The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Wednesday, July 25, 2001,
Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

R E G I O N A L B R I E F S

PUNJAB

ABOHAR
HEALTH FOOD: A session on genetically modified food was held at Central Institute for Post Harvest Technology (CIPHET) which was presided over by Dr R.K.Jain, head of the Horticultural Crop Processing Department. Dr Jain said genetically modified foods were required to meet the growing demand for healthy food for over increasing world population from the limited cultivable land and to provide safer and healthy environment for future generations.

DHARNA HELD: Dharna by workers of the Abohar Cooperative Spinning and Marketing Mills entered the 23rd day on Tuesday. The action committee of the workers alleged that the management had been trying to befool the agitating workers for the past few days. Representatives of Spinfed had visited the town to have viable proposals from the workers for ending the stalemate.

AMLOH
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Youth Services Club at a meeting presided by Mr Kewal Singh Fauji on Sunday at Hallah village near here: president — Mr Makhan Singh; vice-president — Mr Mewa Singh; general secretary — Mr Harmel Singh; and finance secretary — Mr Nirbhai Singh.

SUPPORTED: The Punjab State General Category Welfare Federation, Amloh, at a meeting held in the local government senior secondary school, on Sunday, which was presided over by Mr Zora Singh Grewal, passed a resolution in support of the ETT teachers’ agitation and urged the Chief Minister of Punjab, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, and Mr Tota Singh, Education Minister, to appoint ETT unemployed teachers on preferential basis. Mr Rajesh Kumar, vice-president, and Mr Jaswinder Singh, district general secretary, addressed the meeting.

AMRITSAR
JOR MELA: The SHSAD here will hold a conference at Baba Bakala on August 5 on the occasion of Jor Mela of Rakharpunya. This information has been given by Bhai Manjit Singh, President of the SHSAD.

JALANDHAR
RESERVATION SOUGHT: The Punjab Rajput Sabha has demanded that the state government should reserve the Rajput community under the Backward Class category. Capt Vikram Singh, chairman of the sabha, in a press note issued here on Monday said the state government should follow the Rajasthan Government which had already declared “ Jats” backward class.

KHAMANO
FOUNDATION STONE: The Painting and Stationery Minister, Bibi Satwant Kaur Sandhu, will tour Badesh Kalan and Ralon villages on Wednesday at 11 am and will lay the foundation stone of two link roads adjoining the above said villages. This was stated by Mr Gurdial Singh Bhangu, Chairman, Market Committee, Chamkaur Sahib, here.

RS 50,000 FOR DHARMSHALA: “The SAD forget the demands of Punjab when in power and raise these demands when is out of power and incite the people in the name of religion while the Congress party is secular and is committed to allround development, said Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo, MP, during a address to the people at Bhai village while giving a cheque for Rs 50,000 to the village dharmshala. This programme was organised under the chairmanship of Mr Gurmeet Singh, former political secretary of Mr Beant Singh. Mr Dullo alleged that government properties have been sold on throwaway prices to the well wishers of Akali government. He also warned some officers who insults congress workers and common men on the instance of Jathedars, they will be dealt sternly at the time of Congress government. He also said that the Khanna-Sanghol road is in bad shape and has not been repaired by Akali government because it was made by the congress government.

KHARAR
MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN: A membership campaign by workers of the Youth Congress in Ropar district would be launched from August 1 to 31. This was announced by Mr Harpreet Singh Banti, president, District Youth Congress, here on Monday after attending a meeting of party workers. Mr Mukesh Kumar Minku had been appointed president of the Kharar block unit of the party. He said the party would set up its units in each village. Mr Charanjit Singh former president of the Kharar Municipal Committee also addressed the gathering.

NOTIFICATION: The Punjab Government has ordered for imposition of sales tax on 12 more items at the first stage of sale. The Department of Excise and Taxation has issued a notification in this regard. The notification shall come into force with immediate effect.

ROAD REPAIR: In spite of earth work done by the Gram Panchayat of Jandpur village in February 2000, the Government authorities have not repaired the Jandpur-Manana road so far and during these rains the road has become so muddy that no vehicle can ply over it. Mr Didar Singh, sarpanch of the village while giving this information said at that time they had received a letter from the BDPO to immediately do the earth work. It was done at an expense of Rs 33,000. He said till today no body had bothered to get the road repaired despite repeated requests. He has demanded that the road should be repaired soon.

