Amritsar, January 20
In what comes as a huge respite to Punjabis living abroad, particularly Canada, Air India has decided to introduce a new daily flight from Amritsar to Toronto from February 20.

An Air India spokesperson said today that the flight would start operating from February 20. “The flight will start from Amritsar, take a halt in New Delhi and then head straight to Toronto.” However, unlike Air India’s Amritsar-London-Toronto flight, which was withdrawn on October 31 last year, this new flight would not have a stopover in London. The flight would take off from Amritsar at 10.30 pm, have a stopover at Delhi and then leave for a non-stop flight to Toronto. The flight would reach Amritsar at 6.15 pm daily. Though the news may not be not music to the ears for London-bound passengers, it surely is a big relief for Punjabis living in Canada as they no longer would have to change their flight from New Delhi. After the withdrawal of Amritsar-London-Toronto flight last year, the national carrier had introduced the Hub and Spoke Scheme under which passengers were being taken first to the International Airport in New Delhi in a smaller 321 aircraft and from there they were being flown to London and Toronto in different flights.

However, the seating capacity of the new flight will be far less than the previous Amritsar-London-Toronto flight. According to sources, the new flight will have 238 seats as compared to the last one’s 342. The passengers travelling in economy class will suffer the most on this count as the number of economy seats in the new flight is 195 as against the previous one’s 303. The number of business class seats remains the same at 35. However, the number of first class seats are up from four in the previous flight to eight in the new one.

Reacting to the development, CII Punjab State Council president Gunbir Singh said, “The previous Amritsar-London-Toronto flight used to have an occupancy rate of 95 to 97 per cent, primarily in economy class, and it was one of the most remunerative flights for Air India. I don’t understand the logic behind re-introducing it in a new avatar by cutting down on economy seats and taking out London from it. It is beyond my comprehension as to why an airline would commit commercial suicide.” He, however, felt that the move would definitely provide succour to the people living in Canada as they would not have to face the hassle of changing the flight from Delhi.

Meanwhile, Air India’s move to leave out London in its new flight has come as a bad news for cargo trade. “There used to be a large contingent of cargo comprising perishable goods when the previous flight had a stopover at London. However, this time, it is a case of lost opportunity,” said Gunbir. 

Bathinda, January 20
For implementing two national programmes, ‘Prevention and control of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and stroke’ and ‘Healthcare of the elderly’, the Government of India has selected Bathinda from the state. Besides, the Government of India has also released a sum of Rs 5 crore to the state government for the implementation of these two programmes in the district.

A two-member team of the Government of India comprising Dr Amarjit Kaur, Regional Director (Chandigarh), Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and Dr Deepak Bhatia, in charge, Integrated Diseases Surveillance Project (IDSP) Cell, Chandigarh, today visited Bathinda and conducted a survey in connection with implementing these programmes at the local Civil Hospital, eight community health centres (CHCs) and 136 sub-centres of the district.

The team conducted an assessment for strengthening the district hospital here, the CHCs and the sub-centres. The team members also talked to the Civil Surgeon, Dr Inder Dayal Goyal, the District Health Officer (DHO), Dr Raghbir Singh Randhawa, and senior medical officer (SMO) of the local Civil Hospital, Dr Vinod Garg, and took details from them about the equipment, staff and infrastructure.

The team also took a round of the existing OPD block of the Civil Hospital where both the programmes will be started after the shifting of the existing OPD wing to the new OPD block, situated on the premises of the Civil Hospital here.

Talking to The Tribune, Dr Amarjit Kaur said the team was satisfied with the space, available in the existing OPD block for starting both national programmes there. She said as and when the existing OPD block was vacated, a special ward for treating elderly persons would be set up there. Besides, a day-care ward for cancer patients would also be set up there. The CHCs would be strengthened by providing staff and equipment while sub-centres would be equipped to check blood pressure and sugar of the patients.

Dr Amarjit Kaur also said that the Government of India had provided an amount of Rs 5 crore to the state government for the implementation of both national programmes in Bathinda. 

Patiala, January 20
In a major setback to the Punjab Police, a team of the UK police today gave a clean chit to four persons, Gursharan Bir Singh, Gurdit Singh, Pyara Singh Gill and Amritbir Singh, who were arrested in the Rulda Singh murder case. All of them are UK citizens and are wanted by the Punjab Police.

