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Remove all controversial objects from Op Bluestar memorial: BJP
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Only 50% licensed arms deposited so far
SAD role in rejection of nominations, says Bhattal
2 CPI candidates complain against returning officer
BJP goes all out in Pathankot dist
Congress to Centre: Revoke law officer’s appointment
Bhaniarawala sentence today
Sharif’s ancestral village hopes for better Indo-Pak ties
Govt announces 40% subsidy on solar pumps
Fall in wheat yield, courtesy March rain
Faridkot jail staff want better medical care for addicts
Prisoners can expect a good cup of tea
Canadian film-maker to trace roots of Sikh immigrants
Damage to SLIET campus pegged at Rs 12 crore
Ropar admn faces acute staff crunch
Medical officials threaten stir
PSPCL officials oppose setting up of trading company
Hundreds participate in Sangrur marathon
Lecturers flay varsity for abolishing semester system
Inter-state robbers’ gang busted
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Remove all controversial objects from Op Bluestar memorial: BJP
Bathinda, May 12
Sharma said following objections raised by the BJP, the SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee) had got some of the objects removed but a few inscriptions continued to be there on marble slabs. He said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had set up a committee for the purpose, “but a few radicals were trying to create hurdles”. “A handful of radicals are trying to keep alive their provocative agenda, which had reversed Punjab’s growth during the dark days of terrorism. Radicals are detrimental to the interests of not only Punjab but the entire country. Our state has already paid a heavy price for the decade-long violence,” he said. Sharma claimed a phase of development had been launched in Punjab by the coalition government and the last assembly elections were fought on that (development) agenda itself. On the “differences” between the coalition partners, he said district-level coordination committees of both the parties would meet in case there were any such issues. “The SAD is a trusted ally of the BJP and both the parties will unitedly contest the next Lok Sabha elections,” he said. On elections to panchayati raj institutions, he said the BJP had reached a seat-sharing formula in most parts of the state. But, he affirmed, there were seats where BJP nominees were pitted against those of the SAD. “The BJP has won unopposed a zila parishad and 14 panchayat samiti seats, indicating the party is establishing its roots in rural areas of the state,” he claimed. Sharma claimed the Congress rank and file was demoralised, as a result of which they were “circulating fabricated stories of attack on their activists”. “The peasantry is annoyed with the Congress for the move by its central leadership to levy wealth tax on farmers,” he added.
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Despite ‘pressure’, Cong
trying to put up fight
Patiala, May 12 PPCC president Partap Singh Bajwa is also likely to visit Patiala villages in the coming few days. Sources said in Samana, Rural Development Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra's constituency, no senior Congress leader had camped for the past some time, leaving the party candidates in a fix. In certain villages, Congress candidates are even reluctant to put up party flags or posters. A visit to villages in Samana revealed that SAD flags and other poll material dominated the election scene. In certain villages, local SAD workers have been openly declaring their victory even before polling, claiming that the development of villages can only be possible if SAD candidates win. In Patiala, many Congress leaders have alleged SAD candidates supported by the police are threatening them to withdraw from the election process. "Congress workers are facing a tough time. Who will come to our rescue if we are attacked?" questioned a former Congress sarpanch in Sanaur. Congress Patiala (rural) MLA Brahm Mohindra said: "I have been camping in my constituency for the past many days. We are making sure that our candidates do not feel threatened. To infuse confidence among party workers, some of our senior leaders should have been more active. But in many constituencies, our candidates and workers have been left to fend for themselves". He said in certain villages of Samana, the Congress cadre was completely demoralised. Hardyal Kambhoj claimed senior party leaders would make sure that a majority of the villages were covered. "Preneet Kaur will be in Patiala till the election process is over. Despite SAD using unfair means to win the elections, we will give them a tough fight," he said. Low morale
