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PAU ready with new paddy variety
Gurdwara in US vandalised;
Takht wants stern action
Fazilka flood-hit get paise 53 as relief!
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Pair of jeans found in slain DSP’s car may lead to killers
Chaos rules Patiala roads
Govt likely to get lab report next month
Left ideology necessary: Swedish writer
Fellowship for science city head
NRI panel issues notice to MEA
Sukhi Chahal case
Army gears up to combat cyber security threat
Small currency notes fetch high premium
Moga sees 1,000 cancer deaths in a decade
Fiscal repair top priority, says PCC chief Teenaged girl among 3 killed in mishaps
HC stay on DGSMC polls
Petition on SGPC affairs adjourned
Bullet in jaw, man drives to hospital
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PAU ready with new paddy variety
Chandigarh, February 8
The PAU 201 variety, which was accepted by farmers with much enthusiasm as it promised handsome returns with a yield of up to 40 quintals per acre, was rejected at the marketing level two years ago, forcing the state government to stop its transplantation. The Central Government refused to accept the rice prepared from this variety as the grain was discoloured with black spots. “The new variety is of short duration. That means it will consume less water, which is the need of the hour in this region. It is high-yielding and resistant to various diseases”, said Jagtar Singh Dhiman, Additional Director, Communications, Punjab Agricultural University. The university is also working on some non-Bt hybrid varieties of cotton and maize. The university was set up in 1962. In its 50th year of existence, the university, that has its roots in Punjab Agriculture College, Lyallpur(now Faisalabad in Pakistan) from where classes were shifted to Khalsa College, Amritsar, in 1947 after Partition, plans to bring about a shift in its over-all activities. “As part of its year-long Golden Jubilee celebrations, we have planned conferences, seminars and farmers’ conventions,” said Dr Dhillon. The university’s contribution towards making India self-sufficient in food production is well-known the world over. Talking about the shift in focus, Dr Dhillon said the changing climatic pattern posed a challenge to the university. “The university will focus on conservation of natural resources such as the subsoil water, processing of foodgrain, new technologies and generation of bio-energy like bio-fuels from crops”, Dr Dhillon added.
Vibha Sharma Saddled with huge quantities of holdover stock, representatives of the two states, at a conference of Food and Agriculture Ministers and Secretaries today, demanded immediate movement of wheat stock from the states before procurement for the ongoing season begins. “The FCI should be directed to ensure the movement of at least 10 lakh tonnes of wheat and three lakh tonnes of rice per month from the state,” Haryana Food and Civil Supplies Minister Mahendra Pratap Singh said. The two key grain producing states are holding huge quantities of carry-over stocks from last year. Punjab has had to carry over a wheat stock of 53 lakh tonnes of which 20 lakh tonnes to 30 lakh tonnes is in unscientific storage, state Food and Civil Secretary DS Garewal said, demanding immediate movement of holdover grain out of the state. “Procurement agencies in Haryana are holding a stock of 66. 79 lakh tonnes of wheat and 12.54 lakh tonnes of rice against the covered storage capacity of 48.55 lakh tonnes,” the state minister said, adding that 68 per cent (48.42 lakh tonnes) of wheat was lying in the open. Punjab is expected to procure 110 lakh tonnes of wheat this season and Haryana 70 lakh tonnes. The existing and procured stocks are expected to be the highest-ever, especially in Haryana. Punjab also raised the issue of its depleting groundwater, demanding more funds for research institutions like Punjab Agricultural University, which, the officials said, was starved of funds. Agriculture Secretary VK Sharma said the Centre should compensate Punjab for the depleting groundwater and give adequate financial support to the agricultural university for develing technological support to further improve quality production of grain. Punjab demanded not just a “lucrative” but “remunerative” minimum support price commensurate with the market rates. Punjab also sought that the centrally sponsored National Food Security Mission (for wheat) be extended to all districts and the scheme for rice be operationalised in the state before the enactment of the Food Security Bill.
