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Jammu Next Stop
Queen’s Baton reaches Pathankot
Pathankot, June 27
The Queen’s Baton, which contains a message from Queen Elizabeth, to be read out by British heir apparent Prince Charles on October 3 during the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, reached here this evening.

7 injured in two clashes
Phagwara, June 27
Seven persons, including two women and a child, were injured in two different clashes that took place in the town today. Personal enmity was said to be the cause of the clashes. All the injured were admitted to the Civil Hospital.

Rs 311 cr to be spent on city devp: Kalia
Jalandhar, June 27
A sum of Rs 311 crore would be spent on the overall development of the city, of which Rs 121 crore has already been released for laying sewerage. Addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stones of projects in Guru Nanakpura, Bharat Nagar and Ekta Nagar, Local Bodies Minister Manoranjan Kalia said sewerage was being laid on priority basis and work in many parts was nearing completion.

Dust storm hits city
Jalandhar, June 27
A sudden dust storm this evening although gave a tough time to commuters in the city, it brought brought respite from the scorching heat conditions. The dust storm, which lasted for about an hour, created havoc for a while as branches of trees, poles, big hoardings and billboards fell on the ground at many places. However, there was no rain in any part of the region. — TNS

42 empty LPG cylinders stolen
Phillaur, June 27
Burglars entered a godown of Goraya Gas Agency on the Goraya-Barrapind road and took away 42 empty LPG cylinders late last ight. The police has registered a case, but no arrest has been made so far. — OC

