R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

• Vendor’s 19-year tale of woe
• Decorated for civil defence
  
  

PUNJAB

ABOHAR
GRANTS SANCTIONED: Mr Zora Singh Mann, MP, and Dr Ram Kumar Goyal, MLA, conducted a tour of more than 15 villages of this subdivision on Sunday and Monday. They claimed that grants amounting to Rs 42 lakh had been sanctioned for different rural development projects. Mr Mann inaugurated two upgraded government schools and promised to get some link roads sanctioned in the area.

STRIKE THREATENED: The Petroleum Dealers Association here has threatened to observe a strike if undue harassment of a petrol station owner at Doda village is not stopped. The association criticised the Food and Civil Supplies Department for conducting raids at the petrol station owned by Mr Sahib Singh Bhamba on August 23 and September 8 without any valid reason. Nothing objectionable was found during the raids.

AMLOH
CAMP ORGANISED: A camp was organised at Gurdwara Gursar Sahib (Sant Ashram) at Khumnan village, 2 km from here, on Tuesday to mark the death anniversary of Sant Amar Singh Anianwala. In total, fiftyone persons were baptised by Sant Amrik Singh Panj Bhainia Wala on the occasion. A book on the life of Sant Amar Singh was released by Dr Harbans Lal, MLA, and Mr Sadhu Singh, a former minister. They appealed to the people to follow the teachings of the Gurus. Mr Jaswant Singh Tann, a member of the SGPC, and Mr Arjun Singh Salana also addressed the gathering.

BARNALA
PLEDGE: About 22 persons indulging in “satta” and gambling took a pledge at the local Geeta bhavan and handiaya Gurdwara not to indulge in these activities again. Giving this information here on Tuesday, Mr Kanwarjit Singh Sandhu, Senior Superintendent of Police, said these persons hailed from Barnala, Tapa and Dhilwan.

BATHINDA
EYE CAMP: An eye check-up camp was organised on Monday by the Bharat Vikas Parishad at Gillpatti village. About 175 persons were examined and given medicines during the camp free of cost.

EXHIBITION: Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyala organised an exhibition on drug de-addiction for the NCC cadets on Monday. In a press note issued here, Ms B.K. Kamlesh said the motive behind the exhibition was to make the students aware of the abuse of drugs and its bad effects on society.

RALLY: The district unit of the Indian Ex-services League, Punjab and Chandigarh, has decided to hold a rally on September 24 at Fauji Chowk here to put their demands before the state government. In a press note issued here on Tuesday, Mr Sukhdev Singh, president of the unit, said Mr Harminder Singh Jassi, MLA, would be the chief guest on the occasion.

OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Northern India Cotton Association: president — Mr Ashok Kapur; vice-president — Mr B.L. Grover; and treasurer — Mr J.C. Mantri.

ELECTED: Mr Dyal Singh Kolianwali has been elected member of the Punjab Service Selection Board. Mr Mukhtiar Singh and Mr Kabal Singh, members of the panchayat of Koparwala village, have expressed happiness over the election.

GURDASPUR
PROPERTY ATTACHED: Mr Jasbir Singh, Civil Judge, (Junior Division), has ordered the attachment of the property of the Red Cross Society, including its savings account in Central Cooperative Bank here, a car and a van. The society had been directed to hand over the moveable property of Mr Joginder Pal, but it had not complied with the orders.

ARRANGEMENTS: All arrangements for procurement of paddy in the district have been completed. Mr Kulbir Singh Sidhu, Deputy Commissioner, said 118 procurement centres had been opened. Meanwhile, rice millers here have decided not to purchase paddy till the government maintains its recovery of 64 per cent as was the condition last year.

BOOKED: Sushil Rana, Executive Officer of Dinanagar Municipal Committee, has been booked. She had allegedly demanded Rs 10,000 for passing the plan of the house of Mr Santokh Singh, a resident of Niamata village. Mr Santokh Singh had paid Rs 8000 to Ms Rana and got the map of his house approved. But he did not pay the balance amount as a result she allegedly passed orders for the demolition of his house. On his complaint the Deputy Commissioner deputed the SDM, Gurdaspur, to hold an inquiry after which the officer was found guilty.

JAGRAON
HELD FOR GAMBLING: The local police arrested Gurdev Singh, Pardeep Kumar, Ravinder Singh Manju, Vicky Anand, Gurmit Singh and Arun Kumar alias Bittoo while they were gambling in the municipal park. A case has been registered against all of them under Sections 13, 3 and 67 of the Gambling Act.

