P U N J A B

Top stories | Politics | Community | Courts

Agriculture | Administration | Crime

TOP STORIES

Another scam in supply of levy rice to FCI
Bathinda, January 3
A section of rice millers in alleged connivance with FCI officials have found a new way of fleecing the government in the sale of levy rice. They are reportedly offering levy rice to the FCI in new gunny bags with the government trademark, which are only issued by government agencies for procuring wheat or paddy.

Editorial: Rot in FCI

Modus operandi of the rice scandal
Chandigarh, January 3
The rice scandal involving Rs 700 crore in Punjab is multidimensional. Obviously, bribe money in crores changes hands between officials and rice millers involved in the scandal to get substandard rice accepted in the Central pool.

Food & Supply Controller in Vigilance net

Moga, January 3 The Vigilance Bureau last night arrested the District Food and Supply Controller (DFSC), Mr Manish Narula, for accepting bribe from a rice miller from Jalalabad.
Munish Narula, District Food and Supply Controller (centre), who has been arrested by the Vigilance Bureau in Moga. — Photo by Iqbal Singh

SAD MLA Marar may join Cong at Maghi mela
Muktsar, January 3
The Congress appears set to give the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) another jolt on its home turf, as Akali MLA from Muktsar, Sukhdarshan Singh Marar, is likely to join the ruling party at its conference on Maghi mela.

Punjab plans subtle protest to avoid Sudagar-type arrest
Chandigarh, January 3
After discussing the matter at the level of the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, the Punjab Government has decided to lodge a protest in a subtle manner to the Chandigarh Administration with regard to the arrest of Sudagar Singh, an employee of the Punjab’s Revenue Department, by the UT’s Vigilance Department on
December 1.

Carriappa’s guard gets pension after 44 years Harpala (Patiala), January 3 He guarded the first Indian Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa, but was left to fend for himself after being boarded out of the Army on medical grounds. For Sewa Singh it was a 44-year long struggle to get his pension. Now nearing 80, Sewa Singh was enrolled in the Brigade of the Guards in July, 1950, and was discharged in 1957 with 100 per cent disability. While posted in Jammu and Kashmir he suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis and tub lymph adenites. Ex-guardsman Sewa Singh (left) along with his son Hari Sharan at his home in Harpala village near Patiala on Tuesday. — Tribune photo by Pervesh Chauhan

2,612 killed in road accidents in 2005
Hoshiarpur, January 3
Mr S.S. Sharma, Inspector-General of Police Traffic, Punjab, has expressed his concern over the increase in number of road accidents and said as many as 2,612 persons, including ladies and children were killed in 2,805 road accidents during 2005 in state.

POLITICS

Third front to have CMP: Chandumajra
Amritsar, January 3
Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra, president, SAD (Longowal), said today that the forthcoming third front would be formed with a common minimum programme of like-minded parties.

Bandh observed in Kashipur
Chandigarh, January 3
While the former Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, today spoke to the Uttaranchal Chief Minister, Mr N.D. Tiwari to stop the authorities concerned from carrying out further demolition of houses of farmers near Kashipur (Udham Singh Nagar), a near-complete bandh was observed in Kashipur town today against the government’s action.

COMMUNITY

Visa-free travel likely for journalists in SAARC nations
Jalandhar, January 3
Journalists of all South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries may be able to travel in any or all seven countries of South Asia sans visa soon.

Bureaucrats involved in land grabbing: MLA
Kharar, January 3
The Kharar MLA, Mr Bir Devinder Singh, said here today that he would be meeting the Prime Minister to expose the activities of the land mafia operating in areas around Chandigarh.

NRIs extend help to schizophrenic sisters Bathinda, January 3 Following media reports on the plight of two sisters suffering from schizophrenia, owners of Matrix Packing Company, Toronto, today extended a financial aid of Rs 50,000 to them. An NRI hands over Rs 50,000 to the father of schizophrenic sisters in Bathinda on Monday. Mr Rahul Bhandari, Deputy Commissioner (left), is also seen in the picture. — Photo by Kulbir Beera

Cold wave claims 2 lives
Bathinda, January 3
The cold wave claimed two more lives in the district last night, taking the death toll to 11 this season.

Love-lorn couple consumes poison
Husband dead; wife in hospital
Patiala, January 3
A youth identified as Amit Kumar of Dhuri town of Sangrur district, along with a girl identified as Manun, allegedly committed suicide by consuming Celphos tablets, in a local hotel today. The couple had got married against the wishes of their families a few months ago,

Sex tests: informers to be rewarded
Chandigarh, January 3
Embarrassed at the declining sex ratio in the state, the Punjab Government has decided to adopt new strategies to provide more “teeth” to the field teams to check the conduct of pre-natal diagnostic tests (sex-determination tests). Also, a system of rewards has been introduced for informers.

Warehouse workers go on relay fast
Sangrur, January 3
Three members of the Punjab State Warehouse Workers Union (AICCTU) this afternoon began a relay fast in front of the Deputy Commissioner (DC) office here, protesting against the removal of 16 daily-wage workers of the Warehouse Centre II, Sunam, and non-payment of wages to the removed workers for four months.

40 sheep crushed under train
Khanna, January 3
Traffic was disrupted on the Ambala-Ludhiana railway section this evening when more than 40 sheep were crushed to death under a super fast train, 5 km from here. The train remained stranded on the tracks as the accident caused engine failure.

Don’t uproot Sikhs: SGPC chief
Amritsar, January 3
The SGPC took serious view of the situation in Uttaranchal and called for an end to the uprooting of Sikhs there.

Residents seek better facilities
Kharar, January 3
Residents of Sunny Enclave demanded that they should be provided better facilities in the area.

COURTS

high court
MP challenges order of Special Judge
Chandigarh, January 3
Former Punjab minister and Shiromani Akali Dal MP Rattan Singh Ajnala has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the December 13, 2005 order of the Special Judge hearing the corruption case against him.

AGRICULTURE

Rain brings smile to farmers
Chandigarh, January 3
For Punjab farmers, the much-awaited rain has come. In fact, it has come a week late. However, the rain is welcome as it coincides with the second round of irrigation for the wheat crop on over 34.20 lakh hectares in the state.

ADMINISTRATION

Inside Babudom
Eight recommended for promotion to IAS
Chandigarh, January 3
After a gap of more than eight years a group of Punjab Civil Service (PCS) officers are to be promoted to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).

Road safety week begins
Fatehgarh Sahib, January 3
The Transport Department, in collaboration with the district administration and the police, has launched Traffic Awareness-cum-Road Safety Week in the district.

CRIME

Undertrial escapes from police custody
Patiala, January 3
Amrik Singh, who has been facing trials in a number of criminal cases connected with the smuggling of narcotics and others, escaped from the police custody late last night while he was getting treatment in the local Rajindra Hospital.

Two killed in road accidents
Rajpura, January 3
Two persons were killed in separate road accidents in Dera Bassi and here since yesterday.

19 cartridges seized from Bihar resident
Rajpura, January 3
Bablu Kumar, a resident of Bihar, was arrested by the Government Railway Police (GRP) from onboard the Amritsar-Asansol Express on the charges of possessing 19 live cartridges of AK-47 assault rifle.

7 hurt in mishap
Kharar, January 3
Seven persons were injured, three of them seriously, in an accident involving a bus and a truck near Sahora village today.