Muktsar, April 14
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today held talks with the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union leadership, a political delegation of the landless peasants of Malwa region, and assured them that their certain demands like the issuance of ‘blue cards’ under the ‘atta-dal’ scheme, allotment of plots to nearly 153 homeless families and other legally poor beneficiaries, and an inquiry against a police officer who had allegedly hurt their sentiments by passing casteist remark would be met by the state administration soon.

A seven-member delegation of the Union called on the CM at his native Badal village this morning, on the  initiative of the district administrative officials, where they also apprised him of the ongoing “caste-based repression” at the hands of the big landlords of several villages in Muktsar, Faridkot and Ferozepur.

They also pointed out that several hundred families from the Dalit community and other weaker sections were deprived of even dumping grounds where they could throw their garbage and that they were still forced to defecate in open.

Badal, who gave a patient hearing to their woes, instructed deputy commissioner Vikas Garg and others senior officials to carry out a fresh survey for installing required toilets in the dwellings of the landless peasants and for the allotment of plots or houses to the homeless.

The CM, reportedly, warned the police officials against the harassment of the Dalits in police stations.

It is learnt that Badal also took up the matter of the reported non-issuance of the blue cards under the atta-dal scheme with Malout MLA Harpreet Singh of the SAD. The weaker sections of three villages in the Malout constituency had accused the MLA of pressurising the administration against the issuance of the cards to them.

Today’s meeting between the CM and the delegation holds significance in the backdrop of the series of agitations staged by landless peasants for the last one month. The agitators had witnessed severe lathi-charge, including that on women and children, and several black flag marches had been performed when certain ruling politicians, including the CM, visited their villages.

Secretary of the union Lacchhman Singh Sewewala said their talks with the CM were cordial as the latter gave them a ‘patient hearing and assurance’. The officers concerned were already on the job of conceding to their relevant demands.

The leadership of these landless peasants and that of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) had given a clarion call for a united struggle for the rights of the poor farmers and other weaker and deprived sections of the rural population at the rally held on April 1 at Lambi, which was also supported by the left-oriented Punjab Teachers Democratic Front.

Bathinda, April 14
Punjab would abide by the guidelines given by the apex court on 27 per cent quota for the OBCs. “OBCs are in all the states and the final decision on implementing the 27 per cent quota in Punjab’s educational institutions would be taken by the state cabinet,” Upinderjeet Kaur, education minister of Punjab, told TNS in an exclusive interview here today.

On protests by the Sarkari Sikhia Bachao Manch about filling up the vacant posts of teachers, the minister said that around 14,000 teachers were going to be recruited, including 8,000 elementary teachers, 4000 in master cadre and over 2,000 computer teachers. The minister maintained that soon after coming to power, the SAD-BJP government had appointed around 438 art and craft teachers, 246 masters and 116 instructors on compassionate grounds.

She said the merit-based recruitment process, adopted by the government, was the cleanest and transparent so far.

It is important to mention here that the above appointments have not been made on the basis of any entrance test.

The minister also defended the privatisation of education and the policy of opening Adarsh schools. She quipped that globalisation and liberalisation were a mantra of the present age. “ It was Rajiv Gandhi, who changed the socialist pattern of our economy to a capitalist one. And we are not running away from our responsibilities,” she said.

On the use of mobile phones in schools, she clarified that she had issued a circular in this regard, but in today’s age it was a necessity. But she would issue instructions on not using cellphones, both by teachers and students, inside classrooms only.

On making teachers accountable for the results in the schools, she said that earlier, the performance of teachers was included in the transfer policy, but there was an acute shortage of teachers as of now. “We had a ratio of one teacher per 200 students. How can we expect to maintain quality in such circumstances,” she exclaimed.

The minister also announced a grant of Rs 18 crore for scholarships for the wards of SCs and BCs.

However, Sukhdarshan Singh, president of Berozegaar BEd Adhyapak Front, demanded that the master cadre be filled up first as there were cases where candidates had got appointment letters for both ETT and Masters.

Bathinda, April 14
To pacify the teachers who are on the warpath, CM Parkash Singh Badal distributed appointment letters to the newly recruited teachers of Punjab at the Rajindra College in Bathinda.

The Badal government daily wakes up to protests by the one or the other teachers’ organisation. Aanganwari workers are fighting for permanent status. Similar is the case of the ETT teachers’union. The Sarkari Sikhiya Bachao Manch, a conglomeration of 16 teachers’ union, has drawn battlelines against the privatisation of education. The college teachers are also worried over the amendment in the Security of Services Act, 1974.

