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115 Saanjh Kendras opened in state
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Towards a more accountable police
Manpreet Badal joins hands with 3 parties to form Sanjha
Sufficient coal stock for 20 days, claims PSPCL
Gobindpura villagers to observe ‘black’ Diwali
Additional AG refuses to join office a day after appointment
Malti Thapar Mahila Cong chief
Conversion of Moga MC into corp stayed
At 4.7 lakh MT, Ferozepur has procured most paddy
Shun Diwali gifts: Chawla
No plan to scrap power projects: Capt
Paid ‘poorly’, govt docs take to streets
PCMS doctors and members of the medical fraternity protest at the Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala. Tribune photo: Rajesh Sachar
Demands of teachers accepted
Youth Fest: Punjabi varsity dominates on day 2
Diploma engineers on mass casual leave from today
Police remand for Badal’s former OSD
End strike or you will be sacked, SSA workers told
Teachers lament new ACP policy
Air pollution acquires alarming proportions in
Ludhiana: PPCB
Now, HC says it’s wrong to abolish lambardar’s post
Sarpanch assaults teacher, smears
his face black
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115 Saanjh Kendras opened in state
Amritsar, October 17 Today’s ceremony marked the opening of 115 Saanjh Kendras all over the state and 116 more under construction will be operational by the year-end. The Saanjh Kendras will provide all the services, as enshrined in the Right to Service Act, from a single window. These include verification of tenants, registration and verification of servants, passport verification, police clearance certificate, verification of vehicles, character verification for service, payment of traffic challans, information of impounded vehicles, receiving complaints on traffic problems, permission for political/sports/religious functions, NOC for armed licences, permission for use of public address systems etc. The kendras will also provide a copy of an FIR online. The concept The concept of Saanjh Kendras has its genesis in the fact that the common man is hesitant to step into a police station. These kendras will provide a “dignified access point” to the citizens so that they can lodge a complaint or find out the status of their complaint without any apprehension. The Deputy CM said: “There is an inherent fear of police stations among citizens. Therefore, the Saanjh Kendras have been constructed. Officials manning these kendras will not be in uniform.” There will be over 500 Saanjh Kendras across the state, including 27 at the police districts and 114 in the sub-divisions. Already, the Punjab Police has constructed 115 Saanjh Kendras in a record period of four months. All the Saanjh Kendras have a uniform design with standardised furniture and furnishings and an identical layout. The functioning A statewide IT platform with a server at the police headquarters linked to every Saanjh Kendra shall enable centralised data uploading and access, providing the citizens with copies of FIRs, untraced reports, NOCs etc. The employees Every Saanjh Kendra will be run by a police-public committee comprising police officers, representatives of government departments, professionals and NGOs. The committee members and co-opted members such as lawyers and psychologists shall be appointed on panels to resolve conflicts. A community affairs division headed by an IGP will supervise the functioning of the kendras across the state. Zonal IGPs and Range DIGs shall be the intermediary supervisors. The recruitment The AIG (Community Policing), Shiv Kumar Verma, said 1,700 staff members, including women constables, had been attached with the Saanjh Kendras. New recruitments had also been made. He said there would be three counters at each kendra — verification counter, crime information counter and counter for foreigners. The crime information counter would provide information regarding unclaimed bodies, lost vehicles, missing articles and documents, missing mobile sets, missing persons/child. The kendras would accept applications for registration of foreigners on arrival and departure, MRG enquiries in case of lost passport, fraud complaints against travel agents, NRIs’ complaints and queries and extension of residential permits to foreigners. Accountability If the officials fail to provide these services within a specified time period, they will be penalised (between Rs 250 and Rs 5,000) and departmental action initiated against them. The state has allocated Rs 30 crore for the project in 2010-11 and another Rs 30 crore for the financial year 2011-2012. The motivation The Deputy Chief Minister said community policing was a separate cadre with a 1 per cent promotion quota for community police personnel. Five state medals had been earmarked for community police initiatives. Future strategy Sukhbir said the government would take this initiative to another level where citizens would not have to visit the kendras at all. They would just “file a complaint, sitting at home, on their laptops.” He said the crime rate had declined by 22 per cent after the initiation of community police reforms and the police
commissionerate.
