Lambi (Muktsar) May 21
Untimely rains, hailstorm and squall, which lashed Bathinda, Muktsar and Abohar regions late evening today left a trail of destruction. As many as five persons died after lightning struck him.

A child died in a wall collapse in Bathinda town and 20 houses suffered damage in Abohar. Three units in the thermal plant at Lehra Mohabbat tripped due to the squall.

The recently sown cotton crop was flattened in thousands of acres and kinnow plants, which were in early fruit-bearing stage, were damaged in a large number of orchards.

Hundreds of trees were uprooted, Sukhchain and Lambi distributaries got breached and many electric wires snapped from the poles, which caused disruption in electric supply to various pockets of the region.

Manphool, a resident of Seeto Guno, Mohinder Singh and Bohar Singh, residents of Muktsar district were killed when lightning struck them while they were working in their respective fields.

Kuldeep Singh alias Bagga, a 14-year-old boy, died in Goniana region of Bathinda district and a woman of a nearby village died in a similar fashion. KK Yadav, Deputy Commissioner, Ferozepur, said that he had asked SDM, Abohar, to assess the loss. He added that if the loss to crops comes out to be significant, a special girdawari would be carried out of the area.

Ramesh Kumar Gupta, Executive Engineer, Irrigation, Abohar, said that to save the irrigation channel from getting breached, the flow of water in them had been reduced by a considerable extent. He added that about 500 cusec of water from Sirhind canal had been diverted into Chandbhan drain through the escape channel.

He added that the squall was so strong that officials of the Irrigation Department found it difficult to reach the spot where the distributaries had got breached. He said that Malukpura distributary had also come under threat due to the squall. Meanwhile, uprooted trees blocked roads at many places on the Abohar-Seeto Guno Road and Abohar-Panniwala Road.

The rain will delay the lifting of wheat bags that have been lying in various centres of this region.

Amritsar, May 21
In what appears to be a case of honour killing, a young couple was hacked to death at Bhullar village (situated near border) allegedly by the girl’s family in the wee hours today.

According to information, bodies of the victims, Sarabjit Singh (23) and Amarjit Kaur (19), were found on the outskirts of the village. The victims, it appeared, had planned to meet at the incident site late at night.

Amritsar police (rural) chief Gurmeet Singh Chauhan said when the girl’s family found her missing, they set out in her search and soon tracked down the couple.

Balwinder Singh, father of the girl, along with his sons Gurpreet and Harpreet first allegedly slit the throats of the victims and subsequently hit them with sharp-edged weapons. Though both the families belonged to the same community, the girl’s family was against their relationship.

A case under Section 302 of the IPC has been registered against the trio at Lopoke police station. While Balwinder Singh has surrendered, the police has launched a manhunt to nab the other two.

Sarabjit’s uncle Joginder Singh said the victim had returned to the village only two months ago after working in Dubai for three years.

Earlier, said Joginder, the two families had a dispute after the victim-girl made a phone call to Sarabjit Singh in Dubai. However, the village panchayat managed to broker peace between them then.

Chandigarh, May 21
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has directed the Sports Department to immediately initiate action to provide government jobs to eligible sportspersons who have won medals at national and international fora in consonance with the state’s sports policy.

Badal said the state government was committed to providing government jobs to players. He said the state government had already recruited several sportspersons in various government departments.

He categorically asked the department to clear all such pending cases. He instructed the department to contact three eligible sportspersons — Abhinav Bindra, Avneet Sidhu and Ronjan Sodhi — whose names had already been cleared by the Cabinet in its meeting held on November 3, 2010, for issuing appointment letters as group ‘A’ officers in departments of their choice.

He also asked the department to immediately move a case to the Cabinet to seek exemption in the minimum educational requirements in the case of six sportspersons, who did not fulfil the prescribed qualifications.

Patiala, May 21
Medal winners of the state at National Games are now hoping that their long-pending cash awards, which is in lakhs, would be sanctioned in accordance with the new sports policy. Cycling coach Mittarpal Singh, who is currently posted at Punjabi University, Patiala, informed that the state government had not given any cash award to the medallists of the last three National Games - Hyderabad National Games (2002), Guwahati National Games (2007) and Ranchi National Games (2011). — TNS

Chandigarh, May 21
The trouble for the state BJP appears to be unending. The internal strife has taken a serious turn alarming the core group of the party in Delhi. A senior member of the core group, who was instrumental in seeking the resignations of all BJP ministers, before the reshuffle, has in fact shared his concern with Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

The BJP core group has asked the Deputy Chief Minister to help curb dissidence in the BJP. This is something unusual and unheard of, but since the SAD and BJP are coalition partners, Sukhbir has relented.As a first attempt, the government had allegedly started mounting pressure through some relative on RR Kakkar, the whistleblower and a former subordinate of Industries Minister Tikshan Sud. Sud has described the charges against him as "politically motivated".

Notably, the BJP has suddenly seen the eruption of charges by senior leaders against colleagues and fellow party men. There are charges and allegations against most ministers inducted into Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's Cabinet. These are coming from none other than BJP cadres and leaders, making the core group in Delhi nervous.

