R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMLOH
PROTEST MARCH: SAD activists of the Amloh constituency would organise a protest march in the first week of July against the alleged anti-reservation policy of the Congress, stated Mr Dalip Singh Pandhi, former minister, in a press note here on Wednesday. He said out of three Zila Parishad in Amloh (Reserve) Assembly segment one seat was earlier reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates, but now all three seats of Jassran, Salana and Chanarthal Zones were allotted to general category candidates. All schemes introduced by the SAD-BJP government for the benefit of those belonging to Scheduled Castes had been dropped by the Congress government, he said.

AHMEDGARH
RESIDENTS’ DEMAND: Residents of circular road areas have urged the local body authorities to start sewage disposal work. According to sources, the area falling under Ward No 4 and 9 lacks this facility and residents’ repeated requests have fallen on deaf ears. The Municipal Council has been blamed of ignoring the development of the area. However the President of the Municipal Council said the council had already deposited 5 lakh with sewage board authorities in the month of March, but the board had not started the work in spite of repeated requests.

BATALA
ARRESTED: The Dera Baba Nanak police, during a naka at Shahpur Goraya village, apprehended Mukhtiar Masih of the same village and seized 400 parnospas capsules and 1,600 parviodex capsules which he had purchased from Kamaljit Singh of Udhowal village without medical prescription. This was stated in a press note issued by the police on Wednesday.

OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Lions Club Batala Smile International: president — Mr Sat Pal Sehdev; secretary — Mr Charanjit Singh; treasurer — Mr Subhash Mahajan; PRO — Mr Vipan Puri.

GURDASPUR
MEETING: Mr R.S. Sandhu, Commissioner, Jalandhar Division, on Tuesday presided over a meeting of the Flood Control Committee at Panchayat Bhavan here. He told the meeting that an amount of Rs 2.27 crore was being distributed among farmers in the Dhar block as compensation for the loss caused to them because of drought. He told officials of the Drainage Department that they would not be allowed to go on leave from July 1 to September 30.

HOSHIARPUR
DRUG ABUSE: The International Day on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was organised at Nursing Training Institute under the chairmanship of Dr Kiranjit Kumar, Civil Surgeon, here on Tuesday. A function was organised which was attended by members of the District Chemists Association, nurses and staff of the training institute. Dr Bharmbir Kapur, chairman, All-India Medicos Society, urged chemists to discourage addicts from purchasing drugs.

ELECTRIC SHOCK: Surjit Ram, son of Rewal Ram of Khanpur Thiara, died due to an electric shock while he was providing sound service at Fatehgarh Thiara village on Monday night.

SCOOTER MISHAP: Karan Singh of ward No 8, Tanda, was killed when he fell from his scooter while trying to save a stray animal on Monday.

POPPY HUSK SEIZED: The Tanda police arrested Balkar Singh of Kalluwal Kattan under Sections 15, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act on Monday and seized 90 kg of poppy husk from him.

LUDHIANA
POOR GIRL’S MARRIAGE: The Maa Bhagwati Club, Civil Lines, would solemnise the marriage of a poor girl on June 28, according to a press release by the club here on Wednesday. Mr Rohit Chaudhery, DIG, Ludhiana Range would be the chief guest at the function which would also be attended by, among others, Mr Surinder Dabar, MLA, and Mr Harmohan Singh, DSP, Vigilance.

MANDI GOBINDGARH
PENSION NOT RELEASED: Mr Ajmer Singh who retired from the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB), Mandi Gobindgarh, as a foreman, on March 31 this year, has not been paid his gratuity, provident fund and other pensionary benefits in spite of the fact that he has written to the department three months ago before his retirement. After his retirement he has been moving from office to office of the board to get his pension sanctioned. He has demanded in his application addressed to the Secretary and the Chairman of the board that action should be taken against the persons responsible for causing unnecessary harassment to him. He has further stated that this young son was murdered in December last year and he has no source of income to meet the expenses of both the families. He has demanded an early settlement of his pension case.

