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RSGPC resolves to get Gurdwara Act enacted
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Construction to begin tomorrow
4,000 quacks rule the roost here
Tough time for Punjabi youth in London
Rs 100-cr fund for poor patients okayed
PCMS Doctors' Demands
Experts discuss turbulent economic scenario
Delhi’s Damandeep is Mr Singh International
Clemency drive for Bhullar reaches Oz
Cong seeks farmers’ release
All parties must pitch for N-plant, says Khangura
Godmen Controversy
Excise officials to stage dharna in Delhi today
Protesting ETT teachers held, let off
Mushiara in memory of Indian spy today
Minimum temperature remains below normal
Justice Khehar’s Swearing-In
Paper for sepoys’ recruitment leaked, 3 arrested
Man kills father for property
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RSGPC resolves to get Gurdwara Act enacted
Ad hoc panel
office-bearers The office-bearers named in the ad hoc committee of the RSGPC include Hardeep Singh Dibdiba as president, Tarlochan Singh Gajsinghpaur, Baba Mohan Singh Raipur Jhalawar, Baljinder Singh Morjand Hanumangarh, Jasbir Singh 9DD and Harjinder Singh Anoopgarh as vice-presidents, Surjit Singh Lakhian, Chamkaur Singh Gajsinghpur, Amarjit Singh Byana Bharatpur, Sukhwinder Singh Khajuwala Bikaner and Santokh Singh Patwari Srikaranpur as general secretaries, Asa Singh Sadulshehar, Baljinder Singh Mohanpura-Jaisalmer, Jarnail Singh Ambarpura-Bran, Jasvir Singh Jaipur and Gurjant Singh Dholipal-Hanumangarh as secretaries, Ranjodh Singh Sriganganagar as cashier and Preetpal Singh Anoopgarh as auditor. Tirlok Singh Suratgarh, Rajlakhbir Singh Sriganganagar, Harpal Singh Namdhari and Balvir Singh Nihang will be special invitees. Thirtyone members have been nominated to the working committee. On the
agenda
Sriganganagar/Abohar, November 29 Briefing the media after the meeting, the RSGPC members said developing a drugs-free state would not be a distant dream. The committee would launch a comprehensive awareness drive against the drug menace that haunts the state, female foeticide, dowry and obscenity in Punjabi cultural programmes. The Sikh community would be inspired to work for the preservation of the environment. The economic agenda of the RSGPC includes efforts to restore the Hindumalkot-Karachi rail link to resume trade with the Arab and European countries through Pakistan. The Central and state government will be requested to offer special incentives for the development of border districts besides implementing the plan for setting up modernised sugar mills in Sriganganagar. The RSGPC will urge the state government to accord due recognition to the Punjabi language, set up a Punjabi academy chaired by a non-political personality, include the history of Sikhs in the syllabi for schools and colleges, renovate Gobind Ghat Pushkar and make arrangements for kar sewa of the historic Baba Budha Johad, native place of Sant Fateh Singh. The latter needs to be developed as a place of tourism also, the agenda added. Unfolding the political agenda, the RSGPC said Parliament had no Sikh from Rajasthan for the past eight years. Besides the political parties would be urged to nominate Sikh candidates from Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh, Bikaner, Alwar, Kota and Boondi Lok Sabha constituencies during the next elections besides nominating a Sikh to the Rajya Sabha. Representation on the Minorities Commission, corporations and boards and appointment of a Sikh Governor for Rajasthan would also be sought. The RSGPC plans to work for getting the All- India Gurdwara and Anand Marriage Act enacted. Sehajdharis having faith and reverence for Sikhism will be persuaded to join the mainstream. The committee demanded that false cases against Sikh youths should be withdrawn. It urged the state government to allot land to SC/ST Sikhs near the Indira Gandhi Canal. Notably the Sikh leaders resented that the SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar had not kept his word over setting up a Rajasthan Sikh mission and nothing had been done for the uplift of gurdwaras in Rajasthan. There is no provision for the election of SGPC members from Rajasthan even when the community has got a population exceeding seven lakh in west Rajasthan. The SGPC has been nominating only one member from the state. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had recently denounced the move to set up the RSGPC, terming it as a Congress ploy.
