Ferozepur, January 1
The BSF authorities have deployed quick-reaction teams (QRTs) at three joint checkposts located in Punjab after a Taliban plot to target the flag-lowering ceremony at the Wagah was foiled by Pakistan security agencies yesterday.

A senior functionary of the BSF said not only the deployment of QRTs around three joint checkposts, including Sadiqi and Hussainiwala in Ferozepur district and Attari-Wagha in Amritsar district, had been done, new ‘morchas’ had also been set up to meet any situation.

Troops, guarding the Indo-Pak border falling in Punjab, had been put on high alert with a warning that laxity on their part would be unpardonable after this incident.

Pakistan security agencies had arrested Khalilullah, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan commander of southern part of Punjab province, and a 17-year-old would-be suicide bomber on the inputs of intelligence agencies a few days ago.

These two Taliban activists, along with eight others, had allegedly been trying to carry out killings at the Wagah border during the flag-lowering ceremony carried out by the Pakistan Rangers and the BSF daily.

“Immediately after this thing came to our notice, meetings were held with the Pakistan Rangers so that measures could be taken to prevent any untoward incident,” said a BSF functionary, adding that the Pakistan Rangers were also equally worried about preventing such attempts.

He added that the BSF had sounded special operational alert in the border belt running in Punjab. The frisking of visitors to watch the flag-lowering ceremony was intensified.

He said the Pakistan Rangers had also been carrying out effective frisking of visitors. They had also been sharing intelligence inputs with the BSF authorities in connection with plans and designs of terrorists.

Chandigarh, January 1
Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) scientists have achieved a major breakthrough in identifying reasons for the rapid spread of cancer in the state. Having identified arsenic in water as one of the major causes for abnormal cell growth in human body, the scientists are working to develop a mechanism where they hope to bind the arsenic with nano-particles of iron oxide, thereby neutralising or at least minimising the harmful effects.

The PAU Vice-Chancellor, Dr MS Kang, told The Tribune at a recent conference, “Lab findings have shown that arsenic is probably one of the culprits enhancing cancer in the region. Though we have not been able to pinpoint the exact cause of cancer, yet if arsenic in the ground water can be trapped, it eliminates one element. We are close to achieving a breakthrough.”

Dr Kang said all arsenic in the ground water was not harmful - it is available in organic and inorganic forms. But we are now convinced that the over use of pesticides that was earlier considered to be the cause of cancer, is not the only cause. With the shifting of conventional cotton-sowing to BT Cotton, the farmers are using 60 to 70 per cent less herbicides and pesticides, yet the incidence of cancer in the cotton-growing areas has risen.

The Vice-Chancellor said that cancer researchers including his wife have found symptoms like lesions on hands and legs, white hair among 13 or 14 year olds due to the presence of arsenic in the water. Other symptoms of arsenic toxicity developed over six to 24 months manifest themselves in the form of thickening of skin, black spots on different parts of the body and even skin cancer.

Besides other investigations by scientists, PAU’s Professor from the Department of Soils, Dr HS Hundal, has reported the presence of arsenic in ground water as well as drinking water as a major cause for cancer mortality. Ludhiana in particular has shown high incidence of arsenic in drinking water.

Uranium, Dr Kang said, could be another factor, but results were still to be verified. The PAU scientists have analysed 168 ground water samples over a period of 36 months, drawn from various parts of north India and found dangerous extents of arsenic. This is perhaps the first time that pesticides being blamed for rise in cancer cases has proved to be wrong.

An earlier study by the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) conducted in Punjab suggested that toxic chemicals in water could be causing genetic mutations as 65 per cent of the people tested showed mutated DNA in blood samples. Pesticides and heavy metals have entered the food chain through irrigation with untreated wastewater that could lead to an increased number of people suffering from cancer, bone deformities and gastrointestinal disorders.

The PAU conducts research despite the fact that its entire Rs 100-crore grant is exhausted in salaries. In comparison, Haryana Agriculture University (HAU) that was once a part of the PAU gets Rs 215 crore in grants. The PAU generates Rs 10 crore on its own, using part of this money for research, but still it falls short of the Rs 4 crore it requires each month to give pensions to its retired employees.

Ropar, January 1
Terrorists are luring unemployed youth of Punjab. This fact to light when the Ropar police interrogated two Babbar Khalsa terrorists Harminder Singh Cheriyan and Balwinder Singh Dekwala.

