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Badal inaugurates World Sikh varsity
Rising silt level a wake-up call for BBMB
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Complaint by NRI brought her in touch with property dealer
UT police registers two FIRs against woman cop
Akalis, BJP decide against swapping seats
Demand for restoring post of CVC gains ground
Major reshuffle: Seven PPS officers posted SSPs
Research unit at Amritsar Medical College
Exam centres: Minimum student strength cut
Alcoholism, smoking lead to cancer: Expert
Action sought against BDPO
Pharmacists seek regularisation of service
Cannabis growth goes unchecked
Mass copying case
Man nabbed with 4 kg opium
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Badal inaugurates World Sikh varsity
Fatehgarh Sahib, July 25 Speaking on the occasion, Badal said the university would undertake research on different aspects of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and would also carry out comparative study of other religions to have a better understanding of other religions as well. SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar, who is also the founder-Chancellor of the university, said setting up of this university would prove a milestone for creating a new benchmark in standards of higher learning. The Chief Minister honoured architect R Sundarm and contractor Parveen Kumar who carried out the construction work of the university. Former Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha Charanjit Singh Atwal, Rajya Sabha member Balwinder Singh Bhunder and SAD general secretary Prem Singh Chandumajra were also present.
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Rising silt level a wake-up call for BBMB
Nangal, July 25 Around 200 to 250 feet of silt has got spread at Bilaspur near Naina Devi and is just 10 km away from main reservoir. The former Chief Engineer, irrigation, Punjab, Gurbir Singh Dhillon said that when silt will reach near the dam, it will replace water. “Silt can also enter into turbines and lead to losses such as tripping and power loss,” Dhillon said. The silt at Bhakra reservoir has a lower density and more volume and according to the sedimentation pattern, the silt is getting deposited at the end of the reservoir near Bilaspur in the form of a delta. “Even an institutional study of BBMB has revealed that silt would be harmful for the health of the dam,” Dhillon pointed out. According to Padamjit Singh, president, All India Power Engineers’ Federation
(AIPEF) catchment area treatment is needed to check silt inflows into dams and seasonal
nullahs. A farsighted approach involves adequate treatment of the catchment area and over the years, the life of the dam’s structure is suffering due to
silt. Rehmat Ali has raised the issue of heavy deforestation in the vicinity of the reservoir and cultivating of reservoir land by local residents. Due to cultivation of reservoir land, the land has become soft and is washed out with rain water into the reservoir. Earlier, the BBMB and Himachal Pradesh had started an afforestation scheme but no results were achieved. In addition to this, a plantation scheme was approved to plant trees around the reservoir area and lakhs were spent. But less than 10 per cent survival rate was noticed. This work was entrusted to the Forest Department of HP, but due to the lack of interest shown by BBMB officials, not even 10 per cent of target could be attained, Ali stated. MP Rajya
Sabha, Avinash Rai Khanna, who recently visited the place said that he would raise the issue during the forthcoming Rajya Sabha session and will insist upon committee of experts to visit to the site for the redressal of the problem.
in troubled waters * Around 200 to 250 feet of silt is spread at
Bilaspur, near Naina Devi, just 10 km away from main reservoir * Silt can enter into turbines and lead to losses such as tripping and power loss *
Heavy deforestation and cultivation of land by local farmers near the reservoir adds to silt problem
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DSP in 2-day police remand; reader arrested as co-accused
Chandigarh, July 25 Not ruling out the involvement of more Mohali police officials in the case, the CBI said the investigating agency was trying to ascertain if more were involved in the nexus. Gira has been remanded to two-day police custody. While seeking seven-day custody of the accused in the CBI court, Special Public Prosecutor Pawan Kumar Dogra claimed the agency had a recorded conversation in which the DSP could be heard as saying to a complainant that she has spoken to "others" about the deal. "The recorded conversation hints that there were others too who were supposed to receive share from the bribe amount of Rs 1 lakh," he said. The CBI said it was unethical on part of a senior rank officer to be found in possession of Rs 87 lakh at her residence (Sector 15, Chandigarh) and they needed to find out from where she amassed it. The agency also said that they will also question the investigating officers in the cases registered against the complainant as to whether they were hand in glove with the DSP. The agency raised this point while opposing the plea of the defence that the DSP was not investigating any case against the complainant and thus has been made part of a conspiracy. "We need to interrogate the accused to unearth these facts," added Dogra. While opposing the plea for a police remand, the defence counsel contended that the complainant, Kishan Malhotra, himself had six FIRs registered against in various cases and, thus, could not be relied upon.
