Jalandhar, October 1
Contradicting yesterday’s statement of the Punjab finance minister in a very subtle manner, public relations minister Bikram Singh Majithia said today that while Manpreet Badal had the freedom to express his own opinion but the reality was that the UPA government was indifferent towards the needs of Punjab.

Majithia was here to take part in the joining-in ceremony of Akali leader Baljit Singh Neelamahal as the chairman of the Jalandhar Improvement Trust. Corroborating the Chief Minister’s statement, Majithia said the central government was discriminating against Punjab and had not supported it for its development.

“A clearcut case in this regard is the Centre’s apathetic attitude towards the farmers’ problems in the state. Punjab’s farmers have bailed the country out of the problem of food security a number of times but they have not been duly rewarded by being given a good MSP for their crops,” he tried to justify the Punjab Chief Minister’s stand.

He opined, “Even if they have increased the rates, it is not enough for them to compete in the international market,” he stated, adding that only 5 per cent of the total compensation of Rs 72,000 crore reached the state that had been contributing 70 per cent towards the agricultural sector.

Even as Majithia kept on calling Manpreet his elder brother, he probably had no way but to again counter his yet another statement on cabinet’s repeated disapproval to his suggestions on financial reforms that he wanted to introduce. Asked on the issue, he laughed, “Why are you after me today asking all those difficult questions”. He soon responded saying that all the decisions approved by the majority were passed in the cabinet.

On the issue of nuclear energy, he said, “These are all discussions as of now. We may not live to actually see power production from nuclear resources. Even if it happens, it will help meet just 7 per cent of the total need. We need to focus on fully exploiting the hydro power projects. A year-long study on windmill energy at Ropar and Muktsar will complete in December and we may know its viability in the state.”

Regarding a question on the role of improvement trust in the light of the newly founded development authorities, he said the trusts would function within the larger purview of the authorities and continue to develop schemes on land acquired by them.

Nawanshahr, October 1
The health minister, Luxmi Kanta Chawla, inaugurated the state-level voluntary blood donation camp organised at Guru Nanak College for Women, Banga, to mark the national blood donation day, on Wednesday.

While lauding the efforts of the NGOs in propagating voluntary blood donation and blood donors, Chawla said the miscreants involved in terrorist activities should get inspiration from them and shun blood shedding. She also exhorted NGOs to mobilise public opinion against social evils like female foeticide and drug addiction. The society should be mobilised against the menace of dowry to curb female foeticide instead of just organising seminars on the issue, she added.

Dr. SPS Sohal, director, health and family welfare, deputy commissioner, Nilkanth Avhad, Prajakta, chairperson, district red cross society, Chitranjan Singh Brar, civil surgeon, among others, also addressed the gathering.

The health minister honoured the blood donors belonging to different districts of the state, who have made at least 40 blood donation were also honoured.As many as 325 units of blood were collected on the occasion. Earlier, the minister inaugurated a voluntary blood donation camp organised by the local Blood Donors Council (BDC) here at the BDC complex to mark the national blood donation day. .

Pathankot: To mark the National Voluntary Blood Donation Day, two camps were organised by the district Red Cross Society in collaboration with Sudeep Charitable Trust at Aman Foundations, Kotli and village Tamrai near Dinanagar 20 km from here today. Dr RS Rana, civil surgeon, Gurdaspur, inaugurated these camps and exhorted people to donate blood to save human lives. Dr Vinay Sharma, project chairman of the camps, told that as many as 105 volunteers donated blood during the two camps.

Tarn Taran: As many as 50 donors donated blood in a special camp organised at the local civil hospital on the International Blood Donation Day here today. Khushi Ram, deputy commissioner (DC), was the chief guest.

Amritsar, October 1
Panther division celebrated its 45th Raising Day here today in which programmes like bhangra, para motor show, hot air ballooning, mass band display and dog show were the main attractions.

Major-Gen P.S. Paul, GOC, Panther Division, in his message, extended warm greetings to all ranks of the formation. He exhorted the troops to dedicate themselves to the motto of the Panther Division “Nischay Kar Apni Jeet Karon” and live up to it in the true spirit, ethos and value system of the Indian army. He also paid respect to the veterans and saluted the soldiers, who made supreme sacrifice to uphold the honour of the nation. Major-Gen Paul informed that the division was raised on October 1, 1964 at Clement Town, Dehradun by Major-Gen Niranjan Prasad.