	RTE Act in pvt schools? Govt helpless, says Upinderjit Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, June 27 The Punjab Government is helpless in implementing the Right to Education Act in private schools effectively. Education Minister Upinderjit Kaur, while talking to mediapersons here yesterday, said the state government was not in a position to bear the burden of the excessively high amount of fee being charged by private schools. She said the government could only bear the expenses of what was being charged by the government-run schools, and it was nearly impossible for it to pay the amount being charged by private schools where monthly fees ran into thousands. As per the act, the management of private schools was bound to reserve 30 per cent free seats for students of economically weaker sections. “Besides, the state’s 60 per cent share, the Central government has to contribute 40 per cent budget under the Act. Without more monitory assistance from the Centre, it would be difficult for the Punjab Government to implement the Act in private schools,” she claimed. Expressing concern over the two sets of standard in the education system prevalent in the state, the minister said parents who could afford the fees of private schools never preferred to send their wards to government schools. Highlighting relevant figures in support of her statement, she said 90 per cent of the total 32 lakh students studying in government-run schools belonged to the Scheduled Caste and Backward Class families, while the rest were from economically weaker sections. Answering a query, the minister admitted that the district languages committees had failed to fulfil their purpose as the officials concerned had given a dark corner to the scheme for the promotion and implementation of the Punjabi language in the state. Upinderjit Kaur said so far as taking decisive action against private schools violating the Punjab Languages Act was concerned, the state government was cuffed as the Central government was the authority to take ultimate action in the form of disaffiliation of such institutions.
	Commonwealth Express attracts city public Tribune News Service Jalandhar, June 27 Encompassing the glorious journey of the XIX Commonwealth Games, Delhi 2010, the Commonwealth Express, a special publicity train halted at the city railway station here today. The train remained open for visitors from 10 am to 7 pm. An initiative to publicise the upcoming the Commonwealth Games the train has been introduced by the Indian Railways in association with the Delhi Government. The train was flagged off from Delhi on June 24. The journey of Commonwealth Games, rare photographs of players, trophies won by the Indian Railways team in different disciplines, the first Asian Games 1952, Asian Games 1982 and pictures of newly constructed stadiums in Delhi for the Commonwealth Games attracted the visitors. History of renowned players in the Commonwealth Games, their achievements and the medal tally of India in the previous games was another feature taking the visitors down the memory lane. A special section on “Green Commonwealth Games”, an MoU signed with Delhi Government and UNEP brought to limelight the environment-friendly games venue. “The stadiums have been designed in a manner to save save water, consume less energy and emit less carbon,” said a representative from the train. Another feature was a special section highlighting the tremendous facelift of Delhi ahead of the Commonwealth Games. The train also put up an exposition on the wheels of a specially designed train called Commonwealth Express. However, visitors alleged that the train was closed to public two hours before its scheduled closing time. As a result many people, including children, could not have a glimpse of the train.
	Jammu Next Stop Queen’s Baton reaches Pathankot Tribune News Service Pathankot, June 27 The Queen’s Baton, which contains a message from Queen Elizabeth, to be read out by British heir apparent Prince Charles on October 3 during the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, reached here this evening. The baton arrived from Hoshiarpur district amidst tight security made by the Gurdaspur police even as dark clouds threatened to play spoilsport. The baton was handed over to Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Prithi Chand by Delhi girl Alka Lamba. The local police has made arrangements to ensure that nothing untoward happens during the overnight stay of the baton and delegates accompanying it. A loud cheer went up once the DC was handed over the baton in the presence of Gurdaspur SSP Lok Nath Angra and three-time hockey Olympian and Punjab Director (Sports) Pargat Singh. The SAD-BJP leadership was conspicuous by its absence although a government spokesman said Public Relations Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan was represented by his son Jagrup Singh Sekhwan. The baton will be taken to Jammu tomorrow morning.
	7 injured in two clashes Tribune Reporters Phagwara, June 27 Seven persons, including two women and a child, were injured in two different clashes that took place in the town today. Personal enmity was said to be the cause of the clashes. All the injured were admitted to the Civil Hospital. One nabbed for selling beef Jalandhar: The district police seized around 40 kg of beef from a religious place near Nakodar Chowk and arrested one person in this connection here on Sunday morning. The accused, Sayeed Mohammed (48) of Bhagat Singh Chowk, was arrested on the complaint of Gau Sewa Board chairman Kimti Bhagat. During preliminary interrogation, Sayeed confessed he brought the beef from Ferozepore district where cows had been slaughtered. The beef was also supplied to some hotels, he added. The SHO of police division No 4 said the veterinary officers had taken several samples of the beef and would sent the same to Chandigarh for examination. A case has been registered in this regard. Liquor seized during raid Batala: Officials of the Excise Department, Amritsar, raided Sunny Hotel on the Batala-Jalandhar road here on Friday. The raiding party comprised, among others, Excise and Taxation Officer Balbir Singh Malhi and Inspector Neeraj Mahajan. The seizure included 20 cases of beer, 23 cases and 30 bottles of country liquor. The officials registered a case against the hotel under the Punjab Excise Act, 1941. One killed in road mishap Tarn Taran: Anil of Ferozpore and his associate Akash Kumar sustained serious injures in a road accident near Harike township, 36 km from here, on Saturday evening when a Maruti car (PB-PC-8086) hit a Tata-407 vehicle (PB-05H-9460) parked on the roadside in which they were sitting. They were going to Pathankot from Ferozpore. They were taken to a hospital where Anil was declared brought dead. Car driver Atma Singh of Sheikh Kutub village (Ludhiana) has been booked under sections 304-A, 279, 337, 338 and 427 of the IPC by the Harike police. Attacked youth dies Hoshiarpur: Kiranjit Singh, son of Mohan Singh of Narial village succumbed to his wounds on the way to local Civil Hospital last night. According to police sources, Kiranjit Singh, along with his friend, had gone for an evening stroll. Later he was found lying unconscious near a cement pipe factory at the village. Marks of sharp-edged weapons were found on his body. It is suspected that some persons had assaulted Kiranjit Singh. On the complaint of his father Mohan Singh, the Mahilpur police has registered a case under section 302 of the IPC.
	Rs 311 cr to be spent on city devp: Kalia Tribune News Service Jalandhar, June 27 A sum of Rs 311 crore would be spent on the overall development of the city, of which Rs 121 crore has already been released for laying sewerage. Addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stones of projects in Guru Nanakpura, Bharat Nagar and Ekta Nagar, Local Bodies Minister Manoranjan Kalia said sewerage was being laid on priority basis and work in many parts was nearing completion. He said Rs 15 crore would also be released for re-carpeting the potholed roads in the city, in addition to Rs 35 crore for the beautification of Jalandhar. Similarly, Rs 100 crore had been released to the civic body for providing potable water in the suburbs, besides a national institution of fashion technology. In addition to this, Rs 20 crore had been spent on upgradation of the three focal points in the district, he added. Others present on the occasion included Mayor Rakesh Rathore, councillor M.S. Chatha, Jasbir Kaur, H.S. Sandhu and Neelam Salwan.