The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Wednesday, September 26, 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

HOSHIARPUR
PRIEST DIES:Priest Suryanarain Pandey of the Asha Devi temple succumbed to his injuries at the DMC Ludhiana on Sunday, according to the police. Priest Suryanarain was seriously injured along with priest Pappu Pandey and Paramjit Pamma by assailants who looted ornaments and cash from the temple.

SODOMY: The police has registered a case of sodomy against Shaminder Singh, son of Bhupinder Singh of Mohalla Premgarh. He is believed to have sodomised Balwinder Singh, 16 of Subzi Mandi, Karnal. Balwinder Singh came here with a truck from Karnal. Shaminder Pal accosted him at the bus stand and took him to a park at Bassi Khawaju and sodomised him.

MAN KILLED: Mohinder Singh was killed by his nephew Avtar Singh at Bassi Kikran on Sunday. Mohinder Singh and his son Gurdeep Singh were quarreling at their house. Meanwhile, Sarwan Singh, brother of Mohinder Singh, along with his son Avtar Singh came there. Swarn Singh tried to stop his brother. Mohinder Singh started abusing Swarn Singh. Finding his father being abused Avtar Singh hit Mohinder Singh. As a result Mohinder Singh died on the spot. The police has registered a case under Section 304 of the IPC.

LUDHIANA
CERTIFICATES AWARDED:A certificate awarding function of Nishkam Sewing School was held at Rayya village on Monday. Mr Sarwan Kumar, Director, Nishkam, in a press note on Tuesday said over 145 girls were imparted training in the six-month course. The girls were trained in cutting, tailoring and embroidery. He stressed the need of adult education for the girls. He claimed more than 50 per cent of the Nishkam Sewing School trainees were earning their livelihood and had become self-reliant. Thirty-one girls were given certificates. The students also presented a cultural programme on the occasion.

OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Medical Aid and Anti-Drug Abuse Committee of the Ludhiana Citizen's Health Council: patron — Mr Prem Narayan Gupta; chairperson — Dr K.K. Kharbanda; co-chairpersons — Dr Ravinder Kochar and Mr Subhash jain; joint secretaries — Ms Protima Behl and Mr Rajesh Jain. Mr Ajay Jain, secretary, read the progress report and gave action plan of the committee for the current year.

CAMP: A camp will be organised by the Sarb Rog Ka Aukhand Nam Mission Trust at Janj Ghar, Model Town, Ludhiana, from Wednesday to Sunday. Free food and lodging will be provided to the patients during the camp.

TOURISM DAY: The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Punjab would organise a function at Sepal Hotel, Bathinda, to celebrate World Tourism Day on Thursday, said Mr N.S. Nanda, president of the association. Mr Inderjit Singh, Director Tourism, Punjab, would be the chief guest of the function, while Mr Surinder Singh Bajaj would be the guest of honour. Dr S.K. Vashisht, a tourism expert, would speak on the development of tourism. A cultural programme would also be organised. Some hotels and restaurants of Punjab would allow special discounts on that day.

NCC ANNUAL CAMP: An eight-day-long annual training camp of NCC Air Force cadets got off to a colourful start at the Punjab Police Academy grounds here on Tuesday. About 500 cadets chosen from different educational institutions in the district are participating in the camp. The 4 Punjab Air Squadron NCC based at Ludhiana has organised the camp. The camp, to be concluded on October 2, was inaugurated by Brig R. S. Kala, Deputy Director General, NCC Air Force, here.

MANSA
CONTRACTOR WOUNDED: Mr Satish Parocha, a scavenging contractor, resident of Mansa was wounded by six persons with sharp-edged weapons near the office of Municipal Council on Monday. The assailants came in a jeep. Mr Parocha was being treated at the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana.

RALLY AT LAMBI: The Punjab Laboratory Technicians Association has decided to hold a rally at Lambi on October 21 to press for the implementation of court directives on their demands which include pay revision, risk allowance and rent free accommodation.

