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Police to reopen cases of natural deaths
Jalandhar, January 9 For this purpose, the Jalandhar range police is planning to have a fresh look at all those missing persons’ and natural death cases, which, have occurred in Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, and Nawanshahr districts of Punjab after January 1, 2000. What has prompted the police authorities to take the unprecedented step is the recent outcome of several cases, wherein, it was detected that some murder cases were hushed up. In most of such cases, relatives or acquaintances of the victims were, in fact, the real perpetrators of the crime and they had allegedly connived with lower and middle rung police officials to conceal their crime and convert it into a case of missing or a natural death. The police authorities woke up only after the Kapurthala police authorities recently re-investigated three missing persons’ and natural death cases and nabbed the criminals recently. The criminals, were, in fact, close relatives of victims and they had executed these crimes with alleged connivance of police authorities. Not only in Kapurthala, Jalandhar and Nawanshahr, the modus operandi extended to adjoining Hoshiarpur district, revealed senior police officers. After opening up ‘doubtful’ cases, the police authorities will invite complainants to re-join fresh investigation. “We would see as to why complainants or relatives had failed to do a proper follow-up of cases and what was the reason that they had left the cases in between. If any nexus of criminals and police officials surfaced during process of re-investigation, then we will be taking stern action against them,” said Mr Paramjit Singh Gill, DIG (Jalandhar Range), while talking to The Tribune. Police sources revealed that under the new modus operandi adopted by criminals, who, in most cases, happened to be close relatives of victims, and certain lower and middle rung police officials, murder cases were feared to have been converted into cases of missing or natural deaths after
exchange of money.
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Kashmiri traders asked to move out of Pathankot
Pathankot January 9 The Kashmiri traders putting up in Pathankot are a harassed lot. They allege that local police officials have asked them to move out of Pathankot. Abdul Rashid Malik, another trader, alleged they were picked up from their rented accommodations at 5 am yesterday. About 18 traders were picked up and kept in the police station till 3 pm and then released with the warning to move out of Pathankot as early as possible. We went and met our MLA from Kupwara, who rang up the police authorities concerned. However, we still fear that we might be forced to move out, Malik said. The traders came to the residence of the SP Pathankot, Mr Manminder Singh, to narrate their vows. The officer was, however, out in the field. There are about 150 Kashmiri shawl traders putting up in the Anandpur Rarah and Dhaki areas of Pathankot. They bring shawls and warm blankets from Ludhiana and Amritsar and sell them in the name of Kashmiri products. Talking to The Tribune the traders said they had been visiting Pathankot for the past three decades. Every year they come in winter and sell blankets and shawls to local traders and in the retail. In a number of cases local traders have been supplied material on a three month credit. “If the police forces us to move out of the area we will lose the credit worth lakhs extended to the traders,” they lamented. Shamshudin Lone, another trader, said more than business and money what hurt them was the way they were being treated. They were treated shabbily just because they were Kashmiris. “Due to terrorism in our state, the police is
suspicious about us,” said Lone. The SSP Gurdaspur Mr Pramod Ban when contacted said there was no order to move Kashmiri traders out of Pathankot or any other area. The police had carried out search operations in certain areas keeping in view the security threat during the Republic Day celebrations. He also assured to look into the complaint of the Kashmiri traders. Some of the police personnel on condition of anonymity said there had been intelligence reports suggesting that terrorists might try to disturb peace in the state during the Republic Day celebrations.
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Demand to exempt scribes of SAARC nations from visa rules
Chandigarh, January 9 The conference, however, made it clear that the revival of these linkages should be within “the legitimate and sovereign limits set by our nation states”. It also gave a call to turn our hostile borders into the borders of good neighbourliness and mutually beneficial cooperation. Lauding the efforts by the Indian states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and the Pakistan Punjab to promote beneficial sub-regional cooperation, the conference recommended expansion of cooperation in the fields of tourism, culture, information, education, healthcare, research and development and poverty eradication. It said there should be an agreement on the need to create an even-playing field, proportionate reduction tariffs, para tariff and customs regimes. The two countries should overcome all apprehensions regarding the mutual benefits of trade and investment by providing the necessary safeguards wherever required. The delegates also agreed to pursue with their governments, among other things, the implementation of the South Asian Free Trade Area(SAFTA) in 2006, relaxation in visa regime, increase in frequency of bus services to various destinations in the two countries and promotion of joint ventures. They also agreed to make efforts for formation of joint bodies of chambers of commerce and industry of the two countries and in other fields like tourism, media, agriculture and health. The conference declared that convertibility of Shah Mukhi and Gurmukhi manuscripts would be ensured by developing a software. Earlier during the media meet, at which Mr Kuldip Nayar, a veteran journalist, was a special guest, it was demanded that journalists of all SAARC countries should be exempted from visa formalities. The agriculture meet recommended that the agriculture trade should be opened between the two countries, a common agri-research fund should be set up and technology should be shared. The industrial meet also stressed the need for free trade between the two countries. Speaking at the valedictory function, the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, said this was the best time to resolve the disputes between the two countries because the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, was born in Pakistan, and the President, Gen Pravez Musharaff, in India. The former Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Prakash Singh Badal, said let lakhs of people from both sides gather at the border and demand from their governments to open the borders between the two Punjabs.
