Jalandhar, November 21
Northern Railway has decided to run several AC superfast special trains for the convenience of Vaishno Devi pilgrims.

According to railway sources, the trains between New Delhi-Jammu Tawi and Udhampur will start running from the first week of December.

The weekly special train 2425A/2426A will run from December 2 to 31 between New Delhi and Jammu Tawi. The 2425A New Delhi-Jammu Tawi weekly Rajdhani Special train will depart from New Delhi at 9.10 pm every Saturday to reach Jammu Tawi at 6.30 am the next day.

The 2426A Jammu Tawi-New Delhi Rajdhani train will depart from Jammu Tawi at 9.10 pm every Sunday from December 3 to 31 and arrive in New Delhi at 7 am the next day.

The special train will comprise one Ist AC, three AC 2 Tier and nine AC 3 Tier coaches, besides two brake vans. The train will stop at Panipat, Ambala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar Cantt and Chakki Bank station.

Similarly, another tri-weekly special train, 0403/0404, will run between New Delhi-Udhampur from December 3 and January 1.

The 0403 New Delhi-Udhampur-New Delhi tri-weekly superfast special train will depart from New Delhi at 9.10 pm every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday to reach Udhampur at 9 am the next day.

The 0404 Udhampur-New Delhi tri-weekly train will depart from Udhampur at 7.45 pm every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from December 4 to January 1 and arrive in New Delhi at 7 am the next day.

Comprising one AC 2 Tier, one AC 3 Tier, eight second-class sleeper, two general second-class coaches, the train will stop at Panipat, Ambala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar Cantt and Chakki Bank and Jammu Tawi station.

2445A/2446A New Delhi-Udhampur-New Delhi weekly superfast special will run from December 1 to 30.

The 2445A New Delhi-Udhampur weekly train will depart from New Delhi at 8.35 pm every Friday from December 1 to 29 to reach Udhampur at 9 am the next day.

In the return direction, it will depart from Udhampur at 7.45 pm every Saturday from December 2 to 30 and reach New Delhi at 7 am.

Pathankot, November 21
Terrorist victims of the area today blocked traffic on the Pathankot Jammu road near Chakki bridge to press acceptance for their demands. Nearly 100 victims sat on dharna on the road at 12 noon raising slogans against the Punjab and Union Government. Traffic remained suspended on the road for one hour.

The families of the terrorist victims have been demanding financial package on a par with that announced for the 1984 anti-Sikh violence.

Leaders of terrorist victim associations alleged most of their families lost at least one of their members to the terrorists. They had to migrate selling lands in rural areas for peanuts due to threats from terrorists.

The families who owned agriculture land in rural areas were reduced to labourers after they lost their land to terrorism. While a lot of hue and cry was being made for victims of the 1984 victing none was taking up the cause of the terrorist victims families.

The terrorist victims had planned to move to the Pathankot civil airport today to hand over a memorandum of demands to the visiting Union Minister. However, security forces did not allow them to go either to the venue of the rally or the civil airport.

They had to contend with sitting on road and blocking traffic for some time. The terrorist victim families’ association has threatened to intensify agitation in case their demands were not met.

Sangrur, November 21
A vigilance team of the Punjab Urban Local Bodies Department, today raided the office of the Municipal Council (MC) here and recorded statements of the employees of the Municipal Engineer branch of the council, besides the statement of executive officer (EO) of the MC, in connection with the construction of a restaurant building and a petrol station on prime government land near Civil Hospital here.

The team also visited site of the restaurant and the petrol station.

Mr Ranbir Singh, EO of the council, said the vigilance team had visited the office of the MC for an inquiry on the basis of a complaint, regarding the construction of a restaurant and a petrol station on government land.

Sources said that the MC had passed the building plan of both establishments without verifying ownership of the land as no document had been produced before the council on the ownership of the properties by the parties concerned at the time of passage of building plans.

Mansa, November 21
The (CPI) has threatened Communist Party & India an agitation if the police didn’t rescue a kidnapped Dalit girl and curb immoral trade in the town.

Addressing a meeting of party workers here today, CPI leader Dr Harminderjeet Kaur Joga said flesh trade and hooliganism were on the rise in the city, especially in localities of the underprivileged society. She claimed girls from poor families were being pushed into flesh trade. She said two Dalit girls from poor families were kidnapped recently from Ward No. 1 and their kin contacted local CPI leaders. Who took up the matter with the police which recovered one girl on November 19. The other girl was still missing, and the main accused arrested on the same day, succeeded in escaping from police custody. The CPI workers staged a march outside the police station as the police had failed to arrest anyone in the case.

SSP Ram Singh said nobody had escaped from police custody.

Acquisition of land opposed
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 21
“We will not allow our land acquired for Rs 20 lakh per acre and re-sold for Rs 4 crore by the Improvement Trust,” said Mr Jasbir Singh Padhri, Chairman, Khalra Mission Committee, at a press conference here today.

Mr Padhri alleged Improvement Trust Chairman Jugal Kishore Sharma was behaving like a property dealer and not allowing the farmers to sell prime land at the market price. He said a CBI inquiry should be initiated against Mr Sharma and his property as the land deal of New Amritsar Phase II Scheme was turning out to be a big scam of Rs 600 crore.

