Insurance staff: The following have been elected office-bearers of the General Insurance Employees Association: President — Mr S.K. Bajaj; Senior Vice-President — Mr S.P. Nagpal; Vice-President — Mr S.K. Munjal; Secretary — Mr Rakesh Behl and Treasurer — Mr Ramesh Goyal.

Employees' union: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Class IV Government Employees Union: Chairman — Mr Chand Singh Lalbai; President — Mr Sarabjit Singh; Senior Vice-Presidents — Mr Babu Ram; Vice-Presidents — Mr Rakha Singh; Mr Mohinder Singh and Mr Jaggar Singh; General Secretary — Mr Balbir Singh Soni and Treasurer — Mr Charan Dass.

Urged: Residents of Dutaranwali village have urged the Minister for Communications, Mr Jagmohan, to get their telephones disconnected. In an affidavit faxed to the Minister on Friday, they alleged that the SDO had reportedly not looked into their complaints. Several villages were connected with Dutaranwali but only one line had been provided which generally remained busy.

FEROZEPORE
Released: The SDM, Mr D.P.S. Kharbanda, on Sunday released the first issue of a Punjabi fortnightly newspaper, "Punjab Di Gall", at a function held here.

Christian forum: Christians have formed a 21-member Joint Action Christian Forum with a view to expressing resentment against the attacks on Christian institutions in Gujarat. Stating this here on Monday, the General Secretary of the forum, Mr Alvin Bhatti, said a rally would be held on January 25 in this regard.

GURDASPUR
Grants: Mr Rakesh Jyoti, President of the local nagar council, in a press note here on Monday said that the water supply in the town would be improved soon. He said Mr Vinod Khanna, MP, had given a grant of Rs 4 lakh for the installation of a tubewell from his discretionary fund and had also announced a grant of Rs 50,000 for a government primary school at Mandi.

Dowry case: Two persons have been arrested for their alleged involvement in a dowry case. Talking to newspersons here on Saturday, the SSP said that the accused had been identified as Rehmat Masih and Sheela. Another accused, Stephen, was still at large. A case has been registered.

HOSHIARPUR
Arrested: Two scooter-borne persons, who had taken away Rs 668 at gunpoint from an octroi post on Hariana road, here on Saturday, have been arrested. They have been identified as Prem Singh of Khera village and Baldev Singh of Lakhshian village. A rifle and three cartridges were seized from their possession. A case has been registered.

JALALABAD
Blockade: Students of various schools staged a dharna and blocked traffic on the Fazilka- Ferozepore road in protest against the condition of roads leading to about 10 villages. Later, the blockade was lifted on the intervention of the SDM following an assurance by him.

MOGA
Protest: Commuters and transporters on Monday protested against the PWD for its failure to repair the Moga-Jalandhar, road which had been in a dilapidated condition for the past year.

Trees felled: Certain persons have felled a large number of kikker trees from banks of canals passing through Saphuwala, Jaimalsinghwala, Bhekha Baraghar and Chhotaghar in this district. No action has reportedly been taken against them, according to reports reaching here on Monday.

PHAGWARA
Junior Chamber: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local Junior Chamber ( Jaycees): President — Mr Bhupinder Singh; Vice-Presidents — Mr Mukesh Chawla, Dr Vinod Mahajan and Mr Kamal Kumar; General Secretary — Mr Pankaj Gautam; and treasurer — Mr Gyaneshwar Arora.

TARN TARAN
Lectures: The local Employees Welfare Society organised a series of lectures on Sunday in which homoeopathic specialists spoke on diabetes, heart and other ailments.

Medical camp: The Panjab University branch of the State Bank of India organised a medical camp on Sunday. More than 100 children were examined for various diseases and given medicines free of cost, according to a press note.

Appointed: The project officer of the Child Development Project has been appointed district-level Dowry Eradication Officer. Stating this at a meeting here on Saturday, Deputy Commissioner K.S. Yadav appealed to the people to shun dowry.

FATEHABAD
Police booths: The DGP, Haryana, Mr S.K. Sethi, will inaugurate two police assistance booths here on January 22. He will also inaugurate an office-cum-reading room of the Police-Public Coordination Forum.

Booked: The police has booked Darshan Singh for allegedly molesting a woman at Mahmara village near Rattia in this district. A case under Sections 452 and 354, IPC, has been registered.

HISAR
Missing: A woman disappeared with an infant at a langar organised at Hansi, 26 km from here, on Friday. According to a report on Saturday, Neelam Rani was looking for her five-year-old daughter at the venue of the langar with an infant in her arms. Another woman offered to hold the baby while she looked for her daughter. However, when she returned, she found the woman and her child missing.

Gang busted: Staff of the CIA on Saturday claimed to have busted a gang of dacoits operating in the district and its adjoining areas following the arrest of five persons. The accused have been identified as Prem Chand of Adarsh Nagar, Barwala, Jagmohan of Chandan Nagar, Jaibir of Kapro, Rajesh of Litani village and Naresh of Khatkar (Jind). Three pistols and some cartridges were seized from their possession.

JIND
Drain plan: Mr Kanwal Singh, Development and Panchayat Minister, said on Sunday that a drain from here to Hansi would be constructed under the flood control master plan. He said the Haryana Government had formulated a Rs 2,300-crore plan to tackle floods. Addressing public meetings at Buana Kinana, Shadipur, Gatoli and Akalgarh villages, he said the flood water in Safidon, Jind. Julana and Narnaund areas would be diverted into the Ghaggar through the drain.

SIRSA
Awarded: Sukhchain Singh Bhandari and Sukhdev Singh, both Punjabi writers, have been awarded the first prize of Rs 5,100 a certificate each by the Haryana Punjabi Sahitya Akademi for 1997. The certificates were presented by Dr Kamla Verma, Social Welfare Minister, Haryana, at a function held in Panchkula.

SONEPAT
Resentment: The decision of the Haryana Government to transfer the entire staff of the construction division no. 29 to the Irrigation Department at Hisar has caused resentment among the staff. They said the division had been set up with the aid of the World Bank and was to be wound up in June next year.

Medical camp: The District Ayurveda Department organised a camp at Barmana, 18 km from here, on Saturday. Fourtysix persons were treated and medicines given free of cost.

Pensioners' plea: The Elder Citizens Association has urged the Himachal Government to release 6 per cent dearness allowance to pensioners from July, 1998. The General Secretary of the association, Mr R.L. Sharma, at a meeting here on Sunday urged the government to give financial benefits to the pensioners on the pattern of the Punjab Government.

CHAMBA
Stir threat: Panchayat pradhans of Bharmour tribal subdivision have threatened to go on an agitation if the proposed Bailey bridge is not constructed across the Ghera nullah on the Chamba-Bharmour highway soon. In a memorandum submitted to the state government, they said heavy vehicles were not plying on the highway, causing shortage of foodgrains and other edibles in the interiors of the subdivision.

MANALI
Minister's visit: The Minister of State for Sports, Mr Parveen Sharma, visited the Directorate of Mountaineering and Allied Sports here on Saturday and took stock of various adventure activities being conducted by the institute.