INJURED: Eight persons were seriously injured in a road accident near Lakhnaur village on the Kharar-Kurali road on Thursday. Seven of them were referred to the PGI, Chandigarh. According to the Kurali police, eight persons were injured when a Punjab Roadways bus (PB-12-C-9827), which was going from Chandigarh to Jalandhar, and a truck (PUR-6772), which was coming from the Kurali side, collided. Five of the injured were taken to Civil Hospital, Kurali, while three were brought to Civil Hospital, Kharar. Giving information about the three injured in Civil Hospital, Kharar, Dr Rajiv Bhalla, Medical Officer, said the injured were of the same family — Apurba Bhardwaj (12), Akhil Bhardwaj (16), and Neena Bhardwaj (40). 

Ludhiana
marketing cell': Dr Joginder Singh, Head, Department of Economics and Sociology, Punjab Agricultural University, has stressed the establishment of marketing intelligence cell in the state in order to enable farmers, processors and traders to make rational decision for selecting the appropriate marketing for farm produce. In his article published in the recent issue of PAU magazine, Changi Kheti, Dr Joginder Singh revealed that in Japan there was 700 per cent custom duty on rice and 557 per cent on milk and he further said that Canada imposes 213 to 231 per cent custom duty on milk. As a result of this we are not in a position to export many of the farm commodities to the developed countries. Dr Singh also apprehended the adverse effects to the WTO on the developing countries. To meet the new challenges he suggested that we have to minimise the cost of production through judicious use of agricultural inputs. The arrangements for processing and packing of fruits, vegetables, mushroom and fish are also necessary in view of the location of Punjab at a distance from seashore. 

organised: A two-day training course for the cultivation of summer vegetables was organised by the Department of Extension Education, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, in collaboration with the Department of Vegetables Crops, PAU, on December 11 and 12, 2000. The course was organised for the benefit of Horticulture Development Officers of the state keeping in view the need of diversification in agriculture. The lectures were delivered by the various scientists of the Department of Vegetable Crops, Economics and Sociology, Plant Pathology, and Farm Power and Machinery. The scientists emphasised the need to diversify agriculture by adopting profitable crops such as chilli, brinjal, okra and cucurbitaceous vegetables and to adopt improved practices for their cultivation. Need for raising vegetables in off-season and market them at different places was also discussed. The particpants were made aware about the WTO Treaty. Dr B.S. Deol, and Dr D.S. Khurana, Coordinators of this programme, conducted field visits of the officers and showed practial problems and suggested their solutions. 

MALERKOTLA
FEE HIKE: The district unit of the Punjab Students Union has criticised Punjabi University, patiala, for its anti-students policies, including the steep hike in the fee of various courses in the colleges, the university and the Correspondence Department. Mr Gurmukh Singh Mann, district secretary of the union, said here on Thursday that if the university authorities failed to accept their demand of withdrawal of fee hike in correspondence courses, the union would be forced to launch an agitation.

MANSA
CENSUS: All arrangements for the second round of the Census have been completed in the district. A training workshop was held here on Tuesday in which the Director, Census (Operations), Punjab, Mr Raj Kamal Chaudhary, presided.

MOGA
DEMONSTRATION: Employees of the main branch of the State Bank of India on Wednesday staged a demonstration on the bank premises against the transfer of one of its employees, Mr Updesh Passi, by the management. The working of the bank remained suspended for over one hour.

PATHANKOT
SANGHARSH SAMITI: The Pathankot Zila Banao Sangharsh Samiti (PZBSS) has been struggling for two decades for the upgradation of the Pathankot subdivision to the district status. The president of the Sangharsh Samiti, Mr Ashok Parashar, on Wednesday requested the government to fulfil the demand. He threatened to intensify the stir if the demand was not met. Five members of the Bar Association sat on Dharna on Wednesday.

SAMRALA
World Disabled Day: Mr Jawahar Lal Duggal, local Employment Officer, said here on Thursday that World Disabled Day will be celebrated in the office premises on December 18, according to the instructions of the Punjab Government. The disabled youth would be given information regarding employment training, self-employment, rehabilitation and other help given by the Punjab Government. The officials from different banks and agencies would also participate. Mr. Duggal appealed to the disabled persons to participate in the programme. 

organised: A mass-marriage function will be organised by Mr Rajinder Dhoke, SSP, Khanna , on December 31, according to Mr Sushil Kumar, DSP, Samrala, here on Tuesday. Mr Sushil Kumar told the mediapersons that any poor person, may be under trial or in jail, but having a daughter of marriageable age could avail of the opportunity. The interested persons may contact him in his office before December 31 so that the case of his or her daughter may be forwarded to the SSP, Khanna, for consideration, he added. 

