BATHINDA: Braving
adverse climatic conditions army personnel toiled hard for two decades
to convert thousands of acres of sand dunes in Asia’s biggest
cantonment here into lushgreen forests by extensive plantation of
different varieties of trees.
 |
Women take away wood cut from trees in
the Bathinda cantonment area; and (right) a view of trees cut illegally by residents of villages surrounding the cantonment. |
NGO apprises Chief
Secretary of problems
Chandigarh, May 13
A deputation of the local NGO, Jagriti Foundation, met Mr Rajan Kashyap, Chief Secretary of Punjab, here today to apprise him of the problems being faced by the 60,000 persons settled in the ‘beet’ area, comprising 27 village panchayats in the Garhshankar tehsil of Hoshiarpur district.
HIGH COURT
Notice
issued
Chandigarh, May 13
Issuing notice of motion on a
petition filed by Punjab's former Agriculture Minister, Gurdev Singh
Badal, challenging an order dismissing his application for discharge
in an alleged corruption case, Mr Justice Virender Singh of the high
court directed against the framing up of charges by the trial court.
Lawyers
to boycott SDM’s court
Faridkot, May 13
Members of the District Bar
Association, Faridkot, have decided to boycott the court of SDM
Devinder Singh indefinitely following his alleged indifferent attitude
towards lawyers in the recent past here. The decision was taken at a
meeting of advocates at the Bar office here today.
Thandal
case: 1 remanded in custody
Kharar, May 13
Mrs Preeti Sahni, Judicial
Magistrate, here today remanded Nirmal Singh police custody till May
15. He was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau (VB) and is one of the
alleged accomplices of former Akali minister Sohan Singh Thandal.
No
action in bribery case
Bathinda, May 13
Two PUDA officials, who were
caught red-handed while allegedly accepting bribes by the Vigilance
Bureau, have not been placed under suspension by the authorities
concerned.
Farmer
loses foot in mine blast
Fazilka, May 13
Surjeet Singh (24) of Mumbeke
village of Fazilka sub-division was injured in a mine blast on Sunday
morning. According to details the Army had certified that fields of
Surjeet Singh were de-mined yesterday.
Licences
of 32 chemist shops suspended
Chandigarh, May 13
The Punjab government has issued
instructions that no chemist shop will sell any schedule-H drugs
without the prescription of a registered medical practitioner.
Octroi
evasion: action sought
Amritsar, May 13
Seeking immediate action against
the importers and staff members of the Octroi Department allegedly
involved in the evasion of octroi levied on the sugar imported from
Pakistan, Mr Surinder Kumar Billa, president of the All-India Hindu
Shiv Sena sought the registration of cases against the persons
involved.
Response
to shoe-shine campaign ‘encouraging’
Hoshiarpur, May 13
Shoe-shinning campaign by Mr
Abinash Rai Khanna, BJP MLA from Garhshankar for raising funds for the
repair of the Garhshankar-Hoshiarpur road was widely lauded.
“No
clergy-like role for jathedars”
Chandigarh, May 13
Dr Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia, a
wellknown Sikh scholar and former Vice-Chancellor, Punjabi University,
Patiala, said today that there was no clergy-like role of Takht
jathedars in Sikhism.
Police
excesses alleged
Gurdaspur, May 13
A case of alleged police excesses
has been reported at Dhariwal police station here in the district. Mr
Satnam Singh, a resident of Kaler Kalan, was allegedly beaten up by
the police on May 11.
Junior
engineers sit on fast
Patiala, May 13
A batch of seven Junior Engineers
of the Central Zone today sat on a fast as part of chain fasts being
held by JEs to protest against the state government’s move to
dismantle and privatise the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB).
PCMS
Assn objects to electoral rolls
Chandigarh, May 13
The Punjab Civil Medical Services
(PCMS) Association has alleged gross irregularities in the ongoing
process of holding elections for three vacancies in the Punjab Medical
Council (PMC).
No
new cancer case in Hamidi
Sangrur, May 13
Three teams of doctors today
completed the check-up of the entire population of Hamidi village,
near Barnala, to detect cancer cases.
Probe
ordered into sale of blood
Bathinda, May 13
Dr S.K. Goyal, Civil Surgeon,
Bathinda, today asked Dr Jagjit Singh, District Family Planning
Officer, to hold a probe into the sale of two units of blood to a
patient, who was operated upon for removal of a stone in uterus in a
private clinic here.
