The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Saturday, April 6, 2002, 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

BARNALA
PROCLAIMED OFFENDER: the Bhadaur police in Barnala police district has arrested a proclaimed offender, Surjit Singh, who had been evading arrest since 10 years. Disclosing this, the SSP, Barnala, Mr G.S. Dhillon, said on Thursday that Surjit Singh had been produced in a court in Barnala.

BATHINDA
B.ED TEACHERS: A meeting of unemployed B.Ed. teachers has been held in which a resolution has been passed that the government should give weightage to the students who had done their B.Ed from the universities in Punjab while filling posts of teachers in the state. They demanded that at least 95 per cent seats should be reserved for the students of the state for the posts of B.Ed teacher.

DERA BASSI
EYE CAMP: As many as 250 patients were examined at a free eye camp organised by the local Sri Ramlila Committee and Rallies Indian Limited here on Thursday. The president of the committee, Mr Ravinder Vaishnav, said 35 patients would be operated upon of which 20 patients would be given contact lenses.

BAISAKHI MELA: Ruh Punjab Di, a local cultural club, would organise a cultural function to mark the second Baisakhi Mela at Ramlila Ground here on Saturday. Mr Deepinder Singh Dhillon, general secretary of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, would be the chief guest, while Mr H.S. Kohli, president of Small Scale Industrial Association, and Mr Jagjit Singh Dalli, president of Municipal Council, would preside over the mela.

FEROZEPORE
SENTENCED: Sessions Judge M.M.S. Bedi sentenced Balbir Singh, alias Bhutana (27), one of the nine accused in a double murder case, to 20-year rigorous imprisonment with fine on Wednesday. In the case Bhagwan Singh and his brother Purshotam Dass, both sons of Lambardar Machhi Ram of Nandwala village, were shot dead in March, 1991.

JALANDHAR
LIQUOR SEIZED: The Excise and Taxation Department on Thursday seized 106 cases of smuggled Indian-made foreign liquor (IMLF) worth Rs 1 lakh from a factory in the Leather Complex here. Mr H.S. Nanda, Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner, said the seizure was made following a tip-off.

KAPURTHALA
HC JUDGE: Mr Justice K.C. Gupta, a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, on Thursday visited the District Bar Association office and met members. He heard the grievances of lawyers. Mr Justice Gupta, also inspected judicial courts of Phagwara and Kapurthala.

TRAFFIC DISRUPTED: Rail and road traffic was disrupted on the Kapurthala-Jalandhar section near the Wadala level crossing, 6 km from here, on Wednesday night. According to a Railway spokesman, the traffic was disrupted after a truck turned turtle at the crossing.

MURDER CASE SOLVED: The district police has solved the murder case of Jagtar Singh of Rampur Gora Baopur Jagir village with the arrest of Kashmir Singh, a resident of Sherpur Dogra. Mr R.N. Dhoke, SSP, in a press-note issued on Friday, said the suspect had confessed that he, along with Jasa Singh of Munda village, had killed Jagtar Singh.

6 ROBBERS HELD: The police has busted a gang of robbers involved in looting, dacoity and theft in the district with the arrest of six members. It has recovered stolen property worth more than Rs 10 lakh from them. Mr R.N. Dhoke, SSP, said on Friday that those arrested were Gurpal Singh, Ranjit Singh, Jagdeep Singh, Sukhwant Singh, Sonu Sharma and Gulzar Singh, all from Amritsar district.

LUDHIANA
WORKSHOP: The district unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) will hold a two-day workshop on ultrasonography on April 13 and 14. The workshop will be conducted by the Institute of Ultrasound Training, the only institute in India to be recognised by the IMA for conducting ultrasound training courses. Dr Gursharan Singh, President, IMA, said the delegate fee would be Rs 2,000 for two days and Rs 1,200 for one day.

CELEBRATIONS: Preparations are underway for celebrating the birth anniversary of the ‘Khalsa panth’ from April 7 to April 13 at Gurdwara Shri Guru Singh Sabha in Khud Mohalla, according to a spokesperson of the organising committee. Work on a new Sheesh Mahal at the gurdwara would start on Sunday, when a free medical check-up camp, would also be held at the gurdwara. A series of ‘Akhand paaths’ would also begun from Sunday and bhog ceremonies of which would be held on April 13.

EXHIBITION: La Zeenat, a four-day exhibition for women will be inaugurated on Friday by Ms Preneet Kaur, Maharani Patiala at Hotel Gulmor. The exhibition will be organised by Garmentech Expo Private Limited. A highlight of the exhibition will be live demos and workshops organised by participating companies, where beauty and health tips and counselling services will be offered by experts in the field of hair styling, hair colouring, make up, fitness techniques, cookery and home furnishing.

WORKSHOP: A bhangra training workshop is being organised by the Art and Culture Youth Services Club from Sunday to April 21. Workshop timings will be, from 5 pm to 6 pm (for boys) and from 6 pm to 7 pm (for girls). Those interested in attending the workshop may contact the organisers on the spot. The club has been organising bhangra classes for the past many years and has received a good response from youths.

IDOL INSTALLED: An idol of Lord Shiva was installed in the Mata Vaishno Devi temple, Kishore Nagar, here on Thursday. A number of ‘bhajan mandalis’ held the audience spellbound by their renderings. A ‘langar’ was also held on the occasion.

MANDI GOBINDGARH
BLOOD DONATION CAMP: The Desh Bhagat Institute of Management and Computer Sciences (DBIMCS), Mandi Gobindgarh, organised a blood donation camp here on Thursday as part of the World Health Day celebrations. The camp was inaugurated by Mr Vikas Partap, IAS, Deputy Commissioner Fatehgarh Sahib. Students and faculty members donated blood on the occasion. The chief guest, Mr Vikas Partap, said NGOs could play a very important role in society. He announced the opening of a blood bank at Mandi Gobindgarh. Dr Zora Singh, chairman, Desh Bhagat Group of Institutes, thanked the blood donors.

EXIM POLICY HAILED: Various sectors of the trade and industry have hailed the Import Export Policy 2002-03 announced by the Central Government recently. According to Mr Anil Sooraj, vice-president, Focal Point Association, Punjab, the government has given incentives to boost exports from the country.

PATIALA
IMA PRESIDENT: Dr O.P.S. Kande, president of the Indian Medical Association, has been appointed as president of the Patiala branch of the IMA. Dr Kande, a Central Working Committee member, has served for two years as state President of the IMA.

COMPLAINTS DISPOSED OF: The Additional Deputy Commissioner of Patiala, Mr Shiv Dular Singh Dhillon, disposed of 40 complaints here on Thursday. Of these, 16 were related to the police department. The ADC also directed the department concerned to settle seven pending cases by April 8.

BAN ON CUT FRUITS: The Deputy Commissioner of Patiala, Mr Tejveer Singh, issued guidelines to the administration on Thursday to prevent the outbreak of cholera in the district. He ordered a ban on the sale of over-ripe and uncovered cut fruits and vegetables. He also directed the agencies concerned to confiscate and destroy products unfit for human consumption.

SAMRALA
KILLED IN ACCIDENT: Giani Kulwant Singh Litt, a religious personality of the area, was killed in a road accident on Thursday. He was going on his motorcycle to his village (Bijlipur), 9 km from here after attending a ‘dharmik dewan’ organised here in the local Anaj Mandi. He was running a medicine shop in the grain market. He was about 45 years of age and had left behind a son and a daughter.

TARN TARAN
OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local unit of the Arhtiyas Federation: president — Mr Gurinder Singh Rataul; senior vice-presidents — Mr Sucha Singh and Mr Balwinder Singh Randhawa; and general secretary — Mr yashpal Sharma.

ZIRAKPUR
BLOOD DONATION CAMP: As many as 60 volunteers of the NSS unit of the Regional Institute of Management and Administration, Zirakpur, donated blood at a camp organised on the premises of the institute, here on Friday. Dr Gurcharan Singh, chairman of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Educational and Charitable Trust, inaugurated the camp by donating his blood.

CHANDIGARH

ANIMAL BONES USED: Dr D.P.S. Sandhu, Director, Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, has said in a statement to the Press, that gelatin, which is used as a binding agent in certain commonly used articles like toothpastes, lipsticks, face creams, edible jelly and capsules, is manufactured from animal bone ash.

PANCHKULA
CONGRESS GRASS MENACE: The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr S.K. Goyal has called upon residents to start a mass movement in order to do way with the menace of Congress grass. He was speaking at a meeting of residents on the problem of Congress grass. It was decided that all public parks and areas around them would be cleared by the Horticulture Wing of Haryana Urban Development Authority .The main roads will be managed by the PWD ( B and R) department , while the commercial sites by HUDA authorities. Residents have been asked to weed out the grass from the internal roads of their respective sectors.

NEW SP: Ms Charu Bali, today took charge as the new Superintendent of Police, here on Friday evening. She also held a meeting with the deputy superintendents of police and the Additional Superintendent of Police later. She replaces Mr Manoj Yadav, who has been transferred as SP, Ambala.

SAS NAGAR
SALARIES NOT PAID: Over 200 special police officers (SPOs) recruited during the militancy days in Ropar district are up in arms against their higher authorities over the non-payment of their salary for the past three months. On the condition of anonymity, a number of the SPOs lamented that they were putting in 24 hrs of duty but were not paid salaries. They have urged the Chief Minister and the DGP to redress their grievances.

DEMANDED: The Mohali Industries Association has sought relaxing of the labour laws, availability of credit at international rates and marketing assistance. Addressing a public meeting organised to honour the local MLA, Mr Bir Devinder Singh, here on Thursday, the president of the association said any increase in the power tariff and sales tax should be made after taking the industry into confidence. He also sought revival of the sick units. Mr Bir Devinder Singh said the government had set up a committee for revival of sick industry in the state.

HARYANA

AMBALA
SAMATA DIVAS: Babu Jagjivan Ram’s birth anniversary was observed as Samata Divas at Timber Market, Ambala Sadar on Friday. Paying his tribute, Mr Devendra Bansal said he was a Gandhian leader and devoted his life for removing inequalities.

MEETING: The HSEB Workers Union, sub unit one, held a gate meeting in protest against the “anti-employee” policy of the government. Among others, Mr Gurnam Singh, Mr Amrik Singh, Mr Shamsher Singh, Mr Ravi Kumar, Mr Ram Pal and Mr Puroshottam Das addressed the members. The speakers protested the decision of the government to retrench HSMITC employees and privatise roadways depots. They said Chief Secretary, Haryana, had been apprised of their demands but no action had been taken.

BHIWANI
SUICIDE: A girl has committed suicide by consuming poison at Bamla village. According to reports, the girl, Rukesh, was a student of BA II and was preparing for her examinations. She reportedly took the extreme step for fear of failure in the examinations.

FATEHABAD
ROADWAYS WORKERS: Roadways workers organised a demonstration here on Thursday against the closure of the Minor irrigation and Tubewell Corporation (MITC) and the proposed privatisation of Haryana Roadways. The agitating workers were addressed at the gate of the roadways depot by Mr Nihal Singh Matana, state general secretary of the Haryana Karamchari Mahasangh.

YAMUNANAGAR
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Income Tax counsel association, Jagadhri-Yamunanagar: president — Mr I.C. Goel; vice-president — Mr Arun Gupta; secretary — Mr Surendra Kaushal; and joint secretary — Mr Ravinder Aggarwal.