AMRITSAR
CELEBRATED: Tiny tots of DAV International School here celebrated Christmas on Friday. Children dressed up in various costumes depicted of the birth of Lord Jesus. The celebration concluded with the release of balloons.

MEDICAL CAMP: A medical check-up camp at Bal-Sachander village was organised by the Air Force Station, Rajasansi, on Thursday. Ms Ashwinder Ahluwalia, president of the local unit of the AFWWA and Group Captain M.S.Ahluwalia, Base Commander, inaugurated the camp. The Senior Medical Officer, Flt Lieut (Dr) A.S. Dhillon and his team examined around 600 patients and medicines were distributed free of cost.

BATHINDA
ALLEGED: Students of various educational institutions have alleged that they are being maltreated by bus conductors of private buses. Mr Rup Singh, leader of the ITI Students Union, alleged that the bus passes issued to them were not honoured by bus operators. He alleged that the administration was not serious about solving the problems of the students.

DRIVING SCHOOL: Tata India Limited will open a driving school at Jhumba village in the district shortly. After training , the trained drivers would be absorbed by the Tata group. Mr Jagroop Singh, president, district unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Youth wing) , said on Friday in a press note that the driving school would open new avenues for the youth of Punjab. He added that a middle pass persons was eligible to get admission in the school.

DHURI
LOOTED: Two scooter-borne youths looted Mr Karnail Singh, employee of the local Venus Gas Agency on Daulatpur Road, here on Thursday. According to Mr Karnail Singh , at about 4.15 p.m., two scooter-borne youths came to the agency and one of them took out a pistol and attempted to snatch the cash bag from him, which was foiled. However, the miscreants succeeded in looting Rs 800 from the bag and fled away.

FAZILKA
OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local Bar Association: president — Mr Subhash Chawla; vice- presidents— Mr Lakhwinder Handa and Mr Gurvinder Jindal; secretary — Mr Anup Munjal; and treasurer — Mr Rajesh Kasrija.

FEROZEPORE
BUS SERVICE: A delegation of city residents on Friday approached the Deputy Commissioner urging for a shuttle bus service for schoolchildren from the city to cantonment.

GURDASPUR
GANG BUSTED: The police has busted a gang which was involved in several cases of robberies and snatchings in Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts. Mr Varinder Kumar, SSP, in a press note issued on Friday, said Parvez Masih, alias Peji, Eagle, Bunti, Toni, Ghuggi, alias Kishori and Sukhwinder Singh, alias Tinkoo, of Amritsar have been arrested. Two members of the gang are still at large. The police has seized one pistol of .315 bore, 2 live cartridges, one toy pistol and 200 gm of charas from their possession.

HOSHIARPUR
CHEQUES DISTRIBUTED: Mr Charanjit Singh Channi, MP, has given cheques worth Rs 27.80 lakh for development projects from his fund to the gram panchayats of the Kandi area at a function held at Garhdiwala, 28 km from here.

JALANDHAR
POPPY HUSK SEIZED: The district police has arrested Javed Ahimed Bhatt of Avantipur in Jammu and Kashmir for allegedly smuggling 480 kg of poppy husk here on Friday. Mr Amar Singh Chahal, SP, addressing a press conference, said he had been caught from New Sabzi Mandi trying to smuggle the poppy husk hidden in 42 cartons containing apples.

KHAMANO
REVOKE BAN: The Bull-Cart Association, Punjab, has appealed to the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, that bull-cart races should not be banned because they were an integral part of the Punjabi culture. These races were being held since ancient times. The members met Mr Kirpal Singh, member, SGPC, who promised to take up the matter with Mr Badal.

KHANNA
ANNUAL FUNCTION: The annual function of the local A.S. Senior Secondary School was organised at the school premises here on Saturday. A cultural programme that included folk dances, songs and skits was held. The function started with Saraswati Vandna under the direction of Mr Ranjit Rana. Mr Resham Singh, IG Rohtak range, Haryana, was the chief guest. The function was presided over by SSP Khanna, Mr Rajinder Dhoke.