NAWANSHAHR
CONFERENCE: The Democratic Youth Federation of India organised a subdivision-level delegates conference at nearby Langroya village, about 5 km from here on Monday. As many as 90 delegates participated. Mr Asanand Kaluchang, state joint secretary, and Mr Rakesh Nayyar, district president of the federation, while addressing the conference called upon the activists to mobilise public opinion against the NDA government.

PATHANKOT
SAMMELAN: Mr Vikram Singh, Chairman, Rajput Mahasabha, Punjab, has said the youth wing of the sabha of Gurdaspur district has decided to celebrate Maharana Partap Adarsh Sammelan at Gharota on September 30. Mr Chandar Shekhar, former Prime Minister, Mr Gulchain Singh Charak, president, Akhil Bhartiya Kshatrya Maha Sabha, North zone, Mr Bhanu Parkash Singh, former Governor, Goa, are likely to attend.

LOK ADALATS: Three lok adalats will be organised here on September 29, Mr Bhajan Ram, Additional Civil Judge (Senior Division) Pathankot has said.

PATIALA
PROGRAMME: The Department of Punjabi of Punjabi University organised a face to face programme on Tuesday in which Sahit Akademy award winning Punjabi short-story writer Waryam Singh Sandhu shared his experiences with the faculty and students of the university. Mr Sandhu talked about the development of the art of short story writing and his own evolvement as a short story writer. Later the guest speaker held a question-answer session with students. Punjabi University Vice-Chancellor, Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia and Dr Balwinder Kaur, Head of the Punjabi Department, also addressed the gathering.

STIR THREATENED: Members of Sarkari Ayurvedic and Unani Upvaid Union Punjab have threatened to launch an agitation in case the government did not pay heed to their valid demands.This was stated by the president of the union, Mr Narinder Pal Singh Sidhu, in a press release here on Tuesday. He said that Ayurvedic Hospital, Patiala, Government Ayurvedic College and Government Ayurvedic Centre Pharmacy should be provided with the same facilities as have been provided to the Rajindra Hospital and Medical College Patiala. He demanded immediate action from the government in view of the deteriorating condition of the ayurvedic institutions in the city. The union is demanding annual promotion and perks for its members besides the closure of the Evening Outdoor Patient Department of the Ayurvedic Hospital. The Union also demanded that court cases against the members be dispensed at the Pharmacy level and not individually and workers given excessive duties be unburdened.

KARAMCHARI DAL:At a special meeting of the Punjab State Karamchari Dal held here on Tuesday under the presidentship of Mr Kulbir Singh Saidkheri, the members of the dal demanded immediate implementation of its demands which have already been accepted by the government. Sh Saidkheri said the government was shirking from its promise to regularise daily wage employees working with the government for the last three years because of which 4,350 public health workers are left hanging in the lurch.The other demands included bonus to be given on the Central pattern, an increase in both medical and house rent allowance. The Dal threatened to hold a dharna in Chandigarh on October 10 in case its demands were not met at once.

PHILLAUR
KITCHEN APPLIANCES:Ultrapure Technology and Appliances Indian Limited (UTAIL) has launched kitchen hobs, which the company claims, will be manufactured using the latest technology and under strict quality control. These hobs, having a feature of stop-gas safety option, will be available between Rs 6,000 and Rs 27,000.

ROPAR
ARRESTED:The local police has arrested Inderjeet Singh of Haveli village near Ropar, for allegedly killing his wife, Surinder Kaur. Surinder Kaur was found murdered in her house on September 5. The police has found the husband’s statement that the victim had been murdered by a robber untenable. The circumstantial evidence point to honour killing, the police believe. A case under Section 302, IPC, has been registered against Inderjeet Singh.

SAMRALA
CHARGE TAKEN:Ms Anuprita Johal took over the charge of Tehsildar, Samrala, here on Tuesday replacing Mr Hari Singh who had been transferred to Jalandhar in the PWD B&R Department on deputation. Earlier, Ms Anuprita Johal was posted at Samana as Tehsildar.

TRAINING CAMP:A block-level agricultural camp was organised at Seh village on Tuesday. It was inaugurated by Mr S.S. Brar, SDM, Samrala. The camp was organised under the guidance of Dr Gurcharan Singh Rajajung, Chief Agricultural Officer, Ludhiana. Jathedar Kirpal Singh Khirnian, member of the SGPC, was the chief guest. Technical experts, Dr Baldev Singh, Dr Partap Singh, Dr H.S. Sidhu, Er Rajan and Dr Amarjit Singh from IFFCO addressed the farmers on the occasion.

