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Car with explosive seen at toll plazas
State of Anganwaris
Dal Khalsa to hold ‘parallel’ march
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Mixed reaction to move on revival of Upper House
Langar body to boycott Amarnath yatra
Relief for SGPC members
Rail connectivity sought for science city
Specialist docs want postings in big cities
Three pilgrims killed, 46 hurt in mishap
Shops worth crores being rented out for pittance
PSHRC seeks report on dead fish
Sirhind Choe Encroachments
Ban on stubble burning goes up in smoke
Locked houses make census duty difficult
Govt shielding Saini, says Amar Kaur
Doc couple booked for conducting abortion
District family planning officer, Ropar, Baljit Singh at Chandigarh Nursing Home with equipment confiscated during a raid on Friday. A Tribune photo
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Car with explosive seen at toll plazas
Ferozepur, May 10 Information gathered by TNS revealed that white Maruti car, bearing registration number DEA-5554, made about four trips between toll plazas located in the Jalalabad and the Fazilka areas on the Ferozepur-Abohar road of this districts in April. Though state intelligence agencies managed to get this information from the record of registration numbers of the vehicles, which passed from toll plaza daily, no one could be rounded up in this connection so far. A number of sleuths of various intelligence agencies had been camping in Ferozepur district since last night. Information revealed that the intelligence agencies had been suspecting that about 1.8 kg of explosive material, which was found in the car, could have been brought to India from Pakistan by Piara Singh, a resident of Gatti Madde village of this district and situated near zero line of the Indo-Pak border. Piara Singh was arrested with 3.5 kg of RDX by the Mohali police a few months ago. Ever since the arrest of Piara Singh, different agencies were trying hard to find out the destination of other quantity of RDX, which had been supplied by Piara Singh to the underground members of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) outfit. Information revealed that Piara Singh along with a teenaged smuggler Gurbhej Singh alias Bheja were assigned the task of smuggling narcotics, explosives, weapons and fake Indian currency by terrorists belonging to different outfits and at present lodged in different jails of Punjab. PK Jaiswar adds from Amritsar: Even two days after the seizure of explosive material from an abandoned car in the city, the police still has not made much headway. A special investigating team led by Commissioner Varinder Kumar is awaiting of forensic reports from Delhi and Meanwhile, the registration number of the car was also found to be fake and there was no engine and chasis number emblazoned in the engine as they were apparently rubbed out by the miscreants before abandoning the car.
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State of Anganwaris
Chandigarh, May 10 The Women and Child Welfare Department has, in response to a series of stories carried by the Tribune on the state of anganwaris, filed a “status report” to the Chief Minister that reads more like an explanation than a report. The department was asked to file a status report by CM Parkash Singh Badal when the matter was raised by Congress MLA Rana Gurmit Sodhi in the Vidhan Sabha when the news report was published on March 25. The “status report” submitted by department secretary TR Sarangal is eyewash and at best a documentation of para-wise comments on the points raised in the news reports. The Tribune reports were based on information gathered during surprise visits by the correspondents to anganwaris across the state. The reports had highlighted the abysmal conditions in which these centres
are running. No effort had been made by the department to constitute a team to check ground realities of these centres and then report its findings. No officer of the department even bothered to pay a surprise visit
to any centre. For compiling the status report, the department merely corresponded with those in charge of the centres mentioned in the news reports and asked for their comments on the points raised. Most of the centre heads have either denied allegations or doled out weak explanations. As no effort was made by the officials to cross-check the information provided by the centres, the status report has turned out to be just a compilation of the observations gathered from the anganwaris about the news report. The Tribune reports had pointed out that while the number of children registered in centres is high, actual attendance is much less. This in turn leads to opportunities for pilferage of nutrition and medicines meant for the children. The department had asked for comments on this from the centres, which wrote to the department giving the total number of children registered with them. The Tribune report had also added that while the number of centres in the state had risen sharply over the years, the attendance had thinned considerably. To this the department responded by giving the total of number of children registered and trying to show how the number of children in anganwaris in the state had increased over the years.
