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Govt won’t pay PSEB for power
PSERC petitioned to declare adjustment illegal
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Semester System
Air pollution causes 200 premature deaths annually in Ludhiana: PGI
A traffic park with Nek Chand’s imprint
PNB
employee siphons off Rs 48 lakh Despite
change in merit, school teachers will stay on Medical
council to have more elected members Uranium:
BARC, GNDU to conduct joint study Punjabi
poet Dr Jagtar dead ‘Fateh
march’ takes off from Nanded Farmers
set to grow new potato varieties
11 yrs on, CBI to probe Amritsar ‘custodial death’
Tainted Cops
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Govt won’t pay PSEB for power
Patiala, March 30 However, the letter - issued by the state Department of Finance to the Principal Secretary of the Department of Power - states that loans worth Rs 1660.5 crore were outstanding against the Board as on March 31. Loans running into Rs 1140.43 crore were due for repayment and the Board has been asked to pay off these loans at the earliest. The letter, a copy of which is with The Tribune, mentions that the government had decided that the Rs 1140.43 crore loan be adjusted against the free power subsidy amount the state government has to pay the Board. No physical payment shall be made and the loan would be repaid by book adjustments. “It is not the first time that this has happened. Earlier also the state government had adjusted Rs 1362 crore payable to PSEB in 2007-08 against an outstanding loan of Rs 3075 crore,” said PSEB Engineers’ Association president HS Bedi. Board chairman HS Brar was not available for comment.
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PSERC petitioned to declare adjustment illegal
Chandigarh, March 30 The petitioner has demanded that in case the state does not make the payment in cash, then provisions of Section 65 of the Electricity Act should be invoked and the amount should be recovered from consumers. It has also been demanded that effective safeguards be incorporated in the tariff order for 2010-11 so that such adjustments do not happen again. The Punjab government has adjusted subsidy due to the Board against loan last year also when it adjusted Rs 1,362 crore in this manner. The petitioner said that it was the responsibility of the PSERC to monitor and administer the provisions of the tariff order released by it last year. It claimed that the instruction of the Commission in its tariff order that subsidy be paid in advance monthly installments was flouted in each and every month and that this non compliance resulted in accumulation of unpaid subsidy of Rs 1,400 crore, most of which has now been adjusted against loan.
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Semester System Rajmeet Singh Tribune News Service
Mohali, March 30 Ranging between 30 and 50 per cent, the new fee will be applicable to candidates appearing in the examination for 2010-2011. Based on the semester schedule, the fee will be charged twice during an academic session. The decision was taken at a recent meeting. Sources said in the case of Class X, Rs 300 and Rs 40 per subject would be charged per semester against the current Rs 400 and Rs 40 per subject charged for the whole year. The fee for private and compartment candidates for the whole year had been increased from Rs 550 to Rs 1,000. For those appearing from outside the state, the fee had been increased to Rs 1,400 for the whole year and Rs 40 per subject, per semester. For candidates who opt for additional subjects, the fee for those from Punjab is up from Rs 220 to Rs 440 and for those from outside, it has been doubled to Rs 660 from the existing Rs 330. For senior secondary students, the fee had been hiked to Rs 800 from the existing Rs 500 and the fee per subject would be Rs 60. For the candidates appearing in categories of private compartment and improving performance, the fee would be Rs 1,200 in place of the existing Rs 600. The maximum hit are the candidates from outside Punjab, who would now have to pay Rs 1700 instead of Rs 850. For the open school candidates, the fee for matric and senior secondary has been increased to Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,200, respectively. The existing fee for the two classes is Rs 850 and Rs 1,100. Giving justification, board officials said due to introduction of the semester system, the financial liability of the board had increased.
