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Bridge cave-in ignites blame game |
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Distilleries take excise rules for a ride
SAD to hold conferences in Haryana
Kalia all praise for Deputy CM Manoranjan Kaliaand Sukhbir Singh Badal
CM seeks withdrawal of more cases against Amarinder, Sonia
Sidhu forces his name in the list
Say bye to bumpy rickshaw ride
14,000 police stations to be interlinked
Khalsa College readies to host Prez
Visit will give boost to Nanhi Chhan campaign
Seats For Sale In PGI
Aerocity Draw
Couple abandons daughters
Addl Sessions Judge tests positive for dengue
Varying lab reports complicate matters for suspected cases
Seven SPs shifted
HC orders CBI probe into drugs case
7 get jail for circulating fake currency
HC stays transfer of teachers
Commando convicted
Man found dead
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Bridge cave-in ignites blame game
Gurdaspur, October 5 The 600-metre-long bridge, inaugurated on April 26, 2007, by Sukhbir Badal, then the MP, in the presence of BJP MP Vinod Khanna and state PWD Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, was built by the Punjab State Infrastructure Board (PSIB) at a cost of Rs 3.50 crore. Experts say that the normal life span of a reinforced cement concrete structure like the bridge is between 50-80 years. However, locals are flummoxed to see an important part of the bridge caving in just three-and-a-half years after it was constructed. Early this morning, two motorcyclists were passing over the bridge when suddenly a large portion caved in due to soil erosion and seepage of water in a pillar supporting the bridge. They were later rescued from the crater by some passersby and admitted to the Gurdaspur Civil Hospital. The district administration apprehending danger to other vehicles closed the bridge to traffic from both sides. People, including schoolchildren, had to take long detours or were forced to use the old Bailey bridge constructed adjacent to where the new bridge had come up. The PWD was quick to shift the onus of the damage to the Irrigation Department while the latter accused the former of negligence. Executive Engineer (Irrigation) TK Gupta, who with Additional Deputy Commissioner RP Singh was among the first to reach the spot, said on September 19, DC Pirthi Chand had released a grant of Rs 4.30 lakh following which the Irrigation Department constructed a ‘crated appron’ to protect the left edge of the bridge and to check erosion. However, PWD officials claimed that what the department had done was a case of “too little and too late”. Executive Engineer (PWD) PS Tiwana, who was personally overseeing the repair, said it would take a fortnight to repair the bridge and opened to traffic. Residents were livid with the apathetic attitude of both the Irrigation Department and the PWD with many of them claiming that the caving in could have been averted had both the departments been more vigilant.
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Distilleries take excise rules for a ride
Fatehgarh Sahib, October 5 The committee, constituted in July this year, visited all the 10 distilleries in August and submitted a report last month and pointed out 23 major deviations. The damning eleven-page report claims that “all the distilleries” are making use of “chor pipes” or clandestine pipes to siphon off spirit and liquor before the product reaches the storage tank. While different pipes, under the rules, are to be painted in different colours, in practice they are not, the report states. Contrary to rules, the distilleries have more than one gate and though they are expected to provide for the ‘Excise office’ right next to the gate, most of the distilleries have not followed the directive. Indeed, the distilleries are also expected to provide for accomodation for Excise staff, who are to maintain almost round-the-clock vigil to monitor what is moving out. But most of the distilleries in Punjab have not bothered to do that. The committee, which included two retired Excise officials, found that Excise Inspectors did not have any seal of their own. The ‘revenue seal’ on the joints of the pipeline were found missing. Contrary to rules , the distilleries had made additions and alterations without prior approval and ‘cleanliness’ left much to be desired. Worse, the Excise department staff at the distilleries were found ignorant about Excise rules and regulations. Some of the officials who conducted the inspection said that this was for the first time ever that such inspections were carried out. “No one dares to step in these units out of fear of politicians. An Excise official had dared to issue 17 challans to an influential liquor baron and ended up being transferred 17 times,” he said. Liquor is manufactured in five stages and at every stage, the department is supposed to take measurements. The report points out that this protocol is not being followed in any of the distilleries. In some of the distilleries women and physically unfit excise inspectors have been deployed, who are unable to climb steep and narrow stairs up to a height of 30 feet and reach the high spirit tanks daily to take the measurements. Excise and taxation commissioner, Punjab, A Venuprasad described the findings as ‘technical lapses’. He claimed that the state government was collecting Rs 2500 crores from these very distilleries and ruled out any leakage. “We have also floated tenders to introduce holograms and instal CCTV cameras at various points in each distillery for better management,” he added.
