R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

FEROZEPORE
KHATRI SABHA: The following have been elected members of the Khatri Sabha, Punjab: president — Mr Jatinder Mehra; senior vice-president — Mr Darshan Behal; general secretary — Mr Baldev Raj Mehta; joint secretary — Mr Varinder Vij; secretary — Mr Ramesh Beri; vice-presidents — Mr Prem Bhandari and Mr Chander Prakash; and treasurer — Mr Ramesh Kumar Sareen.

HOSHIARPUR
ARRESTED: The Mahilpur police arrested Gurmail Singh of Parsowal and Jhalmal Singh of Mukho Mazara under Section 15/61/85 of the NDPS Act and recovered 30 kg of poppy husk from them on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Tanda police also recovered 30,000 ml each of illicit liquor from Kamal Singh and Bawa, both residents of Jehlan village on Sunday.

KHANNA
SHOPS GUTTED: Two shops were gutted by fire on the GT Road opposite city police station here on Sunday night. According to information, a box manufacturing factory caught fire due to a short-circuit around 10 am. Someone informed the factory owner Bittu by telephone. By the time fire brigade reached the spot, the fire had extended to an adjoining shop where clothes were stored. The fire could be brought under control after half-an-hour. A loss of Rs one lakh had been estimated.

HOSPITAL INAUGURATED: Guru Harkrishan Charitable Hospital promoted by the Guru Harkrishan Charitable and Educational Trust, Khanna, was inaugurated by Mr Jasbir Singh Khalsa here on Sunday. The X-ray wing of the hospital was inaugurated by MP Sukhdev Singh Libra, ECG wing was inaugurated by Ex-MP Bibi Satwinder Kaur Dhaliwal and Laboratory was inaugurated by advocate Harbans Singh. A kirtan darbar was also organised on the occasion. The president of the trust, Mr Avtar Singh Sethi, thanked the public.

LUDHIANA
OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Newspapers Suppliers Welfare Association, Clock Tower, Ludhiana: chairman — Mr D.C. Lamba; general secretary — Mr Raghubir Singh; joint secretaries — Mr Gurbachan Kala and Mr Upkar Singh; cashier — Mr Rajinder Bhatia; joint cashier — Mr Avtar Singh Bedi; propoganda secretaries — Mr Sunil Bhatia and Mr Ashok Kapoor; advisers — Mr Narjeet Singh, Mr Jagdish Rai and Mr Rajesh Jindal. 

ELECTED: Mr Ram Murti has been elected president of the Daily Railway Passengers Association, according to a press note released here on Monday. Other office-bearers of the association are: vice-president — Mr Rajesh Mittal; general secretary — Mr Ashok Kumar; secretary — Mr Naval Kishore; treasurer — Mr Ravinder Dutta; and legal adviser — Mr Rajesh Mehra.

BAISAKHI CELEBRATIONS: The Saraswati Ladies Club celebrated Baisakhi here on Sunday. ‘Ranga-rang’, a cultural programme was presented by club members. Students of Springdale Public School presented bhangra on this occasion. Club members sang Punjabi songs. A quiz was conducted by the secretary of the club Ms Sandeep Raikhi. The winners were given prizes. Ms Avinash Kaur, president of the club, spoke about the importance of Baisakhi. Ms Narinder Marvie, a TV artiste, entertained the audience with her Punjabi songs.

VETERINARY DAY: The Directorate of Animal Husbandry, Punjab, in association with NEOVET (Intas Pharmaceuticals Animal Healthcare Division) and the Punjab State Veterinary Officers Association celebrated World Veterinary Day here on Sunday. Mr M.S.Virdi, one of the organisers of the programme, said in a press note that veterinarians would soon organise free de-worming camps all over the country. The chief guest, Dr Baljit Singh Sidhu, said it was good to see that contributions of veterinary professional were being publicly acknowledged these days. The function was attended by more than 50 veterinarians.

YAJNA: Arya Samaj, Dal Bazar, in collaboration with the Bajwa Nagar Hosiery Association, organised an 11-kund Gayatri yajna here on Monday. The function was presided over by Mr Roshan Lal Arya, general secretary, Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, Punjab. The ‘yajna jyoti’ was jointly lighted by Mr Darshan Dawar and Mr Raj Malhotra and the proceedings were carried out by Pandit Surender Kumar Shastri. Mr Surinder Dawar, MLA, was the chief guest on the occasion. Earlier, Mr Dawar and Swami Madhvanand from Hissar, were accorded an ardent welcome by Arya Samaj members prominent among whom were Mr Sant Kumar, Mr Atam Parkash, Mr Dev Pal Arya, Mr Arun Sood and Mr Sat Pal Beri. Swami Madhvanand, spoke about the benefits of yajna.

SANGRUR
INAUGURATED: Mr Arvind Khanna, local MLA, on Sunday inaugurated Sant Attar Singh Chowk on the Mehlan road and also a road near the Sunami gate here. A function was organised which was addressed among others by Mr Sarvjit Singh, Deputy Commissioner and Mr Jasbir Singh Advocate, former Punjab Minister.

HARYANA

AMBALA
MEETING: A meeting of the local unit of the Nagar Palika Karamchari Sangh Haryana was held here under the leadership of Mr Mahavir Dahiya. Members of the sangh deliberated upon the forthcoming May 12 rally to be held in Hisar. The rally will be held in protest against privatisation, retrenchment and anti-employee policy of the government.

CAMPAIGN: IBP Auto Services in association with Modern Automobiles organised a campaign, involving free pollution and general check-up for Maruti vehicles, according to a press note.

FUNCTION: Nearly 60 physically challenged students were given artificial limbs, wheelchairs and tricycles at a function organised by the District Red Cross Society in Naraingarh. The function was held at Government Senior Secondary School. Five physically challenged students were given wheelchairs, one got a tricycle. While 34 students were given artificial limbs and clippers. Other students were given school uniform and stationery. 

HIMACHAL PRADESH

NURPUR
MANGO PEST: Fruit growers here and in Jawali subdivisions, who were expecting a bumper mango crop this year, are perturbed over the attack of the mango hopper, a wasp. According to an official estimate, about 30 per cent of crop has been damaged so far.