Hola Mohalla: Lakhs throng Anandpur Sahib Anandpur Sahib, March 3 Devotees in large numbers thronged this town on the second day of annual Hola Mohalla festival, to pay obeisance at the Keshgarh Sahib gurdwara and take holy dip in the sarovar here. Nihangs with traditional headgear throng Gurdwara Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib on the occasion of Hola Mohalla at Anandpur Sahib on Saturday. — Tribune photo by Parvesh Chauhan

SAD makes the most of no show by Congress
Anandpur Sahib, March 3
Just four days after having lost the elections in Punjab, the Congress did not hold its political conference on the occasion of Hola Mohalla here today.

Ropar to be divisional headquarters: CM
Ropar, March 3
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s announcement today to upgrade Ropar district as the fifth divisional headquarters of the state led to celebrations here. The people all over the district distributed sweets and burst crackers.

‘Fireworks’ likely at Cong MLAs’ meeting
Chandigarh, March 3
There will certainly be “fireworks” at the March 5 meeting of the newly elected MLAs of the Congress. The meeting has been convened by the Punjab pradesh congress committee, Shamsher Singh Dullo, at Punjab Congress Bhavan on that day at 11.30 am.

All BJP ministers are law graduates
Sangrur, March 3
All five BJP ministers inducted into the Punjab Cabinet are law graduates.

RS bypoll candidate: Uphill task for Badal
Chandigarh, March 3
Immediately after the announcement of election schedule by the Election Commission today for byelection to fill vacant seat from Punjab in the Rajya Sabha, a race has begun among senior Akali leaders to enter the upper house. The seat had become vacant following the death of Sukhbans Kaur Bhinder sometime back.

PMT muddle: Varsity refuses to identify guilty paper-setters
Amritsar, March 3
Though Guru Nanak Dev University claims having taken action against the paper-setters in the PMT 2005 case, the university authorities continue to be silent on the identity of those involved in the PMT muddle.

25 hurt as mini-bus overturns
Abohar, March 3
Twentyfive persons, including some minors, were injured, one of them seriously, as the mini-bus they were travelling in overturned near a sub-canal outside Dangarkhera, 8 km from here, last evening.

COMMUNITY

SDM for action against jail in charge
Ropar, March 3
SDM P.S. Gill yesterday recommended disciplinary action against the district jail in charge following a report on the beating up of an undertrial by the jail staff.

Mass cremation: Bhalla panel chastises police
Amritsar, March 3
The Bhalla Commission of Inquiry appointed by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to establish identities of the remaining 814 mass cremation victims killed during militancy, held its fourth hearing here today.

Eye camp for jail inmates
Amritsar, March 3
The fountain head of the jail reforms, Dr Kiran Bedi, a Megasaysay award-winner today said jail reforms in the country had become an irreversible movement, which provided fresh hope to jail inmates.

Drugs menace goes unchecked
Moga, March 3
Even though studies conducted by NGOs have established that a large number of youth living in this district and adjoining areas are fast becoming addicted to drugs, efforts being made by authorities to check the menace have failed to yield any results.

Rs 2 lakh for ailing gold medallist
Chandigarh, March 3
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has announced financial help of Rs 2 lakh to Parduman Singh, an international athlete, who is critically ill these days. Responding to a request made by one Narinder Singh, Badal asked chief secretary K.R. Lakhanpal to give the money to Parduman Singh from the Chief Minister's relief fund.

2 sisters killed in house collapse
Abohar, March 3
Two minor girls were killed when the roof of a house in Ahmad Dandi village on the Abohar-Ferozepore road collapsed yesterday after heavy rainfall.

On-the-spot inquiry into collapse of shed
Abohar, March 3
Divisional Superintendent (Safety) Gobind Narain Sharma has been asked to rush to Sriganganagar to conduct an on-the-spot inquiry into the collapse of a cement sheet shed near the “model” railway station, sources said today.

Fatehgarh workers seek ministry for MLA
Fatehgarh Sahib, March 3
A large number of SAD-BJP workers, under the leadership of Didar Singh Bhatti, MLA Sirhind, yestertday celebrated the formation of the SAD-BJP government, led by Parkash Singh Badal at Bhatti farmhouse Sirhind.

Plight of nomadic tribes highlighted
Patiala, March 3
A two-day national conference, which was organised by the department of sociology and social anthropology of the Punjabi University, on the topic "Tribes of Punjab: A Social Anthropological Inquiry" concluded here today.

Saplings planted
Patiala, March 3
The community services banking department of the State Bank of Patiala planted saplings in front of the lake near Kali Devi temple and along the Mall Road here today.