Jalandhar, May 10
Thousands of passengers of different trains, including the Shatbadi, had to suffer a lot as rail traffic on the Jalandhar-Amritsar route was disrupted for several hours as an engine and two coaches of the Amritsar-bound Jananayak Express derailed near Domoria railway underbridge just a few minutes after leaving Jalandhar City railway station today at 2.30 am.

Luckily, no passenger in the derailed coaches sustained any injury. Later, the Railway authorities made arrangement to send them to their destinations by private buses.

Both the up and down railway tracks were damaged due to the derailment. Several senior Railway officials, including Ferozepur division additional Railway manager Balkar Singh, reached the site to remove the derailed engine and coaches and restore the railway tracks.

The flow of both up and down trains was disrupted for nearly 11 hours. While the derailed coaches were removed by 7 am, it took several more hours to remove the derailed engine.

Over a dozen down trains coming from Amritsar side were stopped at different railway stations, including Hamira, Kartarpur and Suranussi, till the restoration of the down railway track at 1 pm.

Apart from the 2014 Shatabadi Express, 5210 Jansewa Express, 2716 Sachkhand Express, 2460 Superfast Eexpress, 2084 Garib Rath, 5708 Barauni Express, 2926 Paschim Express, 1058 Dadar Express and several other Express’ passenger and DMU down trains got delayed by several hours.

However, up trains coming from Ludhiana side were diverted to Amritsar via Pathankot line from the Jalandhar Cantonment railway station itself.

Delhi-bound down track was restored at 1.30 pm. Several passengers got refunded reserved tickets at Jalandhar and Ludhiana railway stations.

While the exact cause of the derailment was yet not known, it was understood prima facie that there was some gap in the ‘kaanta’. Meanwhile, an inquiry has been marked into the derailment to know the exact cause.

Amritsar, May 10
Even as the Central government is tryng to facilitate the faster movement of cement from Pakistan to contain inflation, giving the UPA government nightmares besides contemplating a conveyor belt system at the Attari check-post, the Railway infrastructure bottlenecks are proving to be the stumbling block to the handling of large consignments of cement from Pakistan. It has been learnt that the Union Cabinet secretary was monitoring the movement of cement and other cargo from the Wagah/Attari border.

A high-level meeting of importers and exporters with the Customs authorities, headed by commissioner P.S. Pruthi and Railway additional divisional manager Balkar Singh, was held here last month to iron out glitches to handle the arrival of more than four racks of cement from Pakistan daily. But the lack of facilities at the international good sidings was a major block, claimed a senior member of the Exporters Chamber of Commerce here. Meanwhile, the Customs authorities have directed the staff to be available round the clock to clear inbound goods from Pakistan. But the lack of proper Railway network was causing problems to the importers of cement from Pakistan.

According to details here, chairman of the Board of Excise and Customs P. C. Jha has sent a note to V.N. Mathur, member, Technical, Railway Board, to improve the Railway infrastructure at the international sidings to handle more consignments easily.

According to the figures from the international rail cargo, more than 2.20 lakh tonnes of cement had entered India since September 2007 when the first consignment of 480 metric tonnes of cement worth Rs 72 crore was received here.

The traders here have been pleading with the Railway authorities to allow more consignments of cement to come in to meet the growing demand of the construction material required by India in view of the building activity going on in the country.

The local Customs authorities have already started construction of more godowns with the addition of separate rummaging pit to facilitate faster movement of goods across the Radcliffe Line. They said at present due to lack of facilities it was not possible to handle cement consignments by road as the Customs authorities did not have the truck scanner or the mechanical handling equipment along with trained manpower to lift heavy bags of cement.

Last month minister of state for Railways R. Velu had assured the Exporters Chamber of Commerce that modern international railway port would be built soon, but the exporters lamented that nothing had been done.

Divisional Railway manager at Ferozepur could not be contacted despite efforts.

(To be concluded)

Chandigarh, May 10
The state Election Commission (EC), Punjab, today postponed the elections of two zones of two Zila Parishads and four Panchayat Samitis to May 26, which were scheduled to be held on May 12.

Spokesman of the EC said on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the elections to the Zila Parishad, Bathinda zone, No. 10 Bangi Ruldu (Women), Bathinda district, and the Zila Parishad, Ludhiana zone No. 11 Binjal, Ludhiana district, the Panchayat Samiti zone No. 12, Dhandowal district, Jalandhar, the Panchayat Samiti Ghanour zone No. 12 Bathonia Kalan (BC) Patiala district, the Panchayat Samiti Bhunga zone No. 19 Bassi Ballo Hoshiarpur district, and the Panchayat Samiti zone No. 15 Machhiwara Ludhiana district, have been postponed.

