Jalandhar, February 27
Members of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union (PCCTU) today demanded implementation of new scales as per the Sixth Pay Commission from January 1, 2006. The teaching faculty from private, aided and government colleges across the state under the banner of the All-India Federation of University and College Teachers Organisation (AIFUCTO) jointly raised their voices for the acceptance of their demand.

Addressing the gathering, general secretary of the union Sneh Lata Sharma said the failure of the government in the timely implementation of the sixth pay commission has led to a lot of furor among the teachers.

She added that the ministry of human resource development and the University Grant Commission (UGC) has already given a final nod to the Chadha committee report. “Despite approvals from these authorities, the state government has not taken the initiative to implement the pay commission in the state,” she said.

It is worth mentioning here that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had assured the union members of discussing the issue in the cabinet meeting held on February 24 but the finance department disagreed on the issue. “Now the union has decided to conduct a statewide protest rally against the failure of the government on March 2 at the local Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall,” she maintained.

Vice-president of the Punjab Government College Teachers Association Jagir Singh Kahlon also asserted that they would join their counterparts in the protest rally to be held on March 2. Besides this, the members also disclosed that the union would observe a complete education bandh of 72 hours from March 3 to 5.

On the other hand, none of the teachers today delivered any lecture. “In case the government fails to accept our demands, we will boycott the upcoming Lok Sabha elections,” added Sharma.

Amritsar: On the call given by the Punjab Federation of University and College Teachers Organisation (PFUCTO), all colleges and universities of Punjab observed cease work and organised protest rallies for two hours.

State vice-president of the organisation Prof H.S. Walia, while addressing the rally at DAV College said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was climbing down from his stand commitment made to the PFUCTO on implementation of the central government notification on revised pay scales.

He lambasted bureaucrats of the state who he alleged were creating hurdles in implementation of revised pay scales. He said the state government should have no problem in adopting and implementing the central government notification as 80 per cent of the financial burden for the period January 1, 2006, to March 31, 2010, would be borne by the central government. He urged the government to implement the same immediately.

About their next programme, he said the teachers would hold regional rallies in six districts and a 72-hour education bandh would be observed thereafter, he added.

Nawanshahr: On a call given by the Punjab Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union and Punjab Federation of University and College Teachers Organisation, the teachers of the different colleges in the district observed a strike for two hours and held dharnas in front of principals office in their respective colleges to protest against the non-presentation of the pay commission report in the cabinet by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal despite assurances.

Dr Sanjiv Dawar, prof. Amarjit Singh Gill, president and secretary, respectively, of the district PCCTU, said if the government failed to implement the pay commission report, the college teachers would intensify the stir and oppose the SAD-BJP combine in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.

Jalandhar, February 27
Targeting its subscribers in NRI-dominated Doaba heartland, chief general manager (CGM), BSNL, Punjab, P.K. Paliwal, said today that families who have loved ones settled abroad could make the maximum use of the new 3G mobile service by enjoying a live video chat through phone.

Paliwal said the third generation mobile service would offer a download speed of 20 times faster than with the existing 2G service. He said the 275 crore 3G project would offer an array of services such as live mobile TV, high-speed mobile broadband, video calling, broadband connectivity, faster video downloads, full-track music downloads, video conferencing and online gaming.

He said the service had been simultaneously launched in 11 more cities, including Lucknow, Agra, Ambala, Dehradun, Jammu, Shimla, Jaipur, Patna, Durgapur, Haldia and Ranchi. Paliwal disclosed that next month the service would be launched in Bhatinda covering the entire state by the end of the year. He said there were 26 lakh BSNL subscribers as of now and the scheme would help them reach out to more people.

Jalandhar, February 27
A couple, resident of Lamba Pind, has alleged swapping of their male child with a female one in a private hospital. Bhim Bahadur, the complaint has alleged that his wife Heena gave birth to a male child in Janta Hospital but the doctors handed them over a female child.

He also alleged that the doctors were not providing them the admission file of his wife which might prove helpful in knowing the sex of the newborn.

Denying the allegations, Dr G.S. Gill of the hospital said the issue had been raised due to miscommunication between the hospital staff and the attendants of Heena. He, however, claimed that a DNA test could be conducted to ascertain the biological relationship of the child with his parents. — TNS

Adampur, February 27
The 25th free eye operation camp, organised by the local Jagriti Club in collaboration with the Lions Club of Fairlop, London, UK, concluded at Arya Samaj Mandir here today.

During the five-day camp, 595 patients were operated upon for cataract and other eye ailments at Ruby Nelson Memorial Hospital in Jalandhar. Free medicines were also distributed among the patients.

On the concluding day, Bibi Sharifan ji was the guest of honour while Sheetal Vij was the chief guest. D.R. Bhatti, retired DGP, Punjab was also present.

Sukhminder Singh Jandoo, Satwinder Singh Nandra, Jay Phull, Surinder Singh Roop Rai, Sunny Sokhal, Harbinder Singh Manku and Amarjit Singh Soora, office-bearers and members of the Lions Club of Fairlop, London, UK, supervised the camp.