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CM offers Yuvraj 20 acres for sports academy near UT
Ministerspeak: Looking ahead |
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Indo-Pak trade back on track in Attari
50% PCS posts vacant
16 PPS officers shifted
SGPC meet may discuss Op Bluestar Memorial
One death, two probes and a lot of confusion
Badal orders reforms in Vigilance Bureau
Factory owners to hold protest
2 police officers suspended
Nabha murder case
1,100 cancer deaths in Muktsar in 10 years
Diabetes, high BP spread tentacles
Gadkari to visit Ludhiana on May 7
Gang of highway robbers busted, one arrested
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CM offers Yuvraj 20 acres for sports academy near UT
Chandigarh, May 2 The offer was made when Yuvraj and his mother Shabnam Singh called on the Chief Minister at his residence. Badal enquired about Yuvraj’s well-being and wished him speedy recovery. In 2008, the Haryana Government had given 23 acres of land near Jhajjar on lease to star cricketer Virender Sehwag for setting up a cricket academy and an international school. Badal appreciated the proposal put forth by Yuvraj to establish a state-of-the-art sports academy near Chandigarh to impart training to budding players in cricket, hockey, golf and tennis. The Chief Minister asked his Principal Secretary to finalise modalities for the allotment of the requisite land. The Chief Minister apprised Yuvraj of the state already having set up a sports school at Ghudha in Bathinda district to impart quality education and sports training to the youth to enable them to exhibit their talent in national and international tournaments.
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Ministerspeak: Looking ahead The Punjab Irrigation Department was set up in 1849 to monitor a well-developed 14,500-km-long canal system that caters to the irrigation needs of the state till date. While Punjab houses the canal system, it is totally dependent on the Centre for its maintenance and expansion. Naveen S Garewal spoke to Punjab Irrigation Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon on how he proposes to run the department over the next five years. As Irrigation Minister, how do you assess your department in terms of what you have inherited? We do not have enough finances to maintain the existing infrastructure. For every little issue, we have to seek the permission of the Union Ministry of Water Resources, which is often non-responsive. This invariably leads to unwarranted delays. Today, if we want to dig a small drain, it takes months to get clearance from the Centre. I hope we are able to persuade the Centre to grant us more autonomy so that projects like the Dashmesh canal (Punjab portion of the Satluj-Yamuna Link Canal Part-III) are not delayed. Over a month in office, what tops your list of priorities? With monsoons a month or two away, flood control measures is on the top of my agenda for now. The Beas, Ravi and Satluj waters are shared with other states, but it is we who have to deal with the fury of the rivers during the rainy season, requiring big money. We have asked the Centre for a Rs 330 crore package for the overall maintainance of systems and projects, but there has been no response. For now, I have formed committees under Deputy Commissioners to assess the potential threat from these rivers and to fortify their embankments. This will be done by May 31 and drains repaired and cleaned by June 15. We also need to focus on water-logged areas, especially in Muktsar, Gidderbaha and Faridkot. In Muktsar, Ferozepur, Bathinda, Mansa and Sangrur, canal water does not reach the tail-end. We have to rectify this. We have already given the go-ahead to amending Section 70 of the North India Canal and Drainage Act, 1873, to check canal water theft . How do you propose to improve the department functioning? We have found that for repairs and maintenance, department officials have floated fake agencies and allotted work to these agencies or sub-contracted the work. We have enhanced the size of tenders so that only large and established companies come forward to undertake works. All estimates now pass through an office headed by a retired General to ensure transparency. We have also introduced e-tendering to ensure transparency and check corruption. What is your agenda for the department in the coming years? We have to start looking at restoring various canals to carry the sanctioned water capacity. To overcome the resource crunch, we have approached NABARD for loans. We cannot close the canals during the monsoons or during the sowing period. In Kandi areas located in the foothills of the Shivaliks, we are installing 280 tubewells to meet irrigation needs. In the first phase, the Kandi canal project will be completed till Hoshiarpur and in the second extended till Balachaur. We have set December 2013 as the deadline for the task. To check floods, we have already raised nine check dams and another 25 will be constructed