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Punjab needs to reorganise police force: Sukhbir Chandigarh, November 29 This ratio is far below the national ratio of one policeman for every 1,000 persons. “Ludhiana needs a minimum of 50 police stations,” is what Punjab’s Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal is targeting in revamping, restructuring and modernising the Punjab Police. In an informal chat with The Tribune, he admitted that a lot needed to be done to control the menace of drug trafficking, piracy in music, white-collar crime, cyber crime, besides controlling transnational crime. According to him, some new experiments are in the offing for modernising the police force in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana. After drugs and piracy in music, traffic is high on his priority list, he says. “My ‘funda’ is simple. I put one senior officer in command of a situation and get back to him. The man put in charge of the traffic is the Additional Director-General of Police. He has to work out modalities on making Punjab roads safer for vehicular traffic,” says Sukhbir Badal admitting that more than 3,000 lives are lost in road mishaps in the state every year. Elated at the success of the employment-generation scheme for rural youth by training them as security personnel, he says the security of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi is in the hands of trained Punjab boys now. “Now we are planning to start the second such training centre. It will be located in the Malwa belt. We hope to produce 10,000 trained youth ready to take any security assignment anywhere in the country. We have already been sounded to provide men for the security duties at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Besides training security guards, we are also starting a six-month course for training security supervisors who overlook the work of security guards. Besides, women security guards will also be trained by us soon making us the first State in the country to produce certified trained security personnel for any duty,” adds Sukhbir Singh Badal. Talking about his three-point agenda, Sukhbir Badal says that making Punjab power-surplus, improving its connectivity and making the state a safe investment destination have been taking most of his attention and time. “No other state has done as much for augmenting power generation as Punjab. To be honest, India will remain power-deficit for a long time as very little is being done both by the Centre and the states to meet the growing demand of power. All steps we have taken may take a little longer than expected, but Punjab will be a power-surplus state in the next around three years. We could have done it faster, but procedures are long and cannot be curtailed. Tendering for a new thermal power station needs at least 14 months. Otherwise, the regulatory authority would not approve it. Connectivity is another very important area. “We have been progressing very well on both road and air connectivity. Work has started on the Mohali international airport. Ludhiana-Sahnewal runway is being extended to make it compatible for ATR aircraft to land and take off. Bathinda will also be on air map. We also have Amritsar and Pathankot airports that are functional. No other state will have five airports as we will have in a couple of years. Uttar Pradesh has just two and Haryana has none,” he says. “Besides, we are also making all efforts to improvise road network. Eight flyovers in Ludhiana, four-laning of the Chandigarh-Patiala-Bathinda and the Chandigarh-Ludhiana-Ferozepur roads are in the final stages of approval. The Pathankot-Amritsar road is also being taken up for four-laning,” he says.
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Hospital for cancer, cardiac diseases gets off ground
Bathinda, November 29 The setting up of a cancer hospital in Bathinda district is the need of the hour in the light of a survey, conducted by the district health authorities, regarding deaths of cancer patients and living cancer patients. According to the survey, from 2001 to October 2009, as many as 1,347 patients had died of cancer disease while there are 871 living cancer patients in the district nowadays. This 200-bedded multi-super speciality hospital is being constructed at a cost of Rs 137 crore. It will be completed by August 2011. The hospital is being constructed on 4.8 acres through a public-private partnership with the Punjab government. The land has been provided by the state government while the infrastructure and equipment will be provided by Max Healthcare. Earlier on February 22, 2009, the foundation stone for this super- speciality hospital was laid by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said Max Healthcare had deposited Rs 1.58 crore with the Punjab Health Systems Corporation (PHSC) as upfront fee. Besides, Max Healthcare would give 5 per cent share from the annual income of the hospital to the PHSC after the completion of the hospital. Max Healthcare would also provide treatment to poor cancer patients at rates equal to the PGI, Chandigarh. Besides, the Health Secretary had also been told to form a committee for providing treatment at subsidised rates to the patients, he added. Badal further said he had fixed healthcare on his priority list; this was the reason that the state government had provided Rs 182 crore to Amritsar Medical College, Rs 67 crore to Faridkot Medical College and Rs 60 crore to Government Medical College, Patiala, for their upgradation and improvement. Besides, all these three medical colleges were also being connected with the PGI, Chandigarh, through Tele-medicine system so that the doctors could talk to medical experts. Badal said he had sought a report within 15 days from the Health Secretary, Punjab, regarding shortcomings in the district hospitals, community health centres (CHCs) and primary health centres (PHCs) to remove these on priority. Talking to mediapersons, Badal said he was committed to providing pure drinking water to the people of the state. He said the state government would stop the entry of polluted water from the sewer lines and factories into the Sirhind canal that passed through Ropar and other districts in a year and a half. He said he would talk to industrialists and the Pollution Control Board authorities to stop the entry of sewerage and factories water into the Buddah Nullah at Ludhiana.
