R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Amritsar
HONOURED: The local Rotary Club honoured persons for excelling in their chosen fields here on Tuesday. They are Anil Kumar Razdan, singer, Mr Rajinder Pal Saini, who rose from a constable to become a DSP, Prof Kulwant Singh Thind, Head, Department of Physics, GNDU, Dr H.P.S. Miglani, paediatric surgeon and Mr Ravinder Singh for his excellent work in printing aHnd publication.

CENTRE OPENS: The British Counselling and Educational Centre opened its eighth centre here on Tuesday. The Director, International Affairs, Mr Nilesh Tandon, said they represented 60 leading international universities and colleges and guide students in joining these institutions.

Hoshiarpur
SUSPENDED: ASI Dharminder Singh, who was arrested under Sections 489A, 489B and 201 of the IPC in a fake currency notes scandal in Mukerian, has been suspended. According to the police Raj Kumar, manager, Preet Filling Station, Mukerian, who was one of the accused in the case, had surrendered before the police on Tuesday.

Jagraon
PROGRAMME: Unemployed boys and girls, who are middle pass or more have been invited for an interview on April 25, for a 10-day dairy training programme in the office of Dairy Development Inspector, Grade-7, Block Development and Panchayat Officer, Tehsil Road, Jagraon. Mr Kuldip Singh Jassowal, Dairy Development Officer, said candidates, holding one acre either in their own name or their relation would be given training from May 5 at Bija (near Doraha). 

Stamp papers: Selling of non-judicial stamp papers at a premium continues unabated at the tehsil complex here. The public is forced to pay more than the printed price of the stamp paper. The public alleges that the local treasury officer seems to be not checking the stock of stamp vendors periodically, which is otherwise specified in the rules.

LUDHIANA
LMA seminar: The Ludhiana Management Association (LMA) will conduct a seminar on ‘Corruption in public life — causes and remedies’ here on Friday. Mr A.K. Puri, former DGP, Himachal Pradesh, would be the main speaker, a press note said.

Demand: Mr Pawan Gupta of Durga Sewa Dal, Ahmedgarh, has demanded that the vacant posts of school teachers should be filled immediately. The president of the City Congress, Ahmedgarh, Mr Ravinder Superfine, has urged the Director-General of School Education, Mr Anuraag Aggarwal, to fill the vacant posts of computer teachers immediately.

Malout
BOOK RELEASED: ‘Jagmagaunda Ateet’, a book of short stories by eminent poet and storywriter Dr Harnek Singh Komal was released at Literary Circle here on Tuesday by Dr J.S. Anand, Principal, DAV College, Bathinda.

Nawanshahr
WON: Amardeep Singh Shergill Memorial College, Mukandpur, has won the overall championship (B division) of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, for the fifth consecutive time. The college got as many as 31 points while Guru Nanak College, Nakodar, and Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College, Sarhali, were second and third by securing 18 and 9 points, respectively.

PENSION: Mr Harjit Inder Singh Grewal, Deputy Commissioner, in a press note issued here on Tuesday said a sum of Rs 82.87 lakh had been received for disbursing pensions to 30,393 senior citizens, 5,887 widows, 3,015 dependent children, 2,138 handicapped beneficiaries for the month of April. The beneficiaries belonging to rural areas would be given pensions through panchayats and those belonging to urban areas would get their pensions through banks by May 15.

Phagwara
AGITATION THREAT: The Punjab Non-Gazetted Employees Organisation on Tuesday threatened agitation in case government schools were privatised. An emergency meeting of the body, with its senior vice-president Harish Chander Sharma in chair, called the move to privatise education an anti-employee step. Mr Varinder Kamboj, district president of the organisation, told newsmen that the meeting urged the government to release pending salaries of government teachers.

DEAD: Swarna Ram, (63)), of Kot Sidiqqui village in Jalandhar district, succumbed to his injuries in Civil Hospital here on Tuesday night. He was among the 24 persons who were injured after their autorickshaws were hit by an overspeeding car near Chachrari village on the GT road on Tuesday.

