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Info panel slaps fine on MC chief
Lax teachers to be shifted to border areas: Minister
Test for promotion of constables
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Presidential Poll
Despite arrest, Akali Dal leader on advisory panel
Gastro takes fatal form in Patiala, 3 dead
2 casualties in Jalandhar; low-lying areas most hit
Ludhiana row: Statements of officer, vendor recorded
Civil surgeon, Welfare dept chief spar over IVF clinics
Kharar residents protest against power cuts, block highway
58 lives lost, Fazilka admn yet to ponder over road safety
Now, RPOs to accept forms too
SGPC defends Pak Deputy AG
Laptops okay, but where are the textbooks?
Punjabi varsity VC urged to hold teachers’ poll
Can’t sidetrack elected sarpanch, rules HC
HC for speedy justice to juveniles
Two get life term for killing brother
VB seizes Rs 35 lakh cash from motor inspector’s house
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Info panel slaps fine on MC chief
Chandigarh, July 19 In a strong worded order, the State Information Commission said all was not well with the functioning of the Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana. The district had no system in place to facilitate public dealing under the RTI Act. The order has come in reaction to an application moved by Rajesh Aggarwal who had sought information pertaining to tenant of a building on the Naulakha Cinema Road. It was pointed out that “the manner in which the application of Rajesh Aggarwal has been dealt with revealed that there is blatant lack of intra-office coordination and hence has led to first supplying of wrong information to the information seeker and also delayed delivery of right information.” The order read that “It has become clear that no system has been set up by the MC authorities to deal with the applications moved to it under the RTI Act as per its provisions and if any system has ever been set up by the MC authorities then it has not been working properly due to apathetic attitude of officials concerned.” The commission has marked a copy of the order to the principal secretary, secretary and director of the Local Government for taking appropriate action against the erring officials. It has been pointed out that the MC needed to put its house in order for proper and streamlined handling of public queries. The commission asked the commissioner to pay the compensation amount for due to the apathetic attitude of officials concerned and their failure to fulfill their duties assigned to them under the RTI Act.
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Lax teachers to be shifted to border areas: Minister
Mohali, July 19 The teachers, who showed zero-40 pass percentage in the recently held examinations, would be transferred to the border areas. Major penalties, including dismissal from the post, would be imposed on such teachers. Those who have shown 40-60 pass percentages would be issued show-cause notices by the department. The decision has been taken by Punjab Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka today. Talking to The Tribune, Kamal Kumar, Director Public Instructions (Secondary), said the authorities concerned in all the districts would be asked to send the detailed results of the government schools of their areas at the earliest so that action could be initiated in this regard. The Minister was miffed over poor results being shown by several schools despite having upto the mark infrastructure and also being equipped with good paraphernalia. Expressing shock over the poor results shown by schools in Mohali district, where the infrastructure in government schools is far better than the schools in other districts, Maluka said no laxity on the part of teachers would be tolerated. He admitted that most of the teachers in the district had been placed here on recommendations rather than merit. “I am not going to spare any teacher, who is not working seriously and consistently showing poor results”, said Maluka. However, four schools in Mohali district had shown zero per cent result. This year, Mohali hit the bottom with 60.97 pass percentage in the Class 10th results, whereas in plus two results, it was at the second last position with 62.13 pass percentage. Last year also Mohali was at the second last position with 59.86 pass percentage in plus two results. Talking tough Teachers who have shown zero-40 pass percentage in the recently held examinations to be transferred to border areas Those who have shown 40-60 pass percentages to be issued show-cause notices
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Test for promotion of constables
Patiala, July 19 Perturbed over the developments, examination committee chairman Paramjit Singh Gill has brought the matter to the notice of his seniors. Despite the fact that for the first time, the chairman of the examination committee, an IG ranked officer, had tried his best to curb such practices and issued different sets of papers to the candidates. However, following lack of efforts on part of junior officials posted in examination halls in curbing the illegal practice, the entire examination process in certain districts got jeopardised. A PPS officer alleged that while certain districts did exceptionally well, others faired poorly given that they could not cheat. "Though there might be a few black sheep, but the police is the custodian of the law and such things should not be allowed in the department," he stated. The test is held annually to determine the promotional prospects of constables and head constables. The exam is of 95 marks and five marks are for the interview and for the first time, the marks were made public the same evening. Those securing 50 per cent marks in the written exam stand qualified for promotion. There are limited slots available for promotion and only a few would qualify even from the passed candidates list so therefore the competition is very tough. Despite foolproof arrangements made by the committee by arranging various series of question papers to be distributed among candidates, a day prior to the exam, a few district police chiefs not only managed to help certain candidates but also ensured that they score above others. "Some of the candidates were earlier and presently attached as gunmen with senior officers and SSPs and thus got preferential treatment," alleged a constable, who bagged over 50 per cent marks but was unhappy how some of his other batchmates secured above him. "I will crib if I did not qualify. Performance of some constables in certain districts was beyond imagination," he stated. Except a case in Ferozepur, where a head constable was arrested for cheating in the examination, no other cheating case came to the fore in the entire state. Committee chairman Gill said he had received the results from all the 16 districts and would send the final report to the headquarters for necessary action. "We tried our best to be transparent so much so that even the staff attached with me failed to clear the test," he stated.
