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J A L A N D H A R E D I T I O N

Villagers dream turn nightmare
Pathankot, June 22
Joginder Singh, a youth of Kesal village of Gurdaspur district, was the happiest man when he got an appointment letter for the post of sevadar in the Municipal Council a few months ago.

Power cuts hit industry hard
Amritsar, June 22
Industry and trade in the border region have been hit hard by prolonged and unscheduled power cuts, sending the business into a vortex of crisis.

Finally, Chhokeran to get vocational training institute
Nawanshahr, June 22
At last, after a gap of about one and a half decade, the idea of setting up a vocational training institute at Chhokeran village, near Rahon, is going to materialise.

Advani’s statement on ‘Hindutva’ a hogwash: Sarna
Amritsar, June 22
Paramjit Singh Sarna, president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, today termed the statement of BJP leader L.K. Advani about recasting “Hindutva” with changing times as a “hogwash”.

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	Villages along Sutlej cringe June 13, 2009

	Villagers dream turn nightmare Chander Parkash Tribune News service Pathankot, June 22 Joginder Singh, a youth of Kesal village of Gurdaspur district, was the happiest man when he got an appointment letter for the post of sevadar in the Municipal Council a few months ago. Though he has paid Rs 2 lakh to his kin, Manju, resident of this town, to get the job, he was feeling happy that as he has got a permanent job and would be able to earn enough to feed his family members. However, his joy turned into sorrow when he came to know that he has been cheated by Manju, sister of his wife, as the appointment letter issued to him is fake and Rs 2 lakh given to her has been eaten up by her. When Joginder Singh started making efforts to get back his money from Manju, he came to know that two other residents of his village, Narinder Singh and Baljit Singh, have also been cheated by Manju in connivance with two other persons. Narrating their tale of woes to The Tribune, the victims claimed that they had paid lakhs of rupees to Manju and her accomplices, identified as Jagdev Singh and Chottu, residents of Gurdaspur district, by borrowing the same from their kin and friends. They added that first they were asked to wait for a few weeks to get appointment letters after they paid money in January, 2009. After a few weeks, they were issued appointment letters for the post of sevadar in the Municipal Council but were asked to wait for a few days before joining their respective duties. They said after waiting for weeks together when they went to the officials of the MC, they were told that no recruitment for the posts of sevadar was made by the MC. They added that the appointment letters given to them by Manju were found to be fake. They alleged that neither they were being given their money back by the accused nor they were being given the posts of sevadar in the Municipal Council. They added that they had come to know that Manju and her accomplices had cheated a number of unsuspecting and innocent villagers of this area on the pretext of getting them employed in the MC. After having failed to get their money back, the victims have lodged a complaint with the SP to register a criminal case against the accused. SP Harpreet Singh, when contacted, said investigation into the complaint would be made and action taken as per the investigation report.
	Power cuts hit industry hard Our Correspondent Amritsar, June 22 Industry and trade in the border region have been hit hard by prolonged and unscheduled power cuts, sending the business into a vortex of crisis. According to the industrial association, a 48-hour-long power cut from Monday to Wednesday morning, besides the regular eight-hour daily cut by the Punjab State Electricity Board, has resulted in production losses. K.R.S. Sobti, a leading exporter, said the government and the board must rationalise power supply and minimise load-shedding to let the industry function in near-normal conditions. He said the industry was not opposed to freebies to the agricultural sector but the state must maintain a balance between the urban and rural segments. The intense heatwave and sweltering summer had the residents up in arms as the power cuts have gone beyond the normal announced load shedding and the six-hour cut daily have jumped up to eight to 10 hours a day. Residents suggested that the board must stagger its load according to the needs and allow at least eight-hour regular power supply, especially during the day.