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Only 50% licensed arms deposited so far
Chandigarh, May 12 Police sources said in Tarn Taran district, only 6,304 licence holders had deposited their weapons out of 12,014 till Friday evening. CS Reddy, ADGP, said announcements were being made in villages ever since the notification of the elections had been made. People were being told to deposit their weapons as part of the poll process, he said. In view of violent incidents ahead of the elections on May 19, people are reportedly reluctant to deposit their weapons. "We have procured an arms licence to protect ourselves. We need our arms since there are chances of violence during the elections. We will use our weapons only to protect ourselves. Moreover, if licensed firearms are misused, its owner is bound to be penalised," said Maninder Singh, a farmer from Jhabewal village in Ludhiana district. Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Haradayal Mann said: "The licence holders are not raising any objections while depositing their firearms. The exercise is a measure to prevent violence during the elections". Meanwhile, there are allegations that the police is not asking workers of the ruling SAD-BJP alliance to deposit their arms. The police has, however, refuted the allegations. Congress Legislature Party Leader Sunil Jakhar said: "The government is allowing its people to keep firearms. But, it is taking away weapons from our people. In case of the killing of Congress leader Sukhraj in Tarn Taran, his licensed weapon was taken away a day before his murder". The police had said deceased Sukhraj Singh and his father Daljit Singh had two licensed weapons, but only one was deposited. SS Brar, State Election Commissioner, said: "Punjab is a sensitive state. The local population loves to own and brandish weapons. Thus, we cannot take any chance".
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SAD role in rejection of nominations, says Bhattal
Chandigarh, May 12 She urged the EC to take action against returning officers who rejected nomination papers of Congress candidates on "flimsy" grounds to help the ruling party. Bhattal said the EC should protect the democratic right of candidates who wanted to contest the elections. She said the way senior Congress leader and MLA Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi was treated at a early in Ferozepur this week made it clear that the ruling coalition wanted to win these elections by any means.
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2 CPI candidates complain against returning officer
Faridkot, May 12 A few days ago, some Congress and CPI candidates in Faridkot had accused the SAD of working in connivance with the district administration in getting their nomination papers rejected. In the complaint, Gurpreet Singh and Angrej Kaur, candidates from Pacca and Mandwala zones marked for the block samiti elections, demanded that a case be registered against a Returning Officer and a few Akali leaders for engineering the withdrawal of their forms. Taking cognisance of the complaint, Faridkot SSP Gurmeet Singh Randhwa, deputed Kotkapura and Faridkot DSPs to probe into the allegations of the two candidates. The complainants alleged that their purported thumb impressions on the withdrawal forms needed to be examined by forensic and hand writing experts. “We are investigating the allegations to find out the truth,” Randhawa said. The CPI had fielded 19 candidates to contest the panchayat samiti seats but the nominations papers of 11 were shown as withdrawn. The Congress had also accused the Akalis and the district administration of manipulating the forms and ensuring the withdrawal of four of its candidates in the panchayat samiti elections in the district. However, they are yet to make a formal complaint to the police. Kushaldeep Dhillon, general secretary of Punjab Congress, alleged that the SAD had a role to play in the rejection of six nomination papers on frivolous grounds and the withdrawal of four nomination papers. “We are going to file a police complaint tomorrow morning,” said Dhillon. Avtar Singh Brar, former minister and senior Congress leader, said the party would file a writ petition in the Punjab and High Court to demand a high-level inquiry into the matter. Unfair tactics
