BATHINDA
APPOINTED: Mr Rajesh Kumar Bansal has been appointed the district president of the Punjab Youth Congress by the state president of the party. This was stated in a press note of the district unit of the party issued here on Tuesday.

ARRANGEMENTS MADE: All arrangements have been made for the fifth standard examination, which will start from March 7. This was stated in a press note issued here by Mr Jaswant Dani, District Education Officer (Primary), on Tuesday.

CHECK-UP CAMP: The Goodwill Society here organised a free heart check-up camp on Sunday. This was stated in a press note here on Tuesday. At the camp about 435 persons were examined.

MEETING: A meeting of the workers of the Bathinda unit of the Congress Sewa Dal was held at Jaisinghwala village on Sunday. This was stated here on Tuesday in a press note issued by Mr Rameshvar Dass, district president of the party. He said at the meeting it was decided to launch a campaign against the use of narcotics by youths.

URGED: The Punjab Pardesh Dhanak Samaj has urged the Punjab Government to include them in the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe category. In a press note issued here on Monday, Mr Makhan Singh, general secretary of the union, said the admission and monthly fee being charged from SC/ST students in schools, colleges and universities should be reduced.

ELECTED: Mr Parem Kumar and Mrs Usha Devi have been elected presidents of the Punjab Pardesh Dhanak Naujawan Samaj and Punjab Pardesh Dhanak Mahila Samaj, respectively. This was stated by Mr Makhan Singh, general secretary, Punjab Pardesh Dhanak Samaj, here on Monday.

FARIDKOT
CHEQUES DISTRIBUTED: Mr Mohan Lal Garg, SDM, distributed cheques under the Shagun scheme to 60 beneficiaries at a function organised by the district Social Welfare Department here on Monday. Each person was given Rs 5,100.

SUNDAY BANKING: The local branch of the State Bank of Patiala will remain open on Sundays with immediate effect in the town from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to Mr M.R. Verma, Manager of the branch, here on Tuesday.

GURDASPUR
DIED: Gurcharan (18), an electrician of Panipar town, 8 km from here, died on the spot when a bus hit his cycle on Monday near Jhunde Chak, 2 km from Dina Nagar.

CHARAS SEIZED: The police on Sunday arrested Kishan Lal of Sootgarh in HP and recovered 1 kg of charas from him. A case has been registered.

RAPE: A four-year-old girl of Khunda village, 15 km from here, was allegedly raped by a youth of the same village. A case under Section 375, IPC, has been registered. The suspect has absconded.

HOSHIARPUR
DIRECTORY RELEASED: Mr Mohan Lal, General Manager, Telecom, BSNL, here released the telephone directory of Hoshiarpur SSA in his chamber on Monday. He said the directory comprised two parts.

KHAMANO
DEMANDED: The panchayats which have a source of income, have been asked to construct latrines at common places for the use of scheduled castes and those panchayats which have no source of income, will be given grants for this purpose. This was stated by the Deputy Commissioner, Fatehgarh Sahib, Mr B.S. Sudan, in his address to the people during a Sangat Darshan programme on Monday at Ralon village, near here. He also disclosed that out of Rs 5.78 crore granted to the district by the government, about Rs 2.42 crore have been spent on various development works in the district. On the demand of the village panchayat, the Deputy Commissioner announced a grant of Rs 50,000 for the cleaning of the village pond. He also said that the boundary wall of the village school would be constructed and the grant for this purpose would be released soon with some more villages of the area. When asked about the poor condition of the road leading to the village, he assured that minor repair work of the road would be done immediately. Mr Shame Kumar, SP (O), appealed to the people to report to the police if they see any suspicious person. Out of 40 complaints, 25 were solved on the spot and the rest were marked to the concerned officials.

CHECK-UP CAMP: A free homoeopathic checkup camp was organized by Sash Ram Sofa free homoeopathic dispensary, Aloha Road, Khanna here on Monday. The camp was inaugurated by Swami Sachidanand of Parma Hans Ashram, Khanna. 553 patients were examined in the camp from the city and 30 surrounding villages. Besides medicines, refreshment was also given free of cost to the patients and attendants. The patients were examined by a team of doctors, which included Dr Charanjit Singh Kang, Dr Inder Pal Singh Kang from Chandigarh, Dr Anil Rana, Dr Seema Saggar and Dr Sanjay Jadika.

