The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	College increases BA-I seats after protest by students Archit Watts Tribune News Service Muktsar, July 23 The Government College authorities on Monday increased 100 seats of BA-I from the existing 550 to 650 on the last day of the admission process. The decision came after a protest lodged by the activists of the Punjab Students Union (PSU) at the entrance of the District Administrative Complex (DAC). The protesting students raised anti-establishment slogans and surrounded the DAC for nearly half an hour. A delegation of protesting students even went inside to meet the senior officials of the district administration and inform them about their demands. Their main demands included increase in the number of existing seats in BA on the ground that this was the lone government college in the district and the number of applications received to get admission was much more than the seats permitted. Gagan Sangrami, a PSU leader, said, "We are lodging a protest in favour of the students' rights. The seats in BA are limited but the applicants are much more. The number of applicants is increasing every year, but the authorities are not willing to increase the seats. So we had no other option but to lodge a protest." "Besides, the college was collecting PTA funds from the students belonging to scheduled castes, who have been exempted from depositing the fee. Drinking water is also a major problem in the college." Prof Mohammad Jameel, principal, Government College, said, "As per the advice of the district administration and the college staff, the seats in BA have been increased from 550 to 650. The remaining 100 students will be admitted to the BA course within a week and the process will begin in a day or two." He however added, "Only those 100 students will be admitted who have already applied. No new applications will be accepted. But we will seek permanent increase in the number of seats from the university authorities from next year onwards. Last year too, the seats were increased on the demand of students." "The other demands of the students, like the problem of drinking water etc, have been sorted out," Prof Jameel claimed. However, the protest lodged by the students at the entrance of the DAC caused a lot of inconvenience to the commuters and those who had come for their work. As per the advice of the district administration and the college staff, the seats in BA have been increased from 550 to 650. The remaining 100 students will be admitted to the BA course within a week and the process will begin in a day or two. — Mohammad Jameel, Principal, Govt College, Muktsar
	Newly built college in Jalalabad inoperative 11 AISF members go on chain hunger strike Our Correspondent Fazilka, July 23 After a prolonged protest by the residents demanding better health services in nearby Jalalabad town, the high-profile constituency represented by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, the students have now launched another agitation to seek better educational facilities for girls. They have initiated a chain hunger strike to protest against the failure of the government to make the newly constructed Government Girls College there operational. A dream project envisaged by the Deputy Chief Minister's wife and Member of Parliament Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the college building came up at a cost of about Rs 12 crore to introduce arts and sciences courses for girls. She inaugurated the college building in December 2011 before the previous assembly polls which gave hope to the girls, particularly those from the backward border areas, that they would be able to get go for higher education. But surprisingly, the staff was not appointed in the college and even after more than one and a half years of its inauguration, the functioning of the college could not be started. After a long wait, the All India Students Federation (AISF), led by its president Parmjit Singh Dhaban, has initiated an indefinite chain hunger strike to lodge protest. Eleven members, including girl students, sat on chain hunger strike. "The residents, cutting across party lines, should come forward to join the agitation for the better future of their daughters," demanded Dhaban.
	Delivery of services Faridkot district ranked 21st in state Balwant Garg/TNS Faridkot, July 23 Delay in reconciliation of the official records between the different departments has relegated Faridkot to 21st position from its 12th rank in the state in the delivery of citizen services. In its recent audit report, while inspecting the implementation of the Right to Service Act and the satisfaction level of the public in the delivery of hassle-free citizen services in government offices in all districts of Punjab, the Punjab State Administrative Reforms Commission has given a poor rank to Faridkot district-demoting the district to 21st position in the state for disposing of only 88.8 per cent public applications for various services. Ajitgarh district got the first position in the state with 99.30 per cent disposal rate. Jalandhar has been adjudged as the poorest in the state with 88.4 per cent rate of disposal of applications. However, authorities in Faridkot claimed that the district ranks 12th and not 21st in the state in the delivery of public services. "It was due to the delayed reconciliation of data with Suvidha Kendra by the different service providers in the district," said Ravi Bhagat, Deputy Commissioner, Faridkot. Out of a total of 26,635 applications received from April 1 this year till date, Faridkot district has made timely disposal of 24,881 applications and only 1,754 applications are pending. It earns Faridkot 93.41 per cent and not 88.8 per cent disposal rate, said the DC. At a time when the Punjab State Administrative Reform Commission collected the figures of disposal work from Suvidha Kendras in the state, there was no proper reconciliation of the record in Faridkot. In Faridkot, the highest pendency of services has been recorded in district transport department. Out of a total of 8,936 applications received since April 1 this year, the department has cleared 8366 applications, leaving behind 570 cases of pendency. The reason for the lapse is reported to be an acute shortage of staff in the district transport office. Against the 11 sanctioned clerical posts in the office, there are only two clerks and a steno. The other notable pendency is the demarcation of agricultural land in the rural areas. Out of a total of 232 demarcation applications received till date, only nine applications have been disposed of. The reason for the sluggish clearance of these applications is that demarcation is possible only after the harvesting of the crop. "No demarcation is possible with the standing crop," said the DC. The clearance of applications for birth and death certificate in Health Department and delayed renewal of firearms licences are the other two sectors where the disposal of public services is a bit slow. The reason for the delay is attributed to verification by the police and village chowkidar record.
	FCI officials ‘nabbed’ for graft Tribune News Service Muktsar, July 23 A team of CBI officials today conducted a raid at a godown of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) in Malout and reportedly caught two officials for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 80,000 from the millers for stacking rice. Sources said the team arrived in the morning and remained there till late in the afternoon. Before leaving, the team took two officials of the FCI to Chandigarh, sources added. Gurmeet Singh, district president, Rice Millers' Association, Muktsar, said, "The FCI officials were demanding a bribe of Rs 3.80 lakh from the millers to store rice in the godown. I had lodged a complaint with the CBI officials in Chandigarh a few days ago in this regard. The first instalment of the amount decided was paid today and the CBI officials seized that amount during the raid from the FCI officials. However, when contacted, Sunil Bansal, District Manager, FCI, said, "A raid was conducted at the FCI godown in Malout, but I am not aware about the development."
	Acid attack on Moga woman Policy apathy to blame: Cong leaders Kulwinder Sandhu Tribune News Service Moga, July 23 The Congress has alleged that the insensitive attitude of the police had led to the acid attack on a woman and her father by her estranged husband on July 11 at Mehna village in Moga district, in which she suffered 70 per cent burn injuries and was still in a critical condition at a private hospital in Ludhiana. Senior Congress leaders and former MLAs, Vijay Sathi and Ajit Singh Shant, besides SGPC member Sukhjit Singh Kaka Lohgarh jointly alleged that the law and order situation was deteriorating in Moga district. “There is an urgent need to tame the Moga police, which has crossed all limits as far as corruption is concerned. It reflects the state of the SAD-BJP government in the state,” they said. Sathi alleged that the insensitive attitude of the police had led to the acid attack on the woman. He said the woman’s husband was threatening to pour acid on her for quite some time and he even tried to pour acid on her on an earlier occasion but the police did not listen to the victim’s requests. She met the Mohali SSP on March 20, 2013 and on May 10, 2013 and demanded the registration of a criminal case against her husband but the Mohali police did not do so, he said. “The Mehna police also did not take note of her complaint, which led to the acid attack on her,” the Congress leaders alleged. They also expressed concern over the rising incidents of murders and crime against women in the district. “Moga has become a hub of organised crime being committed by the hired criminals, contract killers, drug mafia, sand mafia and land mafia in the state,” they alleged. The leaders appreciated the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul for calling for a status report from the Moga SSP Surjit Singh Grewal on the ongoing investigations into the acid attack while taking a suo motu cognisance of the incident. “We demand from the HC to take note of all the applications sent to the police by the victim before the acid attack. Legal action should be initiated against the police officers for their callousness towards her requests,” they said. They also demanded that the Punjab government provide an immediate relief of Rs 5-lakh to the victim, bear all medical expenses and provide a regular job to her, besides taking the responsibility of rehabilitating her.