ABOHAR
WARRANT: A non-bailable arrest warrant had been issued against Mr Kamal Nagpal, Editor of the local daily Partap Kesri, by the court of Mr Lalit Kumar Singla here on Wednesday. The Editor was an accused in a defamation case of Mr Rajiv Khanna versus Kamal Nagpal.

AMRITSAR
EFFIGY BURNT: An effigy of the Taliban was burnt in front of the Hall Gate, by the Bajrang Dal on Thursday in protest against the destruction of Buddhist statues in Afghanistan.

BARNALA
EYE CAMP: Five hundred and fifty eye patients were examined and 50 operated upon at a free eye operation camp organised by the local Lions Club, at the Civil Hospital, Thikriwala village, about 5 km from here, which concluded on March 8. According to Ms Pardeep Kumar Goyal, president, of the club, the camp was inaugurated by Mr Malkit Singh Keetu, MLA, Barnala.

DORAHA
WOMEN'S DAY: Guru Nanak National College, Doraha, celebrated International Women’s Day on Thursday. Dr Inderjit Kaur Vashist, principal, Government College for Women, Ludhiana, presided over the function. She stressed the need of independence and self-sufficiency among modern woman. Ms Rajinder Kaur Bulara, former MP; Dr Ms Gursaran Sidhu, President, Rotary Club, Doraha, Ms Surinder Kaur, Lecturer in Punjabi, Swami Ganga Giri Janta Girls College, Raikot; Dr S.K. Vashist, Head of Hindi Department, Govt College for Boys; Mr Kuldip Singh , Lecturer in Political Science, Govt College for Boys, also shared their views on women and their indispensible place in society. Prof Harvinder Kaur, Girls Wing Incharge, welcomed the guest and a word of thanks came from the Principal, Mr Jaswant Singh Gill. 

GURDASPUR
CELEBRATED: The local Inner Wheel Club celebrated Women’s Day here on Thursday in the local Ladies Club. Ms Meeta Goyal, wife of the SDM, presided.

HOSHIARPUR
SNATCHED: Two scooter-borne unidentified youths snatched a purse containing Rs 50,000 from Mrs Raj Kaur, a resident of Talwandi Salan, near Tanda on Wednesday. Mrs Raj Kaur withdrew the amount from the Punjab National Bank branch, Tanda, and was going to her village. The police has registered a case.

LIFE IMPRISONMENT: Mr G.D. Gupta, Additional District and Sessions Judge, Hoshiarpur, has sentenced four persons to life imprisonment and fined them Rs 5,000 each in a murder case.

PETROL STATION LOOTED: Satvir Singh of Mal Mazara along with two others smashed windowpanes of the Bana Mal Ganga Ram petrol station, opposite Government Polytechnic on the Jalandhar road, on Tuesday and took away Rs 250 and lubricant tins. They cut the telephone wires and broke the instrument. A case has been registered.

DEVELOPMENT OFFICERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Block Development Officers Union, Hoshiarpur: president — Mr Charanji Lal; vice-president — Ms Nirmal Kaur; district secretary — Mr Mohan Singh; treasurer — Mr Balbir Singh; and propaganda secretary — Mr Karnail Singh.

JAGRAON
KILLED: Lakhbir Singh s/o Pritam Singh and Joginder Singh s/o Bakhshish Singh, both of Talwandi Rai were digging a well at Burj Lattan, when all of sudden the earth caved in and both were buried alive. The villagers saved Joginder Singh, but Lakhbir Singh could not be saved. 

SHOPS BURGLED : Thieves burgled two shops at Railway link road, a bakery and a karyana store after breaking open the shutters, despite the deployment of the night watchman. The thieves stole cash, packed eatables, ghee tins and other items. The total loss has not been assessed so far. 

HOLI CELEBRATED: Holi was celebrated with fervour in the city. People were seen moving in groups with colours in their hands on different vehicles. However, the involvement of children was limited due to school exams. 

JALANDHAR
RECOVERED: The district police has solved a robbery case with the arrest of two persons and recovered 21,000 from their possession. Mr Gaurav Yadav, SSP, said here on Thursday that Subash Chander Bhalla, a resident of the local Green Park Colony, in his complaint on January 30 had alleged that two unidentified persons had looted an amount of Rs 62,000 while he was on way to home after closing his shop.

