R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
Elected: Prof Ranvinder Singh Sandhu of the Department of Sociology, GND University, has been elected a member of the national managing committee of the Indian Sociological Society.

HOSHIARPUR
Protest: Members of the Telecommunication Engineering Services Association, including gazetted officers (Group A and B), staged a demonstration in front of the General Manager 's office here on Thursday in protest against the promotion policy of the department.

BARNALA
Case registered: Mr Ishwar Singh, SSP, said on Friday that a case of cheating had been registered against Sukhchain Singh for running a chit fund scheme, Dashmesh Lucky Scheme, on a complaint of Mrs Surinder Kaur, a resident of Bhadaur. He was arrested on January 2.

GURDASPUR
Dharna: Employees of Ranjit Sagar Dam staged a dharna in front of the office of the Chief Engineer at Shahpur Kandi on Friday in protest against the recovery of arrears from employees. The employees threatened to intensify an agitation in case the recovery was not stopped.

LUDHIANA
Elected: Dr Navneet Dhand, Assistant Professor of epidemiology and preventive veterinary medicine, College of Veterinary Science, PAU, has been elected Regional Secretary of the Indian Society of Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at an annual convention held at Bangalore.

Poppy husk seized: The police has seized 30 kg of poppy husk from Kashmira Singh and Kamlesh. They were arrested by a police party led by the SHO, Mr Gurpreet Singh, of the sadar police station on the Baddowal -Datewal road. A case under Sections 75, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered.

Invited: Dr Gurdip Singh, a senior plant pathologist, PAU, has been invited by the International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics for consultation and finalising disease forecasting model of botrytis gray mold of gram for India, Bangladesh and Nepal.

NAWANSHAHAR
Rally planned: The district unit of the Punjab State General Category Welfare Federation would organise a protest rally to protest against the decision of the Vajpayee government to amend the Constitution to negate the recent decision of the Supreme Court regarding reservation policy. In a press note issued here on Friday, Mr Balbir Singh, president of the federation district unit, said the speedy implementation of the Supreme Court verdict regarding quota promotions would also be sought.

Virodhi dal: Mr Raghunandan Singh, convener, Reservation Virodhi Dal, in a press statement here on Friday said the dal would field its candidate for the ensuing Nawanshahr assembly by-election to mobilise people against the caste-based reservation policy which had created a lot of discontentment among the general category people and inefficiency in the administration.

Dharna staged: Activists of the Social Unity Centre of India staged a demonstration on Friday in protest against certain policies of the union and state governments. A memorandum of demands was submitted to the Chief Minister through the Deputy Commissioner.

TARN TARAN
Office-bearers: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Border Districts Industries Association: chairman — Mr Sudhir Mehra; president — Mr Kulwant Singh Saini; vice-president — Mr Jatinder Pal Singh Dhillon; general secretary — Lt-Col Amarjit Singh (retd); and joint secretary — Mr Amarjit Singh.

CHANDIGARH

Carewell council: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Social Carewell Council: Chairman — Mr Khem Parkash Mahajan; President — Major Didar Singh Kang (retd); Vice-President (Rural) — Mr Nirmoh Singh Tiwana; Vice-President (Urban) — Dr Anil Manchanda; and General Secretary — Mr K. Mahajan.

HARYANA

KURUKSHETRA
Cases settled: The local unit of the Uttri Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) organised a three-day ‘bijli sabhas’ at Kurukshetra, Ladwa, Shahabad and Pehowa in the district which concluded on Wednesday. Mr A.P. Gupta, Superintending Engineer, Operation Circle, UHBVN, said complaints about energy bills were settled on the spot and Rs 1.22 lakh was refunded to the consumers.

NARNAUL
Rape case: A 19-year-old married woman was allegedly raped at her residence by two persons of Nooni Avali village in Narnaul tehsil on Tuesday. The police has arrested them and produced before the Ilaka Magistrate on Thursday.
Plea: Resentment prevails among members of the District Bar Association against the PWD Maintenance Section over the poor maintenance of lawyers chambers. Mr Vichitra Deve Sharma, president of the bar, has urged the Deputy Commissioner to direct the department in this regard.

Traffic blocked: Villagers of Kultajpur, Hasanpur, Gehli, Thana, Koriawas and Akberpur blocked traffic on the Narnaul-Singhana Road near the HVPN's office here on Thursday in protest against the non-availability of power for the past several days. The blockade was lifted on an assurance of the SDO (City). Similar protests were also held by villagers of Tajpur, Kunjpura, Bhilwara and Biheli villages at Ateli.

REWARI
Metal merchants' body: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local Metal Merchants Association: president — Mr Ajendra Kumar Sharma; vice-presidents — Mr Ajender Kumar Bhaliar, Mr Subhash Kalra and Mr Pawan Kumar; secretary — Mr Ved Parkash; joint secretary — Mr Brij Mohan; and treasurer — Mr Murari Lal Aggarwal.

SONEPAT
Demonstration: Employees of HUDA held a demonstration in front of the office here on Friday in support of their demands. They shouted slogans against the HUDA authorities.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

NURPUR
NSS camp: A 10-day NSS camp organised by students of the local Government Senior Secondary School concluded on Wednesday. The volunteers launched a drive to remove polythene from the town. Mr Rakesh Pathania, a local MLA, was present at the concluding function of the camp. The camp was headed by Mr H.L. Acharya.