Gurdaspur, February 22
The Gurdaspur District Bar Association (GDBA) has called off its relay strike following Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s assurance that Pathankot and Batala tehsils will not be converted to full-fledged districts. For the last several weeks the GDBA had been on strike against the proposed decision of the state government to confer district status on Pathankot and Batala. However, the recent announcement by the CM at a Sangat Darshan here has now smoothened the ruffled feathers of the agitated advocates.

The lawyers had also been taking the help of various social and religious organisations in an attempt to checkmate the state government’s proposed decision to make Pathankot and Batala separate districts.

However, various social organisations based in Pathankot and Batala, taking the help of their bar associations and espousing the cause of converting their respective tehsils to districts, are not contented with the Chief Minister’s announcement.

The president of the Pathankot-based “Zila Banao Sangharh Committee”, Rakesh Sharma, said if the Sukhbir-Kalia committee, set up by the Chief Minister to look into the feasibility of making new districts in the state, did not come up with its final report till March 15, they would be left with no other option except to intensify their agitation.

The CM’s announcement of bringing developmental projects worth Rs 150 crore to Pathankot may have assuaged the feelings of a cross-section of the residents but advocates and Sangharsh Committee members are not satisfied.

Rakesh Sharma said, “Even if the Pathankot Municipal Council is converted into a full-fledged corporation, it will not be enough for the residents. We will not be satisfied with anything that falls short of making the city a district. Moreover, the BJP in its election manifesto had promised that if the SAD-BJP alliance came to power, Pathankot would be accorded district status.”

Pathankot MLA and Transport Minister Master Mohan Lal is also vehemently demanding district status for the town.

On the other hand Batala MLA Jagdeesh Sahni has said that agitations launched by lawyers and various social and religious organisations will continue till Batala is made a district. The MLA is unhappy at the CM’s statement. He remarked, “I will fight to see to it that my town is accorded district status. I will also undertake a fast unto death strike if the Sukhbir-Kalia committee report does not go in Batala’s favour.”

Gurdaspur, February 22
The Punjab Health Department Subordinate Officers Clerical Association (Ministerial Staff) is up in arms against the state government’s indecisiveness in promoting its staff. The main grouse of the association against the Health Department is that despite repeated assurances by senior health officers, the government is not promoting clerks to senior assistants and senior assistants to superintendents.

Ashok Thanewal, senior vice-president of the association, disclosed that they had been urging the Health Minister to hold a meeting to discuss their grievances but in the last four years not a single meeting could take place due to the “insensitivity” of the Health Department officials.

He added that since the state government was not heeding to their genuine demands, so the association had now decided to lay a siege to the Director (Health) office in Chandigarh on February 25, where they would be submitting a memorandum to the secretary (Health).

Thanewal added that several new districts like Nawanshahr, Mansa, Fatehgarh Sahib, Barnala and Tarn Taran had been created in the past few years and there were scores of posts of clerical staff lying vacant in the offices of the Civil Surgeons in these districts. However, despite repeated reminders to the state government and repeated assurances from the Health Minister not even a single post had been filled. He added that the indecisiveness on the part of the Health Department in filling the vacant posts was hindering work and the common man was suffering.

He claimed that the administrative work in the government medical colleges in Patiala, Faridkot and Amritsar was being badly affected as the government had not filled the vacant posts of Administrative Officers in these colleges.

The association members claimed that the GP Fund should be made online. “A meeting with the Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, and Director (Health) was also held in this regard recently and we were given a firm assurance that the GP Fund would be made online. However, till yet, nothing concrete has emerged,” claimed Thanewal.

He added that promotions of clerks to senior assistants and from senior assistants to superintendents was long overdue but the Health Department was continuously turning a blind eye to these promotions, following which discontentment was brewing among the clerical cadres.

Nawanshahr, February 22
With the visit of the former Finance Minister Manpreet Badal at Behram village on Tuesday to mourn the death of sarpanch Jagdish Mehmi as well as to express solidarity with the aggrieved family, the police has started recording the statements of the victim’s family members who have been levelling murder allegations on the MLA, Chaudhary Mohan Lal, who is the cousin of the deceased.

Prem Lal alias Lally, younger brother of the deceased, while sharing the trauma faced by Jagdish Mehmi due to the alleged constant threats from the MLA, said his brother had fallen a victim to the conspiracy of Mohan Lal.

Reacting to the allegation of police inaction levelled by Prem Lal, the former Finance Minister immediately grilled the DSP, Banga, Jasbir Singh Rai, present there.

When the DSP explained that the police officials had been present there to record the statement but no one from the family had so far come forward to get it done, Manpreet Badal while issuing a warning of knocking the doors of the court for ensuring police action as per the law of the land, asked the DSP to act as per the pledge of "protecting the law of the land" taken by him at the time of joining the service, instead of " protecting influential persons".

"In democracy, justice should be provided to every citizen, it is their right," Manpreet said while lamenting that it was really a pity if in a democratic set up a sarpanch had to face threats from the MLA, and his family had to seek justice.

In a query, Manpreet admitted that the deceased, Jagdish Mehmi, was in touch with him and had even shared the fear of threat to life with him. "I have even advised him not to attend his rally scheduled to be held on March 23 at Khatkar Kalan, if he feared any threat to his life, Manpreet added.

Earlier, Manpreet addressed a rally at Mukandpur in connection with his "Jago Punjab Yatra" in the district.

Hoshiarpur, February 22
To maintain discipline and tone up the working in government offices, Deputy Commissioner Dharam Dutt Tarnach paid a surprise visit to various government offices here today.

According to the press release issued by the office of District Public Relations Officer, two employees at SDM and tehsil offices were found absent. Later, at the main gate of the local mini-secretariat the Deputy Commissioner found that 13 employees were arriving late at the office. He also checked employees at the District Treasury Office, District Education Office (Secondary and Elementary), Water and Soil Conservation Offices and the Deputy Director, Dairy Development Department. The checking of attendance registers of these departments revealed that they were incomplete.

Instructing the authorities concerned to complete their attendance registers regularly, he told all the employees to report punctually for their duties to avoid any harassment to visitors in their respective offices.