The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Friday, October 11, 2002, Chandigarh, India

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50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

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

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
WORKSHOP: A workshop and exhibition was organised by DAV Senior Secondary School here Wednesday. Mr O.D. Prashar, Vice-Principal of the school, inaugurated. Artist Kulwant Singh Gill was a special invitee. Mr Gulshan Sadana, in charge, Art Club distributed uniforms among needy students.

OFFICE-BEARERS: The following persons have been nominated office-bearers of the district BJP (urban): president Col. Amrik Singh — vice-presidents — Mr Madan Lal Aneja, Mr Harish Shah, Mr Harish Taneja and Mr Arun Kapoor; general secretary — Mr Sudesh Kaushal; and secretaries — Ms Bimal Basi, Mr Satpal Dogra and Mr Raj Agarwal.

NEW TOPICS: Guru Nanak Dev University has added a new topic “Human rights (meaning and concept)” in place of “Evils of smoking or tobacco chewing” in the syllabi of BA-I (practical) while in BA-III (practical). A new topic “Major threats to environment” has been included in the subject of “Defence and strategic studies” for the session 2002-03, a press note stated.

SAHITYA SHIROMANI AWARD: Dr Harmohinder Singh Bedi, Professor of Hindi, Guru Nanak Dev University, will be honoured by the Akhil Bhartiye Sahitiya Kala Manch, Muradabad (UP), on October 26 with the Sahitya Shiromani Award-2002.

FELLOWSHIP: Dr N.S. Neki, Assistant Professor in charge, Department of Medicine, Government College, has been selected by the Indian College of Physicians for the fellowship of Indian College of Physicians. The fellowship will be conferred on him during the 58th annual conference of the association in January, 2003, at Varanasi.

DORAHA
FREE YOGA CAMP: A free yog sadhna camp will be organised by the local Yog Sadhna Committee on Sunday. The camp will be presided over by Mr Rishi Ram Sharma, general secretary, Bhartiya Yog Sansthan, Delhi, while Mr Narinder Pathak, president, Yog Sadhna Sansthan, Delhi, will be the chief guest. The camp will be held from 5.30 am to 7.30 am.

KHANNA
FUNCTION: The A.S. College Alumni Association Khanna will organise a prize distribution function to honour the toppers of the AS educational organisations on Saturday at AS Senior Secondary School, here. According to a press note issued by Mr K.K. Sharma, Principal, A.S. Senior Secondary School, Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo, MP, will be the chief guest, while Mr B.S. Sandhu, Income Tax Commissioner, Ludhiana, will preside over the function. The association will honour students scoring first and second positions in boards and university examination. Sportspersons related to these institutions will also be honoured on the occasion.

KHARAR
ENCROACHMENTS: Mr Bhag Singh, sarpanch, and more than 10 residents of Rangian village in a letter written to the Block Development and Panchayat Officer, Kharar, have alleged on Thursday that an attempt was being made to encroach upon a portion of village pond by some influential persons by filling it by earth. Similarly, some persons were encroaching upon land near the common well of the village, they added. They have demanded action against the culprits.

MISSING: Mr Papu Kumar of K.T.M. Colony, Kharar, in a complaint given to the police has said that his mentally challenged brother (13) was missing from his house since October 7.

LUDHIANA
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Mohalla Sudhar Committee of Paramjit Nagar, Mundian Khurd: president — Mr Surinder Singh Khalsa, vice-president — Mr Sikandar Singh, general secretary-cum-cashier — Mr Dilbar Singh, executive members — Mr Lachhman Singh, Mr Raj Kumar Raji and Mr Nirmal Singh. Mr Kultar Singh has been elected patron of the locality’s gurdwara managing committee.