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Complaint by NRI brought her in touch with property dealer
Mohali, July 25 It was on the complaint of the Mullanpur-based property dealer, Krishan Malhotra that the DSP was yesterday caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh at her Sector 15 residence in Chandigarh. The DSP had reportedly assured the property dealer that she would bail him out in the cheating case. Sources in the police said in November last year, the NRI cell of the Punjab Government had forwarded the complaint by the NRI woman to the Mohali SSP for inquiry. Initially, the complaint was marked to the Deputy Superintendent of Police (City-II) but due to jurisdictional issue, the case was referred to the DSP (City-I) Raka Ghira on December 16, 2010. Since then, the case was pending with her. When the NRI’s complaint landed with the Mohali police in December last year, a FIR was registered in the same case against four persons Harpal, Manjit, Veerpal and Jagdish Ram on May 14, 2011, at the Kurali Police Station. Since it was a case of cheating and forgery, the investigation in the case was handed over to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Mohali Police. The Investigating Officer Pritam Singh, during the course of the probe, started proceedings to make Krishan Malhotra another accused in the cheating case. While the property dealer was negotiating with the DSP, her reader Manmohan Singh and gunman Gurmail Singh to help him wriggle out of the investigation, the EOW had already found that he was involved in forging the documents of the ownership of the three-kanal plot. A senior police official claimed that the DSP struck a deal with the property dealer while being aware about the outcome of the case being probed by the EOW. Sources said the DSP enjoyed the patronage of a senior police officer close to the SAD. there are five cases against him Sources in Mohali police said there were five FIRs registered against the property dealer for allegedly forging land documents on Majri area. Separate cases had been registered against him on the basis of complaints made by the landowners. The property dealer had, however, petitioned to the police that he had been falsely implicated in the cases.
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UT police registers two FIRs against woman cop
Chandigarh, July 25 The ammunition, which was recovered from Gira’s house, included 1,237 cartridges, a revolver 32 S&W (Made in Germany) and a double-barrel gun made in West Germany. Besides, a total of 43 live cartridges of.32 bore, 22 empty cartridges of .32 bore, 14 S&W live cartridges (small), another 18 (.22 bore) live cartridges, a total of 114 .38 bore live cartridges , 76 AK-47 live cartridges, another 114 (7.62 SLR) live cartridges, two 7.72 sniper live cartridges, five Carbine Cal 30 live cartridges and a total of 831 (12 bore) live cartridges. Police sources said the ammunition was kept in a store-room and when Gira was questioned in this connection by the CBI officials, she replied she was not aware about the exact number of cartridges and revolvers. An FIR under the Arms Act was registered against her. During the course of investigation, Gira’s service record would also be examined, the police said. Gira would also be arrested and brought on production warrants in this case, sources said. Besides, a total 51 bottles of liquor, comprising ‘English Wine Bottles’ were also recovered from her house. The ammunition and wine bottles have been seized by Chandigarh police and kept in the storeroom of police station, Sector 11, as case property. Both the cases were registered on the statements of K S Rana, Inspector of CBI, Chandigarh who was part of the raiding party.
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Akalis, BJP decide against swapping seats
Chandigarh, July 25 Highly placed sources said the SAD wanted the BJP to give up the Batala seat and take Ludhiana (West) instead. But other than the Amritsar (South) seat held by SAD’s Inderbir Bolara there was no unanimity on any other seat. Finally, both the parties decided on status quo. The SAD, apprehensive of the BJP losing its hold in several urban areas, wanted the BJP to contest fewer seats. But, a party source said, the BJP was adamant on contesting 23 of the 117 seats, unwilling to accept the SAD viewpoint that its popularity had taken a dip. It was pointed out that at the function held in Jalandhar to announce the Urban Development Package (UDP), the SAD had virtually sidelined the BJP leadership, even though the Department of Local Bodies is held by the BJP. An insider said not once did the the Deputy CM, Sukhbir Badal, mention the name if Manoranjan Kalia, former BJP Local Bodies Minister, at the Jalandhar function while highlighting the achievements of the SAD-BJP government during the past four year. No seat was kept for Kalia at the function. Sukhbir reportedly told the BJP leadership that the damage to the party’s image during the past few months could hurt the SAD chances at the hustings. But the BJP leaders reportedly complained that in the absence of any significant development activity in urban areas, it was the SAD that was to be blamed for the setback to the BJP. SAD leaders confess in private that the unceremonious removal of some Cabinet Ministers has caused a chasm in the party. The alliance partners were expected to reach an understanding on the Ludhiana West, Garshankar, Batala and Amritsar South seats. Another effort is likely to be made by CM Parkash Singh Badal to prevail upon central BJP leaders on swapping certain seats.
