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sorry State of
higher education
Scanty rains leave Majha farmers high & dry
BARC finds high uranium content in RO water
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Congress MPs want leadership issue resolved
Cong leaders skip Rajiv’s anniversary function
PPP likely to see more desertions
Loan scheme of no help: Industrialists
More Hindus arrive from Pak, but won’t stay back
Muslims promised representation on various boards
Sand rate soars in just two days
Punjab to re-conduct exam on August 25
Villagers await approach road
Electroplating units raided
Dalits, landlords reach compromise
Re-allocate central sector power, engineers to PM
Gang of vehicle thieves busted in Moga; 6 held
10-year-old foils kidnapping bid
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sorry State of
higher education
Tanda Urmar (Hoshiarpur), August 20 She said several students daily come to her office asking the same question: when will their subject teachers join? But, this is something that even the officiating principal would be unaware of. For, recruiting teachers is not her but the state's government's job. The Tribune happened to speak to a group of four students of BSc-I who were coming out of the principal's room. Japjyotan Singh said: "It's almost been two months since the current academic session started. But, we are yet to see our maiden lecture being delivered." Another student said: "It is not just chemistry, there are several other subjects for which there are no teachers." Not only chemistry, there are no teachers for sociology and psychology courses as well. There are 1,700 students enrolled in the college. To cater to them, the college has sanctioned strength of 47 teachers. However, only 18 regular teachers are available at present. Apart from acute staff crunch, the college also lacks infrastructure. A student said: "The state government must have been promising laptops to meritorious students, but it has failed in providing computers to our college for the use of students. One cannot imagine life without a computer in today's high-tech world." When Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal last visited the college, he had said post-graduate classes in English would be started here. But, nothing concrete happened after the announcement. Despite being a compulsory subject and also opted for by elective English students, there is no regular lecturer for the subject. The show is being run by a part-time teacher hired by the college on lecture basis. Venod Kumar, secretary of Parent-Teacher Association, said: "Parents have to contribute for the appointment of part-time teachers as our children complain their studies are suffering." Students also complained that no extra-curricular activities, including annual convocations and prize distribution functions, were ever held in the college. Though the college boasts of a sprawling 48-acre campus, a major part of it lies in a pitiable condition. The college has already lost two acres to a road-widening project.
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Scanty rains leave Majha farmers high & dry
Amritsar, August 20 The worst affected are the farmers with small land holding who cannot afford to use generators for running tubewells for irrigation. They fear the input cost would surpass the price they would fetch during procurement. Of the four districts in Majha region, Amritsar and Tarn Taran received less rainfall as compared to Gurdaspur and Pathankot. Amritsar Chief Agriculture Officer Dilbagh Singh said the district received only 131 mm rainfall till August 20 this year as compared to 270 mm in the concurring period last year. In Tarn Taran, 33 mm of rainfall has been recorded as compared to 165 mm last year. Even the rainfall that was received was scattered and there were villages that didn’t get any rain at all. He said the input cost had gone up by at least Rs 3,000 per acre due to weak monsoon. Dilbagh Singh said if the dry weather conditions persisted in the coming days, it may affect the yield of paddy, particularly of basmati variety, besides making the crop vulnerable to a disease, leafroller blight. He said not only paddy, other crops too were bearing the brunt. “As the entire focus of the farming community is towards saving paddy, cultivation of vegetables, sugarcane and fodder has been adversely hit. It is affecting the quantity as well as quality of the crops,” he said. Kundan Singh, a farmer from Kot Sanghar village in Tarn Taran, said, “The rainfall has been scanty and our problems have been aggravated by frequent power failures.” He said though they had sown paddy, making it survive had become a daily struggle. They have no option but to shell out money to keep generators running as they were getting only five-hour power supply. Dilbagh Singh, a farmer from Lalu Ghuman village, said they were not getting adequate canal water supply either, which was taking a toll on their crop. He said the unfavourable weather conditions had not only hit the paddy crop, but also fodder production for their livestock. Tarn Taran Chief Agriculture Officer Dr Sukhdev Singh Sandhu said paddy had been sown on 1.7 lakh hectares of land in the district. He said though farmers were somehow managing to irrigate their crops, their input costs had risen manifold. The crop had been hit by leafroller blight in some blocks in this district too. Apart from paddy, fruit production had also been hit due to less rainfall. Horticulture Department Deputy Director Baaz Singh said kinnow, pear and peach production had been affected. He said the fruits had not acquired their normal size due to poor rainfall. He said even if it rained now, only kinnow growers would benefit from it.
