R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
WORKSHOP: The local unit of Bharat Vikas Parishad and the Manav Seva Sanstha had organised a free artificial-limbs workshop-cum-camp at Ajnala for the handicapped persons. Dr Rattan Singh, Minister for Animal Husbandry, inaugurated the camp. The organisers provided 121 artificial limbs, 15 tricycles, 10 sewing machines and 17 hearing-aids to the handicapped persons. The Minister announced a grant of Rs 1 lakh to the organisers.

FAZILKA
ACCIDENT: Darhsan Ram (22) of Nukerian village and Dara Ram (28) of Kandhwala Hazarkhan village were killed in an accident on Monday when the scooter they were riding collided with a jeep near Tahliwala Jattan village, about 20 km from here. While Dara Ram died on the spot, Darshan Ram died on his way to the hospital.

KHAMANON
IDENTITY CARDS: The last phase of issuing identity cards to villagers will be held here between September 6 and 8. According to the Returning Officer, Mr Nirbhai Singh, the villages where this work is being undertaken, include Ratangarh, Manela, Dhanola, Badesh, Hawara Kalan, Kalemajra and Gaggarwal, Sidhpur Kalan, Prempura.

KHANNA
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Workers’ Committee of the Bharatia Janata Yuva Morcha, Khanna Mandal: President — Mr Saravdeep Singh Kaliaro; Vice-Presidents — Mr Ajay Mittal and Mr Avtar Singh; General Secretary — Mr Raj Kumar Manro; Organising Secretary — Mr Yashpal Sharma; Secretary — Mr Arun Chhahria; Cashier — Mr Surinder Atri; and Press Secretary — Mr Paramjit Singh.

LUDHIANA
BIRTH ANNIVERSARY: The Bairagi Maha Mandal, Punjab, plans to celebrate the birth anniversary of Bairagi Baba Banda Bahadur on October 16 in villages of the Kathua district in J&K, according to the mandal president, Mr Krishan Kumar Bawa. Several meetings in this connection have already been held in these villages. Mr Bawa said that in Padiari village members of the Bairagi Community, who had settled in the area after the partition, had not been made legal owners of the land allotted to them. They enjoyed the right to vote only for the parliamentary polls. These people were not permitted to apply even for the state government jobs, he said. He urged the Centre Government to enact a law to save these people from the discriminatory attitude of the state government.

SHOBA YATRA: The Rajasthan Jeengar Ganpati Mahotsav Committee would take out its fifth annual Shobha Yatra in connection with Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations on Wednesday, according to the committee president, Mr Dev Sagar. The shobha yatra to be presided over by Jagadguru Shankaracharya Madhavashram would commence at 12 noon from Islam Ganj in Prem Nagar and reach the Sutlej river via Shahpur road, Lakkar Bazar, Saban Bazar, Chaura Bazar and Ghanta Ghar, added Mr Sagar.

JAGRAN: The Maa Bhagwati Club would organise its 5th Bhagwati Jagran on September 9 at Dandi Swami, according to the club chairman, Mr Sunil Puri Shammi.

WITHDRAWN: Mr Inderjeet Singh Pradhan, President, Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU), condemned the recently introduced levy and collection system of rahdari at Ludhiana, Doraha, Sahnewal and Khanna on incoming and outgoing industrial goods which had caused hardships to the trade and industry. In a press note issued on Tuesday, he said the truckers had raised their freight charges due to this burden which were affecting industry. Because of this they had to undergo a great deal of harassment. It had also resulted in wastage of time and permanent traffic jams on both sides of the octroi post. Mr Avtar Singh, General Secretary, CICU, and Mr Pradhan asserted that the Punjab Government had made it a point to create hardships for the trade and industry of Punjab on one or other pretext. They urged the Punjab Government to withdraw the levy of rahdari immediately.

LITERACY DAY: Mr Malkeet Singh, joint secretary of the Ludhiana Sakharta Samiti, said in a press note on Tuesday that the programme of National Literacy Day, to be celebrated at Lalton Kalan village, will be held on September 7. The programme will be jointly organised by the Sakharta samiti and an organisation Variss Panj Dariawan De. Mr Jagdish Singh Garcha will be the chief guest and Mr S.R. Kaler, ADC, will preside over the function.

PENSION REVISION: In a meeting organised by the Pensioners’ Cell, the Punjab Government was condemned on Tuesday for not implementing the revision of pension of the pensioners’ of Aided School of Punjab. The pensioners requested the government to revise their pensions immediately as in the case of government teachers. Failing this, they will be compelled to move the court for their demand, according to a press note.

