AGRICULTURE

BKU rejects hike in MSP
Our Correspondent

Samrala, September 11
Reacting to a meagre increase in the MSP for paddy by the Government of India, Mr Balbir Singh Rajewal, National General Secretary of BKU, said it was not only a joke to the already debt-ridden farmers but also indicated the malafide intentions of the government.

While talking to mediapersons today here, he said the government was not at all worried about the plight of the farmers who made the country not only self -sufficient but even surplus in food grains.

Mr Rajewal said the strong ‘anti-farmer’ attitude of the Union Food Minister regarding the specifications for the purchase of paddy was a matter of concern which further indicated that the government would harass the farmers during procurement. 

EDUCATION

Teachers sore over govt attitude
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, September 11
Callous and heartless attitude of the Badal administration towards the private-aided college teachers has forced them to launch an agitation for getting the pension-cum-gratuity scheme implemented. 

More than two years have elapsed since the Punjab Assembly legislated on pension and gratuity, however, the Act remains unimplemented. The government attitude has left the teachers high and dry, said Mr Yash Paul Ghai, additional general secretary of the Government Pensioners’ Association.

400 students get certificates
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, September 11
Today the need of the hour is to uplift the standard of education in government schools. Ethical and moral education must be provided to the students instead of making them warehouses of education. This was stated by Mr S. K. Sandhu, Deputy Commissioner, while distributing certificates among students of Government Senior Secondary School for Boys in Jawahar Nagar, here yesterday under Vidyarthi Certificate Scheme launched by the administration in the district.

Mr Sandhu, showing a great concern over the decreasing standard of education, appealed to the teachers to provide education to the students with devotion as they were the future of our country. He said the teachers were not simply government servants but they were intellectuals to build the nation by giving good education to their students.

The DC said the teachers and the Parent Teachers Associations should own the responsibility to improve the standard of education. “Citizenship begins at home is the right proverb and parents should also take care of their children at home to ensure that what they are doing all well”. He said every modern education aid was available today so with the modernisation in education system the standard of education also had to be improved and uplifted.

Mr Sandhu said students seeking admissions in various courses faced hardship in procuring Scheduled Caste, backward class, rural areas and domicile certificates from respective revenue authority and the whole process to get these certificates involved an expenditure of several hundred rupees and a time period of many days. But now under Vidyarthi Certificate Scheme these certificates would be made available in all senior secondary schools in the district to students of Class IX up to the +2 level. Revenue staff would be deputed in the schools to complete the formalities and to issue the certificate on the spot. He claimed that Ludhiana was the first district in the country to launch this scheme.

Mr Sandhu said 3,200 certificates had been issued so far in the rural schools of the district. At the commencement of the scheme for urban areas, about 400 certificates were issued to the eligible students today. Mr Sandhu also announced a grant of Rs 50,000 for a water tank in the school and 20 fans for classrooms.

Youths urged to fight social evils
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, September 11
Mr Gurcharan Singh Ghalib, MP, has urged the youth to launch a relentless fight against social evils like corruption, dowry and drug addiction. Addressing a function, organised by the Punjab Peace Council to felicitate him, the veteran Congressman said the youth should work for creating a ‘just and equitable’ society.

He lauded the role played by nonpolitical organisations in various fields and emphasised the need for more such bodies which could work for the welfare of people and come to the assistance of the poor and the oppressed sections of society.

The council felicitated him for his contribution in various development projects, both in the urban and rural areas of the district.

Mr Jasbir Singh Chadha, chairman of the council, reiterated the commitment of each member of the body to serve the city population. He said the council had taken upon itself to honour politicians, government officials and others who were serving the city with dedication and honesty in different capacities.

Prominent among those present on the occasion were Mr Nahar Singh Gill, general secretary, PPCC, Mr Prem Mittal, former Deputy Mayor, Mr Shammi Lehar, Mr Somesh Aggarwal, Mr Jatinder Bhalla, Mr Gursharan Singh Pappu, Mr Sunil Sharma, Mr Deepak Sood, Mr Sunil Maini, Mr Bobby Gulati, Mr Jaswinder Singh Shunty, Mr Rakesh Kapoor and Mr Sanjay Minka.

COURTS

Refund amount, PSEB told
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, September 11
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has quashed a demand of the PSEB for Rs 40,886 from Mr Vinod Kumar, a resident of Vivek Nagar, on account of using excess load. It further directed the PSEB to refund the amount recovered on account of theft of power along with interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum from the date of deposit till actual payment.

According to Mr Kumar, he received a memo from the PSEB on January 27, 1999, asking him to deposit the amount as a board official found the excess use of the load. It was also alleged that the glass of the meter was found tempered with.

Mr Kumar pleaded before the forum that the charges were false and baseless as no board official had ever visited his house or checked the meter in his presence. Moreover, no signature had been obtained by the official on any papers regarding the checking, he pointed out. He claimed that he had never committed theft nor he was using excess load.

He disclosed that he had written a letter to the Deputy Chief Engineer (DCE) on February 1, 1999, regarding the matter and the officer had directed the Senior Executive Engineer to allow him to use the electricity after recovering 33.50 per cent of the demand. The DCE had also referred the matter to the Disputes Settlement Committee. But the committee decided the matter against him and asked him to deposit the balance amount. It was alleged by the consumer that there was clear deficiency in services on the part of the PSEB as the demand had been wrongly raised.

The PSEB stated that the meter of the complainant was changed on November 2, 1998, and the removed meter was sent to the ME Laboratory on December 29, 1998. It disclosed that according to the laboratory report, the glass of the meter was found tempered with. It was alleged that the consumer was controlling the consumption of energy.

The board disclosed that the checking of the load by the board officials revealed that the consumer was sanctioned 19.460 KW of load against the sanctioned load of 12.800 KW. The respondent maintained that the demand had been rightly raised and the complaint was liable to be quashed.

The forum observed that load of 6 KW had been illegally calculated and accordingly the consumer was only using .660 KW of excess load and, therefore, the consumer would be charged only for that much of load. The forum further stated that the consumer was not informed about the checking of the meter by the board in the laboratory so that he could remain present at the time of checking and, moreover, there was no evidence to prove that the meter was properly packed and sealed at the time of removing the meter, which was mandatory. The forum held that as far the demand regarding the theft of power was concerned, the said demand was raised against the rules and liable to be quashed. However, the forum allowed the PSEB to charge the consumer for using excess load of .660 KW.

Bail pleas rejected
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, September 11
The District and Sessions Judge, Mr S.S. Arora, has rejected the anticipatory bail application of Kanti Nandi, an agent of Sriyans Mills.

The General Manager of the mill, Brig S.K. Verma, has levelled charges of misappropriation of Rs 72.15 lakh against him. A case has been registered at the Sahnewal police station.

In another case, Mr Arora has rejected the bail application of Harpreet Singh and Manpreet Singh.

Both accused were arrested on the complaint of Mr Balwinder Singh. They demanded Rs 2 lakh from him. According to the complaint, when Mr Balwinder Singh refused to pay the amount, the accused abused and threatened him.

A case has been registered at the Jagraon police station under Sections 294, 380, 387, 506 and 34 of the IPC.