Chandigarh, 22 August, 2013: It was a proud moment for Reliance Animation as the candidate, Arun Raj Balasubramani, trained under the tutelage of Sathish Narayanan – Academic Director, Reliance AIMS (Animation Infotainment & Media School), won the “Medallion of Excellence” and “Best of the Nation” award too. The Finance Minister applauded the sincere efforts put in by the team and  felicitated the candidate and training partners, Arbind Prasad – Director General, FICCI and Sathish Narayanan, Academic Director of Reliance AIMS (Education Arm of Reliance Animation).

The other dignitaries present were Jairam Ramesh – Rural Development Minister, Montek Singh Ahluwalia – Deputy Chairman Planning Commission and S.Ramadurai – Chairman of NSDC & NSDA.

“Preparing Arun Balasubramani for WorldSkills Leipzig 2013 required months of training, hard work, and dedication by the team members of Reliance Aims, Pune. We are also grateful to NSDC and FICCI for involving Reliance Aims as ‘knowledge partners’ and providing support,” said Sathish Narayanan.

Expressing his delight Ashish S.K. CEO, Reliance Animation said “We need young people to come forward, excel, and bring talent into the workforce. The trades, technologies and service industries are growing. And we need to keep up with that growth and when it comes to encouraging young talent and providing platform to passionate individuals; Reliance Aims has always come forward and been instrumental”

This took place at Vigyan Bhawan - Delhi, where the honorable Finance Minister – P.Chidambaram unveiled the ‘National Skill Certification’ and ‘Monetary Reward Scheme’ that will be implemented on pan ‐ India basis. While launching the Scheme the Finance Minister said, “This is one of the most ambitious schemes in the country. We have four pillars supporting this. The sector skill councils, the training partners, the assessing agencies, and the young men and women without whom there is no scheme. He called on all four pillars to come together and work towards achieving the National Skilling Mission.”

New Delhi/Jalandhar, August 22, 2013: The Central Bureau of Investigation has  arrested an absconding accused ( who is also a self-styled leader of a Nagaland based outfit) at Jorhat (Assam) in a case relating to alleged murder of W.Rajkumar, the then Member of Parliament from Arunachal Pradesh in the year 2007.
The arrest was made based on an intelligence input from a sister agency and with the active cooperation of State Police.
After investigation, CBI filed a charge sheet in the case   U/s 120B /302/307 IPC and Sec. 25 (IA) (IB)  & 27(2)(3) Arms Act and 16  & 18 of UA (P) Act showing the accused as an absconder.
The arrested accused was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Jorhat (Assam) and was remanded  on transit remand of five (5) days for production before Trial Court in Arunachal Pradesh.

New Delhi/Jalandhar, August 23, 2013: The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested a Senior Section Engineer (Electrical), Vidyut Loco Shed, Bhusawal, Central Railway for demanding & accepting a bribe of Rs.3,000 from the complainant.
A case was registered by CBI against Senior Section Engineer Electrical, Vidyut Loco Shed, Bhusawal, Central Railway for demanding Rs. 10,000 from the complainant working under him, for not marking him absent from duty. It was alleged that the complainant did not attend duty from Augu13.08.13 to 15.08.13 due to ill-health and submitted a Medical certificate to Senior Section Engineer on 16.08.13, but the said engineer demanded a bribe and threatened him that his Leave will not be sanctioned and his absence from duty will be treated as unauthorised absent. CBI laid a trap and the accused was caught red handed at Bhusawal while demanding & accepting a bribe of Rs. 3,000 from the complainant as part payment of demanded bribe amount.
The arrested accused was produced before Special Judge, Jalgaon (Maharashtra) and sent in Police Custody till 23.08.2013.
In ananother case, CBI has arrested an advocate for demanding & accepting a bribe of Rs.2,000 from the Complainant on behalf of a Constable of Railway Protection Force.
A case was registered against a RPF Constable for demanding a bribe of Rs.7,000 from the Complainant for cancellation of Non-Boilable Warrant issued against the Complainant.
CBI laid a trap and the advocate was arrested at Solapur while demanding & accepting part payment of Rs.2,000 from the Complainant on behalf of RPF Constable.
The Constable of Railway Protection Force(RPF) is absconding.
The arrested advocate was produced before the Special Judge, Solapur and remanded to Police Custody till 23.08.2013.

