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Law to regulate pvt education soon
Sirhind mishap: No mechanical fault, says report
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Sangat Darshan will usher in era of development: CM
‘Adamant’ Badal upsets Congress
Sukhbir set to be re-elected SAD chief
BJP to launch door-to-door drive on Sept 15
BJP high command in dilemma over corporation appointments
Harsimrat urges Punjabis to protest against UPA policies
60-year-old drowns in overflowing drain
Centre approves 2 bridges for Fazilka
2 electrocuted in Samrala, were heading for cart race
Opposing shifting of meters, villagers detain power staff
Bringing their home to border, virtually
Sangrur park dedicated to Sher-e-Punjab hangs fire
Demands not met, teachers hold protest
Pharmacists sell ‘ladoos’ in protest
Plywood industry not yet under e-trip ambit
Jatha leaves for Hazur Sahib
Gang of bull thieves busted, 3 arrested
Gang of criminals busted, four held
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Law to regulate pvt education soon
Chandigarh, September 1 The committee that comprises the Principal Secretary, Coordination, Sanjay Kumar; Principal Secretary Technical Education, AR Talwar; Principal Secretary, Medical Education, Vinnie Mahajan; and Principal Secretary, Higher Education, Ravneet Kaur; will also be touring Karnataka. Himachal Pradesh has put in place a mechanism to regulate private education under its Private Educational Institutions (Regulatory Commission) Act, 2010, while Karnataka has passed the Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Fixation Fee) (Special Provisions) Bill, 2013. The Himachal Pradesh commission has initiated significant measures towards regulating higher education. For example, in May this year, the commission directed the universities not to issue any advertisement specific to MPhil and PhD courses for the session till the necessary approval from the commission. In Punjab, certain private institutions have closed down or are in the process of closing down. The Punjab Technical Education Department has refused affiliation to more than 24 colleges this year. The Himachal Government, before enacting a law, had noted: "The quality of education is not up to the standards in private institutions in spite of the high fee structure." The commission has already issued notices to several institutes in the state for overcharging, admissions in contravention of norms and examination malpractices. SC ruling The Supreme Court in the PA Inamdar and others versus the State of Maharashtra case in 2005-06 had said that a law be enacted by states to oversee the norms of admission to professional colleges/unaided institutions. Much-needed measures
State of affairs
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Sirhind mishap: No mechanical fault, says report
Ludhiana, September 1 Gurmeet Singh Chauhan, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Fatehgarh Sahib, said the report stated that the incident did not occur due to any mechanical fault and that the vehicle was in good condition. Sources said the report indicated that the incident took place either due to driver’s negligence or the damaged road. Transport Department yet to constitute SIT
The Transport Department is yet to form a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the incident. State Transport Minister Ajit Singh Kohar had on August 1 ordered the formation of a SIT to probe the mishap. When questioned on the delay, Kohar feigned ignorance, saying: “I am busy in my constituency due to election work. I will ask for the status report after joining the office.” Meanwhile, a probe by the SIT formed by the Fatehgarh Sahib police is underway. SSP Chauhan said: “The SIT will soon file a closure report. I do not know about any panel formed by the Transport Department. No one from their side approached us.” The police had registered a case against bus driver Surinder Singh under Section 279 (rash driving) and 304-A (causing death by negligence) of the IPC. There has been no further development after that.
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Sangat Darshan will usher in era of development: CM
Qadian, September 1 The Chief Minister claimed that the series of Sangat Darshan functions would usher in a new era of development in the Qadian Vidhan Sabha segment. Earlier, he paid obeisance at Ghallughara Gurdwara where 7,000 Sikhs were killed in 1746. Badal was accompanied by his Principal Secretary Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, Deputy Commissioner Abhinav Trikha and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sukhwant Singh Gill. Qadian area in charge and former Cabinet Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan said that the PPCC chief's criticism of Sangat Darshan programmes was unjustified. He said Bajwa's wife, Charanjit Kaur, sitting Congress legislator from Qadian, had done the right thing by presenting a charter of demands to the Deputy Commissioner on Friday, a day before the Sangat Darshan was held at Qadian. "This goes on to prove that she cares for the needs of the residents. By handing over her demands to the DC, she indirectly became a part of the Sangat Darshan programme. I request Bajwa to consult his wife before issuing a statement against Sangat Darshan programmes," Sekhwan said, his tone laced with sarcasm. Badal said that Bajwa, instead of criticising public welfare programmes should concentrate on bringing industrial projects to Punjab with the help of the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre. "Even the Punjab and Haryana High Court has given legal sanctity to these programmes. This should have been enough for Congress men to stop condemning this public welfare programme," he remarked. Observers claim that by holding Sangat Darshan in the assembly constituency represented by Bajwa's wife, Badal is indirectly helping Akali area in charge Sekhwan. There are 182 villages in this Vidhan Sabha constituency, besides the Qadian Municipal Committee. By distributing grants to the MC and to all village panchayats, the Chief Minister is trying to politically rehabilitate Sekhwan. The latter had lost to Charanjit Bajwa by nearly 16,000 votes. "The Chief Minister's visit comes as a boon to the beleaguered Sekhwan who, till now, was in political wilderness," remarked a former SAD minister.
