Khatkar Kalan (Nawanshahr), September 28
As all major political parties abstained from the 103rd birth anniversary celebrations of Bhagat Singh in his ancestral village here today, various youth organisations and local clubs made sure that it did not remain a low-key affair.

Patriotism remained at its peak as young boys donning turbans in Bhagat Singh style kept on arriving in groups raising slogans, garlanding the statue of the martyr and taking a round of the museum. Boys wearing T-shirts with a printed portrait of Bhagat Singh was also a common site there.

While some of the groups had brought torches along, there were others who had got pamphlets printed on the life of Bhagat Singh for distribution. Several local groups had also brought ladoos for distributing among visitors.

Patriotic songs were played at the site for the whole day. Leaders of the organisations, including Shaheed Bhagat Singh Naujawan Sabha, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Social Revolution Brigade and Punjab Students’ Federation, held short speeches outside the museum and ancestral house of the martyr.

The local sports club and village panchayat held a series of plays on youth related social issues. MLA Mohan Lal also attended the event.

Meanwhile, Bhagat Singh’s nephew Abhey Singh Sandhu, who was there at Khatkar Kalan with his family, was upset as the state government had not held any public function at the ancestral house of the martyr. “What is the fun of announcing a holiday today when they do not want to hold any function? Is it just for the people to stay back home and relax?” he asked.

He said, “I am sure that all political parties will hold big functions on the same occasion next year as the elections will be around at that time.”

He rued that a commemorative coin released a few years ago in the name of Bhagat Singh had not been made available to the masses even still. He said that the issue of the installation of a Chair in the martyr’s name at Panjab University had also been kept pending.

Chandigarh, September 28
Even as Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) chairman Sanjit Sinha told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the record was required for answering applications under the Right to Information Act, the state expressed apprehensions of record tampering.

As the petition on the selection of medical officers came up for hearing before the Bench of Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Ajay Tewari, an application was placed before it alleging that the complete original record was not being supplied and “there was every likelihood that the petitioner may tamper with the original record”.

The state also asked for appropriate directions for seizing the complete record. Elaborating, the state said in compliance with the HC’s earlier order, a list of the required documents was handed over to state Additional Advocate-General Rupinder Khosla on August 30.

It was further handed over to Sinha’s counsel Bar-at-Law Himmat Singh Shergill. On September 10, Shergill handed over some record. On scrutiny, it was found to be incomplete and contained certified copies of some original documents. The state added that three weeks had already lapsed, but the record had not yet been received.

Shergill, on the other hand, asserted that the record was handed over on September 10 and 22. But in all, more than one lakh pages had been demanded. Moreover, they were also required to submit record to a Single Bench hearing a connected matter. Insisting, the commission believed in complete transparency in its functioning, Shergill added they also had RTI applications to answer. The Bench issued notice of motion for October 12 on the state’s plea; and reiterated its earlier orders of handing over the record to the state for onward transmission to the state vigilance.

The Vigilance Bureau has asked for 18 types of documents from the PPSC. The HC on August 27 had asserted that there was some dispute on quantum of documents handed over by the petitioner to the VB. As such, the Bench had asked Khosla to handover a list of documents required by the VB to the counsel for the petitioner. The government was also asked to furnish a status report on the inquiry before the next date of hearing - November 9.

Jalandhar, September 28
Questioning the tactics of the Maoists, CPI general secretary AB Bardhan said today that killing policemen and ordinary persons could not bring about revolution in the country.

Talking to The Tribune, the CPI leader said there were different conditions in China when Mao Tse Tung had to resort to armed revolution in that country. “There was no democracy in China at that time. Only warlords were ruling that country and were killing communists. Owing to this, Red Guards led by Mao had to launch armed attack against warlords”, said Bardhan, who was here today to speak at the opening session of the All-India Youth Federation Conference.

“In India, there is democracy though it has many shortcomings and power has been monopolised by some families. People have right to vote, change the governments through ballot and also to change the system by choosing people of their own liking”, said Bardhan, adding that here revolution would not be possible without peoples’ movement.

The Maoists in red corridor were killing the common man by branding them as police touts and also killing cops by abducting them, he said, adding that these were most reprehensible tactics adopted by them.

“The Maoists are extracting money from contractors and other rich people and provide them shelter in the red corridor,” he alleged.

Mao faced an extensive criticism in China for his various acts such as Cultural Revolution and also for Great Leap Forward. People there did not blindly follow him, he added. In the name of China, the Maoists in India should not run roughshod, he added.

