Ferozepur, June 17
A major rail accident was averted here today when a patrolling team of the railway department found a number of pendllor clips on the Ferozepur-Fazilka rail section missing, a few minutes before the Ferozepur-Fazilka passenger train was to get a green signal run on the same by the authorities.

Official sources said a battery of railway officials, including senior functionaries of the Railway Protection Force (RPF), reached the spot, near Bare Ke village, after being informed in this connection by the officials, who had carried out the inspection of the rail track.

Vishwesh Chobe, Divisional Rail Manager (DRM), Ferozepur, said the pendllor clips were found missing from an area measuring 13 metres into four metres. He said it was yet to be found out whether some unscrupulous elements had stolen the same for disposing these of into the market to make money. He, however, ruled out sabotage.

Meanwhile, Anjani Kumar Sinha, Commandant, RPF, has deputed the Assistant Commandant to investigate the case and submit him a report tomorrow. Further action will be taken after the report is submitted. No case has been registered in this connection.

It is learnt that about 84 pendllor clips were found missing during the routine inspection of the rail track. Had the train been running on the same track, it could have been derailed easily. The trains were allowed to move on the track after its repair was carried out by officials.

Sukhjinder, Inspector, RPF, refused to give any information as he claimed that if this news item appeared in any newspaper, his superiors could chargesheet him.

Ferozepur, June 17
The Central Government has decided to consider the proposal of setting up a hospital in the Ferozepur area to cater to the needs of medical treatment of an ever-increasing number of cancer patients of the cotton belt of Punjab.

Parminder Singh, general secretary, PPCC, said the assurance was given to them by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when a delegation of Congressmen, including former minister Avtar Singh Brar and secretary, PPCC, Bhupinder Pal Singh, met him recently.

Stating that the Centre had already sanctioned funds for an orphanage and a blind home here, he said the Prime Minister was made aware of the fact that due to the rising water and soil pollution in the farm operations, the incidence of cancer had gone up in the cotton-producing districts of southern Punjab.

Owing to the absence of hospitals and other institutions in the area, the poor cancer patients had been left with no other option than to go to a hospital in Bikaner in the neighbouring Rajasthan.

“We have suggested to the Prime Minister that an institute on the pattern of the PGI, Chandigarh, should be opened in the area where special diagnostic and treatment facilities for cancer patients should be provided,” he said, adding that the Centre that had contemplated to set up eight medical institutions on the pattern of the PGI in the country, could set up one of these institutions in Ferozepur district.

The SAD-BJP government in the state that had been setting up cancer hospitals in joint venture with private players, had ignored the interests of poor patients, who would not be able to get treatment in these hospitals at affordable rates.

“What is the rationale of opening a cancer hospital in Mohali in joint venture by the Punjab government when cancer patients are found in profusion in the cotton belt comprising Bathinda, Muktsar, Faridkot, Mansa, Sangrur, Moga and Ferozepur districts?” asked Parminder Singh.

He said the Prime Minister was also urged to facilitate the raising of at least 10 battalions of paramilitary forces by recruiting unemployed youths of the border areas of Punjab as this would help in curbing the menace of smuggling.

Chandigarh, June 17
The Punjab Cabinet today approved the Power Generation Policy 2010 which aims at transforming the state from power deficit to power surplus besides ensuring quality supply of power to all consumers at affordable prices.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal this evening.

The new Power Generation Policy will strive to bring down the cost of power, encourage setting up of power stations by private developers besides supporting ancillary industry related to power plants. The policy will be applicable to new power projects to be located in the state and also to pit head/coastal thermal power plants with an installed capacity of 250 MW or more at a single location.

In another significant decision, the Cabinet also gave approval for amending Section 379 of the IPC in order to make stringent provisions of law to curb the crime of snatching. The amended provisions will make this crime a cognisable, non-bailable offence. Whoever commits snatching will be punished for a period not less than five years which will be extendable to 10 years.

The Cabinet approved the concessions in external development charges, license fee, Change of Land Use (CLU) charges and relief to promoters/developers in the state.

To cope up with the situation arising out of an acute shortage of specialist doctors in the Department of Health and Family Welfare, the Cabinet gave a nod to the department to re-employ retired specialist doctors against clinical posts.

The Cabinet also approved the establishment of evening courts in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Jalandhar-1, Ludhiana and Patiala. An officer of the level of Chief Judicial Magistrate will function in these evening courts.

