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Avoid war, Badal appeals to Centre
Mandi Ahmedgarh, December 27 In an exclusive interaction with The Tribune, Badal regretted that the state had paid a heavy price for being a border state. Unfortunately, it has been suffering during peacetime also. “Though we are not afraid of war and are ready to make any sacrifice for saving the pride of the nation, we impress upon the Union government to avoid war till it is thrust on us. What is more regretting is that our state suffers during peace times also,” responded Badal, when asked about his reaction on apprehensions of a war with Pakistan. Accusing the Congress of ignoring interests of the Punjabis in general and inhabitants of borders areas in particular, Badal said the Union government, instead of giving special concessions to residents of the border state, had been discriminating against them on various issues. The industry of Punjab, that was number 1 at one time, had been literally deserted due to alleged discriminating tax policies of the state. “While our industrial units are being crushed under the burden of heavy taxes and levies, entrepreneurs in other states, including Himachal Pardesh and Haryana, are given special exemptions.” Earlier, addressing a gathering of SAD activists at Latala village in Ludhiana, Badal alleged that the defective and anti-peasant policies of the UPA government had forced a large number of farmers to commit suicide as the agriculture was no longer a remunerative profession. Announcing development projects worth Rs 30.5 crore for villages of the Kilaraipur Assembly segment, Badal distributed grants worth Rs 4 crore. Jagdish Singh Garcha, former minister, Mann Singh Garcha and Raghbir Singh Saharanmajra also spoke.
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Villagers near border not ready to leave
Attari, December 27 In fact, they have started storing rations and other material for survival in case of any eventuality from across the border. They had suffered earlier also during the Kargil war in 1999 and in the aftermath of the Parliament attack in 2001 when the Army had been mobilised at the border. Panic has gripped residents along the border; they are praying for peace between the two countries. The villagers pointed out they earned their livelihood from whatever land they have on either side of the barbed fence. Leaving their village was the last option for them. However, they added that they were also keeping a close eye on developments from both sides. They prayed that the governments on both sides of the border should resolve disputes amicably.
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Religious bigwigs join hands with Delhi panel
Prabhjot Singh Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 27 The meeting, held at Gurdwara Raqabganj, decided to set up a Panthak Advisory Board for which a 10-member advisory panel, including three former Jathedars of Akal Takht - Darshan Singh, Joginder Singh Vedanti and Jasbir Singh Rode - and Sikh leaders of the UK (Jasjit Singh), Hyderabad (Hazur Singh) and Delhi (Harvinder Singh Sarna) has been constituted. Other members of the advisory committee are Manjit Singh Calcutta, former secretary, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Mahant Manjit Singh Jammu, Malkit Singh Nagpur (member, SGPC) and Tarsem Singh. Others who attended the meeting included former MP Amrik Singh Aliwal, former MLA Talib Singh Sandhu, historian Ashok Singh Baghrian, Harcharan Singh (US), Baldev Singh Sirsa (Panch Pardhani), Jaswant Singh Mann and Gurdip Singh (Shiromani Akali Dal 1920). Paramjit Singh Sarna, who presided over the special session of eminent Sikh scholars, DSGMC office-bearers and others, said the participants were unanimous that the affidavit filed in the High Court was a deliberate attempt to nullify the 2004 directive of Sri Akal Takht that declared the RSS and its various wings to be anti-panthic. The contents of the affidavit have been so prepared so as to divide the panth. The so-called Punjab leaders were out to destroy the Sikh tenets and its unique independent identity. Because of this affidavit, the Sikh community has been greatly hurt and embarrassed. In 2003, the Union government had endorsed the changes in the definition in the Sikh Gurdwara Act and allowed only keshdhari Sikhs to be voters in the gurdwara elections. It is one reason that this affidavit has shocked the entire Sikh world. A resolution adopted at the meeting appealed to all overseas Sikh organisations to pass resolution to condemn and discard this affidavit submitted by the secretary of the SGPC. The SGPC, the special congregation felt, instead of filing an affidavit, should have suggested to the petitioner to seek the direction and definition of Sikh through the principles and panthic traditions of Guru Granth Sahib and other relevant literature. The matter should have been put before Sikh religious leaders for adjudication. It also wanted the judiciary to stay aloof from such sensitive and sacred religious issues.
