P U N J A B

Top stories | Politics | Community

Crime | Education

TOP STORIES

Lathi charge on villagers, 100 arrested
Demonstration against power cuts

Ropar, July 11 The police resorted to mild lathi-charge and arrested more than 100 villagers, including women, living in the vicinity of Super Thermal Plant, here today when they made an attempt to gherao PSEB Chairman Y.S. Ratra in protest against 16-hour power cuts being imposed by the board in the area.

Policemen arrest a villager during a protest against power cuts in villages around Super Thermal Plant, Ropar, on Tuesday. — Photo by writer

Greater Mohali Development Authority approved
Chandigarh, July 11
The Infrastructure Development Committee, which met under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, here today approved the city centre to be set up in Sector 62 at SAS Nagar (Mohali).

SGPC suspends 15 for July 2 clash
Amritsar, July 11
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee today placed Darbar Sahib additional manager Harbans Singh Mallhi, assistant manager Baldev Singh, Sikh priest Shangara Singh and at least 12 members of its task force and other employees under suspension, nine days after a clash between SAD (Badal) and SAD (Amritsar) supporters.

Jalandhar page: 3 SAD (A) leaders quit party

Tribune Special
New canal: Haryana stakes claim on alignment, Punjab says no
Chandigarh, July 11
The issue of linking Haryana’s new canal dominated the proceedings at an important meeting of partner states of the Bhakra Beas Management Board here today. Haryana today formally presented its case to link the under-construction Hansi-Buttana canal to the Bhakra Main Line (BML) near Samana (Patiala) to draw some portion of its own share of water.

CM to give promotional scale to employees
Chandigarh, July 11
Various Assembly poll related political issues were discussed at the an unscheduled meeting of the Punjab council of ministers held here today. The notice of an informal urgent meeting was sent to all the ministers late last evening. There was no formal agenda of the meeting, it is learnt.

POLITICS

CM denies plan for Cabinet reshuffle
Chandigarh, July 11
The Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, today said he had no plan to reshuffle the Council of Ministers. “There is no such move and I have not spoken to anyone in Delhi in this regard”, the Chief Minister said.

Cong MLA blamed for tampering with voters’ lists
Amritsar, July 11
Mr Virsa Singh Valtoha, a member of the working committee of the Shiromani Akali Dal said on the behest of a Congress leader, Gurchet Singh Bhullar, Former Irrigation Minister, names of a large number of voters were deleted and names of bogus voters added in the electoral list prepared on January 1, 2006.

Badal: Cong getting bogus voters registered
Chandigarh, July 11
The Shiromani Akali Dal President, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, today alleged that the Congress was trying to get thousands of bogus voters registered in various Assembly constituencies of Punjab on the pretext of revision of the electoral rolls.

COMMUNITY

Breach in canal damages crops

Abohar, July 11 Cotton and other crops in more than 250 acres were feared to have been damaged due to a breach in the Ramsara sub canal here last night. It was due to the uprooting of a tree by heavy rain, official sources said. Some orchards were also inundated with 3 ft water. Sources in the Irrigation Department said that most of the breaches during the decade were caused by tree plantation on the banks of the canals and sub canals in the region. A breach in the Ramsara sub-canal in Abohar. — A Tribune photograph

Demand to frame law on two-child norm
Sangrur, July 11
On the pattern of Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, the Punjab Government should also enact a law to prevent the persons, having more than two children, from contesting elections to the local bodies, like Zila Parishad, Block Panchayat Samiti, Panchayat, Municipal Council and Municipal Corporation.

Govt ignoring WB report on Punjab, says Sidhu
Amritsar, July 11
Local MP Navjot Singh Sidhu today blamed the Congress government in the state for not following the reports of World Bank and State Planning Board on Punjab, which portray grim picture of agriculture and industry in the state.

Amarinder clarifies on N-plant issue
Chandigarh, July 11
The Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, today clarified that he had not opposed the setting up of a nuclear power plant in Haryana. “The media had misquoted me,” he said.

Thermal plant in liquor row
Ropar, July 11
A controversy has surfaced here over alleged serving of liquor to senior officials of the PSEB and a delegation from Germany during a lunch hosted for them in the Super Thermal Plant, Ropar, while hundreds of villagers were protesting against power cuts outside the plant.

Principals' association office-bearers
Fatehgarh Sahib, July 11
The following have been elected office-bearers of the Association of Principals of Non-Govt. Colleges affiliated to Punjabi University, Patiala, unanimously at a meeting held at Mata Gujri College here yesterday.