for compliance of the order and a report on or before April 15. |
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Marriage bureaus taking
kickback Bathinda, March 4 Giving gifts to the girl on her marriage by her parents has always been the tradition of the country. The mediators are given gold rings or other gifts as per the wishes of the both the parties. But these days marriage bureaus offer their services on a “registration fee-cum-commission basis”. There are about seven marriage bureaus in the area and almost all of them have ‘affiliations’ with some shops, business establishments, mostly PCOs and property dealers in the surrounding areas. As this business requires no formal training or mandatory registration professionalism is missing. The marriage bureaus have different modus operandi and the commission varies with the
service provided by them. Some of the bureaus have a flat rate i.e. they charge 0.5 per cent of the cost of marriage. Some of them have varying charges which obviously go up in direct proportion to the dowry the family of the boy gets. There are some marriage bureaus offering slab rate system of commission. Information gathered by The Tribune revealed that these bureaus offer many services to the families of the boy and girl. This includes information about the exact financial position of both the families, the expected dowry, photographs, information about relatives etc. They arrange meetings between the two parties and act as mediators and “bargain” for the increase or decrease of dowry. One of the marriage bureaus operational from Rampura Phul had given an advertisement by way of pamphlets recently and gave the slab rates of commission as follows: Rs 3100 for dowry under Rs 2 Lakh, Rs 5100 (Rs 2 lakh- Rs 4 lakh) Rs 11,000 (Rs 4 lakh Rs 8 lakh) and Rs 21,000 (Rs. 8 lakh - Rs 12 lakh). A leading marriage bureau with a branch office at Chandigarh offers its services for Rs 500 (registration charges) and Rs 11,000 as ‘fee’. But the fees would go to 2 per cent of the amount if the dowry exceeds Rs 10 lakh. If the parents of the girl show interest in the proposal or if the boy is exceptionally good a doctor an engineer MBA, officer, industrialist etc) the dowry can be bargained for, asserted the owner of the bureau. Giving details, he said now a days businessmen were not “in demand”. Government employees with small families were preferred. He said they do not give the address of the girl or the boy without arranging a meeting as they had to secure their fee. Confidentiality was ensured at every stage, he added. Ms Komal (name changed), owner of a marriage bureau here said nowadays the girls are educated. The market for boys declines after they cross 25 years of age. After they cross 28 years of age a good match for them is hard to find. The matrimonials in newspapers are not trusted by the people as they give inadequate information. A matrimonial gives information about the eligible boy or girl but a marriage bureau acts as a real mediator, he added. Interestingly, The Tribune found that most of the marriage bureaus operating in the region resort to matrimonial advertisements for inquiries. They advertise in the matrimonials of leading newspapers, collect response, talk to them, arrange meetings and if the (‘deal’) is finalised collect huge amounts of money without taking any responsibility regarding the authenticity of the information on which the “deal” was finalised. How can we ascertain whether a boy is a teetotaller or not”, questioned a bureau owner. “We also rely on the information provided by the family and friends of the boys and girls,” he added. None of the bureau owners took the
responsibility to assure The Tribune that the families of bridegrooms would not demand. More dowry after the marriage was solemnised. Dr Jatinder Jain, SSP, when contacted said the police had seized pamphlets of the advertisement of the alleged marriage bureau and legal opinion on the same would be taken. They would be punished by law if found guilty, he added. |
Amarinder to stay, says Arjun Ludhiana, March 4 This was indicated here today by a Congress Working Committee (CWC) member and former Punjab Governor, Mr Arjun Singh as he said: “There is no proposal before the Congress high command to effect change in leadership in the state.” Mr Arjun Singh was talking to mediapersons at Sahnewal village, 20 km from here, where he had come to attend function. When asked about certain Congress leaders’ allegation that the party had lost three prestigious byelections in Punjab during Capt Amarinder Singh’s leadership and that there were serious complaints against his style of functioning, he said: “complaints do not necessarily lead to a change”. When asked about the Rajiv-Longowal accord of which he was an
architect, he said it was relevant even today.
