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Navjot Sidhu skips BJP executive meet
Farm diversification hit as politics
plagues Citrus Council functioning
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Ropar bundh washed away, state govt in limbo
Introspect before opposing food ordinance: Cong
Cong to form block-level panels to fight SAD
Tota Singh gathers sarpanches for show of strength
Hope rekindles for missing BSF sepoy’s kin
Former DC in a spot for letting off patwari indicted by Vigilance
Remove CM’s photos from
ambulances: Chowdhary
Man dies in police custody
Revival of silt-hit hydro projects has eased situation, says PSPCL
Soon, registration of property in minutes
Motorboats, towers for watching birds on anvil at Nangal wetland
Varsity directed to issue provisional roll numbers
200 Mandi Gobindgarh units to switch over to CNG
Patiala police dragging feet on arresting ASI
Unemployed teachers burn govt’s effigy
Another prisoner dies in Faridkot jail
Digging up of drains for canals approved
Ludhiana doc wins Dental Council poll
Aadhar must for scholarships
72 drug peddlers held in 2 months
8 employees of toll plaza booked
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Navjot Sidhu skips BJP executive meet
Amritsar, July 7 However, she kicked off another controversy when she said she had a suspicion that their phone was being tapped. “I’ve been noticing for the past few days that whenever I speak to Navjot (her husband) there is some disturbance in the line, which is not the case when I receive or make calls on other numbers.” She said she had told her husband about it and was contemplating lodging a police complaint. Dr Sidhu seemed unhappy at not being taken into confidence on receiving BJP president Rajnath Singh at the airport. “I was told that I would be intimated about the programme, as per the protocol, but did not receive any call,” she said. Dr Sidhu said she planned to hold a ‘padyatra’ (walk) from Amritsar to Chandigarh to remind Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal about his promise to grant Rs 100 crore for development works in her constituency (Amritsar East). “I have several projects but no money to execute these. People have high expectations from me as I left my profession as a doctor to serve them. The Deputy CM had promised funds to my constituency when he campaigned for me during the assembly elections.” She said the walk would not be a protest. During the state executive meeting, Dr Sidhu was seated on the dais on the first row along with BJP ministers. However, her supporters kept a low profile. Responding to media queries on Sidhu, BJP president Rajnath Singh said he had had a word with Sidhu in New Delhi a few days ago. “He is a prominent and a talented leader. The party will utilise his services in future,” he said. Questioned on Sidhu’s long absence from Amritsar, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal refused to comment, adding that the BJP "should know about the issue." He said there had been no talk with the BJP on swapping of the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat. Sidhu has been keeping away from the constituency for the past over six months. In April, his wife had sparked a row, stating that he felt 'sidelined' and hinting that he may quit politics. Sidhu had himself expressed displeasure with the way his favourite projects were "scuttled" in the city. He was removed from the party's national executive while his archrival Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina was made state vice-president.
