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Akalis, Congress sound poll bugle
State getting poorer, Badals richer: Capt
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‘SAD misusing SGPC’
Mansa Project Row
Rain spoils Raksha Bandhan festivity, commuters stranded for several hours
Government announces compensation for flood-hit
Route of Delhi-Lahore buses diverted
Downpour a boon for paddy crop
Narrow escape for Punjab Transport Minister
Phoolka for drug-free SGPC poll
Patiala gears up for I-Day
Jail inmates celebrate Raksha Bandhan
Tree plantation drive held
Two brothers killed as fort’s wall collapses in Ludhiana
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Akalis, Congress sound poll bugle
Baba Bakala (Amritsar), August 13 Addressing a rally during the Rakhar Punia fair here, the CM said, “The SGPC elections are far more significant than the Lok Sabha and the assembly polls, as it concerns the upkeep of our gurdwaras. The Congress has made various failed attempts in the past through its proxies or fronts to take over the SGPC because it knows that Sikhs draw their strength from their religious places and this is what enables them to stand up against the Centre.” Badal termed DSGMC chief Paramjit S Sarna and SAD (1920) president Ravi Inder Singh as “Congress agents”. Sukhbir said, “The Congress is now indirectly contesting the SGPC polls in the form of Panthic Morcha, which has people like Sarna whose proximity to Gandhi family is known to all.” Interestingly, while the code of conduct is in force, Sukhbir said they would provide the rural youth with sports kits and open up gyms for them to wean them away from drug menace once the election process is over. He also said that the girls studying in Class XII in government schools will be given free bicycles so as to enable them to commute to their schools. YAD chief Bikramjit Majithia, SAD leaders Bibi Jagir Kaur, Balwinder S Bhunder, Rattan S Ajnala and Gulzar S Ranike were also present.
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State getting poorer, Badals richer: Capt
Baba Bakala (Amritsar), August 13 A UNDP report, said Capt, had given an alarming figure of the people who had fallen prey to drug addiction in Punjab, still the "government had failed to evolve any policy to wean away the youth from the abuse". Meanwhile, the Punjab Congress presented a united face at the rally in a bid to set its house in order ahead of the assembly election early next year. Amarinder and Leader of Opposition Rajinder Kaur Bhattal not only shared the dais but also exchanged views. Capt loyalists Lal Singh and Beas ex-MLA Jasbir Singh Dimpa showered praises on Bhattal in the former CM's presence. The PPCC chief claimed that before demitting office, his government had brought in 399 projects worth Rs 1.07 lakh crore. He alleged that Badal did not allow these projects to be set up and, thus, denied jobs to nearly 10 lakh youth. Bhattal alleged that Badal had not till date condemned the killings of Sant Harchand Longowal and daughter of Master Tara Singh during the militancy era.
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‘SAD misusing SGPC’
Chandigarh, August 13 In a statement here today, party spokesman Sukhpal Singh Khaira said Sikh voters sacrificed their lives and languished in jails in different 'morchas' launched during the beginning of last century to liberate the gurdwaras from the clutches of 'mahants' sponsored by the British. Khaira said the morchas resulted in the formation of the All-India Gurdwara Act in 1925 to manage the affairs through an elected body of the SGPC. The Congress leader said many leaders, including Master Tara Singh, Udham Singh Nagoke, Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra and others served the SGPC as presidents with sincerity and dedication. He said after Parkash Singh Badal gained control over the Akali Dal in the late eighties, the SGPC began to be "misused". Khaira said "corruption and nepotism had taken a front seat in the SGPC" and Badal had imposed his feudal style of functioning by "sending a sealed envelope to elect the president and gagging the voice of the 180 elected representatives of the
SGPC".
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Mansa Project Row
Gobindpura (Mansa), August 13 Around 100 villagers, including women and children, came out of their homes with black flags in their hands and decided to take out a protest march. They hoodwinked the policemen deployed in the village and scattered around the land secured by police and uprooted the barbed wires on a major portion of land. The protesters included a large number of womenfolk who were later on arrested by the police. The Mansa SSP SS Parmar said no formal arrests have been made so far. However, a section of people were detained as a precautionary measure. “We forced protesters to leave land earmarked for the thermal plant”, he said. “Some BKU leaders entered the village with false identity over the pretext of meeting some relatives and tried to instigate the villagers”, SSP said. He added that the situation is under control and nobody would be allowed to disturb piece in the area. Villagers Gurmel Singh Moni, Ranvir Singh, Kala Singh, Wadhawa Singh said that many farmers received injuries in the incident and a few of them were taken to Boha police station where they are being booked by the police. Farmers said they would not sit idle and will protest till the land is restored to farmers. They said their land is fertile and will not allow anyone to take it away at a 'throwaway' price. Meanwhile, Manjit Singh Chalbhuti, executive member of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, said the government is trying to hush up the matter with an iron hand. "SAD-BJP government has not right to grab the agriculturally fertile land to hand over a private firm. There are already two thermal plants in Malwa region and more thermal plants in the area would pollute the already polluted atmosphere here", he alleged.
