BATHINDA
DEMANDED: Employees of the Punjab State Food and Supplies Ministerial Staff Union here have demanded that their salaries should be released before Divali. This was stated by Mr Gurjant Singh, president of the union, in a press note issued here on Monday.

DHURI
HOMOEOPATHY CAMP: The local police and the Punjab Homoeopathy Department, in collaboration with the local unit of the Sarv Bharti Seva Samiti will organise a free homoeopathy camp at Mangla Ashram, near the local Sugar Mill, on Wednesday. Mr Jatinder Singh Aulukh, SSP, Sangrur, will be the chief guest.

HOSHIARPUR
OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local unit of the Coordination Committee of Para Medical and Health Employees: convener — Mr Randhir Singh; chief organiser — Mr Surinder Ghai; organisers — Mr Mohan Lal Passi and Mrs Satpal Kumari; and treasurer — Mr Tara Chand.

KILLED: Rakesh (22) of Gobindpur Khun Khun village was killed on the spot while Deepak and Surinder of the same village were seriously injured when their scooter was hit by a tractor trailer on Sunday. The injured have been hospitalised.

KHAMANO
APPEAL: The Leaders of the Lok Bhalai Party, BSP, the Congress and the BJP alleged that the bus commuters travelling on the Khamano-Samrala, Khamano-Morinda and Khanna-Samrala routes were being over charged. It was also alleged that a local gas agency owner was charging Rs 166 instead of Rs 145 for a single gas cylinder. They appealed to the transport authorities and consumer forum to put an end to these alleged malpractices.

LUDHIANA
SEMINAR: A seminar on "Acupuncture and drug de-addiction" will held at Dr D.N. Kotnis Acupuncture Hospital, Salem Tabri, here on Saturday. Dr Rajinder Singh Dhillon will deliver lecture. Mr K.S. Kainth, Under Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, will be the chief guest and Mr K.S. Brar, District Social Security Officer, Ludhiana, will preside over the function. 

PATIENTS EXAMINED: The Lions Club Ludhiana Vishal, in collaboration with Shri Krishna Charitable Hospital, has organised a free medical check-up and eye operation camp at Gurdwara Khuhi Sar Sahib, Kot Mangal Singh, here. Mr G.L. Pahwa inaugurated the camp. Nearly 800 patients were examined. Speaking on the occasion, Mr I.S. Khanna , secretary, and Mr V.K. Gupta, president, said the club had taken up the projects to mitigate the sufferings of the weaker sections of society.

DIVALI CELEBRATIONS: Divali will be celebrated at headquarters of Naamdhari Darbar at Bhaini Sahib, near here on October 26. In the morning, mass marriages will be performed while Gurbani kirtan, naam simran and religious discourses will continue throughout the day. In his message to the people, the Naamdhari chief Baba Jagjit Singh has made an appeal not to use fire crackers. In this way, the people will, not only be saving their hard earned money, but will also help in keeping the pollution under control. According to Sant Dyal Singh, chief administrator, Sant Dalip Singh Naamdhari has been nominated secretary and Sant Harbhajan Singh (Aurangabad) as vice-president of the Naamdhari Darbar.

TRAINING CAMP: The Department of Agriculture will hold a district-level farmers’ training camp at Pal auditorium in Punjab Agricultural University here on Wednesday. The Deputy Commissioner Mr S.K. Sandhu, will inaugurate the camp and Dr Kundan Lal, Joint Director, Agriculture, Punjab, will preside over. Giving this information, Chief Agricultural Officer Dr Gurcharan Singh Rajajung said the camp will focus on changing scenario of agriculture in the wake of liberalisation, globalisation and would endeavour to provide a direction to the farmers to face the new challenges in agriculture.

MALERKOTLA
SMOKE: The burning of paddy straw in the fields by farmers raised a thick smoke in the atmosphere, causing poor visibility here on Monday evening. The local Citizens Welfare Council has urged the State Pollution Control Board to check the prevailing pollution to prevent its harmful effects on the health of people.

