Briefly State

DTO-lawyers stand-off: Probe begins

Punjab Special Secretary,Home,Dr Arvinder Singh recorded the statements of District Transport Officer Jasbir Singh,his staff members and those of the representatives of the Amritsar Bar Association on Wednesday as part of the inquiry into the stand-off between them. The trouble had started after an advocate faced “misbehaviour” in the DTO office last week. Singh said he would submit a detailed report to the chief secretary. He refused to divulge more details,saying he was preparing the report and would examine the facts regarding the unsavory incident that had led to a strike and agitations by lawyers in the city.

Night sky tour at schools

The Pushpa Gujral Science City announced the launch of night sky watching facility for students on the premises of their educational institutes. Dr R S Khandpur,Director General,Science City,said students would be taken on guided tours of night sky gazing through powerful telescopes. High resolution telescopes will show Mars,Venus,Saturn ring,Mercury,craters of the moon and Orion nebula. A few months ago,the facility was introduced at the science city,but on persistent demand from educational institutions,it was decided to make it available on their premises.

PIOs told to be more responsive

Sarvesh Kaushal,Principal Secretary,Information Technology, asked all public information officers (PIOs) and assistant PIOs to be more responsive and quick while disseminating information sought under the Right to Information Act. Addressing the information officers at a seminar organised to train them,Kaushal said there was a need to generate more awareness among applicants and PIOs not only to promote good and transparent governance,but also to help the government improve its functioning. He asked the officers to give valid papers within stipulated time and return the fee if information was not given within 30 days. Referring to rejection of applications,he said the applicant should be communicated in writing,informing the grounds for rejection .

NCSC notice to Punjab govt

Taking serious notice of a petition filed by the Chamar Maha Sabha,the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has directed the Punjab government to file its reply regarding its alleged failure to use over Rs 6,000-crore Central funds released in the last over six years for the welfare of scheduled castes (SC) under the SC Sub Plan. Sabha president Paramjit Singh Kainth said they had received a copy of the direction issued by NCSC Assistant Director R Lakshmi on February 9,2011. SC Sub Plan Director Chaman Lal Wasan,however,said they were yet to receive any letter from the NCSC and would reply accordingly.

Ex-FM’s OSD dares Sukhbir to take on Manpreet

Ousted Punjab finance minister Manpreet Badal’s officer on special duty Charanjit Singh Brar dared Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal on Wednesday to contest the Assembly polls against Manpreet from Gidderbaha and find out who was stronger and had more mass base at grassroot level. Speaking to reporters,Brar accused Sukhbir of misleading the people of the state,especially Gidderbaha constituency represented by Manpreet,by laying foundation stones of the development projects that were already initiated by Manpreet when he was the FM and were nearing completion.

J-K man held with two pistols,charas

The Jalandhar police arrested one Yunus Ahmed Sheikh alias Sheikh Yunus alias Kaka,a resident of Jammu and Kashmir,and recovered two US made .9 mm pistols,four magazines and 1 kg charas from his possession. Police said they had received a tip-off about Yunus coming in a car from Meerut and going towards J&K. He was arrested at a checkpost near Pathankot Chowk.