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State powerless to battle summer
Water poisoning spells doom for Chamkaur Sahib
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Not happy with SAD, but BJP won’t rock govt
BJP leader is CM’s political advisor
Multi-skill centres with German support planned
Budget fails to push crop diversification programme
Give wheat lying in open to poor: BJP
Patiala health dept gears up
for monsoon
Now, weather forecast every three hours
Remove pay disparity among coaches: HC
GPF scam Eight cops arrested
Four FCI officials booked
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State powerless to battle summer
Patiala, June 23 Inquiries made by The Tribune has brought to light that during power paucity in the past, the government restricted the use of air conditioners in its offices, besides resorting to other measures, to ensure better power supply. Some former PSPCL officials said: “It is surprising that except making excuses for the prevailing power crisis, the PSPCL authorities have done nothing to handle the situation. They should ask the government to restrict the use of ACs in its offices across the state for a given period”. Patiala Rural MLA Brahm Mohindra said: “Power being consumed by ACs in government offices is immense. Office timings should be changed to 7.30 am to 1.30 pm. This would help ease out the situation to some extent.” Even a senior PSPCL official admitted to ill-preparedness of the corporation in dealing with summer crisis. He said: “Restriction on power transfer capacity by Northern Regional Load Despatch Centre (NRLDC), which is 5,400 MW, is a known fact. The corporation cannot blame it for the present situation”. Overloading of the distribution system makes it amply clear that necessary steps were not taken by the corporation to ensure smooth supply during peak summer months. In a statement, KD Chaudhri, CMD, PSPCL, said the corporation had made adequate arrangements on the basis of anticipated power demand in summer and on account of the paddy season, but the hot spell had upset estimates. “There is an unprecedented increase in the demand for power as compared to previous years due to the dry weather conditions prevailing in the region. The PSPCL is prepared to supply up to 2,000 lakh units (LU) per day whereas the present demand is 2,150 LU and is likely to go up further,” he said. “As soon as the monsoon arrives, the load is likely to reduce and the PSPCL will be able to provide uninterrupted supply,” he said. No respite in sight
Besides scheduled power cuts, two-three hour cuts are being imposed in residential areas across the state Patiala and Sangrur residents complained of no power all of Friday night Power paucity has also hit water supply. Tubewells are not operational in Patiala, Ludhiana and Sangrur besides several other parts of the state
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Next shock: Tariff hike
Chandigarh, June 23 On the basis of new tariff rates, sources said the power subsidy bill was likely to be in the range of Rs 5,785 crore this fiscal. The state government has already announced to continue free power. It has already made a provision of Rs 4,632 crore in its Budget for the current fiscal year in this regard. After the government’s response, the commission will announce new tariff rates for domestic, industrial, farm and other sectors. The sources said the government might delay its response till the concluding of the ongoing Budget session or till Dasuya byelection, which is scheduled for July 11. The sources said operational loss of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) had come down to Rs 250 crore from Rs 1,580 crore during the last fiscal. “It is a big turnaround in the PSPCL,” said a senior official. The corporation’s line losses had also gone down to 17.5 per cent, within a limit fixed by the commission. Its per unit loss has come down to 0.07 paise. The PSPCL sold power worth Rs 11,326 crore during 2011-12 and got Rs 4,188 crore as tariff compensation from the government for providing free power. Its power purchase bill was also less by Rs 276 crore in the last fiscal.