He said it moved to the present location in April 1965 and since its raising, has taken part in many operations in the western sector. He said prominent among them are Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971, in which the formation has been awarded 9 MVCs, 17 VrCs, 30 sena medals and a host of other awards.

He said regular medical camps and other welfare projects are also being undertaken and the actions of the division have resulted in close bondage between the army and the civil population. He said in order to increase the interaction with the local populace, Panther Division launched two trekking and cycle expeditions with the aim to spread the message of brotherhood and communal harmony among the people. 

Jalandhar, October 1
Alarmed over the crippling shortage of around 15,000 army officers in the defence, director of Sainik Welfare (DSW) Punjab, Brigadier I.S. Gakhal today said it is a matter of concern that out of 462 cadets commissioned in the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun last year, only 17 were from Punjab.

The director was here at the District Sainik Welfare Office (DSWO), Jalandhar, to deliver a lecture to the students of Excise and Taxation Inspector and Tax Assistant course.

He said, “During our time nearly half of the youth from Punjab voluntarily joined the army but over the period of time the mindset of Punjabi youth has underwent a sea change in their approach towards the forces. And the result is that a warrior state like Punjab is lagging behind in sending young boys to the army.” Talking about another upcoming trend in defence, he said, “We have witnessed that these days a majority of the boys joining the army are either the sons of the ex-servicemen, junior commissioned officers (JCOs) or personnel below the officer rank.

Though this is a good sign that boys from all strata of the society are getting a chance to rise in life but at the same time there is a sharp decline in the number of the sons of army officers joining the forces which is a matter of concern.”

On being asked about the reason behind this scenario, Brig Gakhal said, “It is the disparity in the 6th pay commission and that of the previous ones which has lead to this problem. Since an army officer is aware of the discrepancies in the forces, not many retired officers are willing enough to send their wards to join defence.”

“Apart from this, the corporate sector prefers providing lucrative placements to candidates who have gone through the rigors of Service Selection Board (SSB). Since the private companies also consider the significance of SSB as one of the toughest boards, it has resulted in less people joining the armed forces”, he maintained. He however said there is a need to revamp the Punjab Education system, which is one of the root causes of the poor performance of the Punjabi youth. “The problem lies with the fact that the army has not eased the yardstick of choosing the recruits whereas the standard of education at the grassroots level is declining day by day”, he added.

Talking about the permanent commission of women in the army, Brig Gakhal said, “The women should make use of this golden chance as now they too stand at par with their male counterparts.”

Jalandhar, October 1
The army open recruitment rally being organised at Guru Nanak Stadium, Kapurthala, saw an overwhelming response from the candidates.As many as 5,000 candidates reported at the rally. 

As many as 3,085 tokens were issued to all categories. The physical fitness test and physical measurement test were conducted today, whereas the medical tests for successful candidates would continue till October 5. The written test of the successful candidates would be held on October 26.The DDG (recruiting), headquarters, recruiting zone (Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir), Brig D.P. Singh, said, “The rally became a success with the combined efforts of the Punjab state government, commissioner, DIG of Jalandhar range, deputy commissioners, SSPs and all other departments at the district level.” — TNS

Batala, October 1
The Balata police district has formed a committee to address problems concerned with women and to solve them on priority.

SSP Batala Dr. Naresh Arora told mediapersons here on Wednesday that the following persons were nominated for this committee - Retd. DSP Sukhbir Singh, Dr. Usha Gupta, Dr. Sarabjit Randhawa, veterinary doctor, Dr. Shashi Pal, Kulwant Kaur, Retd Principal, Sukhwant Singh, social worker Master Kuldeep Sharma, teacher Maninder Kaur, Satwant Singh Udhowali, Mridula Duggal and Kulwant.

Dr. Arora further said in the recent years many cases related to women had been solved. During the year 2006, a total 579 complaints were received out of which agreement was reached in 526 cases, 43 cases related to courts and 10 cases are registered.

In the year 2007, a total of 735 complaints were received by the SSP out of which agreement was reached in 567 cases, 35 cases were registered and 133 cases were related to different courts.

During the year 2008, a total of 410 complaints were received by the SSP office, in which agreement was reached in 279 cases, 14 cases were registered, 80 cases were related to various courts and 37 complaints are still pending, asserted 
Dr. Arora.