NEWS ANALYSIS
Chandigarh, October 17 The outreach centres are bound to present a friendlier police face with young personnel, especially trained in courtesy, to greet those visiting the police stations. With the integration of community policing, outreach centres and special committees of ordinary citizens to monitor the Saanjh
Kendras, the image of the police will be enhanced. A mechanism has been provided for lodging complaints against the conduct of police personnel and their disposal in a transparent way. The Punjab Government has set up a three-layered delivery mechanism: At the district level 27 Community Police Resource
Centres, at the subdivision level 96 Community Police Suvidha Centres and at the police station level 356 Outreach
Centres. The new institutional mechanism is distinct on three counts- it has been modelled as a platform for community-police partnership to deliver police services; it will function as a non-formal forum for resolution of domestic disputes and economic discords and will provide a transparent institutional mechanism to hold police accountable for misconduct. For most of these services, the designated officer is
SHO. Punjab is the first state in the country to implement community policing on such a large scale and in an institutionalised manner. Community policing is most needed at the local level to ensure a safe environment and to protect the citizen’s rights.
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Manpreet Badal joins hands with 3 parties to form Sanjha Morcha
Chandigarh, October 17 The four parties will launch a yatra on November 6 from Dhudike, the birthplace of Lala Lajpat Rai. Aimed at highlighting the “social, economic and moral crisis” in the state, the yatra will conclude in over two months. In a statement, PPP president Manpreet Singh Badal said: “The scenario in Punjab is grim and the state’s future is at stake”. “Punjab is being torn apart by communalism, corruption, unemployment, disease, inequalities, pollution and depravation. The PPP has waged a crusade against these evils and we fully support Manpreet in his initiative,” said former Chief Minister Surjit Singh Barnala in a statement. The four parties have formed a 20-member Sanjha Morcha co-ordination committee that will chalk out the morcha’s future course. On the committee are PPP’s Jagbir Brar, Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon, Kuldeep Singh Dhos and Gurpreet Singh Bhatti; the CPI’s Dr Joginder Dyal, Jagrup Singh and Bant Singh Brar; the CPM’s Lehmber Singh Taggar, Vijay Mishra and Raghunath Singh and the SAD-Longowal’s Gagandeep Singh Barnala, Baldev Singh Mann, Rupinder Singh Sandhu and Inderjit Singh Baghi. Surjit Singh Barnala has been made patron of the alliance and Manpreet Badal chairman. One person each from the four parties — SS Johl, Nirmal Singh Dhariwal, Charan Singh Virdi, Baldev Singh Mann and Gagandeep Singh Barnala — will be vice-chairman. “The Izzat Sambhal Yatra shall be a continuation of Jago Punjab Movement,” Manpreet said. “The movement, was started a year back when I was expelled from the SAD for voicing my views,” Manpreet said.
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Sufficient coal stock for 20 days, claims PSPCL
Patiala, October 17 In the recent past, the coal crisis on account of heavy rainfall in Jharkhand, floods in Orissa and Telangana agitation in Andhra Pradesh has affected power generation in several states, including in neighbouring Haryana. As per available figures, Punjab at present is generating 2,480-MW power from its thermal plants and the daily requirement of coal for running these units is about 37,000-38,000 tonnes. Speaking to The Tribune, PSPCL Director (Generation) GS Chhabra said, "Punjab gets 55-60 per cent of the coal required for thermal plants from its own coal mine in Jharkhand whereas the rest of the demand is met by the Coal India Limited. As Punjab is far away from coal mines, we usually keep a lot of coal in stock to ensure that there is no problem with respect to coal requirement. Recently, the coal stock availability with the PSPCL had even gone beyond 30 days." At present, Guru Hargobind Thermal Power Plant at Lehra Mohabbat and Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant at Ropar have coal stock for 17 and 22 days, respectively, left with them. And at Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant in Bhatinda, the coal availability is for another 20 days. "Considering the fact that the PSPCL has comfortable coal stock, there is nothing to worry on power generation front in the state," Chhabra said. Meanwhile, according to senior functionaries in the PSPCL, the decision to shut down the 210-MW unit at the Ropar thermal plant for maintenance has been postponed till October 21.