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Councillors go underground Maur Mandi (Bathinda), March 4 The elections for the president and vice-president of municipal council, which were to be held on February 16, were initially postponed to February 28 but were again postponed till March 7. As the day approaches near, a wave of fear has gripped the town. These elections have become a major issue as ruling Akalis had been divided into two groups over the choice of candidate for the post of president and vice-president. Out of the 14 municipal councillors, seven each were backing a candidate for the post of president. Both the groups were supported by senior Akali leaders, sources added. The date of elections, February 28 was fixed as per the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court but was postponed till the March 7, as the then convener of the elections Mr Vivek Aggarwal, ADC (D) had to go to attend a meeting with the Chief Minister on the same day. Today when a The Tribune team visited the town, none of the supporters of the municipal councillors were ready to come on record and favour their candidates. Out of 14 municipal councillors, seven have reportedly gone underground, Ms Seema Rani, Ms Amarjit Kaur, Mr Suresh, Mr Karnail Singh, Mr Kailash Singh, Mr Hem Raj and Mr Bhura Mal could not be contacted in the town. Relatives of these councillors were not ready to give details of their whereabouts apprehending danger to their lives. One of the relatives said that councillors were not seen since February 16 and telephone was their only contact. The relatives added that the ruling faction was
harassing them. When asked that why their relatives do not go in for police security, wife of a councillor alleged that the police persons may be used as spies, “Our opposition candidates openly flaunt arms in the area and threaten us of dire consequences,” she lamented. The sitting MLA of the area, Mr Harmindar Singh Jassi, enjoys the decesive vote in the situation. Police sources revealed that no one had been arrested nor any case had been registered in connection with the snatching and tearing of ballot papers, so far. Meanwhile Ms Mandeep Kaur, wife of Mr Karnail Singh, municipal councillor, has sent an application to the Punjab Chief Minister Mr Parkash Singh Badal requesting that elections should be held in a fair manner. The district police authorities could not be contacted. |
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Bansi: people want change Faridkot, March 4 Addressing an HVP rally at Dasehra Grounds in Ballabgarh town today, Mr Bansi Lal claimed that the HVP would come to power on is own if mid-term elections were held. Stating that electricity and water were still the main issues in the state, he said that if his party had remained in power, Haryana would have received abundant supply of electricity. He said the policies and programmes for ensuring 24-hour power supply were hanging in the balance. Claiming that the Chautala government had failed miserably on all fronts, the HVP leader said that if the state government had been able to stop power theft, there would not have been any need to hike the power tariff. Alleging the Chief Minister and his party had wrested power by virtue of “false” promises, he alleged that most of the electricity from the 432 MW gas plant at Mujheri village was being diverted mainly to Sirsa district. He said Sirsa was the only district which was getting full attention with regard to development works and alleged that many other districts were being discriminated against. Former ministers Harsh Kumar, Ram Bhajan Aggarwal, Narayan Singh, former Speaker of Haryana Chhatter Singh Chauhan and Mr Surender Singh, former MP, also addressed the gathering. Earlier, speaking at a press conference, Mr Bansi Lal said his party would have no alliance with any other party in the next elections. Mr Bansi Lal also alleged that Mr Chautala was working “hand-in-glove” with senior Congress leader Bhajan Lal. On the Congress rally in Bhiwani, he alleged that initially Mr Bhajan Lal had decided to organise the rally in Hisar, but following persuation from Mr Chautala, the venue had been changed to Bhiwani. |
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Day of rallies aimed at Dalit votes Jalandhar, March 4 Bahujan Samaj Party (Ambedkar), at its rally at nearby Kartarpur, announced its decision to contest at least 50 of the 117 Assembly seats in the coming election in Punjab, while the Lok Jan Shakti Party of Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, which was set up in the state on February 8, called for consolidation of Dalit and Backward Classes votebank under the aegis of the SC/BC Teachers Union rally at Shahkot today.
