R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

FARIDKOT
COMPENSATION: The FCI has agreed to pay compensation to those farmers who suffered losses in the sale of paddy last year in the district. This was stated by Mr A.Venu Prasad, Deputy Commissioner, here on Thursday.

FATEHGARH SAHIB
FAKE COIN: Col H.S. Virk (Retd), Head of the Department of Management Studies, Mata Gujri Institute of Management and Higher Education, Fatehgarh Sahib, has alleged that he was handed over a fake coin by a vendor at Patiala during a routine transaction in market. When he was about to make a payment to another vendor, he noticed that coin which was palmed off to him as Rs 5 coin was actually two 50 paise coins fixed back to back to make them look similar to a Rs 5 coin. He has demanded that the Government of India should redesign the Rs 5 coin to save public from being duped by some unscrupulous swindlers in this way.

SUMMER CAMP: Valedictory function of a summer camp organised by Saffron City School, Kotla Bajwara, 5 km from here, was held on Thursday. Children from various schools in and around Fatehgarh Sahib participated in the camp. They were imparted training in spoken English, English grammar, cursive writing, judo, karate, skating, dance music, embroidery, tailoring, fabric and pot painting etc. Students compered the entire function at their own. Sunny Bhardwaj, a student, delivered the keynote address about various activities and experiences during the camp. It was mandatory for every trainee to participate in his hobby activity. Mr Simrat Singh Kahlon, director of the school, addressed the students on the occasion. Trainees were awarded prizes and certificates.

HOSHIARPUR
2 HELD FOR RAPE: The police has arrested Surjit Singh, alias Kaka, of Keherwali village and Ajay Kumar alias Kittu of Kanthan village, for allegedly raping a class VI student of Senior Secondary School, Dasuya. This was stated by Mr Sanjeev Kalra, SSP, in a press note here on Thursday.

IDOL INSTALLED: Mr Ajit Singh Kohar, Minister for Jails, Punjab, performed a ceremony to install an idol of Lord Shiva in a temple at District Jail here on Thursday. He also inspected the jail and heard the grievances of its inmates. Earlier, a shobha yatra was taken out in the main bazar of the city.

KHAMANO
OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Kajoli unit of the PWD Field Workers’ Union: president — Mr Baldev Singh; senior vice-president —Mr Nirmal Singh; vice-president — Mr Parwinder Singh Dholan Majra; general secretary — Mr Karam Singh Kalaram; organising secretary — Mr Jagir Singh Mali; joint secretary — Mr Himmat Singh Kajoli; treasurer — Mr Om Parkash Kajoli; press secretary — Mr Nirbhai Singh Maroli; and chief adviser — Mr Jankar Singh.

DKD TO JOIN STRIKE: A 100-member jatha of the Dalit Kisan Dal will sit on fast with the struggling ETT teachers, in Chandigarh on Tuesday for 24 hours. Stating this here Mr Bhinder Singh Ranwan, general secretary, DKD, expressed his party’s solidarity with the ETT teachers and appealed to the government to accept their demands. He threatened that the struggle would be intensified if the demands were not met soon.

KHANNA
CONVENTION: Mr Mukhtiar Singh Arshia, president, Republican Party of India (Punjab unit), has informed that in order to give a new direction to Punjab politics, the Punjab Lok Morcha, which includes SAD (Democratic), Samajwadi Party, Samajwadi Janata Party, Marxist Communist Party of India, Janata Dal (secular) and RPI, will hold a convention on Saturday at Desh Bhagat Memorial Hall in Jalandhar.

KAPURTHALA
INSPECTOR ARRESTED: Vigilance personnel on Thursday arrested Harbhajan Singh, an Inspector of the District Agriculture Department, on the charge of accepting a bribe of Rs 2,000 from Jarnail Singh of Bagrian village in Bholath subdivision. The vigilance team, led by Mr Rajwant Kumar, DSP, raided the office of the inspector and caught him, allegedly while accepting the bribe.

KHARAR
PRAYER HELD: The Muslim community at a meeting held here on Friday under the presidentship of Mr Rafiq Ahmed prayed for the success of talks going to be held between Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pervez Musharraf and demanded that visa system between India and Pakistan should be abolished. According to a press note issued here it was demanded that the citizens of both the countries should be freely allowed to go to meet their relatives living in other country. 

MEETING: A meeting of the All-India Human Rights Watch has been called on July 8 at Friends Enclave here, according to a press note issued by Dr Bhupinder Singh.

RESULT: All first three positions in Ropar district in the matriculation examination conducted by the Punjab School Education Board have been secured by students of Vikram Public High School here. Gaurav Jain of the school stood first in the district by securing 596 marks, Mandeep Singh stood second by securing 593 marks and Suman Lata stood third by securing 582 marks.

MANSA
SEMINAR ON AIDS: A seminar on AIDS awareness was organised by the All-India Anti-Terrorist Front (AIATF) here on Thursday. Prof H.L. Bansal, chairman, Punjab AIDS Control Organisation, addressed the gathering.

MOGA
COOPERATIVE SOCIETY: A former state president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, Mr Kuldeep Singh Sandhu, in a communication to the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, on Thursday sought his intervention in the affairs of the cooperative society of Maheshri village in the district. He alleged that the society was indulging in corruption and failed to disburse the profits it had earned since its inception in 1935. He further alleged that the society has also misappropriated huge amount of money and has failed to maintain its accounts.

