The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Saturday, February 2, 2002, Chandigarh, India

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PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
PRACTICAL EXAMS: The practical examinations of B.A./B.Sc, B.Ed and other allied classes of academic session 2001-02 of Guru Nanak Dev University would be held in the first week of March before the annual theory examinations of these classes beginning March 30, 2002. This was announced here on Thursday.

BARNALA
SELECTED: Dr R.C.Garg, local doctor as well as honorary secretary of the Punjab unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), has been selected to get training as master trainer under the World Health Organisation (WHO)-IMA National Programme on Sexually -Transmitted Infections Management. Dr Garg will be participating in the three-day-long workshop from February 5 to 7 at Daman.

PRIZE DISTRIBUTION : The annual prize distribution function of the local Sacred Convent School was held here on Thursday. Mr Kanwarjit Singh Sandhu, SSP, was the chief guest. He also gave away prizes to the students who had excelled in academics, sports and extra-curricular activities. Mr Kewal Singh was the guest of honour.

LUDHIANA
CADETS WELCOMED: Twentyone boys and girls cadets and six cadet horse riders of the NCC group, Ludhiana, who had participated in the Republic Day camp at New Delhi this year were accorded a warm welcome at 3 Punjab Girls Battalion NCC, Krishna Nagar, here today. Col R.P.S. Dhillon, Group Commander, congratulated the cadets for bringing laurels to the state. Those present on the occasion included Lt Col Hari Gurung, Training Officer, and Lt Col Mandip Grewal, Administration Officer, along with other commanding officers of various NCC units.

CULTURAL MEET: The 19th Punjab National Bank Inter-Region Cultural Meet will be organised on Saturday at the PNB Auditorium Zonal Training Centre near Manju Cinema and on Sunday at Pal Auditorium, Punjab Agricultural University. According to a statement, Mr P.N. Khurana, General Manager Punjab Zone, will be the chief guest and will inaugurate the meet. Around 120 participants from eight regions of Punjab Zone will participate in the meet. The winners will represent Punjab Zone in All-India Inter-Zone Cultural Meet being held in Delhi from February 20 to 23.

TRAINING COURSE: A state-level training course on nutrient management for high productivity was organised by the Directorate of Extension Education, Punjab Agricultural University, in association with the Department of Soils, on Friday. At least 15 extension scientists were educated about the latest advances on soil health to help farmers in solve day-to-day problems.

SCIENTIST INVITED: Dr Joginder Singh, Head, Department of Economics and Sociology, Punjab Agricultural University, has been invited to Costa Rica to present a paper at the International Conference on Impacts of Agricultural Research and Development to be held from February 4 to 8. The theme of his paper is ‘Component analysis of total factor productivity in high-potential rice-wheat system in Punjab’.

PATIALA
PROTEST MARCH: The Punjab Municipal Workers Struggle Committee will hold a protest march on February 8 to highlight their long-pending demands, including reversal of the state government's order on abolition of octroi. The workers are also demanding an end to the government's privatisation drive, payment of pending bonus and 15 per cent house rent for the municipal workers residing in Patiala.

COACHING: The IAS and Allied Training Centre of Punjabi University will start coaching classes for the PMT and CET on March 23. The minimum qualification for applying is class XII with 50 per cent marks and the last date for submission of applications is February 15. The Director of the centre, Dr G.S. Bajwa, informed that interviews for the PMT and CET would be held on February 20 and 21, respectively. The trainees belonging to the SC/ST categories and the minority communities would be provided coaching free of cost.

COOKING COMPETITION: Blossoms School organised a cooking competition in different categories, including South Indian, Chinese and continental dishes. The Income Tax Commissioner of Patiala, Mr B.M. Singh, was the chief guest. The Principal of the school, Ms Ravi Singh, encouraged the students to participate in extracurricular activities organised by the school.

PHAGWARA
QUIZ CONTEST: The Punjab State Human Rights Commission's Saviour Youth Club organised on Thursday an inter-school quiz competition at the Victoria International Public School, here. Mr Surjit Sehdev, chairman of the school, was the guest of honour.

SAMRALA
REFUTED: Reacting to a news regarding the defection of Mr Raj Kumar Thapar, to the Congress along with his supporters from Samrala, Mr Pawan Kumar Gupta, president of Block Samrala BJP and Mr Anil Gupta, vice-president of Ludhiana District Rural BJP, have stated that Mr Raj Kumar Thapar was never elected as a BJP councillor.

MEETING: The general Body meeting of Shri Brahman Sabha will be held on Sunday on the premises of Shri Durga Mata Mandir, according to general secretary, Mr Pawan Kaushal. Woollen sweaters would be given to deserving girl students.

CHANDIGARH

EXHIBITION: An exhibition of Andhra Pradesh Handicraft Development Corporation organised by Delhi-based Lepakshi Handicraft Emporium will be inaugurated in Panchayat Bhavan, Sector 18, from Monday. Handloom and handicraft items from different districts of Andhra Pradesh will be on display at the exhibition which will continue till February 18.

SCHOOL CARNIVAL: Inter-school solo signing competition and a rock show by a local band "Ice N Fire" were the highlights of the second day of the winter carnival MCC 2002. The three-day carnival is being organised by Mount Carmel School on its premises in Sector 47. The singing competition which was open to the students from Classes VI to VIII was own by Atulya Sharma of St Stemphen's School, Sector 45, followed by Aakash Sidhu from the same school. Vaishali Sachdeva of the host school bagged a special prize.

STRIKE CALL: The Chandigarh Scooter-Rickshaw Union on Friday decided to observe strike on Monday in protest against the decision of the Chandigarh Administration to ban the operation of 15-year-old auto-rickshaws in the city. According to Mr Harcharan Singh Sawhney, president of the union said the decision of the Administration had come to them as a bolt from the blue. He said a number of drivers would be rendered unemployed due to the decision. A number of mechanics would also become jobless, he said. Prominent among those who attended the meeting were Mr Malkit Singh of Shere Punjab Auto Rickshaw Union, Mr Jarnail Singh, president of the New Shere Punjab Union, Mr Tara Singh, president of the Airport Auto Association, Mr Satpal, president of the Kranti Scooter Auto-Rickshaw Union.

CAMPAIGN: A de-worming campaign will be launched in the city on Monday from Government School, Colony Number 4, Industrial Area, phase-1. Mayor Ms Lalit Joshi will inaugurate the campaign, which will cover around 20,000 children between 6 and 14 years of age till February 9. Medicines will also be distributed during the campaign under the Swarn Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojna.

HARYANA

AMBALA
PROCESSION: Jain Swetambar Murti Poojak Sangh, Ambala, began a procession of the ashes of Jainacharya Inder Dinn Soorishwar Ji Maharaj here on Friday. The vehicle in which the ashes are kept will pass through Chandigarh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. The Governor of Himachal Pradesh, Mr Suraj Bhan, and tantrik Chandra Swami flagged off the vehicle. A number of Jain followers were present on the occasion.

KAITHAL
RALLY HELD: The Deputy Commissioner , Mr Phateh Singh Dagar, has called upon the youth to come forward to help in preventing cruelty towards animals. He was addressing students of Tagore Senior Secondary School in the premises of Mini Secretariat here on Thursday. He also flagged off a students' rally seeking care for animals.

SELF-HELP GROUPS: As many as 233 self-help groups have been constituted and 104 groups issued revolving funds in the district. This was stated here on Thursday by the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Dr Suprabha Dahiya, addressing a one-day training camp under Swarna Jayanti Gram Savrojgar Yojna. She said these groups had been constituted to provide self-employment opportunities to people in rural areas.

SIRSA
FEMALE FOETICIDE: The district administration has set up a nine-member advisory committee under the chairmanship of the District Family Welfare Officer, Dr J.K.Bishnoi, to curb female foeticide in the district. The Civil Surgeon, Dr S.K.Batta, has been appointed the overall in charge of the campaign. This was stated by the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr D.Suresh, here on Thursday.

RICE MILLS: The Hafed has constructed two rice mills and eight godowns with a capacity of 1.10 lakh mt at the cost of Rs 1936.70 crore in the district so far during the current financial year. This was disclosed here on Thursday by the Additional Deputy Commissioner here.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

HAMIRPUR
PAYMENT SOUGHT: President of district Non-services Federation , Mr Prem Chand Verma, has demanded immediate payment of salary to a part-time water carrier, Saroj Kumari, working at Primary School, Daar, in the district for the past four years. In a statement here on Thursday, he charged the Primary Education Department authorities with harassing the woman.

MANDI
LINK ROAD: A plan has been drawn up by the state to link every village in the state, with a population of 250 or more, with a road under the Prime Minister Gramin Sarak Yojna. Mr P.C. Shandliya, Engineer-in-Chief, HPPWD said on Thursday that the plan was ready for implementation. A state-level committee had been constituted which had finalised the plan to construct 2,338 new roads in 12 districts of the state. All-weather roads for 3,082 villages would be constructed at a cost of Rs 2,784 crore and the total road length would be 13,643 km.

NAHAN
AWARDED: Officers and agents of Small Saving Scheme, have worked for increasing deposits under small saving schemes in Sirmaur district were awarded at a function here on Thursday. Speaking on the occasion , the Deputy Commissioner, Sirmaur, Mr Rakesh Kaushal , said Rs 8.7 crore had been deposited under the small saving schemes up to December, 2001.

NURPUR
RESOLUTION PASSED: The municipal council (MC) on Thursday passed a resolution for the demolition of newly constructed shops on government land at Niazpur locality. The shops had been raised despite a notice from the council. The resolution has been submitted to the authorities of the Revenue Department and the civic administration in this regard.

PRESIDENTS APPOINTED: The Youth Workers Council of the Himachal Pradesh Indian Trade Union Congress (INTUC) has appointed presidents of the council for eight districts in the state. Mr Vikas Verma, state president of the council, in a statement here on Friday said the newly appointed presidents had been directed to form district committees.

SHIMLA
CONDONE DELAY: The Education Department will condone the delay in joining duties after winter vacation by the staff in winter closing schools in areas, which have been cut off due to snow. Mr O.P.Sharma, Director of Education, said the head of institutions had been authorised to condone the delay. The staff should join as soon as the roads were cleared for traffic.