The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Friday, August 23, 2002, Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

R E G I O N A L B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
NOMINATED: Dr Sukhdev Singh, Reader in English, Guru Nanak Dev University, has been nominated member, state advisory committee to the Chief Minister, Punjab, for advising the state government on cultural affairs and tourism matters as per the orders of the Governor.

CONFERENCE: Dr Raj Kumar, a lecturer in botanical and environmental sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University, attended the week-long 7th International Mycological congress at University of Oslo, Norway, which concluded recently. He was among the 12 scientists who represented India.

BATHINDA
MURDERED: Harpal Singh, alias Palli, a Scheduled Caste youth, was found murdered on the Bathinda-Mansa road near Ghuman Kalan village on Wednesday morning. Police sources said Harpal Singh was murdered while he was going to his in-laws’ house at Bhani Bagha village on a bicycle. A case has been registered at Maur Mandi police station.

RESENTMENT PREVAILS: Mr Vinod Kumar, general secretary, Faridkot-Bathinda Gramin Bank Staff Association, in a press note issued on Thursday, has alleged that the authorities of the bank were victimising the employees and that they were not paying attention to their genuine demands also. Mr Kumar said that the employees were not being given any computer increment or some other benefits as per the directions of the courts and the government. They were being denied leased accommodation also.

FEMALE FOETICIDE: Dr S.S. Toor, civil surgeon, Muktsar, in a press note issued here on Thursday said the district chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) had assured to cooperate in the implementation of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique Act (PNDT) to prevent female foeticide. Dr Toor said the erring doctors would have to face criminal cases once the Act is implemented in letter and spirit

ELECTED: Mr R.S. Brar, regional secretary, SBI Officers Association in a press note issued here on Thursday said that Mr Amrit Pal, general secretary of the SBI Officers Association (Chandigarh circle), has been elected president of the All-India SBI Officers Federation

FARIDKOT
DIRECTIONS ISSUED: Following the directions of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Punjab and Haryana High Court, A Venu Prasad, Deputy Commissioner, Faridkot, has directed all district officers to pay special attention particularly towards the brick-kilns and farming areas, to detect labour in the district. He has also asked them to seek the cooperation of various voluntary organisations in this connection.

FEROZEPORE
REMANDED: Ghalkhurd police station SHO Harpal Singh Garewal was remanded in police custody till August 24 after he surrendered on Tuesday. His surrender to police came in the wake of rejection of his bail plea by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The police official and Chander village resident Sher Singh were wanted on the charge of falsely implicating village Sarpanch Baldev Singh in a case. An arrest warrant had been issued for Sher Singh, who is missing, police sources said.

JALANDHAR
TWO KILLED: Two persons were killed in different accidents in the city on Wednesday. A police report here said an autorickshaw driver was killed when his vehicle overturned on the Jalandhar-Kapurthala road. His identity has not been ascertained as yet. In another case, an unidentified person was killed when he was hit by the Amritsar-New Delhi bound Paschim Express near Maqsooda railway crossing. The victim was crossing the rail track when the accident occurred.

KHARAR
MEETING: The local Anti-Corruption Committee had decided to keep a vigil on corrupt officers and employees of the tehsil and lists of corrupt officers and employee of the police, PSEB, Tehsil Complex, BDPO, Health Department will be prepared by collecting secret information. According to a press note issued here on Thursday by Dr Bhupinder Singh Abheypuri, this decision was taken at a meeting of the committee held here on Thursday. He said it had been decided that after preparing the lists of corrupt officers and employees they would meet senior officers. He appealed to the people to meet the members of the committee if any one asks for bribe from them.

KURALI
PLANTATION DRIVE: In the second phase of sapling plantation drive, the Lions Club Kurali planted 500 saplings at four different places in the town. The saplings were planted at Primary Health Centre and Government High School, Boothgarh, besides DAV School and Cahkwal National Senior Secondary School, Kurali. According to club’s Public Relations Officer Ram Chand Sangar, Ropar’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Rana Harinder, along with the president Bharat Bhushan, participated in the drive.

LUDHIANA
CELEBRATED: The local depot of the Punjab Roadways celebrated No-Detention Day on Thursday where all buses were despatched on the routes. According to a statement, the GM of the depot, Mr A.P.S. Sarkaria, addressed the employees and appreciated their efforts in running the depot despite constraints being faced by the organisation. He also said that the local depot was considered among the best in the state. He later on distributed sweetmeats among the employees and felicitated them on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.

