R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Amritsar
EXCHANGE: Mr Daljit Singh Pannun, Indian Ambassador to Madagascar, at a press conference here on Thursday stated that he would work for cultural and educational exchange with Madagascar. Mr Pannun, who has been High Commissioner of India to Ghana and Ambassador to Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Togo and Liberia, said among his other aims, he would also promote the secular and democratic image of the country, besides developing stronger business relations.

Hoshiarpur
SEMINAR: Dr S.P.S. Sohal, Civil Surgeon, Hoshiarpur, said women, especially young girls, were more vulnerable to HIV and it was due to this fact that male to female transmission was twice as likely to occur as compared to female to male transmission. Dr Sohal was speaking at a seminar organised to create awareness about AIDS among industrial workers at ESI Hospital here on Thursday.

Jalandhar
Nominated: Mr B.I.S Chahal, Media Adviser to the Punjab Chief Minister, has been nominated as patron of the local Punjab Press Club.

Nawanshahr
ORGANISED: The Guru Nanak Mission Medical and Educational Trust, Dhahan Kaleran, in collaboration with Gurdwara Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib, Dudley (UK), organised a free eye and dental check-up camp at Guru Nanak Mission Hospital, Dhahan Kaleran, about 20 km from here on Thursday. A UK-based NRI, Mr Ajit Singh Shergill, and Mr Budh Singh Dhahan, president of the trust, jointly inaugurated the camp.

Phagwara
TICKETLESS TRAVEL: In a special checking at Phagwara railway station on Thursday, about Rs 32,000 was recovered as on-the-spot fine from about 125 ticketless travellers. Railway sources said the checking continued for several hours. As many as 19 trains were checked.

Sangrur
LAUNCHED: The Sangrur district annual credit plan for year 2005-06, prepared by the State Bank of Patiala, Sangrur, was launched by Mr Husan Lal, Deputy Commissioner, at a special meeting of the District Consultative Committee here on Thursday. Mr T.S. Anand, Lead District Manager, said the banks had set a target to disburse Rs 1,973.22 crore under the priority sector.

CHANDIGARH

OPENED: K.V Krishnamurthy, former Chairman and Managing Director of Bank of India, today opened of regional office of Centrum Direct Ltd, a category I Merchant banker, a listed company of the Bombay Stock Exchange. The regional office, opened in Sector 9 Madhya Marg will serve the retail investors in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Centrum Direct will soon open offices in Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Shimla. With this, the all India network will touch 40. The company cater to investment, insurance and forex needs of high networth individuals, retail investors and corporates. Its bouquet includes savings and investment products.

REPEAL ACT: The Punjab State Committee of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) on Friday condemned the amendment to Section 66 of the Factories Act, 1948, allowing the employers to employ women in night shifts. According to a press note, the decision was violative of the ILO convention. They sought that the Act be repealed.

INAUGURATION: A park in Sector 44-C will be inaugurated on Tuesday (April 5) by Ms Anu Chatrath, Mayor, Chandigarh Municipal Corporation and Mrs Madhu Bansal. The park which has been developed from the MPLAD fund was sanctioned by local MP Pawan Kumar Bansal last year.

HARYANA

AMBALA
ELECTED: Dr Ashok Sarwal has been elected president of the Ambala city unit of the Indian Medical Association. Dr Sarwal is a prominent orthopaedic surgeon and is associated with several social organisations. He runs an orthopaedic hospital in Ambala city.

BAN ORDERS: The District Magistrate, Ambala, Mr J.P. Kaushik, imposed Section 144 in Ambala city and the Sadar area of Ambala Cantonment from April 13 to April 20 following the municipal councils elections. In a order issued here he directed that nobody would be allowed to carry fire arms or sharp weapons in public places during this period. However, Sikhs would be allowed to carry small swoard as a symbol of religion.

SONEPAT
STOLEN: Currency notes worth Rs 1 lakh were stolen from Mr Balwan Singh a resident of Bidhlan village on Friday. According to a report, he was carrying Rs 2 lakh in the pockets of his ‘kurta’.

DAMAGED: A car was badly damaged in the fire which broke out near the railway station here on Friday. According to a report short-circuit was cause of the fire. The car belonged to Mr Yogesh of Sonepat.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

Nahan
BODY FOUND: The Renuka police has found the body of a man in a barrage, about 50 km from here, on Thursday. The deceased has been identified as Rajinder Singh (31), a resident of Chultia village in Sangr ah subdivision. According to police sources, the deceased seems to have accidentally fallen into the Giri river on Wednesday night. The body has been sent for post-mortem.

RECOVERED: In a raid conducted by the Nahan police on Wednesday, Bhupender, a resident of Chabha-han village in Nahan subdivision, was arrested and 144 bottles of country liquor were recovered from his possession. A case has been registered.