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Presidential Poll
Chandigarh, July 19 A press note said that the Dhuri legislator was down with food poisoning. It said Khanna had informed AICC coordinator Yogesh Sawhney that he would not be able to cast his vote. Amarinder said Khanna had informed him about his illness yesterday. Sources, however, said Khanna was abroad, probably in Italy. The party’s media coordinator, when questioned, said he could not return to India because he was indisposed. Khanna was to come back yesterday but had missed his flight because of ill-health, he added.
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Despite arrest, Akali Dal leader on advisory panel
Kapurthala, July 19 Alaknanda Dayal, DC, and District Foods and Supplies Comptroller (DFSC) Rajnish Kaur had cancelled Shammi’s ration depot licence on July 10 after a raid. Shammi’s depot at Kesri Bagh here and two other depots were found closed during the raid. The record of the three depots was confiscated and the supply of essential commodities suspended. Later, Jagjit Singh Shammi was arrested and sent to judicial custody on the charge of selling kerosene on the black market. Neither the DC nor the DFSC could be contacted for comment despite repeated attempts.
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Gastro takes fatal form in Patiala, 3 dead
Patiala, July 19 Mixing of sewage with drinking water is stated to be the reason behind the casualties at Badungar Colony. The deceased have been identified as Gurdev Kaur (80), Gurdyal Singh (65) and VG Narayan Singh (62). The trio was suffering from vomiting for the last three days and received treatment at the Government Rajindra Hospital, Patiala. Their relatives said all three of them passed away yesterday. Municipal Commissioner GS Sidhu, Mayor Ajit Pal Singh Kohli and the Civil Surgeon also visited the colony. Seeing them there, the residents took to sloganeering against the administration. Later, police personnel were also deployed around the colony as a precautionary measure. Kohli said, "The water pipeline got damaged accidentally. Wasting no time, we stopped supply and made alternate arrangements for potable water. Chlorine tablets are being supplied regularly to each household." Asked how come so many residents had fallen sick, he said, "There are chances that before the pipe could be repaired, some contamination had occurred and a few residents consumed that water." About the reason behind the deaths, he said he could not comment on it until confirmed by competitive civic and health authorities. On Saturday, an overloaded truck is said to have passed through the colony, which damaged the main waterline and a sewerage line flowing nearby. This, claim residents, resulted in polluted water supply, leading to the outbreak of gastroenteritis in the colony. Locals allege that the civic authorities did not take the matter seriously, which aggravated the problem. Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt Amarinder Singh has demanded that responsibility of erring officials must be fixed. "The Patiala civic body can't even provide clean drinking water. We demand a probe into the issue. Strict action should be initiated against civic officials." Ajay Goyal, a shopkeeper, said: "When we complained to the municipal officials initially, they failed to properly fix the leakage in sewage and water supply lines. It was only today (after three deaths were reported) that the civic body swung into action and got the repairs done in a proper manner." Another colony resident, Pooja, complained: "For the last few weeks, we were not getting clean water. Mud particles were visible in it. The damage to the water pipe dealt the final blow." Patiala Deputy Commissioner GK Singh, who was in Chandigarh for an official meeting, sent administration representatives to the victims' houses. He also ordered that the Model Town dispensary would remain open round-the-clock. A Health Department team also did a door-to-door survey and collected 13 water samples from the locality. Health workers distributed 7,000 chlorine tablets and ORS sachets among the residents in the colony. While a medical camp has been organised near to the affected colony, serious patients are being provided free treatment at Rajindra Hospital.
