R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMLOH
STONE LAID: In the Amloh assembly segment 12 primary, middle and high schools have been upgraded, Mr Balwant Singh Shahpur, MLA, said while addressing a rural gathering after laying the foundation stone of a school coumpound at Anian village, 2 km from here, on Thursday. He announced to upgrade the primary school to the middle school level from the next year. Mr Shahpur said that Rs 2 crore had been sanctioned for the choe bridge at Badali, 4 km from here. Earlier, Mr Shahpur inaugurated the circular road measuring 1.5 km laid at a cost of Rs 8 lakh at Sounti village.

AMRITSAR
DISMISSAL SOUGHT: Mr Sri Ram Arsh, president of the Punjabi Sahit Kala Kendra, has urged state Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to dismiss Mr H.S. Bhatti, general secretary of the kendra. In a letter to the Chief Minister, Mr Arsh alleged that Mr Bhatti had misappropriated funds of the kendra. He sought a high-level probe into the matter.

CHEQUES DISTRIBUTED: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal presided over a “sangat darshan” programme held at Rayya on Thursday. Nearly 53 gram panchayats of Baba Bakala subdivision were given cheques of more than Rs 2 crore on this occasion.

SEMINAR: A two-day seminar on “Administrative Reforms-Problems and Solutions” concluded here. Dr Baldev Raj Chawla, Punjab Minister for Health and Family Welfare, was the chief guest on the valedictory function.

SANCTIONED: The UGC has sanctioned a research project of Rs 6.27 lakh to Dr Pushpinder Kaur, Professor and Head of Zoology Department of Guru Nanak Dev University. This was stated in a press note issued by the university here on Thursday.

BARNALA
EARMARKED: An amount of Rs 25 crore has been earmarked for the arrangement of drinking water in Sangrur district. This was stated by Mr Narinder Singh, Public Health and Civil Aviation Minister, Punjab, while inaugurating a waterworks system built at an approximate cost of Rs 5 lakh at Diwana village, about 20 km from here, on Wednesday.

BATHINDA
NOMINATED: Mr Gurpreet Singh Kangar, a senior Youth Akali leader and member of the Zila Parishad, has been nominated as a Director on the Board of Directors of Faridkot Bathinda Kshetriya Gramina Bank, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. The nomination is made for a period of two years.

PROCUREMENT: The district administration has claimed that the procurement of wheat was in full swing. A press note issued here said 111 centres had been set up for the purpose and were being supervised by 10 officers.

CONDEMNED: The Bathinda unit of the Arya Samaj has condemned the demolition of the Arya Samaj Bhawan, situated at the Minto Road in New Delhi by officials of the Delhi Development Authority. This was stated in a press note issued by Mr Prem Bhatia, president of the organisation, here on Thursday.

FEROZEPORE
UNEARTHED: A team of Excise and Taxation officials, led by Mr H.S. Bedi, ETO, raided a place near Mudki and unearthed an illicit distillery and seized 11 bottles of country-made liquor. An FIR has been lodged against Prem in this connection.

GURDASPUR
2 HELD: The police has arrested Jaswinder Singh and his sister Harjinder Kaur, local residents, on a charge of abducting a girl studying in 12th standard. Mr Varinder Kumar, SSP, said the girl had also been found.

CAMP ORGANISED: The District Red Cross and the local unit of the Bharat Vikas Parishad organised a camp at Purana Shalla and Sahowal for the handicapped on Thursday. As many as 47 persons were selected for pension and 30 for providing free artificial limbs, callipers, hearing aids and tricycles.

BANNED: Mr B. Vikram, District Magistrate, has imposed a ban on the digging of stone by the brick-kiln owners on the area falling along Chakki river upto the limits of Gurdaspur district till June 10 under Section 144 of the Cr PC. He said the closure had been necessitated as Chakki river had started changing its course.

QUACK HELD: The police on Thursday arrested a private medical practitioner who was running a clinic without a proper licence at Babowal, 2 km from here. Mr Varinder Kumar, SSP, said a case had been registered against him.

SACKED COP HELD : The police on Wednesday arrested Devinder Singh of Guru Nanak Nagar here for snatching the purse of Mrs Anuradha of Krishna Gali here on April 11. The suspect is a dismissed special police officer. The police has registered a case under Section 379 of the IPC against him and recovered Rs 2,000 from his possession.

HOSHIARPUR
MEETING: A meeting of the Returning Officers, and Assistant Returning Officers for all Assembly segments in the district was held here on Thursday. Mr Iqbal Singh, Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer, presided over the meeting.

STONE LAID: Mr C.L. Bains, Financial Commissioner (Develop-ment), Punjab, laid the foundation stone of 1.38 km-long link road to be constructed at a cost of Rs 13.50 lakh from Pathial village to Satiana on Wednesday.

KHAMANO
HUKAMNAMA: Various social, religious, cultural and political organisations have welcomed the hukamnama issued by Akal Takht regarding ultrasound scanning for foetus removal of female. Mr Prem Singh, Mr Gurdial Singh (SAD), Mr Gurdial Singh (BSP), and Mr Amrik Singh Dhillon, MLA, said in spite of the law the people would give more respect for hukamnama.

DEATH CONDOLED: Various parties have expressed grief over the death of Sahib Singh Salana, a companion of Bhagat Singh. In a statement, Mr Tarlochan, Mr Amar Aftab, Mr J.L. Nanda, Mr Rupinderjit Singh, Mr Amrik Singh Dhillon, Mr Kirpal Singh and Babu Gurdial expressed grief.

LUDHIANA
AWARDED: Dr Kirti Dua, who is working as a scientist in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, Ethics and Jurisprudence, PAU has been awarded with Dr D.C. Blood Gold Medal for his outstanding contributions in teaching, research and other activities in the field of veterinary medicine. This gold medal was awarded at the 19th annual convention of the Indian Society of Veterinary medicine held at Jammu from April 9 to 11. Dr Dua, a Ph.D from University of Wales, UK, has done excellent work on the mineral homeostasis in ruminants and has published more than 40 papers in journals of international and national repute.

ELECTED: Dr J.S. Kang, in charge, Forage Section of the Agronomy Department, has been elected as fellow of the Indian Society of Environment and Eco-planning: Dr Kang is executing projects under the guidance of Dr K.K. Dhingra, Head, Department of Agronomy.

MANSA
BOYCOTT: The District Bar Association, Mansa, has decided to boycott all judicial and executive courts with immediate effect for an indefinite period. This was stated by the press secretary of the association, Mr Parvinder Kumar Arora, here on Wednesday.

DIRECTED: Ms Raji P. Shrivastava, Deputy Commissioner, has directed the Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry, to undertake the vaccination of animals to protect them from diseases, including foot and mouth disease, in the district. During the last week of March, more than 20 animals died due to the disease in the district.

PENSIONERS’ CAMP: A Punjab Government pensioner’ grievances redressal camp will be held at Bachat Bhavan here on April 27. The camp will be attended by Ms Raji P. Shrivastava, Deputy Commissioner, Dr S.S. Sharma, Civil Surgeon, District Treasury Officer, and Lead Bank Officer, State Bank of Patiala.

PATIALA
RESOLUTION ADOPTED: Bank employees need to fight the moves initiated by the government to privatise the banking industry. This was stated by Dr Sucha Singh Gill, Prof of Economics, during the flag-hosting ceremony at the 56th Foundation day of the All-India Bank Employees at Prabhat Parvana Trade Union Centre here on Friday. Dr Gill said there was need to explain the details of the negative effects of the new economic policies on the common man. A resolution moved by Mr N.K. Gaur general secretary, Punjab Bank Employees Federation, was also adopted to support the struggle of BALCO workers.

ELECTED: Mr Kapoor Singh Cheema has been elected president of the Practising Advocates Welfare Association. The other members are working president — Mr Mineet Kumar Goyal; vice-president — Mr Amritbir Singh; general secretary — Mr Jagjeet Singh Jandu; joint secretary — Ms Gurbinder Kaur Virk; and cashier — Mr Williamjit Singh Kharoud.

EMPLOYEES' DEMANDS: The employees demands which have since long been pending need to be fulfilled. This was stated by Mr Hari Singh Tohra, president of the Punjab State Employee Unit, while addressing the PWD Electrical Workers Union here on Friday. Mr Amrik Singh Shergill, president of the PWD Electrical Workers Union, said scale of the field and technical employees should be raised as was the case with clerical employees. Various other members said it was high time the government ensured that the demands of the employees were fulfilled.

DEATH CONDOLED: Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Punjab Chief Minister, on Friday expressed sorrow at the demise of Ranjit Singh, a member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandhak Committee from Sanaur. Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Finance and Planning Minister, assured that a government high school in Sanaur would be upgraded to class XII and would be named after Ranjit Singh.

SCHOOL DOWNGRADED: The school in Chahal village has been downgraded. This was stated by Mr Sukhdev Singh Pandher, president of the Shaheede Aajam Bhagat Singh Memorial Sports and Cultural Club, here on Friday. He said 60 years back, the school was graded lower middle school. When the appeal was made to the government, Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal, a Rajya Sabha member, announced that the school would be upgraded to middle school.

ROPAR
FLYING SQUADS: The district administration has formed seven flying squads to check tax evasion during the wheat procurement. This was stated by the Deputy Commissioner, Mr G.S. Grewal, here.

SAMRALA
FUNDS DISTRIBUTED: A sum of Rs 2.25 crore has been distributed in the 645 of the 1230 villages in the Ropar-parliamentary constituency according to Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo, MP. He said he also distributed cheques worth Rs 6.25 lakh among 25 villages for the development projects in villages.

