The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Thursday, July 27, 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

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
IDENTITY CARDS: The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Narinder Jit Singh, on Tuesday said the local voters would be issued identity cards by the end of August, according to the directives of the Election Commission of India. More than 73 per cent of the voters had been issued voter identity cards, he added.

BARNALA
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local Leo Club (Supreme): president -Mr Kailash Bansal; vice-president - Mr Vikas Singla; general secretary - Mr Kapil Dadu and treasurer - Mr Tarun Bansal.

BATHINDA
VOTER CARDS: Mr Jaspal Singh, Deputy Commissioner, said as per the directives of the Election Commission of India, the voters would not be allowed to cast their votes without the identity card in the forthcoming elections. In a press note issued here on Tuesday, he said the work of issuing cards to remaining voters would start on August. He said voters’ lists prepared according to the Assembly constituencies would be used for issuing cards.

GANG BUSTED: The Barnala police on Tuesday busted a two-member gang of extortionists by nabbing Zora Singh. Mr Ajaib Singh Kaleka, SSP, said on Wednesday that Zora Singh had demanded Rs 2 lakh from Mr Gurcharan Singh, a resident of Ghanauri Kalan village and threatened to kill his son if he failed to pay. The police laid a trap and nabbed him. His accomplice, however, managed to escape.

RELEASED ON BAIL: Mr R.K. Tyagi, Additional District Sessions Judge, Barnala, has ordered the release of Raj Kumar Garg, a former Congress Secretary, Sangrur, Mr Gurjant Singh, Judicial Magistrate (Ist Class), too passed bail orders of Raj Kumar Garg in another case registered against him at Mahal Kalan police station under Section 406 of the IPC. It is alleged that he had duped several persons of crores of rupees.

FATEHGARH SAHIB
FUNCTION: Mr Janmeja Singh Sekhon, Minister for Irrigation, would be honoured at a function on Saturday by the local unit of Youth Akali Dal and senior Akali leaders for initiating a campaign against corruption. He would lay the foundation stone of certain link roads and distribute cheques to various panchayats for development projects.

GURDASPUR
ANIMAL CENTRES: The Punjab Government has decided to open animal helpline centres at all district headquarters. According to official sources, the Ministry of Empowerment, Government of India, has sanctioned Rs 15 lakh for each district of the state. A sum of Rs 5 lakh will be spent for purchasing a mobile van for carrying animals and Rs 10 lakh on the construction of buildings to keep stray animals.

MOGA
ONE HELD: Mr Joginder Singh, in charge, Baghapurana police station on Tuesday escaped unhurt when a person attacked him with a lathi while he was coming out of the police station in an official vehicle. The assailant was overpowered and taken to the police station for interrogation.

NAWANSHAHR
ARRESTED: Mr Ishwar Singh, SSP, in a press note issued, here on Tuesday, said the police had arrested Vijay Kumar, a labourer, residing at Saroya village for snatching a golden chain and bangles of Ms Ram Piari and injuring her and her grandson, Sahil, with a sharp-edged weapon after entering their house at night. A knife, blood-soaked clothes and stolen ornaments had been seized from him, the SSP added.

PATIALA
KAVI DARBAR: A trilingual Sawan kavi darbar will be held on Saturday at the lecture hall of Bhasha Bhawan, Department of Languages, Patiala, in which prominent Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu poets will recite their poems. It will be presided over by Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Union Minister of Sports and Youth Welfare.

CHANDIGARH

MOURNED: The Punjab Governor and UT Administrator, Lt-Gen JFR Jacob (retd), has expressed shock over the death of Ms Tejinder Minocha, Deputy Secretary, Punjab Red Cross, who died of a heart attack in Ambala on Wednesday. In a condolence message, the Governor said that Ms Tejinder Minocha would be remembered by all for her selfless and dedicated work to alleviate the sufferings of ailing humanity. He expressed his heartfelt sympathies towards the bareaved family.

INSTALLED: Mrs Renu Mahajan was installed as President of the Lions Club Rose, Chandigarh, for the year 2000-2001. Mr D.K. Sood, Vice-District Governor of Lions Club International, installed the President and her team. Mrs Baljit Modi, zone chairperson of Lions Club International, presided over the meeting. Mrs Renu Hanajan said she would do her best to make the Lions Club Rose, Chandigarh, as the best club of the district and undertake projects for welfare of poor and needy of the labour colonies of Chandigarh.

HARYANA

AMBALA
SNATCHING: A chain snatching incident took place near Shiva temple close to the Civil Hospital, Ambala City. The incident took place when Ms Madhu alongwith her husband went to Shiva temple on Monday. As soon as they came out from the temple, two boys on a scooter snatched her gold chain. It is the sixth chain snatching incident in the recent times. These incidents are believed to have been committed by a gang operating in the twin cities of Ambala City and Ambala Cantonment. Last month, the police had claimed to nab a chain snatching gang, but such incidents are still continuing.

KILLED: One person was killed in a road accident on Ambala-Jagadhri road on Tuesday evening. According to police the deceased was identified as Virender of Ambala Cantt. A truck hit his scooter police said. A case has been registered against the truck driver.

