Bathinda, May 25
Sumegha Garg of this town has done the state proud by topping the list of successful girl candidates of the prestigious IIT-JEE-2011, the result of which was declared today. Overall, Sumegha scored 12th position in the exam and in Punjab, she secured the second position.

Daughter of Devinder Pal Garg, additional superintendent engineer, Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant (GNDTP), and Urmila Devi Garg, biology lecturer in SSD Senior Secondary School here, Sumegha has also been selected for the Indian team for International Physics Olympiad 2011.

Sumegha is also a holder of National Talent Search Exam (NTSE) scholarship and has been getting Rs 500 per month as scholarship since Class IX.

For Garg family, this is for the second time the wards made a mark in the field of education. Earlier, Ankit Garg, brother of Sumegha Garg, did Punjab proud when he scored sixth rank in the IIT-JEE-2007. Both Ankit and Sumegha took coaching for this exam from Chandigarh.

Interestingly, Sumegha will be joining one of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in the country in the same year when her brother Ankit completed bachelors in computer science from the IIT, Delhi. Ankit has planned to go to the United States for higher studies.

Expressing happiness over the achievement of his daughter, Devinder Pal Garg said it was a rare achievement for the family as both his son and daughter had cleared IIT-JEE and that too with a distinction.

Urmila Devi Garg said she was elated as hard work put by her and her children had produced results. She added that the achievement of Ankit in the IIT-JEE was inspiration for Sumegha. 

Bathinda, May 25
Giving a reason to smile to the 30 candidates, whose results for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-2011 of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) was withheld after allegations of mass copying at its Bathinda centre - the Giani Zail Singh College of Engineering and Technology (GSZCET) - had surfaced, the authorities of the IIT-Kanpur, the nodal authority for conducting the JEE, today announced to declare the result on June 8.

However, the announcement has come with a clause that the results would be declared only if the detailed investigation report, which is to be submitted by June 5, conforms with the preliminary probe otherwise it could go for further decision.

Speaking to The Tribune over phone from Kanpur, legal officer of the IIT-Kanpur CP Singh, who is also a member of the two-member investigation committee, said, "The decision will be taken after the submission of the investigation report. But tentatively, the results will be out on June 8 as we are not emphasising on the ugly side of the picture."

However, CP Singh clarified that except for the decision to declare the result, all other matters, including blacklisting of the college and debarring of staff, would remain same till further decision.

Earlier, lending credence to the allegations of cheating and unfair means used in the examination, the authorities concerned had black-listed the GZSCET.

Further, the results of 30 students who were giving the exam in the controversial hall of the examination centre were withheld.

Besides, the IIT authorities had debarred three teachers of the GZSCET, including the centre in-charge, from participating in any administrative work of the IIT.

It may be mentioned that as per the allegations, the unfair practice was undertaken to favour a college staff, whose daughter was also a candidate in the exam conducted on April 10.

Bathinda, May 25
With the aim to bring a significant change in the complexion of the Punjab Police, the state police authorities have decided to provide special utility vehicle (SUV) Innova to its gazetted officers upto the rank of Superintendent of Police (SP) working in its different wings.

Besides, the officers of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) will be provided with Mahindra Scorpio, an SUV, in place of Tata Sumo vehicles.

At present, PS Gill, DGP, Punjab, uses Toyota Fortuner, an SUV, for his official duties. Officers of the rank of Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Inspector General (IGP) and Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) use Toyota Innovas.

While talking to TNS at Badal village today, DGP Gill said orders to purchase new Innovas and Mahindra Scorpios had already been placed with the agencies concerned and deliveries of the same were expected shortly.

"The efforts are on to make the Punjab Police more professional and result-oriented and hence, the field staff is being better equipped so that they could perform well and produce desirable results," the DGP added.

Besides, few DSP rank officers would be promoted to the rank of SP, about 100 inspectors would be promoted to the rank of DSP and about 200 police personnel would be made full inspectors shortly. The promotion channel had been given a push so that the policemen did not suffer on account of stagnation.

Gill said the Punjab Police authorities were also of the view that the commissionerate system of policing, which had already been introduced in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana, must be introduced in other big cities of Punjab. However, it could not be introduced, as the cities did not meet the conditions laid down for setting up of such system.

Faridkot, May 25
The Health Department has sealed three hand pumps after finding traces of uranium beyond permissible limits in the underground water in the Faridkot district of the Malwa belt.

District Magistrate of Faridkot Balwinder Singh Multani said that rural people used to draw water from these pumps, located at Tehna, Faridkot (rural) and Narayangarh villages, for drinking purposes.

He has asked health authorities to collect samples of underground water from all suspect areas in the district.

“I will send a report to the state government in this regard requesting it to install reverse osmosis water treatment plants in these villages to provide clean potable water to the residents,” he said.

Dr Dilraj Singh Gill, District Health Officer, said that he would also take samples from other hand pumps located in these areas. Meanwhile, it is learnt that a few months back, the health department took as many as 12 samples of underground water, out of which two samples got ‘damaged’ while handling. Out of these 10 samples, the reports of three samples were received by the district health authorities recently.

The uranium content in these three samples was more than 200 micrograms, which is far beyond the permissible limit of 60 micrograms per litre of water.

In January, 18 samples of underground water in Moga and Kotkapura areas were also found to have uranium more than the permissible limit of 60 micrograms.

The Department of Water Supply and Sewerage had installed reverse osmosis (RO) systems in more than 400 villages and work is also going on to establish these systems in more than 200 villages.

