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26 yrs on, board textbooks remain unchanged
All 28 Improvement Trusts dissolved
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Cong rebel Dhillon to join SAD today
Mayoral posts
69.7% turn out for Dasuya byelection
Next, time for some tough decisions
Missing SOS village children recovered from Bathinda
Lahore-based NGO vows to preserve Sir Ganga Ram’s legacy
Granite rocks leaching uranium into water, claim atomic experts
In Punjab, the low amount of phosphoric fertilisers mixed in the soil did not justify the high level of uranium traces found in groundwater in five districts of the state. — RK Sinha, Secretary, Atomic Energy Department
Foreign scientists offer help
40 gastro cases reported in Patiala
PSPCL inks pact with NV Distilleries
Now, free education for Patiala jail inmates
Rights panel marks probe into police torture case
Saini deserves to be DGP, state tells High Court
Lawyers boycott work
Three held with 25-kg opium
Woman Army officer found dead in Jalandhar
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26 yrs on, board textbooks remain unchanged
Muktsar, July 11 Ironically, the authorities concerned are aware about the fact, but has not taken any initiative to upgrade the books and improve education standards. The board recommends two English books (compulsory) for Class XI , "I Am The People; Stories, Plays and Tales of Adventure" and "Supplementary English Reader" for Class XII. There is one Punjabi book for students of Class XI and XII. There is a huge difference in the academic standards between books taught in PSEB-affiliated schools and those prescribed for CBSE students. The CBSE recommends NCERT books with much emphasis on grammar. This is not the case with PSEB books, say teachers. A government schoolteacher said: "Teachers are bored of teaching the same books year after year.The board needs to revise its books." Booksellers say they have been selling the same books for the past several years. When contacted, Vice-Chairman of the Punjab School Education Board, Suresh Tandon, said: "The English and Punjabi books for Class XI and XII have not been revised since 26 years. But the board is now planning to make some changes in the syllabi for these subjects." Tandon said the board did not have sufficient number of subject experts. A senior official in the board's academic planning wing, pleading anonymity, said: "No subject expert is being recruited. A revision in the syllabi is possible only if the board appoints subject experts." He further said no one had raised the issue earlier. Senior academicians, who have served as members of the board and its Academic Council, said increased political interference was responsible for the board malfunctioning". A former member (1993-96) of the board, ML Chopra from Ropar, said: "The state government does not provide any financial assistance to the board, which is the major reaon for its poor performance. Faced with scarce funds and acute shortage of subject experts, the self-financed board copies most of the NCERT books. There is a need to revamp the board. Only then will its the functioning improve." Puran Singh Sandhu from Moga, who was member of the board's Academic Council for three years, said: "It is the job of the Academic Council to revise books and update syllabus from time to time. The Academic Council meets at least once every quarter of year. But not many members participate in the proceedings as most are there because of political connections and have little expertise. "The board functioning will automatically improve if the members are appointed on merit." He suggested that of there were no subject experts, the board officials could approach state universities for the same. English teacher Prof Gopal Singh Makkar Mianwalia from Muktsar was of the view that new chapters related to modern times must be added and greater emphasis laid on speaking English as well as grammer. ‘Govt to blame’ The state government does not provide financial assistance to the school education board. There is a need to revamp the board which neither has sufficient funds nor subject experts due to which it just copies most of the NCERT books — ML Chopra, former PSEB member ‘Council’s job’ It's the job of the Academic Council to revise books and update syllabi from time to time. But most members are there because of political connections and have little expertise. The board functioning will improve if the members are appointed on merit — Puran Singh, ex-member of Academic Council
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All 28 Improvement Trusts dissolved
Chandigarh, July 11 Sources said all the trusts had been dissolved after some chairmen and members expressed “reluctance” to submit their resignations. As securing the resignation of 200 members of the 28 trusts would have been cumbersome and time-consuming, the government decided to dissolve the trusts. Some heads are set to roll during the reshuffling exercise, especially in areas where the SAD did not do well in the assembly elections. Sopme Improvement Trust chairmen could even be “promoted” for the “good work” done by them. With the dissolution of the trusts, the way has been paved for a reshuffle not only in the trusts but also all boards and corporations in the state. Earlier, the government had “persuaded” the board/ corporation chairmen to submit their resignations. The 28 Improvement Trust which have been dissolved are
Abohar, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Sangrur, Bathinda, Fazilka,
Patiala, Phagwara, Faridkot, Pathankot, Rajpura, Kartarpur, Gurdaspur,
Hoshiarpur, Khanna, Nangal, Moga, Kapurthala, Malerkotla, Nabha,
Batala, Samana, Nawanshahr, Barnala, Roopnagar, Kotakpura and Tarn
Taran.
