HT Punjab news digest: ‘Badal behind Behbal Kalan firing’, state buses off roads, and doctors to hold protest over NPA

Been away? Need the news in one go? Here’s a wrap-up from Punjab, the neighbourhood and the diaspora for July 8.

Parkash Badal behind Behbal Kalan firing: Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh

Akali leader Parkash Singh Badal. (HT File Photo)

Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday held Akali leader Parkash Singh Badal responsible for the Behbal Kalan police firing in the wake of the 2015 Bargari sacrilege incident, saying he was sure the fresh commission of inquiry probing the matter would expose the involvement of the former chief minister. Read full story here

No Punjab state-run buses to Delhi, other Haryana routes on Monday as INLD sticks to protest call over SYL

In the wake of the threat by Haryana opposition party Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) to prevent entry of Punjab government vehicles into the state on July 10 over the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal row, the Punjab government has decided not to ply its buses to Delhi and other Haryana routes on the day of the protest to avoid any standoff. Read full story here

Punjab, Haryana doctors to hold protest over 5% cut in non-practice allowance

In a monetary setback to doctors working under Union government, the Centre has notified decrease in the non-practising allowance (NPA), which is given to them for loss of opportunity to practice in private capacity, from the existing 25% to 20% of the basic salary. This has created fear of decrease in salary among state government doctors in Punjab and Haryana too, and they are planning to hold protest. Read full story here

As anger among the Pakistani Sikhs continues to grow after the Indian Government denied permission to Sikh Jathas to visit Pakistan for security reasons, the Pakistan Sikh Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee ( PSGPC) has decided to raise the matter at the United Nations. Read full story here

Cable controversy in Punjab: Why Sidhu is fast and furious on Fastway?

In an election fought against business interests of the Badal family, the Congress promised both sops and clean-up of the system by ending the family’s “monopoly” – from roads to airwaves. Read full story here

Cancer train to become history as Bathinda institute gets Rs 25-crore treatment machine

The train carrying cancer patients from the Malwa region of Punjab to Rajasthan will become history with Bathinda Advanced Cancer Institute getting a Rs 25-crore linear accelerator machine for treatment. Read full story here

Minor girl’s rape-murder sparks public outrage in Himachal Pradesh

Public outrage mounted on Saturday as police were still clueless in the rape and murder of a 14-year-old schoolgirl in the Kotkhai area of Shimla district. Read full story here

Truck operators in Punjab to stay off road tomorrow

As many as 93,000 trucks will go off road on Sunday in Punjab with transporters deciding to hold a ‘chakka jam’ protest against the state government’s move regarding disbanding truck unions in the state. Read full story here

Police on toes ahead of INLD plan to stop Punjab-Haryana traffic over SYL row

Senior officers of Haryana and Punjab met in Chandigarh on Friday to review preparations following the threat by Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) to prevent entry of Punjab government vehicles into the neighbouring state on July 10 over the decades-old Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal row. Read full story here

Punjab’s border belt loses basmati aroma as area under sowing falls by 90% in 5 years

Pure, traditional aromatic basmati, once the main export of the three border districts of Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran, is now on the verge of extinction. Basmati-386 that once brought fame to the region for its aroma and the length of its grain, is now grown on only 10% of the area it was grown just five years ago, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, has estimated. Read full story here

For more stories, visit www.punjab.ht

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