While the West Midlands Counter-Terrorism Unit is continuing its probe , the Patiala police has no clue about the stance taken by UK cops. The four suspects were arrested in the UK following the murder of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat president Rulda Singh on July 28, 2009, which is being considered as a terrorist act and is being probed by the West Midland Police and the Punjab Police. The accused were on bail in the UK and were today released without any charge by West Midlands detectives.

However, the arrest warrants of these four have been obtained from the local court till April 11 and the Punjab Police is in the process to execute them.

“The clean chit to the four has come as a shock to us as we were not expecting this to happen. We were trying to get their remand for questioning,” said a senior police official. “Though the UK Police had come here, it did not take us into confidence,” he added.

However, detective superintendent George Tracey (UK Police) said their investigations into this case would continue. 

Jalandhar, January 20
Controversy has arisen over the appointment of Anupam Kler, GA to DC-cum-SDM-II, as the Electoral Registration Officer of Kartarpur constituency currently represented by her brother and sitting Akali MLA Avinash Chander.

“It is unfair to appoint a close relation of a sitting MLA for the job,” said senior Congress leader and former Minister for Local Bodies Jagjit Singh. Quoting reports he alleged that the votes of certain Muslim deras in his constituency had not been registered.

“Since such voters are supporters of the Congress, we feel that their names have not been included deliberately in the list,” he said.

He said he had deputed his team to procure a copy of the revised voters’ lists to point out the anomalies.

President of District Youth Congress (Rural) Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary said, “We cannot expect fair treatment in such a case. The possibility of any manipulation could not be ruled out. The officials should have entrusted the job with someone other than the SAD MLA’s own sister.”

Deputy Commissioner, Jalandhar, Priyank Bharti, said Kler was the ERO of Kartarpur constituency by virtue of being SDM-II.

“Anyways, since there has been no complaint against her by anyone from the constituency, I believe that she has been able to conduct the process fairly. Had there been even a single complaint, I would have certainly given the charge to someone else,” the DC added.

Chief Electoral Officer Kusumjit Sidhu said she was not aware of the matter. “I will check it up,” she responded.

Amritsar, January 20
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal today claimed that Punjab’s growth rate had shown great improvement under the SAD-BJP regime in the past four years and at present the state’s growth rate was more than the national average and double than what it was during the previous Congress regime in the state.

Talking to mediapersons after attending a state-level function to mark the martyrdom day of Baba Jeewan Singh Ranghreta here today, Sukhbir said, “Punjab has registered a growth rate of 8.8 per cent against the national average of 7.4 per cent. I’m not making this claim on my own. I’m saying this on the basis of the data released by the central agencies. Our GDP ratio and per capita income, too, has gone up. This should silence all those raising a question mark on the pace of development in Punjab. I will shortly come out with a clear picture of Punjab’s economy before the media.

Lashing out at the Congress for levelling false allegations against their government, Sukhbir said it was the Congress that wreaked havoc with the state’s economy while the SAD has succeeded in resurrecting it. Pooh-poohing former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s charges against the SAD-BJP government over state borrowings, he said, “Amarinder is trying to stifle the economy of Punjab by asking the Prime Minister to direct nationalised banks to stop financing development projects of Punjab. The people of Punjab do not need an obstructionist leader but a government that can take the state forward.” He blamed Amarinder for pushing Punjab deeper into the debt trap, alleging that out of a total debt of Rs 65,000 crore on the state, Rs 19,620 crore were borrowed during his regime.

To a query regarding PM's appeals to the states to lower taxes to check inflation, he said the PM had no right to ask the state to curb its revenue till the Centre raised the share of Punjab in Central Taxes from 1.3 per cent to 50 per cent. He said he had already asked the intelligence wing to keep an eye on hoarders and DCs had been asked to conduct raids.

Earlier, addressing a public meeting, Sukhbir dubbed the Congress the “biggest enemy” of the “aam admi” while projecting the SAD as the pro-poor party. 

Jalandhar, January 20
Lok Bhalai Party president Balwant Singh Ramoowalia today demanded justice for two women abandoned by their NRI husbands and duped by travel agents. He called on Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal, to ensure action in the case of two girls within three months.

Badal had in a statement given two days ago, stated that he had set up a committee to look into the matrimonial disputes involving NRI grooms.

“The two cases are a litmus test for the Deputy CM. The girls and their families are being “harassed” by their in-laws as well as the police personnel investigating their cases,” he alleged.

