Policemen in a ceremony to welcome the new Governor in
Amritsar on Friday.
— Reuters
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Punjab told to reconsider decision
Tax on Prasar Bharti assets
Chandigarh, May 9
The Government of India has strongly reacted to the decision of the Punjab Government to impose tax and surcharge on electricity, property tax and motor vehicle tax on the assets of the Prasar Bharti (Broadcasting Corporation of India), which telecasts programmes on the All India Radio and Doordarshan.
Villagers welcome move to resume
Indo-Pak rail link
Jati Umra (Amritsar), May 9
Villagers of Jati Umra, a nondescript hamlet, 35 km from Amritsar, are overjoyed over the prospective restoration of rail and road links with Pakistan. The place shot into limelight as the native village of Mr Nawaz Sharief after he became Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Peace moves rekindle hopes
Ferozepore
The peace overtures by both Indian and Pakistani Governments have once again kindled hope among residents of the border town, especially traders and farmers.
SAD to submit memo to Pak MPs
Bathinda, may 9
The SAD chief, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, said today that the party would submit a memorandum regarding its demands, including the release of all Punjabis languishing in various Pakistani jails and control of maintenance of Sikh shrines there with the SGPC, to the Pakistan MPs who are touring India.
Embassy staff meet NRI in
custody
Kapurthala, May 9
Officials of the US Embassy yesterday visited an India-born American citizen, arrested on the complaint of parents of a girl whom he wanted to marry.
US embassy Vice Chancellor John Peters and Assistant Counsellor Suresh Kumar Nandan met Birendra Gupta at sadar police station where he is lodged.
Municipal Corporation sans
Commissioner
Bathinda, May 9
A month has passed since the civic body of the city was given the status of fifth Municipal Corporation of the state on April 9, the government has not appointed Municipal Commissioner, leading to stoppage of administrative work.
Kala Afghana may be declared ‘tankhaiya’
Amritsar, May 9
A Canada-based cop-turned-Sikh scholar, Mr Gurbax Singh Kala Afghana, who had showed his inability to appear before Akal Takht, is likely to be declared ‘tankhaiya’ (guilty of religious misconduct). The deadline for appearing before the Takht was May 10.
Death-after-delivery: hospital records
tampered with
Rampura Phul, May 9
Certain officials of the Civil Hospital here have been found guilty of tampering with records of a probe into the death of Mrs Sunita Rani, who died a few hours after delivering a baby on March 23.
PSHRC orders probe into liquor vends issue
Chandigarh, May 9
Taking a serious view of the location of a large number of liquor vends, on state and national highways throughout Punjab, the Punjab State Human Rights Commission has issued directions to the Financial Commissioner, Taxation, to conduct an inquiry and submit a report to it.
Rs 29 cr collected as penalty
SAS Nagar, May 9
The Excise and Taxation department, Punjab, has collected over Rs 29 crore as penalty from various defaulters in Punjab in 2002-2003. Out of this, sales tax arrears of Rs 8 crore was due from seven major distribution and production units based at Ludhiana, Amritsar, Ropar and
Kurali.
Kidney scam: PHRO sees chinks in probe
Amritsar, May 9
The Punjab Human Rights Organisation today pointed out glaring missing links in the investigation conducted by the special investigation team into the multi-crore kidney scam.
Technical, mechanical
staff hold rally
Patiala, May 9
Members of the Technical and Mechanical Employees Union, Punjab, organised a protest rally on the Mall Road here today against the delay in regularising daily-wage workers despite the issuance of a government notification in this regard. Employees from all over the state belonging to the PWD, Sewerage Board and the Irrigation department participated in the rally.
HIGH COURT
Information sought
Chandigarh, May 9
On a petition filed by 1120 serving and retired technicians alleging that the state of Punjab had created a class among same category employees by not granting pay scales given to petitioners in another case, a Division Bench of the high court has asked the state to inform if the petitioners in the present case were similarly placed. Special cell for senior citizens
Fatehgarh Sahib, May 9
The district police has constituted a special cell to protect the life and property of senior citizens as well as to redress their grievances at the earliest.
Parandi makers — heirs to a dying art
Patiala, May 9
Trendy short-hair styles and new fashion trends have not only sounded the death knell for the world famous parandi making tradition of the city, but have also forced hundreds of its karigars to eke out a living by making rakhis besides going in for embroidery work, for which they are paid a pittance.
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Health scheme for ex-servicemen inaugurated
Jalandhar, May 9
To provide healthcare to the retired Army personnel, windows and their dependents, the Defence authorities today launched Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme with inauguration of Armed Forces polyclinics at Una and Hamirpur in Himachal.
