R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

Engineer’s passion for models
RAJ Kumar is not a genius, but works hard to excel in the field of making models including that of Jallianwala Bagh Memorial which was installed in the waiting hall of Amritsar railway station. Raj Kumar, a civil engineer and architect by profession, recently completed the model of Shri Durgiana Mandir which is likely to be installed at the new railway station on the Gole Bagh-side platform.

• A Royal celebration

• “Silai centre”

PUNJAB

AMLOH
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers (Primary wing) of the Punjab State General Category Bhilai Federation of Amloh block at meeting held in Government Senior Secondary School, Amloh, chaired by Mr Avinash Verma, patron of the federation. President — Mr Zora Singh; general secretary — Mr Gurdarshan Singh; and press secretary — Mr Jaswinder Singh.

AMRITSAR
CRITICISED: The CPI has criticised the assault on its senior leader, Mr Kunan Singh Saidpur, his son Mr Kuldip Singh, and Mr Gurnam Singh on June 24 at Saidpur village. Mr Jagtar Singh Karampura, member of the district committee of the CPI, on Wednesday demanded an impartial probe into the incident.

AUCTION: The Improvement Trust on Wednesday earned Rs 6.87 crore through an auction of 53 units. Mr Bakshi Ram Arora, Chairman, presided over the auction in which residential plots at Ranjit Avenue, Green Plaza and New Amritsar Scheme were sold.

DISMISSAL DEMANDED: The Punjab Kisan Sabha has demanded the dismissal of Baldev Singh Chatha, Joint Director, Department of Animal Husbandry, for his alleged involvement in a fodder and seeds scam and also in a case of misbehaviour with a woman employee. The demand was made in a press note released by Mr Rattan Singh Randhawa, general secretary of the district committee of the sabha.

TEXTILE ASSOCIATION: Various textile manufacturers’ associations here have expressed concern over the unlawful activities of certain trade unions which had been disrupting the peaceful functioning of the mills. The honorary general secretary of the textile manufacturers association, Mr H.S. Makhni, in a press note issued here on Wednesday, urged the government to check the activities these trade union.

POWER CRISIS: Residents of the Chheharta area are facing miserable conditions on account of several undeclared power cuts. Ms Vimla Dang, former MLA, in a press note stated that the SDO concerned of the Punjab State Electricity Board was hardly ever available to rectify the faults.

GURDASPUR
DRUG ADDICTION: The Project Director of the local De-addiction Centre, Mr J.P. Jalota said on Wednesday that drug addiction in colleges and schools had assumed dangerous proportions in the district with even girls becoming addict. Mr Sukhdev Singh, SSP, said the police would cooperate with the centre to hold camps and seminars to bring about an awareness among the youth against the drug abuse.

HOSHIARPUR
DHARNA HELD: Students, of the main ITI here, Industrial Training School, Kutcha Toba and ITI, Hariana, held a dharna in front of the ITI and blocked traffic on the Hoshairpur-Jalandhar road for more than three hours here on Wednesday. They were protesting against the non-acceptance of their demands by the state government.

ARRESTED: The police has arrested Joginder Pal and his wife Simarjit of Pur Hiran Colony under Sections 302 and 34, IPC, on Tuesday. They allegedly poisoned Tarsem Lal, alias Sema, of the same colony to death. Raj Pal of Sukhiabad was also arrested under Sections 302 and 201, IPC, for allegedly killing his mother and cremating her without informing his relatives.

DROWNED: Sushil Kumar (17) of Chaman Colony, Chandigarh, was drowned in the Kandi canal, near Datarpur, on Tuesday. He along with his friends had gone there to take a bath. His body has not been recovered.

SUICIDE: Arjun Singh (56) of the local Model Town allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison on Tuesday.

JAGRAON
DHARNA: A number of Congress workers, led by Mr Darshan Singh Brar, a former state minister and PPCC general secretary, staged a dharna on Wednesday in front of the Municipal Council office here. They demanded streetlights in all the wards, proper drainage system in the areas of Link Road, Raikot Road, Kacha Malak Road, Sanmati Sadan Market, Prachin Bhadar Kali Mandir, development of the wards of Congress councillors, maintenance of cleanliness at all the educational institutions, gurdwaras and temples, particularly the old Hanuman Mandir, construction of main road in Hira Bagh, and repair of road from Octroi Post No 7 to old bus stand, Raikot.