SSP LK Yadav said while investigating antecedents, modus operandi and functioning of Cheriyan and Dekwala, four terrorists lodged in different jails were brought to Ropar. These included Baljit Singh Bhau, Dya Singh Lahoria, Sukhwinder Singh and Daljit Singh Bittu. They gave an insight into the way the terrorist outfits work in alluring youth towards terrorism.

“Taking advantage of the strong Punjabi urge to go abroad and unemployment writ large in state, terrorist outfits allure innocent youth,” he said.

Yadav added that in the garb of taking them to Malaysia, the youth are taken to Pakistan where they are forcibly trained at various terrorist- training camps. Already trapped in foreign land, these youths are left with no other option but to do as directed.

The vicious trap does not end here. The gullible youth are also forced into fake currency, weapons and drugs smuggling. “We also came across the fact that most of the terrorist have been Naxal leaders in the past, making us believe that terrorism has its roots in Naxalism,” the SSP pointed out.

Yadav warned the people from following those who allure them. “If any one comes across a person who is ready to give undue favour and allures them, they should inform the police,” he said. 

Ferozepur, January 1
A prestigious project related to the relining of the Sirhind feeder and Rajasthan feeder canals is expected to start by March.

Both the Sirhind and Rajasthan feeders are considered as lifelines of the Malwa region and northern parts of Rajasthan, respectively.

However, these canals have been failing to cater to the needs of farmers, as a huge quantity of water is lost due to seepage.

The canals have been chocked at many points due to thick wild growth.

Official sources said the project worth about Rs 1,300 crore was sanctioned by the Union government for the relining of the Sirhind feeder and Rajasthan feeder canals running parallel to each other and originating from Harike headworks.

Sources added that under the project, the brick lining of slopes and beds would be replaced by concrete lining of six inches and five inches thickness, respectively, in about 100 km of each canal. It would save substantial water, which would be used for irrigating thousands of acres of land in Punjab and Rajasthan, where water availability for irrigation purpose was less.

“The specification and design of relining is being finalised by the state Irrigation and Power Research Institute in Amritsar,” said Anil Sud, XEN, Rajasthan feeder.

He added that due to check on seepage from the beds and slops, about 80,000 hectares of area, mostly falling in Muktsar district which was waterlogged, would become fit for cultivation. The work would be done in a phased manner and 
was expected to be completed by 2014.

He said funds for executing these projects were being awaited from the Union Government and if the same were made available in time, the work would start by March 2010. About Rs 952 crore and Rs 489 crore would be spent on the Rajasthan feeder and Sirhind feeder, respectively.

The relining work of both canals would be taken up together and most of the work would be done during the scheduled closure periods of these canals. To execute the project in the fixed time period, the canals could be closed for a longer period than their scheduled closure period.

During the closure period of the Rajasthan feeder, Rajasthan would be given 2,000 cusec water by Punjab through the Bhakra Main Line and Sirhind feeder canals.

He added that for the first time pressure release blabs would be used so that damage to slopes and beds could be minimised after relining.

Patiala, January 1
The Pepsu Roadways Transport Corporation (PRTC) would be adding 300 new buses to its fleet this year. PRTC MD MS Sidhu said of these 75 would be air-conditioned.

Speaking to The Tribune after flagging of new AC super deluxe bus service from Patiala to Haridwar at Patiala bus stand here today, Sidhu said though Patiala-Haridwar bus service was supposed to be started early but got delayed due to some administrative issues.

Sidhu revealed that grant of Rs 50 crore sanctioned by the state government for the PRTC would be extremely helpful in getting loan from the bank.

“Earlier also, the Punjab government had waived off debit of Rs 200 crore pending against the cash starved PRTC”, he said, while adding that the PRTC would utilise the fresh grants in replacing the old buses with new ones.

Expressing satisfaction over the performance of the PRTC during the last year, Sidhu said that year 2009 had been a very fruitful year in terms of adding new buses to its fleet.

“Last year, we managed to add 150 normal buses, 12 AC super deluxe and 24 AC buses in the PRTC fleet, which is a remarkable achievement”, asserted the PRTC MD. 

Patiala, January 1
The Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) has turned a corner on fiscal front. It hopes to round off this financial year without any losses. Last year the corporation had a closing loss of Rs 1.65 crore.