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Farm diversification hit as politics
plagues Citrus Council functioning
Chandigarh, July 7 The aim behind the lease was to promote citrus fruit farming, something that was to act as the foremost initiative towards crop diversification in Punjab. Set up in February 2006, the Citrus Council was a brainchild of the then Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. He had inked an agreement with the farmers to take about 5,000 acres of land on lease to develop citrus orchards, including of kinnow. But at present, only 2,100 acres remains in the council's possession whereas the rest has been returned to farmers. The land was leased under two conditions: Farmers opting for 12-year lease were to get an annual Rs 10,000 per acre along with an increase of 20 per cent every three years whereas farmers opting for a six-year lease were to be given Rs 10,000 per acre along with 2 per cent hike every year. After six years, these farmers were not to be given any money but they were to share the profit earned from the sale of the fruit with the Citrus Council on a 50:50 basis for the next six years. On the completion of 12 years in both the cases, the council was to return the land along with the established infrastructure, including drip irrigation system, to the farmers without charging any money for developing their orchards. Best quality citrus cultivars, rootstocks and seed of 32 varieties suitable for Punjab were imported from California by a multinational company having huge stakes in the fruit juice sector. To propagate the scheme, a nursery was established at Jallowal near Jalandhar. Many of the imported varieties were to bear fruit before or after the kinnow crop, thus making the fruit season to last at least for six months in a year without creating any glut in the market. However, the project has almost collapsed now, allegedly because of political reasons and the unprofessional approach of the bureaucrats concerned, say insiders. The Association of Land Owners of Citrus Orchards claims the project still had great potential for the state. Its members say after the change of guard in 2007, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was not "properly briefed" on the project, following which it did not receive the desired support from the state government. Association president Reet Mohinder Singh said farmers were still interested in keeping the project going but that would not be possible without the government's support. Reet Mohinder said some of the imported varieties such as 'Daisy Tangerine' and 'W. Murcott' were of high quality and its plants were in high demand. Even some farmers in the Chief Minister's Badal village had opted for these varieties, he said. Another farmer whose land has also been leased by the council demanded that the government should not back-out from the agreements signed with the farmers. He said there was no provision in most of the agreements signed with them that the council could terminate the pact before the expiry of the lease period. Under the agreement, the council was bound to fulfill the commitments made to the farmers, he said. He also said the affected farmers were consulting legal experts to move the Punjab and Haryana High Court to get the agreement honoured in letter and spirit.
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Ropar bundh washed away, state govt in limbo
Ropar, July 7 Ropar Deputy Commissioner PK Agrawal said there was no need to worry as the water level in the reservoirs and the rivers in the district was normal. Even though the authorities have spent Rs 86 lakh to clear any bottlenecks in the drains, the possibility of any untoward incident could not be ruled out until concrete steps were taken to tackle floods. A plan had already been submitted to the state government and work on it would begin as soon as the funds were released, he said. On the other hand, damage to the bundh, built on the Sutlej near Lodhipur village in 2008-09, has caused panic among the local residents. In August 2010, Burj, Lodhipur, Ballowal, Mataur, Mehendli Kalan, Gajpur, Chandpur, Shahpur Bela and Hariwal villages were inundated when nearly 1,000 feet of the bundh had been washed away. The locals had suffered losses worth several crore rupees. The Deputy Chief Minister had visited the spot and had assured us of assistance but nothing has been done so far, said Hardeep Singh, panchayat member, Lodhipur village. The Swan merges with the Sutlej in the area and the heavy flow of the water has been eroding the bundh at Lodhipur for the last three years. “The river has washed away nearly 2,000 feet of the bundh and only a little portion of it is remaining. This is causing panic among the villagers,” said Lodhipur ex-sarpanch Gurvinder Singh Bhullar. Ropar Drainage Department Xen Dalip Singh said the Directorate of Irrigation and Power Research, Amritsar, had conducted a survey on the behavior of the flow of the rivers and its impact in the area. On the recommendation of the survey, the department has submitted a plan to construct another bundh at Lodhipur costing Rs 13.43 crore. The work would begin as soon as the funds were provided, he said. Bhakra dam chief engineer AK Bali said floods in the area could be controlled if the Sutlej was channelised from Ropar to Nangal dam. The DC said all the preparations to tackle any floods in the area were complete. The control rooms had been set up at the offices of Deputy Commissioner, the SSP, tehsildars at Chamkaur Sahib, Anandpur Sahib, Nangal, BDPO and Nurpur Bedi, and District Forest Officer, Ropar, he added.
