17 Indian youths in Sharjah saved in nick of time, reveal mediators
Amritsar, July 23
Sukhwinder Singh Chhina and Gursharan Singh, the duo who helped clinch the blood money deal with the family members of Pakistan resident Mishri Khan to save 17 Indian youths from the gallows in Dubai, today revealed that the talks with the victim’s family witnessed many ups and downs since December last.

CPCB to conduct study on pollution around Golden Temple
Amritsar, July 23
Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) Chairman KS Pannu today asked the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to immediately conduct the ‘source apportionment study’ of respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) around the Golden Temple and ascertain as to what were the major contributors of suspended particles (vehicular emission, dust particles, fuel burnings etc).

Making a difference through books and plants
Jalandhar, July 23
Life moves at a rather quiet pace in Sadduwala, a small non-descript village located in a distant corner near Zira in Ferozepore district, known as the backwaters of Punjab. At first glance, Harinder Singh Dhaliwal appears to be just another farmer doing routine chores. He is different from the lot because of his ability to think in an innovative and fresh manner. 

Chandigarh, July 23
Electoral politics has forced the Punjab Government to withdraw the controversial Punjab Civil Services (Rationalisation of Certain Conditions of Service) Act, 2011. This Act had mandated that all new employees to get only basic salary for three years. Passed in haste during the last Vidhan Sabha Session without any debate, the SAD-BJP Government has given a quiet burial to the Act by bringing an ordinance to scrap it.

Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil signed the ordinance scrapping the Act on Friday. Sources in the government said that the SAD-BJP alliance was in a hurry to undo the damage caused by this controversial legislation. After its implementation in April this year, the legislation had put every new government employee on probation for three years. This had caused immense heartburn, besides making new employees get less than half the salary, for equal work, as compared to those who were recruited prior to April 5, 2011.

The cash-strapped government had introduced this legislation on pattern of contract employment in a bid to save money. As per this legislation, a new employee was put on probation for three years during which time he or she would draw only basic salary - the carry home was much lower than regular employees as it did not include any allowances.

Besides, all such employees were subject to annual appraisals and could be dismissed without notice. Many new employees had quit high-paying private jobs to join the government only to find their salaries reduced to one-fourth of what they were drawing previously.

Sources in the government said that since the Congress had announced that it would withdraw the controversial legislation if voted to power, SAD-BJP alliance did not want Zila Parishad doctors, government teachers, public relations officers, etc. (that were most affected) to turn against the government on this issue. All the new employees were placed in the minimum pay band.

For the 1,200-odd qualified doctors and veterinarians, the government remuneration was a mere pittance. At least 72 MBAs and post-graduates who had joined Punjab Agro Industries Corporation, too got salaries ranging between Rs 8,400 to Rs 9,000. With the scrapping of the legislation, the salaries of all the employees would increase manifold. Other departments where voices of discontent were loud, included the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation, Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Department and the Punjab Secretariat staff.

As per the Punjab Civil Services (Rationalisation of Certain Conditions of Services) Act, 2011, all recruits in group “A” to “D” were to undergo a three-year induction period during which they would be given a basic pay of Rs 10,000 or less, sans perks or facilities. This three-year period, extendable up to five years, would not be included in the service tenure, affecting their pension, gratuity and other benefits.

The seniority of these employees was to be calculated from the day they complete the induction period. They were entitled to only 12 days of casual leave and 30 days of extraordinary leave on account of sickness or accident. Women were eligible for three months’ maternity leave. During the induction period, the services of the employee could be terminated at a one-month notice. After the scrapping of the legislation, these employees would now be treated on a par with other regular employees. 

Amritsar, July 23
Sukhwinder Singh Chhina and Gursharan Singh, the duo who helped clinch the blood money deal with the family members of Pakistan resident Mishri Khan to save 17 Indian youths from the gallows in Dubai, today revealed that the talks with the victim’s family witnessed many ups and downs since December last. And, they succeeded in their effort only a couple of days before the deadline to reach a compromise was to end.

The duo today released to the media the copies of the MoU signed between Sarfraz Ahmed, brother of Mishri Khan, and Lahore-based Khalid Mehmood Khalid (on behalf of Dubai-based hotelier SP Singh Oberoi) on July 18.

