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Police team leaves for Delhi to arrest Daler
 Patiala, October 17
The Patiala police today despatched a team to New Delhi to arrest pop star Daler Mehndi even as the name of a senior Haryana police officer has come under the scanner during the continued interrogation of Shamsher
Mehndi, who has been in police custody now for 13 days.
Ruckus
over
Hanspal’s statement
 Chandigarh, October 17
Punjab Congress President H.S. Hanspal’s statement asking people not
to use “Singh” with the name of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur has
kicked a controversy. Even senior Congress leaders have been upset
over the statement.
Centre
anti-farmer,
says Jakhar
Gurdaspur, October 17
Mr Balram Jakhar, a senior Congress leader and former Agricultural
Minister, said that the Central Government led by the BJP had failed
on all fronts but its performance on the agriculture front was the
worst. The Central Government had no agriculture policy.
Panches’
election on October 29
Faridkot, October 17
Under the directions of the Punjab Election Commission, the election
of the panches of 18 gram panchayats of Faridkot and Kotkapura blocks
in the district will be held on October 29.
BJP executive to be
announced by Oct 28
Sangrur, October 17
Mr Avinash Rai Khanna, president of the Punjab unit of the BJP, today
said he would announce the Executive Committee of the state unit by
October 28. After that party activists would be sent to villages
throughout the state as part of the preparations for the ensuing Lok
Sabha elections in 2004, he added.
Lok darbar a big
hit with people
Fatehgarh Sahib, October 17
"If any official or government employee demands a bribe for
undertaking your official work, or any of your grievances is pending
unattended in any government office, you can bring it to my notice
publicly, and if found correct, the concerned person would not be
spared," said Mr S.K. Ahluwalia, Deputy Commissioner today while
addressing the first "lok darbar," a new concept introduced
by the DC to redress the grievances of the people at their doorsteps.
Kapurthala’s
legacy on show
Kapurthala, October 17
The second Baba Jassa Singh Sharad Utsav that began in Kapurthala this
evening was not just about the celebration of the musical heritage of
the city by way of delightful renditions of Sufiana “qalams” by
Wadali and Warsi brothers. It was also an occasion to trace the
architectural might of the historic city.
Qawwals
bring alive Sufi tradition
Kapurthala, October 17
It is not an easy road for those who practice the art of qawwali.
Faced with stiff competition from the more lucrative and seemingly
glamourous musical genres from pop to ghazals, qawwali, as an art, has
to face the dearth of admirers every now and then. No wonder only 1
per cent of qawwals find themselves sticking to the classical base and
rendering compositions typical to the age of Sufi saints, who made
qawwali a divine indulgence.
No
registration of dogs for 25 years
Amritsar, October 17
In a glaring example of negligence, the municipal corporation
here has not registered a single dog for the past more than 25 years. This has made a survey of growing population of stray dogs
difficult in view of the rabies threat that had taken three lives
recently. It has also caused a loss of lakhs to the MC in the form of
fees accruing from it. The dog population has exceeding one lakh here,
as per a survey by the APCRI, a national body.
Chheharta-Attari
bypass accident-prone
AMRITSAR
The site for the proposed India Gate project at
the Chheharta-Attari bypass on the Amritsar-Lahore road has turned
into an accident-prone area. Vehicles coming from Attari road sometimes ram into the
low-boundary wall encircling the three-way crossing due to the absence
of streetlights and reflectors. The sharp turn at the large roundabout
demarcated for the ambitious project has aggravated the problem. One
road from the bypass leads to the Attari railway station and the Wagha
checkpost and another to Rajasansi airport.
Writers’
delegation crosses over to Pak
Amritsar, October 17
An 11-member delegation of eminent Indian writers led by Ajeet Cour,
founder president of the Foundation SAARC Writers and Literature, a
SAARC recognised body, today crossed over to Pakistan through the
international Wagah joint check point here.
Workshop
on quake awareness ends
Jalandhar, October 17
To handle the threat of an earthquake, the district administration has
decided to form wardwise committees, which will be imparted training
in rescue operations, restoration of road network, resumption of
drinking water supply, communication, healthcare and provision of
essential supplies.
Cell
mooted
to check human trafficking
Patiala, October 17
The Punjab Government has mooted a special cell under the charge of an
IGP to catch pop singers and travel agents who dupe the youth on the
pretext of taking them abroad.
Kar
seva
dispute takes new turn
Faridkot, October 17
The year-long dispute between Baba Ajit Singh, a noted kar sevak of
several Sikh shrines, and the local committee over the kar seva of the
about 100-year-old famous gurdwara at Jand Sahib village in Faridkot
district has taken a new turn.
CPI
activists
to gherao DC offices
Sangrur, October 17
Dr Joginder Dayal, Secretary of the Punjab unit of the CPI, said today
the party activists would gherao the offices of the Deputy
Commissioners on November 27 throughout the state in protest against
the WTO policies and the alleged anti-people policies of the state and
Central governments.
Encroachments
on panchayat land to be removed
Amritsar, October 17
The Department of Rural Development and Panchayat today launched
campaign from the Verka block to remove encroachments on panchayat
land. Stating this in a press note the Block Development and Panchayat
Officer, said the encroachments were being removed on the directions
of Mr S.R. Ladhar, Director of the RDP.
Flying
set to resume at Patiala club
Patiala, October 17
Flying is set to resume in the Patiala Flying Club after nearly six
months, with a Pushpak aircraft being put through a test flight. The
club has two aircraft at its disposal. While the Pushpak aircraft was
grounded nearly six months ago due to a minor fault during the course
of which its insurance lapsed, the Cessna aircraft’s engine was sent
to Chandigarh for repair two years ago.
