Jalandhar, March 18
Special rapporteur with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) L.D. Mishra chaired a meeting of civil servants, government officials and representatives of various NGOs to review the implementation of the bonded labour and child labour acts here today.

Mishra gave a detailed presentation at Circuit House in which various legal provisions and judgements of the Supreme Court on issues regarding the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act and the Child Labour (Prohibition and Abolition) Act were highlighted.

He directed the subdivisional magistrates to issue certificates to the released bonded labourers and provide them with relief from the union as well as the state government sponsored schemes for their rehabilitation. So far, nearly three lakh bonded labourers have been rehabilitated under the schemes, in which an immediate relief of Rs 20,000 was paid to the distressed, he added.

For complete eradication of this scourge, he stressed the need for coordination among the various government departments and other organisations working for the cause.

He urged the NGOs to work in close coordination with the owners of the brick-kilns to provide basic amenities at the sites to the workers and education and medical aid for their children. The labourers and their families here lived in terrible conditions, he pointed out.

After the presentation, views of NGOs, trade union leaders and representatives of owners’ association were sought and their issues were discussed so as to know the problems being faced in the implementation of the laws and to seek suggestions for better enforcement of these laws so as to eliminate the problem of bonded and child labour.

Mishra stressed that a child below 14 years should not be allowed to be involved in a hazardous occupation and compulsory education should be ensured for each child under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan. The government, NGOs and civil society should work jointly to achieve the goal, he added.

Those present on the occasion included SSP Arpit Shukla, ADC S.S. Marar, SDMs, civil surgeon, deputy labour commissioner, child development officer and the BDPOs.

Naugaja (Jalandhar), March 18
Suspending development projects with the change in reign is not new in Punjab. The political parties generally go on foundation stone-laying sprees before elections and the parties which come to power next adopt a neglecting attitude to these projects.

A 66-KV substation at Naugaja village, near Kartarpur, is one such example. The foundation stone of the project was laid when Amarinder Singh-led Congress government was in power. Then local bodies minister Chaudhary Jagjit Singh and deputy chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal had jointly laid the foundation stone on December 15, 2006.

However, with the SAD-BJP combine coming to power in February 2007, the project could not take off.

According to experts, the project, after completion, would drastically improve the power situation in around 25 villages of the area.

Sources said, “It costs around Rs 4 crore to set up a substation and Rs 50 to 60 lakh as annual expenses to maintain it.” Interestingly, there are 450, 66-KV substations in Punjab and around half of them need immediate upgradation.

Talking to The Tribune, village sarpanch Saroj Bala said, “Power cuts are a great problem in the village and we thought with the setting up of the substation we would get respite from them. Some people did visit the place and they assured us that the project would be started by 2008.”

H.S. Thukral, chief engineer (north), Jalandhar, said, “We have included the proposal of setting up a substation in Naugaja for the 2008-09 financial year. The project has been sent to the planning board of the department and after its approval it would be forwarded to the construction wing of the PSEB.”

Jalandhar, March 18
The fair sex is all set to make inroads into the traditional male bastion. For ages, the Border Security Force (BSF) was functioning without any female staff - making the going easy for the women smugglers. But not any more.

Bringing in a host of opportunities and shedding mental blocks, the BSF’s frontier headquarters in Jalandhar, for the first time, has initiated the recruitment process for constituting its first and only women battalion. The authorities are likely to induct 685 women constables into the force.

The job is not going to be very tough for the women since they will not be taken around for patrolling along the borders or deployed on night vigil. Officials reveal that it would rather be an eight-hour job in the daytime at immigration gates.

The women constables will be deployed with the 15 existing battalions in Punjab where their primary job would be frisking of women crossing the border posts.

Since the force only had men, frisking of women was not possible, creating the possibility of a serious security lapse. After completing their duties, the women constables will get back to their accommodation, most likely to be provided at Ajnala, an official of the force told The Tribune, adding that this was the plan at least for the next five to 10 years.

The women constables will undergo a strenuous recruitment process with physical tests, including running, jumps and hurdle crossings, medical examination, written test for the qualifying candidates and interview.

The force has advertised the posts asking for submission of applications to the inspector-general of frontier headquarters by April 15.

The age limit is from 18 to 23 years with a provision of relaxation for the reserved categories. District sainik welfare officer Lieut-Col Manmohan Singh has even planned to hold five-week pre-recruitment coaching classes for the eligible candidates from March 18.

He said preference in training would be given to the wards of ex-servicemen, serving defence personnel and para-military forces.

Hoshiarpur, March 18
Surjit Singh of Daffar village has been sentenced to a seven-year rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 2,000 for raping a girl.

The accused was convicted by district and sessions judge S.K. Goel today. He said in case Surjit failed to pay the fine his sentence would be increased by two more months.

According to the prosecution, Surjit had raped a girl of his village on April 3, 2006, while the latter’s mother was away.

The victim’s mother had reported the matter to the police on April 4, 2006, which registered a case against Surjit.

Jalandhar, March 18
In a mishap at an unmanned level crossing near Khurjiwad village, two persons were injured when a TATA Ace goods carrier rammed into a Jammu-bound train on Tuesday afternoon.

Tempo driver Sham Singh and his helper Gaggu of the Jawala Nagar locality here received serious injuries and were admitted to the civil hospital. Their condition was stated to be stable. The tempo was badly damaged.

Hoshiarpur, March 18
On a call of the Punjab Kisan Sabha, farmers blocked rail traffic at two places in the district today. Led by CPM state committee member Dasrshan Singh Mattoo and Bhagat Singh Jhuggian, the protesters squatted on the Birampur rail-road crossing at Garhshankar. Due to this, traffic on the Jaijon Doaba-Jalandhar track remained suspended for one-and-a-half hours.

Addressing the protesters, the leaders condemned the central and state governments for its anti-farmer policies. They alleged that both the governments were not working for development of the farmers.

Jalandhar: Rail traffic remained disrupted for some hours as activists of the Punjab Kisan Sabha (PKS) staged a dharna on the track near Phillaur railway station on Tuesday afternoon.

The sabha had given a rail roko call for two hours from 1 pm in support of its demand of enacting an act for waiving all the loans taken from arhtiyas (commission agents) of small and marginal farmers and agricultural and landless labourers. 

Hoshiarpur, March 18
As many as 92 nodal centres have been set up in the district for receiving nomination papers for the election of 1,345 panchayats.

This was disclosed by deputy commissioner N.K. Wadhawan here today. He said 92 returning officers and a similar number of assistant returning officers had been appointed for the poll. He said to file nomination papers, 12 nodal centres had been set up in block I, eight in block II and 117 panchayats of Tanda block, 10 each for panchayats of Mahilpur, Garhshankar and Dasuya blocks. Besides, 12 centres for Bhunga block, nine for Mukerian, seven for Hajipur and six for Talwara block had been set up.

Wadhawan said, “Fifteen villages have been attached with one nodal centre and in case of small panchayats the number has been increased to 17. In large panchayats only 12 villages are attached to a nodal centre.” — OC

Jalandhar, March 18
Kuldip Singh Bhatia of Model House locality tried to self-immolate at Nakodar Chowk here this evening.

SP (city-I) S.K. Kalia said Bhatia made an attempt to burn himself alive after pouring liquor on his person due to some family problem.

Kalia denied that Bhatia raised any anti-government slogans while trying to burn himself. He said everything would be clear after a probe. Meanwhile, Bhatia has been admitted to the civil hospital where his condition was stated to be stable.