Bathinda, August 2
Sandeep Singh, alias Bobby, son of former SAD minister Teja Singh, was killed here today morning. Teja Singh reportedly left the SAD, when former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had left the party, and then joined the Congress.

Sandeep was found shot dead in his red Tavera, parked in the middle of the road along the bank of the Bathinda branch of Sirhind canal.

According to details, two unidentified persons of Maur Mansa came to his house in the Civil Lines this morning. They expressed willingness to get his land, along the canal bank, on lease for farming. He took them in his Tavera and moved towards the fields at 9.45 am.

After 45 minutes, Sahara Jan Sewa volunteers received a message about a vehicle parked in the middle of the road, along the canal bank. Reaching there, they found the body on the driver’s seat. Police officials termed it a case of murder. They apprehended that the accused had shot him in the back with a country-made illegal weapon.

Kin of the deceased suspected it to be an outcome of old rivalry. SSP Bathinda Ashish Chaudhary also inspected the spot.

Later, in a statement to the police, family members named Jagtar Singh of Bathinda being behind Sandeep’s murder on the basis of a case in which Sandeep was accused of killing Jagtar’s brother Harpal Singh, a couple of years back.

They alleged that the persons who went with him from his house had visited five times with the same proposal -to get land on lease. SHO, Kotwali police station, GS Romana investigating the case, said, “Acting upon the statement of the family, we have booked two unidentified persons and Jagtar under Sections 302 and 120-B, IPC, and 25, 54, Arms Act.”

Bathinda, August 2
Police personnel were deployed in strength outside the Dera Sacha Sauda complex here today as its followers assembled for the weekly naam charcha.

This was the first assembly of the dera followers following the killings of two of their fellows triggering violence at Mansa earlier this week.

Riot-control vehicles and water canon were also stationed outside the assembly hall situated on the Malout road. Vijay Kumar Sharma, SP, Faridkot, supervised the security arrangements and camped there till the followers dispersed. DSP, Bathinda, Dilbagh Singh was also present at the spot.

The policemen were then shifted to a nearby village in Faridkot district where a satsang was organised by a dera follower.

Naam charcha throughout Punjab had been suspended during peak tension among Sikhs and dera followers. It was resumed after the recent Lok Sabha elections when the situation normalised, with most dera supporters reportedly voting for the ruling SAD.

There were violent clashes among dera followers and SAD supporters here and at Mansa two years ago when the Sikh clergy gave a call for the boycott of the dera.

The authorities had been planning to gradually withdraw police cover at the naam charcha halls, but the recent incident at Mansa has prevented them from doing so.

A strong contingent of the Punjab Armed Police continues to be deployed around the main complex of the dera at Salabatpura where the roads are sealed whenever there is a tension between the two groups.

Moga, August 2
Timely intervention of the police today prevented a possible clash among followers of Dera Sacha Sauda and radical Sikh organisations when the dera followers tried to hold a satsang at Samadh Bhai village, Bagha Purana subdivision in this district.

The radical Sikh organisations forced the dera followers not to hold the satsang at a public place. Then, they assembled at the residence of one of the followers. However, they were not allowed to hold the satsang even there.

DSP Jagjit Singh Saroya reached the spot immediately along with a heavy police force. Keeping in view of the tense situation, the police did not allow the dera followers to use loud speakers and hold the public function.

Radical Sikh leaders Darshan Singh Gholia, Gurpreetam Singh Cheema, Harpreet Singh Bhinder, Resham Singh Manuke and others said they would not allow the dera followers to hold any public function in Punjab.

However, the followers said they had not planned to hold any public function. “We have gathered here to distribute cheap ration among our poor fellows”, said a dera follower.

The dera branch at Salabatpur in Bathinda district is just about 15 km from this village and most of the dera followers had come from there to take part in the satsang.

Jalandhar, August 2
Stacked in the open exposed to the vagaries of climate, more than 8 million metric tonnes of wheat procured by five government procurement agencies have been rotting in various places in Punjab. The grains, stored by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the state government, have been packed in plastic bags on open and unhygienic plinths as well as in rented fields. The FCI purchased a total of 11.6 million mt of wheat this year.

