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Now, Abohar canal throws up explosives, weapons
Move to start all-women buses hits roadblock
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Bus fares hiked by 8 paise per km
Pepsu staff strike work in Patiala
New Gurdaspur bus stand hangs fire
MGNREGA scam: No action taken against indicted officials
Congress MLAs to hold protest outside Badal’s residence
AAP will oppose move to amend labour laws
Akalis losing ground, says Bajwa
Students, teachers of govt-aided schools allege discrimination
Prisoners con cops into recharging cellphones
Resolve Nanakshahi Calendar controversy,
Pakistan gurdwara committee tells SGPC
Haryana CM trying to divide Sikhs: Makkar
Nod to building plan proposals
Patiala cops looking for Gaba’s son
Health Minister raids Barnala Civil Hospital
WHO-sponsored project gets going
Vaccination for foot and mouth disease
BFUHS opens clinic for
adolescent drug addicts
Counselling for Adesh varsity cancelled?
Govt to augment water supply
Woman, son hacked to death by robbers
2 booked for gangrape
Four held with drugs
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Now, Abohar canal throws up explosives, weapons
Ludhiana, June 16 Three rocket launchers, 15 pistols, six revolvers, seven country-made pistols and 11 magazines were found from the bed of the Abohar branch canal. Some weapons have "Khalistan Zindbad" written on them. It is the second recovery from this canal over the past 45 days. On April 28, the police had found 10 rocket launchers, an IED (bomb), an AK-47 and two other rifles, besides some carbines, six magazines and a country-made bomb from here. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP)-III Satvir Atwal said the weapons were found a few metres away from the place where the previous chunk of explosives was found. "Recovery of more weapons from the canal bed cannot be ruled out. We will carry out an extensive search in the canal as and when the water level goes down," Atwal said. "It is not yet clear as to when these weapons were dumped here. These weapons could also be part of the same chunk of explosives that was found two months ago," he said. Khalistan Liberation Force link Jagraon and the Sidhwan Bet were once hotbed of militant activities. Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) chief Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala, who was killed in a police encounter in Model Town area in July 1992, enjoyed a considerable clout in the area. It is suspected that the weapons were dumped by his sympathisers after his death. Intelligence agencies' functioning Repeated recoveries of explosives from the water bodies located near Ludhiana have raised many an eyebrow. Questions are being raised as to why the intelligence agencies did not come to know about the presence of such a huge quantity of explosives that could leave a trail of destruction in the state.
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Move to start all-women buses hits roadblock
Patiala, June 16 The initiative had been taken following directions from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The court had issued guidelines that the public transporters should start all-women buses, especially on routes where girl students and working women found it tough to travel in buses due to heavy rush. The PRTC, in a first-of-its-kind move by any public transport corporation, had rolled out special buses on three routes: Patiala-Chandigarh, Kapurthala-Chandigarh and Bathinda-Dabwali. Barring the male family members and relatives accompanying women passengers, no male passenger were allowed to board these buses. The PRTC management had carried out a survey before starting these buses to find out the rush hours on these routes, based on which they planned the timing of these buses. These were finalised in accordance with college timings and working hours in government offices. They had even deputed women conductors. The first all-women bus was rolled out on June 11. But within two days, the women conductors refused to travel saying “they had been doing office work for long and were not comfortable in their new role”. The women conductors contended that the court had only directed the PRTC to start all-women buses, and that it had never asked the transport corporation to depute women conductors. They claimed it was not possible for the women staff to travel long distance. Though PRTC officials could not be contacted for comment despite repeated attempts, sources in the corporation confirmed that there was heavy resentment among women employees and various PRTC associations over deputing them as conductors. They said following the protests, the management had deputed male conductors on these buses. PRTC’s Novel initiative fails to roll out
Their argument
Survey before scheme
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Bus fares hiked by 8 paise per km
Chandigarh, June 16 Ajit Singh Kohar, Transport Minister, said the fares had been increased to 91 paise from 83 paise per kilometre. Justifying the move, he said the government had raised the fares for both private and state transport owing to the rise in the prices of crude oil in the international market. He said that the issue was discussed at the last Cabinet meeting. Kohar said it had been decided to challan overloaded trucks, 'condemned' school buses and overloaded modified vehicles (gharukas). Transport Department officials had been asked to make sure the decisions were implemented. Among those who attended the meeting were Pirthi Chand, State Transport Commissioner, and Bhupinder Singh Rai, Director, State Transport.
