FEROZEPORE
Dharna: Employees of government and semi government organisations under the banner of the Ferozepore District Mulazam Action Committee staged a dharna outside DC's Office here on Wednesday in support of their demands, including the regularisation of work charge and daily wage earners who had completed service of 240 days.

HOSHIARPUR
Misappropriation of funds: The Coordination Committee of the Paramedical Staff and Health Employees Union staged a joint dharna in front of the office of Civil Surgeon here on Thursday to protest against the alleged misappropriation of funds for pulse polio campaign and for Kargil martyrs by the health authorities, Hoshiarpur. Mr Surinder Ghai, Organiser, Coordination Committee, stated in a press note that resentment prevailed among the employees against the health authorities over the misappropriation of grants worth lakhs of rupees received from the Central Government for carrying out the pulse polio programme in the district.

PWD workers union: A meeting of the district PWD Workers Union was held under the presidentship of Mr Vijay Kumar, state president here on Thursday. Members demanded release of the report of the Pay Anomaly Committee, release of the arrears in cash apart from the DA instalment, proficiency increment to work-charge period after four, nine and 14 years, regularisation of the services of daily-wage earners on Haryana pattern among other demands.

Action sought: Mr Hans Raj Nakra, President and Mr Bhagwant Kishore, General Secretary, of the district unit of the BJP and Mr Abinash Rai Khanna, Secretary, Punjab unit of the party, in a joint press note issued here on Thursday demanded strict action against those octroi contractors in the state who were harassing traders and customers. They also welcomed the decision of the Punjab Government to end the octroi contractorship system in municipal councils in the state.

JALANDHAR
Reopened: Haryana government's radio and press liaison office was reopened here on Thursday. The Chief Minister, Mr O.P. Chautala, had made an announcement to this effect a few months ago. The space of the office has been provided by the Punjab Government. Mr R.K. Goyal, Deputy Director, has been appointed as the Radio and Press Liaison Officer.

Pulse polio campaign: The Health and Family Welfare Department organised a pulse polio declamation contest and painting competition at Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall, here on Thursday. The function was presided over by Mr Manoranjan Kalia, Health and Family Welfare Minister, Punjab. He said 16,000 camps manned by 64,000 workers would administer polio drops to 33 lakh children in the state on November 21. Mr Kalia also flagged off a rally, which started from Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall and culminated at the Civil Surgeon's office.

Competition: An inter-school patriotic group song competition in memory of the Kargil war heroes, and other soldiers, was organised at the Army School, Jalandhar Cantonment on Wednesday. Sixteen teams from different schools of the district have participated. Lieut General Kamal Davar, GOC, Vajra Corps was the chief guest of the function. He awarded prizes to the winning teams.

PATIALA
Eye camp: A free eye operation-cum-eye-check up camp will be organised at Lohgarh village near Malerkotla on November 21. Dr Sukhdeep Singh Boparai said in a press note that a team of doctors from here would participate in the camp and provide medicines and spectacles to the needy patients free of cost.

Demand: The Ayurvedic and Unani Sudhar Sabha, Punjab, has called for an immediate closure of slaughter houses in the country. In a press statement Mr Gurbhajan Singh Sanyasi, President of the sabha, said the slaughtering of animals should be stopped immediately. He said a national level all-religion meeting to be held in January next year would resolve to launch an agitation against slaughter houses.

Condemned: The local unit of the Punjab Nagar Palika Karamchari Mahasangh has condemned a notification of the state government regarding transfers of clerks and Class IV employees of the municipal committees and corporations. Mr Pushpinder Kumar Pathak, President of the mahasangh, said in a press statement here on Thursday that the transfers would affect the revenue collection and development work in the local bodies.

Villager held: A villager has been booked for stealing wood from a protected wildlife sanctuary. Mr Jagdeep Singh, District Wildlife Officer, said Balwinder Singh of Shadipur village has been arrested for felling trees and destroying the natural habitat of Bir Bhunerheri.Two trollies of wood were recovered from him.

