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Two Ludhiana Cong men quit
PU panel finds 51 colleges violating norms
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Plans afoot for textile cluster in Malwa
BJP releases list of 70 candidates
ICP sees decline in cement, dry fruit import
Teachers without salary for months
Bodies of four youths drowned in Beas untraced
Jammers in jails soon
Rajpura boy gets 7th rank in PMET
Govt-aided school teachers plan mass leave on May 26
High Court rules against mid-session fee refund
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YC workers rebel over ticket
Chandigarh, May 22 Sources say ticket distribution in Patiala is being influenced by Union Minister Preneet Kaur keeping in mind her Parliamentary poll of 2014. With indications of denial of ticket to aspirants from the Youth Congress, there is a talk of revolt in the party. Patiala has 50 wards out of which 29 fall in the Patiala urban assembly segment represented by Capt Amarinder Singh and 21 in Patiala rural segment represented by former minister Brham Mohindra. The two have their own following in their respective wards. Former Mayor Vishnu Sharma, who too has grudges against the party leadership, has his own following. A majority of the Youth Congress workers are with Vishnu. In the 2007 MC elections, the Congress could win only six wards in Patiala. Amarinder had won the Patiala urban assembly poll by a margin of 41,000 votes and Mohindra from Patiala (Rural) by over 28,000 votes. Despite such heavy leads in the two assembly segments that comprise the Patiala Municipal Corporation, it seems that the Congress is heading towards a disaster owing to factionalism and differences over seat distribution, a major factor that led to Congress debacle in the assembly elections earlier this year. Besides, the SAD-BJP alliance is targeting the PCC president and his family. After winning over Amarinder's brother Malvinder and defeating his son Raninder, the Akalis now planning to give a tough fight to Preneet Kaur in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections by fielding Malwinder against her. Preneet Kaur has so far won three times from Patiala. To weaken her, the SAD has begun to lure her right-hand man, Deepinder Singh Dhillon. Dhillon was denied the party ticket in the assembly elections. He contested from Dera Bassi as an Independent. He was polled more than 50,000 votes even as he lost the elections. Dhillon now stands expelled from the Congress, but he continues to maintain close ties with Preneet Kaur. But the attempts by the Akalis to bring Dhillon into the party fold has created a stir in the Congress and unnerved the Maharani camp. Raninder, once considered the heir apparent of Amarinder's political legacy, has been marginalised twice - first in the Bhatinda parliamentary poll when he was defeated by a big margin by Harsimrat Badal and then by Surjit Singh Rakhra in the assembly elections. With the Congress bungling once again in the distribution of ticket in the MC elections, Preneet will be directly affected in the next parliamentary poll. The Akalis are planning way ahead while the Congress is repeating mistakes it committed in the last assembly elections. Cong divided n There is a virtual polarisation in the Congress cadres with the Youth Congress revolting on the issue of ticket allocation n
Sources say the Congress is heading towards a disaster owing to factionalism and differences over seat distribution, a major factor that led to Congress debacle in the assembly elections earlier this year Sad strategy n
After winning over Amarinder's brother Malvinder and defeating his son Raninder, the Akalis have begun to lure Preneet's right-hand man, Deepinder Singh Dhillon n
Denied the party ticket in the assembly poll, Dhillon contested from Dera Bassi as an Independent. He now stands expelled from the Congress
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Two Ludhiana Cong men quit
Ludhiana, May 22 At least four block presidents of the party are learnt to have sent their resignation to the party high command, expressing their unhappiness at the proposed ticket allocation. It is learnt that Pawan Dewan, president of the DCC, Ludhiana (Urban), has offered to resign from the post. He is learnt to have met party affairs incharge Gulchain Singh Charak today to apprise him of the “discontent” among the party workers. “The manner in which the party ticket is being allotted is neither democratic nor transparent,” alleged Bawa. “No panel has been constituted for the allocation of the party ticket. Neither have any interviews been conducted,” he added. Alleging that pary members were being ignored, he said the entire process revolved around the area MP, MLAs and candidates who had contested the recent assembly elections. Tikka said he and Bawa had resigned from the committee as “they had not been able to protect the rights of dedicated Congress workers.” Tikka claimed there was resentment among the party workers regarding ticket allocation. He also said that some senior Congress leaders were “striking a deal with the SAD-BJP on some seats.” Lall Singh, chairman of the screening and campaign committee, could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. Legislator Surinder Dawar, when contacted, refuted the allegations. He said he had recommended names of dedicated party workers with a clean image to the high command. Rumblings n
