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Amended Nanakshahi calendar released
PPCB raid finds 7 units violating norms
Gurshan’s body brought back from Oz
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Documenting the rise and fall of Lahore Durbar
Engineering better future for underprivileged
Foreign students visit Khalsa College
Physiotherapy beneficial for players: Experts
Computer Education
GADVASU suspends classes
Aspiring nurses undergo screening test
Minister seeks pay parity for ayurvedic docs
Nine teachers suspended
Wheat Procurement
Clash over control of gurdwara
Cabinet nod to Budget
Part 1
It’s shameful, says Makkar
Three drown in Sutlej
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Amended Nanakshahi calendar released
Amritsar, March 14
The Jathedar said adherents of the Sikh faith must celebrate all Gurpurabs, social and family occasions according to the amended calendar as it would remove the misconceptions and would iron out all discordant notes. He said as earlier, beginning of all months would fall on sangrand. Earlier, the Nanakshahi calendar, prepared by Canada-based Sikh scholar Pal Singh Purewal, was adopted and implemented in 2003. Even as several sikh organisations protested against the amendment, the five Sikh high priests had directed the SGPC executive to take a final decision on the proposed amendments last year. The Jathedar Akal Takht had pronounced his approval in favour of the amended calendar and said it would be implemented from January 7 onwards. The Akal Takht Jathedar handed over copies of the new calender to Giani Mal Singh (head granthi of the Golden Temple), Giani Jaswant Singh, Giani Rawel Singh and SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar. The SGPC chief said the calendar was dedicated to first Sikh king Baba Banda Singh Bahadur as third centenary of his victory over Sirhind was being celebrated this year as ‘Sarhind Fateh Diwas’. He informed that elaborate arrangements were being made to distribute copies of the calendar among the Sikh masses. Besides, it would also be available on the SGPC website.
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PPCB raid finds 7 units violating norms
Patiala, March 14 As per the information, in a meticulously planned operation to conduct raids at the industrial units of Ludhiana, top brass of the PPCB constituted four teams, comprising three environmental engineers in each team. Subsequently, raids were conducted at Bahadurke Road, Tajpur Road, Focal Point and Rahon Road, the four most polluted areas of the city. The entire operation was personally monitored by board chairman Rajat Aggarwal and PPCB member secretary Dr Babu Ram. Ram said strict instructions were issued to the raiding parties that they would not take any calls on their mobiles to keep the operation secret. Besides taking the samples from all the units, the board officials also took the photographs in order to make the operation foolproof. The officials examined the units to check that whether units were flouting the norms by using the municipal solid waste as fuel in the dyeing units. “Raids were carried out in 13 industrial units located in the above mentioned four areas. The seven units found violating the norms are Salopal Dyeing Works (Focal Point), SV Processors and Bhandari Hosiery Exports
(Rahon Road), BL Malhotra Dyeing (Meharbaan village), GMG Processors and Deepak Dyeing House
(Tajpur Road) and Triveni Processors (Bahadurke Road),” said Dr Ram. Aggarwal said in wake of the continuous trade of the board against the industrial units flouting pollution norms, now considerable number of units have started their treatment plants. “In future also, the surprise raids would continue and stringent action, under the relevant pollution norms, would be taken against the erring units,” he added.
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Gurshan’s body brought back from Oz
Kotkapura (Faridkot), March 14 Gurshan’s body was found dumped by a roadside six hours after he went missing from home. Although the Australian authorities have not yet disclosed the cause of the death, an Indian man, Gursewak Dhillon (23), has been charged with manslaughter by criminal negligence. Dhillon, who was a housemate of the Channas, is in police custody. Before leaving Australia, Gurshan’s mother Harpreet Kaur Channa told mediapersons that this was a very tragic moment for all of her family members, which has changed their entire life. “We went to Australia for a better family life with our son Gurshan. But now we have come back without his smiles”, she added. The couple had stayed in Australia for just two months. Before flying out of Australia, a small memorial ceremony was also held at Melbourne in the memory of Gurshan, which was attended by 30 persons, including the Indian Consul General Anita Nayar. The Victorian Minister for Community Development, Lily D' Ambrosio, was also present. Meanwhile, Gurshan’s paternal grandparents Jarnail Singh and Gurdev Kaur who were settled in Canada, had also come back at home here on Thursday for the last rights of the child.
