The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Top terrorist’s accomplice ‘surrenders’ to police Bipin Bhardwaj/TNS Jalandhar, October 7 Didar Singh, alias Dari, an accomplice of Harjant Singh, alias DC, one of the top terrorists of Punjab who was arrested by the district police at Batala on September 4, reportedly surrendered before the Jalandhar police over a week ago. The district police authorities, however, denied it claiming that Dari was called by the police for his involvement in a criminal case. Dari was wanted by the police in a recent case of smuggling of arms and ammunition from the Indo-Pak border. Sources revealed that Dari had eluded a Jalandhar police party that picked up Harjant Singh, a resident of Vijliwala village of Batala in Gurdaspur district, in the first week of September. The police had launched a massive hunt for the two after their names figured in a number of anti-national activities. The police has also recovered two AK 47 riffles, four assault guns, two pistols and a huge quantity of ammunition from the suspects. Acting on the disclosure of Binder Singh, their accomplice from Muktsar, the policed had arrested Harjant Singh and then Harbant Singh and Mukhtiar Singh of Taran Tarn and Ferozepore, respectively. The police has also taken into custody Amarjeet Singh of Samana in Patiala district for his association with the group. They were hatching a conspiracy to kill Dera Sacha Sauda chief Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and his close associates when they fell into the police net. The suspects had allegedly smuggled arms and ammunition from across the Indo-Pak border with the help of Pakistan-based ISI agency. The SP (detective), Paramvir Singh, claimed that Dari was called by the police to get some clues in the smuggling of arms from across the border. Highly placed sources in the police also revealed that the police was also working on theories if the arms were sent by Khalistan Zindabad Froce (KZF) chief Ranjit Singh Neeta, a Jammu-based hardcore terrorist presently living in Pakistan.
	Untreated sewerage water flowing into Ravi Chander Parkash Tribune News Service Gurdaspur, October 7 The lady luck has yet to smile on this district of Punjab which shares its border with Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh and is dotted with number of big and small rivers. As the fate of the district hanged in balance for days together during the independence of country as it became part of India a few days after August 15, 1947, the day, country got its independence, the provision of the basic amenities is also being delayed to the residents of the town by the authorities concerned. The small town, which became district headquarter on May 1, 1852, could not grow in any field as it remained neglected by the successive state and central governments. Nobody is taking care of the town despite the fact that in the past one decade or so, the district has produced three union ministers. The streets, lanes and bylanes, streetlight, sewerage water, potable water and sanitation, which are in bad shape, makes every resident of the town feel that they are being punished by their elected representatives and successive governments for no fault of theirs. In the past about four decades, ever since the work to lay down underground sewerage system in the town got started, only 50 per cent of the populated area has been covered so far. When the rest of the populated area will be covered, nobody knows. Manjinder Singh, executive officer (EO), municipal council, when contacted, said a project for covering whole of the district and setting up a sewerage treatment plant had been sent to central government under the Border Area Development Project (BADP) and to state government also. He added that he could not say that when these projects would be sanctioned by the authorities concerned. However, he claimed that the existing sewerage system was functioning well except during the rainy season when in certain pockets it flowed back. On the other hand, Rachpal Singh, executive engineer, Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board (PWSSB), Gurdaspur, said about 70 per cent of the populated area of the town had been covered with underground sewerage facility. He said for covering the rest of the populated area, a project worth Rs 13. 25 crore had been prepared and sent to the state government for necessary action. The project also included the setting up of a sewerage treatment plant (STP). In the absence of an STP, the untreated sewerage water has been flowing into the Navipur drain and the drain has been discharging the untreated sewerage water into the Ravi thus polluting its water. A cross section of residents say they are being given step-motherly treatment by the successive state governments as after 60 years of independence they are still deprived of the basic amenities.
	Sanitation is not a priority in Batala Balraj Mahajan Batala, October 7 Batala, a town of temples and gurdwaras connected with the marriage of Guru Nanak Dev, is today a centre of garbage, filth and a chocked sewerage. When people all over the world are celebrating Environment Day and World Health Day, etc. the people of Batala are criticising the municipal council for poor civic amenities in the town. Batala at present has a population of about two lakh with an average literacy rate of more than 70 per cent which is higher than the national average as per the census of 2001. Still the people of Batala are living in an unhealthy environment. Municipal council has not been formed even after three months of the council elections for the reasons best known to the political bosses of Batala. Council executive officer Manmohan Singh expressed his helplessness to improve things despite availability of the necessary funds with him. He cannot spend fund as it needs counter approval of the council president. Another factor leading to the poor sanitation conditions of Batala is that there is no dumping place and all the solid waste is thrown in the open outside the main gates such as Khajuri Gate, Kapoori Gate, Hathi Gate, Thathiari Gate, etc. On an average there is just one safai karamchari for a population of more than 1,000. Though there are originally 180 posts of sweeper in Batala, the actual number of persons working at present is much less than this number as no recruitment against the vacant posts has been made for the past 15 years. Thus, the shortage of manpower has led to the worsening of the sanitation in Batala. It is worth mentioning here that in the past people have fallen prey to the diseases like dengue, cholera, malaria, etc.