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Sukhbir, Chawla skip ceremony Bathinda, November 29 Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, health minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla and chairman of the Max India Group Analjit Singh were conspicuously absent from the function. They were supposed to participate in the function but a last minute hitch is learnt to have prevented them from reaching here. Analjit Singh, who was the organizer of the show, was unable to fly here, as the Indian Air Force reportedly did not allow landing of his private aircraft at the Bhisiana air force station near here. The message about Sukhbir Singh Badal arriving for the ceremony was received in the morning, but he too did not reach the venue. The doctors’ community was surprised at Chawla, who holds the health portfolio, too being absent from the function.
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Construction to begin tomorrow
Keeping in view the high incidence of cancer in the Malwa belt of Punjab, Badal had announced setting up of a hospital here to check the disease, as financially weak patients have to go all the way to Bikaner or Delhi for treatment.
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4,000 quacks rule the roost here
Bathinda, November 29 Ram Lubhaya, a migrant labourer from Bihar, had a slender and skinny figure before he decided to put on some weight. He got in touch with a quack, who recommended a steroid, Methyl Prednisolone. After a month, he put on enough weight and stopped taking the steroid. However, a few days later, Lubhaya suddenly started vomiting and now he can not even move without making an effort. The migrant labourer, instead of going to a government hospital, had visited a quack in a Bathinda village. Lubhaya is not alone. He has the company of hundreds of people inflicted with cancer who, because of poverty, cannot go to the government hospitals and instead deem it fit to visit quacks. Savita Sachdeva, a renowned sociologist working at a college of nursing at Muktsar, said, “People are being taken for a ride by these quacks because of the archaic Indian Medical Degree Act of 1916, which still goes by fines it imposed almost 83 years ago. That means a penalty of Rs 250 for people flaunting fake medical degrees and Rs 500 for any subsequent offence. That’s not all. The state government does not have an anti-quackery cell. Neelam Bajaj, civil surgeon, Bathinda, said, “Whenever we receive complaints about quacks operating in our area, we form teams under the supervision of Senior Medical Officers (SMOs), who raid the premises of these quacks.” However, nobody in the health departments of Bathinda or Muktsar, two main districts of southwest Punjab, are sure about the number of quacks they have caught till now. “While some practise as bone surgeons, others claim to be experts at treating cancer. These quacks use the abbreviation RMP as a title. There are also cases in which fraudulent medical practices are passed on from father to son,” said Dr Sudhir Raj, vice-president of the Punjab unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA). “Whether it is cold or cancer, quacks offer dangerous remedies without regret. In the case of infertility for instance, they give steroids which can lead to fluid retention and make the abdomen swell. They can then claim that the woman is pregnant. However, all such claims later turn out to be frivolous,” adds Dr Shoubhick Kaushal, a Muktsar-based orthopaedician. People in the region feel that it is time that the government got its act together and sieved out the quacks. But till that happens, citizens will continue to swallow a bitter pill.