The Punjab PWD Minister, Mr Pratap Singh Bajwa, said the Delhi-Lahore bus should halt at Amritsar also so that the Punjab didn’t have to go to Delhi to board it.
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Vehicles plying illegally threaten life of commuters
Gurdaspur, January 9 The rickety trucks are a common sight for anyone travelling on the road. The rust-ridden bodies of such vehicles have bare engines. They usually have no head lights and the lights otherwise can be seen hanging on these vehicles. However, such vehicles do not bother the traffic police and the district traffic authorities. The sources here say every commercial organisation has to get its vehicles passed from the district transport authorities to be road-worthy. There can be no way the vehicles being used by the owners of stone crushers on the Pathankot-Mukerian road could be declared as fit for plying, especially on the busy National Highway. It is not possible for any authority to issue the pollution control certificate or any other necessary document on physical verification. Such vehicles are freely plying on roads and the officials concerned are turning a blind eye to all this. These vehicles also spread pollution. The material being carried in them spreads in air across the road and blinds commuters, especially those travelling on two-wheelers during night. The stones crushers operating on the Pathankot-Mukerain road are also violating the rules laid by the Punjab Pollution Control Board. The rules make it obligatory for all stone crusher owners to metal the roads linking them to state and nation highways. This rule has been blatantly ignored. Due to kutcha roads the trucks carrying crushed material leave dust behind causing pollution and poor visibility on the roads. The stone crushers are also prohibited from dumping their waste product on roads. However, heaps of waste material can be seen along the Pathankot-Mukerian road.
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Illicit distillation source of livelihood
Lalit Mohan and B.B. Dogra Deeda Sansian (Gurdaspur): Their only demand from the elected representative was to shift a Punjab Police havildar belonging to their community from the area. Baldev, a Sansi who has taken up a job in the police, had made life hell for residents of Deeda Sansian. Being an “insider,” he had stopped their age-old practice of fermenting illicit liquor in the village. The havildar used to beat up anyone found making illicit liquor. “We approached the local MLA and got him shifted from the area,” said villagers while talking to The Tribune. Deeda Sansian is near Dinanagar town and is inhabited by members of the Sansi tribe. The village, like Chani Beli, is known for it locally fermented liquor. With a population of nearly 500, the village is on the priority list of the police and the Excise Department for stopping the fermentation of illicit liquor. The sarpanch, Vijay, said the village became known for illicit liquor distillation decades ago. Villagers used to sell their liquor outside Gurdaspur town. A group of tourists from England tasted their liquor on a trip to Gurdaspur. After going back, they ordered rum from Deeda presuming that the whisky they had tasted at Gurdaspur was from a local distillery. Being landless, making illicit liquor is the only source of livelihood for the villagers. However, now henchmen of liquor contractors are giving them a tough time. Almost every evening the henchmen descend on the village. They search for fermenting units using sharp-edged weapons. Owing to pressure from the police and liquor contractors, many villagers have shifted their operations to Chani Beli village in Himachal Pradesh. Development has eluded Deeda as in the case of other Sansi habitations. There is no school or dispensary in the village. Only a few residents have managed to clear the matriculation examination. Just two residents have joined the Navy and the Army and the same number the police. Families whose members have got government jobs have given up the illegal trade. A few others have bought shops in the village. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had recently issued notice to the state of Punjab. It had asked the state to explain what steps it had taken for the development of Sansis. As far as the Sansis of Gurdaspur are concerned, the state government has hardly done anything for their welfare. Instead, politicians have been using members of the tribe as goons to further their personal interests. (Concluded)
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Durgiana Temple panel chief quits PPCC post
Amritsar, January 9 The Congress-supported management had taken over control of DMC in 2002 from the BJP-led management. Mr Arjun said in the recent ‘Mahabharta’ he was the only ‘Pandwa’ left in the ‘battlefield’ and had been struggling against all the odds while the rest of ‘Pandwas’ (the senior Congress leaders) had joined the ranks of ‘Kaurvas’. He said the members of DMC were totally disillusioned when senior local Congress leaders, including a Governor of a state, MLAs and majority of Municipal Councillors had not participated in the installation of ‘eternal jyoti’ brought from Jawalaji Temple, at the sanctum sanctorum of the Durgiana Temple here. He, however, said except for the Mayor, Mr Sunil Dutti, who made brief appearance and Mr Jugal
