Bus, train to Lahore find few takers from Amritsar

October 13th, 2009 AMRITSAR - Amritsar is all set to host the 10-day 'Peace Festival 2009' from Wednesday that will see the participation of around 90 artists and activists from neighbouring Pakistan. This festival is being organised by the South Asia Foundation, a non-profit organisation that has eight autonomous chapters in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

September 21st, 2009 AMRITSAR - A group of local Congress party leaders in Amritsar on Monday lodged an 'online complaint' about the 'missing' BJP leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, who represents their Amritsar constituency in Parliament. Rajkumar Verka, a former Congress MLA, told media persons that he had lodged an online complaint in the Civil Lines police station here for registration of an FIR on behalf of the public of Amritsar, stating Sidhu has gone missing from his LS constituency.

July 22nd, 2009 AMRITSAR - Two air-conditioned coaches of the Golden Temple express train were badly damaged Wednesday after they caught fire, railway officials said here. The coaches, which did not have any passengers, were at the Amritsar railway station when the incident took place.

July 22nd, 2009 AMRITSAR - A coach of a stationary train caught fire here on Wednesday. However, no casualties were reported.

July 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - For the first time in the history, non-stop train service is being introduced in India. The non-stop train service 'Duronto' will have AC and non-AC sleepers and will run between select cities throughout the country.

May 26th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - At least 40,000 train passengers have been left stranded inside and outside railway stations across Punjab following disruption of railway traffic by supporters of a Sikh outfit. Public unrest and violence in the state has also affected the movement of buses.

May 8th, 2009 AMRITSAR - The customs staff posted at the Attari railway station, Amritsar, seized fake Indian currency worth Rs one lakh fifty thousand from a lady passenger Shakila, coming from Pakistan in Samjhauta Express last night. Taking to reporters here, S.

April 8th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Rail traffic in Punjab was disrupted Wednesday with several trains stopped as protesters, angry over the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) clearance to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler of involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, blocked tracks in several places. In Amritsar, about 250 km from here, the long distance Amritsar-Darbhanga Flying Express was stopped.

April 8th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Several trains going through Punjab were stopped and many delayed as protesters, angry over the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) exonerating Congress leader Jagdish Tytler of involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, squatted on tracks in several places in the state. Forced to carry their luggage in some places, hundreds of passengers were inconvenienced with important trains like the long-distance Flying Express from Amritsar to Darbhanga cancelled and others such as the Amritsar-New Delhi Shatabdi and the Dadar-Amritsar Express delayed.

April 3rd, 2009 AMRITSAR - Pakistani security authorities Friday allowed the Amritsar-Lahore-Nankana Sahib peace bus between the two countries to enter its territory, but the bus did not have any passengers. Border Security Force (BSF) officials at the Attari border, 30 km from here, said that the bus was allowed to cross the international border gates with only its crew on board.

April 2nd, 2009 AMRITSAR - Uncertainty prevails over the India-Pakistan peace bus being allowed to enter Pakistani territory Friday by authorities in that country in the wake of the recent terrorist strikes near Lahore. The Amritsar-Lahore 'Punjab-Aab' bus will leave this city for its journey till Lahore city in Pakistan, 55 km from here, Friday.

March 2nd, 2009 AMRITSAR - One person was killed when the Amritsar bound Paschim Express late Sunday evening rammed into a tractor-trolley that was loaded with green chillies near here, the police said. According to the police, both the engine driver and the tractor driver were seriously injured in the accident and were taken to the hospital.

February 21st, 2009 AMRITSAR - A Pakistani driver and a guard of a goods train that arrived at the Attari border railway station in India from Pakistan Friday were questioned by customs officials following the recovery of a large quantity of poppy seeds from the train's engine. The driver, Mohammed Ali, and a guard of the train were questioned by the customs and security officials after the goods train arrived at Attari, 30 km from here.

February 8th, 2009 AMRITSAR - Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu Monday blocked the way to a train in this Punjab city to protest the non-inclusion of Amritsar in the railway freight corridor plan. Sporting black flags and banners against the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, Sidhu, who is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha member from Amritsar, and his supporters squatted on the railway track at the Amritsar station, delaying the departure of the Amritsar-Ambala train.

January 31st, 2009 AMRITSAR - Two Nigerian nationals were arrested in Punjab's Amritsar district Sunday in possession of five kg heroin, the police said. The Nigerians, Beleth and Emiko, were arrested following a trap laid by the Amritsar police near Rayya town, 40 km from here, on the Amritsar-Jalandhar national highway.