Banur (Mohali), July 28
With the BSP not fielding its candidate for the Banur byelection, a neck-and-neck contest has emerged between Congress candidate Deepinder Singh and SAD nominee Jasjit Singh Bunny.

Though divided, about 40,000 SC votes could be a deciding factor in the election. For over 15 years, the voter base has been siding with late Akali stalwart Kanwaljit Singh. But, after his sudden demise in an accident, the Congress is pushing hard to gain victory here. Political analysts believe that the Congress strategy could affect the victory prospects of Bunny, who is banking on the political legacy of his father Capt Kanwaljit Singh. Money is also being used to influence voters.

Having witnessed contests between seasoned politicians like Capt Kanwaljit Singh and Venod Sharma, the Banur electorate is, perhaps for the first time, witnessing a contest between greenhorns. While Bunny has only the political legacy of his father on his side, the Congress candidate, being in charge of the Banur assembly segments for the past two elections, has “rich” grass-roots contacts.

Knowing well that it will be a keenly contested seat, senior leaders of both parties have been camping in the area for the past few days. Another significant factor is the subtle dissidence in the Akali camp that could spoil the poll prospects of the SAD. The analysts believe that public posture of reconciliation by Akali leaders is in conflict with their political aims as far the Banur constituency is concerned. Both NK Sharma, a bete noire of former Cooperation Minister Kanwaljit Singh, and Seelam Sohi, new entrant in the SAD fold, who had given a tough fight to the former minister in the 2002 assembly elections, have been fostering the Banur belt for many years.

Though it is yet to be seen whether the sympathy factor weighs heavy upon the voters or the experience of Deepinder takes the edge, since 1885, Capt Kanwaljit Singh had nurtured the constituency when he defeated Congress stalwart Venod Sharma in the 1985 assembly elections. He retained the seat in the 1997, 2002 and 2007. In 1992, Mohinder Singh Gill of the Congress defeated Capt Kanwaljit Singh. But, in the 1997 elections, the SAD leader avenged his defeat at the hands of Gill.

Owing to the profile of the constituency, that has around 30 per cent votes of the Saini community and around 10,000 Muslim votes, the Congress had been retaining the seat prior to 1985. An analysis of the polling pattern (since 1977) shows that there has been fluctuation in the votes netted by the Congress and the SAD. On the Congress front, in 1977 elections, the party polled 51.75 per cent votes and the percentage fell to 41.93 per cent in 1985. It further fell from 33.25 in 1992 to 24.61 per cent in the 1997 elections. But in 2002, the party netted 4.43 per cent votes when Seelam Sohi lost to Capt Kanwaljit Singh by a margin of around 700 votes.

For the SAD, the performance has been consistent since 1985, barring the 1992 elections when it polled 26.93 per cent votes. The BSP has touched highest 17 per cent votes in the 1997 elections. The analysts point out while the Lalru and Derabassi areas have been weak areas for the SAD, the Banur belt has been a stronghold for the party. Earlier, a stronghold of the SAD, the Zirakpur area has been drifting away, if the polling pattern in the last general election was any indication. 

Ferozpur, July 28
SAD-BJP nominee for the Jalalabad assembly byelection Sukhbir Badal today asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to call an all-party meeting to deliberate on the reliability and non-corruptibility of EVMs.

Sukhbir said here today that most of the NDA partners had expressed apprehensions of corruptibility of EVMs. It was imperative for the Election Commission to either restore faith of people in the voting through the EVMs or revert back to the old process of ballot papers.

Following the observation of the apex court that the Election Commission should review the working of EVMs, it becomes all the more important that all doubts regarding its technical robustness be cleared at the earliest, he added.

Sukhbir said Opposition in Tamil Nadu had threatened to boycott the election process for the ensuing Vidhan Sabha polls in that state and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha LK Advani had also raised his qualms about the possibility EVMs being hacked in favour of a particular candidate.

Former Chief Secretary of New Delhi Omesh Sehgal, who is an IIT graduate, has written to the Election Commission offering to demonstrate practically how the software of EVMs could be hacked.

Amritsar, July 28
The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), the Chief Khalsa Diwan, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) and the district administration today offered Taufique Kitchlew, the only surviving son of Dr Saifudin Kitchlew, “hero of Jallianwala Bagh and votary of the Hindu-Muslim-Sikh unity for being Muslim,” accommodation free of charge and medical facilities if he returned to Amritsar, his place of birth. Kitchlew returned to Delhi a sad man as nobody offered him accommodation even on rent.

Deputy Commissioner Kahan Singh Pannu said it was shocking that Kitchlew had to return from his place of birth where he wanted to spend the evening of his life. He wanted to write memoirs by staying in Amritsar.Kitchlew (78) had to return Delhi with his adopted daughter Baby.