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IMA seminar on disaster management Sangrur, March 4 The seminar was organised by the Sangrur branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), in view of the Gujarat earthquake in a hotel complex here last night. Dr Puri said the disaster planning should be done in advance. He said the Health Department should have well planned and effective casualty hospital and public health services, medical stores and reserve depots and proper management for disposal of the dead persons and animals. Dr Puri also suggested that the first-aid parties should be well trained and ambulance services should be more effective besides a mobile surgical unit with fully equipped operation threatre to carryout any type of emergency surgery during a disaster. Dr Puri also suggested the need for formation of disposal squades for the mass disposal of dead bodies. He said disposal of the bodies immediately would prevent epidemics. He also suggested that to treat severe burn injuries and large number of burn patients, one of the hospital in each district should be declared as “burn hospital” with all facilities. Dr Puri also asked the health authority to make arrangements to maintain medico-legal records for the purpose of compensation in the event of a disaster. Lashing out at the government and expressing concern over its failures to properly tackle the disaster problems, Dr B.L. Jindal, retired Civil Surgeon, said the disaster management plans of the government always proved futile after a disaster as these were merely paper exercises. He also suggested that there should be a body with emergency powers to tackle the disaster problems in the affected areas. Dr Nirpal Singh, SMO, Primary Health Centre, Longowal, suggested that disaster management education with training in first-aid should be made compulsory as one of the subject at college-level. |
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Passengers hit as buses sent to rally Jalandhar, March 4 The district transport officials reportedly held a meeting with an Akali minister at the local Circuit House yesterday during which the minister had ordered to arrange private buses and trucks for the free journey of SAD-BJP workers to the Thein Dam rally. The local transport officials detained most of the private buses which reached the local bus stand yesterday and provided these to prominent SAD-BJP leaders as per the directions of the ministers belonging to ruling parties. Several private buses were found outside the houses of the Akali and BJP leaders , waiting for their passengers. A number of drivers and conductors of these impounded buses, on condition of anonymity, said their vehicles were forcibly impounded by the local transport authorities and no payment was made even for fuel. Interestingly, Mr Inderjit Singh, president of district unit of Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal), admitted that though they had demanded 20 private buses for the Thein Dam rally from the district transport officials, but they got only 18 for carrying Their workers to the rally site. Meanwhile, Mr Jagjit Singh, leader of Opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, condemned the alleged illegal detention of buses and termed it as mockery of democracy. “I have received several complaints from more than 100 transporters hailing from Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Nawanshahr, that their buses were illegally impounded by concerned transport officials on the verbal orders of Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP ministers and leaders,” he said. |
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Self-help groups to empower women Fatehgarh Sahib Mr Kalsia was speaking at a micro-credit workshop on SHGs here organised by the department in collaboration with Nabard and non-government organisations. A number of representatives of various social organisations and NGOs working in the state participated in the workshop. Mr Kalsia said the main objective of the scheme was all-round empowerment of women, especially socially and economically. He said women in the rural areas would be encouraged to form self-help groups according to their socio-economic status and felt needs, after which they would network with other groups. Both government departments and NGOs would be associated with the SHGs. At the village level remuneration of Rs 2,750 would be given for the successful formation of each group. He said till today 3,550 SHGs had been formed in the state. These had made a profit of more than Rs 2 crore. |
