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Delhi Test
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‘State was never consulted’
Chandigarh, July 12 Mann said Punjab was never consulted on the issue of nuclear deal, hence it could not be supported. He said the Sikhs were for a nuclear weapon-free South Asia and supported peace. However, Mann said the UPA government should continue. He said it was wrong that Manmohan Singh’s government should be supported because he was a Sikh Prime Minister. The PM did not take the Sikhs into confidence on the deal.
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Students panic as dates clash
Smriti Sharma Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 12 According to official sources, CET for admission to MBBS, BDS, BSc (honours) and other medical sciences courses was held in early May this year. The results of the candidates were declared within a few days and the university announced the counselling schedule to begin from July 15, almost a month in advance. On the other hand, the Punjab PMT conducted by the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, was held on June 22 and results were also declared the same day. But the counselling dates have only been announced on July 10. On the first day of counselling, July 15, candidates who obtained more than 594 marks have been called. On July 16, candidates who obtained marks between 548-593 have been called in. Interestingly, the number of students taking both entrance examinations is on a higher side; consequently, they will have to forgo their claim on either of the seats. While the counselling for BDS courses in both cases began later, it’s the MBBS dates that are clashing and giving students sleepless nights. Talking to The Tribune, Prof R.C. Sobti, vice-chancellor, Panjab University, said, “We announced our counselling dates more than a month ago and it was even published in the prospectus. There is nothing that we can do now”. While most of the parents agree that Panjab University is not at fault this time, but are demanding that the Baba Farid university should have taken care of the dates. While most students feel it is an attempt to stop those from Punjab from taking admission in medical colleges in Chandigarh, many are still hoping against hope that the matter is sorted out before counselling begins.
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Cops brace up for lessons
Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 12 That’s right! The training wing of the Punjab Police is bracing itself up to hold special sessions for the men-in-khaki so that they do not shy away, or put their foot down, at the sight of a cameraman and a reporter. The Punjab police, especially lower-rank officials, are tough nuts when it comes to media interaction. It’s more out of habit they developed in the dark days of militancy when information leak often lead to the escape of terrorists, or even the killing of their brethren. As such, the policemen in the districts even after solving cases, almost always wait for the senior authorities, including district police chiefs and even the DGP, to hold press conferences. The only time they take assistance of the media is while releasing sketches of the suspects, or photographs of unidentified bodies. The sources in the police headquarters say for changing the mindsets, senior police functionaries have already worked out the modalities for conducting classes for the lower staff, and the interactive sessions are expected to start sometimes next month. Giving details of the programme, IG in charge of training S.K. Sharma says the course will essentially be of a short duration. In fact, it will be spread over a day or so, and all the police officials will be encouraged to go for it. Sharma says the intention behind organising the sessions is to break with the hammer of familiarity the wall of general apprehension that’s standing between the police and the media. “We want to tell 70,000-strong police force that the media can be helpful in combating crime by not only forewarning the people, but also by helping in crime detection,” he adds. As such, the policemen are being asked to adopt an open mind. They are being trained in the art of interacting with the media and to supply information that is essentially useful to society at large. Another officer in the training wing says the sessions will be conducted in the training schools located in all the 24 police districts of Punjab. The media, he adds, because of its reach can be of great assistance to the police, evident from cases like that of Hanna Foster, where the release of the prime suspect’s photographs led to his apprehension. Similarly, in the doctor-accused in the kidney racket was apprehended from Nepal after the media flashed his snaps. Otherwise also, the officer says, there is a wave in the favour of greater transparency these days.
