Hoshiarpur, January 29
The Punjab government will implement the Construction Workers Welfare Board Act, 1996, framed by the union government and will impose a cess of 1 per cent on the entire construction works costing above Rs 10 lakh from April 1, 2008 in the state.

This was disclosed by principal secretary, labour-cum-coordinator of the holy bein project P. Ram while talking to mediapersons here on Tuesday.

Ram said Haryana had implemented the Act about 10 years ago and had been collecting a revenue of more than Rs 250 crore with the imposition of 1 per cent cess on all types of construction works above Rs 10 lakh.

The revenue collected from this cess would be spent on the welfare of labourers doing construction works.

For providing health services to poor persons, families living below the poverty line (BPL) would be covered under the family insurance scheme for Rs 30,000 each from the next financial year. The Punjab Health System Corporation had been assigned to act as a nodal agency to cover all BPL families under this scheme by appointing one of the insurance companies for this purpose. Seventy-five per cent of the premium would be paid by the Central government and the remaining would be provided by the state government. This would enable members of the all the BPL families to get themselves medically treated for various ailments.

There were some complaints against the functioning of ESI dispensaries for which P. Ram had ordered to make a survey in this regard.

After receiving the survey report, improvements will be made accordingly for providing the best possible treatment to the factory workers.

To fix the new minimum wages for the labourers, a board had been constituted. Its first meeting would be held on February 12. The new wages would soon be decided and announced, said Ram.

Referring to the ongoing project of the holy bein, more than 80 per cent work in Kapurthala district had been completed by spending Rs 5 crore. The remaining work would be completed before March 31, for which the state government had provided Rs 2 crore. For completing this prestigious project, land in 16 villages in Hoshiarpur district was being acquired.

A survey was being done to bring the water from the Beas through underground pipes for flowing it into the holy bein.

To stop flow of water from drains in the holy bein at Kapurthala, Sultanpur Lodhi, Bholath, Begowal, Tanda and Dasuya towns, special measures were being initiated to use sewage water for irrigation after its treatment. A tourism project is being initiated from Terkiana to Sultanpur Lodhi on the banks of the holy bein.

Amritsar, January 29
The police may order a fresh probe against Dr P.K. Sareen who has been on bail in the 2002 kidney scam, following a complaint by a Ludhiana resident who has alleged that Dr Sareen has been involved in kidney transplantation outside Punjab.

Though the kidney transplantations came to a standstill in Amritsar with the arrest of Dr Sareen and his accomplices, the police might probe his links with the kidney racket unearthed recently in Gurgaon.

SSP Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh confirmed that he had received a complaint, but denied that a kidney racket was thriving in the holy city.

He said the complaint by Kiran Kapoor would be examined by ordering an inquiry.

Talking to The Tribune, Kiran Kapoor said, “I underwent a medical examination in 2007 and Dr Sareen told me that my kidneys were damaged.” She alleged that the doctor had demanded Rs 8.50 lakh for kidney transplantation and Rs 2.50 lakh as advance.

Kiran alleged that on March 2, 2007, she along with her son went to Amritsar railway station where a car was sent by the accused doctor. The car took the duo to a reputed private hospital in the city. She further alleged that after taking Rs 2.50 lakh, the accused asked her to wait for a few days till he arranged a kidney donor. “After sensing something fishy, when I asked the doctor to pay back my money he told me that money once paid was not refundable. Besides, he said that he was not afraid of anyone as there were many cases registered against him,” alleges the complainant.

She further said, “On March 23 the doctor asked me to reach 44, Hanuman Road, New Delhi, to match my kidney tissue with donor Shashi Pal. But my tissue did not match and so I had to return.” Finally, she underwent a kidney transplant on May 10, 2007, at Aadil Hospital, Lahore.

She said, “I have submitted an application to the SSP of Amritsar to get my money back.”

Jalandhar, January 29
There was no respite from the cold wave as the minimum temperatures across Punjab fell with Adampur once again recording sub-zero temperatures last night.

The minimum at the Indian Air Force (IAF) base at Adampur fell to minus 1.2 degrees Celsius, turning it into the coldest place in the state.

The night temperature in Amritsar also fell and was recorded at 2.8 degrees.

The IAF base at Halwara was cold at 1.8 degrees Celsius. The night temperatures in the Malwa belt also fell, with Bathinda recording 3.2 degrees, while the border town of Pathankot recorded 4 degrees Celsius.

The met office at Adampur has forecast overcast conditions during the day with fog and haze tomorrow early morning.

The cold wave is likely to continue for the next three to four days. — UNI

Jalandhar, January 29
One of the long-pending demands of the residents of Dasuya was met with the extension of the railway reservation counter timings from Tuesday.

Tulsi Dass Jagga, a former member of the northern railway advisory committee, said the railway authorities had started a double shift, enabling the commuters to buy tickets till 8 pm. Earlier, the counter used to function from 8 am to 2 pm, he added.

He said other problems highlighted by them include extending the frequency of the 1450 DN Jammu-Jabalpur Express train to five days a week, with a brief stop at Dasuya and starting a fully unreserved express train from Pathankot to New Delhi/Nizamudin during day time since no such train is operational on this route at present.