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SGPC may take back affidavit
Amritsar, December 27 The emergency meeting has been necessitated following a seven-day ultimatum served on the SGPC by Gurmat Sidhant Parchark Sant Samaj, Nihang and various Sikh organisations. The ultimatum deadline is December 31. Since the SGPC stand isolated on the definition of Sehajdhari filed by the secretary of the committee in the court, the emergency meeting might suggest that the affidavit should be filed afresh after consulting Sikh intellectuals. Sikh organisations, including the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, American Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, Sant Samaj and radical Sikh bodies had already rejected the definition. A meeting, held at Chowk Mehta on December 24 and presided over by Baba Harnam Singh Khalsa, chief, Damdami Taksal, had condemned the SGPC for “distorting” the definition of the Sehajdhari, circumventing the spirit of “panthic decisions” taken on May 12, 1938 and 1973, which already concluded that only a “keshdhari” having faith in Guru Granth Sahib and Sikh tenets could be a Sikh. The meeting had cautioned that if the SGPC failed to withdraw the affidavit from the court, they would become party in the case. Certain members of a panel of experts had alleged the SGPC ignored the suggestions made by them.
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’84 Riots
Moga, December 27 He said in his statement to the CBI he had said: “After the riots, I was again and again threatened and attacked by supporters of Jagdish Tytler in 1989, 1991, 2000, 2002 and 2004 to exert pressure on me not to give any statement (testimony) against Tytler, therefore I shifted to the US”. When the CBI officials asked him whether or not he had approached the police, he said he had no faith in the Delhi police because the police was hand-in-glove with the rioters. He also told the team that he had personally seen many Sikhs being killed by the rioters in the presence of the police. In an e-mail message, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal adviser of the Sikhs For Justice, stated the fresh testimonies of these two eyewitnesses had strengthened their hope to get justice for the victims of the riots. Before recording the statements of these two witnesses, the CBI had maintained for a long period that no witnesses were available to testify against Tytler for his alleged role in the riots. The metropolitan court of Delhi had ordered the agency to send a team to the US and record the statements of these witnesses. Meanwhile, Pannun said they would soon announce a panel of lawyers who would file writ petitions in high courts of all states, other than Delhi, demanding CBI inquiries in anti-Sikh riots in their respective areas. Karnail Singh Peer Mohammad, president, All-India Sikh Students Federation, has announced that starting January 1, the federation, in association with the Sikhs for Justice, will organise a “Justice awareness campaign” to reach out to the witnesses and victims in all 14 states where Sikhs were massacred in November, 1984.
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1984 Riots
Dera Bassi, December 27 Expressing his desire to become an eyewitness, the victim had seen his father Sohan Singh Kohli and brother-in-law Avtar Singh being killed by miscreants in front of his eyes. He mother Jaspal Kaur was also seriously injured. “I have repeatedly approached the CBI to record my statement but in vain. Congress leader Sajjan Kumar instigated the mob that killed my family members in front of my eyes,” he alleged in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. Declaring that he would stage a dharna in front of the PM’s residence, he said he had been knocking at the door of the investigating agency for justice. Karnail Singh Peer Mohammad, president of the All-India Sikh Students Federation, who has been taking up the cause of Kohli, said he was again taking up his case with the investigating agency. “An earlier affidavit filed by me under duress should not be considered. I was under lot of pressure and shock to protect my surviving family members. But now I want justice,” said Kohli. Based at Dera Bassi, he said he was motivated to go public after he read the story of Gurcharan Singh, a Balongi resident, whose statement regarding the 1984 riots was recorded by the CBI last year. He said he still remembered the scene on November 1, 1984, when Gurcharan, who was his neighbour in Gulab Bagh Colony, Nawada, Delhi, being thrown into a burning truck, belonging to the family.
