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Sr National Boxing C’ship concludes
Dutt’s the way, Sanjay tells budding boxers |
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Star-struck
‘Cotton SEZ planned for Malwa’
Dhobiana Basti residents intensify stir
Plans afoot for another sainik school, says FM
Campaigning ends for Moga MC elections
Freedom fighter remembered
Villagers sensitised on ill effects of female foeticide
Sangha
wins senate election
Clear off accumulated rainwater, MC urged
CM asked to enlist Abohar in state’s master development plan
Child falls in hot milk, dies
Watchman killed in Moga, no clue of who did it
Youth found murdered in Mansa village
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Sr National Boxing C’ship concludes
Bathinda, September 12 Dutt, who was also the guest of honour on the occasion, was announced as brand ambassador for boxing in the country by Abhay Singh Chautala, president of the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation. But it was Dutt, who stole the show today. "India had been host to Asian games and Afro-Asian games. In 2010, we are hosting Commonwealth games. Now, we would endeavour to organise Olympics in the country," Chautala said. Appreciating Sanjay Dutt's gesture for accepting the offer for brand ambassadorship, he said, 'He is the only star who has come forward to support the sport. He did not give a second thought for the same and left shooting in Bangkok in between to grace the function here today." Earlier, Bikramjeet Singh Majithia, Punjab information and public relations minister, thanked the star and Chautala for promoting the sport. He also eulogised Gurbax Singh Sandhu, chief coach, as for his tutelage, India could win a bronze at the Olympics. Majithia expressed the hope that Indian boxers would definitely win a gold at the next Olympics. Evoking laughter from the audience and the star alike, Majithia said, "We are hopeful that after Munnabhai MBBS and Lage Raho Munnabhai, Dutt would play as Munnabhai Boxer." Meanwhile, MP Paramjit Kaur Gulshan and Sikander Singh Malooka, district in-charge of the SAD, each announced Rs one lakh to Om Parkash, the winner of silver medal in a shotput event at the 3rd Indoor Asian Games held in Doha this year and Gurvinder Pal Singh, who won a silver medal in 400 metre relay race at the same championship. Both were also honoured on the occasion. Talking to TNS, Om said that Dutt and Sukhbir Badal have assured him of the support he needed for the world championship to be held in Berlin next year. "Since I could not qualify for Olympics this time due to injury, I want to make up for that by winning gold at the championship." Gurvinder said Sanjay Dutt wished him and Om good luck.
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Dutt’s the way, Sanjay tells budding boxers
Bathinda, September 12 People from nearby towns flooded the sports stadium just to catch a glimpse of 'Sanju Baba.' People, young and old, wanted to shake hands with him but because of the strict security arrangements, they returned disappointed. Schoolchildren were busy arranging for paper and pens as they wanted his autograph but little did they know that their effort will go waste. The crowd cheered Dutt as he rose from his chair to motivate the young boxers at the event. Not much of 'Gandhigiri' was reflected by 'Munnabhai.' He did not show much interest when it came to giving autographs, answering questions and getting pictures clicked with his fans. Everyone could barely get a glimpse of the star as he sat among the people clad in white with gun-toting security personnel keeping away the hoi polloi. "Sukhbir Badal has given me a huge responsibility by making me the ambassador for boxing and I will do my best to upgrade the standard of boxing. We got a bronze in the Beijing Olympics but with sustained efforts and commitment, we will bag gold next time," said Dutt. Sukhbir Badal promised full support, training and monetary benefits to sportsmen. "The government in power before us failed to do anything for sports but we will give whatever we can to the budding talent. We will open a sports academy in Bathinda to promote talent," he announced.
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Star-struck
Bathinda, September 12 Amid the thrilling atmosphere boosted by the presence of cheers leaders, when the announcement was made that heartthrob Sanjay Dutt was going to enter into the stadium, a huge roar echoed in anticipation of Munnabhai. As Sanjay entered, into all proceedings in the stadium virtualy came to a halt. Not only the youth, almost all present there stood up for a glimpse of Dutt, who slowly moved towards the front row but not before waving his hands to evoke rounds of applause and also a roar from the crowd. The presence of Bollywood star Sanjay and the resultant atmosphere at all corners of the stadium was not unusual. The point is that barely half-an-hour before his arrival, Olympic bronze medallist Vijender along with Olympians Akhil and Jitender, had also arrived there to attend the concluding ceremony. But the crowd response to Sanjay's arrival appeared to be more vociferous. Even the shutterbugs left the ring and started jostling to capture Sanjay's images. Dignitaries were found introducing their kin to him. Most importantly, a bout, which was about to start, went into pause mode due to the prevailing circumstances. Finally, an announcement was made: "Officials, please start the bout."
