BATHINDA
HONOURED: Mr Jaspreet Singh, DSP (R), has been declared the best police officer of Bathinda district. He was honoured with a memento by Mr R.P. Meena, DIG, Punjab Police (Faridkot Range), here on Sunday, at the closing day of the fifth Faridkot Range Punjab Police sports and athletics meet.

URGED: The activists of the Field and Workshop Workers Union (FWWU) of the PWD has urged the authorities to fulfil their demands as early as possible. In a statement issued here on Friday, Mr Kishore Chand, president, FWWU, Bathinda branch Sewerage Board, said the activists would launch a struggle against the Managing Director of the Board if their demands were not met.

DORAHA
ANNUAL FUNCTION: The annual function of Harkrishan Public School, Doraha, was held on Sunday. The function was presided over by Mr H S Gurm, Vice Chancellor, Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar. The Director of the school, Mrs Umal Kaur, gave a warm welcome to the audience. The annual report of the school was read by Mrs Paramjit Sekhon. A word of thanks came from Principal, Mrs Raghwansh Kaur. 

HOSHIARPUR
HOUSE BURGLED: Gold ornaments worth Rs 3 lakh were stolen from the house of Suman Kumar, a goldsmith at Ktcha Toba mohalla, here on Sunday. Suman Kumar and his family had gone to Ludhiana to attend a marriage when the incident occurred. A case has been registered.

ORGANISED: The third kirtan darbar was organised by the Punjab Dalit Sangharsh Samiti at Roshan ground here on Monday. Renowned kirtan jathas and sankirtan mandals recited bhajan kirtan. Langar was also served on the occasion.

KHARAR
ATTEMPT TO RAPE: An attempt was made to rape a minor girl of Lakhnaur village in Kharar block on Sunday. According to the FIR lodged with the Kharar police, the girl is about 15 year old and student of Class X. She was alone in her house at about 3 p.m. when the accused, Ram Singh, who is resident of the same village entered the house and made an attempt to rape her. The girl shouted and by chance her father came there and the accused ran away. According to the FIR the girl was very much frightened and she reached on the roof of the house and fell down and became unconscious. She was later admitted to the PGI. The police has registered a case under Sections 376, 452 and 511 of the IPC against the accused, Ram Singh, has started the investigations. 

LUDHIANA
COMPUTERISATION: To impart computer education to doctors, the Ludhiana branch of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics organised a workshop on ‘Basic Computers and Internet’ at CCIT Computer Institute, Model Town, here on Sunday. During the workshop, over 30 doctors learnt Windows operating system, MS Office and the use of Internet. Later, Dr Vijay Aggarwal from Delhi, advisor to the computer group of Indian Academy of Paediatrics, delivered a lecture on ‘Role of Computers and Internet for doctors’. The chief guest on the occasion was Dr S.C. Ahuja, Principal, Dayanand Medical College. 

BIODIESEL DISCUSSED: Biodiesel (esters of plant oils) has tremendous potential for use as fuel in farm engines as a substitute for conventional diesel. This was revealed by Dr P.K. Gupta and Dr B.S. Panesar of the School of Energy Studies, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU). Biodiesels are derived from oils and fats which are easily obtained from renewable biological sources. Scientists of PAU have prepared biodiesel from about a dozen plant oils. According to the scientists, the process of preparing bio-diesel involves heating the plant oil to a temperature of 60°C or less and then mixing methyl alcohol with it, in the presence of sodium hydroxide as a catalyst. 

LABOUR LAWS: The Communist Party of India (ML) has flayed the district administration for blatant violation of labour laws by the factory owners in the city. In a meeting of Sharamik Kalyan Sangh, an affiliate body of the party, presided over by Mr Mohammed Kalamuddin here, it was alleged that anti-labour policies of the state government had further emboldened the employers, who had virtually ‘privatized’ the labour laws. Focussing on the pathetic plight of the workers, the meeting noted that there was no guarantee of employment, attendance was not marked properly, payment of wages was erratic and the workers were forced to put in 12 to 14 hours duty for a meagre salary ranging between Rs.1000 -1500. The party district secretary Mr Ramesh Sharma, who was present at the meeting, reiterated his party’s commitment to wage a war for protecting the rights of the working classes. 