KHAMANO
CAMP FOR FARMERS: A camp was organised by the marketing wing of the Agriculture Department, Punjab, with the help of Action Research and Training Institution (ARTI) Amrala at village Amrala, near here, in which Dr Ram Singh, Agriculture Development Officer, Dr Ajit Singh, Kaler Agriculture Marketing Officer Khamano and Dr P.L. Soni, Assistant ADO, Fatehgarh Sahib, took part. Kisan leaders Karam Singh Amrala and Kuldip Singh Luhar Majra raised problems being faced by farmers in grain markets. Dr Soni and Dr Ajit Singh Kaler assured they would raise these matters with the higher officials. Information was also provided about credit cards and soil investigation. Chairman of ARTI, Surinder Singh Bath, vice-chairman, Dr Devinder Singh Randhawa and General secretary, Smt Kamaljeet Kaur thanked all the officials and farmers who participated in the camp. 

POOR POWER SUPPLY: People of this area are sore over the poor supply of electricity from the local grid. In a day, people here get about 10 to 12 hours of power supply only. There are unscheduled power cuts and board officials say that they cannot do anything about it. People here fear that the situation will worsen in summer. Many social bodies here plan to launch an agitation if the situation does not improve. 

CHETNA RALLY: Bahujan chetna rally is being held by the Bahujan Samaj Morcha on March 16 at Kang Market, Khamano. Stating this here the secretary, Mr Rajwinder Singh Bhalmajra, of the district told that the President of Bahujan Samaj Morcha, Mr Satnam Singh Kainth, will address this chetna rally. He also told that some important decisions will be taken at this rally on common grievances of poor people. 

LEHRA MOHABBAT
PROMOTED: Mr Subhash Bansal, Chief Engineer, Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant, has been promoted as the General Manager from March 1, 2001, according the order issued by the Joint Secretary ( Service 1), Punjab State Electricity Board.

MACHHIWARA
HOLI FESTIVAL: Youths celebrated Holi, the festival of colours and joy, with great zeal and enthusiasm. They congratulated each other and put colours on each other.

HOLA MOHALLA: The people of nearby villages have set up the community langars for the Hola Mohalla visitors, on the way to Anandpur Sahib, on Rahon Road, Kohara Road and Chamkaur Sahib Road. Apart from it, thousands of devotees are visiting the local historic gurudwaras, Sri Charan Kanwal Sahib and Gani Khan Nabi Khan, on their way to Anandpur Sahib everyday. The Gurdwaras have been specially decorated for the occasion. 

MALERKOTLA
MURDER CASE: The police on Thursday arrested Ajaib Singh, Sikander Singh and Bikar Singh of Kunaar village, near here, in connection with the murder of Makhan Singh, a taxi driver, at Bhiki village near Bathinda. A case has been registered.

THEFT: Some thieves entered the shop of Madan Lal at the main market of the Kelon gate on Wednesday and decamped with cash, tea bags, sugar bags, soap packets etc. A case has been registered.

BOY KILLED: A 12-year-old schoolboy was crushed to death by a bus (No PB 10-9758) at Malod village on Tuesday. According to information, Goldy was crossing the road when the bus hit him. A case has been registered.

MANSA
BANNED: Ms Raji P. Shrivastava, District Magistrate, has banned the use of polythene bags in the district. She has also prohibited the use of loudspeakers without prior permission from the Sub Divisional Magistrate. She has also instructed all marriage palaces, hotels and restaurants to get no-objection certificates within 15 days. The orders will be effective till May 7.

ARRESTED: The Mansa police arrested on Wednesday seven “satta” operators — Neru Agarwal, Ramji Dass, Gansham Mal, Naresh Kumar, Hari Ram, Surinder Kumar and Om Veer — on gambling charges. Cases have been registered against them.

STOLEN: Four thousand litres petrol worth Rs 1.2 lakh was stolen on Wednesday from Janagal Filling Station at Phaphre Bhaike village in the district, according to proprietor Gurdeep Singh. The Bhikhi police has registered a case. However, no person had been arrested, SSP Yurinder Singh Hayer said.