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Food, supplies dept blames Railways for losses
Amritsar, July 12 Bhaskar alleged they usually had to unload goods outside the railway stockyard directly from bogies to tractor-trolleys or trucks due to unavailability of space and racks. As per standing directions of the ministry of Railways, racks and sheds for unloading goods should be provided. She said the department had to lift the gunny bags from the site within five hours, after which they had to pay demurrage and penalties causing a huge loss to the state exchequer. She said last year too the department had to shell out lakhs for these penalties. She said, according to estimates, a bale of gunny bags costs at least Rs 12,000 and many bales were damaged due to open unloading in the rains. She said she had taken up this matter last year, but nothing had been done so far. She said at least they should provide an alternate station for unloading. Meanwhile, Divisional Commercial Manager (DCM) Railways M.S. Bhullar said since Amritsar had been declared a dry port, the traffic had increased manifold due to more trade between India and Pakistan. He said the Railways had to provide racks and sheds for cement imported from the neighbouring country. Bhullar said the department would seek the transfer of destination station from Amritsar to Bhagtanwala rail head where they could get enough space for unloading of goods. Earlier, the Bhagtanwala rail head was closed. Bhaskar said she would write to the Chandigarh headquarters of the department for changing the destination station.
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Woman’s death in hospital sparks protest
Sangrur, July 12 The police used lathis to disperse the mob, injuring a few. The protesters also raised slogans against the police alleging it had helped the owner of the hospital Dr K.G. Singla and his doctor wife Renu Singla flee from the hospital. Triloki Nath, maternal uncle of the deceased from Barnala, said Neeru had delivered a baby boy on June 29 at the Singla hospital here. She had been admitted to this hospital again five days ago for treatment, but due to the administration of some “wrong” injection Neeru had died, he alleged. He demanded the arrest of the doctors. Sangrur deputy commissioner V.K. Ohri visited the hospital and pacified the protesters. He said the post-mortem examination of the body would be done by a board of doctors at Rajindra Hospital, Patiala. He also ordered a magisterial inquiry into the lathicharge by the police, and appointed Dhuri SDM Diprava Lakra as inquiry officer. He said a team of doctors would also enquire about the treatment given to the deceased. Local DSP Pritpal Singh Thind said the police had registered a case against Dr K.G. Singla and Dr Renu Singla under Sections 302 and 120-B, IPC, but both were absconding. He also said the police had registered a case against a crowd of 150 persons under Sections 307, 427, 353, 323 and 186, IPC, for an attack on policemen. He said in the attack four head constables, Teja Singh, Gurjeet Singh, Darbara Singh and Bhim Sain, had been injured. The normalcy returned to the hospital after the departure of the ambulance van carrying the body of Neeru to Patiala for a post-mortem examination.
Doctors go on strike Mourning the death of Neeru Bala at a private hospital here last night, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) at a meeting today condemned the “attack” by a mob on the hospital. Dr Makhan Singh, IMA chief, said doctors today observed strike in the local Civil Hospital and did not attend OPDs. Owners of the local private nursing homes kept the institutions closed in protest, he added. District secretary of the Indian Dental Association Dr Vivek Bhatnagar also condemned the “attack” on the hospital. He termed the death of the married girl as unfortunate and expressed grief over the death. Meanwhile, the local IMA today also held a meeting with chairman of the legal cell of IMA, Punjab, Dr O.P.S Kande. The meeting demanded the cancellation of the FIR registered against the doctor couple under Section 302, IPC.
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Dyeing, electroplating units face closure
Sanjeev Singh Bariana Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, July 12 As many as 83 units were raided in different parts of the city which included 18 large and 20 medium-scale units. Confirming the development, Yogesh Goyal, chairman, PPCB, said, "I cannot give you the exact figures of defaulters because we are still in the process of finalising the report. The units not following the norms and releasing the waste into the nullah face closure if found guilty under the Act." Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had convened a special meeting on the Budha Nullah last week and wanted an action taken report at the earliest. The chairman of the PPCB camped in the city and oversaw raids by five teams. Only the team leader was in touch with the control room which gave directions for the places to be checked at random. Bikram Singh Majithia, minister for information and public relations, water supply and sanitation, said, "The task of clearing nullah of pollution accumulated over several decades will require at least 10-15 years. The state has increased the budget for clearing the nullah to Rs 10 crore this year, compared to Rs 1 crore only earlier. Majithia said, "Factories are not the only source of pollution for the nullah. The sewage of the city and other upstream villages and towns also contribute to the pollution. It is time for strict action now. We will shut the polluting units, found guilty under the Act, to set an example for others". Vikas Pratap, municipal commissioner, said, "Three sewage treatment plants had become functional to handle the city’s sewage. The plants at Bhattian, Balloke and Jamalpur handling 311 mega litre sewage per day have got additional capacity installed for 155 mega litres. Besides short-term measures, the corporation is putting into place a long-term action plan, particularly with regard to the solid waste for permanent solution of the problem." An official said, "The MC is taking care of the sewage and the PPCB looking after the industries. The nullah also flows along the villages. A permanent solution regarding the polythene and other waste removed from the nullah and dumped along the banks at several places also needs to be found." He said, "Besides the meeting under the CM, we need a special cell to monitor action by different wings associated with cleaning the nullah”.
