R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

• A celebrity at four
• Booklet on IPC in Gurmukhi
• Sangrur State Rural Games

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
INVITED: Dr Adarsh Kumar, Professor and Head of Cardiology Department at Government Medical College here, has been invited to deliver a talk on the topic of “Co-enzymes Q 10 therapy in heart failure” at the third conference of international co-enzymes to be held from November 22 to 24 in London.

DE-ADDICTION SEMINAR: The Punjab police appex committee NGO project and INGOA organised a drug de-addiction seminar. Mr D.R. Bhatti, Additional Director General of Police, and Dr S.K. Chaturvedi, project officer and state representative of UNICEF, presided over the function. Dr Jagmohan Singh and Mr Gursharnjit Singh, zonal coordinator and secretary of INGOA, respectively, informed in a press note here on Tuesday.

BATHINDA
OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected the office-bearers of the local Public Library: patrons — Mr Bhagat Singh Dhaliwal, Mr Joginder Singh Bhasin and Mr Wazir Chand Mangla; president — Mr Bachan Dass Bansal; senior vice-president — Mr Krishan Kumar Sharma; vice-presidents — Mr P.D. Goyal and Mr M.S. Sra, general secretary — Mr Jagdish Singh Ghai; secretaries — Mr Sanjeev Kumar, Ms Iqbal Kaur Bhasin and Mr Jatinder Goyal; finance secretary — Mr R.P. Garg and library secretary — Dr Harbinder Singh Dhaliwal.

PROBE SOUGHT: The district unit of the SAD (A) has demanded that an inquiry by the CBI should be conducted into the alleged irregularities in the election of the SGPC President. Mr Barinder Singh, district president of the party, alleged in a press note issued on Wednesday that the SAD (B) and the SHSAD had taken many SGPC members hostages and spent huge amounts of money for doing so.

FAZILKA
CHEMIST HELD: The police arrested Krishan Kumar, a chemist following a raid on his residence at the Basti Hazur Singh locality and seized intoxicants. His shop was also sealed. A case has been registered.

GURDASPUR
ARRESTED: Bachan Singh, BSF Inspector (retired) and resident of the Hardochhanni Road area, was arrested here on Monday for his alleged involvement in the sale of drugs without prescription by a Medical Officer. It may be mentioned here that the District Magistrate has imposed a ban on the sale of drugs till January 8 next year. A case under Section 188, IPC, has been registered against him.

HOSHIARPUR
FIRE: A fire broke out in a cotton factory in Jagatpura here on Wednesday. The fire brigade controlled the fire after one and a half hours. The cause of the fire is not known.

CONDEMNED: The Punjab unit of the Samata Party, at its meeting held under the presidentship of Mr Inderjit Saini, condemned the government for sending the police into the Golden Temple complex during the recent SGPC elections. A press note issued on Wednesday said the meeting also condemned the PSEB for not releasing power connections for tubewells of farmers who had already furnished security for the purpose about two years ago.

LUDHIANA
CONTEST: Kundan Vidya Mandir will host the 22nd inter-school Reena-Simmi memorial declamation contest on November 23. The contest, held in memory of Reena and Simmi who lost their lives in tragic road accidents is an annual feature and receives an overwhelming response from schools both within the city and outside.

KARTIK PURNIMA: Kartik Purnima was celebrated with fervour at different temples of the city on Tuesday. A samaroh was held at the Ved Mandir in Daresi grounds which was addressed by Vedacharya DandiSwami Nigam Bodh Tirath. He said the month of Kartik had special significance in the Indian culture. Bal Sant Manoj also spoke on the occasion. At Hanuman Mandir, Pandit Bhimsain recited the concluding part of the Kartik mass katha and asked the gathering to always think about God.

TUBRI MELA: Shri Chiniote Rajoa Sabha celebrated Tubri mela at Madho Puri chowk on Tuesday. Descendants of Gosain Satidas Jhandwale decorated replicas of Lord Krishna and Balram. A shobha yatra of Lord Krishna and Balram was also taken out. A similar Tubri mela was also held at the Prachin Gaushala which was attended by a large number of people.

