Chandigarh, August 13
Punjab has 93 engineering colleges but technical education still remains out of bounds for the poor. This is likely to be addressed now with the Technical Education Department setting in motion a proposal to provide free technical education to the poorest of the poor free of charge.

The proposal envisages the creation of one institution initially over 300 to 400 acres which will offer basic engineering courses. This would be followed by two more such institutions. The first institution, which will enrol around 1,000 students for the 2011 academic session, is likely to be run by a society including representatives of national and international NGOs as well as representatives of Punjab Technical University (PTU).

PTU Vice-Chancellor Rajneesh Arora was asked to make a detailed proposal for the institution by Secretary, Technical Education, Suresh Kumar during a meeting held here yesterday. According to the proposal, the society, which has provisionally been named the Society for Provision of Technical Education to Rural Poor, will primarily cater to the poorest of the poor only. There will be no merit list or entrance test and family income will be the only criterion for admission.

The Secretary, Technical Education, said the department realised that many of the students might not be able to come up to the required expectations. He said the institution would therefore be patterned in such a manner that students could take admission direct after class X or class XII and take up two-year ITI courses, three-year polytechnic studies or a six- year engineering degree. “Multi-level entry and exit will give flexibility to the programme and also allow scope for self-improvement”, he said, adding the institution would also teach language skills to bring students up to a certain level.

In fact, the proposal borrows from the rural university proposal initiated by the erstwhile Congress government that could not bear fruit and also the example of Yadvindra College of Engineering, Talwandi Sabo, initiated by the then Punjabi University Vice-Chancellor, Swarn Singh Boparai. What, however, is different is that there is a proposal for more than one institution offering flexibility in courses. Among the areas where the institution could come up is Ferozepur district.

Patiala/Nabha, August 13
It was love for a glamorous lifestyle and differences with his family that forced 24-year-old Amritbir Singh to go to such an extent that he brutally murdered all four members of the family, including his grandfather, father, mother and teenaged sister at their Preet Vihar residence in Nabha yesterday morning. Giving this information, Patiala SSP Ranbir Singh Khatra said that perturbed with his ‘forced’ engagement three weeks ago, he decided to eliminate his parents.

Notably, the news of murder of Hameer Singh, his son Iqbal Singh, Iqbal’s wife Jaswinder Kaur (50) and their daughter Gurjagjeet Kaur left the entire Preet Vihar colony shocked yesterday. However, the Patiala district police managed to crack the case within 12 hours. According to the cops, when Amritbir narrated the sequence of incidents that took place after he left home yesterday morning, they got suspicious. The cops also said that Amritbir wanted to live a lavish life and he used to have frequent quarrels with his family.

After the cremation of the deceased, the cops started questioning Amritbir, as he was the main suspect in the case. During the questioning, Amritbir confessed his crime. “Amritbir said he wanted to marry his beloved but his family forcibly fixed his marriage with some other girl. Since the engagement day, Amritbir was feeling frustrated,” said Khatra. The SSP further said that Amritbir was pursuing MCA from a private institute and was taking tuitions at Patiala.

Giving the details of the incident, Khatra said, “Yesterday morning, Amritbir asked for a car and money from his father Iqbal Singh. Since, Amritbir’s father refused his son’s demand, Amritbir got agitated and shot his father with his licenced revolver.

Later, he took out a .12-bore licenced rifle and went on a killing spree by murdering his mother, Jaswinder, in the kitchen and grandfather, Hameer Singh, who was sleeping in a room on the first floor.

“When Amritbir’s sister Gurjagjeet tried to stop him, he attacked her with an iron rod and subsequently shot her dead. He then took out jewellery and cash from the house and put these in the overhead water tank along with the rifle. After committing the crime, he took a bus to Patiala and threw his revolver in the Bhakhra Canal,” said police officials. The cops further said that the police was trying to recover the revolver with the help of divers. Meanwhile, Amritbir was presented in the Nabha court, and has been sent to police remand till August 16.

Patiala, August 13
Arguments pertaining to the anticipatory bail application of state Assembly Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon were held in the Court of Special Judge (CBI Cases) Balbir Singh here today.

Kahlon had applied for the anticipatory bail after the CBI filed a chargesheet in this matter on July 9, in which Kahlon was allegedly involved in rigging the selection of 909 panchayat secretaries during the 1997-2002 tenure of the SAD-BJP government.

As the hearing began, the counsel for the CBI argued that the anticipatory bail application of Kahlon was non-admissible as it did not come within the purview of the Special CBI Court.

He said Kahlon could apply for the anticipatory bail in the District and Sessions Court or the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Investigating officer Additional SP (CBI) SS Sandhu was also present during the court proceedings today.

Kahlon’s counsels in their arguments on the maintainability of the anticipatory bail application said since the CBI Special Court had powers to pronounce the verdict, the court could accept the anticipatory bail application as well. After hearing the arguments, the court reserved its orders for August 14.

