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More Fazilka villages marooned
Some relief: Water level in Harike headworks down |
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Lokpal orders inquiry against Bibi Jagir Kaur
Capt firm on anti-acquisition stir
30 officers likely to get IPS cadre
Kaka has betrayed panth, says Badal
Poll pact: Left wants 30 seats from PPP
Again, ruckus at Charak’s meeting
Normalcy returns to Gobindpura
Punjab plans nursing schools in three towns
SGPC to take stock of key Sikh sites in Pak
Rajpura distillery found violating pollution norms
Residents irked over delay in completion of
six-laning project
Patiala residents celebrate Anna’s win
Punjab plans nursing schools in three towns
Carjack: 3 members of Bakarwal gang nabbed
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More Fazilka villages marooned
Fazilka, August 29 Badal Pul, known so as it was constructed during the 1997-2002 tenure of the Badal government, has just been touched by the flood water. The Army has taken control of the bridge to regulate the evacuation process and to prevent any untoward incident. The 11 villages that have been cut off from the mainland are Teja Rohela, Dona Nanka, Mahatam Nagar, Ram Singh Bhaini, Retewali Bhaini, Hasta Kalan, Mauzam Forward, Jhangar Bhaini, Walleshah Uttar, Walleshah Hithar and Ghurka. The rising water entered the relatively high altitude residential areas of Dona Nanaka and Teja Rohela villages today. “We are afraid that if the bridge, too, is inundated, we will be trapped in flood water across the river,” says Kala Singh of Retewali Bhaini village. Hundreds of panic-stricken villagers have been making a beeline to safer places with their belongings and livestock. While the elderly, women and children were being shifted, adult male members were staying put in their respective village Also, the seven border observation posts of the BSF along the zero line have been surrounded by flood water. The BSF personnel have been reaching the posts through boats. “However tough the circumstances, intrusion from across the border will not be allowed,” said GL Meena, Commandant of BSF’s 51 Battalion. The water level is constantly increasing. The administration maintains that around 70,000 cusecs of water had been released from the catchment area. A senior official of the civil administration, on anonymity, revealed that the rising level was not in accordance with the quantity of water released officially in the Sutlej from the dam upstream. The actual water released might have been more than the figures provided by the government, he said. Not only officials, the villagers, too, were perturbed at the government decision to release more water. “We have been left at the mercy of God as we do not know what is happening. The water is rapidly rising… we will be ruined. No official came to enquire our well being today,” rued Harbans Singh, sarpanch of Dona Nanka, Dholla Bhaini and Mahatam Nagar villages. He demanded that at least 500 bags of wheat flour should be provided to the marooned people. With the Sutlej breached, more water had flowed into the already flood-affected Dona Nanka, Jhangar Bhaini, Mahatam Nagar, Dona Sikandari, Kanwanwali, Mansa Bhiwani, Ganjuana Hasta and Teja Rohela villages and Gatti No 3 area yesterday. Today, the water flowed into the Mauzam defence bundh, which was strengthened only a few days back in view of the flood threat. Marooned n The only road connecting 11 border villages with the Fazilka city has been submerged in the overflowing Sutlej n
Badal Pul (near Kanwanwali Patta), on the Sutlej has just been touched by the flood water. The Army has taken control of the bridge to regulate the evacuation process and to prevent any untoward incident n
The 11 villages cut off from the mainland are Teja Rohela, Dona Nanka, Mahatam Nagar, Ram Singh Bhaini, Retewali Bhaini, Hasta Kalan, Mauzam Forward, Jhangar Bhaini, Walleshah Uttar, Walleshah Hithar and Ghurka n
The 7 border observation posts of the BSF have been surrounded by flood water n
The water level is constantly increasing. The administration maintains that around 70,000 cusecs of water had been released from the catchment area
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Some relief: Water level in Harike headworks down
Ferozepur, August 29 Meanwhile, the water being released into canals from Harike head works had to be slashed due to incessant rains that lashed the area in the past couple of days. Hence, the water level downstream from Harike head works that was today recorded at 63,000 cusecs will take more time to come down. The drainage officials said, “The water level is coming down at right pace, as fast reduction also causes damages at times. The water level at Hussaniwala head works was recorded at 68,000 cusecs today.” Farmers in Basti Ramlal, Kale Ke Uthar and Muthianwali, which are amongst the worst-affected villages, were also optimistic that the situation would improve in the next few days, though heavy rains have acted as dampener as far as the spirits of these border people was concerned. DC S Karuna Raju said, “The main challenge before the administration was to meet the requirements for fodder for the cattle and ensure that no diseases were spread in the aftermath of these floods. Meanwhile, Guruharsahai MLA Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi visited the flood-hit villages in the Mamdot block and sought immediate release of compensation for the farmers against the damage incurred to their crops.