over the next five years. Have you identified the main impediment in implementing various proposals that you have mentioned? Resource crunch is the biggest hindrance. We have approached NABARD and other lending institutions. Even if the state raises its own resources, the Centre takes a long time to clear projects. The canalisation of the Ghaggar is one example where after completing a length of 22.5 km, the Centre has denied us permission to dig the remaining 17.5 km because Haryana has filed an objection in retaliation against Punjab’s objection to Hansi Butana. Discrimination against Punjab can be gauged from the fact that for repairing the Sirhind-Rajasthan canal, a project worth Rs 1440 core, Rajasthan has been asked to contribute 10 per cent of the total cost incurred in its area whereas Punjab has been asked to contribute 75 per cent of the cost to get central assistance for the remaining 25 per cent. Punjab says it does not have spare water to give to give to other states. Can you explain this? Distribution of waters between Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan is to be reviewed every 25 years, but it has been 37 years since the last review. Punjab’s actual share of water is much more than what remains with the state after the water flows to neighbouring states. This is because the quantum of the total water available has decreased over the years. What is available on paper is not available in actual terms. Our lands are parched. How can we give water to other states when we ourselves don’t have enough. The water table in Punjab has already declined sharply, so tubewells too are not a solution. Can you explain the problems pertaining to the canalisation of the Ghaggar and Punjab’s objection to Hansi Butana? The canalisation of the Ghaggar was started to prevent floods in Patiala and adjoining areas. But it has been stayed by the Centre because Haryana has filed an objection. Haryana is trying to arm-twist Punjab into allowing it to go ahead with Hansi Butana. Punjab has been refrained by the water commission from going ahead with the Dashmesh canal project on the plea that since the SYL canal issue was yet to be adjudicated, the Bhakra mainline should not be punctured. But at the same time it has allowed the Hansi Butana canal that will be fed by the Bhakra mainline. What would you like to seek from the Union Government for Punjab? Under the rules, the Planning Commission grants aid for the construction of one canal at a time. Only after its completion is grant for another canal released. But construction work of this kind takes a long time and, hence, the Centre should treat Punjab’s canal system as one and release a grant of Rs 3,000 crore to rejuvenate the 150-year-old system in one go. This will take care of several issues like water seepage and water logging.
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Indo-Pak trade back on track in Attari
Amritsar, May 2 Sources in the ICP said 84 trucks loaded with soyabean were exported to Pakistan even though the total number of trucks that were cleared stood at 126. Sources attributed the gap between the number of trucks cleared and those which crossed over apparently to shortage of labour on the other side of the border. Jaspal Singh, a clearing agent, confirmed that over 120 trucks of soyabean were cleared for exports to Pakistan today. However, the imports have declined with only 24 trucks loaded with cement, dry fruits and dry dates arriving today. A spokesperson of the Confederation of International Chamber of Commerce and Industry attributed the drop to their appeal to Pakistani traders to restrict supply, particularly of gypsum and cement, so that they could lift the stock that had piled up at the ICP during the strike. "Moreover, the availability of trucks is also less these days owing to the ongoing harvest season," he said. The traders have also started lifting goods imported from Pakistan, whose stocks were piling up for the last four-five days. Sources said around 100 truckloads of goods were lifted from the ICP today. Manav Taneja, an Amritsar-based trader, said there were around 28,000 bags of cement lying in the ICP, besides 7,000 to 8,000 bags of dry fruits, which they have started lifting after resumption of trade today. A first: Newsprint export via Attari
Mill director Suneet Kochhar said, "This is for the first time in history that newsprint will be exported from India to Pakistan, as earlier it did not figure in the positive list for trade between the two nations. The major newspapers benefitting from the move will be The Dawn and Jung Group. Earlier, they were importing newsprint from other countries." He said the newspaper industry in Pakistan, where paper costs Rs 28 per copy, will get a taste of cheaper options by using the newsprint from India. Earlier, Khanna Paper Mill had been indirectly exporting its paper and board to Pakistan via Dubai. The first load of 10 MT newsprint will cross over to Pakistan tomorrow afternoon, he added.
