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TOP STORIES

House endorses Captain’s resolution on river waters
Chandigarh, June 15
“Rise above politics and unite cutting across the political lines to protect the river water rights of Punjab” was the theme of the political speeches delivered by Treasury and Opposition members in the Punjab Assembly here today.

• Punjab urged to honour SC verdict
• BKU to set up force on SYL issue

Gastro, diarrhoea claimed 4 lives, admits minister
Chandigarh, June 15
The Punjab Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Mr Ramesh Chander Dogra, today confirmed only four deaths due to gastroenteritis and diarrhoea in the state, saying that the other five deaths were “suspect’’.

Greed for shamlat land ruins two families
Patiala, June 15
The greed for shamlat land had made Jaspal Kaur a widow three years ago. She received justice yesterday when a local court sentenced 30 members of an extended family to varying degrees of sentences for hacking her husband and son to death.

Chandumajra is chief of SAD (Longowal)
Rajpura, June 15
Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra, who was recently suspended from the SAD for “anti-party” activities, was today elected president of the newly formed SAD (Longowal).

RPO nabs woman trying to cheat
Jalandhar, June 15
A 30-year-old woman was arrested by the district police today after she was caught by the Regional Passport Officer (RPO) here while trying to submit an application for a passport on an assumed name.

Water-logging leaves farmers a hapless lot Channu (Lambi), June 15 Gurlal Singh of this village is worried a lot. He does not know how his daughter will get married. His father, Gurtej Singh, also had the same worry. Ultimately, he died about three months back after remaining bed-ridden for a couple of weeks. The paddy crop damaged due to water-logging at Channu village in Malout subdivision of Punjab’s Muktsar district. — Photo by Kulbir Beera

Inside Babudom
Move to appoint state cadre officers to IPS
Chandigarh, June 15
The Punjab Government has initiated the process of getting state cadre police officers appointed to the Indian Police Services (IPS). As many as 12 officers, belonging to the Punjab Police Services, will be able to make it to the prestigious IPS after the process is completed.

POLITICS

BSP workers resent leaders’ expulsion
Nawanshahr, June 15
Mr Narinder Kashayap and Mr Avtar Singh Karimpuri, national general secretary and president of the Punjab unit of the BSP, respectively, here today had to face the ire of party workers over the issue of expulsion of the BSP leaders, Mr Satnam Singh Kainth, Mr Devi Dass Nahar and Mr Shingara Ram Sahungra.

COMMUNITY

AISAD names five for SGPC elections
Amritsar, June 15
All-India Shiromani Akali Dal today declared five candidates for the forthcoming SGPC elections . four of the candidates were for Amritsar and one for Gurdaspur constituencies.

• Gurdwara panel tells SGPC not to sack staff

Plea for rejection of Bibi Jagir Kaur’s papers
Kapurthala, June 15
Mr Mohan Singh Bal, a resident of Butala village under the Bholath seat of the SGPC, today filed a petition before the Deputy Commissioner, seeking the rejection of nomination papers of Bibi Jagir Kaur from the Bholath constituency.

Level of Bhakra Dam up by 3 feet
Chandigarh, June 15
The looming crisis over falling water levels in the Bhakra Dam has got a minor reprieve. Thanks to rain and increased snow-melt in the past 24 hours the level of water in the reservoir has risen by 3 feet. The level at 6 am today was 1467 elevation feet. This is 3 feet more than yesterday’s level of 1464 elevation feet.

Fire at thermal plant hits power supply
Bathinda, June 15
The supply of power to Malout subdivision was hit when a fire broke out at a substation in the Bathinda Thermal Plant this evening.

Across the rivers and in oblivion
KAJLE (Indo-Pak border): About a hundred families of seven villages in Lassian Enclave across the rivers Ravi and Ujh seem to be living in the medieval period for they are still without electricity, water connections or other basic amenities.

Dang writes to CM on pension
Amritsar, June 15
Mr Satya Pal Dang, CPI leader, has decried the indifferent attitude of the Social Securities Department application forms for old age pensioners were not being entertained by officials, he said.

Camp to train panches, sarpanches
Fatehgarh Sahib, June 15
To educate panches and sarpanches of the district about their rights and duties, various Acts of new Panchayati Raj System as well as the management of the six departments given to them recently, the district administration, in collaboration with the Society for Social Voluntary Agencies (SOSVA), organised a month-long training camp.

Land for PPHC project within MC limits: report
Kharar, June 15
The entire piece of land that is being acquired by the government for a Punjab Police Housing Corporation (PPHC) project falls within the jurisdiction of the local Municipal Council.

• Sanitation campaign starts at Kharar

Body of Harnek’s fourth daughter found
Fatehgarh Sahib, June 15
The body of the fourth daughter of Harnek Singh who had jumped into Bhakra Canal near Sondha village on June 10, was recovered today.

