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Post graduation quota row
Agriculture Dept fails to meet target
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Talwandi Sabo plant to start generation in Oct
Panchayat poll: Tribunal flooded with petitions
PPP to contest municipal poll
Was kidnapped, thrashed:Official
Punjab farmers to get subsidised maize seed
Staff crunch ails health services in Jalalabad
10-ft breach in Sangrur distributary
Flood threat: Dist heads approach Army
Students’ performance no longer
a parameter to evaluate teachers
Couldn’t figure what triggered attack on Pannu: DIG
Honey Singh submits plea seeking quashing of FIR
Groundwater level dips alarmingly in Sangrur
Judge’s transfer halts hearing in 600 cases
Consider inflation for relief to retiring advocates, says HC
Armyman booked for abetting suicide
Man throws acid on estranged wife, father-in-law in Moga
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Post graduation quota row
Patiala, July 11 RMOs currently work under the Rural Development and Panchayats Department. Speaking to The Tribune, Dr Aslam Parvez, state President of the Rural Medical Services Association, said the shifting of a small number of RMOs to the PCMS would be an injustice to the large number of RMOs left behind in the Rural Development Department. “Moreover, not many vacancies would arise in the Health Department if the state government decides to increase the retirement age of its employees. Therefore, we do not accept this proposal,” he said. Dr Deepika Puri, spokesperson of the female wing of the association, said, “On the one hand the Punjab government has begun negotiating with us, but on the other, the government has moved Supreme Court against the High Court’s decision of provisionally offering the PG quota to us. Worse still, the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences has scheduled the counselling for PG seats for July 17. We will not be left with any time to move the petition further in case the decision is against us.” However, Vini Mahajan, Principal Secretary, Health Department, said that RMOs should not mix up government’s proposal of shifting them to the Health Department with that of authorities moving the Supreme Court. “We have moved the Supreme Court as the High Court had only provided provisional relief. We want to know where the court stands on the issue. As far as shifting RMOs is concerned, we want to improve their growth prospects as there is no scope of promotions for RMOs in Zila Parishad,” she said. The association has called a state-level meeting of all RMOs at Patiala on Sunday to decide its future course of action. Sources said the doctors were planning to boycott work. The strike will affect the day-to-day functioning of rural dispensaries. The PG quota was introduced in 1982 for serving doctors who wanted to do a post graduate course. Earlier, all dispensaries in the state were under the Department of Health and Family Welfare. However, in 2006, the then Congress regime shifted 1,186 rural dispensaries from the Department of Health and Family Welfare to the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats, posting one rural medical officer in each dispensary. Meanwhile, the Punjab government decided that only PCMS doctors serving in the Health Department should be eligible for the PG quota. Alleging discrimination, few RMOs moved court. A double bench provided interim relief to RMOs and now the Punjab government has moved the Supreme Court against the decision.
At loggerheads We have moved the Supreme Court as the High Court had only provided provisional relief. As far as shifting RMOs is concerned, we want to improve the growth prospects for them in Zila Parishad — Vini
Mahajan, Principal Secy, Health Dept On the one hand the Punjab government has begun negotiating with us, but on the other, the government has moved the Supreme Court against the HC’s decision of provisionally offering the PG quota to us. — Dr Deepika Puri, Rural Medical Services Assn
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Agriculture Dept fails to meet target
Ludhiana, July 11 Direct sowing is less labour intensive and requires less water and the department has been holding seminars across the state, encouraging farmers to adopt this technique. Experts recommended that paddy should be directly sown in the first two weeks of June. They are hopeful that farmers would also sow Basmati rice using the same technique. Bakshish Singh Chahal, Chief Agriculture Officer, Ludhiana, said, “Our target this year was to encourage farmers to directly sow paddy on 250 acres. We are hopeful that we will meet this target as we believe that farmers will also sow Basmati using this technique.” The data available with the Agriculture Department suggests that there is around 2.50 lakh hectare area under paddy and Basmati cultivation in the district. It is expected that farmers will sow Basmati on 10,000 acres. Though direct sowing has several benefits, farmers and experts feel it is difficult to manage weeds when this technique is adopted. “It has been observed that most farmers do not want to take risks, which is why they do not adopt this method,” said Chahal. Dr Mukhtiar Singh Gill, Director Extension at Punjab Agricultural University, said, “Our farmers lack the precision that is needed in the direct sowing method. The seed should not be sown deeper than 2 inches. “The stagnant rain water in the fields can damage the seed in the initial stages. Weed management is another challenge. Initially, when the rice seed grows slowly, weeds grow on a large scale in the fields. But overall, direct sowing is beneficial to farmers.” Dr Gill said the adoption process was slow but the farmers would soon realise the benefits of adopting this technique. Our farmers lack the precision that is needed in the direct sowing method. The seed should not be sown deeper than 2 inches. The stagnant rain water in the fields can damage the seed in the initial stages. Weed management is another challenge. — Dr Mukhtiar Singh Gill, Director, PAU Govt’s push The Agriculture Department had planned to encourage farmers to sow paddy directly on at least 250 acres Direct sowing is highly beneficial as it saves water and is less labour intensive
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Talwandi Sabo plant to start generation in Oct
Bathinda, July 11 A few months ago, construction work at the plant had come to a standstill owing to non-allocation of coal. “The plant’s first unit is set to start generating 660 MW of power by October this year. If all goes well, we will start supplying power by Diwali,” said a plant spokesman. He said the trial run would start in early October. The twin issues of water supply to the plant and railway connectivity had also been resolved. It would take some time before the plant could be run at full capacity, the spokesman said. The plant, raised by a private company, was locked in a legal tangle with the Punjab Government over coal allocation.It has already missed a couple of deadlines. Generation at the plant will help Punjab meet the ever- increasing power demand. The plant will nearly double the state’s thermal power generation capacity adding 1,980 MW to its existing capacity of 2,600 MW. The super-critical plant will consume approximately 20 per cent less coal as compared to plants based on conventional technology for power generation. As of now, all power plants in Punjab are based on conventional technology. The thermal plant constructed over 2,100 acres of wasteland in Mansa district is set to change the topography. It intends to develop a green belt on 700 acres to check soil erosion. Other benefits The plant will help nearly double the state’s thermal power generation capacity The super-critical plant will consume 20% less coal as compared to plants based on conventional technology Constructed over 2,100 acres of wasteland in Mansa, the plant management intends to develop a green belt on 700 acres to check soil erosion
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Padyatra off, says Navjot Kaur
Chandigarh, July 11 Talking to The Tribune on the phone from Delhi, Dr Sidhu said she would attend a works review meeting convened by the Deputy Chief Minister in Amritsar tomorrow. She said the condition of her constituency (Amritsar-East) was deplorable. During campaigning, the Deputy Chief Minister had promised to grant Rs 100 crore to the constituency. There was a need to lay sewers and provide potable water. Roads too needed to be repaired, she said. “We hope to get enough funds from the Deputy CM to meet all the promises made to the people in the constituency,” she said.
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Panchayat poll: Tribunal flooded with petitions
Faridkot, July 11 The Faridkot DET has received 29 petitions in the past three days, challenging the results. In most petitions, the aggrieved persons have sought a recounting, accusing presiding officers of “fudging the polling record under political pressure.” Also, there are several pleas for rechecking of nomination papers. The complainants allege that their nomination papers were rejected on frivolous grounds. In Warah Ka Daraka village, the presiding officer first declared Gurdeep Kaur as winner and she was duly issued Form IX. But minutes later, the officer declared Gurdev Kaur as winner. The district election officer, Faridkot, has sent a report to the State Election Commissioner in this regard. In Faridkot’s Chaina village, Harpal Kaur and Sukhwant Kaur were initially declared winners from Ward No. 3 and Ward No 5, respectively, for the post of panch. Later, Karamjit Kaur, wife of Baljit Singh, and Karamjit Kaur, wife of Kulwant Singh, were announced winners. The tribunal is flooded with applications under the RTI Act with applicants seeking information related to rejection of nominations and counting. The tribunal had received no election petition after the zila parishad and block samiti election results last month.The counting of votes then was undertaken at the district headquarters under
DEOs.
Was kidnapped, thrashed:Official
Patiala, July 11 In his complaint, Milkfed officer SB Chauhan has stated that he was posted in Patran. “On July 3, after the election process was over, I was asked to rush to Hariau Kalan village where a problem had surfaced over counting of votes.” He reached the village at 9 pm. He was informed that 31 ballot papers were missing. “I informed the SDM who asked me to hold a recounting. However the Station House Officer of Shutrana, Satnam Singh, told me that this could worsen the situation as polling officer Jagtar Singh had already declared the results.” Chauhan went ahead with the recounting that threw up different results. As he was about to leave at 10.30 pm, he was attacked by unidentified persons. Chauhan has further alleged that he tried to call up the SHO who did not respond to his calls. “No police official tried to help me as the attackers slapped me repeatedly before bundling me into a vehicle. I was taken to an isolated place and forced to sign some documents.” Chauhan claims he was let off the following day on the intervention of the Milkfed Association.
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PPP to contest municipal poll Chandigarh, July 11 Party president Manpreet Singh Badal said an announcement on elections to about 80 municipal committees was expected in the next couple of weeks. “In the panchayat elections, 330 PPP candidates were elected to the post of sarpanch and about 1,500 were elected panches, in some villages with a big margin,” Manpreet said. On his party’s alliance with the Congress, he said any decision in this regard would be taken collectively by the constituents of the Sanjha Morcha led by him. Insiders, however, said that at the party’s central committee meeting today, most leaders spoke in favour of a poll pact with the Congress. Meanwhile, Manpreet has started a mass contact programme.
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Punjab farmers to get subsidised maize seed
Chandigarh, July 11 An official spokesman said the Chief Minister had directed the Agriculture Department to ensure the installation of two community maize dryers at Nawanshahr and Saila Khurd (Hoshiarpur) at a cost of Rs 16 crore before the procurement of maize during the current kharif season. This would enable the farmers to get remunerative price of the maize crop as dried maize fetched better returns as compared to maize with moisture content. The Chief Minister also gave directions to the department to install maize dyers in all the dedicated mandis at a cost of Rs 150 crore before the commencement of procurement during the next kharif season in a phased manner. He said maize growers would also be given subsidy of 50 per cent on the purchase of portable maize dryers.
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Staff crunch ails health services in Jalalabad
Fazilka, July 11 The Civil Hospital of Jalalabad, supposed to cater to the medical requirements of the surrounding areas in a radius of about 15 km, including the border belt, is facing an acute shortage of doctors and paramedics. The name “Civil Hospital” displayed on the board installed at the entry of the hospital is a misnomer as in the official records, the hospital is a Community Health Centre. Of the total five sanctioned posts of medical officers, four are vacant at present. During the large-scale reshuffle and transfer of doctors, three medical officers were transferred from Jalalabad hospital. They have been relieved in the last fortnight. However, the two medical officers, including a gynaecologist and a surgeon, transferred to the hospital, have not joined. The hospital now just has a senior medical officer and a medical officer working on the premises. Civil Surgeon, Fazilka, Dr Baldev Raj has temporarily adjusted Dr Bhupinderjit Singh, Medical Officer, Slum Area Dispensary, Fazilka, for performing emergency duties. With a total strength of two doctors, it is not possible to provide emergency duty round the clock even as Senior Medical Officer Dr Hans Raj Malethia, who is supposed to look after the administration of the hospital, is himself performing emergency duty. About six months ago, various NGOs in the town had launched a prolonged agitation, including relay fast demanding filling up of the vacancies of medical officers. Thereafter, the vacancies were filled but some medical officers “managed” to get themselves transferred from the hospital. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had laid the foundation stone of a 100-bed hospital in the town amidst much fanfare on April 3, this year. However, not even a brick has been added thereafter. The residents of the town remain deprived of the bare minimum health facilities.
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10-ft breach in Sangrur distributary
Sangrur/Ropar, July 11 Irrigation Department executive engineer GS Bahia said he had visited the affected areas and had got the release of water from the overhead canal at Babbanpur stopped. He said the breach would be plugged completely by tomorrow morning. He said the canal water had spread on about 25 acres of land. In Ropar, a day after the Bhakra dam authorities announced it may have to open its floodgates in case there was more rain in the coming days, the area residents today joined hands with the local administration to strengthen the eroding Lodhipur ‘bundh’. While the district administration deputed its workforce for putting sandbags at vulnerable locations, the locals provided tractor-trailers for ferrying the material. Built five years ago alongside the Sutlej near Lodhipur village, nearly 1,000 feet of the bundh portion had got eroded in August 2010. Several villages, including Burj, Lodhipur, Ballowal, Mataur, Mehendli Kalan, Gajpur, Chandpur, Shahpur Bela and Hariwal, had got inundated then. As no steps were initiated by the state government to check the erosion of the bundh, it has been eroded further up to 2,000 feet, thus leading to panic among the locals. At a press conference in Chandigarh yesterday, Bhakra Beas Management Board chairman AB Agrawal had said the (Bhakra) dam level had touched 1,630 feet and it could not be allowed to cross the 1,650-feet mark in July. As such, releasing water in a controlled manner to maintain the preferred level is the only solution. The district administration today ordered a 24-hour patrol on the banks of the Sutlej, Swan, Budhki, Sagrao and Sarsa rivers passing through the district. Anandpur Sahib Sub-Divisional Magistrate Amarjit Singh Shahi said the work on strengthening the bundhs had been started.
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Flood threat: Dist heads approach Army
Jalandhar, July 11 The BBMB chairman had yesterday apprised Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal of the situation. These three districts, downstream the dams, are likely to be worst-affected in case the BBMB opens its floodgates and releases excess water from the water bodies. Hundreds of villages could be marooned. While the Beas could wreak havoc in Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala districts, the Sutlej could spell disaster in Nawanshahr. Deputy Commissioners DS Mangat (Kapurthala) and Tanu Kashyap (Nawanshahr) said they had spoken to the Army authorities seeking assistance in case of any emergency. Apprehending massive destruction in case the BBMB released water from the Pong dam, the administration has already arranged additional sandbags, boats and other items While Mangat along with a team of Army officials today visited the sensitive areas in Sultanpur Lodhi, Kashyap claims she would take stock of the situation tomorrow. She also said 77 villages were prone to floods in her district. Hoshiarpur Deputy Commissioner Varun Roojam said 75,000 additional sandbags had been dispatched to sensitive areas, besides taking other precautionary measurers. The Deputy Commissioner said the material required for rescue operations, in case of an emergency, had been sent to vulnerable areas.
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Students’ performance no longer
a parameter to evaluate teachers
Chandigarh, July 11 A letter from Block Education Officer to the district education officers seeking ACRs for 2012-13 has asked them to collect the reports sent according to the earlier format from the dispatch section as these were “meaningless” and send ACRs according to the new format. A senior teacher said: “If the results will have no impact in our ACR, the entire exercise will be a mere formality. Just teach and don’t bother about results. This is not fair”. The ACR for 2012-13 begins with self-evaluation by the report writer. The first part to be filled by the report writer includes columns like completion of the task in particular subject by the teacher; whether he works in Punjabi; quality of work; typing skills on computers and type writer; and proficiency in job like maintaining charts. The next columns include a teacher’s standing in the categories of attaining of goals; sense of responsibility; timeliness of action; quality of explaining lessons; team work; and discipline. In comparison, the old ACR stressed a great deal on results (more than 50 per cent). These were specific to class results of a particular teacher in comparison to the overall board results and average pass percentage of the class. In case 10 per cent of the students scored first division in a particular subject, the teacher was given two additional marks; in case more than 20 per cent got more than 60 per cent, the teacher got four marks; and if more than 30 per cent of the students scored the first division, the teacher was given eight extra marks. Under the earlier format, any student getting more than 75 per cent marks or featuring among the top 20 students in the district and state levels, all the teachers concerned got two marks. A teacher also got negative marks in the old ACR which included two each for not teaching in Punjabi, taking