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Pepsu staff strike work in Patiala
Patiala, June 16 As many as five different unions, including the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), Karamchari Dal and SC/BC Employees Unions, have formed an action committee to take up their demands with the senior authorities. The convener of the action committee, Nirmal Singh Dhaliwal, said the state government should either merge it with Punjab Roadways or it should start giving salaries and pensions to the staff from the state exchequer. The main demands of the union include regularisation of the services of contractual employees, pension to employees who joined after 1992, pensions to retired employees on time, a grant of Rs 200 crore to improve the PRTC’s financial condition, Rs 50 crore annual grant for PRTC, ending the kilometre scheme for buses, starting 400 new buses to generate revenue and making arrangements for repair of old buses. They also handed over a demand charter to Sub-Divisional Magistrate Gurpal Singh Chahal. The women employees who had been re-appointed as conductors also protested. They said that they would not join work as women conductors and would “protest the move tooth and nail”.
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PRTC chief lying about bus stand’s condition, BJP leader to rights body
Sangrur, June 16 Kalra alleged the PRTC authorities were trying to mislead the human rights’ body. He said the PRTC Managing Director had lied about the fact that the toilets at the bus stand were in a good
condition. “The toilets need to be cleaned and repaired immediately. The rotating time-table and the benches have to be repaired,” he said. He alleged the report stated that a part-time doctor had been appointed at the PRTC depot, but no one had ever seen him so far. Kalra said the PRTC was more concerned about getting the case closed rather than improving the condition of the bus stand.
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New Gurdaspur bus stand hangs fire
Gurdaspur, June 16 The new bus stand was planned to reduce congestion in the old bus stand located in the heart of the city. When the Improvement Trust acquired nearly 84.77 acres on the Tibri Road, 5 acres were earmarked for the project. However, officials failed to take into account
that a gurdwara was located in the area. An official requesting anonymity said they didn’t shift the gurdwara fearing a
backlash from religious organisations. Deputy Commissioner Dr Abhinav Trikha said the administration was looking to resolve the issue soon.
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MGNREGA scam: No action taken against indicted officials
Muktsar, June 16 On September 24, 2012, Amrik Singh had complained to Muktsar Deputy Commissioner (DC) Paramjit Singh, alleging that MGNREGA funds had been misappropriated. The DC had then marked an inquiry to the then ADC (General) NS Bath. A private firm from Panchkula in Haryana too had complained that the Superintendent of Zila Parishad office purchased stationery worth Rs 2.5 lakh for Rs 20 lakh. The five-page detailed inquiry report of the then ADC (G) in possession of The Tribune revealed that the total money paid was more than the total stock received. It stated that the purchase of additional stationery worth Rs 12.9 lakh (including VAT) had not been approved. Bath in the inquiry report stated, “Two of the three orders with regard to the purchase were found to be incorrect. The bills showed that a payment of Rs 20.46 lakh had been made. The Block Development Panchayat Officers (BDPOs) purchased material in excess of the demand. Material worth Rs 12.9 lakh
was never delivered in any of the blocks.” To crosscheck the facts, another inquiry was marked to the then Fazilka ADC (Development) Amit Kumar. He too held the staff of zila parishad guilty of misappropriating funds. The report was submitted to Joint Development Commissioner BS Multani around six months ago, but no action has been taken yet. Sources in the civil administration said the file was dumped due to political pressure. Zila Parishad superintendent Balvir Kaur had even admitted to her fault during the inquiry. As per the report, she had said, “The stationery was printed in excess of the demand. I have made a mistake. I will retrieve the stationery from various blocks and submit it to the government department.” The name of the then Muktsar ADC (D) Kuldeep Singh has also allegedly come up in the scam. In his statement to the first inquiry officer, he had said, “As per the rules, a government department had made the purchase. The superintendent had sought approval for the payment of the bill. He had told me the entire stock had been received and the payment should be made. So, I have not been negligent in carrying out my duties.” When asked about the delay in taking action against the erring officials, Rural Development and Panchayat Department Director S Karuna Raju said, “I am not aware of this case. I will have to check the facts.” Details of the case