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Demand for restoring post of CVC gains ground
Chandigarh, July 25 The Vigilance Commission was appointed by the previous government led by the then Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to exercise superintendence over the Vigilance Bureau; and to make it more independent. But soon after taking over, the SAD-BJP government abolished the Punjab State Vigilance Commission (PSVC). In fact, the council of ministers, in its meeting held in March 2007, under the chairmanship of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, decided to repeal the Punjab State Vigilance Commission Act, 2006. Subsequently, the Punjab Vidhan Sabha passed with voice vote the Punjab State Vigilance Commission (Repeal) Act 2007, amidst slogan shouting and walkout by Opposition Congress party. But four years later the need for appointing Chief Vigilance Commissioner is again being felt due to the apparent inability of the state Vigilance Bureau to set the house in order by identifying and proceeding against the corrupt top brass of the Punjab Police. Making it clear that he would revive the post of CVC, Capt Amarinder Singh said the appointment to the post by the previous government was made in accordance with the Act of Parliament. Talking to The Tribune, he said the present-day government scrapped the appointment as it wanted to use IPS officer-cum-Director Vigilance Sumedh Singh Saini as a tool. Capt Amarinder Singh added one of the top priorities of his government, soon after taking over, would be to appoint a regular State Vigilance Commission in accordance with the mandate of Parliament. The commission would be headed by a retired high court judge and would function for the furtherance of justice and not to wreak vengeance or for political vengeance. The former Chief Minister added that corruption was rampant in the state and it was for the Ministry of Home to curb the menace. Mincing no words, human rights activist-cum-Punjab and Haryana High Court lawyer Ranjan Lakhanpal said vigil over the vigilance by a retired High Court judge was the need of the hour, as some of the officers in the state were not beyond corruption; and it was too much to expect “corrupt to deal with corruption”.
Bare facts
* The Vigilance Commission was formed by the previous government led by Capt Amarinder Singh to make Vigilance Bureau more independent *
After taking over, the SAD-BJP government abolished the Punjab State Vigilance Commission
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Major reshuffle: Seven PPS officers posted SSPs
Chandigarh, July 25 The seven new SSPs are: Surjit Singh (Ferozepur), Surinderpal Singh Parmar (Mansa), Rajinder Kumar Shardha (Tarn Taran), Amar Singh Chahal (Ludhiana Rural), Hardial Singh Mann (Jalandhar Rural), Satpal Sandhu (Batala) and Mandeep Singh (Khanna). Kanwaldeep Singh has been posted as DCP, Amritsar and Ashish Chaudhary (an IPS officer) is the new DCP, Ludhiana. The government has also transferred ADGP SM Sharma as ADGP, Security. S Chattopadhya becomes ADGP, provisioning and modernisation. Jasminder Singh is ADGP, IT and communication. Paramraj Singh Umranangal has been posted as DIG Ferozepur Range, Naresh Kumar is DIG, Ropar Range and M F Farooqui is DIG Ludhiana Range.
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Research unit at Amritsar Medical College
Chandigarh, July 25
Arunesh Shakir, Medical Education and Research Minister, said here today that in the absence the facility, postgraduate students were not able to conduct research in the areas of their choice. — TNS
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Guest lecturers threaten to resort to self-immolation
Ludhiana July 25 "We have been working for the past one decade. The colleges use our services for youth festivals, athletic meets, exam duty etc. Our workload is as much as that of the regular teachers, who are paid about Rs 70,000 a month. “Unfortunately, we are being given Rs 7,000 a month. Most of us have PhD and M.Phil degrees. We are not asking for much except that we are paid Rs 21,600 a month like the part-time lecturers," she said. Another lecturer from Government College, Muktsar, Harjinder Singh, said: "After teaching for over 10 years , we are being paid Rs 7,000 a month and that too from the PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) fund.” Chamkaur Singh from Shaheed Udham Singh Collge, Sunam, said: "We are leading a miserable life. When we go to meet a minister, we are made to wait for hours and given a step-motherly treatment.The government is pushing us into taking some drastic measures.”
