R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

• Kasturba Gandhi’s memorial
• Book on obesity
• Kangra’s martyr

PUNJAB

ABOHAR
DAMAGED ROADS: Roads which were constructed last year by the municipal council have already started sinking. The occupants of a jeep had a narrow escape when the road in the Sadar Bazaar collapsed suddenly, creating a deep and wide hole in the middle of the congested market. This has lent credence to the allegations of misappropriation of funds granted to the council by former Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal under the sangat darshan programme.

AMRITSAR
NEW COURSE: Guru Nanak Dev University will start a one-year course in cutting, tailoring and designing for unemployed girls from July 1. According to a press note by the university here on Tuesday, unemployed girls, who are matriculate can send their applications to the Assistant Director of the Adult Continuing Education and Extension by June 10.

WORKSHOP INAUGURATED: Dr S.S. Johal, Vice-Chairman of the Punjab State Planning Board, inaugurating a two-day UGC-sponsored orientation workshop for the heads of the teaching departments of Guru Nanak Dev University on Tuesday said that universities should lead as role models for formulating administrative policies.

BATHINDA
RALLY HELD: Members of the local GND Thermal Plant Employees Federation held a rally on Wednesday to urge the authorities to accept their demands. Addressing the rally leaders of the union said that they had been holding rallies for the past many months but most of their demands were not fulfilled and alleged that the management did not implement the decisions taken during its meetings with the union.

CULTURAL PROGRAMME: A cultural programme was organised at the local thermal colony on Tuesday in the memory of martyrs. Prof Ajmer Singh Aulakh staged two Punjabi plays, “Begane Bohar Di Chhan” and “Jhanna Da Paani”. Patriotic songs were also presented.

MEDICAL CAMP: A local NGO, Jeevan Raksha Welfare Society, will organise a homeopathy check-up camp in the city. The NGO well also approach the authorities concerned, including the local MLA, urge for a government hospital for the trans-railway colonies.

KHAMANO
RESULTS: Class VIII results were declared and most of the toppers seen to be girls. The results of public schools too have been good this time. Ms Rupinder Kaur of GNP Khant School bagged the first position, obtaining 713 marks out of 800 and school result was hundred per cent. Other schools’ results are as under Government High School Sidhupur, 98 per cent, Maneli Dhanaula School, 85 per cent, Shivalik School Manderan 99 per cent, Khamano Khurd 80 per cent, Government High School Dulwan 80 per cent and Farour High School 99 per cent respectively.

CONSUMERS COMPLAINT: Local LPG consumers are sore over local agency owners’ practice of fleecing them by charging Rs 250 per cylinder, when the government control rate is Rs 240. A social worker, Vaid Mohinder Singh Kang, urged the district administration to prevent these excesses.

WHEAT ARRIVAL: In the current financial year 5.26 lakh quintal wheat crop arrival in the mandi, which is 4,000 quintal more than that received last year. According to sources the crop reached here was purchased by government agencies.

LUDHIANA
GURMAT SAMAGAM: The Guru Nanak Sewa Society will hold a gurmat samagam at Gurdwara Guru Nanak Singh Sabha, Lal Quarters, on Thursday evening, according to a spokes-persons of the society. Paath and Shabad Kirtan would be held from 6.30 pm. to 7.30 pm and from 7.30 pm to 8.30 p.m., Bhai Satinderpal Singh of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha would hold a kirtan darbar, after which Bhai Fateh Singh would deliver a discourse from 8.30 to 9.15 p.m.

JAIN SABHA FUNCTION: To commemorate the 190th birth anniversary of Swami Roop Chand Maharaj and to observe the 31st Diksha Divas of Acharya Shiv Muni Maharaj, the Jain Dharam Sabha organised a function at Raikot, 40 kms from here on Wednesday. Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Mr Lal Singh, Finance, Planning and Civil Supplies Minister, Punjab, said that to maintain peace and unity, everyone should follow the path shown by the gurus. He appreciated the efforts of the sabha in running an eye hospital at Raikot. He assured full cooperation to the sabha for opening a degree college there. As many as 170 Jain saints reached Raikot on foot. Mr Tej Prakash Singh, Minister for Transport, Punjab, was also present on the occasion.

EXHIBITION BY STUDENTS: Students of diploma courses in embroidery, stitching and art and craft will display a variety of clothes designed by them at the 14th annual exhibition to be held from May 20 to May 23 at Param Institute in Ranjit Singh Nagar to be inaugurated by Malkiat Singh Birmi, the local MLA. The manager of the institute, Amarjit Singh Riat and the principal, Parminder Kaur in a joint statement said that the aim of holding the exhibition was to encourage students of the institute and showcase their talent. In addition to designing clothes and accessories, the students have crafted things of beauty out of broken plates, fused tubes, glass pieces, pearls, rice husk.

FREE MEDICAL CAMP: A free medical and dental checkup camp was organised by the Rotary Club and the Inner Wheel Club here. The camp was inaugurated by Mr D.K. Oswal on May 13 at Dera Sant Tehal Dass, Salem Tabri. More than 520 patients attended the camp. 135 children, 195 medical cases, seven psychiatric, 71 eye, 38 dental and 75 gynae and obstetrics cases were examined by the team of doctors at Dr B.K. Kapur Memorial Hospital. Blood tests were done and medicines distributed to patients free of cost. Patients who required hospitalisation were admitted by the medical superintendent, Dr T.S. Cheema in hospital and treated free of cost.

MAN HELD WITH OPIUM: The Division No 7 police has arrested Gurdev Singh, a resident of Haryana village in Hoshiarpur district, and seized 250 gm of opium from his possession. The accused has been booked under Sections 18, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act.

OPIUM SEIZED: Mr Waryam Singh, SHO, Salem Tabri, on Monday arrested Chamkaur Singh, a resident of Payal, and seized 1750 gm of opium from his possession. The accused has been booked under the NDPS Act.

MALERKOTLA
ARRESTED: The Ahmedgarh police has arrested Lukhwinder Singh of Kanganwal village on the charge of theft and seized a scooter from his possession. The police has registered a case under Sections 379 and 411 of the IPC.

MANDI GOBINDGARH
SCRIBE PASSES AWAY: Mr Balram Suraj (76), a journalist, died following a heart attack on Tuesday. He had been active in the field for more than 30 years. His cremation here was largely attended by all important personalities of the town, including Mr Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, MLA, Amloh.

‘SUN SCREENS MUST’: “Indian women are always willing to have a fair and glowing skin but they are not aware that they should use some good sun-screen lotion or sunblocks, which are necessary for their skin as the weather is quite here”, said Phonesomsouk Sisomuang, a beauty expert from Madrid, Espana, who was in the city to launch a new ‘Speed Wax’ machine at a local beauty clinic. Phonesomsouk said that this was the first machine launched in this part of the region. It has already been launched in Mumbai and Delhi. Over 100 beauticians from all over the state attended the seminar. The experts also discussed many problems relating to acne, wrinkles and pigmentation during the seminar.

GIRL TRACED: The police on Wednesday traced the girl abducted allegedly by Mehinga Singh alias Bhupinder Singh and handed her over to her parents. Mahinga Singh, a granthi in the gurdwara at Dholan village, had allegedly abducted the girl on April 26.

HARYANA

AMBALA
CONTEST: A competition on environment was organised by the Eco-Club at Government Senior Secondary School, Baldev Nagar, Ambala City. The District Education Officer, Ms Prem Bahal, was the chief guest at the prize distribution function. In the senior group, Ravinder Bhatia and Karnail Singh were first, Pawan Khanna and Supinder Singh were second and Bhupinder Singh and Ankush were third. In the junior group, Tarun Kumar and Arjun were first, Dinesh Sood and S. Sharma were second and Gurpreet Singh and Rudranshu Kumar Jha were third. 

HONOUR: The Assistant Manager (Operations), Mr Ashok Sharma, and two other railway employees of the Ambala division will be felicitated for promoting Hindi in official work at function to be held in New Delhi on Thursday. The other railway employees to be felicitated are the Ticket Collector, Chandigarh, Ms Jaspreet Kaur, and a clerk, Sirhind, Mr Avtar Singh. 

APPOINTED: Mr Vikram Tanwar has been appointed president of the Ambala block of the Youth Congress, Ambala City. The Haryana youth president, Mr Satvinder Singh Sandhu, has called for strengthening the Congress in the appointment letter to Mr Tanwar.

OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Federation of Welfare Societies Associations: chairman — Mr Shiv Dayal Gupta; secretary-general — Mr N. D. Arora; financial secretary — Mr S. S. Loi; senior vice-president — Mr Y. N. Bansal; vice-presidents — Mr Amrit Lal Gupta and Pt Mahanand Nautiyal and patron — Mr G. R. Sharma.

SUICIDE CASES: Two youths committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance in a village, near Naraingarh, on Wednesday. According to the police, the youths have been identified as Satish and Rajbir. They also left a suicide note

FATEHABAD
TEXTBOOKS DISTRIBUTED: The Social Health and Education Society, an NGO, on Tuesday distributed textbooks free of cost to schoolchildren at a function organised in the local Government Senior Secondary School.

