Briefly State

‘Manpreet’s desertion part of Cong design’
Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal general secretary and Rajya Sabha Member Balwinder Singh Bhunder said Manpreet Singh Badal deserted the Akali Dal as part of a conspiracy hatched by the Congress to weaken the party. In a statement issued on Wednesday,Bhunder said the “theatrics of Manpreet” would have no impact on the SAD-BJP and it would win the Assembly elections with a thumping majority.

‘Govt to motivate NRIs to invest in Punjab’
Chandigarh: The Punjab government will redress the grievances of NRIs,by taking initiatives to sort out the long pending civil and criminal cases,and motivate them to invest in their home state in a big way. Chairman of the NRI wing of Shiromani Akali Dal Surjit Singh Rakhra said the entire land record had been put on Internet to bring in transparency and accountability in the system of land revenue,besides enabling the NRIs to access to their land record in a hassle-free manner. He said the NRI Suvidha Kendra at Jalandhar would provide single window service for all government affairs.

Gobindgarh to have India’s first ‘hybrid mall’
Chandigarh: Learning lessons from deserted malls across north India and the 2008 recession,a corporate group is launching India’s first ‘hybrid mall’ in the industrial town of Gobindgarh in Punjab,with air-conditioned shops and non-AC open areas. The mall,called The Celebration Bazaar,is being opened by Advance India Projects Limited. Talking to the media,its director Harinder Singh said the new mall concept would significantly bring down operational costs for retailers and usher in a new trend. He added that the mall,spread over three acres,would feature a rooftop water park imported from Canada. Gobindgarh is also the town chosen by AIPL Ambuja to set up a township over 88 acres. Singh said the group was investing Rs 2,000 crore in Punjab.

Govt meeting expenses from loans: Capt
Chandigarh: In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh has sought his intervention to issue suitable instructions to banks to carry out detailed scrutiny before any loan is sanctioned to any public sector enterprise in Punjab. The letter says: “The bonds are apparently to be serviced and redeemed from the future proceeds of the infrastructure fee levied on foodgrains and petrol accruing to the Punjab Infrastructure Board. However,levy of this fee itself is facing a legal challenge in the Supreme Court and this revenue stream will dry up in the event of the fee being struck down.”

Sukhbir seeks apology from Amarinder
Patiala: Buoyed with the state’s 8.8 per cent growth rate,Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said the growth rate was above the national average of 7.4 per cent and had falsified all claims made by the Opposition. He was Thikriwal village of Barnala district on Wednesday to pay tributes to Akali leader Sewa Singh Thikriwal,who was a proponent of Prajamandal movement and had demanded democratic rights for the public under the erstwhile royal estate of Patiala. He had died in a Patiala prison on this day in 1935. Taking a dig at former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh for “doubting the growth of the state under the Akali regime”,Sukhbir sought a public apology from him “for misleading the public”,as the release of growth figures was by a Central government organisation.

Chandumajra son is MD of Coop Bank
Patiala: Harinderpal Singh Chandumajra,son of Shiromani Akali Dal general secretary Prem Singh Chandumajra,was appointed as the managing director of Patiala Central Cooperative Bank Limited on Tuesday. On the other hand,veteran Akali leader Ram Singh Jogipur was sworn in as chairman of the bank.