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Lokpal orders inquiry against Bibi Jagir Kaur
Chandigarh, August 29 After giving a hearing to Shubh and looking at the record presented by him, Jutsice Dhaliwal told IG (Lokpal) Sham Lal to conduct an investigation into the allegation and submit a report within a month. Shubh had alleged that Bibi Jagir Kaur was not only in wrongful possession of the land, but had further rented it out for cultivation. In the complaint, it was mentioned that Bibi Jagir Kaur was the chairperson of the District Planning Committee, Kapurthala, and, therefore, came under the ambit of the Lokpal. A week ago, Congress MLA from Bholath Sukhpal Khaira had, at a press conference, said he would go to the Lokpal with a complaint as the chief secretary and other officials had failed to respond to his complaint. The complaint was submitted by George Shubh to the Lokpal last week after which he was told to appear before Justice Dhaliwal today. Shubh told Justice Dhaliwal that since the Chief Minister was invited to lay the foundation stone of a school on the “illegally occupied” property, thus, he too was guilty along with Bibi Jagir Kaur of “misusing” his official position. “The presence of the Chief Minister conveyed to the Kapurthala administration that none should dare to initiate action against the illegal encroachment,” he told the Lokpal. Bibi Jagir Kaur said the allegations were baseless and “Khaira could go anywhere, but would not be able to find any wrongdoing on her part”. She claimed the said land was in the possession of her family since 1953 and its price had only escalated gradually over the period of time.
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Capt firm on anti-acquisition stir
Mohali, August 29 Standing up for the farmers against the “forcible” acquisition of 850 acres of land in Gobindpura in Mansa district for a thermal plant, he said : “Till the land acquisition Bill being drafted by the Centre becomes an Act, there can be no other solution other than giving the farmers the market price for the land acquired, as is being done by the Haryana Government. He was speaking at a press conference at the PCA stadium here today. He was accompanied by party incharge for Punjab Gulchain Singh Charak and CLP leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal. “Everyday, party workers from different districts would march towards Gobindpura in support of the farmers.” he announced. "Since, we are planning to hold a massive protest till the farmers' demands are met, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has tried to buy time by giving the farmers assurances. We know these are hollow, made without any intent to be fulfilled," the PCC chief said. Reiterating his stand on the Hansi Butana canal, Amarinder said he had exposed the change in stand of the Central Water Commission (CWC) on the issue.The CWC was misleading the apex court. This was tantamount to contempt of the court, he said. On his stand on the Lokayukt, he said this institution, weakened by the SAD-BJP government, would be strengthened when the Congress came into power. Terming the SAD-BJP government as the most corrupt, he said the magnitude of corruption in Punjab was far greater than anywhere else. On the SGPC elections, he said the party had no role to play in these elections. The party had made it clear that these elections were in no way a referendum on the performance of the ruling alliance. “The real referendum will be in February 2012,” he maintained. Gulchain Singh Charak and Rajinder Kaur Bhattal said that the SGPC elections represented only a small section of voters “who cannot claim to represent the whole of Punjab.” Capt Amarinder Singh said his letter to the Prime Minister on the activities of DGP PS Gill and Principal Secretary DS Guru had been forwarded to the Home Minister for suitable action. “If both are keen on contesting the elections, they should immediately step down on moral grounds. One cannot be an Akali jathedar and an officer at the same time”, remarked the former CM.