	Village conflict leads to boycott of Dalits Amarjit Thind/TNS Jalandhar, October 7 Scores of Dalit families of Lasuri village near Shahkot have been facing a socio-economic boycott at the hand of upper caste families for the past three days. The genesis of the problem was the alleged objectionable remarks made by the village granthi against Rishi Valmiki a few days ago on the gurdwara loudspeaker. The Dalit families objected to this and some irate youngsters went to the gurdwara and bashed up the granthi. The matter was resolved with the intervention of leaders of both the parties but the villagers wanted to settle scores with the Dalits and some youngsters beat up Rajinder, a railway employee, who was working on a rail track outside the village. Tarsem Peter, president of the state unit of the Pendu Mazdoor Union, told The Tribune that the upper caste villagers had called for the boycott of Dalits and even milk was not being supplied to the targeted families by the villagers and outsiders. The sweeper of the village school, Karmi, too has been sacked by the sarpanch. “The situation is such that the families are forced to get their supplies from Shahkot. Dalits are not allowed to cut grass or defecate in the fields of the farmers. Women who want to wash clothes at the tube-wells of the farmers are being turned back and they won’t even allow cattle to be watered, he alleged. Labourers who were working in the mandi too have been asked to stay away. The shopkeepers in the village and the phone booth operators have been directed to keep the Dalits away. In a way, it is the socio-economic boycott of the villagers, Peter said. “Efforts by us to diffuse the situation have failed to have any effect. We submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner today and urged him to mediate in the matter in view of the suffering of the affected families,” he added.
	Book Amar Singh for abetting terrorism, says Tikshan Sud Our Correspondent Hoshiarpur, October 7 Punjab’s medical education and research, forest, labour and parliamentary affairs minister Tikshan Sud today demanded that Samajvadi Party leader Amar Singh be booked for aiding and abetting terrorism as by questioning the genuineness of the martyrdom of inspector Mohan Chand Sharma he was playing the game of terrorists to demoralise the police force. In a statement issued here, Tikshan Sud said it was unfortunate that Samajvadi Party was becoming tool to the conspiracy to deflate the sustained campaign launched by the police force of many states by discouraging them and raising a fear of prosecution amongst them. The BJP leader said that it was a matter of regret that the UPA government was not coming forward to defend the family of inspector Mohan Chand Sharma and they had been left to fend for themselves. Sud further said that on one hand the police arrested terrorists after risking their lives, on the other, UPA’s HRD minister Arjun Singh supported Jamla Milia vice-chancellor for providing legal aid to terrorists, putting a question mark on the anti-terrorist policy of the UPA government. Questioning the sincerity of anti-terrorist campaign launched by the Union government, Sud said that confused signals given by the top leadership were already creating doubts in the minds of the security forces. He said the UPA government was already dilly dallying the reimposition of POTA whereas hundreds of innocents were getting killed in bomb blasts every third day. The delayed execution of Afzal Guru was already encouraging terrorists to strike in the country as they knew that soft state like India under the Congress leadership would never be tough against terrorism. Demanding the resignation of the UPA government, Sud said this government had no right to govern as it was getting support from terrorists and a party of conspirators.
	Army Jobs Fingerprint scanning system introduced Dharmendra Joshi/TNS Kapurthala, October 7 The army has introduced fingerprint scanning system in order to avoid any possible impersonation by applicants during the recruitment process. Fingerprint impressions of the candidates, who succeeded in physical tests in the eight-day recruitment rally concluded on Sunday at Guru Nanak Stadium in Kapurthala, were taken through scanners before giving them admit card for the written test. Army sources in the headquarters recruiting zone (Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir) said though no case of impersonation had been detected during the previous recruitment rallies but the possibilities of impersonation by candidates could not be ruled out as several cases of impersonation had been caught in different civil examinations. That was why, the fingerprint scanning system had been introduced for the first time to avoid any impersonation by the candidates, they added. The sources said the fingerprint scanning system would be used in the next recruitment rallies going to be held in different parts of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir zone. Following which, it might be used in all recruitment rallies to be held in the entire country from time to time.