NAWANSHAHR
POPPY HUSK SEIZED: The police allegedly seized 105 kg of poppy husk from the house of Chhindi of Soeta village during a raid on Thursday. The accused is reported to have absconded. The police has registered a case under Sections 15, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act, Mr Ishwar Singh, SSP, said in a press note here on Friday.

LIQUOR SEIZED: The Kathgarh police, during a naka near Asron, police post, about 40 km from here on Thursday, intercepted a Tata Sierra and seized 20 boxes of English wine. The police has registered a case against Yegeshwar Kumar of Neela Mahal mohalla, Jalandhar, under Sections 1, 61 and 14 of the Excise Act, the SSP said in a press note on Friday.

ARRESTED: The police has arrested proclaimed offender Rachhpal Singh, alias Titoo, of Chahal Khurd village against whom a case under Sections 15, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act was registered in January, the police said in a press note here on Friday.

TWO NEW COURSES: The local R.K. Arya College, which is celebrating its golden jubilee, has been granted two courses — Bachelor of Information Technology (BIT) and Postgraduate Diploma in Computer Applications (PGDCA) — by Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. This was stated by Mr Prem Bhardwaj, president of the college managing committee, in a press note here on Friday.

CT SCAN: Mr Budh Singh Dhahan, a social worker and president of the Guru Nanak Mission Medical and Educational Trust, Dhahan Kaleran in a press note here on Friday said a 3-D CT scan had been installed at a cost of Rs 70 lakh at Guru Nanak Mission Hospital, Dhahan Kaleran. Mr Swarna Ram, Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister, Punjab, will inaugurate it on July 11.

PHILLAUR
DEVELOPMENT COURSE: A three-day course on self development for police officers was inaugurated by Mr D.R. Bhatti, Director, Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur, at the academy on Thursday. Thirty police officers of gazetted and non-gazetted ranks from various police districts of the state participated. Dr D.J. Singh, Deputy Director of the academy, explained the broad objectives of the course and highlighted important parameters of personal effectiveness.

CRITICISED: Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray has criticised the return of Wassan Singh Zaffarwal and Dr Jagjit Singh Chohan and has warned the government that it could disturb peace in the state. This was stated by Mr Thackeray to a high-level deputation of its Punjab unit led by chairman Surinder Dogra and president Pawan Gupta, in Mumbai a few days ago.

KESARIA VAHINI: The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, Punjab, would set up “kesaria vahini” comprising morcha activists, which would be deputed at all polling booths to prevent malpractices in poll during the Assembly poll in Punjab. This was stated by its state president Sukhwinderpal Singh Grewal and vice-president Arun Khosla here on Friday.

SAHNEWAL
DHARMENDRA DARSHAN: Amarpal Singh (27) left Sahnewal at 1 p.m. on Wednesday on a bicycle for a journey of 1775 km. He said he would be able to cover the distance in 25 days. Written in front of his cycle are words ‘Yatra Dharmendra darshan’ and this is his third journey on cycle. He completed his first journey in 1997 when he went to Delhi on cycle to meet the music director, Charanjit Ahuja, and the second in 1999 when he went to Baba Balak Nath in Himachal and also to Naina Devi. He has already made a phone call to Dharmendra before starting on his journey. He said Rs 5,000, would be spent in this venture.

CHANDIGARH

CAMP: A tree plantation camp was held at Guru Nanak Khalsa Senior Secondary School, Sector 30. Saplings were planted an the school campus by members of the management of the Sri Gurdwara Singh Sabha, Sector 19.

HARYANA

BHIWANI
EMPLOYMENT: In order to provide jobs to unemployed youths, the Haryana Agriculture Industries Corporation has decided to appoint them sales promoters on commission basis to increase the sale of agricultural equipment, pesticides and cattle feed through its kisan seva and sale centres, an official spokesman said on Thursday.

MLA’s FATHER DEAD: Mr Harnand Arya (85), father of Mr Ranbir Singh Mandolla, MLA from Badhra, died on Wednesday. He was cremated at his paternal village Mandolla. Representatives from political parties, social institutions, besides, the Deputy Commissioner, the Superintendent of Police and the Subdivisional Officer (C) Dadri, and people from all walks of life attended the funeral. He is survived by four sons and two daughters.

EXCISE EVASION: The Excise Department has imposed a fine of Rs 1.20 lakh on a transport company for evasion of tax. According to reports, two trucks of the company loaded with scrap, left Mumbai for Mandi Gobindgarh in Punjab, but to evade the tax, the scrap was unloaded at Rohtak.

FARIDABAD
WOMAN MURDERED: A married woman, Kailashi, was killed at Chander-Hut, near Hassanpur, 60 km from here, on Wednesday when her sister-in-law Dev Rani allegedly hit her with a sharp weapon. A land dispute was stated to be the reason behind the killing. A case has been registered.

LATHI-CHARGED: Five persons were injured when the police resorted to a mild lathi charge on a mob which resisted officials of a demolishing squad in Sector 19 on Wednesday. However, the demolishing squad of HUDA demolished four shops and boundaries of some houses with the help of the police.

NARNAUL
BODY FOUND: The body of Madan Lal (22) alias Lela Ram, of Sihma village in Narnaul tehsil, was fished out from the Jawahar Lal Nehru Canal by the police on Wednesday. After a post-mortem examination, the body was handed over to its relatives. The deceased was reported to have been ailing for some time.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

SHIMLA
FEE REDUCED: At a meeting of the Students Central Association (SCA) with the Vice-Chancellor, Prof S.K. Gupta it has been decided to reduce the hostel fee to Rs 1,476 from the existing Rs 1,890.