Chandigarh: Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday asked Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) to start the process of allotment of houses to all the valid red card holder victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots. He also directed to regularise the allotment of the houses illegally occupied by the red card holders at Ludhiana and Mohali till March 31, 2011. He also directed PUDA to coordinate with the concerned authorities to invite fresh applications and expedite the process. Badal also approved including the names of grand children of the riot victims in their red cards and assured a deputation of the riot victim families that the remaining 109 red cards recommended by Sinha Committee would be issued soon after completion of ongoing inquiry conducted by the Divisional Commissioner, Ludhiana.

Six judges to take oath today

Chandigarh: Six lawyers who were recently elevated as judges of Punjab and Haryana High Court will be administered oath on Friday. The six are: R N Raina; N K Sanghi; Rameshwar Malik; T S Dhindsa; P S Dhaliwal and Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia. Also, the roster for the high court has also been changed. The court will now have eight division benches instead of seven. Moreover, 15 judges will hold Single Benches for adjudicating criminal cases. Also, the number of judges deciding civil matters has been increased from nine to 11. Six Judges would decide writ petitions. The new roster is aimed at speedy disposal for the benefit of litigants.

Anandpur Sahib-Naina Devi ropeway

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has asked his counterpart in Himachal Pradesh, Prem Kumar Dhumal, to seek early clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to pave way for setting up of ropeway between Sri Anandpur Sahib and Naina Devi in public-private partnership mode. Chairing the 29th meeting of Punjab Infrastructure Development Board, Badal called up Dhumal urging him to speed up the process. The meeting also approved the Personal Rapid Transit System (PRT system) to be introduced in Amritsar.

SBI top officer gets HC notice

Chandigarh: Taking a strong note of ‘unfair practices’ wherein the banks without even issuance of notices to the concerned party initiate recovery proceedings through enforcement agencies, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday directed the Chief General Manager of State Bank of India to appear in person on Friday. A division Bench headed by Justice Hemant Gupta issued the directive after the court came across similar actions in a bunch of three petitions.

Dal Khalsa writes to UN on founder

Jalandhar: The Dal Khalsa on Thursday sent a letter to the United Nations (UN) urging it to ensure that the civil and political rights of Gajinder Singh, the founding member of the party who is currently living in exile. Singh was convicted for hijacking an Indian Airlines in 1981, released after completing life term in November 1994 and living at an undisclosed since then. The letter sent to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees at its New Delhi office states that Singh, in international parlance, is a stateless person. Dal Khalsa has urged that he be allowed to live in a country of his choice.

Autorickshaw driver killed in mishap

Jalandhar: An autorickshaw driver was killed on the spot when a speeding truck rammed into his vehicle from the behind sandwiching it between another truck that was in front of the three-wheeler at Pathankot Chaowk in Jalandhar on Thursday. The victim, identified as Raj Kumar, a resident of Avtar Nagar was coming from Bhogpur to Jalandhar.

80 new patients of gastroenteritis

Jalandhar: Nearly 80 more cases of gastroenteritis were detected in Guru Nanak Pura on Thursday taking the total number of patients to 400. The disease, which broke out in the locality a few days back, has already claimed two lives. District health officer Dr R L Bassan said that health teams have been moving in the area and an ambulance has also been stationed there.

Gill is advisor Home, Kaushik new DGP

Chandigarh: Outgoing DGP Paramdeep Singh Gill was on Thursday appointed as advisor to the Home department. Gill’s appointment will come into effect from October 1, as he is due to retire as the state DGP on September 30. Anil Kaushik, a 1975-batch IPS officer, who is currently DGP (Prisons), has been made the new state DGP.

Pay of revenue patwaris hiked