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Cong rebel Dhillon to join SAD today
Chandigarh, July 11 Dhillon will join the SAD and is expected to be pitched against Preneet Kaur in the next Parliamentary election from Patiala. He contested as an Independent from Dera Bassi after being denied ticket by the Congress against the official candidate Jasjit Singh Randhawa. Dhillon polled a massive 45,000 votes coming second while the party's official candidate Randhawa came a distant third with just 9,000 votes. From the time he was denied ticket, Dhillon has been approached by senior Akali leadership. It is learnt that at a recent meeting with his workers Dhillon was prevailed upon by his supporters to accept the offer of joining the SAD. A close aid of Dhillon said though there was pressure on him to rejoin the congress, his supporters were of the view that since Perneet Kaur could not even ensure his ticket when she was a minister and her husband was the PCC president, not much could be expected from the Congress now. Dhillon had contested the byelection after the death of Capt Kanwaljit Singh as a Congress nominee against Captain Kanwaljit Singh's son Jasjit, but was denied party ticket in the 2012 assembly elections. The SAD has been considering taking him into the party to strengthen the SAD's base in Patiala Parliamentary segment and areas adjoining Chandigarh. Though Dhillon has said he is joining the SAD unconditionally, he is an aspirant for the Patiala seat. The SAD promised the Patiala seat to Capt Amarinder's brother Malwinder Singh. Also in the race for this ticket is Jasjit Singh.
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Mayoral posts
Amritsar, July 11 Addressing mediapersons after paying obeisance at the Golden Temple here this morning, Sukhbir said the process of appointing mayors would be completed soon. Regarding differences between the SAD and the BJP over the post of Amritsar mayor, he said they would hold talks with the BJP high command to resolve the matter amicably. The local SAD leadership has expressed its keenness to see the party occupying the key post while the BJP is also sticking to its claim on the post, attributing the same to the pact reached between the two parties regarding mayoral posts in the state. On objections being raised by certain quarters against the PRTS project in Amritsar, Sukhbir said the government would examine the issue. Conservation experts as well as traders of the city had expressed their reservations about the project, contending that it would mar the city's heritage character, besides ruining the business. He denied any comment on the Operation Bluestar Memorial being raised in the Golden Temple Complex. Sukhbir revealed that the state government was working on a plan to redress the problem of unemployment in the state, while adding that it will be unveiled soon. He refused to comment on the issue of the Operation Bluestar Memorial.
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69.7% turn out for Dasuya byelection
Dasuya, July 11 The byelection was necessitated following the death of BJP legislator Amarjit Singh Sahi. His widow Sukhjit Kaur Sahi of the BJP, Arun Dogra of the Congress and Bhupinder Singh Ghuman of the PPP are locked in a triangulat contest. There are no Independents in the fray. The BSP did not field a candidate. The atmosphere at the polling station at Senior Secondary School, Usman Shaheed, turned pensive as an emotional Yasmeen, Sahi’s daughter, cried inconsolably. Amarjit Sahi died on June 3. The Election Commission announced the byelection a day before his bhog ceremony on June 11. Dr Harsimrat Sahi, Yasmeen’s brother, too became emotional. The brother-sister duo were escorted to their vehicles by party supporters and well-wishers. Sukhjit Sahi, however, put up a brave face. She said she was confident of winning the seat with a victory margin even greater than that of her late husband. Amarjit Sahi had won by 6,255 votes. Congress candidate Arun Dogra, son of former Minister Ramesh Chander Dogra, who had lost the seat to Amarjit Sahi in the assembly elections, cast his vote at his village Bholl Kalota in the Talwara block. The polling was peaceful. The IG (Jalandhar Range), Gurpreet Kaur Deo, DIG Lok Nath Angra and Hoshiarpur SSP Balkar Singh Sidhu toured the town and the adjoining township of Talwara. The office of Dasuya DSP Gursewak Singh was converted into a camp office by senior police officers. There were rumours that at booth number 171 and 172, an Akali legislator and his supporters had indulged in booth-capturing. Hoshiarpur DC-cum District Election Officer Deepinder Singh, who was camping in the office of SDM Rahul Chaba, immediately sent ADC (General) BS Dhaliwal to the polling booth. However, the ADC returned midway after receiving information that nothing of the sort had happened. Complaints on “ wrongdoings” at these booths were filed by Raman Dogra, brother of the Congress candidate. In violation of Election Commission norms, former Health Minister Sat Pal Gosain was found at a polling booth at Dayanand Model School. This was brought to the notice of the DC by Congress workers after which Gosain and his supporters left the town. Congress workers also complained that SAD-BJP leaders were present at booth number 132, 133 and 134. The SDM checked the facts with the presiding officers and found the complaint to be frivolous. Since early morning, Akali workers had fanned out into villages with a sizeable Dalit presence. The DC and Rajya Sabha MP Avinash Rai Khanna thanked the residents of Dasuya for the peaceful polling. On the sidelines ... Complaint against Sekhwan The Congress has complained to the Chief Election Commissioner that former Education Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan had campaigned for the BJP at Terkiana village even after canvassing had ended on Monday evening. The party has said that the Dasuya SDM was telephonically informed about the lapse, but he failed to take any action against the Akali bigwig. Cong MP Chaudhary can’t make it Congress MP from Hoshiarpur Santosh Chaudhary, who had actively campaigned for Congress candidate Arun Dogra ‘Micky’, could not make it to the town today with her daughter falling ill in the morning. Chaudhary had to rush to the PGI, Chandigarh, to be with her daughter. Makeshift office for police officers Balkar Singh Sidhu, SSP, was at the DSP’s office in the town since morning. He was seen personally monitoring the situation. He also went to the adjoining township of Talwara. Dasuya DSP Gursewak Singh’s office was converted into a makeshift office for senior police officers, including IG (Jalandhar Range) Gurpreet Kaur Deo and DIG Lok Nath Angra. Septuagenarian surprises policemen Septuagenarian Charan Kaur, who walked to a polling station with the help of an aid, took the policemen by surprise, asking them to pay for the rickshaw charges. The policemen obliged. Charan Kaur left, saying “ Parmatma Punjab Police da bhala kare (God bless the Punjab Police).” Capt Lal Singh holds the Congress fort The Congress camp office on the Hoshiarpur road wore a deserted look with empty chairs throughout the day. The only person present there was Capt Lal Singh. The latter was awarded a gallantry medal for rescuing scores of people from a fire that engulfed the 152 Army General Hospital in Leh in 1976. Town markets wear deserted look The voter turnout was moderate in the morning. It picked up in the afternoon. The main markets of the city and of adjoining Talwara wore a deserted look despite the fact that these were open. “ Dasuya is voting. Residents are more interested in electing their new representative,” observed a shopkeeper. — Ravi Dhaliwal
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Next, time for some tough decisions
Chandigarh, July 11 Besides, the government may askt the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) and other such government bodies to pay change of land use( CLU) charges to the state government. PowerCom all set to hike power tariff The Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission is all set to hike the power tariff. It is only waiting for the government nod. The government will have to give it in writing to the power commission that it will be duly compensated for providing free power to certain sections. There is a possibility of a 10% to 15 % hike in power rates. The power subsidy bill is likely to go up to Rs 5,700 crore
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Missing SOS village children recovered from Bathinda
Bathinda, July 11 Three of these children are yoga players and had represented Punjab and Patiala in various competitions. The children had been residing in the village for past more than five years. Rakesh Singla, village director, said the children escaped soon after they left for school. They boarded a train to Bathinda where Nikita raised a hue and cry over going back to the village and the matter was brought to the notice of the police by family members of siblings Sukhjinder and Suminder. He said three children had been taken back to the village while Manvinder was not willing to return. This was the second time that Manvinder had tried to escape. He had gone to his Burj village, near Bhagta Bhaika, where his grandfather lived. Sukhjinder too was unwilling to stay back and she might also be sent to her house in Bathinda, he said. Police officials of the Thermal police station said no action had been initiated as the children were taken back by the director. Jasvir Kaur, the mother of Sukhjinder and Suminder, accompanied them to the village. She said she was unable to bear expenses of her children and wished them to stay at the village for a better future.