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Gurdwara in US vandalised;
Takht wants stern action
Washington/Amritsar,
February 8 The graffiti included vulgar language, racial epithets, a large drawing of a gun and references to the 9/11 attacks, the Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund said. It urged the authorities to initiate a hate crime probe into the matter. The vandalism was condemned by the Michigan chapters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the American Jewish Committee. "We condemn the vandalism of the Sikh house of worship in Sterling Heights and call on local and federal law enforcement to use their full resources to apprehend the perpetrators of this hate crime," said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Muslim Council. In Amritsar, the Akal Takht Jathedar, Giani Gurbachan Singh, on Wednesday sought stringent punishment for those responsible for vandalising the
gurdwara. “I appeal to members of the Sikh community as well as the Muslims to maintain peace and harmony. They should not get provoked, but togeteher make efforts to identify those behind the incident,” he said. The Jathedar urged the US Administration to zero in on the culprits and initiate strict action against them as per the law. SGPC secretary Dalmegh Singh said gurdwaras were a symbol of pluralism and misusing their premises to abuse any religion was condemnable. Dal Khalsa leader Kanwar Pal Singh said: “We are pained to see the Sikh community being repeatedly targeted in the US and other countries in one way or the other. “We urge the Obama Administration to use its resources to apprehend the perpetrators of this crime.”
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Fazilka flood-hit get paise 53 as relief!
Fazilka, February 8 Shocked “beneficiaries” said even beggars did not accept 50 paise in alms. While Chiman Singh of Tahliwala Bodla village has been awarded paise 53, Shanti Devi, wife of Kottu Ram, has been given Rs 10. 67. A compensation of Rs 12.58 each is to be paid to three members of Dalip Kumar’s family, also from Tahliwala Bodla. Surain Singh, panchayat member of Tahliwala, said the government officials who had worked out such meagre compensation should be taken to task. “The entire cotton crop (on four acres) of the late Chiman Singh, who has been compensated with paise 53, was washed away, he said. “We fail to understand the basis on which the compensation has been awarded,” said another disappointed villager. Official sources said a compensation of up to Rs 500 per head had been given in over 250 cases. An officer who disbursed the compensation cheques, pleading anonymity, said some beneficiaries had refused to accept the cheques, saying they did not want to be humiliated. “Most of them said that encashing such petty amount will entail expenses more than the compensation amount.” The official said they had orders that in case a beneficiary refused to accept the compensation sum, the same be deposited with the government treasury. “In most cases, a small land-holding is in the name of several persons. Hence, the paltry compensation amount,” explained Fazilka tehsildar Atam Singh. He said a total amount of Rs 12,22,52,400 had been disbursed among the flood-hit. Out of this amount, Rs 6, 12,81,400 was to be paid for full or partial damage to houses and the rest on account of damaged crops in Fazilka subdivision.
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Pair of jeans found in slain DSP’s car may lead to killers
Ludhiana, January 8 These were found in the DSP's Chevrolet that was found abandoned in Balloke village, near here, on Sunday night. The police, that launched a combing operation in nearby villages, including Balloke, Noorpur Bet and Hambran, reportedly detained some youths with a criminal background. Each of them were made to try the jeans. The police is reportedly questioning some youths with fresh injuries on the feet and hands. “The cell location and time is helping us reconstruct the crime scene. It seems the killers attacked Monica and the DSP at the entrance of the farmhouse. It would have taken at least 20 minutes for the assailants to murder the duo,” said a police officer investigating the case. He said had the DSP’s friends, Sanjay Agnihotri , Narinderpal Singh and an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), sounded an alert in time, the killers could have been possibly nabbed. The three had got to know about the murders at 9.30pm but chose to keep mum sitting. Monica last spoke to her daughter at 6.15pm to inform her she would be home in 20 minutes. DCP Ashish Choudhary said: “We will soon crack the case.” Villagers complained that the police was unnecessarily harassing their young children. Sources said 40 youths had been picked up for questioning.
