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VC finds salvation in GM seeds ?

Ludhiana, May 7 The solution to the crisis facing the Punjab agriculture sector lies in genetically modified (GM) crops, contract farming, purpose-oriented agro research and such varieties of crops, which require less watering. Spelling out his mantra for salvaging the rapidly deteriorating agriculture sector, the new Vice-Chancellor of PAU, Dr. Manjit Singh Kang, said that PAU would shortly start research to develop varieties of genetically modified crops.

Manjit Singh Kang

When PUDA turns blind eye to violations

Farmers left landless  Real estate businessmen mint crores Bathinda, May 7 By acquiring and exempting land for developing Phases IV and V of Urban Estate in this town as per its whims and fancies, the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) has left a number of farmers landless. On the other hand it has allowed a section of real estate businessmen to mint money by developing colonies over the land.

Builder violating Forest Act Colony at Kotli village Kotli, (Pathankot), May 7 Throwing all norms to the winds, a politically well-connected builder has been constructing a housing colony at Kotli village along the Pathankot-Amritsar NH No. 15 in violation of the Indian Forest Conversation Act, Indian Forest Act and the Punjab Urban Development Authority, Act, 1995, right under the nose of the authorities concerned.

SAD victimising Cong workers: MLA
Nabha, May7 
"Congress workers of my constituency are in a state of terror.They are being beaten up by political opponents framed by the police at the behest of SAD leaders", Nabha MLA Kaka Randip Singh stated this to mediapersons here today.

Senior leaders invite PPCC’s wrath
Chandigarh, May 7
Without naming former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh or any other senior leader, a resolution was passed here today at meeting of the office-bearers of the Punjab Congress condemning those party leaders who had directly or indirectly criticised national general secretary of the party Janardhan Dwivedi.

Supply atta-dal from today, says PYC
Sangrur, May 7
Accusing the Badal government of playing with the sentiments of lakhs of innocent poor on the atta-dal issue, the Punjab Youth Congress (PYC) today asked the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to start the supply of atta and dal at cheap rates from tomorrow if he wanted to fulfill his poll promise.

 

COMMUNITY

State Round-Up
Work to begin on 4 railway overbridges
Chandigarh, May 7
The Punjab government has given clearance for the construction of four railway overbridges (ROBs) at Mansa, Maur Mandi, Malout and Abohar at a cost of Rs 40 crore.

Atta-dal scheme put off again to Aug 15
Chandigarh, May 7
The launching of the atta-dal scheme in Punjab, which will be in fact the wheat-dal scheme, has been further postponed to August 15 .Earlier, the Badal government had promised to launch the scheme by Baisakhi in April. However, later it was postponed to May 15. Today, the government said that the scheme would be implemented from August 15.

Misuse of ISI mark
BIS conducts raid on Barnala firm
Chandigarh, May 7
A firm in Barnala was among 23 firms raided by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as part of its countrywide enforcement raids against misuse of ISI mark.

Amritsar city development project reports hang fire 
Chandigarh, May 7
Two days after Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal “approved” the Rs 3,150-crore Amritsar city development plan, the fact that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) is yet to be submitted to the Union Government does not help matters.

Badal vows to stop construction of Hansi canal
Chandigarh, May 7
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today directed the state advocate-general to take all legal measures to stall the construction of the 109 km-long Hansi-Butana multipurpose link channel by Haryana.

Suicide: PSHRC seeks report from govt
Chandigarh, May 7
Taking serious note of a news item “Villagers block highway over suicide owing to police apathy”, which appeared in a national daily on May 5, the Punjab state human rights commission today called for a report from the state government on the matter.

Fake encounter probe to cover more cases
Chandigarh, May 7
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said the inquiry into the alleged killing of innocent persons in the name of militants would not be restricted to just three cases. Rather, its scope would be to find out all such cases.

Panchayat union irked at cut in powers
Chandigarh, May 7
The Punjab Panchayats Union has raised objection against the state government’s decision to withdraw power from village panchayats to check the functioning of primary schools, dispensaries and other institutions at the village level.

Cong councillors on top MC post face heat
Fatehgarh Sahib, May 7
With the change of the government in the state it is the turn of Sirhind-Fatehgarh Sahib and Bassi Pathana municipal councils of Sirhind constituency to see a change at the top level.

Tiwana elected PCCTU dist chief
Fatehgarh Sahib, May 7
In a unanimous decision prof Sital Singh Tiwana of Mata Gujri College, Fatehgarh Sahib, was elected as the president and prof Jatinder Dev of Public College, Samana, as the secretary of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union (PCCTU), Patiala and Fatehgarh Sahib districts, in a meeting presided over by prof Jatinder Dev of Public College, Samana.