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Congress MLAs to hold protest outside Badal’s residence
Chandigarh, June 16 The Congress legislators will sit in dharna in front of the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's residence here on June 23 to demand withdrawal of property tax, action against the ‘big fish’ involved in the drug trade and immediate payment of dues to cane growers. The MLAs will also seek a CBI probe into the "siphoning" of MNREGA funds allotted to the state. At least 31 Congress MLAs participated in the first CLP meeting after the Lok Sabha poll at Punjab Bhawan here today. The meeting comes a month ahead of the Budget session scheduled to begin on July 15. Unity show Sunil Jakhar, CLP Leader, rubbished reports on his "differences" with the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief, Partap Singh Bajwa. "We have got together here to discuss the problems of the people. There is no politics in it," explained Jakhar. Jakhar and other senior Congress leaders, including Rana Gurjit Singh, Parminder Singh Pinki, Tarlochan Singh Soondh and Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa, targeted the Chief Minister. " Badal senior, who has been camping in Talwandi Sabo for the past 10 days, must withdraw property tax,” said Pinki. “Farmers are committing suicide. But the Badal Government remains indifferent to their plight. Cane farmers are yet to be paid their dues totalling Rs 186 crore. No ‘big fish’ in the drug trade has been nabbed. Instead, the police has been targeting addicts. Students are not getting scholarship money in time,” he alleged. Cong demands
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Harsimrat’s first meeting post-poll win likely in Lambi
Lambi (Muktsar), June 16 This would be Harsimrat’s first public appearance in Bathinda parliamentary constituency after securing victory against her estranged brother-in-law Manpreet Singh Badal, who was the joint Congress-PPP-CPI candidate. Sources in the SAD said a day before the start of the two-day scheduled Sangat Darshan of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in Lambi, Harsimrat would hold two public rallies. A senior SAD leader of Lambi, considered close to the ruling Badal family, said, “Biba ji (Harsimrat) is likely to come to Lambi constituency on June 20 and hold two public rallies. The first venue may be somewhere in Sarawan Zail and the other in Lambi area. Thereafter, she may tour other Assembly segments in Bathinda parliamentary constituency.” The Chief Minister will cover at least 16 villages on June 21 and 22. The district administration has already started preparing the lists of demands of village panchayats and individuals by visiting the villages. The ruling Badas had not even celebrated the victory at their palatial residence in Badal village this time as the margin had decreased sharply. In the last General Election, Harsimrat had defeated Raninder Singh ‘Tikku’, son of Congress leader Capt Amarinder Singh, by over 1.2 lakh votes and the Badal village had witnessed celebrations. But this time, the margin was of a mere 19,395 votes. Of the total nine Assembly constituencies in Bathinda parliamentary segment, Harsimrat trailed in Bathinda (urban) by 29,316 votes (where the Badals had carried out maximum development works), Bathinda (rural) by 3,573 votes and Mansa by 23,911 votes. In Lambi, Bhucho Mandi, Talwandi Sabo, Maur, Sardulgarh and Budhlada, she got more votes than that polled by Manpreet.
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AAP will oppose move to amend labour laws
Chandigarh, June 16 Manjit Singh, AAP spokesman, said in the garb of labour reforms, the BJP wanted to make changes in the Industrial Disputes Act that would allow employers to retrench employees without a notice. "Such a step will open floodgates for the exploitation of employees and make them slaves in the hands of employers," he said. Already, the corporate houses were exploiting the human labour to the hilt by making it work without fixing duty hours, he said, adding AAP would fight against such designs of the BJP. "The way the BJP had planned to target NGOs and decided to raise the height of the Narmada Dam, it appears that the Modi Government was in a hurry to incorporate the so-called Gujarat model of development across the country," said Manjit Singh, adding that AAP would oppose all such measures. He said the so-called labour reforms, raising the height of Narmada Dam and action against the NGOs would hit the common man. "In fact, the attack on the NGOs through the IB was an attack on the voice of the civil society," he said.
