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SMO alleges threat by Majithia
Undertrial shifted to general ward
Amritsar, October 5
Even as undertrial Bikramjit Singh of Bohar Wala (Ram Dass) village was shifted from a private AC room to the general ward following yesterday’s vigilance raid, senior medical officer S.K. Kapur today alleged that public relations minister Bikram Singh Majithia threatened him with consequences if the undertrial was not kept for a longer time in the hospital.

Rise in cancer cases, kidney ailments, infertility
Green Malwa hit by pesticide poison: NGO
New Delhi, October 5
Punjab’s Malwa region, once referred to as “Makheon meetha Malwa” (sweeter than honey) for its rich agricultural produce and cotton farming, is today battling environment-related health problems, including a noticeable rise in cancer cases, kidney ailments and infertility as a result of large-scale use of pesticides and fertiliser.

Saini Blast Case
CBI probe ordered into ‘elimination’ of POs
Chandigarh, October 5
Perturbed over the allegations of elimination of at least one of the "proclaimed offenders" in the "Saini bomb blast case", a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today ordered a CBI probe into the matter.

PSEB issues orders to implement new tariffs
Chandigarh, October 5
Even though ruling alliance partners, the SAD and the BJP, play out a game of nerves and have issued statements over the recently hiked power tariff in Punjab, the ground reality is different. The commercial wing of the Punjab State Electricity Board has already issued a circular to implement new tariffs, to be applicable from September 1.

Canal water: Maharashtra shows the way
Chandigarh, October 5
Maharashtra has done it. When will Punjab and Haryana, both facing crisis on water front, do it, no one knows.

POLITICS

BSP introduces UP concept
Chandigarh, October 5
The Bahujan Samaj Party( BSP) which achieved surprising results by introducing social engineering as a political concept as well as strategy in the last Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, has begun to introduce the same concept in Punjab now.

COMMUNITY

Milk losing nutritive value: Experts
Fatehgarh Sahib, October 5
Milk, it seems, is fast losing its nutritive value, thanks to the low-grade cattle feed in the market due to the inferior quality raw materials used in its production. This low-quality material is not only endangering the lives of the cattle but also jeopardising the health of the human consumers.

PSEB high-ups had liquor on duty: Union
Ropar, October 5
The Ropar Thermal Project Contractor Worker Union has accused high officials of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) of consuming liquor while on their visit to Sri Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Power Plant today.

4 students die in mishap
Abohar, October 5
Four students of BHMS direct degree course the local Homoeopathic Medical College and the driver of the Indica car (DL 3 C 7827), in which they were travelling, were killed when the vehicle rammed into a roadside tree near Ramsara village on the Abohar-Hanumangarh road today.

The mangled remains of the Indica car which met with an accident near Ramsara village, near Abohar, on Friday. — Photo by Raj Sadosh

Round-up
Mega projects to boost textile industry
Chandigarh, October 5
The screening committee under the chairmanship of Punjab Chief Secretary Ramesh Inder Singh today approved nine mega projects worth Rs 1500 crore.

Blind to intensify agitation from Oct 15
Chandigarh, October 5
The Punjab unit of the National Federation of Blind (NFB) is on a warpath again. Tired at the dilly-dalling attitude of the Punjab government on the issue of 1 per cent reservation for the visually impaired, the federation today decided to intensify agitation from October 15.

Education board’s former chairman Bharpur Singh dead
Mohali, October 5
A former chairman of the Punjab School Education Board, Bharpur Singh, died at a hospital in New Delhi late this evening.

Rs 1,500-cr road project launched
Tarn Taran, October 5
The Rs 1500-crore project for recarpeting and expansion of the road network in the state was here today launched by minister for public works Parminder Singh Dhindsa. The project was being funded by the World Bank and about 1,100 km of roads would be covered under it.

Amarinder gives details of proposed foreign visit to HC
Chandigarh October 5
After filing a plea in the Punjab and Haryana High Court for permission to visit Dubai and the UK, Punjab’s former Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, has submitted an application giving detailed account of his proposed visit.

Leaders urged to develop Bassi Pathana
Bassi Pathana, October 5
The leaders and workers of SAD (B) and BJP today met senior SAD (B) leader Rajesh Pal Singh Lalli and urged him to take up the issue of development of the township with the Chief Minister.

Immolation: Panel summons SSP
Batala, October 5
Taking note of a news item published in The Tribune regarding immolation by a Dalit boy after allegedly being harassed by certain influential persons of his village and the police, chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes Buta Singh has summoned the SSP, Batala, and the Inspector-General of the border range.

COURTS

4 docs refused anticipatory bail
Bathinda, October 5
The anticipatory bail applications of four local doctors moved in different courts here were declined by judicial magistrates concerned. However, another doctor was granted bail. The five doctors were booked under the PNDT Act and the IPC in 2003.

CRIME

Man who ‘saved’ girl booked for kidnapping her
Amritsar, October 5
After claims and counter-claims over the alleged kidnapping of a minor girl in Tarn Taran put the police in a bind, a case has now been registered against the “saviour” of the girl, who claimed to have saved her from being sexually exploited by the family for which she was working as a domestic help.

In-laws booked for driving lecturer to suicide
Amritsar, October 5
The body of DAV College lecturer Praveen Kapoor, who allegedly committed suicide on October 3, is still to be cremated as his parents and close relatives have been demanding that the police register a case against the in-laws of the deceased for abetment to suicide. They held a protest with the body lying beside them in the Hall Gate area here today.

Relatives of Praveen Kapoor burn posters of BJP leaders in Amritsar on Friday. — Photo by Rajiv Sharma

EDUCATION

Punjabi University fest from Oct 15
Patiala, October 5
The Punjabi University inter-college zonal level youth festival will be held from October 15 to November 3 at different venues, a spokesman of the university disclosed here on Thursday.