The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Saturday, March 15, 2003, 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

AMLOH
TWO DEAD: Jyoti (16) and Karamjeet (25) of Khumna village, 3 km from here, died on Thursday after consuming some poisonous substance. After the post-mortem examination in the local civil hospital, viscera of the deceased was sent for a chemical examination. A case has been registered.

FARIDKOT
AGENTS HONOURED: Mr A. Venu Prasad, Deputy Commissioner, Faridkot, honoured 82 agents here on Thursday for collecting an amount of Rs 47 crore against the target of Rs 45 crore under small savings schemes during the last financial year in the district.

KHANNA
MEETING: A meeting of the governing body of the A.S. College Alumni Association, Khanna, will be held in the office of the Principal of the college on Saturday under the chairmanship of Mr Boota Singh, Commissioner, Income Tax, Bombay, who is the President of the association. Prof Darshan Singh, Dean Alumni Association, said in a press note that the meeting is being organised to boost the activities of the association and to discuss other organisational matters.

MUHARRAM OBSERVED: The Muslim Aman Society held a meeting at New Kundanpuri here on Friday to observe Muharram. Speaking on the occasion, state president of the body, Mr Mohammed Naseem Ansari, talked about the significance of the day and the unparalleled sacrifices made for the cause of the community. The participants prayed for peace in the world and communal brotherhood in the country.

LUDHIANA
BIRD RELEASED: The local chapter of the People for Animals on Friday released a ‘Shikra’ that was handed over to it by bird lover Rakesh Jain from the Guru Vihar Colony about a week ago. Some miscreants had hurt it with a “gulel”. The doctors of the local chapter of the PFA kept the bird in a small cage for two days and it was set free when the wounds healed.

FLAYED: Mr Avtar Singh Rasulpur, General Secretary, Pendu Mazdoor Union and Mr Sukhdev Singh Manuke, district President have flayed firing by the police on the farmers in Piddi village, when they were protesting in a peaceful manner under the Kisan Sangharsh Committee, and in which the farmers were injured. They also condemned the Jagraon police for their uncivil behaviour with mediapersons and excesses during civic polls and demanded action against the erring officials.

CIVIC RECEPTION: Notwithstanding the criticism to his induction into the ministry, supporters of Mr Harnam Dass Johar have planned a red carpet treatment for him when he comes here on Saturday. Mr Johar, who was allocated the department of higher education took the charge on Thursday. A spokesman for Mr Johar said here that after visiting religious places he will hold a public darbar followed by a civic reception.

MANDI GOBINDGARH
DE-ADDICTION CAMP: The Praja Pita Brahma Kumari Spiritual Centre (BKSC), Mandi Gobindgarh, organised a mobile de-addiction awareness campaign in 30 surrounding villages of Mandi Gobindgarh. The campaign which was flagged off by Dr Harbans Lal, Minister of Forest, Food and Civil Supplies on March 1, concluded here on Thursday. Brahma Kumar Radhe Sham in a press note issued on Friday said here, as many as 750 addicts were given medicines free of cost during the camp. Public meetings were also organised during the campaign.

MANSA
OATH OF OFFICE: Mr S.K. Ahluwalia, Deputy Commissioner, here on Thursday administered the oath of office to Mr Rajinder Singh Chakerian of the Congress and Mr Thana Singh Boha of the Akali Dal (Amritsar), who were elected on last Thursday, Chairman and Vice-Chairman, respectively, of the local Zila Parishad.

ELECTED: Mr Ram Pal Singh was elected from Ward No. 1 of the local Municipal Council as an Independent candidate with a record margin of 1,515 votes. Out of 3528 votes, 2,720 votes were cast. Mr Ram Pal Singh got 2,068 votes while his immediate rival Mr Gamdur Singh got 553 votes.

COP INJURED: Mr Manjit Singh, Head Constable, posted in the city police station here, was admitted to the local Civil Hospital with a head injury on Wednesday. It is learnt that some college students were quarrelling with a bus conductor when Mr Manjit Singh, who happened to be there in plain clothes, tried to pacify them. One of the students reportedly hit him on the head.

PATHANKOT
ARRESTED: The Pathankot police has arrested four persons on the charge of gambling and seized Rs 40,090 from them after, on a tip-off, raid was conducted on a local hotel. The arrested men are Anil Kumar, Darshan Kumar, Ashwani Kumar and Satish Kumar.

