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| Sunday,
November 25, 2001,
Chandigarh, India
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Talwandi accused of nepotism Amritsar, November 24 As per SGPC record, Mr Jagdev Singh Talwandi, President, has allocated maximum grants to his home district, Ludhiana, which included Raikot, his home town. Insiders allege that the grants and utensils were distributed to nurture certain Assembly constituencies. Sources said Mr Ranjit Singh, a son of Mr Talwandi, wanted to contest from the Raikot constituency. Mr Talwandi sanctioned Rs 80 lakh building material on the recommendation of the Dharm Parchar Committee of the SGPC. Most of the aids was meant for Ludhiana district. The gurdwaras which were allocated Rs 5,000 grant each included Dadama Sahib Gurdwara, Balmik Gurdwara, and Ramdas Bhagat Gurdwara, (all in Cheema village, district Ludhiana). The other Sikh shrines in Ludhiana are, Gurdwara Sahib of Nawin Abadi Akal Garh, gurdwara of Takhti Lehna, Pakhowal, gurdwara of Hissowal village, (Pakhowal), gurdwara of Abuwal village, gurdwara of Halwar village, gurdwara of Achalwal village, gurdwara of Raqba village, gurdwara of Thuse village, gurdwara, Akal Khurd, gurdwara, Athana and gurdwara of Jassowal village, (all in Ludhiana district, including the Raikot constituency). It is witnessing that the gurdwaras in the constituencies of Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal and the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) members received the minimum aid and utensils. At many places, the record of the SGPC mentions “president’s quota”. Sikh circles said it was perhaps for the first time that the ‘quota system’ was introduced in the SGPC for allocating aid utensils. Utensils given to the gurdwaras also make an interesting reading. Nearly 50 gurdwaras got the sets of utensils in Ludhiana. Fatehgarh Sahib district which includes the constituency of a relative of Mr Talwandi also got a special attention at the time of distribution of utensils. Though the close relative of Mr Talwandi is not an SGPC member, the Fatehgarh district got 18 sets of utensils. The area of Mr Onkar Singh Sharifpura, executive committee member of the SGPC, a confidant of Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, received only five sets of utensils. |
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Chhibber’s efforts to
unite Cong factions Abohar, November 24 Sources said former Punjab Governor, Lt-Gen B.K.N. Chhibber (retd), reportedly met the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, at her New Delhi residence recently and offered his services for bringing in unity among different factions of the party in Punjab. He also emphasised that all senior leaders should be asked to work as a disciplined force. Well-placed party sources said Ms Sonia Gandhi had desired that Lieutenant-General Chhibber should start his efforts from Ferozepore district where the PPCC was going to hold its next rally, keeping in view the Assembly elections. The former Governor met Capt Amarinder Singh, President of the PPCC and other senior leaders at Chandigarh last week. Later, he visited Ferozepore and held discussions with the DCC president, Mr Sajjan Kumar Jakhar, and other former MLAs of the party in the district. Lieutenant-Geneal Chhibber was taken to the venue of the rally by Mr Jakhar and another senior leader, Mr Bal Mukand Sharma, who was making preliminary arrangements for the rally. The sources said AICC treasurer Moti Lal Vora, general secretary Shiv Lal Balmiki and former Union Minister Balram Jakhar had finalised their programme to address the Ferozepore rally, which would be presided over by Capt Amarinder Singh. |
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Spread awareness to control AIDS, say dermatologists Faridkot, November 24 More funds and steps to check exodus of experts in medical line should get priority, he added. He said dermatology by cosmetology and dermatosurgery had received big boost which gave wonderful results if performed by an expert. A dermatologist faces practical problems while using modern therapeutic techniques like chemical peeling exfoilance, mini-punch grafting and hair transplant. Speaking on the occasion Dr Gurinderjit Singh President Indian Association of Dermatologist, Venereologists and Leprologists (IADVL) said that a skin doctor who is new in this field must study a lot before attempting surgery of any kind. Young dermatosurgeons need not present a rosy picture to the patients as this raises high hopes. It is better to tell the person that he or she would have to come repeatedly for the maintenance of chemical peels. He regretted that new surgery in this connection started with fanfare but ultimately it taper down to thesis-level. In his presidential address Dr S.P. Dewan Professor, Head of the Skin and STD Department, Government Medical