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Gobindpura villagers to observe ‘black’ Diwali
Mansa, October 17 The farmers who received injuries during protests recently said they had “nothing to celebrate under a regime that meted out barbaric treatment” to them on Diwali eve. The villagers were injured during clashes with the Punjab Police. Gurmeet Singh Moni and Rajinder Singh, both of Gobindpura village, said they would fix black flags atop their houses as a mark of protest. Meanwhile, a few farmers from Barnala and Ludhiana were detained today near Joga police station here while they were proceeding towards Gobindpura. “Twentyeight of us have been detained since 3 pm and we are lodged at Joga police station. We have been demanding that either we should be arrested formally or be released,” said Saudagar Singh of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugraha). He had come along with other farmers from Ludhiana to support farmers’ agitation. Mansa SSP SPS Parmar, however, denied having made any arrests today and said 22 farmers reached Joga but they returned seeing the heavy deployment of police. Most of the farmers from Barnala and Ludhiana were arrested by the police at Jagraon and Barnala itself, he said. “We have no problem if the farmers protest peacefully. But if they try to disrupt traffic, then action needs to be taken,” he added.
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Additional AG refuses to join office a day after appointment
Chandigarh, October 17 While the storm over the untimely resignation of senior advocate Baldev Singh from the Advocate-General’s post was yet to settle, the State government has appointed seven more Additional Advocates-General. The appointees are senior advocates Girish Agnihotri and Pawan Kumar and advocates Subhash Goyal, Alok Jain, Mukul Aggarwal, Hari Pal Verma and Ritu Punj. But, the entire process has come under cloud, with one of the new appointees refusing to join the office. Senior advocate Pawan Kumar, in a crisp one-page letter to the Home Secretary, Punjab, has asserted: “Due to my engagement in the profession, I will not be able to join/accept the said post.” The refusal to join came soon after Punjab’s former AG Baldev Singh’s son Arshvinder Singh refused to join the office, despite the rejection of his resignation letter by the AG office. Working as an Additional AG, Arshvinder Singh had resubmitted his resignation on Friday last. Available information suggests that the number of Additional AGs in the state, after the new appointments, was now hovering around the figure of 70. The appointments are a matter of concern as these come at a time when the government is in the fag end of its tenure and is, rather, in the election mode. Otherwise also, each Additional AG gets a salary of approximately Rs 90,000 per month along with other benefits. The AG office has been in controversy ever since former AG Hardev Singh Mattewal suffered a heart attack and was hospitalised on May 13 last. Initially, the government tried to run the AG office like a corporate house by appointing a four-member committee to look after its affairs. After the experiment failed, the government appointed senior advocate-cum-renowned criminal lawyer Baldev Singh. He was the Badals’ counsel in the corruption case in which the family was acquitted recently.
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Malti Thapar Mahila Cong chief
Chandigarh, October 17 There was a disillusionment in the Mahila Congress with some junior leaders, including one from Tarn Taran, being projected as its next president. She belongs to a family of freedom fighters who also stood out against terrorism. Her father-in-law Shyam Lal Thapar was a minister and she herself has held the medical education and research department after being elected in 1992. — TNS
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Conversion of Moga MC into corp stayed
Chandigarh, October 17 The orders came on petitions filed by former councillor of Moga municipal council Surinder Singh and others. The petitioners claimed the status of municipal corporation to the council, through notification issued on July 26, was arbitrary, illegal and without application of mind. He added it was a political decision taken by the ruling party on instructions from its party member and former state Education Minister Tota Singh. The decision was taken by the state without considering the fact that Moga has population of just around 1.5 lakh and there were only 90,000 voters. The High Court has already stayed the operation of notifications declaring Pathankot and Phagwara larger urban areas and creating municipal corporations after dissolving the municipal councils. Taking up one of the petitions, Justice Alok Singh had asserted the petitioners were assailing notifications dated July 26, whereby the areas comprising the Municipal Council, Pathankot, was declared to be larger urban area and the Municipal Corporation was constituted for the area of Municipal Council, Pathankot. Justice Alok Singh added: “Prima facie, it seems after 2001, as stated by counsel for the parties, no new census took place. Therefore, the population published as per the Census 2001 alone can be taken into consideration…. Operation and effect of the annexures shall remain stayed.”