LUDHIANA
‘EXPOSE CORRUPT OFFICIALS’: Mr Gobind Singh Kanjhla, Minister for Social Welfare, has appealed to mediapersons to engage themselves in constructive writing in the interest of society and expose corrupt officials everywhere. He was addressing a gathering at the conclusion of a two- day seminar on public problems, administration and journalism organised by the Press Club of Sherpur near Ahmadgarh on Sunday. He also said that most of the social problems were self-created and unless society was inspired to cooperate with the government, it was not possible to eradicate these problems.

COURSE ON ENDODONTICS: The State Unit of Indian Dental Association organised one-day certificate course on endodontics and operative dentistry on Sunday at Jalandhar. Dr Puneet Girdhar, honorary state secretary, IDA, Punjab, in a press statement said here on Tuesday that the course was conducted by Dr Vimal Sikri, a well known dental surgeon and Assistant Professor, Department of Conservative Dentistry, Dental College and Hospital, Amritsar. Dr Sikri discussed the latest advances and various techniques for the treatment of teeth destroyed by the dental caries. With new advances in dentistry, now the grossly mutilated teeth can also be saved through root canal treatment. Artificial teeth can be made on even the root portion of tooth left behind. Different types of materials for filling of teeth were also discussed on the occasion.

MALERKOTLA
TWO KILLED: Two persons were killed and three others seriously injured when the car in which they were travelling fell into river near Moharana village on the Malerkotla-Nabha road here on Monday. Those killed have been identified as Gurdeep Singh Sekhon (30) and Bholi (32). The injured were rushed to the Civil Hospital where their condition was stated to be out of danger.

MANSA
'LIFT BLOCKADE': Residents of Mansa, Budhlada and Bareta towns of the district on Tuesday urged the state government to take immediate steps for lifting blockade on the Mansa-Bathinda road near Maisarkhana village, which has been causing inconvenience to the commuters following dharna by activists of the BKU.

ELECTRIC SUPPLY: Residents of the new Basti area and nearby pockets had to go without power for at least 11 hours on Monday night and Tuesday. Employees of the PSEB said there was a fault in the main Sirsa road grid due to which the supply was suspended on Monday night.

MOGA
PADDY STOCKS: Punjab Agriculture Minister Gurdev Singh Badal said here on Tuesday that the stocks of paddy brought to markets in the state during the current year’s procurement season would be purchased immediately after arrival. He said this while addressing a meeting of farmers on Monday in Moga town. He further said the state government, in no case, would tolerate the distress sale of paddy this year and the farmers would get remunerative prices for of their produce.

PATIALA
EMPLOYEES' UNION: Mr Devi Bahadur Thapa was elected as chairman of the class IV Government Employees Union at a meeting held here on Tuesday. The other office-bearers are: president — Mr Jarnail singh; senior vice-president — Mr Amar Singh; general secretary — Mr Gurdev Singh; joint secretary — Mr Satiya Singh; and cashier — Mr Ravi Chand.

MEDICAL CAMP: A free medical camp will be held by the Manav Sewa Manch at Amar Ashram here on Sunday. Various problems of heart, eyes, gynaecology, children’s diseases and skin related problems will be checked-up during the camp.

DONATIONS: Various donations were made by people for the construction of a widow ashram here on Tuesday. Mr Gian Chand Sharma donated Rs 21,000; Mr P.P. Baggi, Mr Somnath Goel and Mr Amarnath each gave Rs 11,000; Mr Savtantar Bansal, Mr Om Prakash and Mr Ishwar Chand each donated Rs 1,100 for the construction.

PHAGWARA
DOWNPOUR: Rain water entered shops and houses on the Gaushala road, Guru Nanak Market, Subhash Nagar, old Post Office Banga road, Shivpuri, Ratanpura following torrential rain on Tuesday. Several vehicles also broke down on the Banga road.

CHANDIGARH

SAPLINGS PLANTED: Mr Charanjit Singh Atwal, Speaker, Punjab Vidhan Sabha, planted a sapling on the premises of Punjab Vidhan Sabha Secretariat to mark vanamahotsava celebrations on Tuesday. Mr Satpal Gosain, Deputy Speaker, and Mr Nachhattar Singh Mavi, Secretary, also planted saplings.

OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been appointed office-bearers of the local unit of Samta Party : spokesman — Mr A.S. Gujral; vice-presidents — Mr Pyare Lal, Mr Trilochan Singh and Mr Shiv Kumar Nishad; general secretaries — Mr Sarabjit Singh Nikka and Mr Bhupinder Pal; secretaries — Ms Anita Ahuja, Mr Ram Ashish and Ms Parminder Kaur; and treasurer — Mr Sunil Kumar Gupta.

STIR CONTINUES: The relay fast by Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) residents entered the fifth day on Tuesday. They were demanding a stop to the demolition drive regularisation of need-based changes made within boundary walls, conversion charges and stamp duty on Punjab pattern and reduction of conversion fee from leasehold to free hold.

PANCHKULA
FUND RELEASED: The Haryana government has released Rs 82.71 lakh through the Haryana Rural Development Fund Administration Board for the second phase of development works in Barwala block as announced by the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, at a Sarkar Apke Dwar programme. Stating this, the Deputy Commissioner, Ms Jyoti Arora, said the amount was being directly sent to the village development committees through the Block Development Officers concerned. The amount would be spent on construction of school rooms, chaupals, repair of streets, dharamshalas, sheds, construction of ponds, boundary walls of schools and chaupals during the current financial year.

KHULA DARBAR: The khula darbar at Morni slated for Wednesday has been rescheduled for August 1. A press note issued here on Tuesday said the khula darbar to be chaired by the Deputy Commissioner had been postponed due to administrative problems and now would be held at the office of the Block Development and Panchayat Officer on August 1 at 10.30 am.

HARYANA

AMBALA
FEMALE FOETICIDE: The Haryana unit of the Indian Medical Association has said that despite the efforts of the association the selective female foeticide is continuing in the state. The president of the association, Dr D. S. Jaspal, said here in a statement that the recent emergence of ‘fertility shops’ was sordid reflection on deteriorating moral standards. Dr Jaspal said the IMA, Haryana unit, would strengthen its awareness programme and would not hesitate to take action against errant doctors. The association had decided to form a group of doctors, legal luminaries and NGOs to monitor it.

WATER LOGGING: The Main Sadar Bazar Traders Association has suggested that a solution to prevent flooding in the area is to construct a drain to Tangri river. The convener of the association, Mr Ajay Gulati, and the vice-president, Mr Suman Jain, said a ‘pacca nullah’ of 6 feet to 10 feet dimension must be constructed to Tangri river from Mahesh Nagar drain. They pointed out that rainwater accumulation in the Babyal-Mahesh Nagar area had eventually to flooding of the Ambala Sadar area. They also said the conversion of John Sahab Ki Diggi into Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Park has also led to rainwater flooding other areas since there was no outlet.

KALKA
CASH COUNTER: Wireless in Local Loop (WILL) service will be soon introduced in a number of cities in Haryana including Kalka. This was stated here on Tuesday by Mr Prithi Pal Singh, Director (Operational), Bharat Sanchar Nigam. Mr Singh inaugurated a cash counter centre, under the Subscribers Service Centre at the local telephone exchange. Speaking on the occasion he said the residents of the town would get mobile service from March 31. He said with the opening of cash counter centre here, the resident, will not have to rush to Ambala. Earlier subscribers had to deposit the bills at Ambala after the expiry of due date of payment.

ROHTAK
DIPLOMA COURSES: The Gaur Brahman Vidya Pracharini Sabha will start diploma and degree courses in biotechnology at its degree college here from the next academic session. This was stated here on Monday by Mr Fateh Singh Sharma, president of the sabha. Besides, he said, a regular course in Postgraduate Diploma in Computer Applications ( PGDCA) would also be started at the local Gaur Brahman Degree College.

SONEPAT
PROTEST MARCH: The district committee of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), other trade unions and various government employees’ unions observed a protest march here on Tuesday against the new economic policies of the Central and the state government. The protesters held a demonstration in front of the Deputy Commissioner office. Later, a memorandum, listing the demands of the unions, was submitted to the Deputy Commissioner for forwarding it to the President of India.