Protests against PSEB authorities
Jalandhar, June 15
Activists of the Pendu Mazdoor Union, Punjab, today staged dharnas in front of offices of the Punjab State Electricity Board at Mehatpur, Kartarpur and Noormahal. The dharnas were held in protest against the failure of the authorities to restore proper power supply to villages.

Malout faces acute water shortage
Malout (Muktsar), June 15
While farmers of Malout subdivision in Muktsar district are already facing an acute shortage of irrigation water, the problem of drinking water has arisen in Malout city.

Probe police role in custodial death case, says Chawla
Amritsar, June 15
Ms Laxmi Kanta Chawla, vice-president of the BJP state unit, yesterday urged the state government to depute a team of high-level officials to investigate that how commission agents tried to grab properties of Jagtar Singh who was killed in police custody at Khalra in Tarn Taran police district on June 10.

Filth overflows on road
Patiala, June 15
Shopkeepers of the Top Khana crossing had a harrowing time today when filth from the drain running alongside their shops overflowed on the road.

COURTS

Forging SC orders: bail plea declined
Patiala, June 15
A local CBI Special Magistrate today declined the interim bail application of Arun Madaan who is accused of forging orders of Supreme Court rulings.

Consumer forum chief’s post lying vacant
Bathinda, June 15
Contrary to the claims of the state government of protecting rights of consumers, it has failed to appoint the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum president in the districts. The post fell vacant here in February.

Bar body observes no-work day
Jalandhar, June 15
Flaying the government for its failure to supply stamp papers, court fee stamps and judicial stamps in adequate numbers, the District Bar Association (DBA), Jalandhar, observed no-work day today.

Sandhu’s plea to go abroad rejected
Ropar, June 15
Special Judge S.K. Goel today declined to grant permission to former Chairman of the Punjab Subordinate Services Selection Board Tejinder Pal Singh Sandhu to visit Canada.

ADMINISTRATION

35 officers, employees found absent
Fatehgarh Sahib, June 15
Mr S.K. Ahluwalia, Deputy Commissioner, along with the ADC, the GA to the Deputy Commissioner and SDM, Bassi Pathana, today conducted a surprise check of offices of the Municipal Council, Sirhind, Bassi Pathana, the Horticulture Department, the District Welfare Office, the DTP Office, the AETC Office, DFSC office, the Chief Agriculture Office, the PWD, the Audit Office, DR Cooperative Society’s office. Nearly 35 employees and officials were found absent.

Mela without permission
Pathankot, June 15
A mela put up on Sant Ashram School premises here by ARK Amusement Association is running without the required permission from the Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner, depriving the government of revenue in the form of entertainment tax.

SP inspects wheat godowns
Barnala, June 15
Mr Harjinder Singh, SP (Detective), Sangrur, visited Barnala today in connection with the alleged wheat scandal in Punsup here. Mr Harjinder Singh, who is the inquiry officer had come here earlier twice but could not go ahead with the inquiry because Punsup officials, allegedly involved in the scandal, were not available to him.

CRIME

Missing SDO charged with kidnapping housewife, son
Patiala, June 15
A 55-year-old Subdivisional Officer in the Irrigation Department who resides in the city and has presently “disappeared” has now been accused of kidnapping a 33-year-old housewife and her son on May 31.

PSEB employees robbed
Phillaur, June 15
Two unidentified armed robbers looted a cash of Rs 2.7 lakh and cheques for Rs 1.45 lakh from a PSEB cashier, Des Raj, and a PSEB employee, Jagdish Lal, near the PSEB office, Goraya last evening.

EDUCATION

SGPC-run colleges: 2,000 Sikh candidates to appear for admission
Fatehgarh Sahib, June 15
Around 2,000 candidates across the country belong to the Sikh community for admission against the 50 per cent reserved seats in the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee-run Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Engineering (BBSBE) College, Fatehgarh Sahib, Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana, and Guru Nanak Dev Polytechnic, Ludhiana.

GND varsity VC gets extension
Amritsar, June 15
The Governor of Punjab, Justice O.P. Verma (retd), today cleared a one-year extension of Dr S.P. Singh, Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, as recommended by the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh.

Medical college Principal shifted
Faridkot, June 15
The Punjab Government has transferred Dr J.S. Dalal, Principal of the local Government Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital to Chandigarh as the Joint Director, Medical Education, and Research, Punjab.

Duggal tops GND varsity JET
Amritsar, June 15
Ms Aakshi Duggal topped the list of successful candidates by obtaining 111 marks out of 150 in JET (undergraduate) Sciences-2004 conducted by Guru Nanak Dev University. Mr Maninder Singh and Bhavneet Kaur stood second and third, respectively.

Free computer course for underprivileged
Patiala, June 15
The Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology (TIET), in collaboration with the Helping Hands Society, an NGO, has started a free certified computer course for underprivileged students, who have been adopted by the society.