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Rail link to Talwandi Sabo sought
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CM explains govt’s achievements Chandigarh, January 1 The Chief Minister can present a good case. He did so for his government today explaining its achievements in the past four years in detail for over an hour. However, when fielding questions by newsmen, he had a few answers.
Guru Granth Sahib varsity to open in Feb: Makkar
Unique museum showcases recreated weapons
State mulls new appraisal system for bureaucrats
Mohali to have a corporation
Mobile health care vans a boon for rural masses
Land-grabbing, crime rampant in state: Sodhi
PTU to set up institute in Barnala village
Police intensifies drive to arrest POs
Kinnow yield dips in Fazilka belt
Citizens, ex-soldiers appeal for good governance
Road safety week begins in Patiala
One arrested with drugs
Power board staffer booked
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Rail link to Talwandi Sabo sought
Bathinda/Amritsar, January 1 The CEO of The Luxury Trains, Sajivve Trehaan, said: “After paying obeisance at Takht Damdama Sahib, we will come back to the railway station here and board the train for Agra.” It was a festival-like situation at the railway station as hundreds of people were waiting to have a glimpse of the luxury train. Besides a number of dignitaries, including senior leaders of the SGPC, the SAD and the Congress, a battery of district officials were also seen waiting for the train for at least two hours. State Tourism Minister Hira Singh Gabria and other politicians like Surjit Singh Rakhra and Ashwani Sekhri were also on board among the total 88 pilgrims. All 21 bogeys of the train were carrying plates addressing the train as Shan-e-Khalsa and the trip as Deedar-e-Takht. “It is for the first time that I have been on pilgrimage. I am capturing photographs of all places we are visiting, as my friends, who could not accompany me, want to see all these places,” said Hannah of the USA. On a query, another pilgrim, Debra of the US, said: “The journey is very comfortable and I am satisfied with arrangements.” Akali leader Surjit Singh Rakhra and Congress leader Ashwani Sekhri also said the fare was beyond the reach of the common man but expressed satisfaction with services being provided in the train. On the other hand, Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar Balwant Singh Nandgarh demanded that the Centre should connect Talwandi Sabo with rail link. Earlier, while flagging off the train from Amritsar railway station for Talwandi Sabo, Tourism and Culture Minister Hira Singh Gabaria said the state government would write to the Centre for subsidising travel in the special luxury train for Sikh pilgrims on the line of Haj pilgrims. He also distributed shawls and photographs of the Golden Temple to all the pilgrims. He also released a diary for 2011 inside a bogey of the luxury train. He said the department had come out with a pocket diary containing information regarding the state.
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Govt releases funds to clear silt
Chander Parkash/TNS
Abohar, January 1 The Irrigation Department, Punjab, has floated tenders on December 30 for the execution of this task within the shortest period. The state government has released funds over Rs 1 crore for the task. The canal will be closed from January 6 and the silt- removal work is likely to start from January 9 so that it could be completed at the earliest. The previous year, a section of organisations belonging to farmers resorted to agitations for pressing the Punjab Government to clear the silt from the canal so that water could reach to the tail ends in enough quantity for irrigation. Farmers have been suffering a lot on account of silt deposition in the canal and subsequently reduction in its water-carrying capacity. There is a continuous threat of its breaching at certain points, due to heavy growth of elephant grass on its bank and slopes. The cleanliness of the canal was never carried out ever since it was brick-lined many years ago. The successive state government promised that enough funds would be given to the Irrigation Department for the purpose, but it never materialised. It was learnt that due to change in political equations in this region, after former Finance Minister Manpreet Badal parted company with the SAD-BJP combine government, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal sanctioned huge funds for revamping the irrigation system of the area. RK Gupta, executive engineer, Abohar said those, who would execute the desilting task, would be advised to carry the work in such a manner so that lining of the canal should not be damaged.