100 surgeons attend workshop
Ropar, May 7
A live workshop in laparoscopic surgery and gynaecology for surgeons and gynaecologists of North India was held at Parmar Nursing Home, Ropar. More than 100 surgeons of Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Delhi participated in the workshop.

Contests mark 1857 uprising anniversary
Fatehgarh Sahib, May 7
The 150th anniversary of India’s first war of Independence 1857 was celebrated at Scholar Fields Public School here today.

COURTS

High court
Ravi Inder, Rode get HC relief
Chandigarh, May 7
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued notice of motion to Punjab for July 19 and also directed the arresting authority to grant bail (till July 19 only) to Ravi Inder Singh, five-time MLA and twice speaker of the Vidhan Sabha, and Bhai Jasbir Singh Rode, former Akal Takht jathedar.

Notices to Defence Ministry, air chief
Chandigarh, May 7
The high court today issued notices to the ministry of defence, the Chief of Air Staff and the principal controller of defence accounts (P) for September 25, 2007.

Order reserved in Dimpa case
Chandigarh, May 7
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today reserved its order in the case of Jasbir Singh Dimpa vs State of Punjab in which Dimpa had pleaded for the grant of anticipatory bail to him.

 

AGRICULTURE

Fake pesticides: Punjab govt to take strict action 
Patiala, May 7
The government will take strict action against the manufacturers and distributors of fake pesticides in the state. The minister for agriculture Sucha Singh Langah stated this while addressing a press conference at Samana today.

 

ADMINISTRATION

SSP suspends ASI
Maur Mandi (Bathinda), May 7
SSP Naresh Arora has placed ASI Bhag Singh, posted in the local police station, under suspension for registering a case pertaining to causing death due to negligence in a road accident against the person who had died in the same incident.

CRIME

Man held for wife’s death
Bathinda, May 7
Kiran Pal Kaur (22), mother of a five-month-old child and resident of the Beer Talab area, was forced to consume poison allegedly by her husband, Jalaur Singh, after she failed to satisfy his demand of a motor cycle.

Travel agent booked
Muktsar, May 7
A Panchkula-based travel agent, Joshep, has been arrested for allegedly defrauding a local tailor, Daljit Singh, on the pretext of sending him to Canada.

Home Guard,2 others commit suicide
Faridkot, May 7
It was a day of suicides in the district with three persons, including a woman and a Home Guard, reportedly committing suicide in three separate incidents.

Lifer escapes from house, rearrested
Hoshiarpur, May 7
Harish Kumar, a resident of Kolian village (Dasuya), who was undergoing life imprisonment in the district jail, escaped from his house where he had gone to meet his ailing mother and children yesterday. He was taken to his house by head constable, Paramjit Singh, and constable, Onkar Singh. Harish Kumar expressed his desire to have meal after reaching home. On this constable Onkar Singh unlocked his handcuffs. While taking meal, Harish went to the kitchen to take helpings from his mother and escaped.

Woman, son held for  carrying smack
Patiala May 7
The local police has busted a gang of drug peddlers.The police today claimed that on a tip-off it raided the premises of mother-son duo Dhanwati and Shera near Maria Khalori gate and recovered 40 g of smack from their 
possession.

 

EDUCATION

 

Pbi varsity VC row reaches Akal Takht Patiala, May 7 The Punjabi University row has reached Akal Takht. The jathedar of the takht, Gaini Joginder Singh Vedanti, has taken strong exception to the mode of agitation being adopted by members of the joint action committee seeking removal of the vice-chancellor. The action of tying a turban on a donkey’s head by agitators in Punjabi University, Patiala, recently, drew flak from Sikh clergy. Tribune photo by Rajesh Sachar

Pbi varsity staff leader suspended
Patiala, May 7
Punjabi University vice-chancellor today suspended convener of the joint action committee and professor, head of the social work department Manjit Singh. The committee under his leadership has been demanding the vice-chancellor’s ouster.

‘CBSE contemplating ending exams till class IX’
Abohar, May 7  
Manju Mehta, controller examination, DAV Education Board, New Delhi, has indicated that the CBSE is contemplating to end the annual examination system up to class IX. The board is expected to direct the affiliated schools to stop burdening the students with homework, she added.

College gives memo to ADC
Barnala, May 7
The Akalis who recently took over the control of the prestigious Baba Gandha Singh Public School now plans by take control of Guru Gobind Singh College (GGSC) at Sanghera also. The college is presently headed by SAD general council member Bhola Singh Virk.

Lecture condoning: GND varsity bends rules
Amritsar, May 7
In an unprecedented decision, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, has bent its rules to condone shortage of lectures.

Dhaliwal re-instated director-principal Amritsar, May 7 The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee today re-instated U.S.Dhaliwal as director principal, Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (SGRDIMS), who was placed under suspension on February 3 last year for allegedly indulging in unconstitutional acts.