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BJP goes all out in Pathankot dist
Pathankot, May 12 Senior Akali leaders claim the party had no option but to hand over all the seats to the BJP since the SAD had a miniscule presence in the area. On the other hand, there is nobody to lead the Congress in the absence of a regular district Congress committee. The Congress has already suffered a setback as its candidate from Nangal zone withdrew her nomination, which led to unopposed election of BJP's Vandana Thakur. Senior Congress leader and former minister Raman Bhalla alleged the party's Nangal candidate, Renuka Minhas, was pressured by the district administration to withdraw her nomination. However, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) SK Kalia said he did not receive any complaint in this regard. BJP leader Swaran Salaria, who is also a ticket aspirant for the Gurdaspur parliamentary seat, claimed the Congress was needlessly raising a hue and cry over the incident. Salaria said he would tour the Bhoa vidhan sabha segment having five zila parishad zones. Narinder Parmar, BJP Pathankot president, said party MLAs, Dinesh Babbu, Seema Devi and Ashwani Sharma, had been canvassing for their respective candidates. Senior Congress leaders, including Raman Bhalla, claim the district administration was hand in glove with the BJP, which was "misusing" the official machinery to help party candidate. Strong presence
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UPA’s fall imminent, says Majithia
Jalandhar, May 12 Addressing rallies in favour of party candidates for the panchayat samiti and zila parishad elections in Mukerian (Hoshiarpur), Majithia said Coalgate and Railgate were enough to "show gate to the corrupt UPA government". He alleged the Congress was using the CBI against BSP president Mayawati and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav to garner their support. Majithia claimed hundreds of Congress workers in Punjab had joined the ruling SAD-BJP combine, which was a testimony of the growing popularity of their good governance. "Already the SAD-BJP has registered unopposed victory in 30 zila parishad and 229 block samiti zones of the state. For the remaining seats, the ruling alliance is all set to wipe out the Congress," he said, adding a defeat in the 2014 parliament poll would eliminate the Congress from the political map of Punjab.
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Congress to Centre: Revoke law officer’s appointment
Chandigarh, May 12 In a statement, PPCC spokesman Sukhpal Singh Khaira today said, "It is intriguing and surprising how a person like Rupinder Khosla, having deep Akali leanings and connections, has been appointed to the post." He said Khosla had remained Additional Advocate General of the SAD-BJP government for five years and later also headed a committee to look after the affairs of the Office of Advocate General. Khaira alleged that Khosla was also known for his proximity to the Badal family.
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Bhaniarawala sentence today
Ropar, May 11 Hailing from Dhamana village in Nurpur Bedi, Bhaniarawala and seven other persons were on May 10 held guilty in two cases registered against them for hurting the religious sentiments of the Sikh community. A huge posse of police force, including anti-riot teams, has been deployed in the area. Bhaniarawala had yesterday even held a congregation at his Dhamana dera, but it concluded peacefully. Nevertheless, it kept the police personnel on their toes. Confirming the development, Senior Superintendent of Police Inder Mohan Singh said the force had been deployed as a preventive measure. The FIRs were registered against the controversial dera head and his 15 followers by the Ropar police in 2001. The convicts had burnt copies of Guru Granth Sahib in various parts of Punjab, which led to communal tension. The Baba's dera in Nurpur Bedi was raided and a 'Granth' brought out by him but banned by the state government recovered from its premises. Following directions by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the cases were later shifted to Ambala.
