Sunday, December 19, 1999
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P U N J A B | |
Sunday, December 19, 1999 |
weather  spotlighttoday's calendar |
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Women
start their own ‘banks’ |
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Call to oppose Badal rule Ravi Inder Cong man in "Akali
robe’ WB okays 250-cr loan for kandi
area
2 deaths due to cancer, say
officials Sant Samaj rejects calendar Family alleges harassment Copying case: teacher transferred SHSAD, SAD daises cordoned off Irate residents block traffic Private colleges under strain CITU opposes Kamath report ‘Forced’ donations for
ambulances Two-minute protest |
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Women start their own
‘banks’ KAKRALA (Patiala) Dec 18 — A quiet revolution is taking place in this sleepy village and few others in the district with women forming self help groups to start their own banks and even innovative money making projects. The self help groups are empowering the women in the real sense as the women themselves decide about the amount of personal contribution each month to start the bank and the manner in which it is to be disbursed after a year. They have also come out with their own detergent — RAG Surf (RAG for rural action group). Presently the group here and at Jalan have started giving money on loan to its members as both have completed more than one year during which money was only collected. The group at Darukota village is presently only collecting money every month from its members. The groups have been formed under the aegis of the Community Support Group Trust. Its chairman, Dr N.S. Sodhi, stated that there were around 25 to 40 members in all three groups contributing Rs 20 to Rs 30 each per month. He said a woman could take a loan of up to three times her deposit besides giving a guarantee of two other members of her group. He said the members standing guarantee could not take any loan till the amount was not returned. Dr Sodhi said the self help groups were also being encouraged to do productive work which could help them financially. He said a pilot project was started to manufacture and sell detergent power. He said the experiment had been successful with the group members making and marketing RAG Surf successfully in their villages. He said the project would be taken up again in a bigger way with more finance and better marketing as some rural women were averse to selling their product on their own. A visit to the villages revealed that the women of the self help groups belong to the lower socio-economic category. "It is because of this that they have to be educated about the scheme thoroughly before they can become members", said Mrs Neelam Khosla, who is in charge of the Darukota group. She said women were grilled to ensure they kept contributing money into a pool for at least one year so that a corpus was formed. "Once that is done only the loaning process can start", She said adding money of the group members was deposited in banks and their in charges maintained their separate ledgers also. Dr Sodhi said while the two groups of Kakrala and Jalan were of mixed ages. The one at Darukota consisted of elderly women only. She said this was due to the fact that the women were already under the care of a day care centre and had been encouraged to opt for this facility. He said stress would also be now laid on loaning money for personal needs as well as for productive work. He said ultimately members would be encouraged to take money only for their own projects. He said to ensure their empowerment was complete, the women were made functional literate during interactive sessions and their younger members educated about population control. Anyone desiring newspapers or books was also helped. It all started with an
exploratory visit to Jaipur by 15 women of villages of
the district in 1998 under the aegis of the Community Aid
Abroad Agency. Though Dr Sodhi said the visit was not
very successful with many women not able to take up the
idea here. Two women, Narinder and Harbans, were able to
start the self help groups later in Kakrala and Jalan
villages after goading the village women to not depend on
money tenders who charged steep interest for petty loans. |
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Lift import ban on milch
cattle: farmers CHANDIGARH, Dec 18 — Dairy farmers, who are in trouble as they are unable to upgrade the breed of their milch cattle, want the ban on the import of quality semen, embryos, milch cattle, milk powder, etc by various countries lifted. The authorities in the union government have not issued import licences to the farmers for the past two years. No reason has been given by the authorities concerned for keeping the applications that were submitted by dairy farmers for seeking the government approval to import semen, embryos and milch cattle pending. The Punjab Holstein Cows Association has urged the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, to plead their case at the appropriate level in the union government to get the ban lifted. The association has also requested the Agriculture Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, to do the needful. Mr Darshan Singh Alhoran, president of the association, told TNS that he on behalf of the association had contacted the authorities concerned several times in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, which is part of the Union Ministry of Agriculture, for knowing the reasons for keeping the applications pending. But no reason had been given, he said. Even the association had offered to remove if there was any deficiency in their applications. Mr Darshan Singh said because of the ban the dairy farmers were unable to import quality cows from North America and European countries. According to Mr Darshan Singh, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying had issued a notification in September last year, prohibiting the import of live cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goat, bovine, ovine and caprine embryos, fresh meat, meat products, tissue organ from Belgium, Belarus, Canada, Cyprus, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Luxemberg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, the UK, the USA in view of reported incidence of TSE group of diseases in these countries. However, there is no ban on importing such items from Denmark and Australia. Mr Darshan Singh said it was a fact that both Australia and Denmark import semen, embryos from the USA, the UK and Canada from where import of these items had been prohibited by the union government. In the light of these facts, he added there should have been a ban in case of Australia and Denmark also. He said perhaps certain vested interests were behind such a ban. He said there was no use of importing milch cattle, semen, etc from Australia as cattle available in India were a bit superior genetically than Australian ones. Second Denmark had the best quality Jersey cows, which due to their short size, were not preferred by dairy farmers in India. Holstein cows are of a bigger size. Countries like the USA and Canada have banned the use of animal proteins in the cattle feed as proteins could be a source of transferring TSE like diseases. The governments of these countries were prepared to give an undertaking that the milch cattle and embryos supplied by them were free from disease. Canada and the USA are the main source of importing quality semen, embryos and milch cattle. In recent years the Punjab Government had showed interest in the Israeli dairy farming system and to import cows from that country. But as per the statement of Mr Darshan Singh, even Israel is on the prohibited list. Any break in upgrading
of milch cattle proved very costly for dairy farmers. As
genetically superior milch cattle were available in North
America and European countries, Mr Darshan Singh said the
government should lift the ban. |
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India sets record in wheat
production CHANDIGARH, Dec 18 — While world wheat production is expected to be down — almost 3 per cent over last year — India is doing well with a record production of wheat in 1999 at 73.5 million tonnes. Last year it was 65.9 million tonnes and an year before 69.3 million tonnes. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has estimated the total world wheat production at 579.3 million tonnes. It is down by 14.1 million tonnes as compared to last year. The record production of wheat till now has been in 1997 at 613.2 million tonnes. The same way, in matter of rice, India has shown good progress by producing 127.6 millions tonnes in 1999. It is just .4 million tonnes more than last year. The world production has in the meantime been estimated at 585.4 million tonnes. It is more than the previous year's production by 13 million tonnes. Coarse cereal grains, another important item in the world's food basket, has declined over the previous two years. World production this year was 899 million tonnes against as 905.6 million tonnes in 1998. Here too India has done well by producing 32.5 million tonnes against last year's production of 31.4 million tonnes. The food outlook worldwide is, however, grim. The outlook for 1999 cereal production has improved slightly since June, mainly due to better crop prospects in Asia and North America. World production, however, will not be sufficient to meet anticipated consumption requirements and global stocks will need to be drawn down. Food emergencies persist throughout the world, mainly due to the efforts of adverse weather, civil strife and chronic economic problems. Now, 37 countries face food emergencies of varying degrees with an increasing number of people requiring food assistance. The latest estimates put cereal food aid shipments in 1998-99 at 9.5 million tonnes, 3 million tonnes above last year and the highest level since 1993-94. FAO's latest forecast for 1999 cereal production is 1,870 million tonnes, 0.7 per cent below last year, and 18 per cent lower than the record output in 1997. Wheat production is put at 579 million tonnes, almost 3 per cent down on last year, while coarse grain output is anticipated around 899 million tonnes, some 7 million tonnes below last year's crop. Global rice production is forecast at a record 585 million tonnes (392) million tonnes milled, 2 per cent higher than last year. World trade in cereals in 1999-2000 is expected to go up by 2 per cent to 218 million tonnes, 5 million tonnes more than in previous year. Global trade in wheat and coarse grains and rice prices in international markets fell, mostly in response to good crop prospects and weaker international demand, respectively. The prospects for trade and price recovery in the world meant market remains uncertain as the effects of the 1998 global financial crisis extend into 1999. Global production is expected to rise by 2 per cent as feed prices remain low. The record 1998-99 production of oil crops is confirmed by latest estimates, exceeding the expected increase in demand. Stocks of oil crop products are likely to increase and prices to fall. World fish production
recovered in 1999 due to high tuna and illex catches.
