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Ad hoc SGPC
201 rice variety fiasco |
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Chhapar Chiri memorial back on track
Kids fall prey to dental caries in border areas
Kalia: Finance Dept biased against Jalandhar MC
Govt schools see rise in teaching standards
Spread of Cancer
Badal asks youth to opt for traditional food
Termites damage paddy
Steps to ease paddy procurement
Badungar is backward classes panel chief
Govt has ‘failed’ to fulfil promises
Forging of Documents
9 of family booked for cheating
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Ad hoc SGPC
Amritsar, October 25 Meanwhile, the Chief Minister has asserted that his party was prepared for the forthcoming SGPC polls to be held in November. “All of us are prepared for the SGPC poll and for the general House elections to be held next year,” said Badal. On the prevailing fissures in the BJP and difference of opinion among party leaders, Badal said: “It is the internal matter of the party.” He also sought to parry queries on the recent clash between BJP MLA Anil Joshi and Amritsar SSP Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh by saying any decision in this regard would only be taken after a probe into the matter. The SAD(B) has not only been opposing the idea of a separate Gurdwara body for the neighbouring state, but has also been dubbing
it as a “conspiracy” by the Congress. Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (Ad hoc) chief Jagdish Singh Jhinda and his associates have also been making all out efforts to get the body established at the earliest. Opposing the separate Gurdwara body, Badal sought to give a sound drubbing to the Haryana Congress leadership and those supporting it for creation of the separate Gurdwara body. “One of the candidates in the Vidhan Sabha elections, who was supporting the idea, has cut a sorry figure with his poor performance. In fact, the Haryana government should learn a lesson from its poor performance and should refrain from raising the issue every now and then,” said Badal. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister called upon the people to adopt a secular outlook and participate in the religious congregations of spiritual leaders irrespective of caste or religion. He was participating in the Guru Puja Maha Utsav organised in memory of Jain Pradhan Acharya Sri Sohan Lal Ji here today. Assuring the Jain community of full support in their social activities, Badal said the land demanded by the Jain community for construction of a memorial of Pradhan Acharya Sri Sohan Lal Ji belonged to Improvement Trust, Amritsar, and any decision about handing it over to the community can be taken up only after passing a resolution by the members of the trust.
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201 rice variety fiasco
Ludhiana, October 25 Stating that the rice variety, PAU-201, had many positive points, the Chief Minister said its damage discolouration was creating problems for the state. Badal was in the city today to enquire about the health of SAD general secretary and former Minister Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal, who had undergone a surgery recently. The Chief Minister said the agricultural university was the highest authority in the state to show the way to the farmers. It had experimented on the variety and found that it required lesser water and took lesser time to mature but millers were crying hoarse over its damage discolouration that was beyond permissible limits. ‘‘We got the limits relaxed from the Food Corporation of India recently but still the millers and procurement agencies are not lifting it. It is a matter of grave concern. We are working towards finding a solution to the problem,’’ said Badal. The Chief Minister said they had many expectations from Union Agricultural Minister Sharad Pawar, who had promised that bonus on paddy would be announced within 10 days. The government is looking forward to the announcement that would come as a relief to the farmers. Firing a salvo at former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh over his allegations regarding the controversy surrounding the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Jalandhar, Badal said he was firing empty shots now as even the high court had proved all the allegations wrong.