YOGA CLASS: A special yoga class was organised by the local branch of the Bhartiya Yoga Sansthan on the premises of Government College here on Monday. Mr Amarjit Singh Sekhon, Executive Officer of the local Municipal Council, delivered a lecture.

CONTACT PROGRAMME: A student personal contact programme was organised by the Indian Institute of Computer Information at the local KMRD Jain College for Women on Monday. Mrs Shashi Jindal, secretary of college managing committee, was the chief guest.

MANSA
GHERAOED: Activists of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta) on Monday gheraoed the office of the District Food and Supplies Controller and later locked it in protest against the slow procurement of paddy and the non-payment of the paddy procured. Mr Hem Raj Mangla, District Food and Supplies Officer, said the slow procurement was due to non-availability of trucks.

NAWANSHAHR
BONUS DEMANDED: Mr Prem Kumar Rattan, president of the district unit of the Ministerial Staff Union, on Monday demanded the release of bonus for government employees before Divali. He also urged the authorities concerned to issue directions to the treasury officers in the state to clear all salary bills without raising any objection regarding the budgetary allocations.

RELIEF PACKAGE: Mr Santokh Singh, former Food and Civil Supplies Minister, on Monday termed the relief package announced for the farmers of Punjab “a complete fraud’’. He said he had visited mandis of Mukandpur and Hakimpur, near Banga, and heard the grievances of the farmers who were still facing problems in selling their paddy.

GAMBLING: The local police arrested Dilbagh Kumar, Somnath, Sonu, Harmesh Lal, Rocky, Jaspal, Lally and Vijay Kumar under Sections 13/3/67 of the Gambling Act and seized Rs 4,053 from them here on Sunday. This was stated by Mr Ishwar Singh, SSP, on Monday.

MEDICAL CAMP: The Guru Nanak Mission Medical and Educational Trust, Dhahan Kaleran, organised a free medical check-up camp at Ball Nau village in Jalandhar district Mr Ajit Singh Kohar, Agriculture Minister, inaugurated the camp. As many as 616 patients were examined by a team of doctors of Guru Nanak Mission Hospital, Dhahan Kaleran.

AWARENESS DRIVE; The District Literacy Society in collaboration with the district Health Department organised a programme to create awareness regarding population explosion, AIDS, drug addiction and illiteracy among the public at Kahma village, 8 km from here, on Monday. Mr Pritam Singh Johal, SDM, presided.

SEMINAR: The district police as part of a drive launched to create awareness among students regarding the menace of drug abuse, organised a seminar at the local Parkash Model Senior Secondary School on Monday. Mr Pritam Singh Johal, SDM, Mr Balkar Singh Sandhu, SP, and Mrs Parkash Kaur, Principal of the school were among those who addressed the students.

PATHANKOT
CASE REGISTERED: The police has registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC against Om Prakash of Quazipura Mohalla here for allegedly killing his wife Babli and brother-in-law Tarsem Lal. The FIR was lodged by the father of the deceased.

DIVALI CELEBRATIONS: The home for Old and Destitute People, Sector 15, will celebrate Divali on Wednesday. Mr B.S. Aggarwal, Chairman of the Lions Club Chandigarh, Central, informed that Mr K.A.P. Sinha, Joint-Secretary (Finance), UT, would distribute clothes and sweets among the inmates.

SAMAROH: The State Bank of India celebrated Hindi Samarpan Samaroh at the Zonal Office, Punjab, here on Tuesday. The Deputy General Manager, stressed to perform the maximum work in Hindi to achieve targets. Prizes to the winners of essay writing, letter writing, vocabulary and Hindi typing competitions were given.

DHARNA: Members of the working committee of the Federation of UT Employees and Workers held a meeting on Tuesday and condemned the indifferent attitude of the Chandigarh Administration for not accepting their pending demands. The committee decided to organise a dharna at Housing Board Chowk on November 14.