CHANDIGARH

EXHIBITION TODAY: “Phulkari”, an exhibition of feminine wear designed by Navnee, will be inaugurated at Aroma Hotel in Sector 22 on Saturday. A wide range of formal and casual will be on display.

BIRTH ANNIVERSARY: The ESIC Employees SC/ST Welfare Association, Punjab, will celebrate the birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar at Ambedkar Bhavan in Sector 37 on Sunday. Mr Charanjit Singh Atwal, Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, will be the chief guest, according to a press note.

HARYANA

AMBALA
STABBED: A youth was stabled by some other youths at Ambala city on Friday. He was rushed to the local civil hospital from where he was shifted to PGI, Chandigarh. According to information Rajesh, a resident of Chowk Darjiyan, was attacked in Pilpli Bazar. He sustained serious knife injuries. The police has registered a case in this regard.

PUBLIC SERVICE CENTRE: The MLA of Ambala Cantt, Mr Anil Vij, will inaugurate a Public Service Centre at Gandhi Market in Ambala Cantonment on April 23. The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr Mahender Kumar, said it would be the first service centre of its kind in the district which would provide shelter to the labourers coming from distant villages to earn their livelihood.

KISAN CLUB: To give the latest information regarding agriculture to farmers, a Kisan Club was formed here on Friday. Speaking on the occasion the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr Mahinder Kumar said there was need to incorporate scientific methods in traditional ways of agriculture so that there was increase in production. He said keeping WTO in mind, efforts must be made in the field of agriculture. The Deputy Director, Dr Rajbir Singh, said kisan clubs had proved a success in Kaithal and Kurukshetra. He suggested that regular field visits should also take place for the farmers. He said crop diversification and water management would be some of the areas which would be stressed upon. He said the club members must fulfil at least one of the three conditions — crop diversification, new techniques and water management.

SEC 144 IMPOSED: The District Magistrate, Mr D.D. Gautam, on Friday imposed Section 144 on the use of combines for harvesting. He said the step has been taken to prevent the possibility of spread of fire and prevent air pollution, a release said.

FIRE IN GODOWN: A fire broke out in a godown containing children’s school bags in Ambala Sadar on Thursday night. No one was injured in the incident. The fire started in the godown, located at Kikligar Mohalla in Ambala Sadar area, at about 1.30 a.m. The godown, located on the first floor of the building, was used to store school bags. A neighbour spotted smoke coming out of the godown and the fire brigade was informed. The fire was brought under control by 5 a.m.

PANIPAT
ORDERED: The Additional Sessions Judge, Dr Neelima Shangla, has ordered a truck driver to pay a compensation of Rs 2.87 lakh to the next of the kin of a canter driver who lost his life in a road accident on July 7, 1998. According to case report, a canter driver, Shyam Kumar of Khojkipur village in Panipat district was injured in the accident and later succumbed to his injuries. After hearing the case, the court found the truck driver, Veer Sain, guilty of negligent driving.

ROHTAK
CHARRED TO DEATH: A 60-year-old woman, Shashi Prabha, was charred to death when a fire broke out at her house located in DLF Colony here on Wednesday. She was staying alone at her residence. Some morning walkers saw smoke coming out of the house and informed the police and the fire brigade at 5 a.m. The police said the fire broke out due to a short circuit. A case has been registered on the complaint of Mr Vijayveer, brother of the deceased.

SIRSA
HELD: The district police has arrested a factory owner, Manoj Kumar, for manufacturing spurious mobile oil, brake oil and selling it under the brand names of standard companies. A case has been registered in this regard.

SONEPAT
CASE REGISTERED: The police has registered a case against two brothers, Jagdish and Bhagwan, of Katwal village for allegedly forcing the widow of their brother to commit suicide about two months ago.

YAMUNANAGAR
INSTRUCTED: The Public Health Department has issued instructions to disconnect the illegal water connections in the district. According to information, there are illegal water connection in more than 1,000 houses. The department had instructed the owners of the houses to get their connections regularised but most of the persons did not comply with the orders.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

PALAMPUR
BUS MISHAP: At least 19 persons were injured, three of them seriously , when a private bus carrying 30 passengers fell into a ditch near Marnada on Thursday. Mr Tek Chand, SDM, Palampur, said the bus was on its way from Pathankot to Chadihar. All injured have been hospitalised. The police has registered a case against the driver of the bus.

ROHRU FAIR: Mr K.R. Balnahatta, Vice-Chairman, HRTC inaugurated a three-day state-level Rohru fair on Friday. Addressing a rural gathering, he said Himachal was known for its rich cultural heritage and it should be preserved. He said every village of the Rohru area would be linked with road under the Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana.