Chandigarh, July 21
Harvinder Singh Phoolka, counsel for the families of the 1984 ‘genoicde’ victims, said this evening that the Jathedar of Akal Takht, Giani Gurbachan Singh, had asked him to continue as the counsel of the victims.

“In view of the Akal Takht directive and sentiments expressed by the victims of the genocide and advice of the media, I have decided to defer my decision to withdraw from these cases till July 26,” Phoolka said.

Earlier Phoolka had decided to dissociate himself from the cases against senior Congress leaders like Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar after the DSGMC chief Paramjit Singh Sarna and his brother, HS Sarna, accused him of fighting these cases for “personal benefit.”

“In a deep-rooted conspiracy to save the guilty Congress leaders in the 1984 ‘genocide’ of Sikhs in the union capital case, Sikh leaders of Delhi have started a campaign to malign me and distract me from fighting these cases.”

He says that because of the allegations made against him by the DSGMC leaders, he had been having sleepless nights and was unable to prepare properly for the cases that were at a critical stage.

“I have been vehemently pursuing the cases relating to the Sikh genocide without charging any fee or donation from any one. In 1985 I was paid a meagre amount of Rs 15,000 by the DSGMC and after that since 1986 I have not received any money -- either from the DSGMC or any other organisation,” claims Phoolka. In a four-page letter sent to the Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht and copies to Jathedars of the remaining four Takhts, Phoolka said that “in this fight for justice that he had been waging since 1984, I have never had any expectations from these Sikh leaders of Delhi. I have always stood alone against the perpetrators of the crime and have the resolve to do in the future as well. However, I feel that I do not have the conviction and the strength to be fighting the leaders of my own community in addition to the Congress leaders.”

He further wrote that now when the cases were reaching their peak and Sajjan Kumar was badly caught and strong proofs were emerging against Kamal Nath, at this delicate moment, Sikh leaders of the DSGMC have intensified their campaign to “malign me. The conspiracy is to involve me in defending myself against this malicious propaganda and hence distract me from these cases.” Maintaining that he could have made a lot of money by devoting his time to his commercial practice like his other fellow Senior Advocates, Phoolka said, “Not only did I put my practice at stake, but also my life at risk by facing the perpetrators of the genocide head on, all by myself. I have never accepted any security for myself. Justice Ranganathan Misra had ordered the police to provide me security but I refused.

Phoolka has urged the Jathedar of Akal Takht to take a timely decision in the matter and make alternative arrangements for another lawyer. “At this critical juncture, a mere delay of a few days can prove to be disastrous for the cases.

I assure you that till such alternative arrangements are made, I will continue with the cases and not let the cause suffer, whatever be the state of my mind,” he said in the letter.

Jalandhar, July 21
The Congress high command today intervened to resolve differences with regard to the organisational elections among state-based senior party leaders.

At a meeting held in New Delhi today, it was decided that apart from party MLAs and MPs, equal importance would be given to party leaders, who have made substantial recruitment of members for the party during the membership enrollment drive in the state.

Party high command leader Oscar Fernandes, Usha Thakkar, who has been made in charge to conduct the organisational elections in the state, Capt Amarinder Singh, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Mohinder Singh Kaypee, Jagmeet Singh Brar, Sukhdev Singh Libra, Santosh Chaudhary, Partap Singh Bajwa, Manish Tiwari and Ashwani Kumar were present at the meeting. The meeting was convened to thrash out a formula to unanimously elect members of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC), District Congress Committee (DCC) and block presidents.

Usha Thakkar said the poll process would be completed by July 25. She said efforts were being made to build consensuses among all to elect members of the PCC, DCC and block presidents unanimously.

As per the formula devised a few days ago, each party MLA was given an option to get elected two members of the PCC, 12 members of the DCC and two block presidents of his/her choice in their respective constituencies. However, now, sources said, each MLA might be allowed to get elected one PCC member, 6 DCC members and one block president of his/her choice. MPs, who represent wider area compared to party MLAs, would be given a bit larger share.