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Chaos rules Patiala roads
Patiala, February 8 Traffic bottlenecks, lack of planning by the traffic police and non-functional traffic lights have been adding to the woes of commuters and city residents. "Near the Surya Complex roundabout, the police puts barricades in the middle of the road and officer on duty parks his vehicle in the middle of the road and issues challans to commuters", said Amanpreet Singh, a college student. Meanwhile, the city police has no plan for the Fountain Chowk roundabout, where they have placed temporary barricades that cause inconvenience to numerous commuters who are caught in long vehicular queues. "Every afternoon, school children are caught in jams that sometimes stretch for over an hour and policemen deputed in the area can be seen either challaning
vehicles or sipping a cup of tea", said Harkrishan Mandora, an employee with a private firm. In this regard, police officials say that due to shortage of staff with the traffic wing, they find it difficult to depute more cops, but the same force manages
everything smoothly during VIP visit. "We will surely look into the matter and ensure that the problem is solved at the earliest", claimed Patiala traffic in-charge Achru Ram. "The naka near Surya Complex is held by the Model Town police post, but I will ensure that they follow the norms and do not create hindrance for commuters and if needed be, we will challan them as well", he added. Model Town police post in-charge Rajesh Malhotra said that he would educate his staff not to park his vehicle in a wrong manner. "If he is parking his vehicle wrongly, we would surely not allow that to happen", he said. Traffic jams near the Patiala railway station and the bus stand leave the passengers in a lurch. The problem is getting worse with each passing day due to haphazard parking of fruit stall and vegetable vendors, who have occupied almost half of the road. The problem is the same, near the railway station, bus stand, YPS
Chowk, Leela Bhawan and Bhupindra Road. Senior traffic officials were not available to comment.
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Govt likely to get lab report next month
Patiala, February 8 Satish Chandra, Principal Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, said that the high-powered committee headed by Director Dr JP Singh, which was investigating the case, had taken 124 samples during its investigation. "Though, we had sent all the samples to the Gaziabad lab, but there was certain delay in making payment to the lab due to some departmental changes. Now, we have made the payment and the report would be out in the first week of March," he added. He further said that the reports, which were received a couple of days back, were from some private labs of just a few samples. On non-existence of the firm that supplied sesame oil, he said, "We have nothing to do with firms from which the suppliers buy items, but we certainly keep a check on the quality of items being provided to us,” added Chandra.
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Left ideology necessary: Swedish writer
Ludhiana, February 8 "India has been witnessing extreme social conflicts. The danger lies in the urban population not understanding the situation," he said during his visit to Ludhiana today. Rooting for alternative models of development, he said if the only way to development was to drive people away from their land, it was nothing short of tragic. Between violence and non-violence, he considers violence to be inherent in Indian society. "Indians have never been a non-violent people. It's not that the people here have a proclivity for violence. It's only that they may be forced to resort to violence which, I understand, is not the only way to handle any situation." Elaborating on the dynamics of power struggle, he said rape was not an expression of male lust. "Rape, particularly in the context of the have-nots, has more to do with crushing the people into submission". Myrdal's skepticism of the information at the click of the mouse was evident when he said Internet misinformed and misinterpreted the facts. "It's wrong to say that I was not close to my parents Alva Myrdal and Gunnar Myrdal, both Nobel laureates. But we did have divergent views during the Vietnam War. Also, it's a gross misrepresentation of facts to say that I'm homophobic." As a thinker who has let his travels across Asia and Europe shape his worldview, he feels that it was his visit to India way back in 1958 that made him immune to all forms of culture shock. Wary of doling out any advice or offering any suggestion, he said it smacked of the old imperialist notion of giving directions to the subjugated country. "It's like the Left from other countries telling the Indian communists what to do," said the Marxist writer who in 2010 had interviewed Ganpaty, the general secretary of CPI (Maoist), in the jungles of the Eastern
Ghats.
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Fellowship for science city head
Chandigarh, February 8 According to a release here, Dr Khandpur is a former Director General of Centres for Electronic Design Technology, Ministry of Information Technology, and founder Director of C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, Mohali). Before that he was Head of Medical Instrumentation Division in the CSIO, Chandigarh. The release said Dr Khandpur has steered the development of the Science City, Kapurthala, from scratch and has made it an international level science centre .