But the ‘weather’ is unusually cool today and protests are not to be seen, may be because Upinderjeet Kaur, education minister of Punjab, has announced the recruitment of 14,000 teachers in the state,” the CM said.

Vikram Sharma, who had come all the way from Pathankot, reached the venue around 9 am, five hours before the scheduled time. He was excited about meeting CM. “ I feared that they may start early,” he said. Vikram has done his MSc in mathematics and will get Rs 5,500 as basic pay as a maths teacher.

Around 97 newly appointed ETT and 154 mathematics teachers were called but only a few could get their appointment letters from him because the CM had to attend another function.

DPI, Elementary Education, Harcharan Jeet Kaur Brar, informed that there are 9,998 vacant posts of elementary teachers post and around 8,000 candidates had been selected on a contract basis, who would get around Rs 4,500 per month. Suprintendent, Department of Recruitment, DPI (Secondary), Yoginder Dutt, said a total of 316 Maths teachers had been selected. Out of these, 162 were women.

Upinderjeet Kaur, Education Minister, claimed in the function that it was for the first time that teachers had been recruited on such a large scale in Punjab and it had been achieved before the start of the new session. It is important to mention here that literacy in Punjab is just 69.59 per cent (2001 census), and placed 12th in the country.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, while presiding over the function, didn’t hesitate to speak about the condition of schools, which he said, were being run without toilets, furniture and teachers. He hoped that the Adarsh schools would benefit poor students who were meritorious.

The CM didn’t forget to mention Rajindra College, the oldest government college of Bathinda, which was hosting the function. In the end, he said that he had noted the needs of the college and would do something for it.

Bathinda, April 14
There has been a sharp rise in the prices of vegetables in the city over the past few days, thus taking them out of the reach of the common man. Wholesale dealers maintain that the rise in vegetable prices is the outcome of short supply in “mandis” rather than the fuel hike, as is the common belief.

“The onset of summer in the region is adversely affecting crop production,” says Radhey Sham, a wholesale vendor of vegetables on Amrik Singh road. “If you want specific answers as to why vegetable prices have gone up, I will say these have soared because crop yield has gone down due to the inclement weather in the region,” he adds.

After much cribbing over the fuel price hike, the increase in vegetable prices has put an additional burden on the residents.

Vijay Kumar, a trader from the Gandhi Market, says, “The inclement weather has affected crop production adversely. Heat has also destroyed most of the crop. Therefore, we are not able to bring enough produce to the market and the prices have gone up.”

“One has to eat, but one cannot upset one’s budget at the end of the month. Therefore, I have increased the use of things like soya products, which are turning out to be cheaper than vegetables,” says Sushma Gupta, a housewife.

Anu Jindal, a resident of Veer Colony, says, “The fuel price hike was already pinching our pockets and now with the increase in prices of vegetables, we are facing a tough time, packaging everything in our limits.”

“Supplementing vegetables and fruits with other products without compromising on nutrition, is the main concern of every mother. I cannot let the health of my children suffer. Though the prices have shot up, I am looking for alternatives in pulses and cheese,” says Meenakshi, a mother of two kids.

Although the prices of fruits have also increased, the costly vegetables do not leave any space for them in the shopping bags of residents. Aruti from Shakti Nagar, says, “One week’s vegetables used to cost me around Rs 250 earlier, but now I have to shell out around Rs 400. So this does not leave any room for buying fruits.”

While the middle-class families are struggling to manage things, the vendors are also facing a tough time. Ram Asra, a vendor from Parasram Nagar, says, “It is becoming difficult to sell vegetables. People have become cautious about spending money.”

Talwandi Sabo, April 14
“The activists of Shiromani Akali Dal (A) will soon start boarding the Orbit buses without tickets as the Badal family has set up the transport company with money from the SGPC,” charged Simranjit Singh Mann, SAD (A) chief, at the Baisakhi conference here today.

Adressing the gathering, Mann alleged that the leaders of the SAD-BJP coalition and the Congress, all have been in the race to please Central leaders, to achieve their own ends.

Taking the Centre and state government to task, Mann said that farmers, who are debt-ridden, should not pay back their loans. In support of his view, he said that 70 per cent of the total loan taken by the farmers is from the Arhtiyas and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), who have looted them. Addressing the meeting, Mann also expressed his resentment over L.K. Advani’s book as in his view, he had showed disrespect to the Sikh religion

Lashing out at the government, he mentioned incidents where the government had allegedly failed to resolve people’s issues.

