R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
Rath yatra: A "rath yatra" was taken out here on Wednesday by followers of Prajapita Brahm Kumari Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya for a journey to the holy shrine of Amarnath in Jammu and Kashmir.

BATHINDA
Pistol recovered: The police has recovered a pistol and two cartridges from Ajay Kumar, a local resident. In a press note issued here on Wednesday, Mr Jatinder Kumar Jain, SSP, said the police had also seized opium, poppy husk and illicit liquor in its campaign against anti-social elements in the district.

HOSHIARPUR
Four held: The Garhshanker police has arrested Hajari Singh, his father, Fauja Singh, and brothers, Kesar Singh and Mohinder Singh, all residents of Jhugian village under Sections 302 and 34, IPC, on a charge of murdering Lakhpati on January 11. This was disclosed by Mr R.P. Mittal, SSP, here on Wednesday. The accused have been sent to the judicial lock-up.

Criticised: Workers of the Janata Dal, sarpanches and panches of Hoshiarpur on Thursday condemned the administration for non-payment of old age pensions. They also criticised the Municipal Council for poor maintenance of roads.

No salary: Resentment prevails among teaching and non-teaching staff of Khalsa College, Garhdiwala, for not getting their salaries for the past five months. Prof Paramjit Singh, President, College Lecturers Union, demanded immediate release of salaries.

JALANDHAR
Murder: A woman, in her fifties, was found murdered and her gold earrings removed at her home in Jandusingha village on Thursday, the police said. Mrs Gurdish Kaur, the widow who lives alone at home, suffered head injury which proved fatal. The Adampur police has registered a case of murder.

Missing: A teenaged deaf and dumb boy, reportedly missing since January 15, has not been traced so far. The boy's father, Sarwan Kumar, in his complaint of the disappearance of the 19-year-old Amarjeet, said his son was sent out on job work by his employer but he neither returned home nor reported back to his employer.

KAPURTHALA
Camp: The local Rotary Club will organise a three-day free heart check-up camp from January 28, according to Mr Kanwaljit Singh Walia, Secretary of the club. He said on January 28 and 29 a camp would be held at Rotary Bhavan and on January 30 at the local MDSD Senior Secondary School.

NAWANSHAHR
Merger: Mr Gurmukh Singh Daler, President, Sarb Samaj Party, on Wednesday announced here the merger of his party with the BSP.

CHANDIGARH

CHANDIGARH
Medal awarded: Wing Commander Sher Singh Tiwana of Rajpura has been awarded the Vayu Sena Medal for distinguished service as Chief Operations Officer of 19-F BSU, a unit responsible for air maintenance of Siachen Glacier. He is currently serving as the Commanding Officer of 130 Helicopter Unit, which has actively participated in the Kargil operations.

Blood donation: The National Integrated Medical Association, UT branch, and Rajasthan Parishad will organise a blood donation camp at Rajasthan Bhawan, Sector 33, on Sunday, to mark the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chander Bose.

Patients examined: As many as 300 patients were examined at a free medical check-up camp organised by Lions Club Chandigarh Greater at its multi-purpose project building at Karsan on Thursday.

Lohri celebrations: About 200 women participated in the Lohri celebrations organised by the Thursday Ladies Club, Sector 9, at the Sector 9 Central Club on Thursday.

Kavi darbar: The Punjabi Sahitya Sabha of Government High School, Sector 40, organised a kavi darbar in the school campus on Thursday, in which poems were read out by 26 teachers and students.

SAS NAGAR
Office-bearers: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local wing of the ITI Employees Union, Punjab: President — Mr Jaswant Singh; Secretary — Mr Amarjit Singh and Cashier — Mr Sheriqbal Singh.

Community talk: A community talk and video show on "Causes and management of diarrhoea was organised by the Ranbaxy Community Healthcare Society at Mohali village on Wednesday. As many as 50 mothers participated in the talk. A demonstration on preparation of ORS mixture was also given.

Elected: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Market Welfare Association, Sector 46: President — Mr Balwinder Singh; Vice-President — Mr Rajesh Raja; General Secretary — Mr R. K. Bhargava; and Press Secretary — Mr Anil Katyal.

HARYANA

ROHTAK
Charge taken: Dr S.B. Siwach, Professor and Head of the Department of Medicine, Pt B.D. Sharma Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, has taken over as Director of the institute.

Robbery: In a daring incident of robbery, four armed youths looted cash and jewellery from the house of Mr Madan Lal Gupta at Khui Wali Gali here at gunpoint on Thursday. The incident was reported to the police.

SONEPAT
Telephone bills: The Department of Telecommunications has introduced a scheme for providing the details of STD calls along with the telephone bills with immediate effect. Mr Chander Shekhar, District Manager, told mediapersons here on Thursday that the scheme would also be introduced at Ganaur, Kharkhauda, Murthal, Kundli and Gohana telephone exchanges.

Medical camp: The Batra Hospital and Heart Centre will organise a free medical check-up camp at Batra Hospital here on January 23.

SIRSA
Conference: The local unit of the IMA organised a regional conference here which was attended by 150 doctors from Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan. The session was chaired by Dr V.K. Kak, Director-cum-Principal, Chandigarh Medical College. The guest speakers were Dr P. Bambery, Dr Abeer Saraswat, Dr Sarla Malhotra, Dr M. Bharvava and Dr Murlidharan.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
Free eye camp: "Chetna", a social organisation, has sent a truck loaded with woollen clothes and blankets for the cyclone-hit people of Orissa. Dr Mallika Nadda, general secretary of the organisation, flagged off the truck here on Wednesday. Dr Nadda said a three-day free eye check-up and operation camp would be held at the Community Hospital, Ghumarwin, from January 20.

Contests result: The District Public Relations Department organised a slogan writing competitions on "prohibition" in three schools. Sanjay Kumar, Swadesh Kumari and Anita Kumari were declared first, second and third, respectively at Government Senior Secondary School, Talai, while Vanita Kumari, Rajesh Kondal and Bhupinder Singh and Subhash Chander were declared first, second and third at Government Senior Secondary School, Panjgain. Rajnish Sharma, Sapna Kanwar and Susheel Thakur stood first, second and third, respectively, at Government Senior Secondary School, Kandraur.

HAMIRPUR
Inauguration: The Himachal Government will lay emphasis on the promotion of the ayurveda system of medicine in the state. Mr Ishwar Dass Dhiman, Education Minister, said this at Jahoo village in Hamirpur district while inaugurating a camp on high blood pressure on Thursday. Dr Prithi Raj Sharma, in charge of the camp, said more than 700 patients were examined.

KANGRA
Announced: The Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Prof P.K. Dhumal, on Wednesday said all primary schools in the state would have at least three rooms by March, 2002. He announced this while addressing a public meeting at Chhaib, near Kangra, after laying the foundation stone of a krishi vigyan kendra. He said Rs 15 crore has been sanctioned by NABARD for constructing rooms in the primary schools. A sum of Rs 2.5 crore would be spent in Kangra district for constructing classrooms.