THEFT CHARGE: The Sudhar Police has registered a case against Harpal Kaur under Sections 454 and 380 of the IPC on the statement of her estranged husband Surjit Singh of Toose village. The complainant had alleged that Harpal, along with her accomplices, had stolen Rs 60,000, a steel almirah, refrigerator, TV, gas cylinder and stove, utensils, etc, from his house on August 11 when he was away to Hazur Sahib. Surjit was informed of the incident by his brother Mohan Singh. According to him, he was married to Harpal about 28 years ago, and had three daughters and a son from her. He had strained relations with her for the past 16 years, and both were living separately.

KAPURTHALA
STRIKE: Members of the district Bar Association on Monday observed a strike to protest against the killing of Balbir Singh Sodhi, resident of Passiwal village, in this district, who was shot dead in the USA.

SENTENCED: Sukhdev Singh of Narli village of Amritsar district has been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and a fine of Rs 5,000 on the charge of possessing RDX. The police had seized 3.5 kg of RDX, three batteries, three timers, four pencil timers, four detonators, one Chinese pistol and six cartridges from Sukhdev Singh.

KHAMANO
CONDEMNED: The SAD (Badal), Panthic Morcha, Congress and the BSP have condemned the burning of Guru Granth at Rattangarh village, near Morinda, on September 18. They have demanded that the accused be given severe punishment.

WATER LEAKAGE: Water from sewerage pipes of ward no. 2 has leaked into the canal passing from here. It has also seeped into the grain market stocks, and flooded the road connecting Khamano to Khanna.

BUSES CHALLANED: Mr J. S. Sahota, ADTO, on Wednesday challaned the buses of Gurshakti School, Sarvhitkari School and Shivalik Public School for plying without the required documents. A private company bus was also challaned for moving beyond the permitted route. Interestingly, private cars plying as taxis were reportedly left untouched by the ADTO.

SCHOOLS UPGRADED: The schools at Farour and Jatana Ucha villages will hold functions on September 21 and 24, respectively, to mark their upgradation. While Farour school has been upgraded to high school, Jatana Ucha school has been upgraded to middle school.

LUDHIANA
CONDOLED: The PAU professors and students have a condoled the death of Dr Daljit Singh, Senior Olericulturist, Department of Vegetable Crops, Dr Daljit Singh made about 30 recommendations on weedicides, fertilisers, spacings and rotations on various crops such as tomato, potato, cauliflower, okra, brinjal, cabbage, muskmelon, root crops, onion, garlics and chillies. The bhog ceremony would be held at Sukhdev Singh Bhavan on Thursday afternoon.

SEMINAR ON ANIMAL CARE: A seminar on ‘Latest advances in equines and canine health care’ was inaugurated by Dr Rattan Singh Ajnala, Minister of Animal Husbandary, Dairy Development and Fisheries, Punjab, here on Wednesday. Scientists from all over Punjab spoke on the topics including ‘Control of endemic diseases’, ‘Usage of acaricides in canines’, ‘Control of rabies- a novel approach’, ‘Ataxia syndrome in equines’, ‘New concept of anti-microbial chemotherapy in dogs’ and ‘Surgical affections in canine and equines’. 

SEMINAR: To mark the International Day for Preservation of ozone layer, a seminar was organised by the Bharat Gyan Vigyan Jatha at the Government College for Women here on Wednesday. Addressing students and teachers, Dr Arun Mitra, general secretary of the jatha, explained that ozone depletion was a result of blatant use of chloroflourocarbons used in refrigeration, air-conditioning, production of foam mattresses, aerosol propellants and fire extinguishers. He said that even though the CFCs were to be phased out by 2000 in the developed countries and by 2010 in the developing countries as per the international agreement under the Montreal protocol, nothing had been in this regard. Ms Inderjeet Gill Vashisht, Principal, called upon the students to adopt environment friendly habits and protect the environment from getting destroyed.

MALERKOTLA
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the SC-BC Employees Action Committee, Malerkotla: president — Mr Gurmail Singh; vice-president — Mr Sohan Singh; general secretary — Mr Gurcharan Singh and treasurer — Mr Gurmeet Singh.

TEACHERS UNION: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local unit of the Teachers Union, Punjab: president — Mr Baldev Singh; vice-president — Mr Daljit Singh; general secretary — Mr Jagir Singh and treasurer — Mr Navtej Singh.

MANDI GOBINDGARH
CONDEMNED: “It is time to root out terrorism from all countries in the world. India should play a significant role in forming world opinion against terrorism,” said Dr Harbans Lal, MLA, to here on Wednesday. He condemned the incidents of manhandling of Sikhs in the USA. “The Government of India should ensure their safety in India as well as abroad,” the MLA added.

MOGA
BANNED: The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Kanwalbir Singh Sidhu, on Wednesday banned the use of harvest combines from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. in the district vide a notification issued here under Section 144 Cr PC. The notification will remain in force till November 11.

