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Terrorism affects public the most, says Ansari
Monsoon session resumes on Sept 29
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Enhance quality of adjudication, says Justice Bhandari
Fear of Inundation
Pak teen Numan to be repatriated
Unbundling Woes
Punjab to have 7 new polytechnics
Millers seek to use old gunny bags for paddy storage
Lakhowal seeks BC status for Punjab farmers
PSPCL posts loss of Rs 1,200 cr
Breast Cancer
Fifth Pay Commission
Staff of drainage divisions denied salaries
Youth federation conference from tomorrow
Vets to stage dharna
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Terrorism affects public the most, says Ansari
Badal undecided about transfer
of power During his speech in this function, Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal seemed in two minds over “transfer of power” to his son, Deputy CM Sukhbir
Badal. Though political experts are of the view that senior Badal might appoint junior Badal as the Chief Minister several months before the next Assembly elections scheduled to be held in February 2012, yet senior Badal seemed indecisive on the issue. Actually during his speech, Badal said, “Former Punjab minister Balramji Dass Tandon and I are veteran politicians. Now, the younger generation wants the veterans to pave the way for them, but they should know they need the veterans’ blessings at every stage. If required, we will pave the way for the youth.”
Jalandhar, September 26 On the ocassion, he also distributed household items and fixed deposits worth Rs 22.65 lakh, collected by Shaheed Parivar Fund run by the Hind Samachar Group of Publications, amongst 151 terrorism-affected families from Punjab and J&K. He said the public becomes the direct target of terrorists and has to face the consequences. The solution of every problem lies in our Constitution and we all have to follow that. Speaking on the ocassion, Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal said secularism and unity was the key to peace and prosperity in Punjab. That is why despite facing many uphill tasks and giving sacrifices in the past, the state has never bowed before any trouble. It has rather collectively faced the problem. Badal assured the people of the state that terrorism would not be allowed to surface again in the state. He appealed to the people not to take law in their own hands if something happened outside the state. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and some other leaders from various political parties also addressed the gathering on this occasion.
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Monsoon session resumes on Sept 29
Chandigarh, September 26 Though the House had met on September 24 for obituary references, it will be on Wednesday afternoon that legislative business will
be taken up. Two of the three calling attention notices admitted by Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon are by Virsa Singh Valtoha of the ruling SAD. The third motion is by Congress MLA from Bholath Sukhpal Singh Khaira. Valtoha wants the House to take up the problem of cultural pollution by the electronic media. Of late, lot of concern has been expressed over the telecast of indecent programmes on some of the channels. The ruling party legislator wants some measures to check telecast of vulgarity, cult of violence, indecency and sexpletive programmes by the electronic media. Other important issue being raised by Valtoha has been about alarming increase in road fatalities. Other day, three occupants of a car were crushed to death at Doraha. The mishap took place when the car driver attempted to overtake a truck and lost control over the vehicle. Truck driver, too, reportedly lost control over his vehicle. Such accidents and mishaps are a routine now and everyday eight to 10 persons are killed on roads in the state. Khaira in his calling attention notice will be raising the issue of floods in the state. Was the state flood control machinery activated in time to prevent flooding of areas along embankments of rivers and canals in the state? Reports from different parts of the state point out towards lack of apathy and seriousness on the part of Irrigation and Drainage departments besides stormwater drainage control by local bodies, including municipal corporations, municipal committees and municipal councils. Besides these three notices, the Assembly will also take up seven Bills, including the Punjab State Legislature Members (Pension and Medical facilities Regulation) Amendment Bill and the Punjab Security of Land Tenures (Amendment) Bill. Amendments to the Indian Penal Code as well as the Code of Criminal Procedure would also be taken up on Wednesday.
