The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Sunday, June 17, 2001, Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

R E G I O N A L B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Sikh Students Federation ( Mehta): president — Mr Gurcharan Singh Grewal; senior vice-presidents — Mr Iqbal Singh Tung, Mr Kulwant Singh Kanwal, Mr Sarabjit Singh Chokra, Mr Surinder Singh Sultanwind and Mr Paramjit Singh Dharamsinghwala; vice-presidents — Mr Charanjit Singh Channi, Mr Bhupinder Singh Nagoke, Mr Gurjit Singh Gaggi, Mr Jaspal Singh Ferozepur, Mr Gursharan Singh Patiala, Mr Ranjit Singh Bittu, Mr Kanwaljit Singh Lal and Mr Kulwant Singh Dhot; and secretary-general — Mr Sarchand Singh Khyala.

HOSHIARPUR
BOOKED: On a complaint of Harjit Kaur of Moralla Mangiya village, the police has registered a case under Section 304-B against Kulwinder Singh, his father Gurmeet Singh and mother Gurmeet Kaur, residents of Mirzapur, for allegedly murdering her daughter Neelam Saini for dowry on Thursday.

CASE REGISTERED: On a complaint of Dolly Badial of the local Dhobi Ghat area, the police on Friday registered a case under Sections 294, 504, 506 and 509, IPC, against Shamir Rana of the local Bhagwan Dass Road. area for allegedly abusing her on the telephone.

FORGED CERTIFICATE: On a complaint of Nanak Chand of Shergarh village, the police has registered a case under Sections 465, 468, 471 and 420, IPC, against Harbhajan Singh of the same village for allegedly producing a forged certificate to get himself appointed as Lambardar of the village.

ARRESTED: On a complaint of Hardev Singh of Bassi Mohlan, Ropar, the police has arrested Prem Kumar, alias Bittu Balmiki, of Mahilpur and recovered a stolen watch and two gold rings.

ILLICIT LIQUOR: The police on Thursday arrested Pushpa of Tanda and seized 6,750 ml of illicit liquor. Shaminder Singh of Nangal Datta was also arrested on Thursday and 4,500 ml of country made liquor was seized from him.

KHARAR
NOMINATED: Mr Gurmukh Singh, former vice-president of the Municipal Committee, Kharar, has been nominated a member of the telephone advisory committee for Ropar, according to a communication received from the Ministry of Communication, Government of India here on Friday.

HEPATITIS-B CAMP: The Youth Club of the Nia Sheher village is organising a subsidised hepatitis-B immunisation camp on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Shiv Mandir, stated a press note issued here on Saturday by Mr Gurdeep Singh Chander, president of the club.

PHONES OUT OF ORDER: Mr Daljeet Singh Saini, president of the Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal, Kharar circle, has alleged that about 15 phones in Desu Majra village, which falls in the Kharar municipal limits, were out of order for the past one week and no action had being taken by the department in spite of repeated requests to the officials concerned.

KHANNA
ANNUAL SESSION: The sixth annual delegate session of THE Punjab Khatri Sabha will be held IN Ram Bhavan at Mandi Gobindgarh on June 24. The sabha will also hold elections to its working committee at the session. The Senior Vice-President of the sabha, Mr Vinod Ghai, said Choudhary Shiv Lal Duri would preside over the session.

LUDHIANA
CHARITABLE HOSPITAL: Dalip Kaur Sachdeva Charitable Hospital will be inaugurated on Sunday at Paddi village on the Sahnewal-Dehlon road. According to a press not issued here on Saturday, Mr Jagdish Singh Garcha, Punjab Minister for Technical Education, will inaugurate the hospital and Ms Mahinder Kaur Josh, State Minister for Health and Family Welfare of Punjab, will preside over the function. Mr Amarjit Singh Bhatia, Mr Pritpal Singh, Mr Hakam Singh Giaspur, Mr Kulwant Singh Dukhia and Mr Krishan Singh Lyalpuri will be guests of honour.

MODELLING WORKSHOP: A modelling workshop began here on Friday to train aspirant girls for the beauty and talent-hunt contests ‘Nazakat’ and ‘Ms Teen Ethnic’ that are to be held on June 30. Ms Lux International 2001, Bindu Paul, will judge the contestants.