Though the state government had promised that the entire stock of the stored wheat would be lifted by July 31, the FCI has so far lifted only 3,00,000 mt. Violating the “first-in first-out”principle, the central foodgrain procurement agency began lifting wheat from covered godowns on August 1, leaving the stocks stored in plastic bags to rot in the makeshift plinths.

Sources close to the food department said nearly 2,00,000 to 2,50,000 mt of wheat had been lifted from covered sheds while 8 million tonnes are still lying exposed in the open. FCI has distributed ‘specials’ of foodgrains among five procurement agencies, Punsup, Pungrain, Markfed, Punjab Warehouse Corp and Punjab Agro, equally, but these were reportedly diverted to only two of them, Markfed and Punjab Warehouse.

The sources said though the FCI was lifting wheat stocks from covered godowns on the pretext of creating space for rice storage, not even a single bag of rice had arrived from rice sellers till July-end.

A survey by The Tribune team to various godowns of the procurement agencies in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Moga, Mansa, Tarn Taran and Sangrur revealed a majority of the wheat grain packed in plastic bags was lying on open brick plinths. At many places the wheat bags were stacked on wooden crates in low-lying fields. The wheat bags stored on the 2-ft-high plinths appeared to be in a terrible condition. The crates had been eaten up by white ants and the bags that touched the ground were drawing rats and other rodents. Several stacks were submerged in fields where rainwater had accumulated. Weeds had virtually overtaken the two to three layers of the wheat stacks.

In Muktsar, over 2.6 million plastic and jute bags stacked in the open have become a cause of concern for employees of the procurement agencies.

Talking to The Tribune, Akshar Kumar, member, State Foodgrain Agencies’s Punjab coordination committee and president of the Punjab State Warehouse Corp Field Employees Union, blamed the mismanagement on the part of the state and the FCI’s indifferent attitude for the heavy losses amounting to Rs 950 crore incurred by the Punjab government during 1999-2002 due to damage caused to wheat stocks

He asserted though the plastic bags had not been technically approved for wheat storage by Punjab Agriculture University and the Indian Grain Management and Research Institute, Hapur, the government has gone ahead in using them.

Harbilas Das, general secretary of the Punjab Food and Supply inspectors Union, said employees of government procurement agencies had decided to stay away from procurement during the current season. Though the government had assured it would lift the entire stocks packed in plastic bags from all over the state before July 31 it had failed to keep the promise, he added.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 2
Having failed to impress upon the Drainage Department to pump out stagnant rainwater from paddy fields on about 3,000 acres of hired land, small farmers from about 12 villages in Ludhiana and Sangrur districts have threatened to stage a protest before Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal during a scheduled SAD conference at Issru on Independence Day.

They will also announce to shun agriculture as their profession in case the authorities failed to complete survey on the losses suffered by them due to flooding of their fields.

Accusing the authorities of showing unconcern about flooding of paddy crop on over 3,000 acres with rainwater recently, a large number of small farmers from about 12 villages, including Malikpur, Kapoorgarh, Bharpoor Garh , Mullanpur, Mahpur, Rauni, Shergarh Kajhari, Bhurthala Randhawa and Deeva, threatened to stage the protest on August 15.

“What to talk of helping us pump out the water and re-transplant paddy, officials did not bother to have a look at our submerged crop. We are left with no choice than to bring the matter to the notice of the Chief Minister at Issru,” said farmers, adding that local leaders had been appeasing their masters in byelections than to come to their rescue.

Investigations revealed that a majority of victim farmers had transplanted paddy in hired fields. Some of them had re-transplanted paddy after purchasing saplings at exorbitant prices from far-off villages. Natural calamity had hit these farmers fourth time in two years.

Land rent for the session is paid in advance. Besides paying amounts between Rs 25,000 and 30,000 per acre as rent, the tiller had spent thousands on irrigating fields, puddling, purchasing saplings, transplantation and other inputs.