LUDHIANA
UPDATE PROGRAMME: An update programme on paediatrics anaesthesia was organised by the Department of Anaesthesiology and Resuscitation, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, in collaboration with North Zone ISA, at the Dumra Auditorium on Friday to update the knowledge of consultants and medical students about recent advances in the subject. The lecture was delivered by Dr Frederic A. Berry from the University of Virginia, USA, and Dr Dilip K. Pawar from the AIIMS, New Delhi. Dr T.K. Kaul, Head of the Anaesthesia department said, the concept of superspecialities like foetal anaesthesia and paediatric anaesthesia was picking up fast. Mr Prem Nath Gupta, secretary Managing Society, DMCH, who was the chief guest, said anaesthesia was known as the mother of surgery and for its advancement sharing of knowledge about its superspecialities was important.

ANIMAL WELFARE CAMPS: The Department of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Extension of PAU, in collaboration with the Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, and Chambal Fertilizers, organised an animal welfare camp at Bharowal Kalan village on Thursday. Experts diagnosed and treated 100 cases of buffaloes, cows, dogs, bullocks and horses free of cost. Majority of the cases were of reproductive disorders. The farmers were advised to adopt regular deworming, timely vaccination and proper managemental practices in animals. Another animal welfare camp was organised at Gureh village. Dogs with skin problems and neonatal mortality were treated. Sheep with chronic worm infestations and diarrhoea were also given medicines. The farmers were advised to get gynaecological examination of their dairy animals done regularly.

SHOP CLOSING: The Ludhiana Wholesale Footwear Dealers Association passed a resolution that all shopkeepers who were members of the association would keep their shops open on Sundays and closed on Mondays. The meeting was conducted under the chairmanship of Mr Harinder Singh at Akal Gadh market, Ghoda Bazar, here on Saturday.

CHECK-UP CAMP: Around 400 patients were examined in the medical check-up camp, organised by Atri Times Eye Research Foundation at Government High School, Ladhowal. A team of doctors, comprising Dr Baljit Singh Hora and Dr Sonia conducted the check-up for eye and dental ailments. Mr Bikramjit Singh Khalsa, MLA, who was the chief guest made a commitment to provide adequate funds for renovation of the school building.

DENIED: The Punjab State unit of Janata Dal (U) has not merged with the Lok Shakti. All the state and district level office-bearers, continue to be part of Janata Dal (U), led by Mr Sharad Yadav. Col P.J.S. Mehta, President and Mr Sukhchain Singh Tuli, vice-president of the state unit of the party have said that Mr Amar Singh Mehmi and Mr Kartar Singh, who had claimed the merger of the party with Lok Shakti, stood expelled from the Janata Dal (U) for anti-party activities. Similarly, Mr Jagir Singh Ganesh had also been served with a show cause notice after he joined Dalit Sena. These persons had no right to make any statement about the party affairs.

SEMINAR: The Engineering Exporters Association of India is organising a seminar on the importance of e-commerce in exports on December 26 at focal point. Mr Rajinder Jindal, president of the association in a press release said that the manager of SGS e-commerce, Delhi, will make presentations on the topic. The seminar is being organised as part of upgradation of the industry. Mr Jindal requested members to make full utilisation of the opportunity.

DEMANDED: The hosiery sector of Ludhiana was passing through difficult times. The imposition of first stage sales tax on all stages such as fibre, top, yarn and waste of yarn at the rate of 4.4 per cent, had made it difficult to compete in the international market. Mr P. D. Sharma, president of the APEX Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Punjab), in a press note released today, said: “The imposition of sales tax at so many stages was highly discriminatory. Smaller units had to pay sales tax at every stage though they had in-house processes.” He urged the government to review first stage tax in this sector and wait for the introduction of VAT.

