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CPI seeks justice with joint action plan
BDA employees cry foul for being overburdened
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Parho Punjab staff downsized, govt to save Rs 5-6 cr per month
Teachers threaten to gherao Maluka
Guru Kashi varsity releases prospectus
Two arrested with stolen vehicles
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CPI seeks justice with joint action plan
Bathinda, May 16 Addressing the media persons here today, district secretary of the CPI, Jagjit Singh Joga, said a meeting of the leaders of the CPI, the CPM, the Congress and the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) would be held here tomorrow to chalk out a joint action plan to seek justice for Amanpreet and others. He said as part of the joint action plan, initially the Sadar police station, Rampura, would be gheraoed. Joga also produced three persons, Amanpreet Kaur, her father Gurnam Singh, and a former Sarpanch of Ballianwali village Gulzar Singh, against whom the Sadar police station, Rampura, has reportedly registered a case under the Section 302 of the IPC in connection with the death of one Kulwinder Singh, son of Amanpreet Kaur’s paternal uncle. Joga alleged that though Kulwinder Singh had died after consuming some poisonous substance in the fields of the village on March 5, but the police under the influence of an Akali leader from Mehraj village had registered the murder case against Amanpreet and others on March 6, holding them responsible for the death of Kulwinder Singh. He also alleged that Amanpreet and others had been framed in the ‘false murder case’ as the family of her uncle wanted the five acres of land that belonged to her family. Amanpreet Kaur said the police had conducted inquiry and had found them innocent in the case, so it had given them assurance of cancelling the case, but nothing had been done so far. She said she and her family members had been staying at Ballianwali village since March 6, fearing for their life. She further added that during this period her relatives had forcibly taken the possession of her family’s house, land, tractor etc. She said she would also approach the Women Commission and the Human Rights Commission, if she did not get justice soon. Meanwhile, Joga produced another woman, Balwinder Kaur from Ramsara village (Raman), the body of whose husband was found in the village pond on April 27. Joga said her father-in-law had given in writing to the police that his she had killed his son, so the police was harassing her, despite the fact that the police had registered the case against unidentified persons. Fact file
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BDA employees cry foul for being overburdened
Bathinda, May 16 “In the absence of senior assistants in the estate office, the lower rung employees are over burdened. In many cases, one person is doing work of more than three persons,” said one of the employees at the Bathinda Development Authority. Due to the shortage of staff, the employees are forced to work on Saturdays and Sundays as well for the past more than three months, but are not paid for working overtime. Staff members are not spared even on the public holidays. On May 1, the International Labour Day, staff members were called to work. “We have been losing the prime years of our life working as donkeys. Since all of us are overworked, we get irritated at times. Officers expect us to complete the work in wink of an eye, which is impossible. Heavily overburdened, when we miss the deadline, we are badly rebuked like school kids,” added another official. Another employee added that the female employees too are not spared. In many cases, female employees end up sitting in the office late evening till 7:30 pm. The employees alleged that senior officials abuse them and use foul language. “Leave alone the question of encouraging us for doing so much of work, we are abused for skipping deadlines. The officials use foul language,” alleged the employees. Meanwhile, the BDA chief administrator, Uma Shanker Gupta, said higher officials have been apprised of the shortage of staff. “I agree that some employees are overburdened but then it is the part and parcel of job,” he said refuting allegations of any senior official using foul language with the lower rung staff. He added that the BDA had written to the PUDA, urgently demanding senior assistants. Quote-unquote
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Heat wave is here, brave for hotter days ahead
Bathinda, May 16 The mercury has been hovering well over the 40 degree Celsius mark for the last several days in the region causing heat wave conditions in the area. The maximum temperature on Tuesday was 42 degree Celsius while the minimum was 21.6 degree Celsius. With mercury touching 43 degree Celsius today, the residents of the region were found running for cover almost throughout the day. The heat wave conditions are likely to prevail in the area for the next two-three days. As per the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the mercury is likely to hover around 43-44 degree Celsius. The maximum temperature may even touch 45 degree in the next few days. There may also be a considerable rise in the minimum temperature in the coming days. As per the Indian Meteorological Department, the minimum temperature may be around 30 degree Celsius in the next two-three days. |
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Parho Punjab staff downsized, govt to save Rs 5-6 cr per month