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SAD to hold conferences in Haryana
Chandigarh, October 5 A decision to this effect was taken at a joint meeting of the core committee of the SAD and senior leaders from different parties of Haryana. The meeting was presided over by party President Sukhbir Singh Badal, which was also attended by CM Parkash Singh Badal. Party secretary and spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema said the meeting deliberated upon the issue of the coming SGPC elections and current political situation in Haryana. He said the above decisions were taken with an aim to further strengthening the party organisation in the state. Names of observers would be announced by the party President soon, he added. He said the party would hold district-level conferences in Haryana after paddy harvesting was over. The CM, Sukhbir, SGPC President Avtar Singh besides other senior party leaders would address these conferences.
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Kalia all praise for Deputy CM
Chandigarh, October 5 Manpreet Badal had in a statement which has appeared in a section of the Press today disagreed with Sukhbir’s assertion that the Centre’s conditions to waive half of the Rs 70,000 crore state debt were stringent and impractical and also questioned Sukhbir’s style of functioning. In an interview with TNS here, Local Bodies and Industries Minister Manoranjan Kalia made it clear that Manpreet had failed to shoulder collective responsibility by raising the issue of the Central loan waiver offer even when it had been unofficially discussed at a meeting of the state Cabinet. “Manpreet narrated everything to us and it was decided that he should come back to the Cabinet after getting a clear offer listing the amount the Centre was ready to waive and conditions it wanted the state to fulfil to get this relief,” he said. Kalia said in this light, there was no need to rush to the Press. He went on to indicate that the issue was not in Manpreet’s domain only as it was not a fiscal one alone. “We have to take a political decision on the offer also”, he added. The BJP leader, who has not got along with the SAD in the past and even led protests on issues like power hike recall, has for the first time praised Sukhbir’s style of functioning. Refusing to call the style “corporate” in nature, he said this was a term coined by Manpreet only. He went on to claim that Sukhbir’s style of functioning was “good” as far as the people were concerned and added that “I have always found Sukhbir open to suggestions”. When questioned about Manpreet’s comments that the Sukhbir-Kalia report on resource mobilisation had failed to live up to its expectations as it had mopped up only Rs 1,100 crore out of the Rs 4,000-crore proposed, the BJP leader shot back saying “if the Budget falls short, does it mean the Finance Minister has failed”. He said similar was the case with the committee. “We only projected expectations and expedited the mopping up process at a time when the state was in a financial crisis”. Reacting to Manpreet’s claim that he had been kept out of the Sukhbir-Kalia committee, he said the Chief Minister had constituted the committee. “It was up to the CM to include or exclude any person”.
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CM seeks withdrawal of more cases against Amarinder, Sonia
Chandigarh, October 5 The counsel for Badal, Varinder Issar, moved the application in the civil case stating: “As per the averments and submissions made in the complaint of the suit for damages of Rs 5 crore and for future interest for the causation of his defamation is bound to finally succeed on merit still without prejudice to the merits of the case with a view to create an atmosphere of cordiality of relationship with one and all and hereby seeks the permission of the court to withdraw the same.” The two civil cases have been filed by the Chief Minister against Captain Amarinder Singh and one is against Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Both civil suites have been adjourned till October 30. The court was recording the statement of the CM in the case. Badal had last deposed before the court on November 11, 2008, to get his statement recorded. Sukhbir had also filed a defamation case against Amarinder under Sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation) of the IPC read with 199 (prosecution for defamation) of the CrPC in 2002. He had stated that in the letter, Amarinder had listed 16 properties -- alleged to be owned by Badal. The letter also mentions Badal’s alleged properties outside the country. Sukhbir had also filed an application seeking withdrawal of the case. The matter is adjourned for October 16.
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Sidhu forces his name in the list Amritsar, October 5 Stung at not finding his name in the list, the BJP MP had spent most of Tuesday calling up officials and newspaper offices. Talking to TNS over phone from New Delhi, Sidhu wondered how a representative of a Lok Sabha seat could be ignored when the President of the country is scheduled to visit his constituency. He claimed that he had called up the Punjab Chief Secretary and the latter told him that his name was dropped by the Rashtrapati Bhavan. But when he called up the Military Secretary to the President, he was told that Rashtrapati Bhavan had no clue as to why his name was dropped. The Amritsar DC KS Pannu informed him, said Sidhu, that the district administration received a communication from the office of the Military Secretary to the President, with details and names of people who would receive and see off the President at the Amritsar airport. The line-up included the CM Parkash Singh Badal, Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal among others. But it did not have his name. Sidhu's name was dropped from the panel, his camp claims, after he took on the state government over the declining fortunes of the Amritsar airport. “There is 22 per cent sales tax on air turbine fuel (ATF) in Amritsar, while it is a meagre four per cent in Chandigarh, as a result of which the ATF costs Rs 6,000 more per kilolitre here. In such a scenario no airline will come here; Why is our airport being destroyed” he had asked. But the MP’s perseverence finally paid off.
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Say bye to bumpy rickshaw ride
Amritsar, October 5 Made of a green steel frame, contrasting with a yellow canvas canopy, this rickshaw is an eco-friendly mode of transport. It is lighter in weight in comparison to the traditional rickshaws. The safety aspect is the highlight of the new model. The approach to the passenger seat has been kept low. The two steps offer an advantage for elders, ladies and children. It has also been equipped with a seat safety belt and there is also a provision for a first-aid box kit, newspapers and a small trash box at the back to avoid littering on the road . Additional luggage space under the passenger seat too would add to the comfort of the passengers. Manufactured by a Delhi-based firm, the Punjab government has ordered 10 rickshaws at present. The vehicles are being assembled on the premises of the Red Cross Bhawan. The Deputy Commissioner Amritsar, KS Pannu, elaborated on the detailing of the cycle rickshaw. The canopy has been designed in a way that it would give an impression of the heritage arch of the Khalsa College building. Unlike ordinary rickshaws, it weighs around 65 kg, against the 100 kg weight of existing ordinary rickshaws. The number wooden components used has been reduced. Hollow steel pipes have been used to frame it. Mango wood, which is lighter in weight has been used as a support beneath the seat and the backrest. The idea of introducing new rickshaws was conceptualised by the Department of Tourism, Punjab, and the Amritsar administration. The services of Graduates’ Welfare Association, Fazilka, were engaged to implement the project. The rickshawpullers were excited with the new venture and felt that their dream of owning a rickshaw could be fulfilled.
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14,000 police stations to be interlinked
Ludhiana, October 5 The Centre has provided an amount of Rs 2,000 crore for this purpose. This aims at modernising the police system and the early detection of criminals. Under this programme, all FIRs will be computerised and complainants will know the status of their complaints. In Punjab, all 369 police stations will be covered under the scheme. IG (IT) Jagdish Mittal said the state government had prepared a preliminary report known as implementation monitoring with the help of Wipro. It had been submitted to the Centre. The state government will now hire another company that would formulate another report for preparing system indicators.
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Khalsa College readies to host Prez
Amritsar, October 5 It is for the first time that the President would take part in a function of the College. Earlier, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had visited the college during one of her visits to the city to launch a TV station in Amritsar over three decades back. In recent past, former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chaterjee had presided over a convocation some years ago. Besides, many Supreme Court judges, Chief Justices of High Courts and reputed academicians participated in many functions organised in it. College principal Daljit Singh said since the programme was being organised by ‘Nanhi Chaan’, the college has limited say in its proceedings. “Yet we will try to felicitate the President with a photograph of the college and a shawl,” he added. Deputy Commissioner KS Pannu said the work of the government and its agencies was limited to providing security and to ensure protocol. Acclaimed Punjabi singer Gurdas Maan would render a song at the beginning of the programme. It would be followed by speeches from President Pratibha Patil, Governor Shivraj Patil, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj and Akali MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
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Visit will give boost to Nanhi Chhan campaign
Amritsar: Launched with an aim to root out female foeticide and check the problem of depleting forest cover especially in the state, Nanhi Chhan campaign has come a long way since its inauguration in August 2008. A brainchild of chairman of Ranbaxy and Impact Group of Companies Harpal Singh, the foundation has distributed over seven lakh saplings of different varieties in northern part of the country. The tomorrow’s visit of President Pratibha Patil is likely to give further boost to this campaign.