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NRI panel issues notice to MEA
Chandigarh, February 8 The bench of the Commission, comprising Chairperson Justice Arvind Kumar (retd), Members VK Bhawra and Jagtar Singh, today issued notice on a complaint filed by Preeti Rajwanshi, who alleged that her father Naveen Kumar Rajvanshi and 117 others had been employed by M/s Global Steel Holding Limited in India and posted to work in Delta Steel Co located in Warry in Nigeria in 2005. The complaint was annexed with another complaint made by the 117 India expatriate staff of the Delta Steel Company, Nigeria. The complaint had been made to NRI Sabha, Jalandhar, Punjab, that had sent it to the Commissioner, NRI Affairs, Punjab, who in return had forwarded it to the Commission for necessary disposal. In the complaint, she said there was no provision of medical facilities for such employees and not possible for them to return back to India in absence of payment of their salary and other dues. "They have been kept as bonded labour by the company and there is serious danger to their life and liberty," she alleged. The Commission ruled that the legal as well as human rights of the employees had been violated. It said it could not remain a mute spectator after receiving a complaint containing such serious allegations. It held that the allegations jeopardised the "Right to Life" enshrined by Article 21 of the Constitution of India, to its citizens. The Commission also issued notice to Delta Steel Company, Warri, Nigeria, through Ministry of External Affairs and counterpart companies in India of the Delta Steel Company and its chairman and vice-president.
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Sukhi Chahal case
Ludhiana, Feburary 8 This fact came into light during the hearing Sukhi's bail application before the court of Additional Sessions Judge Karamjit Singh Kang. Sukhi's lawyer Harpreet Sandhu placed on record an affidavit by the former minister stating that he had no objection in case bail was granted to the accused. The bail plea would now come up for hearing on Feburary 13. Earlier, Chief Judicial Magistrate Balwinder Kumar Sharma had dismissed Sukhi's bail application on January 27.
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Army gears up to combat cyber security threat
Ferozepur, February 8 In this connection, the Golden Arrow Division of the Indian Army conducted a two-day training workshop to acquaint its officer and men regarding cyber security issues and the looming threats of hacking of its vital data. The event concluded here at Mamdot hall in the cantonment area. In this workshop organised by the Barki Brigade, senior officials from the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) and Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) gave a detailed talk on cyber technology, cyber security threats, type of cyber attacks and various methods adopted by hackers and anti-national elements to extract vital military information. In his inaugural address, Maj-Gen RK Sharma, General Officer Commanding (GOC), emphasised the need for a constant vigil and alertness to prevent hacking of important information. The GOC said the aim of organising this workshop was to increase awareness among the officers and troops about cyber security issues and its consequences. Anil Sagar, Director (Operations), from the Department of Information and Technology (MCIT) sensitised the officers, JCOs and ORs on the cyber security issues. He also gave a talk about the actions carried out by CERT to handle such threats. SS Sharma, Director, CERT, spoke about the threats to the Army networks and measures needed to counter the same. Army officials lauded efforts of the CERT team which also gave a live demonstration of the hacking capabilities. Senior Army officials said the CERT team was able to provide in-depth knowledge of the prevailing cyber security concerns at the national and international levels. The workshop concluded with a question-answer session where the audience showed a keen interest to update their knowledge on various such issues. Another official said, "The workshop was really educative," adding that it was high time that the armed forces should adopt requisite defensive measures imperative to prevent hacking of its data.
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Small currency notes fetch high premium
Muktsar, February 8 Since there is a tradition of using garlands made of currency notes in weddings, small time traders are pinning up "rare" currency notes to make such garlands for selling at exorbitant prices. Ironically, in the absence of any check on the sale of these currency notes and garlands made from it, those indulged in the trade are making a good money. The black-marketing of new currency notes of smaller denominations is at an all-time high this wedding season in Punjab. For instance, 100 fresh currency notes of Re 1 denomination are available for Rs 3,000, which means each currency note is selling for 30 times more than its actual price. Similarly, 100 fresh notes of Rs 2 are available for Rs 2,000, which means one note is available for Rs 20. Giving a reason behind the high price, a general store owner in Sadar Bazar here said, "A large number of people come to us to get garlands of currency notes during the wedding season and they prefer currency notes of all denominations to be tagged in the garland. Since the notes of Re 1 and Rs 2 are rarely available, the customer easily gets ready to pay 20 to 30 times more than the actual price". He added that new currency notes of Rs 5 denomination were also rarely available these days and price for 100 notes varied between Rs 4,000 and Rs 5,000. However, the price of currency notes of Rs 10 and Rs 20 is much less as these are easily available. "We charge Rs 70 extra from a customer for 100 currency notes of Rs 10 and 20, which means Rs 1,070 and Rs 2,070, respectively," said a shopkeeper at the Bank Road here. He added that the currency notes of Rs 50 and Rs 100 were also available in the black-market. "For 100 notes of Rs 50, one has to shell out Rs 5,150 while the price of a bundle of Rs 100 notes costs Rs 11,150," he added. He, however, added, "It doesn't mean we are pocketing the entire margin. We get new notes from suppliers in the metro cities after paying them a premium". Harsh Bansal, SSP Muktsar, expressed ignorance by saying, "We have not received any complaint in this regard. But, we will definitely check if there is any kind of black-marketing of fresh currency notes in the market."