KHARAR
INCOME TAX CAMP: About 103 new assessees filed their IT returns in a camp organised by the Income Tax Department on Monday. Mr Gurudev Singh, Income Tax Officer, Ropar, and his staff members were present on this occasion. While speaking in the camp, Mr Gurdev Singh told the traders that by paying income tax they participated in the development of the country. He said the Permanent Account Number issued by the department was required while making investments.

KAR SEWA: Being fed up of the promises made by various state governments for the past many years, the residents of Khunimajra village adjoining Kharar municipal limits, have constructed a link road about 2 km in length through kar seva. A small function was held to extend thanks to Mr Balbir Singh Sidhu, organising secretary, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, who extended complete assistance for the project.

LUDHIANA
FALSE ALLOTMENT: Mr. B.D. Aggarwal, a former chairman of the local Improvement Trust and Mr K.R. Garg, Executive Officer, have been booked by the city police for allegedly making false allotment of plots and preparing forged documents. According to an FIR registered at the division number five police station, the former chairman, during his tenure, favoured certain unscrupulous elements by allotting improvement trust plots. The present chairman of the Improvement Trust had lodged a complaint in this regard on January 8 last, with the Senior Superintendent of Police. The inquiry of the case was entrusted to the Economic Offences wing of the police, which justified the registration of a case under sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC against both the accused.

ARRESTED: While the Model Town police arrested Manish Kumar, son of Bishan Nath, resident of Uttar Pradesh, now working as a domestic servant in Basant avenue for possessing a kamanidar knife, the focal point police recovered two kamanidar knives from two separate persons who were arrested. Shekhar, son of Babu, resident of a slum near Dhandari railway station and Raj Kumar, son of Chander, resident of Jamalpur, were arrested for the offence under the Arms Act.

FAREWELL: The Class X students of Shanti Niketan Adarsh Vidyalaya, Benjamin Road, were bid adieu by their juniors and teachers at a function held here on Tuesday. On the occasion, Class IX students presented a cultural programme which began with a bhajan, followed by dance items and a skit. Later the students played antakshri and quiz contest was also held. Ms Beena Sharma, Principal, and Mr Randhir Sharma, director wished good luck to the students for the forthcoming examinations.

AWARDED: Mr Mohinder Singh Teji, Superintendent of Police, now serving as Assistant Commandant of Punjab Armed Police, has completed his M.Phil. in Police Administration. The Director of Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur, Mr A.A. Siddiqui, presented the M.Phil degree to Mr Teji at the third convocation of the PPA. The convocation was presided over by the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal. Among other dignitaries, the Director General of Police, Punjab, Mr Sarbjit Singh and Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Mr Harbhajan Singh Soch were present at the occasion.

WOMEN'S DAY: The CPI (ML) Liberation and the Pravasi Nepali Sangh will jointly observe the International Women’s Day, along with their Women wings at Chatar Singh Park here on March 8. This was stated by Mr Ramesh Sharma, District Secretary of CPI (ML) Liberation and Mr Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Joint Secretary of the state unit of Pravasi Nepali Sangh, in a joint statement here on Tuesday.

MACHHIWARA
BKS DELEGATION: A deputation of Bhartiya Kisan Sangh, will meet the Governor of Punjab, on March 7, to oppose the World Trade Organisation agreement. This was stated by Mr Ram Kishan Thakur, the circle president of Bhartiya Kisan Sangh here, after attending the meeting of Sangh activists. He said the WTO treaty would completely destroy Indian farmers. The only solution was to come out of the agreement, he suggested. On the occasion, Mr Janak Raj Mahajan, state organising secretary; Mr Pawan Sharma Sihala, the district president; Mr Santokh Singh, the former Sarpanch and Mr Hardip Singh Rurewal, former member of District Planning Board, addressed the gathering.