College, Amritsar, urged holding public group awareness meetings for taking preventive measures against HIV/AIDS disease. He said no doubt though AIDS disease could not be cured but it could be controlled. He emphasised super speciality courses in all subjects in medical colleges. He said he had formed Public Health Organisation Committees at Bathinda, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana to hold public meetings at traffic roundabouts of the areas to make the people aware about AIDS. A number of experts from other states including Dr Mrs Raj Rani Gupta and Dr K.J.P.S. Puri chairperson and organising secretary of the organising committee also spoke. More than 250 delegates from Himachal, Haryana, Punjab, Union Territory Chandigarh and Uttar Pradesh are participating in the conference. |
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NRI adopts Sanghol village Chandigarh, November 24 Dr Rana, who was born in Sanghol, has decided to invest his 5 crore by way of a donation, over the next five years. His project of a “model’’ village is based on the concept of a Garden Village prevalent in the UK. For his investment, Dr Rana has formed a trust named after his mother, Jawaladevi. Through his project Mr Rana proposes to set up educational facilities and undertake a poverty alleviation programme, besides undertaking projects on environment “greening of Sanghol’’, better health facilities and exploring employment opportunities. In fact “Bhoomi pooja’’ was performed on November 17, coinciding with the death anniversary of Lala Lajpat Rai. Land has been donated by the village. To begin with, a college is proposed where stress will be on vocational education, said Dr Rana. The college will be affiliated to a university in England. The classes would commence in 2003. Dr Rana wants the Sanghol people to form a “society’’ to work for their own socio-economic uplift. He has been assured of support by the union ministries concerned, like Rural Development and Panchayats. His project will be looked after by Shrandhanjali Charitable Trust, New Delhi, that he has set up Sanghol excavations have revealed a civilisation dating back to 3000 BC showing test once it was a prosperous, flourishing town. Dr Rana wants to restore its past glory with a touch of modernity. |
‘SAD, BJP yet to fulfil promises’ Jalandhar, November 24 Mr Halwarvi observed that though the alliance had promised to full the old demands of Punjab, including that of transfer of Chandigarh and Punjabi-speaking areas to Punjab and settlement of river water disputes. Ironically it had even failed in taking up the matter with the Centre seriously. “Even the claims regarding setting up of big industrial units and an international airport in the state have actually remained upto preliminary stage so far with the starting of some insignificant work on these projects. “In fact, the promise to provide clean, transparent and accountable administration too proved to be a poll gimmick.The SAD-BJP MLAs who were otherwise supposed to declare their assets within 90 days of formation of the government as per their poll manifesto, have failed to do so,” Mr Halwarvi alleged. He also disagreed with the views of Dr. Prithipal Singh Sohi that the government could not keep its promises as the SAD remained busy in its internal fighting and on account of Lok Sabha poll coming midway. Dr Joginder Singh Puar, former Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi University Patiala, said in the name of setting up two universities — Punjab Technical University and the Baba Farid Medical University — the government had setup two shops which don’t have any faculty and infrastructure. Dr Pritam Singh, Dr Waryam Singh Sandhu, Dr N.K. Dogra, Mr Piara Singh Bhogal, Prof Santokh Singh, Prof Bawa Singh and Dr Kamlesh Singh Duggal, also spoke. |
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Punjab BJP observes unity day Chandigarh,
November 24 The Congress and the Left have refused to
accept the ordinance proposed by the BJP government without a decent
political debate. A talk was organised at the ICSSR complex at Panjab
University today. Mr Satya Narayan Jatiya, a Cabinet minister, said
that the very acts of terrorism did not belong to any decent
civilisation. India has had to make several decisions only in the
interest of the country’s defence. Indian tests at Pokhran were not
with any aim to threaten any neighbour. It was a situation when the
country had to show the world its capability of defence in times of
need. Even countries like USA and the UK had recognised the capability
of India. Mr Jatiya said that one should rise above personal and
political interests to watch the interests of the country and strong
decisions have to be taken in this regard. He made references to
‘unnecessary’ opposition to POTO that came from the Congress and
the Left Front. He said that the Congress had also issued ordinances
