Badal revives ‘sangat darshan’
Ratta Tibba (Muktsar) March 17
The resumption of 'sangat darshan' programme after five years by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal saw a slew of complaints, including acute shortage of irrigation water, lack of 24-hour power supply and non-upgradation of schools, being redressed on the spot.

• CM not to attend marriages

Pathankot-Amritsar highway accident-prone Gurdaspur, March 17 The Pathankot-Gurdaspur-Amritsar highway has virtually turned into a death trap for motorists for the past one month. The ‘killer’ highway has claimed at least six lives, including that of a young couple and a Class XII student. Deep potholes on the Pathankot-Gurdaspur-Amritsar highway at Dina Nagar that has turned into virtual death trap for commuters. — A Tribune photograph

Security cameras for varsity gates Amritsar, March 17 With a view to improving the academic atmosphere and checking entry of undesirable persons, Guru Nanak Dev University has decided to install security cameras at entry gates in the next couple of days. A security man questions a cyclist at the entry gate of Guru Nanak Dev University. — Photo by Rajiv Sharma

Monuments Act Violation
Top officials to face the music
Amritsar, March 17
Top bureaucrats and senior Congress leaders, who allowed mushrooming of multiplexes on prestigious The Mall, including three mega projects within 500 meters of Summer Palace of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, a national monument, are likely to face the wrath of the present SAD-BJP Government due to the alleged violation of the Punjab Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains Act, 1964.

Coop Dept to don farmer-friendly look Rajpura, March 17 The Punjab Government is considering a major revamp of the Cooperative Department to make its functioning transparent and farmer-friendly, cooperation minister Kanwaljit Singh said here today. As a first step the government has decided to come out with a comprehensive cooperative policy to make farming a profitable occupation, the minister said while talking to reporters here today. Punjab cooperation minister Kanwaljit Singh talks to reporters at Rajpura on Saturday. — A Tribune photograph

POLITICS

SAD campaign to expose Amarinder
Patiala, March 17
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) will organise a mass campaign in the state to expose the corruption that former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had indulged in during his regime in the state,” said Akali leader Harinder Singh Mann at a press conference organised by the SAD here yesterday.

COMMUNITY

MC penalised for denying information
Patiala, March 17
The state information commission has directed the municipal corporation, Patiala, to pay compensation of Rs 250 per day starting from January 11 to a petitioner for denying information sought under the Right to Information Act.

Councillor hurt in clash Pathankot , March 17 Four persons, including a municipal councillor of the local civic body, were injured in a group clash outside a Class X examination centre in Daulatpur Dhaki locality here this morning. Agitators argue with a policeman outside an examination centre at Daulatpur Dhaki locality in Pathankot on Saturday. — A Tribune photograph

3-day annual Urs begins
Fatehgarh Sahib, March 17
The three-day annual Urs, observed in the memory of great Sufi saint Sheikh Ahmad Farooqui Sirhindi, started at Rauza Sharif here today. Thousands of Naqushbandi Muslims from India and abroad, including a jatha of 181 pilgrims from Pakistan led by Ajij-ul-Nabi, has come to pay obeisance.

Cheema adviser to CM; 3 CPSs inducted
Chandigarh, March 17
Daljit Singh Cheema, a trusted aide of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, was yesterday appointed adviser to the Chief Minister in the rank of cabinet minister.

• Cops deployed for Dimpa’s safety: Angra
• DFO shifted

COURTS

CJ: Judges are overburdened
Ludhiana, March 17
Judges of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh are so overburdened with cases that most of them were handling almost double the number of cases than the maximum limit fixed under the specified norms.

AGRICULTURE

Juicing plant to start next month
Hoshiarpur, March 17
Financial commissioner (Development) G. S. Sandhu, Agriculture Department, Punjab, said on account of the recent torrential rains and hailstorm, standing crops especially wheat, had badly been damaged in an area from 55,000 to 60,000 hectares in Punjab.

ADMINISTRATION

Alak Nanda is DC Fatehgarh Sahib
Fatehgarh Sahib, March 17
The Parkash Singh Badal government has posted a new deputy commissioner and SSP in the district. Both the officers have taken charge of their respective posts. Alak Nanda Dayal, 2000 batch IAS officer, took charge as the new DC of the district.

CRIME

Woman alleges bigamy, torture Seeks probe, protection Amritsar, March 17 Prabha Kureel, a resident here has been seeking justice as she has been thrown out of house by husband and in-laws. She alleged she was attacked by husband for protesting against his extra-marital affairs.                                                      Prabha Kureel

Six injured in group clash Patiala, March 17 Six persons were injured when two groups clashed in Sanaur village, near Patiala last evening. Vicky Sangar (17), a waiter from Sanaur, said he had given Rs 200 to one Dallu, which the later refused to return. Vicky Sangar and Deepak Kumar injured in a clash in Sanaur, admitted at the Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala on Saturday. — Tribune photo by Rajesh Sachar.

EDUCATION

Conference stresses on wider use of technology
Longowal, March 17
A two-day national conference on “Design, Dynamics and Manufacturing” was inaugurated by Amalendu Mukherjee, a professor at the IIT, Kharagpur, at the Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology here yesterday.

Experts lay stress on balanced development
Patiala, March 17
Vice-chancellor Swarn Singh Boparai inaugurated a national conference on 'Socio-economic Development and Environmental Sustainability: A Geographical Analysis' which was organised by the Department of Geography, Punjabi University.

Bareta school not affiliated, says CBSE
Chandigarh, March 17
The secretary, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), New Delhi, Vaneet Joshi, has issued a notification regarding a school, DAV Public School, Bareta (Mansal), yesterday.

BUSINESS

Verka launches new milk products
Patiala, March 17
The flagging-off of Verka products to the Milkfed sales office in Delhi and the launching of fresh milk products by the managing director, Milkfed, Punjab, V.K. Singh, was organised here today.

Prices of CDs, DVDs slashed
Ludhiana, March 17
Unable to control the piracy by any means so far, film distributors and copyright holding companies have drastically slashed the prices of VCDs and DVDs hoping to attract the buyers of original and better quality discs.