The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Bonded labourer assaulted, rescued PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 22 Lakhwinder Singh, a resident of Chak Bahmba village, Patti (Tarn Taran), paid heavily for taking an advance of Rs 1,300 which the employer, a farmer of same village, gave him at the time of his employment. He landed up in a hospital after he was brutally tortured allegedly by him when he left him and started working elsewhere. He was employed by Angrej Singh as Siri -- a term used for bonded labourers. He remained employed for three years at his agriculture farm where he used to work 24x7 without any leave in order to pay off the loan. Danial B Das, director, Socio Economic Development Programme and a member of the NGO, Volunteers for Social Justice (VSJ), which rescued Lakhwinder from the clutches of the accused, Angrej Singh, said after three years of exploitation, he decided to work elsewhere. But Angrej Singh asked him to pay back Rs 1,300 or else continue working for him. Lakhwinder promised him to clear the advance given to him in a few days and started working with a mason, Shinda Singh. Das said on May 18 he was allegedly kidnapped by Angrrej Singh, his brother Gurmej Singh, Harbhajan Singh and five unidentified persons who took him to their house. They allegedly thrashed him brutally until he fell unconscious with multiple injuries. Even as the residents of the area raised a hue and cry, the accused allegedly threatened to kill them if they came to his rescue. The matter then came to the notice of the VSJ and they decided to intervene and rescue Lakhwinder. "Ironically, police officials did not act promptly and it was after the voice raised by hundreds of activists gathered at the village when the police managed to rescue him. He was critically injured and immediately rushed to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital where he is admitted in the orthopaedic ward with fractures on his legs. Jai Singh, president of the Dalit Dasta Virodhi Andolan, said according to the figures of the Global Slavery Index, there are about 29.8 million slaves in the world and half of them exist in India and Punjab is no exception to it. He said the scenario here is very grim. "While the district administration entrusted with the release of bonded labourer refuse to act on any complaint made for the same, the police officials are also apathetic towards their plight. Even in case of Lakhwinder Singh no FIR has been registered so far," said Jai Singh. They threatened to move the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and launch an agitation if the authorities concerned failed to intervene and take action against the accused persons in the next couple of days.
	Police inaction Residents protest at Gate Hakima police station Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 22 Residents of Fatah Singh Colony headed by Communist leader Jaswinder Kaur today held a demonstration outside Gate Hakima police station here following the beating up of a youth by several persons late last night. They alleged that the accused later threw bottles and bricks at the house of the victim and even fired in the air which led to panic in the locality. They alleged that there was total lawlessness in the area and goons and drug peddlers sheltered by political leaders were ruling the roost. While giving details, Jaswinder Kaur alleged that Harvinder Singh (22), a resident of Fatah Singh Colony was attacked and beaten up by four youths, identified as Briti, Kala, Bhadkila and Shikhar, late last evening when he was returning home by an auto-rickshaw. She said the accused somehow managed to escape and reached home. She said the family members lodged a complaint with Fatahpur police chowki in this regard. When the family members returned home after lodging the complaint, a few minutes later, the accused accompanied by around 20 persons attacked their house with glass bottles and bricks. According to the residents, the accused also fired, creating panic in the area. “Repeated calls to policemen on their mobile phones proved futile. In the end, the family members dialled toll free number 181 and after half an hour a police team came to the spot,” she said while alleging that the cops instead of taking any action started shielding the accused by saying that they were at a local gurdwara when the incident took place. She demanded stern action against the accused and threatened to launch an agitation if the authorities failed to take appropriate action against the culprits soon. Parampal Singh, ADCP city –I said that he had asked to Gate Hakima police to register the case after recording the statement of the victim and verify the claims of firing. He said the accused would be arrested soon.
