20 hospitals found violating waste disposal rules
Patiala, July 3
The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) conducted surprise checks at 108 hospitals and health-care facilities across the state yesterday evening to check violations of the Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998.

Amritsar, July 3
Even as the supporters of ousted honorary general secretary Bhag Singh Ankhi expressed resentment over the termination of his primary membership from the Chief Khalsa Diwan, the managing committee endorsed his expulsion at the general house meet held here today.

Attended by around 180 members of the total 400, the meeting also sealed the other points that were deliberated upon during the earlier meeting held in Kanpur.

Chief Khalsa Diwan president Charanjit Singh Chadha said the agenda included confirming the decisions taken during the Kanpur house held on June 12.

Meanwhile, a few members, including Dr HS Soch, Rajmohinder Majithia, former MP Sawinder Singh Kathunangal, Mohinder Singh Dhillon, Nirmal Singh and Jaspal Singh Dhillon, demanded Ankhi’s expulsion to be reviewed. They also questioned the legitimacy of the Kanpur meet; these members opined that the meet was called only by the body president whereas as per constitution, it was the prerogative of the honorary general secretary.

“This implies that all the decisions taken during the Kanpur meet stand null and void and need review under clause 60 of the constitution,” one of the members said.

Chadha agreed that a group of members raised the issue but he refrained from commenting as the matter was sub-judice (challenged in court by Ankhi). “All the decisions taken during the Kanpur meet complied with the Chief Khalsa Diwan’s constitutional norms and were passed by two-third majority,” he said. 

All the decisions taken during the Kanpur meet were in tandem with the Chief Khalsa Diwan's constitution and were passed by a two-third majority by those present there.
— Charanjit Singh Chadha Chief Khalsa Diwan president 

All the decisions taken during the Kanpur meet are null and void and need review under clause 60 of the constitution.
— An Ankhi supporter

Chandigarh, July 3
It is an irony that the ruling Akali-BJP alliance has taken quite a defensive stance on the Hansi-Butana canal while the Opposition Congress led by Amarinder Singh has adopted an aggressive posture.

The PCC president has asked Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to seek a stay on the construction of the concrete wall along the Hansi-Butana canal to protect Punjab areas from being flooded by the Ghaggar waters. As Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh had got the Vidhan Sabha to annul all riverwater sharing agreements with Haryana, despite the fact that Haryana was to go to the polls and the move could have had an impact on the Congress poll fortunes.

The Akali-BJP government has submitted an application in the SC seeking that Haryana be restrained from constructing the wall.

“Punjab has a valid and strong case since the construction of the wall will lead to flooding of large areas in Patiala and Sangrur districts. Punjab need not be defensive on the issue”, he said today.

“Despite a status quo order from the apex court, Haryana is constructing the wall and following our(Cong)demand for judicial intervention, the Haryana Government has further speeded up work on the wall, apprehending a stay on its construction”, he said. The former Chief Minister said while Haryana was aggressively pursuing the construction work, Punjab had been too defensive and had meekly withdrawn the cleansing work of the Gaggar. “I fail to understand such a weak-kneed approach. What prevents the government from carrying out even routine cleansing of the Ghaggar,” he asked.

With the Haryana Government speeding up work on the embankment wall, hundreds of villages in Patiala and Sangrur districts face the threat of floods. The SC which has issued a notice of motion to Haryana on Punjab’s application seeking a stay on the construction of the wall.

Even if the SC stays the construction of the wall, it might be too late. Haryana Irrigation Minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha on Saturday had ordered that construction work be hastened. The intention was obvious.

Patiala, July 3
The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) conducted surprise checks at 108 hospitals and health-care facilities across the state yesterday evening to check violations of the Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998.

During checking which continued till late in the evening, eight government hospitals and 12 private hospitals were found violating various provisions of BMW Rules.

Notably, according to the provision of BMW Rules, all the hospitals/health-care centres have to segregate bio-medical waste into different containers/bags as per the prescribed colour code. The containers are to be transported from the premises of the hospital to the Common Bio-Medical Waste Treatment Facility, located at Mohali, Ludhiana, Pathankot, Amritsar and Bathinda.

However, as per information, there were reports that some hospitals and health-care centres in the state are not complying with the norms laid down in the BMW Rules. PPCB functionaries received information that some hospitals and health-care centres are either dumping their bio-medical waste along with municipal solid waste or throwing it away in an unhygienic manner.

PPCB chairman KS Pannu said that 22 teams headed by Senior Environmental Engineers and Environmental Engineers of the board were constituted to conduct the raids.

“Each team was directed to visit a minimum of five hospitals - at least one government civil hospital, one big private hospital and three small private hospitals,” he said.

He said that total of 108 hospitals and health-care centres were inspected, which included 19 government hospitals, 19 big private hospitals and the rest were small health-care centres.

“It is really sad that highly qualified members of society like doctors are not adhering to the rules related to the disposal of material dangerous to human health. 

Bathinda, July 3
More than 24 bomb blasts in junk shops in big cities and towns of Punjab in the past over 10 years have claimed several lives.

