Jalandhar, April 2
Punjab rural development and panchayat minister Ranjit Singh Brahmpura said that most of the candidates had spent money much beyond their limits for campaigning during the assembly and parliamentary elections.

Talking to media persons here on Monday, the minister said this while replying to a question about spending too much money by some candidates, upto even Rs 25 lakh., in some cases for panchayat 
elections.

“Our department would consider fixing a maximum limit of expenditure for campaigning by a candidate during panchayat elections,” he said.

In reply to a question, he said that an inquiry would be conducted into the alleged irregularities by ignoring merit while appointing teachers on contract by the Jalandhar zila parishad during the previous Amarinder Singh-led Congress government.

Brahmpura said his department would also look into the alleged embezzlement of a part of the grant of Rs 1,200 crore released under the Punjab Nirman Scheme during the past six months.

The minister said that flying squads would be set up at the subdivisional level to ensure proper use of the grants to be released
in future.

In reply to another question, the minister said his department was ready to provide matching grants to NRIs who would provide money for the development of their particular villages.

Jalandhar, April 2
Caught in the quagmire of wheat-paddy pattern, industrial and population pressure, Jalandhar district is rushing no-holds-barred towards a major groundwater disaster.

The gravity of the situation can 
be gauged from the fact that the district
has a mind-boggling rate of “stage of development” with the Jalandhar East and Jalandhar West recording 350 and 274 per cent, respectively.

This ironically and innocuously named “stage of development” means that the rate of groundwater abstraction is 350 times more than the rate of its replenishment in Jalandhar East, while it is 274 times more in Jalandhar West.

Another block of the district, Nakodar, is also parching at 317 per cent.

“The reasons behind the threatening situation are not far to seek. While the wheat-paddy pattern has inflicted the maximum damage, sapping earth of its valuable water and nutrients, demographical demands too have compounded the misery,” said Punjab conservator of soils Anil K. Sondhi.

Incidentally, the Planning Commission data, based on the Central Groundwater Board survey, has also revealed Jalandhar as a groundwater “problem area” and the matter has been taken up in Parliament too.

Sondhi said the department of soil and water conservation was giving utmost attention to the district as its three blocks fell under the “dark zone” connoting rapidly depleting groundwater table and rampant overexploitation.

Warning that such a scenario could not continue for long, he said the severe rationing of water even for domestic purposes would eventually be the logical outcome and only way to stem the pace of depletion.

Sondhi laid stress on the transplantation of paddy by mid-June and not mid-May as is the practice, saying the move would save precious 200 mm groundwater every year.

Divisional conservator of soils Surinder Saini said that the department was also promoting the drip irrigation method among farmers and a grant of Rs 1 crore had already been given by the Central and state governments for the purpose.

Importantly, a farmer commission, headed by Dr G.S. Kalkat, had prepared a draft of the Punjab Preservation of Sub-Soil Water Bill in 2006.

The objective of the Bill was to regulate the transplantation paddy to ensure rational use of water. All that effort now lies in cold storage.

Suggesting a strong legal framework to tackle the problem, Sondhi emphasised that as long as there was no legal obligation or regime to restrain the landowners from over-abstracting groundwater, the situation would continue to worsen.

The groundwater is not the only issue. Jalandhar is literally busting at its seams with haphazard growth and ever-burgeoning population eating out the vitals of its ecology.

A well-known Delhi-based NGO, Centre for Science and Environment, has already dubbed Jalandhar the third most-polluted city in India!

It is now or never for this historically, culturally and industrially rich region 
of Punjab.

Jalandhar, April 2
The tall claims made by Punjab Technical University to revamp its examination system fell flat following reports of paper leak leading to cancellation of the examination in its 240 distance education centres that was to be held yesterday. An inquiry has been marked into the incident today.

Even as the examination of Advanced Web Designing course for third semester MSc (IT) students was scheduled to be held at 2:30 pm yesterday, the paper was out before noon. Vice chancellor of the university, Dr S.K. Salwan said that this probably happened as the seal of paper packet was opened at one of the centres before time. He said that the question papers had been dispatched to all the centres two days prior to the examination with instructions of opening the seal only in front of the superintendent and deputy superintendent.