POTATO CROP: Late blight had appeared on potato crop in some parts of the state, including district Hoshiarpur. Giving this information Dr Inderjit Singh, Head, Department of Plant Pathology Punjab Agricultural University informed that this disease caused appearance of water soaked spots on margin of leaves, which later turned into black patches, with whitish fungus growth on the lower side of the leaves in the morning hours. The black patches might extend and kill the foliage in a few days, if the moist weather prevailed. He has advised spraying the affected crop with indofil m-45 using 500-700 grams or Blitox at the rate of 750-1000 grams per acre in 250-300 litres of water. 

DECLAMATION CONTEST: A district-level declamation contest of the members of youth clubs, operating in Kapurthala district, under the patronage of the Department of Extension Education of Punjab Agricultural University was held at Government High School, Baghana. According to a PAU release here on Monday, 21 boys and girls of different youth clubs participated in the contest and expressed views on topics like health care, challenges of pollution, social evils and population explosion. Gurjeet Kaur of the host school was adjudged first, followed by Baban Thakur of Government Senior Secondary School, Phagwara, who secured second place and Himmatdeep Singh, Government High School, Baghana, being placed on third position. Monika Arora of Jain Model School, Phagwara was given the consolation prize.

Dr Gurdev Singh Momi, Head, Department of Extension Education, PAU, who presided over, exhorted the youth to actively participate in such activities to develop their personalities. 

MACHHIWARA
FUNCTION: The annual prize distribution function of the Nankana Sahib Public School, Kot Ganga Rai, will be held on November 27, in the school premises. According to the Principal, Mr Jaswant Singh Grewal, the Minister for Technical Education (Punjab), Mr Jagdish Singh Garcha will be the chief guest. The Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha will preside over the function . The ADC(D), Ludhiana, Mr Balwinder Singh and the Director of Milkfed Punjab, Mr Sharanjit Singh Dhillon will be the guests of honour. 

MANSA
JEEP COLLIDES: A Jeep carrying five cops and three civilians collided with a canter on Sunday near Dayalpura village. Constable Surinder Kumar died on the spot while Sub-Inspector Sher Singh and Home Gurad Veer Bhan were hospitalised.

DEMANDED: Consumers of the local Ganga Gas Services of Indane have been facing hardship due to the non-supply of refill for the past one month. Mr Sanjay Jindal, advocate and social worker, demanded that the supply of LPG should be restarted immediately.

MOGA
DISCONNECTED: The telephone connections of the Moga city, city police station and sadar police station, have been disconnected by the Telecommunications Department for the want of payment. Residents have urged the department to get the connections restored as soon as possible.

COMPLAIN: The owners of local government fair price shops complained on Monday that almost all the sugar bags supplied to them by Punsup had been found underweight by 2 kg each. They have demanded that the administration should look into the matter.

ALLEGED: Members of the cooperative society in Maheshari village of this district complained that although the society was set up 65 years ago, it had never disbursed the profits to its members and the entire profit money was being allegedly misappropriated by those running it. They have demanded an inquiry into the matter.

ORGANISED: As many as 3 lakh persons in Punjab are suffering from TB and if no effective measure is taken, the disease would spread extensively. This was stated here on Sunday by the Punjab Health Minister, Mr Baldev Raj Chawla, at a tuberculosis eradication programme organised by the Moga Seva Bharti.

NAWANSHAHR
MEDICAL CAMP: The local Bhai Ghanaiya Seva Samiti organised a free medical check-up camp at Basiala village, 8 km from here, on Saturday. Mr Sohan Singh Thandal, State Minister of Food and Civil Supplies, inaugurated the camp. More than 1,000 patients were examined and medicines were given free of cost to needy patients.

PROTEST: Mr Rakesh Nayyar, senior vice-president of the Punjab unit of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), in a press statement issued here on Sunday, said about 10,000 DYFI activists and students from Punjab would participate in the gherao of the Parliament at New Delhi on November 27 under the DYFIs “save education, save employment” rally in protest against the decision of the government to privatise education.