Sangrur, August 2
The Association of Private Unaided Dental Colleges of Punjab today asked Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to constitute a fee-fixation committee under the chairmanship of a retired judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court for fixing a uniform and rational fee structure for all seats of BDS courses in private unaided dental colleges, which fell under government quota and management quota.

Working president of the association Vikram Sharma, who is also a trustee of Guru Nanak Dev Dental College, Sunam, said on the directions of the Supreme Court, such fee fixation committees had already been formed all over the country. Dr Sharma said the association had decided till the fee was rationalised, no admission would be made under the government quota seats as colleges would not be able to complete the current academic session with the prevalent fee structure. He said the existing fee of a management quota seat was Rs 2.30 lakh per annum and the government quota seat Rs 63,250 per annum.

The association demanded a rational and uniform fee structure of Rs.1.40 lakh for the seats covered under the government and management quotas, he added.

Dr Sharma said the fee structure in adjoining states was uniform for all seats i.e. Rajasthan Rs 1.50 lakh, Uttar Pradesh Rs 1.60 lakh and Haryana Rs 1.75 lakh. Because of this fact, students prefer admissions in colleges in adjoining states, causing a financial loss to the colleges of Punjab.

Chandigarh, August 2
After hectic preparations, the Election Commission is all set to conduct byelections in three assembly constituencies of Jalalabad, Banur and Kahnuwan tomorrow. The outcome of the bypolls in these three segments is very significant for Punjab politics. Sources in the commission said all necessary preparations had been made and verified by the teams on election duty, while the police protection has been provided at every booth to prevent “unfair play” of any sort.

Fifteen companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed to maintain the law and order.

The Jalalabad assembly election is the most important as this will decide the political future of Sukhbir Badal, president of the SAD and son of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. If elected, Sukhbir is to be reinducted as the Deputy Chief Minister of the state. He had to step down from the position after he failed to get elected to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha within six months of his swearing-in due to technical reasons.

With the Congress leadership taking it easy, the SAD has little resistance from the Opposition. But, still the SAD cadres are leaving nothing to chance and are involved in door-to-door campaigning till the last moment. “I want to repeat our families performance in the Bathinda parliamentary poll here and make this a historic win”, Sukhbir told The Tribune. Sukhbir’s main contest is with Hans Raj Joshan of the Congress.

In Kahnuwan, Fateh Jang Singh Bajwa of the Congress is locked in a tight contest with Sewa Singh Sekhwan on the SAD. The seat was vacated following the election of former MLA Partap Singh Bajwa, who is also Fateh’s brother, after he defeated BJP candidate Vinod Khanna in the contest for the Gurdaspur parliamentary seat. The Bajwas are hoping to retain the seat within the family, which, party insiders say, will improve Partap’s claim to the presidency of the Punjab Congress.

The third assembly segment of Banur is important from the point of view that the outcome of the poll will decide the political legacy of former Akali stalwart Capt Kanwaljit Singh, whose death in a road accident necessitated the bypoll. His son Jasjit Singh Bunny is contesting this seat against Deepinder Singh Dhillon of the Congress, whose campaign has virtually been run by Patiala MP Preneet Kaur.

Apparently, the ruling party nominees are said to have an advantage over the Opposition candidates, but other than Jalalabad, where Sukhbir is viewed as the future candidate, both the Congress and the SAD are locked in a straight and fierce contest. The results in the three assembly segments that are to be declared on August 6 will shape the future of politics in Punjab. The results will also show how the strain in the BJP-SAD affects the outcome of the poll.

Ferozepur, August 2
Congress nominee for the Jalalabad byelection Hans Raj Josan today alleged that certain cabinet ministers, Akali MLAs and other SAD leaders were trying to intimidate people to vote in favour of SAD-BJP candidate Sukhbir Badal. While apprehending fear to his life, Josan said he was concerned for the safety of his family as the SAD had hired thousands of anti social elements, who were roaming freely in this constituency in violation of the model code of conduct.

In a compliant to the Election Commission, he alleged that cavalcades of vehicles engaged by the SAD candidate were moving about in the area in utter violation of the rules, apparently to influence voters with money and muscle power. While talking to The Tribune, Josan said if the elections were conducted in a free and fair manner, he had a fair chance of winning this seat.