AWARD: Dr S.S. Grewal, Associate Director of the Zonal Research Station of Ballowal, has been given the Dr K.G. Tejwani Award by the Indian Association of Soil and Water Conservationists of Dehradun. The award is given every alternate year to distinguished scientists. Dr Grewal received the award from Mr Nityanand Swami, Chief Minister of Uttaranchal, when the CM inaugurated the National Conference on Resource Conservation and Watershed Management at Dehradun recently. Dr Grewal had developed a watershed management technology for the rehabilitation of erosion prone areas of the Shivaliks. He has also been involved in the Sukhomajri project and the other ICAR projects.

MANDI GOBINDGARH
CAMP: Mr Indresh Kumar, north zone Prachar Pramukh of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, addressed a press conference at Gobindgarh Public School here on Friday, where 362 RSS volunteers are attending a camp. Mr Mohan Lal, a Cabinet minister of Punjab and head of the Patiala unit of the RSS, visited the camp on Saturday. He said volunteers had paid the charges for food and lodging from their own pockets. Earlier, Mr K. Sudarshan, the All-India Sarsanghchalak, had also visited the camp.

OFFICE-BEARERS: According to a press note issued by Mr Davinder Singh, press secretary of the District Institute of Elementary Education Welfare Association of Punjab, the following were elected the office-bearers of the association in a meeting headed by Mr Sukhwinder Singh on Friday: President — Mr Vir Davinder Singh (Nabha); Senior Vice-President — Mr Nirbhai Singh (Malowal); and General Secretary — Jagjit Singh (Ropar).

NAWANSHAHR
BLOOD DONATION: The local Blood Donors Council in collaboration with the Industrial Training Institute organised a blood donation camp at the institute here on Friday. Mr T.R. Sharma, Principal of the institute, inaugurated the camp in which 75 units of blood were collected, said Mr Naresh Pal Verma, PRO, in a press note here on Saturday.

SYMPOSIUM HELD: A symposium on ‘Kashamkash’, a collection of Punjabi short stories written by Mr Baldev Singh Dhindsa, was organised here on Friday. Mr Dhindsa was honoured on the occasion, said Mr Didar Shetra, general secretary, District Sahitya and Sabhayacharak Manch, here on Saturday.

PATIALA
SADHBHAVNA DAY: The Punjab Dalit Karamchari Federation will celebtrate Sadhbhavna day at Panchayat Bhavan here on Sunday. Stating this in a press note, Mr Baldev Singh Hajimajra, president of the federation, said various issues regarding Dalit community would also be discussed during the meeting.

BEOPAR MANDAL MEETING: A state-level meeting of the Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal will be held on July 1 at Chiranjiv Ashram here. The meeting will be addressed by the president of the mandal, Mr Madan Lal Kapoor. The aim would be to highlight the sufferings of the traders under the ‘present regime’. The date for initiating an agitation against the Badal government for its failure to abolish octroi would also be announced in the meeting.

PAINTING COMPETITION: About 50 students participated in a painting competition organised by the Scientology Centre at State College, here on Saturday. The prizes will be distributed on the concluding day of the competition on June 30. The following results were declared. In the junior group, Sanya of British Co-ed School stood first, Harshit from St Peter’s Academy stood second while Gurpreet Singh from St Peter’s Academy secured the third position. In the senior group, Ankita Agarwal from DAV Public School stood first, Sumeet Shelly from Buddha Dal School stood second and Neha Sharma from SD Model High School and Geetanjali Gupta from Our Lady of Fatima shared the third prize. Ridhameet Singh (LKG), and Vikas Dutt, (Class X) got consolation prizes at the competition.

PATHANKOT
WIFE SUMMONED: On a complaint of Dharam Pal of Manwal Bhag village, Mr Harish Anand, Judicial Magistrate (First Class), Pathankot, on Thursday summoned Dharam Pal’s wife, Raj Kumari, and his in-laws on charges of misappropriation, criminal intimidation and defamation under various Sections of the IPC. The complainant stated that his wife decamped with gold ornaments and other articles.

CHANDIGARH

OFFICE-BEARERS: A number of intellectuals and research scholars attend the meeting of the Council for Social Action and Intellectual Development (CoSAID) held here on Saturday. Dr Mehar Singh Manick, the newly-elected president of the council said it would encourage the university students and scholars to become aware of the rural problems and utilise their knowledge and services to bridge the gap between the needy sections of society and the intelligentsia. The following have been elected other office-bearers of council: vice-president — Mr Kashmiri Lal; general secretary — Prof Gurmel Singh; secretary — Mr Mohammad Yahia; secretary (finance) — Mukhtiar Singh; advisers — Prof Parminder Bhogal and Mr P.S. Khatra; and members — Dr Madandeep, Mr Narinder Kumar; Ms Sneh Lata and Mr Gurjeet Singh Mahi.

ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Indian System of Medicine and Homoeopathic Paramedical Union, Sector 34: president — Mr Kulwinderjit Singh; general secretary — Mr Ajit Singh Gill; senior vice-president — Mr Hira Singh; vice-president — Ms Usha Sharma; joint secretary — Mr Rajbir Singh; treasurer — Mr Bharat Bhushan; adviser — Mr Balbir Singh Sahota; and propaganda secretary — Mr Makhan Singh.

WELFARE ASSOCIATION: The Children Welfare Forum has been formed in Sector 39-B by residents welfare association here on Saturday. The office-bearers are : Gurpreet Singh — president; Ruchi — senior vice-president; Apur Mahajan — vice-secretary; Gaurav Kumar — general secretary; Navdeep — joint secretary; Rahul Sharma — finance secretary; Satnam Singh — entertainment secretary; Neha Poddar and Sanjana — assistant entertainment secretaries; Saurabh — sports secretary; and Neha, Shubham Grover, Yovanpreet Singh, Kashish and Sonam — assistant sport secretaries. The advisory committee of the forum are: Preeti — chairperson; and Rishabh Mehta — Deputy Chairman.

HARYANA

AMBALA
SHIV SENA MEETING: A meeting of the local unit of the Shiv Sena was held under the presidentship of Mr M.L. Gupta. Among others, Mr Vinay Sharma, Ms Narendra Kaur, Mr Vipin Verma, Mr Sukhdata Ram and Mr Amrik Singh were present. Mr Vinay Verma said that a gathering would be organised at Ugala village which would be addressed by Mr Harkesh Sharma. He expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, a release said.

TELEPHONE FAULT: Capt Baldev Singh (Retd) on Saturday said that telephone numbers in the series “643” were facing problems for the past 10 days. He said cross connections had become a common problem with the telephone numbers of this series. “Whenever, a call is made to the complaint centre, we are told that there is a fault in the exchange. Ten days have already elapsed and the fault is yet to be rectified,” he said.

EXPORTERS’ ASSOCIATION: The Haryana Exporters Association on Saturday urged that during Gen Pervez Musharraf’s meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, both the leaders should not only discuss political issues, but should also discuss trade between India and Pakistan. The association said that there was a vast scope of export from Haryana and Punjab. At present, Pakistan was importing things from China, Malaysia, Russia, the UK, the USA and Germany, a press note stated. The chairman of the association, Mr N.C. Jain, said, “Both the leaders should explore possibilities for establishing free trade zone between India and Pakistan with no custom duty on both sides.”

FATEHABAD
DE-ADDICTION CAMP: Paryaas, a police-public coordination forum, will organise a drug de-addiction camp here on June 24. A team of senior doctors will treat drug addicts. The Superintendent of Police, Mr Hanif Qureshi, told mediapersons that medicines and meals would be provided free of cost during the camp. Paryaas would also organise a scooter and motor cycle rally at Rattia on June 20 as part of an awareness campaign for highlighting the ill-effects of drugs.

HISAR
FINANCIER BOOKED: The police has registered a case of dacoity against a local financier. According to the police, Ajay Aggarwal, running a finance company, had “forcibly” taken a scooter from B.L. Dhamija, an employee of Haryana Agricultural University, saying that his son had taken a loan from the company. Dhamija had filed a criminal complaint against Ajay Aggarwal alleging that he was running the company illegally, after which the court ordered the police to register a case against the financier.

PISTOL SEIZED: The police has arrested Manjeet Singh of Kaimri village and seized a .312-bore pistol from him. A case has been registered under the Arms Act.

KURUKSHETRA
REFRESHER COURSE: Prof J. S. Yadav, Dean, Faculty of Sciences, Kurukshetra University, inaugurated a three-week refresher course in mathematics here on Thursday. Prof M. L. Gogna (retd), a mathematician, and Prof P. D. Sharma, Director, Academic Staff College of the university spoke on the occasion.

BDS COURSE: The total number of seats in the BDS course for the session 2001-2002 at Dental College, Rohtak, has been increased from 20 to 60. Prof Amar Singh, Dean, Colleges of Kurukshetra University, disclosed this here.

PANIPAT
CHOKED DRAINS: Following a large number of complaints of choked drains and sewers in the town after a pre-monsoon downpour on Thursday, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr M.R. Anand, has directed officers of the Public Health Department, municipal council and the Yamuna Action plan to take immediate steps for cleaning the drains and sewers.

REWARI
THIEVES ARRESTED: The police has arrested three youths — Surender Kumar, Shambhu and Hari Singh — of Mahendragarh district and recovered 52 kg of stolen coil from them, according to Mr Manjit Singh Ahlawat, SP, Rewari.

REQUEST FOR PLOT: Mrs Urmila Yadav, wife of the late Lt Col Pramod Kumar Yadav, has made a written representation to the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, urging him to grant her a residential plot of 1 kanal in Gurgaon. She stated that her husband died recently during service and was awarded the Shaurya Chakra by the President in August, 1998.

SONEPAT
ARRESTED: The police arrested Krishan, alias Uddar, of Jagsi village for allegedly carrying 50 liquor pouches on Friday. A case under the Excise Act has been registered.

KISAN UNION: Dr Surat Singh was elected president of the district unit of the Bharatiya Kisan Union here on Friday.

CONVENTION: The Haryana Khet Mazdoor Union has started preparations for a national-level convention commencing from July 6 at Panipat. Leaders of the union will announce a programme for launching a nationwide agitation against the “anti-worker and anti-people” policies of the Centre and state governments.

OPEN DARBAR: The Deputy Commissioner, Mr S.N. Roy, disposed of 81 complaints at on open darbar at Gohana town, 35 km from here, on Friday. Most of the complaints were regarding erratic power and water supply, encroachments and non-distribution of old-age pension.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of Presidents and Vice-presidents of Bilaspur Gram Panchayat Sadar Block Association: president — Mr Daulat Singh Thakur; senior vice-president — Mr Lal Chand Thakur; vice-president — Mr Babu Ram Bhadole and Ms Bimla Thakur; general secretary — Mr Babu Ram Thakur; joint secretary — Mr Ramesh Thakur; and treasurer — Capt Ganga Ram.

DECLAMATION CONTEST: Anukampa of the local Government Girls Senior Secondary School was declared first, Rasmi second and Anoop Kumar of Government Senior Secondary School, Kothipura, third, in a declamation contest in the senior section organised by the District Public Relations Officer at Kothipura, 12 km from here, on Friday. Mr Manjeet Singh, of GSSS, Panjgain, AND Geetanjali Thakur and Divya Joti of GGSSS, Bilaspur won the first , second and third positions, respectively, in the painting competition. In the junior section of the declamation contest Abhiruchi Sharma, (Chandpur), Shilpa Sharma, (Dasgaon), and Reeman, (Chhadole), won the first, second and third positions, respectively. Seema Devi (Kothipura), Nidhi Sharma (Chandpur) and Rajesh Kumar (Kallar), won the first, second and third positions, respectively, in the junior section of the painting competition.

KANGRA
FARM SUBSIDY: The Himachal Pradesh Agriculture Minister, Mr Vidya Sagar, said on Friday that Rs 2.50 crore was provided for 50 per cent subsidy on all types of seeds being distributed during the kharif season in the state to small and marginal farmers under the drought-relief provisions. Mr Sagar said 4,000 quintals of paddy, 12,000 quintals of maize, 740 quintals of pulses and 550 quintals of oil seeds were provided to the farmers by the Agriculture Department.

MANALI
EYE CAMP: A 10-day eye check-up camp will be held at Raison from June 16 to 25. The camp is being organised by the National Blindness Control Society and Dr Rajender Prasad Eye Medical Centre. During the camp, eye surgeries will be conducted and medicines and spectacles will be given free of cost. Doctors from AIIMS and Eye Medical Centre, Modinagar, will conduct the operations.

NURPUR
IN-LAWS HELD: Ms Salochana Devi of Kabari village in Kangra subdivision on Friday lodged a complaint against the in-laws of her deceased daughter, Meena Kumari, alleging that her daughter had been killed by them. A case has been registered and Meena Kumari’s husband Vijay, father-in-law Diwan Chand and mother-in-law Asha Devi have been arrested.