MANSA
GRAFT CASE: Mr Gurmail Singh Noor, DSP, Punjab Vigilance Bureau, on Wednesday caught Mr S. M. Taneja, Subdivisional Engineer, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, at Sardulgarh, while accepting Rs 1,500 as illegal gratification at Sardulgarh in the district. The latter had allegedly demanded the amount for releasing the telephone connection of Mr Kulwant Singh at Jhanduke Khurd village. A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered.

FREED: Mr Nasa Singh, Warrant Officer, Punjab and Haryana High Court, conducted a raid on the Jhunir police station in the district and freed Mr Bogh Singh, former member of Bhame Khurd panchayat, from the police custody. The raid was conducted on directions of the High Court on a habeas corpus petition filed by the father of the detainee. It was learnt that Ms Surjit Kaur, relative of Mr Bogh Singh, had filed a writ petition in the High Court seeking directions for the arrest of the accused involved in the murder of her son Balwinder Singh.

PCMS BODY RALLY: The district PCMS Association organised a protest rally here on Wednesday. They wore black badges in protest against the state government’s move to freeze DA of employees. They warned the government against stopping the NPA.

MOGA
BLACK BADGES: PCMS doctors of the district on Wednesday wore black badges to protest against the proposed decision of the state government to stop the non-practising allowances being given to them and the proposal to terminate the services of about 800 medical officers appointed during the tenure of former Chairman of the PPSC Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu.

PATIALA
ADDITIONAL SUBJECT: Punjabi University is all set to start the National Service Scheme (NSS) as an additional subject at undergraduate level. The decision was taken at the meeting of the NSS advisory panel which was held under the chairmanship of Vice-Chancellor N.S. Rattan on Tuesday. A sub-committee has been constituted to prepare a blueprint in this regard.

GANG BUSTED: The district police on Tuesday claimed to have busted a gang which used to prepare forged papers and no objection certificates for vehicles. A junior employee of the District Transport Office (DTO) has also been nabbed in this connection. Two of the accused have been nabbed while four are absconding.

NEW HOD: Prof Manju Verma, a research scholar, has taken over the headship of the Department of Political Science at Punjabi University.

THEATRE FESTIVAL: Natak-Wala; an amateur theatre group, will organise a summer theatre festival from June 28 to 30 at Quila Mubarak here. “Rani Koklan”, a musical play written by Punjabi playwright Kapoor Singh Ghuman, will be staged on June 28. Other plays include “Insan aur Haiwan” and “Kehar Singh di Maut” which will be staged on June 29 and 30 respectively.

RALLY HELD: The joint action committee (JAC) Rajindra Hospital employees held a rally in front of the office of the Medical Superintendent on Wednesday to protest against the recent order of the PSEB to charge a blanket rate of Rs 3.42 from the residents of Rajindra hospital quarters. The press secretary of the JAC, Mr Prithpal Singh Badungar and president of the Staff Nurses Association, Patiala, Ms Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, said the employees would be forced to give a strike call if the PSEB did not withdraw its order immediately.

ENTRANCE TEST: The Punjab Government has, for the second consecutive year, entrusted the conducting of the entrance test of B.Ed to Punjab University. The co-ordinator of B.Ed tests, Dr Baldev Singh, said the university would conduct the test at 11 centres around the state. He also said the university had received more than 45,000 forms in this academic year.

BOYCOTTED: The Council of Junior Engineers of the PSEB boycotted stores and ME labs on Wednesday to protest against non fulfilment of their demands. The president of the council, Mr Sukhdev Singh, said the PSEB management had failed to implement the accepted demands of the junior engineers.

PHAGWARA
ACCIDENT: Two workers of a dhaba near Chachoki village on the GT Road sustained burns when they accidentally touched high-voltage electric wires on Monday.

PROTEST RALLIES: Private college teachers on Tuesday observed ‘black day’ by wearing black badges and holding dharnas and rallies to protest against alleged backtracking by the state government on the pension-cum-gratuity scheme and downsizing the 95 per cent grant-in-aid scheme. Later, they left for Chandigarh to participate in a state-level dharna at the Matka Chowk there.

HARYANA

AMBALA
AWARENESS CAMP: A medical camp to generate awareness against drugs was held at the bus stand in Ambala City. The camp was organised by the drug-free and rehabilitation centre, Ambala. Participants were informed about the ill effects of drugs. The centre’s health official, Dr J.P. Sharma, said taking drugs was like a disease which was spreading in society.

