NEIGHBOURHOOD

Multi-storeyed buildings flout norms in Patiala
Umesh Dewan
Tribune News Service

Patiala, January 31
Representatives of the Punjab College Librarians’ Association (PCLA) have urged the state government to fill the vacant posts in colleges at the earliest. The association said the posts had been lying vacant for the past 10 years.

In a written representation to the Minister of Higher Education Sewa Singh Sekhwan, the general body highlighted that 63 posts were lying vacant.

“The work is suffering at all libraries as make-shift arrangements have been made,” it stated.

President of the association Kuldeep Singh and general secretary Barjinder Pal Dhiman said presently out of 98 sanctioned posts of College Cadre Librarians, 63 were lying vacant, which was affecting the working in government colleges, district and public libraries of Punjab. “Class IV employees are managing work in almost 15 government colleges,” they stated.

The association has also requested the secretary, Higher Education, Punjab, to recruit librarians.

It has urged the Punjab government to fulfil long-pending demands of the employees, including confirmation of services of librarians recruited between 1998 and 2000.

Sekhwan said, “We will fill all posts shortly.”

Fatehgarh Sahib, January 31
A large number of devotees paid obeisance at the tomb of Hazrad Sheikh Ahmad Farukhi Sirhindi Mujaddad Alifsani on the first day of three-day Urs today.

The Urs is observed in the memory of Sheikh Ahmad, who was the most prominent of Khwaja Baqi Billah's disciples. Sheikh Ahmad had raised voice against din-e-elahi during the tenure of Akbar. Sheikh Ahmad was jailed along with Guru Hargobind Rai for a long time in Gwalior. Mouzam Ali, an ardent follower said that Sheikh Ahmad was born and died in Sirhind. The tomb was constructed in his memory and it was his 398th death anniversary today.

People come from far off places and neighboring countries, including Pakistan and Bangladesh. Though groups from Pakistan reach Fatehgarh Sahib on the first day of the Urs, however they failed to reach here this time. Khalifa of Rouza Sharif, Saiyyad Mohammad Sadik Raza Muzaddi said that people from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir and various other states had already reached.

The devotees also visited tombs in nearby Brass and other villages of Fatehgarh Sahib. A group of 175 persons from Pakistan had visited Rouza Sharif last year and this year around 200 persons are likely to visit. People offered prayers at the tombs and visited Khanagah to taste water from the holy well to get rid of the evils. The prayers will continue till Friday.

Bassi Pathana, January 31
Farmers, commission agents and the banks are facing great harassment from each other due to the ‘faulty’ cheques given by the procurement agency PUNSUP directly to the farmers as bonus on paddy procured in 2009.

Baldev Singh Damheri, president, Bhartiya Kissan Union (BKU), alleged that a majority of cheques issued by PUNSUP directly to farmers contained wrong names and address, whenever the farmers went to the banks to get the payment, the banks demanded an identity proof, which did not match with the names and address mentioned on the cheques. He said the banks refused to make payments and the farmers rushed to the commission agents to get it rectified and the commission agents refused to oblige and send them to PUNSUP officials. He said that PUNSUP officials blamed the head office, which prepared the cheques and asked the farmers to deposit it with them and they would get it rectified. He said that farmers were being harassed unnecessarily. He demanded action against those officials, who prepared the wrong cheques.

Rajesh Singla, state press secretary of the Arthia Association said that it was unfortunate that the direct payment of paddy bonus by the procurement agency to farmers was causing great inconvenience not only to farmers but to the commission agents too.

He said that the Arthia Association, Punjab, had resented the mode of direct payment to farmers as they knew about the problem. He said that the cheques of bonus given by PUNSUP to farmers were erratic and the farmers had now given these cheques to commission agents to get it rectified. He said if the commission agent refused to oblige the farmer would be annoyed, and the officials concerned did not entertain as the cheques were on the names of farmers. He urged the government to stop the direct mode of payment to farmers and to distribute the bonus through commission agents.

Chandigarh, January 31
Apparently still not satisfied with the police probe into the allegations of torture and rape of Rajasthani workers in custody, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today ordered a Judicial probe into the alleged incident.

The workers were allegedly harassed by the officials of Baldev Nagar police station; and Ambala Superintendent of Police was carrying out the probe.

Taking up the case, the Bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi directed the Ambala Chief Judicial Magistrate to complete the inquiry at an early date and to furnish a report to the court.

The Bench asserted that the directions would adequately take care of situation, while fixing February 17 as the next date of hearing. The Bench also expressed confidence that by the next date of hearing the CJM’s report would be made available to the court.

Advocate Gurinder Singh Attariwala was also appointed amicus curiae.

The SP was directed to conduct the probe on January 17 while taking cognisance of a letter received by post.

The letter, written by one of the women victims, said they were picked up, as the police suspected them to be members of notorious Bawaria gang.

In the letter dated January 4 to the High Court, it was alleged that the cops had taken five men, three women and a child into custody one morning. Hailing from Rajasthan, they were into the business of selling incense sticks and balloons at the Ambala railway station.

At the police station, the cops forced them to shed clothes before beating them up, the letter alleged. It was also alleged that the cops raped two of the three women for more than 12 days, leaving the third one, who was pregnant. The letter claimed one of the women got pregnant and DNA test should be conducted find out the facts.

Panchkula, January 31
Sushil Kumar, fourth accused in the rape of an 18-year-old Kalka girl in January last year was produced in the district court here today which sent him to judicial custody in Ambala.

The accused, a resident of Chaorawala village, Mujaffar Nagar, UP, was arrested by the police on January 24 and a mobile phone was recovered from his possession. The accused was on police remand for seven days. Three accused who have been identified as Vikram Chaudhary, Madan Yadav and Sumit have already been arrested in this case.

