R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

• Natural spring flows through hotel

• Folic acid prevents birth defects

• Artist demonstrates Devasthanakala

BATALA
FESTIVAL OPENS: A two-day festival began at Achleshwar Temple, 6 six km from here, on Wednesday. Thousands of pilgrims have reached Batala to attend the festival.

DERA BASSI
CENTRE: In partnership with local industrial units, the Sri Sukhmani Institute of Engineering and Technology has to set up a research and development centre within the institute. The centre would carry out research, development and innovations leading to integration of educational planning, curriculum development and instructional material development.

HOSHIARPUR
CHEATING CASE: A case of cheating by a so-called travel agent has been reported in the Garshankar police station of the district on Sunday. According to police sources, Harmesh Lal of Surapur took Rs 2.05 lakh from Mr Harbans Lal of Banga for sending his son abroad. The police has registered a case.

KAPURTHALA
TRAVEL AGENT BOOKED: The police has registered a case under Sections 420 and 406 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 25 of the Indian Immigration Act against Sharanjit Singh, a travel agent based in Jalandhar, on the charge of defrauding Tarsem Singh of Gidderpindi village in Jalandhar district of Rs 2.25 lakh on the pretext of sending him to the United Kingdom. In a press note issued here on Tuesday, Mr R.N. Dhoke, Senior Superintendent of Police, said Karnail Singh of Kanjli village had logged a complaint in this regard.

FOUR ARRESTED: The police has arrested Baldev Singh, Puran Singh, Rana Singh and Ninder Singh, residents of Bootan village, following the recovery of a working still and 600 kg of ‘lahan’ from their possession.

KHARAR
KHATRI SABHA: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local Khatri Sabha: president — Mr Baij Nath Kapoor; secretary — Mr Lal Chand Seth; cashier — Mr Banarsi Dass, vice president — Mr Om Parkash Malhotra; and auditor — Mr K.C. Khanna.

TRAINING CAMP: The Agriculture Department is organising a farmers’ raining camp here on Friday. According to Dr Haminder Singh Block Agricultural Officer, Kharar, Mr Bir Devinder Singh, MLA, Kharar will inaugurate the court and Dr Gurdial Singh, Chief agricultural Officer, Ropar, will preside over the function.

WATER LEAKAGE: Mr Balbir Singh, sarpanch Rasanheri gram panchyat has alleged that water had started leaking from pipes in the village when it was released from the newly installed tubewell. He had demanded an inquiry into the quality of pipes used.

LUDHIANA
TRIBUTES: Tributes were paid by members of the Electrical Contractors Association to Mr S.N. Tripathi, Executive Engineer (Electrical) in the Municipal Corporation here, who died in a road accident here on Saturday last. At a condolence meeting, attended by a large number of electrical contractors in the civic body, the speakers described the deceased official as a dedicated person who was committed to his duty. A two-minute silence was observed to pray for the peace to the departed soul. According to a spokesperson of the association, rasam pagri will be performed on Thursday at Sri Vishwanath Temple, Metro Road, Jamalpur Colony.

DEMAND: The Janata Nagar Welfare Society has flayed the Punjab State Electricity Board for its step-motherly treatment to the locality. According to Mr B.L. Bhatia, president of the society, the PSEB officials had turned a deaf ear to the demand for providing power supply from urban feeders and the colony continued to be fed from rural feeder for last several months with the result that power supply remained erratic and drastic cuts were imposed on power supply.

POORANMASHI PURV: The Pooranmashi purv would be celebrated on November 19, according to Mr Madan Lal Chopra, chairman, Shri Sanatan Dharam Mahotsav Committee. He said that a final decision had been taken after due consultations with religious scholars, including Rishi Onkar Dutt, Pandit Kashinath Tripathi, Pandit Bhim Sain, Pandit Radhasharan and Pandit Hari Mohan.

MANSA
PRTC DEPOT: A proposal to convert the PRTC depot at Budhlada in the district under the kilometre scheme amounts to closure of the depot. This was stated by Mr Hardev Arshi, former CPI MLA from Budhlada. He said a deputation comprising Mr Megh Raj Goyal, Mr Bogh Singh Datewas, Mr Khem Singh Jatana, all senior Congress leaders, Mr Jatinder Mohan Garg, member of the block samiti, and Mr Surinder Kumar Goga, a CPI leader, led by him, met Mr Jarnail Singh Chahal, Chairman of the PRTC and submitted to him a memorandum opposing the closure of the depot.

ABSENT EMPLOYEES: Mr S.K. Ahluwalia, Deputy Commissioner here, checked the attendance of government employees working in various offices of the district. The Deputy Commissioner found three employees, Naib Sadar Kanugo Jaspal Singh, two peons of his office, Bharpur Kaur and Gurparkash Singh and eight employees of the Punjab Mandi Board absent from duty. Mr Ahluwalia said here on Wednesday show-cause notices had been issued to the absentees. He said 17 employees of other departments were also found absent, adding that show-cause notices would be issued to them.

NAWANSHAHR
MEMORANDUM: A deputation of the District Nawanshahr Beopar Mandal led by its president, Mr Surinder Arora, submitted a memorandum to the local Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner for onward submission to the Chief Minister, urging him to delete ‘‘harsh and anti-trade’’ provisions in the proposed Act of value-added tax before implementation.

EXHIBITIONS: The local District Education Department organised subdivision-level “Science exhibitions” on the topic of “Science, indigenous technology and sustainable development” at Government Senior Secondary School, Banga, and Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Balachaur, here on Tuesday. Students belonging to different schools of Nawanshahr and Balachaur subdivisions, respectively, exhibited their models.