‘Mission Vistaar’
New Delhi: In a first step towards its Mission "Vistaar" (expansion), the Aam Aadmi Party's three-member observers team is on its way to Punjab where the team, comprising Manish Sisodia, Jairnal Singh and Raghav Chadha, will hold extensive consultations with party volunteers in all the 13 Lok Sabha constituencies starting from June 18 in Ludhiana to June 22 in Fatehgrah Sahib. Prior to the series of volunteers meet planned for over the coming days, the central leadership will be meeting members of Punjab state executive, campaign committee, district committees and Lok Sabha candidates on June 17-18. "We will visit every parliamentary constituency in Punjab and our target is the 2019 Lok Sabha election," said Jarnail Singh enroute to Punjab. The step is aimed at strengthening the AAP base and building a cadre at the booth/village level in Punjab. — TNS
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Akalis losing ground, says Bajwa
Chandigarh, June 16 He said the victory margin of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s daughter-in-law Harsimrat Kaur was reduced to a few thousands from more than a lakh in the previous election. Bajwa said even the SAD’s alliance partner, the BJP had started questioning Akali leaders’ style of functioning. “Can Badal deny the fact that all resources of the state had been diverted to Bathinda. Despite that, people in this Lok Sabha constituency, showed black flags to the party candidate seeking re-election,” he said. The PPCC chief alleged more than 18,000 industrial units had been closed down in the last seven years. The recent unit to wind up its operations was IT giant Dell in Mohali. He said his government had projected the investment summit as a big achievement with the signing of MoUs worth Rs 66,000 crore. “Nothing has materialised on the ground. Even in the farm sector front, debt ridden farmers continue to commit suicide as the government has failed to evolve a strategy to bail out farmers,” Bajwa added.
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Students, teachers of govt-aided schools allege discrimination
Fatehgarh Sahib, June 16 The state government has set up six senior secondary residential schools for meritorious students. These schools will provide free education to students of Classes XI and XII through smart classrooms using e-content in medical, non-medical and commerce streams. There would also be free coaching classes for all competitive exams for students of these schools. The admission process has already started and the classes will begin from July 1. However, only government school students who scored 80 per cent or more marks in Class X are eligible for admission to these schools. Addressing mediapersons here today, Rajiv
Dutta, president of the association of government-aided schools' managing committees, and Ravinder Joshi, president of the teachers association, said the government-aided schools got 95 per cent aid from the government. Staff and students of these schools were given all facilities like staff and students of government schools. But not allowing meritorious students of government-aided schools to seek admission in newly set up model schools was discriminatory. Earlier also, students of these schools were deprived of benefits under the Dr Hargobind Khurana scholarship scheme in an arbitrary way, they alleged. They urged the Chief Minister and the Education Minister to allow students of government-aided schools to apply for admission in new schools.
Their grudge
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Prisoners con cops into recharging cellphones
Chandigarh, June 16 He goes on to narrate how a gang of four drug smugglers, busted recently, had smuggled into the country 10 kg of heroin and four mousers. He says two of them are hiding in a house near the Sector 3 police station and instructs the SHO to get more details from the "informer" sitting with him. The police official later receives a call from the "informer" who requests that the phone be recharged. On finding the incoming call facility on the number barred, the SHO calls up MF Farooqui, DIG, BSF. The latter says he has not made any such call. He asks the intelligence wing to trace the caller and is informed that the call was made from a jail in Kapurthala district. Several high-ranked officials in the region and Uttar Pradesh have been reportedly conned by prisoners into getting their phones recharged in this fashion. Among them is a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh. The suspects are yet to be questioned. Farooqui initially declined to comment on the issue. He later said: “My name was probably used because I often brief the media on the recovery of drugs from across the border. I have sought a thorough investigation into the matter. They (criminals) pose a threat to national security.” Rajpal Meena, Additional DGP, Prisons, said: “ We have not received any complaint regarding the matter. I wonder how the policemen can be so sure that the calls were made from inside a jail. We don’t claim that cellphones can't be used by inmates. But we could have nabbed them, if we were informed about the incident.” The intelligence official who traced the calls refused to comment. "Please talk to DIG Farooqui," is all he said.