Josan alleged that Akali leaders Rosy Barkandi and Bunty Romana were planning to distribute cash among voters.

Kamal Yadav, Deputy Commissioner-cum-district election officer, who, along with SSP Surinder Pal Singh, was camping at Industrial Training Institute, Jalalabad, to oversee the election arrangements, said all complaints sent by the Congress nominee had been looked into carefully. Yadav said the police was vigilant enough and any outsider if found roaming in this constituency would be immediately booked. All places mentioned by the Congress candidate where he suspected that Akalis leaders had taken shelter had been raided and nothing foul had been found yet. Polling parties escorted by the police force have been dispatched to the 172 polling booths, he added.

SSP Surinder Pal Singh Parmar said all roads leading to Jalalabad had been sealed and entry of the outsiders to the segment had been banned. Earlier, Commissioner BS Sudan, DIG RP Mittal also took stock of the poll preparedness.

Gurdaspur, August 2
There has been a controversy over the submission of a memorandum to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at a rally of SAD candidate Sewa Singh Sekhwan at Kot Todar Mal village of the Kahnuwan assembly segment on July 31.

While election observer RK Chaturvedi holds that Badal violated the code by promising to look into the demands of activists of the PSEB Employees Federation, who submitted a memorandum to him at the rally, returning officer JP Singh claims there was no poll violation as such.

Official sources said Chaturvedi, who would send an independent report in this connection to the Election Commission, was of the view that an official meeting with the Chief Minister with any government employee could be held in the office of the Chief Minister or at a place, which did not fall in the area where the election was being held.

JP Singh, in his report submitted to Chaturvedi, claims the federation had taken permission from him on July 30 to hold a protest against the Chief Minister on July 31. When the activists were holding a protest in Kot Todar Mal village, Badal called them for talks and told them that their grievances would be taken care of after the election was over.

The sources said Chaturvedi also saw the video film of the rally. He asked the District Election Officer-cum-DC Karamjit Singh Sra to enquire into the matter.

Meanwhile, the election observer transferred five police officials deputed in different parts of Gurdaspur district to the strong room, where EVMs have been kept. He received a complaint against around 12 police officials for their alleged involvement in the campaigning of a candidate.

Jarnail Singh, in charge of traffic wing, Gurdaspur, Parmod Kumar, SHO, Sadar police station, Gurdaspur, Paramjit Singh, Mukhtiar Singh and Sudesh Kumar (Assistant Sub Inspectors) have been transferred.

The election observer also put nine teachers, against whom complaints in connection with the violation of the model code of conduct were received, on election duty and they were asked to sit in his office and execute the duties assigned to them from time to time.

Ferozepur, August 2
While heritage banyan trees have almost vanished from highways, residents of tiny Piddi village on the Faridkot-Amritsar road proudly assemble during the day under the seven trees of the species in a row that have so far survived the axe.

This is perhaps the only cluster of banyan trees on the 180-km stretch of highway between Amritsar and Bathinda that is a feast for the eyes of motorists.

Octogenarian Mukhtiar Singh, who was the oldest among those relaxing on a cot under one of the trees, said these banyans were more than a century old and he had heard his father say that he had seen these trees standing there when he was a child.

Septuagenarian Santokh Singh said his grandfather had been telling stories about these banyan trees to him.

Men, women and children of the village have made it a daily routine to sit under these trees during the scorching summer when electricity remains disconnected. “It is soothing under these banyans,” said Sheetal Singh.

Even cattle are tied with the roots of the banyans around which children can be seen playing.

The recent decision of the district authorities of Tarn Taran to axe 1,529 trees on the highway to prevent accidents has raised alarm bells among villagers who fear that these banyans too might get axed sooner or later.

Banyan, which is the national tree, has mercilessly been cut in large numbers along the Pathankot-Amritsar, Amritsar-Bathinda and Jammu-Pathakot highways for their widening.

These trees have generally been replaced by eucalyptus that is a fast-growing species, but harmful to the environment.