FUNCTION HELD: A district level function was organised here at the local Central Cooperative Bank to mark the 47th cooperative day here on Sunday while Mr Swaranjit Singh, joint registrar cooperative societies (farming), presided over. Mr Jatinder Singh Kariha, MLA, was the chief guest.

COMPETITION: The Shaheed Master Gian Singh Sangha Yadgari Committee organised an on-the-spot painting competition to commemorate the death anniversary of Master Gian Singh Sangha who was gunned down by militants eight years ago at Shahbur village, about 10 km from here, on Sunday. Chhinder Pal (Dan College of Art and Craft), Jaspreet Kaur (BWS Khalsa Girls High School) and Baljinder Kaur (Shivalik Public School) got the first position in groups A,B and C, respectively.

TRAINING CENTRE: The local Bhai Ghanhaiya Seva Samiti has set up a sewing training centre for the welfare of poor and needy girls at the nearby Basiala village. Mr Gurpal Singh Bhatti, ADC, inaugurated it, informed Mr Birbal Takhi, general secretary of the samiti, in a press note here on Monday.

DISTRIBUTED: The local Lions Club has distributed sweaters among poor and needy students of Tara Singh Kahma Memorial School, Nawanshahr, and Jai Janta Primary School, Rahon, informed Mr Iqbal Singh, president of the club, in a press note here on Monday.

PATIALA
PRESIDENT ELECTED: Mr Satish Kumar has been elected as the president of the newly formed Punjab Bal Vikas Project Officers Association. The other office-bearers of the association are: senior vice-president — Mr Jagmel Singh; general secretary — Ms Pritpal Kaur; finance secretary — Mr Naresh Kumar; oraganising secretary — Mr Harjit Singh; press secretary — Mr Amrik Singh; auditor — Mr Kuldeep Singh. 

WELCOMED: The District Congress Committee has welcomed the decision of the Congress high command to include Ms Parneet Kaur, Member Parliament, as a member of the Congress Parliamentary Executive Board. In a press release, Mr Hardev Singh Bali, vice-president of the DCC, said that it was a matter of great satisfaction for the residents of the Patiala constituency that she had been included in one of the top bodies of the Congress party. The decision was also welcomed by other senior Congress leaders including Mr H.S. Barsat, political secretary of Capt.Amarinder Singh, President of the PPCC and Mr Ved Parkash Gupta, President of the DCC among others. 

CRITICISED: The Punjab Power Employees Federation, in an executive meeting held here on Monday, protested the Punjab State Electricty Board’s decision to slash posts in various cadres which will render nearly 7,000 persons jobless. In a press release, Mr Malkit Singh Nirman and Mr Harpal Singh, president and general secretary of the federation respectively, said the decision of the board was totally anti-people and urged the authorities to withdraw the arbitrary decision immediately. 

ADOPTED: The North Zone Cultural Centre (NZCC) has adopted 6-year-old dancer, Isha Dang, to perform for the centre in various cultural shows. Isha Dang impressed the NZCC officials by her wonderfully executed performance on nimbuda song during a cultural show organised by the NZCC recently. She is a Class I student of Our Lady of Fatima Higher Secondary School and has also won the Star of the Day Award during the Red Cross millennium carnival held here early this month. Isha has the ability to perform various dance forms and her versatile performance has been appreciated by several dance exponents.

SAHNEWAL
CYCLIST CRUSHED: A cyclist was reportedly crushed to death. According to the reports, the deceased belonged to Raul village. A Tata Sumo numbered DL4CF-9018 coming from Khanna crushed Mr Bhagwant Singh, who was going on his cycle, near Nandpur village at 6.30 am today. The tyre of the Tata sumo had burst and the driver could not control the car that crushed the cyclist. The driver of the car fled. A case has been registered.