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Water poisoning spells doom for Chamkaur Sahib
Chamkaur Sahib, June 23 Early this month, Roorkee Heeran, a small village near here, hawked attention of both civil administration and the health authorities after five-year-old Harshpreet Kaur and her 75-year-old grandfather, Joginder Singh, lost their lives to poisonous water sourced by the Public Health Department (PHD). Besides, 27 other villagers who also complained of nausea, vomiting, loose motions and dehydration had varying spells of hospitalisation. They all had taken water from their only source of potable water, a tap of the PHD in the village dharamshala. While Harshpreet Kaur died on her way to hospital on the night of June 8, her grandfather died before reaching PGI in Chandigarh the next day. Others had to spend five to seven days in Chamkaur Sahib Primary Health Centre as indoor patients because their poisoning was of different level. This was the first major outbreak in recent times in Punjab where consumers after taking water from "official safe source" had a massive e.coli (bacteria) poisoning. Preliminary enquiry report blamed poisonous water for the two deaths and illness to 27 others. All four samples from taps and hand pumps in the village failed. Seven new samples have been taken and sent for analysis. The controversial tap has been replaced and source of contamination, a leakage, has been plugged. Studies conducted in the recent past, including one by the PGI, have found that while cancer cases in Talwandi Sabo in Bathinda are 103 per lakh of population, thse are 71 per lakh in Chamkaur Sahib. Cancer of female reproductive system i.e. breast, uterus/cervix and ovary were more common in Chamkaur Sahib. The causes were again sourced to poor quality of underground water as the levels of heavy metals such as As, CD, Cr, Se, Hg were generally higher and pesticides such as heptachlor, ethion and chlorpyrifos were also higher in samples of drinking water, vegetables in Talwandi Sabo as compared to Chamkaur Sahib. The problem, identified and sourced, has been allowed to grow as a little has been done to check the quality of water in the area. This outbreak was waiting to happen. "Gloom descended on our village on the evening of June 8 when my five-year-old daughter started complaining of dizziness, vomiting and loose motions," says Harbhajan Kaur, who lives just opposite Dharamshala." Then it was Hershpreet Kaur and her grandfather who also started complaining of nausea, vomiting and loose motions." "We did not know what stuck the village as all six to seven houses getting potable water supply from the public health tap in dharamshala had four to five people seriously unwell. We could not make out the reason. Was it chabeel of sweetened water or boiled channe (gram) given as prasad that caused severe attacks of gastroenteritis," says Raunqi, 60, Joginder's younger brother. "We even did not know who cremated my brother and his granddaughter as we were in hospital," rues Raunqi, a labourer. Most of the families hit by the outbreak are poor and do labour for their sustenance. No compensation has been given to either those who lost their lives or those who remained hospitalised. Tragedy would have been more severe but for timely intervention and treatment provided by the 30-bed primary health centre of Chamkaur Sahib. "We started getting patients on the night of June 8," says Dr Sudha, Medical Officer. Though a gynaecologist, she says besides mobilising all resources, the entire staff was put on emergency round-the-clock duty. Besides intravenous fluid, all patients were given immediate attention. "Some serious cases, including those of Joginder Singh, were referred to the PGI. Unfortunately, attendants of Joginder took him home after first-aid and brought him back the next morning when his condition had deteriorated further. He died before reaching the PGI," says Dr Sudha. Subdivisional Magistrate Puneet Goel says the moment he learnt about the outbreak, the entire machinery was put in motion. Ambulance vans ferried the sick to the health centre. All expenses on treatment of patients were borne by the administration. An enquiry was ordered to find out the case of water contamination. Preliminary report suggested a worn out and rusted leaking pipe as a possible source of contamination. The enquiry report submitted by the Senior Medical Officer has been forwarded to the government, says Puneet Goel. Roorkee Heeran has a total population of 1525. There are 225 households. Out of these, 96 get supply of potable water from the PHD taps. Slightly better off people has submersibles dug to different depths, varying between 450 ft and 900 ft. Water samples of most of the submersibles have also failed to clear the tests, says Paramjit Singh, a Junior Engineer. He also maintains that the tap in the dharamshala was officially closed long time ago. Ground zero Roorkee Heeran is a small village, 6 km from Chamkaur Sahib. Its total population is 1,565 and there are 235 households There are 96 water connections provided by the Public Health Department. There are several hand pumps that have been painted red and people have been warned not to use these The village is in revenue arrears of more than Rs 1 lakh for non-payment of water bills The outbreak While five-year-old Harshpreet Kaur and her grandfather Joginder Singh died due to water poisoning, 27 others remained hospitalised early this month. This was the first major outbreak in the recent past where people after taking water from an "official safe source" had a massive e.coli (bacteria) poisoning. Preliminary enquiry report blamed poisonous water for the two deaths and illness to 27 others. All four samples from taps and hand pumps in the village failed Official neglect The causes are sourced to poor quality of underground water as the levels of heavy metals are generally higher and pesticide content is also high in samples of drinking water and vegetables The problem, identified and sourced, has been allowed to grow as a little has been done to check the quality of water in the area
