R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

BARNALA
CONTAMINATED WATER: Residents of various localities here have been complaining about the supply of contaminated drinking water for the past many days, which they say is paving the way for water-borne diseases. They say though the matter has been brought to the notice of the local administration yet no remedial measures have been taken.

BATHINDA
URGED: The Punjab Subordinate Services Federation has urged the government not to abolish posts falling vacant in different departments. Mr Balbir Singh Ramoowala, general secretary of the union, said this while addressing a meeting of the union here on Tuesday.

OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local Sri Gaushala: president — Mr Om Parkash Garg; senior vice-president — Mr Dharamveer Walia; vice-presidents — Mr Moti Ram Sharma, Mr Babu Ram Mittal and Mr Wazir Chand Mangla; general secretary — Mr Sadhu Ram Kushla; and cashier — Mr Gopi Chand Garg.

RESENTMENT: The Goniana unit of the Technical Services Union of the Punjab State Electricity Board will hold a rally on Thursday to resent the non-implementation of decisions taken at a meeting between department officials and the union. This was stated in a press note of the union issued here on Tuesday.

FARIDKOT
VIGILANCE PANEL: Following the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the directions of the Central Government the district administration will shortly launch a campaign to check the menace of bonded labour in the district. To make the programme effective a nine-member vigilance committee headed by Mr A.Venu Prasad, Deputy Commissioner, has been constituted. The other members include Mr Harkesh Singh Sidhu, ADC, Mr Harbans Lal, DDPO, Mr Surinder Singh, member, block samiti, Kotkapura, and Mr Inderjeet Singh, president, Brick-kiln Labour Union.

FEROZEPORE
AWARDED: Dr Rajni Sareen, president of the All-India Khatri Sabha, was conferred with the Khatri Shrestha Award by the Punjab Khatri Sabha at a special function organised here on Monday. Mr Jatinder Mehra, president of the Punjab unit of the sabha, presided over the function.

DEMONSTRATION: Members of the five constituent bodies of the joint action committee of the Northern Railway held a demonstration in front of the office of the DRM on Monday against the notification of the Income Tax Department for deducting tax on the value of privilege passes.

JAGRAON
LAWYERS’ STRIKE: Local lawyers observed a strike on Tuesday in response to a call given by the Bar Association of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The Bar is demanding withdrawal of work from the officials named in the PPSC scam besides strict action against them

RESENTMENT: Mr Baldev Singh Rasulpuri, president of the Pendu Mazdoor Union, Mr Chaman Singh, area president, Mr Rajpal Singh, president of the Galla Mazdoor Union, Jagraon, and many other leaders of different unions have resented hike in the bus fares. The leaders alleged that on one side government was suppressing the middle-class travellers by increasing the bus fare. They demanded immediate withdrawal of the hike.

ROAD CONDITION: Mr Kamaljit Khanna, state secretary of the Inqalabi Kendra, has said that the bad condition of roads in the area was resulting in a number of accidents. According to him, the condition of the Ludhiana-Jagraon road from Mullanpur to Badowal, Sohian to Jagraon and Jagraon to Ajitwal is bad. He has blamed the PWD (B&R) Department for the poor condition of the road and demanded immediate metaling of the damaged road.

KHANNA
STRIKE: The Taxation Bar Association of Khanna observed a strike on Tuesday on a call given by the Bar Association of Punjab and Haryana, according to Mr H.S. Ghai, president of the association.

LUDHIANA
SHOBHA YATRA: Shri Sanatan Dharam Mandir, New Model Town, took out a shobha yatra in connection with its annual idol-installation day from the Pracheen Shri Vaishno Bhavan, Harnam Nagar, here on Monday evening. The yatra, which was inaugurated by Swami Shri Hari Chaitnaya. Among prominent personalities leading the yatra were Mr Kundan Lal Khurana, Mr Inderjit Toni, Mr Mohinder Pal, Mr Ramesh Gupta, Mr Sunil Bhatia and Mr Ramesh Chug. The yatra passed through Jawahar Nagar and Kochhar Market before culminating at the Sanatan Dharam Mandir late in the evening.

