LUDHIANA
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Lodhi Club for the year 2001-2002: general secretary — Mr Bal Mahajan; treasurer — Mr Krishan Kumar; cultural secretary — Mr Sunil Aggarwal; mess secretary — Dr B.S. Sekhon; executive members — Dr Rajeev Gupta and Mr Jaspal S. Thukral; sports secretary — Mr Jogesh Gupta; bar secretary — Mr Gagan Kumar Pal; landscape and maintenance secretary — Mr Krishan Lal Chabra. 

MEDICAL CAMP: A medical check-up camp was held in the market of Sector 32, PUDA colony, on Sunday. The camp was organised by the LIG Flats Welfare Association in collaboration with a local nursing home. Mr T.R. Khurana, President of the Association, in a press note informed that about 500 persons were checked-up by a panel of doctors. Dr K.D. Singh (eye specialist), Dr Rajinder Singh (bone specialist), Dr Sandeep Kumar (ENT specialist), Dr Neelam Pandey (gynaecologist) were among the doctors who checked the patients. 

FLAYED: The Congress MP, Mr Gurcharan Singh Ghalib, along with other senior party functionaries has expressed serious concern over the exploitation of potato growers and the total indifference of the state government towards the plight of farmers. The Congress activists further described the so-called Rs 350 crore package announced by the Centre for paddy growers as a ‘fraud’, because till date, no relief had been provided to farmers out of the funds received by the state government. Apprehending a still worse situation of the coming wheat crop, they said that if the prevailing situation of the farmers was allowed to continue, the farm economy in Punjab would be destroyed. 

COMMITTEE REORGANISED: The executive committee of the district unit of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has been reorganised with the approval of the party high command. Giving details, senior vice-president of the party informed that Mr Ashok Khullar, Mr Amar Takkar, Mr Tejinder Bedi, Mr Ashwani Bhalla and Mr Nathaniel Gill would be the new vice-presidents, while Mr Ashish Nanchahal, Mr Vimal Gulati, Mr Puneet Singh Thakur, Mr Hem Raj Jindal, Mr Sahil Popli and Mr Ajay Takkar have been appointed general secretaries. Other office bearers of the party are Dr Sanjay Sharma — organising secretary; Mr Jatinder Soni, Mr Mohan Lal — secretaries. Mr Atul Kumar — joint secretary, Mr Maninder Singh — vice-president (Dakha); Mr Ravinder Singh Bittu, Mr Anup Sharma — general secretaries (Dakha); Mr Shiv Kumar Sahdev — senior vice-president (Ludhiana North), Mr Chanchal Vij — senior vice-president Trade Union Cell. 

POLICE INACTION FLAYED: A deputation of SAD (B) and Sikh Students Federation (Bhoma Group), led by senior Akali Dal leader, Mr Avtar Singh Makkar, met the party president and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at the Circuit House on Sunday evening to complain against police inaction in the murderous assault on Mr Paramjit Singh Pammi, circle president, Salem Tabri, here. The Akali Dal functionaries told Mr Badal that the police had neither arrested the accused nor had appropriate sections of the CrPC been entered in the FIR. The role of the SSP was also severely criticised, with ruling party workers alleging that the top brass of the police were conniving with criminal elements and giving the party and government a bad name. 

GAUSHALA DEATHS: The District Youth Congress (DYC) has condemned the cover-up bid by the Municipal Corporation administration on the death of cows in MC-run gaushala. Mr Parminder Mehta, president of the DYC has said in a statement that suspension of certain junior employees, on the basis of a preliminary report, was in fact an attempt to hush up the matter and save the ‘big sharks’. Reiterating the demand for a probe by the CBI or a High Court Judge in the matter, Mr Mehta urged the MC Commissioner to let the truth out and also ensure that the gaushala was not closed down. The MC-run gaushala should be renovated at a war footing to provide all necessary facilities to the cows and in the meanwhile, the private gaushalas, where the cows had been shifted for the time being, should be provided with adequate financial assistance. 

PATIALA
IMPROVEMENT IN BANUR: The improvements in Banur area will be discussed with Panchayats in February and such meetings will be held everyday in at least five villages, Captain Kawaljit Singh, Finance and Planning Minister, said at Fatehpur Behra village in Dera Bassi, subdivision of Patiala on Monday. He stated that the improvements made during the last four years were never made in the past 50 years. He added that further improvements were possible only with the help of panchayats which must profitably use the various grants given by the government. He assured recarpetting of new routes for buses apart from reconstruction of various school buildings. 

OIL CONSERVATION: Inaugurating “Oil Conservation Fortnight” at PCA Stadium in SAS Nagar, Punjab’s Minister for Food and Supplies, Mr M.M. Mittal, on Monday stressed the need to conserve oil. According to a press release, the minister also quoted the example of countries like the USA where people were concerned about preserving oil though they had reserve which would last for 100 years. The press release added that the “fortnight” was being observed at the national level with theme “Conservation of petroleum products for the future”. 