from time to time in which there were cases of human rights
violations. Mr Balram Dass Tandon, Labour Minister in the Government
of Punjab, said that “we stayed in jails under MISA formulated by
the Congress. TADA was used even for farmers’ agitation. Then there
was the Safety Act. Now there was need for an ordinance keeping in
minds the needs of the hour”. Mr Tandon said that “the need of
the hour was to enact a legislation to combat terrorism and the
proposed legislation of POTO by the Centre was a step in the right
direction”. POTO was not an outcome of a sudden brainwave. The Law
Commission in its report released in April, 2000, had felt the need to
have a special law to deal with terrorism. The cross border terrorism
unleashed on India had till April, 2000, 2730 explosions, 29,151
civilian killings and about 5,101 security personnel. He said the
“opposition for the sake of opposition by Congress and the
communists with an eye on the forthcoming elections in UP and other
states was the most unfortunate and unbecoming when their own
governments in Maharashtra, Karnataka and West Bengal, besides other
places have similar laws already under different
nomenclature.” Also present on the occasion was Avinash Jaiswal,
general secretary of the Punjab unit of the BJP. |
No blood donation in ‘town of blood donors’ Rampuraphul, November 24 Residents of the town which is known as ‘town of blood donors’ (every seventh person of the town has donated blood) today failed to organise any blood donation camp as they could not find any arrangements to store the donated blood in the blood bank of the district. Mr Hazari Lal Bansal, founder, Blood Donors Council, while talking to TNS said they had to contend themselves with holding an educational programme to boost the spirit of blood donation among the people. Had the local blood bank been functioning, they would have organised a big blood donation camp, he added. Mr Anil Saraf, Patron, Khoondan Council, and Mr Bansal, while talking to TNS separately, pointed out that for the past many years, they had been urging the authorities concerned to make arrangements for making the local blood bank functional. The local blood bank had been lying closed for the past five years. The blood bank in the local Civil Hospital was closed when it failed to fulfil certain conditions laid down by the Central Government. Though the Punjab Health System Corporation authorities came up with certain steps and provided the local blood bank with the necessary equipment to make it fit according to the conditions laid down by the Centre, the blood bank could not start functioning as the Central Government kept on revising its conditions. Mr Saraf and Mr Bansal said they had taken up the matter with Deputy Commissioner, the State Health Minister, Dr Baldev Raj Chawla, and local minister a number of times, but to no avail. About 15 per cent population of this town have donated blood. It managed to get the second position in Asia in blood donation after Tokyo. Information gathered by TNS revealed that owing to inadequate space for storing the blood, the authorities concerned had refused permission to various voluntary organisations to hold blood donation camps in the past few months. In the recent past a team of the Central Government which inspected the provisions and equipment fitted in the local blood bank had expressed its satisfaction. It was expected that it would start functioning shortly after it got nod from the Central Government, it added. No official of the Civil Hospital could be contacted for comments. |
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Need to teach national integration: Dhumal Amritsar, November 24 Dr S.P. Singh, Vice-Chancellor, welcomed Mr Dhumal and other speakers. Dr Himadri Banerjee, Professor, Rabinra Bharti University, Kolkata, Dr N. Muthumohan, Chairman of Guru Nanak Chair, Madurai Kamaraj University, and Prof Prithipal Singh Kapur, former Pro Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, spoke on the philosophy and teachings of Guru Nanak and Sikhism. Dr Muthumohan said Guru Granth Sahib was the only scripture in the world that bestowed an equal holy status on linguistic groups of Sanskrit and Arabian. Gurus used linguistic idioms of both Hinduism and Islam, discarding any bias to any one of these religions. Dr Banerjee said Guru Nanak’s Orissa “udasi” and subsequent visits of his followers might have led to some interesting interactions between the two distant neighbours of the Indian subcontinent. Dr Banerjee was of the view that it enriched the profile of Guru Nanak. Prof Kapur, former Pro Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University and at present Editor-in-Chief of the encyclopaedia of Sikhism, Punjabi University, Patiala, said Guru Nanak freely drew upon the terminology of Upanishads and Muslim Arabic texts. |
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IN
