R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
PUNJABI WEEK: Guru Nanak Dev University will celebrate Punjabi Week from Sunday. This was stated in a press statement issued here on Friday. A cultural programme will be organised by the students of the School of Punjabi Studies at Preet Nagar on Sunday. A one-act play “Kudesan” will be presented under the direction of a noted playwright Jatinder Brar on Monday.

SEIZED: The Customs authorities have seized one gold biscuit weighing about 100 gm from Sayed Ali, a resident of Meerut, at Wagah, about 25 km from here. The suspect had crossed over from Pakistan after visiting his relatives. In another incident, Customs officials are reported to have seized Rs 17,500 in excess from a Pakistani woman, Begum Hamida. She crossed over to India from the Wagah joint post here. She was going to her relatives at Radio Colony, Srinagar, in Jammu and Kashmir.

SMO BOOKED: The district police has booked Ramesh Choudhry, Senior Medical Officer at the Primary Health Centre of Kasel village, along with Kulwant Singh, nambardar of the village, falling under Sarai Amanat Khan police station, about 20 km from here, on Thursday evening for allegedly manhandling Mr Sunil Kumar. Mr Sunil Kumar, assistant clerk of the health centre, alleged that Kulwant Singh, armed with a sharp-edged weapon and claiming to be known to the SMO, entered the centre under the influence of liquor and manhandled him. He alleged that Kulwant Singh also misbehaved with a women doctor present at the centre. He alleged that when the staff complained about this to Mr Choudhry, SMO, the latter started abusing them. The police has registered a complaint under various sections of the IPC and has taken the nambardar into custody.

KHARAR
BLOOD DONATED: As many as 105 persons donated blood at a blood donation camp organised by the Lions Club Top at Lions Office near Post Office Kharar on Saturday. The camp was inaugurated by Mr Kuljit Singh Bedi, Congress leader, and Mr Charanjit Singh President of the local municipal council presided over the funcation.

LUDHIANA
DEO RETIRES: The District Education Department hosted a retirement party for Mr Bachitar Singh, District Education Officer (secondary), at Government Girls’ Senior Secondary School, Bharat Nagar, here on Friday. Mr Bachitar Singh was given a floral welcome by Ms Manjit Kaur and Ms Sudesh Bajaj, both Deputy District Education Officers of the secondary wing, officers and employees of the elementary wing, teachers from government schools and his other friends. The officers and teachers eulogised the DEO for adopting rigorous steps in checking copying during exams, speedy clearance of GPF accounts and proper rationalisation of teachers. Mr Bachitar Singh said even though he was going to retire from his post but he would continue to work to raise the standards of education.

SAMRALA
MEETING: A meeting of the Anti-Corruption Front, Samrala, was held on Saturday in the local Civil Rest House, under the chairmanship of Comdt Rashpal Singh after the completion of Chetna March of 47 villages. Talking to mediapersons, the general secretary of the front, Mr Mehma Singh Kang, and the press secretary, Mr Darshan Singh, said a big seminar will be organised on November 4 on the premises of the Community Centre Club. Mr H. S. Hanspal, President of the PPCC, Mr Bir Devinder Singh, Deputy Speaker, Punjab, the local MLA, Mr Amrik Singh Dhillon, Mr B.S. Ramoowalia, President of the Lok Bhalai Party, and many other persons will address the seminar. A paper titled “Corruption, bribery, its kinds and remedy”, will also be read by Prof Hamdardvir Naushaharvi, on the occasion, they added.

SPORTS FESTIVAL: A village sports festival at Shamgarh village 3 km from here, began on Saturday. The festival is organised by the Youth Sports Club, Shamgarh, and panchayat members, according to Mr Harpal Singh Dhillon, former sarpanch of the village and the president of the Arthia Association, Samrala. The festival was inaugurated by Mr Amarjit Singh Balion, president of Nankana Sahib Public School, and the prizes would be distributed by Jathedar Kirpal Singh Kheernian, member, SGPC, Jathedar Joginder Singh Seh and Mr Baljit Singh Laali, Mr Dhillon added.

CONDOLENCE MEETING: A condolence meeting to pay tributes to Dr Prem Parkash Singh, a local Punjabi writer was held here on Saturday under the presidentship of Prof Hamdardvir Naushaharvi in the Kavita Bhavan. Mr Harjinder Paul Singh moved the condolence motion. Mr Rupinderjit Singh gave an account of the literary achievements of Dr Prem Parkash Singh, Principal of Malwa College, Bondli. Dr Parminder Singh Benipal and Mr Balwant Singh Dharni also spoke on the occasion. Two-minute silence was observed in the memory of Dr Prem Parkash Singh.