Stating this, PRTC managing director Manvesh Singh Sidhu said the corporation had drawn up ambitious plans for the coming year. It included replacement of old buses and construction of a modern bus stand at Patiala.

Sidhu said Spirit Global Private Limited, which had got the contract, had already paid Rs 13.5 crore to the transport corporation as the first instalment of the Rs 300-crore project.

He said the new bus stand, spread over 14 acre, would have a six-storied building. The ground floor would be used as the bus stand while the first floor would have commercial establishments.

The project is likely to be completed within 18 months.

Sidhu said the firm, which would execute the project, had paid an initial amount of Rs 27 crore as lease money for a 20-year lease. The firm would pay a yearly fee of Rs 1.25 crore and there is a component of a 5 per cent increase in the fee every year.

The PRTC managing director also said the existing workshop of the corporation would remain functional for the time being. Listing the plans of the corporation, Sidhu said the Chief Minister had approved Rs 50 crore government guarantees to replace 325 overage buses.

Jalandhar, January 1
It seems that the size of a chunk of land, which is to be handed over to the PIMS Society by the state government, smells fishy about the whole project.

The government is all set to lend 55.9 acres of land to the PIMS Medical and Education Society on lease for a period of 99 years. However, rules and preconditions set by different authorities suggest that the society needs a piece of land much smaller than what it is being given by the government. According to the criteria mentioned in the rulebooks of the Medical Council of India, 25 acres of land is required to start a medical college.

Similarly, according to the Dental and Nursing Councils, land size of 5 acres and 3 acres is the precondition to start a dental and nursing colleges, respectively. An eligibility criterion of 2.5 acres is required to be fulfilled in case of a pharmacy college. Some facilities like laboratories, staff quarters, playgrounds and even hospital can be used commonly by all faculty members and students of all institutes, which can further bring down the lower limit of the required land.

If calculated, the total of this figure turned out to be 35.5 acres, which means that 20.4 acres of land, the cost of which runs in crores today, will be transferred to the society in which it can run institutions and other ventures, where services will likely to be provided at market-driven rates only. According to request for proposal document, this remaining land will be used by a concessionaire to develop a 250-bedded multispecialty hospital in 5 acres and other allied healthcare facilities like food court, health club, faculty club and auditoriums. The concessionaire would decide charges of services in all these facilities, said an officer.

Another fact, which will render the functioning of the PIMS more ambiguous, is the non-existence of any provision in request for proposal document, under which, the flow of patients to two different hospitals, PIMS general hospital and the concessionaire owned multispeciality hospital, will be channelised.

Who will, and on which terms and conditions, decide that whether patient is to referred to the PIMS general hospital or multi specialty hospital. There is a no clause in request for proposal document, which will ensure that their will be no diversion of patients form the PIMS general hospital to concessionaire-owned multispecialty hospital, where charges of treatment will be nearly equal to that of any big private hospital, said an officer.

Chandigarh, January 1
Punjab DIG (Crime) Jagdish Kumar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar SSP Rakesh Agarwal are among the police officials who have been awarded the Director-General Commendation Disc for their “outstanding police achievements” as well as their “service to the people”.

State DGP P. S. Gill today approved 51 police personnel for the award of the commendation disc, a new commendation that has been introduced by him in the police.

The other officials who have been approved for the disc include SP (Headquarters), Sangrur, Lakhwinder Singh, DSP, Sunam, Pritpal Singh Thind and DSP (Rural), Patiala, Davinder Singh.

The Inspectors who have been approved for the disc include Resham Singh, Ram Lal, Balbir Singh and Harwinderpal Singh. Sub-Inspectors Karminder Singh, Baj Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Harjinder Singh, Angrez Singh, Bhagwant Singh and Avtar Singh were also cleared for the commendation.

SIs Sohan Lal, Sarabjit Singh and Karam Chand, ASIs Subhash Chand, Harbans Singh, Puspa Devi, Avtar Singh, Harpreet Singh, Ashwani Kumar, Sukhpal Singh, Head Constables Bahadur Singh, Usha Rani, Jagmal Singh, Tikka Ram, Jugal Kishore, Daljit Singh, Walati Ram, Bhupinder Singh, Kuldeep Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Surjit Singh, Gursewak Singh, Varinder Singh, Ramesh Kumar, Jasvir Singh, Tilak Raj, constables Bute Khan, Harjinder Singh, Avtar Singh, Parshotam Singh, Ramesh Kumar, Manga Masih, Jaswinder Singh were also named for the commendation disc.