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Chhapar Chiri memorial back on track
Chandigarh, October 25 In one of the two meetings held on the issue, the coordination committee for the memorial of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur at Chappar Chiri village submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister asking him to seek demarcation and subsequent acquiring of land. The panel also sought an immediate ban on all construction activity in the area till the plan was approved
and finalised. Committed to have the memorial in place by the tercentenary anniversary of the battle of Chappar Chiri in May next year, Badal summoned yet another meeting of the officials concerned of the Revenue Department and the GMADA where he gave categorical instructions to start work on the
project immediately. Banda Singh Bahadur, a Sikh from Jammu region and a trusted soldier of the 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh was a master in the art of “guerrilla warfare” and had fought the Battle of Sirhind against Moghul Faujdar of Sarhind Wazir Khan to avenge the killing of two
“sahibzaadas”. Baljit Kaur, convener of the committee, said the Chief Minister had asked the delegation to constitute an expert committee with the inclusion of sarpanch and
ex-sarpanch of the village to finalise the site plan and design. The coordination committee wants a “minar-e-fateh” and a museum at the site where programmes like the light and sound could be held to narrate the tale of the battle. The state government has extended full support to the
idea and asked the committee to suggest a design. GMADA will now identify the battlefield, including
Jhiri, which is more or less preserved in its old form and meant for guerrilla warfare and 30-35 feet high sand dunes in their original form. Necessary steps will also be taken for acquiring required land that is not under the government ownership. The delegation has also demanded an immediate ban on construction on the demarcated land and said if a road or any building was proposed to be built in the area, then it should be held back till the time a final plan for the memorial was prepared.
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Here, Bhindranwale rubs shoulders with martyrs
Patiala, October 25 The villagers consider Bhindranwale as a martyr who had laid his life while fighting for the Sikh community. “There is nothing wrong in the hoarding as Bhindranwale was also a great warrior, who sacrificed his life for the honour and prestige of Sri Harmandar Sahib and Sri Akal Takht Sahib,” said Gurbax Singh, resident of Ranbirpura village. It is also learnt that many such hoardings have come up in different parts of the state. While senior Congress leaders expressed ignorance over the matter, Shiv Sena (Hindustan) has expressed strong reservations for equating the martyrs of freedom struggle with Bhindranwale and has shot off a letter to the Prime Minister in this regard. Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) working president Mohinder Singh Kaypee refused to comment on the issue. However, Shiv Sena (Hindustan) has launched an offensive against the state government of trying to encourage the pro-Khalistani elements in the state by allowing such hoardings to come up. “Earlier, a portrait of Bhindranwale was installed in the museum at the Golden Temple. Buses and cars, carrying posters and stickers of Bhindranwale, are already plying in almost every district of the state. And now these hoardings equating Bhindranwale with heroes of freedom struggle have come up. This is nothing but an indication to the fact that efforts are on to revive terrorism in Punjab by misguiding the youth,” said president of Shiv Sena (Hindustan) Pawan Kumar Gupta.
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Kids fall prey to dental caries in border areas
Amritsar, October 25 Intriguingly, more than 60 per cent of children in the home district of Punjab Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla have got afflicted by dental caries. It is a different matter that the Punjab government, particularly the Punjab Health Department, has been observing a “dental fortnight” every year. This year the fortnight is being observed from November 3 to 17 across the state and free dentures and dental treatment will be provided to poor patients during this period. In Amritsar, more than a 100 poor patients will be getting free sets of dentures, said Dr Ashok Sharma, Deputy Director (Dental), Amritsar. “Free dental treatment will be provided to poor patients during the fortnight at the civil hospitals in Amritsar, Baba Bakala, Ajnala and Majitha,” said Dr Sharma. Sources in the dental wing of the Punjab Health Department said the shortage of dental surgeons and equipment in Amritsar and other border areas was proving to be the major culprit behind the emergence and proliferation of dental diseases. For example, as many as three posts of dental surgeon were reportedly lying vacant in Amritsar where there were just eight dental chairs against the minimum requisite 14 dental chairs. “In fact, proper dental care habits were amiss among children who consumed more sugar-based products like candies owing to lack of awareness about dental hygiene. In the case of elders, they don’t bother to get dentures affixed well within time or immediately after dental loss,” said Dr Ashok Sharma. The situation, sources pointed out, was so startling that while children were regularly falling prey to dental caries, adults usually started shedding their teeth from an early age, between 35-40 years in the border areas of Punjab. It was a different issue that due to increased medical care, the dental loss started from an average of 60 years across the globe, particularly in the developed countries. “We stand nowhere in contrast to the situation in the developed world. A huge chunk of population (90-95 per cent) of adults, particularly elders, suffer from pre-mature dental loss in the border areas of Punjab,” admitted Dr Sharma.