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Live surgery workshop concludes Chandigarh, March 4 Around 100 doctors were present from throughout the country, including Dr Ravijeet from Amritsar, Dr Jagat Ram from PGI, and Dr Allan Stocks from Georgia, USA. The workshop started with the annual report of Advanced Phaco Training and Research Institute presented by D.S. Virdi. During this workshop six live phaco surgeries were performed on different patients by Dr Ravijeet Singh from Amritsar, Dr Allan Stocks from Georgia; USA and Dr Jagat Ram from PGI. Dr Allan Stocks inaugurated the New Machine Legacy the state of art facility for phacoemulsification — stitchless cataract surgery. Dr Ravijeet presented a paper on management on small pupil phaco and an entirely new technology called Plasama Knife. Dr Allan Stocks spoke on complication during phacoemulsification and how to manage them. He also presented some cassettes of his complicated and new technology on cataract surgery. Dr Jagat Ram from PGI spoke on technique of intra-ocular lens implantation in phaco-emulsification. Mr Jasbir Singh Bir, Deputy Commissioner, Patiala, presided over the closing ceremony of the workshop. Mr Jasbir Singh Bir thanked Bhai Sahib Bhai Jasbir Singh Ji Khalsa for such a noble cause that he has
brought up such a big eye hospital where patients are treated for every kind of eye disorder. Awards were also presented to the participant doctors by ‘‘My Jasbir Singh Bir’’. The workshop was inaugurated yesterday by Mr J.S. Ahluwalia, Chief Commissioner, Income Tax. |
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Orchestra pulls more crowd than VIP Chak Fateh Singh Wala (Bathinda) March 4 The Akalis had arranged for an orchestra to ensure a big crowd, in the native village of the wife of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. The sarpanch of the village is a close relative of the Chief Minister but reportedly does not enjoy much popularity. The orchestra was stopped just before the minister arrived by a public relations officer. Many police officers were seen humming Punjabi pop songs on duty. The dance by the orchestra team received more applause than the ministers speech. A young boy of the village said having an orchestra in the village was very unusual and he was “delighted” to see the beauties in his native village.” |
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PG docs’ plea Sangrur, March 4 In a representation to the minister, they stated that PG doctors prior to their batch had been given six increments on account of doing the PG course during service, but now the same practice had been stopped. |
Suicide by 2 accused in dacoity case Sardulgarh (Mansa), March 4 Police sources said Kala Singh and Namdev consumed insecticide on March 1 on being ostracised by society. Residents of Rurki of this district, to which the accused belonged, rushed them to hospital but in vain. The sources said Kala Singh and Namdev along with Surjit Singh and Nirmal Singh committed the dacoity on the night of February 27 in the house of a farmer, Gurtej Singh, in Jatana Kalan village. After looting Rs 58,000 in cash, when the accused tried to escape, one of them was overpowered by Gurtej Singh. He was later identified as Surjit Singh of Bhunder village. The sources said the accused had acted as middlemen for Gurtej Singh when he sold his tractor. Gurtej Singh had earned Rs 58,000 after the sale of the tractor through the accused. The accused were also involved in various other crimes. Both Surjeet Singh and Nirmal Singh have been arrested by the police. The weapons used by the accused have been recovered. Mr Yurinder Singh, SSP, when contacted, said a case had been registered under Section 174 of the Cr.P.C in connection with the suicide committed by the accused. |
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2 held for murder of
Nepalese Jalandhar, March 4 Mr Gaurav Yadav, SSP stated here today that the body of Bheem Bahadur, resident of Talla Bangari village in Baglon district, was found in a plot near the canal passing through the local Gautam Nagar on October 8 last year. During the investigation, it was found that the victim had a brawl with Prem Bahadur, a labourer, some time back and the latter, along with his accomplice, had been seen in the company of Bheem on the day of the murder. Mr Yadav said Prem Bahadur, resident of Arna Kot, and Shobh Raj, resident of Tilla Bangari in Nepal, were arrested from the local leather complex yesterday. The two revealed that during the brawl between Bheem and Prem, the latter had sustained head injuries. Subsequently, Prem and Shobh Raj had invited Bheem for a party in a vacant plot on October 7 last year. Later the duo attacked him with sharp-edged weapons and killed him. |
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Members implicated in attack case: panel Barnala, March 4 Meanwhile, activists of the action committee staged a dharna in front of the Barnala police station to press for withdrawal of cases registered against the members. They alleged the police had framed false charges against the members. The committee submitted a memorandum to the SHO, demanding withdrawal of cases against the three activists. According to reports, four persons have been apprehended by the police out of the seven named in the FIR. |
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‘Standard
