R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

• Traffic jams on highway
• At 108 he still feels strong

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
BIRTHDAY OF BHAGAT: The ICICI bank observed the birthday celebrations of Bhagat Puran Singh, founder of the All-India Pingalwara Society, on Monday on the society’s premises. Sweets and awards were distributed among children. Ms Inderjit Kaur, president of the society and Mr Suria Narayanan, branch head of the ICICI bank, spoke about the special scheme for senior citizens.

BATHINDA
COMMITTEE HAILED: A meeting of the office-bearers of the local District Congress Committee was held here on Tuesday under the presidentship of Mr Bhagat Singh Dhaliwal. They expressed happiness over the formation of the committee to solve the problems of people by Capt Amarinder Singh.

GURDASPUR
RALLY HELD: The Punjab United Christian Forum for Human Rights and the Yuva Christian Morcha on Monday jointly held a rally and presented a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, demanding the cancellation of an FIR registered against Christian leaders and a ban on the book containing derogatory remarks against Christ.

JUNIOR ENGINEERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Council of Junior Engineers of the PSEB: president- Mr Sukhdev Singh; general secretary- Mr Devinder Singh; and treasurer- Mr Swarn Lal.

HOSHIARPUR
HELD: The Dasuya police arrested Inder Pal, Azad Masih and Manjinder Singh, residents of Usman Shahid village, at the Sandra village bridge on Monday for planning a dacoity. A case under Section 399, IPC, has been registered.

JAGRAON
OPIUM RECOVERED: Surinder Singh, a resident of Bihar, was arrested by Sub-Inspector Satwant Singh in Agwar Lopo for possessing 270 gm of opium. The local police has registered a case under Sections 15/61/85 of the NDPS Act. It is learnt that the accused resided in Gurdwara Begumpura, and served devotees.

MURDER MYSTERY: The police has failed to find any clue to a mysterious murder, even after the passage of two months. Smt Gurbinder Kaur (40), wife of Gurcharan Singh, a cloth merchant, resident of Mohalla Vijay Nagar, was murdered by a youth of about 20-22 years, using a firearm, on April 10. The murderer had run away from the place after committing the crime. The incident had taken place around 6 a.m. when Smt Gurbinder Kaur was returning home along with her daughter, Kamaljit Kaur, after a morning walk. Hearing a youth call her ‘Madam’, she had turned around. At this, he had fired at her from his revolver, and she had died on the spot.

CRIME GRAPH: The local police has registered as many 110 cases so far, most of which are about recovery of illicit liquor and poppy husk. Out of the 23 cases of theft registered, only 10 have been solved so far.

KHANNA
MEETING: A meeting of Lok Bhalai Workers was held here under the Presidentship of its Khanna Urban Unit President Malkiat Singh Boparai and was addressed by party control committee member Malkiat Singh Ghuman in Model Town. The meeting appointed Amarjeet Singh Gill, president of ward No. one unit of the party and Jagjeet Singh alias Jeeta, Dr Charanjeet Singh, Amar Singh and other members. Mr Boparai told that soon presidents of other ward committees would be appointed. He also said that his party would contest the coming assembly election.

ROAD CONDITIONS: Mr Vinod Ghai, former vice-president of Municipal Council, Khanna, told that the road conditions of Ward No 1 and 2 were the worst. The Municipal Council was not paying any attention to these. Though the tenders for the same had been floated, residents of the locality said that though the funds were kept for these by the municipal council, but after laying the foundation stone, no further action had been taken. The roads had big pits and water supply pipes were leaking while sewerage overflowed. The safai workers were seldom seen on their duties. The street lights were not working. Samrala Road near the railway crossing had been neglected and there were heaps of garbage there. The president of the MC was not available for comments.

LUDHIANA
BKU DEMONSTRATION: To demand uninterrupted power supply at the time of paddy transplantation, the Bharti Kissan Union , Punjab, would hold a protest demonstration outside the PSEB headquarters on Tuesday, said Mr Manjit Singh Kadian, general secretary of the farmer’s organisation. In a press note issued on Wednesday here, Mr Kadian said that unless uninterrupted power supply for 12 hours was assured by the state government, the union would continue demonstration at various places. Other demands of the union are domestic power supply to the rural areas on a par with the urban areas and enhancement of compensation for farm fires due to short circuit from Rs 2,000 per acre to Rs 12,000 per acre.

YOUTH AKALI DAL: The Youth Akali Dal has urged Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister, Punjab, that Jathedar Avtar Singh Makkar be appointed as the president of the District Akali Dal. This was stated in a press note issued by Mr Amrit Pal Singh while presiding over a meeting of the Youth Akali Dal at Dharampura on Wednesday. He claimed that Jathedar Makkar had been looking after the matters relating to the district unit for the past 25 years and had the capabilities to streamline its activities, besides strengthening the party for the forthcoming Vidhan Sabha elections.

