R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Amritsar
AISAD FLAYS SAD: Mr Jaswant Singh Maan, general secretary, All India Shiromani Akali Dal, has flayed the Shiromani Akali Dal for converting quadricentenmial celebrations of Guru Granth Sahib into an Akali show. Addressing a press conference here on Monday, he said the SAD had usurped the role of the SGPC by ‘prescribing’ maryada for presenting siropas to the dignitaries visiting the Golden Temple.

Workshop: Church of North India, under the aegis of the Socio Economic Development Programme, organised an international workshop for peace in Kashmir at Bachat Bhavan here on Monday. Inaugurating the workshop, Mr Jagjit Singh, Editor, Nava Zamana, said no religion divides people and we all are God’s children. Mr Helmit Vegner, Chairman, partership committee, said it was a political problem and we should help Kashmiris in their economic and social development.

Hoshiarpur
CPM rally: On a call of CPM’s central committee, a rally will be organised on Wednesday at Garhshankar by the district unit of the party. This was stated by Mr Gurmesh Singh, district secretary, CPM, Hoshiarpur, on Monday.

LJP decision: The district unit of the Lok Janshakti Party has decided to contest the byelection for the Garhshankar Vidhan Sabha seat. A resolution to this effect was passed at a unit here on Monday. Mr Harmesh Aazad, district president of the party, said the decision of the unit would be conveyed to the state unit and party high command for their approval.

LUDHIANA
Vedic week: The Arya Samaj , Model Town, would host a Ved saptah or Vedic week from September 1 to September 5, according to a press release by the samaj here on Tuesday. The release said that a renowned Vedic scholar from Gujarat , Acharya Vivek Bhushan, would deliver sermons and explain the Vedas. From September 1 to 4, the morning session would be held from 7 am to 9 am and the evening sessions from 8 pm to 10 pm. On the concluding day, on September 5, a havan would be performed. After the hawan students of BCM School , R S Model High School and the Arya Gurukul would present a cultural programme.

Scooter rally: Mr Ashwani Sahota, regional convener, Bharatiya Valmiki Dharam Samaj, flagged off a scooter rally from street number 13 of Dashmesh Nagar here on Tuesday to create awareness against drug addiction, illiteracy and the dowry system. Among those present on the occasion included Mr Kishan Lal Bedi, Mr Lakshman Dravid, Mr Dev Raj Asur, Mr Mohanvir Chauhan, Mr Babu Ram, Mr Chander Pal, Mr Tej Vir and Mr Tony Dogra.

FUNCTION: Government Senior Secondary School, Lachkani organised a function to mark the 400th year of the installation of the Guru Granth Sahib here on Tuesday. The principal of the school, Veena Behal, presided over the function.

CHANDIGARH

Panchkula
Inaugurated: The two-day gymnastic championship was inaugurated by Mr N.C. Wadhwa, Chief Administrator of the Haryana Urban Development Authority, here on Tuesday. The camp is being held at the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex here. The Deputy Commissioner, Ms Neelam P. Kasni, and the SDM, Kalka, Mr Devinder Kaushik, were also present on the occasion.

Auction: The bidding for dismantling of the old mortuary at the General Hospital, Sector 6, here will be held on Wednesday. This was stated by Civil Surgeon, Dr Satvir Chaudhary on Tuesday. He said the aspirants would have to deposit a minimum of Rs 5,000 for bidding.

Contest: Priyanka Sindhwani of St Xavier's High School, Chandigarh, won the first prize in the individual category during the inter-ICSE declamation contest held at St Xavier's High School here on Monday. Eight ICSE-affiliated schools of the region participated in the contest. Jaskaran Singh of Tender Heart, Chandigarh, won the second prize while Navrosdh Sudan of St Stephen’s, Chandigarh, won the third prize. In the team category Tender Heart School, Chandigarh, won the first prize while Little Flower Convent School, Panchkula, won the second prize. 

HARYANA

AMBALA
JAGUAR SILVER JUBILEE: The Air Force station here will organise Jaguar fighter aircraft silver jubilee celebration on September 10 and 11. 

TALENT HUNT: A talent hunt competition at MDSD Girls College, Ambala City, concluded here on Tuesday. In declamation contest, first prize winners were Divya Bhasin and Gagandeep while second prize winners were Renu and Rajbir. In poetry recitation contest, Divya Bhasin was first while Lisha and Rabia stood second. In painting competition, Monika and Aastha were first and Sonia and Prabhjot were second. In dance, Anju and Manisha were first while Survehi was second. In singing, Komal was first while Ravneet and Renu stood second.

CAMPAIGN: A signature campaign on the SYL issue was carried out by a BJP team headed by former MP, Mr Ratan Lal Kataria, on Tuesday.

Fatehabad
FOUNDATION STONE: The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Mahtab Singh Sehrawat, on Tuesday laid the foundation stone of a new block of four rooms of Government School at Kharaitikhera village in this district. The rooms would be constructed under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan programme at an estimated cost of Rs 6.8 lakh. The District Education Officer, Mr Sriram Jakhar, the DPEO, Mr Hari Singh Rinwa, and senior officers of the district were present on the occasion. Later, Mr Sehrawat distributed a loan of Rs 12.60 lakh among 26 persons under the self-employment scheme of the government.

Hisar
BSNL scheme: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has launched a Raksha Bandhan-Janmashtami scheme, under which no registration and installation fees will be charged for basic telephone connections for a limited period. Announcing this here on Tuesday, Mr R.K. Tyagi, General Manager, BSNL, said the offer was till September 6. He said under another scheme for the subscribers whose connections had been cut could get these reinstalled without paying any rent.

Jhajjar
TWO SUSTAIN BURN INJURIES: Two persons sustained burn injuries when a high tension wire snapped and felled on them in Suhra village of the district on Tuesday. Sombir and Krishan, were grazing their cattle in the fields when the mishap occurred. Both were rushed to the Civil Hospital here.

Kurukshetra
Campus selection: Twenty seven M.Tech. and M.C.A. students of the final year of post-graduate courses of Kurukshetra University, Computer Science & Applications Department have been selected by companies ,including R. Systems Ltd. Noida, Newzen Software Technology, Okhala and HCL Technology, Noida. 

HIMACHAL PRADESH

Bilaspur
CHARGED: The district unit of the BJP has charged the Congress government of ignoring the Central Government-financed “Goldmine Project” under which thousands of farmers were to be helped through cottage industries of floriculture, silviculture and mushroom production. This was stated by the BJP spokesman, Mr Naresh Sharma, here on Monday.

Kulu
TRAINING : The Directorate of Horticulture will organise a week-long training programme for the educated rural youth at Gadsa, about 30 km from here, from September 8. The technical officer of the directorate said here on Tuesday, the educated youth would be trained to work in small-scale and cottage industries. He further said the selected candidates would be given a scholarship of Rs 75each for participation during the training.

Mandi
INAUGURATED: The Nachan MLA, Mr Tek Chand Dogra on Sunday inaugurated a new building of gram panchayat at Chatra in Sundarnagar subdivision under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan.

DEMANDED: The Balmiki Sabha, Mandi thanked the Himachal Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, for asking the Revenue Department to look into problems of landless farmers of the sabha here on Sunday. The sabha also requested the Chief Minister that its members should be involved so that the needy should not be left out.

DISTRIBUTED: The senior manager of Punjab National Bank, Mr Sudhir Kapur, said here on Sunday the bank had distributed loans worth Rs 106 lakh among more than 36 applicants for housing, business, car and other consumer goods in the Mandi district.