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Traffic Woes
Chandigarh, November 29 An aerial view of Punjab on a Sunday afternoon would perhaps depict the state as a huge parking lot with thousands of vehicles parked in patches of 100 to 500 vehicles. Starting from Doraha Bridge in Ludhiana from where the canal bifurcates, the vehicles lined up till Dugri Bridge as the Gill chowk that connects Ludhiana town with all major towns of the Malwa belt - Mandi Ahmedgarh, Malerkotla, Sangrur, Barnala - was swarmed by a sea of vehicles. It took the Tribune team three and a half hours to reach Ludhiana from Chandigarh. Things are no better elsewhere in Punjab on Sundays, especially during the marriage season from November till January when almost all open spaces along the state and national highways and state link roads are eaten up by parking of vehicles allowing little or no space for manoeuvrability of vehicles that are becoming bigger in size and faster in movement. And slow carriages like carts hinder normal vehicular traffic. A Tribune team that travelled from Chandigarh to Ludhiana today experienced many an agonising moment. Starting from the Mohali-Kharar stretch of the state highway, problems of road users not only continue unabated but also get aggravated as the drivers approach small towns and cities before reaching Ludhiana. Those opting for the canal route, hoping for a smoother passage to Ludhiana, end up blaming themselves and their decision as the drive along the Sirhind and Doraha canal is a tumultuous one. Also caught in the traffic jam on the Sidhwan Canal road was the leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal. Though she had a big team of commandos and gunmen waving their guns to get a passage for her convoy, it was not easy for her to get through the jam as quickly as she wanted to. Though there were traffic policemen on duty at highly sensitive crossings and intersections, they were too few in strength to handle the unending sea of vehicles. A senior police officer explained that as and when the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board or the Public Works Department undertakes work on widening a road, no attention is paid towards providing an alternative for the routine traffic of that area. He says that before undertaking widening of the Mohali-Kharar road and the Kharar-Kurali road, especially the bridge over the Kharar cho, an alternative should have been provided to ease traffic congestion. Traffic going towards the Ludhiana side should have been diverted to the Mohali-Landran road. Similarly, some other routes should be worked out for easing traffic in all major towns on Sundays because of the marriage season. Not many of marriage palaces, resorts and hotels have sufficient parking facilities to cope with the rush.
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Tough time for Punjabi youth in London
Ludhiana, November 29 Singh, who is currently in London, says in an e-mail that he was pained to come across a large number of Punjabi youth who are barely surviving on the generosity of the gurdwaras in Southall. “Though the affected youth refuse to admit defeat easily, their faces tell a different tale,” he writes. Most of them spent a fortune securing admission in dubious British institutions and in obtaining a valid visa. Some arrived illegally. While the money they bring with them is enough to help them tide over the first two or three months, thereafter they are neither able to pay their fees nor pay for their accommodation. Even a cramped room in Southall fetches a rent of £40 a week. Sometimes six to eight boys share the same room, writes an anguished Singh. “How happy must their parents have been while sending them off with ‘paths’ and ‘ardas’ but the prayers do not seem to have worked,” reads the mail. A young man from Jagraon, writes Dr Singh, broke down while describing his plight. With folded hands, recalls Singh, the young man told him, “Uncle, when you go back to Punjab, tell them not to send their children to study in London”. Half a dozen students from Ambala, Karnal and Pehowa nodded in agreement with downcast eyes. The young women from Punjab, Singh was told, faced an even more harrowing time. Some of the girls have been forced to cook for seven or eight boys sharing the same accommodation and are paid by way of free meals. While there is suspicion that some of the girls have been pushed into prostitution, there is no independent confirmation yet. Jobs are hard to come by because of the recession. Many young men and women are forced to work illegally beyond the permissible hours and are paid a pittance. They cannot complain because the work is “illegal”.
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Trucks carrying paddy a traffic hazard on Ludhiana highway
Khamano, November 29 Trucks loaded with paddy not only prove a major traffic hurdle, but also a big problem for the villagers nearby. People are unable to cross the road where trucks are parked. “To cross the road on one’s own vehicle, we have to pick a different route or else take risk on driving at the sides of the roads, which are too narrow. This happens every paddy procurement season, but no one cares,” fumed Ranjit Singh of a nearby village. Most of the trucks are parked from Khamano city towards Ludhiana are posing a danger to lives of drivers of other vehicles. There are no lights installed to guide drivers in the dark. The only sources of light are the lights installed at Laxmi Mills, which are too dim to light the National Highway. “Most of the trucks stationed on the road do not have their dippers on and even reflectors are poor. At times, drivers of the vehicles moving on the stretch do not see the trucks parked and ram into each other,” added another commuter from Sanghol, Gurchetan Singh. Villagers rue that none of trucks are parked off the road and occupy most of the space on road. Traffic gets choked whenever one truck overtakes. However, the drivers of trucks have a different story to narrate. “If we park our trucks half on road and half on the side berm, the vehicle tends to overturn due to the heavy load. We have no option but to occupy the road to park our vehicle,” reasons Kulbir Singh, a driver from Amritsar. Traffic cops point out that they are severely understaffed and hence are unable to manage the traffic chaos. They revealed that time and again this problem has been discussed during meetings by higher level officials. They added that police had suggested rice mill owners to get land on lease and charge trucks for parking, which can solve the problem to a large extent. However, despite repeated discussions over the issue, nothing substantial has been implemented so far.
