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Scheme
will abet suicide, say legal experts
Bathinda, March 26
The announcement made by the Finance Minister, Capt Kanwaljit Singh,
that Rs 2.5 lakh each would be paid as compensation to families whose
earning members have committed suicide seems to have snowballed into a
major controversy as legal experts term the scheme as equivalent to
abetment of suicide.
Tohra’s
conditions for Akali unity
Ludhiana, March 26
The Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal chief, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, has
adopted a rigid stand on the question of having unity with the ruling
Akali Dal Chief, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, and has categorically stated
there cannot be any unity with the latter unless he appears at Akal
Takht and seeks forgiveness for the violation of the hukamnama and
reinstate Bhai Ranjit Singh as Jathedar of Akal Takht.
Commission
on Tehelka farce: Joginder
Jalandhar, March 26
Discarding the appointment of a commission to probe the corruption
charges against political leaders and bureaucrats involved in the
recent Tehelka expose, the former CBI chief Joginder Singh has
favoured the registration of cases against all those whose names
figure in it.
Cong burns effigies
of PM, Badal
Phillaur, March 26
More than 1,000 Congress activists led by former Punjab minister
Santokh Singh held a demonstration and took out a protest march here
today. A rally was also organised in front of the SDM’s office.
Badal not behind increase in
MSP: Tohra
Patiala, March 26
The SHSAD President and former SGPC chief, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, today accused the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal of taking undue political mileage out of the recent hike in the minimum support price of wheat.
SAD-BJP
govt ‘under attack’
Bathinda, March 26
Mr Balwinder Singh Bhunder, senior Akali leader and Member of
Parliament, today said that opposition parties were provoking the
general public against the BJP-SAD government in the state in order to
disturb the peaceful atmosphere of Punjab.
No factionalism in Punjab Cong: Vora
Chandigarh, March 26
The AICC in charge for Punjab, Mr Moti Lal
Vora, today said that the party would launch a countrywide agitation from March 31 following the tehlka.com expose demanding that the government should stepdown and the guilty be proceeded against. The first phase of the agitation would cover blocks and the district headquarters, lasting till April 11,
whereafter, till April 14, it would be at the state level in the form of demonstrations and public meetings.
HC issues notices
on fly ash problem
Bathinda, March 26
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued notices of motion to the
National Thermal Corporation, New Delhi, the Punjab Government, the
Chairman, Punjab State Electricity Board, Patiala, the Punjab
Pollution Control Board, Patiala, and Chief Engineer, Guru Nanak Dev
Thermal Plant, Bathinda, to appear before the court on May 31, 2001,
in connection with a public interest litigation (PIL) filed to tackle
the problem of the raining of fly ash from the chimneys of the local
thermal plant.
State
unable to check social violence: experts
Amritsar, March 26
Dr Ashwani K. Ray, Senior Professor, Centre for Political Studies,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, said today that the state was
unable to counter social violence. He was inaugurating a seminar on
“Ethnic politics in north-west India” organised by the Department
of Political Science, Guru Nanak Dev University, here.
Discretionary grant for houses of SCs
Chandigarh, March 26
The Punjab Council of Ministers today passed a resolution condemning the utterances of the All-India Congress Committee President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, who had called the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, a ‘’traitor’’.
Official
fears threat to family members
Amritsar, March 26
Mr Mohinder Singh, District Development Officer (Class I), has
apprehended threat to his family members as rest of the culprits,
involved in the sensational robbery, committed at his house in Vishal
Nagar in Ludhiana had not so far been arrested by the police.
Plea
to set up Addl Dist Judge’s court
Fazilka, March 26
Thousands of poor litigants of this subdivision feel harassed as their
long-standing demand of setting up a Court of Additional District
Judge at here has not been met despite several pleas by lawyers and
the people of the area.
Inter-caste
marriage: rights panel takes cognisance
Amritsar, March 26
Taking cognisance of a complaint of Mr Ajay Kumar Sharma in a case of
harassment due to an inter-caste marriage the Punjab State Human
Rights Commission (PSHRC) has registered a case under the provisions
of the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993.
Probe
misuse of SGPC vehicle: Mann
Amritsar, March 26
Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, President of the Akali Dal (Amritsar) and
member of the SGPC, has asked Mr Jagdev Singh Talwandi, president of
the Shiromani Committee, to order a probe into the alleged misuse of
the official (SGPC’s) vehicle, which met with an accident near
Bareily killing Balbir Singh Pannu, former senior vice-president of
the committee, and four others travelling along with him.
Employees
hold rally against disinvestment
Bathinda, March 26
The activists of the National Fertilisers Employees Union (NFLEU) held
a rally here today in the city to protest against the proposed
disinvestment in the profit-making public sector undertakings (PSUs).
Bashir
Badar, Hina steal show
Phagwara, March 26
Eminent Urdu poet Dr Bashir Badar and Hina Taimoori virtually stole
the show in the All-India Urdu Mushaira organised here last night by
the local Rotary Club and Adeeb International in the memory of the
late B.K. Sardana, former Managing Director of Sukhjit Starch and
Chemicals Ltd.
