Amritsar, December 19
The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) has put its task force on high alert to make the visit of the Prime Minister to the Golden Temple tomorrow hassle-free and without putting devotees to inconvenience.

A large number of cops in plain clothes would also assist the task force inside the SGPC Complex while the police force has already been deployed around the Golden Temple .

The SGPC chief, Mr Avtar Singh, said the Prime Minister would arrive at the Golden Temple at 6.25 am tomorrow, where he would be honoured with 'siropa' (robe of honour).

The SGPC chief would reach Amritsar today evening to personally review the arrangements.

The Prime Minister would also visit Durgiana Temple after 8 am. According to Mr Ramesh Sharma, finance secretary, Durgiana Management Committee, Dr Manmohan Singh would perform puja of the ‘gold leaf' to be fixed in front of the sanctum sanctorum . Later, he would be honoured with a 'siropa' by head priest, Pandit Viyas Ji.

The Durgiana Committee is likely to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister urging him to facilitate beautification of the surroundings of the ancient temple.

Later, at least 30 family members of Dr Manmohan Singh, including his brother, Mr Surjit Singh Kohli, would meet him in the Circuit House.

A delegation of the Shawl Club, headed by Mr J.S.Madan, CII chief Gunbir Singh, representatives of the Focal Point Association, the Rice Export Association, and the Goindwal Industrial Association have also sought time to meet the Prime Minister. However, Ms Gursharn Kaur, PM’s wife, is unlikely to accompany him due to a knee problem, according to family sources.

The appeal made by local Congress MLAs to the Prime Minister requesting him to contest Parliamentary bypoll from Amritsar, however, has earned flak by the local leaders.

Mr Sohanlal Amrohi, president, Yuva Shakti Sangathan, described such an offer to the Prime Minister as 'height of sycophancy'.

He urged the Prime Minister not to give any weightage to such appeals and statements.

On the other hand Mr A.P.S. Chatha, general secretary, the Heritage and Tourism Foundation of Amritsar, who is also a close relative of the Prime Minister, urged the latter to direct the authorities concerned to ensure overall development of the Holy City by preserving the heritage sites.

He requested the Prime Minister to ensure speeding up of the development works in Amritsar on the pattern of Patiala.

Former MP Navjot Singh Sidhu, however, alleged that the Prime Minister might make 'hollow promises'.

Patiala, December 19
In an attempt to project unity in the Congress rank and file, the Punjab Deputy Chief Minister, Ms Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, today said the issue of chief ministership would be decided after the Assembly elections by the party president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, and there could be no discussion on this at the moment.

Ms Bhattal, who was at a village near Ghanaur to unveil the foundation stone laid for a power project, said the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, had ruled the state well and claimed the Congress would win at least 90 of the total 117 seats in the Punjab Assembly.

Asked if she would support Capt Amarinder Singh as Chief Minister in case of another Congress victory, Ms Bhattal said every Congress MLA would give his or her view to the party high command after the elections.

She admitted to a tussle with the Chief Minister earlier but said they now ‘worked as brother and sister.’

She alleged that Punjab had been facing power shortage as the previous SAD-BJP government had failed to set up any project but was at a loss of words when asked why the Congress government had cancelled the agreement signed by the PSEB with GVK Limited for setting up a 500 mw power plant at Goindwal Sahib by the previous government and why the Congress government had signed a fresh agreement with the same company to execute the same project but at a higher cost.

When mediapersons insisted on an answer, she said certain terms and conditions in the agreement could have been wrong and,hence,the same may have been cancelled.

To another question, she said the services of all temporary employees had been regularised on the recommendations of a committee headed by her. A decision if the services of those on contract should be regularised was the prerogative of the Punjab, she added.

Moga, December 19
The alleged use of ‘insulting’ words by the Deputy Commissioner, Dr Arvinder Singh, against the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, has raked up a major controversy here. Local Congress leaders have approached the Chief Minister, seeking action against the DC.

The DC had allegedly referred to the Chief Minister as ‘who is CM' during a recent meeting, reviewing development works, at the district headquarters.

Senior Congress leaders, including former minister Darshan Singh, former MLA Vijay Saathi, MC president J.S. Jain and DCC president Col Babu Singh, along with other senior leaders, met the Chief Minister at the Patiala helipad and filed a complaint against the DC.