The President’s visit would motivate other states to adopt this model for spreading awareness of women empowerment and other environmental causes concerning society at present. — TNS
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‘CET for medical institutes must’
Umesh Dewan Tribune News Service
Patiala, October 5 Dr Sharma claimed that the alleged sale of medical seats was not only going on in government medical institutions, but also in private medical colleges, especially in those institutes, which conduct their own entrance tests. “The seats are sold in a planned manner and the modus operandi adopted by the institutes include impersonation during examination and leakage of the question papers, one night prior to the entrance test,” he alleged. Association leaders stated that there was a need for complete overhaul of the medical admissions system at the undergraduate (MBBS and BDS) and postgraduate (MD and MS) levels. The Centre should constitute a high-powered committee of honest persons, including doctors, medical trade unionists and eminent personalities to suggest ways and means for regulating admissions to medical institutes and the examination system in medical colleges. “Our Association is of the opinion that there should be a common entrance test (CET) for all medical institutes at all-India level on the pattern of one being conducted by the United States for Foreign Medical Graduates,” said Dr Sharma, while demanding that all government and private medical institutes, including All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, and PGIMER, Chandigarh, as well as minority institutions (if any), should admit all candidates on the basis of that (CET) only.
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Pargat wants GMADA to verify players’ claims
Tribune News Service
Mohali, October 5 Director Sports Pargat Singh said he had taken up the issue with the Chief Administrator of GMADA. “The players who have not taken the benefit earlier should be given the chance”, he said. He said certain applicants had approached him regarding some players availing the benefit of the sports quota twice or thrice. “I do not have specific names. I just conveyed the grouse of the players to the GMADA authorities”, he said. GMADA Chief Administrator VP Singh said all those who had filed false information as per the terms and conditions of the application forms would be in trouble. “Once we post the name and details of the applicants, we expect that a lot of things will be clear. If anyone has any complaint, the authorities can be approached and suitable action will be taken”, he said. GMADA officials said once the draw of lots was over, all beneficiaries in the reserved categories would be asked to furnish original documents. A proper scrutiny of the claims would be done.
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Farmers rue delay in paddy-lifting
Fatehgarh Sahib, October 5 So far 9,036 metric tonnes of paddy has been arrived in the grain markets of the district, out of which only 5,279 metric tonnes is purchased by government agencies and rice millers. Even as 4,000 tonnes paddy is still lying in the grain markets, farmers have brought their produce for sale. Farmers who have already brought their paddy to the market failed to take it back. “We could not bear the double transport and loading charges and try to dry the paddy in the grain market itself,” said Tarlochan Singh, a farmer. He said the reason behind slow procurement is due to negative response of rice millers of the area due to the space crunch in rice mills and in government godowns. Farmers pointed out that even some government procurement agencies were reluctant to lift paddy due to the space crunch. Also arthiya’s in Sanghol and Khamano grain markets are not showing interest in purchasing paddy due to non-payment of labour charges worth Rs 65 lakh of previous season. While rice millers alleged that the government had announced the parameters of damage and discolour even before the onset of paddy purchase. Farmers rued that they had already faced heavy monsoons following various diseases in paddy plants and now, procuring agencies and rice millers were not purchasing paddy due to high moisture content. Officials of the District Food Supply Department in the Sirhind grain market said the problem of delay in lifting of paddy would be solved in the coming three days. Nakesh Jindal, press secretary of the Punjab Rice Millers Association, said the process of paddy procurement might witness more chaos in the coming days as many problems have got accumulated due to lack of proactive approach of the government.
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Couple abandons daughters
Chamkaur Sahib, October 5 Around a week ago, the couple first abandoned their four-year-old Muskan near the Sirhind canal. Muskan told the workers at the gurdwara that her parents had left her at the guruwara and fled. Muskan has been staying at the gurdwara since the last one week. On Sunday, the couple returned, looking for
Muskan, but left behind their eight-month-old baby girl. They also left behind a scooter bearing the number PCF
730. Chamkaur Sahib, SHO said, “the family has been traced to
Ludhiana. Poonam and Hardeep had been married earlier. They divorced their respective partners and married around an year ago. While Hardeep’s 11 year old daughter from his previous marriage has been living with her paternal grandparents at
Ludhiana, four-year-old Muskan is Poonam’s daughter from her previous marriage. The eight-month-old baby girl abandoned on Sunday is couple’s own. The families of both Poonam and Hardeep have disowned them.”