FAST OBSERVED: Members of the Postal Joint Council of Action, Punjab Circle, observed two-day fast from Monday in front of the General Post Office in Sector 17. In a press statement, Mr Surinder Pal, Secretary of the PJCA, informed that as many as 20 office-bearers from different organisations observed the fast. They have decided to go on strike on December 5.

WEBSITE LAUNCHED: Chandigarh-dhoom launched a website on Tuesday, which will provide information about sales, discounts and promotional activities in Chandigarh and SAS Nagar. The site will give details on 15 categories of products and services, including clothes, kids’ accessories, computers, events, education etc. There will also be features on household and beauty tips.

CHALLANS: The efficiency of the UT Weights and Measures Department, which regulates the sale of food and drinks in the city, can be gauged from the fact that it has issued only 216 challans during the past 10 months. Sources reveal that taking advantage of the lenient attitude of the authorities, most of the shopkeepers in the city are busy selling these items at prices higher than the MRP. Even though the shopkeepers at the Inter-State Bus Terminus in Sector 17 are selling the products at their own quoted prices, thereby ignoring the fixed prices, the department officials have not taken any action in this regard. This is because the officials are more bothered about their personal gains.

FUNCTION: The NSS units of Government College, Sector 46, organised a tree plantation function followed by a talk on “Gandhian thoughts and values” in collaboration with Yuvsatta and the State Bank of India, Sector 37, branch, here on Tuesday. Mr Vijay Saihgal, Editor, Dainik Tribune, inaugurated the function by planting a sapling. Speaking on the occasion, he stressed on the importance of trees and appealed to the students to plant at least a sapling each during their stay in the college. He also spoke on Gandian values and philosophy and encouraged the students to play a major role in upgrading the social values.

SAY NO TO CRACKERS: The Children’s Alliance for Protection of Environment published a poster “Say no to crackers — celebrate Divali with deepmala and sweets” here on Monday. The poster was released by Ms Kamla Sharma, the Chairman of Chandigarh State Social Welfare Advisory Board. Ms Sharma said that people should celebrate Divali in a traditional way and avoid bursting crackers as these were harmful to environment and health.

FRUITS DISTRIBUTED: The Punjab Red Cross Society distributed fruits among 480 patients in the PGI on the eve of Divali here on Tuesday. Dr S.K. Sharma, Director, PGI, visited different wards and wished them speedy recovery. Ms Manjeet Sodhi, Honorary Secretary, Punjab State Red Cross Hospital Welfare Section, Ms Poonam Khanna Sidhu, Joint Commissioner, Income Tax, and Mr M.L. Bindal, Deputy Secretary, Punjab State Red Cross, were also present on the occasion.

PANCHKULA
OPPOSED: The Panchkula Residents Welfare Federation opposed the formation of the Municipal Corporation, Panchkula. Mr Subhas Papneja, General Secretary of the federation, said that the town was still under-developed and it would be premature to transfer the civic functions to the local body. He said that after almost 50 years the corporation was formed at Chandigarh when it became a complete developed city.

CONDEMNED: The local unit of the Vishav Hindu Parishad condemned the demolition of the Shri Ram and Hanuman temple in Faridabad at a specially convened meeting in Sector 8, here on Tuesday. The workers were addressed by the President of the Kurukshetra circle, Mr B.B. Goyal, and the working President, Mr O.P. Goyal. It was decided to submit a memorandum to the Union Home Minister, the Haryana Chief Minister and the state Home Minister, demanding an inquiry into the demolition and suspension of guilty officers, besides reconstruction of the temple.

SAS NAGAR
BLACK DIVALI: The Punjab Wireless Systems Employees Union on Tuesday announced that it would observe black Divali to protest against the non-acceptance of its demands. Mr Saheed Ahmed, President of the union, urged the Punjab Government to clear the pending salaries of the employees.

