Expelled members can’t convene meeting, says Ajnala

DEO office fails to send full relief amount
Bathinda, July 6
While the substandard rice sent to tsunami-hit states had already earned a bad name for Punjab, the local DEO (Elementary) office did something similar by not sending a part of the relief amount collected for the tsunami-hit even after one-and-a-half years of the tragedy.

POLITICS

SAD-BJP meeting on seat sharing on July 9
Sangrur, July 6
On the issue of seat sharing between the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the ensuing Assembly elections in Punjab, a joint meeting of both the parties will be held at Ludhiana on July 9.

COMMUNITY

IMA plans stir on Venugopal issue
Jalandhar, July 6
The sudden removal of Dr P. Venugopal, an internationally renowned cardiac surgeon and Director of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), by the Union Health Minister, Dr Anbhumani Ramadoss, has irked the Punjab unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), which, has dubbed it as ‘nothing but, direct political interference in the affairs of the premier medical institution.’

Sack of Venugopal unfortunate, says Sukhbir Badal

Sarpanches yet to get honorarium, says union
Chandigarh, July 6
“When will the Punjab Government start giving Rs 600 per month as honorarium to sarpanches and Rs 300 per month to each panchayat for cleanliness and sanitation in the village concerned?” This question was posed today by the Punjab Panchayat Union to the state government.

Commission hears grievances of SC members
Sangrur, July 6
Hundreds of members of the Scheduled Caste community today aired grievances before the chairman and members of the Punjab State Scheduled Caste Commission (PSSCC) at a meeting of the PSSCC in the district administration complex here.

Nabha police faces MCPI’s ire
Patiala, July 6
The Punjab unit of the Marxist Communist Party of India (MCPI) has condemned the alleged police inaction against the culprits responsible for beating up one Mr Nachattar Singh, an office-bearer of the MCPI.

Badal writes to PM on visa to Pak Sikhs
Chandigarh, July 6
The Shiromani Akali Dal President, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, has urged the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, that visas should be issued to all Sikhs settled in Pakistan who wanted to visit historical Sikh shrines in Punjab and other parts of India.

Mother demands punishment for accused
Ropar, July 6
The mother of a four-year-old boy who was sodomised and strangulated to death on July 1 along with a local resident of the city today took out a rally from Dashmesh colony to Deputy Commissioner's Office demanding that the accused juvenile be arrested in the case.

Memorial to BSF martyrs unveiled
Ferozepore, July 6
To commemorate bravery and devotion of the duty of BSF officers and jawans while fighting insurgents in the Kashmir Valley, the Border Security Force has raised a memorial at Faridkot Chowk at the entrance of the town. It was inaugurated here today by Commissioner, K.S. Sidhu.

Nominations for Bravery Awards
Chandigarh, July 6
The Indian Council for Child Welfare, New Delhi, has invited applications for Bravery Awards, 2006. Children between the age of six and 18, who have shown exemplary courage between July 1, 2005, and June 30, 2006, are eligible for nomination.

Oil tank catches fire at thermal plant
Bathinda, July 6
A tragedy was averted when a fire that broke out on the thermal plant premises was doused in time with the aid of fire engines here today.

COURTS

Transfer of schools to panchayats challenged
Chandigarh, July 5
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued notice of motion on a petition challenging the action of the Punjab Government in transferring control of 3949 government primary schools in rural areas and 232 primary schools in urban areas to the panchayati raj institutions and urban local bodies such as panchayats, zila parishads, etc.

CRIME

One held for duping people
Batala, July 6
The police has busted a fake human rights group which was duping people of the area in the name of providing government jobs and grants under social welfare schemes.

Leader of ‘supari’ gang arrested
Hoshiarpur, July 6
The police has arrested Avtar Singh, a son of Dilbag Singh of Mohkamgarh, a leader of the gang of “supari” killers, under Section 25 of the Arms Act and seized one .315-bore pistol along with five live cartridges and one .12-bore pistol along with 10 live cartridges from him today. This was stated in a press release by Mr R.N. Dhoke, SSP, here. Two FIRs had been registered against him.

SI arrested for rape bid
Mansa, July 6
Sub-inspector Balbir Chand has been arrested on the charge of attempting to rape a woman who had lodged a complaint regarding a family dispute. SSP Ram Singh said that Jasvir Kaur, a resident of Mansa, had lodged complaints against her father-in-law Sukhdev Singh and brother-in-law Ranjeet Singh earlier this month.

EDUCATION

CM in search of 3 VCs
Chandigarh, July 6
The Punjab Government is looking for prominent academicians to fill three posts of Vice Chancellors in three universities of the state. A committee under the Chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, Mr K.R. Lakhanpal, has been set up to find eminent academician for appointment as the Vice Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, in place of Mr S.P. Singh, who will complete five years as VC in the third week of July.

PU go-ahead to law college at Sidhwan Khurd
Chandigarh, July 6
The newly-established law college at Sidhwan Khurd, near Ludhiana, Guru Hargobind Institute of Law for Women, was yesterday granted provisional affiliation by Panjab University, Chandigarh, for running law courses. This follows the recommendation by the university’s inspection team which visited the campus recently.