Jalandhar, December 12
The CPI has strongly opposed the proposal to enhance the bus fare in Punjab. The CPI national executive member Joginder Dayal today said the big transporters were earning huge profits from their passanger transport operations and there was no logic in increasing the bus fare.

He said, in fact, the bus fare on the main routes such as Jalandhar-Amritsar, Jalandhar-Chandigarh, Ludhiana-Moga and Ferozepur, Ludhiana-Chandigarh, Bathinda-Sangrur-Patiala-Chandigarh and Jalandhar-Ludhiana-Barnala should be substantially reduced because bus operators were earning huge profits on such routes.

Recently, the Transport Minister, Master Mohan Lal, had given a statement indicating an increase in the bus fare by five paise per km. Even private trasnporters have given a call to observe a strike on January 1 if the bus fare was not increased by 10 paise per km by that date.

“There are big transporters in all three parties, the Congress, the BJP and the SAD. They are now building pressure on the state government to increase the fare,” said Dayal, adding that the government should not yield to such pressure.

The government should set up an independent commission or authority that should decide what should be the bus fare on various routes in the state. Common people, who were affected by the increase in bus fare, should be allowed to put up their point of view before such a commission or authority.

According to an estimate, one bus operating between Jalandhar and Mohali earns about Rs 4,000 per trip (up and down) after paying the tax and meeting all other expenditure, including fuel cost, toll tax and bus stand fee, etc. That means earning of Rs 1 lakh per bus per month by investing just about Rs 18-20 lakh. In fact, bus operators were charging toll tax in excess from passangers while they pay far less to toll tax barriers. The charging of toll from passangers should also be reduced by 50 per cent. Toll is charged from every passanger boarding the bus.

Dayal said all big private bus operators should be made to ply buses on the rural routes also. “Big private bus operators have now almost established a monoply on the main routes where the return is high. They avoid rural routes where the PRTC and Punjab Roadways have to ply buses,” said Dayal. “Let the big operators also share the burden with the PRTC and Punjab Roadways,” he said.

If any private bus operator was suffering loss on any route, let him surrender his route permits to the government.

Patiala, December 12
The issue of another one-year extension to Punjab Civil Services (PCS) officers in the state has kicked off a row with the Congress raising strong objections over the matter. Senior Congress leaders have demanded that PCS officers given re-employment on contract basis should not be given extension and also 50 per cent of the vacant posts of PCS officers in Punjab should be filled immediately.

Expressing his views on the matter, Samana MLA Brahm Mohindra said, “Fifty per cent of the PCS cadre posts are lying vacant, which implies that the government machinery is not complete. Ultimately, because of the vacancies, it is the common man who is suffering and hence all vacant posts should be filled without any delay through fresh recruitments.”

Notably, in December 2009, following the shortage of officers in the administrative wing, the state government had decided to extend the tenure of PCS officers that were to retire in December 2009. The extension was given for a fixed period of one year, which meant that they could continue till December 31, 2010. Now, the government has decided to further extend the contract by another one year and the matter is likely to be given the final nod at the next Punjab Cabinet meeting.

According to official figures, the government has over 250 PCS Cadre posts in the state, against which they have around 150 officers and others are on contract. Almost a dozen more PCS officers are due to retire in the coming two years, which will lead to a severe shortage of officers. Interestingly with the elections due in 2011, the main opposition party, the Congress, is sure to raise this issue as the contractual PCS officers cannot act as Returning Officers and cannot be given powers as they can be given during service.

Senior Congress leader and former Sangrur MLA Arvind Khanna pointed out that the SAD-BJP government had failed to make adequate appointments of officials, what to talk of going in for administrative reforms.

Patiala, December 12
Poor patients coming to avail emergency facilities at Rajindra Medical College and Hospital here would soon be able to avail free supply of medicines and life-saving drugs during the first 24 hours of their treatment. The facility for providing free medicines and life-saving drugs would continue in case the patient really needed the same.