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Not happy with SAD, but BJP won’t rock govt
Chandigarh, June 23 Party vice-president and state incharge Shanta Kumar said here today that coalition partners could have a different viewpoint on key issues and the partner had to simply live with that. Shanta Kumar let SAD off the hook on the issue of raising a memorial to commemorate Operation Bluestar. He said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had, in a meeting yesterday, explained to him that a simple gurdwara would come up in the Darbar Sahib Complex to commemorate the Army action. “Badal explained to me that the memorial would commemorate all those killed in the Army operation, including many innocent persons, and not just militants,” Shanta said. The BJP leader, however, made it clear that the party was against any honour to Balwant Singh Rajoana, as planned by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. Shanta maintained silence when asked whether SAD was compromising on terrorism and going against the BJP maxim of zero tolerance on this front. He also refused to comment when asked why the BJP was only raising objections, but doing nothing to change the government’s views on key issues. The BJP is not in a position to have its say in governance. Unlike the last coalition in the state, the existence of the present one is not dependent on BJP support. The Akalis, who have 56 MLAs, have assured support from two others — the Bains brothers of Ludhiana — and need only one more Independent MLA to reach the majority figure in the 117-member Assembly. The BJP leader indicated that a party nominee was likely to be Mayor of the Amritsar Municipal Corporation. The SAD had recently staked its claim for Mayorship of the Amritsar Corporation, a post that has been traditionally with the BJP. “It’s a minor matter,” Shanta said, adding that Badal had assured him that it would be amicably resolved between the partners. Chairman of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Commerce, Shanta Kumar, also welcomed the Competition Commission of India's order levying penalty of Rs 6,300 crore on 11 cement companies, charging them for price cartelisation. Okay with memorial — Shanta Kumar, BJP leader
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Jumbo trouble for Sidhu, Punj
Amritsar, June 23 The International Organisation for Animal Protection (OIPA), an NGO affiliated with the United Nations, has lodged a complaint against Sidhu and Punj for violating Section 268 IPC, Wild Life Protection Act, 1972, and sections 3, 11 and 38 of the Prevention of the Cruelty to Animals Act, 1972. In a communiqué, OIPA India representative Naresh Kadyan, also founder-chairman of People for Animals’ Haryana unit, said: “The elephant is a national heritage animal of India protected under Schedule I of the Wild Life Protection Act. It should not be used for publicity or kept in captivity for personal gain and profit.” The OIPA demanded that Punj and Sidhu be booked for violating the Wild Life Protection Act and wanted that the elephant be rescued from the owner after cancelling his ownership. “The elephant was abused, handled with an iron ‘ankush’ and used as a performing animal without being registered with the Animal Welfare Board of India, which is mandatory,” Kadyan said. OIPA has also approached People for Animals chairperson Maneka Gandhi and urged her to initiate legal action against the duo. “Sidhu also violated the MP’s oath on protecting the environment and wildlife. We urge the Election Commission to cancel his Lok Sabha membership,” he said.
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BJP leader is CM’s political advisor
Chandigarh, June 23 Sharma is an RSS activist and he was a student leader of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). He became the state secretary of the Punjab ABVP and then national secretary of the ABVP. He has also been media advisor to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister during 2006-2007. The Punjab Government has also issued positing and transfer orders of 15 IAS and one PCS officers in the state. After his return from training KS Pannu has been posted Special Secretary-cum-Director General, Education against a vacant post. HS Pabla has been posted as DC, Tarn Taran, while DC, Tarn Taran, Satwant Singh Johal has been shifted to Chandigarh. SR Ladhar has been posted as Commissioner, Jalandhar, he would be succeeded at Patiala by Ajit Singh. NS Kang, FCR, has been given additional charge of NRI Affairs in place of Rakesh Singh, BS Sudan has been posted as Secretary, Home Affairs and Justice, Anurag Verma is the new Secretary, Revenue, with additional charge of Survey Commissioner of WAKFs. K Siva Prasad is the new Resident Commissioner, Punjab Bhawan, New Delhi, RK Ganta has been posted as Secretary, Higher Education and Languages, with additional charge of Commissioner, NRI Affairs. Vikas Pratap is the new Secretary, Governance Reforms, JM Balamurugan is Secretary, Planning, Raj Kamal Chaudhuri is Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Satwant Singh Johal, Director-cum-Special Secretary, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, VK Meena, Special Secretary, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Dairy Development, HS Pabla, Deputy Commissioner, Tarn Taran, Harkesh Singh Sidhu, Additional Director, MGSIPA, Chandigarh, and Ritu Aggarwal, PCS, Special Secretary, Irrigation.
