Mayhem as aspirants meet Cong observer
JALANDHAR, June 20 — Factionalism came to the fore as aspirants for the party ticket gathered with their supporters at the District Congress Bhawan here to meet the AICC observer, Mr Yagya Dutt Sharma, who is on a day's visit to assess the situation before filing his report about this constituency.

Mahan Saput Award for Capt Bhinder
AMRITSAR, June 20 — The Punjab government today honoured Capt Manjinder Singh Bhinder with "Punjab da Mahan Saput Award" (great son of Punjab Award) posthumously for saving more than 150 trapped in Uphar cinema inferno in New Delhi last year. Capt Bhinder his wife and their four-year-old son were snuffed by the flames.

Car thieves gang busted
JALANDHAR, June 20 — The police today claimed to have busted an inter-state gang of car thieves.

Procedure for certificates simplified
FATEHGARH SAHIB, June 20 — In order to overcome the difficulty being faced by students and their wards in getting original certificates of various categories like S.C/ B.C and backward area due to the ongoing strike of patwaris, the government has decided to simplify the procedure.

Employees oppose Markfed move
CHANDIGARH, June 20 — The Punjab State Cooperative Markfed Employees' Union has opposed the decision of the board of directors to release Rs 4 crore to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund for Muktsar district.

MP resents decision on Ghaggar dam
PATIALA, June 20 — The Punjab Government has backed out from constructing a Rs 139 crore dam on the Ghaggar river, a project which can save scores of villages in the Dakala-Patran-Lehra belt from floods.

Congress begins nominees' selection
From Our Correspondent

AMRITSAR, June 20 — The Congress has already begun its poll exercise and taken a lead on other parties to shortlist prospective candidates for the three parliamentary constituencies from the border region of Majha. The central party observer, Mr Yagya Dutt Sharma, had met local senior party leaders and workers from the three Lok Sabha seats of Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran.

A number of contenders with their supporters had also been camping here to press for their claim for the coming parliamentary elections. The observer faced some tough times when supporters of the local Independent MLA and former Congressman from the West Constituency, Mr O.P. Soni, raised slogans in his favour and demanded the Lok Sabha seat for him in place of a five-time winner and former Minister for External Affairs, Mr R.L. Bhatia. According to a senior Congress functionary preferring anonymity, said it was indeed intriguing that while Mr Soni was not a Congress worker, his claim to the Parliament seat was untenable.

According to sources close to the central observer, the name of Mr Bhatia from Amritsar is almost clear as the names of other contenders, who had presented their case demanding a fresh nominee from the holy city, would be discussed at the meeting of the Punjab Election Committee to be held next month for recommending their names for a final decision to be taken by the working committee.

Meanwhile, a son of former Congress Minister late Parbodh Chander, Mr Ashwani Kumar, a Supreme Court advocate, has put forward his claim for the Gurdaspur seat. His claim is supported by Congress stalwarts, including Mr Khushal Behl, Mr Santokh Singh Randhawa, former Chief, Punjab Pardesh Congress, Mr Rajbir Singh, Secretary, PPCC, and others.

Talking to newspersons, Mr Behl justified the candidature of Mr Kumar and alleged Mrs Bhinder, a former MP, had neglected the area during her tenure.

Claimants of the Tarn Taran parliamentary seat number more than five, including younger son of former Chief Minister Partap Singh Kairon, Mr Gurinder Singh Kairon, who unsuccessfully contested the by-elections held last year. Besides, Mr Kairon others include Mr Surinder SIngh Shashi, who contested the Tarn Taran Assembly elections and lost to the SAD candidate. A sugar mill tycoon of Punjab, Mr Gurjit Rana, has also sent in his application.

Mayhem as aspirants meet Cong observer
From Jasmine Sandhu Sandhawalia
Tribune News Service

JALANDHAR, June 20 — Factionalism came to the fore as aspirants for the party ticket gathered with their supporters at the District Congress Bhawan here to meet the AICC observer, Mr Yagya Dutt Sharma, who is on a day's visit to assess the situation before filing his report about this constituency.

Mr Yagya Dutt explained to mediapersons today that winability, loyalty to the party and most importantly the image of the candidate would be the yardstick he would follow while recommending names for the 13 parliamentary constituencies in the state. He said the report would be filed by this month-end.

The aspirants, to demonstrate their strength, created a chaos in the District Congress Bhawan, raising slogans in support of their candidates.

Each aspiring candidate along with his delegation of supporters was seen by the observer and questioned about his association with the Congress and rank in the party hierarchy.

Although nine candidates have applied from this parliamentary constituency, the main contenders are Mr Umrao Singh, former member of Parliament, Mr Balbir Singh, former Rajya Sabha member, Mr Iqbal Singh, former Rajya Sabha member, and Mr Gurjit Singh Rana.

Party sources alleged that Mr Gurjit Singh Rana, a sugar baron, had no mass base and was an upstart, but he was a "hot favourite" with the PPC President, Mr Amarinder Singh.

Senior Congress party leaders from here called on the AICC President after Mr Amarinder Singh showed his inclination towards Mr Rana two week ago.

Mr Umrao Singh, an old warhorse, who contested unsuccessfully in the last parliamentary elections against the former Prime Minister, Mr I.K. Gujral, mobilised the support of sarpanches and block-level representatives of the party in this constituency, who met the party observer. Mr Umrao Singh has the capability of harnessing rural votes, which are over 60 per cent in the Jalandhar constituency.

Veteran leader Balbir Singh, former member of the Rajya Sabha and nephew of veteran Congress leader Swarn Singh, also put up a good show and is a strong candidate. Mr Iqbal Singh too met the observer with his delegation of supporters.

Supporters of Mr Rana indulged in hooliganism at the Congress Bhawan. Over 2000 supporters of different ticket aspirants were not allowed entry into the bhawan. Municipal councillors from Nakodar, Kapurthala and Jalandhar cantonment told TNS that they were manhandled. Several turbans were seen flying in the mayhem.

The observer, Mr Sharma, said he had visited six parliamentary segments of Ropar, Hoshiarpur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur and Phillaur and felt that the party position was strong. The state party leaders and workers also wanted to go to the hustings alone without forming any alliance.

AMRITSAR: The second rung leaders of the Congress have urged the high command to allocate tickets to the new faces for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The leaders who met Mr Yagya Dutt Sharma, the party observer for the Majha region were from Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran constituencies. They said the services of the senior party leaders who had lost the elections twice or thrice in the past should be taken for strengthening the organisational network.

The local Independent MLA and former senior Congress leader and his supporters met the observer and urged him to allocate ticket to him.

However, there was some resentment among Congress leaders from Gurdaspur as the observer met the ticket seekers at Amritsar itself.

Those in favour of new faces for the Lok Sabha elections were Mr M.M. Singh Cheema, Chairman Intellectual Cell of the Punjab Congress, Mr Surinder Singh Shahi who had unsuccessfully contested the Tarn Taran assembly seat and Mr Gurinder Singh Kairon, son of Mr Partap Singh Kairon.

Garhshankar diary
‘‘Beet’’ area cries for water
By Mohinder Singh Chaudhry

GARHSHANKAR: The "Beat" area of this subdivision, which comprises 27 villages, has a rich cultural heritage. This is the native place of many saints and seers like Bhai Tikku and Baba Mahesh etc. The Akali Babbars of this area have made their contribution in the struggle of freedom. It has chronic problems and the Government is doing nothing to improve the lot of the people of this area. Rather, their problems are going up.

* * *

The problem of drinking water in the "Beet" area is chronic and nobody has tried to solve it seriously. In many villages, people have to stand in long queues for hours at a stretch to get drinking water. A few months ago, the D.C., Hoshiarpur, had assured the people in a face to face contact programme at Beenewal that water supply problem would be solved at the earliest and the residents would get a regular supply of water. But the situation still remains the same. Drinking water is supplied to Pandori, Kot-Serra, Bhandiar and Mehandwani etc. from Rampur Bilron but it is meagre.The residents complain that the supply of water is only for two hours (10 a.m. to 12 noon). Besides, the water is available only in low-lying areas. The taps remain dry in the upper parts of "Beet" area. In many villages, the people are forced to drink contaminated pond water. This is an open invitation to some epidemic.

Here, the daily requirement of water is 100 litres per head whereas only 40 litres is being supplied. What to say of milk, people are crying, for pure water, even after 50 years of independence. "These are our achievements in the Golden Jubilee year of our freedom," an old man of Mehandwani village remarked.

