The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

ASI to encourage surgeons to get back to basics
Jalandhar, October 13
In the race of catching up with developing technology, surgeons in the country have forgotten the basics of surgery and the Association of Surgeons of India (ASI) would launch a campaign to encourage surgeons to follow basics instead of hurriedly switching over to the use of high-end technologies.

Man murdered, body found near canal
Amritsar, October 13
The police recovered the body of a middle-aged man, who had been killed under mysterious circumstances, near a canal here today. The deceased has been identified as Imanual Masih, resident of Sundar Muhalla, Dera Baba Nanak road, Fatehgarh Churian road, Gurdaspur district, and was employed with the Punjab Roadways as a washing man.

Powercom engineers hold black-badge protest
Amritsar, October 13
The PSEB Engineers Association, Border Zone, today protested against the handing over of the Gidderbaha thermal project to the NTPC and the inordinate delay in establishing a tripartite agreement.

Gang of burglars busted, two nabbed
Phagwara, October 13
The two members of a gang of burglars arrested by the police yesterday were produced before the local Judicial Magistrate today who sent them in judicial custody for 14 days.

Manpreet spoiled claim for debt waiver: LBP
Jalandhar, October 13
Lok Bhalai Party president Balwant Singh Ramoowalia today said Finance Minister Manpreet Badal has spoiled the claim of Punjab for the debt waiver of Rs 35,000 crore by taking a conditional stand on the issue.

Rapist gets 10-year jail
Tarn Taran, October 13
The Additional District and Sessions Judge has sentenced Bhupinder Singh, a resident of Deo village, to 10-year rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him for raping a teenaged girl.

	Golden girl Manjit brings laurels to Punjab, PAP Kusum Arora/TNS Jalandhar, October 13 It were celebrations all over at the home of athlete Manjit Kaur who won the state’s first-ever gold medal in the 4x400m relay in track and field in the ongoing Commonwealth Games-2010 yesterday. No sooner did she win the gold, neighbours and family friends thronged her house on the PAP campus to congratulate her parents and celebrate the victorious moments. Talking to The Tribune, Manjit’s father Harbhajan Singh said he was glued to the television since evening to watch every minute detail of the relay. “It was a proud moment watching her win the gold. All thanks to the Almighty for taking her to great heights,” he said. Her younger brother Davinder Singh said, “My sister had left everything for the sake of winning gold in the Commonwealth Games. During the past four years she didn’t attend any wedding, social function or family gathering. Her only aim was to win a gold medal for the country.” Punjab Armed Police (PAP) Director-General Shashi Kant today congratulated Manjit Kaur. She is serving as an Inspector in the PAP. “Manjit has brought laurels to her home cadre PAP, the state and the country. As an ace athlete she has created history and made a mark in the games,” the DGP added. It may be noted that the quartet of Manjit Kaur, Sini Jose, Ashwini Chidananda Akkunji and Mandeep Kaur brought laurels to the nation after a gap of 52 years in the Commonwealth Games history as it was Flying Sikh Milkha Singh who had won a gold medal individually in 400 metres run in track events.
	ASI to encourage surgeons to get back to basics Tribune News Service Jalandhar, October 13 In the race of catching up with developing technology, surgeons in the country have forgotten the basics of surgery and the Association of Surgeons of India (ASI) would launch a campaign to encourage surgeons to follow basics instead of hurriedly switching over to the use of high-end technologies. Dr Arvind Kumar, organising secretary, 70th National Conference of the Association of Surgeons of India (ASICON), who was here to announce the schedule of ASICON, said the issue would be debated in ASICON, scheduled to be organised from December 15 to 20 at the AIIMS, New Delhi. “Even after the use of modern techniques and instruments, surgical complications are unavoidable in a large number of patients. In such conditions, surgeons who rely only on technology, fail to deal with complications as they know nothing about the conventional surgical procedures,” he said. To compare the outcome of various conventional and modern surgical procedures, the conference would deliberate to compile a national registry of different kind of complications being faced by doctors after adopting various surgical modalities, he added. Over 8,000 surgeons from the country would participate in the conference. The ASI was formed in 1938 and has a membership of over 13,000 surgeons. “The issue of the decline in the standard of ethics in the medical field would also be discussed in the conference,” said Dr P.S. Bakshi, secretary of the north chapter of the ASI.
	Man murdered, body found near canal Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 13 The police recovered the body of a middle-aged man, who had been killed under mysterious circumstances, near a canal here today. The deceased has been identified as Imanual Masih, resident of Sundar Muhalla, Dera Baba Nanak road, Fatehgarh Churian road, Gurdaspur district, and was employed with the Punjab Roadways as a washing man. Though, the deceased’s wife Nirmal has alleged involvement of some known person yet no arrest has been made so far. The police has registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC. According to Nirmal, they were together a day before when one of her husband’s friends met them while on way to their relative’s house in the Ghanupur area. “Yesterday, at about 5.15 pm, when I, along with my husband, were heading towards the house of one of our relatives in the Ghanupur area, a Maruti car bearing No PCM 5187 stopped beside us, which was being driven by Vijay Kumar, who was known to my husband. He made him sit in the car and I was told to move. The next day, I came to know that my husband’s body was lying near canal road,” she said. Balwant Singh, SHO, Sultanwind, said investigation was on to nab the culprits.
	Powercom engineers hold black-badge protest Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 13 The PSEB Engineers Association, Border Zone, today protested against the handing over of the Gidderbaha thermal project to the NTPC and the inordinate delay in establishing a tripartite agreement. Around 50 engineers from Amritsar and Tarn Taran wore black badges in protest against the delaying tactics of Powercom and the state government in honouring their commitments. Ishwar Dass, regional secretary, suburban circle, said power employees had suffered a lot due to the faulty policy of the state government. “I urge the Punjab Government not to hand over the proposed Gidderbaha thermal plant to the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC),” he said. According to engineers, the NTPC allowed utilisation of just 50 per cent of the power produced to the state and the rest 50 per cent was distributed among other states. “When the land, infrastructure and water belonged to Punjab, then how far is it justified to hand over the plant to the NTPC when ours is a power deficit state?” he questioned. At the time of the restructuring of the PSEB, a tripartite agreement among the government, the employees and the power union bodies was planned to protect the service as well as retirement benefits to employees, which had not materialised, they rued.
	Gang of burglars busted, two nabbed Our Correspondent Phagwara, October 13 The two members of a gang of burglars arrested by the police yesterday were produced before the local Judicial Magistrate today who sent them in judicial custody for 14 days. The police had busted a gang of burglars and arrested its two members Rakesh Kumar of Pipa Rangi, Phagwara, and Paramjit Kumar of Mukandpur, here yesterday. SP Kamaljit Singh Dhillon told newsmen that on a tip-off, a police team, headed by City SHO Amrik Singh Chahal, put up a naka near the old octroi post on the Phagwara-Banga road and stopped the two motorcyclists and recovered a stolen computer and a DVD from them. Dhillon said during preliminary interrogation, the arrested accused confessed their involvement in more than 40 criminal incidents, including those of theft, burglary, snatching, etc. committed in the local Onkar Nagar, Khotra Road, Pipa Rangi, Banga Road and Chaheru. Stolen goods, including six commercial gas cylinders, two television sets, 14 mobile phones, four computers, three CPU, 2 UPSs and one printer, had been recovered from them. Their motorcycle had also been impounded.
	Manpreet spoiled claim for debt waiver: LBP Tribune News Service Jalandhar, October 13 Lok Bhalai Party president Balwant Singh Ramoowalia today said Finance Minister Manpreet Badal has spoiled the claim of Punjab for the debt waiver of Rs 35,000 crore by taking a conditional stand on the issue. Addressing a press conference, Ramoowalia said the debt was linked with the dark days of militancy, which was supported by Pakistan. “It is the duty of the Union Government to waive the debt of the state without any conditions. However, Manpreet took a stand on the conditional debt waiver, which indeed is wrong,” he added. Ramoowalia said Manpreet should not have followed Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as the latter was a minister in 1985 when the Punjab accord was signed and a resolution was passed regarding transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab.