The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Sunday, December 17, 2000,
Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

R E G I O N A L B R I E F S

PUNJAB

BATHINDA
AYURVEDIC CAMP: The Vishvas Institute will organise an Ayurvedic camp at Vishvas Ashram, Natha Singh Street, here on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mr Rishi Dinesh, organiser of the camp, said the patients would be treated free of cost.

OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Rashtriya Mulazam Dal: executive president — Mr Gurcharan Singh Samagh; senior vice-presidents — Mr Iqbal Singh, Mrs Nutan and Mr Pala Singh; vice-presidents — Dr Harwinder kaur and Mr Gurdev Singh; and general secretary — Mr Nachhatar Singh.

FEROZEPORE
DEMONSTRATION: Members of the State Bank of India Staff Association on Friday staged a demonstration in protest against the transfer of their colleague, Mr Updesh Passi, allegedly on flimsy grounds. The district secretary of the association, Mr P.K. Talwar, threatened to intensify the stir if the matter was not reconsidered.

GURDASPUR
FOUNDATION STONE: The foundation stone of the District Administrative Complex will be laid in February. Mr B. Vikram, Deputy Commissioner, said the project would be undertaken by PUDA, which has floated tenders in this regard.

JALANDHAR
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Punjab Excise and Taxation Officers Association: President — Mr Jaskaran Singh Brar, vice-presidents — Mr S.S. Cheema, Mr L. S. Jakhar and Mr P.S. Sidhu; general secretary — Mr P.S. Randhawa; and treasurer — Mr J.S. Bhambra.

KHAMANO
beaten up: A ex-serviceman, Mr Jarnail Singh of Amrala village today alleged that he was beaten up by the DSP, Khamano, on December 12. He has demanded an inquiry into the incident by higher authorities. He also sought the intervention of the Punjab Human Rights Commission.

Seminar: A seminar on AIDS was organised at Government High School, Favour village in which school children from the neighbouring villages of Jatana Ucha and Lakhanpur took part. There were competitions on songs, poems and models to create awareness about the disease. Mr Babu Singh Chouhan (MC) and Mr J.L. Nanda, a noted writer, gave away the prizes.

Car found: The Khamano police has taken into custody an unidentified Maruti van near Khant village. The car bears registration number PIR-7070.

Workshop: A two-day block-level training workshop was organised here at the Government Senior Secondary School in which a large number of panches and sarpanches participated. The workshop was organised by the Panchayati Raj Department, Punjab. During the two-day workshop, Mr Devinder Singh Walia, ADC; Mr Nirbhai Singh, SDM; Mr Kesar Singh and Ms Ohri addressed the villagers. The main thrust of the workshop was on education and health and special care for women and children.

KHANNA
Mass-marriage: A mass-marriage function will be organised by the management of the local gurdwara, Sri Guru Singh Sabha, on January 1, 2001, at the local A.S. College for Women, according to Mr Avtar Singh Sethi, the gurdwara president. He said that any number of poor and needy parents could get the names of their daughters registered with the gurdwara manager. More than 20 names had already been registered. All poor girls who manage to get registered for the purpose, will be married at the function, he added.

LUDHIANA
CII fair: The Confederation of India Industries (northern region), will organise CII Ludhiana fair on December 22 at Punjab Agricultural University. According to an official press release, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister, Punjab, will be the chief guest on the occasion.

alleged: The Punjab Taxi Operator’s Union has urged the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, to take action against certain officials of the Transport department of Moga for their alleged illegal challaning of two private vehicles. In a press note, Mr Inder Pal Singh claimed that the officials challaned two tempo travellers, having an all-India permit, on the charges of having a stereo fitted in it. He alleged that the officials challaned the vehicle because the tempo driver had refused to pay a bribe.