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Rs 100-cr fund for poor patients okayed
Mohali, November 29 The income will come from 5 per cent revenue to be earned by the government from the two hospitals. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal announced this after performing the ground-breaking ceremony of the super-speciality cancer and trauma hospital on the premises of the Phase 6 civil hospital here. The state government has given 3.15 acres of land for the project on an upfront payment of Rs 4.45 crore for the Mohali project. Presiding over the function, the CM said the fund would be subsequently raised with the increase in the income on account of annual revenue to the Punjab government from the Max Healthcare group as per terms and conditions in the agreement. He said the dedicated fund of 100 crore would also include the upfront payment made by Max Healthcare to the Punjab government at the time of the bid to the tune of Rs 4.45 crore and Rs 1.58 crore for the Mohali and Bathinda hospitals. He further said the government was spending Rs 182 crore, Rs 67 and Rs 60 crore, respectively, for the upgradation of Government Medical College and Hospital at Amrtisar, Baba Farid University of Medical Sciences and Medical College, Faridkot, and Government Medical College, Patiala. Analjit Singh, chairman of the Max India group, said to be built with an estimated investment of over Rs 100 crore, the 200-bedded hospital would have comprehensive primary and secondary-level services in all specialities. Super-specialisation in two disciplines - cancercare (Oncology) and trauma - is also being planned in Mohali hospital. The facility is expected to commence operations by August, 2011. The Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, Satish Chandra, said the upcoming super-speciality hospitals would focus on cancer, trauma and cardiac. Land for such projects had been identified at Nabha, Nangal , Fatehgarh Sahib and Jagroan.
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PCMS Doctors' Demands
Patiala, November 29 General secretary of the association D.C.Sharma, said here today that the committee had been asked to submit its report within 15 days. The PCMS-I Association had pointed out that the non-practising allowance (NPA), admissible to PCMS doctors, had been treated as “pay” for all intents and purposes. But the recent advice, given by the Finance Department, implementing the recommendations of the Punjab Pay Commission, had mentioned that the NPA would be treated as “pay” for calculation of dearness allowance, TA and DA as well as retirement benefits. The Punjab Pay Commission has recommended the parity in pay scales for PCMS doctors with their counterparts in the Central Government Health Services (CGHS). CGHS doctors have been granted a dynamic assured career progression with a grade of Rs 10,000 after 20 years of regular service. The PCMS-I Association is demanding the same to maintain the parity. Another aspect referred to the committee is the pay-fixation formula for the PCMS doctors on the pattern of the Central Government. Because of the NPA component of pay admissible to the medical doctors, there has been always a separate pay-fixation formula for doctors in Punjab as well as in the Central Government. The PCMS doctors are losing a monthly salary of Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 by virtue of the general pay fixation formula adopted by the Punjab government for general employees in which the dearness allowance, admissible on the NPA component in the pre-revised pay, is not being taken into consideration. The government has issued a separate formula for the medical doctors, in which the DA, admissible on the NPA in the pre-revised pay structure, will be taken into account while fixing the pay in the revised pay structure. The PCMS-I Association has demanded the similar pay-fixation formula.
