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Kapurthala Jail Deaths Sonia, wife of deceased prisoner Baldev Singh, with her children outside the Kapurthala Civil Hospital mortuary on
Monday. A Tribune photograph
Security up in Jalandhar
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Seeking clean water, villagers boycott CM's Sangat Darshan
Villagers during a protest at Buttar Baghuha village of Gidderbaha constituency on Monday. Tribune photo: Malkiat Singh
Need to take bold measures to resolve issues: Pak ex-PM
Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain at the Golden Temple
Manpreet, Capt traitors: CM
Missing Girl Case
Moving
Towards Healthy living
Amarinder promises more jobs
Capt Amarinder Singh, GS Charak and other
Congress leaders in Nawanshahr on Monday. A Tribune photograph
Fraudulent ATM withdrawals worry SBoP customers
Cashless medical facility for ESIC beneficiaries
Students protest ‘unjustified’ charges
95,000 await pension in Bathinda
Engineers defer stir
Vienna killing
Dr Sobti is state IMA president
Block online fraud sites:
HC
Obscene video case
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Security up in Jalandhar
Jalandhar, November 21 Lathi-wielding police personnel were seen at various places. The police held a flag march in some parts of the city. Meanwhile, sources said there was an acute shortage of medical facilities and trained staff at the Kapurthala jail. Ther jail has only one-fourth of the medical staff than required as per the law. Para 142 of Section 7, page 67 of the Jail Manual says there should be a medical officer and a pharmacist for a batch of 500 inmates. Hence, the jail should have had four medical officers and four pharmacists for its 1,500 inmates.
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Seeking clean water, villagers boycott CM's Sangat Darshan
Gidderbaha, November 21 Instead of attending the Sangat Darshan programme, the panchayat members and farmers staged a peaceful protest dharna at the village's community centre and raised slogans against the state government for not paying heed to their problems related to drinking and irrigation water for the past several years. Interestingly, the village sarpanch along with a few supporters was attending the Sangat Darshan even as the villagers were sitting on a dharna. When the Chief Minister got to know about the absence of panchayat members and a large number of farmers, he questioned the area Akali leaders about the problems of the protesters. Dharam Chand, former Buttar Baghuha sarpanch, who was among the protesters, said the protest was peaceful and did not cause any disruption to the CM's Sangat Darshan. "The village is facing acute shortage of drinking and irrigation water for the past many years. Several requests were made to the Irrigation Department officials and even the Chief Minister and other leaders but to no avail," he said. The farmers said that as the village was situated at the tail end, so there was no irrigation facility for 2,000 acres of land. Moreover, the groundwater was not fit for human consumption, they complained. After Badal came to know about the protest, he sent messengers to the farmers to persuade them to attend the Sangat Darshan. Once they reached the programme venue, Badal announced a grant of Rs 1.22 crore for providing a tail extension to Madheer Sub Minor canal up to Buttar Bakhua. He also said that Piori Sub Minor would also be constructed at a cost of Rs 3.51 crore and the upgradation of Husnar and Daula minor under Kot Bhai distributaries system would be conducted at a cost of Rs 9 crore.
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Need to take bold measures to resolve issues: Pak ex-PM
Amritsar, November 21 Addressing mediapersons here, Hussain said the regimes in both the countries always try to improve bilateral ties, but something or the other derails the process midway, which should not happen. Hussain, who is chairman of the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation, visited India to watch the Kabaddi World Cup final in Ludhiana. He visited the Golden Temple today while on his way back to Pakistan. Both the countries, said he, would have to learn to initiate bold measures irrespective of the fact whether they had popular support or not. He said the annual trade between the two countries had touched 2.4 billion dollars while there was traffic of around 350 trucks daily via the Attari-Wagah land route for trade. Replying to a query, he said the bureaucratic mindset still dated back to the pre-cold war era and there was need to change it. Another Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) leader, Imran Masood, said the charter for Guru Nanak Dev University at Nankana Sahib was being prepared. He said the university would facilitate research in religious studies. He said a gurdwara and an inn would also be built on the university campus. Shujaat: US hampering India-Pak trade ties Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain has accused the US of hampering improvement in trade ties between India and Pakistan. He was referring to the India-Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline. He said had the pipeline seen the light of the day, it would have benefited both India and Pakistan. Leaders mull kabaddi league on lines of IPL A former Pakistan Minister, Mushahid Hussain, said they were contemplating launching a kabaddi league on the lines of the IPL. He said half the matches would be played in India and the remaining in Pakistan. He said a world kabaddi association would also be formed, which would be headed by Sukhbir.