CHANDIGARH

BUS TRIP:About 70-odd kids of Pustak School from Palsora and Peer Colony were taken for a ride on the hop-on-hop- off bus here on Tuesday. The children were too excited to be in the bus and all of them preferred to sit on the rooftop of the bus. It was a rare experience for the slum kids. The dream ride started in the morning from the Parade Ground and went around Panjab University, Rose Garden, the Mini Secretariat, Rock Garden and the Sukhna Lake. Children were also served refreshments.The trip was sponsored by Citco.

ELECTED:The following have been elected office-bearers of the Welfare Association, MIG(I) Houses, Sector 40-C: president —Mr Dilbag Singh; secretary — Ms Shyama Negi; general secretary —Mr J.C. Verma; vice-president — Mr C.L. Bhardwaj; legal adviser —Mr R.K. Taneja and auditor — Mr Vijay Pal Verma.

SHIFTED:The Drug De-addiction and Treatment Centre of the Psychiatry Department, PGI, has been shifted to the ground floor of C-Block in Nehru Hospital. According to information available, the centre’s outpatient and inpatient services, laboratories and offices will now operate from the main building of Nehru Hospital.

STUDY CIRCLE:The local unit of the Bharatiya Yuva Morcha here formed a Deen Dayal Upadhyay Study Circle on Tuesday to organise seminars and symposia for giving the youth a direction. This was announced by the morcha president, Mr Satinder Singh, while addressing a meeting of the morcha at the BJP headquarter in Sector 33 on the eve of the birth anniversary of the late Jana Sangh ideologue and founder member, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay. Mr Baldev Pandey and Mr Navin Kaushik have been appointed as convener and co-convener, respectively, of the Circle. The state BJP President, Mr Dharampal Gupta, remembered Panditji for efforts to build nation.

WORLD TOURISM DAY:The Food Craft Institute will celebrate the World Tourism Day, 2001, on September 27. According to a press note issued by the Principal of the institute, said on September 27 an inter-organisation/institution quiz contest would be organised to generate tourism awareness. He said a dinner would be organised for general public with a theme “Tourism a tool for peace and dialogue among civilisation”. A blend of foods would also be served in a festival ambience with live performances, music and dance at the rate Rs 120 per head.

STIR THREAT:The Punjab Municipal Workers Action Committee has threatened to hold rallies in front of the offices of the all Deputy Commissioners in the state on September 28 in case the state government did not take back its proposal to abolish octroi. Disclosing this, the committee president, Mr Balwant Singh Sandhu, said the decision in this regard has been taken at a meeting of the committee members held at Sunam here on Tuesday. He said the government’s proposal to abolish octroi would only lead to further corruption in the state with traders trying to evade sales and excise taxes.

HARYANA

AMBALA
DEMAND:Green Circle, an organisation working for a better environment, has demanded the upkeep of Indira Park. In a communique addressed to the Executive Officer, Municipal Council, Ambala Sadar, Green Circle, has pointed out that there was an urgent need to repair a side of the fountain which has been damaged, the garbage from the gate area needs to be removed, a taxi stand near the park should be shifted to the car parking area and there should be a regular police beat at the park in the late evening. They have also requested that the ban on polythene bags be strictly imposed. The organisation will distribute free saplings during the working hours at the park.

APPEAL:The villagers of Nanhera, Ghasitpur and Shahpur have appealed that they should be exempted from the land being acquired by HUDA. They said HUDA should only acquire land which is not being cultivated as cultivable land is benefiting the Green Revolution. They said that if their land is acquired, it would go against the dreams of late Devi Lal who was always in favour of the farmers, a release said. Meanwhile, the residents of Milap Nagar have also appealed that they should be exempted from the land being acquired by HUDA. The residents stated that after much difficulty they have been able to construct their houses and the poor would become homeless if HUDA acquires their land, a release said.