Asked whether the Maoists would harm the Left Front politically in West Bengal, he alleged Maoists, Mamata Banerjee and other forces had come on one platform to defeat the Left Front in that state. He alleged Mamata Banerjee was openly supporting the Maoists in the Lalgarh area of West Bengal.

On a query that whether there was a scope for patch up with the Congress, he said there was no possibility. The Congress was promoting new liberal capitalist system, a most exploitative one, dictated by the US. A big gap had emerged in the ideological path followed by the Congress and the mainstream communist parties and there was no scope of patch up in such a situation.

Jalandhar, September 28
Giving a call for a nationwide youth uprising against corruption and unemployment, thousands of members of the All-India Youth Federation today gathered on the premises of Desh Bhagat Yaadgar Hall, Jalandhar, on the first day of four-day national-level conference of the federation. Over 800 delegates from all states will participate in the conference.

Besides, Leftist leaders, including CPI general secretary AB Bardhan, Comrade P Santosh and Comrade K Murugan, president and general secretary of the federation, and Comrade Joginder Dayal, representatives of the leftist youth organisations of Portugal, Vietnam, Kenya, Burma, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka attended the rally.

Comrade Dera from Portugal, president, World Federation of Democratic Youth, an international conglomerate of leftist youth organisations, also participated in the rally.

The conference was started with torches, carried by groups of hundreds of youth from the respective birthplaces of Bhagat Singh, Udham Singh, Lala Lajpat Rai, Kartar Singh Sarabha and from the Jallianwala Bagh and Hussainiwala.

Addressing the gathering, AB Bardhan said dream of rapid economic growth and thriving GDP was a farce and division between rich and poor in the country was deepening with every passing day.

Taking a dig over the policies of the UPA-II, he said over 80 per cent people were bearing the brunt of inflation, unemployment and corruption and 2G spectrum scam and controversy over the Commonwealth Games were classical examples of the prevailing corruption.

On the occasion of 103rd anniversary of Bhagat Singh, he called upon youth to build mass movement against such evils, adding that he never resorted to violence to build mass movement and used violence only as a symbol to draw attention of imperialists. Later, the volunteers took out a protest march in the city.

Chandigarh, September 28
The Punjab Government is unable to decide on the protocol status to be accorded to Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne, when he and his wife visit the state next Monday.

Sources said the state was awaiting directions from the Centre in this regard and in all probability, Prince Charles and his wife Camilla Parker Bowles would be accorded the same protocol as extended to the Vice-President.

Prince Charles and Camilla will arrive in Chandigarh on a charted flight on October 4 and proceed to the Punjab Raj Bhawan, where after a welcome reception by Governor Shivraj Patil, the couple will meet young entrepreneurs of the region. Later, while Prince Charles will visit the environment-friendly PEDA building in Sector 33, Camilla interact with students of a local school.

According to the schedule received by the government, the couple will visit a charitable institute in Sector 40 and later leave to see an organic farm in Hansali village.

Later. they will fly to Patiala, where they will be the personal guests of former CM Capt Amarinder Singh and his wife Preneet Kaur. They will put their stay at Moti Bagh Palace. A private dinner reception is being planned for October 4.

The state has alerted the district administrations of Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Mohali and Patiala districts, but specific order about the level of security will be passed after the Centre clarifies the status to be accorded to them.

Chandigarh, September 28
The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) has decided to take up the issue of the shortening of the duration of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha session in the House when it meets tomorrow afternoon. CLP leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal has said the ruling SAD-BJP alliance was trying to run away from the real issues facing the people and had, therefore,reduced the monsoon session.

Describing it as “escapism” Bhattal said the CLP had decided not to let go the decision of Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon without challenging it. Two Congress members, Avtar Singh Brar and Lal Singh, she said had put a dissent note and opposed the Business Advisory Committee’s decision to reduce the session of the House at its last meeting.

The Congress has identified 12 major issues facing the people of the state.The issues would be taken up in the House and a debate sought on these, before the House was adjourned for this session. Bhattal said besides other issues, the Congress would raise the issues of deteriorating law and order, use of funds received from the Centre, seeking loans to the tune of Rs 500 crore, bad handling of floods and the misuse of funds received from the Asian Development Bank.

A CLP meeting scheduled for tomorrow would also review the strategy to be adopted by the Congress in the House later in the day, besides incorporating any other issue on which a debate would be sought.

