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Swasthya Bima for workers from April 1
Chandigarh, January 15
The Punjab government today decided to launch “Swasthya Bima Yojna” aimed at facilitating health insurance cover for workers covered under the BPL (below poverty line) in the state as a pilot project in five districts from April 1.

Mohali Airport
Name it after Bhagat Singh, CM to PM
Chandigarh, January 15
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to name the international air terminal at Mohali “Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh international airport”.

PCCTU members to court arrest on Feb 5
Amritsar, January 15
The Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union (PCCTU) will court arrest on February 5 in Chandigarh if the state government failed to repeal the Punjab Affiliated Colleges Security of Service Bill- 2007.
Members of the PCCTU burn copies of the Punjab Affiliated Colleges Security of Service Bill-2007 in Amritsar on Tuesday. — A Tribune photograph

Cabinet sub-panel on IT formed
Chandigarh, January 15
The Punjab government has constituted a cabinet sub-committee under the chairmanship of Chief Minister to take necessary policy-level decisions on the issues relating to information technology in the state.

20,000 depts yet to make disclosures under RTI Act
Chandigarh, January 15
The Punjab government is in no mood for information sharing. More than two years after the RTI Act was passed, a whopping 20,000 public authorities in the state are yet to provide on their websites basic information mandated under the law. Among these are all state panchayats, 12,000 in number; all zila parishads, 133 municipal councils and 21 improvement trusts.

 

 

POLITICS

BJP wants dist status for Fazilka, Pathankot
Chandigarh, January 15
The Punjab unit of the BJP is persuading the SAD to raise the number of districts in the state to 22 by declaring Fazilka subdivision in Malwa belt and Pathankot subdivision in the Majha belt as districts. Stating this at the executive committee meeting of the party here today, BJP state president Rajinder Bhandari said his party had already made a proposal to their alliance partners.

13 SAD (A) activists discharged
Sangrur, January 15
Local SDM Amandeep Bansal today discharged 13 leaders and workers of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), who were arrested on or before January 6 under Sections 107 and 151, Cr P C, in view of the SAD (A) programme “Gherao of the Orbit buses on January 7”.

COMMUNITY

Paper ballot to replace EVM in panchayat, ZP poll
Chandigarh, January 15
The state election commission has issued instructions for the forthcoming panchayat, zila parishad and municipal poll, putting January 1 as the cut-off date for determining the area of residence of a voter. Moreover, paper ballots and not electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be used for the poll that are scheduled anytime in the first week of March.

Vigilance team raids MC office
Nabha, January 15
On the complaint of Nabha MLA Kaka Randip Singh, a high-powered Vigilance team of the Local Government Department reached town from Chandigarh today and raided the Municipal Council office to verify the allegations.

AC bus travel to get cheaper
Radio cabs in 4 cities soon
Mohali, January 15
Travel by air-conditioned (AC) buses will be very much within the reach of the common man in Punjab, as the fare in these buses will be only 10 per cent more than ordinary buses, and for the first time radio cab services will be introduced in Mohali, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Patiala.

D.S. Jaspal, principal secretary, Punjab, Department of Transport and Information and Public Relations at the inauguration of the Oil and Gas Conservation Fortnight at NIPER, Mohali, on Tuesday.  — A Tribune photograph

Milestones on Guru Gobind Singh Marg uprooted
Ropar, January 15
Private companies have uprooted the milestones of Guru Gobind Singh Marg put by the SGPC along the road leading to Anandpur Sahib. The milestones, bearing the name of Guru Gobind Singh, have been thrown alongside roads in muck in utter disregard of religious sentiments.

Kidnapping Case
Deputy removed as DCC chief
Jalandhar, January 15
While police officials are silent about the arrests and recovery it reportedly made in the kidnapping case of city youth Gagan Mickey later released after paying Rs 1 crore ransom, the Punjab Youth Congress removed Sukhmeet Singh Deputy from the post of Jalandhar district Congress rural president after his name allegedly figured among the list of accused in the kidnapping.

Modernisation of Amritsar Airport
23 consortiums offer bids
New Delhi, January 15
GMR Infrastructure Ltd, which is modernising the Delhi airport, Fraport AG, Anil Ambani’s Reliance Energy and Singapore’s Changi Airports are among the 23 consortiums which have submitted bids for the modernisation of the Rajasansi international airport at Amritsar.

Principal Dhaliwal quits
Amritsar, January 15
The suspended principal of the SGPC-run the Guru Ram Dass Institute of Medical Sciences and Research today voluntarily resigned from his post today.

Central Jail has new barrack for women
Jalandhar, January 15
A new barrack for women prisoners has been built in the Central Jail here. Confirming this, jail superintendent Gursharan Singh Sidhu said the women prisoners would be shifted from old to new barrack later this month as sewerage, water and power connections were to be installed in the new building and these would be in place in a week.

‘NRI investments would benefit Punjab’
Chandigarh, January 15
Stating that the state government was willing to address issues relating to the comfort level of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) turning investors, Punjab chief secretary Ramesh Inder Singh said such moves would help improve governance and consequently benefit the locals.

Plan to help debt-ridden farmers via farm coop societies
Chandigarh, January 15
The Cooperation Department, Punjab, has drawn up a project to help Punjab’s debt-ridden farmers.