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Dengue, viral fever grip Jalandhar
Jalandhar, September 26 However, private hospitals do not take the trouble of informing the government even critical cases such as dengue. Some deaths of suspected dengue patients have also been reported but their exact number is not available. Dengue and viral fever has taken the form of an epidemic in the city. Since September 1, nearly 2,500 patients with high fever and severe headache have been admitted to the local civil hospital. Of these, 1,250 were suspected to be dengue patients and they were subjected to serology test, a preliminary test for dengue. The civil hospital is virtually overflowing with patients. Treatment of dengue is costly and poor people cannot afford it. Obviously, failure of the local municipal corporation on the sanitation front has made people suffer from dengue and viral fever. It is also the failure of the district administration to get the needful done from the various departments related to health hygiene. What is bothering the doctors the most is that receding platelet count was being confirmed among non-dengue patients also. Doctors say they were suffering from the most virulent form of viral fever. During the past four weeks, over 500 patients have reported in the civil hospital laboratory with platelet count less than 50,000 against the normal range of 1.5 to 4
lakh. Considering the severity of the outbreak, six PCMS doctors have been deployed in the wards. Three MD (Pathology) doctors have also been put on duty. As many as 12 technicians are working in the blood bank. Two more expert technicians have been called from blood banks of other civil hospitals of the district. Obviously, the medical staff is over-stretched as it has to cope with such a huge rush of patients. Although the health authorities claim that the department has been doing day-to-day monitoring and surveillance of disease under the National Vector-Borne Disease Control
Programme, the surveillance seems to have lost its essence. Dengue symptoms include high fever for four to five days, usually accompanied by severe headache, pain in the eyes, muscle and joint pain and rashes. After the fever goes away, the blood platelet count starts dipping.
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Ludhiana traffic claims life of freedom fighter
Ludhiana, September 26 Dr Ram Parkash Dang, who was 90, could not get help as his son got stuck in traffic before reaching him and even after he was rushing him to hospital. Dang was declared brought
dead by doctors at Pahwa Hospital. He had suffered a heart attack while he was coming back from his clinic in the Moradpura area at 8 pm yesterday. He called up his son, Parveen Dang, who was in his factory in Partap Nagar. When he left in emergency to help his father, he got stuck in traffic at the cycle market on Gill Road. ‘‘It took me 25 minutes to get out of the traffic. Finally, I reached my father, who was still breathing and people were helping him. I put him in the car and started driving towards Deep Hospital. But to our misfortune, there was traffic on way back too,’’ said Parveen. He added that he saw his father breathing last when he was still in traffic. “The golden hour was lost. I could not do anything to save my father just because of this traffic,” he rued. He still made efforts and took him to Pahwa Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. ‘‘The country has lost a freedom fighter to this traffic. There was nobody to control it,”he said. Dang was cremated here today. His elder son, Bharat Bhushan, lit the pyre. He participated in the freedom movement at the age of 22 and was also jailed in
1942 during the Quit India Movement. Manpreet Singh Chhatwal, SDM (East), paid tributes to him on behalf of the state government and district administration.
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Enhance quality of adjudication, says Justice Bhandari
Chandigarh, September 26 He was speaking today at the valedictory function of the three-day Regional Judicial Conference organised by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in collaboration with the Chandigarh Judicial Academy and National
Judicial Academy on Enhancing Quality of Adjudication at the Chandigarh Judicial Academy. Justice Bhandari said the hallmark of quality of adjudication was transparency in the working of the judges and their unbiased approach. The judgments should be consistent, correct. There should be commitment on the part of the judiciary to uphold the values enshrined in our Constitution. Justice Mukul Mudgal, Chief Justice, Punjab & Haryana High Court, and Justice SB Sinha, former Judge, presided over valedictory sessions. Justice Nirmaljit Kaur, Judge, Punjab & Haryana High Court, proposed the vote of thanks. Justice Mukul Mudgal inaugurated the conference on September 24. Justice Mudgal said that quality of justice was inseparable from the expectations of society. In the ultimate analysis, he emphasised a balancing of various factors involved in the dispensation of justice with a view to achieve what our society requires so that we could live up to the expectations of the people and make the justice delivery system really efficacious. Delivering the keynote address, Justice TS Thakur, Judge, Supreme Court, said so far no one had challenged our judicial system which was based on sound principles but there was a need to increase the Judge-population ratio and if our Judicial Officers were given to deal with lesser number of cases then certainly the quality of adjudication would not be in any manner lesser than the other advanced countries. The reference was also made regarding the disposal in a phased manner by the Courts working under the Punjab & Haryana High Court, during the tenure of Justice TS Thakur as the Chief Justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court and the results regarding disposal were appreciable. Professor G Mohan Gopal, Director, National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, pointed out that there was need to measure and monitor quality of adjudication. We must set some parameters or standards for the same. He further pointed out that Right Protection Index could be one of the indicators for measuring and monitoring the quality of adjudication.
