Purchase centres lack facilities
PATIALA, April 20 — Manjit Singh, a farmer of Barsat village, who has come to the nearby purchase centre in Mehmadpur village to sell his wheat produce does not know of the facilities he is entitled to.

Jandwal, a neglected village PATHANKOT: Jandwal is a neglected village which connects the boundaries of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

Breach in Sirhind canal bank
GIDDERBAHA, April 20 — The release of water into the Rajasthan feeder canal has been delayed by a few days following a major breach that occurred in the common bank of the Sirhind feeder canal and the Rajasthan feeder canal near Lalbai village, 12 km from here, on Sunday night.

Coal dust endangers villagers' health
NANGAL, April 20: Charan Kaur of Bela Dhiani village has lost complete vision in one of her eyes and the visibility in the other has been reduced. The doctors say she has lost her vision due to infection by coal dust particles which have resulted in the formation of pus cells in the eyes.

Badal to meet VCs, principals today
CHANDIGARH, April 20 — The Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, will meet the vice-chancellors of the three universities and members of the Federation of Managements and Principals of Non-Government Aided Colleges at his residence here tomorrow evening.

Teachers meet UGC Chairperson
AMRITSAR, April 20 — A deputation of college teachers led by Dr V.K. Tiwari, general secretary, Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union and Dr V.K. Sharma, district president, met Prof A. Desai, Chairperson, University Grants Commission (UGC), at the local DAV college here and urged her to accept the long-standing demands of the teachers.

DM stays hike in tuition fee
BATHINDA, April 20 — The District Magistrate, Mr S.R. Ladhar today stayed the hike in the tuition fee effected by various private schools here following a protest lodged by the parents of the students.

People cheated of Rs 50 lakh
ABOHAR, April 20 — Six Madurai and Chennai-based traders have allegedly duped local residents of several lakhs of rupees. These traders allegedly collected around Rs 50 lakh from residents on the promise that they would deliver household goods like steel beds and generators to them at half the market price. They had promised to deliver the goods within a fortnight.

Shifting of liquor shop sought
SANGRUR, April 20 — Resentment prevails among the residents of Sunam town, 15 km from here, over failure of the authorities concerned to shift the liquor shop situated near the Girls Senior Secondary School in spite of the repeated requests by the residents of the town.

Wheat arrival heaviest in Patiala dist

Doctor invited to hold workshops in Pakistan

1 held, 35 kg poppy husk seized

Pawan Dewan made
DYC chief

Next Cabinet expansion
Representation for Mansa?
From Chander Parkash
Tribune News Service

MANSA, April 20 — Will this district get representation in the next Cabinet expansion proposed to be carried out soon by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

So far this district has remained unrepresented in the two-year ministry of Mr Badal though two MLAs, Mr Baldev Singh Khiala from the Joga assembly segment and Mr Sukhwinder Singh Aulakh from the Mansa assembly segment, belong to the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).

Mr Khiala was an important minister in Mr Surjit Singh Barnala's government in 1985. Mr Aulakh was, perhaps not considered for a ministerial berth as he is a first-timer in the Assembly.

In 1980, when Mr Darbara Singh became Chief Minister, no representation to the four assembly segments Mansa, Sardulgarh, Joga and Budhlada-of the district was given in his Cabinet.

In 1985 when Mr Barnala became Chief Minister, he gave a ministerial berth and the post of Deputy Speaker to two MLAs of this district. Mr Khiala was made Cabinet Minister while Mr Jaswinder Singh, the then MLA from Mansa, was made Deputy Speaker.

In 1992 when Mr Beant Singh took over the affairs of Punjab Government, no MLA from the district was included in the Cabinet for more than two years. Mr Sher Singh Gagowal, MLA from Mansa, was made minister in the third Cabinet expansion carried out by Mr Beant Singh.

After the assassination of Mr Beant Singh, Mr Harcharan Singh Brar became Chief Minister and he included one more MLA from Sardulgarh, Mr Kirpal Singh Makha, into the Cabinet.

