AMRITSAR
MEDICAL MELA: The local branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) organised a two-day medical mela at Heir village. The mela was inaugurated by the Health Minister, Dr Baldev Raj Chawla. Dr Chawla also distributed medical cards to the more than 200 families which would help them to get medical advice from the doctors attached to the IMA.

FATEHGARH SAHIB
HONOURED: Mr Gurdev Singh, Dr Devinder Puri and Ms Jagdev Kaur were honoured at a function organised to felicitate the highest income tax payers. Mr B.S. Rattan, Additional Commissioner of Income Tax, presided over the function.

KHANNA
POSTAL STRIKE: The entire staff of postal class III and IV, postmen and EDAs joined the striking employees of the Postal Department. The strike entered the seventh day today and the services in the Khanna Head Post Office and other post offices of the town remained paralysed. More than 250 employees attended the rally and dharna held in front of the head post office. The trade union leader, Mr Raj Kumar Jaidka, said if the government did not accept their demands, the employees would further intensify their agitation. Many employees’ unions and associations have extended their support to the strike. 

LUDHIANA
Seminar: A seminar on ‘first TB free Punjab’ was organised by the Lions Club at Lions Bhavan on Sunday. Dr Pradeep Kapoor, Senior Consultant and Head of the Chest Department, Oswal Memorial Hospital, said tuberculosis was a communicable disease which was caused by a bacteria. He said the disease mainly affected those between the age of 20 to 40 years, as it was the most productive period of human life. Dr Kapoor said malnourished, alcoholics, addicts and diabetics were more susceptible to TB. Dr Shobha Ram, Professor of microbiology, DMCH, said the threat of TB loomed large and great resolve and commitment was needed to face it. Mr N.K. Grover, district governor of the club, was the chief guest on the occasion, while Lala Lajpat Rai presided over the function. 

akhand path: Staff and contractors of the Ludhiana Circle of the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board held bhog of akhand path and langar organised to pray for welfare, peace and prosperity of humanity. The akhand path commenced on December 9 and bhog was performed on Monday. It was followed by a langar. Employees of several other government departments also participated in the function. Giving this information, Mr Vishnu Kumar, President, Diploma Engineers Association, and Mr Sukhbir Singh, President, Ministerial Staff Union of the PWSSB, informed that after akhand path, ragi jathas of Bhai Manpreet Singh and Bhai Lakhwinder Singh recited kirtan of gurbani. 

Programme: Aradhya Music Company along with True Line Consultants will organise a programme ‘Bye-Bye 2000’ to mark New Year Eve at Usha Palace. Mr Vishnu Arora, managing director of the company, said tambola, dance items, modeling and ramp shows would be organised during the event. Mr Satpal Gossain will be the chief guest and two Punjabi audio cassettes of folk songs will be released on the occasion. 

inaugurated: Twenty four-hour water supply to Momnabad village near Ahmedgarh was inaugurated by Mr Baldev Singh Mann, administrative member, Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB). Mr Mann also announced that Akberpura Chhana, Jandiali Khurd, Dhulkot and Nathu Majra villages would get round-the-clock water supply within 2 months. Mr Mann appealed to the consumers to stop the theft of power that would enable the PSEB to release all pending test reports of tubewell connections. 

No cement shortage: The Punjab Cement Dealers Association has clarified that there is no cement shortage in the state. Mr Ashok Juneja, President of the association, said in a press release that on the plea by the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA), some of the big companies had resorted to production cut for a very short period to clear surplus stocks and to check persistent fall in prices. He further said the move was a purely economic and financial planning of the cement manufacturers and there no politics was involved. According to Mr Juneja, routine supplies were arriving in Punjab. 

installed: Mr Kulwant Singh Dukhia, councillor of Ward No. 51, formally inaugurated the sodium lights project in the eight streets (No. 1 to 8) of Mohalla Mohar Singh Nagar. Speaking at occasion, he assured the residents that the pending development works in the locality would be undertaken at priority basis. Among others, Mr Sujan Singh Sahni, President, Gurdwara Chhewin Patshahi, Mr Atam Singh Bahl, Mr Baljit Singh Bindra, Mr Harjinder Singh Bhandari and Mr Baljit Singh Bali were present on the occasion. 

leader retireS: Mr Jagtar Singh Preet, state general secretary of the Punjab State Services Federation, was given a warm send off on his retirement from the post of Inspector in the Cooperative Department. The farewell function organised on the campus of the District Cooperative Union was presided over by Mr Jagdish Singh Garcha, Minister for Technical Education, Punjab. Prominent trade union activists, employees and officials of the Cooperative Department and others felicitated Mr Preet for his distinguished services. 

Pulse polio campaign: The Rotary Club of Ludhiana North claimed to have administered polio drops to more than 42,000 children through 65 posts, including mobile units in the district. This information was given by Mr Ravinder Kumar Singhania, secretary of the club. 

MALERKOTLA
APPOINTED: Mr Gurcharan Singh Samagh and Mr Pala Singh Chehal have been appointed senior vice-president and administrative general secretary, respectively, of the National Council of Rashtriya Employees Federation. This was stated by Mr Harbans Singh Sherpur, president of the federation, in a press note issued here.

ELECTION: Election for the district units of the Government Classical and Vernacular Teachers Union, Punjab, were held at Fatehgarh Sahib, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Nawanshahr, Patiala and Ropar. This was stated by Mr Harbhajan Singh Dhindsa, state president of the union, in a press note issued here on Sunday.

PATIALA
POSTAL STRIKE: The postal strike entered its sixth day in Patiala division on Monday even as counters at the General Post Office here remained vacant. A dharna was staged by postal employees in front of the GPO and a spokesman of the employees union said the strike would continue till demands of the employees were met by the government.

YOUTH FESTIVAL: Punjabi University secured the top position in all the five disciplines of the North Zone inter-university youth festival held at the MDU university at Rohtak, which was organised by the Association of Indian Universities in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Punjabi University students bagged three out of five champion trophies in the field of theatre, dance and literary events, besides winning the runners-up trophy of the festival.

DEMANDED: The Punjab College Librarians Association has demanded immediate implementation of agreements reached at in the meeting of the Human Resources Ministry, University Grants Commission and the All India Federation of University and College Teachers Organisation on October 6 between ministry officials and representatives of the Association. In two separate memorandums addressed to the Prime Minister and the HRD Minister , the association protested against the inordinate delay in issuing orders of the agreed demands of the librarians.

PHAGWARA
LOOTED: A petrol station on the G.T. Road was looted at gunpoint on Sunday. The robbers, who had come in a white Maruti Zen, roughed up three employees of the petrol station and decamped with Rs 25,000. The police is investigating the matter.

BLOOD DONATION:60 units of blood were donated at a blood donation camp, jointly organised by the Lions Club of Panchkula Central and Income Tax Department, Chandigarh, Central Revenue Building, Sector 17, here on Monday. This was stated by Mr Datt Sharma, charter president of the club.

PENSION: The Punjab Government has decided to revise family pensions of pensioners, who retired before January 1, 1996 , and in whose case family pension had not yet become operative, according to an official notification here on Monday. The notification says that the pensioners need to apply on the prescribed performa to the Accountant General, Punjab through the head of office from where they retired.

KASAULI
WATER SCARCITY: Water supply in Garkhal near here and surrounding areas remained suspended for the fifth day on Sunday. The department officials said a fault in the pumps had led to the failure of water supply and they were being repaired.

KULU
CHARAS SEIZED: The police has seized 11,400 kg of charas during the past two days. This was stated by Mr N. Venugopal, SP, in a press note issued on Monday.