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Sharif’s ancestral village hopes for better Indo-Pak ties
Chandigarh/Jatti Umra (Tarn Taran), May 12 The village’s “proud association”: Nawaz Sharif’s ancestors lived here for centuries before migrating to Pakistan post-Partition. Glued to their television sets since morning, the residents could not resist their emotions and rasping celebrations broke out amid early signs for Sharif's return to power. ‘Ardas’ was performed at the village gurudwara, which was elevated after converting the Sharif family's ancestral house. The residents feel Sharif's comeback would not only bring Jatti Umra on the global map but also play a vital role in establishing peace between the warring neighbours. Sarpanch Harjit Singh says, "We are not aware whether the Union Government will invite Nawaz Sharif to India. But, we will certainly invite him and his younger brother Shahbaz Sharif to visit their ancestral village." A resident, Balwinder Singh, says they had prayed to the Almighty for an absolute majority for Sharif's party. “His return to power after 14 years will help mend the strained relations between India and Pakistan, which are at all time low after the deaths of prisoners Sarabjit Singh and Sanaullah Khan,” he avers. The joint family of Sharif's forefathers, including his father Mohammad Sharif and grandfather Ramzan Sharif, had moved to East Punjab (now in Pakistan) in 1933. Though Nawaz was born in Lahore on December 25, 1949, the memories of his forefathers were still fresh in the minds of the village elders. Massa Singh, 85, a childhood friend of Nawaz's father, appeared the happiest of them all. He says he was the happiest person when the visa-on-arrival facility for senior citizens of both the countries was announced in December last. The excitement, however, proved short-lived as the scheme was soon scrapped. Proudly holds a picture he had got clicked with Nawaz Sharif during his Pakistan visit, Massa Singh claims that due to his (Nawaz Sharif's) link with Jatti Umra, over 20 local youths were given jobs in the family's factories in Doha Qatar. "I used to play with Nawaz's father Mian Mohammad Sharif and his uncles Mohammad Saffi Bashir and Barkat Ali in childhood," he remembers. Massa Singh's son Balwinder Singh, a Superintendent with the power department, made him speak to Nawaz Sharif's nephew Mohammad Javed in Pakistan on the phone. "Though I couldn't talk to Nawaz Sharif, I have conveyed my greetings through Javed. He was equally excited to hear from us," the octogenarian says. "Sharif's grandfather used to work as a 'hakim' (practitioner of Ayurvedic and Unani medicine) in a nearby village," says Inderjit Singh, the gurudwara granthi (priest). A panchayat member, Dilbagh Singh, says the residents had purchased gifts, including clothes and a gold ring, in December last when Nawaz's brother, the then Pakistan Punjab's Chief Minister Shahabaz Sharif, was scheduled to the village. However, the visit was cancelled at the last moment. "We are now looking forward to see Nawaz here soon. These gifts will be handed over to him," he says. Sarpanch Harjit Singh claims it was because of the Sharif brothers that the village had got development projects worth Rs 4 crore. "The Sharif family has maintained good relations with the people of our village. Only recently, a few residents who went along with a jatha to Pakistan had visited their house near Lahore. They met Shahbaz as Nawaz was not home," he adds.
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Govt announces 40% subsidy on solar pumps
Chandigarh, May 12 A government spokesperson said the Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal, had sanctioned Rs 5 crore for providing the subsidy to farmers. A solar pump costs nearly Rs 2.5 lakh in the open market. But under the subsidy plan, a farmer only has to pay 30 per cent of the cost. The rest 40 per cent (Rs 1 lakh) and 30 per cent (Rs 75,000) is borne by the state government and the Centre, respectively. However, the Chief Minister said priority would be given to those farmers who opt for crop diversification programme whereby they shift land under paddy to alternative crops like sugarcane, cotton, maize, soyabean, oilseeds, pulses, fruits and vegetables, the spokesperson said.
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Fall in wheat yield, courtesy March rain
Chandigarh, May 12 "We expect that the total arrival of wheat in various grain markets by the end of the procurement season in a few days from now will be about 114 lakh tonnes compared to 129 lakh tonnes last year," said a senior official of the Punjab Food and Supplies Department. The state government, which had made preparations to procure about 130 lakh tonnes of wheat this year, had got a limit of Rs 18,000 crore from a consortium of banks to make payments to farmers against the wheat procured. Asked about the fall in the wheat yield, the Director, Agriculture, Punjab Mangal Singh Sandhu, said strong winds accompanied by rain in March had damaged wheat at the ripening stage. He said there was no reason for alarm. A large number of farmers and traders had stocked wheat this year anticipating a price rise later this year. "The total production this year will be almost equal to that in previous years though not as high as last year's," he claimed. Various farmer organisations have urged the state government to compensate the farmers for the low yield this year.