Chief Khalsa Diwan president Charanjit Singh Chadha said his organisation was ready to extend all help to Kitchlew. He said he would visit Delhi to persuade Kitchlew to come to Amritsar permanently.

Major Mohinder Singh Sarkaria (87) said it was a matter of shame that the son of a national hero had not been provided accommodation on rent and was compelled to return to Delhi with acute arthritis.

Major Sarkaria said he would provide him accommodation without charging any rent. He said Kitchlew could stay at his residence in Rup Nagar opposite Khalsa College. He would be provided separate and independent accommodation in his house. Taufique and his family members could stay at the accommodation as long they desired, he added.

Senior Professor of GND University Parminder Singh said it was sad that Taufique had to return. It explained the degraded values in society which had forgotten the sacrifices of Dr Saifudin Kitchlew and his family. He said the state government should have taken care of the freedom fighter by providing proper accommodation of his choice in the city. He said the government should call him back to the city of his birth. Justice-loving people would like Taufique to settle in the city to spend his remaining days, he added.

DSGMC president Paramjit Singh Sarna said it was a pity that residents of Amritsar had failed to accommodate the freedom fighter. He said the DSGMC was ready to provide help to the octogenarian, besides accommodation.

SGPC president Avtar Singh said the committee would make required arrangements if approached by the freedom fighter. 

Ludhiana, July 28
The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) is tight-lipped over test reports of samples taken by its teams from 38 industrial units in Ludhiana on July 16 and 17. Chairman of the board Yogesh Goel said since the case (Pollution in Buddha Nullah) was pending with the Punjab and Haryana High Court, he would provide all details to the court on the next date of hearing.

Meanwhile, sources, both in the industry and the board, said more than 30 samples had failed the zero-discharge test conducted by four teams of the board. Thirtyfive samples were taken from dyeing units while three were taken from electroplating units.

The High Court had ordered to make the industrial units a zero liquid discharge identity by May 31, 2009.

The industrialists, whose samples have “failed”, said they failed to understand which guidelines the board was working on. “Earlier, agriculture-friendly tests were conducted, which all industrial units had passed. It is fish-survival test now, to which the samples had failed. The test requires fish to survive in the treated wastewater of dyeing units for at least 90-96 hours. Otherwise, the city industry has installed effluent treatment plants, on the basis of which an NOC is provided by the board,” said an affected industrialist who has his unit on Tajpur Road.

President of the Tajpur Dyeing Industry Association Ashok Makkar said for long, they had been demanding land for installing a common effluent treatment plant in the city. “We have come to know that the MC will be providing five acres on Tajpur Road for the proposed plant soon”, said Makkar. Instead of taking the samples, the board and the government should guide the industrialists in right direction. Without the industry, the economy of the state will take a drastic hit, he added.

Chandigarh, July 28
Simple measures like revitalising the system of “police beat”, laying equal stress on mental faculties of new recruits, appropriate training and introduction of a citizens forum in each police station could remove the stigma of hatred attached to them and make them part and parcel of a healthy community living.

This is the crux of a paper on “Strengthening Cutting Edge Level Policing”, which appears in the biannual “The Perspective” magazine of the Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur.

The paper, by IG Training SK Sharma, recommends a police beat for every 5,000 strong population in urban areas while in villages each panchayat should be declared a police beat. The IG recommends that each beat should be served by a minimum of two police officers.

The senior police officer, while analysing what ails our police stations, says equal stress should be laid on testing the mental faculties of new recruits as was done in the case of physical fitness. He says mental capability, understanding and psychological aspects needed to be given more focus.

Sharma has also called on giving soft skill training to police officers in dealing with victims, women, children, destitute and delinquents besides training in use of computers and team work. He has also recommended that each police station have a provision for a citizen forum, which could allow better interaction with the public.

The IG has minced no words saying that blaming politicians and bureaucrats for all police problems does not absolve the senior police formations of their failures. He says corrupt practices have become a part of the police station functioning and have spread to every department, every rank and every police institution, including training colleges.

Sharma says corruption in the IPS has also increased steadily and it is not uncommon for police station personnel to look after the comforts of senior officers.

The police officer has also identified shortcomings in police stations, saying these included issues of infrastructure, human resources and finances besides others. He said most police stations suffered from a shortage of police vehicles and fuel, problems of space and poor maintenance. Besides, there were problems of insufficient manpower, low motivation and a lack of promotion opportunities. Sharma has noted that scientific aids were almost non-existent at police stations. He said most stations did not have an elementary investigation kit, no camera and not even a magnifying glass.

Round-up
Aug 3 holiday in Banur, Kahnuwan, Jalalabad 
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 28
Heavy rain has lashed many parts of Punjab, bringing down the temperatures by several degrees. The revival of monsoon across the state has brought cheer to the farmers, most of who are ending the late sowing period of basmati.