The Cabinet also gave its approval to take out 128 posts of Medical Officer (Specialists), 214 Medical Officer (General), 34 Medical Officer (Dental), 36 Drugs Inspectors and 133 Ayurvedic Medical Officers from the purview of Punjab Public Service Commission and recruit through a committee nominated by the state government.

The Cabinet also gave in principle approval to allot 32 acres of vacant land at Central Jail, Ludhiana, at Tajpur road to the Punjab Dyers Association, Ludhiana, for setting up a Central Effluent Treatment Plant for 33 years on lease basis at the rate of 6 per cent per annum, which amounts to Rs 1.44 crore. The market price of this land has been calculated as Rs 24 crore.

The Cabinet also approved the regularisation of 23 panchayat secretaries working on contract basis and withdrawal of their termination orders dated December 10, 2002.

The Cabinet also decided to bring the connection fee of all schemes implemented by the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage on a par with the connection fee fixed for the World Bank-funded schemes, ie Rs 500 per connection from the general public and Rs 250 from below poverty line and Scheduled Caste families in order to encourage the consumers to take the maximum number of private water connections and make the scheme self-sustainable.

The Cabinet also approved to increase VAT from 12.5 per cent to 20 per cent on cigarettes.

Chandigarh, June 17
Even as the Punjab Pradesh Congress today came out in support of the Apex Chamber of Commerce and Industry protesting the hike in electricity duty, former Congress Finance Minister Surinder Singla admitted that a five per cent hike was done in his time, but for a specific purpose and for a specific period.

“I had approved a five per cent hike in electricity duty in 2005, but it was in the form of a cess that was exclusively used to pay for old age and widow pensions in the state. All proceeds of this particular tax were to go to the Social Security Department,” Singla said talking to The Tribune.

He added that the increase in electricity duty was resorted to tide over a difficult period. “It was decided that when the state budget would be able to provide for the social security funds, the hike would be withdrawn. By 2007, the financial situation of the state had considerably improved and the new government should have rolled back the hike,” added Singla.

State Finance Minister Manpreet Badal said a five per cent electricity duty was imposed in the state in 2002 within months of Captain Amarinder coming to power. “The state shifted from an 11 paisa per unit regime to 5 per cent electricity duty in August 2002. After which in 2005, this was hiked to 10 per cent for social security,” he said. “After three years of the Akali government, we have increased the duty by a mere three per cent and this hike is applicable to the entire range of consumers, not just the furnace industry. The hike is expected to bring in Rs 270 crore to fund the various green initiatives in the state. We intend to undertake projects to clean up canals, promote use of the CFSL and curb burning of the post-harvest stubble,” explained Manpreet.

Contesting the statements made by the ACCI members that Punjab’s electricity was among the costliest in the country, Manpreet said, “I agree, we cannot compete with Himachal and Uttarkhand. Their power comes from hydroelectricity plants. We have to depend on coal for power production and being the farthest state from coal producing areas, Punjab’s cost of production of power is high. But still when compared to other similarly placed states, we are giving cheaper power to the consumers,” he said. Meanwhile, the Congress has demanded immediate withdrawal of the hike in electricity duty that had adversely affected the industry. Party MLAs Avtar Singh Brar, Harminder Singh Jassi, Sukhpal Singh Khaira and general secretary Parminder Singh said the decision might contribute to the exodus of industries from Punjab.

Amritsar, June 17
While the grim plight of people of border villages moved the members of the Standing Committee of Parliament on Rural Development during its inspection of the Centre-sponsored National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) work in the border areas, the Congress has alleged that it was not informed about the visit.

Thirteen members, out of 31 members of the Parliamentary Committee, led by its chairperson Sumitra Mahajan visited Ballarwal, Muradpura and other border areas along with Amritsar MP Navjot Singh Sidhu, senior BJP leader Baldev Raj Chawla and Amritsar Mayor Shwait Malik today.

Showing her concern over prevailing poverty among people of the border areas, Sumitra said, “Earlier, we had a presumption that people of the entire state were well off and their living standard was, too, high as compared to other parts of the country.”

“But now our this notion has got pricked. We are perturbed to see that people here are still living in kutcha houses and are devoid of basic facilities like clean potable water, despite the flow of liberal Central grants under various schemes,” she added.