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Faridkot jail staff want better medical care for addicts
Faridkot, May 12 With a proper diagnosis of drug habits of the inmates, they could be given special treatment for their rehabilitation, said doctors of the jail hospital. The lack of medical care is the main reason for the high number of deaths in the jail in the recent times. While four inmates died in the last two weeks, 10 are under treatment at two local hospitals. Drug addiction is not just confined to male prisoners as there are at least 12 women inmates who are hooked to one intoxicant or the other. The jail and hospital staff have to face a hostile behaviour of these addicts especially when they suffer from acute withdrawal symptoms. There should also be a modern and well-equipped de-addiction cell in every jail, the doctors said. "Our jails should serve as reformation centers for drug addicts," said Jagjit Singh, Inspector General of Police (Jails). "A large number of rehabilitated addicts suffer high relapse rate in the absence of a proper follow-up and with easy availability of drugs. But de-addiction centres inside the jails will yield good results as addicts will be under a strict vigil all the time," said Ravi Bhagat, Deputy Commissioner, Faridkot. Cutting the drug supply and rehabilitating the addicts with proper medical care is the only solution, said Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, a senior IPS officer, who has an experience in dealing with the problem of drug addiction among inmates during his tenure as SSP Jail, Amritsar. The menace
The remedy
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Prisoners can expect a good cup of tea
Chandigarh, May 12 A public interest litigation filed by Jaspinder Singh Dhami against the State of Punjab and other respondents was placed before the Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain. The petitioner asserted that tenders were invited by the State of Punjab from the distributors of branded tea companies by issuing an advertisement. But an item on the purchase of tea was withdrawn from the tender. This was done on the basis of an order passed by the Minister of Jails on April 11. Elaborating on the effect of the minister’s order, the petitioner contended: “A perusal thereof indicates that the government intends to afford an opportunity to not only dealers of the branded tea companies, but also members of the Tea Board Calcutta and registered packers, to participate in the tender process”. The Bench asserted: “We are hopeful that all the tenders shall be processed to purchase quality tea and substandard tea will not be purchased. This writ petition stands disposed of”. The directions come at a time when concern is being raised on the conditions prevailing in crowded Punjab jails. The High Court too has taken suo motu notice of the plight of undertrials. After an inspection visit to the Phagwara sub-jail on March 22, Justice K Kannan wrote to the Chief Justice: "It (room) is too small to allow for the barest comfort of a civilised living. It is grossly inhuman to dump so many people in such a small room."
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Canadian film-maker to trace roots of Sikh immigrants
Chandigarh, May 12 Gray, who is here for four days in his first visit to India, says his interest in Sikh immigration to Canada stemmed from his chance tracking of some artifacts and leftovers of some Chinese and Indian immigrants in Victoria. The film maker has been working in Canada for the past last 50 years, tracing some of the first Sikh settlers in British Columbia. “It was a chance happening that we found so many of these interesting artifacts in Victoria that dated back to the early 20th century. Me and my brother learnt that there were about 150 Chinese who worked in the area. In our follow up, we found that there were at least 40 Sikhs from India who worked with these Chinese in the area. “Our initial attempts of tracing these Chinese were unsuccessful as the community was reluctant to cooperate. However, when we went to a Sikh temple to know about Sikh immigrants, we were able to get information on almost everything required. Some first generation immigrants and older people were able to help us with names and other details of early Sikh settlers, including those who came via Koma Gata Maru. Since then, I have been working on Sikh immigration to Canada,” says Gray, some of whose documentaries in this regard have been sponsored by Omni TV channel and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship of Canada. “I was thinking of writing a book but then took to film production,” he says and expresses hope to find some of the descendants of eight Sikh soldiers who fought for Canada in World War I in France. Three of them came from Khraudi, Mahilpur and Paldi in Punjab. Despite many efforts, we could not trace any of their descendants in Canada. We went to France and other European countries to track their movements during the World War I. It was so difficult to track them down as they all had a common name, ‘Singh’. No one could believe till the beginning of the current millennium that Sikhs had fought for Canada in the World War I, he said. At that time, Indians were not given voting or citizenship rights in Canada. He says Private Bukkam Singh and Private Lachman Singh, for example, had been tracked down as a researcher on Indians in the Canadian army had chanced upon one of the medals won by Private Bukkam Singh. He says 10 years back, he could not have thought of such a venture. Canadian Consul-General in Chandigarh Scott Slessor says while browsing the web on Sikh Film Festival in New York, he came across Gray's work and decided to invite him to India. Gray says out of about 40 Indians (Sikhs) who are believed to have fought for Canada, only a handful could be traced.