Move
for theatre in Gargi’s memory
Patiala, May 9
To give recognition to the contributions made by Punjabi writer and
playwright late Balwant Gargi, an open air theatre named after him may
soon come up on the premises of the Languages Department here.
Registration of ultrasound unit
suspended
Sangrur, May 9
The District Advisory Committee for the implementation of Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act at its meeting here yesterday recommended that the registration of the ultrasound unit of Baba Aapo Aap Hospital here should be suspended for one month.
40 injured as bus overturns
Phagwara, May 9
Forty passengers, including children and women, were injured, six of them seriously, after a New Phagwara Transport Company bus overturned near the Khati village bridge on the outskirts of the town on the Phagwara-Hoshiarpur road around 8 a.m. this morning. The bus was coming from Badon village to Phagwara.
Two killed in accident
Mansa, May 9
Raju Singh (23), an employee of the Punjab Sewerage and Water Supply Board and Gurmail Singh (25) a truck driver were killed in front of local Radha Soami on the Sirsa Barnala road.
PSEB extends VDS date
Patiala, May 9
The Punjab State Electricity Board has decided to extend the date of Voluntary Disclosure Scheme for the regularisation of unauthorised Agricultural Power load to June 30, 2003. The charges for Service Connection have been fixed at Rs 4000 per BHP with effect from April 1, 2003 onwards.
Raids on dhabas
Jalandhar, May 9
Food and Civil Supplies officials today raided hotels and dhabas in Kartarpur and confiscated 25 domestic LPG cylinders, allegedly being used for commercial purposes.
PUDA-temple row: devotees lathicharged
Phagwara, May 9
The police resorted to lathi charge tonight to disperse a brickbating mob comprising devotees of Thakurdwara Bairagian Shri Hanuman Mandir, after PUDA officials, accompanied by a heavy police force, removed two signboards fixed by devotees to stake claim to government land.
Truckers ‘pay’ for wheat pilferage
Bathinda, May 9
Truck operators of Maur Mandi town have alleged that the amount of wheat in some gunny bags was less than the prescribed limit. They had lifted the bags from some purchasing centres in the district.
Akali leader, wife booked
Sangrur, May 9
Akali leader and former councillor of the Nagar Council Bhajan Singh and his wife Surjit Kaur were booked today for allegedly selling poppy husk following a raid at their house here.
40 bottles of liquor seized from
house
Maur Mandi (Bathinda), May 9
Following the registration of a criminal case for possessing 40 bottles of liquor against a local resident, Mr Jaspal Kumar, his relatives have got registered a case against two liquor contractors — Khush and Seera — for allegedly trespassing on their house.
Gang of six robbers busted
Jalandhar, May 9
The district police claims to have busted a six-member gang of robbers with the arrest of all its members and the recovery of stolen goods from their possession.
Drug supply in jail: probe
ordered
Muktsar, May 9
A Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge, Mr Justice M.M. Kumar, was concerned when he was informed by some Muktsar subjail inmates about the inflow of narcotics in the jail. During an inspection of the jail yesterday, its conditions “quite unsatisfactory”.
Man commits suicide
Bathinda, May 9
A man reportedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree near Kot
Shamir, 14 km from here, today. He used a pair of pyjamas for hanging himself.
Three held for stealing vehicles
Malerkotla, May 9
The police has arrested three youths for stealing vehicles and selling these in car bazaars.
One Bolero Jeep, two pistols cartridges and one knife were recovered from them. Two members of the gang escapes. They were arrested today after chase on the Malerkotla-Dhuri road by DSP, Raj Bachan Singh.
Panchayat members protest against
poor school results
Dhuri, May 9
Protesting against the ‘poor’ result of class VIII of Government High School,
Bardwal, about 4 km from here, panchayat members of three villages —
Bardwal, Ruldu Singh Wala and Dhandra, along with parents of failed students locked the main gate of the school this morning before the arrival of the school staff and students.
Students, teachers donate
blood
Talwandi Sabo, May 9
The two-day camp organised by NSS volunteers of the local Guru Gobind Singh College of Engineering and Technology concluded here today.
Internal
exam for admission to MA (Sanskrit)
Patiala, May 9
Punjabi University today announced that it would allow graduates who
did not have any background in Sanskrit to seek admission in MA
(Sanskrit) for the academic year 2003 -04.
Exhibition of diamonds ends
Bathinda, May 9
The ‘Diamond Jewellery Festival’ organised by Dwaraka Jewellers in the city concluded this evening.
The organisers claimed that the purpose of the festival was to introduce new designs of diamond-embedded jewellery in the city and also introduce the diamond jewellery meant for the middle class families.
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