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Dal Khalsa to hold ‘parallel’ march
Amritsar, May 10 The Dal Khalsa would undertake the “Khalsa Raj Parade” from Chappar Chiri to Sirhand on May 12, where Baba Banda Singh Bahadur had unfurled the saffron Khalsa flag and had established the first-ever rule of the Sikhs, said Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh. He said a simple ceremony would be performed to salute the saffron flag “symbolising the Sikh sovereignty”. Courting a new controversy, he said Dilawar Singh, an assassin of former Punjab CM Beant Singh, would be honoured on the occasion with “Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Bravery Award”. He said family members of those, who remained associated with the recent Sikh struggle, would also participate in the march, adding that representatives of the Khalsa Action Committee, SAD (Panch Pardani), Sikh Students Federation, Sikh Youth of Punjab and other like-minded groups would also be part of the function. “It will be a befitting reply to all those forces and individuals, who had been attempting to project Baba Banda Singh Bahadur as Bairagi to drag him into Hindu fold,” he said. He criticised the Akali leadership for inviting the BJP and Congress leadership for celebrating the tercentenary celebrations.
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Mixed reaction to move on revival of Upper House
Jalandhar, May 10 The government has recently announced its decision of reviving the House that had been functioning in the state till the late 60s. Akali veteran Kuldip Singh Wadala is of the view that the House has ostensibly been dissolved on the plea of financial implications while the real reason, according to him, is that the government wanted to render the old guard incapable of dictating terms. He said since the then Chief Minister, Justice Gurnam Singh, wanted to sideline Sant Fateh Singh and Jathedar Jiwan Singh Umrannangal, he trotted out the plea of financial burden on the state and disbanded the Upper House. On the other hand, intellectuals like Karamjit Kaur Chaudhry, general secretary of the Government Colleges Principals Association, says the House should be revived since it has ample scope of accommodating people who want to do public service but cannot because of the high financial stakes involved. Many prominent citizens like former principal Avinash Chander and former technocrat GS Virdi are of the view that the system was abolished so long ago that its utility would have to be evaluated in the present scenario. While the expenditure involved would be a major concern, it would have to be seen that financial implications would be offset by the advice rendered by those who were nominated to the Legislative Council. Chander said it was a ploy to accommodate the old guard with perks and privileges. Virdi, however, strikes a note of caution when he says as the average citizen has a problem with his elected representative, what would be the fate of access to a nominated member without any responsibility to his constituents?
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Langar body to boycott Amarnath yatra
Ludhiana, May 10 SABLO organises langar and lodging facility on the way for devotees visiting Amarnath and in case their demands are looked upon by the SASB, they have decided to scrap the services this year. The organisation has shot off a letter to the SASB listing their grievances. Addressing a press conference here today, Rajan Gupta, general secretary of SABLO, said the shrine board had reduced the place by 80 per cent for setting up langar. "They are forcing the devotees to stay in private tents where agencies charge them heftily. The shrine board has even failed to provide accommodation to pilgrims. The shrine board instead of lending a helping hand is scuttling our noble efforts for the best reasons known to it," he said. In addition to this, the J&K government has increased the allowance of the yatri bus from Rs 300 per day to Rs 2,300 per day. The number of sevadars has also been reduced to 40 from 50 which will adversely affect the overall quality and quantity of the services rendered by the langar organisations. The SASB has not yet started the registration process of yatris and the board has also not yet finalised about the chopper service. "The shrine board takes commission in the fare of the helicopter tickets being sold to pilgrims. In addition to this, the shrine board has invited tenders for shoe rack facility. People will also be charged for keeping their shoes outside the shrine, which generally is provided free of cost at all religious places," he added.
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Relief for SGPC members
Chandigarh, May 10 In an attempt to substantiate the point, counsel for the Union of India Onkar Batalvi quoted Section 51 of the Sikh Gurdwara Act to say: “Members of the board shall hold office for five years from its constitution, or until the constitution of a new board, whichever is earlier”. As the petition filed by SAD (Amritsar) chief Simranjit Singh Mann for holding elections came up before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Batalvi said: “The process of preparation of electoral rolls for the next SGPC elections will commence as soon as the electoral rolls are finally published. The election process will start thereafter”.