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Resolve Nanakshahi Calendar controversy,
Pakistan gurdwara committee tells SGPC
Amritsar, June 16 The event was observed twice in Pakistan this time due to confusion prevailing over the calendar row. The ‘gurpurab’ was marked by Bhog ceremony of the Akhand Path followed by ‘Gurbani Kirtan’. Former Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) chief Bishen Singh alleged that SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar tried to create a rift among the Sikhs during his recent visit but today’s gathering proved that he failed in his attempt. Referring to violent clash at the Golden Temple on June 6, he said Makkar should set his own house in order instead of interfering in the gurdwara affairs of Pakistan. He said the Akal Takht should not allow any politics on the Nanakshahi Calendar row and should resolve the issue in a transparent manner at the earliest. Pakistan Punjab Assembly member Ramesh Singh Arora said Islamabad was dealing with the issues confronting the Sikhs with utmost sincerity. A release issued by former Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee chief Paramjit Singh Sarna, who is in Pakistan to participate in the ‘gurpurab’, stated that various speakers while addressing the gathering announced that if the Akal Takht didn’t resolve the Nanakshahi Calendar row before the birth anniversary of Sri Guru Ramdas, the PSGPC will itself call ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ on the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev to sort out the issue on its own. In his speech to the community members, Sarna said the original Nanakshahi Calendar was implemented after thorough deliberations among the Sikh community, but its amended version was brought in “merely to please a few deras”. Evacuee Trust Property Board chairman Khalid Ali said the Nanakshahi Calendar was the internal matter of the Sikh community and they would not interfere in it. He said the Pakistan Government was committed for the development of Sikh shrines and extending all the amenities to the Sikh pilgrims from other countries. Earlier, a section of the Sikhs in Pakistan had observed the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev on June 1, as per the amended Nanakshahi Calendar. The SGPC and the DSGMC didn’t send their jathas to Pakistan for the ‘gurpurab’ this year after the Pakistan High Commission denied them visas, contending that the event was being observed in Pakistan on June 16 as per the original calendar.
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Haryana CM trying to divide Sikhs: Makkar
Amritsar, June 16 Makkar, in a statement issued here, cautioned the Sikhs to remain vigilant against the “nefarious designs” of the Congress. He lashed out at Hooda for reigniting the issue of separate gurdwara panel for Haryana while warning him that the Sikhs would not allow him to succeed. He alleged that “anti-Sikh forces” were on the prowl and waiting for an opportunity to tarnish the image of the SGPC, which was the premier body of the Sikhs across the globe. He alleged that the Congress was attempting to interfere in the gurdwara affairs through people like Jagdish Singh Jhinda and Deedar Singh Nalvi, both of whom had already been rejected by the Sikhs in Haryana. Makkar said Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had already met the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister and expressed his strong objection to the Haryana Government’s move. He said they would not allow any sort of change in the current set-up of the SGPC at any cost. He said the SGPC had been smoothly managing the affairs of the historic gurdwaras in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh for years now.
Their demands
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Nod to building plan proposals
Chandigarh, June 16 Presiding over a review meeting of governance reforms, the Deputy Chief Minister also pulled up the government officials for the delay in the sanctioning of the plans. He set a deadline of July 1 for the officials to come up with a procedure to simplify the entire process, and also to include the recommendations approved today. Sukhbir also ordered internal audits to ascertain the backlog as far as building plans were concerned. He directed the officials to fix accountability of the erring staff so that the people did not face problems. The Deputy Chief Minister also gave in-principal approval to common building bylaws and asked the officials to make these bylaws simpler.
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Patiala cops looking for Gaba’s son
Jalandhar, June 16 Monu has already been declared a proclaimed offender in the case. He had been evading arrest for the past over five months. Sources said during the raid, Gaba and his sons were not present in the house. Hardial Singh Mann, Senior Superintendent of Police, said acting on a tip-off, Gaba's residence was raided but the accused managed to escape. "We will question Monu's family and other people to know about his whereabouts," he said. Sources said the raiding party was led by Patiala SP (Detective) Jaskiran Singh Teja. The police reportedly also searched various other places such as a plywood factory of Goraya, besides some specific places in Jalandhar, Phagwara and Ropar. The sources said Monu had been running a pharmaceutical factory in Himachal Pardesh. He was accused of supplying pseudoephedrine (use to make ICE) to druglord Varinder Raja, who in turn was supplying it to foreign countries. Gaba was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate a few days ago. He is a close confidant of former Jail Minister Sarwan Singh Phillaur whose son Damanvir was also summoned by the ED, but the latter has not yet appeared.