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Introspect before opposing food ordinance: Cong
Chandigarh, July 7 Khaira said Harsimrat should analyse the performance of the SAD-BJP government on the social welfare front instead of calling the UPA Government’s initiative as anti-poor. He said currently, more than 80,000 ‘Shagun’ scheme applications (with arrears of Rs 122 crore) of Dalit girls were pending with the state government. “Similarly, old age and widow pensions are often delayed for months before they reach the beneficiaries”. He said the state government had also failed to honour its manifesto commitments of doubling old age pension from Rs 250 per month to Rs 500 per month and increasing the ‘Shagun’ amount from Rs 15,000 to Rs 31,000. Reacting to the charges, SAD spokesman Dr Daljeet Singh Cheema said he was “surprised over the statement considering the fact that the Congress had chosen the path of ordinance rather than debating the issue in Parliament”. The SAD spokesman said the Congress had promised to bring in the food security bill in its election manifesto but did nothing till 2013. He said now with the Lok Sabha elections nearing, “the party had enacted a drama by bringing in this ordinance”. “The Congress party will have to tell the nation who stopped it from taking the decision for full nine years,” he asked.
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Cong to form block-level panels to fight SAD
Fatehgarh Sahib, July 7 Congress MLA Kuljeet Singh Nagra said this while honouring the panches and sarpanches who won the recently-held gram panchayat elections. Nagra said the Congress candidates who lost the elections would be members of the committees. Nagra said of the elections to the 176 panchayats, panches and sarpanches were elected unanimously in 45 panchayats, while polling was held for 131 panchayats in this assembly segment. He said the Congress candidates had won elections in about 60 panchayats. Addressing the newly-elected sarpanches and panches, Nagra said they should work for the development of their area without any bias. — TNS
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Tota Singh gathers sarpanches for show of strength
Moga, July 7 The senior Akali leader has emerged stronger after the panchayat elections by consolidating his position in villages. He contested the 2012 assembly elections from this rural constituency for the first time and was pitted against the local SGPC member Sukhjit Singh Kaka Lohgarh who left the SAD and fought the election on the Congress ticket. Tota Singh had won the poll by a narrow margin of over 2,000 votes. Even as Kaka lost the elections, he was still being considered a strong force in the area. But the results of the panchayat poll have to some extent weakened his strength on his home turf. The Congress-backed candidates won sarpanch poll in only 12 of the total 162 villages in the constituency. Addressing the gathering, Tota Singh claimed the Congress had been “almost wiped out” in the constituency. “The people have reposed faith in the policies and programmes of the SAD-BJP government at the grassroots level,” he said. He asked the newly elected sarpanches and panches to work for the welfare of the rural people. “You should frame policies and agendas while taking into consideration people of all communities and castes and without any bias or political considerations,” he told them. Expressing concern over violence in some parts of the district, Tota Singh asked the newly elected panchayat members to swear on the gurdwara premises to end petty politics in the villages.
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Hope rekindles for missing BSF sepoy’s kin
Faridkot, July 7 Many a time, Angrej Kaur had requested Pakistan Rangers at the Hussainiwala and Wagah borders to help her trace her husband. Each time she had received a terse reply: “There is no prisoner by the name of Surjit Singh in any Pakistan jail.” Lekhu Ram, who was released from a Pakistan jail three month ago, told Angerj Kaur and her son Amrik Singh that he had met Surjit Singh in July 2010 and it was then that the latter had told him about his family in Faridkot. “Three years ago, I was shifted to a jail in Rawalpindi. Surjit Singh gave me a letter to be delivered to you, but the jail authorities took it away during frisking,” said Lekhu Ram. Angrez Kaur said in July 1972, her husband was listed as “killed” by the BSF authorities and a death certificate issued, “but I never believed he was dead”. She said 10 years ago when three PoWs were released by Pakistan, the family met one of them, Surjit Kumar Marwah, who belonged to Ferozepur. “Marwah told us that my husband was alive but in poor health,” recalled Angrej Kaur. She said her son had met Pakistan’s rights activists Ansar Burney in Delhi. “His response was positive. He assured me of doing all he could to trace my father but so far nothing has happened,” said Amrik Singh.