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Night-landing facility for Patiala club
Patiala, July 12 Once it is in place, the facility could also be utilised for landing and taking off of routine normal domestic flights if Patiala city gets to figure on the civil aviation map like Chandigarh, Amritsar, Mohali and Ludhiana. The state government has already given the money to the Civil Aviation Department which, it was learnt, was in the process of transferring the amount to the PWD authorities to facilitiate the early initiation of work at the Patiala club airstrip. The night-landing facility, mainly the setting up of lights on the airstrip, was likely to be provided at the club before March 31, 2009, civil aviation sources said. In the first phase, the proposed night-landing facility would however, be used for facilitating of flights offered by the club for its own students. “The facility is being provided for our students. We expect to get the facility within a short time,” said chief flying instructor of the club G.S. Mangat. The proposal was mooted by Mangat with the objective to familiarise trainee pilots with the night-landing process. “The basic objective of the programme is to offer world class training to student pilots. The night-landing process is a very important part of the curriculum,” said an official. The club has already acquired two advanced Cessna 172 aircrafts that would mainly be used for night training once lights are set up at the airstrip.
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Aayesha to continue fight for justice
Amritsar, July 12 Aayesha, a resident of Mumbai, had married Mohammad Khalid of Lahore after coming in contact with him through the Internet about one and a half years ago. Talking to the media after her arrival by Nankana Sahib-Amritsar bus here today, Aayesha said though she had made many representations to the Indian Embassy in Islamabad against the harassment by her in-laws after her husband’s death on June 12 no one had bothered to listen to her grievances. She said soon after marriage, her in-laws started harassing her and Khalid over petty issues. About two months ago, she came to India to visit her ailing father in Mumbai and had returned to Lahore after a two-week stay. She said her husband died under mysterious circumstances after 10 days on June 12. Since then, her brother-in-law and other members of the family started harassing her. Aayesha said due to the continuous tension, she could not take care of the baby boy who died a few weeks after birth. She said the media and the police had been cooperative and had helped her fight against the injustice of her in-laws. A police case has been registered against her brother-in-law for harassing her. Aayesha said she came to India to see her ailing father and would return to Lahore after 10 days and continue her fight until she got justice.
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Now, anti-power theft police stations
Patiala, July 12 Domestic consumers indulging in power theft could be booked by these police stations. It was not clear whether the “anti-power theft police station” officials could lay their hands on units stealing electricity. The highest percentage of power theft was generally attributed to the industrial sector in the state. Officials of the PSEB-controlled police stations could raid premises on the basis of power theft complaints and would also accompany the raiding PSEB flying squads in areas of their jurisdiction. Since the maximum punishment for power theft was fine on defaulters, there would be no lock-ups in the PSEB police stations. “The six of such police stations have started functioning while the rest of 12 would do so in one year. Since, it is a big task to set up police stations at all district headquarters, the PSEB has decided to come out with its own police stations at all of its 18 circles,” said a senior PSEB official. The PSEB authorities have deputed staff in six of its police stations after drawing it from the existing PSEB Vigilance cell, headed by ADGP A.P. Pandey.