Shanta Kumar, who is in charge of Punjab affairs, has claimed that the revamp of ministerial berths in the Punjab Cabinet had nothing to do with the corruption case being probed by the CBI involving two former BJP ministers and a former chief parliamentary secretary. But at the same time, the party has so far given no justification for removing former Industries Minister Manoranjan Kalia, former Transport Minister Master Mohan Lal and former Social Welfare Minister Swarna Ram.

On the contrary, the Congress had questioned the "double standards" by the BJP core group in retaining new Industries and Local Government Minister Tikshan Sud even after DFO Kakkar submitted a complaint to Chief Minister Badal. Kakkar has accused Sud of being corrupt and misusing grants meant for afforestation and seeking money for transfers from department officers. Sud has denied all charges.

With a view to curb dissent within the party, the BJP has issued a show-cause notice to Master Mohan Lal and six others. But those affected by the party's decision to remove them are in no move to relent. The Congress has taken on the BJP head-on and levelled charges against Transport Minister Surjit Kumar Jaiyani of being involved in illegal distribution of kerosene. Social Welfare Minister Lakshmi Kanta Chawal is under the scanner for allegedly giving excess opium to some pharmaceutical companies owned by BJP leaders. Health Minister Satpal Gosain is facing the flak in a case where his grandson “took double payment for the same work done for the Ludhiana MC”.

The issue of the party Core Group in Delhi adopting double standards while dealing with different BJP leaders in Punjab has gathered lot of momentum in the state. The central leadership has asked the Punjab affairs in charge to keep a close watch on all developments and start the damage control exercise at the earliest.

Ropar, May 21
The Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) has directed all the schools in the state to collect admission forms and fees for Class X and XII during the summer vacations beginning from May 23, thus drawing ire from schools’ managements and teaching community alike.

While yesterday was the last working day, the board notified that the admission forms for both these classes be filled during the vacations itself. “We called up the board office asking for forms, but the officials said forms have not been printed yet. It is very difficult to collect forms from the students during the holidays,” lamented the government school officials at Ropar.

The forms for Class X and XII have to be submitted with fees by June 16 and June 20, respectively, whereas the vacations would conclude on June 30. The school managements, meanwhile, are trying to contact students.

“It becomes almost impossible to track students from other states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The board does not realise that all the students are not available during the vacation,” said a management member of a government-aided school at Morinda.

Last year, too, the board had similarly notified fee collection during the summer vacations. However, as several schools could not contact their students, the last date was extended till July 30. While results of the Class X and XII are awaited, the students, who might not clear exams, will have no time to seek admission again.

PSEB chairman Dr Dalbir Singh said the schedule was released keeping in mind the semester system of examination. “Students are to appear for the first semester examination in September. How can we go on collecting forms till August? Schools should follow the rules laid by board, as they know that the semester system is being followed,” he said. He added that all the forms were available online and that schools should download the same and distribute among their students.

Patiala, May 21
Assuring eight-hour uninterrupted power supply to the farmers during the coming paddy season, the senior functionaries of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) said proper arrangements were being put in place to ensure that farmers do not face any difficulty.

The authorities also informed that in order to prepare thermal units for generating optimum power during summers, the thermal plants have already been overhauled on rotation basis. PSPCL chairman-cum-managing director KD Chaudhri stated that present power supply position in the state was comfortable and arrangements were being made to get adequate power before the start of the paddy season from June 10.

In wake of the fact that just three weeks are left for start of the paddy season, the representatives of various farmers’ associations had met the PSPCL authorities and urged them to ensure that agricultural tubewells get at least 8-hour uninterrupted power supply.

State president of Consortium of Indian Farmers Associations (CIFA) Satnam Singh Behru said he had requested the PSPCL authorities to make sure that grid, feeders and transformers that are overloaded should be under-loaded before the start of the paddy season.

“We have urged that in case any transformer develops snag, it should be replaced at the earliest,” he added.

Jalandhar, May 21
Three killings in less than two months in California have created ripples in the Punjabi community in the region and in the US. Though the US police has failed to ascertain the cause behind the killings, the families of the deceased and the Punjabis settled in the US and NRIs, especially in California, are terming these murders as racial attacks on Sikhs.

Two black youths had gunned down two Punjabis in Sacramento city of California on March 5. Surinder Singh Sahota (67) from Pandori Ganga Singh village, Hoshiarpur district, was shot dead, while his companion Gurmej Singh Atwal (78) of Sandhwa Pharala village, Nawanshahr district, sustained severe bullet injuries.

After struggling for life for over six weeks after the incident Gurmej succumbed to his injuries. The family members of Gurmej here said the two black youths fired bullets indiscriminately on the duo and fled away. The reason behind firing of the shots could not be ascertained so far.

Sahota was a frequent visitor to the US, as his son was settled there. “My uncle and his friend Gurmej had gone for their daily walk, when two-three black youths fired bullets on them,” said Rajwinder Singh, a relative of the deceased.

In March 2009, six Indians were killed in a suspected case of murder in Santa Clara, California. The victims were natives of Wayanad district in Kerala. The deceased were identified as Devarajan and his family members Suchitra, Asokan, Akhil, Neha and Ahna. Devarajan was an engineer at Yahoo in California.

Amritsar, May 21
Takht Sri Patna Sahib Jathedar, Giani Iqbal Singh, announced that the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh will be celebrated on a massive scale in Patna in 2017.

Addressing a press conference here, he said the event would be celebrated as per the amended Nanakshahi Calendar.

“Takht Sri Patna Sahib had earlier celebrated the 300th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh on January 18, 1967. The Guru’s 350th birth anniversary would be attended by an estimated 10 lakh devotees from India and abroad. Special dhadi and kavi darbars and shabad kirtan would be part of the programme.”

Giani Iqbal Singh, a special committee would be constituted after deliberations with the jathedars of all the five Takhts. “ “We have already spoken to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Union Minister MS Gill for

direct flights and special trains to Patna for the pilgrims,” he said.

A Rs 100-crore project in collaboration with the Nishkaam Sewa, Birmingham, UK, had been planned for the beautification and expansion of Takht Sri Patna

Sahib. “Plans are afoot to construct a 1000-room inn and for landscaping the surroundings,” he said.

Referring to a Bihar-based television channel, which airs Gurbani from Takht Sri Patna Sahib, the Jathedar said

the channel should also be aired in Punjab and that he had already put up the demand before the state government.

Ropar, May 21
The Old British Army Trail, running from Nangal to Ropar, is being developed for tourism purpose. A team of district administrative officials, led by Deputy Commissioner GK Singh, trekked the trail that was once used by the British army during the pre-Independence era.

The team started its trek from Kahnpur Khui village in Nurpur Bedi. The 31-km-long trail is being developed as part of integrated special interest tourist destination. The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the Punjab Tourism Department joined hands in 2008. Owing to its proximity and good road connectivity with Chandigarh, Ropar is being developed as demonstration project by the UNWTO as an essential part of the Punjab Tourism Development Plan.

National project coordinator, UNWTO, Brig Tejpal Singh Chowdhury (retd), who was also a part of the trekking team, said the basic idea was to conserve nature in its original form. The UNWTO officials have been trying to find historical references of the trail from the old Indian gazettes. Besides GK Singh, the team includes Sucha Singh Masat, Sukhwinderpal Singh Mrar, Paramjit Singh, Gagandeep Singh Virk, Lakhmir Singh, APS Sandhu, K Kartik, Balwinder Singh and others.

The DC said, “Garh Dohlian panchayat has agreed to give four acres of land and Tibba Tappariyan panchayat will give 10 acres for the project. The villagers will be equal partners and will also earn from it.” The Forest Department has directed to clear the entire trail, which is at present crowded with overgrown shrubs and grasses, and to map the entire route using GPS for which the Tourism Department will provide all the funds.

Patiala, May 21
A deputation of the PCMS doctors and in-service doctors’ wing of the Indian Medical Education (IMA), Punjab, met newly appointed Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, Sat Pal Gosain and Minister for Medical Education and Research, Punjab, Arukesh Shakur at Chandigarh recently.

President of the Doctors Federation of India (Docsfed) Dr DC Sharma and chairman of in-service doctors’ wing of the IMA, Punjab, Dr DS Bhullar said they apprised Gosain and Shakur about the long-pending demands of the doctors. “Their main demands include clearance of the arrears pertaining to the Non-Practice Allowance and time-bound promotions of medical teachers,” said Sharma and Bhullar. — TNS

Patiala, May 21
After getting no response from the SAD-BJP Government regarding their long-pending demands, the engineers working in the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) and Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited (PSTCL) have announced the schedule for a series of the protest demonstrations.

PSEB Engineers’ Association president HS Bedi said they have decided to hold march at Bathinda on June 2, Jalandhar on June 14 and Patiala on June 28.

Strongly condemning the directive of the state government to the PSPCL/PSTCL to recruit assistant engineers on contract basis, Bedi said, “Recruitments will be made for three years on fixed monthly salary, which will be less than half of the salary of a regular employee of the same category and that, too, without any annual hike or other admissible allowances.”

The engineers also expressed their resentment over the fact that the state government has failed to notify the implementation of the tripartite agreement, signed between the two power utilities, Punjab Government and various trade unions/association, after the unbundling of erstwhile Punjab State Electricity Board.

Jalandhar, May 21
Three persons, including two pedestrians, were crushed to death and over 36 injured when a car (Tata-709) turned turtle on the GT Road in Dyalpur village near here this morning.

Heading from Adampur to Beas, the vehicle (with pilgrims inside) was packed to capacity when its driver lost control over it, police said.

According to eyewitnesses, two Dyalpur residents —Lahori Ram and Suresh Kumar who were walking along the road — were crushed as the vehicle toppled over them. A passenger, Sheetal Ram of Mahadipur village, also died due to suffocation and multiple injuries.