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Documenting the rise and fall of Lahore Durbar
Chandigarh, March 14 Former Vice-Chancellor Swarn Singh Boparai, while participating in a panel discussion on the book, said historians were scared of touching the military side of history. “This is where the real history is,” he said, adding that Amarinder had presented his case in a clinical yet erudite manner. This, he claimed, was a “lion’s job” and that Amarinder had risen to it like he did on the issue of inter-state river waters when he was Chief Minister. MJ Akbar said Ranjit Singh’s governance had an effect on Punjab even during the pre-Partition era. He said the concept of ‘shared governance’ initiated by him in his kingdom ensured there was no space for the Muslim League in Punjab despite the fact that they were in majority in the state. ‘Day and Nights’ news head Kanwar Sandhu highlighted the sagacity of Ranjit Singh, saying the Maharaja did not take on the British even when approached by the Marathas and instead concentrated on keeping his kingdom together. Amarinder when asked why Ranjit Singh succeeded by the panel said it was because of the Maharaja’s military genius. “Ranjit Singh laid out his objectives and went about achieving them one at a time”, he said while detailing how the Maharaja first subjugated the ‘misls’, then the big landlords and then took on the Afghans. Claiming that everyone had his plus and minus points, including himself, he said Ranjit Singh liked possessing what he wanted and did not care a damn how he got it. He gave the example of how Dost Mohammad got the Kohinoor taken away from him in this regard. Amarinder claimed he had given history a human face in his book. “I try to put the person there. A human story has emerged”. He also gave an account of the surrender of the Sikh army after the battle of Gujarat and how soldiers giving up arms said “aaj mareya Ranjit Singh.” “This example encapsulates the hold this man had over the Sikh psyche even a decade after he was no more,” he added.
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Engineering better future for underprivileged
Fatehgarh Sahib, March 14 These self-motivated girls have taken the mantle of enlightening children of slum areas and impart lessons on moral values to them, besides providing study material. For the past few months, these girls have been teaching around 30 slum children. “The students came into contact with the underprivileged kids when construction work on the college campus begun few months back and they were seen idling in a park. They were offered help by first year students and then some other girls came to teach them,” said Diljeet Kaur of the college. She said that the children are informed regularly about advantages of cleanliness and importance of studies in their lives. “Around 10 to 15 of these children are quite keen to pursue studies and have expressed their desire to read books everyday,” said Jaspreet Kaur, a first year engineering student in the college. She said that every day three to four hours are spared by them for slum children. They are taught about numerals, alphabets, stories and good deeds of renowned personalities . With more children showing interest in the initiative, many students have come forward to donate money and offered books and stationary items a few days back. Shabnam Kaur, Manpreet Kaur, Diljit Kaur, Gursharan Kaur, Jasdeep Kaur, Ramanjot Kaur, Tejwant Kaur, Kamalpreet and Shayana Verma have been teaching these slum children in a college park. The children are also offered nail-cutters, sleepers and are told to make schedule of bathing every morning. When college management and professors came to know about the teaching of slum children they too extended support to the girls and announced to donate a blackboard, notebooks and other necessary stationary for these children. These Samaritans are igniting the souls of many to contribute something towards uplifting the underprivileged.
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Foreign students visit Khalsa College
Patiala, March 14 This visit was an opportunity for students of both countries to know each others education policies in a better way. The delegation, led by Dr Graham Pike and Dr Bruce Condie from Vancouver Island University and Nanaimo British Columbia, Canada, respectively, visited different departments of the college.