CONDEMNED: Mr Joginder Kumar and Mr Man Mohan Singh Ubhi, President and Secretary of Ludhiana Electroplaters Association respectively, have condemned the collection of cess under Social Security Act from April, 2000, especially from those units which were enjoying exemption of sales tax. They pointed out the cess which was not collected/charged by the their dealers, was uncalled for. Mr Joginder Singh urged the CM to direct the financial department and the Sales Tax Department to keep in abeyance the collection of this cess. A meeting should be convened with the industry representatives to sort out the matter.

TT TOURNEY: The Sacred Heart Convent School (SHCS), Sarabha Nagar, got the third position in the recently held 4th Inter-Cluster National CBSE Table Tennis tournament at Jaipur. The school team represented Cluster 12, comprising Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, in the tournament. Disney Ryiat, Rubal Arora, Raghav Khanna and Karan Sood were the members of the team. Disney Ryiat of SHCS clinched the gold. Disney was the only unbeaten player in the tournament. He dethroned the defending champion Rajat Chopra of Delhi 2-1. In the quarterfinals, SHCS defeated Padma Sheshadri Senior Secondary School, Chennai 3-1. But SHCS lost to this year’s champion Hans Raj Model Senior Secondary School, Delhi 2-3.

MALERKOTLA
AGARWAL SABHA: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local Agarwal Sabha: president — Mr Mohan Lal Singla; vice-presidents — Mr Pawan Kumar Modi and Mr Sat Pal Jindal; general secretary — Mr Ramesh Jain; secretary — Mr Parmod Jain; and treasurer — Mr Durga Parshad Garg.

MANSA
ACCOUNTS ASSOCIATION: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Western Zone of Accounts and Audit Association of Punjab State Electricity Board: president — Mr Ramji Dass Garg (Mansa); vice-president — Mr Jasvir Singh (Ferozepore); secretary — Mr Satpal Singh (Bhucho Mandi); finance secretary — Mr Davinder Kumar (Rampura Phul); press secretary — Mr Sarwanjit Kumar Kaushal (Bathinda); and office secretary — Mr Darshan Gopal (Talwandi Sabo).

SUSPICIOUS DEATH: Vishavdeep Singla (23), an MBA student, died in a road accident at Pinjore in Haryana on Friday. He had gone to Chandigarh to appear for an MBA examination. The fact that he was barefooted at the time of death has raised suspicions. His friend Sanjeev Kumar, an employee at Parwanoo, with whom he stayed for few days, was not available. Police officials visited here to inquire into the accident. However, the SHO, Pinjore, Mr Babu Lal, has confirmed it as a case of accident.

CPI RALLY: Mr Hardev Singh Arshi, MLA, said a rally would be organised on December 30 to celebrate the platinum jubilee of the CPI at Budhlada . The rally would be addressed by Mr A.B. Bardhan, national general secretary, among others, he added.

MOGA
FARMERS’ COMPLAINT: Farmers all over the state on Friday complained that they had not received the compensation given by the Union Government to the Punjab Chief Minister for the losses they had suffered due to distress sale of paddy. They asked the Punjab Government to give compensation.

PATHANKOT
YUG RATTAN AWARD: Mr Banka Bahadur Arora was given Yug Rattan award by the Management Studies Promotion Institute , New Delhi, for his outstanding achievement and services in the field of art and culture. The award was presented by Dr B. Sat Narayain Reddy, a former Governor of Uttar Pradesh and Orrisa.

PATIALA
CHECK-UP CAMP: A voluntary organisation, dedicated Brothers Group, is organising a free health check-up camp at Jai Kaur Nivas, Primary High School, Bajwa Colony, here on Sunday from 9.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. The camp will be inaugurated by Dr Rakesh Vermi, founding President of the group. Senior specialist doctors will look into the needs of the patients and provide the needy with free medicines.

ELECTED: The Citizens for Social Action, Patiala, have been elected the following office-bearers: president — Mr H.S. Arora, vice-president — Mr G.S. Dandona; secretary — Col Bishen Dass (Retd) and treasurer — Dr Ranghbir Singh.

