Jalandhar, March 16
In major violation of the rules related to the use of the official vehicle, a number of Army officers posted in the cantonment here use these vehicles for their personal use.

Out of the innumerable Army vehicles which are often seen carrying family members of the officers, The Tribune team caught on camera (see the picture) one such staff car belonging to the Deputy Director EME (DDEME) 11 Corps, Brigadier Verma. The staff car with the red beacon light atop was parked in the premises of Apeejay School to take home his wife (a teacher) and children (students in the school).

On being asked the driver of the car Naik RK Singh said that the same staff car was used daily to drop and pick the family of Brigadier Verma. According to the rules ,no official vehicle can be used for personal chores of an officer.

Sources revealed that not only the vehicles are used for dropping or picking the children from schools but also for the tuitions, market and other innumerable activities.

When contacted, Brigadier General Staff (BGS) V. Vashisht maintained that the use of official vehicles for personal use was indeed a gross violation of the rules. “None of the official vehicle, be it big or small, is to be used for the personal use of the officer. In fact we do maintain a regular check on the same and disciplinary actions is taken against those found breaching the rule,” he said.

The officer is allowed to use the official vehicle while coming to the office from his house and in case he has to go somewhere else for the official purpose and not otherwise.

Everyone has a personal vehicle and they can use them when needed by their families,” said Brigadier Vashisht.

Regular checks are maintained wherein the fellow officers report in case they spot any vehicle moving in the civil areas or without any official work.

Besides we check the reading and the distance covered by a particular vehicle. In case it exceeds the limit as fixed by the Army Headquarters in a given year, the same is debarred next year,” he added.

On the one hand the BGS termed the issue as a serious matter, Colonel Rajiv Khullar, Commanding Officer of the CMP unit deployed here, felt it to be a minor issue. “It’s a very minor issue and I don’t want to say anything on this,” he said.

Jalandhar, March 16
Hundreds of farmers, farm labourers and workers of the CPI (ML-New Democracy) party put up a protest against police firing on innocent people at Nandigram in West Bengal, at Desh Bhagat Yadgaar Hall here today. The protesters also sent a memorandum to the Government of India through the Deputy Commissioner, demanding booking of policemen responsible for killings under charges of murder.

They sought compensation of Rs 10 lakh for families of each killed and Rs 50,000 for injured apart from grant of free medical aid to the victims.

Hans Raj Pabwan, a leader of the CPI (ML-New Democracy), said that the West Bengal government was usurping the land of poor farmers in the name of industrialisation and development.

“Though, this sad phenomena is seen everywhere, but, the West Bengal government is implementing it with mysterious zeal. It is misusing the government machinery to pressurise and torment people and the CPI (ML) government there is inciting its cadres to beat up people to prove its loyalty towards the Tatas and Salem group of Indonesia.”

The WB Chief Minister has repeatedly been saying that no step would be taken against wishes of people, but, his acts and forcible intrusion of police in three villages of Nandigram area show that he was leaving no stone unturned to serve his masters. So much so, that an obsolete 1894 Act has been used to acquire land of farmers,” said Pabwan. Other speakers said that agricultural lands should not be used for industrialisation of any state. “Development is not possible in this way. People should come out and oppose the barbaric ways and means being adopted by different governments. Farmers’ land should not be taken away from them.

All officials responsible for atrocities on people should be booked for murder,” said leaders of farmers and labourers.

Jalandhar, March 16
In a short span of six years, this young robotic engineer has already designed nine low-budget machines. The sensing, thinking and acting machines designed by Kuldeep Singh Nagla, incharge of the Robotics Laboratory and lecturer in the Department of Instrumentation and Control Engineering, Dr B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, can perform varied functions. While a few robots designed by him have domestic applications, there are others that perform pick and place application for the industry.

The scientist has, of late, started designing smarter robots with specialised operations. He has already come up with a ‘RoboCop’ that helps in surveillance, inspection, detection and communication with the driver of the vehicle at the check posts. The tele-operated robot uses voice communication system, CCD camera and audio-visual alarms. The robot that costs less than Rs 20,000 can patrol in areas unsafe for humans.

The underwater robot costing Rs 30,000 developed by Nagla has its own peculiarity. “It can detect objects and organisms in shallow or deep waters and even at the ground level of the water body. Air pressure in the tubes can be controlled with thrusters, two fins and AC motor so that the robot can be immersed at any depth. The object can then be located using CCD cameras and flood lights”, he gave a demonstration adding that it could even be used along dams to check for any fissures.

Nagla showed yet another microcontroller-based mobile robot which he had made three years back. The robot was designed taking into account a case study of a distillery and could carry a set of bottles weighing up to 25 kgs from the packing place to the store.

The domestic robot designed by him for just Rs 10,000 too performed useful functions such as carrying refreshments from the kitchen to the sitting room, sweeping the floor with wiper, control and indication of temperature of the hose, control and indication of level of water tank, and audio-visual alarm at door opening and fire. The engineer also showed a very low -budget robotic arm that he had designed for cutting pizzas and an artificial limb that can help disabled persons lift objects.

He is also in the process of designing robot for cleaning railway tracks, a project assigned to him by the MHRD. He already has moved patent applications for few other designer robots.

A BE in instrumentation and control engineering from Giani Zail Singh Engineering College, Bathinda, he served as a research fellow at National Physics Laboratory, Delhi, and lecturer at Government Polytechnic ,Bathinda. He along with his students were working on a project for designing an automated domestic lawn mower. He said that NIT was supporting him for most of his projects, while for a few MHRD sanctions came handy.

Hoshiarpur, March 16
A resident of Kaulpur Kalan village was stabbed to death yesterday by 6 youths.

Jyoti (22) was killed where as her husband, Ashvani Kumar, an army personnel, was beaten by unidentified car-borne youths when they were returning from Katroli to their village at canal bridge near Sibo Chak.

Ashvani’s brother Jarnail Singh said that they had gone to his sister’s house at Katroli village.

When Ashvani got late, Jarnail contacted him on his mobile phone. Ashvani told him about the trouble and they reached the spot.

They took Ashvini and Jyoti to Community Health Centre, Hazipur where doctors declared Jyoti brought dead.

Hazipur Police registered a case under Sections 302, 148 and 149 of the IPC.

Meanwhile the Sadar police, Hoshiarpur, registered a case under Sections 363 and 366 of the IPC against Sumit, his mother Raj Rani, grandfather Dasaunda Singh, grandmother Kulwant Kaur, residents of Salwara and Harpreet Singh of local Canal Colony, for abducting a teenaged girl of the same area.

According to the police sources, Sudhir Pal Singh of the same area alleged that his 14-year-old daughter was abducted by the accused.

Nawanshahr, March 16
Nawanshahr Model, the brain child of Deputy Commissioner Krishan Kumar, in improving the sex ratio, is drawing attention of the media, government agencies as well as NGOs throughout the country.

Earlier, the Director, PNDT Act, New Delhi has sought a project report from the DC. After that Laxmi Kanta Chawla, Health and Family Welfare Minister, acclaimed the ‘Nawanshahr Model’ in Jalandhar and expressed her willingness to emulate it in all the districts of the state.

Now, Varinder Jain, Chief Justice, Punjab and Haryana High Court, along with Justice Uma Nath Singh, would visit Nawanshahr on Sunday to have a first hand information of the ‘Nawanshahr Model’ to fight the menace of female foeticide.

A seminar on female foeticide would be organised under the aegis of the district level NGOs coordination society - UPKAR, at Shivalik Public School here on Sunday, to mark the visit of the Chief Justice.