The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Thursday, July 12, 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
STIR THREATENED: The National Students Union of India on Tuesday threatened to go on strike in protest against the hike in fees by Guru Nanak Dev University. In a statement, Mr Aman Prashar, state general secretary of the union, has criticised the hike in fees.

MEETING HELD: A meeting of the Central JCA-Income Tax Employees Federation and Income Tax Gazetted Services Federation was held here on Tuesday. It expressed resentment against the inordinate delay in constituting a departmental promotion committee and the revision of pay scales of Inspectors and ITOs.

BATHINDA
BLOOD DONATION CAMP: A blood donation camp was organised by the United Welfare Society in cooperation with the Post Office Bazaar Welfare Association here on Wednesday. Mr Chiranji Lal Garg, Punjab Minister for Science and Technology, was the chief guest on the occasion.

EYE CAMP: The local Divine Eye Research Foundation will organise a free eye camp at Government Middle School, Phus Mandi village, on July 12. This was stated by Mr Rakesh Narula, president of the foundation.

VISITED: Mr R. Venkatratnam, Deputy Commissioner, today visited Talwandi Sabo to assess the development works going on in the township. Venkatratnam also held a meeting with the officials of the local Notified Area Committee. Mr Sukhmandir Singh, SDM, was also present on the occasion.

FAZILKA
ONE KILLED: Manga Singh (31) of Mohlan village was killed while Surjit Singh and Bimla, both residents of Lamochar Kalan village, were injured when their scooter skidded near Lamochar Kalan village, 21 km from here, on the Ferozepore road on Wednesday. They were returning from Ladhuka village. The injured were rushed to the Civil Hospital.

GURDASPUR
DRINKING ON DUTY: Six Class IV employees of the local Civil Hospital were caught drinking in the ECG room while on duty on Tuesday. Dr S.S. Bajwa, Senior Medical Officer, handed over the employees to the police after conducting their medical examination.

HOSHIARPUR
SUICIDE: Saunka Singh (25), son of Mohinder Singh of Mehngrowal village, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree. He was said to be mentally upset.

ARRESTED: The Garshankar police arrested Amritpal of the Balolpur road, Samrala, and recovered Rs 60,000 from him. The recovered money was suspected to be hawala money.

KAPURTHALA
IMFL SEIZED: The Dhilwan police on the intervening night of Sunday intercepted a car at a naka in the Butala village area and seized 1,62,000 ml of Indian-made foreign liquor. Ms Gurpreet Deo, SSP, said this in a press note on Monday. Tarlok singh of Mohalla Chabutra Bazar, Ghumiara, driver of the car, has been arrested. A case under some sections of the Excise Act has been registered.

KHARAR
JUDICIAL CUSTODY: Mr R.L. Chauhan, Judicial Magistrate, on Wednesday remanded Nigerian national David Otineno Mayong in judicial custody till July 25 who was arrested by the SAS Nagar police after registering a case under Section 14, Foreigners Act 1946. The Assistant Public Prosecuter pleaded that the accused had been living in SAS Nagar without proper visa since 1988. The suspect pleaded that he had lost his passport.

ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the All-India Human Rights Watch, Ropar district: president —Mr Gurcharan Singh; senior vice-president — Mr Jaswant Singh and Mr Ajit Pardesi; vice-presidents — Mr Jasbir Singh, Mr Nasib Singh and Ms Randhir Kaur; secretaries — Mr Dilbag Singh Dhillon and Mr Satbir Singh.

LUDHIANA
HONOURED: The newly appointed chairman of the Labour and Employment Cell of the Pradesh Congress Committee, Mr K.K. Bawa, was honoured at a function by the Model Gram Shopkeepers Association on Tuesday. The function, which was presided over by the District Congress Committee president, Mr Surinder Dawer, was attended among others by Mr Nahar Singh Gill, Mr Pawan Dewan, Mr Nirmal Singh Mahant, Mr Jitender Singh and Mr Akshay Bhanot. The function was organised by Mr Manmohan Walia.

OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad: president — Mr Sandeep Kapoor; secretary — Mohit Goyal; and office secretary — Mr Rohit Sharma.

NEW COURSE: AS College, Khanna, has got affiliation with Panjab University for a vocational course in Computer Applications. Giving this information, Mr Tarsem Bahia, principal, said students doing graduation in any stream could take up the course in lieu of an elective subject. He said there would be 40 seats for the course and students opting for the course would avail the benefit of going in for MCA, M.Sc (IT) and other courses after completing graduation.

CHEQUES DISTRIBUTED: The Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker, Mr Charanjit Singh Atwal, distributed cheques worth Rs 26 lakh to farmers, belonging to several villages in the Ludhiana Rural constituency as compensation for paddy sold below the minimum support price during last season. Addressing a function held at Aarti Marriage Palace, Sahnewal, Mr Atwal claimed that the SAD-BJP government was committed to safeguard the interests of the farming community and explained in detail various policies, aimed at welfare of the agriculture sector.

