Promote engineer from back date: HC
Chandigarh, April 17
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed that an engineer with the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB), whose promotion was initially delayed due to pendency of departmental proceedings, be promoted from the date the departmental promotion committee (DPC) approved his case.

PU has failed to spread Sikh Gurus’ message: SGPC chief
Amritsar, April 17
Remarks of a section of senators of Panjab University, Chandigarh, who had allegedly dubbed the SGPC as a “communal organisation” during their April 4 meeting, have invited the ire of SGPC chief Avtar Singh.

Patiala, April 17
The state government has empowered the Deputy Commissioners of all districts of Punjab to directly supervise the lifting of the wheat crop and has also vested them with the powers to make the transport and labour arrangements for the speedy lifting at their own level. Giving this information after reviewing the arrangements at the Patiala-Sirhind Road main Grain Market, DS Guru, Principal Secretary to the Punjab CM, while interacting with the Press at the Market Committee office, here today, said, “On account of the severe heat wave in the state, there has been an immense increase in the arrival of wheat in the grain markets, all across the state.”

Guru further said that Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal himself was monitoring the procurement process and all the DCs were sending the report about lifting on a daily basis to the CM. The CM has issued clear instructions that in case any official/employee of any purchase agency was found discharging his duty in an irresponsible manner, he would be dealt with a heavy hand,” he said. Replying to a query regarding the storage of the wheat, he said a total of 1,646 purchase centres had been established in the entire state and arrival of 110 lakh metric tonne wheat was expected. “But the state government has already made requisite arrangements for storage of 115 lakh metric tones wheat,” he added.

Giving certain figures, Guru said till April 16 evening, the arrival of wheat stood at 50 lakh metric tonnes, out of which 48 lakh metric tonne wheat had already been purchased. He claimed that the rest of the wheat would be purchased today.

“The DCs had already been instructed to clear the payments to the farmers within 48 hours of the purchase,” he said, while clarifying that there was no dearth of funds for making the payments to the farmers. Conceding to the request of the arhtiyas (commission agents), Guru also instructed the police to increase the vigil by the cops at the grain markets to ensure that there was no theft during the night hours.

Later, accompanied by Patiala Deputy Commissioner Deepinder Singh, Guru also went to the Bhadson and Nabha grain markets and reviewed the arrangements. 

Patiala, April 17
Rajya Sabha MP and SAD general secretary Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, who recently met all 17 Indians facing death sentence in a UAE prison, today said that the role of the Indian embassy in UAE in the above case had been irresponsible. Speaking to The Tribune, Dhindsa, who was in the city to attend a function, said had the Indian embassy officials briefed the Indian Government about the matter on time, the situation would not have acquired such an alarming proportion.

Dhindsa, who had also met the Consulate-General of India in Dubai recently, further said that it was ridiculous that Indian embassy officials met the youth facing the death row just once. He further said that Indian embassy officials should have remained in constant touch with the youth and at the same time should have briefed the Indian Government from time to time. “The youth are also at fault, as they never informed about the matter to their parents and the NRIs to help them out of the situation. Even there was no lawyer to defend them,” he told, while adding that he has conveyed this to Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur as well.

Dhindsa also indicated that they are contemplating that cutting across political lines, a joint delegation of all MPs of Punjab would be meeting the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on this issue very soon. “It is good that Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal took up the matter so strongly, after which the Union Government has also taken stock of the situation and coordinated efforts are on to help the Indians facing the death row,” he asserted. Dhindsa appealed to all political parties not to give any political colour to the issue, as it could adversely affect the case, it being a court matter in some other country. He added that the Indian Government would make all possible efforts to bail the youth on the death row out of the crisis.

Reacting to the recent murder of a Sangrur resident in Australia, Dhindsa expressed grief, while stating that it was extremely unfortunate that Punjabis were not being treated well abroad. “Even the Punjabis who had visited foreign countries on more than one occasion are facing problems in getting the visa,” he opined. 

Amritsar, April 17
Remarks of a section of senators of Panjab University, Chandigarh, who had allegedly dubbed the SGPC as a “communal organisation” during their April 4 meeting, have invited the ire of SGPC chief Avtar Singh.

The SGPC chief has openly come out against a section of the university senate and alleged that the university had failed to propagate philosophy of Sikh Gurus and saints among the people of Punjab.

Certain senators had reportedly dubbed the SGPC as a “communal organisation” as Tajinder Kaur, Principal of the Guru Nanak College for Girls, Muktsar, had mentioned the SGPC’s name at the April 4 senate meeting .

The SGPC chief alleged that it seemed that certain senators of Panjab University were not well-versed with the history of the SGPC, which had passed through turbulent times and members of which had contributed their immense lot in the freedom struggle of India.

“Upon the creation of the SGPC in 1925, even Mahatma Gandhi had congratulated the Sikhs saying India had won freedom struggle after setting up of the SGPC. No other organisation could do as much for humanity as has been done by the SGPC by helping victims of Latur earthquake, people of tsunami-flooded areas and by running over 200 educational organisations across the country,” said Avtar Singh.