PILGRIMS INJURED: Three pilgrims bound for the Mata Chintpurni shrine were injured when their car met with an accident near Mauli village on Wednesday. They belonged to the family of a Punjabi singer Karnail.

COP ARRESTED: Police arrested a policeman, a Kashmiri Lal, of Bhullarai village in connection with the racket of fake and forged documents. The cop has been remanded in police custody.

THEFT: Valuables worth Rs 60,000 were stolen from the residence of a teacher, Usha Rani, at New Satnampura Colony here on Wednesday. She was away when the theft took place. The police has registered a case.

Strike: PSEB employees observed full-day strike on a call given by the TSU. Protest rallies were held against the privatisation of the board. The strike was complete and subdivisions of the Ghulal division were locked, according to circle president Sickander Singh. TSU secretary Sangat Singh said the electricity supply to some parts of the city and some villages remained interrupted. The leaders warned the government to withdraw its decision or they would be compelled to take some strong action.

CHANDIGARH

CHANDIGARH
TEACHERS UNION: Office-bearers and executive members of the DAV College Teachers Union for 2005-06 are president — Anil Sarwal; vice-president — K. Rahi; secretary — B. Kapila; joint secretary — A.K. Taneja; finance secretary — S.P. Puri; auditor — Rvinder Dogra; and executive members R.G. Garg, V.K. Vats, V.K. Garg, Arun Kumar and S.K. Khanna.

MOHALI
APPOINTED: Fortis Hospital, Mohali, on Wednesday announced the appointment of Dr Arvind Sahni as Director, Gastro-enterology at Fortis Hospital, Mohali. Previously, Dr Sahni was working with Chandigarh Medical Centre (CMC), Sector 17, Chandigarh since 1993 as a consultant in gastroenterology. Dr Sahni is a DM (Gastro-enterology) from PGIMER, Chandigarh and also an MRCP (Membership of Royal College of Physicians) from UK.

HARYANA

AMBALA
ORIENTATION: PKR Jain Vatika organised an orientation and interactive session for the parents of the students on Wednesday. The Principal of the Vatika, Ms Uma Sharma, said the aim of the program was to apprise the parents of the methodology to be followed by the school for the implementation of its curriculum.

Rewari
CONSOLED: The Haryana Irrigation and Revenue minister Capt Ajay Singh Yadav on Tuesday paid a visit to Dharuhera where he consoled the bereaved family of Mr Lakhmi Chand Goyal who was shot dead by armed robbers at his shop in the main market of Dharuhera on Monday night.

Sonepat
suicide: Meena, a 20-year-old married girl, allegedly committed suicide by taking Celphos tablets at her house at Sanpera village, 15 km from here, on Wednesday. She was married just a month ago. The police has registered a case and sent the body for a post-mortem examination. She took this extreme step after a family quarrel.

dead: Net Ram Singla, a well-known social activist of Sonepat region, died of a heart attack at Delhi where he had gone for a medical check-up on Tuesday evening. The body of Net Ram Singla was brought back to Sonepat where it was cremated on Wednesday.

demonstration: A large number of Home Guards volunteers held a demonstration in front of the camp office of the Deputy Commissioner here on Wednesday to protest against the non-payment of remuneration for the period they had been put on duty from April 1 to April 10 during the panchayat elections in this district. They also submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner demanding immediate released of the payment due to them.

attacked: A member of the flying squad of the M.D. University, Rohtak, sustained injuries when he was attacked with a brick by an examinee who was caught copying in the annual examination at a centre set up in a college here on Wednesday. The police has not yet registered any case in this connection.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

Chamba
TRACTOR MISHAP: One person was killed and three others were wounded when a tractor in which they were travelling veered off the road and fell into a gorge at Tissa, about 65 km from here, on Tuesday. The deceased was identified as Mohd. Parvez. The injured were admitted to a nearby hospital at Tissa.

Shimla
APPOINTED: Mr S.S. Negi, secretary, State Pollution Control Board, has been appointed Director of the Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun. A 1980 batch Indian Forest Service officer, Mr Negi has written as many as 103 books on forestry and environment-related issues. He will take up the new assignment next month.