The awardees will get an elliptical-shaped disc made of bronze in golden colour with the commendation disc embossed on the obverse, with the Punjab Police monogram 
in the centre.

Amritsar, January 1
Veteran Akali leader and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) member Manjit Singh Calcutta has alleged that the SGPC Sikh scholars and experts were not being consulted on the issue of the proposed amendments to the widely accepted Nanakshahi calendar. On the other hand, the Akal Takht Jathedar, Giani Gurbachan Singh, has said that he would not like to specify what changes were required to be made in the calendar.

“I don’t want to say anything at this juncture when the issue has been referred to the SGPC executive committee. There are some changes that need to be made in the calendar. But I am not going to pinpoint these proposed changes. The calendar has an inbuilt mechanism to adopt changes, if need be. The matter, however, is now with the executive committee,” said Giani Gurbachan Singh while talking to The Tribune.

The SGPC executive committee will be discussing the contentious issue pertaining to the proposed changes --- mainly sought by the Sant Samaj led by the Damdami Taksal --- on January 3. The meeting was likely to be a stormy affair particularly when a large number of Sikh bodies were opposing tooth and nail the idea of any amendements in the calendar on the ground that the calendar had already been approved by the Akal Takht and the SGPC besides having been recognised by the Punjab and the Union governments.

A number of such bodies including the American Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Sikh Youth of America, Dashmesh Durbar Surrey, United Khalsa Dal, etc have already opposed any changes in the calendar. “The calendar is being changed under a conspiracy to appease the Rashtriya Swyam Sewak Sangh (RSS). It is scientific and does not need any change,” said the American Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee vice- president, Dr Pritpal Singh.

Calcutta said the SGPC did not discuss the issue of changes even in its interim committee and it had failed to follow the laid-down procedure for changes, if any. “There is a proper procedure to follow if any changes are to be effected and it has been specified by the SGPC in the calendar itself. It is an irony that the procedure was not followed,” said Calcutta.

Moga, January 1
The All-India Sikh Students Federation and Sikhs for Justice have welcomed the decision of the Delhi government to grant permission to the CBI to launch criminal proceedings against Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, who was allegedly involved in the 1984 riots.

The Lt-Governor of Delhi, Tejendra Khanna, on Thursday gave the go-ahead to prosecute Kumar in murder and communal riots cases. The CBI had been sitting over this case for the past four years after completing the investigation.

A former parliamentarian, Sajjan Kumar was accused of instigating mobs that went on a rampage killing Sikhs in the national capital in the aftermath of the assassination of the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, in November 1984.

Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bir Devinder Singh on Friday said the sanction given by the Centre to prosecute former minister Sajjan Kumar reflected the sincerity of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister to assuage the feelings of hurt caused by the 1984 riots.

In a statement here, he said it would also help restore the confidence of the people in the justice delivery system in the country. He said the step would also prove to be an image-building exercise besides restoring the shattered confidence of the aggrieved minority community.

Bir Devinder said all those meaning business must identify the black faces that threw spanners in the wheels of justice delivery system by resiling from their statements. 

Amritsar, January 1
Hardly anyone knows that legendary Bollywood playback singer Mohammed Rafi was passionate about kite flying and was a good badminton player apart from being inimitable voice behind around 50,000 film and non-film songs that still keep him alive even after 30 years of his death.

His worldwide acclaim and popularity notwithstanding, Mohammed Rafi was a down-to-earth film personality.

He was so helpful to the needy was proved by the fact that he invited his nephew Mohammed Aziz Rafi back from Amritsar only to train him in music under his baton at Rafi Mansion in Bandera in Mumbai and introduced him to Bollywood through some Punjabi films.

However, luck chose to elude Mohammed Aziz Rafi, as he was forced to leave Rafi Mansion immediately after the death of Mohammed Rafi on July 31, 1980. Circumstances even made him stretch further and pull rickshaw for some time in Mumbai till he returned to his native place Amritsar, where he was to do menial jobs to make both ends meet.

“Rafi Sahib was benevolent enough to take me to Rafi Mansion where he trained me in classical music for a year before his death. I was amazed to see his skill as a kite flyer and as a badminton player. Rafi used to play badminton for over one hour daily. At the same time, he ensured to spare some time for flying kites especially on weekends,” recalled Mohammed Aziz Rafi, who is now a small-time singer and sings at ‘jagratas’. He, along with his actor wife Suman, lives in Amritsar.

