R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
ARRESTED: The district police on Saturday arrested Pankaj Kumar, a resident of Khuh Suniarawala, for allegedly making threatening phone calls and demanding ransom from Rajkumar, a cloth merchant near Chowk Ghanta Ghar here. It is learnt the suspect had allegedly been threatening Rajkumar for the past one week to kill members of his family unless he gave Rs 2 lakh in ransom. A case has been registered.

SUR TAL: A two-day musical competition, Sur Tal-2002 will be organised from November 6 at the local BBKDAV College. Dedicated to Shiv Kumar Batalvi, poet laureate of Punjab, would be inaugurated by Capt Amarinder Singh . Ms Preneet Kaur, MP, will preside.

LUDHIANA
SEMINAR HELD: Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women organised a seminar on Punjabi drama here on Saturday. Dr Satish Kumar Verma from Punjabi University, Patiala, shared his views with students. Dr Satish Kumar discussed the history of Punjabi drama and the changes it had undergone. 

FREE MEDICAL CAMP: Lifeline Hospital, Gill Road, will organise a free medical camp on epilepsy and fit related diseases on Sunday. A team of neurologists and child specialists will examine patients and medicines will be given free of cost. Patients of epilepsy, fits, weak memory and mental retardation are requested to get themselves registered in advance on the telephone at 0161-493281 or personally. TNS

DIVALI CELEBRATIONS: Celebrations were held on the eve of Divali at DAV Public School, BRS Nagar, here on Sunday. Students put up stalls of hand-made candles and earthen lamps of different attractive colours and shapes. An inter-class Rangoli competition was also organised. Sweets were also distributed among students. Besides this, students of the primary wing of the school performed Giddha. 

CLUB CLARIFIES: A spokesman for the Ludhiana Club on Sunday clarified that there was no gambling going on in the club. He said: “The club functions as a routine and it is closed by 11.30 pm. Although people play cards here, there is no gambling. So there is nothing unusual during the Divali days”. 

NAWANSHAHR
COP SUSPENDED: Ms V. Neeraja, SSP, in a press note issued here on Saturday said she had suspended Havaldar Hardip Singh for taking bribe of Rs 75,000 from Manjit Kaur, Krishna and Beero, whom the Mukandpur police had arrested on the charge of indulging in trading of smack on October 21, for releasing them. An inquiry was conducted into the matter by Mr Jagtar Singh, DSP (Detective), following a complaint lodged by Manjit Kaur on October 31.

ANNUAL FUNCTION: The local Adarsh Bal Vidyalaya Senior Secondary School organised its annual prize distribution function here on Saturday. Ms Narinder Kaur, Deputy Secretary, Controller of Examination, PSEB, presided over the function.

TARN TARAN
PROTEST: A deputation of the employees of the Forest Department and the Punjab Subordinate Services Federation (PSSF) met the Forest Range Officer here to protest against the sacking of some forest employees, according to a press note of the PSSF here on Saturday.

HARYANA

AMBALA
MEETING: A meeting of the working committee of the Haryana Congress will be organised at Chandigarh on Thursday. The deputy spokesman of the HPCC, Mr Viresh Shandilya, in a statement said here on Sunday that the HPCC chief, Mr Bhajan Lal, would preside over the meeting. The meeting would be held in the HPCC office at Chandigarh, he added.

LOK ADALAT: A Lok Adalat will be organised at Ambala on Saturday. The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ms Sarita Gupta, said this day was celebrated as a Legal Service Day every year. An awareness camp would also be organised at Naraingarh on this occasion.

DEVELOPMENT FUND: Around Rs 6 crore has been released for the development works for Naggal constituency through the rural development fund during the second phase of sarkar aapke dwar programme so far. The MLA of Naggal, Mr Jasbir Malour, said here on Sunday the 95 per cent of the total works of second phase had already been completed. The Chief Minister would soon visit the constituency in connection with the third phase of the programme, he added.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
DRAUGHTSMEN’S NOTICE: The Himachal Pradesh State Draughtsmen (PWD & IPH) Association has served a three-week notice on the HPPWD Department that it will resort to an agitation if the agreement between the Commissioner-cum-Secretary, PWD, and the association regarding their promotions was not implemented by November 21. Talking to media persons here on Sunday, state president of the association Ramsingh said the secretary, PWD, had promised to effect these promotions “within one month” but nothing has happened so far.

RELEASE GPF: Sukhram, a work-charged mathe who retired from the Himachal Pradesh PWD Division No. 2 here on June 30, has urged the Chief Minister to intervene and ensure the immediate release of his GPF amount totalling Rs 1.78 lakh. He has said he will observe a fast at the house of the Superintending Engineer along with his family if his GPF was not released within 15 days.

CHAMBA
REST HUT: The Chamba Welfare Association has demanded the construction of a rest hut on the heliport at Sultanpura on the outskirts of the town for VIPs and passengers visiting the town. Mr Harish Chander Sharma, senior vice-president of the association, said a suitable site had already been identified and approved by the government.

TRAINING PROGRAMME: A three-day training programme on the recent advances in fruits’ production for extension officers of the Horticulture Department, organised by the local Krishi Vigyan Kendra, concluded on Saturday at Saroo, about 10 km from here. Sixteen extension officers were imparted technical know-how about the latest improved varieties of fruits, protection techniques of different fruit and vegetable crops from diseases and insects, their post-harvest management and marketing by kendra’s scientists.

KUMARHATTI
ANNUAL FUNCTION: Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal has urged teachers to help in developing overall personalities of students and inculcating in them a spirit of nationalism. He was speaking at the annual function of Pine Grove Public School, Subathu, about 30 km from here, on Saturday. He gave away prizes to meritorious students. Earlier, he laid the foundation stone of a DAV primary school building at Parwanoo, 29 km from here.

NURPUR
RAPE: The local police on Saturday arrested Tarsem Lal of Kulahan village, near here, for allegedly abducting and raping a 14-year-old girl of the same village. Tarsem Lal was produced before the Judicial Magistrate on Sunday who remanded him in police custody.