BIRTHDAY: The Hari Singh Nalwa Welfare Society celebrated the 83rd birthday of Satguru Jagjit Singh at Partap Chowk on Tuesday. Mr Dalip Singh Namdhari, who was the chief guest on the occasion, asked the gathering to follow the ideals of Satguru. School children presented poems and songs on the occasion. Among others who attended the function were Mr Ranjit Singh Lotey, Mr Jasjit Singh, Mr Lakhbir Singh Grewal, Mr Surinder Singh, Mr Prem Singh Lotey, Mr Gurinder Singh, Mr Gurmit Siingh Matharoo and Mr Mohinder Singh Panesar.

BARSI: The 37th death anniversary of Sant Tulsi Dass was observed at Siddh Baba Balak Nath and Durga Mata Mandir in Prem Nagar, Ghumar Mandi, under the supervision of Bhakt Sanjiv Kumar on Tuesday.

JAGRAN: Maa Bhagwati Club held its annual Bhagwati jagran in Janak Puri on Monday night at which Jagga and party sang hymns in praise of Ma Bhagwati. Among those who attended the jagran were Mr Mohan Singh, president of the club, Mr Subhash Verma, Mr Harish Bedi, Mr Harchand Bagga, Mr Chaman Singh, Mr Rajinder Manchanda, Mr Pankaj Puri, Mr Mukesh Bharti and Mr Sumit Sharma.

FOUNDATION: The foundation stone of a Neelkanth Mahadev mandir was laid in Sarpanch Colony at Jamalpur by Mr Gulshan Kumar on Tuesday. An executive committee was also formed to supervise the temple construction. The committee comprises president — Mr B.C. Sharma, vice-president — Mr Prem Pandey, secretary — Mr V.K. Sharma and members — Mr Pardip Sharma, Mr Ashok Kumar, Mr Satish Babla, Mr Naresh Dogra and Mr Sanjiv Batish.

YAJNA CONCLUDES: The annual Shanti Mahayajna by the Yajna World Society concluded here on Monday at Shri Krishan Shivala Mandir. Among those who performed the rites were Mr Om Parkash Ratra, Mr. Sunil Gandhi, Mr Ashok Sood, Mr Ashok Sood and Mr Vijay Kumar. Mr Surinder Dawar, MLA and Mayor Shushila Gupta were also present. Pandit Baldev Raj Sharma and Raj Kumar Sharma honoured members of the organising society.

SATSANG: A satsang and bhandara was held at the Bhagvan Valmiki Brahmalya outside Old Dayanand Hospital on Monday in connection with Vijay Divas of Lord Valmiki. A recitation of Valmiki Ramayan was held at 9 am and from 11 am to 12 noon , Veer Subhash Sondhi presented bhajans.

HARYANA

BHIWANI
SARPANCH SUSPENDED: Manbeer Singh, Sarpanch of Nimri block Dadri Ist, has been placed under suspension. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Harpal Singh Malik, had instituted an inquiry against the Sarpanch on receiving complaints of the misuse of the post. The Subdivisional Officer of Charkhi Dadri, who conducted the inquiry into the complaints of encroachment on firni and illegal cutting of trees from the stadium of the village besides embezzlement of funds, had found the complaints correct.

BODY FOUND: The police found a body from a pond at Kolawas village under Charkhi Dadri subdivision on Tuesday. The dead person has been identified as Dalip Singh (33). The police has registered a case and started an inquiry.

ONE KILLED: The driver of a car was killed and four others seriously injured following a head-on collision between the car and a dumper near Rawaldhi village on Monday. The injured were admitted to the Civil Hospital. The driver has been identified as Birju of Charkhi Dadri.