	Two SHOs shifted for non-performance No breakthrough in taxi driver’s murder case so far PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 22 The city police have shifted station house officers of two police stations to Police Lines on account of their non-performance in several cases. The officers are Hardeep Singh and Darbara Singh, SHOs of Mohkampura and Verka police station respectively. Confirming this, Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh said the action had been taken following the recommendation of the ADCP (City-I), under whose jurisdiction these police station fall. He said there were a number of complaints against the two officers. Following this, ADCP (City-I) Parampal Singh recommended action against them. It has been learnt that senior police officials were unhappy over the inept handling of mysterious murder case in which taxi driver Baljinder Singh, a resident of Verka, was allegedly killed and later his body was found on a railway track between Tangra and Jandiala Guru on May 16. Initially, the Verka police tried to fix the responsibility of investigations with the GRP. However, a GRP official said the victim was kidnapped from the area that fell under the Verka police station and hence Verka police should take action after adding the sections of murder and kidnapping in the missing complaint filed by the family. Even after a week, the city police are yet to make any significant breakthrough in the case. The police have yet not ascertained the actual reason behind the incident. They have also failed to recover the car snatched from Baljinder Singh by the unidentified persons, who had hired it for Patiala. Harinder Singh, brother of the deceased, had stated to the police that on May 15, a couple of persons had visited Gogi Tours and Travels at the Verka taxi stand, asking for a taxi for Patiala. As the owner of the shop was not present at the shop, Baljinder struck a deal with them for Rs 7,000. Before leaving for Patiala, he informed about this to the owner and the family, adding that he would return by the next morning. However, even after 48 hours, he did not return home and his mobile phone was found switched off. Suspecting foul play, the family approached the Verka police and lodged a complaint. Later, his body chopped into parts, was found from the railway track. The family identified him from his golden tooth.
	Youth found dead Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 22 Mystery shrouds the death of a 22-year-old youth whose body was found in a car in the Kabir Park area here this evening. The youth was identified as Sartaj Singh, a resident of Anmol enclave. He could be identified through the mobile phone recovered from near the body in the car. Harinder Singh, in charge Kabir Park police chowki, said an initial probe pointed out that the deceased was a drug addict and drug overdose could be the reason behind his death. However, he added that investigations were under progress and the actual cause of his death could be ascertained following a postmortem examination. The incident came to light when the Kabir Park police received information that a car is parked in the area and a youth was lying in the car. He said when he reached the spot and opened the car door, the youth had already died.
	Encroachments make GT Road a nightmare GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 22 Rampant encroachments on the main Jalandhar-Amritsar GT Road continue to hamper the smooth flow of traffic. More than half of the actual width of the road is encroached by shopkeepers and vendors, besides the auto-rickshaws, which halt on the road to pick up their passengers despite having a designated auto-stand. Due to lack of a pedestrian path, the movement of on-foot commuters on the stretch is quite risky. However, the authorities turn a blind eye to it. The situation worsens right opposite to the inter-state bus terminus. Auto-rickshaws drivers tend to park their vehicles on the road in violation of the traffic rules. According to the District Transport Office records, there are around 9,342 officially registered auto-rickshaws in the city. Around 25,000 auto-rickshaws are operating in the city illegally. It is a serious issue that most of them are generally overloaded and their drivers don’t even have licences. Consequently, with little traffic sense, they apply breaks anywhere on the road to pick up passengers, unmindful of the heavy traffic trailing behind them, leading to serious road accidents. Their practice to outdo each other to catch customers has resulted in serious accidents. It has been observed that the whole stretch of road is always flooded with traffic of heterogeneous nature. Poor road geometry also leads to chaotic situations on the road. The movement of four-wheelers such as buses, trucks, cars, mix traffic and the mismanagement of traffic makes the issue more critical. Most of the auto-rickshaw routes originate and terminate at ISBT, adding to the already higher number of vehicles on that stretch. The location of the ISBT is said to be faulty because of its proximity with the GT Road, which caters to both local and national traffic. Roadside parkings, encroachment by rehris and vends along with a huge flaw of traffic on GT Road colludes to aggravate the problem. BR Pareenja, a resident, said there was a need to identify an appropriate location for the ISBT outside the city so as to minimise the flow of buses entering the city and decongesting the area. Another resident Naresh Johar said apart from street hawkers, on-street parking of vehicles had resulted in the reduction of the effective width of the road. At certain points, footpaths were there but had been encroached by hawkers and rehriwalas, he said.
