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PM plans debt relief for states
Chandigarh, December 30
The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, is preparing to announce a big financial package in shape of financial relief to lessen the burden of various central loans and debt on the states. Informed sources said the relief would come to the states from the Centre in the wake of the recommendations made by the 12th Finance Commission.

A missing family hailed from Ropar
Tajpura (Ropar), December 30
Ten members of a family, hailing from Tajpura village, 25 km from Ropar, have been missing from Nicobar Island since Sunday’s disaster. Despite repeated attempts, their relatives here could not trace Mr Parkash Singh and his family members. They were living in Campbell Bay. The family was among Sikh ex-servicemen from Punjab who had settled in Nicobar Island in 1970s.

Contribute liberally for tsunami victims, says CPI

CBI frames charges in 6 Punwire cases
Mohali, December 30
Field investigators of the Central Bureau of Investigations have completed their probe into the multi-crore Punjab Wireless Limited scam. The CBI has filed charge sheets in six of the 24 FIRs it was investigating regarding Punwire and would be filing charge sheets in the remaining cases at the special court in Patiala within the next month.

Punjab may have Umbilical Cord Blood Bank
Chandigarh, December 30
Punjab is all set to stake its claim for the prestigious Umbilical Cord Blood Bank research, development and therapy centre, proposed to be set up in the state by Hitostem Inc, a US-based company.

Hoardings galore despite HC ban Amritsar, December 30 The rules are framed to be flouted and orders passed to be violated. This is perhaps the philosophy on which the district administration and political leaders work. The huge hoarding put up in front of main entrance of Nehru Shopping Complex by the Amritsar Improvement Trust. — Photo by Rajiv Sharma

Sleuths seize 107 blank summons from cop’s house
Chandigarh, December 30
Less than 48 hours after a Deputy Superintendent of Police was nabbed on the allegations of accepting bribe, Punjab Vigilance Bureau today recovered 107 blank summons from the Mohali residence of a traffic police official.

Sikh connection of Jarawas
Chandigarh, December 30
It is, perhaps, not known to mainlanders that endangered aborigine tribes of the Andaman and Nicobar islands have age-old enmity with the sea.

COMMUNITY

Open Wagah border for trade route: Pak growers Jalandhar, December 30 To exchange a technical know-how about potato cultivation, farmers from Pakistan took a round of various farms of the district here today. A delegation of Pakistani potato growers interacts with its Indian counterparts about latest seeds of potato at a farm near Jalandhar on Thursday. — Photo by S. S. Chopra

Punjab likely to videograph FIRs in dowry cases
Chandigarh, December 30
An alarming rise in the number of dowry deaths in Punjab has forced the state government to contemplate videography of FIR registration procedures in such cases.

Link defence deals with turban issue: Mann
Chandigarh, December 30
The President of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, today urged the Union Government to link all defence deals with the French Government to the turban issue.

Dalit activists block traffic
Phagwara, December 30
A large number of Dalits, led by the Ambedkar Sena, today held a protest march, blocked traffic at the Gol Chowk on the GT Road for half an hour and stoned the window panes of a trailer when its driver was involved in a tiff with the protestors.

Auction of cattle fair site turned out to be a farce
Ropar, December 30
High drama prevailed during the auction of the seven sites for cattle fair in the district today as officials of district administration appeared to be mere spectators while the parties came for the auctions managed to dictate their terms and conditions.

National Commission to seek special package for safai sewaks
Pathankot, December 30
The National Commission for Safai Sewaks would urge the Punjab Government to give special package for the upliftment of the safai sewaks in the state. Ms Santosh Chaudhary, chairman of the commission stated this while talking to mediapersons here today.

Stone of shopping plaza laid
Jalandhar, December 30
The Punjab Local Bodies Minister, Choudhary Jagjit Singh, today laid foundation stone of Rs 9 crore ultra-modern parking and shopping plaza at Model Town here.

CITU submits memo to DC
Bathinda, December 30
The local unit of Centre of the Indian Trade Unions (CITU) today submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner against the ordinance of Central Government amending the Indian Patent Act, 1970, thereby providing product patent on medicines and chemicals.

PSEB staff threaten agitation
Hoshiarpur, December 30
Mr Harbhajan Singh, president, and Mr Om Parkash, general secretary of the Punjab Ministerial Services Union of the PSEB, condemned the decision of state government for converting the electricity board into a corporation.

Ex-servicemen hold rally
Patiala, December 30
An Ex-servicemen rally was organised at Patiala Military Station here today.

Payment of pension dues in Jan
Moga, December 30
The Punjab Government would pay the widow and old-age pension, along with the pending dues, to the beneficiaries in January, the Political Secretary to the CM, Mr Harchand Singh Barsat, stated this while interacting with mediapersons here yesterday.

• Cold wave claims two lives

AGRICULTURE

Farmers protest against non-payment of cane arrears
Gurdaspur, December 30
The farmers today blocked traffic on the Amritsar-Pathankot National Highway for about three hours to protest against the non-payment of sugarcane dues. Hundreds of farmers from across the district descended on the highway at about 12 noon in front of the cooperative sugar mill in Paniar village.

• Cane growers block traffic

BKU to mobilise farmers for agitation
Abohar, December 30
The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) today resolved to start village level meetings from tomorrow to mobilise the farmers for an agitation.

BKU stages dharna outside sugar mill

Faridkot, December 30 Protesting against non-payment of dues to the cane farmers, the Bharatiya Kisan Union Ekta today staged a dharna outside the Cooperative Sugar Mill here. BKU Ekta activists stage protest outside the Cooperative Sugar Mill in Faridkot on Thursday.

ADMINISTRATION

• Ashwani Sekhri to be Parliamentary Secretary

CRIME

Ludhiana, Jalandhar witnessed maximum crime in Punjab
Chandigarh, December 30
Punjab witnessed two murders, a rape, an assault on a public servant, four burglaries and seven thefts a day throughout 2004 besides recording 10 cases of kidnapping every week. Against 10 cases a week under Prevention of Corruption Act in 2003, the number of such cases dropped to six a week thus indicating a slowdown in the government’s campaign in weeding out this menace from the State.

Thief arrested with stolen truck
Gurdaspur, December 30
The Pathankot police has arrested Ramesh Singh, a resident of Katra town of Jammu and Kashmir, and recovered from him a truck stolen from Ludhiana.

EDUCATION

VC receives directive from Governor
Amritsar, December 30
The Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University has reportedly received a communication from the Governor-cum-Chancellor of the university to nominate a physiotherapist as next head of the Department of Sports Medicine and Physiotherapy, by superseding Dr G.S. Kang.

Camp to check Sikh youth falling prey to drugs Moga, December 30 The Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle, Ludhiana, today kicked off a three-day camp to check Sikh youth from going stray and falling prey to drugs at Guru Nanak College here. While a large number of college and senior secondary school students are participating in the camp, Sikh intellectuals from the USA, UK, and Canada are here to enlighten them on various issues.

Sikh youths take pledge at a three-day camp in Moga on Thursday. — Photo by Iqbal Singh

Participation in nanotechnology stressed
Amritsar, December 30
The thesis of Mr Sunil Nair of Indore on “Magnetic and Transport Properties of Charge Ordered and Layered manganite” was adjudged the best on the concluding day of the five-day National Symposium on Solid State Physics held at Guru Nanak Dev University here today.

NSS camp concludes
Bathinda, December 30
A 10-day National Service Scheme (NSS) camp, which was organised by the local DAV College at Sivian village in this district concluded today.