Barnala, August 29
The process of making voter identity cards will begin in Barnala Assembly constituency from September1 and continue till September 30.

Disclosing this here in a press note today, Mr Zora Singh Thind, SDM, Barnala, informed that in the ensuing Punjab Assembly poll no one would be allowed to exercise his/her right to franchise without a voter’s card. He made it clear that all eligible to vote must carry a voter’s card. Those who had either lost their identity cards or damaged them could get a duplicate made for a fee of Rs 25.

Mr Thind further informed that three teams - A, B and C - had been constituted for completing the process. He said as many as 125 BLOs had been put on duty.

Patiala, August 29
A workshop on radio broadcast was organised by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Punjabi University, here today.

Delivering his lecture, Dr H.P.S. Walia, Head of the department, said radio, which was once a very popular medium of communication and entertainment, had lost its glory.

Though with the launch of FM radio this means of entertainment was catching up again, new innovations and creativity were needed to improve the quality of programmes.

The workshop was attended by Dr Amrit Lal Pal, Station Director, AIR, Patiala, Mr Jaswinder Singh Randhawa, Editor, AIR, Chandigarh, Mr Pritam Rupal, news reader, AIR, Mr P.K. Sharma, reporter, AIR, Mr Baltej Pannu, radio commentator from Punjab Di Goonj, Canada, and Mr Karanvir Karan, anchor, AIR, Patiala, and students of the department.

“It’s your dedication and commitment towards your profession which will make you an achiever in life”, said Dr Amrit Lal, referring to the students.

Giving tips about talk shows, Mr Pannu emphasised that a talk show host must have a control over his language and should be in the know of current happenings.

Dr Gurmeet Singh Mann, Lecturer from the department, talked about the developments in the field of broadcast journalism.

Gurdaspur, August 29
Heavy rains that lashed the region in the past two days have caused extensive damage to paddy crop in the district. In many areas the crop has been flattened in the fields due to heavy showers and strong winds.

According to sources the maximum loss has been suffered by the farmers who had gone for early sowing of paddy this season. Their paddy crop, which was almost ready for harvesting has been ruined. However, the rains and winds have flattened the paddy straws causing about 50 per cent damage to the crop. But another such spell of rain and strong winds would totally damage the crop as the ripe seeds would sprout if they get submerged in water.

Besides the early sowing the 60-day variety of paddy has also suffered considerable damage. The flattened paddy crop would also cause harvesting problems for the farmers. 

Ropar, August 29
Three members of a family were killed while one sustained serious injuries when a car in which they were travelling fell into the Sirhind canal near Chamkaur Sahib subdivision, about 20 km from here, this evening. The deceased were identified as 35-year-old Malkiat Singh, Kulwinder Singh and Daljit Singh of Naunumajra. The seriously injured 55-year-old Malkit Singh of Janetpur village was initially admitted to the government hospital in Chamkaur Sahib but later he was referred to the Civil Hospital, Ropar.

The mishap took place about 3.30 pm when all the four were coming from Garshankar after purchasing land there. When they reached near Bhojemajra village in Chamkaur Sahib sub-division. The car slipped into canal as the driver tried to save a scooterist coming from the opposite side.

DSP Daljit Singh along with local residents fished out the Scorpio (PB-12-E-9577 (T)) and the bodies of Malkiat Singh and Baljeet Singh at about 6 pm. An amount of Rs 54 lakh was also recovered from the car. Search for the body of Kulwinder Singh continued.

“Malkiat Singh of Janetpur who was sitting on the front seat managed to swim to safety while the others remained stuck in the car,” Mr Varinder Singh Gill. The bodies of the deceased were kept in Civil Hospital, Ropar, and would be handed over to the family members after post-mortem. A case has been registered against the scooter rider, Baldev Singh.

Ropar, August 29
Three members of a family were killed while one sustained serious injuries when a car in which they were travelling fell into the Sirhind canal near Chamkaur Sahib subdivision, about 20 km from here, this evening. The deceased were identified as 35-year-old Malkiat Singh, Kulwinder Singh and Daljit Singh of Naunumajra. The seriously injured 55-year-old Malkit Singh of Janetpur village was initially admitted to the government hospital in Chamkaur Sahib but later he was referred to the Civil Hospital, Ropar.

