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Food row takes new turn; SIT to
probe matter
Jalandhar, August 26
The controversy over a dispute, which arose between a group of youths and the owner of a local hotel over the alleged serving of food with some foreign material in one of the dishes, has taken a new turn with the constitution of a special investigation team to investigate the matter by SSP Ishwar Singh on the one hand and with allegations levelled by the hotel owners that entire ‘drama’ was enacted at the instance of land mafia, which wanted to usurp one of their hotels.

Save Sarabjit campaign at Wagah Wagah, August 26 The “Save Sarabjit Singh campaign” today reached the Wagah’s zero line here with emotional slogans. It was the first “people-to-people appeal” made at the time of the daily Retreat ceremony. An Indian student at the Wagah joint checkpost appeals to the Pakistanis for the release of Sarabjit Singh. — Photo by Rajiv Sharma

Indian youths’ kin in Pak want them freed

Carpenter’s dream goes sour Forced to beg abroad by fake travel agent Taragarh (Hoshiarpur), August 26 His passion to earn money brought his family under a huge debt. Instead of getting a job abroad, he was forced to beg for survival in Kuwait. Ram Pal with his parents at his native village Taragarh, about 15 km from Hoshiarpur, on Friday. — A Tribune photograph

Bibi defends nomination of defaulters on trust
Chandigarh, August 26
The President of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Bibi Jagir Kaur, today defended her decision to appoint those persons as trustees of the Sri Guru Ramdass Charitable Hospital Trust who had defaulted on payments to SGPC-run educational institutions.

VB report given quiet burial
Chandigarh, August 26
In October 2004, the Vigilance Bureau, Punjab, launched a state-wide operation to monitor the functioning of 93 nursing institutes. This move came after the VB received complaints of large-scale irregularities being committed by managements of the institutes.

COMMUNITY

PSHRC withdraws probe from ADGP on Dalit’s death
Chandigarh, August 26
Over six months after the custodial death of Satnam Singh, alias Satta, a Dalit of Jalandhar district, the Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) has decided to conduct an inquiry into the case itself.

Of 50 lakh HIV infected, 20 lakh have TB, says expert
Sangrur, August 26
“AIDS and tuberculosis are closely inter-linked diseases, so the government and the non-government organisations will have to work with dedication and missionary spirit to control the further spread of HIV/AIDS and TB in a big way.

AI plane grounded due to bird-hit
Amritsar, August 26
As many as 172 passengers booked on Air India’s flight from Mumbai-Delhi via Amritsar to Birmingham en route to Toronto were stranded this morning when the aircraft failed to arrive from Delhi at 8.25 a.m.

Punjab witnessing longer power cuts
Patiala, August 26
After having experienced comfortable situation during the past few weeks, Punjab has again started witnessing longer power cuts following the failure of Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) to fulfil the demand of power.

Residents reel under power cuts
Ropar, August 26
More than 10 hours of unscheduled power cuts for the past three days have made miserable the life of city residents. The residence complained of shortage of water supply and felt reluctant to send their children to schools.

Punjabi translation facility sought in RS
Chandigarh, August 26
A member of the Rajya Sabha, Mr M.S. Gill, has written to the Chairman of the Upper House to make permanent arrangements for translating his speech from Punjabi into other languages such as English and Hindi.

Tubewell billing pattern to be half yearly
Gurdaspur, August 26
To provide additional benefit to farmers the government will convert their electricity billing pattern for tubewells from monthly to half yearly.

Protest against water shortage
Jalandhar, August 26
Anguished over a shortage of water and other problems, residents of Ward Nos 43 and 44 held a dharna in front of the zonal office of the local Municipal Corporation at Bir Babrik Chowk here today.

Chief Secy orders removal of illegal gate
Amritsar, August 26
Chief Secretary, Punjab, Jai Singh Gill yesterday directed the Deputy Commissioner to get an iron gate blocking an old lane in Chheharta township, near here removed.

Youth’s family seeks 2 days to decide on panchayat order
Abohar, August 26
The family of a youth today sought two days’ time to take a decision on the order issued by village panchayat over accepting a Dalit girl as bride.

The only day when men have access to this temple
Phagwara, August 26
Janmashtami has a unique significance for men devotees here. It is the only day in the year when the doors of an all-women temple are thrown open for menfolk!

Structures razed
Phagwara, August 26
More than 45 illegal structures on government land were razed during a major joint anti-encroachment drive carried out by various agencies of the local Nagar Council here today.

CM misinformed on bridge status: panel
Mansa, August 26
The Railway Underbridge Sangharsh Committee, which has been making efforts for the construction of an underbridge at the railway crossing level No.C-206, on Wednesday demanded a probe as to how the Chief Minister was misinformed about the status of the underbridge.

Roadways workers stop buses plying without permits
Ropar, August 26
Workers of various Punjab Roadways unions today stopped several buses plying on the roads without any permit. They launched a campaign in the morning in front of new bus stand here. Drivers of some of the private buses stopped by the employees did not have any valid documents.

Villagers protest ash dumping
Ropar, August 26
Residents of Tappar Majra village today protested against the dumping of ash and release of polluted water in their agricultural land by paper mills.

One killed in accident
Fatehgarh Sahib, August 26
One person was killed on the spot and another injured, when a TATA 407 hit a motor cycle at Sirhind this evening.

Scabies: five medical teams deployed
Chandigarh, August 26
The Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, has issued instructions to the Health and Family Welfare Department to step up efforts to check the spread of scabies in some pockets of Bathinda district.

AGRICULTURE

Bumper cotton crop likely this year
Bathinda, August 26
Even as cotton experts are optimistic about the revival of “white gold” with a bumper crop like 1989-90, cotton yield may fall short of expectations in absence of rainfall in the coming 8-10 days.

EDUCATION

Sainik School wards await revised scholarships
Kapurthala: Though the Punjab Government had revised scholarships for the wards of Sainik School, Kapurthala, after a gap of 16 years, no grant for the purpose has reached the school even after its students have passed out their previous session.

100 govt schools identified for nursery classes
Sangrur, August 26
With a view to promoting quality pre-school education among children in the age group of three to five years under the Early Child Care Education Project of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the district education authorities have identified 100 government primary schools in Sangrur district to open nursery schools there.