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Manpreet, Capt traitors: CM
Gidderbaha/Kotkapura, November 21 Addressing public meetings in Gidderbaha, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal accused PPP chief Manpreet Badal of a strategic alliance with the Congress to grab power. Manpreet, on the other hand, said the SAD and the Congress had been ruling the state in turns, indicating a certain scheme of things. Manpreet was addressing public meetings in Bajakhana and Bargari areas of
Kotkapura. “The elections will prove that the people of the state do not support defectors and Manpreet will not get a single seat in the assembly”, Badal claimed. He dubbed Manpreet, Surjit Singh Barnala and Amarinder Singh as traitors who had left the Akali Dal to “grab” power. Manpreet, at his rallies, mainly accused the Akalis and Congress of patronising corruption. “Corruption is a top to down phenomenon,” he said. He blamed lack of accountability for the evil. Asking the people to discard the two- party system in Punjab, Manpreet said “if an economically backward state like Bihar could be on the road to development (under Nitish Kumar), so could Punjab. For this it was a must that the people opted for a third alternative, breaking the SAD and Congress monopoly in state politics.
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Missing Girl Case
Chandigarh, November 21 After planting a stranger before the missing girl’s father, Sonu Parsad, the police tried to convince him that she was his daughter who had grown up by now. Bringing down the curtains on the drama enacted by the Punjab Police, IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh had only recently cracked the missing girl’s case by tracking her down in Delhi. As the case came up for hearing, Sonu Parsad’s counsel Gursharan Kaur Mann submitted that the habeas corpus petition had been rendered infructuous with the recovery of the missing girl. But, she prayed “liberty be granted to the petitioner to take recourse to the lawful remedy, available to him, for taking all the erring officials and respondents to task”. Accepting her plea, Justice Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia asserted: “As prayed, the present writ petition is disposed of as infructuous, with the aforesaid liberty”. Pooja, 15, went missing from Amritsar about three years ago. The probe into the matter was handed over to Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh by Justice LN Mittal. His name was suggested by advocate Mann, representing Pooja’s father Sonu Parsad. The police earlier wanted Sonu Parsad to believe the girl handed over to him was indeed his missing daughter. The Amritsar resident was sure the police was bluffing. After a DNA test proved his apprehensions, Justice Mittal asked the IPS officer to carry out the probe. Justice Ahluwalia asserted: “In compliance with the order dated September 14, passed by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court, status report has been filed by Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, IPS, who has been appointed as Special Investigating Officer. “The same is taken on record. It is stated therein that detainee Pooja was traced on September 28 from Janakpuri, New Delhi. She was medico-legally examined and produced in the court of the CJM, Amritsar, on September 30. After her statement was recorded under Section 164, the detainee has been handed over to the petitioner”.
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Moving
Towards Healthy living
Ludhiana, November 21 Conducted by the university’s Department of Entomology between 1997 and 2010, the researchers, after analysing 3,300 food samples, found that the contamination level had come down to 20 per cent from 62 per cent in 1976. Besides, only 4 per cent samples were found to contain the residues of pesticides above the permissible limit. The scenario could be compared with developed nations where as well about 3-4 per cent of the samples exceeded the safety limit. PAU attributes the decline to techniques adopted for reducing pesticide use
Dr Balwinder Singh, Professor and Head, Department of Entomology, said the decline in pesticide residue could be attributed to several innovative techniques developed by the university to reduce the use of pesticides. "As compared to pesticide consumption of 7,200 MT of technical grade material in 2001-02, the consumption has declined to 5,800 MT in 2010-11. The pesticides that persisted for longer period in environment or those that were more toxic to human health have either been banned or restricted for use,” he said. Apart from this, the propagation of integrated pest management (IPM) ad also helped in the reduction of pesticide use, especially on cotton, basmati rice and maize crops where the reduction was 30 per cent, 50 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively, he said. During the period from 1976 to 1996, 3,150 samples of different food products, feed and environmental samples were analysed for the presence of pesticide residues and 62 per cent samples were found to be contaminated mainly with DDT and Hexa Chlorocyclo Hexane (HCH) and 29 per cent samples had residues above the permissible limits. "Taking cognisance of these findings, the PAU submitted a comprehensive report to the Union Government. On the basis of these findings, the Union Government banned the use of DDT in agriculture and restricted the use of HCH. Following the restrictions, the level of pesticide residues in food commodities started declining, which is a good indication," added Dr
Balwinder.
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Amarinder promises more jobs
Nawanshahr, November 21 Attacking the SAD leadership, he said the Akali party had been reduced to a tool in the hands of the Badals for their own benefit. “The Akalis are bent upon bleeding Punjab. Our priority is our youth. We will strive to get employment for them. Why should they go to other states for education and employment,” asked Capt Amarinder Singh. He said the Akalis had created such a bad business environment that nobody was prepared to invest in the state and those already with business interests here were either moving out or setting units in other states. “We are losing our qualified and trained manpower to other states”, he pointed, emphasising that not only unemployment and drug addiction, but brain-drain too was a major cause of worry. “We will bridge the widening gap between the rich and the poor for Punjab’s uniform growth,” Amarinder said. Party affairs incharge Gulchain Singh Charak claimed that the people were attending Congress rallies in thousands but had shunned the BJP leader LK Advani’s rath
yatra. This was indicative of things to come.