Criticising the “limited” role of the university in spreading education among rural masses, Avtar Singh alleged it was ironical that though 66 per cent of the population of Punjab lived in rural areas, only 3 per cent of rural students were admitted to the university. Has doors of the university been closed on people of rural Punjab?” questioned Avtar Singh, saying the university was sans any Punjabi typist for its correspondence course in Punjabi literature.

“The senators need to subject themselves to introspection and the Vice-Chancellor should ensure that no such thing which could hurt religious sensitivities of people should be allowed to be uttered in the future. The Guru Nanak chair, Baba Farid and Bhagat Ravidas Chair have been lying vacant and this speaks volumes about apathy of the varsity towards Punjab,” alleged Avtar Singh. 

Ludhiana, April 17
Following an SOS sent by the PAU Kisan Club, the private seed companies and traders in Punjab have volunteered to replace the PAU 201 seed with other varieties of the seed.

The PAU Kisan Club in order to deliver the farmers (who had already bought PAU 201 paddy seed) from their dilemma of "double investment" had called upon private seed merchants in Ludhiana, Kotakpura, Giddarbaha, Ferozepur and various other towns and cities to replace their PAU 201 seed with other paddy seed varieties.

As a result, coming to the rescue of farmers, some seed traders have agreed to replace the PAU 201 seed with other seed varieties, including PR 120, PR 118, PR 116, PR 111 and 1121 Basmati. The farmers in Punjab and the adjoining states had bought 4,000 quintals of PAU 201 this year.

The PAU Kisan Club president, Pavitar Pal Singh Pangli, while speaking to The Tribune said, "As compared to the past years, 18 per cent of the total area under cultivation of paddy 201 touched 25 per cent this year. It is rather unfortunate that PAU 201 has been discontinued as it fetched additional benefits of Rs 500 crore to the farmers which were expected to go up to Rs 700 crore this year.”

It was not just the farmers but the commission agents also earned 2.5 per cent on Rs 500 crore last year and this loss with the non-sowing of PAU 201 will affect the GDP of the state this year, Pangli stated further.

Comparing the policies of the Indian Government and other progressive nations, Pangli said countries like Japan had managed to provide nutrition to their population through staple diet as despite having small land holdings, their governments had encouraged the farmers to cultivate varieties of rice that were rich in proteins, vitamins, iron and other nutrition.

The PAU Kisan Club members alleged that some rice sheller owners had created a controversy for "vested interests" as they did not have "up to the mark machinery" for rice milling.

"But it is unprofessional on the part of the central government agencies to have ignored features like dietary benefits of iron content in the variety, enhanced profit margins of farmers, and water conservation, before giving the verdict against the variety. 

Fazilka, April 17
The Graduates Welfare Association Fazilka (GWAF), a voluntary organisation of this border town, has launched a “Save Birds” project, perhaps the first of its kind in the country.

Under this project, the members of the GWAF will motivate the residents to arrange water for the birds so that they could survive the blistering sun and rising mercury.

“Every year lakhs of birds die due to unavailability of water during the summers and it has been affecting the biodiversity adversely. Hence the GWAF has taken up the task to save the birds in this area by providing them water during the summer season,” said Navdeep Asija, secretary (administration), GWAF.

Once known for its good population of peacocks, the border town residents have become a repenting lot as the national bird has gone out of sight due to felling of shady, ornamental and fruit-bearing trees in the area during the past many years.

“In due course of time, the Fazilka urban green belt has been reduced to less than 0.2 per cent and no major afforestration plan is being implemented by the local authorities. It has become a major factor for the birds going away from this area as they have lost their nesting places,” added Asija.

Under the project, the GWAF had made an appeal to all residents to keep a pot filled with water in the courtyard, balconies, rooftops and the lawns of their dwellings so that birds could use these, he said.

“We will be distributing pamphlets to make our mission popular and acceptable among a large section of populace of this town and its neighbouring rural areas. About 25 members of the GWAF, who have been living in this town, have already started this exercise,” he added.

“I hope that our efforts will bring desirable results and will save a number of birds from falling a prey to the scorching sun during summers with the availability of water in every nook and corner of the town,” he claimed. 

Chandigarh, April 17
Thirtyfive years after a Punjab Police official was prematurely retired, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has refused to affix its stamp of approval on the order. The court has ruled proper consideration was not given to the case, while passing the order.

A year after Independence, Baldev Singh joined the police force as a constable. In about four years he was promoted as head constable.October of 1956 saw him promoted as sub-inspector, a post on which he continued till 1973. As he remained on medical leave thereafter, Baldev Singh was initially reverted as head constable and then prematurely retired with effect from September 1, 1975.