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At 4.7 lakh MT, Ferozepur has procured most paddy
Ludhiana, October 17 But other top paddy procuring districts, including Sangrur and Gurdaspur, have been replaced by Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Patiala districts this time. The major reason cited for this has been that basmati production area has increased in both Patiala and Jalandhar districts. Secondly, due to the bifurcation of Sangrur into two districts (Sangrur and Barnala), it has been able to procure only 62,919 metric tonnes of paddy till date. And in the case of Patiala, the district farmers have switched over to paddy production due to better marketing facilities. The other districts that had topped in paddy procurement till last evening are: Jalandhar (4,18,629 MT), Kapurthala (3,46,805 MT), Patiala (3,09,195 MT) and Tarn Taran (3,06,157 MT). Nek Singh Khokh, BKU (Rajewal) senior vice-president, said: “This year, the area under basmati cultivation has increased by 24 per cent in Punjab. The farmers in Patiala district have better chances to sell their produce in the neighbouring state of Haryana through Devigarh and Rabri mandis.” Besides, Jalandhar has stood at the second place with 4,18,629 metric tonnes of paddy. The agriculture experts believe that as a large chunk of potato growers in Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur districts have switched over to paddy production, therefore, the district had emerged as a frontrunner. DS Grewal, Food and Supplies Department Secretary, said it was too early to say who would top the final paddy procurement list once the process was over.
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Chandigarh, October 17 She said she was forced to take the step as the web of Diwali gifts every year had cast its net over all sections of society. She said the “Punjab Government was determined to provide free, fair and transparent administration.” — TNS
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No plan to scrap power projects: Capt
Chandigarh, October 17 However, if Indiabulls setting up a plant in Gobindpura, did not pay adequate compensation to the farmers as per the land acquisition policy approved by the Centre, it could be closed down. “Our only interest is that the farmers must be compensated adequately and to their satisfaction”, he emphasised. He said the government had not signed any power purchase agreement with these companies . — TNS
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Paid ‘poorly’, govt docs take to streets
Patiala, October 17 Dr DC Sharma, president of the Doctors Federation of India, and Dr DS Bhullar, chairman of the in-service wing of the Indian Medical Association (Punjab), said the protest was organised to safeguard rights of the medical fraternity which were continuously being degraded by the bureaucracy and the successive governments. They stressed that the basic demand of the doctors was pay parity with Central Government Health Services (CGHS) doctors. They alleged that besides targeting the in-service doctors, the bureaucratic committee formed for the implementation of the 5th Punjab Pay Commission report has specifically targeted the retired doctors and medical teachers. Addressing the protesters, Dr Sharma said, “The resident doctors are being paid 50 per cent of what is being paid to their counterparts in the Central government hospitals. Besides, the medical teachers are being denied time-bound promotions as per the norms of the Medical Council of India. Moreover, the retired doctors have been hit the hardest as the non-practicing allowance of those who retired before 2006 is not being added to their notional pay”. He further alleged that there had been several scams in the Health Department during the past four-and-a-half years, in which allegations were raised against the highest functionaries. “Now, there are allegations of huge amounts of money changing hands for the transfer of senior PCMS officers and there are also allegations of extortion of money from doctors in the name of election fund”. He demanded a CBI probe into these accusations. Dr Bhullar, while demanding time-bound promotions and filing of vacant seats of teachers in medical colleges, alleged that a large number of posts of medical teachers had been deliberately kept vacant. He demanded the transfer of 1,200 rural dispensaries, which were earlier transferred to panchayats in 2006, back to the Health Department.