SEMINAR: The Rotary Club will organise a seminar on “ Prevention of heart disease” with the help of eminent cardiologists from BBC Heart Care Centre, Jalandhar, on March 10. The cardiologists will also present a slide show on the subject, Mr Ashok Sapolia, President of the club, said.

TRANSFERRED: The Civil Surgeon of Mansa, Dr Niranjan Singh Suman, has been transferred. Dr S.S. Sharma of Hoshiarpur will take over as the Civil Surgeon of Mansa district.

KILLED: Jeep driver Rashpal Happy was killed on Thursday and two others, Avtar Singh Tara and Balwinder Binder, were injured when the jeep collided with a truck near Bhikhi town bus stand in the district. The injured were admitted to the civil hospital.

ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Bhikhi unit of the Registered Medical Practitioner Association: patron — Mr Roop Singh Dalewan; president — Mr Har Chand; senior vice-president — Mr Gurdeep Dass; vice-president — Mr Rakesh Kumar; secretary — Mr Kewal Kumar and treasurer — Mr Bachiter Singh.

CAMP: As many as 752 persons were examined at a 15-day magnetic therapy camp organised by the Budhlada unit of the Bharat Vikas Parishad in collaboration with Om Magnetic Therapy Centre of Nagpur, Maharashtra.

BUDGET SEMINAR: The local City Club and the Education Vigil Society, Mansa, will organise a seminar on Union Budget-2001 on March 11 at 9.45 a.m. at Summer Field Public High School. People from all sections of the society have been invited to give their views on the Budget. Mr Parkash Singh Lamhey, Additional Deputy Commissioner ( Development), will preside over the seminar, according to Mr Ashok Sadiora, president of the society.

MUKTSAR
NEW COLLEGE: The Desh Bhagat Group of Institutes will start a new college of paramedical sciences from next session, a press note issued here by the Administrator, Desh Bhagat Dental College, here said.

NAWANSHAHR
EYE CAMP: A free eye operation camp was organised at Nirmal Ashram Kajla ( Banga), about 12 km from here, on Wednesday in memory of Sant Baba Rann Singh and Sant Baba Mela Singh. As many as 580 patients were examined and 120 operations performed by a team of doctors. Medicines and spectacles were also given free of cost. The Deputy Commissioner, Dr Roshan Sunkaria, inaugurated the camp.

CONVENTION: The Istri Jagriti Manch, Punjab, organised a convention here at JSFH Khalsa High School on Thursday to mark the International Women’s Day. Mrs Gurbux Kaur Sangha, Mrs Gurbux Kaur Warrai and Mrs Kusum Sharma addressed the gathering.

ARRESTED: SSP Ishwar Singh in a press note issued here on Thursday said the police had arrested two persons, Satish Kumar Sharma of Dharampur and Kamaljit Singh of Bilga village, and seized 750 gram opium from them.

PATIALA
BOOK RELEASED: The State Language Department organised a function to release Hardial Thuhi’s book Punjabi Lok Dhadi Kala here on Friday. The book comprises various cultural and traditional values that are lacking in society. The function was presided over by the Director, State Language Department, Dr Madan Lal Hasija. 

SOCIETY FORMED: A local group formed a society comprising various artists in different fields relating to Punjabi folk music and dance and named it the Punjabi Lok Kalakar Panchayat at a meeting held here on Friday. Various Punjabi folk forms such as lok sangeet, kavishri, dhadi, gawantri, naklia, nachar and giddha will be paid attention to by the society. The members decided to revive the element of folk instinct among the people. 

APPEAL: Dr Satwant Singh Mohi, a former MLA and president of the Minorities and Dalit Morcha, on Friday appealed to the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, to look into the increasing use of narcotics by Sikh community, especially the present generation. Mr Jagdev Singh Talwandi, president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandhak Committee expressed similar views. 

INAUGURATED: Raja Narinder Singh, Punjab Public Health Minister, inaugurated a dharamshala for tribes at Kadupur village in Nabha subdivision near here on Friday. He also laid the foundation stone of the road to Aghol village. Raja Narinder Singh added that 75 per cent financial grant would be provided by the government for laying of the sewerage system in the village for the Valmikis and Ramdasias and the remaining amount would be provided by the villagers for further development.

