R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

• Bringing back the smile
• Fighting for the poor

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
FLAG HOISTING: Guru Nanak Dev University Vice-Chancellor, Dr S.P. Singh will unfurl the national flag on Independence Day on August 15 at 7.30 a.m. on the university campus here.

SEAT VACANT: Guru Nanak Dev University has invited applications for a seat of MA(English) Part-I by August 20. The seat would be filled after a test as the waiting list following of the entrance test was exhausted on Tuesday.

MOURNED: SGPC president and chief-secretary Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra and Mr Manjit Singh Calcutta respectively, sympathised with the family of Giani Bhagat Singh on his demise. The SGPC also performed Ardas for the peace of his soul a press note said it on Tuesday.

DORAHA
PRINCIPAL REJOINS: Ms Manjinder Kaur has rejoined as the Principal of Mata Ganga Khalsa College for Girls ,Manji Sahib, Kottan, on Wednesday.Earlier, too ,she had served in the institution from August ,2000 to January, 2003 after which she was transferred to a college at Jhar Sahib. Ms Manjinder Kaur thanked the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee for giving her another chance to serve the college.

FEROZEPORE
SECURITY EXERCISE: The police and the Cantonment Board and Defence Field Security on Tuesday raided several places in view the Independence Day celebrations. Some STD PCO owners suspected to be involved in gambling were rounded up for interrogation. The police also interrogated migrant labourers in the Gaushala area and Adda Lal Kurti.

JALANDHAR
THREAT TO COPS: Two policemen — members of the Police Control Room (PCR) team were threatened by two motorcyclists and their accomplices when documents of the vehicle were demanded from them in GuruTeg Bahadur locality here on Tuesday. When they could not produce the documents, the PCR constables impounded the vehicle. Later, the two youths identified as Sanjiv and Manoj, both local residents, were detained by the police.

TWO INJURED: A confectioner and his son were injured when they went to the house of their servant in Deep Nagar here on Tuesday. Vimal Kumar was admitted to the civil hospital along with his father Surinder Kumar, after they were allegedly beaten up by relatives of their servant Rehman when they went to his house with a complaint that the servant had stolen Rs 40 from the shop. Relatives of Rehman alleged that they were attacked by the father and son.

LUDHIANA
INAUGURAL FUNCTION: A seminar on Commerce and Management Education was organised at Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women, Model Town, Gujarkhan Campus, Ludhiana on Wednesday. Prof S.C. Vaidya, University Business School, Panjab University, was the chief guest. Prof A.K. Syal, Department of Correspondence Studies, Panjab University , was the guest of honour. The function was attended by the Principal and member of commerce departments of different colleges and M.Com students of the college. The Principal of the college, Dr Anup Kaur Bansal ,addressed the gathering.

DMCH MEETING : Mr Brij Mohan Munjal, president, Managing Society of the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, will meet the DMCH union on Thursday to resolve the pending issues. Mr Chander Mohan Kalia, President, DMCH Employees Union, in a press note issued today said the union members were hopeful that pending issues would be sorted out without any delay.

LUDHIANA UNIT OF CPUJ CONSTITUTED: Mr Karan Kapoor of the ANI has been appointed as the Ludhiana unit president of the Chandigarh-Punjab Union of Journalists, which is an affiliate of Indian Journalist Union. According to a press note Mr Pradeep Tewari (The Tribune) was appointed general secretary and Mr Rajnish Lakhanpal (The Tribune) was appointed legal adviser-cum- treasurer. Mr Gautam Jallandhari of Dainik Jagaran has been appointed vice-president, while Mr Nishit Joshi of Amar Ujala will be the patron of the union. All appointments were made unanimously at the first general house meeting of the union held here recently. Mr Kapoor said, the union had been constituted to safeguard the interests of the working journalists and it would work for evolving a consensus among the media fraternity.

PATHANKOT
FAST FOOD: Dr Puneet Verma a cardiologist of Escort hospital at a heart care camp on Tuesday said fast food created heart problems and also made treatment of heart ailment complex. After Kerala, Punjab was the second state which had the maximum heart patients. More than 300 patients were examined at the camp and medicines were given free of cost.

PHAGWARA
BUDGET FOR SCs: Punjab Social Welfare and Social Security Minister Joginder Singh Mann on Monday told a congregation at Hardaspur village that the government had adopted the Maharashtra pattern and started a special component plan in which the budget for the welfare of the Scheduled Castes would be earmarked as per the percentage of their population in the state.