“Both Badal and Captain, during their reign, spoke at length about the marvellous growth of kinnow and grapes in the Talwandi Sabo region, but none of them made any effort to start any food processing unit in the area,” he said.

Barinder Singh Mann, Gursewak Singh Jawaharke, Mohinder Pal Singh and Bhai Ram Singh were among the dignitaries present on the occasion.

Mansa, April 14
Out of the five labourers who were injured following the collapse of the wall they were constructing at the Akash Cotton Factory last evening one Gurpal Singh, son of Gurjant Singh and resident of Ramdite Wala village, died late at night at the civil hospital here. In the incident, two persons had already been killed yesterday in the evening.

Today, labourers held a dharna in front of the civil hospital where state secretary of the Mazdoor Mukti Morcha Bhagwant Singh alleged that Gurpal died due to the negligence of doctors.

Later, they staged a protest in front of the factory owner’s house, keeping the bodies of those killed before them. They demanded an action against the factory owner as the collapsed wall was being built with mud.

The labourers were now holding a dharna in front of the factory owner’s house and have demanded from the factory owner a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each for those killed and Rs 2 lakh each for the injured.

They have threatened that if their demands were not met they would not let the dharna go off for the whole night and would cremate the bodies in front of the factory owner’s house only.

Bathinda, April 14
Thousands of devotees made a beeline for the historic Damdama Sahib Gurudwara today on Baisakhi.

Thousands took a holy dip in the ‘Sarovar’ and round-the-clock religious discourses were held. Elaborate security arrangements were made near the ‘sarovar’ and other places to prevent any mishap.

Langars (free kitchen) were organised at 13 places and 34 jathas including the Dhandi and Kawisar jathas participated in the functions, informed Takht manager Jaspal Singh.

Ranjeet Singh, a Nihang from Sangrurwith a 230 metre long turban was a major attraction.

Surjeet Singh, an NRI from Canada, was overwhelmed by the occasion and said that his cherised dream to visit the ‘Takht’ on the occasion had been realised.

The gurudwara was packed to its capacity but there were thousands outside waiting for their turn to pay obeisance.

Wrestling and kabaddi competitions for men and women were also held at Mata Sahib Kaur college and a cultural extravaganza regaled people in the evening.

Vehicles plying to the venue were packed heavily. While eatables and drinks were being sold at a higher rate, ‘ghota’ was freely available.

Abohar, April 14
“Ram ji ki nikli sawari, Ram ji ki leela hai nyari.” This is how people described the Ram Navmi Shobha Yatra that passed through main roads of the sub-divisional town today.

The commentators unanimously observed that the Shri Sanatan Dharam Sabha succeeded in mobilising the citizens for active participation in the procession that started with much gaiety and fervour from the Gaushala this afternoon.

Sabha president Pramil Kalani, secretary Vikram Garg, cashier Kamal Mittal and representatives of other organisations including Sat Narain Goyal, K.K. Sidana, Ved Parkash Diggaj, Ram Kishan Mittal, Vinod Singla and Sat Pal Khariwal marched with the procession. Many citizens served sweet water and ladoos to the participants on the way.

City-2 SHO Sanjiv Setia and Press Club secretary Shiv Garg were among those who showered rose petals.

BJP Yuva Morcha district vice-president Shiv Raj Goyal was joined by Avinash Narang president of the Fruit and Vegetable Sellers Association in distributing fruits to the artistes who were enacting various characters of the Ramayana. The bands played bhajans tunes.

The municipal council staff had cleaned all the main roads. Some of the NGOs put welcome gates on the route. Light showers greeted the procession when it was to conclude at Shri Sanatan Dharam Mandir located in the heart of the town.

Abohar, April 14
Bhim Rao Ambedkar’s 117th birth anniversary was celebrated by many organisations with reverence. However, senior Congress worker Khazan Devi Parihar from the Balluana Assembly segment was the only representative among the women to garland the lifesize statue of the maker of the constitution of the country.

The Bahujan Samaj Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, Adi Dharam Samaj and Congress Sewa Dal workers also garlanded the statue and later held separate functions to celebrate the birthday.

Raj Kumar Chauhan, Ravi Vaid, Mahabir Singla and Rajinder Kumar spoke about the teachings and the ideals of Ambedkar.