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Former DC in a spot for letting off patwari indicted by Vigilance
Chandigarh, July 7 The government move has also come as a warning to various departments against setting up any parallel inquiry in cases that already were under the scrutiny of the Vigilance department. The department, in a letter to the government, had sought initiation of action against Singla as the latter allegedly allowed the patwari to go scot free even as the Vigilance had recommended strict action against him. Confirming receipt of the communication from the Vigilance, a senior government functionary said proceedings for a “suitable action” against Singla had been initiated. The Vigilance has quoted directions of the state government issued separately in January 2002 and December 2005, which warned various departments to abstain from conducting any parallel inquiry in cases that were being handled by the Vigilance. Departments had been directed to take cognisance of the findings of the Vigilance before deciding on permission for action against any erring official. It has been pointed out that in most of the cases, department heads denied permission for the prosecution of their subordinates. As the final approval for filing a case against an employee lay with the head concerned of the department, the findings of the Vigilance, which recommended strict action, were sidelined in many cases. An official communication read that of the total 91 cases with the Vigilance against different departments, action on its recommendations had not been taken in 32 cases between January 2002 and December 2005 alone. Sources said permission for action was not granted in at least 40 cases against corrupt officials in different departments during the past four months alone. The list includes a Punjab Civil Service and a Superintendent of Police-rank officer.
about the case
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Remove CM’s photos from ambulances: Chowdhary
Phagwara, July 7 Talking to mediapersons at the nearby Gandhwan village, she said the state government would have to remove the photographs if it wanted to continue receiving the funds. "Due time is being given for compliance of instructions...photographs are contrary to central norms. I am waiting for a feedback (from the state) and will initiate action after that," she said. The minister said guidelines to states issued on March 16 had made it clear that politicians' photos on ambulances deployed for public service under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) would not be allowed. The guidelines also said that if this were not adhered to, the Union Government would discontinue the financial support to the ambulances.The Centre had provided 240 air-conditioned ambulances to Punjab in 2011. The minister asked the state government to improve infrastructure in hospitals for poor patients. Defending the promulgation of ordinance on food security as historic, she lauded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi for it. — PTI
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Man dies in police custody
Patiala, July 7 The Patiala police termed it suicide even before getting the judicial report and the postmortem report. However, the police has claimed to have informed the National Human Rights Commission about the incident. The victim, Gurdev Singh Gewa, was arrested today morning in a case registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act-2012, following a complaint by Mamta Devi of Rampur Parta village on Saturday. “We had registered a FIR against the accused and he was brought to the police post by Rampur Parta sarpanch Sukhwinder Singh today morning,” said Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) HS Mann. Usually the prisoners are frisked and are escorted by two police personnel when they go to the lavatory, said a senior police officer. Sources said that Gurdev was not frisked and was allowed to go to the toilet alone. “Gurdev locked the toilet from inside and used his turban to hang himself from the ventilator,” sources said. Mann said they had informed the District Magistrate and the Chief Judicial Magistrate about the incident and they later inspected the spot. The action will be taken after the reports are submitted. “The postmortem of the deceased was conducted by a board of doctors and his body has been handed over to his family members,” he added.
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Revival of silt-hit hydro projects has eased situation, says PSPCL
Patiala, July 7 A PSPCL statement quoting chairman-cum-managing director KD
Chaudhri, currently on a foreign tour, said the shutdown of the Nathpa Jhakhri and Karcham Wangtoo hydel projects had resulted in a daily loss of 700 MW to Punjab. Apart from this, tripping of all the six units of Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant in Ropar due to rain and lightning meant an additional loss of 1,260 MW, said
Chaudhri. In all, Punjab was short of 1,960 MW, something that forced the PSPCL to impose regulatory measures on various categories of consumers, he claimed. But following the revival of these plants, the total power available with Punjab stood at 2,000 lakh units, a little lower than the demand of 2,150 lakh units. The difference of about 120 to 130 lakh units was being bridged through weekly offs and other regulatory measures on the industry, the spokesperson claimed. However, farmers from villages surrounding Patiala alleged that the power situation was still grim. “We are getting two hours of supply and that too at irregular intervals. Moreover, in the absence of the PSPCL chief, there is no power corporation official to entertain us,” a farmer said.