Kishor, president, Improvement Trust, who is also member of the DMC, the rest of the MLAs, district president Congress (Urban) were conspicuous by their absence from the ‘Prabhat Yatra’ and installation of the ‘bhawani jyoti’. He said the BJP leadership, too, failed to participate in the celebrations on expected lines though the DMC had extended invitation to all the political and religious organisations. Coming down heavily on the party leadership, Mr Arjun alleged that Capt Amarinder Singh, who had announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh at the time of inauguration of ‘kar sewa’ of the temple on August 8 last year, had failed to keep his promise. Similarly, four Punjab Ministers had announced Rs 1 lakh each but failed to send the amount. On the other hand Rs 6 crore had been frozen in the various banks on the basis of the application moved by the previous BJP-led DMC. He, however, announced that the second phase of the gold plating of the temple would be completed before Divali at a cost of Rs 4.50 crore. Mr Arjun said he would make the temple free from politics of the BJP and the Congress as the tug-of- war between both the political parties had already done colossal damage in the past.
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BJP, RSS misguiding people on Ramdev, says CPM leader
Amritsar, January 9 Mr Pasla at the press conference here claimed today that some Naxalite groups from UP, Bihar and Kerala had shown willingness to join his party. The five-day national meet starting from March 23 will have party activists coming from West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Rajasthan, Bihar, Haryana, Himachal, Jharkhand, Karnatka, Orissa and Jammu and Kashmir. He blamed BJP, the RSS and others for attacking ayurveda and yoga. Supporting allegations of Ms Brinda Karat, Mr Pasla said they were not against ayurveda and yoga as they were serving humanity all over the world but Swami Ramdev had erred in mixing human bones in ayurvedic medicine without, mentioning it in ingredients’ list. He said Communist leaders at the helm had dissociated themselves from the principles of the party and were practising contrary to what they preach. This dichotomy in words and action had eroded faith of workers and they were groping in the dark. Disillusioned workers were not finding right platform to vent to their feelings and hence opting for a more aggressive path. He denounced the central government for cutting Rs. 4500 crore subsidy in the public distribution scheme. He said its direct sufferers would be Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.
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BJP vice-president decries Brinda Karat
Amritsar, January 9 Ms Chawla, stated today that Ms Karat had tried to damage popularity of the centuries-old Indian Medical Science (ayurveda). She said why Ms Karat and her fellows had not raised the issue of over two crore-illegal Bangladeshis to India, who were directly affecting jobs of Indian labourers. She opined that it was the opportune time for them (Communists) to raise and address the issue in Parliament as they were sharing power with the Congress. She said mounting unemployment had resulted in drug abuse. She said that multinational companies which were producing allopathic medicines were out to defame ayurveda as they were afraid of losing business in the country. She said crores of people in the country and abroad were benefiting from yoga and ayurveda. She questioned the wisdom of Ms Karat in raising the issue. Meanwhile, the Kendriya Arya Sabha will organise a march in this regard from Arya Samaj Shradhanand Bazaar tomorrow.
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SAD ex-patron’s family feels alienated
Amritsar, January 9 This is the reason for which they boycotted the rally held at Majitha on Saturday. This is the fifth such family of the Majha region which has felt disheartened and alienated. Mr Simerjit Singh Majitha, a former chairman of PUNSUP, and his nephew, Mr Jagteshwar Singh Majitha, said they boycotted the rally because it was announced in the beginning that it would be held under the leadership of Mr Bikram Singh Majithia. “It was more a cultural show than a Panthic rally, where folk singer Harbhajan Mann was called to attract the crowd,” they said. They said most of the participants were outsiders, adding that they were still sepoys of the SAD. The party had annoyed many veteran Akali leaders from the Majha region, who later quit the party. Among them were Mr Adeshpartap Singh Kairon, Mr Harmit Singh, Mr Prem Singh Lalpura, Mr Darshan Singh Isapur, Mr Mohan Singh Sathiala and Mr Manjit Singh Calcutta. The Badal faction had humbled the Tur family by denying the ticket to Mr Tarlochan Singh Tur from Tarn Taran. Mr Alwinderpal Singh Pakhoke had been ignored while nominating office-bearers of the SGPC this time.