SAMRALA
I- DAY PROGRAMME: The 56th Independence Day, will be celebrated with great pomp and show in the grounds of Old Grain Market premises of the Market Committee, according to Mr Subhash Joshi, Executive Officer of the Nagar Council Samrala here on Wednesday. The flag will be unfurled by the local SDM Mr J S Jassi, and the children of the various schools will present a cultural programme, Mr Joshi added.

HARYANA

FATEHABAD
CHILD MARRIAGE: Deputy Commissioner Dr R.B. Langyan said that instructions had been issued to all tehsildars, block and panchayat development officers and child development project officers to create an awareness on marriageable age for boys and girls, He said according to law age of marriage for boys is 21 years and for girls it is 18 years but the law was not followed in over 41 per cent cases. He also appealed to the people to put an end to the practice of child marriage.

HISAR
VILLAGE LIBRARIES: The Nehru Yuva Kendra will set up mobile libraries in all villages of this district. It was approved at a meeting between senior district officers and the directorate of Nehru Yuva Kendra (Delhi and Haryana). Panchyats will pay Rs 5000 to the local Kendra. The Kendra will arrange to send 50 books for a fortnight to a village. After a fortnight these books will be sent to the next village and a fresh stock of 50 books will be supplied to the village. It aims at creating awareness for education and reading habits among village youths.

TWO ARRESTED: Two criminals who escaped from Bhiwani jail were arrested by the police from Bhaklana village in Hansi subdivision of the district on Tuesday. Two others escaped. The police on a tip-off raided a room and nabbed Jagbir and Balwant, while Vinod and Raju slipped away. An Alto and a Santro cars besides a pistol and ammunition were recovered from their possession. The arrested murdered a youth in their village in 1995. They were sentenced to life imprisonment and lodged in Bhiwani jail. They weer released on parole in 1997, but they did not go back.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
RAJIV GANDHI JAYANTI: Rajiv Gandhi Jayanti would be celebrated here at Bilaspur on August 20 in Himachal State Congress Seva Dal, District Congress Seva Dal Chief organiser Mehboob Khan said here on Tuesday that Seva Dal National Organising Secretary and Seva Dal Himachal In charge Ms Guru Bachan Kaur would be the chief guest.

MEDICAL CAMP: As many as 548 patients were examined and given medicines free of cost at a Healthcare camp organised by Nadda family in memory of Ms Krishanadevi Nadda, Former Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda said here on Tuesday.

CHAMBA
OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Chamba district unit of the Himachal Pradesh Animal Husbandry Employees Union: president — Mr Kashmir Rana; senior vice-president — Mr Joginder Singh Thakur; vice-president — Mr Raj Kumar; general secretary — Mr Gyatri Dutt and cashier — Mr Piyar Singh.

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

Bringing back the smile

For 15-year-old Isha, her asymmetrical teeth were an embarrassment. And 19-year-old Bharti, too, was unhappy because of her protruding teeth. For both, their teeth were giving them a complex.

Things started looking up for them both when they turned up at the special orthodontic clinic of Sri Guru Harikrishan Charitable Hospital at Sohana, near Chandigarh, where Dr Inder Preet Singh, heads the unit.

Bharti, says Dr Inder Preet Singh, was given fixed orthodontic treatment (fixed braces) for 19 months. Now she is happy and cheerful as the smile she wanted has come on her face.

Isha, too, underwent a similar treatment. It took her 18 months. She had to visit the orthodontist every month to tighten up the wire. Now she has got a charming and dazzling smile. It has improved her self esteem and now her confidence in herself has been restored.

Says Dr Inder Preet Singh; “There is growing awareness about looks. Protruding or asymmetrical teeth are no more a problem. The dentistry and orthodontics techniques and technologies have advanced so much that there is a satisfactory treatment for all dental disorders, especially those pertaining to placement of teeth.

Fighting for the poor

There is a ray of hope for the poor, the downtrodden and specially the children of slum areas in Fatehgarh Sahib district. Dr Daisy Walia, who took over as new Chairman of the Child Welfare Council, spares enough time for serving this section of society. Immediately after taking over the new assignment, Mrs Walia visited all the slum areas of the district and distributed clothes, eatables, toothbrushes and household goods. Later she called a meeting of officials and other members and gave clear directions to chalk out programmes for the welfare of slum children.

Besides, Daisy Walia has also taken the initiative to involve the people from every section of society, particularly women, by forming a cultural society.

She has represented the country in youth programmes and Festival of India held in USSR, Czechoslovakia, Dubai and Malaysia.

Contributed by Prabhjot Singh and Surinder Bhardwaj