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Sekhwan takes strong notice, urges CM to talk to Centre
Batala, November 29
Taking a strong notice of reported cases of exploitation of Punjabi girls, who have been sent abroad for studies by the dubious travel agents, Punjab Minister for NRI Affairs Sewa Singh Sekhwan has cautioned the parents not to fall in trap of these agents.

Helping Them Ring the Wedding Bells

MLA Om Parkash Soni blesses the newlywed brides during a mass marriage function organised by the Bhartiya Dalit Samaj Morcha in Amritsar on Sunday. Photo: Vishal Kumar

AVM seeks telecast of DD Punjabi in US, Canada
Amritsar, November 29
The Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM) has demanded the telecast of different channels of Doordarshan in regional languages, including DD Punjabi in the USA, Canada and other foreign countries where Indians, in general, and Punjabis, in particular, are residing in large numbers.

500 from across the world come for brainstorming
Jalandhar, November 29
The Department of Biotechnology of DAV College has organised an international colloquium on biotechnology. Prof Ajaib Singh Brar, Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, inaugurated the two-day function, which was sponsored by the UGC, DBT, DST and CSIR.

Development tips for councillors
Jalandhar, November 29
Councillors can play an important role for the development of their respective cities. Local Bodies Minister Manoranjan Kalia stated this while speaking at a one-day workshop of the presidents, vice-president and the elected representatives of over 100 municipal councils of the seven districts of Jalandhar division here on Sunday.

Panel: Book encroachers
Phagwara, November 29
The Sub-Divisional Advisory Committee of Urban Infrastructure and Municipal Amenities, Phagwara headed by Phagwara SDM Amarjeet Paul, has recommended registering criminal cases against encroachers. Paramjit Singh, Executive Officer of the Phagwara Nagar Council, suggested impounding the goods of the encroachers, indulged in violating the Municipal rules. Few members of the committee expressed their concerns on increasing rehris in the town, which according to them create hindrance in the traffic movement. SDM-cum-committee chairman Amarjeet Paul instructed the Nagar Council officials not to issue more licences of rehris in future.