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‘Cotton SEZ planned for Malwa’
Bathinda, September 12 Sukhbir said there was a need for agro-based industry in the state today. He added that the agenda of the Punjab government was to make the state financially strong. Only agriculture cannot help in doing that. Therefore, industry was required. "Today, the state needs to develop agro-based industries," he said. The function aimed at thanking the SAD as Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on September 6 waived off the Rs 55-crore Punjab Infrastructure Development cess imposed on the cotton traders for the period from April 2005 to March 2008. Bhagwan Bansal, president of the association, said that the state was levying about 12.5 per cent tax, including market fee, rural development fund, dami (commission), VAT and cess, on the cotton traders while neighbouring Rajasthan had levied about 7.5 per cent. "This will result in shifting of business to Rajasthan which is detrimental to Punjab, its farmers, labourers and the cotton mill owners alike. Therefore, the government should mull over it. Barring political alliance, the SAD should also give a thought to economic alliance with the neighbouring state." Bansal demanded uniform taxes for all states and level playing field for the traders. Sukhbir also said the state government had marked as many as 32 services in the state which would be outsourced for better service to people in the state. Meanwhile, gold medallists at international championships in weightlifting, namely, Asha, Neelam and Sunita, once again submitted their job applications to the SAD chief with a faint hope that their request would be met.
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Dhobiana Basti residents intensify stir
Bathinda, September 12 The agitators gave an ultimatum to the authorities concerned that if an alternative site was not given to them within five days, they would intensify their agitation. They would lay siege to the houses of Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner, Bathinda Municipal Corporation (BMC). Addressing the agitators, Suresh Goyal, president, General Samaj Party, said hundreds of people who were rendered homeless in a recent demolition drive criticised PUDA's alleged high-handedness against the residents. "We are not going to relent until we are given alternate sites,"threatened Goyal. In today's agitation, womenfolk outnumbered their men counterpart with babies in their laps in the sticky heat. The agitators also demanded all the basic facilities, including water and temporary tentage, at the demolished site till an alternative site was provided to them. Kartar Singh, president of Dhobiana Basti Bachao Action Committee, said the oppressive weather added to their woes and only they knew how hard it was to go through a day. "There is no one to help us," he rued and demanded an early solution to the on-going agitation against the demolition. However, Rahul Tiwari, Deputy Commissioner, Bathinda, asked the residents to come on Monday for deliberations to sort out the issues after the demolition drive in Dhobiana Basti. He assured that they would be rehabilitated soon with an alternate site and would chalk out a plan to implement a rehabilitation policy for the migrant labourers. They would not be shifted from their current locations, he added. The protesters had been up in arms against the local administration for not attending to their grievances. Meanwhile, some armed youths forcibly took control of the exit point of the bus stand, which caused inconvenience to the commuters. The jam was later lifted after the DC pacified the protesters, saying the administration already had deep sympathy for the aggrieved families.
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Plans afoot for another sainik school, says FM
Ferozepur, September 12 Badal was accompanied by Janmeja Singh Sekhon, Irrigation Minister, Hari Singh Zira, former minister, Kamal Sharma, BJP general secretary, B.S. Sudan, Commissioner, Ferozpur and Faridkot divisions, Brigadier Inderjit Singh, Director Sainik Welfare, DC Megh Raj and SSP Dinesh Pratap Singh besides senior army, civil and police officials. A large numbers of ex-servicemen were also present on the occasion. Later, while interacting with mediapersons at the residence of irrigation minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon, Manpreet Badal said the state has seen an increase in collection of VAT and other taxes. As against a collection of Rs 5,100 crores in the previous year, an amount of Rs 7,500 crores was expected to be generated during the current fiscal year, which showed a 43 per cent increase in collection. Speaking about the state of fiscal affairs in the state, Manpreet Badal said that Punjab was the perhaps the only state in the country offering schemes like Atta-Dal and Shagun among others. He said that the state revenue has also seen a tremendous rise on account of registration and stamp duties which have generated 25 per cent more revenue this year. The minister said that when the SAD-BJP took over the reins of the state from the Congress, the state was in a poor fiscal condition as it had a staggering debt of over Rs 1700 crores due to the policies of the previous government. However, the present government has brought the debt down to Rs 1,000 crores and the situation is improving, he added.