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Rail connectivity sought for science city
Kapurthala, May 10 Talking to The Tribune here the PGSC Director-General, Dr RS Khandpur, said he had already written to the Railways to make a rail circuit of Tarn Taran-Goindwal Sahib-Sultanpur Lodhi. Besides it has also been requested to the Railways to set up a station near the science city to facilitate visitors to come here through trains, he added. He expressed happiness over the state government’s approval to constructing a rail overbridge (ROB) at the Wadala level crossing near the PGSC in Kapurthala and for starting work for four-laning of the Jalandhar-Kapurthala road. Dr Khandpur said he would ask the state government to make an elevated road in the Basti area on the Jalandhar-Kapurthala road for a congestion-free ride for the visitors. —
TNS
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Specialist docs want postings in big cities
Chandigarh, May 10 Now, the state has again advertised for more doctors with most of those selected through a process started in 2008 refusing to join the government service. The state government had advertised for 155 posts for postgraduate doctors in 2008. The process of selection, which was done by a committee headed by doctors from the PGI here, selected 155 doctors and put another 53 on the waiting list to ensure all seats were filled. Only 58 specialists selected have joined duty till now. State Health Secretary Satish Chandra sums up the situation bluntly saying, “specialists are dictating terms to us”. He says most of the selected doctors want to join duty only if they are posted in Ludhiana or Jalandhar or close to Chandigarh and Mohali, all places that are already filled by senior doctors. Chandra says this is a demand, which is hard to meet because most of the vacancies for specialist doctors are in places like Samana and Patran in the Malwa hinterland or in backward districts like Mansa. There is an acute shortage of gynaecologists and pediatricians in these areas and the recruitment was expected to meet
this shortfall. The government is now looking towards the postgraduate batch of December 2009 to fill the vacancies and has today issued a fresh demand for 104 specialist doctors besides 214 MBBS and 48 dental doctors. However, with the limited availability of needed specialists, Chandra says even if all those available join the
government duty, it will take around two years to fill the posts. The recruitment this time around will also be done by a PGI team headed by eminent physician Dr JS Chopra. As much as 85 per cent of marks will be allotted to candidates keeping in view their academic record. Interview and experience will count for the remaining 15 per cent marks. The complete process will be open for scrutiny by candidates who will be given
seven days to file objections if any. Senior state doctors, however, feel that even the second recruitment drive of 104 specialists may not achieve the desired results. The Punjab Civil and Medical Services (PCMS) chief, Dr D C Sharma, says the present selection process favours postgraduates from the PGI, who refuse to join state service once they come to grip with the situation in the field areas. Sharma called for taking in more postgraduates from the state willing to join the rural service. Doctors also feel that the Health Department needs to get its act together by removing specialists posted in dispensaries and posting them in community health centres, where they were most needed.
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Three pilgrims killed, 46 hurt in mishap
Gurdaspur, May 10 The deceased have been identified as Ranbir Singh of Agra, Rajinder Parsad and Gayatri Devi, both residents of New Delhi. Passengers recuperating at the Civil Hospital said the driver dozed off and lost control of the vehicle. After hitting a tree, the bus (UP 17C 7066) overturned and was then hit by a tempo, which was following the bus. Residents of Bariyar village rushed to the spot and managed to take the injured on tractor-trailers and other vehicles to the Civil Hospital. Sources said some passengers were badly trapped in the bus and the police and villagers had a tough time extricating them. Deputy Commissioner Pirthi Chand also reached the hospital in the morning and announced that the district administration would bear all expenses incurred on the treatment of the injured. Bal Thackerey Mandal president Harvinder Singh Soni and Gurdaspur Rotary Club chief Janak Raj Saranagal also reached the hospital. They made arrangements for providing breakfast and lunch to the injured. Public Relations Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan, Gurdaspur MLA Gurbachan Singh Babbehali and Gurdaspur MP Partap Singh Bajwa expressed shock at the incident. In a statement from New Delhi, Bajwa said the state government should make arrangements to transport the bodies of the deceased to their respective places.
