BATHINDA
PROMOTED: Mr U.S.Lucky, Chief Engineer of Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant, Bathinda, has been promoted as General Manager. He took charge on Thursday.

MAZDOOR RALLY: Activists of the All-India FCI Mazdoor Federation organised a rally on Thursday to lodge their protest against the decision of the Central Government to privatise the Food Corporation of India (FCI). The activists also took out a march to the office of the District Manager, FCI. Mr Amar Singh and Mr Amarnath, president and general secretary, respectively, of the federation, were among those who addressed the rally.

MAN KILLED: Jeet Singh of Behman Diwana village was killed when he was hit by a train on the Bathinda-Malout rail section on Thursday. The police said Jeet Singh was hit by the train when he was trying to cross the rail track near his fields. A case has been registered.

FARIDKOT
FAMILY WELFARE CAMP: The district Health Department, in collaboration with the Bharat Vikas Parishad, Kot Kapura, will organise a family welfare camp in Kot Kapura on Sunday. This was stated here on Friday by Dr Varinder Singh Mohi, District Health Officer.

CELEBRATED: DCM Public School, Kot Kapura, on Thursday celebrated the National Science Day by organising essay writing, chart painting and other competitions on various science topics on the school premises. More than 100 students participated. Mr Pawan Mittal, director of the institution, gave away prizes to the toppers.

HOSHIARPUR
CASE REGISTERED: On the instructions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Sadar police has registered a case against Mr Ashish Kumar, Junior Engineer, PSEB, Hoshiarpur, and two other officials for their alleged negligence in their duty due to which lineman Nirmal Singh died and lineman Waryam Singh was wounded. The aforesaid officials allegedly switched on the electric supply when the two linemen were repairing a transformer at Sahota Industries, Naloian, last year.

LIQUOR SEIZED: The Mukerian police has arrested Maiya, wife of Gopal of Ghasitpur village, and seized 6.75 litres of illicit liquor from her. A case under Section 61/1/14 of the Excise Act has been registered.

DRIVER KILLED: Balwinder Singh, driver of a Maruti van, died on the spot while other occupants of the vehicle — Randhir Singh his wife Lata, and their two children Jyoti and Sunny, all residents of the local Bassi Khawaju Mohalla — were seriously wounded when a truck collided head-on with the van near Nainowal Jattan on the Hoshiarpur-Tanda road, about 18 km from here, on Wednesday. Arvind, a cyclist, was also injured in the mishap. The truck driver fled the scene after leaving the truck.

CHIT-FUND SCHEMES: Keeping in view the mushrooming of illegal chit-fund and money collection schemes in the district, Mr Iqbal Singh Sidhu, District Magistrate, has directed the District Public Relations Officer to increase awareness among the general public about the ban on such unauthorised schemes in the district.

GUJARAT RELIEF: Mr Harinder Sidhu, chairperson, hospital welfare section of the District Red Cross Society, along with other lady members of the section, presented an ambulance van and physiotherapy equipment worth Rs 1 lakh to Mr Ballabh Bhai Kathiri, Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, at Jalandhar on Thursday for the quake-hit people of Gujarat.

LUDHIANA
MEETING: Office-bearers of the local chapter of People For Animals were invited to a joint meeting of Adinath Jain Mahila Mandal, Civil Lines, and the Mahavir Jain Mahila Mandal, Purana Bazar, Ludhiana. Mr Radhey Sham Gupta, chief adviser and Dr Sandeep K. Jain, president, PFA, highlighted the activities of the PFA and its plans for the construction of an animal shelter. It was also decided at the meeting that water pots should be kept at shaded places to provide drinking water to birds and animals and trees like mulberry, jamun, pilkhan, figs etc be planted to provide food and shelter to the birds. About 50 members of both the mahila mandals enrolled themselves as life members of the PFA and a sum of Rs 1 lakh was presented to Mr Radhey Sham Gupta by Mrs Nirmal Oswal and Ms Sita Rani Jain.

KIRTAN DURBAR: The sixth annual kirtan durbar in connection with the martyrdom day of Shaheed Baba Deep Singh ji would be held from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Colony, Jamalpur, on Saturday. The kirtan durbar is being organised by the Baba Deep Singh Sewa Society in collaboration with the Guru Ram Dass Sewa Society and colony residents. Other societies which are also contributing to the effort are the Sukhmani Sahib Sewa Society, Bhai Ghanniya Sewa Society and the Naujawan Sewa Society, Dugri Road. 