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Lahore-based NGO vows to preserve Sir Ganga Ram’s legacy
Ludhiana, July 11 It observed the death anniversary of Sir Ganga Ram, an Indian philanthropist and agriculturist, at his "samadhi" in Samadhi Ganga Ram area located in the heart of Lahore city yesterday. Ironically, Sir Ganga Ram's "samadhi" is in a dilapidated condition and the NGO has vowed to take care of it, besides raising this issue with the Pakistani government. Sir Ganga Ram had passed away in London on July 10, 1927. His body was cremated there, but his ashes were brought back to India. A portion of the ashes was consigned to the Ganga and the rest was buried at this place in Lahore. It was on July 6 this year that a group of friends, including SQ Mehdi from Punjab Lok Sujag, Amjad Salim Minhas from Saanjh, Qaisar Abbas from Punjab Lok Rahs and some others got together to form an NGO. They also decided to observe the death anniversary of Sir Ganga Ram, which falls on July 10. Speaking to The Tribune over the phone from Lahore, Mehdi, a member of Friends of Ganga Ram, said philanthropists should be remembered irrespective of their caste, colour or creed. He was the "father of modern Lahore". This man contributed so much to Pakistan and now no one really remembered him, he said, adding that it is sad that his “samadhi” had been neglected by the government. "That is why we decided to form this NGO and work in this direction so that every child of Pakistan knows who Sir Ganga Ram was. The social movement started by him should be continued. “I have come to know that a few years ago, his great granddaughter had visited Sir Ganga Ram Hospital of Lahore and was saddened to see its plight. She had donated a large sum of money to the hospital, but not many in Lahore know about this fact," said Mehdi. The newly formed NGO has decided to look after Sir Ganga Ram's "samadhi" and other historical places in the city. "It is not just the responsibility of the government but also of the citizens to take care of these historical places. We have demanded from our government that funds generated from Ganga Pur Power Station be given to Sir Ganga Ram Trust so that places related to him can be taken care of," Mehdi said, adding: "Our NGO will also celebrate his birth anniversary in April next year by organising a seminar, dance festival, theatre festival and other such activities". About sir ganga ram Sir Ganga Ram was born in Mangtanwala (now in Sheikhupura district) in 1851. While starting his career as an assistant engineer in 1873, he designed the Faisalabad district courts complex, Lahore Museum, Aitchison College, Mayo School of Arts (now the NCA), Ganga Ram Hospital, Lady Mclagan Girls High School, the Albert Victor wing of Mayo Hospital, the Hailey College of Commerce and Lady Maynard Industrial School. He also designed and constructed Model Town, Lahore. He purchased thousands acres of barren land in Lyallpur and by using engineering skills and modern irrigation methods, turned the arid lands into fertile fields.
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Granite rocks leaching uranium into water, claim atomic experts
Chandigarh, July 11 The team stated that they had not been able to find any connection between high incidence of cancer in the districts of Bathinda, Mansa, Muktsar, Faridkot and Ferozepur with the presence of uranium in groundwater of these districts. This was stated as uranium primarily affects kidney and there were no reports of increase in kidney diseases in the region. The team headed by RK Sinha, Secretary, Atomic Energy Department, and Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, met Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and apprised him about the steps that could be taken to remove uranium impurities from the groundwater in the state. The team suggested that reverse osmosis plants fitted with special membranes should be set up to remove uranium impurities. Sinha said though phosphoric rocks of certain origins contained high level of uranium. In Punjab, the low amount of phosphoric fertilisers mixed in the soil did not justify the high level of uranium traces found in groundwater in five districts of the state. "We have found in the past that where there is uranium there is granite", said Sinha adding that granite was a well know geological feature in the Punjab and Himachal region. He said uranium could be leaching from granite rocks into groundwater. A member of the team and an expert on safe drinking water, PK Tewari, said 36 per cent of the samples collected from Punjab had more than 60 parts per billion permissible limit of uranium present in them. He said the most contaminated samples had been found from Talwandi Sabo in Bathinda followed by Bargari in Faridkot. Meanwhile, Sinha said efforts were on to identify the causes responsible for high incidence of cancer in the Malwa region of the state. He said the Contamination of groundwater by high traces of uranium came to light first in March 2009 when clinical metal toxicologist Carin Smit visited Faridkot and took urine and hair samples of children affected with birth abnormalities. High levels of uranium were found in 88 per cent of the samples. CM shows interest in nuclear plant Punjab could well be on its way to having a nuclear plant of its own. Atomic Energy Commission Secretary SK Sinha said with imported uranium available, an opportunity was available to construct a nuclear plant anywhere in the country. Sinha said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had evinced interest in establishment of a nuclear plant in Punjab and had held discussions on what kind of land could be identified for such a plant.