450
examined at TB camp
Fazilka, May 13
The Social Welfare Society,
Fazilka, organised sixth annual TB check-up camp. The two-day camp,
which concluded on Sunday, was organised in memory of late Bhiranwa
Bai and Hari Chand Kalra.
Red
Cross turns saviour
Faridkot, May 13
The District Red Cross Society,
has saved the lives of three deserted mentally-challenged children,
including two girls, by providing them timely and proper medical aid
during the past five months.
Hepatitis-B camp held
Patiala, May 13
The Rotary Club Patiala Midtown in association with the State Bank of Patiala, The Mall, Patiala, organised a free hepatitis-B camp at Government Primary School, Rajpura Colony, Patiala, on Tuesday.
Meeting
discusses anti-malaria steps
Bathinda, May 13
The district authorities have
decided to observe next month as anti-malaria month.
Nurses
told to dispel myths about AIDS
Bathinda, May 13
The State Institute of Nursing at
Badal, near here, observed the International Day for Nurses yesterday
by holding a seminar on HIV/AIDS.
Suicide
by farmer in debt
Jeon Singhwala
(Bathinda), May 13
Mr Harcharan Singh alias Harna, a
young farmer of this village, 23 km from here, committed suicide by
hanging from ceiling fan in his house today. He was said to be under
heavy debt.
Traffic
park to educate public
Bathinda, May 13
To educate the schoolchildren,
truck drivers, state government drivers and other section of
societies, a traffic park is coming up near the Rose Garden in the
city.
Retired
teachers resent non-payment of pension
Faridkot, May 13
Resentment prevails among 2,500
retired teachers and heads of government-aided private schools against
the indifferent attitude of the Punjab Government towards the payment
of their pensions for the past three years.
Speedy
disposal of pension cases
Chandigarh, May 13
Mr Nand Lal, Accountant-General
of Punjab, said today that a new system of day-to-day monitoring of
pension cases had been put in place here.
PSEB
extends bill payment date
Patiala, May 13
The Punjab State Electricity
Board (PSEB) has extended the cut-off date for depositing outstanding
dues by agricultural consumers to May 31 even as it warned that those
failing to pay their bills will face disconnection of their power
supply.
Wheat
stubble being burnt despite ban
Bathinda, May 13
A customary ban imposed by the
district magistrate has failed to deter the farmers from burning wheat
stubble in at least 20 per cent of the total area. The authorities
concerned have reportedly failed take any action against erring
farmers.
Markfed to get
special cell
Chandigarh, May 13
The Punjab Minister for Finance and Cooperation, Mr Lal Singh, has ordered the creation of a special cell in Markfed to deal with cases regarding misappropriation of paddy stocks.
Water
schemes dry up due to fund paucity
Bathinda, May 13
Due to paucity of funds various
projects launched by the government for providing drinking water in
rural areas, are either not complete or are inadequate for the
population of various villages.
2
minor girls abducted
Amritsar, May 13
Two sisters — Sunita (17) and
Sonia (15) — were allegedly abducted by two persons from the Navi
Abadi area here two days back.
Four
held for theft
Jalandhar, May 13
The police claims to have
arrested four persons. According to the police, the Goraya police
raided a place near cremation grounds in Goraya and arrested four
persons with weapons.
Hony
secy of Khalsa College removed
Amritsar, May 13
The president of Khalsa College
Governing Council, Mr Raj Mohinder Singh Majitha, today removed the
honorary secretary of the college, Mr Bhag Singh Ankhi.
Primary
education in mess
Gurdaspur, May 13
Primary education in the district
is in a mess. Vacancies of teacher and lack of infrastructure have
worsened the situation.
Lecturer’s
explanation sought
Amritsar, May 13
The Dean Academic Affairs, Guru
Nanak Dev University has reportedly sought explanation of Ms Anita
Tamarkar a lecturer in the Physical Education Department, here for
allegedly defying the Head of the Department.
Poor
upkeep of colleges: probe ordered
Ropar, May 13
Mr Harnam Dass Johar, Minister
for Higher Education, has lamented the unclean premises and
dilapidated buildings of the government colleges at Ropar and SAS
Nagar. Addressing a press
conference after his visit to the colleges today, he said the
maintenance of the buildings was being neglected.