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NRIs’ way to remember dead loved ones
Jalandhar, December 27 Almost from every village in this Doaba belt, 10 or 20 persons have settled in the UK, Canada, the US, Australia, Germany and other countries. “One never knows that when the death of our loved ones will occur. Our father, Ajit Singh, a retired reader, suffered a heart attack about two years ago and died soon after. As I and my brother at the time of his death were in the UK, we asked our uncle to keep our father’s body at a civil hospital mortuary at Nakodar till our arrival so that we could take part in the funeral procession,” said Gurpal Singh of Mulewal Khaira village, near Malsian. However, no space was available at the Nakodar mortuary. Our uncle succeeded in keeping the body at Bhandal Dona village. “That enabled both of us to take part in the last rites of our father who had done a lot of sacrifices to send us abroad,” said Gurpal. “Now we have set up an air-conditioned mortuary in our village in the memory of our father,” he said. “We charge no money for keeping bodies there. However, if anyone gives money on his own, we spend it for marrying daughters of poor people or give free books and uniforms to poor children,” said Sohan Singh, sarpanch of the village. “We have also made the provision of a generator at the mortuary, where two bodies can be kept at a time,” said Sohan. More than 100 bodies have been kept there since it was set up. Sometimes bodies remain in the mortuary for a week or so. “We spent Rs 3 lakh on setting up the mortuary,” said Gurpal. “We also pay for diesel that is used to run the generator during power failure,” he said. Similar mortuaries have been set up at Kala Sanghia, Bhandal Dauna and Dhandowal villages. At some mortuaries, six bodies can be kept at a time. On the Nakodar-Goriana road, there is an air-conditioned mortuary in almost every village. “Setting up such mortuaries in the memory our elders is also a way to honour them,” said Gurdial.
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Cong will man every polling booth: PPCC
Sangrur, December 27 He said for the Congress the security of the voters was a must, so it was ready to face any challenge. Tikoo, who visited the house of former Congress MLA Arvind Khanna here, also said the Congress would win all 13 LS seats in the state.
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ASICON 2008 Anshu Seth Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, December 27 The best surgeon for liver transplant, Dr Mohammad Rela, from King’s College Hospital, London, recently got entry in the Guinness Book of World Records for transplanting a liver on a five-day-old baby girl from Dublin. The surgeon, while speaking on hepatocellular carcinoma, stated that hepatitis-B was the root cause of the disease in eastern countries whereas it was hepatitis-C in western countries. He emphasised on the diagnostic criteria for early detection of cancer through US, CT and MRI. “Surgery provides potential cure but prevention of liver failure followed by liver enhancing techniques should be taken into consideration by surgeons,” observed Dr Rela, while sharing his expertise with the fellow surgeons. Dr Ahmad Abdul Hai, president of the Association of Surgeons of India, stated that cancer was on the rise and would continue to grow with the advancement, making “intervention” as the only viable manner to combat it. He referred to the recent studies stating that a large number of people in UP, Delhi, Nepal and adjoining areas are suffering from the gall-stone problem, thereby increasing the incidence of gall-bladder cancer. “But, it is more important to know that cancer is preventable and treatable through regular clinical examination and screening programmes, which, if carried on proficiently, can curtail cancer deaths by 15 per cent,” said Dr Hai. Further accentuating on the need to disseminate education on cancer, Dr Hai told the surgeons that the Cancer Awareness Society in Bihar is elemental in creating awareness among schoolchildren against the use of tobacco. “Nukkad nataks, rallies and declamation contests are some of the programmes that are being organised to create awareness against the use of tobacco," Dr Hai added.
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Zero-cost energy efficiency improvement model afoot
Amritsar, December 27 Punjab Science, Technology and Environment Minister Bikram Singh Majithia, while presiding over the state-level Energy Conservation Day being celebrated by the Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) in collaboration with the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) at Khalsa College here today, said PEDA evolved the model with the support of
USAID, Econoler, Canada, and other reputed organisations in the field of energy conservation. In the first phase, the project will be implemented in all five municipal corporations in the state, including Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala and Bathinda, besides in major government buildings such as Chandigarh, Sector 9, Mini Secretariat and District Administrative Complexes of Patiala, Ludhiana, Sangrur and Bathinda for energy efficiency improvements in street lighting. Under this model, the Energy Service Companies
(ESCO) will invest and use energy efficient technologies. The investment will be recovered from savings accrued from the electricity bills of 5-7 years.