But when Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal became Chief Minister, only Mr Sher Singh Gagowal was given a ministerial berth.

In 1997, when the SAD-BJP alliance got a massive mandate, residents of this district were hoping that Mr Khiala would be included in the Cabinet as a close confident of Mr Badal, Mr Balwinder Singh Bhunder, had lost the assembly election from Sardulgarh.

Infighting among Akalis in this district sealed the fate of Mr Khiala. The residents now hope that in the next expansion, the district will get due representation.

Badal writes to President on govt formation
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 20 — The Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, has urged the President that only a BJP-led coalition government could present a viable government at the Centre.

In a letter to President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, Mr Badal said: "You are now exploring whether any other government commanding greater support than that demonstrated by Mr Vajpayee is feasible. The Shiromani Akali Dal holds that the only viable and a stable government which the 12th Lok Sabha is capable of yielding is a coalition of the BJP and its allies led by Mr Vajpayee.

The Akali Dal chief said the whole country was stunned and saddened by the one vote verdict on the confidence motion on April 17. However, the Prime Minister, Mr A.B. Vajpayee, in a true democratic and dignified conduct, immediately tendered his resignation.

Reaffirming his party's stand that Mr Vajpayee and the coalition led by him alone could provide a stable and viable government at this time, the Akali Dal President has appended a list of eight Lok Sabha members belonging to his party.

Meanwhile, Mrs Satwinder Kaur Dhaliwal, Akali Lok Sabha member from Ropar has expressed her full faith in the leadership of Mr Badal. In a fax message from Delhi, she said she followed the programmes and policies of the Akali Dal.

Mrs Dhaliwal expressed surprise that her name was being mentioned in the controversy regarding switching sides. She said these reports were not true, mischievous and meant to lower her prestige among the people.

Purchase centres lack facilities
From Jangveer Singh
Tribune News Service

PATIALA, April 20 — Manjit Singh, a farmer of Barsat village, who has come to the nearby purchase centre in Mehmadpur village to sell his wheat produce does not know of the facilities he is entitled to.

Everything is okay, he says huddled in a small tent of a local arhtiya, however when asked whether he knows he is entitled to drinking water, toilets, shade, an auction platform and electricity besides plinths and even roads leading to the purchase centre, he realises all is not so well.

For Manjit Singh and many others like him, the mind of an average farmer revolves around his produce and if he is able to sell it without any hitch, the accompanying discomforts are taken in their stride without complaining.

As the farmers themselves are not complaining about denial or lack of facilities to them by the Punjab Mandi Board, board officials sit smug saying none is complaining.

District Mandi Officer Surinder Singh Tiwana when contacted said all facilities like drinking water, electricity and shade were being provided in all mandis by the district.

However, a quick survey of some purchase centres by the Tribune revealed that this was not true and that farmers were barely being provided any services by the mandi board. In both Mehmadpur and Sultanpur villages on the Patiala-Sangrur road there was no provision of water and shade by the board. Farmers were seen resting in tents put up by arhtiyas in both the purchase centres.

Similarly in Lang village though electricity had been provided, there was no provision of electrical connections for running of power cleaners which have been made mandatory for proper cleaning of wheat. This situation prevails in other mandis also with some purchase centres having power cleaners installed for ornamental value only as there are no connections.

With the mandi board shying away from providing basic facilities to the farmers, the arhtiyas are burdened with looking after the farmers. The arhtiyas say that though they do not mind caring for the farmers as they have an age old bond with them but it is the responsibility of the mandi board to provide the facilities.

A mushroom growth in the number of purchase centres, mainly due to political considerations, has resulted in the mandi board being unable to provide all facilities in them. There are instances where two centres exist in a single village besides centres like Drola and Droli and Doodan Sadan where the wheat arrival is almost negligible but the mandi board is continuing with them.

The president of the Federation of Arhtiya Associations of Punjab, Mr Bal Krishan Singla, while talking to the TNS said his association had taken up the issue of reducing the number of purchase centres around one and a half years back when the centres numbered only 950 in the entire state. He said though the government had agreed to the proposal in principle, the number of purchase centres at present were nearly 1,300.