Usha Thakkar said party MPs and MLAs worked together for the party and hence they had been given due importance in the organisational election process. And in the constituencies where other leaders ( non MLAs and MPs) had made a significant recruitment of party members, they would be either themselves elected members of the PCC or their nominees would be accommodated. They would also be allowed to get DCC members and block presidents of their choice elected, she added. As PCC members take part in the election of the president of the All-India Congress Committee, they are considered important functionaries of the party. In fact, it is a major victory of non-MLA and MP Congress leaders that the party high command has conceded to give due important to them in the organisational poll.

Earlier at the time of the appointment of assistant returning officers (AROs), such leaders had strongly objected to the appointment of AROs of the choice of party MLAs and MPs. Such leaders had told Thakkar that they would like the voting should be held to elect PCC members instead of electing those nominated by party MPs and MLAs. Bowing to the resentment shown by such leaders, the party agreed to accommodate them also. Keeping in view this factor, AROs may be reappointed scrapping the earlier list.

Attari, July 21
For the first time in the 45-year-long history of the BSF, which holds the Retreat ceremony jointly with the Pakistan Rangers at the Attari Wagah joint checkpost (JCP), it has allowed its two women constables to take part in the daily parade.

Women constables were given pilot duty meaning leading the ceremony by marching towards the iron gate, where the flag posts of India and Pakistan were installed.

The BSF took control of the JCP after its inception on December 1, 1965. Ever since, it has been holding the Retreat ceremony except two wars between India and Pakistan in 1965 and 1971.

Immaculately dressed in ceremonial uniform, women constables were cynosure of all visitors, who came to watch the parade. They were assigned the duty to march only and needed not to stomp and bang on the gates, which would be performed by their male colleagues like earlier.

The IG, Punjab Frontier Headquarters (BSF), Himmat Singh, said women constables, who had been inducted into the frontier force for the first time in its history, had been given the opportunity to take part in the Retreat ceremony on a trial basis. He added that women constables would be put on rotational basis to give exposure to maximum of them.

The IG said the motive was to give exposure to women recruits, “In the near future, there is no plan to increase their role in the ceremony”, he added.

Meanwhile, the BSF and the Pakistan Rangers toned down hostile and aggressive gestures taken at a flag meeting a few months ago. Confirming this, Himmat Singh said it was a mutual decision implemented a couple of days ago.

In the past, frontier forces of both countries had mellowed down the aggressive gestures, but these were revived again in consonance with the flip-flop relations between the two neighbouring nations.

Meanwhile, the IG said a proposal to expand the capacity of stands had been forwarded to the force headquarters. The present capacity is nearly 6,500.

A proposal to re-lay the rubber-coated road on the stretch where the ceremony is performed is also yet to be implemented. In its absence, jawans generally get hurt while stamping their feet.

Ludhiana, July 21
Lok Bhalai Party supremo Balwant Singh Ramoowalia today took the case of an abandoned bride from Balachaur, deserted by her NRI husband, with Canadian Leader of Opposition Michael Ignatieff in Toronto.

Talking to The Tribune over the phone from Canada, Ramoowalia, who accompanied the disabled and dejected bride Ashpreet Kaur Badwal, who was divorced by her NRI husband based in Canada over the phone, said he met her and facilitated her meeting with Ignatieff.

Ashpreet married Manjeet Singh Shahi of Hargana village in Khamano in Ludhiana. Narrating her story, Ramoowalia said she, a physically challenged woman, with both her legs not able to bear her burden, had got in touch with her husband on the internet. The latter was in Khamano at that time and Ashpreet was in Canada.

They started chatting and Manjeet allegedly proposed to Ashpreet for marriage. She told him about her physical disability and he was quick to add that he loved her and would marry her.

Ashpreet’s family came to India and she got married. She went back and made arrangements for his immigration abroad. The family spent lakhs of rupees on him.

