R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
MEETING HELD: A general body meeting of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics was held on Monday under the presidentship of Dr Narinderjit Singh. The meeting was attended by more than 55 members. Dr M Sharma, a cardiologist in AIIMS, delivered a lecture on common congenital heart diseases.

BATHINDA
BLOOD DONATION CAMP: The local Good Will Society held a blood donation camp at the Paras Ram Nagar here on Sunday. Thirty five units of blood were donated during the camp. Mr K.K. Garg, general secretary, said the society had so far organsied 35 camps.

ANNUAL FUNCTION: The annual prize distribution function of the local SSD Krishna Vatika School was held on Saturday. Meritorious students were given prizes by the Punjab Science and Technology Minister, Mr Chiranji Lal Garg. A cultural programme was also held.

WORKSHOP ORGANISED: A workshop was organised on Sunday to celebrate the International Mothers’ Day at the local Brahma Kumari institution. Mrs S.L. Latika, principal of the DAV School, Mrs Surinder Kaur Brar, DSP, among others, spoke on the occasion.

DORAHA
ONE ATTACKED: A man was allegedly attacked by his brother and his brother’s son. Property is stated to be the reason behind the dispute. According to an FIR registered at the Payal Police Station, Sardul Singh stated that his brother Harinderpal Singh and brother’s son, Gagandeep Singh, of Talla village, attacked him in a state of inebriation. As a result, Sardul Singh sustained injuries. A case under Sections 323, 506, 452, 341 and 426 of the IPC has been registered. 

CASE REGISTERED: A case has been registered against a clerk working in the office of the Nagar Panchayat, Maloud. Amarjit Kaur, who is employed at the Nagar Panchayat office of Maloud, on a fixed salary of Rs 1,500 per month, has alleged that she was made to sign for a sum of Rs 1,500 and given only Rs 1,100 by the clerk, Dilbara Singh. This was being done for the past three months. A case was registered on Monday under Sections 420 and 409 of the IPC. 

FARIDKOT
MEMORANDUM: The Congress will present a memorandum signed by lakhs of countrymen and the party workers to the President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, on May 23, demanding the dismissal of the BJP led NDA government for its failure to protect the national interests. This was stated by Capt Ajay Yadav, deputy leader of the party.

JAGRAON
FIRE: Fire broke out in a haveli belonging to Mr Badri Nath Beri, near Mori gate. The haveli had been lying closed for the past five or years. No loss of life was reported. Fire tenders were requisitioned from Halwara and Moga to extinguish the fire. 

ONE INJURED: Mr Arjan Singh s/o Zora Singh of Ghandhi Nagar, Jagraon, who was running a small dhaba near Civil Hospital, G.T. Road, was injured by Mr Santokh Singh, ex-constable alongwith his companion, on Arjan Singh’s refusal to serve them at his dhaba. It is alleged that he asked them to sit in a licensed ahata and this provoked the duo. 

JALALABAD
CLUB OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Rotary Club, Jalalabad: president — Mr Darshan Lal Wadhwa; senior vice-president — Mr Darshan Lal Aneja and secretary — Mr Raj Kumar Chugh.

KAPURTHALA
WHEAT ARRIVAL: As many as 3,073 metric tonnes of wheat has arrived in the grain markets of the district till Monday. This was stated by Mr VK Singh, Deputy Commissioner. The private traders have purchased 561 metric tonnes of wheat while the remaining has been purchased by the government agencies.

WATER SCARCITY: The Agriculture Department is worried about the decrease of the water-level in Gobind Canal of Bhakra Dam and Pong Dam. In press note issued here on Tuesday Mr Narankar Singh, Chief Agriculture Officer, said the water-level in Gobind Canal had decreased to 20 feet while it had gone down 28 feet in Pong Dam. There would be scarcity of water if the situation continues.

MALERKOTLA
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Bar Association, Malerkotla: president — Mr Baldev Singh Mann; general secretary — Mr Rajesh Kumar Rikhi; vice-president — Mr Hardeep Singh Khatda and joint secretary — Mr Arvind Singh.

HONOURED: Dr V.P. Goyal, former Chief Medical Officer, Civil Hospital, Malerkotla, and now Director of J.C. Memorial Hospital Private Limited, was honoured by various social and religious organisations for his services to Civil Hospital at a function organised at the hospital on Sunday. A memento was also presented to him by Dr Mohammed Shabbir, CMO (Dental).

NAWANSHAHR
SEIZED: The Banga police has arrested Sukhdev Singh of Khankhana village and seized 31.250 kg of poppy husk from him. In a similar case, Kuldip Singh, alias Kalia, of Lakhpur village was nabbed and 30.250 kg of poppy husk was seized from him. This was stated by Mr Ishwar Singh, SSP, in a press note here on Monday.