Kahlon is facing the charge of irregularities in the recruitment of 909 panchayat secretaries during his tenure as Rural Development and Panchayats Minister in the then SAD-BJP government from year 1997-2002. A case against Kahlon was registered in 2002 by the state Vigilance Bureau, but was later transferred to CBI in 2003.

On August 9, Kahlon had moved an anticipatory bail application while contending that he along with the other accused were already facing a trial in a Mohali court for the same case, which was initially registered by the Vigilance Bureau. Kahlon’s counsels had contended in the bail petition that why their client should face two trials in the same case.

Amritsar, August 13
Strained bilateral relations have failed to dim the spirit of peace lovers of India and Pakistan as peaceniks of both sides will descend on the zero line on the stroke of midnight of August 14 to light candles on both sides of the Attari-Wagah border checkpost in hope for a cordial relationship and emergence of better people-to-people contacts.

Singers and artistes from both sides- Hans Raj Hans, Satinder Sartaj, Lakhwinder Wadali, Satwinder Bitti, Diljaan and Zafarullah, will also perform at a cultural programme to be held at the Attari grain market on the night of August 14

Brimming with hope, hundreds of peace activists will march towards the zero line at the border post and start lighting candles around 11.45 pm. They will be led by prominent journalists, politicians, actors and social activists, including Kuldip Nayyar, Rajinder Sachhar, Mahesh Bhatt, Sandip Pandey, Satnam Manak, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Tarlochan Singh, Naresh Yadav and Bhupinder Sambhar.

General secretary of the Hind-Pak Dosti Manch Satnam Manak said the event was being jointly organised by the South Asian Free Media (SAFMA), Hind-Pak Dosti Manch, Jalandhar, Folklore Research Academy, Amritsar, Puarjyot, an NGO, and the Punjab Jagriti Manch.

A 70-member delegation, led by Sandip Pandey, has already reached the city for the event after passing through Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi. They had initiated their sojourn for peace from Mumbai in July.

Another 27-member delegation of the SAFMA’s Pakistani arm, led by Sarmad Manzoor Waquar Mustafa, Karamat Ali, Farah Waraich and Afzal Khan, and a 20-member delegation of the Pakistan Peace Coalition from Karachi arrived here today and its members participated in a peace programme at Virsa Vihar here this evening. Peace lovers from both sides enjoyed a play directed by Kewal Dhaliwal, “Deeva Baal Punjabi Da”.

An 11-member Indian delegation, led by Satish Jacob, has already left for Pakistan, said Manak.

Iqbal Haider, a senator from Sindh, said he and most of other Pakistanis had been looking forward to a liberal visa regime on both sides. “Though SAARC countries have already reached a consensus on the issue, it is not being implemented,” he said.

Bathinda, August 13
In a protest against the alleged misuse of the CBI by the Centre, members and activists of the BJP took out a silent march here today. The march started from the local cloth market and culminated it at the mini-secretariat here.

They submitted a memorandum to the administration for sending the same to the President to forward it to the Centre. Among others who participated in the march were district president (urban) Sham Lal Bansal, district president (rural) Dayal Dass Sodhi and senior deputy mayor of the Bathinda Municipal Corporation Tarsem Chand Goyal, The protesting activists alleged that the CBI was functioning on the directions of the Centre to protect its interests. They said that the Centre should immediately stop the “misuse” of the CBI. — TNS

Chandigarh, August 13
Agitating members of the Rajewal faction of the Bharti Kisan Union today called off their stir after the Punjab government assured to meet their demands within a month.

President of the protesting farmers Balbir Singh Rajewal threatened that if the state government failed to keep its promise, he would sit on fast-onto-death from September 20. The farmers called off their stir after the principal secretary to the Punjab’s Chief Minister, DS Guru, announced during their rally that the state government had decided to withdraw urban development cess.

Guru showed a notification issued by the government to the protesting farmers and gave its copy to Rajewal while assuring on behalf of the state government that a four- member committee headed by the chief secretary would be constituted, which would give its report within a month to the government for considering action on their demands.

Rajewal said they would wait for the committee to give its report and if the state government backtracks from its promises, they would again launch the struggle.

Condemning the UT Administration and the police for their anti-democratic and anti-national approach to the farmers rally by not allowing them entry, he called upon various organisations to come on a platform to oppose the misuse of power by the authorities.

Earlier during the rally, priests of the Shri Krishna Mandir in Sector 52, where the farmer have been lodging for the past four days, extended their support to the struggling farmers.

The police remained deployed in heavy numbers at the Matour Barrier till late afternoon until the farmers dispersed. The road remained closed for commuters in the morning hours.