Gursharan disclosed that the talks had broken down on July 17 but they didn’t give in and continued with their efforts. “Finally, our endeavour paid off and Sarfraz agreed on Rs 8 crore (Pak currency) as ‘diya’ (blood money) for the death of Mishri Khan,” he said.

The event was organised by Congress leader from Patti Harminder Singh Gill and local Congress councillor Navdeep Goldy, and it seemed like an apparent bid of the Congress to gain political mileage out of the issue.

“We were in touch with the family since December last. The talks had hit a roadblock earlier too but we didn’t lose heart.” He said Mishri’s family was earlier demanding Rs 17 crore while they were expecting to reach a compromise at Rs 2 to 3 crore. “Later, they climbed down to Rs 12 crore while we raised our bar to Rs 5 crore. The deal was finally struck at Rs 8 crore.”

Gursharan and Sukhwinder, both of whom deal in import/export to Pakistan, will be leaving for Dubai on July 25 to take the matter to its logical end. They said had they not reached a compromise before July 20, the execution orders would have been issued. The youths are likely to be released in the month of October. 

Amritsar, July 23
Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) Chairman KS Pannu today asked the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to immediately conduct the ‘source apportionment study’ of respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) around the Golden Temple and ascertain as to what were the major contributors of suspended particles (vehicular emission, dust particles, fuel burnings etc).

Pannu, along with the SGPC and CPCB members, held a special meeting here today to review the ongoing study of the ambient air around the shrine. After the meeting, he informed that the Golden Temple, being a heritage site, fell in the sensitive zone and hence the PPCB in association with the CPCB had been continuously monitoring the pollution levels for three critical factors namely sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrous oxide (NO2) and RSPM.

“So far, the study shows that SO2 and NO2 are within the prescribed limit but the level of RSPM has been found to be on the higher side. That’s why I have asked the CPCB to carry out the source apportionment study of RSPM,” he said.

“The dust in city, vehicular emission, construction activities around the Golden Temple are considered to be the main cause of pollution but the extent of pollution caused by each factor can be ascertained only after conducting the study,” he averred.

Pannu revealed that the PPCB had also started a study of rainwater during the current monsoon to know the level of chemical precipitation in rainwater affecting the Golden Temple building.

Rainwater measuring instruments had been installed on all four sides of the Golden Temple Complex and the data was being collected and analysed on a regular basis.

The water is analysed to see the amount of sulphate, chloride, magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium, ammonium, pH and total dissolved solids (TDS).

It may be noted that ambient air study is done on a weekly basis around the Golden Temple to check the level of SO2 and NO2.

Jalandhar, July 23
Life moves at a rather quiet pace in Sadduwala, a small non-descript village located in a distant corner near Zira in Ferozepore district, known as the backwaters of Punjab. At first glance, Harinder Singh Dhaliwal appears to be just another farmer doing routine chores. He is different from the lot because of his ability to think in an innovative and fresh manner. Whenever a relative got married, Harinder’s friends were surprised to find packets accompanying the wedding invitation cards he sent to them. His friends found a set of books instead of sweets. And books were also not ordinary ones. These were classical writings of eminent Punjabi writers such as Shiv Batalavi, Narinder Singh Kapoor and Sufi poets.

“ Alongwith every invitation card, I tagged a set of books. Of course, it was a pleasant surprise for all of them. But they liked it and thanked me for the unusual gifts,” said Harinder, who took to the job of farming after passing out from B.Sc. in agriculture from the PAU, Ludhiana. When asked as to how he got the idea of sending books instead of sweets, he answers: “It came to my mind all of a sudden and I discussed it with my family members who approved it without any ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’. Stories appearing in the media regarding the preparation of sweets from synthetic milk and “khoya” were also at the back of my mind and helped me to decide in favour of books”, he added.