Bathinda, May 16 In the orders released today, the Director General of School Education (DGSE) has directed that the staff specified in the letter under Parho Punjab and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan (RMSA) be sent back to their parent cadre. Punjab Education Minister, Sikandar Singh Maluka, said 2,600 sanctioned staff is required in the whole state to run the project successfully. “However, 3,000 more (taking the total to 5,600) people are working on this project in the times when we do not have enough staff for our government schools,” Maluka said. It is pertinent to mention here that teachers recalled to their parent cadre are posted as District Resource Persons, District Project Coordinators, District Coordinators, Block Master Trainers, Cluster Master Trainers, Math Master Trainers and English Master Trainers since the inception of Parho Punjab in early 2008. The teachers on deputation are paid `125 daily and `3.5 per kilometer as the travelling expenses besides the hefty monthly salary packages they get. DGSE Punjab, Ashok Singla, said it is not downsizing but the first step towards re-structuring the system. “We will save `5 to 6 crore per month, which would be used for development of the government schools. It would be highly beneficial in terms of filling the seats of teachers lying vacant due to which the studies suffer,” he added. Meanwhile, education minister Maluka said “Only two persons are needed at each DIET whereas in the state, we have more than 12 persons are employed at each training centers. These teachers would fill in the vacancies of principals,” he added. He said if the department still falls short of staff, it would recruit more persons. Sources in the DGSE office said the move would also snap many old nexus that have been brewing corruption. For instance, in one of the districts, a Parho Punjab district coordinator has got government quarter issued in his name out of turn. Maluka said from now onwards, the deputy district education officer (DEO) secondary has been appointed as RMSA coordinator for districts and deputy DEO elementary has been appointed as district coordinator, Parho Punjab. In Bathinda district more than 80 persons would report back to their parent cadre. Government teachers hailed the decision saying they would now get a chance to monitor the performance of the project coordinators (who would join back their parent cadre) in their respective subjects. History of Parho Punjab, Vadho Punjab
Parho Punjab was launched under Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) project for the primary school students in collaboration with non-governmental organisation (NGO), Pratham. The students are being gauged on multiple parameters and for any laxity of theirs, the respective teachers are held responsible. The project has been popular among masses, but drew flak from the teaching community which reasons that it is impossible to achieve targets of the project with rural students. |
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Government schools to have Jagriti Clubs
Bathinda, May 16 The letters of approval for the constitution of Jagriti Clubs were issued by the Chief Secretary, Punjab Government and the Punjab Education Minister, Sikander Singh Maluka. As per the directions, each school will have a 10-member committee which will look into the development of the clubs and also hold a monthly meeting to ensure proper functioning of these clubs. At the secondary schools, the club committee will
be headed by the principal of the school. Other members of the committee would include two representatives of the school management committee (SMC), two Panchayat members, one senior teacher of the school who will also be the member secretary of the committee, a physical education teacher, a representative of the Red Cross Society, a representative of the civil surgeon and a district guidance counsellor. At the primary schools, the committee would include the head of the school (chairman and the member secretary of the committee), two SMC members, two Panchayat members, central head of the school, a member of the Red Cross Society, one representative of the civil surgeon and a district guidance counsellor. Kaka Ram Verma, the brain behind the initiation of the Jagriti Clubs, says, “As the district training supervisor with the Red Cross Society, I visited various schools across the state. I noticed that a large number of students were unhealthy due to the lack of knowledge about balanced diet. Minor accidents in schools also went unnoticed or unattended to due to lack of knowledge about first-aid.” “That is when I thought that if the students are taught about health, diet, and first-aid, they would be healthier. Guiding them at a young age is the best way of safeguarding them. I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister of India which was then sent to the Punjab government. The letter was further circulated in all the schools in the state,” he added. All the government primary and secondary schools in the state have to constitute the Jagriti Clubs by May 31 and the clubs will start functioning as soon as the schools reopen after summer vacations. |
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Pensioners seek 2 pc annual hike on basic pension