On January 21, 2000, five persons were killed when a bomb exploded in a junk shop in the thickly populated Chandsar Basti of Bathinda. A scavenger was killed near Bibiwala Chowk in the town on February 26, 2003, while trying to extract metal from an item in a junk shop.

Another explosion in Nathana town in the district on August 25, 2002, left one dead. Despite these instances, the authorities have done little to remove these junk shops from the thickly populated areas of this burgeoning town.

Mithu Ram Gupta, councillor, said though he had lodged a complaint with the municipal corporation (MC) against the two junk shops in his ward, nothing had been done so far.

Residents of Gali Khadar Bhandarwali have also lodged a complaint with the Commissioner, MC, asking him to ensure the junk dealers in the area did not litter the streets with the junk items.

A cross-section of residents pointed out that since blasts in junk shops often occurred in towns located near military stations and cantonments, Bathinda seemed vulnerable too.

Sukhchain Singh Gill, SSP, Bathinda, said though the police was not authorised to remove the junk shops from the populated areas, it undertook periodic checks of these shops for stolen goods.

Kamal Kant, Assistant Commissioner, MC, said they did not have the powers to remove such shops from the city area. Also, there was no junk market in the city so far. However, the MC had been trying to stop the junk dealers from littering the roads, he added.

Amritsar, July 3
Cross-practising, where a homoeopath or an ayurveda doctor uses the allopathic system of medicine and vice versa for treatment of patients, is going on with impunity in the region and the Health Department has failed to check this illegal practice. A large number of private hospitals and nursing homes working under the allopathic system are hiring BAMS/BHMS doctors as medical officers as they don’t demand high salaries.

These doctors are engaged as resident medical officer or house surgeon and are involved in doing minor medical jobs like checking pulse, bandaging, keep a check on the conditions of patients in the hospital rooms. These doctors get a monthly salary ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000.

This is not only against the guidelines of the Medical Council of India (MCI), but also unethical and has been termed illegal by the Supreme Court.

According to clause 1.1 sub-clause 1.1.3 of Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics Regulations, 2002 (MCI), no person other than a doctor having qualification recognised by the MCI and registered with MCI/state medical council(s) is allowed to practice the modern system of medicine or surgery. A person having qualification of any other system of medicine is not allowed to practice the modern system of medicine in any form.

Recently, Mission Aagaaz, an NGO in a communiqué to president, Punjab Medical Council, claimed a number of private hospitals and nursing homes have medical officers, who were trained as ayurvedic doctors and “vaids”, on their pay roll. It also filed an application under the RTI seeking info about the number of doctors working in other systems of medicine. “This is a sort of quackery. How will medical professionals raise their voice against quacks when they themselves are involved in this illegal practice?” said Gurbhej Singh, general secretary of the organisation.

Dr Chandanjit Singh Kondal, Civil Surgeon, said, “This is very dangerous trend and must be checked. I will hold a meeting with the concerned departments and representatives of the Indian Medical Association to curb such practices. The department will be forced to take strict action against such hospitals if they fail to mend their ways.”

Health Minister Satpal Gosain feigned ignorance. “As you have brought this matter to my notice, I will definitely look into it.” 

Bathinda, July 3
The much publicised promise of the state government to develop Bathinda as mini-Kashmir by floating Dal Lake-like houseboats and shikaras in two of the three lakes of the Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant (GNDTP) may soon become a reality.

Boats and other equipment including water scooters, water cycles, jetties etc have started landing at the Bathinda Lake View Park (under development) located between lake number 2 and 3. According to the information available, the Bathinda Development Authority (BDA), after getting no objection from the thermal plant authorities, awarded the contract to a local bidder Pawan Kumar Garg, who runs a hotel near lake number 3. He will operate the boating/water sports project for 10 years at the rate of Rs 1.8 lakh per annum.

As per the details of the project, the contractor is supposed to arrange, start and maintain a minimum of 32 floating vehicles, including shikaras, houseboats, paddle boats, row boats and water scooter/cycles.

The BDA has fixed the boating charges as Rs 50 per head for 30 minutes for manual double paddle boats and water cycles. For water scooters, which run on a power motor, the charges are Rs 300 per head for 30 minutes. Motor-run shikaras would cost Rs 100 per head for 30 minutes. However, charges for fully AC houseboats have not been finalised yet. Besides the presence of a sufficient number of trained divers and supervisors, the BDA has made the contractor responsible to ensure that anyone entering the lakes should wear life jackets. Further, all the visitors/tourists in the lakes will be covered under the insurance policy of the contractor. The BDA has decided to provide parking space to the contractor with a condition that he would be responsible for its maintenance and in return, he would collect parking charges, already fixed by the BDA.

Former chief administrator of the BDA, Ravi Bhagat, who had designed the project, said, “The project will enhance the tourism appeal of Bathinda.”

Meanwhile, Uma Shankar Gupta, chief administrator, BDA, said the project would be operationalised within this month as much of the infrastructure, including vehicles, had reached from Pune and Kolkata and the remaining stuff was on its way.