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Rain spoils Raksha Bandhan festivity, commuters stranded for several hours
Goraya (Jalandhar), August 13 The traffic jams were caused due to heavy desilting on roads from the loose embankments of under-construction bridges coming up as a part of the six-laning of National Highway-1. Several vehicles, including huge containers, trucks, SUVs and cars were found caught in the heavy slush along the roadsides which were being dug out with cranes. The worst-hit was the Phillaur-Goraya-Phagwara stretch along Thehra, Muthda Kalan, Dosanjh and Chachoki villages. The fact that the buses to Ludhiana had been diverted via Nawanshahr-Rahon-Machhiwara further complicated the problem as several womenfolk who kept on waiting for buses at bus-stops in Phillaur and Goraya could not avail public transport service for hours. Hundreds of women were seen standing at these stops alongwith their children. Those of whom who managed to get a bus on the route early in the morning had to get down en route as these buses did not move for hours. Women were seen carrying gifts and sweets for their brothers in one hand as they walked down the road with their kids to catch another vehicle. Pooja of Nawanshahr said that it was an ordeal for her to reach her brother’s place in Goraya. “The bus came via Rahon moving too slowly. It did not move ahead of Phillaur for over an hour. I decided to step down but to my dismay there was no public transport available after that. I had to walk through mud all the way from Phillaur to Goraya carrying my three-year old son. He kept on crying all through as he was thirsty, hungry and tired and I was not carrying any surplus food and water”, she narrated her woes. Mandeep of Ludhiana who came by car to celebrate the festival with her brother in Jalandhar said that she started from her place at 11.30 am and reached here at 4.30 pm. “It has been a harrowing day for me”, she said. Interestingly, instead of the administration stepping in to help out those stranded on the road, it was the villagers who were pulling out cars, helping families and giving direction to the motorists caught in the jam. Babbu of Dosanjh village said that the jam was prevailing since late last night. “The loose soil from the under-construction bridges and rains that led to heavy silting of roads has been the cause. We are trying our best to render our services to the passersby”, he added. There were many who could not enjoy the festivities. Sanjay Chopra, a resident of Model Town, said that his sister who was supposed to join him in Jalandhar could not turn up as there were no buses from Jalandhar bypass in Ludhiana. SSP Rural Hardial Singh said that as many as 20 vehicles had got caught in the road slush and a continuous effort was being made to dig them out. “We are on job since last night.”
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Government announces compensation for flood-hit
Ludhiana, August 13 Addressing a press conference, DS Guru said, “We had a meeting with the officials of different departments in this regard. They have been asked not to leave the district in the next four days.” He said all the families of deceased would be given compensation of Rs 1 lakh each. In case of house collapse, a pucca-house owner would be paid Rs 35,000, a kacha house owner would be paid Rs 12,000 and for the death of milch animals an amount of Rs 10,000 would be given.
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Route of Delhi-Lahore buses diverted
Jalandhar, August 13 The routes of Lahore-Delhi and Delhi-Lahore buses were diverted from Kartarpur to Bidhipur railway crossing in Jalandhar to reach Ludhiana via Nakodar, Mehatpur and Jagraon instead of its normal route of Jalandhar to Ludhiana via PAP Chowk, Phagwara, Goraya and
Phillaur.
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Downpour a boon for paddy crop
Chandigarh, August 13 Official sources said there was heavy rain in Ludhiana-Phillaur-Nawanshahr region, besides the cotton belt of Malwa region. The rain started last evening and continued till noon today. Rain at this stage was good for the paddy and cotton crops, said Balwinder Singh, Director of Agriculture. “The long-term effect of the current spell of rain will be positive. There is no report of any disease to paddy and cotton crops yet, hence we are expecting a bumper paddy crop this year,” he said. The paddy crop has been transplanted on about 27.5 lakh hectares in the state. Of this, 6 lakh hectares was under basmati. The Agriculture Department is expecting a production of 160 lakh tonne of paddy. There are about 5.6 lakh hectares under the cotton crop. The cotton production has been pegged at 22 lakh bales this year. About 1.6 lakh hectares are under maize, a crop considered sensitive to water-logging. Owing to the downpour, the demand for power in the agriculture sector has gone down tremendously. Meanwhile, Balwinder Singh has sought a report from his officials in the field regarding the inundation of crops.