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Experts discuss turbulent economic scenario
Chandigarh, November 29 Harcharan Singh Bains, Media Adviser to Punjab Chief Minister, in his inaugural address, said the conference offered a healthy platform to researchers, teachers and students as it was designed to discuss issues and challenges related to meltdown in the economy. The conference also provided the right forum to encourage a unique perspective on critical issues related to survival in the times of economic uncertainty, he added. Chief executive officer (CEO) of the Gurukul Vidyapeeth Manmohan K Garg termed the conference a mega event as it brought researchers, experts, academicians and students on a common platform to discuss strategies and solutions for turbulent economic scenario. The prime focus of the conference was to get strategies and solutions from stalwarts in the field of management, he added. Sundeep Saksena, Reliance BPO head, said, “The conference helped in enlightening the minds of budding managers with innovative ideas and offered a platform to discuss, deliberate and resolve various issues.” Pallav Mukherjee, councillor of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh, said the theme chosen for the conference was apt as it provided an excellent platform for interaction between experts and participants. Atmanand, Dean of the Management Development Institute, opined that the industry was recovering from the global financial meltdown and the strategies and solutions evolved during the conference would prove helpful to both academia and the industry. Deshraj Thakral, director, Gurukul Vidyapeeth, said the conference proved very informative and stimulating. Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion included IK Kataria, managing director, Gurukul Vidyapeeth, and Gitanjali Bhatnagar, vice-chairperson of the conference.
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Delhi’s Damandeep is Mr Singh International
Amritsar, November 29 Jaswinder Singh Advocate, chief of the Akaal Purkh Ki Faauj (APKF), which organised the contest, said the winners were chosen after three months of auditions, zonal rounds, and a training spread across various parts of the country and in London. The programme intended to send across the message that Sikh youths too could be a part of the showbiz even as they upheld their culture. The contest assessed the personality, Gurmat knowledge, general awareness, skills in martial arts, bhangra, theatre and ramp skills of the participants. The grand finale was started as per Sikh tradition when Bhai Paramjit Singh sang a hymn from the Guru Granth Sahib. The three winners were chosen from 30 participants, who participated in various rounds to showcase their talent. President of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) Avtar Singh said the platform had brought Sikh philosophy and beauty together. Former Union minister and senior Akali leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa hoped that programmes of such nature would be an effective tool in checking the menace of patitpuna (apostasy) and drug addiction. The APKF also honoured Hajoori Ragi of Golden Temple Tajwinder Singh, film producer Dalbir Singh, National Institute of Fashion Designing head Vikramjit Singh Sahni and Frankfinn chairman K.S Kohli with Sikh Gaurav Sanman for attaining excellence in their chosen fields while upholding Sikh culture and tradition.
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Clemency drive for Bhullar reaches Oz
Patiala, November 29 Bhullar has been in Tihar Jail, Delhi, for the past 14 years and his petition before the President of India under Article 72 of the Constitution is under consideration. Talking to The Tribune on the phone, SFA president Jaspreet Singh said, “This petition is drafted by advocate Navkiran Singh, general secretary of the Lawyers for Human Rights International. The certain prima facie defects in the judgment, confirming his death sentence, form basis for seeking clemency for Prof Bhullar are that Justice MB Shah, heading the three-judge Bench in
the Supreme Court had acquitted Devinder Pal Singh, while other two judges had confirmed the death sentence.” “The SFA will conduct this campaign in other gurdwaras in Melbourne after Gurduara Shri Guru Singh Sabha, Creighiburn, and all signatures be sent to the office of the President of India,” said Harkirat Singh Ajnoha, secretary of
the SFA.
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Cong seeks farmers’ release
Jalandhar, November 29 “It is highly deplorable that the SAD, which claims itself as a party supporting farmer rights, instead of helping peasants has ordered their arrest for the delay in the payment of instalments of loans taken from state Cooperative Banks,” Bhattal said. She said the Congress would take up the issue in the upcoming session of the Assembly and demanded immediate release of farmers as well as waiver of the loan. The former CM cited the loan waiver under the Beant Singh-led Congress government and claimed that the financial position of the farmers was “worse” now that needed a loan waiver. Bhattal also blamed the SAD regime of not using the Union government funds properly as found by a Central team that visited Punjab recently. Meanwhile, state Congress chief and local MP Mohinder Singh Kaypee, who accompanied Bhattal, alleged that the state government had “failed” in even passing the 50 per cent subsidy on diesel to farmers, as announced by the Centre.
