R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

POPPY HUSK SEIZED: The Mahilpur police has seized 20 kg each poppy husk from Biro, wife of Sibu, and Palo, wife of Raj, both residents of Muggo Patti village on Friday night. Both the ladies had been booked under Section 15/61/85 of the NDPS Act.

KHANNA
COMMITTEE MEETING: A meeting of the local peace committee was organised under the chairmanship of the SDM, Mr Pardeep Kumar Sabharwal, on the local courts complex here on Saturday. Mr Sabharwal said it was the duty of every citizen to maintain peace. He assured the Muslim community of necessary steps for their security and specially for religious buildings in the area. He appealed to the people to check the spreading of rumours by anti-social elements. 

LUDHIANA
275 GET PRIZES: The annual prize distribution function of the Government College for Women was held here on Saturday. He was the chief guest of the day. A total of 175 arts students and 100 science students received prizes for excellence in academics. Dr Kripal Singh Aulakh, Vice-Chancellor, Punjab Agricultural University, was the chief guest. 

DECLAMATION CONTESTS: Two students of the Ramgarhia College for Women, Harsimran Kaur and Manpreet, won first and second prizes, respectively, in the K.K. Grover and A.C. Bali declamation contests organised by Punjab University recently. They would be honoured at the annual convention of the university to be held later this year.

EYES DONATED: The Eye Bank, Mansuran, received two eyes from Gurjant Singh of Bhatha Colony, Manuke village, Jagraon tehsil, recently. The 20-year-old had died of drowning while fishing. The corneas were transplanted to a patient from Hambran and another from Khanna. 

CHECK-UP CAMP: A one-day dental check-up camp was organised at the SDP College for Women here on Saturday. About 500 students were examined and given medicines.

KIRTAN DARBARS: A kirtan darbar was held at New Anand Puri here on Friday to celebrate Ravidass Jayanti. A kirtan darbar-cum-langar was organised at Bahadur Road by the shopkeepers’ association in connection with the celebrations. 

PLEA TO CENTRE: A number of city-based saints and religious leaders on Saturday appealed to the Centre to take stern steps to deal with the violence in wake of communal clashes in Gujarat. Saint Narkewal Bedi termed the attack on Ram sevaks as a planned conspiracy. Deviji demanded stern action against the culprits responsible for the attack. 

‘DISMISS GUJARAT GOVT’: In a letter to the Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh, Mr Parminder Mehta, District Youth Congress President, on Saturday asked the Punjab Government to deal firmly with religious fundamentalists and demanded immediate dismissal of the BJP government in Gujarat. In a statement, Lt-Col H.S. Kahlon, chief coordinator of the Atma Raksha Sangh, urged the Union Government to bring Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh under President’s rule and hand over these states to the Army. 

DISCOURSE: Swami Rattan Muni, also known as Bhole Baba among his followers, in his discourse at Patel Nagar, Civil Lines, on Thursday evening said human mind and thoughts were directly influenced by the kind of food consumed by the people. Eating of meat, he said, polluted mind and made one vulnerable to anger, greed and worldly possessions, which lead to frustration and anxiety. One loses will power, as a result of which one cannot concentrate on work. He further maintained that most of the criminals indulging in crimes like murder, theft and rape were invariably meat eaters. Intellectual prowess among meat eaters also became sluggish, he added. He opined that egg and meat were not suitable for human consumption.

FREE MEDICAL CAMP: The Simran Health and Research Foundation would organise a three-day free medical camp at Simran Hospital, Basti Jodhewal Chowk, from March 29. Dr Sarabjit Bhatia, chairman and managing director, in a press note on Saturday said patients suffering from various diseases, especially bone and joint diseases, would be examined by expert doctors at the camp. Medicines would be provided free of cost by the foundation and X-rays and blood tests would be conducted on nominal charges. Operations would also be performed free of cost during the camp. The camp would be inaugurated by the Deputy Commissioner.

