J A L A N D H A R    E D I T I O N

BJP gets on poll course with vikas rally
Amritsar, August 3
The BJP today virtually launched its pre-election campaign to arouse the poll fervour among its constituents and workers at the grassroots level. Navjot Singh Sidhu, the brain behind the vikas rally of the BJP here today, said he would not leave any stone unturned to give a new look to the holy city.

BJP leaders and workers during the rally in Amritsar on Sunday. — Photo by Vishal Kumar

Naina Devi Stampede
HP urged to ensure safety of pilgrims
Jalandhar, August 3
Expressing grief at the death of several pilgrims due to stampede at the Naina Devi temple in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab co-convener of the Bharatiya Janata Party (media cell) Rajat Kumar Mohindru demanded immediate review of safety and security arrangements of the pilgrims at different religious places located in Himachal Pradesh.

MC Chief Poll
BJP undecided on candidate
Batala, August 3
Strong resentment prevails in a section of the local BJP, councillors and workers over the decision of the party high command in not nominating Ambika Khanna for the post of the president of the Batala municipal council.

Pingalwara staff to get tips on handling spl kids
Amritsar, August 3
Deserted and special children are a gift of God and serving them is just like paying obeisance to God, said Manpreet Kaur, who has come all the way from the United Kingdom to train staff of the All-India Pingalwara Charitable Society here.

Power crisis leads to caste clashes, firing
Jalandhar, August 3
The ongoing power crisis yesterday virtually led to caste clashes at Feroze village in the district when the Dalit community tried to draw power through a “kundi” connection from a transformer installed in the field and a farmer opened fire from his revolver to stop them.

Father, son killed in road accident
Jalandhar, August 3
Two persons were killed in a road accident on the spot here yesterday when an unidentified vehicle hit the scooter they were riding. The deceased were identified as Manohar Singh and his son Jagdeep Singh (22), residents of Khadal Kalan, police sources said.

Peon kills self
Amritsar, August 3
Bhupinder Singh (25), a peon working in the judicial court complex, committed suicide in the old sessions’ court complex on Mall Road on Sunday. 

Banks, religious places told to install CCTV cams
Kapurthala, August 3
In the wake of a recent spurt in militant activities, especially the blasts in Ahmedabad, the police has directed various banks and religious places to be cautious. SSP Rakesh Aggarwal held a meeting with bank managers and security officers from 135 private and public banks on Saturday.

BJP gets on poll course with vikas rally
MP Sidhu is the brain behind campaign
Ashok Sethi & P.K. Jaiswar

Amritsar, August 3
The BJP today virtually launched its pre-election campaign to arouse the poll fervour among its constituents and workers at the grassroots level. Navjot Singh Sidhu, the brain behind the vikas rally of the BJP here today, said he would not leave any stone unturned to give a new look to the holy city.

Crowd control The public jostled with one another to reach the venue and broke barricades in doing so. The police had a tough time handling the crowd. The organisers of the rally were regularly requesting the police to control the rush. However, councillors of the areas were also warning them against use of any force. No government building or properties like electricity poles were spared and every nook and corner of the city was dotted with huge hoardings.

Addressing the rally, the MP, who has already been nominated as the party candidate for the Amritsar seat, said the state government had given the corporation Rs 170 crore for development and he initiated the process to rebuild the road network 10 days ago.

Sidhu said the projects for the beautification of the city and revamping of the civic amenities, which had been in a state of collapse, had been redefined with massive investment plans.

He said the project to revamp the infrastructure had been handed over to a multinational company with all safeguards and accountability and he hoped the city would get a modern look within the next six months.

The project had carefully been designed with the help of internationally renowned consultant, Tetratech limited, which had scientifically planned a detailed project report, he said.

The BJP MP, while sounding the poll bugle, said he would ensure that all the projects, which had remained unfinished during his four-and-a-half-year tenure as the representative of the city, would be completed with all sincerity.

He said the common man was not concerned with the nuclear deal or other burning international issues, but with the basic needs like good roads, water and electricity.

He said the other big projects which had remained in limbo due to various technical and administrative reasons - like land for Amritsar international airport, upgradation of the modern cargo terminal at Attari, road link with Pakistan, central university and other similar projects - would be taken up soon. 

Naina Devi Stampede
HP urged to ensure safety of pilgrims

Jalandhar, August 3
Expressing grief at the death of several pilgrims due to stampede at the Naina Devi temple in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab co-convener of the Bharatiya Janata Party (media cell) Rajat Kumar Mohindru demanded immediate review of safety and security arrangements of the pilgrims at different religious places located in Himachal Pradesh.

