R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMLOH
CROP BURNT: Wheat crop in an area of about 18 acres was reduced to ashes in a fire that broke out in the fields of Nalini village of Amloh assembly segment. The fields belonged to Mr Gurbachan Singh (10 acre), Mr Ajit Singh (four acre), Mr Bhinder Singh and Mr Ram Singh (two acre each). The farmers have taken shamlat land on lease from the village panchayat. Mr Sadhu Singh Dharamkot, former minister, and Jathedar Amar Singh Nalini visited the spot. In separate statements they expressed sympathy with the aggrieved farmers and urged the government to compensate them. The cause of fire could not be known immediately. 

POWER SUPPLY: Wheat harvesting is almost over and the plantation of paddy has not yet started, but the condition of electric supply has gone from bad to worse, said Dr Sakinder Singh, president of the District Congress Committee, Fatehgarh Sahib. The uncertainty of electric supply has affected the study of students and the functioning of industrial and business establishments. There is no fixed schedule of electric cuts. Dr Sakinder Singh demanded an improvement in the electric supply.

BARNALA
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), of the local unit: patron — Dr S.S. Toor; president — Dr Bhushan Garg; secretary — Dr Gaurav Grover; and treasurer — Dr Subhash Singla.

BATHINDA
MEETING HELD: A meeting which was held here on Friday under the presidentship of Mr Jaspal Singh, Deputy Commissioner, was attended by representatives of ex-servicemen, Army officers and district officials. Mr Nirmaljit Singh Sidhu, Deputy Director, Sainik Welfare, Bathinda, said ex-servicemen and widows of Armymen drawing Rs 100 as fixed medical expenses, could avail themselves of medical facilities from the military hospital of the city, if they forwent the fixed medical expense.

AWARENESS PROGRAMME: A special awareness programme , Warden Service, will be organised by the Civil Defence Department at Government Senior Secondary School here on April 29. According to a press note , Mr Chiranji Lal Garg, Science and Technology Minister, Punjab, will preside over the function. The programme will acquaint people with the safety measures to be taken during some kind of mishappening or natural calamity.

HOSHIARPUR
CASE REGISTERED: On the instructions of Mr R.K. Gupta, Chief Judicial Magistrate, Hoshiarpur, the Mahilpur police registered a case under Sections 409 and 420 of the IPC against Balbir Singh son of Nirmal Singh, sarpanch of Jaitpur village on Thursday. Mr Joginder Singh of Jaitpur village had filed a complaint in the court against Balbir Singh alleging that the sarpanch had illegally got panchayat trees felled and sold them for Rs 70,000.

KILLED: Kundal Lal (22), son of Keshva Nand, and Sudarshan Kumar (28), son of Babu Ram of Chambi Dharamsala Mahanta village (HP), were killed on the spot when a truck coming from the opposite direction hit their scooter near a petrol pump at Talwara on Thursday.

WOOD SEIZED: The Hariana police seized 48 logs of pine wood from a truck (HPG 3377) and arrested Subhash Kumar of Kukanet, truck driver Janak Raj, Lekh Raj and Sher Singh on Thursday. The police sources said the culprits used to steal pine wood from Kukanet forest area and sell it in the open market.

SUICIDE: Mrs Sharda Devi, wife of Kashmira Singh, of Bhambotar village under Talwara police station, allegedly committed suicide by consuming poisonous pills on Thursday. The cause of suicide was not known.

LIQUOR SEIZED: 15,000 ml of country-made liquor was seized by the Hariana police from Sikandar Singh, son of Joginder Singh, of Kunta village on Thursday. The Dasuya police seized 6,000 ml of illicit liquor from Bhagwant Masih, son of Najar Masih, of Kulian Wala village on Thursday.

POLICE GOES ONLINE: For speedy exchange of information, the Hoshiarpur police has gone online. This was stated by Mr Sanjeev Kalra, SSP, here on Friday. Anyone could send information to his office at ssphpr@yahoo.com, he said.

STONE LAID: Mr Balbir Singh Miani, State Minister for Higher Medical Education, Punjab, while addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone of a hall to be constructed in the memory of Baba Harnam Singh Tundilat, a renowned freedom fighter, at Government High School, Kotla Naudh Singh, about 28 km from here, on Friday stated that the recruitment of 7,200 teachers would soon be carried out for newly upgraded schools in Punjab. The high school of the village would soon be upgraded to the senior secondary school, he said.