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‘Wonder’ machines to manage paddy residue
Rayya (Amritsar), October 25 Named as “Baler”, these machines have been imported from America. The pilot project of this move is being initiated in villages adjoining Amritsar. The demonstration of these machines was today carried out in Buttesevian village, near Amritsar. To avoid collecting and then dumping the paddy waste at a proper place, farmers generally burn it, thereby polluting the environment. The government has been pressing hard to discourage farmers against burning it, but no concrete results have been achieved so far. Though the cost of each machine is Rs 11 lakh, with the efforts of DC KS Pannu, a special subsidy package has been extended that has brought its cost at Rs 5 lakh per machine. The machines, with the help of its specially designed spokes, will automatically collect the paddy waste and put it into another unit to bind it with the help of a nylon strip. Thereafter, these bales will be transported to sugar mills to be reused for fuel purposes. The farmers will be paid Rs 75 per quintal for their paddy waste. According to the chief agriculture officer, Dr Paramjit Singh Sandhu, this wastage can be used for multipurpose. “According to an estimate, around 1.85 lakh hectare paddy is sown in the district that leaves behind around 3.7 lakh tones of wastage. Besides using it as fuel purpose, this paddy waste, if treated with urea under proper supervision, can be a healthy feed for milch animals,” he said. The DC said the move became possible with the cooperation of the Punjab State Kisan Commission. “The burning of paddy waste cause damage to the environment as well as the productive components of the earth. With the introduction of these machines, not only the burning of paddy residue would curtail, but it would also be further reused for multipurposes,” the DC said. “At present, the possession of one machine has been handed over to one Harjit Singh and another to Rana Sugar Mills, Buttesevian village, Rayya block, to coordinate with other mills”, the DC added.
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Kalia: Finance Dept biased against Jalandhar MC
Chandigarh, October 25 In a note to the department, Kalia has claimed that the advice given by the Finance Department on debt sustainability clearance certificate for the Rs 217-crore Global Environment Facility - Sustainable Urban Transport Programme Project (GEF-SUTP) to decongest roads in Jalandhar was “objectionable and not acceptable”. Nine cities from across the nation have been selected for the project that seeks to promote reduction of carbon dioxide emissions besides promoting non-motorised vehicles and pedestrian facilities by creating footpaths, cycle tracks, public utilities, bus shelters, pedestrian crossings and street lighting. The minister has taken objection to the advice given by the Finance Department, which was approached for a no objection certificate so that the World Bank could be approached to fund the project. He has objected to a clause that asks the MC to transfer 300 acres to either the government or Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority. According to Kalia, it seems that the Finance Department did not consider the Jalandhar MC as part of the government. The minister refused to comment on the issue. Finance Secretary Karan Avtar Singh said he was not authorised to speak on it. Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said the department had nothing against the Local Bodies Minister but it was still to see how the latter’s department or the MC would repay the loan. “We don’t want a situation whereby the corporation tells the state 3-4 years from now that it does not have any money to repay the loan,” he said.
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BEd teachers hold rally
Lambi (Muktsar), October 25 It seemed as if all roads led to Lambi since morning, as people were anxious to see whether the government would buckle under the pressure being built up by teachers and make an announcement regarding fulfilling of their demands before the rally actually began. However, when word went around that the government was not willing to take cognisanse of their claims, the protesters decided to hold a rally at Maan Singh Stadium. Addressing a gathering, speakers flayed the state government alleging “the Chief Minister, the Finance Minister and the Education Minister had betrayed the teachers”. State president of the front Sukhdarshan Singh said the government had promised to increase salaries of teaching fellows and education service providers by Diwali, which had not been done so far. Flaying the CM for adopting a “flawed” approach towards education in the state, he said, “Volunteers recruited by zila parishads under the Sarv Shiksha Abhyan scheme are getting more salaries than that of BEd teachers contracted by the government.” The main demand of the protesters is to increase salaries of teaching fellows, who teach till class V, and education service providers, who teach till class X, from Rs 4,500 and Rs 5,400 to Rs 11,470 and Rs 14,430, respectively. Later, the protesters marched towards the Lambi Police Station, where sensing the volatility of the situation, the police had stationed a riot control vehicle. At the police station, the SHO urged the front leaders to confabulate with the CM’s officer on special duty. However, the talks between the leaders and the OSD failed to make much headway, forcing the delegates to march towards Badal village. In Kheowali village, they met Muktsar Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal and SSP Gurpreet Singh Gill. Later, they were asked by a senior functionary in the Chief Minister’s Office to form a five-member panel and come Chandigarh, where he would set up a meeting with the CM. The delegates said if their demands were not met by the CM tomorrow, they would be forced to intensify their agitation.
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Govt schools see rise in teaching standards
Patiala, October 25 Government Senior Secondary School, Tripri, is undoubtedly one of them. Spread over a stretch of approximately five acres, Tripri School has one of the best infrastructures in the city. With total staff strength of 61, including 5 computer teachers, the school has a combined strength of 1,600 students in humanities, science, vocational and commerce streams. The school has 64 classrooms and 11 labs. Notably, in January this year, the educational development index (EDI) prepared by National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA), an organisation established by the Ministry of Human Resource Development had put Punjab ahead of Delhi in the list of the states in the country, when it comes to providing infrastructure and facilities to primary and upper primary schools. The school is not only improving academic results with each passing year but also is fully equipped with latest technology and computer labs to provide better computer education that is the need of the hour. Last year, the result of all board classes was positive as compared to the Punjab School Education Board’s result. School Principal Balbir Kaur said, “Not just academics, our students are equally good at sports. Many of our students have made a mark at the international level in basketball and cycling. We encourage student to take up sports because now days it’s important to focus on overall development of the child.” Another such school is the Government Multi-purpose School for Boys. This school has already established itself in the region for producing the best boxers in the nation. The school has furnished classrooms, well-equipped labs and sports grounds to enable students to excel in every walk of life. With a total strength of around 1,200, the school is one of the top choices of the parents these days. School principal Nachhatar Singh maintained that the school players are not only good at boxing but also they have international-level cricketers and footballers. Also, it is to be noticed that two of the ex-students of the school have won Dronacharya Awards as well.
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Spread of Cancer
Bathinda, October 25 Harsimrat Kaur Badal, ruling Akali Dal MP, had recently written letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, seeking remedial measures to check the spread of the dreaded disease that has claimed as many as 321 lives in Bathinda during the past three years and 733 fresh patients have been registered by the district administration. The central team will visit among other places, Rama Mandi, Chowke, Sangat Mandi, Pakka Kalan, Kot-Shamir, Balluana , Nathana, Bhucho Mandi and Goniana. Breast cancer among women is prevalent in these areas. Harsimrat Kaur has also sought central grants for setting up a super-specialty cancer hospital here. She has urged the Prime Minister to provide financial assistance for supplying safe and clean drinking water to 292 villages comprising 313 panchayats of the district. She has pointed out in her letter that the main reason for the spread of cancer was contaminated drinking water that the villagers were consuming. Financially weak cancer patients, mostly belonging to the Scheduled Caste community, have to travel all the way to Bikaner, Chandigarh and Delhi for treatment because hospital for this purpose was not available here. Most of such patients wait a silent death as they not in a position to undergo costly treatment.
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Badal asks youth to opt for traditional food
Chandigarh, October 25 Addressing a gathering after inaugurating “Bebe di Rasoi”, a traditional food festival jointly organised by Chandigarh Press Club in collaboration with Kheti Virasat Mission (KVM) and Millets Network of India (MINI), the CM said: “The ‘Bebe di Rasoi’ would give an opportunity to the younger generation to have a feel of the rich taste of our traditional food that has now been forgotten.” Appreciating the initiative of the Press Club and KVM, Badal said such food festivals should be organised from time to time to apprise the younger generation, especially with urban background, about the nutritional value of traditional food. He hoped that such food festivals would also help the youth to desist from having junk food, like pizza, burger and noodles, which was not good for health. The CM also asked the management of the Press Club to open a restaurant dedicated to traditional food here. He asked the media to play a pro-active role in popularising the culture of traditional food, besides bringing awareness among the masses about the importance of organic farming. Badal also visited different stalls that had on display bread made of ‘bajra’ and ‘jwaar’; ‘bajra raabri’, and several millet dishes from Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. Earlier president of the Press Club Sarbjit Pandher welcomed the CM, and its secretary-general Naveen S. Garewal gave a brief account about the food festival. Executive director of KVM Umendra Dutt dwelt on the concept of traditional food and its significance in the society.
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Termites damage paddy
Fategharh Sahib, October 25 He alleged that the contractor, who was suppose to lift paddy, was dilly dallying over the issue. Despite visits by senior officials, nothing has been done in this regard, said the arhtiyas. They said termite had even damaged the paddy that was lying on the cemented floor of the grain market. “We are forced to change the sacks every few days to get rid of them,” said another arhtiya Rakesh Kumar. They also alleged that instead of looking into their grievances, the authorities have started blaming them for the termite problem. The arhtiyas also stated that so far 70-80 sacks have been changed and termite has also been detected in various other sacks. They rued that they were facing the problem for past about 20 days and even the wooden or iron crates on which the paddy sacks were kept have been damaged by termites. Demanding immediate solution of the problem, the traders said the government should lift paddy from the grain markets without wasting time or large quantities of the crop lying in the markets would be damaged. DC Yashvir Mahajan said the problem had not been brought into his notice by anyone so far. However, best possible solution will be done to solve this problem, he assured.
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Steps to ease paddy procurement
Patiala, October 25 “It has also been ensured that there will be no power cuts in grain markets or procurement centres. This has been done to make sure that there is no hindrance on the power front in smooth purchase of paddy, both in the rural and urban areas,” he said. Brar also said six hours daily daytime power supply to potato, vegetable and fruit growers, nine hours alternate day supply to Basmati and eight hours alternate day supply to farmers would be maintained.
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Badungar is backward classes panel chief
Chandigarh, October 25 In fact, the decision to constitute the state backward classes panel was taken long time ago, but formal orders were held up for technical reasons. Other members of the commission will be nominated shortly. By another order, the government appointed vice-president of the SAD Onkar Singh Thapar as chairman of the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation. Onkar Singh Thapar has been representing New Delhi in the SAD.
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Govt has ‘failed’ to fulfil promises
Jalandhar, October 25 One promise was related to setting up a chair in memory of Bhagwan Parsu Ram and other was declaring Jatti village, near Phagwara, as a heritage village because of its historical importance. Bihari Lal Saddi, general secretary of the Sabha said, even after passing of more than two years, any of the promises had not been
fulfilled. “We have been moving about from one office to other in Chandigarh pursuing files but nothing materialised so far”, said Saddi. He said if the Chief Minister was unable to fulfil his promises, he should not have made announcements in this regard.
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Forging of Documents
Ludhiana, October 25 The accused Vikas Mehta was arrested by a team of the city police from his house in Sushant Lok Apartments in Gurgaon last night. He was produced before the Duty Magistrate and sent to three-day police remand. According to the police, the accused had the access to
check the scores of candidates appearing for the IELTS examination. The police said Vishal used to send e-mails
to the candidates, who scored less in examination, much before the declaration of IELTS result. It is learnt that he used to extract a huge amount of money to increase the score. The police said Rajbir, the kingpin, was just a pawn in the hands of Vishal. Vishal also came into news in July, when five students, including three girls, who had appeared for the IELTS, were arrested for impersonation and forging documents. Vikas was also booked for a similar offence in Gurgaon. The police said Vikas had distanced himself from the company after an Australian official had complained against him.
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9 of family booked for cheating
Tarn Taran, October 25 According to information, a case under Section 420 of the IPC, and the 24 Immigration Act, 1983, has been registered against the alleged accused. Raghbir Singh, a former Sarpanch of Pandori Ran Singh village, 14 km from here, in a written complaint to the district police said the accused duped more than Rs 25 lakh from Ranjit Singh, Dharminder Singh, Jaspal Singh and others for sending them to Toronto, America assuring job for a monthly salary of Rs 1 lakh. After more than a year, the accused have neither succeeded to send them abroad nor have returned them the money. SSP Sukhdev Sing Brar said the accused were identified as Bodharj, his wife Kaushalya, their four sons and three daughters-in-law.
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