The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

Hail Heroes

The Apeejay squad, which won the space design contest at NASA, gets a rousing reception on its return to Jalandhar on Friday. —Tribune photo by Pawan Sharma

Centre scheme to ensure potable water for villages
Hoshiarpur, August 8
All the remaining villages where potable water is still not available will be covered under the central government-sponsored Swai Jal Dhara scheme for which the government will provide 90 per cent of the total cost. The remaining 10 per cent of the cost will be borne by the inhabitants of the respective village. Inhabitants of those villages having 40 per cent population of Scheduled Castes have to deposit only 5 per cent of the total cost.

Border Bane
Big haul of fake notes; one held
Amritsar, August 7
The agencies from across the border are pushing in heavy consignment of fake currency notes from the riverine area of the Ferozepur sector in order to destabilise the Indian economy. This was said by SSP of special narcotics cell Tulsi Ram, while talking to the mediapersons here today.

Cop sacked for murdering friend
Batala, August 8
Constable Kuldip Singh (belt 3430/BTL), who was involved in the kidnapping and murder of his friend Gurmukh Singh of Sunnaya village, was dismissed from service by SSP Naresh Arora here yesterday.

SGPC mourns death of Kharak Singh
Amritsar, August 8
Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee chief Avtar Singh Makkar today mourned the death of eminent Sikh scholar and its Dharam Prachar Committee member Kharak Singh who died at Chandigarh yesterday.

Block-level tourney
Jalandhar, August 8
The block level tournament (u-6 boys and girls) is scheduled to begin on August 11 in Jalandhar district. Nine blocks, Nakodar, Rurka Kalan, Shahkot, Adampur, Jalandhar East, Jalandhar West, Bhogpur, Lohian and Nurmahal, have been earmarked for the tournament.

Gold chain snatched
Hoshiarpur, August 8
Two unidentified motorcycle-borne youths snatched a gold chain weighing 2 tolas from the neck of Sonia, wife of Mohan Lal of Mohalla Jagirpura here today.

DC gives away cheques worth Rs 5.31 lakh
Nawanshahr, August 8
Deputy commissioner Nilkanth S. Avhad distributed cheques amounting to Rs 5.31 lakh among 60 primary and 33 upper primary schools under the Sarv Shikhiya Abhiyan for the development of infrastructural facilities in government schools at Government Senior Secondary School here today.

PTU counselling from Aug 18
Jalandhar, August 8
Keeping in view the students’ demand of advancing the counselling schedule for the AIEEE outside the state quota, Punjab Technical University has decided to hold the first counselling from August 18 to 25.