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Soon, registration of property in minutes
Chandigarh, July 7 For this, the state government is set to follow a two-pronged approach. Ernst and Young has been hired to finalise a company that will provide a dedicated computerised registration service in all super “A” cities in the state in the first phase. Simultaneously, the government will provide the right infrastructure for the project by giving space in district administrative complexes where it is available or go in for immediate construction of pre-fabricated structures. Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia said the purpose of the project was to ensure delivery of services at par or even better than those being delivered by a private company responsible for issuing new passports in Chandigarh and elsewhere. He said the project would become operational within two years. Majithia said the project would entail identification of new buildings for the office of the registrar as well as sub-registrar in all important cities and towns. He said the Revenue Department would requisition space in district complexes where state-of-the art-facilities, easy access and adequate parking facilities were available. He said the department would, however, not hesitate to go in for pre-fabricated buildings where such space was not available immediately. The minister said the project would be self-sustainable. He said the service provider would be allowed to charge fee. He said eating spaces could also be auctioned in the new offices in view of the fact that at places the foot fall for registries was as high as 35,000 per month. He said the government also stood to earn 10 to 15 per cent more revenue, which was being lost due to “pilferage”. Sources said a lot would go into the project as the service provider would have to give a complete package. This would entail taking help of computerised records and digital mapping to ensure there is no discretion of the officer concerned as to the registry fee and stamp duty rate of a particular place.
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Motorboats, towers for watching birds on anvil at Nangal wetland
Ropar, July 7 A team, headed by executive director of the Punjab Heritage and Tourism Board VB Kumar, two days ago visited the area to decide the spots suitable for the purpose. It has been decided that ornamental and native aquatic plants will be introduced in the area for beautification and to check land erosion. The authorities will be spending Rs 27 lakh for this purpose. Similarly, Rs 63.5 lakh will be spent to upgrade the interpretation centre at Nangal. Four watch towers will be erected at the strategic locations. Besides, bird hideouts of fibre have been developed at 10 suitable places. In addition, three nature trails, 1km each, will be made in the wetland. Two guides will be deputed by the department to help tourists identify the birds. Further, two motorboats will be purchased for Rs 25 lakh to attract tourists.
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Varsity directed to issue provisional roll numbers
Chandigarh, July 7 The development is significant as the directions by Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain came just a day before In one of the petitions, Anchal Batra and 242 other BDS first year students had contended that they approached Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, after their roll numbers did not reach their respective colleges. On June 21, they came to know that their admissions had not been regularised. Their counsel Manish Kumar Singla contended that the university had verbally communicated to the students that their admissions had not been regularised as they were admitted on the basis of merit in 10+2 examination, and not on the basis of PMET merit. Referring to the norms, Singla said it was clearly mentioned even the candidates who have not appeared in the PMET could be given admission. He said students had been admitted to Adesh University in a similar manner. “But, no one has raised objection qua their admission,” he said. Taking up the matter, Justice Jain also fixed August 21 as the next date of hearing in the case.
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200 Mandi Gobindgarh units to switch over to CNG
Patiala, July 7 PPCB chairman Ravinder Singh said the Board in association with the Ministry of Environment and Forests has identified the industrial cluster of Mandi Gobindgarh and Khanna as one of the most critically polluted areas in the state. The rolling mills and forging units of this area are a major source of air pollution. Singh said the PPCB has persuaded these units to switch over to greener fuels such as CNG (RLNG). He said more than 200 units had already entered into an agreement with the Gas Authority of India Limited for this purpose. The CNG/ RLNG would soon become available to the industries located on Mandi Gobindgarh - Amloh road, said Ravinder Singh. The PPCB chairman said that all the 334 polluting large-scale industrial units and the 163 polluting medium-scale units have installed the Air Pollution Control Devices (APCD). He said of the 10,092 polluting small-scale units, 28 are yet to install the devices.