BODY FOUND: A body was recovered from Naorang Rai Sarovar here on Wednesday noon. The deceased was identified as Sham Lal of Ambala City. According to the information Sham Lal was missing since April 4. The body was found when the temple administration undertook the cleaning of the pond.

SONEPAT
POLICE CAMPAIGN: The police has re-arrested 11 proclaimed offenders who were released on bail and failed to appear before the courts concerned here. According to a press note, the police has registered five cases under the Indian Arms Act and seized two country-made pistols, a gun, a cartridge and two knives from them. The police has also arrested 19 persons for violating the Excise Act and seized 143 bottles of liquor and 3,750 liquor pouches from their possession.

ONE MURDERED: In a bid to avenge the death of their father, three sons waylaid their uncle, Ram Karan and allegedly murdered him with sharp-edged weapons at Baroli village, 18 km from here, on Tuesday. The Rai police has registered a case and launched a manhunt to apprehend them.

YAMUNANAGAR
CRUSHED: Dayatri Palta, who was working as a labourer at Dadupur headworks was crushed to death by a loaded tanker ( HR-37-5708), about 15 km from here, on Tuesday. The police has registered a case against the driver of the tanker, Inder Singh under section 279/304 of the IPC and arrested him. The body has been sent for the post-mortem examination.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

HAMIRPUR
ELECTORAL ROLLS: Resentment prevails among residents over the manner in which new electoral rolls are being prepared for the ensuing civic body poll slated for November this year. The last date for inclusion of names in the voters’ list was Wednesday. Congress leaders led by Mrs Anita Verma, former parliamentary secretary, and vice-president of the HP Congress committee, submitted a memorandum to the State Election Commission on Tuesday.

KANGRA
DROWNED: A pilgrim, Surinder Pal of Model town Jalandhar, was drowned in the Nakaird river at Bhaloh Gloan near here on Tuesday, the police said. Residents jumped into the river to save him. He died on his way to the hospital.

SUNDERNAGAR
OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of Himachal Pradesh Medical Officer’s Association: president — Dr Om Pal Sharma (Kulu ); senior vice-president — Dr Gian Chand (Shimla); vice-president — Dr Sanjay Pathak (Una); general secretary — Dr Jiwa Nand Chauhan (Mandi); joint secretary — Dr Lalit Kalia (Hamirpur); and treasurer — Dr J.R. Azad (Dharamsala).

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

Devoted to uplift of poor

“Where there is a will there is a way” — these proverbial lines have been proved by volunteers of the Parswarth Sabha in Jalalabad. The sabha is running a free primary school, sewing centre, and a dispensary in the town’s slum. A majority of the members of the sabha are small-time shopkeepers, school teachers and other salaried employees. Despite their financial constraints, there is a determination to serve for a noble cause. The sabha members divulged a unique formula to meet the budget requirements. All the 120 members contribute towards the sabha’s fund according to their pockets, which ranges from Rs 20 to Rs 200 per month.

The school is situated in the midst of a slum, Gandhi Nagar, popularly known as Dhakka Basti. The school not only provides free education but also free uniform (see photo). Moreover, the classrooms are fully equipped with wooden desks for students. If one visits the school, the sight of students sitting on desks in uniform gives the impression that the school is a branch of a convent school and the pupils from well-to-do families.

The purpose behind setting up the sewing centre is to train young girls of the weaker section so that these girls become self-dependent and contribute to their families’ income. In addition, the sabha provides all the required material for their training such as sewing machines, cloth, thread , etc.

In the evening and on holidays, doctors provide free medical consultation to poor patients on the school premises. The medicines prescribed by doctors are also distributed free.

Demand for civil hospital builds up

Residents of Subathu, near here, and its surrounding villages are up in arms against the state government for its failure to open a civil hospital at Subathu. They have alleged that lack of adequate medical facilities at the Cantonment Hospital, Subathu, led to the death of five persons who were seriously injured in an HRTC bus accident near Haripur last week.

In the accident, two persons died on the spot while five succumbed to their injuries on the way to the District Hospital, Solan.

Hundreds of villagers had staged a protest the next day against the Subathu Cantonment Board for its failure to provide timely medical facilities to the injured.

The mob disrupted traffic and sought the resignation of members of the board. Mr Sushil Garg, an elected member of the board taking responsibility for the inadequate medical facilities, had resigned from the board after the demonstration.

However, sources at the Cantonment Board alleged that the tardiness of the state government in taking over the Cantonment Hospital was to blame for the situation. Although the board was corresponding with the CMO’s office for the demand of a civil hospital for the past 20 years, nothing concrete had been done in this regard, lamented Mr Garg.

Parking ban violated

Parking is prohibited outside Panipat railway station, but the orders of the police in this regard are being violated with impunity.

A board in the area clearly states: “Yahan koi bhi vahan khara karna mana hai. Yadi koi vahan chalak yahan vahan khara karega to us per jurmana kiya jayega” (this is not a parking place for vehicles and anybody flouting orders will be penalised). Implementing this is the responsibility of the GRP.

Vehicles are parked all over instead of the earmarked place. Unauthorised vendors can be seen selling items openly and rickshaw-pullers pick up passengers from the area regularly, creating congestion.

Contributed by Ashok Grover, Jagmeet Singh and Rakesh Bhardwaj.