Chandigarh, February 12
School education in Punjab is suffering with 6,517 teachers unable to join duty despite having been issued appointment letters due to the ongoing friction between Director-General of School Education (DGSE) Krishan Kumar and Education Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan.

District Education Officers (DEOs) in the state are not letting these teachers join duty due to alleged political pressure. The DGSE had issued appointment letters to these teachers last month following a written test only.

Reports pouring in from across the state said school education was being affected with teachers being co-opted for the second round of census duty that started on February 9. The office of the DGSE had issued appointment letters to the newly recruited teachers on January 27 precisely for this reason.

Sources said the ongoing tussle over the issue of joining of the newly recruited teachers stemmed from the straining of relations between the DGSE, Krishan Kumar, and the Education Minister after the latter withdrew the DGSE’s powers to take disciplinary action against errant staff. Krishan Kumar had retaliated by releasing the list of the 6,517 teachers without showing the same to the minister.

Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan was not available for his comments despite several phone calls and a conversation with his personal assistant also. DGSE Krishan Kumar said he could not comment as to why the DEOs were not letting the selected teachers join duty. He refused to comment on allegations that he had been asked to submit a complete list of candidate’s along with their addresses.

Krishan Kumar said as far as he was concerned, the recruitment of the teachers had been done in a completely transparent manner. “We only conducted a written test and there was no interview”. The teachers have been recruited to teach maths, science, English, Punjabi and Hindi in 6,000 schools across the state. Punjab is the first state to recruit teachers under the ‘sarv sikhya abhiyan’ for which the centre has provided Rs 161 crore.

Meanwhile, despite a meeting with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal during which he explained his viewpoint, Krishan Kumar has been unable to get back his powers to take disciplinary action in his department. These powers are held by him only concurrently and are also vested in the Director of Public Instruction (DPI) - Secondary. The Education Minister had withdrawn these powers from the DGSE on January 19.

According to sources, the Chief Minister is reluctant to snub Sekhwan who is a senior colleague but appreciates the pioneering work done by Krishan Kumar, which has improved education levels in schools across the state during the latter’s three-year tenure as the DGSE. This is the reason for the delay in government action on both the issues of return of powers of the DGSE as well as ensuring that teachers join duty quickly. 

Sanghol (Fatehgarh Sahib), February 12
The district revenue officials, deployed in the patwarakhana (office of patwaris), have converted an acre land of their government office into a farm to keep garbage at bay.

They have been growing wheat, paddy and fodder for the past one year. Officials in the department feigned ignorance over the revenue collected from the farm.

A visit to the spot revealed that the land was being irrigated using power connection taken from the electric meter of patwarkhana.

The crop is irrigated with sewerage water, which is pumped out using temporary electric motors.

“Sewerage water is available in abundance in village ponds and the officials utilise it to the fullest,” said villagers. It is learnt that the officials did not take permission from their seniors before initiating the project.

“ A few years ago, the panchayat of Sanghol village had donated land for the construction of the patwarkhana,” said sarpanch Bahadur Singh.

When apprised of the electricity theft, kanugo (revenue officer supervising works of patwaris) Shingara Singh, said a watchman from the department tilled the land.

“Earlier there were heaps of garbage and nomads inhabited the land. It was quiet chaotic at patwarkhana and we decided to start farming,” he said.

He said the electricity meter was installed and there were no funds available to pay for power bills and department officials managed on their own.

Bahadur Singh said after the village gave land for patwarkhana, the government officials now took care of it.

“The government does not have enough funds to raise the boundary wall and to get rid of the garbage. Hence, they have started farming,” Bahadur said. He also said watchman of patwarkhana had been assigned the task of cultivation.

Watchman of patwarkhana, Jit Singh, however denied cultivating the land. He also denied the use of electricity from electric meter of patwarkhana.

Amritsar, February 12
As many as 41 youths were rescued by the district administration from an illegal de-addiction centre at Guruwali village situated on the Tarn Taran Road here today.

Inmates rescued from an illegal de-addiction centre in Amritsar on Saturday show scars on their bodies at the Civil Hospital. Photo: Vishal Kumar

The victims were physically assaulted during their illegal confinement in the centre. Sukhdev Singh and his son Kanwal have been arrested for running an illegal de-addiction centre, illegal confinement, brutal assault on victims.