QUIZ: The prize distribution function for national quiz contest on Indian culture (city level), organised by Chinmay Study Group, Patiala, at Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, was held on Tuesday. Dr M.P. Kapoor, Director, TIET, gave away the prizes to the winners. Mr Deepanshu Goyal of TIET, Mr Deepak Goel of Government Mohindra College and Mr Namesh Sharma of TIET secured first, second and third positions, respectively. Dr M.P. Kapoor paid tributes to Swami Chinmayananda, the founder of the Chinmaya Mission Movement, and exhorted the youth to follow his teachings.

TEACHERS DAY: Narain Public School observed Teachers Day on Tuesday. The students are encouraged to read the newspaper everyday. During the assembly hours, the students are asked at random to come up on the stage and to deliver a lecture on the previous day’s happenings.

PATHANKOT
SENTENCED: Mr Harish Anand, Judicial Magistrate (Class-I), on Monday, sentenced Harjeet Singh of Darshopur village to one year of imprisonment and also imposed a fine of Rs 2000 in an accident case.

APPOINTED: Mr Harish Pathania, former president of the Bar Association, was appointed as general secretary of the District Congress Committee (I) by Capt Amarinder Singh, President, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee on Monday.

SUNAM
ELECTION OFFICE: Prof Sukhjinder Singh, a nominee of the SAD (A) for the Sunam Assembly constituency byelection, scheduled to be held on September 29, has opened his election office on Patiala road here on Monday. A rally was also held there.

TARAN TARAN
MEETING: Mr Harinderjit Singh, DSP, held a meeting with the bank managers here on Monday and issued instructions regarding the security of the banks. He said at the meeting that a register would be provided to every bank, in which the SHO concerned would write his security-appraisal comments daily.

LIQUOR SEIZED: A police party on Sunday, seized 12 rubber tyres and tubes filled with illicit liquor from a truck belonging to Rachhpal Singh, alias Kalu, of Turana Harike at a naka on the Jandiala road.

CHANDIGARH

TAKEN CHARGE: Mr Dinesh Kumar Sharma has taken charge here as the Conservator of Forests(Central) in the Northern Regional Office, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. He replaces Mr Khazan Singh, who has been posted as Conservator of Forests, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. According to a press note, Mr Sharma, an Indian Forest Service officer of Gujarat, did his ME from the local Punjab Engineering College. Before the present assignment, he was posted as the Senior Inspector General of Forests in the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, New Delhi.

RALLY: Members of the Lok Sangharsh Committee will hold a rally from Sector 17 to the Punjab Assembly in protest against the policies of the government, on Wednesday. Mr Tarsem Jodhan, a former MLA, Mr Major Singh Punawal, a kisan leader, Bibi Shaminder Kaur Longowal and Mr Baljinder Rishi will address the rally.

KIDS EXAMINED: As many as 200 students and street children have been provided medical check-up and medicines in a medical and prosthetic aid assessment camp organised by the Rotary Chandigarh Shivalik at Pustak School in Mauli Jagran on Tuesday. Prosthetic aid assessment of 20 physically challenged children was made by the experts from Navedic Prosthetic Centre.

DHARNA: The Super Bazar Employees Joint Action Committee, staged a dharna in front of the head office in Sector 22 on Tuesday to protest against the callous attitude of the Chandigarh Administration. Before staging the dharna, Mr Kamaljit Singh, General Secretary of the committee, said the Administration should make immediate arrangements and provide adequate funds to the Super Bazar. He demanded an inquiry into the huge losses in the bazar by an independent authority. Mr Kamlesh Chander Patpatia, demanded that the Administration should interfere into the functioning of the Super Bazar and provide support to bring it out of the mess.

REPRESENTATION: Members of Private Colleges Non-Teaching Employees Union gave a representation to the Minister of Higher Education, Punjab, on Tuesday regarding their pending demands. The union is demanding the release of arrears of revised grades from January 1996 to March 1999, house rent allowance at revised rates and implementation of pension and gratuity scheme at the earliest possible.

SEMINAR: As many as 200 NSS volunteers and teachers of Government Home Science College participated a seminar on ‘Challenge of Education on Tuesday. Mr C L Narang, Director, NSS, Panjab University, said education had three dimensions — teaching, research and extension. Ms Usha Dhawal, Principal of the college said a true teacher should shape the students in such a manner that they became responsible citizens.

DELEGATION MEETS: A delegation of the Chandigarh Pradesh Samta Party met Ms Varsha Joshi, Chief Executive Officer of the Chandigarh Housing Board, on Tuesday regarding the notices issued by the board authorities to the residents of Sector-55 colony. Mr Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal, President of the unit, gave this information.

RELEASE OF GRANT: The Principals’ Federation of Punjab and Chandigarh thanked Mr Mohan Lal, Education Minister, and Mr RS Mann, Chief Secretary of Punjab, for releasing Rs 18 crore, grant-in-aid for the second quarter for non-government -aided colleges of Punjab. It appealed to the minister to get the bill of grant for January-February, cleared from the treasury. It also demanded immediate implementation of the Pension-cum Gratuity Act.