“What forced us to do a complete rethinking about Punjab and state of its people was that we observed that womenfolk at some places did not have the basic facility of a bathroom and they were seen bathing in the open using bedsheets or a cot as a curtain. Some deserving families are going without being armed with the BPL cards,” rued Mahajan. The committee seemingly got disturbed to such an extent over lack of facilities among people and over alleged “politicalisation” of the event that two Congress MPs and members refused to accept honours at Ballarwal village. “Our motive is to review works and not to accept honours,” said these two MPs.

On the other hand, perturbed over the way the Congress was allegedly kept in the dark about the visit of the committee, District Congress Committee (rural) chief Lalli Majithia shot off a letter to Lok Sabha speaker Meera Kumar.

“What came as a shock for us is that the Congress was not informed about the visit of the all-party Parliamentary Committee, despite the Congress’ highest presence in the Lok Sabha. We are upset more as the committee had to review development works in the deprived border areas. The BJP has tried to hijack the whole event,” said Majithia.

MP Navjot Singh Sidhu has been criticising the progress of the NREGS scheme in Amritsar and it was he who, it was learnt, was behind the visit of the committee to assess the progress of the programme in the district.

Majithia has also accused the district administration of “playing in hands of political masters”. “Everything about the visit of the committee was kept as a closely guarded secret,” said Majithia.

On the other hand, Sumitra, however, has said the visit was to carry out an on-the-spot survey of the works for the rural development.

Amritsar June 17
The Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) and the Aukaaf Board have initiated construction of a number of new buildings for convenience of the Sikh pilgrims who visit Pakistan-based Sikh shrines every year in big numbers to pay their obeisance at religious places in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the SGPC has once again asked the PSGPC and the Aukaaf Board to take up the matter of passage to the Sikh shrine at Kartarpur Sahib and to resolve the long-pending issue of Lahore-based gurdwara of Shahid Bhai Taru Singh and to take control of the Lahore-based Chandu Di Haveli, so that it could be preserved in a better way.

“It was for the first time that Sikh devotees savoured langar in this hall. Similarly, 50-60 new rooms have come up in Gurdwara Nankana Sahib and a sarovar is almost ready. A huge verandah is also coming up in Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib, so that pilgrims could take shelter there. Baba Jagtar Singh Kar Sewa Wale has supervised the construction,” said Raghbir Singh Sarahanmajra, the head of the 230 member Sikh Jatha, which landed at Amritsar today.

In fact, the PSGPC and the Aukaaf Board are jointly trying to overcome shortage of accommodation for pilgrims,” said Raghbir Singh Sarahanmajra, the head of the 230 member Sikh Jatha, which landed at Amritsar today after observing martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev in Pakistan.

Besides, Gurdwara Dehra Sahib in Lahore, where Guru Arjan Dev had attained martyrdom, the SGPC-led Sikh jatha of 230 Sikhs and Sikh pilgrims from other parts of the country and from abroad, had visited various Sikh shrines.

A small piece of land belonging to Gurdwara Bhai Taru Singh was allegedly usurped by some unscrupulous elements. “We have taken up the issue with the PSGPC president Sham Singh and the chairman of the Aukaaf Board. They have assured us that they will do the needful at the earliest,” said Raghbir Singh.

Patiala, June 17
Reacting sharply to former Punjab Vidhan Sabha Deputy Speaker Bir Devinder Singh’s statement against Dakala MLA Lal Singh, senior Congress leaders today alleged that Bir Devinder himself was an “opportunist” who left the party because of his vested interests.

Addressing a joint press conference at Ghanour MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur’s residence here, the leaders, including Amloh MLA Sadhu Singh Dharmsot, former Nabha MLA Ramesh Singla and Congress leader Hardyal Singh Kamboj, said: “Bir Devinder delivered cheap speeches against AICC president Sonia Gandhi and party’s national general secretary Rahul Gandhi during the 2009 LS elections. Now, he is claiming that he enjoys good relations with Sonia Gandhi. Bir Devinder should stop dreaming of coming back to the Congress.”

“In the past, Bir Devinder has spoken against former Chief Ministers of Punjab, including Darbara Singh and Beant Singh. The reality is that his statements are politically motivated and do not have an iota of truth in it,” Jalalpur said.

The Congress legislators alleged that Bir Devinder cannot be loyal to anyone, as after joining SAD he started criticising the Badals. They said Lal Singh had been serving the Congress since the last 45 years and “did not require Bir Devinder’s certificate to prove his loyalty towards the party”.