Bathinda, July 3
Finally, the Punjab Government has decided to repair, maintain and upgrade all industrial focal points located across the state.

A majority of industrial focal points, due to their pathetic conditions, had been crying for attention for long, but successive governments haven’t bothered about these with a result that many of these have remained under-developed and failed to attract industrialists.

The Chief Minister, during a meeting held recently, asked the commissioners of all municipal corporations to prepare a detailed report about the repair, maintenance and upgrade of all focal points, which were created by the Punjab Small Industries and Exports Corporation (PSIEC), but later handed over to the municipalities.

The authorities of local bodies were also directed to prepare the estimated expenditure details about the maintenance and upgrade of the industrial focal points which had not been taken over by the municipal corporations.

Bathinda has two industrial focal points. One, located at the Mansa Road, is with the Bathinda Municipal Corporation (BMC) while the other located on the Dabwali Road is still under the direct control of the PSIEC. Neither of these is in great shape.

The BMC has prepared a detailed project report for both the focal points stating all the basic utilities had either not been set up at the time of their establishment or had been damaged. The report mentions a budget of Rs 14 crore for the upgrade of the two points in Bathinda.

n Earthen dams on the course of water bodies at Chandpura near Mansa and Dabwali in Sirsa by Haryana have exposed more than 125 villages in Punjab to the threat of floods

n Haryana has also blocked the flow of the Lasara drain into its territory at Dabwali in Sirsa district

Gurdaspur, July 3
A breach in Upper Bari Doab Canal distributory near Sujanpur caused flooding of more than 50 acres of farmland in Azizpur and Khadawar villages today.

The farmers blamed the officials of the Irrigation Department for releasing excess water from the Shahpur Kandi Barrage in the canal which led to its overflowing. Rasal Singh, a resident of Azizpur village said that crops in more than 50 acres in Azizpur and Khadwar villages have been washed away after overflowing of the canal and breach in the distributory due to the alleged negligence of Irrigation Department officials.

The farmers also complained that proper lining of the canal had not been done before the monsoon which caused bre

Irrigation Department official Jatinderjeet Singh, incharge of the canal upkeep, said efforts were being made to plug the breach and the work would be completed shortly. — PTI 

Sangrur, July 3
Congress incharge for Punjab Gulchain Singh Charak today said that the issue of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots must not be politicised and the law should take its own course.

Talking to the media at Bishengarh near Malerkotla today, he said the “black chapter” should be forgotten.

While giving the party ticket for the coming assembly elections, the performance of sitting MLAs would be weighed and the decision taken by the high command adhered to.

Bathinda, July 3
The Central University of Punjab has set up a state-of-the-art DNA sequencer on its city campus here for advanced research in the field of cancer. Besides other things, the device would help detect single nucleotide polymorphisms through screening and thereby discover whether or not a person had hereditary risk to develop cancer.

The facility would come as a boon for the people in Malwa region, a belt where cancer has spread alarmingly. The installation of the 96 capillaries automated DNA sequencer at the university, which is the first of its kind in Punjab, would also play a key role in tackling genetic diseases and in the molecular medicine field. Earlier, the university authorities had decided to set up a genetic heritage park with an aim to conserve and propagate the plants that had anti-cancer properties. The university authorities have also initiated efforts to start specialisation in cancer genomics by introducing courses in that connection.

Ludhiana, July 3
Ludhiana seems to have come to the aid of Jalandhar’s Kala Sanghian drain. If everything goes according to plan, the Jalandhar electroplating industry, which is often accused of polluting the Kala Sanghian, might get their untreated water treated from the common effluent treatment plant (CETP) at Ludhiana.

The proposal has been floated by the Punjab Pollution Control Board. The electroplaters of Jalandhar as well as the company running the CETP at Ludhiana have agreed to this proposal.

“The CETP at Ludhiana is treating lakhs of litres of water every month. We came to know that it was not filled to capacity. That is why it was suggested to Jalandhar-based electroplaters to take benefit of the Ludhiana plant so that they get a permanent solution to their problem. We are basically making the best use of available resources,” stated Kahan Singh Pannu, Chairman of the PPCB.

Presently, the electroplating industry doesn’t have its own CETP, while the CETP, which is run by JBR Technologies Pvt Ltd, is treating 1 lakh-1.5 lakh litres of water everyday.

Pardeep Singh, Vice-President and Technical Director, JBR Technologies, said that with the present set-up, they have a capacity of treating 2 lakh litres per day.

“And if we install another reverse osmosis (RO) plant, our capacity would go up to 4 lakh litres of water per day. This would be sufficient to treat untreated water coming from Jalandhar,” he said.

The water treated by CETP is sold to other industries of Ludhiana by the company and it is put to several uses. “The water is so clean that one can even drink it. But right now, its being used for industrial use.

“To treat the water, we charge 69 paisa per litre from the electroplating industry here. Electroplaters from Jalandhar will have to pay 5 paisa more for transportation,” he said. The untreated water from Jalandhar will be transported in big containers to Ludhiana. Pannu was hopeful that the system may take final shape by Friday.