SAMRALA
HOLI CELEBRATIONS: Holi was celebrated here on Friday with great pomp and show. The young and the old were seen playing holi in bazaars. On this occasion, Mr Sandeep Hans, SDM Samrala; MLA Amrik Singh Dhillon and member SGPC Jathedar Kirpal Singh Khirnian, greeted citizens. 

ANNUAL FUNCTION: The annual prize distribution and cultural programme in Punjab Public School, Ropalan was held on Thursday. The Technical Education Minister, Mr Jagdish Singh Garcha, chief guest on this occasion, gave away the prizes. On this occasion school children staged impressive dramas, gidha, bhangra and skits. The principal of the school read the annual progress report of the school. 

LANGAR: Free langar, (kitchen), was served at Neelon Kalan, 9 km from here arranged by Naujawan Sabha on the eve of Hola Mohalla. Thousands of persons partook of the langar. Mr Jasbinder Singh Dhillon, councillor, Samrala, inaugurated the function. Many prominent personalities of Samrala and surrounding areas were also present. 

AMBALA
SURPRISE CHECK: Twenty nine officials and employees of different departments were found absent during a surprise check conducted by Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr Mahinder Kumar, and Subdivisional Magistrate, Mr M.K. Ahuja, on Friday. Strict action has been recommended against the officials and employees who were found absent. The team first visited the office of the Irrigation Department, where three employees were found absent in division 3 and in division 5, four employees were absent. Four employees were found absent in District Employment Office while four employees were found absent in Food and Supplies Department. 

FIRST IN CENSUS: Ambala has stood first in census work in Haryana, Deputy Commissioner of Ambala, Mr D.D. Gautam, said here on Friday. Mr Gautam said the census details were first deposited by Ambala district in Delhi. On that basis, Census Director, Mr Sunil Gulati, had declared Ambala first in census work. He said the best employees and officials would be honoured at a function soon, a release said. TNS

WEB SITE: The Subdivisional Magistrate, Mr M.K. Ahuja, on Thursday said Ambala would soon be on the Internet. Mr Ahuja said the website on Ambala would contain information on various aspects, including development work, population, education and industries. He said if any person has some additional information about Ambala, the person should contact the DPRO office or the SDM office. Mr Ahuja said the website would also contain information on history, important religious places, government offices and photographs of different departments located in Ambala, a release said.

MAHILA SHAKTI MELA: The Haryana Governor, Babu Parmanand, will inaugurate Mahila Shakti Mela, which will be organised from March 16 to 20 at War Heroes Memorial Stadium, Ambala Cantonment. Women industrialists and social activists have been invited at the mela to set up stalls. On March 20, the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, will preside over the function. 

CALENDAR OF CAMPS: The District Health Department will prepare a calendar for blood donation camps to be organised by educational institutions so that the collected blood can be utilised in planned manner. This was stated by the Deputy Commissioner, Mr D.D. Gautam, at a meeting of social organisations and educational institutions held on Friday for reviewing the working of the district blood bank. Some of the speakers, criticising the functioning of the blood bank, said voluntary blood donors and organisations were not attended to properly there. 

KASAULI
Water scarcity: Shortage of water, erratic power supply and the bad state of roads in Garkhal, 5 km from here, reflects the lacklustre attitude of the departments concerned. Frequent power cuts have become a cause of concern, particularly for students.

KULU
DONATION: Staff of the officers of the Deputy Commissioner, Kulu, Sub-division Magistrate, Manali, and Banjar, have contributed Rs 38, 290 towards the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for Gujarat earthquake victims.

OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the District Health Supervisors: president — Mrs Maya Sharma; senior vice-president —Mrs Chandra Thakur; general secretary — Gian Chand Pathania; and finance secretary — Mrs Leela Chauhan.

TELECOM ENGINEERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the district unit of the Telecom Engineer Officers Association: president — Mr Ajay Vats; vice-president — Mr Navneet Kumar; district secretary — Mr Rakesh Chopra; assistant district secretary — Mr Anil Mahant; organising secretary — Mr Bhupender Singh; and treasurer — Mr Harbinder Lal Thakur.

MANDI
DROWNED: A five-year-child, Jeevan, was drowned in the distribution tank of the Balh Valley Midum Irrigation Project at Kot village on Tuesday. Narpat Ram, father of the child, alleged that the outlet line of the tank had been choked and it was full to the brim and it had become a death trap for the children.