Brick-kiln
workers stage dharna
Sangrur, March 26
Nearly 200 members of the district unit of the Lal Jhanda Punjab
Bhatha Mazdoor Union, led by Comrade Dev Raj Verma, Joint Secretary of
the Punjab unit of the CITU, today took out a protest march through
the town and staged a dharna in front of the office of the Assistant
Labour Commissioner (ALC) here to get their demands accepted and
implemented.
Convention
on human rights held
Barnala, March 26
In order to bring awareness among rural people, the Human Rights Wing
of the district Sangrur unit of the Congress organised a convention on
human rights and duties at Sherpur village, about 20 km from here,
yesterday. Mr Umrao Singh, former minister, was the chief guest.
Josh
seeks action against Vedanti
Amritsar, March 26
In a hard-hitting statement Mr Puran Singh Josh, member, SGPC, said
either the book “Guru Bilas Pathshahi 6” edited by Jathedar
Joginder Singh Vedanti, Akal Takht Jathedar, be recognised and deemed
“correct” or exemplary action be initiated against Jathedar
Vedanti and others who had showered praises on the book in its
foreword.
Private
parties to maintain monuments
Amritsar, March 26
Maintenance of monuments of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s time will be
handed over to private parties.
2
killed in mishaps
Bathinda, March 26
Two persons were killed and one was injured seriously in different
accidents in the district today.
No bonus on wheat:
Dhindsa
Sangrur, March 26
Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers,
yesterday said that the Punjab Government was not in a position to pay
bonus on wheat to the farmers as it was already providing power and
water free of cost for irrigation purposes to farmers in the state.
Strawberry
seminar draws farmers
Abohar
The IFFCO Chairman, Mr Surender Kumar Jakhar, was delighted to see a
good number of young educated farmers attending the two-day seminar on
strawberry cultivation which concluded at the Central Institute of
Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET) here recently.
Council opposes
govt directive
Phagwara, March 26
In an interesting case, the local Nagar Council today unanimously
opposed the directive of its own department for allocating sites to
the Excise Department for seven liquor vends. In what can be an
embarrassing situation for the Local Bodies Department of the state,
the house of the council asserted that the government directive of
March 21 for leasing out sites for vends was violative of the
directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and that the council
could not be a party to this violation and thus invite contempt of
court.
PUDA to construct
dist admn
complexes
Chandigarh, March 26
The Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority has decided to construct district administrative complexes in the state.
The Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, had announced some time ago the construction of ultramodern DACs at important stations like Patiala, Hoshiarpur, Bathinda, Moga, Gurdaspur and Kapurthala. The construction of these complexes is to be undertaken by PUDA and funded exclusively out of the sale proceeds of properties transferred to PUDA under the Optimum Utilisation of Vacant Government Lands scheme.
14 held, 92 kg
poppy seized
Bathinda, March 26
The district police has arrested 14 persons and seized more than 92 kg
poppy husk, 28 litres wine, 40 kg lahan, and Rs 6,260 from them during
a campaign launched against the illegal use of drugs.
1 kg
explosive, fake currency seized
Amritsar, March 26
The BSF foiled Pakistan’s attempt to escalate violence in this
border district with the recovery of 1 kg plastic explosive along with
fake currency worth Rs 70,000 in the Khalra sector of the Tran Taran
police district last night.
Sacrilege: main accused held
Patiala, March 26
Sanjeev Bhardwaj, president of the All-India Hindu Suraksha Samiti and main accused in the burning of religious scriptures, was arrested by the police here today.
Brothel
unearthed, 4 arrested
Gurdaspur, March 26
The police has unearthed a brothel in Pathankot city and arrested two
men and two women under the Immoral Traffic in Women Prevention Act.
Bangladesh
agent evading arrest
Gurdaspur, March 26
Kalu, an agent and native of Bangladesh, has been eluding arrest for
the past three years for bringing persons from Bangladesh and West
Bengal on the assurance of helping them to cross over to Pakistan from
border districts of Punjab. A number of cases have been registered
against him in this connection.
Truck
Union chief, 10 others booked
Sangrur, March 26
The local police today registered a case against the president of the
local Truck Union and 10 others under Sections 290, 352, 355, 379 and
341 of the IPC. They have reportedly been booked in connection with
the man-handling of Mr Hem Raj Bansal, a local mill owner, and for
some other offences related to the incident.
Sec 144 imposed
near exam centres
Bathinda, March 26
Mr Jaspal Singh, District Magistrate-cum-Deputy Commissioner, has
imposed Section 144 near the examination centres in the district,
where the students of class X and XII are taking examinations.
PCCTU strike today
Chandigarh, March 26
Teaching staff of 165 colleges of Punjab and seven in UT will observe “total cease-work” tomorrow to protest against the non-implementation of the pension and gratuity scheme.
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