These leaders alleged that the Deputy Commissioner had tried to run down the Chief Minister's authority by saying `who is CM'.

Speaking to The Tribune, Mr Vijay Saathi said the DC had objected to construction of memorial gates in the city by the local civic body.

He said when a representative of the Municipal Council said these were being constructed at the behest of MC president, the DC allegedly rebuked him and said: `Who is president, who is CM'. The DC further said he was answerable to the Chief Secretary in case development funds were misused.

Even as the Congress councillors, who were present in the meeting did not object to the DC's comments, the matter was later discussed by the senior Congress leaders and they decided to file a complaint against the DC.

Mr Vijay Saathi said the Chief Minister assured the Congress delegation that action would be taken against the DC.

However, the Deputy Commissioner, Dr Arvinder Singh, denied the charges stating that no such words were ever used by him.

Ludhiana, December 19
With the holding of two massive rallies by the Shiromani Akali Dal at Moga and the Congress in Badal village, the Malwa belt has emerged as a battleground between the two major political parties of Punjab who are engaged in a do-or-die game to capture power.

With massive shows of strength by the two parties, the political scenario emerging before the Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections is getting complex day by day. The SAD leadership in its bid to grab power is behaving in a desperate manner. Consequently the people of Punjab have witnessed rallies and counter rallies. The result is that the election campaign in Punjab is getting too personal between Mr Parkash Singh Badal and Captain Amarinder Singh, creating a confusing situation within the second-rung leadership of both the parties.

The situation prevailing both in the SAD and the Congress is keeping the ticket contenders on their toes.

Secondly, the Akali Dal has shown that it can organize its campaign using all modern devices. This will make the campaigning costly for both the parties. How far the Akali Dal will gain is yet to be seen. But one thing is clear -- Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal has been able to leave an impact on the organisation in his own right. The junior Badal has emerged as an icon of the youth.

So far as the Congress is concerned, the campaign will remain in the hands of Captain Amarinder Singh and his close circle despite the rumblings within the party.

The Moga rally was an impressive show and all the political observers were inclined to hurl a guess in favour of Mr Parkash Singh Badal. But the rally organised by Captain Amarinder Singh in Badal village was not a tame show. This rally became important because it was held in the citadel of Mr Parkash Singh Badal and Mr Badal and his supporters failed to put up resistance as was done by the late Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra when the assassinated Chief Minister Beant Singh organised a rally in Tohra village in 1993. There was a black-flag reception to Beant Singh and a large number of villages boycotted the rally then. This clearly indicates that the fight is very close within the Malwa belt. Punjab has seen eight Chief Ministers from Malwa and Giani Zail Singh could make it to the highest office in the country.

Among the Akalis, Mr Parkash Singh Badal has remained three times Chief Minister and in the present campaign he is facing a serious challenge from Captain Amarinder Singh.

This game of rallies and counter rallies is surely not conducive to a healthy campaign in Punjab. The voters are likely to face the decisive time about three months hence. Observers are of the view that the effect of such rallies will wear out by then and the parties would have exhausted their resources.

The poll alliances within the parties have also to be tested. The SAD-BJP alliance is stated to be more durable. The problem of transferring BJP votes to the Akali candidates has always remained a big question. Mr Parkash Singh Badal wants to continue this alliance with the hope that Hindus this time will get disenchanted with the Congress and will go over to the BJP. But the reality may not be the same. Moreover, the seat sharing between the SAD and BJP remains deadlocked.

Within the Sikhs, a sizeable section has always opposed the alliance with the BJP as the activists of the RSS and the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat have always been troubling the Sikh mainstream. As compared to this, Captain Amarinder Singh is said to have hijacked the Akali Dal manifesto. Some of his gestures have had sanguinary effect. It is said that on his visit to the Andamans during the Tsunami devastations, he gave Rs 1 lakh to each affected Punjabi family and also gave special grants for repair of gurdwaras, mosques and temples there. His complexion as a secular leader remains despite his enthusiasm for being a devout Sikh. The Akali Dal-BJP concern in this regard is understandable.