SUICIDE: Balesar, a rickshaw-puller from Purnia district in Bihar, living for the last eight years at Pabbian village, five kilometres from here, committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance. Earlier, he hit his wife, Mala, with a hammer causing head injury, for the treatment of which she was admitted to a local hospital.

KHANNA
POWER CUT SCHEDULE: Due to massive paddy cultivation, load at all power generation units of the PSEB has increased. According to the power controller, Patiala, power cuts will be imposed twice a day in the state. In Khanna circle, including Mandi Gobindgarh, power cuts will be imposed from 8:00 a.m. to 9.30 a.m. and from 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm. This arrangement would continue till July 1, after which situation would be re-assessed, informed the power controller.

KHARAR
PHONE CONNECTIONS: Mr Jaswant Singh, sarpanch of Machli Kalan village of the Kharar block, in a letter sent to the Union Telecommunication Minister, has alleged that the department has failed to install telephones in the village since 1997-98. He stated the minister had made an announcement that all pending phone connections would be released by March, 2000. He has appealed to the minister to look into the matter immediately and ask the department to release phone connections immediately.

POWER SUPPLY: The supply of electricity to Kharar and its surroundings areas will remain suspended on Friday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. due to some urgent maintenance work at 132 kv power station.

ASSOCIATION: The Punjab Chemists Association has reacted to a news item published in a section of the Press on Wednesday that the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, has assured that DSPs and SMOs would be given powers to check illegal sale of prescription drugs by Chemists in the state. According to a press note issued here on Thursday by Mr Harish Chander Sethi, working president of the association, this move of the Punjab Government was ill-conceived as DSPs and SMOs were not technically competent for this job. According to the press note, only the Drug Inspectors were trained for this job under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1945. According to the press note, this move of the government would create more problems instead of solving these.

LUDHIANA
GRANT: Mr Sat Pal Gosain, Deputy Speaker, Punjab Vidhan Sabha presented a cheque for Rs 3 lakh for the construction of new building of Kalvary Church in the city. The state PWD Department will provide building material worth Rs 2 lakh for the work. Speaking at this occasion, Mr Gosain said the state government had equal respect for all the religions. Lauding the missionary spirit of the Christian community, the Deputy Speaker observed that the community had extended a helping hand to the mankind during natural calamities. Rev Ram Pal, area councillor, Mr Kulwant Singh Dukhia and Mr Emerin Gill were present at this occasion.

BJP DEMAND: The district unit of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has urged the state government to provide funds for disbursement of promised subsidy to the small scale industrial units, which was hanging fire since 1996. Mr Harbans Lal Sethi, district president of the party has said in a statement that the funds released for this purpose by the state government recently were far too less. He further observed that many of the SSI units had obtained loans against the sanctioned amount of subsidy and as a result of inordinate delay in disbursement, the SSI owners were made to pay massive interest on these loans.

CHARGE ASSUMED: Dr B.S. Gill, (retd), Joint Director, Animal Husbandry, Punjab, has assumed charge as honorary Director in PFA Animals and Birds Hospital (Jeev Daya Sadan) here. Dr Gill, a postgraduate in veterinary surgery, has worked in various capacities in the Department of Animal Husbandry.

ARYA SAMAJ: The Arya Samaj has decided to set up a District Arya Sabha in order to revive and revitalise the defunct institutions and to streamline the work of ‘ved prachar’ in the district. In a joint meeting of Arya Samaj, Istri Arya Samaj and managing committee members of educational institutions, run by Arya Samaj held here, Mr Roshan Lal Arya was elected the president of Arya Sabha.

MEETING: At a meeting with Mr E. Barwa, IFS, Joint Secretary (Technical and Economic Cooperation), Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, who visited Punjab Agricultural University, Dr Kirpal Singh Aulakh, Vice-Chancellor, stressed the need for proper understanding of various clauses of the WTO and developing a strong mutual linkages among the developing countries through exchange of information and expertise. Dr Aulakh said the university has the facilities and expertise to provide in-service training to the experts of other developing countries in the fields of plant breeding, soil science, veterinary and animal sciences and other areas related to agriculture. Mr Barwa visited the farmers’ service centre, dairy farm, poultry farm, fisheries farm and crop museum of the university and appreciated the role played by the university scientists in maximising production and productivity of different crops and animals.