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Air pollution causes 200 premature deaths annually in Ludhiana: PGI
Chandigarh, March 30 A study conducted by the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in 2002-04 on “Association of Air Pollution and Mortality” in Ludhiana, which was recently conferred the best paper award on Environmental Health Practice by the Indian Public Health Association (IPHA), says the work establishes a strong link between air pollution and health ailments and increases mortality by 2.5 per cent. While short-term problems related to air pollution include diseases like bronchitis, tightness in the chest and wheezing, its long-term impacts can causes chronic diseases like lung cancer and heart ailments. The study relies on the data collected by the Punjab Pollution Control Board that showed an annual average of ‘Residual Suspended Particulate Matter’ (RSPM) levels in the city exceeding the national standards by almost five times. As per the WHO figures, standard level of RSPM is 50 microgram/cum but in Ludhiana, it was 225 microgram per cum in 2002-04, which perhaps would have gone higher by now. Talking to The Tribune, Rajesh Kumar, head of Community Medicine Department, says it will be appropriate to describe RSPM as ‘respirable’ suspended particulate matter since that’s what is being inhaled by the people and is the root cause of all bronchial ailments and the complications arising from it. Elaborating on RSMP, he says these are caused by soil, vehicular, diesel and industrial pollution. He adds apart from the data from the PPCB, they have relied on the mortality figures from the Birth and Death Registration Office and visibility conditions from Metrological Department and Airport Authority of India (AAI). He says the study indicates an increase in mortality rate by 2.5 per cent when the visibility is less than one kilometre, which indicates highest level of air pollution. About 30,000 deaths were recorded during the study period, and about 200 deaths could be directly attributed to air pollution. Tarundeep Singh, another member of the team, says the daily death toll when compared with the air pollution levels clearly indicates that on days when the air is more polluted, the mortality rate is high. He says this is apparently because the patients already suffering from severe chronic bronchial, respiratory and cardiac diseases (read the sickest), fail to withstand the high level of pollution and die. The IPHA Award was conferred on the team in January 2010, and the findings are likely to be published in the association’s quarterly journal soon.
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A traffic park with Nek Chand’s imprint
Nurpur Bedi, March 30 The Rs 6-crore project is being managed by the Ropar Police under the aegis of the local Peer Baba Committee. With the foundation laid in August, the construction work is nearing its completion. “Only the landscaping task and mural fixing is left. Within the next two months, we hope to complete the project,” said SSP Ropar Laxmi Yadav. He said the police had approached Nek Chand in mid-August with the proposal to erect some of his magnificent murals here. “When Nek Chand started his career, he used to take stones and rocks from Nurpur Bedi and the Nangal belt. He has an emotional attachment with the place and readily agreed to give us some of his creations,” Yadav said. “We took services of some cops who are well aware of the kind of designing involved,” said DSP GS Dhaliwal.
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PNB
employee siphons off Rs 48 lakh Amritsar, March 30 As per the complaint, the accused used to debit amounts to Suspense Pension Accounts, credit these to fictitious accounts and eventually debit the same into cash through fictitious and forged withdrawal slips. The Suspense Pension Account is an impersonal account of the bank used for normal transactions. In most transactions, Jaskirat took all three steps of depositing, passing and payments. It was alleged that she managed to destroy vouchers and evidence for illegal and unauthorised credits to accounts of her own and her relatives. A case has been registered under various sections against Jaskirat, her husband Harjeshwar Dyal Singh, her son Preet Ishwar Dyal Singh - all residents of the city - her brother Amrit Preet Singh and his wife Satwant Kaur - residents of Patiala - and Satwinder Kaur and her husband Nirmal Singh - residents of Chheharta - on March 20. All of them have many individual and joint accounts in various PNB branches. The FIR stated that she wove a net in connivance with her husband Harjeshwar, an employee of Punjab and Sind Bank. Over Rs 18 lakh was fraudulently debited to the Suspense Pension Account and credited in the account of Surinder Kaur, who is running a chit fund company. The bank official alleged Surinder was an accomplice of Jaskirat. The same amount has been fraudulently withdrawn in cash from February 12, 2007, to December 18, 2007, through 26 withdrawal slips. The withdrawn money through different slips were entered under the password of Jaskirat and most withdrawals were up to Rs 20,000. Jaskirat, using her own password, debited Rs 19.42 lakh to Suspense Pension Accounts and credited the same in the account of Satinder Kaur from December 30, 2006, to December 18, 2007. She debited to suspense pension accounts about Rs 8.16 lakh and credited the same to the account of Nirmal Singh and Satwinder Kaur, it added. The kingpin thus misappropriated over Rs 47 lakh from the suspension pension accounts of PNB. |
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Despite
change in merit, school teachers will stay on Chandigarh, March 30 Allowing a bunch of
at least 15 petitions against the state of Punjab and other respondents,
Justice Surya of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today quashed the
order-cum-notice issued on November 20 last for terminating the services
of school teachers. He also directed the respondents “to allow them to