NSS CAMP: A 10-day NSS camp at the Government College for Girls, Sector 11, started here on Saturday. Ms Vijay Lakshmi, Principal of the college, inaugurated the camp. Speaking on the occasion she stressed upon the students to participate in the social activities meant for the betterment of society. During the camp the volunteers would take on cleanliness and tree plantation drives. Drives on AIDS awareness and youth for voluntary action would also be taken up.

DONATED: The vice-district governor of the Lions International District 321F visited the Lions Club Chandigarh Nightingale and donated an artificial limb to a amputee on behalf of the club members. Speaking on the occasion, Mr D K Sood, the chief guest said that more such projects are needed to be taken up. This was stated by Ms Sushma Malhotra, president of the club in a press note, here on Saturday.

CONGRATULATED: Mr Bhupinder Kumar Jain, president of the Association of members of Palika Bazar, Sector 19, congratulated Mr Raj Kumar Goyal and Mr Gurcharan Das Kala on their election as Mayor and deputy Mayor, respectively.

PANCHKULA
EXTENDED WORKING HOURS: The State Bank of Hyderabad, Sector 4, would extend its working hours from 9.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m., during the first week of January, 2001. The bank was opened on January 27, last year. Mr V.K. Panjiyara, branch manager in a press note, said that services like instant drafts, multi-option deposit scheme and ATM card would be soon provided at the branch.

WINS: Mr Rakesh Walia, a philatelist, won a bronze medal for his book ‘Stamp Collection for beginners’ in the literature class in INDEPEX - ASIAN 2000, held in Calcutta, recently. He works in CITCO and has won the medal for the second time.

YATRA: The Shri Shyam Gungan Yatra, would reach the city on December 25. The yatra is coming from Punjab and would be received at Sanatan Dharam Mandir, Sector 23, at 12 noon. The yatra would enroute the Sectors 22, 21, 20 and would terminate at the Prachin Hanuman Mandir, Sector 32.

CAMP CONCLUDED: On the last of the 10-day NSS camp at Panjab Engineering College, Sector 12, the volunteers enacted a colourful cultural programme, here on Saturday. The volunteers also spoke about their experiences during the camp. In afternoon the volunteers spend their time in a friendly cricket match. This was stated by Mr Sumit Mittal, activities incharge in a press note.

CANCER DETECTION CAMP: Around 80 persons, including teachers, parents and class IV students, were examined at a free cancer-detection camp organised by the Global Cancer Concern India at St Kabir School in Sector 26 here today. A team of four doctors examined the patients.

HISAR
INJURED: Some car-borne youths fired at Des Raj, a truck driver, injuring him seriously on the Hisar-Delhi national highway here on Thursday. He was admitted to the local Civil Hospital . A case has been registered.

JIND
ELECTED: Mr Jagroop Singh Sheokand, was elected president of the Bar Association, Narwana, at an election held on Friday. Mr Sheokand defeated his rival Mr Jogi Ram Nain by a margin of seven votes.

KAITHAL
BAR ASSOCIATION: The following have been elected office-bearers of the district Bar Association Kaithal: president — Mr Swai Ram; vice-president — Mr Vijay Sharma; general secretary — Mr Om Parkash Sharma; and treasurer — Mr Ajay Sharma.

KURUKSHETRA
REFRESHER COURSE ENDS: Mr R.S. Chaudhry, Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, stressed upon the latest trends in education in his valedictory address at a function at the Department in Education in the university on the concluding day of the Refresher Course in Education which had begun on December 2. The refresher course in education was inaugurated by the Vice-Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, Prof S.K.Gupta.

NAHAN
YOUTH FESTIVAL: A state- level Youth Festival would be held at Nahan from January 3 to 5, according to the Additional District Magistrate, Mr Vikar Lahroo , at a meeting of officers here on Friday. As many as 300 participants from all over the state are expected to compete in various competitions.