* * *

In the "Beet" area, most of the link roads cry for repairs. For the past two decades, the situation has worsened. The roads from Bakapur to Saroya and Chahalpur are in bad shape. The road from Kot to Baqapur used to be full of pot holes. But people under the leadership of Mr Joga Singh, Sarpanch, used about 92 tractor-trolley loads of sand to fill these pits, each measuring 3' to 4' in depth. These pot holes were virtual death-traps. The road from "Beet" Pandori to Mehindwani is broken at many places. The bus stop at Beenewal has a similar story to tell. The road from Beenewal to Tibbian is also in patches only. There are areas around Pandori and Shahpur where there are no roads. The road from Moela Wahidpur to Rawalpindi is in very bad shape. Actually, there are no link roads in the "Beet" area, there are patches only, that link the area.

The lmmediate requirements are deep tubewells in every village, boundary-wall around the health-centre at Beenewal, underground telephone-lines, a 25-bed hospital at Bhandiar, staff for veterinary dispensaries and also staff for vacant posts in schools.

Move to boost villagers’ morale
From Our Correspondent

RAJOKI GATTI (Ferozepore), June 20 — "Jekar jung de daron asin apni fasal chhad jawange tan pher asin roti kitho khawange" (from where would we get food if we abandon our farms due to fear of war). These are the words of an elderly farmer, Ishar Singh, resident of Rajoki Gatti village on the Hussainiwala border.

Talking to The Tribune, Ishar Singh who was holding a stick in his hand said migration from the village was of no use. "One cannot protect himself from death by merely changing one’s place," he explained sounding fatalistic.

He, however, said certain villagers had shifted their children and valuables to "safer" places because of the ongoing fighting in Kargil and movement of the Army on the border. Other villagers this correspondent talked to had almost the same tale to tell. In every field, diesel-run pump sets were guzzling water for fields.

Meanwhile, a team of District Congress Committee (DCC) led by its President, Mr Gurbir Singh Sandhu started a tour of the border villages in this district, to boost the morale of the villagers keeping in touch with the latest information with the help of transistors.

The team, on Saturday, toured nearly 12 villages situated on the Hussainiwala border. The villages toured by the team include Dulchike, Palla Megha, Bhana Singh Wala, Allowala Kamalwala, Basti Ram Lal, Rooti Wakilanwali, Rajoki Gatti, Hazara Singh Wala and Chandiwala.

According to the DCC Secretary, Mr Ajit Singh Bhalla, during the tour the team found that there was no panic among the border inhabitants who were asked to immediately contact the DCC office at Ferozepore for any kind of help in case of any emergency.

At Kamalwala village, the team found that despite war clouds more than 1000 villagers including men, women and children were celebrating fearlessly annual fair at the Dargah of Ghulam Haider.

The DCC team, today, is conducting tour of the border villages in the Jalalabad and Fazilka areas. It would send its findings to the AICC and the PPCC presidents afterwards, said Mr Ajit Singh Bhalla. The team comprised among others by the municipal councillors.

The Ferozepore Cantonment Assembly constituency’s MLA and the Minister of State for Sainik Welfare and Cooperation, Punjab, Mr Janmeja Singh Sekhon already visited the border villages on Thursday. He was accompanied among others by the DIG Police, Mr Hardeep Singh Dhillon, the ADC, Mr R.G. Sahota, the SSP, Mr Gurcharan Singh Pherurai and the SDMs concerned.

Addressing the villagers, the minister had announced that the government would pay full compensation for the damage caused to corps, houses and livestocks in the Indo-Pakistan war. He also heard grievances of the villagers and assured to bring them to the notice of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

On the other side, the Ferozepore Division Commissioner, Mr R.N. Gupta has said that there was no possibility of war at this moment.

According to an official information received today, this was stated by Mr Gupta at a meeting held at Ferozepore. Among others the meeting was attended by civilians and officers of security forces, civil defence, police and civil administration.

Mr Gupta added that of a total 134-km long border in this district, 20 km long area from other side of river Sutlej in the Ferozepore sector and also Maujam and Pakka Chisti areas in the Fazilka sector were vulnerable but morale of people residing there was high.

Addressing the meeting, which was convened to review the security arrangements, the Ferozepore police range DIG, Mr Hardeep Singh Dhillon said that the transportation, telephone and safe places would be provided to the government officers and employees on duty, at the police stations and police lines in case of war.

Mourners throng Kalia's residence
From Our Correspondent

NANGAL, June 20 — Thousands paid tributes to Capt Amol Kalia whose body was brought to Nangal from Leh today. His body was airlifted from Leh to Chandigarh from where it was carried to Nangal in an Army convoy.