Another equally inspiring example of thinking out of the groove is what Dr Nirmal Singh, head of Lambra Sath, an organisation dedicated to the promotion of healthy literature in Punjabi, did to pay tribute to his brother Dr Kesar Singh Barwali. Kesar Singh Barwali, an eminent scholar dedicated to rural development, passed away a few days ago. His bhog ceremony was held at a gurdwara near Barwali village, at a short distance from Khanna. Outside the gurdwara was kept a huge stack of books on environment, short stories, stories for children and other subjects.

Those who came to attend the bhog ceremony were given books free of cost. And there was no limit, each one was free to pick each title. About 2,000 books were distributed at the bhog. Another noble deed performed by the family at the bhog ceremony was distribution of saplings to perpetuate the memory of Kesar Singh. Some saplings were brought by Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal, who attended the bhog and some were brought by a club from Machhiwara. The family too contributed to the saplings which were given free of cost.

Not only the state but the country too needs more individuals to emulate people like Harinder Singh and Nirmal Singh for the betterment of society.

Patiala, July 23
“Staff nahin hai, sab CM duty par hain, (there is no staff as all are away on CM duty)”, a traffic policeman trying to manage traffic all alone at one of the busiest roads in the city on Friday told an accident victim. A visit by the TNS team revealed that almost all police stations in the city, the police headquarters, the range and zonal police and administrative offices wore a deserted look following the visit of the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who was in Patiala for the past 24 hours.

On Friday the scene was the same at all the police stations, Municipal Corporation office, District Health Office, Deputy Commissioner’s Office, Divisional Commissioner’s office, SP office, DIG office and other government departments in the city, it was no different on Saturday, though majority of these offices were closed on Saturday due to an off day. Monday again, the CM is expected in Nabha.

The Chief Minister was in the city on Friday and Saturday to disburse development grants to 122 village panchayats during the course of his Sangat Darshan programmes in the Sanour assembly constituency. Following his visit, the public-dealing staff from all offices was busy making arrangements for the high-profile visit.

For S.S Sidhu, a lawyer by profession, who had come to the Mini-Secretariat from a village near Patiala, said that it was a long wait as the DC was busy with the CM’s visit. "On Friday, the staff told me to come on Saturday since there would be some officers present but again today no one is here”, he stated.

Patiala DC Dipinder Singh said that senior officers were required to attend the Sangat Darshan.“The CM is head of the state government and the officers presence is needed if he makes a visit”, he added. 

Singhpura (Mohali), July 23
The Singhpura village along the Chandigarh-Kurali road was like any other village crying for basic amenities two years back. The villagers now get tapped clean drinking water, the government dispensary building in the village has been repaired and attendance of students in the government school and handling of the infants at the anganwari has improved.

The village is a now a totally transformed place, all thanks to World Bank-aided 24-hour continuous metered water supply scheme adopted by the village gram panchayat, said Senior Community Mobilisation Specialist, World Bank (WB), Priya Ojha.

After successfully running the scheme for two years, a 20-member delegation, comprising World Bank and Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India, officials, today visited the village.

Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India, Venu Rajamony and Acting Country Director, World Bank, Hubert Nove Josserand were all praise for the villagers.

“The scheme should be emulated in other parts of the country too,” said Venu and Hubert. Secretary, Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Department, PS Aujla was also present at the spot.

Sarpanch of the village and Chairman of the Gram Panchayat Water Supply and Sanitation Committee (GPWSC) of water supply scheme, Singhpura, Jagnahar Singh said the village was previously covered under the water supply scheme, Lakhnour, and they were facing shortage of drinking water. The underground water was not fit for drinking, so the villagers approached the water supply and Sanitation Department for the World Bank Project and contributed towards the beneficiary share of Rs 3.33 lakh towards the water-supply scheme, which has now been successfully completed.

The department installed 100 mm bulk size water meter at the water works and individual water meters of 15mm size, so that the wastage of drinking water can be checked. Now, the motor runs for 6 hours a day and consumers get 24 hours of water supply. The electricity bill prior to the installation of meter was Rs 17,800 and after the installation of water meter, the average electricity bill is Rs 14,500.

The health of the villagers has improved due to 24-hour drinking water supply and sufficient time is devoted to their agricultural activities. On this account, the financial position of the villagers has also improved. The health of domestic animals has improved and yield increased. 