The victims VG Narayan Singh (62) Gurdyal Singh (65) Gurdev Kaur (80) 150 had fallen ill in another colony too A week back, more than 150 patients were affected with gastroenteritis in Sanjay Colony in Patiala. Here as well, mixing of sewerage water with potable water was found to be the main reason behind the outbreak of gastroenteritis. Though no deaths were reported from there, three patients tested positive for cholera.
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2 casualties in Jalandhar; low-lying areas most hit
Jalandhar, July 19 Based on figures released by the Health Department from time to time, the total number of diarrhoea cases reported in the district so far is 196 with the Civil hospital alone receiving more than 100 patients. As many as 41 cases — 27 of
diarrhoea, six jaundice and eight typhoid — have been reported from Ward No 42 alone comprising Basti Peer
Daad, Rajan Nagar and New Rajan Nagar areas. Fiftythree diarrhoea cases have been reported from Manjit Nagar in the past two days. Two were received from the Bhargo Camp area today. In most cases, contaminated drinking water is to be blamed, though the MC denies this. Civil Suregon RL Bassan said: “The prime cause for the outbreak of water-borne diseases is cracks in water pipes that results in the water supplied to teh residents being contaminated with groundwater.”
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Ludhiana row: Statements of officer, vendor recorded
Ludhiana, July 19 Pannu said: “ Not only did we record their statements, but we also cross-examined them. Jaggi’s wife Inderbir Kaur, who allegedly had an altercation with the vegetable vendor, gave her statement in writing. “She was not called to Sutton House as the official inquiry is against Malwinder Singh Jaggi, not his family members,” Pannu said. Contrary to vendor Kamlesh Pal’s claims, Pannu said he was not under any pressure. “I have recorded the statements of the parties concerned and will be submitting my report to the Chief Secretary in the next two days,” Pannu added.
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Civil surgeon, Welfare dept chief spar over IVF clinics
Jalandhar, July 19 Civil Surgeon Avtar singh Jarewal conducted raids on Saini IVF Centre and Vansh Fertility Centre last month and sealed the clinics as these were not registered under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique (PC-PNDT) Act, 1994. “Authorised for conducting ultrasonography only, the clinics were functioning as IVF centres in violation of norms,” the Civil Surgeon claimed. However, holding his action as “illegal and unjustifiable”, the state authority comprising Dr Karanjit Singh, Saroj Malhotra and Ram Lal Gupta, has ordered that the centres be unsealed. Health and Family Welfare chief Dr Karanjit Singh said the centres had been directed not to conduct the IVF procedure until they had obtained a licence for it. “The recent amendments in the PC-PNDT Act, 1994, allow these to conduct IVF procedures,” he explained. Dr Jarewal has written to Dr Karanjit Singh, asking him to review the orders.
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Kharar residents protest against power cuts, block highway Kharar, July 19 The protesters were led by Ravinder Saini, president of the local BJP unit. He said the people were fed up with the power cuts. "Adding insult to injury, nobody in the power department takes our calls whenever there is a power cut. We regret the inconvenience to commuters but this is the only way to make the authorities listen to us," said Saini. Bhupinder Singh, SDO, was seen pleading with the protesters but in vain. "It's an everyday story and we want a permanent solution," the protesters insisted. The blockade led to a six-km-long jam on both sides of the highway. Residents of Balongi village also joined the protest alleging that they were getting power for a couple of hours only.
