Jalandhar/Kapurthala, September 14
As part of a state-level agitation against the hike in the court fee, lawyers of Jalandhar and Kapurthala observe a strike by boycotting the courts on Monday.

They also blocked vehicular traffic for about one hour in favour of their demand of withdrawing the decision of an increase in the court fee.

Jalandhar MP Mohinder Singh Kaypee also accompanied the protesting lawyers in Jalandhar in blocking the traffic.

Similarly, members of the Kapurthala District Bar Association jammed the vehicular traffic on the Kapurthala-Sultanpur Lodhi road in front of the District Courts Complex. They went in procession to the office of the Deputy Commissioner and submitted a memorandum to him.

The lawyers will also observe a strike and block traffic on Tuesday.

A decision to observe a two-day state-level strike was taken at a meeting of lawyers of Punjab on Saturday held under the chairmanship of Jalandhar District Bar Association (DBA) chief Balwinderjeet Singh Lucky. The representatives of the lawyers from almost every district of the state participated in the meeting.

Lucky said the protest would continue till the hike in the stamp duty was withdrawn. He said the support of different other organisations would also be sought to intensify their agitation. Punjab and Haryana Bar Council member Navtej Singh Toor was also present in the meeting.

Hoshiarpur: On a call by the Joint Action Committee for Punjab Lawyers, members of the District Bar Association observed a complete strike on Monday in protest against the recent enhancement in the rates of court fee. All the members staged dharna and rally before the Sessions Court due to which traffic remained suspended for about an hour.

Addressing the rally, District Bar Association president R.P. Dhir criticised the hike and said that from 100 to 500 times increase in the court fee would discourage the litigants for filing cases against defaulters.

On one side the government was claiming to provide cheaper and speedy justice, on the other, it had enhanced the court fee. The protesters raised slogans against the government.

Lawyers of Dasuya and Garhshankar subdivisions also observed a strike.

Tarn Taran: Members of the District Bar Association stayed away from the court work and blocked traffic against the hike in the court fee here on Monday.

Association president Shemsher Singh Sandhu said the lawyers would also observe a strike tomorrow.

The normal traffic remained disrupted as the lawyers staged a dharna in the middle of the road at the tehsil crossing.

Pathankot, September 14
Two senior officials of the Ranjit Sagar Dam, Shahpur Kandi, were killed and another person sustained serious injuries in a road accident on the Shahpur Kandi-Pathankot road, near Pangoli Chowk, 9 km from here, this evening.

Vikramjit Singh, SHO of Shahpur Kandi police station, said S.P. Kajal, Executive Engineer-cum-PA to Chief Engineer of Ranjit Sagar Dam, and Krishan Mohan Mahajan, Senior Medical Officer, posted at the dam hospital at Shahpur Kandi.

They were going to Pathankot in their official car driven by Tarsem Singh.

As soon as the vehicle reached near Pangoli Chowk on Defence Road, a truck (PB-02AH-9895) coming from the opposite side collided head-on with the car, resulting in the death of both Kajal and Mahajan on the spot.

Tarsem Singh sustained serious injuries and has been admitted to a private hospital.

The SHO said the driver of the truck had absconded and a police party had been dispatched to nab him.

The truck involved in the accident had been impounded. He said the dead bodies of both the officials had been handed over to their family members.

Hoshiarpur, September 14
Keeping in view the heavy traffic, a road across the Bhangi choe would be constructed after erecting a guide bundh on its banks from Hariana Road to old Bharwain Road adjoining Leper Colony at a cost of Rs 5 crore. This was disclosed by Minister for Medical Education, Research, Forest Wildlife Preservation Tikshan Sud while distributing compensation of Rs 65.81 lakh among 888 families of flood victims of August 13, 2008, here last evening.

After the completion of the road, the town would be divided into two parts to reduce the traffic rush.

He said construction of the bridge over the Bhangi choe between Gaushala Bazaar and Hariana Road was in full swing and would be completed shortly.