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CM explains govt’s achievements
Chandigarh, January 1 When asked why none of his ministers and legislators, including himself, had declared their assets after assuming office in 2007, he said: “Akalis seldom have any money”. He went off on a tangent saying that he was accused of having 10,000 acres abroad, besides plots in Manhattan but nothing had come out of such allegations even as there was no complaint pertaining to recruitments during this tenure. When a newsperson brought up the issue of complaints regarding the recruitment of doctors, he said this was done by the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) whose chairman had been selected by the previous Congress government. When asked about the Prevention of Damage to Public and Private Property Act, which could impose a blanket ban on peaceful demonstrations, the Chief Minister said: “We have not stopped any peaceful demonstration in the past four years since we are in power.” On the issue of the Special Security Group Act that has been criticised for doing away with all liberties, Badal said: “We have never tried anyone on anti-national charges and never will.” When asked to reply on the recent statement of Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia asking the government to impose a cess on pumping of groundwater besides doing away with unproductive subsidies, Badal termed Ahluwalia as a “maha purush” who had no time to reply to his letters. The CM said he had written 10 to 15 letters to Ahluwalia asking him to change norms and allow the state to give more compensation under the Calamity Relief Fund, besides allowing it to use part of this fund for the flood protection works. “We have not got any response from him.” Among the questions that did get a straight reply included one on the issue of the name for the new Chandigarh international airport. The Chief Minister said he had recommended that the airport be named after Shaheed Bhagat Singh but the Centre was still to take a decision on the matter. Meanwhile, the issue pertaining to the demand for grant of district status to Fazilka would be taken up in the Cabinet, he added.
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Guru Granth Sahib varsity to open in Feb: Makkar
Fatehgarh Sahib, January 1 Makkar said the SGPC would pay more attention towards setting up of more educational institutes and promote Sikhism. “There are many more schools and colleges in the pipeline and will be completed soon,” he said. The SGPC chief said the first session of the university would start in July and more courses would be added later on. He said the foundation stone of Dashmesh School would be laid on January 7 in Dhandas village of Haryana while Bhai Gurdas Polytechnic College in Jind was almost ready. He further stated that Baba Jiwan Das Khalsa College in Satlana, Haryana, would also start this year along with Bhai Behlo Das College in Mansa and Guru Teg Bahadur Public School in Kaithal. Makkar said the SGPC would also approach the Prime Minister and get relaxation on the expenses of the newly launched luxury train for Sikh pilgrimage.
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Unique museum showcases recreated weapons
Amritsar, January 1 When The Tribune team stepped into the museum, located on the premises of Central Khalsa Orphanage here on Thursday, it was pleasantly surprised to see shimmering weapons tastefully displayed in glass cabinets with each weapon having its name mentioned in Punjabi and English. At the centre of the museum is a huge portrait of Guru Gobind Singh and below it is a picture frame displaying a few verses of “Shastar Naam Mala”, a composition mentioning the names of weapons used during his lifetime. On either side of the Guru’s photograph are two huge spears --- Wada Sela and Naagni Wadi. While Wada Sela was used to tear apart shields sitting atop an elephant on the battleground, Naagni Wadi is a type of spear with its head in serpentine shape, with which Bhai Bachitter Singh took on a drunken elephant during the second battle of Anandpur. The museum till now has succeeded in procuring 75 weapons mentioned in the “Shastar Naam Mala”. These include shamsheer, marthi, sela barchha, baaghnakha, faadi guraj, saithi, kadara, safajang, bugda, kirch, karauti, khanda, wadkari, kattas, shikarga, badamcha to name a few. On the one hand, you have baaghnakha, a claw-like weapon designed to fit over the knuckles and on the other you have jamdaadh, two-blade dagger which looks like demon tooth. Then there is sarohi (a special sword), bichhua (crooked dagger), asi (curved sword), and different types of arrows. The museum also boasts of microfilms of 67 hukamnamas (edicts) of various Sikh gurus, which include 24 of Guru Gobind Singh, 28 of Guru Teg Bahadur, six of Guru Hargobind and eight of Mata Sundari. Surprisingly, not many people are aware about the museum which came up about a couple of years back. Orphanage official Daljeet Singh Bedi and Superintendent BS Saini said the museum was a treasure trove of knowledge for the new generation. Though the Diwan authorities say it is open to all, no effort seems to have been made to draw the visitors. Not even a board has been put up outside the orphanage’s main entrance highlighting the museum. Dwelling on the genesis of the idea, the Chief Khalsa Diwan’s honorary secretary and orphanage in charge Bhaag Singh Ankhi said he would often read the names of weapons, while reciting gurbaani and would wonder how they would have been. “One day I decided to raise a museum in which we can put on display all such weapons so that the next generation not only reads about them but can also see them. First I zeroed in on an expert who could guide me in this job. Then I travelled to Maharasthra, Agra , Patiala and Damdama Sahib in search of these weapons. Sikligars of Maharashtra were a great help in reproducing these weapons while the Nihangs also chipped in with their effort,” he averred. On publicising the museum, he said they would take the necessary measures in this regard very soon so that the people, including non-Sikhs, can be sensitised on Sikh history. The “Shastar Naam Mala” is made of 1,318 verses spread over five chapters in 98 pages in the “Dasam Granth”. The opening chapter of 27 verses is an invocation to Bhagauti (sword) for assistance and contains the names of 30 weapons. Here the sword is personified as God. In the list that follows, the weapons of the day are presented under fanciful names, such as “Baaghnakha”, “Toofani Gola”, “Naagani Wadi” and “Aradh Chandar Teer”. Many of the weapons are listed in the form of riddles. The second chapter, having 47 verses, revolves around “chakra” (spears and quoit) though it also mentions about sword, “jamdadh” and “sehthi”. There are 178 verses which dwell on different names of arrow, while another 858 verses name modern weapons like the gun.