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30 officers likely to get IPS cadre
Chandigarh, August 29 A 10-year-long dispute between Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs) who have been recruited directly to the post and those who have risen up the ranks to become DSPs had delayed promotion of the officers. Once the UPSC clears the seniority list, eight SPs stand to be promoted as Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIGs) within a year. The development is in the interest of the state government. This is because the Congress had filed complaints with the Election Commission, stating that PPS officers had been posted as district police chiefs against norms. There is speculation that PPS officers might not be allowed to continue on such posts. Director-General of Police (DGP) PS Gill, when contacted on the issue, said the state government had removed all hurdles in the way of promotion of PPS officers to the IPS cadre after listening to representations from both direct as well as promoted DSPs. He said 30 officers were likely to make it to the IPS. Officers have been in a dispute with promoted officers demanding seniority from the date of joining as DSPs, even as directly recruited DSPs want the former to get seniority only from the date of substantive vacancy. Though promoted and direct recruits are to be promoted in the ratio of four to one, more promoted recruits have got the next rank because the State Public Service Commission did not hold interviews for promotion of direct recruits. According to the findings of the AR Talwar Committee formed by the state government, many promoted DSPs could lose their seniority. The sources said the government was in the process of confirming slots to both promoted and direct DSPs which would pave the way for promotion to the IPS cadre for many. Sources said 100 officers were available for promotion. Tentatively eight officers of the 1990 batch. including Balkar Singh Sidhu, Gurinder Singh Dhillon, Munish Chawla, SPS Parmar, Amar Singh Chahal, Jitender Aulakh and MS Cheena, are likely to pick up the DIG rank within a year of becoming IPS officers as they will be allotted the 1997 seniority. Several PPS officers posted as SSPs are also likely to pick up the IPS rank. The last officer promoted to the IPS rank from the state cadre was Lok Nath Angra in 2001. He was allotted seniority of 1996. |
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Kaka has betrayed panth, says Badal
Moga, August 29 Addressing public gatherings at Badhni Kalan and Dharamkot, besides a party workers meeting at Moga, Badal took a dig at his nephew Manpreet Badal, who is Peoples’ Party of Punjab chief. He alleged Manpreet had lost his “balance” and was leveling baseless allegations against the government. He was referring to Manpreet’s recent remarks that the government was “pressurising his workers to join the SAD by threatening to slap false cases”. Badal also lashed out at former CM and outgoing Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala, besides former Speaker Ravi Inder Singh and the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president. Ensure ban on liquor, DCs told Chandigarh: The Gurdwara Election Commission today issued directions to the deputy commissioners of various districts of the three states of Punjab, Haryana and HP and UT Chandigarh to ensure ban on the sale of liquor and intoxicants in the run-up to the SGPC polls. The elections are to be held on September 18. The Chief Commissioner, Gurdwara Election Commission, said it should also be ensured that there was no clandestine movement of liquor. He said the officials concerned and their subordinates would be held liable in case of dereliction in duty. — TNS
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Poll pact: Left wants 30 seats from PPP
Chandigarh, August 29 “Negotiations are on with PPP chief Manpreet Badal regarding the sharing of seats. We expect to get more than 30 seats from the PPP,” said Joginder Dayal, a member of the CPI national executive. He said the Left parties would clear various issues, including sharing of seats, enlisting of main issues to be raised during the campaign and schedule for the joint campaign, over the next three-four weeks. “The PPP leadership will be asked to allocate the constituencies where we have significant vote bank,” said Dayal. He said during the 1980 assembly elections, the CPI and the CPM won more than 12 seats. The Left parties had also done well in the previous two assembly elections, he claimed. Notably, the CPI has a sizeable vote bank in Budhlada, Mansa, Malout, Amritsar (West), Valtoha, Majitha, Nihalsinghwala, Jalalabad and Raikot areas. The CPM has its noteworthy presence in Nangal-Anandapur Sahib, Garhshankar, Banga, Phillaur and Sangrur areas. Dayal said he had a brief meeting with Manpreet in Phagwara yesterday regarding the electoral tie-up. “The Left-PPP alliance will provide a third alternative to the state people,” he said.
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Sarna challenges Badals for debate on Sikhism
Ludhiana, August 29 “Let him (Badal) bring his family and I will bring mine. Badal’s family lives in India while my children and grandchildren are in the US. I can bet despite the fact that they reside in a foreign country, my family knows much more about Sikhism than his,” Sarna said. Sarna accused SAD’s SGPC candidates of not following the principles of Sikh religion. “Many of their candidates have children who are either clean shaven or trim their beard and have hair cuts. This is shameful as these people claim to be the torchbearers of our religion. Most of Badal’s candidates cannot even recite Japji Sahib, leave aside talking about issues related to Sikh religion,” alleged Sarna. The DSGMC chief alleged that SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar’s sons were addicted to liquor. “And if they are not, then he (Makkar) should present their medical reports, which will confirm that I am right,” he said. Reacting to this, Makkar said Sarna was “no one to talk about his sons”. “Let him say whatever because he is in a habit of talking this way as he has already lost his mind. My sons work for the benefit of city residents and remain in office for at least 12 hours daily. Even for my election, they are working hard. Sarna should know his limits… else we also know a lot about him and his family. If he is such a daredevil and a Sikh, he should have contested the SGPC elections against me or any other Akali candidate,” Makkar said. Sarnas Cong puppets: Sukhbir Patiala, August 29 Addressing separate rallies in favour of the SGPC candidates in Patran and Bhadson here, Sukhbir said, “Punjab Pardesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Capt Amarinder Singh and the Panthic Morcha leaders are misguiding the masses.” “As far as the SGPC elections are concerned, there is no competition and the Congress will never be able to get the back door entry in the SGPC with the help of the Panthic Morcha candidates,” he added. Sukhbir further said, “Amarinder has forgotten his brutal actions, including firing on the farmers during the Barnala agitation, while he was the then Chief Minister. Gobindpura issue was nothing but a creation of the Congress, which was not having even a single issue against the SAD-BJP Government otherwise,” he said. Challenging the Congress to come up with a clear agenda before the people of the state, Sukhbir said the Punjab Congress leaders were frustrated as victory of the SAD in the SGPC elections was sure.