AGRICULTURE

Rs 2,877 cr to be disbursed as loans

Jalandhar, November 21
The Cooperatives Minister, Mr Amarjit Singh Samra, said yesterday agricultural loans totalling Rs 2,877 crore would be disbursed by 20 Central cooperative banks in the state, out of which Rs 556 crore had already been disbursed.

Mr Samra, who was speaking on the occasion of 53rd All-India Cooperative Week at Nakodar, said the rate of interest of agricultural loan had been reduced from 14.5 per cent to 7 per cent. "Not only the agricultural sector but also the state cooperative banks have played a significant role," he added. — PTI

Hoshiarpur, November 21
Strained relations between Jaswinder Kaur and her husband Head Constable Prabhjinder Singh allegedly compelled her to hire Harpreet Singh of 67 Engineering Regiment, Meerut Cantonment, to kill her husband.

Mr R.N. Dhoke, SSP, stated in a press conference today that on the request of the police, Army officials made Harpreet Singh surrender before the judicial court of Dasuya. He was arrested after warrants were obtained against him. The police has also arrested Jaswinder Kaur.

The SSP said that Prabhjinder Singh of Punjab Police, posted as gunman with Sant Baba Charan Singh of Dera Bhikhowal, was shot dead at his home on the night of November 10-11.

Jaswinder Kaur had stated at 1.30 a.m. that night, someone rang the doorbell and when she opened the door, four unidentified youths sprayed her with something that made her unconscious and locked her in the nearby room. Her children were sleeping in the adjacent room.

After few minutes, she heard sound of gunshots. She cried and again went unconscious. She further stated the accused took away Rs 80,000 cash and ornaments from an almirah in the store. On her statement an FIR had been registered in the Dasuya Police Station.

The SSP said during investigation the police felt that Prabhjinder Singh was murdered under a plan.

When family members were questioned separately, it came to light that Prabhjinder Singh used to beat his wife up and children frequently.

During interrogation, Jaswinder Kaur broke down and confessed to striking a deal with her nephew Harpreet Singh, serving in 67th Engineering Regiment at Meerut for Rs 7 lakh and paid him Rs 2.5 lakh as advance for killing her husband.

Tarn Taran, November 21
Mukhtiar Singh, his wife Harjit Kaur and daughter Kanwaljit Kaur of Bakshiwala (Patiala) village — accused in the multi-crore defrauding case with Dera Kar Sewa Baba Jeewan Singh here were remanded in police custody till November 23. (Baba) Amrik Singh prime accused in the case, is absconding. He has been declared a proclaimed offender (PO).

The accused were produced in a court here which remanded them in police custody.

A case under Sections 420,406,467,478,471 of the IPC had been registered at the police here. A case under similar Sections was registered by Patiala police also. (Baba) Amrik Singh used to go abroad to collect donations from the Sikh Sangat.

Chandigarh, November 21
The Punjab State Board of Technical Education and Industrial Training has introduced an undergraduate diploma course in automobile engineering in 10 polytechnics of the state. The syllabus for the course was finalised yesterday at the meeting of the academic committee of the board.

The secretary of the board, Mr Yashvir Mahajan, stated that this had been done to give another option to students who wanted to take up diploma courses.

He added that the course led to immense opportunities for students from Punjab to work abroad specially the various car manufacturing European nations.

The course was offered to students at the beginning of the three-year diploma and will be taught in these polytechnics in the remaining four semesters.

Degree course in automobile engineering is available in some engineering colleges but this is the first time that the course is being offered as a diploma.

The course is being offered at LLRM Polytechnic Ajitwal, Moga, GND Polytechnic Ludhiana, SBS College of Pharmacy Patti, Doaba Polytechnic Nawanshahr, R and D Centre, Ludhiana, Lord Krishna Polytechnic, Kapurthala, Malwa Polytechnic, Faridkot, Rayat Polytechnic, Ropar, Punjab Polytechnic, Lalru and CT Polytechnic, Jalandhar.

“The academic committee yesterday finalised the syllabus for the course. We have ensured that the latest technologies form a part of the syllabus for manufacturing diesel and petrol vehicles.

Also a special effort has been made to include the changes that have come in the field of automobile engineering in terms of IT-driven technologies,” added Mahajan.

The board is currently running 36 diploma courses in over 150 polytechnics affiliated to it.

Another hundred trades (certificate courses) are also offered by the board in the various Industrial Training Institutes being run by it.

Mr Mahajan said the entire curricula of the various courses being offered by the board was being revamped and the fresh syllabus in tune with the demands of upcoming industries would be introduced in the forthcoming coming sessions.

Fatehgarh Sahib, November 21
The Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Engineering College, Fatehgarh Sahib, has been selected by the Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE) for the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan National Award for best overall performance for 2006.

The award will be presented in the 36th annual convention of the ISTE, to be held at the Bennari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathamangalam, Erode, Tamil Nadu, on December 14.

The college will organise an international conference on advances in mechanical engineering from December 1 to 3.

The college has received a research grant of Rs 7,68,000 from the Union Ministry of Science for research on development of erosion and corrosion resistant thermal spray coatings for power plant boilers.