Only one old banyan tree on the 90-km Pathankot-Amritsar highway can be seen on the roadside near Gopalpur.

A couple of trees of the species were standing on the Faridkot-Bathinda and Tarn Taran-Makhu stretch, but these appear young.

Botanist Yashpal Sharma said it was criminal on the part of road engineers to axe banyan trees that are very useful for the environment. It takes more than a century for the tree to mature, but only a few minutes to cut it to clear the way for new roads.

Because of its longevity, banyan is considered immortal and is an integral part of the myths and legends of India. Even today, the surviving banyan tree is the focal point of village life.

Older banyan trees are characterised by their aerial prop roots <http://wapedia.mobi/en/aerial_root> that grow into thick woody trunks that, with age, can become indistinguishable from the main trunk.

Old trees can spread out laterally using these prop roots to cover a wide area.

The largest such tree now exists in Kolkata http://wapedia.mobi/en/Kolkata>.

Chandigarh, August 2
Punjab is indeed a welfare state, at least for its employees. A Joint Director in the Industries Department was promoted to Additional Director on the day of his retirement ! While sources close to the department say this was done “so he could retire with dignity as his promotion was long due,” the other reason that he will now get a much higher pension than what he would have got as Joint Director.

The Joint Director was among the officials shortlisted for being considered for promotion to Additional Director following a Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) meeting.

“The DPC meeting was held long ago and this official’s name was on top. However, due to certain reasons his promotion could not be made effective earlier. When this matter was brought to the notice of department heads, they took a compassionate view of the matter and promoted him on the last day of his service,” explained a senior department official.

“Such a thing is routinely done in government service. It makes the employee feel that he has got his due,” added the senior official.

Other sources, however, pointed out that despite the Joint Director having been promoted in the wake of the DPC meeting several months ago, some senior officials in the department were sitting on his file, waiting for him to retire and so allow some other official in line to become Additional Director. “Only when this person threatened the department that he would go to court, the department relented and promoted him on the last day,” said the source.

Whatever the reasons for the move, questions are being raised about this last day promotion, specially when it has led to a monetary loss for the government as this employee never served as Additional Director but only retired as one.

“There is no monetary loss to the government in having promoted him. The pension of an employee is calculated on the average of the pension drawn during the last ten months, which will be his salary as deputy director,” pointed out the senior official.

The sources, however, said this was an old rule that had changed. “Now the pension is calculated according to the last pay drawn which in this case would be of an additional director,” said another official.

Amritsar, August 2
Hailing the joint declaration of the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan, Dr Manmohan Singh and Yusuf Raza Gilani, respectively, at Sharm-ul-Sheikh, delinking terrorism from bilateral talks, the Hind Pak Dosti Manch (HPDM) has appealed to parties not to doubt the sincerity of Dr Manmohan Singh in improving relations with Pakistan.

Kuldip Nayar, president of the HPDM, here today evening said a museum would be set up near the Attari-Wagah check post to highlight the trauma of people during the partition of the country. He said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had announced to provide land for the project. Talks with peaceniks from across the border to take up the matter with their government for the museum were on, he added .

Nayar said India was right in asking Pakistan not to allow use of its land by fundamentalists and terrorist bodies for planning attacks on India, besides acting against those involved in the Mumbai strikes in November last year. He said India and Pakistan should understand that for the economic growth of South Asia, peace in the region and bilateral talks were necessary to resolve issues between two nations. He said for the first time senior Army officers and the ISI of Pakistan had shown interest in holding talks.

Nayar said a cultural programme would be held on August 14 at Attari where Sufi singer Sayeeda Begum would regale people with her songs.

Patiala, August 2
Taking a serious note of rising incidents of ragging across the nation, Gian Sagar Medical College and Hospital has installed closed circuit television cameras (CCTVs) in all hostel common rooms and corridors to keep an eye on students. The college has put up notices all over the campuses regarding “zero tolerance” to ragging.

Dr AS Sekhon, principal of the Gian Sagar Medical College and Hospital and Dean Colleges, while addressing the students and parents today said freshers had been provided with all the necessary details regarding admission procedures, including the contact numbers of the concerned authorities, keeping in view the needs of new entrants in the institution. These measure have been taken up so that students don’t have to approach seniors for any help, thus avoiding trouble.