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Shops worth crores being rented out for pittance
Ludhiana, May 10 Hundreds of “illegal” shops have mushroomed over the past three-four decades on prime lands in the city. Also in some cases, the LMC generates monthly revenue of just Rs 10-230 per shop as rent, the market value of which must be more than in crores. According to sources in the LMC, many shops in interior city areas, including Chaura Bazaar, Field Ganj, Raikhy Cinema road, Mata Rani Chowk, Books market, electricity market etc, are “illegal”. “There are no records of these shops as the same had been occupied after partition by refugees, who had purchased these by paying nominal market value. No authority has ever taken up the matter seriously enough to check records as many vested interests are involved. Any action against the shopkeepers might affect the vote bank of local politicians. However, the MC is suffering huge losses because of this,” said an LMC official adding that the rent was once increased by Rs 2 and the shopkeepers threatened the LMC to move court protesting the rise. The land value in Ludhiana is similar to that in Chandigarh, or even more in certain parts. But most of the shops in the UT under the MC have been given on lease. MC Commissioner Chandigarh, Roshan Sankaria told The Tribune it was difficult to provide exact number of shops under MC limits, however majority of shops were given on lease for 99 years. “And a good amount of money is being generated as the rates/rents are increased from time to time as per rules,” said Sankaria. But things are altogether different in the industrial city. Additional Commissioner LMC Kamalpreet Kaur Brar said the authorities were preparing a list of shops on MC land. “We have no record of old shops in the interiors, the commercial value of which is in hundreds of crores. We will be able to get the records within 10 days, after which we can take action accordingly,” she said.
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PSHRC seeks report on dead fish
Nangal, May 10 It was reported that industrial wastes being discharged into the Sutlej have once again claimed aquatic life over an area of about 10-12 km. Dead fish and prawns were found floating downstream the Nangal Dam near the effluent discharge area of the National Fertilizers Limited. PPCB officials have collected water samples from the site. The SDM and NFL officials, too, have visited the area.
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Sirhind Choe Encroachments
Fatehgarh Sahib, May 10 As per officials of the District Revenue Department, all constructions on the choe bed are illegal and should immediately be removed. These buildings have allegedly come up over the past just few years without getting approval or NOC from the departments concerned. Besides demanding encroachments’ removal, the NGO has also demanded proper demarcation of the choe. The district administration and the Drainage Department officials have been dilly-dallying over the issue of choe’s demarcation for the past many years. The letter stated that blockade of the natural course of the choe would pose danger to a historic gurdwara here, railway lines, district administration complex and other important places during the rainy season. General secretary of the NGO Manoj Banda stated that he would also file public interest
litigation (PIL) in this regard soon. Meanwhile District Deputy Commissioner Yashvir Mahajan said the matter had already been brought into notice of senior functionaries of the Punjab government. He pointed out that the XEN Drainage Department is supposed to take action against the encroachments. However XEN DS Kohli said the owners of these buildings were served notices around 20 days ago to vacate land within 10 days. “However further action would be initiated only after the directions of the DC,” he added.
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Ban on stubble burning goes up in smoke
Patiala, May 10 What is unfortunate is the fact that every year, the district administration issues orders but it hardly leads to any positive impact, as any action is rarely initiated against the violators. Notably, considering that practice of burning wheat stubble is seen as a potential threat to the environment and in wake of the fact that refilling plant of gas cylinders situated near Nabha, the Deputy Commissioner, while exercising his power under Section 144, had recently enforced the ban on burning of wheat stubble till June 16. During a visit to the farms on the Patiala-Sirhind Road, it came to light that wheat stubble in most of the fields was already burnt to ashes. Speaking to The Tribune, residents of the colonies situated nearby rued that because of the burning of wheat straw, dense smoke engulf the area thereby causing immense respiratory problems to people. “It is really difficult for the residents to bear the burnt of the smoke”, said Teja Singh, a resident of Patiala-Sirhind Road, while urging the administration to take strict measures against those flouting the instructions issued by the DC. The farms located on the Patiala-Nabha road and Patiala-Rajpura road, too, depicted the same picture. The wheat stubble in major chunk of the harvested fields was burnt. Farmer Ujaggar Singh said the ban on burning of wheat stubble was a must, as this practice could lead to the elimination of a farmer-friendly beetle (Zygogramma Bicolorata). “The death of the beetle, which is a precious insect as it is the only means of biological control of Congress Grass (Parthenium Hysterophorus), one of the noxious weeds,” said Rajvir Singh, another farmer. But still a majority of the farmer’s prefer to burn their wheat stubble left after harvesting the wheat crops.