Presenting the case of Sandeep Kaur and Amandeep Kaur of Barnala district, Ramoowalia said both the girls had been cheated by a Raikot based travel agent, who had duped them of Rs 25 lakh each on the pretext of sending them abroad.

The women got married to two brothers in Canada through the accused travel agent, he said. Both victims were thrown out of the house of their in-laws and were not taken to Canada.

In another case, a travel agent allegedly cheated Amandeep Kaur of Moga district of Rs 40 lakh, Rammowalia said. The travel agent later got her married to a Canada-based boy three years ago, he said.

Jalandhar, January 20
Next to teenagers from Jalandhar in Punjab, Class X and undergraduate students from Ludhiana and Moga districts are most vulnerable to illegal immigration. These are the findings of a survey conducted by the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID), Chandigarh.

Director General of CRRID, Sucha Singh Gill today said to curb the menace, CRRID has decided to educate youngsters as well as their parents in both rural and urban areas about legal and safe means of immigration, he said.

The campaign will be conducted till March, Gill added. The campaign is being sponsored by the Ministry of Overseas Affairs (MoA) and the International Organisation on Migration (IoM), he said.

He said a majority cases of illegal immigration have also been reported from Karnal, Kurukshetra, and Kaithal in Haryana.

He said the CRRID is focusing on three major issues, damages (like imprisonment), tragedies (like malt boat tragedy) and victimisation (like discarding of spouses), in its campaign to educate and make the public aware of the consequences of the illegal immigration.

Gill said as per a report of the British High Commission, over 11,000 Punjabis immigrate to the UK through illegal immigration.

A camp was also organised by CRRID in Daroli Kalan village near Adampur to educate the public about legal immigration channels through lecturers, songs, documentaries and skits.

Mohali, January 20
It was the turn of Punjab Education Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan to get ‘educated’ on the ailing school education system in the state. At the first meeting of the Punjab State Education Advisory Board, chaired by the minister at the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) premises, eminent educationists gave a critical and thought-provoking analysis of the ailing education system.

Some of the members of the board reminded the minister that despite raids on examination centres and suspension of teachers, the copying menace in Punjab schools was growing. The only way to nip the menace was to introduce an ordinance against copying.

“Most of the students who get hooked to copying are not able to pursue higher education due to poor grounding in school and often get hooked to drugs. The government terms it as a law and order problem,” said Avtar Singh Uppal, Principal, Baba Kumbha Engineering College, Satnali, Amritsar.

In the presence of the PSEB Chairman, Dr Dalbir Singh Dhillon, another member pointed out that giving grace marks in exams (a populist move) was like hitting the last nail in the coffin. Already crippled by poor education in school and copying, grace marks do not give a true reflection of the academic level of a student, it was pointed out.

While appreciating the efforts made by Director-General, Education, Punjab, Krishan Kumar, in checking the copying menace, another member said the black-listed examination centres were back in business after greasing the palms of the powers that be.

After listening patiently to the members, the minister advocated a zero- tolerance approach to copying and said that he was contemplating a law to initiate criminal proceedings against those found copying in exams or found helping them. He announced that besides flying squads, each member of the board would be authorised to conduct surprise raids anywhere in the state.

After hearing the members of the board, the minister announced the constitution of a sub- committee for finalising the new education policy under the chairmanship of a former Vice- Chancellor, Dr SP Singh. He also announced to constitute three other sub-committees, including an examination reforms committee, Right to Education Act implementation committee and a syllabus update committee. 

Rajpura, January 20
A section of NRIs travelling in the Indo-Canadian buses from Punjab and Chandigarh alleged harassment in the hands of the transporter who failed to provide buses and forced them to sit in 12-seater tempo vehicles till Delhi. Amandeep Dhaliwal, a Chandigarh resident, alleged that he had purchased a ticket of the Indo-Canadian bus by paying Rs 1000 in advance.

“The website states that passengers would reach the Delhi airport well before time. However, many passengers are harassed by the company and eventually miss their flights,” Dhaliwal said. He said passengers, mostly NRIs, had a word with senior bureaucrats of Punjab and politicians, including SAD leader Bikramjit Singh Majithia, in this regard and a formal complaint with the Punjab transport minister would be lodged soon.

Other passengers, including Manpreet Singh Gill from Ropar and Pawanpreet Singh from Mohali said transporters assured them that their seats were booked in a 39-seater Volvo buses. Instead, they were forced to sit in the cramped tempos.