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Addl Sessions Judge tests positive for dengue
Bathinda, October 5 This came to notice when the report of his Mac Elisa test (a confirmatory test for dengue) was made available to the Civil Surgeon here this afternoon by the in charge of the sentinel surveillance hospital situated on the premises of the Civil Hospital here. Out of nearly 60 suspected dengue patients from Bathinda on whom the test had been conducted since August 10, he is the first confirmed dengue patient while the remaining suspected patients have tested negative. Bathinda Civil Surgeon Dr Inder Dayal Goyal confirmed that as per the report, Additional Sessions Judge RS Rai had tested positive for dengue while the remaining seven patients on whom the test was also conducted here today, had tested negative.
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Varying lab reports complicate matters for suspected cases Bathinda, October 5 Irked over being made to run from pillar to post and having to spend a lot of money on lab tests in Bathinda, they finally took their child to the DMCH, Ludhiana, where he recovered. Narrating his plight, Baldev Krishan Sharma of Green Avenue rued that his 20-year-old son Harman Preet, studying at Chandigarh, suffered from symptoms of dengue on September 22 and underwent medical tests there, which confirmed dengue. The worried family called him back to Bathinda, the next day. “We went to Mittal Labs here but the reports suggested that dengue viral (IgM and IgG) was non-reactive. Despite this, we continued with the tests and found that the platelet count was falling speedily. When the count reached 56,000 on September 27, we rushed to the Civil Hospital Bathinda,” he added. Baldev Krishan said, “However, the report of Civil Hospital was totally surprising as it showed the platelet count at 2.41 lakh, which meant dengue was negative. We asked the doctors to conduct the Mac-Elisa test of the patient, which they flatly refused to do saying they were running short of staff. When we pressed them, they asked us to come after two days to get the test done.” “To get the doubts cleared, we went to a private lab in the city and found the declining platelet count had reached 35,000. Confused over the dissimilar reports, we went to another lab, where dengue was again confirmed. Tense over the condition of our child, we rushed to DMCH, Ludhiana, where the doctors confirmed dengue and immediately started treatment that saved the life of our child,” he said. Bringing the patient back home, the aggrieved family approached The Tribune and expressed anguish over the largely varying reports of laboratories and the insensitive attitude of the civil hospital authorities. When contacted, Dr Anita Mittal of Mittal Labs said, “We did the test with the best of intention but it may be due to some fault in the test kit we used. A complaint has been lodged with the kit manufacturer and we are sorry to the family for the harassment they underwent.” On the other hand, senior medical officer at the Civil Hospital Bathinda, Vinod Garg said, “I am surprised as to how our lab gave such an erroneous report of platelet count. We will surely re-examine the case and try to ascertain where the fault lied.” About the refusal to conduct the Mac-Elisa test, the SMO said, “Though it is a free test for patients, its costs are high for the health department. We have directions to keep collecting the samples and get them examined only twice a week. I think the person attending the patient did not guide them properly, which I can check only if the patient approaches us.”
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Seven SPs shifted
Chandigarh, October 5 Manmohan Singh has been made Assistant Commandant, 27 Battalion, PAP, Rajinder Singh is SP(H), Batala, Paramjeet Singh Goraya is SP(D), Amritsar (Rural), Randhir Singh Uppal is SP(D), Hoshiarpur, Amarjit Singh Bajwa has been posted as SP(D), Khanna, Vijay Sharma is SP(D), Faridkot, and Harmohan Singh is SP, Vigilance.