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Narrow escape for Punjab Transport Minister
Chandigarh, August 13 The escort and minister’s car ran into the vehicle moving ahead after the driver of the vehicle applied break suddenly. Though the vehicles were partly damaged, nobody got injured. Sub-Inspector Raghbir Singh said Minister Surjit Kumar Jiyani was on his way to Zirakpur and as soon as the escort and his official vehicle crossed the Hallo Majra light point, the driver of the vehicle moving ahead of the minister’s escort applied breaks, leading to the mishap. Following the sudden brakes, the minister’s car was also hit by another vehicle. All the four vehicles were partly damaged during the accident and led to traffic jam. The police officials said the minister escaped the accident without any injuries. “Soon after the accident, the minister left the scene in another vehicle,” they added. The Sub-Inspector said no case had been registered as both the parties reached a compromise.
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Phoolka for drug-free SGPC poll
Patiala, August 13 “It is sad that Sikhs are falling prey to drugs. We are initiating this drive to ensure that the candidates do not distribute drugs during the elections to attract voters,” he said. “During the last SGPC elections, such drives were initiated in various areas of Punjab and were also successful to an extent. We are holding a meeting tomorrow at Ludhiana and day after tomorrow at Amritsar to involve the candidates who are contesting the SGPC elections in this campaign," he added. “Akal Takht jathedars have already ordered not to distribute any kind of drugs during campaign. We will also take the help of our volunteers and media to carryout sting operations to see if the candidates are resorting to such means. If we find anyone guilty, we will complain to the Election Commission and seek cancellation of his nomination,” he added. Meanwhile, the candidates of various political parties, who are contesting the SGPC elections, took oath during the meeting that they would not distribute drugs during the election campaigns. Executive member of the SGPC Surjit Singh Garhi thanked Phoolka for initiating such a campaign and promised help for the same.
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Patiala, August 13 The YPS Stadium witnessed a full dress rehearsal of the I-Day parade under thick security blanket today. Meanwhile, the police and intelligence wings conducted thorough search in the city. “We have conducted searches in all the hotels and guest houses in the city to ascertain that no unidentified person was staying without proper verification,” claimed SP (City) Patiala Daljit Singh. Meanwhile, the city police has started holding regular nakas throughout the day and special vigil is being kept at night. “The state police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed at all the strategic positions in the city and around the stadium,” claimed the senior police officials.
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Jail inmates celebrate Raksha Bandhan
Patiala, August 13 More than 590 people visited the jail on the occasion. Additional Superintendent, Central Jail, Patiala, Rajan Kapoor said, “Time was relaxed till 5 pm for the visitors. — TNS
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Tree plantation drive held
Dera Bassi, August 13 Speaking on the occasion, they stressed upon the need of tree plantation. Dr Gurpreet announced that the institute would continue its tree-plantation drive. —OC
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Two brothers killed as fort’s wall collapses in Ludhiana
Ludhiana, August 13 The siblings of the victims, Arjun (19) and Sandeep (8), who were sleeping at a distance with their mother Kavita, sustained injuries and are undergoing treatment at a city hospital. The victims’ father Kala, who went along with his youngest son to the market, could not believe his eyes on returning home. "Neighbours rescued two of my sons and wife, but they could not find Ajay and Vipan. I was heart broken when they pulled out the body of my two sons after an hour-long search,” he said. The duo was declared brought dead by the hospital authorities. The duo’s mother said, “Had it not been a holiday they would have been alive. Ajay and Vipan were in no mood to wake up early today. Suddenly there was a huge thud and the whole lentil collapsed on us.” The residents alleged that the callous attitude of the civic authorities and the Heritage Department led to the tragedy. “Many requests regarding strengthening of the wall have been made to the administration in the past, but no action has been taken so far,” alleged the residents. The family alleged that the ambulance reached the spot an hour after the incident. “Had the ambulance reached on time, the children could have been saved.”
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Gobindpura (Mansa), August 13
Goraya (Jalandhar), August 13