Mr Singla said the mandi board was supposed to provide plinths, sheds, roads to the purchase centres, drinking water, toilets, electricity connections to run power cleaners, besides maintaining cleanliness. He said as most of these facilities were not being provided in the purchase centres, the quality and cleanliness of wheat procured in them could not be maintained.

He said there was no development in the main mandi here since the past 15 years with there being no addition to sheds. The kutcha mandis were in worse condition. He said similarly no attempt was being made to augment the sewerage facilities provided in 1962 even though the mandi board was charging a market fee and a rural development fund cess of 2 per cent each.

Corpn staff fail to recover body
From AS Prashar
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, April 20 — The outrage at the death of a school vice-principal due to a fall into an open manhole increased today with the failure of the corporation staff to recover the body even 48 hours after the tragedy.

"We are doing the best we can to recover the body," said Mr Ashok Kumar, Superintending Engineer, Sewerage, Ludhiana Municipal Corporation.

A large number of employees of the department have been deployed to open all 49 manholes along the 3.5-km-long sewerage pipeline to look for the body. But it is clear that the task is difficult if not hopeless.

An attempt to search for the body by entering the sewer failed when a sewerage department employee was overcome by toxic fumes and had to be rushed to hospital. Another bid to enter the sewer by a fire brigade personnel with a waterproof suit and an oxygen mask also did not succeed.

The department employees have almost abandoned the search. They hope that once the body begins to float due to decomposition, it will be easy to locate and retrieve it. Mr S.S. Sandhu, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, was away to Chandigarh today and was, therefore, not available for comments.

The sewerage pipeline in which Mrs Sarita Ahluwalia, Vice-Principal, New Senior Secondary School, Sarabha Nagar, fell on Sunday is the biggest underground sewerage pipeline in the city. The sewerage line has been designed and laid in such a manner that there is just no way of entering it. The sewerage department employees here do not recall of ever having entered the pipeline after it was commissioned years ago.

"It is like falling into a blind well," said Mr K.K. Bawa, Mr Jiwan Dhawan and Mr Pawan Dewan, local Congress leaders. "The corporation has not only failed to design the underground sewerage system properly but also maintain it. With the result, there are thousands of uncovered deathtraps all over the city," they said, demanding a judicial probe into the incident.

The underground sewerage system, which barely covers half the city, has a total length of 850 km. There are over 25,000 manholes. Although the corporation claims that most manholes are covered, citizens assert that half of these remain uncovered. It is common for cast iron covers to be stolen. These are seldom replaced by the cash-strapped corporation.

"It is common for people and animals to fall into the open manholes and lose life or limb, says Mrs Pappu Avinash Singh, a leading social worker of the city.

A drive along the length of the sewer showed that while most of the manholes were covered, many had been buried under newly carpeted roads. The Sewerage Department has deployed a couple of mechanical tippers and diggers to dig up roads so as to locate and open the manholes. The Superintending Engineer has ordered closure of tubewells in the area so that the waterlevel in the sewers is reduced to locate and recover the body.

Distraught relatives and colleagues of Mrs Sarita Ahluwalia staged a dharna on the Ludhiana-Ferozepore highway for the second day today. They were joined by Mr Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal, a former Akali minister, Mr Sunil Marhia, a municipal councillor and a large number of city residents.

The SSP, Mr Kuldeep Singh, has written to the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, to pinpoint responsibility for the uncovered manhole so that the guilty are arrested under Section 307-A, IPC (death caused by negligence). A case has already been registered against the corporation.

Jandwal, a neglected village
From Bharat Bhushan Dogra

PATHANKOT: Jandwal is a neglected village which connects the boundaries of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

In official documents it has been designated as an integrated village, but not even a single facility has been provided to natives of the area, regrets Mr R.D. Sharma, Sarpanch of the village.

Not only this, not even a single octogenarian or widow has been provided pension benefits. Consequently resentment prevails among the rural folk.