	Finally, Chhokeran to get vocational training institute Parmod Bharti Nawanshahr, June 22 At last, after a gap of about one and a half decade, the idea of setting up a vocational training institute at Chhokeran village, near Rahon, is going to materialise. The Department of Technical Education has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under the Public-People Participation Scheme with the Doaba Khalsa Trust for setting up the institute. The Doaba Group of Colleges is going to start MBA, B.Tech and diploma courses in engineering and information technology from the academic session going to start from August this year. The construction work of the campus equipped with ultramodern facilities like laboratories, workshops, libraries, etc, is going on at a war footing. Besides catering to the educational needs of the Bet area of the district, the institute would also provide educational facility to the youth of the Machhiwara, Samrala and Khanna areas in Ludhiana district and Phillaur area in Jalandhar district. The construction of Machhiwara bridge across the Sutlej would also prove a boon for the youth of the backward Bet areas for avail themselves of the benefit of the upcoming institute at Chhokeran village. The institute would provide bus facility to the students. The project was conceived in 1995 by the then Agriculture Minister, Dilbagh Singh. He was instrumental in persuading the panchayat of Chhokeran village for provided the land for the purpose. In 1997, though the then Technical Education Minister, Upinderjit Kaur, laid the foundation stone of the polytechnic, but it could not proceed further.
	Advani’s statement on ‘Hindutva’ a hogwash: Sarna Tribune News Service Amritsar, June 22 Paramjit Singh Sarna, president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, today termed the statement of BJP leader L.K. Advani about recasting “Hindutva” with changing times as a “hogwash”. Sarna in a press note here said Advani’s remarks were rubbish as the party had failed to take action against Varun Gandhi for his hate speech and those who demolished Babri Masjid. He said this only showed that the party, which was being blamed for targeting minorities, had just maintained status quo. He pointed out that the BJP had once again reaffirmed that there was simply no difference between its ideology and that of the RSS which regarded Sikhs and Jains as part of the Hindu society and Muslims as aliens to Indian culture. He said had the BJP moved an inch from its aggressive “Hindutva” ideology it would have sacked Varun immediately after the meeting. However, the party did not do so as it would have to disown Advani who was accused of bringing down the Babri Masjid. He said that all those statements were hogwash.
	Assault on Tehsildar Revenue officials go on mass leave Our Correspondent Hoshiarpur, June 22 On a call by their state bodies, all officials of the Revenue Department, including kanungos and patwaris, went on a mass casual leave today to protest against the alleged assault on a tehsildar at Ludhiana, Major G.S. Benipal (retd), on June 18. The activists of the District Kanungos Association led by their district President Amarjit Singh and district President of the Revenue Patwar Union Jaswinder Singh Dhillon staged a dharna and held a rally in the Tehsil complex and demonstrated against the assailants. All the speakers condemned the incident and demanded a strict action against the assailants and protection to the revenue employees. Nawanshahr: Expressing concern over the attack on Major (retd) G.S. Benipal, Tehsildar, Ludhiana, allegedly by politicians and the dilly-dallying attitude of the law-enforcing agencies apparently to appease their political masters, ex-servicemen belonging to the district, led by Lt-Col Jernail Singh, on Monday submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner for onward submission to the President, Prime Minister and Defence Minister, seeking their intervention in the matter. They demanded stern action against the accused as well as the officials allegedly providing VIP treatment to the accused and CBI inquiry into the issue of fake stamp paper scam raised by Benipal.
	Unmanned railway crossing claims girl’s life Tribune News Service Jalandhar, June 22 Unmanned railway level crossing claimed one more life in the city this morning. According to the Railway Police, the accident occurred at Suchi village when the Pathankot-Jalandhar Passenger Train hit a scooter crushing to death its pillion rider, Amrita Jaswal, a resident of New Joginder Nagal Colony in Rama Mandi. Her friend, Rupinder Kaur of Rama Mandi, who was riding the scooter, was critically injured. Both girls were preparing for IELTS and going to the house of their friend near Chuggitti. Rupinder Kaur was admitted to the Civil Hospital. The body of Amrita Jaswal was handed over to the family after post-mortem examination at the Civil Hospital this afternoon. The police has initiated inquest proceeding. In another incident, a married woman allegedly committed suicide by jumping before a train on the Jalandhar-Nawanshahar railway track in the Jalandhar Cantonment area this afternoon. The police said Kamla Devi, a resident of Dhanowali village, took the drastic step after allegedly being harassed by her in-laws for dowry. The police has booked her husband, Paramjit, alias Pamma, his father Najjar Ram, mother Satya Devi and another relative Jasbir Kaur in a case of dowry death on the complaint of Kamla Devi’s father Pyare Lal, a resident of Kot-Ramdas village. No arrest has been made so far.