Why no demand for probing 'fake' encounters, asks Dal Khalsa
Hoshiarpur: Dal Khalsa, radical Sikh organisation, has accused Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal of double standards in dealing with Sikh issues. It has asked him why he had not sought an inquiry into the "rights abuses and fake encounters" in Punjab. In a statement, party spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh said: "Sensing that its Panthic base has eroded, Badal has handed over a charter of demands to Modi. Nothing much should be read into it." On the 1984 riot cases, he said the Sikhs did not expect justice from any commission or SIT.
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land scam
Ropar, June 16 This is why the Congress chose to keep mum on the issue. Also, both the accused are said be close to a senior Congress leader. While the police have started investigations after it received a complaint from the Takht Kesgarh Sahib management last week, sources in Revenue Department said the two kanal four marla land sold to the dera was part of 8 kanals registered in the name of the Kiratpur Sahib Congress leader. The land was registered in his name 21 years ago (in 1983) showing him as ‘kashtkar’ while the Takht remained the original owner.The land was occupied by Baba Harbans Singh (Dilliwale) for kar sewa who left in 1984 owing to militancy following which his disciple, Baba Balkar Singh, got the land for running an academy for the wards of 1984 riot victims. The Congress leader filed a case against the manager of Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib in 1992 for a stay on the land. The court, however, dismissed the case as withdrawn. In 1994, Baba Balkar Singh filed a case for the ownership of the land in his possession. His application was dismissed by the court that said his name did not appear in any of the documents related to the land. On November 15, 2011, the Congress leader, transferred his rights as “kashtkar’ to an Akali leader from Bhaini village in Nurpur Bedi on the basis of the general power of attorney. While transferring the rights, the Revenue Department was told that no money transaction had taken place. The two parties separately prepared an agreement mentioning that the Congress leader had received Rs 12.5 lakh as the price for the land. The market price of land then was more than Rs 3.5 crore. Police sources said the SAD leader had sold the land to the dera for more than Rs 1 crore.
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Man alleges police torture, cops deny
Phagwara, June 16 Ram Pal, who was admitted to Bara Pind hospital, told mediapersons that he was on way to Phagwara along with his wife and sister-in-law in a Tata Ace vehicle. On the way, their vehicle collided with a motorcycle near Bird Ashram. The motorcyclists attacked them. Policemen from the Dosanjh Kalan police station reached there, but instead of listening to them they also started beating them up. They took him (Ram Pal) to the police post where he was beaten up again. Bara Pind Medical Centre in charge Dr Om Badhan confirmed that Ram Pal had suffered injuries caused by blunt objects. The victim was still admitted to the hospital and his condition was stable, Badhan said. Goraya SHO Daljit Singh had denied reports of police torture. It was a case of personal enmity, he said.
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Abohar shop gutted in fire
Abohar, June 16 Sources said the fire spread as a container filled with kerosene oil had been stored in the shop. “The fire could have been disastrous had the LPG cylinders in the dhabas nearby caught fire,” fire officials said. Since two intercity express trains leave Abohar railway station in the morning, usually there are a lot of commuters in the area. The commuters were diverted to the adjoining Rani Jhansi Market. CLP Leader Sunil Jakhar had recently filed a PIL in the Punjab and Haryana High Court that damaged fire tenders had neither been repaired nor replaced. The HC had then directed the Director, Local Bodies, to redress the problem. After this a fire tender was shifted from Bathinda to Abohar on an ad hoc basis.
