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Ensuring Free Fair Polls
EC puts off more polls, suspends officials
Chandigarh, May 18
The Election Commission has acted tough against returning and assistant returning officers found wanting. Their negligent behaviour affecting the poll process has resulted in the postponement of two more Gram Panchayat polls besides disciplinary action against the officials.

• Officers told to accept papers of anganwari workers

PM urged to restore Punjab share in UT Admn
Chandigarh, May 18
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take effective measures to restore the norms of the deputation policy. Under this policy, all posts in the Chandigarh Administration are to be filled by those on deputation from Punjab and Haryana in the ratio of 60:40.

PM’s schoolmate from Pak coming tomorrow to meet him
Amritsar, May 18
Finally, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s schoolmate Raja Mohammed Ali from Gah village in Chakwal district of Pakistan has been granted visa to visit India. He will enter India from Attari border on May 20. Earlier, he was denied visa several times.
Raja Mohammed Ali. Photo arranged by Vishal Kumar

Kotkapura Nihangs elect Surjit Singh chief; Baba’s bhog peaceful
Kotkapura (Faridkot), May 18
Jathedar Surjit Singh was elected the 14th Jathedar of the Shiromani Panth Akali Budha Dal (Panjwan Takht) with a voice vote in his absence during the antim ardas and bhog of late Baba Santa Singh held at Gurdwara Dasmi Patshahi here today.

Jathedar Joginder Singh who will continue as acting Jathedar of the Shiromani Panth Akali Budha Dal (Panjwan Takht) at Kotkapura, Faridkot district, on Sunday. — Photo by writer

  In Patiala, thousands pay homage to Santa Singh

SAD activists come to blows
Mandi Ahmedgarh, May 18
The possibility of violence between two groups of the SAD at war over taking control of Gurdwara Singh Sabha here, kept the police on its toes today.

 

POLITICS

Resignations by Cong MLAs a stunt: Badal
Rakhra (Patiala), May 18
Describing resignations by 43 Congress MLAs of the state as nothing but a “publicity stunt” to “misguide people as well as the Congress high command”, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today dared the state Congress leadership to prove the sincerity of its decision by forwarding the resignations to the Speaker.

Bhattal’s resignation move, Amarinder complains to Sonia
Chandigarh, May 18
Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today said he was not in agreement with Punjab Pradesh Congress president Rajinder Kaur Bhattal’s move to collect resignations of all party legislators in protest against Akali high-handedness in the elections to Panchayati Raj bodies and complained against this to party president Sonia Gandhi.

Thekedar to meet Sonia
Amritsar, May 18
Former MLA Harjinder Singh Thekedar, who has been expelled by the PPCC for his anti-party activities, will meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi besides holding a “Bhattal bhajao te Congress bachao” rally on May 25.

COMMUNITY

Move to sack SGJC president draws flak
Amritsar, May 18
The state government move to remove Kashmir Singh Patti as president, Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission (SGJC), on the basis of a high-level probe conducted by an IAS officer, has received flak from Panthic circles here.

6 rescued from drowning after closing dam gates
Shahpur Kandi, May 18
Six pilgrims, including four of an Udhampur-based family, swung between life and death for over five hours after they had gone to the Ravi river bed for bath near here early this morning.


The pilgrims who were trapped in the Ravi at Shahpur Kandi come out of the river after they were rescued. — A Tribune photograph

Cops search labour colonies for illegal B’deshi migrants
Ludhiana, May 18
The police made house-to-house search in Muslim and migrant labour colonies late this evening looking for illegal Bangladeshi migrants.

Resident earns minister’s wrath
Pathankot, May 18
A local resident has to pay for filing a case against transport minister Master Mohan Lal Sharma alleging that the latter had obtained the “fake” degree of Law from Hanumangarh, Rajasthan. A case under various provisions of the SC and ST Act was registered against the resident late last night, allegedly at the behest of the  minister.

Posts of Lecturer
PPSC corrects conditions
Nabha, May 18
The Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) has realised its mistake after more than a month by correcting the eligibility conditions for 265 posts of lecturer (college cadre).

A demolition operation to clear roads and bazars of encroachments in progress in Pathankot on Saturday. — Photo by N.P. Dhawan

Sacha Sauda Conflict
Death anniversary of 1st victim observed
Sangrur, May 18
The first death anniversary of Kanwaljit Singh, a local resident who died in firing on May 17 last year near Naam Charcha Ghar of the Dera Sacha Sauda at Sunam, was observed at his residence here today.

Rejection of nomination papers
CPI for deferment of elections in villages
Mandi Ahmedgarh, May 18
CPI leaders led by Kartar Singh Buani, district general secretary, Ludhiana, have sought the deferment of panchayat elections in various villages, including Buani village, near here, where the returning officer had allegedly rejected nomination papers of at least nine aspirants on “flimsy” grounds.

World Hepatitis Day today
Awareness key to combating disease, say experts
Mandi Ahmedgarh, May 18
Terming hepatitis “silent killer group of ailments”, physicians of the area have called upon office- bearers of various social, educational and other bodies to educate people about the causes and consequences of the dreaded disease.

EDUCATION

Physically challenged Ashok Kumar Maurya from Mirzapur who made it to IIM-Indore fighting all odds in Varanasi on Sunday. — PTI

No degrees, no jobs for nursing students
Patiala, May 18
Nursing students passing out from the College of Nursing here are a harried lot. They have not been awarded a degree in nursing even though the college of nursing is affiliated to the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot. Students of the nursing college who passed out in the first batch in 2007 are yet to get their degrees. 

Campaigning for PU Senate poll starts
100 SCD Govt College teachers back Mukesh Arora, Jagpal Singh
Ludhiana, May 18
Intense campaigning for the Senate elections of Panjab University, Chandigarh, has already started in the city, which has strong lobby of contenders. The contestants in fray, for the elections scheduled to be held in September, have started targeting the voters from their respective constituencies. The competition is tough in two main constituencies- the teacher and the graduate constituencies. All four contestants from Ludhiana represent these two constituencies.

AGRICULTURE

Conserving Subsoil Water
Farmers advised not to water paddy before June 10
Patiala, May 18
In an attempt to conserve subsoil water, farmers have been advised by district administrations not to water paddy before June 10.

Power Cuts
Mann, Rajewal voice concerns of farmers
Chandigarh, May 18
While Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) chief Simranjit Singh Mann has opposed peakload-hour restrictions by the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) with the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) nod on the industry, restricted power supply to consumers and power cuts in other sectors, the BKU (Rajewal) has urged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to pull up PSEB authorites for not supplying power to farm sector for eight hours daily.

CRIME

Woman, daughter kidnap boy
Amritsar, May 18
Dreaming of getting rich within days, a woman along with her minor daughter, in Bollywood style, first made advances towards a boy through cell phone and later kidnapped him for a ransom of Rs 1 crore. However, their dream could not turn into reality, as the Amritsar rural police, with the help of the mother of the boy, were able to arrest the duo from Rajpura village in Shahpurkandi late last night.

Narinder Singh, who was kidnapped, hugs his mother Dalbir Kaur in Amritsar on Sunday. — Photo by Vishal Kumar

Panchayat Poll Violence
Three held for assaulting BDPO
Mandi Ahmedgarh May 18
The Sudhar police has arrested three persons for allegedly assaulting a block development project officer (BDPO) after forcibly entering into his house at his native village Waraich, near here and threatening to kill him yesterday. Four other suspects are absconding.