R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
MEMORANDUM SUBMITTED: The Tourism Employees’ Union presented a memorandum to Mr Sardool Singh, Minister of Excise and Taxation and Chairman, subcommittee of corporation and board, demanding that the Punjab Tourism Corporation should not be wound up. Earlier ,they held a protest rally here on Tuesday led by Mangal Singh Hundal, president of the union.

UNION RALLY: The Punjab State Ministerial Services Union staged a rally in protest against the anti-employee policies of the government here on Tuesday. The union under Didar Singh threatened that if the government did not revoke the orders detrimental to the employees the union would be forced to intensify its agitation.

BLOOD DONATED: About 40 workers of district Youth Congress (U) donated blood at a camp organised to mark the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at Hindu Sabha School here on Tuesday. The camp was inaugurated by Mr Sanjay Sharma, president of the district unit.

BATHINDA
DHARNA HELD: Activists of the district unit of the Punjab Field and Workshop Workers Union set on a dharna in front of the office of the Executive Engineer, Sewerage Board on Wednesday to press for their demands.

FATEHGARH SAHIB
TRAVELOGUE RELEASED: The District Writers’ Forum, Fatehgarh Sahib, released ‘Saddan Jadon Pahar’ a travelogue written by Kirpal Singh Pareshan, at a function organised in the local Ashoka Senior Secondary School. The book gives a description of various hill stations. Dr Dharminder Singh Ubha, Principal, Guru Harkrishan College of Information Technology, said the book describes the beauties and bounties of nature in an interesting and educative manner. Dr Harchand Singh Sirhindi, popular prose writer of Punjab, said the travelogue was the outcome of writer’s adventures to the hilly areas. Dr Charn Singh Gill, a classmate of Kirpal Pareshan, Mohinder Singh, president of the forum, Surinder Kaur, Ajit Singh Dhangrali, Sant Singh Sohal, Gurnam Singh Bijli also addressed the gathering.

HOSHIARPUR
WOMAN COMMITS SUICIDE: Nirmal Kaur, 24, has committed suicide by setting herself on fire at her in-laws house in Mundian Sarhala village under Bhulowal police station on Tuesday. According to an FIR lodged by Mansa Singh, the father of the deceased, his daughter was married to Jasvir Singh three years ago and since then she was being compelled to bring more and more dowry. Last week the victim had informed that her mother-in-law Gian Kaur, father-in-law Chanan Singh and her husband were demanding Rs 20,000.

BAG SNATCHED: Two miscreants, relieved Mohinder Singh, an employee of a petrol station at Dehlron village of Rs 9000. According to an FIR the two youths came in a unnumbered van for filling diesel. They asked Mohinder Singh to fill diesel worth Rs 500 in their van. When he was filling the van they snatched his bag at pistol point and escaped. The police has registered a case.

CASE REGISTERED: On the complaint of Surinder Singh of Dhugha Kalan, the Tanda police on Monday registered a case under Section 380 of the IPC against Jasvir Kaur and Arjinder Singh of the same village. In his complaint Surinder Singh alleged that Jasvir Kaur and Arjinder Singh stole one gold bracelet, two gold rings, three watches, suits etc worth Rs 30,000 from his house.

CHAIN SNATCHED: On the complaint of Charanjit Kaur of Ahrana Khurd village, the sardar police has registered a case against Tejo. Jagroo and Sukhi, all of Bhagratan village of Sangrur district for snatching her gold chain while she was waiting for a bus on Monday.

KHARAR
FUNCTION: Under the Adopted Children Welfare Project; the local Rotary Club organised a function at Government Middle School, Mundi Kharar, on Wednesday. On this occasion, copies and stationery were distributed among 23 children of weaker sections of society, according to project chairman Tej Singh. He said these children would be given copies, stationery, clothes and shoes for whole of the year.