With the phasing out of EI Nino, the small pelagic
fisheries in Chile and Peru are recovering. The prices of
tuna and groundfish are likely to go up. |
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CM sees plot to weaken
‘Panth’ ROPAR, Dec 18 — Lashing out at Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra (without mentioning his name) and his supporters, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister, Punjab, today accused them of weakening the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and its government in the state. He also alleged that these persons had connections with the Congress. Mr Badal was addressing a conference organised on the occasion of Shaheedi Jor Mela at Gurdwara Bhatha Sahib here. The Chief Minister said the SAD-BJP government had brought a Rs 250 crore project to the state for Kandi areas. With this amount, roads, drinking water and irrigation facilities would be improved. Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Finance Minister, said the SAD would expose those who wanted to weaken the ‘panth’ by hatching a conspiracy with the support of the Congress. Jathedar Tota Singh,
Education Minister, Mr Sucha Singh Langah, Minister of
State for Industries, Punjab, Mr Gurdev Singh Badal,
Agriculture Minister, and Bibi Jagir Kaur, President of
the SGPC, also addressed the gathering. |
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Call to oppose Badal rule CHANDIGARH, Dec 18 — Dr Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon, who was unanimously elected today president of the Institute of Sikh Studies, gave a clarion call to all Punjabis to oppose the "hegemonistic" rule thrust on Punjab by the Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal. All institutions which are a source of strength in a democratic set-up have been monopolised by Mr Badal, said Dr Dhillon. He added: "The Akali Dal which is supposed to be a democratic organisation has ceased to be so because all powers are concentrated in the Chief Minister, who also happens to be the president of the party". Dr Dhillon alleged that by proxy Mr Badal had also controlled the functioning of the SGPC. He also alleged that because of rampant corruption in the state the common man was the worst-hit. The peasantry, supposed to be backbone of the Akali Dal, had been ruined financially by the "anti-people" policies rigorously adhered to by Mr Badal. The recent parliamentary
elections had given a clear verdict against Mr Badal.
Therefore, he had no moral right to continue as Chief
Minister, he said. |
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Ravi Inder Cong man in
"Akali robe’ CHANDIGARH, Dec 18 — Three senior leaders — Mr Kirpal Singh Badungar, Mr Sewa Singh Sekhwan and Mr Balwinder Singh Bhunder — of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) said here today that a former Speaker, Mr Ravi Inder Singh was a "Congressman in Akali clothing". Refuting Mr Ravi Inder’s charge as regards democracy in the party, they said meetings of working committee and other organisational organs of the party had always remained an open forum for healthy debate and even criticism. The former Speaker should understand the difference between internal democracy and the "licence to carry on devious conspiracies against the party and government". They said Mr Ravi Inder’s approach was totally devoid of substance and his knocking the doors of various courts proved that he was all for technicalities. The three Akali leaders
have advised Mr Ravi Inder to learn form "mistakes
of others like Mr Tohra who tried to misuse the limitless
tolerance and magnanimity always displayed by Mr Parkash
Singh Badal." |
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WB okays 250-cr loan for
kandi area PATIALA, Dec 18 — The World Bank has approved a loan of Rs 250 crore for the development of the kandi area of the state. Stating this while talking to newspersons here today, the Finance Minister, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, said in the first phase of the development plan, Rs 38 crore would be spent on construction of roads, bridges and cause-ways. He said transport and drinking water facilities would also be provided under the plan. The minister said the plan would be completed in two-and-a-half years. He revealed that the
government had directed the state Agriculture Department
to prepare a scheme of crop-rotation so that the
agriculture sector could produce more revenue. |