Meanwhile, the EC today changed an assistant returning officer (ARO) in block Kahnuwan district Gurdaspur and issued directions to transfer SHO, Payal police station, Ludhiana.

The spokesman said Sukhdev Raj, sub-divisional engineer, had been appointed new ARO of Panchayat Samiti Kahnuwan, and Zila Parishad, Gurdaspur, Zone No. 13 Zafarwal replacing Ram Gopal, sub-divisional engineer.

The EC has issued directions to DIG, Ludhiana range, to transfer SHO, Payal police station, immediately on the complaint of Charanjit Kaur of Kaddon village, Payal. It was alleged by the complainant that on the last day of the filing of nomination papers, her son was illegally detained by registering a case against him under the Excise Act and he was physically tortured. The matter was probed by the sub-divisional magistrate, Khanna, and the election observer.

They have found prima facie that he has acted in an illegal and partisan manner in this case. The EC was convinced on the report that it would not be possible for the electors to exercise their franchise free and fearlessly during the incumbency of the current SHO.

Chandigarh, May 10
Apprehending physical violence against its candidates, the BJP has urged DGP N.P.S. Aulakh to provide security cover to its candidates.

Sources said local bodies minister Manoranjan Kalia has talked to Aulakh on the pone in this regard. The BJP candidates are contesting 54 Zila Parishad and 380 Block Samiti seats.

The sources said Kalia, who, along with Kamal Sharma, had gone to campaign for his party candidates in the Bathinda-Mansa belt, got anxious on witnessing an attempt to disturb the election rally of Sukhjit Kaur in Bathinda district. In fact, that rally was being addressed by Kalia when certain people allegedly tried to disturb it by directing a loud speaker towards by supporters of a rival candidate.

The BJP leaders says they have the information that the loud speaker was being operated without due permission from the authorities concerned.

The BJP has got the information that following an objection raised by it regarding the use of the loud speaker without permission, a police official helped the rival candidate supporters to get the permission.

The sources said Kalia had also spoken to the Deputy In fact, the BJP leaders made a very telling comment at Bathinda. “Government officials should act as referees and not as players in the elections”.

Asked in this regard, a senior BJP leader said his organisation was getting response from people far better from the expectations of the party. “People in the countryside turn up in our rallies in good numbers and they were keen to know about our party”, he added. Obviously, it is causing some heart burning among Akali leaders, having base in rural areas.

Amritsar, May 10
Even as senior BJP ministers Manoranjan Kalia and Laxmi Kanta Chawla aired their discontent with their coalition partner SAD publicly, the PPCC today felt that such development would sow “seeds of communalism” and would ultimately lead to mid-term poll.

In a press note issued by chief spokesman for the PPCC Bir Devinder Singh, he has alleged that overlapping political aspirations of both coalition partners is assuming dangerous proportions as witnessed in Bathinda, where violence was also reported.

“The political opportunism of the BJP is the result of growing expansionism as a political compulsion, before the coming Lok Sabha elections. It is clearly written on the wall that this overlapping of political ambitions of both coalition partners will soon get converted in to a serious conflict, thereby creating crisis, instability and ineffectiveness in the coalition government in Punjab,” he says.

“The new polarisation of the two communal coalition partners will sow the seeds of communalism disturbing the peace and harmony of the state, which the Congress had so assiduously created in Punjab after passing through most testing times,” Bir Devinder says.

The belligerency is so intense among the coalition partners that senior ministers of the BJP Laxmi Kanta Chawla and Mnoranjan Kalia, who are waiting in the wings in the corridors of power to become deputy chief minister, had to express the desire to resign, either due to fear or due to frustration of the BJP ministers with their Akali partners, he said.

Badal (Muktsar), May 10
Posters of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal dot the hometown of the Badals, except for the kiosk of Mohinder Pal where the Congress flag flutters. This was the lone Congress flag that could be spotted during a visit to this village, ahead of Zila Parishad and Samiti elections.

Mohinder, who runs a small business of public address system, was loud in criticising the SAD for “having let loose a reign of suppression”. Congress supporters, including him, were summoned to the police station and asked to support the SAD candidates, he claimed.

He said Parkash Singh Badal personally was a nice person, but his supporters and the local officialdom were exploiting his name to spread terror in the area.

Sleuths of the vigilance department raided the house of village sarpanch Jaswinder Kaur on Thursday in a bid to persuade her to support the SAD candidates, he alleged.