ARRESTED: The Banga police has arrested Rakesh Kumar, alias Kaka, of Gandhi Nagar for allegedly picking pocket of labourer Vinod Kumar. His accomplice, Sanjay of Saroya village, escaped. The police has registered a case, under Sections 379/41/34, of the IPC. This was stated in a press note here on Monday.

CONFERENCE HELD: A Civil-Military Coordination Conference was organised under the presidentship of Mr Jagjit Singh, Deputy Commissioner, on Monday to assess the steps taken to ensuring law and order, maintaining internal security and combating floods during the ensuing rainy season. Mr Ishwar Singh, SSP, Vinod Kumar, Commanding Officer, 15 Mechanical Infantry, among others addressed the conference.

MEETING HELD: A meeting on the use of Punjabi language in official work was organised here on Monday. Mr Jagjit Singh, Deputy Commissioner, presided over the meeting. Dr Jagdish Kaur, Assistant Director, Languages Department, Mr Chetan Singh, District Language Officer, Hoshiarpur, among others addressed the meeting.

PATIALA
FUNCTION: The Punjabi Sahit Sabhyacharak Manch will honour Mr Kirpal Singh Badungar, OSD to the Chief Minister, at the Language Department, Punjab, here on Wednesday. The chief guests on the occasion are Mr Nirmal Singh Kahlon, Rural Development Minister, Mr Gobind Singh Kanjala, Social Securities Minister and Mr Chiranji Lal Garg, Science and Technology Minister. 

ADMISSIONS OPEN: Punjabi University opened admissions for the first year of Master of Arts, Master of Science, bachelor, diploma and certificate courses for admissions to Punjabi University, Patiala, Guru Kashi Campus, Talwandi Sabo, Guru Kashi Regional Centre, Bathinda, Nawab Sher Mohammad Khan Institute of Advanced Studies, Malerkotla, University Extension Library, Mohali, and Punjabi University Extension Centre for Computer Education, Jaito. Giving this information, Dr Kuldip Singh Dhir, Dean, Academic Affairs of the University, said the admissions to M.Sc Physics, Applied Physics, Botany, Chemistry, Forensic Science, Geography, Zoology, Master of Library and Information Science would be held on the basis of entrance tests for which the last date for submission of forms would be June 1. 

DISTRIBUTED: The Municipal Corporation has started free distribution of chlorine tablets for the purification of drinking water keeping in view the increased stake of water-borne diseases in the coming rainy season. The MC Commissioner, Mr K.S. Kang, said the tablets could be available to the public in the health section of the MC at Fire Brigade Building on all working days. The Health Officer, Dr D.C. Sharma, said the chlorination of water in various tubewells had already been done and the people having their own water supply, especially residing on the outskirts of the city, had been advised to chlorinate water. 

BIRTH ANNIVERSARY: A statue of Bir Dasondhi Ram Ji will be laid at a plot of land lying between the Rajpura road and the Badi Nadi here. This was disclosed by Mr Jasbir Singh Bir, Deputy Commissioner, on the 101 birth anniversary of Bir Dasondhi Ram Ji held at Atma Ram Kumar Sabha Senior Secondary School. Mr Bir decided to grant Rs 1 lakh for the construction of the statue. Mr Bir was honoured with the Karamyogi Award for his social service activities. Various other social activists were also honoured. The winners of the state-level cricket tournament, ARKS school team, was also honoured. 

OFFICE-BEARERS: Mr Ashok Garg has been elected as president of the Patiala Accountants Association. The other office-bearers are: vice-presidents — Mr Jaipal and Mr Sudesh Singh; general secretary — Mr Pradeep Sagar; secretaries — Mr Narinder Manan and Mr Darshan Bansal; cashier — Mr Surinder Goel; and executive members — Mr Ved Prakash, Mr Balbir Singh, Mr Kedar Nath and Mr Harpal Singh. 

TB TREATMENT: The District Tuberculosis Control Society has been constituted under the chairmanship of Mr Jasbir Singh Bir, Deputy Commissioner, here on Tuesday. In Punjab, Patiala has been selected as the district where the pilot project would be launched by the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme. For this purpose, training will be imparted to nearly 270 doctors, laboratory technicians, senior laboratory technicians and senior treatment supervisors. 

DEMANDS ACCEPTED: Demands of the Class IV Government Employees Union were accepted as a result of which they concluded their seven-day strike on Tuesday. Their demands included regularising the services of temporary employees, re-appointment of dismissed employees, availability of proper equipment for work force, workers uniform and the like. 

LOK ADALAT: Around 20 cases were settled in two Lok Adalats organised here on Monday, which was presided over by Mr Paramjit Singh, Additional Civil Judge (Senior Division) and Ms Ranjit Kaur, Civil Judge. Mr Paramjit Singh said a district level Lok Adalat will be organised on May 19.