DRUGS: The New Punjab Welfare Association has called upon the state government to announce a clear cut policy to check the menace of drug abuse and use of intoxicants by the youth. In a memorandum, submitted to district authorities by the society, it was demanded that strict checking should be ordered on sale of intoxicating drugs and laws relating to stocks and sale of medicines, should be scrupulously enforced. The society has further urged the government to regulate the sale of prescription drugs, ban use of intoxicants at public places, initiate suitable measures for deaddiction, launch awareness campaign against drugs, in cooperation with NGOs and include the demerits of intoxicating substances in school curriculum. The memorandum was presented to Additional deputy Commissioner S.R. Kler by Mr Neel Kamal Sharma, president, Mr Prince Sharma, general secretary, and Mr Harpreet Singh Dang, patron of the society.

HAILED: The All-India Sikh Students Federation (Badal) has hailed the nomination of Mr Nusrat Ali Khan, Punjab Minister for Sports, to the working committee of Shiromani Akali Dal. In a statement, AISSF district president Kamaljit Singh Grewal expressed gratitude to party president Parkash Singh Badal for the nomination, which, he added, would further strengthen the bonds between the Sikh and Muslim communities.

GRAIN MARKET: The shopkeepers in the New Grain Market, near Jalandhar bypass in the city, are a harassed lot with no body to listen to their tale of woes. The accumulation of rain water in the market has assumed alarming proportion and the entire market stood dotted with stagnating pools of rain water. According to the occupants of shop-cum-flats in the market, the sewer lines all over the market were clogged and the drainage system had totally collapsed. The stagnating water had become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and the whole area was under the threat of an epidemic. Repeated pleas made with the market committee for remedial steps had failed to evoke any response so far, rued Mr Vinod Patial, one of the shopkeepers in the market.

MACHHIWARA
SEMINAR: The local unit of Tarksheel Society, Punjab, held a seminar at the local Government Senior Secondary School here. Mr Rajinder Bhadaur and Mr Bhoora Singh Mehma Sarja, cashier and general secretary of the society, respectively, made the people aware of the achievements of the society in the recent past. They also answered people’s various queries on the occasion. Mr Tarlochan Singh, Mr Rajinder Jandiali and Mr Mulk Raj read out ‘rationalistic’ poems. Besides, the society presented a person of nearby village, Hedon, whose psychological problems it had cured recently.

FOUNDATION STONE LAID: The Speaker of Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Mr Charanjit Singh Atwal, laid the foundation stones of six link roads in Machhiwara Block on Tuesday. An amount of Rs 68.49 lakh would be spent on constructing these roads, measuring 7.61 km in total, he informed.

MALERKOTLA
CELEBRATED: The local Civil Hospital celebrated the World Population Day here on Wednesday. Dr Suresh Kumar Goyal, District Family Welfare Officer, warned officials at ultrasound centres that anyone found indulging in sex determination tests would be fined and imprisoned up to five years.

MANSA
RESULT 100 PC: Mr Tej Ram Bansal, Principal of the local Gandhi Senior Secondary School, said in a press note here on Wednesday that the result of plus two students of the school conducted by the Punjab School Education Board this year was 100 per cent.

MOGA
CROP DESTROYED: Jujhar Singh of Manuke village under the Baghapurana police station in the district on Tuesday, complained to the police that some persons on Tuesday damaged his crop, including green fodder and narma, sown in about four kanals, by spraying poisonous medicines on it.

COMPLAINED: Raj Kaur, widow of Harbans Singh, of Baghapurana in the district complained to the police on Wednesday that her husband had died allegedly after a doctor of the village administered him an injection. She said the doctor had received Rs 12,000 for her husband’s treatment, but issued no receipt. She has demanded action against the doctor.

ONE KILLED: A man was killed when his scooter collided with a truck on the Moga-Ferozepore road, about 45 km from here, on Tuesday. A case has been registered. In another incident, three occupants of a car were injured when their vehicle overturned on the Moga-Ludhiana road, about 65 km from here, on Tuesday.

PATIALA
ORIENTATION PROGRAMME: Under the ‘Small Savings Scheme’, Patiala circle, including Patiala, Sangrur, Bathinda and Mansa districts, have collected Rs 572.75 crore against a target of Rs 468 crore during the year 2000-2001. This was stated by Mr Ram Lal, Deputy Regional Director, National Savings Organisation, while speaking at the one day orientation training for small scale agents organised by the Patiala Unit on Wednesday. Mr Lal said the 2,583 small savings agents would be trained in the current financial year and the training programme had already been initiated.