The state government has planned to cover 1,000 villages under this scheme by the end of the year. Uranium poisoning in Punjab first made news in March 2009 when a South African toxicologist Dr Carin Smit found high levels of uranium in hair and urine samples of 149 children of Faridkot who had birth abnormalities including physical deformities, neurological and mental disorders.

In 2010, water samples taken from Buddha Nullah, a water canal which merges into the Sutlej, showed high heavy metal content and the presence of uranium 1.5 times the permissible range together with pollutants like ammonia, phosphate, chloride, chromium, arsenic and pesticide residue. 

Abohar, May 25
Concerned over incidents of looting in the night trains on the Delhi-Bathinda-Sriganganagar route, the Railway Passengers Welfare Association has urged the Railways to tighten security arrangements at all important railway stations.

In a memorandum faxed to the general manager, Northern Railway, Divisional Managers (Ambala and New Delhi), the association quoted instances when passengers were looted by miscreants brandishing firearms and sharp-edged weapons when the trains passed through Jind and Jakhar railway stations around midnight recently. Such crimes had adversely affected occupancy in the Sarai Rohilla (Delhi)-Sriganganagar AC express train as well.

Punjab Beopar Mandal vice-president Ashwani Jhunthara and Consumer Movement chairman Satpal Khariwal have also drawn attention of the Railway Bhawan and demanded that security by the GRP should be beefed up.

Abohar, May 25
Taking notice of a report carried in the columns, the state government has initiated the long-awaited process to set up water treatment plants at the pond at village Dangarkhera near here and five other villages of the Balluana segment.

Notably, The Tribune had recently highlighted that hyacinth had choked ponds as it had not been cleaned for the past one year.

A team led by SDO Rajeev Kumar of Water Supply and Sanitation Department visited village Dangarkhera on Wednesday.

He informed that a sum of Rs 42 lakh has been released to renovate the ponds in villageDangarkhera,Chanankhera, Bhangarkhera, Waryamkhera, Wahabwala and Seetogunno.

Tenders were also being processed for providing RO system in some villages of the Balluana constituency represented by the SAD legislator Gurtej Singh Ghuriana. The funds had been arranged through the Central government under a scheme sponsored by the UNICEF.

To ensure proper utilisation of the funds, a monitoring committee of 21 local residents headed by sarpanch Mamkauri has been formed. A cheque of Rs 6 lakh as first installment for village Dangarkhera has been handed over to the village panchayat.

It is worth mentioning that the highest number of breast cancer patients was detected in village Dangarkhera last year. The residents had blamed contaminated water for the high incidence of deadly disease.

Fazilka, May 25
Though months are left for the Punjab assembly polls, the aspirants of the Congress party tickets have started measuring their ‘political weight’.

Aspirant of the Congress ticket from Fazilka assembly constituency, former secretary PPCC Davinder Sachdeva organised a huge youth Congress rally at the local Ram Palace, in which, hundreds of youth from different parts of the area participated. Youth Congress State Coordinator Chander Bhan Nayak, Returning Officer Maharashtra Youth Congress Sukhwant Singh Brar Khippanwali presided over the programme.

While addressing the gathering Davinder Sachdeva said the youth are the backbone of the Congress party. Nayak, said the organisational elections from block to national level would be conducted in transparent and democratic way. Nayak honoured youth leader Pardeep Babu, who served the organisation without accepting any post in the party rank and file.

Sukhwant Singh Brar said ever since Rahul Gandhi has taken over the charge of the youth affairs, since then grass root level workers are being accorded due honour.

Besides, village Chananwala sarpanch Davinder Sawansukha, Youth Congress leaders Pardeep Sharma Minta, Ritesh Gagneja, Amit Sawansukha, Harish Thakur, Ashok Sharma and Satish Dhingra also presented their views.

Abohar, May 25
Ruing that over 1.5 lakh citizens had been sandwiched due to ongoing dispute between the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board (PWSSB) and Municipal Council (MC), senior citizens including a former District Education Officer (DEO) and ex-heads of other departments staged dharna at the office of the sub-divisional magistrate here today.

However, the SDM was not present in the office. Protesters including former DEP Captain (retd) SK Dutta, Parkash Singh Brar and KC Kalra, vice-chairman and president of the Senior Citizens Association, respectively, Amrik Singh Kukkar, president, Teachers Club, technical adviser Mohinder Wahabwala and engineer SK Jhamb strongly criticised the administration for turning blind eye to the problem related to sewerage disposal and drinking water supply. Senior citizens resented that the local Municipal Council, headed by the ruling saffron party, had failed in getting grants released from the state government for the past four years to renovate the outlived sewerage disposal system and choked old waterworks.

The MC had invited crisis by not approving the annual budget proposals submitted by the PWSSB for the maintenance work in March this year for the financial year beginning from April 1.

The PWSSB had now relinquished the charge of waterworks and sewerage system. The MC had retrenched the ad hoc staff that had been engaged by the Board for maintenance. Overflowing sewerage water had accumulated in many localities including ward number 11 represented by the president of the MC. A memorandum was faxed to the office of the Punjab CM warning that a mass movement would be organised, if the basic amenities were not put in order soon.

Ferozepur, May 25
More than 33 persons have been apprehended and booked under various provisions of the NDPS Act besides a huge amount of drugs including 12.1 kilograms of opium, 163 kilogram poppy husk, 17,190 tablets and 50 grams smack has been recovered in this district since April this year, revealed SSP Kaustubh Sharma, while interacting with the media here, today.

Sharma said the police have launched a massive drive to check drug peddling, which has assumed enormous proportions in the state, especially the border area.

The local police have also recovered a large sum of FICN (Fake Indian Currency Notes) amounting to Rs 12.18 lakh and arrested nine persons in this regard.