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Multi-skill centres with German support planned
Amritsar, June 23 These MSDCs would be established on the basis of 50:50 funding by the state and the Central governments at Amritsar, Ludhiana, Bathinda and Hoshiarpur. In a meeting, which was presided over by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, it was discussed that these MSDCs would work on the “hub and spoke” model. The main centres would act as hubs and about eight to 10 satellite training centres would act under each hub. The project would cost about Rs 65 crore and each hub would require nearly 10 acres of land. Four years after the establishment, the MSDCs would be in a position to churn out nearly a lakh skilled students every year. The German agency has already signed an MoU with the Karnataka Government and have jointly established MSDCs at Banguluru and Gulbarga. Besides, the overseas agency is upgrading 75 ITIs in Karnataka under a similar scheme. Confirming the development, Industry and Technical Education Minister Anil Joshi said the MSDC project was in a nascent stage. He said about four lakh students between Classes VIII and XII dropout of schools every year in the state and the objective was to impart them technical skills as per the industry’s demand so that they do not have to suffer unemployment pangs. He said soon meetings with industrialists would be held to assess their needs and prepare the curriculum accordingly. Semi-literate and school dropouts would be trained to enable them to get jobs in the local industry. Besides, the state government is also contemplating to upgrade 50 ITIs in the state. Intelligentsia and industrialists have been clamouring for overhauling the obsolete curriculum of the ITIs. Technical Education and Industrial Training Principal Secretary SS Channy said the project for upgradation of the ITIs was in infancy stage and at present, a study was being carried out. He said in no way it would disturb the already running courses and the Institute Management Committees running the ITIs would continue to do the same. He said the overseas agency with adequate experience in imparting sophisticated technical skills in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat would train the students here. The project The centres will be established at Amritsar, Ludhiana, Bathinda and Hoshiarpur The main centres will act as hubs and about eight to 10 satellite training centres will function under each hub The project will cost about Rs 65 crore and each hub will require nearly 10 acres of land The centre will impart training to school dropouts and semi-literate people as per industry's demand so that they do not have to suffer unemployment pangs itis to be upgradedThe government is also planning to upgrade 50 ITIs in the state. Intelligentsia and industrialists have been clamouring for overhauling the obsolete curriculum of the ITIs for a long time. Technical Education and Industrial Training Principal Secretary SS Channy said the project for upgradation of the ITIs was in infancy stage and at present, a study was being carried out
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Budget fails to push crop diversification programme
Chandigarh, June 23 There is a sense of despondency that the SAD-BJP government has not matched up to provide the much-needed impetus to ensure growth in the agriculture economy. During the 11th Plan from 2007 to 2012, the state achieved a growth rate of 1.6 per cent against its own target of 2.3 per cent and national growth rate of 3.43 per cent. The diversification proposal was first moved in 1986. Since then there have been two concrete plans, both by eminent economist Dr SS Johl, but the government has failed to reduce area under paddy cultivation, which is responsible for the receding water table in the state. This is because farmers get assured income from the wheat-paddy cycle. Nehru Chair Professor at the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID) Ranjit Singh Ghuman says the state needs to come up with a viable alternative crop and if that is not possible, as it seems likely, it must give subsidy to cover up for the loss suffered in case farmers are asked to give up paddy cultivation. Ghuman says though everybody is still talking about diversification, the latter has become irrelevant now. “What we need is diversification of the total rural economy”, he said, adding that in the past 25 years, rural education and health had completely collapsed and the rural youth are not employable. He advocates integration of the rural economy with industry as well as development of the rural non-farm sector with policy intervention. CRRID Director-General Suchha Singh Gill says the Budget has failed to come out with a special package for small farmers. He says net house cultivation of vegetables has been successfully demonstrated by the State Farmers Commission and that the government must set aside a large outlay to make it popular. Similarly, he said the milk economy could be further strengthened by giving subsidy to small farmers to buy milch animals and also provide them free insurance and assured veterinarian support. Agriculture issues might not have been fully addressed, but the farmers themselves are happy at the manner in which the dairy sector is developing. Rajinder Singh of Kauli village in Patiala said steps were already being taken to improve animal livestock and that the Budget had more funds for this purpose. Another silver lining includes an increase in funding to the PAU, Ludhiana, by Rs 65 crore. However, kisan leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said the government should have specified that this money would be spent on research only. “I suspect it will be used to pay salary arrears”, he added.
