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Sukhbir living in fool’s paradise: Khaira
Regularise our services, say rural doctors
Tribune Impact |
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SBI heist 2 women arrested
DC reviews works on Kali Bein
Auto-truck collision leaves 2 dead
Steps to develop Mahilpur
Sakharta staff stage dharna
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Sukhbir living in fool’s paradise: Khaira
Jalandhar, July 31 While finance minister Manpreet Badal was warning of a serious economic disaster in the state, Sukhbir was busy building castles in the air. Punjab was going from bad to worse in the core primary sectors of education and health. All 18,397 government schools with approximately 34 lakh underprivileged students were in shambles and functioning without teachers, infrastructure and commitment. The CM’s brainchild, Adrash schools, had failed to take off. Same was the plight of 229 government hospitals and hundreds of dispensaries that had been turned into centres to settle political scores through preparing fake medico legal reports (MLR) rather than their primary function of healthcare. The condition of the economically poor and the underprivileged, particularly Dalits, who constitute approximately one-third of the state’s population was pitiable. They were unable to arrange two square meals a day and lacked basic amenities even after 60 years of independence. The agrarian economy was under severe threat as a large number of farmers had been forced to commit suicides and the quantum of debt on farmers had increased to Rs 25,000 crore. Unemployment was on the rise and lakhs who graduated every year had no option but to resort to drug abuse that were available in abundance, particularly in the countryside, he added. Huge power cuts had practically crippled the industry, agriculture and domestic lives. Badal’s tall claims of making Punjab self-sufficient in the power sector within three years of his rule had fallen flat. The state needed 12,000 MW of electricity while it was producing only 6,000 MW. Apart from issuing misleading statements on power, the present regime had failed to generate even 1 MW during the last one and a half years, he informed. “More than half of our 12,000 villages are without safe drinking water, leave aside sewerage facilities or other amenities,” he alleged. “Under these circumstances I am concerned that the present feudal rulers, in connivance with big corporate houses such as Reliance (whom Sukhbir Badal had been opposing tooth and nail during Amarinder‘s rule) are embarking on schemes only for the rich.” “I wish to question how many Punjabi’s can afford five star hotels, flying clubs, express highways, superspeciality hospitals? Not that I am against the development of Punjab, but following an agenda like developed countries such as the USA and UK will not serve the purpose for our country. We are an economically poor country and our priorities should be for the ordinary and poor rather than the rich and famous,” he pointed out. |
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Regularise our services, say rural doctors
Jalandhar, July 31 Addressing the gathering at the Desh Bhagat Yaadgar Hall, Dr Rishi Bhardwaj and Dr Sandeepjot
Singh, conveners of the coordination committee for rural doctors, paramedics and pharmacists, alleged that the government had reneged on its poll promise by not regularising
their services. “The government is rendering step-motherly treatment to us. Our services must be regularised as has been done in Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand,” the conveners said. They said the conflict between the rural doctors, pharmacists and paramedical staff was due to the wrong policies of the government. Another speaker, Dr Aslam Parvez, said even the National Rural Health Mission stated that doctors working in the rural areas should be given job security and extra allowances. He also pointed out that health services, which were already in tatters, would collapse if they were not given additional benefits. “We have been forced
to take the path of agitation because the government is refusing to come to the negotiating table,”
he added. The protesters later marched to BMC Chowk and stopped traffic for more than an hour,
causing inconvenience to the commuters. |
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Tribune Impact