Bathinda, May 16 Talking to Bathinda Tribune today, district president of the association, Darshan Singh Bajaj, said a government employee after retirement got same pension up to the age of 65 years. After 65 years, he was given five per cent hike on the basic pension, which was a cruel joke with the government pensioners, he added. Bajaj said keeping in view the costly treatment of the diseases these days, they also demanded enhancement in their medical allowance from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 per month. He said the pensioners also wanted the payment of their medical bills should be reimbursed by the Civil Surgeon after granting approval to the same. At present, the reimbursement process was very lengthy and complicated, he added. The pensioners also sought issuance of chronic disease certificate for them by the Civil Surgeon at the district headquarters in place of issuance by the medical colleges etc. The pensioners also urged the government to implement the qualifying service rule of 25 years (the government has reduced the qualifying service for full pension benefits from 33 years to 25 years) from January 1, 2006, instead of the date of implementation of the new rule. Bajaj said the pensioners also wanted that the state government should grant them 25 per cent concession in fare in the state government’s buses and 50 per cent concession to the family pensioners. The pensioners also demanded a handicapped allowance of Rs 250 per month to the handicapped pensioners. Besides, they also demanded exemption from toll tax at the toll plazas through out the state, he added. Earlier, the association also held a meeting at the Pensioners Bhawan here. The meeting was presided over by Darshan Singh Bajaj. At the meeting, the pensioners also discussed their problems. Among others who took part in the meeting included Gurdev Singh Kot Fatta, Mukand Singh Brar, Sukhdev Singh, Amar Singh Sidhu, Ms Shashi Sikka and Gurjant Singh
Grewal. |
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Teachers threaten to gherao Maluka
Bathinda, May 16 At a meeting convened Teachers' Home in Bathinda today, the protesting teachers met the members of the Project Approval Board (from the Ministry of Human Resource and Development). The PAB assured them that their demand for regularisation of jobs was acceptable and that the ball was in the state government's court now. Talking to Bathinda Tribune, state committee member Harjit Jidda said, “The PAB says that the Centre will release funds as per the decision of the Punjab government. Before the assembly elections, the government had assured us regular pay scale. But nothing has happened till date.” He further added that following the delay on the part of the state government to notify the regular scale, the Central Government has stalled all the funds for their salaries. While 65 per cent of the salaries of the teachers recruited under SSA and RMSA is paid by the Centre, the remaining 35 per cent is the state government's share. “The state government is not contributing its share in our pay, owing to which we have not got proper pay for the past two years,” the teachers alleged. The protesting teachers have a meeting scheduled with the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on May 22 during which the teachers will present their demands. “If the state government fails to agree to our demands even after the meeting, we have decided to gherao the house of the Punjab Education Minister, Sikander Singh Maluka on May 27,” said the teachers. The meeting, held under the presidentship of the district president of the union, Beant Singh Phulewala, was also attended by the state committee member Ratanjot Sharma, general secretary Sandeep Kumar, Kamal Sharma, Manjeet Bajak, Aparapaar Singh, Amolak Singh, Jitender Kumar, Devinder Singh, Jasvir Singh, Karamdeep Kaur and Pooja among others. Earlier, on May 12, police had to use mild force to disperse the
SSA, RMSA teachers from outside the residence of Urban Bodies Minister, Chunni Lal
Bhagat, in Jalandhar. Teachers from Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr and Taran Tarn were protesting against the “backtracking by the state government on its promise to regularise their jobs”. Fact file
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Guru Kashi varsity releases prospectus
Bathinda, May 16 Vice-chancellor of the GKU, Dr DS Hira spoke about the university's scholarship schemes for the bright and needy students. The students who score more than 70 per cent marks in the qualifying examination would be considered for exemption in fee from 50 per cent to 100 per cent, based on their merit. The scholarship would also be given to the students who secured good ranks in the All India Engineering Entrance Examination
(AIEEE). Fact file
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DPS organises investiture ceremony
Bathinda, May 16 Dr Arun Jee, principal, welcomed the guests and informed about the progress that the school has made. A 40-member student council was sworn in by the chief guest. Devanshu Goyal of class XII-B was the head boy and Mehtab Kaur of Class XII-B is the head girl. The chief guest congratulated the appointees and urged them to work hard for the country, the school and their own selves. A vote of thanks was proposed by Paramjeet Kingra, the senior mistress. |
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BFGI holds career development programme
Bathinda, May 16 Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal, Managing Director, BFGI, motivated the team. He said the effort was being made considering the need of students from the Malwa region to hone their employability skills. |
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Two arrested with stolen vehicles
Bathinda, May 16 The accused were arrested near Muktsar road junction. They used to steal vehicles and sell them in other districts. Police has recovered one Maruti car and a motorcycle worth Rs two lakhs. Motorcycle stolen
A resident of Kamla Nehru Colony here has reported to the police that his motorcycle has been stolen from the Mini-secretariat. In a complaint to the Civil Lines police, Gurmeet Singh stated his Hero Honda CD Deluxe (PB O3 P 6766) was stolen from outside the Mini-secretariat. Police has registered a case against unidentified persons. |
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