INAUGURATED: An ultrasound scan machine was inaugurated recently by Mr Gurcharan Singh Ghalib at the Nav Durga Mandir Charitable Trust Hospital, Sarabha Nagar. Mr Sushil Malhotra, press secretary of the trust said that an ambulance van was also started by Mr B.K. Seth. Mr Malhotra added that patients would be charged Rs 10 for OPDs and free medicines would be provided to them. Ultrasound scans will be done at nominal charges and TB patients would be treated free of cost. The chief guest, Mr Gurcharan Singh Ghalib, appreciated the welfare activities of the trust. He assured to donate an ambulance from the MP Development Fund and also donated Rs 5,000 to the trust. 

FOUNDATION DAY: The first foundation day of the Aas Kiran De-addiction-cum-Rehabilitation Centre will be held on Saturday at Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle Complex here. Mr Gobind Singh Kanjhla, Punjab Minister for Social Welfare, will be the chief guest. Mr R.L.Kalsia, Director, Social Security Directorate, will preside over and Mr S.K. Sandhu, Deputy Commissioner, will be the guest of honour. Prof Sarbjeet Singh, director, Social and Health Services Directorate, Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle, said that a medical rehabilitation centre would be inaugurated and a website on drugs would be launched on this occasion. 

SUSPENDED: Dr S.S. Sandhu, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, has placed Mr Naveen Kumar, a health worker, deployed as accounts clerk, for dereliction of duty and disobeying the orders of his superiors. Dr Sandhu has warned the employees of the MC to perform their duty with care and diligence, failing which strict disciplinary action will be taken against them. 

MACHHIWARA
MOURNED: A meeting of the Old Gold Cricket Club, Machhiwara, was held under the chairmanship of Mr D.L. Jain. The club members expressed grief on the sudden demise of cricket legend, Sir Don Bradman. Mr Jain said the void created by the death of Bradman could never be filled. A two-minute silence was also observed. 

STOLEN: Six engine fans are reported to be stolen from a farmhouse located on the Machhiwara-Samrala road on Thursday night. Interestingly the spot where the theft took place, is situated between the police naka at Garhi Tarkhana and the Machhiwara police station. The local police authorities when contacted in this regard, said the matter was under investigation, but no clue has been found so far. 

MANSA
LOUDSPEAKERS: In defiance of an order of Ms Raji P. Srivastava, Deputy Commissioner, loudspeakers are being used in the district without the prior permission of the Subdivisional Magistrate concerned.

RESENTMENT: Resentment prevails among rice millers, depot holders and the general public of Mansa, Budhlada, Bareta, Sardulgarh and Bhikhi towns of the district as the post of the District Food and Civil Supplies Controller has been lying vacant since the transfer of Mr Daljit Singh Bhatia to Chandigarh on January 9.

DEMANDED: Residents of the town and villagers of the subdivision on Thursday demanded the appointment of a registrar in the subdivision. According to them, the tehsildar and the naib tehsildar posted in the town have to perform several other executive duties in addition to the work of a sub-registrar. This has been causing inconvenience to residents who want to get their documents registered.

CRITICISED: The local Environment Society has criticised the administration for not effectively implementing the orders of the District Magistrate banning the manufacture and sale of polythene bags in the district. This was stated by the president of the society, Dr Vijay Singla.

NO TELEPHONE: The district office of the Vigilance Bureau reportedly does not have a telephone. Mr Gurmail Singh Neor, DSP, has demanded immediate installation of a telephone in the department.

WHEAT PROCUREMENT: As many as 98 grain markets and purchasing centres have been set up in Mansa district to ensure speedy procurement of wheat in the forthcoming season. As many as 95 mandis and centre have been set up in bathinda district for the purpose. This was stated by Mr Joginder Singh Kahlon, District Food and Civil Supply Controller of the two districts, here on Friday.

TRAIN SERVICE: Residents of Budhlada town in the district on Friday urged Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee to ensure that an intercity train stopped the Budhlada railway station.

OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local unit of the Bharat Vikas Parishad: president — Mr Kashmiri Lal; secretary — Mr Rajnish Kumar Jindal; and treasurer — Mr Amrit Pal.

RED LIGHTS: Officials of the district are frequently using red lights on their vehicles in defiance of the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The District Magistrate, Ms Raji P.Srivastava, ordered district officials at a meeting held here on Friday to follow the instructions of the high court.

MOGA
WATER SHORTAGE: The acute shortage of canal water during the sowing of the rabi crop is causing problems to farmers as their crop has started withering. Stating this here on Friday, a group of progressive farmers of the district urged the state government to make arrangements for the supply of canal water.