The mishap took place about 3.30 pm when all the four were coming from Garshankar after purchasing land there. When they reached near Bhojemajra village in Chamkaur Sahib sub-division. The car slipped into canal as the driver tried to save a scooterist coming from the opposite side.

DSP Daljit Singh along with local residents fished out the Scorpio (PB-12-E-9577 (T)) and the bodies of Malkiat Singh and Baljeet Singh at about 6 pm. An amount of Rs 54 lakh was also recovered from the car. Search for the body of Kulwinder Singh continued.

“Malkiat Singh of Janetpur who was sitting on the front seat managed to swim to safety while the others remained stuck in the car,” Mr Varinder Singh Gill. The bodies of the deceased were kept in Civil Hospital, Ropar, and would be handed over to the family members after post-mortem. A case has been registered against the scooter rider, Baldev Singh.

Talwandi Sabo (Bathinda), August 29
Punjabi University Vice Chancellor Mr S.S. Boparai said today that the Chief Minister’s announcement of establishing a rural university at Talwandi Sabo would materialise in the current year. To be named after Guru Gobind Singh, the varsity would witness its first academic session in 2007. He told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on Guru Granth Sahib here today.

The V-C said only students with rural background would be given admission in the university, which would also have plus one and plus two classes to strengthen their foundation. “Our purpose is to offer quality education to rural youth and bridge the rural-urban gap in the field of education.”

He said stress would be laid on professional and vocational education. Regarding faculty, he said the staff could be from urban areas also, but it would surely be the best. He said they had also projected minimum funds to be provided to the varsity this year and in the coming year. Mr Boparai ruled out any kind of reservation in the rural university.

Meanwhile, DC Rahul Bhandari revealed that the varsity would initially function from the existing university campus at Talwandi Sabo.

Earlier, Finance Minister Surinder Singla, who was made the chief guest at the seminar, was conspicuous by his absence. Mr Ashok Singh Bagaria, Mr Boparai, Prof Jagbir Singh, Prof Jodh Singh, Dr HS Pannu, Prof Brahm Jagdish Singh and Prof Jasbir Singh were among those who presented views at the seminar.

Ferozepore Division Commissioner Mr KS Sidhu, DC Rahul Bhandari and SDM KK Yadav were also present.

Chandigarh, August 29
In a significant move, the Punjab Government has decided to dismiss about 700 government schoolteachers from service. These teachers have been absent from duty for long periods ranging from five years to 20 years. Most of these teachers are believed to have gone abroad and have not returned to join their duties.

These absentee teachers are likely to be dismissed from service, well-placed sources in the Education Department today said, adding that staff in the department had started preparing charge sheets on the “war footing”. These charge sheets will be delivered through registered post at the last known addresses of the teachers in the next few days.

If the registered letters are returned back the department shall issue advertisements in newspapers. The teachers will be asked to reply as to why they should not face action. Interestingly, most of these teachers have continued on the rolls of the department despite being away for so long.

The long list of absentee teachers was uncovered after the department set up an enquiry committee, comprising DPI (primary) Jagtar Singh Khatra and DPI (secondary) H.K. Brar as its members. Jalandhar district tops the list of absentees with 188 cases. Out of this, 44 teachers were off the duty for more than five years and 18 teachers for more than 10 years. Another 75 teachers are absent from Amritsar, 54 from Moga and 46 each from Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur.

In the past, teachers who had been absent for more than 10 years had been reinstated without any action or even a censure. With a history of overlooking such glaring irregularities, the department is initiating action for the first time.

It may be mentioned that other departments in the state are also facing similar situation where about 450 policemen are missing from their duties. Hundreds of pharmacists, doctors and nurses are also absent. All believed to have gone abroad.

Ropar, August 29
Students of Rayat Institute of Engineering and Information Technology today resorted to a protest today against the “illegal” detention and beating up of six second-year students of the college by the police near Asron, about 10 km from here. The six students were picked up by the police late night from the hostel as they were protesting against “poor” quality of meals served in the hostel.

The students staged a dharna near the entrance gate, demanding the sacking of the warden of the boys’ hostel.

Parents of the students, who reached from different places, expressed their unhappiness to the college authorities. The students were allegedly beaten up and left free after three hours of illegal detention, the parents alleged.

When contacted, the vice-president of the Rayat institute, Mr Gurvinder Singh, said the police was called yesterday to stop students indulging in ragging. As per the Supreme Court directions, ragging had been banned in colleges