Singla and Kamboj also criticised Bir Devinder on the issue of power generation. Contrary to Bir Devinder’s statement that previous Congress regime failed to add even a single unit of power generation during its five years tenure.

Ratwara Sahib (Mohali), June 17
The worldwide riparian principles establish that the ownership of river waters is vested in those states or areas where these rivers actually flow.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal stated this while talking to the mediapersons on the issue of demanding royalty on river waters. He was here to inaugurate an old age home at Gurdwara Ishar Parkash today.

“Water was a natural resource for Punjab, like Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand have coal mines, Rajasthan has abundant natural resource of marble and several others states have iron ores, which were charging royalty for mining these natural resources,” he added.

“If these states were permitted to charge royalty for mining of their natural resources, then why Punjab was being denied its right of royalty in case of water, for which the state has been actually mining it for the past several years for the sake of producing food grains,” the CM added.

PTI adds: Badal rejected the plea of his Haryana counterpart Bhupinder Singh Hooda on the issue and said, “It will be better for him to react to this issue objectively after giving due consideration, rather issuing vague statements undermining the interests of an agrarian state like Punjab.”

Meanwhile, Haryana Irrigation Minister Ajay Singh Yadav took strong exception to the statement of Badal saying the “comment is politically motivated for gaining cheap popularity and it is irresponsible.”

He said Badal had no legal right to demand royalty on water and this demand was “unconstitutional”. He maintained that if such type of demand continues to be aired, then HP would seek royalty from Punjab, Haryana would seek royalty from Delhi and this way there would be chaos at the national level.

Jalandhar, June 17
A proposal for charging royalty on water given to Haryana and Rajasthan was actually mooted in 1984-85 by the then state Irrigation Department Chief Engineer, Dr GS Dhillon.

However, the file moved by him in this regard was sent back to him without any remarks on it. Dhillon, who had joined the Irrigation Department in 1951, retired as Chief Engineer in 1988. “ As the Chief Engineer (Planning) in the Irrigation Department, I had moved the file through the then Chief Engineer (Canals) but it was returned to me after a few days without any comment on it”, said Dhillon.

He said before Independence, Punjab and Bhawalpur state used to charge some money from Bikaner state for supplying water to it. However, after Independence it was stopped. “No order was passed at any level to stop the charging of money from Bikaner , which is now part of Rajasthan, for supplying water to it”, claimed Dhillon. “Why it was stopped, no one knows”, he added.

The issue of charging royalty on water that goes to Haryana and Rajasthan is hotting up in the state. Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal has raised this issue repeatedly during the past few weeks. Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa has also spoken on this issue. A few days ago, the SAD core committee had also passed a resolution seeking royalty on the river waters.

Reacting to Badal’s statement on royalty, Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda had commented that the demand made in this regard was illegal and had no justification. “In fact, Punjab, which is using water from our share, should give us royalty”, Hooda had asserted.

The hearing on two cases related to river waters will start shortly in the Supreme Court. One case is related to the Hansi-Butana link canal and the other to the Presidential reference with regard to the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004.

Chandigarh, June 17
Dr Kailash Chand, an alumnus of Government Medical College, Patiala, was last week given the prestigious Order of the British Empire as part of the Queen’s birthday honours.

“We were classmates and good friends in the Patiala medical college,” recalls Navdeep Singh Khaira, a nephrologist working at Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana, saying “we both joined the college in 1968. Before that he had done his BSc from Kurukshetra University. He was a keen sportsman and member of the Kurukshetra University cricket team. In spite of the arduous routine of a medical student, he continued his extra-curricular activities and remained at the forefront of almost every activity.”

In 1978 he immigrated to the United Kingdom. Active in the Indian Diaspora, he remains at the helm of affairs in organising Indian music and cultural events. Among his diverse personal contacts are “ghazalgo” Jagjit Singh, Bollywood stars Vinod Khanna and Shatrughan Sinha besides cricketers Kapil Dev and Wasim Akram, to name a few.

Otherwise, he is a General Practitioner in Ashton-U-Lyne, Lancashire. Kailash is also active in the British Medical Association (BMA) as its elected member and is currently serving on a number of committees, including the General Practitioners Committee, the Equal Opportunities Committee, the Communication group of the GPC and the International Committee.