And finally when she managed his immigration after going in for several appeals to the embassy, he landed in Canada. As soon as he arrived on the airport, he called her up and said he had divorced her.

‘‘She is not married as per the Canadian laws. She is not able to get her husband punished there,’’ said Ramoowalia, adding that he met the bride today and took her to the Leader of Opposition.

Chandigarh, July 21
Gurpreet Kaur, a schoolteacher in Khanna, is the only earning member in a family of five. Burdened with the responsibility of a disabled husband and three school-going children, she is finding it difficult to ensure that her family gets two meals a day. With a monthly income of Rs 8,000 and the spiralling prices of vegetables, milk and milk products, cereals and pulses, she has had to cut down on the number of meals that her family consumes. “There is no option. Breakfast in our house is just a cup of tea. Instead of lunch, we have a mid -morning meal, which is followed by an early dinner,” she rues.

This is not just Gurpreet’s story. But most lower middle class families are now finding it difficult to make both ends meet. With the governments doing little to contain prices, except for verbal assurances that prices would fall with the kharif crop coming in later this year, the common man is suffering.

If it was sugar, pulses and cereals that were burning a deep hole in the pockets of the common man a few months ago, it is now vegetables that are getting beyond reach.Traders maintain that the hike in vegetable prices is a result of high transportation costs (because of the fuel price hike) and damage to vegetable crops because of the recent floods. And it’s not just the prices of off-season vegetables that are spiralling. Even the seasonal vegetables like long gourd (ghia) is now selling at Rs 40-45 a kg. Onions are retailing at Rs 20 a kg , potatoes (pahadi ) at Rs 20 a kg and tomatoes at Rs 45-50 a kg. Peas are available at Rs 70 a kg while cauliflower is selling at Rs 45-50 a kg.

Adding to this burden is the recent hike in the prices of milk and milk products. The state milk cooperatives in Punjab and Haryana have increased the rate of milk by Re 1 a litre ( Rs 28-29 a litre for full cream milk). This has led to all dairies hiking the prices of milk and paneer. In the case of paneer, the rates have gone up by Rs 10 a kg since the beginning of this week (at Rs 160 a kg.).

Says Rama Kumari, a Ludhiana-based housewife, “Till a few weeks ago, we could at least have vegetables. Pulses, which have been selling at Rs 70-90 per kg , have been out of reach for almost a year. With the prices of vegetables having gone up, we buy only our daily stock of vegetables and portions given to each member have been restricted”. Most families in the region say that their household expenditure now constitutes over 90 per cent of their monthly budget. People say they can no longer have a planned expenditure, as prices continue to soar while their incomes remain static.

Ropar, July 21
While the monthly expenditure of arrested Russian national Olga Timoshik is Rs 2 lakh, her source of income remains unknown. Almost after a month of arrest, Olga has failed to tell the source of her income or even corroborate the same with her monthly expenses.

“When asked about the password of net banking of one of her accounts, she said her friend Sergy knows the password,” the police said.

The police also found that she made maximum calls to Sergy. Even in the police custody she didn’t talk to her parents but to him.

To make the investigation simpler, the police roped in the head of the Russian Language Department, Panjab University, Chandigarh, Pankaj Malvi, as an interpreter on June 30. Help is also being sought from a local doctor too who has done MBBS from Russia.

Her marital status is also under scanner. She has registered herself as wife of Thomas Timoshik, which she accepted was a figment of her imagination to secure a decent place for living. “In India, it is difficult to find a rented place for an unmarried woman, thus, I had to mention myself married,” she told the police.

The police also found another person, who is referring himself as her husband in the e-mails exchanged on Olga’s address.

New Delhi, July 21
Russia has sent a strongly worded letter to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), objecting to the repeated postponing of the bail plea hearing of its citizen Olga Tomoshik, who is in the custody of the Punjab Police for her alleged involvement in espionage activities.

The letter sent to the South Block yesterday by the Russian Embassy in New Delhi said the impression gaining ground was that the judgment on the issue was being delayed in the interest of prosecution.

