R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

BATHINDA
CLOTHES DISTRIBUTED: The Goodwill Society distributed warm clothes among the needy students at a school run by the society. Mr K K Garg, general secretary of the society, in a press note issued here on Monday, said as many as 125 students were given warm clothes. The money for the same had been granted by Mr M.C. Jain, who had been honoured with a Padma Shri. He said five students of the school were also given scholarships.

MEDICAL CAMP: The Aasra Welfare Society organised a blood donation-cum-medical check up camp on Sunday in which as many as 400 persons were examined. Mr Ramesh Mehta, president of the society, in a press note issued here on Monday, said, the camp was held at a school on the Naruana road here. Medicines were distributed free of cost. Mr Upjit Singh Brar, SDM, was the chief guest.

DERA BASSI
OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Dera Bassi Small-Scale Industries Association: president — Mr R.L. Dhingra; chairman — Mr P.C. Sedha; vice-president — Mr Ravinder Ravi; general secretary — Major Sansar Chand Sood (retd); joint secretary — Mr I.S. Uppal; and cashier — Mr Abhimanu Gupta.

FATEHGARH SAHIB
CONFISCATED: In the first case in Sirhind regarding the seizure of property under the securitisation ordinance for recovery of the NPAs (non-performing assets), the Sirhind branch of the Oriental Bank of Commerce confiscated the properties of Mr O.P. Tangri of Bassi Pathana and of Mr Jatinder Kumar of Jatindra Welding Works Sirhind on Monday. In a press release issued here, Mr Gurinder Jit Singh, manager of the branch, said the possession of these properties was taken by Mr Pal Singh, ARM, and Mr Chatarjee, Law Officer of the bank. He said though this was the first action of its own kind but it would continue and the properties of other defaulters would also be seized as per the Act.

LUDHIANA
SANKRANTI CELEBRATED: The Sankranti parv was celebrated with enthusiasm at several temples and gurdwaras of the town on Sunday. Sankirtans and langars were held at a large number of places throughout the city. A function was held at Ved Mandir in Daresi Grounds which was addressed by Swami Nigambodh. A sankirtan sabha was also held at which Mr Mohan Lal, Mr Gurcharan Lal, and Pawan Didi were among those who sang hymns. A function was also held at the Siddhpeeth in Civil Lines to mark the occasion. A satsang was also held which was attended, among others, by Rishi Onkar Chand, Mr Raj Sharma, Mr Paras Ram, Mr Ashwini Grover and Mr. Hari Pal Ahuja. A recitation of gurbani was held at Dera Baba Vadbhag Singh in Issa Nagri by Baba Gurdev Singh in connection with the Sankranti celebrations.

SANKIRTAN: The Hare Krishna Parchar Samiti held a satsang-cum-sankirtan sabha in Chander Nagar on Sunday. Bhakt Tarsem and Bhakt Gautam rendered hymns and Mr Ashok Bhandari recited the mahamantra. Among the womenfolk who sang hymns dedicated to Lord Krishna were Ms Bindu, Ms Saroj Verma and Ms Veena Malhotra. A bhandara was held at the conclusion of the satsang.

SAMMELAN: Shri Hanuman Mandir Sammelan Committee would hold its 16th Manav Kalyan Sammelan from December 18 to 22 at Shri Sanatan Dharam Hanuman Mandir under the supervision of Pandit Bhimsen Vashisht. A kalash-poojan ceremony would be held on the opening day from 7.30 a.m. to 10 a.m. after which a recitation of mahamantra would go on till 3 p.m. A sankirtan-cum-discourse session would be held later in the evening from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. From December 19 to 21, discourses and sankirtan would be held from 8 a.m. to 12 noon, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and then from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., according to a spokesman of the organising committee.

KIRTAN DARBAR: A kirtan darbar was held at Sahibana village on Sunday in the memory of Sant Balwant Singh which was largely attended by several prominent saints and devotees. The darbar would continue till December 18, according to the organisers.

FOUNDATION STONE: The foundation stone of Shri Sham Lal Aggarwal Charitable Hospital was laid in Basti Jodhewal on Sunday by Shri Rama Sewak Sangh. A function, which was held on the occasion, was presided over by Chaudhery Sat Parkash, a former Mayor. Addressing the function, Mr Jagmohan Gupta, president of the sangh, said the sangh was already running Shri Rama Charitable Hospital at Dholewal and several charitable dispensaries in the city.

RELIEF DISBURSED: The Ludhiana Young Welfare Society held the 17th monthly Shri Harmilapi widow pension function at Tagore dharamshala in New Cycle Market on Sunday. Mr Surinder Dabar, MLA, who was the chief guest at the function, lauded the efforts of society in mitigating the sufferings of the needy and the widows. As many as 100 widows were given relief in the form of ration and other items of household use. Among others who attended the function were Mr Pawan Kharbanda, secretary, Punjab Youth Congress, Mr Bhupinder Singh, Mr Baldev Kashyap, Mr Inder Pathak, Mr Harjit Singh, Mr Ashok Bhanot, Mr Puneet Parbhakar, Mr Yog Raj, Mr Hukam Chand, Mr Rajinder Vohra, Mr Tarun Bhanot, Mr Raju Chawla, Mr Devinder Pal Saggar, Mr Niranjan Singh and Mr Sandip Sharma.

MANDI GOBINDGARH
FIVE INJURED: Five persons were wounded, two of them seriously, when an Indica car on which they were travelling, in a bid to save a stray cattle, struck into a truck parked on the roadside of national highway near Kukar Majra Gurdwara here at 5 a.m. on Sunday. The injured included the newly married couple, and his brothers Chandan Sood, Parbhat and Manish Sood of Morinda. The condition of Parbhat and Manish was serious and were taken to the DMCH, Ludhiana, while others were admitted in the local Civil Hospital. Now the condition of all is stated to be out of danger.

FLAYED: Mr Dalip Singh Pandhi, former minister and senior Akali leader, has flayed the lathi-charge on the panchayat secretaries who were peacefully demonstrating for their genuine demands. The former minister alleged that the appointments of panchayat secretaries have been terminated due to political revenge.

HARYANA

AMBALA
DHARNA: Employees of the local municipal council sat on a dharna in front of the civic body’s Ambala Sadar office here on Monday. They were demanding action against a municipal councillor, who they alleged had posed as a vigilance official. Efforts were being made to resolve the issue. A meeting was held in the MC office in this regard.

TEEJAN BAI PERFORMS: As part of SPIC MACAY’s effort, noted Pandwani singer, Teejan Bai, performed in SD College, Ambala Cantonment, here on Monday. She chose incidents from Mahabharata for the show. Her performance impressed the students. The college Principal, Dr Desh Bandhu, said Teejan Bai had made Chattisgarh folk culture famous all over the world.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

HAMIRPUR
WATER SHORTAGE: The local residents, especially those who get water from the Engineering College water supply scheme, have been facing an acute water shortage these days. For the past three days, the residents have been forced to fetch water from wells and nearby hand pumps. The residents of the Anoo area of ward number 1 of the town have been worst affected.

SHIMLA
DOCTORS’ STIR: The Resident Doctors Association here has decided to launch an agitation from December 19 in protest against the indifferent attitude of the state government towards their demands. In the first phase, the resident doctors will return their gold medals, go on mass casual leave and then start a relay fast. The meeting of the resident doctors was held under the chairmanship of Dr Dinesh Sharma.