The youths were taken to the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Civil Hospital for a medical examination.

Talking to The Tribune, Vikramjit Singh, handicap youth, who spent nine months at the centre, alleged that they were beaten up brutally during their stay at the centre.

He said even though he was discharged from the hospital in November, his family readmitted him at the centre following a dispute.

Another youth Gurpreet Singh claimed, “We were packed in a single room. We were provided with only one bathroom and kitchen. Even the food we were served was unfit for human consumption.”

Deputy Commissioner Kahan Singh Pannu said these youths were found living in inhuman conditions during a raid. “The details provided by the inmates on how they were maltreated and beaten up are really very shocking,” he added.

He said these addicted youths would be kept in the Civil Hospital for their medical examination.

“Tomorrow, we will be calling their family members and we will discharge or admit them to a government drug de-addiction centre, being run at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, as per need,” added the DC.

Ludhiana, February 12
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today invited Congress leaders to be the state guests and go around to have a look at the ongoing development works to shun their notion that no development was taking place in the state.

Sukhbir, who was in the city on a personal visit, called upon them to come prepared as a delegation and enjoy the hospitality of the state. He said the government would ask one of the senior most officials to be their guide and take them around the development projects.

“This was the only way to make them believe that we are pacing very fast as far as the development projects were concerned. Otherwise, they will keep on making statements,” he said while having a dig at them.

PPCC president Amarinder Singh had recently referred to the Akali-BJP regime as the darkest era for the state. 

Amritsar, February 12
Senior BJP leader Balramji Das Tandon praised former Finance Minister Manpreet Badal here today.

Talking to mediapersons at the BJP office, Tandon said Manpreet, the rebel SAD leader, was a cordial and humble person. “His functioning is simple and impressive which helps him win friends.”

He said, “ While Manpreet was the Finance Minister, he did not mind visiting my house, without security guards, and discussed state issues.”

Flanked by former chairman Amritsar Improvement Trust Bakshi Ram Arora and vice-chairman Youth Development Board Tarun Chugh, Tandon did not mince words while praising Manpreet.

Tandon said Manpreet nurtured a desire to see Punjab regain the number one position in the country.

He supported Manpreet’s stand that subsidy must not be extended to all farmers as big landlords gobbled up the lion’s share.

When asked if he was not violating coalition dharma, Tandon said these were his personal views and not of his party. His party was in alliance with the SAD in the state and he subscribed to the party line.

Tandon’s praise for Manpreet may create ripples in the ruling coalition.

Replying to a query on the impact of Manpreet’s rebellion in the coming Assembly elections, Tandon said it was early to fathom the outcome of the elections as they were still a year away.

He said Manpreet’s moves would impact the SAD and the Congress. At present, Tandon is the national convener of the Senior Citizen Cell of the party. He said the cell was drafting a charter of demands for the senior citizens keeping their needs in view in the changing social scenario. He said the party was targeting senior citizens as they constituted over 10 per cent of the nation’s population, in the coming elections.

Ferozepur, February 12
Thousands of commuters were left stranded today at various stations of Ferozepur Railway division after more than 30 passenger and express trains were cancelled by the authorities concerned, following the blockage of rail tracks by members of the Valmiki community on the Ferozepur-Ludhiana, the Ferozepur-Bathinda, the Fazilka-Kotkapura and the Amritsar-Pathankot sections.

The Valmiki organisations today launched a statewide protest in the form of a “Rail Roko Andolan” to press the government for a higher percentage of reservations in government jobs and other sectors.

Today’s protests brought the entire rail traffic on these four major sections under this division to a grinding halt that caused great inconvenience to the rail passengers especially daily commuters who could not reach their offices and designated destinations on time. Some passengers had to go back home disappointed while others had to go by bus or had to take cabs. This is the fourth time within the past one year when the trains have either been cancelled or their routes had to be diverted due to one reason or another.

