MOGA
RAIDS CONDUCTED: The Punjab State Electricity Board conducted raids in different villages in the district during the past few days to check incidents of power thefts in the district. They reportedly detected several cases of power theft and imposed fines on them. The raids were reportedly conducted in Bhekha Jaimal Singhwala Kaleke Bararghar and Chhotaghar villages.

HEART ATTACK: Sona, wife of Parkash Chander, resident of Baghapurana village under the Baghapurana police station, died after a massive heart attack at the bus stand of the town, according to reports here on Friday. Her husband reportedly took her body to the house.

ACUPUNCTURE ASSOCIATION: An emergency meeting of the state unit of the Acupuncture Association of India held here on Sunday and chaired by its state president Rajinder Singh urged upon the government to grant immediate recognition to it. Dr Inderjit Singh, secretary of the association and member of society of the World Federation of Acupuncture and Moxibustion of Societies, Beijing, said it was necessary that immediate recognition be granted to the association.

NAWANSHAHR
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local unit of the Taraksheel society: president — Mr Dilbagh Singh; general secretary — Mr Mukand Lal; senior vice-president — Mr Ishwar Chander; vice-president — Mr Darshan Singh and finance secretary — Mr Surinder Karimpuri.

WHEAT PROCUREMENT: Mr Jagjit Singh, Deputy Commissioner, in a press note issued here on Saturday, said all arrangements for wheat procurement had been completed. As many as 38 procurement centres had been set up and about 1.65 metric tonnes of wheat was expected to arrive at the procurement centres in the district.

CHETNA RALLY: The Bahujan Samaj Morcha (BSM) organised a “chetna rally” at nearby town Rahonon on Friday. Mr Satnam Kainth, national president of the BSM, while addressing the rally, accused the BSP supremo, Mr Kanshi Ram, of befooling the Dalits.

DIABETES AWARENESS: Mr Baldev Nayyar of Banga town and chairman of the diabetes awareness campaign Lions Club district 321-D has been honoured with millennium Lion award in recognition of his services in the field of diabetes awareness.

BLOOD DONATION: The Physically Handicapped Association, Punjab, organised the ninth annual blood donation camp in collaboration with the Blood Donors Council here at Jot Nursing Home on Saturday. Mr Pritam Singh Johal, SDM, inaugurated the camp. As many as 40 units of blood were collected. The association also distributed 10 tricycles and five sewing machines to handicapped persons on the occasion, informed Mr Kashmir Singh Sanawa, general secretary of the association, in a press note.

PATHANKOT
CONVICTED: Sham Singh of Chakkar village, Pathankot tehsil, was convicted for one year and a fine of Rs 1,000 imposed on him for rash and negligent driving which caused the death of Kesh Kumar of Uchha Thara colony, on December 14, 1998.

BUDGET PASSED: The Municipal Council, Dinanagar, passed a budget of Rs 2.10 lakh for 2001-02 here on Thursday. According to Mrs Sushila Rana, Executive Officer of council, 49 per cent of the budget would be spent on development purposes.

PATIALA
DONATED: Mr Rajesh Sharma, president, Mr Sudhir Chandna, general secretary of the Basant Ritu Youth Club, Tripuri, said that the club donated sewing machines to a widow and a girl from a poor family. Issuing a press note, Mr Sharma said that two more sewing machines were given to the poor families in a simple function. An amount of Rs 1,500 was given to a poor cancer patient for his treatment.

DECISION FLAYED: The Executive Committee of the PSEB Officers Association (Accounts) in its emergency meeting held here on Saturday condemned the decision of the board’s management for showing undue favour to Engineering Officers by granting them higher scales and ignoring other cadres. The committee constituted by the board for removal of anomalies in pay scales and consideration of time bound promotional scales of various categories of employees was yet to finalise its recommendation. 

PROFESSOR RETIRES: Prof Bhagwan Singh, Head, Geography Department, who retired from the Punjab education service on Saturday was given a farewell party by staff of Government Mohindra College. He had served in the Education Department for 34 years. He wrote six books on geography and many of his research papers have been published in leading geographical journals of the country. He has also made contributes to World Encyclopaedia prepared by the Punjab Language Department. 

FREE CAMP: Mr Jasbir Singh Bir, Deputy Commissioner, Patiala, inaugurated a free hepatitis B vaccination camp at New Grain Market here on Saturday. The project was fully sponsored by the Rotary Club of Toronto Humber-Canada for residents of slums of the city. The DC lauded the efforts of the club for its service to downtrodden society of Patiala by providing free medical aid, free computer education and free vaccination camp. Nearly 1,000 doses were administered to adults and children. Mr Bir announced Rs 50,000 from his discretionary grant for developing the computer centre which is functioning on the premises of the club building. He further said that the administration would keep on providing all kinds of help needed in future. Mr Harbans Bansal, president of the club, gave details of the various projects which have been organised by the club. 