JAGRAON
VAN TAKEN AWAY: Two young person fled with a hired white Maruti van (Pb-10B-0719). The occupants drove away the van leaving the driver behind. A case has been registered under Sections 379 and 34 of the IPC at Raikot police station. According to Mr Narinder Kumar son of Mr Lachhman Das of Mohalla Kucha Kila Raikot, he is the owner-cum-driver of the aforesaid van and two young men of the age of about 25-26 years hired his van for Bhaini Arora village. On the way, near Kishangarh Chhanan, they asked Narinder Kumar to fetch water from the nearby tubewell as they were to take liquor. As soon as he went away, they drove his van away. The police has started investigations. 

BOOKS DISTRIBUTED: The Book Bank of this city distributed books and notebooks to about 600 students in a function held at local Government Senior Secondary School. Thirty girl students of plus two classes were given scholarships of Rs 1,000 each. The students who had secured more than 80 per cent marks in the board exams were decorated with the Gems of Jagraon Award. The function was inaugurated by Mr Bhag Singh Mallah, MLA.

KHAMANO
CHEQUES DISTRIBUTED: A programme was organised to distribute cheques of Rs 5,100, each, to the needy persons in the office of the Akali Dal (B) at Bhari village, near here. About 20 such cheques under the shagan scheme were given to the needy persons of the villages of Badla, Kotla Ajner, Kotla Badla, Burj, Kheri Naudh Singh, Raipur, Mirpur and Lohar by Mr Bachan Singh Cheema, MLA, Khanna. Apart from this two cheques of 50,000 each were given to the Badla Kotla and Saidpura villages for construction of dharamsalas. Besides Akali workers of the area, Mr Devinder Singh Cheema, member, SGPC, Jathedar Subeg Singh Bhamian, Mr Devinder Singh, sarpanch of Bhari village, Mr Nirmal Singh Walia, Mr Hardip Singh Goslan, Mr Jasmel Singh Badla, vice-president, PADB, Khamano, Jathedar Harnek Singh Barwali and Mr Swarn Singh Sandhu (advocate) were also present on this occasion.

DEATH ANNIVERSARY: A cultural mela to mark death anniversary of Shaheed Dilbagh Singh, a Kargil martyr, was organised at Panaichman village, near here by the Welfare Club and local residents. Mr Iman Singh Mann son of Mr Simranjeet Singh Mann, MP, was the chief guest on this occasion. 

SEMINAR: A seminar was held here in a dharamshala by the CRRID with the help of the Child, Women Health Committee in which the speakers insisted on good health of children and women and strongly criticised the evil of female foeticide.

LUDHIANA
MEDICAL CAMP: A three-day medical check-up camp for industrial workers of the Vardhman Spinning and General Mills Limited, Ludhiana, concluded here on Saturday. About 1,000 workers and their family members got themselves medically examined in the camp. Blood group and urine tests were carried out by Ms Ranjeet Kaur and Mr Rachpal Singh of the para-medical staff from the ESI Hospital, Ludhiana. Over 100 such tests were conducted. Medicines were also distributed to the workers free of cost.

SECRETARY BEREAVED: Mrs Kamla Gupta, mother of Dr B.C. Gupta, Secretary to the Government of Punjab, Department of Labour and Employment, expired after a protracted illness here. She was cremated at Daresi cremation ground and the funeral procession was largely attended by people from all walks of life. Among others, Mr S.K. Sandhu, Deputy Commissioner, Mr S.R. Kler, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr S.K. Sharma, Additional Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, and Mr Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal have condoled the death.

FUNCTION: The Moulder and Steel Workers Union, the Palledar Union, the Punjab Roadways Employees Union, the Akhil Bharatiya Nepali Ekta Samaj, the Hosiery Workers Union, the Istri Bhalai Sabha and the Lok Sangharsh Committee, along with other trade unions and bodies will hold a function at Partap Chowk here on May 1 to observe May Day. Giving this information Mr Mohinder Singh, secretary of the Moulder and Steel Workers Union, said that the function would focus on exploitation of workers, repressive laws and the WTO regime, among other problems being faced by the workers.