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Punjab to set up cotton council
Chandigarh, July 12 After inaugurating the annual conference of the Textile Association (India) Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh (PHC) unit on “Technological Process Innovation” here, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said the emerging textile scenario in the country as well as in Punjab was favourable for the growth of textile industry. However, to sustain its growth, infrastructure for the industry to function efficiently to compete in the global market needed to be improved and he hoped the council would prove to be a milestone to boost prospects of the textile industry in the region. He said the state cotton council would have members on its board from amongst cotton growers, textile manufacturers, cotton farm experts and officers of the government. The Chief Minister added objective of the council would be to enhance productivity of cotton and encourage downstream industries in the state.
“As of now, only 43 per cent of cotton grown in Punjab is converted for value addition in the state,” said Badal.
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100-yr-old temple demolished
Malerkotla, July 12 A large number of police personnel were deployed by the administration to avoid any untoward incident under the supervision of local DSP Gurpreet Singh Sikand. According to information, the temple was constructed on about 4 kanal and 19 marla land near the Raikot road. A case regarding the land was pending in the high court. And today on the directions of the court, the local administration, led by tehsildar Amandeep Singh Bhatti, demolished the temple. Hundreds of people of the area silently protested against the process. They alleged that they were not informed by the administration before demolishing the temple.
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Water-related issues worry students
Chandigarh, July 12 Parmjit Singh Gazi, president, SSF, who released the book, said of the 140 blocks in Punjab, 112 were over-exploited. Unavailability of drinking water is another major problem. The government encouraged farmers to use fertilisers and pesticides to grow more food that led to poisoning of subsoil water, mostly used for drinking in the countryside, said Harinderpreet Singh, propaganda secretary, SSF. The leaders said they would take up the issue related to water at the appropriate level.
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Schools asked to meet industrialists
Chandigarh, July 12 To the surprise of Badal and other government authorities concerned, only two industrialist groups - Bharti Group and Ranbaxy - have come forward set up Adrash schools. Others have not shown any interest so far. The state government authorities had held a meeting yesterday to review the progress with regard to the setting up of Adarsh schools. At the meeting, almost all sites offered by panchayats concerned were cleared. Sources said industrialists were not ready to set up such schools in the countryside because of operational difficulties. Some of them were keen to set up schools near main cities. Moreover, as they would have to spend money from their pockets and there would be no return to them from that investment, they were reluctant to take initiative in this regard. As Badal continued to press them again and again, many of them agreed to set up one or two schools. But later they did not show any interest. The state government had extended the date till July 17 to seek applications from the parties interested to set up such schools. The government will also entertain applications in case these are submitted by established social organisations having experience in running schools such as Khalsa, SD, DAV schools, it is learnt. Meanwhile, the process to rationalise teaching staff in government schools has been deferred. The sources said there were instructions from the top to stop the process that was initiated a few weeks ago. There is surplus staff in many government schools in urban areas, especiallye schools located in big cities. Meanwhile, the rationalisation process in government colleges has been completed.
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Jalandhar boy 9th in CA test
Jalandhar, July 12 Son of V.K. Sareen, commerce teacher of DAV College, Aarish has scored 178 marks out of 200 in the test. Considering the huge number of one lakh candidates appearing for the test being undergraduates, getting ninth position in the test was even a bigger feat for
Aarish, who has attained the top rank in the very first attempt. Now, he stands a good chance of getting 18-month training with a top international CA firm having its base in India. A confident guy, he said his result was very much on the expected
lines. Aarish said he had not taken any coaching. “I had done most of the preparation myself. If at all I had any doubts in any subject, I would get it cleared from my dad. He has been a great guide and a support to me.” He has cleared National Talent Search Examination conducted by the CBSE entitling him to a scholarship worth Rs 6,000 per annum. He has scored 89.8 per cent marks in plus II.
Aarish plans to pursue B.Com simultaneously and has taken admission in SD College in Chandigarh.
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