PATIALA
ELECTED: Ms Asha Goel has been unanimously elected as the president of the Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Suraksha Samiti in a meeting held at the Kali Devi Mandir here on Friday.

DEMONSTRATION: A demonstration against the anti-employee policies of the government was held by the All-India Insurance Employee Association and employees of the Life Insurance Corporation of India, Branches I and II, here on Friday. Mr Narinder Walia, divisional president, Chandigarh and Mr Dilber Singh, branch secretary, Patiala, addressed the rally.

MELA: The Canteen Stores Department (CSD), Bathinda, is organising the seventh sale-cum-after-sale mela at 601, EME Parade Ground on March 5. Ms C.S.Harika, wife of Mr C.S.Harika, Deputy GOC I Armd Div. will inaugurate the mela.

PROTESTED: A massive demonstration against the budget proposals was held by bank employees and officers of the Punjab Bank Employees Federation before the Head Office of State Bank of Patiala here on Friday. Addressing the rally, Mr N.K.Gaur, General Secretary of the Federation, termed the Budget as anti-poor, anti-working class and pro-rich, dictated by the World Bank-WTO and IMF. He also criticised the reduction in interest on Provident Fund and small savings, because drastic reductions would eventually lead to corresponding cuts in saving rate in banks and TDS on interest which would lead to flight of deposits from banks. He also strongly protested against the government proposals to bring in changes in labour laws.

SAMRALA
NEW SCHOOL BUILDING: A new school building was inaugurated by Ms Satvinder Kaur Dhaliwal, former MP, in Government Senior Secondary School, Ghungrali Sikhan, near here on Friday while Mr Gurkirat Singh, political secretary of Capt Kanwaljeet Singh, Finance Minister, Punjab, announced a grant of Rs 2 lakh on behalf of the minister. The function was presided over by Jathedar Kirpal Singh Khirnian, member of the SGPC. On this occasion, Amandeep Kaur, a player, was also honoured. 

APPEAL: The Retired Non Government Aided College Teachers Forum, under the directions of Mr N.S. Tuli, a retired Principal from Doraha, has filed an appeal in the Punjab and Haryana High Court for implementation of the Pension and Gratuity Act, for retired non-government college teachers. According to Mr Pannu, the forum has appealed the retired non-government college teachers to attend the court on March 28, to watch the proceedings. 

ASSESSMENT WELCOMED: The Sales Tax Committee of Chandigarh Beopar Mandal welcomed the announcement of deemed sales tax assessment on Punjab pattern for registered traders of the city, here on Wednesday. The announcement was made by Ms Neeru Nanda, Advisor to the Administrator. This was communicated by Mr Diwakar Sahoonja, general secretary, PR-cum-official spokesman of the Mandal in a press note.

TRAINING CAMP: The regional Save Grain Campaign office, Chandigarh, of the Union Ministry of Consumers Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, organised a special foodgrain storage training camp for the benefit of Naun Chak, a border village of Kathua District, Jammu and Kashmir. 50 farm women of three adjoining villages participated in the training camp. This was stated by Dr S.R. Singla, assistant regional director in a press note.

DHARNA: The Chandigarh-Mohali unit of Mulazam Action Committee, Punjab, held a protest dharna against the alleged indifferent attitude of the Chairman of punjab Ex-servicemen Corporation (PESCO) towards its employees, here on Wednesday. A large number of the members of the unit also held a rally in front of its head office. This was announced by Gurdip Singh, general secretary of the unit in a press note.

YOGA CAMP: A yoga and meditation camp for the Canara Bank Officers Association, Chandigarh region, which started on February 15 concluded here on Wednesday. The camp was organised under the guidance of Swami Sharnanand Ji Saraswati of Moradabad. During the camp, Mr Atul Kapoor, regional secretary, explained about the importance of yoga and meditation in the present-day life. This was announced in a press note.

MEETING HELD: A ‘public- police’ meeting, between the Federation of Joint Action Committee of Tenements and Station House Officer of Sector 39, was held in Sector 38 here on Wednesday. Mr Mani Ram, SHO, told the Federation members about the recent murders in the city and informed them about the security methods to be used. This was announced by Mr H.S. Lamba, president of the Federation in a press note.

ORGANISED: Members of the Punjab unit of the Bhartiya Khadya Nigam Karamchari Sangh organised a dharna in front of the regional office of the FCI here on Friday in support of their demands. The call for the dharna was given by the central body of the FCI Employees Union. The demands of the employees, according to its state secretary, Mr K.K. Sharma, include prescribing of norms for storage loss, obtaining of clear RRs from the Railways, immediate liquidation of old foodgrains, create promotional avenues for certain categories of employees and cancel avoidable transfer orders.