LATE ARRIVALS: Trains on the Ludhiana-Jakhal route have been running late by several hours for the past one week or so. This is causing inconvenience to commuters. A spokesman of the Ahmedgarh Commuters Association, said ever since the Ludhiana-Jakhal section was attached with the Ambala division, passenger trains on the section had been a neglected lot. The main sufferers on this account were the hosiery and other workers. The authorities concerned must take notice of the problem and solve the same at the earliest to provided relief to the commuters, he added. 

CONTRIBUTION: In accordance with a decision taken at a meeting held here on Sunday, the Punjab Government Pensioners Association has sent a bank draft for Rs 1,100 to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for extending financial assistance to victims of communal violence in Gujarat. According to Mr Yash Pal Ghai, additional general secretary of the association, the meeting decried communal riots in Gujarat and made a fervent appeal to the people as well as the government to restore communal harmony in the state.

ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Bank Colony Progressive Welfare Society, Haibowal Kalan: chairman — Mr Ramesh Thakur; president — Mr Jagdish Bhatia; chief patron — Mr Baldev Sharma; vice-chairman — Mr Ram Asra Sharma; vice-presidents — Mr Malkiat Singh, Mr Balbir Chand and Mr Ramesh Kumar; general secretaries — Mr Lakshman Singh and Mr Dev Raj; cashiers — Mr Brahm Dutt Sharma, Mr Swarn Singh; office secretary — Mr Ashok Joshi; secretaries — Mr Mehar Chand and Mr Surinder Kumar; advisers — Mr Jagan Nath, Mr Mohinder Singh and Mr Sethi; propaganda secretaries — Mr Parshottam Lall, Mr Gagandeep Singh and Mr Gauri Shankar; auditor — Mr Ravi Sharma; press secretary — Mr Dhalla; joint secretaries — Mr Ramesh Kumar, Mr Tara Chand and Mr Mohinder Pal. 

MEDICAL CAMP: The Vidya Sagar Oswal Eye unit, a wing of Mohan Dai Oswal Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation, organised a free eye check-up camp here on Tuesday. According to Dr Satish Jain, Medical Director, over 275 persons were examined at the camp and 175 patients were given spectacles free of cost. The patients were given free medicines and 20 of them were admitted for cataract surgery which will be done free of cost. The camp was inaugurated by Dr J.S. Bhullar, Civil Surgeon, and the patients were examined by Dr Neeraj Arora.

MALERKOTLA
BOY KILLED: Gurbinder Singh, 12, of Tolewal village was run over by a bus and killed on the Malerkotla-Nabha road here on Monday while he was trying to cross it. A case has been registered.

CAMP: A dental check-up camp was organised by Baba Jaspal Singh at Senior Secondary School, Pharwahi, here on Monday. As many as 200 schoolchildren were examined by Dr Raman Verma and his team. Medicines were also distributed free of cost.

MANSA
RECOVERED: The Jhunir police has recovered 40 quintals of stolen wheat from the house of Surjit Singh of Bhallanwada village of the district. The wheat is said to belong to Punsup. A case has been registered under Section 379 of the IPC. Meanwhile, Mrs Resham Kaur of Makhewala village alleged that the wheat belonged to her and the police had taken it away from her house. She said the police had framed her nephew Surjit Singh in the case.

MEETING: To discuss arrangements for the forthcoming zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections scheduled for June 9, Mr Alok Shekhar, Deputy Commissioner, presided over a meeting attended by SDMs, Tehsildars, Naib Tehsildars and other district officers here on Tuesday. Mr Shekhar said Block Election Officers and Assistant Block Election Officers had already been appointed. The nomination papers would be received up to May 30. The date for scrutiny and withdrawals of the nominations papers had been fixed for May 31 and June 1, respectively, he added.

PHILLAUR
WASTE MANAGEMENT: The Punjab Government has prepared a plan for solid waste management to improve sanitation and cleanliness facilities in towns. This was stated by Mrs Sarojini Sharda, Deputy Director, Local Bodies, after presiding over a zonal meeting of the Executive Officers of 29 nagar councils and panchayats of the Jalandhar zone here on Tuesday. She stressed the need to start a campaign against building violations, encroachments and octroi theft.