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Demands of teachers accepted
Chandigarh, October 17 Disclosing this here today, a spokesman of the Punjab Government said during the meeting a delegation of teachers union pointed out that although second counselling had been completed but the appointment letters had yet not been issued to the remaining teachers. He said that Guru sympathetically considered this demand of the teachers union and issued directions to the department concerned to complete the formalities within a week and issue appointment letters to the remaining teachers. The spokesman further said the second demand
of the teachers was that some of the teachers had not received the salaries since May, 2011. Considering it a genuine demand, Guru asked the department concerned to release the salaries before Diwali positively. Prominent among those who were present in the meeting were ADGP (Int.) Suresh Arora, Secretary Education Husan Lal, Secretary Finance Jaspal Singh, DPI (S) Dr Avtar Chand Sharma and Director SCERT Neelam
Bhagat.
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Youth Fest: Punjabi varsity dominates on day 2
Patiala, October 17 PWD (B&R) Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said youth festivals provided a platform to the youngsters to display their talent. He congratulated the winning students. The minister announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh for the State College of Education. Results: Play: 1. Mohindra College; 2. Modi College Mimicry: 1. Punjabi University; 2. Mohindra College Folk song: 1. Punjabi University; 2. Government College for Girls; 3. Mohindra College and 4. Bikram College Folk Orchestra: 1. Punjabi University; 2. GCG; 3. Khalsa Colege; and 4. St Kabir College, Kauli Geet/Ghazal: 1. Punjabi University; 2. State College of Education Classical Dance: 1. Punjabi University; 2. GCG Group shabad: 1. Punjabi University; 2. Khalsa College.
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Diploma engineers on mass casual leave from today
Patiala, October 17 As per the information, employees of Irrigation Department, Public Works Department (PWD), PUDA, Improvement Trusts, Panchayati Raj, Tubewell Corporation, Municipal bodies, Punjab Mandi Board and Public Health Department will take part in the protest. Representatives of the Diploma Engineers Association Punjab said they were compelled to adopt the path of protest demonstrations in the wake of fact that the state government has shown no concern towards their long-pending demands. Association president Amrinder Singh Dhillon said even some of the demands were accepted by the state government but till date, notification had not been issued for the implementation of the same. "Our main demands include Rs 7880-Rs 13500 pay scale after eight years of service and 30-litre petrol per month as local travel allowance. Both these demands have been accepted by the state government in principle but notification to this effect has not been issued so far", he rued. Other Association leaders stated that on October 21, they would stage a massive protest demonstration
in Chandigarh.
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Police remand for Badal’s former OSD
Mohali, October 17 He along with Kanwaljit Singh of Wimpy International; Krishan Kumar, personal assistant to Sukhbir Singh Badal; and two others Ashism Kapoor and Pinky Grover, were declared POs after they failed to appear before the court in the high-profile disproportionate assets case against the Badals. Interestingly, after the Badals were acquitted in the disproportionate assets case, the Vigilance Bureau had sought the discharge of five aides who had been declared POs. But Mohali Special Judge Rajinder Aggarwal today declined to discharge the five aides of the Badals who had been declared proclaimed offender (PO) during the trial of the case.
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End strike or you will be sacked, SSA workers told
Patiala, October 17 One of the teachers in the head office informed that agitated by their strike, the DGSE has written a letter to all employees in the head office asking them to resume the services at the earliest or they would be terminated. Earlier, he had also issued letters to the District Education Officers and ordered them to prepare a list of the workers who were on strike. In a meeting with representatives of these employees today, the DGSE has allegedly refused to accept their demand stating that he would not try to convince them further and would terminate them straightaway. Taking to The Tribune, one of the employees said rather than accepting our demands, the government was threatening the workers but we would not be intimidated by their actions. "They have started targeting the workers. The ones sitting in the head office are being threatened so that they would end the strike and then they could put pressure on us as well.Moreover, they have also instructed the DEOs to deduct our salaries if we don’t end the strike," he added. These employees have been on pen-down strike since October 10 in the wake of non-acceptance of their demands regarding regularisation of their services and increase in the pay scales.
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Teachers lament new ACP policy
Patiala, October 17 Earlier, a teacher was eligible for increment on account of the service of 8-16-24-32 years and even if a person was promoted after availing three increments, he could still get an increment if he had a few years of service according to the same progression scheme. The scheme was replaced by 4-9-14 years on January 1, 1996, which was beneficial, as the teachers would get three benefits in 14 years instead of two in 16 years. The decision has not gone down well with the teachers who stated that many of them had a service of over 30 years, which actually meant that they could avail six or more increments as per the older method.