Dr Sekhon said as a step further in this direction the management, the principal, the teaching staff interacted with freshers today and took them into confidence by apprising them of their rights as well as obligation to fight against ragging. The freshers were assured that any instance of ragging brought to the notice of the authorities would be promptly dealt.

Dr Sukhwinder Singh, vice-chairman of the Gian Sagar Educational and Charitable Trust, said the college had also constituted a committee consisting of senior faculty members and hostel authorities like wardens to keep a continuous watch over students so as to prevent occurrence of ragging.

He said special vigil was being maintained in hostels as stay in hostels had been made mandatory according to directions of the Medical Council of India. The hostels, he said, had been provided with all modern amenities and special arrangements had been made for stay of NRI students according to their requirements.

Meanwhile, the students of the new batch of MBBS were welcomed on their admission at a special assembly organised by the college. Parents and guardians of the students also attended the assembly where they were accorded welcome by the senior faculty members and functionaries of the college management.

Dr Sukhwinder Singh informed the students about instructions to be followed to maintain discipline in the college. He also informed them that the college offered the best of facilities and called upon the students to make use of these amenities. He said it was a student friendly institution where modern messes served hygienically prepared quality food. He sought cooperation of the parents in ensuring regular attendance of their wards in classes and said the college would like the parents to visit the college at least once a month.

Chandigarh, August 2
Bollywood’s newest trend to go in for turbaned and bearded heroes is to the liking of Sikh religious leaders, who feel it is helping popularise the look and preventing Sikh youth from getting their hair cut.

Even the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex Sikh body, is happy at the portrayal although some of the films have run into small controversies with the community.

Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan and now Saif Ali Khan have played Sikh characters in recent Hindi films. Young actor Ranbir Kapoor, whose mother Neetu Singh comes from a Sikh family, will follow suit soon in Shimit Amin’s “Rocket Singh”.

SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said: “Sikhs have earned name and fame all across the world in almost all fields like sports, politics, cinema and business. It is all due to their enterprising nature, right attitude, hard work and honesty. Bollywood is just trying to cash in on the image of a complete Sikh with beard and turban on his head. They are doing it to earn professional gains, but we are happy. Now we want them to use real Sikh characters on the screen, someone who actually sports a turban and beard.”

“The portrayal (of Sikh heroes) has proved that Sikh men (with turban and beard) look very good. Otherwise, Bollywood directors and heroes wouldn’t have taken this risk. Sikh youths are now less inclined to get their hair cut. The portrayal in films has helped them rediscover their identity,” pointed out Harmehtab Singh, a college student here. Saif’s first home-production “Love Aaj Kal”, which released on Friday, shows him as a turbaned and bearded Sikh. One of the biggest blockbusters of recent years “Singh is Kinng” had Akshay Kumar as a turbaned Sikh protagonist throughout the film. Some Sikh bodies though did object to the way his beard was cut in the film. — IAN

Amritsar, August 2
Arrest of Savinder Kaur, a resident here and an ISI agent, has again brought to light involvement of women in the racket of fake currency and narcotics.

Savinder was nabbed by Chandigarh police for possessing fake currency of Rs 4 Lakh in the denomination of Rs 1000 and Rs 500. She has been staying on the first floor of the house belonging to Kulwant Kaur for eight months.

Meanwhile, Kulwant Kaur is reportedly mother of an ASI, Surinder Singh who lived in Kashmir Avenue area here. Kulwant Kaur, said she used to remain out of the house for weeks.

Earlier, too the Special Narcotics Cell had arrested Manjit Kaur, resident of Guruwali with fake currency of more than Rs 1 akh in the end of 2006 besides Farzana, a Pakistani national was also caught by the police with fake currency of Rs 97,000 in same year. Farzana was going to New Delhi for meeting a relative when the police caught her. Two more women were nabbed for smuggling fake currency through Samjhauta Express earlier this year. Intelligence and security dsources said that anti-national forces were hiring women to escape police net.