SEMINAR: The Aptech Computer Education organised a seminar on ‘Opportunities in IT industry’ at Nehru Sidhant Kendra here on Wednesday. Addressing the students, Mr Deepak Khullar, Regional Manager, said it was very important to choose the right kind of course. Mr Arindam Banerjee, placement head, apprised the students of ways to improve communication skills and resume writing. Mr Rajeev Kapoor, head of Regional Technology, said the Internet was the backbone for computer applications and several opportunities were available in the field.

ARCHITECTS ASSOCIATION: The second meeting of Ludhiana Architects Association was held here on Tuesday which was attended by all the leading architects of the city. The architects of Ludhiana registered with the Council of Architecture (Govt of India), New Delhi ,have decided to come on a common platform to discuss various aspects of Architectural profession. The members decided to make Ludhiana or Punjab chapter of Indian Institute of Architects (I.I.A.) of Mumbai for which responsibility was given to Mr Vinay Kumar Jain, Mr H.S.Sehgal and Mr Sanjay Goel.

BADAL GOVT FLAYED: Several Congress leaders criticised the Akali Dal-BJP government on Wednesday for its allround failure during the past four years. They alleged that the government was now trying to befool them by organising sangat darshan programmes and doling out false promises. Addressing a workers meeting organised by Mr Varun Mehta, a leader of the Youth Congress, a senior Congress leader and MLA Ludhiana (North) Rakesh Pandey lashed out at the Badal government. Mr Pandey said all the projects being claimed to be launched by the Badal government were actually started during the Congress regime. The Congress MLA expressed confidence that his party will from the next government in the state.

BIRTH ANNIVERSARY: Dhan-Pothohar Brotherhood, Punjab, is going to celebrate 117th Birthday of Master Tara Singh on July 1 at 11.00 a.m at Punjabi Bhawan, Ludhiana. Justice Kuldip Singh (retd) will be the chief guest and Ms Kiranjot Kaur, general secretary, Sharomani Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee, will preside over the function. Principal Prithipal Singh Kapoor, former Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, and Dr Harnam Singh Shan, PHD. D. Lit. (London) and some other scholars will throw light on the life, contribution, dedication and other aspect of Master Tara Singh.

OFFICE-BEARERS: Following have been elected office-bearers of the local unit of Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union of Kamla Lohtia Sanatan Dharam College: President — Prof Bimlesh Kumar Gupta; vice-president — Prof Mohammad Saleem; general secretary — Prof Dinesh Malik; joint secretary — Prof Rajesh Marwaha; and finance secretary — Prof Ashok Kumar.

ANNUAL EXHIBITION: The Harsimar Art and Stitching School organised its third annual exhibition here on Wednesday. Bed sheets, soft toys, wall hangings with glass painting, nib painting, embroidery, flower pots, ladies suits and kurta pyjamas were put on display. Ms Paramjit Kaur, Principal, appreciated the efforts of the students.

BCA COURSE: The Government Bikram College of Commerce, Patiala, has been given permission by Punjabi University to start Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) course from the current academic session. Giving this information, the college Principal, Dr Raj Kumar Sharma, said that it was the first government college in Punjab to go for a professional course. He said there would be 40 seats for the course.

CHANDIGARH

DECISION HAILED: Mr Sunil Parti, Chairman of Chandigarh State Federation of Co-op House Building Societies Ltd, has welcomed the Chandigarh Administration’s decision to remit the duty chargeable under the Indian Stamp Duty Act, 1899, on the Mortgage Deeds without possession executed by the Co-op House Building Societies or its members in favour of Housefed, Chandigarh.