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Health Minister raids Barnala Civil Hospital
Barnala, June 16 Jyani reached the hospital around 11.55 pm. He reached the emergency wing of the hospital and inspected the health care being provided to the patients admitted there. He asked the medical officer on duty to call the surgeon telling him that there was an emergency case. The surgeon reached the hospital within a few minutes. The minister also called the driver of the ambulance, who reached there in five-six minutes. He also inspected the ambulance and checked oxygen cylinders. He also took stock of cleanliness and other arrangements in the hospitals. He visited all wards and interacted with patients to get their feedback about the services being provided to them in the hospital. The minister instructed doctors and other staff to perform their duties diligently. The surprise checking of civil hospitals and dispensaries would continue in future, he said.
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WHO-sponsored project gets going
Patiala, June 16 Dr MS Bal, head of the Pathology Department, said: "We have examined the case to ascertain the reasons for the child's death. The child was born through C-section and weighed 1.38 kg." Dr Manjeet Kaur Mohi, head, Gynaecology Department, said under the WHO project, the autopsies of stillborn and infants who died within a month of their birth was to be conducted by the Pathology Department with the consent of the parents to determine congenital abnormalities. The aim of this sponsored project was to study the reasons behind the deaths of neonates and perinates so as to bring down the infant and mother mortality rate in the country. A senior doctors, requesting anonymity, said there had been cases when parents had ransacked private clinics after the death of their newly born who looked normal. "There are several abnormalities which may lead to the death of an infant after a few days of delivery. In such cases, the parents should consent to a postmortem to ascertain the cause of the death.
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Vaccination for foot and mouth disease
Chandigarh, June 16 Minister for Animal Husbandry Gulzar Singh Ranike said the department had launched a drive in the state for vaccination of cattle. The campaign would continue till June 20, he added. The Animal Husbandry Department has opened a helpline (phone Nos. 0181-2242335 and 0172-2701324) and farmers can also lodge their complaints on website
www.husbandrypunjab.org.
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BFUHS opens clinic for
adolescent drug addicts
Faridkot, June 16 Struggling to treat the high number of drug addicts in the area, the university has set up the clinic to treat teenaged patients. “Although most adolescents who consume drugs do not become drug addicts in adulthood, drug use in adolescence is a very risky proposition,” said Dr Satish Thapar, Head of Psychiatry Department in Guru Gobind Singh Medical College of BFUHS in Faridkot. He said the university would concentrate more on treating children as drug abuse among them had become widespread. “We are trying to keep adolescent drug addicts away from other teenaged patients. Therefore, we will set up a separate OPD for them,” said Dr Thapar. He said the university had planned to map the prevalence of drug abuse among children and adolescent in the area; the reasons behind children consuming drugs; and the remedies to the problem, he said. The BFUHS is also planning to open a similar clinic for women drug abusers, said Dr SS Gill. There are many heart-wrenching stories of small children being exposed to drugs in the area. The Red Cross Society Faridkot had recently nabbed 10 children, below 13 years of age. They were taking drugs such as correction fluid, nail polish remover, shoe polish, cooking spray and enamel paints. All these children belonged to poor families. Teenaged drug addicts from affluent families consume cocaine, heroin and liquor. It is found that adolescents procure drugs from peers.
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Counselling for Adesh varsity cancelled?
Bathinda, June 16 However, the university claimed it had no such information. But sources in the Health Department confirmed that the counselling had been cancelled. With150 seats, the university prospectus states that admission to MBBS will be on merit and the tuition fee is Rs 6.6 lakh. The amount is equal to the management quota fee, excluding the NRI quota. This is against the government instructions to fill 50 per cent seats on merit with each student paying 2.2 lakh in the first year. The annual fee keeps increasing by 10 per cent in the subsequent years. University Chancellor HS Gill said: "We have received no intimation that counselling has been cancelled. It will be held tomorrow as planned."
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Govt to augment water supply
Chandigarh, June 16 In a press note issued here today, Surjit Singh Rakhra, Water Supply & Sanitation Minister, said a project worth Rs 2,200 crore had been submitted to the World Bank to revive 108 water supply schemes in waterlogged areas and to improve the operational performance of 1,000 existing water supply schemes, besides installing water treatment systems (ROs) in 250 villages. He said the department had been instructed to come out with a time-bound programme to construct toilets in all villages to eradicate open defecation. Suresh Kumar, Financial Commissioner, Development, and Water Supply and Sanitation, told the minister that the Chief Minister had set a target to ensure that all villages were provided with piped water supply by the end of 2014-15.
