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Dera followers hurt in clash with Sikhs
‘Grading system envisages flowering of student’s personality’
Bid to install tubewells illegally thwarted
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Industrialists seek changes in labour
laws
AISSF to launch campaign for separate Sikh identity
CCTV scheme for city waiting to take off
Probe in wheat theft sought
Train delayed
Jakhar flays ex-MLA, police
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Dera followers hurt in clash with Sikhs
Bathinda, October 4 According to Ajay Maluja, SP (D), Bathinda, an FIR has been registered against Baba Hardeep Singh Khalsa, chairman of Khalsa Action Committee, Malwa zone, Charan Singh, chairman of gurdwara Guru Sar in Mehraj, Ranjit Singh and others under sections 307, 153 (A), 148, 149, 427 and 324 of the IPC at the Phul police station. Dera followers stated that they had taken prior permission from the SDM of Rampura Phul, Uma Shankar Gupta, for holding the ‘naam charcha’. Members of some Sikh organisations got information about it and they, along with other members, including women, reached the spot where the Dera followers were making arrangements for the ‘naam charcha’, which was to take place from 10 am to 12 noon today. The Sikh hardliners then uprooted tents and smashed two vehicles, Tata Indigo bearing number DL 3C U 5235 and a Mahindra vehicle PB 13 J 2775. Following a clash, two Dera followers, Satpal from village Burjgill and Shyamlal from Rampura Phul, were seriously injured along with a few others, who sustained minor injuries. The injured were admitted to the Civil Hospital, Rampura Phul. Meanwhile, Hardeep blamed the administration for today’s incident saying that Mehraj was a sensitive village and the administration should have resisted from permitting the Dera followers to carry out the ‘naam charcha’. On the other hand, the Dera followers accused the Sikh organisations of creating a ruckus. They also accused the police of remaining a mute spectator. The Dera followers said they would file a case against Sikh organisations in the Punjab and Haryana High Court with regard to today’s incident. While the SDM, Rampura Phul, could not be contacted despite repeated attempts, SP (D) Maluja said the permission given to the Dera followers was cancelled last night. |
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‘Grading system envisages flowering of student’s personality’
But when several students figure in a particular grade — for example Grade A— how will an institution select a few for admission? Dr Chona explained, “The institute would take many abilities of a student into consideration for the purpose like his sporting skills, cognitive skills, communication skills and others,” she said, adding that nowadays, students work on all these aspects and participating in all these activities is itself an enjoying act. “In the process, at the end of the day, who is going to be benefited – it is the the students themselves!,” she said. “He or she would be enlightened, more informed, armed with several abilities, capable of doing multiple tasks, and ready to face challenges that life offers,” the educationist elaborated. “While the emphasis upon the number or scoring pattern, as considered, encouraged a culture of degree producing system besides putting a lot of stress on students, the grading system envisages flowering of students and the development of their overall personality,” she said. “So, the reform in education is on the right track, aiming at developing an education system for skill enhancement not just what is sometimes termed as a “babu producing system,” she said. About her expectations from a student, Dr Chona said a student should be a great learner to become a great individual, worthy for society. The educationist, however, said that in the education system, the role of a teacher is more significant. “If a child has not done well, it means the teacher has not taught,” she emphasised, saying. “Only a bad teacher finds a bad student.” Therefore the teacher has a great responsibility towards students, society and the nation, she said. But she said society has to give the due to its teachers. “Teachers deserve respect and society has to give the same to the nation-builders.” The country has to work for the development of the ability of teachers like opening of teacher training institutes, she said. Dr Chona said private schools had made efforts to give prestige, power and positions to teachers. She said the mind-set needs immense makeover as the job is vital and more and more quality people were required to take up teaching profession. Advocating for public and private participation in the education sector, she said concerted effort was necessary for the development of education in India. “We have to educate 60 per cent of the population and the government alone is not expected and is also not capable of doing so in the backdrop of budgetary and other bottlenecks,” she said. Moreover, the enhanced role of the private sector in education would also prompt the government to make an endeavour to meet the challenges posed by private institutions, she added. |