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‘Adamant’ Badal upsets Congress
Chandigarh, September 1 "The CM is breaking the chain of command of administrative working from the patwari to the Chief Secretary level... "It is the panchayats that pass a resolution for specific works, which is processed by the BDPO and the DDPO. Finally, it is the Deputy Commissioner who sanctions the works and allocate funds/grant to the gram panchayat concerned," Khaira said. He said many working days were spent on arranging for the CM's visit, causing harassment to the people. "Similarly, there is a laid down mechanism for redressing public grievances. Besides, the SDMs, there are Public Grievances Officers at the district level. "To make officers more accountable, there is the system of annual confidential report (ACR) and any officer found guilty of dereliction of duty can lose his job or seniority," Khaira said. Similarly, the Deputy CM was issuing policy statements and leading official delegations of senior officers belonging to other ministries, he added.
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Sukhbir set to be re-elected SAD chief
Chandigarh, September 1 The SAD secretary, Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, who will conduct the election, said the delegates had been informed about the agenda. He said the SAD had 60 lakh members across the country. A fresh membership drive had been launched some months ago. Under the guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India, all parties need to hold their organisational elections at a regular interval. Incumbent president Sukhbir Singh Badal is certain to be re-elected president of the party. He is the party's unchallenged leader. He and his father Parkash Singh Badal hold a sway over the SAD. Sukhbir was elected the 20th president of the SAD on January 3, 2008. The party has in the past been spearheaded by veteran leaders such as Badal, Surjit Singh Barnala and the late Harchand Singh Longowal. Sarmukh Singh Jhabal was the first to head the SAD in 1920s. He was succeeded by Baba Kharak Singh. Gopal Singh Quami, Master Tara Singh, Giani Kartar Singh, Hukam Singh and Sant Fateh Singh. Sukhbir, who was on a weeklong trip to Turkey and Dubai, is back home. He will reach Amritsar tomorrow. Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) leader Jaswant Singh Mann said a session of his party would be held in Amritsar on December 14.
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BJP to launch door-to-door drive on Sept 15
Sangrur, September 1 Subhash Sharma, state secretary attached to state BJP president Kamal Sharma, today said city and village booth-level committees would visit every house to make people aware of the party ideology. These committees would distribute party literature, comprising pamphlets and booklets, comparing the work done by the Vajpayee-led NDA Government with the Manmohan Singh-led UPA Government, among the people. The booklets would also mention various scams. He said considering that every assembly constituency had 140 booths, party workers would be able to cover all Punjab areas by October 15. He said the work of booth-level committees would be monitored by the party's district heads. Sharma was here to attend a meeting of the party’s Malwa zone comprising 11 district units. The objective of the meeting is to strengthen the party base and re-energise the party rank and file. Sharma said the BJP would contest the Lok Sabha seats of Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur. Regarding the appointment of chairpersons of boards and corporations, he said these were expected in a week's time. Another state BJP secretary Jatinder Kalra said the party would make the people aware of the “anti-farmer, anti-labourer and anti-employee” policies of the UPA Government. In poll gear
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BJP high command in dilemma over corporation appointments
Chandigarh, September 1 Some days ago, the BJP's Punjab unit had sent at least 12 names to the party high command for approval. The appointment of leaders who faced defeat at the hustings as chairpersons is being strongly opposed by senior leaders of the party as well as the RSS, said a party insider. "These leaders were given an opportunity to contest the assembly elections, but were defeated. “They should not be appointed chairpersons now and should be told to do work to strengthen the party in their constituencies. Fresh faces should be appointed as board/corporation chairpersons," said a senior BJP leader. He said there were certain leaders who always remained eager to grab posts. "Such leaders deny an opportunity to other leaders to grow in the party's organisational structure," he added.