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Campaigning ends for Moga MC elections
Moga, September 12 In as many as six wards, the SAD candidates have already been elected unopposed after the withdrawal of nomination papers. As many as 90 candidates of the SAD, BJP and independents, some of them backed by the Congress, were in the fray. During the campaigning, SAD president Sukhbir Badal presided over a public rally in favour of the SAD-BJP candidates on September 8 State president of the BJP, Rajinder Bhandari, also made a round of the town in favour of his party candidates. For the Congress, no senior leader of the party came here to boost the morale of their candidates who were not even given party authority letters to fight the elections on party symbols. PPCC working president Mohinder Singh Kaypee came here last week and addressed a press conference at the residence of Joginder Pal Jain, the local MLA. No matter, Jain single-handedly took the responsibility for poll campaigning but he did not come out openly in public to support his loyal candidates creating a situation of confusion for the party. There were reports that mostly confined in his house, he was extensively using telephone to campaign for his wife Swaran Lala Jain who is contesting the election from ward 14. The Congress appears to be a disorganised lot, which could be judged from the fact that the local MLA's two sons, Puneet Jain and Akshit Jain, were fighting the elections from ward 11 against each other. Jain who enjoyed a clear majority in the MC during the last tenure and was also elected as a member of the Assembly had almost given up the fight this time for reasons best known to him. As a result of this, the political calculations had to a great extent tilted in favour of the SAD-BJP candidates. Senior SAD leader and former minister Jathedar Tota Singh has appealed to the people of this town to vote in favour of the SAD-BJP candidates and promised to carry out overall development of the town irrespective of any political considerations, if voted to power. He announced to roll back the water and sewerage tariff hiked by the Congress during the last tenure in accordance with the orders of the High Court. "We will also review the BPL cards issued during the last tenure so as to ensure maximum benefit of the Atta-Dal scheme to the poor people," he added. He said that the SAD-BJP was committed to the upgradation of the local body into a municipal corporation within two years and bring in more than Rs 100 crore for development works in the next couple of years other than the amount of Rs 68.29 crore already sanctioned by the state government during the current financial year.
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Saragarhi anniversary observed
Ferozepur, September 12 Lieutenant General R.S. Sujlana, AVSM, VSM, Colonel of the Sikh Regiment along with local dignitaries, service personnel, ex-servicemen and district officials received the Saragarhi cycling expedition to the tunes played by the brass band of the Sikh Regimental Centre, Ramgarh, at the Saragarhi Gurudwara. The expedition was organised by the 4th Battalion of the Sikh Regiment to mark the anniversary of the battle of Saragarhi and instill a sense of adventure among the new generation. The expedition was earlier flagged off from Mamoon Cantonment by Major General R.H. Vardhan, GOC, Gurj Division on September 10. The team, led by Lieutenant Nirmalendu, comprising JCOs and jawans, paid homage at the Golden Temple in Amritsar before arriving at the Saragarhi Gurudwara here today. The expedition was escorted by a group of 17 motorcyclists, all ex-servicemen, clad in regiment track suits. While addressing the jawans, Lieutenant General Sujlana said each soldier must try and emulate the gallant warriors of the battle of Saragarhi and imbibe their never say die spirit. Earlier, in the morning, the Saragarhi cross-country run was held in which hundreds of civilians as well as Army personal participated and covered a distance of 15 km on the Faridkot-Ferozepur Road, which finally culminated at the Saragarhi Memorial Gurudwara. The first five runners were given a cash prize worth Rs 30, 000. The first amongst the army personnel was rifleman Sunil Kumar while Mandeep Yadav won the race from the civilian side.