MACHHIWARA
WOMAN DIES: Ms Dalip Kaur, wife of Mr Bhajan Singh, who had sustained burn injuries due to a fire in the fields of Garhi Bet village on Monday, succumbed to her injuries at the DMCH, Ludhiana, on Saturday. She was cremated at the local cremation ground. Her funeral procession was joined by a large number of people. Everyone appreciated her courage as she was the first person who tried to control the fire. It may be recalled that in that fire incident, wheat crop in an area of about 80 acres was destroyed. The villagers demanded that the Punjab government should compensate the deceased’s family and an award for her bravery should also be given. She was 38 and is survived by two children.

MANDI GOBINDGARH
CM’s VISITS HAILED: Mr Dalip Singh Pandhi, a former minister of Punjab, in a press statement has hailed the surprise visits of Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister, Punjab, of various departments at several places. He appealed to Mr Badal that the ministers be directed to undertake such visits in their respective departments.

MANSA
PDS CRITICISED: The public distribution system (PDS) in the district has been facing criticism from consumers. Kerosene supplied to the depot holders at fair price shops is allegedly being sold on the black market. Consumers have been making complaints about the unavailability of rationed commodities, poor quality of goods, faulty weighing and fleecing by depot holders.

TRAINING CAMP: Mr Inderjit Singh , Deputy Director, Dairy Development, said on Friday that the department would organise monthly training camps in the district in which experts would provide training to aspirants regarding the dairy industry. The first camp would be organised from May 9 at Sardulgarh subdivision in the district.

TAKE OVER: Dr S.P.Gupta took over as the Senior Medical Officer (SMO) of the local Civil Hospital on Thursday after Dr P.D.Sharma, SMO, was transferred to the Public Health Centre, Khiala Kalan, in the district.

WHEAT CROP DESTROYED: The standing wheat crop in Bhaidesa, Samaon, Sherkhanwala and Boha villages of the district has been destroyed by fire. The cause of the fire was, however, different in all cases. The farmers have demanded compensation for the loss of their crop.

NANGAL
NOMINATED: Mr Chander Kumar Bajaj, president of the local unit of the BJP, has been nominated as the Director, Kshetriya Gramin Bank, Hoshiarpur.

NAWANSHAHR
FUNCTION HELD: A prize distribution function was held at the local Parsim Parsinni Devi Jain Model School here on Friday. Mr Ishwar Singh, SSP, presided over the function and distributed prizes to the students of Parsinni Devi Jain Model School, Tara Singh Kahma Memorial Public School, Mahalon, and Janata Public School, Pandora Mohalla.

DHARNA HELD: The district unit coordination committee of Paramedical and Health Employees Union, held a dharna in front of the office of the Civil Surgeon, here on Friday, in support of their demands. Mr Mahan Singh Rouri, chairman of the coordination committee criticised the alleged adamant attitude of the authorities. The committee would hold a dharna again on May 17.

CHEQUES DISTRIBUTED: Mr Sarwan Singh Phillaur, Welfare Minister, while presiding over a vikas samagam organised at Aur village, about 10 km from here on Friday, distributed cheques amounting Rs 37 lakh and Rs 3 lakh to village panchayats and beneficiaries of shagun scheme, respectively.

RESULT DECLARED: The Guru Nanak Nursing College, Dhahan Kaleran, has achieved 100 per cent result in the semester examinations conducted by Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot. 146 students had appeared for three classes out of whom 65 students scored distinction, Mrs Jasbir Kaur, principal, said in a press note here on Friday.

PATIALA
PUTA’S CLAIM: The newly formed Punjabi University Teachers Association (PUTA) body, which replaced the elected body after holding a ‘’ General Body “meeting of teachers recently, claimed on Saturday that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had appreciated the efforts made by it to bring harmony and peace on the campus. In a statement here, the organisation President, Dr Manjit Singh, and the Secretary, Dr D P Goyal, said a delegation of teachers had called upon the Chief Minister to apprise him of the situation created in the university by ‘’ disgruntled, mischievous and left oriented “ elements who were dancing to the tunes of their political masters opposed to the present Akali - BJP government. The leaders said the Chief Minister while appreciating the efforts of the new body asked it to keep on extending support to the university management and appreciated the achievements of the university in various fields. 