FOCUS Patiala New Bishen Nagar, Guru Nanak Nagar, Gurbaksh Colony and the adjoining localities seem to have been forgotten by the corporation which recently launched a door-to-door garbage collection and disposal scheme. Street Number 10 of New Bishen Nagar and its adjoining open space remain littered with refuse and open drain running along the row of houses is choked with polythene bags. The stagnant water gives out a putrid stench besides breeding swams of flies and mosquitoes. Filth from the blocked drain often spills over to the road. Even a small shower makes going along the road a nightmare and in the rainy season, conditions become unbearable. The entire area becomes a stinking marsh. Anil Kumar, a resident of the street, says: “I
install a tube light myself in the rainy season because people keep falling in the drain while wading through knee-deep water.” Mandeep Singh, another resident of the area, complains that garbage is a major health hazard and an epidemic can break out any time. Cows, pigs and other stray animals roam around freely in the streets creating a nuisance in small alleys. The residents complain that garbage from the adjoining Sewa Singh Thikriwala Nagar is also dumped here by the sweepers. “We have had numerous brawls with sweepers and other workers, trying to stop them from dumping waste here”, complain the residents. The sweepers say that in the absence of a proper bin they are forced to offload the waste in the open. The residents said they will be satisfied if the Corporation could arrange regular garbage removal twice a week. |
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2 guards hurt in attack on SDM Kutbewal (Ludhiana), November 24 The village remained engulfed in tension following the incident. The SDM had gone to the village to help two naib tehsildars of the district who had gone to the village earlier in the evening and had impounded three tractor-trailers allegedly carrying sand. The SDM was in the process of sending the impounded vehicles to the police station when some persons claiming that the activity was legal attacked the policemen escorting the vehicles. |
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Parity with allopaths to Punjab ayurvedic docs Chandigarh, November 24 This decision was taken by the minister yesterday after holding a meeting with representatives of the parishad. Dr (Mrs) Suman Sharma, vice-president of the parishad, said Mr Rajan Kashyap, Principal Secretary, Punjab, also assured the parishad to look into other demands of ayurved doctors The minister, she said, also ordered that steps should be taken to fill the post of the Director, Ayurveda from among ayurvedic professionals and redesignate the District Ayurved and Unani Officers as Deputy Directors. This would open promotion channels for Assistant Medical Officers and remove stagnation in the cadre. About the setting up of an ayurved university in the state, the minister ordered that steps should be taken by the Directorate on the pattern of Gujarat (Jamnagar Ayurvedic University) or Himachal Pradesh (Paprola Ayurvedic University). Dr Sharma said as for the setting up of a postgraduate institute for ayurvedic research at Chandigarh on the pattern of the PGI, the Health Minister asked the Director, Ayurveda, to take necessary steps to honour the wishes of the Chief Minister who had announced that the state government would provide land free of cost and contribute 60 per cent of the cost for the setting of such an institute. Punjab and Haryana would be requested to share the burden. The minister also ordered that in future 20 per cent of the funds of the Health Department would be allocated to the Ayurvedic Department pursuant to instructions issued by the Union Government. The Health Minister was also asked to activate five projects financed by the Union Health Ministry. The projects included Ayurvedic Drug Testing Laboratory, state herbal garden, medicinal plant board and Panchkarma centres at the block level. |
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Young scientist does Patiala proud Patiala, November 24 Anish, who was born and received initial education in Patiala, is currently pursuing his doctorate in chemical engineering at MIT. The KC-135 experiment in which he participated on November 2, 5 and 6 is a continuation of a collaboration between MIT and the NASA John H Glenn Research Centre. The KC-135 is a modified Boeing 707 that NASA flies to simulate zero gravity or weightless conditions. NASA in a
communiqué requested the assistance of Anish Goel not only because of his extensive experience synthesising fullernes in normal gravity but also because of his strong experimental background. The institute later appreciated his assistance and stated that Anish had provided it valuable information in addition to giving valuable guidance for improvement to the apparatus for future flights. |