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Bid to install tubewells illegally thwarted
Fazilka, October 4 Some farmers said to be wielding political clout had started digging an illegal bore well near the Gang canal. The modus operandi of these farmers was to install a tubewell near the canal in the prohibited area and carry water for irrigation through pipes from the tubewells to their respective fields. It is pertinent to mention here that according to the law, nobody can install a tubewell or raise any construction along the 140 feet wide stretch along the Gang canal. The canal is considered to be lifeline for the farmers of Rajasthan. Some farmers, Karanjit Singh Grewal, Harchand Singh, Chhinder Singh, Binderjit Singh, Harnam Singh, Baljinder Singh, Jeet Siungh, Jinder Singh and others, whose land is situated near the Gang canal, complained to the officials of the canal department that some farmers had installed tubewells near the Gang canal. Following the complaint, the Executive Engineer (Canals) Jaswant Singh conducted a raid today and saw that the digging of tubewell was in progress there. He immediately ordered that the construction work there be stopped. While speaking to the media, Jaswant Singh said that according to the law, nobody is allowed to encroach upon and install a tubewell on the prohibited stretch. He said he would recommend to the SSP Ferozepur that police action be initiated against the farmers who have already installed or intend to install a tubwell in the area. The Executive Engineer disclosed that the land along the canal belongs to Maharaja Ganga Singh who had got the Gang canal dug about a century back. It is stated that the officials of the canal department in Rajasthan have repeatedly objected to the unabated theft of canal water but nothing tangible has been done so far. As a result, resentment prevails among the farmers. Raj Sadosh adds from Abohar:
Notably, the Eastern Canal Division of the Punjab irrigation department has the responsibility of maintaining Rajasthan canals that originate from the Harike headworks. Captain Subhash Sehgal (retd), spokesman for the Rajasthan Kisan Sangharsh Samiti who was present during the inspection, said the Prime Minister office had vide letter number PMP 2/81751 dated August 27, 2009 forwarded the petition, from one Purshotam Betab of Kotkapura, to the Punjab Chief Secretary for inquiry against encroachments on the Rajasthan canals in Punjab area. But no action was initiated. Capt. Sehgal had gathered under the RTI Act that 500 cusecs of water was lost in between the Harike headworks and entry point of Rajasthan canals in Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh districts. Now, some farmers of the Abohar-Fazilka belt had informed SE Amarjit Singh Mehrad and XEN Gurpreet Singh Sidhu of the irrigation department at Sriganganagar (Rajasthan) that some politically influential farmers were conspiring to install tubewells on the banks of the Gang canal. Such structures are not only illegal but also weaken the banks. The complainants feared that they might be penalised for the unlawful acts of the culprits since their fields were located close to the canal. The complainants had already foiled three such attempts. They rued that tubewells were just a lame excuse, the big landlords will be indulging in theft of water through 7 km long cement-pipe-line from the Gang canal on and off. The suspects had axed some green trees also to lay the pipeline, it is alleged. Sehgal said the Samiti had in the past brought it to the notice of Punjab and Rajasthan governments that scores of farmers in Punjab area had damaged the valves that were installed in the floor bed of the Gang canal. This benefited the neighbouring fields at the cost of farmers of
Rajasthan. |
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Industrialists seek changes in labour
laws
Bathinda, October 4 The industrialists, in a letter to the Chief Minister, claimed
that labour laws were almost archaic in nature and these needed to be changed for the very survival of industry in the state. They said majority of the Acts comprising the Labour law had actually long outlived their utility. They were of the view that the labour laws were largely meant for large companies establishing themselves away from cities. The Factory Act and the Shop and Commercial Establishment Act have also come under fire from the industrialists. It was claimed these acts had no meaning in the government-developed industrial areas, estates and focal points of the state. On corruption, they claimed that corruption was reaching unmanageable heights in the excise and income tax departments. Voicing concerns against the working of the PSEB, the industrialists claimed that even if electricity meters installed on the premises of SSI were working