Local Cong leaders Bawa and Tikka quit poll panel n
Four block presidents are learnt to have sent their resignation to party high command n
DCC (Urban) chief offers to resign from post n Kulwinder Singh, Youth Congress president of Rajasansi circle, and son of sitting councillor Amrik Kaur, joins the SAD
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PU panel finds 51 colleges violating norms
Chandigarh, May 22 During an inspection carried out by the university, it was found that these colleges had hired unqualified staff on an ad hoc basis without the mandatory approval from the university.The number of such faculty members varied from college to college and in some cases was as high as 70 per cent. More than 35 colleges were neither paying salaries nor DA to its employees as prescribed by the UGC. The inspection committee, mentioning BKM College, Balachaur, has said in its report: “It’s high time that the university acts as the college has already done much damage.” Guru Nanak College of Education, Dalewal, Hoshiarpur, has been found guilty of not only functioning without a regular principal, but also ‘hiring’ one to befool the inspection committee. The college appointed Dr Shamina Bano as principal in 2010 but the university rejected the appointment as she was not qualified for the post. Instead of a new principal, the management continued to call her on important occasions to show that the college had a principal. Staff members, students and even Bano admitted that she hardly ever visited the college. “Ironically, her attendance was marked in the register for the entire month,” the PU panel report said. Similarly, SGGS College of Education, Beghpur, was found to have a ‘temporary’ principal. Lal Hans Raj Memorial College in Moga was found functioning with nine teachers and an officiating principal. None of the appointments were approved by the university. The Muktsar Institute of Higher Education had no regular staff members and was found violating the PU calendar for exams. Dashmesh College in Muktsar, Guru Gobind Singh College in Gidderbaha, GGSK College in Kamalpur and Bhutta College and Pratap College in Ludhiana were foundin dulging in serious violations. But an inspection team with the DPI as member, gave a clean chit to these colleges. n Colleges found to have hired unqualified staff on an ad hoc basis without the mandatory approval from the university n
The number of such faculty members in some cases is as high as 70 per cent n
More than 35 colleges found neither paying salaries nor DA to its employees Erring Colleges ... Guru Nanak College of Education, Dalewal, Hoshiarpur ; BKM College, Balachaur ; SGGS College of Education, Beghpur in Hoshiarpur ; Lal Hans Raj Memorial College in Moga DPI’s clean chit to... Dashmesh College in Muktsar, Guru Gobind Singh College in Gidderbaha, GGSK College in Kamalpur (Ludhiana) and Bhutta College and Pratap College also in Ludhiana
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Plans afoot for textile cluster in Malwa
Chandigarh, May 22 The Malwa region produces its own cotton and is close to Ganganagar in Rajasthan, a major cotton producer. Already, the government has attracted a major project, SCL Enterprise, which proposes to establish a composite textile plant at a cost of Rs 1,450 crore at Lambi. Sportsking intends to establish a similar plant at Bathinda at a cost of Rs 500 crore. Investors feel the state should do more to attract big investment in the textile industry. Shiv Goyal of Avani Textiles said Gujarat remained to be a brighter prospect because it produced the best cotton in the country. Besides, land in Gujarat was available at low rates and the state had numerous ports. He said exporters in Punjab sending their produce to Mumbai had to pay an additional cost of Rs 5 per kg vis a vis the textile units in Gujarat. Another impediment was inadequate power. Industrial adviser to the CM Kamal Oswal, who attended today’s meeting, said the government would appeal to the power regulating authority to reduce transmission and other charges imposed on industrialists opting for “open access” of power. Sukhbir directed Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh to chalk out an online, transparent and investor-friendly project sanction process by June 15.