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50% PCS posts vacant
Jalandhar, May 2 More than 50 per cent of the sanctioned posts of nearly 300 PCS officials are lying vacant. At present, only 141 regular PCS officials are working in Punjab. As a result, one PCS official has been assigned two to three additional charges at several places. The government had re-employed 36 PCS officials, but the contract of all such officials will end on December 31. While the government has started the process of appointing 38 PCS officials, the new appointees will have to undergo training for at least one year before they formally join their duties. Under such circumstances, the government can immediately fill at least 20 posts by elevating district revenue officers (DROs), tehsildars, excise and taxation officers (ETOs), district development panchayat officers (DDPOs) and block development panchayat officers (BDPOs). These officials can directly start work as PCS officials as they do not require any training. The quota of elevating officials from various departments has not been utilised for over a decade, sources said. The names of 37 DROs and tehsildars for elevating 12 of them were forwarded to the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) in August 2011, they said, adding that the PPSC returned the file twice raising minor objections which might by removed by calling the revenue officials concerned to the former’s office. Similarly, the government in August last year recommended the names of 15 AE&Ts and ETOs and nine DDPOs and BDPOs for elevation of five and three of them, respectively, the sources added. Ram Singh, president, Punjab Revenue Officers Association, demanded that the quota of filling PCS cadre from various departments should be utilised immediately for ensuring effective administrative work. Manpower crunch
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Ansari to honour Justice Kuldip Singh
Chandigarh, May 2 Legal luminary HL Sibal and Haryana Advocate-General Hawa Singh Hooda too will share the dais with him as they too are being presented with the prestigious lifetime achievement award. For honouring them, the time could not have been more apt. The Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana is celebrating its golden jubilee; and the Vice-President has already consented to be the chief guest at the inaugural celebrations to be held at the PGI’s Bhargava Auditorium on May 5. He is expected to honour the three luminaries with the achievement awards soon after the inaugural session. Pakistan’s Interior Minister A. Rehman Malik too is expected to be a part of the celebrations and the felicitation ceremony. Innovative and proactive, Justice Kuldip Singh is known to have maintained a rigid silence outside court during his eight-year term as a Supreme Court judge. Even today, he is not very vocal about the judiciary and its functioning. About the awards, he says, “I am glad they have chosen me for presenting the lifetime achievement award. But, my real award has been my work as a judge in the Supreme Court.” Justice Kuldip Singh has all the reasons to be satisfied with his work. His most important jurisprudential contribution was in giving teeth to the public interest litigation. Elevated directly from the Bar to the apex court Bench, Justice Kuldip Singh was not content with just passing orders. He was known for his insistence on closely monitoring the implementation of the Supreme Court orders and placing the executive in the dock if it did not comply. "That is judicial activism," he says. Justice Kuldip Singh earned for himself the title of “Green” Judge for breaking new legal ground in environmental law. But this was not all. Justice Kuldip Singh came out with the "polluter pays" and "precautionary principle" in environment law, putting the onus of environmental protection on the industrial sector.
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Khurshid to attend Bar Council’s jubilee event
Chandigarh, May 2 Bar Council chairman Lekh Raj Sharma said Vice-President M. Hamid Ansari will be the chief guest while Punjab Governor Shivraj V. Patil is scheduled to be the guest of honour. The day-long celebrations have been divided into three sessions. The inaugural session will be addressed by the chief guest. Justice DK Jain and Justice Swatantar Kumar of the Supreme Court will be the special guests along with Acting Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court M.M. Kumar. After the inauguration, the first session will see felicitation of advocates completing 50 years of practice. Sharma puts their number to 200. The second session will see Haryana Vidhan Sabha Kuldeep Sharma preside over as the chief guest. Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Surya Kant of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia and former Union Food and Civil Supplies Minister Venod Sharma will be the guest of honour. Former Bar Council chairman-cum-president of the Indo-Pak Lawyers’ Federation Partap Singh said Pakistan’s Interior Minister A. Rehman Malik’s presence during the celebrations will help build better bridges between the two countries.
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16 PPS officers shifted
Chandigarh, May 2 The other postings are: Amrik Singh Pawar, ADCP-II, Amritsar (City); Lakhbir Singh, ADCP-I, Amritsar; Jasdeep Singh, SP (D), Amritsar (Rural); Manmohan Singh, SP (H), Amritsar (Rural); Harmandir Singh, SP (Telecommunication), Chandigarh; Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh, SP (Phagwara); Shamsher Singh Boparai, SP (H), Patiala; Gautam Singal, SP (CM security); Parampal Singh, SP (CM security); Harinderjit Singh, Commandant 7th IRB, Kapurthala; Lakhwinder Singh, ADCP (Crime), Jalandhar; Mohan Lal, SP(H), Batala; Bhupinder Singh Sidhu, ADCP-II, Ludhiana and Kamaljit Singh, Commandant, 3rd IRB, Ludhiana.