PULSE POLIO: The pulse polio campaign was inaugurated here on Sunday by Mr Shamsher Singh Kaila, president, Nagar Panchayat. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Rajinder Kaur said: “The campaign of the Health Department and different organisations during the past few years has helped eradicate disease of polio. The efforts have borne much positive result. No case of polio has been reported so far in Punjab, this year.” She said, “The next dose of polio drops will be administered on December 10 and January, 21, 2001.” Among those who were honoured were Dr Rajinder Kaur, Dr Harvinder Singh, Dr Shamsher singh Kaile, sarpanch Maggar Singh, comrade Ravinder Kapla, sarpanch Dharamjit Singh Gill, councillor Sohan Singh, Mr Pawan Kumar Kapila, mandal President BJP, Mrs Manjit Kaur and Mr Balwant Singh.

AN INTERFACE: An interface with the Punjabi poet, Mr Amarjit Chandan, was organised by Punjabi Sahit Sabha of the Punjabi Department of Punjab University here on Monday. The poet recited his recent compositions from his collections Jarhan, Beejak, Chhanna, Gurhati and the forth coming Sankh. The poems were an expression of vitality of life against all odds and the power of human psyche to continue to dream afresh.Presiding over the function, Dr Satya pal Gautam of Philosophy Department, Panjab University, underlined the richness of Chandan's poetry in exploring the multiple layers and dimensions of Punjabi language and its poetic idiom. 

COURSE ORGANISED: The Regional Save Grain Campaign Office of the Union of Consumers Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, organised a 10-day training course in Raya village in Jammu and Kashmir. During the training period theoretical as well as practical lessons on scientific storage of foodgrains were imparted to about 50 women. Demonstrations on the control of insects, rodents, birds, and micro- organisms were also organised. Trainees were persuaded to adopt modern storage structures in the form of metal bins for safe storage of foodgrains. 

DEMAND: Mr Sunil Parti, a leader of Mr Venod Sharma's group of the local Congress, has written a letter to the Chairman of the Congress Central Election Authority, Mr Ram Niwas Mirdha, asking him to announce the schedule and date of elections for the local party unit. He has requested that voting should be by way of secret ballot. Mr Parti has said that he wanted to contest the elections for the office of the President of the local unit. 

CELEBRATED: Gurpurab was celebrated by Shri Santan Dharam Sabha at Sector 41-D here on Sunday. Path of Sukhmani Sahib and shabad kirtan was also orgainsed. Ms Kamla Sharma, ex-Mayor of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, and the Chairman of the Social Mahila Welfare Board ,also participated in the celebrations.

COMPETITIONS: The Annual Bhai Surinder Singh Memorial on-the-spot Painting and the All-India Essay Writing Competition will be held at Jat Bhavan, Sector 27 here on December 3. Mr M.S. Malik, president, Jat Sabha, said the painting competition will be based on the theme of Evils of Drug Addiction and theme of the essay writing competition will be Patriotism and Nation Building. The competition will also be held at Ch. Bharat Singh Memorial Sports School, Nidani, Pathania Public School, Rohtak, and Vishwas Senior Secondary School, Hisar, according to the information given by Mr Malik. 

KALKA
ELECTED: The following have been elected officer-bearers of the Indian Medical Association, Kalka branch: president — Dr Anil Das; vice-president — Dr S.K. Gupta; general secretary — Dr Ashwani Bhaskar; joint-secretary-cum-treasurer — Dr I.P. Singh. 

SONEPAT
FEE HIKE: The Haryana Nagrik Sabha, in a press note released here on Monday, demanded the intervention of the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, and the state government in the issue of fee hike by private schools in the city. The Samiti also warned that if it failed to check the hike it had no other alternative but to approach the court.

ATTACKED: Three persons were seriously injured when they were attacked by a group of persons belonging to one family at Kheri Gujjar village, about 25 km from here on Monday. According to preliminary reports, all the injured were immediately hospitalised and a case has been registered against the alleged assailants who are still at large.

CONCLUDED: Fourteen teams from various schools took part in the one-day Children’s Science Congress -2000 which concluded on the campus of the Malviya Shikhsha Sadan here on Sunday.

DEMOLISHED: Several unauthorised structures were demolished on the Sonepat-Rohtak road here on Sunday in the anti-encroachment drive. A number of wooden stalls and rehris were removed from the public land.