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Patiala police dragging feet on arresting ASI
Patiala, July 7 Sources that Narpinder Singh was let off by the Samana CIA staff even though he was taken into custody after the bribe money was recovered from his drawer in the police post on June 18. “The ASI was released so that he could seek bail from the court,” they said. “His bail plea has been rejected and he would be arrested soon,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Patiala Hardyal Mann. “We are conducting raids and the departmental probe against other police officials involved in the case is on,” added the SSP. The Ramnagar police led by ASI Narpinder Singh had on June 17 picked up Mittal and recovered narcotic tablets and capsules from his house. “Instead of registering an FIR against him, Narpinder allegedly accepted a bribe of Rs 2.20 lakh to let him off,” reads the FIR against the
ASI.
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Unemployed teachers burn govt’s effigy
Sangrur, July 7 They alleged the state government was delaying the counseling for 5,178 posts which were advertised in September 2012. They also demanded that the second counseling of the earlier advertised 3,442 posts should also be held immediately to fill the vacancies. The teachers said about 40,000 posts had been lying vacant in the state but the government had not been taking requisite steps to fill the same. Raghvir Singh warned that if the government didn’t accept their demands immediately, they would organise a state-level rally on July 14 in Bathinda.
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Another prisoner dies in Faridkot jail
Faridkot, July 7 Nachhatar Singh of Saleena village of Moga was incarcerated after he was awarded six-year jail term in an attempt to murder case. The jail authorities are examining the cause of the death. On July 2, Deepak Kumar of Sadha Wali Basti in Moga district had committed suicide in the jail here. He was lodged here for the offence of abetment to suicide after his wife Suman killed herself on June 15. Besides Deepak, his mother and sister were also named as accused in the case. After his arrest in Moga, Deepak was sent as an undertrial to the Central Jail here. He was found hanging in a bathroom
of the jail. A day after the alleged suicide by Deepak, his relatives staged a protest dharna in front of the City police station-2, blaming the jail authorities for his death. Nachhatar Singh's was the fifth death case that occurred in the jail in the past four months. Besides an increased number of suicides, the deaths of inmates in the Central Jail is a big challenge for the police and the jail authorities. Jail inmates had protested against the authorities on April 20 when a prisoner had died. An increased number of drug addicts in the jail is believed to be the main cause of the high number of death and suicide cases taking place in the jail. Jail warden
gets 3-yr RI While holding a jail warden guilty of selling drugs to prisoners in the Faridkot Central Jail, the court of District and Sessions Judge awarded him three years of rigorous imprisonment. The jail warden, Harjinder Singh, was arrested by the police in February last year after the jail superintendent in his complaint to the police claimed to have had recovered 600 sedative tablets and 6 gm of smack powder from the the jail
warden’s possession. He was entering the jail at the time.
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Digging up of drains for canals approved
Chandigarh, July 7 Irrigation Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon said the government had also given approval for digging 280 new tube wells at a cost of Rs 108 crore to tackle the problem of perennial irrigation water shortage problems in the kandi area. The minister said the government had got a comprehensive study done about the irrigation requirement of the area and as per findings of that study, 280 spots were identified where there was an immediate requirement of digging deep tube wells. Sekhon further said that the Irrigation Department would shortly float the tender for digging of 280 tube wells.
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Ludhiana doc wins Dental Council poll
Ludhiana July 7 Dr Vikas Jindal got 2,404 out of the total 3,467 valid votes. His opponents Dr Inderjit Singh and Dr Jaidev Singh Dhillon got 606 votes and 457 votes respectively. A total of 4,096 votes were polled and 629 votes were declared invalid. — TNS
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72 drug peddlers held in 2 months
Fatehgarh Sahib, July 7 Chauhan said 72 persons have been arrested under the NDPS Act and recovered 14.7 kg opium, 681 kg poppy husk, 85 gm smack, 25 gm heroin, 600 gm charas, 1,90,620 tablets and capsules, 21 kg narcotic powder and 1,136 injections. Fifty-four cases had been registered against these persons in various police stations of this district. The SSP said seven persons were held under the Excise Act and 27,750 ml of illicit liquor was recovered from them. Eight persons were arrested under the Gambling Act and Rs 2,05,620 was recovered. The police arrested two persons under the Arms Act and recovered one pistol and two cartridges from them. The SSP further said goods worth Rs 8,16,500 were also recovered from the arrested accused.