Bathinda, July 23
For thousands of farmers of a major part of Punjab, cotton cultivation seems to have become a liability and troublesome this season as they have been confronting different kinds of problems ever since they sowed the crop in April and May.

The cotton growers, who have braved problems connected with the shortage of BT cotton seed, scarcity of canal water and have been forced to carry out sowing of seed twice or thrice following the wilting of plants due to soaring mercury in the past three months, have now started facing another problem after cotton plants came under attack from white fly.

Though the attack of white fly on cotton plants has not reached economic threshold level, yet the growers, who have got panicky, have started spraying pesticides and insecticides to check the problem and hence have been spending lot of money on the same.

Chandigarh, July 23
The SAD-BJP government in Punjab has followed the previous Congress government in patronising the media, reveals information released on an application by the Human Empowerment League of Punjab ( HELP), a Nawanshahr-based NGO, under the Right to Information Act.

The applicant had sought to know how much government advertisement was released to the media in the last four-and-a-quarter years. While the total figure was claimed to be Rs 26.50 crore, the government provided a break-up of TV channels which had received government advertisements during this period.

While Doordarshan, which is still said to have the highest viewership in the state, received advertisements worth a paltry Rs 3 lakh, a much less visible channel, Dhaliwal Entertainment channel (DETV), promoted by the well-known Rakhra family, was paid Rs 68 lakh by the government. The family happens to be a staunch supporter of the Akali Dal with one of the family members, Surjit Rakhra, being a former Akali MLA.

In sharp contrast, nationally viewed channels like NDTV received advertisement worth Rs 3.30 lakh and Zee Punjabi worth Rs 13.22 lakh. The Fastway Cable channel was favoured with advertisement worth Rs 63 lakh, while channel MH 1 was paid Rs 1 crore. Channel No 1 ( Rs 78 lakhs) and PTC ( Rs 66 lakh) followed.

Information provided to Parvinder Singh Kittana of HELP also revealed that the government had released more advertisements during 2008-09 than in previous years, presumably because of the General Election held in the early part of 2009-10. Now that the Assembly election is round the corner, predictably more advertisements are again being released.

The previous Congress government had performed no better though, patronising channels close to the party. Indeed, one of them, Punjab Today channel, was driven out of the market soon after the SAD-BJP government took over in 2007. What the figures reveal is that the state government has been following an arbitrary and partisan policy in distributing the tax-payers’ money.

Hoshiarpur, July 23
The Punjab Forest and Wildlife authorities today conducted a postmortem on the carcass of a male leopard that was allegedly tranquilised to death while trapped in a clutch-wire in Khangwari village under Dholbaha forest range on Friday. A team of veterinary doctors conducted the postmortem on the carcass and later cremated it in the presence of the Chief Wildlife Warden, Gurbaz Singh, this afternoon.

The department has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against three farmers - Gurdial singh, Piara lal, and Ashwani Kumar, owning land in the vicinity where the incident took place. A case against them has been registered at Gardhiwala police station. — TNS

Damulian (Kapurthala), July 23
The family members of Major Gurbhej Singh Cheema have been waiting for his body to reach his native plave, Damulian village, on the Nadala-Bholath road in Kapurthala district since Saturday morning.

Defence spokesperson, Naresh Vig, told The Tribune that the bodies of Major Cheema and Lieutenant Archit Vardia were so badly charred that they could not be identified.

“Scientific ways will be adopted to identify the bodies”, he said, adding “that it might take a few days to do so”. Both Major Cheema from the Armoured Corps and Lieutenant Vardia from Corps of Artillery were killed in a fire that engulfed their bunker at Siachen Glacier on Thursday.

Major Cheema had married Saravjeet Kaur just three years ago and they have an year and three-month-old son Agamjot. Most of Major Cheema’s family members and relatives have chosen defence forces as a career. Apart from his father Colonel Rajinder Singh (retired), his youngest brother Nimratjeet Singh and his wife Simranjeet Kaur are Air Force officers.

Similarly, Major Cheema’s paternal uncles Charanjit Singh, Balwinder Singh and maternal uncle Nishan Singh of Mothawala village in Sultanpur Lodhi sub-division have also recently retired after serving in the Army.