Ensure quality work,
says Dhillon
Irrigation Minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon today set June 30 as the deadline for the completion of ongoing projects to ensure protection from floods. He directed the officials to chalk out projects to check the waterlogging menace. Dhillon asked the Chief Engineers to repair vulnerable points along the dhussi bandh and canals well before the arrival of the monsoons. He instructed the officials to personally supervise development works to ensure quality. He warned of strict action in case of any lapse leading to a mishap. The minister emphasised on new projects for eradicating waterlogging and said that now with the NDA Government at the Centre, it would not be difficult to get various irrigation projects approved.
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Woman, son hacked to death by robbers
Fatehgarh Churian, June 16 The miscreants decamped with cash and jewellery from the house. The victims are Malkiat Kaur and her son Lovepreet Singh, a Class XII student. Iqbal Singh, the deceased’s husband, runs an electronics shop in the town. He was away to meet his sister at Jagadhari in Haryana for the last few days. Batala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Bikram Pal Singh Bhatti said special teams had been formed to nab the accused. “We are exploring all possibilities and expect to nab the culprits within next 24 hours,” he said. The Fatehgarh Churian police station is under the jurisdiction of Batala police district. The murders were first spotted by Iqbal’s servant Robin around 8.30 am. Employed at the family’s electronics shop, Robin had come to collect the shop’s keys. He reportedly found the house’s front gate open and the mother-son duo lying in a pool of blood on the bed. “Blood was splattered all over the place and the locks of all the almirahs were broken,” the police official said. Fatehgarh Churian SHO Rajesh Kakkar said during preliminary investigations, it appeared that some unidentified persons had barged into the house in the wee hours with an intention of robbery. “When the deceased saw them decamping with the valuables, they decided to do away with both of them,” he said.
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2 booked for gangrape
Mansa, June 16 Investigating officer Malkit Singh said they had launched a search operation to nab the accused. He said the accused attacked the couple and gangraped the victim, when the couple was returning from Joga. Dr Simmi Khattri, who treated the patient at Mansa Civil Hospital, said the patient had been discharged and the reports of her medical examination were awaited.
Minor raped in Rajpura
Patiala: The Rajpura police have registered a case against two persons for allegedly raping a 12-year-old. The victim alleged she was returning home after having dinner at one of her known person's house. On her way back home, she fell unconscious at the Rajpura railway station platform. The accused, Billa who runs a tea shop there, took her to his house and raped her. He later dropped her at the platform.
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Four held with drugs
Fatehgarh Sahib, June 16 SSP Gurmeet Singh Chauhan said Pawan Kumar of Mandi Gobindgarh was arrested with 50 gm smack. Nony of Jassowal village, Ram Chand of Kala Majra and Amarinder Singh (alias Binder) of Machraya Khurd were arrested with poppy SSP Gurmeet Singh Chauhan said three separate cases had been registered under the NDPS Act. The accused were arrested during checking at special nakas, he added.
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There seems to be no end to the recovery of explosives from the water bodies located near Ludhiana. While RDX and explosives continue to be found from a pond in the Sidhwan Bet area, a huge pile of weapons, allegedly belonging to
Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), was found.
The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) is preparing to corner the ruling SAD-BJP alliance on property tax, the drug and sand mafia, the ‘pitiable’ condition of cities and non-payment of dues amounting to Rs 186 crore to cane growers.
Amritsar, June 16
Health Minister Surjit Kumar Jyani conducted a surprise check at the local Civil Hospital last night. He ordered district health authorities to seek written explanation from Senior Medical Officer
(SMO) of the hospital why he did not attend to his phone when he (minister) rang him up during the raid at the hospital.
The Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) has started an exercise to map the prevalence of the drug abuse among children and adolescents and treat them. It has also opened a clinic for adolescent drug addicts at the super specialised tertiary de-addiction centre in Faridkot. Set up at a cost of Rs 5 crore, the de-addiction center will provide specialised healthcare to patients.
The first all-women bus was rolled out on June 11 in Patiala