P U N J A B

Top stories | Politics | Community

Agriculture | Crime | Education

TOP STORIES

Dera chief’s arrest
Sant Samaj goes soft, SAD(A) sticks to hard line
Ludhiana, June 2
The Gurmat Sidhant Pracharak Sant Samaj today served an ultimatum on the Central, Punjab and Haryana governments for arresting Dera Sacha Sauda head baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh by June 18, failing which it will launch a peaceful protest by courting arrest.

• Follower faces action for concealing identity
• 40 booked for bid to burn baba’s effigy
• Bitta attacks Amarinder

Govt nod to bullet train project
Chandigarh, June 2
The Punjab government has agreed in principle to set up a high-speed passenger rail corridor, also called the bullet train corridor, in collaboration with the union ministry of railways. The state government has already approved Rs 10 crore as part of its share to carry out the feasible study for the project.

City Centre Scam
Govt to challenge HC relief to accused
Chandigarh, June 2
The Punjab government has decided to challenge all interim reliefs and anticipatory bails granted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court or any other court to various accused in the Ludhiana City Centre case in the Supreme Court.

Law to check early sowing of paddy next year
Jalandhar, June 2
Early sowing of paddy, which is depleting underground water reservoirs, continues in the state despite appeals by the government against it. The fact has been of common knowledge for long but for many farmers in the state availability of electricity, labour and preference for paddy variety like Pusa 44 are reasons making them to go in for early sowing of paddy.

Sujanpur College A failed dream Sujanpur, June 2 Setting up a government college in this area seems a distant dream. Though the college has been affiliated to Guru Nanak Dev University in October 2006 along with four other new colleges in the state, there is no sign of construction of the building. The foundation stone of Government Degree College, Sujanpur. — Photo by writer

Criteria for setting up BEd colleges changed
Chandigarh, June 2
With the objective of checking the mushroom growth of BEd colleges and ETT institutions in Punjab, the state government has changed the criteria for permission to set up of such institutions. There are about 150 BEd colleges in the state at present. A few years ago, there used to be five or six such colleges.

POLITICS

Kanjhla awaits CM’s notice
Sangrur, June 2
“I am eagerly awaiting the notice issued to me by SAD president Parkash Singh Badal as without studying it no comment could be made on the same”. In reply to a question over the phone last evening former Sherpur MLA Gobind Singh Kanjhla further said he desires to receive the notice at the earliest so that he could know about its contents.

COMMUNITY

SUMMER SPECIAL: Girls enjoy watermelon in the hot Saturday afternoon at Baradari Gardens in Patiala. — Tribune photo by Rajesh Sachar

Lawrence Road Property Dispute
Neighbour alleges harassment
Amritsar, June 2
A dispute over the possession of a house situated on the Lawrence Road, involving senior police officials, has taken a new turn with one of the neighbours alleging police harassment.

Minister for more benefits to pensioners
Fatehgarh Sahib, June 2
The social security department is preparing a draft proposal for the grant of pension benefits to all men above 65 years of age and women above 60 years, irrespective of their annual income.

Apply old norms to old mega projects, say developers
Chandigarh, June 2
Punjab chief secretary R.I. Singh held a meeting with the developers of projects here today on the issue of mega projects. The chief secretary assured them that the state government would soon announce its new policy in this regard.

Trolley, wood destroyed in fire
Abohar, June 2
Wood , hay, straw and a trolley were destroyed in a fire that broke out this afternoon in the straw stacked outside the house of Fauja Singh ,a farmer, in Muradwala.

Health plan to cover more
Chandigarh, June 2
The Punjab government will add more beneficiaries under the Bhai Ghanaiya Sehat Seva Scheme that is to be launched from September 1 to provide quality medical treatment to members of cooperative societies in the state.

AGRICULTURE

Sale of pesticides
Dishonest dealers served ultimatum
Lalru, June 2
The Punjab agriculture department has decided to crack the whip against unscrupulous pesticide and fertiliser dealers. Sukhdev Singh Saini served chief agriculture officer, Mohali, an ultimatum to this effect to the dealers, during an interaction with dealers and shopkeepers, here today.

CRIME

Two held with heroin
Amritsar, June 2
The Amritsar (rural) police here today busted an international gang of smugglers and seized 12 kg of heroin worth Rs 12 crore from them. Acting on a tip-off, a police party intercepted an Indica car in which three smugglers were carrying the heroin. While two smugglers were nabbed, one of them managed to flee.

One more held for student’s murder
Bathinda, June 2
The police has arrested Sanjeev Kumar, alias Rajiv, who runs a beauty parlour in the Dohbiana locality here, for his involvement in the murder of Amandeep Singh, a student of local engineering college, which took place on May 28.

EDUCATION

Revised JET result
Chandigarh, June 2
In a clarification regarding result of Joint Entrance Test declared on the website, the secretary, Punjab State Board of Technical Education and Industrial Training, said here today that some candidates, who had appeared in the test, contacted the Board stating that the marks they had been awarded were not commensurate with their performance.

School education: Group A officers up in arms
Chandigarh, June 2
While ordering the postings of district education officers (group A officers), the Punjab government has virtually ignored the list of senior officers of the group. Junior officers have been posted as district education officers, leaving the senior ones fuming.