The Director, Indian Meteorological Department, Chandigarh, Chatar Singh said according to the figures compiled at the station, Ludhiana had received almost the maximum rainfall in the state recording 142.8 mm rainfall by this morning. Ludhiana and it adjoining areas recorded 3 cm rainfall yesterday. The maximum temperature here has fallen by almost three degrees from 31.4 degrees Celsius yesterday to 28.7 degrees today.

Patiala received only a little rainfall at 0.3 mm but made up for the loss recording 95.5 mm rainfall today. The maximum temperature has come down from 33.3 degrees to 31 degrees Celsius today.

The temperature fell by almost seven degrees in Amritsar from 36 degrees to 29 degrees Celsius today. Compared to negligible rainfall yesterday, the area saw a substantial rainfall of 3 mm today.

Yesterday, Chandigarh received almost 2 mm rainfall going up to almost 10 mm today. The maximum temperature fell from 32.4 degrees to 30.2 degrees Celsius.

Agency reports add that Madhopur received 25 mm rainfall. The Nangal Dam area (24.6 mm), Shahpur Kandi (6.4 mm), Moga (5 mm), Mohali (8 mm) and Ropar (7 mm) were also lashed by heavy rain.

Hoshiarpur, July 28
The city and its adjoining areas today received 278.04-mm rainfall and life in the region virtually came to a standstill. Residents woke up to find the city in a deluge.

All choes, including Bhangi and Mehngorwal, in the region were in spate. A bridge on the Dhobi choe near Lachowal, was washed away causing disruption of traffic on the Hoshiarpur-Tanda Road.

In low-lying colonies in the periphery of the city, residents had a tough time saving their belongings as rainwater entered their houses.

Several localities and roads in Kutcha Toba, Clock Tower, Phagwara Chowk, Nai Abadi, Mall Road, Chandigarh Road near mini-secretariat and Prabhat Chowk were flooded due to choked sewerage, throwing life out of gear.

Residents alleged water in the nullah, in which the sewage is discharged, was flowing backwards into the sewers. The nullah had not been desilted for a long time.

According to executive engineer of the PSEB (city division) Avtar Singh, the severe rain forced the authorities to suspend the power supply from 7 am to 2.15 pm in the entire city and Hariana town.

DC Megh Raj said about 2,000-ft guide bundh at the Mehngoral choe, near Takhni, and eight spans of a bridge near Lachowal on the Dhobi choe were washed away. The floodwater also made breaches on the guide bundhs near Noor Talai on the Mehngoral choe, in Rajiv Gandhi Kandi Canal near Khude and near Dhaki.

The flood control rooms at Dasuya, Mukerian and Garh Shankar tehsils recorded 104 mm, 80 mm and 11 mm rainfall at 8:30 am, respectively.

Chandigarh, July 28
The monsoon is here and the temperatures have fallen. But, it seems, the Punjab government has forgotten to restore the working timings of its offices across the state back to normal.

On June 27, the Punjab Cabinet had ordered a change in the timings of all offices owing to power shortage. Punjab government offices, except those in Chandigarh, were asked to function from 7.30 am to 1.30 pm from June 29 in place of 9 am to 5 pm.

While the decision was taken keeping in view the extreme heat, it led to a majority of these offices turning non-functional. The Punjab government outside Chandigarh shut shop conveniently at 1.30 pm. Moreover, very few offices actually opened at 7.30 am.

Since field offices closed at 1.30 pm, the working of the head offices here in Chandigarh also suffered. The Chandigarh offices follow the same 9 am to 5 pm schedule. “If one needs any information from the field office or pass orders to them, it is not possible after 1.30 pm. So keeping our offices open here is virtually useless,” said an officer here.

Officials have, in fact, demanded that since the weather had improved considerably, the old timings be revived. Their logic being that they have to leave very early to reach office by 7.30 and despite reaching early are able to finish their work only by 4-5 pm.

Amritsar, July 28
Guru Nanak Dev University here today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited to collaborate in academic and research related activities, especially in areas of biotechnology, pharmaceutical sciences and microbiology.

Raghbir Singh, Registrar, GND University, and PK Bhatnagar, senior vice-president, Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, signed the MoU in the presence of Vice-Chancellor Ajaib Singh Brar.

The VC said the MoU would also include the enrollment of Ranbaxy scientists and employees in a PhD programme at the university as part-time students as per the university rules. He said the exchange of graduate and postgraduate students of the university in the disciplines of pharmaceutical sciences, microbiology and biotechnology would be undertaken for project work and training in the NDDR unit of Ranbaxy.

