R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

BARNALA
PM’S EFFIGY BURNT: Congress activists of Barnala and Shehna staged a dharna at the local Bhagat Singh chowk on Friday in protest against the alleged corruption in government circles exposed by tehelka.com. They also burnt an effigy of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Former Punjab ministers Jasbir Singh and Som Dutt Sharma and former MLAs Bachan Singh Pakho and Ramesh Singla were among those who sat on dharna.

FARIDKOT
DENTAL CAMP: A two-day dental camp organised by the local Dashmesh Institute of Research and Dental Sciences began here on Friday. More than 3,200 patients registered themselves for treatment. The camp was inaugurated by the Deputy Commissioner, Mr A. Venu Parsad.

HOSHIARPUR
BOOKED: On a complaint of Ms Romesh Rani of the local Fatehgarh mohalla, the Sadar police on Thursday registered a case under Sections 498A, 406 and 506 of the IPC against her husband Kulwinder Singh, father-in-law Pritam Singh, brother-in-law Bajinder Singh and mother-in-law Harjeet Kaur of Mulo Gangtia village in Ropar district. The complainant had alleged that she was being tortured by her in-laws.

ARRESTED: The police on Thursday arrested Amrit of Bahadurpur and seized 36,000 ml of Indian made foreign liquor from his possession. A case under the Excise Act has been registered.

LOANS: Loans worth Rs 336.26 crore under various schemes will be provided by the local branches of nationalised banks in the district during the current financial year. This was stated by Mr Iqbal Singh Sidhu, Deputy Commissioner.

KHARAR
CYCLIST KILLED: Shamsher Singh of Radiala village was killed when his cycle was knocked down by a truck near Daon village on the Kharar-SAS Nagar road on Saturday. The police has registered a case under Sections 279 and 304-A of the IPC.

VISIT : Mr Devinder Singh, SDM, Kharar, visited Ward Number 1 and 4 of Kharar Municipal Committee on Friday and listened to problems being faced by the residents of these wards. Residents told him about the condition of drains and lanes and shortage of drinking water. They also demanded improvement in the sanitary conditions there. Mr Davinder Singh also visited MC Colony and Sante Majra Colony.

DEATH ANNIVERSARY: The second barsi of Maj H.P. Singh, who laid down his life for the country, will be celebrated on April 12 at 11 a.m. at Government Middle School, Mundi Kharar. Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Finance Minister, Punjab, and Mrs Satwant Kaur Sandhu, Cabinet Minister, Punjab, and leaders of all political parties would pay their homage to the martyr.

MEDICAL CAMP: The Rotary Club, Kharar, in association with Mukat Hospital and Heart Institute, Chandigarh, is organising a free heart diseases checking and awareness camp at the local Khalsa School on April 8 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The ECG and other tests would be done free of cost at the camp.

LUDHIANA
SIKH LEAGUE: The Sikh League International has warned against transferring river water of Punjab to the neighbouring states. Releasing its manifesto here on Friday, the president of the league, Mr D.S. Gill, said the league attached top priority to securing of Punjab’s complete ownership, control and management of its river water resources. The league feels “Punjab’s right over it rivers has the sanction of international and national laws and practices and is an integral part of the human rights of its people. Closely related to these rights are Punjab’s concerns about its environment. The manifesto claimed that the Sikh League is a political party representing aspirations of the people with a firm faith in justice and peace, with equality, liberty and dignity for all, without any distinction of caste or creed, faith or nationality, status or sex.

SEMINAR: The second seminar on cold forging and forming techniques is scheduled to be held on April 10 at R&D Centre for Bicycle and Sewing Machine, Focal Point. According to a press release issued here on Saturday by Mr B. S. Sangha, General Manager of the centre, Mr Stanislaw Ziolkiewicz, who is an expert in cold storage and forming, would participate and share his experiences with the other participants. Mr B. M. Syal, Associate Vice-President, Highway Cycle Industries, would deliver keynote address.

URGED: Chowk Kothi Khwaja Azam Welfare Society has urged the Municipal Corporation not to sell MC land at Chowk Kothi Khwaja Azam, where a water tubewell had been installed. Mr Sunder Lal Mahta, general secretary of the society, said in a press note here that the land earmarked for construction of overhead water reservoir to cater to the drinking water needs of the locality, was now being sold for commercial use in public auction. He said if the plan for construction of the water tank had been shelved, the MC should set up a library at the site for the student community and members of public at large.

PAKISTAN YATRA: A jatha of devotees will leave for Pakistan on April 9 to pay obeisance at historical gurdwaras like Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Nankana Sahib, Sacha Sauda and Dehra Sahib. Giving this information here today Mr Kartar Singh Gharib, Sewadar of Guru Gobind Singh Sewak Jatha, has asked the devotees to collect their respective passports from the office. The bus will leave for Attari border on April 9 at 5 a.m. 