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Circus barred from using blind hippo
Patiala, November 21 The team found some violations pertaining to the upkeep of animals. The raid followed reports of a blind hippo being used by the circus and some animals being kept in poor condition. Following the health check-up of the hippopotamus, divisional forest officer (wildlife) Ashwani Kumar has written to Patiala DC Vikas Garg to take action against the circus management. “The management has been asked not to showcase the animal till further orders,” Ashwani told TNS. “We have inspected the circus and found some lapses. A veterinary expert was called who diagnosed the hippo and declared it unfit,” he added. Earlier, high drama prevailed when the team reached the circus premises, the circus authorities allegedly misbehaved with officials and even manhandled wildlife warden Ravee S Ahluwalia. “They objected to my presence and one of their employees pushed me and threatened me of dire consequences,” said Ravee, who has lodged a complaint with the Patiala
SSP. However, a spokesman for Jumbo Circus denied the allegations, claiming that there was no lapse on their part. “We are abiding by the rules,” he said. Earlier, the circus was under scanner in Panipat last month where the Animal Welfare Board of India had constituted a panel to inspect the hippo and the conditions under which other animals were kept. PSPCA member Karamjit Singh Jattana said the animals were tied from the front and rear limbs in violation of the PCA Act 1960. “The condition of the hippo was particularly bad,” he added.
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Fraudulent ATM withdrawals worry SBoP customers
Patiala, November 21 Over a dozen cases have been reported in the past almost three days with branches of State Bank of Patiala (SBoP), where swindlers have copied the ATM software of the bank and have withdrawn money worth lakhs. Initially, the bank officials took the complaints lightly but when more such cases came to light, the SBoP started an internal probe and are coordinating with the police. The fraud came to light almost a week back when some residents claimed that money was missing from their accounts. Money has been withdrawn from ATMs in Karnal, Dehradun, New Delhi and some other parts of the country. Similar complaints were made by Patiala-based Dr Kuldeep Singh who lost Rs 5.80 lakh from his account in two days. City resident Kulwant Singh too allegedly lost Rs 1.8 lakh from his account. Yet another local resident alleged that he has also lost Rs 2.30 lakh and his complaint to the SBoP branch manager did not get a positive response. Another city resident Tarvinder Singh too alleged he has lost Rs 80,000 in a similar manner. The complainants approached the SBoP headquarters, where again their pleas went unanswered. They lodged a complaint with the district police too. While the residents allege connivance of insiders of the bank with the swindlers, the officials refuted the allegations. An official spokesman from the SBoP, (IT Department) told The Tribune that there is no role of any insider in the matter and it seems that the ATM cards have been cloned. “An internal probe is on”, he said. The SSP Patiala, Gurpreet Singh Gill, told The Tribune that he received the complaint and it has been forwarded to the Cyber Cell, while the role of insiders too would be examined. The CCTV footage from all the ATMs across the country from where the money has been taken has been called for. Crime file
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PRTC defers interviews
Patiala, November 21 The PRTC had advertised around 400 contractual posts of driver, 400 of conductor and 165 posts of technical staff, but it could not complete the process as court ordered it to maintain the status quo after the outsourced employees working with the PRTC moved the court against fresh appointments. Notably, while the outsourced employees working with the PRTC for the past few years were demanding regularisation of their jobs, the PRTC management had advertised the posts stating that there was no rule under which the management could regularise employees working on outsourced jobs. It said it had now formulated a policy under which anyone who worked with the corporation on contract for three years, could be considered for regularisation and asked the outsourced employees to apply afresh. However, the employees said there was no question of applying again. PRTC managing director Manvesh Sidhu said, “Though we wanted to appoint new employees, we will have to wait for the next hearing of the court. We have almost completed the process of appointment of drivers and had scheduled interviews of conductors. There is no provision under which we could regularise the outsourced staff. Moreover, their commitment level is low and we wanted contractual employees,” he added.