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Foreign scientists offer help
Faridkot, July 11 Carin S. Smit, International Board for Clinical Metal Toxicology in South Africa, Christopher Busby, a British scientist known for his work on the ill-effects of low-dose ionising radiation, and Dr Elenore Blaurock Busch, Director, Micro Trace Mineral, Germany, have written to Chief Minister PS
Badal, complaining that there is no coherent plan to unravel the uranium dilemma in the state. “Till date, no single study has unequivocally proved the source of the contamination and its impact in the years to come”, reads the letter. The letter says simply installing RO systems in villages will not do. It says even after four years of a study showing high levels of toxic metals, especially uranium, in the tissue and urine samples of children, there had been no study to find the source of the contamination.
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40 gastro cases reported in Patiala
Patiala, July 11 Civil Surgeon Dr Virinder Singh Mohi said the Health Department had already sent a team of health officials to ascertain the cause of the disease. “Area residents have fallen ill after consuming polluted water. Many unauthorised water connections in the area caused leakage and contaminated the drinking water. The team found that due to intermixing of sewage and drinking water, there are chances of the disease spreading further. Therefore, we have informed the Water Supply and Sanitation Department about these unauthorised connections and asked the department to disconnect the connections at the earliest. In fact, they disconnected a few connections in our presence and the work on other was on,” he added. Throwing light on the action taken by the Health Department, he said the health department conducted a survey in the area and found that 40 persons were suffering from vomiting and loose motions. “We then collected six samples of water from different houses which have been sent to a Chandigarh laboratory for testing. We also collected five stool samples to ensure that none of the patients was affected from cholera and have sent them to Government Medical College, Patiala, for detailed report,” he added. District epidemiologist Dr Gurmanjeet Kaur said they distributed 2,000 chlorine tablets in the area and directed residents to add them in water and consume water every hour to avoid further spread of this disease. We also held a medical awareness camp and apprised people about the symptoms of such diseases and precautions they should take, she added.
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PSPCL inks pact with NV Distilleries
Patiala, July 11 PSPCL CMD KD Chaudhri said, “The plant is being set up by the company at Dhandarsi Kalanin village, Rajpura, at a cost of Rs 50 crore, which will generate 10-MW power using biomass as fuel.” "Out of the 10-MW power to be generated by the company, PSPCL has signed an agreement to purchase 6.5-MW power for the next 25 years at the rate to be decided by the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC). The plant is expected to be commissioned by next month", added Chaudhri. The PPA was signed by PSPCL Director (Distribution) Arun Verma and NV Distilleries director Sapan Kumar. Meanwhile, Chaudhri said that 92 new recruits had joined PSPCL as assistant engineers, assistant managers, law officers and junior engineers on Wednesday. Addressing the new recruits, Chaudhri said, "PSPCL is going to upgrade its infrastructure at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore in next two years", he said, while adding that Punjab would become power surplus by 2014, as 4,000-MW of additional power would be available from upcoming thermal power plants.
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Now, free education for Patiala jail inmates
Patiala, July 11 Earlier, though there was a provision to do graduation and other courses, the inmates had to pay for it. IGNOU’s regional coordinator Joginder Kumar Yadav approved the proposal by the jail functionaries recently. Jail Superintendent LS
Jakhar, who is also the state nodal officer for conducting IGNOU programmes in different jails of Punjab, said: “For education up to class XII, we have tied up with the National Open School. IGNOU will provide free of cost education for graduate, diploma and other certified courses to the inmates from this academic year”. “From the next academic year, free education through IGNOU will be extended to all other central jails in the state,” he said, adding that the initiative could play a significant role in reforming jail inmates and channelising their energy for betterment of society. Jail Deputy Superintendent Rajan Kapoor said since the fee structure of courses offered by IGNOU was high, many jail inmates could not pursue studies. “For graduate and PG courses, IGNOU fee structure varies between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 per semester. In the past three years, only 30 inmates had opted for various IGNOU courses”. He said, “With free of cost education, inmates can choose from 54 diploma courses, 60 certification
programmes, 21 PG courses besides M.Phill and Ph.D.” — TNS
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Rights panel marks probe into police torture case
Chandigarh, July 11 Gurbhag Singh had alleged that a head constable from the city police station had illegally detained his son and brutally tortured him at the behest of another party. The commission had taken cognizance of the matter and had directed the Ferozpur SSP to investigate the matter. The SSP, in his report, claimed that the complaint was devoid of any truth, but the complainant, in his rejoinder to the report, contradicted the stand taken by the local police. The SSP was asked to look into the matter afresh and in his second report filed before the commission, he reiterated his earlier stand. “In view of the contradictory stands taken by the complainant and the SSP, Ferozepur, the commission, in the interest of justice, considers it appropriate to entrust the inquiry of the case to the Director General of Police of the commission, who is directed to take the complaint, report and the rejoinder into consideration, and submit his independent report in the case after hearing the necessary parties,” the commission said in its orders today.
