R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

FEROZEPORE
RE-ELECTED: Mr Ashwani Mehta has been re-elected president of the local Beopar Mandal for the next five years the election for which was held here on Monday.

PROCESSION: Students of the local Cantonment Board and Army schools took out a procession here on Tuesday to make public aware of the deteriorating environmental conditions.

MALERKOTLA
GRANT: The local Bar Association has received a cheque for Rs 2 lakh under the small saving scheme (1999-2000). Mr Manjit Singh Shergil, president, Bar Association, said that the cheque was presented to Mr Gurmukh Singh Tiwana, Mr Manpreet Singh Shergill, and Mr Paviter Singh Chahal by Mr Anirudh Tiwari, Deputy Commissioner, to purchase furnitures and library books for the court.

PATIALA
RALLY: The Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) Council of Junior Engineers on Wednesday threatened to hold a protest rally in front of the circle headquarters on April 19 in case its demands were not met immediately. Council General Secretary S.P. Bansal said Junior Engineers were being victimised through investigations being made on the newly introduced performa in case of damaged transformers. He also said that the engineers would boycott these investigations as they were being done by officers from other departments instead of their immediate superiors. Mr Bansal claimed that one Junior Engineer had died due to mental tension and humiliation. He said if nothing was done to stop victimisation of engineers, the council would intensify its agitation.

MARKFED: The Markfed Field Employees Union on Wednesday decided to end its boycott of wheat procurement and hold its agitation in abeyance on an assurance by Punjab Cooperation Minister Ranjit Singh Brahmpura. Union President Bhupinder Singh and General Secretary Ashwani Kumar said a meeting of the office-bearers of the union and the Markfed management had been convened at Chandigarh which would be presided over by the Corporation Minister.

CHANDIGARH

MEETING PUT OFF: The proposed meeting of Principals of colleges of education has been postponed, according to an official press release. The meeting will now be held on April 19 in the Senate hall of Panjab University. The earlier date was April 15. The meeting will include representatives of all colleges of education of Punjab and the UT to look into the schedule of the forthcoming B.Ed entrance examination.

NSS CAMP: The NSS unit of Panjab University and the Traders Union organised a special camp at Palsora village to mark celebrations of the World Health Day here on Tuesday. Dr C.L. Narang, Director, NSS, Panjab University, said the government had launched a new scheme ‘Youth for the society’ for 2000. Mr M.M. Sharma, Manager, State Bank of India, Sector 30, suggested that mahila mandals and panchayats should be provided free orientation knowledge.

COMPLAINT: The CITCO Workers Union has in a complaint lodged with the police alleged that some miscreants had been misusing the official stationery of the union. Meanwhile, the union denied that the elections are scheduled for April 20 as no general house meeting has been convened for holding the elections.

ELECTED: Mr Baljit Singh and Mr Labh Ram Lamba have been elected President and Secretary of the Chandigarh Kashyap Rajoputa Sabha. Other office-bearers are: Senior Vice-President — Mr Puran Chand; and Treasurer — Mr J.K. Dass.

PANEL: Capt Tilak Raj (retd), Mr G.S. Chadha and Mr Mahesh Kapoor have been elected Coordinator, Joint Coordinator and Treasurer, respectively, of the North Zone Coordination Committee of the Medical and Sales Representatives Associations.

HONOURED: The Sector 46 Sri Sanatan Dharam Sabha at a special Ramanavmi congregation felicitated Mr O.P. Sachdeva and Mrs Manjri Pandey for their creative contribution to various functions organised by the sabha from time to time. Mr Krishenjit Singh, Executive Engineer, was the chief guest.

WORKSHOP: A workshop on Social and clinical dimensions of HIV/AIDS was jointly organised by the Panjab University Teachers Association and the State AIDS Control Society here on Tuesday. Dr Ashok Sahni, Dean University Instructions, inaugurated the workshop. Important speakers included Dr Bhushan Kumar, Head of the Department of Dermatology, PGI, Dr N.M. Sharma, Dr Wanchoo, an Assistant Professor of internal medicine, PGI, and Archana Sood.

HARYANA

SIRSA
ACCIDENTS: Two persons died in separate accidents in the district on Tuesday. According to the report received on Wednesday Ram Kumar of Kotli village died when he was hit by a Tata Indica car near the local Air Force Station. In another accident near Madhosinghana village Ram Kumar, a resident of Darbi village, died when two Jeeps grazed while crossing each other. A case has been registered against the driver.

DHARNA: The local unit of the CPI staged a dharna outside the office of the Election Commission here on Tuesday in protest against the policies of the Central Government. In a memorandum they demanded restoration of subsidy proposed to be withdrawn in the Budget and rollback of the hike in the prices of LPG and kerosene. They also urged the Haryana Government to conducted a fresh survey of those living below the poverty line and old age pensioners.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
AGITATION: The district unit of the INTUC has served 14 days’ notice to the Public Works Department authorities under Sections 22 and 23 of the Industrial Disputes Act, after which they would start an agitation if their demands were not accepted. The vice-president of the state unit of INTUC, Mr Parasram Parmar, said here on Tuesday that despite the government order the local PWD subdivision had failed to regularise the daily wage labourers, who had completed nine years of service.

RESENTMENT: Members of the district Truck Operators Cooperative Society at a meeting held at Kisan Bhavan here on Tuesday resented the Punjab Government’s move in detaining 12 truck loads of cement daily coming from Barmana. They also demanded clearance of all national permit arrears pending since 1993. They urged that it was not possible for them to pay Rs 26,000 in one instalment. The meeting was presided over by the Assistant Registrar of the Cooperative Society-cum-Administrator, Mr Dileram Dhiman.

CHAMBA
REPORTING ROOM: The Himachal Pradesh Police has set up a round-the-clock reporting room at Chamba for the convenience of the public. According to Mr R.M. Sharma, SP, calls made to the reporting room is not charged by the Department of Telecom. The room has also been provided with a flying squad to keep a check on anti-social elements.

KULU
CHARRED TO DEATH: An eight-year-old girl was charred to death in a fire that broke out in the house of Nirath Ram at Sarli village in Lug valley, 6 km from here on Monday. Mr Ashwani Kapoor, Deputy Commissioner, said three heads of cattle and nine sheep, were also burnt alive. A sum of Rs 10,000 as immediate relief has been given to the victim by the administration.

SHIMLA
MISHAP: Two persons, including a woman, were killed on the spot and five others injured, two of them seriously, when their car rolled down into a khud at Chalured village, 4 km from Banjar in Kullu district on Sunday, police sources said on Monday. The deceased have been identified as Chandi and Mohan Singh. The seriously injured persons were admitted to the district hospital at Kulu. Three other injured persons were taken to a hospital at Banjar. They were going to Jibbi village from Hardwar.

BURNT ALIVE: A girl and 12 heads of cattle were burnt alive when a fire broke out at Khallara village in Kulu district on Monday, police sources said. Two residential houses and a cowshed were gutted in fire.