* Employed on Rs 7,000 per month, they say they are being exploited by the govt
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Exam centres: Minimum student strength cut
Mohali, July 25 At least 6.50 lakh students appear annually at 3,000 examination centres set up across the state for matric and senior secondary exams. The minimum strength of students at each centre has been reduced to 125 students from 160. Also, the fee charged per student from schools not meeting the minimum student strength criterion has been reduced from Rs 600 to Rs 300, largely benefiting private schools. The fee was increased only last year. According to the new norms, the minimum student strength required to set up an examination centre in urban areas is 125 and for rural areas 100 students. A senior board official said initially the criteria had been made tough to cap the number of examination centres. But after affiliated schools made a representation to the government, the norms had been relaxed, despite financial losses to the board. With the implementation of the Right to Education Act, private candidates had already been barred from appearing in board exams. It had also been announced that no examination centre would be set up in the ‘associate schools’. This meant the pressure for setting up examination centres would be on affiliated and government schools. The official said to meet the minimum student strength criterion, schools had been allowed to tie up with neighbouring schools.
new norms
* Step aimed at benefiting private and govt schools * 6.50 lakh students appear annually at 3,000 centres for matric and senior secondary exams * The minimum strength of students at each centre cut to 125 students * Fee charged per student from schools cut to Rs 300 from Rs 600 * Norms relaxed on a representation by affiliated schools
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Alcoholism, smoking lead to cancer: Expert
Patiala, July 25 According to Sandhu, abdominal pain, jaundice, weight loss, loss of appetite and onset of diabetes after the age of 50 years were some of the early signs and symptoms of this deadly disease. Another cancer expert and diagnostic radiologist of MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, USA, Dr Harmeet Kaur discussed about the latest imaging techniques in the early detection of the deadly disease. Welcoming the participants, Dr Jatinder Kansal, president, IMA, Patiala, urged the doctors to report cases of all types of cancer to the pathology department of Rajindra Hospital where a Cancer Registry Centre had been established under the ICMR Scheme of the Government of India. Honorary secretary of the branch, Dr JPS Sodhi elaborated the ongoing activities of the IMA.
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Action sought against BDPO
Ropar, July 25 Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner GK Singh said a case would be registered against those who had indulged in illegal mining in Dabur village. He said 12 acres of land has been given for mining after requisite auction. Meanwhile, Rs 4.97 crore were sanctioned for development of the district. Rs 38.73 lakh were given for different development schemes, Rs 4.34 crore were given for diet and Rs 38.73 lakh for various pension schemes.
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Pharmacists seek regularisation of service
Patiala, July 25 Giving this information, Ram Singh, district president of the association, informed that under the new policy being formulated by the Punjab Government to give jobs to pharmacists, the jobs of pharmacists who have been serving the government since long were not secured. He said,“The government now says that it would appoint pharmacists based on their merit but how can they ignore our services? We did pharmacy almost 10 years back when there were hardly three to four colleges that offered these courses and the merit was also not that high. But with the coming of private colleges, students these days have started scoring more marks as these colleges are busy minting money and give high percentage of marks so that more and more students take admission there. How can we compare ourselves with their merit?” he rued. “Moreover, we have been working for the past five years already and have certainly more experience. Ignoring us at this stage is unethical,” he added. Meanwhile, no action has been taken yet over the issue of expulsion of unqualified pharmacists. The Punjab Government had issued a letter on January 28, 2010, stating that all dispensaries must appoint qualified pharmacists, as according to the Pharmacy Act 1948, the upkeep and distribution of medicines must be done by qualified registered pharmacists. “Despite repeated protests by qualified pharmacists, the government ignored its own decision and the Pharmacy Act to stop the expulsion of these pharmacists in order to save their vote bank. The government didn’t realise that this decision is totally against the qualified pharmacists who deserve to get jobs. These unqualified workers do not possess proper knowledge of medicines and wrong medicines could be deadly for the people. But no one cares about rural people,” added Ram Singh. He further informed that the association had met the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal during his Sangat Darshan at Nabha and received the assurance that their demands would be considered. “If the government didn’t accept our demands, then we would be forced to protest against the government till our demands were met,” he said.