AMBALA
NUTRITION WORKSHOP: A nutrition advocacy workshop for Ambala division was held here on Thursday. It was organised by Food and Nutrition Board in collaboration with the Department of Women and Child Development, Haryana, and UNICEF. Dr Hanumantha Rao, former Deputy Director, National Institution of Nutrition, Hyderabad, said awareness about nutrition was the need of the hour. Ms Dheera Khandelwal, Director, Child and Women Development, Haryana, said literacy was the only key to developing countries to eradicate malnutrition of women and children among the rural masses. The Deputy Commissioner of Ambala, Mr D D Gautam, said the information regarding nutrition must be given to the people at the village level. 

10 ARRESTED: The Ambala range police on Thursday said that 10 persons who were found gambling were held in Yamunanagar. A sum of Rs 4275 was recovered from them. Three persons who were gambling were held on Wednesday. They were nabbed with Rs 1500 in their possession, a press note said. 

ANTI-ENCROACHMENT: On the directions of the Deputy Commissioner of Ambala, the Municipal Council and PWD B&R, assisted by the police, removed the encroachments on Jagadhari road on Thursday. The anti-encroachment drive had been on for the past three days on Jagadhari road and people there had been intimated that they must not keep their goods on government land. The defaulters were also challaned. The anti-encroachment drive would now take place in the main Sadar Market, a press note said. In Ambala city, the anti-encroachment drive took place from near government land close to Jagadhari Gate, where 25 extensions and six kiosks were removed. Fifteen ‘chappars’ were removed by shopkeepers themselves.

FARIDABAD
SMALL SAVINGS: The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anand Mohan Sharan, said here on Wednesday that the district had succeeded in persuading people to deposit an amount of Rs 154.68 crore in small savings upto November while the target from April, 2000, to March 2001, was of Rs 120 crore.

NARNAUL
POTABLE WATER: Residents of Meghot Binja village in Mahendragarh district are sore over the apathy on the part of the Public Health Department in providing potable water despite several reminders to it. Mr V. Raja Sekhar, Deputy Commissioner, accepted that there was a problem of water in the village. He assured that the district administration would sort out the problem.

KANGRA
RESIGNATION: Rakesh Kathuria a Correspondent of a Hindi daily, on Wednesday, resigned under protest from the membership of the District Market Committee for his alleged humiliation by a senior minister of Mr Dhumal’s Cabinet.

INJURED: At least 15 passengers were injured, two of them seriously, when a bus fell down into 30-foot deep khad on its way from Saliali to jassure at Naizpur on the Pathankot-Mandi highway on Wednesday evening, the police said here on Thursday. The bus, which was carrying 20 passengers, failed to negotiate a curve and fell down into the khud.

KUMARHATTI
LIQUOR SEIZED: The police seized 852 bottles of Indian-made foreign liquor worth Rs 1.75 lakh from a truck (HP 41-2679) near Timber Trail Resort on the Kalka-shimla national highway, 28 km from here on Tuesday. According to the police, the liquor was purchased from Ambala and was to be sold in Himachal pradesh. The police has impounded the truck and arrested the driver, Jai Dev, a resident of Jind in Haryana.

NURPUR
RESIDENTS SORE: Residents of the Housing Board Colony are sore over the callous attitude of the Housing Board authorities for its failure to provide even the basic civic amenities.

forest research: Mr R.P.S. Katwal, Director-General, Indian Council of Forest Research and Education, Dehradun, on Tuesday visited the Regional Horticulture Research Station, Jachh, near here. He was apprised of the ongoing research and extension activities of the station.

SHIMLA
COMPETITION: Ruchika Thakur of Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Solan, won the first position in the state-level seminar-cum-competition organised by the World Wild Life Fund for Nature to promote environment education in schools, here on Wednesday. Isha Dhiman of the local Hanault School and Tashi Dolma of Tibetan Children Village, Dharamsala, jointly bagged the second position and Vijay Kumari of Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Kulu, came third.