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Again, ruckus at Charak’s meeting
Mohali, August 29 Trouble started when Harjinder Singh Dhawan, a former PPCC member and Lakhwinder Kaur Garcha loyalist, stood up to express his point of view. But supporters of Kharar MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu reportedly tried to push him out of the meeting. This resulted in a commotion. Coming out of the meeting, MLA Sidhu said only office-bearers of district units, Membera of Parliament, MLAs and and bock presidents were invited for the inhouse meeting. “ Those who have been expelled have no right to participate in the party meetings”, he said.
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Normalcy returns to Gobindpura
Mansa, August 29 Few police personnel were seen in Gobindpura as residents freely moved about unhindered, without questioning by the police. While the farmers have suspended their dharna till September 13, when the second round of talks will be held with Badal, the big question is if PPCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh will succeed in making Gobindpura another Singur that swept Mamata Banerjee of the TMC to power in West Bengal. Amarinder has announced to launch a morcha on September 2 against the land acquisition. Ram Singh, district president of the BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan), who steered the agitation in Mansa, said: “We have nothing to do with the Congress morcha. It is Amarinder Singh’s agenda and the farmers’ unions will not get involved”. He said the unions would not accept any political interference and were competent to handle the situation. Ram Singh said although the CM had offered to cancel the entire acquisition of 880 acres, this might not be possible as many farmers had spent the compensation amount for purchasing agriculture land elsewhere and had no money to repay the government or the company building the thermal plant on the acquired land.
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Punjab plans nursing schools in three towns
Bathinda, August 29 If the proposed nursing school is set up in Bathinda, it will be the second such government institution in the Malwa belt offering the GNM course to students. The State Institute of Nursing and Para-Medical Sciences at Badal village (Muktsar) offers several courses, including GNM and BSc Nursing. The Bathinda Civil Surgeon has informed the PHSC that an inspection of the land in the premises of the Civil Hospital, Bathinda, has been done.
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SGPC to take stock of key Sikh sites in Pak
Amritsar, August 29 SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said, “We will first verify these reports with the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and order a probe if these turned out to be true. We will also take up the matter with the Pakistan government regarding the upkeep of these historic sites.” Surinder Kochhar, a city-based historian, had earlier claimed that a historic Baradari, belonging to Maharaja Sher Singh, son of legendary Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh, had been turned into a dumping ground in Pakistan by a Lahore-based waste management company. “As per the Archaeology and World Heritage Act, Pakistan, no construction is allowed within the periphery of 200 feet of the heritage site. However, the outer walls of the Baradari had already been demolished to construct Nawaz Sharif Hospital,” he had alleged. Kochhar even shot off a missive to the Punjab government in Pakistan urging the authorities to renovate the historical site after removing the garbage. He had also claimed that the Samadh of Sikh General Hari Singh Nalwa has been turned into a police station.