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BARC finds high uranium content in RO water
Faridkot, August 20 RO-treated water from Jamalgarh and Chak Shera villages of Jalalabad block of Fazilka had 375.8 parts per billion (ppb) and 70.8 ppb uranium, respectively, against the prescribed limit of 60 ppb. Samples of treated water from Rajgarh village of Bhagta Bhai Ka block of Bathinda and Gujjar village of Faridkot had 113.8 ppb and 64.4 ppb uranium, respectively. According to the report, which was sent to the Punjab Health Department and the Department of Water Supply and Sanitation, a total of 1,228 samples were collected from various RO plants in the state and out of 739 samples, four had uranium content beyond prescribed limits. GS Dhillon, Consulting Engineer, Water Resources Development Project, said there should be regular analysis of treated water, but there was no arrangement in Punjab to check the uranium content. RO plants release a large quantity of waste water that carries rejected contaminants. Releasing this water back to the ground further increases the concentration of contaminants in groundwater, which is creating health hazards for milch cattle. As most of these animals rely on groundwater, it is leading to several problems like dwindling milk yield, weak digestion and poor metabolism of energy and nutrients among animals, said Dr HS Sandhu, a former deputy director in the Animal Husbandry Department. Contaminated water adversely affects animal health and some of these elements travel to humans through milk, said Dr SS Sikka, Senior Nutritionist, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana.
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Congress MPs want leadership issue resolved
Chandigarh, August 20 The ruling SAD-BJP alliance has virtually written them off, announcing that the lone challenger among them is Patiala MP Preneet Kaur. The aliance is making an elaborate strategy to topple the three-time MP. Sources say the MPs are in a piquant position. A little over six months back, all of them were with PCC president Capt Amarinder Singh. Now with their seats threatened, they want the high command to take some decisive action on the PCC leadership issue. This could mean a change in the PCC leadership.The other option could be that the high command retains Amarinder at the helm of affairs and appoints a team representing each of the three regions of Majha, Doaba and Malwa for day-to-day party activities. Aggressive posturing by the ruling alliance has disheartened the Congress MPs, the sources say. Some rue the fact that the Congress has even abandoned the role of principle Opposition party in the state. As one Congress MP put it: “We have nothing to say when people ask us who our leader is. our own poll campaign is getting delayed in such a situation”. However, a few Congress MPs claim that all is not lost. Congress Anandpur Sahib MP Ravneet Singh Bittu claims the perception about the state government is changing with the alliance failing to provide adequate power to the farmers and the industry. He says the people in his constituency are fed up with the sand mafia. Gurdaspur MP Partap Singh Bajwa, one of the leading contenders for the PCC presidentship, says demoralisation has set in among the Congress cadre because of the “unexpected loss” in the assembly elections. But things could be set right by an “effective leadership”. By “effective” leadership he means Capt Amarinder Singh’s ouster. Bajwa feels that anti-incumbency would catch up with the SAD-BJP government soon with the government proposing new taxes. “This will turn the 40 per cent population of the state which lives in urban areas against the government”, he claims. He says the government has not kept its promises to the youth, such as unemployment allowance. This could go against the alliance in the parliamentary elections.
correction course n The Congress MPs fear that the delay may hit their poll campaign n
Aggressive posturing by the ruling alliance has disheartened the Congress MPs, say sources n
Gurdaspur MP Partap Bajwa says "effective leadership" can set things right n
By "effective" leadership he means PCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh's ouster
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Cong leaders skip Rajiv’s anniversary function
Bathinda, August 20 No MLA, except Harminder Singh Jassi, spared time to attend the function. Only a couple of local level functionaries and activists assembled at the party office to pay tributes to their leader. Jassi was almost two hours late for the function. In Moga, Punjab Mahila Congress president Dr Malti Thapar paid floral tributes to Rajiv Gandhi at a function held at Rajiv Gandhi Auditorium at Shyam Lal Thapar Nursing College and Hospital, Moga. She said Rajiv was a great visionary who had initiated India-Pakistan talks to end the decades-old hostility between the two nations. — TNS
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PPP likely to see more desertions
Chandigarh, August 20 Bir Devinder complained that the venue of today’s Sanjha Morcha meeting, which was to be held here, was suddenly shifted to Barnala. He said he was informed about the change when he had set out for Chandigarh. The PPP spokesman said it was strange that an official meeting of Morcha was held at the residence of former Chief Minister Surjit Singh Barnala, whose wife headed the SAD (Longowal) The PPP leader claimed that Manpreet had been denying him the opportunity to hold talks with him one-on-one, despite repeated requests. “ I have been looking forward to such a privileged solitary audience for quite some time so that important political matters can be discussed,” he said. Bir Devinder indicated that the situation in the PPP was grim with its founder Sardara Singh Johl expressing serious apprehensions about its performance. He said a disillusioned Johl had chosen to put everything in black and white on his Facebook account under the title “Unsolicited Suggestions for Manpreet Badal”. The PPP leader, who has earlier served in the SAD and the Congress, said he had told Manpreet that party leaders should not be treated like puppets. He said well-meaning people who had joined the PPP were moving away because of Manpreet’s “ individualistic and autocratic behaviour.” He advised Manpreet to treat his colleagues with the diginity they deserved. The PPP chief, when contacted, said Bir Devinder had joined the PPP and then left it in the runup to the assembly elections. He said Bir Devinder had joined the party again so as to contest from Mohali. “I think he wants to quit the party now. Bir Devinder’s shelf life in any party is about six months,” he remarked. Claiming that Bir Devinder had a track record of criticising his party leaders, Manpreet said the venue for today’s meeting was shifted to Barnala at Surjit Singh Barnala’s request because of health reasons. The PPP leader rubbished the claim that party activists needed an appointment to meet him. He claimed that Johl’s observations on Facebook were aimed at taking the PPP forward.
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Loan scheme of no help: Industrialists
Goindwal Sahib (Tarn Taran), August 20 They said the PFC had not settled repayments made by them before announcement of the scheme against their principal loan amount. The Goindwal Industry Development Association has written a letter to the Chief Minister, asking him to direct the PFC to implement the government notification effectively. There are around 65 industrial units here. The government had acceded to the industry’s demand of interest waiver after long negotiations on December 23, 2011. It had directed the PFC to recover only principal loan amount from the industrialists and announced to reimburse 6 per cent simple interest amount while the compounded and penal interest was waived. Goindwal Industry Development Association president Sukhwant Singh said: “As many as 25 industrialists had been repaying their loans regularly. Since the PFC is not ready to adjust the repayments against the principal loan amount, those who had not paid even a single penny will benefit the most”. Industrialist Col Amarjit Singh (retired) said: “I had taken a loan of Rs 23.2 lakh. I had already paid Rs 30 lakh when the scheme was announced. However, the PFC claims that I still owe Rs 22 lakh to the corporation”. Ajit Singh Hanspal of Punjab Wooden Industries also claimed that he had paid a higher amount than the principal loan amount. He demanded that his account should be cleared.
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More Hindus arrive from Pak, but won’t stay back
Amritsar, August 20
Akash Kumar, who runs a mobile phone shop in Dera Murad Jamali in Balochistan province, said, "We have a 20-day visa and the main purpose of our visit is to attend the 'barsi' (death anniversary) of a relative in Delhi." Asked why his family of four members was carrying a huge luggage comprising 14 bags, he said, "We have brought gifts for our relatives." On alleged persecution of Hindus, Akash said: "Such incidents may be happening, but I am not much aware about them." Another pilgrim, Sarwan Kumar, said, "We will visit several religious places and also meet our relatives." On staying back in India, he said he would do so only if he got some good opportunity. "A cousin of mine had crossed over a few years ago and now he is a successful charted accountant in Delhi," he said. Though Sarwan said he was ignorant about the "harassment" of Hindus in Pakistan, his daughter Sindhu Kumari, a Class VII student, claimed they were made to sit separately from Muslim students in school. Ravi Kukreja, an Indian citizen from Indore, who returned after meeting his relatives in Pakistan, said, "A few of my cousins are planning to leave Pakistan for good in December. Though I did not see any persecution of Hindus, I read about such incidents in newspapers." Kukreja claimed that Hindu families in Pakistan, especially in Balochistan and Sindh provinces, were vulnerable to attacks from extremists.
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Muslims promised representation on various boards
Malerkotla, August 20 In response to a demand made by the Chairman of the Punjab Wakf Board, Mohammad Izhar Alam, Dhindsa assured the community that the government would ensure representation of Muslims on all boards and corporations as well as the Parvasi Welfare Board. On the non-availability of canal water in Malerkotla, Dhindsa asked local leaders to prepare a proposal so that funds were kept aside for the same in the Budget next year. Regarding the setting up of an agro-based industry in Malerkotla, Dhindsa said the government would hold talks with industrialists in this regard. Prominent among those present on the occasion were two former ministers Chaudhary Abdul Gaffar Khan and Nusrat Ikram Khan Bagga. Sangrur: Eid was celebrated here with enthusiasm.
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Sand rate soars in just two days
Chandigarh, August 20 Sand is available in most cities at Rs 2,800 per 100 cubic feet (Rs 21,000 per truck-load of 750 cubic feet). Till last week, the rate of sand was between Rs 2,000-Rs 2,300 per 100 cubic feet. The rate of aggregate (sand and gravel) has remained consistent. A lot of aggregate has now started coming from neighbouring Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. It is available at Rs 2,800-Rs 3,200 per 100 cubic feet (Rs 21,000-Rs 24,000 per truck-load). Sources in the mining trade said they expected the sand rate to go up further. So far, stone crushers still have stockpiles of minor minerals. But with the ban on mining till an environmental clearance is obtained and the crushers gradually exhausting their stocks, the prices are expected to skyrocket. The state government has pulled up all Deputy Commissioners, asking them to check illegal mining in their respective areas. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had on August 18 imposed a ban on mining without environment clearance in all operational quarries less than five hectares in area. This order is in tandem with the Supreme Court's order of February 27. The order says that permission from the Ministry of Environment and Forests is mandatory for quarrying of minor minerals on land less than five hectares. The High Court made it clear that the Deputy Commissioners would be held squarely responsible for any illegal mining in their area. Sources in the Industries Department said they had not yet received a copy of the High Court orders. Officials said they were now working on expediting the process of getting environment clearance for all quarries from the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority. So far, the state has not auctioned any quarry that is over five hectares in area. Last month, the state had obtained clearance for the auction of 25 quarries. Each of these have an area of more than five hectares. Initially, the government was thinking of auctioning these quarries after the new mining and stone crusher policy was approved by the Cabinet. Now, the government is contemplating auctioning these 25 quarries at the earliest. Ban Effect n Sand is available in most cities at Rs 2,800 per 100 cubic feet n
Till last week, the rate of sand was between Rs 2,000 - Rs 2,300 per 100 cubic feet n
The rate of aggregate (sand and gravel) has remained consistent n
A lot of aggregate has now started coming from neighbouring Himachal and J&K n
It is available at Rs 2,800-Rs 3,200 per 100 cubic feet
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Sobti is DAV varsity VC
New Delhi, August 20 The university, whose campus is being built along the Jalandhar-Pathankot road, is likely to start functioning soon. DAV Management Committee Chairman Punam Suri said the university would be different from other universities. "The thrust will be on research and high-level education based on ethics and cultural values. Curriculum and syllabus will be drafted in consultation with industrial sector so that students get jobs immediately after passing out," he said. Suri said another committee had also been constituted to facilitate start of construction of the Mahatma Hans Raj DAV Institute of Nursing in Jalandhar. A budget of Rs 49.06 crore has been approved for this project. The DAV management has also decided to introduce an educational audit of DAV public schools to assess the quality of education.
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Irregularities in test for constables' promotion
Patiala, August 20 The Tribune had highlighted the matter in these columns on July 20 and July 21. Sources said taking note of news reports in this regard, Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini had decided to quash the earlier examination where certain candidates were allegedly allowed to use unfair means. The DGP has also ordered an inquiry into the allegation of favouritism against the officials concerned. "An inquiry to fix responsibility will be conducted by an ADGP and strict action will be taken against the guilty," a senior officer said, adding: "We have already compiled the data pertaining to the exam to facilitate the probe”. The department has fixed August 25 as the next date of the test, which will be held at PAP, Jalandhar. The exam will be conducted in a centralised manner for over 3,500 constables. The new six-member committee will be headed by ADGP (Armed Battalions) GS Sahota. The test is held annually for promotions of constables and head constables. The written test is of 95 marks while five marks are for the interview. Those securing at least 50 per cent marks in the written exam qualify for an interview. There are limited slots available for promotion and only a few from those who qualify get selected. acting tough n Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini has decided to quash the earlier test where certain candidates were allegedly allowed to use unfair means n
The DGP has also ordered an inquiry into the allegation of favouritism
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Villagers await approach road
Mandi Gobindgarh, August 20 The main hurdle for the project is alleged undue interference by local political leaders who seem to be least bothered about the inconvenience being faced by the people. Mandi Gobindgarh town, also known as the "steel city of Punjab" is divided into two parts by railway lines. Gobindgarh village is situated on the eastern side of the railway line while Mandi, which was established by Maharaja Heera Singh of Nabha, is located on the southwest direction. In the absence of an approach road, the RUB has failed to serve its purpose as the traffic could not be diverted through it allegedly due to political interference. Leaders of two major political parties had organised functions to take credit for the project and even installed foundation stones on both two sides of the RUB. One of these was damaged by some unidentified persons and a case has also been registered in this regard. The residents said even though the RUB was ready, they could not use it as the same had been blocked on both sides by the municipal council authorities. Akali and Congress councillors blame each other for obstructing development projects in the area. Residents and members of the Nishkam Kirtan Sewa Society, a welfare body, have urged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to intervene in the matter so that an approach road to the RUB could be constructed soon.