The move to facilitate the poor patients comes in wake of the initiative taken by Patiala Health Foundation (PHF), a charitable organisation working to assist the poor patients, which has pledged $700,000 (about Rs 3.1 crore) for the hospital in a phased manner.

Claiming that the upgrade of medical facilities in the country was the last concern for the politicians of the country, a renowned doctor in the US, philanthropist and alumnus of Patiala medical college, Dr Amrik Singh Chattha, who was at the college for the alumni meet, promised a financial assistance worth $700,000 for the hospital in a phased manner.

Speaking to The Tribune, Dr Chattha, who is the PHF chairperson, said politicians need to look into health sector, as it were the poor patients who needed government facilities. “We will ensure that grants keep pouring in and the patients get the benefits as the government funds usually get delayed,” he stated.

On the issue of donating $700,000, he said the PHF had already raised the amount and it would be spent wisely on improving medical equipment in emergency wards, in addition to the installation of air conditioners. “We will also bear the employee cost of the ambulance service, as we have enough money with the PHF,” he said.

Dr Chattha today donated ambulance facility worth $70,000 and promised to bear the expenditure of six employees attached with the facility.

Meanwhile, college principal Dr KD Singh said the government was in the process of making more recruitments and patients would get better services. “However, I thank Dr Chattha for the donations as it would help in the betterment of the existing facilities,” he said.

Dr Chattha accepted that due to various reasons, their foundation could not start the trauma care centre in Patiala, as there were certain problems in acquiring the one-acre piece of land earmarked for the proposed trauma centre. 

Chandigarh, December 12
The Punjab Youth Congress chief and Anandpur Sahib MP, Ravneet Singh Bittu, by undertaking an extensive Nav Inquilab Padyatra of the state, has not only set a new trend in the state politics but also forced veteran and his senior political adversaries to be out in the field wooing their support base.

When Bittu decided to launch his yatra early last month with an intent to get a “genuine” feedback from electors in general and the youth in particular about the issues and problems they face, it was viewed more as a “gimmick” than a “genuine political exercise” in anticipation of the Assembly elections in about a year’s time.

Interestingly, Bittu claims that dissident Akali leader and former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal followed the lead given by him. Without getting into a debate about who prompted whom, the common link of the “statewide interactive initiative with electors” forced the ruling SAD to step up not only its sangat darshan programmes but also put it on “extra alert” to over play or publicise its “developmental work” in the state.

Though padyatras are nothing new to Punjab, but the type of the Nav Inquilab Pad Yatra undertaken by Bittu was unique.

Accompanied by enthused Youth Congress workers, Bittu has been walking 20 to 25 km a day to “personally meet and greet” as many electors as possible to seek their blessings besides asking them about issues and demands they think should be taken up in the election manifesto of the Congress for the next Assembly poll.

Talking to The Tribune over the phone, Bittu said he had been overwhelmed by the response of the people of Punjab, both in urban and rural areas.

“They come out, wait for me to reach their homes, work places, fields or even on the roadside. They wish me and talk about socio-economic issues facing the state. Female foeticide, drugs, unemployment, farm debtedness, corruption, deteriorating law and order situation in the state, shortage of power and potable water besides unremunerative agriculture are among the major issues highlighted during interaction with me,” he says.

Bittu, who has blisters on his feet, says that it is the warmth and enthusiasm of people that make him overcome his personal physical handicaps to continue with the pad yatra with redoubled vigour.

Early this month, Bhawan Jyotinder Singh, MP, and a confidant of Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary of the All-India Congress Committee, had come to Amritsar before the start of the Majha leg of the yatra.

Chandigarh, December 12
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) secretary and spokesperson, Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, has said that the latest statement of former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Guru Gobind Singh Refinery at Bathinda has exposed “his explicit collusion with the anti-refinery multinational lobby that had used Amarinder to stall the Rs 20000-crore Bathinda refinery project.”

In a statement issued here today, Dr Cheema said Amarinder was totally perplexed by the expeditious completion of the refinery project within the last three and a half years and five other thermal plants with a combined investment of Rs 82,000 crore.

