The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Saturday, September 6, 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

FATEHGARH SAHIB
OFFICE-BEARERS: The following were elected office-bearers of the District Rice Millers’ Association at a meeting held here on Friday: chairman — Mr Narinder Kumar Bansal; president — Mr Inderjit Singh Sandhu; secretary — Mr Nakesh Jindal; treasurer — Mr Sushil Kumar; executive members — Mr Gian Singh Walia Chuni, Mr Surjeet Singh Chanarthal, Mr Kultar Singh Sanghol, Mr Kulwinder Singh Sirhind, Mr Tarloki Nath Bassi Pathana, Mr Roshan Lal Amloh and Mr Surjit Singh Sahi Sirhind.

LOK DARBAR: “If any official or government employee demands bribe for undertaking your official work or any of your grievances is pending unattended in any government office you can bring it to my notice publicly. If found correct the person concerned will not be spared at any cost. This was stated by Mr S.K. Ahluwalia, Deputy Commissioner, while addressing the first Lok Darbar. He said he had fixed every Wednesday for organising Lok Darbars in rural areas in alternative blocks.

DRUG SELLERS HELD: The district police has registered cases against various chemists in the district and quacks. The drive is part of the ongoing drive against the illegal sale of drugs. This was stated by Mr B. Chandra Sekhar, SSP, in a press note issued here on Thursday.

RAID: Mr S.K. Ahluwalia, Deputy Commission, on Thursday raided the offices of the block panchayat samiti, Bassi Pathana, the SDO, Panchyati Raj, Bassi Pathana, and the BDPO. The BDPO and five employees of his office were found absent, whereas the office of the SDO was found locked. The Deputy Commissioner has ordered disciplinary action against the erring officials.

PEDA CAMPAIGN: The Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) has launched a public awareness campaign to install solar water pump set, solar lights, solar water heater system and solar lights to check pollution. Subsidy is being provided on the installation of all these equipments, said Mr S.K. Ahluwalia, Deputy Commissioner, while addressing the meeting of district officials here on Thursday.

HOSHIARPUR
CHEATED: The Tanda police has charged four travel agents with duping Gurmit Singh of Bassi Jalal of Rs 2.1 lakh. The travel agents — Kewal Krishan, his wife, Shashi, Bhushan Dass (all of Abadpur, Jalandhar) and Sankokh Singh of Bassi Jalal — had done this on the pretext of sending him abroad.

KHARAR
NEW SCHOOL: The Punjab Government has decided to open a new Government Model Senior Secondary School here from the coming financial year. This was announced by Mr Bir Devinder Singh, Kharar MLA, and the Deputy Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha while addressing a gathering in nearby Cholta Khurd village after inaugurating a newly constructed hall.

PLEA TO CTU: Mr Dharampal, President, Indian Ex-services League (Punjab and Chandigarh) has urged the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking to start a direct bus service from Kharar to Chandimandir a Command Hospital. He said there were about 5000 Ex-servicemen, serving soldiers and their dependants residing in and around Kharar who visit the hospital for check-up.

NAWANSHAHR
INAUGURATED: Ms Sushila Mahajan, Chairperson of the Punjab State Board of Technical Education and Industrial Training, inaugurated the electrical block at Doaba Polytechnic, Raipur (Nawanshahr), 35 km from here, on Thursday. She also released a book ‘Computer Network’ written by Mr Bharat Bhushan Heer and Ms Saloni Jasuja.

DHARNA HELD: Employees of the Nawanshahr Central Cooperative Bank held a dharna and rally in front of the bank here on Thursday in protest against the apathetic attitude of the state government towards their demands. Among others, Mr Gurmit Singh Tiwana, president, Mr Jogeshwar Sood, Mr Chet Ram, Mr Bharat Bhushan Angra addressed the rally.

PATIALA
MOURNED: The Patiala District Table Tennis Association (PDTTA) and the Patiala Veterans Table Tennis Association (PVTTA) has mourned the untimely death of IAS officer Rajesh Chhabra. The associations convened a condolence meeting here to mourn the death of Mr Chhabra, who had remained the President of the Punjab Table Tennis Association for a record 30 successive years.

CHANDIGARH

BLOOD DONATION: The Kabir's Roll of Old Students, alumni association of St Kabir Public School, Sector 26, is organising a blood donation camp, in collaboration with the Command Hospital, Chandi Mandir, on Saturday from 9 am onwards in the school premises. The convener of the association, Mr Pankaj Chandgothia, said the camp was being organised for the benefit of armed forces.

DENTAL COLLEGE: A former Member of Parliament, Mr Satya Pal Jain, has taken up the issues of the dental college in Chandigarh and the opening up of more dispensaries in the city and neighbouring areas with the Union Health Minister, Mrs Sushma Swaraj. He discussed the issue with the minister at a meeting in Delhi on Wednesday. Fee hike: Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, MP, today urged the UT Administrator to direct the Administration to withdraw the fee hike in its colleges. He said the Punjab Government had rolled back the fee hike and hoped that the Chandigarh Administration would follow suit.

GRIEVANCES: The Mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh, Mr Subash Chawla, accompanied by Mrs Geeta Chaudhary, Deputy Mayor, and Mr Sohan Lal Vaid, Chairman of the Roads Committee, today listened to the grievances of residents, shopkeepers and rehri walas. The residents complained centred around the sanitary condition in the area. Meeting: Chandigarh Gurdwara Prabandhak Sangathan has decided in a meeting that the government should take necessary steps “for the release of Sikh youths languishing in various jails in the country without trial since long”. According to the Chairman of the Sangathan, Maj N.S. Rangi (retd), the meeting was held at gurdwara in Sector 34 regarding the 400th anniversary celebrations of Guru Granth Sahib Parkash Utsav.

SAS NAGAR
FESTIVAL: A four-day children’s festival will be organised in the town from November 6. This was stated by Mr S.N. Subarao, a freedom fighter who took part in the Quit India Movement at a function organised at Shastri Model School here on Thursday.

HARYANA

AMBALA
GATE MEETING: The dharna by postal employees and Central groundwater board employees continued in support of their demands for the second day on Thursday. A gate meeting was held in the afternoon.

FORGERY CASE: The local police has raided several places in search of Zakir Husian and four other employees of the Punjab Wakf Board against whom the Mahesh Nagar police had registered a forgery case on the direction of a local court in the Avedna episode. Moreover the maulvi of Shahi Masjid, Pinjore, has stated in a local court at Ambala City that he had not performed the nikah of Avenda and Zakir, who had submitted a nikahnama in the court issued by the Shahi Masjid, Pinjore.

COMPETITION: The Youth Club of M.D. S.D. Girls College, Ambala City, organised a knitting competition on Thursday. Around 60 students took part in the competition. Yogita Shahni of BA I stood first, Irinder of B.Com II second and Neelam of B.Com I third.

NCP’s CLAIM: The NCP state unit president, Mr Ved Pal, claimed on Thursday that they were emerging as the third alternative in Haryana. Mr Ved Pal said the people of Haryana were unhappy with the current political set-up and they were looking towards the NCP as an alternative “People have suffered under the rule of the three Lals,” he said.

DHARNA: The Netraheen Jagriti Sangh, an association fighting for interests of visually impaired, will stage an indefinite dharna in Chandigarh on September 29. The president of the sangh, Mr Surinder Lamba, said the government had promised to give 1 per cent reservation to visually impaired in jobs, but this was not being implemented.