POWER FAILURE: Four houses in Sector 39-D are without electricity since Sunday morning due to power failure here. The residents complained that they were facing a lot of problems because of the power failure. They said they had informed the Electricity Department but no action had been taken. No official of the department could not be contacted. 

DEMANDED: The Income Tax Bar Association on Monday demanded certain amendments in the Income Tax Act. In a memorandum to the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes through the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, North West Region, Mr JS Ahluwalia, the association demanded that the limit of the exemption on the leave encashment and gratuity be enhanced to give relief to the employees opting for the voluntary retirement scheme. Demanding the hike in limit of the compulsory audit from the present Rs 40 lakh to 1 crore, the memorandum demanded incentives for the poultry and dairy farmers. The memorandum suggested that the assessee, looking after his aged parents be given special deduction subject to his furnishing a certificate from his parents. The TDS should cover all types of transactions, it added. 

WORKSHOP ON ENVIRONMENT: About 55 representatives of government and non-government organisations participated in a workshop organised at Karuna Sadan by the Environment Society of India (ESI) on Monday. Mr Swaran Singh, Director, Environment, Haryana, while inaugurating the workshop of the government and non-government organisations selected under the National Environment Awareness Campaign (NEAC) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, asked the participants to carry out an innovative action programme to save environment and medicinal plants and animal and bird species in their area. President, ESI, Mr S.K. Sharma, talked about the various environment related problems in Haryana. He asked the NGOs to involve bank industry and various other departments of the Haryana Government and set an example so that their programmes could be replicated in other states. 

ELECTED: Mr Harbhajan Singh has been elected as the president of the Life Partners Memorial Welfare Association during a meeting held at Saini Bhavan on Saturday. Other office-bearers who were elected are as follows: founder patron — Sant Shah Singh; vice-president — Mr H.R. Malik; secretary — Mr Harbans Singh; treasurer — Mr S.P. Prashar; and chief advisor — Mr K.L. Arora. 

STATUS SOUGHT: Mayor Raj Kumar Goyal today stated that he will strive to get sector-level status for Mani Majra and Shivalik Enclave. He had visited Mani Majra and Shivalik Enclave on Monday. Mr Goyal pointed out that this has been a long pending demand of the residents of the area, who feel that despite development they have not got their due. Even though they spend lakhs on construction of their houses, it is not impressive to mention the area of their residence. Besides this, the authorities will also address the problems of cleanliness in the area and water supply. Meanwhile, Shivalik Enclave Welfare Association honoured the Mayor and Senior Deputy Mayor, Mr Gurcharan Dass Kala, at a function organised at Shivalik Enclave on Monday and presented mementoes. The Mayor has also asked the Commissioner, MC, Mr M.P. Singh, to write to the Administration to start a joint cleanliness drive in the city with MC by the end of this month. In addition to this work of levelling of road berms and putting of tiles in all the sectors will also be undertaken shortly. 

LALRU
BLOOD DONATED: Seventy persons, including eight students of local Industrial Training Institute, donated blood at a camp organised by Baba Prithavi Singh Azad Memorial Hospital, on Monday. Dr. Daler Singh Multani, SMO, Lalru, said a team of doctors under the leadership of Dr VK Jain from Civil Hospital, Ambala City, conducted the camp. 

PANCHKULA
SEVEN-DAY BANKING: State Bank of Patiala on Monday introduced seven-day banking at two more branches in Sector 6 and Sector 12 here. Both these branches are fully computerised and will offer extended business hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sundays. 

AMBALA
STRIKE: The PCO holders in Haryana will observe one-day token strike on January 26 to press upon their demands. It was decided in an emergency meeting of the Haryana PCO Holders Association here on Sunday evening. The president of the association, Mr Naresh Chadda, said on this occasion they would launch indefinite agitation if their demands were not accepted. Mr Chadda alleged that the BSNL had not been taking their demands seriously. He said that the commission of the PCOs should be increased by 30 per cent and service charges should also be enhanced from Rs 2 to 4 per call. The PCO holders would not deposit any of the security demanded by the department recently, he added. 

KILLED: A woman was killed in a road accident near Hamidpur village on Sunday evening. Her husband also sustained injuries. According to the police, the accident occurred when their scooter collided with a maxi cab. The injured was admitted to local Civil Hospital. The police has registered a case. 

PROTEST WEEK: The Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh and Bhartiya Railway Mazdoor Sangh affiliated to the Uttar Railway Karamchari Union will organise protest week from January 15 to January 20. It was stated by Mr Aswani Kumar, Secretary of the local unit here on Monday. He said that their main demand is to remove the anomalies of the Fifth Pay Commission. 

DIRECTED: Brig R. S. Kalha has directed to resume the activities of the NCC in the region. Earlier the Group Commander has suspended all the activities of the NCC due to the financial constraint. The activities of NCC were came to standstill in 8 battalions and 23 colleges and schools.