R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
EYE CAMP: The Rotary Eye Bank organised a vision — 2010 camp for testing glaucoma at BBK DAV College for Women here on Friday. According to the Principal, Mrs J. Kackria, 81 teaching and non-teaching staff members got their eyes examined.

DOC HONOURED: A child specialist, Dr Narinder Singh, was conferred the International Medical Excellence Award and a gold medal by the International Study Circle, New Delhi, at a recently held function.

PAINTING CONTEST: Aanchal Sehgal of Manav Public School has bagged the second position in a national painting competition organised by the Child Welfare Council of India. According to the Principal of the school, Aanchal will receive the award at a function in New Delhi on September 16.

MACFAIR EVENTS: A team of Manav Public School participated in the macfair international —2002 events held at Lucknow from August 15 to 22. More than 50 teams from all over the country and four team from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Qatar participated in the events. The team from Manav Public School was placed fourth in the competition.

EXHIBITION: Medical students of Government Medical College here will display posters related to nuclear weapons, health and population explosion at the Fine Arts Gallery during a three-day exhibition, beginning August 25. The exhibition is being held under the guidance of the Department of Community Medicine.

YOUTH CAMP: A youth development camp was organised at Manderwala village by the Nehru Yuva Kendra in collaboration with the Youth Welfare Club here on Friday. Mr Rajeev Madaan, president of the Guru Nanak Dev University, unit of the NSUI, demanded that the government should formulate a policy for the youth on the pattern of Himachal Pradesh.

HONOUR FOR PROF: Dr Ranvinder Singh, Professor of sociology at Guru Nanak Dev University, has earned the distinction of being the only Indian to attend all six consecutive meetings on sociology organised by the International Sociological Association, Madrid, during the past two decades. He has been chosen as a member of the executive board of the association and will edit a newsletter of the research committee on “sociology of urban and regional development” for four years.

HOSHIARPUR
1 KILLED: Baldev Raj of Gag village died on the spot when he was hit by a scooter near Adda Ransota on Friday. The scooterist, Bichatter Singh, was also injured. The police has registered a case.

ILLICIT LIQUOR: The police raided Painsra village on Friday and caught Jarnail Singh and Kulwarn Singh while they were distilling illicit liquor. The police seized 23 litres of liquor, 285 kg of lahan and a working still. The police arrested Sham Lal of Padrana village and seized 7 litres of rum from him. The police also arrested Mulakh Raj of Ghasitpur village and seized 30 litres of illicit liquor from him.

IN-LAWS BOOKED: On a complaint of Neena Rani, the police registered a case against her husband Harjinder Singh, father-in-law Mohinder Singh and mother-in-law Preetam Kaur of Kamal Ka in Moga district on Friday. In her complaint, Neena Rani had alleged that her in-laws were torturing her and demanding dowry from her parents.

KHAMANO
TEACHERS FRONT: The Unemployed Teacher’s Front, Punjab, will observe Teacher’s Day (September 5) as ‘black day’. This was stated in a press note by president of the front, Mr Gursewak Singh. He said the ruling Congress had forgotten its promises made during the last Assembly elections. A letter regarding the abolishing of all vacant posts of teacher in primary and secondary schools had been sent to the DEO, Punjab. He demanded that vacant posts should be filled soon. If their demands were not met, a stir would be launched, he said. 

BEATEN UP: Five employees of a contractor of the Nagar Panchayat were allegedly beaten up by some defence personnel on Friday night for stopping a military convoy. The convoy was moving towards Sri Nagar. 

LUDHIANA
KIRTAN DARBAR: Shri Guru Gobind Singh Sewa Society will hold its 8th Guru Shabad Kirtan Darbar on September 21 in Gurdwara Bibi Nanaki, Model Town, from 6 pm to 12 pm in connection with the 400th birthday celebrations of Guru Gobind Singh which falls in 2004. Among the ‘kirtani jathas’ will be the groups of Bhai Guriqbal Singh, Bhai Ravinder Singh and Bhai Harnam Singh from Amritsar, Sant Anup Singh from Una, Bhai Joginder Singh Riar and Bhai Mohinder Singh from Ludhiana.

YOUNG PRODIGY: Seven-year-old Arshiya Vohra, a Class II student of DAV Public School, has proved her skills in various fields. She has won 22 awards in inter-school contests, cultural programmes and kids’ club functions, and excelled in activities like dance, drama, singing and oration. She started performing at the tender age of three. Her latest craze is to learn any of dance — classical as well as western. She can recite ‘sandhya mantras’ also. She has got many certificates for paper reading and story telling both in Hindi and English. In academics also she is not less than anyone else. She scored 99 per cent marks in the previous year exams.