— PTI
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All parties must pitch for N-plant, says Khangura
Chandigarh, November 29 He has suggested that “all parties must raise this demand in the forthcoming Vidhan Sabha session”. Khangura demanded that the Punjab CM should apologise to the PM and the people of Punjab, saying that last year’s vote against the nuclear deal was a mistake. In seeking a nuclear power station for Punjab, 18 months have been lost and this amounted to jeopardising the energy security of the state. Khangura stated that the Punjab Congress supported the demand for nuclear power for Punjab but cautioned that border security concerns and the high population density in Punjab might restrict such a possibility. He added that if it was not possible to find a location in the state for the nuclear power plant then a site should be selected outside Punjab with an assurance from the Central Government that all power produced would go to Punjab. He added, “The Badals have reduced Punjab to the status of a beggar. They have refused to take tough political decisions required for resource mobilisation. They have continuously misled the people of Punjab about the state of the Treasury and have raised record amounts of additional debt”.
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Godmen Controversy Jalandhar, November 29 Renowned Punjabi singer Babbu Mann and comedian Bhagwant Mann said this while talking to The Tribune about their forthcoming Punjabi movie, “Ekam”, today. Babbu Mann’s song “Ik Baba Nanak Si Jine sari duniya gah ti” from his album “Singh Is Better than King” has created ripples besides starting a debate worldwide over the conduct of self-proclaimed godmen and their malpractices. In fact, the song has proved to be a strong comment on the holy men in the state and their lavish lifestyles. A particular holy man from the Malwa belt has objected to a line in the song “Babe Ne Kaali Audi Lai Layi”, which itself speaks volumes about the way the song has exposed the prevailing realities in the social milieu besides pricking the conscience of the godmen. “I am no saint or godman. I am a mere artiste who tries to awaken the masses and infuse positive thoughts in them through my art,” Babbu Mann said. Clarifying the furore raised over the Audi lyrics, Mann said he never targeted any single person and he had not done it in this song either. Being a seasoned artiste, I believe in exposing the system and making audiences think about the prevailing scenario that may not augur well for the coming generations. “This line has neither been written on anyone’s instruction, nor would it be deleted ever,” he affirmed. “Moreover, these godmen have far more expensive cars than Audi,” he quipped in a lighter vein. On his part, Bhagwant Mann said that as an artiste his responsibility was to keep an eye on misdeeds in society and highlight them to make people aware. “It’s the duty of every watchdog of society to keep the people informed of the happenings around him. Such satirical creations only ruffle the feathers of those who have something to hide from society. The common man always welcomes such satires and enjoys these immensely,” he pointed out. Bhagwant, too, has talked extensively about the self-styled godmen in his cassette,“Just Laugh, Baki Saaf”.
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Excise officials to stage dharna in Delhi today
Ferozepur, November 29 Association president, Chandigarh zone, Ashok Kumar Sharma alleged that irresponsive attitude of the Central Board of Central Excise and Customs (CBCC) had been infusing demoralisation among them. He said superintendent-level officers in the department had been suffering a lot on account of stagnation in services and financial degradation. While officers of the cadre of the Indian Revenue Services (IRS) had been getting promotion after every four to five years, the inspector-level officials hardly got one promotion during their career spanning over 30 to 35 years, he added. Sharma said the association was forced to give a dharna call, as the authorities concerned had virtually turned a deaf ear towards their long-pending demands. They would also submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister, he added. He said the All-India Association of Inspectors of Central Excise had already extended their support to the association. Sharma said officers posted in offices of Chief Commissioner/Commissioners would also stage a dharna on the same day throughout the country.
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Protesting ETT teachers held, let off
Sangrur, November 29 The teachers were protesting in support of their demands, which included regularisation of their services, giving preference to teachers who have done their training from Punjab and issuance of detailed marks card (DMC) to ETT teachers. The protesters blocked the traffic on the Nankana Sahib road from 12.30 pm to 2 pm even as the police erected barricades to prevent the protesters from staging a protest outside the minister’s residence. The police rounded up the teachers after it failed to persuade the protesters not to block vehicular traffic, an eyewitness said. The police later let off the protesters from the city police station, where they were lodged in small groups. Meanwhile, state President of the ETT Unemployed Teachers Union Jagtar Singh Jabbar, condemning the incident, alleged that the unemployed ETT teachers were beaten up by the police while they were holding a peaceful protest.