New Delhi, August 13
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today urged Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh for an early clearance of detailed project reports submitted by the state government for Jalandhar, Moga, Hoshiarpur, Mukerian, Tanda, Dasuya and Bhulath under the River Conservation Project on the Satluj. Badal was accompanied by Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who raised the issue of contamination of ground water in the Malwa region.

As per an official statement issued by the Punjab government here, the Bathinda MP asked for a detailed study to ascertain reasons for a high level of contaminations in ground water and also its falling levels in the Malwa region especially Bathinda and Mansa districts. She also apprised the minister about the presence of carcinogenic elements in blood samples of farmers and even breast milk of women in the region.

The Bathinda MP said the study would help the state government take suitable remedial measures to improve the quality of ground water and also check its falling water table. Another point raised by the Punjab Chief Minister was the decreasing number of peacocks in the state.

Badal urged Ramesh to allow propagating the bird through ex-situ conservation by using the latest technology of artificial incubation and subsequent release into alternative habitats, including the Bir Talab Block Forest. He urged Ramesh to give permission to the Chief Wild Warden, Punjab, to collect eggs of the bird from the wild as the government was ready to develop the requisite infrastructure for it. — TNS

Ferozepur, August 13
For Dr Baldev Singh Aulakh, a urologist and transplant surgeon from Punjab, it’s a journey from a village to a select gathering of state awardees.

He was born in Khane Ke Dhab village and got his basic education in Churad village of Muktsar district. Aulakh has performed a large number of kidney transplants in his career spanning over two decades.

He has also done a number of kidney stone, cancer and prostate operations. He is a pioneer of PCNL (keyhole surgery for kidney stones) and laparoscopic removal of donor kidney and cancer-bearing kidney in the state.

Recognising his services to society, the Punjab Government has decided to give him a state award, which will be presented to him by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at a state-level function here on August 15.

Having carved a niche for himself in the field of education while doing his MBBS from Government Medical College, Patiala, and master’s degree from the PGI, Chandigarh, Aulakh also commanded respect in the field of sports and extracurricular activities.

Working as Head (Transplant Unit), Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, he is the only elected member of the Medical Council of India (MCI) from the state. He has presented many papers at national and international conferences, a section which have fetched him awards.

He is the founder president of the Gift of Life Organ Donation Awareness Society, a non-profitable organisation founded in 2008, which has been working towards the promotion of organ donation awareness in Punjab.

Holding important positions in various elite organisations of the country and other nations, Aulakh has been awarded visiting Chakravarty fellowship by the Indian American Urological Association, USA, and Hargobind memorial travel fellowship by the Urological Society of India. He is a visiting fellow to the Department of Liver and Kidney transplant, Addenbrook’s Hospital, University of Cambridge, UK.

Sangrur, August 13
Watching handicapped Sukhveer Singh, with both the hands amputated, play games on the computer, one has to say “salaam zindagi” (salute to life). Even as Sukhveer’s hands were cut off beyond elbow, after his arms got struck into fodder cutting machine 15 years ago when he was just six years old, the accident did not deter Sukhveer from living a normal life just like any other person.

Twenty-years-old Sukhveer not only gave strength to his parents to withstand the shock, but he himself decided to take it as a challenge and live like a normal person.

“I lost both my hands when I was young. Though I was quite depressed initially, but later I thought that life is a challenge and I have to live it like that. My parents and teacher Kamlesh Kaur also motivated me to take on the struggles of life. Not only do I ride motorcycle and bicycle, but also take my meals without anyone’s support,” says Sukhveer, who is pursuing Bachelors in Arts as a private candidate from Punjabi University, Patiala. “I don’t allow my deformity to dominate my mind.” Sukhveer, who aspires to be a civil servant, says that by qualifying the prestigious exam he wants to become a role model for other people like him.

Parents of Sukhveer, Surinder Singh (a farmer) and Paramjeet Kaur (housewife), are all praise for their valiant son, who defied all norms and took on the challenge called life. “Even as our son does not have hands, yet he is not a burden on us. He even rides a motorcycle, bicycle and also does work on computer. He is good in studies also and secured 48 per cent marks in class X and 58 per cent marks in class 12th,” said his parents. “He is also learning videography and photography,” they added.

Chandigarh, August 13
In an unusual appeal, various Sikh and human rights organisations have appealed to the SGPC to mop up its resources and dispatch maximum relief to victims of floods in the land of Guru Nanak.

“Though providing relief to people in distress has nothing to do with their caste, creed or religion,” says Inderjit Singh Jaijee of the Movement Against State Repression, “but it is all the more prudent for the SGPC to come forward in the service of the suffering humanity in the lands where the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, spent most of his time.

“Unfortunately, areas affected by recent floods are not only spread over the Ladakh region in Jammu & Kashmir but also in Swat valley in Pakistan and other historic areas like Hassan Abdal (Panja Sahib) and Gurdwara Pathar Sahib,” said Jaijee.