continue against available vacancies”. In one of the petitions, Hindi master Rajinder Kumar said he was selected on the basis of an advertisement issued by the state education department on October 27, 2006, for filling up 2,614 posts of lecturers, masters and mistresses. As many as 500 posts were advertised for Hindi masters and mistresses. After selections, some candidates - claiming to be higher on merit - were allowed to be taken in by the high court. In compliance with orders, he was served the notice, stating his services were liable to be terminated, as his name did not figure in the merit list following re-determination of merit on the basis of a committee report. Justice
Kant asserted: “It may be true that some candidates were wrongly
rejected by respondents, treating them ineligible for the want of
updated backward class certificates, who have finally succeeded before
this court. “The direction issued by the high court to threat those
candidates as eligible should not work to the disadvantage of the
petitioners. The fact that hundreds of posts are lying vacant and
government schools, especially in the rural areas, are suffering a lot
for want of adequate teachers, it would otherwise also be in the
interest of the students’ community to retain the petitioners in
service.” Before parting with the orders, Justice Surya Kant
clarified the petitioners would be allowed to continue “without
affecting the seniority of candidates held to be higher on merit”. |
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Medical
council to have more elected members Chandigarh, March 30 “We are delighted at the amendments,” say RS Parmar
and Yash Sharma, President and immediate past President of the Indian
Medical Association, Punjab chapter. “The amendments are a historic
milestone in the healthcare system in the state. Now, different areas
and sections of healthcare and medical services will get adequate
representation in the body that works as a watchdog to ensure ethical
practices are followed. Because of the growing demand for specialties and super specialties, the IMA had been demanding that number of elected and nominated representatives should be raised and the election procedure be streamlined. The existing Act provided for election of three members of the council by postal ballot. The system, doctors felt, was unreliable and was prone to rigging and manipulations. Now the amended Act provides for direct polling. The term of the council has also been raised from three to five years. Direct polling will assure transparency, free and fair poll, giving all practising doctors a chance to be elected to the council. The IMA leaders said that amendments were made possible because of initiatives taken by the Minister for Medical Education and Research Tikshan Sood, Adviser to Chief Minister Daljit Singh Cheema and Punjab Medical Council chief Manmohan Singh, a cardiologist. It is the Punjab Medical Council that has to ensure religious implementation of all Acts pertaining to healthcare and medical practice in the state.
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Uranium:
BARC, GNDU to conduct joint study Bathinda, March 30 BS
Bajwa, Professor of physics in GNDU, said this in a seminar on “Human
health risk assessment in the South-West Malwa region” here today
organised by Kheti Virasat, Punjab, and India Water Portal and Arghyam. He said Punjab had been divided into three zones for the study. Bathinda and Ropar with thermal power plants had been made separate zones to study the impact of fly ash emanating from coal brought in from Bihar and Jharkhand where uranium mines existed. The third zone would consist of Amritsar and Jalandhar. Preliminary reports point out high uranium in ground water in 22 villages. |
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Punjabi
poet Dr Jagtar dead Jalandhar, March 30 Dr Jagtar was widely credited
for being a stickler for meter and rhyme in his compositions, thereby
imparting an old-word charm to them. He was conferred the Sahit Akademi
Award in 1995 for his book “Jugnu Diva te Dariya”. Other than
this, his celebrated and critically acclaimed books on poetry include
“Sheeshe da Jungle”, “Lahu de Naqsh”, “Dukh Pathri”, “Tilkhiyan
Ranginian”, “Ruttan Rangliyan”, “Janjriyan vich ghiriya Samundar”,
“Chunakri Sham” and “Mom de Log”. According to family members, he was busy penning a travelogue on his visit to Pakistan. The writer was born in Raj Gomal village in Jalandhar but he had made his home in the Mithapur area for the past many years. In addition to writing, he was also busy helping students of the Punjabi literature. He was also an expert in Persian, Urdu and English. Kendriya Punjabi Lekhak Sabha general secretary Rajnish Bahadur, poet Fatehjit, Jaswant Deed, Balvir Parwana, Sukirat, Jass Mand, Lok Morcha general secretary Amolak Singh, Punjab Lok Sabyachar Manch general secretary Kanwaljit Khanna and others writers had expressed grief on the demise of the poet. His death has come as a rude shock to his admirers not only in India but also in Pakistan where he enjoyed a huge fan following. |
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‘Fateh
march’ takes off from Nanded
Amritsar, March 30 The Panj Piaras led a bedecked palanquin of Guru Granth Sahib, which was followed by vehicles displaying arms and ammunition of great Sikh warriors. One
of the biggest attractions of the march, according to SGPC chief Avtar
Singh, was the horse from the family of ‘Neela Ghoda’ of Guru Gobind
Singh and the Gatka parties comprising hundreds of Sikhs. The march was
likely to reach Fatehgarh Sahib on May 12. Talking to TNS over the
phone, Avtar Singh said the purpose of this event was to salute the
great Sikh General Baba Banda Singh who taught a lesson to the Mughals
by killing the then Governor of Sirhind, Wazir Khan, in a war at
Chhapadchiri. He said a park and a museum in memory of Baba Banda Singh
was being set up on 10 acres of land at Fatehgarh Sahib. — TNS |
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Farmers
set to grow new potato varieties Ludhiana, March 30 The varieties were displayed at an agricultural technology exhibition held at the Central Institute for Post Harvesting and Engineering Technology (CIPHET), Ludhiana, under the National Agriculture Innovative Project of Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR). The high-yield varieties are heat tolerant and have been developed to make French fries. Dr
Ashok Kumar from the CPRI said International fast food chains had
approved these varieties and are already using them in their outlets.