Ludhiana, August 23, 2013: Rs. 33 per day in slums will not stop them from being called poor, the conditions in which these people are living are not up to the defined standards given by recent poverty statistics by Government of India (GoI).

Reality is far away from statistics as people did not have access to clean water, sanitation and what to talk about rest. Most of the children in slums have never stepped into any school and having access to information is totally a myth for this growing India.

These are the major findings of the survey conducted by students of B.Com second year at PCTE group of institutes. The survey was conducted under the guidance of Shweta Miglani, Senior Faculty, Department of Business Management PCTE. Students conducted research in Ludhiana city in selected areas for carrying out survey. The areas selected were slums near Bhagat Singh Nagar, Kitchlu Nagar, Haibowal Area, Dugri and Jamalpur etc.

Shweta said that most of the people had an average family size of 4 to 5 but have only one or two as their working members.  During the survey students found that most of the people are earning Rs.2,500 to Rs.3,000  per month and maximum amount is spend upon basic human need i.e. food. When asked, majority of them said that their income is just to feed their family and if they are left with something, same goes towards their health expenses.

Dr. K.N.S Kang, Director General PCTE Group of institutes said that this survey truly indicates the actual situation of peoples living in slums. He said that government definition of below poverty line people and statistics are not truly reflecting the actual reality on ground.  He congratulated the faculty and students for the efforts and said that PCTE students are developed and groomed through such activities which not only help to develop their logical base but also help them in understanding the economic aspects better.

We are witnessing a steep rise in the offences related to cyber crime causing irreparable damage to a person’s reputation by putting an obscene video on the internet.

Today several such cases where prominent people photographs are merged in form of a collage along with some female having derogatory words on the photograph and our placed on public internet sites such as facebook, whats app etc. with a malafide intention to exploit them for their selfish motive. Such scenes have got bad name for those who are made a target within the society, in such internet hacking cases.

It is equally important for the relevant authorities to initiate strong amendments to the Indecent Representation of Women prohibition Act (IRWA 1986) enabling to strengthen the laws in the Act concerning the indecent projection of women, which could mean atleast a jail for a period of three years for sending a pornographic multimedia SMS or placing photograph on public internet sites such as facebook, whats app etc. as witnessed the law at present is very lenient being bailable offence. Hence our law making agencies need to further enact the porn messages cases to be amended into stringent punishment for the culprits involved in such filthy and inhuman acts.

Today the protection of women needs to be the most important objective by our Government as it has already become a cause of worry regarding the ongoing derogatory messages trend with our society by certain unscrupulous elements who commit this ruthless act, as witnessed in the passed with the permissive attitude to this act towards “porn messages” etc. it had made difficult as the offenders this way have been frequently dismissed as sections 500 or 501 I P C are bailable offences hence without much harm  they escape the scene. Today making laws with stringent punishment and culprit to be sentenced jail in event of being caught placing photograph on public internet sites such as facebook, whats app etc.  porn messages will send a strong message for such offenders and atleast they will think twice before committing such an offence related to pornographic multimedia message.

Even the society needs to boycott such unscrupulous elements who indulge in such ruthless crime. Rather the authorities also need to constitute a separate task force to check the increasing cases of pornographic within our country ensuring that a woman can feel safe and not lose her image in society.

As the term ‘cyber crime’ defines various forms of offenses, including credit card fraud, electronic commerce transactions, computer hacking, pornography, cyber stalking, and software piracy. It is the need of the hour for the authorities concerned to update the existing cyber crime laws enabling stringent punishments to cyber criminals who temper with computer, hack computer systems, and publish information, which is obscene, in electronic form.

(The Author is a Practicing Criminal Lawyer & Former Additional Advocate General, Punjab.)

New Delhi, August 24, 2013: The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) has launched a Placement Portal for its Members and the Corporates. The President of the Institute, S.N. Ananthasubramanian yesterday launched the Placement Portal.

The portal provides free of cost online platform for Corporates and Members of ICSI seeking jobs. Corporates looking for Company Secretaries can register themselves and post their requirements whereas Members searching for jobs can apply directly to the employers.

The portal will work “24X7” for the benefit of Corporates and Members of the Institute.

Chandigarh, August 24, 2013: The state and central governments are playing with the educational future of the Scheduled Castes students as both have failed to provide scholarships to this category for the last three years. Known as the Post Matric Scholarship, this scheme is a Centre-sponsored scheme launched in 1998.

The state government has recently sent a proposal to the Centre to release the last three years' allocation under the scheme amounting to Rs 427 crore. The National Scheduled Castes Alliance has alleged that both the Centre and the state are conspiring to deny SC students the opportunity of higher education.

"This is most unfortunate," said Paramjit Singh Kainth, president, NSCA", adding, “We are warning the Centre and the state that we will be compelled to launch an agitation all over Punjab if the government failed to act on the matter," he added.

"The Congress as well as the Akali-BJP combine have been using the SC community as a vote bank without really caring for their upliftment," said Kainth. "

In Punjab both the parties have created a servile SC leadership that remains mum on issues vital to the SC community in the state assembly," he added.

Ludhiana, August 27, 2013: President of GNPS Committee, Jasbir Singh Ryait has been conferred Punjab Ratan at All India Conference of Intellectuals held at Chandigarh.
The award was presented by Lt Gen K.M. Seth, Former Governor, Chattisgarh, Justice Rajesh Tandon, Member Human Rights Commission U.K. and Prakash Nidhi Sharma, Advocate Supreme Court of India and National General Secretary of All India Conference of Intellectuals.
 Jasbir Singh, who is Industrial Engineer by education from Thapar University, Patiala, has been conferred this honour in recognition of the distinguished services rendered by him in the field of education, social work and Industry. He always been working with the spirit of serving the society through quality education, seeing the long term future of the children, and a tired less and dedicated worker in the Industry.
On this occasion, the eminent personalities of Northern India present were Cabinet Minister Punjab for Industry and Technical Education, Anil Joshi, Padambhushan Prof Jagjeet Singh Arora, Dr Jora Singh, Chancellor Deshbhagat University, Dr KN Pathak, former VC Punjab University , Dr R Kohli, VC DAV University, Jalandhar, Dr Raj Bahadur PGI, Renowned Agriculturist Mewa Singh,  Eminent social worker, Sushil Kumar Malhotra and Brijesh Maria, Chairman, Bharat Maria Sangh.
Principal Mona Singh, Staff and students of GNPS congratulated Jasbir Singh on his success. Ramgarhia Educational Council, Auto Parts Manufacturers Association of India, Federation of Auto Parts Manufacturers, United Cycle & Cycle Parts Association, Knitwear Club, Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings, Society of Automotive Engineers and the Academic Council of Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana and City Air News (www.cityairnews.com) have all heartily congratulated Jasbir Singh on this great achievement.
 

Jalandhar, August 27, 2013: Army conducted a major disaster management exercise called ‘Mountain Rescue’ in aid to civil authorities at the Annadale ground on 26 and 27 Aug 2013.
Major calamities that have struck the Indian sub continent during the last decade have underscored the need to adopt a multi-dimensional, multi disciplinary and multi sectoral approach to disaster management.   With this spirit, the armed forces contribute significantly and are a potent entity available with the central and state governments for disaster response and relief.   The armed forces, by virtue of their organizational strength, motivation, discipline and operational preparedness have always risen to the occasion, earning the appreciation of the environment for their singular contribution towards disaster management.
The aim of the Exercise Mountain Rescue was to practice evacuation of civilian population from the disaster affected areas in the mountains of Himachal. Army Aviation Corps and Air force helicopters practiced casualty evacuation drills in conjunction with the army special forces and regular troops of Jutogh battalion. The exercise was conducted in conjunction with civil administration and fire service department.
The organisational strength of the Army formation and units was in full display during the exercise.   The Army plans to conduct more such exercise in the future to fine tune its disaster management response.

