Farmers will benefit 
Attari, October 2
Indian households may enjoy the onion flavour from Pakistan as the current onion crop in Maharashtra has seen a decline due to heavy rain and the export (of onions) to Pakistan has come to a naught.

City Centre Scam
Sandhu’s remand extended
Ludhiana, October 2
A city court today extended the police remand of former Additional Advocate General Harpreet Sandhu till October 4. The Vigilance Bureau had arrested him on the charge of acting middleman in ensuring the allotment of the City Centre project to Today Homes Company. 

3 sites shortlisted for Central university
Chandigarh, October 2
Three sites have been shortlisted in Punjab for setting up a central university. Sources said sites selected were located at Bathinda, Ropar and Kapurthala districts.hildren dress up as Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti in Patiala

Bapu remembered Amritsar, October 2 Comedian Sudesh Lehri was the highlight of a cultural programme organised at the Amritsar Central Jail on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti here today. His mimicry of Punjabi singers and Bollywood artistes was well received by the inmates. Oath taking marks Gandhi Jayanti Fatehgarh Sahib, October 2 A number of officials of district administration today gathered at mini-secretariat to take oath of following the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, which was observed as International Day of Non-Violence. In a brief but impressive function that was presided over by deputy commissioner Alaknanda Dayal the officials took an oath administered by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh through a satellite link. Little Gandhis: Children dress up as Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti in Patiala.—Tribune photo by Rajesh Sachar

 

POLITICS

Police working for SAD, says Congress MLA
Faridkot, October 2
Avtar Singh Brar, local Congress MLA, alleged here today at the behest of Shiromani Akali Dal leaders two Faridkot Nagar Council members were picked up by the police before its scheduled election on October 3.

Bhattal warns govt against vendetta
Chandigarh, October 2
On the occasion of the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi today, Punjab Congress chief Rajinder Kaur Bhattal asked the government to desist from victimisation of political opponents or be prepared to face consequences.

• Meets Beant’s widow

Amarinder ready to appear before HC
Patiala, October 2
“I am ready to present myself before the Punjab and High Court if the charges levelled against me by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau are endorsed by the biggest industrialists of the country”.This was stated by former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to The Tribune here yesterday.

 

COMMUNITY

Punjabi women obese, anaemic: Survey

Chandigarh, October 2 Contrary to the perception that Punjabi women are healthy and beautiful, a national health survey finds them obese and anaemic. Both obesity and anaemic level in them is much higher than their male counterparts. Irrespective of the diminishing ratio of the girl child to a male child, Punjabi women, however, continue to share with their spouses’ a strong desire for a son.

Integrated Checkpost
Farmers demand better price for acquired land
Amritsar, October 2
Twelve families of Attari, whose 120 acres are being acquired by the Central government for setting up an integrated check post, have demanded better price for their land. Addressing a press conference, representatives of the families said the price being offered to them was much lower than the market rate.

Grant for Hoshiarpur
Chandigarh, October 2 
The Union government has chosen Hoshiarpur district for providing assistance from the Backward Region Grant Fund.

Closing of case against Tytler criticised
Amritsar, October 2 
Reacting strongly to the closing of the case against Jagdish Tytler, former Central minister and the alleged accused of 1984 anti-Sikh riots by the CBI, Avtar Singh, president, SGPC, termed it as unfortunate in a press statement issued today. He said it had hurt the sentiments of Sikhs all over the country.

Discussions on probes against officers
PCS association to meet today
Chandigarh, October 2 
In what could send the administrative machinery in Punjab in a tizzy, the PCS officers association has convened a special meeting of its executive body to discuss names of the PCS officers being taken under the purview of investigation launched against Amarinder Singh by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau in the Ludhiana city centre issue.

Suicide Attempt
Police yet to take notice of charge against SI
Bathinda, October 2
The police authorities of this district seem to follow different set of rules for different persons. This fact has come to light from the way the police authorities concerned are handling the case. Police officials concerned did not waste a moment in registering a case against Gurjant Singh, his wife and three daughters after they allegedly set themselves on fire.