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Mushiara in memory of Indian spy today
Ferozepur, November 29 Prabha Bhaskar, patron-in-chief of the organising committee, said the mushiara was a tribute to Mohan Lal Bhaskar on the eve of his birth anniversary. Mohan Lal Bhaskar was an Indian spy in Pakistan and suffered six and a half years of imprisonment in various Pakistani jails. The poets who are expected to participate in the mushiara include Munnawar Rana, Shabina Adeeb, M F Farooqui, Tariq Qamar, Dr Nashir Naqvi, Prof Mehmood Alam and Mohinder Ask.
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Minimum temperature remains below normal Chandigarh, November 29 In the plains of Punjab and Haryana, Amritsar was coldest with 3.9 degrees celsius which was three notches below normal, the Met office said here. Among the other places, Ambala settled at a low of 7.6 degrees celsius, one notch below normal, followed by 7.8 degrees celsius at Patiala, also one notch below normal. While Chandigarh had a low of 8.2 degrees celsius, the minimum temperature at Ludhiana was 8.1 degrees celsius, one degree below normal. The met forecast partly cloudy days with mist or haze during the next 48 hours. — PTI
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Justice Khehar’s Swearing-In
Chandigarh, November 29 The Governor, Margaret Alva, administered oath to Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar in the presence of some retired and serving Judges. The Punjab Advocate-General, Hardev Singh Mattewal, accompanied by a few of his senior colleagues flew to Dehradun to attend the ceremony. They used the private aircraft of Punjab MLA Bikram Singh Majithia. Justice Arun Saharya and Justice NK Sodhi, both former Chief Justices, besides Justice SN Aggarwal (retired) and several serving Judges of the Punjab and Haryana High court attended the ceremony. Born on August 28, 1952, Justice Khehar did his law from Panjab University in 1977 before acquiring LLM degree from the same university in 1979. For the latter, Justice Khehar was awarded a gold medal. He was enrolled as an advocate in 1979 and practised mainly in the Punjab and Haryana HC, Himachal Pradesh High Court, and the Supreme Court of India. Justice Khehar was appointed as the Punjab additional advocate-general in January 1992 and was also senior standing counsel for Chandigarh. He was designated senior advocate in February 1995. Justice Khehar was elevated to the Bench on February 8, 1999.
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Paper for sepoys’ recruitment leaked, 3 arrested
Ferozepur, November 29 This startling disclosure was made by none else than sleuths of the Intelligence Wing of the Army functioning from the city after it managed to apprehend three candidates from Faridkot Railway Station last night. A senior official, on condition of anonymity, said three candidates- Satnam Singh, Jagmeet Singh and Gurpreet Singh from the Malwa region- were allegedly noting down questions on a paper while talking to Amritsar- based agent Daljeet Singh over the phone. When these questions were matched with the question paper issued by the Army authorities, which was held at Faridkot today, both turned out to be the same. Information gathered by TNS revealed that due to the leakage of the paper, the start of the exam at Faridkot was delayed by half an hour. Sleuths of the wing handed over the trio to the Faridkot police, which after carrying out preliminary investigations found that the paper was actually leaked in Jalandhar. Faridkot SSP Arun Mittal said as the paper was leaked in Jalandhar, a case could be registered in that district only. The sleuths also did not rule out the possibility of the involvement of
high rank officials of the Army and retired personnel. They have also written to the Army authorities for conducting a thorough probe into the matter and cancel
the exam.
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Man kills father for property
Sangrur, November 29 Sukhdev went missing from the Bhadaurh area in Barnala on November 9 and his body was found on November 13 from a canal near Burgan village. Barnala SSP Harcharan Singh Bhullar said they kept an eye on the deceased’s son following a tip-off. Amandip was taken into custody on Friday and he confessed to having murdered his father, the SSP added. Giving details, the SSP said on the day of the incident, Amandip asked his father Sukhdev Singh to sit on the rear seat of his scooter around 7 pm on the pretext of bringing a motorcycle from Sangrur. However, when they reached Kotla branch of the canal, near Harigarh village, he threw chilly powder in his father’s eyes and pushed him into the canal. He said the motive behind murdering his father was to grab his property. A case has been registered in this regard.
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Bathinda, November 29
