Jalandhar, April 3
This is the state’s only technical university that manages over 150 regular colleges, scores of distance education centres and has enrolled over 3 lakh students in technical education courses. But irony is that Punjab Technical University (PTU) lags far behind on the infrastructural and technical fronts.

The university is functioning without a power supply for the past four months. It has been running on a genset ever since it started functioning on its new premises in December last year.

While most affiliated colleges have a wi-fi connection, it still is only planning to get it. In fact, the university had been functioning without Internet since the past four months and it has been only a few days that the officers and the staff here got a BSNL broadband connection.

Further lagging behind on the technical part, the new closed building does not allow the mobile phone signals to penetrate inside owing to which connectivity remains further curtailed.

“We need to stand near the windows keeping them open to attend a phone call. Sometimes even that does not work and we have to come outside in the lawns to make an emergency call. If we are walking inside the corridors, the signals fall very weak and there is a frequent call breaking”, rued the staff.

The situation makes everyone wonder how under such circumstances the university managed to maintain liaison with the colleges and their management regarding academic and examination issues.

Dean (Academics) Dr V.K. Arora said a load of 270 KW had just been sanctioned by the Union Environment Ministry. “The PSEB staff is on job now giving us the power connection and we expect to get it by April 10. We are also concentrating on improving other technical facilities”, he said.

Jalandhar, April 3
The Centre is giving a stepmotherly treatment to Punjab and this is reflected in the non-lifting of the food grains procured in the last two seasons leading to a storage crisis in the state.

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, who was in the city to inaugurate the central election office of the party, said the Centre was aware that the state had used up all its storage space yet no efforts were made by them to lift the piled stocks.

This was an attempt to discredit them among the farmers who would blame them for not doing anything during the coming procurement season, he pointed out.

Sukhbir said they had raised the vital issue with the Union Agriculture Minister but to no avail.

Interestingly, neighbouring Haryana had already been paid for wheat procured in the previous season while the Centre was yet to lift the stocks what to talk about payment, he remarked.

He said all-round development of the state would be their main poll plank and they would win all seats.

On the influence of Dera votes in Bhatinda, he said they were not worried about a chunk of votes but were looking for votes on the wide-scale development in that constituency.

He also praised the stand taken by Bir Devinder Singh in resigning from the Congress on the clean chit given to Jagdish Tytler, one of the main accused in the 1984 Sikh massacre. “Singh is a bold man who listened to his conscience and opted out,” he added.

Badal also added that a legal team of the SAD would challenge the clean chit in courts and ensure that justice was done.

Jalandhar, April 3
The region today submerged in religious fervour with Ramnavami celebrations.

Special shobhayatra was held in Jalandhar on the occasion, which started from the local Company Bagh Chowk and then went to Namdev Chowk, BMC Chowk, Guru Nanak Mission Chowk, Nakodar Chowk, Wadala Chowk and many other prominent places in the city.

The event was attended by political bigwigs, including Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, Capt Amarinder Singh, Local Bodies Minister Manoranjan Kalia, Transport Minister Master Mohan Lal and local MLAs.

Special langar stalls were put up at various places in the city. Meanwhile, the residents were chanting bhajans and hyms along with the shobhayatra, which made rounds of the city.

Another highlight of the event was Navyug Youth Club, which displayed special tableaus pertaining to social evils like female foeticide and drug addiction.

The club members disseminated the message of shun drugs and also discouraged the rampant practice of female foeticide on this day.

Hoshiarpur: Devotees thronged temples and offered prayers to mark Ramnavami. A big procession was taken out by Sri Snatan Dharam Sabha in the main bazars of the city in which thousands of persons from all walks of life participated. Sankirtan by various Sankirtan Mandals was also performed. All bazars were tastefully decorated and fruits and sweets were distributed on the route on this occasion.

Three-day 34th Annual Sankirtan Maha Sammelan by Sri Ram Charit Manas Parchar Mandal was also started at Shakti temple. Marriages of two poor girls were solemnized by the Mandal on this occasion.