Pawanpreet Singh, an aggrieved passenger, said their driver had told them that tempo would not halt anywhere till the Delhi airport. However, the tempo stopped at various nakas in Haryana, he said.

The passengers said buses left from Jalandhar everyday for Delhi and picked up passengers from Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula from a fixed destination in tricity, up to Rajpura.

These passengers then occupied seats booked in Volvo buses along with other passengers from Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur and other areas, which fall on way to Rajpura.

Baljinder Singh, one of the managers of the transport company, speaking to TNS admitted to the problem and said, “We try to inform our passengers in advance that they may be ferried in tempo vehicles, in case of overcrowding in Volvo buses,”

He said they had 11 Volvo buses, which picked passengers from Jalandhar to Delhi after every three hours between 6.30 am to 9.30 pm.

The 12-seater tempo vehicles are in good condition as they have been purchased recently. “We pick passengers from their homes without charging any extra money. We are charging Rs 1,000 from passengers no matter from where they catch bus between Jalandhar or the tricity”, he said. 

Fatehgarh Sahib, January 20
Following complaints of delay in the purchase of sugarcane crop in the mills, a team of Agriculture Department officials visited various mills here recently. Farmers alleged that they had to wait for 18 to 24 hours to sell their crop in the mills.

The officials, who visited the mills, said the inspection was done on the instructions of cane commissioner Dr Mangal Singh Sandhu.

Agriculture Department Officer (ADO) Jasvinder Singh after inspecting a yard of Nahar Sugarmill, Amloh, said instructions had been passed to the mill officials to expedite the process of purchasing the crop. He said weighbridge installed inside the sugar mill was also checked and was found to be working as per the norms. Mill management has replied that farmers bring overloaded trolleys of sugarcane due to which extra time was spent in unloading.

Farmers have been advised to reduce sugarcane weight by 150-160 quintals and bring the prescribed weight of sugarcane in every trolley. They suggested making a separate row for overloaded trolleys, which should be sent in the mill after reducing its weight.

Farmers were also advised to not bring cane with excess binding material and immature cane tops. The Agriculture Department officials also inspected if the mills were purchasing sugarcane from the non-allocated areas.

The mills have been allocated a particular area from where they could make purchase of the sugarcane.

The officials said no such case was found during inspection. A fine of Rs 10,000 would be slapped on the mill if it was found purchasing sugarcane from outside its area. 

Patiala, January 20
Once considered to be the hunting ground of the Maharajas of Patiala the great Bhupinder Sagar Lake is virtually extinct. Spread near Patran, the lake has vanished and farmers are found tilling the land at the spot where the lake once existed.

A popular hunting spot of late Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, the lake now only exists in government files and historical documents.

The Bhupinder Sagar wetlands, spread in over 12,80 hectares along with the forest cover spread in 15 acres of land around it, have been merged into farmlands. The area supported varieties of migratory birds, jungle fowls and animals.

“The then Maharaja of Patiala, Bhupinder Singh, used to visit the lake as hunting was the main sport due to the presence of several exotic migratory birds. He had once taken the Viceroy of India there,” Jaskaran Singh Sandhu, the Vice-Chairman of the Wildlife Advisory Board of Punjab, said.

“It should have been preserved, as many states in the country are promoting lakes from tourism point of view,” he added.

Forest department officials said the lake was never declared a wetland. Sources said it was notified on February 28, 1952, but there are no documentary records. Records suggest that varieties of fish were also found in the pond at the lake and the annual fishing contract was always sold to the contractors.

A former Wildlife Advisory Board Member, Hardit Singh Sidhu, said migratory birds like ducks, geese, bar headed geese, cobbed duck, flying cocks, cranes were found at the wetland. “When the Viceroy had visited the lake, he had shot over 12,00 ducks. This talks about the earlier bird population in the area,” Sidhu said.

Even the rare birds like great crested grebe, white necked stork, adjutant stork, glossy ibis, pintail, gadwall, eastern purple heron, coot, tailor bird, peafowl, ruddy sheduck were also found in abundance in the lake area.

When contacted, Conservator of Forest and Wildlife, Patiala, SS Bhatti, told The Tribune, that there was no notification available to suggest that the lake was declared a wetland. “I have checked all records and the lake was never transferred to the forest department,” he said.