The Akali splinter groups, Left parties and the Lok Bhalai Party headed by Mr Balwant Singh Ramoowalia are likely to form a new political outfit known as Punjab Front and are expected to have seat adjustments. Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra, president of the Akali Dal (Longowal) is also holding parleys with the Bahujan Samaj Party to have seat adjustments with the Punjab Front. The Akali Dal (Amritsar), Akali Dal (Longowal), Khalsa Panchayat, CPI and CPM are expected to be part of this proposed Punjab Front.

Chandigarh, December 19
Non-government college teachers across Punjab and Chandigarh will be proceeding on indefinite strike from December 21 paralysing all academic activities.

In a joint statement issued today by Prof H S Walia, President, and Dr Jagwant Singh, General Secretary, Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union (PCCTU), college teachers were being forced to go on strike as the government had failed to fulfill their long standing demands

They said that the political leadership of the state had failed to honour its poll promise of pension and gratuity to private college teachers. They added that the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, and the Deputy Chief Minister and Higher Education Minister, Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, were in favour of the scheme, the Finance Department officials were creating hurdles in implementing and notifying the scheme for private college teachers of Punjab.

“After reiterating their resolve to notify and implement the scheme publicly many times, a Punjab Cabinet sub-committee comprising of Mrs. Bhattal, Mr Surinder Singla, Finance Minister, and Mr Jagjit Singh, Minister for Local Government, met PCCTU state office-bearers and representatives of the Principals Federation at Mrs Bhattal's residence on December 18 with a view to translating pension gratuity scheme into actuality. The PCCTU leadership felt that the issue would be clinched in the meeting of the committee chaired by the Chief Minister later in the evening. However, the same had not happened.

“The PCCTU feels that the Finance Department is obstructing a decision by presenting a wrong picture about the financial implications of the scheme,” said Mr Jagwant Singh.

The PCCTU has also called upon non-teaching employees and principals to join the protest. 

Chandigarh, December 19
The Punjab Government is considering a proposal to waive abiana (canal water charges) dues of Rs 161 crore pending against farmers in the state.

Sources said a memorandum, which was approved at the Chief Minister's level, was presented at a meeting of the Council of Ministers held on December 15. However, the matter had to be deferred because it was not examined at the Finance Department level. "The matter is still under consideration and may come up at the next meeting of the Council of Ministers", said a senior officer of the government.

Besides, the government is also considering the waiving of Rs 4 crore pending against farmers with regard to the construction of water channels in the Lambi constituency from where the Opposition leader, Mr Parkash Singh Badal,was elected last time. The sources said that in all Rs 18 crore is pending against the farmers with regard to the lining of water channels. And of that amount, Rs 4 crore is pending against farmers in the Lambi constituency.

Though a major share is spent by the government on the lining of such channels, farmers are asked to make a contribution in the form of providing labour, etc. " Obviously, the move to waive the amount in the Lambi constituency is aimed at pushing Mr Badal into a corner in that area", said a senior Congress leader. Recently, Capt Amarinder Singh had held a rally in Badal village to mobilise opponents of Mr Badal in that part of the Malwa belt." The strategy of Capt Amarinder Singh is to keep Mr Badal confined to his home constituency for the maximum period during the Assembly elections", the Congress leader added.

As far as the issue of abiana is concerned, only Rs 23 crore has been recovered from farmers in the past few years. During the SAD-BJP regime, abiana was waived.When the Congress came to power, it reimposed abiana. However, the Irrigation Department imposed it in such an " unfair manner" that farmers protested against its recovery.

Many farmers who had never used canal water for irrigation were also asked to pay abiana. The Tribune had highlighted this issue in its columns. After the report in this newspaper, the government stopped its recovery taking the plea that there was no logic in doing so from farmers who had never utilised canal water for irrigation.

The sources said as the elections were nearing, most Ministers were in favour of waiver." This amount is impossible to be recovered from the farmers. So, it is better that it should be waived. Moreover, Mr Badal has already announced that if his party came to power, it would waive abiana from day one of getting into the saddle. It would be better if the political dividends are reaped by the present government", said the Congress leader.

Amritsar, December 19
In a missive to the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, the Chairman of the Market Committee, Mr Dharam Bir Sareen, has alleged that around 100 shops of the committee were sold without “auction”, thereby causing a loss of Rs 20 crore to the state exchequer.

Mr Sareen has also written to the Chairman and Secretary, Mandi Board, demanding cancellation of the auction.

The Chairman said: "Keeping in view the approaching elections and sensitivity of the issue, I have an apprehension that the whole episode has the potential of damaging the party’s image and causing embarrassment to the government".

Pointing out the alleged irregularities committed in the open auction of shops/booths in the grain market (Bhagtanwala) here, Mr Sareen alleged that it had already become the talk of the town.

Giving details in the letter, Mr Sareen said there were around 650 shops/booths that were to be auctioned. In the first auction held on November 23 and 24, a few shops were auctioned and the documents were signed by the officials present at the venue of the event. And the second auction did not take place on December 12 as per schedule. “To my great astonishment and concern, shops were sold without the open auction, which can be proved,” he said.

When contacted, Mr R.P. Singh, DGM, Mandi Board, claimed that Mr Sareen himself was present at the time of the auction and should not challenge the same. He alleged that Mr Sareen had raised objections as shops/ booths were not allotted to his “dear and near ones” as “demanded” by him. He claimed that the auction was conducted in a free and fair manner.

Mr Sareen, while talking to The Tribune, confirmed that he had written to the Chief Minister, but refused to divulge the details. He simply said he could not give the details since it was an “internal matter” of the Market Committee.

However, the missive of Mr Sareen to the CM further reads, “the matter is being exploited by the people who are trying to malign your image in connivance with officials involved in the auction.”

Ludhiana, December 19
“Development activities” are being carried out by owners of petrol stations, restaurants, industrial units, colonisers and others along the national and state highways at the cost of the forest cover. They do so by cleverly exploiting an amended order of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.

The “developers” are eating into the forest area by making paths and roads on the plea that no trees existed there. The Act states that two petrol stations have to be located at a distance of 5 km from each other outside the municipal area. But the catch line is that the requirement of 5 km distance can be given a go-by, if no tree felling was involved.

Using the clause cleverly, certain fuel pump owners, have slowly removed trees, while forest conservation staff allegedly turn a blind eye to the practice. Then they easily prove to the Ministry of Forests that no felling of trees was required and get the clearance conveniently.

What the forest staff or the ministry officials overlook is that such paths cannot be made naturally. The trees cannot disappear on their own in a systematic manner in the form of a straight path or diagonal one. It has to be a man-made one.

While the glaring exploitation of the forest land is evident on all national highways and state highways in Punjab, especially in Ludhiana, the industrial hub of the state, forest officials have not taken any action to prevent it.

A Tribune team spotted a glaring such example on the Payal-Rara Sahib-Ahmedgarh road where prospective fuel pump owners are in the process of removing the forest cover slowly and systematically to bypass the 5-km distance clause.

At milestone No. 3, Rara Sahib-Jagera bridge road, a path has come up with tree No. 63 on one side and tree No. 70 on the other side with two trees standing without any numbers. Clearly the trees have been removed with the Ludhiana divisional forest officers unable to stop it.

Some prospective petrol station owners are also deploying Gujjar families strategically to remove the forest cover gradually. The Gujjars set up their hamlets on private land and clear the forest. They move to a new location after the job is done.

Near Rara Sahib, huge mounds of sand were seen in the forest area. These were created by certain sand contractors or by Irrigation Department officials who dumped the sand removed from the canal bed here. All this is again at the cost of the forest cover with trees crushed under the sand.

Farmers, too, have made their own paths. Forest cover all along the three canals of the Abohar feeder is dwindling in this manner. The area falls under the Division Forest Officer, Ludhiana, whose officials are seldom available in office or over the phone for hearing complaints.

The misuse is in the notice of the Forest Department. Mr Kuldip Singh, Chief Conservator, Forests, (Headquarters), said they had been writing to the Centre and the Ministry of Environment and Forests to end this controversial clause that “Punjab and Haryana, which are the only states to declare roadside forest as protected forests, have been voicing their opposition to this clause but the Centre was still continuing with it.”

He said the problem was that the fuel station companies offer setting up of petrol stations at a distance of 1 km only. The prospective owners get clearance from various offices but are stuck up with the Forest Department who require the 5-km distance. “We have been asking the government to direct fuel companies to allot petrol station at 5 km distance only to end the anomalies as well as to save the forest cover.”

He said he, too, had received complaints of the inaccessibility of the Ludhiana forest officials from general public and the government was taking corrective action.

Amritsar, December 19
Even as the whole nation and Army authorities were busy celebrating the 'Vijay Divas' to mark the 1971 victory over Pakistan, the bust of one of the war heroes, Capt Lalit Mohan Bhatia, was gathering  dust as nobody came forward to reinstall it at its original place.

The mystery still shrouded who ordered the renovation of the pedestal of the bust. It remained missing for a long time without the knowledge of anyone concerned. Had the Services Club not kept the bust in its store, it might have got damaged or lost.

Now, it is still not known what would be the fate of the bust as district administration, Army authorities and the Municipal Corporation all have reportedly shrugged off their shoulders from the responsibility of reinstalling the statue.

Mr H.S. Dhot, secretary of the Services Club situated in the national protected area of historic Ram Bagh, said it was the club authorities who informed the Deputy Commissioner’s office, SDM, corporation officials and others about the whereabouts of the bust.

He said a contractor, who was renovating the platform of the bust, kept it in the storehouse long time back with the promise to take it back after completion of the work.

However, Mr Dhot added the contractor did not come. He said it was only after the publication of the news in The Tribune that they came to know about it. He said they immediately informed the DC office and others about it.

This was in utter disregard to the Great War hero and Vir Chakra winner Capt Bhatia, who laid down his life in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, said Mr Brij Bedi, the social activist who highlighted the issue.

How callous our administration was, he added.

This was unfortunate that the administration, Army authorities and other concerned authorities were still not waking up from their deep slumber, he said.

The garden has become a cricket ground for the children. Just adjoining to the place where the bust was installed, a large number of children could be seen playing cricket damaging the landscape and green belt of the historic garden.

Various social organisations have a number of times expressed their concern over the situation of the historic Ram Bagh but to no avail.

Mr Brij Bedi said people should be ashamed at the disrespect shown to the brave soldier who fought till his last blood in a hand to hand combat against the Pakistani army and died killing many enemy soldiers with bayonet in the Ferozepore sector.

He said the administration should institute an independent inquiry to probe the disappearance of the bust donated by his family to commemorate their war hero son.

Amritsar, December 19
One-act plays and debate competitions were the main highlights on the third day of the North Zone Inter-University Youth Festival being held at Guru Nanak Dev University here today.

Young artistes from various universities through their plays highlighted social evils like female foeticide, child labour, illiteracy, corruption, farmers' suicides, trauma of war widows and problem of drinking water in Rajasthan and other states.

The artistes from Aligarh Muslim University presented a play entitled “Crucified”. They, in this short play, presented the miserable fate of the Indian woman, conveying the message that 'she' was buried alive at birth and now 'she' was killed even inside the womb. In addition, they stressed that there was a dire need to remove the male psyche of domination and the female psyche of subjugation.

The artistes of Punjabi University, Patiala, through their play,raised the problem of farmers in debt which became a major cause of their suicide.

The host university highlighted the problem of drinking water in Rajasthan. The play of PAU, Ludhiana, was based on the theme of child labour.

Jamia Milia Islamia University, New Delhi, presented “Munna” which depicted the problems relating to child labour and adult education. Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, in their play, “Bukkal De Aag,”highlighted the trauma of war widows.

Kurukshetra University presented “Rashmi Rathi” in which they highlighted the issues of casteism and racism.

MDU, Rohtak, presented the play entitled, “Kali Roshni”.

More than 13 universities participated in the one-act play competition.

A lively debate was held on the burning topic of reservation for Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes. — OC

Bathinda, December 19
Ms Dileep Kaur, a woman in her 60s hailing from Kotbhai village in Muktsar, has been visiting the city daily for the past two days to decorate Jaipalgarh, a heritage village, being built at the local sports stadium for the forthcoming Virasat mela. She is among 65 men and women from her village engaged in the job.

Ms Dileep Kaur said: “When Preetam Singh, a dairy owner from our village, approached us for the job we were truly excited, as today’s concrete houses didn’t leave any scope for the traditional work on our walls or verandah.” Angrej Kaur, accompanying her, said they had mud houses in the past, which gave them an opportunity to display rural lifestyle through their art work. She lamented that the new generation didn’t have any idea about it, as the tradition was fading away with time. Ajmer Kaur told they had constructed new ‘chaubaras’ in the village apart from building a ‘Peer ki Mazaar’. She said these art works were a window to peep into the glorious history of the Malwa region.