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Brand phulkari holds its own despite designer labels
Patiala, July 25 This art is quite old and in olden days, majority of women were expert in this art. Although these days not many women take interest in learning this art but still it is the most sought-after choice of Punjabi women when it comes to picking a dress for special events. Keeping in view the increasing popularity of phulkari work among young girls, the number of phulkari shops in the city is on the rise. “It is pleasant to see that this traditional art continues to be so popular despite competition from various designer brands and other works. We have phulkaris in almost every colour; including black and white, which were earlier not very popular because of certain sentiments that these colours were not good for joyous occasions. These days, all girls care about is the pattern and look. In fact, black and white are among the top choices these days when it comes to phulkari suits, added owner of a phulkari store at Tripri. “Other than readymade phulkaris, we get the work done on order as many girls visit our shops who want this work to be done in a particular style. All would-be brides buy phulkaris for their wari and phulkari suits as they till date they are the most popular choice for any function. We have visitors from other states who specially come to purchase phulkaris, suits and sometimes even order these patterns on sarees,” said Babbu from Naveen Vastralaya located in city’s AC market. Raman Dhaliwal from Patiala, who studies in Australia, recently bought three phulkaris for a get together in her college in Australia stating that she decided to wear phulkari just to give her a traditional look. “We have a function at my college and I opted for phulkari as I am very fond of the phulkari colours and patterns. Moreover, it would certainly help me stand out in the crowd. I have bought two phulkaris for my Australian friends as well as they too grew fond of them after seeing my pictures,” she added.
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Cannabis growth goes unchecked
Jalandhar, July 25 The cannabis, which is smoked, chewed or consumed raw, is used for making high-grade charas in some parts of the country, especially Himachal Pradesh. Also known as hemp, marijuana, ganja, bhang or hashish, the intake of cannabis often causes hallucinations. There is no check on the growth of cannabis in the state despite the increasing use of drugs among the youth. The state Health Department has set up a number of drug de-addiction centres but has not paid heed to the thick growth of the cannibis in the state and its easy availability. The Himachal Pradesh Government, on the other hand, has employed labour under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to deal with the problem. The workers have been asked to uproot cannabis thickets in areas such as Kulu and Minali where foreign tourists use it as an intoxicant.
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Mass copying case
Chandigarh, July 25 The Bench of Justice M.M. Kumar and Justice Gurdev Singh also directed the secretary in the Department of School Education to initiate necessary steps for placing before the court the original record. Speaking for the Bench, Justice Kumar also directed the chairman and the secretary of Punjab School Education Board to track down the record and hand it over at the earliest to the Additional Advocate-General appearing on the state’s behalf. The directions came after the Bench went through the affidavit filed by Punjab Additional Secretary, Department of School Education, Devinder Singh. Referring to Kalaswala Khalsa Senior Secondary School, he had claimed that the main file on mass copying in the mathematics examination held on March 14, 2006, was not traceable. The High Court had earlier taken cognisance of the contents of a writ petition filed by the then Controller of Examination Sukhwinder Kaur Saroya. She had moved the High Court challenging show-cause notices and charge sheet issued by the Board. Saroya had alleged that she was issued show-cause notices as she had launched a vigorous campaign against the cheating mafia. Saroya had alleged after she cancelled a centre in Punjab where mass copying was reported, she was pressurised by the then PWD Minister-cum-patron of the offending school, Kalaswala Khalsa Senior Secondary School in Kadian, Gurdaspur. Saroya had alleged since the minister was “very annoyed by her action” she was asked to prepare a fresh report regarding the school, which she refused. The Bench, on the previous date, had observed: “The disturbing feature is that the chairman of the board and other officials are party to such malpractices. It appears to us that the working of the school board is not in accordance with the principles of fair play and there is interference either by condoning the lapses or by awarding grace marks”.
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Man nabbed with 4 kg opium
Patiala, July 25 The police has registered a case under the NDPS Act against the accused at Passiana police station. The accused has been identified as Rajinder Singh, a resident of Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, who was smuggling the contraband. “We would soon question him to establish his contacts and identity, as to who all were involved in the nexus”, the police said. In the past six months, the city cops have recovered 5,081 kg of poppy husk, 28.5 kg sulpha, 2.77 kg smack, 42.3 kg ganja. Sources in the police department said since opium has a good demand and fetches better price in Punjab, smugglers usually prefer the agrarian state. “While Rajasthan produces enough opium and prices are usually low there, the smugglers prefer Punjab where the market is big and it is easily sold”, the source said. Investigation into the case is on.
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Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today inaugurated the World Sikh University here. The university campus is spread over 84 acres and so far Rs 70 crore has been spent by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee
Rising silt in the Bhakra reservoir can put the dam structure and its machinery at risk. In a communiqué to Bhakra Beas Management Board
(BBMB) Chairman, senior scale stenographer in the office of Dam Safety Directorate,
BBMB, Nangal, Rehmat Ali has mentioned that dam has never been de-silted since its inception.