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Damage to SLIET campus pegged at Rs 12 crore
Longowal (Sangrur), May 12 As per SLIET authorities, the laboratories, auditorium, SLIET Entrance office and the administrative block have been damaged. It will take Rs 2 crore to repair the auditorium, Rs 2 crore to fix the over 500 damaged computers and Rs 1 crore to repair the Director’s residence and the entrance test office. The remaing Rs 7 crore will be spent on the other damaged buildings. The students lifted their five-day dharna yesterday and the institute has been closed for a month. With over 1,000 students still on campus, the district administration has deployed over 100 police personnel on the campus as a precautionary measure. The SLIET authorities today started the repair of the institute guest house and the Safai Sewaks were seen cleaning the site. Professor AS Dhaliwal, Officiating Registrar of SLIET, said around 70 per cent of the students had already left the hostels and the remaining would leave in the next three to four days. Professor Dhaliwal said the repair of the buildings would take about two years and the laboratories would be restored first. Money to be spent
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Ropar admn faces acute staff crunch
Ropar, May 12 The posts of Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Employment Officer and Mining Officer in the district are lying vacant. The district with three subdivisions of Ropar, Anandpur Sahib, Nangal and Chamkaur Sahib has only one SDM working at Anandpur Sahib. Only an ADC (development) and an SDM are left to assist the local Deputy Commissioner in running the administration. One of the two ADCs, Sucha Singh Mast, retired last week and Ropar SDM Ravinder Kumar left before the expiry of his six-month contract. No official has been posted at Chamkaur Sahib ever since SDM Puneet Goyal was posted as ADC Mohali on March 30. This post at Nangal has been lying vacant since last year. The Anandpur Sahib SDM Amarjit Singh Shahi has been asked to look after Ropar and Nangal subdivisions while Assistant Commissioner Avneet Kaur has been handed over the additional charge of Chamkaur Sahib SDM office. Besides, the District Public Relation Officer, Social Security Officer, District Mining Officer, District Employment Officer, and the Labour Inspector are on contract. The Social Security Officer and District Mining Officer from Mohali district have been given the additional charge of the same departments here. The Patiala Employment Officer has been handed the additional charge of the Ropar Employment Office. And if this was not enough, even Ropar Commissioner Anurag Verma was given the additional charge of Excise and Taxation Commissioner in Chandigarh in December last year. When asked, Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Aggrawal, said he had already written to the Punjab government regarding the several vacant posts in the district. He said the process to fill up these posts was on. Overburdened officials
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Medical officials threaten stir
Bathinda, May 12 Those who did not accept the VRS offer are allegedly being issued termination letters. The employees have threatened to launch a countrywide agitation. — TNS
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PSPCL officials oppose setting up of trading company
Jalandhar, May 12 Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) Engineers' association has urged Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to immediately withdraw the decision. The proposed power trading company will sell surplus power that will be generated from the upcoming thermal plants in Punjab, to other states. Badal had reportedly directed the PSPCL top brass to work out the modalities for setting up the company by September-end. PSEB Engineers' association general secretary Sanjeev Sood said, “Badal had given verbal assurances at the time the erstwhile PSEB was unbundled in April 2010 that power companies will not be unbundled any further.” Association representatives said the creation of another company is not required and uncalled for. They said the association would decide its future course of action during the meeting of its executive committee on May 18. Anirudh Tiwari, secretary, Power, said it would be wrong to assume that a new company was being set up. “The Chief Minister has only instructed to develop a mechanism for streamlining the trading of power,” he said. Highly placed sources said that either a wholly-owned subsidiary or a separate division within PSPCL may be formulated to streamline power trading mechanism.