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Low floods in Sutlej again
Fazilka, September 26 “As the water level can go up further, we have asked people to shift to safer places,” said Fazilka SDM Ajay Sood, adding that relief camps had been set up at required places. About 29 families of Mohar Jamsher village, which is situated on the bank of the creek and is surrounded by Pakistan from three sides, have shifted to safer places as water from the swollen creek started touching its boundaries. Sources said today, water level in the Sutlej (upstream Harike) was record high of this season as it touched 81,790 cusecs and the release of water into the Sutlej (downstream Harike) was also highest today as it went up to 65,031 cusecs. Standing paddy and other crops has also been submerged under water. As the water touched the rail-cum-road bridge of Gidderpindi, the authorities stopped rail traffic on the Ferozepur-Jalandhar section late last night, which was restarted at 11 am. Official sources said the cobra fencing erected in the close vicinity of the border had been flooded in various pockets, including Joginder border observation post (BOP), Shame Ke BOP, DT Mal BOP, Basti Ram Lal, Bahini Dilawar BOP and Natha Singh (NS) Wala BOP in Ferozepur, Jalalabad and Fazilka sectors.
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Fear of Inundation
Bathinda, September 26 Two policemen were injured and one of them, Head Constable Charanjit Singh, was hospitalised with fracture in his arm.The construction of the bundh has triggered tension in the area with local residents resisting the move of the authorities. They demand that instead of constructing the bundh, which might inundate their agriculture lands, the Punjab government should ask Haryana to remove blockage of the old drain on its side to let it flow its original course to Rajasthan. According to reports, a group of about 60 villagers led by one Rocky advanced towards the bundh late last night in a bid to demolish it. They allegedly attacked the police party that tried to stop them.The police in the matter has registered a case under various sections
of IPC. Residents of the village were restive ever since the construction of the bundh by the drainage department started four days ago under the protection of the police. Bathinda sub-divisional magistrate KPS Mahi is personally supervising the law and order situation and had tried to convince the village elders led by sarpanch Balwinder Singh yesterday. VK Goel, executive engineer of the drainage department, said over the phone that adequate steps have been taken to prevent damage to the village lands. The 225-km-long drain on the Punjab side originating from Dhamot village in Ludhiana district was built in 1963 when Haryana was part of
Punjab. However, the Haryana government in 1992 de-notified the drain land and it was blocked at many places as it carried contaminated water of factories of Barnala and sewage of Bathinda, Rampura and Talwandi Sabo towns. Water level in the drain had suddenly increased following incessant rains during the past few days.
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Pak teen Numan to be repatriated
Amritsar, September 26 Principal Magistrate of Juvenile Board Justice SS Mann described him as innocent and directed the officials concerned to initiate steps for his return to his native country. He was booked under various sections of the Indian Passport Act and the Foreigners Act. Numan’s lawyer and member of Lawyers For Human Rights Organisation VS Bhatia said the teenager was expected to be repatriated to Pakistan within a fortnight. Numan’s parents had already filed an appeal with the President of India through a Pakistan’s Human Rights Organisation. Numan was a Class IX student of Government School at Begumpura in Lahore. Dischanted from studies, he fled from his home to the international border and inadvertently crossed over to India.Numan’s mother is a teacher at the Manawa cantonment-based girls’ middle high school. Bhatia claimed that the BSF officials, who were called as witness, could not produce any conclusive evidence against him. The court directed the authorities that the book and a Rs-10 note seized from Arshad during his arrest be returned to him. It is pertinent to mention here that the BSF, which had caught Numan, had later in a press conference described him as Tehriq-e-Islam’s potential ‘fidayeen’ adding that he was an expertise in use of weapons and was trained by the Taliban, a Pakistan-based terrorist group. He was said to be on a recee mission aimed at infiltration of seven suicide bombers. Numan was remanded in police custody and later due to his minor age, he was sent to juvenile jail. Bhatia, on the basis of his organisation, filed an appeal in the court with the documents related to his age, including the certificate of his school. The court also ordered a test to ascertain his age that also described him as minor. He was then shifted to juvenile home at Hoshiarpur.
