The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Monday, February 12, 2001,
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

ABOHAR
KILLED: Radha Krishan of Kular village was killed and pillion-rider Indersain was injured seriously when a jeep reportedly hit their motor cycle near Rajpura village in the subdivision on Saturday. Indersain was later rushed to Ludhiana for treatment. The jeep driver, who managed to escape, has been booked by the Sadar police and the jeep has been impounded.

BAR ASSOCIATION: Mr Satish Narang and Mr Mohinderpal Singh have been elected president and secretary, respectively, of the local Bar Association.

INAUGURATED: The state office of the Jan Chetna Manch was inaugurated here on Saturday by Wing Comm K.L. Nagpal. On the occasion, the organisation resolved to set up the Swami Vivekanand Blood Donation Society.

AMLOH
NOMINATED: Mr Harinder Paul Singh Bagli has been nominated as senior vice-president of the Fathegarh Sahib unit of the District Youth Akali Dal (A) by Mr Ranjit Singh, district president, according to a press note issued by Mr Ravinder Singh Khalsa, district general secretary of the youth wing.

MEETING: To explore the development projects in the Amloh Assembly constituency, Mr Sukhdev Singh Libra, MP, has decided to address public meetings at different villages. According to Mr Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, member, SGPC, Mr Libra will address the meetings at Mehmoodpur, Kapoorgarh, Kaulgarh and Khanian villages on February 12, 13 and 14, respectively.

AMRITSAR
FIRST POSITION: Ms Poonam Sharma, a student of the local BBK DAV College for Women, bagged the first position in mimicry at the national youth festival held recently in Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi.

BATHINDA
FLAGGED OFF: Mr Jaspal Singh, Deputy Commissioner, on Saturday flagged off five trucks carrying relief material to the quake-hit areas of Gujarat. Mr Jaspal Singh said that 15 trucks with relief material had earlier been despatched.

HOSHIARPUR
CASE REGISTERED: The city police has registered a case under various Sections of the IPC against Santosh Kumari, wife of Bimal Kumar Dogra of the local Committee Bazaar following a complaint by the Assistant Manager of the local branch of the State Bank of India. He alleged that she had encashed a fake bank draft for Rs 2.60 lakh.

SCOOTERIST KILLED: Vyas Dev of Gogowal village succumbed to his injuries at BBMB Hospital, Talwara, on Friday. According to the police, a bus (PB07-0315) of the Dogra Bus Service had hit his scooter (PB33A-2376). Passerby Yash Pal of Laber Bhoali village also received injuries. The Talwara police has registered a case.

JAGRAON
OPIUM SEIZED: The Dakha police has seized four kg of opium from Parmaram and Mohan Singh, both residents of Bikaner district. According to a press note issued by Mr Jaskaran Singh, SSP, Jagraon, they were arrested by Mr Balbir Singh, SHO of the Doraha police station. Cases have been registered under Sections 81, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act.

KHAMANO
BAIL GRANTED: After 60 days, Chinder Singh, a former leader of farmers, was granted a bail by the Sessions Court of Fatehgarh Sahib on Wednesday. In November a case was registered against him in the Khamano police station for allegedly beating up a Scheduled Caste belonging to Manderan village.

ALLEGED: Mr Balbir Singh of Amrali village alleged that the PSEB’s branch at Chamkaur Sahib has asked him to deposit Rs 4,929 for excess load of his domestic connection, which had already deposited in 1998. He said he would move the consumer forum.

LUDHIANA
WITHDRAW CEASEFIRE: The All India Anti-Terrorists Front district unit leader, Mr Suresh Rudra, has pleaded for scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and abolition of special status for the state. He said this at a meeting here on Saturday. Among others, Mr Rajinder Soi, Mr Pardeep Malhotra and Mr Anil Sharma were present at the meeting.

HONOURED: Thirty students of Rajput Public High School, Haibowal Kalan, were given prizes at an annual function held here on Sunday. The cultural programme began with an action song, God Bless Mummy, presented by Shubham. Pooja danced on the song, Nayion, nayion. Tina danced on the number, Mehndi laga ke rakhna. Tiny tots presented giddha which was followed by a dance performance by Savita on the song, Yeh duniya ik dulhan. A fancy dress contest was also held. Senior section students danced on Mera rangla Punjab. Dandiya was performed by senior section girls and boys performed bhangra. Nearly 15 teachers of different schools were also honoured. Ms Puja Kapur, Principal, appreciated the efforts of the students. Mr Jagdish Bhatia, president of the school management, Mr B.K. Vadhera, secretary, were present among others.