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Give wheat lying in open to poor: BJP
Chandigarh, June 23 He said last year, Rs 58,000 crore worth of wheat lying in the open was lost and this year, it was estimated that Rs 85,000 crore worth of wheat would be lost due to poor storage. He suggested that the government should give away this wheat to the BPL families through PDS. This would help bring down inflation and save national food reservoirs from being lost to pests, he said. Nadda said during the NDA rule, wheat and rice were given to the poor under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) for Re 1 and Re 2 per kg, respectively. "If something like that is done now, it will help curb inflation and will also take care of the storage problem". Accusing the UPA of being hand in glove with oil companies, Nadda asked the fuel prices had been hiked in India when the price of crude in the international market was coming down. Further, he questioned the timing of the hike which was done on May 23, a day after the Parliament session ended. This only showed that the government and oil companies were planning the move together, he added. The government has wheat stocks to the tune of 82.3 million tones (MT), against the storage capacity of 64 million tonnes. Of the 50 Mt of wheat, a stock 27 MT has been kept in the open under the covered and plinth (CAP) method, of which 6.6 MT is stored in an "unscientific way. Mittal hails Badal's stand on memorial Ludhiana: Appreciating Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's stand on the operation Blue star Memorial to be built in Golden Temple Complex, the Health and Family Welfare Minister, Punjab Madan Mohan Mittal said: "His stand is appreciable as he made it clear in the assembly yesterday while talking about Operatipon Bluestar memorial that last drop of his blood will be to maintain law and order in the state. This reflects his stand for the community of Punjab". He said: "Earlier some leaders of the Congress were trying to get political mileage on the issue. But yesterday's clarification of the Chief Minister regarding Operation Bluestar memorial has left them "without any issue". — Anupam Bhagria
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Patiala health dept gears up
for monsoon
Patiala, June 23 Last year, three persons had died of plasmodium falciparum (most severe form of malaria). Moreover, more than 60 cases of plasmodium vivax (simple malaria) and 80 cases of dengue were registered in government hospitals of the district and a patient had died of dengue. “Therefore, the department has already sent a list of medicines and other related kits to the head office in Chandigarh,” said an official. Patiala Civil Surgeon Dr Virinder Singh Mohi said, “They are gearing up to deal with any adverse situation in the coming season and all the medical officers and health workers have been assigned proper task so that there is no delay in tracing epidemic and timely treatment.”
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Now, weather forecast every three hours
Ludhiana, June 23 Director, Meteorological Centre, Chandigarh, Surinder Paul said the bulletins telecast by the IMD for Punjab were updated every three hours by using state-of-the-art technology such as Doppler weather radar, satellite, numerical weather products (global and regional scale) and all other modern observing systems and tools. Paul further said since northern region was prone to high impact weather phenomena like thunderstorms, hailstorms, wind squalls, dust storms, heavy rainfall and sometimes tornadoes also leading to widespread damage to public and private property. Though these phenomena were short-lived and gave little time for planner and policy-makers to take action, however with advances in technology, it had become feasible to predict these phenomena. These bulletins are available at the IMD’s main website www.imd.gov.in and also at the regional website www.amssdelhi.gov.in. The bulletins are also available on the website of Meteorological Centre, Chandigarh, at
www.chdmausam.org.