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Catherine’s box AMRITSAR, Dec 18 — The Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Accounts (CRTFDA), Switzerland — A Zurich-based apex institution of 15 arbitrators screening claims to dormant Swiss accounts (belonging to Catherine’s wealth) — is baffled as a number of claimants of Princess Catherine’s safe box have sprung up in Punjab and Chandigarh. Quoting extensively from history of the last Sikh ruler, Maharaja Duleep Singh, all claimants had justified their royal lineage. With the result the safe box in the Swiss bank vault, which was scheduled to be opened in September, could not be opened. The dormant account in Switzerland belongs to princess Catherine, one of the three daughters of Maharaja Duleep Singh. The account could not be operated since 1945. However, after the publication of the list of the accounts in 1997 many claimants came forward for establishing their lineage. The mysterious account might have the mention under which Maharaja Duleep Singh had handed over the fabled Kohinoor diamond to the British at the age of 11. The confusion of the CRTFDA about too many claimants could be judged from the recently written two-page letter of the CRTFDA to Mr Meet Pal Singh, who claimed himself to be the "real heir" of the last Sikh ruler of Punjab. The letter written by Mr Mark Nicholls, Legal Secretary to the claims resolution tribunal, reads, "Please note that the decision is not final regarding your entitlement to the account. In fact, many accounts are claimed by a number of claimants. It is only at the next stage, the arbitration stage, that the tribunal will decide whether or not you have any entitlement to the account". The above letter of the tribunal clearly showed that the mystery of the Swiss accounts would be unfolded in the next millennium only. Apart from Mr Meet Pal Singh of Attari, Mr Beant Singh Sandhawalia, who now lives in Amsterdam, Lt Col Karn Vir Singh and five other Sandhawalia Sikhs of Raja Sansi (Amritsar), Mr Sukhraj Singh, Mr Surinder Singh, Mr Avtar Singh, Mr Sarbjit Singh and Mr Tarsem Singh had already written to the Swiss bank claiming to be the "real descendants" of Maharaja Duldeep Singh. While Mr Meet Pal Singh and Lt Col (retd) Karn Vir Singh claimed that they are direct descendants of Maharaja Sher Singh, elder brother of Maharaja Duldeep Singh. Hence, they claim that they should be treated as the "real heir" and close relative of Princess Catherine. However, Mr Beant Singh Sandhawalia, Bibi Jasbir Kaur Sandhawalia, and many other claimants have also written to the Swiss bank that they should be treated as "real descendants" of the last Sikh ruler on the basis of pedigree presented by them. The sources said the
dispute over the true ownership of Kohinoor, could be
settled by the tribunal if all Sandhawalia Sikhs unitedly
present the case to the Swiss bank. |
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2 deaths due to cancer,
say officials GIANA (Bathinda), Dec 18 — As many as 22 out of total 128 cancer patients of this village have died. The district health authorities which were earlier claiming that only three deaths had been reported due to cancer so far from the village have admitted the fact that cancer has taken 22 lives in the village. The district health authorities, which conducted a survey of the village after a news item regarding the unusual spread of cancer in this neglected village appeared in The Tribune on December 14, admitted that about 17 per cent deaths in the village were due to cancer. Official sources said in 1990 two persons out of 12 patients died due to carcinogenic diseases, in 1991 two out 12, in 1992, six out of 20 in 1993, three out of 20, in 1994, two out of 12 and in 1995, four out of 13, in 1996 one out of 23, in 1997 two out of 16. The district health authorities, which gathered these figures from the record of village chowkidar, could not get any information about the deaths which occurred in the 1998 and 1999. Dr Bawa Ram Gupta, Civil Surgeon, Civil Hospital Bathinda, told TNS that at present about three patients namely Balbir Kaur, Gian Kaur and Jarnail Singh were getting treatment of various types of cancer. He said that generally rate of deaths caused due to carcinogenic disease ranged between 5 and 10 per cent. The death rate due to cancer in this village should be taken year wise, he added. He said a door-to-door
survey would also be conducted in the village under the
free bus travel facility scheme for cancer patients
launched by the Punjab government recently for detecting
cancer patients. |