MACHHIWARA
OFFICE-BEARERS ELECTED: The following have been unanimously elected as office-bearers of the local unit of Bhartiya Valmiki Dharam Samaj. Roshan Lal Hans — president; Paramvir Pamme — vice-president; Lal Chand — secretary; Ravi Kumar — joint secretary; Pawan Kumar — propaganda secretary; Shiv Kumar —cashier. While Mr Kanwaljit was elected as member of the state executive, Mr Prem Sagar and Mr. Rajinder Pal were elected as the president and the secretary of the sub-division, respectively.

SUTLEJ BRIDGE: Mr Charanjit Singh Atwal, the Speaker of Punjab Vidhan Sabha, who is also an MLA from Koomkalan, said that the construction of Sutlej Bridge between Machhiwara and Rahon would be a major achievement for the people of this area. The development project which was worth Rs 100 crore and included the widening of Khanna-Nawanshahr Road, would open up new avenues for prosperity of this area, he added. Mr Atwal was holding a ‘sangat darshan’ programme here at the market committee meeting. He gave necessary directions to officials for redressing problems of the people. Talking to mediapersons, he said that the state government was observing this year as the year of development. The development works in progress throughout the state would be completed by the end of the year, he added. All the link roads in the constituency had been repaired, he claimed. The way to historical Gurdwara Charan Kanwal Sahib from Gani Khan Nabi Khan Gate was being renovated, and added that he would soon go to all the villages of the constituency to meet the people. Mr Gurcharan Singh Mithewal, the chairman of market committee, Machhiwara, Circle Jathedar Harjit Singh Sherian, Mr Sushil Luthra, the president of BJP, Mr Jasmel Singh Bondli, the Director of PADB, Samrala sarpanch Darshan Singh Barma, and various officials were also present on the occasion.

MANSA
DEATH ANNIVERSARY: A function “logo chup na raho khuchh bolo,” was organised to observe the death anniversary of Hakam Singh Samaon, a revolutionary leader, on Tuesday at Samaon village, near Bhikhi, in the district. Mr Swapan Mukerjee, national leader of the CPML, and Mr Rajwinder Singh Rana, state secretary of the CPML, appealed to people to achieve the targets fixed by their late leader.

SHOPS BURGLED: Some persons broke into the shop of Bhagwati Jewellers here on Tuesday and took away 350 gm of gold, 25 kg of silver and Rs 4000. They also took away Rs 2160 from an adjoining juice bar. Residents of the town have demanded stepping up of police patrolling during night.

NANGAL
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local wing of the Indian Medical Association: president- Dr B.R.Ahuja; vice-president- Dr R.S.Soni; secretary — Dr K.R.Arya; and treasurer — Dr Arun Jain.

PATHANKOT
RAIDED: A team of the Vigilance Bureau, Chandigarh, on Monday raided the local PWD office and seized some documents following complaints regarding the use of substandard material and financial irregularities in the construction of roads at Kahnuwan.

MEMORANDUM: The Janglat Workers Union organised a rally at railway station here on Monday demanding the payment of salaries and the regularisation of their services. They also presented a memorandum to Mr K.K. Garg, Subdivisional Magistrate.

SUICIDE: Gurwinder Singh (24), a local resident, allegedly committed suicide on Monday after consuming a poisonous substance.

PATIALA
GRANT FOR DEVELOPMENT: A sum of Rs 5,100 was given by Mr Kirpal Singh Badungar, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, for development purposes to the Sant Shiromani Bhagat Kabir Das Committee while attending a function at Nagar Palika Complex here on Wednesday. The others present on the occasion were Mr Surjit Singh Rakhra, a senior Akali leader, Mr Manmohan Singh Bajaj, Chairman of the Improvement Trust, and Mr Gurcharan Singh Kohli, member of the Punjab Labour Welfare Board.

OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Punjab State Karamchari Dal: President — Mr Mahinderpal Singh; General Secretary — Mr Harpreet Singh; Senior Vice-President — Mr Bal Krishan Sharma; Joint Secretary — Mr Rashpal Singh; and Cashier — Mr Ranjit Singh.

PHAGWARA
OVERBRIDGE: The Punjab Tourism Minister, Mr Swarna Ram said in a press note on Tuesday that work on the Rs 24 crore railway overbridge at Satnampura on the Phagwara-Nakodar road would start soon. It would provide a short-cut to Nakodar, Moga and Ferozepore, claimed the minister, who inspected ongoing development works here.

WARNED: A meeting of local journalists was held here on Wednesday. They flayed threat to a local journalist by some unruly elements who had stormed into his office here on Tuesday. They warned that they would launch an agitation, if rowdyism against the journalists was not checked.

DEAD: Sital (21), who had sustained burn injuries on Tuesday, died at the local Civil Hospital on Wednesday. A case has been registered under Section 304-B, IPC, against her husband Des Raj and father-in-law Tersem Lal in this connection.