Mohindru said the Himachal government should learn a lesson from the Sunday incident and should not only take effective steps for the safety and security of thousands of pilgrims visiting Naina Devi but also for those pilgrims who were paying obeisance at the Chintpurni, Jawalaji and Chamunda Devi temples. Mohindru said a large number of pilgrims from Punjab go to pay obeisance at HP temples and it was the duty of the government to ensure their safety. — TNS

MC Chief Poll
BJP undecided on candidate
Our Correspondent

Pingalwara staff to get tips on handling spl kids
Sanjay Bumbroo
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 3
Deserted and special children are a gift of God and serving them is just like paying obeisance to God, said Manpreet Kaur, who has come all the way from the United Kingdom to train staff of the All-India Pingalwara Charitable Society here.

Inspired by the society’s founder Bhagat Puran Singh, Manpreet said, “He devoted his life to serve those who were not related to him and such a selfless service was the reason why people still believe in humanity.”

Masters in psychology and special education, Manpreet said she was here to train the society’s staff so that they could provide the best services to the special children. “I am here to disseminate my knowledge so that the staff could educate itself and help these hapless children lead a normal life,” she added.

Manpreet said a shortage of trained staff in the society was hampering its campaign of making special children self-reliant. “There are only 10 attendants per 80 children here, whereas in the UK there were three helpers per 10 kids,” she said, adding that the institute also lacked proper infrastructure.

She said the special children only needed love and care for their upbringing. They were far from the materialistic pleasures and small things like a hug could give them immense happiness.

She said there was a need to save soul rather than mind and the people who had resources should come forward to help those who had been deprived of mind and money.

Power crisis leads to caste clashes, firing

Jalandhar, August 3
The ongoing power crisis yesterday virtually led to caste clashes at Feroze village in the district when the Dalit community tried to draw power through a “kundi” connection from a transformer installed in the field and a farmer opened fire from his revolver to stop them.

Transformer at Feroze village had been out of order for the past one week and in an attempt to draw power from a transformer installed in the field of a farmer, villagers put a direct connection on which farmers objected and amidst heated arguments one of the farmers opened fire from his revolver.

Reacting on the firing, hundreds of villagers gathered on the spot and demanded immediate action against the farmer. The police had to pacify them with a promise of registering a case against the farmer who opened fire, sources said.

The duel took political colours also as Dalits were owing allegiance to the Congress and the farmers from the Jat community having affiliation with the Shiromani Akali Dal. — PTI

Father, son killed in road accident

Jalandhar, August 3
Two persons were killed in a road accident on the spot here yesterday when an unidentified vehicle hit the scooter they were riding. The deceased were identified as Manohar Singh and his son Jagdeep Singh (22), residents of Khadal Kalan, police sources said.

The bodies have been sent to the civil hospital for a post-mortem examination. A case has been registered and efforts were on to nail the absconding driver of the vehicle.

Meanwhile, two persons were seriously injured when an Alto car had a collision with a train on an unmanned level crossing on the Jalandhar-Hoshiarpur section near Dakoha village here on Saturday.

Railway sources said that an Alto car, which was coming from Talhan, hit the Jalandhar-Hoshiarpur 7-JH train at unmanned level crossing C-2 near Dakoha, causing serious injuries to Rajesh Kumar and Anil Kumar, both residents of Guru Nanak Pura, Jalandhar.

The victims were carrying sweet boxes in the car when the accident took place as both were coming after paying obeisance at the nearby religious place, said the sources. — Agencies

Peon kills self

Amritsar, August 3
Bhupinder Singh (25), a peon working in the judicial court complex, committed suicide in the old sessions’ court complex on Mall Road on Sunday. 

SSP Kunwar Vijay Partap said the police received information that the court peon’s body was found hanging from the ceiling fan in the quarters of the old complex. The police removed the body and sent it for a post-mortem examination. He said the police was investigating the case. — OC

Banks, religious places told to install CCTV cams

Kapurthala, August 3
In the wake of a recent spurt in militant activities, especially the blasts in Ahmedabad, the police has directed various banks and religious places to be cautious. SSP Rakesh Aggarwal held a meeting with bank managers and security officers from 135 private and public banks on Saturday.

He directed the banks not to take any other work from security guards as some banks were reportedly asking them to perform duties of peons. Besides, he asked them to check the security gadgets of their guards regularly.

Aggarwal asked the banks to install close circuit television (CCTV) cameras on their premises with back-up facilities for a week. He said the religious places had been asked to have CCTV cameras at parking lots and entrances. In addition, they should keep a copy of photo identity proof and mobile phone numbers of the visitors who stayed in the religious complexes. — TNS