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BJP releases list of 70 candidates
Chandigarh, May 22 The party has released the list of about 70 candidates. The three MCs for which lists have been finalised are Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala. State BJP president Ashwani Sharma said merit and winnability of candidates was the main criteria for the selection. "Every BJP worker has the same chance of being nominated as the party does not believe in favouritism. To ensure that right candidates get the ticket, the first round of interview was held in the four cities yesterday and thereafter party leaders discussed various pros and cons before finalising the list", he said. The names for the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation were not taken up today. These will be finalised tomorrow. Besides Sharma, today's meeting was attended by Navjot Sidhu, Bhagat Chuni lal, Madan Mohan Mittal, BD Tandon, Ajay Jambwal, Kamal Sharma, Manjit Singh Rai, Manoranjan Kalia and Prof Rajinder Bhandari. The party leaders discussed feedback about individual candidates, their public image and chances of victory against likely Congress candidates. While the party has finalised around 25 to 35 candidates for the three MCs, it has withheld a few names as it wants to know the Congress candidates for the possibility of last-minute adjustments to ensure better results. The civic elections are important for the BJP which has a predominantly urban vote bank. In tomorrow's meeting, the party will also finalise the list of candidates for elections to 26 nagar panchayats, three municipal committees and 24 wards.
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ICP sees decline in cement, dry fruit import
Amritsar, May 22 Talking to The Tribune, leading cement importer Randeep Singh said imports had become expensive and were no more competitive. "The landing cost of a 50-kg bag of cement imported from Pakistan comes at around Rs 260, including duties and taxes, while the same bag is selling at Rs 240 in the local market". He said the stock of cement arriving at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) in Attari pertained to earlier orders. "Now, we have completely stopped placing fresh orders as it will only add to our mounting losses," he added. Jaspal Singh, a clearing agent at the ICP, said with the value of rupee touching new lows, import of dry fruits and dry dates from Pakistan had been reduced to half. About other commodities, he said things would become clear in the next four-five days as right now the orders placed earlier were being executed. Indo-Foreign Chamber of Commerce president BK Bajaj, who is also a dry fruit importer, said: "The rupee has depreciated tremendously and it will definitely impact the bilateral trade between India and Pakistan". He admitted that there was a procedure to make advance bookings for dollar while carrying out trade, but said it was difficult to anticipate the future value of rupee. He said rupee depreciation had made imports costlier. "If the customer accepts an increase in the price of imported goods, imports will continue, but if there is a resistance, we will have to cut down on imports," he added. Prominent gypsum importer Iqbal Singh Bedi said he had already reduced the import of gypsum from Pakistan to half. "We survive on thin margins in this highly competitive market and any depreciation in rupee adversely affects our profits". CII National Council on Public Policy member Gunbir Singh said even booking of dollar was a short-term measure for traders to edge the higher rates. Sources at the ICP said there had been some drop in the import of cement, but the flow of other commodities continued as normal. However, these might be the orders placed earlier, they added.
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Teachers without salary for months
Faridkot, May 22 With the regularisation of their services, there was a quantum jump in the salaries of these teachers up from Rs 10,000 to Rs 33,000. The file for the release of salaries has been shuffling between the various departments. The Finance Department has been saying that it has no approval to release funds, said Gurvinder Singh, state president of the Computer Teachers' Union. Jagtar Singh Jagga, deputy manager, Punjab Information and Communication Technology Education Society (PICTES), said there were some hurdles in the clearance of salary budget from the Finance Department. The salaries would be released soon, he added. However, sources revealed that before regularisation of their services, the Central Government was funding the IT project under which the teachers were hired. The Punjab government had planned to meet the increased financial burden by charging computer fee from the students, but it could effectively do so because of free education for girl students and the RTE Act.