Jalandhar, August 27, 2013: Air marshal PR Sharma, AOP (Air officer incharge personnel) visited 21 Squadron ‘ANKUSH’ at Air Force Station Halwara Yesterday.
He was accompanied by his wife Nilu Sharma. Air Marshal PR Sharma was commissioned as Fighter Pilot in Indian Air Force on 15 Feb 1975. He is a Qualified Flying Instructor and a Test Pilot with over 3000 hours of flying on most types of fighters, transport and trainer aircraft in service. He has commanded a Fighter Squadron and was chief Operations Officer of a Fighter Base. He was Commandant of the prestigious Aircraft and System Testing Establishment, Bangalore and Air Officer Commanding of a Fighter base. During his 38 years of service he has held various important staff appointments at Air HQ, Strategic Force command and Integrated Defence Staff. The Air Officer is an alumnus of Defence Service Staff College (DSSC) Wellington and Royal College of Defence Studies, London.
 21 Squadron of Indian Air Force named as ‘Ankush’ was formed on 16 Oct 65 at Ambala under the command of Wg Cdr ER Fernandes and was equipped with Gnat MKI aircraft. The Squadron also took active part in 1971 war by defending the skies of Barmer sector while operating from Uttarlai in Rajasthan.  In 1976, Squadron moved to Pune and re-equipped as the first MIG 21 Sqn. The Squadron has operated from many bases during its long journey of 48 years like Ambala, Gorakhpur, Uttarlai, Pune, Jamnagar, Chandigarh and many other bases.
 
Air Force Station Halwara witnessed a well synchronised ceremony on this occasion.  The Chief guest was received by Air Commodore RGK Kapoor, Air Officer Commanding Air Force Station Halwara.   An impressive parade contingent gave guard of honour to the Air Marshal.  Later the commanding officer Wing Commander Tahir Shaikh briefed Air Marshal PR Sharma about the Squadron.  The Air Marshal, then addressed all air warriors of 21 Squadron for their untiring efforts.  The Air Marshal and his wife interacted with the officers and their spouses during social evening organised by the Squadron at the officers mess yesterday, Nilu Sharma met the spouses of Air warriors (sanginis) during Squadron event ‘Bara Khana’ held at the Squadron premise.

Chandigarh, August 27, 2013: In a benevolent gesture to help the flood stricken people of Uttarakhand, the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today dispatched a cheque of Rs 5, 18, 75, 916 towards the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for relief and rehabilitation of people affected by natural calamity in Uttarakhand.

Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said that Badal in an enclosed letter with the cheque sent to the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, read: " The natural calamity of flash floods which struck the state of Uttarakhand recently has been an incident of great destruction and misfortune for the inhabitants of the state as well as the tourist visiting it. The Ministers and Chief Parliamentary Secretaries of Punjab, philanthropic non-governmental organizations, associations, individuals and employees of the state government have contributed voluntarily and generously to provide succor to the people affected by the floods".

It may be recalled that Badal personally called on his counterpart in Uttarakhand Vijay Bahuguna on July 5 at Dehradun to express solidarity with the calamity affected people there. The state government had already sent a consignment of 10,000 tons of Wheat flour (Atta) and Rice, 100 tons of sugar besides 10,000 blankets, as a relief measure for the flood victims across the far flung areas of the hilly state. The Chief Minister also agreed to send 10,000 woollen sweaters and pullovers for the victims especially for the women and kids besides the delivery of dry milk powder in the region.

Badal also offered all support and assistance to the Uttarakhand government for the reconstruction of severely damaged ‘Sarai’ building at Gobind Ghat due to massive floods. Apart from this the Chief Minister also announced a grant of Rs. 10 crore for the reconstruction of all the religious shrines including Sri Kedarnath Temple and Gurdwara Gobind Ghat Sahib which had been badly ravaged during the recent floods.

Jalandhar , August 27, 2013: BJP national executive member Manoranjan Kalia, MLA has said Indian Rupee values at the 66-24 per Dollar, which is really a serious matter.

