New Delhi: The Centre has provided 2500 personnel of paramilitary forces to Punjab in order to bring the strife-torn situation to normalcy. It has also assured the State of more assistance if required. "We have rushed 25 companies of CRPF, BSF and RPF to help the Punjab government in bringing peace into the violence-hit areas," a Home Ministry official said. The Home Ministry is in constant touch with the state government and it is regularly monitoring the condition. "It is improving and things are settling down now," the official added. Meanwhile, curfew has been lifted from Ludhiana while in other areas including Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur it has been relaxed further, but security forces are maintaining a strict vigil all over the state. The rail traffic has been restored in the state including the local trains while two special trains have left from Jammu to Delhi to clear the backlog of passengers who were stranded there due to disruption in rail traffic. The protests are over the Vienna incident in which one was killed and nine people were wounded when armed men attacked a preacher and worshippers in a Sikh shrine. (Also see: 40,000 rail passengers stranded)

- May 26, 2009