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Patiala policeman to perform stunts at Commonwealth Games’ opening
Patiala, September 26 Nishawar has on numerous occasions captivated his audience by the way he handles his Bullet motorcycle and also the kind of stunts he performs during various functions, including the Republic Day and the Independence Day. A native of Patiala, Nishawar, who is working as a head constable with the Punjab police, is now going to display his talent on a larger level when he will carry the Queen’s baton in the stadium during the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games that will be held on October 3 at New Delhi. Having convinced the Commonwealth Committee after displaying his talent, Nishawar is all set to salute the national flag and other VIP guests during the opening ceremony in his unique way. Delighted, Nishawar is working day and night to make the most of this opportunity and display his talent in front of such large crowd. On being questioned about his feelings, he said he felt lucky that he got an opportunity to perform during one of the most sought-after Games. “I am very excited and feel that finally by hard work has paid off. I will certainly amaze audience with my performance,” he said. About as to when did he discover his talent, he said it just happened by chance. “I would keep doing one thing or the other with my bike and then realised that I just loved the thrill it offers. Then I started practising a little seriously and now, it’s been almost 13 years that I am totally into it. Though I don’t get so much time to practise because of my job, I try my level best to take out time for my passion and try new things with each passing day.” On why he was risking life to perfect his stunting skills, he says the key for him was that his motivation had never been money or fame. It's always been about his passion for riding and mastering the craft. It’s not like other games where hard work, talent, commitment and effort might eventually make you a star. One just has to keep doing it for the love of biking. Nishawar, whose 10-year-old son too accompanies him in performing various stunts, is another delight to watch. Talking about his son, he said he (his son) had inherited this talent from him and now there was no way he could keep him away from bikes. “His will is so strong that I feel proud of him and I hope he is able to fulfill his dream of getting world-wide recognition with his bike,” he added.
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Unbundling Woes
Patiala, September 26 According to information, majority of the unions and the PSEB Engineers’ Association have rejected the draft stating that it was nothing but betrayal with them, as assurances given by the state government at the time of unbundling of the PSEB do not figure in it. Notably, after unbundling, a tripartite agreement was supposed to be signed by the state government, trade unions and the management of the newly constituted power corporations. It has now been more than five months, but this agreement is yet to be signed. Initially, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) had given a draft of the agreement to the employee unions and other associations of power corporation and the latter returned the same after giving their suggestion, regarding the amendments to be made in the draft. Now the state government has sent another draft of the tripartite agreement to the PSPCL, a copy of which has been given to various employee unions and engineers association on Friday. “The draft nowhere mentioned that both power utilities (PSPCL and PSTCL) would remain state owned, which would give companies the liberty to do whatever they want”, said Manjit Singh Chahal, a senior leader of the PSEB Joint Forum, Punjab, a conglomerate of various employees unions. Interestingly, in the previous draft, the unions have suggested that issue regarding the protection of the service conditions, pay scales and perks of the employees should be elaborated. “We have asked the government that agreement must mention that employees would continue to get electricity concession, medical reimbursement and other incentives but this has been deleted in the draft sent by the government”, said Chahal. “The draft agreement has no mention about creating a corpus fund for the GPF”, pointed out another employee union leader. The employees and the engineers have stated that they will not sign the tripartite agreement until the government makes necessary changes, in accordance with the promises made at the time of unbundling.
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Punjab to have 7 new polytechnics
Kharar,
September 26 He was the chief guest of a conference on emerging trends in business held at the institute’s campus here. He said the state had already got Rs 55 crore and would soon be getting rest of the amount as well. Besides seven polytechnics, 18 new ITIs, 12 engineering colleges and nine management colleges would also be opened soon. Talking about lateral engineering entrance test (LEET) seats for engineering courses, he said the number of seats was being considerably increased and the quota would go up from present 10 to 15 per cent for students moving from ITIs to diploma courses. The students moving to engineering colleges from polytechnics would also find more seats as recommendations for that had already been sent to the AICTE. He said the proposal of setting up junior science schools was already on track and out of 76 engineering institutions, these were already being run successfully in 41 institutions. A regional centre of the PTU would also be established from the next session to make functioning of junior schools more efficient. Suresh said the government had also recommended 21 colleges to work under the World Bank-sponsored scheme of technical education quality improvement programme. “Names of 16 out of 21 private colleges have been recommended for the scheme. Under the said scheme, the World Bank would provide Rs 200 to 250 crore to the state for raising the level of technical education,” he added. Dr BB Goyel, Professor of University Business School, Chandigarh, delivered the inaugural address for the conference. Along with Dr Goyel, 12 other eminent speakers presented their views on the topic. A book written by Dr SPS Bedi, executive director, CGC, was also released on the occasion.
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Millers seek to use old gunny bags for paddy storage
Fatehgarh Sahib, September 26 “The cost of new bardana is Rs 40 and 60 per cent of its amount (Rs 24) is charged from millers after depreciation of 40 per cent. However, its actual market price is Rs 14. Use of new bardana would lead to a minimum loss of Rs 5,000 per consignment to rice millers,” said Nakesh Jindal, press secretary of the association. He said a meeting of the executive body of association was held at Khanna wherein the demand to use old bardana was mooted. They also met senior officials of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), food and civil supplies and other officers, he said. He alleged that procurement agencies forced millers to store PAU-201 variety of paddy last year, which failed to match FAQ (fair average quality) as per standards of the FCI. Millers said specifications for delivery of milled rice for the coming season were not acceptable to them and should
be revised.
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Lakhowal seeks BC status for Punjab farmers
Anandpur Sahib, September 26 We don’t want caste-based reservation, rather it should be need-based,” said president Ajmer Singh Lakhowal. He was here to preside over a state-level recruitment drive. He said the economic packages and loan waivers had failed to resuscitate farmers’ lives. “At least reservation will ensure that our children get decent education and jobs to be independent,” he said. He said water distribution in Punjab should be done on the basis of international riparian act. “The right over rivers should be given to the states from where these originate and the area they traverse. Other states should not be allowed to use our water. The government should revoke Sections 78, 79 and 80 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act,” he said. He advocated that the government should implement recommendations of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation to pull out Punjab farmers from the agriculture mess they were in at present. Pertaining to bills for tubewell power connections, he claimed he had discussed the issue with the Chief Minister. “The government will soon refund the bill amount to the farmers who had already made the payment, while the others need not pay,” he said. He demanded that the MSP of cotton in the state should be at par with that awarded in other states. “Cotton farmers face problems like fake seeds and substandard pesticides, the government should deal with these issues effectively,” he added.
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PSPCL posts loss of Rs 1,200 cr
Ludhiana, September 26 Chaudhary said they were shortly going to launch a project of providing 24-hour power supply to several cities in the state and Ludhiana had been chosen to be the first city where the supply would be provided as a pilot project. He said the decision was taken on the lines of Maharashtra and Gujarat and teams were sent to study the dynamics of the scheme in both states. “We will have to buy power from other states to make our new scheme successful. Let us see how we go about it. One of the teams have returned and the other one is still in Gujarat to make the observations,” he said.
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Breast Cancer Bathinda, September 26 According to Isha Bhandari, director, operations, India Roko Cancer campaign, 131 suspected cancer cases were detected out of 894 mammography examinations conducted by cancer experts in Mansa, Bathinda and Muktsar districts between September to December last year. As many as 92 suspected cases of breast cancer were detected in 12 districts through 86 camps, in which a total of 5,670 mamographies were conducted by cancer experts in a period of three years between 2006 and 2009. Excessive use of pesticides and change in lifestyle was the main reason for the high incidence of the disease in the Malwa belt, she said. Patients have to travel even up to Bikaner in Rajasthan to get treatment for the disease. She said the Roko Cancer had launched India's first fully-equipped mobile breast cancer detection unit in Punjab to educate women and help them with early detection and eradication of the deadly disease. Bhandari said so far, 500 villages had been surveyed and since December last in over 250 camps, 10,000 women were examined. She said as per the latest study conducted on 4,250 women in the past three years by the Roko Cancer volunteers, breast-feeding for a longer duration could significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer in a pre-menopausal woman. The data of 4,250 women in various districts of Punjab was collected over a period of three years making it the largest case control study on breast cancer to be conducted in India. Analysis of the data indicated that lack of breast-feeding has been established as an independent risk factor for cancer.
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Fifth Pay Commission
Fatehgarh Sahib, September 26 Moreover, they will also block national highway-21 in Kharar as part of their agitation. Ravinder Joshi, press secretary of the Punjab State Aided School Teachers’ Association in a press release alleged that the state government was not listening to the genuine demands of teachers for the past
long time. Despite various meetings with senior functionaries of the government and ruling
party leaders, nothing positive had come out, Joshi said. He added that a delegation of their association, led by president Gurcharan Singh Chahal, met
the Education Minister and other officials, but all they got was lip sympathy. The teachers added that they would not budge to the pressure tactics of the government and would intensify their agitation
to get their demands fulfilled.
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Staff of drainage divisions denied salaries
Bathinda, September 26 Among those denied salary were the two executive engineers who were heading these divisions. The two divisions have a total strength of 61 engineers and clerical staff members besides a number of daily wage employees. A senior officer said the SYL, jointly controlled by Punjab and Haryana, was wound up some time ago and nothing had been done to create a separate head to draw the salaries of the employees. The SYL divisions at Mansa and Bathinda were functioning under the Drainage Department since 1997 but the salaries were being paid from the former head and it was probably out of confusion at the Secretariat level that their salaries had now been stopped, said the officer.
— TNS
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Youth federation conference from tomorrow
Jalandhar, September 26 About 2,000 delegates from all parts of the country will take part in the conference, which will focus on burning issues such as unemployment and rising prices, facing the country. “The biggest issue confronting the youth at the moment is unemployment. The new economic order followed by the Congress-led government in the Centre has tremendously reduced the employment opportunities for the youth across the country,” said Joginder Dayal, a member of the national executive of the CPI, who has been made in charge of the conference. “There is no place left for employment for the ordinary youth. Opportunities have been created for just the elite class. The ordinary youth are being asked to work at a meagre salary and exploited to the hilt,” he said. The other issue that would be on agenda at the conference is related to education. “Education has become so costly that the gates of colleges, universities have been closed for the youth belonging to ordinary families. They cannot pay fee and other charges to do any professional course such as engineering, MBBS etc.,” Dayal said. “The UPA-led Congress government has left the education to market forces which had made it a big business. Even a middle-class family faces the financial burden while sending wards to professional engineering, medical and other such colleges,” he added. “ Widespread corruption, especially in the political system, will also be discussed at the conference. Common people have been pushed out from politics. Political parties such as the Congress rule in the name of Aam Aadmi but give party tickets only to people having deep pockets,” he said, adding that the youth would be asked to deliberate on this issue.
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Vets to stage dharna
Chandigarh, September 26 A decision to this effect was taken here today at a meeting of the state executive of the Punjab State Veterinary Officers’ Association led by president Dr Ashok Kumar Sharma . He said their cadre would boycott district, regional and state-level livestock fairs organised by the department and monthly progress reports would not be sent to the higher authorities as a mark of protest. They said the 5th Pay Commission had strongly recommended the grant of NPA to vets and the government had taken a decision to implement the report . However, the government is showing slackness in releasing the necessary notification due to which there is intense resentment.
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Vice-President Hamid Ansari (extreme right) along with Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal during the Shaheed Parivar Fund organised by the Hind Samachar Group, in Jalandhar on Sunday. Tribune photo: Malkiat Singh