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Hundreds participate in Sangrur marathon
Sangrur, May 12 The race was flagged off by Vijay Inder Singla, Member Parliament from Sangrur. The route passed through various parts of the city with the starting point located near the Mandir Shree Maha Kali Devi and finish line marked at the War Heroes Stadium Sukhbir Singh Sukhi, president of the foundation, said 15 kg of desi ghee and 150 tracksuits were distributed among the runners. In the men’s section, Lachhman Singh was the winner while Sonu and Harish Kumar were the runners-up and second runners-up respectively. In the women’s section, Rama Devi was the winner while Harpreet Kaur and Kuljit Kaur were the runners-up and second runners-up respectively.
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Lecturers flay varsity for abolishing semester system
Ludhiana, May 12 The lecturers said the move would be against the Rashtryia Uchchtar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)-National Higher Education Mission, drafted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, in January. Dr Ashwani Bhalla, Executive Vice President of the PCMA, said the semester system was the first step towards introducing choice-based credit system, which would have ensured multi-disciplinary development of students. Bhalla said the move to abolish semester system could be detrimental to the efforts of the university to become a central university. “Punjabi University, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar and Kurukshetra University have already introduced the semester system in their undergraduate and postgraduate courses in its pursuit of the National Higher Education Mission, while PU wants to scrap the semester system,” said Bhalla. The PCMA has written to Panjab University Chancellor, Mohammad Hamid Ansari, to intervene in the matter and stop the university from taking this regressive move. Dr BB Singla, General Secretary of PCMA, said, “The Panjab University has decided to abolish the system as the college managements have not been able to adopt the system. The university will soon be overtaken by other universities in the region if it does not take steps to improve the academic efficiency of its administration and colleges.”
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Acting Chief Justice lays stone of lawyers’ chambers in Sangrur
Sangrur, May 12 There will be 204 chambers, a bar room, a canteen, a library, bank, post office, and a corridor to connect the extension block with the existing block of the lawyers' chambers. The ADRC building will have two floors with covered area of 8,000 square feet. It will be built in six months at a cost of Rs 80 lakh. Justice Jasbir Singh said the ADRCs in the districts would be helpful in settling disputes with the mutual consent of the litigants to reduce further litigation. He said an ADRC had already started functioning in Patiala while work on setting up seven to eight other ADRCs at various places was in progress.
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Inter-state robbers’ gang busted
Sangrur, May 12 Two .315 bore countrymade pistols, a .12 bore double barrel gun, 15 cartridges and a motorcycle was recovered from them. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mandip Singh Sidhu said they were nabbed from a naka on Narwana Road in Khanauri area.
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BJP state president Kamal Sharma today said before taking any further step, the party would provide ample time to its coalition partner the SAD to get all objects glorifying militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale from the Operation Bluestar memorial.
Chandigarh, May 12
Chandigarh, May 12
The authorities expect a 15 lakh tonnes decline in wheat production in the state this year. In financial terms, farmers will suffer a loss of about Rs 2,000 crore due to the low yield. About 108 lakh tonnes of wheat has arrived in various markets so far. Of this, more than 106 lakh tonnes have been procured by government agencies and the remaining by private traders. The Daily arrivals, which had gone up to 7 lakh tonnes in the third week of April, have come down to 50,000 tonnes now.
Confronted with an increased number of drug addicts in the Faridkot Central Jail and inadequate medical facilities for them, the jail staff and doctors want the government to order a compulsory medical examination of all new inmates.