drug haul
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2 dead as rival Akali groups clash in Moga
Moga, July 7 They were attacked with sharp-edged weapons and sticks and later shot. Seriously injured, they were taken to a local hospital, that referred them to the district hospital, Moga but they died on the way. A senior police official said three persons, Jagmohan Singh, Chamkaur Singh, both from SAD, and Jagdev Singh (Independent), contested elections for the post of village sarpanch. While Jagdev Singh, who was backed by the Congress and the PPP won with 2,200 votes, Jagmohan Singh and Chamkaur Singh polled 1,012 and 1,304 votes, respectively. This defeat further escalated tension between the rival Akali groups. The police has registered a case under Sections 302, 148, 149 of the IPC and Sections 25-2 and 54/59 of the Arms Act against Chamkaur Singh, his son Kala Singh, Mandir Singh and Sukhdev Singh, both brothers, and Varinderjit Singh, a teacher. All of them are residents of Saidoke village, said Sarwan Singh, Station House Officer, who is investigating the case. Sources said Jagmohan Singh was a confidant of senior Akali leader Jathedar Tota Singh. Chamkaur Singh was backed by local MLA Rajwinder Kaur Bhagike. The sources claimed that Tota Singh had tried to end the bitterness but in vain. Several villages in Nihalsinghwala saw two Akali candidates pitted against each other for the post of sarpanch, one supported by Tota Singh and the other by the local MLA. Supporters of the two leaders had clashed in Kothe Didarsinghwala village on July 3 when the counting of votes was on.
Mounting tension
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8 employees of toll plaza booked
Hoshiarpur, July 7 The NHAI project director Vipnesh Sharma had made a complaint to the Station House Officer, Hazipur, against the mob led by Pathankot MLA Ashwani Sharma. But the police registered an FIR, ignoring the official's complaint. Sources said BJP leaders Ashwani Sharma and former state BJP chief Arunesh Shakar mounted pressure on the district police to register a case against the toll plaza manager and seven others. Hoshiarpur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) denied the police had acted under pressure.
Concessions Residents of villages falling within 20 km radius of the Harsa Mansar toll barrier will be issued monthly passes for Rs 200 each. Two-wheelers, autos and tractors have been exempted from toll tax.The toll ticket would be valid for 24 hours. — TNS
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Farmers who gave their land on a 12-year lease to the Citrus Council, a state government subsidiary, seven years ago are a harried lot.
Not only have their dues, amounting to over Rs 4 crore, for the last two years
been held up, they have been staring at the threat of the council shutting down
its operations.
Even as the district has remained prone to floods for the last several years, the authorities have failed to take any concrete steps to protect the lives and properties of the local residents. Several people in Anandpur Sahib lose their crops and property due to floods in the Swan and the Sutlej every year.
Each time Pakistan releases an Indian prisoner, Angrej Kaur’s (64) hope for a reunion with her husband, a BSF sepoy missing since 1971, is rekindled.
Three days ago, a prisoner of war (PoW) released from a Pakistan jail travelled to her house in Faridkot to inform her that her husband, Surjit Singh, was lodged in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail. Her joy knew no bounds.
Members of the district unit of the Unemployed Teachers Union, Punjab, today took out a protest march through the city and burnt the effigy of the state government at the Traffic Lights
chowk, near the bus stand here. They were led by state general secretary of the union Raghvir Singh
Bhawanigarh.
In a statement here, Congress spokesman Sukhpal Khaira challenged Harsimrat for an open debate on the issue. He said the ordinance would provide subsidised ration to 67 per cent of India’s population and that by rejecting and opposing it, Harsimrat was “exposing her feudal mindset and double standards”.