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Four injured in mishaps Amritsar, November 24 In another incident, one person was injured when a scooter hit him on the Tarn Taran road. A case on the statement of Kultar Singh, son of the victim, was registered under Sections 279, and 338 of the IPC at the Sultanwind police station against Dhuman Singh, driver of the scooter. Meanwhile, Kulbeer Singh was injured when five persons, including a woman attacked him. He ‘alleged that Pritam Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Harjit Kaur, all residents of Mohini park, and Jarnail Singh entered his house at Guru Ramdas Colony here and injured him. They also threatened to kill him. Land dispute was reportedly the cause of the incident. The accused were booked under Sections 452, 506, 148, and 149 of the IPC by the Islamabad police station. |
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BKU (E): probe police atrocities Bathinda, November 24 The BKU (E) has sent a memorandum to the Union Home Secretary, urging him to look into alleged high-handedness of the police and the civil authorities. It has also demanded that the police authorities should be asked not to register “false” cases against office-bearers of the union. The BKU (E) alleged that leaders of the farmers were implicated in false cases so as to keep them in jail. |
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26 names in Sikh jatha cancelled Amritsar, November 24 The SGPC has also asked pilgrims visiting Pakistan on Gurpurb to deposit their visa fees and collect their passports from the SGPC office positively by November 26. |
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Lecturer cremated Jalandhar, November 24 Large number of people from all walks of life attended the cremation. Her kirya will take place at the local Gita Mandir on November 26, family sources said. |
Bungling in paddy procurement Mansa, November 24 According to information gathered by this correspondent, inspectors of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) deputed at various purchase centres in the district had issued signed gate passes to arthiyas meant for sending “purchased” stocks of paddy for storage in godowns of the FCI in Mansa district whereas as per rules the paddy stocks had to be purchased after proper auction and inspection by the inspectors. This rule was not followed by the inspectors and they allowed the arhtiyas to send stocks of paddy for storage without any auction or inspection by them. According to information, the purchase in Aklia centre of the district finished on October 24, but arhtiyas of the centre sent 23 trucks of paddy containing about 2,415 quintals of paddy with gate pass duly signed by the Inspector on October 25. The stocks, when received for storage, were rejected by the technical staff of the Mansa FCI depot as the same were found to be “beyond rejection limit” and were rejected. A joint inspection team comprising Mr N.K. Arora, Mr Ashok Sapolia, both Technical Assistants, Mr S.R. Dass, Assistant Manager (Quality Control), and Mr K.R. Singh, Inspector, inspected the stocks and found the stocks to be “below rejection limit”. Mr K.R. Singh, FCI Inspector deputed at Aklia centre, who had issued the gate passes, subsequently disowned the purchase of the stocks. To push the rejected stocks for storage, the arhtiyas concerned approached the joint inspection committee, including Mr K.C. Garg, FCI Coordinator, and allegedly paid the members Rs 85,000, but the stocks are still lying dumped. It has been revealed that the FCI official has refunded Rs 25,000 to the arhtiyas of the Rs 85,000. However, so far the FCI has neither accepted the rejected paddy stocks worth about Rs 14 lakh nor issued any letter to the arhtiyas to lift the rejected stocks. It is learnt that the FCI officials are being pressured to sort out the problem immediately by taking these stocks into their record as being purchased in current dates. Mr Sandeep Deora, District Manager of the FCI, was not available for comments. |
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Punjab to import 100 bulls Patiala, November 24 This was stated by the department Director, Dr Gurcharan Singh Chahal, on the concluding day of a four-day programme on “Modern management and skills”, while addressing the second batch of veterinarians from different parts of the district here today. Dr Chahal said besides this, new kits containing modern equipment would also be distributed among all veterinary officers to improve the quality of the artificial insemination work. He said under this scheme small containers of semen would also be provided to the officers so that they could provide farmers with this facility at their doorstep. He said extension camps were also planned to educate farmers, especially women farmers, about the state breeding policy. Dr