The convoy was stopped at various places by people who wanted to pay homage.

The wooden coffin containing the body of the Captain was kept in front of his residence so that people could pay their last respects. Many residents had camped outside the residence of the slain hero, waiting for his body. So heavy was the rush of mourners that the local administration had to make special arrangements.

Capt Amol Kalia of the 12 J and K Light Infantry laid down his life while fighting Pakistani intruders at the Batalik post at a height of 16000 feet on June 10. He was the first to break through the enemy ranks in the Batalik sector.

Captain Kalia (25) joined the Indian Army through NDA after completing 10 + 2 from Fertiliser Model Senior Secondary School, Naya Nangal, in 1991. During his stint as an officer, he served at Ferozepore, Leh and Siachen before his last operations in Kargil.

Captain Kalia is survived by his father, Mr Sat Pal Sharma, who is serving as a Headmaster in Heeran village in Una, mother Usha working as a senior auditor at the A.G. office at Nangal and brother Aman Kalia who is serving with the Indian Air Force.

Mr Madan Mohan Mittal, Food and Civil Supplies Minister, Punjab, Mr Kamal Chaudhary, local M.P. Chairman of the BBMB, Maj-Gen (Retd) R.R. Oberoi, Mr K.K. Khosla and Chief Engineer, Irrigation (BBMB) were among other who paid last respects to Captain Kalia.
Mr Maninderjit Singh Bitta, Mr Bupesh Sharma, Secretary of the PPCC, and Mr Balbir Singh Channa, Organising Secretary, PPCC Backward Classes, visited the family of Captain Kalia yesterday.

The body of Captain Kalia will be carried to his native village in Chintpurni tomorrow for cremation.

Police centres set up in border villages
From Our Correspondent

AMRITSAR, June 20 — The area along the Indo-Pakistan border in the district has been brought under police security in view of the situation arising after migration by majority of the people from villages situated in this belt, particularly the ones close to the wire fencing.

Stating this a Punjab Police press statement yesterday said help centres were being established at important places to ensure that the people who were migrating did not suffer any loss to their property and houses.

BATALA (PTI): As part of confidence building measures and to dissuade people in border areas from migrating particularly from across the Ravi river in the wake of on going tension between India and Pakistan following he deployment of the Army by the two countries in the border areas, the Batala police has set up seven police assistance centres along the 56 km Indo-Pak border. This was stated by the Chief of district police, Mr Lok Nath Angra, on Saturday. He said there was a need to curb rumour mongering by anti-social elements.

According to the police chief, the assistance centres will provide speedy assistance to the public in the event of any eventuality, including the medical facilities, and supply of essential commodities. The centres will maintain a constant watch on the anti-national and anti-social elements maintain a liaison among the administration and various agencies operating in the area and provide security to the civil departments.

Giving the details of the measures taken by the police Mr Angra told reporters that each police assistance centre was equipped with wireless sets and adequate number of police force had been deployed there.

He said after conducting a detail survey of the border areas, adequate number of villages depending upon their population, distance had been attached with each police assistance centre.

Besides providing assistance and relief to the border residents, the patrol parties from the centres will patrol their respective areas during night to check the movement of undesired elements.

The centres will also counter adverse propaganda and rumour mongering.

The border villages where centres were established included Thather-Ke-Kalan, Dharamkot Randhawa, Dera Baba Nanak and Shahpur Gorya in Dera Baba Nanak and Dostpur, Rossa and Rura in Kalnaur.

Martyr's wife continues 'battle'
From Jangveer Singh
Tribune News Service

PATIALA, June 20 — Even as her husband returned in a body bag fighting for the country in Kargil, Paramjit Kaur who was earlier fighting for maintenance, now has to take on the parents of her husband to prove she is his immediate next of kin.

Paramjit's case exemplifies the social tensions in the joint family system and the problems arising following strained relationship between the wife and other members over the insurance claim and gratuity money of martyred soldiers. In this case the Punjab Government is also expected to give some relief. The package would come to around Rs 5 lakh.

Paramjit's husband Lance Naik Nirmal Singh of the 15, Sikh Light Infantry Regiment was killed in action in Kargil on June 8. The soldier's cremation took place on June 11 in his native village of Khusla in Mansa district.