KHATRI SABHA FUNCTION: The 5th annual session of Punjab Khatri Sabha will be held at Mohini Resorts on Chandigarh Road here on April 29. According to the sabha president, Mr Jagdish Verma, delegates from all over the state will attend the session and deliberate upon various issues, including fight against social evils. Lala Lajpat Rai, Member Rajya Sabha, Mr Vijay Kumar Chopra of Hind Samachar Group and Mr Naresh Soni of Ram Sharnam will be the guests of honour at the function. 

MEHTA REMAINS PRESIDENT: The state unit of Janata Dal (United) has maintained that Mr P.J.S. Mehta remains the president of the state unit and no change has been effected in this respect. Mr Jagdish Anand, general secretary, Mr K.S. Budhiraja, secretary of the state unit of the party and Mr Kimti Lal, district president, have said in a joint statement that a resolution adopted in a meeting held here about removal of Mr Mehta was illegal. Further, Mr Jagpal Singh Chahal, Mr Sukhchain Singh Tuli and Mr Kuldip Singh Brar were neither office-bearers nor members of the party.

WRITER HONOURED: Yuvak Likhari Sedh and Training Centre will honour Dr Gurmeet Singh Barsal, an NRI writer from California (USA), for his book ‘Virse di pehchaan’ with the title of ‘Virse da Vanjara’ on April 14 at the Bhai Mani Singh Seminar Hall, Model Town Extension. Prof Balwinder Pal Singh, Director, Directorate of Languages; Dr Ramandeep Singh, president, and Prof Inderpal Singh, general secretary, Yuvak Likhari Sedh and Training Centre will be present on the occasion.

MANSA
TWO BEATEN UP: Two persons were allegedly beaten up by Mr Mukand Singh Mallhi, SHO, city police station, in front of the police station. Mr Hakam Singh, DSP, has expressed his ignorance of the incident. One of the persons beaten up was reportedly a correspondent of a vernacular publication.

SWAROZGAR YOJANA: Mrs Raji P. Shrivastava, Deputy Commissioner, stated that under the Swarn Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana, 462 persons of the district belonging to the below poverty line category had been benefited during 2000-01.

OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the ministerial staff of Health Department, Mansa; president — Mr Balwant Singh; general secretary — Mr Sukhwant Singh Bhatti; and treasurer — Mr Jeet Singh.

PATIALA
IAS (MAIN) EXAM: As many as 19 students of the Vidya Sagar Shastri Memorial IAS Study Centre here have cleared the Civil Services (Main) exams as declared by the Union Public Service Commission on Friday.

FUNCTION: The Teacher Welfare Front organised a function at Punjabi University guest-house on Saturday. Mr Murali Manohar Joshi, Human Resources Development Minister was the chief guest. Mr Mohan Lal, Minister of Higher Education, and Dr J.S. Ahluwalia, Vice-Chancellor, were also present. Dr S.M. Verma, co-convener, told the gathering about the various achievements of the university since Dr Ahluwalia took over as Vice-Chancellor of the university. He highlighted the efforts made by the university in the field of IT education, computer education and arranging of the multi-faculty millennium series of lectures, seminars and symposiums.

SAMRALA
APPOINTMENT HAILED: Mr Balwant Singh Chahal, district general secretary of the SAD, has been appointed as additional secretary of the local Nankana Sahib Public School, by the Chairman of the Nankana Sahib Education Trust, Ludhiana, according to the secretary of the SGPC, Amritsar. This appointment has been widely hailed by Jathedar Kirpal Singh Khirnian, member SGPC; Jathedar Joginder Singh Seh, district general secretary and Jathedar Jagjeewan Singh Khirnian, chairman of the land mortgage bank, here on Saturday.

PROMOTIONS WELCOMED: Mr Bihari Lal Saddi, vice-president of Government Secondary School Teachers Union, Punjab, has welcomed the promotions and appointments of the headmasters and principals in compliance with the judgement of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the implementation of the Ajit Singh Janjua case judgement by the Supreme Court of India. Talking to media in the local civil rest house, Mr Saddi said that promotions for lecturers and masters were in the offing. Meantime, Mr Saddi has requested the Punjab Education Department to fill up the vacant posts of teachers immediately so that there was no loss of studies of the students.

CHANDIGARH

CONDEMNED: The Ropar District Chemist Association has criticised the hike in the drug licence fee by the Central Government from Rs 40 to Rs 2,500 per year. Mr Harish Chander Sethi, president of the association, said the fee hike would force many chemists to close their shops.

HARYANA

AMBALA
SCHOOL FUNCTION: A cultural programme was organised at the annual function of Jain Girls Senior Secondary School and Lord Mahavir Jain Model School, Ambala Cantonment on Saturday. The students of both the schools performed Indian as well as western dances to foot-tapping numbers. Principal of Jain Girls Senior Secondary School said the students had performed well in the board examination as well as in sports and cultural events. Principal of Lord Mahavir Jain Model School, said the school was started in 1995 with a strength of 63 students and five teachers and today it had a strength of over 700 students and a staff of 40.