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Harsimrat urges Punjabis to protest against UPA policies
Chandigarh, September 1 She alleged that the UPA Government was trying to blame outside factors, including the tapering of reserves by the United States and the Syrian crisis, for the country’s deteriorating economy. In a statement here, the MP said people were smart enough to realise that one of the main reasons for the poor financial health of the economy was the government’s own policy paralysis. Asserting that the economic decline under the UPA rule seemed irreversible, she said the only solution left was dismissing the central government and imposing a financial emergency. Harsimrat said the import of capital goods worth $587 billon, which the country could have produced itself, drained out a third of India’s GDP. “The country’s current account deficit that was $8 billion in 2007 had shot up to $90 billion now due to the flawed policies of the UPA,” she said. She said instead of taking policy decisions to reduce the effects of the economic crisis, the government was increasing petrol and diesel rates even further. Harsimrat said the common man, who was already reeling under the economic crisis, would now have to face steeper inflation.
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60-year-old drowns in overflowing drain
Fazilka, September 1 With this incident, the death toll due to floods in the border district has risen to six. Five persons, including two children, were killed in similar incidents earlier. The residents have also been affected due to water-borne diseases in the aftermath of the floods. The district health authorities had constituted 22 teams to monitor the situation in 27 villages of the district. “Of the 4,191 persons examined in various check-up camps over the past fortnight, 1,259 were found suffering from skin diseases, 984 from fever and 302 from
diarrhoea, besides other diseases,” said Assistant Civil Surgeon Dr Davinder Kumar
Bhukkal. Apart from the district administration, various social bodies have come forward to help the residents. “Dera Sacha Sauda followers have distributed green fodder amongst 5,400 flood victim families for their livestock, besides ration to more than 200 families in 18 flood-affected villagers since August 23,” claimed spokesman Vijay Kumar. Death toll rises to 6
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Centre approves 2 bridges for Fazilka
Chandigarh, September 1 A statement released to the media here today mentioned that Ramesh gave his approval to the projects after meeting a
Jakhar-led delegation of villagers from the border district. During the meeting, the villagers narrated to Ramesh their woes, particularly in the aftermath of the recent floods. They said a low-level bridge across the Sutlej at Kanwanwali Pattan village was submerged, following which the villagers were cut off from the mainland. They said it was difficult to even receive relief material. The villagers demanded another bridge at Jalalabad-Maujam drain near Balleshah Uttar
village.
Ramesh assured the villagers that a team from Union Rural Development Department would soon visit the sites where the bridges were required and sanction funds accordingly. Jairam, Jakhar at work
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2 electrocuted in Samrala, were heading for cart race
Kot Gangu Rai (Samrala), September 1 The deceased have been identified as Gurdeep Singh (34) and Dharminder Pal Sharma (50). The victims, belonging to Meemsa village in Sangrur district, had brought their bullock cart in a Mahindra Jeep. When they were unloading the vehicle, the upper portion of the cart touched low-lying electricity wires. Both were hit by an intense electric shock. They were rushed to the Samrala Civil Hospital Samrala where they succumbed to their injuries. The Koom Kalan police said no case had been registered in this regard. Today was the first day of the 67th rural games, organised by Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Sports Club of the village in memory of Baba Nag Bhag. Kulwant Singh, club secretary, said bullock cart races had been suspended while other games would be held as per schedule.
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Opposing shifting of meters, villagers detain power staff
Tarn Taran, September 1 However, they had to return without initiating the work. They were also forced to restore power supply to the village, which was disconnected some days ago. Sources said when power officials entered the village, members of the women wing of Kisan Sangarash Committee, led by Sampuran Kaur, gheraoed them. SDO, Chabal sub-division, reached the spot. The villagers demanded restoration of power supply to which the SDO agreed.