The village has a government dispensary, but in the absence of any doctor it has become an idle site for the needy. Mr Sharma has demanded the immediate appointment of a doctor.

He says the panchayat has sent numerous letters and requests to the district administration and the state government for providing civic amenities to the villagers. The district administration has also failed to remove encroachments made on the link road of the village.

The condition of the government primary school is also not good. It has no boundary wall due to which heaps of garbage pile up in the open ground and give an ugly appearance to the school besides presenting its poor sanitation.

He has urged the government to provide street lights in the village. The government should chalk out a beautification plan for the village to give a facelift to the entry point of Punjab from Himachal Pradesh.

* * * *

The judiciary came to the help of the district administration of Kangra in rescuing the property of the Shri Ram Gopal temple situated at Damtal, adjoining Pathankot.

The temple has attached to it about 1,600 kanals of valuable land which was allotted by an erstwhile king of Nurpur state to run the affairs of the temple property. The temple was at that time under the control of mahants. The control of the mahants lasted till the Himachal Pradesh Government took over the possession of temples all over the state through a legislation.

Through this legislation, the government appointed deputy commissioners, subdivisional magistrates and tehsildars as administrators of the temples situated in their districts and subdivisions, but it did not usher any plan to protect the property of the temples attached to them. This made land grabbers active first in searching such pieces of land and then to grab these in connivance with the revenue officials.

The land in question was first exchanged with a piece of land measuring 100 kanals only. The conversion of 1,600 kanals of land was not possible without the assistance of revenue officials. The district administration, which was totally unaware of the situation, smelt foul play when the matter was brought to its notice by daily wagers engaged in road construction and stone crushing works. The district administration immediately moved the court to get the conversion of valuable land to only 100 kanals quashed.

The court ordered a status quo on the land. But in spite of the court orders, the land mafia is trying to take possession of the land forcibly even with the use of guns.

The people of Damtal organised a dharna on the highway near Damtal blocking traffic to protest against the illegal conversion of the temple land.

Mr Des Raj MLA, Mr Narinder Sharma, Mr Ranjit Pathania, Mr Roop Lal and Mr Gagan Singh, BJP leaders, have also met the Chief Minister and apprised him of the situation.

The SDM, Nurpur, Mr N.K. Lath, said the administration was keeping a strict vigil on the situation.

* * * *

Mr Arun Mahajan, Secretary of the local BJP unit, has urged the state government to provide a boat in the Ujj river to felicitate hundreds of people living in 22 villages across the river.
He said during the rainy season the water of the river started overflowing. Consequently the villages remained cut off from the rest of the district causing serious problems with regard to the supplies of foodgrain and articles of daily use.

Breach in Sirhind canal bank
Tribune News Service

GIDDERBAHA, April 20 — The release of water into the Rajasthan feeder canal has been delayed by a few days following a major breach that occurred in the common bank of the Sirhind feeder canal and the Rajasthan feeder canal near Lalbai village, 12 km from here, on Sunday night.

About 1600 cusecs from the Sirhind feeder canal entered the Rajasthan feeder canal on Sunday night after a 200-feet-wide breach occurred in the bank common to both canals running parallel to each other. The Rajasthan canal was closed by the Punjab Government recently till April 18 for carrying out repairs.

Official sources said as per preliminary estimates, the breach had caused a loss of Rs 50 lakh. It had, occurred because of 'piping action' due to seepage in both canals.

The sources said timely action by officials of the Punjab Irrigation Department saved the Midhukhera siphon under construction on the Rajasthan feeder canal. The officials at once raised a strong bundh to check the flow of water into the Rajasthan feeder.

After learning about the breach on Monday morning, officials of the Sirhind feeder canal and the Rajasthan feeder canal began the repair works. An army of men is still at work to plug the breach.

The sources said the rapid flow of water had also damaged the other bank of the Rajasthan feeder canal and the floor of Sirhind canal which had developed holes about 10 feet deep.

A senior official present at the site, who was in charge of the Rajasthan feeder canal, ruled out sabotage. He said it would take four to five days before water could be released into both canals.