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HC orders CBI probe into drugs case
Chandigarh, October 5 The Bench also directed the trial court to defer the hearing of the matter till November 2, by which date the CBI would file its report in a sealed cover. Justice Kumar had earlier taken suo motu cognizance of the complaint forwarded by the gram panchayat. At that time, Justice Kumar had asserted: “The gram panchayat through the sarpanch, members of the panchayat and other residents of the village have made a complaint against the in charge of the anti-narcotic cell, Khanna, Ludhiana, and his accompanying officials for the registration of a false case against Kuldip Singh, member panchayat, and his father Darbara Singh, who are residents of Bhaini village. “In the complaint addressed to this court, it has been prayed that a thorough inquiry into the matter may be got conducted from agencies like the CBI and the vigilance, and further steps may be taken for the cancellation of the FIR.” “When the complaint was received on the administrative side, we took judicial notice. Once the complaint has been signed by all respectable persons of the village, the allegations gain some credibility,” Justice Kumar had asserted, while issuing notices to Punjab through the secretary in the Department of Home Affairs and Justice and other respondents. The allegations were of the seizure of six kg opium.
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7 get jail for circulating fake currency
Moga, October 5 Revealing this to The Tribune, Additional Public Prosecutor of the district Lakhvir Singh said five persons Harcharan Singh, Harjinder Singh, Baljit Singh, Amritpal Singh and Gurdev Singh have been found guilty of manufacturing counterfeit currency with the help of computers, printers and other gadgets. The court of SK Aggarwal has sentenced all of them to five-year imprisonment and also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on each of them under various offences. If they fail to deposit the fine as directed by the court, they would have to undergo another 10-month in the jail. Two of their associates Gurkirpal and Sukhchain have also been sentenced to 30-month imprisonment for possessing the counterfeit currency. A fine of Rs 1,000 has also been imposed on each of them, failing to deposit the same would add to another one month in their actual sentence. Aggarwal, while pronouncing the orders, observed, “Keeping in view the gravity of the offences of manufacturing and circulating a large number of counterfeit currency notes for using them as genuine ones, they require to meet substantive sentence because circulation of counterfeit currency is very dangerous to the Indian economy.” An FIR was registered against them on October 10, 2006.
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HC stays transfer of teachers
Chandigarh, October 5 In the petition filed, Jagdeep Singh and 13 others had earlier described the order dated September 17 as “not only illegal, arbitrary, unjust, unfair, but also against the factual matrix”. Claiming the order was unsustainable in the eyes of law, counsel for petitioners Kapil Kakkar and Hema Kakkar contested that the the teachers were shocked and surprised when they went to perform their duties on September 24 and were handed over the order whereby all of them were transferred in an illegal and arbitrary manner. The dissapointing results of Class VIII, X AND X11 were made the grounds of the transfer.Kakkar appealed that all petitioners had been performing their duties with diligence and their results had always been excellent or good and under no circumstances the result could be termed disappointing. Kakkar appealed that all District Education Officers in Punjab be directed to send the lists of schools, where the results of Class VIII, X AND X11 were less than 30 per cent, to enable upliftment of education in the state.
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Commando convicted
Chandigarh, October 5 His accompliance, a relative has also been sentenced for the same period. As per the statement made by Gurmeet Singh in August 2005, he was supposed to vacate the rented accommodation by July 2007. The petition was filed by Gurmeet’s landlord, Dalip Singh through counsel Sukhjinder Singh Behal. Justice Hemant Gupta ruled that even though Gurmeet Singh is an employee with the Punjab Police and guardian of the law his noncompliance with the statement made by him before a court sentences him to six months simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2,000. — TNS
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Man found dead
Chamkaur Sahib, October 5 The identity of the victim was ascertained through the visiting card found with the body. Pradeep, a manager at the Jaideep Petrol pump, was reported missing on Sunday night. — TNS
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Tibri bridge, which connects
Hoshiarpur, Mukerian and Tibri cantonment with Gurdaspur, in the wee hours today, sparking off a blame game between the Public Works Department
(PWD) and the Irrigation Department.
State BJP minister and Legislature party leader Manoranjan Kalia, who has often been at loggerheads with the SAD, today closed ranks with Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and castigated state Finance Minister Manpreet Badal for “failing” to shoulder collective responsibility by airing his differences with his cousin in the public.
A quiet revolution is in the offing for users of public transport in the holy city of Amritsar. Unsafe cycle rickshaws will soon be replaced by specially designed eco-friendly cycle rickshaws, thanks to the state Tourism Department’s initiative. In a first-of-its-kind feature, the new rickshaw will be equipped with a small FM stereo, fixed in an intelligently designed space beneath the roof. The control panel of the FM would be at the disposal of the passengers.