VISITED: A group of 16 agri-business students from Curtin University, Australia, under the leadership of Dr Zora Singh Brar, an alumni of PAU and recipient of Jawahar Lal Nehru Young Scientist Award, visited PAU recently. The group had deliberations with Dr Amrik Singh Sandhu, Head, Department of Horticulture, Dr I.K. Garg, Head, Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Dr G.S. Gosal, biotechnologist, Dr Raminder Grewal, animal science expert, Dr G.S. Brar, plant breeder, and Dr N.S. Butter, in charge, Plant Diseases Centre. They also visited a farm in Kanganwal village.

ELECTED: Mr Pawan Kumar Sharma was elected as president of the Readymade Hosiery Manufacturers Association (REHMA) on Saturday. According to Mr Prem Kumar Sagar Jain, the other persons elected were: Mr Kamal Sethia — senior vice-president; Mr Sushil Kumar Jain and Mr Kuldeep K. Awasthi — vice presidents; Mr Vipin Kumar Pappi and Mr Avinash Arora — general secretaries; Mr Harish Chabra — treasure; and Mr Manider Bedi secretary.

INTERACTION: Mr Mohan Bhandari, a renowned story writer and winner of the Bhartiya Sahit Akademi award, interacted with students of Arya College for Boys here on Saturday. While introducing the story-writer with the students, Dr S.P. Singh, Head of the Department of Punjabi, said, ‘‘Bhandari was born at Banbhora village in Sangrur district. He has penned down seven volumes of story books. Katha Varta is the latest story book written by him”. Students asked Bhandari several questions on his writings. On being asked about the tragic end of his first story, he said life was much more complex and full of twists. He said the writer had to cover various aspects of human life.

DONATED: Dr Chris Behl, Chief Executive Officer, Software Global Inc, USA, visited Ek Prayas, the school for mentally challenged kids, here and donated Rs 20,000 to the school. He also met parents of the children. Mr K.K. Kapila, Commissioner, Income Tax, also visited the school.

ANNUAL REPORT: Nearly 185 students of New SMD Senior Secondary School were given away prizes on the occasion of the 37th annual function held at Nehru Sidhant Kendra on Sunday. A cultural programme was also organised on the occasion. Mr R.C. Godayal, Principal, read the school’s annual report. Ms Usha Sidhu, District Education Officer, was the chief guest. Others present on the occasion included Mr K.R. Bhatt, chairman of the school management, and Mr M.M. Bhatt, manager.

CASSETTE RELEASED: A cassette of bhajans titled 'Chithiyan Yogi Diyan' on T.Series, in praise of Shri Sidh Baba Balak Nath Ji, was released by Mr Vijay Chopra. The singer is Rekha Dhall and the lyrics are penned by Mr Dharampal. The function was presided over by Mr Darshan Kumar of Super Cassettes Industries, Noida. The function was held at Mandir Shri Sidh Baba Balak Nath Ji, Dhuri Line, Ludhiana.

MACHHIWARA
DEATH ANNIVERSARY: The 16th death anniversary of Sant Najar Singh Maluka was observed at Gurdwara Akalsar in Iraq village, near here. A sant sammelan was organised in which Sant Saroop Singh Chandigarh, Sant Punjab Singh Madhpur, Sant Randhir Singh Bhanglan, Sant Sarbjit Singh Ahmedgarh, Sant Gurmail Singh Rampur, Sant Amarjit Singh Ferjullapur, Sant Swaran Singh Naushehra and Bhai Kuldip Singh from Damdami Taksal were present among others. A langar was also served.

MOGA
YOUTH DEAD: A youth of Budhsinghwala village near Baghapurana police station in the district died of a heart attack on Saturday, just two days before he was going to get married to the daughter of Mr Zora Singh, brother of Mr Tarsem Singh Rattian, Director, Punjab Tourism.

NAWANSHAHR
COMPUTER EDUCATION: The Punjab Government had chalked out a comprehensive programme of providing computer education in 60 government schools in the state. This was stated by Mr Swarna Ram, Minister for Tourism and Cultural Affairs, while presiding over the prize distribution function at Shiv Public School, Behram, 25 km from here, on Friday.

NOMINATED: Mr Raman Kumar has been nominated a member of the state executive committee and Mr Ashwani Joshi as president of the district unit of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha.

DISTRIBUTED: The Lions Club, Banga (City Smile) distributed shoes, woollen clothes and jute carpets among needy students of Government Middle School, Bhootan, about 7 km from here, on Saturday. Mr Baldev Nayyar, district chairman of Lions Club 321-D, presided over the function.