SANGH DEMANDS: Members of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited Mazdoor Sangh sported black badges on Wednesday in support of their demands. The demands of the sangh include regularisation of part-time workers, rotational transfer and transparency in the Sanchar Shree and Sanchar Sarthi awards. Mr Ram Krishan Raheja, president of the sangh, said the members would stage a dharna at district level on July 8 and 9 if their demands were not met.

INTERNET PCO: An Internet PCO was inaugurated by the Chief General Manager, Telecom, Haryana, Mr G. Jethwani, here on Wednesday. The PCO has started functioning from Central Telegraph Office, Ambala Cantonment. It will provide facilities like Net and e-mail services. Among others, General Managers G.S. Daria, Satya Paul, D.P. Chetal and O.P. Veer were present. Mr Jethwani, said a similar Internet PCO would be opened at Karnal shortly.

DECISION FLAYED: The United Communist Party of India criticised the opening of print media to Foreign Direct Investment on Wednesday. The party said it would undermine the very foundation of Indian culture and society. Prof Hargopal Singh, member of the political committee, said assurances regarding the safeguards were only a smokescreen because the influence of foreign lobbyists has counted in the present decision of the government.

TOLL TAX: The Citizens Council, Ambala Cantonment, in a communique addressed to the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, pleaded against the imposition of toll tax on the G.T. Road (NH 1) near Karnal. “At the time of purchase of vehicles people are required to pay road tax by virtue of which they are entitled to use the roads and therefore the imposition of any toll tax is totally illegal,” the communique adds. 

COMMUNITY HALL: The Plaika Vihar Welfare Association, Ambala City, submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner here on Wednesday demanding the construction of a community hall in the colony. The association urged the Deputy Commissioner to allot them at least 1000 sq yards of land for this purpose. The president of the society, Mr K.L. Sahni, said the society was ready to bear 50 per cent of the expenses.

APPOINTED: Mr Parvinder Singh Dhillon has been appointed district president of the Ambala Cantonment Youth Congress. The appointment has been done as per directions of the president of the Indian Youth Congress, Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala.

DEVELOPMENT WORKS: About Rs 1.44 crore will be spent in the second phase of “Sarkar Apke Dwar” programme at Naraingarh. The Deputy Commissioner, Ambala, Mr D.D. Gautam, said 78 development works would be carried out in the second phase.

CASH STOLEN: Anil Verma, a resident of Ambala Cantonment has registered a complaint with the Sadar police station that someone had stolen Rs 30,000 from the dickey of his scooter. According to the police, Mr Verma had withdrawn the amount from a bank and kept it in the dickey. On way to his residence, he parked the scooter in the Rai market for a few minutes to purchase some goods. When he came back, he found that the dickey of the scooter was unlocked and the amount was missing.

PISTOL SEIZED: The Ambala City police has seized a pistol and a cartridge from a resident of Baldev Nagar. The police has registered a case in this regard. The police seized the pistol when the person was searched near the polytechnic chowk during routine checking.

FATEHABAD
ROAD MISHAP: A woman was killed and three others were injured when a car collided with a vehicle near Manohar Memorial College here on Tuesday. The injured have been admitted to a hospital here. According to reports, the car was on its way to Rattia when it collided with the vehicle coming from the Sirsa side. Mrs Chawali Bai (62), who was travelling in the car, died on the spot.

JIND
ARMED YOUTHS: Three armed youths forcibly took away a Maruti car from Mr Leela Ram, a resident of Madanheri village, near Karela village in the district on Tuesday. According to reports, the youths intercepted the car while mr Leela Ram was on way from Julana to his village. They forced Mr Leela Ram out of the car at gunpoint. On receiving information, the police orgnaised nakas. Later, the youths abandoned the car near Ugalan village.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

MANALI
ONE KILLED: Premjit (21), a youth from Simsa village, near here, was killed and two others were seriously injured in a head-on collision between a Maruti van and a two-wheeler at Budha camp near here, on Tuesday evening. The deceased succumbed to his injuries at the local Lady Willingdon Hospital. A case under Sections 279, 337 and 304-A of the IPC has been registered.