In a statement here today, he apprehended that inflation would further rise in the future. He also feared that India’s import would cost more where as the exporters would be benefited in the future.

Further, he said the problems of Balance of Payments might arise in the future, and asserted that there was a dire need to review the economic policies to strengthen the Indian Rupee against Dollar.

New Delhi/Jalandhar, August 27 2013 : The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested a Junior Engineer, Rail Electrification Section, Rail Nilayam, Secunderabad for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs. 40,000 from the complainant.

A case was registered U/s 7 and 120-B of PC Act, 1988 against a Dy. FA  & CAO,  Secunderabad and a Junior Engineer, Rail Electrification Section, Rail Nilayam, Secunderabad, for demanding illegal gratification of Rs.40,000 from the Complainant (Contractor) to clear the pending bills pertaining to purchase and installation of power traction equipment.  CBI laid a trap and the Junior Engineer was caught red handed while accepting the bribe of Rs.40,000 from the Complainant. Searches were conducted at the residential premises of both accused.  Some incriminating documents were recovered.

The arrested accused was produced before the Special Judge for CBI cases, Hyderabad and remanded to Judicial Custody.

Chandigarh, August 27, 2013: Punjab Irrigation Retired Engineers Association has contributed Rs 7, 14, 202 towards the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for relief and rehabilitation of people affected by floods in Uttarakhand.

Disclosing this here today the President of Association Engineer KL Bhargav said that this contribution towards relief fund has been sent in three installments and the fresh installment of Rs 1, 36, 400 has been sent recently. He said that the 335 members of this association had voluntarily contributed in this fund to provide relief to the victims of floods in Uttarakhand. Er. Bhargav said that the aim of this step was also to inspire the youth for the social service.

Er. Bhargav said that the next aim of the association was to develop skill and acumen amongst the youth so as to make them self employed in order to lessen their frustration due to unemployment, which ultimately results in social unrest. He said that for this motive only the association had organised three seminars in which renowned experts had given tips to youth for enhancing their skills. Er. Bhargav said that the association has also constituted a panel comprising retired officers Mr. AC Sharma (IAS Retd.), Principal S. Choudhary, Dr. RP Bhardwaj, Principal BB Sharma, Additional Director Finance Mr. Ghuman Singh, Er. Kartar Chand, Er. Narinder Sharma, RK Sharma (PCS), Secretary/ Chief Secretary SC Bansal and Er. KL Bhargav. This panel was working on various proposals regarding social work and these proposals would be send to the state and Centre government after the Lok Sabha polls.  

Two then deputy managers and two partners of private firm in CBI case

New Delhi/Jalandhar, August 27, 2013: The Special Judge, CBI Cases, Guwahati (Assam) has convicted Imran Shah, then Advisor of  Assam State Cooperative Agricultural & Rural Development Bank (ASCARD Bank); Khireswar Saikia & Pahar Khan, both then Dy. Managers of ASCARD Bank and   Monoj Kumar Prithani and Sanjeev Kumar Prithani, both Partners of M/s  Brahmaputra Consortium, for the offences U/s 120B, 420 IPC and sentenced them to undergo one year Rigorous Imprisonment  with fine of Rs. 10,000 in two cases for causing loss of Rs.96,924 (approx) to ASCARD Bank. 

Both the cases were registered on February 8, 2001 by CBI on transfer of investigation of Paltan Bazar Police Station Case FIR No. 199/98 and 202/98 in pursuance to the notification by the Government of Assam and Government of India.  On completion of investigation, CBI filed a Charge Sheet on January 7, 2004 U/s 120B, 409 IPC and Section 13(2) R/w Sec. 13(1)(C) of Prevention of Corruption Act  in the court of Special Judge, CBI, Guwahati (Assam). It was alleged that the accused persons had caused loss of Rs. 96,924 (approx) to the ASCARD Bank by making excess payment to M/s Bhramputra Consortium in the award of contract for boring  the deep tube well in Bank’s new building during 1995-1996.

The Trial Court found the accused persons guilty and convicted them.