S.L. Goel, Professor Emeritus, delivered a lecture on management subjects. Dr Harsimrat Singh, Joint Director, and Dr
T.S. Sandhu, Deputy Director, also spoke on the occasion. |
Pak intruder killed Amritsar, November 24 In another incident, the police has booked Charan Das, Pawan Kumar, Parshotam Lal, Chaman Lal, Vijay Kumar and Prithiraj for allegedly barging into the house of Gurbachan Singh of Chota Haripura and injuring his son, Raman. A case has been registered under Sections 452, 323, 325, 148 and 149, IPC. Two unidentified Sikh youths snatched a gold chain, weighing seven tolas, from Sudarshan Kaur of Police lines when she, along with her husband, were returning to their home. A Tata Sumo and a Maruti car were stolen from the areas of Gurnam Nagar and Circular road, respectively. A case has been registered under the relevant Sections. Meanwhile, the police has arrested Gajjan Singh, Bagya Singh, Nanak Singh, Ajaib Singh, Satnam Singh, Tarsem Kumar and Rakesh Kumar and seized illicit liquor. A case has been registered under the Excise Act. |
Booked for selling NRI’s plot Phagwara, November 24 According to information, Mr Gurmej Singh, hailing from Palahi village, is now settled in Canada. He had given a power of attorney for the plot to Satnam Singh of Rurka Kalan village. However, he later got the power of attorney cancelled and transferred in name of Mr Joginder Pal. He also formally informed Satnam Singh about it. However, after Mr Gurmej Singh returned to Canada, Satnam Singh misused the old power of attorney and sold the plot to an industrialist. He neither informed Mr Gurmej Singh about the sale nor give him any money. The NRI lodged a complaint following which the police registered a case against Satnam Singh who is yet to be arrested. |
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Booked for forging degree Phagwara, November 24 It was learnt here today that Jaswinder Singh gave Rs 20,000 to Jasbir Singh to help him secure admission in B.Ed at Bundhel Khand University,
Jhansi. Jasbir also got admission from filled and other documents attested. After two years Jaswinder was informed that he had passed the B.Ed examinations and was also given a degree though he had neither visited the university nor appeared in any examinations during the past two years. However, the degree was later found to be fake when he conducted the university. |
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4 booked for firing on woman Tarn Taran, November 24 In another incident eight persons looted gold ornaments from the house of Mr Basir Masih, a resident of Pakhoke village. A case has been registered under Sections 380 and 458,
IPC. |
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Woman killed for dowry Amritsar, November 24 A case was registered under Sections 302, and 34 of the IPC at the Fatehgarh Churian police station. |
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3 remanded in police custody Pathankot, November 24 According to the police, Mr Rakesh Kumar lodged a complaint stating that Ajay Sharma, Arun Sharma and Kuldip Kumar, all residents of Kathua district in Jammu and Kashmir, allegedly assaulted him at his shop and demanded money. Acting upon the complaint the police registered a case under Sections 382/452/427/506 and 323 read with Section 34 of the
IPC. |
Overall trophy for GPS Fatehgarh Sahib, November 24 Ten teams from different schools of the district participated. The students from Gobindgarh Public School, Mandi Gobindgarh, won the overall Devi Dyal memorial trophy, while in the individual category, Ruchi Dutta of GPS, Mandi Gobindgarh, won the first prize, Vani Goyal from OP Bansal Modern School, Mandi Gobindgarh, won the second prize and Satinder Singh from SNAS, Mandi Gobindgarh, won the third prize. Consolation prizes went to Hari Krishan from Ashoka Senior Secondary School, Sirhind, and Jasbir Logani of GPS. Mr
D.N.Gupta, Principal and Mr Subhash Sood, manager, read the annual report of the school. Mr Kulwant Mehta, secretary of the Ashoka Educational Trust, who is running the school, gave detailed information about the activities of the trust in promoting education in the area. He demanded that the government should sanction more posts for the school as the teacher-student ratio had gone up from 20 to 80. He said the school had the sanctioned strength according to 1967, whereas the number of students had increased manifold and many teachers had retired. |
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Teachers threaten protest leave Jalandhar, November 24 Mr Kulwant Singh, president of the Government College Teachers Association, said the Principal, Mr J.P. Garg, was transferred by the authorities two weeks ago following complaints of his “rude” and “humiliating behaviour towards the teachers. But despite the transfer orders, the Principal was still continuing to function. |
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