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Bodies of four youths drowned in Beas untraced
Kahnuwan, (Gurdaspur), May 22 Robert Masih, Emanuel Masih, Ajay Masih and Lovepreet, all aged between 18 and 22, were swept away by strong water currents while taking a bath in the river. The fifth boy, Baldev Raj, had a miraculous escape when some labourers working nearby rescued him. Deputy Commissioner Abhinav Trikha, who supervised the rescue operation till late last night, said he had ordered the XEN, Upper Bari Doab Canal (UBDC), to decrease the flow of water. Professional divers from Ropar have also been called to locate the bodies. After the initial search conducted by the local police yesterday, the district administration called in divers from the BSF who, at first, were reluctant to give a helping hand as the water was too cold, later joined the rescue operation, but failed to locate the bodies.
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Chandigarh May 22 The minister said the the government had decided to keep a close watch on the jail staff too. To curb the growing menace of drug addiction among prisoners, the government had decided to set up well-equipped drug de-addiction centers in all central jails. he said. Modalities had been worked out to engage prisoners in sustainable and economically viable projects within the jail premises to help them join the mainstream after their release, the minister added.
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Rajpura boy gets 7th rank in PMET
Patiala, May 22 Four students, Sarvinder Singh from Scholars Public School, Rajpura, Richa from Patel School, Rajpura, Sanjamjot Singh and Sukhmani Boparai from Sehgal Physics Centre, shared the 16th position. Sarvinder Singh from Scholars Public School, who stood 16th, has topped the exam in reserved category. Others who performed well from Sehgal Physics Centre are Agam (24), Sheesham (43), Harshit (64), Ankur (199), Rooprishma (279), Nikita Beri (473), Gitanshu (509), Ishrat (680), Eetashu (761), Jessica (761), Gurnoor (812), Rishmeet (850) and Harman (931). Meanwhile, from Scholars Public School, Hiteshi Goyal got 105th rank, Sakhsi Singla (297), Jyotsana (450), Purvish (561), Harleen Kaur (761), Prerna (695) and Manjinder (931). From Buddha Dal Public School, Yadwinder got 105th rank, Roopkrishma (279), Jyoti (375), Partibha (397), Ranbir (397), Dilpreet (507), Jasmine (509), Jasleen (800), Bhupinder (850), Kekti (950) and Ramanpreet (1,400). From Blossoms Senior Secondary School, Nikita Beri got 473rd rank, Ashu Garg (650), Gurnoor K. Dhaliwal (812), Rishmeet Kaur (850), Roop Kiran Chahal (889) and Puneet Kaur (980).
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Govt-aided school teachers plan mass leave on May 26
Fatehgarh Sahib, May 22 Ravinder Kumar Joshi, Press Secretary, Government-Aided School Teachers’ Association, said, “At least 4,846 posts, which are lying vacant in schools since 2006, allowances as per the 5th Pay Commission, pension scheme, non-parity of the HRA and medical are the major demands, which have been accepted but not implemented.” — OC
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High Court rules against mid-session fee refund
Chandigarh, May 22 Dismissing a writ petition filed by an erstwhile student of Lovely Professional University, Justice Rajiv Narain Raina of the High Court ruled the varsity is bound by letters, guidelines and policy circulars issued by the University Grants Commission in this regard. Appearing on behalf of Lovely Professional University, counsel RS Bajaj pointed out that as per the University Grants Commission public notice dated April 23, 2007, the case for refund would be justified, if the seat consumed and then vacated was filled by another candidate by the cutoff date. The development is significant as refund of fee by students leaving courses midway has been a matter of continual litigation. In her petition, Priyanka Talwar had alleged that she had sought admission in MBA (IT) in Lovely Professional University. After pursuing her course for a few days, she left the university and joined some other varsity. After a lapse of about one year, she sought refund of her tuition fee as well as hostel fee. But, her request was not been acceded to. Bajaj asserted, in the present case, the seat, which had fallen vacant on account of the petitioner leaving the course, remained unfilled throughout the academic session. He further pointed out that the university does not receive aid from any source and its survival depends primarily on the fees collected from the students. After hearing the rival contentions, Justice Raina asserted: “In this view of the matter, it is not possible for this court to give any direction as prayed for, either in law or on facts or on moral grounds, pious responsibility or sacrosanct duty”. Before parting with the order, Justice Raina asserted: “This petition, being without merit is dismissed with no order as to cost.”
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Amritsar, May 22