KURUKSHETRA
INAUGURATION: Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala will inaugurate a Dr Ambedkar Bhavan Hostel and Shri Krishan Dvar on Kurukshetra University campus on Thursday. This was stated by the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Mr R.S. Chaudhry, on Tuesday.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

CHAMBA
PARSHURAM JAYANTI: A state-level function of Parshuram Jayanti was held in the Lakshmi Narayan temple complex here on Tuesday. Dr R.P. Awasthy, former Vice-Chancellor of Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, chaired the function organised under the aegis of the Himachal Brahmin Kalyan Parishad, Kangra.

DHARAMSALA
SCHOLARSHIPS: The District Soldiers Welfare Board distributed scholarships worth Rs 4.34 lakh to 364 school and college wards of ex-servicemen last year. According to the Additional District Magistrate, Mr S.S. Guleria, Rs 1.13 lakh was distributed among the wards of economically weaker soldiers and Rs 40.5 lakh was spent on providing pension to 1050 ex-servicemen.

DALHOUSIE
FREEDOM FIGHTER DEAD: A freedom fighter and soldier of the Azad Hind Fauj, Puran Chand, died in Chamba district on Monday. Puran Chand is survived by his son and two daughters.

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

Kasturba Gandhi’s memorial

GANDHI National Memorial is dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi’s wife Kasturba, personal secretary Mahadev Desai, Meera Ben, Sarojini Naidu, Dr Gider, secretary Pyare Lal and Dr Sushil Nair — all of them were interned at Agha Khan Palace in Pune by the British Government during the Quit India Movement.

The palace, on the Chandan Nagar Road in Pune, Maharashtra, is on 19 acres. It was built in 1892 by Imam Sultan Mohmmad Agha Khan. According to tradition, there was a drought in the area and people were dying because of starvation. Mohammad Agha Khan started construction of the palace so that the local populace could get employment and earn a livelihood. Thousands worked on the construction of the palace. It took about five years and two lakh workers to complete the task. Imam Sultan Mohmmad Agha Khan was the 48th “guru of Islam”.

On August 8, 1942, during the Quit India Movement, many people were arrested and put behind bars in Yerawada Jail. Mahatma Gandhi, Kasturba, Mahadev Desai and many others were interned in the palace by the British for two years. During the internment, Mahadev Desai and Kasturba died on August 15, 1942, and February 22, 1944, respectively. Their samadhis were raised at the rear of the palace.

Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes are laid next to the samadhis. Kasturba Smriti Mandir raised near the samadhis is used for holding meetings and seminars throughout the year.

Book on obesity

Rana’s Kayakalp, a slimming centre and beauty clinic, after treating more than 350 persons in and around Karnal organised a seminar at the Karnal Club on obesity-related problems. Club members were made aware about the services rendered by Rana’s Kayakalp in this direction. The seminar was addressed by Mrs Reena Rana and Mrs Nitika Chauhan.

Dr Veena Singh, president, Karnal Club, wife of the Deputy Commissioner, Karnal, inaugurated a very useful low-calorie recipe book written by Mrs Reena Rana, proprietor of Rana’s Kayakalp. This book is especially beneficial for people suffering from obesity and those on a low-calorie diet. Instead of fruit and salads alone, the book suggests a variety of foodstuff — delicious, nutritious and low in calories.

Kangra’s martyr

Kangra residents are unhappy as the memorial promised in the name of Major Sanjeev Dhiman of the 16th Rajputana Rifles, who laid down his life on May 13 last fighting Lashkar-e-Toiba militants at the Samrah outpost under Akhnoor tehsil of Jammu, is yet to come up. The Major, who was commanding the operation, was fatally wounded in heavy gunfire between the security forces and militants.

Hailing from Pragpur, the first Heritage Village of the country in Dehra subdivision of Kangra district, Sanjeev was commissioned into the 16th Rajputana Rifles on March 9, 1996. Sanjeev, whose dare-devil feats endeared him to the officers he worked under and the men he commanded, had led the 11th Rajputana Rifles in the Siachen and Kargil operations. He was awarded the Army Commander’s Commendation for exemplary courage. His elder brother, Major Parveen Dhiman, and he were together during Operation Vijay.

His father Col Babu Ram Dhiman and mother Achhran Devi as also thousands of people of this village are sore over the state government’s delay in installation of a statue at his native place and naming of the Pragpur-Pundara road via Sikhan-da-Talab after the hero.

Contributed by Sarabjit Sakhowalia and Ramesk K. Dhiman.