MAN KILLED: One person was killed on the spot when a three-wheeler overturned at Ganaur mandi, 16 km from here, on Monday. The deceased has been identified as Raju, driver of the three-wheeler. The vehicle turned turtle when the driver applied the brakes killing him on the spot. According to another report, a youth, Subhash, sustained serious injuries when he was knocked down by a Maruti car on the GT Road, near Kundli village, about 25 km from here, on Monday. The injured was immediately rushed to the hospital. His condition is stated to be serious. The police has arrested the car driver.

CAR STOLEN: A white Maruti car parked outside a house in Sector 15, a residential colony, was stolen on Monday. According to another report, a maxi-jeep was stolen from Baliana village, about 40 km from here, on Monday. Both the cases had been reported to the police.

YAMUNANAGAR
DEVELOPMENT WORKS: A sum of Rs 138 lakh has been spent on the development works by the Yamunanagar Municipal Council in the past two years. Mr Rajiv Sharma, Deputy Commissioner, Yamunanagar in a press note said here on Sunday that 46 shops had been constructed at a cost of Rs 56 lakh. He said under the “sarkar apke dwar” programme launched by the Chief Minister, Haryana, Rs 19.88 lakh had been spent under which a special old age home had been constructed.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

DHARAMSALA
CLEANLINESS DRIVE: Members of a local NGO, Sutar Dhara, held a cleanliness campaign near the colony of the Education Board and the Norbulingks Institute at Sidhpur on Monday. According to a member of the organisation, the entire area had been stinking due to improper disposal of garbage and waste material.

NAHAN
INAUGURATED: The Agriculture Minister, Mr Vidya Sagar on Monday inaugurated a fruit and vegetable market at Sarahan in the Pachhad area of Sirmaur district. Constructed at a cost of Rs 33 lakh, the complex includes eight shops, one office and a canteen.

SHIMLA
CONVICTED: Special Judge, Rampur, has convicted Suman Kumar, a junior engineer of the Irrigation and Public Health Department, of misappropriation of stores to the tune of Rs 1,08 lakh during 1978-80 when he was posted in Thanadhar section in Kumarsain subdivision. The court sentenced him to one-year rigorous imprisonment and imposed on him a fine of Rs 2000 under Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

MEDICAL CAMP: The Rotary and Innerwheel organised a free medical camp for diabetes and hypertension here on Sunday. At least 300 patients were examined by a team of medical experts from IGMC. Mr H.N. Kashyap, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, inaugurated the camp.

ROAD CONSTRUCTION: Villagers of Deovidhar and Dhamandari gram panchayats in Theog subdivision have undertaken the arduous task of constructing the 5-km-long stretch of road from nangal to Kufar Khanal. Besides contributing to the funds, the villagers will also do physical labour to complete the road which will reduce the distance between Theog and Dhamandari from the present 31 km to 12 km.

PUBLIC TOILETS: The Shimla Municipal Corporation has not constructed public toilets in ward no 17. The work of public toilets near Indira Gandhi Medical College is still pending. The corporation had received Rs 4.55 lakh as grant for the construction of toilets. The tender was opened in January, 1999, and again in January 2000, but the work had not been started yet.

NSUI PLEA: The state unit of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) has urged Himachal Pradesh University to clarify whether the B.Ed College approved by it had been recognised by the National Council for Teachers Education or not. The union which met here on Sunday under the chairmanship of Mr Kewal Pathania also demanded the withdrawal of the fee-hike.

VANA MAHOTSAVA: The state unit of the Bhartiya Janata Party, Mahila Morcha, organised “Vanamahotsava” here on Sunday. It was inaugurated by Ms Purnima Sethi, national vice-president of the morcha. Two hundred fifty saplings were planted. Ms Veena Thakur, state Mahila Morcha chief, Ms Sheela Dhumal, wife of the Chief Minister, Mr Narinder Bragta and Mr Roop Dass Kashyap, both ministers, also participated.

ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the HP Secretariat Private Secretaries and PAs Association. Mr D.P. Verma — president; Mr Madan Rana — vice-president; Mr D.D. Sharma — general secretary; Mr Gopal Dutt — secretary; Mr Rajesh Bhardwaj — cashier.