Jalandhar, April 13
Rural veterinary officers employed across the state took serious note of the statement made by Minister of Animal Husbandry Gulzar Singh Ranike regarding filling of 100 posts of veterinary officers in the department through the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC).

While terming the statement as a mere befooling the people in the name of new posts and recruitments, Dr Abdul Mazid, president of the Punjab State Veterinary Doctors Association (PSVDA), said that at the juncture when the state was already suffering from scarcity of veterinary officers, the statement of fresh selections did not go down well.

“We want to assert that new appointments through the PPSC will serve no purpose as it will be merely shifting doctors from the Zila Parishad to the Animal Husbandry Department. As many as 582 veterinary hospitals were transferred to zila parishads in 2006. However, only 419 veterinarians were transferred against 582 posts. Even today, 163 posts are lying vacant. No more veterinarians were available in the state. The new recruitment process would absorb doctors from nowhere but from the existing chunk of doctors which would eventually render 100 more posts vacant in villages,” said Dr Majid.

He said that contractual RVOs were selected through rigorous process, therefore, there was no need to screen them through a new selection procedure.

“If the government is really sincere about the plight of the dairy sector, instead of filling new regular posts through the PPSC, it must think of regularising veterinarians already working as RVOs for years,” he added.

PSVDA general secretary Dr Surjit Mal said members of the association had met the Chief Secretary to press the government not to proceed with the process of selection through the PPSC. He said if the government would not stop here, they would be forced to mobilise panchayats and launch a state-level agitation.

Nawanshahr, April 13
While the district administration has been claiming that all the arrangements have been made to ensure power supply as well as security arrangements at the power sub-stations, (to thwart the apprehension of disruption in power supply by the agitating PSEB employees, during their strike from April 14 midnight to April 16 midnight), the employees of the departments put on emergency duty at the power stations have been finding themselves in a quandary.

The police has been deployed on duty at the power sub-stations to prevent any untoward incident during the strike by the PSEB employees in protest against the proposed unbundling of the PSEB. Besides, training has been imparted to employees of other departments to tackle any emergency during the strike period.

The PSEB officials claim that only those employees, who have technical knowledge have been put on duty. Networking of teams of PSEB officials has also been done so that in case of any disruption in power supply, the teams from adjoining areas could reach the spot to restore power supply.

SDM Virpal Singh today visited the power stations to take stock of the technical back up system as well as security arrangements.

Meanwhile, employees belonging to other departments, who have been put on duty at the power stations, while sharing their woes with The Tribune, said they were being made scapegoats.

“They have been receiving contradictory instructions. On the one side, they have been made responsible for the maintenance and smooth supply of drinking water as well as the security of water tanks during the strike by the PSEB employees, on the other hand, they have been relieved from their duty of obtaining training for performing emergency duty at the power house,” rued the Rural Water Supply employees adding how they could perform two responsibilities at the same time.

Besides, how could they tackle the emergency at the power station or repair the faults in power supply by obtaining just two days’ training. “Who would be responsible if any untoward incident occurred, causing harm to the employees belonging to other departments while performing emergency duty at power station?”, further asked the employees.

Kapurthala, April 13
The police has registered a case against a non-resident Indian (NRI) and his accomplices for forcibly harvesting the wheat crop of a farmer of Sardulapur village, falling under Sultanpur Lodhi subdivision, today.

NRI Sukhwant Singh Padda of Germany along with Karnail Singh, alias Bootna, of Sardulapur, Jasbir Singh and several other accomplices have been booked for criminal trespass, forcibly detaining a person and theft of wheat crop in eight acres. A case under sections 379, 447, 342, 148 and 149 of the IPC has been registered at Kabirpur police station.

Sources said Surti Ram, a servant of Sadhu Singh, who tills the land, told the police that he was sleeping near the tubewell when the Padda along with the other accused came there and forcibly locked him inside a room after midnight.

They then began harvesting the crop with a harvester and took away the wheat worth nearly Rs 2 lakh in tractor-trailers. Since the land is at some distance from the village nobody came to know about the whole illegal operation that took place in the middle of the night.

When Sadhu Singh came in the morning at the tubewell, he heard the cries of Surti Ram coming from the room. He got Surti Ram out of the room, who then told him the whole story. They later informed the police, which registered the case after inspecting the scene of the crime.

Padda has been in the news earlier too when he was warned by the police from sporting a red light beacon on his car in violation of norms.

Hoshiarpur, April 13
Deputy Commissioner Megh Raj reacted sharply over the corruption charges against some government officials made by the Chairperson of the District Vigilance and Monitoring Committee and Hoshiarpur MP, Santosh Chaudhary, in a meeting of the committee while reviewing the implementation of the Centre-sponsored schemes at mini secretariat here yesterday.

“If anyone proves that I am corrupt or getting undue advantage from my subordinate officials in implementing MGNREGS, I will resign from my post,” the DC said when Chaudhary said many Sarpanches have complained to her that their respective Block Development and Panchayat Officers generally take bribe to release the money.

According to the DC, the district had taken lead in the implementation of the scheme in Punjab. The district received Rs 4506.61 lakh of which Rs 3270.29 lakh had been released and Rs 2847.15 lakh had been spent up to March 31, 2010, he said.

Later, Chaudhary clarified that she had never traded corruption charges against the DC or any specific officer. It was the general complaint of the Sarpanches.

Hoshiarpur, April 13
Water supply and sewerage facilities are being given to 86 per cent and 59 per cent, respectively, areas of 135 towns in state and the remaining parts would the covered within next 2 years for which Rs 4,400 crore would be spent, said Chairman of Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Punjab, Dr Baldev Raj Chawla, while talking to the mediapersons here yesterday.

He said Rs 168 crore would he spent in Amritsar city to complete this venture, Rs 380 crore in Jalandhar, Rs 318 crore in Ludhiana, Rs 108 crore in Bhatnida, Rs 124 crore in Patiala and Rs 23 crore in Malout for sewerage under Sutlej Action Plan.

Eight sewerage treatment plants including three in Ludhiana, one each in Jalandhar, Phagwara, Kapurthala, Sultanpur and Nangal were in operation. Four plants were being established in other cities of Punjab. The control of water supply and sewerage in 131 towns was under the Water Supply and Sewerage Board whereas Mohali, Muktsar, Anandpur Sahib & Faridkot towns were being governed by the Public Health department. Dr. Baldev Raj said the Government of India had already granted Rs 946 Lakh for providing hundred percent water supply and sewerage facilities in Hoshiarpur, Garhshankar, Mahilpur, Shamchaurasi, Hariana, Mukerian, Garhdiwala, Tanda Urmur and Dasuya towns for which it had already released first installment of Rs 162.9 crore.

Rs 161.72 crore would be spent for the installation of sewerage treatment plants under Sutlej action plan in Hoshiarpur, Shamchurasi , Dasuya, Mukerian and Tanda Urmar towns of Hoshiarpur district.