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Remove pay disparity among coaches: HC
Chandigarh, June 23 The significant ruling by Justice K. Kannan came on a petition filed in 1992 by football coach Harbhajan Singh and other petitioners. In their petition filed through counsel Vivek Sharma, the petitioners had sought directions for placing them and the DPEs (Colleges) in the same scale. Parity in scales with old coaches was also sought. Describing themselves as “new coaches”, the petitioners had contended that another category of “old coaches” existed in the state. Recruited in Punjab’s “sports wing educational department” since 1961, the “old coaches” had been retained by the government colleges. The petitioners had contended that the pay scales till 1978 scales had been at par, sometimes even more than the scales of the lecturers and the DPEs. But they were placed in scales lower than both lecturers and DPEs after 1978. Otherwise also, there was a difference in their and “old coaches” pay scales. The State of Punjab and other respondents, on the other hand, disputed the petitioners' claim for parity on the ground that the old coaches were better qualified, having participated in national and international games. They had even been re-designated as lecturers in physical education-cum-coaches. Justice Kannan asserted: “A teacher teaches or coaches just the same way as coach coaches or teaches. To keep two different categories as new coaches and old coaches is unfortunate.” “Punjab occupies the pride of place in national sports, both at the inter-state level and at the national level. Milkha Singh and Jeev Singh of Punjab are still idols for the old and the new generations alike.” “The coaches, who are responsible for catapulting raw talents as front runners cannot see themselves marginalised both in standing and rank against lecturers…. The writ petition ought to be allowed and I direct that the respondents place the petitioners in the pay scale of Rs 2,200-4,000 at par with DPEs, old coaches and lecturers in government colleges, who have all secured parity”.
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GPF scam Eight cops arrested
Nawanshahr, June 23 These are sub-inspector Garib Das (accountant), head constables Lal Chand (cashier), Charanjit Ram, Tirath Singh, Gurdip Singh, Satwinder Kumar, Kamal Kumar and Bahadur Singh. A case against these police officials deputed at the accounts branch was registered on May 7 this year. In his report, DSP (D) Bakhshish Singh, who conducted the probe into the scam, has stated that these employees in connivance with an employee of the district treasury, Narinder Babbar, prepared fake documents to withdraw Rs 1,40,74,350 from the treasury and deposited it in the account of various persons known to them between 2006 and 2008. "As many as 16 persons, including eight policemen, have already been booked in the case. The police officials arrested in the case were presented in a local court here today which sent them to police remand for two days," said Vinod Kumar, SHO City. He said involvement of more police employees in the scam could not be ruled out.
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Four FCI officials booked
Malout, June 23 The police said a case under Sections 409 and 420 of the IPC has been registered against the accused and investigations were on. Those named in the FIR included FCI’s supervisory officer Sunder Lal and three assistant grade officials, namely Mohan Lal Narang, Puran Chand and Balwinder Singh Bath. Giving details over the phone, SP Singh, district manager of the FCI, said, “In the quarterly inspection of wheat stock, the senior officials, who had come from Chandigarh, found 6,713 wheat bags missing from the buffer godown in Malout and a complaint was lodged at the City Malout police station following which the case was registered.” He disclosed that Balwinder Singh had also been suspended earlier for siphoning off paddy bags from the godown. He said supervisory officer Sunder Lal had retired on May 31 this year but he has been charged for not informing the higher ups about the shortage of wheat bags and his “involvement” in the fraud.
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days without power, consumers feel that the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) and the state government have failed miserably to work out a practical solution to the power crisis.
For thousands of devotees who descend on this holy city for pilgrimage, every drop of water taken here is cherished as amrit (nectar), but the same may not be true for people living in villages surrounding this historic town.
The Punjab Government in collaboration with GIZ International Services, a German government agency, is contemplating to set up four Multi-Skill Development Centres
(MSDC) in the state.
The Punjab Budget has failed to give a practical shape to the more than two decades-old plan to diversify to other crops from the traditional wheat-paddy cycle. It has also failed to earmark special funds to strengthen the rural economy. No special package or subsidies for small farmers have been announced so that they could take up dairy farming or net house cultivation of vegetables.
The government usually restricts the use of ACs in its offices in peak summer months. No such decision has been taken so far
Studies have found that while cancer cases in Talwandi Sabo in Bathinda are 103 per lakh of population, these are 71 per lakh in Chamkaur Sahib 
Chief Minister Badal explained to me that the memorial would commemorate all those killed in the Army operation, including many innocent persons, and not just militants