R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
CHAWLA’S CHARGE: Ms Laxmi Kanta Chawla, former BJP MLA, on Friday questioned the alleged silence of the state government over taking strict action in connection with the recently busted kidney racket. She alleged that the government was shielding the main accused and the big fish remained untouched.

CONFERENCE: About 300 delegates from Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and Delhi will attend the two-day conference of members of the northern region of the Adhivakta Parishad here from October 19. The conference will be inaugurated by Mr Ravi Shankar Parshad, Union Minister for Law, Justice and Company Affairs.

WORKSHOP: A three-day national conference on clinical medicine will be held here from October 18. A workshop on cardiology will also being held in collaboration with Escorts Heart Hospital, according to a press note.

SGPC CHIEF: Mr Kirpal Singh Badungar, President, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, on Saturday met Mr Manjinder Singh Kang, a former Chairman of the Punjab Forest Corporation, in Central Jail here. Mr Kang was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau on corruption charges. The meeting between Mr Kang and Mr Badungar lasted more than half an hour.

GURDASPUR
ONE ARRESTED: The police arrested Karnail Singh of Mutfarka Teoka Bhabbar village on Thursday for felling khair trees illegally and selling the wood on the black market. Thirty quintals of khair logs worth Rs one lakh were seized from his possession.

IMMORAL TRAFFICKING: The police arrested four women and eight men on Friday for immoral trafficking. Two employees of hotels at Pathankot were also nabbed in this connection.

JALANDHAR
MUSIC SHOW: Tiny tots stole hearts during the annual music show at Innocent Hearts School here on Saturday. Ms Kamla Siva Prasad, chief guest, opened the show by lighting a lamp. Addressing students and teachers, Ms Kamla stressed the need for making children multi-faceted to enable them to compete in every field.

KHARAR
GRANT: The MP from the Ropar Lok Sabha constituency, Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo, has granted Rs 3 lakh from his local area development fund scheme (LADS) for the construction of a community centre named Shri Ram Bhavan on the banks of the historical Maharaja Ajj Sarovar and said this demand would be sent to the local municipal committee. Mr Dullo also inspected an old engraving on the wall, in which the Deputy Commissioner of Ambala in 1896 had banned hunting in the sarovar due to its religious significance.

TRAINING CENTRE: The local Rotary Club has opened a vocational training centre for the needy girls and women of the township. The centre is operational at the local Giandeep Senior Secondary School and offers a four-month course. After the completion of the course, certificates would be issued to the successful students. This was stated by Mr Harpreet Singh Rekhi, president of the club.

MANSA
SPECIAL CAMPAIGN: The district police, in a special campaign last week, registered two cases under the NDPS Act, two cases under the Arms Act and 10 cases under the Excise Act. This was disclosed by Mr Sudhanshu Shekhar Srivastva, SSP, Mansa, in a press note issued here on Wednesday.

DHARNA: Members of the DIET Students Welfare Association organised a dharna here on Friday in protest against the new education policy, the lathi charge on ETT students, the indefinite closure of DIETs in the state and the cancellation of admission of 3,400 ETT students. Parents of some students and representatives of teacher associations also participated in the dharna.

PADDY PURCHASE: Mr Alok Shekhar, Deputy Commissioner, said here on Friday that 5,859 metric tonnes of paddy had been purchased by various government agencies in the district. He said 92 purchase centres had been set up in the district and the Punjab Mandi Board had made all arrangements for providing basic amenities to the farmers.

CHAIN SNATCHER HELD: The police has nabbed a chain snatcher, Alfat Khan of Babupur (Kanpur), and seized a pistol, a live cartridge and a gold chain, according to a press note. His two accomplices have escaped.