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Air pollution acquires alarming proportions in
Ludhiana: PPCB
Patiala, October 17 "The ambient air quality samples were collected from Bus Stand, Bharat Nagar Chowk, Jagraon Bridge, Samrala Chowk and Dholewal Chowk for a duration of 24 hours", Pannu said. Giving details, he said at the Bus Stand monitoring point, the particulate matter was as high as 296 µgm/m3 during day time and 95 µgm/m3 during night hours (2 am to 8 am). "Thorough study brought to light that when there is no traffic, the ambient air quality was much better and within the National Ambient Air Quality Standard of 100 µgm/m3", he added. Board chairman further said the maximum level of particulate matter at Jagraon Bridge, Bharat Nagar Chowk, Samrala Chowk and Dholewal Chowk were 348 µgm/m3, 276 µgm/m3, 319 µgm/m3 and 280 µgm/m3, respectively, while the minimum levels were 194 µgm/m3, 190 µgm/m3, 210 µgm/m3 and 188 µgm/m3, respectively, during the time when there is very less traffic. He said traffic congestion in Ludhiana city was leading to the rise of ambient air pollutants and the study conducted by the PPCB has established these facts. "To reduce the contribution of vehicular pollution, traffic from the main GT Road is required to be diverted through bypass on Sidhwan Canal to various destinations, which would reduce the traffic load on the city", he said. Pannu said the vehicles which are more than 15-year-old and have already outlived their lives are required to be taken off the roads to improve the ambient air quality of the city. He added, "Strict measures are required to be taken to check the emission levels of other vehicles by improving the system of certification by Pollution Under Check (PUC) centres. The board will write to authorities concerned for taking necessary action in this regard", he said.
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Now, HC says it’s wrong to abolish lambardar’s post
Chandigarh, October 17
Justice Mehinder Singh Sullar asserted: “The courts do not have the power/jurisdiction to direct the state government to amend the Act/relevant rules to abolish the age-old very important institution of the lambardar and to further amend the other relevant Acts to assign the duties to the Panchayati Raj Act/Institutions in this relevant connection.” Justice Sullar said: “The erstwhile State of Punjab, including Haryana, is essentially an agricultural state, one and half of which is tilled by peasants/landowners…. The bulk of the population of Punjab consists of landowners and their dependents…. “Keeping in view the peasantry in Punjab, the government machinery has been supplemented by the representatives of the landowners/inhabitants of the locality in the shape of village headman - lambardar. Justice Alok Singh had earlier asserted the lambardars were involved in identifying imposters substituting for dead or real landowners and were a burden on the state exchequer. “This is high time when the government should consider the desirability to abolish the posts of lambardars within the states of Punjab and Haryana,” he had added.
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Sarpanch assaults teacher, smears
his face black
Lambi (Muktsar),
October 17 The sarpanch, Baljit Singh Bitta, was annoyed with the teacher for allegedly gossiping about his illicit relations with the owner of a beauty parlour in the village. The teacher was rescued only after some boxing coaches from an adjoining village and a large number of Mohlan residents objected to the inhuman behaviour of the sarpanch. As the sarpanch and his supporters were undaunted by the objections, the villagers attacked their vehicles. While one of the two cars was set on fire, the residents pushed the other into a village pond. The police has registered a case against Bitta, Rajinder Titu and five others, including a woman, said Gursewak Singh, SHO, Kabarwala police station. “Even as Bitta has a criminal track record, he has been the unopposed sarpanch of the village for the past 15 years due to his close proximity to a senior SAD leader,” alleged Rakesh Dhingra, president of the Muktsar district BJP. Dhingra is also a resident of Mohlan village.
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Patiala, October 17
According to latest figures, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has almost 20 days of coal left in its stock. 
Talking to mediapersons at the PPCB Patiala headquarters, Board chairman KS Pannu said ambient air samples from the five most congested areas of the city were taken to study the vehicular pollution levels.