Amritsar, November 15
The State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) today recovered 5 kg of heroin, worth Rs 25 crore in the international market, and an AK-47 rifle being pushed into the Indian territory by Pakistan-based smugglers.

The two Pakistani smugglers, who infiltrated into the Indian side of the border to deliver it to their Indian counterparts, however, managed to escape leaving the consignment behind as soon as they saw the police party waiting for them near Ghamran village.

The SSOC team also recovered 130 live cartridges of AK-47, a belt to carry ammunition and two Pakistani SIM cards from the spot.

While giving details, Manminder Singh, Assistant Inspector-General, said the police teams under Navjot Singh Mahal, DSP, Counter Intelligence, Jalandhar, observed two persons approaching the main road from the Ghamran side. Seeing the police party, they tried to rush back. The policemen challenged them to stop, but they threw two bags containing the consignment and ran away towards the village.

A case under Sections 21, 25, 29, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act was registered while search and combing operations were being carried out with the help of the local police to nab the absconding persons.

Dhariwal, November 15
Post Children’s Day, residents and leaders of various political outfits came together on a single platform to ‘teach’ drivers of private buses, who have earned the epithet of “enfant terribles”, the importance of safe driving while negotiating their way through the town.

Today’s endeavour stemmed from the fact that rash driving by drivers of private buses, owned by influential politicians, on the national highway leading from Amritsar to Gurdaspur via Dhariwal, is rampant.

Today this development took a new shape when locals and middle rung politicians acted as ‘teachers’ to ‘educate the basics of safe driving’ to private buses drivers.

These drivers, in the last few months, have virtually terrorised residents by driving at breakneck speed caring two hoots for the life and limbs of the locals.

Nearly 300 buses, nearly half of them privately owned, pass through Dhariwal. It is pertinent to mention here that buses originating from Amritsar, Batala, Verka and Kathunangal going to Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh pass through the hamlet.

The death of 82-year-old Mohinder Singh Sabharwal last week in front of the local bus stop acted as a catalyst in today’s demonstration taking place.

Sources reveal that such deaths have become a common occurrence with the traffic cops turning a Nelson’s eye towards drivers indulging in unsafe driving.

Leaders of Shiv Sena (Hindustan), led by Honey Mahajan, the Youth Congress, guided by Block President Gautam Khosla and workers of the SAD stopped privately owned buses on the highway near the bus stop and pleaded with folded hands with ‘errant’ drivers to drive slowly when passing through the area.

These drivers were also urged to abstain from using pressure horns near hospitals and educational institutions dotting the highway. “Today’s protest is a veiled warning and next time these drivers indulge in irresponsible driving they would be hauled up our party cadres and handed over to the Police,” said Honey Mahajan. Harried residents were happy that someone has finally taken up cudgels on their behalf.

The situation in front of the famous Dhariwal Woollen Mill has turned from bad to worse with scores of shopkeepers encroaching on a part of the national highway. Sources reveal that despite a Punjab and Haryana High Court directive to remove all encroachments on the national highway, little is being done by the local Municipal Council to mitigate the woes of the residents.

Frequent accidents have resulted in a clamour for some visible policing to check violations by private buses and trucks.

A senior police officer, preferring anonymity, disclosed that they were unable to take concrete action against erring drivers since “90 per cent of the buses are owned by powerful politicians including those aligned to ruling SAD-BJP. That is why we term these drivers as Enfant Terribles because we know that whatever the violation their owners will ensure that they go scot-free.”

Nawanshahr, November 15
With Manpreet wave going strong, Deputy Chief Minister and SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal is leaving no attempt to woo party workers.

Paying tributes to Jaswinder Singh Anokherwal, chairman, District Planning Committee, at Anokherwal village on Monday, he termed party affiliations thicker than blood relations.

“Workers are the backbone of any party who sail it through the thick and thin,” said Sukhbir.

Lauding the contribution Anokherwal to the party, Sukhbir said he had started his political career as a youth leader and remained devoted to the party as well as to the service of the panth and people.

Nawanshahr: The licensed independent professional insurance surveyors and loss assessors under the aegis of the Indian Institute of Insurance Surveyors and Loss Assessors submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner here today for onward submission to the Union Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, urging him to retain the licensing of surveyors and loss assessors (SLAs)within the ambit of 64 UM and to incorporate suitable words to allow in only practitioners in the profession, ie independent licensed surveyors and loss assessors to weed out employees of firms/companies.

The private insurance companies are violating rules and regulations of the Insurance Act-64 UM as they are getting insurance claims done by their employees instead of the independent surveyors/loss assessors, they alleged, while adding that there seemed a proposal to dilute the provisions of the Act. — OC

Hoshiarpur, November 15
Hiring more medical staff in EHCS Polyclinic in Hoshiarpur, construction of building for Vajra canteen in encamping ground (Army land) in Civil Line area and setting up of war memorial of Army martyrs were the major demands of ex-servicemen raised by Brigadier Surjit Singh (retd) in the district-level ex-servicemen rally jointly organised by Vajra Corps and Directorate of Sainik Welfare Punjab here today.

He said presently Vajra canteen was situated on the busiest road of the city where frequent traffic jams were the regular feature. On account of heavy vehicular traffic, the ex-servicemen visiting the canteen had to face a lot of inconvenience.

There was enough land of Army in local Civil Lines where suitable building could be constructed. Moreover, the Army authorities were paying about Rs 72,000 as monthly rent to the owner of present canteen building. Hoshiarpur district has 55,000 ex-servicemen and a similar number had presently been serving in the Army.

Though the Army had set up an EHCS Polyclinic at Hoshiarpur, there was insufficient number of doctors. More than 300 patients regularly visit the polyclinic but many find themselves at the receiving end due to lack of doctors. Hoshiarpur had a number of Army martyrs and there was no war memorial in the district. There was a dire need to set up war memorial in the district for the encouragement of youths.

Lt-Col S.K. Salwan (retd), Director, Army Placement Agency, said to rehabilitate ex-servicemen, the Army replacement agency had been set up for which 40 centres had been opened in the country. Registration of more than 1.50 lakh ex-servicemen had been done out of which 12000 had been registered in Punjab and Una, Bilaspur and Hamirpur districts in Himachal Pradesh.

More than 600 ex-servicemen were regularly getting re-employment annually through Punjab centre.

Director Sainik Welfare Board Punjab Brigadier I S Gakhal highlighted various schemes being carried out by the state government for benefiting the ex-servicemen and Army personnel.

The Punjab Government had also sent recommendation to the Union government regarding the introduction of one rank one pension demand of the ex-servicemen, he disclosed.

A medical camp under the arrangement of Vajra Corps was organised where in services of various specialists along with free medicines were made available.

A grievances cell was also established to look into the various grievances of the ex-servicemen and the same would be pursued with the authorities concerned. Special information counters to provide details about the ECHS, Army Recruiting Offices and Ex-Servicemen Welfare Schemes were also set up. Vocational project stalls from Animal Husbandry, Poultry, Dairy Fisheries, Horticulture, Agriculture, Sericulture, Small Scale Industries and PESCO were set up to educate the ex-servicemen on various assistance/subsidies being provided by the state government.