PHAGWARA
FINED: The Railway Magistrate on Saturday fined those without platform tickets, crossed railway tracks and travelled without supercharge. In all 25 cases were detected and a handsome fine recovered from them, the sources said.

ROPAR
ROBBERS STRIKE: Some Robbers alleged barged into an isolated house in Pipal Majra village in early hours on Sunday and beat up all six inmates leaving four injured before fleeing with a paltry amount of Rs 2000. The injured have been admitted to the local Civil Hospital. A case under Section 394 of the IPC has been registered.

TRIBUTES PAID: The Executive Committee of the Chandigarh-Punjab Chapter of the Indian Institute of Architects, in an extraordinary meeting held on Friday, mourned the untimely demise of renowned architect Satnam Singh who passed away on March 28. According to Mr Rakesh Kumar Bansal and Mr Shiv Dev Singh, members of the association, the untimely death of Satnam Singh had caused a big void in the profession.

HONOURED: Nearly 200 volunteers were awarded certificates and mementoes in recognition of their service to the field of social work and blood donation during the annual function organised by the NSS and the Blood Donors Association in DAV College, Sector 10, here on Saturday. Mr A.K. Goel, Special Secretary, Punjab Government, who was the chief guest urged the students to dedicate their life to work for the needy. Mr Gurdev Singh, a former programme coordinator, NSS, was presented the lifetime achievement award.

SCHOOL FUNCTION: The third annual function of Vishvakarma Adarsh Vidyalaya was held at Khizrabad village, 25 km from here, on Saturday. The Kharar SDM, Mr Devinder Singh, who was the chief guest, gave away prizes, according to Mr Harpal Singh, Chief Manager of the school.

HAILED: The Baba Makhan Shah Educational and Charitable Trust has hailed the decision of the Punjab Government to accord minority status to the professional institutions run by the SGPC, according to a press note.

NO CONFIDENCE MOTION: A no confidence motion was passed against the president of the National Muslim Welfare Movement in Chandigarh on Sunday. It was passed for his alleged “anti-community” activities. Prominent among those present were Mr Gohar Ali, chairman, Mr Mohammad Shakir, secretary-general, Mr Inait Mohammad, president of the Punjab unit, Mr Mohammad Iqbal, vice-president, Mr Nazir Ahmed and Mr Daud Ahmed, general secretaries.

PANCHKULA
RETURNS FILED: The Assessing Officer, Mr A. Sudershan, informed that 260 returns were received from Panchkula district on the last day of filing of returns at the Income Tax office in Sector 2, here on Saturday. He said most of the returns were filed in the evening. The officials received a number of calls from assesses enquiring if the office was open. He said that it was the last day of filing of returns to avoid penalty under Section 271 F of the Income Tax Act.

AMBALA
YOGA EMPHASISED: Dr Sharda Ranjan said stress and strain were playing havoc with the health of people, including the youth. Speaking at a meeting of Rotary Club Ambala at Rukmani Devi Hall, Ambala Cantt, on Friday, Dr Ranjan said the average age of man had increased from 35 years to 75 to 80 years because of the advancement in scientific research and powerful medication. “But the change in lifestyle has made life too lethargic, devoid of physical exercises,” he said. Dr Ranjan said meditation was important to counter various diseases. He said there was need to create awareness about meditation and yoga as propounded by Patanjali.

MEDICAL CAMP: The Akhil Bhartiya Sewa Dal, Ambala City, will organise a free medical check-up camp at Ganda Mal Dharamshala on Monday. The Civil Surgeon, Dr R. K. Patnaik, and the Principal Medical Officer, Dr S.L. Kaushik, will be present on the occasion. According to a press release, the services of specialised doctors will be available at the camp. 

ARREARS WELCOMED: The Haryana College Teachers Union on Saturday welcomed the release of Rs 62 crore as arrears of salary. Dr Sudarshan Gasso, HCTU general secretary, said earlier the arrears were supposed to be released in two instalments, but the arrears were now going to be paid in one instalment. The teachers also welcomed the announcement of the clearance of the salary backlog and timely payment in future. 

CAMPAIGN: The members of the Citizens Council on Saturday expressed concern over the survivability of the Indian Industry following the WTO agreement. The Citizens Council decided to launch a campaign and distribute stickers bearing he slogan “Save Indian Industry, Buy and Use Indian Goods,” a press note said.

CHECK-UP CAMP: A homoeopathic check-up camp was organised by Social Welfare Society and Kisan Club (Shahpur) on Saturday. About 100 patients were given treatment. Among others, Dr Harprakash Sharma, Dr Aarti Verma, Dr Amar Srivastava, Dr Gurpreet Kaur, Dr Moudgil and Dr B.K. Sharma examined the patients and provided free medicines. A free eye check-up and eye operation camp would be held on April 10 at Shahpur village.