ONE KILLED: One person was killed and another injured in a road accident in Ambala City on Saturday. According to the; police, Narender Singh was killed when his motor cycle collided with a vehicle on the police line road. One of his friend travelling along with him was also injured. The police has registered a case.

HISAR
PISTOL SEIZED: The police arrested Harbans Singh of Telian Pul area and seized a countrymade pistol from his possession on Friday. The local police, along with personnel of Special Crime Branch of the Delhi Police, raided his house and arrested him.

LIQUOR SEIZED: The police seized 100 bottles of illicit liquor from Karnail Singh and Ram Singh of nearby Piranwali village on Friday. Both have been arrested.

3 HELD: The police has arrested Sunder Singh, Jinder and Surender of Badya village, members of a vehicle-lifters’ gang and recovered a stolen motorcycle from their possession.

ARRESTED: The police arrested Amarjeet, a member of a gang of dacoits, here on Friday. According to the police, Amarjeet and his three companions had looted Rs 1,65000 from a person at Narnaund, near here, six months ago.

JHAJJAR
STOLEN: Four unidentified youths allegedly took away a Tata 407 near Ladravan village on Thursday. The police has registered a case under Section 379 of the IPC.

JIND
THEFT: Thieves allegedly broke open the shutter of a tailor shop in the local Housing Board colony on Thursday and took away clothes worth thousands of rupees. The matter has been reported to the police.

KALKA
STRIKE: Three wheeler operators went on strike on Friday and raised slogans in front of the local police station. The local administration had taken a decision a few days back that in order to tackle the problem of traffic jams on the national highway, no three-wheeler or taxi would be allowed to be parked on the highway, or on the roadside. The SDM, Mr Sandeep Singh, had earmarked a special parking place for three-wheelers and taxis. When the police forced the operators to park their vehicles on the earmarked place, operators went on strike. A delegation of the operators union, led by its president, Mr Pawan Sareen, met SHO Pawan Kumar Rana. They resolved the issue and the strike was withdrawn.

KURUKSHETRA
GRIEVANCES HEARD: Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala heard the grievances of 17 village panchayats during the second phase of the “Sarkar Aapke Dwar’ programme at Pundri, 40 km from here on Friday. Mr Chautala directed the Superintending Engineer of the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam to install transformers in Singhpura and Pindarsi villages. Mr Tejbir Singh, Mr Leela Ram, Mr Dhinanath and Mr Amar Singh Dhanda, all MLAs, Dr Mahavir Singh, Mrs Jyoti Arora and Mr Davinder Singh, Deputy Commissioners of Kaithal, Kurukshetra and Karnal, respectively, were among those present on the occasion.

PANIPAT
SURGEON’S FEAT: The name of an eye-surgeon of the city, Dr B.K. Gupta, has appeared in the Limca Book of Records-2001 for publishing an All-India Doctors’ Address Book. The book contains information about 1,53,115 allopathic doctors.

LOOTED: Two scooter-borne persons, Mr Ram Niwas and Mr Bansi Lal of Jorasi village, were looted of cash and beaten up by four armed miscreants on a link road to their village on Thursday. The victims later apprised the Samalkha police of the incident.

SONEPAT
POSTPONED: The Haryana Civil Medical Services Association (HCMSA) has postponed its annual convention scheduled for Sunday in the city in view of the death of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal. Dr D.B. Rawal, the president of the association, said the next date for the convention would be announced shortly.

SURVEY: The local municipal council has stepped up the work for the completion of a special survey for the assessment of the house tax under the new policy introduced by the state government.

PRAYER MEETING: A prayer meeting in memory of veteran freedom fighter Ram Dhan Sharma will be held on April 11 on the premises of Deen Bandhu Chhotu Ram Samaik Sansthan here.

THREAT: Varsha of Atayal village on Friday threatened to burn herself in front of the SP’s residence if the police failed to arrest the persons allegedly involved in the murder of her sister, Ms Pushpa, at Guhna village in the district.

ALLEGED: The safai workers of the Kharkhauda town in the district have alleged that their salary for the past six months had not been paid and repeated complaints made to the civic authorities in this regard had fallen on deaf ears.

PROTEST: Mr Ram Singh, the sarpanch of Udesipur village, in a written complaint to the BSNL authorities on Friday, protested against the alleged failure of the Telecom Department in laying cable for providing telephone connections of the village.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

SHIMLA
SELECTED: The Bhutti Weavers Cooperative Society has selected Mr Mool Chand for its annual Ved Ram National Award for excellence in handicraft and weaving. Mr T.R. Sharma, a former Chief Postmaster General, was selected for the award for his contribution in administration and literature and Dr K.K. Rattu, Assistant Director, Doordarshan, Shimla, for journalism.