MANSA
RETIRED: Ms Balwinder Kaur Bhattal, younger sister of Ms Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, former Chief Minister, Punjab, retired on Thursday from the local office of District Public Relation Office along with Mr Sat Pal Bansal, Senior Assistant. Both were given a farewell by members of the staff.

NAWANSHAHR
LIONS CLUB: The Lions Club (City Smile), Banga, on Friday organised a “Charter-cum-award night” to honour members for their contribution in social activities done by the club. Tricycles to two handicapped persons and sewing machines to three poor widows were also given. Mr Lal Chand Sharma and Mr Ram Bhardwaj, both former district governors, presided over the function.

PATIALA
LECTURE: The Vedanta methodology of management strikes a total balance between the prosperity, dynamism and mental peace,” said Mr Gautam of the Vedanta Life of Institute, Bombay, while addressing a gathering of officers of Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) here recently. Mr Gautam has been invited by the PSEB for a series of discourses. He insisted that while in the West, there is lot of dynamism and productivity of managers but there has also been a loss of peace of mind around them. Speaking on the occasion , Chairman of PSEB, Sudhir Mittal said it is important to inculcate honesty towards work in the managers of modern India.

MEDICAL CAMP: The Punjab National Bank’s Bhadson road branch here organised a free medical camp on Saturday. A team of doctors comprising Dr Sukhdip Singh, Dr Rakesh Arora and Dr Sudhir Pathak examined around 200 persons. Medicines free of cost were also distributed on behalf of the bank.

PROTEST MARCH: The Punjab Bank Employees Federation affiliated to All-India Bank Employees Association has decided to hold a demonstration in protest against the Union Budget. Calling it against the poor and salaried class, the general secretary of the federation, Mr N.K. Gaur, said no steps have been announced in the Budget for recovery of ‘bad loans’. 

CONDEMNED: The Punjab and UT Employees Joint Action committee in a press note released here on Saturday condemned the Central Government for tabling what they called an “anti-employee and anti-poor” Budget. General secretary of the committee, Mr Darshan Singh has demanded an enhancement of fixed medical allowance to Rs 500 and city compensation to all employees from the newly elected Chief Minister.

PHAGWARA
CONFERENCE: The Rotary Club here will organise a two-day district-level conference on humanity here on Saturday, according to Mr MJS Cheema, chairman, here on Thursday. Gen V.P. Malik, former Chief of the Indian Army, Dr S.P. Singh, Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, and poet Sardar Anjum will be among the participants.

SAMRALA
STONES BROKEN: Some persons broke the foundation stones at Khatran village, 5 km from here, on Friday night. These foundation stones had been laid by ministers of the SAD-led government. A complaint in this regard was lodged with the police.

ADDITIONAL CHARGE: Mr S.S. Saini, Range Forest Officer, Doraha, took additional charge of the Samrala Range Office here on Saturday. This post had been lying vacant due to the death of Ajit Singh Sandhu, Range Forest Officer, Samrala, of a heart attack on February 27.

TARN TARAN
BANGLADESHI ARRESTED: Mohammad Khalik, a resident of Jamalpur (Bangladesh), was nabbed by the Army on Friday night from Masatgarh border village. A case under Sections 3, 34, 20 of the Indian Passport Act has been registered, the district police chief said.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

HAMIRPUR
HEALTH CAMPS: Twentyfive health camps will be organised in the district during March. Informing this, Dr Pritam Singh Dogra, Chief Medical Officer, said here on Saturday that these camps would be organised at all primary health centres. The department concerned would organise eye camps in the district at Nadaun, Barsar, Bhoranj, Hamirpur and Sujanpurtira, he added.

KANGRA
BURGLED: A gang of burglars decamped with gold and silver worth Rs 3 lakh along with an iron safe from a goldsmith shop in the Shyam Nagar locality of Dharamsala town on Saturday. This was stated by Kangra district police chief Sanjay Kundu. A case has been registered.

COMPLETE BANDH: All shops and business establishments remained close at Indora, Maranda, Nagrota Bagwan and Palampur here on Saturday. Traffic, however, plied normally. Offices and schools remained open. No untoward incident was reported from any part of the district, the police said.