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58 lives lost, Fazilka admn yet to ponder over road safety
Fazilka, July 19 The administration has reportedly failed to complete the proceedings to constitute a district-level road safety council even as an year has passed since Fazilka was declared a district. District Transport Officer Gurtej Singh says, “The copy of notification of the council is yet to be obtained from transport authorities.” The Graduate Welfare Association, Fazilka, has obtained information in this regard. As per the information released by the Punjab Police, there are about 400 accident black spots in Punjab out of which 14 fall in Fazilka district. Those in Fazilka district have been identified at Balluana
(Abohar-Malout Road), Alamgarh (Abohar-Sriganganagar Road), Hanumangarh bypass chowk
(Abohar), Seetogunno bypass (Abohar), New Hanuman Mandir Tikoni (Fazilka), T-point (Near Malout Chowk
Fazilka), Sanjeev Cinema Chowk (Fazilka), Khuai Khera (Near Fazilka Co-operative Sugar Mills), Jalalabad bus stand, Arianwala Chowk
(Jalalabad), Shaheed Bhagat Singh Chowk (Jalalabad), Tiwana Mour (Jalalabad), Nimwala Chowk
(Jalalabad) and village Ghubaya in Jalalabad. “Nothing much in terms of engineering interventions, removal of encroachments in black spot areas has been done in order to improve road safety,” said Navdeep
Asija, technical advisor and member of the governing council, Punjab State Transportation Society. Traffic management does not seem to be the priority of the district administration. As per official sources, in the last six months (Jan 2012-June 2012) the traffic police have issued challans to only 4,666 in Fazilka district. No challan was issued for drunken driving while only 34 persons were penalised for
overspeeding. The district police is not equipped with electronic gadgets like alcometer and speed guns to curb drunken driving and
overspeeding. “We have been frequently issuing challans to the drivers jumping the red light and have removed black films from vehicles. Besides, traffic awareness seminars are also organised in schools and colleges twice a week,” said District Traffic In-charge, inspector Gurpiar Singh.
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Phidde village elated by CM’s gesture
Phidde (Ferozepur), July 19 Today again, it was elation time for the 69-year-old when Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal handed over a Rs 5 lakh cheque as financial assistance to him. Badal also assured Surjit of giving a job to his matriculate 35-year-old son, Kulwinder Singh. "Money doesn't matter. What matters to me is the importance I am getting from the Punjab Government. The state has acknowledged my service for the nation," said the frail but mentally strong Surjit Singh. After my release from Pakistan, the entire Punjab appeared happy with people from far away places reaching Phidde to share their feelings and happiness with me. But, the Union Government did not even formally acknowledge my services, he said. "I'm really thankful to the Punjab CM for soothing my hurt feelings and assuring a government job to my son," he said. "The day I reached Phidde last month, there was no electricity in my house. But now, a special electricity transformer has been set up near my house," he said. Kulwinder Singh said they got a message from the CM yesterday that he want to me my father. "We left for Chandigarh and today my father was given due regard by the CM," Kulwinder said. In the evening as Surjit Singh and Kulwinder reached Phidde village from Chandigarh, a large number of residents from his own and adjoining villages were already waiting for their arrival. "How did the CM treat you," was their question to the father-son duo.
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Now, RPOs to accept forms too
Chandigarh, July 19 “The electronically filled form can be submitted to the Regional Passport Office manually without prior appointment”, said a senior official at the Regional Passport Office, Chandigarh. Some months ago, the Union Government had outsourced the task to a company. “The company offices will also continue to function as usual but people now have the choice to submit their application forms directly to the Regional Passport Offices ”, said the official. “We have set up a counter here. We received 33 forms today ” he added. Sources said the Union Ministry had directed the RPOs to send a report on the response to its decision after two weeks.
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Amritsar, July 19 Makkar said Khursheed had committed no sin by performing ‘sewa’ at the ‘jora ghar’ of the Golden Temple. He said Sikhism preached communal harmony and Mia Mir, a Muslim faqir, had laid the stone of the holy shrine. Makkar said the SGPC would send a letter to Pakistan’s Bar Council through diplomatic channels in
this regard. — TNS
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Laptops okay, but where are the textbooks?