of education poor’ Patiala, March 4 This was stated by Mr G.S. Peerzada, Managing Director of the Punjab State Electronics Development and Production Corporation, while delivering the keynote address at a seminar on Information Technology during the ‘Student-Industrial Annual Meet’ organised by the College of Management and Technology at the Central State Library here today. Making a strong statement on the poor quality of education being dished out to the students these days, Mr Peerzada said what the teaching community had achieved till now was “excellence in mediocrity” and nothing more. He added that in India once a student completes his graduation and qualifies for a job he gets disinterested in pursuing higher studies. On the contrary, Mr Peerzada said, in developed countries like the USA and other Europeon countries, a study revealed that 10 per cent of people who had made it big and who were billionaires returned to schools to get in touch with the basics of education and to remain in touch with the latest trends in the field of Information Technology. Mr Peerzada emphasised the need for imparting technical education to meet the needs of IT manpower recruitment in the future. He said that most of the IIT’s and universities in the country were “calcified and mumified” as the standard of education was very poor and no effort was being made to improve these educational institutions. He urged that for the development of a country, it was of utmost importance that research papers made their way into the industrial sector instead of being stacked in libraries. Dr J.S Ahluwalia, Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi
University, who was the chief guest and was to inaugurate the seminar,
failed to turn up on time. This prompted the organisers to re-organise
things at the last moment and they even had to hastily reprint the
details of the programme. However, Dr Ahluwalia turned up towards the
fag end of the proceedings. Earlier, Mr Joginder Singh, Principal of
the college read out the annual report. Prominent among those present
on the occasion were Dr S.P.S Virdi, Head of the Computer Sciences
Department, Punjabi University, Mr. Y. P Mehra, former member of PSEB,
Mr B.S. Bhatia, Registrar of Punjabi University and other captains of
industry in the IT sector. |
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Navodaya school head suspended Sangrur, March 4 Confirming the suspension of Principal Gurdial Singh, the
SDM, Sangrur, who looks after the Longowal JNV affairs, Dr Indu
Malhotra, said this evening that the Principal had relinquished his charge following his suspension orders. It may be mentioned here that the students of the Longowal JNV had observed fast and staged a protest dharna on January 30 and January 31 last protesting against the alleged negligence of the JNV authorities in the treatment of the Sandip Kaur. She died on January 29 while a day earlier she complained about headache and vomiting to the JNV authorities. |
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Law graduates conferred degrees Amritsar, March 4 Addressing the law graduates, Mr O.P. Soni, MLA, chief guest on the occasion, exhorted the graduates to work hard for establishing a crime and corruption-free society. Mr Soni announced a grant of Rs 2 lakh for the purchase of computers for the Law Department. Dr H.S. Soch, in his presidential remarks, urged the law students to always adopt legal attitude in their lives and help the weaker and downtrodden sections of the society by providing them free legal aid. Earlier, Dr Gurjeet Singh, Head of the Law Department presenting the report of achievements of the department, said more than 5000 students obtained LLB
degrees and more than 150 completed their LLM course and 20 students were awarded Ph.D degrees. Besides 400 students completed their PG diploma in labour laws and personnel management and 150 students completed PG diploma in taxation laws. |
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No PG test for
Ayurveda? Bathinda, March 4 Dr S.S. Romana, senior vice-president, PAMSA, said in a press note issued here yesterday that the PGET-2001 to be conducted by Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, would not include the test for admission into MD (Ayurvedic Medicine). Dr Romana said this move of the government was very unfortunate. Provision should be made for admission into the PG course this year. No senior official of Baba Farid University could be contacted. |
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Entrance test for MD, MS held Faridkot, March 4 As many as 1641 candidates, against 1709 applicants, appeared in the test. This was stated by Dr J.S. Gujral, Vice-Chancellor of the university, while talking to this correspondent today. He said six centres, including three at Dashmesh Public School, two at Baba Farid Public School and one at Kendriya Vidyalya were set up for the test. He said the final result of the test would be available on internet at website www.punjabteched.com. by tomorrow. Dr P.S. Sandhu, Registrar of the university was also present on the occasion. |
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