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Locked houses make census duty difficult
Patiala, May 10 These teachers have to do their census duties after the school hours, usually afternoons, when most of city residents are off to their work places. Hence, when the teachers visit their houses, they are unable to find any details of the family members. Neighbours sometimes are able to provide limited information, like the number of family members, yet other details that are not known to outsiders, too, need to be filled. “I leave the school at 11.35 am and by the time I reach the area to be surveyed, the houses are either locked or the people present at home are unaware of the details to be filled in the form. There are two houses in my area that are locked for quite some time. The owners live in some other city. How can I find out their details?” a government teacher rued. Because of this problem, many teachers even have to visit the houses either early morning or late evening. However, even then family members don’t attend them properly as they are either busy getting ready for their job or doing household chores at these hours.
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Govt shielding Saini, says Amar Kaur
Chandigarh, May 10 Accusing the SAD-BJP government of “shielding Saini for vested interests to terrorise the entire bureaucracy and its political rivals”, Amar Kaur has asserted: “It is because of the terror created by Saini and his men that more than 100 prosecution witnesses, including vigilance officers, who assessed Badal’s assets, have retracted their statement.” As her assertions in the form of an application were placed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice MS Sullar asked the state to file its reply to the allegations. Initially, the Bench was apparently disinclined to go ahead with the matter as it was prima facie of the view that a separate petition was an appropriate remedy. Speaking on behalf of the Bench, Justice Jasbir Singh verbally suggested to Amar Kaur’s son Ashish Kumar to file a petition and get it tagged along with the ongoing PIL, as his application was for relief against a particular officer, who was not even a party before the court. The PIL, on the other hand, dealt with larger issues like state action in case an FIR is registered against an officer, or he is charge-sheeted, or he has been convicted, but his sentence has been suspended by the high court. Ashish Kumar and amicus curiae Sanjay Bansal, on the other hand, alleged the state was adopting a pick-and-choose policy in its action against the tainted cops. In response, state counsel Rupinder Khosla said the applicant was targeting the best officer the state has. Taking a note of his assertion, Justice Jasbir Singh verbally observed: The applicant has a right to be heard. We are not taking any action against anyone, only issuing notice to you for filing reply”. The case will now come up on July 12.
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Doc couple booked for conducting abortion
Ropar, May 10 Earlier, on Friday, a team of the district health authorities had caught gynaecologist Dr Harinder Kaur and her paediatric husband Dr Harbhajan Singh, who runs Chandigarh Nursing Home at Beant Aman Nagar here, red-handed for terminating the pregnancy without having an authority to do so. Chandigarh Nursing Home is not an authorised centre to conduct abortion under Section 5, and neither of the two doctors was competent to conduct it under section 4 of the MTP Act. On Friday, the health authorities had sent Jasbir Kaur from Rasidpur village to the nursing home as a decoy agent. Dr Harinder Kaur agreed to conduct the abortion for Rs 14, 000. The team led by civil surgeon Dr KC Goel and district family planning officer Dr Baljit Singh caught the duo red-handed and recovered the instruments that were being used to conduct the abortion. The health department had then written a letter to the police to register a case against the accused. However, no arrests had been made till the filing of this report.
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Patiala, May 10
The Punjab Police is discriminating between two sets of officers facing criminal charges, says 92-year-old Amar
Kaur. Fighting for “justice” after abduction and murder of her son, son-in-law and their driver, Amar Kaur said during a hearing today that the government had promoted vigilance chief Sumedh Singh Saini, while placing under suspension the state’s former police chief SS Virk and IAS officer Vijay Kumar Janjua.
Ropar, May 10