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Moga sees 1,000 cancer deaths in a decade
Moga, February 8 Cancer casualty More than 1,000 people have died of cancer in the district in the past 10 years. Besides, a large population is facing serious health problems like kidney ailments, eye problems, infertility in human beings/animals etc. The figure of 793 deaths from 2001 to 2009 is available with the Health Department here. Senior health officials revealed that at least 250 persons have died of cancer in the past two years, although a survey in this regard is yet to be conducted by the department. Crop variety shrinks Dr Jaswinder Singh Brar, an agro-scientist, says though the Green Revolution led to an increase in the production of food grains in this area, the variety of farm produce has dwindled considerably. Mechanised farming coupled with the use of toxic compounds and chemical fertilisers for maintaining the non-resistant hybrid crop breeds have affected the biodiversity and poisoned the surroundings through overuse of insecticides, starved the soil of natural nutrients and reduced the green cover around the villages. Waste management Despite visible signs of "development" in terms of power supply, construction of roads, opening of new schools/colleges and healthcare centres; garbage and filth still cling to the streets around the houses in the absence of appropriate disposal of household garbage. It's sorry state of affairs that even after 64 years of the independence, none of the towns and villages in this district, including the district headquarters, have a solid waste or waste water treatment plant. The successive governments, both at the Centre and the state, have made no serious efforts on health concerns. They just kept "forcing" the farmers to produce wheat and rice, as a result hundreds of ponds have dried up, water table has gone down, trees have been uprooted and drains devoured by encroachers. Uranium in water The underground water is unfit for human consumption as it contains total dissolved solids in the range of 15,000-35,000 mg per litre as against the BIS standards of 0-500 mg per litre in most parts of the district. "The rural folks are more at the risk of suffering from water-borne diseases," said Dr Navdeep Brar, ayurvedic medical officer at a district hospital here. The health authorities recently took 373 samples of potable water from various locations, out of these, 177 failed were declared unfit for human consumption. As per a recent study of the Central Groundwater Board, the chemical quality of water from shallow aquifers indicates that the groundwater in Moga district is fresh to marginally saline. Fluoride concentration is also higher than permissible limit in most of the areas. Iron concentrations have been found in shallow groundwater at some places to be higher than permissible limits. The combined effect of toxicity and salinity hazard has been reported to be alarming in parts of Moga-II and Baghapurana blocks. A team of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) recently collected samples of underground water from Moga town, in which 124.7 microns of uranium per liter were found as against the normal level of 60 microns per litre. Uranium traces have also been found in 66 villages out of 177 villages, the samples of which were collected by the water supply and sanitation department. Cattle at risk too The traces of uranium and fluoride coupled with sodacity and salinity also affect the health of cattle. "The high toxicity in water and environment affects the overall health of animals and the milk yield goes down," said Dr PC Mittal, Joint Director, Animal Husbandry Department. Adding that no proper study regarding the affects of uranium, pesticides, fertilisers, fluoride and other toxins on cattle through water and environment had been conducted, he said a proper study on this issue could help save the animals from such risks.