RELIEF MATERIAL: Local devotees of Dera Sacha Sauda, Sirsa, have sent three truck-loads of relief material and Rs 50,000 for Gujarat earthquake victims. Mr Kishori Lal Duggal, a local newspaper agent, has contributed Rs 11,000 and Mr Jaigopal Bhuchar has collected donations amounting to Rs 31,000.

PATIALA
RECRUITMENT RALLY: An open Army recruitment rally for soldiers [GD category] will be held at the ITI compelx in Lalru, near here, from February 14 to 16. Recruitment is open for all Sikh caste candidates hailing from the districts of Patiala, Sangrur, Fatehgarh, Ludhiana and Roopnagar. Tokens for the rally will be given to candidates on February 14 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ELECTED: Mr Ajay Kumar has been elected as chairman of the newly formed International Welfare and Cultural Society at a meeting held here today. The other office- bearers are: President — Mr Kanwaljit Singh Pathak; general secretary — Mr Darshan Singh Khokhar; organising secretary — Mr Randeep Singh Sandhu; treasurer — Mr Jatwinder Kumar.

PATHANKOT
OCTROI POSTS: The octroi posts within the municipal limits of the Sujanpur Municipal council have been auctioned to Mr Ram Kumar, a private contractor. According to Mr Vijay Mahajan, president of the municipal council, the posts were auctioned for Rs 1.31 crore. The auction for octroi posts of Pathankot will be held on Wednesday at Amritsar in the office of the Deputy Director, local bodies. This was stated by Mr Satish Mahajan, president of the Pathankot Municipal Council.

SAMRALA
RELIEF FUND: A sum of Rs 25,000 was collected by Mr Bhupinder Singh Benipal, a former Chairman of the Panchayat Samiti, here, and Rs 11,775 by the former president of the BJP block, Mr Padam Jain, for the Gujarat Relief Fund. Meanwhile, students of Radha Vatika Senior Secondary School, Khanna, donated Rs 21,948 towards the fund.

RALLY ORGANISED: The SHSAD organised a rally here on Saturday. Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, President, SHSAD, said Mr Parkash Singh Badal had run away from the promised agenda for which the SAD struggled for a long time. He made an appeal to the people of Punjab to do their best to keep away the Congress as well as the SAD from the power in the coming Assembly elections. The former Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, Mr Ravi Inder Singh, also spoke on the occasion.

TARN TARAN
SEIZED: The local city police on Saturday seized 27 injurious injections from the possession of Kashmir Singh of Dalake village. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered.

CHANDIGARH

CONFERENCE: The XXIV annual meeting of EMSI and International Conference on Electron Microscopy and allied fields concluded at the Panjab University here on Sunday. The prize in the material sciences for Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) went to Mr Rajgopal C Iyer of IIT Mumbai and of Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) to Mr R.K. Sidhu of Thapar Engineering College, Patiala. In the life sciences section TEM award was given to B Lokanandam of CLRI, Chennai, and SEM award went to Hamid Raza Esmaeili of Department of Zoology, PU. Hitachi award for the best poster presentation also went to Hamid Raza in life science category and in the material science category the award went to Rajesh Ghannade et el, NCL, Pune.

KHARAR
KILLED: Mr Charan Singh (60) was killed when his cycle on which he was going was knocked down by a mini bus (CH-03 A-8595) near Daun village on Kharar SAS Nagar road on Saturday. The police has registered a case under Sections 279 and 304 A against the driver of the vehicle.

PANCHKULA
BLOOD DONATION CAMP: As many as 103 units of blood was donated at a camp organised by the Yuba Shakti Sangathan in Sector 12A Civil Dispensary here on Sunday. Gaurav Gupta, senior vice-president of the Sangathan said that Mr Chander Mohan, a local MLA, was the chief guest of the camp.

PARWANOO
CELEBRATES: Eicher School awarded 200 students for their excellence in various fields on the scholars day celebrated on Saturday here in their newly built school premises at Kamli village. Mr S.S. Juneja, Engineer-in-Chief of PWD, Himachal Pradesh, was the chief guest at the occasion Mr H.D.S. Malhotra, Chairman of the school, while speaking on the occasion, stressed the importance of allround development of the students for a bright future. The chief guest, while speaking to the students and the audience, said that the children should accept the challenges of life with courage and work for integrity and upliftment of the country crossing the barriers of caste and creed.