FARIDABAD
BOY CRUSHED: A two-year-old boy playing outside his house in Indra Complex Colony of old Faridabad was crushed to death by a Tata Sumo Jeep on Friday. The boy succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.

JIND
GANG BUSTED: The district police has claimed to have busted an inter-state gang of robbers following the arrest of four members of the gang here on Friday. Mr O.P. Singh, SP, said here on Saturday those arrested had been identified as Amarjit of Khokhri village, Satish of Matan village, Rajinder of Bainsi village and Dilbag of Ram Ral village. He said the fifth member of the gang Rajinder, alias Bittu, of Jasia village managed to escape under the cover of darkness. The police had registered a case under Sections 399 and 402 of the IPC and under the Arms Act.

ACTION SOUGHT: Employees of the Health Department here at a meeting on Saturday demanded action against those persons who had allegedly misbehaved with Dr Abha Kulsreshta, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, here. Doctors of the local General Hospital had condemned this incident and demanded immediate action in this matter.

ONE KILLED: One person died on the spot and three others were injured when a car in which they were travelling collided head-on with a mini truck on the Jind-Narwana Road near the Sugar Mill here on Friday. The injured persons were admitted to the local General Hospital and later referred to the Medical College Hospital, Rohtak, reportedly in view of their serious condition. The deceased has been identified as Jeeta Singh from Punjab.

KALKA
COMPUTERISED SYSTEM: Mr Maha Singh, Commissioner of Ambala division, inaugurated the computerised revenue registration system at the Tehsil Complex here on Saturday. Sources said this computerisation project had come up at a cost of Rs 7 lakh and it would not only facilitate the visitors but would also bring transparency in the working of the revenue department. The Commissioner said that the customers would get efficient and quick services and also get documents in two hours. He added that under the new system, Rs 150 per registration would be charged, apart from the prevailing stamp duty. The Commissioner said all the tehsils of Ambala division would be computerised soon.

NARNAUL
CASES REGISTERED: As many as 10 cases of cheating were registered after raids by flying squads at various middle examination centres in the district. This was stated by Mr V. Raja Sekher, Deputy Commissioner, here on Saturday. The DEO here registered cases against six students at Bairawas centre.

SONEPAT
KILLED: One person was killed on the spot and another seriously injured when a Tata Sumo overturned on the G.T. Road, near Patti Kalyana village, about 30 km from here, on Saturday. According to a report, the Tata Sumo was on its way to Delhi when its tyre punctured and the driver lost control resulting in the accident. The deceased has been identified as Raju from Karnal.

YOUTH INJURED: A youth was seriously injured when he was hit by a Maruti car on the G.T. Road, near Kundli village, about 25 km from here, on Saturday. The youth was immediately hospitalised.

THEFTS COMMITTED: Five cases of thefts were reported in different parts of the city on Saturday. According to a report, the thieves reportedly entered five shops on the old DC road and main market of Sector 14 and stole goods, wrist watches and other articles worth over Rs 1 lakh.

DHARAMSALA
DISTRICT CREDIT PLAN: There is an increase of 33 per cent in the district credit plan for Kangra with the projected amount being Rs 117.89 for 2001-2002. The district credit plan, which was launched by the Deputy Commissioner, Kangra, Mr R.C. Kapil, here on Saturday, shows an increase of 34 per cent in the agriculture sector, which will be the priority sector.

KANGRA
EYE CAMP: An eye camp was organised by the Sant Nirankari Mandal here on Friday. As many as 67 cataract operations were performed, Mr R.C. Kapoor, a PRO of the mandal, said in a statement here on Saturday. Nearly 67 intra ocular lenses were provided free by the mandal, besides medicines which were distributed free of cost. The camp was inaugurated by Gurbaksh Singh, Raj Kavi of Nirankari Mission.

NURPUR
HUSBAND ARRESTED: Tilak Raj of Batrahan village was arrested on Friday for allegedly harassing his wife Kamlesh Kumari who reportedly committed suicide by consuming a poisonous substance. A case under Sections 306 and 498-A of the IPC was registered against the accused.

DECISION HAILED: The Himachal Pradesh Ayurvedic Doctors Union has hailed the decision of the government for granting salaries and allowances to ayurvedic doctors at par with MBBS doctors serving in the Health Department.

SHIMLA
PM’S RESIGNATION SOUGHT: On a national call the activists of the NSUI on Saturday staged a dharna demanding resignation of the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, on moral grounds and lodging of an FIR against Mr George Fernandes, Ms Jaya Jaitely and Mr Bangaru Laxman.