CONGRATULATED: In a meeting of the senior functionaries of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Chandigarh, a resolution was passed in which the party congratulated the voters of the Majitha in general and Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister of Punjab, for the victory of the SAD candidate, here on Wednesday. The party also congratulated Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal for his election to the Rajya Sabha. The party also warned the Chandigarh Administration to discontinue English as its official language and switch over to Hindi and Punjabi. This was announced in a press note of the party.

ANNOUNCED: Students of the DAV college, Sector 10 are contributing Rs 50 each for the victims of the earthquake in Gujarat. This was announced by Mr Nishu Dubey, General Secretary of the Central Students Council of the college. He also said that the students of the college have also volunteered to go to Gujarat to help the affected persons.

DONATED: The Sadguru Kabir Maha Sabha sent a demand draft of Rs 17,600 to the Prime Minister for providing relief to the earthquake victims in Gujarat on Thursday. Mr Santosh Ladwal, president of the Sabha, said the sabha had also constructed a mandir in the name of Sant Kabir ji in which sewing, embroidering and adult education, typing, shorthand and computer centres were being run. He said a dispensary-cum-drug de-addiction centre had also been opened and a 38-room student hostel was being constructed to accommodate at least 58 students.

EXTENDED: The last date for submitting applications for revision of pension and family pension by defence personnel has been extended to March 31. According to Wg Cdr Satish Bhatia (Retd), Secretary of Air Force Association, those pensioners who were yet to submit their applications must do so at the earliest. He added that the Air Force Association had also decided to extend membership of the association to widows without accepting any fees, provided the applicant’s husband had been a member.

AMBALA
NOMINATED: Former MLA and BJP leader, Mr Bhagwan Das Sehgal, has been nominated as a member of the Telephone Advisory Committee for Haryana (Circle), constituted up to July 31, 2002, to represent Public Works and others category.

GAMBLERS HELD: The Ambala range police has nabbed eight gamblers from different places. The gamblers nabbed by the police are Amit Kumar, Sanjay Kumar, Vinay Sharma, Joginder Singh, Vinod Kumar, Vijay Kumar, Sushil Kumar and Gulshan Sharma. The police has recovered Rs 11,315 from them.

BHIWANI
LOK ADALAT: A lok adalat will be held on March 17 in the local judicial complex to settle outstanding bank loan cases. Stating this, the District and Sessions Judge, Mr N.S.Ahlawat, said a meeting of advocates and representatives of various banks would be held on Saturday to discuss the cases.

NARNAUL
DEMANDED: Activists of the Haryana Government PWD Mechanical Workers Union, Narnaul branch, and the All-Haryana PWD Mechanical Workers Union, Irrigation, protested in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office here on Thursday, demanding regular payment of their salaries and TA.

CHAMBA
FAULTY SERVICES: Local telephone subscribers are irked at the faulty telecommunication services in the region for the past few days. It has become difficult for consumers to get connected to local stations. According to an official of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), efforts are on to trace the technical fault in the telephone exchange.

HAMIRPUR
DM’S ORDER: Mrs Anuradha Thakur, District Magistrate, has issued an order making it mandatory for all persons coming to Hamirpur to start a business venture to get themselves registered with the police station concerned. The order has been issued under Section 144 of the Cr PC. The District Magistrate has also banned employers, contractors or traders from employing migrant labour unless such persons furnish their particulars to the SHO of the area.

SCHEME: The Hamirpur unit of the Himachal Pradesh Village and Khadi Board has released a sum of Rs 1.16 crore to 26 persons under the Margin Money Scheme launched by the board. This was stated by Mrs Anuradha Thakur, District Magistrate, on Wednesday. She was presiding over a seminar on “Rural employment generation programme” organised by the board.

KANGRA
DESTROYED: Property worth Rs 1 lakh was destroyed in a fire which broke out early on Thursday at Icchhi village , 6 km from here, on the Pathankot-Mandi highway. According to the police, a cowshed and a store were destroyed in the fire.

NAHAN
INAUGURATED: The ADM, Sirmaur, Mr Vikas Labroo, inaugurated the three day workshop of panchayat representatives here on Thursday. He said that while making micro-plans for the development of villages, it was necessary that plans for resource mobilisation were also prepared by the panchayats.

BUDGET WELCOMED: The vice-chairperson of the State Planning Board, Ms Shyama Sharma, has termed the Budget presented by Mr Yashwant Sinha as outstanding . It would accelerate growth in the rural sector and provide impetus to the economy of the country, she said.