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Panjwar’s brother picked up by police
Jhabal (Tarn Taran), January 9 Senior police officers of the Tarn Taran district police, on condition of anonymity, revealed that Panjwar’s brother was picked up from his village on suspicion of possessing ‘fake Indian currency’. Ms Parmjit Kaur Khalra and Mr Balwinder Singh Jhabal, both general secretary of the Khalra Mission Committee (KMC) alleged that Sarbjit Singh was picked up on the pretext of taking him to the police station in connection with a passport inquiry. However, when he did not return till the evening, the family members got suspicious and tried to contact him on his mobile phone which was switched off. Family members and the KMC feared Sarbjit Singh might be implicated in a false case.
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Widows get cheques
Fatehgarh Sahib, January 9 The government had constituted a special social security fund amounting to Rs 450 crore for this purpose, said Dr Harbans Lal, Chief Parliamentary Secretary while addressing a function organised by the District Social Security Department at Sirhind for today to distribute the cheques for Rs 3.80 lakh to 38 widows. He said the government had started giving regular monthly pensions to 10,97,386 beneficiaries. He said besides this 40,000 beneficiaries had been given assistance under the Aashirwad Scheme and 5 marla plots had been given to Dalit families having no house in rural areas. Addressing the function, Ms Amrit Bala, District Social Security Officer, said the scheme had been launched in the district as per the directions of Mr R.L. Kalsia, Secretary, Social Security Department. She said all CDPOs and BDPOs had been asked to identify the needy so that benefit might reach at the grassroots level and those affected might take benefit of government sponsored schemes. She urged the panches, sarpanches, councillors and other social organisations to come forward to help the department in granting benefit to the needy. Mr Sandeep Verma, president, Gandhi Vichar Manch, donated Rs 500 and a shawl to all widows and assured them of help in future also. Mr Gulshan Rai and Mr Tirlok Singh Bajwa, councillors, also addressed the gathering.
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Lions Club distributes sweaters
Fatehgarh Sahib, January 9 Dr Harbans Lal, Chief Parliamentary Secretary was the chief guest at the function and he distributed the sweaters. Addressing the function, he appreciated the efforts of the Lions Club, Sirhind, in serving the needy and down trodden section of the society. He called upon other social organisations to come forward for serving the society. He said the kids studying in primary schools without proper dresses and footwear must be helped and Lions Club has shown a great courtesy in providing sweaters to them. He announced a grant of Rs 1 lakh to the school. Addressing the function, Mr K.S. Khera, leading Advocate cum president of the club, said the club had always been in forefront for social cause and for the needy people. He said that the club had now taken the social services to the rural areas, where as earlier it was confined to only urban areas. He said that special camps to identify the needy students would be organised in the remote rural areas, so that those students might also be helped. Mr Khera highlighted the various activities initiated by the club. On this occasion, Mrs Satpal Kaur, sarpanch of the village, Mr Harish Duppar, secy of the club were also present.
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Fervour marks installation of “Bhavani Jyoti” at temple
Amritsar, January 9 Under the aegis of the Durgiana Temple Management, led by its president, Mr Surinder Arjun, the yatra was flagged off from the temple premises. Five flower-bedecked golden palkis (palanquins) atop chariots and a tableaux, showcasing scenes from the Ramayana with idols of various Gods led the procession.
