Bathinda, August 22
In a bid to check the growing menace of drug addiction among the youth in Punjab, the state unit of the Youth Congress has decided to launch a movement for social boycott of chemists and miscreants indulging in sale of drugs, particularly in rural areas.

The decision was taken in a meeting of district presidents of the party that was convened here by Member of Parliament and president of the Punjab Youth Congress Ravneet Singh Bittu and all India general secretary Vikas Upadhaya to discuss the alarming growth of drug addicts.

Ravneet Bittu told TNS that the time had come to build a social movement against the menace that was turning the Punjab youth into addicts. Village elders would also be involved in the movement that would include staging dharnas outside the medical stores that were selling contraband drugs.

He said 10 villages each had been adopted in Moga, Patiala and Amritsar districts for the purpose.

One of the reasons for the youth turning to addiction was the frustration being caused due to unemployment as the SAD-BJP government had miserably failed to generate employment avenues. The number of unemployed youth was multiplying with the passage of time, he said.

Ravneet Bittu alleged that rampant corruption and nepotism under the SAD-led state government was also causing frustration among the youth. The government was misusing the Central funds that were provided for development, he alleged.

Later, while addressing media persons, Ravneet Bittu and Upadhaya said Bathinda was chosen for today’s meeting to break the myth that the area was stronghold of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. They urged the government to take effective measures to prevent drug smuggling from Pakistan.

They criticised the Punjab government for not properly implementing the NREGA that aimed at providing employment to the rural folk.

Chandigarh, August 22
With last year’s Class IX examination fiasco fresh on its mind, the Central Board of Secondary Education has prepared a month-long stock of question papers for each subject.

In addition, the Board has directed all affiliated schools in the region to begin first-term summative assessment (exams) from September 10, though the datesheet would be worked out by schools themselves. Like last year, the board would be providing centralised question paper for all subjects, which would be different for each day.

“All schools across the country that will conduct exams on a specific day, say Monday, will get the same question papers. And the schools that conduct the exam of the same subject on some other day will get an entirely different paper. The Board has prepared 30 question papers for each subject to ensure that they do not get leaked like last year,” revealed DR Yadav, Regional Director, CBSE, Panchkula.

Last year, the Board designed papers for Class IX and over 50 schools in the same city ended up having same papers for various subjects.

Due to different datasheets, students of various schools were able to share question papers, thus resulting in a mass leak. The Board offered an option of re-examination, but the schools did not opt for it as the academic calendar would have been disrupted.

Bathinda, August 22
Variance in the proceedings of the law and order implementing agencies have raised a question mark over the meticulousness of the process.

The disparity in the actual incident and the crime report— summary of an FIR, lodged against the unemployed multi-purposes health workers, who were arrested for lodging protest atop an overhead water tank, located near Gol Diggi— has brought this process under the scanner.

A group of unemployed multi-purpose health workers, who were demanding employment, had climbed atop the tank on Saturday morning. Taking immediate action, police took about 27 of the protesters, who were raising slogans on the streets, in its custody.

Further, police hired some migrant labourers to pull down the four agitators from the water tank. Allured by the promise of getting a cash reward, about a dozen labourers hurriedly climbed atop the tank and brought down all the agitators at about 11.30 am.

Putting them in police vans, police hurriedly rushed them to the Kotwali police station and lodged them in cells there. However, the case under section 309 (attempt to commit suicide), 511 and 120-B of the IPC was lodged against only five of them, including the four who had climbed atop the tank, namely Harpreet Singh, Malkit Singh, Swran Singh and Harjinder Singh.

Meanwhile, some of the activists, who had managed to avoid arrest, threatened the police to release their colleagues unconditionally, failing which they would resort to some extreme steps. Kotwali police then let all of them leave at about 10 pm.

However, the crime report issued to media persons today stated that the investigation officer (IO) Sukhmander Singh received information that the agitators had climbed atop the water tank at about 3.40 pm on Saturday, which was incorrect as the police was witnessed taking the agitators in custody at about 11.30 am from the spot.

The crime report further mentioned that none of the agitators could be arrested. Ironically, reports were published in the media along with the photographs showing the agitators in police custody.

Chairman of the unemployed multi-purposes health workers union Sukhwinder Singh told TNS, “Succumbing to pressure, police had released all 31 of our colleagues late last night without even informing that a case under serious sections of the IPC was slapped against five of our colleagues.”

“We fear that the police may now show our colleagues as absconders. And if it happens, we will take some serious step,” he said.

On his part, the IO Sukhmander Singh said, “None of the agitators was handed over to me so how could I write that they were arrested? Further, I acted as per the directions of my superiors so they can answer the query in a better way.”

When contacted, the SHO Kotwali police station, Hardeep Singh parried the query, saying, “This is a departmental issue and media has no right to ask anything from us.”

SSP Bathinda, Sukhchain Singh Gill could not be contacted. 

Bathinda, August 22
The Congress has chosen Mohali as the venue for holding its convention of seven Northern states on September 27.Member of Parliament Ravneet Singh Bittu today said the convention would be held soon after election of the Congress president that was scheduled on September 17. Sonia Gandhi was heading for another term in office, he said.

Ravneet Bittu said members of the Congress Working Committee, chief ministers of the Congress-ruled states in Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan and senior party leaders of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir would participate in the convention.