	Learn traditional Indian science: Prof Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 22 The Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences of Guru Nanak Dev University today organised special lectures on the eve of International Biodiversity Day. Various competitions were organised and teachers and students were honoured for their contributions. Dr Somdev Bhardwaj, organising secretary, Vigyan Bharti, Gwaliar and Prof Avinash Nagpal, director, Academic Staff College, delivered special lectures. Dr Somdev urged the young audience to understand the traditional Indian science and to contribute to the present day research through latest scientific techniques. He talked about the onset of the computer age in India and the development of the supercomputers series in 1990s by Indian scientists. He urged the audience to draw inspiration from religious scriptures such as Mahabharat and Ramayan and still carry out research with a scientific approach. Prof Avinash Nagpal, in his lecture, apprised the audience about various conservation strategies and principles of environment management through a presentation made with special reference to hotspots and biosphere reserves in India. She drew special attention to the botanical garden of the university and the various conservation efforts being done there. Dr Adarsh Pal Vig urged the students to come up with innovative ideas and efforts for biodiversity conservation. He mentioned comparatively lesser known biodiversity heritage sites of Punjab such as Inaami Bag, Bassi Umar Khan, Hoshiarpur and Kaya Kalp Variksh, Cholti Kheri village and Fatehgarh Sahib.
	Class X achievers celebrate it with their teachers Tribune News Service Amritar, May 22 Students of Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School, Basant Avenue and Model Study High School, Majitha Road, have once again performed brilliantly in Class X ICSE board examinations held in March 2014. In Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School, 16 students scored 90 per cent and above marks, 29 students got between 80-89 per cent and 16 students scored between 70-79 per cent marks. The three students who scored above 90 per cent are Ravinder Singh (96 per cent), Aalambir Singh Gill (95.2 per cent) and Gursimranjit Singh (95 per cent). On this momentous occasion, the achievers came to school to seek the blessings of Nirmal Singh, resident president, CKDCS, and member in-charge of the school and Inderpreet Singh Chadha, member in-charge of the school. They inspired the students and encouraged them to work hard with zeal and enthusiasm in future. Principal Nirmal Kaur also appreciated the efforts of the staff members and co-operation of the parents. Similarly, the students of Model Study High School showed remarkable results. As many as 10 students scored above 90 per cent marks, which included Navya Nanda (96.4 per cent), Paras (95.2 per cent), Anoop (94.6 per cent), Sobatdeep Kaur (93.8 per cent), Sukhdeep Singh (92 per cent), Aditi Sharma (92 per cent), Sonia (91.4 per cent), Muskan Mahajan (90.2 per cent), Sakshi (90 per cent) and Mamta Arora (90 per cent). Besides, 17 students scored above 80 per cent, 38 students scored above 70 per cent and 17 students above 60 per cent.