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Rajpura, January 9 According to information, Pooja Rani and Seema, both residents of Gajju Kheri village, near here, were injured when their rickshaw was hit by a commercial vehicle. The women have been referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, while the rickshaw driver, Davoy Sharma, has been admitted to AP Jain Civil Hospital here. TNS
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high court Our High Court Correspondent
Chandigarh, January 9 The petitioners — Mr G.S. Sidhu, who was till recently Superintendent, Central Jail, Patiala, and Mr Kuldeep Singh, who was till recently Superintendent, Central Jail, Ludhiana — have prayed for setting aside of the December 20, 2005 order of the Department of Home Affairs and Justice, Punjab, though which IPS officers were posted as Senior Superintendents of central jails and IPS officer Harpreet Singh Sidhu was given charge of DIG, Jails. The order followed a decision taken by the Punjab Government to put all jails under the charge of IPS officers. Among the IPS officers posted as Senior Superintendents of central jails were Mr Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh as Senior Superintendent, Central Jail, Amritsar, Mr R.N. Dhoke, Senior Superintendent, Central Jail, Patiala and Mr Sharad Satya Chauhan, Senior Superintendent, Central Jail, Ludhiana. The government had also given additional charge of DIG, Jails to Mr Harpreet Singh Sidhu, AIG, Litigation, Punjab. In their petition, the two prison department officials have stated that the decision to give charge of prison administration is illegal and highly irregular as there is no post of Senior Superintendent under the prison rules. One of the petitioners, Mr Sidhu, has also claimed that he is the senior-most jail officer in his rank and is entitled to be promoted as DIG, Jails. The petition says that as per the rules, the post of DIG, Jails, can only be filled by selection from among the Assistant Inspectors General of Prisons having at least five years of experience. Apart from seeking quashing of the order posting IPS officers in the department, the petition also prays for restraining the respondents from transferring and posting IPS officers against posts in Punjab prisons department. Today, the Division Bench comprising Mr Justice J.S. Narang and Mr Justice Ashutosh Mohunta issued notice of motion for January 30. Contempt notice to IAS officer
The High Court on Monday issued contempt notice to IAS officer Vinod Kumar Bhalla, who is presently posted as Additional Secretary, Department of Local Self
Government. The notice was issued on the petition filed by Ms Joginder Kaur, who had prayed for initiation of contempt of court proceedings against the officer for allegedly wrongly interpreting the status quo order passed by the High Court. Ms Joginder Kaur, who was elected to the Municipal Council, Kharar, in the election held in March 2003, was unseated by an order of the Election Tribunal, Ropar, on a petition field by Ms Anju. On September 29, 2005, Mr Justice Tapen Sen of the High Court ordered that status quo be maintained. Thereafter, the petitioner again started functioning as member of the council. However, later, Ms Anju filed an application in the High Court, seeking clarification of the order, which was dismissed by the court. Now, in her contempt plea, Ms Joginder Kaur has alleged that inspite of the High Court order and its subsequent refusal to issue any clarification, Mr Bhalla, in order to help Ms Anju, issued a letter on December 12, 2005, saying that the petitioner was no longer member of the council. After hearing her counsel, Mr Justice MM Kumar issued notice to Mr Bhalla, asking him to explain why contempt of court proceedings not be initiated against him. Hearing will resume on March 7.
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Judicial remand for 5 murder accused
Rajpura, January 9 Amarjit Singh, Harnek Singh, Jaspal Singh, Gurnam Singh and Malkit Singh, all residents of Kakrali village, near Dera Bassi, whose police remand expired today, were sent to judicial custody. Badly-mutilated bodies of Gurcharan Singh, a resident of Mor Thikri, near Dera Bassi, and Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Sunder Nagar in Jind district, were found from near the Ghaggar railway station. The police had later picked up certain youths from Kakrali village. One of the youths, Gurmail Singh, later died in the custody of the Government Railway Police in Rajpura.
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Bhatnagar appointed FC (Revenue)
Chandigarh, January 9 In seniority, Mr Bhatnagar is junior to Mr Bikramjit Singh, Mr P.K. Verma and Mr V.N. Ojha. However, Mr Verma, Mr Ojha and Mr Bhatnagar are of the same batch while Mr Bikramjit Singh is of the 1969 batch. Usually, the seniormost IAS officer after the Chief Secretary is posted as Financial Commissioner (Revenue). Meanwhile, Mr S.S. Dhillon has been given additional charge as Special Secretary (Revenue) in place of Mr D.S. Grewal, who has been posted as Joint Development Commissioner. Mr Surjit Singh, a PCS officer, has been posted as ADC( Development), Ferozepore and Mr Gurmail Singh as ADC (General and Development) at Muktsar. Mr Amarjit Singh Dhindsa has been appointed Additional Chief Administrator (PUDA) and Mr Gurdip Singh Joint Secretary, PWD (B and R). Mr Anupam Kaler has been appointed Assistant Commissioner (General) in Ludhiana and Mr G.S. Bahia Deputy Director (Administration) in the Health and Family Welfare Department.