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Sant Samaj rejects calendar JALANDHAR, Dec 18 — The Gurbani Gurmat Sidhant Parcharak Sant Samaj and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) headed by Bibi Jagir Kaur appeared set on collision course with the former levelling serious allegations against the latter and raising objections about the controversial ‘Nanakshahi’ calendar, proposed to be issued by the SGPC. Samaj president Baba Kashmira Singh and other officers dubbed the calendar as a threat to the unity and integrity of the country and refused to accept it in its present form. Bibi Jagir Kaur, however, said nothing would be done which could hurt the feelings and sentiments of any section of the society. Baba Kashmira Singh, Baba Amarjit Singh and Didar Singh of Nanaksar, Baba Gurnam Singh of Harkhowal, Baba Bharthari Dass, President of Shiromani Punjabi Aid Mandal, Baba Balwinder Singh Sewapanthi and Dr Bhupinder Singh of Manav Ekta Kendra talking to mediapersons here today, said the proposed issuance of a ‘Nanakshahi’ calendar was a separatist move. Baba Kashmira Singh even went a step further when he described Bibi Jagir Kaur and Pal Singh Purewal, the brain behind the calendar, as ‘Khalistanis’. The other sants sought to modify this by saying that it was a ‘separatist act’. Seeking withdrawal of the calendar, which is proposed to come into force from January 1, 2000, the samaj leaders described the meeting of the SGPC executive on December 23 to discuss the calendar as ‘redundant’. Claiming the samaj had been invited to attend the meeting, Baba Kashmira Singh said there was no relevance of the meeting as the SGPC had already placed an order for publication of 10,000 copies of the calendar on December 13. "The meeting is mere eyewash", he said. Contacted over the phone, Bibi Jagir Kaur denied the samaj had been invited to participate in the meeting. "It is entirely a religious affair and nobody has any right to interfere unnecessarily. I had requested the Akal Takht jathedar to take the views of some scholars on the issue and that is going to happen on December 23, she stated. She, however, said the calendar would be issued only after serious discussions and after removal of doubts from the minds of people. Referring to the order placed by the SGPC for the calendar, Bibi Jagir Kaur maintained that, "it is not a fresh order. The SGPC has in its possession about 1.5 lakh copies of a calendar published by the highest Sikh body during 1998. We had held these back because of reservations expressed in some quarters", she said. Refusing to comment on allegations levelled against her by the samaj leaders, Bibi Jagir Kaur said, "How can these people comment on Sikh issues, when they are not following the Sikh Reht-Maryada. She did not elaborate. Baba Kashmira Singh, however, insisted that the samaj did not recognise the calendar as it could sow the seeds of communalism as it did not recognise Hindu festivals, like Diwali, Holi and Dasehra, which had great relevance for Sikhs also. Moreover, it will sow confusion in the minds of people. According to the
calendar the festival of Diwali has been renamed as
‘Bandichodd’ and the Sikhs are supposed to
celebrate it on November 7, instead of October 26, 2000,
under ‘Bikrami Samvat’. |
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Family alleges harassment AMRITSAR, Dec 18 — The panic-stricken family of Mr Mohinder Paul of the walled city had abandoned its home and business taking shelter in other cities after it allegedly earned the wrath of a former sarpanch. The pleas of the family to the Union and State Home Secretary and the local SSP since January failed to bring them respite, alleged a visibly shaken wife of Mr Mohinder Paul, Mrs Sanyukta Devi. Talking to this correspondent at the residence of the BJP MLA, Mrs Lakshmi Kanta Chawla, Mrs Sanyukta Devi said the former sarpanch and his henchmen had been harassing them and had threatened to "liquidate" them in case they failed to return the money he had advanced to her husband and son some time ago. She said they had been terrorised by the former sarpanch for the past 11 months and had to lock their house at Karmon Deori Chowk. Mrs Chawla said the traumatised family could not muster enough courage to submit the copy of the bail application of Mr Mohinder Paul, which was accepted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, at the local police station. However, the trauma of the family did not end here. The former sarpanch’s henchmen pasted posters of Mr Mohinder Pal’s daughters and daughters-in-law in the locality to malign them. Mrs Sanyukta Devi said their house was looted and later locked by the former sarpanch’s men. No one reported the case to the police and it was on the intervention of Mrs Chawla that the lock was broken and the family was allowed take possession of the house. Mrs Chawla said the