Muktsar, July 19 It’s been three months since the academic session began in April, but there are a number of government schools in the district where students are yet to receive textbooks. This, despite the fact that the Education Department has plenty of them lying in its block office in
Muktsar. A visit to the office store showed a huge stock of books gathering dust. Block Education Officer Amarjeet Kaur claimed a few books, including those for Home Science (Classes VI-VIII), Agriculture (Class X) and Punjabi (Class X), had been sent to them by the Punjab School Education Board
recently. Amarjeet Kaur, incharge of Muktsar-I, Muktsar-II and Gidderbaha blocks, said: “The Board officials did not provide us books in time…Principals of various schools have now been told to collect these. The process may take a few more days.” She blamed staff shortage for the late supply of books. “We don’t have adequate staff, which is a major hurdle in supplying books. There are five sanctioned posts of block resource persons for
Muktsar-II, catering to 97 schools, but all are vacant.” When the matter was brought to the notice of DC Paramjit Singh, he sought a detailed report from District Education Office Gurinder
Kaur, who also blamed the staff crunch for the delay. “We have six blocks in Muktsar district and only two block education officers. They have been given additional charge of two blocks each. They are overburdened… At times, we receive books late. On occasions, schoolteachers don’t turn up in time to collect the books,”she said Some books yet to be published On the one hand, the state government has announced to distribute free tablets among 1.5 lakh students in Class XII this year, and on the other it has even failed to publish textbooks in time. Books for Home Science for Classes IX and X are yet to be published by the Punjab School Education Board, Deputy Director (Publication) Jaswinder Singh said. “The publication of the books is under process. We will get these published probably by next week,” he said. A department insider said this was not the first time that books were not available to students in time. The state government distributes books free of cost among students in all government schools up to Class VIII. In Classes IX and X, boys belonging to the SC community are provided books free of charge. However, all girls students up to Class X are provided free books .
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Punjabi varsity VC urged to hold teachers’ poll
Patiala, July 19 Dr Jaswinder Singh
Brar, convener, Democratic Teachers’ Front, said, “At a time when authoritarian structures are crumbling all over the globe, the VC is refusing to restore the faculty's democratic rights. It is need of the hour to restore democratic functioning in the university so that authority can be exercised in a responsible and accountable manner.”
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Can’t sidetrack elected sarpanch, rules HC
Chandigarh, July 19 The Punjab and Haryana High Court has not only ruled that an elected sarpanch cannot be sidetracked by appointing a development committee, but has also imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on a Block Development and Panchayat Officer for issuing such an order. The rap on the knuckles by Justice Ranjit Singh came on a petition filed by Mohanjit Singh, sarpanch of Maherna Kalan village in Ludhiana district. In his petition against the State of Punjab and other respondents filed through counsel Manish Kumar Singla, Mohanjit Singh had complained that “being from the party opposing the ruling party, he was not being allowed to work as a sarpanch though he was duly elected”. The petitioner alleged that after the respondents failed in their attempts to remove him, they formed a development committee, “making the petitioner a dummy and leaving him powerless”. Singla contended there was no provision under the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, for forming such a committee could be formed. “Prima facie, the action has been taken only to prevent the petitioner to act as sarpanch of the village, for which he is duly elected”. In response to the notice on the petition, the respondents contended that a majority of panches had submitted an application, stating that the sarpanch did not enjoy the majority support and that grants were not being spent. Justice Ranjit Singh asserted: “This is nothing but an effort to nullify the play of democracy at the grassroots level. The elected sarpanch cannot be made ineffective in this manner by appointing a committee to carry out the panchayat functioning. “Such interference would be in violation of the Constitutional mandate, besides being arbitrary, unfair and unreasonable. The impugned order (of appointing the committee), therefore, cannot be sustained. The same is set aside.” Allowing the petition with Rs 25,000 costs, Justice Ranjit Singh added that the amount be recovered from the respondent BDPO, who has issued directions for constituting the committee.”