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SGPC meet may discuss Op Bluestar Memorial
Amritsar, May 2 Talking to mediapersons after the foundation stone laying ceremony of school here today, committee chief Avtar Singh Makkar said the SGPC panel, formed to prepare a blueprint of the memorial, had submitted its report and they would hold parleys on the issue in their tomorrow’s meeting. He accused the Centre of deliberately delaying the implementation of the Anand Marriage Act. “Now that the Cabinet has given its nod to the Act, it should be brought to the Lok Sabha without any further delay,” he said. Meanwhile, four Panthic groups today submitted their final report regarding the memorial to the SGPC.
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One death, two probes and a lot of confusion
Gurdaspur, May 2 Under pressure from a section of Sikh clergy, the government had initiated two probes - one by a special investigation team (SIT) led by DIG (Border range) Ram Singh and the other by the Commissioner, Jalandhar Division, Anurag Verma. “Most witnesses in the two probes being the same, the contents of both the inquiry reports are expected to be the same. There can be a serious problem if there are conflicting reports,” said a senior police officer. The SIT, which has Taran Tarn SSP Manminder Singh and Jasdeep Singh, SP (Headquarters), Amritsar (Rural), as members, has sent the bullet recovered from Jaspal’s body to the government forensic science laboratory at Mohali. Ram Singh said the father of the deceased, Gurcharanjit Singh, as well as Ranjit Singh, who had suffered bullet injuries, were key witnesses but the police had yet to record their statements. “Jaspal’s father will appear before the SIT on May 3 to have his statement recorded,” the DIG said. Senior officers, pleading anonymity, claimed that the then SSP Varinder Pal Singh, who had been suspended, was being made a scapegoat. They said he had “only acted on instructions of the executive magistrate who had issued written orders to open fire at the crowds.” Sources said the weapon from which shots had been fired had not been sent to the forensic laboratory. Meanwhile, DIG Ram Singh clarified that the SIT was only ‘looking’ into the sequence of events that had led to violence in the town on March 29.
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Badal orders reforms in Vigilance Bureau
Chandigarh, May 2 A decision to this effect was taken by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at a meeting with senior officers of the department here today. The Chief Minister was informed that to achieve better coordination and enhanced effectiveness in dealing with corrupt practices, the Vigilance Bureau had proposed to establish an internal vigilance unit to monitor the activities of its officials. To ensure timely investigation and conviction of corrupt officials, it was decided that the competent authority would decide refusal or permission for prosecution as the case may be by passing a speaking order within a maximum period of three months. Vigilance Director Suresh Arora was asked to initiate necessary amendments to empower the Vigilance Bureau to cover the state government employees posted at Chandigarh. The Chief Minister also gave nod for training tie-up with the CBI Academy at Ghaziabad to provide latest training inputs to VB officials and asked Arora to ensure effective professional handling of investigation leading to conviction of corrupt officials. He also approved creation of a VB website to ensure better professional information sharing and providing online facility for registration of complaints. The department has also been asked to update the existing vigilance manual within three months. The Chief Minister also agreed to provide funds for the construction of Chowksi Bhawan in Mohali for which land has already been allotted. The Vigilance bureau would soon launch an anti-corruption awareness programme with the help of multi-agency initiatives, said Arora.
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Villagers adamant on shifting dumping site
Faridkot, May 2 The residents of Machaki Khurd, Burj Masta, Arianwala, Jhotiwala, Midmaan and Himmatpura villages had stopped the MC from dumping solid waste at the ground last week. The MC had been using this site for the past over five years, but unscientific disposal of garbage has started posing severe health risks to the area residents. In absence of any alternative arrangement, the MC is trying to prevail upon the villagers to allow garbage dumping. For the past one week, the MC has been stocking garbage on roadsides. The municipal workers are now reluctant to collect garbage from the city which has caused a serious sanitation problem. Major Singh, a former sarpanch, and Jaspal Singh, sarpanch of Machaki Khurd village, said a huge quantity of polythene bags and other toxic waste, including biomedical waste, was being dumped near their village. Besides posing a threat to the health of area residents, the dumping site had become a feasting ground for stray dogs who also attack farmers and labourers working in the adjoining fields, said Major Singh. Expressing concern over the dumping of biomedical waste, JC Sanadhya, superintendent, Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, said it was an illegal practice and would be dealt with sternly.