FUNCTION: It was time of fun 'n' frolic at Jingles Nursery School, Model Town, as the little ones celebrated Raksha Bandhan. Girls tied rakhis on the wrists of the proud brothers. They were told about the significance of the bond between a brother and a sister. All danced merrily and enjoyed every bit of it. Ms J. Chugh, Principal, said all festivals are celebrated in the school to make children aware of our culture and traditions. 

CULTURAL PROGRAMME: The Tehri Garhwal Vikas Mandal will organise a cultural programme in Punjabi Bhavan on Sunday. The programme will begin at nine in the morning and continue for the whole day. Mangal Rawat, Pushpa Gosain, Anil Visht and many other artists will entertain the audience. Mr Gurcharan Singh Galib, Member Parliament, Mr Rakesh Pandey, Minister for Printing and Stationery, will be among the prominent guests.

VANAMAHOTSAVA: Punjab National Bank, Bassi Pathana, celebrated Vanamahotsava Day on Friday at Government Senior Secondary School. Over 100 saplings were planted on the occasion. A function was also organised. Mr R.S. Jangoo, SDM, Bassi Pathana, was the chief guest, while Mr D.K. Bhatnagar, Chief Manager, RMO, Chandigarh, presided over the function. Mr Bhatnagar and Mr Rajinder Singh, DCO, PNB, Ropar, spoke about various schemes of the bank. The function ended with a vote of thanks by Mr Gurinder Singh, senior manager. Mr C.M. Singh and Mr S.C. Sharma were also present on the occasion.

DENTAL CHECK-UP CAMP: A free dental check-up camp for industrial workers was organised by Vardhman Spinning and General Mills in the Vardhman Colony here on Saturday. According to a press note, the camp was organised with the help of a team of doctors from the Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH). Mr V.K. Goyal, Chief Executive of Vardhman Spinning and General Mills, inaugurated the camp. Medicines and dental treatment were provided free of cost. Around 500 workers and members of their families underwent check-up. Counseling sessions were also organised for workers and their spouses educating them about the importance of healthcare, balanced diet, nutrition, mother and childcare and awareness about various dental diseases.

FUNCTION: The first Gyatri Samaroh was organised in Dayanand Public School. The function was organised by the youth wing of the Arya Sabha. The function started at 8 am on the school premises on Saturday. The samaroh started with a ‘maha yajna’. Ms Neelam Thapar of Arya Senior Secondary School addressed the gathering.

FLAYED: A meeting of the district unit of the Government School Teachers Union, Punjab, was held under the presidentship of Mr Jagmel Singh Pakhowal. The meeting was addressed by the state general secretary, Mr Charan Singh Sarabha. He criticised the anti-student, and anti-teacher, educational approach of the Centre and the state government encouraging privatisation of education, abolishing posts of teacher in government schools and deputing teachers for non-teaching duties.

PATIALA
FREE MEDICAL CAMP: A free medical camp on diabetes detection and AIDS awareness will be organised by the Baba Deep Singh Institute at Government Primary School, Prem Nagar, here on Sunday and will be supported by the Indian Medical Association. Free medicines will also be distributed by doctors visiting the camp.

BLOOD DONATION CAMP: A blood donation camp was organised here on Saturday at the SDSEC Secondary School, Arya Samaj Chowk, by the Shree Sanatan Dharm Sabha and Lions Club, Quila Mubarak. More than 50 students and teachers donated blood and students were also briefed about the importance of donating blood. 

TRIBUTE PAID: Tributes were paid to Nambardar Hari Singh Dhillon, an active member of the Bharatiya Kisan Union in Shahi Palace, here on Friday. Among the speakers were Mr Malkiat Singh Birmi, former minister, and Mr Balbir Singh Rajewal, national general secretary of the Bharati Kisan Union.

HARYANA

AMBALA
SUGGESTIONS MADE: The Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Saturday made suggestions to the Telecom Department for the improvement of BSNL services. Dr N.C. Jain, senior vice-president of the HCCI, said the suggestions had been incorporated in a letter addressed to Mr V.S. Shrivastava, General Manager Telecom, Ambala district. Junction boxes at various places were in very poor shape and most of the telephone lines, especially inside the mohallas, were potential hazards for passersby, according to a press note.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

NURPUR
NSUI: Students owing allegiance to the NSUI units of Government College, Dehri, and Arya Government College, Nurpur, on Friday took out a victory procession through Jawali, Dhameta, Rehan and Nurpur towns. The NSUI has won the SCA elections in both these colleges. Later, they called on a senior Congress leader and former PCC Chief, Mr Sat Mahajan, who advised them to fight for the cause of students.