This is the second time that the Russian mission has written to the Indian Government in the case concerning Timoshik, who was arrested on June 23. In its first note sent to the MEA on July 6, the mission had said the arrest without evidence was “detrimental to India’s image as a friendly nation among the Russian public at large”.

The second letter came after the hearing in the case planned for July 19 was postponed till July 26.

The mission said no official charges had been as yet brought against the Russian national. “Notwithstanding, the embassy has information according to which the police is hindering the advocate from examining the case files and constantly feeding local media with hoaxes discrediting honour, dignity and reputation of Timoshik while insolently stating that they came in possession of some new evidence allegedly confirming her involvement in espionage activities,” it added. By committing such acts, the police seemed to be trying to interfere with the functioning of the court and the public opinion.

The embassy said the evidence given against Timoshik so far was circumstantial which did not prove that she was a spy, as speculated by “obviously biased journalists”.

It urged the MEA to render all possible assistance in conducting a just and unbiased investigation in the case, address local authorities to complete their investigation as soon as possible and not to delay any further judgment on setting Timoshik free on bail.

Ferozepur, July 21
A major mishap was averted in this district with the timely intervention of officials of the Irrigation Department, who managed to stop overflowing and subsequently the breaching of the Sirhind feeder canal late last night.

People living in villages located on both sides of the banks of the Sirhind feeder canal near the Machaki Mal Singh Wala and Kamiana areas raised the alarm and made announcement through public address systems of local religious places to send SOS to officials of the department.

A battery of officials, who reached the spot around 3 am, released the water into various other distributaries and channels and reduced the release of water into the Sirhind feeder canal from Hair Ke headworks.

“Had the Sirhind feeder canal overflowed and breached, there could have been a catastrophe in Ferozepur, Faridkot and Muktsar districts,” said a section of officials of the Irrigation Department, who remained on their toes for hours together to bring the situation under control till this noon.

Superintendent engineer (Irrigation) Baljit Singh Sandhu said the water level in the Sirhind feeder canal at Machaki Mal Singh Wala went up to 10.3 ft against the sanctioned level of 9.7 ft and hence the situation became serious.

Sandhu said he had set up a three-member committee headed by executive engineer (XEN), Rajasthan feeder, RK Garg to find out reasons behind this kind of situation and officials who were negligent in the same. The panel was expected to submit its report in two days.

He said preliminary investigations revealed that the water level went up at Machaki Mal Singh Wala as number of distributaries and minors, which originated from this point, were not taking water, as the same were closed by the officials concerned due to heavy rains for the past two days.

Sandhu, however, said officials, who closed their respective channels, might have failed to inform officials manning the Hari Ke headworks, for reduction in the release of water accordingly.

Meanwhile, Prem Kumar, XEN, Sirhind feeder, said residents of some villages created panic after the head regulator of the Kamiana minor started leaking last night. He said he had inspected all sites and situation was under control.

Chandigarh, July 21
An eight-member Central team led by Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, RP Nath, visited the state today to assess losses caused by the recent floods.

A spokesperson for the state government said today that the team visited SAS Nagar and Patiala districts along with Financial Commissioner (Revenue) Romila Dubey.

The second team visited Mansa and Sangrur districts along with the Director, Disaster Management, Punjab.

The team was given a presentation showing the losses due to the floods in the state. The Department of Irrigation also gave a presentation projecting their demand of Rs 1,175 crore to channelise the Ghaggar.

The spokesperson said farmers had suffered a lot of damage and now they would have to invest substantive amount for land leveling and making it fit for agriculture.

He added that the relief should be provided to farmers on this account as well.

Referring to the repair of irrigation structures like canal, embankments etc permissible under the CRF but the repair of tube wells, which irrigate about 70 per cent of the area in the state, not specifically mentioned in the illustrative list of permissible works under the CRF, he said the repair of damaged private tube wells should also be permissible under the CRF. Since tubewells were privately owned, relief should be granted on per tube well basis.