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State mulls new appraisal system for bureaucrats
Moga, January 1 Disclosing this to TNS, a senior state official said the new system might be introduced from April 1 after a discussion in the state Cabinet. Under the system, the government would stop the existing practice of annual confidential reports (ACRs) for the appraisal of officers and replace it with the annual performance assessment report system based on monthly reports. The government would also launch a drive to identify laggards, which seemed to be a warning signal for inefficient and corrupt employees in the state. The basic idea behind the introduction of this new system was to make public servants more accountable. The main feature of this system is that senior officers in certain categories like District Magistrates, SSPs, ADCS and others will self-appraise their performance based on personal attributes and functional competency. The work output of bureaucrats will also be based on computer literacy; language proficiency and the quality of work while his/her personal abilities would be based on their attitude towards work, punctuality in finishing task and leadership quality for taking responsibility and handling the work. The report of self-assessment of officers based on the above mentioned set guidelines would be sent to seniors, who would give final grades as excellent, average and below average. The official further revealed that this new system would be implemented for only class-I gazetted officers in the first phase.
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Mohali to have a corporation
Chandigarh, January 1 Besides making this announcement, the Chief Minister said the government would take up the construction of the left-out complexes in eight districts, 23 subdivisions and 51 tehsils. Badal said these complexes would be made in the next one year itself, following which all administrative units of the state would have complexes of their own and Rs 364 crore had been already allocated for the purpose. He also announced that Rs 1,000 was being spent on rural development and Rs 2,000 crore on the provision of pure drinking water across the state. — TNS
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Mobile health care vans a boon for rural masses
Bathinda, January 1 The vans are being run by the Ranbaxy Community Health Care Society under a public-private-partnership project “Ranbaxy Sanjeevan Swasthya Seva” of the Ranbaxy Laboratories and the Punjab Government. These mobile vans have been providing health care services in five villages each in the eight blocks, namely, Talwandi Sabo, Sangat and Bhagta in Bathinda district, Budhlada and Sardulgarh in Mansa district and Doda, Lambi and Malout in Muktsar district. In these vans, OPD, cancer detection, laboratory test and health education services are being provided by doctors and the staff. Project manager Dr Indu Bushan Aggarwal said here yesterday that since the launching of these health care vans, mobile teams (each comprising a male and a female doctor and two auxiliary nurse midwives, besides a tests laboratory) had got conducted PAP smear tests free of cost on 678 women for early detection of cervix cancer. However, no woman had been found suffering from cervix cancer. Dr Aggarwal said about 1,200 women had been examined and given tips on detection of breastcancer. Of them, only one woman from the Bhagta block had been found suffering from breast cancer through the fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) test. Besides, about 1,100 persons had been examined for oral cancer, but no one had been found suffering from this form of cancer. In the laboratories of mobile vans, several tests like - pregnancy, HB, blood grouping, urine and blood sugar, had also been conducted free of cost on over 2,600 patients till November 2010, he added.