Panchayat members, Harcharan Singh, Bhola Singh, Gaija Singh and Motha Singh took the visiting media persons to the fields of Baljinder Singh in the neighbouring Manna village and alleged that flow of water to the fields had been stopped yesterday for him being a Congress supporter.

However, a junior official of the Irrigation Department, who was available for comments said water was being released to each field by rotation from the local pond and there was no question of any highhandedness.

Gurtej Singh, who, with indigenous massage therapy, treats orthopaedic problems of local patients, pointed towards a room that was sealed yesterday by a team headed by the district Ayurveda officer, Faridkot, on the plea that he did not possess a valid licence for practising the therapy.

He said that the entire operation was conducted in such a hurry that the raiding team did not give him an opportunity to take out his pet dog that remained locked inside the room till this afternoon when the seal was broken by the officials only to take the pet out.

Gurtej claimed there was no reason to shut his shop as his was only a massage therapy centre and he did not give any medicines to patients.

Deputy commissioner Vikas Garg denied the allegations of repression of Congress supporters in the village. No complaint of harassment has so far been received from any resident of the village.

Garg claimed that some people were unnecessarily trying to rake up such issues with an eye on the elections.

Amritsar, May 10
In an unprecedented move in the Sikh history, the Sikh clergy of Patna Sahib today excommunicated Prof Darshan Singh, a former Jathedar, Akal Takht, from
the Sikh Panth.

Declaring him “permanent tankhahiya” (guilty of religious misconduct), the Sikh clergy of Takht Patna Sahib directed the Sikh Panth all over the world to snap
ties with him.

The two-paged Hukmnama (directive), signed by Giani Iqbal Singh, Jathedar, and four other granthis of Takht Patna Sahib, used extremely harsh language against the former Jathedar, Akal Takht. The step was taken after the deadline fixed by Takht Patna Sahib to appear before it by May 10 to explain his position for opposing Dasam Granth ended.

The development has come at a time when the Sikh Panth has been making preparations for the forthcoming tercentenary of the Gurgaddi Divas of Guru Granth Sahib.

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president and former president Parmjit Singh Sarna and Harwinder Singh Sarna described the action against former Jathedar Akal Takht as “most unfortunate”. They said Jathedar Iqbal Singh had no right to take such a step against Prof Darshan Singh who had rendered great service to the community after Operation Bluestar in June 1984 by performing kirtan. He (Prof Darshan Singh) was arrested and tortured in police custody, they said. They alleged that action taken against him was part of “deep-rooted conspiracy”.

Jathedar Iqbal Singh is not keeping good relations with the SGPC and Jathedars of three Takhts in Punjab. This was the reason that he (Iqbal Singh) was not being called in the meetings of Akal Takht for a long time. There was pressure on the SGPC and Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti to summon Giani Iqbal Singh at Akal Takht, yet the former had declined the demand on the pretext that Jathedar of any Takht should not be summoned.

Earlier on May 5, former Jathedar, Akal Takht, Prof Darshan Singh, had refused to appear before the Sikh clergy of Patna Sahib by May 10, the deadline fixed for him to explain his position for opposing Dasam Granth by the Sikh clergy there.

In a fax sent to Giani Iqbal Singh, Jathedar, Patna Sahib, Prof Darshan Singh had challenged the authority of the Sikh clergy of Patna Sahib to summon him. He said Takht Patna Sahib could deal with regional matters pertaining to Sikh religion, while Akal Takht being supreme temporal authority of the Sikhs had the power to touch matters of the entire Sikh community.

The extreme action was taken against Prof Darshan Singh though he had offered to hold debate on the issue of Dasam Granth which he believed was not Bani of Tenth Sikh Master, Guru Gobind Singh. However, he said he could not hold any talk with a person who equated other Granths with holy Guru Granth Sahib. 

Chandigarh, May 10
Director of sports and Olympian Pargat Singh finally left for Delhi on Thursday evening on his way to Kuala Lumpur to join Indian hockey team as its manager there, not before former union minister and sitting MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa intervened to get him his special sports leave sanctioned.

“It was a totally avoidable controversy. There is a provision for a 30-day special sports casual leave to enable government employees to participate in important national and international tournaments. Who should have known it better than the principal secretary, sports,” said Dhindsa, who is also the general secretary of the SAD.

Even the home department also consented and granted leave to Pargat Singh enabling him to join the national team without any further delay.

Principal secretary R.P.S. Pawar had referred the leave application of Pargat Singh to his parent department of police by annexing to it a letter from deposed Indian Hockey Confederation chief K.P.S. Gill.

Sources revealed that the IHC chief had sent a separate list of players and team officials to represent India in the Azlan Shah Tournament that got underway in Kuala Lumpur yesterday with a 3-4 defeat for India in their opener against New Zealand.