He said the MoU would also cover the provision for sponsorship and pooling of resources on co-operative seminars, workshops and other scientific meetings on the topics of mutual interest. It would also explore the possibility of carrying out Ranbaxy-sponsored research project(s) at the university itself, he added.

Dr Bhatnagar said both university and Ranbaxy Laboratories would work together, along with scientists of Ranbaxy and corresponding members of the varsity, to formulate joint a research plan on case-by-case basis, with the due approval of the steering committee. He said Ranbaxy would consider sponsored research projects with the varsity in areas of mutual interest. He said the agreement would be for three years and could be extended by mutual consent of both parties.

Sangrur, July 28
With the holding of workers’ meetings by Baldev Singh Mann, expelled SAD leader, and Surjit Kaur Barnala, wife of Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala, the revival of the SAD (Longowal) is on the cards once again.

Such a meeting was held at Sunam, 13 km from here, yesterday. In the meeting, besides workers Baldev Singh Mann and Surjit Kaur Barnala, two SGPC members Nirmal Singh Bharo and Kirpal Singh Lad Banjara took part.

Akali workers, who are reportedly annoyed with the existing SAD leadership, also attended the meeting and expressed views against SAD leaders by alleging that there was no respect and honour for the workers in the existing set-up of the SAD. They also emphasised on the revival of the SAD (Longowal) to revive the “lost” respect and honour of workers.

Jalandhar, July 28
Response of students to B Pharmacy course in 36 colleges of the state this year has been very poor.

Just 29 per cent of 1,349 seats of the course have been filled through online CET counselling held jointly by Punjab Technical University (PTU) and the National Informatics Centre (NIC).

While 1,040 candidates had qualified the entrance test, only 389 students opted for seats even after the second counselling, leaving 960 seats vacant. While earlier there were 1,247 seats to be filled in the 85 per cent counselling for Punjab students, nearly 102 more seats got added up with addition of three new pharmacy colleges this time.

Last year 64 per cent of the seats were filled through counselling. The number of applicants was also higher as 1,605 students had qualified the examination.

Unlike last year, vacant seat status is not available on the website www.admissions.nic.in. this time. Officials claim it would be uploaded soon. But many colleges that have been in line for admission would not be able to fill even a single seat as of now.

All vacant seats in the 85 per cent category meant for general, SC and BC candidates have now been converted into 15 per cent category for non-Punjabi students, the choice filling for which will begin tomorrow onwards for three days.

Vice-Chancellor Rajnish Arora attributed poor response to pharmacy course to recession. “Perhaps, there are not many jobs with pharmaceutical companies these days and it is driving the students away from the field”.

He added there were plans to hold in person counselling on August 6 on the PTU campus for all unfilled B Tech and B Pharmacy seats before converting these into the management quota. “Even the candidates who have not appeared in the CET can apply on the basis of their plus II result”, he said.

To fill maximum number of seats, the PTU and the Punjab Unaided Technical Institutes Association (PUTIA) have plans to hold counselling in Delhi, Patna and Jammu and Kashmir after August 31 to fill remaining seats. “It will be the first effort in this direction and the process will be on request basis. Even if 30 colleges are ready to come along, we will support them,” said Dr Arora.

Amritsar, July 28
Following the publication of a report regarding the poor state of education in the border belt in these columns yesterday, Deputy Commissioner Kahan Singh Pannu has directed the District Education Officer (Elementary) to rationalise posting of teachers by July 31.

The decision followed a meeting of Pannu with officials of the Elementary Education Department at the Circuit House here today. He directed all 17 block education officers to rationalise postings of teachers in elementary schools in rural areas on the basis of strength of students till July 31.

The meeting attended by ADCs and SDMs, apart from officials of the Education Department, deliberated the poor standard of education, especially in rural schools. Pannu said it was found that instead of dearth of teachers, irrational posting of teachers was the major reason. He said it was found that in some schools the number of teachers did not correspond with the number of students.

Meanwhile, the DC, pre-empting teachers indulging in approaching politicians to stall transfers, also issued an order warning that the district administration would recommend the suspension of those government teachers to the Education Department who would not join assigned schools in 24 hours after receiving the order. Teachers on contract would be dismissed.

It has been observed that teachers are not interested in joining schools in remote 
border areas. 

Amritsar, July 28
The police has arrested three of the four accused in the gang-rape case of July 25.

The arrested include Raju and Jeena, residents of Nikka Singh Colony, and Sonu of the Gawal Mandi area. Fourth accused Mannu is at large.

The family and relatives of the victim had protested against the police for failing to arrest the accused. However, the DSP denied this claim .

Residents of the area had also protested against the police and forced shopkeepers in Putlighar, Gwal Mandi and Ram Tirath road to put down the shutters. They also threw stones on buses on the GT Road.