He said Amarinder, who kept this project stalled for five years for reasons best known to him, had pushed Punjab’s industry back by 10 years besides denying over 30,000 youth of the state a chance for employment for full five years.

He said the Congress that was startled by mega projects like refinery, thermal plants and other reality projects was trying to use diversionary tactics to escape the embarrassment of denying Punjab its due during their tenure.

Seeking a public apology from Amarinder for delaying the refinery project in Punjab for full five years despite completion of all formalities by the SAD-BJP government in the earlier term, Dr Cheema said that Amarinder owed an explanation to lakhs of youth of Punjab for keeping them bereft of jobs for full five years. 

Anandpur Sahib, December 12
Two machines of the BBMB powerhouses of Ganguwal and Kotla have been lying dysfunctional for the past several months. This has been causing loss of power and wastage of thousands of cusecs of water.

Both Ganguwal and Kotla powerhouses have three machines each. Sources in the board said the problem persists owing to the casual attitude of the company, which is supposed to carry out repair of the machines. They said the machine at the Kotla powerhouse went out of order two years ago. This 24.2 MW machine generates 580800 units daily.

“Even if the value of per unit is considered Rs 1, the board loses Rs 5,80,800 every day. For a period of two years, this loss amounts to more than Rs 42 crore. Also thousands of cusecs of water, which was to generate power, goes waste everyday,” a BBMB official said.

Similarly, the machine at Ganguwal powerhouse went out of order one year ago. Its power capacity is also 5,80,800 units per day. “Owing to this problem, Punjab is unable to produce power as per its capacity. Instead, power cuts are being imposed in winters and power is being drawn from other grids,” he added.

BHEL has manufactured the faulty machines. The machines are old and only BHEL can repair them as the blades in the rotators break repeatedly. “BHEL has no schedule or time for repair. With no other option available, these machines lie unused. It does not seem that machines will be repaired in the near future,” he said.

Ferozepur, December 12
Ranjit Singh, travel ticket examiner (TTE), who along with his associates was allegedly involved in attacking Dharminder Kumar, senior divisional commercial manager of Ferozepur railway division on December 10, was dismissed from service.

Vishvesh Chobey, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Ferozepur, confirmed the dismissal of Ranjit Singh.

Ranjit Singh, a TTE based at Amritsar, along with six others had barged into the house of Dharminder Kumar and detained him illegally on December 10. He was also beaten up. The accused also put their gun to the temple of Dharminder Kumar.

Ranjit allegedly made an attack on Dharminder as he was harbouring animosity against Dharminder after he was placed under suspension by Dharminder for “misbehaving” with a woman commuter a few months ago.

Ranjit was also transferred to Jammu Tawi from Amritsar. However, he was found indulging in unauthorised absenteeism and not obeying the order connected with his transfer to Jammu Tawi. He even remained absent from duty after his suspension was revoked by the authorities concerned. Though a criminal case has been registered against Ranjit and six others, they are yet to be arrested. Chobey said the order of dismissal of Ranjit Singh from service had been issued by the divisional commercial manager (DCM) concerned. 

Rajpura, December 12
Farmers from six villages in Rajpura opposing the setting up of an IT Park on agricultural land today threatened to restart their agitation as the state government failed to initiate a dialogue with them.

Opposing the acquisition of 1,369 acres for the IT Park, the farmers from Aakri, Aakar, Sehra, Sehri, Pabra and Takhtumajra villages said despite promise by government officials and local politicians, nothing has been done do solve the matter.

The farmers had lifted their hunger strike last month after assurance by political leaders and senior functionaries that the matter would be settled and their demands would be accepted soon.

“The government did not listen to our grievances despite agitation, requests and pleas. A handful of politicians had approached the farmers when boys sitting on hunger strike were about to die,” said Jathedar Gurcharan Singh of Sehra village. Gurcharan is the president of action committee fighting against the setting up of the IT Park.