Bhattal expressed concern over what she said was the sale of government property and assets, including the lease of land to business schools for a mere Re 1. She said employees in the state were in a bad way.There was a ban on recruitment and people in the Malwa region were suffering due to the massive spread of cancer and other diseases, but the ruling alliance wanted to run away from such issues. She alleged the ruling alliance was not merely callous but had also murdered democratic norms and was now trying to stifle the Opposition by not giving it an opportunity to raise these issues on the floor of the House.

She said the Congress was opposed to the move of reviving the Upper House of the Legislature as it would add to the burden on the people and give the government an opportunity to induct leaders who had been rejected by the people.

Rajpura, September 28
Two students of MBA first year got killed, while two others, including son of Patiala SDM, critically injured in an accident that took place near Rajpura bypass in the wee hours today.

All four boys belong to influential families and are identified as Zorawar Singh, son of SDM Gurmeet Singh, Gaurav Verma, a Delhi resident and Gagandeep Singh, Jaskaran Singh, both Mohali residents. They were going towards Patiala from Chandigarh at around 2.30 am in a Ford Endeavor Car, on which red beacon was fitted without any authority. The boys were studying in Thapar University, Patiala.

While Zorawar was at wheels, two boys were sitting on the rear seats and one was sitting beside the driver. Viewing the condition of the SUV’s remains it seems that the vehicle was driven at a speed of more than 150 km per hour, said the police officials. The cops said a truck was parked near the bypass as its fuel got exhausted last night.

“Half portion of the truck was off the road and the other vehicles were running at a moderate speed on the road,” said Rajpura DSP Manmohan Sharma. However, the SUV driven by boys hit the truck from left side and both the boys sitting beside the driver got killed on the spot and the other two, including SDM’s son were rushed to the Rajpura Civil Hospital in a critical condition. They received severe head injuries as their heads collided with the rear portion of the truck. The air bags of the vehicle, too, got burst.

The police officials said a possibility of drunk driving could not be ruled out. They added that it took more than two hours to pull out injured boys safely out of the SUV. They were immediately rushed to the Rajpura Civil Hospital from where they were brought to a private hospital in phase IX, Mohali. A case will be registered against the truck driver, said the police officials.

Rajpura, September 28
The Rajpura police will initiate action against four people, including woman-daughter duo of Alimajra village, who got a false case registered against another woman to settle some personal scores.

Rajpura DSP Manmohan Sharma, addressing a press conference here, said Swarn Kaur, a resident of Alimajra village had come to the police station on Thursday, wherein she claimed that her minor daughter eloped with an unidentified boy. She accused another woman, Baljit Kaur, of instigating her daughter to elope with some boy.

The police registered a case in this regard against Baljit Kaur on complaint of the girl’s mother. However, Baljit told the police that the younger daughter of the complainant knows the whereabouts of the missing girl, who was not a minor.

“Seema, the younger daughter of the complainant was brought to the police station and was questioned in presence of all other family members and villagers on Sunday,” said the DSP.

He pointed out that the girl confessed that she was aware about the affair between her missing sister and a boy from Kaami Kalan village in Rajpura and her sister was not a minor.

To hide the false statements, the girl later leveled false allegations of torture by the police in connivance with her mother.

“Now, the girl and her mother retracted from their statements and will be booked by the police as they got a case registered against an innocent woman just to settle some personal scores,” said Shambhu police station in charge Amanpal Virk.

He said the police has traced the eloped girl, who had registered the marriage in high court a few days back. The girl said she had married the boy, a photographer, at her own without any instigation and the statements given by her mother were not true.

She also alleged that her mother had recently fixed her marriage with a 45-year-old man of Machhiwara in lieu of a few thousand rupees.

Ludhiana, September 28
Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayats CP Joshi said today that Punjab had failed to avail much benefit under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

Talking to mediapersons, after attending the District Vigilance and Monitoring Committee, Joshi said people were still not clear that the MNREGA was not a scheme or a policy, but a law, which was to be enforced.

He added that even the role of each and every official associated with its implementation was duly defined.

He added that the Centre had allocated Rs 40,000 crore for states under the Act according to demands made by them. On low wages offered under the scheme, he stated that the matter was being looked into and it would be set according to a standard index fixed after considering various aspects. — TNS

Jalandhar, September 28
There was a sudden jump in dengue cases in the state today. The number of such cases has gone up to 293 whereas it was 246 yesterday. In all 47 new cases of dengue reported today from various parts of the state.