Attempt to loot: Mr Amar Nath, resident of Arya Colony, complained to the police that two persons tried to loot him last night when he was on his way home. The police has rounded up a suspect, but no case has been registered. While the Kotwali police said it has not registered a case, as the complainant had not approached the police after making the initial complaint, the complainant said he had visited the police station but the police refused to register case. It is alleged that persons threw chili powder in the eyes of Mr Amar Nath and his friend, riding pillion on his scooter. However, as Mr Amar Nath wore spectacles, he was able to see the alleged attackers. The two then tried to snatch a bag full of cash from the complainant, but failed as the complainant managed to hold onto it.

appointed: The Governor of Punjab has appointed Mr A.R. Salwan as Assistant Drugs Controller, Office of the Director Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, Chandigarh, with immediate effect, according to Mr P.K. Verma, principal secretary to the Government of Punjab, Department of Health and Family Welfare.

hailed: The appointment of Mr. Jagmeet Brar, M.P. as party whip by Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) has been widely hailed in the party circles here. Mr Sukhwant Singh Dugri, Vice President, Punjab Youth Congress and Mr Jaswinder Singh Hussainpura Vice Chairman of Block Samiti have said that Mrs. Gandhi had made a right choice in view of the fact that Mr Brar had always raised his voice for genuine demands of Punjab in the Lok Sabha and had championed the cause of the sikhs, farmers, the poor and other weaker section all over the country. Expressing gratitude to Mrs Sonia Gandhi and the party high command for entrusting the responsibility to Mr Brar, they were confident that Mr Brar would continue to spearhead the party debate in the parliament and would pursue the cause of Punjab and Punjabis more vigorously.

demands conceded: A deputation of Class IV Government Employees and Workers Union met the Executive Engineer, Sirhind Canal, Sidhwan Division here, to press for acceptance of pending demands. The deputation, comprising Mr Sukhwinder Singh, chairman, Mr Harbhajan Singh, general secretary, Mr Sat Pal Suman, general secretary and Mr Pardip Kumar, treasurer of the union, was told that explicit instructions had been issued to Subdivisional Officers, Sidhwan and Zira, that repair of working tools and residential quarters should be started immediately, arrears on account of uniforms be paid within one week, advance of GP Fund be approved and all other pending demands be settled soon. The deputation told the officers that those responsible for beating up employees on duty on November 21 in the division office here had not been arrested so far even after registration of cases on the basis of medico Legal reports.

criticised: The Sarb Hind Youth Shiromani Akali Dal has strongly criticised the SAD-BJP government led by Mr Parkash Singh Badal, for what it termed as unprecedented and unbearable burden of taxes upon the poor masses of Punjab. Mr Sukhwinder Pal Singh Garcha, General Secretary of the party said in a statement here today that the people of Punjab had voted in favour Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP combine as they were fed up with the Congress misrule. But to the utter dismay and frustration of the people, the present government had failed to deliver goods and provide any kind of relief. He said the law and order situation in Punjab had worsened but the government had failed to take note and initiate remedial measures. Mr Garcha added that his party, headed by former SGPC president Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra will continue to raise voice of protest against misdeeds of the government and to safeguard the interests of the masses.

MANSA
SEIZED: The Bhikhi police has arrested eight persons, allegedly involved in the smuggling of poppy husk and illicit liquor, and seized 316.8 kg of poppy husk and 61 bottles of liquor from their possession. Mr Balwinder Singh Romana, Deputy Superintendent of Police, stated this here on Saturday.

MOGA
RECOVERED: The police has arrested Gurditta Mal of the Civil Lines area here for allegedly stealing a scooter belonging to Mr Som Dutt Gupta, a local resident. The stolen scooter has been recovered by the police.

NANGAL
ELECTED: Dr K.R. Arya has been unanimously elected the president of the Fertilisers Officers Association of the NFL, Naya Nangal, for a period of two years.

MELA: Surabhi Mahila Milan, an organisation of the wives of NFL employees, will organise a mela at the NFL stadium on Sunday. The mela will be inaugurated by Mr Dinesh Singh, CMD of the NFL.

NAWANSHAHR
SEMINAR HELD: The Krishi Vigyan kendra, Langroya, organised a seminar on “Impact of WTO policies on Indian Agriculture” at Langroya, about 5 km from here, on Friday. Dr Jaspinder Singh Kolar, Director, Extension Education at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, presided over the seminar in which more than 150 farmers from the region participated.