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Fiscal repair top priority, says PCC chief Chandigarh, February 8 Reports of a possible hung assembly or the SAD-BJP alliance being in a position to form the next government again has failed to deter him. "We will talk on March 6. The Akalis are trying to cause confusion because if they concede defeat, they will have no moral right to remain in office for the next four weeks". As the Union Budget is expected to be announced on March 16, after the poll results in Punjab (March 6) , Amarinder will be trying to obtain central funding for some projects in Punjab. He plans to meet the Finamce Minister to work out financial rehabilitation of the state. "Without proper and adequate finances, we can't move forward", he said. While many candidates are still recuperating from poll fatigue, Amarinder has started working on a "blueprint for governance". He is, perhaps, emboldened by the fact that several officials have been approaching him for different positions. They hope to be included in the core group of policy-makers if the Congress manages to win at least 60 seats. Amarinder seems to have certainly won the first round, having been declared the CM-candidate. Had this not been done, he would have been lobbying for the post. Now, he is identifying persons he can trust if the Congress emerges victorious. "All surveys and intelligence reports, both from the Centre as and the state, are giving us more than 70 seats", he told The Tribune before flying off to Delhi, adding, "even the grassroots feedback corroborates that figure". The PCC president said he was concerned about the state's finances. "The coffers are empty and there are bills worth Rs 1,600 crore pending... The government has no money to even pay employees of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana."
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Teenaged girl among 3 killed in mishaps Hoshiarpur, February 8 In another accident, industrial labourer identified as Raja Ram, son of Bal Karan of Ajamgarh, presently residing at Nasrala, succumbed to his injuries at local Civil Hospital last night. Police sources said that an unknown vehicle hit him while he was crossing the road near Nasrala last evening. He was admitted to Civil Hospital where he breathed his last. Bacho Maji, son of Jagdev Maji of Lokaria in Bihar, presently residing at Bhulpur village, succumbed to his injuries at local Civil Hospital last evening. Bacho Maji went to the market to purchase some domestic goods on February 6. On the way some unknown vehicle hit him. He was seriously injured in the accident and was admitted to Civil Hospital, Tanda, where he succumbed to his injuries.— OC
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amritsar
Amritsar, February 8 Subeg worked as a hawker with a mini bus operator. Last evening when he was returning home from a kutcha lane, suddenly seven to eight dogs attacked and bit him to death. Minor among three killed in road mishaps
Amritsar, February 8 In another incident, a 17-year-old girl, Mandeep Kaur, was killed when a speeding truck hit her scooter. She was on her way to her tuition classes. jalandhar Woman jumps into
sarovar, saved
The woman, identified as Rupinder Kaur, resident of Panjpeer locality here, is said to be under mental stress. This is the second time that the woman jumped in the same "sarovar" to commit suicide. Passports of 70 NRIs impounded
Jalandhar, February 8 According to information, as many as 250 complaints have been received against NRIs at the Women Grievances Cell of the RPO since March last year. Perneet Singh said the passports of only those NRIs were impounded against whom their wives had also lodged FIRs of cheating under Section 420 of the IPC. ludhiana First flight in 10 days as weather clears up
Ludhiana, February 8 Three child labourers rescued from factory
Ludhiana, February 8 The SDM (West), KPS Mahi, said the raids were conducted under the supervision of JS Bhatti, Deputy Director, Factories. The raids were conducted at a T-shirt manufacturing unit. bathinda Architecture students design journal
The magazine was prepared under guidance of head of the architecture department Ranjeet Kaur and faculty editor Ripu Daman Singh and students' editorial team, comprising Bhawna Jaimini, Mandeep Singh Dhillon, Jasveen Sidhu, Aviral Sinha, Namrata Deol and Samarth Srivastava. Continuous evaluation irks teachers, students
Bathinda, February 8 Under the system, it is mandatory for the teachers to review every student on a weekly basis and then on a monthly basis. This translates into weekly tests and monthly tests. The government schoolteachers reason that at times, students in the rural areas do not come to school for days together. "In such a situation, how can we assess the students on a weekly basis? The RTE does not allow failing a student till class VIII and in many cases, children do not have the knowledge as per the classes they are studying in," said a teacher. The teachers said while the move was meant to empower the faculty and make studying a continuous process (rather than an annual event in case of annual exams) for students, it had failed to serve its purpose. "Instead, the children feel overburdened while we are caught in a lot of non-academic work," said another teacher.