SHOPKEEPERS’ PLEA: Shopkeepers falling under the jurisdiction of division no. 4 police station on Wednesday urged the SHO concerned to take effective measures to check the menace of pickpockets in various markets who were targeting festival shoppers. The shopkeepers aired their views at an interaction organised at the police station. Among those who attended the meeting were Mr Jaswant Takkar, president, Chawal Bazar Shopkeepers’ Association; Mr Prem Pal Bhandari, president, Sarrafa Bazar; Mr Raja Dhir, president, Dal Bazar; Mr Narinder Miglani, president, Phalahi Bazar; and Mr Harish Aggarwal, president, Shopkeepers’ Association, Lalu Mall Street. Mr Tirlochan Singh, SHO, assured them of adequate steps to ensure a trouble-free festival season.

JAGANNATH RATH YATRA: Lawyers of the city will accord a warm welcome to the Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra on its arrival in the city on October 26. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the lawyers presided over by Mr Harish Rai Dhanda, president, District Bar Association. It was decided to accord welcome to all devotees taking part in the yatra. Lawyers would abstain from work that day to participate in the yatra. Among those who attended the meeting were Mr Mulakh Raj Saluja, Mr Sanjiv Sood, Mr Rajiv Duggal, Mr Sunil Sood, Mr Naresh Yadav, Mr Sanjiv Sachdeva, Mr Sham Lal Chhabra, Mr Harish Narang, Mr Sanjay Singla, Mr Preet Mohinder Singh Dhaliwal and Mr Vijay Sharma. Special invitees to the meeting were Mr Satish Gupta and Mr D.P. Aggarwal, president and chairman, respectively, of the Rath Yatra Mahotsav Committee. Meanwhile, Mr Shah Nawaz Shanoo, a Muslim leader, said Muslim community would receive the holy chariot by showering it with roses.

SCIENCE EXHIBITION: A two-day tehsil-level science exhibition was held at Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School, Doraha, on Tuesday. The exhibition was organised by the District Science Supervisor, Mr Virender Sharma. Around 80 students from 18 schools of the area participated in various competitions, which included chart making, science model making and quiz competitions. Extempore speech and teaching-aid competitions for the teachers were also organised. Around 60 different models were displayed under 6 different themes. Around 800 students and teachers from different schools visited the two-day exhibition. After a brief entertainment programme by the students of the school, Mr Virender Sharma gave away the prise to the winning teams.

ENTRY TAX ON YARN: The Knitwear Club has sought to clear the confusion prevailing over imposition of entry tax on yarn with regard to its use by the importers. In a press note, Mr Vinod Thapar, president of the club, said the Punjab Tax on Entry of Goods into Local Area Act, 2000 mentioned that the entry tax would be levied on import of yarn from any place outside the state of Punjab but not from a place outside the territory of the Union of India for consumption, use or sale within the local area. Thus, it was clear that the import of yarn from overseas would attract no entry tax and the importers concerned should not be misled by officials of the Excise and Taxation Department, most of whom appeared to be ignorant of the issue, while some others were deliberately exploiting the situation for their personal benefits.

LIONS’ SEWA DIVAS: The Lions Club Ludhiana North observed “Lions Sewa Divas” in Transport Nagar here. A “langar” (community feast) was organised on the occasion. Addressing the function, the club president, Mr G.S. Bansal, said serving the humanity was their real mission. Prominent among those present were Mr Jatinder Pal Singh Saluja, PRO, Mr Gurvinder Pal Singh, Mr Parminder Singh Kochar, Mr Mohan Singh Bhambra, Mr Kirpal Singh Kalra, Mr Damandeep Singh Saluja, Mr Karamjit Singh Bawa, Mr Amarjit Singh and Mr Ravinder Singh Puri.

REBUTTAL: The Tarksheel Society, Punjab, has taken strong exception to its name being dragged in the controversial demolition of a part of a religious place in Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar in the city in the name of clearing encroachments. Mr Harbhajan Singh, president, and Mr Dalbir Katani, general secretary of the society, maintained that the body was in no way connected with the action initiated by the civic body.