PATIALA
VIJAY DIWAS: The 29th anniversary of Vijay Diwas was celebrated at the Shaheed Smarak here on Saturday to pay tributes to the brave soldiers who laid down their lives during the Indo-Pak 1971 war. Prominent among those who laid wreaths were Brig C.S. Harika, Lt General G.S. Brar (Retd) , Mr R.S. Randhawa, Additional Deputy Commissioner on behalf of the district administration, Mr N.S. Sekhon, Superintendent Police, on behalf of the district police and Capt.Manjit Singh Dhindsa, Deputy Director, Sainik Welfare Board.

PSEB: The National Coordination Committee and Electricity Employees Engineers (Punjab unit) have warned the Punjab State Electricty (PSEB) management against victimising staff who went on a day long strike on December 12. In a press note, the committee, at a meeting held here on Saturday, called upon all Members of Parliament not to recognise the proposed Electricity Bill-2000.

PHAGWARA
CAR STOLEN: A Maruti car was stolen from Satnampura locality here on Friday. The owner of the car, Mr Gursharan Singh, who is an NRI, has lodged a complaint with the police.

KAVI DARBAR: A kavi darbar was organised by the Navchetna Sahit and Kala Manch along with the Bhasha Vibhag, Patiala at Mohan Lal Uppal DAV College here on Friday. Noted Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi poets participated in the event.

SAMANA
BLOOD DONATION CAMP: A blood donation camp was organised at the local Public College by the NSS unit of the college on Friday. Mr Jasbir Singh Vir, Deputy Commissioner, Patiala, inaugurated the camp. More than 60 students donated blood. Mr Baldev Raj Chawla, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, also visited the camp.

CHANDIGARH

POETRY RECITATION: Department of French, Panjab University, organised a poetry recitation competition on the occasion of the celebration of the “French family” event in the department. The department also organised a intra-department poetry recitation contest between the students of the Masters course and the students of the Certificate course. Deepika Som of MA Ist year won the overall first prize while Anubha, Harleen, Shaminder and Gurdarshan of the certificate course won the rest of the prizes. Head of the Department, Ms Gurneeta, stated that she was surprised to discover that the students at the certificate level were infact scoring above the ones at the degree level.

APPOINTMENT FLAYED: The members of the Khalsa Panchayat have condemned the appointment of Giani Puran Singh as the Head Granthi of the Golden Temple, besides flaying the SGPC for mocking the glorious Sikh traditions and values. According to Mr Rajinder Singh, convener of the panchayat, it may be recalled that the new appointee had made some very “unfortunate and irresponsible” statements during his tenure as the Jathedar of the Akal Takht, thus encouraging the RSS to sharpen their malicious campaign against the Sikh Panth. He appealed to the all Singh Sahibs to pass a gurmata, cancelling the appointment, and urged them to appoint a person with an unblemished past to the prestigious post.

DISTRIBUTED: The members of Lions Club Rose and Lion Club Supreme, Chandigarh jointly distributed woollens and clothes to 135 women and children of Labour Colony in Sector 31 at the SCOVA dispensary in the colony. Presidents of the two clubs Lion Sanjay mehndiratta and Lion Renu Bali exhorted the staff at the dispensary to make the women aware of family health schemes and to involve more and more women in the family planning campaign. Region Chairman, Lion B.S. Garcha, District Cabinet Treasurer, Lion B.S. jaswal, District Chairman, PR, Lion Satish Seth were also present on the occasion.

KHARAR
FOUR BOOKED: The local police registered a case under Sections 325 and 34, IPC, against Kuldeep Singh and three others on Friday on the charge of causing grievous hurt to Mr Raunk Singh of Desu Majra village. The police has started investigations into the matter.

DOWRY: Ms Harinder Sidhu, Judicial Magistrate, Kharar, today remanded Tarsem Singh and his father in police custody till Saturday. They were arrested and booked by the Sohana police on the charge of demanding dowry.