PILGRIM KILLED: A person was killed while 10 others sustained injuries when the Tata Sumo in which they were travelling met with an accident near Bhattian village on the GT Road on Monday evening. They were returning from Vaishno Devi when the mishap occurred. The deceased has been identified as Biru. The accident occurred when the driver lost control over the vehicle after one of its tyres burst and it rammed into a tree. All injured were brought to the Civil Hospital by former Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal, who was passing nearby.

SAMRALA
ORDERS STAYED: The orders of reversions of the Naib Tehsildar, Samrala, Mr Nirmal Singh, and some others to the posts of Qanungo have been stayed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, according to a senior advocate, Mr Rajiv Atma Ram. An order to this effect has been passed by the Division Bench comprising Mr Justice N.K. Sodhi and Mr Justice Jasbir Singh.

STRIKE: On the call given by the Bar Association of Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh, all members of the local Bar observed full-day strike here Tuesday, according to Mr Anil Gupta, president of the Bar. The members of the Bar demanded that the names of the judges involved in the PPSC scam be made known and necessary action initiated against them.

OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Samrala Dangal Committee: senior president — Mr Minder Singh Kang; president — Mr Tarlochan Singh Kang; general secretary — Lambardar Nirmal Singh Kang; secretary — Mr Sikander Singh Dhillon; and press secretary — Mr Yashpal Sharma.

ELECTIONS: No nomination were filed for the Panchayat Samiti and the Zila Parishad elections in the Samrala block here on Monday and Tuesday, according to Mr Jaspal Singh Jassi, SDM-cum-Returning Officer, Samrala. According to him, there are 15 zones for the Panchayat Samiti and two zones for the Zila Parishad. Nominations will be accepted till May 30, these will be scrutinised on May 31 and withdrawals would be allowed on June 1.The polling will be held on June 9 and results will be declared on June 10. There are 61 villages in the Samrala Panchayat Samiti for which there will be 68 polling booths.

PARTHENIUM MENACE: There is bumper crop of Congress grass in the stadium of Malwa College, Bonli, 3 km from here, which usually organises NSS camps for cleanliness in rural areas, according to some social activists. They demanded that a campaign should be launched to eradicate this menace from the area.

HARYANA

KURUKSHETRA
NOISE POLLUTION: Residents of the local Ram Chander colony in a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, Kurukshetra, have demanded a check on noise pollution being spread by some religious places here in violation of the Supreme Court orders.

YAMUNANAGAR
LAWYERS OBSERVE STRIKE: A complete strike was observed by the Bar Association Jagadhri, on Tuesday in response to the call given by the Bar Association given by the Association of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh. Mr Satinder Pal Dhanda, president Bar Association, Jagadhri in a press note, demanded that work be withdrawn from judges whose names appeared in the PPSC scam.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

KANGRA
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of Shri Sanatan Dharam Maath Mandir Sureksha Samiti: president — Mahant Swami Virendranand Giri; vice-president — Mahant Ram Das; and general secretary — Mahant Vaid Nath.

INQUIRY PANEL: The five-member inquiry committee investigating the alleged misappropriations committed in the Barjeshwari temple here started functioning on Saturday. The committee would submit its report within two weeks, Additional Deputy Commissioner Subhashish Panda said here on Tuesday. Mr Panda said the preliminary inquiry had indicated that a lot needed to be done for improving the condition of the temple management.

NAHAN
AUCTION: The auction of toll tax barriers in Sirmaur district has posted an unprecedented increase of 65 per cent and fetched Rs 1.84 crore. The auction was held under the chairmanship of Mr B.M. Nainta, Additional Commissioner, Excise and Taxation. The collection from the auction of the Kolar barrier registered the highest increase of 230 per cent.

NURPUR
COW KILLED: A cow was skinned off on Tuesday at Seerat village under Indora police station. The cow had been tethered in a field by its owner. A case has been registered.

SHIMLA
WATER CRISIS: The drinking water supply by the corporation and the IPH department in New Shimla, Chakkar, Totu suburbs of the state capital is dirty, inadequate and erratic, allege residents of Block No 24, Sector 3, New Shimla.