Kailash has an active interest in “medical politics”. He has written extensively on community health matters, drug misuse, racism and development of efficient primary care at both the local and national levels. Besides being named runners up in the “Doctor of the Year” award in 2001, he was twice invited to the Queen's garden party nominated by the local PCT and the local MP in recognition of his services to general practice addressing health inequalities, mental health and sexual diseases. Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently invited him to a “Thank you reception” for services to the NHS. He has been Vice-Chairman of the International Council of Indian languages and culture, promoting integration and understanding in multiracial Britain, besides

Vice-Chairman, Indian Medical Association; honorary treasurer, Patiala Medical Graduates Association; and Chairman, BMA Tameside & Glossop Division, for seven years. He has also been an active participant in numerous local charities to promote mental health and local Hospice. Kailash Chand is also a regular commentator on BBC radio and television commenting on health matters.

Ludhiana, June 17
Nitin Garg’s grandfather, who had lapsed into silence out of shock following Nitin’s murder in Australia on January 2, did not live for one more day to see his grandson's killer.

The 92-year-old Mohan Lal died last evening, moments before the news broke that a 15-year-old boy has been arrested for the murder of Indian accountancy graduate Nitin.

Varinder Kumar, Nitin’s uncle, said, "We came to know about the development following the cremation of Nitin's grandfather in the afternoon. I do not know how to react as the family has been struck with another tragedy."

"We hope justice will be done to us. Otherwise, we have lost everything and the family is yet to come to terms with Nitin's loss," he said.

Twentyone-year-old Nitin was stabbed to death while returning home from work in Melbourne earlier this year.

Nitin was walking through Cruickshank Park at 9:30pm, when he was stabbed.

Aman, a close friend of Nitin who sent home his body from Melbourne, first broke the news to the deceased's family. Later the family saw the news on television, said Varinder Kumar.

Parveen Kanta, Nitin’s mother, demanded capital punishment for the accused.

"No one can understand the pain I am going though since the time my child was killed in Australia. I have not been able to sleep. The court should punish the murderer so that no mother would lose her child like me," said Parveen Kanta, emotionally choked.

The family appreciated the efforts made by MP Manish Tiwari, who pursued the case and put pressure on the Australian Government to crack the case and arrest the offender.

"Had it not been for Tiwari, the case would have remained a mystery," said Varinder Kumar.

Patiala, June 17
Taking cognisance of a report, “Aliens in their own land”, that appeared in The Tribune on June 15 , Patiala Deputy Commissioner Deepinder Singh has instructed block development and panchayat officer (BDPO) Baljit Singh Sohi to ensure that all 70 houses, which were once part of Ablowal village, but currently do not figure in any panchayat or municipal ward of Patiala, should be covered under the Census.

Notably, The Tribune had carried a story mentioning that during the delimitation exercise of Patiala Municipal Wards conducted in 2006, the above said area, which was part of Ablowal village, was not included in the municipal limits. As many as 70 families residing in the area, spread over 600 acre on the Nabha Road did not figure in any panchayat or municipal ward, it said.

However, Samana MLA Brahm Mohindra also announced to take up the matter with the government functionaries. Speaking to The Tribune, Deepinder said he had issued directions that all 70 houses to be covered under the Census. Regarding the non-inclusion of these houses in any panchayat or municipal ward, he said he had sought a report in this regard from the BDPO. Once the report was submitted, action would be taken accordingly, he added.

Mohali, June 17
In a significant step towards easing traffic on the Chandigarh-Kharar stretch of the national highways leading to Ropar and Ludhiana, the Punjab government today approved a Kharar bypass.

Proposed by the Greater Mohali Area Development (GMADA), the bypass would take off the traffic load on one of the busiest sections of the NH-21 and NH-95. The project was today cleared during an executive committee meeting of the GMADA. The proposed road would take off from near Dara Studio in Phase VI here and join the highway ahead of Kharar near Radiala village. The 8-km proposed road would provide an alternative connectivity to Ropar, Ludhiana and other parts of Punjab.

With the approval of the master plans of Mohali and Kharar, the need to have an alternative bypass has risen. “Though the Kharar section of the national highway is being widened, urbanisation of the area would require better connectivity,” said GMADA’s chief administrator, VP Singh. Along the proposed bypass, the GMADA has already proposed a low-density green city.

The committee also approved construction of 7 km-long road from Desumajra (on Chandigarh-Kharar road) to Mullanpur local planning area. It would improve the road connectivity between Chandigarh-Baddi road and Chandigarh-Kharar roads.