The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	3 killed, 34 hurt in road mishaps Tribune Reporters Nawanshahr, January 29 Three persons were killed and 34 others injured in several road mishaps today. Two persons were killed and 11 others injured when two buses had a head-on collision near Mahalon village on Jalandhar-Nawanshahr-Chandigarh highway today. It is believed that the accident happened as a result of poor visibility due to dense fog. Driver Bhag Singh of a Punjab Roadways bus, coming from Chandigarh to Amritsar, and passenger Jaspreet Kaur in a private bus, coming from Jalandhar, died on the spot. The accident happened at around 7.45 am. The injured have been identified as Amandeep Kaur of Dagham village (Hoshiarpur), Varinder Chander of Saharanpur (UP), Rakesh Kumar of Rajpura (Patiala), Silky of Barwa village (SBS Nagar), Rajni of Chaura village (Hoshiarpur), Sukhwinder Singh of Majhot Kalan village (Patiala), Anand of Phagwara, Ajit Singh of Nara Kalan (Amritsar), Satya Kumar Chander of Chandigarh, Kulwinder Kaur of Jalandhar and Amandeep Singh of Khabra (Jalandhar). The driver belonged to Santohgarh Tapparian village in Ropar and the passenger, who was killed, was from Basant Vihar in Hoshiarpur. A police party led by DSP Satpal Singh Bhangu with the help of the recovery vans cleared the accident site to ensure smooth flow of traffic on the highway. The police has registered a case under sections 279, 337 and 304 A of the IPC and started investigations. In another accident, two women lecturers, Minakshi (DAV College, Nakodar) and Pratibha (GN College, Nakodar), and car driver Gurpreet Singh of Jalandhar were injured when their car collided with a truck near Dhahan Kaleran village on Jalandhar- Nawanshahr-Chandigarh highway this morning. They were admitted to Guru Nanak Mission Hospital, Dhahan Kaleran. In two other road accidents near Mallpur Arkan and Langroya villages on the Jalandhar-Nawanshahr-Chandigarh highway five persons - Gurpreet Singh, Gurmukh Singh of Ludhiana, Sarwan Singh of Mallpur village, Bhupinder Pal and Amit Kumar of Nawanshahr, received injuries. They have been admitted to the local civil hospital. Kapurthala: A woman was killed and nearly 15 other devotees sustained injuries in a head-on collision between two vehicles near Ramidi village on the Jalandhar-Amritsar national highway today. The deceased has been identified as Makhmal (55) of Aman Nagar in Jalandhar. The injured have been admitted in different hospitals and are stated to be out of danger. According to the information, the victims were going to Dera Baba Jaimal Singh Beas from Jalandhar in a Tata 407 when it collided with Tata 207 coming from the opposite direction due to poor visibility due to fog. Traffic on the national highway remained disrupted for some time as the ill-fated vehicles blocked the road. The police has to divert the traffic due to the accident.
	PM’s alma mater holds ‘yagna’ Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 29 Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s alma mater Hindu College held a “yagna” for his good health after he underwent a successful coronary bypass surgery. The “yagna” was held on the college premises here today. Amidst chanting of Vedic mantras, prayer was made for his long healthy life so that he could dedicatedly serve the nation. V.P. Lumba, principal, Hindu College, said the Prime Minister had studied in the college from 1950 to 1952. Mentioning of his name on the college’s role of honours was a constant inspiration for the students of the college, he added. P.N. Arora, chairman, college management committee, was present on the occasion. Meanwhile, bhog of akhand path held by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) was also performed at the Golden Temple today. Avtar Singh, president, SGPC, said for early health recovery of the Prime Minister following successful operation the akhand path was organised. He hoped that he would soon be able to discharge his duties.
	Badal urges people to install NDA at Centre Tribune News Service Babehali (Gurdaspur), January 29 Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today appealed to the people to facilitate the installation of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre for the progress and prosperity of Punjab which had been victimised by the successive Congress governments. Addressing a big rally during his “vikas yatra” here today, Badal appealed to the people to “punish” the Congress for its anti-Punjab stance ever since the Independence of the country. Claiming that he was confident of wiping out the Congress from the state by capturing all the 13 seats in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, he said only the SAD-BJP alliance government was aware of the people’s basic problems and ground realities and could do the needful for their welfare and betterment. Announcing a Rs 3-crore grant for the Gurdaspur municipal council and more than Rs 2 crore for the rural areas of the Gurdaspur assembly segment, he said the SAD-BJP government had adopted a pro-people attitude from day one. He said the successive Congress governments had ruined agriculture, industry, education and other sectors of Punjab. He announced that a committee comprising the advocate-general and the secretary, education, and headed by the Chief Secretary, had been set up to solve the problems of ETT teachers. The state government would also take steps to stop the expansion of the Tibri cantonment in this district so that uprooting of the people could be avoided. Badal, who inaugurated the 66-KV power grid, said the Punjab government would observe a holiday on the birth anniversary of Baba Nabha Dass, head of the Mahashya community. Vinod Khanna, MP, said the SAD-BJP government, which had already constructed two bridges over the Ravi, had now decided to build a bridge over the Ujh river at a cost of Rs 13.78 crore.
	‘Govt diverting rural devp funds’ Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 29 The Congress has accused the Punjab government of acting arbitrarily and illegally in the disbursal of rural development funds (RDF) in the state ahead of the parliamentary polls. In a letter to the chief secretary, Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira alleged that the funds could only be used to provide and promote better agriculture facilities whereas the money was being used to construct dharamshalas, cremation grounds, sports clubs and other allied activities. He said the RDF was governed by the Punjab Rural Development Act, 1987, which mandates that the money spent in urban areas was in violation of Section 7 of the act since the money for the funds was collected by deducting two per cent market fee and two and a half per cent rural development fee on the sale of food grains in the state. The legislator said another illegality was the changes, making the CM as chairman of the rural development board in place of the rural development minister, made in the act in 1996 whereas the act clearly states any changes could only be made within two years of the enactment of the legislation by the state assembly.
	Two booked for bid to grab shops Jalandhar, January 29 Panic gripped the Jaimal Nagar area when certain armed persons fired shots into the air and allegedly locked over nine shops in a bid to grab them over a property dispute late last night. Hearing the gunshots, residents of nearby houses saw through their windows that certain armed men were putting their locks on the shutters of the shops owned by Neelam Rani of Abadpura village after breaking already put locks. In an attempt to grab the property and shops by creating an atmosphere of terror, the armed men, Manjit Singh, resident of Lamb Pind, and Baljinder Singh of Aman Nagar, also challenged the owners of the establishments, the police said. Station house officer of police station division No 8 Balbir Singh said the duo along with other accomplices tried to stake their claim on the land by cutting locks of over nine shops and firing into the air threatening the actual owner of the property. He said as per the revenue records the “disputed land” stood in the name of Neelam Rani of Abadpura village. The police has registered a case against Manjit Singh and Balwinder Singh on the complaint of the property owner. — TNS
	DC bans movement along border Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 29 Deputy commissioner Kahan Singh Pannu has banned all kind of movement in the 500-metre area along the barbed wire fencing on the international border with Pakistan. All kind of movement is banned from 8.30 pm till 5 am. The order would remain in force till March 21, he added. The deputy commissioner said the step was taken for warding off movement of unwanted and anti-social persons from the international border as it could pose threat to the national security.