Sangrur, July 23
Constant vigil by a group of youth helped the police to recover ration meant for the mid-day meal scheme from a government-run high school’s chowkidar who was selling it to a local grocery shop in the Sahoke area of Sunam here today. The police has registered a case against the chowkidar and headmistress of the school and has arrested the shop owner.

“After receiving reports that the authorities of the Government High School, Sahoke, have been selling the ration meant for the mid-day meal scheme to a grocery shop owner of the area, members of the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Welfare Youth Club, led by its president Jasveer Singh, kept a watch on the school authorities and the grocery shop owner,” said the sources.

They added that on Friday, the youth club had prior information that chowkidar Balwinder Singh of the Government High School Sahoke with active support of Shashi Bala, the headmistress of the school will go to a grocery shop owned by Vijay Kumar in the area to sell the ration meant for the mid-day meal scheme.

Sources added that the youth club members shared the information with the police and also informed the mediapersons about the same. On arriving at the spot, the police found the chowkidar selling the mid-day meal scheme ration to the grocery shop owner. After seeing the police, the chowkidar fled from the spot, leaving behind six bags of wheat and six bags of rice weighing 50 kg each.

Longowal SHO Sukhbir Singh confirmed that the chowkidar of the Government High School, Sahoke, was found selling the ration meant for the mid-day meal scheme in the open market. “We have registered a case against chowkidar Balwinder Singh, headmistress Shashi Bala and shop owner Vijay Kumar under the relevant Sections of the IPC at the Longowaal Police Station. The shop owner has been arrested, whereas the other two accused were at large,” said the SHO. “We have seized the ration,” he added.

Rajinder Deepa, a member of the monitoring committee of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, which has been constituted to keep a watch on the implementation of the Congress-led UPA Government schemes, including MGNREGA, mid-day meal scheme and Indira Awas Yojana, said, “This is a shocking incident, wherein the ration for the mid-day meal scheme is being sold in the open market.”

Patiala, July 23
The city police registered a case of cheating and conspiracy against three Patiala residents, following false promises of sending a Punjab girl abroad. The trio had allegedly cheated a Macchiwara, (Ludhiana) resident of more than 10,60,000 and had allegedly sent her to a wrong country where she spent almost over a month in jail. They had also usurped her money.

In a complaint to the police, Macchiwara resident Sohan Singh alleged his daughter had wanted to shift to the USA and for that purpose she approached the accused in Patiala and paid them money. The accused have been identified as Punjabi Bagh residents Ishtpreet Kaur, Charankamal Singh and North Avenue resident Prabhdial Singh, who had allegedly duped the complainant.

In his complaint to the police, Sohan Singh alleged that his daughter Hardeep Kaur wanted to go to USA and, therefore, paid an amount of over 10,60,000 to the accused. “However, instead of sending her to the USA, my daughter was sent to some other country in February-March, following which she was arrested there and had to spend some time in jail”, he told the police.

Speaking on the FIR, sub-inspector Civil Lines Police Station Madhwa Nand said that the accused sent the girl to a country in Asia where she had to go through a tough time and recently returned after serving a jail sentence. “However, the accused who run an immigration and IELTS centre in Patiala refused to return the money they had accepted,” he said.

Madhwa Nand further said that after the FIR was registered on Thursday, the complainant was also hesitant to approach them again due to pressure in the case.

A case under Sections 420 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered and further investigations are on to ascertain if more such persons were sent abroad and cheated by the same firm in the same manner.

Patiala, July 23
The city police has registered a case pertaining to cheating and fraud against an accountant of a college and her accomplice, following a complaint by the college principal.

“Following a complaint by principal of the Mata Sahib Kaur Girls College of Education Kulwinder Kaur, a case has been registered against college accountant Kiranjit Kaur and her accomplice Nirwair Singh for allegedly duping the college of Rs 2,17,300 by preparing fake cheques with the help of a bank employee.

The police said the efforts were on to nab the accused in the case. According to the FIR, the accused had allegedly tried to use fake signatures to draw the money.