Chandigarh, November 15
As a mark of respect and solidarity to the 1.2 million-strong Punjabi community, the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, finally agreed to make changes in his itinerary and included Amritsar by dropping his proposed visit to Hyderabad as a part of his first-ever visit to India.

The Tribune had broken the story about his impending visit to India by mentioning that Canadian Prime Ministers’ Office was under pressure from the pro-Punjab Indian lobby to include Amritsar in his programme.

Subsequent to publication of this story, some ethnic radio stations, including Radio India, held a talk show where the Indian-Canadian community was vociferous in urging the Prime Minister to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar on his maiden visit to India.

Harper headed for India after attending APEC 2009 in Singapore today. This would be his first visit to the world’s largest democracy not only as the Prime Minister but as an individual, sources in the PMO confirmed.

Harper, who is accompanied by a dozen Canadian journalists and staff besides the Indo-Canadian Tory MP from Alberta, Deepak Oberoi, will be later joined by other Indo-Canadian MPs in Mumbai, his first stopover in India.

Neena Grewal and her husband and three-time MP Gurmant Grewal besides Tim Uppal are expected to receive him in India. Gurmant Grewal, who did not contest the last elections to House of Commons, is the only non-sitting MP, accompanying the Canadian Prime Minister.

From Mumbai, the Canadian delegation proceeds to Delhi and later Amritsar. In New Delhi, the Canadian PM is expected to call on Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and other senior officials to discuss issues of bilateral cooperation.

During the 26-hour journey to Singapore, including halts at the Alaska and Japan airports, Harper did not have any contact with the mediapersons accompanying him. Insiders point out that the Canadian Prime Minister is perhaps working on his book on ice hockey during air travel. However, he addressed the mediapersons on separate occasions during his stay in Singapore with journalists being allowed to ask a limited number of questions.

Among the representatives of ethnic media on board are Ajit Jain, editor of India Abroad, Gurpreet Singh from Radio India and T. Raghavan Paranchothy from Tamil Vision TV and Canadian Multicultural Radio. 

Ferozepur, November 15
A two-member bench of the District Consumers’ Forum here comprising its president Sanjay Garg and member Tarlok Singh has ordered the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB), Mohali, to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 along with Rs 5,000 as litigation expenses to a school student, Varun Kumar, for failing to declare his matriculation examination result.

Varun had approached the forum with the grievance that he had applied for appearing in the matriculation examination for the year 2007-08 and also paid the necessary fees to the board but when he did not receive his roll number, he approached its local office where the authorised person advised him to sit in the examination by showing to the examination staff his receipt of payment of fees and as such the said student was allowed to sit in the examination and for the sake of identity, he was directed to mention his name, his father’s name and certain other details on the answer sheet.

However, when the result of the matriculation examination was declared, he found in the official gazette that although a roll number was mentioned against his name, his result was not declared and was kept in the list as ‘awaiting result’. Time and again he approached the authorities concerned but his result was not declared by the board.

Ultimately, he filed a complaint before the consumers’ forum here. Despite availing several opportunities, the board authorities failed to present any defence against the assertion of the complainant.

Finally, Garg and Tarlok Singh of the forum, finding the board authority grossly deficient in service, held that due to the “negligent attitude” of the board officials, two valuable years of a young student had been wasted, which had marred the carrier prospects of the student.

Garg further directed the PSEB to declare the result of the student within 15 days and pay a sum of Rs 50,000 to the complainant on account of compensation for the education loss, carrier loss, mental agony, pain and harassment suffered by him, besides a sum of Rs 5,000 as litigation expenses. 

Kharar, November 15
Can one patwari impersonate another? Villagers from Gharuan claimed an employee posted elsewhere has been regularly working as the patwari in their village and signing documents for the “official” patwari. Would such documents be deemed valid, they were anxious to know.

The SDM and others set the doubts at rest. The documents would still be valid, they said, because land records, sale deeds etc. are signed by several officials and forging one signature, they claimed, would make no difference. But, they hastened to add, they had no knowledge of such a case. Because nobody had complained.