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Bringing their home to border, virtually
Attari (Amritsar), September 1 There are many jawans like Shiva Ramu who are now eager to talk to their families after a tiring day of duty along the border. Shiva said, "I once interacted with my wife and two daughters who had visited a cyber cafe. It was a wonderful experience to see my family and talk to them face to face while working thousands of miles away from them. I have a laptop at home and I will ensure the remaining equipment and software for video-conferencing is installed next time I go on leave so that we can interact often.” Assistant Commandant Monu Singh, who also looks after the project, often connects to his family in Meerut, which has got the facility in their home. He said the BSF personnel are gradually getting to know about the facility and are excited about it. “At present, we have a single computer and the timings for video-conferencing are 6 pm to 9 pm daily,” he said. Monu Singh said their personnel could now look forward to be part of small family functions in their homes as well through the facility. Talking to this correspondent through video-conferencing from Meerut, Monu Singh’s mother Rupmati Devi said, "It gives her immense satisfaction to speak to her son using the facility. I can see him sitting at home. What more a mother can ask for?” Another BSF official KN Singh connects with his family at Bikaner in Rajasthan and he too is all praise for the initiative, which has generated a lot of curiosity among the BSF personnel here. Another employee Balbir Singh, who hails from Almora in Uttarakhand, said he will be home on leave this month and would make sure that the family has a computer and other equipment required to connect with him. “I can see my family while performing my duties at the border, which wasn't possible earlier without visiting one’s home on leave,” he said. BSF officials feel the facility is a boon, particularly for the staff hailing from far-off places in the country as they cannot visit their homes too often. Besides, it will facilitate them to connect to their families on special occasions like the birth of a child, as sometimes they don't get leave immediately. At present, the facility has been put at the ICP in Attari and the BSF's local headquarters here at Khasa. BSF Deputy Inspector General MF Farooqui said, “The facility will help address the frustration resulting out of tough working conditions and homesickness among the BSF personnel. Now, they can not only see and interact with their families but also address their domestic issues.” He said the facility was aimed at checking stress among the staff. After inaugurating the facility here on August 15, BSF Director General Subhash Joshi had passed instructions to adopt the system in the entire country, he said. “We have also asked our battalion headquarters to create such a facility at the earliest,” said Farooqui. He said the biggest handicap was that they would have to work hard on creating awareness about it. “We need to sensitise our personnel about the facility who, in turn, will have to make their families aware so that they can utilise it,” he said. Farooqui said once the facility gained popularity, they would expand the services and create separate booths so as to facilitate privacy. Home connect
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Sangrur park dedicated to Sher-e-Punjab hangs fire
Sangrur, September 1 Moreover, the cash-strapped panchayat is yet to install a proposed bronze statue of the Maharaja in the park. Despite the fact that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal have repeatedly expressed support for the project, the village panchayat has not been sanctioned any more funds. The Rs 5 lakh sanctioned for the project has been spent on constructing a boundary wall around the park that is being developed on more than 3,000 sq yards. However, a gate is yet to be fitted at the main entrance of the park which is covered in overgrown grass. Randeep Singh Mintoo, son of Harbans Kaur, sarpanch of Badrukhan village, said the panchayat needed at least another Rs 5 lakh to finish the project and install the gate, lights, swings and beautify the park. Mintoo also demanded that the state government build a gate in memory of Maharaja Ranjit Singh on Sangrur-Barnala road in Badrukhan village. In utter neglect
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Demands not met, teachers hold protest
Sangrur, September 1 Led by state general secretary of the union Raghvir Singh Bhawanigarh, the protesters also blocked the traffic at the Traffic Lights Chowk, near the main bus stand here. They also raised slogans against the state government for not addressing their demands. Raghvir Singh said the union would hold a state-level rally in Ludhiana on September 8 if their demands were not met. Raghvir Singh said even though Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had instructed the officers of the Education Department to fill the remaining 3,442 vacancies for the post of teacher on August 25 but to no avail. He said the government had also not advertised posts for TET pass unemployed teachers even though the union had demanded for the same. The union leaders said though about 40,000 posts of teacher had been lying vacant in the state, the government had not been employing the TET pass unemployed teachers.
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Pharmacists sell ‘ladoos’ in protest
Sangrur, September1 Owing to the staff shortage, the patient turnout at the hospital has declined, adversely affecting business of chemists. The novel protest by the pharmacists caught the attention of one and all with curious passersby gathering around them. Dr Surjit Singh, Senior Medical Officer, said against the sanctioned 14 posts of doctors, only four had been filled. At least eight specialists who had been posted at the hospital had all managed to get themselves transferred out, he added.