Jalandhar has the dubious distinction of having the highest number of patients (160). The other city that is fast catching up with Jalandhar is Ludhiana where the number of dengue cases has gone up to 71, with 24 new cases being reported today. In Jalandhar, 15 new cases of dengue were admitted to the Civil Hospital. However, the total number of suspected cases is said to be over 400.

“The influx of patients in the hospital continues to be very high,” said a senior official of the hospital, adding that some additional arrangements were proposed yesterday to manage the growing rush of patients. An order was placed to procure some new folding beds for patients.

Fatehgarh Sahib, September 28
The only male hippopotamus at the Chhatbir Zoo has been kept isolated from his other four female colleagues for the past three years.

Fearing an increase in the hippo population and a consequent increase in dietary requirements of the animals, the zoo authorities have kept the male hippo in a separate enclosure inside the zoo premises. “For the past more than three years, the male hippo has not had a companion, which is very inhuman,” said Gurjant Singh, a visitor to the zoo.

The zookeepers inform visitors about male hippos only when asked in detail. The zoo currently houses four female hippos, including a mother and her calf born in 2007. “The male and the female were last brought together for mating in early 2007. After the female hippo conceived, the male was not allowed to go near any of the female hippos,” add sources. The zoo officials reason that a hippo consumes more than 150 kg of green fodder daily. Space constraint is another major issue, which is the main reason that two females each live in same enclosure.

“Most big animals in the zoo are christened such as the tigers, the lions and the elephants etc, none of the hippos have a name,” said a zookeeper.

Meanwhile, Chandigarh-based Payal Sodhi from the NGO, the People For Animals (PFA) said, “It is very mean to keep the couple isolated. If the Chhatbir authorities cannot take care of the animals due to the lack of infrastructure, the animals should be handed over to another zoo in country.” She added that as per the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) guidelines, an animal should not be kept in isolation for three years and must be shifted to another place where it can find a companion. “Instead of making lives of hippos monotonous, Chhatbir has the option of sterlising the hippos. Moreover, the animal’s can be paired together when they are not on heat,” she suggested.

Female hippos reach sexual maturity at approximately three years of age but do not usually mate until they are seven-eight years of age. Females usually mate every two-three years. The breeding season for hippos is when the season is dry so that baby hippos are born during the rainy season when there is adequate grass for feeding purposes.

While Chief Wildlife Officer Gurbaz Singh was away to Delhi on an official visit, zoo Director Churchil Kumar was on leave.

Patiala, September 28
Taking cognisance of the complaint filed by Advocate Gurjit Singh, who is working as a guest faculty at the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala, regarding the unchecked sale of steroids in the form of injections, the Punjab Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to Principal Secretary (Home) ADGP (VC) and the Director General Health Services, Punjab, Chandigarh and asked for a detailed report in this regard.

Gurjit Singh, in his complaint, had alleged that farmers were openly using steroids in the form of injections, which are very harmful for human beings.

Gurjit also gave reference of a report that had appeared in The Tribune regarding water melons and other fruits being sold on the roadside being injected with toxic dyes.

Considering the allegations made in the complaint, the PHRC found that it was a prima facie case of violation of human rights made out for proceedings under Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.

Therefore, the PHRC has directed the related authorities to submit a detailed report with the Commission before December 16, 2010, including the recorded statement of the complainant.

Talking to The Tribune in this regard, Gurjit said farmers often inject vegetables such as bottle gourd, bitter gourd etc., with these steroids in order to enhance the size and yield of the product. Similarly milch animals, too, were being injected steroids, as they were easily available in the open market and that too at a throwaway price. He said these vegetables, fruits and milk, when consumed by humans, upset the hormonal balance.

Sangrur, September 28
A student of the Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology drowned in the swimming pool of the institute late this evening. The deceased, Rakesh, was a student of the 2nd year of the certificate course in tools & dyes.

Due to delay ed arrangement of ambulance and the alleged absence of a permanent medical officer, students got agitated and pelted stones at the health centre.

The deceased unknowingly went towards the deep end of the pool. Seeing him drowning, his friends raised an alarm. He was rushed to the health centre but the medical officer was not present. Later, students took him to the district hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.

An employee of the SLIET said: “If there was no lifeguard, why the students were allowed to swim.” The pool in charge could not be contacted.