LUDHIANA
PLANTATION CAMPAIGN: Mr S.K. Sharma, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, planted a sapling to mark the launch of ‘Grow More Tress Campaign-2002’ by the People for Common Cause, at a function held in Sita Nagar locality here. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Sharma said the civic body had launched a massive plantation drive in the city to extend green cover and to combat alarming level of environmental pollution. Among others Dr Jaswant Kaushal, a faculty member of Punjab Agricultural University, and Mr Arun Atri addressed the function.

FELICITATED: A delegation of the Congress functionaries, led by Mr Manmohan Sharma, met the new president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, Mr H.S. Hanspal, to felicitate him and offer their greetings on his occupying the office of the party chief in Punjab. Other members of the delegation Mr Vinod Gogi, Mr Banwari Lal, Mr Ashok Rastogi, Mr Palwinder Singh Grewal, Mr Bharat Bhushan Thapar, Mr Varinder Kapoor, Mr Hans Raj, Mr Tarsem Lal, Mr Virendra Kaura, Ms Surinder Kaur and Ms Kuldip Kaur expressed their gratitude to the AICC President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, for nominating Mr Hanspal as the new party president in Punjab. The party workers urged Mr Hanspal to keep factionalism at bay in the larger interests of the party.

LECTURE: Dr Gurinder Sandhu of Nirko Group, Ludhiana, gave a lecture-cum-demonstration on Naturopathy towards a medicine-free life on Tuesday. The group is a ‘social welfare non-government organisation promoting the concept of naturopathy. He gave a lecture on how to cope with the complexities of life and avoid disease and medicines as far as possible.

PHILLAUR
LOOTED: Five armed miscreants looted a petrol station at Lassarra village in Phillaur subdivision on Monday. According to reports received here on Tuesday, the miscreants came in a van at Kumar Filling Station and asked the petrol station owner Lehbar Ram to hand over the cash at pistol point. The Phillaur police has registered a case.

CHANDIGARH

VISIT: Mr S.L. Mohan, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Oriental Insurance Company Ltd, will visit the city on Friday. Mr Mohan, who took over as the CMD of the company in June, will review the progress of the Chandigarh Regional Office, which covers Punjab and Chandigarh. He will also address the staff and officers at the regional office and meet important clients.

HARYANA

BHIWANI
MEDICAL CAMP: As many as 500 patients were examined and given free medical aid at a camp organised by Bhardwaj Hospital at Dhana Ladanpur village. Dr Bhardwaj said 135 patients with eye ailments and 60 orthopaedic patients were given medicines free of cost. President of the Cancer Awareness Society, Jitender Nath and Dr Dharmender Dhillon imparted information about the treatment and precautions about cancer.

ACCIDENT: Mukesh son of Ram Kumar received serious injuries when he was cutting fodder on a machine at Baliali village on Tuesday. His hands got chopped by the machine.

PINJORE
SAPLINGS PLANTED: As many as 7,000 saplings were planted by employees and the management of HMT limited on its campus here on Wednesday. Saplings of bahera, lemon, jamun, arjuna and amla were planted to ensure survival of the plants. Students of a school of the company and residents of HMT Colony also joined the plantation drive. The use of recycled polythene bags was also banned, said Mr Jatinder Vijh, Manager Public Relations of the industry.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

HAMIRPUR
GRANT ANNOUNCED: The Deputy Commissioner, Ms Anuradha Thakur, on Tuesday announced a grant of Rs 40,000 to the District Employees Federation for completing work of Employees’ Bhavan here. She made this announcement at the joint consultative committee meeting of the employees with the district administration. Mr Prem Chand Verma, district president of the federation, represented the employees. In all, 25 cases were decided at the meeting.

WORLD SUMMIT: Mr Vijay Kumar, a class X student of Government Senior Secondary School, Bhangrotu, will be part of the Indian delegation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) to be held at Johannesburg in South Africa from August 26 to September 4. The boy stood first in the national level poetry competition organised by the National Green Corps (NGC). The State Council for Science and Technology, nodal agency for the NGC had received entries from 1200 schools for the competition.