family had taken some money as loan from the former
sarpanch and could not pay back. Moreover, the cheques
issued by them had bounced and the litigation relating to
it was still pending in the court. She urged the SSP to
take action against the former sarpanch and his henchmen
and provide security to the family. |
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Copying case: teacher
transferred BATHINDA, Dec 18 — In an interesting case the Punjab Government has transferred the head teacher of Government Middle School, Phus Mandi village, to government school, Rajowala village in Amritsar district, allegedly for reporting copying cases. In the matriculation examination conducted in March by the Punjab School Education Board. Official sources said the state government had transferred Mr Karnail Singh on administrative grounds. Sources said Mr Karnail Singh had reported cases of copying by wards of influential persons by getting two roll numbers issued for themselves from the board. He had made a complaint to the Chief Secretary, Punjab, in this regard. On the basis of his complaint, inquiries being conducted into the matter by the district administration. Mr Jagdev Singh Jagga, District Treasurer, Democratic Teachers Front, Bathinda, in a press note alleged that Mr Karnail Singh was pressurised for hushing up the case. He added that a complaint by Mr Karnail Singh and others was also made to the Education Minister, Mr Tota Singh, on June 8 and the board authorities had then said the contents of the complaint were true. He pointed out that the Democratic Teachers Front would start an agitation if the transfer was not cancelled. Mrs Surinder Kataria, District Education Officer (Secondary) when contacted said Mr Karnail Singh and others had created hurdles in the smooth conduct of the matriculation examination. She added that she had sent a report to the board authorities in this regard and Mr Karnail Singh was transferred on administrative grounds. She added that an
inquiry into the scandal was being conducted by the board
authorities and the transfer of Mr Karnail Singh was not
connected to the exposing of copying cases. |
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SHSAD, SAD daises cordoned off FATEHGARH SAHIB, Dec 18 — Workers of the SHSAD have threatened to occupy the stage and site of SAD (B) if the police, prevented them from organising the political conference at the earlier allotted site. Talking to mediapersons at the site today, Mr Karnail Singh Panjoli, State President, Youth Akali Dal, said the party at its meeting held here today criticised the move of the SGPC to shift the venue of their political conference. They took a pledge not to allow the Chief Minister to address from that site. The police cordoned off the stage and the site allotted to the SAD (B) and the SHSAD. Mr V.K. Janjua, Deputy Commissioner, and Mr Paramraj Singh Umranangal, SSP, told this correspondent that the sites for political conferences were allotted by the mela sub-committee. The sub-committee would hold meeting tomorrow. The officers said they had received a letter from the Manager, Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib that the sites of both the SHSAD and the SAD (B) were near to one another. Apprehending a law and order problem, the SHSAD has been asked to shift the site. The Deputy Commissioner was hopeful that the matter would be solved amicably at tomorrow’s mela sub-committee meeting. However, the Manager of Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib said the site of SHSAD had not been shifted and he had not written to any one. Mr Panjoli alleged that
in spite of the assurances given to him by the Chief
Minister, the police had cordoned off the site and
directed the party workers to leave the site. He said
they were adamant to organise the conference at the site. |
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Irate residents block traffic JALANDHAR, Dec 18 — Traffic on the Jalandhar-Kapurthala road remained disrupted for about four hours as hundreds of residents of the Harnamdaspura locality held a dharna at Kapurthala Chowk here today against the alleged police inaction in an incident involving a clash between two groups of transporters, which led to the death of Gurnam Singh of Harnamdaspura. Irate residents, who converged on the place and kept the body of Gurnam Singh on the road, were demanding the arrest of Gurbaksh Singh Gorkha, allegedly the main accused in the clash which took place at Patel Chowk here on December 8. Gurnam Singh and his father, Surjit Singh, were injured seriously in the incident. Gurnam Singh succumbed to his injuries today. The