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Land-grabbing, crime rampant in state: Sodhi
Ferozepur, January 1 While alleging this here, Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, chief whip of the Congress in the Vidhan Sabha, and MLA, Guru Harsahai, claimed that the situation in the state had reached a point where people did not dare to venture out after sunset, fearing that they “might be murdered, injured or kidnapped”. “What kind of rule is being given to people by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who claims that “Raj Nahi Sewa” (service, not rule) is the motto of the SAD-BJP government,” he asked, adding that during the SAD-BJP government’s regime, drug addiction, murders, kidnappings and other heinous crimes have witnessed a jump. Talking to mediapersons, Sodhi alleged that a section of those people, who claimed they enjoyed unbridled power due to their “connections”, had been indulging in land grabbing to the detriment of real owners of properties.
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PTU to set up institute in Barnala village
Barnala, January 1 In collaboration with certain food processing industries, the institute would provide certificate, diploma, degree, PG and research degrees in food technology. The VC said the construction would start soon and state-of-the-art machinery would be ordered for highly advanced institute. The land, which belonged to the Punjab Government, would be transferred in the name of the university that would spend Rs 100 crore in developing it. He said 5 per cent seats would be reserved for students belonging to this area and locals would be provided employment. DC Arshdeep Thind said with the coming up of the institute, the area would see development in various sectors. ADC Harjeet Singh, Dr NP Singh, Dr AP Singh of the PTU were also present.
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Police intensifies drive to arrest POs
Sangrur, January 1 He added that the accused was wanted by the police in a case under Section 61 of the Excise Act. The Tribune in its columns on December 27, 2010, had highlighted the problems faced by the Sangrur police in arresting proclaimed offenders. It had reported that according to a rough estimate, there are around 250 proclaimed offenders in the district, a majority of whom are booked under theft, criminal and smuggling cases. A police official said it was quite a challenge for the police to arrest proclaimed offenders, especially those who are from other states. The police had arrested around 30-40 proclaimed offenders recently, but there were new additions to the list, he added.
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Kinnow yield dips in Fazilka belt
As per survey conducted by this correspondent, Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), Ludhiana; kinnow cultivators and horticulturists are of the view that there is a drop of about 30-40 per cent yield. The peak season of kinnow is going to be start from January. “The yield has declined to around 7 tonnes per acre in 2010 as compared to 10 tonnes per acre in 2009” said pioneer kinnow cultivator Prem Babbar , who was awarded the kinnow king title by the PAU. The interactions with kinnow growers and others in some kinnow producing villages of Karnikhera, Penchanwali, Ghallu, Pattrewala, Roopanwali, Tahliwala Jattan and Khippanwali revealed that at present kinnow plants had been bearing only a few fruits on its branches. Three-time state award winner and the kinnow producing Periwal family head Sushil Periwal said though there was no drop in fruit in their fields, yet there was only 60 per cent production of kinnow in some areas
as compared to 2009. As per in charge of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ferozepur, Harminder Singh Gill, the reason for the low yield was unfavourable climatic conditions during January to June 2010. Gill maintained that the nutritious value of the kinnow would not be affected. He said the reasons and final view of the low yield would be find out after the meeting of PAU experts, horticulturists and farmers being held on the PAU campus on January 17. Another reason for the less availability of kinnow in the local market is premature picking of kinnow from the plants and its transportation to distant parts of the country, like the southern states, and to Bangladesh. Experts maintained that there were two reasons for the premature picking. First, there were a fewer crops of orange and malta in their respective belts of production. The second reason was the mushrooming of waxing plants to about 30 in numbers in Fazilka and Abohar areas which are the major quality kinnow producing belts of the state. The waxing of kinnow enhances its shelf life. The kinnow orchard contractors and owners in an attempt to earn good fortune pick the kinnow prematurely even when they were not ripe. As per official figures, even as the area under kinnow cultivation in Ferozepur district has enhanced from 19,950 hectares to about 21,000 hectares, the yield has declined. The decline in the yield has resulted in considerable rise in kinnow price. The wholesale price during the corresponding period in 2009 was around Rs 13-14 per kg and now, it is up to Rs 20 per kg. Prem Babbar said after a prolonged spell of cold and foggy weather, the kinnow becomes sweeter in January when the Total Soluble Sweet (TSS) content is maximum. He apprehended that by the time about 80 per cent of the low yield crop would be sold in the distant market, it may not be available in abundance and of good quality in the local market. He claimed that adverse climatic factor may not be the major reason for a drop in the yield as some plants have been bearing good fruit and others bearing less fruit. It is a matter of research which should be
Notably, Dr Monika Gupta, Horticulture Department, PAU, had officially visited the Fazilka area last week in light of the low yield to study on the spot reasons. She said the reasons for the low yield were being probed.