A visit to Gharuan, however, turned out to be revealing. The official patwari had been posted there two months ago. But apparently too lazy to do the paper work, he had contracted an assistant revenue clerk with the canal department at village Karhali in Patiala to do the work for him and share the ‘unofficial fees’ they collected for processing documents. With the daily average picking estimate at Rs. 8,000 at Gharuan, even a 50-50 split is evidently lucrative for both.

When the Tribune team turned up at the patwarkhana of the village, functioning from a section of the old veterinary hospital, the impersonator was found dealing with villagers and signing documents.

He was occupying the patwari’s chair. After watching him in action for some time, the team asked if he was the patwari and if his name was Nirbhai Singh. The impersonator quickly left the seat and walked away, asking the team to wait. Within a few minutes, the official patwari took his place.

A section of the villagers claimed that the impersonator, a resident of Kharar, was earlier posted in the Sirhind area of Fatehgarh Sahib, where a departmental proceeding was initiated against him for some misconduct. Thereafter, he was transferred to Karhali village. But if he is actually working at Gharuan, they wondered, how is his attendance being marked at Karhali?

Nirbhai Singh denied the villagers’ claim though. The employee from Karhali, he said, had relatives in Gharuan and since they knew each other, he had come over to spend some time. He, however, had no answer to why in that case would the visitor occupy his chair, deal with villagers and sign for him.

The SDM, Kharar, RK Gupta, said, “It’s dereliction of duty on the part of both employees; it is a serious charge and we will inquire into it.”

Tarn Taran, November15
The state is going to start practice of registration of livestock to ensure that growth of the sector could be monitored in a planned way. It would also help the state government to come out with schemes to help livestock farmers.

Besides this, five new veterinary colleges would also be set up in the state to provide quality veterinary services to give fillip to the rapidly growing dairy sector.

This was stated by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal here today at a gathering of dairy farmers from across the state. They had come to participate in the three-day zonal livestock show and milking competition for the farmers of Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Tarn and Kapurthala districts.

Sukhbir said the state government would constitute a livestock registration authority with the mandate of registering productive livestock in the state. The authority would issue a certificate to the owner stating the age, breed, estimated value, vaccination details of the concerned animal and it would be acceptable by the loaning authorities while conducting the valuation of animals, he added.

The Deputy Chief Minister revealed that following conclusion of the Tarn Taran zonal livestock show, another show would be held at Fatehgarh Sahib from November 26-28 for the farmers of Patiala, Roopnagar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Mohali districts.

Similarly, a third show would be held at Bathinda from December 6-8 for Bathinda, Muktsar, Mansa, Barnala and Sangrur districts and a fourth one at Moga from December 17-19 for of Hoshiarpur, Ferozepur, Faridkot, Ludhiana, Moga and Jalandhar districts.

Sukhbir announced a North zone livestock show at Muktsar during Maghi Mela from January 8-12 in which livestock from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan would vie for the Rs 2.5-crore collective prize money.

Bathinda, November 15
Close on the heels of reports of presence of uranium in drinking water in the Malwa belt, alarm bells have once again been sounded by an NGO that has pointed out that there is a high level of nitrate in the groundwater in the belt.

The NGO pointed out that the consumption of polluted water makes one prone to ailments like cancer, blue-baby syndrome and Parkinson’s disease.

Bangalore-based volunteer organisation, the Greenpeace, has conducted the study in three districts of Bathinda, Muktsar and Ludhiana. Doda in the Gidderbaha block of Muktsar district was the worst affected, where the level of nitrate in a groundwater sample was 601.6 milligram per litre against the prescribed level of 50 mg for safe drinking water.

Another sample from Muktsar had 110.7 mg nitrate. The water samples of Bathinda, Jagraon, Ludhiana and Gidderbaha showed alarmingly high presence of nitrate. While presence of nitrate was also found in the water samples of Phul, Payal, Raikot and Malout areas.

Preethi Herman, communications officer of the NGO, who was a member of the team that conducted the study, said farmers have contaminated the groundwater and wells in the three districts due to excessive use of chemical fertilisers.

She said studies have confirmed that drinking water or eating food contaminated with nitrate has the potential to develop cancer of digestive tract, bladder and other vital organs.

She said result of 20 per cent of water showed higher level of nitrate against the safety limit for drinking water.

The preliminary report prepared by the organisation says that all the three districts have groundwater wells that are highly polluted with nitrate and 44 per cent of the villages taken as sample have wells with pollution level higher than the safety limit for drinking water.