SAMRALA
TRIBUTES PAID: Rich tributes were paid to Smt Gurdev Kaur, mother of Youth Congress leader, Mr Darshan Singh Gehlewal, by Mr Ishar Singh Meharban, a former minister; Mr Amrik Singh Dhillon, an MLA; Jathedar Kirpal Singh Khirnian, a member of SGPC; former minister, Mr Harnek Singh Mangewal and the all India general secretary of BKU, Mr Balbir Singh Rajewal, on Wednesday. Besides the cost of construction of the crematorium, Mr Gehlewal announced to donate Rs 1,100 for Aanganwari Kendra; Rs 1,500 for a Gurdwara; Rs 1,100 for Dalit Dharamshala, and Rs 1,100 for a Dera in the memory of his mother.

CELEBRATED: Kabir Jayanti was celebrated here on Wednesday in Kavita Bhavan with great fervour. Prof Hamdardvir Nausheharvi; Mr Sushil Kumar, the DSP of Samrala, and Prof Baldeep Singh spoke on the occasion. They appealed to the audience to follow the path shown by Bhagat Kabir.

SANGRUR
SHAGUN SCHEME: Mr Ranjit Singh Balian, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, on Tuesday distributed cheques worth Rs 5,100 each to 75 beneficiaries of Sangrur subdivision under the ‘shagun scheme’ at his residence here. Pension letters were also distributed among 55 persons. A sum of Rs 1 lakh each to the panchayats of Rasulpur Chhana and Nandgarh was also granted for development works.

CHANDIGARH

SHRAMDAN: The shramdan at the regulator end of the Sukhna Lake continued on Wednesday. Till date 15,57,712 cubic feet of silt has been removed from the lake bed. The shramdanis are being served with sweetened water mixed with milk every day, according to a press note.

HARYANA

UNLICENSED ARMS: Mr Paramjit Singh Ahlawat, Superintendent of Police, told mediapersons here on Wednesday that the police has arrested Jaipal of Sehri village, Jagminder of Rewara village, Dinesh of Salimsar Majra village and Karamvir of Kheri Gujjar village at the Kalupur octroi post for possessing unlicensed arms. A rifle, a gun, a countrymade pistol and 12 live cartridges were seized from their possession.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the district unit of the Agriculture Department Non-Gazetted Employees Association: president — Mr Anoop Mehta; general secretary — Mr Shamsher Singh Thakur; and finance secretary — Ms Mahesha Sharma.

HAMIRPUR
PATWARI ARRESTED: Santosh Kumar, a patwari of the Jasoh area of the district, was arrested by the Vigilance Department on Tuesday for taking a bribe of Rs 500 from a villager. A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered.

KULU
CRUSHED: Lehanu Ram of Mohal village was crushed to death allegedly by a military truck near the village on the national highway, about 4 km from here , on Tuesday. The body has been sent to the zonal hospital for post-mortem examination.

PARWANOO
ASSOCIATION’S POLL: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Residents Welfare Association: President — Col Nasib Singh; Vice-President — Mr S.S. Modgil; and General Secretary — Mr K.L. Dutta.

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

Traffic jams on highway

The National Highway connecting Haryana and Uttar Pradesh is the busiest traffic point between Saharanpur and Yamunanagar. But due to the location of a truck stand at Yamunanagar on this road there are frequent traffic jams lasting hours at Yamunanagar.

Residents of this town are troubled by these frequent traffic jams. Now it’s being demanded that this truck stand should be shifted.

This highway, which connects Uttar Pradesh and Haryana has been given the status of a national highway. Besides trucks parked there even repair shops have mushroomed on the roadside, resulting in inconvenience to the passersby.

Saraswati Sugar Mill, which is on the same road, has a separate arrangement for parking vehicles which has certainly reduced the pressure on the road.

A number of times the Governor, Union Minister, the Chief Minister, ministers and several senior officials cross the same road but the problem persists for the last 4 decades.

It is learnt that earlier there was a proposal to shift the “Truck Adda” to a different place but the move did not materialise.

At 108 he still feels strong

Mr Puran Dass, a resident of Panchi Jatan village in Sonepat district at the age of 108 still feels strong and needs no help to carry on his daily work. He lives with his wife Mrs Ram Pyari, who is also 92 (see picture) and leads a lonely but happy life. He gives reason for his good health and long life discipline and faith in God.

He says he had seen difficult days in his life but he never lost hope. He fulfills his needs of life with the old age pension which he gets from the state government. He, however, recalls that he was born in 1893 in a village now in Pakistan. He lost his father at an early age and there was no other male member in his family. He had to work to maintain his family.

At the age of 12, he started working in a kiryana shop. Impressed with his honesty and loyalty, the shop owner handed over the shop to him as a gift. At the age of 30, he got married to Ram Pyari who was only 13. He claims that bitterness had never developed in their relations during the past 78 years of married life.

In 1947, after migration from Pakistan he settled in Jhajjar but later on shifted to Garhi Gulaman village in this district. He got the agricultural land on lease for cultivation in Panchi Jatan village. He has 11 children and all are married. He still feels quite fit. His eyesight and teeth are intact. His diet includes milk and vegetables.

He gets up at 3 a.m. and spends two to three hours in daily prayers. He wants to live longer.

Contributed by Ashwini Dutta and R.D. Sapra