Batala: Hundreds of persons from all walks of life participated in the Ramnavami shobhayatra, which started from old grain market and passed through Dera Road, Gandhi Chowk, City Road, Lakkar Mandi, Nehru Gate, Chakri Bazaar, Gurdwara Kandh Sahib, Tibba Bazaar, Quaddi Hatti, Khazuri Gate and culminated at Maharaja Jassa Singh Hall.

Prominent personalities included local BJP MLA and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Jagdish Sawhney, Congress MLA from Kahnuwan Partap Singh Bajwa and Congress candidate for the forthcoming Gurdaspur Parliamentary seat Ashwani Sekhri.

Amritsar: Thousands of devotees thronged the historic Durgiana Temple, Shivala Bhaiyaan, the Mata Lal Devi Temple in Rani Ka Bagh and the Longawali Temple, near Kotwali, in view of the Ramnavami celebrations here today.

Devotees started thronging the shrines since the wee hours of the day. Later, devotees who had observed fast during the past one week broke it by worshipping little girls who are considered incarnations of Goddess Durga, also known as Goddess Shakti.

The priests at the shrines recited sacred scriptures such as Durga Sapshudi from Markanday Puran, which narrates how Goddess Durga was blessed and provided with weapons by our Trinity of Gods for vanquishing the demon Maheshasur who had forced Devas to leave heaven and take refuge on earth.

The basant or spring Navratri is more famous in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Haryana and other north Indian states.

Amritsar, April 3
The All-India Pingalwara Charitable Trust, founded by Bhagat Puran Singh, is all set to launch mega projects in the holy city for the deaf students, besides providing treatment to patients suffering from tuberculosis.

The trust would start providing visual aids and computer education to the deaf students at a cost of Rs 1 crore. In all 30 students from all over the country would be given admission even as 20 have already been admitted.

Dr Inderjeet Kaur, president of the trust, while talking to Amritsar Plus, said they were also planning to establish a TB ward in its Mannawala complex on the Amritsar-Jalandhar road and the construction of the building was going on a war footing. She said that they were expected the ward to start within next six months.

Dr Kaur said the trust would also establish Apna Ghar (old-age home) at Mannawala and for this funds would be provided by Dubai-based NRI Raju Sahni. She said the trust had also started the vocational courses of the poor girls of the slum areas and would train them in stitching, embroidery. She said that for these 10 stitching machines and fou embroidery machines had been donated to the trust by an NRI woman last year.

Hoshiarpur, April 3
On the call of the Plant Doctors Services Association (PDSA) and Punjab Agriculture Officers Association (PAOA), a protest was held at the local Kheti Bhawan by members of the local units from 12.30 pm to 2.30 pm here yesterday. President of the PDSA Dr Avtar Singh highlighted the growing importance of agriculture sector in the country due to the increasing demand of food for the growing population and the current economic recession facing the world.

He also pointed out that to meet these new challenges, the report of the fifth pay commission be released, the status of agriculture technocrat be lifted, professional pay parity with other technocrats be restored for the uplift of the status of agriculture technocrats, vacant posts of Agriculture Officers, Assistant Director, Horticulture, Agriculture Development Officer and Development Officer be filled as early as possible and designation of Agriculture Officer be changes as Assistant Director, Agriculture.

In addition of this, Dr C.L. Vashisht, patron of the agriculture officers’ association, Dr Sukhdev Singh Dhillon, Dr Yadvinder Singh and Dr Jasvir Singh, general secretaries of the PDSA, Hoshiarpur, addressed the house. Later, they submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister, Finance Minister and Agriculture Minister, Punjab, through the Deputy Commissioner.

Nawanshahr, April 3
A police party, led by Sukhpal Singh, chowki in charge, Jadla, has succeeded in nabbing two miscreants, Surinderjit Singh, alias Sunny, resident of Golian village, Garhshanker, and Jasbir Singh, alias Jassi, resident of Jadla village, who had allegedly snatched a motorcycle from Kamalpreet Singh of Jattan village, Ropar, by beating him near Beerowal village.

SHO, Sadar, Kewal Krishan said the victim was returning to his village from Ludhiana via Nawanshahr on his bike when the miscreants signalled him to stop near Beerowal village and when he stopped, the miscreants started quarrelling with him. They were armed with lathis and started beating him. Kamalpreet managed to flee after leaving his bike there and informed the police about the incident.