Chandigarh, July 31 In a “pro-student” decision, the PTU has decided to prepone the counselling for 15 per cent AIEEE quota students by one month. Now the counselling would conclude on August 30 instead of the earlier September 30 deadline. A decision to this effect had been taken and the new schedule for the counselling for non-Punjab students would be put on the PTU website in a couple of days, sources told The Tribune today. On July 23, The Tribune had highlighted how the PTU faux pas of scheduling the 15 per cent AIEEE quota counselling at the fag end of the counselling (from September 16 to 30) had created a sense of uncertainly and sent thousands of students and parents into a state of tizzy. The first counselling for the 85 per cent category (the Punjab state quota) ended on July 26. It was alleged that the long gap between the first counselling and the non-Punjabi candidates would leave thousands of aspirants at the mercy of the private institutions and the universities in the region. The students, who were at the bottom and middle of the AIEEE merits would have hit hard by the original counselling schedule. Following The Tribune story, these contentions were raised before the Punjab and Haryana High Court in a petition filed by Surbhi Mahajan, a Chandigarh student seeking admission through the AIEEE quota on July 24. “The PTU may be justified in according preference to Punjab residents competing for 85 per cent quota but the counselling for 15 per cent seats for non-Punjabi students should have been scheduled before the second counselling for the Punjab residents,” the petition contended. While disposing off the petition, a Division Bench of the high court comprising Justice Ashutosh Mohunta and Justice Nirmaljit Kaur directed the university to treat the petition as the representation and take a final decision on it expeditiously. The PTU decision seems to have stemmed from the news report and the high court direction, the sources said. Meanwhile, the parents have welcomed the “pro-student” decision. “Besides putting a check on the admissions through the management quota by the private colleges and the university by charging lakhs of rupees from the students the decision would come as a big relief to the average students seeking admission into professional courses,” Amarjit Singh, a parent, said.
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SBI heist 2 women arrested
Amritsar, July 31 Talking to The Tribune, SSP Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh said the women were nabbed after disclosures by gang kingpin Anil Kumar. He confessed that the 15-member gang had committed a number of bank robberies in Delhi, Punjab, western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, the SSP added. He said the police had already arrested three persons, including Dalbir Singh, alias Boxer, and Jasbir Singh of the gang, for decamping with the SBI cash van on June 3 this year. However, 10 of them were still at large. The SSP said a special investigation team had been set up to investigate various angles of the case and four teams had been sent to Delhi and other states to arrest the culprits. |
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DC reviews works on Kali Bein
Hoshiarpur, July 31 He has instructed the SDM, Dasuya, to make demarcation of the land adjoining the Kali Bein to complete the work of installing signposts. Wadhawan was presiding over the meeting convened for reviewing the ongoing works of the Kali Bein. The work for draining out sewage water of three villages adjoining the Kali Bein was in progress. The plantation of saplings of ornamental trees was being done on the banks of the sacred canal to make it beautiful and attractive. Treatment plants at Tanda and Dasuya towns would be installed to avoid the merger of sewage water in the Kali Bein. Sant Sukhjeet Singh Seechewal, SDM, Dasuya, Rahul Chaba, district development and panchayat officer Mohammad Iqbal, executive engineer, panchayati raj, Rita Aggarwal, and other government officers attended the meeting. |
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Auto-truck collision leaves 2 dead
Jalandhar, July 31 According to the information, the mishap took place on Thursday afternoon when a Nakodar-bound autorickshaw collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction. A woman, identified as Surinder Kaur, wife of Harbans Singh, died on the spot. Another woman Harpreet Kaur, wife of Balwant Singh, succumbed to her injuries on the way to hospital. The injured were identified as autorickshaw driver Vipin Kumar, Harbans Singh and his daughter Pinky. They were rushed to a nearby hospital where their condition was stated to be critical. The truck driver fled from the spot after the collision. A case has been registered in this regard. The bodies were sent to the local civil hospital for a post-mortem examination. |
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Steps to develop Mahilpur
Hoshiarpur, July 31 Setting up of new parks in the area were also discussed in the meeting and it was decided to make proper arrangements for maintaining cleanliness for the improvement of environment. — OC |
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Sakharta staff stage dharna
Hoshiarpur, July 31 They raised slogans against the state government. Addressing the gathering, union secretary Anil Kumar said the employees, working in the libraries of the District Literacy Society being run in rural areas, had not been paid their monthly honorarium. —
OC |
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Jalandhar, July 31
Jalandhar, July 31