CM warned on ‘divide’ in police ranks
Ludhiana, October 2
All-India Shiromani Akali Dal president Jaswant Singh Mann today cautioned Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal against ‘divide’ in police ranks. He said this could have harmful repercussions on the law and order in the border state.

Bhakra canal not to be closed
Chandigarh, October 2 
The Bhakra mainline canal will not be closed on October 10. A notification issued in this regard by the state government has been withdrawn. Official sources yesterday said the canal was to be closed from October 10 to 20 for carrying out repairs on railway bridges at certain places.

Round-up
JPC on Wakfs in UT today
Chandigarh, October 2
Members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Wakfs will visit Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh from October 3 to 7.

• Oath taken

40 detained for raising slogans
Talwara (Hoshiarpur), October 2
Up in arms against the government, members of the unemployed teachers union from Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Dina Nagar, Dhaliwal, Hoshiarpur, Mukerian and Talwara, who had assembled at a venue, raised slogans as the Chief Minister took his position at the dais. While the SAD-BJP workers raised slogans like "Parkash Singh Badal zindabad", irate unemployed youth said, "Parkash Singh Badal murdabad" and raised chairs in the air.

Rs 5 lakh stolen from scooter
Kharar, October 2
A resident of Mullanpur today alleged that the Mohali police failed to register a case of theft of Rs 5 lakh from the dickey (storage area) of his scooter on Monday.In a press release Rajinder Singh stated that he had withdrawn Rs 5 lakh from Punjab National Bank, Mullanpur Garibdas branch. He put the money in the dickey of his scooter (PB-65B-0513) and went to the office of PS Land Development Company where his son works. 

Need for separate Sikh identity expressed
Fatehgarh Sahib, October 2
The Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) has reiterated its demand for a separate identity for the Sikh community. In a statement here today, senior vice-president Bhai Dhian Singh Mand and media advisor Iqbal Singh Tiwana stated that it was an important issue for the Sikh community to have a separate identity. 

ABVP for POTA to counter terrorism
Bathinda, October 2 
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) leadership while claiming that the Central government was having no plans to deal with terrorism, Naxalites alleged that anti-India forces were trying to severe the eastern part from the country.

‘Step-motherly’ treatment to khadi in Punjab
Patiala, October 2
The nation remembers Mahatma Gandhi on his birth anniversary today. However, his pet project, the khadi, is under neglect, especially in Punjab. Products by Punjabi artisans which are sold in the state through the khadi board are becoming unviable. There is hardly any buyer for these products due to their high costs.

Agents of small saving scheme sore over govt decision
Amritsar, October 2
The future of about 16, 000 agents working in the state is likely to be hampered as the state government has scrapped the scheme to pay incentives and gift items to agents with effect from October 1.

AGRICULTURE

Confusion over bonus on paddy
Chandigarh, October 2 
Confusion regarding bonus on paddy is bothering farmers. Though the Union Government had promised to give them bonus, no announcement has been made in this regard so far. Recently, the Union Government had announced Rs 675 per quintal as minimum support price of paddy. Over and above this, bonus is to be given to farmers. Earlier, there were reports that Rs 40 would be paid as bonus on paddy.

EDUCATION

18 on Punjabi University Senate
Chandigarh, October 2
The Punjab Governor, who is also chancellor of Punjabi University, Patiala, has nominated 18 persons, including politicians, academicians and journalists, on the Senate of the university.

Industrialists seek IT exemption for setting up adarsh schools
Chandigarh, October 2
Industrialists approached by the Punjab government to help it set up adarsh schools have sought income tax exemption on the funds to be invested by them in such schools. Sources said the state government would approach the Income Tax Department to get such an exemption for them. It remains to be seen whether such an exemption will be granted when the Union Government is charging 12.5 per cent service tax from private institutions engaged in the coaching of students for competitive examinations like CET, PMET, IIT-JEE, AIEEE etc.