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HC stay on DGSMC polls
Amritsar, February 8 Talking to The Tribune today, Sarna said, "We will take up the matter with the Delhi government tomorrow and find out whether it is appealing against the stay before taking a final call on our future strategy. In the meantime, we are seeking legal opinion on the judgment and our lawyers are preparing ground for filing an appeal against the stay". When asked about the ground on which the DSGMC would be filing the appeal, Sarna said, "The DSGMC House has already completed its term and any attempt to carry out delimitation process will further delay the polls. It would mean depriving members of the Sikh community of electing their new representatives". He also raised a question mark over the timing of the petition that resulted in the stay. "Was the petitioner sleeping? Why he didn't raise these issues earlier?" he wondered. He also lashed out at the SAD for allegedly adopting double standards. "When it suited the SAD, it allowed even the migrants to vote in the SGPC elections and now when it came to the DSGMC elections, it wants photo ID cards of the voters," he said, while reiterating his charge about the petitioner's link with the SAD. Meanwhile, the SAD seems to be treading with caution. SAD Secretary Dr Daljeet Singh Cheema said the party was studying the judgment at present. He accused the Delhi government of being "hand in glove" with Sarna in this entire episode. "If the voters' lists were incomplete, how it is possible that the government wasn't aware about it," he asked. The Delhi High Court had yesterday granted a stay on the DSGMC polls following a petition filed by Harmohan Singh. "The elections on the basis of incomplete list of voters and without delimitation of wards will cause unfair representation of the member from each ward," the petitioner had said.
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Petition on SGPC affairs adjourned Chandigarh, February 8 The petition was, in fact, adjourned by the Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi as the matter was pending adjudication before the SC. Just about a month after the Full Bench of the HC had quashed the notification debarring the Sehajdhari Sikhs from voting in the SGPC polls, a petition was filed for appointing an administrator for managing the SGPC affairs. The petition says the recently held SGPC elections have become null and void following the Full Bench judgment. As such, an administrator was required to be appointed to look after the day-to-day affairs of the SGPC. The petition has been filed by the Sehajdhari Sikh Party. Counsel Sandeep Khunger asserted: "As the election held on September 18, 2011, was subject to the final outcome of the writ petition and now the Full Bench has allowed the writ petition and has quashed the notification dated October 8, 2003, consequently the election has become non-est and nullity”. — TNS
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Bullet in jaw, man drives to hospital
Nawanshahar, Jalandhar 8 A lucky Rakesh Kumar dodged death for the second time. He had survived an accident 19 years ago when the truck he was travelling in met with an accident, killing all occupants except him. His mother was among those killed in the accident. The Nawanshahr police has arrested four persons, including three ‘supari killers’, for attempted murder. They have been identified as Lavinder Singh, alias Binder Singh, a contractor and a resident of Sarabha Nagar in Phagwara, Ranjit Singh, a resident of Baveli village in Kapurthala district, Jaspal Singh, alias Pal, a resident of Maherna village near Mandi Ahmedgarh in Sangrur, and Kuljit Singh, alias Bhalu, of Khan Sahib village near Amloh in Fatehgarh Sahib. A country-made pistol, five live cartridges, a truck and an Alto car used in the crime and cash totalling Rs 50,000 have been recovered from the accused. Rakesh Kumar is under treatment at the PGI in
Chandigarh.
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Seven days after the Moga DSP Balraj Singh Gill and a woman were found done to death in a farmhouse on the outskirts of the city, the police said it had recovered a pair of jeans suspected to be those of the killer.
These were found in the DSP's Chevrolet that was found abandoned in Balloke village, near here, on Sunday night. The police, that launched a combing operation in nearby villages, including
Balloke, Noorpur Bet and Hambran, reportedly detained some youths with a criminal background. Each of them were made to try the jeans.
Following lackadaisical attitude and lack of planning by the district police traffic wing, thousands of people travelling on city roads are caught in long traffic jams everyday. While the police has celebrated numerous traffic weeks and held awareness functions, they have failed to plan a map for the city traffic.
Dr Baldev Singh Dhillon, Vice Chancellor, said: “The new paddy variety will be released to farmers for adaptive trials this year. After evaluation of trials by the university’s technical committee, it will be released to farmers for mass production.” 
New Delhi, February 8
Jalandhar, February 8
Bathinda, February 8
He claimed that he had adequate proof to establish that the petitioner had links with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). "Moreover, the petitioner's advocate is also close to the Badals and had been contesting cases for them in the past," he alleged. Sarna further charged that the decision to get a stay on the DSGMC polls was reached in the core committee meeting of the SAD held in Chandigarh on February 5. "The SAD foresaw its defeat and resorted to the legal recourse to avoid the same," he alleged.