	Residents pin high hopes on PM-elect Narendra Modi Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 22 As NaMo gets ready to lead the nation, citizens hope for growth and an end to the ‘policy paralyses’. Many see his elevation as a countdown towards a better India. Narendra Modi’s victory has come up with a huge load of expectations and aspirations. Amritsar Tribune spoke to residents of the city about their expectations from the new government at the Centre. National interests I expect him to run the government with national interests in mind. Till now, the Central governments have been promoting multi-national interests and the local industry has suffered. I hope he also forms effective policies on environmental issues, since he has people like Maneka Gandhi on his side. Sehaj Gulati, teacher, DAV Public School Clean governance Modi's highest challenge is to provide clean and policy-driven governance. Corruption at every level in our system should be weeded out and he should ensure equal share of growth opportunities for citizens. Since he already has a good report card as the CM of Gujarat, a lot of hopes lie on him. Ridhi Sachdev, entrepreneur Right policy A clear-cut policy on development and corruption-free governance should be his top priority. Also, since a lot of NGOs are involved in grass-root development works, he should ensure that a direct involvement of the Ministry of Social Welfare is there, which till date has not happened. Shilpy Ganguly, activist Job opportunities, skill development Out of the many things he has promised, youth seem to be his focus. Generating employment in public and private sector, and skill development is required for getting the youth involved in the race towards development. Chandan Nagi, student B Tech, GNDU Zero tolerance policy on drug addiction As Modi believes in policy-driven governance, Punjab has been lacking in this area and requires maximum focus. The state needs improved safety for women and zero tolerance-policy on drug addiction. It’s a big issue as far as the Punjabi youth are concerned. Arundeep Singh, businessman
	Birth, Death Certificate Dept work bifurcated; staff added GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 22 With a number of complaints pouring in, the municipal corporation has stepped in to revamp the birth and death certificate issuing process by appointing an extra superintendent and a local registrar. However, the dearth of stationery still continues while the process is being carried out manually as computerisation process could not be completed. A total of over 6,000 applicants approach the department every month. Nonetheless, after the reshuffle, officials' accountability will be fixed at every level of certificate issuance. The workload has been bifurcated between the two superintendents. An additional Superintendent-level official, Satpal Singh, has been attached to the department for the purpose. While Superintendent Shushant Bhatia will process applications from the Walled City area, Satpal Singh will look after the outside (Civil Lines) area applicants. A diary number is being allotted to every applicant and the officials have been made accountable at every stage. Recently, department has issued a circular to all the hospitals, especially the privately run clinics, nursing homes in the city to furnish them the exact date of birth of children or death of a patient admitted to them. The circular has directed all the hospitals and private nursing homes to lodge the correct date of birth or death with the designated zonal offices within a span of 21 days, so that an appropriate certificate could be issued. The department also cautioned them of taking legal action if they still violate the norms. Even as the department had made a temporary arrangement of stationery a couple of days ago, but the shortage of certificates still prevailed. Reacting over this, City Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora told that the shortage of stationery was neither in his nor Commissioner’s notice earlier. “Now, we have tied up with the Office of Director, Ministry of Family and Social Welfare department at Chandigarh for issuance of our stationery quota so that he process should not hinder. We would be getting our quota of six months in advance shortly. As a stopgap arrangement we have arranged a lot of certificates and the work has not suffered. It will all be streamlined.
	BSF calls upon sarpanches to help in de-addiction drive in villages PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 22 Officials of the Border Security Force today called upon sarpanches of various border villages to keep a close eye on the activities of the youths who have been detoxified under its ongoing de-addiction campaign in border villages. The BSF officials today held a meeting with sarpanches to discuss further strategies and previous steps taken under the campaign. Around 120 youths have been de-addicted since the launch of this movement in October last year. DIG, BSF, M F Farooqui said the BSF was doing its utmost by encouraging youths to be a part of this campaign and return to mainstream by weaning themselves away from drugs. He said it was now the responsibility of the family members and residents of the villages to keep an eye on those youths who got themselves de-addicted and continue to motivate them so that they do not fall prey again. Drug addiction is a recurring disease and it is vital that the family members, villagers and society as a whole should share the responsibility in realising this social cause. The villagers took a pledge to play their part in curbing the menace. Farooqui called upon them to boycott those who indulge in illegal trade and inform the BSF about these black sheep so that drug abuse could be eliminated from Punjab especially the border villages. The sarpanches while appreciating the steps taken by the BSF also urged them to involve the Police Department and district administration in this campaign in order to make it more penetrating and impactful. The BSF officials said that they have involved various government departments to provide self employment opportunities to the de-addicted youths so that they could earn for themselves and completely diverted from the drug abuse. The BSF officials also distributed posters made by BSF for spreading awareness against drug abuse to the sarpanches.