R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
HEALTH WORKSHOP: Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishva Vidyalaya organised a workshop on “Health for all” here on Monday. Dr Ajaib Singh Sandhu, civil surgeon; Dr Hardeep Singh Deep, president of the IMA, Amritsar; and Dr Amarjeet Singh, Principal, Government Dental College, were among others spoke on the occasion. Stress on meditation was laid during the workshop.

ORGANISED: A workshop on nephrectomy using minimal invasive technique was conducted at Kakkar Hospital, here on Monday. Dr P.K. Sarin, consultant transplant surgeon, in a press note said two patients were operated upon by Dr A.S. Soin, senior consultant at Sri Ganga Ram Hospital.

BATHINDA
DEMAND: The SC\BC Employees Federation has urged the state government to give bonus to its employees, which was due for over four years. In a press note issued here on Monday, Mr Hamir Singh Malli, general secretary, Bathinda zone, said the bonus should be paid on the basis of the Central Government pattern.

FARIDKOT
COMPENSATION: The Punjab Government has allocated Rs 1.75 crore as compensation to farmers whose crops were damaged in the district between September and October last year. In a press note here on Tuesday, Mr A. Venu Prasad, Deputy Commissioner, said 3,198 affected farmers had been identified in this connection.

RED CROSS: The District Red Cross Senior Citizens’ Day Care Centres functioning at different places in the district are on the brink of closure due to the shortage of funds. Mr A. Venu Prasad, Deputy Commissioner, and Mr Gurdial Singh, secretary of the society, said they had taken the issue with the Union Ministry for the restoration of the grant.

HOSHIARPUR
1 KILLED: Lakhwinder Singh of Garhdiwala, a PSEB employee, was killed when he was hit by a vehicle while he was going to his house, near Mastiwal, on Sunday night.

MURDERED: Satpal, alias Kala, was found murdered in front of his house in Mohalla Singhpur at Tanda Urmur on Monday. The Tanda police has registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC.

REPAIR WORK: Construction and repair work of link roads in the Tanda segment is being carried out on a war-footing so that it could be completed before June 30. Mr Balbir Singh Miani, State Minister for Medical and Higher Education, Punjab, while addressing gatherings in various villages of the district on Monday said of the 273 km-long link roads, construction and repair on 226 km had been completed and the work on the remaining roads was under way.

JALANDHAR
CENTRE INAUGURATED: The Director (Operations) of the BSNL, Mr Prithpal Singh, inaugurated an ultra-modern customer service centre during a visit to the city on Monday. Mr K.C. Jindal, general manager (Telecom), addressing a gathering said the centre aimed at providing all telecom facilities under the single window scheme to its customers.

KHANNA
ONE KILLED: A man aged 38 was killed in a road accident when he was hit by a vehicle on the GT road, near the Lalheri chowk on Sunday. According to information, the victim looked like a migrant labourer. A case has been registered under Sections 304-A and 279 of the IPC. 

LUDHIANA
CASSETTE RELEASED: At a function organised at Bhagat Singh Nagar here on Tuesday, Mr Ravinder Bhattal, secretary, Punjabi Sahitya Akademi, released a cassette of Punjabi singer, ‘Jeeto’. The vice-president of the akademi, Prof Gurbhajan Gill, said he was happy with Romi’s cassette as he had revived old traditional lyrics and sung the songs in a very beautiful manner. 

CLASS IV UNION: Mr Pal Singh was elected as president of the Class IV Workers Union of Punjab Agricultural University on Monday. The other office-bearers are: Mr Bhim Dutt and Mr Som Nath — senior vice-president; Mr Ranjit Singh and Mr Jagdev Singh — vice-presidents; Mr Hardev Singh — secretary; Mr Harjit Singh and Mr Jagat Singh — joint secretaries; Mr Mangat Ram and Mr Ram Singh — organising secretaries; Mr Surjit Singh — treasurer; Mr Jasvir Singh and Mr Sarvjit Singh — joint treasurers; Mr Jasbir Singh — propaganda secretary; and Mr Roop Chand — joint propaganda secretary. 

MACHHIWARA
SANCTION LETTERS: The Speaker of the Punjab Legislative Assembly, Mr Charanjit Singh Atwal, handed over 700 sanction letters for old-age pensions to persons of 114 villages of the block at a gurdwara here on Tuesday. The SDM of Samrala, the tehsildar, the CDPO, the BDPO, the naib tehsildar of Machhiwara and the chairman of the local market committee Machhiwara, were present. 

CRITICISED: Residents of the town have criticised local cable operators for not providing adequate services. Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, they said that they didn’t get to see many channels of their choice like Star Sports, ESPN, Zee Network etc. They questioned the logic of cable operators charging so much from them if they could not provide the services of paid channels. 