EXHIBITION: A three-day science exhibition started at Govern-ment Senior Secondary School, Phase 3B 1, here on Monday. As many as 200 students of the school are exhibiting models based on different themes. The exhibition was inaugurated by Ms K Manju, Manager of Syndicate Bank in Phase X.

AMBALA
MEDICAL CAMP: The Senior Citizens Welfare Association, Ambala, will organise a free medical check-up camp for senior citizens in Shree Parshuram Bhavan on Sunday. Mr Rajinder Singh, General Secretary of the association, said that a team of doctors would examine patients for heart problems and diabetes. Mr Ram Niwas, Deputy Commissioner of Ambala, will be the chief guest.

FATEHABAD
DRUG DE-ADDICTION: The police-public forum ‘‘Prayaas’’ will set up a drug-de-addiction centre on the Sirsa road here. Stating this here on Monday, Mr Shrikant Jadhav, SP, said land for the purpose had already been acquired.

DIVALI MELA: A Divali mela was organised on the premises of Dayaram Public School here on Sunday. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anil Malik, was the chief guest.

ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the district unit of the Indian Medical Association: president — Dr Vinod Batra; vice-presidents — Dr Virendera Siwatch and Dr Swarn Wadhwa; general secretary— Dr Sanjay Bansal; and treasurer — Dr Satish Bansal.

RANGOLI COMPETITION: Little Flowers School, Bhattu Kalan, organised a ‘‘Rangoli Banao and Thali Sajao’’ competition on Monday. Mrs Usha Dahiya, president of the Sahaytarth Mahila Samiti was the chief guest

JIND
CHAIN SNATCHING: Three incidents of chain snatching were reported in different parts of the city on Sunday.

THEFT: Thieves allegedly broke open the lock of a sports goods shop on Vidyapeeth Marg here on Sunday and decamped with goods worth thousands of rupees.

KURUKSHETRA
INAUGURATED: Mahant Gangaapuri Charitable Dispensary, built under the auspices of Mahant Prabhaatpuri social Welfare Trust on the premises of Mahant Prabhaatpuri Girls School, was inaugurated here on Sunday by the Health Minister, Haryana, Dr M.L. Ranga.

FUNCTION HELD: A state-level prize distribution function for outstanding students was organised by the Directorate of Higher Education on the Kurukshetra University (KU) campus here on Monday. Mr D.S. Chaudhary, Vice-Chancellor of the university, gave away prizes to 226 graduate students from various private and government colleges affiliated to KU and Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak.

NARNAUL
WORKSHOP: A workshop on “Gender Sensitivity” was organised by the Integrated Women Empowerment and Development Project here on Monday. V. Raja Sekhar, Deputy Commissioner, inaugurated the workshop.

INTERNET DHABA: The district Task Force, Mahendragarh, and Panchayat Samiti, Kanina, have decided to sponsor Haryana’s first franchise of “Internet dhaba” under the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited at Kanina. This was stated by Mr V. Raja Sekhar, Deputy Commissioner, here on Monday.

ROHTAK
CAR ROBBED: Four youths forcibly took away an Ambassador car (HR-15-2100) by throwing chilly powder in the eyes of its driver near Ismalia village on Monday. They had hired the car from Anil of Sanghi village for going to Ismalia.

SONEPAT
PASSENGERS STRANDED: A large number of passengers were stranded at the railway stations between Subzi Mandi, (Delhi) and Panipat stations for about two hours, following the cancellation of Panipat-bound 1 DPM passenger train on Monday. The Amritsar-bound Flying Mail, which was running behind its scheduled time by two hours, was allowed to stop at each station between Subzi Mandi and Panipat for the waiting passengers.

JWALAMUKHI
MEDICAL CAMP: A hepatitis-B immunisation camp was organised by the local Manava Dharm Kalyan Sabha here on Tuesday. Mr Puran Chand Langa, a renowned social worker of the area, inaugurated the camp. As many as 150 persons were vaccinated against the disease.