HARYANA

AMBALA
MEETING: A meeting of the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party was held here on Saturday. Office-bearers of the party from four districts — Ambala, Panchkula, Kurukshetra and Yamuna Nagar —participated in the meeting. The party activists deliberated upon the ways to reach out to the people and tell them about the achievements of the BJP-led NDA government. Among others, Mr Ratan Lal Kataria, Mr V.P. Goel, Mr Sat Prakash, Mr Atam Prakash Manchanda, Mr Kanwar Pal, Mr Shish Pal Bhola, Pandit Shankar Dass, Mr Rameshwar Chauhan, Dr Bharat Bhushan Jathwad, Mr B.B. Bharati, Mr Harpeet Singh and Mr Kanwar Sain were present.

DEMANDED: The All India Punjab National Bank Workers’ Federation general secretary, Mr J.K. Sahni, today demanded pension scheme for bank employees. Talking to mediapersons on the eve of the PNB workers union’s second conference to be held at Kumari Rukmani Devi hall in Ambala Cantt. Mr Sahni said with increasing privatisation in banks, there was a need for pension scheme. He said the cost of the pension scheme for bank employees should be borne by the government. He said the issue to be deliberated upon in the conference included disinvestment policy, increasing non-performing assets of banks and other problems of PNB employees. Among others, Mr J.N. Kapoor, Mr D.P. Tank, Mr N.K. Tehri and Mr M.S Thakur are expected to attend the conference. 

MARTYR’S STATUE: Mr Chandra Mohan, MLA, will unveil a statue of martyr Naib Subedar Mahavir Singh on Wednesday. The deputy spokesperson for the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee, Dr Viresh Shandilya, said the statue of the martyr would be unveiled in Gohana. He said Naib Subedar Mahavir Singh had laid down his life during the Kargil operations.

BHIWANI
MAN SHOT AT: One person, Ran Singh, was reportedly shot at by five unidentified youths at Tosham, 30 km from here, on Thursday night. Five youths came to the hotel where he was staying on two motor cycles and shot at him. He was later admitted to hospital.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
RESOLUTION CRITICISED: BJP members of the Gehadwin (Reserve) constituency has criticised a resolution of the District Congress Committee demanding the resignation of Gehadwin BJP MLA and Cooperatives and Information and Public Relations Minister Rikhiram Kondal “on moral grounds”. A former vice-president of the gram panchayat Namhole in the Kotkehloor Constituency in this district has filed a petition in the Himachal High Court alleging irregularities against Mr Kondal.

CHAMBA
SALE COUNTER: A sale counter has been set up at the local Bhuri Singh Museum to promote marketing of different art and craft items made by artists of this area. This step will not only boost the morale of the local artists, but will also popularise old specialities of the region.

HAMIRPUR
HOSPITAL BUILDING: State Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal will dedicate to the people a new building of the Zonal Hospital here on Monday. A sum of Rs 1.70 crore has been spent on the construction of the third phase of the building. Rs 5 crore has been spent on the hospital complex, including instruments and facilities.

KANGRA
CAMP FOR ANIMALS: An animal infertility-cum-health camp was organised at Daulatpur, near here, on Friday. More than 40 animals were treated and medicines were distributed free of cost.

MANDI
DEBATES: Debates, declamation contests and on-the-spot drawing and painting competitions, will mark the week-long wildlife celebrations to be held by the Forest Department, said Mr H.V. Kathuria, DFO. On-the-spot drawing and painting competition was held here on Saturday at Kendriya Vidylaya in which 27 students from various schools of the town participated.

SHIMLA
COLLEGE SOUGHT: Mr Mushtaq M. Qureshi, general secretary of the Muslim Welfare Committee, has urged Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, to open a college in Sunni tehsil. he accused the government of putting the demand of the residents in cold storage.

ATROCITIES CASE: The police has arrested Kuldeep Sharma and booked him under the Prevention of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Atrocities Act. A Jubbal court has denied him bail. Members of the Kyanlu Devta temple committee have backed him and will bear the costs of his case.

“BHANG” UPROOTED: The Nirmand police has launched a drive to uproot “bhang” in the Ani area. The police is taking the help of mahila mandals and yuvak mandals in this drive. Police sources say bhang is cultivated in many villages in the Ani belt. A large quantity of charas has also been seized here in the past one year. The police also arrested several of its buyers who came from other states.