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Citizens, ex-soldiers appeal for good governance
Patiala, January 1 The protest concluded at the memorial built in memory of Mahatma Gandhi. MS Randhawa and Capt CS Sidhu (retd), co-conveners of the panel, and Col Kuldip Singh Grewal (retd), president, State Ex-servicemen Welfare Association, urged the people to rise against the forces of corruption and to save the sovereignty and integrity of the country from the deepening grim scenario due to bad governance. They said new lows in bad governance had shamed the nation with multi-billion scams that were a fatal blow to the country’s economy, which already was in a debt trap. The condition was so bad that the backbone of agri-based country’s underpaid and debt-ridden hapless farmers were committing suicides. They alleged that due to the shortsighted policies of the government, healthcare and education were out of bounds for half of the middle class. The poor were unable to afford even two square meals a day due to the ongoing inflation, they further said. “Adding insult to injury, unchecked policies of the government were weakening country’s security by demoralising the defence forces and ignoring its needs,” Grewal said. The spokespersons maintained that the main reason the Army was short of 14,000 officers were the pay scales being offered. Non-performance on defence preparedness and better infrastructure and armoury, pending for over decades, were posing serious threats for the nation.
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Road safety week begins in Patiala
Patiala, January 1 Dipinder said more lives were lost in accidents as compared to wars and there was ample need to educate the youth about road sense. Teachers and parents should play a more active role in this, he stated. “Road accidents have claimed 3,061 lives while as many as 5,354 persons were injured in Punjab during the past 11 months,” he said. SSP Patiala Gurpreet Singh Gill said in over 600 accidents, 342 persons had lost their lives in Patiala alone in the past year, while 611 were injured. “The data proves, beyond doubt, that there is ample reason for traffic awareness as it is the only way we can reduce accidents and save lives. We want the police and citizens to join hands and prevent accidents,” Gill said. Urging the NGOs to play a better role in saving lives, the Deputy Commissioner and the SSP asked them to join hands and take initiatives pertaining to road safety. “Drunken driving and driving without helmet are the primary causes for accidents and need to be checked.,” they said.
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One arrested with drugs
Sangrur, January 1 He said the police party seized 1,04,600 intoxicating pills, 1,970 intoxicating injections of Neurogesic, Fenargun and Fortwin, 210 small bottles of intoxicating syrup and 600 capsules of Parwanspas from his possession. The SSP said on being asked to produce bill or license for selling medical drugs, Sandeep kumar failed to produce the same. A case under Section 22/61/85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused. — TNS
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Power board staffer booked
Patiala, January 1 Following recommendations from the SSP (Vigilance Bureau), Jalandhar, an FIR has been registered against the guilty official, Ashok Kumar, at police station Kotwali, Patiala. The accused has been booked under Sections 201 and 409 of the IPC pertaining to disappearing of evidence of offence and criminal breach of trust by a public servant. Police officials said the Vigilance Bureau, Hoshiarpur, had booked JE Gurjinder Singh on charges of corruption on May 30, 2005. “To get the sanctions for sending the challan against the JE, the Vigilance Department had sent a file to the PSEB headquarters in Patiala to get necessary clearances in the case,” they said. “However, the accused tampered with the files sent by the Vigilance Department and the records went missing from the headquarters which delayed the proceedings against the JE,” the police said, adding: “Following a recommendation by the vigilance sleuths, the police ordered registration of a case against the accused official.” The police further said the entire proceedings were done by the Jalandhar Vigilance Department, which recommended registration of the case, and the Patiala police would further investigate the matter. SSP Gurpreet Singh Gill told The Tribune, that the case has been registered against the guilty official.
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The special Sikh pilgrimage train, Shan-e-Khalsa, was given a rousing reception at Bathinda railway station this evening.
Fatehgarh Sahib, January 1
Stating that there was a need to educate students about traffic rules, Patiala Deputy Commissioner Dipinder Singh today said many lives could be saved if awareness regarding road safety was created at the right age. The Deputy Commissioner was speaking at the inauguration of the road safety week
here.
Fazilka, January 1