The report says that against the recommended application rate of about 100 kg nitrogen per hectare, farmers in these villages were found using 322 kg nitrogen per hectare in the hope of high yield of crops during the 2008-09 agriculture season. The region might be suffering from widespread nitrate pollution on its depleting groundwater.

Excess application of nitrogen fertilisers not only affects future food production by degrading soil fertility but also affects the health of the farmers and their families by polluting the drinking water.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, November 15
With the intent to involve the rank and file in all departments in its fight against drug addiction, the Punjab government is considering to adopt “award and punishment” strategy for eradicating the drug menace from the state.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said he had directed all SSPs and DCs, besides those in charge of the law-enforcing agencies to exploit all resources at their disposal to curb the menace of drug addiction. The malady had negated positive effects of the development projects undertaken by the government.

Badal was talking to The Tribune after paying tributes to Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha at his native village, near here, today.

Appreciating the movement launched against drug abuse by the Ludhiana (Rural) police chief Harinder Singh Chahal, Badal said, “We are thinking of adopting an “award and punishment” strategy so that more officers come forward to persuade office-bearers of social and religious organisations in spreading awareness among the masses about the hazardous effects of the menace.

Expressing ignorance about media reports regarding the alleged frustration among some BJP legislators, the Chief Minister said a joint meeting of the SAD and BJP would be held soon to sort out any issue that may be pending.

“Though they (the BJP legislators) have not talked to me on any issue that disappointed them, I will try to satisfy them at a joint meeting of both allies,” said Badal, adding that he respected all legislators equally.

Evading queries on Finance Minister Manpreet Badal’s statements about withdrawal of subsidies due to swollen state loans to the tune of Rs 6,300 crore, the Chief Minister said nothing could be said before the submission of the report by a two-member committee, constituted for the purpose.

Badal announced a grant of Rs 20 lakh for the development of Sarabha village.

Amritsar, November 15
It was for the first time in the history of the US and that of the White House that the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev was celebrated in the White House in Washington DC. A large number of Sikhs, wearing traditional Punjabi dresses and colourful turbans, participated in the celebrations.

“Welcome to the White House”, was the greeting with which Christina M. Tchen, one of the top representatives of President Barack Obama and head of the White House Public Engagement office, greeted Sikh men and women, who were invited there to take part in the celebrations on Friday afternoon.

What left Sikhs elated were the remarks of Christina, who reiterated: “This is your White House and this first event is just the beginning and it will be part of many gatherings of your community here. We want you stay in contact with us.”

Senior officials greeted over 125 Sikhs at the entrance to the White House complex. The program, which began at 3:15 pm on Friday, started with a prayer by Sarabjit Singh, granthi of New York Gurdwara in Glen Cove in Long Island. Ragi Nirmal Singh Nagpuri and Sukhjeevan Singh of the Golden Temple performed traditional gurbani. They were accompanied by tabla player Sucha Singh of Jalandhar. Besides, Guru Sangat Singh and Gursangat Kaur, two American Sikhs, rendered a song pertaining to Guru Nanak Dev in English.

Paul Monteiro, a religious representative of President Obama, said, “It is a privilege to host this event and it is a special day for the White House.”

Dr Rajwant Singh, Chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE), who organised this first Sikh event in collaboration with the White House, said, “It is a great day for the Sikhs in the US and for the entire community worldwide. This event is a tribute to all pioneers of the Sikh community who worked hard to lay the foundation of our community in the US. It is a great accomplishment for the Sikh community.”

“We are thankful to the President and his administration for opening their hearts and the doors of the White House for the Sikhs. We have been in the US for over 100 years and this definitely sends a strong signal that this White House recognises the Sikh presence there.”

Among officials who spoke on the occasion were Chris Lu, Cabinet Secretary for President Obama, Kalpen Modi, a Hollywood actor and now Associate Director of the Public Engagement office, Obama’s top science adviser John P. Holdren, Michael Strautmanis, Chief of Staff to the Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Engagement, Adolfo Carrion, Director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs, and officials from the Justice Department working on the discrimination cases related to the Sikhs in the US.

Abohar, November 15
SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said so far there had been no progress in the proposed formation of Rajasthan Sikh Prachar Mission.

Interestingly, senior representatives of some Sikh organisations from Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh districts had met the SGPC chief at Ludhiana early this year to apprise him of the resurging activities of the Dera Sacha Sauda after the formation of the Congress-led government in Rajasthan.

The deputation had agreed to defer the demand for separate Rajasthan Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee upon assurance reportedly given by Makkar to form Rajasthan Sikh Prachar Mission. It was agreed upon that the mission would have its headquarter at Sriganganagar and sub-office at Gurdwara Buddha Johad, the birth place of late Sant Fateh Singh who sacrificed his life for the creation of Punjabi Suba.

Ragis, Dhadis and Kavishars were to be provided at the mission office to spearhead the campaign for bringing more Sikhs to the Panthic folds. The leaders from Rajasthan had also claimed that the proposals would be vetted during the next SGPC meeting. But nothing had been done so far.

During an interaction with mediapersons on the sidelines of a social function here recently, Makkar also said the grant worth Rs 10 lakh that had been promised for raising a school in Budhranwali village, a stronghold of Dera followers, was yet to be released as the leaders from Rajasthan had not so far been able to provide land for the institution.

Asked whether the SGPC proposed to sanction any project for the welfare of the Sikh community in Abohar subdivision, he quipped, “None had invited me on any occasion to this area during the past four years. How could any proposal be offered voluntarily?”

Bathinda, November 15
Senior Congress leader Jagmeet Singh Brar, who has taken his party colleague and former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh to task a number of times, today came out openly in his support.

Refuting rape allegations on Amarinder Singh, Jagmeet termed it a malicious move planned by his political rivals. Besides condemning the incident, Brar sought a fair investigation in the case.

“The case is dubious as the persons backing the complainant have themselves been booked for heinous crimes. Moreover, the time chosen to target Amarinder also gives enough reason to suspect the basis of the allegation,” said Brar.

Targeting the Badals, Jagmeet said: “Instead of attempting political vendetta against Amarinder, they must think of the development of the state that may benefit them in the political arena.”

“After the Vigilance Bureau nabbed VK Janjua, the Chief Minister and his son had started claiming it as a right step to weed out corruption. But people are aware that the father-son duo along with their family members have themselves been facing charges of corruption,” quipped Brar.

Speaking further, he said: “When Supreme Court judges can declare their property, I appeal that our MLAs and ministers should also come out with records of their assets so that the public can evaluate the level of corruption in politics.”

About the appointment of a new president for the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), Jagmeet termed it as the discretion of AICC chief Sonia Gandhi. “We have been informed that there would be elections of state Congress delegates who will analyse everything, including the number of fresh members recruited in the party, before approving the claim of those in the fray,” he said.

About his own candidature, he said: “Amarinder and Bhattal have already served on this post, so it will be nice if the high command gives me a chance this time.”

On the recent statement of DSGMC president Paramjit Singh Sarna on the issue of PPCC president, Brar said: “It is an internal matter so Sarna should refrain from issuing statements about the party. There is no outside pressure on the AICC as he had claimed in his statement.”

Chandigarh, November 15
The state government is taking a major initiative to give a boost to Army recruitment from the state for both jawans and gentlemen cadets by deciding to establish a training centre for the same in Jalandhar. This is the second initiative by the government to provide employment opportunities, especially for the rural youth.

The state has already initiated a two-month training programme for security guards, who are being absorbed by private security agencies. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal told TNS that the government had identified a retired officer of the rank of Major General to take care of the latest initiative. “We will provide funds for the establishment of the centre and also give training free of cost to the deserving youth,” he said.

Sukhbir said coaching would be provided for all three forces with special emphasis on posts, which were not reserved. He said earlier Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had met the Chief of Naval Staff and urged him that a special recruitment drive should be conducted for recruiting naval cadets in Punjab.

“The navy conducted a recruitment drive last week and 767 boys were selected as sailors”, he said. Jalandhar DC Ajeet Singh Pannu said a proposal was being put up to the government for funds for the institution. The DC said a routine recruitment was also likely to be held in Jalandhar in April-May.

Meanwhile, the government, which has a few jobs to offer, is also in talks with major automakers, which will establish centres to teach youth the mechanics of their vehicles.

Jalandhar, November 15
Leader of Opposition Rajinder Kaur Bhattal here today alleged that the four-day session of the Vidhan Sabha starting December 7 would be a betrayal of the people’s trust and an attempt by the government to prevent the Opposition from raising vital issues in the House.

She said her party had urged the government to extend the session by at least a fortnight so that burning issues facing the state could be discussed at length.

Bhattal alleged that the session was being deliberately kept short as the government did not want to find itself cornered on the issues of poor governance, poor fiscal health and general lawlessness.

Reacting to the demands by the state for a nuclear plant to meet its power shortages, she said it was ironical that the Akalis had openly opposed the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Bhattal also said the government should not oppose any economic packages for its neighbouring states but should press for a similar concession citing its border status.

Taking a dig at the Akalis, she said Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Sukhbir Badal were ministers in the NDA government when the concessions were given. They should have opposed it then only, she pointed out.

The Congress minister said the government had failed to ensure smooth sale of paddy as a result the farmers were still awaiting to sell their produce.

On the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences scandal, she said the Congress would raise the issue in the Assembly. “We will scrap the deal when our party comes to power,” she warned.

Chandigarh, November 15
Satish Chandra, secretary, Punjab’s Department of Health and Family Welfare, is in the dock for not adhering to an assurance given to the court. The matter pertains to the recruitment of additional staff at the Kharar chemical laboratory for cutting down delay in testing of samples.

Justice Rajesh Bindal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked Chandra to be present on November 16.

Justice Bindal observed: “On August 25, when Chandra appeared in court, he stated that by October 31, 30 more persons would be appointed at the laboratory to reduce the time required for testing samples. However, the assurance given to the court has not been adhered to.”

Justice Bindal asserted: “The status report has been filed by Dr SP Sharma (chemical examiner), chemical laboratory, Kharar, by way of an affidavit dated November 6, stating that some more employees have been added, thereby reducing the sample-testing time. Dr Sharma has stated that 13 posts has been added. However, these are not new appointments.”

“Excise laboratory from Amritsar has been shifted to Kharar, along with staff, as a result thereof the staff strength has increased. On account of better supply of chemicals also for testing, the laboratory has been able to reduce the testing time,” he said.

Justice Bindal had earlier asked the health secretary to furnish the details of steps being taken to increase the number of chemical laboratories in the state or its staff. The directions come on a habeas corpus petition by Ratta Singh of Beli village in Ropar district. He was seeking production of his son Piara Singh, allegedly, in illegal confined since May 22.

Justice Bindal had previously asserted: “The state chief chemical examiner has appeared in person. He has apprised the court that there is only one chemical laboratory in Punjab, which is carrying out the tests of poison, drugs and samples sent in rape cases. The tests of the samples can be conducted within a period of five to 10 days.

“However, considering the workload, which has increased manifold, the testing takes time ranging from one month to two months. This results in unnecessary delay in the investigation, and also filing of the challan and prosecution of the accused,” he added.

Fatehgarh Sahib, November 15
Staff crunch has hampered the functioning of the Agriculture Department at Fatehgarh Sahib. Twenty-eight out of total 33 posts are vacant in the department.

The entire department is being run by agriculture development officers and the Chief Agriculture Officer.

Sources said the department was facing staff shortage due to political interference in the transfer of officials.

“The department is being run by only a few officials. Moreover, some of them remain on leave. One official has to do the working of at least 10 officials due to staff crunch,” said department officials.

Recently, department officials were told to prepare a 175-page report on an upcoming central government project. The report was to be submitted in a month and the entire staff had to be deployed for that. “We remained on tenterhooks for 20 days to complete the task and worked overnight to complete the project,” said an official.

There was hardly any interaction with farmers and villagers as the entire time was spent in official working, holding meetings with senior functionaries, preparing for camps and other works.

While two officials have been on leave for the past many months due to their foreign visits, there is no block officer in all five blocks of district. Instead of seven Agriculture Development Officers (ADO) in each block of the district, there are only three officers in the entire district.

Out of 15 agriculture sub-inspectors - who help ADOs - there are only three officials working in the district. There is hardly any clerical staff at the district headquarters and in other offices of the district. There are only two stenos at the headquarters, no superintendent, no senior assistant and no clerk at the agriculture laboratory.