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Sriganganagar/Abohar,
September 12 Speaking about his multi-faceted personality, others quoted condolence messages received from Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot, Madhya Pradesh Governor Balram Jakhar and other dignitaries. After Independence, Chand settled at Sriganganagar and served society as a surgeon and social activist. He was instrumental in organising scouting and NCC camps in the district to inculcate patriotic ideals among youth, said R.K. Gaur, ex-chairman, Improvement Trust. — OC
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Villagers sensitised on ill effects of female foeticide
Barnala, September 12 Harpal Singh Pandher, chairman, Block Samiti, Barnala, presided over the seminar. Harpal Singh said that the sharp difference between the male and female sex ratio is a cause of concern. This has created an imbalance in society. So it is the need of the hour that society should come forward to adopt a rational attitude towards the female child, he said. Jagtar Singh, sanitary inspector, health department, Dhanaula, said that though the government has enacted laws to protect the female child by banning sex determination tests, yet, it will take a long time before it is implemented. “So to eradicate this problem, we must create awareness among the masses,” he said. Educated parents, strict laws to curb dowry system and encouragement to girl child can help a lot, he maintained. Surinder Singh, principal of government high school, Pandher, warned that if female foeticide is not checked, then this can lead to social complications with long lasting effects like increase in crime against women.
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Sangha
wins senate election
Bathinda, September 12 He won this election in 2000 for the first time and in 2004 for the second time. He was congratulated by CM Parkash Singh Badal on his victory and a host of eminent persons from the field of education. To celebrate the victory, a cake was cut and sweets were distributed among the students.
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Clear off accumulated rainwater, MC urged
Abohar, September 12 The postmaster said the post office road, located in ward number 30, has been crying for attention but nobody has paid heed to it. The main post office was shifted to the new building located near the Nehru Stadium about 15 years back. The council had not cared to reconstruct or repair the road since then. Most of the newspapers carried illustrated reports but these too failed to draw the attention of the authorities. It was unfortunate that complaints made to the council on different occasions in this connection were ignored, the post master rued. Most importantly, hundreds of students and teachers of the government model high school, located in the neighbourhood, also have to pass through stinking muddy water daily besides the staff of the post offices.
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CM asked to enlist Abohar in state’s master development plan
Abohar, September 12 The NGO, which had been fighting for upgradation of the Abohar sub-division as a district, in a memorandum faxed to the CM under signatures of its chairman Lt. Col. Onkar Nath Chopra (retd.), said suggestions from the local citizens should be sought and taken into consideration while preparing the “vision document” for multi-faceted development of the towns by foreign-based companies. He wondered what exactly will be the relevance of the improvement trusts in the towns which were being listed for the master plan. It appears that trusts and municipal councils will become redundant and will need winding up if the government goes ahead with its plan to assign the task of planning and executing development work under the master plan, he observed. The Association regretted that development works in this sub-divisional town, like others, had come to a standstill in the last two years and only the colonisers were being given a free hand to flourish.
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Bathinda, August 12 According to sources, Anmol, son of Chhabra Sweets owner, Parveen Kumar, a resident of Goniana, was playing with another child. Accidentally the child, while playing, fell into the bucket full of boiled milk lying near the sweets shop. He sustained severe burns on the stomach and under the belt and was hospitalized at a local hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.— TNS
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Watchman killed in Moga, no clue of who did it
Moga, September 12 Police sources said that Megha Singh, an ex-serviceman and a resident of village Khote, was employed as a watchman in the store of a wholesaler of karyana items situated on Mudki road in Baghapurana. Last night, while he was sleeping on the roof of the store, some persons attacked him with sharp-edged weapons at about 10.45 pm leaving him dead. The assailants also tried to break the roof of the shop for the purpose of theft but failed to do so as an alarm was raised by the nearby residents who also informed the owners of the firm. The assailants managed to flee from the spot before the police reached there. The SHO of the local police station, Kikkar Singh, reached the spot immediately and found the watchman lying in a pool of blood. He was taken to the local hospital where he was declared brought dead. The body was brought to the district hospital here for post-mortem It may be mentioned that a permanent police naka was being set up daily about 200 metres from the spot of the incident. The police had registered a criminal case under section 460 of the IPC against unknown persons and begun investigations into the case.
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Youth found murdered in Mansa village
Mansa, September 12 When he saw that it would take some time, he tried to take rest in the fields and was murdered with sharp-edged weapons. When his brother went to the fields, they found him murdered. A case has been registered on the basis of the statement of his brother Tarsem Singh against two persons of the same village, Dharam Singh and Krishan Singh. Search for the accused has been launched. Old enmity is believed to be the reson behind the crime. — OC
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Sukhbir Badal, information and public relations minister Bikramjit Singh Singh Majithia and Indian Amateur Boxing Federation president Abhay Chautala, among others.