MANDI AHMEDGARH
MACHINES DISTRIBUTED: The Samaj Bhalai Mahila Mandal distributed 20 sewing machines and other goods among women at a function presided over by the state minister, Mr Ranjit Singh Balian. Addressing a gathering at Gurdwara Kalgidhar, the minister announced a grant of Rs 50,000 for the mandal. 

HEART CAMP: The local unit of the Bharat Vikas Parishad organised a heart check-up camp at Kundan Lal Hospital on Monday. Nearly 450 patients were examined and provided free medicines by a team of cardiologists. A cabinet minister, Mr Jagdish Singh Garcha, inaugurated the camp and announced a grant of Rs 11,000 for the parishad. 

BODY FOUND: The body of Bal Krishan, alias Balo, a trader of Ahmedgarh, who jumped into the Bhatinda branch of the Sirhind canal, near the town, on June 14, was found by his kin in a tributary near Rampura Phool on Monday. The body was brought back to Ahmedgarh where it was cremated at around 8.30 pm. The trader reportedly committed suicide as he was unable to repay the debt incurred on account of heavy gambling. 

OFFICE-BEARERS: Sant Bhagwan Singh Mastuana and Swami Chaitanya have been nominated as patron and secretary, respectively, of the International Sant Samaj by its president Sant Shamser Singh Jagera. According to a press note issued here on Monday, Sant Gurdeep Singh Derwal will be the district president for Gurdaspur, while Sant Balwinder Singh Jyoti Saroopwale, and Sant Satnam Singh would be general secretaries of the Fatehgarh Sahib district unit. 

PATHANKOT
CASE SOLVED: The police on Monday claimed to have solved the murder case of Navneet Kumar of Tibber village who has been missing since March 25. According to SSP Sukhdev Singh, he was murdered allegedly by Vishal and Gurnam Singh over a girl. Vishal, who, was in love with the girl, had threatened Navneet to snap his ties with her, but on his refusal, the accused allegedly killed him. The police has arrested Gurnam Singh, but Vishal is still at large.

3 BOOKED: The police booked a local crusher owner, Ramesh Kumar, his servant, Sita Ram, and his wife on charges of kidnapping a minor girl. Tarsem Lal of Hamoon village had alleged on Friday that the crusher owner connived with his servant and his wife and kidnapped his daughter, who was working there as a labourer. The police has registered a case under Sections 363, 366 and 120B of the IPC.

HONOURED: The local Rotary Club distributed the rotary batches here on Tuesday to the Army personel who were engaged in the construction of cycle-path at Lower Mall between the Thikriwala Chowk and Major Manwinder Singh Chowk. The Rotary President, Mr Ranjeet Khosla, distributed the batches while special thanks was made to Brig Chiranjiv Singh Harika, the person in charge of the undergoing work. The Armymen, PWD and B&R workers who worked on the construction of path, thanked the organisers of the club for honouring them. 

PHILLAUR
3-DAY PPA COURSE: Mr D.R. Bhatti, Director , PPA, inaugurated a three-day course for field police officers at the PPA on Monday, aimed at improving police-public relations. Around 30 police officers of gazetted and non-gazetted ranks from various district units of the state are taking part in the course. 

CHANDIGARH

PANCHKULA
OFFICE-BEARERS: The general body meeting of the Private Owners Welfare Association, Sector 11, was held on June 17 at Geeta Mandir, Sector 11, under the convenorship of Mr G.S. Dhiman. The election for the post of president was held and Mr R.C. Sahni was declared elected by defeating Mr R.C. Puri by 28 votes. The other office-bearers were elected unanimously. They are Mr Subhash Mehtani and Mr Sunil Jain — vice-presidents, Mr V.K. Kapoor — general secretary; Mr M.R. Arora — finance secretary; and Mr R.S. Rakha — joint secretary. 

HARYANA

AMBALA
SPORTS FESTIVAL: The District Olympic Association will organise a sports festival on June 23 at the War Heroes Memorial Stadium at Ambala Cantt, said the Deputy Commissioner here on Tuesday. He said that various athletic competitions will be organised on the occasion. The Commissioner, Ambala range, Mr Maha Singh, will be the chief guest on this occasion. 

FISH PRODUCTION: The Fishery Department has fixed the target of 275 hectare for the farming of fish in the current year. According to a release of the Fishery Department, 1,100 tonnes of fish will be produced in the district. The ponds in the various villages are being prepared for it. 

RESIGNATION DEMANDED: The employees of Electricity Department, Ambala, demanded the resignation of Mr Akram Khan, chairman of the Haryana Dairy Development Corporation, on the moral grounds following the involvement of his brother in the murder of one of their employes Dineshwar Singh of Yamunanagar district. At a meeting organised at Ambala City they demanded legal action against his brother Nasim Khan. They urged the government to pay the compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the next of the kin of the deceased and a suitable government job should also be provided to one of the family members of the deceased. 