PHAGWARA
MEETING: Local SDM Pritam Singh held a meeting with representatives of the Chemists Association, Phagwara, and apprised it of the orders of the District Magistrate, Mr Rakesh Verma, prohibiting the sale of some drugs misused by youth as intoxicants. Such drugs must not be sold without the prescription of qualified doctors, said the orders, according to an official press note.

HARYANA

AMBALA
EMERGENCY MEETING: An emergency working committee meeting of the Ambala unit of Panun Kashmir was held here on Wednesday. The meeting was held to “condone the action of the J&K Government for releasing militants who have committed serious offences.” Addressing the meeting, Mr J.L. Kaul, area coordinator, stressed that Kashmiri Hindus should be resettled. Mr Kaul appealed to help strengthen the movement, a release said.

BODY FOUND: The body of a motor mechanic, who had been missing since November 5, had been found in Jawahargarh village. Satish Kumar had lodged a complaint with the police that his brother Suresh Kumar, who was working at Saha, was missing. He suspected that a few persons had murdered his brother and disposed off the body. Superintendent of Police, Ambala Hardeep Singh Doon, said the suspects had been identified.

JIND
KILLED: One person was killed and six were injured, one critically, when a jeep overturned near Italkalan village here on Tuesday evening. Ram Niwas (40), who was an employee of the Electricity Department, was killed on the spot and Mohan was seriously injured when the jeep overturned as the driver of the vehicle was negotiating a sharp turn. The jeep was coming from Mirchpur. The injured were taken to hospital and five of them were later discharged.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

KULU
COMMITTEE: The District and Sessions Judge has constituted a committee of seven members, with Kamla Prarthi as chairperson, to listen to the complaints of working women regarding sexual harassment at the workplace.

SOLAN
BODY FOUND: The blood-strained body of Hardev Singh (42) was found in the bushes near the Kotla Khud area of Nalagarh tehsil on Monday. The deceased, a resident of Kota Nalan, was working at a stone crusher at Nayagram and was reported to be missing since Saturday. A case has been registered.

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

Natural spring flows through hotel

“God has blessed us with a natural cold water spring which flows in our property,” feels Manoj Kumar Sharma of Evergreen Hotel situated on the left bank of the Beas in Aleo, Manali. “The cold water spring originating from the high mountains has been flowing here in all seasons.

When Evergreen hotel’s construction commenced in 1990, the owner thought of using the spring’s water without damaging it in any manner. The spring flows in the hotel’s reception. Water is collected in a tank just below the floor, which is covered with a slab to protect it. The water is diverted through a pipe to the hotel’s garden, near the entrance for drinking purposes. Visitors staying in Evergreen are not even aware that they are drinking spring, rather natural mineral water. Till quite recently the hotel did not even require an IPH water connection as the spring water was sufficient for the hotel’s visitors. When more storeys were added, a water connection was taken. Throughout the day, especially in the evenings, women fill their cans and bottles to carry home spring water.

Surprisingly the water is naturally cold in summer and lukewarm in winter because while the top layer of the soil is warm, it is cold beneath. The pipe is removed annually, cleaned and then slightly diverted. The spring has sand which settles at the bottom, thus acting as a natural filter.

Folic acid prevents birth defects

Taking daily folic acid tablets can prevent serious birth defects of the brain and spinal cord. Such births lead to the birth of dead babies or babies who are so severely deformed that they often die in the first few days to weeks after birth. This observation has been made by Dr Ashok Antony, Professor of Medicine and Haematology, University of Indiana, USA, in a research study conducted by him.

Dr Ashok Antony, an alumni of the Christian Medical College and Hospital will be visiting Ludhiana and other towns of Punjab in the first week of November to educate the women for the prevention of ‘neural tube defects with folic acid’.

According to Dr Ashok Antony about 10,000 cases of such birth defects may be prevented in India if all women of the child-bearing age regularly take a daily tablet of folic acid. Folic acid tablet costs only 10 paise a day and is available at all chemist shops. It has no side effects in the doses recommended. He maintains that when a woman in the child-bearing age takes just one miligram of folic acid daily, she will be helping her new baby to get enough folic acid for the development of the brain and spinal cord.

Dr Antony says recent research from several countries in the west and confirmatory studies in China have clearly shown that taking the vitamin folic acid daily even before a woman knows that she is pregnant can dramatically reduce the risk of having a baby with serious birth defects of the brain and spinal cord upto 75 per cent.

Artist demonstrates Devasthanakala

The free library in Gandhi Chowk, Dalhousie run by the Raizada Hans Raj Memorial Trust held an unusual annual function this year. They invited the versatile Bengali artist, Prabhal Pramanik to give an exhibition and demonstration of his work — paper cutting, pen and ink drawing and water colours — in the library, and also asked him to conduct a three-day art workshop for children.

Nearly 200 children from six Dalhousie schools came to learn how to create the illusion of “depth” in painting and to try their hand as artists.

On the final day Mr Pramanik held the audience spellbound as he demonstrated the art of Devasthanakala (paper-cutting without drawing any outline first). He asked the audience to suggest subjects and cut out animals, gods, buildings and portraits with great detail. Then he invited the Dalhousie people to form an Art Club, to learn composition, sketching and even clay modelling. He promised to encourage and teach the members twice a month.

After the artist’s demonstration, Mr Manjeet Sondhi, Trustee, spoke about his grandfather, Raizada Hans Raj, in whose memory the free library is run. He said he had been a leading freedom fighter and a close friend of Jawaharlal Nehru. The Raizada had invited Panditji to Dalhousie in 1954 for the town’s centenary and from then on Panditji had encouraged Dalhousie to grow into the foremost hill station in northwest India.

The annual function closed with a vote of thanks and presentation by Mrs Kunti Sawhny, Managing Trustee, to Prabhal Pramanik, and the library volunteers.

Contributed by Roshni Johar, K.S. Chawla and Jane R. Caleb.