AMRITSAR
HEAD OF DEPARTMENT: Dr Barkat Ali has been appointed Head of Department of Urdu-Persian of Guru Nanak Dev University by the Vice-Chancellor, Dr S.P. Singh, for three years. This was stated in a university press note issued here on Saturday.

STIR THREATENED: The State Government Teachers Union on Saturday threatened to launch an agitation if the government did not cancel the transfers made recently after the raids conducted by the Vigilance Department. In a press note issued here, Mr Sucha Singh, district president of the union, alleged that the transfers were made without an enquiry. A rally was held and a procession taken out through various bazars here. A memorandum was presented to the SDM, Ajnala, in this regard.

BATALA
CHARGE TAKEN: Mr Parneet Bhardwaj, PCS, took over the charge here on Friday as a Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Batala, in place of Mr Rajinder Pal Singh, who was transferred to Jalandhar. Mr Bhardwaj was earlier SDM, Sunam.

GURDASPUR
4 KILLED: Four persons were killed and six injured in an accident between a bus and an auto-rickshaw on Saturday near Jharoli in Pathankot subdivision. The deceased have been identified as Saroj Kumari, Kavita, Asha Rani and Pardeep Kumar, all residents of Malakpur.

CONSTABLE ARRESTED: The CIA on Sunday seized 3 kg of opium and arrested Khazan Singh, a constable of Suchetgarh village. His accomplice, Constable Balwinder Singh of Mathola, escaped.

3 DIE IN ACCIDENTS: Three persons were killed in two different accidents on Friday in the district. In one accident near Fathegarh Churian, Amarjit Kaur and Kuljinder Kaur were killed when the moped they were riding on was hit by a truck. In the second accident, Constable Kashmir Singh, of Khera Kotli was killed when he was hit by a vehicle near Joura Chhitran.

HOSHIARPUR
CASH SNATCHED: Two miscreants — Kuldip Singh and Kamaljit Singh of Kathar — snatched a bag containing Rs 1,000 from Mr Satish Chander, a shopkeeper of the local Kotwali Bazar, when he came out of his shop after closing it on Friday night. They were chased and Kuldip Singh was caught while Kamaljit escaped. Kuldip Singh was handed over to the police.

TWO KILLED: Two persons — Anil Kumar of Tanda and Sidharth — were killed in two different accidents in the district on Friday. According to police sources, Anil Kumar was crushed to death by a truck near JCT Mill at Chohal when he was going on a scooter to Chintpurni. Sidharth was crushed to death by Tata 407 truck near Fatehgarh while he was going on a scooter with his father Rakesh Kumar to his house.

MANSA
TRUCK IMPOUNDED: The Bareta police has impounded a truck, loaded with wheat, while it was being taken to a local flour mill. The wheat had been allegedly stolen from a local FCI godown.

MOGA
RECOGNITION SOUGHT: The management and staff of the Ludhiana Acupuncture Medical College and Hospital has urged the state government to give recognition to the institution which was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, during 1978. This was stated here on Saturday by the Principal of the college Dr Inderjit Singh.

‘SUPPLY’ FOODGRAINS: Several social organisations on Saturday urged the government to supply foodgrains free of cost to the poor. These foodgrains had been lying unused in government godowns for the past few years.

PATHANKOT
MUSHAIRA: The 26th all-India mushaira was organised by the njuman-e-Dostan-Adab here on Saturday. The mushaira was inaugurated by Mr Partap Singh Bajwa, PWD Minister, Punjab. He announced a grant of Rs 1 lakh to the organisation.

PHAGWARA
SCOOTER STOLEN: A scooter (PB 36 A 3866) of Mr Sunil Madan, secretary of the block unit of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, was stolen from outside his shop in the market area of the Hargobindnagar locality on Saturday. A case has been registered.