Aziz, son of Rafi’s sister Nooran, has also sung a couple of Punjabi film songs. “ I feel lucky to have been trained by Rafi. But at the same time I am sad that though Rafi’s immortal songs are hummed by countless people worldwide, nobody has come forward to perpetuate his memory by setting up some memorial in his name,” rued Mohammed Aziz Rafi.

He added that his resolve was to relive the magic of Rafi by singing his songs in his peculiar style.

Amritsar, January 1
Navjot Singh Sidhu, MP, today pitched for setting up a film city and invoking the Goonda Act to tackle piracy that has hit the Punjabi film and music industry hard besides making Punjabi films free from all taxes. He said the regional films should be freed of all type of taxes, making them commercially viable. He said to protect our Punjabi culture, steps must be initiated to save the Punjabi film industry.

He said the anti-piracy laws were relaxed in the state, which reduced the commercial viability of Punjabi films as even before the release of these films, their pirated VCDs and DVDs reached the market.

He said he would take up the issue with Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal to set up a film city in the state and invoke the Goonda Act, as has been done in Karnataka, to revive the fortunes of Punjabi movies. He said he would urge Sukhir to raise the issue in the Punjab Assembly.

Meanwhile, the two-day third Punjabi film festival, organised by Sur-Sanjh, will be held on January 16. 

Chandigarh, January 1
Punjab Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla said today while unveiling the health plan for 2010 that maternal and child health continued to witness a consistent increase with institutional deliveries going up by 40 per cent.

Chawla said similarly other schemes had witnessed an increase in the number of beneficiaries with incentives being given to them being 138 per cent more than the figure for the previous year. She said infant mortality rates in the state had also seen a decrease by two points from 43 to 41 as per the latest survey conducted by the Centre. She said the state had been placed third nationally as far the immunisation programme was concerned.

The minister also said the PNDT Act was being enforced strictly in the state and that recently 23 panchayats having a sex ratio of 1,000 or more had been awarded cheques of Rs 1.5 lakh each. She said the child sex ratio had also witnessed an increase from 796 in 2001 to 838 in 2007. Laxmi Kanta said as far as school health was concerned, the state saw 431 children being referred to the PGI in Chandigarh for the free treatment of rheumatic heart disease. She said 120 children had been treated and Rs 1.55 crore was spent on their treatment. Free treatment was also being given to children suffering from cancer. So far 34 children had been referred to the PGI.

Referring to the roadmap for 2010, the minister said 11 new primary health centres would be upgraded to community health centres. All district hospitals would be provided with dialysis machines this year. Maternity wards in all district hospitals would be upgraded.

Jalandhar, January 1
In a major achievement, the Counter- Intelligence staff today seized narcotics worth more than Rs 90 crore in the international market from three persons at two different locations, near here.

The Counter-Intelligence staff acting on a tip-off recovered 18 kg of Methamphetamine (synthetic drug) along with .32-bore revolvers and cartridges from the trio, identified as Sanjeev Singh, Pawan Kumar and Narinder Kumar.

The CI staff led by DSP Navjot Singh Mahal seized 4 kg of narcotics from Sanjeev, who was driving a Honda City bearing number DL-3C AY4719 on the Jalandhar-Partapura village road this morning, while another 14 kg of narcotics was seized from the duo, Pawan and Narinder, yesterday. They were commuting in a black Pajero bearing number HR 26 AA 7226 on the Doraha road in Ludhiana.

AIG Counter-Intelligence, Opinderjeet Singh Ghumman, said that after preliminary investigation it had been discovered that the consignment was to be sent to Jagdish Bhola, a narcotic smuggler who is at present residing in Canada. “The narcotic, Methamphetamine, is comparatively more expensive than heroin in the international market. A kilogramme of Methamphetamine is priced at approximately Rs 5 crore in the international market, making it an extremely expensive narcotic,” he added.

It was also revealed that Sanjeev Singh was an NRI and was deported from England after completion of 10 years of imprisonment in a drug-related case. “He was also arrested by the Mumbai police some two years back and was currently on bail,” he maintained.

A case under Sections 25, 27, 54 and 59A of the NDPS Act has been registered against the trio. “We are investigating the route and the final destination of the smuggled narcotics,” said AIG Ghumman.