To make matters worse for the cop, he came to know about his premature retirement only in March 1979. Challenging the order, Baldev Singh filed a suit claiming it was not passed on the basis of his performance. His suit did not find favour with the trial court, and was dismissed. But the findings were reversed by the first appellate court, leading to the filing of a regular second appeal before the high court by the state of Punjab.

Taking up the case, Justice Ranjit Singh quoted the Punjab Civil Services (Premature Retirement) Rules to assert: “A person who completes 25 years of qualifying service or attains 50 years of age can be retired from service provided the authorities are of the opinion that it is in the public interest to do so….

“The appellants did not make any attempt to set up the case that the premature retirement of the respondent-plaintiff Baldev Singh was in public interest…. Even no evidence was produced by the appellants to show as to what was that public interest which prompted the senior superintendent of police concerned to pass the order of premature retirement”.

Justice Ranjit Singh asserted: “It cannot be said that proper consideration was given to the case, while passing the order. No attempt was made to show the record of the respondent-plaintiff, which could have justified the action of the appellants to prematurely retire him.

“The view taken by the first appellant court does not suffer from any legal infirmity. I would, therefore, dismiss the regular second appeal being without merit.” 

Amritsar, April 17
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today paid obeisance at the Golden Temple where the Badal family has organised the akhand path for the speedy recovery of the CM’s wife, Surinder Kaur Badal. She is under treatment in the USA.

Chandigarh, April 17
Drug abuse is assuming an alarming proportion in three border districts of the state and immediate remedial measures are required to curb the trend that indicates substance abuse was fast overtaking traditional intoxicants.

The rapid increase in number of addicts belies the assumption that drug abuse was more prevalent in certain strata of society. In border districts of Ferozepur, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur and Amritsar, it has been found that chemists and medical practitioners have become an “important part in the cycle of drug trade and abuse”.

A study conducted by PS Verma and Vaishali Mishra for the Institute for Development and Communication (IDC) has concluded that peer pressure among the young was an important initiating factor while the trend is no longer confined to the higher economic strata with demand for drugs has considerably increased even among the poorer sections of society.

Further, the study has found that drug abuse tends were relatively more prevalent among Sikhs as compared to Hindus in these border districts. Verma has suggested that the first major step towards ensuring a drug free society was implementing effective prevention strategies in combating substance abuse.

Highlighting serious concern at the rapid increase in number of additions in the border area, which is only representative of the rest of the state, the study has suggested the immediate devising of treatment programmes run at well-equipped centres. The present study reveals that most de-addiction centres are ill-equipped with respect to resources and infrastructure. Such drug de-addiction centres across all districts of Punjab could be done under the supervision of civil surgeons to provide free and better medical treatment.

The study has further suggested that the government should encourage community initiatives like community-based rehabilitation centres, develop proper referral systems so that the rural population knows where to avail services of drug relief, establish vocational courses in de-addiction centres as part of the rehabilitation process and ensure effective coordination among various support providers such as panchayats, municipalities, social workers, hospitals or health centres, police etc. to restore normal functioning among the abused.

For sampling the study, from each of the four districts, two border tehsils were selected and in each tehsil, 10 villages were chosen on basis of random sampling.

Out of these 20 villages, 10 villages were situated at a distance of 0-10 km from the international border and 10 in the range of 11-20 km. The study thus covered 80 villages falling in eight tehsils of four border districts of Punjab. Besides the aforesaid villages, four urban centres were also covered, which included Ferozepur, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur and Amritsar.

Jalandhar, April 17
The district police claims to have arrested five bookies for allegedly betting on the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) matches. The police has also recovered 54 mobile phones, two laptops, six brief cases and certain other electronic goods from them.

Acting on a tip-off that some bookies were entering the city from the Hoshairpur road, the police laid a trap and intercepted two luxury cars on Ladowali Road in the wee hours today.

The search of the vehicles led to the recovery of six suitcases, carrying mobile phones.

Talking to media, Pawan Kumar Rai, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Jalandhar, said the accused had been identified as Ajay Kumar, alias Vicky, alias John, a resident of Central Town, Harish, Ashwani Manchanda, Sudhir Kumar and Bhupinder Sharma.

John was involved in the particular trade for the last over four years and is allegedly well connected.

All of them have been arrested and a case under the Gambling Act has been registered against them at Baradari police station.

Rai said while Ajay Kumar was the kingpin of the gang, Harish was a computer expert and used to make a record of the bets, the other accused used to receive the bets.

The suspects, who were betting on a website, were making financial transactions online. During preliminary interrogation, the accused have revealed some more names of their accomplices and efforts are on to arrest them.

He did not rule out international connections of the bookies and said exact information about the modus operandi would be known only after their detailed interrogation.

Sources in the police, however, revealed that certain high-profile people of the region were involved in the racket and betting on the IPL matches to the tune of crores of rupees.

The bookies were earlier operating from the city, but had shifted their base to the outskirts of the city after getting information that the police was behind them. They were operating from rented accommodations and kept on shifting frequently to elude the police.