	Shrine Land Row Sadhus join anti-govt protests Tribune Reporters Jalandhar, August 8 Activists of the Sri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti staged a dharna in front of the residence of Congress MP Rana Gurjit Singh to register their protest over the happenings in Jammu in the wake of the Sri Amarnath land row. Led by Mahant Ganga Dass, scores of sadhus and other members of the outfit squatted on the road for over an hour. They later submitted a memorandum to the staff of the MP. The protesters alleged that the government had adopted a repressive policy against the Hindus of Jammu while the separatists had a free run in the valley. While the authorities had imposed a curfew and opened fire on agitators in Jammu no such measures had been taken in the valley from the first day. He said the decision of the government in withdrawing the land given to the shrine board had angered millions of Hindus across the globe. “We will carry the agitation to its logical and are prepared for the long haul,” he added. Recall Vohra: Sud HOSHIARPUR: Punjab’s medical education and research, parliamentary affairs, forest and wildlife and labour minister Tikshan Sud on Friday demanded immediate recall of Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra, whose first-ever controversial decision of taking back land from the Amarnath Shrine Board sparked off nationwide protests. In a statement issued here this afternoon, Tikshan Sud alleged that N.N. Vohra, who was in touch with various militant groups in J&K as an official emissary appointed by the UPA government prior to his appointment as Governor of J&K, had been blinded by anti-Hindu charade of separatist groups and the decision of taking back the land from the shrine board was under pressure from the separatist lobby. The Congress had been so much blinded by the appeasement policy towards Muslims that it was failing to even listen to the demand of the party unit of Jammu of sacking Vohra, Tikshan Sud wondered. Threatening to intensify the agitation in the country, Tikshan Sud said the Punjab BJP would organise a dharna at Matka Chowk in Chandigarh on August 11 demanding immediate restoration of the land to the shrine board, including recall of Vohra. Tiskhan Sud warned the UPA government to desist from the appeasement of minorities keeping vote bank in mind, otherwise Hindus of the country would unitedly dig the grave of the Congress and its allies in the ensuing Vidhan Sabha elections in six states and also in the Lok Sabha elections. Shiv Sena activists block traffic Activists of the Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) led by the Punjab unit vice-president Ranjit Rana blocked rail traffic for more than an hour at Mukerian railway station, 55 km from here, on the Jalandhar-Pathankot section on Friday to protest against taking back the land from the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board. The activists squatted on the track due to which the Madras Mail train, bound for Jammu from Jalandhar, was stranded at the station for more than an hour. They demanded immediate recall of Governor Vohra and reallocation of the land to the shrine board, failing which the Shiv Sena would intensified the agitation. Activists of the Sri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti led by their leader Ram Dev Yadav and BJP district resident Jagtar Singh Saini staged a dharna in front of the houses of MP Avinash Rai Khanna and members of Rajya Sabha Dharampal Sabharwal (Congress) and Varinder Singh Bajwa (SAD) in support of the demand. They urged all the members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to raise their voice in their respective houses to get the land reallotted to the shrine board.
	Road rot: Patchwork begins ahead of CM visit Deepkamal Kaur/TNS Jalandhar, August 8 A VVIP’s visit to the city often leads to traffic hassles for the residents. However, this time, the visit of dignitaries - Chief Minister on Sunday and other luminaries on the Independence Day function- is proving to be a blessing in disguise for the Jalandharites. The administration is firing on all cylinders to complete the patchwork of all the main roads leading to the city including parts of GT Rroad, Mahavir Marg and the road outside the Guru Gobind Singh Stadium, which is the venue for the I-Day celebrations. All these roads are badly worn out, causing much inconvenience to the commuters who are forced to undertake back-breaking rides to reach their destination. The stretch of the road outside the stadium is especially in a bad shape. Now, the repair meant to ensure a smooth sailing for the dignitaries will perhaps also bring some relief for the residents. SE (B&R) Kulwinder Singh said while tenders have been issued for the road construction work in several parts of the city, the patchwork is going on in full swing in view of the I-Day celebrations. Bracing up for the CM’s visit on August 17, the PWD officials have already started repairing of the service lanes along the under-construction flyover across Lyallpur Khalsa College railway line. The service lanes from the college upto the Narinder Cinema that were constructed just a month ago are dotted with a foot-deep potholes, giving a harrowing time to commuters besides making the entire area accident-prone. The relaying of the lanes started today with potholes being filled with stones. XEN PWD BS Tuli says the lack of rainwater disposal system has led to the road problem. “We would PWD deposit money with MC for laying of storm-water sewer along the lanes,” he added.