The sources said the water flowing into the Sirhind feeder had been diverted to the Abul Khurana minor. The authorities were trying to release water into the Rajasthan canal in small quantities so that residents in Rajasthan could get drinking water.

Coal dust endangers villagers' health
By Lalit Mohan

NANGAL, April 20: Charan Kaur of Bela Dhiani village has lost complete vision in one of her eyes and the visibility in the other has been reduced. The doctors say she has lost her vision due to infection by coal dust particles which have resulted in the formation of pus cells in the eyes.

Charan Kaur is not the only victim in the area suffering due to coal dust. It is the fate of the entire village with a population of about 2,000. The coal slurry dumps of Punjab National Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd. (PNFC), which are just 100 metres away from the house of residents of this village have become a constant source of agony for them. The problem becomes more acute in summer when the winds coat everything in their houses, with layers of coal dust.

The problem of villagers started from the time, when the PNFC plant started functioning in the area in 1985. M/s Karan Sales Corporation was given the contract to lift coal slurry, a waste product of the company. The corporation, taking advantage of the ignorance of the illiterate villagers, rented some land on lease from the villagers. According to the sarpanch of the village, the company leased land on the pretext that it would be used to dump coal slurry temporarily till some alternative arrangements could be made. Moreover, the villagers were also promised jobs as labourers. However, since then the coal slurry has become a permanent part of their lives.

As per the rules of the Punjab Pollution Control Board, the coal slurry dumps can be made, only at a distance of about 10 km from any residential area. The villagers allege that even their crops are having a stunted growth due to the deposit of coal dust on the plants.

The sarpanch, who has been running from pillar to post to get these coal dumps removed from the vicinity of the village, says that in spite of best of his efforts neither the PNFC administration nor M/s Karan Sales Corporation has taken any step to remove the coal dust.

After the successive submission of memorandums by the villagers an inquiry was constituted to investigate the matter. The SDM, Anandpur Sahib, after conducting an on-the-spot survey, on April 15, 1997, did send his report to the Chairman, Punjab Pollution Control Board. Later in a meeting with the Deputy Commissioner, Ropar on August 18, 1997. Mr J.K. Kular, Environment Engineer, informed the villagers that licence of M/s Karan Sales Corporation had been cancelled. However, two years have passed since then but work of separating coal from the slurry is still being done by the same corporation.

Now that the P.N.F.C. plant is on the verge of closure the village feel that the chances of the coal dump being lifted are diminishing and they will remain as a permanent source of annoyance to them.

Badal to meet VCs, principals today
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 20 — The Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, will meet the vice-chancellors of the three universities and members of the Federation of Managements and Principals of Non-Government Aided Colleges at his residence here tomorrow evening.

Informed sources said the meeting had been called to sort out the issues involved that have held up the conduct of undergraduate examinations in the state and in Chandigarh.

As a consequence of the protest by the managements and principals of the colleges, the universities had to postpone the exams at least three times because manpower and material support required could not be obtained without the willing cooperation of the private colleges, which far outnumber the government institutions.

The sources told TNS that there were three main demands of the powers that be, which have held the students to ransom: 1, restoration of the 5 per cent cut effected in the 95 per cent deficit grant-in-aid given by the government to the private colleges; 2. payment of the arrears for two years amounting to Rs 22.34 crore; 3. application of same criteria in respect of pay scales, etc for non-teaching employees as well effective January 1, 1996; and 4. include 23 non-government colleges opened after November, 1981, under the grant-in-aid scheme to ensure UGC pay scales for these teachers.

Most of the matters relate to the finance department, which has observed that any relaxation given now will have a cascading effect. On the other hand, the future of lakhs of students is at stake because of the delay in conducting the examinations on schedule.

It may be recalled that Mr Badal himself is senior vice-president of the Federation of Managements and Principals of non aided Colleges and his Revenue Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Majitha, is president.

All eyes are now focused on the government which has been caught in a no-win situation because of the timing of the protest, leading to the boycott of the exams by the teachers of non-government colleges. The plight of the students and parents could be well-imagined.