Paramjit's woes started at the cremation itself where she was not allowed to meet the Army authorities who attended the funeral with the family members taking the Rs 12,000 relief given by her husband's unit members. Following the cremation, the parents of the soldier also made a public statement that she had abandoned their son meaning she did not have claim to any money as the result of his death.

Paramjit's own sister is also married into the same family. "But she has two boys while I am issueless which as become a curse for me". Paramjit told TNS while showing her dependent identity card and joint bank account number proving her to be martyred soldier's wedded wife.

Paramjit said she had been married to the martyred soldier in November 1994 and that her in-laws started mistreating her when she remained issueless. She claimed she was not given anything for her maintenance by her in-laws who received her husband's salary and that she was thrown out of her house following which she started living with her parents at Dhuri in Sangrur district. She said that her husband, however, used to take her to her in-laws house when he used to come on leave.

Paramjit's relative and a former soldier Isher Singh, who said he would approach the Army authorities on her behalf, showed maintenance orders of Rs 400 per month passed by the Subdivisional Judicial Magistrate, Dhuri and the Sessions Judge, Sangrur in Paramjit's favour in 1998. He, however, alleged that maintenance had never been given to Paramjit despite court orders.

Isher Singh said that he would approach the Service Soldier Board at Mansa as well as the Ministry of Defence to ensure Paramjit was given justice. The martyred soldier is entitled to a group insurance of Rs 2 lakh, Rs 1 lakh in gratuity and about Rs 2 lakh which the Punjab Government has promised to pay on its part.

Meanwhile, Paramjit is going to attend the bhog ceremony of her husband tomorrow at Mansa, along with her father Mahinder Singh, who is a fitter in the Railways at Dhuri and other family members where they will also approach the Army authorities.

Pak traders withhold payments
Tribune News Service

AMRITSAR, June 20 — Mr Om Parkash Arora, Chairman of the Indo-Pak Exporters Association, while talking to TNS here yesterday said, "Neither any trader has gone to Pakistan nor our counterparts from that country have visited India since the escalation of tension on border and as a result huge payments could not be cleared." He said many of the small exporters had withheld their payments due to uncertainty on the border.

Mr Arora said that about 40 per cent import and export between the two countries had been affected due to tension in the border areas.

He said Pakistan had virtually banned the export of sugar to India due to rise in the price of the product in the domestic market.

According to the Chairman of the association, over 500 persons were engaged in the import and export business with Pakistan. He said the Indian traders were least bothered about the adverse impact on their business and were ready to help the paramilitary and military forces to humble Pakistan. The centre or the state government should give "us assignment so that he could contribute towards safeguarding our motherland", Mr Arora said.

He said that while big exporters of Pakistan had been making regular payments to their Indian counterparts, the small exporters had withheld their payments as they wanted to take advantage of the tension on the border. Even during the Indo-Pak wars in 1965 and 1971 many Pakistan traders had minted money by withholding the payments to their Indian counterparts.

Ex-servicemen volunteer to fight

JALANDHAR, June 20 (PTI) — Hundreds of ex-servicemen led by a veteran of many battles 85-year-old Major-General (Retd) Ram Singh have offered their services to defend the nation against anyone eyeing the integrity of their motherland.

Maj-Gen Singh, a Padam Shri spoke to GoC-in-C of 11 Corps Lt-General Kamal Davar and offered his and others' services in any capacity, an Army release here said.

Lt-Gen Davar, who was touched by the gesture and profusely thanked the veterans said the good wishes of the ex-servicemen and the brave people of Punjab would ever spur the Indian Army to continue its glorious tradition of gallantry.

He said a number of non-government organisations are also approaching the 11 Corps headquarters here offering to organise blood donation camps or be of help in anyway at a time when the Armymen were fighting at the icy heights of the Kargil Batalik sector against Pakistan backed infiltrators.

Mahan Saput Award for Capt Bhinder
Tribune News Service

AMRITSAR, June 20 — The Punjab government today honoured Capt Manjinder Singh Bhinder with "Punjab da Mahan Saput Award" (great son of Punjab Award) posthumously for saving more than 150 trapped in Uphar cinema inferno in New Delhi last year. Capt Bhinder his wife and their four-year-old son were snuffed by the flames.

The award was received by the father of the Capt Bhinder and presented by Mr Sewa Singh Sekhwan, State Minister for Public Relations at the native village of the deceased Chowk Mehta in this district. A book-let depicting the life and bravery of Capt Bhinder was also released by Dr Baldev Raj Chawla, Deputy Speaker Punjab Vidhan Sabha. The first copy of the booklet was presented to Mrs Gurnam Kaur, mother of Capt Bhinder.

Mr Sekhwan announced a stadium and a gate would be constructed in the name of Capt Bhinder. His statue would be installed at an appropriate place in Chowk Mehta.

Car thieves gang busted
Tribune News Service

JALANDHAR, June 20 — The police today claimed to have busted an inter-state gang of car thieves.

This car thieves operated in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. Three members of the gang were arrested and four Maruti cars recovered. The gang had links with Delhi-based Tyagi gangsters were used to steal vehicles from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and sell them in Punjab under fake registration documents, SSP Gaurav Yadav said.

The suspects were arrested at a special naka near Nakodar.

The three arrested include Sham Singh Shama of Chhichhrewal village in Amritsar district who was staying in Ghaziabad and was acting as the link person between Punjab and Uttar Pradesh component of the gang, the SSP said.

The other two arrested were Rajwant Singh Raju of Mangewal village in Kapurthala district and Mohinder Singh Tyagi of Meerut.

Mohinder, to whom the vehicles were being funnelled after theft, used of prepare fake registration papers and then pass them on the Shama.

Yadav said the arrested persons have spoken about their other accomplices.

The police's another catch was a grinding mill owner who used to mix salt and rice extracts to chilli and turmeric.

The mill was raided by a police party headed by sub-inspector Vijay Kumar and Ravinder Kumar following a tip-off. About 1400 kg of adulterated spices were found.

The owner of Marwaha Grinders Tarlok Nath has been arrested and the police has registered a case under Section 420 of the IPC and the essential commodities act, the SSP added.

Procedure for certificates simplified
From Our Correspondent

FATEHGARH SAHIB, June 20 — In order to overcome the difficulty being faced by students and their wards in getting original certificates of various categories like S.C/ B.C and backward area due to the ongoing strike of patwaris, the government has decided to simplify the procedure.

According to Mr V.K. Janjua, Deputy Commissioner, in case of entrance examination, no certificate would be called for in the first instance along with the application form. The candidate would be required to indicate whether he or she belonged to any particular category, entitling him to certain concessions or facility. The requisite certificate would be obtained only from selected candidates. The certificate issued in the format prescribed by government departments would be accepted as valid by educational institutions. There would be no insistence on issuing of a certificate by a particular authority.

The original certificates, if required, would be seen at the time of interview and returned immediately.

He further said the parents or candidates could obtain S. C. certificate from the head of the institution where the candidate had studied earlier. Persons who were employed with the government could get a copy of the certificate in their service record.
These instructions, which would come into force with immediate effect, would be relevant even where the admission prospectus had already been printed but entrance exam was yet to be held or in case the last date for submission of forms had not yet expired.

Employees oppose Markfed move
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 20 — The Punjab State Cooperative Markfed Employees' Union has opposed the decision of the board of directors to release Rs 4 crore to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund for Muktsar district.

Mr Ranjit Goel, president of the union, in a signed statement here said the board of directors of Markfed held a meeting on Friday and approved payment of Rs 4 crore for the relief fund. The Markfed management had already given Rs 4.66 crore to Chief Minister's Relief Fund, which was spent for the development of home district of Mr Parkash Singh Badal for furthering his political interests.

Mr Goel lamented that while Markfed's funds were being used to please the Chief Minister, the long- standing demands of employees such as the pension scheme, which was approved by the board in 1990, had not been implemented so far. Neither employees had been given three time-bound promotional scales nor posts had been sanctioned for new districts. Employees had not been given car loan and conveyance allowance. Retired employees had also not been given medical facilities which otherwise were available to the Punjab Government employees.

Urging the Markfed's management not to release Rs 4 crore and to drop the proposal to set up a new sugarmill when others were in the red, Mr Goel said the employees would be forced to launch an agitation if the management went ahead with its decision.

MP resents decision on Ghaggar dam
From Our Correspondent

PATIALA, June 20 — The Punjab Government has backed out from constructing a Rs 139 crore dam on the Ghaggar river, a project which can save scores of villages in the Dakala-Patran-Lehra belt from floods.

In a press statement issued here today Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra, MP, said the government's refusal to fund the project means destruction for the villagers. He said every year Ghaggar river created havoc in the region.

But now as the government had backed out the from project the villagers were left at themselves to fight the floods, he added.