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Rajpura distillery found violating pollution norms
Patiala, August 29 The notice, a copy of which is with The Tribune, reads, “Why action should not be taken against the M/s Nuway Organic Naturals (India) Ltd, which has been found guilty of defiance of the water and air pollution norms. However, before taking a final decision, the opportunity of personal hearing would be provided to the distillery authorities on September 5, 2011, at the PPCB headquarters in Patiala.” While confirming this, PPCB Environmental Engineer Pawan Kumar Garg said the Board officials had visited the distillery on July 25. “As per the report prepared by the Board, it has come to light that the Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) installed by M/s Nuway Organic Naturals (India) Ltd was not in a proper working condition, as no effluent was coming out from aeration and anaerobic tanks. Also, no energy metre was installed with effluent treatment plant. The industry also failed to show the record maintained regarding operation of ETP,” said Garg. The notice further mentioned that the distillery has three acres of land within its premises for the utilisation of the treated effluent, but no proper pipelines for uniform distribution of treated effluent have been provided. “The industry has installed water pump with flexible pipe for draining out rainwater/effluent from the distillery plantation area to the adjacent field for plantation outside its premises. However, the analysis results of trade effluent sample shows that the concentration of the various pollutants, including Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), at the outlet of ETP was beyond the permissible limits for such discharges onto the land for plantation,” said Garg. SOILING ENVIRONMENT n
The Effluent Treatment Plant installed by Nuway Organic Naturals (India) Ltd was not in a proper working condition, with no effluent coming out from aeration and n No energy meter was installed with effluent treatment plant and the industry also failed to show the records regarding operation of ETP n The distillery has three acres of land within its premises for the utilisation of the treated effluent, but no proper pipelines for uniform distribution of treated effluent have been provided THE CRACKDOWN A show-cause notice has been issued to the distillery unit under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act-1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act-1981 The analysis results of trade effluent sample shows that the concentration of the various pollutants, including Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), at the outlet of ETP was beyond the permissible limits for such discharges onto the land for plantation
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Residents irked over delay in completion of
six-laning project
Patiala, August 29 Despite the fact that the shopkeepers have protested against the Patiala Municipal Corporation and the PWD Department several times in this regard, the authorities does not seem to take their protests seriously. Notably, the project has already been delayed and the rains have further worsened the situation. There are many prominent educational institutions on this road, including Mohindra College, Multani Mall Modi College, Buddha Dal Public School and the British Co-Ed School and the students face difficulty in reaching their destination. Also, it has increased the risk of accidents because whenever it rains, the entire area becomes muddy. Talking to The Tribune, Joty Partapgarh, a shopkeeper, said due to delay in the six-laning project, his business was suffering to a large extent. “Customers do not come to our shops as the entire area was dug up and it gets risky to drive in this area when it rains. In the past three months, we are facing difficulty in reaching our shops but no one pays any heed to our problems,” he added. Mayor Ajitpal Singh Kohli said it was the PWD who was responsible for the delay in completion of this work. “The Municipal Corporation has already deposited the entire amount with the PWD for completing this project. I am personally conducting the review meetings of the project, including lower Mall six-laning project,” he added.
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Patiala residents celebrate Anna’s win
Patiala, August 29 Former Deputy Speaker of Punjab, Bir Devinder Singh said Anna Hazare’s victory had proved beyond doubt that people were the ultimate sovereign. He said people come first and all the other parliamentary institutions come afterwards. “Anna has aroused the conscience of the people against corruption which is all pervasive in all the departments of the government. Though the effective Lokpal Bill is still a distant reality but what happened in Parliament yesterday is certainly a major breakthrough in that direction. Effective and strong Lokpal Bill has to go through difficult phases and cumbersome parliamentary procedures before it becomes a reality. But the credit goes to Anna Hazare to give this great feeling to the people of the country that the strong and effective Lokpal is not an expired reality,” he added.
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Punjab plans nursing schools in three towns Bathinda, August 29 If the proposed nursing school is set up in Bathinda, it will be the second such government institution in the Malwa belt offering the GNM course to students. The State Institute of Nursing and Para-Medical Sciences at Badal village (Muktsar) offers several courses, including GNM and BSc Nursing. The Bathinda Civil Surgeon has informed the PHSC that an inspection of the Civil Hospital land had been undertaken in this connection.
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Carjack: 3 members of Bakarwal gang nabbed
Ludhiana, August 29 The kingpin, Manoj, alias Manjeet Singh, who is wanted in 128 cases, managed to give the slip to the police along with his accomplice Parveen Kale. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ashish Chaudhry said the gang had been hiding in the city for the past two months. The Delhi Police has announced a reward of Rs 50,000 and Haryana Rs 20,000 for nabbing Manoj. The DCP said the police received information last night that the gang members were seen in two luxury vehicles on the GT road. “While CIA personnel intercepted a Toyota Fortuner, Manoj and his accomplice Parveen Kale who were in another car, sped away. The CIA team led by GS Bains gave the car a chase, but in vain.” The police, he said, had recovered a Ford Endeavour and a Toyota Fortuner from a house in Rishi Nagar where the gang members had been hiding for the past two months. Two .32 pistols, a countrymade pistol and a police uniform had also been recovered from the house. The DCP said Pardeep would be wearing uniform of the Delhi Police while forcing people to hand over their vehicles at gunpoint. “Pardeep, Vinod and Sandeep Kumar are wanted in murder, robbery and carjack cases," the DCP said. He said Manoj had earlier fled from Gurgaon police custody in June this year while being taken to a court in Saket. The police claimed that Manoj and Pardeep were behind the "supari" killing of an Agra-based businessman Yashit Sharma in October last year. Manoj was in love with the businessman's wife and he had hired contract killers Sandeep, Mukesh and Gagdish to kill
Yashit.
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Chandigarh, August 29
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Mohali, August 29
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