Dharna: The indefinite dharna being staged by some civilian employees of the Military Farm, Ambala cantonment, near the main entrance to Western Command Headquarters, Chandi Mandir, entered its fourth day on Friday. A statement issued here said that about 75 civilian workers took part in the dharna. They are demanding restoration of services of about 150 retrenched workers and cancellation of the transfer of office-bearers of their union.

Poll demanded: Mr Satya Pal Jain, a former MP of Chandigarh, has urged the Chandigarh Administration to hold elections to the Chandigarh Panchayat Samiti, the Zila Parishad and the Market Committee which have been due since January this year. In a statement issued here on Friday, he said the senior functionaries of the Administration were intentionally delaying the elections as they did not want to transfer power to the representatives of people. Mr Jain also demanded a minimum compensation of Rs 15 lakh per acre for the land acquired.

Ghaggar utsav: The Bahawalpur Welfare Association and the Federation of Migrant Groups from North Western India (now in Pakistan) will organise Ghaggar utsav on the bank of the Ghaggar on Sunday. A cultural programme will also be organised during the utsav, according to Mr Rakesh, Secretary of the association.

Competition: The 17th inter-region cultural competition of Punjab National Bank (PNB), Northern Zone, Chandigarh, is being held on November 20 and 21 at Tagore Theatre. About 140 artistes from all 10 regions of the northern zone will take part in the cultural meet.

Denied: Mr Sukhdev Singh, a resident of Sector 4, Panchkula, has denied that he fled along with his vehicle after hitting Dalip Singh of Nayagaon near Golf Club as reported in these columns on November 12. In a statement here on Friday, Mr Sukhdev Singh said instead he took the injured to the Sector 16 General Hospital in his car and left after admitting him to the hospital and after obtaining permission from the doctor attending the patient. Hence it was wrong to say that he fled the scene.

KHARAR
Eye camp: A free eye operation camp will be organised by the Lions Club of Kurali in collaboration with Punjab National Bank on November 20 and 21 at in Kurali. According to press note issued here on Friday by Dr Anil Gupta, patients would be examined on November 20 and operated upon November 21 by a team of doctors led by Dr J.P. Singh.

PANCHKULA
Paper reading: The Women's Study Centre, Government College, Sector 1, organised a paper reading and poetry recitation contest here on Friday. The two topics for the contests were ''Ikkiswin sadi mein nari'' and ''Mahila samanta kitni sarthak''.

SAS NAGAR
Symposium: The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) here is organising a two-day international symposium on the ''emerging trends in cardiovascular pharmacology'' from November 29. Prof S.D. Seth, Clinical Consultant and former Head of the Department of Pharmacology, AIIMS, New Delhi, will deliver the keynote address.

Talk: The Ranbaxy Community Healthcare Society organised a talk on ''breast-feeding and weaning'' at Ghataur village, near here, on Friday. The programme was part of the reproductive child health (RCH) project. A camp on immunisation and family welfare was also organised on the occasion.

Bhajan Lal criticised: Mr Nand Kishore Goenka, president, Agroha Vikas Trust, on Thursday alleged that Mr Bhajan Lal, a former Chief Minister, had caused damage to Agroha Medical College by stopping grant to it during his regime. He was talking to mediapersons after inaugurating the concluding function of the local GRSD Senior Secondary School. He said Mr Bansi Lal, a former Chief Minister, was equally responsible for the financial crisis of the college as during his tenure as Chief Minister, he did not restore the grant to the college.

Inaugurated: Mr I.G. Malhotra, Chief Commercial Manager, Northern Railway, inaugurated the computerised Reservation Office at Ambala City Railway Station here on Thursday. On this occasion the local residents submitted a memorandum to him demanding the halt of some of the superfast trains at the railway station.

Bal mela concludes: The four-day Bal Mela celebrations concluded here on Thursday. The Commissioner, (Ambala Range), Mr Chander Singh, distributed prizes among the winners of various competitions organised during the mela.