PANCHKULA
HEALTH CAMP: State Bank of Patiala, Haryana zone, and Priya Sharma Charitable Trust, Panchkula, organised a health check-up camp at Sheran Wali Mandir, Rajiv Colony, on Friday. A total of 331 patients were given free medical check-up and medicines by six doctors, stated a press note of the bank.

MEDICAL CHECK-UP: As many as 331 patients, mostly migrant labourers, were examined at a health check-up camp, jointly organised by the State Bank of Patiala, Haryana Zone, and Piya Sharma Charitable Trust, Panchkula, in the Sheran Walla Mandir in Rajiv Colony here on Saturday. The needy and poor patients were also given medicines free of cost. With a view to promoting health consciousness amongst the poor and under privileged, a ‘Healthy baby show’ was also organised in which as many as 25 children upto the age of two years participated.

ANNUAL FUNCTION: Mr R.S. Chaudhary, Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra University urged the students and the teachers to imbibe good moral values and live healthy. Mr Chaudhary was speaking at the annual function of the Valley Public School in Mansa Devi Complex, here today. He observed that new technology had made life more mechanical and students would get good opportunities to build their careers, informed Ms Anita Awasthi, Principal of the school.

ASSOCIATION: The Haryana Cooperative Gazetted Officers Association, Chandigarh, has condemned the state government’s decision of closing down four Cooperative Apex Institutions which include HARCOFED, INFED, HOUSEFED and HANDLOOM. The spokesman of the association informed that the decision had badly affected the cooperative movement.

COURT MARTIAL: The Panchkula Press Club will stage a play ‘Court Martial’ at Hansraj Public School, Sector 16 on Sunday. Mr M.S. Malik, DGP, Haryana, will be the chief guest, informed Mr Vipin Garg, general secretary of the club.

HARYANA

AMBALA
ASSOCIATION: The Haryana Sarafa Association has summoned a meeting at Panipat on December 24. This was stated by Mr Giyan Chand, secretary of the association, in a statement on Wednesday. Mr Gupta said the issue of imposing sales tax on gold ornaments by the state government would be discussed at the meeting. He added that this issue would also be raised at the meeting of the All-India Sarafa Association being organised at Delhi on December 17.

PROMOTIONS: The Inspector General of Police, Ambala Range, has promoted 15 Assistant Sub Inspectors (ASI) to the post of Sub Inspector (SI). The ASIs who have now become SI include Naresh Kumar, Ram Kumar, Amar Nath, Rakam Singh, Avtar Singh, S. Ram, Darshan Singh, Sunder Singh, Rameshwar Das, Rajpal, Jai Pal, Maha Singh, Avtar Singh, Jai Ram and Om Prakash, a note said.

TRACTOR RECOVERED: With the arrest of two persons, the police at Shahzadpur on Saturday claimed to have recovered a stolen tractor. Acting on a tip-off, the police detected the tractor being driven near the T point of village Sadiq Pur. The police has nabbed Pawan Kumar Saini and Gyan Chand. The duo had stolen the tractor from a resident of Ladwa, Dharam Pal.

GOLDEN JUBLEE: PKR Jain Senior Secondary School Ambala City will celebrate its week-long golden jubilee function from Monday to Sunday. According to the president of the management of the school, Mr Bharat Bhushan Jain and the secretary, Mr Arun Kumar Jain, besides, the cultural functions the foundation stone of PKR Jain Institute of Technology would also be laid on this occasion by Mrs Aruna Oswal.

FARIDABAD
GANG BUSTED: The police has busted a gang of thieves with the arrest of Ballu, Satbir, Raju, Goverdhan, Dharambir, Bhura and Rajesh. The police also received some stolen goods and impounded two tractors used by the thieves.

JHAJJAR
NEW EXCHANGE: The newly constructed telephone exchange at Bahadurgarh subdivision of the district will start functioning by the end of this year. This exchange, with a capacity of 10,500 telephone lines, is based on an advanced German technique, Mr Deepak Garg, DGM, Telecom Department said.