	4 dera followers killed, 14 hurt as truck rams into minibus Bipin Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 29 Four women followers of Dera Beas were killed and 14 others sustained injuries when a private minibus in which they were traveling met with an accident on the busy GT Road at Pathankot bypass early this morning. The mishap occurred at 7.15 am when a multi-axle vehicle heading towards Jalandhar from Pathankot rammed into the minibus (PB-10AE-3918) on its way to Dera Beas with nearly 30 passengers on board. The impact of the accident was so high that the bus was tossed up after which it overturned leaving four passengers dead on the spot. The deceased have been identified as Santosh Rani (55), Banso Rani (52) and Priti (13), all resident of Jawahar Nagar, Ludhiana, and Asha Rani (50) of Goraya near Phagwara. According to eyewitnesses, the locals, passersby helped the police to extricate the bodies. The windowpanes of the bus were broken to take out the passengers struck inside the ill-fated bus. The bodies were handed over to the families after post-mortem examinations at local civil hospital. The injured has been admitted to different private hospitals in the city. Some of them are said to be critical. SHO Police Division No 8, Sukhpal Singh, said the Dera followers from Ludhiana and Phillaur had just started their journey after having a halt at a Dera adjacent to the Pathankot bypass. The truck driver reportedly managed to escape from the scene. A case under sections 304-A, 279, 337 and 338 of the IPC has been registered against the truck driver. Vehicular traffic also remained disrupted for a long time on the GT Road till the mini-bus was removed from the site with the help of a crane.
	To Promote Punjabi ‘Strengthen socio-political system’ Our Correspondent Nawanshahr, November 29 Scholars have called for evolving a mechanism to strengthen the social, political and education system so that the youth could be prepared to cope with the changes while preserving the glorious traditions and moral values associated with the Punjabi culture They were speaking at the national-level UGC-sponsored seminar on the topic ‘Changes Occurring in the Society and Culture of the Punjab’ organised at Sikh National College, Banga on Thursday. Principals and teacher delegates from various colleges of the Punjab attended the seminar. “The changes influenced by the present era if globalisation in our culture and language are inevitable, hence, instead of creating phobia of the negative impact of the external forces, we should come forward to launch concerted efforts to evolve a mechanism,” they said. Addressing the seminar, Punjabi University Vice-Chancellor Jaspal Singh stressed the need to launch concerted efforts to strengthen Punjabi language by making it a language of trade, employment, administration and society. He exhorted the scholars, parents and educational institutions to come forward for their valuable contribution for preserving and promoting Punjabi language and culture. Dr. Surjit Singh Bhatti (Regional Centre, Punjabi University, Bathinda), lamented that it was an irony that the Punjabis had to struggle for the due status for their language. Dr S.P. Singh, former Vice-Chancellor, GND University, Prof Harmeet Singh, Department of Political Science, GND University and Dr Atamjit Singh, principal Amardeep Singh Shergill Memorial College, Mukandpur, Dr Dharamjit Singh, principal, Sikh National College, Banga, Dr Devinder Kumar, an eminent playwright, among others, spoke on the occasion.
	Punjabi Students being ‘exploited’ in foreign lands Sekhwan takes strong notice, urges CM to talk to Centre Our Correspondent Batala, November 29 Taking a strong notice of reported cases of exploitation of Punjabi girls, who have been sent abroad for studies by the dubious travel agents, Punjab Minister for NRI Affairs Sewa Singh Sekhwan has cautioned the parents not to fall in trap of these agents. Talking to mediapersons in Sekhwan village, the minister said he has asked the department to collect information about various so-called education institutes, who were economically exploiting Punjabi youth charging them with hefty fee, without any credentials and worthwhile infrastructure. He said due to worldwide economic downturn, these students were not getting any part time work and most of the students were being forced to spend their nights at footpaths. Appealing to the parents to exercise complete caution while sending their daughters abroad, Sekhwan said before sending them for studies abroad, they must ensure that they have some relatives living at that place to take care of their wards. They should also verify the credentials of the education institutes well in advance. The minister said it also came to his notice that students, who even get some work were either poorly paid or not paid at all. He said that these students were not even being paid minimum statutory wages. The minister said there were reports that Punjabi immigrants, who were financially facing problems, were being lured to convert their religion. He has requested Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to take up the issue strongly with the Union Government so that the Ministry of External Affairs could take necessary steps in this regard. The Minister said he had also asked his department to keep a check on various institutes charging hefty amount to teach English for IELTS examination.
	AVM seeks telecast of DD Punjabi in US, Canada Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 29 The Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM) has demanded the telecast of different channels of Doordarshan in regional languages, including DD Punjabi in the USA, Canada and other foreign countries where Indians, in general, and Punjabis, in particular, are residing in large numbers. In a letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni, president of the AVM Dr Charanjit Singh Gumtala stated that a large number of Indians were now settled in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia and other countries. Indian private satellite channels Zee TV, Star TV, Aaj Tak, Sahara, Alpha Punjabi, PTC Punjabi, etc, were being telecast in these countries. Private Indian Punjabi channels were being telecast in these countries where Punjabis were also settled in large numbers. However, he urged, that DD Punjabi along with other regional channels should also be made available in these countries.
	International Colloquium on Biotechnology 500 from across the world come for brainstorming Riva/Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 29 The Department of Biotechnology of DAV College has organised an international colloquium on biotechnology. Prof Ajaib Singh Brar, Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, inaugurated the two-day function, which was sponsored by the UGC, DBT, DST and CSIR. Principal Dr V.K. Tiwari welcomed the chief guest, delegates, resource persons and the participants. As per an estimate, around 50 institutions, 500 participants and 50 expert lecturers from all over the world participated in the event. Speaking to The Tribune, Dr Tiwari said, “Biotechnology, with its applications in engineering and medicine, is one of the most significant fields of development in today’s scientific world. The purpose of this seminar is to boost the status of education and research in this region. We are putting in all the efforts to provide quality research environment to our students.” Congratulating the college and the faculty for organising the seminar, Prof Brar stressed on the modernisation of labs for quality. He said biotechnology was a combination of all sciences and an attempt to know nature better. He said, “Such international conferences are of great importance to the young inquisitive minds. It offers them an excellent platform to learn, interact and to brainstorm.” Dr E. Momotani, senior research scientist with the National Agriculture and Food Research Organisation, Japan, delivered a keynote address on “Pathogenesis and control of paratuberculosis - importance of discovery and its application.” Dr S.V. Singh, Principal Scientist with the Central Institute for Research on Goats, Mathura, presented a paper on the therapeutic aspect of indigenous Johne’s disease vaccine. He said livestock husbandry was a popular means of livelihood and nutritional security for people in India. Livestock sector contributed around 5 per cent of the total GDP and shared 30 per cent GDP of the agriculture sector, he said. “India is presently a leading milk producer and ranks second in meat production in the world. But, unfortunately, it’s per animal productivity is much below the world average. One factor that contributes towards reduced productivity is the presence of chronic infections like paratuberculosis. Any breakthrough in this field will be of great importance,” he said. Dr Swati Subodh from the Centre for Genomic Application, New Delhi, Dr Pravin K. Singh, Scientific Technical Executive with VitaeGen Biotech, Varanasi, and Dr Sharada M. Potukuchi from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Jammu and Kashmir, also presented their papers on the first day of the international seminar.
	Workshop Development tips for councillors Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 29 Councillors can play an important role for the development of their respective cities. Local Bodies Minister Manoranjan Kalia stated this while speaking at a one-day workshop of the presidents, vice-president and the elected representatives of over 100 municipal councils of the seven districts of Jalandhar division here on Sunday. On the occasion, Kalia released a book “Administrative Structure of Urban Public Administrative Institutions of Punjab,” written by Joint Project Director, Patiala, B.R. Gupta. Jalandhar Divisional Commissioner S.R. Ladhar also spoke.