NAWANSHAHR
COMPETITIONS: The Punjab School Education Board, Mohali, organised subdivision-level competitions of school students here at JSFH Khalsa High School on Monday. Mr Gurmail Singh Sahlon, Principal, Government Co-Education Senior Secondary School, inaugurated the function. Gurjit Kaur and others of W.L. Arya Girls Senior Secondary School, Nawanshahr, Inderjit Singh and others of Government Senior Secondary School, Ratenda, Parvej Mohammad of JSFH Khalsa High School and Sukhjit Kaur of Adarsh Senior Secondary School, Khatkar Kalan, stood first in Shabad gayan, Vaar gayan, Kavishri and poetry recitation competitions, respectively.

CPM MARCH: The local unit of the CPM took out a flag march in the subdivision in protest against the economic and foreign policies of the BJP-led coalition government at the Centre and the “anti-people” policies of the SAD-BJP government in Punjab. The march began from Jadla village and it passed through all major villages and towns of the subdivision.

SAMRALA
SENTENCED: Ms Asha Mehta, Sub-Divisional Judical Magistrate, sentenced Bhupinder Singh, a resident of Malsian village in Jalandhar district, to one-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2,500 on Monday for causing death due to negligent driving. The accused was arrested under Section 279 and 304-A of the IPC for killing Avtar Singh of Balion village last year, while driving his truck rashly near Ghulala village, 5 km from here.

CHANDIGARH

PANCHKULA
PUNJABI SABHA: The following have been elected office-bearers of Punjabi Sabha, Pinjore: chairman — Mr Ram Arora; president — Mr Sunil Batra; vice-president —Mr Shyam Sunder Batra; general secretary — Mr Bhushan Sadan; secretary — Mr Subhash Raheja; and treasurer; Mr Rajinder Kumar, while Mr Ram Parkash, Mr Sarwan Kumar, Mr Gulshan Arora, Subhash Arora, Mr Ravinder Arora, Mr Atam Parkash Arya, Mr Vijay Kochhar and Mr Sunil Sethi have been elected executive members.

HARYANA

AMBALA
HOMAGE: Homage was paid to soldier Naresh Kumar on his first death anniversary at Pathrehri village. A memorial function was held in which floral tributes were paid to him. The Naraingarh MLA, Mr Pawan Dewan, said the nation would always be indebted to the soldiers who sacrificed their times for the country. Additional Deputy Commissioner Mahinder Kumar, said the road from bus-stop to the primary health centre would be metalled and would be named after the martyrs.

CHETNA WEEK: A ‘chetna week’ will be held from Friday to next Thursday to mark the birth anniversary of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal. A number of functions will be held during the week to mark the occasion. Among other things, prabhat pheris and elocution contests on the life of Devi Lal will be organised, a statement said.

BHIWANI
SUICIDE BID: Kalu of Harsukh village attempted suicide by taking poison. In another incident, Jai Kishan of Chang village sustained injuries in a feud here at Hansi gate. They have been admitted to the Civil Hospital.

FATEHABAD
OPIUM SEIZED: Two drug traffickers were arrested and 15.25 kg of opium seized from their possession on Tuesday. The value of the contraband is said to be Rs 2.5 lakh. Vijay, alias Baini Ram, haling from Madhya Pradesh, was arrested near Kharakheri village while he was carrying 10.25 kg of opium. In another case, Hate Singh, also from Madhya Pradesh, was arrested and 5 kg of opium seized from his possession near Dhanger village.

PROTEST: Multipurpose health workers of the state have planned protests against the decision of the government not to declare their job as technical. They will stage a demonstration outside the office of the Director-General, Health Services, at Chandigarh on September 24. A spokesman of the Multipurpose Health Workers Union said here on Tuesday that dharnas at all district headquarters would be held from September 30 to November 11.

HISAR
RI FOR TWO: The Additional District and Sessions Judge has sentenced two persons to 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on the charge of smuggling charas. The police had arrested Surender and Narender at Narnaund last year and seized 4.5 kg of charas from them.

DEMONSTRATION: Students of the local Industrial Training Institute (ITI) staged a demonstration on Tuesday demanding that roadways buses should halt in front of the institute. Later, they ended their protest on the assurance of the General Manager, Roadways.

JIND
THREE ARRESTED: Three youths, who were planning to loot occupants of vehicles on the Jind-Rohtak road, have been arrested. Mr O.P. Singh, SP, said here on Tuesday that the youths had been identified as Surinder of Gangatehri village, Satpal and Shushil, both residents of Balu village. A sword and two iron rods had been seized from them, he added.

SUICIDE BY COUPLE: A young couple of Shriraj Khera village in the district allegedly committed suicide by taking poison on Monday. According to reports, Sunita, a housewife, took poison. She was admitted to the local General Hospital where she died. Shocked at her death, her husband Kuldeep also consumed some insecticide. He, too, died at the hospital.

