The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Tuesday, April 9, 2002, 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

BATHINDA
VACCINATION CAMP: A hepatitis-B vaccination camp was organised at the local SSD Girls College on Sunday in connection with World Health Day. Mrs Raj Gupta, president of the DACO and lecturer of the college, said during the camp 163 persons were vaccinated.

OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local Dost Welfare Society: chairman — Mr Mithu Ram Gupta; president — Mr Ramnik Walia; vice-presidents — Mr Anil Kumar and Mr Ashok; general secretary — Mr Lovleen Kumar; and secretary-cum-treasurer — Mr Ramesh Garg.

PRIZES DISTRIBUTED: Vikas Manch, a local NGO, gave away prizes to meritorious students of Government Primary School, Dhobiana basti, and Bhai Vir Singh Sainik School on Sunday. Mr Rakesh Narula, president of the manch, said in a press note that 50 students were honoured on the occasion.

MEDICAL CAMP: A medical check up camp was organised in the city on Sunday by the local Rotary Club (Cantt) and Rotract Club in which 410 patients were examined. Medicines were distributed free of cost to the patients.

ELECTED: Mr Pritam Singh Brar has been elected district president of INTUC council. This was stated in a press note of the union issued here on Monday. He has also been given the right to elect other office-bearers of the union.

HARASSMENT ALLEGED: Mr Amarjeet Singh, president of the subdivision of the Technical Services Union of the PSEB alleged on Monday that the board management was planning to demolish hundreds of posts by adopting a new appointment policy. He urged the authorities not to implement that policy.

FATEHGARH SAHIB
CONFERENCE: A conference of panches, sarpanches and gram sabhas will being organised at the administrative complex here on April 10. This was stated by Mr Baldev Singh Sidhu, ADC (Development), while addressing a meeting on Monday. An exhibition depicting development in different fields by various departments would also be inaugurated by Mr Vikas Partap, Deputy Commissioner, at 11 am at the complex. Social organisations, mahila mandlas, NGOs, etc. would participate in the conference. Lectures would be delivered on agriculture diversification, education system, dairying, horticulture, industrialisation etc. by experts of various departments.

HOSHIARPUR
INAUGURATED: Dr Kewal Krishan, Speaker, Punjab Vidhan Sabha, inaugurated a water supply scheme at Karari village in Mukerian subdivision of the district on Saturday. The scheme has been prepared at a cost of Rs 4.80 lakh by the Public Health Department which will supply water to Karari, Swar, Namoli and Bhatoli and benefit 4,064 inhabitants of these villages.

SENTENCED: Mr L.R. Roozam, District and Sessions Judge here, has sentenced rigorous life imprisonment to Suraj Parkash of Tanda under Section 302 of the IPC for murdering his wife. According to an FIR, Suraj Parkash had set his wife, Gulshan Rani, on fire on February 22. In her dying declaration, his wife had stated that Suraj Parkash had burnt her.

KHARAR
NOTICE ISSUED: Mr Roshan Lal Chouhan, Civil Judge, Kharar, has issued a notice to the Chairman, Telecommunication Authority of India, and others for May 3, 2002, in a case filed by the family of Ravinder Singh, who had died due to the “negligence of telecom employees” on November 16, 2000 the complainant allege that the victim died by falling in a pit which was dug for laying telephone cable. They also allege that no warning board was installed there by the department. They have demanded Rs 10 lakh damages.

LUDHIANA
SHOBHA YATRA: The Sanatan Dharam Mahotsav Committee held a meeting here on Sunday to review the preparations under way for the 51st shobha yatra to be taken out in connection with the Ramnavmi at Haridev Temple. Mr Madan Lal Chopra, who chaired the meeting, said managements of several religious and social organisations have assured active participation in the yatra. Prominent among those who attended the meeting were Mr Madan Lal Kochar, Mr Sanjay Gupta, Mr Ram Nath Kapur, Mr Naresh Sharma. Mr Mohinder Pal Rawal, Mr Jagdish Sharma, Mr Bhagwan Dass, Mr Tilak Raj, Mr Kamal Sood and Mr Bal Kishan Sharma.

MAUN VRAT ANUSHTHAN: Brahmchari Ram Parkash, head of the Ram Sharnam ashram, broke his silence at the end of his 35-day “maun vrat anushthan” here on Sunday. Devotees from the city and elsewhere had assembled on the occasion. He exhorted the followers to tread the path shown by saints.

NAGAR KIRTAN: A nagar kirtan was taken out from near the old Civil Hospital to gurdwara Shri Guru Singh Sabha in Khud mohalla in connection with the celebrations of the inception of Khalsa here on Sunday. A “gurmat sammelan” also got under way at the gurdwara, while a free medical check-up was also held where free medicines were distributed among patients. Those present the occasion included Sant Baba Bhagat Singh, Sant Baba Joginder Singh from Dhakki Sahib, Sant Baba Sukhbir Singh and Sant Baba Baldev Singh.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATED: The birth anniversary of Anand Murti Guru Ma was celebrated with religious fervour at Sanatan Vidya Mandir here on Sunday. Devotees sang hymns and meditated.

MALERKOTLA
SUICIDE COMMITTED: Karam Singh of Sultanpur village committed suicide on Sunday by consuming a poisonous substance. According to the police a family dispute is tatted to be the cause of the suicide. A case under Sections 306 and 34 of the IPC has been registered.

DENTAL CAMP: The Guru Bhagat Ravi Dass Committee, Sihandaud, organised a dental camp at Sihandaud village on Sunday. According to Dr Mohd Shabbir, CMO (Dental), Civil Hospital, here, about 500 patients were examined. Medicines were distributed free of cost among the needy patients.

MOGA
REPAIRS SOUGHT: The Mandiranwala bridge, connecting Charik village with Mandiranwala, in the district is not only in a dilapidated condition but also unfit for the plying of vehicles. The residents of these villages have urged the government to make arrangements for its repairs.

HARVEST OPERATIONS: Although harvest operations of wheat have started in the district, labourers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have not yet reached here which has caused inconvenience to the farmers. The non-availability of labourers has resulted in an unprecedented increase in daily wages, the farmers complained here on Monday.

MUKTSAR
VOTERS’ LISTS: Mr Babu Lal, Deputy Commissioner, said on Monday that the voters of the district whose names were deleted from the voters lists could lodge their complaints with the concerned officials. This was stated in an official press note. The voters could approach election registration officials appointed for their respective Assembly constituencies.

NAWANSHAHR
MEMORANDUM: A deputation of the Kirti Kisan Union and the Punjab Kisan Sabha led by Mr Surinder Singh Bains and Mr Balbir Singh Jadla submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister through the Deputy Commissioner to register its protest against the meager increase in the MSP of wheat. The deputation demanded the MSP be fixed at Rs 760 per quintal.

ENVIRONMENT MELA: The local Rotary Club, in collaboration with various government, non-government, banking, fashion designing, business, educational, literary and social organisations, organised a two-day “Rotary environment mela” here at ITI ground, to create awareness among the masses regarding various issues concerning the society and raise funds for the construction of Rotary Bhavan here. Mr Ashok Kumar Gupta, Deputy Commissioner, inaugurated the mela on Saturday by planting a sapling.

PHAGWARA
WORKSHOP HELD: A workshop on “Teaching of Phonetics and Linguistics (communication skills)” will be held from April 15 to 25 by the Regional Institute of English (RIE), Chandigarh, in collaboration with the Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages (CIEFL), Hyderabad, in Guru Nanak National College for Women, Nakodar, it was learnt here on Monday.

SMOKING PROHIBITED: A deputation of the local Citizens Rights Forum was assured by Mr J.S. Marwaha, Divisional Railway Manager, Ferozepore division, Northern Railways, on Saturday that orders about prohibiting smoking at railway stations, waiting halls, platforms and in trains will be implemented strictly and heavy fine imposed for violation of the same.

FEMALE FOETICIDE: Dr Raman Aggarwal, vice-president of the IMA Punjab, told the general body meeting of the local branch of the IMA on Saturday that the pre-natal determination of sex of foetus and selective abortion were crime and whosoever contravened the provisions of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique Act of 1994 and the MPT Act of 1971 was liable to be prosecuted.

SAMRALA
INQUIRY DEMANDED: The vice-chairman of the Task Force PPCC, Mr Avtar Singh Ghulal, in a press statement has demanded an inquiry into the work on the road from Ghulal to Madpur via Chehalan, which is currently under construction. Mr Ghulal alleged that the road was not being constructed according to its specifications. He along with some associates demanded the SDM to initiate an inquiry into the matter and stop the work immediately.

CHANDIGARH

FRONT FLAYS GOVT: The All-India Dalit and Minorities Welfare Front has alleged that the Gujarat government was behind the recent communal riots. The front also condemned the Godhra incident. The general secretary of the front, Mr O.P. Kalyana, in a statement on Monday criticised Sangh Parivar outfits for their repeated warnings to the minorities that their (minorities) safety lay in the goodwill of the majority.

DOCTORS AWARDED: Dr Sushmita Kaushik and Dr Ravinder Kaur from the Department of Ophthalmology, PGI, won three of the four best paper awards at the annual conference of the Delhi Ophthalmological Society held at New Delhi on April 6 and 7. More than 2000 eye specialists from all over the country participated in the meeting.

WORKSHOP: A workshop on revised national tuberculosis control programme and national AIDS control programme will be held here on Tuesday. All Deputy Commissioners, Civil Surgeons and others concerned have been invited from Punjab for the workshop to be inaugurated by Mr Y.S. Ratra, Chief Secretary, Punjab.

PANCHKULA
HEALTH DAY FUNCTION: A function was organised here on Monday on occasion of World Health Day. Dr J.L. Chaudhary, Director-General of Health Services, was the chief guest. Dr Chaudhary urged people to spare some time for exercise. He said faulty eating habits were responsible for diseases.

AUCTION: The Sri Mata Mansa Devi Shrine Board has decided to auction its 10 acres of land in Bhainsa Tibba village for agriculture purposes for two years. Stating this here on Monday, the Deputy Commissioner-cum-Chief Administrator of the board said that the auction would take place in the board’s office on April 11.

MASS MOVEMENT: The Shivalik Vikas Manch has decided to launch a mass movement in order to free the area in the city’s periphery from the Regulations of Punjab (New Capital) Periphery Regulation Act. In a statement to the Press, the president of the manch, Chaudhary Sadhu Ram Saini, and the general secretary, Mr Ravi Sharma, said that a decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the manch at Nagal village on Monday. It was decided that an office would be opened in Mattanwala village, where the villagers would be given assistance for applying for constructing a house in the areas covered under the Periphery Control Act.

SAS NAGAR
SCHOOL OPENING DAY: The opening day of the new academic session at Sanjay Public School, Sector 70, here turned out to be a day of fun and frolic for tiny tots. Senior students dressed as Micky Mouse, Donald, Dragon and Bouncy attracted the children. Parents of the children were also present.