tuitions or getting department punishment during teaching. In the new report, the report writer will fill a separate column on knowledge of procedure of teaching of the teachers; coordination skills; ability on computers; and taking the initiative. Now, the evaluation includes accessibility of the teacher to students and parents; integrity; health; and whether training was recommended. Based on a detailed chart, the teacher will be rated as outstanding, very good, good or average. Teachers, however, feel that results of the students are an important aspect of their performance and could not be ignored in the overall evaluation. New ACR format The Education Department has deleted the column of class performance of students from the annual confidential report (ACR) of schoolteachers The new report has columns like accessibility of the teacher to students and parents; integrity; health; and whether training is recommended In comparison, the old ACR stressed a great deal on results (over 50%)
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Couldn’t figure what triggered attack on Pannu: DIG
Chandigarh, July 11 In a statement here, Khubi Ram said he had already made it clear that a few pilgrims had approached him at Joshimath and claimed that Pannu had hurt their religious sentiments, but he could not vouch for the authenticity of their claims. The police officer claimed Pannu had carried out his duty in a professional manner and that the team of civil and police officers deputed by the Punjab Government had acted in complete coordination. He condemned the attack on a public servant who he said had discharged his duties in trying and challenging circumstances. Meanwhile, Sanjeev Kalra, IGP, who is heading the SIT probing the assault case, claimed that DIG Khubi Ram had never appeared before the SIT nor had he been summoned. Khubi Ram, however, had claimed the opposite during his interview with TNS yesterday, saying he had narrated the entire sequence of events relating to the incident to the SIT.
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Honey Singh submits plea seeking quashing of FIR
Nawanshahr, July 11 Sticking to his stand that it was a case of mistaken identity and that he had not sung the song in question, he submitted his application and handed over some CDs to the police officials for voice-matching by experts. SSP Dhanpreet Kaur said she would send the CDs for examination and get these matched with the CD of a vulgar song put on evidence by complainant Parwinder Singh Kitna, an activist of NGO Human Empowerment League of Punjab (HELP). Honey Singh also met SP Gagan Ajit Singh, who has been investigating into the case. The police officer said the rapper had not come to join the investigations and was simply here to seek an inquiry into his case. Asked about another complaint made by the NGO against another lewd song allegedly sung by him, the officer said since he had recently joined here, he was not aware of any such complaint. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had last week refused to interfere in the FIR against the singer. It, however, had left on him to resort to any kind of remedy. The court had also said it was up to the state government to set up an authority for screening of songs before their release. Honey Singh had earlier told the court that he strongly condemned the lyrics of the song ‘Main Hoon Balatkari’ (meaning I am a rapist) while stating that perhaps some mischievous persons had sung the song and uploaded it on YouTube. An FIR was registered against him under Section 294 of the Indian Penal Code on May 16. While it was on January 1 that the complaint was filed by the NGO, the police booked him only after receiving directions from the High Court.
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Groundwater level dips alarmingly in Sangrur
Sangrur, July 11 While the annual average rainfall in the district in the past 10 years was recorded at 382 mm, the figure in 2012 stood at 258 mm. In June 2000, the minimum groundwater level in the district was recorded at 8.75 metres and the maximum at 23.25 metres. In June 2012, the minimum stood at 16.5 metres in Andana block and the maximum at 32.5 metres in Sherpur block. To measure the sub-surface groundwater level, 18 piezometers have been installed by the Agriculture Department and the Water Sources Directorate, Punjab, in various blocks of the district. As three piezometers (a device used to measure the water table), installed at a depth of 100-ft, at Lasoi village and Haider Nagar in Malerkotla block and Nawangaon in Andana block of the district dried up during the past one year, it showed the water level in the district had been depleting rapidly, an official said. He said if necessary steps were not taken at the earliest, the situation could worsen in other parts of the district t. Deepak Sethi, assistant geologist in the Agriculture Department at Sangrur, said, “As we dig deeper to draw groundwater, the exercise becomes expensive due to the installation of costly machinery. Farmers with small landholding cannot afford to install tubewells at a depth of hundreds of metres to irrigate their crops. So, saving groundwater through crop diversification is the need of the hour.”
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Patiala, July 11 Meanwhile, in another accident on Patiala-Rajpura road, a Pepsu Road Transport Corporation bus overturned and fell in a nearby ditch in Bahadurgrah here today evening. Five people were injured in the accident and were rushed to a hospital in
Patiala. Commando volunteers from the Commando Complex, Bahadurgarh, helped rescue the passengers. — TNS
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Judge’s transfer halts hearing in 600 cases
Moga, July 11 She left on Saturday following which hearing in all the pending cases has come to a halt. There are at least 600 cases pending in this court. Neither the work of this court has been distributed among the other two sessions courts nor has the Punjab and Haryana High Court posted any additional sessions judge here. A number of undertrials, other alleged accused persons, witnesses and litigants visit the court daily only to get the next date of hearing in their cases. The cases are listed as usual but there is no judge to hear them. Sukhwinder Singh Ramuwalia, general secretary of the District Bar Association, has urged the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to post an additional sessions judge at the earliest.
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Consider inflation for relief to retiring advocates, says HC
Chandigarh, July 11 As a petition filed by advocate HC Arora seeking enhancement of the amount payable to advocates retiring from the profession came up for hearing this morning, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Augustine George Masih directed the state of Punjab and the Chandigarh Administration to take into consideration the rise in inflation. The Bench also asked Punjab and Chandigarh to take into consideration the fact that there was no social security system for advocates before making an endeavour to increase the amount payable to advocates on cessation of practice on the pattern of the Haryana Government. Haryana had recently considerably enhanced the quantum of payable amount from the maximum of Rs 30,000 to Rs 4.50 lakh. As per the new system, retiring advocates in Haryana will get Rs 1 lakh on the completion of five years of practice; Rs 2.50 lakh on the completion of 20 years, Rs 3.50 lakh on the completion of 30 years and Rs 4.50 lakh on the completion of 40 years of practice. Earlier, the Punjab Government had stated before the High Court that the Trustees Committee of Punjab had recommended an enhancement of financial assistance on the death of an advocate from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, but did not commit on the enhancement of amount on retirement.
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Armyman booked for abetting suicide
Abohar, July 11 The complainant has alleged that his daughter had been harassed by her in-laws since her marriage in February this year.
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Man throws acid on estranged wife, father-in-law in Moga
Moga, July 11 The victim, Mandeep Kaur, suffered 70 per cent burn injuries on the face, chest and legs. Her father Shamsher Singh, a resident of Daya Kalan village in Moga, received 30 per cent burns. They were referred to Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Surjit Singh Grewal said a criminal case under Sections 326 and 307 of the IPC had been registered against Harinder Singh of Raseen village, Ludhiana, at the Mehna police station and one of his accomplices. “I have constituted teams to conduct raids at possible hideouts. We hope to nab the attackers soon,” he said. Sources said Mandeep Kaur and her father were on their way to the district courts on a scooter when they were intercepted by Harinder and his friends near Mehna village. Harinder threw acid on his wife and his father-in-law. Chamkaur Singh Brar, counsel for the victim, said three separate cases of marital dispute were fixed for hearing in the district courts today. “A couple of days ago, Harinder was issued summons in two cases - one for domestic violence and the other for maintenance. This may have provoked him to attack his wife,” he said.
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Ludhiana, July 11
Finally, decks have been cleared for the Talwandi Sabo Thermal Plant to begin generation with the Central Electrical Authority (CEA) approving the supply of 1,00,000 tonnes of coal for the plant.
A few months ago, construction work at the plant had come to a standstill owing to non-allocation of coal.
“The plant’s first unit is set to start generating 660 MW of power by October this year.
Sangrur/Ropar, July 11
Having remained in controversy for allegedly singing vulgar songs and being booked in a case filed by an NGO, rapper Honey Singh today appeared before the district police seeking an inquiry into the matter and demanding quashing of an FIR registered against him.
Government and the state governments for failing to formulate a policy to prevent acid attacks on women, a man allegedly threw acid on his young wife and her father near Mehna village in Moga this morning when they were on their way to appear for a court hearing.