AWARENESS CAMP: The Mazdoor Bhalai Union has decided to launch an awareness campaign to apprise illiterate workers and other poor residents of slum colonies and villages of various facilities and concessions being granted by the government as well as other welfare schemes. A meeting of the union, presided over by Mr Barjinder Kumar, decided that special camps would be organised in jhuggi colonies, labour colonies and villages to educate them about free legal aid, labour laws and other means to seek justice against discrimination and denial of rights. According to Mr Balwant Singh, press secretary of the union, others present at the meeting included Ms Kavita Devi and Ms Sawinder Kaur, vice-presidents; Mr Sewa Singh Neelam, general secretary, and Mr Sunil Kumar, organising secretary.

CHANDIGARH

ELECTED: The following have been elected a office-bearers of the Panjab University Architect and Engineering Staff Association (PUAESA): president —Mr R.K Rai; vice-president — Mr Anil Behal; secretary — Mr A.S. Bhandari; joint secretary— Mr D.C. Sharma; and treasurer— Mr M.B. Bhargava.

CONTEST: As far as 147 children from various schools took part in a design-a-stamp contest-2002 held in Moti Ram Arya Senior Secondary School here on Thursday. The three— Ruchika of Moti Ram Arya Senior Secondary School, Sector 27, was adjudged first, Navjot Kaur of Moti Ram Arya Senior Secondary School was second and Amandeep Singh of Manav Mangal High School, Sector 21, was placed third.

JAGRAN: Sanatan Dharam Mandir Sabha, in association with Joint Action Committee of Sector 38 West, is organising Vishal Bhagwati jagran on Saturday in the Central Park of the sector. According to a press release, two-minute silence would be observed before lighting the candles to condemn the attack on the innocent worshippers in Akshardham Mandir in Gujarat.

MEDICAL CAMP: About 75 patients were operated upon for eye ailments during a five-day free camp organised by the Lions Club Chandigarh Central as a part of World Sight Week celebrations. The camp, held at Satsang Bhavan in Sector 26 here, concluded on Tuesday. According to a press release, more than 350 patients were examined for eye ailments. As many as 75 cases were identified for removal of cataract through operation. They were operated upon in the Sector 16 General Hospital by a team of experts. Patients were also given medicines free of cost.

STRIKE: Employees of the Chandigarh Administration, under the banner of the Federation of UT Employees and Workers, have threatened to go on strike on October 29 if the Chandigarh Administration failed to implement the demands of the federation.

REFRESHER COURSE: The Refresher Course in Visual and Performing Art organised by Academic Staff College in collaboration with the Department of Music concluded with a valedictory function at the ICSSR complex, Panjab University, here on Thursday. Delivering the Presidential address, Prof K.N. Pathak, Vice-Chancellor of the university, highlighted the responsibility of a teacher towards the students in particular and society in general. Former MP of Chandigarh, Satya Pal Jain, who was also the chief guest on this occasion, assured the participants that more coverage will be given to classical artistes on Sanskar Bharti Channel. Dr Pankaj Mala Sharma, Course Coordinator, offering vote of thanks to the participants, appreciated the cooperation of the Academic Staff College which, despite financial constraints, left no stone unturned to make the entire course a success.

PAINTING CONTEST: About 53 budding artistes and students of the region participated in a painting competition organised by the National Institute of Fine Art and Fashion (NIFA) on its campus in Sector 35 here on Thursday. Ms Nitika from the College of Art, Sector 10, won the first prize followed by Ms Geet Anjali and Ms Aarti from the Government College for Girls, Sector 11, in second and third positions, respectively. Ms Shivani from GCG-11, Ms Neha from Government College of Art, Sector 10 and Mr Rajesh from Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 33, were given consolation prizes.

DASEHRA BASH: To set the festive mood going among the city residents, Future Plus, an event management company, organised a pre-Dasehra bash featuring Indi pop group Punjabi Munde at Las Vegas here on Thursday. Young boys and girls dressed up to suit the occasion, put their best foot forward as the pop group sang their peppy hit numbers like “Chori chori kothe ute ajja soniye”, “Punjabi Munde aa gaye gaye”, “Mahi mahi jind meri kookdi” and others. Satnam and Jaswant, the lead singers of the group ‘Punjabi Munde’ have made their mark in the pop music scenario with their maiden album “Mahi Mahi”.