PRIZE DISTRIBUTION: Jawahar Navodhya Vidhyala is an institute of excellence and has served as an inspiration for other schools of the district. It has provided not only the standard form of language to the students but also educated them about moral values. It has also excelled in the field of sports, academics and cultural field. This was stated by Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Finance and Planning Minister, Punjab during the annual prize distribution function of the school held here on Saturday. Capt Kanwaljit Singh said that such schools have been established in 423 districts of the state to promote higher education to more students belonging to the backward classes. He gave Rs 1 lakh for the reconstruction of deteriorated roofs of the village school on the demand of the village panchayat. Highlighting the activities of the school, Mr S.S. Guraya, Principal of the school, said that the school provides free books, food and clothes apart from giving Rs 10,000 to a student every year from its school budget. 

VENDORS: The vendors were unnecessarily being disturbed by the administration which was forcibly removing their rehris. This was stated by Mr Surjit Singh Kohli, MLA, while addressing a gathering at Gurbax Colony here on Saturday. He said the government should establish different zones where the youths and the unemployed should be provided with proper spaces so that they are not idle and can work on their own. He added that it is the responsibility of the government to adjust such people rather than preventing them from practising their livelihood. He said that the park at the Arya Samaj is lying vacant and various booths can be made there to enable many unemployed youths to earn their living and can be protected from rain and storm. He added that about eight acres of land inside the Sanauri Gate Medical Dispensary is idle which could again be brought to proper use by creating booths and leaving place for parking for controlling the traffic. Mr Kohli said that the matter has been brought to the consideration of the authorities and the Punjab Government but all in vain. 

EDUCATION CENTRE: Mr Chiranji Lal Garg, Minister for Science and Technology, Punjab, inaugurated the 45th education centre of the ATEC at Chotti Baradari here on Saturday. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Garg highlighted the importance of computer education in the competitive environment. 

PHILLAUR
ROBBERY: Four unidentified armed robbers looted a wine shop at gun point near Gohawar village, on Friday night. The miscreants decamped away with Rs 14,000 and wine bottles worth Rs 2,200. The Goraya police has registered a case.

CROP DESTROYED: Wheat crop on eight acres was reduced to ashes in a devastating fire which broke out at Garrah village near here on Friday evening. Sparking in electric wires was said to be the cause of the fire.

CRUSHED: A school student Sunny Deol was crushed to death by a speeding Maruti car near Tehing village on Friday morning. The deceased was a student of matric class and was a resident of Tehing village. The car driver sped away after the mishap, the police said.

DEAD: A truck driver Kuldip Singh was killed on the spot, while truck cleaner Jagjit Singh sustained serious injuries when the truck they were driving rammed into a moving train near Beerpind village at an unmanned railway crossing on the Ludhiana-Lohian rail section on the Thursday evening.

ROPAR
LOANS DISTRIBUTED: The District Rural Development Agency provided loans worth Rs 2.24 crore to 631 persons during the last financial year. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr G.S. Grewal, stated this here on Friday. As many as 486 persons were given loans worth Rs 1.84 crore under the income-generating schemes which included a subsidy worth Rs 37.68 lakh.

SAMRALA
OPIUM SEIZED: The local police arrested Bhupinder Singh, a local resident, during a naka near Bondli village, 2 km from here, on Friday and seized 500 grams of opium from his possession. A Maruti car (DDV 2464) has also been taken into custody.

GURDASPUR
MOVEMENT BANNED: Mr B. Vikram, District Magistrate, on Friday banned movement along the international border up to the border security fencing in the district from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. till June 15. The order will not be applicable to the police, Army, CRPF, BSF, Home Guards and the staff of the Excise Department on duty.

HARYANA

INSPECTION: Mr Rajiv Arora, Director, Agriculture, Haryana, visited Ganaur Mandi on Friday and inspected the procurement of wheat by official agencies. He was accompanied by Mr Jeet Singh Mehra, SDM, and Mr Harbans Lal Arora, District Food and Civil Supplies Controller.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

PARWANOO
LIQUOR SEIZED: The local police seized 10 bottles of Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) and 48 pouches of country liquor from a shop at Chakki Ka Mor, about 10 km from here, on the Kalka-Shimla National Highway on Saturday. The shopkeeper, Dhani Ram, has been arrested.