According to railway officials, today the trains were cancelled on the Amritsar-Pathankot section where the Batala-Chinna block was the worst affected besides the Ferozepur-Bhatinda section where the protesters blocked the rail track near the Giani Zail Singh Yard early in the morning due to which the Mumbai-Ferozepur Janta Express and Punjab Mail had to be diverted via the Lohian-Ludhiana-Ambala section. The rail traffic on the Ferozepur-Ludhiana section and the Fazilka-Kotkapura section was also disrupted today due to which all passenger trains running on this section were cancelled. On the Ferozepur-Ludhiana section, the Talwandi Bhai-Dagru block while in the Fazilka-Kotkapura section, the Lakhewali-Muktsar block and the Lakhewai- Fazilka block were affected as the rail tracks were blocked here by the protesters.

The long-distance trains which were cancelled included the Jammu Tawi-Bhatinda Express, the Sutlej Express, the Ahmedabad-Jammu Tawi besides routes of some other express trains had to be changed. Rail sources said the route of the Ferozepur Cantt-Mumbai Punjab Mail had also been diverted via the Jalandhar-Ludhiana en route to Delhi for today.

Chandigarh, February 12
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today approved the induction of modern machinery and agriculture implements for pruning, spraying and hoeing of horticulture plants for citrus estates. In a meeting, presided over by the Chief Minister and attended by Chairman State Farmers' Commission Dr GS Kalkat and other agri and horticulture experts here this evening, it was decided to import offset rotavators, orchard sprayers, vegetables nursery seeders, manure spreaders, power pruners for orchards, garlic planters and tree pruners for demonstration purposes.

A delegation, led by Dr Kalkat, had visited the International Agricultural Machinery Exhibition (EIMA-2010) in Italy. He had recommended that these modern agri equipments should be made available to the farmers to ensure maximum yield in agriculture. — TNS

Amritsar, February 12
The prestigious Golden Temple Entrance Plaza, apart from ultramodern facilities, will also boast of a flooring equipped with a radiant cooling and heating system so that the devotees can walk barefoot without any discomfort during extreme weather conditions.

Talking to The Tribune, Amritsar Deputy Commissioner KS Pannu, who was a part of the jury that selected the design for the plaza, said he was aware of the devotees’ woes, particularly in the scorching summer season, and it was his idea to have some mechanism which could maintain the temperature of the flooring at a comfortable level.

Debashish Roy, an architect from Design Associates Inc. involved in the project, admitted that they were working out a plan to install a radiant cooling and heating system, which was basically a network of pipes running under the floor, in the plaza. He said the system was effective even in extreme weather conditions. “Talking about religious places, currently the radiant cooling system is installed in Mecca Mosque. There are various resorts which have also adopted the technology for inclement weather conditions. We are keen to get it in the plaza as the Golden Temple will be the first religious place for us where we will be installing this system,” he added. He said they would install the system after sorting out logistic and maintenance issues involved in it.

At present, the SGPC rolls out mats in the Golden Temple complex, including the parikarma and the causeway, during bone-chilling winters and harsh summers to avoid any inconvenience to the devotees.

Though the scenario will not change inside the Golden Temple complex, devotees will surely get some reprieve while entering into the shrine for which they will have to cross the huge plaza area. Experts had earlier suggested to the SGPC to go for plantation along the verandah inside the complex, which would have provided a much-needed shed to the devotees. The SGPC, on the other hand, resorted to a green drive, though a little differently, by putting up huge flower pots, with various varieties of plants, around the parikarma in 2006.

However, around 3,000 plants of 51 varieties, most of which find mention in the Gurbani, were removed in view of the repair work of parikarma rooms in 2008. The move to turn the parikarma green had been appreciated by the Punjab Assembly and Sikhs from world over. 

Chandigarh, February 12
Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi today made it clear that he has many plans to deal with the problem of pendency of cases afflicting the judicial system. He was administered the oath of office as the 30th Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court by Haryana Governor Jagannath Pahadia this morning.

He said expeditious disposal of cases was just one of the many instruments for bringing down the number. “There are many more ways of dealing with it, you just wait and watch,” the Chief Justice said.

Not divulging the details, a confident Chief Justice Gogoi said every problem had a solution and this too was not an exception.

The assertion is significant as Chief Justice Gogoi has over the past few months emerged as a Judge with little inclination to keep the matters pending for long. Chief Justice Gogoi, in particular, has been disposing of expeditiously petitions filed in public interest by leaving the state and other respondents with little option but to act.

This is not all. Chief Justice Gogoi has also been setting an example for others by not getting up till the court holding hours are up.

