R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMLOH
CHECK-UP CAMP: An eye and piles check-up camp was organised by the All-India Eye Relief Society at Bhadson village, near here, on Sunday. A total of 258 eye patients and 52 piles patients were examined and free medicines were provided. A play on drug awareness was also organised.

EXCISE POLICY FLAYED: SAD (Amritsar) youth wing leaders Ravinder Singh Khalsa, Najar Singh Kanpur, Gurnam Singh Ambeymajra and Raghbir Singh Bhadalthua, in a press note issued here on Monday, criticised the excise policy of the state government with regard to wine licensing. They alleged that the SAD leadership was busy giving statements pertaining to the ‘irregularities’ and ‘highhandedness’ of the Congress in the recent civic elections to cover up for its crushing defeat.

DORAHA
CHECK-UP CAMP: A free medical check-up camp was organised by the local Rotary Club at Sidhu Hospital on Sunday. Dr Ravinder Sidhu, president of the club, said it was the fifth such camp organised by the club. Patients suffering from acute kidney disorders and other diseases were examined by experts and were given free medicines. A state-of-the-art dialysis unit was also inaugurated by the Managing Director of the hospital. Dr Rajan Isbacs, kidney specialist, Dr Gursaran, Dr Gurdip Singh Sidhu, Dr R. Chaudhary and Dr Sandeep examined the patients. More than 100 patients attended the camp.

FATEHGARH SAHIB
INCOME TAX: To encourage tax payers to pay advance tax, the local Income Tax Department organised a get together with rice mill owners of the district at Aam Khas Bagh, Sirhind, on Monday. Mr Ravinder Mehta, Joint Commissioner Income Tax, urged the rice millers to pay the taxes honestly. He said to facilitate better services to tax payers, the department had computerised the process. Mr Bahadur Singh, district president Rice Millers Association, and Mr Inderjit Singh Sandhu, local unit president, assured of full cooperation.

LUDHIANA
MEETING: A meeting of the central body of the Uttaranchal Kumaon Vikas Parishad was held under the chairmanship of Mr M.S.Rawat here on Sunday. Mr D.S. Manral, press secretary, in a press note on Monday said the annual cultural function of the parishad would be held on April 6 at Dasehra Ground, Central Market, Jamalpur. Mr Harish Rawat, MP (Rajya Sabha) and president of the Uttaranchal Pradesh Congress, would be the chief guest. Kumouni folk singer Shiv Dutt Pant and his party would perform folk songs and dances. The meeting was attended by Mr Balram Singh Aswal, Mr Bhupinder Kandpal, Mr Jaswant Singh Karakoti, Mr T.S.Bhandari, Mr D.N.Joshi, Mr Shiv Dutt Joshi, Mr Ramesh Sharma, Mr Thakur Singh, Mr Narinder Singh, Mr G.S.Bisht, Mr Kailash Sharma and Mr Kailash Jamnal.

INAUGURATED: Bhartiya Vidya Mandir Trust inaugurated its new school branch at Urban Estate on Chandigarh Road here on Sunday. Mr Bibek Sarkar, Secretary, School Education, Punjab, was the chief guest and Mr Rahul Bhandari, Additional Deputy Commissioner, was the guest of honour. Mr Sarkar lit the lamp. Students recited “Saraswati Vandana” and sang solo and group songs besides ghazals.

HONOUR: Two progressive farmers, Mr Kuldeep Singh and Mr Avtar Singh Rataul, will be felicitated with Sardar Daleep Singh Memorial Award by Capt Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister, Punjab, on March 22 and 23 during Kisan Mela at Punjab Agricultural University here. Stating this, Dr Jaspinder Singh Kolar, Director of Extension Education, PAU, said Mr Kuldeep Singh had pioneered in national marketing of melons, dairy and poultry farming and identification of super basmati. Mr Avtar Singh Rataul, former president, Punjab Farmers’ Club, had a dairy farm where animals were being reared on scientific lines. Besides producing vegetable seeds and cattle feed, he also had his own veterinary experimentation centre.

RAILWAY UNION: Railway employees belonging to the Northern Railway Men's Union will hold a division-level mass demonstration on March 21 at the divisional headquarters in Ferozepore in support of their long-standing demands. This was stated by union divisional president DR Gautam, while talking to newsmen here on Monday.

HARYANA

AMBALA
BANDH CALL: The wholesale and retail cloth markets in Haryana will remain closed on March 19 in protest against the imposition of VAT on the cloth merchants in the state. It was decided at a meeting of the Wholesale Cloth Merchant Association hare on Sunday. Mr Harcharan Singh Bhatia , president of the association, said, VAT would spoil their trade. He said if the government did not exempt the cloth merchants from VAT they would launch a nationwide agitation. The cloth trade had already been exempted from the sales tax for the past five decades, he added.

YAMUNANAGAR
2 KILLED: Two persons were killed and three injured in road accident. According to information, two persons, Om Pal and Sat Pal of Milk Khas village were returning to their village on motor cycle on Monday morning when they were hit by a truck at the Yamunanagar-Jagadhri bypass. Om Pal died on the spot and the other person was shifted to the local Civil Hospital in a serious condition. The police has registered a case and sent the body for post-mortem.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

NAHAN
DE-ADDICTION CAMP: The Information and Public Relations Department on Monday organised the Nasha Nivaran programme at Balmiki Basti here in which mahila and yuva mandals of the basti participated. On the occasion Swami Prabhakaranand of De-addiction Centre said the best course to get rid of the habit of addiction was through meditation and yoga. District Public Relations Officer Dharmendra Thakur stressed upon the need for community mobilisation for social reforms. Mr Ramesh Sharma, APRO, called upon women to come forward in checking amongst children the growing habit of chewing tobacco.

PARWANOO
ELECTED: A meeting of the District unit of the Sewa Dal (Congress) of Solan was held here on Monday. It was presided over by Mr Ish Kapoor, state organiser of the dal. Members from Parwanoo, Nalagarh and Solan attended the meeting. Mr Sanjay Kumar of Nalagarh was elected president of the Solan unit of the dal and Mr Rajesh Sharma of Parwanoo was elected organiser of the local unit.