MANGO MELA WINNERS: Horticulture Department, Patiala participated in the Mango Mela held in Pinjore on July 7 and 8 with around 150 entries, including different varieties of mango like dusheri, langra, amarpali, chausa, ramkela, malika and desi varieties. The department also displayed various mango products such as jam, squash, pickles, chutney and muraba. Dr Swarn Singh Mann, Horticulture Development Officer, Government Fruit Nursery, Patiala, received first prize and second prize in amarpali and second prize in ramkela variety of Government Gardens and Fruit Nursery, Patiala. Apart from this, he also won four first prizes and five 2nd prizes in entries from private gardens. Dr Nirwant Singh, HDO, Fruit Preservation Lab, Patiala, received four first and two second prizes in fruit products in the competition.

TARN TARAN
TAKES CHARGE: Ms D.K. Mahia has taken over as Principal of newly upgraded Government Senior Secondary School, Aladinpur, the native village of Dr Manohar Singh Gill, former Chief Election Commissioner.

MEETING HELD: The Class IV Government Employees Union organised a meeting here on Monday under the presidentship of Mr Dukhharan, president of the union. In a resolution passed in the meeting, it has called upon all organisations of Class IV employees of Punjab to share a common platform to fight for their demands.

AMRITSAR DIRECTORY: The publishers of the Amritsar directory, Amrit and JP Industrial Services Limited, have said owing to the persistent public demand, they were compiling the second edition of the directory. Besides Amritsar, industrial units of Jalandhar, Batala and Mandi Gobindgarh etc, would also be listed in the directory, they added.

HARYANA

AMBALA
SCIENCE EXHIBITION: A school-level science exhibition was held at Kendriya Vidyalaya No 2, Ambala Cantonment, on Wednesday. Sqn Ldr Surendra Singh inaugurated the exhibition. Keen interest was shown by the chief guest in models displayed at the exhibition and he praised the students for the hardwork put in by them. the Principal, Mr Rajbir Singh Sisodia, said.

COLLEGE FUNCTION: Mr Rameshwar Dass Aggarwal, Chairman of Ambala City Improvement Trust, gave awards to the meritorious students of MDSD College, on Wednesday. At a function held on the college campus, Mr Rameshwar Dass gave the best student award to Sushma, who featured in the Kurukshetra University’s BA second year merit list and is a debator, dancer and NCC cadet, a release said.

JIND
MURDERED: Narpal of Frain village in the district was murdered near the grain market at Narwana on Monday. The assailants attacked him with sharp-edged weapons and also opened fire at him. A case has been registered under Sections 302, 148 and 149 of the IPC and the Arms Act against five persons.

BOOKED FOR DOWRY: The police has registered a case against husband, mother-in-law and sister-in-law of Ms Kamlesh for harassing her to bring more dowry. According to a report here on Tuesday, Mr Hawa Singh, father of Kamlesh, had complained to the police in this connection.

KAITHAL
DRIVE LAUNCHED: The district administration has launched a drive to destroy congress grass in the district. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Phateh Singh Dagar, participated in a similar drive launched in Amargarh Colony here on Tuesday and uprooted congress grass from about one acre. The Chairman of the Municipal Council, Mr Kamal Chaudhry, the Executive Officer Mr J.P. Bishnoi, and a large number of residents took part in the drive.

INCOME TAX CAMP: The regional training centre of the Haryana Institute of Public Administration started a three-day income tax camp at the local Panchayat Bhavan on Tuesday. Mr Sanjay Methani, Senior Income Tax Adviser, and his associates informed the participants about the filing of income tax returns. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Phateh Singh Dagar, presided.

SONEPAT
PURSE SNATCHED: A scooterist reportedly snatched the purse of Ms Saroj Bala, a teacher of a village school in Sector 15 here, on Monday. It contained Rs 1,400, school keys and some documents. An FIR was registered with the police in this connection.

CASE SOLVED: The Sadar police on Wednesday claimed to have solved the alleged murder of Karam Singh of Palri village. Three persons, including Rajo, wife of the victim, and her paramour, Maloo, were arrested in this connection.

SHOT: Ashok Singh, a youth, was reportedly shot by some members of a liquor mafia in his house at Rewara village, about 45 km from here, on Tuesday. The victim was a kiryana merchant and allegedly used to sell liquor without licence. The police has launched a manhunt.

MISSING: Aklesh Kumar, a boy of Rajiv Colony, and Santosh of double-storeyed quarters here have reportedly been missing for the past two days. According to a report, at least five children had disappeared or kidnapped from their houses here during the past 10 days.

UHBVN PLAN: The Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam has drawn up a Rs 21.52-crore plan for installing 11 power sub-stations in the district during the current financial year. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr S.N. Roy, told mediapersons here on Tuesday that the plan envisaged the construction of five 132-kv sub-stations and six 33-kv sub-stations.