post-mortem on his body was conducted at the local Civil Hospital. The police has already arrested Japsal Singh, one of the four accused, but no action was taken by the police against Gurbaksh, as, according to Mr Kuldip Singh, brother of the deceased, he was close to a local minister. On the other hand, the SHO concerned, who had conducted an inquiry into the incident, had "exonerated" Gurbaksh saying that he was not involved in the incident. However, a fresh probe was ordered by the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr Gaurav Yadav, later on. The report is awaited. As the protesters did not allow movement of vehicles on the road, the traffic had to be diverted through alternative routes through Maqsudan and via the Jalandhar-Amritsar bypass. The dharna was lifted
only after Mr Pawan Uppal, the local SP, assured the
protesters that action would be taken in the matter and
the accused would be arrested. |
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Private colleges under strain AMRITSAR, Dec 18 — The privately-managed government-aided colleges in the State may be forced to close down. The President of the Private College Management Committees Federation, Mr Ishwar Singh, yesterday cautioned the government that in case they do not receive their grants since June this year they may be forced to boycott the ensuing annual examinations due next year. Mr Ishwar Singh pointed that after a prolonged agitation by the teachers of these colleges, the State Government had agreed to grant them the UGC-recommended pay scales from April this year, and the colleges started paying them accordingly. The University Grants Commission has sought a certificate from the government that the revised grades were being implemented in toto, for releasing the grants for first three months of the current financial year. The president of the federation also alleged that the Punjab Government had not yet implemented the UGC recommendation on the retirement age. He said the colleges were unable to comply with the UGC orders without the help of the State Government. He pointed out that only
19 old colleges in the State were aided under the 95 per
cent reimbursement scheme while the other 23 colleges
were operating with their own resources. |
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CITU opposes Kamath report JALANDHAR, Dec 18 — The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has opposed the Kamath Committee recommendations to the government to sell the non-performance assets of the State Bank of India to some multinational banking companies. The National Task Force headed by Mr K.V. Kamath has also recommended the sale of the non-performance assets of the Oriental Bank of Commerce, Corporation Bank and the Bank Of Baroda besides the closure of UCO Bank, Indian Bank and the United Bank Of India. The General Secretary of the Punjab unit of the CITU, Mr Chander Shekhar, in a statement issued here yesterday demanded that the government should reject recommendations which were harmful to national interest. Strangely enough the committee had made no concrete proposals regarding the non-performance assets of the banks. The government should
name the loan defaulters. Proper legislation should be
brought forward to punish those guilty of economic
offences so as to protect the banking industry and the
economy of the country, he demanded. |
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Saturday strike for 5-day week JALANDHAR, Dec 18 — All the bar associations of Punjab will observe a strike on every Saturday till their demand for implementation of a five-day week is met. This was decided in a meeting of Punjab Lawyers Association here today. They also asked bar associations of Haryana to observe a similar strike on Saturdays and pressurise the Punjab and Haryana High Court in declare Saturday a holiday. They also decided that
the association would not allow any advocate from outside
bar to appear before the court on Saturday. |
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2 held, 2 trucks impounded GURDASPUR, Dec 18 — The police yesterday arrested Bilal Ahmed and Mohammed Shafi both residents of district Pulwana in Jammu and Kashmir and seized 4000 pieces of willow wood. According to SSP Varinder Kumar a naka was laid on the Ravi bridge at Madhopur and the two trucks and the load of wood were seized. The suspects told the
police each willow wood piece fetched them Rs 250 at
Jalandhar. A case under Section 379 and 411 of the IPC
has been registered. |
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College teachers to boycott