JUDICIAL CUSTODY:The persons arrested by the local police under the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act were remanded to judicial custody on Monday evening. The police had raided at a residence at Ambala city and arrested two males and four females. The persons who were arrested include Shashi, Charnjit Kaur, Paramjit Kaur and Neelam. The CJM, Ms Sarita Gupta, remanded them for 14 days in judicial custody.

AWARDED:Mrs Vidyawati was declared first in district level ‘sanjhi’ competition organised by the District Public Relation Office on Tuesday. She would be awarded the cash prize of Rs 1500. The second and third winners will also be awarded the cash prize of Rs 1000 and Rs 750, respectively. The Deputy Commissioner will award the prizes to the winners at a function to be organised shortly.

RECOVERED:A stolen motor cycle and scooter were recovered by the Special Task Force of Ambala Range during a nakabandi. The vehicles were being driven by two youths who admitted during questioning that the vehicles were stolen. A case has been registered.

KURUKSHETRA
HOUSE TAX NOTICES:The City Congress Committee at its meeting held under the chairmanship of Mr Deena Nath Arora, here on Sunday evening called upon all urban area residents in the state to oppose the new house tax notices by filing legal objections within a month of receiving these. He said the criteria for the calculation of cost of land and building was not justified and the state government should have notified it in the official gazette.

SIRSA
POWER CONNECTIONS:As many as 450 illegal connections, including 14 non-domestic and 430 domestic, were regularised by the Haryana Vidut Parsaran Nigam in the district. A fine of Rs 37,765 was recovered from 29 consumers. The Deputy Commissioner said here on Monday that in the 12 camps held so far Nigam officials inspected meters and completed formalities on the spot to regularise the illegal power connections.

SONEPAT
NDA GOVT FLAYED:The president of the All-India Youth Congress, Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala, on Tuesday accused the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre of betraying the trust of the people. He said the government had failed on all fronts and Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee had proved to be a weak Prime Minister.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

CHAMBA
UNEMPLOYMENT:Mrs Asha Kumari, a Congress, leader on Tuesday cautioned the Dhumal government against the grim unemployment situation in the state. She said residents of border villages in the district, who had earlier been earning livelihood from extraction of medicinal herbs, were now unemployed. She alleged that the Himachal Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Board at Hamirpur had become a centre of corruption.

DHARAMSALA
ELECTED:The following have been elected office-bearers of the Himachal Pradesh Poorav Sainik Sahayati Sanghatan, Kangra: chairman — Col S.C. Sharma; president — Capt D.N. Sharma; vice-presidents — Mrs Asha Pun and Sub Hoshiar Singh; general secretaries — Capt Sarwan Kumar and Sub Maj Amar Nath’ cashier — Capt S.N.S. Singh; assistant cashier — Capt O.P. Tonk; and secretaries — Capt Milkhi Ram, Capt Prem Lal, Capt Vishav Dev Bisht and Mrs Usha Gurung.

KULU
WOMEN’S PANEL:The Himachal Pradesh Women Commission has sought monthly report from all district police chiefs on crimes against women. Ms Kalvika Pathania, Chairperson of the commission, held a meeting with the local administration here on Monday. District heads of department besides Mahila Mandal office-bearers and members of the commission participated. Mr Karan Singh, Minister of State For Primary Education, and Ms Shivani Singh, Chairperson of the Himachal Pradesh Women and Child Welfare Board, were the special invitees

NURPUR
WORLD BANK TEAM:A team from the World Bank headed by Dr T.C. Jain visited sub catchment areas of Badi Khud, Raja Ka Bagh, Kandwal and Baduee villages. The Central team led by Dr Dinesh Nigam also inspected the project work.

SHIMLA
ARRESTED:The railway and traffic police have nabbed persons who snatched away the bag of a British couple while they were travelling to Shimla from Kalka by train two days ago. The police arrested pasi Ram, one of the two accused and recovered from him the bag containing cash and travellers cheques amounting to Rs 1.30 lakh, besides a camera and travel documents of Philip Chittenden and Pamela Szymanski. Efforts were on to track down the second culprit and a team had been dispatched to Delhi for the purpose.