He hoped that the convention would come as a shot in the arm of the Congress leadership in Punjab as the agenda for the next assembly elections would be set at Mohali.

Fazilka, August 22
The protest that was initiated by the Joint Action Committee, Fazilka Zila Banao Sangharash Samiti and the Bar Association, to press for their demand to make Fazilka a district headquarter, has entered its seventh day today. Five members sit on dharna everyday.

Municipal Council president Anil Kumar Sethi and senior BJP leader (MC) Ramesh Verma also joined the dharna.

While addressing the members of the Joint Action Committee, Anil Sethi said all the municipal councillors and the BJP activists extended their support to the agitation.

SAD circle president Charan Singh, while extending support to the demand to raise the status of Fazilka to a district headquarters said on the demand of the Joint Action Committee (JAC), he can resign from the post of the president if the demand of Fazilka residents is not fulfilled.

Bar Association president Sushil Gumber said a special meeting of the members of the joint action committee would be held on Monday. The future course of action to intensify the agitation would be chalked out in the meeting, he added. 

Moga, August 22
The Municipal Council (MC), in its general body meeting, has passed many development works of Rs 9 crore for Moga.Revealing this to The Tribune, Barjinder Singh Brar, president, MC, said the road of the main bazaar would be re-constructed at a cost of Rs 4.5 crore beginning from the Baghapurana bypass to the main square of the town.

He said this road would be constructed by the PWD in the next few months and after its completion it would be maintained by the local body. “The cost of this road would be borne by the state government and there would be no financial burden on the local body,” he said.

He said the MC has also decided to adopt three cattle ponds for a grant of Rs 60,000 each per month as per the directions of the high court to check stray cattle menace in the town.

Brar said the general body has also decided to purchase an automatic road cleaner, upgrade the existing library, replace the present streetlights with CFLs to reduce the burden of electricity bills, set up seven new tubewells in the central areas of the town for proper supply of potable water and upgrade the complaint centre of the council.

The MC president further said a project to replace the existing sewerage system with the new pipelines and proper disposal plant is already in progress and the construction work is being done by the sewerage board.

“The finance department has approved the third installment of Rs 3 crore for this purpose to continue with the laying of pipelines,” he added.

Shajrana (Fazilka), Aug 22
The farmers of this village, who have faced economic problems due to waterlogging of their holdings for the past many years, have got a reason to smile now.A private company, Sampuran Agri Ventures Private Limited (SAVPL), in association with the Punjab Agro Industrial Limited (PAIC) has converted that land into money spinning by enabling the same for fish farming.

Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav, who visited this village, where about 350 acres of land is waterlogged, first explained the project to the farmers and then took their consent to begin the project for their benefit. Sanjeev Nagpal, owner of Sampuran, was instrumental in initiating this kind of project in a waterlogged area.

Yadav said in this project, no land of the farmers would be acquired. The farmers would be stakeholders in the project, which would be run by a society to be formed by Nagpal’s company, PAIC and other government agencies.

He said a report in connection with this project would be sent by him to the CM Parkash Singh Badal, who had shown keen interest in the same.

Barnala, August 22
Police recovered a body of an unidentified person from a common pond of two villages in Shiana area of Tappa here on Sunday.Police sources said on noticing a body of some unidentified person floating in a pond near Tappa, locals informed the Shaina police station about the incident.

On receiving the information, the police rushed to the spot and recovered the body. However, the identity of the deceased is yet to be ascertained, police sources said.

Abohar, August 22
Three farmers including Sukhdev Singh of village Kala Tibba, Ramandeep Singh and Malkeet Singh of village Pakki have emerged as the first few farmers of the region to sell cotton that had been sown well in time this year.

The first lot out of the total arrival of 25 quintal was purchased by a private ginning factory owner Naresh Pal Bansal, who offered Rs 3501 for each quintal of the Bt variety of Narma cotton. The rate is Rs 600 more than offered last year. Pramil Kalani, president, Arhtia Association, congratulated the farmers for getting remunerative price and hoped that it would be maintained after the entry of the Central and state government agencies as well.

Meanwhile, the experts said ups and downs in the cotton market would depend on the rainfall in the coming days. Heavy rains besides attack by white fly and leaf curl may turn the tables in Punjab, they feared.

Local legislator Sunil Jakhar had recently lambasted the state agriculture department for organising small meetings of the cotton growers in selective villages. He termed it as an eyewash. Pakistani millers with no cover for the next few months were now buying from other sources such as West Africa, Central Asia and the US, they said.

Some Pakistani millers were recently quoted as saying that the country would need to import up to 2.5 million bales in the next few months because about 800,000 bales had been exported. 

Fazilka, August 22
About 60 employees of the MR Government College, Fazilka, have not been paid their salary for the last two months.College principal Kulbir Singh was transferred to a government college near Gidderbaha in July this year.

Since then, the post of the principal (Drawing and Disbursing Authority) has reportedly been lying vacant, which was also stated to be the reason for the non-payment of salary. The lecturers and other staff members have been facing a financial crunch due to the non-payment of salary.

Even after the lapse of three months, neither the government has given authority of drawing and disbursing the salaries to any senior lecturer nor a permanent principal has been posted in the college yet.

Out of the 60 employees, nearly 24 staff members including lecturers, who have been hired on a contract basis, did not get their salaries.