Though the parent body controlling sports in the country, Indian Olympic Association, had suspended the Indian Hockey Confederation and removed its chief Gill last week, the department of sports and youth welfare still continues to recognise Gill as the IHC chief. It is why the principal secretary reportedly processed the letter received from Gill while forwarding Pargat Singh’s special leave application.

Dhindsa reportedly got in touch with the IOA yesterday and urged it to send an official communication to the Punjab government conveying the decision of the general house where the IHC was suspended and Gill was removed.

“It is a sad state of affairs as those administrating affairs of sports are not aware of the developments,” remarked a senior sports functionary.

Even otherwise, it was well within the competence of the administrative secretary to sanction special sports casual leave without referring it to parent department of Pargat Singh, said Dhindsa.

A senior civil servant remarks that many administrative secretaries do not read instructions issued from time to time and are not aware of the concessions given to special category of employees, including sportspersons.

“There is an urgent need to hold orientation courses for bureaucrats from time to time to keep them apprised of changing rules and regulations. But these instructions about special sports casual leave have been there for many-many years,” he added.

Sangrur, May 10
Hundreds of workers of brick-kilns of the district today stormed into the building, having offices of the deputy commissioner, additional deputy commissioner and other district officers here to lodge protest against the non-acceptance of their demands. They were demanding enhancement in their wages and arrest of three brick-kiln owners for allegedly kidnapping their two leaders, namely district general secretary of the CPI (ML) Liberation Harbhagwan Bhikhi and vice-president of the Lal Jhanda Punjab Bhatha Mazdoor Union (LJPBMU) Gurpreet Singh Rooreke, on April 17 from a village near Dhuri.

They held a rally and raised slogans inside the building for about three hours. The police asked them either to vacate the building or present themselves for arrest, as holding of a rally or gathering inside the building was illegal. At this, a minor altercation took place between leaders of brick-kiln workers and police officers, but later the police took the leaders to the office of the SDM, where talks were held.

After the meeting with SDM Amandeep Bansal, Naib Tehsildar Nirmal Singh and DSP Pritpal Singh Thind, Jodhan said they had been invited on May 16 by the administration for talks. 

Dina Nagar (Gurdaspur), May 10
Hundreds of road users were put to hardship for over three hours following the closure of the Jammu-Amritsar highway due to a massive dharna staged by supporters of local MLA Sita Ram Kashyap this afternoon.

The supporters were demanding the arrest of a member of the Shiromani Akali Dal Working Committee, his son and a supporter who allegedly threatened the MLA, made caste-based remarks and used abusive language. The suspects Narinder Singh Bara, his son Manpreet Singh and their supporter Makhan Singh allegedly misbehaved with Kashyap while he was campaigning for BJP candidates at Deeda Sainia village, near here, on Thursday.

Talking to The Tribune, Kashyap said a complaint had been made to the police in this pretext. Though the police has registered a case under Sections 3/4, SC, ST Act, and 506 and 34, IPC, against the them at Dina Nagar police station, but no arrest has been made so far.

The road was opened for the traffic after Gurdaspur subdivisional magistrate Iqbal Singh Sandhu and SP (Detective) Balbir Singh Khaira assured the protesters that the suspects would be nabbed soon.

Mohali, May 10
In one of the largest narcotics haul in Punjab, the Mohali police here today arrested two persons allegedly ferrying charas worth Rs 4 crore across the Punjab-Haryana border.

A team led by SHO, Lalru, Sukhvinder Singh nabbed the two while they were travelling on the Chandigarh-Ambala highway. The drugs weighing over 25 kg was hidden in various cavities of their Maruti car. The arrested include Rajesh Kumar, alias Raja, a resident of Sonepat, and Brij Raj, a disciple of a religious dera in Panipat.

The SSP, SAS Nagar, R.S. Khatra, said at a press conference that the two were planning to sell the raw drugs to other drug dealers, who distributed it to peddlers in Mumbai, Goa and other places in India. The drugs had been sourced from a place called Thanag in Kulu and the two were taking it to Panipat to sell it further.

Working on a secret information, the police had put up a special naka on the road and asked the two to stop their car. The car was filled with fumes emanating from the drugs though they could not be located immediately. A thorough search of the car revealed that the drugs were hidden in empty boxes of audio speakers, cavities in the glove box and other nooks and corners of the car.

The sub-divisional judicial magistrate, Dera Bassi, Naval Kumar, has sent the two to three days of police custody.

The police said teams of the Lalru police would be raiding various places in Kulu and Panipat to unearth the up and down links of the two peddlers.