An interim project worth Rs 1,175 crore interim project has been prepared and submitted to the Central team, which would be placed before the Ghaggar Standing Committee. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to treat this as a national project. With the formation of the Disaster Response Fund from 2010-11, the state should be allowed to use the balance unspent amount of the CRF for any purpose as it deemed fit, the spokesperson added.

Ludhiana, July 21
The medical fraternity is up in arms against the state government, following an advertisement given by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, for re- employment of retired specialists from the PCMS against the vacant posts. The Specialist Doctors Association (SDA) Punjab, Rural Medical Services Association (RMSA) Punjab and Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA) today warned the Punjab Health Ministry to roll back the decision to re-employ retired specialists. The organisations plan to gherao the directorate office on July 28 and 29, the scheduled dates for the interviews of the retired specialists.

The department, in the advertisement dated July 21, has invited online applications from retired specialists less than 65 years of age. The specialists will be appointed on contract for two years, which can be extended up to five years.

Dr Aslam Parvez, the convener of the United Doctors Association of India (UDAI) and president, RMSA, said the rural medical officers, who had been performing duties in the flood-affected areas in the state, would stall work if the government went ahead with the re-employment of retired specialists.

Objecting to the clause made in the job offer which says that these re-employed specialists will get salaries equivalent to their last drawn salary minus the pension amount, Dr Hardeep Singh, state president of the PCMSA, said, "The salary of each re-employed specialist will amount to Rs 1 lakh approximately which will be an additional burden on the exchequer as specialists with updated knowledge and experience are getting just Rs 37,000 per month."

Accusing the Health Department of encouraging "corruption" through re-employment, Dr Monica Aggarwal, the spokesperson of SPA, Punjab, said, "We are ready to join service followed by jobs in rural areas but this step taken by Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla is deliberate so as to re-adjust her favourites in the department. A majority of the retired specialists have been out of practice as far as work in their specialisation is concerned as being Civil Surgeons and administrative heads, they are restricted to administrative work. Health Secretary Satish Chandra said they had advertised 210 posts of specialist in 2008 but only 52 joined. Again 120 posts were advertised this year and 300 applicants had applied. Resentment of specialists is baseless as they can apply against the above posts and the department would be happy to recruit them.

Jalandhar, July 21
To curb the excessive use of chemicals, fertilisers and pesticides and promote eco-friendly farming in Punjab, the state has started setting up a Pesticide Residue Testing Laboratory (PRTL) in the city.

The lab will be the first of its kind where farmers could get their agricultural produce analysed for residues of pesticides and insecticides that they spray till the harvesting of their crops.

The government has selected Jalandhar as the most suitable place for setting up of this state-of-the-art laboratory on a nod from the Centre.

Nirankar Singh, joint director of the Punjab Agriculture Department who was in the city at a tree-plantation function, claimed that the laboraroty would come up in one and a half years with an estimated cost of Rs 5 crore.

After Hyderabad, this will be the second high-tech laboratory, in Punjab, for testing the residues of pesticides and insecticides in agriculture produce, including vegetables.

Kulbir Singh Deol, Chief Agriculture Officer, Jalandhar, said the department had decided to train its existing staff for running the laboratory besides analysing all varieties of crops and vegetables for the toxicity level.

Earlier, a high-powered committee, after examining the excessive use of chemicals, fertilisers and pesticides in the state, had recommended using pesticides if “needed desperately”. The committee had also proposed setting up of the laboratory and a secretariat to promote eco-friendly farming.

Patiala, July 21
Led by its president Surjit Mehta, a delegation of the Punjab Chemists Association recently met secretary Health, Satish Chandra and spoke about matters pertaining to the guidelines issued by the Drug Controller, Punjab, for granting drug license to wholesalers and retailers.

Giving the details, Mehta said according to the new guidelines, there would be one medical store in a village against population of 1,500 whereas second retail store can be opened only against the population of 10,000.