CHANDIGARH

OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the General Insurance Officers’ All-India Association at its annual meeting held here on Saturday: president — Mr T.R. Bajaj; vice-president — Mr J.K. Virmani; secretary — Mr G.C. Kashyap; treasurer — Mr Ravinder Kumar; assistant secretaries — Mr N.K. Thaku, Dr Sunil Gupta, Mr H.S. Chawla and Mr Joginder Singh; executives — Mr Y.P. Gulati, Mr J.S. Banga, Mr Harvinder Singh, Mr Suresh Goyal and Mr D.K. Malhotra.  

HARYANA

AMBALA
CONTESTS: A poster and collage-making competitions were organised by the Computer Society of SA Jain College, Ambala City, on Friday. The college Principal, Mr C.L. Singla, inaugurated the competition. While 40 students participated in the poster-making competition, Himanshu Mittal was declared first, Sarabjeet Kaur second, and Priyanka third. In collage-making, Vipin Handa was declared first, Vivek Sharma second and Manish Sharma third.

KAITHAL
SENTENCED: Two activists of the Bharatiya Kisan Union were sentenced to one year’s imprisonment and fined Rs 2,000 each by the Judicial Magistrate Ms Shashi Bala Chauhan, here for assaulting and obstructing the members of a police party from performing their official duty in 1995. According to information, Gooni Parkash, president, BKU, Ambala Mandal and his brother Mahi Pal attacked ASI Ram Pal and constable Sube Singh who went to Faral village on government duty during the visit of then Irrigation Minister. The accused attacked the policemen with lathis, injured them and threatened them with dire consequences. A case under Sections 332\353\506 and 34, IPC, was registered again the BKU leader and his brother. It is learnt that on an application moved by counsel of the accused ,the court kept the sentence pending for one month to give the accused time to file an appeal.

CHARGES: Mr Kavi Raj Sharma, vice-chairman of the media cell of the HPCC, in a statement issued here today urged the former HPCC Chief Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda not to weaken the Congress by issuing “irresponsible” statements and by levelling charges of corruption against senior party leaders. He said by issuing such statements Mr Hooda was strengthening the hands of Opposition and the party high command should restrain Mr Hooda from acting in such an irresponsible manner.

SCHEME: The Devi Rakshak scheme announced by the Haryana government on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Jan Nayak Chaudhary Devi Lal has been introduced in the district from October 2 and Haryana was the only state in the country where such a scheme was introduced to provide social security to its people. This information was given to mediapersons by the Deputy Commissioner Mr Anurag Agarwal, here on Friday. Mr Agarwal said earning head of the family other than a government employee and the income tax payees in the age group of 18 -80 were beneficiaries under the scheme.

KARNAL
PROGRAMME: A group of farmers from Patara, Hazara and Khodriwal villages of Jalandhar district visited the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) here on Friday under an agro-technology development programme introduced by the Agriculture Technology Mission Agency (ATMA) in Punjab. Dr J.C. Markanday, head Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) of the NDRI, while addressing the farmers said dairying had immense potential in further improving the agro-economy. He said the dairy farmers, for increasing the milk production, needed to adopt various technologies developed at the NDRI in different areas of dairy production. Mr Dalip K. Gosain, senior scientist at the KVK, said milk production in the state could be further increased only if artificial insemination in dairy animals was adopted.

SAFIDON
WORKSHOP: The Haryana Rural Development Institute (HRDI) Nilokheri, has started a four-day workshop-cum-training camp for the sarpanches, panches and gram sachivs of Safidon block here on Saturday. The workshop has been organised as part of a refresher course on panchayat rules and regulations for all village panchayats of the state, which will be covered by March 2004, Saturday’s camp attracted as many as 415 panches, sarpanches and gram sachivs of 44 villages of this block.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

KANGRA
RELIGIOUS TOURISM: The Himachal Pradesh Governor, Mr V.S. Kokje, on Friday laid stress on a balanced tourism policy for the state to improve its tourism industry and suggested that religious tourism in the hill state should be encouraged. Mr Kokje was talking to mediapersons at the Bajjreshwari temple after he paid obeisance at the shrine. He said the state government was formulating a policy on religious tourism for the state, which would be announced in four months. He said the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, and the Tourism Minister, Mr V.S. Mankotia, had discussed the matter with him.

NAHAN
BODY FOUND: The decomposed body of a nearly 60-year-old person was found near Kyartoo village on the Nahan-Renuka road, about 24 km from here, on Friday. According to villagers, the person belonged to the same area and was missing since Divali. A police party left for the place to bring the body here for a post-mortem.

FIRE: A shop in Rampur Jattan village near Kala Amb caught fire on Friday due to short circuit. The loss to the shop owner was being assessed. A case has been registered.

CHARAS SEIZED: The Rajgarh police on Friday arrested Chattar Pal Singh, a resident of Daluwala village under Ranipur police station in Hardwar district, and seized 300 gm of charas from him.