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Investigation officer held on graft charge
Patiala, January 9 According to Mr Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, Superintendent of Police, the Vigilance Bureau acted on a complaint filed by Mr Sheesha Singh of Patran against whom a case under Section 404 had been registered at the Samana police station. Mr Bhullar said two sons of Mr Sheesha Singh were also made parties to the case and they were granted interim bail by a court who also asked them to join investigation if they wanted to apply for regular bail. Mr Bhullar added that Mr Darshan Singh, who was the investigation officer in the case, had asked Mr Sheesha Singh’s sons to hand him Rs 5,000 as bribe if they were to join investigations. However, the vigilance sleuths arrested Darshan Singh when he was about to pocket Rs 3,000 as bribe money from the sons of Mr Sheesha Singh. The police has arrested the accused and registered a case against him under the Prevent of Corruption Act. The arrests were made in the presence of Mr Gurpal Singh and Mr Ramesh Kumar, both of whom have been made witnesses in the case, who are employees of the Irrigation Department. Meanwhile, Mr Darshan Singh has been admitted to the Government Rajindera Hospital following high blood pressure.
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Scribe attacked, four arrested
Bathinda, January 9 Mr Bhullar was in Mandi Kalan village to cover the district administration’s Lok Suvidha Camp. Sources said as soon as senior administration officials left the camp the school teacher, Mr Darshan Singh Romana, and his aides attacked the scribe with iron rods. The injured scribe was rushed to Civil Hospital, Rampura Phul, where he had being kept under observation. He sustained injuries in his head, chin and back. Sources said the teacher was nursing a grudge against the scribe for long, as he had carried a news reports regarding him. The police has arrested four persons in this connection, while another has absconded. Those arrested have been identified as Darshan Singh, a PTI posted at a Government School in Pitho village, Baljinder Singh, Surjit Singh and Harpreet Singh. A case under Sections 307, 148, 149 of the IPC and Sections 25/54/59 of the Arms Act has been registered.
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Three held
Ropar, January 9
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Five new institutes of science to be set up
Amritsar, January 9 This was revealed by Dr R. A. Mashelkar, Director General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), in an interview with The Tribune here today. He was here to participate in the 32nd annual convocation of Guru Nanak Dev University held yesterday. Dr Mashelkar, who had enunciated ‘CSIR 2001: Vision and Strategy’ which made a strong attempt to draw out corporate like research development of the country, said at present the government spending on research and development (R & D) was the only 0.9 per cent of the GDP as compared to 2.3 per cent of the GDP of the advanced nations. He said under the vision paper the government was likely to allocate more funds to the tune of 20 per cent for R & D in the country. Talking about his dream project to reverse the brain drain trend, the Director General said the government had agreed to set up Ramanujan Fellowship for providing scientists a monthly honorarium of Rs 50,000 besides offering Rs 5 lakh as contingency amount for conducting research at various locations to be selected by the scientists themselves. Lauding this approach of the government, he said this singular act would provide an incentives to the Indian scientists to return home and be a part of the Indian science system. He said that the government had agreed to set up a National Science and Engineering Foundation with an outlay of Rs 1000 crore based on the US pattern to give an impetus to basic research in the country. This new initiative would augur well with the new scientific temperament being built across the country, he added. The government had already provided Rs 500 crore for adding latest infrastructure to upgrade the existing regional engineering colleges, which had been restructured as national institute of technology on the lines of famous IITs, he added. To encourage research and create more research centers in the universities, Dr Mashelkar said a special committee under the chairmanship of Prof M. M. Sharma had been constituted which had recommended Rs 600 crore for research. He said this amount would go a long way to provide basic needs for developing research aptitude at the university level.
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12,000 teachers to be recruited
Chandigarh, January 9 On the issue of eviction of Sikh and Punjabi farmers in Uttaranchal, the Chief Minister said he had sought an audience with the Prime Minister. He said he had desired that the Chief Minister of Uttaranchal, Mr N.D. Tewari, should also be present at the meeting. Regretting the evictions, he said he had already brought it to the notice of Mr Tewari. “The issue will finish only when farmers are provided land and adequate compensation for the eviction.” When asked if the Akalis were preparing compact discs (CDs) of lathi-charge on Sikhs in Uttaranchal, the Chief Minister said: “I have not seen the CDs.” On the compensation of Rs 714 crore for the riot victims, he said no amount of financial compensation could make up the loss of lives.
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