“Because of this clause, if a person from the same village is a qualified pharmacist and wishes to open a retail store, he would not be able to do so,” he added.

Mehta said their association agreed with the State’s opinion that it wanted to discourage the sale of habit-forming drugs and was committed to eliminate the drug menace.

“But simultaneously, the government has to consider other issues too. For instance, if a specific medicine is not available, villagers may have to travel to far-off places to purchase the same,” he said.

Association vice-president Rajesh Mittal said these guidelines were not good from a patient’s viewpoint.

Nangal, July 21
Area residents can expect relief from the garbage littered around the city due to strike of sweepers deputed with the Nangal Municipal Council.

The sweepers called off the strike today and took back their complaints this evening. The local residents suffered as a controversy over the SDM’s driver alleged of aiding steel of spare parts of the government vehicles and fixing these in the municipal council vehicles.

Municipal councillor Rakesh Sharma Pinki reached the spot and called up MC executive officer Chetan Sharma to apprise him of the situation. When Sharma did not respond, Pinki went to his house.

Sharma alleged that Pinki and his men had misbehaved with him. Supporting their EO, the MC sweepers went on a strike six days ago following which the city got choked with garbage.

The residents had to pay extra to their servants to dispose of the garbage.

However, the areas where the MC dustbins have been kept were affected in the worst manner. With the sweepers calling off the strike, it is expected that heaps of garbage will be picked up and disposed properly by tomorrow.

Patiala, July 21
In order to make the system of maintaining records of the teachers simple, the Education Department will soon put all records online.

The department is coming up with a “Teacher Transfer Management System”, which will enable the transfer procedure and its details to go online. This will make easier for the teachers to find out which station is vacant in case of retirement etc. Also, it will cut down the effort of writing transfer applications and submitting them.

District coordinator IT, said this would help in keeping a detailed account of the teachers. The project in Patiala would complete by July 31. He added that a meeting in this regard had already been planned.

Though this procedure was carried out earlier also, there was a change in the data due to transfers and promotions that needed upgrade. Hailing the decision, the teachers said they often had to depend on their sources for enquiring about vacancies.

Chandigarh, July 21
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has quashed the chargesheets for stock damage issued to Food Corporation of India’s employees “after 10 years of alleged misconduct”.

Taking up a bunch of two petitions by Sudhir Khetarpal and other petitioners, Justice Vinod K.Sharma asserted: “Facts in the present case clearly show no explanation for delay is forthcoming as to why proceedings were initiated after lapse of about 10 years…”

“The chargesheets issued to the petitioners deserve to be quashed on account of delay in holding departmental inquiry.

“Consequently, both the writ petitions are allowed. Impugned chargesheets stand quashed, but with no order as to costs.”

In one of the petitions, directions were sought for quashing the chargesheets issued to petitioners posted at Kharar and Ropar. They had contended that departmental proceedings could not be initiated on the basis of delay and laches. Justice Sharma observed: “In support of this ground of challenge, the petitioners invoked the provisions of Article 21 of the Constitution of India to assert that the right of speedy trial is a fundamental right and therefore, with the passage of time petitioners have been deprived of this valuable fundamental right.”

Justice Sharma added: “There is force in the contention of the counsel for the petitioners that the chargesheet issued to the petitioners is liable to be quashed on account of delay. It is not disputed that the lapse for which the chargesheet was issued related to the year 1984-85, whereas chargesheet was issued after 10 years for the alleged misconduct. “The petitioners have specifically pleaded that because of passage of time, they have been prejudiced to contest the case, for the reason that they were posted at different places. Furthermore, the stock alleged to be damaged was not available for inspection, nor the officers supervising and those who destroyed stocks were available as the stock was sold by auction”.

Before parting with the order, Justice Sharma asserted in view of authoritative pronouncement of the Supreme Court, the chargesheets issued to the petitioners deserve to be quashed on account of delay in holding departmental inquiry.