— TNS
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Plywood industry not yet under e-trip ambit
Patiala, September 1 The e-trip system is set to improve tax collection and make the government richer by Rs 200 to Rs 300 crore per annum. Only five commodities, including cotton, sarson, iron and steel (excluding scrap), yarn and vegetable oil (edible and non-edible), have been brought under the ambit of e-trip. The plywood industry was not brought under this new system as the Taxation Department in consultation with the plywood associations agreed to charge per press. “We have had discussions with them and the new proposal would be sent to the cabinet for an approval which means that they would not have to pay as per the e-trip system that starts from Sunday,” said Anurag Verma, Commissioner Excise and Taxation Department. Sources confirmed that almost all industry unions had met senior officials of the Taxation Department to discuss the issue in detail. “The only change is that the department has agreed to charge the plywood units at Rs 12 lakh per press as against the Rs 2 lakh they pay at present. However, the manufacturers demand that this be brought down to Rs 9 lakh,” sources said. Verma said the department would issue a notification in this regard in a couple of days, until then the plywood manufacturers could continue paying as per the existing system. Last month the state government had postponed e-trip till September 1 to let the industrial units install IT infrastructure needed to file information in e-trip. E-trip has been launched as there was no provision for recording huge number of intra-state transactions made by traders/taxable persons in Punjab earlier. Taking undue advantage of this, many persons would evade tax by destroying their bills after the goods reached its destination. Under the e-trip system, traders would be required to upload information regarding intra-state transactions above a particular value on the departmental website. Breather for manufacturers
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Jatha leaves for Hazur Sahib
Fatehgarh Sahib, September 1 Bawa said the jatha would participate in the diwas that is to be
held at Banda Ghat Gurdwara in Hazur Sahib on September 3. He said the jatha
would also tour various religious places in the area for two days. Bawa said that it was on September 3, 1708 that the 10th Sikh Guru Guru Gobind Singh had dispatched Baba Banda Singh Bahadur to fight against the tyranny of the Mughals. Baba Banda Singh Bahadur had launched an attack on the Mughal rulers in Sirhind and took revenge for the atrocities committed on the people. He said the jatha members included former minister Malkit Singh Dhakha, Jasveer Singh, Tanvir Singh Rania, Karnail Singh Gill and other members of the foundation. People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) senior vice-president Sarvjit Singh Makhan, district president of the foundation Gurmeet Singh, district president of the Bairagi Maha Mandal Dr Jaspal Singh Bawa, Labh Singh Sanipur, Nirmal Singh Riyona, Upender Singh Kang, Siman Bawa and Mandeep Singh were among those present on the occasion.
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Gang of bull thieves busted, 3 arrested
Bathinda, September 1 The accused have confessed to selling at least 60 bulls for Rs 15,000 each in several villages of UP. The gang had allegedly been stealing bulls chosen by panchayats for breeding cattle in their respective villages. Accused Rishi Singh told the police that bulls from Punjab were in high demand in UP since their progeny was better and produced virile bulls or fertile cows. Narinder Bhargav, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Mansa, told The Tribune that the accused had recently stolen a bull from Bhaini Bhaga village. “We had received reports about similar thefts from other villages. We noticed a pattern and followed the leads. We finally zeroed in on the gang.” The accused had also reportedly sold some old bulls and stray cattle to butcheries in other states. “The thieves mainly focused on young and virile bulls which fetched them a good price. They had established good contacts in other states and thrived on the high demand for bulls from Punjab," the SSP said.
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Gang of criminals busted, four held
Abohar, September 1 Two of them were nabbed when they were fleeing after robbing a hotel owner Chet Ram Jat near Mokhampura village on the highway, while two were nabbed by residents of Chak Bhanwaria. The others were intercepted at a police naka. Another gang based at Mansa was busted by the Sriganganagar police early this week and investigations revealed that the gang had stolen 25 luxury cars in Punjab and Delhi. The police said that Ramandeep Singh of Sangat Mandi had been identified as the kingpin of the gang. He has been nabbed along with Narinder Singh of Talwandi Bhai, Gobind Singh of Sangat Kalan and Sukhpal Singh of Husnair (Gidderbaha). Preliminary investigations reportedly indicated that Ramandeep Singh had inducted 20 youths in his gang. They allegedly killed a man on September 5 last year in Bathinda district. Ramandeep Singh escaped while his accomplices, Rana, Goldy and Bindu were arrested by the Bathinda police. The gang was also responsible for a robbery in Peelibanga in Hanumangarh district in 2011.
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To frame a law to regulate higher education, particularly in view of the mushrooming technical and management institutes imparting poor quality education, a Punjab Government team will be visiting Himachal Pradesh to study the impact of the Himachal Pradesh Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission.
A month after a Punjab Roadways bus fell into the Sutlej canal near Sirhind, which claimed the lives of 42 passengers, a report on the mechanical condition of the bus has been submitted to the police.
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal astutely used the Sangat Darshan stage to take pot shots at PPCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa in his hometown of Qadian.
The ongoing bullock cart races at Kot Gangu Rai village were today suspended after the alleged electrocution of two participants.
The deceased have been identified as Gurdeep Singh (34) and Dharminder Pal Sharma (50).
The victims, belonging to Meemsa village in Sangrur district, had brought their bullock cart in a Mahindra Jeep.
Shiva Ramu BA, a BSF constable posted at the India-Pakistan border here, is ecstatic as he can now often see his family members living at Hassan district in Karnataka. Not that he will get more leaves, but because he can interact with his family through video-conferencing facility put up at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) here.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) session will be held at Teja Singh Samundari Hall, Amritsar, on September 3 to elect party president. At least 445 delegates from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and the Union Territory of Chandigarh are expected to take part in the session.
