The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Tablets fine, what about basic infrastructure? Educational institutions in Punjab face government apathy Anirudh Gupta Ferozepur, July 2 While the government plans to spend hundreds of crores to provide tablets to students, the vital educational institutions which provide training to the staff and the students continue to function from dilapidated structures juxtaposed with an acute shortage of manpower and resources. A visit to three such institutes in this border district revealed that in utter contrast to the government's claims, the infrastructure of the key educational institution is decaying in the absence of any funds for its upkeep. Situated in an old ramshackle building, the Government In-service Training Centre (GITC), which imparts training to thousands of school teachers, is crying for attention. Out of the five rooms available here, the roof of two rooms has already crumbled whereas the condition of the other two rooms is equally poor and can cave in anytime. Even the roof of the corridor outside the principal's office seems to be on its last leg. Lecturers here keep their fingers crossed all day praying for their safety as they fear the roof may collapse anytime. The matter has been brought to the notice of the authorities concerned many times but no efforts have been made to relocate this centre or improve the conditions here. Out of the 21 sanctioned vacancies, the post of the principal, senior lecturer, clerk, machine man and five sub staff, are lying vacant here. Veer Bala, who is officiating as the principal, said she has already made several requests to the senior officials to provide suitable space, but in vain. In the absence of adequate funds, the staff finds it difficult even to manage the electricity bills and other recurring expenses. The furniture is decaying for want of repair. There is no provision for water cooler or generator. The management of the school on the premises of which the GITC is functioning, has already served a notice to the department to vacate the building. At the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET), all posts of senior lecturers besides that of the principal is lying vacant. The building is in a deplorable state. "We do not have even a single working computer," said Chander Kanta, who is officiating as the principal. She adds that now, they have been told to send the salary bills online but without any computer, they feel helpless. "Our salaries have not been paid since February," stated another staff member. The deserted hostel here on which lakhs have been spent speak volumes of the government's apathy. The state of affairs in the Government Polytechnic College is no different. Damaged structure, shortage of staff and equipment has thrown the working of this institute out of gear.
	Railways launches drive against illegal vendors Tribune News Service Patiala, July 2 After receiving complaints against illegal vendors posing a threat to commuters boarding trains in Punjab, the Government Railway Police (GRP) has initiated a special drive against unauthorised vendors. In his special orders, ADGP (Railways) RP Meena has asked the GRP officials to ensure that railway platforms in their respective areas of operation are free of illegal vendors. Meena said the action followed after his office received many complaints of illegal vendors operating on railway stations selling adulterated beverages and expired food items at exorbitant rates at platforms as well as inside trains. “This further caused inconvenience to passengers during their journey and information gathered by me revealed involvement of such vendors in drugging of passengers, luggage lifting and thefts”, said the ADGP. Keeping in view the safety of the passengers and their belongings, the GRP, Punjab, has launched a special campaign to round up such vendors and handed them over to the Railways and RPF authorities for taking legal action under the Railway Act. The GRP has caught six vendors in Amritsar, 22 in Jalandhar, 14 in Pathankot, 24 in Ludhiana, 21 in Sirhind, 10 in Patiala, 12 in Sangrur, 14 in Bathinda, 14 in Ferozepur, nine in Faridkot and 11 in Abohar. The ADGP further said more such drives would be launched and strict action would be initiated against such vendors.
	Bathinda police dogged by canine force shortage Gurdeep Singh Mann/TNS Bathinda, July 2 The ever increasing cases of theft and snatching in the city have become a cause of worry for city residents. Despite the increase in police patrolling and the number of nakas that have been set-up at various intersections across the city, there seems to be no letup in the incidents of theft and snatchings. City residents also complain that the rate of recovery of the stolen goods is also quite low as compared to the number of thefts. While talking to TNS, many residents said the police failed to crack cases of burglaries and auto thefts. Dr Pawan Kumar of Maur Mandi, who had lodged a complaint of a bicycle being stolen from outside his hospital, said a drug addict has been involved in stealing bicycles from outside his hospital for the past few months. Despite informing the police about the activities of the addict, no action had been initiated against him. “Every time the area residents inform the police about thefts, the police says that the thief was a drug addict and he might die if arrested,” the doctor said. He added that residents got upset over the thefts and apprehended him with a stolen bicycle yesterday. He was handed over to the police who lodged an FIR against him and sent him to jail under public pressure. The doctor added that the police failed to bring either a dog squad or finger print experts or use any other modern methods to crack the theft cases. Maur SHO Jaswinderpal said he had never been informed about the bicycle thefts in his area. “Yesterday too we came to know about a thief being manhandled by the public and an ASI was sent to enquire into the incident. We brought the thief to the police station and a case was registered against him,” the SHO said. He added that theft incidents have reduced to a great extent after intensifying police patrolling. A police officer, pleading anonymity, said presently Bathinda police had only two dogs, Julie and Abdul, whose services were being availed during VIP duties. “Though we are short of expert dogs, these two are rarely pressed into service to crack theft cases,” said the police officer. Most of the time our force depends on secret information and people have to give tip offs about thieves. He said a dog squad and a fingerprint expert were imperative in nabbing criminals. The police said modern forensic laboratories with DNA testing facility and an automated system to check fingerprints to ensure fast investigation were still a distant dream for the police. The present investigation methods are quite costly and time consuming and most of the burden of the inquiry lies on the victim himself. An inquiry officer in such cases remains busy with the courts, paper work, VIP duties and other clerical jobs and hardly finds time to visit the scene of crime or develop sources to nab the culprits.
