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“We have been hanged without trial”
Chandigarh, May 26
"We have been hanged without trial". This is what a number of PCS officers, whose services were dispensed with on May 23 by the Punjab Government, have to say about their fate.

• They have also been removed

Akali factions gear up for DSGMC poll
Ludhiana, May 26
The rival factions of the SAD have been gearing up for the General House elections to the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee which are scheduled to be held next month. 

Now, scam in books
Mansa, May 26
A scam involving crores of rupees regarding supply of books at inflated prices with changed titles to government schools by the Punjab School Education Board has come to light. 

TRIBUNE CAMPAIGN-I
Shifting of priceless records mooted despite scarce space
Patiala
From the frying pan into the fire seems to hold good for what is being done with the priceless archival records of as many as eight erstwhile states which are slated to be removed from the unsafe Rajindra Palace here to a section of the local State Languages Department building without determining whether it can accommodate these or not.

Vivek, Ashwit top in science, Neeru in commerce
SAS Nagar, May 26
Vivek Bansal, a student of SSD Public Senior Secondary School, Bathinda, and Ashwit Mahajan, a student of Government Mahindra College, Patiala , share the first position by securing 91.33 per cent marks in the science stream of the senior secondary school examination of the Punjab School Education Board, result of which were declared here today.

• Dismal show by local schools

POLITICS

Akali Dal (A) out of Panthic Morcha
Phagwara, May 26
Since the Panthic Morcha is going the Congress way as the SAD had gone the BJP way, the Akali Dal (Amritsar) had been pushed by circumstances out of the fold of the Panthic Morcha and the party had decided to “plough its own furrow” and keep equi-distance from the Congress and the BJP Akali conglomeration sponsored by these two parties for keeping alive the spirit of the Akali Dal that was established in 1920.

• Tarn Tarni made SHSAD Secy

Parallel meetings by Cong leaders
Faridkot, May 26
The rift between two senior state Congress leaders, Mr Jagmeet Singh Brar, MP, and Mr Avtar Singh Brar, fomer Education Minister and ex-MLA of Faridkot, come to the fore yesterday when both leaders organised parallel meetings here to collect the names of the party contenders from this block to contest the forthcoming Zila Parishad and Block Samitis elections in the state.

COMMUNITY

PUDA directed to pay relief
Ropar, May 26
The District Consumer Forum, has directed PUDA to pay compensation to a complainant for deficiency in service.

Ayurveda system ailing
Chandigarh, May 26
Even as national luminaries of Ayurveda have started reaching the city for the major events to be held tomorrow, in the presence of the Chief Minister, senior practitioners and teachers of this form of medicine in the state are a dejected lot.

Cops draw flak for poor law & order
Jalandhar, May 26
Within hours after drawing criticism from DGP M.S. Bhullar and former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal over the deteriorating law and order situation and rise in crime here and the surrounding areas, the Jalandhar police has initiated damage control exercise against the criminals who, virtually, had a field day for the past two months.

Doctors oppose NPA withdrawal
Chandigarh, May 26
The PCMS Association, Punjab, said today that the move of the state government to discontinue the non-practising allowance by allowing private practice would be a “reward to corrupt” and “punishment to honest doctors and poor patients”.

Govt to step up anti-corruption drive
Patiala, May 26
The Finance Minister of Punjab, Mr Lal Singh, at a meeting here, said the anti-corruption drive launched by the Congress in the state had yielded positive results and the present government was taking all steps to ensure that the faith of people in the administration was restored.

6,000 cases pending in Labour Court
Patiala, May 26
As many as 6,000 cases are lying pending in the Labour Court, Patiala, even as the Bar Association here struggles to function under an acute shortage of staff and facilities.

Sikhs travel in a truck as they head for kar seva in Amritsar on Sunday. — Reuters

Former MLA denies charges
Bathinda, May 26
A former Congress minister, Mr Harminder Singh Jassi, today denied allegations levelled against him by Mr Bhupinder Singh Sidhu, former chairman of the Punjab Public Service Commission.

Telecom Dept told to pay relief
Kapurthala, May 26
The district Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed the SDO (Telephones) and Accounts Officer, Kapurthala, to pay a compensation of Rs 5000 to Mr Manjit Paul Singh Ratti, an advocate, for deficiency in service and Rs 1000 as costs of litigation.

With eye on poll SGPC woos Nihangs
Amritsar, May 26
The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee has been endeavouring to bring representatives of various Sikh organisations on one platform before SGPC general elections due this year.

• SGPC chief’s appeal

Ramoowalia meets Jacob
Chandigarh, May 26
The President of the Lok Bhalai Party and former Union Minister, Mr B.S. Ramoowalia, yesterday met the Punjab Governor, Lt-General J.F.R. Jacob (retd), to convey to him that the campaign against corruption launched by the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, should be supported by all those who wanted to cleanse public life.

1,000 examined at cardiac camp
Amritsar, May 26
As part of outreach programme, Fortis Heart Institute today organised a one-day free cardiac check up camp at the BBK DAV College for Women, here.

AGRICULTURE

Census shows decline in farm workers
Chandigarh, May 26
In a predominantly agriculturally prosperous state like Punjab, there is a sharp decline of proportion of workers in the farm sector—from 55.2 per cent (1991) to 39.4 per cent (2001). This places the state at number 27 in the all-India listing.

ADMINISTRATION

12 pvt buses impounded
Jalandhar, May 26
In a joint operation, the Vigilance Bureau and the Transport Department detected irregularities in the plying of 88 private buses at eight different checkpoints laid in four districts of the Doaba region last night. Of these, 12 buses were impounded for running without valid documents.

Patwari suspended for demanding bribe
Bathinda, may 26
The DC has suspended Patwari Balaur Singh at Chauke village for allegedly asking for bribe for registering a mutation of a piece of land.

Order to close soda factory
Bathinda, May 26
Mr Anurag Verma DC, today ordered the closing of a soda-water factory at Rampura Phul as it had used water which was unfit for consumption.

CRIME

Priya murder case solved
Jalandhar, May 26
The local police today claimed to have solved mysteries surrounding the death of two persons. However, the police authorities kept mum about daring robbery in which four unidentified assailants had shot at a city businessman and looted foreign currency worth Rs 32 lakh from him on Thursday and about a broad daylight robbery in a bank in the Model House locality.

1 killed over land dispute
Tarn Taran, May 26
One person was killed and two others were injured in a quarrel that took place over a land dispute at Palasaur village yesterday. The local police has registered a case under Sections 302, 148 and 140 of the IPC against six persons of the same village.

EDUCATION

Hundal elected PCCTU chief
Jalandhar, May 26
The Tiwari-Hundal group registered a victory and bagged almost all positions in the annual elections of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union, an organisation of non-government-aided college teachers, here today.