classes BATHINDA, Dec 18 — Members of the Punjab State Engineering College Teachers Federation have decided to boycott the classes from January 11, 2000, if their demands were not met by the State Government. Mr Raja Singh, President of the Federation, talking to TNS yesterday said that a decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the federation held at Gurdaspur on December 12. He pointed out that the Federation had taken this decision because the Punjab Government had not taken any step so far for sanctioning the revised pay scales for the teachers. He added that the
revised pay scales had been sanctioned for all the
technical institutes of the State except 100 per cent
aided state engineering colleges. |
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‘Forced’ donations for ambulances LUDHIANA, Dec 18 — Mr Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal, a former Punjab Minister now in the SHSAD, today accused the district administration of coercively collecting money for its ambulance scheme due to be launched in the city by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, tomorrow. In a statement issued here, Mr Grewal alleged that a sum of Rs 1.20 lakh had been collected from Machhiwara, another Rs 2 lakh from Ludhiana and over Rs 1 lakh from Samrala the arhtias association through coercion. I condemn this practise. The district red cross, which has ample funds at its disposal, should fund the introduction of the ambulance service. Collection of money from different organisations for such purposes was neither justified, nor should it be condoned," he said. He also wanted the government to honour its commitment to privately managed colleges for release of grants-in-aid. He said teachers of these colleges had not been paid salaries for past more than six months, because of the delay. The Deputy Commissioner,
Mr Arun Goyal, however, denied the charges and said the
contribution had been made by different organisations on
a voluntary basis. The ambulances would carry their names
and many of the organisations would themselves be
presenting the ambulances tomorrow. He, however, said if
any organisation was having second thoughts on this
issue, the District Administration would be glad to
refund the money. |
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DC operates from rest house FEROZEPORE, Dec 18 — Even after a month of assuming office the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Kulbir Singh Sidhu, is without an official accommodation in the city. As his predecessor, Mr Gurdev Singh Sidhu, has yet not vacated the official accommodation. Mr K.S. Sidhu is at present living in a one-room accommodation at the local PWD Rest House. This has put the DC and his staff to inconvenience. From the security point of view also the DC is vulnerable to threat from outsiders. Moreover, the guards attached to the DC and posted at the rest house are also living in tents. The national flag is now
being hoisted on the roof of the rest house which has
virtually been turned into the DC’s residence. |
||
Cotton purchase suspended ABOHAR, Dec 18 — The purchase of cotton at the local grain market was suspended after a minor clash between farmers and traders yesterday. Mr Budhram Bishnoi, district President Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, alleged in a statement today that the traders were buying cotton without open auction and this had brought, a slump in the market. The cotton rates had already recorded a fall of Rs 500 per quintal since last month. The farmers’
organisations have resolved to observe strike till next
Sunday. |
||
16 wagons of train derailed JALANDHAR, Dec 18 — As many as 18 wagons of a Faridkot-bound goods train were derailed near Khojewal railway station on the Jalandhar-Ferozepore section today. According to railway sources, nobody was injured in the incident. They also ruled out sabotage saying that the accident took place due to some mechanical failure. Nearly 400 metres of the track had been damaged. A heavy-duty crane was
engaged near Wariana village and the track was expected
to be cleared by late tonight, they added. |
||
Two-minute protest BATHINDA, Dec 18 — The station masters of Indian Railways will stop trains for two minutes at signals at midnight on December 20 in the country to press the railway authorities to accept their long pending demands. In a press note issued here today, Mr Rajesh Sharma, President, All India Station Master Association, Ambala division, said that the two minute stop would delay the smooth running of trains. Their main demands
include the upgrading of pay scales and running
allowance. |
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