ESCO financial models are being implemented in developed countries where organisations and industries are achieving energy efficiency by signing performance-based contracts without investing their own funds, he said. Congratulating PEDA for winning the National Energy Conservation Award in New Delhi this month for the best performance in the energy conservation programme, Majithia said PEDA had set a target to ensure the production of 1,000 MW renewable energy to meet the power requirement of the state. Speaking on the occasion, TPS Sidhu, chief executive, PEDA, informed that PEDA had formulated a five-year Energy Conservation Action Plan (2007-2012) and substantive activities were being undertaken with financial assistance from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Power, government of India. Besides this, a demo project has been initiated in small and medium enterprises.
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Ratra urges consumers to save power
Patiala, December 27 Ratra added that checking the menace of theft was even more vital as a person who was caught stealing power could misuse the same. He added that the board’s enforcement wing was actively engaged in catching defaulters, and
whosoever was caught stealing power was being penalised under the provisions of
the law. Citing statistics, out the 1.66 lakh power connections checked by board officials, nearly 48,000 were found to be having irregular connections and a penalty of Rs 58 crore was imposed on the defaulters. Ratra claimed that from January 1 this year till November 30, the board’s enforcement wing checked nearly 2 lakh connections out of which nearly 53,000 connections were found to be irregular following which a penalty of Rs 86 crore was levied on the defaulters. The chairman added that the board was improving on all fronts and its officers were making all-out efforts to provide better services to consumers. He appealed to consumers to refrain from stealing power which, he added, could also damage electricity supply systems.
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2009 will only add to PSEB’s miseries
Chandigarh, December 27 Although the seeds of the revival of the board were sown this year with two units of 250 MW each of Lehra Mohabbat Stage II being commissioned and the 3x660 MW Gidderbaha project being awarded to a private player, besides the process to awarding the 1320-MW Rajpura and 4x660-MW Gidderbaha thermal plants still in process, these efforts will not have any effect on the board’s performance in 2009. The financial position of the board is so precarious that there are fears that employees may not get their salary in time. The board’s commercial losses are likely to cross the Rs 2,000-crore barrier this year and accumulated losses are likely to be around Rs 9,000 crore. The subsidy burden on account of free power to farmers and other consumers has increased from Rs 873 crore in 2004-05 to over Rs 2,800 crore in 2007-08. The state government has failed to pay Rs 1,320 crore to the PSEB in cash during 2007-08 and instead adjusted it against government loan, pushing the board into a serious payment crisis. Non-payment of the subsidy quotient by the state government is increasing the dependence of the board on short-term loans, which have increased from Rs 895 crore ending March, 2006, to over Rs 6,500 crore, an increase of over seven times in just three years. As far as restructuring of the board is concerned, the government is delaying the exercise fearing protests from employees, which it wants to avoid before the Lok Sabha elections. Lack of finances to meet the restructuring cost is also coming in the way of reformation, as new companies cannot be saddled with past losses. Consumers will be affected in 2009 with power demand likely to touch 9,000 MW in summer against a supply of 6,500 MW. With a demand-supply gap of nearly 40 per cent, consumers may face power cuts of six or eight hours. With no generation being added immediately, the dependence on short-term power will increase and this purchase is likely to increase from 2,635 million units in 2007-08 to 4,990 million units in 2009-10. At present, release of new domestic connections has a waiting period of 14 months whereas agriculture consumers are waiting for the past 16 years for connections. On the plus side, the board took anti-theft measures this year by setting up five police stations, besides getting special courts designated to try energy theft cases. Efforts were also taken to reduce transmission and distribution losses by changing meters, shifting them out of premises of consumers and encouraging use of compact fluorescent lamps. This resulted in a 3 per cent decrease in losses in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.