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HC for speedy justice to juveniles
Chandigarh, July 19 The Legal Services Authorities in the two states and the Union Territory has been asked to visit the juvenile and observation homes twice a month. The directions came on a PIL filed in 2007 by the Voluntary Health Association of Punjab, drawing the court’s attention to the delay in the disposal of cases where children in conflict with law were arrayed as accused. The appalling conditions in the juvenile homes too were brought to the court’s notice. During the course of hearing the States of Punjab and Haryana filed affidavits claiming that that constitution of the juvenile justice boards in most of the districts was complete and “wherever members are needed to be appointed, the appointment shall be made with promptitude”. The court was informed that efforts had been made to upgrade the living conditions in juvenile homes and “ an attempt shall made to see that the cases of juveniles are disposed of expeditiously, as per provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.” Taking on record the assertions, the Bench disposed of the writ petition, issuing directions to the presiding officers of the boards in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh “to make an endeavour to dispose of the cases involving children in conflict with law within four months, as per the provisions of Section 14 of the Act”. In its detailed order, the Bench also directed the secretaries of the legal services authorities in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh “to ensure that either they or their representatives shall visit the juvenile/observation homes twice a month”. “If any deficiency is found, the same shall be brought to the notice of the District Magistrate/competent authority, which shall be remedied within a week. Both the states and the Union Territory are also directed to complete the constitution of the boards, where the same have still not been constituted within three weeks. “In case action is not taken by the secretaries or the representative of the three legal services authorities, the matter be brought to the notice of the executive chairman of the respective legal services authority, who shall take steps to ensure proper living conditions in the juvenile/observation homes”. Coming to rescue High Court asks presiding officers of juvenile justice boards in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to dispose of cases against the young ones in four months Also tells Legal Services Authorities to visit juvenile homes twice a month
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Two get life term for killing brother
Bathinda, July 19 The court of the district and sessions judge, SK Aggarwal, awarded life imprisonment to Gurmit Singh and Mukhtiar Singh, residents of Amarpura Basti, in the case of killing their elder brother, Bachitta Singh. The accused had killed Bachittar on May 16 last year at their residence. The deceased’s wife, Lakhmir Kaur, told the police that on the fateful day, Bachittar Singh was rebuking his sons for sitting idle. When Gurmit and Mukhtiar intervened, Bachittar asked them to stay out of the matter. Irked after being reprimanded by Bachittar, they attacked him using the handle of a hand pump and an iron rod. Bachittar succumbed to his injuries on the spot.
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VB seizes Rs 35 lakh cash from motor inspector’s house
Ludhiana, July 19 Sonu, who used to receive bribes on behalf of Gupta, was sent to three-day police remand by a local court. A team of the VB led by B
Neerja, Inspector General (IG), Economic Offences, and Snehdeep Sharma, Vigilance SP, raided the Gupta's house located at Model Town Extension last evening. Besides recovering Rs 35 lakh in cash and 1.4-kg opium, the VB sleuths got hold of documents of disproportionate assets worth crores of rupees. Sources said Gupta fled from his house even before the VB team arrived. Gupta was also having an additional charge of Fatehgarh Sahib district and was issuing fitness certificates to industrial vehicles without mandatory checking, thus paving way for several outdated vehicles to ply on roads. The matter came to light when the VB received a complaint against Gupta for issuing no objection certificate to a vehicle that had run over a school student. The vehicle was impounded by Khamano police. It was further learnt that Gupta allegedly issued certificates to applicants without conducting the mandatory driving test.
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Gastroenteritis has taken a fatal form in a Patiala colony. Three persons have already succumbed to the disease whereas 125 have been admitted to various hospitals in the city.
Mixing of sewage with drinking water is stated to be the reason behind the casualties at Badungar Colony. The deceased have been identified as Gurdev Kaur (80), Gurdyal Singh (65) and VG Narayan Singh (62).
Miffed at unscheduled power cuts, local residents blocked the highway late tonight. 
However, the Health Department has refused to buy the victim families' claim that the deaths occurred due to gastroenteritis. In a report submitted to the Health and Family Welfare Director, Patiala Civil Surgeon Dr VS Mohi has mentioned that all the three victims were above 60 and there was no clear cut evidence that they died due to acute gastroenteritis. "The cause of the death has to be linked with other pre-disposed conditions," reads the report, a copy of which is with The Tribune. The municipal authorities, too, have claimed that the deaths were natural.