P U N J A B

Top stories | Politics | Community | Courts

Administration | Business

TOP STORIES

Poll Bol
Three candidates of major political parties in the fray for the Amritsar (South) byelection are greenhorns. Our correspondent Ashok Sethi takes their views on what they think could do for the constituency if given a chance.

Navdeep Singh Goldy (Cong) A Congress councillor, envisages a comprehensive master plan for the area for its overall development. He says he is aware of the problems faced by the people of the area and would raise the issue of their welfare in the Assembly. He would try to get Central funding for major infrastructure projects in his constituency. He has been president of the District Youth Congress for the past four years.

Inderbir Singh Bularia (SAD) Son of SAD leader late Raminder Singh Bularia, whose demise necessitated the byelection, says he would complete the task of comprehensive development of the city as envisaged by his father and fulfil all his dreams to make the city a model township in the country. He would work to get more development projects and funds sanctioned from the Chief Minister for the area. He would ensure uplift of poor localities besides improving the infrastructure.

Ram Singh (SAD-A) The candidate of the SAD (Amritsar) says the city is the political nerve centre of the state, but the SAD and the Congress have failed to develop it on the lines of Jammu, city of temples, which has far better roads, sanitation and transport system. Once elected, he would give top priority to clean the city of garbage and rid it of stray dogs, pigs and other animals. He is now general secretary of  the party.

Bumper crop ‘saves’ govt billions of dollars
Sukhbir seeks farmers’ share
Chandigarh, May 19
SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal today asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to pass on to Punjab farmers Rs 13,000 crore saved in foreign exchange duse to record wheat procurement for the Central pool from the state. This amount, he said, was the difference between the price paid to Punjab farmers and what the Centre was to spend on wheat import.

Revision of Minimum Wages
Labour bodies to hold march
Hoshiarpur, May 19
The All-India Hind Mazdoor Sabha (AIHMS), along with CITU and AITUC, will jointly organise a march in Chandigarh and demonstration before the residence of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for not revising the minimum wages of the workers working in 60 Scheduled Employments in Punjab under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.

 

 

POLITICS

Cong Legislators’ Resignations 
War of one-upmanship between Bhattal, Capt
Chandigarh, May 19
The calling of resignations from Punjab Congress legislators has become as much a war against the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) as well as between PPCC chief Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

COMMUNITY

Polling, not needed in Chak Holgarh
Villagers have faith in one family 
Anandpur Sahib, May 19
The gram panchayat of Chak Holgarh village has never seen a poll since Independence for the panchayat is elected unanimously. The post of sarpanch has been in a single family for these many years.

Security reviewed for Panchayat polls
Chandigarh, May 19
The Punjab government has geared up the security and law and order machinery in the state to ensure the peaceful conduct of the ensuing Gram Panchayat elections and bye-election for the Amritsar (South) Assembly constituency in a free and fair manner. Reviewing the security arrangements in a high-level meeting R.I. Singh, chief secretary, said conducting elections in more than 12,000 panchayats peacefully was a gigantic task and a major challenge for the Punjab Police.

Bir Devinder Singh

Face electioneering, Bir Devinder to Capt
Amritsar, May 19
Lashing out at former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh for his statements from his hill resort, chief spokesman for the PPCC Bir Devinder Singh said the former should face the heat and tumble of the electioneering in the state.

Sangrur Pingalwara
A haven for destitutes, physically challenged
Sangrur, May 19
With the admission of three mentally retarded/mentally upset persons to the All-India Pingalwara Charitable Society, Amritsar, here a few days ago, the number of destitute, mentally retarded, physically challenged and ill persons, besides some children, has risen to 216.

Sangrur needs drive on new ration cards
1.55 lakh cards more than 5 years’ old
Sangrur, May 19
More than 1.55 lakh ration cards, being used by consumers of the district, are more than five years’ old. This whopping number of consumers awaits issue of new ration cards, mandatory under the rules.

Patti resigns in protest
Replies to show-cause notice
Amritsar, May 19
Kashmir Singh Patti, president, Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission (SGJC), today resigned under protest and sent a reply to the show-cause notice to the chief secretary, Punjab.

Badals, SGPC members to perform langar sewa for 2 days
Rs 900 cr to modernise Asr, says Sukhbir
Amritsar, May 19
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, his son Sukhbir Singh, president, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), along with the Badal family and SGPC members from Muktsar and Bathinda, will perform “langar sewa” at the Golden Temple here for two days after the crucial Amritsar (South) byelection. The Badal family and SGPC members from the Malwa heartland will also clean the Parkarma and the Guru Ram Dass langar building. They will bring ration for langar with them. 

‘Raped’ woman takes off clothes in protest against police inaction
Moga, May 19
A middle-aged Dalit woman, Paramjit Kaur of Ghal Kalan village, who had been making rounds of the police station for the past few days to get an FIR registered against two persons of her village who allegedly thrashed and raped her, removed her clothes near the city police station to lodge a protest against the high-handedness of the police this afternoon.

Vaccine institute may face closure
Chandigarh, May 19
The Punjab Veterinary Vaccine Institute, state’s only vaccine-producing institute on the Punjab Agricultural University premises at Ludhiana, faces closure following a notice from the drug controller-cum-licensing authority, Punjab, for failure to renew licence for over two years. The Punjab government has written a letter to the Central Drug Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) pleading to allow it to continue producing the vaccine sans the licence.

Patiala coolest as temperatures fall sharply
Chandigarh, May 19
The maximum temperatures dropped sharply across Punjab and Haryana today, by up to 15 degrees at some places, after rains lashed the region.

Chd Airport
Govt wants Haryana to share bill
Chandigarh, May 19
The Punjab government has written to the Centre asking it to direct the Haryana government to pay its share of the money spent on the acquisition of land for Chandigarh International Airport, if it wanted to be its part.

May 22 holiday in Amritsar
Chandigarh May 19
The Punjab government has declared May 22 a public holiday in its offices, corporations, boards and all educational institutions situated within the jurisdiction of the 19-Amritsar South Assembly constituency and within the limits of the Municipal Corporation, Amritsar, on account of the bye-election 2008. It shall be a holiday with the meaning of Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments  Act, 1881.