MALERKOTLA
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Muslim Welfare Action Committee: president — Mr Hazi Sadiq Ansari; vice-president — Mr Ayub Khan; general secretary — Mr Mohammed Awaaz; and treasurer — Mr Shahshad Ali Ansari.

MANDI GOBINDGARH
FREE CAMP: An eye-operation and checkup camp was arranged here by a renowned eye surgeon, Dr Manmohan Kaushal. About 350 patients were checked and 60 operations were done at M/S Kaushal Eye and General Hospital, Mandi Gobindgarh. All operations were done by Dr Manmohan Kaushal and his team. According to Dr Veena Kaushal medicines, meals and spectacles were distributed to patients and their relatives.

MOGA
CAMP: A camp was organized here on Monday by local residents where medicines and food were distributed free of cost. As many as 150 patients were examined.

PATIALA
NOMINATED: Kaka Randeep Singh has been nominated as convener of the All India Youth Congress (Kissan Cell) by Ms Sonia Gandhi, president, All India Congress Committee (AICC), on the recommendations of Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala, president, AIYC today.

FUNCTION HELD: Annual function was organised by the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) at Government Senior Secondary School, Tripuri here on Monday. Mr. Gagandeep Singh Brar, PCS, Deputy Commissioner (Development), distributed the prizes among the students. The foundation stone of a hall was laid by the Chief Guest in association with the PTA. Ms. Balbir Kaur Gill, Principal, Kharak Singh Cheema, District Education Officer, Mr Kawalsheer Singh, District Development and Panchayat Officer and Mr. S.S.Rana, PTA President were also present on the occasion.

ELECTED: Mr. H.R. Narang has been elected president of the Lions Club Patiala Central, at a meeting held here on Monday. The other unanimously elected members are: Vice president: Mr. R.K. Seghal; secretary — Mr Balbir Singh; Treasurer: Mr Surinder Mittal. The Regional Conference of Lions Club will be held at Government Ayurvedic College on March 11.

ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Bharat Vikas Parishad, Chandigarh; president — Mr M.S Chibber; vice-presidents — Mr Parveen Goyal, Mr K.R. Malhotra and Mr R.K. Jindia; secretary — Mr Arvind Jain; joint secretaries Mr Arunesh — Agarwal, Mr Vinod Sharma and Mr V.S. Tolia; and treasurer — Mr J.K. Khanna.

EXAMINED: Almost 90 slum children studying in Maloya colony school were examined by a team of doctors at a medical check-up camp organised on the school premises. They were also provided free medicines. The Principal, Government High School, Sector 40-A, Mr Bahadur Singh, inaugrated the camp.

AMBALA
URGED: The Haryana branch of the Indian Medical Association has urged the Centre to form a comprehensive policy to control the price of the medicines. The president of the association, Dr D.S. Jaspal, said there was no drug policy at present and the multinational pharmaceuticals are making huge profit. He demanded action against the quacks in the state.

AKHIL BHARAT HINDU MAHASABHA: The Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha district unit president, Mr Pradeep Gaur, on Tuesday said that all units in the districts had been disbanded on the directions of the zonal president. The elections of the office-bearers would be held after the membership campaign. Mr Gaur said that membership drive was currently on in Ambala City, Ambala Cantonment, Naggal, Mullana and Naraingarh. He said the members needed to refresh their membership after every two years, a press note said.

CONDEMNED: The Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) district unit vice-president, Mr Rajan Kohli, on Tuesday said that people must assist police in checking crime. He condemned the demolition of statues in Afghanisatn, a press note said.

WEB SITE: An encyclopaedia of Indians on the net, whoswhoindian.com, now has a channel partner in Ambala. Mr Parichay Arora, who has become the channel partner for the website, said that it was a unique web portal. “It is the most cost-effective mode of advertising and publishing biography on the net, as you can reach out to a much larger audience at a minimal cost. The site also caters to the student community, helping them to identify jobs and scholarship schemes,” he said.