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Saini deserves to be DGP, state tells High Court
Chandigarh, July 11 The NGO, Voices for Freedom, has challenged Saini's appointment by filing a petition in public interest before the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the ground that he was facing a trial for abduction and other offences. In a reply to the petition, Principal Secretary, Home, DS Bains claimed that the NGO had a Facebook page where militants and radicals were sharing their views. The reply added the NGO had its head office in New York. Bains claimed that Saini was having an exceptionally outstanding record, rarely seen in service dossiers. The reply stated that the state in its wisdom, after perusing Saini's consistent outstanding record, took the conscious decision to appoint him as DGP. The Bench questioned the NGO on its means of fund generation. The case has now been adjourned for July 26. Going into the background of the matter, the petitioner contended: "On the basis of allegations that Saini is involved in the abduction and physical liquidation of three persons sometime in 1994, this Court referred the investigation against him to the CBI. "After detailed investigation, it filed a report confirming the abduction and physical liquidation of three persons and accordingly a charge-sheet was filed and sanction was accorded by the competent authorities". The petitioner contended one of the "questions of law of substantial public importance was whether a person, who is facing a trial before the CBI Court for abduction etc can be treated as having very good record for the purpose of being appointed to the post of Director General of Police?"
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Lawyers boycott work
Patiala, July 11 Some litigants faced inconvenience due to strike, but the number of people visiting the court was less as courts were closed till July 15 for civil cases and presently, hearing in criminal cases was on. Advocate MS Pandher said, “These legislations will not only harm the autonomy of the BCI but will also make it easier for the foreign law colleges, solicitor firms and lawyers to work in India, which will certainly be against the interests of the Indian advocates.” Advocate Gaurav Kohli said the strike would continue tomorrow also and might stretch further if the Central Government ignored the interests of the advocates.
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Three held with 25-kg opium
Patiala, July 11 Patiala SSP Gurpreet Singh Gill said the Shambhu Police Station SHO Manjit Singh had set up a special naka. He said a truck bearing registration number HR 55 H 6690 was stopped. "Apart from the driver, two more persons were there in the truck. Five-kg opium and 100-gm smack was recovered from beneath the seat of truck driver Randhir Singh, whereas 10-kg opium was recovered from a bag of Binay Kumar. Another 10-kg opium was found in the bag of Karu Laal. — TNS
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Woman Army officer found dead in Jalandhar Jalandhar, July 11 The officer, Captain Melody L (28) from the MH, was found dead by her roommate Capt Pratibha Kumari. Defence spokesman Naresh Vig said, “The MH authorities have ordered a departmental inquiry, while the case has been handed over to the police for further investigations”. The cantonment police has registered a case under Section 174 of the CrPC. A postmortem was conducted on the body at the local Civil Hospital today afternoon. The incident came to fore at around 6.45 am when Capt Pratibha noticed that Capt Melody did not wake up despite repeated alarms. Sources said Capt Melody came from the MH at 7 pm and had her dinner at 11 pm. Later, she was chatting on the Internet till 1.30 am. “Capt Melody fell asleep while chatting and her roommate switched off her laptop,” said SHO Ram Pal, cantonment police. The police has recorded the statement of Capt Pratibha and seized the laptop and mobile phone of the deceased. “The laptop and mobile have been sent for forensic investigations to Mohali,” he added. A resident of Mizoram, Capt Melody was posted to the MH in Jalandhar Cantt around seven months ago. She had joined the Army two years ago.
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Four children missing from SOS village, Rajpura, were recovered from Bathinda today. The children have been identified as Nikita (15), Sukhjinder Kaur (14), Suminder (12) and Manvinder (13).
Amidst tension between India and Pakistan, there are people and organisations whose efforts show some signs of hope. One such organisation is a Lahore-based NGO, Friends of Ganga Ram.
It observed the death anniversary of Sir Ganga Ram, an Indian philanthropist and agriculturist, at his
"samadhi" in Samadhi Ganga Ram area located in the heart of Lahore city yesterday.
A team of experts from the Department of Atomic Energy today claimed that presence of uranium in southern Malwa was due to granite rocks present in the sub-soil and not the after-effect of overuse of phosphoric
fertilisers.