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Govt writes to DCs to review BKU cases
Gurdaspur, December 27 Official sources said the Punjab government had written letters to deputy commissioners (DCs) of districts where the BKU activists had been facing criminal cases, to review the cases and do the needful to withdraw these. The Punjab government had earlier issued unwritten instructions to the DCs to withdraw the cases so that peace could be bought with the BKU before the forthcoming Lok Sabha (LS) elections. BKU activists are facing criminal cases in Barnala, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Bathinda, Mansa and Moga districts. While the cases registered in Barnala and Amritsar districts had been withdrawn completely, few cases had been withdrawn in Tarn Taran and Bathinda districts. The SAD-BJP combine government of Punjab had entered into a compromise with the BKU leadership when they solved the Trident group land acquisition problem about one-and-a-half year ago that all cases registered against them would be withdrawn at the earliest. Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan, general secretary, BKU, Ekta (Ugrahan), said about 65 cases were registered against the activists. In some cases, the activists had been acquitted by the court. About 34 criminal cases were still pending against them in different districts. He said the BKU leadership was of the opinion that the Punjab government would not withdraw the cases as no action had been taken by the departments concerned. He said now the BKU had decided to launch a statewide agitation after the procurement of cotton crop was over .
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And death flows down the Ghaggar
Patiala, December 27 However, two decades down the line, the Ghaggar has now become infamous for having toxic material in its flowing waters. Earlier, the Bathinda belt used to be under the curse of deadly cancer but now the entire Malwa region is under the threat of the lethal disease. This is because villagers have no alternative except to drink the toxic waste filled waters of the river. Hundreds of tonnes of chemicals and toxic waste is being dumped into the river by industrial units and chemical factories which have been set up in the vicinity of the river. Even the municipal corporations and committees of some towns, whose prime task is to check the flow of toxic material into the Ghaggar, are now playing the role of villains by resorting to dumping waste into the river. The residents of Harchandpura village near Samana of the Shutrana road and located on the banks of the once sacred Ghaggar are so scared of the deadly disease that whenever one of its residents dies, they burn all his belongings with the body. Recently, when Harbhajan Singh, a resident of a village situated on the banks of the Ghaggar, died, his kin burnt all his clothes and other belongings with his body. Said a tearful Kartar Kaur, his wife, “My relatives had warned me not to keep any of my husband’s clothes. I have two daugthers and whenever they are taken ill, I think I am going to loose them to the dreaded disease of cancer.” Every lane in the village screams of a cancer death. Said a resident, who did not want to come on record, “We have been urging the Punjab government to do something to cleanse the Ghaggar but in vain. Officials say that the river can be cleansed only when they receive grants from the Central government. Where do these grants go is anybody’s guess.” The most common diseases found among residents living in the vicinity of the Ghaggar are high fever, vomitting, pain in the gall bladder, hair fall at a very young age, poor eyesight and difficulty while swallowing food. So high is the incidence of toxic waste in the river that even water purifiers have no effect. Says Baljinder Kaur, “We had installed a quality water purifier system in our house, but two years later, my mother died of cancer of the gall bladder.” It’s just on promises being made by the state government that life goes on in these villages. And these poor villagers don’t even know that the government seldom fulfils its promises.
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Rice millers’ body seeks relaxation in new norms
Fatehgarh Sahib, December 27 Addressing mediapersons, members of the association, including president Tarsem Saini, demanded that the percentage should be increased to 4 percent. He said that the government should lift ban on basmati rice if it does not reduce this percentage. The millers have also demanded that dumping of rice in FCI godowns should be allowed from 9 am to 5 pm and also the rice stocks should be accepted on holidays so that the time for the delivery of rice by March 31, 2009 should not go waste.
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2,000 retirees of aided schools await pension
Sangrur, December 27 Talking to The Tribune today, chief advisor of the Punjab State-Aided School Teachers and Other Employees Union Manohar Lal Chopra said the retirees had already deposited contributory provident fund for the whole length of service to qualify for the pension benefits, but to no avail. The union leadership was now in touch with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and the Punjab Education Minister in this regard, but no positive result had come out so far.
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