Dharamsala, August 27, 2013: Himalaya Pariwar, a Tibet support group based in Dharamsala, organised a speech competition on Tibet at Dayanand Model Senior Secondary School here on Teusday.
The students from three Indian schools presented speeches on a wide-range of Tibet-related issues such as Tibet’s independence, security of India, Indo-Tibetan relations, Tibet’s history, environment, culture and religion.
The Dayanand Model Senior Secondary School won the competition.
The chief guest of the show, Rohan Chand Thakur, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Kangra said, “India is an independent nation and we need to support the issue of Tibet transparently without any fear.”
Lobsang Rinkartsang, Additional Secretary of Tibet Policy Institute of the Central Tibetan Administration, was another guest at the function. He mentioned about the special bond between India and Tibet in the field of religion, culture, language and history for thousands of years.
Representatives from Tibetan NGOs like Tibetan Youth Congress and Tibetan Women’s Association attended the event.
The Tibet Museum of the Department of Information and International Relations organised a photo exhibition on the glimpses on the history of Tibet on the occasion. Books and pamphlets on Tibet were distributed to the participants

Says, SAD-BJP government failed to cope with the disaster

Chandigarh/New Delhi, August 27, 2013:  Partap Singh Bajwa President of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) today during 'Zero Hour' raised in the Lok Sabha, the issue of havoc played by floods in Punjab and the failure of SAD-BJP government in managing the flood situation. Thousands of people were marooned and hundreds of villages were inundated, he told the Parliament.

Bajwa demanded immediate deployment of army and other Para-military forces to rescue the villagers from the flood hit areas and allocate special funds to Punjab for undertaking protection measures at war footing.

The PPCC president while explaining the plight of flood hit people said that large number of villages were submerged in water in districts of Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Kapurthala, Ferozepur, Muktsar, Fazilika and Pathankot. The deluge damaged not only the standing crops in lakhs of acres but also left thousands of people homeless and without food. They waited for relief in vain.

Bajwa said that state government had miserable failed in managing this disaster and was found severely wanting in its relief and rescue measures. He said that it was evident that local authorities had no resources to meet the emergency situation. He said that there was no clue where have the funds given by center government for disaster management had gone. He said that Punjab government had made tall claims of spending huge funds on protection works but it turned out a white lie. He also referred to 8000 people were displaced in Muktsar district since August 14 last. Most of them are daily wagers who have no sources of income. He demanded immediate relief to affected people.

Bajwa said that these floods had become recurring phenomena in the border belt causing irreparable damage to the standing crops and houses. These border villages have been getting step motherly treatment from the state government though the central government allocates resources to these Border States under border area development.

He pleaded for special funds from center government for flood relief and also demanded from Punjab government to pay Rs.25,000 per acre for fully damaged crops and Rs.15,000 for the partially damaged crops.

Amritsar, August 28, 2013: The Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today called for the introduction of comprehensive "Free Health Security" for the common man, especially the poor, in the country, on the lines of Food Security.

Speaking at the launch of the "National  Free Drug and Iron Plus Initiative"

scheme at Government Medical College here this morning, the Chief Minister called upon the center to bring a legislation to this effect in the Parliament and promised his party's full support to the measure. He said that it was unfortunate that even after more than 65 years of independence the poor sections were still being deprived off the quality medical Health facilities. He said that need of the hour was to ensure that quality Health services were ensured within the reach of the common man for which this noble initiative was required from the GoI.

Expressing concern over the increasing trend of drug addiction in the state, the Chief Minister also asked the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azaad to raise the issue of unabated drug supply from the borders into Punjab, with the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. He said that agencies manning the borders of the county should be asked to maintain strict vigil so as to check the supply of drugs into the country. He also asked the Union Minister to impose a blanket ban on poppy husk, which was selling freely in states like Rajasthan, so as to preserve the health of the people.

Lauding Azaad for his special affection with the state of Punjab, the Chief Minister said that the former had always acceded to the demands made by the state government for providing quality health services to the people. He said that owing to the concerted efforts made by the state government, Punjab was today leading the country in the field of Health and Education. However he said that a number of things were still needed to be done, for which the active support and cooperation of the Union government was required.