KURUKSHETRA
COMPETITION: Kurukshetra University will organise a painting competition and an exhibition on the life, ideology and philosophy of Devi Lal on September 27 to mark his birth anniversary. The competition will be held at the University Community Centre. The Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, will be the chief guest.

SONEPAT
MEETING: Timber merchants and saw mill owners held a meeting here on Wednesday to register their protest against the levying of 4 per cent market fee on the sale of timber and allied goods. They urged the Chief Minister to withdraw the fee. An 11-member subcommittee was constituted at the meeting. The members will tour the state to mobilise the merchants against the imposition of fee.

YOUTHS ATTACKED: Three youths, namely Ashok, Pardeep and Sanjay, sustained serious injuries following attack by a group of unidentified armed persons in Gita Bhavan area here on Tuesday night. The assailants escaped.

SALARIES NOT PAID: Employees of the local Municipal Council and the Fire Brigade have not been paid salaries for the past three months. Leaders of the Municipal Karamchari Sangh have threatened to launch an agitation.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

PARWANOO
TRIBUTES PAID: On the nationwide call given by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to mark the day against terrorism, children of the local Asha Deepa Vidya Niketan, Sector 5, residents and workers of nearby factories here observed two minutes’ silence. They also paid tributes to the persons who were killed in the terrorist attack in the USA. Satish Berry, president of the Sarav Dharam Sabha of Sector 5, said the sabha condemned the terrorist attack on the US cities.

SHIMLA
BJP TO HOLD CAMP: The state unit of the BJP is organising a three-day camp at Shahtalai in Bilaspur from September 28 to prepare for its ensuing ‘Vikas Jyoti yatra’. The party’s national secretary and in charge of Himachal affairs, Mr O.P. Kohli, will participate in the camp along with legislators, members of the state executive committee, heads of frontal organisations and chairpersons of various boards and corporations.

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

Vendor’s 19-year tale of woe

Mr Ghanshyam Das Sharma, a paan-cigarette vendor, sees no end in sight to his troubles after being uprooted from his location following a government notification.

His woes started in 1982 after administration notification called for a ban on anyone selling paan-bidi-cigarette within 200 metres of the Golden Temple. In return the Municipal Corporation had assured a relocation of kiosks besides a loan instalment from the Punjab National Bank to construct kiosks.

Talking to this reporter, he said the corporation played a cruel joke on him when they allotted him a kiosk close to the district courts complex in the heyday of terrorism. The militants’ code of conduct then also included attacks on paan-bidi stalls, as these were against the tenets of Sikhism.

Consequently the kiosk could not be started. The first instalment of the loan by the PNB of Rs 3000 was also liable for recovery in addition to interest and penalty. In 1985, he returned the loan to the bank and paid the penalty.

Since then he had made several complaints and requests to the corporation authorities to identify a suitable site for his business, but most of the sites were non-lucrative. The corporation asked him to identify a preferred site which he did, but nothing came of it.

In a letter to the Mayor and to the Commissioner, Mr Ghanshyam Das expressed his utter desperation as his son had met with an accident and was under treatment, and he had no source of income. He pleaded for allotment of a kiosk in a suitable locality.

The Mayor, Mr Brij Mohan Kapoor, when contacted, said the complainant had contacted him once recently and he had called the supervisor of the land department to look into his complaint. After that the complainant never approached him.

Decorated for civil defence

Mr Jagdish Kapur, joint president of Atlas Cycle Industries Limited, Sonepat, and the Chief Warden of Civil Defence, New Delhi, has been presented the “distinguished service medal” by the President on Independence Day in recognition of his selfless service in organising and streamlining civil defence. On Independence in 1994, the President had conferred on him the meritorious service award for the services rendered by him to civil defence organisation for the past 40 years. He was earlier bestowed with Sangram Medal on the occasion of the silver jubilee of Independence.

Mr Kapur is actively associated with a number of charitable and social welfare organisations, especially the National Association for the Blind, Delhi, as its president where about 400 visually impaired children are provided with free education, vocational training, boarding and lodging. He is also vice-president of the National Association for the Blind . In recognition of his outstanding contributions for the welfare of the blind, the Delhi Government conferred on him the Shree Kapur Delhi Gaurav Award and NAB India has decorated him with Rustom Merwanji Alpaiwalla Memorial Award.

Mr Kapur is successful businessman has left an indelible mark in all phases of his illustrious career both in business and in society. His involvement in the field of social work also extends to a number of schools and hospitals where his remarkable work has won him many laurels. He has also been associated with Rotary International as District Governor and Chairman of state unit of the Youth Hostels Association of India.

Contributed by Rashmi Talwar and R. D. Sapra