R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
WOMAN KILLED: Balbir Kaur of Jalandhar was killed and three persons were injured when a truck and Tata Sumo collided head-on here on Sunday. The truck was coming from Fatehgarh Sahib. The injured have been admitted to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital. The truck driver has been arrested. Meanwhile, the police seized 1150 kg of lahan and 22 litres of illicit liquor from five persons in separate incidents. Cases have been registered.

GURDASPUR
DIED: Dr Inderjit Kashyap, who has his clinic near Hanuman chowk here died on his way to hospital. According to an FIR got registered by the brother of the doctor, Kashyap fell ill and reported uneasiness.

KHARAR
DHARNA: Members of the Kharar Bar Association have decided to state a dharna on Thursday to protest against corruption. Mr Anil Kaushik, president, Bar has requested Bar Associations of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, including that of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, to suspend work on Thursday.

LUDHIANA
PILGRIMAGE: A caravan of 12 buses would leave for Baba Balak Nath Temple in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh in the morning on May 17 from the Sidh Baba Balak Nath Temple on the Dhuri Lines, according to a spokesman of the temple management. The sewa society of Shri Baba Karamnath temple at Abada Barana village in Una district, which is on the way, would organise a free lunch for the pilgrims, added the spokesman.

MASS MARRIAGES: Maa Bhagwati Club, Ludhiana, would organise a mass marriage function on May 25 at the local Dandi Swami Temple in Civil Lines at which marriages of poor girls would be solemnised. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the club here on Saturday. Those who want to get married at the function can contact at phone number 323531. Those who attended the meeting included Mr Harish Goyal, Mr Rimpy Makkar, Mr Rajesh Kumar, Mr Devinder Kumar, Mr Raju Kanojia and Mr Vijay Singhla.

RICE HUSK GUTTED: Rice husk stored in a vacant plot by a dyeing factory in Gopal Nagar was reduced to ashes on Saturday afternoon. The fire was brought under control after five hours. It is suspected that the husk caught fire due to the carelessness of a passerby who threw a burning cigarette on the heap of husk. However, no other loss was reported in the incident.

BOILER BURSTS: The boiler of a rubber factory burst in Haibowal Kalan on Saturday afternoon as a result of which the residents of the area were in panic for quite some time. The owner of the factory, which is situated on the Chuharpur road, said the blast occurred due to the negligence of the workers who started the boiler without filling it with the water. The blast was so powerful that a wall of the factory was also damaged. The residents of the area had on an earlier occasion requested the district administration to get the factory shifted elsewhere.

SHOBHA YATRA: Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Sankirtan Mandal took out a shobha yatra in connection with its 15th annual Shri Harinam Sankirtan from the Shri Sanatan Dharam Mandir in new Model Town here on Saturday evening. Prominent among the participants were Tridandi Swami Trivikram from West Bengal, Swami Nishikanchan from Chandigarh, Swami Janardan Maharaj from Tripura, Swami Sadhu Maharaj from Mathura, Swami Mati Maharaj from Calcutta, Swami Vishnu Devta Maharaj from Vrindavan, Swami Muni Maharaj from Orissa and Swami Vishnu Maharaj from Chandigarh.

WIDOW PENSION: The Ludhiana Young Welfare Society held its 10th function at the New Cycle Market on the Gill road here on Sunday morning at which relief in the form of pension was distributed among the widows. The function was presided over by Mr Anurag Aggarwal, Deputy Commissioner. Among others present on the occasion were Mr Shiv Chand Jain, Mr Suraj Bhan Jain, Mr K.K. Garg, Mr Satya Pal Sharma, Mr Rajinder Singh Basant, Mr Vijay Sharma and Mr Om Parkash Vig.

WORKSHOP: A 15-day workshop on phonetics and spoken English was inaugurated for the teachers at SAN Jain Senior Secondary School, Daresi Road, here on Monday. Giving this information, Mr Raj Pal Gupta, administrator of the school, said that more than 25 teachers of the school teaching English and other subjects were attending the workshop. Dr D.V. Jindal, an expert in linguistics and phonetics from Panjab University, would give lectures on ‘Problems of pronunciation of English words as spoken by teachers of English in Punjab’. Mr Gupta said that different topics like phonetic symbols for sounds of English, word accent, intonation and general guidelines to correct pronunciation would be covered during the workshop.