SAS NAGAR
FOUNDATION DAY: Dr GN Qazi, Director of the Regional Research Laboratory, Jammu, would deliver the foundation day lecture on” Plant based drugs — a new window of opportunity for India” at the foundation day function of the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) here on February 15. Dr P.A. Mody, Chairman and Managing Director of Unichem Laboratories Limited, Mumbai, would preside over the function.

SURAJPUR
CAMP: As many as 344 patients were examined at a free medical check-up camp organised by Parmeshwari Sehgal Memorial Trust, Mani Majra at Raggipur village on Sunday. In a press note of the trust it was informed that 14 patients have been selected for cataract operation which will be performed on February 18 at the village. The note also informed that in the near future a regular eye check-up clinic will be set up near the village for the benefit of the people.

HARYANA

AMBALA
RALLY: A rally was taken out by Sangharsh Vahini against the imposition of various taxes here on Sunday. The rallyists started from Ram Bagh road and went through different markets in the Sadar area to protest against the taxes “which are a burden for the common man”. Addressing the rally, Congress MC Hira Lal Yadev said the state government has been constantly increasing the burden of the common man through taxation. “There is the new house tax, increasing the burden on the common man through taxation. “There is the new house tax, increase in water and power rates and other taxes which we strongly oppose,” he said. He said that the new taxes have made life difficult for the people who are unable to comprehend the need for these taxes. Among others, Congress leaders, Mr S.K. Sharma, Mr A.K. Jain and Mr Randhir Chaudhary were present at the rally.

HISAR
GRIEVANCES PANEL: The Minister for Social Welfare, Mr Risal Singh, has ordered departmental action against the Manager of the Kharar branch of Punjab National Bank who was found guilty of demanding bribe. The matter came up at the monthly meeting of the district grievances panel. The minister also ordered the disconnection of 60 illegal water supply connections in Dhani Sainian village.

SUMMONED: Special Judge P. C. Goyal has issued summons for February 26 to Mr Pratap Singh, brother of Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, in connection with a pending case of Prevention of Corruption Act against Finance Minister Sampat Singh. Mr Pratap Singh had filed a complaint against Mr Sampat Singh that the latter had acquired assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

DONATED: The Hansi Depot Holders Association has donated Rs 7,100 towards the Gujarat Earthquake Relief Fund. Mr Jaibeer Singh, president of the association, presented a cheque to Mr Subhash Goyal, Local Bodies Minister, here on Saturday.

LOOTED: Five persons attacked Satpal Singh with sticks at Kharak Punia village, near here, on Saturday and looted Rs 30,000 from him.

PANIPAT
FALSE COMPLAINTS: Presiding over the District Public Grievances Redressal Committee meeting here on Saturday, the Minister of State for Local Government, Mr Subash Goyal, ordered for the registration of a case under Section 182 of the CrPC against those whose complaints lodged for redressal with the committee proved to be false. The order was issued when an aged woman Angoori of Arjun Nagar withdrew her complaint stating that her husband had received her pension in her absence.

RELIEF DISTRIBUTION: The distribution of relief supplies among earthquake victims of the areas adopted by the Haryana Government is in full swing. At least three trucks-loads of relief material is being distributed daily in each of the 17 villages of Rapar block in Bhuj district of Gujarat. This was stated by journalist and social worker Nemi Chand Jain, secretary, Residents Welfare Association, Sarup Colony, who returned on Friday from Gujarat.

SIRSA
GANG BUSTED: The CIA police of the district arrested four members of a gang of thieves and recovered stolen articles worth Rs 2.77 lakh from their possession. With the arrest of Amit Kumar of Bapoli, Gopal of Jaipara and Satpal and Ratan of Adarsh Colony, Hisar, at least 12 cases of theft in the district had been solved, claimed district police chief A.K. Roy.

YAMUNANAGAR
RAPE CASES: The Khizrabad police registered a case on Friday against Naseeb Singh of Ariyawala village, near here, following a complaint lodged by a married woman of the village that the man tried to rape her. In another case, the police on Friday arrested Khalid, Bhura and Tahir under Sections 376, 323 and 506 of the IPC on the charge of raping a resident of Balol village.

THREE HELD: The district police on Friday arrested three persons for trying to sell kerosene oil on the black market. On a tip-off, the Chhachrauli police conducted a raid on Shorpur village, about 20 km from here, and impounded a kerosene oil tanker (HR 37-4142) containing 2,400 litres of oil. Driver of the vehicle Joginder, Kiran Kumar and Rehar Chand were arrested while Ajmer and Narinder fled from the site. The police has arrested the three under Sections 420 and 120 of the IPC.