Dr Salwan said that as soon as he had got the news of leak he had immediately instructed all the centres not to open their packets of question papers and keep the seal intact. He said that he had asked all of them to send the packets back which he had started receiving. He said that in case he does not receive a packet from a centre or finds it open, it will indicate the source of leak. He said that the packets had a water soluble seal and had been packed in a private printing press instead of the university employees in order to maintain secrecy.

Dean (distance education and academics), Dr R.P. Singh said he is checking as to students had idea as to what was there in the question paper but to no avail. The paper has been rescheduled for April 25. 

Jalandhar, April 2
The authorities of Saint Soldier College of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Khambra, have admitted that a first-year girl student was harassed in a ragging incident few months ago.

Following publication of a news item in The Tribune yesterday about the alleged sexual harassment of a girl student, identified as Taru, chairman of St Soldier Educational Society Anil Chopra on Monday said the incident had taken place in December 2006. Reversing his statement that management received no complaint, Chopra said the accused Rakesh, a second year student, had been placed under suspension for a week. The suspension was revoked only after the accused tendered a written apology.

Taru, who belongs to Amritsar, told The Tribune that the incident had left her very disturbed and she had even contemplated suicide following an adverse reaction of the management to her complaint. The girl’s parents Raj Kumar and his wife Raj Anand had sent a complaint to vice- chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), Faridkot on January 25. After receiving the complaint, BFUHS registrar AS Anand had asked the principal to take appropriate action against the accused who was suspended.

A five-member committee, headed by DSP Jagmohan Singh Kang met at the office of the society on Monday and decided to suspend the HoD Kavita Kaushal Sharma temporarily a representatives each from NSUI, ABVP and AISSF. Meanwhile, DSP Kang did not receive any written complaints from the students, who had alleged that they were sexually harassed.

Jalandhar, April 2
Local colleges have reacted sharply to Guru Nanak Dev University’s decision to scrap the MBA and MCA courses in its affiliated institutions here from the coming session. Describing the move as “illogical and insulting”, officials claimed their students not only have been bagging top ranks in these courses but their placement record has also been outstanding.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, former MP and Lyallpur Khalsa College managing committee chief Balbir Singh alleged that the decision was aimed at benefiting a private university as the local students would have no option but to enroll themselves there.

He said he would lodge a formal complaint with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal against the vice-chancellor of GND University for “arbitrarily” scrapping a course being offered by the varsity for the past seven years.

Jalandhar, April 2
Summers aren’t in it yet. Are you already feeling the heat? Well if yes, then better get used to it. Going by the present trend, days in the coming years would be getting hotter much earlier then expected.

Sweaters and warn clothes and room heaters have given way to T-shirts and air conditioners. The manufactures of the goods related to summers (prickly heat powder, Acs, fans, soft drinks, etc) have already started their ad campaigns on the television.

Gone are the days when March and April were considered to be the months of pleasant weather carrying with it the reminder of just ended winters.

With the passage of time a gradual increase in the temperature has become a cause of worry.

Data collected by The Tribune of the past three years show the temperature has risen by 2 to 3 degrees. This change in the weather could be attributed to the global warming.

According to the data, the maximum temperature on April 2, 2006, was 33 degrees Celsius, which was three degrees more than that in 2005.

Similarly, the maximum temperature has risen by whopping 10 degrees in the past three years on April 1, 2007 (34.6 degree Celsius) when on the same day in 2004 it was a pleasant 24.4 degrees. The temperature has also increased in March. March 29, 2007, recorded the maximum temperature of 32 degrees as compared to 27 degrees recorded last year on the same day. 

Heating up!

Years 2005 2006 2007

March 29: 30.2 27.0 32.0

March 30 29.2 29.2 32.8

March 31 28.4 31.4 33.8

April 1 29.6 32.8 34.6

April 2 30.8 33.0 34.0

(Maximum temperature in degree Celsius)