'THERAPEUTIC DIET SHOW': Diet counseling by a dietician is necessary to make the patient understand the importance of diet with regard to his/her disease. Thought it is always difficult to convince them that many of their favourite dishes are to be avoided as part of diet therapy. Keeping this in mind and to retain sweetness in the lives of many, the Department of Dietetics, Christian Medical College and Hospital will organise a ‘therapeutic diets’ for obese and diabetic patients on May 15. Dr Rajeev Kapoor, Deputy Medical Superintendent, in a statement on Monday said that there would be sections on food exchanges, nutritive value of common foods, tips on healthy diets and proper dietary habits. “The main aim of the exhibition is to educate these patients on correct dietary management in order to lead a normal healthy life while enjoying their food and it will be helpful to diabetic patients as they can learn how to make use of the foods permitted to them in best possible way”, said Dr Kapoor.

MALERKOTLA
SUICIDE: A youth, Ajay Kumar (28), committed suicide by jumping from a building near Sudan Mohallah on Sunday. He was rushed to the Civil Hospital where he was declared dead.

MOGA
BURN INJURIES: Two children received serious burn injuries when the godown they were sitting in caught fire in Baghapurana town, 15 km from here, in the district on Sunday night. According to a report a large number of goods were also burnt.

FAKE CURRENCY: The police on Monday arrested two persons — Naib Singh and Surjeet Singh — belonging to Sangharia district in Rajasthan and seized fake currency notes of the denomination of Rs 500 each which they had buried under a mound in a place under the Moga Sadar police station. This was disclosed by the SSP, Mr Varinder Kumar.

PATIALA
BANK OPENS BRANCH: The IDBI Bank opened another branch here on Monday. The branch was inaugurated by the Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Mr Ashwani Sekhri. The branch head, Mr Rupinder Singh, said with the renewed thrust on retail banking, the bank’s focus would be on providing value service to customers.

NEW SCHOOL TIMINGS: In the wake of rising mercury, the District Magistrate, Patiala, ordered rescheduling of timing of all government and private schools in the district on Monday. According to the order, all schools in the district will function from 7.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. from May 31.

SANGRUR
DHARNA HELD: A large number of Congresspersons of the district Congress Committee sat on a protest dharna in the district administrative complex here on Monday seeking the removal of the Modi government in Gujarat.

HARYANA

AMBALA
SHOP TIMINGS : The District Magistrate, Mr D. D. Gautam, has given directions for strictly implementing the timings of opening and closing of shops. Now shops will open at 8 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. while hotels, restaurants and dhabas will open at 5.30 a.m. and close at 11 p.m. The liquor vends will open at 8 a.m. and close at 11 p.m.

SAMPLES TESTED: About 17 food samples were sent for testing last month as part of the campaign against the sale of food which is not properly covered. Deputy Commissioner D. D. Gautam said the samples had been taken from two soda water factories. Four samples of pulses, three samples of ice cream and butter and two samples each of edible oil and milk had been taken. Results of two of the samples were received in which one was found to be contaminated, a release said.

LAWYERS’ GESTURE: The Ambala Bar Association suspended work on Monday as mark of respect to a lawyer’s brother who was killed in an accident on Sunday. Rajiv Sharma, brother of the lawyer Vikas Sharma, was killed when the car in which he was travelling fell into a canal on the Gohana road.

FATEHABAD
MURDERED: Amar Singh (70) allegedly murdered his wife (65) by hitting some blunt object on her head in the old tehsil area here on Sunday. The culprit has been arrested.

KALKA
SARPANCH DISQUALIFIED: The Deputy Commissioner, Panchkula, has issued the orders of disqualification of Sarpanch Gian Singh of Tagra Hansua village of this sub-division. The action has been taken against the sarpanch under Section 177 of the Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, which provides that no person can hold the office of panch/sarpanch in case he has more than two children. It is reported that the sarpanch’s wife gave birth to two more children while he was already having two children.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

CHAMBA
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the district unit of the Patwar and Kanungo Association: president — Mr Man Singh; senior vice-president — Mr Hem Prakash; general secretary — Mr Ajay Singh; assistant secretary — Mr Lakshman Kumar; press secretary — Mr Ashok Kumar; and treasurer — Mr Anup Kumar.