KAITHAL
Body found: The body of Prema, a Dalit of Kakot village under Pundri sub-tehsil, who had disappeared on Wednesday under mysterious circumstances, was found near Balu village in Kalayat sub-tehsil on Thursday evening. Earlier, Kamala, wife of the deceased, had lodged a complaint with the police stating that her husband, who had left his house in the morning to answer nature’s call, did not return. The police has registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC against seven persons of Kakot on Kamal’s complaint.

Lok adalat: A lok adalat of State Bank of India will be held on November 26 at Kaithal in which the old disputed cases of this district under litigation will be decided on the spot by a team of officials led by Mr V.K. Dwivedi, District General Manager (Region 1), Haryana, according to a press note issued by Chief Manager of SBI, Kaithal.

ROHTAK
Theft: Ornaments and valuables worth Rs 90,000 were stolen allegedly by a domestic servant at Bahadurgarh town on Monday, according to a delayed report. According to police sources, the accused, Jitender, was working at Mr Ram Kishan Jain's house . On Monday morning, members of the family found that the lock of an almirah was open and the jewellery inside it was missing. Jitender has been absconding since then. A case has been registered. In another incident, 1.2 kg of opium was seized from Om Prakash of Tej Colony here.

SHAHABAD
Elected: Mr Harish Kwatra was elected President of the local Municipal Committee on Thursday. The SDM, Mr R.P. Gupta, who conducted the elections, declared him successful in a straight contest against Dr Mrs Sudha Bansal. Mr Kwatra, who was supported by the Congress, secured 11 votes while Mrs Bansal, who was a candidate of the INLD-BJP combine, got eight votes.

SIRSA
Six arrested: The police has arrested six persons in the district in different cases, according to a press note issued on Thursday. Banta Singh of Rori village was arrested for preparing illicit liquor and Nachchater Singh of Dadoo village was arrested for possessing 18 bottles of illicit liquor. Krishan Lal and two others were arrested under Sections 498-A, 406, 506 and 34 of the IPC on a complaint of Manju Bala of the local Shiv Nagar Colony for allegedly trying to kill her. In another case, Roshan Singh of Vaidwala village was arrested under Section 294 of the IPC for making vulgar gestures at public places.

SONEPAT
Road mishaps: The police found the body of a woman from a road near Sector 14 here on Thursday night. The police believe it to be a hit and run case. The deceased was identified as Mrs Kaushaylya of Dikadla village in Panipat district. According to another report, two motorcyclists were injured seriously when they were hit by a truck here on Thursday.

No woman doctor: Resentment prevails among the residents of Gohana town as no woman doctor has been posted at the Community Health Centre there by the Health Department.

Memorandum: The ad hoc and daily wages teachers of the district sent a memorandum on Friday to the Chief Minister, Mr O.P. Chautala, demanding regularisation of their services at the earliest. They also threatened to move the court if their demand was not accepted by the government.

YAMUNANGAR
Compromise camp: The State Bank of India will hold a compromise camp on Monday for its branches in the district at its Yamunanagar branch. Old cases under litigation will be discussed and settled on the spot. Mr V.K. Dwivedi, Assistant General Manager (Region I, Haryana) will lead the team.

Office-bearers: The following have been elected office-bearers of the district unit of the Himachal Pradesh State Physical Education Teachers Association: president — Mr Prem Lal Thakur; senior vice-president — Mr Vijay Singh Chandel; and general secretary — Mr Baljinder Singh.

Dearness allowance: The Elder Citizens Association, a local body of retired officers, has urged the Chief Minister to release an additional instalment of dearness allowance and dearness relief at the rate of 5 per cent to all employees and pensioners in the state on the pattern of Central, Haryana and Punjab Governments.

SOLAN
Youth’s body found: The Arki police found a body of a youth identified as Dhan Singh by his brother, from the vicinity of Chibber village, about 70 km from here on Wednesday. Additional S.P Sundar Lal told newspersons that the body was in a mutilated condition. Dhan Singh had been reported missing for the past three or four days. The body has been sent for post-mortem.