Briefly state

Unesco consultant visits Khalsa College

Amritsar:Freelance architectural conservationist and Unesco consultant Bert Praxenthaler on Thursday said if required he will offer consultancy services for restoring 120-year-old Khalsa College building. Bert said he may take up the matter with Unseco if the Khalsa College Governing Council (KCGC) sought so. Bert was instrumental in restoring the ancient Bamiyan Budha statues in Afghanistan.

Now,a Punjabi film festival

Chandigarh:Punjab government will organise Punjabi Film Festival every year on the lines of Indian Film Festival,Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said on Thursday. He was apeaking on the sidelines of the premiere of “Aaj De Ranjhe”,directed by Manmohan Singh.

Ajaib Singh takes oath as NCM member

New Delhi:Academician Ajaib Singh on Thursday took oath as a member of the National Commission of Minorities (NCM). Singh,who recently resigned as Head of Department of Life Long Learning and Extension at Punjab University,Chandigarh,took oath in the presence of NCM Chairman Wajahat Habibullah for a three-year term.

Consular access to Sarabjit sought

New Delhi:India has sought special consular access to Sarabjit Singh,on a death row in Pakistan for over two decades,after he complained of ill treatment. “Centre has seen communications from Sarabjit regarding his ill treatment in Pakistan jail. In view of these reports,High Commission of India in Islamabad,has approached the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,Pakistan,to provide special consular access to Sarabjit Singh at an early date,” Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahmed said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

Service lanes along all highways

Chandigarh:Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has asked the public works department to construct service lanes along all state and national highways to check direct entry of vehicles. Expressing concern over mushrooming of high-rises along the national highways,he asked the department to ensure that there is enough margin between the buildings and the road as per permissible norms

Singer Sufi passes away

Ludhiana:Punjabi singer Hakam Sufi passed away at his Gidderbaha residence in Muktsar district on September 5. Singer Gurdas Mann said,“We have lost a great singer.” Sufi has songs like paani vich maran dhita,kardi pair roz udkina,charkhe dee tut gayee maal and koka krava de mahiyan ve koka to his credit.

PAU V-C inspects guar-growing areas

Ludhiana:Following a story published in The Indian Express “Diversification from paddy in mire,guar crop plagued by ‘disease’” on September 6,Dr Baldev Singh Dhillon,Vice-Chancellor,Punjab Agricultural University,on Thursday met farmers whose crop has been affected. Dhillon asked Dr P S Chahal,Associate Director of Research,to nominate a person to examine the crop and advise remedies. “I have also asked M S Gill,Director Extension,to set up a panel to survey the crop growing areas Ludhiana and Bathinda,” Dhillon said.

3 smugglers give cops a miss

Jalandhar:Jalandhar Police registered a case against three drug smugglers and over two dozen people for attacking the police and helping the smugglers escape. The police had reportedly managed to trap the smugglers living in Ali Mohalla on a tip off. As the police were putting them in a vehicle,their supporters started pelting stones at the police and managed to rescue the smugglers.

‘Govt to include 41 services in RTS Act’

Fazilka:Right to Information Commissioner Dalbir Singh Verka on Thursday said that the government will soon include 41 more services under the Right to Service Act. He claimed that after the implementation of the RTS Act,public grievances have reduced.