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Cashless medical facility for ESIC beneficiaries
Chandigarh, November 21 In an MoU signed with Punjab Health Systems, the ESIC has arranged for cashless health services where the insured employee will not only be able to avail health services other than ESIC-owned hospitals and dispensaries but also be saved from running for reimbursements. “As per the MOU, any insured beneficiary can go to a government hospital, get treated and walk out without paying a penny as we will be paying the bills. This will also be a boon for beneficiaries residing in various cities with no or minimalist ESIC health facilities,” said BB Puri, Regional Director ESIC, Punjab and Chandigarh. The corporation, which is celebrating its golden jubilee this year, is out to revamp the health services in the region. A 100-bedded hospital will soon come up in Lalru. The corporation has also decided to transform two of its dispensaries in Barnala and Rajpura into model golden jubilee ones by adding facilities of diagnostic laboratories and minor surgeries there and will within a matter of months move on to having labour rooms as well. The corporation has issued twin cards to thousands of beneficiaries. A card is being given to the insured employee and his family so that they avail facilities on a separate basis in case the posting of the employee is outside hometown.
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Students protest ‘unjustified’ charges
Patiala, November 21 District press secretary of the union Amandeep Kaur said the colleges had been charging various funds from students, including PTA fund, building fund and student welfare fund, which was unjustified. “The institutes have been continuously increasing these funds, making it difficult for the students. Rather than doing some substantial work, these funds are used to pay the salaries of ad-hoc teachers. We also want that the government should appoint regular teachers so that students do not suffer,” she added. Another union member Deepak stressed that the government colleges were adopting the policies of private institutes, ignoring the interests of the students. The students also expressed anger over the installation of CCTV cameras in institutes, stating that the authorities were doing this so that the students could not unite for protesting against the managements.
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95,000 await pension in Bathinda
Bathinda, November 21 These beneficiaries have not been receiving their monthly old-age pensions and other financial assistance benefits well in time for the past some months as the funds for this purpose are not being released to the DSSO on time to make the payments. For July and August, the urban beneficiaries had received payments of old-age pension and benefits of other financial assistance schemes in October as their payments were transferred to their bank accounts directly by the DSSO. The rural beneficiaries, however, got the pensions and financial assistance for July and August months in November (due to the pen-down strike by the panchayat secretaries who play a major role in the distribution of pensions) though the requisite amounts were transferred.
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Engineers defer stir
Patiala, November 21 Meanwhile, hundreds of non-gazetted employees of the Punjab Power Corporation today staged a state-level dharna outside the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited headquarters here. The protest call was given by the PSEB Joint Forum, which represents seven unions. However, contrary to the forum's claims that several thousand employees would participate in the protest, the turnout was quite less at the Mall Road here where the PSPCL headquarters is situated. The employees have been protesting the non-acceptance of their demands. There was no major impact of the strike but on the flow of traffic. Another reason that brought smiles on the faces of the power corporation high-ups was that there were no cuts. As elections are round the corner, every association and union is trying to pressurise the government so that their demands are accepted, which is “nothing less than holding the government to ransom”, a senior PSPCL official said.
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Vienna killing
Chandigarh, November 21 Till September 20, as many as 58 persons had been arrested and 75 cases registered. Special investigation teams had been constituted at the district level for a thorough probe. A PIL had been filed in the matter by the Phagwara-based General Samaj Manch.
— TNS
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Dr Sobti is state IMA president
Ludhiana, November 21 Credited with being the first neurosurgeon to start stereotactic surgery in this part of the country in 1997, Dr Sobti has served the IMA, Ludhiana, as vice-president and president, and later as joint secretary of IMA, Punjab (2010 and 2011). Dr Sobti said he would strive to strengthen the doctor-patient relationship and facilitate the formation of a doctor-friendly Clinical Establishment Bill.
— OC
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Obscene video case
Mohali, November 21 Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, DIG, Crime Branch, Punjab, said the accused was arrested in August 2011. The accused is currently lodged at Patiala Central Jail. The motive behind this act of the accused was to compel the girl to revive relationship with him. The accused had created the video after drugging the girl and later uploaded the same on Youtube, which the police got removed after registering a case.
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Holding the Kapurthala Jail authorities responsible for the death of inmate Baldev Singh (30), his grief-stricken family members have alleged that timely medical care could have saved his life.
Gidderbaha, November 21
Amritsar, November 21
With stakes high for the SAD and the PPP in the Malwa belt, leaders of both the parties today accused each other of reaching a tactical understanding with the Congress.
Addressing public meetings in Gidderbaha, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal accused PPP chief Manpreet Badal of a strategic alliance with the Congress to grab power.
Manpreet, on the other hand, said the SAD and the Congress had been ruling the state in turns, indicating a certain scheme of things. Manpreet was addressing public meetings in Bajakhana and Bargari areas of
Kotkapura.
Addressing a Punjab Bachao rally here today, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Capt Amarinder Singh today called upon the people to remove the
SAD-BJP government from power. Attacking the SAD leadership, he said the Akali party had been reduced to a tool in the hands of the Badals for their own benefit.
“The Akalis are bent upon bleeding Punjab. Our priority is our youth.
