Amritsar, Aug. 5: Giani Gurbachan Singh was today named the acting Jathedar of the Akal Takht, a day after his predecessor, Joginder Singh Vedanti, resigned from the same post.

The Akal Takht is the highest temporal seat of the Sikh community. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (SGPC) had asked for Vedanti's resignation on Monday night, and on Tuesday, it accepted it formally.

Earlier, Vedanti told reporters that SGPC General Secretary Sukhdev Singh Bhaur and Executive Member Rajinder Singh Mehta had asked for his resignation.

Medical service provider Fortis Health Care has decided to establish a medical institute that will also have a cancer research hospital, in Punjab with an initial investment of Rs 100 crore.

Fortis Healthcare CEO Shivinder Singh stated, “We have submitted a detailed plan to Punjab Government to upgrade the healthcare services in the state, which includes setting a medical education centre that would include nursing school, OPD centre and a large cancer hospital.”

Ferozepur (Punjab), July 28 : Could you believe that Punjabi is being ignored in Punjab and of all places in Ferozepur district ? That is the claim of Pakistan Radio in its Punjabi Darbar programme.

Residents of Ferozepur were in for a surprise recently to hear in the Punjabi Darbar programme that the Punjab Government was sidelining Punjabi language to promote Hindi at workplaces and in the education system of the State.

Kapurthala, July 27 : Former president Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam will visit Kali Bein in Punjab’s Kapurthala District today, to participate in the concluding function to mark the eighth anniversary of ‘kar sewa’ of the holy river.

This will be his second visit to the Kali Bein. Earlier, recognizing Baba Seechewal''s relentless service to clean the Bein, he visited the holy river two years ago.

Kali Bein is sacred to the Sikhs for its association with Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism.

Amritsar, July 23: Normal life was hit across Punjab on Wednesday, as activists of several Sikh organizations stopped trains and buses in response to a shutdown call given by Harnam Singh Dhuma, the chief of the Damdami Taksal (Bhindranwala) against the killing of a Sikh in Dabwali in Sirsa District on July 18, allegedly by the followers of the controversial Dera Sacha Sauda.

Sant Samaj activists squatted on railway tracks near Vala village in Amritsar District and stopped the Garib Rath Express, railway officials said.