CITIZENS ASSOCIATION: The Citizens Association for Relief Education and Service (Cares) at a general body meeting held on Sunday under the chairmanship of Maj Gen Rajendra Nath elected the following office-bearers: president — Col (Dr) R.K. Dutta (retd); vice-president — Wg Cdr D.S. Ahluwalia, VM (retd); secretary — Mr V.M. Malhotra; joint secretary — Mrs C.R. Arora; and treasurer — Wg Cdr P.S. B. Sachdeva.

ELECTED: Dr O.P. Verma has been elected president of the House Owners Association, Sector 20-A, for the year 2002-2003. The election was held at Lakshmi Narain Mandir, Sector 20, on Sunday. This was stated by Mr S.S. Chawla, outgoing general secretary of the association. O

A CLARIFICATION: Apropos the news item “Government losing money due to delay in lottery results,” published on May 16, the Director, Haryana State Lotteries, has clarified that the timings of draws are not being delayed and that the draw room follows a detailed and transparent process to ensure a fair play. He has said the draw is conducted every half an hour in the presence of independent judges and is open to public and that no electronic instruments\cell phones are allowed inside draw room. He has also said satta operators are to be checked by the police, which has been taking action after information is passed on by the lottery department.

WORKSHOP ON GK: An 11-day workshop on general knowledge, quizzing skills and strategies will be organised at St John’s High School, Sector 26, Chandigarh, from May 20. The workshop would be conducted by Mr Chitranjan Aggarwal, a quizmaster and an avid quizzer himself. He has been hosting quizzes in and around Chandigarh since 1985.

OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Chandigarh Senior Citizens Association: president — Brig Keshav Chander; vice-president —Col S.S. Bedi; secretary (finance) — Mr C.L. Ohri; secretary general — Mr B.S. Sodhi, secretary (events) — Mr S.S. Sethi; secretary (administration) — Mr S.S. Anand; secretary (welfare) — Mr Arjun Singh; secretary (public relations) — Mr Raj Kumar Bali; and chief convener — Mr N.S. Dhamoon.

SELECTION PANEL: The Panchkula Citizens Welfare Council has constituted a five-member committee for selecting candidates to be fielded for the forthcoming Panchkula Municipal Council elections. The committee comprising Mr B.B. Verma, Mr Radhey Sharma, Mr A.K. Uppal, Mr Prem Singh Saini and Mr M.S. Sehrawat will look after the overall affairs of the elections.

PANCHKULA
WATER SUPPLY: The Residents Welfare Association, Sector 12, has lauded the efforts made by the administration for restoring water supply in the sector and ensuring adequate water pressure. Lieut-Col Surjit Singh, president of the association, said a transformer next to the tubewell had been burnt on Friday which had disrupted water supply. This was, however, restored well in time, he said.

SUMMER CAMP: Dikshant International School will organise a summer camp from May 25 to June 30 for children between two and 15 years of age. Mr Mitul Dikshit, director of the school, said the camp would cater to the child’s developmental needs for freedom. A carefully prepared environment would guarantee exposure to materials and new experiences. Performing Arts (dramatics, dances and music), and visual arts (sketching, vegetable, sand, leaf, string and fabric painting) would be an important part of the summer camp. Activities like horse riding, tennis, swimming, cycling and adventure expeditions would be organised for participants, he added. 

SAS NAGAR
EYE OPERATION CAMP: The Project Opthalcare Society organised 179 th free eye operation camp at JP Eye Hospital in Phase 7 here on Sunday. A team of doctors comprising Dr Jatinder Singh, Dr Niti Aggarwal, Dr Sridhar Reddy conducted the camp.

MEDICAL CAMP: The House Owners Welfare Society organised a medical check-up camp at Dharana Bhavan in Phase V here on Sunday. As many as 160 persons were examined during the camp conducted by Dr S.S. Walia, Dr Sukhwinder Singh, Dr Navneet Kaur and Dr Jagmohan Singh Kochar. A sugar test and subsidised ECG was offered to the patients during the camp.