EMPLOYEES FAST: The chain fast started by the Punwire Employees Co-ordination Committee entered the 79th day on Tuesday. The committee threatened to start fast until death and flag march during Sunam by-elections if the government did not take necessary action, said Mr Hans Raj Verma, convener of the committee.

HARYANA

AMBALA
DHARNA: Members of the SD College Teachers’ Union staged an hour-long dharna in support of their pending demands here on Tuesday. The dharna was organised on a call given by the Haryana College Teachers Union and the All-India Federation of University and College Teachers Organisation. Speakers condemned the attitude of the Haryana Government in not accepting their long pending demands, a release said. The teachers also criticised the recent circular issued by the Director, Higher Education, Haryana, in which the colleges had been directed to continue functioning even in the case of the death of an employee. The president of the union, Prof R K Puri, and secretary, Prof Richpal Singh, urged the members to remain united for the cause of teacher welfare, the release added. The demands of the teachers include pension, arrears of revised pay scale, fixation of DPEs and librarians in the special basic pay of Rs 14,940, pay parity for instructors and two advance increments for in-service Ph.D. as per UGC guidelines.

MEETING: A meeting of the District Council for Child Welfare, Ambala, was held under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner, Ambala, Mr Ram Niwas, at Bal Bhawan on Tuesday. Nineteen officers were given commendation certificates along with prizes for their services. Mr Ram Niwas said the Bal Kalyan Parishad, established in 1954, had been working for the welfare of the children. He said the council was running 14 balwaris to provide expert guidance for developing potential of pre-school children and 21 creches were being run in the district, according to a press note. He stated that there were 20 play centres to provide organised recreation and physical exercises to children upto 16 years and two craft centres for women in rural and urban areas.

ROHTAK
POWER THEFT: As many as 535 cases of power theft had been detected in Rohtak operation circle by the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) during the last month. Stating this here on Monday. Mr M.P. Tyagi, Superintending Engineer, said about 9,675 power meters were checked in Rohtak and Jhajjar districts and 535 consumers were caught stealing power. He said a penalty of Rs 33.85 lakh was imposed on the defaulters out of which an amount of Rs 11.27 lakh had been recovered so far.

SONEPAT
ROBBERY: About 12 dacoits attacked the house of Mr Chander Pal situated near a church between Barot and Chirashmi villages, about 25 km from here, on Monday. They decamped with valuables worth thousands of rupees after injuring him and his two other family members. Earlier, the robbers tried to loot the church but failed to do so due to the alertness of the security guard there.

YAMUNANAGAR
BLOOD DONATION: Mr Ashok Kumar, chairman, Seth Jai Parkash Mukund Lal Institutions of Knowledge and Service, inaugurated a blood donation mela at Seth Jai Parkash Polytechnic, Damla, in the district on Monday. As many as 138 students, including staff members, and a few villagers donated blood. GURDASPUR

PROHIBITORY ORDERS: Mr B.Vikram, District Magistrate, has issued orders prohibiting all movements within 500 metres from the fencing on the International border between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. daily till October 28 in the district. However, this order will not be enforcible on the G.T. Road stretching from the border barrier to Gurdaspur.

LOK ADALAT: A Lok Adalat will be held here in the Sessions Court complex on September 9. Mr M.R. Batra, District and Sessions Judge, in a press note issued on Tuesday said no appeal was pending against the decisions of the Lok Adalat.

KILLED: Tarlok Singh was killed on the spot when his scooter rammed into a standing tractor-trailer on Monday near Japuwal, about 5 km from here.

HIMACHAL

BILASPUR
RALLY HELD: NSUI members held a rally in Government Post-Graduate College here on Monday. They forwarded a memorandum of demands to the Vice-Chancellor, HP University, through the principal of the college.

ELECTIONS: Himachal state unit of the CPI on Monday said it would go all alone in the next Panchayati Raj elections and would put up its candidates on all seats of the Zila Parishad, Panchayat Samities and the Gram Panchayats.

KUMARHATTI
THREE INJURED: Three persons were injured, two of them seriously, when their car skidded off the road and hit a house on the Kalka-Shimla national highway near Barog, 3 km from here, on Sunday. Karandeep Singh and Sandeep, who sustained serious injuries, have been referred to the PGI, Chandigarh.

NAHAN
NAVRATRA FAIR: The Navratra fair at the Balasundri Temple, Trilokpur, in the Sirmour, district will be held from September 28 to October 13. “Ashtami” would be observed on October 5, while “Chodus” on October 12. This was stated by the Deputy Commissioner, Sirmaur in a press note issued here on Monday. He said about three lakh devotees were expected from Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and other neighbouring states.