Smita

All trains running on the Pathankot-Amritsar track were halted for three hours today after calls about bombs being planted on the track were received here. A phone call from the Divisional Manager, Ferozepur, to the control rooms of the Gurdaspur and Pathankot police in the forenoon today claiming that a bomb was planted by militants somewhere on…[Read more]

Congress president Sonia Gandhi will take a decision on replacing Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Partap Singh Bajwa within five days. This was stated by former Chief Minister and Deputy Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Capt Amarinder Singh here today. Sonia’s decision would end factionalism in the Punjab Congress, he said. H…[Read more]

Around 30,000 tonnes of potato stored in a cold store at Tarkhanwala in Rama block of Bathinda has rotted due to the alleged negligence of the owner, leaving a number of farmers in the lurch. Though the owner has reportedly assured the farmers to return their money or purchase potato bags from other cold stores, farmers are apprehensive. They…[Read more]

A large number of anganwari centres are running from dilapidated and unsafe buildings in Muktsar district, putting the lives of children at risk. Though the authorities concerned are well aware of the fact, they seem to be least bothered about the situation. “The district has 842 anganwari centres, out of which 208 are in good condition, 28 are b…[Read more]

Traffic remained blocked on Tinkoni road in Mansa for over an hour today after a scuffle between private transporters and students in front of local police station. Some students of Mata Sundari Girls College and Nehru Memorial Government College boarded a Gobind Transport bus. The students refused to give bus fare, following which a scuffle broke…[Read more]

A day after sugarcane farmers, who had blocked rail and road traffic in Jalandhar for seven hours, were assured that an FIR lodged against them for a protest at Mukerian would be cancelled, the Railway Protection Force booked around 3,000 protesters for disrupting rail traffic. The growers were also assured of an early payment of their dues. The…[Read more]

While Army veterans are on chain hunger strike to fight for One Rank, One Pension (OROP), a 95-year-old former Risaldar, settled in Canada, has been struggling to get his pension arrears released for the past five decades. Santa Singh represented the 8 Cavalry during the Second World War in Libya (North Africa). A retired Army officer is now…[Read more]

Two months after the business interests of the Badals came under the judicial scanner with an anonymous writer questioning the permissibility of elected representatives owning commercial ventures, the issue echoed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court once again. As the case came up for resumed hearing, amicus curiae or the friend of the court,…[Read more]

The strike called by central trade unions gave a harrowing time to the city residents, especially commuters as all Punjab Roadways and PRTC buses remained off roads. The disruption in rail traffic due to a protest by farmers’ bodies came as a double whammy as many trains, including the New Delhi-Amritsar Shatabdi Express, were held up for s…[Read more]

The state government has asked private sugar mills to clear their pending dues of Rs209 crore to the cane growers as soon as possible. With the issue of non-payment of dues snowballing into a major movement, the government, having cleared dues of its seven cooperative sugar mills, is now asking private mills to follow the suit.

Depot holders in Bathinda are supplying loose and adulterated wheat to the beneficiaries of the Atta-Dal scheme and are also asking them to cough up extra charges for gunny bags, thereby openly flouting regulations. Beneficiaries, who fail to furnish their Aadhaar cards, are also being denied the supply. Although the government has clearly laid…[Read more]

Punjab will get just 40 per cent of its total requirement of finance for clearing dues of sugarcane growers, in the Rs6,000 crore package for cane growers approved by the Union Government in June. While almost all sugar mills in Punjab – nine cooperative and seven private — have already paid 80 per cent of the dues to the farmers, together the…[Read more]

Veteran Congress leader Capt Amarinder Singh today launched his “Mission-2017” campaign in Faridkot district. The former Chief Minister and his supporters projected him (Amarinder) as the best-suited candidate for the chief minister’s post for the 2017 Assembly elections. Making indirect reference to his rivals in the party, Amarinder said only…[Read more]

The BJP, which has been hitherto confronting its coalition partner and long-term ally—the SAD — on terror links and drugs, seems to have been caught on the wrong foot with its several leaders getting booked in similar cases over the past sometime. In the latest development, BJP (Rural) Minority Morcha district president Jarnail Singh (alias Jud…[Read more]

Under the banner of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Rajewal), thousands of farmers held a demonstration here today to seek action against private sugar mills allegedly playing foul with sugarcane growers in the state. In a memorandum submitted at the office of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, BKU leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said that action should be…[Read more]

Around 54,400 bags of wheat stored in open plinths by the Punjab Agro Foodgrains Corporation (PAFC) at Nihalsinghwala in Moga district were damaged due to rain and adverse weather conditions. Insiders in the PAFC revealed that the huge quantity of wheat got damaged due to negligence of a few staff members against whom an inquiry had already been…[Read more]

Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia today said that it was amusing for him that Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer Niranjan Singh yesterday blamed him for his transfer. “It is amusing to me. The officer did not even think that the matter is sub judice,” said Bikram Majithia on the submission of ED Assistant Director’s counsel in the high…[Read more]

Agriculture Minister Tota Singh today asked Financial Commissioner (Development) G. Vajralingham to inquire into the cases where private sugar mills have taken loans on behalf of cane farmers. “It is a serious matter and strict action should be taken in case anybody is found indulging in such practices,” he said. He urged the private sugar mil…[Read more]

The SGPC move to appoint Harcharan Singh as its chief secretary has drawn strong criticism from several quarters, including some SGPC executive members from the opposition, besides Sikh organisations and intellectuals. Mangal Singh, SGPC executive member, questioned the decision, saying, “The SGPC already has an army of secretaries. There are t…[Read more]

Poor fiscal health of the state government seems to be the reason behind the partial release of dearness allowance to the government employees for the past year-and-a-half. It now seems to be a norm to release only a portion of the DA while keeping the arrears pending. The government today cleared the proposal to grant 6 per cent DA to its…[Read more]