Amritsar, December 19
Three persons were killed and two injured seriously when their vehicle hit a tree on Chawinda Devi village and Kathunangal link road falling under the Majitha police district last evening.

The deceased were identified as Kulwinder Singh, Tarlok Singh and Davinder Singh of Pandori Varaich while Bittu and Lalli of Pandori Lubana were injured. 

Ghanaur (Patiala), December 19
Mr Vilas Muttemwar, Union Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy, today admitted that the country had been facing a huge shortage of electric power and about 35000 MW of power would be added to existing infrastructure under fast-track energy development programme.

Mr Muttemwar, who laid the foundation stone of biomass-based power project being set up Punjab Biomass Power Limited near this village today, said a high-level Energy Coordination Committee comprising representatives of the Oil and Natural Gas Department, the Ministry of Finance, Planning Department, the Coal Department and the Ministry of Power and headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had been set up to launch programmes to increase power generation in the country.

Ms Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister, Ms Preneet Kaur, MP, Patiala, Mr Jasjit Singh Randhawa, Punjab minister and Ms Usha. R. Sharma, Secretary, Government of Punjab, were present on the occasion.

Barnala, December 19
Unidentified persons broke into the main premise of gurdwara Pargatsar situated at Court Road, near Handiaya, and stole the main “golak”.

Mr Harnek Singh, head granthi, said that last night a few unidentified persons entered the gurdwara premises by breaking the common wall between the gurdwara and a school.

The thieves locked the granthi’s room from outside. They took away the main “golak” with them. A case has been registered.

Hoshiarpur, December 19
Gurtej Singh, alias Babbi, son of Tasveer Singh of Haidrowal, was brutally done to death by Davinder Singh, alias Pittu, son of Harjinder Singh, Kirpal Singh, son of Santram, Harpal Singh, son of Harbhajan Singh, Bindu, Bhinda and Gondi, sons of Dev Raj, all residents of the same village, at Nasrala, 8 km from here, last night.

Gurtej tried to escape, but was deliberately crushed under the tractor. The police said some old enmity was the reason behind the crime.

A case has been registered under Section 302 of the IPC against the accused. — OC

Chandigarh, December 19
Panjab University has postponed the examinations scheduled to be held tomorrow due to the Municipal Corporation elections in Chandigarh.

According to the Controller of examinations, the new dates will be as follows: B.Sc Nursing 3rd Semester: December 21; M.Lib. 2nd/3rd Semester: December 21; M.Sc. Nursing 2nd Semester: December 21; ME (Comp. Sc./Inst. and Contr.) 1st Semester: December 21; B. Architecture 1st, 5th, and 9th Semester: December 21; BA LLB (Hons) 1st Semester: December 23; MCA 1st Semester: December 26; M.Sc (Info Technology) 1st Semester: December 26; M.A. (Pol. Sc.) 3rd Semester: December 27; M.A. (Women Studies) 1st Semester: December 27; M.Tech. (Micro-electronics) 1st Semester: December 27; M.Tech (Instrumentation) 1st Semester: December 27; M.Tech. (Nano Science and Nano Biotechnology) 1st Semester: December 27; BE 1st and 4th Semester: January 2; ME (Info Technology) 1st Semester: January 2; M.Sc. Home Science 1st Semester: January 3; BE (Chem.) 3rd Semester: January 8; BE (Food Technology) 3rd Semester: January 8, and M.Sc (Industrial Chemistry) 1st Semester: January 8. 

Patiala, December 19
Mr G.S. Negi, Chief Commissioner, Income Tax, inaugurated a workshop for the mentally challenged children at the Amar Ashram here today.

In his address he appreciated the role of organisers and offered his support for this cause which he termed as a ‘noble one.’

The president of the Navjivani School of Special Education, Dr Raj. K. Sarin, welcomed the chief guests and informed that the school had completed 25 years of service to the mentally challenged children.

The secretary of the school, Dr N.S Sodhi, informed that 250 special children from 31 special schools of northern states were participating in the five-day workshop.

The North Zone Cultural Centre, Patiala, has arranged resource persons for the workshop. Dr Sodhi added that free boarding and lodging arrangements had been made in the Amar Ashram.

The trustee of the school, Dr Ravi Bhushan, proposed a vote of thanks.