Among those who have signed the appeal to the SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar are Justice Ajit Singh Bains, Bhai Ashok Singh, Lieut-Gen Kartar Singh Gill (retd), SPS Kohli and Gurdev Singh (both retired from IAS), Gurpartap Singh, Prof Gurdarshan Singh, Baljit Kaur, Col JS Multani (retd) and Harman Kaur Sharda.

“After a great battle near Anandpur Sahib, Bhai Kanhaiya was brought before Guru Gobind Singh and accused of quenching the thirst of all he found on the battlefield without seeing whether it was a Sikh or a Muslim. The response of the Guru is well known.

“We are likewise called to help all those who are suffering. In this case there is an additional reason for doing so - flood waters are rolling over the land of Guru Nanak and the birthplace of many of his followers,” the appeal to the SGPC chief said.

Dhaula (Barnala), August 13
Should industrialisation be at the cost of environment? In the Dhaula area of Barnala, where the Trident group has factories, it seems the industrialists don’t care for environment and have an eye only on making money. The various units of the group are directly pumping polluted water, without taking measures to check water pollution, from the factories into a stream, leading to its severe pollution.

Local sources said various industrial units of the Trident group, making towel, paper and yarn, were pumping thousands of litres of polluted water round the clock into the seasonal stream which is the only stream passing through Dhaula, Handiya, Fatehgarh Dhanna, Tajooke and Sekre village. They added that such was the level of pollution in the seasonal stream that people had started calling it ‘ganda’ nullah.

The sources further added that even as industries could employ various measures to check water pollution, in the case of the Trident group, the industrialists had failed to take such measures. They added that since the group had failed to check pollution in the seasonal stream, it had badly affected the local flora and fauna.

Says a local on condition of anonymity, “The industrialist is a big wig and has good political connections in the ruling party as well as the opposition. No one can touch him even as you write reams on this issue.” “We, on many occasions, have complained to the pollution control board authorities but they don’t seem to care. Our cattle are dying and our children are frequently having skin diseases.”

A senior officer in the Trident group claimed that the group was complying with the statutory norms of the relevant Act and had a mechanism in place to check any sort of pollution.

An officer of the Punjab Pollution Control Board, asking not to be named, told The Tribune that on many occasions they had collected the water samples from the stream and had found nothing wrong with these. “We normally cannot impose penalties in cases where water pollution is confirmed under the Water Pollution Act 1974, instead we can take legal action if an industrial unit is found polluting water. In case of the Trident group, we didn’t find any pollution from the water samples (from the stream).”

Kharar, August 13
Militancy will not be allowed to resurface in the state. The Punjab police is working on all quarters to mitigate any such uprising movement.

This was stated by Punjab DGP PS Gill while interacting with mediapersons here. He was the chief guest at the Chandigarh Group of Colleges to distribute offer letters to students recruited with Patni Computers.

Gill said the police was keeping a close eye on the international funding of outfits, like the Babbar Khalsa International. However, he refused to detail the strategy adopted for the same.

Speaking about the Center’s project to link all police stations online, Gill said Punjab was the frontrunner in this project.

Patiala, August 13
Some unidentified person’s assaulted The Tribune lensman Rajesh Sachar, posted at Patiala, following which he sustained several injuries.

The incident occurred at 4.15 pm today. Immediately after the incident, Rajesh was rushed to Government Rajindra Hospital, where doctors provided him first aid.

Besides bruises, Rajesh sustained two stitches on elbow of his right hand. In his statement to the Kotwali Police Station officials, Rajesh stated that around 4.14 pm, some unidentified persons entered his office near Sherawala Gate and thrashed him.

He further stated that he did not knew any of the accused, while adding, “Besides beating me, the accused ransacked my office and threatened me of dire consequences”, Rajesh told the policemen. Meanwhile, the police has initiated the proceedings for registering a case in this regard. Photographers and correspondents of various newspapers have condemned the incident and have appealed the police to arrest the accused at the earliest. — TNS

Patiala, August 13
A meeting of the in-service and retired PCMS doctors and medical teachers was held here on Wednesday to discuss their long-pending financial demands.

Addressing the meeting, general secretary of the senior PCMS Association Dr DC Sharma said the government was doing injustice to doctors in respect of their financial demands. He said, “Firstly, the salary of Punjab doctors is not fixed according to the proposed formula on the central pattern resulting in loss in their monthly salary from Rs 4,000 to 8,000. Then some allowances being already given on the non-practice allowance (NPA) have been withdrawn despite the fact that the NPA is a part of the pay of doctors for the calculation of allowances, including pensioner benefits”.

“Now the Accountant General, Punjab, has decreased the ceiling for pension of doctors from Rs 85,000 to Rs 77,000 without taking clarification from the Finance Department.,” he added.