HARYANA

ARRESTED: An employee of the electricity board, Dharampal Ahlawat, was allegedly caught by the police on Wednesday for demanding a bribe of Rs 300 for issuing a no-objection certificate to a consumer. A case has been registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

NURPUR
ORGANISATION FORMED: Residents of Viney Street here formed the Shaheed Viney Kaul Voluntary Organisation with the aim of saving the environment and keep the city clean. Mr Mukesh Kumar, Mr Prem Lal and Mr Ashutosh Joshi were elected president, vice-president, and general secretary of the organisation, respectively. Mr Rakesh Mahajan, president of the Municipal Council, administered the oath to the office-bearers on Tuesday.

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

Engineer’s passion for models

RAJ Kumar is not a genius, but works hard to excel in the field of making models including that of Jallianwala Bagh Memorial which was installed in the waiting hall of Amritsar railway station. Raj Kumar, a civil engineer and architect by profession, recently completed the model of Shri Durgiana Mandir which is likely to be installed at the new railway station on the Gole Bagh-side platform.

Raj Kumar started work on the model for Durgiana Mandir in 1994, made of acrylic plastic sheets and Balsa wood with a dimension of 3.5 ft x 4.6 ft x 1.3 ft. The model reflects the original silver doors on the main entrance to the mandir, while the domes and small ‘burgies’ on top are gold plated. The bridge connecting the main entrance, the marble flooring, the water tank and electric poles have been provided in the model, showing all main features of the temple.

The 42-year old engineer belongs to a family of freedom fighters and had a dream of making historical and religious models which he persued with great vigour and enthusiasm as his hobby. He had also painted a picture of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre which adorns the chambers of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker in the Assembly building.

A Royal celebration

The major events celebrated on the Ridge in Shimla are Statehood Day, Republic Day, Himachal Day and Independence Day. But there is one more royal event celebrated above the Ridge, in the Jakhu area, on June 23, of every year.

Yes folks! you have guessed it right. It’s the holy royal birthday of the undaunted king of Himachal Pradesh Raja Virbhadra Singh, ex-Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh celebrated at Holy Lodge, his private residence.

On 65th birthday this year there was a special puja — havan early in the morning. It was completely a private and a family affair. And with the first ray of sunlight, traditional bands of different areas played rich cultural and folklore music. People started pouring in and after sometime it looked like a stream and a flood of visitors. This carried on till late even after midnight. Royal families of several states had also visited the “king”. According to a person working in the local pot office: “There was at least a few kilos of telegrams and letter received by our Department. I personally feel it can get an official entry into the Guinness Book of World Records for receiving a record mail for a birthday. The entire atmosphere looked like a typical big fair or a mela Himachal Pradesh usually witnesses. The visitors included a battery of people like ex-ministers, sitting MLAs, HoDs and middle and upper rung bureaucracy. Jakhu area seldom witnesses traffic jams but on the holy day one could spot the same.

When a very old lady who had come all the way from Dodra Kwar area of Rohru, the king’s constituency, was asked whom she had come to meet? She said: “Obviously I have come to meet Virbhadra Singh, the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh”. When she was told that he is no more than Chief Minister — she said “You are of my son’s age but you have got the habit of kidding. Virbhadra Singh is the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. Don’t you see a beeline of red light vehicles and people. A Cabinet meeting is in process inside. In case you have some problem in meeting the Raja, I will help you because I know him personally. I have already met him in the morning and blessed him and showered him with choicest blessings.

“Silai centre”

A son happily inherits the running business but generally ignores the social work started by the father after his demise. Mr Devender Gupta of Subathu has set an example by stepping into the shoes of his father, Lala Vidya Sagar, adopting the ‘Silai centre’. Started 25 years ago with a single stitching machine, this centre has made nearly 11,500 poor and needy girls and women self dependent by imparting training in art and craft besides stitching. Inspired by late veteran freedom fighter and social worker Lala Vidya Sagar, several women render voluntary services as instructor and helpers.

Brigadier Kapil Mohan of Mohan Meakins started helping with a meagre sum of Rs 300 in the beginning. Even today its monthly budget is limited to Rs 500 only despite the fact that more than 100 women are receiving the training. The deficit is always borne by Devender Gupta like his father who supervises the affairs despite his busy schedule. He also proposes to construct a permanent building for this school. Which will cater to the needs, of the down-trodden and poor strata of the society.

Contributed by Ashok Sethi, Ravi Bali and Madan Gupta Spatu.