Talking to the media after the oath-taking ceremony at the Haryana Raj Bhavan, he said top on his priority list was “speedy and affordable justice, more importantly quality justice”. “We will all work for that and very soon we hope to see results”, the Chief Justice added.

Earlier during the day, he swore to “bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution as by law established”.

He also swore to “uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India” and “duly and faithfully and to the best of ability, knowledge and judgment, perform the duties of the office without fear or favour, affection and ill will”.

Chief Justice Gogoi’s family and Punjab and Haryana High Court Judges attended the function, along with Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Also present were Haryana Congress president Phool Chand Mullana, Haryana Chief Secretary Urvashi Gulati, political adviser to Haryana Chief Minister Virender Singh, Haryana Advocate-General Hawa Singh Hooda and senior officers of Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh.

Born on November 18, 1954, Chief Justice Gogoi was enrolled as an advocate on August 28, 1978. He practiced in the Gauhati High Court in constitutional, taxation and company matters. He was appointed a permanent judge of the Gauhati High Court in 2001. He was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on September 9, 2010.

Chandigarh, February 12
When the Punjab and Haryana High Court Division Bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Augustine George Masih convenes on February 17, it will go through one of the worst controversies to hit the State of Punjab in the recent past - the recruitment of 312 medical officers in 2008-09.

Following a year-long inquiry, all members of the PPSC stand indicted by the state Vigilance Bureau for their “symbiotic and collusive acts” in the recruitment process. The probe has also brought under scanner the functioning of a PPSC member’s nephew and a retired IGP’s daughter.

The vigilance has claimed that the process was vitiated from its very inception; marks were awarded in an arbitrary manner, the records were tampered with and there were suspicious financial transactions of the selected candidates. There were also a correlation between candidates with suspect cash withdrawals and those having established contact with members.

The inquiry has claimed “discrepancies/cuttings/over writings in the award sheets to increase/decrease marks”.

The report says the PPSC members unanimously decided not to conduct a written test. For the purpose, the reason cited was delay. The vigilance has also claimed in its report running into 47 pages that the recruitment process saw “glaring irregularities” and “systematic subversion of objectivity”.

A totally “subjective and arbitrary” process was adopted for conducting the interviews. In some of the cases, the interviews did not last even for more than a minute.

The PPSC gave a go by to its own rules for conducting the interviews without the required quorum of four members. The report adds that in 74 cases, a single member interviewed and selected a candidate. According to the report, benefit was given to candidates having false social work certificates.

The report goes on to say that “the Chairman and members of the PPSC have individually and in participative collusion facilitated the selection of the desired candidates for considerations other than merit”.

At the interview, social work was given more weightage than academic qualification.

The Vigilance Bureau, headed by Sumedh Singh Saini, has heavily relied upon telecom record in an apparent attempt to link the members with the candidates. The report suggests that short messages and phone calls were exchanged between the candidates and the members. It goes on to say that the candidates were in touch with the members even on the day of their interview. In all, 242 short messages and 352 calls were exchanged between the selected candidates.

Patiala, February 12
Hearing in the murder case of Harpreet Kaur, daughter of former SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur, resumed in the Court of the Special Judge (CBI Cases), Patiala, today.

During the court proceedings, the CBI counsel conducted the examination-in-chief of the then SP (CBI), Anurag Garg, who was chief investigating officer dealing with the murder case. At present, Garg is serving as IG (Police) in Himachal Pradesh.

The examination of a witness by the party, who calls him, is known as examination-in-chief.

Giving information about the court proceedings, Bibi Jagir Kaur’s counsel Satnam Singh Kler said: “Harbhajan Ram, SK Dev and Sushil Gupta - all of whom were members of the team probing the case, under the headship of Garg, had submitted all investigation records to Garg. Today, the examination-in-chief of Garg was started by the CBI but it was not concluded.

Kler further said once the examination-in-chief of Garg would be over, proceedings for the cross-examination of Garg by the defence counsel would start.

The main accused, Bibi Jagir Kaur, and the co-accused, Dalwinder Kaur Dhesi, Paramjit Singh Raipur, Nishan Singh, Satya, Harminder Singh and Sanjeev Kumar, were present during the court proceedings. The hearing would now resume on February 19.