The victim had stated before the court that after pulling her inside the car, the accused tried to choke her and later forcibly drugged her, and raped her in a secluded area in HP. She added that someone had tried to save her there, but the accused hit him with a bottle. The victim stated that when she regained consciousness, she found that she was half-clad.

The victim said that she along with the accused had sustained injuries when their car with registration number was DL-7C-5286 collided with a truck in Dharampur. The victim informed the Judge that after the accident, the accused had taken her to a hospital and forced her to tell the doctors that she was Vikram's wife. Later, when she got an opportunity, she told the truth to one of the attendants at the hospital, which further led to their arrests, the victim added.

Earlier on July 2 last year, Anil Kumar, father of the victim and Kaka Ram, Kanungo, in the Forest Department at Dharampur, had appeared as supporting witnesses during an in-camera hearing before the court to record their statement.

Chandigarh, January 31
Ram Saran Malhotra of Sector 42 reported to the police that someone stole his Indigo car (CH01-7678T) from near his residence yesterday. Satish Kumar of Sector 23 lodged a complaint that his motorcycle (CH03S-4742) was stolen from his house on the night of January 23.

Chandigarh, January 31
With star players like Sachin, Dhoni, Yuvraj, Sehwag and Harbhajan, the Indian cricket team will be difficult to beat as the players are well-versed with local pitches and conditions.

This was stated by medium-fast bowler Ishant Sharma, who was here to launch a signature campaign to wish the team luck for the World Cup, to begin from February 19.

He said it was difficult to predict what would happen as other captains, besides Dhoni, would be in the race to grab the trophy.

The 22-year-old Delhi cricketer, who was the first to sign the 30-foot-high bat installed at the Sector 17 plaza, said he was hopeful that the Indian team performed well as they had a balanced batting and bowling line-up.

He said every cricket lover in the country wanted Dhoni and his team to win the cup for Sachin.

Ishant said he was disappointed at not being picked for the event, adding that age was on his side and he was sure that more opportunities would come his way.

Ishant had been struggling to regain his form and had recently joined the Deccan Chargers for the Indian Premier League.

He said he was all geared up for the upcoming season and hoped to deliver, adding that there was some time to go and he was working hard at the nets to keep the rhythm going.

Chandigarh, January 31
APJ Kharar beat Mount Carmel School, Sector 47, by 51 runs in the 10th league match of the second Professional Gold Cup U-14 at BTS Academy in Sector 48 here today.

After winning the toss, APJ Kharar elected to bat first and scored 170 runs for the loss of five wickets in their stipulated 20 overs. Sahil Chander (40 off 32 balls) and Shivam Bedi (38 off 33 balls) were the main scorers.

For Mount Carmel-47, Abhishek Wilson was the only bowler who impressed with his bowling figures of 2 for 36.

In reply, Mount Carmel-47 failed to achieve the target of 171 runs as they were bundled out for 119 in 20 overs. Rajat Negi (33 off 43 balls) and Ramit (29 off 45 balls) were the main scorers.

Scores

APJ Kharar: 170 for 5 wickets in 20 overs. (Sahil chander 40, Shivam Bedi 38 and Abhishek Wilson 2 for 36).

Mount Carmel-47: 119 all out in 20 overs (Rajat Negi 33 and Ramit 29).

Tomorrow’s fixtures:

APJ Kharar v/s District Coaching Centre, Panchkula, at 8.30 am and Mount Carmel-47 v/s BTS Cricket Academy-48 at 11.30 am.

Chandigarh, January 31
Akash Gupta (66 off 40) and deadly bowling by Kamal Mehra (3 for 14) enabled Kapsons X1 to beat Kundan Cricket Academy by four wickets in the inaugural Puma League at Kundan International School, Sector 46, here today.

Kundan team batted first and mustered 151 for 9 in 20 overs. Nitish Parihar finished as the highest scorer with 34 runs, followed by Dhanwant, who chipped in 23 runs.

Kamal Mehra (3 for 14) and Hitesh (2 for 26) were the main successful bowlers for Kapsons XI.

Chasing the target, Akash Gupta (66 off 40) and Gaurav Kumar proved vital in the win.

Kapsons team achieved the target in the 17th over.

Scores

Kundan XI: 151 for 9 in 20 overs (Dhanwant 23, Nitish Prihar 34, Nipun Pandita 21, Kamal Mehra 3 for 14, Hitesh 2 for 22 and Ishan Sharma 2 for 29).

Kapsons XI: 153 for 6 in 16.4 overs (Akash Gupta 66, Gaurav Kumar 34, Anil Dhiman 13, Nipun Pandita 2 for 18 and Nitish Parihar 2 for 26).

Chandigarh, January 31
An unbeaten century by Udit Mehta enabled St Stephen’s School, Sector 45, beat St Kabir School, Sector 26, by seven wickets in the final of the 12th ICSE inter-school tournament here today.

Batting first, St Kabir were bundled out for 154 in 24.5 overs, with Yash Mandola (71) being the top-scorer. For St Stephen’s, Sukhraj and Jagpreet were the pick of the bowlers, scalping three wickets each.

In reply, St Stephen’s achieved the target in just 22.2 overs, losing only three wickets in the process. Udit was the main scorer. For St Kabir, Divjot claimed two wickets for 27 runs. This was the third successive title in as many years for the hosts.

Brief scores: St Kabir: 154 all out in 24.5 overs (Yash Mandola 71, Sukhraj 3 for 15, Jagpreet 3 for 48); St Stephen’s: 155 for 3 in 22.2 overs (Udit Mehta 100 n.o., Divjot 2 for 27, Pulkit Sharma 1 for 28).