	Over-the-counter abortion pills: Sale goes on unabated Megha Mann/TNS Bathinda, July 2 Caring two hoots for the law and health of women, drugs aiding in abortion are easily available over the counter in the markets across the city. Shockingly, one may buy these medicines without furnishing a recognised doctor’s prescription! A schedule H drug of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules 1945, which cannot be sold without prescription, abortion drugs are being openly sold as over-the-counter (OTC) medicines even as the Health Department prefers to look the other way. Even chemists do not ask for any prescription and sell the drug to minors too. The medicine is easily available for everyone, from a village’s midwife to a registered medical practitioner (RMP) to anyone who has little knowledge of the drug and its uses. Women opt for such unsafe methods to abort unwanted pregnancies, at times without even taking their family members into confidence. “We frequently get cases of women bleeding excessively. This happens when the medicines successfully abort the unborn, but the remnants of the baby are left intact in the uterus leading to profuse bleeding,” said Dr Rupinder Romana. She added that most times women prefer not to disclose that they have taken the medicine. “They don’t understand that such medicines are to be used under medical supervision only. Since the drug is freely available in the market, women consume them without giving it a second thought,” she said. A gynaecologist at the city’s Civil Hospital, preferring not to be named, said women opted for such methods out of sheer ignorance. “A few years ago, we had a case of twin pregnancy. Unaware that she was carrying twins, a woman consumed this drug on the suggestion of a local dai. She remained silent even as she bled for three days. On the fourth day, she suddenly collapsed and was brought to the Civil Hospital. It was after a lot of prodding that she accepted to having taken the drug. When we conducted an ultrasound, we found that twins had been aborted, but the babies had not been completely removed from uterus,” she added. This drug forayed into Indian markets in 1998. Till early 2000, it was available only on doctor’s prescription. Later, with the entry of global giants in drug manufacturing in India, the drug became easily available in different avatars. Interestingly, even the Health Department has not conducted any raids to contain the sale of this drug. Drug Inspector Lakhwant Singh said chemist shops were checked regularly, but case of abortion medicine available round-the-clock has not been detected specifically. “We will look into the matter,” he promised. Courting danger Gynaecologists warn against using the 72-hour contraceptive pill without medical advise though it is not a schedule H drug. "Regular use of this medicine has led to menstrual irregularities in many patients. Women take it even when it's not required and start missing menstrual cycles without being pregnant," said a doctor.
	Canal killings: Accused’s police remand extended Our Correspondent Fatehgarh Sahib, July 2 A local court today extended the police remand of Khushwinder Singh, who allegedly killed six members of his relative's family by pushing them into the Bhakra canal. On the request of the police, Duty Magistrate Harsh Mehta extended the police remand of Khushwinder till July 5. He was brought to the District Courts Complex amid tight security. He used to run a photostat business in the complex but no one came forward to meet him and decided to boycott him. Khushwinder had pushed six members of a family into the Bhakra canal to grab the money the family received after selling a piece of land. Only two bodies have been retrieved so for, but efforts were on to recover the remaining bodies.
	Another fraud marriage comes to light in Moga Moga, July 2 In yet another case, a young woman has become a victim of fraudulent marriage by an NRI living in Canada. Earlier, the special police cell, created to prevent frauds and crimes by NRIs, registered a criminal case three days ago against an Australian resident groom and his parents on the complaint of a local nurse for cheating her by fraudulent marriage on the pretext of taking her abroad. In the new case, Harwinder Kaur Gill, a resident of Moga district, has lodged a complaint with SSP Surjit Singh Grewal that she became a victim of fraudulent marriage. She alleged that her parents paid a sum of Rs 25-lakh to the groom and his family through an agent and an ASI of the state police who acted as a mediator in 2010 to solemnise their marriage. But two years after the marriage, the groom and his family did not take his daughter to Canada. Interestingly, both the agent and mediator ASI had taken their share. The SSP has marked an inquiry to the Human Trafficking Wing of the local police in this regard. — TNS