CONFERENCE: The Santanan Dharam Sabhas of Punjab, Harayana, Uttranchal, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Rajasthan and Jammu will to organise a joint conference September 14 and 15 in Palampur. The meeting would be jointly addressed by Jagadguru Shankracharya Swami, Swami Satya Mitranandji, founder, Mata Mandir, Hardwar, Maha Mandleshwar Swami Avedshandji, Dr Ehyam SunderSwami Gitanand of Gita Kutir.

MEETING: Members of the Indian Ex-Services League, Punjab and Chandigarh, held its meeting at Basant Palace here members of the league gathered under the presidentship of Col Bhag Singh for showing their resentment against the rejection of the proposal of one-rank one pension to JCO’s and NCO’s who retired before 1.1.1996. The members also decided to hold state-level rally on September 8 here.

MANSA
MAN CONVICTED: Mr Harsh Mehta, Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mansa has sentenced Vijay Kumar, resident of Khiali Chahilanwali of the district, to undergo rigorous imprisonment (RI) for three years and pay a fine of Rs 2000. In case of non-payment of fine he has to further undergo RI for 4 months under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code. He was booked in a case on December 23, 1997.

MUKTSAR
APPOINTED: Mr S.P. Singh has been appointed Divisional Forest Officer, Muktsar, by the state government. He belongs to the Punjab Forest Services and had been promoted to the Indian Forest Services (Punjab cadre) by the Union Government.

TARN TARAN
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the state body of the Panjab State Pharmacists Association: president - Mr Shamsher Singh; secretary - Mr Kishor Sharma; senior vice president - Mr Jagshir Singh; press secretary - Mr Sandeep Singh; treasurer - Mr Shal Lal and organising secretary - Mr Baldev Sharma.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
WARNED: The Himachal Pradesh State Trained Unemployed Nursery Teachers Association has warned the state government that they are being forced to launch a statewide agitation as the government had ignored their demands. Addressing mediapersons here on Tuesday, association state president Veena Sharma, said the state executive had decided to organise state-level rally at Hamirpur on August 24 which would be attended by hundreds of unemployed nursery teachers.

CHAMBA
APPOINTED: The following have been appointed office-bearers of the Intellectual Department of the District Congress Executive Committee by the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC): president — Mr Yograj Sehgal; vice-president — Mr Tej Singh Jasrotia, and general secretary — Ms Nisha Rawat.

KANGRA
VOLUNTEERS: Over 200 youths on Wednesday registered their names as regular blood donors with Vivekananda Kendra, a spiritually oriented service mission with its headquarters at Kanya Kumari. The blood grouping of these youths was done at a function organised in connection with the Swami Vivekananda Maha Samadhi Shatabdi by Vivekananda Kendra at that Polytechnic College.

NAHAN
AIDS AWARENESS: Anganwari workers, supervisors will also be associated with the AIDS awareness programme in the district. They will help generate awareness about the disease at the grass roots level in the rural areas. This information was given by the District AIDS Control Programme Officer, Dr Sanjay Sharma, who said that the training would be imparted to these officials in a phased manner.

SHIMLA
STAFF: The co-ordination committee of Central Government employees and workers has urged the government not to accept the recommendations of the Geeta Krishan Committee on expenditure reforms like the withdrawal of leave travel concession, freezing of dearness allowance and conversion of pension scheme to contributory pension scheme. The committee also urged the government to restore casual leaves which had been reduced to eight from 12, fill vacant posts and modernise government press at Shimla.

RIDICULED: The state unit of the BJP has ridiculed Congress charges that cases registered against Mr Virbhadra Singh, Leader of the Opposition and other leaders was a result of political vendetta and urged the party not to mislead people on this account.

MEETING HELD: Mr Harsh Gupta, Chief Secretary, on Wednesday convened a meeting of the Deputy Commissioners and project directors of district rural development agencies to discuss difficulties being faced in the implementation of wage employment and foodgrain related schemes in accordance with the directions of the Supreme Court.

GREEN HOUSES: Tissue culture and green house technology is proving a boon for production of off-season crops, high quality flowers and raising nurseries in the hill state. An official spokesman said here on Wednesday that a subsidy of 40 per cent on the cost of Rs 200 per square metres, up to maximum area of 500 square metres was being provided to the farmers for setting up green houses. These structures operated without any control mechanism and used ultra violet stabilised plastic film as a cladding material.

RAKSHA BANDHAN CELEBRATED: Raksha Bandhan was celebrated with enthusiasm in Himachal Pradesh with women tying rakhis on wrists of their brothers. Special stalls were set up at many places in the state where colourful rakhis were sold. Long queues of people could be seen at sweet shops. Prayers were held at specially decorated temples in the region and some people observed fast on the occasion.