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Factory owners to hold protest
Jalandhar, May 2 General secretary of the Jalandhar Chamber of Industries and Commerce Charanjit Singh Maingi said they would hold a protest march at all district headquarters and submit memoranda to DCs, demanding that the FIRs against owners of Shital Fibres and Dashmesh Medicare be registered under Section 304-A (death caused by rash and negligence action) instead of Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). Shital Vij, owner of the four-storeyed Shital Fibres that collapsed on April 15, killing 23 workers, is on a 14-day judicial remand. An FIR under Section 304 has also been registered against the owners of Dashmesh Medicare Private Limited at Basouli near Lalru where a blast claimed four lives on April 30. President of Industrial Focal Point Extension Narinder Singh Saggoo said: “There is no such precedent in the country where an industrialist has been booked under Section 304 of the IPC. Even in the Bhopal gas tragedy, in which more than 3,000 persons were killed, an FIR was lodged under Section 304-A.” President of Northern Chamber of Small and Medium Industries Sharad Aggarwal said that the government should hold talks with industrialists to avoid recurrence of any such mishap. “Committees comprising industrialists and officials should be formed at the district level for taking more steps to ensure the safety of industrial workers.” Maingi and Saggoo said they would step up their agitation in case the government did not give in to their demand.
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2 police officers suspended
Patiala, May 2 The two officers, both earlier posted in Rajpura, had failed to register an FIR despite registering a Daily Diary Report pertaining to the robbing of Rs 20 lakh from a Gujarat resident and the matter came to light when the Fatehgarh Sahib police arrested a person yesterday. Inspector Rajan Parminder Singh, then posted as SHO, Rajpura City, and Rajpura bus stand police post in-charge ASI Rakesh Kumar have been suspended for their alleged role in refusing to register an FIR despite a complaint in this regard. A senior officer said Nales Rawal was employed with a company and had to deliver Rs 20 lakh in cash to a firm. “On March 7 when he was travelling in a bus, four persons, including one in police uniform, started checking his bag and after recovering the money took him along. They later released him near Sirhind and took away his cash,” he said. When the complainant met the then ASI and the SHO, instead of registering an FIR and informing their seniors, they allegedly tried to hush up the matter believing it to be a false complaint. On April 30, the Rajpura police suddenly registered an FIR pertaining to robbery after the Fatehgarh Sahib police team led by SSP Mandeep Singh Sidhu informed their Rajpura counterparts that they had arrested Surjit Singh, a dismissed cop, who accepted robbing Rs 20 lakh from a trader in Rajpura. Patiala IG Paramjit Singh Gill said he had ordered a departmental probe as the accused police officers kept everyone in the dark about the robbery. “Their role in this entire case is under the scanner and Patiala DIG will probe the matter,” Gill said. Patiala DIG LK Yadav told TNS that he had already issued their suspension orders and informed the Patiala SSP to initiate departmental probe against both the concerned officials. SSP Patiala Gurpreet Singh Gill confirmed that the two officers had been suspended and strict action would be taken if they were found guilty of negligence.
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Nabha murder case
Patiala, May 2 In a letter to SSP Gurpreet Singh Gill, Patiala DIG LK Yadav wanted to fix responsibility of officers, whose negligence led to the acquittal of the accused and police’s failure in proving the charges. In August 2010, Amritbir Singh informed the police that someone had murdered his family members, including his father Iqbal Singh, mother Jaswinder Kaur, grandfather Hamir Singh and cousin sister Gurmanbir Kaur. The police later said Amritbir was upset with his engagement three weeks before the crime and had decided to eliminate his parents to marry the girl of his choice. However, police failed to prove the charges in the court despite recovering the weapon. Some of the witnesses turned hostile or backtracked from their statements. The Court of Additional Sessions Judge, Vivek Puri, acquitted Amritbir on April 28. The district police has formed an SIT under Patiala SP (D) Pritpal Singh Thind to re-investigate the entire case.