DEMOLITION CONDEMNED: The Citizen’s Council in a meeting under the chairmanship of Mr N.C. Jain has strongly condemned “the action of Taliban in destroying the Buddhist statues which has hurt the sentiments of the Buddhists all over the world.” “It is demanded that the Government of India should bring back all the statues to India and preserve these,” Mr Jain said.

APPEALED: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has appealed that people should not celebrate Holi this year, keeping in view the devastation caused by the earthquake in Gujarat. A meeting of the local unit of the VHP was held under the presidentship of Mr Balwant Rai Garg. The parishad also strongly condemned the action of Taliban to destroy the statues in Afghanistan. They said that there was a need for a unified world action in this regard. Among others, Mr Manohar Lal Khanna, Mr Madan Lal Bhola, Mr Vidya Sagar Sharma, Mr Gulshan Kumar, Mr Subhash Sharma, Mr Naresh Sharma and Deepak Raj were also present.

RALLY: An army recruitment rally will take place on March 14 for Sikh and Gorkha youths. The recruitment officer said that in this rally youth from Ambala, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Panchkula and Chandigarh could participate. The candidate should be born between April 30, 1980 and March 13, 1985. The interested candidates should report on March 14 at 9 a.m. at the recruitment office, Ambala Cantonment. The candidates should bring all necessary documents with them.

YOUTH FESTIVAL: The Haryanavi group dance team of MDSD Girls College, Ambala City, was declared best at the Inter-Zonal Youth Festival of Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, held at Government College, Kalka, from Sunday to Tuesday. The college had already won the trophy of the best women college of Ambala zone in the zonal youth festival of the university held at Government College, Kalka, in November last year.

JIND
OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the managing committee of the local Hindu Kanya Mahavidyalaya: President — Mr Brij Mohan Singla; vice-president — Mr Ram Kishan Dairywala; general secretary — Mr Hari Madho Singal; and treasurer — Mr Sat Parkash Goyal.

STONE LAID: Mr Surinder Singh Barwala, member of Parliament, laid the foundation stone of the Vishvas community centre near the local Canal Rest House on Monday. He announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh for the construction of the centre.

KAITHAL
WEBSITE LAUNCHED: The Offshore Informatique Ltd (OIL) launched its website in Haryana at a function held at the local Milan Palace here on Sunday. The company’s marketing Director, Mr Maneet Dewan, launched the site.

ROHTAK
LOK ADALAT: A Lok Adalat was held to settle bank cases at the district court complex under the chairmanship of the district and Sessions Judge, Mr R.S. Madan recently. As many as 121 cases involving a sum of nearly Rs 53,11,889 were disposed of.

SONEPAT
RESENTMENT: Resentment prevails among sugarcane growers against the closure of the sugarcane purchasing centre at Murthal for the past two months. Many growers alleged that they were being forced to take away their produce to Pabnera village purchasing centre, where they were being forced to sell it at lower prices.

ACCIDENT: Two youths were seriously injured in two accidents on the G.T. Road near here on Monday. According to a report, both were stated to be in a serious condition.

ASSAULT: Mr Rishi Paul, an employee of the Telecom Department, was attacked by certain persons near Chhatehra village, about 6 km from here, on Monday. he was going to duty when the incident took place.

DEMONSTRATION: Safai karamcharis held a demonstration in front of the office of the municipal council here on Monday in protest against the non-payment of their salaries for January and February.

MISHAPS: Six persons, including a woman and two children were injured in three accidents in the city and nearby villages on Monday. According to reports, all injured persons were stated to be out of danger.

TRIBUTES: Tributes were paid to V.K. Jain, an RSS leader and the Deputy Registrar of the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi, by the leaders of various political parties, social, religious and voluntary organisations at a meeting held on the premises of the Shree Digamber Jain Mandir here on Monday.

BILASPUR
BANNED: The District Magistrate-cum-Deputy Commissioner, Mr Jagdish Chander Sharma, here on Monday, banned the carrying of arms and ammunition in Kot Kehloor police station area under Section 144, IPC, during the Hola Mohalla fair in the district. The ban would continue till March 10. Sale of liquor has also been banned.