The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Monday, June 26, 2000,
Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

R E G I O N A L B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
FOUNDATION STONE: The Punjab Government has announced four-laning of highways in the state at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore. This was stated by here Mr Rajmohinder Singh, MP, while laying the foundation stone of a bridge over the Lahore branch of the Upper Bari Doab canal near Kayampur village. The bridge being constructed at a cost of Rs 14 lakh will benefit the villagers who had to walk up to 10 km to reach the other side of the canal.

GARHSHANKAR
MURDERED: Hari Ram, a carpenter at Purkhowal village, was called in the night by two youths on the pretext of accompanying him to visit his seriously ailing friend Hazara Ram. The body of Hari Ram was found in the fields next morning. A case has been registered.

SUICIDE: Kulwinder Kaur of Jeewanpur has committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance. According to the brother of the deceased, she was being constantly harassed by her in-laws for bringing more dowry. A case has been registered.

ARRESTED: The police has arrested Baljit Singh of Rampur Bilron village for illegally possessing 36,000 ml of liquor. A case has been registered against him under the Excise Act.

PRIZE DISTRIBUTION: The Minister for Rural Development and Local Government, Mr Sujan Singh, distributed prizes to the winners of a cricket tournament held at Bakkapur village. He said the government would render all possible help to those social service organisations which promote sports in villages.

BODY FOUND: The dead body of a newly-born baby girl was found abandoned in the bushes at Bham village, near here. The police has registered a case under Section 318, IPC.

DROWNED: Dharm Pal of Ajnoha village jumped into the Kotadampur canal near the canal bridge. He could not be saved due to the rapid flow of water. The boy is reported to have been a drug addict.

HOSHIARPUR
MARTYRDOM DAY: Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee’s ‘balidan divas’ was observed by the city unit of the BJP here on Friday. A function was organised at the party’s office on the occasion where Mr Hans Raj Nakra, president of the district unit of the party, and Mr Bhagwant Kishore Gupta, general secretary, among others, paid tributes to Mukherjee who sacrificed his life for the integration and unity of the country on June 23, 1953, in Kashmir.

BRICK-KILN INDUSTRY: At a meeting of the district Brick-Kiln Owners Association, Mr Surinder Singh Bhulewal Rathan was elected president and Mr Tarlochan Singh Walia general secretary of the association. The association appealed to the Punjab Government to withdraw the sales tax hike and the royalty tax. A plea was made to amend the labour laws to improve the functioning of the state’s brick-kiln industry.

KHANNA
RECOVERED: The police recovered a stolen truck from Bhadla village, 4 km from here, on Friday. Balwinder Singh, a resident of Akalgarh, has been arrested in this connection.

LALRU
KILLED: A local resident was crushed to death by a vehicle on the Chandigarh-Ambala highway at Kurli village, near Ambala, on Saturday. Sources said the deceased, Sukhdarshan Kumar (35), was riding on a scooter when the vehicle hit him resulting in his death on the spot. A case has been registered.

PHILLAUR
ROBBED: Two miscreants looted Rs 30,000 from Niranjan Singh near Wadhali village on Friday. Niranjan Singh had withdrawn the amount from a bank. The Shahkot police has registered a case and is investigating into the matter.

MEETING: The Punjab BJP President, Prof Brij Lal Rinwa, has convened an urgent meeting of the state executive of the party on July 15 and 16 at Dhaunala in Sangrur district. The latest political situation and organisational matters will be discussed at the meeting.

TARN TARAN
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local Employees Welfare Society: president — Mr Chamel Singh; vice-president — Mr Balraj Kishan Sharma; general secretary — Mr Mohinder Singh; joint secretaries — Mr Iqbal Singh and Mr Narinder Singh; and treasurer — Mr Harwinder Singh.

SEIZED: The Goindwal Sahib police seized 360 kg of poppy husk packed in nine bags which were being carried in a tractor-trolley from a naka point at Dhunda village on Friday. A case under Sections 15, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against Manjit Singh, alias Pappu, of Fatehabad and Mehal Singh, alias Bholi, of Dhunda.

ELECTED: Mr Ajit Singh Sohal was elected district president (Amritsar) of the Federation of Arthiyas Association at a delegate session organised on Saturday here. The session was presided over by Mr Bal Kishan Sharma, state president of the federation. It was attended by 400 delegates from the district.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

NAHAN
COMPENSATION: A compensation of Rs 1.62 lakh would be distributed to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes victims of atrocities in cases which have come to the notice of the district administration. The Deputy Commissioner, Sirmour, said Ms Saroj Devi, belonging to a Scheduled Caste community, whose husband was murdered, would be given Rs 1.50 lakh.

BIJLEE ADALAT: A ‘bijlee adalat’ to redress grievances of residents of Deedag, Rajgarh, Kheri, Habban, Chandola and Damander would be organised at Deedag in Rajgarh. This was stated by the spokesman of the Electricity Department.

SHIMLA
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Medical Laboratory Technologists Association, Indira Gandhi Medical College: president — Mr Pyar Singh Kanwar; vice-president — Mr Jitender Sharma; general secretary — Mr Sukh Dev Verma; joint secretary — Mr Subhash Bali; and treasurer — Mr Mast Ram Sharma.

COMPETITIVE EXAMS: The National Commission for Minorities has recommended that no recruitment/ competitive examinations should be held on the day of festivals of any minority community. In a letter addressed to the state governments, the commission has observed that it is quite traumatic to the community concerned because the candidates belonging to that community are not able to fully utilise the employment opportunity in such an eventuality.

CARDIAC CAMP: A five-day Ayurvedic-homoeopathic cardiac treatment camp, organised by the local branch of the Sant Nirankari Mission for those heart patients who otherwise required bypass surgery costing lakhs of rupees, concluded here on Saturday. According to a spokesperson of the mission, 10 cardiac patients had been provided successful treatment at the camp. She said the expenditure for organising the camp had been borne entirely by the mission.