	Centre scheme to ensure potable water for villages Our Correspondent Hoshiarpur, August 8 All the remaining villages where potable water is still not available will be covered under the central government-sponsored Swai Jal Dhara scheme for which the government will provide 90 per cent of the total cost. The remaining 10 per cent of the cost will be borne by the inhabitants of the respective village. Inhabitants of those villages having 40 per cent population of Scheduled Castes have to deposit only 5 per cent of the total cost. Presiding over the meeting of the district vigilance and monitoring committee here today, Lok Sabha deputy speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal said similarly inhabitants of villages located in the border and bet areas would have to deposit 5 per cent of the total cost. With the implementation of the scheme, people of rural areas would get potable water. He asked the officers concerned to persuade the panchayats for getting implemented the scheme in their respective villages. He advised officers to send utilisation certificates of the funds for all central government-sponsored schemes and the MPLAD fund scheme after their completion. A sum of Rs 14.57 crore had been granted to Hoshiarpur district under the Sarv Sikhiya Abhiyan for providing the required infrastructure, including rooms, toilets, etc, in schools. Thirty villages in Mahilpur block of the district had been selected under the integrated best land development scheme for which Rs 372 lakh would be spent in five year on various development projects. Similarly, 16 villages of Hajipur block had been selected under the scheme for which Rs 197.10 lakh would be spent and 3,285 acres of land of these villages would be reclaimed.
	Border Bane Big haul of fake notes; one held Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 7 The agencies from across the border are pushing in heavy consignment of fake currency notes from the riverine area of the Ferozepur sector in order to destabilise the Indian economy. This was said by SSP of special narcotics cell Tulsi Ram, while talking to the mediapersons here today. The riverine area in the Ferozepure sector is now becoming more active as compared to the border area of Amritsar for smuggling of narcotics, arms and fake currency notes, he added. The notorious Indo-Pak smugglers are using the area due to absence of fencing and presence of huge riverine belt created by Satluj and Beas rivers which meet at Harike. The SNC and counter intelligence agencies on a tip off arrested Darbara Singh, a resident of Wan Tara Singh village in Tarn Taran district, and seized fake Indian currency worth Rs 9 lakh from him. The SSP said during the preliminary investigation Darbara Singh revealed that he had brought the consignment from the Ferozepur sector and was waiting for a party to deliver the same when he was caught. “The accused also revealed that he has close links with notorious Pakistani and Indian smugglers operating in the region and was also involved in cross-border smuggling of heroin and other drugs. SSP said the consignment was brought to India in form of 18 wads containing 100 notes of Rs 500 denomination each. He said the accused was also involved in smuggling of gold from across the border but due to the decreasing margins he took to heroin smuggling. A case under sections 489-A, 489-B, 489-C, 420 of the IPC has been registered against the accused at Sadar Police Station in Tarn Taran.
	Cop sacked for murdering friend Our Correspondent Batala, August 8 Constable Kuldip Singh (belt 3430/BTL), who was involved in the kidnapping and murder of his friend Gurmukh Singh of Sunnaya village, was dismissed from service by SSP Naresh Arora here yesterday. Kuldip Singh and his accomplice Wazir Masih, alias Sahbi, of Winjwan village had taken away Gurmukh Singh from his house in his Maruti car (PB-18-D-7476). A case under section 364/34, IPC, was registered at the Sadar police station, Batala, against him on July 22, 2008. Kuldip Singh was caught along with the Maruti car with a fake number plate in the area of Ghal Khurd police station in Ferozepore district, Arora said. Another case was registered against him under sections 379, 411, 467, 468 and 471, IPC, at Ghal Khurd police station on July 22. The SSP said that during interrogation Kuldip Singh admitted that he along with Wazir Masih had committed the murder of Gurmukh Singh by strangulation in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh and thrown his body in the valley. He was taken to the crime spot where the body of Gurmukh Singh was recovered. A case under section 302, IPC, was registered at Pathar police station in Mandi district. Kuldip Singh and Wazir Masih have been arrested and remanded in judicial custody. Due to his involvement in the crime, constable Kuldip Singh was dismissed from service by Naresh Arora on August 7.
	SGPC mourns death of Kharak Singh Our Correspondent Amritsar, August 8 Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee chief Avtar Singh Makkar today mourned the death of eminent Sikh scholar and its Dharam Prachar Committee member Kharak Singh who died at Chandigarh yesterday. Makkar said in a press release issued here that the death of Kharak Singh had created a void in the Sikh literary field. He described him as one of the committed research scholars who had to his credit a number books connected with the Sikh religion. Meanwhile, Guru Nanak Dev University vice-chancellor Dr Jai Rup Singh condoled the death of Kharak Singh. In his condolence message, he said that Kharak Singh was associated with many educational and social organisations. He would always be remembered for his commendable contribution to Sikhism and the Punjabi world. The faculty and students of the Departments of Guru Nanak Studies and School of Punjabi Studies also mourned the death of Kharak Singh.
	Block-level tourney Jalandhar, August 8 The block level tournament (u-6 boys and girls) is scheduled to begin on August 11 in Jalandhar district. Nine blocks, Nakodar, Rurka Kalan, Shahkot, Adampur, Jalandhar East, Jalandhar West, Bhogpur, Lohian and Nurmahal, have been earmarked for the tournament. Deputy director of sports Hazari Lal Sharma said the primary aim of conducting the tournament was to promote sports in rural areas under the sports promotion policy at the grassroots level. — TNS