INTERACTIVE SESSION: The Cantonment Board president, Brig N.D. Prasad, held an interactive session with the representatives of the Bungalow Owners Association, on Tuesday. President of Bungalow Owners Association Raj Kumar and secretary Vipin Mehta raised various points. Brig Prasad assured the bungalow owners that efforts were being made to augment the water supply for which two deep tubewells were being installed in the next two to three months. He emphasised that residents must cooperate to clear water rate bills. 

MEETING: A meeting of the Ambala Cantonment unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party was held under the presidentship of Mr Shish Pal Bhola at the Brahmin Sabha hall. Among others, Mr V.P. Chauhan, Mr Shankar Dass, Mr Kirti Prasad Jain, Ms Rajni Tandon, Dr Bharat Bhushan Jathwad, Mr Ravindra Dhawan, Ms Veena Chhibber and Mr Faqir Chand Aggarwal were present. The Ambala MP, Mr Ratan Lal Kataria, was the chief guest. The speakers referred to the importance of the workers in strengthening the party. 

BHIWANI
SCOOTERIST KILLED: A scooterist was killed when his scooter slipped near Makdana village on the Kanina-Dadri road. The victim, Ajay Kumar (30), of Chelawas village was rushed to Dadri Hospital but was referred to the PGIMS, Rohtak, where he succumbed to his injuries.

JIND
KILLED IN ACCIDENT: One person was killed and another injured when the jeep in which they were travelling overturned near Dhakal village, 50 km from here, on Monday. The deceased, Karambir of Mohangarh Chhapra village, was driving the jeep. The injured, Ramphal, was admitted to a local hospital.

DENTAL CAMP: Over 610 patients were treated at a dental check-up camp organised by the Shri Krishan Sewa Samiti at the local Punjabi Dharamshala on Monday. Medicines were given to the patients free of cost.

KURUKSHETRA
OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the district unit of the Haryana Pattarkar Sangh: president — Mr Rajesh Shandilya; senior vice-president — Mr Pradeep Goyal; vice-president — Mr Yashender Sharma; general secretary — Mr Deepak Sharma; secretary — Mr Arun Gupta; joint secretary — Mr Dharampal Saini; and treasurer — Mr Kailash Goyal.

SONEPAT
TRAINING CAMP: A week-long training camp organised by the Krantikari Yuva Parishad at Government Senior Secondary School, Mahra village, concluded on Monday. More than 100 youths from the neighbouring villages participated in the camp.

FREEDOM FIGHTER DEAD: A veteran freedom fighter and social activist, Mrs Shakuntala Devi, died here on Monday. She was 74. She was associated with a number of social and religious organisations.

HOSPITALISED: Sant Ram of Deepalpur village was admitted to the Civil Hospital here on Monday after he consumed a celphos tablet instead of a medicine. According to a report, his condition was stated to be out of danger. The police is investigating the case.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

CHAMBA
VEHICULAR TRAFFIC: The Chamba Citizens’ Progressive Council has expressed concern about the deteriorating condition of traffic in the town. The council, in a press note on Tuesday, condemned the traffic regulating authority for its failure to punish the offenders. A deputation of the council met the Deputy Commissioner and apprised him of the situation.

KANGRA
FIRE: A kitchen and a room of a hotel at Dharamsala and a shop at Khariyan village were gutted in two fire accidents in the district on Monday. The additional police chief, Mr N. D. Sareen, said the fire broke out on Monday in a hotel following a leakage in gas cylinder. In another incident, a shop belonging to Mr Sheshu Pal was gutted at Khariyan village on Monday night.

BODY FOUND: The police has recovered the body of a 26-year-old youth, Om Prakash, from a water tank in the Radha Swamy Sat Sang campus at Parore. The police has registered a case under Section 174 of the IPC. The body has been sent for a post-mortem examination.

KULU
ANIMAL VACCINATION: Dr Ram Lal Markandeye, Minister of State for PWD and Animal Husbandry, while addressing a gathering of veterinary doctors at a two-day seminar at Bachat Bhavan here on Monday, said the vaccination of all domestic and wild animals should be made compulsory in India to prevent pestilential diseases, like FMD. He urged the Veterinary Council of India to take up the vaccination proposal at a national level.

KUMARHATTI
LUGGAGE VANS: The discontinuation of luggage vans on the Kalka-Shimla rail section has led to resentment among vegetable and fruit growers of the region. The absence of vans in the peak season has adversely affected the transportation of their produce to terminal markets. The two luggage vans which developed faults are lying in the railway workshop at Kalka for repair since the past one month.

NAHAN
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Himachal Ayurvedic Medical Officers’ Association, Sirmour: president — Dr L.R. Bhardwaj; vice-president — Dr Manju Sharma; general secretary — Dr Arvind Gupta; treasurer — Dr R.K. Garg.