R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
BOOK OF POEMS: Renowned eye surgeon and Padmashri Dr Daljeet Singh’s book of poems “Pratinidhi Kavitayen’ was released here on Monday by Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Dr Satinder Singh. The book, originally written in Punjabi, was translated in Hindi by Dr Chaman Lal, Head, Department of Hindi, Punjabi University, Patiala.

HOSHIARPUR
MURDER CASE: The Mahilpur police has registered a case under Sections 302, 201 and 34, IPC, against Karam Chand, his wife Surinder Kaur, daughter Saroj Rani and son-in-law Satnam Singh of Bham village for allegedly murdering Jagir Singh of Chitor and trying to dispose of his body by setting it on fire. A dispute over a shop is said to be the cause behind the crime.

LUDHIANA
TALK: Col Rakesh Berry, a former deputy president, Services Selection Board (SSB), gave a talk to students of Class XII of Guru Nanak Public School, Sarabha Nagar, about prospects in the armed forces on Monday. With the help of slides, he explained the admission process, qualifications required and benefits after the retirement. He laid special emphasis on the interview and group discussion, conducted by the SSB.

RESIGNATION: Senior advocate Jasbir Singh Bindra has resigned as special public prosecutor and standing counsel of the Central Excise and Customs Department. He submitted his resignation to the Commissioner, Central Excise, Mr H.K. Mittal. He worked with the department for over 20 years.

TOPPERS: Supriya Jain, Perry and Manpreet Kaur of the Gujranwala Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology (GGNIMT) have achieved second, fifth and tenth positions in the VI semester, BCA examination, held in June by Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar. They have secured 86.29, 85.60 and 83.02 per cent marks, respectively. The co-ordinator, Prof G.S. Dua, and the Director, Mr Kuldip Singh, congratulated the students on their achievements. They also appreciated hard work put in by teachers in guiding the students.

PROGRAMME: ICFAI University organised a faculty development programme at its centre for the benefit of faculty members in educational institutions in and around Ludhiana on Monday. More than 50 faculty members from various institutions attended the programme. “Emergence of new India — opportunities and challenges” and “Teachers as mentors” were the topics addressed in the programme. Prof A.M. Kannan, and Prof B. Karunakar, senior faculty members, ICFAI University, Hyderabad, addressed the gathering.

LECTURE: “Psycho-social profile of the elderly is changing very fast and that is causing social tensions and complications,” said Dr Rajeev Gupta, consultant psychiatrist, while addressing members of the Rotary North here recently. Dr Gupta said the number of unwanted and uncared elderly was growing very fast. He said the elderly suffered from many physical and psychological problems. He advised them to be physically active and contribute positively to their families.

TEACHERS STRIKE: The strike by teachers at Sanmati Vimal Jain Senior Secondary Public School, Jagraon, entered its fifth day on Tuesday. The teachers held a rally in the front of the school gate. Different organisations flayed the attitude of Ms Shashi Jain and raised slogans against her and the management. They demanded immediate release of their salaries. The rally was addressed by Mr Kanwal Khanna, Mr Bhupinderpal Singh Brar, Mr Mohinder Singh Kamalpura, Mr Taranjit Singh secretary of the school union, and Ms Bindu Garg president of the school union. The teachers have not received salaries for the past five months.

BLOOD DONATION: More than 50 volunteers donated blood during a blood donation camp organised by the All-India Sikh Students Federation at Aggar Nagar here on Tuesday. Mr Sharanjit Singh Pandhi, district president (Rural) of the federation, said the camp was organised in association with the District Red Cross. The camp was inaugurated by Mr Swaran Ram, DSP, Vigilance. Mr Bhupinder Singh Bedi, welcomed volunteers and guests. Mr Pritpal Singh Pali, President, Gurdwara Dukh Niwaran, said such camps should be organised in future as well. Others present on the occasion were Mr S.P.Malik, Secretary District, Red Cross, Mr Swaran Singh Pandhi, Mr Sanjiv Singh Chana, Mr Gaganjit Singh, Mr Joginder Mohan Garg, Mr Rameshwar Das, Mr Gurvinder Singh Pappi, Mr Varinder Singh Rinku, Mr Anil Kumar Bittu, Mr Parampreet Singh Honey and Dr Balbir Singh.

ANNUAL DAY: Students of Cherryfields Nursery School, Atam Nagar, celebrated their annual day on Tuesday. A Bharatnatyam ‘Varnam’ was performed by Vridh Sharma, followed by competitions like fancy dress, poetry, modelling, western and Indian dances. The chief guest was Ms Geetanjali Sharma and Ms Jyoti Masco and Ms Ravi Masco were the judges. Many students, including Devandhi, Jenica, Anuj, Amandeep and Chirag, won the prizes.

MEDICAL CAMP: The Ludhiana Citizen Health Council organised a medical camp at its centre, Dishayen. An exhibition of readymade garments, made by girls and women of slum areas, was also held. The exhibition were inaugurated by Mr Janaki Das Jain and Mr Kamal Goyal. The institute of stitching and embroidery operates under the guidance of Ms Chander Mohini. Free medical advice was given by Dr Sehgal and Dr Kharbanda.

GNIMT RESULTS : Students of Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology, Gujarkhan Campus, Model Town, have bagged several positions in the merit list released by Punjab Technical University (PTU) recently. In the MCA-II semester exams held in May. Monika Matta scored 89.1 per cent and bagged second position in the university. The university also declared the overall results for the BCA-2000 batch. Ritika Gupta of GNIMT scored 3611 marks out of 4200 and was ranked third in the university. In the BCA-II semester examination held in May, Charanpreet Kaur of GNIMT scored 84.4 per cent and bagged seventh position in the university. Dr A.S. Bansal congratulated the students as well as faculty.

HEART WEEK: Keeping in view the problem of obesity and other health related problems among children, Pumpkins Kindergarten celebrated ‘healthy heart week’ recently. The motive was to inculcate healthy lifestyle in children from an early stage itself. Children were made aware about the heart and its functions. They were told about foods, and physical activities which kept the heart healthy. Dr Tarun Sharma conducted a check-up of children and talked to them how they should keep hearts strong and healthy.

MANDI AHMEDGARH
OBSERVED: International Iodine Deficiency Disease Prevention Day was observed at the local Sanatan Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School. Iodised salt was distributed and a seminar was held on the occasion. In the key note lecture, Dr R P Singla elaborated the role of iodine in the production of harmones required for proper metabolic functions. He said though iodine was required in very small amounts , its presence in food was vital for many physiological functions, including physical and mental growth. The problem of done deficiency is more grave in North India, where people do not take sea food.”, he added. Dr Rahul Sharma said unawareness about micronutrients resulted in diseases including goitre, physical disability, mental retardation and deformities among neonates.

MOGA
RELEASED: A sum of Rs 893.80 lakh was released here on Monday for development works at a meeting of the District Planning and Development Board. The meeting was presided over by Mr Mohinder Singh, Technical Education Minister, Punjab.

NAWANSHAHR
SUICIDE BY WOMAN: Thirty-year-old Neelam, wife of labourer Jang Bahadur of Mohalla Nai Abadi here, allegedly committed suicide by setting her clothes on fire during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. She was brought to the local Civil Hospital from where she was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, where she died on Monday.

SAMRALA
CHETNA MARCH: Mr Rashpal Singh, Mr Mehma Singh Kang and Mr Darshan Singh, president, secretary and press secretary of the Anti-Corruption Front, respectively, said that during a chetna march members of the front visited Bondli, Herian, Burma, Kotala, Mushkabad and Khirnian villages”. Villagers urged them that rates of deed writers, concerning ikrarnama, land registration deed and mukhtiar nama (power of attorney), be fixed. They also asked for agents to be eliminated from the process of renewing licenses and registration of vehicles. Mr Kishan Singh, Mohinder Singh Bijlipur, Mr Gurdial Singh and Mr Nirmal Singh Sandhu also participated in the march.

SAMBHAR RESCUED: In Khanpur Bet village, 15 km from here, villagers rescued a sambhar which had been bitten by dogs. The sambhar was treated. After treatment from a veterinary doctor, it was handed over to the Forest Department at Samrala. On Monday the sambhar was released in the forest area.

POWER CUT: According to Mr C.S. Mann, Executive Engineer, PSEB, Ghulal-Samrala, power supply will remain suspended in Khamanon town from Tuesday to Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Overload on the transformer was the reason behind erratic power supply, Mr Mann added. He told mediapersons that the transformer would be replaced and assured that there would be no disruption of power supply in the town after Thursday. 

HIMACHAL PRADESH

CHAMBA
CONG PANEL: Mr Harsh Mahajan, Minister for Animal Husbandry, has indicated Mr Ashwani Kumar Handa, Mr, Krishan Mahajan and Mr, Rishikesh Sharma into the District Congress Steering Committee as its news members with immediate effect.

PWD STAFF: The following were elected office-bearers of the district unit of the Himachal Pradesh Public Works Department Ministerial Staff Association: president — Mr, Dildar Ali Shah; senior vice-president — Mr Des Raj, vice-presidents — Mr Madan Lal, Mr Amir Chand, Mr Jai Ram and Mr Ravi Kohli; general secretary — Mr, Naginder Gupta; press secretary — Mr Sushil Kumar; Cashier — Mr Parminder Kumar and chief adviser — Mr Yash Pal Sharma.

SHIMLA
Ban on fireworks: Mr S.K.B.S. Negi, District Magistrate, has restricted the possession, sale, transport and import of crackers and other fireworks in Shimla town to prevent accidents. As per the order issued by him, the sale and possession of crackers is prohibited in the town, except Rani Jhansi Park, Boileauganj Ground, new bus stand, Sabzi Mandi (Dhalli) and the ice-skating rink areas where temporary stalls will be allowed by the local Municipal Corporation. No display of fireworks will be allowed on the Mall, Lower Bazar, Ram Bazar, Lakkar Bazar and Boileauganj Bazar. The order will remain in force till October 27.