Laying thrust on the need to combat the menace of Cancer, Drug addiction and Female foeticide efficaciously, the Chief Minister said that the GoI must embark a major program to conduct a thorough research for ascertaining the causes of the cancer in the country. He said that it was serious problem confronted by the country and the need of the hour was to take effective steps to counter this disease.

The Chief Minister said that the state government has been constantly making endeavors to tackle this deadly disease. He said that the state government has recently conducted a comprehensive door to door survey for detecting the cancer amongst the people so that it could be checked at the early stage. Likewise Badal said that the medical colleges of Patiala, Amritsar and Faridkot were being upgraded with the latest equipments to impart quality treatment to cancer patients free of cost adding that an advanced Cancer treatment centre was being set up at Bathinda by Baba Farid University.

The Chief Minister also expressed thanks to the GoI for giving its nod to set up world class Cancer treatment Hospital at Mullanpur on the lines of Tata Cancer Hospital. He also thanked the Ministry of Health for approving two satellite centres attached with PGIMER, Chandigarh at Ferozepur and Sangrur. He asked the Union Minister to give one Regional Cancer treatment centre to the state for tackling this grave problem.

Showing deep concern over the grave situation faced by the country, the Chief Minister said that all the political parties of the country must join hands at this critical juncture by avoiding unnecessary criticism of each other. He said that the need of hour was that all the political parties should shun their ideological differences and work towards ushering in an era of unparalleled development in the country.

The Chief Minister also said that country was facing a large number of social maladies due to the weakening of the federal structure in the country. Citing the example of Agriculture, Badal said that though it was a state subject but the centre has usurped its powers by taking the entire control of fixing the prices of crops and cost of agriculture inputs. He said that the country and states could progress only if the Federal structure was implemented in true letter and spirit.

Later in his address the Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azaad lauded the role of state in freedom movement of the country besides making the country self reliant in food production. He said that the GoI had already spent Rs 125 crore for establishing a ‘Super Specialty Hospital’ at Amritsar medical college adding that a similar hospital would also be set up at Medical College Patiala. Azaad also said that out of 20 Regional Cancer centres to be established across the country by GoI, one would be set up in state.

The Union Minister also lauded the role of state in curbing the Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Rate adding that efforts must be made to check the female foeticide. Azaad also exhorted the people the play proactive role in checking the tendency of drug addiction in the state.

The Chief Minister and Union Minister accompanied by Union Health Minister for state Santosh Chaudhary also inaugurated the outlet for free medicine service at Sri Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Medical College Amritsar.

Prominent amongst those present on the occasion included Cabinet Ministers Chunni Lal Bhagat, Madan Mohan Mittal and Anil Joshi, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries Navjot Kaur Sidhu and Mohinder Kaur Josh, Principal Secretary Health Mrs Vinnie Mahajan, Secretary Health Hussan Lal and Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Gurkirat Kirpal Singh.      

Ludhiana, August 28, 2013: Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Avtar Singh Makkar has strongly condemned Neelam Dubey, the spokesperson for Asaram Bapu for her alleged objectionable tirade against the Sikh's first master Guru Nanak Dev.
Addressing a press conference here today, he said the Dubey’s  remarks were “highly condemnable” and these could never by tolerated.
Makkar said how could, Neelam Dubey compare Asaram Bapu with the Sikh Gurus.
He told that the SGPC had already lodged a complaint with the police against Dubey at Amritsar, seeking registration of a case against her for hurting the religious sentiments of Sikhs.
Makkar said they wanted stern punishment for Dubey.
He told that they never “excuse” Dubey for her remarks against the Sikh Gurus.

Dharamsala, August 29, 2013: A slight intensity earthquake measuring 4.7 on the Richter scale on Thursday shook many places of Punjab and Kangra valley in Himachal.
Tremors were felt in Dharamsala, Kangra, Hamirpur, Una, Hoshiarpur, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Gurdaspur districts at 3.43 pm and lasted for a few seconds, the MeT Department said.
There were no immediate reports of any loss of life or property. The epicentre of the quake was in the Hoshiarpur-Himachal Pradesh border region, they said.