R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

BATHINDA
OBSCENE POSTERS: The Public Grievances Association (PGA) has urged the authorities concerned to take necessary action against the cinema owners here who have been allegedly pasting obscene posters at public places. In a letter to the Magistrate, the president, PGA, Mr Dharmaveer Walia, said lewd posters had a negative impact on the minds of children.

HOSHIARPUR
PROGRESS REVIEWED: After assuming charge as Commissioner, Jalandhar Division, Ms Gitika Kalha, visited Hoshiarpur and addressed a government officers’ meeting here on Thursday. She reviewed the progress of development works being carried out in the district. She was welcomed by Mr Iqbal Singh Sidhu, Deputy Commissioner. She said because of its topography the problems of the district were different from those of other districts of Punjab.

MALERKOTLA
CONTAMINATED WATER: Residents of Malerkotla have allegedly been receiving contaminated water for the past one month. They say the water is black and stinks. They have alleged that no action has been taken by the authorities concerned in this regard.

BRICK-KILNS: Due to the closure of brick-kilns for an indefinite period, the price of bricks has shot up from Rs 1,200 to 1,700 per 1000 bricks in Malerkotla. Mr Kamlesh Kumar Longowalia said they had been forced by the state government to close the brick-kilns by imposing a royalty of Rs 45 per 1,000 bricks.

MOGA
INQUIRY SOUGHT: The President of the Punjab unit of the Janata Dal and former MLA, Mr Vijay Sathi, on Friday demanded an inquiry into the circumstances under which 11 tigers fell prey to a mysterious disease in Bhubaneswar. He said stern action should be taken against guilty officials and measures should be taken so that such incidents did not occur in future.

RAILWAY CROSSING: The unmanned railway crossing at Maur Mandi and Kotfatta villages of the district will be converted into a regular railway crossing. In a press note issued here on Wednesday, Mr Dharamveer Walia, president of the local Public Grievances Association, and Mr Sadhu Ram Kusla, general secretary, PGA, said the first instalment of Rs 10 lakh for the purpose had been released by Mr Bhan Singh Bhaura, local MP, from his consolidated fund.

SALARY: Employees of Government Middle School, Mandi Phul, have urged the government to direct the authorities concerned to pay their salaries. In a press note issued here, Mr Jagdish Rai Jethi, president, City Welfare Club, Rampura Phul, said the employees had not been paid salary for a month.

LAND SUBMERGED: One hectare of paddy-sown land around Ghalkal village, about 12 km from here, has been submerged under water following a breach in the Maner canal passing through the village according to reports reaching here on Wednesday. Villagers said on Thursday that although they had taken up the matter with the authorities concerned the breach had not been plugged so far.

RS 70,000 STOLEN: As many as Rs 70,000 was stolen from the scooter of a youth of Baghapurana town in Moga by some unidentified persons in the main bazaar of the town according to reports received here on Wednesday. The youth, Jaswinder Singh, alias Chinda, who had withdrawn the money from Punjab National Bank, had kept it in the tool box of his scooter and had gone to make some purchases. Some miscreants broke open the tool box and fled with the amount.

FARMERS SORE: Farmers of various villages in the district are sore over the shortage of canal water. A deputation of farmers told mediapersons here on Thursday that in the absence of rain their paddy-sown fields had started drying up. They said power shortage had also caused great inconvenience to them.

PATIALA
LECTURE ORGANISED: A lecture titled ‘‘Second Labour Commission and the working class’’ was organised by the Association for Democratic Rights, Punjab unit, here on Thursday on the fourth death anniversary of Malkeat Singh. Mr Vidhu Shekhar Bhardwaj and Mr Kishore of the Netarheen Sangharsh Samiti paid homage. Dr Sucha Singh Gill, Head of the Economics Department, Punjabi University, said the Second Labour Commission was anti-worker and was formed without taking into confidence any of the central trade unions.

EMBANKMENT FOR FLOOD PROTECTION: The Rajpura Sub-division has raised a 2000 feet long embankment on the Chandigarh choe in order to protect Kalauli and Kalauli Jattan villages from the danger of floods. This was stated in a press release issued here on Wednesday. Nine studs have been raised in the choe to slow down the fast movement of water in lieu of the protection of these villages. The choe had earlier included the entire Kalauli Jattan village into its course and the villagers had to settle down elsewhere. 

40 LAKH AS FINE RECOVERED: The Punjab State Electricity Board has collected a revenue of around Rs 40 lakh as fine by prosecuting consumers who have indulged in power theft within the ten-day schedule launched to check power theft. A press release by the Superintending Engineer, PSEB said this on Wednesday. The board claimed that around 24-hours power supply was made available in 100 villages within the past six months. The lines were laid and transformers were put up by the board to make sure a round-the-clock power supply. It also claimed to have set up a 220 KV substation in Bahadurgarh to ensure the power supply in rural and urban areas during the paddy season. 

NO POWER CUTS: The Punjab State Electricity Board has decided to do away with all the power cuts in the urban and industrial sectors with immediate effect. A 3-phase power supply will be ensured for a minimum period of eight hours per day in the agriculture sector, while the power cuts on rural feeders will continue. This information was provided in a press release issued by the board on Wednesday. The board appealed to consumers to help stop the power cuts by avoiding neon and decoration lights. It further appealed the consumers to use air conditioners strictly according to the need and the use should be avoided during the peak hours between 7 pm to 11 pm. The agriculture sector consumers were also asked to switch off their tubewells during the single phase supply. 

PHAGWARA
PUNJABI WRITERS: The Kendari Punjabi Lekhak Sabha, apex body of Punjabi writers, will stage a dharna on July 9 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in front of Doordarshan Kendra, Jalandhar, in protest against the Centre’s “wrong policies” on electronic media as well as to awaken and mobilise masses against the alleged irregularities and rampant corruption at the kendra.

HARYANA

BHIWANI
ELECTRICITY BILLS: The state government has decided to allow people to pay their outstanding electricity bills in four easy instalments. Moreover, 75 per cent interest on the amount would be exempted to those consumers who pay the complete amount in four instalments. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Sant Kumar Joshi, said here on Thursday the first installment should be paid by July 31 and the entire amount of the interest would be waived off to those who deposited the complete due amount by this date. He said the second instalment could be paid by October 31, the third by January 31, 2001, and the fourth by April 30,2001.

KAITHAL
PRESS CONFERENCE: Mediapersons boycotted a press conference called by the SP here on Thursday as a mark of protest for not being given access to information. The SP, MR P.R. Deo, is reported to have instructed his staff not to provide details of crimes taking place in the district.

MEMORANDUM: Representatives of various farmers’ organisations on Friday sent a memorandum to the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, demanding a high-level probe into the complaints against the use of sub-standard material used in the lining work of water courses in the district. They alleged that the officials concerned were minting money on this account.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
ABVP DHARNA: Led by the state executive member Dinesh Vajsayayan, members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) held a rally in Government Postgraduate College here on Thursday and staged a three hour dharna outside the office of the Principal. They were demanding that their demands which include holding of elections in college and universities to the students’ central associations, withdrawal of the recent hike in fees and a hostel for boys be accepted.

KANGRA
AIDS AWARENESS CAMP: An AIDS awareness camp was organised by the Health Department in Birta village on Thursday which was attended by more than 100 men and women. Dr V K Mahajan, Block Medical Officer, Kangra, and organiser of the camp, said protective sex and safe blood transfusion would control the disease which had affected over 40 lakh people in the country.