properly, the flying squad staff of the board were in the habit of wrongly calculating the load. Terming their SSIs as the government’s “milching cows rather the growth engines of the state,” the industrialists called for drastic steps to revive the units. Sarv Daman Bharat, general secretary of the state unit, emphasised on upgrading infrastructure in industrial areas. He added the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) had “miserably failed on all fronts” as it was more interested in extorting money from people than industries welfare. “He claimed that other government departments like the Punjab Financial Corporation (PFC) and the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation (PSIDC) had almost become defunct. Bharat demanded that no minimum user charged should be imposed by the PSEB where it was unavailable to provide power round-the-clock to the SSIs. Speaking on the importance of creating a brand image for state-based industries, Bharat touted the setting up of the Punjab Trade Fair Authority (PTFA) on the lines of the India International Trade Fair Authority (IITFA). He said the PTFA should be entrusted with the responsibility of holding trade fairs at district level where exhibitions promoting SSI units are held regularly. Bharat also advocated the need to scarp Value Added Tax (VAT) on industries like steel mills and paper mills as it was not possible to get bills for scrap they use from the market. |
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AISSF to launch campaign for separate Sikh identity
Moga, October 4 Karnail Singh Peer Mohammad, president of the AISSF, said the Indian constitution in its preamble declares the Indian state to be a 'secular republic' the purpose of which is to guarantee its citizens liberty of faith. Article 25 of the Constitution further guarantees the freedom of religion as one of the fundamental rights. However, it was incongruous with regard to the definition of the 'Hindu' religion in the same Article, which states it would also include persons professing Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhist ideologies. "Based on this, the Indian government has included the Sikhs, who are by any definition a separate and distinct religion, into the definition of Hindus and have applied Hindu Personal Laws on the Sikh community ever since the constitution came into force," said the AISSF leader. Peer Mohammad argued that if the constitution defines Sikhs as part of Hindus, as proclaimed in the Indian legal system, then the constitution defies its very preamble which declares itself as 'secular'. No secular constitution gives itself a right to define what a separate religion is or not, rather it is the right of a community, a group of people professing certain faith, to declare them as religion. "We will create a panel of senior lawyers working in the constitutional field and meet party presidents of all the political parties individually, besides Members of Parliament to seek their support to get recognition as a separate religion," he said. He reiterated that the justice campaign launched to seek justice for the victims and families of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots would continue and had asked his delegates to work on gathering information from the victims in their respective states. The legal team of the AISSF providing assistance to the victims would also file public interest litigations in all the state high courts where the Sikhs were massacred, he added. |
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CCTV scheme for city waiting to take off
Bathinda, October 4 Traffic marshals, who man the 15 posts 24X7 by working on a shift basis, said they do not even have phones with them, thereby forcing them to depend on mobile phones in case any information was to be sent to the control
room. SSP, Bathinda, Ashish Chowdhary, said wireless sets had been provided at the posts, but as far as fans and electricity connection were concerned, it was the job of the
BDA. Chief administrator of the BDA Ravi Bhagat said that the BDA’s job was to release funds and funds were released almost two months back. “It was a tripartite agreement and our job was to release funds which have been released to the police department,” he said. On the status of the
CCTVs, Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tewari said the project had been implemented and out of 15 identified places, four would get CCTVs soon. “Initially, 16 places were identified but one of them was dropped as it came under the Bathinda Military Station area. Paucity of funds permitted us to shortlist only six out of 15 points to be equipped with
CCTVs. Soon, four of them would have CCTVs that would be connected to the control room. The CCTVs have been procured and we are awaiting an approval for electricity connection for the cameras. In a few days, the electricity board would deposit the fee for a connection and we would kickstart the process of installing the cameras,” the DC said.