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1,100 cancer deaths in Muktsar in 10 years
There is not even a single government hospital in the district where people with cancer symptoms could go for diagnosis. As a result, they have to travel to neighbouring Faridkot district for getting screening tests done. Surveys conducted by various NGOs have shown that a number of villages in Gidderbaha, Malout and Muktsar subdivisions were highly prone to the disease. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal lost his wife Surinder Kaur Badal to cancer last year while former Chief Minister Harcharan Singh Brar’s son Kanwarjit Singh Brar “Sunny”, a former Muktsar MLA, also died due to the disease. Doctors claim that cancer was curable if detected at an early stage. But, the government has failed to make any arrangements for screening tests in the district even as the count of patients affected by the disease has been increasing. A resident of Muktsar, Jagdeep Singh, whose wife is suffering from cancer, said, “The treatment is very costly. Both the Union and the state governments must take some initiatives to provide maximum assistance to patients suffering from this disease. Just providing medicines at cheaper prices is not enough.” Muktsar Civil Surgeon Dr Gurdeep Singh Bhullar said, “We neither have a cancer specialist nor equipment to detect the disease. Whosoever comes to us, we refer him to hospitals in Faridkot, Ludhiana or Chandigarh.” When asked whether inclusion of district under the programme was sought by the Health Department, Dr Gurdeep parried the query saying all districts would be covered under the national programme gradually.
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Diabetes, high BP spread tentacles
Ludhiana, May 2 A recent survey conducted by the state Health Department, as part of the ‘National project for control of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and strokes’, prepared the data. Stress, sedentary lifestyle with minimum exercise and consuming eatables having excess sugar are said to be the main reasons for the spread of diabetes and hypertension (high blood pressure or high BP). Punjab nodal officer for integrated disease surveillance project Dr Deepak Bhatia said, “We trained health workers for testing people for diabetes and hypertension and deputed them for a house-to-house survey in these districts.” Dr Bhatia said 4 lakh persons underwent free screening, of whom seven to eight per cent were found suffering form diabetes and hypertension. “On December 8 last year, the government had decided to open four special cells at civil hospitals in Bathinda, Mansa, Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur to keep a check on non-communicable diseases,” he said. The Bathinda centre had started functioning while the remaining three would be set up within three months, he said.
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Gadkari to visit Ludhiana on May 7
Jalandhar, May 2 The party has already started gearing itself for the next political bout and is in the process of finalising its poll strategy. BJP chief Nitin Gadkari is planning to visit Ludhiana on May 7 for the purpose. Senior BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia said BJP’s working committee meeting would be held on May 6 at Ludhiana. “The SAD-BJP will repeat assembly poll performance in the civic body polls,” said Kalia. Party sources said the May 7 Ludhiana meeting had been called to finalise nomination of its candidates. Though a number of national issues would also be taken up, the main focus of the party leadership would be on devising ways to get maximum number of seats in the forthcoming civic body polls, the sources said. The party is also planning to announce a large number of women candidates this time.
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Gang of highway robbers busted, one arrested
Fatehgarh Sahib, May 2 During questioning, Surjit revealed that he had Rs 15 lakh deposited in Patiala and Barnala banks, a bungalow and a plot in Patiala Urban Estate and a bungalow and a plot in posh area of Barnala. Police also conducted raids to nab other members of the gang, who were still at large. Addressing mediapersons here today, Ludhiana Range DIG MF Farooqi said in April, three incidents of looting of cash from representatives of financial companies were reported in Rajpura, Sirhind and Mandi Gobindgarh. The modus operandi in all these cases was same. Members of the gang used to loot vehicles of financial companies in police uniform. He said they started working on a theory that civilian could not dare to wear police uniform, so some police personnel might be involved. Lauding the efforts of Fatehgarh Sahib SSP Mandeep Singh, he said police started tracking dismissed policemen and in the process, they put under surveillance the activities of Surjit Singh, a dismissed CID constable. The DIG said Surjit was living a lavish lifestyle in Patiala, whereas he had no source of income. Police started following him and ultimately he was arrested. During interrogation, he admitted about his gang. The DIG said there were nearly eight members in the gang having links with employees of financial companies, who used to provide them information regarding employees taking cash and mode of transport. He refused to disclose the names of other members of the gang, whereas in the press note, police has mentioned that Surjit Singh disclosed the names of his gang members as Raja Ram, a resident resident of Moga district, Laddi and Bhola.
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Chandigarh, May 2
The Punjab Irrigation Department was set up in 1849 to monitor a well-developed 14,500-km-long canal system that caters to the irrigation needs of the state till date. While Punjab houses the canal system, it is totally dependent on the Centre for its maintenance and expansion. Naveen S Garewal spoke to Punjab Irrigation Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon on how he proposes to run the department over the next five years.
Amritsar, May 2
The Attari-Wagah land route would witness for the first time the export of newsprint to Pakistan on Thursday. Amritsar's Khanna Paper Mill, which is the fourth largest paper mill in India, would be sending its newsprint via the ICP to Pakistan. 
Muktsar, May 2