JIND
SPECIAL CAMPS: The Social Welfare Department , Haryana, will organise special camps at Safidon, Pillukhera, Alewa and Narwana blocks of the district from December 18 to 22 for the identification of handicapped persons. This was stated by Mr H.S. Dhankhar, Deputy Commissioner, here on Friday. he said identity cards would be issued to handicapped persons to enable them to avail the benefits under various schemes of the government.

KALKA
JAIL: The Kalka police has registered a case against six persons, who a few days back, had forcibly entered a house and mercilessly beaten up a youth. The household items were also damaged by them. Five of the six persons have been arrested by the police, and were produced in court at Panchkula on Friday. The magistrate sent them to jail and their bail was not accepted.

SIRSA
CASE REGISTERED: A dowry case under Sections 498A, 406,452 and 323 of the IPC has been registered against Sashi Kant, his mother Santi, and brothers Anand Kumar, Tara Chand, Ashok Kumar, and Rama Kant of Tara Nagar, Rajasthan, and sister Urmila and her husband Shyam Lal of Dabwali in the district, for allegedly torturing Nisha, wife of Sashi kant. This was stated by the district police chief here on Friday.

FINANCIAL AID: A grant of Rs 1,30,000 has been distributed among 262 women in the district under state government’s “apni beti, apna dhan” scheme. This was stated by the Deputy Commissioner here on Friday. He said under this scheme, a sum of Rs 500 is given to the women belonging to Scheduled Castes, backward classes and those living below poverty line, on the birth of a girl child.

ARRESTED: The Baragudah police has arrested Harmeet Singh of Suratgarhia Bazar, who was wanted in a case registered under Sections 279/304A of the IPC. He has been arrested on the basis of a complaint lodged by Mr Swarn Kumar of Panniwala Mota village. Mr Swarn Kumar had alleged that on November 25, his 10-year-old sister was overrun by Harmeet Singh’s car.

POLICE RECRUITMENT: The recruitment of constables in Haryana Armed Police from among the ex-servicemen candidates will be held in Sirsa Police Lines on December 20. Stating this here on Saturday, Mr Alok Roy, SSP, said the ex-servicemen who were discharged from service after December 1, 1998, were eligible for the recruitment.

SONEPAT
DRINKING WATER : Resentment prevails among residents of the city against the alleged overchlorination of drinking water being supplied. Many residents approached the SE, Public Health , and apprised him of the problem.

ARRESTED: Officials of the Murthal police station raided a dhaba on the G.T. Road near Murthal Chowk and arrested Rajinder Singh of Malikpur village on the charge of selling contraband opium on Friday. The police also recovered 10 gm of contraband opium from his possession. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against him.

RECORD STOLEN: Official record relating to the birth of the children of a panch was reportedly stolen at Barwasni village of the district on Friday. A complaint to this effect has been made to the Deputy Commissioner, demanding action against the said panch, who has three children and cannot contest the panchyat election.

DC GHERAOED: Members of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha and the Sarv Samarpan Sangh gheraoed the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Sudhir Rajpal, outside the Panchyat Bhavan here on Friday to press for the acceptance of their demand to repair the Sonepat -Purkhas road. They also raised slogans against the administration.

HELD: The police arrested Ajay Kumar of Mahavir Colony on the charge of satta gambling on Friday and recovered a mobile phone and Rs 12,600 from his possession. This was stated by Mr A.S. Chawla, Superintendent of Police, here on Saturday.

FIRE: Goods worth about Rs 15 lakh were reduced to ashes in a devastating fire which broke at a foam factory in the industrial area here on Friday. Fire tenders reached the spot and brought the fire under control in three hours. No loss of life was reported in the fire as the workers were away during the lunch interval. Mr Ashok Yadav, Additional Deputy Commissioner, and Mr Hardeep Singh Doon, DSP (Headquarters), visited the site.

POLICE PATROLLING: Mr A.S. Chawla, Superintendent of Police, on Saturday, ordered police patrolling around Gita Bhawan Chowk for the safety of the shopkeepers, particularly in the evening. Earlier, he convened a special meeting of the shopkeepers to redress their grievances.