SCRIBE DEAD: A senior newspaper agent and vice-president of the Zila Vridha Association, Trilok Chand Hans (78), died on Monday. He was cremated at the local Shyam Bagh on Tuesday. Members of the RSS, different political parties, social and religious organisations, advocates and scribes participated in the funeral procession and paid tributes to the departed soul. Besides having been the local reporter of the Urdu daily Milap for years, Hans was an active member of the RSS for the past 55 years.

FATEHABAD
DALIT SAHITYAKAR SAMMELAN: The 18th Biennial National Dalit Sahityakar Sammelan will be organised in Delhi on November 26. Mr Ramesh Deegwal, state president of the Bharatiya Dalit Sahitya Academy, told mediapersons here on Tuesday that over 10,000 delegates from all over the country would participate in the convention. Dalit political leaders had also been invited. He said Mr Parmanand, Governor of Haryana, and Mr Suraj Bhan, Governor of Himachal Pradesh, would be the chief guests. The Delhi Chief Minister, Ms Sheela Dishit, would inaugurate the convention.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

NAHAN
POLIO CAMPAIGN: The District Health Officer, Dr K.C. Sharma, said here on Wednesday that a special polio immunisation campaign would commence in Sirmaur district from November 21 in which as many as 62,000 children up to five years would be administered polio immunisation drops by health workers. He has requested the public to get their children immunised when health workers visit their houses from November 21 to November 23. 

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

A celebrity at four

With 13 titles under her belt, four-year-old Ragini Gauri has already become a celebrity. She bagged her first title as ‘‘Queen of the show’’ as just a toddler of six months. She has now become ‘‘Face of VLCC baby’’. Besides, she has been a winter in the December, 1998, flower and baby show organised by the Amritsar Municipal Corporation, ‘‘Kaun banega Christmas baby’’ contest, kids on ramp show etc. She was recently awarded the special achievement award by the Mayor of Amritsar. She has never bagged the second position. She has stood first in her school throughout her academic career. As this tiny tot has a flair for dancing and acting the ‘‘Lashkara’’ television channel recently featured her in a music video. To cap it all, she is a pretty good horse rider too.

Booklet on IPC in Gurmukhi

A pocket-size 90-page booklet on the IPC in Gurmukhi by Mr Sukhdarshan Singh, a young Lawyer of Ludhiana, would prove to be a boon for those Punjab police personnel to whom English is Greek. It took this enterprising Ludhiana advocate just four months to accomplish the mission.

Mr Sukhdarshan Singh has taken time off his hectic schedule to show this rare booklet to legal experts and Punjab police personnel, who have appreciated his selfless endeavour. He is likely to meet DGP M.S. Bhullar and present copies of this booklet.

About what inspired him to bring out the booklet and its likely price, Mr Sukhdarshan Singh says: There is no profit motive behind this endeavour. I shall distribute copies of this booklet free of cost among the beneficiaries. With this booklet on the IPC in Gurmukhi, the beneficiaries would be well-equipped to discuss, define and debate the scope of specific codes in the language they are well conversant with. Next on Mr Sukhdarshan Singh’s agenda is to bring out an abridged Gurmukhi version of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr PC). ‘‘But all depends upon the response that the volume in hand fetches’’, he says.

Sangrur State Rural Games

The remarkable success of State Rural Games at Sangrur from November 13 to 15 made Sports Minister Jagmohan Singh Kang and Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal say that other districts should follow Sangrur in arranging such events. The organisers made good arrangements for stay of 2,400 participants and officials. Special arrangements were made not only to have 200 toilets for the participants but it was also ensured that these were clean at all hours. The Deputy Commissioner and his team of officials looked at every detail of the stay and food arrangements. Food served during the games was delicious. All events were conducted in a systematic and dignified manner. The cultural programme at the opening and closing ceremonies, along with fireworks in the background, was a treat to watch. Mr Jagmohan Singh Kang was so impressed by the giddha item that he wanted the same team to perform at the National Rural Meet to be held later this month.

Contributed by Pawan Kumar, Ramesh K. Dhiman and Gursharan Singh.