He said the government was trying to acquire land of poor farmers with marginal landholdings from 2-3 acres only. “It is a mere gimmick and the setting up of IT Park is aimed to encroach upon the farmers land for further sale to the politicians through a nexus of businessmen and some political leaders,” he said.

On the other hand, officials of the of the Punjab Industrial and Communication Technology Corporation Limited claim that the entire land is a shaamlat (common land), which belongs to the panchayats of respective villages.

The area will get a new look after setting up of the park as multinational companies would be accommodated here to generate revenue. Land prices are bound to increase from Rs 20 lakh to 1 crore or more after setting up of the park, claim the officials. 

Abohar, December 12
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has assured action against miscreants, who had allegedly damaged the statue of a black buck at Jeev Raksha Chowk here thrice last month.

The assurance was given to a deputation of the Akhil Bhartiya Jeev Raksha Bishnoi Sabha, led by Balluana MLA Gurtej Singh Ghuriana and Punjab Mandi Board director Sanjeev Godara.

Talking to mediapersons here today, Sabha spokesman Sandeep Delu said at a meeting at the Deputy CM’s residence in Badal village, the deputation apprised him of resentment that prevailed among thousands of members of the Bishnoi community.

The deputation also expressed resentment over illegal cutting of trees on both sides of the Seetogunno road that connects Jeev Raksha Chowk with Abohar town.

Earlier, miscreants had targeted Shri Sukhmani Sahib Chowk on the Abohar-Hanumangarh road and removed Sikh Panth signs (khandas) made of brass.

The Deputy CM has asked officials to identify and book the miscreants, the sabha spokesman added.

Fatehgarh Sahib, December 12
As the temperature dips and visibility gets reduced on the highway due to dense fog in the morning and evening hours, traffic cops in Fatehgarh Sahib began an awareness programme in which they urged commuters to slow down and be careful during the fog.

The Sirhind traffic in charge, sub inspector Hemant Kumar said that special campaign has been launched to create an awareness among young commuters to be cautious in winter while driving. Cops have been deployed to ask school, college students and lecturers to create awareness among the people. “They have been urged not to increase the speed limit, as it will lead to accidents”, said the traffic in charge. The thrust has been laid on traffic diversions on the national highway between Rajpura and Mandi Gobindgarh where the number of accidents have shot up with the onset of winter.

People have been told to use a low beam instead of the high beam and use fog lamps as well. Commuters should remain patient and not to hurry while overtaking another vehicle and should never park a vehicle on the roadside even with headlights and parking lights on as there is a possibility of another vehicle ramming into their vehicle.

Patiala, December 12
Confusion reigns over the population of the threatened species of Baaj (Eastern goshawk), which holds significance for its association with the 10th Sikh guru. With no census on the bird available with the Punjab Government, the bird is on the verge of extinction.

Sources in the state Wildlife Department said a notification issued by the state government in 1989 mentioned that the State Bird of Punjab is Baaj. However, this bird seems to be sliding towards extinction and the state government has “failed” to either carry out a census or raise some breeding ground for it.

Talking to TNS, state Chief Wildlife Warden Gurbaj Singh said: “There is no data available on its population with us, as it is now spotted very rarely in the state. Though I cannot say if it was given the status of a State Bird due to its association with the 10th Sikh guru, it is impossible to identify this bird as both male and female goshawks look same and there is no arrangement for its breeding.”

Karamjit Singh Jattana, a former Divisional Forest Officer (Patiala), said the Punjab Government had failed to order any study to associate Baaj with the 10th Sikh guru or initiate steps to protect it from extinction. “Instead, it accepted a Central government grant for the breeding of falcon and ignored Baaj, which is almost extinct,” he added.

State Minister for Wildlife and Forests Tikshan Sud said he was not sure if there was a difference between a falcon and eastern goshawk but officials of the Wildlife Department must clarify it. “However, I will ask officials to conduct a detailed study on this topic and if Baaj is extinct or needs breeding ground, facilities should be made available”, he added.