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Physiotherapy beneficial for players: Experts
Patiala, March 14 Dr Manabendra Bhattacharya, senior scientific officer, sports medicine, highlighted the importance of physiotherapy in sports. She threw light on how the therapy could help in prevention of various sports injuries. Specific problems related to females, and the role of sports physicians in tackling knee-related injuries were also discussed during the workshop.
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Classes during board exams irk teachers
Gagan K Teja Tribune News Service
Patiala, March 14 The teachers have alleged that while they are busy giving examination duties, these classes have further tightened their already busy schedule. All teachers have been asked to attend computer classes in two shifts. Those who have exam duty from 9 to 12 am or are not on any duty are to attend the class from 1.20 pm to 3.20 pm whereas those who have evening duty have to attend the class from 11 am to 1 pm. The reason for teachers’ disapproval of this idea is the shortage of time for checking papers. “While I give duty in the morning shift, I have to take this class in afternoon which leaves me with no time to check papers. As per the directions, we have been ordered to check all papers till March 20 so that the results could be prepared by March 25 but when are we supposed to check them,” questioned one of the teachers. District Education Officer (Secondary) Surinder Kaur Verma said this was the decision of higher authorities and she could not comment on that.
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GADVASU suspends classes
Ludhiana, March 14 The authorities have called a meeting with the students’ parents on March 16 and 17 to inform them about the protest and decide the future course of action. The undergraduate students of the College of Veterinary Science and other colleges of GADVASU have been protesting against the establishment of a new Veterinary Polytechnic at Kaljharani in Bathinda and introduction of various diploma courses. The students have been stalked by fear and apprehension that pharmacists graduating from the new polytechnic would compete with the field veterinarians, thus killing their employment opportunities. Baljinder Singh, president, Veterinary Students’ Association, said, “Already the government is not able to provide employment to its graduates. The step will lead to dilution of quality education and widespread unemployment.” However, university officials say this apprehension of the students is “baseless”, as separate posts are sanctioned for veterinary doctors and veterinary pharmacists. Despite repeated assurances to students, they had been continuing with their protest, said BS Randhawa, registrar, GADVASU. He said the parents of the students had been informed and asked to advise their wards to resume classes. “In spite of this, the students have threatened to lock the colleges and veterinary clinics of GADVASU which is going to jeopardise the normal functioning of the university and deprive the livestock owners of the state of clinical facilities,” said
Randhawa.
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Aspiring nurses undergo screening test
Ludhiana, March 14 Secretary, Health, Satish Chandra said, “Nurses passing out from private nursing colleges of Punjab know nothing about nursing, which has deteriorated the standard of nursing in hospitals.” The result would be uploaded on the department’s website on Tuesday, he added. Ludhiana Civil Surgeon Dr Maninderjit Singh said, “The move was the need of the hour as nurses coming out of private nursing colleges do not even know basic skills of noting down blood pressure, pulse rate and administering injections with precision.”
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Minister seeks pay parity for ayurvedic docs
Chandigarh, March 14 Quoting here, Dr Rakesh Sharma, Director, Ayurveda, said the minister reiterated that the new era would be the period of ayurveda. The minister said this at a national seminar on “Preventive Cardiology in Ayurveda” organised by Rashtriya Ayurveda Vidyapeeth (RAV). According to Dr Sharma, gurus, sishyas, administrators and policy makers had appreciated the plea of the minister. The highlight of the function was felicitating ‘Padma Vibhushan Rajvaidya Brihaspati Dev Triguna’ with the title “Living Legend of Ayurveda”, who is a doyen in the field of ayurveda. The RAV also felicitated 15 luminaries, who have achieved exceptional milestones in the field of ayurveda, on the occasion. Dr Sharma said Dr Dinanath Uppadhya, President Ayurved Mahasamelan, Maharashtra, also extended invitation to the Health Minister for inaugurating a national function on ayurveda scheduled to be held in Mumbai this month.
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Nine teachers suspended
Chandigarh, March 14 The Director-General (school education) has stated that anyone who wants to give information about any case of copying during the ongoing examinations can call at 0172-6541673. They can also e-mail at ssapunjab@yahoo.com and complaintcell@yahoo.com. —
TNS
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Wheat Procurement
Ludhiana, March 14 Although the arrangements have been finalised, the biggest challenge before the government is storage of the procured wheat. The state already has around 70 lakh tones of wheat procured last year lying in the open. The state is expecting a bumper wheat harvest this year. Experts estimate that the wheat production may touch 150 lakh tonnes this year. The crop condition so far has been good and the experts predict a record production as the weather conditions so far have been very conducive to the growth of wheat. The government is expecting 115 lakh tonnes of wheat this year - about five lakh tonnes more than last that was a record procurement. According to official information, government agencies will procure 80 per cent of the marketable surplus and the Food Corporation of India will procure the rest of 20 per cent. The agency-wise procurement allocation is - Pungrain, MARKFED, and Punsup (20 per cent each) while Punjab State Warehousing Corporation will procure 11 per cent and Punjab Agro Corporation 9 per cent. The state government has also set up more than 1,600 purchase centres across the state.
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Clash over control of gurdwara
Noorwala, March 14 The police, however, brought the situation under control. Following the clash, the village was virtually converted into a fortress with a heavy deployment of cops. Eyewitnesses said the problem started around 9.30 am when Ravidassias allegedly broke open the lock of the gurdwara and held a congregation to celebrate Sankranti. As they were about to install their religious scriptures on the premises, over 50 Jat Sikhs, accompanied by several police personnel, reached the spot. The jats alleged the “Nishan Sahib” was damaged and Ravidasias said their holy book was desecrated. The police, accompanying the assailants, stood a mute spectator as members of the two communities clashed. The gurdwara, constructed on the Panchayat land, is the bone of contention between the two parties since long. While a separate gurdwara was constructed by the Jats last year, the old one had been locked. However, the keys were with the Ravidassias. After the main gurdwara was shifted, Ravidassias, who form over 50 per cent population here, demanded that the old gurdwara be handed over to them. Hari Singh, former sarpanch of the village, alleged that the Jats did not want the Ravidassias to enter the old gurdwara due to communal differences. He further said, “Last evening, a few Jats came to the gurdwara and changed the lock on the door. They took away the keys too. They filed a written complaint with the police stating that in case of any illegal possession of the gurdwara, we (Ravidasias) would be held responsible.” Raj Kumar, leader of the Ravidassias, alleged that Zila Parishad member Bibi Paramjit Kaur was also present when the clash broke out. “She abused us and made caste remarks,” he alleged. Meanwhile, blaming Ravidassias, the Jats said there was no problem. “When they demanded to celebrate Sankranti in the old gurdwara, we agreed. In spite of that, they broke open the lock and created ruckus,” said sarpanch Avtar Singh. The SP-III said the issue was resolved for today. A meeting of leaders of both the factions was held with the ADC. Another meeting would be held on Tuesday and the Deputy Commissioner would listen to both the parties. He added that the administration had taken the possession of the gurdwara and the DC would hold deliberations with villagers.
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Cabinet nod to Budget
Chandigarh, March 14 chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal this evening, as Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has been advised rest for some time more. Stating this here today, a spokesman for the Punjab Government said the Cabinet also gave an approval to lay reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India relating to Civil, Commercial and Revenue Receipts of the state government for 2008-09, besides Finance Accounts and Appropriation Accounts of the Punjab Government for 2008-09 on the table of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha. The Cabinet also gave nod to amend the Rule-15(2) of the Punjab Civil Services (General & Common Conditions of Service) Rules, 1994. According to the new rules, persons seeking appointment as clerks would have the option to clear Punjabi typing test either on manual type-writer or computer. Further, it also gave an approval to amend the Punjab Advocates Welfare Fund Act, 2002, by submitting the Punjab Advocates Welfare Fund (Amendment) Ordinance, 2010 (Punjab Ordinance No.3 of 2010) to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha for amending the size of the stamp 28 mm x 39 mm instead of 1” x 2” and to convert this Ordinance into an Act.
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PAU’s Research Station hits ton
Established in 1910, it catered to agriculture technology needs of the area extending from Gujarat (Pakistan) to Ambala before Independence Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service
Gurdaspur, March 14 This quote of legendary author Jonathan Swift aptly sums up the working of Punjab Agriculture University’s (PAU) Research Station here, which is roaring its way into its centenary year. The station- as they call the state-of-the-art research centre here- has surely come a long way ever since it was established here in 1910. At that time, it catered to agriculture technology needs of the sub-mountain area extending from Gujarat (Pakistan) to Ambala in India. From 1910 to 1940, research activities were limited to testing crop varieties developed in Lyalpur (Pakistan). These activities pertained to production of seeds and determination of agronomics (agriculture economics) and cultural practices best suited for the region’s soil. During this period, Sardar Kharak Singh, Deputy Director of Agriculture, made an exceptional contribution in the field of improving agricultural implements. Prominent among the tools designed by him, which later turned out to be the most successful one, was the sugarcane juice-boiling furnace. So successful was it that the authorities now refer it as the “Sardar Furnace.” In 1941, Dr Ram Singh, a renowned scientist of his era, started a cereal-breeding substation to give more impetus to research on the development of disease resistant, high-yielding varieties of wheat and mash. This was essential because this region is noted for high rainfall and high humidity. Both the natural factors are very friendly for the development and spread of fungal diseases in the area. After 1941, work on crop improvement was progressively extended to rice, sugarcane, pulses, maize, oilseeds and desi-cotton. The staff taking care of soil science, entomology, pathology and horticulture was provided by the government of the time during this phase. Earlier, the immensely successful Fruit Section was established in 1928 with the result that several varieties of mango were recommended for cultivation after a thorough research. Recommendations on fertiliser applications, propagation techniques, reducing post-harvest losses and plant protection were basically provided from the Fruit Section. The administrative control of the Research Station remained with the Deputy Director of Agriculture, Punjab Government, till PAU took charge of things in 1962. It was in 1972 that renowned scientist Dr MS Randhawa, known as the father of Green Revolution and the man who as Delhi’s Deputy Commissioner made all arrangements for the historic event of August 15, 1947, when Jawaharlal Nehru delivered the “Tryst with Destiny” speech, upgraded the status of the centre to that of a regional research station in his capacity as PAU’s Vice-Chancellor. Upgradation meant a new spacious building complex for office and laboratory work. Speaking about the achievements, Director of the Station, PS Bagga, with a glint in his eye, said, “ Every great advance in agriculture research has been derived from imagination. Here, we are into agricultural research because we know that he who owns the soil also owns the sky.” Agriculture not only gives riches to a country. Actually, it gives a nation those riches, which it can call its own. People working at the station here understand this like no one else and that is the reason why they work with a zeal, bordering on the religious.
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It’s shameful, says Makkar
Ludhiana, March 14 The SGPC chief said Sikhism was founded to bridge the divide between different communities. The Gurus had taught their disciples to believe in one God and treat all humans with equality. “But this is very unfortunate that members of a community stopped others to visit a place of worship. I am really hurt,” Makkar said, adding that such incidents, where two communities levelled allegations and counter-allegations against each other, should not happen in the future. “Religion should be used for uniting people and not dividing them,” he said.
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Three drown in Sutlej Phillaur, March 14 The victims were washed away in the current. Divers were pressed into serice, but while the body of Sandeep Kumar was recovered, the other two could not be traced till the filing of the reports.
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On the occasion of the first day of the 542nd Nanakshahi Samvat, Jathedar Akal Takht Giani Gurbachan here today released the amended Nanakshahi calendar.
Fatehgarh Sahib, March 14
Noorwala, March 14