Physically
challenged
face official apathy
Patiala, October 17
Physically challenged persons of Patiala district and nearby villages
are facing problems due to official apathy in getting their work done in
the Civil Surgeon’s office. The office is situated on the fifth floor
of the newly constructed Mini Secretariat, here.
Drive
to
issue birth certificates
Bathinda, October 17
The government has launched a campaign to issue birth certificates to
all children under 10 years of age. The first phase of the campaign
will start on November 14. Stating this here yesterday at a meeting of the district officials,
Mr Inderjit Singh, Director, Census, Punjab, said nearly 40 lakh
children in the state were to be issued the birth registration
certificates.
Sarpanch
challenges Punjab’s mistake
Chandigarh, October 17
Incredible, but true. A Ludhiana district resident was elected
sarpanch. Took oath. Was issued an identity card. Only to be told
later that it was all a big mistake. Just after two months of his taking oath in July, Gurdeep Singh of
Marewal village was issued a letter by Ludhiana’s Block Development
and Panchayat Officer directing him against taking part in any
gram panchayat work. The reason: His name had been “wrongly
printed”.
Chakreshwari
fair attracts people from all faiths
Fatehgarh Sahib
This town is the land of great martyrs,
saints and gods. A number of religious shrines of the Sikhs, the
Muslims and the Hindus such as Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib, Rauza Sharif
and Mata Chakreshwari Devi Jain Temple are situated here.
Plying
of more buses sought
Bathinda, Oct 17
The local unit of the INTUC has urged the district administration to
start a bus service to areas beyond the railway line since it is very
hard to commute to several localities.
PSEB directed to
compensate farmers
Faridkot, October 17
A three-member panel of the local District Consumer Disputes and
Redressal Forum, headed by its president, Mr B.C. Gupta, in a
unanimous decision has asked the Punjab State Electricity Board to
release the tubewell connections to six farmers of Mumara village in
the district within six months.
Principal, student
arrested on corruption charges
Ropar, October 17
Vigilance sleuths have arrested Principal of the Shaheed Kanshi Ram
College of Physical Education Bhupinder Singh on the charges of
corruption. According to sources the Principal was booked for giving admission
to a student, Nishan Singh, to Bachelor of Physical Education course on the basis of a fake certificate.
SHO
arrested
for taking bribe from doctor
Ferozepore, October 17
The Station House Officer of the city police station has been
arrested and a case has been registered against him for allegedly
taking a bribe of Rs 25,000 from a doctor. According to information, a
case under Section 7 (13), IPC has been registered against Inspector
Satnam Singh, SHO, for allegedly taking Rs 25,000 from a doctor on the
complaint of Dr Jagmeet Kaur.
Singer
Sukhwinder Panchi arrested
Jalandhar, October 17
Pop and folk singer Sukhwinder Panchi was arrested by the police today
for allegedly taking money from a Sarinh village resident on a promise
to send her son to Italy. Sukhwinder Panchi of the “Dil Watte Deve Bhaira.....” fame was
arrested from his Basant Avenue residency by a team of the Police
Division 6 led by SHO Jaavir Singh.
Two
more
robbers arrested
Hoshiarpur, October 17
The local police has arrested two persons involved in 47 cases of
snatching in different districts of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Ms
Gurpreet Deo, SSP, Hoshiarpur, stated in a press note here last
evening that Pavjinder Singh, alias Sonu, a resident of Talwan,
Jalandhar, and Devinder Kumar, alias Toni, a resident of Kot Mangal
Singh, Ludhiana, were arrested while they were traveling in a Maruti
Zen car taken away forcibly by them.
Ex-sarpanch
arrested
Faridkot, October 17
The Vigilance Department, Faridkot yesterday arrested Iqbal Singh, a
former sarpanch of Pakhi Khurd village in this district on the charge
of misutilising government funds given to him over two years ago by
the previous Punjab Government for various development work in the
village.
Wife
arrested
in NRI murder case
Phagwara, October 17
Mrs Rajwinder Kaur, wife of Gurpartap Singh, has been arrested on
charges of murdering her husband in connivance with her father Tarsem
Singh, alias Baldev Singh, and brother Laddu of Ajnoha village.
Lower deduction of
CPF
PU Vice-Chancellor to write to
private colleges
Chandigarh, October 17
The Panjab University Vice-Chancellor, Prof K.N. Pathak, has taken
cognizance of a lower deduction of the contributory provident fund in respect of employees of the non-government, aided colleges
entitled to 95 per cent grants-in-aid.
SLIET
to get deemed university status soon
Techfest 2003 begins
Longowal, October 17
A two-day national-level technical festival Techfest 2003 with the
theme “Technology beyond imagination: A vision of an even better
tomorrow” today began at the Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering
and Technology here. Dr R.S. Nirjar, president of the Indian
Society for Technical Education, New Delhi, inaugurated the
Techfest 2003 by lighting a lamp.
BBK
DAV
College wins youth festival trophy
Amritsar, October 17
BBK DAV College for Women here won the Guru Nanak Dev University
Women’s Zonal Youth Festival A division trophy on the concluding day
of the four-day festival yesterday.
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The Punjab Government, it is learnt, has decided to send the Ludhiana
DIG, Mr Siddharth Chattopadhya, on a 10-day trip to Cook Islands in
the South Pacific to investigate the alleged bank accounts of certain
Punjab politicians, including former Chief Minister Parkash Singh
Badal. Mr Chattopadhya is attached to the Vigilance Bureau, Punjab,
that is investigating the assets of the Badal family.
SAS Nagar, October 17