The department officials said many of the posts had become vacant due to the transfer of officials. “Whenever an official is shifted from here, nobody is appointed in his place and the post remains vacant for a long time. A senior assistant was recently shifted from Fatehgarh Sahib to Morinda and his post is still vacant,” they added.

“Farmers of 445 villages do not come to know about new subsidy schemes, new varieties of seeds as hardly an agriculture camp proves successful due to shortage of staff,” they added.

Chief Agriculture Officer Sarabjit Singh admitted that there was a problem. Senior officials of the department had been apprised of it umpteen times, but the situation had not improved much despite several assurances, he said.

Jalandhar, November 15
A sustained campaign has been planned against “self-styled” doctors and quacks in the state. Now, all doctors and other medical practitioners in various districts will have to get their documents related to the registration with the Punjab Medical Council and degree from the recognised institute verified from chief medical officers (CMOs) and other authorised officials.

Sources said all Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and CMOs had been asked to deal with “self- styled” doctors and quacks strictly in the light of the directions given by the Punjab and Haryana High Court while deciding a writ petition. Similar exercise is also expected in Chandigarh and Haryana.

The government has also asked the DCs and CMOs to submit a report in this regard every month.

The Principal Secretary to the state Health Department has also issued two notifications authorising all CMOs and DCs to file complaints in judicial courts against those found practising without having proper academic degree, registration and other relevant documents.

Dr Barinder Singh, President of the Ludhiana Medical Welfare Association, had filed a petition in the HC to bring into focus the menace of “self-styled” doctors and quacks practising in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.

Muktsar, November 15
He came back from the dead to live another day. Defying medical science, 65 year old Surjeet Singh survived 30 DC (Direct Current) shocks during heart treatment, leaving doctors flummoxed.

Cardiologists consulted by The Tribune confirmed that one or two DC shocks are usually tried to resuscitate a patient whose heart has stopped beating. However, it took doctors at the Adesh Hospital and Research Centre 30 DC shots to infuse life in Surjeet.

Acknowledged Dr Sanjay Mazumdar, “ It is rare to administer 30 shocks but it was not the first such case.” But the case has a lesson, he said, for the medical fraternity, that one should not give up. In this particular case, he explains, he too would probably have stopped after four or five shocks. But then he was not present. While the medical team waited for him to rush to the hospital from his residence, they decided to keep administering the shocks.

And 20 shocks revived the heart to their surprise. By then the doctor had arrived but within minutes the patient suffered a second cardiac arrest. The team once again resorted to the shocks and to their pleasant surprise and utter disbelief, the heart revived once again after nine or so shocks.

The patient recovered fully and was discharged from the hospital. He plans to report the case to medical journals, said Dr Mazumdar.

While Surjeet Singh’s family attributes the ‘miracle’ to his faith in religion and the time he spends praying at Gurudwaras, the medical team acknowledges the role of ‘will power’ of the patient as well.

Surjeet Singh has become the talk of Muktsar town and conversation at shops and hotels veers around him. Said Jaspreet Kaur, a Tutor in Adesh college of Nursing and who was a member of Dr Mazumdar’s team, “It was really amazing. Initially when the patient was wheeled in the ICU we thought he would not survive as he had too many odds stacked against him. However, he walked into a new dawn through sheer will power and resilience.”

Jasneet Kaur Sukhija, a senior lecturer at the Adesh Nursing College remarked, “Surjeet has proved that tough times do not last but tough men do.For me he has become a hero.”

Patiala, November 15
Following the directions issued by state Irrigation Minister and chairman of the Patiala District Grievances Committee Janmeja Singh Sekhon, the administration is planning to launch a campaign against sale of intoxicant drugs in the district.

According to sources, the minister has asked the Civil Surgeon to seek police help and launch a drive against those chemists and druggists who sell intoxicant drugs. Civil Surgeon Sham Lal Mahajan and SSP RS Khatra said the administration had already cracked whip against such elements.

Mahajan said the Health Department had taken 45 samples of such medicines from different drug stores. As many as 20 samples had failed tests and necessary action has been initiated against the erring chemists.

The Civil Surgeon and the police chief assured the Irrigation Minister that the health authorities and the police would step up its campaign against sale of intoxicants in the district.