little hope n A railway under-bridge (RUB) was constructed last year to connect Mandi and Gobindgarh villages n
But the district administration has failed to construct an approach road to the RUB n
The main hurdle for the project is alleged undue interference by local political leaders
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Electroplating units raided
Patiala, August 20 PPCB Member Secretary Babu Ram said four teams raided electroplating units in Industrial Area B and C, Industrial Estate and Focal Point in Ludhiana to check adherence to the pollution control norms and inspect whether these units were getting their effluent lifted for treatment at the common effluent treatment plant
(CETP).
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Boycott of SCs
Patiala, August 20 Following a tension among the Dalit and other communities, police and administrative officials visited the village. They said Dalit and landlord leaders were made to sit together in the presence of village elders. After a detailed discussion, the community heads reached a compromise. The matter came to the fore on August 14 when a Dalit boy had a minor altercation with a youth of a landlord family over a phone call. The latter along with other youths attacked a group of Dalits on August 16, following which a police complaint was lodged. "Irked over the complaint, the landlord community announced to boycott us from their fields and the village," said a Dalit resident. "We had to fetch milk and eatables from nearby villages for two days," he said. Passiana Station House Officer (SHO) Ashok Kumar and Samana SHO Guriqbal Sikand convinced the community members to sit together to resolve the matter. Patiala SSP Gurpreet Singh Gill said the matter had been resolved and both communities had apologised to each other in presence of village elders.
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Re-allocate central sector power, engineers to PM
Patiala, August 20 Power distribution companies (DISCOMS) in Delhi are supplying surplus power to other regions and making huge profits. In spite of this, it is being given power from the unallocated quota of central power, AIPEF said. The Union Ministry of Power allocates power from the 15 per cent central sector unallocated quota to the states as per their annual requirement. “Facing an acute shortage of power, northern states including Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are compelled to purchase power at exorbitant Unscheduled Intercharge (UI) rates,” said secretary general of the AIPEF Shailendra Dubey, in the letter sent to the PM. As per the documents attached with the letter, from year 2006-07 to 2011-12 UP had paid UI charges of Rs 5941.05 crore, Haryana Rs 4841.19 crore, Rajasthan Rs 3302.88 crore and Punjab Rs 1949.41 crore to purchase power. “On the other hand, Delhi DISCOMS have earned Rs 4015.25 crore during these six years by way of selling the allocated power,” argued Dubey. This proves that Delhi DISCOMS have been allocated more power than they need. We have requested the PM to take corrective measures to reallocate power to the northern region from the central quota.
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Gang of vehicle thieves
busted in Moga; 6 held
Moga, August 20 The arrests were made at a ‘naka’ set up following a tip-off. One of the accused even opened fire at the police, but nobody was injured. Those arrested have been identified as Manjit Singh of Dagru village, Rajinder Singh of Main Bazaar, Gurdip Singh of Bedi Nagar, Kamaljit Singh Gharu of Mohalla Berian, Gurnam Singh of Zira Road and Raj Kumar of Chand Nawan village, all places in Moga, an official statement said. A .315 bore pistol and two live cartridges were recovered from Gurdip Singh while 50-gm heroin was seized from Manjit Singh’s possession. Preliminary investigations revealed Kamaljit Singh allegedly used to prepare fake registrations of motorcycles to sell them in the market. The police is probing if any official of the district transport office was involved.
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10-year-old foils kidnapping bid
Ropar, August 20 Harjot's father Gurmukh Singh said his son had gone with his grandfather Tara Singh to pluck vegetables from their kitchen garden. While the grandfather entered the garden, Harjot stayed outside. A few minutes later, when Tara Singh noticed that Harjot was not there, he raised an alarm. Harjot was later traced to PNFC chowk, 2 km away from the spot. Harjot said two youths forcibly took him away on a bike. "I hit them with my hands and legs. They lost balance and we fell near the PNFC chowk. The pillion rider suffered a head injury. I hid behind a tree as the kidnappers fled," he claimed.
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Malerkotla, August 20 
Bir Devinder’s statement comes at a time when the PPP president was getting ready to take on SAD’s Harsimrat Badal in the Bathinda parliamentary constituency.