Teachers meet UGC Chairperson
Tribune News Service

AMRITSAR, April 20 — A deputation of college teachers led by Dr V.K. Tiwari, general secretary, Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union (PCCTU) and Dr V.K. Sharma, district president, met Prof A. Desai, Chairperson, University Grants Commission (UGC), at the local DAV college here and urged her to accept the long-standing demands of the teachers.

Professor Desai assured the deputation that DPEs and librarians working in the colleges would be treated at par with the teaching staff, including the fixation of pay-scales at Rs 14,940 in the new grades. She said the UGC would offer incentives to the teachers for professional development adding that the creation of posts of professor in college and the scheme for rewarding the meritorious teachers were under the consideration of the UGC.

DM stays hike in tuition fee
Tribune News Service

BATHINDA, April 20 — The District Magistrate, Mr S.R. Ladhar today stayed the hike in the tuition fee effected by various private schools here following a protest lodged by the parents of the students.

Hundreds of parents today staged a dharna in front of a private school in protest against the hike in tuition fee effected by the school authorities recently.

They alleged that private school managements were 'looting' them by collecting funds from them under various heads but were not maintaining any account. They said large donations were being taken from the parents at the time of admission of their wards and this income was never revealed to the income tax authorities.

The agitating parents also alleged that students were forced to buy books, uniforms and other items from their respective schools at rates higher than the ones prevailing in the market.

They lifted the dharna only when they were assured by the district administration that necessary action would be taken in this regard.

Mr S.R. Ladhar, in a press note issued here said that at a meeting in which representatives of the private school managements participated on Tuesday, they had been asked not to hike the tuition fee arbitrarily. The managements had also been told not to take donations from the parents at the time of the admission of their wards.

He said a committee under the chairmanship of Additional Deputy Commissioner had been constituted which would look into the collection of funds under various heads by the school managements from the students at the time of admission.

People cheated of Rs 50 lakh
From Our Correspondent

ABOHAR, April 20 — Six Madurai and Chennai-based traders have allegedly duped local residents of several lakhs of rupees. These traders allegedly collected around Rs 50 lakh from residents on the promise that they would deliver household goods like steel beds and generators to them at half the market price. They had promised to deliver the goods within a fortnight.

However, when the traders were found missing from their rented office-cum-residence in the Nai Abadi locality, the investors panicked today. Some of the investors reportedly scaled the walls to enter the traders, godown and took away steel beds and almirahs last night.

Later, the police was called by the owner of the building rented out to the traders.

It is interesting that the owners of the building, from where the traders operated, had displayed notices in front of the building, stating that they would not be responsible for any malpractice of the traders.

The police today reportedly seized the traders, goods stocked in the premises.

Shifting of liquor shop sought
From Our Correspondent

SANGRUR, April 20 — Resentment prevails among the residents of Sunam town, 15 km from here, over failure of the authorities concerned to shift the liquor shop situated near the Girls Senior Secondary School in spite of the repeated requests by the residents of the town.

A deputation of residents and representatives of various social organisations met the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr Kainth, yesterday and demanded immediate shifting of the liquor shop from its present place.

The deputation also complained that the residents had earlier complained about the matter at the sangat darshan programme held in Sangrur on March 15, and regretted that no action had been taken so far.

The Deputy Commissioner Sangrur, Mr Anirudh Tewari had deputed the SDO (Civil), Sunam, to conduct an inquiry in the matter and submit the report soon.

The residents of Sunam have also sent a memorandum to the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal in this regard.

Father, daughter die in mishap

HOSHIARPUR, April 20 (UNI) — A man and his daughter were killed and his wife and another daughter seriously injured when their Maruti car collided with a Chandigarh-bound truck near Panam village in Hoshiarpur this morning.

Those killed have been identified as Gurdial Singh Kuthiar and Abha for whose engagement the family was coming from Shimla in their Maruti car. Mrs Suman and Monica, his wife and another daughter, who were seriously injured in the mishap, were rushed to the Garhshankar Civil Hospital from where they were referred to the PGI, Chandigarh.

Baljit Singh (28) was crushed to death by a truck near Bhagpur village on the Hoshiarpur-Dasuya road this afternoon. A father of three, Baljit Singh was cycling home after selling vegetables when he was knocked down by a truck. The truck driver fled, abandoning the vehicle.

Sohan Lal (32), on a visit to his home from Mumbai, was drowned in the Kandi canal near Bhatolian today when he slipped into the canal. His body was fished out of the canal and removed to hospital.

Dairies in populated areas to be shifted
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 20 — The Punjab Government has decided to shift dairies from populated areas in Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Patiala.

A decision to this effect was taken at meeting of Mayors, Deputy Commissioners and Municipal Commissioners held here today under the chairmanship of Punjab Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal. A three-month notice would be served to dairy owners to shift their establishments to places and sites identified by the respective municipal corporation authorities.

A decision was also taken for earmarking transport areas for the parking of heavy vehicles in urban areas.

Wheat arrival heaviest in Patiala dist
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 20 — All procurement agencies in Punjab will operate on Sundays, keeping in view the heavy arrival of wheat in various mandis.

Stating this here today, Punjab Food and Supply Minister, Mr Madan Mittal, said that nearly five lakh tonnes of wheat was arriving daily in state markets.

Till April 19, as much as 25.37 lakh tonnes of wheat was unloaded in the mandis as against the last year's figure of 4.60 lakh tonnes. He said various government agencies were procuring wheat. The heaviest arrival had been reported from Patiala district where already 4.96 lakh tonnes of wheat had arrived in various markets till date. Sangrur and Ferozepore occupied the second and third places, respectively, in this regard.

1 held, 35 kg poppy husk seized
From Our Correspondent

KHARAR, April 20 — The police here has arrested Pala Khan from Jandpur village nearby following the recovery of 35 kg of poppy husk from his possession. Giving this information here today Mr Rajinder Singh Sohal, SHO Kharar said that a case under the N.D.P.S. Act has been registered against him.

Dharna: Patwaris of Kharar subdivision held a dharna outside the office of the SDM Kharar today in support of their demands. According to Mr Balwinder Singh, president of the association of patwaris despite assurances the government had not met their demands.

Deputation: A deputation of the local C.P.M. unit led by Dr G.S. Jammu secretary, met the SDM Kharar today and demanded that compensation be given to the labourers whose huts were destroyed in a fire in K.T.M. Colony, Kharar a few days ago.

The deputation informed the SDM that huts of nine labourers were destroyed in the fire. The SDM reportedly assured them to look into the matter.

Doctor invited to hold workshops in Pakistan
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 20 — Dr Kuldeep Singh, a consultant surgeon, Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana, has been invited to hold training workshops in Lahore and Peshawar to establish new centres of laproscopic surgery in Pakistan, where this surgery is in its fancy.

Dr Kuldeep Singh said here today that he had gone to participate as guest speaker in the 15th international congress of gastroenterology and G.I. endoscopy and laparoscopic workshop at Quetta in Pakistan where an invitation was extended to him for holding training workshops.

Dr Kuldeep Singh was the only Indian surgeon to attend the congress at Quetta.

Pawan Dewan made DYC chief
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, April 20 — Mr Pawan Dewan has been appointed president of the District Youth Congress (Urban), according to an official announcement here today.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the office-bearers of the Punjab Pradesh Youth Congress and all District Youth Congress chiefs has been convened at Chandigarh on April 26 by the PYC chief, Mr Devinder Babbu, to discuss the current political situation in the state, according to Mr Sushil Malhotra, General Secretary of the PYC.

He said in a statement issued here today that all the DYCs in the state would be constituted soon wherein "honest, dedicated and sincere" workers would be appointed. He also warned those issuing anti-party statements and tarnishing the image of the party. Strict disciplinary action would be taken against those who were criticising the state party leadership. He noted that some of those criticising were posing themselves to be the office-bearers of the party.