APPOINTED: Mr Nitin Mahajan has been appointed the president of the local unit of the city Youth Congress Committee. A letter to this effect has been issued by Mr Davinder Singh Babbu, president of the Punjab Pradesh youth Congress Committee.

PATIALA
ACCREDITATION: Government College for Girls (GCG), Patiala, has become the first woman college in the state to be accredited by the NAAC. The four-member NAAC team that visited the college on March 13 and 14 assessed the facilities, activities and achievements of the college in different spheres. At the end of the visit, the Chairman of the team shared his assessment report with the Principal and staff of the college.

DHARNA: Students of various colleges, under the banner of the Punjabi University Students Confederation, staged a dharna outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner here on Friday in protest against the decision of the Pepsu Roadways not to issue bus passes to students. Calling upon the authorities concerned to review the decision, student leaders said they would appeal to the Punjab Governor, Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), who will visit Punjabi University on Saturday, to take necessary steps to help the students.

CHANDIGARH

RALLY: An open recruitment rally for soldier (general duty) in the Indian Army for youths of all castes belonging to Mahendragarh, Rewari and Bhiwani districts of Haryana will be organised at the Police Lines ground at Narnaul from March 21 to 26. Entry for the rally will be allowed from 5 am to 7 am daily.

CONVICT DEAD: A 58-year-old convict, under treatment at the Sector 16 General Hospital here, died on Wednesday. The convict, Gurmeet Singh of Khuda Ali Sher village, had been undergoing a sentence at the Burail Jail in a case of cheating.

ONE HELD: The Mani Majra police arrested Jaswinder Singh of Karoran village, Naya Gaon, on Thursday for allegedly abducting a minor girl from Mauli Jagran, Mani Majra. According to the information available, the youth had eloped with the 16-year-old girl on December 28 last.

SUICIDE BID: Thirty-year-old Ranjit of Ram Darbar set himself afire at his house late on Thursday. He was admitted to the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, with 40 per cent burns.

CASH STOLEN: Mr Gurmail Singh of Sector 24 reported to the police that his bag containing Rs 1.33 lakh was stolen from his car parked in front of his house on Wednesday. The police registered a case.

SEMINAR: A two-day seminar on “Information products and services in social sciences” organised by the Department of Library and Information Science, Panjab University, concluded at ICSSR complex on the university campus on Friday. The seminar was attended by around 50 participants from various parts of the North Western region of India. The participants emphasised the need for preparation of different modules for user orientation for social scientists at different levels and holding of training programmes on regular basis. Prof J.L. Sardana from the Department of Library and Information Science, University of Delhi, delivered the valedictory address.

REIKI CAMP: Around 100 city residents suffering from stress, tension, depression, migraine, heart disease, lower back pain and allergies participated on the inaugural day of the three-day free reiki healing camp at Sanatan Dharam Mandir in Sector 11 on Friday. The camp is being organised by the Reiki for Life.

UNDISCLOSED INCOME: The Income Tax Department has unearthed undeclared income of about Rs 7 crore during surveys conducted on the premises of around 60 tax payers in different towns of Haryana during the past two months. Stating this here on Friday, the Chief Commissioner, Income Tax, Panchkula, Mrs Baljit Bains, said the defaulters included doctors, chemists, jewellers, plywood manufacturers, dealers in building material, handloom manufacturers and dealers of hardware, sanitary goods, bathroom fittings, cotton and timber. She did not rule out the possibility of more surveys in the coming days.

EXHIBITION: An exhibition of Kerala handicrafts and handloom organised by the Ministry of Textiles was inaugurated at the Panchayat Bhavan, Sector 18, here on Friday. A variety of utility items, besides traditional and neo- classic designs in rosewood and sandalwood and a vast collection of coir and bell metal are on display. The exhibition will continue till March 24.

DEFENCE CAREER: The NCC group headquarters, Chandigarh, has put up an exhibition on career in the defence forces at the Parade Ground, Sector 17, here. Models of aircraft and ships have been displayed and pamphlets and postersare being distributed among people to create awareness.

MEET THE PRESS: Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Leader of the Opposition in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha and former President of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee, will meet the press at the Chandigarh Press Club on Saturday at 11 a.m.

PANCHKULA
COMPLAINT: The police booked Vishnu Yaksh of Sector 15 on Thursday on the complaint of the manager of the Bank of India for non-payment of a loan advanced to him by the bank in 1999. The manager complained that Mr Yaksh had not repaid the loan of Rs 40,000.

ABDUCTION CASE: The police booked Bhupindra of Barwala on Thursday on the charge of abducting a woman of Barwala four years ago. A police party had also been sent to Raipur in Chhattisgarh to locate the woman.

STD CODE: The move of the BSNL to change the STD code of Panchkula will affect the development of the satellite town. This was stated by Mr S.S. Goel, Municipal Councillor, Ward No. 9, here on Friday. He added that the town, being an inseparable part of Chandigarh, should not have a different code. He urged the Chief Minister to take up the issue with Mr Arun Shourie, Union Minister for Communications.

HARYANA

AMBALA
MANUFACTURING UNIT: Dr Ram Saini, vice-president of the Preserve International, based in California (USA), said here on Friday that he planned to set up a manufacturing unit in Haryana. Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, he said he had met Haryana Finance Minister Sampat Singh in this regard.

SEMINAR: Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Ashok Pradhan urged educational institutions on Friday to upgrade curriculum according to the current industrial standards. He was speaking at a three-day seminar on ‘Changing horizons of corporate governance and restructuring of industry in India’ at Mullana, near here.

FATEHABAD
BLOOD CAMP: A blood donation camp was organised on Thursday in the Sutlej Public School, Bhattu Kalan on the 42nd birthday of the INLD MP, Mr Ajay Singh Chautala. The Deputy Commissioner, Dr R.B. Langyaan, was the chief guest and Ms Krishana Punia, district president of the women’s wing of the INLD, presided over the function. Eighty units of blood were donated at the camp.

HISAR
RAIDED: The local police on Thursday raided a music centre at Shiv Colony here and recovered 500 pirated CDs. Later, the owner of the centre, Narender Kumar, was produced in a local court. He was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.

SENTENCED: The Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr Satish Ahlawat, on Thursday sentenced a youth to four years’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 on the charges of attempting to rape a woman. According to the prosecution, Surender Kumar of Niyana village had attempted to rape a woman of the same village last year when she was alone in her house.

COMPUTERISATION: The registration of births and deaths in the district would soon be computerised, said Ms Deepti Umashankar, Deputy Commissioner, after inaugurating the computer system at the Birth and Death Registration Office here on Thursday. She said all municipal councils and committees had been directed to make preparations in this regard.

KURUKSHETRA
WELFARE SCHEMES: The Haryana Government has provided over Rs 59.26 lakh to 1062 beneficiaries in Kurukshetra district under various welfare schemes being launched by the Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes Welfare Department. Stating this here on Wednesday, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Abhilaksh Likhi, gave details of the beneficiaries.

LABOUR DEPT: The Labour Department, Kurukshetra, has disbursed a sum of over Rs 67.60 lakh to the working class by disposing of 129 cases under various Labour Acts during the month of February. While stating this here on Thursday, Mr Abhilaksh Likhi, Deputy Commissioner, said the district administration was committed to protect the interest of the working class and efforts were being made to provide them prompt justice.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
BAN ORDER: Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Magistrate Chamel Singh here has enforced a ban on the carrying of all types of arms and ammunitions from March 14 to April 14 in the Shahtalai police station areas and from March 15 to 20 in the Kotkehloor police station areas due to fairs of Baba Balaknath at Talai and Hola Mohalla at Guru-ka-Lahaur, respectively. A notification issued here on Thursday said the order had been passed under Section 144, Cr PC.

NO SURGEON: The operation theatre in Regional Hospital, Bilaspur, has not been functioning for the past two months as the only surgeon appointed here has been sent on deputation for one year by the Health Department. No surgeon has joined here in his place. The Bilaspur Vikas Sabha meeting presided over by its convener A.P. Sharma on Thursday urged Health Minister Chanderesh Kumari to order the immediate posting of a surgeon.

CHAMBA
HERITAGE BUILDING: Mr Harsh Mahajan, Himachal Minister of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, has highlighted the need of preserving the Akhand Chandi Palace, a heritage building which is housing the local Government Postgraduate College, with a view to making this landmark a rare attraction to tourists. Presiding over the 40th annual prize distribution function of the college here yesterday, Mr Mahajan asked the Principal of the college to draw up an estimate from an expert for the renovation of the palace so that funds could be managed from the Centre.

UNA
15 HURT: Fifteen persons travelling in tractor-trailer (PB-30-6430) from Ferozepore to Baba Barbagh Singh Fair at Mairi were injured, when, on a slope near Gagret the brakes failed and the vehicle hit a tempo (HP-67-0167) and over turned. It rammed into a shop as well. There were more than 40 persons in the carrier and the injured were taken to District Hospital of Una.