Bhagat said a problem concerning who will bear the electricity bill was hampering the installation of
CCTVs. “The files are ready and are lying with the PSEB. The matter would be sorted out soon. As far as fans are concerned, it would be fixed up at the check posts by tomorrow,” he added. |
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Gau Gram Yatra accorded warm reception
Abohar, October 4 Speaking on the occasion after lighting the lamp, he said, "While village people are migrating to cities to find better opportunities, the Yatra is an initiative to bring about a change in the mindset of farmers and people living in the villages. Cow will be a symbol that these farmers will relate to. As Mahatma Gandhi had used charkha (spinning wheel) as a symbol to uplift rural India, we will be presenting the cow as a symbol for economic, social and cultural uplift of five lakh Indian villages. We believe that villages will progress with the help of the cow and then, cities will flourish and through the cities, our country will develop and through our country, the whole world will progress." While describing the Yatra as the real struggle for freedom, Brahmakumari Darshana Behan said the freedom that the country achieved about 62 years ago was just political in nature. Now after 62 years, the saints have decided to recreate a similar swatantrata sangram (freedom struggle) all over the country. "We need to return to the villages and nature to lead a healthy life. The whole world is today worried about global warming and there is a move all over the world to save the soil, forest, water and the nature. The people of the world have realised that if they have to stay fit, then they will have to live according to the rules of the nature," said Swami Atma
Nand. |
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Probe in wheat theft sought
Fazilka, October 4 While talking to media persons at the residence of Block Congress Committee president Raj Baksh Kamboj, Josan disclosed that a few days back, wheat belonging to a government procurement agency was allegedly stolen by some influential persons known for their proximity to the ruling party leaders. These influential persons were booked in the theft case. However, no further action is being initiated against them. He has alleged that wheat worth crores belonging to government procurement agencies is being misappropriated with impunity. Two cases of theft have already been exposed in the last few days in Jalalabad, said Josan. He has demanded a high-level probe into the ongoing wheat theft which
has acquired the dimensions of a big scam. Josan further alleged that after the by Jalalabad by-election, hundreds of Congress activist have been implicated in false police cases. He has alleged that the government has failed miserably on all fronts, particularly power. The two major welfare departments of health and education are in a mess. Subsidised essential commodities are being sold in the open market at a premium to earn profit, alleged the former minister. He warned the government that if the atrocities on Congress workers were not stopped the Congress shall launch a massive agitation. |
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‘Gen Next’ schooling comes to Bathinda
Bathinda, October 4 The school is an initiative of the Educomp Solutions Ltd. The school would be part of countrywide chain of schools leveraging Millennium Learning System (MLS), an integrated learning delivery system for schools developed by Educomp. Winner of Padmashri and Padma Bhushan, Dr Shayama Chona, participated in the bhumi pujan ceremony of the school. Speaking on the occasion, Sharad Agarwal, presidents-schools, Educomp said the focus of education in the school would be to nurture both scholastic and non-scholastic skills in kids with emphasis on development of communication and leadership skills by harnessing individual talent, which would help each child reach his or her highest potential. Centrally located on the Mansa Road, the school would provide convenient accessibility to the entire Bathinda and surrounding areas. |
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Train delayed
Bathinda, October 4 The train got delayed following a power failure near Bareta station, railway sources said. The train started its further journey after the Delhi division provided power, sources said. The schedule time of the train reaching Bathinda is 6.15 pm. Passengers had to face inconvenience due to the technical snag in the engine of the superfast train.
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Abohar medico gets award for service
Dr Sandeep Watts, in-charge of Swami Keshwa Nand Ayurvedic Hospital here, has been honoured with the Bharatiya Chikitsak Ratna Award by the Mumbai-based National Education and Human Resources Organisation. The award was recently presented to him by globally known motivational writer Arfeen Khan of the UK during the 10th national seminar on economic growth through individual contribution that was held recently in the Ravindra Natya Mandir auditorium located near the famous Siddhi Vinayak Temple at Mumbai. President of the organisation GS Rahana informed that Dr Watts was selected for the award in recognition of excellence in the Indian medicine system. Other personalities who were honoured for notable achievements in their respective fields included film star and TV anchor Divya Dutta, pop singer Rageshwari, Marathi singer Jayaprada, Milind Ingle, US- based research scholar Dr Genium Kampana. In all, 115 distinguished persons were invited from different countries for the award ceremony. Notably, Dr Watts, a BAMS, had been an active member of the Lions Club Abohar Greater and served society as its president also. He had provided services during scores of free medical camps and other projects that were undertaken by the club during the past decade. — Raj Sadosh
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Jakhar flays ex-MLA, police
Abohar, October 4 The police have booked 10 persons including the chief editor of a local newspaper under sections 452, 506, 148 and 149 of the IPC on the complaint of an employee of Dr Goyal's clinic in connection with the demonstration that was held last week. Dr Goyal's son is the president of the local municipal council.
— OC |
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Use of ACs banned
Abohar, October 4 PSEB officials led by additional SDO (I) Jagdev Sokhal personally moved in the market here despite a weekly holiday to inform the commercial users about the fresh instructions and asked them to desist from using the air-conditioners. This they said will help in easing the crisis. |
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Golden jubilee celebrations
Moga, October 4 |
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Malwa diary
Bathinda, October 4