HARYANA

AMBALA
PRIZES GIVEN: The prize distribution function of the ‘correct Hindi writing competition’, conducted by the Rashtrabhasha Vichar Manch, was held at Sikh Girls High School, Ambala Cantonment, on Tuesday. Nearly 47 students from Class VIII to Class X had participated in the competition. Amandeep Kaur of Class X was first, Nidhi of Class X was second and Komal Thakur of Class X was third. Prizes and certificates were given to students. The function was presided over the president of the manch, Dr Shashi Dhamija, and the function was conducted by Dr Jai Prakash Gupta. 

COUNCIL’S PLEA: The Citizens Council, Ambala Cantonment, has demanded that the district administration should implement their orders on the ban of sale of cut-fruit and other such items. “The Deputy Commissioner, Ambala, has ordered a ban on the sale of cut-fruit and vegetables, cane juice and other juices extracted on the roadside, but the authorities are unable to stop it”, a press note of the council said. 

HISAR
GANG BUSTED: The district police has busted an inter-state gang of car thieves with the arrest of Devi Lal, a resident of Nepal, Surjeet Singh of Juglan village, and Virender Dabas of Kultana village in Jhajjar district. The other three members of the gang were arrested in Dabwali. The police had recovered the vehicles from the gang members. This was stated by Mr Raj Pal Singh, SP, here on Monday.

THEFT: A Nepali servant, Shankar, on Monday decamped with valuables from the house of Mr Vipul Sharma in Urban Estate here after administering some intoxicant to the family members. Mr Sharma and his mother were admitted to hospital in unconscious state.

ELECTION: The election of the local Bar Association will be held on May 26. The election officer, Mr S S Dangra, said here on Monday that nomination papers would be accepted by May 18.

KAITHAL
ENCROACHMENTS: The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Phateh Singh Dagar, has directed the local municipal council authorities to launch a special drive to remove encroachments along the roads. He also exhorted the council staff to ensure proper sanitation in the town.

SONEPAT
WHEAT PURCHASE: Some traders and arhtiyas are reportedly purchasing wheat at less than minimum support price from farmers of UP and Delhi at the Ganaur mandi in the district in spite of a ban imposed by the administration. According to sources, these traders are in league with the officials of the procurement agencies and they sell the purchased wheat at the support price to these agencies. Representatives of various farmers’ organisations have urged the state government to take action against the traders.

YAMUNANAGAR
CLUB OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Yamunanagar Club: vice-chairman — Mr Pankaj Malik; joint secretary — Mr Ashok Thapar; and executives members — Mr Anil Gupta, Mr Ajay Sehgal, Mr A.V. Ahuja, Mr Harsh Sahni, Mr J.C. Mehta, Mr Mukesh Uppal, Mr P.K. Gupta, Mr Rahul Vig, Mr Rajesh Gadh, Mr S.C. Jain, Mr Subhash Mahajan and Mr S.K. Bedi. 

HIMACHAL PRADESH

CHAMBA
MELA CONCLUDES: A three-day Yatar mela concluded at Salooni tehsil in the district on Tuesday. Mr Surjeet Kaushal, Branch Manager, State Bank of India, Salooni, said the mela was presided over by the local MLA, Mrs Asha Kumari.

ENHANCE ALLOWANCES: The Pangi unit of the Himachal Pradesh Non-Gazetted Employees Federation has urged the state government to increase the compensatory allowance from Rs 670 to Rs 1,500 and tribal allowance from Rs 100 to Rs 500. They urged Prof Dhumal to bring the part-time staff of various departments on a par with the daily-wage staff. They also urged him to employ specialists in the Community Health Centre at Killar.

KULU
CONG VICTORY: Mr Satya Prakash Thakur, Chairman, Himachal Pradesh Congress Seva Dal, said the victory of the Congress party in the elections had proved that the people had rejected the BJP government at the Centre. He was talking to the mediapersons here on Tuesday. He congratulated Ms Sonia Gandhi.

CONDEMNATION: Mr Ravi Thakur, president, Himachal Pradesh State Nationalists Congress Party and Ms Renuka Dogra, president, Himachal Pradesh Nationalists Youth Congress, in a statement, condemned the attack on journalists by Deputy Inspector General A.K. Mullick of the BSF at Magare Chowk. They also condemned the rape of a woman by the BSF jawans in Udhampur district.

SUNDERNAGAR
IRRIGATION SCHEME: An amount of Rs 27 crore would be spent on different irrigation schemes. This was stated by the Irrigation and Public health Minister here on Monday. Mr Dhawala had recently toured Gopalpur and Balh. He said 1,721 hectares of land would be cultivated. About 30 handpumps had been installed. He directed the officials to tour the areas where there was a shortage of water and solve their problem on priority basis.