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TOP STORIES

Govt plans 1,200-acre seed farm on border
Chandigarh, October 16
The government has decided to purchase about 1,200 acres from farmers on India-Pakistan border in Rania sector and turn it into a seed farm. The land has remained uncultivated for the past many years, causing a great financial setback to border farmers.

Grain Drain
Rain shatters farmers’ hopes of good returns
Bathinda, October 16
The high-velocity hailstorm and rain that lashed this cotton belt this morning, caused extensive damage to the paddy and cotton produce lying in various mandis.

Basmati flattened
Amritsar, October 16
The Basmati belt of Ajnala and majitha in this border district was hit by the hailstorm accompanied by rain.

Bonus a cruel joke: Badals
Chandigarh, October 16
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has described the bonus of Rs 50 on paddy as a cruel joke on Punjab farmers in the midst of an agrarian crisis.

CPM removes state secy
Accused of moral turpitude
Chandigarh, October 16
The CPM today removed its state secretary Prof Balwant Singh from all party positions after he was accused of moral turpitude. He has also been suspended from the primary membership of the party.

When whites campaigned in Punjabi
Jalandhar, October 16
In the recently concluded elections for Canadian Parliament, many white candidates campaigned in Punjabi, obviously to seek votes from members of the Punjabi community who have settled in sizable numbers in various parts of Canada.

POLITICS

Dullo keen on Hoshiarpur Lok Sabha seat
Phagwara, October 16
Former PPCC president Shamsher Singh Dullo is interested to contest the coming parliamentary elections from the Hoshiarpur reserved constituency.

Cong to launch stir
Chandigarh, October 16
Punjab Congress president Mohinder Singh Kaypee today announced that the party would start an agitation from October 20 to pressurise the SAD-BJP government to step up the procure process.

COMMUNITY

Inside Babudom
Jalandhar boy is special director, CBI
Chandigarh, October 16
While Jagmohan Singh, an IAS officer of the 1983 batch, is here in connection with the holding of Poompuhar, a cultural extravaganza of Tamil Nadu, another civil service officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre and belonging to Punjab is in news.

Women get mehndi applied on their hands on the eve of Karva Chauth in Amritsar on Thursday. Photo: Vishal Kumar

Land row: Mutations to be reviewed
Chandigarh, October 16
Financial commissioner (revenue) Romila Dubey has decided to review the mutations in land record of over 500 acres of land of Mullanpur Garibdass village, situated near here. Recalling all records relating to the case from the SDM, Kharar, Dubey today issued notices to the parties concerned. The case would now be heard by the commissioner on October 24.

Gurta Gaddi Diwas
CM releases gold, silver medallions
Chandigarh, October 16
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today released a pictorial album “Beksan-Ra-Yaar - Guru Gobind Singh” on the life and philosophy of tenth master of Sikhs Guru Gobind Singh and gold and silver medallions of 10 gram and 50 gram each dedicated to the tercentenary celebrations of Gurta Gaddi Diwas of the Guru Granth Sahib here.

Rs 137.43 cr to tame Ghaggar
Chandigarh, October 16
To protect land and crops from floods, the Punjab government will spend Rs 137.43 crore to strengthen and widen the Ghaggar from Khanouri to Karail and Khanouri to Makrour Sahib in Sangrur district.

BSF delegation returns from Pakistan
Amritsar, October 16
An 18-member delegation of the Border Security Force (BSF), led by U.K. Bansal, additional-director general (west), today returned after days of marathon meetings on various Indo-Pak border issues, including smuggling of narcotics, fake Indian currency notes, arms and upsurge in Jammu and Kashmir, from the Attari-Wagah joint check-post, 26 km from here, today.

Vision plan for Milkfed
Chandigarh, October 16
The Punjab government has embarked upon a new vision plan to transform Milkfed into a fully modern and professional organisation of national level. The vision plan is being finalised with the assistance of Rabo Bank and NABARD and would be implemented in the coming two months.

Agencies told to lift paddy in 24 hrs
Sangrur, October 16
Financial commissioner (rural development and panchayats) G.S. Sandhu today directed officials of the procurement agencies to ensure the lifting of paddy from the grain markets in 24 hours instead of 72 hours, as paddy arrival in Sangrur district had been picking up daily.

Punjab ready to help in Kanishka probe
Chandigarh, October 16
The Punjab government today said that the state was ready to provide all assistance to the Canadian authorities regarding the Air India Kanishka crash in which 329 persons, mostly of Indian origin, were killed. The CM said the Punjab police would give all assistance to its Canadian counterpart into the reinvestigation of the bombing of the Air India flight on June 23, 1985.

CRIME

Acid attack: 3 accused arrested
Moga, October 16
The police today arrested all three youths who were allegedly involved in the acid attack on a Dalit woman of nearby Ghal Kalan village.

Remand for Patiala shooting case accused
PATIALA: One of the accused in yesterday’s firing incident that occurred near the venue of the Punjabi University zonal youth festival was remanded in police custody today.

1 dies as SHO’s gunman rams car into tempo
KHANNA: The gunman of the Payal area’s SHO who was allegedly drunk rammed his jeep into a tempo, killing one person and seriously injuring seven this evening. The gunman, identified as Jasvir Singh, also sustained serious injuries and was rushed to Khanna Civil Hospital.

Diamond robbery: 4 more held
LUDHIANA: The CIA staff, Jalandhar, today nabbed four more persons for the robbery of diamonds worth Rs 3.52 crore involving son of SSP (Vigilance), Patiala, Mohit Sharma.