“Kufri Frysona has dry matter in high percentage and its approximate
yield is 350 quintal per hectare. “We are already giving it to farmers
to grow,” said Dr Kumar. Elaborating upon Kufri Surya, Dr Kumar stated that it was the best variety recommended for farmers as it could be sown in September with temperature up to 35°C. To top it all, the yield is ready to reap in 70 days of its sowing. Inspired
by the entrepreneurial aspects involved in the growing of Kufri Frysona
and Kufri Surya, Harjinder Singh, a farmer from Ludhiana district said:
“I have tried my hands at tomatoes and onions but I think this potato
venture will give me long-term gains. Also, the venture will attract my
son, who wanted to deviate into something innovative in terms of
farming,” the farmer added. The most lucrative part of the potato
growing would be the “selling cost” as the cost of a single potato
is not more than Rs 6 for the farmer whereas the food chains are
procuring it for Rs 30 per potato. “We are teaching farmers to grow
the potato crop with correct means of processing so as to enhance their
income,” Dr Kumar said. |
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11 yrs on, CBI to probe Amritsar ‘custodial death’
Chandigarh, March 30 Disposing of a petition by Gurtez’s father Krishan Singh, Justice Anand asserted: “The stances are contrary and unbending. The hoarse, but deafening, cry of a father wants accountability fixed for the custodial death of his teenager son. The state resists the plea by reiterating that its agencies, magisterial and also the law enforcement personnel, had done the job well and found it to be a case of suicide by the deceased.” “The petitioner, in support of the plea for investigation by CBI, relies upon many chinks in the state version. The state does not yield and sounds a diffident note. The court has no option, but to adjudicate the validity or otherwise of a plea for further probe by the CBI.” Gurtez was in custody in connection with FIR number 193 under Section 382 and 511, IPC, at police station “A” division, Ram Bagh, Amritsar. Justice Anand asserted: The deceased died within a few hours of his having been detained in the lockup... The fact that there were as many as 14 injuries on the body of the deceased was proved by the post-mortem report… One part of the police stance is to the effect that deceased hanged himself from the ventilator; while the other version is that he hanged himself from the window.
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Punjab to file affidavit
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 30 The directions were issued during the hearing of a suo motto case on the posting of police officers on key posts, despite the pendency of serious criminal cases. As the case came up before the Bench of Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Jasbir Singh, Delhi resident Ashish Kumar, got up and handed over an application saying vigilance chief Sumedh Singh Saini, was facing serious allegations, but had been promoted from Inspector-General of Police to Additional Director-General of Police. He said the promotion orders came even as CBI Special Judge at Delhi framed charges under provisions of the IPC against him. Ashish said his mother Amar Kaur has also approached the Supreme Court seeking Saini’s suspension. Amar Kaur had earlier moved the high court following the disappearance of her son, his brother-in-law and driver in March 1995. The application sought directions for placing under suspension Saini’s services, security for Amar Kaur and her son Ashish, and transfer of other cases against the family from Ludhiana to any other court in Haryana. Punjab Additional Advocate-General, Rupinder Singh Khosla, on the other hand, argued Saini was one of the best officers and had done exemplary service during the days of militancy. The Bench made it clear that issue of an individual officer was not the matter of discussion, and directed the state counsel to file a detailed affidavit. The Bench also directed Ashish to file the application in registry.
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The adverse impact of air pollution on health are well known but the fact that about 200 people die prematurely every year in a city like Ludhiana - Punjab’s financial capital- because of the polluted air they breathe in should come as a shocker.
A study conducted by the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in 2002-04 on “Association of Air Pollution and Mortality” in Ludhiana,
which was recently conferred the best paper award on Environmental Health Practice by the Indian Public Health Association (IPHA).
Nurpur Bedi, March 30
Jalandhar,
March 30
Justice Anand also directed the CBI to “furnish a report to the Registry of this Court at an early date, preferably within three months”.